Juvia II

When Juvia regained consciousness, she was in a prison. It was dark, dry, and dusty, which Juvia figured she should've expected. The only light came from a window in the cell corner. Juvia looked down, and noticed some of her clothes had been taken. While she still had her underclothes, her hat and coat were all gone. Rubbing her head, Juvia quickly came up to the door.

"Open this door!" she shouted, slamming on it, "Let me out!" Naturally, there was no answer. Juvia took a step back, as she held up her hands as her magic power gathered around her.

"Water Neb…" She didn't finish, as symbols lit up on the walls surrounding Juvia in a golden light. A searing pain went through her body. Juvia let out a cry as she fell to the ground.

"What…" The door suddenly opened, and in walked someone. It was a tall figure, with a similar, mummified appearance to the others Juvia had encountered. He was dressed in white robes that were embroidered with gold; around his neck was a gold necklace embedded with blue gemstones. He was carrying a wooden staff that had a golden vulture on the top.

"Before I entered, I had to be sure the hieroglyphs would be effective," he said, with the same dry, rasping voice as the warriors from earlier. Juvia got ready to fight.

"Don't bother. The magic in these symbols were inflict pain on you every time you attempt to use your magic."

"Who are you?" Juvia demanded.

"I am Rahtas, and I speak for the great King Settra."

"Why am I here?"

"So that you can be observed, and studied," Rahtas answered simply, leaning on his staff.

"I told you before, Juvia is not a lab rat!" the Rain Woman declared. Rahtas was silent for a moment.

"It appears you do not fully understand your situation here," he said, "You have absolutely no say in what is happening here. So you have two options: continue to resist and get absolutely nowhere, or do as your instructed and perhaps get somewhere. It is your choice to make." Juvia opened her mouth, but closed it, as she considered the priest's words. It wasn't like he was really wrong.

"First, can you at least say where Juvia is?" Rahtas was silent at first, as if he was considering those options.

"I suppose that is not unreasonable," he finally said, "You are in the great Kingdom of Nehekhara. More specifically, you are in the city of Khemri." Juvia had never heard of any of those places.

"You trespassed into the city," Rahtas continued, "You were very fortunate the king chose to spare you instead of having you executed on the spot."

"Juvia is so lucky," Juvia said sarcastically.

"Indeed you are," Rahtas said, the sarcasm bouncing right off him, "Little is greater than the mercy of Settra."

"Okay, now who the hell is Settra?" Juvia had a feeling that if Rahtas could make faces, it would be one of shock.

"Settra the Imperishable is the eternal king and founder of this great empire," he said, "He is quite possibly the greatest leader in all the lands. You should be honored to be his guest." Juvia had a feeling that she wasn't really a "guest" at this point. Come to think about it, thinking about what she saw when she first arrived, she had to question how "great" the kingdom was.

"Now that I have answered your questions, you must now answer mine," Rahtas instructed, "First, where have you come from?"

"Fairy Tail," Juvia answered, "Its a mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore."

"I do not know such a nation called 'Fiore'," Rahtas said, "I also certainly know of no guilds that house magic users."

"Well, that is where Juvia is from," Juvia said plainly, folding her arms.

"So why are you here?" Rahtas asked. Juvia tried to find a way to answer that.

"Juvia… honestly doesn't really know," she eventually said, "One moment, I was in the guild hall, and the next, I was sucked into a magic vortex, and spat into the middle of the desert. All I could do was wander, and I came upon the river, and then to the city."

"Hmm," Rahtas said, tapping a finger on his staff. It seemed like he may have believed her, but Juvia couldn't be sure.

"What sort of magic do you use?"

"I can use Water Magic," Juvia explained, "It allows me to create, manipulate, and turn into water."

"Are you saying you can manipulate water?" Rahtas asked, rubbing his chin, suddenly sounding very interested.

"What do you think Juvia said?" While Juvia couldn't see his expression, the way he leaned forward made it clear what he was thinking. But she could not imagine why.

"Could you conceivably purify water?" he asked. Juvia thought about that briefly.

"Well, Juvia has done it before," she eventually said, "So it could conceivably be done."

"I must speak with the king!" Rahtas declared, suddenly turning on his heels, and leaving. Juvia blinked at that as the door slammed behind him, somehow even more confused than she was before her little "chat" with the priest.

Note: It appears that Juvia's magic has earned the attention of a Tomb Priest. Settra may be able to get some use out of our favorite water mage.

Sorry about the short length, but this chapter served its purpose, which is to show what happened to Juvia, and what the future may hold for her. I considered having Rahtas explain the history of Nehekhara to Juvia, but it occurred to me that the history of the Land of Dead may be a testy subject to the residents, so I figured it wouldn't be appropriate at this point (maybe if Juvia earns their trust further). As you can guess, Rahtas is another OC.

Be sure to review. Next chapter is Mirajane.

Also, I know I'm shifting in and out of third person. That's 100% intentional on my part, since the English dub does something similar.