During the next week, Juvia found that sharing a bed with Gray had its perks: they talked much more about their day when she was lying on his arms and their kisses became routine, but Gray still stopped when things became heated much to Juvia's frustration. She liked kissing her husband very much and he seemed to enjoy it as well by the way he was enthusiastic about it.

She was happy with her life, finally.

Gajeel, on the other hand, seemed not interested in making friends which saddened Juvia; he was such a great guy once seen past the cold and hard exterior and the Duchess wanted to see him making friends and building a life for himself.

When her husband told her that he was planning a hunting trip the next couple of days, Juvia immediately came up with the idea of having him taking Gajeel with him so her friend could bond with the other men; she only had to convince both to accept it.

She was brushing her hair, thinking about it when Gray called her from their bed. "You've been brushing your hair for fifteen minutes." He said. "I think it's enough."

Juvia looked to the mirror in front of her and saw her husband's reflection; smiling when she saw his annoyed expression.

"It is." Juvia put the hairbrush on the vanity and went to stand next to the bed while pushing her robe away, revealing her simple nightgown. "Juvia was just thinking about your hunting trip."

"I'll be away for just two days." Gray watched as his wife pushed the blanket away to lie beside him.

"Juvia knows." She told him and rested her head on his chest. "I was just thinking that it would be fun if Gajeel-kun went with you." Gray groaned in annoyance and Juvia looked up to him. "Don't be like that! Gajeel-kun is a good hunter and he's Juvia's friend."

"He hates me." Gray told her.

"He does not." He stared at her pointedly and Juvia conceded him a point. "Well, he does not like the circumstances of our wedding, but it doesn't mean that he hates you." Gray rolled his eyes. "Juvia really wants you two to one not to dislike the other and maybe a couple of days together you would know each other better and maybe at least stand being in the same room."

"Juvia..." Gray sighed. "I am supposed to go hunting with my friends to relax a bit."

"That's why this is the perfect opportunity!" Juvia sat on the bed and he frowned in annoyance by losing her body next to his. "You are going with a few friends and Gajeel-kun doesn't like crowds, so you could know him better." She was excited and it was amusing to see her that way. "Please?" She stared at him with pleading eyes and he knew he would cave in. "It would mean a lot to me."

"Fine." He said and she squealed; Juvia kissed his cheek. "But if you convince him to come with us."

"He will." Juvia grinned. "If he doesn't want to, I'll just command him to." Her husband chuckled and she kissed him again, that time on the lips. Gray pulled her on top of his body and she straddled him; the Duke knew that they finished talking for the night when he started kissing her jaw and pushed the nightgown away so he could kiss her neck.

#

Gajeel was glaring at the Duchess with hatred as she said her good-byes to her husband. She had told him that he had to go and when he said no, she ordered and he didn't have any arguments to refuse her; instead he just glared at her with hatred.

"Gajeel-kun." Juvia said when her husband got up his horse and Gajeel ignored her. "Come on, don't be like this."

"You know I hate people and I don't want any friends." Gajeel finally spoke to her and she shrunk a bit under his gaze. "But you are making me go to this hunting trip with guys I don't know just because we are all men. It doesn't mean that I will like them. You are treating me like a child; dumping me on a play date."

The Duchess gasped. "That's not what I-"

"It's done now." Gajeel snapped and the blunette bit her lower lip while she watched him get on his horse.

#

Gray watched as Gajeel set his tent away from the other guys and he sighed, knowing that his wife would want him to talk to the other man.

Next to the Duke, Loke and Natsu were arguing over how and where to properly put their tents and neither noticed when Gray walked away from them and walked in Gajeel's direction.

"You don't have to talk to me." The long haired man said without look up, more interested in tying a set of complicated knots. "I didn't want to come, you didn't want me to come; we are only doing this because Juvia asked. I'm here, that's all I promised."

The Duke raised his eyebrows. "Why exactly you hate me so much?"

Gajeel finally looked up and Gray just waited for the answer. "I don't like lords." He said, honestly. "The ones I met are just obnoxious and know nothing of the real world. You live at your warm castles with your stomach full of food while people starve."

The Duke understood, then. It wasn't him Gajeel was opposed, but selfish faceless men that would rather think about themselves other than his subjects.

