Read.

That was all Lucy Heartfilia did these days.

Was this really all that life had to offer?

After she finished reading the last page of a book she had read over ten times before, she closed it gently and placed it on the small round table with a sigh. This was the third time in a row she'd read this book from cover to cover in the past three days. Normally, now would be the time she returned it to the library in exchange for something different.

Ever since she was a little girl, reading had always been her favorite pastime, and so she always had her nose in a book. While all the other girls in the village were more concerned with boys and appearances, Lucy never had any interest for these things. She had always found herself tucked away in a corner, getting lost in a fictional universe in hopes to escape from her provincial life. She never made any friends, and was ridiculed by the other villagers for being "odd", but she never noticed because she very rarely ever looked up from her books.

She now lived in a small, isolated house with her father, who was too obsessed with his job to ever pay attention to her. In a way, she preferred it like this, because it gave her the freedom to read as much as she wanted.

But nowadays not even her favorite book could get her out of this sad mood she had been in for months now. A while ago she had succeeded in reading all the books in the local library, which, sadly, had the only books in town. Now, with no other new fictional worlds to venture in, she felt hopelessly bored and unmotivated. She could always re-read them all, but there was just something thrilling about reading a book you knew nothing about, delving into a world you've never imagined before. She just wouldn't be able enjoy the experience as much anymore. There had only been one book she had ever been able to re-read and not get bored, but she was now getting tired of that one as well.

It was times like this when she wished she lived elsewhere, preferably with a large library that had stacks of books waiting to be read at every corner. But sadly, that wasn't her reality.

"There has to be more to life than this," she sighed.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Her father rose his head from his desk and turned to look in her direction, a rare occurrence. She began to shake her head, but then stopped short. She rested an elbow on the table and cradled the side of her face with her hand.

"Father, have you ever wondered what life is like beyond this small town?" She asked, even though she already knew what his answer would be.

"Nope. I am grateful that we live peaceful lives here. You should appreciate what we have." Of course.

"Yes, but, don't you get bored?"

"There's plenty to do in town," he retorted.

There really isn't, she wanted to say, but she knew that the conversation was now over because her father would not be changing his mind.

"I guess…" she dropped the subject. "I'll be right back, I need to go into town to return this book," she said before hopping off her chair, taking the book from the table, smoothing out her casual yellow dress and heading towards the front door.

"Okay. See you later."

She nodded and walked out.

At least pretend to care, she thought to herself as she shut the door behind her. The sun was going to set soon, wasn't he at least a bit worried about her being out alone this late?

Lucy walked down the front steps of the one-story house and began to make her way to town, occasionally stopping to appreciate the beautiful summer scenery. On each side of the dirt road stood various tall, green trees, and flowers of every color imaginable dotted the grass, ubiquitous and peaceful. There wasn't a cloud the sky, and the setting sun was just starting to sink into the horizon.

It was a perfect time for a leisurely walk.

I can always return the book tomorrow, Lucy thought to herself as she found herself straying from the path that led to town, beginning to take a different path that turned the other direction instead, but she hesitated.

The thought of taking this alternate path had crossed her mind before, of course, but her father would always stress that she was to never ever enter it, for bad things lie at the end. She always listened, despite how pretty the scenery was as you looked down the road. She had always been tempted to walk through it, and today was the perfect day. Her father probably had already forgotten her absence.

If I see anything bad, I'll just turn back, she assured herself. What could possibly go wrong?

Aside from books, the beauty of nature was something Lucy enjoyed reveling in. The constant changing of the seasons brought new things every year, and she loved it. There was no way she was turning away the opportunity to view new parts of nature.

She began walking down the forbidden road, and immediately regretted not coming here sooner. Out of the few paths she'd traveled on, this was one of the nicest.

The path continued through the forest, piquing her interest. She took her time walking, stopping occasionally to appreciate a flower or any trees that stood out from the rest. Why didn't father want me to take this road? She thought incredulously to herself. It's so pretty here. She had been so immersed in her surrounds that she didn't notice the fork in the road until she found herself face to face with it.

