Yosh! Here's the plan. I'm going to split up Papa's Ball into four parts so you guys can read them sooner. Part one is down below, so make sure to enjoy.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have an idea for an interesting plot twist comment and I'll see if I can fit it in. Try to refrain from randomly killing off the main characters. Let's have some fun with this one, shall we?
~ Yomico ~
I********************************************************I
PAPA'S BALL
"Oh? A ball?" Erza blinked at me. "Who's the host?"
I twirled a strand of hair around my finger. "My father. He invited me to visit and I agreed, so he wants to throw a formal party. Natsu's coming with me and I'm afraid he'll burn down the house." Speaking aloud to people still felt weird. Erza nodded slowly as if pondering my worries.
"You'll need someone to keep an eye on him, yes. I'd be delighted to come." She reached out and gave me a crushing hug, my head slamming into her armor.
"Thanks, Erza." I muttered as stars danced across my vision. She let go and looked at me with a serious light in her eyes.
"What should I wear?"
I***I
Escaping a freaked-out Erza turned out to be impossible. She dragged me through all of Magnolia's stores in search for the perfect dress. Finally settled on a black and gold ball gown, she let me go and I ran to my apartment. Glancing up, I noticed my open window and scrunched up curtains. Sigh. I ran up the steps and let myself in the proper way: through the door.
"Natsu, where are you?" I called, shutting the door behind me. His pink-haired head popped out from my kitchen.
"Yo! Where were you?" He grinned. I slipped past him and poured myself a glass of water.
"Dress shopping with Erza." He paled a bit at that. "She agreed to come with us to papa's ball."
With a groan he plopped into a chair. "Dammit! She won't let me burn the house down! Why'd you ask her?"
I snorted. "That's exactly why I asked her. I want to have a decent relationship with my father, so she'll come to prevent you from burning the house down." He made an exaggerated sigh. I smiled and ruffled his hair. "Go home, Natsu. We have to leave early tomorrow, since Erza's gone temporarily insane. I told her papa said we could come as early as three days in advance and she jumped at the offer. Remember to ask Wendy to cast Troia before we leave."
He slowly got up and dragged himself out the door. Shutting it after the depressed Dragon Slayer, I took a bath and went straight to bed. Something furry was under my blanket.
"Happy. Get. Out." I hissed at the blue exceed. He looked at me with extremely sleepy eyes.
"Where's Natsu?"
"He left already."
"EH!? He forgot about me!" Happy used his aera magic to zip out the window, shouting, "Natsu! Wait for me!" I sighed and shook my head, a smile playing on my lips. Those two would drive me insane one day, I just knew it, but I was finally seeing the true Natsu.
When he'd come to from his coma the whole guild had partied 'till they couldn't see straight. Mira and Cana kept assuring me it was all good, but considering Cana's the guild drunk and Mira had a sneaky grin on her face I wasn't all too sure about believing them. Happy had spilled the beans on my relationship with Natsu, so now we're officially boyfriend and girlfriend. It was a bit awkward for is at first since he was still getting over his curse and I was learning how to use my voice, but we made it work. A couple weeks down the road and we finally figured it all out.
I***I
"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Natsu hunched over in his seat, his face green and drool escaping from his mouth. I giggled and Gray let out a strangled sigh.
"We know you're gonna be sick, flamebrain." He smirked. Natsu just groaned again. Erza turned to Gray, earning a suppressed gulp from the ice mage.
"Remind me why you're here, Gray." She spoke around a forkful of cake. Gray stole another glare at Natsu before replying.
"I'm not going with you guys. My client's in the town after your stop." He gazed out the window, his coat already missing. He'd picked out some bodyguarding job that would pay well, assuming he didn't destroy the town while he was at it.
"You know, after your job, why don't you join us?" I suggested to the ice-make mage. He nodded with a small grin while Natsu gave an exaggerated but all-too-real barf. The stench of throw-up drifted from the window.
The announcer's voice rang from the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the Heartfilia estate. Please take care when exiting the train. Have a good day." I led my friends out to the platform, Gray carrying Natsu and dumping him unceremoniously before disappearing in the shadows of the cabin.
"Natsu, we're here! Time to get up." Happy darted around the pink-haired boy's head, attracting a mass of annoyed and curious looks. While we waited for Natsu to recover from his ordeal, I took the time to make sure that no one from the mansion was watching us. It was something father would do, just to have some sort of leverage later. Spotting a maid with an all-too-familiar green and white dress, I warned the arguing team and we opted to walk to the house.
"I don't want to be out of it if something happens." Natsu put his foot down when Erza suggested taking a carriage.
"It's okay, Erza. It's only a couple hours if we walk." I did my best to calm her down. I could swear she was seconds from ripping Natsu's head off. She took several deep breaths that had Natsu freaking out, but calmly agreed to walk. I felt the spying eyes of the maid on my back and leaned in to give Natsu a quick kiss on the cheek. I didn't mean for it to last longer than a moment but he grabbed my hand and impatiently waited for Erza to gain some distance before scooping me up for a full-blown make out session. I was fairly certain someone drew a sharp gasp, their horrified expression lost to the shadows they were hiding in.
I***I
"Here we are!" I tried to sound cheerful as we cleared the last bend but the sight of the looming mansion put me out like a candle left out in the rain. Erza's hand slammed down on my shoulder in what I'm sure she thought was a reassuring gesture.
