Reviews are Nice; The pairings are NOT decided yet. I get people like Vander/Lucy, I like them too, they're adorable when she's sassy and keeps up with him, but...I really don't know if they will get together or if it will be a friendship...or how far this darkness is going to go.
I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima Does.
I don't own the Pradesh Clan. Desna does (and thank you for them).
I own the Storyline. That's it.
On another note: I am thinking of taking on an Editor/Beta for this story. I've a lot of little things and a lot to delve into, but sometimes things don't work out quite well in my head and I'll sit and stare for a few hours trying to grasp what I want.
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Arman hadn't wanted to visit the palace, but he'd needed to talk to Altiene. It was a bit of an evil, he supposed, but with nine children, perhaps the Princess would make another friend. The king looked at the children and chuckled, knowing what the other man was planning.
Kurino blinked at the large group and she knew she could get Farron away from them, it wasn't hard and she'd gotten good at it the last few times his father had brought them all. "Farron." She smiled sweetly to him and her lips curled down just a bit as she saw a new head of blonde hair, "…who is this."
The girl slowly looked at Kurino and smiled softly. She felt a little bit of jealously rise up in her as the little girl held onto Farron's hand. The two looked at each other and the little, tiny, what she thought was a four year old blonde cast big, doe eyes on her and then wrapped both her arms around one of her Farron's arms.
She didn't realize her own eyes had narrowed a bit, but then she saw a spark of…mischief. No, what was this little thing? It clung to her Farron like a pet. That had to be it, they'd adopted a little stay thing that just looked like a human, but was really an animal.
Lucy's eyes danced as she saw the small shift in demeanor, she'd always been fairly good at actually reading people when she applied herself. Right now, she was applying herself. The dark haired girl's eyes had a lot of emotions in them that weren't shown in her very kept together outer appearance.
"there's going to be a ball soon," Kurino smiled, keeping her eyes off the 'pet' and refusing to acknowledge it's existence. "I was hoping you could come.." she took a breath, "All of you, of course."
Farron nodded, feeling Lucy's arms tighten around his own just a little bit, "Of course, I am sure Dad will be there, so we will as well."
"will you…dance with me?"
Vander rolled his eyes. They didn't want to be there, something about the girl was off and it rankled him fairly well. He shifted on his feet and then moved away from the group, finding a tree to sit under and watch his family.
Farron gave a polite smile as he stood there, and then brought his free hand up to pat Lucy on the head affectionately, "I believe I will be able to do one dance."
"oh? Only one?" Kurino tilted her head, her mind automatically putting the head pat down to one an owner would give a well behaved dog. That was it! The 'girl' was actually a spelled dog to look like a little girl! Probably some sort of Fiorian blonde breed and it explained the big, dewy, brown eyes. Most Dogs had brown eyes. Her mind clung to that explanation.
"I will have to stay with my siblings and Lucy," He gave an almost unperceivable shrug; "she's still adjusting and may not do well with the crowds."
The dark haired girl wanted to scoff, but nodded and smiled, "ah, very noble." Her mind however was wondering why they'd bring a pet to a ball. Pets didn't belong at them…no that wasn't true. There were quite a few noble women that had those little yappy dogs that they carried around, so…she supposed with a new pet the family didn't want to leave it alone very long, lest it soil the floors.
"why don't we play a game?" Kurino smiled at Farron, "we've got the whole garden, there's plenty of space."
Farron looked thoughtful as he stood there and then nodded, "how about hide and seek? It's fairly simple."
Vander grinned, Hide and Seek was fun…and a good way to actually cause mischief without getting called on doing it for the sake of doing it, "I'm in!"
There was laughter and nods as they stood there, attempting to figure out who would be 'it' first. Kurino smiled, though it looked sweet, there was something in her eyes that wasn't, "perhaps…Lucy was it? You'd like to go first?"
Lucy tilted her head as she stood there and then shrugged, "okay." The blonde moved to a tree and then covered her eyes, slowly counting.
Kurino pursed her lips as the children scattered and then moved towards where she saw Farron going. She had to wonder if the small thing even knew how to count, but as each number rang clearly through the air…she realized they'd adopted quite the smart pet.
It was a natural game for young children, mage and non-mage alike, to play. For mages, they learned to use their magic carefully without blowing areas up, or in the case of Dragon Slayers, it made them more like bloodhounds in a way; Powerful bloodhounds that could kill if they weren't careful.
When she heard the last number called out…it was as if there were three voices, not one. She didn't want to peek and see what was going on. She'd found a nice dark area that she could hide in easily with her hair color. Laughter filled the air as well as calls of "Gemi!" and "Mini!" which made no sense to her.
