Hey Everyone! this is my first set of stories in a long list of fanfictions I would like to make. This isn't going to be too long of a story but I'm going to try and put as much content in each chapter as possible just to get a good stream of content going. Let me know how you feel in the comment section and make sure you follow for updates since I plan to come out with a lot of first chapters for some stories fairly soon! I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters!
-xoxoxo MBN
"I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue," A voice as smooth as honey rang out through the room with the clashing of drinks echoing behind it.
"And it's hey to the starboard, heave ho!" The burly voices boomed after.
"Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you. In mysterious fathoms below," Their voices blended together for the last part, sailors and fishermen cheered and hollered as others started to complete the song in a weird harmony.
"Fathoms below, below. From whence wayward Westerlies blow. Where Triton is king and his merpeople sing. In mysterious fathoms below" The woman continued while the mugs clacked about around the hall.
A beautiful bluenette in a bar maiden outfit spun around and grabbed empty glasses and shoveled out some full ones. "Aye this lass is like no other!"
"You're the sunshine in this rainy day!" Another one called and all she could do was laugh.
"Juvia appreciates the sentiment sir! Isn't the rain beautiful though the way it smells, the way it sings against the streets?" A clash of an empty mug against the wooden table made her jump a little.
Someone else chimed in, "If it wouldn't rain every day of the year maybe."
Juvia rolled her eyes and smiled seeing everyone enjoy themselves. Just as she was being coerced to sing another song an ominous shadow appeared through the crack in the door leading to the kitchen. Juvia settled them all down and excused herself, following the shadow out of the bar through the back door. She lost track of the shadow and out of nowhere a large hand gently touched her shoulder, "Ah! Geez you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days!"
The woman whipped around and slapped the tall and muscular man on the forearm. He was in a sour mood from what she could tell. He was doing his famous stiff faced glare, all of the piercings in his face sit perfectly in the "wrinkles" of his face from where you could tell he didn't smile often. "What's wrong this time?" She sweetly asked crossing her arms under her chest to mock his stance. He had metal studs along his eyebrows and down his nose, two vertically lined under his bottom lip and about 5 in each ear.
Children would often run away at first sight of this brute, but she couldn't feel threatened by him at this point since they were childhood friends. "I need a place to hide Juvia." Those were the words that she hated hearing. Her heart tightened and felt a little heavier as she shuffled through her bar maid's dress for her keys.
"Here. Juvia will let you borrow these until you can get the extra set. Can Juvia know why this time?" His facial features softened up but he still looked upset. He looked her up and down for changes and only noticed how long her hair had gotten, and that now she could throw it up into a pony tail.
He huffed and shoved the keys in his pocket, "Fine. The Navy is after Jose's crew, we boarded here briefly and I jumped ship. They'll notice I'm gone but won't care enough to get me I don't think. I need to lay low from both of those crowds for a bit."
She appreciated the honesty but in a way it didn't make her feel better, "One day Juvia would like you to come to her because you need to borrow sugar, not Juvia's house." Gajeel rubbed the back of his head and grumbled. Juvia nudged his arm with her elbow and proceeded back into the bar waving him goodbye. Inside the other bar maids were working away to keep the tourists and off the clock men happy while she was away.
She grabbed the money off tables that customers left behind and refilling drinks. "Lassy! You promised a song!"
At that moment a man walked in with dark navy hair, he was not from around this area by the way he dressed in nicer or rather not dirty clothing and he took a seat alone. "O-Ok just one more!"
Juvia coughed a couple times to prepare her voice and started to sing, noticing that the man who had just sat down was staring at her. Her cheeks began to fluster and she focused real hard on not messing up the song.
"I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry. I only want your hand to hold... I only want you near me." Juvia started to twirl around again getting into the song as the other started to join in on the chorus.
"To love and kiss, to sweetly hold! For the dancing and the dreaming! Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your love inside me!" Finally after a few minutes she got to his table, the mysterious man who watched her the whole time.
The crowd cheered and jeered and she couldn't help but smile, "What can I do for you stranger?" She couldn't help but heave a little from the singing and dancing around but the man didn't seem to mind.
He offered her to sit with him across the table and she obliged, "I don't need much, I'm just visiting."