"Your father's house is beautiful, Lucy. Thank you for inviting us to his ball." She sounded very formal, quite unlike her usual mood-swinging self.
"Meh. It doesn't suit you, Luce." Natsu grumbled. I giggled at his cute pouty expression and ruffled his hair.
"Yeah…" I sighed, making sure to keep my voice low so only Natsu and Erza could hear me. Natsu shot me his full grin, sharp canines flashing, while Erza gave a quiet chuckle. The mansion, a glorious cage of peach walls and white pillars surrounded by pretty-perfect lawns and gardens. It was hard to go back, but some things needed to be let out into the open and the time was ripe.
We came up to the massive double doors and I gave myself a moment's pause before making three sharp knocks. The doors swung open without a sound and a maid greeted us with the usual bow and welcome. We followed her up the grand staircase and down a maze of marble-floored halls until she paused at two intricately carved doors, their frames nearly touching.
"Sir Dragneel, Lady Scarlet, these are your rooms. Sir Heartfilia requests that you dress the part while staying here, and there are servants waiting in your rooms to help you change into the appropriate attire. Clothing has been provided in advance." The maid performed another clean bow. Natsu was about to protest when Erza slapped him on the back of the head.
"Please relay my thanks to Sir Heartfilia." Erza thanked the maid and kicked Natsu into his room while gracefully stepping into her own.
"Lady Heartfilia, if I may escort you to your former room?" The maid graced me with a grand bow, a masterpiece far grander than what she'd given my friends. I merely nodded and follower her to a more familiar section of the mansion where my room used to be. Stepping into my old room was like going back in time.
The massive bed was still there, pink curtains and body-sized pillows and all. Large windows sent in rays of sunlight that lit up the huge white rug. Two small pink couches stared at each other from opposite sides of a flower-laden coffee table, each equipped with various pillows in all shades of pink and white. A fancy white desk gleamed from countless coats of polish, the shelves stocked with paper, pens, and various useless accessories. The desk chair still had the squishy pink cushion with a large gash, the same one I had made the day before I left. The doors to my extensive walk-in closet framed a full-length mirror. Not a speck of dusk in the entire monster of a bedroom. He though I would stay.
My hands balled up into tight fists, my anger mounting at his obvious actions. He wanted me to stay for reasons unknown even though I told him I would leave.
"Lady Heartfilia? May we enter?" A new voice rang out, muffled by the door. I spun around to open it for them but they immediately scolded me for doing such unlady-like things. "Sir Heartfilia requests your compliance with the customary attire, my Lady. Which dress would you like to wear today?"
We combed through the overkill of a closet until I found the simplest dress I could, which was still extremely complex. It was a pretty baby blue contraption with little frills of white lace bordering the elbow-length sleeves and framing my hips. The skirt fell past my ankles and ended in a border of white satin. The maid worked their magic to fasten the back and wrapped my hair into a perfect little bun with a baby blue ribbon, making sure that little strands were loose around my face. A delicate pearl necklace and a pair of heeled white shoes and I was done. A porcelain doll put up for display, just like a lady should be.
"You look lovely, Lady Heartfilia." One of the maids complimented with a slight giggle. I resisted an overwhelming urge to rolls my eyes and thanked them before ushering them out. Once the door was shut I took apart the bun and pulled off the necklace. A dress I could live with, but I was determined to show my father that I wouldn't stay.
The door slammed open to reveal a pink-haired boy in an informal suit, just a plain white shirt with a black coat and black pants. His scarf was wrapped around his neck and the top few buttons of his shirt had come undone. I was surprised to see that his gleaming black shoes were still dirt-free. His face was stuck between irritation and a pout.
"Hey, Luce! The bastards stole my clothes!" Natsu strolled in and plopped down on the bed. Happy flew in right after, closely accompanied by a strawberry-cake-consuming Erza. She had changed into a simple mint green gown and her hair was up in a complicated hairdo. Where she'd gotten the cake from was beyond me, but the dress really suited her.
"Sorry, Natsu. I'll make sure to get them back when we leave." I giggled and went over to him, my eyes meeting his onyx ones. He fell back into the pink blanket, his hair almost blending in, and scowled.
"But that's too long! This thing is itchy." He complained and tugged at the coat. Erza sighed after a blissful moment of cake.
"Sir Heartfilia asked that we dress appropriately while we're here, and your regular clothes don't fit the description. Deal with it, Natsu." She tucked a loose strand of scarlet behind her ear and went back to enjoying her cake. "I would like to get to know the mansion a little better, so I'm heading out. Keep an eye on him, Lucy."
"Ok. Just try to keep the swords away, okay?" I reminded her. We'd all agreed to be as non-reckless and destructive as possible.
She strolled out with a nod and shut the door behind her. Natsu immediately pushed off the bed and examined the whole room, him and Happy poking their noses where they didn't belong.
"Ooooh, what's this?"
"You damn cat—"
"Natsu! Lushy's gonna kill meeeeeeeeee!"
"Hey!"
"What's this?"
"Pwetty…"
"Natsu Dragneel, if you do not put that thing down this instant—you damn cat!"
"Luce, why is your face red? Are you sick?"
"Luuuuusssssshhhhhyyyyyy—"
"Oi, Happy! Look what I found!"
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
"Lushy's scary."
"Aye."
"I'm counting till five and then I'm calling Erza."
"We're sorry!"
"Aye, sir!"