Chapter 1


Four seasons had passed when Lucy's sixth letter arrived at the guild, tied to the feet of a grey messenger pigeon.

It was summer again, and the memories of spilt vanilla latte and tearful farewells had returned to haunt Juvia's dreams. She had been away on a mission when Lucy's letter had come, and had thus missed the stir and disappointments it had brought along. The strange look that crossed Levy's face three days later as Juvia questioned her about the contents of the letter made her wish that she had not asked Levy anything at all. But most of all, it told Juvia exactly what the letter had said.

"They can't make it for Christmas." Levy said, her voice hollow and adorned with a dangerous edge. "Or before or after that. Again." Juvia watched her ball her trembling palms on her skirt and sighed as her thoughts were confirmed.

Team Nastu was not joining the guild for an extravagant celebration that Christmas as was previously promised. They would be away for another winter and probably many more.

"It's not fair." Levy spoke again, her anger seeping into her voice. "Lucy promised."

Juvia fiddled with her hair and hummed weakly, unsure of how to comfort Levy. She understood that Levy was upset with Team Natsu for all their broken promises, but whether or not Levy was justified in feeling betrayed, she was not certain.

"I just wish that she would just come by, you know? Not to see me, but to see Bee and Benji. Or am I wishing for too much?" Levy continued, gripping her skirt tightly.

"No. Juvia supposes you are not." Juvia said, laying her head on the table, closing her eyes briefly. She could not pretend as if she had not wished for Gray to come by sometime as well. She often wondered if and how things would have been for her if it weren't for that fateful night. All Juvia wanted was some clarity on where they stood. Damaged relationships were hard to fix; damaged relationships between damaged people were worse.

She missed Lucy as well. On some days, as Juvia passed the building where Lucy had been a tenant, she would stare into the window, hoping for a glance of the familiar blonde head and brown eyes. Until a few weeks before, the apartment had been unoccupied. But when Juvia had looked through the window that morning, she had seen an unfamiliar figure moving about with cardboard boxes. That was how Juvia had come to understand that Lucy's primary assumption about the duration of the quest had been proven wrong and that she had terminated her lease agreement with her landlady.

She was not alone in feeling the absence of Team Natsu; the entire guild was affected, especially with the lack of Wendy's medical expertise. The sweet sky dragon slayer had been more than kind to all her guild mates, patching up their wounds and injuries and healing their sicknesses without any complaints.

And of course, without Natsu, the days at the guild were becoming increasingly quieter with fewer brawls and arguments.

Her sad reverie was cut short by a tiny fist tugging at her skirt.

"Uuuuuuuuuu!"

Juvia and Levy simultaneously looked down to see Beatrice Redfox flashing Juvia a toothy grin, raising her arms up for Juvia to pick her up. "Hey Bee!" Juvia smiled, lifting the child onto her lap. "What are you up to?"

"Owaahuuwoo!"

"That sounds fun!" Juvia cheered, rubbing her nose with the toddler's button nose.

Levy burst out laughing at Juvia's attempt at conversing with Beatrice, oblivious to Gajeel approaching her from behind.

"Well, if it isn't all my favourite ladies." Gajeel guffawed, stooping low and placing a kiss on Levy's cheek and ruffling both Beatrice's and Juvia's hair.

"Now, could ya take this little guy of my back?" Gajeel faked tiredness and found himself smiling as Levy stuck her tongue out at him and took Benjamin Redfox off his shoulders and onto her lap.

The twins having found each other, descended into an exchange of excited sounds that left the three adults laughing.

As Gajeel settled next to Levy and the warmth of the moment grew on them, Levy found herself staring at Juvia's joyous expressions and efforts to join the siblings in their conversation. In the moment that followed, Levy's heart ached for Juvia and her solitude. But it was soon replaced with scathing fury towards Gray and his lack of humanity showcased very well by the lack of any form of communication from his side towards Juvia.

"Calm down, Shrimp." Gajeel whispered in her ear, feeling her body tense up against his.

Composing herself, Levy rested her head on Gajeel's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She mumbled under her breath, overpowered by the intensity of the knowledge that she had Gajeel by her side, through thick and thin.

Gajeel turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow, sighed, and buried his nose into her light blue hair. In the few minutes that he remained still with Levy in his arms, a comfortable silence enveloped them.

Gajeel soon focused on little Bee who was now comfortably asleep on Juvia's lap. Shifting his gaze to Benji, he noticed that he too was turning drowsy, his lids slowly closing.

