Ok, so this is a story about Juvia's past. Why she left her home, how she got to Phantom, and what her time was like in the legendary guild (you know, her rise to success and her joining of Element 4)
Please enjoy!
Oh, and for this chapter only:
Italic = present time
no Italic = Past
Drip, drip, drop.
She heard the soft pitter-patter of the rain outside as it dropped from the sky to the roof and slid down the windows. Juvia sat on the cold hard concrete floor, her legs tucked up into her chest, her head buried in her knees. Images passed her eyes, flashes of her past. The blood, the lighting, the screams. Oh the screams. They wouldn't leave her alone, they echoed throughout her mind, mingling with the constant sound of rain. She was haunted by her memories and all the pain they brought. The fresh, unbearable pain.
"Please…" She sobbed "Just leave me alone…"
A soft opening and closing of a door made her lift her tearstained face from her knees, her red, puffy eyes searching the room. There was no-one there, just the silent wind making the old door gently sway. She turned her head to look out at the grey clouded sky and the transparent liquid that ran down the smooth glass window.
"Mama…" She whispered into the silent room. "I miss you…"
The streets were silent apart from the constant sound of falling rain splashing on the sidewalk. Juvia ran down the lane, her blue locks of hair whipping behind her head as she moved, water soaking her clothes.
Nobody was ever where Juvia was, they were always taking shelter from her invariable companion. The rain. Yes – the rain. The cold and wet weather was always at Juvia's side, its grey clouds always lolling overhead, spitting out it's droplets of icy water. Juvia didn't really mind the rain – she was used to it – but the thing that bothered her was the sun. She had never seen the bright blue sky or the golden goddess that shone within it. She had never felt the warm rays of sunlight on her skin, or wriggled her toes between the warm, dry sand. No, in Juvia's world, everything was wet. Nothing was ever dry, nothing was ever bright. Just wet. Dull and wet.
The villagers of her town had dubbed her the 'Rain Woman', although, technically, she wasn't a woman, she was a young, 12 year old girl. The children of the village also sang songs about her, about the 'Rain Woman', usually twisting old songs about the rain to fit with Juvia.
'Juvia, Juvia, go away. Don't come again another day. If you're gone, we'll be glad. But your rain, makes us sad'
Juvia would never forget that one. Everyone sang it. Every second of everyday those words would chime through her head, engraving themselves in her brain, never to be forgotten. And part of her never wanted them to be forgotten. She wanted to have those words in the back of her mind always, so that one day, when she finds her prince that will take her rain away, she can look back and remember all of those who made fun of her and laugh. Laugh because she will be happy and their song will be forever wrong.
That was her dream. To find that magical prince that would free her from her drenched prison. She had hope, that one day in the future, her rain would disappear and she would be free to live happily ever after.
She knew that that dream would come true. She knew it. Because after all, her mother told her that it would.
And her mother never lied – ever.
Juvia heard her name echo throughout the empty street and looked up to see a tall, blue haired woman waving her along, a big, welcoming smile on her face. She was the only one who ever smiled at Juvia. She was Juvia's only friend, the only one who loved Juvia.
The young child beamed at her mother as she began to skip down the road, her boots sending water flying into the air and they bounced through puddles. As she drew nearer and nearer to her small house, she could feel the warmth begin to envelope her and could smell the beautiful aroma of her mother's perfume.
"Juvia" Her mother frowned, but the expression was playful and not in the slightest bit spiteful. "What have I told you about staying out for too long? You could catch a cold"
Mrs. Loxar's face softened into another sweet, sweet smile and she gently pinched her daughter's nose, prying a playful squeal out of the girl. Juvia hopped through the front door and proceeded to peel off her wet coat and kick off her navy wellington boots. She wriggled her feet, letting the overwhelming warmth snake between her small little toes. She giggled again and jumped onto the living room sofa, burying her damp face into the plump cushions. Mrs. Loxar laughed and scooped up her daughter, placing the gleeful child into her soft lap.
"Argh" She sighed, rubbing her nose against Juvia's in a sign of motherly affection. "What am I going to do with you, hey?"
Juvia giggled yet again and happily squirmed in her mother's lap, before she fell dead still, her eyes staring out the window. The sky was grey, as usual, and a light drizzle fell from the dark puffs of gas. Juvia's mother sighed and wrapped her arms around Juvia's waist, resting her head on the younger blue-heads shoulder. Juvia reached out to the window, her hand palm up as if to catch the falling rain that lay outside the glass barricade.
"I didn't meet him today either…" She whispered, turning to her mother, a sad, defeated look staining her navy blue orbs. "My prince who will stop the rain…"
Mrs. Loxar smiled and cupped her baby smooth hands over her daughters, sending rivers of comforting heat through the girl's veins. She used her other hand to tuck a stray strand of Juvia's silken hair behind her ear.
"Well of course you didn't" Mrs. Loxar breathed, this time she was the one to let her gaze wander to the window, her eyes following the path of water left behind by the drops of clear rain. "If princes were that easy to find, everyone would have one. But one day he will come, and one day your rain will go"
Juvia looked at her mother, a firm look clouding her dark eyes.
"Really?" She asked, slight hesitation evident in her voice.
Mrs. Loxar met Juvia's gaze with one equally hard, if not more serious.
"Really"
And then, Juvia smiled.
"Now time for bed" Her mum clapped, lifting the near teen off of her lap an encouraging her up the stairs with soft little shoves. "You were late home today, again, and it's already nine o'clock"
Juvia groaned but jumped up the stairs two at a time. When at the top, on the landing, she turned her head to face her mother.
