The next day when Juvia came home from school she went right over the her next door neighbor's house. She wasn't sure what Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster were like in fact she had never seen them before. She only knew them by name but according to her mother they were both very nice people. Upon arriving at their house she gave their front door a very polite knock. In three seconds exact the door was opened by a woman in her mid thirties, a very pretty woman with long raven black hair that shimmered in the sunlight. She gave Juvia a smile but her eyes were filled with an incredible sadness.

"You must be Grandeeney's daughter, she told me that you were coming over to help me." She said sweetly. "Come inside."

Juvia did as she was told and followed Mrs. Fullbuster inside.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming over to help me." She said.

"It's not a problem Mrs. Fullbuster."

"Oh please call me Mika."

In the attic there were plenty of boxes that had stuff packed inside of them. Some of the stuff in the boxes she was planning on either selling it in a yard sale or donating to charity. The two of them moved the boxes into two sections: Items to keep and items to get rid of. It didn't take nearly as long as Juvia thought it would take and when they were finished Mika offered Juvia some tea.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me. Normally my husband would be doing this but he's been working later than usual."

"What does your husband do?"

"Well he's a pianist and he typically works at night clubs so he spends most the evenings at work and most of the day time at home resting."

"Oh he plays piano? I'd love to hear him perform some time that is if he wouldn't mind playing for me."

"I'm sure he would be glad to."

"What do you do?"

"Me? Well I started out wanting to be a novelist but it didn't work out for me so now I work as a catalog writer which means I pretty much work from home."

"So one of you is in the performing arts and one of you is into the literary arts. Just like my parents."

"Really? I never thought Igneel and Grandeeney as the performing and literary arts type."

"Oh no um...I guess my mother never mentioned it but I'm adopted. My birth parents died in a car accident when I was a kid, my birth father was a writer and my birth mother was an actress."

"Oh that's awful...Not your father being a writer and your mother being actress, the fact that they passed away while you were still young. I'm very sorry."

"It's alright."

"So tell me what kind of shows was your mother in?"

"Typically romantic ones, she was so wonderful."

"I've never actually seen a play."

"You haven't?"

"I don't really get out much and despite what people say about me and my husband we don't like to be alone. We would like to make friends with other people."

"How come you haven't?"

"We just...Never get around to it."

Juvia glanced over at the old grandfather clock that stood in the corner and saw that it was almost six meaning her mother would be back from her appointment soon.

"I have to leave now."

"Alright then. Have a good evening and say hello to your mother for me."

Juvia stood up and started to leave but then stopped.

"I have some old photographs and news paper clippings from when my mother performed, would like me to come over tomorrow and show them to you?"

"I'd like that very much."

"Okay."

As Juvia walked toward the door she accidentally knocked over a box with her foot which spilled out some items.

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry! I'll pick these up right away!"

The items that had spilled from the box was a bunch of baby toys and baby clothes.

"Oh no!" Mika gasped. "These were supposed to stay in the attic!"

She quickly gathered up all the baby toys and clothes back into the box which she hurriedly went to put back in the attic. Strange, why would Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster have baby times? She never recalled anyone mentioning that they had a child.

"Mom." Juvia asked Grandeeney when she came home that day. "Did Mr. and Mrs. Fullbuster ever have any children?"

"No dear why do you ask?"

"Because while I was over at their house today I saw that they had a box full of baby stuff."

"Really? Huh...Well maybe I'm wrong but as far as I know they never had a child."

That little mystery aside, Juvia found herself visiting Mika Fullbuster for a hour after school. She enjoyed talking with her and she helped her out with some house work that she had trouble with. She even got a chance to meet her husband Silver Fullbuster. He was a very strong looking man but polite and very talented on the piano. The first time he played for her it was an incredible experience, his fingers seemed to dance over the keys and the music was wonderful.

"Wow Mr. Fullbuster you're amazing." She said. "Thank you for playing for me."

"It's the least I could do for the young lady who's been helping my wife." He said. Then Silver got up from the piano in the living room and put on his jacket. "I have to go now Mika but I'll be back at eleven."

"Alright dear, see you later."

They kissed each other goodbye and he went off to work. Shortly after he left Juvia realized that soon it would be time for her to go home.

"Goodbye Mrs. Fullbuster." She said grabbing her jacket.

"Wait a minute Juvia." She said. "Listen since you've been helping me so much lately I would like to give you something. I hear you like books and I have a lot of books in the back, Silver and I have read everyone of them so would you like to take one?"