"Alright." Gajeel remarked and glanced at Levy and then at Juvia. "I think it's time to get the kids home." He pointed at Benji and Bee and Levy nodded.

"Truly. It's been a long day." Levy agreed, carefully getting up with Benji's head on her shoulders taking care to not wake him.

Juvia stood up with Bee's head resting on her nape. Gajeel gently picked Bee from Juvia's arms and put her across his shoulder, just as Levy had done with Benji.

"See ya later, rain woman!" Gajeel called over his free shoulder as he began moving towards the doors of the guild.

"Bye Juvia! Do come by sometime." Levy smiled and followed suit, tailing after Gajeel.

"Bye Gajeel, Levy." Juvia waved them off and sat back onto her bench. Her shoulders slumped now that she was alone again. She hated it.

After the previous summer, Juvia had gotten closer to a few people; Levy was one of them. Her friendships with Cana and Lisanna had strengthened and she surprisingly got along well with Evergreen as well. In the meantime, she had also accompanied Freed on a few missions and managed to work along with Lyon and Jura from Lamia Scale under special instructions from Gildarts. During the past year, Meredy had become a frequent visitor at her house ultimately dragging Jellal along with her.

Juvia had indeed tried to keep herself occupied. She made sure that she balanced her work and her private life. She often baby-sat for Bee and Benji and occasionally for Asuka and her little sister Mouline. She was volunteering at Magnolia's orphanage alongside Cana, teaching the children basic math. She was even baking on her free weekends, supplying her friends at the guild with delicious chocolate treats. And yet, none of it was enough to keep her mind occupied. The silence of night and of a quiet moment were Juvia's strongest foes.

In the midst of her internal struggle, a cup of chilled vanilla latte was placed in front of her. Surprised, Juvia turned around to be greeted by Kinana's cheery smile. "It's on the house." She whispered and winked, before sitting down with Juvia.

"Kinana!"Juvia was taken aback by the gesture, but thoroughly touched. She smiled, gripping the cup with both her hands. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it!" Kinana smiled politely. "You looked like you could use some company."

Juvia nodded in agreement, taking a sip of the refreshing drink in her hand and welcoming its taste.

"I know what it feels like."

Kinana broke the peace, peering into Juvia's eyes as Juvia turned to look at Kinana, not understanding what she meant.

"Pardon?" Juvia rasied an eyebrow, setting her cup aside.

"I meant to say that I understand how you feel." Kinana clarified her first statement, her cheeks turning red. There was something about her expression that told Juvia that she was not comfortable sharing this information. But before Juvia could say a word, Kinana continued.

"Back when I found out about Erik and got my memories back, I- I thought things were finally going to be alright for us." She began, looking around to make sure no one else was listening.

"But I was wrong. The council took him away and I didn't even have a chance to talk to him."

Juvia stared at Kinana as she kept talking, her voice turning hoarser and eyes moist.

"And I couldn't talk to him for another year and a half until the threat of Tartarus came about. And though things have certainly picked up since then, that one and a half year of not being able to see him or just hear his voice was torture. Especially because there were so many things that I was unaware of, things that he knew and only he could tell me. I had no closure Juvia, though it was what I needed the most."

She paused long enough to compose herself before continuing.

"My point is that it's okay for you to feel this way. But know that it's not the end. You will find the answers you need."

Kinana gave a small smile as she stood up and brushed her apron. "I'll be off to the bar now. But if you need to talk, I'm right here."

As Kinana began to walk away, Juvia felt a tide of gratitude surge through her.

"Kinana!" She yelled out, causing a few heads to turn.

"Thank you!"

Kinana turned back and shrugged. "What are friends for?"

Juvia smiled, her smile reaching her eyes for the first time in many weeks.


In hindsight, Juvia could not imagine any reasons as to why Master Gildarts would want to see her. It couldn't be about the quest that she had recently completed; it had been successfully completed and she had taken precaution to ensure that private properties hadn't been destroyed. She had also submitted a detailed report of her mission and had received Gildart's approval for the same. Everything regarding the previous job had been completed and filed and put away. She was certain.

Nevertheless, she patiently waited outside the doors to his office in anticipation. She had been lazily laying on her bed listening to her favourite instrumentals when Jet had come to her door with a 'classified' message from Gildarts. The paper by itself was nothing special; just a spare piece of white paper folded and sealed with the word 'classified' sprawled on it in red ink. What made the paper special was the enchantment used for sealing; the seal would only break at sensing Juvia's magic on it.

