Aside from the incident with Mr. Vastia, nothing really eventful happened to Gren for the rest of the day. Or so it would seem. When he left the police station and went home he found the door to his house wide open. He quickly pulled out his gun and quietly stepped inside. He found a lot of books, drawers, and papers strewn across the floors, evidence that someone had broken into his house and had been looking for something. When he was sure no one was there, he put away his gun and went to see if anything was stolen.

His guns, police files, silver ware, antiques, and other typical things that someone would steal were all still present and accounted for. It looked like nothing had been stolen at all which Gren found to very strange. At first he thought that perhaps maybe the thief didn't take anything because he or she didn't find it was they wanted to steal. But then something caught his eye. An object that was lying on the desk of his study. An object he knew for a fact was not there before.

It was a rose. A single red rose. One look at it and Gren's heart was sent into a rapid panic as it dawned on him what valuable object he owned, that thief had been searching for. He immediately bolted upstairs to his bedroom and pried open the weak part of the floor boards where he kept his most precious possession hidden. He pulled out the small box where he normally kept it but upon opening it he found it to be empty.

His panic increased but he kept it internal along with his rage which had just been sparked at the moment but would soon grow into something much more burning and raving. 

He stormed out of the house and he had done it in such a haste that he almost bumped into Elkis who was walking by. 

"Oh excuse me Detective Fullbuster." She said. 

"My fault Miss Scarlet, I wasn't paying attention." He said.

"Are you alright?" She asked upon taking notice of the off putting look in his eyes.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well it's just that I've never seen you in a haste before. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing to be concerned about. Someone broke into my house and stole something from me."

"Well I wouldn't call that nothing to be concerned about. Were you hurt or something?"

"Nothing happened Miss Scarlet. By the time I arrived the thief was already gone with one of my possessions."

"What was stolen?"

"Forgive me but that's a private matter and I intend to keep it private."

"But how are the police going to help you find it if you won't tell what it is?"

"There's no need to get my co workers involved. I know exactly who stole it. Now if you'll kindly excuse me I'm going to retrieve what was taken from me."

He went right passed her and headed for his car. Now normally Elkis would just leave Gren to do as he pleased even if he was upset but this time she couldn't help but be a little curious. You see Gren was one of those people who didn't let people know if something upset him. He was always calm and rational, cleverly hiding how he really felt. But this time was different. Sure he still spoke calmly and politely but there was something different about his eyes. They were normally so very cold looking and had no emotion save for mischief but today they seemed to be slowly but surely becoming burning mad. 

Now she wasn't a detective or a cop but something inside of her urged her to follow the man and to keep an eye on him. Just until she had to pick the kids up from school. Then she would go home and forget the whole thing. Little did she realize what kind of trouble she was getting herself into.

...

For the first time in many years, Juvia awoke without any cricks in her back or neck. She woke up feeling warm instead of cold and her body was relaxed instead of stiff. This was because the bed she had slept on was soft and filled with downy feathers instead of a tattered mattress that had the springs sticking out. Despite the fact that she had cried herself to sleep the night before, she had slept well. She had been comfortable and warm. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept like that.

She sat up from her new bed and glanced over at the clock on top of the fireplace mantle. It was six o'clock which meant she had two hours to get ready before beginning her work. She quickly stepped out of bed and went to the other part of the room where she would be allowed to freshen up.

 The bathtub was white marble and already filled up with water. Beside the tub was a small cupboard which contained a towel, a sponge, and a bar of soap. The hot water of the bath felt wonderful. She had forgotten what it had been like to take a suitable bath like this. Back at Ulrich's house whenever she needed to bathe it was to be done in a small and rusty tub with water from the well and she wasn't allowed to heat it in the fireplace. The water was so soothing and it never became cold nor did it become dirty even though she was certain that there had been a little ash and soot on her feet and face.

After her bath she approached the carved wardrobe and found proper undergarments along with a new work frock, apron, shoes waiting for her. 

"Well he may insist on keeping me stuck here forever." She thought to herself. "But at least he's willing to give me suitable clothes to work in."

She changed into her work clothes and then finally took noticed of the pretty white carved vanity with silver lining on the mirror that was just a little ways from the wardrobe. Sitting down at the vanity, she picked up the silver brush laying on top and proceeded to comb her hair. How happy she was to finally get to have a proper bedroom, bath, work clothes, and hair brush again. It brought back memories of when she used to live with her father which made her smile briefly but then her smile fell when she was reminded of her new circumstances. 

