The next morning, the shredded dress had already been removed by the time Lucy woke up. A neat pile of clothes was placed on the writing desk. Shivering, Lucy quickly dressed herself in the plain white dress and slippers provided for her. Her modesty had recovered from the night before, but her determination to not give up was still unwavering. The door opened just as she finished situating the clothes on her person and a masked man entered the room. Lucy couldn't tell if he was her usual escort, since the masks everyone wore were all the same.
"Breakfast," he announced, crossing the room and setting a tray of fruit, pastries, coffee and juice on the writing desk. The voice and clipped sentence indicated that the guard was the same one as before. He turned back and stood by the closed door. Isn't he going to leave ? She thought as she stared at him. As if sensing her question, the man folded his arms across his chest. "In case you choke."
Lucy looked at him incredulously. I'll stay here to stop you from killing yourself is what he means. The rival Boss was having her watched so she wouldn't commit suicide. No wonder this room was nearly empty. He didn't want his grand spectacle to be ruined before the party tonight. The rival Boss was afraid she would rob him of the honor. Anger flared up inside of her. Killing herself meant she was giving up, submitting to the idea that there were no other options left to her. As long as she still breathed, she wasn't giving up. The rival Boss hadn't won yet.
"I'm not going to take my own life," she muttered as she picked up a melon slice and bit into it. If the rival Boss was so afraid that Lucy would kill herself, she guessed he wouldn't poison her food. She managed to eat most of the fruit and two pastries. She needed the strength for the plans she had for today. Once she was finished, the guard took the tray away and locked her in the room again.
Lucy paced the small space trying to figure out how to put her plans into action. The rival Boss had slipped up yesterday. After Lucy had a moment to process through her fear, she realized he had provided her with some very crucial information.
'For nearly a decade I've been waiting for this day. The day I can get my revenge on the monster I have locked in the dungeons below.'
Gray was here. He was being kept somewhere in the prisons that ran the length of the palace. Had Gray been kept there all this time? If that was the case, she had been so close to him but hadn't even known it, which meant that Gray was being kept in one of the prison rooms that was not a part of the tour and accessible to the public. That information narrowed his location down a bit, but still left hundreds of prison cells to choose from. When she escaped, she would only have a small window of time to find Gray and flee the palace with him. The rival Boss was clever and would be on high alert to make sure that his plans for revenge were not ruined. There wasn't much room for error. In order to do anything though, Lucy needed to get out of this room.
Knocking on the door of her room, she waited. After a moment, the lock clicked open and the guard cracked the door.
"What?" He asked gruffly.
"I need to use the restroom," she declared.
The guard stared at her for a moment before sighing. He produced the length of black fabric he had used to blindfold her before, motioning for Lucy to turn around.
"Is that really necessary?" she asked, eyeing the blindfold in his hand. If her eyes were covered, she couldn't get a good layout of the area. Even though she had toured The Doge's Palace before, she was being kept in an area not accessible on any of the tours. She needed to see if she could spy a way to get to the dungeons or a least, find a familiar area and work her way from there. Yet, her masked guard didn't say anything and waited for Lucy to comply. Aggravated, Lucy let herself be blindfolded once again and led out of the room. What is it with the mafia and blindfolding people?
The guard led her around, and she suspected he purposefully guided her in different directions to confuse her. She heard a door open and close behind them. The blindfold was removed and she noted she was in a small bathroom. Quickly scanning the room for some sort of escape or clue to her whereabouts or weapon to use, Lucy, to her dismay, found none.
"Make it quick," her guard barked.
"You don't intend on staying in here do you?"
"In case you slipped." Even though she couldn't see his facial features, she could hear the smugness in his voice which greatly irritated her.
"You can't be serious." She stared at him, mortified. His lack of response was answer enough.
"I didn't know being a pervert was a qualification for being in the mafia," she glared. The guard bristled and breathed heavily out of his nose, but he mercifully turned around.
Still mortified, she quickly took care of business and washed her hands. The guard blindfolded her again and led her back to her room using the same twisting and turning route to confuse her. Back in her room, Lucy muttered a few curses she had heard Natsu spout when he was frustrated. This was getting her nowhere. She was only allowed out to use the facilities and the rival Boss seemed to have instructed her guard to keep her ignorant of the layout. How was she supposed to escape now? Sighing heavily, she plopped on her bed and tried to think of a new strategy.
