Chapter 1

The floorboard creaked softly beneath the water mage's feet. Quietly, Juvia slipped into a sturdy, brown and green dress and a worn-out cloak. Grabbing her basket of fruits, cheese and bread, she tip toed outside of her room. She remained extra cautious in hopes to not wake up her father, Jose. She knew how frightening he could be when she accidently woke him up in the mornings. In fact, she realized how frightening he could be in any given moment.

Chills swept through her spine as she thought about the last time she angered him. Juvia had given a present to an orphan on his birthday- a small individual strawberry cake and a handmade doll she made herself. Jose scolded her and gave her a fat bruise on her stomach because she apparently had "wasted valuable money that otherwise could be put to better use." In other words, the money could have been put to financing Jose to gain more power in the kingdom. Even though he was a Duke, Jose still strived for more power. Juvia sometimes even thought his obsession with power was to be king of the land, but she doubted that Jose would have such a far-off goal.

Juvia sighed, lost in her thoughts, as she gently locked the house door. She put on the hood of her cloak, so her dark blue eyes were shadowed, giving her a mysterious aura. The only distinguishable feature of her now was her short, spiky blue hair that flickered up curiously around the frame of her face. She looked back one more time at her home. It was nice, much better off than many of the townspeople in the kingdom. The house radiated wealth, and most anyone would, hands down, love to exchange their rickety, shambled home for the one Juvia lived in. The mahogany wood on the interior, loaded with antique furniture and expensive china echoed in every room of her house. Bird fountains made of marble, etched with delicate details brandished her front yard, followed by every color of rose one could think of lined neatly behind the bird baths emphasized the wealth of the Porla family. But Juvia hated this house. It was unfamiliar to her; there was no sense of home, and it was in this house were she felt the loneliest, the most afraid.

It wouldn't have been this way if Juvia's mother was still alive. The loneliness of where she resided would have dissipate. Although the blue haired beauty only remembers bits and pieces of her mother, the memories she held were full of blissful happiness and carefree laughter. She remembered her mother as a woman who was loving, tranquil, and warm. It was only when she was around 7 or 8 that she realized Jose wasn't her father. One day in the middle of the night, an explosive argument broke out between Jose and her mother, as Juvia hid in her room listening to the foul words coming out of their mouths. It was on this night that Juvia found out she was an illegitimate child, that her mother had been seeing someone else. It was on this night that her mother left and never came back. It was on this night Juvia blamed herself for her mother's disappearance and for being abandoned. It was on this night that the rain always began to fall.

Jose didn't change much after the disappearance of Juvia's mother. He was still stoic and intimidating, albeit more violent. Jose didn't want anyone to find out about his disgraceful "daughter" so he kept his thin mouth sealed. But word tends to get around- and it did. Living next to the castle due to Jose's rank as a Duke became problematic. The snooty kids did not want to befriend Juvia because she was, in their eyes, tainted. Even the maids who she would greet and chat with when her mother was still alive strayed their eyes away from the young water mage. Jose didn't mention Juvia after the incident, and no one else had the courage to talk about her either, due to the fear and respect they had for him. The blunette was alone.

"At least Juvia can be away from the house," she mumbled to herself, as she walked down the dirt path. Jose didn't particularly care where Juvia went. He didn't particularly care for her at all. As long as she acted as a forgotten child and didn't interfere with his quest for power, Juvia might as well have been a dog to him. He only needed her to take care of the house, make dinner, and do chores.

Juvia was so wrapped up in her thoughts with her feet quickly pacing on path, that she did not notice that she was about to bump into a shadowy figure in front of her.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, as she bumped into heavy armor and fell to the ground. The basket laid on the floor, with its contents sprawled on the floor.

"S-sorry!" the blunette whimpered, hastily scanning for the damage done on the basket. Juvia grabbed the bread and cheese, thankful that she had wrapped them up last night, and began wiping the grim from the apples with the hem of her dress.

"No, I should be sorry," the figure said in a cool tone. "I didn't watch where I was going. These damn kingdom's streets are confusing."

Juvia's ears perked up at the handsome voice that flowed through her ears. A sudden urge rushed through Juvia to see the stranger's face. The hood of her cloak peeled off her forehead as she raised her head up with questioning eyes. A tall, muscular male with black spiky hair appeared before her, donned in armor a palace soldier would wear.

As their eyes met, the soldier's eyes widened, in awe of the pretty, blue haired girl kneeling before him.

Juvia felt her cheeks flush as red as the apples she was holding while looking at the handsome stranger.

"A-ah, ehh…" she stammered, at a loss for words.

Her nonsensical words seemed to snap the soldier out of his slight gawk. His face suddenly dropped and he returned to the cool look he had. The soldier raised his hand and brushed his spiky, black hair and recomposed himself. He appeared almost emotionless as his knelt down to Juvia's side.

Juvia now felt her face burn crimson red as the stranger moved closer to her. What is he doing? Juvia is not ready for this!she thought to herself. Her chest was pounding, just as it does when it rains heavy against the pavements. Juvia didn't know why he had such a strange effect on her heart.

"Here," he said in a mysterious voice. In his hand he held an apple that escaped from the woven basket.

Their hands briefly brushed as he passed her the edible. Ice cold hands , Juvia thought. As if on cue, her heart began to race. Even though his hands were icy cold, she felt warm from it. Strange,she thought as she pondered at these new and strange emotions shrouding her. The soldier also seemed a bit uneasy at their brief physical contact, quickly retracting his hand and letting his eyes wander, hoping to be distracted by anything but the girl in front of him.

