Um... hi? It's been a while! I'm not sure if anyone's still following this fic, and I didn't mean to leave this story hanging for so long. That's really not my style. Apologies for the unplanned hiatus.

It's worth noting that I've made some significant improvements to this fic! :) If you read this fic prior to March 2024, I would recommend taking another look. The Nalu part hits better, the drama and tension between the friends is better paced, and it's a better experience overall. (Check out the second half of Chapter 26 and decide for yourself.)

However, I know that your time is precious and some people may not want to re-read. Totally fine. You should be able to pick up right where you left off and not feel like you're missing out.

With no further ado, here's the next.

- K. Chandler


Juvia glided through her castle.

This fairy tale ended as all good stories should.

Ding-dong. The witch was dead. And finally, the beautiful heroine would get the prince. And they would live happily ever after.

Juvia hobbled down the hall, easing her way up the stairs. She was starting to get used to this body.

She had assumed it would be easy to return to her original form, but she had yet been unsuccessful so far. Her joints were a little less inflamed and she only had to stop to catch her breath once on her way up the stairs. The different remedies she made were helping, but nothing she had tried had restored her youth. Though, certainly, she had to be close to a breakthrough. And even if she wasn't, it didn't matter. Because she had accomplished her goal.

Lucy was dead, and Juvia had rescued her beloved Gray, finally freeing him from that witch's horrible curse.

Juvia reached for her silver washbasin, bending slowly to pick it up. It was pouring hard in Fantasma today, so it was easy to catch enough of the water to fill the bowl.

Juvia tapped the surface of the water, waiting for the face of her beloved to appear.


"Why are you here again?"

Gray rolled his eyes. "To keep you from screwing up, Ash-for-Brains. We don't need a repeat of last time."

They had gathered in Natsu's room, waiting for Lucy to wake up so they could tell her that their Isvanian holiday was getting cut short.

Natsu scowled, crossing his arms. "We wouldn't have to move at all if you didn't suck at guarding your own castle."

"Point taken." Gray was ashamed to admit it, but it wasn't safe to stay in Isvan anymore, not with multiple attempts on Lucy's life.

"We've tried it your way. Now we're trying it mine," Natsu said.

"What's with the attitude?" Gray asked. "Oh, I get it. You're just sore that I interrupted your alone time with Lucy."

"Shut up, Ice Block."

"Don't worry. Once we're in Draghi, the two of you can—"

"She doesn't see me that way," Natsu interrupted.

"What? You've got to be kidding me. I would have thought—"

"Just let it go, okay?"

Gray shrugged. He wouldn't pretend that he understood matters of the heart. But if Lucy's longing looks and Natsu's uncharacteristic gentleness weren't romantic, then he didn't know what was.

When Lucy stirred, Gray averted his eyes from his friends' non-affection to give them some privacy that they clearly didn't need.

It wasn't awkward. Not at all.

"Hey," Natsu said, brushing the hair out of Lucy's eyes. "Welcome back."

"Natsu? What—?" Lucy murmured, bringing a hand up to her face. "What am I doing here? And why am I in your bed?"

"Eh… long story. How do you feel?" he asked, helping her ease into a sitting position.

"Not great," Lucy said. "A little bit sore. My mouth tastes funny."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Gray crossed the room to hover over Natsu's shoulder.

If he waited for Natsu's cue, they'd be here forever.

"Gray…" Natsu warned, pushing him back. "You don't have to answer that," he said to Lucy.

Lucy shuddered, color draining from her face.

Natsu shot Gray another glare before pulling Lucy into a one-armed hug. "Hey. Hey, it's okay," Natsu whispered. "It's okay. It's over. I've got you. All right? Do you trust me? I've got you."

Lucy bit her lip, nodding. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

Gray cleared his throat.

"Would you give it a sec?" Natsu asked.

"What's going on, you guys?" Lucy asked.

Natsu threw his hands up in exasperation, waving Gray over. "Gray has something to say right now."

Gray settled at the foot of the bed. "Lucy, Natsu and I have been talking. You've been the victim of an unusual number of incidents. I have reason to believe they were intentional."

"Intentional?"

"I mean that whoever did this, did it on purpose," Gray said. "You're being targeted."

"I know what 'intentional' means. But do you really think someone's out to get me?" Lucy asked. "Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"There have been two attempts on your life since you got here. And that's right after the incident at your party," Gray said.

"My party? But that's—you're not suggesting that they're related, are you?" Lucy asked.

"If the shoe fits," Gray said. "You can't deny that you've been having a lot more 'accidents' since Juvia came back into your life."