The rival Boss was on high alert. He had less than 24 hours until his long awaited revenge was fulfilled. It seemed like he wasn't going to take any chances. Yet, after meeting him yesterday, besides being cold, terrifying, and monstrous, he also seemed arrogant. How he mocked Gray and flaunted his plans for her death, he was confident that he had taken every precaution to succeed and nothing could go wrong.
Maybe I can use his arrogance against him…. Lucy sat up, struck with a sudden idea. It would be a gamble, and her time to execute her plan would be barely non-existent, but it could work. It had to work. Just in case though… Lucy knocked on the door again. It took a moment for her guard to respond, but he didn't say anything when he opened the door just stared at her.
"Since you're so afraid that I'm going to kill myself, you might provide me some entertainment, otherwise I'm going to die of boredom," she exaggerated, flipping her blonde locks. The guard just stared at her some more before replying gruffly.
"What do you want?"
"A pen, paper, and envelopes," Lucy requested.
The guard responded by shutting the door again and locking her in. Well, isn't he pleasant. He acts like he's the one that has a death threat over him.
It felt like hours, but her guard finally returned, carrying a tray with lunch prepared on it. Next to the food were the stationery supplies she had asked for.
"Let me guess," she rolled her eyes when he sat the tray down on the writing desk. "You're going to stay in here to make sure I'm not going to choke or give myself a papercut. Right?"
The guard just snorted as he took his post by the door. It was fine. She had suspected this anyway. Lucy sat down at the desk and ate her sandwich and fruit quickly. Pushing the empty dishes to the side she caressed the stack of blank pages before sliding the top leaf away from the rest. She picked up the pen, shifting its weight as she pinched it between her fingers and began to write, letting the hours pass her by as she lost herself to her writing.
She was nearing the end of her final letter when the door burst open. Her guard had remained silent the whole time, quietly watching her work. He didn't say anything when she took breaks to use the facilities as he guided her blinded self to and from. When the door burst open, he turned around startled, slipping into a defensive position.
"You're dismissed." A familiar voice filled the room. Lucy turned around as her guard left without a word and saw Sherry standing in the doorway dressed in a magnificent ball gown. The bodice was made entirely out of black lace with a high neckline and shoulder length sleeves. The fabric clung to her curvaceous frame, the lace details darkening around her bosom in order to hide her chest. The skirt flared out at her waist, in an explosion of black satin and tulle that gave the impression her skirts were made of black wispy smoke. Her arms were covered by elbow length black gloves made out of satin. Her usual pink hair was covered by a black wig that was done up and had tendrils of black jewels woven throughout. Peeking out behind either side of her shoulders were midnight-colored feathers. As she turned, Lucy could see Sherry wore an exquisite pair of wings, the tips ending just below her waist. The overall effect turned Sherry into a beautiful dark creature—an angel of death.
Sherry entered the room, setting down a large black box on the bed, smugly noting Lucy's wide eyed stare. "For love, I brought you the dress my dear Boss prepared for you for tonight's party."
Lucy didn't say anything as she stood and walked to the bed. She could feel Sherry watching her as Lucy undid the the black ribbon and opened the box. Staring up at her, on top of a pile of fabric, was a white mask. The mask was not a full faced mask like all of the rival Boss's wolves were wearing, but covered only the upper half of her face. It was light in her hands, despite the ornamentation on it. A white rose was situated near the right eye of the mask, with three short strands of pearls dangling from it. Setting the mask aside, Lucy pulled out the other contents of the box. Laying them out on the bed, Lucy noted her theme.
"It's lovely, isn't it? It's like something out of a dream or a fairy tale," Sherry sighed dramatically as she ran a gloved finger over the fabric of Lucy's dress. "Except, your prince is a monster locked away in a dungeon, and you, princess," Sherry turned her blue eyes towards Lucy, her voice hard and menacing, "are all alone with no one to rescue you. No happily ever afters except for the one my dear Boss will finally receive when he kills you."
Lucy looked at the clothes on the bed and then at the glaring girl beside her. Sherry had been the one to find Lucy and bring her here. Her dark costume was appropriate for the role she had played ushering in these events. Especially now, as she delivered the final reminder what Lucy was to the rival Boss. Sherry was his angel of death, delivering Lucy to the one who would kill her; and now, she had brought Lucy her death garment.
Everything, from the mask, to the dress, and the accessories, was all pure white. She realized now why all the clothes the rival Boss prepared for her were similar. They were constant reminders that he viewed her as one thing and one thing only. To him, Lucy was merely a lamb for slaughter in order to get the revenge he so desperately craved. She was the sacrifice.
