Note: My first Fairy Tail fanfiction has been written! I really enjoyed making up the background of this world, and I even ended up tempting myself to make yet another story in the realm… I will see what I can do with it later on when I have time to play around with my imagination a bit… but this is for a pairing that I absolutely adore and want to become canon. It is one of my three favorite, Gruvia. I am only on chapter 354 right now, and have no clue what's going on any further than that. Please do not spoil the manga! This got a little dark, but I'm glad it did because I need to expand my writing horizons. Reviews are always appreciated! & if you would like to request a story, just inbox me! Without further ado, please enjoy " r."

PART I

"Although we never said it to each other, I think we both knew."

This is not the world you are quite familiar with. The characters that you know and love are not comrades as you might believe them to be. Just as there was once a time where our friends discovered another dimension that had a different way of using magic, this too is a different dimension. One that will most likely never be visited by our Fairy Tail Guild. One that will remain a mystery to all who do not live within it. But you see, I have been here, and I will tell you a story that you will most likely never believe.

This is a story of a well-taught sailor of twenty and his admirer, not much younger than he, who dwelled beneath the waves.

Perhaps you are familiar with this tale, as it has been told many times before; perhaps you will become bored with it's familiarity, but I pray that you will not enter with a light heart. For this miss does not sing, nor does she have her voice stolen by a sea witch. She does not go to land to have her prince fall in love with her, and she does not throw herself off a cliff and become sea foam the day that he rejected her. This is a version you have never seen nor read in your books.

Magic, as stated once before, is not a common thing 'round these parts. It is kept secret, and those who do know of it are sworn to keep their traps shut about it. It is dangerous and priceless. And it comes from the sky. Every time a star falls to the earth (and makes it past the atmospheric layers that keep our bodies safe from the heavens) it will collide with the ground and turn the grass and dirt to what is called Nether. Nether is a sort of grain that has magical properties. If it is carefully gathered, not touched by flesh, and is cultivated using certain hushed methods, it can be taken in by any organism through their mouth, and will put magical properties and abilities into their systems for years. The record of longest held magic within a body has been thirteen years exactly, but for some reason, the person who had this, died just as the magic left him and returned to the sky, dissolving into little droplets of light. He, too, dissolved, his body never to return to the planet from which he was first born onto. It is a secret that has not been shared with the general public, and is still in the archives for mysterious happenings.

Magic, though, is not the only thing this world is known for. There are other mysterious things that our realm is famous for. Creatures such as unicorns, faeries the size of your pinky, druids who dwell within the trees- there is only one dragon left in this realm, an ice demon who lives upon the highest mountain this world has. He is old and wise, quiet and covered in opal-colored scales… or so it is said. No one knows how he came to be, or if he is truly the last dragon, but it is believed that he is a creature who should be cherished. The mountain he calls home is protected by a group of humans who devote their whole lives to keep his mountain clear of travelers. They work to keep the area around the mountain in pristine condition. It is said to be one of the most beautiful places one could imagine, rivalled only by fairytales in leather-bound books.

However our story is not of this dragon. His is a story that will come to be later… as this world has many stories that are in need of sharing. Our story is of the sea-dwellers, who are said to have been humans at some point in time, many, many, hundreds of years ago. Their existence is a strange one, and many of the population living on land do not believe in their being. They call them "extinct" or "fables." But this is not true. They are very real. And their world is something that the land walkers will never be apart of. Their fables are quite different than the humans. They have their own culture, their own hierarchy and their own territories. Languages are quite different than that of the countries above, but due to their ability to stay open-minded and curious their whole entire life spans, they are able to learn much quicker than any human would. English, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese… no language poses a barrier to them. This can be viewed as both a good and a bad thing, depending on how you decide to look at it… but it is up to you decide if the consequences of such are worth the trouble.

