AN: We interrupt this exciting point in the story to give you a nice little chapter about Marina and Juvia, and also a double feature! That's right, I've published two chapters today, and the next will answer all the reviews and questions in the Author's Note as usual.
LOCKSER MANOR, 12 YEARS PREVIOUS
Peaceful, calm, quiet. That's what the manor was on that night. Everyone was asleep, the rooms were impeccably clean as always. Marina was asleep in her room on the first floor, in the very back of the manor, and Juvia, only twelve, was asleep in hers on the second floor.
The window creaked open, letting in dabbles of rain. A figure, clad in black and gray clothing, stealthily entered the mansion, looking left, looking right, then shutting the window behind them. They passed the expensive furniture, past the vases and paintings, and instead made for the stairway. Their hand dragged over the ornate wood railing as they ascended the stairs, completely quiet.
Like they could see through the doors and walls, they paused in front of each room, frowning as each room did not contain what they wanted. Finally, they came to a room and stared at the door, lips twitching as they pushed it open.
In the bed slept a young Juvia, sleeping quietly and contentedly, huddled up in her comforter and dressed in a warm white nightdress. The person walked up to the bed and pulled out a rope. As they reached for her, Juvia's eyes opened, much too alert for someone who'd just woken up.
The little rain woman yelled as they grabbed her.
"What is the meaning of this?" Carolina the nurse ranted, dashing out of her first-floor room.
Moxie the Maid came out of the room opposite. "It sounded like the Young Mistress. Oh, what's going on?"
Down the hallway came the lady of the house, a determined and furious looking Marina Lockser. Her normally well-kept short blue hair was matted from sleep, and she wore a wrinkled red nightgown. Her lips were pursed, her pure blue eyes smoldering. "Why is my granddaughter screaming? What happened?"
"We don't know, Lady Ma-"
The scream came again, this time a bit more pained and frightened. It formed words, yelling out for "Gran, Gran." Marina ran down the hall, filled with even more energy, and Moxie and Carolina followed in suit.
"What is going on?" Marina shouted, turning around to look up onto the second floor.
Behind the railing, the person, a man with jet-black hair was holding Juvia, arms tied behind her back. He had a small knife held to her neck and was digging it in. Any more force, and he'd slice Juvia's neck open. Juvia looked like she might cry, and her mouth snapped shut, as she saw no more reason to scream now that her grandmother was there.
"What is going on?" Marina demanded again. She hostilely took a step forward, a snarl rising in her throat.
"Gran-" Juvia choked out. Never had she seen her grandmother so furious.
"Marina Lockser." The man bowed slightly, not moving the weapon from the twelve-year-olds neck. "How do you do?"
"Well, you're holding a knife to my granddaughter's neck, so I'm not feeling too happy. Can I ask who you are, good sir?"
He straightened up, smiling. "Thomas is my name. I'm a humble assassin from a dark guild a few towns over. Someone sent me to ransom you for her life." He jerked the knife against Juvia's neck, creating a tiny little line of bloody beads on her pale skin.
Lightning crackled outside, no doubt Juvia's work. She was shaking and tugging at her restraints.
"Someone?" Marina scowled and waved her hands. "I won't even bother asking. Who knows? The person could be someone from my mage days, or they could be an upset competitor. I don't particularly care about that. What I do care about, however, is that you calm down and step away from my precious dew drop."
"Not likely, Lady Lockser. See, I need a hundred million jewel if you want me to let the princess go." Thomas smiled his odd-looking smile, shaking his head. "If you don't comply within twenty seconds, I will slit her throat."
Marina grew anxious, taking a step forward and looking up at the two on the second floor. "Calm down!"
"I'm completely calm!" he spat.
"I said calm down. We can work this out, if you just let her go."
"There's nothing to work out, my lady. I'm just doing my job!"
"I am warning you," Marina spat through her teeth. "Let Juvia go!"
"Ten seconds!"
"I said to calm down!" Marina clenched her hands, trying to control her breathing.
"Lady Marina!" Carolina hissed. "The young miss is-"
"She knows, Carolina," Moxie chided softly. "She knows, and I don't think this will end well for Mr. Assassin up there."
"Five, four, three, two- are you ready to give me my money?" Thomas asked, smile faltering. "No. Well, then."
Juvia clenched her eyes shut as the knife prepared to go deeper.
"I gave you a chance to calm down!" Marina shouted up.
Her stance changed and she shifted her arms in a smooth, elegant way that could be described as moving water. She repeated the motion, swishing her arms, more and more rapidly. The assassin looked confused, then tried swiping the knife across Juvia's thin neck.
Carolina watched as her mistress pulled the strands of water out of the air with her impossibly fast and graceful movement. "I see. Now I remember why-"
Whips of water appeared in the air around him as Marina moved her arms. She stopped and whipped her arms together into an x-formation. The water rushed him. He screamed. The water mage moved her arms again, this time in a lowering fashion. The whips formed a cage around him and began to enclose, pulling him away from Juvia. The knife froze. Thomas screamed- Oh, oh, I'm sorry, so sorry, please don't hurt me- and as Marina clenched her fist, the cage froze, completely entrapping him in an ice cocoon. The ice pressed against his skin sharply, and blood fell from his lightly punctured face.
Moxie finished Carolina's sentence. "-why Lady Marina was to be instated as a Wizard Saint."
"There you are, Young Mistress." Carolina pulled away from Juvia's neck, done scrubbing in salve and bandaging it. "How does it feel? Are you alright? Would you like something for the shock?"
Juvia nodded at the last question and Carolina sent her assistant to go make sweetened green tea. The young girl clutched Carolina, shaking and tears filling her eyes. The nurse patted the blue head and waited until her mistress came to get her granddaughter.
