Hello All, thank you Desna and hanami2510 for your reviews! I completely understand now when other writers say it helps keep you going. That and the people who've liked what I've written so far to favorite and follow the story! It means a lot.
I've updated with a few corrections sassykitten has pointed out for me so a big Thank You to her for all her help!
-Chapter 3-
"So, all we have to do is interview the staff and recover this guy's property," Bickslow summarized as he lounged on the couch in the room their employer had setup for them to do the interviews.
"Yeah, seems simple enough. I could have them copied and things would go quicker but I'd be useless after 5 people…," concern etched her brow as Lucy tried think of a different way to try and ensure they wouldn't be caught up with lies.
"Naw, I got this Cosplayer. A soul can't hide its reaction when someone lies and it takes next to nothing for me to just look at their souls." He smiled then folded his arms behind his head getting comfortable. He had a great view of the room here and would easily see the staff as Lucy questioned them. "You just ask the questions and I'll let you know if they're lying." Bickslow lifted his visor and met Lucy's gaze and winked before pulling his visor back in place and returned to what honestly looked like a napping position.
Hearing a knock at the door Lucy called out for them to enter as she opened her notebook and glanced at the file matching a photo to the man that had just come in. "It says here you're the butler so it's your job to keep track of the all staff?"
A medium built man nodded his head but still stood uncomfortably tense next to the provided chair sitting across from Lucy. She raised an eyebrow and gestured to the seat. "Please have a seat Mr. Turney." When he didn't moved Lucy put the file down, closed her notebook and stood. Walking up to the man who still had a few inches on her, even with her 3 inch heals on, she tossed all the questions she was going to ask away and went with her gut. This guy screamed he was hiding something the moment he entered the room – the way he entered the room. She didn't need to copy him or have Bickslow look at his soul to know that. It might have been all her experiences in some of the greatest houses across Fiore, but she knew this man couldn't be what his file said he was. Servants who served families like this one tended to be just as generational in service as the family heads themselves. They were genteel confident people, sometimes more so than the family they served, and took immense pride in their work. The boundaries between what was essentially a noble and their servants blurred to more like family in houses like this especially with butlers, housekeepers and head cooks since they practically raised the children. She was in his territory, the home he managed, and should be more offended at her audacity in questioning him than nervous. This guy looked like he'd never been here before. Without warning Lucy kicked the man between the legs, grabbed his hair as he bent over and rammed her knee up to meet his face with a sickening crack then let him drop to the floor.
Bickslow was on his feet the second he saw Lucy's leg fly, a bit startled she hadn't gotten past her first question. Walking up behind her he looked down at the poor man lying in the fetal position on the hard marble floor, blood dripping from what had to be a broken nose. He winced. "You never kick a guy below the belt Cosplayer. It's just cruel," he said as he reached down to help the guy to a chair only for Lucy to stop his hand.
"Who are you really?" she demanded pulling out a length of rope Virgo had long since convinced the celestial mage to start storing with her keys and whip to be requipped at will.
"You never know when you need a good length of rope, Princess," Virgo's monotone voice echoed in her mind as Lucy bound his legs together to prevent him from running or possibly using magic. Right before their eyes, the second Lucy secured the first knot, the man's body changed, altered into an entirely different person neither of the mages had seen included in the files from their client but both knew who he was. This man was someone Lucy had only recently seen through a powerful memory she'd relived when she had first copied Dom five days ago.
Faster than she could see him move, Bickslow had the guy pinned to the wall by his throat, his helmet off spinning on the floor, eyes glowing bright green. "Karma's a bitch isn't it Travis!" he snarled.
