Lucy ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her arms pumping quickly as she tried to outrun her captor. She could hear his heavy pants from behind her, identical to her own. His footfalls made the ground shake and she could hear him breathe out, "I. Will. Get. You."

Lucy let out a scream as his hand reached for her shirt, just barely missing. Panic squeezed her chest, making it even harder to breathe, but boosting her speed. The hem of her dress and her socks were soaked after accidentally falling in a puddle earlier. She had no time to dry off however, now she was fleeing.

Lucy rounded a corner, thankful to see there were no guards, and her eyes landed on the brass arch of the castle. 'Freedom!' She cheered mentally, her feet starting to feel ready to give way under her body. She straightened herself and sprinted towards the gate, not even bothering to breathe anymore. If she could just get under the arch then--

"Gotcha!" Her peruser screamed in triumphant just as something latched to the back of her shirt and tugged her backwards. She let out a shriek as the ground slipped out from beneath them and fell hard on something...squishy? "Ugh...that hurt, Lucy!" The squishy thing groaned beneath her.

Lucy sat up and huffed, straightening out her wrinkled dress before getting up. She turned around and instantly bent over in a fit of giggles as her brother stared up at her. Laxus Heartfilia was laying completely on his back, surrounded by a puddle of mud, with not-so-little brown spots covering his face and clothes. His usually golden locks were plastered to his forehead with rivulets of murky water running from the tips and his blue eyes were glaring at his little sister.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up! I saved you from this mud," he pointed out, placing his hand down on the ground to push himself up. The two froze as his hand sunk into the mush, a loud farting sound erupting into the air. "Don't you dare laugh, Heartfilia."

"I'm not, I'm not," Lucy said, fanning her arms wildly as she squished her lips together to stop the laughter. Laxus rolled his eyes and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the farting sound, and turning to look down at Lucy. Standing up you could clearly see that Laxus was older than Lucy, not only because of his height but because of his obvious muscle and strength.

"Miss Lucy! Master Laxus! Please come inside, it's not good for you two to be out there," Spetto-San called from the castle doors, too far away to see the mud that coated the two children. Lucy and Laxus glanced at each other before their faces split into identical evil smirks. They both set off sprinting towards the door and calling out an unnecessary, "race you!"

Spetto stepped back as the muddy children pushed and shoved their way through the door. She sighed as she watched the endearing display of sibling rivalry, but her smile disappeared when she saw the mud coated back of Master Laxus and the ruined hem of Miss Lucy's dress.

"Master Laxus! Miss Lucy! What on earth have you done? Do you expect to see your mother in this kind of condition?" Spetto gasped and the children froze mid-bicker. Both of their heads bowed in shame at the mention of their mother.

Layla Heartfilia had never been a very healthy girl, however she was beautiful. The only times her mother, their grandmother, allowed her out was when she was caring for the garden. Her skin was left to a porcelain doll hue but her golden locks and chocolate brown eyes screamed of summer days. To everyone's amazement, both children had inherited her odd but beautiful looks. Now Layla had contracted a new and unheard of disease that the doctors called crab fever or cancer(see what I did there). At first Layla had shown promise of a swift and full recovery, however not even three days after the doctors proclaimed her healed, she fell right next to death. For the past five months she had been resting on the brink, waiting for the push that would save her or knock her over the edge. This new spring season seemed to be that tip; a push right over the edge.

"Have the doctors left yet?" Lucy asked quietly, refusing to look Spetto in the face. The elderly woman sighed and shook her head.

"You know they have to remain until...the end," she tried to say as gently as possible, but she saw the little Blonde shiver. Spetto wanted to say something to comfort them, but she knew anything she said would just be empty words that would fall on ears who had heard them a thousand times. A thousand 'she'll get better's' and 'don't worry about her's'.

"Thank Spetto-San. Please tell father that we will be there soon," Laxus stepped in for his suddenly mute sister. He glanced up at the woman and wrapped an arm gently over Lucy's shoulder before heading up the stairs. Spetto watched them sadly from the doorway, her tears silently falling down her face for the poor children. Not even eight years old and they would have their first taste of death. It was painful.

