Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Chapter Ten: Origin of Sin: Lust

And now let us turn back the clock and turn instead to the distant past….
City of Madripoor

Beautiful.

So many words that mimicked this word's definition described the woman who was being held in the arms of the man she'd loved. Rosanna kissed her lover while they stood in the garden to the man's mansion, surrounded by roses of the brightest reds and pinks. Her lovely chestnut hair was tied with a ribbon and her emerald eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight.

Dressed in a gorgeous blue dress, Rosanna hugged her lover's neck while basking in the warmth of his embrace. "Oh, Mercurius…" she breathed, laying her head on his shoulder.

Holding the love of his life, Mercurius kissed her forehead and looked up at the sky. "Look," he said pointing up, "the stars themselves twinkle to profess your loveliness."

Rosanna laughed. Mercurius was such a hopeless romantic that it was too corny not to love him all the more. Taking him by the hand, Rosanna guided him to a stone bench and they sat down.

The two had been friends since childhood. It was almost storybook how they fell in love; him, the eldest son of a nobleman and she, a daughter of a lowly street musician. They'd met when they were but children and their friendship had naturally grown into love for one another. Now a young man, the handsome Mercurius looked like the exemplar of grace, with his trimmed blonde hair and eyes as blue as the ocean, his suit the finest that the tailor could produce.

Holding her close, Mercurius took hold of Rosanna's hand and kissed it. "I will be away for a few weeks. My father and I are traveling overseas on a business venture."

"Can't I come with you?" Rosanna pleaded, cupping his face with her slim, elegant hands.

Chuckling, Mercurius kissed her cheek and sadly nodded. "I'm afraid I cannot. You know how my father gets…" he said with a sigh.

Rosanna frowned. "He still doesn't approve of me?"

"I fear he'll never approve. But I have no need of his approval." He took hold of her hand and squeezed. "I have you, which is more than enough."

The smile on Rosanna's face said it all. Mercurius's father, Atlus, disapproved of his son's relationship with a mere commoner and had on separate occasions made his distaste for Rosanna public and took every opportunity to mock her and her family's trade. But none of it mattered to Rosanna. To her, Atlus was just an old man with one foot in the grave. Soon, time will rid her of her greatest critic.

Reaching into her dress, Rosanna produced a black flute, her family's most prized heirloom. It'd been carved by her mother and was the one thing Rosanna had to remind her of her mother after she'd passed away. "I've a new song for you, my love," she said, holding the flute close. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Nothing would make me happier," Mercurius said.

Bringing the flute up to her mouth, Rosanna played a nocturne, her fingers deftly crafting the musical notes that erupted from the end of the flute. Rosanna loved playing for Mercurius; he was her biggest fan and her greatest patron.

Once she was finished, they two parted for the night. Rosanna left the mansion by the main gate. She walked along the road and turned around. As soon as she saw the light to Mercurius's room go out she started to walk back to the mansion. Entering through a secret passage, she reached a certain window and knocked gently.

The light came on and the window opened. Arms pulled Rosanna into the room and she felt lips claim hers. Rosanna felt like she was in heaven as she kissed the man…except it wasn't Mercurius. She pulled away and smiled, closing the window behind her. Closing the curtain, she turned back to the man and smiled. "Icaro…" she whispered.

The younger son of Atlus held his lover in his arms as they kissed again. Like his older brother, Icaro had blue eyes but his hair was a long, dark brown. Her hand grazed scars on his face, reminders of several battles he'd survived; Icaro was a member of the Council's Rune Knights. Unlike Mercurius, Icaro did not normally stay in the mansion, preferring to leave his brother to the family title while he stayed in his own small home. It was perfect for Rosanna but when she heard that Icaro had returned to the manor for the week she couldn't' resist the need to see him.

The truth of the matter was that Rosanna loved both Mercurius and Icaro. She'd been friends with the brothers as a little girl and had grown up with them. As she soon transitioned into womanhood Rosanna struggled to come to terms with her feelings towards the two brothers. She loved them dearly with all her heart. And she knew that they both loved her as well, though neither of them ever made their affections of Rosanna known to each other. Rosanna knew how wrong it was by being with both brothers behind their backs. She knew it was horrible to them both but she couldn't do the unthinkable: she couldn't choose between them. To do so would break her heart as well as break one of theirs. To consciously stomp on either of their hearts and tell him that she loved the other more would devastate them. Not only that, both brothers were fierce when it came to their passion. If she did declare that she loved one over the other, she knew it'd come to blows. And since Icaro was a Rune Knight she knew that magic would be involved.

She spent the evening in Icaro's arms and left through the window and the secret passage out of the mansion. She walked back her small apartment and wished to the heavens above that this could go on, that she could love both men and keep their hearts without things coming to tragedy.

