This is an extremely short chapter and does not make up for my long absence, yes! :( I'm sorry huhuh but school's been especially hard this year, for some reason :( I know i said updates would be quicker; i miscalculated. I am so, so sorry.


III. the song of the rain


The ice crawls on her skin.

Immediately she retracts her fingertips. Juvia sighed as she watched the frost slowly melt, closing her hand into a fist. The cold bit her, the pain spreading throughout the entirety of the affected area. The fae frowned as tears began to form in her sapphire eyes.

The ice kingdom is everything she had ever imagined: beautiful and wonderful, shimmering and glimmering against the sunlight, but so very, very—

Bittersweet, she thought to herself.

She could hear the river flowing from behind her, the familiar sound of the water calming her senses, even if only for a while. The birds hummed their songs, a brilliant melody from the trees. Juvia closed her eyes.

Only one person was in her mind right now.

The man who froze the rain. The prince who ended the plague that followed her around ever since she was young. He ended her suffering. He made her feel so many emotions that she didn't even know existed—warm feelings, a stark contrast to the cold he emitted. She wanted to see him; wanted to feel his presence so desperately that she searched various terrains just to take in his alluring gray eyes, gentle smirk and breathtaking voice.

She felt the heat of the sun on her skin. Juvia basked in the sensation, trying to memorize the feeling as she breathed, recounting the days when the light of the sun was just a far-off dream that she would never be able to reach. Once upon a time, in the middle of a damp and lonely dessert, the rain woman thrived. The darkness was her sanctuary.

But today, the light forced her eyes open once more. Juvia tilted her head to the side, bringing her knees closer to her as she watched the large castle's structure shine. It stood in the middle of the kingdom, a towering, commanding force that dominated the entirety of the land. Everything she could see was frozen, from the trees to the lakes. From afar, Juvia could see murky chunks of ice called igloos, where the people of ice resided.

Joy had clouded her being when the beauty of the ice kingdom graced her desperate self. Finally, she had found the land he reigned. Finally, she would be able to see her Gray-sama once again.

There was only one problem:

she couldn't enter the kingdom itself.

Clenching her fists and burying her trim nails into her palms, Juvia willed herself not to cry. Try as she might, however—the young faerie was unsuccessful. Crystalline tears fell from her eyes, and underneath the shining sun she wept, her fingers meeting the soil as she bit her lip to keep from screaming. Ice, the element Gray manipulated, was dangerously beautiful. Ice itself was water, she thought in scorn, cursing underneath her breath. Ice was water solidified when subjected to the cold.

And Juvia herself was water.

"Gray-sama. . ."

"Juvia."

Immediately the faerie moved, readying her water whip in case of an enemy. How could she let her guard down in unfamiliar territory?

"It's me, Erza Scarlet."

Juvia narrowed her eyes, her whip still raised high as she eyed her surroundings warily. No wonder the voice was familiar; feminine, yet it held a sense of authority that Juvia knew should never be questioned. She turned towards the flowing waters, the medium of communication the captain used whenever Juvia was concerned. "Erza-san?" Juvia whispered, as if in disbelief. She calmed her breathing quickly, trying to look as if she hadn't just been bawling her eyes out a few seconds earlier. "Is something the matter?"

Erza's image was hazy. With a wave of Juvia's hand, the water dispersed and fused, forming a much clearer image of the scarlet haired captain. "Yes," Erza replied, nodding her head. Juvia steadied her stance. "We have an emergency."

"Enlighten Juvia."

"Do you know of a man named Gajeel Redfox?"

Juvia's eyes darkened, and she nodded. He was part of the past the faerie herself tried to avoid during a conversation. Once upon a time, she watched villages fall, blood dripping from the tips of the iron dragon slayer's fingers. Once upon a time, they had ruined lives and ripped wings from innocent men, and she allowed him to do so because it was what the master said was right. Once upon a time, he had been her best friend—her only friend.

"This man has taken Levy Mcgarden prisoner in exchange for Lucy Heartfilia." Juvia gasped inaudibly, but Erza caught her quick intake of breath. Levy—curious, little, fragile Levy—was taken captive by a ruthless dragon slayer. The water faerie's heart began to pound in her chest, signaling the beginnings of her worries for the safety of the small fae in the hands of Gajeel Redfox. "According to a source, you are the only one able to defeat him."

Memories flashed in Juvia's mind. A smirk. An impassive gaze. A hiss. A strike.

The burning of flesh.

"Juvia understands, she will head there as soon as possible." Her body momentarily became transparent as if to guarantee her statement. "Is there anything else you wish to add?" Erza shook her head. "Juvia is . . . very concerned for Levy-san's safety."

Erza opened her mouth to speak, but the captain caught a glimpse of a sparkle from behind Juvia. The water faerie's background was a shimmering white, a combination of frost, snow, and—

"Are you in the kingdom of ice?"

Hesitantly, Juvia shifted, her image solidifying. "Yes."

Erza's eyes softened sympathetically. Juvia looked away. "Then you know."

Pantherlily tilted his head to the side curiously, watching the captain's sudden change in demeanor. The captain's voice—which had been formal and on edge—had taken a gentler tone. For a moment, the captain wasn't the captain anymore, and her subordinate wasn't her subordinate anymore.

Juvia closed her eyes.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you."

Erza frowned at the pained look in Juvia's sapphire hues when they snapped open. "It's okay," Juvia said in a voice barely higher than a whisper. A faint smile graced her lips. "Juvia had a hunch anyway."

"The king's forces will meet you in Phantom Lord's base. We have prepared forces to aid you upon your arrival." Erza said stoicly, nodding. "Report back here once we retrieve Levy."

The water mage nodded, however when the words "Juvia will proceed to attack once she arrives. She doesn't need support," escaped her lips, the water faerie's image disappeared.

