Lucy's POV

She spent her sleep tossing and turning. She had the same dream for the past three months. In the time she had been at the Heartfilia manor again she had gotten many cuts and bruises. She would be hit by anything and everything you could imagine. The worst incident was when she was thrown down the stairs because she was walking to slow. After Jude had reached Lucy at the bottom of the stairs she proceeded to kick the defenceless blonde. She didn't know how long this went on for. Somewhere in the mists of the brutal beating she had blacked out. This had only happened two days ago. It's how he works. Jude will continuously abuse Lucy in increments of time. It would be five days and two days off. This would give her time to heal to the point that she could take more. At this point she had been eating less and less. She was a sickly pale and you could see the start her bones jutting out. Her collar bones being the most prominent.

Her two days were up. She was no longer surprised when she would wake up to Jude sitting awake in her room waiting for her to wake up. She would like to say today was no different, but that wasn't the case. She slowly took in the surroundings of her room and saw no one. That is until the door slowly opened by the household maid.

"Miss, your Father would like to see you in his study." Virgo had changed a lot since Lucy had last been here. Virgo no longer called her by her nickname 'Princess'. No she only called Lucy miss. It really made the house seem more and more gloomy and dreadful.

Nonetheless, Lucy had gotten up and put on the bright pink frilly dress that was left for her at the foot of her bed. The Dress was too big for her shrinking frame, but she would upset Jude by not wearing it. That would only make matters worst.

She tried to keep her limping to a minimal. She had no idea why her father would need her. Well, except for the obvious reasons of 'Stress release' on his part. Normally he would just wake her up for that. There was also the fact of the dress. If it was a beating he was calling her for then why dress her up?

Before Lucy seemed to blink she had stopped in front of the heavy oak doors. Behind them held her past, present and future. How ever long that she had futurewise was held at the will of the man behind the enormous door.

She took one big breath. With that she knocked. She heard a faint 'Come in'. Just as she opened the door she saw what she least expected. Her father was sitting in a chair smiling. The big question was, What was he smiling about?

Then she noticed the person sitting in the seat across from Jude. The person didn't stand or acknowledge Lucy. The first thing she noticed was his spiky blonde hair. She slowly made her way to the seat next to the unknown man.

"Lucy," Jude grabbed her attention, "This is Sting Eucliffe. He is to be your husband."

Lucy froze at this statement. Husband. She just sat there looking between the two others in the room. She went from beaten to thrown into a forced marriage. Then the man next to her spoke up.

"Jude, do you mind if I take Lucy for a walk? To get to know her and all."

"Why of course." He approved nodding towards the door.

With that Sting stood up, offering a had to Lucy. She glanced at the out stretched hand and accepted it reluctantly. They were walking out of Jude's study in complete silence. They didn't say a word until they were in the snow covered garden. Lucy was so deep in thought that she didn't feel the bite of the cold winter wind. She didn't notice the man next to her was talking until he called her name out. Pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Are you still with us?" Sting chuckled.

"Was I ever here?" Lucy mumbled under her breath.

"I don't know what you have been going through here but this is not my idea at all. It is my father and Jude. They were talking about a business deal. From what I have heard it's to merge the companies." Sting insisted, "Nothing against you but I have my sights set on someone."

"Well, best of luck. You can have the company. I am only here for one thing." Lucy paused, "I will stay here to keep the ones I love safe. Whether I like it or not. I have to stay here. For them."

-X-

In the few weeks Lucy had spent with Sting she came to befriend him. He was there for her. He comforted her. He reminded her of her friends from Fairy Tail. She missed them so much, but she knew the consequences if she returned. So she stayed for their sake.

Jude hadn't hit her for a while. There were small incidents, a slap for talking out of turn, but nothing she couldn't handle. At this point she was numb. There was no pain. Her eyes had lost the little light she had obtained with everyone in Fairy Tail. Sting was great company, although her eyes were still dull and lifeless.

One night Lucy was changing for bed and Sting had come into her room and saw the remaining bruises that hadn't completely healed. He saw her scars. The worst was the scar that ran from the middle of her back to her hip. He only caught a glimpse because she was in the process of pulling her shirt down.

He stopped abruptly when Lucy turned around. He only said one thing before engulfing her in a hug. "I will get you out of her,

.

.

.

I promise."

A/N: Okay guys. We are just about at the half way point. I only plan on having 20-25 chapters. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you have questions PM me or drop a comment. I updated early because I won't have access to my lap top on Monday. Enjoy! Don't forget to Fallow, Favorite and Review. STAY GLORIOUS!

-Mellow