Chapter 20
His Sad Story
Juvia Lockser: Called Gray 'Prince Big-Foot' behind his back for seven months after they met. When she was alive, had an awkward encounter with Queen Mika who ended up telling her that safe-sex was important since Fullbuster men are FULL of a little something-something. Never admitted to Gray that she knew who he was from the get-go, because she's always wanted to yell at a royal and thought he'd be the best to try it out on. A kind, beautiful soul that should have been cherished. Passed away. May she rest in the ocean.
"So, what? You think you are just going to be able to walk right into the Vapids?" Gray asked, his mouth practically pressed to my ear. I flicked my wrists, spurring my horse on faster as I could practically feel Natsu's burning gaze on my back, sizzling through Gray.
"Well, I wouldn't say walk," I replied hastily, and he laughed minutely.
"You are all crazy. This is a suicide mission." He grunted a little at the jostle that went through us, laying one hand onto my waist tentatively to steady himself. A loud growl rumbled from behind us, and I smiled a little, rolling my eyes at my dragon's protective if slightly possessive attitude.
"Hands off Seahorse!"
Gray removed his hand with a low grumble, "God. How do you stand that guy?"
"I honestly don't know. People do funny things for the people they care about," I mused, tugging on the reins so the horse slowed down into a quick canter, following Erza carefully.
"I guess they do."
I could barely hear his reply over the loud clump and clack of the hooves pounding the forest floor. Despite being an ice-land that consisted mostly of a chilling breeze and moist atmosphere, the ground was suspiciously dry throughout our trek in the forest.
Of course, we hadn't reached the large expanse of ice Ultear had been warning us about, which I doubted would be as obliging.
In fact, I was dreading the idea of riding across ice and snow, even if Erza assured me that our horses could manage it just fine.
"Prince Fullbuster, I never got the chance to thank you for giving us the benefit of the doubt. I could understand your hesitance to… comply with your decision."
"I didn't have much of a choice, it was either engage in petty fights and insults or…"
"Do all that and be classified as a friend?" I laughed softly under my breath because even though Gray was willing to listen, that didn't mean he had stopped engaging in 'petty' fights. In fact, it seemed he and Natsu couldn't help but antagonize each other every chance they got.
Unlike Ultear's approach of outsmarting (out-trolling, more like) Gray seemed content only to egg Natsu's bad behaviour on. Which always seemed to eventually involve a cheap shot to the knee, by Natsu, since Gray was always bound to some sort of surface when we weren't travelling.
He remained mostly unbound when we were in movement, apart from the ropes wrapping his torso and one hand that was pinned around his back, as, so far, there was nothing to suggest he was going to 'take me out'. When I had stressed a tiny concern about Gray, and his close proximity, and him being the prince of the country we are breaking into (well more like through), Erza had told me, that whilst the situation was not perfect, we would have to make do.
"You would classify me as a friend?" Gray sounded surprised, a small grunt leaving his throat when I barrelled through the foliage, keeping my eyes on the look-out for any guards or the army. We had been lucky so far, managing to evade and distract any scouts we passed. I only hoped our streak of good fortune held.
None of us had mentioned it though. We didn't want to jinx it.
I opened my mouth to reply to the ice prince, when something slammed into Erza up ahead, a blur of fur and muscle that shocked me. I yanked on the reins, tensing in surprise. Then, the next second I heard Natsu's shout and the felt something heavy smacking into me, throwing me right off the saddle.
I took a tumble, hitting the hard ground with a grunt of my own, falling into the underbrush. I cried out softly from a sharp rock digging into my lower back and felt the air in my body leave me in a harsh breath.
My power flared from the spike of pain, but I tried one of the techniques for control Erza and I had been working on. I imagined an iron gate, something that suppressed air and kept everything locked up tight. Then behind that gate, I bundled that ethereal mist up and pushed it back into the cave, swallowing it.
The rush of relief that came when I managed to lock the power away was bittersweet and short-lived, as it spiralled into rolling pain, my back stinging horribly, leaving my lungs screaming for air. My eyes watered, as I lie there gasping, faintly able to hear shouts.
