Hey guys, Nikki here! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Dark Paradise. I enjoyed writing it, that's for sure~
Anyway, here's another chapter for you guys! I hope you enjoy it and keep on reviewing~ Your reviews definitely make my day and I love to see your opinions on the story and how it's developing so far!
DARK PARADISE
"Lady Lucy, there's two visitors waiting in the parlor."
She blinked, turning to look at Capricorn. Visitors, this early in the day? Why, it was only eight in the morning! Getting to her feet, she nodded and thanked the faithful butler for informing her. Who could these visitors be, though? She hadn't had any business in some time... Not since the planning and preparations had begun for the gala.
It had been a week since her eighteenth birthday masquerade and since that fateful evening on the balcony, her mind had been on a bit of a vacation. He occupied most of her thoughts now, the feeling of his hot lips on her own already committed to memory. It had been one kiss and yet, she was completely smitten already! It was a bit ridiculous, especially since he was completely foreign to her.
"Good morning, Lady Lucy." The voice caught her attention and she blushed, offering a smile to Virgo, her maid, as she passed.
"Good morning to you as well, Virgo." She nodded and continued on her way, moving to descend down the long staircase to see who was waiting at the bottom. She half hoped she'd see the familiar mess of spiky pink locks from the ball, but she only saw black and gray hair. Hiding her disappointment, she stopped at the bottom of the stairs and curtsied before her guests.
"Good morning, gentlemen. To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you today?" She asked with a soft smile.
"Lady Lucy Heartfilia, I presume?" She nodded as the small, older man returned her smile with ease.
"I'm the ruler of the neighboring kingdom. Surely you know of the history our kingdoms share, correct?" Once again the blonde nodded, her curiosity peaking. "Well, I have a bit of a proposition for you, m'dear. Maybe we discuss this in closed quarters?"
"Yes, of course. Follow me, if you'd please." She turned then, leading them throughout the castle to the meeting room nearest her own living quarters. There, she had Virgo bring refreshments and snacks before continuing on with the conversation they had started in the parlor.
"Now, Miss Lucy, the proposition..." She watched the older man pause, exchanging a glance with the younger man. They were both rather intimidating, especially the younger one. Those piercings of his were frightening, if only just a little bit! "We'd like to repair the rift between our two families and to do this, we need your help. You see, I have a son who is next in line should anything happen to me and he needs a bride. What better bride than one from the kingdom of Magnolia? We'd be killing two birds with one stone!"
Her eyes widened at the idea. This old man was surely nuts! She had just turned eighteen and he wanted her to marry his son? Her father would never approve of this, not in the slightest!
"This is probably a lot for you to take in, m'lady. I'm sorry for springing this on you so quickly, but this feud needs to end. Our kingdoms have been fighting for centuries over something rather trivial and it surely must be taken care of. We can only hope you'll accept and come meet my son." She was hesitant, that much was clear with just one glance at her face. How was she even supposed to just trust these two? Perhaps there was a good reason for their feuding families, especially if they had crazy ideas such as this!
"I... I will meet your son, but I'm not accepting this plan of yours just yet. I'd like to see how I get along with him before I make any life changing decisions and I would like to request that my good friend Levy McGarden accompany me on this visit," She watched the two men nod, smiles appearing on their faces. She got to her feet then, returning their smile before bowing her head. "I shall see you two tomorrow for this meeting, alright? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some family matters that need taking care of. Capricorn will escort you out. Thank you for visiting, gentlemen." They nodded once more and she moved to shake their hands before Capricorn opened the door. The duo left with a promise to see her tomorrow and with that, she began to make her way to the throne room where her father awaited her arrival.
DP
"Do you think she'll go through with it, father?" The dark haired male asked once they were safely within their carriage. They were heading back to their own kingdom, for they weren't very welcome in Magnolia anymore. It was risky even showing up at the Love and Lucky castle to request to see Lady Lucy Heartfilia! They had to do it, however. They had to give her the bait.
"I hope so, Gajeel. She's a key part to our plan for taking Magnolia. Hopefully she likes Natsu enough, however. We're counting on that meeting to go well tomorrow." Gajeel nodded at his father and then turned his gaze to the town outside his window. His eyes locked on the head of blue hair and he watched as the figure turned around, those hazel eyes that found his seeming to be so familiar to the man. It couldn't be the woman he danced with at the gala last week, could it? He watched her smile rather warmly before turning back to what she was doing and he couldn't help but keep his eyes trained on her as the carriage brought him further and further away from her. Perhaps he could find out with a few more trips to Magnolia...
DP
She stood before him with her head raised, chocolate eyes watching as a smile graced his lips. It was rare to see her father smile and practically unheard of for one of those rare smiles to be pointed at her.
"Lucy, I've been waiting for this moment since you've been born." He paused, taking a moment to glance at Layla Heartfilia as she placed her hand on his and smiled. It seemed she was in on whatever was about to happen to their daughter as well. "Today is the day you'll truly become part of this family." Lucy blinked at this, a soft frown gracing her lips. Truly become part of the family? What could that possibly mean?
"Virgo, please ready the room. She's going to be thirsty when she wakes up." She turned her head to shoot a questioning look at her mother's rather young face. The woman didn't look a day over twenty five, yet she couldn't be so young with an eighteen year old daughter... 'This just isn't adding up,' Lucy glanced between her parents and was about to demand an explanation when her father seemed to disappear from his throne. Looking to her mother, she saw the knowing smirk on the queen's lips and anxiety began to cause her chest to tighten. Where the hell was her father?!
"Lucy." Turning, she gasped as she saw her father. His teeth were bared and his canine teeth looked extremely sharp as he lowered his head and began to bite his wrist, blood seeping from the wound. He surveyed his work when he was done before glancing up to see his daughter's disgusted expression. She heard him chuckle and opened her mouth to question him when he shoved his wrist up against her mouth, the blood running down her throat with ease. Shrieking against his wrist, she struggled to pull her mouth away from his wrist when his hands came up to hold the sides of her head. Her eyes searched his, looking for answers to her questions, but she found nothing of the sort.
"Welcome to the family, Lucy!" Her father grinned and her eyes narrowed for a moment when she felt her father's hands begin to turn her head. In an instant, she heard a sickening snap and everything went black.
DARK PARADISE
I wanted to take the opportunity to explain the full concept of the last part of this chapter, just in case you might not understand.
Lucy's family happens to be full of vampires, the exception being for her brother who we have not yet been introduced to. This scene involves Lucy being turned by her father and he does this by feeding her some of his blood and then proceeding to snap her neck. I'm not all that familiar with vampires outside of a show or two that I've seen so the way she was turned could be inaccurate, but it'll do for now. Anyway, the transition will start next chapter as will her trip to visit Natsu and his family and we'll finally meet her brother within the next chapter or so as he finds himself questioning his parent's motives.
See you all next chapter and remember, keep reviewing! c: