She was destined, from the moment she drew her first breath her fate was decided, her life planned out without any hesitation from those around her. She was special, and would be treated as such. The village in which she lived did not have much, but even so, she and her 'sisters' were given the best of everything, finery greater than the chieftain and his wife, greater than the priests and priestesses that fawned over them constantly.

And she was most important of them all.

Everything was planned around that day when she would become of age, knowledge expanded in a way that she just soaked it all up, wanting to read and learn everything she could as her beauty grew the same, hair like spun gold falling in cascades down her back, eyes like melted honey, sometimes hidden under long lashes, full pink lips almost always set in a sweet and innocent smile.

And then… the flames came.

No one was exactly sure what had happened to cause the wrath of this particular God they worshiped, but either way, one moment the sacred fire they used to revere him was burning bright, and the next it turned dark, jumping and sparking and burning alive those around at the time. Only for it to get worse.

The God of Flames, Anger and War was not appeased easy.

She was not yet of age, but there was very little choice, he would not spare them if they gave him anything but the best, and it was with her head held high that she smiled, sweet words that she would do what was expected of her coming from her lips so that her loved ones might be spared.

As was the fate of a sacrifice.

Bathed in water pulled down from mountain peaks, hair cleaned and brushed, spun up into a bun upon her head, and a simple white dress hugging her form it was with a smile still she walked through the crowds with the Priestesses at her side. She seemed happy and fine, but in truth, who could be fine knowing you were all dressed up and ready to die, only to end up in the hands of a being that 'lived' for death and flame. Arms were bound behind her and around the large intricately carved wooden stake that stood in the middle of the village circle, even if she was 'prepared' for this, there was little one could do to fight natural actions when burned alive.

She screamed, she did, there was no way she couldn't when the flames took her, her screams overpowering the chanting of those around her, offering her to the God in an attempt to appease his wrath, and it was as the girl drew her last breath, head flopping down as the flames took her body, that that sacred flame they had used to kill her turned bright once more, uncaused fires dying and leaving the villagers with a good feeling that they had done the right thing.

To take someones life to spare their rest.

It was dark all around her before her eyes flicked open, her body sore and aching though she did not understand how she could have one at all, honey hues glancing around before her eyes fell on a toned chest and arms, slowly moving up, near perfect teeth set in a grin besides the sharp fangs that seemed just as easy to rip flesh than smile like that, a slightly rounded nose, and then, onyx and green, almost hazel, eyes looking at her with a dancing mischievousness, that seemed to look through her completely, salmon pink hair adorning his head, spiked but still lazy.

"Well, this is the first one of you I've ever gotten."

She pulled herself up of the laying position she was in, clampering backwards, clutching her hand to her chest and heaving hard, but how could she breathe when she had no air left? "N-No. This c-cannot be right. I d-died.. h-how am I—?"

A chuckle came from his lips, arms still crossed over his chest as he leant down a little closer towards her. "It's funny. Everyone else thinks this would happen, but not the sacrifices themselves. I suppose because you're so ready for death you just expect nothing? Either way… it works just like they told you." He chimed, giving her that same grin as she clambered backwards more.

"But I — I —" But she what? She didn't even know. What was she supposed to think? What was she supposed to do? What did they tell her she was supposed to do? She wasn't prepared for him, she was prepared for someone else. She was taught to be sacrificed to someone else, another God, not this one.

"Oh stop stumbling over your words and get up already, you're already dead, its not like I can kill you again… Well, I could send you where the rest of the dead go." The grin turned dark for a moment. "Wanna see?" Without waiting, his hand would snap around her thin arm, body unmarked by the flames that had burnt her and tugged her upwards, almost like a child ready to show off his newest toy to a friend, tugging her along to a grand window that sat in the room she had seemingly appeared in, a throne room, she supposed, but whatever she was doing to make breath hitched looking out at the place beyond the walls.

It was a mixture, on one side, there was green pastures, trees, elaborate houses, it looked homey, amazing, the kind of place that you would love to live, she could even see specs of bodies moving around there. But on the other side it was cracked, red, and flame filled, screams lowly echoing in the distance from the torture that seemed to be a foot, more bodies, packed in, moving in a slow shuffle, chained upon necks, wrists and ankles.

"Looks fun huh?" He questioned, part of it, those green flats, not the flames and pain. Leaning upon the windowsill, her arm let go he would lazily smile, over in the direction of those suffering. "Mmm. It's been too long since I've gotten my hands dirty, thousand years or so. I really should go and visit soon… its your choice or not if you'd come with me, Lucy Heartfilia. You see, I'm letting you pick." He gave that same lazy motion to look over at her, fist pushing into his cheek. "You can stay here, do what you were sacrificed to do, or you can go over there." A wave in the direction of suffering. "And I go right back to making your little village suffer. Someone decided it would be a good idea to throw something rotting into my fire, can you believe that?"

All that. All that death, her death, just because someone threw something in the fire that they shouldn't have? The priests said that there was not even anyone around besides them when it happened…

"That did happen maybe a hundred years ago, I'm pretty lazy, I couldn't be bothered till now."

Rage bubbled up inside of her, he had made people suffer that didn't even have anything to do with it? Someone who was already long dead, and likely being punished as he spoke was the cause? "Why? Why did you even—?" Her words caught, the way his eyes narrowed, the way they reflected things she never wanted to see, ever.

"Make your choice."