The man gurgled as he tried to scream; hands clawing at Bickslow's arm, eyes confused at how this man even knew who he was. The seith mage's firm grip loosened a little to prevent Travis from blacking out while he twisted the man's very soul. An anguished cry ripped from Travis as his face contorted in agony that went deeper than anything most people would ever feel. The green glow faded as the imposter's flailing stopped and his body went limp. Dropping the man Bickslow reached for his helmet keeping his eyes firmly away from the blond he'd long since started having feelings for. Spending time with her training had turned his school boy crush into a burgeoning friendship. 'Just great! You had to lose your shit and go all crazy eyes on his ass and almost kill him. Now she's going to be just as terrified of you as everyone…'
His thoughts were cut off when he felt a small warm hand on his arm. "You ok Bicks?" she asked, not even a hint of fear tingeing her voice. He quickly checked her soul and saw nothing but understanding, concern and a little bit of frustration and anger.
"You're not afraid of me?" he asked finally meeting her eyes, helmet clutched in his hands. He could sort out the rest of her emotions later. The distinct lack of fear is all that mattered now.
She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his tensed form in a very awkward hug with his helmet smooshed between them. "Why would I be afraid of my friend?" she responded simply.
"I don't know, because my magic is creepy and dangerous?" He'd sounded like a small child in that moment repeating something he'd heard so much he was starting to believe it.
"Hmmm," she sounded thoughtfully. "Creepy?" she paused, "No, not creepy. Badass and dangerous definitely," she said nodding her head feeling him tense even more. She'd be lying by saying anything else. Travis' tortured scream was a thing from nightmares. "But so is Natsu's, Erza's, Gray's, Mira's, Freed's, Laxus', Gajeel's…do I need to continue?" She'd seen each of them at one time or another at their worst, except Freed, though Mira had shown her what dark Freed looked like ages ago. Not feeling him react at all she did continue in hopes of saving their budding friendship. "The only people that need to be afraid of you or any of them are our enemies. Am I your enemy?" She looked up into his confused and hopeful eyes.
Bickslow couldn't trust his voice in that moment so just shook his head. Lucy was looking him directly in the eye right after witnessing something the Boscan government wanted him dead for doing. There were no words for how shocked he was. She smiled brilliantly, "Then that just means I have another dangerously badass friend who's got my back. I couldn't feel safer!" she giggled feeling him finally relax then releasing him. Turning, they both saw the mage still unconscious on the floor. "I am a little mad at you though."
He blinked and looked back over at the blond still unable to trust his voice. "Do you know how much pain that guy looks to be in? It's really going to suck transforming into him to get what we need to finish the job," she clarified exactly what had her upset. The seith mage blinked, paused and blinked again before a smile was back on his face brightening his eyes.
"I already pulled the information from him while I was messing with his soul," he said sheepishly. It was one thing to see it happen, another to hear about what exactly she'd seen happen. He chanced a look at Lucy again to see her look more hopeful than anything else. It made Bickslow question if there wasn't actually something wrong with her that this wasn't all horrifying to her. "Did I not mention I could do that?" he chuckled to cover his tension. At the half- hearted glare Lucy threw his way he relaxed - they were in familiar territory again. He flicked her nose causing it to scrunch up as she went crossed-eyed. He was starting to understand why Gajeel called Lucy Bunny Girl when she looked back at him indignantly and wiggled her abused nose. 'She's so cute just like a little bunny.'
Crossing her arms and looking away Lucy pretended offense to cover her relief for not having to inflict what was bound to be a crazy perverted mind on Gemini or herself.
"Aww, don't act like that Cosplayer! You're a horrible actor!" Sidling up next to the huffing shorter mage Bickslow reached out and started tickling her sides. Lucy squirmed then laughed and ran to get some distance between them only to turn suddenly getting in close and trying to tickle back. There were only two things wrong with such a counter attack – one, Bickslow was decidedly not ticklish and two, even if he were, his thickly layered armor prevented him from feeling anything more than slight pressure as her fingers went up his sides. Bickslow laughed at her attempt as he wrapped one of his arms behind her back and tickled her side with the other making a third reason her counter was poorly planned. She was now trapped and at Bickslow's mercy.
A few minutes later the tickle war, more like slaughter, was over and Lucy conceded defeat after almost peeing herself from laughing so hard. Both mages then looked down to the floor sighing. "What do we do with him?" Lucy asked.
