disclaimer: i don't own ft
title: lady with the eyes like the sea
summary: let's be honest with ourselves today
dedication: to my crew coach for an amazing fall season! and to my swimming coach for being a swimming coach…swimmers know what i mean -_- "no air breaks" "can i go to the bathroom" "no"
notes: i love myself for finishing this on Halloween AKA before i lose the rest of my free time AKA i am not gonna write fanfiction in November so i needed to finish this before November…the next post may take longer than a month (by the way, this is really good for me *sweatdrops* i tried a long chapter fic once upon a time with 5k words per chapter and i pretty much quit after two and a half chapters that spanned like 6 months)
this is a longer chapter than normal and enjoy!
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Skyrrgia's forces remained lax as Deliora continued to be free. Lord Lockser rejoiced, along with the rest of Faera, as it meant the engagement party would go on.
All of the decorations had been set up the days before, so on the day of the party itself, the only trouble was laying out fresh food, last minute revisions, and dressing up. The servants were let off their duty to attend the party once it began, as it was completely self-serve, and they had pulled some money out of their pay to buy expensive outfits.
This was Lord Lockser's doing. He was a fine lord and always wished the best for his servants. When they heard that there was to be a party, they knew first of all that it would be self-serve and that they would get the time to participate, and second of all their pay would be raised before it so they would have a little money to spend on things they wanted to buy for it.
However, before the party, two maids furious prepared Juvia for her big day. It wasn't yet the "big" day, but for them, it was big enough. Meanwhile, Juvia looked forlornly at the mirror with big doe eyes, still trying to think of a way to get out of it. Her hair was twisted and curled and pinned to her head, leaving her with a delicate, complicated bun on her head and tendrils of hair framing her face. The hairstyle was somewhat reminiscent of Layla Heartfilia, Lucy's deceased mother.
Her earrings were blue, and her dress was a white silk gown, fading into blue in certain specially designed parts. It was sleeveless, with a baby blue ribbon wrapped around her waist, neckline low and full-length to her feet and even trailing when she walked.
It would certainly be hard to dance in, especially with Gray. She intended only to dance with Gray, in fact. She looked at her face in the mirror again and sighed. She knew she had to give the first and last dance to Gajeel.
However, there was a chance that Gray would be instantly smitten with her beautified looks and immediately devote all of his dances to her. As she thought about this, a white haired boy immediately came to mind. 'Lyon?! Why am I thinking of him?' She tried thinking about it a bit more, connecting a few arrows here and there and creating a whole chart in her head, but the whole thing combusted. 'Oh whatever – it does not matter who likes who as long as Gray loves me,' she swooned.
His lovely face appeared in her mind, and she nearly ruined her hair and makeup whilst rubbing her face in an attempt to get that bright tomato red off.
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The invited townspeople. Most hoped to be able to enjoy the full length of the party before they had to return to their normal, drab, lifestyles. In wishes that the guards would let them in a little early, they ganged up in front of the door. However, not only did the doors not open, but the guards pushed them back a little.
"Can't wait until we're off duty," one of them sighed.
"I can't believe we're the only ones who have to work today in the entire castle. Why'd you sign me up for this?"
"For Juvia."
"Right. I'd rather have liked to see who the young bloke is that she's getting married to."
"I've heard its Mister Redfox."
The second guard scratched his head in confusion. "You mean that long hair wild studded boy?"
"Precisely. Always thought they were siblings with how much they were together when they were little, but if you think about it, it's a mighty fine match."
"Don't you think that that Heartfilia daughter should trade places with Juvia?"
"No! That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. How would Juvia, as the sea, be able to deal with that pyro – I mean, Mister Dragneel?"
"Dunno. I guess you're right."
"I guess I'm right, too."
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Little did the guards know, that very pyro was two stories above them, sneaking into the party early along with Lucy, Laxus, Fried, Mirajane, and Evergreen. He didn't know how he'd convinced Laxus and his posse to come with him, but he'd done it.
He'd done the impossible – convince the Crown Prince to embark on one of his many schemes. He stole a look at Lucy, hoping that they didn't become bored. Natsu hated when people got bored on his expeditions. As he climbed over the window and looked around, he rubbed the good luck matches in his pocket. He didn't need matches for fire, but they helped, if he was out of magic.
Lucy glanced at him questioningly and he gave her a thumbs up. All-clear. The rest of them climbed in after them. The room was a bedroom, tastefully decorated with a few simple things…until one got to the punk band posters and iron pieces just sitting around. "This must be…for Gajeel," Lucy surmised. "I'm surprised he's coming to live with the Locksers. Lord Redfox sounds like the type to make Juvia stay with them."
"Perhaps he's just looking for some peace and quiet with that metal headed idiot out of his house," Laxus snorted. "And his awful singing."
Natsu sniggered behind his hand as he recalled Gajeel's singing. No doubt it'd be put under display today, at the party.
Evergreen sniffed lightly. "When he pulls out that guitar of his, I will be in the bathroom."
Mirajane laughed, a strangely low, guttural one. "As will I."
Laxus sighed loudly, as if he really didn't want to. "Then I guess it means that Fried and I will be there as well."
Fried frowned slightly, but no one noticed it. "Very well," he inclined his head. "I will join Prince Laxus in the lavatory then. Why don't you check it out first?"
"I might as well go while the party isn't yet in full swing." Shrugging, Laxus headed off to the bathroom while the rest continued on.
