It took me 2 years but I actually finally had some inspiration to write Gruvia! This is also my very first AU ^^
The title of the fic refers to the ocean and of course to a line in Fairy Tail opening 21
I'm really curious how I will let this fic turn out, please let me know if you like the start of the story :)
Thanks for revising, mizzyplatinum, as always :)
''Give that back right now!'' a girl screamed.
The three men that had driven her in a corner at the wall she was sleeping against, towered over her. The middle one, a middle aged, stubble bearded, plump guy, held up a white puppet.
''Why would we? It's just rubbish after all, it shouldn't belong to anyone.'' He laughed.
''I bet all those stupid beggars like you gathered around the harbor just to catch a glimpse of those pirates,'' the skinniest one said.
Her eyes widened. ''P-pirates?'' she whispered.
''I mean, I won't blame ya stealing from those thugs. They must've had tons of gold among their ship.'' They continued blabbering, clearly not paying attention to her anymore.
She tugged on her worn out, grey dress. There was no way she was getting her puppet back, she stood no chance against them. She hadn't eaten for over a day, had barely slept and the cold of last night still lingered on her body. It wasn't worth the risk to use her abilities now either. It would certainly draw too much attention.
''Bloody pirates,'' the third guy sneered. ''The king is crazy for letting them go on a mission for him. They're thieves.''
''Stealing from a beggar doesn't make you any better!'' she said out loud. She felt herself glued to the wall she was leaning on. I should not have said that. She now realized too late.
''You little...!'' The first man raised his hand to hit her. She crouched down in fear. Protecting her face with her hands.
She awaited the unavoidable hit she was about to take. But nothing happened. Carefully, she peeked through her fingers. Right in front of her still stood the man, his hand still raised. He didn't seem able to move.
The other two men stared at the scene in awe.
''Guess I was just in time, wasn't I?'' she heard a deep voice say.
From an alley, another group of men appeared. They wore worn out boots, baggy pants and numerous sort of decorations were draped around their necks and attached to their clothing. Their hats confirmed their identity. They were pirates.
The group was led by a man in slightly different clothes. He was wearing a long, black coat and his hat differed from the rest. Due to his rolled up sleeves, a tattoo on his left under arm could be seen. As he walked closer, she saw his face from beneath his hat. He had pitch black hair and eyes almost as dark. From his neck, a silver necklace hung down with a pendant of a sword on it.
He walked over to the man that had stopped moving and grabbed the puppet from his hand. The blue-haired girl had now lowered her hands and looked up to the man who had just saved her. Or did he?
''Aren't you a little too old to still play with dolls?'' he said as he looked down on her.
She felt her heart rate go up, but couldn't tell if it was because of embarrassment or because of the fact that she was losing all common sense when she looked him in the eye.
''It's the only thing I have, sir,'' she managed to bring out quietly.
''The only thing eh?'' he replied. ''You should take better care of it the next time then.'' He tossed the puppet back to her.
''If you value your life, you should run now,'' The raven haired guy said as he turned to the two remaining man that had threatened her. He glanced over at them with a glare as cold as ice. ''Don't you fucking dare bothering her again.''
The two men turned around and ran for their lives, almost tripping over their own feet. The third man seemed to have gained his mobility again and looked around in confusion.
''Good thing you thawed out, bastard.'' He heard from behind. As soon as he turned around, he was punched in the face with such force, he couldn't remain on his feet and fell down to the ground. ''That one was for trying to hit an innocent girl,'' the pirate said as he rubbed over his knuckles.
''You should leave, you're safe now,'' He said in a monotoned voice, facing the other way.
''Captain Fullbuster,'' one of the men behind him said, ''we really should get going now.''
''You're right,'' he replied. ''We should leave before the sun sets.''
As they walked away, he glanced over his shoulder one more time. The girl in the ripped clothes just stared blankly at him. Were her eyes watering or was it just his imagination? Even though she was obviously a homeless beggar, covered in dirt and wearing clothes that hardly couldn't be called clothes anymore. Just some shreds of fabric hanging from her fragile body. The one thing he couldn't help staring at were her almost luminescent eyes. They had a shade of blue close to the most tropical ocean waters. He wondered how somebody like that could ever end up on the sidewalk, begging for food.
Freeing himself from the almost magnetic pull to her gaze, he looked back forward and picked up his pace. He shook his head, this wasn't any of his business. A not too gently poke to his side made him come back to his full senses.
''She's a pretty one, ain't she?'' one of his crewmates teased. ''If you're not going back for her, then I might.''
''Oh shut up Loki.'' He grinned. ''Like a pirate would fall for just one woman.''
''That's my man.'' The ginger-haired guy laughed as he hit him on the back.
The girl sat motionless against the wall of an alley. She knew the pirate told her to run away, but she just couldn't. How could she run away without thanking her savior? She just wasn't able to bring any word out. From the moment he had frozen the man in his moment on the spot to the first eye contact they made, she wasn't able to talk. Everything that had happened was just one blank space in her mind. The only memories that kept on repeating in her head were the way she looked into his bottomless eyes. Darker than black, and his name; Fullbuster.
She hugged her doll to her face as she deeply inhaled its scent. It was fading, but faintly she could smell his scent on it. She felt her cheeks turn warmer and put the doll down in embarrassment. There should be a way to reach him, right? Even if it was only to thank him. She didn't even want to think about how far her attackers would have gone if he hadn't shown up...
What did she have to lose anyway? What she said to him was the truth. The only thing she had left was the doll. There was no future for her here. Sooner or later they will find out she had escaped and would be send back to prison. Ever since she had become too old for the orphanage, she had joined several criminal organizations, just to get by. When her previous guild of bandits had been stormed by the knights of the Magic Council, she was locked up. However, it had been easy for her to escape with her hidden abilities.
She got up on her scarred, bare feet. Carefully looking around, she turned around the corner of the street. If she remembered right, this road should end in the harbor. She grabbed together all her courage and started to walk. Step by step she walked over the sunset-lit cobbles.
''Just one more corner,'' she said to herself.
''That's her!''
As if being stung, she turned around. A salesman was pointing at her. Next to him stood some odd-looking man in long white robes, wielding golden magic staffs. There was no mistaking. The Rune Knights of the Magic council had tracked her down.
She turned back forward again. Just 50 meters before her, the ocean endlessly stretched out in the last golden rays of the setting sun. In the distance, the silhouette of a ship could be seen. There was no mistaking about what ship it was, as it had black sails. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Without any further hesitation she took off, running as if it was her last time. Faster and faster her legs took her to the end of the dock.
As she heard the knights approach and saw the beams of the magic staffs shoot beside her, she accelerated one more time and jumped. Diving down into the depths of the ocean.
It seemed to take forever before her body entered the ice-cold water. It didn't take long until she felt her own temperature drop as well. But that was fine. She was the water and the water was her. Swiftly as a dolphin, she started to swim. Keeping her back turned to the harbor, she aimed for the horizon...
