LUCIA

11 Training: Crimson Garden

As soon as Marcia and Lucia headed out of the room, they began to walk down the hallway leading outside but Lucia kept taking occasional glances at Marcia. The older woman had yet to explain what was going on
"Aunt Marcia, don't you have something to tell me?" Lucia asked and Marcia paused and turned to her with a wry smile
"Oops. I forgot about that" Marcia said and Lucia's face went blank
"You forgot?" Lucia said and Marcia chuckled
"Your reaction is so funny, Luce" Marcia said  as she continued walking and Lucia followed behind her "You see, hearts have a period of weakness. Because we act as a medium for people of our kingdom to use magic, we have a large mana storage in our bodies"
"Mana storage?"
"Yes. People that use magic in the four kingdoms also have one and that storage is like a vase that holds mana like it does, water. The size of the vase determines the amount of magic a person can use and also stops ones mana from hurting themselves" Marcia explained "Hearts don't have a vase because our bodies are in its own, a storage. We can hold an infinite amount of mana without hurting ourselves. That mana is then given to those in our kingdom and released into the land, with a manageable amount left in us. However, because we have an infinite amount of mana, we have to keep releasing mana"
"Even when we sleep?"
"Even when we sleep" Marcia said "If we don't, we become overwhelmed by sleep itself. Sometimes, even if we're constantly doing that, we tend to be overwhelmed by sleep. This is often due to your species of heart; If a normal heart like myself, who is devoid of horns or wings, have an infinite amount of mana, then hearts like yourself, have something beyond the infinite. The other case is if you don't release mana at all or the path through which you release mana is narrowed due to sealing"
"Sealing?"
"Lu-Lu and I didn't know which affected you more. The first, or the second" Marcia said "That's why you're training today. We'll force you to release mana" by the time she was done with her explanation, both women were already outside
   Luke was also outside leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. Once again, he was dressed in dark colours; a fitted dark purple long sleeve shirt, black pants, black jacket and overall black boots and gloves. His white hair was disheveled and his catlike ears were drooping
'I always ignored this at times but, I have one handsome uncle' Lucia thought and as Marcia giggled, Luke's catlike ears perked up. His head turned towards them and when he opened his eyes, his mystical purple eyes which resembled a vast cosmos, almost made the two women blush
"What were both of you doing inside?" Luke asked "I almost got tired of waiting" he got off the tree and took out Melvin's white longsword from his spatial rift as he walked towards them
"That's- I thought I lost that" Lucia said
"Alright. Listen up" Luke said as he stabbed the sword into the ground "This sword is your goal. At the end of this week, if you regain the lost memories of the hearts and are able to control your mana, I'll return this sword back to you. Simple, right?" he smirked at her while his fingertips played with the hilt before he took his hands off it
"Shall we begin?" Marcia asked and she walked ahead of the two and Lucia walked passed Luke
"What am I supposed to do?" Lucia asked
"Defend against Marcia's attacks, using magic" Luke said "Begin"
"Wait. What?" Lucia let out but she soon saw Marcia coming at her and jumped back
Marcia had gone for an axe kick but due to Lucia dodging, her kick had instead connected with the ground. Dust was thrown up in the air as cracks appeared on the ground.
"Huh?" Marcia let out as she stood straight "Aren't you meant to defend with magic?" she asked and Lucia stared at the crack on the ground with widened eyes before staring at Luke
"Feel the mana within you and give it shape outside of your body" Luke said plainly "If don't do that quickly, you might be in for a whole world of pain"
Hearing that, Lucia turned around only to see Marcia coming at her with a series of punches. Lucia immediately rolled out of the way each time and as Marcia kept hitting the ground, cracks continued to appear and dust was raised.
'Think. Think. Think' Lucia thought as she sat up and moved away from Marcia's punch which was headed to her head 'Her body is small but thanks to magic....magic' a determined look appeared in her eyes as she tried to concentrate on controlling her mana while Marcia mercilessly attacked her.