Now. You know our sailor. In the world you are familiar with, he is an ice wizard, trained by a very talented woman known as Ul. He belongs to the Fairy Tail Guild, but here he is just a sailor who works for a company known as "BrAMosia." BrAMosia is a branch of the government that works in the area of the black market. Their specialty? Transporting Nether. Not that many of the men on board know that this is indeed what they are moving about from port to port. For the Nether is kept in boxes that are disguised as empty crates. Funny thing is that not a soul is ever suspicious about how light the crates are. Perhaps they believe them to be filled with pipe weed, for that is the same kind of smell the Nether puts off into the atmosphere surrounding it's case. (Recall that Nether is really only brought in small pouches by men in red hoods to packers who also work for the branch of government that deals this; each crate, though the size of a small dresser, only carries about 12 oz. of Nether, which makes for a very interesting weight proportion that is too complicated to just write out and try to explain in text. You will just have to believe that although Nether emits a heavenly sort of light and takes on the appearance of grain, it weighs much more. That, mixed in with the smell of packing straw is not quite the most interesting of things. And our man, Gray, is but a minor character in the role of these crates. All he does is help drag them on board and into the empty hull where they will be packed in nicely and then sent on their journey to a distant land that pays a nice price for just straw and weed. Know now that Gray is not a fool. He, like many others, suspects that what he is transporting is not just the local crap that you put in between your lips. No man alive would pay that much for such crates. But they are not to snoop, and if they do, they are taught a lesson they will never forget.

The year is 1143 F.D., and this day is in the summer set in a port that has clear waters and the smell of sea salt and money in the air. Gray swept his black hair from his gaze, the sweat holding it tight to his flesh as he did so, his muscles straining as he and the youngest boy on the ship, Romeo, lifted the box and moved it up the wooden plank, twisting it and moving it into its proper place within minutes.

"What else are we supposed to bring in?" The boy huffed, his body still having not taken on the look of a working teenager yet. He was one of the newest recruits, only being 13.

"Poultry, wood from the mountains, some goods from mining companies, some illegal faeries and a prisoner." Romeo raised a brow at the last word. Prisoners weren't rare to transport, seeing as some fled from their home countries in attempt to get away, but Gray knew exactly why Romeo tensed his shoulders a bit. The boy himself had run away from home not long ago, and there were reward posters in a lot of the ports, seeing as he was from a family who had a lot of power regarding the making of buildings. Gray cleared his throat and clapped the boy on the back as they walked back down into the port, ready to carry in the chickens in cramped cages together. "No worries, only the captain has seen him, and frankly he doesn't seem too worried about it."

"Do you think he knows yet?" Gray knew exactly what the youngster was asking. He bit the side of his lower lip a bit and thought for a minute, to which Romeo hesitated in walking. Turning around and grabbing the boy by his sleeve, he smiled and tossed him towards the chickens.

"He will if you don't become tanned, strong and mean!" He laughed as he grabbed four cages and started walking back towards the ship once more. Romeo followed closely with only two cages and kept in Gray's shadow the whole time, careful not to look into any of the passerby's eyes as he did so. Since he had run away, his hair had grown quite a lot, and was now held back in a low ponytail. This was not necessarily the best disguise, and both the boys knew it… but it was the best they could do at the moment. Once they were out at sea, Gray had promised to catch a SunWing for the boy and use it's scales to create a sort of mesh that would be rubbed roughly into his hair. For some reason, this fish's scales, when mashed into a sort of goo, could turn hair into the color of the sea. Blue and beautiful. Of course it was only temporary, but at least it worked for a couple months at a time. It could also be put on the skin and used as a sort of SPF. It's dyeing effects didn't mess with pigment in the skin, but only that of hair. Reason as to why? Who knew.

The cargo was loaded, the prisoner put into a locked room that only the captain could enter with a certain key, and in no time, the boat was off. High above, clouds were starting to form. Only a few of the sailors were worried about this, and they talked in hushed tones about how it was strange that the clouds took on the shape of a small dome. It only grew and grew until, when they were far out at sea, it covered the whole sky. No rain came, but weary gazes were not wasted on it. Gray and Romeo moved up top, switching places with a few men who would be making sure the chickens were fed, the crates were in place and the door to the prisoners room was not broken into.

The sky had definitely taken on an entirely new look, covering the waves with a velvety gray blanket covered in a thin layer of sea-swept frost. Gray furrowed his brows and then took the boy beside him by the shoulder and steered him back into the ships hull. The smaller man complained, griping and screaming about what the big deal was as Gray tossed him down the steps.