The exceed's brows furrowed in confusion. "Would it be rude of me to ask what the two of you were discussing regarding the ice kingdom?"

Erza sighed, placing her hands on her waist, shaking her head. " Juvia is. . . Complicated. I'm sure you've done your research on her. She was follow-"

"-followed by the rain ever since she was a young fae," Pantherlily interjected, frowning. "Yes, I did do some research on her. However," Erza nodded knowingly, urging him to continue, "I could see the sun shining in her area."

Erza smiled gently. "That's because her rain was frozen by the prince of the kingdom of ice, by my childhood friend, Prince Gray Fullbuster." Pantherlily nodded, urging her to continue. "Because of his heroic act, Juvia fell in love with him."

The exceed's eyes widened. "She's a water faerie, and he's the prince of the kingdom of ice." Pantherlily paused, absorbing the horror of the situation, "If she touches him. . .

"she'll freeze."

Erza spoke with admonition, but her gaze was not on Pantherlily.

"Faeries are generally weak against iron and fire, which is the reason why Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox, the slayer of which you speak of, are considered by many to be the strongest of their kind. The elements dragon slayers manipulate are on a different level from other creatures."

"But because the way Juvia was born was. . . Different," Pantherlily said in understanding, "she became immune to all the elements the dragon slayers are able to control."

"That's why she could defeat Gajeel, then," Erza finished, and the exceed nodded in agreement. "I seriously hope she'll be able to do it the second time around."

"Water rusts iron. It should be no problem for her to finish him off again."


From inside her cell, Levy could hear the faint sound of rain.

Her fingers were still shaking with fear. Sitting inside the cold, damp cell was doing nothing to ease the rapid pounding of her heart inside her chest. Levy reveled in the sound of dripping water, desperately trying to calm her breathing. She wasn't alone anymore.

Juvia was in Phantom.

Her presence was a soft, gentle aura that Levy loved. Juvia and Erza's smiles were rare (she was so used to seeing the both of them wearing emotionless masks, their eyes dark with the burden of war), but whenever their lips stretched at the edges and they laughed—the faerie would feel her heart soar.

Levy looked at her hands, trying to make the figures out in the darkness. "If only I had light," she whispered, her lids fluttering close as she leaned against the stone wall of the cell. "Light. . ."

A bright yellow glow swallowed the darkness.


He heard her before he saw her.

Gajeel grit his teeth, leaning against a pillar. He was positioned underneath Phantom's headquarters, cursing the rain that pounded on the pavement. Its presence successfully protected the rain woman from his grasp.

"And what're ya' doin' here?"

The water faerie stood still, her beautiful features as cold as stone as she stared the dragon slayer down. She was clutching the stem of a large, pink flower, shielding herself from the rain she herself created.

"Juvia knows you have her friend captive."

He could hear her coming closer, her boots echoing as she approached. She was a fair faerie—her battles with him were always under a roof—she knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he stepped out to bathe in her rain.

He hated her for it. He didn't like being pitied.

Gajeel sneered, revealing a pair of sharp fangs that gleamed, his scarlet eyes daring Juvia to fight. "Ya' think I hold anyone captive, rain woman?" Juvia's eyes narrowed dangerously. Gajeel knew the faerie loathed the nickname with a burning passion. "How are you so sure she isn't dead yet?"

"Gajeel-kun will die by Juvia's hands if Levy-san is dead."

"Tch, ya' can't defeat me this time," Gajeel said, rolling his eyes. "I've been doing a lot of training while you've been frolicking about with that prince you will never be able to touch."

He knew so much about her. She knew of his childhood—how he was abandoned, left alone in the wilderness to die by his very own father. He knew of her tears—her hatred for the rain that never went away.

They were both broken.

One was so close to being whole once more.

The other was still shattered beyond his core.

He trusted her, and she left him alone in Phantom for some kid who had been able to halt the gray clouds that caused her misery. She was one of the only people who knew his secrets, his weaknesses—him.

She was his best friend.

Today, they stand in front of each other as enemies.

"No matter how much training you do, Gajeel-kun, you will never be able to defy how Juvia was born. How you were born. You can't touch Juvia's rain. You will never be able to touch Juvia."

"That's what you say." Juvia's eyes dilated as the iron dragon slayer struck, his arm transforming into a beam.

"you forget that Juvia is made of wa—"

The scream that erupted from her throat was sudden, and for the first time since her fight with Gray, her body met the ground.

The satisfied tone Gajeel's voice took mocked her, and Juvia stood up slowly, clutching her left side—her area of weakness. "Surprised, Juvia?" He cackled at her glaring figure, questioning the sudden shift in his abilities.

"This isn't iron," he flicked the beam, the weapon turning back into his hand. "It's steel."

"Steel will still rust underneath my rain, Gajeel-kun," the water faerie said haughtily, her eye twitching.

"But we're not underneath your rain, right?" He glared daggers at her. "The rain you claimed to hate."

"And who's to say I can't drag you under my territory?"

"Ya' think that conscience of yours would allow you to do that?" Gajeel responded, smirking. Juvia stared at him blankly, at a loss for words. "Thought so."

Juvia grit her teeth. This is going to be harder than she thought. "Gajeel-kun," she started, looking at the man she had called her brother. "You are better than this. It's not too late. We can—Please—"

A searing pain blooms at her waist. "Rain woman," he spat harshlyShe fell to the ground a second time. Juvia sputtered a cough, and the taste of blood fills her tongue. Without giving her the chance to breathe, her pale form was dragged over the pavement, and Gajeel heaved her underneath the building, where the stone walls kept her dreary rain away.

Scarlet eyes met sapphire hues.

"I am nothing like you."