Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA
After staying overnight in that campsite and having to perform a few more times, they were all chained up, Lucy at the front and marched them through the countryside. All in all, Lucy was treated better than the rest of the captives. She was fed comparatively well, even given the chance to bathe whenever they had stopped near water. Well, it was more like they tossed her into the river along with their filthy clothing to wash, but she did get the chance to scrub some of the grime off herself. They let her keep her clothes and boots, which she was grateful for as they marched over mountainous terrain. She was even given a blanket at night. They used her as much as they wanted but nothing compared to what they did to the rest, especially the men. She learned they were Pergrandian slave traders which was why some of the guards declined to use her. They didn't prefer "bitches" evidently. She also found they were bound for Pergrande, which left her very uncertain about her future. She didn't understand why she was treated differently, and the other slaves glared at her, like it was her fault they were in this predicament. She couldn't fault them though. She would probably feel the same if she were in their place. If she didn't respond quick enough or well enough, someone else always suffered. She was trying, really she was, but the guards kept putting unrealistic rules onto things just to ensure she failed. If she tripped, another slave was punished. If she didn't eat her food, another slave was punished. If she didn't clean the clothes well enough, another slave was punished. If she didn't suck off a guard fast enough, another slave was punished.
She tried hard to keep the guards happy to keep the others safer. Thoughts of escape had quickly fled when she was told what would happen to the rest if she managed to run off. Hollis was quite cheerful when he informed her that for every hour she was missing he would personally brutally kill one person, starting with the youngest. He explained he had no real need of any of them beside her. She was their cash cow and the rest were just extra change. She had seen him kill or hurt plenty already and did not doubt that he would follow through upon that threat. So no matter what indignity she had to cope with she was determined to do her best to keep as many of the others as safe and alive as possible. Some nights she wasn't even sure if that was the kindest thing or if letting them be killed was actually more humane. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to remove any chance of hope for them though, even if she felt she had none for herself.
Their trek led them through the frozen mountains of Iceberg. Many had been left dead or dying along the way. Some freezing overnight as they huddled together for warmth. When the temperatures dropped Hollis had her sleep with him in his tent. She became numb to the groping by the time they left the high country and descended into a warmer climate.
After an agonizing two weeks and their numbers were down to nearly half, they finally reached a city of some sort. They were waltzed right through the streets chained together. Children threw rocks and dirt and the gods only know what else at them. Lucy was in the front of the line and escaped most of the objects because she was too close to the guards. They were loaded onto another train, and she was kept separated yet again. She passed out almost immediately from the rocking of the train car. Her shoulders ached, but she was too exhausted to care.
She awoke to being unhooked and dragged out of the train car. It was either dusk or dawn, she had lost track of time. Oh how she missed Horologium. She didn't realize how much she relied on him before. Being honest with herself, she relied on all of her spirits quite a bit. Virgo would be horrified at her current state of dress and hygiene. She would get her new clothes and help her bathe. Cancer would get all of the tangles in her hair and Loke would be her knight in shining armor. Rescuing her then flirting with her as a distraction from the horrors she faced. Aries would make her a soft bed to lay on with her wool so that she could get a restful sleep and Aquarius...Well, Aquarius would call her a brat and tell her this never would have happened if she found a boyfriend. Tears trickled down as she thought of her spirit friends, her only family now that Fairy Tail was gone. She would get them back. Somehow, she would get out of this and get her keys back and never take them for granted again.
They were again all shackled together in a line and they were marched into what appeared to be a giant colosseum of sorts. They were led inside to the main arena. The colosseum was huge! She had never seen one quite like it, it was larger than the one in Crocus used for the Grand Magic Games. She turned around looking until Hollis grabbed her by the neck. She was detached from the line and dragged away from the rest. Lucy was starting to panic now. After everything, she really didn't want to be separated from the rest, even if they did despise her. She even started pulling back on her chains, but it made no difference. Hollis just continued to drag her along towards an immaculate man with dark hair and green eyes wearing what appeared like a hospital lab coat.
"This is the one you wanted Boss." Hollis shoved her towards the man in the white coat. She fell to her knees in front of him and looked up, confused as to what was occuring. The man eyed her thoroughly and nodded to Hollis. He bent down and took a gentle hold of her chin to look closely at her face. He was actually quite handsome, Lucy thought to herself.
"Night night," he said as she felt a pinch in her arm and once again everything went dark.
Her vision was blurry when she woke, her brain felt fuzzy. It was bright where she was and she was on a bed of some sort. As her eyesight began to focus she thought she was in a hospital of some kind. A worker in a white lab coat with a clipboard was filling out some papers nearby. Lucy tried to ask where she was, but the only sound that came out of her was a croak. The brown haired man in the lab coat turned to her and smiled, "Ah you are awake. Let me get you some water." The man left Lucy's line of sight, and when she went to turn her head to follow she found that moving was nearly impossible. It was as if she had no strength in her body. Her mind was in a fog as she tried to recall how she ended up there. The man returned and helped her lift her head enough to take a few sips of water.
