It's Monday! Thanks to everyone who chimed in with theories. I'm going to lump my responses together (both to guests and signed reviewers), just so we can all see what's up.
Regarding Jude Heartfilia: He is definitely a piece of work. He's almost a better villain than Jose, yeah? ;) I'm not going to try and redeem him and make him a 'well-developed' antagonist by giving him some sort of compelling reason for behaving as he does. Nope, he's just a small, greedy man. The scary part? There are a lot of social-climbing, power-grabbing jerks out there IRL. It's not just isolated to the rich and famous, either; it's anything from high school cliques to dirty office politics. What's worse is when you can't tell. Some people are so good at playing the game that people are none the wiser to their nonsense.
Regarding Lyon: I sort of cheated and drew attention to the hints I was dropping, but yes and double-yes to your observations! :)
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! :)
- K. Chandler
Against his better judgement, Gray had agreed to go to Lyon's stupid dinner party.
For that, he blamed Cana. Natsu had gotten her so riled up at the prospect of dressing Juvia up that she had insisted that they all attend.
Granted, it could have been worse. As Navy officers, he and Natsu were able to get away with wearing their formal dress uniforms. Short of the additional embellishments on the cuffs, his dress uniform wasn't much different than the one he wore at sea. Then Cana, the hypocrite, had elected to wear her uniform too.
Juvia, on the other hand, was not so lucky. She was wearing a frilly blue dress she had borrowed from Cana and gloves that reached her elbows. It looked nice, as far as dresses went, though Gray couldn't imagine that it was particularly comfortable.
Juvia's eyes sparkled as she took in all the sights. At least she looked like she was enjoying herself.
"You ever been to one of these things before?" asked Gray.
Juvia shook her head, smiling brightly.
"Me neither," he confessed. "I usually try to stay as far away as possible."
With a hand on Juvia's waist, Gray guided her through the crowd, steering them away from Mr. Heartfilia as he passed. The last thing he needed was another one of that insufferable man's appeals to marry his daughter.
Juvia tugged on his sleeve.
"Hm? What's up?"
Juvia pointed out toward the center of the room.
"Oh. Dancing's started up," observed Gray.
Captain Knightwalker and Jellal had taken to the dance floor with unexpected grace. Unlike Cana, Knightwalker had elected to wear an actual dress. It was strange to see her out of uniform. Gray could almost be convinced that she was any other woman instead of the formidable sea captain he knew her to be.
Juvia tugged on his sleeve again. She tipped her head up, looking at him with those wide, blue eyes. She shot a longing look towards the dancers.
"Juvia…" sighed Gray. "I'm really… not much of a dancer."
Her eyebrows drew together in disappointment.
"You really want to go, huh?"
Juvia clasped her hands together, nodding.
"All right. Let me see… There's gotta be someone here who knows how to dance."
Gray spied Natsu conversing animatedly with the Heartfilia girl, Lucy. He had his chest puffed out and she was laughing at whatever brainless comment he had made. Gray didn't want to interrupt their fun.
Cana was chatting with two crewmen from the Cerberus, a goblet of something, probably alcoholic, in her hand. Normally, Gray trusted Cana's judgement, but he didn't know that he trusted either of Cana's new friends with Juvia.
Gray scanned the room, looking for his cousin. Lyon had been cornered by Lucy's father. After Gray's own encounter with Mr. Heartfilia, he couldn't help feeling bad for Lyon. As much as he didn't want to hand Juvia over to his cousin, it would be a decent excuse to rescue the idiot.
"I suppose Lyon knows how to dance," offered Gray with a wry smile.
Juvia hit him in the arm, shaking her head.
"Juvia? What's wrong?"
She frowned at him, jabbing him in the chest.
"What? Me?" Gray shook his head. "I told you, I don't dance."
Juvia pouted before grabbing hold of his elbow. She tugged him toward the dance floor.
"Okay… Don't say I didn't warn ya," muttered Gray, taking Juvia's hand.
Gray was all stiff knees and left feet as he led Juvia out onto the dance floor. He spun her in a circle, trying to keep time to the music by counting the beats in his head. Awkward and ungainly, he stumbled along, like he was trying to get his sea-legs. It reminded him of his first voyage.
Everything about Juvia made Gray feel uncertain and a little bit nervous, if he was being entirely honest with himself.
But the way Juvia beamed at him made it worth it. For someone who could barely walk two weeks ago, she moved with surprising grace.
Sometimes, Gray still wondered where she was from. As he twirled her again, he realized that it didn't matter. Juvia was Juvia. That was more than enough for him.
Juvia tipped her head to the side, blinking up at him curiously.
Gray shook his head. "It's nothing."
Juvia frowned, looking unconvinced. But Gray just grinned, dipping her suddenly, making her eyes light up in delight. Chuckling, he pulled her close, waltzing them across the dance floor.
Cana approached them as soon as the dance drew to a close, having abandoned her new friends from the Cerberus.
"That was a good show, Captain," she said with an impertinent chuckle. "You'll have to show the rest of the crew how it's done some time," she teased.
