A/N~ Yay new laptop that is MINE! I'm so excited, especially because I get to update whenever I have time and not have to wait to borrow someone else's! Oh, I just realized how much of an idiot I am. The Elizabethan era had been in the late 1500 s, early 1600 s. I mistaked Queen Elizabeth I with Queen Victoria. So, excuse my errors from earlier on.

This story is set in the Victorian era.

WARNING! VIVID DEATH SCENE!

Mira

"Miss Loxar? Miss Loxar!" Mira ran through the house looking for her mistress who was nowhere to be found.

"Lluvia? Please! Where are you?" She sat down on a rocking chair with tears in her eyes, blurring out the offensive cursive on the sheet of paper she gripped.

Dear Mirajane (or whoever else is reading this),

I'm sorry, so very sorry, but I had to do this.

Life is not good to me; it is much worse than many could even imagine. I cannot deal with it anymore. I am but a wallflower, I only go out to please others. I know Grayson has no love for me, perhaps a mere friendship. But that is not enough. I am thrilled to have been able to see my brother for one last time before I go...

Please, do not mourn for me. This is where I want to be. I will miss my friends but now I will see mama and papa. Do not go looking for me, you will not like the results.

Goodbye until I see you in the next world,

Lluvia Fernandes Loxar

PS, I approve of Gerard courting Erza Scarlet, she is a wonderful woman

Why had she done it? How could she have done it! Lluvia was just a young debutante, not some spinster. Death should not have been on her mind!

It made no sense to her and Mira had no idea how to bring up the suicide of his sister to Gerard. He was so peaceful, snoring softly in his room. How would he respond to the situation? Lluvia had written her will on the back of the paper and explained her method of death.

They will mostly likely find my body soon. I believe a dive from the Brooklyn Bridge into the water below should be a nice way to die; I love the water, you see.

Poor Gerard... Poor her. Mira loved Lluvia like a sister. Even as a daughter, though they were close in age.

Mira could not keep the image of Lluvia face down in the water out of her mind. Would there be blood? Would you even be able to tell it was the young Miss Loxar? Was it her fault? Maybe if she had not been so afraid to tell the police what Mr. Loxar was doing to his niece she would still be here.

Living. Breathing. Alive.

Mira let her head drop into her lap as the tears ran down her face. She prayed that her mistress was still alive, though in her mind she knew Lluvia was gone.

She allowed herself ten minutes to sob before getting up to go into the Loxar stable. Mira had worked for Mister Loxar for most of her life. Her father, mother, and sister had died in California during an earthquake and her brother was a general in the United States Army and she hadn't seen him in over ten years.

When she finally reached the warm, bitter-sweet smelling barn, Mira selected a gray mare named Sugar Cube. She fine combed the mare's fur and hummed softly as she debated going bare-back or using a saddle. Mira chose to be more lady-like and buckled a soft leather saddle on Sugar Cube, petting the sides of her face before mounting side-saddle.

When she was a kid in California, her family owned a large, hundred acre farm. They grew potatoes and a few patches of tobacco, but mostly they sold butter, milk, and eggs from their live stock. Most of their food came from gardens and grain bought in weren't rich but they weren't poor. She had some fancy dresses for church and socials and a wonderful room to herself, but what she missed the most from that part of her life was the freedom.

Mira had once been able to ride bare-back astride, her hair loose like a mane flowing at the great speeds she could make her horse go. She missed being a farmer's daughter. The chickens were her favorite and picking potatoes were her least.

What she worried about now, however, was what she was going to do next. Mira didn't know if her assistance would still be needed after her mistress died. She left the yard and rode her horse to the Heartfilia household, praying that Lucy was there.

Lucy

Something did not seem quite right that morning. It was New Years day and Lucy was sure that all but she were nursing their drunken heads.

Yet she felt that something was terribly wrong. She didn't know what it was but she wanted to.

Lucy sat up in her bed and stretched out the kinks in her muscles, smiling in satisfaction at each little pop. It wasn't very lady-like but she didn't care. She picked up a little bell from her bedside table and shook it three times before putting it back, waiting for a servant to come serve her every whim.

