"What?" I questioned as I tried to keep myself from shaking in anger. But I couldn't help it and I crushed the juice box in my hand.

"I know, but we can both talk to him when he gets home." Spetto told me as she took my hand. "We'll settle this, I promise." She told me, all I could do was nod. I had to believe her. 

Never once when I was growing up, did she break her promise to me. She was the mother that I never had, and I had no reason to believe that we wouldn't figure this out and convince Dad to not arrange for me to get married to a stranger.

"Okay." I whispered and turned away from her to go up to my room. I chucked the crushed box into the garbage as I passed it, and it slammed a little harder into the bin than I wanted. But I couldn't help but be angry.

"Lucy." Spetto called after me as I started making my way up the stairs. She held out the package that I had brought in from the mail. "This is for you." I took it from her as she smiled. I smiled back and made my way upstairs up into the attic.

As soon as I closed the door I dropped everything and collapsed on my bed.

'Why would he do something like this?'

I started crying and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to stop myself. I wanted to cry all my problems away. And out of everything, I wanted to start with the arranged marriage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time Skip: A couple of hours

I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I looked around my room to see that it was mostly dark, except for the lamp that sat on my nightstand next to my bed. I looked at the light and noticed that there were a small sandwich and a hand full of chips sitting next to it, along with another juice box. I smiled as I picked it up and started drinking from it as I went to go and pick up my sandwich but noticed that the package that had come in the mail for me sat on the edge of my nightstand. I grabbed it instead of my food and looked at the front of it.

'Lucy Heartfilia'

That was all it said. 

I couldn't help but scrunch up my face. My address was nowhere to be found on the box, let alone a return address. I opened it to find a slightly smaller box that looked something like a jewelry box. Lifting the lid I got to see that inside was a video game cartridge with no name. I held it in my hand and flipped it over to look at the back and I couldn't help but take in a breath.

'Nerve-gear'

I couldn't help but think that this was a trick. Six hundred players had just been released from the game that they were stuck in after the Sword Art Online game, and now this.

Could Father have put it in the mailbox for when I was gone? No, no way. He hated that I enjoyed video games and that I wasn't a propped lady. Video games were for little boys, men grow out of their childish hobbies' is what he used to say. And Spetto would have just given it to me instead of wasting time by putting it in the mailbox. And if she did, why didn't it have a proper label, or case.

So, some stranger put it in my mailbox?

'No way.'

I thought. I put it back in the box and threw it to the end of my bed. I couldn't play the game, that just randomly showed up in the mail without any kind of address on it. I needed to get my mind off of it and start homework anyway. Along with Lisanna's and her friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour. I sat there for an hour at my desk staring at the wall, unable to concentrate on anything that I had due the next day. I turned my head to the side and stared at the box that sat there staring back at me. Much more interesting compared to what I had on my desk.

It was littered with nothing that was mine. All last-minute assignments that had Lisana and her friends' names on them. None of this was mine, I made sure my work was done as soon as possible. I paid attention to school, I got good grades, and did work to be prepared to go into the real world. I've backed up my experience, and have powerful references, all before I became sixteen. Home wasn't a nice place. And school definitely wasn't any better. I had to do everything I could to insure my future would be ready to move at my say so. 

I want to be an English and History Major. I want to go to college to learn what the beauty of the past has to show us. The sophistication and the lessons that our ancestors had to teach. Then once I'm done, I become a teacher while conducting my own research on history.

I wanted more than this. Looking down at my desk and seeing papers that were useless to me, with my handwriting on them.

'What a shame it would be if Lisanna didn't get her research paper in time.'

I thought, a nice thought. 

But I felt myself shaking to clear my head and when I opened my eyes I could feel myself becoming sick. How could I think like that? I shouldn't think like that.

I looked at the photos that hung just above my desk. There were dozens of photos of me and my mom when I was no older than a baby, and then there were also multiple pictures of me and Spetto. But I couldn't help but look at one picture longer than the rest. It was a picture of me and both my parents, the only one with my dad in it, all happy and smiling.

I stared at my dads face. That was probably the last time he was happy, he used to be like that all the time. But now, he was going around on business trips all the time, just trying to bury himself in his work. And now he was trying to bury me in it as well.

'No.'

I stood up and grabbed the game from the box, and placed it in my nerve-gear console that sat on the shelf of my nightstand. I placed my headset over my head and laid down. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest, that I had I could feel it throughout the rest of my body.

'Please.'

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Link start!"