Scandal (Book One)

Chapter 16

I sat on my old bed, hands folded in my lap. "Madam Lucy, are you okay? Would you like something to drink? To eat?"

Shaking my head, I dismissed my servant.

My servant.

Ugh, this whole thing; it was twisted! I gripped the velvet cloth in the dress I was wearing, clutching it out of frustration. "Father. Just speak now. I never came here to just dwaddle. Actually, I don't think I came here willingly at all!" My words were sharp, but even so I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"My, my, Lucy, you sure have grown. Very...feisty."

I didn't answer, just sat there, hands still anxiously playing with the fabric of my dress. Oh, this was not home. Not my home. Never have I been so anxious and so scared, never unless I was in the very house.

"You see, Lucy...I have made some...mistakes."

I let out an amused grunt and Father gave me a sharp glare.

"My life, as picture perfect as it may seem, isn't all that. With two dead wives, it can get...lonely. Loneliness can lead a man do to things. As a girl who has never had one stable boyfriend, you must know how this seems, yes?"

His words did not faze me, but I moved uncomfortably under his gaze, watching me, studying me for a reaction.

"I've gone into debt. Lots of it. Nights of drinking and such, well, for a man of my age, it is rather shameful to admit. Or any man I suppose. Especially to his daughter. So why am I telling you this? Because this is where your friend, Natsu, comes in."

He smirked at my pained expression; knowing well I didn't want to hear it, or hear any of it.

"Natsu is the heir to a fortune! Of course, he doesn't know that. So I simply put Lisanna to play an--"

"He doesn't know that? How? And what the hell?! LISANNA?" I was shouting now, and Father knew it. He smiled again, that same sick, ugly smile. I cringed. "You're ill."

He cleared his throat to continue, very obviously not taking my comment to heart. "Your friend, Lucy...when the two of you were quite little, you both got amnesia from an...incident. Before that, you two had been betrothed from birth. But then after that, his parents thought differently. They didn't want their only son hanging around with such a girl who only got him into trouble."

Betrothed?

My throat felt dry, for I was speechless. Could any of what he was saying be true? It hurt to think about. Natsu...

~

(Natsu's P.O.V.)

Lucy...Ugh, goddamnit, why won't this car drive faster? The mansion where Lis once lived, it couldn't be that much further, could it? My heart tugged at my chest, and I could feel my head beginning to hurt, to spin.

When did this all become so confusing, such a tangled, jumbled mess? I just wanted my old life back. Our old lives back!

Was that really so much to ask?

~

(Lucy's P.O.V.)

"They put their child up for adoption after he became registered with amnesia, to live in the arms of his now current 'mother' but his actual Aunt, only because living where he once did held too many memories. Of course, their son still needed a wife to be wed to. That's where Lisanna, and my...marriage, come in. I had a new daughter eligible! Splendid!"

He was bursting with glee, smiling and laughing as he remised on old times.

"So Lisanna and I get the money when Lisanna has her first born. He never even has to know." His words sent a cool, dark chill up my spine.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

~

(Natsu's P.O.V.)

As I stepped out of the car, I felt my phone vibrate. Lisanna was calling me.

I furrowed my brow in frustration but answered.

"Natsu! You can't do this! Just leave Lucy be!" She shouted, and I could hear her sobs.

"Why not? She's my friend. Friends check up on other friends, Lis. It's about time you learned that."

A pause.

I could almost picture the scene; Lisanna carefully cradling the phone close to her each, latching onto my every word, tears trickling down her doll-like face as she chewed on her lip anxiously. It was too perfect.

"You just...can't. If you do you may get into trouble, trouble you never expected." Her words were carefully chosen, that I knew.

But it wasn't enough to stop me. "Lis, if you're only going to try and discourage me from helping a friend, I'm gonna hang up."

"Wai-"

It was too late for her to speak. A house towered before me, neatly trimmed gardens and picture-perfect statues of angels and other regal things stood tall and proud. The windows were clear and clean, long, flowing red curtains showering them, like a woman's dress.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at a door that seemed to be made of dark oak, and a golden handle was finger-print free. It was so perfect it was ominous.

Taking one last look at my surroundings, I knocked.

~

(Lucy's P.O.V.)

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked, though it came out as more of a hoarse, terrified whisper.

This couldn't be true. And yet...why did it make so much sense?

My world, my fragile, crooked world, had finally come crashing down at last, shards of glass flying.

"Ah. The real question. Why did I tell you? Why would I tell you all of this, when you may run off and tell Natsu everything--like you almost always do."

"Almost?"

He smiled once more. "Don't you just love carnivals?"

A chill ran up my spine. This wasn't even close to right. Why was it when I always ran from my deepest, darkest demons, they always came back to haunt me?

A woman entered the door, lifting her dress some politely, gaze fixed on the ground. A servant.

"Master, someone wishes to see you. He says it's very urgent."

I saw a look of terror flash into his eyes, as if he already knew who it'd be. "Who?"

The servant, still looking toward the ground, said, "He says his name is Natsu Dragneel."

A/N: sorry for not updating! Hope you guys liked it. ^^" it has gotten a bit more stressful as of late. Sorry, but I always imagined that Lucy's father was capable of such things as he's doing now. And I don't really know much about amnesia, so I didn't get too specific on that. Anyways, please leave reviews and Happy Shipping!

Q.O.T.C.

-Natsu and Lucy were bethrothed to be married? (Arranged marriages are popular among the rich). What happened? What 'incident'?

-Does Natsu remember anything?

-How does Lucy's father know about the carnival?

-How long has Lisanna been playing along?

-Is that really Natsu's baby? Or Bickslows? Does Lucy's father even know that?

-*other questions insert here*

||THIS BOOK IS UNEDITED||