Who she didn't expect, however, to burst through her bedroom door was Lluvia's maid, Mira. Shyness overtook Lucy as she pulled her blanket up over her chemise.

Mira was hysterical to put it lightly. Her gown was disheveled and her hair was tangled. Without asking, she plopped down on Lucy's settee and began to sob.

"I don't know what to do! I have nowhere to go." Mira wailed.

"Um, there there. What happened?" and why did you choose me? Lucy added snidely to herself. She didn't want Lluvia's maid to be here. All she wanted was the newspaper so she could see what was going on.

In exchange for a handkerchief, Mira handed Lucy Lluvia's suicide letter. Lucy read it over three times before blinking hard.

"I don't know what to do, Miss Heartfilia. Please help me." A few moments after Mira's plea, one of the Heartfilia's servants came in, ignoring Mira.

"What is it that you need, madam?" he asked, taking in the room and the girl that sobbed on the settee.

"A paper, please. And send my father in. Miss Mira has had a hard day and she needs a place to stay." Mira could not believe her ears. Was this to be a new job or was she going to actually have a home?

"As you wish." The servant left and Lucy beckoned Mira over to sit on her bed.

"I know how close you were to Lluvia and I know how nasty I was to her. I feel horrible about what has gone on. Please stay, we have more than enough rooms to hold you and our yard is perfect for horseback riding, five acres in Brooklyn!" Lucy smiled and let the blanket fall, not longer nervous about the ordeal.

"I'm not asking you to be a servant if that's what you're wondering. I'm inviting you to stay as my guest. Besides, I know of the googly eyes you and Natsu have been exchanging. I want to be friends before I can approve of you." Lucy winked and Mira's jaw dropped.

Where had this good fortune come from?

Gerard

"Sister, sister?" Gerard had finally woken up and was a tad cranky, given how many drinks he had last night and the fact that Erza was so stubborn.

"Hermana? Marica!" (Sister? Sis!) A force of habit that both he and his sister shared was speaking in their native tongue when upset.

He walked downstairs in a long robe and rubbed his eyes. Where was she?

Usually after a few rounds of screaming "marica", Lluvia would come running. Something wasn't right.

Gerard checked all the downstairs rooms before taking the stairs two at a time to reach Lluvia's bedroom. He still was not used to the time change. In Seville, it was ten o'clock at night, here, it was four in the afternoon. Gerard was drowsy but his "twinstinct" kept him on wide alert. He couldn't "sense her" like he could before.

Her room was empty, her closet still contained the majority of her gowns. But one that he knew all too well was missing.

The dark, navy blue gown with black lace was gone. He remembered the dramatic affect it had against her pale skin and how the huge, flowing skirt, swallowed her hips and legs.

It was the gown from their mother's funeral, the last straw before Lluvia was sent to live with their uncle.

Where would she wear the ornate dress?

Suddenly, Gerard knew. He could not believe it. No.

He ran from the house to where Milliana lived. He knew Erza would most likely be there and could help him find the nearest bridge with water underneath.

As kids, when Lluvia would get picked on and called "llorica" (crybaby), she would run to Gerard and cry into his shoulder. She told him of her plans to kill herself, ones that were always dramatic and featured water.

XxX

Reaching for the doorknob, he heard a baby crying. Gerard was nowhere near out of breath even though the sprint had been over a mile or two. He still paused though before knocking.

"Hello?" He heard Milliana scream before she said, "You may come in."

Opening the door, he was amazed at how different the place was without hundreds of guests.

Milliana sat on the sofa with a baby to her breast. The tiny thing was suckling and sobbing at the same time, something was wrong with it.

Gerard walked slowly over and held his arms out for the baby. Milliana gave him a curious look, judging him. She sighed before handing off the baby. He had somehow gotten her trust from just standing before her.

"I don't recall your name, though your face and hair are familiar." She said and fixed her dress, showing no shame over being caught breastfeeding. A strange woman, she was.