I tried to focus on them, closing my eyes tightly as rivets of spine-tingling agony ripped through me.
"Stand down! I am Prince Fullbuster, this is my kingdom."
"We heard about your capture, my prince. The queen and king will be very happy to know you are unharmed."
"I am unharmed?!" Gray shouted, his voice shaking with anger, "You tackled a princess."
"She is wanted. We have orders to capture her and return to the kingdom."
"She's in pain!"
"Your Highness, she will be allowed medical care once we arrive at the castle..." The voice sounded confused. My heart warmed at Gray's unexpected actions. Honestly, it would have been less surprising if he had congratulated them on gaining his freedom.
I rolled onto my side, opening my eyes, trying my best to ignore the spasms of pain that rocked up my back. Gray stood in front of me, his bindings on the ground beside him, hands fisted, back tight.
"Prince Fullbuster, please move aside. We need to secure the prisoner."
"Stand down," Gray growled. "This isn't a discussion, you will not touch her without my permission. Is that clear?"
There were two guards, one older and one considerably younger. The older was a yeti, but given that he spoke the common tongue, I had to assume he was one of the natives here. The younger was bare-chested and completely without fur. They both seemed to hesitate at his order, but the older one eventually ignored it, stepping closer to us.
"I apologise, Prince Fullbuster. But this order came from the king, and it is absolute."
Gray trembled with anger. "If you step any closer, you will have greater problems than disobeying an order from my father. Know your place."
Before the older one could say anything, a sword glinted in the moonlight and the tip was pressed against his neck in a flash, as a wild-haired, glaring Erza appeared out of seemingly nowhere. The minute she showed up, Ultear was at my side, helping me into a sitting position, wincing at my groan as my back shifted and throbbed tightly.
The young soldier shifted into a defensive stance, and purple flames covered his fist. However, before he could get around the old guard and Erza, to take on the obstacle to his objective, a tanned hand wrapped around the flame and snuffed it out easily.
"What the hell?" The younger struggled against the grip on his fist, until Natsu wrapped an arm around his neck, halting most of his thrashing movements. The older man took a step towards him, eyes glinting with anger when Erza reminded him of the sword pressed to his neck.
"Make one move, yeti. I dare you," she said quietly, her voice stone cold and deprived of any and all emotion. As her friend, I knew when Erza got quiet, it meant she was supremely pissed. The guard seemed to at least pick up on the severity of his situation.
When he obeyed his commands, lifting his furred, clawed hands up slowly, Erza called over, "Is Lucy okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine," I managed, sucking in breaths. "I think I'm just winded."
I had had the breath knocked out of me before, once or twice, but never this bad. However, I didn't want to interrupt this very stressful situation with my own pain, so I just allowed Ultear to prop me up more, using her weight as a support to keep myself up and focused.
"Ultear, how far are we away from our destination?"
"We should reach it by sunset tomorrow morning." I glanced upwards, a shooting pain granted to me with the movement, and noticed how the sun was just setting now, beginning to cast an orange, mellow tone over the ice ahead.
"Prince Fullbuster. Is there any way they can contact the kingdom from where we are? Communications devices?" Erza took control, glancing at Natsu with a quick nod. They conversed in a silent language, just using their eyes and eyebrows. The next minute, Natsu had the young man on his knees.
"Dad…" the boy's voice shook, sounding awfully young, and my heart clenched lightly, realising that they were family. Suddenly, it didn't matter much anymore that one had knocked me off my horse.
"They should each have an earpiece. It transmits messages over the air in open waves and the castle receives the information," Gray informed her. Erza kept her eye stuck to the man who was gazing at his son, while he watched Natsu press his palm to the back of the son's head, keeping his neck lowered.
"Any other way that they can reach the kingdom before we arrive at our location?"
"No. Not unless they run into a superior, but I doubt it this far out." Gray sounded like he was telling the truth and when Natsu and Erza shared glances once more, I knew that they were privately discussing if they should give him the benefit of the doubt.
