Juvia groaned and sat up slowly, hissing at the pain at the back of her head. The pain was located on the left hand side. It was near the occipital lobe - she was glad she didn't lose her eyesight. Her head throbbed like it was hit with a wooden branch.

Which it was.

Juvia sighed.

'How did I end up here again?'

Flashback

Juvia had been too eager. She had successfully made it out of the castle without any of the guards seeing her. She had ran,ran and ran until she couldn't anymore. She needed to get as far away as possible before her mother's guards realized she was gone.

Juvia felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She was going to miss everyone in the castle. Even her mother. True, she had never made an effort for her daughter to love her. But, she was still Juvia's mother. The Queen had allowed Juvia to have peasants as friends. Allowed her to do anything she wanted. Apart from choose the man she wanted to marry.

Then again, the queen didn't know a lot of things. Laki did though. Laki was Juvia's handmaiden. Her best friend. And Juvia left her all alone. Without a word.

Tears stung Juvia's eyes as she tried to blink them away. She was in the forest separating Ishgar and Purity. According to the map she had read earlier anyway. She hoped she wasn't lost.

That's when she had felt as if someone was watching her. She turned around, her eyes scanning every space between the trees. The feeling increased and Juvia's heartbeat increased too.

Before she knew it, something had hit her on the back of the head. Everything went black.

Flashback end.

Oh how, how could she be so stupid? She should've just stayed, or better yet, got Laki to go with her. Though, Juvia doubted, Laki would be of any help. She was a great friend - not a great fighter. Perhaps, Lyon would've been a good choice. Actually, he wouldn't. Knowing him, he would probably tell her mother beforehand.

Juvia's eyes teared up again, she shook it off. No. She couldn't cry here. Not when she needed to escape.

That's right. Be depressed later, focus on escaping right now.

And so, she did.

Juvia noticed she was being moved - where to, gods know. She was in some sort of carriage. The doors were bolted shut from the outside. Besides, in the speed they were moving, she had a slight chance of death if she jumped out.

Juvia sighed. There was no way out, after all.

'No Juvia! Don't lose hope!'

Juvia glanced at the door in desperation. That's when she noticed that one of the doors was slightly broken. She could push it. Depending on the force she put, she would be out. But, the downfall of that plan was, she could die.

'Oh well!' Juvia thought. 'It's better to die than not try. At least, I might live.'

With that, Juvia braced herself and rolled over to the door.

The door broke with a loud crash as Juvia fell over, down a hill. She went rolling and rolling. Once she stopped, she got up and started running in no particular direction. She couldn't get caught and that was all that mattered.

Unknowingly, she was running straight into the town square of Fiore.

Gray took a deep breath. He was about to enter the study. According to the maid he ran into earlier, his father was resting in the study. It made sense. His father loved books - more than he did anyway. From what he remembered, so did Lucy.

Lucy... Oh, how he missed her! He wished she was there every day. Sometimes he wondered why she left. Part of him said that it was because of him. But he knew Lucy wasn't cold-hearted - like him - she was warm. The opposite of Gray.

As Gray brought his hand up to knock, he heard voices. Obviously, he didn't want to eavesdrop, but his father wasn't alone. Surely, when resting, he should be alone? Not only that, he was accompanied by Rogue. Gray knew Rogue and Gray's father were good friends and all, but Rogue was just a treasurer. Or was there more to him than Acnologia allowed Gray to know?

"She broke the lacrima?"

It was his father speaking. Who was this she? Could it be the princess he was supposed to marry?No - why would she have a lacrima? What was a lacrima in the first place?

"Yes. When I told her Prince Gray was getting married she-"

"You told her what?"

Gray frowned. What was going on? Why was Gray's marriage being discussed with a 'she'?

"When she insisted I-"

"You can't just tell her. She probably wants to come out more now."

"I'm sorry, Acnologia."

A lump rose in Gray's throat. Did Rogue just call the king by his name? Why? What exactly was their relationship with each other?

Gray was confused. The next news though... well, that was shocking indeed.

"It's alright," he sighed. "Just don't repeat it. I shall meet her tonight."

"Very well. Be careful, you are traveling to the forest. Wish her my best wishes for her coming birthday."

"I will. You know, Lucy's going to be so sad you're not attending her birthday. She-"

Gray heard nothing after that. His sister was alive. Not only that, his father was the one that took her away from him.

Gray ran back to his room. He needed to get out of here. He needed to see Lucy - no matter what!

Natsu was running out of breath. These dam soldiers! Were they even human? No one he knows can run for this long - apart from him of course.

He turned right, only to be followed by those wretched guards. He needed to divert them away from his path - fast. If only a secret path appeared suddenly. Or a hole swallowed him up. Either would be sufficient.

As if someone was listening to his silent prayers, Natsu slipped and fell. He rolled over and over. When he stood up, he was dizzy and disoriented. He couldn't even see the fingers in front of him! He ran anyway though. He needed to get away. If he got caught and was hung, then people would lose all hope.

Though Natsu wasn't looking where he was going, he managed to swerve away from the guards.

That's when he saw it.

The ivy, hanging low on the ground. Normal people would miss it, not Natsu. There was a path lying behind the ivy. Taking one glance behind him, he ran in through the ivy, making sure to control his breathing so the soldiers wouldn't hear him.

After some time, the soldiers left. Natsu tried not to cheer in triumph - lest they come back! Slowly, he walked to the light, away from the shelter of the small cave-like structure he was hiding beneath. He looked around and his mouth fell open at what he saw.

There, in front of him, was a majestic, tall tower.