Fairy Tail: Origins
Chapter One - Genesis
Year X065
A rhythmic tapping could be heard, the sound resonating down the dark hall. The lanterns that lined the walls flickered, their flames just barely keeping the surrounding area lit as the rapping grew louder, illuminating a figure's way as they walked. Steps echoed along with the sound, a pair of boots briskly making their way towards the source of the aforementioned noise until finally, the door at the very end was opened. Gripping the knob, a small hand twisted and pushed it ajar, the light that had been caged within spilling out into the hallway as the individual came into focus. A small child with skin the color of dull violet blue leaned against the door frame, her arms crossed against her chest as she peered across the way. Hair that could only be described as translucent fell in thick waves, the glassy locks drawn back into a high ponytail at the crown of her head. Her lips were pulled taunt, her onyx orbs narrowing as she held back a huff, the toe of her right boot rapping against the floor loudly to combat the earlier noise she'd heard.
"Where is she?" She asked at last, the scene shifting as the point of her attention finally came into focus. Across the bright room sat a young boy, hair as black as the girl's eyes and skin the color of light coal. Blinking, his red gaze lifted from his current engrossment, a gentle and almost loving (if she hadn't known any better at least) smile painted across his features. "I have no clue what you mean, nee-san. Maybe Sam knows. I've been busy today, as you can see Des-chan." The dark haired boy gave a shrug, his hands dropping the hammer they held as he went back to dismantling, what the one now known as 'Des' or rather Desdemona, could make out as a small demonic half-ling, the boy pulling its wings from the back before tossing them to the side. She grimaced, but she never berated him. If her brother wanted to be a brute, it wasn't her job to tell him otherwise. Nails held the poor thing down, Lucifer having hammered down its legs to the floor as he pulled it apart limb by limb. She imagined it had cried at one point, though now it made no noise at all. Only a pitiful wheezing could be heard, the faint gasps for breath interrupted by a sudden tone of disdain and disgust.
"Sickening, Lucifer.. You know papa wouldn't like the fact that you're torturing your underlings like that. You're supposed to make them strong, not hurt them." A voice called out from behind the indigo child, her head snapping around to see the most 'normal' of the three appear from the darkened hallway. Skin the color of porcelain and hair a chocolate brown, the youngest of the trio tugged at Desdemona's skirt as he looked up at her. Frowning, she sighed softly as she looked down at him. "Samuel.. did you take her? Luce said you know where she is." A flutter of lashes and a slight pout were her answer, an obvious yes in Samuel's case. The 'she' in question wasn't a person or a plaything, though Desdemona cared very much of her whereabouts. It was merely a young creation she'd worked on for the last two decades, a hybrid of her own blood mixed with that of Lucifer's' and Samuel's. It wasn't strange for the thing to go missing every so often, mostly thanks to her brother's messing about in her chambers when she wasn't paying attention. Yet, the completion of her experiment was drawing close and it was beyond annoying when they invaded her personal space.
"Mona nee-san, I didn't mean to.. I only wanted to see if it'd grown tougher skin, like ya said!" An irritated sound left her lips as Des shook her head, gently pushing the young male away from her. Both hands found their way to her hips, her midnight gaze locked onto eyes of stormy blue as she stared down at her youngest brother. The three children were no different than any other siblings you've heard about or read of in stories. Though each had various complexions, eyes, and even DNA, they were first and foremost a family, despite these drastic differences. In the beginning days, when their father had created each, their knowledge of what hatred and war truly was had yet to fully develop. As it were, the very first century was the most peaceful and the only enjoyable time either of the three would ever remember. So as the older girl continued to glare at the brunet, he finally caved. Saline lined his eyes as he pointed down the hall. "..She's in the gardens, I think.."
