Lucy had always loved riding horses. Ever since she was five years old and her grandfather had taken her horse back riding for the first time, she had found no other hobby to be more delightful. Feeling the wind flow through her long golden hair as she rode her regal steed over hurtles and across the land spaces within the castle, was she could travel all over the world. To her it was the closest thing she had to freedom and she adored the magnificent creatures. Although her favorite had always been the white stallion she called Plue who had been given to her on her ninth birthday by her grandfather. He was a clumsy horse and didn't always get the hurtles just right but he was gentle, playful, and sweet just like she was and that's what made him her favorite.

Every afternoon as soon she finished her lessons she would go outside to the royal stables, climb on to Plue's back, and ride him for as long as she could while filling the air with her laughter. Yes there was nothing in the world that made the little princess more happy than to ride her beloved Plue. And there was nothing that made her grandfather, Lucien the former king of Eastern Fiore more happy than to watch his precious grandchild ride her steed and be full of joy.

"I think that's enough riding for today Plue." The young girl told the white horse as she gently pulled on the reigns to stop him. She then climbed off his back and handed him an apple from her dress pocket. "Tomorrow I'll see if I can get you a sugar cube and honey."

"Now Lucy don't spoil your steed too much." Lucien said approaching her with a smile full of pride. "Give him too many sweets and he'll become fat and lazy."

"Grandfather!" She excitedly ran to him and embraced him lovingly. He returned them embrace while gazing at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. "I thought you wouldn't be back til next month."

"I finished my business early which is a relief because I don't think I could have bared being away from my little princess for a moment longer."

"Did you see me riding Plue today?"

"Yes and it was beautiful sweetheart."

"Thank you Grandfather." She said before planting a kiss on to his cheek.

"Beautiful?" A voice scoffed. "I'd hardly call that beautiful. You're old age is getting to you Lucien."

The happy reunion between the old man and his granddaughter was interrupted by the appearance of a strong but very mean looking man with a read beard. It was King Xavier, Lucien's son in-law and Lucy's father.

"You didn't like it Father?" The blonde child asked.

"You ride like a commoner." He said. "Without control or restraint. A king's daughter should ride with refinement and pride."

"I was just having fun."

"You're getting a little too old for fun. Part of me feels that maybe we should put a stop to this ridiculous activity of yours. Truly it is a waste of time."

"Must you always belittle her?" Lucien defended. "She's only a child Xavier. She has a such small amount of time to be carefree and happy. Don't make it any shorter."

"Stop coddling her you old fool! It really infuriates me how often you forget that she is my daughter not yours." He turned back to Lucy. "Put that beast back in the stables and get back to your room."

"Yes Father."

She took Plue back to the stables and returned to the castle to where she had been born and bred. She sat on her bed and started to play with her doll Michelle, she glanced over and saw her mother Queen Esme walking down the hall. She quickly jumped from the bed and went to the queen.

"Mother. Michelle and I were going brush each other's hair and make it pretty. Want to join us?" She asked hopefully.

"Not now Lucy." Esme said. "Mother has some things she needs to do."

"But you never have time to play."

"Well your father doesn't want me playing with you right now. He wants me to bring him the scrolls regrading all history of magic. If I don't do as he wishes he will become angry with me and you don't want that, do you?"

As Esme spoke she pushed some of her blonde hair back to reveal a nasty scar that had been left on the side of her face.

"No Mother." Lucy nodded.

"Good girl now run along and play by yourself."

She sighed and once again went back to her room, alone. She went over to her vanity, sat down in the chair in front of it, and pulled out a brush which she used to comb her long hair. From the moment she was born, Lucy had been blessed with beautiful blonde hair that shined like a thousand suns and it had never been cut. By the time she was nine years old her hair had become so long that it cover her back and stopped at her ankles. According to the very few who had actually seen her, she had the most magnificent hair in all the land. That no one could have hair as lovely or as soft.

She would brush, comb, and braid it for hours until every strand was in place and perfectly neat. After she would style her hair she would move on to brush and style the hair of her doll Michelle. Once that was finished she would try to find another ways to amuse herself in the very lonely castle she was kept in. She would read, play with her toys, sometimes she would draw and paint pictures of things that she liked such as her horse Plue. But no matter what she did it would never keep her entertained long and it hardly ever made her happy.

You see Lucy was not allowed to leave the castle nor was she allowed to converse with anyone outside of the castle so naturally she didn't have any friends. Her father said that he loved her but he was always pointing out her flaws and pretty much dictating her every movement and thought. Nothing she did seemed to please him and she so desperately wanted to make him happy and proud of her which was why she would never disobey him.

Her relationship with her mother wasn't any better. The woman never had much emotional response to her child and when she did speak to Lucy it was to tell her how to please Xavier. That was the queen's main obsession, keeping the king happy no matter what though there were moments where the two would get into the most horrible spats. In fact they had one that very day, a terrible one at that.

"I have done everything you asked of me!" She heard her mother cry out. "What more do you want?"

"To shut your mouth and endure like your betters have done before you!" She heard her father bellow.

"How dare you compare me to that wench! Don't you know that I am twice the woman she ever was?!"

"Well that depends on what kind of womanly aspects you mean."

"What are you talking about? You told me that she could never give you what you wanted! That only I could!"

"Yes that's true. You satisfy my wants but she satisfied my needs if you will."