"What are you accusing her of?"

"She tried to kill you once, Lucy. After the first attempt failed, why wouldn't she try again?"

"But the corset thing was an accident," Lucy said. "Juvia is my friend, and she has no reason to hurt me."

"What about that time she sent you to pick Poison Thistle?"

"She probably didn't know it was anything bad," Lucy said. "You didn't even know what it was, did you?"

"She's got you there, Ice Block," Natsu said.

Gray waved Natsu off. "How do you explain the perfume that you picked up at the festival? You know that Juvia's servant was the one who gave it to you."

"It doesn't mean that she was involved," Lucy said. "He could have been acting on his own. She could be in as much danger as we are."

"This isn't the first time Juvia's tried to poison somebody. She tried to have me drugged, remember?" Gray pointed out.

"The love potion was poor judgement, granted. But I thought we agreed that wasn't the same as trying to kill someone."

"Then what about what happened last night?"

"What about it?" Lucy's expression grew guarded. "She wasn't even here this time."

"Why don't you tell us what happened?" Gray said. "Since you're so certain you know."

"Gray…" Natsu warned.

"No. I'd like to hear Lucy's version of events," Gray said. "If there's something that I'm overlooking, I'd love to hear about it."

He felt bad pushing her, especially because she was clearly still traumatized. But Gray was willing to be the bad guy if this was the only way to make her see reason.

"You don't have to do this," Natsu said, his fingers tightening around hers.

"Yes, I do." Lucy's eyes were all concern as she looked Gray over. She took a bracing breath before launching into her story. "Um, okay. There was an old woman. She offered me an apple," she said, her voice growing distant as she reached for the memories.

"An old woman?" Natsu repeated, surprised.

"In the castle?" Gray frowned. "I don't have anybody like working here."

"She doesn't work here. She was a peddler on her way to market."

"I gave explicit instructions to keep outsiders away from the castle!" Gray exploded. "Which idiot let her in? Not Cana?"

"Is that the lady guard? The one who's always drunk? We should talk about her, Gray. She raised such a stink when I told her to let the woman in," Lucy said, unperturbed.

"That was you?!" Gray snapped, fists clenched. He swore loudly, pacing the room. "No wonder I can't seem to protect you. You keep finding new and improved ways to be stupid!"

"Gray, chill," Natsu said. "I'm sure Lucy has a perfectly good explanation for this. Right?"

"It was an old woman. She looked like she could be somebody's grandmother. And suddenly she just… collapsed. Like she was having a heart attack or something. And nobody was helping her. Your Cana, or whatever her name is, actually kicked her."

Gray leveled Lucy with a flat look. "Have you ever considered that it might be… I don't know. A trick? Cana's a master of deception, and she's good at telling when others are trying to pull a fast one."

"Well, I didn't know that about Cana. And besides, why would somebody fake a heart attack?" Lucy asked, shaking her head. "Would you be okay with letting someone die in your courtyard while your guards stood around watching?"

"Better that then invite her inside so she could kill someone." Gray said.

Lucy sighed, her voice softening. "Honestly, Gray. I'm really starting to worry about you."

"I'm not the one you need to be worried about," Gray said. "You're the one that Juvia's after."

"Juvia?" Lucy asked tiredly. "Why are you blaming Juvia again? She had nothing to do with this. Be reasonable, Gray. Please," she said. "The person who attacked me this time was an old woman. Last I checked, Juvia is not an old woman."

"That doesn't mean that they're not connected," Gray said. "Juvia could have hired her."

"Could have?" Lucy said.

"She could have been in disguise," Gray suggested.

"I saw the woman too. She almost ran me over when she made her get away," Natsu piped up. "She didn't look a thing like Juvia."

Gray shot Natsu a dirty look. "That's why they call it a disguise."

"No, Gray…" Lucy sighed.

"They could be related. A grandmother or great aunt?"

"Gray…"

"She could have… She could have aged herself?" Gray said.

"Aged herself? Gray, you're grasping for straws," Lucy said.

Lucy was giving him that 'fixing' look again, like she thought he was on the cusp of breaking down. He wasn't crazy.

"Juvia's the most likely person," Gray said. "You can't deny that."

"Do you have any proof of this?"

"Proof?"

"I don't know how things work in your kingdom, Gray, but in Magnolia we have this thing called 'due process.' Innocent until proven guilty," Lucy said. "You can't just accuse someone because you believe they did something. You need proof."

"How much clearer does it have to be before you accept the facts?" Gray asked. "Juvia's obviously behind this."