"Oh really? What brings you to the Port of Misty Seas?"
"I heard some exciting things were going on here, plus I've never seen a town where it rains all day and night." Juvia then noticed that he was soaking wet from head to toe, he obviously didn't prepare to come here.
"I-it's like this all the time unfortunately."
"It's not that bad, I can handle cold weather so the rain is kind of pleasant." Her heart skipped over his words. No one had ever come in here and complimented the rain. "I mean it also made this Port pretty popular among anyone journeying the seas too so in a way it helps."
This guy was dangerous. He wore a long white jacket and black button up shirt underneath. "Y-you seemed dressed up. If there some sort of party you are going to?"
He shook his head and stared out the window of the tavern, "Nothing exciting like that."
"But exciting."
He scoffed a little and smirked at her, "Yeah. Just looking for some people."
Oh no…. "What type of people?" She started to get up from her seat now that she was breathing fine and take her pen and paper back out, trying not to be too suspicious.
"Depends on who you ask."
"Sounds… Sound important, would you like to try a beer?" Juvia cleared her throat and used her pen to point at the bar.
He nodded his head yes toward her, "Let me know if you need anything else sir…" Juvia kept her pace slow as she walked away and held it together when it came to freaking out about talking to a Naval men right after giving her keys to a criminal. Oh god they are here already…
"Come all you young sailor-men, listen to me. I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea, and it's..." She started off and the rest joined in.
"Windy weather boys, stormy weather, boys. When the wind blows we're all together, boys. Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow. Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes!"
The man leaned over to a fisherman sitting behind him and tapped his shoulder, "Sir who is that blue haired woman over there?"
The guy let out a deep chuckle and slapped the Naval man's back, "That there is Juvia, she has the voice of an angel! Been here for a long time singing for us! It helps all of us get through the day! The name is Tucker my friend, what's yours?"
"The name is Gray. You wouldn't happen to know of any pirates lurking about around here would you?"
"This place is crawling with Pirates sometimes, they don't do much harm here though." In the background of their conversation he could hear the rest of the song being song pleasantly.
"Up jumps the halibut, lies flat on the deck
He says, 'Mister Captain, don't step on my neck!'
and it's... Windy weather boys, stormy weather, boys
When the wind blows we're all together, boys
Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow
Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes."
Juvia waved to all the men as they started to shovel out for the night. She began to clean the place, stopping to drink some water every now and then to make sure her throat wouldn't go dry. Juvia sat at an empty table and sighed, thinking about Gajeel's situation. "What am I going to do..."
She heard a whistle start to sound through the tavern that reminded her of a song and couldn't but start to gently sing along, "The bottle, oh, the bottle oh, The sailor loves the bottle, oh, So early in the morning The sailor loves the bottle oh-"
A couple claps caught her attention and it was the man from earlier. "Where did you get the voice from?"
"I inherited it… Comes with the territory…" Juvia quickly stood up and continued to clean.
His boots were hard against the floor and were louder than she was used to since it was so quiet. "Well I hope I see you around this territory more." He came over and put the money for his drink on the table she was at, his fingers lightly touching her hand.
She couldn't help but blush and Juvia looked up into his eyes, "L-likewise…" He smirked and then head for the door.
"See you around Miss Juvia!" He called out.
"Juvia doesn't even know your name!"
"It's Gray!" His name was sort of charming. She quickly got done with cleaning and headed out the back toward her house worrying about whether Gajeel got there alright.
The rain wasn't hard tonight and it came in a soft drizzle. Her boots splashed countlessly down the streets of twists and turn until she came upon a very small house sitting near a coastline cliff. She knocked on the door a couple times and called out his name with no answer.
Juvia cursed under her breath and knocked harder, "Gajeel!"
Finally the door gave way and the black mane man stood at the door. "Sorry I was resting."
"Would you stop giving Juvia heart attacks?"
"Yeah yeah sorry."
She noticed his face was a little pale, "What's wrong with you?" Juvia pushed her way into the cottage type house and noticed the medical supplies strewn all over her sofa table. "Really Gajeel? Where is it?"
He reluctantly took off his thick black vest to reveal some infected looking gashes on his back. Juvia gasped and put a hand over her mouth. She had to close her eyes for a moment and take it all in. there were some scars that were new but healed over already as well. "I can handle it myself though Juvia."
