I Object

♡ 5. Preparations

Makarov stared at the letter in his hand. He sighed. This day had come too soon and he had dreaded this day for six months. He frowned as he left his office to behold the Fairy Tail members passed out on the floor.

"Who was that, Master?" Mira asked.

"A messenger boy. There's something very important coming up." He stood on the railing of the second floor and bellowed, "WAKE UP, BRATS!"

Slowly, with much grumbling and moaning, the guild members woke and stared at their master, several of them nursing bruises and minor cuts.

Natsu was still asleep. "Wake up, Natsu!" Lisanna shook him, but the dragon slayer continued to snore.

"I'll wake him up," Gray grunted and roared in Natsu's ear, "WAKE UP, FLAME BRAIN!"

He popped up, screaming, "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR, ICE PRINCESS?"

"Master told us to wake up, something you didn't bother to do, retard."

"I'm going to kill you, stripper!" Natsu was about to brawl with Gray again until Erza knocked him down, a deadly aura surrounding her. "Pay attention!" she snapped.

"A-Aye!"

Makarov cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "I have an invitation here!" He held up the invitation. "For the next week, I want you all to prep up for this Saturday. Nobody can go on jobs longer than three days! Everyone, we must look our best so go out and buy fancy clothes! Be at the guild at 10 in the morning on Saturday dressed up!"

"Where are we going Gramps?" Gray called.

"This is confidential information. Now go you brats!"

The guild members dispersed into groups, murmuring to each other.

"Mira, Lisanna, Levy, Cana, Juvia, and Wendy, do you want to go dress shopping with me?" Erza asked.

"Right now?" Wendy asked excitedly.

"Of course. We have a week, but it's better to be prepared beforehand."

"Alright!" Levy cheered.

"I wonder what all this is for...," Cana muttered. She glanced at her cards. "Ugh! The future is blocked from me!"

"Whatever it is, it must be good," Mira smiled.

"We're wasting time. Let's go!" Lisanna said and dragged the girls out the door towards the nearest shop.

♡~♡~♡

Lucy stepped into the ballroom, glancing around at the decorations. Everything seemed to be in good order. The floor-to-ceiling windows were draped with white and pink silk curtains, the long rows or chairs covered with white silk, the aisle a carpet of white leading to a raised platform with an arch of white and pink roses and the altar beneath it. All the flowers were enchanted so that they would remain fresh until after the wedding.

She raised her eyes to the balcony. It was directly across from the windows with raised chairs so that the back row could look down comfortably upon the room below. Lucy had reserved this balcony especially for Fairy Tail.

The balcony railing is decorated with white drapes and pink flower bouquets. Everything in the ballroom was white with accents of pink except for the gold chandeliers above and the pale gold of the walls and the slightly darker gold tone of the floor. Of course, she had chosen pink because it reminded her of him...

She shook her head. She couldn't waver now. She had to protect her father and Spetto- san, and everyone with this marriage. Takeshi had made it clear that she couldn't back away now and that if she tried, he would kill her and destroy the Heartfilia Konzern and Fairy Tail.

♡~♡~♡

-Flashback-

"You wouldn't be able to even land a scratch on Fairy Tail," she had scoffed at him.

"You don't know me, my dear," he had purred silkily with dark menace in his voice. He grabbed her chin and made her stare into his eyes. She looked into those cold eyes and knew. He could annihilate Fairy Tail if he chose to. She gulped and looked away.

"Do we understand each other?" he asked, not letting go.

"Yes... Takeshi."

"Good." And he pushed her away, leaving her on the floor, shivering at the madness in those icy blue eyes.

-End Flashback-

♡~♡~♡

Lucy gulped. There was something about that man. Something that made her fear and hate him at the same time. He had shown a gentle and courteous side, but sometimes a darker insane side of him would surface and he would scare her half to death before becoming calm again as if nothing happened.

She had tried to find out more about Takeshi Nakamura, but her searches had proved fruitless and she therefore resigned herself to her fate, occasionally sobbing to herself at night.

"Lucy-sama, are there any concerns regarding the decorations?" a young maid with warm brown hair asked politely.

"Everything is perfect, thank you," she said, glancing around.

"It is our pleasure, Mistress." The maid curtseyed and left to oversee a group of men carrying in boxes of more flowers.

Lucy sighed. 'Mama, let me be strong for the future,' she prayed before slipping out of the huge mahogany doors.

♡~♡~♡

Dae ♡