Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters in any way.

"Miss. Lucy, where are you?"

Lucy looked up glumly from her book. Since her mother had died a few months prior, her dad had become a changed man. Every time he called for her through the head maid, Spetto, it was always asking her about her etiquette classes, ballet classes, and her studies. He stopped asking her how her day was and spending time together.

The short middle aged maid walked down Lucy's aisle, hair floating behind her. "There you are, Miss. Lucy," she said. "Come, your father is waiting for you."

The square faced woman said nothing as her mistress got up from her spot on the library floor and held her hand firmly. It broke Spetto's heart to see such a young girl lose her mother and then watch her father turn into a different man with her very eyes. Since Jude had stopped inquiring about Lucy's day, Spetto and the other employees had taken it upon themselves to take the job. It wasn't much, and it wouldn't replace her mothet or father, but Lucy was content with it.

They stopped outside of Jude's door, and Spetto squeezed Lucy's hand, giving her a smile before departing.

Lucy took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Father? It's Lucy. You called for me?"

"Enter, Lucy." Jude's unwavering voice commanded.

Lucy entered and shut the door soundlessly behind her. She stood in front of her father's desk diligently, waiting for him to speak.

"Lucy, you are 10, correct?" he asked.

"Yes, father." Lucy replied staring at her feet. She was confused and slightly worried about where this was going.

I"I have arranged a marriage with Prince Sawalu of Julenelle," he continued. "His father said that he had expressed interest in you when I met him."

Lucy felt her heart stutter to a stop. Marriage? At her age? Already?!

"He will be arriving next week to meet you in person," Jude continued dismissing her silence. "This will give you plenty of time to get to know each other."

Lucy couldn't keep her mouth shut anymore. "Marriage?! Father, I may still be a child, but don't I have the right to decide my own future?! I don't want to be married! I'm too young!"

"Silence." Jude commanded.

Lucy's mouth snapped shut. The volume was not what made Lucy hush up, but the way her father had said it.

"Marrying him will give our family an enormous amount of wealth as well as recognition. I expect a male heir to continue the Heartfilia line."

Lucy's vision blurred. This wasn't supposed to happen; her mom was supposed to sing her to sleep, her dad was supposed to cherish her as a person and as family, not as a thing to be beckoned at his call, and she was supposed to marry someone who she loved. It wasn't fair.

Lucy lay in bed all day ,only opening the door for food and water. She whispered sadly to Aquarius, Taurus, and Lyra.

"What do you think I should do?" she asked.

Her keys rattled soundlessly. Lucy jumped up from her bed excitedly.

"That's it!" she exclaimed.

The young child ran to her closet and pulled out a satchel, she put all the money she had collected since she was five, into her bag. Next, she put a change of clothes in her bag and shrugged on a jacket. She secured her keys to her belt and ran to the kitchen where Aed, the cook, was preparing dinner. She snuck behind him, grabbing apples and quickly putting them under her shirt. Lucy also stopped by Bero's class and grabbed some books. She silently apologized to all of her employee friends. Making sure none of the maids were watching, Lucy made a mad dash out of the mansion, not stopping once until she reached the dense forest.

The blonde slowed her pace until she was walking. All she had to do now, was find a guild to join.

Mama, I'm doing it; I'm deciding my own path, Lucy though smiling at the blue sky.

She walked until it was dusk, exhaustion seeping into her bones. It was getting colder, and she hadn't thought about how to set up a camp. Taking her backpack off, she sat down and started going through all the books she read. In her adventure books, the characters would find firewood first, so that's what she would do. Ignoring her body's protests, Lucy got up and set out to find twigs, branches, and rocks. When she had gathered her materials, she collapsed in a heap.

What now? How would she start a fire? Did she even have enough material to burn? How long would her fire burn?

Rolling onto her side, Lucy continued to rack her brain for ideas. Camping was harder than she had thought. No! She couldn't afford to think like that. If she couldn't do this, how would she ever become a mage?

With newfound determination, she got to work.

"H-Heartfila-sama," Spetto stuttered. "Miss. Lucy cannot be found anywhere."

The cold man stood still gazing into his courtyard, watching the buffoons he hired scurry around trying to locate his missing daughter.

"I see." was all he said.

"With all due respect, sir," the middle aged woman began carefully. "Shouldn't you be looking for your daughter too?"

Jude made a short humming noise. "She'll come back."

"Yes, sir." Spetto bowed deeply and took her leave.

Please be safe, Miss. Lucy, she prayed, walking down the empty hall.

Author's Notes: Hi guys! Thank you so much for reading. Please bear with me, I will have a new chapter up as soon as possible, but I will not have a specific schedule for posting chapters. Anyways, for future chapters, I will be tweaking some of the details of the Fairy Tail arcs, but I still, in no way, own them.

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Non-beta so all mistakes are my own.

Thanks again for reading and I'll talk to you soon!