Hey, it took me only half a year to update this time. HAHAHAHA I'm making progress! This is gonna be a long author's note damn oks I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS MASHIMA-SENSEI IS BOSS WOOO
This chapter is dedicated to v. reve , who sent me the boost I needed to keep writing! Best wishes to you!
WARNING: This chapter may contain spoilers that don't seem like spoilers but I don't want u to be spoiled so plz approach with caution!
Also, if u catch my moana references, u rock
Chapter IV: the tale of the singing cave
Silence engulfed the two mages as they sat together, trying to make the most out of the fleeting moment. Juvia placed a hand on her head, clenching it in a fist as she groaned in pain silently. Apparently, healing while away from the vicinity of the sea was a lot harder than she estimated.
Closing her eyes, she brought her feet up and gently massaged the areas that felt as if there was a thousand needles pricking her skin; painful thorns that threatened to break it open. Her legs, soft and smooth to the touch, gripped her with a splitting pain she couldn't heal. It was a small price to pay for being able to heal the wounds of the injured.
You can never heal yourself.
She leaned on the velvet seat, allowing her back to relax on the cushion as exhaled. The air on land was a lot lighter compared to the sea. She found it easier to move, but her body craved the floating sensation she was accustomed to. Juvia could hear the sound of waves from the distance. The water was calm as it lapped on the shore with a rhythm only seafolk were able to hear. The sea was playing a gentle, serene melody that called her name, its familiar tune echoing in her ears.
Juvia, the sea sang, its waters splashing against the sand, Juvia, come ba—
"Do you miss the sea?"
Her eyes opened slowly, catching the nonchalant image of the prince. He was leaning against his armrest, eyes lazily looking over her. Juvia returned the look he sent her pointedly, eyes narrowed suspiciously as if she was trying to determine whether or not the incoming conversation was going to be some form of interrogation. Telling him the truth couldn't hurt, of course.
"Yes," was her stoic reply.
He hummed in response, unconsciously playing with the buttons of the coat he was wearing. Gray looked outside the window pane that filtered the light that entered the room. From afar, he could see the line where the sky met the sea. Sparing a glance at the mermaid-turned-human, he found Juvia's eyes caught in some sort of daze as she watched the sun's rays play on the edges of the sea.
"Juvia feels as if the sea. . . is calling me."
He said no reply, instead opting to follow her line of vision. Shades of orange lined the sky and sea, stretching across the horizons and illuminating the earth as the bright star prepared to depart.
He could have sworn he heard the mermaid sigh longingly.
"You know," Gray started, breaking the silence for a second time. Juvia tilted her head to look at him. He shuffled in his seat, deciding that staring at Levy, Jet, and Droy's sleeping figures was much better than facing the scrutinizing look Juvia was sending his way. "There's a festival tonight."
"A festival? Is that some sort of ritual?"
"No," Gray replied, rolling his eyes. "Well, kind of, I guess? It's an event celebrated by the people in our kingdom to commemorate the singing cave. The entire thing is happening at the beach, and since you miss the sea—"
"No," Juvia interrupted immediately, shaking her head. "Juvia does not wish to return to the sea until Lucy Heartfilia is subdued."
There was also the fact that should Juvia come into contact with a single drop of seawater, she would revert back to her mermaid form and would be gasping for water in no time. Gray doesn't need to know this. Should the worst occur, she would have to cut the mission, thus jeopardizing her life and Gajeel's in the process.
"Lucy's coming to the festival with Natsu," Gray said. The ice mage stood up, stretching his limbs and cracking his knuckles. "And since I have to go because of," he sneered at the words, "prince duties, you have to come too."
"Juvia doesn—"
"In case you forgot, Erza specifically instructed me to watch over you. And unless you want your face to have a very close relationship with her knuckles," Gray shuddered at the thought, "you have to come with me."
His words were harsh, but his eyes looked at her without judgement. Dark orbs that spelled out curiosity without malice. Juvia merely stared at him in response, her face void of any emotion. She seemed to excel in making people wonder what she was plotting.
Her voice was almost no higher than a whisper when she spoke.
"Why, Gray-sama?"
He stared back at her quizzically, his lips releasing his intelligent reply: "Huh?"
She stood up from her chair (slowly, almost tantalizingly), fingers fidgeting over the soft hems of her dress. "Why?" she repeated, as if the single word would make him understand her unspoken question.
Juvia stopped when she stood in front of him, blue eyes imploring his own. Gray returned her gaze to the best of his abilities, looking down at her in confusion.
"Why?" Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes, but Juvia stood strong. She didn't know that going on land would make her become a slave to the new emotions flooding her system; feelings she didn't know she was capable of experiencing. "Why?"
Why are you proving everything I know about humans to be wrong? Why are you treating me as if I was a friend, and not an enemy? Why are you so—so—
"Why are you so kind to me when I tried to kill you?"
His eyes widened at her question. No words could form in both his mouth and his brain, so he opted to stare at her. The question was revealed, but an answer was yet to form.
It was a loud shout that disrupted Gray's thoughts.
"GRAY!"