"I see." Gray sighed and sat down next to the other man, who just frowned and stared at the Duke in question. "You think we are all a bunch of bastards who have no idea of what it is like to have a hard life, huh?" Gray pointed to the group of men at their camp – there were about seven of them – and talked again. "See Charles over there?" He pointed to a young man with blond hair and a lanky build. "Before he joined the guard, his whole village was devastated by an avalanche and he lost his whole family before he was sent into an orphanage." Gray pointed to another man, slightly older than them and with dark skin and greenish eyes. "Matthew joined the guard because he had nothing to feed his wife and children. He heard the job paid well." He pointed to Loke. "He lost the woman he loved and was almost losing his mind before he came to me. The job gave him a purpose.

"Natsu," Gray pointed to the pink-haired man "became an orphan when he was about five. He met Lucy two years ago when she ran away from home. Her father is actually the Duke of Spring." Gajeel raised an eyebrow and Gray chuckled. "Yeah, imagine the mess when the Duke found out that his only daughter married a nobody with no money nor lands. Natsu and the Duke stand staying in each other's presence just because of Lucy. Now they are both worried about her being pregnant.

"And me..." Gray looked up to the night sky. "When I was seven, some bandits raided our village, they killed a lot of people, my parents included. I was unconscious for about three days after that. Only then I went to live with my grandfather. I lived on the other side, Gajeel, just like you. My mother was the daughter of a Duke, but when she ran off, my grandfather didn't give her any money, so we lived with what my dad made and it wasn't much."

Gajeel blinked a few times with the new gained information and Gray got up from where he sat next to him. "Now come on, stop sulking around and about because your friend made you go out with people and put your tent with the others. I have a feeling you'll fit right in with us." Gray started to walk towards where the rest of their party was. "Let's see if you have any good hunting stories. They sure have some to share."

"I've got some of my own." Gajeel told the Duke and even though he didn't move his tent closer to where the others' were, he joined at the bonfire and sat between Gray and Natsu. By the end of it, he was laughing and drinking.

Perhaps Juvia did not have the worst idea in the world.

#

The Duchess felt bad about asking Gajeel to go with her husband when he clearly didn't want to and she would've listened to him. The blunette decided that she would ask for him to forgive her the moment he returned, in two days.

It felt odd, sleeping alone in the bed she shared with her husband the past couple of weeks and a bit lonely too and the day Gray was supposed to get back, she didn't want to stay inside the Castle anymore. The last time she did go out, the incident with the river happened and right after she got sick granting the Duchess no opportunity to visit the village just outside the castle's gates, but with her husband gone and her health better, maybe it was time.

"You shouldn't go out on your own, Juvia." Lucy told the Duchess when she informed her plans for the afternoon. The blonde woman put a hand over her growing stomach – the child would be born in less than three months, according to the doctors – and tried to dissuade the blunette. "Gajeel went with Gray, Natsu too as did Loke. Plus, Erza is at the Spring as an ambassador. I'm sure Gray wouldn't want you to go out without a guard he trusts."

"Juvia will bring someone with her, don't worry, Lucy-san." Juvia tried to calm the woman. "I just want to go to the market. Juvia will be gone for an hour, maybe."

"I don't like this." The blonde bit her lower lip. "When I was growing up, my father was always afraid of letting me go out without proper protection and I know why now: lords receive all types of threats Gray is well-liked around here, but you..."

"Juvia's not from here, so people are against our marriage because he didn't marry a Winter girl." The Duchess completed the sentence. "But I just can't stay inside forever. If they don't see me, they'll hate me even more."

"I could go with you..." Lucy said, stroking her stomach.

"No, no. You stay here." Juvia rejected the idea. "It would only make you tired and Juvia is sure that it will be just a boring trip to the market. You told me you craved figs? Juvia will try to find some. Our husbands are meant to arrive late this afternoon and Juvia will take pity on Natsu-san and buy them for you before you crave them in the middle of the night." Lucy smiled and nodded, making the Duchess offer a smile of her own. The blonde was a very beautiful woman and the pregnancy made her glow; Juvia knew for sure that if Lucy weren't married to Natsu and clearly in love with him, the Duchess would've been very jealous of her with Gray. As it was, she just saw Lucy as a friend.

After saying good-bye to Lucy and asking the maid, Levy – the same maid Gajeel terrified when they arrived at Winter, to give Lady Lucy some company and seeing they were friends, Juvia asked a young guard, John, to be her escort for the afternoon. She made sure she was well dressed against the cold and that had enough money to buy some fruits.

