Chapter Text
She wouldn’t make it.
Even as she was making the plans, she knew it was futile. All of it. But even the tiniest sliver of hope was enough to pack a small bag and wait until nightfall.
She’d be caught before she managed to get off the estate. One of the night guards would see her and make chase. Considering she never got the chance to own any shoes without heels, she’d be back in her room in minutes, waiting fearfully for morning to come to hear her father’s wrath.
Lucy Heartfilia knew this with all certainty, but why not try?
This is how she ends up with a bare candle in hand (the wax is hot as it drips on her fingers) and her Zodiac keys on her belt, creeping soundlessly through the halls she knows so well. The bag that sways at her hip is light; she didn’t own too much that could be considered personal. However, it does contain a map. The last thing she needs is to get off the estate, only to wander aimlessly back onto it (which, in fact, was very likely, considering the size of the Heartfilia’s land).
She doesn’t even make it out the door.
One of the few estate guards stands in front of the doors, facing the hall. Lucy considers another exit, but all the others lead onto the main grounds, and that would get her spotted immediately. This door leads to the back garden, where a shed has a door to enter the garden and exit the grounds. Perhaps she can bribe him, somehow?
“Lady Lucy,” the guard says, and he looks directly at the corner behind which she hides. “Please return to your quarters.”
Well, her cover’s blown. Whatever. Lucy steps out from behind the wall, shoulders back and head held high. “You will let me pass.”
She sees the hesitation in the wrinkles that crease his brow. “I’m afraid I can’t.”
“What did my father tell you?”
There’s no subtlety in the way he avoids her gaze. “That does not have to do with the matter at hand.”
Lucy studies his face and tries to remember his name. Something she found fitting because of his facial structure… Auhert. Heart-shaped face. That’s it. “Auhert, please, you know what it’s like for me here. You know how I feel. You know how he is.”
Auhert closes his eyes, his inner turmoil obvious in his expression. “You’ve always been so kind to me, Lady Lucy,” he says softly. “Sneaking me food on long shifts. Bringing me a cloak on cold nights. Remembering my name.” He opens his eyes, this time full of grief. “I’d give my life for you, Lady Lucy, but I cannot do this.” His voice breaks.
Something must have been said to him by her father. Most likely a threat; what else would make someone’s voice shake like that? Perhaps he mentioned Auhert’s family’s plot of land. How simple it’d be for him to take it, leave his wife and daughter homeless. Lucy knows that her father would do such without hesitation. He has no mercy when he wants something done.
With a sigh, Lucy steps forward and embraces the guard. He jolts, startled by the affection. His hands lift at his sides, indecisive, but then lower. When Lucy backs away, he’s smiling, just barely.
“I’m so sorry, Lady Lucy.”
She turns to retreat to her room, head bowed low. “I understand. You don’t have a choice. Have a good night, Auhert.”
A tiny movement catches Auhert’s eye, and another. He follows its path with his eyes, and realizes they’re from the Lady’s face. She’s crying, but her shoulders don’t shake. She makes no sound at all as she walks back into what may as well be her prison.
Auhert reaches for the small notebook he keeps in the inner pocket of his uniform, the one he keeps to write letters to his family, and begins with, Lady Lucy Heartfilia is the strongest individual I have, and likely will ever have, the privilege of knowing.
STATELY ESCORT DESIRED
WILL ACT AS BODYGUARD OF LADY LUCY OF THE HEARTFILIA ESTATE. KNOWLEDGE OF BASIC ETIQUETTE REQUIRED OR WILL BE TRAINED. ROOM AND BOARD PROVIDED. LENGTH OF TASK NEGOTIABLE. HAVE FLYER IN HAND TO ENTER ESTATE.*
Just beneath the paragraph, in bolder lettering than even the title, is an immense number that has everyone huddled around the board gaping.
The thick paper is grasped and torn off in an instant, fluttering in the hand of the rosy-haired mage.
“Wouldja look at all those zeros!” he crows, holding the advertisement in both hands.
“That’d get us a lifetime supply of fish!” adds the cat that peers over his shoulder. “Also, what does ‘etiquette’ mean?”
The page is once again snagged away from its place. “It’s a fancy word for manners, which neither of you have,” snaps a mage lacking pants (a detail that is promptly pointed out by a passerby).
Another hand, daintier but steel armor shining, slips the page from the man’s grasp. “No offense intended, but I doubt you’d do much better in such a formal setting, Gray.”
“‘Specially considering the fact you’re a stripper!” mocks the first man, making a grab for the paper.
“Natsu, you should learn some control,” someone says smoothly, waving his hand at the trio. “I’d be best suited for that job. I know my way around that sort of thing, and I’m probably the most charismatic one here. Wait, does that say Heartfilia?” A pause. “Ha. Ha ha. That’s why I’ll let one of you take it. For a challenge. Ha.” The ginger bolts away, out of the building.
The trio shrug it off, and continue bickering about the paper. That is, until it’s once again taken from all three of them to be read by the thief.
“Huh,” he says. Then he folds it and shoves it into his pocket. “I’ll be taking this.”
“Laxus, what the hell?” Natsu shouts, flames licking at the tips of his fingers. “Go do some S-class thing! I wanna do that one!”
Laxus scoffs. “You’d be fired before you even met the chick. Pun not intended, but could be taken literally.”
Natsu growls angrily, but a fierce grip on his collar holds him back from starting a fight. “Erza, lemme go!” he shouts, only to be ignored.
A pretty girl with long white hair peeks around Laxus broad body. “Ooh, you’re really taking a job like this, Laxus? How rare!”
He glances down at her. “Just a break, Mira. Been workin’ my magic like hell the past few jobs. This’ll basically be getting paid to eat, sleep, and stand outside a door.”
Natsu whines from his captive position.
“Well, don’t wear your headphones during the interview. It is the Heartfilia family, after all!” Mirajane says, reaching up to tap the spikes over his ears.
He shrugs. “Whatever. Tell ‘em someone accepted the request. I’m outta here.”
Laxus strolls lazily out of the guild hall, followed only by Natsu’s frustrated shouts and challenges for a fight that he would inevitably lose. He wonders where there’s someplace he can do his laundry nearby before he goes. Will his old suit still fit? Maybe. Who knows if he’ll need one, though. They probably just need him for muscle. The chick’s naïve and airheaded so she gets robbed a lot, or something. Nothing difficult. ‘Course, it can be tough to get more complicated than his last job (“Destroy the moon!” the villagers had said. Now an island has one less purple sky and he has a weird key thing in his pocket).
It’s within the hour when Laxus is on a train that will take him to what’s likely to be the easiest money he’s ever made.
xx
*For those who have a difficult time reading all-caps text, this is what the flyer says:
Stately Escort Desired
Will act as bodyguard of Lady Lucy of the Heartfilia Estate. Knowledge of basic etiquette required or will be trained. Room and board provided. Length of task negotiable. Have flyer in hand to enter estate.