"Because they aren't facts. It's just speculation. Gray, you're jumping to conclusions," Lucy said.

"Oh, for God's sake!" Gray snapped. "She's clearly got an obsession. Am I just supposed to let that go?"

Gray knew that Juvia was involved. He was still working through the details, but he was positive.

"You're the one obsessed with making her into the bad guy. Just because she spiked your drink doesn't mean that every bad thing that happens is because of her. There's a big difference between that and murder," Lucy said.

Gray held up a hand to stop her. He still hadn't played his trump card.

"Have a look at this before you decide that everything's fine," he said.

"Gray, don't," Natsu said.

"Sorry, but I don't think I have any choice," he said.

Gray retrieved the defaced paintings, taking care not to look. When he brought them bac, he turned them over one at a time.

Lucy gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. What little color she had drained from her face. She turned away, clinging onto Natsu's sleeve.

"Put those away, Gray," Natsu said, rubbing at Lucy's back.

Gray covered the paintings so that the mutilated Lucys were out of sight. He felt badly winning the argument this way, but Lucy needed to accept that she was a target. It wasn't a pleasant reality, but if it made her cautious, then it was worth it.

"You're right. And I'm not arguing that there's someone… very dangerous and very hateful on the loose. And they're after m-me," Lucy said, her voice trembling. Admitting this seemed to take a lot out of her.

"I know it troubling, Luce, but this is something we have to take seriously," Natsu said.

"I know. But we can't accuse Juvia of something unless we know for sure she's involved," Lucy said, her voice strong again.

Gray groaned. "Really? Are we really doing this? Lucy, you just said—literally just said…"

"You're right." Something lit in Natsu's eyes. "You know, I think Gray's completely obsessed. He obviously can't get Juvia out of his head. I don't think he hates her as much as he says he does."

Say what now? Gray open and closed his mouth like a fish, trying to find the words. He despised Juvia!

"Natsu, that is the dumbest—" Gray started.

"How else do you explain how he runs hot and cold?" Natsu continued. "I think he might actually have feelings for her, y'know? Like, secretly."

"Yeah, I don't think…" Lucy started, shooting Gray a look.

"Either way, I don't think we're really helping him," Natsu said. "I mean look at the poor guy. Having you and me around is really stressing him out. He's on the verge of a nervous break."

Gray sputtered, but Lucy's expression morphed into concern, like she was worried that he'd be the one to snap and go on a murderous rampage.

"Why don't you and me blow this popsicle joint take a nice vacation somewhere where it's not negative eight degrees outside?" Natsu said.

"That's probably a good idea," Lucy said. "What did you have in mind?"

"Draghi Castle? I'll pack for both of us," Natsu said. "We can be on the road by this afternoon," Natsu said, grabbing Gray by the arm and dragging him out of the room too.

"Really? Secretly in love?" Gray said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I couldn't watch you screw it up any longer," Natsu said. "And besides, she bought it, didn't she?"

"Not that part of it," Gray said. "She thought you were nuts. Could you tell?"

Natsu snorted. "You might want to take a good long look in the mirror, Ice Block. I knew she'd be in once I pulled the 'poor, unstable Gray' card. Go figure, I mention your name, and she's all over it," Natsu said.

"I hate to admit it, but that was pretty smooth," Gray said. "Does she really see me like that? Good grief!"

Natsu just grinned. "See you in Draghi," he said, clapping Gray on the back.

"Right behind you," Gray said.


An angry screech emitted from Juvia's throat.

She swung her scrying bowl, hurling it to the ground. It clattered as it rolled along the stones.

"How is she still alive!? She's supposed to be dead!" Juvia screamed.

Lucy was leaving Gray's palace with Natsu, but clearly, it was another trick. Just like the fake Lucy at Magnolia Castle had been a trick.

Juvia slammed her chair to the floor. She threw an ink well, the glass shattering. But none of those actions made her feel any better.

Gray was still protecting Lucy, even though he was so in love with Juvia that even her own love rival had to admit to it.

"I could just wring her neck!" Juvia paused, her eyes widening. "Yes! I could wring her neck!" She let out a hysterical giggle.

No more potions, no poisons. They were going to do this the old-fashioned way.


Ah, Natsu! Lol.

Are you enjoying Juvia? I kind of am. But what does 'the old-fashioned way' mean?

Leave a comment so I know if anyone's still reading and I'll see you in the next.

Next time, in Toxic, Lucy starts to crack: She was a wreck, with her heartbeat in her throat, and if this was Gray felt all the time, it was little wonder he was losing his mind. She'd swear that she was about to lose hers.

Stop back for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.