Fiore had always been a stable, neutral country and for its calmness and solidity, Fiore's population mostly had the kingdom's location to thank for. The kingdom was resting on a huge peninsula, which in itself made it extremely hard to get to, and was separated from the rest of the continent by a massive overgrown ancient forest with no distinguished roads through, making the only means of transportation possible either horse or one's own feet. Moreover, the forest's inhabitants did indeed leave a lot to wish for in hospitability. Many rumours surrounding travellers' disappearance when passing through the natural border the ancient forest accounted for had sprouted through the years, most of them being more or less truthful descriptions of the events that had taken place in the unwelcoming, gloomy place.

Furthermore, even if you did manage to pass through the natural barrier that separated Fiore from its nearest neighbour, you still had one more obstacle to overcome before actually entering Fiore: a mountain range that took over after the forest in the outskirts of the country. It was not the biggest range that existed on the continent, nor was it the most unwelcoming but together with the gloomy forest it was, for the most part, more than enough to discourage the less determined and brave from both leaving and entering the country.

Gray knew all this. Hell, they all knew all this, and he was silently wondering how he would be able to handle the massive mountain that grew closer by the hour. He did not particularly felt like going rock climbing right now. His body still ached more or less everywhere and the different wounds that were healing made the all his limbs hurt and stiffen during the long ride in the car. He absently rubbed his left knee and shifted his weight slightly in the seat to try to ease the discomfort that originated from the aching limb a little. He could feel the cold metal underneath the skin when his index finger followed the contours of the implant and he could not help but ponder the irony that this metal was designed to help him walk while previously the same material had been designed and used to lock him up and to render him incredible pain and suffering.

His mind kept coming back to the same issue no matter how much he tried to ignore the unwelcoming thought: If he was struggling now, in a comfortable car, how would he be able to cope with the long walk through the dangerous forest? Not to mentioned crossing the mountain range that preceded the damned thing? He was weak and he knew it, and fuck it pissed him off.

His first and foremost motive was simple, he needed to protect Juvia. When he heard that they were just going to leave her at the border, after stealing her magic and leaving her completely unprotected against the world and everything in it, he had instantly made up his mind. He had failed miserably to protect her the last time she was in danger and only caused her more pain by allowing himself to be captured. He would freeze hell over a thousand times before he was going to let anything more happen to her. That option just did not exist. So his motive was simple, and he chose to promptly ignore every single annoying thought that kept popping up to ask him about any underlying reasons for that motive, she was his friend and still a member of his guild, even though the bastards had forced her to remove her guild mark, at heart he still felt that she belonged to Fairy Tail. She deserved the protection just for those reasons. And it was nothing more to it.

Lucy could easily see Gray's discomfort even though he tried to hide it. It was clearly evident in the small wrinkle between his eyes that seemed glued to his face and the way he subconsciously rubbed his aching limbs, so she decided to swap seats. Without saying a word she left her seat next to him and sat down next to Natsu instead, well knowing that if she made a big deal out of it, Gray would refuse the sympathy and say that he was fine. He narrowed his eyes and threw her a quick glance when she made the move but soon decided that it was fruitless to argue with Lucy about where she wanted to sit and gratefully stretched out his legs on the spare seat instead. He sighed slightly when he found a more comfortable position. He had to admit the extra space and the given opportunity to half lie down was gentler to his battered body than the previous upright position. The pain eased up an inch and he was soon lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sounds and movements of the car.

…

As they travelled further and further east Juvia stared at the landscape that swished past the car window, her mind in turmoil. She had been tossed helplessly between so many horrific, forceful events and emotions in the last few weeks that she felt she was just about to drown in them completely. The emotional turbulence had started when Gray had invited her and Lucy to go on a mission together and had somehow ended here, driving towards a future she could not foresee, escorted by a big group of intimidating soldiers that all looked at her with a mix of fear and disgust.

When would enough finally be enough?

The screams of the guards haunted her sleep, and an ache to end it all battled her will to live. She could never be forgiven for her sins, despite what Gray-Sama and the rest thought, banishment wasn't enough.

