15 years ago...

"God damn it, Luca! You always get into fights even though you can't win them!" Guinevere shouted as she continued to clean Lucatiel's wounds. The latter laughed at Guinevere, but that laugh turned into "ow ow ow"s after she poured some whiskey she borrowed from her father over the cuts on her arms. "Why did you fight them?!" To Guin, every injury her friend took hurt her soul, and it hurt her even more if those injuries were to protect her. She wasn't some princess after all. She could handle them. But when she asked Luca why she fought, her friend's expression became serious.

"They insulted you."

Guin sighed. "I'm not a damsel in distress, you know." "I know." "I'm certainly no princess." "I know." "Then why? One of them had a knife. You could've died!" "If I died then, at least I woulda died for the one I loved."

"Here we go again with that," Guin said as she wrapped Luca's wounds up with bandages. She still had to clean Luca's face, which also had a few cuts. "I'm serious Guin. I want to get married when we both turn 20. I don't give a damn what the old bastards are going to say about that, but I will marry you. That is a promise."

"How old are we, Luca? 15? Isn't a little too early to promise something like that?"

Luca then held Guin's hand. They were seated on a bench in an area where very few people go, so they were alone. "Never too early. I want to bring you to America. There I'll make it big as the most fearsome gangster to ever roam the country." Guin giggled. "Oh, then what?" She stifled a laugh, though Luca was not done yet.

"I'm then going to become Godfather. The Five Families will stomp each other trying to kiss my hand, and you, Guin, will be my wife and right hand woman. I'll buy you the best cars money can buy, dresses that not even the luxury tailors of Italy can hold a candle to, anything and everything you want. And no one will ever disrespect you again." Luca said, smiling with confidence. "That is a promise."

"Luca..." Guin said. "Oh I'm not asking you to run away immediately. Think about it." Guin laughed. "Okay, okay."

And so began five years of courting and romancing.

"Luca I swear to God and every saint I know, I might actually kill you." The two were 16 now, and Luca has not shaken off her want to fight. Now she arrived at Guin's home covered in cuts and bruises again. Her hands were soaked in blood, a mix of her own and others'. This annoyed Guinevere to no end, but she cleaned and wrapped Lucatiel up in bandages anyway.

"You really have to stop fighting, Luca... What did they do this time?" She was curious, because every time Luca fought, she had a different reason. Some noble, 'The bastard pushed an old lady to the ground', other... not so, 'Just wanted to.'

"I heard him talking about you."

"Luca..." "The bastard was talking about you in ways you do want people to. Called you an easy girl."

"So what did you do?"

"Slipped a brass knuckle on, and clocked him in the face. His friends did nothing at first, but they put up a pretty good fight."

"The fuck you say about Guin?!" Luca shouted as she swung. It was a clean hit, and it sent the other guy to the ground. "What, you her boyfriend or something!?" Her hair was short, and she wore a shirt, slacks and black shoes. To the untrained eye, she looked more a man than a woman, and this was useful when getting into fights.

"So you did this knowing she had one... You're really asking to get all that teeth knocked out now!" She stomped towards the downed boy. He called out to his friends, "Help me you dumb shits!"

"You three stay right there if you know what's good for you!" The three boys, who were ready to help their friend, stepped back in fright. "Now it's just the two of us." The fight was just getting started.

He stood up, and Luca raised her fists. The boy swung his fist, and it made contact with her face, but there wasn't a lot of strength behind it due to her opponent already being dazed. "Come on, really? Is that honestly the best you can give?"

After that taunt, the boy roared in anger and swung with everything he had. She smirked, easily ducking under the telegraphed blow. She landed punch after punch. It broke his ribs and he became winded. "You--" The boy could not finish his insult as Lucatiel punched the boy in the throat. He choked, and Lucatiel moved to finish him off, but then one of his friends finally steeled themselves and drew a knife, slashing her in the back.

She stumbled forward, and turned towards her new attacker. She swung her fist, the brass knuckle knocking out a few of the knife-wielding boy's teeth and knocking him unconscious in one blow. "Eat dirt, coglione." The other two finally joined in on the action, roaring as they charged Luca. One tried to tackle her to the ground, but he got knee'd in the face, causing him to stumble back. The other was trying to land hits on her, but she easily dodged them. "God you punch like a child. Want to know what a real punch looks like?"

The boy's eyes widened, as Lucatiel punched him right between the eyes, knocking him flat on his ass and causing him to go cross-eyed before passing out. "Dumbass." She kicked the boy she knee'd in the groin, knocking him out of the fight fast. Now it was only the leader left. "My name's Luca, and I'm going to be a gangster. I hear you talking about Guin again, I'll cut your tongue out and force it up your ass, you hear?"

The boy nodded feverishly, and Lucatiel stomped him in the face, leaving him unconscious along with the rest of his friends. "Assholes..." She mumbled as she leaned over to pick up the knife one of them swung. It was a good looking knife. "Finders keepers."

She walked away from the scene, leaving four unconscious and very wounded boys behind.

It was silent for a while as Guin took it all in. "You... really love me huh?"

"Yes! I've been saying it for the past year! If I knew beating up four boys was going to be the thing that got your attention, I would've just started it off with that!"

The two shared a laugh, and Luca thought that progress had been made.

Lucatiel passed by a flower shop. The old woman smiled at her as she walked inside. "Young man," she started, "You've been staring at my flowers for some time now. Why do you never buy?" Lucatiel smiled. "I... don't really have money, ma'am." She gestured to her pockets, and showed that they were very much empty.

