Chapter 25

Paradise Arc – Start

Lucy

I rode in a carriage towards Magnolia with Loke, Erza, and Natsu. We were on our way back from a simple mission. Loke and I had become partners ever since I joined Fairy Tail. He had taken to training me on how to fight together with my Celestial Spirits, rather than just letting them do all the work. Erza and Natsu had also begun to take on missions together with us. I'm not entirely sure why they did, our missions were typically ranked lower than what the two of them were used to, so we haven't ever really needed their help. Still, the extra firepower has been very helpful.

I sat next to Loke and across from me was Erza, Happy, and an unconscious Natsu. Natsu has been laying on Erza's lap for pretty much the whole ride. His sister knocked him out almost immediately once the carriage started moving.

"You've really improved Lucy." Erza said, "You've become much stronger since when you first joined the guild."

I smiled at the S-Class mage, "Thank you, Erza."

"It's only a matter of time before you surpass me." Loke laughed.

"I doubt I'll get that good," I confessed, "The way you and Aries fight together, I still have a long way to go before I reach that level of synergy."

"Say, Lucy?" Happy called to me, getting my attention, "Who's your favorite Spirit?"

"My favorite?" I thought for a moment, "I don't really have one. I love all my Spirits."

I looked to Loke to see him smiling.

"Well, are there any you would still like to get?" Erza asked.

"Hm, I really want to get Capricorn."

"Why Capricorn?" Loke asked.

I pulled out my keys and showed them to everyone in the carriage, "Aquarius and Cancer were originally my Mom's spirits. When she died, they were passed down to me. She used to have Capricorn too, but his key was…stolen."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Erza replied in a somber tone, "Natsu and I lost our parents in the war with Alvarez, so we know what it's like to lose a parent."

Silence filled the carriage. Deciding to lighten the mood, I added, "I would also like to get the key for Leo the Lion."

Erza smirked and replied, "Sounds like a powerful spirit."

"He's known as the leader of the Twelve Golden Zodiac Keys." I told her.

We both looked to Loke for his input, but he was looking away and not paying attention.

The carriage slowed to a stop and the driver turned to us and said, "Alright, we're here. Fairy Tail."

Natsu suddenly jumped up from Erza's lap and rushed out of the carriage yelling, "FREEDOM". The rest of us got out the carriage like normal people and paid the carriage driver. After being away, I just wanted to go home and relax, but seeing as everyone else was going inside the guild, I figured I could go in and say hi.

We were met by a strange sight in the guild hall. It wasn't silent, but it was close to it. There were a few hushed whispers here and there, but for the most part everyone was silent, and on edge. Nobody even really noticed us walk in.

"What's going?" Erza asked to nobody in particular, "Why does every look worried."

A small girl with short blue hair walked up to us. Her name was Levy McGarden, another friend I had made in my time at Fairy Tail.

"A member of the magic council came in to see Master."

Erza's eyes narrowed as she looked around the guild hall, "Alright, who did it?"

Now everyone went from worried to scared.

"It was Mira wasn't it!"

"Uh, Mira still isn't back from her mission." Levy informed Erza.

"Oh, Laxus?"

"On a mission."

"Gray?"

"With Mira."

"Mystogan?"

"You're just pulling straws now."

Erza looked down at the ground defeated. I thought about the mission we took on, but the collateral damage was at a minimum. The requester didn't even seem that upset.

The sound of a door in the back of the hall opening signaled everyone to quiet down. The silence was deafening as Master Makarov and a certain blue haired man with a red tattoo running above and below his left eye walked out into the open. I recognized the man as Siegrain Fernandes, Ten Wizard Saint and member of the Magic Council of Fiore.

"And it seems they got back just in the nick of time." Makarov said.

Siegrain walked over towards me. He wore a warm smile, and seemed happy to see me, "IT's been too long, Lucy. I trust you are doing well?"

"Uh, yeah. How about you?" I was getting embarrassed with all eyes on me. I really was happy to see Siegrain, but the fact that he cam eall the way out ehre worried me.

"Might we speak to you in private?" Siegrain asked, "I have a message I would like to relay to you."

I gulped and nodded my head. It wasn't like I was worried about meeting with Siegrain, but under these circumstances, it was a little worrying. I followed Siegrain back to Master Makarov's office and was relieved when the Master followed us in. Makarov took a seat behind his desk while Siegrain and I took our seats in front.

"I'm sorry to have to call you out like this, but I have been requested to bring you home." Siegrain explained to me, cutting right to the point.

"What?"