"Don't you dare come up here, you hear me? Keep that damn door shut and stay there." He slammed the door in the youngsters face without waiting for a reply and ran back up onto deck, hearing the chaos that was about to begin. Cold swept over his flesh. Strange how the wind in summer can sometimes be the cruelest. You at least expected the frigid temperatures in the winter time… but summer was always throwing a rabbit out if its black top hat. And now he was working, working, working, tugging the ropes that held the sails so that they would be put away. The storm was not to steal their important fabric from their very hands. The deck was already soaked with sea water as the waves suddenly became larger, pulling and pushing the wooden boat in and out of its grasp, threatening the humans aboard with flashes of lightning that struck the water every once in a while, sending shards of white light upon the men's faces. And the drums above in the clouds only beat a rhythm to the boys' work, pushing them on as they were urged to get everything set down and keep themselves and their brothers on board. Twice Gray almost lost his footing, and once he was thrown to the railing, catching himself tightly with slippery hands on the watered wood. He slammed his eyes shut, holding on for dear life, not caring whether or not splinters found their way into his fingers as he would rather have to deal with that than drowning in storm-infested waters. And whatever lay beneath the surface…. Hesitantly the young man opened his dark eyes just as the rain became ever harder, pelting his exposed chest as hail would. Flinching, he turned his head to the side and suddenly went still, daring not to move. What he saw astounded him, and he wondered if he was just seeing things in the waves as they pounded against the wooden arc.

Hair, the color of the sky on a summer day, holding tight to a face that could only be made by the gods, for it had the properties only porcelain could compare itself to. A girl? His lips started to form words just as she caught his gaze and her eyes widened before she moved her hands to her side and dove underneath the water. What followed had Gray with his lungs screaming for air. Where legs should have been… a tail was connected. A soft silver and periwinkle mixed together. He couldn't see it clearly, and therefore only caught onto the strange thought that he had just… seen a mermaid. Something only a few sailors can boast about. That is… if they can keep their lives while they're out at sea. It's said that these creatures can tell who has seen them or a fellow mermaid, and will never stop at trying to drag the human to the water so that he cannot share their secrets. Dangerous, beautiful and cloaked in mystery.

A shout caught his attention and he turned around, his muscles straining and his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed hard, his mouth dry with the taste of salt. Blinking a few times, he returned, moving away form the edge of the railing where he had seen her disappear, and started to follow orders once more, helping to secure some of the cargo that had been placed on the deck of the ship since it would not fit into the hull. What seemed like days later, though it had only been around three hours, the rain finally calmed and the seas flattened once more. The dome of gray dissipated into the blue, as if it had never even been there to begin with, and the boys started to relax a bit. Romeo came crashing out of the hull, aiming straight for the man who had thrown him in there in the first place. He was covered in sweat and salt water, as the boat wasn't in the best of shape, and small leaks were to be expected of it.

"I hate you so much." he growled through his teeth, aiming a punch for Gray's stomach. His swings were still those of a child, and Gray easily caught it with a firm hand, twisting his arm around and capturing the young one in a headlock.

"That's not true. You just don't like being bossed around. Go and tell the guys that once they're done making sure no water drowned the chickens, they can go and eat." Romeo's eyes lit up immediately.

"Do we get to eat too?"

"Not yet, idiot. We've got some fishing to do."

The day was almost done, now, and that meant that it was nearing the perfect time to start catching as much fish as possible for the men to eat. That also meant that it would be the best time to sneak a SunWing out of the pile and use its scales to turn Romeo's hair to blue- a thought struck Gray right then and there as the two went to go and join the others who were starting to lower a net into the ocean that had almost knocked them into the water just hours beforehand. That thought led him back to what he thought he had imagined. The girl with blue hair…

"Hey Romeo."

"Hm?" The boy looked over as the two grasped the net and helped to throw it over the side.

"You believe in mermaids?"