"Where am I? How did I get here?" Lucy managed to ask. The man smiled, ignored her questions and went back to filling out paperwork on the clipboard. Another person entered the room and walked into Lucy's line of sight. He was handsome and tall with black wavy hair and bright green eyes. Lucy couldn't help but think he looked familiar, but her mind was still in a haze.
He walked over to her and checked some sort of equipment near her she couldn't quite see. "Are you a doctor?" she asked.
He smiled just a bit and simply replied, "In some aspects you could say so." He had a pleasant voice to go along with his pleasant appearance. He turned back to the other man and asked when the medication was administered, he replied an hour ago. He turned back to Lucy and smiled again. For some reason his smile was not comforting in the least. "Now we have a few items that need to be cleared up, so I will be asking some questions. Please understand, the medication you are on may make you feel sluggish, but it is important we get this information." He paused a little but didn't wait for a response before continuing. "Your name and guild affiliation?"
"Lucy Heartfilia and Fairy Tail." She noticed the other man was taking notes as she spoke.
"Your application in Seven stated you were not affiliated with a guild but you have a guild mark, please explain."
"I was in Fairy Tail, but they are no more. The guild disbanded." Tears glossed her eyes as she told this stranger about her former guild. He simply nodded and continued.
"Fairy Tail was home to several dragon slayers, correct? Which ones?" He hummed happily as she listed out the slayers she knew. "Your application stated you are a Celestial Mage, but you have no keys. Please explain."
In her mind several alarms triggered. She should not trust this man, nor tell him about her guild, keys or friends. For some reason, she kept replying anyhow. "I am and they are in requip storage." The man nodded again and asked her to list what keys she was contracted with. Internally she cringed as she heard herself list each of them one by one. She didn't mention Aquarius because she wasn't contracted anymore.
"You have the majority of the zodiacs. Impressive. Married? Family?" More alarms triggered, but again she couldn't help but to respond.
"No one," she whispered. "There is no one." He proceeded to ask about the medical history for her deceased parents. Tears fell while she described each parent's death.
"Good. Good. Thank you my dear, we have some tests to perform so it is time for you to go back to sleep." He smiled at her once again and she heard him ask the other man for a full suite of tests including a pelvic exam as everything faded back to black.
When Lucy awoke again, she was still in the same room but alone this time. She tried to sit up but was strapped down to the bed. She didn't know if she had been restrained the last time she was conscious since she couldn't move to find out. She tried to requip her keys but still couldn't use her magic. Her head was clearer this time and she remembered why that man was familiar. He was the one Hollis called "Boss" when she was delivered to wherever she was. She didn't understand why she had given him answers, she assumed she was under some sort of influencing drug or spell with how foggy she felt. Her mind went through that conversation and the tests he had asked for when she was losing consciousness again. He asked for a pelvic exam. Hollis had been under orders "not to fuck her". Why was her being a virgin so important? Not that she was complaining that they had left her alone in that regard, but it surely meant something that wouldn't end up being good. He was also familiar with her application for travel in Seven. Does that mean she was targeted right from the start? Her mind whirled through the possibilities.
Meanwhile two men watched her struggle with her restraints from a one way mirror on the other side of the room. The black haired, green eyed man spoke. "We will need to get her to requip her keys so that we can properly keep them contained while giving her some access to her magic. Once we manage this we can bring in Zen."
The other man nodded. "And you are certain that he will be drawn to her?"
"Yes your highness. Our research found that archangel mages are compelled to protect and even mate with celestial mages. Neither should be able to resist the pull as it is built into their magic. Once they mate and we ensure she is pregnant we may even be able to use her to get him to comply with your other wish."
The King of Pergrande grinned. He would finally get what he wanted from Zen no matter what he had to do to get it. And if he couldn't he would have his offspring instead. He would win either way. "Good work Nuryev. If you accomplish all you say you can, then I will be more than happy to relieve you of that problematic mother of yours in return."
The green eyed man nodded and bowed as the King left. He was not fond of working for Karadin, but whatever he had to do to get out from under that bitch was worth it. Although, if all of his plans came to fruition, the King would not survive either. If he had learned nothing else from years of torture at the hands of his own mother it was endurance. He could endure both of them as long as he needed to ensure revenge was his. So for now he was content to play scientist for the King. He was a very curious person by nature, so this experiment was intriguing anyhow. And if nothing else came from it, at least it kept him from his mother's reach for a time.