Ultear pressed a light touch to my back, stopping when it made me flinch in pain.
"Are you okay?"
"Just sore," I whispered back as Erza nodded, and turned her attention back to the father.
"Destroy your earpiece and any other devices you may have hidden on you. Now."
The man hesitated before slowly doing what she had asked, Natsu relenting so his son could do the same.
"Why didn't my fire hurt you?"
"Romeo…" his father cautioned as Natsu stepped on the earpiece and mini communication crystal that only 'Romeo' had.
"You are surrounded by ice, kid," Natsu stated. He glanced over at me, and I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to school my features into a believable smile. His brow crinkled, and I knew it hadn't worked.
"And?"
"You need fire to learn fire. I grew up in volcanic lands, and being surrounded by my element makes me stronger. You didn't. Simple as that."
"So I won't ever get strong while living here?"
"Not unless you are trying to access fire that burns like ice," Natsu lectured seriously, before grinning a little, "And from what I've heard, that source of magic is hard to come by, let alone learn."
Romeo stared up at Natsu closely for a few silent moments before his eyes began to widen. They flew from Natsu to Erza, then back again.
"Y-You're Prince Dragneel. From the Molten Kingdom!" Natsu only tilted his head, not offering any words to agree or disagree with that statement. Then Romeo swerved his head to stare at Erza with equal shock.
"And you are Princess Scarlet, from the Fae Lands."
"We are," Erza stated slowly. "Now, you are going to follow our instructions carefully, aren't you...Romeo, was it?"
Romeo gulped, obviously remembering Erza's reputation of being one of the fiercest Fae warriors in the whole of Fiora.
"Ease up Erza, Romeo isn't going to give us any trouble."
Erza simply raised an eyebrow, staring at the father closely for a few long seconds before she sighed, her forehead creasing, "Honestly, I don't know what we are going to do with you two. I had planned for the possibility of running into guards, but admittedly, I was assuming that you would go down a lot harder and we could leave you unconscious while we made our escape."
Ultear breathed with a laugh, "We could always just knock them out."
"There's no way we are bringing them with us," Natsu argued, crossing his arms with a frown. "Frosty over there is enough extra baggage."
"Ultear…" I tugged on her sleeve, all humour lost on me, due to the distracting pain radiating up my spine and down to my tail bone. She turned away from the conversation, brow wrinkling as I whispered softly,
"Check my back. Please. I think there's something wrong with it."
She moved me slowly so I was supported on my hands in front of me, and I winced as my spine curved, nerves singing out to me. She slowly lifted the back of my shirt and I heard her intake of breath, her hand quickly snapping back from where it was placed on my shoulder.
"What is it?"
"We are sitting in Glacial Vines, do you know what that is?"
"Poison. Only found in the north." I swallowed my grunt of pain, noticing how Romeo was now staring at us. Natsu and Erza were still discussing what to do with them, and Gray was following the conversation with his head flicking between the two of them.
"Yes, good." Ultear sucked in a breath and continued, "Now, there's good news and bad news, and slightly worse news."
"Hit me with the good first."
"It's curable. The potion is in my bag, attached to my horse."
"That's terrific," I breathed out, my hands digging into the soil as tears flooded my eyes at the agony currently ripping through my body.
"The bad news is, it's highly infectious. One scratch can spread the poison from one person to another."
"And the slightly worse news?"
"I barely have enough for two people, let alone any more. If we get anybody else here sick, they could die." I nodded slowly, biting my bottom lip to keep my pained noises down.
"Erza and Natsu have to go. They can take Romeo and his father somewhere else," I ordered quietly, and I felt her nod before her words finally registered to me. I sat back and she let the shirt fall back in place, as I turned my body slowly, wincing and a small moan of pain leaving my mouth.
"You said 'we'."
She smiled bitterly and held up her hand where a small, minuscule cut sat. Blue and purple veins crawled up her wrist, slowly but surely heading towards her elbow.