The moment she stepped out from the Castle's gates, Juvia wanted to take it all in. That first time Gray took her to ride Honey, they left through a side gate and she didn't see the little town but as she descended the hill towards it, everything in it looked beautiful: the houses, the streets, the people.

As she strolled between the city towards the market, the residents of the town looked surprised to see her there; she supposed it was quite obvious she was high-born because of fine clothes and the guard walking around with her. Plus, the stories about the new Duchess having blue hair was a giveaway, as the majority of Winter's citizens had either dark or white hair.

They were kind, Juvia noticed, and she relaxed while strolling the market. There were so many people, so many smells and new sights. The Duchess found everything to be interesting. Her new life had widened her horizons so much it surprised her she lasted so long being stuck inside her castle as she grew up.

John, her escort, was a few feet behind her when she finally found the figs she'd been searching for Lady Lucy and chatting excitedly with the saleswoman when she heard a scream what seemed like 'Look out' and then her body being tackled to the ground.

She hit her head, but it didn't stop her from struggling against the unknown assailant pressing her down. She opened her eyes and tried to push the heavy body above her away. "I'm not going to hurt you!" A male voice said and she finally focused on the person on top of her. He had white hair, his eyes were deep green, his cheekbones were high and his lips in a perfect cupid's bow. He was handsome and Juvia had the feeling that she saw him somewhere else before. "I just saved your life!"

Her eyes focused past the man and he saw an arrow at the fruit's stand stuck at a melon, right where she had been a few seconds before. It would've hit her if the stranger hadn't pushed her away.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yes." Her voice was small and she tried to smile through her fright. "Thank you."

He blinked a couple of times as if really looking at her for the first time and Juvia just stayed quiet as he did so, his cheeks reddened and as if he had just noticed that he was still atop of her, the white-haired man got up and offered her a hand, which she took it.

The whole ordeal could not have lasted more than a few seconds, but it sure seemed much longer than that. A crowd formed around them and Juvia saw John holding a man and a crossbow on the ground. Two more guards – with grey cloaks instead of white – were keeping the people away from her and the stranger.

"Lady Juvia!" John called her. "Are you hurt?"

The blunette shook her head, feeling the back of her head throb and her dress and hair dirty with mud, but besides that, she seemed fine. "No. I'm not hurt."

The stranger with white hair frowned and stared at her. "Lady? I thought it was strange a Duke's guard walking around with a woman." He offered her a gentle smile. "Are you a friend of the new Duchess?"

"No, I'm-" She tried, but John interrupted her.

"What are you talking about? She is the new Duchess."

The stranger's eyes widened as he stared at her and Juvia could see something she couldn't name pass through his eyes before he looked her up and down. A couple of seconds later, he bowed his head slightly as he took one of her hands. "It's an honor to meet you, Lady Juvia." He said. "I don't know if you heard of me, but I am Gray's cousin, Lyon Vastia. It's lovely to meet you." Lyon kissed her hand while the Duchess looked surprise. "Maybe we should head to Avalanche Castle, milady? We have a lot to talk about."

#

The hunting party arrived when the sun was setting; they had caught two deer and looked proud of their doing. Juvia ran to meet her husband when it was announced he arrived, Lucy walking behind her in a much slower pace.

Juvia saw him get off Black-Rust in one swift motion before handing the reins to a stable boy. She stopped just a few steps from him, knowing he wasn't fond of public shows of affection – their kisses had only been exchanged when they were alone, aside for the one at the wedding ceremony – and he smiled when he saw her.

"Juvia." He bowed slightly.

"Gray-sama." She beamed. "Did you have a nice hunt?"

"I did." Gray looked proud. "We caught two deer and some rabbits. Gajeel has great aim."

Hearing her friend's name Juvia saw him getting off from his horse and when she shot her husband a questioning look, he nodded, giving her leave to talk to him.

"Gajeel-kun." The Duchess said when she was close enough for him to hear and, even with his back to her, his body tensed, she noticed. "I'm sorry. You were right, Juvia shouldn't have treated you that way, it should've been your choice to go and Juvia was being selfish and ordered you to go." He still hadn't turn around to look at her, preferring to gather his belongings from the satchels on top of his horse. "Can you forgive Juvia?"

"If you promise not to do this again." He told him from over his shoulder and he saw as she nodded vehemently. "Alright." Juvia was about to say something when two of the men who went on the trip walked past Gajeel and slapped him on the back with big grins and told him that he was welcomed at their next trip before they bowed to the Duchess and took their leave.

