Juvia awoke to the sunlight shinning on her face. For a moment she had forgotten where was but upon seeing one of the bells in the tower she remembered everything. She heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"It's me." She recognized the voice on the other side. It was Gray. "May I come in?"

"Yes."

He cautiously opened the door and walked in very slowly. As if he was doing everything he could to make sure that his appearance didn't startle her. In his hand he held a plate with half a loaf of bread and some fruit.

"I thought you might be hungry so I brought you something to eat." He said.

"Thank you." She said.

"Last night I went to look for your friend."

"Is he dead?"

"No. I saw him leave with a woman. At least I think it was him. Does he have a tattoo over his eye?"

"Yes."

"Then he's alive."

"Oh thank God." She sighed in relief before picking up the fruit from the basket to eat. She was just about to bite into it but stopped and looked up at Gray. "Do you have a knife?"

"Yes but why do you need it?"

"So can I can cut it in half and we can share it."

"That's okay I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright then."

"Do you want me to leave you to eat alone?"

"No. Why would I want that?"

"Well seeing my face may cause you to lose your appetite."

"Will you stop that?"

"Stop what?"

"Being afraid to show your face in front of me. I'm not scared of you or disgusted by you. I thought you would have realized that by now."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so used to negative reactions to my face."

"Well you have no negative reactions from me. Especially considering that you saved my life. Thank you for that."

"I was just repaying you for what you did for me."

"I think your good deed is much more noble than mine. Despite the torture in your situation you still would have been left alive. But there's something I want to ask you."

"What's that?"

"You know why they were going to hang me don't you?"

"Yes. They believed you tried to kill a soldier."

"And you didn't believe that?"

"No."

"Not that their beliefs are right but why? Why didn't you believe I was guilty?"

She wouldn't have blamed him if he did. After all he was raised by someone who hated gypsies and spread teachings that said they were evil. And with such a man being the only family Gray had it was only natural that he believe what he was taught. Hell, hundreds of people who didn't even know Invel automatically believed that she was evil and deserved to die. So why was Gray different?

"I couldn't believe that." He told her. "After what you did for me, after you helped me, after you talked to me like I was an actual person, I just refused to believe that you were capable of something like that. You're too good to do something so horrible."

She smiled sweetly at him. Relieved that at least he didn't see her as a murderer or a witch.

"You know you're safe here." He said. "The soldiers aren't allowed to come in here to arrest you. You're protected by the laws of sanctuary."

"That's a relief. I guess."

Truth be told she wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand she was safe from the judge and his men. They wouldn't be able to touch her as long as she stayed here. But on the other hand it also meant that she couldn't leave this place. If she did they would arrest and/or kill her so in a way she was trapped here.

"What's wrong?" He asked upon noticing the distressed look on her face.

"Oh nothing." She said not wanting Gray to feel guilty for bringing her here. She figured that right now being kept here was better than dying so she would try her best to look at the positive side of this predicament.

"This place is really big." He told her. "You can go anywhere you'd like in here and a lot of the people who come here are very friendly and welcoming."

"You don't have to convince me." She assured him. "I'm sure I'll be very happy here."

"Really? I know being stuck here doesn't sound that great and believe me a lot of times it isn't but I'll try to make you as comfortable as possible."

"Don't go through any trouble. As long as you're here I'll be fine. I don't mind being stuck anywhere as long as I have someone to talk to."

"Still if you need anything don't be afraid to ask. Do you need anything right now?"

"No."

"Alright. I have to go ring the bells now but I'll be back later...That is if you want me to come back."

"I do. I like talking to you."

"Okay then."

Juvia couldn't help but think that Gray was so adorable when he acted all shy and nervous like that. Made her wonder how anyone could think he was remotely ugly or monsterous. Sure he was different but that's all he was. Different. Not ugly, not monsterous, not horrible, and definitely not demonic. Just different. And what was so wrong with being different? Why did the world see differences as a bad thing? It was something she just couldn't understand.

As for Gray he had a difficult time focusing on his work that morning. He was trying to figure out what on earth he was doing. How could he bring her here? When she was considered a murderer and a witch by the law? If Invel found out that he had brought her here he was dead. To save her from a hanging issued by a judge and giving her shelter in the cathedral when the archdeacon was against her kind? Was he going crazy?

He figured he must've been crazy because despite his justifiable fear of Invel, he couldn't bring himself to just let Juvia die. For some strange reason, deep his heart he felt like if she were to die then he would die too. That if she was gone he couldn't go on living. He didn't have the slightest idea why it was that he felt like this but right now it didn't matter. Until further notice he would take care of Juvia and protect her by any means necessary which shouldn't have been much of a problem for him.

He would give her his bed to sleep in, share his meals with her, none of the soldiers were allowed to arrest her while she was in here. Honestly his only challenge was keeping her hidden from Invel. He wasn't exactly sure what the archdeacon would do to him or Juvia if he found out she was here and that he was helping her but he hoped to God above that he'd never find out.