Usually on a job like this Lucy was all for calling the Rune Knights to come in and arrest him for kidnapping and theft - since she had no doubt he kidnapped the actual butler, if not worse - then recover the client's property and collect the reward. Problem was this particular scoundrel was wanted for the stalking and rape back in Bosco of someone who was fast becoming a good friend of hers. Those crimes had earned him a death sentence before he'd just disappeared the day before he was supposed to be executed. The Rune Knights weren't likely to check Bosco's most wanted list since they were still under-manned and had only the barest of direct leadership after Alvalrez so he'd probably be set free in a year and that was unacceptable.
"Think you can work you're magic and convince the client to release him to us after we finish the job?"
"Magic? I don't…" she paused as she saw Bickslow pull his shoulders forward to emphasize his "cleavage" and pout his lips while sticking out his butt. "Right, my sexy woman magic," she rolled her eyes smiling despite all her attempts not to encourage his behavior.
"I'd do it myself," Bickslow offered with his hand out, "but he wasn't trying to look down my shirt when we met earlier." Lucy shuddered at the memory and glared at Bickslow and his suggestively waggling eyebrows.
"Why do I have to deal with all the perverts," she lamented which only encouraged her temporary partner's behavior.
-DTRE-
"Now this is indeed a pleasure. What's got my little brother calling me for the first time in months?" Lucy heard a charming voice coming from Bickslow's com lacrima.
The delight on Bickslow's face was evident. "Aww, come on Farron, I spoke to you just last week!" A snort could be heard over the line.
"Yes and that was because I called you." Bickslow's tongue was out in full force as he smiled even brighter.
"Well if you miss me that much I'll just have to call you every day to make sure I annoy your ass." Bickslow waved Lucy over from across their compartment on the train and patted the seat right next to him. "I was on a job with Lucy here, say hi to my oldest brother Lucy," Bickslow gestured to the image of a man in his early 30's with long dark blond hair and sky blue eyes. Lucy sat next to Bickslow and about fell out of her seat when she recognized the person smiling back at her.
"P…Pradesh?" Lucy looked back up to Bickslow, shock written all over her face.
"Yeah…," he said hesitantly.
"Your brother is Farron Pradesh the Boscan ambassador currently negotiating with Princess Hisui to bring Boscan airships into Fiore for Fioren use, meaning your father is…," she took a deep breath locking her eyes with his, "Arman Pradesh?" The last part still came out as a bit of a squeak from her effort to hold back from fangirling over her idol since before she ran away from home over 9 years ago.
Bickslow nodded and caught the shit-eating grin of his brother out of the corner of his eye. He would never have imagined Lucy of all people to follow international relations let alone know who Farron was by sight.
A high pitched keening sound ripped from the blond sitting next to him partially deafening both Pradesh brothers. Her face flushed bright pink as she clasped her hands over her mouth, wide eyes turning back to Farron. Shaking his head and rubbing the ear closest to Lucy, Bickslow turned back to look at his brother to see his lips pursed flat as he struggled not to laugh at Lucy's reaction. Looking back at Lucy he noticed she looked like she was holding her breath.
"Breathe Cosplayer!" And she did after nodding and slowly removing her hands from her lips.
"Hi, I'm Lucy." Her voice came out weak and breathy as she waved still in somewhat shock. Both men couldn't hold their laughter in anymore and the sounds filled the compartment further embarrassing Lucy. It also stoked her ire enough to bring her back to her normal self. She couldn't have helped her reaction any more than Bickslow did when faced with Travis for the first time yesterday. She'd learned about Arman Pradesh from her business studies tutor her father had hired as one of the best current examples of negotiators in Ishgar. He'd made her write a report on the man and that's when she realized the way her father was treating her wasn't normal. Arman had lost his wife too, even sooner than her father and in a worse way, but the man didn't shut his remaining family out. No he adopted more children in need as siblings for his sole surviving child, Farron, and was incredibly involved in all of their lives. His relationship with all his children was so strong - she used to wish he was her father instead, still sort of did.
