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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or "The Ice Queen." :(
Chapter One
Roses
In a crowded, busy town where the air was polluted and the streets were filthy, where nobody cast a second glance at one another, where there was no time for "nonsense," two small children happily tended their "garden," ignorant of the true state of their village and anything else that went on in their world, due to their innocence and childish purity.
The "garden" was nothing but two large, cracked flower pots, each with a delicate rosebush planted inside. One rosebush was already fully blooming, with bright scarlet and golden blossoms radiantly standing out in contrast to the dull gray and brown hues of the village. The other rosebush, however, wasn't so blossoming. It was nothing but a minuscule green bud, barely poking its head above the dark soil.
She was holding a rusty watering can in her small, plump hands, humming a cheerful tune to herself. He was using a shovel to pat down the soil in the second flowerpot, brow furrowed in concentration.
"That's strange. We planted these at about the same time, but how come this one hasn't bloomed yet?" He asked, blowing strands of his windblown black hair out of his face. Although he wasn't smiling at the moment, his friendly dark eyes twinkled with youthful liveliness. It could be seen, from the small cut on his knee to the cookie crumbs on his shirt, that he was a playful, mischievous child with quite a lot of energy compared to the monotonous routines of his town.
"Don't worry, it'll bloom. I know it will. And when it does, it'll be even better than this one!" the girl beamed confidently, leaning forward to water the two plants. Her short, curly blue hair, which was unique in the village, was done in two braids, and her large blue eyes were shining with excitement. A smudge of dirt one of her rosy cheeks stood out in contrast to her otherwise porcelain face, and her oversized dress was thin and wrinkled, yet spotlessly clean.
"Gray! Juvia!" A voice called from inside the house. "Dinner's ready!" It was the boy's grandmother. Both children were orphans, due to a tragic accident which everybody seemed to either have forgotten or refuse to talk about. Being the kind, elderly woman that she was, Grandmother had raised the children by herself ever since.
The girl, Juvia, immediately set down her watering can and scurried toward the house. "Coming, Granny!" Gray smiled gently at her retreating figure, with a strangely wistful expression for such a young child, and then jumped up and followed her into the tiny cottage.
They raced to the slanted table with the patchy tablecloth, smelling the mouth watering aroma of Granny's hot soup. The white-haired woman beamed warmly at their two youthful faces, and prepared to ladle soup into their chipped bowls. Suddenly, she bent over with a hacking cough, face scrunched up with pain.
"Granny, are you alright?" Juvia asked. She did not understand why the old woman was holding a handkerchief up to her mouth. What were those crimson stains that appeared on the cloth? Their hue was even brighter than that of the red roses.
Granny finally straightened up and smiled weakly at them. "I'm fine, dear. Just a little tired. Now eat up, so we can all go to bed." Juvia turned her head and exchanged a confused glance with Gray, then, unable to resist the wonderful food Granny had worked so hard to cook, started to eat. It was, after all, the only meal they had that day.
At night, the children would lift themselves up onto their cozy little haystacks that were at opposite ends of the same room. After first crawling in with Granny in her bed while she read them a story, of course. It was always the same routine, yet it never became dull. Someday, life would change, but the children didn't know that.
"Ow!" It was yet another early morning. The leaves were turning red and falling to the ground, the air becoming chillier. Gray clamped a hand over his left eye, wincing.
"What happened?" Juvia inquired breathlessly. She was already exhausted from tending the rosebushes. Although it had grown out already, the second one bore not a single rose, something which constantly worried the two children.
"S-sorry, I'm fine," Gray muttered. Juvia narrowed her eyes. She knew him so well that it was glaringly obvious when he lied about anything. She was just about to protest when a startlingly frosty breeze blew across the garden. Snow started to fall from the sky.
Juvia frowned. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy snow. In fact, she loved catching the tiny cold flakes in her little hands. It was so beautiful to see the world covered in a blanket of soft white feathers. However, this snow was unnatural. On top of coming so early in the year-it was still autumn, after all-the coldness was not pleasant at all. It was biting, it was ominous, it was-it felt evil.
Juvia shivered, partly because of the temperature, partly because of her feeling that something was going to happen. "C'mon, it's getting cold. We should probably go back." She put her small hand on Gray's shoulder, when she noticed that he was standing still as a statue and staring intently at the rosebushes. The first one, which had always bore beautiful scarlet and golden roses, had completely withered. It was covered in icicles, and its former beauty had turned into crooked hideousness.