I blew out a stunned breath, "Sorry for poisoning you."
"You should be sorry. Damn you for being hit by a horse and landing in this bush of all the bushes," she scolded playfully. I tried to laugh, but it ended up as a very throaty, rasping cough. My body seized lightly, my muscles tensing as it sent a wave of nausea through me, the pain throbbing and aching all over my body.
I noticed that Ultear's eyes were a little unfocused and her fingers were shaking as she supported herself on the tree, slowly standing up. Pain flitted over her features, but she sucked in a breath and stated calmly.
"Erza, Natsu, you need to go."
Ultear's words made Erza and Natsu stop from talking, and I had to wonder why Natsu hadn't sensed my pain earlier. Maybe the poison blocked or convoluted the companionship link we had.
"Pardon?"
"Lucy and I have been infected with a certain type of poison. I have the cure, but only enough for the two of us." Ultear explained slowly, her eyes squinting as Natsu took a step towards us, concern playing over his features.
Ultear laughed shortly and I shook my head slowly, barely supporting my kneeling body, "I'm sure you want to scoop Lucy up in your arms and heal her with your magic kisses or whatever, but this is poison. It's in her bloodstream at this point and it will continue to spread."
"We agreed we shouldn't split up."
"We did. But that was before these circumstances. The most logical and safe way to avoid further infection is if you leave."
"We need to arrive at the Vapids together," Erza spoke softly, eyes glancing down to me as I smiled weakly, blinking away the tears.
"You can double back or go along the border, drop Romeo and his father off somewhere along the way. I know it's not the best situation, but we need only a few hours to get better," I managed to get out through the agony.
"The longer we leave it untreated, the more rest we will need," Ultear added. "You have to agree Erza, Lucy's plan has its merits. Natsu's nose can lead you away from any sort of civilisation, you ditch the guards, then by the time you are back on track, we should be ready to set-out again."
"I know we don't have much of a choice, but the idea of you being left here in that condition…" Erza murmured, her lips pressing together in though as Natsu sighed, rubbing his fingers into the little crease his eyebrows made.
"We don't seem to catch a break. First the snowflake, then these two, now poison."
"Don't pout. You can't heal everything." I supported myself on my hands, lifting my form a little straighter to attempt to give him a bright smile, but with the way his eyebrows twitched, I knew it was probably more of a grimace than anything.
"Alright, Natsu, I'll take Gray, you take Romeo - we'll have to tie the other to the back of my horse and go slow for him to walk."
"That's a useless waste of time, I can stay here with Ultear and Princess Heartfilia," Gray stated, making us all look at him in surprise. What wasn't surprising was the immediate rejection of the offer from both Erza and Natsu. Ultear stayed quiet.
"No way. As long as the poison is keeping them like this, they are virtually defenceless. No offence," Erza glanced over to us, her brows pulled together in a stern, but worried look. Natsu finished her thought.
"But we don't trust you not to pull anything shitty."
"Tie me up to a tree or something. I've been compliant to most of your demands so far and I haven't made any trouble…" Gray began, but Natsu cut him off with a scoff.
"Only because we haven't let you make trouble."
Gray ignored him.
"I give my oath, as Prince of the Northern Glaciers, that I will not harm them, nor will I betray your trust."
Erza opened her mouth to reply but my breathy whisper made her still, "He can stay. Tie him up so he can't move at all. When we are well enough, we'll bring him along."
"Lucy, if guards happen to find you, our one bargaining chip is gone, you understand this don't you?"
"You told me right before we travelled here that we were relying on hope for this stretch. Well, it seems only fitting that we hope Prince Fullbuster sticks to his oath." I tried to smiled a little again, my arms shaking even though I was only supporting my upper-body.
Natsu frowned before nodding, looking at Erza. "She's the leader of this mission, Erza. If she says Gray can stay with them, then we have to listen to her."
"Not if it's something that could affect her health," Erza murmured, but her shoulders straightened and she turned to Ultear, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What do you need from your horse?"
"The brown bag with the golden string. Might be a good idea to get blankets and water as well."