"Eh?"

She stared at the two contrasting roads. The one on the right continued just as the one she was on currently, with pretty flowers and trees that now glowed orange in the light of the sunset. The one on the left on the other hand, seemed to have a creepy, dark aura surrounding it. The trees that outlined the road were droopy and dead, and the grass was overgrown and brown. An eerie, mysterious fog could be seen among the decaying branches.

Looks interesting.

Deciding she had seen enough beautiful nature for the day, she sauntered into the left path.

A few minutes passed, and Lucy was now completely enveloped in the eerie darkness that very much contrasted her appearance. Sure, she thought about turning around multiple times, but as she continued her trek through this mysterious forest she had grew more intrigued with each passing second. There was no way she was turning back now.

After ten minutes of walking, she began to see the silhouette of something huge in the distance, causing her to hesitate. What was it? A large tree? A house? A monster? She had to find out. She started walking faster, hoping her last theory was wrong.

The figure in the distance became increasingly visible with each step, and she was soon able to conclude that it was a castle, but it looked abandoned and dilapidated.

Eventually, the dense, eerie forest ended, but the sun had completely set by now. She continued walking in the darkness towards the large building until she stood at a wide, stone bridge, leading to the castle that seemed to stand on its own piece of land. Creepy looking gargoyles stood every several meters on each side of the passageway, giving the whole scene an even creepier vibe. She slowly made her way across it, looking back in suspicion every so often. Yeah, she was a little scared now, but there was no point in turning around and running back home after she had gotten this far. She doubted her father even noticed she'd been gone this long, anyway.

At the end of the bridge she was met with a tall, black gate that stood between stone walls that surrounded the entire property. She pushed it experimentally. It opened with a loud creak, giving her an entrance into the large building.

The castle looked a lot bigger to Lucy now that she was standing right in front of it. The path leading to the large front door was surrounded by dying nature and was outlined by rusty lamp posts. She hesitantly walked down the path and up the steps that led to the door.

To her surprise, the door was cracked open, giving her a slight view of what was inside. She pushed the door open just enough so she could step inside.

The moment she took a step into the massive foyer, the thought that had entered her mind multiple times in the past hour popped up into her head once more.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

The vast space was gorgeous, with a large maroon rug leading to two grand staircases that led in different directions; one to the left, the other to the right, with a large, expensive looking painting hanging on the wall between them. The ceiling rose up to the second floor, partially leaving a view of the floor above her. The staircase railing and several pillars served as a wall for that part of the second floor, and the rest was covered by a wall. She couldn't see the rest of the space, however, because it was barely lit.

"Hello?" She called out, but immediately questioned herself. That was how the main character got found by the evil monster in horror novels. She basically just called out, "Hey, monster! I'm right here! Come and attack me!"

It was then that she heard female voices coming from her left. She turned, but saw nothing. Were there people in the shadows?

"Who's that girl? Is she someone's guest?"

"I doubt it. Do you think she's from town?"

"Probably, should we greet her?"

"I don't know, is she friendly?"

"Well, she doesn't look dangerous…"

"Could she be…"

"Oh my Mavis! She could be!"

"Shh! She'll hear us!"

Lucy sweatdropped, staring at the noisy darkness. Did the owners of those voices honestly think she wouldn't be able to hear them when they were talking so loud in this echoey room?

"Um… Is there anyone there?" She questioned the shadows.

"She's looking right at us."

"Should we keep hiding? Maybe she'll leave."

"But, what if she's the 'one'?"

"Ah! You're right! Let's get her before she leaves!"

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Lucy remained where she stood, hearing everything the two sweet sounding voices were saying. A moment later, she saw two figures emerging from the shadows. When their faces came into view, her hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock.

"Hello! Welcome to the castle!"

