It was a calm and peaceful day, after long weeks of waiting and anticipation. Finally, the long-awaited moment had arrived. My mom, who was in the living room, eagerly awaited the arrival of the messenger.

Upon hearing the distant sound of horse hooves getting closer, her heart began to beat faster. She quickly got up and walked towards the door. For her, all our problems were already solved, or had disappeared forever.

As we received the letter from the messenger, I could see pure joy on her face. But there was a significant obstacle in her bright plan: me.

While my mom saw in that letter a solution to all our problems, I saw it as a kind of prison... a path that would take away my freedom. And even though I wanted to refuse all of it, I couldn't.

Being a good daughter and not considering myself disobedient, I always ended up doing everything my mom wanted, and she loved to boast about it in conversations with her friends.

In order to escape the chatter of the conversations happening downstairs, I decided to hide on the roof. That place was my sanctuary, where I could find the peace and tranquility I sought at that moment. From up there, I had a beautiful view of the city, with its bright lights shimmering in the distance.

While observing the landscape, I tried to find a convincing argument to persuade my mom to change her mind, but all I had were sincere opinions that didn't seem enough to convince her. And I already knew I couldn't escape from her for long, after all, we lived in the same house.

After taking one last look at the beautiful horizon in front of me, I decided to jump through the window into my room. As the tempting smell of roasted meat spread through the air, I was already aware that I couldn't avoid the conversation I would have with her downstairs.

Descending from my bed and walking towards the door, I hear my mom shouting my name from below.

I went down the stairs and headed to the living room, where I found her looking at me with an unfriendly expression.

She just stared at me with a furious look but didn't say anything. My dad, who was sitting in the kitchen having coffee and reading his newspaper, just lowered his glasses to look at me and then went back to reading his newspaper again.

"Would you have died if you'd filled in the fucking form, Lucy?"

Layla said, slightly annoyed, letting out a short sigh.

"Have you stopped to think that this selection could be a great opportunity, both for you and for us?"

My mother expressed, still angry while looking at me.

Upon hearing everything my mother said, I let out a long sigh and began to think.

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I knew that filling out that darn form would not only mean accepting everything she was proposing but would also be like agreeing to sign my own death sentence.

What's more, the kingdom she wanted to send me to in order to take part in the bride selection process was facing major problems with the rebels. This situation became even more evident when individuals from the Vortex group, made up of rebels who harbored a deep hatred and who wanted the fall of the Kingdom of Fiore, began to invest more and more in brutal and violent attacks against the royal palace.

There, they unleashed a series of events that resulted in a devastating wave of destruction and a scene of chaos that shook the entire region. An example of this was Colonel Fullbuster's house, which was completely destroyed by flames during one of these terrible attacks.

But, beyond all these threats happening around me, I couldn't help but think about the selection and how it made my heart ache more and more.

It was hard to hide my smile when thinking about the reasons that still made me stay the way I already was.

I knew the selection could be a great opportunity for me, but there was also my uncertainty about losing my freedom and having to end up becoming engaged to someone I don't even like, which would be unfair to both him and myself.

"These last few years have been very cruel to your father"

My mother said dramatically, almost crying.

My father, who until that moment hadn't said a word, still had all his attention focused on his newspaper.

The disappointment on my mother's face was evident as she continued:

"If you cared a little about your father, you would think more about his well-being."

I had a great desire to help not only my father, but also my brother Laxus, his fiancée Mira and even my mother.

My father, who until then hadn't said a single word, closed his newspaper and spoke for the first time.

"Layla, leave the girl alone."

My father said in a weak, tired voice. His face was clearly tired, there were deep circles under his eyes and his white beard was disheveled. This indicated how exhausted he was from spending all day tending to Mr. Lockser's garden and farms.

That was my father, Jude Heartfilia.

My family was very close to the Lockser’s. They had always been very kind and welcoming to us, offering us a place to live on their land. In return, we collaborated with them in everyday tasks, such as taking care of the animals, planting, and harvesting. Their daughter was like an older sister to me, and we were best friends.

Although we weren't in a situation of extreme poverty, the reality of being on the verge of misery was still constant.

Before we hit rock bottom, there were only three social positions worse than ours. They were: craftsmen struggling to survive in precarious conditions and strict regulations, mill and furnace workers exposed to dangerous conditions while operating unhealthy machinery, and weavers spending long hours at looms, facing a life of repetition and difficulty. To make our situation worse, besides financial problems, we also had to deal with the intense cold of winter and its consequences for our only source of income.

This would make our lives even more difficult, leaving us at the mercy of the Lockser mansion and as a result our income would be halved for three months or more. After all, we had six mouths to feed and only five people working.

Moreover, our income depended heavily on weather changes, making everything even more challenging.

During periods of intense snow and excessive heat, planting was almost impossible at certain times of the year.

Still, there were a few months between these two periods when we could plant. Without these months, we would be completely at the mercy of Mr. and Mrs. Lockser's, resulting in a significant loss in the harvest.

RECOGNITION TO MEMBERS:

Matthew Jimenez🤝 - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MAHAYANA PRISON".

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