Thinking they had laughed enough at her expense, Lucy elbowed Bickslow's ribs, which wasn't nearly as affective as it should have been since he always wore that damn armor. "Relax Lucy, Mavis! I think she's got you beat even without magic bro."
"I think you might be right," Farron smiled indulgently. He wasn't a stranger for being fawned over but it was usually for his looks and status, not for the work he actually did - at least not by young and cute women.
Lucy huffed; it was common knowledge that Farron used sound magic and she didn't appreciate them teasing her about it. There was no way her scream was more dangerous than sound magic. Cobra used sound magic too and would have easily beaten Erza if his heart had been in their fight and she hadn't had the hammer. Pushing her annoyance to the back of her mind, Lucy pulled them back to the reason why they called in the first place. "Mr. Pradesh," she started in a business like tone only to be interrupted by said man.
"Please call me Farron." Lucy lightly blushed and nodded her head.
"While Bickslow and I were on a job we came across a man named Travis Wemple."
At the mention of the man's name, Farron's smile disappeared completely and his expression became dark.
"He followed him here man," Bickslow added.
"You must have captured him already or you would have called Vander first," Farron replied with a more measured tone.
"Yeah, we got him. He used some sort of potion or illusion to impersonate one of our client's servants that we needed to interview for the job. Lucy kicked him in the balls and broke his nose after only the first question," Bicks smiled inwardly at the look of surprise and confusion that flitted across his brother's face and Lucy's glare.
"He was hiding something," she defended her actions lamely. 'Maybe I've been training with Erza too much…' Lucy mused then focused back on their conversation. Meeting Farron was a dream but why Bickslow was calling him about this was a little confusing.
"So you went right for the family jewels?" Farron questioned a little more of his humor back now.
"It's what Vander told me to do…" It wasn't much of an excuse to but both brothers accepted it without question. Vander would teach someone less physically strong or fast to use the most devastating attack possible to incapacitate them. There was no such thing as fighting dirty to the youngest Pradesh.
"Then she tied him up with the magic canceling rope she just carries around with her," Bickslow continued his story intentionally embarrassing Lucy even though Farron would most likely seen the sense in it. It just played so well into the dominatrix thing she had going with her whip.
"Hey! See if next time you need rope if I help you out," Her pout was ignored as Bickslow continued like she hadn't just interrupted him.
"The illusion was broken and we recognized him immediately."
Farron blinked in surprise at the use of, "We?" he questioned.
"I used one of my spirit's powers to copy Dom earlier this week for something else and the intensity of what happened to him kind of imprinted that memory into my own," Lucy sneered at the man on the floor. Once they'd gotten in their private train compartment to take them back to Magnolia they'd knocked him out again before gagged him and tying him up more securely. "No way were we letting him get arrested for kidnapping and theft here when he deserves everything Bosco will do to him for raping poor Dom." Her voice cracked with raw emotion as the memory of that attack replayed through her mind like she lived through it herself. The pain, fear and feelings of helplessness that poor Dom had felt; no one should ever feel that way. He'd already been on edge and looking over his shoulder since he was being stalked. Being cornered and powerless to defend himself then raped…Tears welled up in her eyes but she blinked them away as she controlled her breathing and pushed those memories away again. It wasn't unusual for potent feelings and memories to flood her or Gemini's mind right after the first copy without them needing to specifically dig for information, but those typically faded and disappeared almost together. What sometimes remained from the copy were facts, knowledge that something happened but it was always removed from their own experiences like facts on a page. This was the first time the entire memory imprinted into her mind but there seems to be an exception to every rule. She'd be a lot more careful in whom she or Gemini copied in the future.
