"All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive."
― Yann Martel

Chapter One

This was becoming a nightly occurrence and only recently has it gotten worse.

Jude Heartfilia's digital clock sat atop the nightstand that stood next to his bed. It was four in the morning.

He was woken up by muffled feminine yells from a few doors down.

Lucy's room.

Groaning, the widower swung his pajama-covered legs over the edge of his bed. He slipped into his blue slippers and rubbed his bleary eyes. "Every single damn night," he muttered to himself as he stood.

The walk to Lucy's room was short; the hallway was illuminated by the moon. As he ventured closer to the door, the harsh yells from before became more playful and endearing.

Taking a deep breath once outside the girl's room, Jude grabbed the nob and turned, pushing it open. He revealed the space to find Lucy mid-laugh, sitting on her carpeted floor.

He stifled a groan with his palm as he dragged it down his face. "Lucy - what the hell. Who are you laughing at? Come on, go to sleep. It's four in the damn morning."

Lucy's eyes were wide as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be. She kept them fixated on an abused part of her toenail. "What are you talking about, Father? Virgo's here." Her eyebrows furrowed and she pointed to an empty side of her room, refusing to look up at him. Jude looked incredulously at her and his lips turned down into a frown.

"Wha- who? You better stop talking like that, Lucy. How many times do I have to tell you that there's no one here." The wealthy business man leaned up against the door frame. Lucy's attention darted back and forth across the floor while her teeth worried into her lip.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Dad, that there is! Virgo's been talking about getting punishment for being bad." Lucy chortled, waving her hand off towards the empty space. "I don't even know what she did wrong, if anything at all."

Jude squeezed the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. "Lucy, we do this almost every single night. I don't understand what's wrong with you."

The blonde arched her brows in innocent anxiety. "N-nothing's wrong with me. I just don't understand how you can't see my friends.."

Jude shook his head. "They aren't real. There's nothing here. There never has been."

Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes but she refused to allow them to spill over. She tilted her head back and blinked hurriedly. "They are! You just wouldn't understand! No, Virgo, I'm okay."

A look of disgust played across Jude's features and he clicked his tongue. "You need help," he stated, turning to walk out of her room.

He stopped to look back at the seventeen-year-old girl with dark bags burdening her eyes. "Pack your stuff. You're leaving tomorrow."

He left her where she sat without another word or time for her to request an explanation. He shut the door behind him and walked back to his bedroom to make a phone call.

The next morning came in a flash.

Lucy poked at the scrabbled eggs on her plate, chin leaning in her palm. Breakfasts in her home were always pretty bland.

Jude asked, "Are your things packed?" He didn't bothering to look up from the week-old newspaper he indulged in.

"Is this poisoned?" Lucy blurted, eyes flicking over to her father suspiciously. "You're definitely trying to poison me with this food," she muttered, "aren't you?"

"Wait, what?" he snapped. "You know... never mind. It's not poisoned you idiot. I'll have the maids pack your things since you're incapable. You'll be leaving in one hour. If you're not going to eat, go scrape your dish and put it in the sink."

The incertitude that ripped through her caused her to bite down on her lip and gently tear at the dry flesh. "It's not poisoned huh," she mumbled to herself.

A few moments later, she wondered, "Where are you sending me?"

"Fairy Institution."

"What's that?"

"A mental hospital for troubled teenagers such as yourself."

Lucy's heart plummeted into her stomach upon listening to her father's words.

Mental... hospital?

Crux had told Lucy before that those places are for psychos and she would never belong in one. Had he lied to her?

No, Crux would never lie to her.

Lucy dropped the metal fork, the silverware making an obnoxious clang as it bounced off the plate. Jude raised a displeased eyebrow and poked his head out from behind the paper. He watched as Lucy stared down at the table, mouth agape.

"Is there a problem, Lucy."

"Why-why do I have to go there?! There's nothing wrong with me! There's not, there's not, there's not," she repeated over and over again. Slamming his fist on the dining table, Jude cursed.

"LUCY," his voice boomed, "there is clearly something not right here! You haven't been right! Not since Lay.."―he cleared his throat―"since your mother died. You will be admitted into Fairy Institution whether you want to or not. You have no say here."

Not permitting Lucy a response, he called in one of his maids.

Once the cleaner entered the room, Jude wasted no time giving her orders. "Pack Lucy's things and make it quick. We'll be leaving soon." With a quick nod, the small woman scurried off upstairs to do as she was told.

Still staring down at her plate, a dejected frown weighed down Lucy's lips. "How... long am I to.. stay there?" She wasn't going to argue with the authority of her father. Once his mind was made up, there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

He folded the newspaper and placed it down on the table. "You will stay there for as long as needed, until you get those crazy images out of your head."

Her heart lurched. Crazy images? Images? Her friends were real people.

Ten minutes later, after the table was cleared of breakfast's items, the maid returned. "The bags are ready Master Jude," she said.

Jude nodded his head, then waved his hand to signal he wanted her to return to her work. "Go get ready," he then commanded his daughter. "Take a shower, I can smell you from here. Disgusting."

