It's Monday!

Wow... what a ride! This is the last chapter of Silence. I had a lot of fun with this one. If you did too, I'd be honored if you'd consider leaving a comment or a fave. :)

I'd like to thank everyone who's come along on this journey with us. You guys have been so supportive and it's been amazing connecting with everyone. Special thanks to all of my regular reviewers (you know who you are ;)) The handful of you have kept me really engaged and motivated, and it's been amazing. Thanks!

Be sure to check my post-chapter notes to see what else I'm working on.

Guest: You are correct! More on that at the very end... mostly because those who thought it was obvious already know what's coming, but still have a shot at surprising anyone who didn't think of it. Ah, I'm such a troll... XD

Guest: Aw, thank you so much! The characters in this universe have sort of grown on me. I'd definitely consider a continuation, for sure! I'm a little bit afraid of giving this universe sequel-itis, though. I can't remember the last time I saw a decent sequel (Aladdin and The Lion King were the only two Disney sequels that I liked. I sort of thought they should have left well enough alone with some of the others. IMHO.) :)

Guest: That would be this chapter, but hopefully it's a good one! :D

- K. Chandler


Juvia walked through the courtyard with Gray, his arm draped over her shoulders. This was how things were supposed to be. After a couple of weeks, things had started going back to normal.

As normal as they could be, that was. Juvia would be staying with the humans. By fulfilling her contract with Jose, Juvia had regained her freedom, but she'd lost her tail forever.

Still, she couldn't complain. She had gotten her magic back and she could speak again. That was enough for her, even though there were still times that she yearned for the feeling of gliding through the water, looking up at the glowing surface. And she would miss getting to be with Meredy and Gajeel and even some of the others. She had to admit that Totomaru wasn't that bad.

If she was honest with herself, the surface wasn't everything she had hoped it would be. But neither was the sea. Nothing was really perfect. And even though Juvia wasn't sure this is the fate she would have chosen for herself, she was happy.

She and Gray had just gotten back from saying goodbye to Jellal and Erza, along with the rest of the crew of the Heaven's Wheel. They had left port this morning on a mission to escort a large merchant vessel. Juvia and Gray had gone to see them off.

Then they had come back to the castle to meet with Prince Lyon. Levy had been encouraging him to open a dialogue with the Sea-People in hopes of putting their differences aside. Privately, Juvia suspected the Royal Scholar had ulterior motives, but she couldn't disagree with the idea.

Maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to end this someday, if they all worked at it. The conflict between their peoples had gone on long enough.

"Say, Juvia. That girl you were talking to yesterday. Is she a friend of yours?" asked the prince.

"You mean Meredy?" asked Juvia. The prince had caught the tail-end of one of her late-night chats with her friend earlier that week. Juvia tilted her head, studying the prince careful. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he said quickly. But Juvia could see the tell-tale flush that crossed his cheeks. "Just… She's kind of cute."

Juvia relaxed, smiling brightly. She thought she'd caught him staring out at the sea last night! "Well, then I'll have to introduce you sometime."

"I'd like that."

"I can't believe this," complained Gray. "You give me all this grief about doing what's expected. But then you see some random girl and you're all like—I'm in love!" Gray brought a hand up to his forehead, pretending to swoon. Then he rolled his eyes. "Geez, give me a break, Lyon!"

Lyon scoffed. "I just said she was cute. I did not say I wanted to run away with her."

"Good thing too, seeing as she's got a tail. No offense," Gray added quickly.

"None taken, darling," said Juvia. "A tail would be problematic for anyone. I mean, Meredy's basically stuck in the ocean. But I don't know what to do about that, though."

"No more deals what that Phantom Lord person, that's for sure," growled Gray.

"Don't worry. I think we've all learned our lesson there," nodded Juvia.

"Good."

"I wonder if Miss McGarden could be of any assistance," mused Lyon. He walked ahead of them, his hands clasped loosely behind his back.

"Levy?" asked Gray.

"She is the Royal Scholar. If anyone could figure out the magic required to make such a thing happen, it would be her."

"If you want, I could even give her a little extra motivation," suggested Juvia.

Prince Lyon perked up immediately. "Is that so? What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I happened to see Levy making eyes at my other friend, Gajeel."

"Which one's he?"

"Gajeel's the burly one with the, um, piercings." Juvia pointed at her own eyebrow.

"Piercings?" repeated the prince. He turned to look at her, his expression blank.

Gray snickered. "Levy and your studded friend? Sorry, Juvia, but I don't see it!"

Juvia latched onto Gray's elbow. "Some people wouldn't have thought that we'd work out. But here we are. I don't think that's that crazy for Levy and Gajeel to get together."

"Yeah, but that's completely different. We're not opposi—"

"You two are opposites," interrupted the prince. "She's a Sea-Person who risked everything to come on land, and you're a human who would gladly spend the rest of your life at sea!"