Gerard cooed to the baby, speaking nonsense Spanish to him. "My name is Gerard Fernandez, Lluvia's brother." He inspected the baby and frowned. "May I?" he asked and lifted the baby's dress slightly. "I think I know what is wrong."

With an enthusiastic nod from Milliana, Gerard pulled off the baby's dress and sighed. His spine was bent upward and he was having mild muscle spasms. Gerard moved the baby's cloth from over his umbilical cord and nearly puked.

The stub was infected.

"Milliana, he has neonatal tetanus. You cut his umbilical cord with an unsterile object. First, we need to bring him to a doctor. The stub can be removed but we need to hurry, the infection probably already spread. If so... Your baby might not live."

The work "shocked" would be a terrible understatement. Milliana already had tears in her eyes as she grabbed hers and her baby's coat.

"His name is William." She told Gerard as they rushed to Bellevue, the baby crying all the way.

Five hours in the emergency room later, the baby was doing fine. William was doing well and healing quickly.

"I thought I had done everything right. Thank you, thank you so much Mr. Loxar!" The last name slipped from her mouth and Gerard grimaced.

"Fernandes. Please." He answered as Milliana hugged him tight. Gerard slowly patted her back. "Please, can you tell me. Are there any big bridges around here?"

"Yes, the Brooklyn bridge is about five miles away. Why?-" Gerard was out of Bellevue Hospital Center before she finished her sentence.

So many ladies were staring as his long legs flew underneath him, clearly impressed at his fast pace and the ability to keep it up. In Spain, no one in Seville drove or road bikes. Most of the transporting animals were donkeys or mules and even those were scarce.

Running and walking were skills learned before sitting up in Seville.

Five miles was pushing himself but finally, and slightly out of breath, he saw the bridge. And the commotion around it.

Gerard knew he was too late but he still kept running until he could see Lluvia's body facedown on the street. The gown was soaked and her hair ran long and unbound down her back. Tears were falling down his cheek as he scream. The sound was eery but he kept screaming until he had to stop because he was breathing too hard.

When he finally was able to talk, his voice was cracking.

"Sir, please. How did she die?" Gerard asked the closest police officer.

"She jumped from the bridge and dived face-first into the rocks before her body hit the water. It was quick. I am sorry for your loss." The man answered him, staring at the ground.

"Que que que?"... He muttered. Why why why? "Que, llorica?" Why, crybaby? Why would you do this, Lluvia?

He went to his knees and pulled her lifeless body to him and moaned. The majority of her beautiful face was a bloody, gory mess. Gerard couldn't even close her eyes because the skin was peeling away and her left eye was... Gone.

One of New York's finest, most mysterious, debutantes was dead.

But more importantly, Gerard's second half was gone and he felt the most peculiar absence in his chest. He felt so alone.

He sobbed into his sister's hair and let out another scream, the bystanders staring at him as they were held back by police officers.

"Que, llorica?" He screamed louder, the pain too much to bear. He could have stopped this. He should have. He had been able to, right? Maybe if he hadn't saved that baby's life...

But he knew, deep down in his heart, that nothing could stop Lluvia from doing this. Gerard couldn't help but feel pure, sickening dread as he picked his sister up, ignoring the calls from the police.

Her weight was nothing, even in the dress that probably added sixty extra pounds. Gerard cried the whole walk home and ignored the looks he received. He cradled her body to him in a tight embrace and stroked her hair, pulling his overcoat off to cover what was left of her face.

When he entered the entryway, his uncle took one look at him before his face burned up. Gerard glared and carried her upstairs, calling a maid to help him undress and dry her body off.

Lluvia looked like she was sleeping. A dark veil covered her face and the new gown was a pale blue damask. Her hair was braided and bound tightly to her scalp. Gerard kissed what was left of his sister's cheeks before walking downstairs.

A/N~ Wow, long chapter, eh? I enjoyed writing it. All the locations, and disease, are true.

I have a question for all of you~ If you want, I can start putting up pictures of the gowns that inspired the ones in this story on my homepage. Please review =D