Farron nodded to the young woman as he tried to organize his thoughts so he could get Travis back into Bosco where his sentencing could finally be executed without having history repeat itself. The hearing and trial had already happened but he managed to escape before he could be executed for his crimes. Their whole family was close to the young man Bickslow brought home one day when he was 11; stayed that way even after Bickslow was forced to flee the country at 15. They even helped him get his job with Elluris when he showed a talent for sewing. Match that with his ability to lay enchantments into different fabrics better and stronger than most anyone and the guy became the favored tailor for many high-ranking people in Pelerno, Bosco's capital. Losing Travis right before his execution was a travesty and caused endless investigations, upheaval and paperwork (never forget about the endless forms) but they still hadn't found him.
Now? Now they could execute him and maybe even take-out the network that helped him to escape in the first place. Judging by Lucy's reaction to Dom's memories, convincing her to help might be difficult.
"Lucy?" he called noticing she had gotten caught up in her thoughts like he had.
"Huh?" she responded focusing back on the man on the screen.
"I have a very large favor to ask you." Bickslow tensed and responded before he could even finish his request.
"No way in hell you're having her copy that piece of shit! It's bad enough she remembers everything from Dom. You want her exposed to that twisted piece of filth's mind completely?"
"Five years Bickslow, and we still haven't found the people who helped him escape. We need to know what's in that head!"
"Bullshit, have Kaleb interrogate him. He's a mind-bender and trained for that shit!"
"You know we tried that already. He has some sort of weird magic that if Kaleb pushes through might cause too much damage then the information is gone forever."
"Then I'll do it!"
"No Bicks, they would kill you before you had the chance for the prior illegal use of your magic."
"I'll do it," a quiet voice cut in before either brother could continue.
"Lucy, you've had nightmares every night of this job just dealing with Dom's memory. This'll be so much worse because you'll actually be digging through Travis' mind."
"I'll deal, I always have. The nightmares will eventually fade. The people who freed him need to be held accountable. How many more lives have been ruined, could still be ruined, with them still free?"
Bickslow saw the determination in Lucy's eyes. There was no talking her out of it. "At least have Gemini do it."
"No!" Lucy about screamed. "They have been through so much more than anyone could even imagine. I will not subject them to this knowing exactly the kind of person he is."
Bickslow sighed rubbing his temples. He doubted explaining to her that their experience would make it easier for them to cope than she would, would go over well. There was only one thing he could do. "I'm going with you and purging your soul of that crap as soon as possible."
She paused, "You can do that?" Lucy looked up with hope in her eye.
"Yeah, I was going to do that for you when we got back to Magnolia anyway. There's no reason you should have to deal with anyone else's trauma."
"The Aisipal can be at Fairy Tail guild hall tomorrow morning. Will you be there by then?" At both nods he continued, "I've already messaged Vander. He'll come along as well to ensure we don't lose him again. Bicks, you'll have to stay out of sight." At his brother's nod he asked, "Do you think Dom will want to be here for the execution?"
"Yes," they both answered without needing to think.
-DTRE-
"How do you feel now that it's all over?" Bickslow shifted on the couch in his room aboard the Aisipal looking over at his friend.
"Like I can breathe for the first time since it started. I don't think I'll ever be over it completely, but thanks to you guys," he looked down at the blond asleep on his chest and hugged her a little bit closer before meeting Bickslow's eyes again, "I can probably let myself move on." It was quite in the room for a while before he spoke again. "When are you going to ask Lucy out?" The sharp inhale echoed in the room.
"He's probably going to wait until she asks him out," a tenor voice spoke as Vander slipped from the shadows and sat next to his brother. "He's been in Fiore too long," he smirked and dodged the smack aimed at the back of his head. "Captain says we're taking off for Crocus in 20 minutes. We've got to drop off a diplomat there before they can take us on to Magnolia."
Bickslow turned and looked out the window, "I don't want to scare her off." At first his friend and brother were confused then made the connection to the original question. The snorts that followed caused Bickslow to cradle his head in his hands.
Before he could explain what he meant Loke popped into the room surprising them all. He reached down and picked Lucy up from Dom's side, carrying her to the bed to tuck her in. "You guys haven't known her all that well for long," the lion spirit sighed and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear before he took her vacated seat back on the couch and pulled off his glasses. "Thanks for pulling those memories Bickslow. All of us spirits felt everything she did and it really wasn't pleasant," Bickslow nodded in acknowledgment. He'd known the spirit longer than Lucy and while they hadn't been close before with Lucy training and going on jobs with him a lot more often now they'd gotten a lot friendlier.
