Not Yours Ch. 01

Author's note: Hi! This is my first submission ever! I've been an avid reader for a while now and thought I might as well give this a try. This is for sure a bit of an impulse upload, but I'm just really interested and excited about where this story could go, and I'd love to get a feel of what people are thinking about it.

PLEASE NOTE: There are no sexy times in this chapter. It is essentially a prologue so keep that in mind! Its all about setting the scene right now.

Also grammar and things may be a little off since I edit myself, so I apologize for that!

I don't have anything else written as of yet, but if y'all like this chapter, then I'd be ecstatic to write some more. Let me know what you think in the comments! I'm open to editing this chapter again. Thanks y'all!

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Natalie rolled her eyes, holding in a grin as she rifled through her bag to find her ID. "Come on Allen, you've known my face since I was 3, I thought we were past this."

"You ain't special. In the 12 years I've worked here, I never let you once go past without swiping in, and I'm not startin' today kiddo." Allen chuckled, leaning over to the door of the gate house to ruffle Natalie's hair.

Allen, who Natalie considered more like family than just a gate guard, had the same ongoing joke with her for years now. She would pretend to get huffy at Allen for making her use her ID, and he would play the tough guy, telling her she doesn't get special treatment just because she's James' daughter. Recently though, they both knew how important it was for everyone working at the mansion to swipe in at the gate before entering.

Security at the mansion had been tighter than Natalie could ever remember. Natalie's father James, who was also the head of security, had recently moved their security status to "alert", which indicated to all security personnel to remain vigilant at all times. At first it seemed excessive, but Natalie knew it was for good reason. Their region of Teira was a highly profitable location, partially due to its port, and generated a considerable amount of business. This lead to Teira amassing a large amount of wealth, and with that came a fair amount of power. Due to its success and status, Teira received quite a bit of attention, and so did its governor.

Recently, Teira had become the focus of the newly formed northern region, Masden. Masden had already acquired a good amount of wealth for its age, but they were landlocked, which greatly limited their conquering endeavors. If they merged with Teira, they would become unstoppable in their quest for land and power. But Teira's Governor Samuel Elvier found no benefit in Masden's proposal to absorb Teira. Masden itself was a result of three weak, tiny regions with fierce leaders joining together to become stronger. Although they were impressive, compared to Teira, Masden was still an incredibly young region, and one that Teira would gain little from. And, since its inception, Teira had gained a reputation for remaining neutral through all wars, something which its neighbors had also respected. Governor Elvier had no intentions of changing that reputation, and in no uncertain terms told the same thing to the Minister of Masden, Grant Lockwood.

Although James, the head of security for the Elviers as well as Natalie's father, doubted that Masden would be bold enough or stupid enough to mount an assault on Teira, bur he felt there was no harm in being prepared. It was well known that Lockwood got what he wanted by taking, not asking, and so James thought it best to remain alert as a precaution. That was one quality that Sam Elvier found very valuable in his long-time friend. James and Sam had met while serving in the Teiran Army, and had kept in touch even after they both were out of the service. As they both got older, Sam headed into politics, and James decided to pursue a quieter life with his wife Anya, and soon after, they had Natalie. Tragically, a couple years after Natalie's birth, Anya was diagnosed with cancer, and in the end passed away when Natalie was only 3. After Anya's death, Sam, who had recently been elected governor, offered to hire James as his own personal head of security, knowing James was more than capable of the position. Ever since then, Natalie and her father had lived in the governor's mansion, which was also home to Ivy.

Ivy was the Governor's daughter. After Natalie and Ivy had met each other, they had instantly connected, and ever since then it seemed as if they were inseparable. Ivy was born premature, and had been a sickly child since birth. Every day was a different struggle; sometimes it would be muscle aches, other times, fevers would spring up out of nowhere. Natalie, an exceedingly empathetic child even at her young age, was clearly bothered by Ivy's pain. Wanting to help, Natalie seemed to have taken it upon herself to become Ivy's caretaker/playmate. Even as children, if Ivy was exhausted and needed a wheelchair for the day, it would be Natalie wheeling her around their enormous mansion, with Ivy's mother Elana following right behind. Elana had immediately taken a liking to Natalie, and treated her as her own, allowing the girls to be together almost every hour of the day. They were sisters in every way except blood. After seeing their bond, Sam, Elana and James all knew that they could never separate the girls now.

