It's Monday! I'm very excited to share the first story in my new Tail as Old as Time series. If you're into fantasy and fairy tales, hopefully you'll enjoy this.

So I know that a mermaid-themed Gruvia is nothing new. It's been done—and done well—by many others before me. (Do a quick Google search. Between the fics and the fanarts, there's so much awesome stuff out there!) At first, I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to pursue it. But fairy tales are fun and plot bunnies show up and, well, this happened. So I hope you like it!

- K. Chandler

Lightning split the sky.

Juvia unleashed a torrent of water that rocked the enemy ship. She could feel the heat of the enemy artillery as they responded with a volley of cannon fire. With a flip of her tail fin, Juvia submerged, tucking herself into a ball.

The shots peppered the water around her. A streak of grey rocketed by, shoving Juvia away from the humans' attack.

It was Gajeel. He had covered his skin with iron plates. The scales on his tail had transformed into metal as well. Juvia used to wonder why the extra weight didn't make him sink, but Gajeel seemed to prefer this form for battle. The extra layer of armor made him practically impervious.

"Watch it!" snarled Gajeel.

"Thanks," said Juvia. "But I had it under control."

Gajeel just snorted. "You know how dangerous the humans can be."

Juvia pressed her lips together. She knew perfectly well.

No one could remember how the conflict with the humans had started. It had gone on for generations.

The Surface-Dwellers were a disgusting and heartless bunch who cared for no one but themselves. They had their weapons, their wars and their politics. A petty bunch they were, obsessed with power and possession. Over the years, they had gotten even more powerful, obtaining magic through charms and lacrima implantation. It was unnatural.

Like a scourge, they spread across the land. They had the arrogance to presume they could conquer the sea as well. In their boats, they would venture out where they didn't belong.

The Sea-People, born with their magic powers, were the last defense against the Surface-Dwellers. It was up to Juvia and her kind to push them back. The humans needed to be kept on land, where they belonged. That was the only way the oceans could remain a sanctuary for those who were born with magic.

"Juvia! Gajeel!" cried Meredy, as she swam past. Her eyes were bright with excitement.

"What's happened?" asked Juvia.

"Totomaru's caught one of their ships on fire!" Meredy shouted back. "Come on!"

"Heh-heh! That'll teach them!" growled Gajeel, moving to follow.

Juvia surfaced with her friends, shaking her sopping hair out of her eyes. Sure enough, the ship was aglow, deck engulfed with a wooden deck.

Two of the senior officers had come on deck to respond to Totomaru's attack.

"What's the status, Cana?" one of them asked. With his commanding presence and steady bearing, Juvia could tell he was the captain.

Cana, a female officer with wavy brown hair, fanned out a stack of cards in her hand. "Things are going up in flames, sir," she hollered back.

Cana let her cards fly with a neat flick of her wrist. A jet of water sprang forth, irrigating the deck. It made little difference as Totomaru's magical flames blazed on.

"Well, that was helpful," Cana said dryly. "Well, what do we do now, Gray? …Captain," she corrected herself.

The enemy captain kept his cool, surveying the damage with stormy eyes.

"Let me handle this!" the other officer shouted. He seemed like an excitable man with vivid hair and a boisterous voice. He didn't seem to be holding any magical objects. He must have been one of those humans with a lacrima inside of him. Disgusting.

The captain, Gray, shot him an annoyed look. "There's enough fire here without you adding to it, Natsu!"

"I wasn't gonna add to it," said Natsu. "I was gonna eat it!"

"You'll make yourself sick eating that," said Cana. "Don't you remember last time?"

"You know what they say," Natsu grinned, revealing sharp canines. "Fight fire with fire."

"Shut up, Natsu," growled Gray. "You don't fight fire with fire." He brought his hands together. The loop of metal around his wrist glowed, sending magical energy to his hands. "You fight fire with ice!"

Gray slammed his hands to the deck. Ice stretched across the floor. It rose, freezing Totomaru's flames solid.

Juvia gasped. No one had ever been able to do that before.

"You've got to be joking!" said Totomaru, shaking his head. With a huff, he submerged, shooting toward the ocean floor.

"No way," mumbled Meredy. "This guy's unreal."

"Show-off," muttered Gajeel.

"Nice one, man! Now it's my turn!" shouted Natsu. He slammed his fist into the block of ice, sending shards flying.

Cana whooped. "That's the way!"

"And now we take the fight to them!" Captain Gray shouted, his face pulling into a confident smirk.

"Load 'em up, guys," Natsu called to the gunners. He took his place on the gundeck, a brilliant flame appearing in his palm. He lit the cannons, one after the other. They fired in rapid succession.

Juvia ducked, diving deep where the cannon balls wouldn't reach her. Beneath the surface, she could see Aria had maintaining a pocket of air that Totomaru was using to start a blaze. They were trying to set fire to the bottom of the ship.

It was a brilliant idea if the humans didn't catch them first. They would need a distraction.

Juvia rocketed upwards with a flick of her tail. She surfaced, just in time to see that Meredy and Gajeel had teamed up to return a volley of throwing knives, enhanced with Meredy's sensory magic.

Gray responded by sending a formation of ice spears in their direction.

Juvia summoned a blast of water, knocking the blades aside. They dropped uselessly into the sea. Bringing her hands up above her head, Juvia conjured a helix of water. It spiraled toward the mainmast. The wood creaked, bowing under her attack.

But before she could snap the splintering wood, it was buttressed with a sheaf of ice.

"Look alive!" Gray barked. He shouldered his way in front of the Cana, throwing up an ice shield to protect them both from another attack from Gajeel.

"I was doing fine, sir," she retorted.

"You can never be too careful."

"God, what I wouldn't give for a drink…" muttered Cana.

Juvia had raised her hand to attack, but she found herself unable to return fire. Weren't humans supposed to be selfish?

I know Natsu doesn't really have an implanted lacrima, but in this AU, all humans use holder-magic. Also, the whole motion-sickness thing is out. I needed him to be Gray's Navy buddy, and I couldn't really do that if he was going to get sick every five minutes.

I originally only meant for Cana to make a cameo appearance, but she was too awesome, so she'll end up playing a decent-sized role in the story. (Actually, originally she was supposed to be Erza, but I struggled with the idea of Erza answering to Gray, so she became Cana instead.)

Next time, in Silence, Totomaru's plan works: "Don't look now, but there's a fire on the lower deck," reported Natsu.

Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.