Hello, dearest readers.
I apologise for another delay in posting. Seems writer's block has found me and did not want to leave me alone:(
Thankfully I finally managed to break through a few days ago, so I was able to brainstorm, plan and write.
I have good and bad news for you. This story, which was originally planned as a short one, has taken on a life of its own and decided to become a full on multi-chapter. It will probably join my unfinished list now, unfortunately.
I do wish I could keep things short and simple, but ideas keep coming and forcing me to expand. At the very least I know how this story will end thus even if it takes a while there will be closure.
Anyways, now to reply to your reviews:
erikalu53006: I'm glad you think so. Hopefully it will get even more interesting from now on. 😏
Star197: Thank you 😊
Scselmayahoo. fr: It's rather late, but here it is.
FbFlame94: I'm happy you enjoyed the confession. It was rather different from the ones I've written before since Gray didn't actually say the three words. Ah you have no idea what I've planned for Juvia's family 😏 it will be quite a ride!
Lucy H Lover: I thought it was an interesting take on her backstory, as well as unheard of. I feel the same about the confession, Gray is known to be a man of action more than words thus that's how he shows his love. Thank you for being understanding about the updates. I wish I could write every day or week, but just like with story-planning, things don't always go my way.
Alfys-World: I love that you love how mysterious this is
Amanny: Thanks! Shocking theories/plot twists are kinda my thing. I'm happy you liked it.
Happy reading!
"They sent you to infiltrate Fiore in case the invasion failed, didn't they?"
Standing up, Juvia glared at the two agents. "I refuse to stay here and listen to you make such accusations without evidence."
Doranbolt reached for the handcuffs before using his teleportation magic. Appearing behind her, he quickly placed them around her wrists.
Juvia gasped upon realising that they prevented her from using magic. Not good.
Returning to his seat at the table, Doranbolt gave her a determined look. "You're not going anywhere until we have the truth."
"If you give us useful information, we might consider not arresting you." Lahar said.
Juvia struggled against the cuffs, but it was pointless. "I don't trust either of you."
Doranbolt sighed. "Look, I'm giving you a chance to do the right thing here."
"The right thing." She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Why do people always use that term?"
"If you don't cooperate..." Lahar threatened.
"You'll arrest me, I know." Juvia shrugged.
"But before that..." Doranbolt lifted a glowing hand. "I'll use my magic to see through your memories."
Juvia considered this for a moment, quickly coming to the conclusion that it wouldn't be the worst case scenario. After all, it's not like they would find anything useful there either.
"Go ahead." She shrugged, and the two agents seemed confused. "You won't find what you're looking for."
"Alright, then." Doranbolt pressed his hand against her forehead and closed his eyes.
At the infirmary
Gray was met with cheers and congratulations from his comrades once he re-entered the infirmary.
"Well done, Gray." Makarov was the first to congratulate him.
"It was about time." Cana rolled her eyes.
"You're a real man." Elfman yelled.
"I'm so happy for you!" Mirajane swooned.
"Wait a second..." Gajeel was the first to notice. "Where's Juvia?"
The mood instantly changed as people became confused, worried and honestly a little afraid.
"Gray?" Erza asked, leaving Natsu's side since she had been comforting him and taking a step towards the ice mage.
"She's gone." He answered and his mind replayed the weird moment from before in an attempt to understand it.
"Gone where?" Gajeel asked, his tone even more concerned.
"I don't know." Gray answered, sincerely. "She told me not to worry, but I can't help it."
"I'm confused." Natsu affirmed. "Did you guys get together or not?"
Everyone looked at the ice mage in expectation. "That's not really any of your business, flame brain." Gray snapped, a slight blush colouring his cheeks.
"Please." Cana scoffed. "If you wanted to keep it a secret, then you shouldn't have been so obvious."
Before he could protest, Makarov stepped in. "Gray, I understand you are a private person, but we just want you to be happy."
"And if being with Juvia is what makes you happy, we want help to make that happen." Levy continued.
"Speak for yourself." Gajeel muttered, glaring at the ice mage.
"I appreciate you wanting to help." Gray said after a few silent moments. "But I think it's up to me and Juvia now."
"And where is Juvia?" Makarov asked, looking worried. "Why isn't she with you?"
"She was taken by the Magic Council." The former revealed, ensuing shocked gasps and screams.
"But why?" Levy asked what all were thinking.
Defeated, Gray slumped into a chair. "I have no idea."
Outside Crocus
"I still can't believe she hurt Lucy like that." Meredy was still in disbelief over what they had witnessed earlier.
"It seems the Sabertooth guild doesn't care about humanity." Jellal stated pensively.
"Do you think they could be the evil we've been sensing?" Ultear suggested.
"Can't be." He immediately responded, shaking his head. "They were all in their stand yesterday when I saw the figure."
"They could've used an illusion like Raven Tail." Ultear wisely pointed out.
Meredy was thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think we should spend much time considering this."
"We've got bigger issues to think about." Jellal said, glancing at the crystal ball in her hands which showed the still image of Juvia walking away from Gray, following Doranbolt and Lahar.
