A/N: Sorry it took so long. But here it is Disclaimer: still not mine; still no cash. Please review. CHAPTER 8: Behind the Curtains.
"Alert all the guards! Call the Ministry! I demand an emergency meeting be held at the counsel room!" Lord Capulet's voice echoed through the halls of the castle. Juvia flinched as she listened to her father holler commands here and there. It had been a day since that encounter and still her father has gotten everyone in the palace on their toes.
She poked at her steak with her fork and swirled the peas afterwards. Her head bent to hide the obvious giddy feeling she has at the pit of her stomach. Yes it had been days but the feel of Gray's lips on hers still haunted her and seemed like just hours ago. She bit her lip as a smile slowly crept up her face. Her mother looked up at her curiously and she immediately stuffed her mouth with food just so her smile would be lost in it. She looked back at her mother and gave her the "what?" expression.
Her mother merely acknowledged her with a solemn nod and silently ate her own meal. Juvia's heart broke every time she looked at her mother and she never realized how torn she is. The moment her father sat at the table; everything became tense. Her father called for wine and gulped down have the contents from the bottle with one swig not caring of the goblet in front of him. He grabbed at the steak and ate quickly like dinner was a race itself. He's been doing that every meal since her debut and Juvia has now been used to it but her mother, she noticed, hasn't. Every now and then, she noticed her mother flinch or shake every time her father smack the goblet too hard on the wooden table or when his fork forcefully hits the plate with loud clinks. The tension between all of them was just too much that Juvia could bear and she longed to eat again in her room along with Lydia. At leat there she can enjoy the meal without the constant strain.
When she finished her meal, she politely excused herself and escaped from the tension going on at the table. Her ladies followed her as well as two guards; she never felt more suffocated than anything else. The guards stationed at the hallway entrance heading her room and the ladies stopped at the hallway and assumed their places sitting at the table outside her chambers. When she entered the room, Lydia was already sitting before her dresser and rushed to hug her. "Oh Lydia! It has been extremely stressful in the castle! I fear for mother's health and father's tolerance!" she wanted to say more but decided that she did not want Lydia to think that she had lost her head.
"It has been going on for too long, Princess", Lydia agreed, "And I believe there is still more to come. That was merely a warning. The rebels are getting stronger and as what I heard, they're getting larger in sum". Lydia went to the small table containing various delicacies and grabbed a fruit slice. "Would you like some, Princess?"
Juvia smiled and slowly shook her head. She sighed deeply and went to her balcony. She looked up and gazed at the moon whose dim light was shadowed by the gray clouds. Gray. She remembered again the deep dark color of his eyes that she found herself lost over and over that night. And their kisses: her fingers through his hair, the warmth of his embrace, the way he pulled her closer to him in possessive way, the softness and insistence of his lips, the intoxicating smell of his perfume, and every little thing. She was his that night. Her heart was given to him. Juvia leaned on the banister and sighed. Her shoulders scrunched up from the thought and she shut her eyes tight.
She was afraid to lose the memory of it. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder, which woke her up from her trance. She turned to face a very concerned Lydia. "Princess", Lydia whispered, "You're still thinking of him aren't you now?"
Juvia looked up at her best friend and slowly nodded and buried her face in her hands, "Oh, Lydia! Is there no escape from this? My only love is the enemy's son; my bloodline's hatred. And I am deeply in love with him!" Suddenly the door to her room burst open and a messenger stepped in. Two slams of his staff on the floor and he spoke in a booming voice.
"His Majesty the King requests his daughter, Princess Juvia of Verona, that she is not allowed to leave the palace walls and will be accompanied by at least one person wherever she goes".
"Pardon me?" Juvia clenched her fists. "But I believe I deserve my privacy!"
"His Majesty has given strict orders for you to be given a close watch on least there be another attack on the kingdom. The security here in the palace is doubled. There will be a guard posted at the hallway to your room, at the gate to your garden, and one to follow you around when you decide to walk the palace grounds. That be all, your Highness." He spun on his heel and stepped out.
Juvia stomped her foot in irritation. "Did you just hear that, Lydia?! I'm being controlled. I know they fear for my safety but I honestly…Honestly…do NOT find Gray threatening!" she walked inside her room and dropped unto her bed. She hugged one of the pillows tightly and then began huffing and puffing. "Father is too paranoid!"
"Princess", Lydia soothed as she sat beside Juvia and started stroking her hair, "His Majesty is being cautious. His expression when he found you were not in the ballroom anymore is terrifying. It was a mixture of anger and concern. Your father went mad for a bit; searching for you and commanding the guards to circle the palace". Juvia raised her head and turned to look at Lydia. "His Majesty loves you and would not want anyone to harm you, Princess".
"But…It's Gray", Juvia knelt on her bed and shook Lydia slowly, "I know deep down he would keep from harm, Lydia!" she hugged herself and sighed dreamily. "He loves me do you know that?"
Lydia smiled at her best friend and rubbed Juvia's arm. How did she even wander in this part? This was love she's seeing right now and it was the saddest thing she's ever witnessed. "You'll find a way around this, Princess".
"I actually have a favor to ask of you, Lydia", Juvia said slowly. Lydia's eyes widened knowing it has something to do with the forbidden couple.