"You really make it hard to like you, Samuel. Don't touch my things, got it?" Pushing a strand of translucent hair behind her ear, Des left her demonic brother to his sadistic playtime and her more naive brother to his moping as she set off to find the object of her intense affection. Their father was always there, always watching what they did or said. Yet his control over each faded with every passing day, something Desdemona sometimes detested. Maybe if he punished those two, her experiments would stay where they belonged. Her steps reverberated through the hall as she walked, her feet moving quicker as she began to run. While Lucifer often made a mass of creatures, most of them hideous and malicious, and Samuel kept to himself, Desdemona wanted only to make the best of things. So for the last twenty years, she'd set to make the thing that'd plagued her dreams for the majority of her life. Cutting a tight corner, she almost tripped over her own feet as she quickened her pace. Huffing softly, the girl headed out of the palace's side entrance, the luscious gardens coming into view almost immediately. Here, no matter what time it was, the Sun was always shining on the Eastern side where all the plants and wildlife flourished. Looking from left to right, Des squinted as she slowed down to a moderate crawl, stopping after a moment to take her boots off to eliminate noise. Tsking softly, she began calling for the creature she was searching for when she smelled it. Something akin to burning paper, only.. wetter, caught her attention and drew her to the furthest part of the gardens. Walking around the hedges that hid the outer corner, Desdemona stopped completely as she saw the large being that she knew as her father crouching over her creature. She didn't need to say anything, the figure turning to gaze at her. No matter how many times she looked at him, her father always seemed to appear as a different person. Though every so often, he simply was. No definite features or qualities. He was just an entity that existed, much like the air. You couldn't see it, but surely you felt its presence.
"I believe this is yours, Desdemona." His voice called out to her, causing the girl to amble closer. Finally looking away from him, she set her blackened orbs on the tiny creature she'd been working on. No more than a foot in length, it'd grown just an inch more in the last year. Along with acquiring hardened scales for skin, it had a tail as long as her forearm and wings much like the ones Lucifer had torn from his own creation earlier. Smiling, Des carefully picked up the tiny thing and looked back up at her father, her grip tightening around it as it snarled softly. "Thank you, papa. I thought I'd lost her again. It was just Samuel's fault again.." A grimace took hold of her face, her lips contorting as she mentally cursed her brother once more.
"All is well. Out of all the things your brother has made, you have just this to show for all your time. I expect grand things from this, hn. Have you named it yet?" Desdemona rocked back on her heels, her gaze set on the writhing thing in her arms as she nodded. "This is Priscylla. She's the first of her kind. I've decided that her race will be called dragons." Her pout faded at this point, a large grin making its home on her face as she loosened her grip. Priscylla shook out her wings, unfurling them before crawling up to the girl's shoulder to sit, her clawed front feet gripping into the girl's clear hair. "I taught her how to use fire! Isn't that wonderful?" Des exclaimed, terribly excited by this point to share the details of her feat with the one who'd created her. He nodded, the feeling of a faint smile coming across to her as she beamed. The eldest and closest to the being, Desdemona was meant to be his pride. Perhaps that is why she tried so hard to impress him. Her magical prowess far surpassed the other two, the way she could manipulate organic materials in her own body and that of anything that came from another was astonishing. However, even as she received praise for her accomplishments, Des knew that deep down her father had long ago forsaken her. Perhaps it had been when he'd made Lucifer just a few decades after her. Maybe her drive to prove herself had grown even more after Samuel arrived just a few years after that. She was the wraith, after all. Superior to any other in all ways, or so she believed. The middle brother was cruel, much more so than herself. He tortured the things he created from his flesh and teased them. Killed them, even. And Samuel.. An audible groan left her lips as she continued mulling over these things, her father having left by this time and her only company becoming the infant dragon torching the skin of her neck. She ignored the pain, freezing Priscylla after a few minutes to repair the damage.
Where was she.. Oh yes. Samuel.
He was a weak little thing, wasn't he? Always crying when he did something wrong and even when he didn't. Yet.. he was the favorite, wasn't he..? The one their father cared for most. Her brow furrowed as Des kicked the ground beneath her, a tuft of grass loosening from its holdings as the clump flew a bit off the ground. She was the strongest. The smartest. The best. So how was it that Sam was better than her in papa's eyes? To gain her father's favor, the adolescent would put her brothers in their place, even if it meant damning herself in the process. The underlying bitterness that the wraith child never admitted out loud would slowly grow, as well as contempt in Lucifer's heart for both of his siblings, and avarice within the pure Samuel would build over time. The easy days that the being had hoped would last forever would disappear in almost an instant.
Year X103
"You know he won't be happy when he finds out what you've done, Luce." A heavy sigh followed the condescending tone, the feminine voice going on. "Did you have to toy with his precious humans so? You know he worked hard on those creatures, even if they are rather pitiful."
