A/N: Thank you guys for all the love! It was really encouraging to see that you guys liked this story so much. I won't keep you waiting further—happy reading!
Chapter 2: The Summons
It was a peaceful day in the town of Konzern. Located not too far from Magnolia's capital, one would think the area would be much more affluent. This was not the case, however. Konzern was a small village stuck in the past; whereas most cities nowadays had paved roadways and carriages, they had cobblestone streets, wheelbarrows, and very few horses. The majority of houses were tiny, lit by lamplight, heated by fireplace, and lacking in electricity. Thankfully, the town was situated on a cool river, so it rarely got hot there, and they were able to sustain themselves through local farming. The winters, however, were brutal. Though technological concepts like lightbulbs, electricity and air conditioning were slowly spreading, the townsfolk here were stuck in their ways—though it was primarily due to change being too expensive.
Lucy Heartfilia, the town's proclaimed beauty, hummed to herself as she hurried down the quaint, cobblestone streets, a basket of apples and bread dangling off her arm. The wind ruffled her blue dress, which fanned out at the bottom like a bell. Her twin blonde pigtails hung past her bosoms and her smile was contagious. Every facer she passed instantly transformed into a smile in her presence. She was the pride and joy of the town, a woman so kind she seemed to have popped out of a fairy tale.
At present, she was in the process of delivering her family's produce to the older residents who could not make it from their homes to her family's sales stall. Lucy didn't mind the task. It allowed her a chance to get out the house and socialize with people that were not related to her. Her father, Jude Heartfilia, was not a bad person, just overbearing. On the other hand, her stepmother of four years, Weisslia Eucliffe, was kind of a bitch, as was her stepbrother, Sting Eucliffe-Heartfilia.
Despite his generally bad attitude, Lucy didn't hate Sting. It must've been hard growing up with a mother like that and she figured his foul mannerisms were genetic. Unlike his mother, he'd grown somewhat nicer over the years he'd lived in the Heartfilia Household. Though she wished her father had not gotten remarried after her mother's death, he was happier than ever now. The thought of that woman creating happiness was illogical to her, but if he was happy, then he was happy.
A group of giggling children ran by, pulling her from her thoughts. She smiled as she watched them play. It was good that there were more kids in the village now. Most people in her age range were at least five years older or younger than her, save for five other villagers including Sting. Once upon a time they did not like her very much either, so needless to say she barely had anyone to play with growing up and often found herself lonely. At least these kids wouldn't have to deal with that.
As one of the adult villagers came out of his house to fuss at the children, Lucy turned her attention back to her mission.
Five minutes later she came to a stop outside a tiny white house with a wooden porch. It was one of the older homes in the village, and its wisdom showed.
"Mrs. Gladys!" Lucy called cheerfully.
There was some shuffling inside the house, and after a moment the aging front door creaked open to reveal a very small, graying old lady wearing a baggy green sweater. She smiled. "Ahh, Lucy dear. How are you?"
"I'm great, and you?"
"Just peachy, dear." She waved a shakey hand, ushering Lucy into her abode. The inside was sparsely furnished and smelled of moth balls. "Thank you for coming by, dear."
Lucy shook her head as she placed a loaf of bread and a couple apples on the table. "It's no trouble at all, ma'am. It's the least I can do."
After a bit of small talk, Lucy bid the woman farewell. One stop down, four more to go.
Lucy balanced herself on the gray stone barrier that separated the ground from the river as she made her way to the next residence. Gran Gran Spetto—who was not actually related to her—was a little further away, so she always opted to take the more scenic route. A familiar voice called for her to mind her steps, and Lucy answered back she would as usual. This was her routine: man the market stall with her dad, deliver goods to Gladys, walk the river to Gran Gran Spetto, go next door to Norbert, and stop by Lilith and Old Man Christophe's residences on the way back to her father's. It was mundane, but she liked it. It brought her peace.
Her stop at Spetto's ran longer than usual—the old woman insisted she have tea and candy—and by the time she finished with her deliveries the sky had transformed a captivating golden expanse. She peered into the river and marveled at her wavy reflection against such an incredible sky. If she could paint, she would no doubt make this her debut work.