"Your father contacted me. He said he was having a hard time reaching you and he wanted me to find you and bring you home."

"But, why?"

Siegrain took a deep breath. It was clear he was uncomfortable with this conversation too. Though he was handling it much better than I was. Behind the desk, I could see Master was completely unfazed. I figured he was already given all the details.

"Apparently, he's found a groom for you."

Siegrain waited for a moment for me to reply, but I had no response for him. I was in too much shook to say anything. I knew he wanted to me marry some rich and powerful person, but I made it clear I wasn't interested in that kind of stuff.

"Furthermore, he seemed to insinuate that he didn't want you continuing down the path as a mage. That's why I came specifically to speak with Master Makarov on the issue."

Siegrain motioned to Master to speak, "Lucy, as a member of Fairy Tail, your happiness is, above all else, the most important thing to us. Siegrain was concerned that you would not be interested in marrying this man and leaving your life as a mage. If you would like, myself and a few other mages could accompany you back to the Konzern and help you out with this situation."

"I had already convinced your father to hear you out if you had any objections." Siegrain added.

"He agreed to that?"

"That was my only requirement to help him."

I gave a sigh of relief. I did not want to marry some random guy, nor did I want to give up on my life as a mage.

"Wait, who's the guy?"

"Cody Junelle."

I groaned; I recognized the last name. It was the family that ran a competing company. Beyond that though, I knew little to nothing about the person.

"He's from a wealthy and influential family."

"Thank you, and Master if you could help out…"

"Of course." Master replied, "You're Fairy Tail. We look out for each other."

I could help but notice Siegrain smile at that.

"So then, when's the earliest you can get ready to go?"

A day later

I couldn't believe where I was standing. It had been a few months since I had last stepped foot in the Konzern. With me were Master Makarov, Siegrain, Loke, Erza, Natsu, and Happy. Loke was chosen to accompany us because of his aid in training me with Celestial Spirit Magic. Natsu, Erza, and Happy on the other hand just decided to tag along. It wasn't a bad idea either. They had been doing a few missions with me and we seemed to get along well enough.

We were led to one of the meeting rooms in the mansion. The room was large with a lacrima-vision on the wall overlooking the large conference table. At the head of the table was a large man with blonde hair and a matching mustache. Sitting on the right side of the table, was a man with stylish orange hair. He had a creepy look about him. I could only assume this was Cody.

The man at the head of the table, my father, Jude, greeted us as we walked in, "Welcome."

Cody rose from his seat and pulled out a chair, motioning for me to sit, "For you, Lady Lucy?"

Before I could even decide whether to sit next to him or not, Siegrain pushed me to sit on the other side of the table. I took a seat at the far end, adjacent to my father. Siegrain sat next to me, followed by Loke and Natsu. On the opposite side sat, in order, Cody, Master Makarov, Erza, and Happy.

"Lucy, I'm glad that you have come back."

"I never." I began, only for Siegrain to place his hand on my shoulder, I looked to him and realized what he was trying to tell me. I simply replied, "I'm glad to see you too, Father."

"Now then, I'm sure Siegrain had already filled you in on why I called you here." He motioned towards the man across from me, "This is Cody Junelle, the man you are arranged to marry."

"I never agreed to this."

"Lucy,"

"Mr. Heartfilia." Siegrain called out.

"Yes, Siegrain, I get it. I will hear her out."

"I don't want to marry some man I don't even know."

"Not even for the sake of the family?" Father replied in a stern, commanding voice.

I shrunk at his gaze. I was never very good at going against my father. I had always been the obedient daughter he wanted me to be. If I didn't like something, I would have to see Mom about it, but that wasn't an option anymore.

"Mr. Heartfilia," Siegrain began, "I think what Lucy is trying to say is that she doesn't know this man, and the thought of marrying a complete stranger is frightening."

"Well, there's nothing to be frightened about." Cody replied dismissively, "As my wife, you'll have nothing to be scared of."

My father gave Cody a look before turning his attention to me, "I see, is this true Lucy?"

I nodded my head.

"Then perhaps you would be willing to postpone the wedding? Until the two of you can get to know each other better?"

Cody leaned back and took a deep breath. He didn't look to happy about the prospect of postponing, "My family is very eager for this marriage to happen. I'd rather this happen sooner rather than later."

"But surely you realize you know very little about Lucy," Siegrain added, "Wouldn't it be nice to know a bit more about the woman you are marrying?"

"As her father, I would feel more comfortable as well if we postponed this." Father added.

