Here's the second chapter to keep you guys hungry :P
Goosebumps rose on Lucy's skin as she shivered at the sudden onslaught of cold air. Rubbing her eyes, her vision adjusted to the dark room that she was currently occupying. Realizing she was not in her own room, she quickly rose as panic began to take over. Looking to her left, she saw the cause of the cold in the form of an open window on the other side of the room.
Her muscles ached as she pulled herself up out of the giant mass of blankets that made up her bed. Walking shakily towards the window, she took a look outside to see only darkness. There was no city lights nor sounds of anything but the rolling thunder accompanying the soft rain that had begun. Looking down she came to the conclusion that she was very high up, at least six stories, which did not bode well for any escape plans from that current exit.
Fumbling around in the darkness, it only took two stubbed toes and one bruised knee for her to locate the light switch near the very tightly locked door that she assumed to be the entrance. When the light flooded the room, it took a few moments for Lucy to adjust her eyesight.
The room was rather large with soft white carpets beneath her toes. It had was painted a light lavender accompanied with silver lamps and a dark bed frame. A vanity with many lotions and potions was placed beside a walk-in closet, filled with clothing that she didn't recognize and shoes that she suspiciously believed would fit if she tried them on.
Starting to get a feel for her surroundings, she explored the attached bathroom that held a tub more reminiscent to a small pool compared to a her standard claw foot. Lucy guessed that it could easily hold ten people and couldn't for the life of her figure out why one would need a tub so big. She was tempted to take a dip to soothe her aching muscles, but gathered her senses when she reminded herself that she had no idea where in fact she was.
Deciding she had had enough of her constant questions with no answers, Lucy headed towards the door and proceeded to pound on the thick wooden frame that held her captive.
"LET ME OUT! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I AM LUCY HEARTFILLIA AND I DEMAND YOU RELEASE ME FROM THIS ROOM!" she screamed in anger.
It took a good fifteen minutes before she heard the distinctive sound of footsteps approaching. Looking around the room for anything to arm herself with, Lucy's hands quickly grabbed a heavy hand mirror that was previously sitting on top of the vanity. By the time that the lock to the room was undone and the door had swung open, Lucy had thrown the mirror at the new occupant with precise accuracy.
However, instead of meeting her intended target, the mirror was caught by a strong hand attached to a tall male figure whom was smirking.
"Next time love, if your going to throw something, make sure its not something I can so easily catch." his english accent prominent, a cocky grin adorning his features.
Taken aback, Lucy began to back up, the wall stopping her motion promptly.
The man looked to be in his early twenties, with dark rosy hair and tan coloured skin. Lucy could tell that he had a strong athletic build beneath the tailored suit he wore, and his eyes, though dark, seemed intense. His grin widened at her reproach from him, his eyes trained on her as if she were prey.
It only took two steps with his long legs for him to arrive directly in front of her. In an instant, her back was pushed further against the wall as he held her face in his hand. He examined her slowly as if appraising something he was interested in purchasing.
"Well at least grandfather didn't pick a homely girl. I suppose you will do." his voice whispered in her ear, temporarily putting her in a daze.
"It looks as if your lost for words, however I find myself wondering if they do not teach you to speak aloud in America? A boring bride wont do." he tisked as he glanced into her eyes mischievously.
It only took Lucy three seconds for her to snap back to her regular self, her face flushing as she took the opportunity knee the man in front of her in the stomach. She would have to thank Mirajane for that self defence move when she saw her again.
The man balked over slightly, groaning in pain at the contact. This distraction allowed for Lucy to take her chance to duck under his arm and dart out the door he had left open upon his entrance.
A shudder ran through her as she raced down the stone hallway that offered multiple routes for her to take. If she had been conscious during her arrival, she would have remembered her steps. However, that was not the case and unfortunately for her that meant she was trying to escape blind.
It was silent within the stone walls except for the pads of her feet swiftly hitting the floor. By time time Lucy had made three lefts, a right, a flight of stairs and another left, she was breathing rather harshly and was becoming quite frustrated.
"If we were grading you based on cardio, your performance would be a "C" at best Miss. Heartfillia." A voice chimed from the shadows.
Jumping at the sound, Lucy quickly came face to face with Gray Fullbuster, the man whom was working in cahoots with her crazy grandmother.
"Fullbuster! You have got a lot of explaining to do you son of a-"
"Miss Heartfillia," He interrupted as he pulled back the door he was currently blocking. "Your dinner is getting cold."
"And why do you think I would want to do something like eat your food after what you did to me?" she argued, her temper flaring.
At that precise moment a loud grumble was heard throughout the outer hall, coming from Lucy's stomach.
Raising his eyebrow in a very Lucy-ish manner, Gray smiled as he held the door open more, motioning her to sit in one of the two empty chairs in the room.
Normally, Lucy would address more caution when it came to eating food from strangers, yet there was also the fact that her grandmother seemed to trust these people. Their motives were already out for her to think about, and poisoning her food would do little to appease the other parties predicament. Plus, the food smelled delicious.