"What none of you understand is that she's probably more afraid of having any kind of intimate relationship than anyone I've ever known," Loke continued as he looked up at the ceiling.
"She's got more close friends at Fairy Tail than is probably healthy," Vander interjected. He'd seen her reluctance to open up to people during this trip but what the lion was saying didn't make any kind of sense.
"Did you know that she hasn't known anyone outside of some of her spirits that haven't abandoned her in some way or broken her trust in them? First she lost her mother to duty because Zeref and Lady Anna thought it would be a good idea to send 5 kids through time so they could then defeat Arcnologia and Zeref. Her mother knew doing it without Aquarius' key would likely kill her but she decided to execute the world's worst plan to "save" Lucy from that obligation in the future. Honestly letting 2 power houses spend 400 years getting stronger and more insane before they faced off with 5 children?" Loke muttered the last line to the silent agreement of the others in the room. "She should have burned the journal and left them in the past." Loke never understood why humans fought so hard against nature; it's why both of those guys went crazy in the first place.
"Then her father ignored her after her mother's death. Yelled and punished her for interrupting his work even if she tried to give him gifts. They lived so far away from anyone other than their servants she had absolutely no friends her age. Her only friend was Aquarius who was not even close to being the best playmate and then eventually Cancer. On her 16th birthday her father announced that he was starting marriage negotiations with his business partners, all of them more than 40 years old. That's when she finally ran away and he didn't even notice she was gone for a year when negotiations were finalizing." At the looks of absolute revulsion from the three other men Loke then realized they were all Boscan. Arranged marriages were not unheard of in Bosco, but both perspective spouses had to agree; it wasn't something their parents could do to them. Arranged marriages with that large of an age gap when one was so young weren't even entertained in Bosco because it would be considered pedophilia; which was illegal and punished just as severely as rape.
He continued, "Bicks you weren't in town for this and Laxus was all crazy at the time but that's what prompted Phantom Lord to attack Fairy Tail all those years ago. Her father hired them to bring her back home but they decided to torture her and use her to extort more money from him instead." Bickslow winced at that. He'd over-heard part of the conversation Laxus had had with Mira but didn't question him or even really pay attention to it at the time.
"The number of times she's been kidnapped and tormented," Loke sighed and went back to his actual point. "Did you guys know she saved my life?"
"Loke, you're a celestial spirit man, you can't die," Bickslow stated in complete disbelief.
"When we're expelled from the Celestial realm for all eternity we do. A spirit's power only lasts for so long before they just disappear." Holding up his hand to forestall questions Loke continued, "Another time. I only mention it now because even though she almost died saving my life, there was a time shortly after my contract with her was made when I sent Virgo in my stead because I was on a date. So I've broken her trust too." Now his head was in his hands feeling the burning stares of disapproval boring into his head. "I was so used to being called out for stupid shit, I didn't think before I acted. Never mind Lucy would never call any of us out if she didn't really need help." He took a deep breath.
"Then, during Tartarus, Aquarius had to order Lucy to break her key to summon the Celestial Spirit King in order to save her life and break the spell the rest of the guild was trapped in. So, her oldest friend was sacrificed and for what? Saving a group of people she had finally accepted as friends, family even, that never once thought to contact her or invite her with them when they took off to the four corners of the world after the guild disbanded for an entire year! Natsu took off with a stupid note saying he was training even before that!" Loke seethed. "Did you know we almost lost her then? She'd been distancing herself from all of us, still living in her little apartment in Magnolia. I don't know how she managed it, but she was preventing us from forcing our gates open to help her. She was about to slit her wrists when Virgo and I finally broke through to stop her in time."
