Up at the palace, Juvia was taking a bubble bath inside a large golden bathtub. Shortly after arrival, Gray had summoned his chief handmaiden Sherry Blendy and explained the situation to her. She was given orders to take care of Juvia and make her as comfortable as possible. The first order of business was to give Juvia a nice bubble bath.
Smiling, the ex-mermaid relaxed in the nice, hot, soapy water. She scooped some bubbles into her hands and gently blew them into the air. She was pleasantly surprised that the bathwater, instead of being cold and salty, was warm and full of sweet smelling oil. To Juvia, this was but one of many things to discover in the human world.
Sherry mused, pouring a bucket of fresh water over Juvia's head, "Imagine that… A poor, sweet girl washed up from a shipwreck! All you need is some shampoo, soap, and a lot of love. You'll look so squeaky clean, no one will recognize you."
The door opened and one of the handmaidens, Sherry's cousin Chelia, came in carrying a bundle of towels. She said, "Here are the towels you asked for, Cousin Sherry. I also picked a neat outfit on the bed in the guest room."
Sherry nodded with a smile, "Always a good job for everything." She went to the sink to wash her hands and grab a comb.
Chelia looked curiously at Juvia, and then turned to Sherry, "So, what's the story with this girl? Where's she from? How does she know Prince Gray?"
Sherry shrugged, "No clue. She can't even say a single word. I wonder why she's mute?"
"I bet she's a princess!" Chelia assumed. "She's 100% princess material, I can tell. A princess from a royal house somewhere far away!"
Sherry smiled, "Alright, Chelia, enough pop quizzes for the day. Time to clean her up."
"Yes, ma'am!" Chelia saluted, and she joined Sherry to help clean up Juvia. Sherry was combing Juvia's hair, while Chelia was wiping her body.
"Feels much better, doesn't it?" Sherry asked. "Don't worry, a scrub on the back, some new clothes, and a perfume of love will make you feel fresh as a daisy."
Natsu, who was still hiding in the sail, peaked out, but gasped and hid back when Chelia reached out to grab it.
"In the meantime, I'm gonna get your old clothes washed up for you, in case you wanna wear them again," Chelia suggested, before she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "What kind of dress is this? That girl's got a weird fashion sense." Mistaking the old sail Juvia wore at the beach as a piece of clothing, she took it and left the room to take it to the laundry room.
Natsu was not having a good day. He spluttered against the water as one of the laundry maids, Beth Vanderwood, threw the sail into a bucket of soapy water.
"You must've at least heard about this new girl," Beth said to her fellow laundry maids Araña Webb and Risley Law, scrubbing the cloth against the washboard along with Natsu, shaking him like a cheese shredder in the process. "Does anybody around here know who she is?"
"We have no idea," Araña shook her head. "Although, what Chelia suggested, she has the characteristics and appearance of a princess. For all I know, she has a little bit of a royal flair."
"A princess?" Risley asked. "As in, a beautiful princess from far away?"
Beth scoffed, "Since when's a bubbly girl named Chelia ever gotten anything right?"
"Hey, ladies—" Natsu tried to speak, but was scrubbed again along with the sail.
Araña replied, "Well, if the new girl's not a princess, she's not the one for Prince Gray. And if he's ever looking for one, I know a couple of very highly available ones down here." She flicked her long curly green hair in a flirty manner to make her point.
The three maids giggled, while Beth pulled the old sail out of the bucket. Natsu hiccuped, some bubbles floating out of his mouth. Shaking his head vigorously, the salmon crustacean hopped out of the sail and leaped into the pocket of a shirt hanging on a clothesline above. He scurried along the clothes and jumped onto a windowsill, his fleeing away from the maids his main priority.
Natsu fell off the other side of the windowsill onto a wooden bench. After pushing himself up, he gasped, seeing that he was in the worst room of a human castle a crab could be in; the dreaded kitchen. Everywhere he turned, poor Natsu saw knife-sliced fish and pots where the fish was being cooked. Even worse, he saw a plate full of stuffed crabs! Unable to take any more, he passed out.
