Hey there everyone! Welcome to my first ever multi-chapter fanfiction! I first intended this story to be a oneshot for my drabble collection, Love, Trust, and Fairy Dust, but I loved the idea so much that I decided to make it longer so I could have multiple pairings involved! Due to her rank in this particular AU, I eliminated Juvia's third-person speech, but otherwise have tried to keep her in character. Rated T for some language and mild innuendo in later chapters, but nothing too descriptive. Enjoy and, as always, please leave a review telling me what you've liked/not liked or any suggestions!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. Fairy Tail and all of its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
Prince Gray Fullbuster. What an odd name. The princess ran her fingers absentmindedly along the edge of her cloak, staring out the window of her carriage at the rain pouring down. The weather was about as cheerful as she felt. She glanced over at her companion. He sat across from her, burly arms folded across his bright blue tunic and covering the embroidered crest that marked him as a high knight of the kingdom of Oakton. His curiously red eyes regarded her with a coolness that would've frightened her had she not known the man since they had both been tiny things toddling about the castle and getting into all sorts of trouble. As it was, she knew that he was just as unhappy about this situation as she was, and he was just going about dealing with it as best he could.
"Have a lot on yer mind, Yer Highness?" he asked, shifting a bit in his seat. The past couple of years spent working the country nobles who came in to train as squires had turned the noble man's speech rough. The princess folded her hands neatly in her lap and tried her best to glare at him. From the smirk that pulled up the corner of his mouth, she doubted she did a very good job.
"You shall have to learn to speak the way you were raised when we reach the palace in Magnolia, Sir Redfox. Father would kill me if the marriage does not go as planned because King Silver thought we sent him a commoner to be my guard," she chided. The man waved a dismissing hand at her.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll deal with that when I need to. And what's all this 'Sir Redfox' stuff about? I've told ya before you can just call me Gajeel," he teased her.
"Perhaps you should also remember that it is not for you to be so familiar with the princess?"
Gajeel raised his eyebrows at her, the odd metal studs that replaced what ought to have been hair glinting in the soft light of the carriage. "Oh? Princess Juvia is gettin' all high and mighty now that she's off to get married, I see, even pulling rank on an old friend. Guess I'll watch myself better then, didn't realize so much had changed," he said, slumping against the back of his bench. Juvia sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Though the knight was her closest - and quite frankly, only - friend, he could still be difficult to deal with, even if she was trained in diplomacy.
"You're being difficult, Gajeel. This is nerve-wracking enough, I don't need for you to make it worse," she muttered. His expression softened.
"You're right. My apologies, your highness," he replied quietly, forcing himself to use the more formal speech. Juvia turned back to the window, her eyes tracing the path of a raindrop trailing down the glass. Oakton was known as the Kingdom of Rain, where there was always a drizzle that persisted even between downpours. She wondered if it would rain often in Fiore. She'd spent her whole life hating that constant precipitation, and now she was clinging to it the same way the raindrops clung to the windowpane. And, just like those raindrops, she was being pulled away off into the unknown. She was no stranger to feeling lonely, but she'd never before felt it so profoundly. Gajeel grunted, and Juvia glanced at him from the corner of her eyes without turning from the window.
"If you don't mind me saying so, your highness, you might as well sleep. It's a long journey to the palace and you looking mopey and tired when you arrive will do little to win the heart of Prince Gray," he suggested. Juvia closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, letting out a slow breath. The princess had no interest in winning the prince's heart. Marrying for love was for commoners. Prince Gray had been her betrothed since her birth, with the intention of uniting the two kingdoms. Oakton was much too small to function as its own country much longer, now that its borders had been chipped away by wars with Alvarez, the kingdom to the north. Her country needed union with the much larger kingdom of Fiore and the protection that came with it, and as their princess it was Juvia's duty to ensure that union happened, no matter the cost to her happiness.
Juvia's mouth quirked upwards at the thought. Her happiness had rarely been considered even in the palace. A princess's life was one of duty and obligation, the price one paid to live in the lap of luxury, but most did not realize this and even despised her for her comforts. Because of the country's nickname and her usually somber appearance, she had been dubbed by the servants of the castle as "the raincloud princess" and had avoided her just as one would avoid a thunderstorm. She'd grown up surrounded only by stern professors, somber and frightened maids, and the abrasive knight-in-training that now sat across from her, who for some reason had never seemed to mind her gloomy countenance. Had she not been betrothed she may have entertained the idea of the pair of them falling in love, the princess and her knight, but as matters were he was simply a friend and confidant. Truth be told, in her station even a true friend was a rare gift, not to be taken lightly. Romantic love was pointless for a princess.
No, Princess Juvia Lockser of Oakton did not need love. She did not even want it.
This chapter was a bit of an introduction- many more characters will be making an appearance in the next chapter. Stay tuned and happy reading!