Gray opened his eyes and sat up in bed. It was pitch black and quiet in his chambers, but he had an eerie feeling that another person was here.

He reached for the sword sitting on his bedside table and got out of bed.

"Who's there?" Gray whispered.

It was still quiet. Of course it was quiet. All the knights were asleep and no one but the night guards was awake.

Feeling paranoid, he set his sword down and sat back on his bed.

A pink-haired girl stood at the foot of his bed, dripping with water.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

~ ~ ~

"Porlyusica," Gray whispered. "Are cursed spirits real?"

"Scared you got a haunted ghost hiding under your bed?" Macao laughed. "Want some salt to ward them away?" He tossed Gray a bag of salt, while Natsu and Gajeel burst out laughing.

"Cursed spirits are real, alright," the physician said absentmindedly. "But they won't bother you if you don't bother their shrine."

"Oh," Gray said, realization dawning on him. "Okay."

~ ~ ~

"Gray Fullbuster," the girl said the next night.

Gray shot up and ducked under his bed, whimpering.

"Gray...Gray..." she repeated her pale face a sickening blue color. "Gray.."

"G-Go away," Gray cried, reaching for the bag of salt Macao had jokingly given him. He began to pour small amounts of salt on the ground. "P-Please g-go!"

"Gray," she murmured again, her pink pigtails glistening in the moonlight

~ ~ ~

"We're going to be practicing striking the opponent in the stomach," Jellal said, putting his helmet on. "I want-"

"We're doing the same thing again?" I groaned. "I swear, we did this yesterday!"

"Uh, Erza," Gajeel whispered nervously. "When he was the prince, it was fun to joke about him. But now he's the king and-"

"Well, then Erza Scarlet," Jellal said with a smirk. "Would you like to be our...punching bag?"

"Wait, what?" I asked, watching as Jellal strapped my armor on and handed me a shield. "Hey, I never agreed to this!"

"I want you to stand there while Natsu practices his stabbing," Jellal said, handing Natsu a wooden sword. "Simple enough?"

"I shall get my revenge," I murmured.

"Sure you will," the young king laughed. "Go ahead Natsu."

"This is gonna be fun!" Natsu crowed, holding his wooden sword up.

"Three stabs and then it's Gray's turn," Jellal ordered, clapping Gray's back. Gray, for some odd reason, didn't smile.

Natsu stabbed the sword into my shield once. I could feel myself being pushed back by the impact, but I held my ground. Soon enough, it was Gray's turn.

"Your turn, Fullbuster," Jellal said.

Gray slowly reached for the sword and faced me. He was looking extremely pale.

"Are you okay-" I began to say. He jabbed the sword into my shield, catching me off guard.

Okay then..

He raised his sword and stabbed again, harder.

"Hey, this is practice," I warned. "No need to-"

Suddenly, he took the sword and hit my thigh with it, causing me to fall to my knees. 

"Hey," Jellal said angrily, pulling him away.

"Ngh!" Gray grunted, stabbing me with the wooden sword again.

"Okay!" I cried, raising my shield over my body. "That's enough! Dude, this is practice. Don't kill me!"

"What's gotten into you, Gray?" Jellal growled, pushing Gray away. "I said three stabs. I didn't say to hit Erza in the thigh."

He looked down at me and whispered, "You okay?"

I nodded angrily, ignoring the pain in my leg as I got up. I needed to focus on Gray. Something was clearly wrong. At least I hope so. No normal guy tries to kill someone then says sorry.

"I..I'm sorry," Gray mumbled. "I'm just really stressed." He handed Jellal the sword and left the training area without another word.

~ ~ ~

"Gray did that?" Mira Jane asked as Porlyusica put ice on my bruised leg. "I would've thought you and Natsu got into another fight or something. But Gray?"

"It's unlike him," Porlyusica agreed. "He's the calmer one out of the king's knights."

"Well, if you have trouble walking I'll tell King Jellal," Mira said, opening the door and stepping out. "I'm sure he'll make an exception. You can't train with a bruise that big! It'll get worse!"

"Oh, don't worry!" I laughed. "I'm still coming to training tomorrow. Jellal makes exceptions for no one."

"Except you," Mira Jane giggled, leaving the room. "You should see the way he looks at you. Like you're a goddess or something! All the maids are joking about it right now."

I looked down at my lap, flustered.

"Out of all people...the king, Erza?" Porlyusica questioned. 

"Oh, you be quiet," I hissed, as the physician laughed.

"Anyway, we have more important matters to talk about," I said. "Gray's been acting weird. Ever since we came back from the Druid shrine."

"Oh God," Porlyusica whispered. "Do you think he disturbed something?"

"It's just a suspicion," I told her. "You should give him herbs that calm him, though. I'm really worried."

"I'll stop by his chambers soon."

~ ~ ~

"Please," Gray murmured. "Leave me alone."

The ghost girl was there once again, staring up at him with empty, cold eyes.

But Gray was prepared tonight. He hadn't slept at all. Hadn't even bothered to get into bed, as a matter of fact.

"I mean no harm," the girl said softly, speaking a full sentence for the first time.

"W-Who are you," Gray said. "And what do you want?"

"My name is Chelia Blendy," Chelia whispered. "And I'm just a lost twelve-year-old spirit."

"Don't be scared," Gray said sadly, realizing that all this time he had been scared of a little girl. He reached out and hugged her, although she was dripping wet. She was as cold as ice, and when he pulled away the front of his tunic was soaked.

"I'm just a little Druid girl that was killed the day you attacked the camp," the pink-haired girl continued.

"I didn't want to," Gray retorted. "King Faust ordered us to. We had no choice. Even King Jellal didn't want-"

Chelia's eyes darkened. "King Jellal."

"What about him?" Gray asked.

"All I want is peace Gray," Chelia begged. "Please help me."

"We all want peace," Gray told the little girl. "How can I help?"

"I need you to kill King Jellal, to balance the injustice done to me while I was alive," Chelia said. "Let go of yourself, Gray. I can help you. Give me your power."

"Jellal?" Gray stuttered. "I can't-"

"Oh, you can't," Chelia whispered, taking Gray's hand. "But I can. And I will."

She leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Gray's face paled and his hands went slack.

Chelia smiled and lifted his chin, studying him. "Kill King Jellal. Put my restless spirit to rest."

"Yes, master."