Hello and welcome to Her Poisonous Antidote!
I told you guys I was participating
in CoLu week and so here we are.
Sorry if it's not the best
I haven't really written a story where Cora is a big character like this
so hopefully It won't be to bad and you enjoy it.
Eien ni Touko and Dragon'sHost have set up the CoLu week for us so
just as a reminder it was not me who came up with it!
Disclaimer: I don't NOT own Fairy Tail
Thank you for reading!
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'Here's how the story went-..."
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Day one: Language
~QOoOQ~
The trill sounds of clinking metals against one another was the only sound the young lady could hear, she would count '1, 2, 3' before the clinking became known again and she briefly wondered how many times she had been able to count up to three within the small period of time she had been in the spacious room for. Silence was always one of her weakness, she despised it and yet loved it, she took a bite of her portion of food and chewed at an amble pace, when she read for example, she absolutely adored the silence it provided her and allowed her mind to wander else ware inside the fairy tales she read from the large book.
'1, 2, 3' but she hated when it went mute around her and whatever presence was with her, that always meant that there was nothing for them to exchange, no polite words, no delighted noises, no loving words were ever spoken between them, just the mere silence and comfort it provided. There was a possibility that they just did not understand one another, the young lady straightened herself, she knew better than that, there was so much she wanted to say to him every time it was like this but she would only receive a curt reply in response to her witty conversation starters, and by no means was she pleased.
She let out a prolonged sigh that went on deaf ears as she silently placed her silver ware on her dish and stood, "Father, may I be excused?" Her polite words were spoken clearly so she did not have to repeat herself and though it was clear that her father heard her words and stared at her for a moment before placing his own utensils down and folding his hands in front of his face,
"Where must you be if cannot even finish having a meal with your father," she clasped her hands over the fabric of her dress and avoided eye contact as much as possible, she couldn't possibly tell him that she could not withstand another moment of being in his presences, and so she calmly raised her chin higher as she had been taut and explained,
"Spetto-san has given me a novel to read for my studies, Father." He nodded in approval and signaled her to take her leave with a wave of his hand, she raised the corners of her dress and curtseyed before leaving the dining hall and turned her back on her father like he had done to her all those years. The clicking of her heels was the only sound in the room as she approached the no opened door, courtesy of one of their many servants, and walked through it, giving a nod to the young male as she did.
The silence again followed her as she walked down the corridors of their home, if she could even call it that, she could never recall a time where it had completely felt like a home to her, even when she was young and everything in her young mind was so restricted, she knew what a home was supposed to feel like and where she lived was one that she could not call just that. She sighed at the dull ache she felt on her feet and was momentarily glad there was no being around her as she slipped off the source of her pain before picking them up and letting them dangle from her fingers.
Her father, Jude Heartfilia, was the sole ruler of Fiore kingdom and she-being his daughter- was the beautiful princess that would not only further develop their lands but produce a child when she was of age. How she dreaded the day her father would send her off with a man chosen by him yet unknown to her. and although she knew it was a far-cry, she dreamt of the day she would find someone to love her and cherish her like in the stories she had read many times before, but how would it be possible for a princess such as herself to find love when she was imprisoned in her own castle with no one but the maids and butlers to keep her company.
She once had a family, friends even, but even they were taken away from her years ago. She willed the tears away as she traced the lines on the walls, continuing her way to the one room she loved to stay in. As of recently, the castle hadn't been as quiet as usual with the exception of when she dined with her father, it was always quiet, but otherwise there was always a faint noise coming from beneath the marble floor and the young princess briefly wondered what or who was disturbing the silence within her castle, but she hadn't dared to see the source of the noises and simply feigned ignorance to the matter.
Her once lovely castle was now desolate, something she was sure her mother never would have wanted but it didn't matter now, she was gone and so was the love that once occupied the kingdom. The cool carpet flattened beneath her weight as she took each step toward the grand library, the one place where she wasn't Lucy Heartfilia the princess of Fiore, but just Lucy. Her pace quickened slightly at the thought of being able to drown herself in the many books the shelves provided, the blonde almost berated herself at the thought of getting so excited over a mere book but she just shook her head, she deserved to be happy from time to time and if reading was what did that then why should she feel bashful?