A loud string of horns erupted into the peaceful air, scaring her so badly she almost took a fateful tumble into the river. Disturbed birds scattered into the air, cawing in protest. She looked to the direction of the disturbance and was shocked to see the royal cavalry marching through the center of town. Worried, she dropped her basket and ran back towards her home as fast as she could.
Lucy looked on worriedly at the ten horsemen who had stopped just a few feet in front of her father's market stand. The setting sun bounced brightly off their striking silver armor as their horses whinnied quietly, occasionally taking a small step from their stationary positions. A small crowd of concerned citizens had formed around the soldiers. Slowly, Lucy inched over to her father who was looking on in awe.
"What's going on dad?" Lucy whispered.
"No clue." Came the plump blonde man's hushed response. If it were not for the thick beard, age lines and extra weight, he would be Lucy's twin. "We haven't been visited by the royal calvary in years. And we haven't done anything wrong."
The collective hushed voices flittering through the air seemed to echo this sentiment. It was unprecedented for them to show up here without any warning or warrant.
"Attention, citizens of Konzern," The leading soldier decreed through a blowhorn. "Bring all the women aged 18-26 to the center of town." The odd request ignited a concerned murmur throughout the small crowd. Seeing no one moved, he aggressively added, "Now!"
The townspeople scattered to do as they were instructed. It took but a second for a minuscule gang of women to form rows in front of the statuesque horses. A few women were still pouring in, as well as varying other citizens gathering on the outskirts of the spectacle. A random passerby would assume there was a heated street fight going on rather than a group of nervous women standing still.
Lucy, however, was unable to move. She was nineteen years old, so she had to go and participate in whatever this was. Yet, she could not move. A giant pit took root in her stomach as the trepidation weighed her feet down, effectively freezing her in fear. She had a very bad feeling about this.
A squeeze to her palm snapped her out of it. Lucy gave her father an anxious glance before slowly creeping into the back of the crowd along with the last few stragglers. She cast another nervous glance in the direction of her father's stand, where he was looking on with equal worry. He offered her a feeble nod of encouragement.
The solider with the bugle hopped off his horse and removed his helmet, revealing himself to be a handsome, dark-haired man not much older than she. He looked agitated. "Is this all the women in town?"
"Yes sir, we have a very small and aging population." A male citizen in the crowd responded.
The soldier tsked. "You've got to be kidding." He eyed the front row of ladies up and down. "This was a waste of time." He murmured. He walked over to one of the other soldiers and began talking not so quietly. "What should we do? Mard said bring the prettiest fifteen, but they've barely got fifteen women of age and they're all kind of bland."
Now that pissed Lucy off. She clenched her fists angrily as she ground her teeth. How dare he deem them ugly! There was no shortage of happy couples here. And why on earth would they come here just to ogle the selection of eligible women. It was beyond superficial and just strange. Even still, she dared not retort, nor did anyone else. If anything, she angled herself behind the taller brunette named Allison in front of her in a bid to conceal herself.
The soldier next to him responded, "Just pick a few of the best ones, Gray. You're around him the most, and we don't have much to work with. Can't be mad at us."
"But that bast—excuse me—he will be angry with us anyway. Or at least Mard will chew us out. Oh, whatever." Gray walked back over to the group of women, ignoring the glares pouring in from the small crowd. He started at the front row, eyeing each of the uncomfortably blushing women up and down and occasionally moving their faces from side to side.
"You." He said, pointing at a blue haired woman. "You," he continued to a brunette, making his way deeper into the crowd. "You, you, you and you. Pack your best clothes, you've been selected as a potential suitor to King Dragneel. Congratulations. The rest of you, go about your day."
Looks of shock and a not so subtle collection of outraged voices erupted from the crowd. The selected women looked at each other with wide eyes full of surprise and worry.
"WHAT?" A man yelled. Lucy craned her neck around Allison to see Sheldon, a beefy man with a temper issue. He pushed his way through to the center. "That woman," he began, pointing at a small, orange haired woman named Beth, "is my fiancé! What do you mean—"
An unsheathed sword in the direction of his throat stopped him in his tracks, eliciting a collective gasp from the crowd. Said orange haired woman looked on in fear. He swallowed thickly.