"Er-thanks," Juvia shyly whispered. So he was helping me clean up, she thought, embarrassed that she thought he was leaning in to kiss her.

Juvia cursed herself for thinking that anyone would want to have anything to do with her. In fact, Juvia was surprised the soldier did not recognize her. Although Jose did not like to mention his daughter, she was usually the talk of the royal gossip, and almost anyone in the court knew of her face. She was relieved that he did not seem phased by her, even being so kind as to help her pick up her apples. Juvia did not want even more rumors to be flying again, and annoying her father was the last thing she wanted.

"I need your help," the soldier grunted, although he seemed a bit reluctant to admit this. His face inched closer to Juvia as he spoke, allowing Juvia to feel his surprisingly warm breath. "I am supposed to be on my way to the palace. I'm new to Crocus, FioreKingdom's capital. I'm on my way to assist the King."

Just as Juvia had thought the flush of her face began to settle down, it immediately crept back up to her pale cheeks once the stranger moved closer. Juvia shot up and stood on her feet, unable to deal with the small intimacy they had together.

"O-oh! Of course! You just keep following this dirt path, and turn East once you reach the palace fountain," Juvia stammered. In a nervous habit, her fingers entwined the basket she held.

"Thank you…" He spoke, his voice trailing off.

"Ah, please excuse my rudeness. My name is am Juvia. Juvia Po-" The water mage stopped midsentence. She finally was able to meet someone since her mother's death that did not know of her past. She didn't want to ruin it by giving away her last name. He would surely find out about her being the illegitimate daughter of Duke Jose sooner or later, but she liked the idea of holding on to an uninterrupted honest moment like this for just a while longer. Maybe she would meet him again before he found out about her unwanted history. It would be nice to talk to someone without judging her.

"Eh?" He said, confused at why she stopped talking.

"Juvia. Just Juvia," she repeated.

"I see. I'm Gray Fullbuster. Thank you for showing me the way to the royal palace," he said gratefully, fixated on her deep blue eyes. He couldn't shake off the fact that just then, there was an overwhelming sadness in her eyes.

Juvia's eyes widened as he completed his thanks to her.

"No problem! Juvia is glad to be of help!" Juvia was chipper that she could be of valuable help. It has been a long time that anyone asked for her, let alone thank her. A small smile curled up her lips, letting her beautiful features beam in delight.

Gray was taken aback at this. The sadness from her eyes disappeared and she seemed to be glowing. Why do I even care? He thought to himself. Whatever, it's just another maiden. He was annoyed at why he was so interested in this girl. Gray knew he wasn't here to woo any ladies, but here to bring justice to his past.

He stole one more quick glace at Juvia, then walked away from her, raising his hand in a gesture of thanks.

Juvia stared at him, until he turned a corner and the sound of his metal boots disappeared in silence. Her heart wouldn't stop fluttering. It wasn't unusual to bump into soldiers in this area-she lived right next to the castle, a wealthier area-but she never met a soldier that didn't brush her off or went out of her way to help her. Juvia was new to the kindness she received from a total stranger. But her heart stiffened when she realized that he was to join the palace army. And when that happened, surely he would find out about her shamed past…

"Kya!" Juvia screamed. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden remembrance that she was to be somewhere. The blunette quickly brushed off the remaining dirt from her skirt and sprinted toward her destination, briefly forgetting her unexpected delightful encounter.

Huffing and out of breath, Juvia stood outside the small building. This building was no luxury- it was smaller than her house and in ruins. The rusty, fenced gate was partially in-tact and the gray walls seemed to crumble if anyone even so much as grazed past it. Only two small windows where against the building, but they resembled jail bars. The door was a rotten piece of wood, with a rusty handle attached to it. The front garden wasn't even a garden. Rubble sediments filled the yard, with vicious weeds poking through the surface. The soil was dry and barren. Juvia smiled despite the unaesthetic and unappealing view.

Because to her, this was home.

A/N

Hi everyone!

I decided to start this story from inspiration of reading other fan fics. I love GrayxJuvia as a pairing so I decided to start my own little story.

FAIR WARNING TO YOU ALL: This is my first fanfic, so it might not be as amazing as the other work you have read.

I'm still trying to see how I can incorporate other members into the story line, since I love how Fairy Tail has such a diverse cast of characters. Maybe we will see some GaLa and NaLu in the future? Maybe even JeZa? (I'm almost too afraid to even consider JerZa due to such an intense relationship in the manga!)

Another note- when Juvia is about to release her full name, she says Juvia Porla- due to Jose's last name. Remember that she is not his real daughter! Her last name will be found out (hopefully) sometime in this series.

Yes, I know this was a short chapter compared to all other fanfics I've read and I apologize o. This is my first fanfic so please throw out any constructive criticism you have. I'll try to update as much as possible, with a full intent of completing this story. (Although I have no idea how this will end!) Read (and review if you please) and thanks for sharing your time with me!
GO GRUVIA! :3

*Revised* Thanks Stebbi for helping me out! I modified the story slightly, but the lack of flow is probably still present. I will re-read the chapter again soon, in hopes to ameliorate it. Maybe you can point out exactly where it is that makes the story abrupt? Thank you so much for your feedback!

Thanks to CryCrimson as well! I'm glad I got a smile out of you, because your comment definitely put one on my face!