Juvia exhaled, releasing a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Immediately she blinked, trying to calm her racing heart and halt the flow of tears that threatened to spill on her pale cheeks. The door burst open, only to reveal Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia. The latter was smiling jovially while the former sported a grin that spread from ear to ear, his fangs displayed for all to see.
Gray almost (almost) thanked Natsu for his interruption. He glanced at the three patients who lay on their beds, checking to see if their slumber was disrupted because of the idiotic prince.
"Some people are trying to sleep!" Gray shouted as softly as he could, moving to Natsu's side and kicking the other prince's back. Natsu glared at him, opening his mouth to retort. . . only to shut it again as he spared the Levy, Jet, and Droy a sympathetic glance.
Lucy waved at Juvia kindly, smiling. Juvia nodded at her in acknowledgement. The princess of the sea giggled nervously, but her heart lightened significantly. Juvia didn't seem to be a very open person, and a nod from her, well, it was a start.
Are you going to the festival?
Strangely, Juvia didn't answer her question. Lucy tilted her head to the side in curiosity. The other mermaid looked distracted. It was as if Juvia didn't hear her question at all. She was watching Gray with slight interest, eyes narrowed as if she was trying to figure him out.
Lucy placed a hand underneath her chin. Interesting.
This time, Juvia looked at her. "What?"
Lucy beamed. Are you going to the festival?
Juvia paused. Lucy heightened her senses, opening her aura as to accommodate the emotions the other mermaid was feeling. Conflicted, suspicious, apprehensive and. . . scared? Lucy's eyebrows furrowed. In a fraction of a second—so fast that only a trained eye (something Lucy was very proud she possessed) could see it, Juvia's blue orbs stole a glance at Gray, who was engaged in a heated whisper argument with Natsu.
"Yes, Lucy-san, Juvia is going to the festival."
The festival is filled with humans.
Her hands were pale. Juvia's fingertips were shaking as she took in the bright colors, laughing townspeople, and inter mingling scents of food that came from wooden stalls. The mermaid looked around, trying to take in the festival and deduce information that was essential to the destruction of the human race.
However—to her horror—for some strange reason, she felt no need to kill. Her mind was going in different directions. The festivities seemed a lot more alluring than the smell of blood shed by humans. Juvia felt no need to destroy the lives of innocent people. Years of hating the humans seemed insignificant as she stood in the middle of their species, shaking.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, as if it was attempting to destroy her ribcage.
She was scared.
The opening remarks were led by a tiny old man who called himself the king. He was a jolly fellow, and Juvia watched with amusement as he shouted at both Natsu and Gray ("you brats! Get your butts in line or both of you lose your chances for the throne!") in between his spiel about the singing cave and the wonders it had done to their kingdom.
He talked about the abundance they had been blessed with. He talked about a goddess named "Mavis." Juvia tilted her head to the side in curiosity, but before she could listen more, Juvia found herself alone with Gray, her fingers twirling itself around the frills of her dress. Natsu had taken the liberty to drag a very nervous Lucy to some boat ride to see the Sakura trees in an attempt to loosen her nerves.
Juvia spoke first.
"Where is this singing cave?" Juvia asked, trying to appear nonchalant. Gray, who had a fish-shaped cake in his hands, paused in his actions.
Juvia raised an eyebrow at him, observing as he looked at the sky. The stars shone brightly against the darkness, providing additional light to the people who celebrated the festival from below.
Makarov's voice slowly disappeared. The number of villagers around them lessened as they dispersed.
"It's by the shoreline," Gray answered simply.
Silence ate at the two mages for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.
The noise the villagers made served as the perfect background noise for the two while they walked. Gray finished the delicacy in no time, and had moved on to another food booth, stuffing his face with some sort of sandwich glazed with melted sugar. He handed Juvia a piece.
"Eat," he said gruffly, shoving the sandwich in her direction. "You haven't eaten all day."
Slowly, she took the rather large sandwich handed to her. Her fingers worked to avoid the gooey mixture. The mermaid stared at it apprehensively.
"Gray-sama, this is—" she adjusted the positioning of her limbs once more, "sticky."
"That's what makes it delicious," he replied. "Bet you never had one before."
"Food like this isn't exactly delivered to the sea."
"Then you don't know how to eat it." Gray smirked, before opening his mouth wide and ramming the sandwich in. He took a large bite out of the caramade frank. "Diff ish 'ow ya' eat a Cawamade Fank."
For some reason, she was tempted to laugh.
Here was a high and mighty prince who was able to manipulate ice and possessed the ability to defeat her, one of the strongest, S-class mages of Phantom. Currently, said prince was teaching her how to thrust sandwiches in her mouth.
For the first time in a long time, Juvia flashed a hint of a smile. "Juvia will try it."
She opened her mouth wide and copied his actions. The ooze from the sandwich filled her mouth with a sweetness she had never tasted before, so she took a second bite the moment she swallowed her first.
"Like it?" Gray asked.
For some reason. the townspeople were eyeing the both of them weirdly, as though they had figured out that she was a mermaid who had come on land to wreak havoc. Juvia cast a glance in Gray's direction, almost in inquiry—
Then she found out the reason why.
