Fairy Tail: Next Generation - Volume IV

Chapter 15: We Meet Again

When Florence stepped into the room, she knew right then and there that she'd only get out of there alive if Alec didn't. Whatever she'd been led into was something she couldn't escape from so easily.

He sat down in a folded chair, waving his hand lightly to one of his men to retrieve his "gift" for Florence. He wiped his face, sighing as the men locked the door. "Now then, 'civilized adults', right?" 

"I'd prefer it that way, yes," Florence said quickly. 

"It's funny of you to say that," Alec chuckled, "given the fact that I'm the one who helped tame you." Tamed was a horrific choice in words, in Florence's opinion.  "Nonetheless, I'm glad you arrived, I've been holding onto something for a while now." 

The wooden box arrived in his hand, and he brushed off the top lightly. "I know you've been looking for your father, and you'll be glad to know this, he's been looking for you too." 

"So he's alive," Florence swallowed, trying to conceal any sign of joy. 

"I don't know how he did it, but he's been looking in the right places." Alec glanced at one of his men, sharing a soft laugh. "He managed to get my attention, and we met."

Florence furrowed her eyebrows, "May I ask, what happened at this meeting?" 

"Well, he asked where you were," Alec shrugged his shoulders, "I said I didn't know. You really should've kept in touch, love. I'm sure things might have worked out better had you not run away from us like that. I can't say you were the smartest girl, but you were good at what you did." 

"Stop stalling Alec," Florence ground her teeth. "The box, what's in it." 

"Well, that's a funny story," Alec smiled, "you know, seeing that I didn't know where you were, but suspecting I would see you sometime soon, I asked for your father to give me something to give you. For the next time I saw you, that is."

Her eyes widened, anxious of what this was. Was he playing with her, could he be rewarding her with grace. Could she finally find a connection with her father she hadn't seen in years? 

His arm stretched out, and without thinking, Florence desperately latched onto the box. Her fingers pried at the wood, trying to open it as quickly as possible. She would regret this.

She looked into the box, finding what her father had left her.

His hand. 

"I have to say, he wasn't so generous handing it over," Alec chuckled, "I mean, I wouldn't be so interested in rekindling my relationship with him if I were you. He seemed rather selfish, if you ask me, love." 

With two shaking hands, clutching the side of the box, she asked, "Why?" 

He stood up, stepping forward slowly as his hand reached out to shut the box, forcing Florence to look up at him. His fingers fell under her chin, holding her head sturdily in his direction. 

With a smile, he said, "Because I own you, love, and I didn't want you to forget that." 

That's when Florence tore Alec apart from the inside. Then everyone else in the room. 

The murders were unpleasant, to say the least, but they ended far more quickly that Florence would have hoped. Now everyone was dead, and she didn't feel any better.

When Basil arrived, Florence wasn't sure how to react. Her mind was warped, and there was something in her eye so she couldn't even tell it was him at first. She just saw him as yet another attacker, another enemy. As if she'd forgotten the trust she'd worked so hard to put into him.