The old woman sighed. "Here. I give you rose. You have a girl you want to buy flowers for, no?" Lucatiel nodded. "For you, then. Good luck." The old woman handed Lucatiel a bundle of roses. "Thank you, ma'am! I'll pay this back, I swear." She ran off, waving goodbye to the old woman as she did.

She continued to run, bundle in hand, to Guin's house, when suddenly, the same four boys she beat up a few days ago stepped out from behind some trees along the path. This time, they brought friends. It was currently shaping up to be a 7 v 1. "Oh look, it's the--"

"Shut your mouth, you might eat dirt again. Now don't bother me, I have somewhere more important to be than with--" She did not finish her sentence before she was attacked from behind. She ducked under her attacker, causing them to miss completely and overshoot her. She kicks him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Now come on, boys. Let's get this over with." She puts the bundle of roses down near a tree, as she pulls out the knife she stole and readies herself for a fight. The seven charge her all at once, and her knife and fists were ready for each and every one of them.

An hour had passed, and as usual, Luca was victorious. "How you like me now, you dicks? Didn't your mothers ever tell you not to gang up on women?" The boys were on the ground, too in pain or unconscious to respond. Luca scoffed, slightly disappointed. She had somehow gotten away from that with barely any wounds.

She picked up the bundle and continued on her journey. The house was not too far now. She arrived after a few minutes. She fixed herself up, combed her hair, then knocked. Guin answered. "Hey," Luca said, but Guin only looked at her in fear and shock, looking at a particular part of her body. "What? What is-- oh." She realized what Guin was so scared about.

There was a small switchblade lodged in her stomach. Somehow, she was so high on adrenaline that she did not notice. "Oh shi--" She could not finish her sentence and she dropped to a knee, her vision darkening. She dropped the flowers, and she felt herself being carried inside, and then she fell into a deep slumber.

Lucatiel wakes with a scream, scaring the ever living daylights out of Guinevere, who had fallen asleep on top of her. They were currently in the local hospital "Merda, Luca! You scared the hell out of me!" Shouted the poor girl. "Sorry sorry!" Luca says, and she groans in pain as she feels the place where she was stabbed. "Erk..." Guin just shakes her head. "I had flowers for you where did they--"

"REALLY. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT!? THOSE STUPID FLOWERS!?" Guin shouts, and Luca shouts back, "YEAH! THEY WERE FOR YOU OBVIOUSLY!" Guin puts her hands in her face before shouting, "MERDA, LUCA YOU COULD'VE DIED THIS TIME!" And this time Lucatiel had no response.

After a few minutes of silence, "Lucatiel of House Mirrah. If you pull something like this again, I will never marry you." Luca looked at Guin as if she were shot by a gun, "What!? Now that's not fair and you know it!" "PROMISE ME THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN! IF NOT FOR YOU THEN FOR ME" Lucatiel just looks down at her hands, then back at Guin. "I promise. This won't happen again." The two keep eye contact for a few more seconds before Guinevere seemed to be satisfied with her answer. "Good, now rest and recover. You still need to attend that dinner."

"Ah alright." The two laugh together again, as if the last argument never happened. Luca would try to keep her promise for the next. At least until that day, two years later.

"Luca Luca! Wonderful news! Guinevere-- She's getting married soon." Her mother says with joy. It was only seven in the morning that day, when she was 18 years of age. Something akin to a mirror shattering occured within her heart. She shakily stands up, and says, "I'll go say hi then. Give her my regards, if that's alright."

"Okay Luca. Wait Luca you didn't finish your--" She did not hear it however, as she was already out the door, gunning it straight for her house. She knocks desperately. "Guin! Are you here?" The one who answers is the father. "Yes, Luca?" He asks. "Um... sorry Sir. I'd like to meet with Guin."

"Okay. LUCA! Your friend is here to see you!" Luca lets herself in, and she climbs up the steps, and sees something she only saw in her dreams for the last three years, or maybe in her nightmares. Her Guin, in a wedding dress, but not for her. "Luca..." She says, but Luca cuts her off. "It's... alright. I swear. You should've just told me really. How long was this planned?" Lucatiel says with a straight face.

"Since last year--"

"SHIT!" Luca shouts in rage, scaring Guin. "Sorry sorry, it's just... heh, for that long huh?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

Silence for a few minutes. "So... when's the wedding? I'm gonna fit a nice suit for the day."

"Next week."

"Alright. Um... goodbye. I guess."

Guin does not answer, and Lucatiel leaves the house. The week passes slowly for them both, until the day of the wedding arrives. Luca sits with her family at the front, watches Guin walk up the isle to get married to some random man she did not recognize. Her hands clench on instinct, and the preacher goes, "I hereby pronounce you--" Luca did not want to hear anymore, and she storms out of the church.

She runs and runs and runs, not looking back once. "Hey!" A pebble glances off her head, drawing blood. "Tch. What?" She turns to see about ten boys just a little bit away from her. "We've been waiting to get--" He's cut off when Lucatiel charges first, a fist driving directly into his face and breaking his nose. He is knocked clean out, and his friends ready themselves. Not like it will be of any use against a heartbroken Lucatiel.

Ten minutes later, and she's left her attackers knocked out and groaning in the dirt. She kicks one that tries to get up, and stomps him into the ground. She does this for a while, until the boy stops moving. She walks away, and heads back to her house to wrap her hands in cloth bandages.

Lucatiel was never the same after that incident.