Interestingly enough the girls also looked surprisingly similar, and genuinely looked like sisters, both born with dark, almost black hair, pale skin, and light eyes. It seemed odder that they weren't related rather than the other way around. In personality though, the girls were completely different. Ivy had always had a rambunctious spirit, despite of her illnesses. Although she seldom left their home due to her health, there were more than enough places in the mansion for Ivy to cause mayhem in, and obviously drag Natalie into. If she wasn't rollerblading in the great hall, then she was mattress-surfing down the stairs. Natalie on the other hand had always been a quiet, reserved girl. She had always felt so grateful for the opportunity to live with her best friend in their enormous house, and was always polite and well-mannered. But Ivy had a knack for getting Natalie to be completely absurd with her. Even if Natalie couldn't get Ivy to not do whatever crazy thing she was about to, Natalie would always at least be there when Ivy inevitably crashed into a wall or broke something expensive. And even if Natalie wasn't a part of whatever destruction Ivy had caused that day, she would still always be right next to Ivy, taking half the blame.

As Ivy got older though, she failed to get healthier. Although she was never severely ill as she occasionally had been in her childhood, at 18 she still found herself coming down with colds in the middle of summer. Because of her health, Ivy opted to put a pause on her education. Natalie on the other hand had always dreamt of being a chef, but that meant leaving Ivy all alone at the mansion for at least four years. Even after James, Sam and Elana had all spoken to Natalie, it was only after Ivy pushed her to go that Natalie decided Ivy would be fine without her, and so she left to pursue her culinary dreams in the distant country of Veamm.

Because Veamm was so far, Natalie ended up only coming home once a year in the four year span, so coming back for good felt very exciting. Natalie knew she wanted it to be a surprise, so she settled all her affairs in Veamm one week early, booked the first flight back to Teira, and now she just couldn't wait to see her dad's smile and hear Ivy scream.

"It really is good to see you Natalie. Does your dad know you're here already?" Allen asked, coming out of the gate house to wrap Natalie in a bear hug.

Natalie replied grinning, "Nobody does. I'm trying to give my dad a heart attack so don't say anything ok?"

Allen chuckled and let Natalie go, shaking his head, "I feel bad for James. Keep your badge out, you'll need to show it at the front door and then again to get into the west wing. Good luck with the scaring hon!"

Natalie laughed and waved goodbye as she started her walk up the long driveway. Like Allen had said, there was another set of guards stationed at the front door. Natalie waited while they scanned her ID, and gave it another thorough inspection. 'Wow, they're pretty serious this time.' Natalie thought to herself while patiently waiting to be let in. Finally the guards seemed satisfied with their diligent exam and opened the huge oak doors for Natalie.

Stepping into the marble foyer brought Natalie back to her childhood. The huge crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling was still there, catching the sunlight from the window and casting rainbows around the whole room. Natalie smiled as she remember lying on the floor with Ivy for hours, just staring at the ceiling and watching the prismatic lights bounce across the room. She walked up the expansive center staircase, which now had a light beige carpet rather than the dark burgundy it used to be. Elana had great taste in interior design, and Natalie wasn't surprised to see changes throughout the house. This year seemed to be one of light colors and neutral tones. As Natalie reached the top of the stairs, she cautiously peered over the balcony which looked onto the sitting area, but saw no one other than the maids fluffing the sofa pillows. Since nobody was there, Natalie decided her best bet would be to surprise her dad first, and then force him into telling her where Ivy was so she could carry out her sneak attack.

Taking a right at the top of the staircase and heading in the opposite direction of the Elvier's wing, Natalie walked towards the east side of the mansion. With a quick scan of her ID, Natalie opened the door to the east wing, which looked similar to a hotel hallway. There were at least 4 guest bedrooms, and the other doors were simply supply closets for the maids to store their things in. Natalie briskly walked past all these doors and hurried to the very end of the hallway. Here there was another door that lead to the suite Natalie and her dad lived in.

