#lucyfate

The entire city was in a panic and didn't know what to do. Lucinda had read about these pendants. She knew they lay deep in the forest, in an abandoned castle. She had to reach that castle first — otherwise, the Demon would find the pendants and destroy the entire world! Lucy set off on a journey, ready to fight and defeat evil.

Along with Lucinda, six loyal friends of the heroine also set out on the journey. Together, they passed through trees, swamps, water, fire, cold, heat, friendship and love, and finally reached the castle. The seven magical pendants lay inside the castle, waiting to be finally activated. The seven heroes took them, but then they had to face the Demon of Life in battle. Thanks to the pendants, the heroes triumphed, freeing the city from its imprisonment and banishing the demon forever. Lucinda realized that through friendship, her friends, their support and love, she could reach any heights, despite all adversity. It is love that can defeat evil. The end!"

- I love this fairy tale! - Lucy smiled, unable to help giggling. - The main character has the same first and last name as me!

Lucinda Fate is a little orphan girl with no friends. She is 7 years old. She has short, dark blue hair that's always messy, a pink headband with a white star, pink eyes, a pink heart-shaped pendant, a blue sweater with one pink stripe and black shorts with straps.

This girl's story is not the happiest or most colorful, despite her current optimism. She barely remembers her parents, since as a one-year-old child, her mother gave her up to an orphanage. All seven years, Lucy grew up in the orphanage, where they were treated far from well. The orphanage was quite old and in need of repairs, which the greedy director would never spend a cent on, the food was very poor, and the cooks couldn't care less what the children ate, as long as they didn't yell or beg for food. The children's rooms were just as neglected, no one looked after the kids, everyone lived for themselves. No one cared if you were bullied or beaten — that was your problem alone. The wallpaper was peeling off in some places, and the building always smelled of dampness and rot. The atmosphere was always gray and oppressive, enough to make you want to commit suicide. The children themselves had grown aggressive and selfish after years in such a place.

However, Lucy never lost hope.

Lucy was a kind and cheerful child, dreaming of an ideal world and friendship with everyone in it. She never did harm to anyone and never acted hostile toward others. She was different from the other children, which made them think she was strange, and no one wanted to be friends with her. This saddened Lucy, but she never blamed them for it. She often became the target of some kids' pranks, but she never stayed silent and always stood up for herself. Sometimes this ended in fights, for which the children were punished.

- Meow! - a soft meowing came from Kenny's direction.

Kenny is Lucy's best friend. He is 2 months old. He is a small, golden, fluffy kitten with a red bow on his neck and bright green eyes.

Two months ago, Lucy was walking around the orphanage when she suddenly heard a faint meow. She searched for the source of the sound until the very end and eventually found it in the building's basement. There lay a moving lump of dirty rags. A newborn kitten was wrapped inside. He mewed so pitifully and kicked his little paws, squinting at the light, exhausted, calling for his mother… At that sight, Lucy burst into tears like a baby and took the kitten with her. She fed him and began hiding him from the caretakers, since animals were strictly forbidden in the building. Funny, why were the caretakers themselves still here then… Lucy had to hide Kenny from the other children too, because some were tattletales, and others were cruel to animals.

So the two of them lived, relying only on each other, because no one else would help them. Both abandoned by their parents, both unwanted by anyone.

- Do you think this city really exists? - Lucy asked Kenny, lifting her head dreamily. Instead of the usual damp, gray ceiling of the library, she saw millions of stars, the blue night sky, and somewhere out there — the lost Bond City…

- Meow. - Kenny mewed, rubbing against his owner's hand.

- I hope so too. - the girl sighed. - Imagine: a city where everyone is happy, where you can live happily too, where all your wishes come true! Do you know what my first wish will be?

- Meow.

- Yes! I want to try blueberry pastries! - Lucy giggled. - They look so delicious in the pictures in books! Oh, if only they would let me into the kitchen, I'd bake a huge mountain of those pastries! We'd finally eat something truly tasty!

- Meow! - Kenny purred, licking the tip of Lucy's finger.

Lucy smiled and stroked her friend's soft, warm fur. She glanced at the clock. Realizing that the caretakers would soon be checking whether the children were in their beds, the girl quickly put the book back in its place, picked up Kenny, hid him in her homemade bag, and left the library, heading to her room.

- Hey, weirdo, why is your bag wiggling? - some boy with two missing teeth, who smelled bad and was about two years older than the girl, sneered.

- None of your business. - she snorted, quickening her pace without even glancing at the boy.

She didn't want to talk to anyone here. Everyone only thought about themselves. Every day, Lucy dreamed of a family that would take her away from here, and they would go far, far away and live happily. Or that one day she would end up in that lost town where she could try blueberry pastries.

An hour later, Lucy lay in her bed, hiding Kenny under the blanket. In her dreams, Lucy usually went to Bond City, or ate blueberry pastries, or saw a blurred image of her mother. Echoes of memory painted her silhouette, her slender waist, her refined and beautiful face, her long, dark-blue hair — just like her daughter's — flowing in the wind, her long, fluffy, fairytale-white dress that perfectly draped her gorgeous body… She always smelled of blueberries. Lucy loved to draw and sometimes imagined her mother's face. Surely she had pink eyes that held an entire galaxy, millions of stars, eyes full of love and happiness, a small nose as cute as her whole image and accentuating her beauty, and lips of perfect shape, through which always came a ringing, quiet, melodic, and serene voice of a woman humming a lullaby… Lucy loved to draw her image in her notebook, or on sheets or scraps of paper she found or stole from the caretakers. But then she had to hide those scraps, or else the children would either tear the drawings up themselves and flush them down the toilet, or worse — show them to the caretakers, who would in turn drench you from head to toe with mud, call your "scribbles" filth, tear them up in front of your eyes, and stomp on them for good measure.

