Unknown to Juvia and Gray, someone had seen them dancing together. Someone who did not like what she saw and was now in a foul mood over it. Selene had brought her friend Monsieur Keyes down here this evening to introduce him to her stepdaughter but instead they had found her in the arms of a young man. Which wasn't a good sign from Keyes's point of view.
"Well Selene, you certainly did not lie when you told me that your brat had grown into such a pretty thing." Monsieur Keyes said. "But it seems to me she's already a claimed woman."
"Nonsense!" Selene snapped. "He's merely just playing a game with her. She's nothing to him. After tonight, they'll never meet again, I promise you that."
"Let's hope so. Men who are in love can be quite a nuisance and the last thing my business needs, is a whore who has a sweetheart that might come after her."
In truth Monsieur Keyes was by no means a talent scout. He actually owned several brothels and Selene had planned to sell Juvia to the one he owned in America. She was becoming desperate for money and at this point so jealous of her stepdaughter that she couldn't stand to look at her another day. Especially now, upon seeing her in a fancy dress with jewels and winning the favor of a first class man.
"How dare that dreadful girl fall in love." She thought with poisonous envy. "She is a dirty, stupid, and ugly wench! She doesn't deserve love or any kind of happiness! I'll fix her good for this!"
She quietly dismissed Monsieur Keyes and then headed straight for the cabin. She struck the door open with a blow of her hand. Her face red with rage.
"Did we have a nice little visit outside our cabin today?" She asked snidely.
Juvia instantly stood still, her face becoming pale with fear.
"After all I've done for you, this is how you repay me? By sneaking off? And then embarrassing me by throwing yourself at a man you're not even worthy of looking at!"
"I...I..." She trembled. "I didn't do anything wrong. He invited me to dinner and he-"
"Hold your tongue!" She snapped. "Just what did you think was going to happen? That he was going to take you in his arms and carry you away to a better life? Did you honestly believe he'd want you? Why would anyone want you? I mean look at you!"
She flew at her, grabbed her by her hair, and pulled out a hand mirror, nearly smashing the girl's face into the glass.
"Look at that! What do you see?!"
"Selene please don't!" Juvia pleaded.
"What do you see?! Do you know what I see?! A stupid, worthless, ugly piece of nothing! And that's all you are! You think you can just put on a pretty dress and suddenly you're better than me!"
"No! I don't think that at all!" She whimpered.
"Liar!"
She slapped Juvia across the face sending her to the floor.
"Insolent, ungrateful child! I should have given you to the poor house! I have no use for you!"
Juvia tried to run but Selene struck her again, sending her falling to the floor. Selene then slammed the door shut and locked it. Gajeel was coming to bed when he saw the door shut and ran to see what was wrong.
"Hey what's going on in there?!" He demanded as he tried to open the door.
Instead of answering him, Selene threw Juvia onto the bed and pulled out her belt. With one hand gripping Juvia's hair so she couldn't move, and with the other gripping the belt tight, she began whip and beat Juvia's backside.
"You're no good! No good! Just like your father!" Selene kept screaming.
"Stop! Please stop!" Juvia cried.
"Juvia?!" Gajeel called. Now he was banging on the door rapidly. "What are you doing to her?! Open the damn door!"
"You are worthless! Do you hear me?!" Selene screeched each time, she struck Juvia with the belt. "You are worthless! Say it!"
"Selene when I get in there you are dead!" Gajeel bellowed. "I'll rip you apart and stomp your head into the floor!"
"Say it!" Selene screamed again, ignoring Gajeel's threat.
"I'm worthless!" Juvia sobbed.
"Again!"
"I'm worthless!"
"Again!"
"I'm worthless!"
By the time Gajeel managed to break to door open, Selene had finished her rant and Juvia was found cowering in a corner. Her dress was torn, her back was bleeding, and tears were pouring down from her eyes. Gajeel was enraged.
"You bloody bitch of the devil!" He lunged for Selene and slammed her against the wall. "I'll send you straight to hell from hence you came!"
He looked ready to strangle her but she screamed as loud as she could, loud enough for several men below deck to hear her and come running.
"Now you have a choice Gajeel." She told him quietly. "You can either let go of me right now and I'll give an excuse that saves your ass, or I can tell them that you tried to rape me and your own sister."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh but we both know that I would and we also know that I'm a very good actress. I can cry on cue and you're a big strong man, with a reputation for having a temper. So who you think they'll believe?"
"Why you! I oughta cut that lying mouth right off your face!"
"Gajeel don't." Juvia pleaded weakly. "She's right. None of them will believe us. If they think you tried to rape someone, they'll shoot you dead where you stand. Let's just- Ah!"
She tried to pick herself up but was too weak and in too much pain to do so. Gajeel quickly picked her up and helped her get into bed. When the men arrived and asked what happened neither Gajeel or Juvia said nothing, so Selene told them that she had been scared by a rat. Though skeptical that the mere presence of a rat could cause such a scream, they accepted her lie and left. She left too, probably to either seduce one of them or converse with Monsieur Keyes.
"An Irish curse on you." Gajeel muttered hatefully to her under his breath. "May you die a horrible death, befitting a woman as heartless and un-feeling as you are."
"Just let it go Gajeel." Juvia said. "Just let it go."
"I will not!" He insisted. "I will not stand for this shit any longer! I've had it! As soon as we dock into New York, Levy and I are leaving and you're coming with us!"
"Gajeel I can't."
"Oh yes you can! And you will! Even if I have to drag you!"
"But what will I do? How will I live?"
"I'll find you a job."
"Who will hire me? I can hardly read."