"I love you, mama" She said
"I love you too, Juvia"
Juvia shot up as she heard a cacophony of shrill, panicked screams enter her room from the dark streets outside. Her room was suddenly bright as flashes of yellow, red and orange danced outside from the sudden stream of roaring flames. Juvia jumped out of bed and ran to the window and peered outside, her young eyes growing wide with horror as she stared at the carnage that littered her street, crimson blood staining every patch of land. She began to shake and was about to scream out in fear when a warm hand clasped over her mouth and another round her waist.
Her body grew numb and all the colour drained from her face as she was pulled away from the window, then, she felt a calm, warm voice whisper in her ear.
"Shush, Juvia, mama's here" Juvia's tense body slackened and she turned to her mother, tears streaming down her porcelain face.
"Mama…" She croaked, tilting her head back to the window. "What's… going… on?"
Her mother made more shushing noises and placed a delicate hand on her cheek, turning her head away from the window and the horrible display outside and back to her, so that their eyes locked. Mrs. Loxar was trying not to cry or panic or show any fear for the sake of her daughter, adopting instead, a very difficult to maintain, calm composition.
"Juvia" Mrs. Loxar breathed, taking her daughters hand in hers and slowly leading her down the stairs. "We need to get out of here ok, it's very important that we leave now"
Juvia just nodded, her whole body trembling as they walked through the small kitchen and towards the back door.
"Everything's going to be fine" Mrs. Loxar was about to usher more soothing words when she interrupted by a loud 'crash' and splinters of burning wood scattering across the hallway floor. "Shit" She uttered instead, under her breath, snapping her head back to face her daughter, this time freely letting her tears flow.
Roughly, she dragged Juvia further into the kitchen, towards an empty under sink cupboard. She yanked open the thick wooden doors and hurriedly shoved Juvia inside, continuously checking over her shoulder for any signs of the intruders. Once Juvia was nestled safely inside the small cupboard, Mrs. Loxar tried to quickly shut the doors, only to be stopped by a small, shaking white hand.
"M-mama" Juvia stuttered, her lip quivering and her eyes wide.
Mrs. Loxar smiled a watery smile at her frightened daughter and placed her own trembling hand on the girls cheek.
"There, there, Juvia" She cooed, her voice barely a whisper. "Everything's going to be fine – Just please, promise me that you won't come out of this cupboard until you hear no more noise. Promise?"
Juvia hesitated before timidly nodding her head. Mrs. Loxar smiled and firmly kissed her daughter on the forehead.
"I love you" She croaked
Then, another loud 'crash' was heard from the living room and Mrs. Loxar shut the cupboard door and ran as fast as she could. Juvia could hear her mother's footsteps fading into the distance, but she couldn't see the woman go. She couldn't see anything. The cupboard was pitch black, not allowing Juvia to even see her own hands or feet. She buried her head in her knees, her fear causing thunder and lightning to join the pelting rain outside.
Then – the screams came again. Louder and closer this time. Juvia clasped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the deafening sound, to no avail – the muffled noise still echoed throughout her head, no matter how hard she squeezed. The small girl quietly hummed in the dark, rocking back and forth in the tight space, tears rolling down her cheeks and off the end of her chin. One thought replayed through her mind, never ending, like a broken record unable to move to the next part of the song.
'Please make it stop'
When dawn broke, the noise disappeared, evil cackles and shrill laughs fading into the distance. Juvia nervously pushed open the cupboard door and slowly stepped out. She was almost blinded by what little light she saw through her grey clouds of rain, though, after coming out of such a dark space, it was expected. She shakily stepped forward, her feet squelching on the red liquid that stained the floor.
"Mama…" She whispered, her voice trembling.
She walked into the living room and dropped to her knees, her eyes growing wide with fear, hatred and sadness. Her body fell limp as she gazed at the horror before her, her mind whizzing, unable to digest what she was seeing.
Drip, drip, drop.
Crimson blood plopped to the floor.
Drip, drip, drop.
The corpse hung lifelessly, crucified on the wall.
Drip, drip, drop.
Juvia's voice was caught in her throat and her heart wouldn't beat.
Drip, drip, drop.
"Mama!"
Drip, drip, drop.
The orphaned girls anguished cry echoed throughout the empty streets, the pained sound bouncing off each and every wall.
Drip, drip, drop.
Her mum was dead. She had lost everything.
Another tear rolled down the girl's cheek as yet more images of the horrific memory flashed in her mind. The cold bit at her skin as she hugged her legs.
She was all alone. She had lost the one person who loved her, the one person who she loved. Now it was just her and the rain. Her and the rain forever.
"J-Juvia is scared" She stuttered, referring to herself in third person, trying to cut off all ties between her conscience and her heart, hoping that it would null the pain.
It didn't work. It never would. Speaking in third person wouldn't take away her grief; it wouldn't stop her from feeling, it wouldn't make her and her emotions different people. But, she had another reason for using 'Juvia' instead of 'I'. If she never said her name, who would? Her mother was the only person who ever called her 'Juvia' and now it was the only thing she had left.
And on the cold, hard floor, she fell asleep. And for the first night of many, she was alone. Alone with her rain.
Drip, drip, drop.
Am I evil or what? Please, don't hate me, if she didn't have a sad past, she wouldn't have left her home for Phantom would she now?
Will update every Thursday ok? See you soon!