"You pig!"

"Don't insult me!" She heard the sound of glass breaking followed by her mother's screams. "You are my wife! That means you will serve me and do as I say! Do not presume that we are equals!"

Lucy clutched her doll as she listened to the despicable things that were spoken to each other. She flinched when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder but to her relief the hand belonged to her grandfather.

"They'll stop soon." He assured the girl. "Not much longer now."

"Why are they so angry?" Lucy asked.

"I would tell you but I don't think you would understand. Not at this age." He gently hugged her close. "Come, let's go play out in the garden and I'll push you on that swing you love so much. They should be more quiet by the time we come back in."

Lucy nodded and followed the kind old man outside.

...

Lusha thought that she was going to have a panic attack. She couldn't believe it, Gren or rather Gray remembered. He remembered everything. He had remembered everything all along. Now she always knew he was powerful but she never thought he was powerful enough to somehow keep his memory intact even after the curse took hold of him. How did he even do that? He was locked in a jail cell that kept him from using any of his magic. There was no way he could have been able to do anything that would protect his mind from being altered. Yet somehow he did.

"No wonder he hasn't been bending to my whim like everyone else in this town." She thought. "The sneaky little imp, and here I thought being creepy and deceitful was just his natural behavior."

After Nasha and Greige arrived in Edolas she had began to suspect Gren might have remembered who he really was but she had to be careful about how she would confront him about less she expose who she really was. That's why she convinced Yuki to steal that slipper because she knew that if he really did remember then there was no way he would go to any realm without. Although she never thought that having it stolen would upset him that much.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door of her house. She went to answer it and speak of the devil, there stood Gren.

"What do you want?" She asked irritated by his appearance.

"We need to talk." He replied.

She noticed that there was something different about his demeanor. Normally he carried himself with a sense of darkness but mischief and twisted glee but today there was just darkness.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked. "I thought you managed to avoid serving time for that assault. Of course now your reputation is ruined."

"Oh please, you think that I'm upset by the fact that people have now become so terrified of me that they'll flinch if I so much as look at them? Don't make me laugh! That was everyday of my life back in Fiore."

"Then what has you ready to raise Cain because I can tell by the look in your eyes that you're about to lose it...Again."

"Interesting thing happened to me this morning. As I was getting my coffee I ran into that nice little boy of Elkis's."

"Oh? Did he scream in terror and run from you?" She joked before pouring herself a drink.

"No. No he did not. Shockingly he's not afraid of me."

"Really? The kid must be either really brave or really stupid."

"I think you're the one who's either really brave or really stupid."

"What is that supposed to mean? Is this about that stupid shoe? You got it back okay?! I thought we were done with that."

"Oh no this isn't about the shoe. This is about a certain someone I saw today. Someone I saw at the local Elementary School."

As soon as he said the word school she realized that death had just come to her door.

"You...You went to the school?" She asked trying to hide her growing fear.

"Yes Greige was running late so I gave him a ride there and I ended up meeting his teacher. A most lovely woman really and what's really interesting about her is that she happens to look and sound exactly like Juvia!"

He gripped his hands into fists.

"I'm sorry who?" Lusha asked nonchalantly.

"Don't screw with me." Gren warned. "You know exactly who."

"You mean that adorable little maid of yours? Aside from that shoe she left you I can't really recall anything about her."

"Oh no? Can you recall this? Back in Fiore you told me that she was dead!"

"I thought she was. She probably is. It could just be a coincidence that this school teacher and her are so similar."

"No it's her! I know it's her! And you know it's her!"

"Excuse me but what is the point of this conversation?"

"I want you to tell me what really happened to her when she left my castle that day and never came back."

"I only know what I told you a few days later."

"Liar!" He shouted in a way that probably would have resulted in her being reduced to ashes if he still had magic. "You didn't really believe she was dead! You knew she was still alive! You've known all this time, haven't you?"

"I only know what I saw and heard."

"You really think I'm gonna believe a thing you say now? I should have known you were lying to me about her. You're notorious for it! In this world and the other one! What else have you lied to me about? Were you the reason why she disappeared? Did you do something to her?"

"I did nothing and you have no evidence that I did."

"Not yet."

"What do you mean?" She said turning skeptical. "What are you up to? And more importantly how the hell did you manage to protect your mind from the curse? I designed it guarantee to ensure that I would be the only one left with their true memories. How did you slip through the cracks?"

"Don't change the subject." He said. "As for what I'm up to that's a secret and if you really had nothing to do with what happened to Juvia then you have nothing to fear. But if you did then you better pray to God that I don't find out because if I do there won't be any place safe for you."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be because you haven't really seen just how monstrous I can be. I've always gone easy on you because of our relationship but losing Juvia destroyed me in a way you can't even imagine and I'll show no mercy if you had any hand in that loss."

His eyes were so full of anger and fury. It was enough to make her to step back a little. Even without his powers and beastly form he could still strike terror into someone's heart with just one stare. She knew that Gray had been fond of the blue haired maiden but she didn't think it went that deep. Did her sudden disappearance from his life really hurt him that much? Did he actually care about that woman? Maybe even love her? But no. No that was impossible. He wasn't capable of loving anyone. She knew that. She always knew that, She knew that from the moment she first met him. But if she was so sure of that then why did she suddenly feel so afraid and guilty?