Chapter 7
I pushed open the regal, white doors that led to my grave. On the other side, was a man, in a polished, brown suit looking out the large, expanded window.
"Papa..", I breathed out, digging my fingernails into my palms. The said man turned around, his slick, bonde hair pulled back, glistened at the many torches in the dining room.
"Ah, Lucy. I see you made it nice and safe. How are you?", he monotoned. I brushed off the question, knowing full well he doesn't give a single shit.
"You didn't tell me about the omiai, Papa.", I clenched my jaw, obviously showing how mad I was.
He blinked once, then shook his head lightly. "You needn't know. Your only part in this is to get married, period."
"But it's my life, my decision. You kicked me out, you can't just take me back in.", I argued, approaching him closer.
"Are you implying that you choose to stay kicked out? This is your home, one day, this mansion will be yours and you may choose whatever you wish to do with it."
"Oh, wow. I actually get to choose? Surprise, surprise. In like what-? 50 years from now when you expire-"
"WASH THAT MOUTH OF YOURS WITH SOAP, YOU IMPETUOUS CHILD!", he yelled. His voice bounced off the gold walls and echoed until it died out. Goosebumps rose on my silky skin as Papa regained composure.
He cleared his throat. "That way of talk is vulgar and it certainly has tainted your once innocence demeanor. Try that again, child, and I guarantee that the wedding will be tomorrow."
"Not if they don't want it to be.", I muttered under my breath, glaring at the old man.
"If you speak in that manner while with company, I'll have punishment done to your little friends and family back at your so called hobble."
My eyes widened. "Oh, you wouldn't dare!", I growled.
"I forget, have you met me, dear daughter?", he chuckled, walking past me to the open doorway. "Now, the Fernandes Family had just arrived. This time, and this time only do you get to choose; which one you will be wedded to."
"Right, there is three possible heirs.", I sighed, shaking my head to forget about his threat.
"Whichever one you choose, will be the heir. So choose wisely, be sure that he will treat you well and he will serve to make you satisfied.", he finished before closing the giant doors with a loud woosh of air.
"Unlike you..", I gulped, taking my seat beside the end of the long table.
"Yes, yes, she's right over here.", I heard Papa's dulled out voice behind the double doors. Right after, they swung open revealing a group of six aristocrats, dressed up in their fancy outfits and monocles. No- they didn't really have monocles but you know what I mean.
A woman with pure black hair and a strange, red tattoo along the side of her right cheek walked past Papa, towards me. Her eyes were a lonely red, though her big smile said so otherwise. "OH! How lovely it is to meet you, darling!", she beamed, taking my hand in hers. She shook it gently, before letting go, only to bring it up to my face to brush a strand of curly hair behind my ear. "How lucky I am to have a beautiful daughter-in-law."
My breath hitched in my throat at how- incredibly annoying and bothersome her voice and her manner of speaking is. I wanted to punch her straight in her eye, but before I could do so, the father came to greet me. He had a very light blue hair, pointing in all kinds of directions. He looked down at me as if I were some kind of bug that kissed at his pointy shoes that had higher heels than mine.
"I still think we should've skipped this. Our sons could do better.", he coughed in his hankerchief. I heard Papa clear his throat, as the mother turned around, a mad expression on her small face.
"Is that anyway to talk to you daughter, Felix?", she whined, shaking her head. She turned back to me and smiled warmly. "Dear Lucy, I'd like you to meet your new father, Felix Fernandes. And I, Elsa Fernandes. Right there-", she pointed behind her to three boys, each wearing a different colored suit; one black, one dark blue, like mine and another crimson red. "They're your brother-in-law, while one is your spouse. Jellal, Jellal, and Jellal."
I gritted my teeth, tired of her dialect and perky personality, way more than Levy's or Natsu's. But she must've mistaken my annoyance for confusion since she laughed lightly at her own introduction of the boys. "Yes, I know it can be a bit confusing but they all have different personalities, and I tell you that when you spend enough time with them, you'll be able to tell each other apart."
"Well, shall we all take our seats?", Papa interrupted, motioning for the dining table. I turned back around as everybody took their place. Papa sat next to me at the end chair, as did the other father at the opposite side. The mother, Elsa sat beside him on my side while the boys sat across from us. One of them, Jellal in the red suit sat across from me and gave me a small smirk.
Ughhhhhhkk, he's gonna' be a pain in the ass.. I thought.
There was a stinging silence of forks hitting the salad bowls and the crunching of deaths of lettuces and croutons before Papa decided to break the silence again. "So, boys. Where do you go to school?"
The one in the black suit continued to eat his salad, unaware of the world around him while the one in the blue looked up, a clueless expression on his face. The one in the red, having the obvious charismatic qualities replied to my father's question.
"We attend different schools to avoid unneeded confusion. I go to Bella Donna Private School just the next county over. He goes the Yellow Jacket Community School in the Daisy County right by one of our diamond factories and he goes to the Fuschia Boarding School isolated from pretty much everything else.", he pointed to the one in the blue before the one in the black. "It matches our personalities, he's reserved and an extreme introvert, and he's dense and shy."
"You, on the other hand, is a charming boy who refused to do your chores as a child!", his mother exclaimed, tapping her fork on the salad bowl.
"He needn't do chores. He's the son of a billionaire, chores are for commoners!", Papa huffed, earning an approving nod from the other father. "Take my Lucy as an example. She's raised in utter aristocracy and is a model of pure innocence and perfection."
"Amen!", the mother preached, holding her hands up. "But, Dear Lucy, I do hope you find happiness in living with one of our princes."
I nodded against my will, looking ahead of me at the smirking twindle of red and blue.
"So, Lucy, what school do you go to?", Jellal in red rested his elbow on the table, his head on his hand. I gulped, playing with the lettuce on my white salad bowl. I felt everybody's stare on me, especially Papa's.
I sighed. "I've been homeschooled with only one tutor in hand for my childhood years. Until just about 6 months ago, I've decided I wanted to know what it felt like to have responsibility. My father, had let me go for a little while and released me into the commoner populace of the county a few more over. I took residence in a low-rent dormitory-apartment and I've met a few girls who'd prove to be my friends for the rest of my time living there."
I look up and witnessed everybody staring at me bewildered, while Papa on the other hand smiled to himself at how I quickly saved myself. At the short, eerie silence, I've noted that they wanted me to continue.
I gulped once more. "Today was my first day at attending a local high school. It was fun, but I knew that.. I knew that I had to go back so you I won't miss you."
"How risky.", a deep voice boomed. I looked up at the Fernandes father. He wiped his mouth with a cloth and stared straight at me. "So you spent half a year with the underground mutts and you still manage to keep your glow."
I forcefuly giggled. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"She was set on knowing what it felt like to experience the everyday commoner life. When she came back, she came back not only my daughter, but my daughter with a sense of responsibilty and empathy."
The mother and father nodded in agreement. I cringed at his cheesy speech and how easy they were to fall for that stupid excuse of a man.
The red Jellal raised his eyebrows, his smirk growing wider, reminding me of that blonde teen back at Fiore High. I felt bad vibes emitting from him, and the bad part was he's right across from me. "Wow. How impressive. You've spent 6 moths without all your treasures and maids..?"
I nodded.
"All because you've wondered what commoner life was?"
I nodded again.
"Only to return for an omiai-"
"Jellal!", his mother snapped. "This is not an arranged marriage! You two will learn to love each other, wether by heart or as brothers and sisters! This is certainly not, an arranged marriage!"
"Well, mother, my point is, she had freedom for only 6 months only to return to be married off for 60 years!"
"60 years?!", his mother gasped. "You will be married for as long as I want you to be married-!"
"Elsa!", the father brought his fist down on the table. Elsa quickly collected herself, looking down at her hands on her lap. Quiet overtook the table as everybody quickly finished up their appetizers.
"A-Actually...", I spoke up. I heard the woosh of air as their heads perked up from the empty salad bowls. I froze. My voice escaped as a gasp, unknowing to myself that I actually spoke up.
"What is it, Lucy?", Papa cleared his throat.
What? I didn't know why I said that... I just... wanted to stop this. I wanted to tell him that I didn't want to be married right now, I just wanted to be curled up in my comforter in apartment 6, thinking of ways why I shouldn't fall in love with Natsu Dragneel.. wait... Natsu...
Natsu Dragneel!
"P-Papa... umm.."
"Lucy, what did I tell you about speech. Use proper language, daughter!"
"Papa.. during my days away from the estate... you know, back at my own house.."
"Yes?"
"I found someone.", I stated bluntly. The once eerie silene turnded into an awkward one, which, I have to admit, is worse than the latter.
"You.. You found someone..", he repeated.
"Yes, Papa.."
"And who is this 'someone'?"
"He's-.. He's a basketball player-"
"A BASKETBALL PLAYER?!", Felix laughed histerically. "A basketball player! You hear that, Elsa?! She would choose a sports monkey commoner, over a well-raised billionaire to be!"
"Lucy, dear. I do hope you think about this more.. thoroughly. Our boys have been prepping for this moment, to meet a beautiful girl such as yourself. We'll buy you anything you'd like, just please-"
"Oh, Elsa, with all due respect. Um, I've come to known since a long time ago, that money isn't everything. I would've loved to think about my decision again, well.. until you proposed that you'd buy me anything. At least, now I know what kind of people you bunch are.", I announced kind of rudely despite my starter sentece.
"That's it!", Felix coughed, pushing his chair back. "I've had enough of your ill-behaved daughter, Jude. This certainly wasn't worth the travel!"
My father pushed his chair back as well, but with more force so that it actually tripped on it's own leg and fell back. "I agree, my daughter does have more personality and attitude than most aristocrats I have encountered. But she also has more wisdom than your family will ever have combined!"
"Oh, and you're the one who wanted this meeting, Jude. Didn't you say you wanted to ally our companies together? How about those diamonds in your beach, huh?", Elsa joined in throwing her wiping cloth down on the wooden floors.
"I did wanted to do just that, but I also respect my daughter' decision at times, obviously unlike you. If she says she found someone, I'll let her have the privileg-"
"Privilege, he says!", the father boomed as he motioned for the boys to leave their seats. "What privilege does your daughter have if her father has to arrange a marriage for her! And you say she had acquired responsibility!"
I gritted my teeth at how carefree he spoke of me and my father. I scoffed, "Responsibility, my ass! You think I lived out of his radar for months because I wanted responsibility?! NO, I wanted what you people can't have, nor give despite how much money you have! I wanted freedom, and I got freedom, until you bunch strolled along and had to ruin everything! Oh, how happy I would be if I had the privilege to beat the shits out of you and your obnoxious wife!"
Elsa stepped back, clenching her fists into a ball. "Why you-"
Before she finished her sentence, Capricorn and Yukino, our two most trusted and strongest security stormed into the dining room and dragged both the father and mother out, the boys following their tracks. But just before they left, the red jellal turned around and gave me a sly smirk before striding off after his two brothers and struggling parents.
I sighed.
Now, to deal with my father.