"PFFFT!" Laughter erupted from the young boy's mouth, echoing into the sea-drawn atmosphere and grabbing the attention of some of the men they were working with. When he regained himself a bit, still holding his stomach and clenching his shirt as if he were afraid his esophagus was going to fall clean out of him, he hissed a few words, trying to make them audible. "Ch-Children's stories?! As i-if! Mi-might as wel-ll be-l-lee-leeve in NETHER if you're go-going to c-cloud your brain with MERMAIDS!" Laughter again poured out of his open mouth and Gray, his eyes already narrowed into slits and his brows furrowed, popped him upside the head, to which Romeo grunted and glared, his laughter dying off quickly as he saw the look on his seniors face. "Why?"

"Just wondering." The boy didn't look convinced at the answer, but shrugged it off. Perhaps that was the good thing about Romeo. If someone didn't want to share, he didn't press them for information. He took them as they were, and pulled the information and questions in with a grain of salt. He was always aware of what others said, and kept their inquiries and facts in mind, but he never made a big deal out of them.

Just as the moon began to show herself, the men pulled out the net, completely thrilled to find enough fish to feed them for the next few days that their journey would take. And among them, as they spilled out, were just a few SunWings. Not the rarest fish in the world, but they weren't really in these parts. The ones caught now must have been migrating back to their breeding grounds… Gray snagged one swiftly and he and Romeo slipped into the hull, where Gray motioned for Romeo's knife and then slid the scales off with clean cuts. Then, with the handle of the utensil, the two took turns grinding the scales up into a pulp. When it was Romeo's turn, Gray took the flesh of the fish to the kitchen and slipped it into the pile of uncut fish, careful not to be seen. They weren't allowed in the cooking area, and could receive beatings if they were caught, but at this time, the cook was more concerned with the men who were holding out wooden plates and bowls for their food. Gray looked around quickly, then snagged a small piece of (probably stale) bread for Romeo. The boy was a fish bone in the first place, and it wouldn't be bad to just fatten him up a bit if he could.

When he returned, he sat on a crate, with Romeo in front of him, and worked with a pail of sea water and the fish scales to wash the boys hair with the mix. It stunk horribly, but what could they do? It didn't really matter, since none of the men on this ship were allowed showers until the next port. Fresh water was only used for drinking and cooking (if even that) and no one would mind yet another stinking worker. It was the norm. Romeo would just have to deal with smelling like fish guts for a few days. The color sunk in quickly, turning the boys hair white before tendrils of blue finally slid up the singular hairs bit by bit. It was a remarkable process, and by the time it was finished, they had missed dinner and Gray could no longer recognize the boy. The color had ombred down his ponytail, and around his uncut bangs. Gray bit back a smirk. Romeo, however, caught it.

"What? Does it look horrible?! Did it work?" Gray shook his head and ruffled the boys hair before standing up and walking to the other room where the men slept. "Gray- GRAY!"

"You just look like a girl, that's all." Romeo muttered something under his breath, not wanting to curse in front of the older men, since he would most likely get a slap to his cheeks if he disturbed them with a cuss while they were trying to sleep.

"It's your fault."

"Is not. You wanted to look different, well now you do. Just don't be surprised if you get teased. I'm going to bed, go and see if the cook will let you clean the dishes and get something to eat for helping." Romeo said nothing, but twisted on his heel and stomped off as Gray dumped himself into a hammock and put his arms behind his head, staring up at the filled hammock above him. He started to doze off not minutes later, and found himself thinking hazily about that face in the water.

He had seen her. She had caught his eyes staring at her just as she had met the surface, trying to keep herself above the waves so that she could see just what was going on. And she had been SEEN. The girl put her hands to her palette, her hair swirling around her as if it had a life of its own. Anguish tilted along her cheeks as she opened her eyes and peered through her slender fingers. No one could know. If they knew that a human had seen her, they would also find out that she had been following them since two ports ago. Watching them. Drawn to one of them. A HUMAN, of all things. Many times before, the girl had asked herself just why she even cared. Why she was so tempted to follow their journey? Follow him? Well she kind of knew the answer, but she wasn't quite sure if it was exactly true within her own heart. She sunk lower into the bed of coral she had found herself taking refuge in when the storm cleared and she turned her head, arms splayed out. Blue eyes narrowed slightly as she stared off into space, her imagination only rippled by the colorful dance of a small fish or two that came to see what a mermaid was doing in their abode. A small clownfish wouldn't dare come any closer, even when she wiggled her fingers at it playfully and she sighed, bubbles coming from her lips as she closed her eyes and flicked her tail.

