At Lupin's Royal Palace
Marcia had just finished greeting her loyal vassals and was returning back to her seat on the throne upstairs, when four people suddenly approached her.
"Good evening, your majesty the queen" the four greeted at the same time
"A-Ah. You four are already back" Marcia said as she addressed the people behind her. There were three males and one female who all seemed to be in their twenties, but Marcia whom had known them since she was a kid, knew how many years they had lived.
"Sorry for not coming to greet you earlier, your majesty" one of the males said. He had dark crimson hair, golden eyes and a mole under his left eye. He was dressed in a black and white tailcoat and formal trousers, but from his averagely built body, and his posture, one could easily tell he was someone highly skilled in swordsmanship. "The shining stars, your personal bodyguards have returned back to serve you in the absence of Sir Luke"
"Jay...welcome back" Marcia said before looking at the others that followed after Jay "Same to the three of you....Adam, Bailey and Leo"
"It's good to be back, Queen Marcia" Bailey said excitedly. She had wavy medium length violet hair that had been held back by a silver leaf headband, silver eyes with grey stars within them, and had a pair of shut, violet butterfly wings sticking out from her back. She had worn a backless, purple tea dress and a pair of white laced gloves.
"Hey. Hold back that feisty attitude of yours" Adam said. He had medium length champaign hair, dark skin, and eyes the colour of apricots with stars in them. Unlike Leo and Jay who were averagely built, Adam was more on the muscular side and built like a boulder. He had dressed in a white suit specifically because today was an important event.
"Like you're one to talk" Leo butted in. He had dark brown hair and cerulean eyes. He had a personality likened to that of Luke and was far more serious than the other three. He was dressed quite well in a light blue and white waistcoat and trousers, with a mannerism currently copying that of a gentleman.
Marcia giggle at the four in front of her, "You know, it's rude of you four, to stop me when I'm heading up to rest, and start discussing amongst yourselves in my presence" she said "People will think I didn't train my bodyguards properly"
'Anyways, I'm starting to think Lu-Lu can see into the future' Marcia thought with a sigh 'The very reason he wanted to avoid coming to the castle with Luce, is because of these four. Although they're my personal bodyguards, Lu-Lu was the person who retrained them into becoming the best knights in the kingdom. Their admiration for him knows no bounds and Lu-Lu....sees it as something very annoying to deal with'
"I'm sorry, your majesty. I take full responsibility for their behaviour" Jay said with a bow
"Not at all" Marcia said as she started walking away from them "Thank you for coming to greet me, my shining stars" she said as she headed upstairs, 'Lu-Lu, I really do pray you have nothing to do in this castle for another week or so. You might just encounter some trouble if you do come back' Marcia thought as she let out another sigh.
******
The next morning
Centre of Lupin
Yukia was sitting on her usual spot in the trees, as she watched Lucia and Luke train. She had taken on her usual male form and was silently eating an apple.
'It's a surprise as to all the things that happened while I was gone' Yukia thought, while taking a bite out from her apple
"Uncle Luke, what are we doing now?" Lucia asked as she stared at the short wooden stick in her hands
"Try to enchant that stick" Luke said as he picked up another stick for himself
"But...it's just a stick" Lucia said
"So, yesterday, you just threw a bowl of water in the the air and it took on the form of some birds and butterflies?"
"That's not...that's not what I mean"
"Lucia, magic is...." He started as he slammed the stick in his hand against a tree "...the ability to make the impossible, possible" as soon as Luke finished his sentence, the tree fell to the side however, there was no damage to the stick in his hands, "Do you understand?" he asked
"Y-yes. I understand...somewhat" Lucia said while looking at the fallen tree
"Think of the property you want to enchant the stick with and enchant it" Luke said "However, remember never to cause damage to the stick itself"
"Can you elaborate a bit?"
"Listen carefully. We need to work on your mana control" Luke said "For casting a spell or an enchantment, a deep understanding in mana control is needed. Even if you get the memories of the previous hearts back, all you'll have is their knowledge. The ability to understand that knowledge, solely depends on you. If not, every other thing is meaningless nonsense"
"But I..."
"For that stick, what type of property do you want to place on it? What do you want for, to happen to the stick after enchantment? And what damage do you want the stick to have on something else after enchantment?" Luke asked "I can't walk you through every step of life, Lucia. These are things you need to use your brain to figure out in an instant. Your enemies will never wait for you to finish processing your thoughts, nor will they give you time to think, like I'm doing"
'I know. Although you said you'd never lever leave me, that doesn't mean you'll make life changing decisions for me' Lucia thought as she pursed her lips while clenching the stick 'I'm smart enough to understand that, one's fate is in one's own hands. The power to change it, depends on the person'
"What spell cancels out the other? What spell goes well with what? These are decisions you'll have to make in an instant, when a spell is fired off at you" Luke said as he stared at her coldly with glowing eyes "So, what are you going to do?"
'When you say it like that, there's only one choice...' Lucia thought, "I'll make a quick decision and move forward" she said with all certainty and Luke sighed, as his eyes stopped glowing and he played with the stick within his grasp
"That's a correct answer" Luke said before glancing at her "Do you think you can give it a try?"