Lucy snacked her slender fingers around the cool metallic handle of the door as she approached it, momentarily she studied the carvings on it and much like the others, the young Heartfilia could not deduct what they meant. Each door within the palace had a special 'story' as she called it carved into the luxurious wood and might she add, it was beautifully crafted. For years she had mulled over the meaning behind the engravings or wondered if there really was any meaning behind them but she was determined to find out if there was but she still has yet to find it.
Shrugging her shoulders wantonly, the blonde yanked open the doors leading to her safe haven and instantly was hit with the musty smell of books and for some reason she enjoyed the odd, yet familiar smell of old books as she slowly walked into the room, not worry about the time she spent away from her lessons or the servant's, she was focused on her own joy. Her glistening eyes roamed over the many rows of shelves, each one filled to the brim with books from when the first queen, Mavis, was alive to when she was just a mere child.
She ran her fingers across the spines of each book she passed, each book had a story within in them whether it be a fantasy or a history book, they were stills stories just waiting to be read. Lucy, feeling nostalgic, choose to read the diary of her great grandmother and first Queen of Fiore, the young princess could still remember her mother telling her stories of Mavis as she reminisced. Her mother, Layla Heartfilia, a woman known for her kindness toward anyone she met and her intelligence, something that many others had said to her time and time again.
Layla had always told her daughter of how dignified Mavis was, she had a certain 'aura'-as she would say- about her that just screamed power and intelligence, both of which she had but what Layla had been most expressive on was her generosity and kindness. Although ruthless when it came to security and battle, Mavis was kind to anyone she came across-with the exception of potential threats- Layla then carried onto explain how loving the woman was and if her mother said it, Lucy had no doubt that Mavis was the exact kind of woman her mother described.
As if worried it would break, the young blonde opened the diary with care and flipped to the first page she had stopped at the last time she read it. Although she had read almost all of the journal, there were still a select few pages that she had never had the chance to read until that moment, "Mavis Vermillion, June 27th-July 3rd, X686," she read aloud, realizing that the month and day it was written matched up with the current day and month while the year was X785. A bitter laugh escaped her lips as she realized just how little time she had left to be a single lady until she was bed by a man of her father's choice, which was most likely to be the most beneficial man to their lands.
She stared at the neatly written words in Mavis' personal book and smiled slightly, she was one of the lucky few to be able to know what Queen Mavis' thoughts were before and after she became Queen, and the entry she was about to read momentarily was one before she was crowned and titled Queen of the Fiore Kingdom. She blinked, it was getting harder for her to see the inked words her great grandmother had written and she realized it was finally well past the time her father would normally finished his food and so with belated happiness the princess lit a nearby candle and sat down on the chair beside it and read.
'-I've just discovered something truly unnerving and yet exciting down in the basement of our castle; there is a dungeon. Father-King Toma- whom I have mentioned numerous times within this journal, had never spouted even the smallest hint of there being a dungeon beneath our home and yet there it was in all its eerie glory. The first things I noticed when entering the dreadful room were the shackles hanging from the wall and the faint smell of blood, now this unnerved me to no end but being the curious youth I am, I perused the path of cold stone and headed toward the forgotten light.
I met a man that night. I know I shouldn't be writing this for fear of my sister Huisi-or worse, my Father somehow finding this and reading it, I would be in great trouble but I must. The man-despite his grotesque expression- was handsome, the man, whose name I later learned was Zeref, had broad, muscular shoulder with soft facial features, his beautifully silky black hair was dirtied to no end and he wore nothing but a loin cloth to cover himself and yet, I found myself infatuated by him.'
The blonde gasped at the unexpected news, her father had never informed her of there being a dungeon in the basement of their palace and yet he expected her to rule over the kingdom with her intended-whoever that may be. Although she was angered by her father secrecy she was more so surprised at the fact that her grandmother, Queen Mavis Vermillion, was infatuated by a prisoner but, if love was like her books said, than Mavis obviously had not control over her heart.
'Timidly, I had called out to the young Zeref who, in return had given me a vicious look, startled as I may have been, I did not let his glare frighten me and willed myself not to back away before speaking to him. Everything about Zeref was rough, his tone, his ill-spoken words and scarred body but he was perfection, does that even sound sane? No matter, his eyes were something that intrigued me the most, it was like staring into a bottomless pit of dread and sorrow and I found myself wanting to find a light in that tunnel, but the question was always the same, would Zeref let me be that light?