Erza went off to grab those things, pushing the father to lead the way, which he did compliantly. Natsu placed his hand on the back of Romeo's head, "Keep your eyes on the ground, if you move, I char you."
Romeo's throat worked through a lump, as he gulped, nodding as well as he could with his neck bent as far as it would go.
Then Natsu moved over to Gray and crouched, "We might not get along, and I generally despise the fact you are such a frosty bastard, but if you lay one hand on her, or Ultear, if you in any way cause her harm, any sort of questionable truce or rivalry we have is gone. It's me going after you, for blood. Understood?"
They stared at each other for a long moment and it gave Ultear enough time to fall to her knees beside me, wincing in pain as a small laugh left her, "I'm not even in love with the guy and that just gave me butterflies."
I grinned a little, glancing over to see her skin pale, almost glowing with sweat. Her eyes shook lightly, pupils so small, her body quaking in light shudders. I wanted to wrap an arm around her, but the poison must have been spreading because the pain was in my shoulders now, causing the muscles to spasm tightly, hot and vicious against my nerves.
"Hands off. He's mine."
She laughed a little louder this time, "Glad you finally admit it."
"It just took me being poisoned. No big thing."
We both shared a weak grin, before turning to see Natsu tying Gray tightly to a tree, tugging on the ropes a little harshly. Gray, for the most part, didn't complain, just stared at Romeo closely, as if watching for any sign of the younger guard jumping up.
Once Natsu was done, he prized Gray with a rather harsh smack over the head, lips quirking when Gray grunted a swear word. I sighed a little, resisting the urge to shake my head at the pair of them.
Then Natsu was making his way towards us, which made Ultear grit out from her position beside me, "Got any cuts?"
"I'm clear. Plus, dragons are immune to most poisons."
"If it's most poisons, how do you know you aren't susceptible to this poison?" Ultear shot back, but Natsu crouched just opposite us, keeping a mere half-a-metre between us. His eyes raked over my figure, and the pout had returned.
"Are you going to be okay?"
I spied Erza from behind him, walking toward us herding the older guard, who held a blanket, a canteen of water and what seemed to be some two pieces of fruit.
I refocused my attention on Natsu to give him a small nod, and a wavering smile, because honestly, I felt like shit and the poison had already affected my body temperature. I already knew I had a very easily insulted temperature - Natsu's hugs weren't only for comfort - and that the slightest bit of cold made my core temp plummet. But I hadn't felt this cold in ages. Even riding into the harsh wind.
It oddly reminded me of the night I ran away from my kingdom and found Natsu.
"Give us a few hours. We will be back on the road in no time."
He only nodded, as Erza instructed the man to place the things down just behind the bound Gray who was talking, but his voice was so low that I couldn't quite hear it.
"Lucy." Natsu brought my attention back to him and I turned my head, blinking rapidly to keep the tears from falling, stubbornly refusing to let them free.
"If anything happens…" He paused to draw a deep breath in, "If you need help, or you have to save yourself… Don't hold it in."
I felt my eyebrows furrow, a frown perching on my lips as I stared at him, confused. Two warm hands clasped my face, and Ultear squawked from beside me, but I was too busy staring into the lush green depths of his eyes, captivated by the look of determination and raw, barely contained, worry in them.
"Natsu, what part of 'it's highly contagious' did you not get?" Ultear sounded like she wanted to shake him, but Natsu ignored her.
"Don't hold back. Scream. Take out anyone who is a threat to you. I don't care if you alert the kingdom, or you destroy a couple of houses. If it's you, or them, choose you. Understood?"
"Natsu…" My voice broke, overwhelmed at the onslaught of feelings he inspired inside of me. He leant closer, hands tightening ever so slightly on my cheeks.
"Promise me?"
I gulped, blinking a few times, the tears spilling over now, before he leant even closer, our lips almost brushing.
"Promise me," he repeated, a small beating breath against my lips, making something warm curl low inside me, amongst all the cold and hurt.