Laxus and Lucy cleaned up and dressed quickly before rejoining each other in the hall in front of their mothers room. They could hear the soft sound of piano that masked the murmured conversation of doctors. Lucy looked up to Laxus and Laxus looked down at Lucy. Noticing his sisters' wavering eyes, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled kindly at her. Lucy gave a shaky one in return.

Neither Laxus nor Lucy liked to visit Layla, not because they hated her or anything as drastic as that. For Lucy it was because she couldn't stand the sight of others in pain. For Laxus, it was because he couldn't look at his sick mother without imagining Lucy in her place. So far neither sibling seemed to inherit their mothers sickliness, but Laxus knew how easy it was to contract just a simple cold. He could not bring himself to picture his young sister lying on a bed, her pale skin flushed with heat while her eyes fluttered beneath heavy lids as she ran through a nightmare only she could see. His grip tightened on her hand without him realizing it.

The two approached the door and slowly pushed it open. The hesitantly gazed in, relieved to see that the doctors had cleared out, which meant one of two things. Neither were very good.

The soft mumble of conversation halted as their father looked up, unsurprised to see the two standing in the doorway. His blue eyes glared at the them, but they didn't shrink under his gaze.

"You should not be here. Go now," he commanded. They bowed their heads and turned to leave, but were halted by a rasping set of coughs coming from the bed. Father's angry face melted into concern and sadness as he gently rubbed the hand of the coughing woman. When the coughs subsided the man realized they were still there. "I told you to leave!"

"Let them stay, Jude," a weak voice panted, shutting the man up instantly. "I want to see my children for the last time."

Lucy stood frozen at the sound of her mom's broken voice, no longer the smooth satin it had been five months ago. Laxus, noticing her ordeal, carefully tugged her forward and into the room. Jude hesitantly moved back for the kids, a look of uncertainty on his face.

The two children stopped beside the bed and gazed at their mother, or what was left of her. She had lost a significant amount of weight during her bedridden five months and there were dark moons under her eyes. Her brown orbs seemed dull and empty, like one of Lucy's creepy dolls. Sweat drew paths down her face and her lips were tight with pain, but despite all this she was smiling.

Her eyes rolled and her pain seemed to lessen as she found the faces of her two beautiful children. "My little stars, you know what is happening now, right?"

"I don't want you to go, Mama!" Lucy wailed, realization sinking in. Layla smiled and shakily brushed the tears away from her little girls' eyes.

"What did I tell you Lucy, about the stars in the sky?" She asked gently, and Lucy carefully cupped her hand around her mother's, pressing the frail limb into her cheek as if to share her warmth. Lucy was too busy crying to answer, so Laxus did it for her.

"You told us that in the night the stars shine the brightest, but in the day we fade away," He repeated, his voice soft. Layla smiled and nodded slightly, rubbing a small patch of Lucy's cheek with her thumb.

"The night can only last for so long my little stars, and tomorrow it will be day. I will be gone, and I don't think I will be back during the night. Stars are beautiful, but we burn up so easily," Layla laughed through a cough and her eyes drifted towards Laxus, staring deep into his soul. "But you two are different. You two are the brightest stars I've seen yet. You have to...you have to keep you and your sister from burning away, do you understand Laxus? You two are so very special, and I want you to be happy for so very long..." Her voice drifted off as her eyes began to close.

"Mom, No!" Lucy screamed, gripping tightly to the cold hand. Jude jumped up and ran to his wife while Laxus tugged Lucy back and buried her into his chest, turning away from the star that was fading before their eyes. Lucy screamed and sobbed and pound on his chest, alerting the doctors and sending them in like a bunch of startled ants. Laxus pulled Lucy into the corner and slid to the floor, never letting her go. She continued to sob, but at least now she was hugging him back.

Layla chuckled slightly and closed her eyes, a smile on her lips as she felt the fire in her chest die.

Don't fade yet my little stars.