Though Lucy was terrified by Sherry's words, something deep inside of her held back the fear, keeping it from drowning her. She would fight, kicking and screaming, she would face these wolves and survive.
"I'll give you 30 minutes to dress yourself and then, for love, I'll bring you to my dear Boss. I'm going to enjoy watching him stain this dress red." Sherry narrowed her eyes, before slipping on a mask Lucy didn't realize she was carrying. It was black, with a pink heart glittering on the lower corner of her left eye. The eye sockets were covered with black fabric that blocked her eyes from view. It covered her face, except for her lips and chin. With the mask in place, Sherry looked truly frightening.
"You know, Sherry," Lucy called after the girl as Sherry's black skirts rustled towards the door. The girl paused and looked back at Lucy as she stood in the doorway. "Stories don't always turn out the way you're expecting them to. They have a way of surprising you in the end," Lucy said, matching Sherry's glare with one of her own. Sherry slammed and locked the door in response.
Lucy picked up the mask she was supposed to wear and collapsed on the bed. Looking between the mask and the letters she had spent all day writing, Lucy just hoped that the words she spoke to Sherry were true.
It took her nearly the whole 30 minutes to dress herself in the costume prepared for her. She took a moment and stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror when she was done. Her dress was stunning, but extremely risqué. The dress was one piece, but looked like there were two layers to it. The first layer of the dress was skin tight stopping to rest midway up her thigh and covered in white appliqués strategically placed to hide her assets for mock modesty. It was styled as a halter dress, leaving her back and arms exposed. Around the top of the neck ran three small strings of pearls. The skirt made up the second layer of the dress. It was made out of white chiffon that fell in flowy waves down her legs and pooled at her feet. A long slit ran up the entirety of the left side of the skirt which looked like it was being held up by a belt made out of two strands of tiny pearls that wrapped around slightly above her waist. She adjusted the wig that covered her blonde hair with long white locks that curled slightly at the ends, before putting on the mask. There were no shoes for the costume, so Lucy stood barefoot. The overall effect made Lucy look vulnerable, helpless, and weak—a dainty and fragile thing. The rival Boss made her look like the perfect sacrifice.
A knock on the door, and Lucy turned away from the mirror. Her heart hammered in her chest as Sherry reappeared in the doorway. Lucy took a deep shuddering breath in order to calm herself. It was time.
Sherry stood aside and motioned for Lucy to exit the room. As the pair walked down the empty corridors, Lucy noted how the angel of death beside her was unusually quiet. Lucy was expecting her to sneer and jeer the entire time. She also noticed that Sherry hadn't even bothered to blindfold her. Why bother when this is the last time someone will have to escort me? She realized. They think I'm already dead.
Shivering slightly, Lucy brushed the thought away. She was glad that the rival Boss was confident. Let him think he's already won. That was what she wanted anyways. Lucy was also glad he had chosen Sherry to be her final escort tonight. It made her new plan a lot more plausible.
It's now or never, she thought as they rounded a corner.
Lucy pretended to trip on her dress, falling to a knee. She felt Sherry lean over her, about to tug her to her feet, but Lucy twisted around and sent a quick punch to the girl's gut. Sherry gasped, clutching her stomach as Lucy scrambled to her feet. Not stopping there, Lucy aimed one of her infamous Lucy kicks at Sherry's side. Yet, the girl recovered quickly and dodged her attack before leaping into an attack of her own. Sherry shoved Lucy against the wall with surprising strength. Lucy hadn't expected her to be this strong or to be able to move so nimbly in all that fabric. But Lucy wasn't giving up yet.
Lucy head-butted Sherry, sending a sharp stab of pain throughout her own head, but it worked. Sherry's grip slacked and Lucy took advantage of it and broke free. Once she was free, Lucy started to run down the hall. She couldn't beat Sherry, Lucy realized. She wasn't that strong, but that was never part of the plan. She just needed enough time to get away, so she could find an entrance to the dungeons.
The hallway veered right and Lucy ran down the hallway. She was thankful that her costume provided such mobility. After seeing what the rival Boss expected her to wear and what Sherry was wearing, she knew that she had to take full advantage of this situation. She had a little luck on her side.
She was nearing another turn in the hallway when something knocked into her with such force, it took the breath away from her. Lucy crashed onto the floor, throwing out her hands to help break her fall. Pain throbbed in her left wrist when she landed. She moved it slowly and sighed inwardly with relief that it wasn't broken. Struggling to get up, Lucy couldn't shake whatever was on top of her.