He questioned me relentlessly for the time I was there, why was someone of my status speaking to a prisoner such as himself? I found myself unable to respond with the intelligence that I was known for and answered much like a jester would by saying I would like to help him. Zeref, he told me to stay away after that, to stop trying and leave him alone and when I asked why he refused my help, why he pushed away my outstretched hand he looked at me with the eyes of a frightened child and told me, because nothing was forever with him, all temporary and that someday I would die and leave him like everyone else he had known. But, I refused to believe it, how foolish I was-'
"GO TO FUCKING HELL YOU BASTARDS!" Lucy squeaked at the sudden voice filled with anger, and planted her hands firmly on the floor after falling out of her seat, that voice, it had come from beneath her and instantly the information she received from Mavis' Journal came up and she remembered that there was a dungeon beneath the castle. She shivered at the possibility of even the weakest of the prisoners escaping and running around the halls of the castle and briefly, Lucy wondered if she really was ever safe within the castle.
The voice she had heard not moments ago sounded angry but also filled with pain and sorrow, she never imagined what life as a prisoner was like nor did she wish to know but something told her to go see who it was that spouted such profanity at-what was most likely- the guards they kept around the dungeon. Lucy wondered in belated horror just what the guards were doing to the poor soul living beneath her home.
"Lucy-Sama!" Again a shrill sound escaped the princess' mouth as the sound of the twin doors leading in the library were opened with a bellowing sound. Placing a hand over her racing heart, the blonde calmed her breathing as the maid dashed over to her young mistress and helped her up. "Lucy-Sama, are you well?" Lucy smiled and nodded slightly as she stood up and dusted her dress off,
"Yes, I am thank you. I was just surprised," she assured the nurse who smiled and helped her fix her dress, "who was the man that spoke such vile words?" The maid blinked at her momentarily before glancing down at her dress and scolding her for getting tare in it. Lucy glanced down at herself; the dress was extremely expensive as it was hand-made from one of the best. The dress was quite large in size and uncomfortable for her own liking, the tiffany blue colored dress had a sweetheart neckline with silver sequence spread across the chest while the skirt flared out around the waist only allowing people within certain proximity of her due to the width of the skirt.
She sighed as the old maid led her to her chambers and drew her a bath, this was one of the things she hated the most about being born a noble, the only privacy she got was when she was about to sleep and even then they would walk into her room to check on her or stand guard outside. She, begrudgingly, allowed Ms. Spetto to help her undress herself and 'escort' her into the bathtub as the elder woman helped clean the blonde, something she had been against ever since she had hit the sensitive age of 13-maybe even earlier and here she was, a sixteen year old girl allowing herself to be bathed by a maid.
Although she hated having to be helped while bathing, she was glad it was Ms. Spetto, she at least allowed her to have some time to herself after being washed and then made an excuse to the guards or her father when she wasn't around right after the old maid was done. She thanked the woman as she left the bathroom, leaving a towel and her sleepwear on the bathroom counter for her when she was finished. The blonde closed her eyes with a serene look on her face, thankful for the peace as she dipped her head below the water.
It had been a little over a half and hour since she had heard the violent scream from the dungeon, often in the time period she found herself thinking about the male with the sharp tongue. He interested her. Surely no ordinary prisoner could be kept away underneath the castle, it had to of been someone extremely dangerous for her father to go to such extents, but then again she barely knew the man as it was and so she decided that maybe he had just overreacted about something simple and thrown him in there. Sitting up, she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin atop her smooth legs and stared blankly ahead of her, the only noise being the sloshing the water provided and the occasional drip from the tap.
The words she had read from her grandmothers diary popped into her mind once again, she was still dwelling over the thought of Mavis falling for a prisoner, not that she judged her for her infatuation that she had no control over, but it seemed highly unlikely to her and even then she wondered how Mavis had felt about marrying another man other than Zeref. Had she felt desolate? She just couldn't imagine it, from the stories she had been told or read of the legendary Queen, she always had a smile on her face, never angered or panicked or even sad, she was always cheerful. Like her mother.
Lucy sighed and pulled the plug on the drain before hastily wrapping the large towel around her soaked body and dried herself off, willing away the coolness of the air as she slipped on her nightgown which consisted of a soft black silk that reached her mid-thy, held up by two thin straps, something her father had always scolded her form wearing, asking her where her chastity had gone but, even though utterly repulsed by her father's accusations, she wondered why he kept giving her such dresses to flaunt her ample chest.