Lucy stood from her chair and nodded her head. She focused on the floor the entire way to her bathroom, only paying mind to the persistent buzzing in her ears.

Lucy hopped in the shower. Only did she snap back into reality when the soothing hot water became burning and itching. The scalding liquid left red splotches on her pale skin. As she raked her nails across her body, irritated scratch marks formed.

She proceeded to wash her hair with shampoo and conditioner and scrub herself raw. She shaved under her armpits and her legs and finished by washing her face.

"Hurry the hell up, Lucy! We're going to be late!"

Lucy shut off the water.

She walked out the front door shortly after, their chauffeur and her bags in tow. Jude opened the back door to his limousine for Lucy. "Get in," he ordered.

The driver placed her suitcases in the trunk and after, went to close the door after the duo were in.

The blonde leaned up against the window after she was situated. She watched blankly as the trees and houses passed by until they were nothing but blurs.

Jude eyed his daughter sternly.

What made you turn into this, Lucy? he thought to himself. You'll get help and you'll be better, I promise.

It was about a two hour car ride to Fairy Institution. Lucy eventually fell asleep against the tinted glass.

Jude noticed she'd rarely sleep; she'd wake up with dark circles under her eyes. They got deeper and darker as the months went on. He wrote it off as result of the stress from staying up late studying, an abundance of homework, drama... But he later found out that it was none of that.

He received many calls from her teachers. They informed him she wasn't doing her work and that she was unfocused and unwilling to take part in academic activities.

Jude knew near nothing about his only child. Once Lucy got home, she'd seclude herself in her room unless she had to come out for dinner or to go to the bathroom. And even at dinner, no words were exchanged.

Could it be his fault she was this way?

The man's attention was drawn to the window once he noticed the large hospital building. He sighed. He knew he wouldn't be seeing her again for a long while. The woman he spoke on the phone with had said visitors weren't often welcomed for it could affect the patient's recovery.

He looked to Lucy. Her lips were parted and her forehead rested against the window; she snored softly. Her light hair was once again shiny after so long and it stuck out in different locations.

Had she even brushed it since it dried? Jude doubted it.

The elderly man behind the wheel eventually slowed to a stop in front of the building.

"We've arrived, Master Jude," he announced from the front of the vehicle. "I will retrieve Ms. Lucy's belongings."

"Let's go Lucy, we're here." Jude lightly shook his daughter. She grumbled a few incoherent words, but eventually her eyes fluttered open. Jude sat back and admired the serene look on the teen's face. He rarely saw it. It was short lived.

"Ge-get away from me!" she shrieked, brown orbs that mirrored her mother's wide and face blanched. Jude just stared at her, shocked, unsure of what caused the outburst.

"What's the matter?!"

She was shaking. Why the hell was she shaking?

"Calm down and come on. We're here." The blonde looked out the window, rapidly scanning her eyes across the parking lot. Jude raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to move. "Go. Now!" Reluctantly and shakily, she opened the car door and stepped out.

The old man already had the blonde's luggage in hand. When she walked to him, he smiled. "Ready?"

She tugged her top lip beneath her bottom teeth and glanced around to watch her father step out of the vehicle. "There's nothing to worry about Ms. Lucy. The people here are quite friendly; they'll treat you nicely, I'm sure."

She didn't acknowledge his effort to reassure her.

The two men walked in front of Lucy while she trailed shortly behind. Lucy looked up at the large structure and her palms became clammy. She wiped them on her jeans, then ran her fingers through her tangled blonde hair.

"Where's Loki?" she muttered to herself. "I need him right now."

Whenever Lucy needed Loki, he was right there by her side. No matter what. But.. where was he now? Why wasn't giving her advice? Sweet words of encouragement? Ugh.

The trio stepped through the sliding glass doors, past a security checkpoint. After entering, Lucy got a face-full of clean. She scrunched her nose and looked around, avoiding eye contact with others.

They approached the front desk. "Hello... My name is Jude Heartfilia and I'm here to admit my daughter, Lucy Heartfilia. I believe we spoke on the phone last night?"

Behind the structure sat a woman with light brown hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. Thin, white framed glasses rested atop her small nose and a green sweater clung to her slim body. The lady looked up from the computer screen and focused on Jude. "Ah, yes, hello Mr. Heartfilia." She stood and extended her hand. "Evergreen. Thank you for coming."

The woman known as Evergreen walked out from behind the desk and approached Lucy. She held out her hand, a soft smile floating across her lips. "Hi, Lucy. My name is Evergreen. It's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted.

The blonde shook the her hand while nodding. "It's a.. pleasure to meet you too."

Lucy and the chauffeur were then directed to a row of seats for them to wait while the receptionist and Jude spoke.

"Everything is all set," Lucy heard Evergreen say after a few minutes. "Admission usually takes up to three weeks but my boss wanted her admitted immediately."

After a few sentences Lucy couldn't catch, her father asked, "So, what is there left for me to do?"