"Stop resisting," a voice hissed in her ear. "I'm trying to help you." Black feathers dipped in and out her vision and Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right," she said, realizing that Sherry was on top of her. "How is taking me to my execution helping me?"
She heard Sherry swear before Lucy was hauled off the ground and forced into a dark room. Lucy broke free from Sherry the moment the girl shut and locked the door, turning on a lamp nearest to her. Shifting her weight on her feet, Lucy prepared for another attack.
"Will you stop that already?! You're wasting time," Sherry said fumbling to take off her gloves.
"I'm not going to let you take me without a fight," Lucy shot back, holding her fists in front of her.
"You call that fighting?" Sherry asked, tossing aside one of her gloves. "Who head-butts someone anyways?"
"Shut up." Lucy held her fists up higher, which made Sherry's full lips turn down in a pout.
"You can't beat me," she said. Sherry spoke as if she was stating that the sky was blue, as if her words were a fact Lucy should have known. "Did you think because I was girl it made your chances for escape higher? I've trained all my life and can take down a man twice my size. You can't beat me with your cheap shots. You can't outrun me on your shaky legs. You can't-"
"Stop saying what I can't do!" Lucy interrupted. "I'll do whatever I have to do to get away from you and your Boss."
"Well, you can start by taking off that dress," Sherry replied.
"What?" Lucy blinked as Sherry tossed aside another one of her black gloves.
"Your dress." Sherry motioned up and down towards Lucy. "Take it off."
What the hell is going on? Lucy thought, taking a step back from Sherry. "Why do you want me to take off my dress?"
Sherry sighed loudly, clearly irritated. "I told you I'm trying to help you." When Lucy didn't move, Sherry sighed again. "You're so stubborn," she said and took off her mask and wig.
Lucy eyes bulged out of her head, her heart dropping to her stomach. It wasn't Sherry who stood in front of her, but someone much more fearsome.
"Juvia," she breathed.
Shocked by the sudden appearance of the Italian Mafia's true leader, Lucy stumbled backward. The fear that she was able to hold down shot through her. Not in any of her wildest imaginations did Lucy ever suspect to come face-to-face with her again after realizing who really had kidnapped her. The memory of Juvia's hard blue eyes as she commanded her wolves to kill Lucy, and the dream of Juvia plunging the knife into her chest seized her.
"There's no time to explain," Juvia said as she shrugged off the midnight wings she wore. "We need to switch costumes."
Lucy didn't move. She just stared in horror at the girl. There was no way Juvia was helping her. This had to be some trick. Was she working with the rival Boss? Was that why she was here? Did she know what he wanted to do to Gray? So many questions kept forming, but Lucy couldn't ask any. The fear running rabid inside of her was paralyzing.
"Lucy," Juvia pleaded. "We need to hurry."
"W-why?" Lucy stuttered out. "Why are you helping me? Why should I even trust you?"
"I understand why you don't trust me." Juvia paused, shame flickering in her eyes before she shifted her gaze to the floor. "What I did to you was inexcusable, but believe me, I had no choice. Back then, all of it, it was all pretend. It was all just an act."
"You expect me to believe when you commanded your men to kill me, that was all an act?" Lucy scoffed. Her arms were shaking, so she crossed them in front of her to hide her trembling. You can escape. You can save Gray. You can do this. Pretend you're not afraid. Be brave .
"Yes," Juvia responded. Lucy still couldn't believe it. It didn't make any sense. Why would Juvia have to pretend? It seemed like she was the most powerful person in Italy. Who did she have to fool?
"When you claimed you were in love with Gray, was that all an act too?" Lucy asked.
"No," Juvia said, lifting her eyes to meet Lucy's glare. "I have faked many things, but I have never faked my feelings for him." The strength of her words, the conviction in her eyes, made Lucy believe Juvia. Juvia loved Gray, she at least was telling the truth about that.
"Did Natsu send you?" Lucy thought back to her dream. Did Natsu really betray me? Did he find out about this place and contacted Gold Pistol and Juvia? Juvia said she wanted to help me, but there's no reason for her to. This could be a ruse to get me to trust her before she kills me. Natsu could be retrieving Gray right now while I'm distracted dealing with her. He needs to deliver Gray to Gold Pistol if he is to receive the treasure he was promised.
"Natsu? You mean the Salamander?" Juvia shook her head. "I haven't seen or heard from him since the time my uncle first delivered his request."
That could be another lie . Lucy thought. "So why are you pretending? Why are you acting like a cold and brutal mafia heiress? Who do you have to fool?"