In the dining room, Gray and Lyon sat at the table, talking about Juvia. Lyon asked, "So, you found her lying on the beach by herself?"
Gray nodded, leaning his arm, "Yeah. She must've washed up from a shipwreck or something. I can't tell if she's a princess from a faraway land or a maiden from a different place."
"How intriguing," Lyon rubbed his chin. "Is she pretty?"
"Prettier than some of the types I've seen around here. And she's very cheery and excitable, too," Gray smiled, standing up from his chair and heading to the window. "You should've seen her face when I first brought her here. Her eyes practically lit up the place." He then sighed, his thoughts focused on the mystery girl, "They're so beautiful, they reminded me of…"
Lyon sighed in disappointment, "You're still thinking about that mystery girl? How many times do we have to go through this?"
Gray stood and the window and retorted, "I don't care what it takes, Lyon! I'm still finding her!"
"Try to be reasonable for once in your life, Gray," Lyon insisted. "Real women just don't swim around rescuing people in the middle of the ocean, then flitter off into oblivion like some sort of—"
"I'm tellin' ya. She was real! I'm gonna find that girl," Gray interrupted, briefly looking away from the window. He then turned back to look through the glass panels, "And when I do, I'm gonna marry her."
"C'mon, sweetie! Don't be shy!" The sound of Sherry's laughter filled the hall outside, and Gray turned to see Sherry guiding Juvia into the room. As she slowly stepped in, Gray's eyes widened and his mouth hung slightly open. Juvia was wearing a navy blue coat with a fur shawl attached to it, as well as a Russian Cossack hat. On top of that, Sherry had neatly combed her hair straight, letting it fall in thick waves past her shoulders.
Lyon remarked with a chuckle, "She's absolutely breathtaking! Such a vision of beauty, wouldn't you agree?"
"Uh, you... you look beautiful," Gray stammered slightly. Juvia, unable to say 'thank you', replied with a gentle blush.
"Come, my dear, you must be famished. Let me get your seat for you," Lyon said, and he began leading her towards one of the dining room chairs. Gray tucked the chair under the table as Juvia sat down.
"There we go. Comfortable?" Lyon smiled as he and Gray made their way to their chairs and sat down. "It's not often we have such a lovely dinner guest, eh, Gray?" he winked at Gray.
Juvia wasn't playing attention anymore. She was too intrigued by the glistening silver fork, the 'dinglehopper', resting on the table. With a wide smile, she picked up the shiny object and began brushing her hair with it. She smiled at Gray, but quickly put the 'dinglehopper' back on the table when she saw the shocked looks on Gray and Lyon's faces. She began chewing nervously on her lower lip, until she saw Lyon holding his pipe-sized bubble blower, otherwise known as the 'snarfblatt'.
"Do you like it?" Lyon smiled kindly at Juvia, and handed her his bubble blower. "It's a bubble blower, the most popular souvenir in the kingdom. I brought my first bubble blower when I traveled to—" He stopped mid-sentence when Juvia blew really hard on the pipe as if it was a trumpet, sending a stream of bubbles spurting out of the top and straight into his face. "MY FACE!" he screamed, holding his face wet with bubbles.
Juvia shrunk back to her seat, even more embarrassed than before. Gray, meanwhile, trying to cover his mouth, cracked up with laughter as he looked at Lyon's bubble-smothered face.
Sherry exclaimed with a giggle, "Oh, my!"
Gray cleared his throat, trying to regain composure, "Sorry, Lyon."
"Why, Gray," Sherry smiled, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "That's the first time I've seen you smile in weeks."
Gray smiled back, "Well, you have to admit, it was a pretty good shot." He turned to Juvia, who instantly perked up and smiled back.
Lyon wiped his face with a napkin and replied, "Oh, yeah. Sure. That was almost amusing." He turned to Sherry, "Sherry, my dear, what do we have for dinner today?"