She should have been executed.

She could not comprehend why Makarov had argued on her behalf, she didn't deserve it, and yet he had done so, without any hesitation.

She sighed and turned her attention towards the window again, catching one last glimpse of the cultivated fields that was covered by ripening crops swaying in the wind, of the rocky valleys and the beautiful rivers filled to the brim with crystal-clear water. Something deep inside of her needed to devour every last glimpse and imprint into her memory every last detail she could find of the country that she was born into and grew up in but never really felt any connection to until she joined a very special guild. The more she thought about it the harder it got to fend off those treacherous tears that threatened to overcome her will to remain calm and collected, though she refused to give her escort the satisfaction of seeing her break down completely. She had shed enough tears for herself to cover a whole lifetime: it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself and start dealing with reality, the blue-haired girl told herself and drew air into her small nose in a concluding action to enforce her willpower and stay calm. She was determined and she was going to stick to her decision, god damn it!

So why did it feel like the treacherous lump in the back of her throat insisted on growing bigger by the minute?

…

By the end of the day, they arrived at the second part of their journey, the massive mountain range that preceded the gloomy forest every traveller had to cross if they desired to both enter and leave Fiore. Even in the middle of summer, this high above ground level sub-zero temperatures were common and glistering snow covered the tip of the mountains. It was decided that they would make camp in the shade of the mountain and continue their travels by the first light of the new day.

…

Gray woke up the next morning by someone yanking his arm harder and harder. Dimly he became aware of his surroundings and the sounds of people walking around and mumbling quietly to each other. The yanking of his arm grew more and more intense by the second, and when he could not ignore the annoying movement any longer, he sluggishly opened his eyes and found a familiar figure dressed in steel cuirass and a blue skirt kneeling next to him. Erza, why was Erza so eager to get him up? It felt like he had just closed his eyes for a second… He yawned and glared at her sourly.

"I'm awake, Erza. You can stop trying to separate my arm from the rest of my body now."

"Ah, sorry. I've tried to wake you up for ages. Everybody is ready to start crossing the mountain and if we don't leave now they won't wait for us. I was trying to let you sleep for as long as I could but you really have to get up right now."

That was all it took, instantly he was wide awake. Shit, he had overslept; how the hell could he have overslept? He'd done nothing but sleep for days for fuck sake!

I'm sorry, I'm up now. Let's go," he answered and willed his wildly protesting limbs up into a standing position before stretching his arms above his head in a more or less futile attempt to rid himself of the stiffness last night's sleep on the ground had added to his already sore limbs. His eyes scanned the camp for Juvia but the soldiers had made an effort to keep her and the rest of the group separated. He had barely caught a glimpse of her last night and had basically passed out as soon as the necessary camp preparations were over and done with. He did however found the rest of his friends. They were standing in a circle around the small pile of grey ashes that marked the spot of last night's campfire.

The rest of the day turned out to be exactly as strenuous and exhausting as he had imagined. The temperature dropped steadily as they made their way up the winding path that led to the other side of the range. Not that the temperature itself bothered Gray, it was more the layer of snow that steadily thickened as they slowly reached higher altitudes that got to him- The step angle of the pathway combined with a knee-high layer of glistening snow proved a great challenge to his still recovering body. The snow reflecting a few thin sunbeams that had managed to penetrate the heavy cluster of grey clouds hovering around the tip of the highest part of the range only proved to further endorse the darkness clouding his mind. What the hell was he doing? Even though his friends had not already figured it out, or maybe more correctly refused to figure it out, he was walking away from his home, forever… There was no turning back to return to his home country and reunite with his friends and the guild he had been a member of for more than 10 years. Juvia could never come back. Because of him, because he failed to protect her when she needed it most. It was not an easy cross to bear and one that threatened to overcome him as he struggled through a landscape that normally would have suited him pretty well. He found that he was starting to fall behind the rest of the group and could feel the worried glances from his friends a few hundred feet ahead of him. Not letting it show that they were worried, but not letting him out of their sight, either.