When a strange little snow…man thing poked it's head through the bushes she was behind, she let out a screech and stared. Then her eyes went wide as there were three of the little blonde girls! Three!
"found you!" came the trio of voices and then two of them disappeared into…little blue dolls.
Her brow furrowed, "What…was…that?"
The Girl huffed, "not what. Who!" she reached down, pulling the snowman thing to her chest before she stepped back, "my Celestial Spirit friends."
Celestial Spirit. The Pet was a mage. A rare mage and her eyes danced as she took the thing in. The Blood Hunters were always looking for information on possible recruits, with rare magic. She watched the girl take a step back again and then shook the thoughts from her mind. Later. Grendice would reward her if she could toss a mage in his lap like this..and anything to get the pet away from Her Farron.
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"She was creepy," Lucy spoke as they watched the palace fade behind the vehicle.
Arman frowned, "that's not nice…" he went to say more, but several of his children snorted, "no matter how true you all may think it…it's not a nice statement."
The blonde girl looked at Arman for a moment, "her eyes. They're evil. Like Papa's were right after Mama died."
That made the ambassador blink, it was not an easy statement to say and he was hoping it was just…a wariness in the crown princess and not something more. He took a breath and then moved to smooth back the girl's hair, "she was probably just a bit caught off guard by things today."
Lucy didn't look convinced and her eyes just barely flickered towards Vander. She'd talk with him later and Kaleb, too. There was something wrong with that girl and it had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She put on a small smile though and nodded one of her eyebrows just barely quirked, "okay, Hygge. If you say so…"
Oh, Arman knew that tone and look, both Ganier and Layla used it. He'd come to realize it was a tone many women and girls used when they were trying to compromise but thought the male they were speaking to was being stupid. He was actually glad that both Emzadi and Xally had yet to figure out the small nuances, but with how they'd both watched Lucy at that instant, he knew they'd learn soon enough. Immaculate Light save the boys and himself.
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They'd had a week of preparation for the ball and a week of trying on clothes and finding jewelry…which the girls seemed to love more; Lucy hadn't been conservative, but she seemed to favor simpler designs. Even as a sound mage, it seemed like the children knew when he'd sent his magic to catch the whispers, or at least Lucy did. Her head would always slowly lift from where she was talking and look right at him.
The girl's magical containers were almost as big as Cristoff's own, and the boy's were still growing as he worked more and more with Nurem and other teachers and if he couldn't find her, Cristoff or Emzadi inside, they were more than likely curled up on a large fluffy mat next to the Dragon Queen.
Now they were at the ball and it seemed like the little blonde 'darling', as she was called by quite a few, had won hearts with innocent smiles, light laughter and the ability to reign in even Vander's and Bickslow's mouths. The music was just starting up again and he could see Kurino slowly moving towards Farron, right before a little tiny blur of silver was at his oldest's side and tugging him towards the dance floor. He watched the crown Princess, seeing the look of anger just bubbling in her eyes and then almost sighed when he saw the small smirk and very smug look on his Goddaughter's face.
Oh, This was trouble in the making. He wished he knew how he was going to stop it, but anytime Kurino seemed to get close enough to cut in, Lucy's eyes darted to the side, the little girl planted a foot and despite letting Farron mostly lead her, swung herself out to make the older boy follow her…or look like he'd messed up the dance.
By the time he was ready to take the children home, Kurino was fit to be tied and barely containing her glare towards the little blonde…who just smiled as innocent as she could and nuzzled Farron's arm. The Ambassador realized one thing: this was going to be something he wished beyond hope ended soon.
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Singing, dancing, horse riding, learning to handle a grass runner, her own private studies and then there was piano and harp lessons. He'd tried to suggest other ones, but he'd gotten that look again and had given in. if she wanted to learn more when she got older, she would.
It was two weeks later, after three days of the little blonde being strangely grumpy with everyone that he made a connection after coming back from the consulate after talking with king toma. The king's daughter had been a terror for the man, only to find out she'd had her first cycle. He'd warily thought of Lucy's actions, things slowly clicking into place, because Toma had pointed out that Fiorian girls, in general, seemed to start earlier than most on that sort of thing.
He came into the living room to see all of the boys tied up and the girls sitting with chocolate bars and mugs. He opened his mouth and then shut it because part of him knew he shouldn't find it amusing, but he did. The trays of chocolates, hot cocoa and cookies made him look towards Mister Elan and arch an eyebrow.
The Chef looked at him, then to the little blonde girl before shaking his head and turning. The man pulled out what looked like chocolate strawberry cheesecake muffins. He carefully set them on a tray and then smiled as he brought them out, "here you go, girls."
Lucy gave the man a warm smile and then picked one up, carefully bouncing it from hand to hand before she took a bite and let out a happy sound, "perfect, Mister Elan!"