Lucy dreamed of many things, but most of all — of a family. A loving family. Of her mother… Maybe one day she would come back for her...

Mommy…

Mom…

- Why did you do this to me?

Two o'clock in the morning…

In the dark room, illuminated by moonlight streaming through the window, the clock ticked peacefully, bringing dawn closer. Lucy was not alone in the room, she had several roommates, and they were all asleep in their beds. The girl woke up thirsty. Yawning, she barely opened her sticky eyes and peered into the darkness. The same room, the same children. Lucy lazily slipped her hand under the blanket, searching for soft fur. After a few seconds, Lucy abruptly looked under the blanket, feeling panic rising. Kenny was not under the blanket.

- Kenny? - Lucy whispered, then peeked out from under the blanket. Her cat was not in the room, but the door was slightly ajar. Lucy realized something terrible and quietly but quickly got out of bed, not forgetting to put on her pendant.

On tiptoe, the girl approached the door and peeked out. The corridor was pitch black, and the silence was starting to press down on her head. Lucy, with a slight creak of the door, stepped out of the room and looked around again, peering into the darkness. Where could her cat have gone in the middle of the night? He had never done this before — he understood how dangerous it was to wander alone in a house where you weren't welcome. Lucy decided to go left first, and if she didn't find Kenny there, she would go right. She would search the entire orphanage if she had to.

Creeping along the corridor, Lucy did everything to make no sound and remain unnoticed. She knew that some caretakers might still be awake and walking the halls. And some liked to enter the children's rooms while they slept. Lucy shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. She had worse problems now.

After a few minutes of searching, Lucy noticed something. On the second floor was an attic that children were strictly forbidden to enter. Even the caretakers didn't go up there unless they had to. Why? Who the hell knew — no one was going to tell the children anything about it. But now Lucy intended to go up there, because she saw bright golden fur in the opening of the attic door — fur that belonged to Kenny. Apparently, the cat was shedding. Lucy thought for a moment. Kenny couldn't have climbed up there by himself. So he had been taken? But by whom, and why? And who could have known about her cat?

Lucy barely managed to drag a ladder from the storage closet on the same floor, making quite a bit of noise in the process. The girl listened into the silence. No one came. She breathed a sigh of relief and set the ladder against the attic entrance. Maybe it was just some bullies playing a prank on her. But how did they find out about Kenny?

Finally, Lucy opened the attic doors and peered inside. It's nothing but an attic. Useless junk lay everywhere, dust hung in the air, it smelled of dampness — but this smell was much more pleasant than in the orphanage itself. Lucy realized that the attic was quite deep, as the objects disappeared into the darkness, which concealed even more space beyond.

- Kenny? - Lucy called, but only silence answered her. Lucy climbed fully into the attic and slowly walked forward, into the darkness.

She walked, walked, walked, walked, walked, walked and walked, but the attic showed no signs of ending. Lucy began to feel uneasy. Attics weren't supposed to be as long as their orphanage corridors! So why hadn't she hit a wall yet? Along the way, she saw plenty of junk, but the farther she went, the fewer objects there were, and the more the darkness swallowed the attic. After five minutes of walking, Lucy turned around and was horrified. Behind her, there was no exit from the attic! There was only darkness, through which light from the moon shining through the orphanage windows should clearly have been visible — but there was only gloom! Lucy ran back, and after five minutes of running, a horrifying realization struck her. She was trapped here. There was no longer any way out of the attic. Only a realm of darkness remained.

Lucy looked around in panic. What was she supposed to do now?! Where had she come from?! Where was the beginning, and where was the end?! And why couldn't she see any more objects?!

- Kenny! - she shouted into the darkness. - Kenny, are you here?!

Si-lence.

Lucy swallowed and decided to just keep going forward. Maybe there was something there after all. She mustn't lose hope, no matter the situation. And Lucy didn't. She walked forward resolutely, praying that she would find her friend and a way out of the attic and get back into bed. She prayed that everything would be all right. That tomorrow a sweet couple would come to adopt a child. That everything would be fine.

Lost in thought, Lucy didn't notice the change at first. She lifted her gaze. Ahead was light. Light! White, radiating warmth and kindness, beckoning her, light! It was so far away, but so bright. Lucy was overjoyed and, without wasting a moment, rushed toward the light, spreading her arms wide. The light became blinding as she approached, and Lucy squeezed her eyes shut…

Melding with the light, Lucy felt it beating against her eyes, but the next moment it stopped. Lucy stopped running, eyes still closed, already standing still, rubbing them. Finally, she opened her eyes, expecting to see a way out of the attic or Kenny. But what she saw before her the next minute left her in shock.

Before her was a nighttime view of a city. A city! Lights from street lamps flickered ahead, the air smelled of leaves and something sweet, the wind played with the girl's locks, and crickets chirped in the night silence.

- Wow… - Lucy breathed out, her mouth open in amazement. - Where am I?

After taking a few steps forward, Lucy crossed a threshold and found herself inside the city itself. She looked around. No one. She turned back. Behind her, there was no longer any attic. Only a forest. A deep forest.

Could it have been a portal? But regardless, was her Kenny here? Considering that he definitely wasn't on the attic itself, that meant… Kenny had also found the portal! Or he had been taken by someone who came from this city…

The city… But what city was it? Lucy looked around. Suddenly she saw a pole, and on it hung a sign with large, colorful letters that read: "Welcome to Bond City!"

- Bond City?! - Lucy rejoiced. - Could it really be that one?!

The girl's joy was boundless. She had made it to the city of her dreams! Where all your wishes come true! Lucy realized she was at the city's entrance, as there were plenty of signboards with city maps and some guidebooks.