Using her key she grabbed from her purse, Natalie slowly turned the lock, hoping to avoid the loud clack it always made. With the lock open, Natalie slowly cracked the door open, and quietly creeped into the suite. If anyone had seen her, she'd definitely have looked laughable, tip-toeing with exaggerated motions, trying her best not to make a sound. As Natalie made her way through the dark suite, she could easily see the blue light coming from her dad's bedroom. Of course he's still working, Natalie thought to herself, the man never stops working. Natalie finally stood right outside her dad's bedroom door and took a deep breath, preparing to scream, when suddenly the door swung open and revealed a grinning James.

" CAUGHT YOU!" James shouted while Natalie, completely startled, let out a high pitch scream while James wrapped Natalie in his arms.

"Nooo!" Natalie whined laughing, "I really thought I had you this time."

James chuckled, squeezing Natalie tightly in his arms. James was tall and lanky, and Natalie fit right under his chin, and father and daughter stayed like that for a long time, happy to be in each others company again. Finally, James sighed and let Natalie go.

"I missed you munchkin. I'm so happy to have you back. You thought you could scare your old man, huh?" James said crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow to Natalie.

Natalie crossed her own arms, "I'll get you one of these days, don't even worry about it. I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you..." she trailed off, trying to sound threatening.

James only chuckled in response. At 5'2, Natalie was anything but intimidating.

"OK but honestly dad how did you know I was here?" Natalie asked, genuinely wondering how her dad had figured out she was here.

"Oh, hah, right, I have your ID pinged so any time it's swiped I get notified... you know as all fathers do.." James joked.

Natalie squinted at her dad who looked quite sheepish, but then shook her head and simply rolled her eyes in response. James had been overprotective since her mother passed away. Not that Natalie ever went out of her way to find trouble, but she understood why her dad felt the need to keep an eye on her. She was all he had and vice versa.

"Ok moving on," James quickly said, trying to move Natalie from the previous subject, "I didn't hear any screaming earlier so I'm guessing you didn't get to Ivy yet."

"No, and I was hoping you'd help me with that." Natalie said, smiling her sweetest smile in hopes that her father would collude with her on her devious plan.

"Mhm.. Well I had already checked the cameras while doing the nightly sweep and haven't seen her open the door to her room in a while so I'm guessing that's where she'll be." James confessed.

Natalie grinned, giving a speedy kiss on the cheek and shouting a quick I love you to her dad, and was off running towards the west wing to catch Ivy before she went anywhere. Jogging across the main hall, she scanned her ID at the west wing entrance, which also had a security guard on the inside that Natalie again showed her ID to. Finally in the west wing, Natalie stood outside Ivy's door, and taking a deep breath, knocked on the door.

Natalie heard a muffled voice say "doors open", and opened the door to find Ivy with an oxygen mask, sitting on the floor, painting her toenails. The dichotomy of the scene before her struck Natalie as almost funny. The oxygen tank with Ivy seemed to suggest she should be laying in bed and resting, but instead here she was, just doing regular things without a care in the world. It was typical Ivy.

Ivy hadn't bothered turning around to address the door, probably thinking it was a maid. That gave Natalie the perfect opportunity to walk up right behind Ivy, fall to her knees and give Ivy an enormous hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard or dislodge Ivy's mask.

At first Ivy tensed, not knowing what was going on, but recognized her best friend a second later. Dropping the nail polish bottle she was holding, Ivy immediately turned around still kneeling.

"Aw Nat!! I missed you so much!" Ivy screamed, tackling her friend to the floor.

Natalie shrieked in surprise as her back met the floor, laughing the whole way down.

Ivy's mask had come off and Natalie noticed, "Ivy! Your mask! Get up you crazy woman!"

"I don't care." Ivy mumbled into Natalie's shoulder, not letting go or making any move to get up. Knowing she'd be fine for at least a few minutes, Natalie held on to Ivy and both girls stayed on the floor, embracing.

"Ok I love you, but I think my back is starting to cramp up." Natalie wheezed, the weight of Ivy still entirely on her.

Ivy got up, still straddling Natalie. "Excuse you! I've actually lost weight thank you very much."

Natalie scooted up and out from under Ivy, saying concernedly "I know Ivy. I noticed."

Ivy grabbed Natalie's hand, "Exactly Nat! Look at me! I've felt really great for the past couple months. No crazy fevers, I'm breathing better, I think I might actually be getting better."