Before I could say anything, a loud 'smack' vibrated through the air and Natsu's head collides with mine. Pain left me breathless for a minute as Erza snarled.
"She is sick. Don't be so filthy, you reptile."
I lifted a hand to rub my forehead, as Natsu jumped up, glowering. "We were having an important conversation!"
"When we have important conversations, you don't intrude on my personal space. Learn some manners."
"The difference between you and Lucy is that I like her!"
I felt my cheeks warm at his admission, but Erza didn't take kindly to that statement and proceeded to withdraw a sword from the deep crevice between her breasts.
Natsu just let out a startled groan.
"Three years ago. I was 17," Gray murmured, head tilted towards the moon as I sucked in a sharp breath, shocked that he was actually going to tell me. I had stupidly asked him about 'Juvia', the name that Ultear had mentioned before.
From the pain in his eyes to the tightening of his shoulders, I was sure he was going to ignore me, or refuse to tell me about this person, that clearly elicited a strong reaction.
It was really none of my business, but I had needed a distraction and selfishly thought that a story would help me.
Unaware of my feelings of guilt and surprise, Gray continued, "I was set to marry the Chieftain of the Streams of Caesiellus' daughter. The first time they travelled here, she was accompanied by a siren. One of her handmaidens… And her name was Juvia."
A small smile crawled onto his lips, as he continued to avoid eye contact, focusing on telling me the story about this mysterious woman.
"She was… strange. Confident, brave, loud. The first time we met, I was walking through the gardens and she stomped up, demanding that I pay attention to where I was walking. Apparently, I had trampled one of the gifts her kingdom gave to ours. We argued about customs, and my lack of manners before she realised I was the prince. She melted into a puddle of water on the ground. Later on, I found out that was a trait special to her as a siren. She could become water. It was so bizarre, watching her slink away like a wave, embarrassed. Unfortunately for her, I didn't let her forget it."
"So, you became friends?"
"Slowly, yes. We didn't talk much around my betrothed, but there wasn't a moment that I didn't wait for her to speak, to just offer some sort of wisdom. At the time, I just assumed she would become a great friend, an ally that would only strengthen when I became married to her Lady. But…"
I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue and he shifted his shoulders, letting his head fall back on the rock. "It soon became something more. Her personality, her voice, her beauty; she was one of a kind."
"She sounds amazing," I offered softly, and he smiled a little, closing his eyes slowly.
"She was. I was ready to keep my feelings quiet because being together would be harder on her than I. She would have to leave her family, the Chieftain would assume that she had used her charm on me and stole the chance of royal treaty between the Northern Glaciers and the Streams of Caesiellus. She'd be banished, a traitor. I couldn't let that happen to her."
"So, you kept it quiet?" I wondered if Juvia had been taken away and that was why he didn't like talking about it. But I hadn't heard of a marriage between the North and the Streams of Caesiellus when I was in my homeland, and I was sure that we would have been invited to the ceremony at least.
"I tried to. I really did. But, as time went on, and preparations began to be made, my mother soon realised my feelings. She has always been able to see right through me. We talked, I explained that it didn't change anything, she saw differently and the next thing I knew, she had called the whole thing off."
I blinked in surprise, shocked that Queen Mika would abandon a union that, no doubt, the King would be pushing to finish.
"My father blew a gasket. They fought for at least a week, until, finally, the news that we were offering a different arrangement was sent. She wanted Juvia to come live with us in the North and learn our ways. She had explained that she had taken a liking the young girl and wanted to teach her how to bend water more expertly, one of Mother's prized talents."
"She used her own title to distract people from your feelings for Juvia. Even if the Chieftain suspected something, if he refused the offer, as trivial as it was, it would be seen as a massive insult," I murmured, feeling a greater respect for Queen Mika. Gray nodded.
"She told the Chieftain personally that she wasn't ready to give up her only son to another woman, and that she didn't believe I was mature enough to marry yet. No man wants to give his daughter away to an immature prince, after all."
I laughed softly, and Gray grinned only slightly, "So she came. And lived with us for three months. We fell in love."