He started to feel lightheaded again but promptly ignored every hint his exhausted body was giving him to slow down. This only worked for so long though. When his vision grew blurry he stopped and bent his head down low to regain some oxygen: grabbing onto his thighs for balance, not a very dignified position, but who the hell cared? At this point, if it could stop him from passing out yet again he was willing to give it a try.

…

O for the love of…

When she saw that Gray started to lack behind and walking slower and slower until he was too far away from the rest of the group to be more than an indistinct, small figure in the middle of all the white surrounding him, Erza slowed down too. She squinted when she saw him stop completely and starting to sway unsteadily. Erza turned around again to assess the situation and when she did see the quickly increasing distance between them and the other half of the travel company, she made a quick decision based on the likelihood that Gray would be able to keep up with them right now. A fairly unlikely statement…

"Happy, can you please scout ahead and make sure we don't lose track of Juvia and the others? Gray needs to rest a bit before we can catch up with you. Can you please leave this message to Juvia so that she doesn't think that we've abandoned her?"

"Aye! I will go now Erza. See you later. I'll come back when I have told her and let you know how far ahead they are," The little blue cat agreed. He nodded and left his spot on Natsu's shoulder to fly up into the air on a pair of pure white wings that had not been there a second before. He waved to his friends before turning around to find Juvia and deliver the message from her friends.

She nodded towards the flying cat and turned her attention towards Natsu and Lucy again, only to realise that they had already left her to reunite with Gray. Erza quickly covered the distance between them and caught most of the discussion at hand:

"For fuck sake, this is getting old. I don't need to rest; we need to catch up with Juvia. You should not have left her alone with those council bastards."

"Uhu… you know you don't fool anyone," Natsu responded and rolled his eyes, "a minute ago you were about to fall on your ass and you don't look much better now. Just take five will ya? Happy is with Juvia and we'll catch up with them soon." But his plea went by unheard, Gray looked furious when he retorted.

"Did you accidentally fry your brain at some point when you were a kid? I can't sit here and roll my thumbs. I need to protect her. You have no fucking idea what she had to endure. What they did to her and what she did for me, and now she is back in those fucking chains. She should never have to be locked up in chains again, ever! What I put her through, because I-I was too weak to protect her, 'cause I let myself be captured, she suffered—"

At this point, Gray's face showed more desperation and horror than rage. He knew what he said didn't make much sense but could not muster the energy to care. Treacherous tears of frustration and exhaustion coloured his skin red just around his dark eyes and he ground his teeth in a futile attempt to control them. "You just don't understand. I have to protect her, it was my fucking fault! She should not even have been on the fucking trip. I invited her, it was my—"

Being quieted midsentence by something completely unexpected, Gray froze when Natsu stepped forward and hugged his friend.

The two rivals that during their upbringing could not even stand to be in the same room had somehow, completely unbeknownst to everybody and even themselves, at some point put that aside and become friends…

Gray had stiffened at the unexpected intimacy and companionship suddenly offered but when Erza and Lucy joined the two young men in a bigger hug, he seemed to give in, his knees weakened and he slouched down into a sitting position on the ground, still surrounded by Natsu's firm embrace. Tears rushed down his cheeks as he allowed himself to cry, for himself, for Juvia and for everything that had happened in the last two weeks. Once he started, there seemed no end to the stream of salty tears forcing their way down his cheeks and soaking the fabric of Natsu's black vest, so the four young mages just sat there, on the icy ground on the top of a massive mountain with the cold wind howling around them. None of them moved for a very long time, instinctively knowing this was exactly what Gray needed, to feel the closeness and companionship of his friends and to be reminded that he was, in fact, not alone.

When the tears had finally somewhat subsided, Gray drew a deep, shaky breath and uttered a mumbled sentence into the soft fabric of Natsu's vest in a voice so low that only Natsu could hear it. A sentence he never thought he would admit to anyone, least of all to himself.

"I was so afraid."

Natsu simply responded by hugging him a little bit harder before letting go and grinning at his friend. "It's alright now. Come on. I think it's time to get going again. Don't ya' think?"