After visiting almost every shop town, Juvia was starting to believe she might have to borrow yet another outfit from the palace for tomorrow's party. She was annoyed at the attention Westly-san was showering her with, her feet hurt from walking non-stop since 8 a.m. and she still hadn't found a dress she liked. Plus, she wanted to know what Gray-sama was doing. Her mood was getting fowler by the minute, and she feared if things kept up, the rain was sure to come. Juvia wanted to pull her arm away from Westly-san, who had hooked it through his elbow and was covering her hand with his, but his hold was firm. This was further annoying Juvia, as people would most definitely assume she was this man's girlfriend. There was nothing wrong with that seeing as he was very handsome, and very wealthy, and apparently well liked by the town's people, but he wasn't Gray-sama.

"Ah, my dearest Juvia, we have finally arrived at the last, and best shop in town" Westly-san said, opening the door for her. She stepped inside quickly and took advantage of him releasing her arm to clasp her hands behind her. It really was the best and most elegant shop they had been to all day. It was lined with expensive clothes and shoes and jewelery that probably cost more than the entire guild, Juvia was sure. She walked around, admiring all the beautiful dresses. Dresses fit for queens, she sighed. Then she spotted that dress and she fell in love. She pulled it off the hanger and pressed it to her body. It was a beautiful, red velvet dress with capped sleeves, a slanted neckline, a ruched right side, and a slit on the left side that went up to just above the knee. She wanted this dress. Gray-sama would love this dress. The short, elderly shop owner walked over to her.

"Are you Juvia-sama from Fairy Tail?" he asked, peering into her face.

"Oh... why yes" she replied, still holding that dress. The elderly man looked at the garment in her hands and smiled toothlessly.

"Ah, Juvia-sama has excellent taste. This dress costs seven hundred and eighty thousand jewels" he said. The information almost made Juvia faint. "But for you, Juvia-sama, I will reduce the price to sixty-five thousand jewels and an autographed picture" he grinned. Juvia couldn't believe her luck! She immediately agreed. The old man stood next to her and the young lady who worked for him took their picture then took a picture with Juvia herself. Juvia didn't know Fairy Tail had made such an impact. She felt like Mirajane as she signed the pictures and thanked them for the dress.

"Very nice dress" Westly-san said, walking beside her. She was looking at the jewelry.

"Thank you. Juvia thinks so too" she replied, leaning down to look at a necklace. It was made of silver, and had two charms attached to it. Upon further inspection, Juvia realized it was actually two necklaces, each with its own charm, but together, they made one. It was a heart with a key embedded in it. She looked at the price, cringed a little, but handed over the money. She had enough left for one pair of shoes, which she chose in the color black, to match with her red dress.

"I believe we should be headed to The Waterfall Cuisine, what say you? It's already lunch time" Westly said, putting his hand on the small of her back and gently pushing her through the door. The driver of their carriage took her bags and put them away. Juvia felt like she was being sheppered, but didn't want to be rude. Instead, she listened politely to Westly-san's stories and did as she was told until they arrived at the five star restaurant. She really didn't want to be here. She wasn't made for the high life. She was already regretting spending so much money on shoes and a dress, and the necklace, too. But the necklace was special. She was helped out of the carriage by Westly-san who immediately linked her arm with his again. At the door, he was greeted as a revered and regular guest, and shown to his table immediately.

"Westly-san comes here often?" Juvia asked, looking around. Everyone here seemed to be wealthy.

"Yes, I come here at least twice a week" he said, opening the chair for her. She thanked him and sat down. When Westly sat across from her, a waiter came to take their drink order. "Give me the regular, Antony, and bring the lady your best champagne" Westly-san said. Juvia bristled. How dare he order for her? She didn't even drink! But, he was paying for her meal so she kept quiet. She looked at the menu and almost choked. The prices were ridiculously high. She didn't even know what half of the items on the menu were or how to pronounce them. The waiter arrived with their drinks, and just then, someone called out to them.

"Nii-san! Juvia-chan!" she said. It was Saori-san, clinging to the arm of a very bored looking Gray, whose hands were stuffed in his pockets. They were surrounded by at least five other males and females.

"Nee-san! Fancy meeting you here! Come, join us" Westly said. Saori-san and her guests gathered round, and the waiters quickly joined tables and added chairs for everyone to sit. As fate would have it, and to add to Juvia's distress, Saori sat down next to Gray, right across from the water mage. She had a perfect view of them. She hated the way Saori was practically throwing herself at Gray. How her friends giggled like idiotic school girls at whatever Westly and Gray said. She hated how Saori would lightly tap Gray-sama's thigh every now and then. Gray-sama looked at Juvia and shrugged as if to say: oh well. What she also hated was how Westly-san kept holding her hand, and how he leaned in to her to whisper things in her ear. Things that didn't even have to be whispered. She suspected he just wanted a reason to be close to her. It was starting to make her feel sick.