After pulling her hair back with a kerchief, she left her room and went to the kitchen to get started on Gray's breakfast. She served him his meal but he only ate a little of it and allowed her to eat the leftovers.

"I don't have much of an appetite and I don't like to waste necessities like food." He told her.

Now of course she was used to eating leftovers from those that she worked for which always consisted of chicken bones and bread crusts. She would also forge for wild onions to eat which were terrible and not very filling but Gray's leftovers kept her very fed. He left behind two eggs and half a loaf of bread for her to eat. After she ate, she began sweep the floors and dust the furniture which gave her a perfect excuse to explore the castle. 

Many parts of the castle were dark and filled with more frighting paintings, statues, and tapestries. She saw two pieces of art work that made her very disturbed. One was an oil painting that depicted a rather plain looking blonde lying dead in a ditch and underneath the frame was a stone plack that read: Death of a Whore. The second oil painting was of an ominous looking, red bearded man enclosed in flames and it too had plack underneath it's frame. It read: Damnation of a Monster. 

"Why on earth would anyone make paintings like these?" She thought to herself. "Is everything is this castle horrifying?"

She received her answer when she noticed a third oil painting, one who's tone was vastly different from the other two. This one depicted a beautiful woman with long black hair surrounded by roses and a heavenly light. The plack under this one's frame was golden and it read: A Saint at Peace.

"Lovely." She admired. "I guess there is some beauty here. I wonder who this woman was."

  As she continued her work she found more parts of the estate that were very astonishing. There were rooms with furniture embroidered with gold thread, caskets of jewels, silks, and more golden thread, walls covered in mosaics, a library full of countless books, and a room with every instrument one could imagine. The books and the instruments made her think of Levy and Gajeel because Levy was such a book worm and Gajeel had always possessed a love of music. She giggled as she imagined the looks on their faces if they ever saw those last two rooms.

But then tears began to fill her eyes because she just remembered that she would never see Levy and Gajeel again. Her two best friends in the whole world, her only friends in the whole world, she would never ever see them again. She bit back her tears and continued her work quietly but as soon as evening came and she retired to her bedroom, she started crying all over again. That's how it was for the first week.

She would wake up, get ready, do whatever work Gray assigned for her to do, eat his very filling leftovers during meal times, and finally go to sleep sobbing. She couldn't help herself. Yes she wasn't being mistreated anymore and she was grateful for that but now she was all alone. She had no one to talk to, no one to embrace her when she was sad, no one to laugh with when she was happy. She was going to be lonely for God knows how long. How could she not cry?

Gray would hear her weeping during those nights and it started to irritate him very much. Especially when he was trying to spin. He tried to ignore it at first but that proved to be impossible. By the week's end he'd had enough. 

Knock-knock!

"Come in." Juvia sniffed before wiping her tears away.

He opened the door to her room and stepped inside with annoyance plastered all over his face.

"When you so eagerly agreed to come here and work for me, I assumed you wouldn't miss these friends of yours quite so much." He said.

She was both shocked and angered at his insensitivity. 

"I'm never going to see them again and you've forbidden me to have any contact with them." She said angrily. "Of course I'd miss them you beast!"

"Yes, yes, of course but the crying must stop." He said nonchalantly. "Night after night, it's making it very difficult for me to spin. You know I do my best thinking then."

"Well I'm sorry for disturbing your work. I will try to be more quiet with my sobs."

"I would prefer it if you didn't cry at all."

"I beg your pardon sir but you cannot honestly expect me not to cry given my situation."

"I can if I'm your employer. You're my servant now so you must do whatever I say."

"That doesn't mean you get to control my emotions."

"Oh no my dear I'm not trying to control your emotions. You can be sad all you want, you just can't let it show. You see I don't like crying. It annoys me."

"I can't believe how cold hearted you are! You must have a block of ice in that chest of yours because it's obvious you have no feelings."

"You just figured that out now?" He said. "Juvia I thought I made this entirely clear to you when we first met. I am a cruel man who has no compassion for anyone. I'm ugly inside and out, and I'm content with that."

"How can anyone be content with that?"

"It's an acquired lifestyle I'll admit but it works for me."

"So you're happy to be cruel and isolated like this?"

"There are much more important things in life than joy. Things like deals, business, insurance, and of course reputation. Aspects like that are much more valuable."

"So you aren't happy like this." She deduced.