   Marcia and Luke could feel the path in Lucia's mana open up; and so could she. Lucia clenched her fists and when she opened her eyes, they had a resemblance to a vast cosmos while retaining their mystic aqua colour. Marcia had a smile on her face as she went in for a punch and Lucia threw up her hands in defense.
Marcia's fist was met with an invisible barrier and Lucia was slightly pushed back as sweat dripped down her forehead
'Ohh. And here I thought she finally had it' Marcia thought as she pulled back her other fist 'Let's test how sturdy this thing is' her small fists began to rain down on Lucia. A few were connecting with Lucia's body while the others were connecting with the barrier. It continued like this for a while but not once had the barrier shattered.
   As time went on, Lucia slowly began to keep up with Marcia's moves. As Marcia went to attack Lucia's head from the right, Lucia would move her head back before smacking Marcia's fist to the side. Even with kicks, Lucia would lift one of her legs and set a barrier around it which would in turn, force Marcia to attack from a different side.
However, Marcia soon started to attack from two different spots and Lucia couldn't keep up anymore...until, Marcia kicked her in the side and sent her skidding across the ground. Lucia coughed at the sudden impact as saliva ran down the corners of her lips and she breathed heavily
"How long did she last?" Luke asked
"Well, there were a couple times when holes would appear in her barrier but she really did well in protecting parts that would have ended in a knockout" Marcia said with a smile "She most likely lasted fifteen minutes"
"Are you alright?" Luke asked with a smug smile as he stared at Lucia
"I have this strong feeling my Uncle is sadistic. You seem to enjoy my pain" Lucia said as she helped herself up while holding her side
"Melvin did say you were stubborn. I have to admit your courage is commendable" Luke said "Are you going to try again?"
"I don't have any broken bones if that's what you're asking, thank you" Lucia said
"You're probably weak from not eating this morning" Marcia said as she walked towards Lucia and tapped Lucia's side "Let's have breakfast" she said and Lucia realised that the pain had already disappeared
"No. One more time. Just one more" Lucia pleaded
"In the afternoon you can try again" Luke said sternly "We still don't know the limits of your body or if this really was the right decision" he said
"But I know the limitations of my own body" Lucia said
"Your naivety will be the end of you, Lucia" Luke said "Have you ever once thought about your future? Magic is a force that can't easily be controlled. Take a look at your hands...they're trembling" he said and Lucia looked at her hands and her eyes widened
'They really are trembling' Lucia thought
"When one uses magic and mana, there are bound to be backlashes" Luke said "Hearts and spirits only apply to that rule when inexperienced. However, other than you and Marcia - some time in the past, there have never been any other heart or spirit who can't control their powers"
"Huh?" Lucia wondered as she looked at Marcia
"I told you before...I wasn't born like this" Marcia said "One hundred and two years ago, I was born an ordinary human girl to the King and Queen. I was chosen by pure luck to become a heart so, things related with hearts was quite new to me and I didn't even have the memories and experiences of the past hearts until, I turned seventeen"
"The point is, your internal mana is easily disrupted when you use magic, Lucia" Luke said "If you continue on the way you did earlier, you might pop like a balloon...not that it'll kill you but, you'll leave a gruesome mess on the floor that'll be hard to clean up" he said with drooping eyes as he turned around and started walking inside while Lucia had a horrified look on her face. "Let's go. The cakes we bought yesterday aren't going to eat themselves" he said
Lucia's mood instantly went up at the mention of cake and she happily headed back inside while pulling Marcia along; completely forgetting about the earlier conversation.
    After they headed inside, the hooded figure appeared from behind a tree. The hooded figure pulled their hood down and the face of a handsome man with blue hair and silver eyes came to view. The man was quite skinny and looked a bit like a woman thanks to the shape of the face
"I chose to turn myself into a man because it seemed like fun" the man murmured. He was the same hooded woman who had been following Lucia around "I still retained both important womanly features and unimportant ones but I think my senses have dwindled a bit"
'The power the Princess released reminded me a bit of him. The King' the hooded woman thought 'They'll be out again by noon. If I still sense the same power as the King, I might have to make an early report back home' her body was covered in oxblood light and when it faded, she disappeared.
