Chapter 9

"Levy," Minerva's cold voice spoke from behind the sweeping woman. Immediately, Levy stopped her broom and stood ridged.

"Y-yes Lady Minerva?" Levy asked. Not turning to face her step-mother.

"I want you to go to that seamstress and pick up our gowns for tomorrow night," Minerva circled the girl and stopped in front of her.

"Yes, of course Lady Minerva,"

"Good. Now get going," Minerva started to walk away, but Levy spoke up, stopping her in her tracks.

"B-but I was just wondering if I could get a gown for myself. There's many lovely gowns on sale, and-"

Minerva laughed humorlessly at Levy's request, "Oh Levy, you make me laugh so much. What on Earthland do you need a gown for? Unless…" her voice had a suspicious tone in it now as she stared the woman in the eyes, "You aren't planning on attending the Prince's betrothal ball are you?"

"W-well, there was an invitation for me and-"

SMACK!

"Ahh!"

Without warning, Minerva slapped Levy square across the face, sending her to the ground.

"How dare you ask such a thing? You know your place and yet you go as far as to ask for permission to attend?" Minerva spoke coldly, staring at the woman who lay at her feet.

"But, every eligible woman was invited Lady Minerva,"

"Don't you dare speak back to me!" Minerva shouted. She threw out her foot, lodging it into Levy's side and sending the girl tumbling out of the grand living room and into the foyer.

The wind surged out of Levy's lungs upon impact. She curled into herself, desperately trying to catch her breath. Her side throbbed, a bruise was most likely forming, but Levy paid no attention to it seeing as Minerva quickly made her way over to the gasping girl.

"Get up! I said get up you insolent wretch!" her step-mother shouted. Levy propped herself on her hands and knees. One hand grasped her side as the other slowly pushed her to her feet.

As soon as she stood, Minerva grasped a handful of Levy's hair and bright her face up to her step-mother's. At this point she was standing on her tiptoes and her head was craned in hopes to relieve the pain on her scalp.

"You are going to go get our gowns and you are going to return quickly. Don't even think about getting anything for yourself, because if you do, you will meet a fate much worse than hell. Got it?" Minerva snarled.

"Yes ma'am," Levy sobbed, the pain in her side and on her head was becoming overwhelming.

With a firm grip still on her hair, Minerva yanked the woman over to the entrance of the manner and pulled open the door. "Be quick, you still need to make dinner," With that, Minerva tugged on her hair one more and threw Levy down the steps of the manor.

Levy's arms, legs, and face got several more scratches and bruises on her way down the stairs. Once again, the wind was knocked out of her as she finally reached the end, landing flat on her back. She lied there for a minute, gasping, before struggling to pull herself to her feet.

Levy pushed open the door to Juvia's shop, the bell jingled softly, signaling her presence.

"Juvia will be with you in a moment!" Juvia's voice called from behind the door of her back room.

While she waited, Levy wandered around the shop, staring in wonder at the beautiful masterpieces her friend had created for the people attending the ball. Just as Levy stopped to admire a particularly beautiful orange gown, Juvia stepped into the room and came up beside her.

"Levy! Juvia takes it you are here to pick up the gowns for your step-siblings?" Juvia asked smiling warmly at her. Her smile vanished immediately as soon as she saw the fresh scratches, bruises, and still flowing blood that adorned her friend's body, "Oh my, Levy! What on Earthland happened?" Juvia grabbed her hands and started to look Levy over.

"It doesn't matter," Levy pulled herself out of the seamstress's grip, "I just need to pick up the gowns and leave,"

"Of course it matters!" Juvia said angrily, "Come on. Juvia needs to get you cleaned up," and with that, Juvia grabbed Levy's hand and pulled her in the back room.

"Gavin!" Juvia called, "Prepare a bowl of hot water and bring Juvia a towel please,"

Oh no! Levy screamed internally. Gavin's here? If he sees me like this he'll have a cow! She knew that the man wouldn't stand for Levy being hurt like this, and would most likely try to retaliate to her family. Levy loved that he was so protective of her, but right now she didn't have the time to be fretted over.

"Got it!" His deep voice called from inside another room. Presumably the one where Juvia washed the clothes before selling them.

"No, Juvia its fine really, all I need is the dresses!" Levy pulled against Juvia's iron-like grip, but was unable to get free.

"Ok, I got the water. Now what the hell didja- HOLY SHIT! What the hell happen ta ya!?" Gavin entered the room and dropped the bowl of water, sending it crashing to the floor.

Levy cringed at the sound of the breaking glass, "Look, it's nothing, I just need to pick up the dresses and leave,"

"Like hell it's nothing!" Gavin shouted, forgetting about the bowl entirely, "Ya look like a carraige jus' ran over ya!" He quickly moved over to Juvia and Levy and started to look the wounded woman over.

"You guys! I'm fine!" Levy assured them, "It's not like this hasn't happened before!" Which was very true. Injuries like this were a common occurrence in the McGarden household, and Levy would often have to retreat to the nearby river to tend to her wounds. By now, she was used to the pain, but naturally, her overprotective friends were not.

Gavin shook violently with fury, "Who did this to you?" he asked softly, staring at Levy's scraped up hand.

"Look, Gavin I'm fine ok! You don't need to worry about it!" Levy pulled her hand from his grasp and hid it behind her back.

"Who did this to you?" he asked again, louder this time, and more demanding. Levy stared into his crimson orbs and knew right then, that avoiding the question wasn't an option anymore.

"It was Lady Minerva," she whispered.

"I knew it!" Gavin stood up straight and made his way over to the door, "I'm gonna kill that crazy bitch!"

"Gavin stop it!" Juvia held onto her friend's arm to keep him from leaving. "Right now, Lady Minerva isn't our concern! We need to help tend to Levy's wounds,"

Her statement kept Gavin from ripping out of her embrace and storming into the McGarden manor. "Yeah, ok," His shoulders slumped as he made his way back to Levy.

"Juvia will get some more water," Juvia turned and left the room.

Gavin on the other hand stayed and searched Levy for the worst wounds. His fingers drifted over a spot by her ribs and he knew he found something when she winced in pain. He looked up at her, asking what happened with his eyes.

"Lady Minerva kicked me while I was on the floor," Levy murmured, barely loud enough for him to hear.

It took all of Gavin's strength for him not to leave the shop and hunt down Minerva. Instead, he took his time while searching for any more injuries.

"Juvia has returned," Juvia announced, walking through the door and into the room, a fresh bowl of water in hand. She handed Gavin the bowl and towel and he started to clean off the wounds on Levy's face. Levy was shocked at the gentle touch that came from the gruff man before her. He could see in his focused eyes that he was trying to keep from causing her anymore pain.

Gavin continued to clean her up, gently dabbing at the oozing wounds. With every wince and cringe that came from the woman in front of him, his anger and frustration grew. Gavin made a vow that day. He would do everything in his power to put Minerva in her place, and would do anything to free Levy from her torture.

AN: Ok, so the point of view kind of jumps around in this chapter and I apologize for any confusion. Now, I'm just curious, but I want to know, how many people are there in the "I Love Minerva" fanculb? I was thinking about making t-shirts. Lol hope you enjoyed!

Later Taters!

~Icy