They had been aiming to check up on Lucy, but once the image of the couple outside the infirmary appeared, Meredy insisted they watched this interaction. They knew why she was interested in the couple and couldn't deny their own curiosity.
Watching Gray try to confess was amusing and when they finally kissed the trio smiled in delight. However, the beautiful moment was soon ruined by the two Magic Council agents.
"Why do you think they want to talk to Juvia?" Meredy wondered.
"I don't know." Jellal frowned, worried and suspicious.
"It's not really our business." Ultear pointed out, making the image disappear from the ball.
"It could be, if she's involved in something dangerous." He told her.
"You don't think she is, do you?" Meredy's eyes widened, her disbelief clear.
Jellal and Ultear shared a look before he sighed. "I've always sensed that she had a connection to Zeref."
"Me too." The time mage admitted.
"But…" Meredy didn't want to believe it. She refused to. "She can't…"
"I remember meeting her when we were members of the Council, while she was still in Phantom Lord." Ultear mused. "There was a certain...energy to her which now that I think about it is similar to Zeref's."
"I didn't feel that." Meredy said, now conflicted.
"This without mentioning the fact that her file is nearly empty." Jellal remembered. "I always thought that was the fault of the orphanage where she grew up, but it could be something else."
"Well, whatever she's hiding, we should figure it out before someone gets hurt because of it." Ultear affirmed.
In Alvarez
"I still think that you should have killed her on Tenrou Island." Dimaria stated as the Spriggan 12 met with Emperor Spriggan to discuss the matter of Juvia Lockser.
"Why?" Irene questioned. "The girl is hardly a threat."
"You said the same about her father." Larcade observed.
"And she was right." Zeref spoke, silencing their argument. "Or are you forgetting that Daniel was the one who allowed us to dispose of the Council members that posed a threat to the Empire?"
"Yet why are we letting them live?" Larcade motioned towards the image of Doranbolt and Lahar that was shown on a screen.
"For now." The Emperor said. "But we didn't arrange this meeting to discuss them."
"No, we did not." Irene said as everyone became serious.
"We should focus on our latest mission to infiltrate Fairy Tail." Invel reminded them.
Dimaria voiced her opinion. "I still believe this is rather risky."
"I agree." Ajeel piped in. "Trusting a mere servant to gain us access to their inside information…"
"Well, if any of us went there they'd be easily suspicious." Brandish pointed out, looking bored as usual.
"Besides, we can't forget that our spy has a deep connection to one of their core members." August finally spoke.
"That is precisely why I chose them." Zeref stated with a knowing smile. "It's always easier for people to trust someone they think they know."
Inside the castle
"Are you sure that was the right call?" Doranbolt asked while organising the files.
"I don't know." Lahar let out a defeated sigh. "But we established that she's not a threat."
"That doesn't mean we can trust her, though." The former concluded, closing the now empty drawer on the desk.
"Of course not." The latter shook his head. "We'll keep a close eye on her and if she does anything suspicious, we can arrest her."
"Don't you think it would be better to take her now instead of waiting?" Doranbolt suggested.
As expected, Lahar disagreed. "We do not have enough evidence to arrest her now."
The former sighed. "Sometimes I hate having to do things the right way."
Outside the Mercurious
Juvia left the palace feeling uncertain and unsafe. Even though she hadn't said anything incriminating nor did her memories reveal the truth, she felt like Doranbolt and Lahar remained suspicious.
She was grateful that they had let her go, though. The thought of being arrested and sent to ERA was terrifying, even more so when everything was finally falling into place.
Thinking back to her moment with Gray, she couldn't help but to smile. He had been so sweet, trying to tell her he felt the same and then politely asking if he could kiss her.
Juvia hadn't expected him to be such a gentleman, but it was a welcome surprise. She could only imagine how he would act if they did get together. At least she hoped this would be the outcome of the conversation they were meant to have later.
What if it isn't? She stopped in her tracks, suddenly overwhelmed by fear. Strange how she was more afraid of losing him than being sent to prison.
Another terrifying thought came. What if he finds out about Alvarez? What will I tell him?
Juvia sighed as she resumed walking along the palace gardens. She really needed to start figuring out what to tell him and everyone else about the interrogation. There must be a way to dissuade them from asking too many questions she couldn't answer.
She was about to start brainstorming when suddenly she felt a familiar presence. Stopping again, she looked ahead and sure enough there was a hooded figure not far ahead.
There was a moment of silence as Juvia stared at the figure, unsure what to do. Then, they suddenly removed their hood, revealing a familiar head of blonde hair and big brown eyes. It was Lucy.
So, thoughts?
Did you expect Doranbolt and Lahar to actually let Juvia go? There's a reason for that, and it's deeper than it seems.
What do you think Future Lucy will tell her?
Lastly, what do you make of the early introduction of the Spriggan 12?
Next chapter will include Juvia and Lucy's talk, some revelations and plenty of Gruvia scenes. I haven't started it yet, so it should take a while.
I hope you can be patient with me. I have so much to update and it's hard to figure out the best order.
Wishing you the best day! 😉