My heart fluttered in excitement at the note of adoration in his tone, in awe at how much he loved her, something that could be seen in the way he talked about her.
"I proposed to her in the gardens, in front of the newly transplanted flowers. She melted into my arms," he sighed, and all the warmth, and love left his tone in the next sentence.
"But as she journeyed home to tell her parents the news, a demon, from the Vapids, poisoned the waters."
My heart went cold in shock, as he continued quietly, "Apparently, he had been vexed at one of Lord Zeref's new laws, and in retaliation, attempted to start a war between the North and our, demonic neighbours."
"G- Prince Fullbuster…" I had to remind myself that I couldn't call him by his given name, as he had told me before.
"She died. Juvia lived on clean, fresh water. Sirens don't have the best immune systems, being made of water. And the poison corrupted every single part of her."
"Oh my god..." My voice shook, horror crawling through me, sadness touching the deepest parts of me, and tears stinging my eyes. From the corner of them, I could see Ultear, turned towards us, her eyes staring hard at the floor.
"The day after her funeral, Zeref himself arrived at our castle and handed the demon over. He apologised, offered his condolences and told Father that he would give as many demons as we'd like to enact the revenge of Juvia's death. Apparently, spies from his land had told him that Juvia was the love of my life and was going to become the new queen. Zeref treated Juvia's death as if the queen herself had died."
"Juvia's death stopped the nation," Ultear stated softly, her voice carrying over to us as Gray glanced over to her.
She smiled a little. "The North was ready to take her as the new princess to our young prince. We all saw the way you looked at her from the beginning, it was only a matter of time for us."
"She would have made a beautiful queen," he murmured, his voice low and full of pain.
I reached over and touched his shoulder tentatively, "I… How many demons did it take?"
"One hundred and twenty-six," Ultear stated as if the number was burnt into her memory. I rubbed my hand against Gray's cold shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Prince Fullbuster. I… I can't imagine what that feels like."
He was quiet for a few seconds before stating, tilting his head down so we could look at each other, "Call me Gray."
If you've read the new chapter of FT, let me tell you, I feel your pain. Jellal must stOP TOUCHING THINGS. And Lucy, my queen, please.
And moving onto this chapter ~~ you get backstory with Gray x Juvia, you meet Macao and Romeo (tiny baby characters), you get a slightly possessive Natsu (because you all seem to be fiends for it), and you get scary Erza laying down the law.
Guys, I think you want the new chapter ASAP because a certain black-haired dumpling is being introduced and shit is going to get INTENSE.
Question Time!
Yo gurl where you at? You good? I am here. I am square.
Are we ever gonna see Cana? Cana ain't on my list to meet so no, probably not…
Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning. You can flippin try mate, but I'm savage when I wake up with coffee
What is a serial worrier? Well… it's like a serial killer… but instead of killing, they worry? I think?
Can Zeref explain why Natsu and Lucy have had such a strong connection from the beginning? He mightttt ~~
Also will Zeref try and take control of Natsu and Lucy to aid him in some sort of plot whether it be good or bad? It is possible, my friend ~~
Did Gray have a bad encounter with a demon? Well, his lady was killed by one so yes?
Where is Lyon right now? He's chillinn'
Just how good a dancer is Lucy? Will someone be seeing anytime soon? Will we be reading about it? There is a dancing Lucy scene with an awestruck Natsu coming soon… I just have to get over my aversion of Lucy shaking her ass and being cute at the same time.