Sherry grinned, "Oh, you're gonna love it! Chef Sol's been fixing his specialty: stuffed crab!"
Back in the kitchen…
Natsu peeked his head out from behind a jar, and his face widened in horror upon seeing the head of the dreaded kitchen. He's a slim man of average height with a tiny, pointy mustache and green hair pointing upwards, his right eye hidden by a monocle, and he wears a brown tuxedo with a short cape attached to both of his elbows, linking them. His name was Sol, the castle chef. He rummaged through a cupboard, singing in French to himself.
Sol: Nouvelle cuisine
Les Champs-Elysées
Maurice Chevalier
Sol chuckled, and continued singing as he prepared the fish… in the most torturous way that Natsu had ever seen.
Sol: Les poissons, les poissons,
How I love les poissons!
Love to CHOP, and to serve little fish
First I cut off their heads
Then I pull out their bones
Ah, mais oui, ça c'est toujours delish
Les poissons, les poissons
Hee-hee-hee! haw-haw-haw!
With a cleaver, I hack them in two!
I pull out what's inside
And I serve it up fried
'Cause I love little fishes! Don't you?
Natsu, who had heard each word and seen every action of Sol's song, desperately ran around the kitchen, trying to find a way out. Spotting a large lettuce leaf, Natsu grabbed the leaf and used it to cover himself as the chef continued singing.
Here's something for tempting the palate
Prepared in the classic technique
First, you POUND the fish flat with a mallet
Then you slash off their skin
Give their belly a slice
Then you rub some salt in
'Cause that makes it taste nice!
Natsu's worst fear was confirmed when the cook reached out and grabbed the lettuce leaf, leaving him exposed. The small crab kept perfectly still as the chef exclaimed, "Zut alors! I have missed one!" Sol picked up the 'dead' crab and continued singing.
Sol: Sacrebleu! What is this?
How on Earth could I miss
Such a sweet, little succulent crab?
Quel Domage, what a loss
Here we go, in the sauce
Now some flour, I think just a dab
Sol tossed Natsu into a bowl of sauce and threw a handful of flour in his face, before pulling him out and stuffing some filling in his shell.
Now I'll stuff you with bread...
It don't hurt, 'cause you're dead
And you're certainly lucky you are
Natsu pushed the filling out of his shell and let out a brief sneeze. Sol didn't notice that the crab in his hand was still alive.
'Cause it's gonna be hot
In my big silver pot
Tout-aloo, mon poisson, au revoir!
Sol threw Natsu across the room into a large pot of boiling water. "OUCH! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Natsu yelped, as he chucked himself out of the pot, and landed on a nearby bench with a loud thud. Sol, hearing the 'thud', turned and walked over to the bench.
The chef picked up the crab and carefully inspected it, "What is this?"
Natsu swiftly reached out his claws and snapped them shut around the chef's nose. Sol yelled out in pain as he dropped the crab. Natsu ended up on the handle of a pan on the stove. Sol reached for the crab, but instead put his hand on the fiery hot stove. The chef screamed in agony and blew on his hand as the pan fell onto his foot.
Sol grabbed his foot and cried in pain again, before sending Natsu an angry glare. He growled, "I'll get you for this, you pesky crustacé!" he growled, before he grabbed a bunch of knives and hurled them at the crab.
"MORT AU CRABE!" Sol screamed in thunderous French. Holding his mallet in hand, he leaped at the set of shelves. And then…
In the dining room…
Sherry, who was pouring drinks for Gray, Lyon, and Juvia, looked in the direction of the kitchen at the sound of a large crash. She said, "Uh, I think I'd better go see what Sol is up to..." Once she had excused herself, she hurriedly made her way to the palace kitchen.
In the kitchen…
Sol, with his clothes ripped, continued to turn the kitchen upside down in search of Natsu. "COME OUT, YOU LITTLE PIPSQUEAK, AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!" he screamed furiously, before continuing to tear apart a cupboard.