"Fine, we can postpone," Cody leaned forward and grabbed my hand, making me jump, "But I will say this Lucy, I will make you happier than even this silly little guild thing ever will."

"Which I think is a good place to jump to our next topic." Father said, "You're future as a mage."

"There's little to say." Cody replied, "She'll cease this magic nonsense, leave that guild, and marry me."

"And who decided that?" Master Makarov asked him in a calm voice.

"I'm sorry, but who are you? Unless you are Mr. Heartfilia or Lucy, you have no say in this." Cody replied.

Natsu began to growl from down the table.

"Child, calm down." Master Makarov called to the Dragon Slayer, "And for the record, I am Makarov Dreyar, Guild Master of Fairy Tail. The guild Lucy belongs to."

"Well, that won't matter for long. Once she's mine, she won't be a silly little mage anymore, will you?"

I fell silent. For some reason I felt to powerless.

"Stop acting like you own Lucy, she isn't your slave." Erza said, sounding very angry and irritated.

"Lucy is a very talented Celestial Spirit Mage. I've been training her, and it would be a waste of her talents to take that away from her." Loke argued

I was surprised by how heated the conversation got suddenly. I knew that these mages were particularly hot-headed, but even this caught me off guard.

"Lucy, do you really still want to be a Celestial Spirit Mage?" Father asked me.

"Yes."

"Why, after everything that has happened?"

"I like being a mage." I explained to my father, "I like working with the Spirits and helping people."

"Lucy has been a great addition to the guild," Master added, "She's a hard worker, and as Loke pointed out, she is incredibly talented."

"Well, she can continue using her magic to help me." Cody interjected.

Cody rose from his chair and circled around to my side of the table and began playing with my hair, "Once you're my wife, you won't have any need for these people."

I tried to pull my hair away from him, but he only tightened his grip around my hair.

"None of this even matters, you will marry me."

"And what if I don't want to." I finally growled in reply.

"You don't get a choice."

It was then that I felt the temperature in the room rise. Looking around, I noticed all the mages in the room staring bullets at this man who was playing with my hair. The amount of magical power emanating off them was almost suffocating.

"Lucy, is not an object." Master said, "You do not get to control her."

"And if you think any of us will stand for that." Siegrain added.

"We'll kick your ass!" Everyone joined in.

I looked to my father and saw that even he was angry.

"If that is the case, then you can consider this proposal withdrawn. As much as the Heartfilia Konzern needs your family's help, I will not allow you to have your way with my daughter."

"W-what?"

"Get out of my sight."

"Jude!" Cody tried to argue, letting go of my hair.

Natsu jumped from his seat and grabbed Cody by the shoulder.

"Unhand me!" he ordered.

"He said to get out!" Natsu proceeded to throw Cody through the door into the hallway. Erza stood up as well and requiped a sword.

"You will regret this!" Cody shouted.

Siegrain leaned forward and shot Cody a glare. The rich man jumped and darted off towards the entrance.

"Well, that settles that." Erza remarked, putting away ehr sword and dusting off her hands.

My father didn't look pleased at all.

"I suppose this means you will be returning to Fairy Tail?"

"Yes."

"Is there any way I can persuade you otherwise."

"Father, this is what I want. I want to be a Celestial Spirit Mage."

"Fine, then go." Father said as he stood up.

"Father…" I said, standing up as well.

"You can return to Fairy Tail. You know the way out." He then left the conference room.

We were left in the conference room alone. Siegrain and the others tried to console me, but I didn't want to hear it. We then left the Konzern and headed back to Magnolia. I was silent the whole way back.

Erza

Since it was getting late, we decided to stop at a hotel for the night and continue our way home tomorrow. The rooms were split up so that Lucy and I shared a room; Master, Loke, Natsu, and Happy shared a room; and Siegrain had his own room. Siegrain was also kind enough to cover the cost of our rooms. The plan was that we would clean up and then go out to dinner with Siegrain. I was walking down the hall, looking to get some ice for mine and Lucy's room, when I ran into the blue haired man.

"Ah, Erza, just the person I wanted to see." He said with a devious smile.

"Yes?"

"Would you let the others know I won't be joining them at dinner? We need to...make a transfer."

"Lucy isn't going to be happy to hear that." I told him.

"Why should I care what that girl thinks? We have more important things to take care of you know. We're moving forward with phase two."

"Phase two?" I looked up at the man before me and realization hit me.

The man smiled at me, "Keep an eye out for some tickets. We'll be extracting you later."

Thank you for reading. Please review and let me know what you thought!