Neatly, she folded the towel as she unconsciously allowed her mind to drift back to the prisoner, not fully understanding why her mind was drawn to him and his voice she slipped out of her bathroom and crawled onto the bed she had slept in since she was a child and stared at the night sky before slowly closing her eyes, welcoming what little sleep she could get.
~QOoOQ~
It had been a few hours since the young blonde had entered her chambers and yet she still could not sleep, she continued to mull over the enraged grated screams, followed by a continuously unpleasant clangor, earlier heard by a man unknown, locked away beneath the castle. The tremors running through her body from the wail had calmed only slightly and the blonde princess now sat on her bed, staring out the window to her room. To distract her mind from the unpleasant thoughts from the unnamed prisoner, Lucy began to think about her silly childhood dreams, something she had always wanted to do but knew she was never able to do deep down.
Freedom.
She wanted to be free. Free to travel the lands as she wished, free to be with her friends again, free to dirty her tongue with sharp words of a language only known to 'vile human beings' as her father had said although she thought no such thing about them, she still wished to observe how their behavior differed from her own-or other nobles-despite their way of speech, and to find there was one such being bellow her at that moment in the dungeon fascinated her. Most of all, she wanted to be free to love. She shook her head, why were all her thoughts revolving around one cry?
Lucy stared at the stars longingly, it had been a long time since she had been able to relax and just appreciate the beauty the twinkling lights in the midnight sky had provided her, something she had greatly missed ever since she had busied herself with her studies to avoid confrontation with her father. Although it had been awhile, the blonde could still point out every constellation that she had likely memorized in the sky, and she briefly wondered why she hadn't even stopped to enjoy the celestial orbs.
'Right,' she nodded her head and sighed, 'because I miss them too much.' A shudder ran through her thin frame as the cool air of the night nipped at her skin, she released a shaky breath and shook her head; at this rate she was never going to be able to sleep, silently berating her restless mind for occupying her time of peace with odd thoughts, she quietly slid off the bed. Humming to herself, she slipped on a pair of expensive flats her maid had provided her along with a transparent cover to put over her night gown, the sleeves ending at her elbows while the length ended at her knees. The cover was one of the only sleepwear she allowed expensive silk such as the transparent white it was for her night gowns and covers all for reasons unknown to her father.
Lucy crept toward the door and her only exit, hopefully her father had not stationed guards outside of her room again, and if he did, she prayed to Mavis that they were in between guard shifts. Placing her hand on the crack between the two large doors, she successfully pried one of the beautifully carved wooden doors open silently and slipped out of her-what she deemed- own prison cell and shuffled down the corridors, mindful of the restless castle and the people within it.
As the blonde lazily swept her fingertips across the walls, not caring how un proper or un lady like she was being in that moment, and sighed out in slight frustration. Lucy wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and allow sleep to consume her but there was something that kept pulling her away from sleep and so her irritation was quite visible on her face, walking through the empty halls, the young princess observed the painting decorating each wall, she could see different paintings of her ancestors with their children, all the way down to her family portrait. She halted then.
Somehow she managed to maneuver to the familiar yet vague halls into a part that she herself, hadn't been to in a long time and even then she hardly knew where she was walking, only letting her sub consciousness to lead her to where it desired, even if made impossible. The portrait was of her mother, father and her younger self before their happy family turned sour and dread filled the kingdom, her mother wore a large smile on her face, one filled with love with her blonde locks much like hers braided to the side and a beautiful red and pink gown, that made her twitch at its-seemingly- hindered ability for the user of said dress to breath.
Behind her with his arms rested on her shoulders as she sat, was her father, a soft look on his features yet somehow portrayed with an air of superiority, power and authority, something Lucy was sure he had, he wore his crown on his blonde locks as did his wife and wore a horribly stiff-looking suit, only fit for his majesty. In the blonde mother's arms was her younger self, which she was told had been her only months after being born. Chocolate brown eyes stared innocently at her past self through the portrait with curly, golden locks flailing around her and a light pink-what she assumed- silk gown covering her new-born body.
She snorted, uncharacteristically un-ladylike, and rolled her eyes rudely. How innocent and foolish she had been back then and though she were a mere child, Lucy reprimanded herself for having such a care-free look on her face, but how was she supposed to know how harsh the world actually was when she lived such a sheltered life? By now she knew if not from her father's uncaring ways of treating her or her mother's passing then from the forsaken and anguish-filled cry she heard hours ago.
