Summary: AU. Lucy is captured by travelling slavers during her time at the orphanage. With her diclonius powers being mysteriously inactive, what future awaits Lucy now?

A/N: What’s up people? Recently a friend of mine recommended Elfen Lied to me, claiming that it is really good and stuff. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I gave the series a shot. My God it was good. There were moments which were so powerful that it left me tearing up (trust me, I don’t get sentimental easily). I’m quite surprised that there are not that many Elfen Lied fanfics out there. Well that’s enough of my rambling, let’s move on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Elfen Lied.

Prologue: Capture

Night began to creep over the fair city known as Kamakura, bringing along with it a cool night breeze which casted a slight chill amongst the few inhabitants still wandering the empty streets. Shopkeepers started closing up for the day and children were ushered inside by mothers and caretakers.

However, there was one lone child who was not blessed with such caring figureheads. Raised in an orphanage, this child was forced to live through childhood without any parental affection whatsoever. She did have caregivers, but they didn’t give a damn about her. After all, who could ever show affection to the freak of nature known as Lucy…

‘I feel terrible…’ was the thought which repeatedly crossed Lucy’s mind as she trekked along a path leading away from the orphanage. Said path passed through a particularly lush area filled with trees of varying sizes and unkempt grass which wavered in the wind. It was a fairly isolated area, away from prying eyes and hateful glares, a place where Lucy always felt at peace. Well, up until now that is.

Lucy grimaced as her fever started to worsen, sapping what was left of her strength. Reaching her limit, she collapsed on the ground and remained there motionless in hopes of catching her breath. Meanwhile, snatches of the event which had recently transpired unwillingly surfaced in Lucy’s mind.

“Does that girl have a fever again?”

“It just doesn’t let up with that girl, I was supposed to go out tonight.”

“That girl gives me the creeps, she doesn’t act like a normal kid. Those horns of hers are disgusting.”

“None of the other children want to share a room with her.”

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, desperately shutting away the cruel words of her caregivers. She had always known that they were disgusted by her. Nevertheless, hearing them admit so was still incredibly painful. With trembling hands, she tightly grasped the twin horns perched on the top of her head.

Her horns; the bane of her existence, the symbol of her freakiness.

‘Why have I been cursed with these stupid horns,” Lucy thought bitterly. “Does God hate me? Have I done something horrible in a past life?”

Lucy was so absorbed in her thoughts that she barely noticed the loud crunching sound which had echoed nearby. Immediately, Lucy bolted upright and began scanning the surrounding area. It was quite possible that a harmless critter had made that noise, but when you are alone and defenseless, you can never be too sure, especially at this time of night.

“Who’s there?” Lucy called, trying hard to suppress the quiver in her voice.

Silence.

Unease crept through Lucy’s veins as she slowly began to backtrack towards the orphanage. ‘Maybe I’m just being paranoid, still I should probably head back anyway and sleep off this fever”.

Suddenly, Lucy felt a sharp pain course through the upper part of her right arm. The pain was quickly replaced by numbness as Lucy felt her consciousness give way to darkness…

Upon seeing Lucy’s body hit the ground, two grown men stalked out of their respective hiding spots amongst the trees and bushes.

“Damn it Jeff, you nearly blew our cover. I swear that was the loudest twig-snapping sound I have ever heard in my whole goddamn life”.

The man named Jeff rubbed his neck in embarrassment. “Sorry ‘bout that Derek, everyone makes slip ups once in a while”.

Derek rolled his eyes at Jeff’s unprofessionalism as he made his way towards Lucy’s body. With a swift tug, he pulled out the tranquilizer dart which he had embedded into Lucy’s right arm.

Derek took a few moments to examine the helpless girl sprawled haphazardly on the ground.

“What the Hell…” he pulled off his black ski mask to better examine the girl before him. Both he and Jeff were wearing matching black attires to hide their identity should they get caught. After all, what they were doing now could hardly be considered legal.

“Hey Jeff, check this out,” Derek pointed to one of Lucy’s horns.

Jeff’s eyes followed Derek’s finger. Upon spotting Lucy’s horns, Jeff’s face twisted into that of confusion and curiosity. “Eww are those real?” he asked as he knelt down to get a better look.

Derek shrugged, “don’t know, don’t care. All the boss said was to bring back a bunch of young able-bodied girls. Whether they have freaky horns or not is not my problem”.

There was a slight pause in his speech. “Speaking of which, this girl is the last we need to complete our yearly quota, meaning we can finally go home”.

Jeff nodded enthusiastically as the words of his partner sank in. They had managed to capture their yearly quota in only half a year. This meant that they had the rest of the year to do whatever they wanted, a prospect which Jeff found extremely appealing after having spent months scrounging various towns for stray girls. Girls ranging from preteen to young adult made up most of Derek and Jeff’s quota simply because they were what most of their “customers” sought. Jeff chuckled darkly at this thought. There sure were a lot of sick bastards in this world…

He snapped out of his thoughts when Derek waved for him to follow. Derek was already marching towards their nearby van with Lucy draped on one shoulder. Jeff followed suit, his eyes fixed on Lucy’s lolling head as it swayed back and forth. He shook his head in sympathy. Despite being ruthless, Jeff still felt a bit sorry for the poor girl and the future which awaited her.

A slave life is a tough life indeed.

A/N: With this I begin my debut into the world of fanfiction, quite a scary thing. Comments and advice on anything to do with my writing style is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.