Arman shook his head, "let them go…we'll start some extra lessons for you next week, Lucy."
The blonde smiled at Arman and nodded, "okay, Hygge." She looked at the boys that were on the floor and then shifted, using one hand as she continued to eat the muffin while untying the closet of the boys to her: Farron.
Farron looked a little scared as he hurried to get the other boys untied and Arman watched as they scattered away from the girls. Arman forgot, truly, how terrifying girls could get and there sitting was, normally, a very beautiful bundle of sunshine that had terrified the boys with probably very little effort.
"Do I wish to know what that was about?" He looked at the girls.
Emzadi blinked slowly, the larger blonde girl just slowly stirring a piece of chocolate into her cocoa, voice soft, almost reverent, "You don't mess with Scary Lucy…and it's true, we all have a scary side…Scary Lucy is real."
Xally nodded as she continued to nibble, "She is, but they ran in and tried to raid the cookies, they deserved it."
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Arman knew he shouldn't find it funny, but Nurem training the children had become a bit of a place where he could chuckle at the results. Cris and Emzadi were flourishing well in their abilities. Kaleb was getting training, finding that the results of not doing as well as the Dragon queen wanted would put the boy on his ass.
He watched as Lucy hung upside down from one of the dragon's massive horns, looking like she was scrubbing something as Cris and Emi were sparring on the beach, with Aquarius and Scorpio tossing shots in at the two. The blonde girl didn't seem like she was upset at all.
The Ambassador arched an eyebrow as he watched from the porch, wondering what exactly the girl was up to. She twisted and then slid down, landing in the sand only to squeak and dive as a blast of sand came at her.
The girl narrowed her eyes and looked aggressive before yelping as the two dragon slayers came tumbling over top of her in a wave of water. The three lay there and the small girl mumbled, "I have an elbow in my back…and a hand somewhere I don't think it should be!"
Arman was proud of her, the girl was trying her best to get re-used to males, but at the moment, her Sudehpah was female. They'd agreed to slowly work her into a male one, but it would take time. He hoped that she would grow well and be confident in herself without the fear that had been instilled on her by her father.
When the three untangled themselves, Lucy brushed herself off and grumbled before stalking towards the water and dipping her feet in. She smiled as she shifted and then sat down next to Scorpio, leaning against the Spirit and smiling as his 'tail' wrapped around her. The girl let out a small yawn and squeaked as she was hugged a bit.
"Alright, Brat," Aquarius smiled at the girl, "you're getting tired, that means off to a nap or something, we're going to go for the day."
Lucy pouted up at the mermaid and mumbled, "Okay…" She huffed as the male spirit ruffled her hair and then started to smooth her hair out as best she could, even as the two shimmered out of existence. The small girl let out a yawn that had too much volume for her size and looked about as the other's continued with their "sparring".
She curled her nose a bit and then squeaked as Vander and Bickslow plopped on either side of her. She looked between them and tilted her head cutely, "yeeeeeeeeees?"
"we have an idea," Vander grinned down at Lucy, eyes dancing.
Bickslow nodded, eyes dancing, but his face looking Solemn, "A big idea."
The conversation alone had Arman's Dad senses tingling and he focused his magic, before scowling. The boys were getting smarter as they handed the girl a piece of paper. He listened to her soul and while it had that same withdrawn undertone sound, it lit up suddenly, a joy as her head looked between the two and she nodded.
She nudged both of them with a shoulder and tucked the paper into the pouch she kept her keys in, "I'll work on it…I need a nap."
Vander grinned, "we'll give you a piggy back ride."
Bickslow snorted, "You can, I'm gonna go see if I can tackle Kaleb."
The sunny, sad girl and the mischievous shadow boy watched the Seith go, both blinking slowly and Lucy shook her head, with a soft, fond smile on her lips, "Nap." She eyed Vander for a moment before she moved behind him, flopping against his back.
Vander chuckled and leaned forward, shifting and then rolling to his feet while grabbing her legs. Very well used to Xally or Emzadi for these things, Lucy was nothing. She was small and he enjoyed how she didn't seem to have boundaries with any of them and only them. He'd seen her freeze up when they'd been out, all of the brothers would slide into her dance classes to be her partner at random, sometimes he, Farron and Kaleb all at the same time.
The blonde he carried could dance and she seemed to enjoy it, it was the one time that nothing bothered her. He'd say she was coming along with her horse riding, but it seemed she always ended up a little sore bottomed. Monoceros had been a boon to the girl, the spirit able to 'ride' over the grass sea, though truly, the spirit was a few inches above it, creating no waves in its wake and no disturbance to the ground either when not on the Sea.