Juvia had, of course, been surprised by the delivery. As soon as she had touched the paper, the seal had broken, revealing the simple phrase inside, which read: 'URGENT; Meet me at the guild IMMEDIATELY.' The letter had further been signed by Gildarts.

It was the urgency of the unknown situation that had Juvia stressed as she waited outside Gildart's office. She had run out of her house in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt with her hair in a ponytail, not bothering to change into her usual choice of outfit which consisted of her deep-blue slitted skirt, green corset, her blue and white coat and her beanie. She regretted not having changed, realising that she would have felt so much more comfortable in her daily clothes at the guild.

Juvia glanced at the heavy teak double doors that remained shut though she had knocked once. She knocked again.

This time there was a reply.

"If you're Juvia, come in. If you're someone else, come back in another hour."

Juvia gulped, nervousness and curiosity getting the best of her. She steeled herself and pushed the doors open. She was greeted by the view of the office and Gildarts sitting on a chair behind the dark brown table, seemingly buried in paperwork.

She gently shut the door and took a couple steps towards the table.

"You wanted to meet Juvia, Master?"

Gildarts whipped his head up and then suddenly thrust his face forward and back again. He smiled.

"Juvia! I like your new style!"'

"Huh?" Juvia was a little taken aback by his comment. She wished she would have changed before coming. She decided it was best to not reply, but to get to the topic.

"Did Juvia make a mistake?"

"Oh no!" Gildarts rose from his seat, moving to the centre of the table, blocking it from Juvia's view. "It's all very nice. But maybe you could wear tank tops instead. Don't you think it's too hot for other clothes?" He stood with his arms crossed, appearing very pleased with himself.

Juvia stood in her spot and stared at Gildarts till he realised his mistake.

"Oh." He gasped, awkwardly scratching his head. "You meant the quest."

"Yes. Juvia did." She replied curtly, trying her best to keep her irritation out of her voice.

"You did well with the previous quest. I didn't call you with regard to it." He went back to his chair and sat down. "Take a seat, Juvia." He pointed to one of the two cushioned chairs at his table and motioned for her to sit. As she moved forward and settled into her seat, Gildarts began to speak.

"I called you because I wanted to discuss a prospective mission with you."

"A prospective mission?" Juvia questioned, blinking.

"Yes. That means that you can either accept or turn down the mission."

Juvia let the information sink in slowly. She liked the condition.

"Now Juvia, listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you." Gildarts placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Have you heard of the country of Phiri?"

Juvia searched her memories before shaking her head in denial.

Gildarts pursed his lips, a grave expression placing itself on his face. "Phiri is a large island country atleast 20 days of travel away from Fiore. The country is bigger than Fiore and belongs to the continent of Narasa.

"Phiri is currently ruled by their queen, Queen Mazha of the royal family of De Luna. Her grandson is about to take over soon as her heir. But what is interesting about the Kingdom is its population of mages. 20 percent of their citizens are magic users. That's double of Fiore's rate. Even more interesting however, are the legends of Phiri.

"The people of Phiri believe that at the time of the creation of Earthland, the Gods joined forces with the Dragons and the Demons to make a land so beautiful that it would be an object of envy to anyone that saw it. But the help of the Dragons and the Demons came at a price. They asked that they be allowed to share the space of the Gods on Earthland. Without another choice, the Gods agreed. At the end of the creation Earthland, each God, Dragon and Demon went to live in their new space. The God, Dragon and Demon of water went to live in the ocean. But soon war broke out between all the Gods, Dragons and Demons because they were not supposed to exist together. There was much gore and destruction. But the entities of water refused to partake in the war. In the course of their shared living, they had realised that harmonious existence was possible. And so, to put an end to the meaningless war, the entities of water rose from the ocean and combined their powers to defeat the reckless armies. The union of the water magic of the God, Dragon and Demon was so powerful that after the armies had been defeated, the seas couldn't contain it. The seas exploded with the water magic and half the magic rose to the sky. The magic that reached the sky took the form of clouds.

"It is also believed that the entities of water-or as the people of Phiri calls them, the Water Trinity-, made the clouds to break into rain as a reminder of the wonders that can be achieved together as well as of the violence that took place.

"Another interesting fact is that the De Luna family was made the royal family, or at least the rulers of the times, after a water mage was born in that bloodline more than a 1000 years ago. That child was considered blessed by the Water Trinity because this child was the first person in Phiri to be born with water magic. And since then, the right to rule has been with the De Luna family."