"There is nothing more you need to do Mr. Heartfilia. You can say goodbye to your daughter and wish her a healthy recovery. Staff will take it from here."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this place," Lucy murmured to herself, staring down into her lap. The chauffeur seemed to hear her.

"I think it will grow on you." He smiled, though Lucy didn't catch it.

Lucy was able to hear they were saying and it was making her even more nervous. She didn't want her father to leave. She didn't want to stay at this place.

The clack of shoes indicated they were heading her way.

"I can take her bags," Evergreen offered, reaching out for Lucy's belongings. The older man gave them up with a quick thanks and moved to stand with Jude. Lucy stood up as well and walked so she was standing in front of her father.

"Are you really going to leave me here?" she asked, voice hushed, furrowing distressed brows. Jude nodded his head, cupping her cheek with his large hand.

"I'll come get you when you're better, okay?"

She savored the moment of her father's kindness and grasped desperately at his promise.

"Okay then, we can take things from here. We will keep in touch with you," Evergreen assured, a caring smile quirking her mouth. Jude sighed, removed his hand from his daughter's face. He left the building with his driver without speaking another word. Lucy swallowed thickly.

"Lucy? This way please," the busty woman called, already heading in a different direction. The blonde didn't even notice her walk by.

She quietly padded across the tiled floor. She followed Evergreen down a long, empty hallway after passing through another security checkpoint. A few small windows allowed sunlight in the corridor, but besides that, there was nothing but white everything. It was practically disorienting.

"I will be showing you to your room first, dear. Then one of the nurses will see to it that you get settled, okay?" The woman craned her neck to look at Lucy's face, and silently, Lucy nodded, lips pursed.

Once the duo reached the end of the hallway, which seemed to go on forever, they made a right. It lead them into another long hallway. Instead of being plain and empty, rooms lined each side of the path.

"These are where our in-patient teens stay. The rooms on the first floor are generally for teens ages sixteen to eighteen." They passed room after room, and Lucy quickly glanced at each one.

Around each door were different, unique paintings that the blonde found enthralling. A square of chalkboard was bolted next to each door with the name of the patient occupying that room written on it.

Since Evergreen traveled at a quick pace, Lucy had to hurry to keep up. She caught glimpses of artwork that included books, music notes, and reptile scales.

Interesting.

"Oh," the brunette said, noticing Lucy's focus on the artwork. "Each long-term patient is allowed to paint around the entryway of their room. It cannot be triggering, though, or have much relevance to your disorder." She came to a halt once reaching an elevator, clicking the 'up' arrow.

"We're going to go to the second floor now, where you will be staying." Evergreen stepped in once the doors opened. Lucy followed.

"Patients are not allowed to use the elevator without the presence of staff." Evergreen fished a key from her pocket and slid the metal into a lock, twisting. She then clicked a button labeled 2. The metal doors shut.

"You're going to be on the second floor with teens age ranged from thirteen to fifteen. Unfortunately, there were no rooms available with your age group. I doubt you'll be interacting with anyone on the second floor so I guess it doesn't matter. The schedules are different for each group."

Lucy found her mind wandering. She wanted to go home. She wanted to lay in her bed while Lyra sang a soothing song.

"Aaand.. here we are." Their climb stopped and the door slid open. When they walked out, they turned to the right into a hallway. They approached the first door on the left.

It seemed to be dead silent all throughout the place.

"What's on the third floor?" Lucy inquired, looking behind her, past the opened doubled doors leading to the staircase.

Evergreen arched her brows and like she forgot something, and said, "Oh! The third floor is for Special Containment patients. You are to never go on the third floor, do you understand me? There will be harsh punishments if you disobey that rule."

Still eyeing the stairs with curiosity, Lucy nodded. "Okay."

Evergreen sifted through her keys and once she found the one she was looking for, unlocked the thick door. She allowed Lucy to enter first, and followed behind her.

The room was bigger than Lucy expected. There was one large window in the wall straight ahead, which allowed her to view the lush field beyond it. It was barred. She'd take a look at the scenery some other time.

There was a twin sized bed positioned next to the left wall, white and pale blue sheets folded neatly atop it. A large dresser was next to the door, and lastly, a small desk was in the farthest right corner with a simple lamp on top.

Evergreen sat Lucy's bags on the tiled floor while the blonde sat on the unmade bed. "Nurse Mirajane Strauss will be with you in a moment. Please make yourself comfortable for the time being." The tall female adjusted her glasses and smiled at the teen.

"I wish you a speedy, happy recovery, Lucy."

A/N: Hi guys! This story will be a chapter fic, albeit I am unsure of exactly howmany chapters this will contain.

Before I get into anything further, I must warn you, reader, that this fanfiction will contain potentially triggering situations and/or actions. Please, please, read at your own risk.

I apologize in advance if I make a mistake in describing/portraying a mental disorder a character is dealing with, but know that I will truly try my best to be as accurate as possible. Thank you for taking time to read this fic and please don't forget to leave a review! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters.