Natsu himself went into Lucy's room the next morning, finding her sitting on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. She didn't notice him.
"Tell me."
Lucy jumped a few inches, then looked at him very fast.
"S-Sor-"
"Tell me- where are you from really?"
"Loke-sama found me..."
"I know that's a lie. Tell me what really happened with Loke."
"Okay..." Lucy said, remembering. "If I must...
A small, twelve-year-old Lucy cradled her dying mother in a hug, trying to force life back into her body. Her mother was singing a lonely song in her lovely voice, something Lucy would treasure forever.
"Sometimes you'll feel bad,
By bee's foul sting,
But don't be bothered,
by nasty things,
You know I love you,
You are my sunshine,
Now fill the darkness
With your light...
You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You keep me happy,
When darkness rules,
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you,
So please don't take my...
Sunshine... away..."
Lucy hugged her mother tighter, lonely tears falling down her cheeks. The song stopped, and Layla's ragged heartbeat broke off. She was dead. Lucy cried a river over her mother in that dark alleyway, wishing for her to come back, to sing again, but the body remained lifeless on the ground.
"Mommy!" Lucy wept.
Lucy stayed there for hours, singing her mother's last gift to herself over and over. Dark shapes crept into the shadows of the alley, but Lucy didn't notice. Then, a man leapt out and Held a strong hand over her mouth. Lucy squirmed, but the man was very strong. A few other people came out, dressed in black attire, and Lucy didn't remember anything else.
When Lucy woke up, she was chained on a tightly packed ship full of people. There wasn't enough room to sit up or lie down, and Lucy quivered in fear. She had always relied on her mother, and now she was a slave... The ship started to move at a slow pace, and the days went by. People died all around her, shacked corpses, and the ship smelled heavily of sweat, rotting flesh, and human waste.
Lucy met another little girl, only eleven, who was chained up next to her. Lucy often told her stories to pass the sickening time.
"What's your name?" Lucy asked one day.
"Lydia... Hellbore." The girl said in a cracked voice.
"My name is Lucy."
After many days on that cursed boat, a sailor cried, "LAND HO!"
Slaves that were still alive smiled, knowing that they had a better chance of staying alive on land and not the slave boat.
The line of slaves were pulled from their ever-connecting shackles, and they were tugged into a guarded building where the girls were given showers. Glorious water! Lucy scrubbed herself well in one minute, knowing that she needed to look her best. A woman handed her a plain brown dress, and she put it on happily. The sale was tomorrow morning, and both Lucy and Lydia ware daydreaming of the masters they would get. Eventually, Lucy drifted off to sleep.
I the morning, all the slaves were re-shackled and taken to a market square, there was a podium, and the Master brought them up one after another, bidding on them.
"50,000 jewel! Any takers, any takers, how about it?"
Lydia got sold to a kind looking man with dark hair for 70,000 jewel, and Lucy was happy for her. Finally, it was her turn. Someone pushed her up on stage and she blinked in the bright lights, looking at the crowd. Lucy stumbled and tripped, legs still weak from disuse. There was a lot of nasty laughing, but Lucy it back up. The bidder was saying something, but blood pounded from her ears. There were a lot of unpleasant looking men. A man with a suit on and Ginger hair looked okay, but Lucy could only pray.
"SOLD! To the young man in the back, for 120,000 jewel." said the bidder, and Wendy blinked.
The man she had hoped for had bought her. Her prayers were answered. She stepped of the platform, and he took her gently by the arm.
"What's your name?" He asked Lucy.
"U-um... Lucy..."
Lucy hit herself inside her head. She was feeling scared and shy. He frowned, but only slightly. It did not seem to be directed at Lucy, though.
"How did you get to be a slave?"
"Well... I- er, I dunno."
Lucy didn't trust him, not yet, especially with that information.
"Surely you know what happened? Can you tell me, please?" He asked.
Lucy was rated taken aback by this comment. Slave masters did not usually say please, or anything of the sort.
"Okay..." Lucy said. "My mother d-died, and then bad people came and took me away."
"Where were you when she died?" He asked.
"An alleyway..."
He seemed sorry for her.