Sadly, all lies are exposed in the end and Rosanna's was no exception. Unbeknownst to her, when she'd slipped out of Icaro's room that night, she had a watcher who was more than willing to tell both men of her nocturnal activities….

A few days later….

Rosanna cried out in pain as Mercurius struck her, sending her to the floor. The man was furious beyond measure and by the looks of Icaro standing beside him he was in a similar state. Behind the desk sat the boys' father, Atlus, who had a smug smile on his face as he saw the sight of the proud Rosanna laid low before him. His desk was located near the fireplace which was burning bright in the darkened room. Rain pelted the windows as a storm raged outside with the same ferocity as the storm inside the room.

Icaro grabbed Rosanna by the arm and yanked her up. The look on his face was a mixture of rage and pain. "How could you?" he choked. "I loved you! And yet…with him?"

Mercurius yanked Rosanna away from his brother and gripped her so hard her wrists felt like they were on the verge of breaking. "You've played us both! Father was right all along! You're nothing but a harlot!"

"No!" Rosanna pleaded. "You don't understand! I love you both! I just…I just..." Tears ran down her face. She tried to break free from Mercurius but his grip was absolute. "Stop! Mercurius! You're hurting me!"

The man threw her to the floor again. He turned to his father, who was looking at the fallen Rosanna with a sneer. He was disgusted by how much pleasure his father was taking from this but put that aside. "I'm glad that father told us about this, otherwise you'd have continued to string us along for years."

"Quite so, my boy," the old man said with a smile. "By the way, Icaro, didn't you buy that dress of hers with your hard-earned wages? It cost you…what, a month's pay?"

Taking the bait, the hotheaded Icaro stepped over Rosanna and grabbed her dress. "You're right, Father." He looked down at Rosanna with eyes of scorn. "You don't deserve this. You didn't deserve anything from us!"

Mercurius and Atlus watched as Icaro started to tear parts of her dress, only stopping from fully stripping her when Mercurius held him back. Mercurius looked down at his childhood friend and lover with eyes filled with contempt and scorn. "Get out," he said with venom in his voice. "Don't ever show your face to me, my brother or my father. Otherwise," he put his hand on the sword at his hip, "I might take leave of my senses…" he threatened.

"Mercurius…Icaro…please," Rosanna sobbed.

"One more thing," the old man said as he reached into his pocket and withdrew something. "This wench has cost you two too many an item in order to court her. I believe you're both due compensation."

Rosanna paled. In Atlus's hand was her flute. "No!" she screamed. "That's mine! It was my mother's! It's the only thing I have left!" she pleaded.

Mercurius stormed up to his father and snatched the flute out of his hand. Looking back at Rosanna, he remembered all the times she played for him. Now, in the wake of her adultery, her songs felt like mocking laughter. "No more songs for you!" he said before snapping the flute in half.

"NO!" Rosanna screamed as Mercurius threw the pieces into the fire. "How will I live?" she pleaded, looking up at Icaro. "I can't perform if I don't have my flute!"

Icaro kicked her away. "Why don't you sell yourself?" he sneered. "You've clearly sold your soul and your dignity." He reached down and grabbed Rosanna by her hair, dragging her out the room. Reaching the front door, Icaro threw Rosanna out into the rain. "Never come back here, you whore!" he shouted before slamming the door and leaving Rosanna out on the front steps of the mansion, her dress torn and tattered.

Sobbing, Rosanna gathered what remained of her dress and walked away from the house of her lovers. She felt miserable and wished Mercurius had ran her through with his sword because that's what her heart felt like what'd happened to it. Before she left the vicinity she took one last look at the mansion and saw Atlus by the window, a sneer on his face before he pulled back the curtain and cut off her vision of him.

Sobbing, Rosanna hobbled home in the rain, unsure of what her life had become now that she'd lost the loves of her life.

Months later….
City of Madrippor; Red Light District

Rosanna prayed every day to whatever god would listen. She didn't pray for money. She didn't pray for her lovers to rescue her. She merely prayed for a quick death.

Atlus had made very well sure that the whole city knew of Rosanna's infidelity. Her patrons abandoning her one after the other, Rosanna was unable to acquire another flute to play and found herself penniless. All of those who knew her quickly ended any association with her, telling Rosanna that she'd brought it on herself. With no family left and no friends to turn to, Rosanna had to resort to the ultimate low to put bread on the table: prostitution.

Every time Rosanna had to lie with a man she cursed her former lovers. Every time her lips connected to a mouth filled with rotten teeth or had to endure the odor of a man who hadn't bathed in days her heart filled with more and more scorn. Life no longer had any meaning to her and she went to bed every night praying she'd never wake up.