"I didn't say that."

"But you didn't answer my question. Are you really happy living like this?"

"My emotions are at the very bottom of my priority list. I don't allow myself to feel and I'm better off for it." He turned away from her. "You should probably do the same if you're certain you'll be sad during your time here. Besides, these friends of yours have probably moved on and forgotten all about you. Friends come and go, it's a natural way of life. Get over-"

But he stopped mid sentence when looked back to see her on her knees with more tears falling from her eyes like rain drops. She kept her hands over her mouth in attempt to keep herself from crying out loud which made her whimper instead. 

Gray's gaze softened a little and he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. It hadn't of occurred to him until now but this was the first time he had ever seen someone cry since his mother.  Truth be told, he didn't hate the sound of her crying because it annoyed him. He hated it because it made him guilty. It reminded him of how those bastards from the village he grew up in would make his poor mother cry with their cruelty toward him and her. He thought anyone who would make a woman as innocent and good as his mother cry was the scum of the earth. Yet he had made an innocent and good woman cry. 

No. No she wasn't innocent and good. No one was innocent and good. No one except his mother. He learned that a long time ago. That's why he was never kind to anyone in this world. There were no truly innocent people. He was sure of that. But if he was so sure then why did Juvia's tears still make him feel guilty. 

"Here." He made a silk handkerchief appear in his hand and tossed it to her. 

"For me?" She asked surprised.

"Not so beastly now am I?"

"Thank you." She said dabbing her eyes with it. "This should be able to clean my face very nicely."

"Oh no it's not for you to clean yourself with. It's to muffle the cries so I can get back to work!" He said. "If you really must cry then keep it down a little. At least when I'm spinning."

"I'll do my best." 

He turned around again and left. For a moment all Juvia could do was stare at the door and wonder. She had heard many stories about the beast's cruel and vile nature but despite that she was still surprised by how he behaved. She just couldn't understand how anyone could be like that? To have no empathy or kindness for anyone. Was he really not human like the stories said? Or maybe he acted this way because he was human? 

Before she could ponder on the notion any longer she heard a tapping noise coming from one of the stain glass windows to her room. She thought maybe a bird had hurt itself and landed on the ledge so she opened the window to see if she could help the supposedly harmed creature. But what she saw on the ledge turned her concern to utter joy. It was Gajeel in his cat form, carrying a bag in his mouth.

"Gajeel!" She cried happily before the cat leapt into her arms and nuzzled her as she stroked and hugged him close. "Oh Gajeel I thought I'd never see you again."

He purred against her neck then jumped from her arms and pulled something from the bag he had brought. It was Levy in her doll form but she quickly changed into her true form. The two women immediately embraced each other.

"I'm so glad to see you both." Juvia said smiling. "But what in the world are you two doing here?"

"We understood your decision to go with this beast but there was no way we were going to let you stay with him alone." Levy said. "I had to do a lot of begging, but I managed to get enough fairy magic to lead us to where you were."

"You mean came all the way here just to see me?" Juvia said touched.

"No we came because I love climbing a hundred foot tall castle while carrying something in my mouth." Gajeel said sarcastically after he put on his boots and took human form. "Of course we came to see you."

"That's so sweet." Juvia said. "But you can't stay here."

"Why not?" Gajeel asked. 

"Because Gray doesn't want any visitors  here. Or outsiders as he calls them. If he finds you two here heaven only knows what he'll do."

"Well that's not really a big problem." Levy said. "We'll just do what we did before. I'll hide in plain sight as a seemingly inanimate doll and Gajeel will stay outside in his cat form. Then at night we'll all meet together in here and talk quietly."

"But he might hear you." Juvia said.

"That crazy she devil Melanthe didn't hear us." Gajeel said. 

"That's because there were other people besides living in the house. It's just him and I'm certain that he has remarkable hearing."

"So we'll be extra quiet." Levy said. "We'll whisper. Hell, we'll even sign language if we have to but Juvia we are not leaving this place without you. If you have to live a miserable life then we'll live it with you."

"Yeah. Someone has to look after ya kid." Gajeel said. "Might as well be us."

"Oh you two are the best friends anyone in the world could have." Juvia said hugging them both gratefully. Her hope was instantly restored in that moment, now that they were here she was certain that she could find a way to be happy while she was here. Perhaps things were finally looking up for her. Her living conditions were definitely better here than back at that house and she actually got enough to eat for once. So maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad after all.