Marina lifted Juvia into her arms, planting firm little kisses all over her face. "Oh, darling, are you okay? I'm so sorry that happened."
"Juvia is fine," she mumbled into her gran's bedhead. "But it was scary."
Marina looked over her shoulder to watch a couple of male workers, particularly buff and strong looking, pick up the assassin's ice cocoon and heft him away to a wagon, likely to take him to local law enforcement.
"Don't worry, I'm sure this won't happen again. Most people don't have the guts to make a Lockser angry," the grandmother said, shifting Juvia in her arms. "Now, time to go back to bed. Don't worry, don't worry, it won't happen again. Here, I'll sleep in your room, how does that sound?"
Juvia almost fell out of her chair at the dining table. The smile lit up her face, and the rain outside almost lifted to a drizzle. Nearly tripping over her brown and cream gown, she rushed to her grandmother, who had just entered the dining room.
"Gran is really going to?" Juvia asked. "Gran is really going to teach Juvia magic?"
Marina stroked the top of Juvia's head, guiding her back towards the table adorned with fresh fruit and waffles and juice. "Well, you're twelve, after all. You're a big girl. And the magic runs in your blood, so why wouldn't I teach you?"
The young girl swung her legs, smiling brightly as her grandmother put food on her plate. "When do we start?"
"Today." Marina almost laughed at the shocked expression. "Now, eat up, you'll need the energy."
And she did. She really did. Her grandmother made her run laps in the rain, then bathe in the ice cold lake in the back of the manor. Then came more laps. After that, she took her inside and made her balance books on her head while she gave her a lecture. They sat down cross-legged on the ground.
Marina drew diagrams and pictures with water, creating it with her finger. "You know how we got our magic, right?"
Juvia wanted to nod, but couldn't with all the books stacked on her head. She did her best to keep her balance. "The Queen of the Water Dragons gave it to us."
"Which Queen? There's a huge difference."
"The Good Queen, Aquamarina. She sealed the Bad Queen, Tempest, inside of us."
Marina smiled, nodding her head. She had drawn a poorly-made dragon in the air, then a little stick figure. "Good, good. I used to have Tempest inside of me. Then I had your mother and she was in possession, then she had you, and now it is your responsibility. Dew drop, do you understand?"
"Yes, Gran."
"Good, good. Now, the magic runs in our blood. It's near impossible for a Lockser woman to not be proficient in using her magic. This means I have high expectations of you."
"High expectations? Is that why Gran made Juvia run in the rain and take a dunk in the lake?"
"It builds character!" Marina smiled. "Everyday, we'll do exercises every day. Juvia, remember that water is one of the most powerful things out there. It's a giver, a symbol, of life, but it also destroys. Underestimate it, and it'll cut you to shreds."
"Can it really?" Juvia asked.
"Of course! Just wait, in a few months, you'll be able to cut metal into ribbons, I'm positive."
"Hold it there, Juvia, hold it there-"
The girl panted and swallowed, holding out her arms as though to keep her balance. Five tiny orbs of water the size of pumpkins hovered in the air above the lake. The rain caused them to ripple.
"You've almost gotten up to twenty minutes," Marina said.
"R-really?" Juvia panted.
Right at the twenty-minute mark, the orbs dropped and Juvia fell over, panting. Marina hefted her up, brushing her off.
"Good, good, now it's time for our push and pull exercise." The older woman directed Juvia to the lake, then began the wave from the other side, sending it Juvia's way.
Exhausted, Juvia thrust out her palms and sent it back to the water mage. They repeated it again and again, with Marina shouting pointers.
"It's okay to curve your back. This isn't earth magic, you're supposed to be fluid!"
"More motion in your thrusts."
"Ten more push-and-pulls, then we can go inside and have hot chocolate."
That was tempting. Oh so very tempting.
Grandmother and daughter curled up in the same blanket later, drying in front of the fire, drinking mugs of hot chocolate. Juvia looked incredibly tired.
"You're endurance is increasing. A month ago, you would've been asleep for almost a day!"
"Juvia still wants to go to sleep," she complained.
"I'm sure you do, dew drop. I'm sure you do." Marina rested her head against Juvia's, smiling, reminiscing on the time she taught Ariel water magic.
"The rain is so soothing," sleepy Juvia said. "Listen… It goes, 'drip, drip, drop.'"
"It does, it does. Drip, drip, drop."
"Again!" Marina barked, crossing her arms. "You can do it!"
Juvia let out a yell and sent one more blade through the tree. It groaned and toppled over. Had the landscape been dry, it might've sent up a cloud of dust, but instead it splashed mud over the workers near it. Grumbling, they shouted half-hearted thanks and began sawing at the branches.
"Sorry!" Juvia shouted, waving a hand, splashing the raindrops all over. "She didn't mean to get mud on you!"
"Good work, Juvia. Look at how thick that tree is, and you cut it down!" Marina patted Juvia's hair, putting the umbrella over her. "Next time, let's have a sparring match."
"Sp-sparring match?" Juvia asked, suddenly nervous. The young girl had no chance, not a single prayer, of fighting her grandmother.
She was right to be nervous. Marina knocked her around like she was a plaything, sweeping her into the lake, flooding her against a boulder, sending her flying into the air with a water geyser. Of course, she cushioned the fall. The lady of the house wished no harm upon her granddaughter, and when the gentle knocking around was over, she covered her mouth and laughed at the girl who was even more wet than she usually was.
"One day, you can be that strong," Marina said, using a strand of water to pick up the beaten little girl. "Just keep working."
Juvia spit out a mouthful of water, staring up at the older woman: Strong, elegant, powerful
She was as the water they fought with. That must be what made her so very strong.
"Yes, Gran."