Lucy's stomach grumbled again, urging her forward in a most ravenous way. She had never felt this hungry and was quite confused as to why she was reaching out, almost in a trance to grab a roll from the table. Forget plain hungry, Lucy was starving.
The table was filled with many options ranging from roast beef to decorative cakes, all mouthwateringly delicious to Lucy.
"Why m' I so—" she swallowed "hungry?" she said said between bites.
"Hmmm… I suppose it probably has something to do with that serum I gave you, It knocked you out for a good three days." Gray answered nonchalantly as he poured her some tea.
Lucy started coughing from this new information, her half chewed food almost choking her.
"Your tea." Gray reminded her.
Reaching for the cup, Lucy sloshed down the liquid before resuming to cough slightly as she cleared her throat.
"Three days? YOUR SAYING I WAS ASLEEP FOR THREE DAYS?! What in god's name would make you give me something that would last for three days?"
"Well, there was the matter of waiting for the jet to be refuelled and ready to fly after it had flown your grandmother and me first from Europe. Then there was the 12 hour flight across the country, and the 5 hour layaway in New York. Plus we had to cross the Atlantic to get to England. It was also advised that you stayed asleep so as not to cause a commotion at the airport, something your grandmother had insisted was a necessary precaution." Gray smiled. "Oh, and it's always nice to try out my companies inventions, you would be surprised to know how often a multi day tranquillizer is requested." a diabolical grin spread across his features.
Feeling like a scientist's test dummy, a wary Lucy took a quick glance around the room. The room was rather small compared to the great hall that Lucy's grandmother had served Gray in. The table would only seat about six people, and there were only two place settings actually laid out with cutlery. At least she now knew what country she was in
"Are you not eating?" she asked, taking another sip from her tea.
"No Miss, that seat is reserved for Mr. Dragneel"
As if on cue, the door opened and the man whom had cornered her upstairs walked in. Seeing that Lucy had not waited for his appearance to indulge herself, he didn't hesitate to fill his plate and dig in as well.
Standing abruptly, Lucy clenched her fists in anger. Pointing in Mr. Dragneel's direction, Lucy turned towards Gray, "You're telling me, that this is the man the old bat and you conspired to marry me to?"
"You know you really shouldn't refer to your grandmother as an old bat" Gray tisked as he exited the room quickly.
A silence filled the room as the remaining two occupants looked at each other from across the table.
Breathing out heavily in frustration, Lucy decided she might as well get this over with and inform the actual other party in this ridiculous agreement that she has no intention of bending to her grandmother's will.
Seeing she was about to speak, he quickly interrupted with "It is nice to meet you Miss Heartfillia. I hope you didn't have any troubles finding the dining room."
Lucy's eye twitched slightly at this. For starters, he was the one she had been running from, and he now has the audacity to act as if this were the first time they had met. However, she also believed that two could play at his game.
"Yes, I may have arrived slightly late as I had to deal with some stomach pains before, however it quickly passed and I found the dinning hall quite promptly." she countered, referencing to the fateful moment before where her knee had connected with his spleen.
Smiling with her response, Mr. Dragneel decided it was time they discussed why exactly she was there.
"I was told that Gray spoke to you before, regarding the necessity of your presence here?"
Happy that someone was finally was getting to the point, Lucy took this as an opportunity to voice her argument.
"Look, Mr. Dragneel."
"Call me Natsu."
"Really? I wouldn't have taken you for a Natsu." she shook her head for a moment, reassembling her thoughts.
"I know that there's this whole senile plan that involves the two of us getting married, however I must inform you that I have no interest in marriage at the moment and would therefore like it if we could fix this whole misunderstanding so I can be on my way." she finished with a diplomatic smile.
A mischievous smile crept up on Natsu's face the further she got into her rant, yet he waited for her to be finished before forming his reply.
"I believe, Miss Heartfillia, that there is a misunderstanding about there being any sort of a misunderstanding when it comes to our inevitable marriage."
She sucked in a breath at the word "inevitable".
Not giving her a chance to interrupt, Natsu continued. "It says in the contract that in order for me to inherit my grandfather's companies and take charge as the head of the family, our marriage shall take place on the first anniversary of his death. After it is official, the two of us are required to participate in the marriage for up to one year for the will to actually come into effect. Upon the end of that year, if both parties wish to separate, then the marriage would be dissolved and the companies would still stay within my rights for completing the requirements my grandfather set forth." Natsu's hand reached out and took Lucy's in his own, convinced his charm would help with the matter.
It was slightly unnerving as to how silent the regularly outspoken Lucy was being. After a moment of silence, she finally decided on what words would most delicately touch on the subject.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" she yelled in his face.
Natsu withdrew his hand when Lucy rose from her seat in anger.
"You honestly think that I would just give up the next two years of my life for a complete stranger? I do not know what you have heard about my family Mr. Dragneel but we of the Heartfillia house shall not be traded like cattle for the whims of others." She said fiercely, glaring at the man in front of her with piercing eyes.
A low chuckle was heard throughout the room emitting from the Mr. Dragneel himself. Lucy's blood began to boil at the thought of him finding their predicament amusing.