They walked out of the room and downstairs, bursting into the empty ballroom with a flourish. "Why isn't anyone here?" Natsu questioned.
"I don't know," Fried replied. "I wonder why? But this ballroom sure is nice…with all the colors of the – sea."
On his last word, the floor opened up and swallowed them whole, just as Laxus came down the stairs.
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The time for the party to begin had finally arrived. People flooded in, and Gray found himself swept along in the wave of people. Lyon was the one who had wanted to come early, like everyone else who was invited, except Gray.
He wondered why there were so many people to begin with, when it was invitation only, but then he realized that the infamous Dragneel son had been allowed to do invitations and had probably invited every first person he saw on the streets. "Tch," he clicked his tongue aloud, in open disgust of Dragneel. A real man should fight with ice, cool and composed, rather than fire, which was unpredictable and wild.
He was led into the ballroom with the help of the people around him, namely Lyon and Ultear who were pushing him along. Where was Dragneel anyways? He heard a pounding below his feet, but chalked that up to the amount of people in the ballroom.
Suddenly, the room quieted and the music stopped as Laxus burst into the room, breathing heavily. "Mirajane and the rest of them…they're under the floor!" People stared incredulously, then began laughing as they registered what he had said. "I'm serious," Laxus said, but soon realized that it may have been a trap of Lockser's to stop anyone from getting in early – probably something Juvia had predicted would happen, due to Natsu's prankster nature.
He shrugged. Laxus enjoyed shrugging. His powerful shoulders were very good at shrugging, especially at his father. Well, it would certainly teach the brats a lesson. But he'd have to ask if not order Lord Lockser to let Mirajane out – after all, it wouldn't do to have an annoyingly clingy woman as his dance partner.
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After an hour, Laxus had been unsuccessful in finding either Lord Lockser, Juvia, or any of their servants or family.
There were just so many goddamn people. Really, they should have curbed Natsu a little after they figured he was going rampant on the invites. Laxus grunted as his wide shoulders knocked into someone else – someone else dressed in peasant dress clothes – and looked down on a mop of unruly black hair.
The hair lifted and he saw a face. "Silv–" he paused. No, he was most definitely not Silver. Silver was older, with streaks of his namesake threading through his raven hair. Silver had his hair slicked back and would have no reason to be here.
The man stiffened and turned away. "Don't say that name in my presence," he hissed, sharp enough for Laxus to hear just as he turned heel and strode into the mass of people.
Laxus snorted. There was no reason to say Silver's name in a night of festivities. He'd heard of citizens who were annoyed by the war and blamed it all on Skyrrgia, but had never met one in person. There were a variety of opinions out there. Some of them wanted peace, for Faera to give up the land; some people wanted to overwhelm Skyrrgia and take over, and others wanted to split the land in half. Him, he just wanted to fight.
However, he was confused. The way the man had phrased his sentence - first of all, it was incredibly rude and Laxus could probably find a million reasons to execute him already if he were into killing his own citizens, and second of all, it almost, almost sounded like the man knew Silver…personally.
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"We would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone here. We hope that you all are enjoying the party!" The crowd roared in approval. The food was good, and several romances had gone off since the beginning. Natsu and Co. hadn't been sighted as of yet, but no one worried. There were many hours yet to go. They still had a lot to enjoy if they burst out a while later.
Juvia had spent the majority of the first two hours hurriedly talking to Gajeel in the corner, as well as Levy, who they had found by targeting the shortest person in the crowd with bright blue hair. She was also busy scanning for Gray, but due to his average height and average looking black hair, he disappeared easily into the throngs of people. Anyone who asked her to dance was promptly refused. She had two crises.
First, she was going to be engaged after today.
Second, she still couldn't find Gray, and she had to dance with him or she might explode.
"Now, the real reason we are having this party is to announce something very important," Lord Lockser continued. "The engagement of my own daughter, Juvia Lockser, and Lord Redfox's son, Gajeel Redfox!" A wave of gossip and a smattering of applause followed that, as people whispered in astonishment. Some people were clearly in approval, while others were merely shocked, and still others were outright in disapproval.
However, it was a great party, and it really was none of their business who the nobles married. The crowd burst into full applause, finally, and Lord Lockser gave off a smile.
"Now, we would like to welcome Crown Prince Laxus Dreyar to give his blessings to the newly engaged couple!"
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Gray was front row, stage left. A low gasp ripped its way out of his throat as he heard the news, but he composed himself quickly and settled into a usual scowl, perhaps darker than normal.
He'd even sewn the very shoes on her feet, just so she could waltz off into the sunset. So was Juvia lying all this time? He wasn't oblivious. He'd always noticed the glances she'd give him and the twiddling of her fingers every time she neared him. It just showed that it was more than a puppy love, something Gray honestly respected in Juvia.
So – was she lying?
Did she mean everything she'd said to him, all the glances she'd given him, all the love she'd gifted him? Was he just some random peasant who she'd noticed one day and bestowed a vague thought on? Who was Gajeel to her? Was it by choice or by arrangement? He no longer knew anything anymore. The people began to mill around in nervous excitement, awaiting Prince Laxus, but he wasn't interested in listening to a speech from the man who'd almost said a name he never wanted to hear again.
He pushed through the crowd. "Lyon!" he called. He buried his feelings down where it didn't hurt and yelled Lyon's name again, until he found the white haired man, slumped against the corner, infinitely braver than Gray for being willing to express his feelings before it was too late.
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