"Get in the bathroom now." She held in her emotions but they were beginning to swell up. Juvia threw off her rain clothes which consisted of a thick black furry shirt and poncho type jacket. She slipped her shoes off and turned on the tub to a just above room temperature water and sat inside.
It was at this point she could let her emotions come up. A rough pressure could be felt in her legs as she let the change proceed. Her magic allowed her to go back to her true form only in the water. Gajeel followed her into the bathroom and sat with his back against the edge of the tub.
"Does it hurt?" He asked and she couldn't help but sniffle from sadness and giggle.
"I should be saying that to you." Tears started to flow down her cheeks, she leaned over the wall of the tub and let her tears trickle down his back, letting them seep down into the open markings, a faint blue glow allowing them to mend and heal.
He sat there patiently as she cried over his suffering and his pain. A mermaid's tears could heal any would and sustain life however faint. It was one of the many thing she could do, but only in her mermaid state. "I hate seeing you like this…"
"I hate seeing you try to patch yourself up and keeping it from me even more."
Silence washed over them both as the last tears started to flow down her cheeks. "This remind me of when we were kids."
"Yeah…"
A small child sat at the water's edge trying hard not to cry out while holding his leg. It was cloudy that night and dark, no signs of people could be heard or seen. He almost gave up on anyone finding him and helping him.
"Someone help please…" A gash on his leg went from his knee to just above his ankle and he had it soaking in the water.
Out of nowhere a faint blue glow came from the water not too far out. He saw it bubble up and then disappear, getting closer and closer. He couldn't be afraid of it though because the aura it projected seemed gentle. "What that..?" He sniffled and felt someone touch his leg.
"What happened?" A young girl with short curly hair appeared out of nowhere from under the water.
At first his breath caught in his throat, "I… I was swimming and trying to catch fish… a wave took me in and I cut my leg across a rock…"
The blue eyes girl looked at him with wonder. "You live here?"
"Y-yeah…"
"If I help you will you show me around?"
"Sure?" The pain had already slightly subsided due to his focusing on her, that's when he heard a splashing sound behind her and saw it, a fish tail. "Wh-what was that?"
The girl drug herself up beside him and put a finger to his lips, "Shhh… One second." She lightly touched his leg and took a deep breath. Two tears appeared from her eyes and after they ran down her face she caught them in her tiny delicate hand and then led the tear drops into his wound.
The young boy was baffled at the sight of the gash closing by itself with a faint blue glow coming from it. "Ok you promised! Show me around!"
"Wait a second! What are you?" The boy stared at her lower half which consisted of just a sky blue scaled tail, and her top was a white cloth tied behind her neck and lower back.
"Juvia's a mermaid obviously! You can't tell anyone though!"
"O-ok. My name is Gajeel."
"Oh wow! My first land friend! Juvia can't wait to see all the things land people do!"
The both of them laughed together and she drug herself out of the water and her tail flashed and became a pair of tiny legs. "Let's go!"
"Those were the days huh?" Juvia grabbed an empty bottle beside her tub that she kept for these purposes and managed to squeeze out a couple more tears. "Keep this with you please."
He obliged and grabbed the bottle, standing up and trying out his freshly healed back. Juvia counted all the scars he had now, there were so many she stopped after about 15, it only hurt to count. Finally her tail returned to being a pair of legs and Gajeel grabbed her out of the tub.
"I am fine, I can walk."
"I know how much energy it takes for you to do this though. Let me help just for now…" He held her bridal style and grabbed a towels for her to wrap around her legs and pat off the water. Gajeel then set her in her bed.
"The Navy is here Gajeel, please don't go outside."
He cringed and ignored her warning, walking out of her room and closing the door partially. She sighed and rolled onto her side, throwing the blanket over her and falling into a deep sleep. Gajeel stood outside her room and grumble to himself. "I need to get them away from here..."
He stomped down the hallway and into the living room where he set up camp for the night, hoping that a storm wasn't blowing in that would cause her any harm.
How was it everyone? Sort of a prologue chapter to give some insight on the theme. Can't wait to publish the second chapter. :3
credit goes to for the icon for this story. Go and check them out! The art is fabulous!