"Well, when you put it that way…" shrugged Gray. There was a fond look in his eyes as they met hers.

"It's like we were made for each other," said Juvia softly.

Lyon cleared his throat. "With regards to your studded friend," he reminded Juvia.

"Oh, that's right!" said Juvia.

"It certainly wouldn't hurt to mention his interest to Miss McGarden if you think it might motivate her," said Prince Lyon. "Do what you must."

"What happened to only marrying foreign royalty?" demanded Gray.

"Technically, Miss Meredy would be a foreign dignitary, would she not? We are considering becoming allies," Lyon responded smoothly. Then he rounded on Gray with a scowl. "And I didn't say I was marrying her!"

Juvia giggled.

With Levy, and possibly Lyon, pushing for change, a truce between the Sea-People and the Land-Dwellers seemed more and more plausible. Changing the opinion of an entire people would be difficult, but reaching an understanding with one person was entirely possible. It was still optimistic, but perhaps it wasn't so unrealistic. After all, if she and Gray could find each other, perhaps such a dream was still within reach.

"Either way, we've got some time to figure it out," said Gray. "It'll be nearly a month before I'm supposed to set sail again."

"Why so long?" asked Juvia. "I know you were dying to get back out on the ocean, now that you've got a ship again."

"Natsu and Cana," said Gray. "Both of them asked if we could stay in Akane a while longer. Of course, I said yes. I couldn't leave without my two most senior officers."

"Natsu wants to spend more time with Lucy!" squealed Juvia, clasping her hands excitedly. "Am I right?"

Gray shrugged. "I don't know what that idiot's thinking, but he can do whatever he wants."

"I think that's a safe bet," remarked Prince Lyon. "I converted Jude Heartfilia's sentence to imprisonment for his daughter's sake. But without her father around, there is a lot that she'll have to deal with on her own now. All of his assets are hers to manage. That includes Heartfilia Holdings."

"And Natsu's helping her? I almost think I should check on them," said Gray.

"Oh, they'll be fine," said Juvia.

"You don't know Natsu," Gray scoffed.

"What about Lieutenant Alberona?" asked the prince. "Visiting her father, perhaps?"

"Well, she said she wanted to meet up with the guys from the Cerberus before they set sail in a couple of weeks."

"How nice!" said Juvia. "Cana is always so sweet. I'm glad she's found somebody too," she said, recalling the tall, dark sailor Cana had been chatting with the night of the dinner party.

Gray snorted. "And you don't know Cana."

"What does that mean?" asked Juvia.

"Cana's one and only is a tall, dark ale," said Gray dryly.

"Oh, Gray…" sighed Juvia, shaking her head.

"It's true," he said.

"What about you?" asked Juvia.

"Eh? What about me?" asked Gray.

"Who's your one and only?" asked Juvia, coming up on her toes to slip her arms around his shoulders.

"I dunno," said Gray with a stiff shrug. He looked away.

"Gray!"

He chuckled, his eyes twinkling playfully as he turned back to her. He pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers.

"You know the only one I need is you," he murmured. Trailing his fingers along her jaw, he guided her chin upwards, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.


Squee! (So that's the end.)

Five points to the anon reviewer who guessed that we'd wrap with a kiss! XD I was debating whether or not that would be too cliche. I finally caved and went with it. I mean, this whole thing has been one cliche after another. No sense in trying to get clever two lines from the end. XD (Not all of my long-fics will end with a kiss, BTW. Anderson's original didn't even specify one, but it was so central to Disney's iconic take on Mermaid, that it seemed appropriate in this case.)

What's up next?

Let's talk future stories. We're going to take a little bit of a break from the Fairy Tail as Old as Time series and Monday uploads. I've been working on another adaptation, but it's just not quite ready yet. I've got a first draft, but it still needs work. I've come to terms with the fact that I won't have anything for a few weeks, while I deal with plot holes that're wide enough for the Titanic to fit through. XD Hopefully it won't take too much longer; I'm shooting for December, mostly because that would be delightfully appropriate. (Hint, hint.)

This next story is about a lost princess and a stranger trying to reunite her with her family. While not technically a fairy tale (or a Disney film), the animated film was a childhood favorite of mine. Can anyone guess which story I'm talking about? This one is going to be a Jerza. (Yay Jerza!) I didn't get to play with Jerza a whole lot in Silence... I mean, Jellal pretty much didn't have a personality in this fic, so it was fun to do a another take on them in a different universe.

In the meantime, there is another option for those who are looking for more romance, drama, angst, heartbreak and fun from me. I'm still doing weekly uploads of my other long-running series Mazeverse on Fridays. For those who haven't heard of it, I threw together a handful of theories, observations and a couple of what-ifs and weave them together into a universe where I purposely take us in a different direction than canon. For those who can't stomach the thought of non-canon pairings, this may not be your cup of tea. For those who occasionally like their pairs rare and served with a side of crazy, I'd be honored if you'd join me there!

Until next time! - Karine