"I'm going to take you to a safe place." He said truthfully.
Lucy nodded. They had been walking a bit, but now there was a car waiting for them.
"Here, get inside."
"T-t-thank you... I could've been sold to anyone, but instead I got you..." Lucy mumbled, getting in.
"Don't worry about it." He said, getting in the backseat on the other side to talk with Lucy as the driver drove back to his home. "My name is Loke, but call me Loke-sama, okay?"
"Yes, Loke-sama." said Lucy obediently.
Now, 12-year-old Lucy was feeling better already from the slave ship. Loke-sama seemed nice enough, especially compared to the other men.
"You're going to be a maid, but you look too young right now and it's not legal, so you'll just be a assistant for all the other maids, okay? Learn the trade, and in a year or two, you can do it yourself." Loke explained.
"Okay, Loke-sama!" Lucy said.
Loke smiled, and turned to look out the window.
"I have one last question."
"Yes?"
"How old are you?"
"I'm t-twelve, I think..." Lucy said. "Loke-sama."
"Oh, okay."
Loke and Lucy stayed silent the rest of the trip, thinking. When they got to the house, Lucy gasped. She had never seen something so magnificent! It was a huge house with lovely gardens, and beautiful gates. Loke smirked, but only slightly.
"Whoaaaa..."
They walked inside, and Lucy looked at everything, not wanting to miss anything. He walked up to another maid that stood at the head if the stairs.
"Yes, Loke-sama?" the maid asked when Loke approached.
"This is Lucy," Loke said, patting Lucy. "She's assigned to be your assistant until she can become an actual maid."
"Okay, Loke-sama!"
The maid looked at Lucy, and shook her hand.
"Hello, I'm Makai, in charge of Loke-sama's personal care. What's your name?" Makai asked.
"I'm Lucy..."
Loke nodded his approval.
"Okay, Makai, please get Lucy a room, and a uniform. See that she's all settled, then you can show her around the house." Loke said.
"Yes, Loke-sama!" Makai said.
Loke departed, and Makai lead Lucy to the servant's quarters, talking all the way. Lucy tried to remember everything.
"...Whenever Loke-sama needs something, even in the night, you must dress as fast as possible and go to him, and he needs a bath ready at seven thirty on the dot. He eats every day at 8:30, 12:00, and 6:30. You must make sure he does not choke. Ifan order or asks you a question, and you refuse to answer or do it, you're asking for punishment. You'll start training for combat, because the first guard of Loke-sama, which is currently me, but will soon be you, needs to be ready to defend her master. Loke-sama also needs..."
Poor Lucy's head was spinning. Finally, they reached a room. It was simple, but nice. A couple of uniforms were lying on the dresser along with several other pairs of clothes.
"Get changed and brush your teeth, they need it. You'll find that stuff in the bathroom. Then meet me here in a few minutes, okay?"
"H-hai!" Lucy said, and changed.
The toothbrush was marvelous, she hadn't brushed her teeth in ages. She walked back outside, and Makai was waiting.
"Okay, now I'm going to show you around, okay?"
Lucy noticed a strange thing around the house. While they were al servants, everyone was smiling. Not fake smiles, but laugher and kindness smiles. Lucy decided to join them as she watched a cook flip a pancake in the air, and giggled a bit. People waved at her, and Lucy felt truly at home here.
Makai lead her all around the house, when there was a ring at the door. They were the closest, so Makai ran to open it.
"Loke-sama! Master Gajeel-san is here!" Makai called, holding the door open for Gajeel.
Gajeel looked at Lucy curiously.
"You got an assistant, Makai? What's yer name?" He asked.
"L-l-Lucy, Gajeel-san." Lucy stuttered, copying Makai.
Something about Gajeel was intimidating, whether it was his piercings or red eyes, Lucy did not know.
"Hey, Gajeel." Loke said, walking up.
"I see you've got Makai an assistant." Gajeel noted. "Lucy?"
"Yep." Loke said. "Hey, Makai, bring some snacks to my room, okay?" Loke asked.
"Yes, Loke-sama, right away!" Makai said cheerfully, and lead Lucy away to get the snacks.