Looking out of the window from my bedroom, I can feel the cool glass press against my forehead as I stare out into the darkness. Shadows dance and sway with the passing of a gentle breeze down in the gardens below, but my eyes are searching off into the darkness of the forest that surrounds the castle. The sight is soothing as well as the silence that is slightly disturbed by the soft ticking of the nearby clock sitting at one of the bedside tables.
I run my fingers through my hair mindlessly playing with the loose strands while tucking my legs close to me to keep the chill of the room from reaching me. I look over at my untouched bed not feeling in the slightest bit tired. My mind has been buzzing all night making it impossible to find sleep leaving me to seek solace on the window seat of my new room.
My lack of sleep is no doubt due to the fact that this trip has not gone in any way I had imagined it would. I never in all my wildest dreams ever think that I would be reunited with Natsu after all the years we had been apart. Much less did I ever expect for him to have forgotten about me completely like he had. Although I know it's good that he doesn't remember me I can't help but feel hurt at the thought that I might not mean anything to him, but deep down I know that's not the case. I had hurt him and that was reason enough to permit him to disregard every piece of memory that pertained to me, but I would never forget him.
Chapter 6 - Brewing Hostility
POV: Lucy
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
A sliver of golden light breaks through the darkness in the distance rising from the east and alighting the world in its fiery glow. It's at that moment that I realize how late for sleep it is and how in just a few more hours I will be spending my first morning in my new home.
Standing up from my seat, I shift around my room getting ready for the new day. I put on a simple dark blue dress with a simple floral design that melted into the color of the cloth and slip on some dark low-heeled shoes over my stockings. I brush my hair up into my usual tight bun and don a pair of clean white gloves and check myself in the mirror before heading out of my room and towards the children's room to help them get ready for the day.
I would have expected said children to still be in bed, seeing as the day was still early, but I'm surprised to find both Rosalind and Etsuko jumping around their room fully awake. Both children enthusiastically greet me with wide inviting arms as they race and grab a hold of my skirts. I'm nearly knocked over from the sudden impact but I keep my balance as I hug them in return.
After a few minutes I help get the children ready before then leading them down towards the dining room for breakfast. Both children talk enthusiastically between one another as we enter the room and I'm surprised to find the king already seated at the head of the table sipping a cup of coffee and reading what looks like more documents.
Said male does not look up to acknowledge us as we take our seats on either side of him. I can't help but stare at the man before me in awe. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think to see Natsu reading something so early in the morning by his own volition. If I remember correctly, he had always been against reading the books I would take to him saying that it was boring. It was better to play out the stories rather than read them is something he would always say. Whenever we were in town he would always make me do the reading just so he wouldn't have to.
I guess being the king of Fiore causes you to be chained to your chair leaving you with nothing but boring documents to read all day.
"Good morning Lucille, did you sleep well?" Mira's bright voice asks as she emerges from the kitchen while balancing a tray filled with plates of food causing me to look away from Natsu.
"Oh, umm, Good morning Mirajane," I greet feeling my cheeks burn at my nervousness, "And I slept well, thank you for asking."
Her smile brightens as she places a plate full of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me before putting down a similar plate before both children. The king's plate, much like the night before, is filled higher than the rest of ours. He grabs his fork and digs into his meal without tearing his eyes away from his papers. He seems to be completely focused on them because the children try to include him into their conversation to which he only ever grunts replies.
The ambiance of this morning is strange and foreign to me. Back home breakfast, as well as any other meal, was always a quiet one. Father, like Natsu, was always going over paperwork during his meals and never tolerated even a single peep from me. Watching the children laugh and excessively raise their volume perturbs me since their father seems so busy. I feel as if at any second Natsu might just snap and tell the children to be quiet.
"DAD!" Etsuko eventually shouts out making the older male jump and then look over his papers at the young boy who has leaned over the table to grab his father's attention, "Are we going to go fishing today?" he asks as Natsu stares at him with a mouthful of food clearly having forgotten all about it.
"Fifing?" he asks through his mouthful as he looks dumbly at his only son.
Rosalind rolls her eyes looking exasperated as she shakes her head like an adult would do towards a slow minded person, "Oh daddy," she sighs while continuing to shake her head, "Don't you remember that you promised us yesterday that you would take us out fishing?"
A light seems to have turned on within the older man's head as he sits up in his seat and swallows his food, "Oh right, fishing," he says slowly as the gears inside of his head begin to turn, "Right, we'll go during lunch when I get a break from work."
Both Etsuko and Rosalind cheer with exhilaration as they raise their hands up over their heads.
"You're going too, right Miss Ashley?" Rosalind asks, her angelic face looking at me expectantly.
"Who else is going to look after you troublemakers?" Natsu says before I can say anything, "Which reminds me, I informed Juvia that you won't begin with the children's lessons until tomorrow so that you'll have today to get better acquainted with the children and the castle," He says while looking at me directly, "So you can roam around the castle and familiarize yourself with the building for today."
"Thank you your majesty," I thank the older male who simply nods and goes back to scarfing down his breakfast.
After breakfast the children, deciding that they would continue to lead the tour of the castle, lead me into the second floor of the library. Down in the first floor, Natsu sits behind his desk going back to work on more of the documents that still litter his desk. From what I can see he's made progress since there does seem to be even less papers than the previous day when I had entered the library to meet the king.