Gray could feel his face heating up. "Whatever. Juvia wanted to dance, okay?"
"And you did a fine job—" Cana broke off when Juvia tapped her on the arm. Gray couldn't see her expression, but whatever she was doing, it was enough to make Cana grin and say, "All right, Juvia. I won't make fun of the Captain anymore."
"Really? What a shame," said Lyon, as he joined them. "Miss Juvia, Lieutenant Alberona," he greeted.
At the prince's arrival, Cana started to give a slight bow, but then shifted into a curtsy for Juvia to imitate.
Gray, on the other hand, gave an insolent snort.
"I'm surprised to see you here, Gray," said Lyon. He looked paler than normal, his eyes distant and glassy. "Lieutenant Alberona's interference, I take it?"
Cana inclined her head slightly at the acknowledgement.
"You've got no idea how persuasive she can be," muttered Gray.
"As expected from the lieutenant," commented Lyon with a wan smile. His tone was light, but Gray could hear the exhaustion that tinged his voice.
"I saw Heartfilia with you earlier. He givin' you grief about me?" asked Gray.
"Nothing I can't handle," said Lyon absently, shifting to lean against the wall. He had a hand pressed to his forehead.
"You've been looking rough lately," observed Gray.
"I'm just a little tired. I had some paperwork to catch up on last night."
Tired was an understatement. Gray hadn't missed the unsteadiness to Lyon's movements. If he didn't know better, he'd swear that the wall was the only thing holding the prince upright.
"Watch that you don't work yourself to an early grave."
Lyon arched an eyebrow, his gaze growing sharp. "Worried?"
"No," Gray scoffed. "Why would I be?"
"I'll be fine after a good night's sleep. I just have to get through this confounded party first," Lyon breathed.
"You know, you probably don't have to stay. I don't think anyone would notice if you stepped out," offered Cana, ever-practical.
"You know, she's probably right," said Gray. He could see the conflict in his cousin's eyes as tried to justify leaving early.
"I'm not sure—" faltered Lyon, shaking his head.
"If you're really that worried, I can have Natsu torch something," suggested Gray wickedly. "That'll keep everyone distracted."
"I'd much rather you didn't," said Lyon, dryly. "Now, I'm almost afraid to leave. Besides, if I slip away, people will—"
"—not even notice," insisted Cana. "With the number of people here, you won't be missed."
The prince still looked uncertain.
"Would you get going already?" huffed Gray. As much as he admired the prince's resolve, he didn't think Lyon should have to stick around for the rest of the night if he wasn't feeling well. Even if it was his stupid party.
"You know, I think I will retire early. Excuse me."
The prince made to leave, pushing off the wall carefully. His knees folded under him.
"Lyon!" hissed Gray in alarm. He rushed to steady his cousin as he pitched forward, managing to latch onto Lyon's arm before he hit the floor.
"Sorry. Must be more tired than I thought…" mumbled Lyon, his words slurring.
Gray looked around warily. In some brilliant stroke of luck, no one else seemed to have noticed Lyon's near-collapse. If they acted quickly, maybe they could keep it that way. Gossip was something that the castle was never in short supply of. It would cause quite the stir if this got out.
Heaving his cousin up, Gray helped him to lean back against the wall. He couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Gray's eyes darted around the room again. Their first order of business was to get Lyon out of here, away from prying eyes. Only then could he worry about the apprehension welling cold in his stomach.
"I'm taking him back to his chambers," muttered Gray, moving to support his cousin's weight fully. "No arguments," he said as Lyon started to protest.
"I'll send for Levy," whispered Cana.
"I'm counting on you," said Gray.
As Juvia moved to support Lyon's other elbow, Gray stopped her. "Juvia, stay here, please. It's going to be hard enough getting out of here unnoticed with just two of us."
Gray could feel Lyon trembling with the exertion of trying to remain upright. "Could you could try to make it look like you're not leaning on me?" Gray complained, though he knew it was a futile request. "People are gonna notice if you keep this up."
"Don't worry about that. I'll cover you," whispered Cana.
"What are you planning?" asked Gray.
"Not sure yet. But there's plenty of alcohol. I'm sure I'll come up with something," shrugged Cana, the ghost of a grin pulling at her expression. "Just get going. Levy and I'll meet you in a few."
"Be discrete," Gray reminded her quietly. "Something weird is going on here and I don't like it."
This was so not in the Disney version, but we're going off script here. :) I had to do something interesting, and I wasn't about to send a pair of eels to capsize a rowboat.
Bear with me. The idea that absolutely nobody noticed the #1 VIP in the room collapsing requires some suspension of disbelief. But this isn't a story about castle politics and intrigue. I have reasons for wanting to take Lyon out, but I didn't want to have to deal with the repercussions.
Also...Gray is not so great at the whole figuring-things-out-together part of relationships that I talked about about last week. He's still trying to figure things out "On His Own", which will be a problem.
Next time, in Silence, Juvia is there in Gray's time of need: And for a moment, she was his whole world. Juvia in his arms. A moment that lasted forever.
Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.
