"No, No, No." Banging her head on the wall of her room to- as she said to her brother- 'get rid of a headache' was probably better in hindsight, which, her kind maids had pointed out to her when they walked in the room to possibly help their young Heartfillia.

The blue haired teen beside her chuckled, standing straight from his hunched position against her bed post, to drag his feet along her carpet floor towards the blonde. "You need to look at this from my perspective little sister, they said you had to marry the guy, but if he's hot, win for you right?"

The brother of the head pounding blonde rested his arm across her shoulder, placing his hand on her forehead so he himself would take the impact when she attempted to bang her scull against the wall.

"And if he's not?" She asked, moving sideways so her body wasn't facing the wall, but her brother. "Peter, I swear, this is going to ruin my life."  She complained, raising her hands up in aspiration to emphasize her point.

"And if he's not," Peter started, taking backwards steps towards the blondes bedroom door. "Mom and Dad only said to marry him to join the companies. They never said you two couldn't divorce so just one of you can keep the companies." He smiled, turning the doorknob slowly as to not attract the blondes attention towards it.

Though, when the door was slammed open, pushing into Peter's back and making him stumble foreword slightly, his efforts were wasted, as the blonde siblings eyes were attracted towards said door.

A small blue haired girl ran in, head swirling in directions before they landed on the sight of the blonde. "Lucy!! I finally found you, Mom—" The little girl started, before an echoing voice from downstairs caught their attention.

"Wendy! Did you find Lucy?! Simon doesn't know where she is, and frankly, neither do I!" Little Wendy laughed slightly, nodding her head for her blonde sister to go downstairs.

The blond gave a heart laugh, eyes darting towards the grinning Peter as he ruffled the youngest siblings hair, still wondering why he was near the door in the first place while her feet tapped down the carpeted steps towards the living room, where the blonde assumed her mother and her father would be waiting for her -if her father wasn't in his study again that is.

The woman and man were in fact seated in the living room. The warmth of the flaming fire pushed out the cold of winter to make way for something she assumed would be a serious conversation, most likely about her birth parents or the fact she was coming to age to move out.

"Oh Lucy!" Her mother clapped her hands together fashionably, and her father gave her a smile that knew would bring about business, as they seemed to already be comfortable on the soft couch.

The blonde took in upon herself to get comfortable on the love seat across from them, crossing her legs and smiling at her parents with one of forced happiness, almost letting her mind wander towards the inevitable meeting of her and her fiancé, which would have left her in an unconscious mind state which she would have surely been scolded for.

Her father cleared his throat. "Lucy, you know how your birth family set up an arranged marriage for you..?"

Oh she remembered. She remembered how her cruel, and high class father would force her to sit straight, and prepare her strictly for that marriage, and when she had told the teacher at school about the bruises on her arms being from her father's ruler, she had been taken from that household, and Jude Heartfillia had lost everything.

And everything had been given to the man who Lucy's father left it specifically; who was in fact Lucy's new father.

"Yup. Is this about when we're meeting?" Her mother beamed at her, nodding excitedly.

"Yes it is! Guess when!" Her father laughed at her mothers enthusiasm and answered for Lucy.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow after school. I'll pick you up, and we'll take the train together. Would it be okay for you to pack right now?" Lucy stiffened. She didn't want to leave at all let alone pack now and know that she'd be leaving everything she's ever grown to care for behind while facing everything tomorrow. Twisting her fingers on her lap she nodded towards them. "Yeah, that'd be fine."

Her mothers face fell, and she shared a look with Simon. "Grandine... Don't you dare." His voice was as soft as silk, yet a thick as venom, as he waited for his wife's next move.

Her mother huffed, shacking her head before leaning across the gap to grab her adopted daughters hand. "Lucy, sweetheart, you don't have to just follow through with our plans like you did-" She stopped for a moment. "...-did before. We're here because we love you, and if this is all too much, just tell us alright? We can cancel it, despite the money."

Though her words brought a great deal of relief, Lucy knew better. She had always been a smart girl, having nothing better to do then to read the thousands of books in the library as a child, and she knew that they needed the money to keep their heads above the water.

The blonde smiled, gripping her mothers hand back. "I know, mum. But I'm still going to go through with this, alright?"

Her mother leaned back and beamed at her again, hooking arms with her father. "Alright, then!"

III

"I can't go through with this."

Her lips were pressed together tightly as Lucy practically glared at the school bell, mentally threatening it not to give its final ring of the day.

A black haired teen in front of her raised an amused brow before throwing a grin at her seemingly frustrated friend. "You totally can, Luce, it's just a marriage."

The blondes eyes widened as they met the others blue ones. "Stella, why on earth would you say that!? It isn't just a marriage. I'm only 17. He's only 17. We're only kids!"

Stella's grin falters as she tries to find another way to lift her friends spirits, but ultimately failing to find a way how the ravenette and the blonde wanted. So, instead of searching for rough outcomes, she could get Lucy to search for optimistic events. "I'll visit you."

Lucy's expression sobered into one of confusion, then appreciation. "Really? You'd do that?"

Stella scoffed, throwing some of her black hair over her shoulder dramatically. "Obviously." The ravenette lifted her hand and began counting down her fingers, each time saying aloud a time she would visit. "I'd be there probably around a month or so after you get there," One finger gone. "I'll defiantly be there for your wedding," Two fingers gone. "Oh, and I'll either be there one month or two months after the honeymoon," Three fingers gone. "And then I'll visit again whenever I have free time and money to spend on a train ticket." Four fingers folded, Stella tilted her hand so her remaining thumb stuck upwards. "It'll be fine!"

Lucy laughed at her friend, excited for all the times she would be able to visit her and whisk her away to some carnival Lucy probably never heard of before but one that Stella knew like the back of her hand.

That's just how they were, after all.

III

That's just how they were, but will they stay that way?

Lucy glanced out of the train window, ignoring the spot of beige of her father's suit at the corner of her eyes and focusing on the rushing of greenery.

After the bell rang and the two had left school, everything had been relatively normal. Until they took a step outside the school and Lucy was immediately hauled off to the train station by men in black suits who were in fact her father's employee's.

The look Lucy had caught on Stella's face before she was shoved into the limo was one of disappointment and fear.

Was it fear for Lucy?

Well, that's exactly what the blonde had been thinking about before the rushes of brown dirt and green grass lulled her asleep, where worries and doubts plagued her mind like nightmares.