"I could give a fuck less if she was your wife. You dare say no to the king? Huh?!" The knight asked with dangerously narrowed eyes. The man in question shook his head slowly with his hands raised in a sheepish defense. "Thought so. Don't worry though," he paused to sheath his sword, "Women from all over the kingdom are being asked to attend this ball. You'll only lose this wench if the King takes a liking to her—which I doubt he will." His lip twitched into a petty smirk, clearly enjoying the man's displeasure.
Sheldon dawned an expressionless face, clearly pissed but poorly attempting to disguise the emotion.
Gray sighed. He cast a condescending glance toward the six women he singled out as suitors. "See the soldier to my left so he can take your personal information. Be ready to be picked up early tomorrow morning. Given the state of this place I will assume most of you probably do not have nice dresses, so I will have you fitted tomorrow morning after your arrival at the castle." He waved dismissively to the rest of the crowd. "The rest of you, once again, please go about your days."
Lucy exhaled a sigh of relief as the grumbling crowd dispersed. Somehow, she escaped that weird selection. She thanked God for Allison; her height ensured Gray never once looked in her direction. He was clearly a half assed soldier doing a half assed job—not that she was complaining. She could never leave this quaint place. Not even for a king. Especially not for King Dragneel.
Wading through the dispersing collection of people, she joined her visibly relieved father in front of their market cart. Strong arms tightened around her as Jude rubbed his scratchy beard on the top of her head. Lucy squirmed under his embrace.
"Oh, thank heavens," he said with dramatic tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. "I didn't want to lose you."
"I'm happy too," Lucy grunted, "Now please let go."
Jude did as he was told. He placed his hands on her shoulders with a small smile. "Let's go back home."
Lucy nodded. She stole one last glance over to where she and the other the women had previously gathered. The first thing that caught her eye was the sight of a dirty-blonde glasses wearing woman named Evergreen trying to get the head soldier's attention. He was obviously ignoring her and engaging with the men under his charge, but that did not deter her. The effort was almost comical. It didn't surprise Lucy that she actually wanted to marry the king—she was always quite vocal about wanting to get out of Konzern.
She turned her attention to the five women who were deemed "worthy" by the soldier. They were huddled together, most likely gossiping as they waited to speak with the record taker. Lucy recognized them as Juvia, a bluenette she liked, Karen, a green haired bitch she hated, Kinana, a purple haired woman she had no particular feelings for, Aqua, a bluenette she kind of hated, and Kagura, a brunette who scared her. She also noted the sixth woman, Beth, was gone, likely to console her angry fiancé.
Lucy eyed the man in charge, who was now turning his attention to away from his soldiers—either to address Evergreen or to address the other ladies. His piercing navy blue eyes locked with hers, effectively vaporizing all the breath in her body. The huge, heavy pit had returned to her stomach in full force. She sharply turned heel and latched onto her family sales cart. She prayed he would leave her be.
"Oi! Blondie!" His gruff voice called out.
The hairs on Lucy's neck stood on end as the sound of horse hooves clopped closer. She turned slowly to see none other than her worst nightmare gazing down on her from atop his horse. Jude's smile fell into a flat line. Lucy wanted to disappear.
He hopped off his horse and leaned his face into her personal space. Lucy shrunk into herself, clutching her sides in a bear hug for dear life as he slowly circled her with his hands on his hips. An inspection. He abruptly stopped pacing in front of her, grabbed her face and turned her head from side to side. His cold, calloused fingers sent shivers down her spine. After a long moment he relinquished her, but kept his eyes trained on her body well-endowed body. A low toned wolf whistle escaped his lips. "Woah. How'd I miss you?"
Lucy was at a loss for words as he kept boring his lecherous eyes into her soul. A few townspeople watched the developments unfold.
"What's your name?" He asked finally, taking a small step back.
"It's Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."
The creepy knight finally broke his gaze to turn his attention to her father. "Is this your daughter?"
"Yes sir." Jude replied almost timidly.
"Congratulations then, Mr. Heartfilia." He said with a smirk. "Lucy here is officially selected as lucky number seven." He walked back to his horse and mounted it with ease. "Where do you live?"
"Right around the corner, house 25." Lucy replied quietly.
"Okay, great." He said, pulling out a notepad and jotting something in it. He hopped back onto his chocolate horse. "Pack your things sweetheart, we'll pick you up in the morning."
With that, he snapped the reigns on his horse. It neighed loudly and trotted back over to the other knights. "Let's go, men!" He shouted.
A collective "yes sir!" resounded from the other horsemen before they all turned and galloped toward the entrance of town. Lucy watched in shock as they moved further and further away. Even after they were no larger than specs of dust in the distance, she could not shake her stupor.
Jude Heartfilia collapsed to his knees, finally breaking the spell that was cast on her.
"Dad?!" She cried.
A glassy look was cast over Jude's eyes as the tears that dissipated earlier came flooding back full force. She crouched down and shook his shoulders a little. He blinked a couple times, his expressionless stupor melting into one of confusion and then realization.
"Sorry dear." He rubbed the back of his head with the fakest smile on the planet. "I was just a little shocked, is all."
"It's okay." Lucy said as she helped him to his feet. "I'll be back in no time, I promise."
Jude nodded quietly. "Of course you will."
It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Lucy.
Lucy sat in a chair in front of her window, gazing out at the moon above. Observing the lunar sky was her favorite pastime, but something just seemed… different about tonight. The moon was vibrant as ever, yet it seemed dim in her eyes. The stars did not have their same twinkle, and the air was just… off. As she continued to stare, she realized that the night was eerily quieter than usual, as if the entire world decided to freeze with her.
Three quick knocks on her door pulled her attention from the window. Her tall, light blonde stepbrother was leaning again the open doorway with his foot propped up. "Yo," he greeted with a wave.
"Hey." She responded timidly.
He ushered himself in without asking and plopped down on her thin purple bedspread. It creaked under his weight. Her room did not have much, just a bed, a small table, a mirror and a chair. Unfortunately, his presence did not make the room feel any less empty. In fact, the air felt even closer to a void now with his awkward edition.
They sat in silence, neither truly sure of what to say. Any stranger would assume they were fully related, hell, maybe even swear they were twins. They were both blondes, didn't look too too different face wise, and were even born a few days apart. Despite their similarities, neither of them fully "got" the other. Afterall, they had only been siblings for four years. It did not help that he bullied her during their childhood either. Maturity changes a person though. Needless to say, they no longer hated each other, but they weren't best buddies either.
"You're going, huh?" Sting asked finally, breaking the silence.
"Unfortunately." She replied. "Ugh, this is so random! Why me?"
"Don't worry," Sting said. "Trust me, once the king meets you, he'll send you right back to Konzern. I promise."
His hilarious joke sent him into fit of boisterous laughter. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Oh whatever." She cast her gaze back towards the window, a small pout on her lips.
Sting wiped the tears from his eyes as he attempted to calm his laughter. After a little too long, he finally said, "No, but seriously, I'm sure you'll be back soon enough."
Lucy sighed. "Yeah… I'm just worried about the deliveries. And helping dad with the shop. I've always been there for him. I don't want him to be alone."
"Those deliveries to the old folks? Pshhh," He waved his hand dismissively. "I'll do it in your stead. And I'll help dad out too."
"Really?!" She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
"Really." He responded. He stood up and walked towards her. Considering she was sitting, he seemed to tower over her, and his blonde hair looked almost white under the light of the moon. She winced involuntarily as he sharply jabbed his finger into her forehead. "But only until you come back. So, you better hurry back."
She smiled softly. "Deal."
He waved as he walked out of the room, leaving Lucy to her thoughts. A yawn escaped her lips. Suddenly she was feeling extremely drained.
She slipped into her nightgown, blew out her candles and crawled into bed. Honestly, she was ready to get this all over with and go back to her peaceful life.
No matter what, she was determined to make sure the king did not fancy her. At all.
The town rooster crowded loudly as the sun rose. It seemed like a typical quiet morning. Lucy covered her head with a pillow, praying the rooster would shut up and the sun would go away.
And then, the ground began to shake. Loudly.
She sat up in a panic as the noisy mini earthquake grew closer and louder. Then, as quickly as it began, it stopped.
