United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Prologue - Lucy

Queen Lucy awoke with a gasp, her eyes flying open and blinking away the dream. The terror of the nightmare lingered in her mind like hands closing around her brain, and she swallowed away the tension in her throat. Slowly, she pushed her arms under her and sat up, careful not to wake her sleeping husband. 

Taking a few deep breaths, she pressed her hands to the sides of her face in attempt to calm herself. It was only a dream - but she felt she needed to rise and check on her slumbering daughter anyway.

She knew that these were the regular fears of a new mother - losing their child to something unexplainable - but she didn't want to have her dreams come true if she let her little princess go unchecked. 

Carefully, she slipped off the bed and wrapped herself in an overshirt to keep her warm. Although Lucy wasn't cold at the time, the castle was usually cold at night because the body heat of people bustling around wasn't there. A few maids worked late into the night, but by this time everyone was already in bed, sleeping soundly. 

Lucy quietly opened the bedroom door and paused with a cringe when her husband, Aaron, shifted behind her. Thankfully, he didn't wake, and she slid through the door and sealed it behind her. 

She turned and hurried down the hallway, her amber hair flowing behind her. The soft padding of her socks kept her footsteps from being too loud, although she doubted anyone would wake up this late into the night. 

"Lucy?" 

Except her brother. 

Lucy halted in a startle, her feet skidding slightly and causing her to lose her balance. Thankfully, her brother was near her and caught her shoulders before she could tumble to the ground. He hefted her straight again, turning her to face him swiftly. 

"What are you doing up so late?" Titan asked curiously, letting his hands drop to his sides. He was a head and a neck taller than her, so he tilted his chin down at his older sister with a curious yet concerned expression. His jet black hair fell over his forehead, but this was a usual for her reckless, messy brother.

"The same goes to you," Lucy said back, inclining her head to the right. "I'm... I'm just checking on Ruby." She didn't know why she felt sheepish about it - maybe because she knew she was only checking because of a nightmare she'd had - but she glanced away from Titan's green eyes. 

"Oh," Titan said, a small smile creeping onto his face. "You know, I could have done that for you since I'm already up." He shrugged suggestively at her, the smile working its way into a grin.

"No, that's okay," Lucy replied, then turned and started walking again, knowing that her brother was sure to follow. 

Indeed, his footsteps pattered quickly to catch up with her, and soon he was walking at her side. 

"So what are you doing up so late?" Lucy asked in a concerned tone, turning her eyes up and sideways to glance at him. Her parents and Titan had always told her that she was too sympathetic, too selfless - but Lucy didn't know how to fix that. 

"Couldn't sleep," her brother answered with a careless shrug, tilting his head to one side briefly. "I decided maybe a walk around the halls would help. If I didn't get lost, that is," he added with a teasing grin down at Lucy. 

"I haven't gotten lost in a long time, Titan," Lucy said reasonably, half-smiling at Titan. "You don't need to keep teasing me about it." 

Titan laughed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. "You know there's no way I'm going to ever let that go. A queen, getting lost in her own castle. Quite ironic, isn't it?" 

"Oh, hush," Lucy said with a wider smile, lifting her hand to shove Titan's shoulder playfully. "You've gotten lost before too." 

"Yeah, but I'm not the ruler, so it's not weird." 

Lucy chuckled but ended that conversation, knowing she wouldn't win against Titan. 

"MOMMA!!" Ruby's shrill voice cried from a few doors in front of them, but her plea didn't sound like the normal "I want Mommy!" cry that she normally yelled out when she was bored. 

This yell sounded panicked. Terrified. 

Lucy and Titan locked eyes for merely a moment, then the both of them burst into action. Titan sped ahead of her, having longer legs. Lucy trailed behind him, running as fast as her legs would carry her, panic blooming in her heart. 

Titan reached the princess's door first, quickly halting and turning the handle. Lucy skidded to a stop behind him as he burst through the door, flipping the light on and throwing his hands up in readiness for whatever was on the other side. 

Lucy gasped sharply as she saw what was towering over her daughter's bed. 

It wasn't human.

It was a devilish woman with dark horns literally levitating in front of her forehead, fang-like teeth, and wings erupting from her back. Her eyes were a blood red, and her mouth was twisted in an impish, devious grin. Her hair, which was pitch black and slightly wavy, almost looked like it was glowing with a dark light, the tips flickering like they were fire. 

When Titan yelled out a warning "HEY!", the demonic woman threw a look over her shoulder and locked eyes with Lucy, then after bursting into a delighted laugh that sounded more like a cackle. In her arms, young toddler Ruby was struggling to break free, screaming and crying and flailing. 

Titan lunged forward with a war-like cry, his moves calculated because of the two years of martial arts he participated in. He threw out his arms and leapt upward, catching the woman around the neck with his arms. When his feet slammed back onto the floor, he held her firmly by the neck with a harsh frown. 

"Put the girl back in the bed," he warned in a dangerous voice, more terrifying than Lucy had ever heard from him. 

This only made the woman laugh harder, and then Titan yelled in sudden pain and staggered away from her. 

Lucy gasped as she saw the blood that was already staining the lower left side of her brother's shirt - but where had the wound come from? What weapon had the woman used? Both of her hands were occupied by holding Ruby.

Her daughter. 

Lucy hurried forward, uncertain of what in the world she was going to do - but doing something anyway. She grabbed the woman's wrists and wrenched them painfully, drawing a screech-like yell from the woman's mouth. 

Ruby squealed as she was dropped away from the woman's hands, but Lucy was quick to catch her. She drew her daughter close to her chest and ran straight for Titan, thrusting her arms out again to let him take Ruby. 

"Get out of here!" Lucy commanded him as he fumbled to hold Ruby correctly, away from the bleeding wound above his left hip. "Get her out and go to the infirmary! Quickly!" 

"No!" Titan protested, shaking his head quickly. "I'm not leaving you!" 

"TITAN," Lucy said in a warning tone, her breath hitching. "Get Ruby out of here, now!" She grabbed her brother by the shoulders and turned him around, shoving him toward the door. 

Thankfully, her younger brother obeyed, turning around and dashing toward the doorway with Ruby in his arms.

But as he hurried out of the doorway, he threw a glance over his shoulder and Lucy saw the anxious and devastated tears in his emerald green eyes. 

Then Lucy saw the black tendrils of darkness marching straight for her throat.

~

HERE IT IS YOU GUYS!!! THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE BOOK I'VE BEEN PRACTICALLY BOMBARDING YOU ABOUT!!

I decided to this one first, because I think it would go a little smoother than the prequel. I hope you guys like this one!!

It's probably going to be a lot slower than the Magics series was, but that's okay. 

I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE THIS!!!

I KNOW I'M GOING TO.

Thanks for reading the Magics series and now starting this!! LOVE Y'ALL!!!

P3ac3!!~~~