Juvia gasped, and felt tears spring into her eyes. She turned and looked at Gray to see his reaction. He was still holding up his hand and covering his face, but Juvia could see that his expression was oddly blank. He face was completely emotionless; it almost made him look like a different person.
"Gray." She shook his shoulder gently.
No response.
"Gray!" She repeated more sharply.
"…"
Suddenly, Gray slapped her hand away harshly. Juvia gasped; the boy had never been so rude to her. He had always been so kind and sweet to everyone, especially her.
"Gray! What-"
Without another word, the little boy took off into the swirling snow, which was becoming colder by the second. Reluctantly, Juvia followed after him.
"Oomph!" Slipping on the thin layer of frost that covered the streets, Juvia hit her chin on the hard pavement, watching helplessly as the little boy ran out of her side.
"GRAY! W-wait up!" She pushed herself back onto her feet and tried to chase after him again, but Gray stopped abruptly. Tentatively, she scurried up to him, ignoring the sharp sting of the bruise on her face, and peered into Gray's eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The boy she was best friends with had friendly dark eyes and a carefree smile. He would always wait for Juvia and respond to her, since she would do the same for him.
The boy who was in front of her now was sneering haughtily at her, malice glinting in his hateful eyes. After a moment, he turned around, and without a second glance at her, walked away.
Juvia stared after him in shocked silence. Then, she began to cry.
The little boy left his childhood friend behind him, making his way toward the center of the storm. Clearly visible, a harsh white light enveloped him, and a woman laughed. Her voice was soft and gentle, but with a hint of iciness beneath.
The Ice Queen embraced Gray Fullbuster, and then they were gone.
Thirteen years later:
Sparkling tears streamed down the young woman's face as she carefully laid the roses on the freshly dug grave. Granny had lived a long peaceful life, always being kind to those around her and never failing in spreading a smile on someone's grim face. Now, she was in a place where there was eternal happiness, so why was Juvia crying so hard?
"Juvia…find Gray…please…love you, Juvia…"
After the boy disappeared thirteen years ago, Juvia had returned home. When she told Granny about it, she expected the old woman to become furious, hit her, or maybe burst into tears and faint. Instead, she simply smiled. "He'll come back someday, Juvia."
Granny was old. Day by day, she grew weaker and sicker, so Juvia always stayed home and took care of her, resulting in isolation from the villagers. At first, she occasionally had time to wander outside the village boundaries to search for her friend, but never found him.
Eventually, though, even that became impossible, and Juvia dedicated her every waking moment to feeding Granny tasteless porridge and wiping it off her face when she coughed it back up, begging the town's indifferent doctor for some medicine, and stroking Granny's wrinkled, bony hand when the old woman was in pain.
Perhaps Gray was dead by now. After all, thirteen years had passed. And it would be Juvia's fault, for not searching for him enough, right?
Juvia walked down the streets, numbly thanking those villagers who offered her their empty, shallow condolences. This town…it didn't feel like her home anymore. She used to have a family, a loving, caring, warm family. But both of them were gone now. Juvia was all alone.
The girl roughly swiped the tears off her face, lips trembling silently. Just as Juvia was about to step back into the deteriorating shack, she paused and looked at the two flowerpots she had neglected, but couldn't bear to throw away.
The first pot, like before, was rusted and useless. However, in the second pot, the scraggly rosebush bore a single flower. It was pearly white, with a hint of ice-blue at the ends of the petals. Juvia bent down and stroked it. Cold…it was so cold. She set her mouth in a thin line; she knew what she was going to do now.
The young woman was tall and slim, with a cascading wavy azure hair. She had delicate, porcelain skin and midnight blue eyes framed thick lashes. Juvia was considered one of the most beautiful girls in the village, although she hardly took care of herself, being too occupied with Grany's sickness.
Juvia always wore the same outfit: a long, plain black dress. Now, she draped herself in a threadbare, dark blue shawl which had previously belonged to Granny, and slung an old knapsack over her back, in which she had carefully packed all of her few remaining belongings.
She turned around and gazed at the house one last time. Then she left the village in which she had been born in, determined to find Gray. But not before bending down, picking the rose, and slipping it into a tiny pocket in her bag.
Well, that's a wrap, peeps! Hope you liked it! :3
Please review, everyone, and stay tuned for Chapter 2! Thank you!
~Rikasa