"Gray-sama," she said, her voice no higher than a whisper, "your clothes have disappeared."
"Ack!" was the man's reply as he looked down at his state of undress. Gray groaned. "You finish that. I'll look for my clothes." With those words, he stomped away.
Juvia's half-eaten sandwich was calling for her attention. She clutched the delicacy tighter. She could feel her power surging through her veins. Flowing through her blood stream, blooming in her heart. The ocean was near, speaking her name in its tides.
This was her chance.
The only person who could stop her was gone. She could take revenge on these pitiful humans. These savages were the ones who decided that the lives of her parents were of less value than theirs. She would destroy them, kill them—
Why are you so kind to me when I tried to kill you?
"Are you done?"
Juvia snapped out of her trance almost immediately. Gray stood in front of her—fully-clothed, thankfully. She nodded.
"Where next?" Juvia looked at him in confusion. "You've been following me around all day," he continued. "It's your turn to choose."
She hummed as she thought, absently nibbling the sandwich. Gray stared at her in amusement.
"Will Gray-sama take Juvia to the singing cave?"
The ocean air felt fresh as the wind billowed in his ears.
Beside him, Juvia took slow but measured steps, trying to accustom herself to the feeling of land. Gray sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. For a reason he could not comprehend, the girl—mermaid—always seemed to surprise him.
Juvia took in the familiar scent of salt littering the breeze, and she sighed in contentment.
For the first time, she was actually starting to consider a life that didn't involve the massacre of many innocent human beings.
The sea sang its song louder than ever, shouting her name whenever the waters smashed against the sand.
Juvia, it called, letting her name echo in the wind, Juvia, come ba—
"Have you ever heard Mavis' legend?"
She turned her head to look at him slowly, taking in his rather disheveled appearance. His dark hair flung against his forehead as the breeze whipped around him. He had destroyed the song the sea was singing to her for the second time that day.
"Juvia was unable to hear it," she responded. Almost half of the king's speech was a jumble of words in her head. If she was honest, all she could remember was the way Makarov shouted at Natsu and Gray's rather unprince-like demeanor. How ironic. "But Juvia thinks she heard that Mavis was able to grant blessings."
Gray nodded. "She sends bountiful amounts of seafood. To thank her, we have this festival."
Juvia scoffed. "Juvia is assuming the cave has a legend, then?"
"Of course. Every goddess has to have a legend," Gray responded sarcastically. "Mavis' was so disappointing though."
His face sombered. Curiosity bloomed in the mermaid's mind and she scooted a little closer, urging him in her subconscious to tell the tale of the goddess.
Gray seemed to have heard her, because he continued. The first line of the tale were the words he knew by heart; a product of Makarov's bedtime stories. "This is the story of a cursed boy and a cursed girl."
Juvia raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
Gray laughed. "Hey, it's not a very happy story. Mavis, who was sweet, kind, and beautiful, was a mage who fell in love with the king of the underworld."
Juvia gasped inaudibly, eyes widening. "Zeref?"
"Yeah," Gray answered. "There was once a time when Zeref and Mavis weren't separated by land and sea alike. They used to be able to interact with each other and marvel at the beauty of the world."
"What happened?"
"She fell in love with him. He was darkness, the prince of evil. She was—she was light. It didn't work out. They were warned countless times to stop their love for each other but both were too stubborn to listen. One day. . ." Gray trailed off. He looked at Juvia warily, watching the play of emotions on her usually passive face.
"One day?"
"One day. . . Mavis lost her life."
". . . How?"
Gray shrugged. "The legend doesn't say. But Zeref was devastated. He rushed to the underworld as quick as he could and scourged for her soul. Unfortunately, her resurrection came with a price. They were to remain apart from each other and Zeref would have to rule the underworld for eternity."
"Mavis-san would live but Zeref would never be able to see her again? Juvia thinks that is so. . . sad."
"I think so too," Gray said, frowning. "Anyway, Zeref agreed. He considered her life to be valuable. He wanted her to live."
"So Mavis-san returned to land?"
"She came to this cave," he gestured towards the hollow opening. "It's said that every night, she calls out for him, wishing that he would return to her. She was a gentle soul. So as not to irritate the townspeople, she would send gifts that came in the forms of fishes and bountiful harvests. She became a goddess." His words echoed Makarov's own. "They say her voice resembles the lull of the sea, the distant call of a gazelle, a melody that attempts to penetrate land—deep in the recesses of the underworld. That's why this cave is called the singing cave."
The peace that fell upon the prince and the mermaid was filled with fidgets and shifts, each trying to hear the voice that the legend had told. Fingers buried themselves in the sand as ears perked, ignoring the whistling tone of the breeze.
Juvia closed her eyes. She could hear the waves, the wind, the crowd—everything was jumbled together in a flurry of muffled noise. Perhaps if she strained a little more, she would be able to sense the presence of the goddess.
Maybe if she could listen just a tiny bit—she would be able to hear—
"Zeref. . ."
Juvia's eyes snapped open.