She laughed bitterly, continuing her walk down the corridor, what did she have to say anything about pain, suffering or sadness? The poor men, women and children of her land all knew what real suffering was, people who had lost loved ones due to someone else's crime knew what sadness was, the prisoners kept below her knew what real pain was, and yet she-she was the pampered princess who could only wish for such feelings. Though she knew thinking such things were useless and would only further awaken her sleepy mind, it was true, though she didn't make it known to them, she heard things whispered between the maids and guards of how she lived a sheltered life and how she could not defend herself so she must have guards around her at all times.
Lucy left her face void of emotion but on the inside she was breaking, she knew she lived like any other noble and she knew she wasn't nearly as strong as what people would expect from their princess and soon-to-be Queen, but she couldn't help the way she was. More thoughts consumed her, her friends, they accepted her for what she was, the broken and lonely girl but then they left. Her mother died and left her, her friends left and were gone somewhere unknown and her father -the one she knew and loved- had left her life to leave her in the care of a heartless version of himself, she sighed and halted her steps, was everything in her life temporary?
The blonde ran a hand through her hair in exasperation before looking around realizing, she had no idea where she had wandered off to and the unfamiliar cobblestone staircase piqued her curiosity and so with great hesitance, the princess took her first step into the darkness. The blonde cursed as the shadows completely enveloped her body and shivered lightly at the feel of the cool, stone walls against the tips of her fingers. She could hear faint crunching noises underneath her weight with each step she took, which she guessed was from the loosened stones.
She was, however, unaware as to where she was going, but one thing she did know, she passed the darkness and followed the dimly lit candles with two sleeping guards on either side of them, she would be informing her father on their guards, un-notified break. Lucy could feel the harsh thundering of her heart as she searched for the keys to the door between the two peacefully resting men, she believed their names were Zancrow and Jackal; which the latter terrified her to no end but she swallowed her fears and continued her search for the small objects.
Keys. Her movements halted momentarily as several memories flashed through her mind but she ignored them and the burning sensation along with the blur of her eyes and softly felt around for the hidden objects. She felt a shiver run up her spine as she felt one of the guards, being Jackal, -whose leg she was touching- shift beneath her before a faint sound caught her attention. She smiled to herself and reached cautiously into Jackals pocket, being mindful that said man could awaken at any waking moment, and carefully searched for the source of the noise before gripping the cool metal and silently pulling it out of his pockets as he shifted.
She smiled at her victory and moved at a hastened pace as she heard the two guards shift before successfully opening the large wooden door between them and closing it behind her. The young Heartfilia groaned as she noticed another series of darkened hallways she needed to walk through to reach the end and although she enjoyed the adventure, her curiosity at what lay beyond the secretive stone walls was gnawing at her. With determination in her eye, the princess treaded through the dark halls, only occasionally shivering when she heard a voice as she neared the end.
Lucy hated how she was so jumpy and how she squealed when she walked into a spider-web, mortified at the thought of her having a spider crawling on her somewhere, and she swore she heard a faint chuckle as she did so but shrugged off as she neared her destination, thankful for the aluminous candles at the end. Never had she seen any place like this within the castle, always having the look of a proper King or Queen would have, she snorted, if anything she'd rather live in one of the cells than go back, but the possibilities of that happening were slim to none.
Cautiously, Lucy walked further into the light as she noticed the iron bars within the lit opening, it was a rare sight to see and to say she wasn't nervous would be a lie; her rapidly beating heart proved otherwise. Further, she walked until she stopped in front of a single cell-the only one not vacant- and stared as she noticed a man with his arms crossed over his bare, scarred and bleeding chest with his head dipped down so as not to show her the features of his face. She gasped at the multiple wounds on his body but before she was able to examine them further the man's head snapped up while his left eye opened to-what she assumed- glare at her as his raspy, malice filled voice cut off her thoughts,
"Who the fuck are you?"
Day Two
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'...-I met someone by accident.'
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Shattered-Nighmares712: So how was it? I don't think t was too bad for a first try. This is actually a continuous story, not one shots for each day so you will see what happens next tomorrow. As of now I had realized that I have been spelling Lucy's last name wrong which in fact isn't Heartfillea but Heartfilia so sorry for those of you who read my other stories and realized her last name was spelt wrong but I spelt it correctly this time. The beginning and ending part of this chapter used song lyrics by Adele called 'Hiding my Heart'. If you guys want to see what Lucy's gown looks like than there is a link on my account page so you can check it out that way.
Love it? Hate it? Review!