"Is there something funny?" she asked through clenched fists.
"Funny? Why no Miss. Heartfillia. It's just that I find it quite amusing that my grandfather would pair me with someone like you. You're quite the firecracker aren't you? I actually don't mind your angry face." he mused aloud.
Lucy wanted to wring his neck.
"What makes you think that I would even consider this arrangement?" She demanded, stomping forward so she was directly in front of him.
"Besides from my obvious good looks?" His cocky grin permanently plastered on his face.
You could practically hear Lucy growl in anger. "Do you really want to marry me? You don't even know who I am and, for your information, marriage is kind of a long term deal. You must realize this?"
"The contract clearly states that we only have to keep up this little farce for two years. One year pre-wedding, and one year after. After that we shall part ways. You'll be an eligible single woman by the time you graduate, and free to go where you please."
It was at that moment that Gray entered the dining room, carrying another one of his trademarked briefcases.
"Oh great, another briefcase. What's in there? An ancient contract written in sheep's blood promising my first born?" She mused.
"Actually, inside is something we have to offer you under the conditions of you agreeing to fulfill the late Mr. Dragneel's request." Gray answered matter-of-factly.
Now it was Lucy's turn to laugh.
"Do you honestly think you can bribe me? I'll have you know that if your offering jewels or money, whatever price you pledge I can easily obtain through my own means."
A knowing smile graced Gray's lips as he flipped back the latches on his briefcase, a puff of dry ice smoke emitting from its opening. Reaching inside, he pulled out a syringe with a blue liquid inside, the label Cryo-36 glued on.
Taking a step back as her last experience with one of Gray's needles left her passed out for three days, Lucy stared warily at him.
"Another one of your experiments ?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I suppose you can say that." He replied, tilting the liquid up and down methodically. "I suppose you could also say that what I hold in my hand here is a third round clinical trial cure for a little known disease called Fundus Flavimaculatus. Or, as many call it, Stargardt's Disease"
Lucy sucked in her breath at his words.
"There is no such thing. I looked." she whispered.
"Ah, but there is Miss. Heartfillia. You see, my company has been working on this vaccine for quite some time now, and clinical trials have shown promising results." Gray explained. "The third and final trial will be starting in December, yet only one hundred applicants from around the world are able to participate."
Lucy's anger had fully subsided and she was listening intently to Gray's story.
"Alas, the sooner the individual has the disease receives the treatment, the better their results. After these clinical trials are concluded the full product should be ready for the general public in about five years." He continued.
Taking a second to adjust his glasses, Gray looked seriously towards Lucy.
"We have heard from our sources that your childhood friend, Sting Eucliffe suffers from this previously incurable disease. While trials will one day lead to a mass produced cure, when it comes to the time that Sting has left verses the time for it to hit the market, your friend will not be able to benefit in time to stop the disease's progression."
"And what about repairing what the disease has already taken?" she asked.
"60% of previous trial patients exhibited signs of repair to the damaged area" he answered, "90% cure success rate for eliminating the disease from the body."
"If you sign a contract stating you will hold up your end of the proposal agreement produced by Igneel Dragneel's will, then I will personally grant your friend Sting Eucliffe a seat in the upcoming group of candidates. Now, what do you s-"
"I'll do it." she responded quickly.
Slightly surprised by his new fiancé's sudden change in opinion, Natsu's eyes shifted between her and Gray for a moment. Lucy stood with a fire in her eyes and Gray looked like a cat that had just caught his pray.
"Well that didn't take much convincing." Natsu yawned as he got up and headed toward the room's entrance. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow when when we head to school. We have to be there early to get you placed in a class so I will see you at seven."
Momentarily zoning out in complete bliss over the prospect of Sting being cured, Lucy was brought back down to earth by the words of her soon to be fiancé.
"School… Wait a minute, did he just say school?" she questioned Gray as Natsu had already departed.
"As the future wife of Natsu Dragneel you must keep up with your studies. We have a sister school of your old school Fairy Falls Academy nearby that Natsu attends. Fairy Tail is a fine institution and will serve as a place to hone your skills."
Nodding, Lucy reasoned that she couldn't just quit school. Mirajane would kill her and she didn't feel like having to deal with that any time soon.
Gesturing towards one of the maids, Gray called her over from cleaning up the table. "Great. Now that you understand, I shall have Virgo here take you to your room Miss Heartfillia. Its quite easy to get lost in the manor."
"Ok." Lucy agreed silently.
"I'll have a written agreement drawn up by tomorrow evening for us to make our arrangement legally binding. Your friend's spot in the trial in exchange for your cooperation." He explained as he opened the door for her to enter the hallway.
"Sleep well, Miss. Heartfillia." Gray bid her as he readjusted his glasses.
OK GUYS! There it is. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. I will go into more depth about Sting's illness for those who don't know what Stargardt's Disease is, might as well keep a little suspense while were at it. THANKYOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED/FOLLOWED/FAVOURITED! Im looking to update every weekend with a new chapter depending on the amount of reviews. If I get up to 20 I might be motivated to release a little earlier next week.