Loyalty | [A Short Fairy Tail Fanfiction]

Chapter 1 - The Backstory Part 1

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of verbal, and some physical, abuse and neglect. Please take care of your mental health and do not read if you will be triggered.

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A young adult relationship filled with lust and passion turned into one filled with rage and disgust.

And it was all caused by a pregnancy announcement.

The facade shattered and the young woman was left with a broken heart and burning anger with no target.

That is, until the baby was born.

"I'm not going to say it again, stay in your room and don't come out until I say so." The mother instructed her five year old daughter. Her face was serious and her eyes challenged her daughter, daring her to go against her words.

The little girl was already used to this behavior from her mother. She learned at a very young age to either listen and do what she says or risk being beaten and starved.

She went to her room without another word.

It wasn't long before she heard a loud knock on the door, which startled her (as loud noises often did), and a deep, male voice afterwards.

She was also becoming accustomed to her mother's routine. She wasn't aware of the reason yet, but her mother would have men over every other week.

It was a different man each time.

She can recall a time when she left her room against her mother's orders to see what was going on (out of curiosity, of course).

She tiptoed her way through the living room, noticing a trail of clothes that led to her mother's room. The door was cracked.

"Is that a kid?" The man asked, ceasing his movements.

Her mother was not pleased.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY IN YOUR ROOM!" The little girl's head ducked to avoid being hit by the oncoming plate that was thrown. "I GAVE YOU ONE RULE AND YOU CAN'T EVEN FOLLOW THAT! ARE YOU THAT INCOMPETENT? I'M TRYING TO GET US SOME MONEY -- TO MAKE A LIVING -- AND YOU'RE RUINING IT! JUST LIKE YOU RUIN EVERYTHING! IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT YOUR FATHER LEFT IN THE FIRST PLACE! DO YOU WANT US TO BE POOR FOREVER? GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Let's just say she never did that again. She stayed in her room.

She became obedient in the hopes that her mother would not be angry with her.

She didn't speak unless spoken to.

She didn't make any noise.

She did what she was told.

But it wasn't enough.

When she was 10 years old, the poor, low income neighborhood she lived in was raided by a dark guild that did human trafficking on the side. The team that was sent out was told to capture all of the children and kill anyone who got in their way.

So when the door to their apartment was kicked in, her mother was, at first, angry.

"Who do you people think you are?" She spat, standing up from her seat on the couch in the living room.

Hearing all of the commotion, the little girl left her room and poked her head into the living room from the hallway.

Another one of mommy's visitors? She thought. However, there were three men in the house this time. This felt different.

"Shut up." One of the mages said. "You got a child in this house?"

"What's it to you?" She glared.

"'Fraid we'll have to take the kid off your hands." The same mage smirked, "Don't make a fuss and we won't have to kill you." He snapped his fingers and the two other men began searching the house.

The little girl ran back to her room and hid under her bed. Her body was shaking from fear. These men were after her for some reason.

She's been a good girl, so her mom will save her, right?

At first it was silent, so she thought the men had left. But as she made a move to crawl out from under her bed, she heard footsteps approaching and immediately halted.

Her bedroom door was opened roughly, causing a loud bang to be heard as the door made contact with the wall. Two pairs of feet entered the room.

One pair walked to the closet.

The other pair to the bed.

Her body started shaking again as she practically held her breathe. She silently prayed that they wouldn't look under the bed, but they did.

The man's long arms reached under the bed and roughly grabbed her wrist, pulling her from under the bed. She squirmed under his grip, trying to fight him.

The man was not fazed.

"Let's go." He simply said, dragging the girl with his accomplice following behind him.

She continued to squirm, using her tiny free hand to attempt to pry him off her. When they finally arrived in the living room, the girl paused upon seeing her mother, who was now sitting back down on the couch with a cigarette in hand, and the leader of this dark guild team in the same place he was when he entered. When he saw the little girl, he smiled.

"So there really was a child here?" He asked, "You were so calm, I thought we would come up empty." He looked over to her mother.

"You said you'd take her off my hands, didn't you?" Her mother replied, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Why would I be stressed?"

The leader shrugged his shoulders at the reply. Family matters were none of his business.

"Let's get out of here." He said.

As the men started moving again, the girl resumed squirming. Was her mother really going to let them take her without putting up a fight? "Mommy!" She yelled, watching her mother continue to casually smoke. The facade she had learned during her time living in this apartment shattered in an instant. "MOMMY!" She yelled louder. "I promise I'll be good! Please save me, mommy!" She didn't even realize she was crying.

Nevertheless, her mother didn't move. Didn't even spare her a glance.

That was the last time she saw her mother.

From that moment, she was sold into slavery. A human bought and sold like an animal.

And betrayed by her mother.

She was owned by a wealthy businessman -- a single father to a young boy that was around her age.

She was supposed to keep the young boy company and eventually serve him once he was of age to take over the family business.

She remained in their custody until she was 14, when she used magic for the first time.