"Please," Juvia looked over her shoulder towards the door. "We really don't have any time for explanations. You have to trust me that I-"
"No," Lucy cut in, shocked at how strong her voice sounded. Juvia flinched from the word. "If I'm going to trust you then I'm going to need some answers. You tried to kill me, remember? You want my trust? Then earn it."
Juvia sighed, and nodded slowly to Lucy's surprise. "It's safer if you don't know who I'm pretending for. It'll take too long and we need to hurry, but I'll answer your other questions, if only to get you to trust me."
"How are you even here right now?" Lucy asked instead.
"I already had a team searching for Gray before my Uncle contacted the Salamander for his services. Whoever took Gray knew about the inner structures of Italy's Underworld. It was hard to track down the person's movements, but I instructed my team to notify me if they heard of anything even slightly peculiar happening. Two days ago, my team reported back to me that they heard an announcement would be made, stating The Palazzo Ducale would be closed to tourists and staff for a short period of time to complete minor restoration work."
"And that information led you here?" Lucy asked unconvinced. "You thought the person who took Gray would be hiding in some place as inconspicuous as The Doge's Palace?"
"The Palazzo Ducale is never closed. Maybe a wing or two, but never the whole palace. Especially for "minor restoration work." That was a red flag for me. I came down here discreetly and discovered the locals were busy preparing massive orders for some wealthy foreigner as well, yet no one knew where the party would be held. I guessed the venue had to be The Palazzo Ducale by then, but I still wasn't completely certain or that it had any connection to the person who kidnapped Gray."
"What convinced you that the person shutting down the palace was the same person who took Gray?"
"There was a girl," Juvia explained. "A girl with pink hair who was grumbling loudly in a café one afternoon. She was complaining to her companion that their Boss had sent them out to retrieve some girl, but she wasn't where she was supposed to be. She kept whining about other things and I was about to tune her out, when I heard her mention Gray's name. It was then that her companion was able to hush her up and they exited the café. I immediately began to follow them of course and found they were staying on one of the islands surrounding the city. I waited until night to slip over there."
Their first base was on one of the islands! That's why we couldn't find any trace of Gray or the rival Boss. They weren't even in the city until now .
"So how did you manage to sneak in? You have to be one of the most recognizable faces in Italy's Underworld. The rival Boss, that's what we've been calling him," Lucy explained seeing Juvia's perplexed face, "would have recognized you right away."
"The masks," Juvia smirked. "Everyone who works for the…rival Boss wears a mask for some reason. I took out one of the lower ranking individuals. Relax, I didn't kill her," Juvia assured, "but pretended to be her until I could gather where they were holding Gray. Not everyone is privileged to the same information under this Boss, so I had to search the area one room at a time. When the rival Boss moved everyone here the other day, it made searching for Gray even more difficult, while trying to remain under their radar. This Boss only wants perfection for this silly party he's having tonight. I thought it was just some useless power display at first, but I feel like there's more to tonight's party than just that. Everyone's been too tense."
She doesn't know. Lucy realized. The horrible fate that awaits me-that awaits Gray.
"I felt that if I didn't find Gray soon, it would be too late. But then, I saw you were here. You were unconscious, but I was exiting the room when the girl from the cafe brought you here. The same girl I knocked out and stole this costume from. I think her name is Sherry."
"That still doesn't explain why you are helping me," Lucy stated. "You're feeling was right about there being more to this party. You wanted to kill me because I was friends with Gray." Lucy forced herself not to shudder at the memory and noted how Juvia winced at her words. "The rival Boss wants to kill me for the same reason more or less and then kill him." Juvia's eyes widened as Lucy revealed the rival Boss's plan. "So now that you know, why not have him finish the task for you and run off with Gray? Why not go save him, leave me to the rival Boss, and get your happily ever after?"
Juvia gave Lucy a brilliant smile that startled her more than anything. Lucy already thought Juvia was beautiful, but her smile transformed her. She looked like a completely different person. "Contrary to our first meeting, Lucy, I don't want to kill you. You're Gray's best friend. He would feel an unimaginable sadness if something happened to you. I want to do whatever I can to protect Gray's happiness, to protect his smile. My happiness does not matter when it comes to his."
Was this really the same person she had met nearly a week ago? The same person who wanted her dead? Juvia Lockser was standing in front of Lucy, smiling so beautifully and offering to help rescue her. Could Lucy really trust her? Her smile seemed so genuine, the real question was: how could she not?