******
Afternoon
Luke, Marcia and Lucia stepped out of the cave while at the same time, the hooded figure appeared on a tree branch - a bit away from the training site. She rested her back against the tree while one of her legs dangled from the tree branch
'This should be a good distance' the woman thought 'They even changed her clothes. Is that perhaps silk?' she wondered
One the ground, Luke and Marcia remained dressed in what they wore in the morning while Lucia wore a silver silk morning dress.
"So, what do I do?" Lucia asked
"Sit in the lotus position on the floor" Luke said and Lucia did just that. "Excuse me for a second" he said as he went on one knee behind her and placed his right hand on her back. In a little while, his hand sank right through the cloth and landed directly on her back
"What the..." Lucia let out, completely shocked with a blush on her face
"It's either this or you strip naked. Your choice" Luke said and Lucia frowned "Good girl. Now keep your back straight"
"Yes" Lucia said as she did what he told her "By the way, what is the point of this? And why can't Aunt Marcia do it for me?"
"Spirits can connect with hearts of their kingdom and draw out mana from them" Marcia said "Since Lu-Lu is the only spirit from Neinhart who is currently in Lupin, he's the only one who can help you. I'm a heart of this kingdom"
"Spirits are lawless hearts. We don't have the rules to shackle us down" Luke said "We can drain mana from our surroundings and hearts, no matter the kingdom. However, nothing feels better than mana from our homelands" he pushed his hand a bit into her back and a powerful gold energy released from her
    The ground below Lucia, began to get covered in grasses and flowers. Vines spread out from where she sat and slowly wrapped around the already existing trees as flowers also began to bloom from them. The whole of Lupin was experiencing an earthquake
"Weren't you supposed to open it a little?" Marcia asked as she cut off the vines trying to grab her "At this rate, Lupin will be completely overrun by Luce's powers"
"I did open it a bit. A tiny hole even" Luke said as he struggled to keep that same hole from getting any bigger 'I never knew special attribute hearts had this much power. What was Pamela thinking marrying that monster-human, Melvin, and sealing Lucia's powers?' he grumbled 'Thanks for all the work, my dear little sister and brother in-law'
'They're having a hard time' the hooded woman thought, not once moved by the chaos happening around her. She stared at Lucia who was having a hard time maintaining consciousness 'I need to step in. If I don't do anything, Lucia with end up killing Marcia' she jumped off the tree branch and landed on the ground while holding a sword
"Lu-Lu, that..."
"I know. It's either an assassin or...that's the spy" Luke said while interrupting Marcia
"What a pain" the hooded woman said. Her voice was like that of a phantom with many overtones. "This blazing rose calls you. Using my blood and time, they shall bloom" she ran her hand across the blade of her sword and blood coated it "Crimson Garden" she stabbed the sword directly on one of the vines created by Lucia.
All of her blood on the sword's blade, coated the part of the vine it was stabbed into and spread out. It caused a chain reaction until it reached Lucia and with her blood, a symbol of a red rose flower engraved itself on Lucia's back while Luke was forced to take his hand off her. The vines growing out from her, bursted and turned into rose petals while Lucia lost consciousness.
"That should do it" the woman said "I've sealed half of her powers. When she learns how to use the other half, her remaining powers will naturally find their way back to her. However, I can't let you keep your memories" she said before she was surrounded by the rose petals while her blade was pointed at them. When the rose petals fell, the woman was nowhere to be found.
"Did you finally manage to shut it?" Marcia asked after regaining her senses
"Yes. It seems like we'll have to take things slower than usual" Luke said as he picked Lucia up in his arms "Just that small release was too much for her. It was too much for even me to handle" he stood up
"My kingdom almost got corrupted" Marcia shouted "If I had some knowledge on special attribute hearts, I would have stopped you from doing something so dangerous, Lu-Lu"
"We'll still have to try this again. Every single day, until it's the end of the week" Luke said "If nothing works, we'll head back to the castle"
Marcia puffed her cheeks and nodded slowly before following Luke back inside the cave