"Sure."

"Good. Take which ever book you would like."

Juvia went in the back of the room where many books were lined on several shelves. She wasn't sure which one to pick because they all looked so neat and interesting. She was just about to pick one off one of the shelves when suddenly she heard a loud thump! Looking over to her left she saw that something had fallen onto the floor. It was a book, a very strange and old looking book with a hard leather cover and the front of it had the title engraved in golden letter: THE LABYRINTH.

It looked like one of those antique, old fashioned books with vintage pages. She liked books like that so she chose to take that one. She picked it up, put it in her bag, thanked Mrs. Fullbuster for letting her choose a book, and went back home.

"I don't get why everyone thinks they're so strange." Juvia said to Natsu later that night. "They seem like perfectly normal people to me."

"I still think that they're kind of creepy."

"They're not creepy!...But they are sad."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I come over they always have smiles on their faces but their eyes always filled with so much sadness. I wonder what makes them so sad."

"Drugs?"

"Natsu!"

"Kidding! I'm just kidding! But if you want my honest opinion I think those people are hiding something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know it's just a feeling and you said that they had baby stuff right? Even though they never had a kid?"

"Yes."

"Don't you find that a little bit suspicious?"

"I find it odd but not suspicious."

"You know I have theory."

"Oh God, here we go."

"Maybe they did have a kid but he was born deformed and ugly so they locked him away in their basement where it became a savage man eating creature."

"I thought Mom told you to stop watching those horror movies, you know they mess with your head."

"They do not."

"Natsu you once wrote an essay on how a zombie apocalypse would be how the world ended."

"Hey Night of The Living Dead could happen."

"You know this is one of those instances where I'm glad we're not biologically related."

"Go on and mock me sis but you have your little obsession too."

"What obsession?"

"With fairy tales and fantasy?"

"Okay I'm not obsessed and I am interested in that stuff but I know it's not real."

"I know that horror movies aren't real."

"Essay about zombie apocalypse."

"That was one time!"

"Speaking of essays have finished that one about William Shakespeare that was assigned to you from English class?"

"Um...No."

"Natsu, Dad is going to kill you if you get anything lower than a D. Here I checked out a biography on Shakespeare from the school library you can use it for your essay."

Juvia opened her bag and pulled out the biography but she did it in such a haste that it caused the book she had received from Mrs. Fullbuster to fall out of her bag.

"What's that?" Natsu asked.

"It's a book that Mrs. Fullbuster gave me. It's called The Labyrinth, I've never heard of it before."

"It looks really old."

"It probably is but I like old books. Now Natsu why don't you do yourself a huge favor and get started on your essay?"

"Don't nag me, Mom already does that to me."

He took the William Shakespeare biography and went to his own bedroom. Juvia picked up the book off the floor, sat on her bed, and opened it up. Inside were ancient pages with elegantly written words and the most magnificent illustrations she had ever seen. Intrigued, she started to read the story.

Once upon a time there lived a mystical land filled with strange creatures. Some were funny looking like the trolls, others were frightening like the goblins, and some were very beautiful like the fairies.

She saw illustrations of the creatures that had been described and they were all beautifully drawn. She turned the page and read the next one.

This land was called the Labyrinth and it was ruled over by the Goblin King. Although he had everything any man or beast could hope for he was not happy. In fact his heart was so dark that it caused him to be a man in capable of loving or being loved. As time went by he only became more sad and lonely but he did have one ray of hope. It is written that one day a beautiful and gentle young woman will come to the Labyrinth and lead the Goblin King to finding true happiness.

On that page the illustration was of a very dark throne room filled with strange and scary creatures called the goblins. In the center of the room, sitting on a throne was a young man with dark hair. He looked so very cold and so very sad, the way he was drawn made him look so realistic. As if he were an actual person.

"Funny, he's very handsome for a goblin king." She said.

"Who's very handsome?" Natsu said barging into her room.

"Natsu what did I say about coming into my room without knocking?"

"I forget anyway who's handsome?"

"No one." She said closing her book.

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing."

But he just grabbed the book from her before she could stop him and looked at the marked page.

"You've got a crush on a drawing?"

"I do not!"

"This is priceless!" He laughed. "Yeah you're not obsessed at all! You just have the hots for drawing!"

"Shut up Natsu! And get out of my room!"

"I guess I should give you two some privacy huh?"

He laughed hard but that earned him a shoe getting thrown in his face.

"Ow!'

"Get out!"

"Well played sis." He said leaving her room.