I am lead to the near back of the second-floor past shelves and shelves of books seemed to be dedicated to fiction. We finally reach a small reading area that contains a long teal couch with two matching armchairs sitting around a long coffee table. An unlit fireplace sits behind the long couch with long ceiling to wall windows filtering room from either side of the fireplace. Not too far away from us is a rail that overlooks all the lower part of the library.
While in the library, Rosalind and Etsuko show me their favorite books to look at when they visit the library. Their favorite books mostly consisted of pictures with little to no words given that they both did not know how to properly read. Etsuko knew most words that he read and Rosalind tended to just stare at the pictures and make up stories of her own.
They both continue to show me more of their favorite reads when the main doors down on the first floor suddenly burst open. Moving closer to the rail, I notice Juvia stride into the room with a hard expression on her face as she makes her way towards Natsu who looks up from his work with a startled expression. The bluenette walks up to the desk and places two hands on the cool wood as she says something to him that I can't quite hear.
"Miss Ashley, loo…"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THAT THEY'RE BACKING OUT?!" Natsu's booming voice cuts Rosalind off as we all jump from the ferocious roar. A chill runs up my spine at the sound of his hands slamming onto his desk and for a split second I am no longer in the Dragneel library but in my father's old study back home. I can clearly see his looming form leaning over his paper-strewn desk, his dark cold eyes glaring down at me menacingly as he yells at me for being such an unwelcome nuisance, "I thought we had a deal?!" Natsu asks in a snarl that shocks me back into reality.
Never in the short amount of time I had known Natsu did I ever hear him sound so enraged. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever feared the sound of his usually jovial voice before.
"You did," Juvia's much calmer tone rises from the first floor sounding professional and unwavering, contrary to Natsu's heated shout "But since they caught word that you were in league with the Phantom Lord house they have decided to withdraw all of their negotiations."
My stomach drops at the mention of that dreadful house.
All residents within Fiore know about the 'prestigious' Phantom Lord house that ruled most of the western land of Fiore. Throughout generations the Phantom Lord house has been known to be the most notorious family in all the country. They had started and ended many wars within the nation with an endless network of connections that have kept the house from ever going bankrupt.
The current Duke from the Phantom Lord house is a man under the name Jose Porla. I have had the displeasure of meeting said Duke a handful of times and have come to know how cruel, greedy, and narcissistic he truly is. He stops at nothing until he gets what he wants and it is because of him that I am in hiding in fear. It is because of him that I am now an orphan with no home to return to…
A roar and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground brings me back to attention as I watch Rosalind scurry away from me and bury her face into her brother's chest, "Etsuko, I'm scared," she whimpers as the older boy holds her tightly to him, "D-Daddy's angry ag-again," she moans in fear and the older boy nods looking equally frightened as the young girl, though he tries to keep a strong composure to ease his little sister's fear.
"W-W-We should l-leave M-Miss Ashley," he suggests, his large dark eyes looking at me pleadingly as he continues to hold his sister tightly to his side.
Nodding, I quickly lead them through the back of the bookshelves to keep from being seen by the fuming king down below. My heart is hammering so hard against my chest that it's gotten harder to breathe. I urge the children to be silent as we near the exit of the library to the third floor of the castle and we open it slowly as both kids hastily retreat out into the hall.
"Then send them a warning!" Natsu's voice booms once again preventing me from taking a step out of the library, "Tell them that if they don't meet with me soon for renegotiations the Dragneel house will cut all ties with the Heartfilia house!" he growls as I turn to look in his direction feeling my heart falter at the familiar name, "The protection from the kingdom will no longer fall on them so if they have any problems they'll have to figure it out on their own," he grunts while taking a seat behind his disheveled desk, "It's not like those bastards ever really meant anything to me to begin with."
My eyes burn and a lump in my throat makes it hard for me to swallow. I watch the man down on the first floor of the library burn with anger as he stares at the startled bluenette before him who does not seem to know what to say to calm the heated king, "As you wish your highness," come her detached words as she bows before retreating from the room and closing the doors of the library behind her.
I watch the king runs both hands over his face with a tired and defeated sigh leaving his lips. Leans back in his chair with his hands remained covering his face preventing me from seeing his expression. As I continue to watch him I can't help but feel a sort of resentment burn through me and directed his way. My heart aches at the sight of him and the cold words he had just spoken about cutting all ties with the Heartfilia house.
"Miss Ashley, let's go. Dad'll get angrier if he sees you," Etsuko whispers while tugging on the skirt of my dress and I comply by walking through the door and shutting it behind me, clearly unaware of the dark eyes that watch my retreating form.
"W-Why don't we go and explore a bit more of the castle?" I ask both kids who eagerly nod before taking my hands in their and leading me away from the dragon's lair.
As promised, here is the second chapter for today!
I hope you all enjoyed the two chapters that were uploaded today as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Due to the incoming week being Finals week at school I will not be posting chapter 7 on May 8 as I will be dedicating all of next week to studying and I cannot have any distractions if I wish to pass my classes. Instead I will be posting chapters 7 and 8 on May 12 so that I don't fall behind with my updates again. I don't want a repeat of last year where I disappeared for long periods of time and I'm sure you all don't want that as well.
I'm sorry to make you guys wait again, but don't feel too down. Summer is just around the corner which means more time for me to continue planning my story as well as re-writing more chapters for you all to enjoy.
Also I want to wish all my lovely readers who are taking finals in the upcoming weeks! You guys are amazing and you'll breeze through all of your tests, this gal here believes in every single one of you!
May the fourth be with you all and I shall hope to see you next week Friday with two new chapters!
Until next time my lovelies