"If no one will hire you then I'll take care of you! Simple as that!"
"But what about Levy? What about your dream of being a musician?"
"I can have that and look after you."
"But I can't rely on you for the rest of my life. It's not fair."
"Ask me if I give a damn?! Look I don't have an exact plan right now but we'll work something out! Anything has to be better than putting up with that woman!"
"But-"
"Either you go with us or I'm going to kill her!"
"Gajeel are you insane? You'll spend the rest of your life in jail! Or worse!"
"I don't care. I promised Ma and Da that I'd look out for you no matter what and I intend to keep that promise no matter what."
"Even if it means throwing your life away? Throwing away a chance to live your dream? And a chance to marry the woman you love?"
"If that's the price I have to pay to ensure that you don't spend the rest of your life abused and enslaved, so be it. But if you can with us, I can keep that promise without giving up on all that. It's a simple solution, Juvia! Why can't you take it?!"
"Because I hate myself!" She broke down sobbing into her pillow. "I'm so worthless and pathetic! I almost can't even look at myself without being disgusted! I'm ugly, stupid, weak, and can't even stand up to her! Why should I have a better life if I don't have the guts or the skills to obtain one for myself?!"
It broke Gajeel's heart to see her like this, so broken and full of self-loathing. He was almost tempted to break down crying himself. But instead of weeping, he wrapped her up in the bed sheets, sat her in his lap, and started to rock back and forth, while singing a song that his parents would sing together often.
"My own love said to me,
'My mother won't mind,
And my father won't slight you,
For your lack of kind.'
He went away from me.
And this he did say,
'It will not be long, love,
'Til our wedding day'."
Jellal had gone to a meeting after dinner to once again discuss any and all updates on Titanic. He was sure that everything was still running smoothly and that they would arrive right on schedule. A meeting wasn't really needed, he had thought but he still liked to be completely certain before he'd lay his head down to rest.
Unfortunately the subject of said meeting did not please or assure him at all.
"You want to increase the speed of the ship?"
"Think of it Mr. Fernandes, we arrive in New York a day early and astound the whole world! Showing off Titanic's true potential!" Precht explained.
"But that could be too fast. The ship is still fairly new, we don't know for certain how far its limitations go."
"Well shouldn't you know? You designed it, after all."
"Yes Jellal, if you made it safe then there's no problem." Laxus said. "Unless there are certain safety precautions you didn't take."
"Of course not." Jellal said. "But that doesn't mean we should push our luck. We're already lacking in a suitable amount of lifeboats, do we really need to up the speed?"
"Just answer the question." Precht said impatiently "If we light the boilers, can we make it a day early without the ship overheating?"
"Well yes. I suppose you can."
"That's all we need to know."
"But just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. What if something happens?"
"Like what?" Laxus asked.
"I don't know. But I really don't like this."
"With all due respect you're the shipbuilder, not the captain or the head of the crew." Laxus said. "We know what we're doing Jellal. Just relax and let us handle everything."
Jellal wanted to protest further but it was obvious they weren't going to listen to him. So he eventually left the meeting and hoped for the best. When he returned to his suite, his wife and Wendy were just getting in.
"Well it appears someone had a long and eventful night." He chuckled at the sight of the unconscious girl in Erza's arms. "Where did you ladies sneak off to this evening?"
"Oh just to a little third class party." His wife replied.
"Oh really? I hear there's a lot of drinking and dancing and scoundrels going on at those parties."
"There are. Are you upset that your wife went to such an event?"
"Well that depends."
"On what?"
"Did anyone take advantage of you down there?"
"As if anyone could."
"Did someone hurt Wendy?"
"I didn't murder anyone tonight so no."
"And am I still the only man you want?"
"Of course."
"Then no. I'm not upset at all."
Erza giggled.
"So how did the meeting go? Is it still smooth sailing for us?"
"According to the captain yes."
"Well good." She said. "Now do you want to help me put Wendy to bed?"
"Sure."
They carried her into the next room, Erza undressed her and put her into a night gown, Jellal tucked her into bed real warm and snug, and for a moment they just stood there and watched her. She looked so peaceful and so adorable. Like a precious little angel.
"Oh Jellal." She sighed, softly brushing the girl's hair back with her fingers. "How could anyone have not adopted her by now? She's absolutely perfect."
"Well some people just can't see how wonderful something is even if it's right in front of them." Her husband answered. "That's what I told myself when those stuck-up fools questioned my decision to marry you."
"Oh you." She kissed his cheek. "Listen I have been dying to get my hands all over you since we arrived here and now that it is late and we are alone, why don't you go wait for me in the bridal suite and I'll be there soon."
"As you wish." He smiled deviously.
He walked out of the room at normal speed but she could tell he was excited. She took one last at Wendy, turned out the light, and leaned down to press a tender kiss to her forehead.
"Goodnight Wendy."
Afterward she slowly and lightly closed the door without making a noise to wake her. Next she slowly walked into the bedroom to meet her husband, all the while taking out her pins and clips, letting her long red hair fall down like a crimson water fall. Jellal watched her with a pleased expression, which only became more pleased as she slowly took off her gloves and moved to sit next to him on the bed.
Erza quickly started to kiss him with mad and rapid desire. He responded to the kiss in kind, running his fingers through her hair and holding her close.
"I love you so much." He told her. "So much."
"I love you too. Love you to the moon and back."
What followed after was a perfect night of unbridled passion in which a husband made love to his wife. Though it was quiet love-making in order to avoid waking Wendy, but no less sensual or romantic. They adored each other, kissed each other, whispered their undying love to one another, and ended the night by falling asleep in each other's arms.