'What do I want to enchant this stick with?' Lucia wondered as she stared at the stick in her hand 'What do I-' at that moment, a sudden memory flashed in Lucia's head...
....A teenage looking version of Luke was walking away from her and right next to her, was a cute little girl, not older than six years of age. The short caramel hair, which had been tied up by two red ribbons, and the mystic neon blue eyes that resembled a starry sky, were a dead giveaway to Lucia that this cute little girl, was her mother.
However, even Lucia, could not understand why she was having a dream at this point in time. At least, that was until she saw the small stick Pamela had in her little hands.
The little Pamela pursed her lips before chasing after Luke, "Big brother Luke, please, stop. I can't keep up with you" she shouted, but Luke did not slow down at all "Please, wait up" she said however, she tripped and fell flat on her face
'Uncle Luke as always....is so brutal' Lucia thought as she saw Pamela's face on the brink of tears when Luke finally halted and turned to look at her
"Pamela, if you can't keep up with me, then don't" Luke said coldly "Why are you always chasing after me? That's the problem with you. You chase after me for a long while and when you trip, you look ready to cry the next second"
'These words seem so familiar' Lucia thought
"But-"
"Pamela, if you can't stop chasing after me....chasing after my ghost that won't ever turn back to look at you, you will never grow" Luke said, interrupting the small girl "Because you're always chasing after me, your potential is forever going to keep dwindling. Search for your own path and move at your own pace. That's how you grow" he said and was just about to pat Pamela's head, but retracted his hand before walking away from her
Pamela sat on the ground and stared at the stick in her hand while her thoughts flowed into Lucia's head
'Big brother has always been like this' Pamela thought while staring at Luke's back 'Not once had he ever looked at my face, nor had he ever shown me any form of affection. However, not once had he ever completely abandoned me'
'I should at least try to put myself in his and father's shoes. It's not easy to look at the thing that took away someone precious away from you' Pamela thought 'Nor is it easy to look at it when it resembles that precious someone, but maybe it's because of this that they can't abandon me. Mum's life was nowhere near as nice as mine....after her mother passed away, her four older brothers and her father abandoned her in this forest. She immediately sealed her heart away and continued on with the rest of her life'
Pamela took to her feet and dusted her dress, "I'm truly blessed" she mumbled before pointing her stick in a certain direction "My family is still together. So, the least I can do for my brother and father, is to grow up well. I...have to stop chasing after them...and move forward on my own path, at my own pace"
She gathered mana around her stick and her eyes had a determined look in them, 'I...need to get stronger'.....
...."Lucia?" Luke called out to her, before flicking her forehead
"Ow. What was that for?" Lucia asked, while rubbing her forehead with one hand
"I appreciate that you're taking this seriously and trying to concentrate, but time is of the essence" Luke said
"I know....and I've come to a decision now" Lucia said as she held the stick with a smile 'Thank you, mum. Thanks to you, I know what I should do now' she pointed the stick at a still standing tree and poured mana into it as her eyes glowed "Enchant!!!" She yelled
The stick immediately set ablaze in a blue and gold flame which had earned a surprised look from Luke. And as Lucia began to control the flame, the size of the flame slowly decrease, until there was nothing left of it and only the stick could be seen.
In the eyes of normal people, Lucia's stick was perfectly fine, but Luke could tell that there was something different about it. He could clearly see with his eyes of the cosmos, that a thin, second layer of blue and gold, had wrapped around the stick and was emitting a lot of heat. This was all Luke needed to confirm that, Lucia had just successfully enchanted the stick with a strong fire attribute.
However, as time went on, the colouration of Lucia's eyes had changed. Her mystic eyes had gained a resemblance to that of a shimmering lake with several white sparkles in it, while still maintaining its beautiful aqua colour.
"I did it" Lucia said with a smile on her face
'The eyes of the cosmos...is an innate magic every legitimate member of the Sunshield family owns. Be it anything to do with magic, aura or the mere movement of the body, nothing can escape those eyes. The stronger the wielder of the eye is, the harder it gets for me to hide my presence' Yukia thought as she stared at Lucia's eyes 'I've gone unnoticed so far, because those eyes can't see through someone who is stronger than them. But Lucia is different...her powers are a hundred times stronger than my own. This mission just got several times harder'
Luke clapped his hands which made Lucia lower her concentration, but even at that, the enchantment did not break off
"Well done, but this is only the beginning. Now that your eyes of the cosmos have fully awakened, mana control and your ability to spot a change in the flow of mana, shouldn't be a problem for you anymore" Luke said "Those eyes don't just work on your opponents. They also work on you, the owner of the eyes"
'That's amazing' Lucia thought as she clenched her stick 'Dad, wait for me a little while longer. I'm going to get stronger and save our family'
"Now that your eyes have completely awakened, we can use it to speed up your training in preparation for the ceremony" Luke said "You still have a long way to go, so don't get too excited for nothing"
"Sure" Lucia said