"Lucy,your dad and I have decided that you're getting married!" Layla yelled as she burst into Lucy's room.
"What?!" Lucy immediately sat up from her bed. She'd been lying on her bed reading and trying to ignore what she called 'that raucous of a party' going on downstairs. "To who? Who'd marry me?! Why am I even getting married? I'm only sixteen! You can't make me do that! I still have my youth to live! And you know how much I hate children, especially babies! Who's gonna take care of the poor kid? Mother~! You can't do this to me!"
"Are you done yet? I just said you were getting married, not you're having a child. Gosh! Don't be so dramatic and listen to me will you?!"
Lucy takes in a deep breath and asked, as calmly as she could: "What is going on Mother?"
"Like I said, you're getting married!" She squealed with glee and clapped her hands in excitement while Lucy just sat there frowning with her arms crossed. Noticing her impatience and annoyance, Layla cleared her throat and continued. "Now, don't get excited - or whatever it is that's got you all keyed up - and listen to me alright?" She looked at Lucy to ascertain her consent before going on. "Good. I want you to listen carefully. Your father and I want you to have a prosperous life. We feel, or I feel at least, that the way you've been interacting with others, especially with the opposite gender, is somewhat lacking. That-" (Lucy shot her mom an 'are you kidding me' look, thus forcing her mom to be really frank with her.)
Scowling, Layla continued. "Fine! I feel that the fact that you're sixteen and you've never fallen in love, brought home a boy, or any friends for that matter, always come straight back home, and never go out. I fear for your mental and social health if you don't interact with other people, especially kids your age! You never even mingled with our guests tonight! I bet you never even went down at all, not even for dinner!"
"I-"
" Don't even bother lying to me about dinner young lady. Capricorn has informed me that you had Cook bring up your dinner. Anyways, since you obviously refuse to cooperate, I've decided that this is the last straw. I'm going to take matters into my own hands and force you to interact with other people. From today onwards, effective as of right now, you're living with your fiancé and his family. You're leaving with them today so pack your necessities and clothes for a few days." Layla put up a hand to her daughter, who had started to protest. "No arguments! Who told you to be so unsociable? Anyway, you can come back to visit on weekends and get a change of clothes, but no 'sleepovers' at your own house. You can't lie and stay at a hotel either because I've suspended your credit card. I'll give you some cash but you'll need to get the rest from fiancé-kun. He should have at least €2000 with him. Make sure you put it in a bank when you get it from him. Get dressed and come meet him. Be sure you dress nicely, or else."
"Ugh, do I get no say in this at all?" Lucy whined.
"You could say yes, and get it over with. He's not as bad as you're making him out to be dear." Then, noticing Levy in the doorway, she motioned her into Lucy's room. (A/N: Levy and Lucy are sisters in this story. Lucy is older than Levy by one year.)
Lucy POV
Levy took a seat on my bed and tried to comfort me. Turning to face the sulking me, she said:" You know, it's not gonna be that bad. I mean all you have to do is live in his house, go to his school and talk to him. It's not like they'll make you guys marry each other right now. Besides, it serves you right for ditching Mother's favorite party of the year. She explicitly told you not to ditch, and yet you did. If that's not called stupid, I don't know what is. And it's not like I'm not mad at you either. Because of you, I also have to marry some rich guy I don't even know! Except the good thing is, since I'm underage, the guy's living here instead! Apparently, once I turn sixteen, I'm moving in with him and his family. It's all cuz of you!" Levy finished her mini speech in a huff.
Then, when she got her breath back, she threw one of my pillows at me! I guess I could have dodged it easily, but I figured what happened was my fault anyway, so I let her hit me. At least she could vent her anger out a bit. Not wanting to get hit again, I rolled off the bed and moved towards my huge walk-in closet. Opening the doors, I selected a red satin cocktail dress with a modest slit at the side, and swiftly changed into it. As I checked myself out in my full length mirror, I notice Levy move towards my dresser. Narrowing my eyes, I whip around to stand, facing her, with my hands on my hips and a suspicious look on my face. "Levy darling? What do you think you're doing near my makeup?" I say sweetly, so sweetly I can practically feel the honey drip from my voice. I know what she's planning. She wants to doll me up! I purse my lips. No way was I going to look super ultra good for some random stranger my mom decided to pair me with! I frown, surely Levy would know me enough to predict that much right? Unless she has another agenda...revenge perhaps? For dragging her into this matrimony trap with me? Or is she genuinely doing his because she has already met and acknowledged the boy? Suddenly, I'm not so sure which of my assumptions is worse, that my sister is doing this to me because she is planning on selling me out or playing matchmaker. To me, both seem like a bad idea.
Sadly, I am too engrossed in my suspicions that I don't notice that the sneaky brat has already gotten out her favorite eagle feather quill and used her word magic to tie me up. She somehow manages to get me to sit on my large, comfy bed, despite my intense struggles to free myself. I calm down a little when I realize there's no way out of it but to comply. Reluctantly, I cease struggling and stayed still. After assuring her I wouldn't make a run for it once she released me, she speedily gathered all my makeup and dumped it all on my bed. I am too tired to protest when the makeup lands on my bed and threatens to dirty my bedcovers. I sit still and allow her to apply my makeup. She works in silence. After a while, she is done. As she proudly surveys her artwork, I peer into her eyes and try to figure whether that strange glint I see is pride or anticipation. I decide to write it off as pride at a job well done once I see my face. I have to admit, I don't look half bad, even if it is my little sister doing my makeup. I glance down at myself and notice that she has released me. I stand up and stretch, making sure to twirl in a circle in the mirror to make sure the rest of me still looks okay. I exchange looks with Levy. We smile at each other. And in that instant, I knew she didn't hold our current predicament against me. We both knew that this sort of thing was inevitable if we continued being as unsocial as we are anyway. Sooner or later, Layla Heartphilia would have found an equally annoying way to make us socialize with our peers. It just happened sooner rather than later.