Two similar-looking humanoid female monsters appeared before her, getting closer with every second. They both had white hair, though one, the one that spoke, had longer hair than the other. Black, intricate designs outlined their pale faces, and curved horns stuck out from above their ears. Their exposed arms looked slightly scaly, with the same black designs as the ones on their faces. Their eyes glowed an eerie, bright blue, and ferocious fangs deceived their seemingly innocent, wide smiles. The older one wore a long, black dress that hugged her torso and flowed outward from the waist down, with a thin gray sash wrapped around her waist and tied at her side. The younger-looking one wore the same dress, only hers stopped slightly above the knees. Upon seeing Lucy's shocked demeanor, their smiles and happy expression immediately dropped.

"Please don't be afraid of us. We're demons, but we mean no harm. My name is Mirajane, and this is my sister, Lisanna," the one named Mirajane hurriedly explained. "You do not need to be frightened, we're all friendly here."

The one named Lisanna looked down at her black shoes. "Well, all except Natsu," she muttered under her breath. Mirajane nudged her with a hushed "Shh!"

Lucy's hand slowly retreated from her mouth to rest at her side. Well, they don't seem hostile, she thought to herself, relaxing with every passing second.

"I-I'm Lucy," she began. "I was taking a walk and just happened to see this place. Curiosity got the best of me and now I'm here," she confessed with a nervous laugh. Their bright smiles returned with full force.

"Oh! Come! Come! Let us ease your curiosity and show you around! Oh, I know! Why don't you stay the night! It must be far too late for you to return home at this hour! Would you like something to eat? Drink? We have everything!" Mirajane pressed, lightly pushing Lucy toward the staircase on the right.

"Wait, Mira! If Natsu sees her…"

Mirajane immediately stopped. "Oh Mavis, you're right!" She gave out an annoyed sigh. "Honestly! How does this man expect to break this curse if he sends every visitor to the dungeon?" She huffed, taking Lucy's hand. "Come on, you have to hide."

Lucy gulped. "D-dungeon?"

"Mira, you frightened her."

Mirajane let go of Lucy's shoulders with a start.

"Oh! Please don't be frightened! We won't let anything happen to you!"

At this point, Lucy decided she had done enough exploring for today. It had been fun, but now she just wanted to be home, away from old castles, pushy demons, dungeons, and most of all, whoever this "Natsu" person was. He didn't seem very friendly.

"A-actually," Lucy started with another nervous laugh, "I-I really think I should be going," she stammered, taking a step backward towards the door with every word. She turned around the end of her sentence and began speed walking toward the door, that was still open from when she entered.

"Dang it, Mira, we scared her off," she heard Lisanna's sad voice behind her.

"Please don't go…" Mira called out softly after her.

"It's so lonely here," her younger sister murmured.

Lucy suddenly started to feel sympathy for the demons. They probably lived just like she did, lonely and bored everyday, confined in this abandoned castle with only the evil Natsu to keep them company. She somewhat knew exactly how these girls felt, and before she knew it she found herself turning back around, but she only got about halfway before she felt her back bump into someone's hard chest. She froze. She could feel the hate emanating from this person. Mirajane and Lisanna's expressions suddenly changed from somber to shocked, making Lucy extremely apprehensive.

"Mira. Lisanna," she heard a male voice behind her, eerily calm. "Who is this?"

The two siblings gulped in perfect sync.

"Natsu…" Lisanna murmured uneasily, then shot Lucy with a sympathetic expression.

Natsu?

Lucy slowly finished turning around, only to be met with a scowl from a pink-haired demon. On his face he shared the same demonic features as the two sisters, but she couldn't tell what the rest of him looked like because the only thing that was visible was his face. He was wearing a long black cloak that covered everything lower than his neck. He looked about her age, giving off a seemingly more innocent appearance. Lucy's terrified expression lighted a bit.

Hmm, not what I was expecting.

His scowl deepened, and Lucy quickly dropped back down into her frightened state.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send you to the dungeon right now, intruder," he growled.

I'm so dead, she thought grimly.