Standing on the steps of the ramshackle hut that she now lived in at the edge of the red light district, Rosanna looked up at the stars. Their twinkling reminded her of Mercurius's words and she soon found herself hating them. How dare they be bright and shiny while she slaved away in the mud?

She looked down at the muddy ground and frowned. She didn't know how long it would be before the inevitable happened. She'd seen it occur dozens of times: women dying in their beds after enduring months of suffering from a venereal disease. Or worse, Rosanna would give birth out of wedlock and be forced to provide to a child she didn't want.

The thought of either future made Rosanna wish for revenge. She hated Mercurius. She resented Icaro. And more importantly she despised Atlus. She'd loved both men but in the end they chose not to understand her viewpoint and had thrown her to the dregs.

What she wouldn't give for revenge….

No sooner did the thought pop into her head than she heard a horse trot up. She was surprised to see a knight in gleaming silver armor step down from his horse. "Good evening, Madam," the knight greeted. He took hold of her hand and kissed it.

Blushing, Rosanna smiled at the knight. This was certainly a change of pace. "If you're looking for my services, sir, it's two hundred jewels per-"

The knight cut her off. "No need for that, ma'am. I'm not here for your services. I'm here to offer you mine."

Rosanna stood there, not knowing how to process this. One moment she was standing in the mud by her flimsy shack and now she was being offered the services of a knight in shining armor. "What do you mean?" When she looked back at the horse she noticed something she hadn't saw in the darkness of the night: there was a small girl still on the horse, her putrid yellow eyes looking down at Rosanna with intrigue. "Don't tell me you're looking for me to babysit?" she suggested.

The man shook his head. "Nothing like that. Please excuse my friend. May we speak inside?"

Nodding, Rosanna led him into her one-room shack. Sitting down in a chair, Rosanna sighed and looked up at the still-standing knight. "So what is it you can do for me?" she asked. "Also, I didn't catch your name, Sir…."

"Pride," the man greeted, bowing before the prostitute. "My associate calls me Pride. But back to the matter at hand, I know of you, Rosanna."

Crossing her arms, Rosanna scowled. "If Icaro put you up to this then let me tell you now that he can go straight to-"

Cutting her off with a hand, Pride reached into his sack while continuing. "You misunderstand. I'm here to offer you the one thing you want."

Continuing to scowl, Rosanna turned away, huffing in annoyance. "All I want is revenge. I'm going to die in this hovel but I'll die happy if I can put Atlus and his sons in their place."

"Precisely why I'm here."

Rosanna turned back to Pride and saw that he had a shiny red apple in his hand. "What is this?" she asked, wary of the fruit.

"A chance," Pride said while he handed her the fruit. "Eat it and I promise you this: you will never suffer at the hands of another man again."

Holding the fruit in front of her, Rosanna looked down at it. She didn't know if this was some trick or not. For all she knew Pride could be in cahoots with Icaro or Atlus and had the apple poisoned or spiked with a hallucinogen in an effort to further humiliate her. But when she looked around at the miserable place she called home and recalled the scorn her lovers had in their eyes when they'd abandoned her she knew that death was a welcome choice. Anything was better than living another day as a prostitute.

Pride's smile grew as Rosanna took a bite out of the fruit. She chewed it and tasted no signs of tampering and took another bite. When she swallowed it, however, her hands went to her throat. "What…what is this?!" she choked, dropping the apple which landed on the dirty floor. Envy walked into the house and stood next to Pride as she fell out of her chair. For a moment, Pride thought he'd made the wrong choice but that thought perished as the prostitute started to change.

Rosanna looked down at her arms and saw her skin changing. Her eyes turned black and she felt ecstasy roar through her, as if she was being carried to the gates of heaven. Her tongue extended and rolled out of her mouth and she let out a lewd sigh, horns sprouting atop her head. She groaned as she felt her feet morph. Her small feet bubbled and twisted until they were in the shape of hooves, another groan escaping her when she felt a tail pop out of her dress.

When the transformation was complete, Rosanna ceased to exist. She'd died and in her place rose Lust, a demon of ecstasy.

"How do you feel, my lady?" Pride asked as he helped his new comrade up.

Looking down at herself, Lust felt power fill her and smiled. "Bitter. Angry. And a little bit aroused," she said. "I assume this isn't a free gift?"

"Yes," Pride nodded. "But before we begin with our work, I believe it only fair to let you tie up some loose ends….