Bickslow and Dom were in tears while Vander had detached himself from his emotions like he frequently did when on assassination jobs for the Steel Council, Bosco's government body outside the Royal Family. Loke didn't stop there. "We stopped her, slowly brought her back and never left her alone, but the damage was done. All her friends in Fairy Tail abandoned her yet she still loved them. When she started feeling better she started tracking all of their movements. She even tried reaching out to a couple after a while with no responses. Lucy is incapable of leaving anyone behind because she knows the pain so well." Loke sighed, "The only reason I'm only telling you all of this is because of how close you're all getting and you needed to know. So, before you even think of starting something with Lucy outside of friendship you'd better be sure she's really what you want first." He looked Bickslow dead in the eye, "Anymore rejection, broken promises or abused trust and I don't know what will happen." His message delivered Loke closed his gate to an astonished audience.
"Damn," Dom said as he looked over the couch toward the young woman on the bed. It was hard to believe she'd gone through so much of her life feeling alone. She was usually such a happy person. "No wonder she freaks out and gets pissed off with friendly flirting. She's always been treated like an object and she's afraid of it happening again. Makes me wonder how I survived when we first met."
"It's probably why Loke is always clinging to her and professing his love. It's safe coming from him since he's her spirit and she knows it can't go anywhere while it gets her more used to the behavior so she can just write it off from everyone else," Bickslow continued.
Vander was quiet as he slipped back into the shadows and moved towards his own room to think. Farron had told him about his call with Lucy and they'd had a good laugh at it. It wasn't the first time someone had reacted that way to one of the Pradesh family. He'd said she looked like a love struck teenager, but now it all made sense. His father's dedication to all his children was very well known and given her upbringing, she would have learned about his father somewhere and yearned after a dad like him. Probably wished she'd been one of his kids for the better part of her life. His heart tightened in his chest as he felt overwhelmingly protective of the girl he'd only seen a handful of time over the past month, spoken to only about fighting. What was it with their family and taking care of lost souls? 'Probably Dad's influence.' Legal or not, that girl just became another sister of his and if that meant he had to protect her from his own brothers, so be it. They were probably the only males that wouldn't wind up dead if they messed with her though. He was positive that if Bickslow ever made a move, she'd be safe. Kaleb, the mind-bender that he is, would be more likely try to heal her because she was a little on the young side, 'Too young for both Farron and Kaleb.' That left Cristoff, the most dangerous to Lucy of all the brothers.
Vander rubbed his temples trying to relieve the tension headache he was now working on. Well, if he hadn't already decided to stay away from sleeping with Lucy, now he couldn't even look at her that way. He paused, he needed to warn Cristoff. It was only a matter of time before she'd meet him now that she was friends with him, Bicks and Farron. Plus their father wanted to meet the girl and was devastated when he got called to deal with issues in Alta before they arrived in Bosco and thankfully took Cristoff with him.
There was nothing wrong or evil with his brother it was just Cristoff's healing magic made people instinctively trust him and Lucy would be no exception. He also had dragon slayer pheromones he couldn't control pumping out all the time that just drew women to him like kittens to catnip. Paired with his naturally romantic nature, Lucy would fall for him without thought, no matter the walls she had built up. The problem was that Cristoff was destined for only one person out there, his mate, and that was the only person he would ever allow himself to open up to and return those feelings for. Cristoff once told him the consequences of mating the wrong person would be and they were too severe. If he married someone who wasn't his mate, once he'd met the right one he would likely die since he couldn't leave the person he'd married and yet he couldn't survive without his mate. His spouse would be left alone and finally his true mate would most likely die as well for the same reason he died for. If not for that, he or Bickslow would be perfect for her. Their personalities were similar but Bickslow was just a little bit crazier. Both men longed for someone to love and would be completely dedicated to the person once they found them. Yes, he needed to warn Cristoff now before he forgot.
Vander got up from is bed to grab his com when 2 lovely attendants entered his room and started stripping him for a bath. He smiled and let the women lead him away. He was too stressed out and this is exactly what he needed right now. He'd call Cristoff later.