Ultear actually you? That is implying that I'M a teaser troll and oi, rude
So if souls are ghosts without Banshees to send them on their way, does that mean that if she meets ghosts she'll activate the first scream too? I don't think I'm going to allow Lucy to see ghosts. Firstly, it's not in the Banshee lore I researched and secondly, it wouldn't make much sense in my mind. I mean, it's a Banshee's duty to carry the soul to the other side. Once that soul is gone/ or the person is dead, she shouldn't really be chatting w them. In saying that, she will have intuition of death. Which is basically a funny way of saying she'll feel extra cold around a place of extreme counts of death. (graveyard etc)
And if her own soul is actually making room for others in her body, is that the way to kill a Banshee with minimum fallout? :O WHY WOULD YOU ASK THIS? ARE YOU DEMANDING I KILL LUCY? Well… okay ;)
Does Banshees like demons? You know, Like delicacies, is that why Leonora just decided to live where the food is? You do have to assume that she felt a connection WITH demons if she willingly lived there after the war ended. Plus, she was royal, why would she abandon her kingdom to go live it up in the Vapids?
OMG did you see the latest update for fairy tail's manga!? DO NOT START WITH ME DAMMIT
I know that Happy was mentioned in the story but will he make another appearance later on? Yeah, probs.
Will Lucy and Aquarius meet face to face? How else do you want them to meet? Hip to hip? Face to elbow?
Is Plue in this story? I mean… maybe?
Are there triggers that set him off in his demonic it true-form side that he can barely control all these years? IS THAT WHY HE DOESN'T WANT TO SHOW KUCY HIS TRUE FORM? IS PINKY SCARED FOR LUCY? Hmmmmmm. I wouldn't say 'triggers' but think of it this way, if you had another part of you, a darker part that people normally flinched at and you've hid your entire life, why would you show it to someone you want to keep close to you?
Will we meet King Silver? Yeeees ~~ but not right now.
Wait, so Lucy might actually be a demon? Was I right? Or is she just lowkey standing up for Natsu? Low key standing up for Natsu tbh but a lot of you frisky followers are really warming to the idea of Lucy being demonic... Hmmmmmm
Is Gray gonna try to help them after learning her story? Will he tell his parents? How is he going to get back home, and before or after they leave his home land? Is he a permanent fix on team Help-Lucy-Because-Her Father-is-an-Asshat? Good questions deserve good answers! As for the 'how is he going to get home' he's an orca/wolf. I think he can handle running home. /coldhearted
How you came up with Ultears personality? I think most of Ultear's personality was just me playing around with it. I didn't want this very strict, stern person. I thought the team needed a bit of comic relief. Erza being Erza, her personality is ingrained in her BONES. Lucy and Natsu are too busy dealing with the links to be funny all the time. So Ultear stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park!
What were some of the kinky things Gray and Natsu exchanged when speaking to each other? Well, Gray said - this paragraph was deemed too vulgar, aggressive and horrific for this website -
Where'd you come up with the idea of the Terrestrial Shift? Pulled it out of that tight corner in my head that most of my random idea's come from!
Will Gray be able to provide and heir to the throne? What's Lyon's role in all of this? The brother? The fellow who was also taught by Ur? I feel like maybe you mentioned it but I can't remember. Lyon is Gray's personal guard and sort-of friend (not really tho if you ask either of them).
Will Laxus be in this story? Maybe! He's not on my list but I do like a bit of Laxus ;)
If Ultear writes down all of their kinky dirty talks, are we finally going to get our lemons in the form of fanfiction within fanfiction? Did you guys want this instead of the lemon? Because I can do that!
Can we just have a chapter of nalu kissing, I mean it's not smut so it should count right!? I think you underestimate my talents as a writer, a WHOLE chapter of them kissing…
But really what does Lucy's true form have to do with her power? And why the hell is it only french kissing that brings it out?! I can't say anything because spoilers dammit
Will Gray continue with them on their journey or will he disappear when they reach the other border? You will find that out in the next chapter ~~
Question...is everyone in this story a snarky little shit that enjoys innuendos? Well, I enjoy innuendos… so yeah?
Could she be the banshee queen? Lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao no
Hello freshy-weshy. *blinks*
You guys actually slay me with your amazing comments day in and day out.
Think about this, the next time we frollick in the fields, the big Z is coming out to play ;)
It's now 35 reviews to get an earlier update! (the next chapter will be bumped up to forty because I'm a fiend so get you complaints out now)
Stay strong and fresh guys, Lucy will be fine!
xo
freshprincess