Natalie blinked, staring at Ivy and really looking at her. Yes, she had an oxygen mask on, but there were little things different about her that Natalie hadn't initially noticed, but made her outrageously happy. Tiny things like the warmth she now saw in Ivy's skin instead of her usual pallor, strength in her limbs that Natalie felt when Ivy bowled her over, and just her overall energy that indicated Ivy really was feeling better. Natalie dearly hoped it was for good.

Smiling and grabbing Ivy's face in her hands, Natalie joyfully said, "You're glowing beautiful girl. I'm so unbelievably happy." Wrapping Ivy in a hug, Natalie felt tears threaten to spring from her eyes. All her life Natalie had wanted Ivy to be happy and healthy, and now seeing that dream partially come true made Natalie fill with emotions.

Getting herself together, Natalie said with mock fear, "Ok ok. Enough of that. Plus now that I'm back I'm sure you have some awful things planned for us both to do, in typical Ivy fashion."

"Ok little miss chef, I don't need that sass from you. Don't act like you're smarter now that you've been to college. Plus you're not the only one who's graduated. I finally got my degree in computer programming." Ivy stated.

"What?! Why didn't you tell me that earlier??!" Natalie shouted, squeezing Ivy in another hug. "I'm so proud of you Ivy congratulations! I didn't even know you were in school!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm always indoors anyway so I thought might as well make the most of it. I just did the online school at Teira U obviously, no actually leaving this house." Ivy sighed.

Natalie sympathized with Ivy, but at the same time they both knew it was best for her to stay indoors where she wouldn't risk being exposed to any other riskier allergens. It wasn't that Ivy absolutely could not go outside, but Ivy herself thought that she felt much better just staying inside, although it still disappointed her to not go outside anytime she wanted.

"Alright alright we're not throwing any pity parties here." Natalie said looking at Ivy's face fall and wanting to move from the depressing subject they were on, "So I'm back! Lets have some fun, what do you say?"

"I have just the thing." Ivy said with a devious grin looking at an already nervous Natalie, obviously planning something destructive.

"Uhh.. Wait! Wait! I have to... I have to go... say hello to your parents! Yes, right, I have to go say hello to your parents! So let me go do that first..." Natalie said, thinking she had gotten out of Ivy's maniacal plans.

Ivy, obviously knowing what Natalie was attempting to do, was having none of it.

Getting up, Ivy held her hand out to Natalie, "Natalie. Annalise. West. You will take my hand right now, and you will do whatever I say. Capeesh?"

Ivy's face brokered no arguments, and with a groan Natalie, took Ivy's hand and grumbled a capeesh, knowing she was in for a long night.

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Xavier crossed his arms and took a deep breath, staring deeply into the fireplace that lit his now darkened office.

"X, come on man, we'll brainstorm tomorrow. I'm pretty sure you staring daggers at the fire isn't going to help anything." Eli, Xavier's second in command, begged from the sofa.

"Feel free to leave." Xavier stated concisely, not bothering to turn around to address Eli.

Eli internally groaned. Of course he wouldn't leave Xavier on his own, but hell was he tired. This was the fourth day after Xavier's meeting with Minister Lockwood, the three Lords, and the two other generals that he spent all night brainstorming in his office. And dutiful as ever, Eli would be right there with him.

Eli stood up, stretched, and immediately started pacing and hitting his face with his hands, trying to wake up. Xavier finally spared a glance at his friend, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Eli's loyalty towards him had never wavered since Xavier was promoted to general. No matter the issue, Xavier trusted that Eli would always remain by his side.

As a general in Masden's army, Xavier was feeling the strenuous pressure of the expansion plan. After their proposal to Teira was swiftly denied, Minister Lockwood had become particularly irritable. The goals for expansion had depended largely on Teira's cooperation and agreement with their ideas, but instead, Lockwood's proposal was brushed off by Governor Elvier, who refused to even meet in person to discuss the possible joining.

Xavier knew it had been a longshot; Teira had no reason to give them the time of day since they were already more than financially stable on their own. The best thing Masden had to offer at this point was agriculture and their borders with other countries which would help with trade. But with that offer quickly denied, the question now became how to gain cooperation from a country bigger than them, stronger than them, and with more resources than they had.