When Monoceros was not called out for Riding Lessons, the Spirit took the form of a young woman with silvery hair half coifed in a loose bun on the top of her hair. She didn't look any older than fifteen. Settled on her forehead was a single tear drop surrounded by a silver-gold pendant that had no chain but held the flowing bangs back. Her clothing was a soft swirl of pale silver, white and lavender fabric that was nebulous in volume, sheer and yet showed nothing off; the most dangerous part of her in this form seemed to be her long nails that shimmered.
Amalthea, as she liked to be called, was not a combat spirit. She had very minor healing abilities, but they were in the realm of purification: both magical and poison based. The pale eyed Spirit became a bit of a day time companion to the blonde, easily sweeping her up and holding her, while impishly sticking her tongue out at the boys and grinning.
The Spirit had just popped out as Vander was padding towards the tree line and she stopped, smiling a bit, "Here I thought I would have to carry her."
Vander smirked as he walked, already feeling the faint and soft breathing against his neck, "I got this." He didn't protest when the spirit gently put a hand on the girl's back though, to make sure she didn't fall backwards, "She just needs a nap."
Amalthea nodded as they walked, "I see…well, she has had two gold keys out for a few hours, even just casually, it can be a strain."
Vander gave a small nod as he debated on where to take the blonde for her nap and smiled as he walked away from the sand and found a nice, shade filled spot, "This should be good, other than not hav…" He trailed off as Virgo appeared, laying out a blanket and snorted, "nevermind."
The young man carefully crouched down, taking the help of both Spirits to settle the blond on the blanket and sat down. He wasn't tired himself, but he found a peace being around the Celestial Mage and he smiled softly.
The two Spirits looked at each other and gave small, almost secretive smiles before disappearing in a golden swirl of stardust.
Vander gently brushed her bangs back and smiled. He knew that Farron, Cris and Kaleb all found her intriguing, and he did as well. He was fairly certain the only one that didn't have any sort of crush on her was Bickslow…which just meant one less bit of competition. He grinned as he looked down at the beach, watching his brothers and leaning back. They'd all been watching her, so it was just a matter of which got to help her first.
He'd heard Cris talking with Nurem, the boy confused about his feelings for Lucy, but Nurem had assured him that if she was his mate, he'd know in time, most likely when they both were ready, if it was meant to be. Part of Vander sulked at that thought. How would any of them deal with her being his mate? He knew he wouldn't take it well, but…it was Cristoff, he couldn't stay mad at his brother and, if nothing else, Bickslow, Lucy and he were 'The Three Prankskateers' as Lucy had said one day. There would always be that bond, no matter what.
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Lucy settled against the railing to her room as she looked up at the moon, smiling at its almost full state. She let her eyes close, letting the power curl over her. The girl's toes wriggled a bit and she looked around, listening before she grinned took off down the wood and into the sand.
The girl hummed as she finally stood next to the water's edge, watching the water and grinning as she kicked a foot sending a few drops of water everywhere. She rocked a bit on her one foot before she spun and let her head face up. It wasn't long before she cracked open one eye, grinning as she saw Cristoff and held out a hand as she spun.
He chuckled and shook his head, settling down on the sand and taking a breath as his eyes slowly turned silver, warm mist curling in the air. He grinned as he watched her eyes dance, the moonlight catching the more golden tones of her eyes and making them sparkle. The Slayer admitted, he heard nothing from his dragon, but Nurem assured him, with time, the dragon would talk to him. His lips curled softly as he watched the blonde dance a bit, fingers twirling and he smirked as mist rose around them, focusing his magic to watch the delight on her features as he moved the mist about.
Cris watched as the smile on her face widened and her eyes danced before she let out a soft laugh and then her hands slid out with fingers wide. She continued to hum, moving to the beat of the song, letting her movements curl the mist around her. Her magic would be perfect with hers, he was sure and he took a breath as he watched her twirl in the wet sand. He wanted his mate to be her, he truly did, but he knew he had to wait to see what it said regarding the petite blonde.
For now, he'd do right what he was doing, lean back on his elbows, let the mist of his magic curl around them and watch her dance like she was some sort of creature of the stars that had come down to dance for only him. He grinned as he felt her magic and then watched as Pisces curled out of the water, first as a pair of snakes, then as an older woman and a younger male.
The blonde girl grinned and held out her hands, "Dance!"
The male of the pair grinned and Cris knew 'dancing' was going to come with a chase; it always did with the Son of Pisces. The girl let out a squeal and the 'dance' turned into a bit of a cat and mouse dance that was almost tribal and filled with laughter. The slayer smiled warmly, watching what was going on and then smirking as he stood and joined in the little 'chase dance'.