Lunch passed by slower than Juvia would have hoped. She had a headache and she just wanted to leave. The food had been ok, but nothing compared to Mirajane's cooking. The inceasant fliritng by Westly-san and Saori-san was driving her mad. The sky overhead began to darken with grey clouds.

"Oh, that's odd. They didn't say it would rain today!" Saori pouted prettily. "We still have places to see!"

"Perhaps it's the perfect chance to go ice skating!" one of her friends suggested brightly. There was general agreement and everyone stood to leave. Juvia wasn't paying attentiont to anything that was going on. Her headache was growing worse and she knew the rain was her fault. Apprently so did Gray-sama. He took her hand and pulled her aside.

"Juvia? You ok?" he asked, real concern in his handsome face. Juvia nodded.

"Juvia is fine. Juvia is just tired and overwhelmed by everything" she said."Juvia wants to go home". He gave her a quick hug.

"I know. It's almost over though" he said, and gave her a small pat on her shoulder.

"Is something wrong?" Saori asked behind them.

"No, Juvia is just feeling tired" Gray-sama explained.

"Oh, that's too bad. Perhaps my brother should take care of her? If she is indisposed, I know he'll be good to her" she said. Juvia looked at Gray, and he looked a little angry.

"Certainly, I'll take care of my darling Juvia" Westly said, walking up to them.

"Juvia is not your darling" Juvia said without thinking. There was a small pause and then Saori laughed.

"Look at that, Gray-kun, I think they really like each other!" she tinkled, and pulled Gray away. Juvia was at her limit.

"Juvia wants to go now" she told Westly-san flatly.

"Of course. I am sorry if I offended you, Juvia" he said. The rain started falling. Good thing the carrriage had the top on now, Juvia thought. She hadn't summoned the rain in a long, long time. She had Gray-sama to thank for that. And she had the Red Rose Towne siblings to thank for making it rain again. The rest of the trip was made in silence.

"Westly-san... Juvia apologizes for ruining a perfectly lovely day" she said when they arrived at the palace. He helped her down.

"Nonesense. I had a great time" he grinned. Juvia smiled at him.

"Thank you for everything, Westly-san" she said. She grabbed her bags and made her way to the room.

That evening, Juvia sent word with the butler that she would not be down for dinner. Her headache was gone, but she wasn't hungry. Instead, she wandered around the palace on her own. Every room and hallway was decorated in elegant furniture and expensive rugs. Original paintings hung on the walls and everything reminded Juvia of castles in the fairy tales she used to read as a child. She wasn't aware of where she was going, she just admired her surroundings. She came to a rather dark hallway. It was long and narrow and decidedly colder than the rest of the palace. Juvia was curious to know what was at the end, so she explored further. At the end of the hallway was a stone staircase leading down to what she assumed was a basement. She was about to follow the stairs down, but she was stopped.

"Juvia-sama?" said a familiar voice. Juvia turned to see the young maid who had helped her the day before. She was carrying a basket full of freshly washed clothes.

"Hello... Juvia was just touring the palace..." Juvia said sheepishly. The young maid shook her head and placed the basket down. She grabbed Juvia's hand and pulled her away from the stairs. She lowered her voice so that Juvia could bearly hear her.

"Juvia-sama, you shouldn't be in this part of the palace. Please don't ever come back this way" the young maid said urgently.

"Juvia doesn't understand" the water mage said, starting to get a little alarmed.

"Promise me that you won't wander on your own again... especially to this place" the young maid said. "Promise me, Miss" she said again.

"What is down there?" Juvia asked. The young maid shook her head again.

"It is no business of yours Miss, no offense. Some things are best left unsaid. It's safer, see?" she said, picking up her basket. "Now, lets forget this ever happened and be on our way... ok?" she said, and Juvia followed her. Still, she wondered what was down there. Why was it such a secret? She looked back one last time and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Perhaps maybe it was better not to know.

A/N: Sorry guys, I just can't seem to shut up lol. I'm on a writing streak, and I'm ready to start writing the next chapter! I want to thank everyone who has followed and reviewed my fic, if means a lot! I hope everyone is enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Also, the dress I described here is actually a real dress by the talented designer Antonio Berardi, so if you want to know what it looks like, just google Red Velvet Dress by Antonio Berardi and it should be the first image on google images. Remember to review... it does my heart good and inspires me to keep writing... xoxo