As days went by Juvia continued to spin the nettle flax into thread, it was quite difficult in the beginning but the more she did it the easier her work became. Mirajane always had delicious meals and a bath prepared for her, Jellal always spoke to her in a graceful manner and occasionally assisted her in her work, she would see Gajeel from time to time, and Frosch was always there to keep her company. She soon believed that she would be finished with her work and home again in no time.

However even though things were getting better there were really bad days which didn't just make things harder for her but for everyone else as well.

One day in particular Alok, the owl priest had returned from a long trip. He was very cold man, colder than Gray and he was cruel too. Selfish, vindictive, unfeeling, and he was feared by everyone in the castle. When he arrived at the castle doors all who resided in the castle became stiff with fear. He had a calm appearance but they knew all too well that something had angered him.

"I wish to speak with my son." He said.

"Yes sir." Jellal replied nervously before calling for Gray.

The goblin king and his father were left alone in the owl priest's study.

"What is this I hear about you letting a human woman work here?" He asked Gray.

"She just appeared out of no where, begging me to help her get home. I told her I would if she could successfully make a tapestry for me."

"How could you let such filth into the castle?!"

"I was bored Father." Gray said. "There's nothing to do around here, I need something to amuse me and watching her try and fail is quite a show."

"You didn't have my permission to let her stay here."

"Oh please! I'm not a child, I'm almost eighteen, and I am a king I don't need your permission for anything."

"How dare you use such impertinence toward your own father! You are such a worthless boy!" Alok snapped in a voice that caused Gray to flinch and before he could react, Alok drew back and struck Gray across the face. "But of course that's to be expected from someone like you! A goblin with a hideous human body! Your mother would be so repulsed by you!"

"Please don't say that Father." Gray pleaded.

"Stop sniveling like a coward! Ugh...You are such a disappointment."

"I'm sorry...I-"

"Silence! You're lucky that I didn't choose to disown you years ago! As for the human I suppose she can stay for your amusement but if you pull a stunt like that again you'll be more than sorry!"

He then left his son trembling on the floor. Later that night as Juvia slept, she was awoken by a disturbing noise. It was a mixture of howling and screaming, like someone or something that was suffering in agony. At first she thought that she was dreaming but she soon realized that she was very much awake as she was listening to it. Curious, she stepped out of bed while being careful not to wake Frosch who always slept on a pillow at her feet, slipped on a shawl that Mirajane had given her, and with a lit candle in her hand she went out of her room to investigate.

The darkness of the night made the stairway look like a bottomless pit and the castle was so very cold and dark. It made her feel like she was walking through the night sky itself however there were no glittering stars to make it less scary. She had the earie feeling that someone or something was breathing down her neck and following her. She turned around several times to make sure that she was alone and indeed she was.

Drawing closer to the source of the noise it became louder, more frightening, she felt fear grip her heart and her voice of reason telling her to go back but her curiosity told her to press on.

"Hello?" She called. "Is someone there? Jellal? Mirajane?"

No answer. Fear was starting to over shadow curiosity and she was just about to leave when suddenly the howling stopped. She became perfectly still and heard a door creak open.

"Is that you Lucy?" A voice asked.

Before she knew it she was face to face with Gray who at the moment was a horrifying sight. His face had scratches, cuts, and bruises, however his eyes for a brief moment were filled with joy. As if he thought she was someone else, someone who he had lost and missed so terribly. But once he recognized who she really was his eyes were filled with anger.

"What are you doing here?" He asked trying to control his rage.

Juvia couldn't answer, she was completely speechless. She wasn't sure weather to be scared for her life or concerned for Gray's well being.

"Answer me!"

"I...I...I heard screaming..." She stuttered. "What happened to your face?"

"Go away."

"But-"

"Go away!" He shouted. "Don't look at me! Don't look at me!"

Finally Juvia gained control of her legs again and she willed herself to run back to her room. Her heart was beating out of her chest, what was it she had just seen? Did she really see or was it just a nightmare? No, no it was very real and it frightened her so.

In the morning as she did her spinning, Mirajane stopped by to check on her and she noticed that Juvia seemed to be lost in thought as she worked.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No...I mean...Well actually..."

"What is it?"

"Last night I...I heard screaming and I went to see what it was, I saw Gray and he...He...He was hurt. His face was all bruised and...He looked like he had been attacked."

"Oh no his father has driven him to doing it again."

"Doing what? Did his father hurt him?"

"No. Alok didn't do it but he might as well be at fault for it."

"I don't understand."

"Gray..." Mirajane started in a sigh. "Gray did it to himself."

"What? Why on Earth would he do that?"

"He's so ashamed of what he is. Alok has been drilling into him since the time he could walk that he was disgusting and vile, causing Gray to feel a terrible self loathing."

"He hates himself so much that he actually hurts himself?"

"Yes. He never goes too far but it's horrible. When he was a child he would throw the most awful tantrums, he would scream, kick, throw things, just awful."

"So he's been wretched since the beginning?"

"Oh no, you misunderstand. He only threw those tantrums whenever his father cruelly told him how vile he was because of his human body. But that aside he was a very sweet child. You know I still remember when he was his most happiest."

"When was that?"

"It was when his older sister Lucy was here, she was always there to calm him down when he threw his tantrums and she would will him to behave better. He loved her so much. She gave him all the love and care that Alok didn't have to give."

"I was told that she ran away. Is that true?"

"Yes. We don't know why but one day she just left without a word. Gray was devastated and ever since she's left he's behaved worse than ever before."

"How come no one tries to stop him from hurting himself?"

"We try to but he always does when everyone else is asleep and we never know what nights he does it. We told Alok about it but that monster just shrugged it off as nothing."

"Well I'm not going to stand back and let him do that."

"What do you mean?"

"The next time I see him hurting himself I'm going to stop him."

"Are you sure that's wise? He can be very dangerous when he's in that state."

"I'm not afraid of him. In fact aside from the age difference, he's no different from my brother and I could always handle him."

"Are you certain?"

"Positive. They're both arrogant, rude, stubborn, and absolutely childish. Of course Natsu was always a lot nicer than this man but still I think I can get through to Gray if I really try."

"In that case good luck to you. You're going to need it."