Later….
Atlus's Mansion

Atlus opened the door to his study and strolled in, happier than he'd been in a long time. His son, Mercurius, was about to wed a woman whose father was head of a shipping company and with their marriage brought all the fortune that came along with it. Atlus prided himself for getting rid of Rosanna, whom he'd always detested. As of now Mercurius's fiancé was staying at the manor in one of the guest rooms, getting ready for her big day. He wished that Icaro would resign from his position of the Rune Knights to come back to the family business but with Mercurius's marriage his legacy was secured. Walking up to his desk, he gathered his papers, planning on turning in for the night, only to stop when he saw something laying on the desk.

It was a black flute.

Picking it up, Atlus turned it over and scowled. "This looks like that whore's flute," he noted. "It can't be. Mercurius snapped it and burned it in the fireplace."

A voice from the darkness made him shake. "Yes, but music is forever. No fire can put out my passion, old man…."

Recognizing the voice, Atlus whirled around and scowled indignantly. "You! What are you doing here, you harlot?" he demanded to know before the most ominous thing happened. As if by some unseen hand, the black flute was wrenched from his grip and flew into the darkness. He heard steps taken towards him but they puzzled him greatly; they sounded like the hooves of a horse and not like the footsteps of a woman. When Lust stepped into the light Atlus clutched his chest and stumbled backwards, falling into his chair. "What…what are you?!" he gasped.

Walking over to Atlus, Lust, now dressed in black leather garments, pressed a finger to the old man's lips. "Shhhh…it's okay, Atlus. I'm just going to play you a song that's all…."

"A…a song?" Atlus choked.

"Yes…" Lust smirked. "The last song you'll ever hear."

Later….

Icaro kicked the door down to the mansion and he and his brother rushed inside. They'd both been drinking at the local pub when one of the family servants rushed into the place, screaming at the top of her lungs. When they'd managed to calm her down she'd told them that their father had gone mad and was attacking everyone in sight. After hearing her tale they'd rushed back to their home as fast as they could.

In short: the place looked like a slaughterhouse. Blood was painted all over the walls. Priceless paintings were slashed and torn. Mercurius had to keep himself from vomiting when he saw the bodies of several servants lying in the room. "What has father done?" he choked.

Icaro was used to seeing blood but this was beyond anything experience could prepare him for. "Where is he?" he said before they both heard a scream. Both men paled when the realized where it was coming from.

Mercurius dashed up the stairs as fast as he could, stepping over more bodies as he went. He ran to the door of his fiancé's room and turned the doorknob.

It didn't budge.

"Move!" Icaro said, drawing his saber. With a few well-aimed slashes he chopped the door down. The brothers went inside only for Mercurius to scream in horror at the sight before him.

His father stood over his fiancée and it was clear by how mutilated her body was that she was on longer of the living. When Atlus turned around they were both horrified by the insane smile on his face, his clothes stained with red blood. In his hands was a knife, dripping blood.

"F-father," Mercurius choked, unable to understand what he was seeing. "Why…why have you-"

"For my Mistress," Atlus said, his head tilting to the side. "I'll do anything for my Mistress, even kill my own sons."

Mercurius wasn't prepared for when Atlus lunged for him but Icaro was. The wall became stained with more blood that sprayed from the stump where Atlus's arm used to be after the man cut it off. Grabbing his father by the throat, Icaro pinned him to the wall. "Who is responsible for this?!" he demanded. "What Mistress?"

The older brother ran to his fiancée and struggled to keep it together. This was monstrous, what'd been done to her. "Why?" he said, knowing that his fiancée was dead and he'd lost his love for a second time. It was then that the brothers heard something that chilled them to a bone.

Music. Played from a flute.

Icaro dropped his sword and stumbled, putting his hands over his ears to blot out the noise but it was too late. "What…is…happening…" he slurred before falling asleep. Mercurius as well felt the need for sleep overtake him. As he dropped to the ground he saw someone standing in the ruined doorway, playing her flute. "Rosanna?" he breathed as he struggled to stay awake, recognizing the demonic figure. "How could you?" he choked.

"You know what they say about a woman scorned," Lust taunted. She put her flute away and grabbed something else that Pride had given her. "Goodbye, Mercurius. Goodbye Icaro." She lit a match and smiled. "Pleasant dreams…."

She dropped the match and let it ignite the carpet. She watched the fire reach her two sleeping friends before turning around only to see Atlus crawling towards her with his remaining arm.

"Mistress…please…" he pleaded. "Save me!" he cried out as the flames neared him.

Lust kicked the old man in the face and turned away. "Goodbye, old man. I believe this is fair compensation for ruining my life."

She walked out of the mansion, hearing the screams inside but cared little, knowing that Atlus, Mercurius and Icaro were dead men. But she no longer cared. She didn't believe in such silly things as love anymore. Love was dead. Rosanna was dead.

There was only Lust now.

To be continued