A grunt was her answer as the muscular male shrugged. Skin the color of charcoal rippled from the movement, the demon lifting his cerise gaze away from the sake bottle in his hand. The bored expression that once held his countenance shifted as his lips curled into a devious grin. It was no secret, how malicious Lucifer had grown up to be. Each had hit puberty by this time, though Samuel and himself appeared much older than their big sister for whatever reason. It didn't concern him either way. Setting the bottle down, his hands clasped together as he cupped the back of his head."His little girl and boy, ya mean? Wasn't hard to get them to do what I wanted. If Sam wanted them to behave, he shouldn't have given them free will, ne? Innit that what you do with your dragons, Dessy?" A thick brow raised as he questioned the wraith.
"They have freewill, but they aren't pathetic beings. If Samuel would give them magic, they'd maybe be less than a failure. Even so. You know he made those rules to see if they'd obey on their own and you meddled anyway." She didn't really care, to be truthful. Whether or not Lucifer or Samuel got into a fight was of their own doing. However, the small bit of care she had for her youngest brother hadn't faded completely. She'd watched Lucifer tempt the first born female that their brother had created from the very spring he'd told them not to bathe in. No matter how he put it, she was certain Lucifer had ruined Samuel's intentions. He was too much like father, hoping for peace and love from what he created. Shaking her head, her clear hair waved gently. Opening her mouth to speak again, her words were cut short as a resounding boom exploded through the mansion they resided in. Tsking softly, she gave her cruel brother a look before she picked up a chair and sat to the side. Tapping her knee once she sat, she began to count.
"5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. aaaand..."
"LUUUCIFEEERRRR! YOU FORSAKEN SACK OF ROTTEN MAGGOTS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The childish and naive brunet they'd grown up with burst through the door of the room, an illuminated flare of power surging around him as his blue eyes locked on the person he'd come for. Over the years, he'd maintained the purity he'd had as a child. However there was only so much one could take when their brother ruined their work, time and time again.
"What're ya so upset about? Just kill those and make some new ones, no big deal." Shrugging nonchalantly, Lucifer went back to his drinking as he avoided eye contact with the enraged male. Desdemona watched quietly, her gaze flickering between the two. While she knew Lucifer had a dark magic that tainted and destroyed anything it touched, Samuel was his opposite. As well as hers, if she were to be truthful. It was his kind heart that protected them from his wrath, while nothing protected him from Lucifer.
"You know I can't do that.. I'm not heartless, like you are." His voice lowered, but the anger that had filled his tone never faded. Brows furrowed, his fingers clenching as he balled his hands into fists. It looked as if he meant to attack, but Des knew better. Even if he did, she'd intervene even if it was only to appease a father that no longer visited her. He only spoke to Samuel now. He'd stopped seeing Lucifer ages ago and soon, Desdemona was put on the list alongside him perhaps for her more brute methods and calloused actions. Either way, she very well couldn't let her brothers kill each other. As she mulled over the idea, the dark skinned male stood, the now empty bottle of alcohol falling to the ground as he closed the distance between himself and Samuel. Their chests met, the puffed pectorals bumping against each other as his magic flared up as well. She watched as Samuel's light was dimmed considerably by Lucifer's darkness, the dank blackness of his magic lashing violently around his body.
"Heartless, am I? I could help you be too, Sammy boy. Just rip it from ya chest. Won't hurt a bit." That simper of his returned, his fanged canines flashing as he glared down at his brother. Almost certain she'd have to freeze the time around both of them and force the two apart, Desdemona stalled from lifting her hand as the brown haired male's face changed from anger to sadness. Her black orbs watched his face relax, the sorrow he felt coming full force.
"At least it'd hurt a lot less than what you've done to my children." His voice was low and haunted, but loud enough that it bounced off the four walls around them. Taking a deep breath, she didn't bother going after him as Samuel stormed off through the torched doorway, thankful that an actual fight had been avoided. A few minutes passed until Lucifer peered in her direction, his red eyes locking onto her onyx ones. "He won't make it acting like that, and you know it. He can cry all he wants, but he's weaker than us." He grumbled, his voice rough and sharp. She could hear it, the resentment he felt. He didn't hate her from what she could tell, but the love their father still showered on Samuel had begun to bother Lucifer far more than it had done her. There wasn't any love in the demon's heart, not even for Desdemona. She knew he only respected her and her power. If she wasn't there, he was likely to burn down the entire world with that hatred that bubbled in his chest.
"Weaker in ability alone. Remember that, Luce." Des responded softly before rising from her seat and headed out the door, leaving the male to stew in the wake of the earlier commotion. Going after the youngest of the three wasn't ever in her mind, the wraith having more to do than babysit either of her brothers. If they wanted to destroy one another, it'd be one less obstacle for herself.