All was quiet—too quiet. Her eyes adjusted to bring her sparsely furnished room in to focus. Despite the earthquake, nothing was out of place. She raised an eyebrow. Something just wasn't right.
"Lucy." Her dad said from her doorway. She hadn't noticed his arrival. "It's time to go."
Then, it all hit her. Oh.
"They said be ready in ten minutes." He added softly.
"Okay." She replied.
Jude opted to leave rather than say anything else.
How could she forget she was summoned to the royal palace? Lucy fought back tears as she crawled out of bed as slowly as she could, hoping that if she willed it so, time would stop all together. She painstakingly slipped into her nicest blue dress and fashioned her hair into a bun. She gripped the golden heart pendant resting around her neck. It was the necklace her mother had left her before she passed away. Despite the turbulent circumstances, it offered her a strange sense of security.
Lucy carefully tucked in her sheets and made sure the few items she had laying around were put away—who wants to come home to a messy room?—and then headed to her front door, a small satchel of clothes on her shoulder.
She was shocked to find Weisslia standing by the door. Her blonde hair was tucked up into a bun, and she was wearing a lavender dress.
"Don't embarrass us." The older woman said simply. "But I'm sure that'll be hard for you, so I'll see you again soon."
"Yeah." Lucy replied with a snort. Surprisingly, that was the nicest exchange they had ever had.
She inhaled deeply as her hand came to rest on the door handle. She shut her eyes tightly, hoping that this was all just a bad dream and she could still somehow wake herself up if she really tried. As she slowly pulled the door open, she came face to face with none other than the perverted knight who all but groped her yesterday, confirming that this was no dream.
"Finally ready, Ms. Heartfilia?" He asked. His tone gave away the irritation that his face did not.
"Yes. I-I'm ready." She said.
Her feet robotically followed Gray despite how hard she wanted to tell them not to. She wanted to protest, to run away, to do anything but this. Yet and still she complied. It was a short walk to the center of town. A beautiful but gigantic maroon and white carriage pulled by six horses and the group of knights from yesterday awaited. This must have been the true source of that earthquake, she realized. The other poor victims to this scheme were filing into the carriage. Funnily enough, Evergreen was there, too. A few other citizens were standing around too. Lucy recognized them as the parents or siblings of the selected women, as well as a few gossiping hens and shopkeepers.
"Go on." Gray instructed, giving her a small nudge.
Lucy wanted to punch him for the unnecessary contact. But, of course, she didn't. She didn't have a death wish.
She looked back in the direction of her house and was surprised to find her family had followed her. Weisslia had her arm around the tearful Jude, and Sting stood off to the side with his arms behind his head in an attempt to look indifferent. She gave them a small wave. They all waved back.
Lucy steeled her resolve before climbing into the vehicle. The inside was lined with plush red satin and gold trimmings and was spacious enough to hold all the eight of them, their bags, and then some.
She settled into an empty seat by the back window next to Juvia. Seconds later, the carriage lurched forward, and they were on the way.
Though the other girls were quite chatty, Lucy just couldn't muster the strength to socialize. Instead she stared out the window. Her father, stepbrother and stepmother stood watching her grow farther and farther away. As the scenery she knew and loved grew more and more distant, she couldn't help the tears welling in her eyes. This just wasn't fair.
A large collection of trees was all she could see. Even still, her eyes never left the window. Everyone knew the king could do whatever he wanted, but this was just too far. She silently prayed she would not be the poor sap stuck chained to that evil autocrat as a permanent accessory. In fact, she would ensure that she would be back here in three days if it were the last thing she did.
A/N: And scene! I hope you enjoyed. I rewrote this twice, so it took a little longer than expected. Hopefully the length makes up for the time. Let me know how I did. Next chapter should be fun!
Also, I decided I'm keeping the rating a T. I will decide by Sunday if I am changing the name or not, so if you have a name idea drop me a comment or DM me!
Thank you to Amanny, MatchTeaPot, Guest, littlelostgirlx, Guest, and Uchida Akira for reviewing! And thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, or read. I appreaciate y'all too :)
Lastly, I'm dropping like three one shots in the next few days. Wild, I know. See you next time!