This is Juvia, not a princess by any means. Her father was not the King of the Ocean, and her mother was not a passing piece of magic that just so happened to take the form of what he loved the most. She was an orphan, taken in by, go figure, the royals out of pure sympathy. Raised as a girl who would tend to whatever the youngest princess, Lisanna, needed. She was to follow her everywhere, almost as a bodyguard would. She attended marriage proposals, alliance signings, balls (as we call them on land, though merpeople know them as "munas"), etc. Lisanna was kind. She allowed Juvia her freedom every so often (which is the real reason as to why she was thousands of miles away at the moment), and shared her riches with the girl. Juvia was marked as a royal only because of Lisanna's love for her friend. And this meant that the girl had certain rights and certain freedoms that other merfolk did not. However… just because she had these rights did not mean that she was allowed entire freedom. Still the rules of territories marked her unable to travel all the way around the world without being intercepted by those that would sense her being.

Juvia opened her cerulean eyes and twirled a part of her hair that had been braided with bits of shells and hollowed pearls. That was Lisanna's work.. A shadow passed over her and she looked up, eyelashes fluttering in the soft clutches of the deep water and she watched as a net was thrown into the sea, just as the sun ducked beneath the surface of the horizon. Fear swept through her and she bolted, travelling as fast as she could away from the area that would soon be filled with the screams and terrified talk of fish who would never see the ocean again.

Time passed slowly as she watched from a distance behind a strange-shaped rock. Fingers clutched at the stone and her tail flicked behind her softly, every so often touching the ground and sweeping up sand. Folding her arms underneath her chin, she lazily waited for something to happen. Obviously the ship would be moving at night, just as all ships did, but for now, it was stuck in one place, gladly floating above the waves as if it were in complete and utter tranquility. After minutes of staring, she swept her gaze to her left, then her right, and finally took in a deep breath and moved closer, aware that the net had already been drawn up. When she was close enough, she grabbed the wooden bottom of the ship and began pulling herself up, careful not to make any noise as her head broke the surface. At first she did nothing but allow her eyes to adjust to the lighting with the stars and the moon high above, and then she took yet another deep breath, clenched her teeth and started crawling higher up the hull. There were square holes in the side, marking the boat as a galleon with cannons, though in these peaceful times, they were most likely only used to air out the inner portion of the hull. Slowly sliding her fingers to the sill, she inched her way up, her tail flopping awkwardly as she did so. Mermaids are not muscular, especially the females, unless they train to be guards of some sort. Juvia was no guard, and she had not been training to do anything athletic… climbing into ships was not on her bucketlist, but nevertheless, she kept her jaw tight and peered into the hull.

What she saw surprised her, and she kept her breathing as quiet as she could. The boy she had been investing all her time into stalking was there, not mere tail lengths away, mashing up what looked like… fish scales? Into a wooden bowl with the back of a knife. Minutes later, he put the mixture into a younger boys hair, and she watched as the tradition of merpeople when they are first born was suddenly used on a human. Not all merfolks hair is blue. The SunWing, as humans named it, is a sacred piece of life to them, and is used to determine what a young ones hair will be like, as they are all born with no hair at all. It is rubbed on the skull and as the child grows, the hair chooses a shade (usually one about the same color as the parents) and stays with them for their whole lifespan. The man looked to the side and with a small gasp, Juvia ducked her head, careful not to let go. When no footfalls came towards her, she peeked over the top again, readjusting her grip on the sill. The younger ones hair had turned to the color of the pearls weaved into her own hair, and it finally turned his head a little darker shade of blue than Juvia's. Strange… Very strange. Now, she lowered herself back into the water and followed the length of the ship, every so often adjusting her speed so that she could catch up with it.

High above, however, storm clouds were starting to form once more, only given away by the flickering light of the stars that signified yet another summer swell was coming their way.