"SOL!" Sherry yelled from the doorway. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Uh… well, I was just, uh… I'm sorry, madame," Sol spluttered, before giving Sherry an exaggerated grin.
Sherry groaned, picking up the plates will small metal domes on top off a nearby bench, and storming out the kitchen.
In the dining room…
"You know, Gray..." Lyon started, setting his glass back on the table as Sherry placed their dinner plates in front of them. "Perhaps it may be a good time to ask our guest if she would like to see the sights of the kingdom. Something in the way of a tour, I think."
Gray simply sat there, staring at Juvia with a love-struck expression on his face. Realizing that Lyon said something to him, he snapped out of his daze. Gray let out a small chuckle and said, "Sorry, Lyon. What was that?"
Lyon leaned over to Gray and insisted, "You can't just spend all your time moping about! You need to get out, do something, get your mind off things."
When Lyon lifted the metal dome off his plate to reveal none other than Natsu sitting in the middle, Juvia was shocked. While Gray and Lyon were distracted talking to each other, Juvia beckoned Natsu to come hide on her lap. The salmon crab didn't hesitate to scurry across the table and hop onto Juvia's lap.
"You know, that's not such a bad idea. If she's interested," Gray replied, before turning to Juvia, who quickly hid Natsu in her pocket. "Well, what do ya say?" Juvia looked up and smiled at him as he continued, "Would you like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow?" The sapphire-haired girl nodded eagerly.
Lyon nodded, "Alright, let's eat before this crab wanders off my plate." But it just did. He looked down confusedly at his crab-less plate.
It was night by the time Juvia returned to her room. She smiled dreamily as she watched Gray playing with Ur from her window. Gray knelt on the ground, and the sheepdog ran and leapt on him with enough strength to push him onto his back. Gray growled playfully at Ur as she pinned him down. He looked up and smiled when he saw the young sapphire-haired girl he found on the beach that day watching him. He waved at her, and she waved back, before she slipped further back into her room.
Gray's eyes sparkled as his smile widened. He was actually really looking forward to taking her around his kingdom tomorrow, and could only hope that she felt the same way. Juvia smiled as she brushed her hair with her fork.
Natsu, on the other hand, wasn't happy after that escapade from Chef Sol. He grumbled, dusting himself off, "This has got to be, without a doubt, the single, most humiliating day of my life. Nearly being cooked alive, getting chased by a chef! I hope you appreciate what I go through for you, Juvia."
Juvia placed her fork down on the table, before walking over to her bed. She crawled under the covers and nuzzled her head into the pillow, before giving Natsu a look that he knew meant 'thank you.'
Natsu slightly shrugged and smiled, "Ah, well. At least you got Gray to like you. This time, we've got to come up with a plan to get him to kiss you. Tomorrow, when he takes you for that ride, you gotta look your best. You gotta bat your eyes, like this…" he demonstrated by fluttering his eyebrows. "You gotta pucker up your lips, like this..." he began another demonstration by sticking his lips up.
But then, he realized that Juvia was already fast asleep. Natsu chuckled and blew out the candle on the bedside closet. He hopped onto the pillow, before he smiled, "You're a hopeless girl, you know that? Completely hopeless…" With a yawn, he fell asleep alongside Juvia.
Meanwhile, at Fairylantica, King Makarov was anxiously pacing the throne room, waiting for news on Juvia's whereabouts. Just then, Wendy the Seahorse swam up behind him.
"Any sign of them?" Makarov asked desperately.
"No, Your Majesty," Wendy replied sadly. "We searched everywhere. We haven't found a trace of Princess Wendy or Composer Natsu."
Makarov ordered, "Well, keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until she's safe at home."
"Yes, sire," Wendy bowed, before swimming off.
Makarov slowly sat in his throne, his eyes welling up with tears. "Oh, what have I done? What have I done?"