A/N: Yo minnnaaa! Sorry for the late update! For those who also read my GrayLu fanfic "Hello Baby", please refer to my profile. Thanks! By the way, thank you for all your support, patience, and reviews! You guys are the best! Ja` on to the next chapter! Enjoy~ ヽ(^o^)ノ

Disclaimer: My name is not Hiro Mashima

Chapter 11

I woke up and realized that today is the day. The day I turn 18. To be honest, I wasn't really excited about getting older and becoming of legal age, rather I was enthusiastic to see what Levy and Loke have planned for me.

I opened the door and saw Juvia on my door, she greeted me a happy birthday. There was nothing odd about that, except that she was not wearing her uniform, she was wearing a white cocktail dress which suited her very well.

"Wow, your outfit suits you very well, Juvia!" I smiled.

She blushed, "J-Juvia is sorry, Mistress! She didn't want to wear this dress but Miss Levy asked everyone to dress like this…"

I shook my hands, "What are you apologizing for? It's okay, I think it's best if you dress like this everyday…" I giggled.

She reddened once again, "J-Juvia has to go now… Happy birthday again, Mistress!" she handed me a white rose before she left.

Everyone did the same to me. The girls were wearing white cocktail dresses while the guys were wearing white suits. Each of them greeted me and gave me a white rose. After quite some time, I realized I have too many roses in my hand so I decided to return to my room and put them in a vase.

You could probably imagine what happened next. A lot of my loved ones came early in the morning including Cana and his father, Gramps, Levy, and Loke. There were a lot of preparations for the party but I was never alone. Everyone was busy and had tasks assigned to them but they didn't make me feel like they're prioritizing the celebration over me.

Now let's go straight to the main event.

7 in the evening, the festivity started.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Loke announced, "Let us all welcome the debutante, Lucy Heartfilia."

Everyone applauded while I get down from the stairs. There were not too many people, and I liked it. Those people in the party are also only those I know. I was very happy Levy and Loke figured out that I wouldn't want to be stared at. From where I stood, I estimated the attendees would be more or less a hundred people.

At 9 in the evening, I already have a lot of roses in my room: 18 white roses from the helpers, 18 yellow roses from my closest friends and relatives, and 18 pink roses from my closest people in the corporate world. The rest, my acquaintances, gave me lavender roses.

At last, it was the time for 18 roses, of course the red ones. I actually anticipated this event too. The 18 best guys in my life would all have the chance to dance with me and talk to me about whatever they want to. But Levy and Loke put a twist in it: I will be blindfolded so I would have no idea who I am dancing with. Each of them will have 30 seconds to dance with me. Only they could talk, I could only listen.

The 1st dancer was rather short, so I immediately knew it was Gramps. "Look how beautiful you've grown, Lucy! Before, I used to carry you and now, look at you! I am so proud of you, my dear. We're very happy to have you as a part of our family."

The 2nd dancer had a large built, "Well… I don't really know what to say. Happy birthday again, I guess? *laughs* Well Lucy, since you're of legal age now, maybe you would want to drink with me and Cana sometimes?" I figured it was Uncle Gildarts.

The 3rd dancer rather held me tightly, "You look very gorgeous today, heiress. Once again, I fall in love with you." His voice led me into thinking that he's Hibiki.

The 4th and 5th dancers almost did and said the same things as the 3rd so I believe the 4th was Eve and the 5th was Ren.

The 6th dancer was rather short too; it couldn't be Gramps again, right? "Your parfum tonight is even more fascinating! Men! Please rescue me from your cousin, err, I mean, please visit me often in your cousin's mansion…" I believed that was Ichiya.

The 7th dancer was a bit cold, "You look gorgeous today. Please also tell that to Juvia…" I assumed that it was Lyon.

The 8th dancer was tall, "Happy birthday, dearest niece." I distinguished it was Uncle Ivan. "You look lovely today! Since you are of legal age now, I want you to take more caution. Opportunists will surely come after you… I bet your parents would also want that."

I exactly didn't know who the 9th up to the 15th dancer was. I thought of people, but ended up mixing them all. I think those dancers were people I knew because of business.

The 16th dancer was up next. "Hi ma'am!" I knew it was Natsu. "You saw me earlier right? I wish you could see me now! White doesn't really suit me so I wasn't that handsome earlier. But now, I bet you'll see me as a man once you take off that blindfold." He laughed and then suddenly became serious, "Thanks for everything, Mistress."

The 17th dancer was very obvious, it was Loke. From his scent, I immediately recognized it was him. "Are you happy today? I believe uncle and auntie are watching you now, happy of what you have become. If you were not only my cousin, I would surely find my way to marry you. I love you, Lucy." He mentioning my parents almost made me cry. Oh how I wish they were there.

The last dancer was almost the same height as mine (because of my 6 inches heels). "Umm, I really don't get why I'm the 18th…" I realized it was Gray, and then blushed. I was sure Levy was behind this. "Y-you look spectacular today, ma'am." He paused for about 10 seconds. I was at the verge of telling him to talk more. "About what happened before… to be honest, I felt bad for driving you away. B-but I don't mean it like I pitied you… I'm just telling you how pathetic I was. This is your birthday and I am not exactly sure what to say to make you happy. But at least, let me say what I really feel. I… I never disliked you. I… I was just trying to prevent you from liking me… I don't deserve you, Mistress."

As much as I wanted to speak, I couldn't. If I would, he would not continue his message. That was the rule imposed.

The dance was over. I was very touched. When I removed the blindfold, I saw 18 men all dressed as princes. I went to each one of them and thanked them and told them my replies to their words. But before I could get to Gray, Uncle Ivan called his attention.

Natsu approached me, "Mistress, Gray can't truly express how he really feels. Please just do the interpretation." He smiled and then went to the same direction Gray has gone to.

The celebration is almost at its end. I was very tired so I hoped to be alone even just for a while.

I entered my room and saw that it was already filled with all the fresh flowers I received. The fragrance was really soothing. I sat down and looked at the moon. My mother used to tell me a story about it. She told me that the moon was once a beautiful princess. She loved a guy and the guy loved her too. Sadly, because of the circumstances, he had to leave her in order to protect her. Too depressed about his departure, she died and wished to be something that can watch over him and make him feel that he's not alone. "What a sad love story…"

"Lucy? May I come in? It's Ivan."

"Yes, Uncle."

He went in, "This paper indicates that you are now the sole manager of all your parents' properties. All of it will be yours and only yours once you sign this paper. Nothing will be shared to anyone unless he/she has your consent."

I took the paper and read the terms and conditions. All I need to do is sign. What could possibly go wrong?

To be continued…

A/N: So how was it? I hope it was okay! I'm sorry too if you see mistakes! We're almost at the climax of the story! What will happen next? Tehee~ please feel free to review, etc.! \(◦'')/