Juvia sat in awe as Gildarts finished his story. She felt sorry for not having known anything about a country that valued water magic so much. Gildarts continued talking.

"But that's enough about their history and rulers. I'll get to the crux of the matter. Just like every other place, Phiri is dependent on the rain for fresh water. However, their dependency works on a spiritual level as well. People of Phiri believe that an absence of rain is a punishment for sin. And unfortunately, it hasn't rained in Phiri for the last four and a half years."

Juvia's hands flew to her mouth in shock. The country was in drought.

"They've managed till now without significant damage, but it won't last. Their freshwater sources are going dry and their ground water levels are fast depleting. They need the rain. And they need it fast.

"They've tried everything that they thought was possible; they've had prayers and rituals, they've tried combining magic, they've tried artificial rain. Nothing has worked so far.

"In desperation, they sent palace officials to every country in every continent. That's how they heard of you. And now, they have specially requested for your services in their country, to at least try once."

Juvia's eyes widened in surprise. Never had she thought that a day would come when her biggest enemy, her rain, would be seen as useful.

"There is no other given information. But they have promised their wholehearted help. And they have also informed that you may lead a team of a maximum of ten mages for their help. Each of your travel and accommodation will be taken care of by the kingdom along with any other need that may arise, including any necessary protection. Furthermore, each of you on the quest will be paid a million Phireas as remuneration for successful completion. If you try and fail, you will receive a quarter million Phireas. A million Phireas, Juvia, is one and a half million Jewels."

Juvia was certain that her head was spinning. One rule of quests was that the money would be proportionate to the danger involved or the importance of the quest. If she accepted this quest. She was taking up a big challenge, playing with the lives of the civilians of an entire country. If she took up this quest, she had to succeed.

"Now," Gildarts continued, not having finished, "I personally think that you should give this a try. And I'm not speaking as your guild master." He smiled, causing creases at corners of his eyes. "I'm speaking as a man in love with wandering. You're a very young girl Juvia, and there is so much of the world to be explored and so much to learn everywhere. Even if this quest is not successful, imagine the amount of exposure you would gain!

"You will be travelling across to another continent and country and will be learning so many more things about water magic and its history. You will be able to grow stronger and wiser. But most of all, you will be able to feel the thrill of travelling! Grab the world, Juvia!"

Juvia considered Gildart's words carefully. He did have a very valid point. Regardless of the difficulty of the mission, she only had things to gain. She would be leading a quest on specific request. She had not led a quest till then. Right now, she had an opportunity and it was an opportunity to shine. She let that thought fill her.

Gildarts spoke again, momentarily interrupting Juvia's thoughts.

"And Juvia, it may not be my business but I think this quest will be a good distraction for you." He scratched his head again and gave her a lopsided smile. "I don't know the scene with Gray, but I think this will help you to put things into a better perspective. You know? To calmly think about what you really want and what you really need."

Juvia stood still, taking in what he said.

She sighed. She knew he was right.

She needed a fresh perspective.

"I'll do it." Juvia said, deciding that she would not come to a different conclusion no matter how hard or long she thought on the lines of the quest.

"Are you sure?" Gildarts questioned, a genuine smile crossing his face.

"Juvia is certain."


It had taken her the entire day to put together a team, but she had finally done it. And she couldn't have been more satisfied. Juvia stood tall and proud. 'My quest.', she thought as she held the file that had all the information that she needed close to her chest. She glanced at the table where Gajeel, Panther Lily, Lisanna and Cana were seated, having already started research for their quest. She watched as each of them flipped through pages of fat books, occasionally scribbling down notes on small chits of paper. They were still incomplete, but Jellal and Meredy would join them at sundown with more information about Phiri and its absent rain.

Gildarts had already given both his approval and his blessings to the team and had made the required arrangements for the group to leave at dawn on Saturday, which was two days away. Juvia was further informed that a representative of Phiri would join them at Hargeon port on Saturday with their tickets to the country.

Juvia smiled as she made way to the table where her team sat, carrying her papers and a tray of drinks. She couldn't wait for Saturday to roll around.

Little did she know of the turmoil two little days could make.


A/N: Hope you liked it! This is late, but I'm glad I could put it out here! So what do you think is going to happen in these two little days? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Special thanks to Martygruvialover, 9, mimigurl, Mrs. Guest, korpo2003, smilingsky and the unnamed guests who reviewed! You guys made me happy and kept me motivated! Thank you!

~ Ana