"Lucy," Juvia took a hesitant step towards her. "We need to switch costumes. With the masks and the wigs, no one will be able to tell the difference. I'll take your place and keep the rival Boss occupied. You'll only have a little while to locate Gray and get both of you to safety. He won't be located in the main wing where the tours are usually held and I suspect he won't be here in this wing, since they kept you here. I'll keep the rival Boss and his wolves occupied as long as I can while you search the areas I couldn't get to. If you're disguised as Sherry, then you will access to every area. Despite her grumblings, she's one of the higher ups in the operation."
"Juvia, the rival Boss wants to kill me to get back at Gray. Once he finds out that you've ruined his revenge, he'll kill you without a second thought." The rival Boss had exuded so much blood lust he would destroy anything or anyone that stopped him from getting his revenge. And here Juvia was, offering to place herself in front of that man in order for Lucy and Gray to escape safely.
"I understand," Juvia replied. "But none of that matters as long as Gray is safe. As long as he can leave this place and still smile. If sacrificing my life ensures his happiness, I will gladly do it a thousand times over."
"If you can say that, then you don't know Gray at all," Lucy said. Juvia's eyes widened in shock. "Gray wouldn't want you to sacrifice yourself for him. He would never ask that of anyone."
"But I-"
"I'll trade costumes with you and rescue Gray. The rival Boss slipped and told me he's being held in the dungeons. If I'm not at the party, then he can't get his revenge. Once Gray's safe though, I'll come back and rescue you."
"Wait," Juvia protested. "That's not the plan. Both of you need to leave, together. If you come back and get hurt, Gray will…he'll…"
Lucy shook her head slowly, removing her mask and wig and smiled. "Don't think so little of yourself, Juvia. Gray would be devastated if something happened to you too."
"He…he would be?" Juvia gasped.
"Yes," Lucy affirmed. "You're risking your life for him. He's not someone who could ignore something as monumental as that and neither can I. I'll believe in you and trust your words. So let's protect Gray's happiness. Together."
Tears sprang down Juvia's cheeks, big, fat crocodile tears that splashed on the ground. "Th-Thank you for saying that."
Quickly stripping the rest of their costumes off, Juvia and Lucy switched outfits. Juvia had been right. It was hard to tell the difference between the two girls with their masks and wigs on. Luckily they were near the same size, despite Juvia being a couple inches taller than her. Juvia drooped her shoulders and hunched a little, like she was deflated and subdued in order to solve that problem. Sherry's dress fit perfectly on Lucy, except the shoes were slightly bigger, but she would manage. The only difference they couldn't switch was their eye color. Sherry's eyes were blue like Juvia's, but Lucy's brown eyes stood out. The rival Boss would definitely know the difference when Juvia took her place. Lucy's old mask didn't block out her eyes like the other masks.
"I'll just keep them downcast the entire time," Juvia indicated, unconcerned. "You'll be escorting me to the Sala del Maggior Consiglio. Once you drop me off, find Gray. Do you know how to get to the dungeons from there?"
"Yeah, I remember." She nodded, remembering the tour she took with Natsu. "When I'm gone, try not to speak a lot. The rival Boss is intimidating and expects you to act like the sacrifice he thinks you are, but only act like a sacrifice. I don't want you to do anything reckless. Promise?"
"I promise." Juvia gave her a soft smile. "You remind me of the Salamander. He makes people promise things a lot." She giggled. "I think he likes you."
Natsu. Lucy shook her head, not wanting to think about him right now. Her focus was on saving Gray and making sure all three of them made it through this night and away from the rival Boss, together.
"He just likes treasure." Lucy muttered, focusing on adjusting her mask.
"Lucy," Juvia paused at the door, looking ethereal in Lucy's dress as she toyed with the chiffon skirt. "When this is all over…do you think…would you possibly…might consider starting over?"
Lucy stared at her, shocked. "Start over?"
Noting Lucy's tone, Juvia began to frantically wave her hands in front of her. "I mean, I wasn't suggesting that you could forgive me so easily. I just thought…but you don't have to, because I understand if after this you wouldn't want anything to do with me. After all, I treated you so horribly and said some awful things. I just thought…."
'Stories don't always turn out the way you're expecting them to. They have a way of surprising you in the end.' Hadn't she just spoken those words to Sherry and here Lucy was, experiencing the full truth of them.
Lucy closed the distance between them, her skirts rustling together as she embraced Juvia in a hug. "There's no need to start over," she said as she held her former enemy tighter. "We're already friends."