Juvia stared at her friend, surprised with the camaraderie; she thought Gajeel would've sulked the whole trip and spoiled it for everyone involved.

Seeing her confusion, Gajeel grinned. "So yeah, you were right, I give you that; it was not so bad to go out, but you just promised not to do it again and you can't go back on your word." He walked away, chuckling, knowing that she would be annoyed at him: if she had just waited a minute before talking to him, she would've been proven right.

She was about to call her friend when she saw Gray stand next to her. "Let him have this; you were right, but you shouldn't have pushed him." Juvia turned to look at him. "And yes, I find that he is a good guy. Rough around the edges but not so bad once you know him."

The Duchess grinned and twined her arm in his. "Thank you for doing this."

"It's fine." He told her. "Now I'd like to get inside, eat something, take a hot bath and sleep in our bed."

"Oh, Juvia has a surprise for you!" The blunette said and Gray frowned in confusion and followed his wife inside, towards the great hall. Once they were almost entering, he asked: "What is it?"

"Look who came to visit you!" The Duchess said, excited, pointing to the other end of the room and when Gray looked at the direction she pointed and saw the man standing there, his whole body tensed up; Juvia didn't noticed because she had released his arm to walk towards Lyon. "We met when Juvia went to the village's market earlier this afternoon." She failed to notice the tension in the room; Lyon and Gray were staring at each other as she talked. "Lyon-sama... helped Juvia."

Lyon finally tore his gaze from his cousin's and stared at the blunette, offering her a warm smile. "Lady Juvia, I would've never let that man harm you. It would've prevented me of your company." Juvia giggled and the moment his cousin's words sank in, Gray looked at his wife, concerned.

"What does he mean with someone trying to harm you? Are you okay?"

The Duchess smiled, reassuring him. "Yes. Nothing happened; Lyon-san prevented it."

Gray stepped closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to find if she was hurt at all even when she told him she was fine. "But what exactly happened?"

"There was a man with a crossbow aiming at Lady Juvia," Lyon said and Gray's body tensed again before he turned slightly to look at him, "and when I saw he was about to shoot it, I acted and pushed her away before the arrow hit her." The white-haired man shifted his gaze to Juvia. "I hope that you told me the truth and you are not hurt; I pushed you quite roughly at the ground. Was my weight too much for you?"

"No, it's fine." Juvia said the same time her husband stared back at her, asking: "What does he mean by his weight?"

"Juvia just bumped the back of her head, it's all fine." She told Lyon. "It doesn't matter, Lyon-sama. Juvia is grateful you helped."

"My pleasure." He smiled, charming her, and then stared at his cousin. "Your guard caught the man who tried to harm Lady Juvia. He's at the dungeon, I suppose."

Gray's jaw hardened. "Thank you for your assistance." He said between gritted teeth and only then Juvia noticed his tension.

"Are you alright, Gray-sama?"

"Fine." He snapped and she winced with his harshness, making Gray regret it immediately. "I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to see Lyon here, it caught me off guard. We didn't... part in good terms the last time we saw each other."

Juvia frowned in confusion to her husband, but stared at Lyon when he spoke. "Gray speaks of the time I refused to become the next Duke and he had to step in." Juvia blinked in surprise. "Oh, he didn't tell he wasn't the one who was supposed to be Duke?"

Gray stepped between Lyon and Juvia. "But I am and you better remember that." Lyon's green eyes shined in a way Gray didn't like one bit. "Juvia." Gray said without taking his eyes off his cousin, but knew she heard him because she gasped in surprise with his cold tone. "Could you go tell one of the maids that we will eat in our room tonight? They don't need to prepare anything special, some bread, cheese and wine will do. I need to talk to my cousin for a few minutes. Alone."

"Yes, Gray-sama." Juvia muttered and she threw Lyon a look before running off the room.

Once Gray heard that she closed the heavy door behind her on her way out, the Duke snarled at his cousin: "What are you doing here?"

"It's been awhile since I came here so when I heard you got married, I had to come here to see for myself. It's a two week ride from Snow Storm, but it was worth it." Lyon smirked. "I think that I missed out on that one, huh?" Gray's eyes narrowed and Lyon could see he didn't see the meaning behind his words, so he clarified. "She's rightfully mine."

"What?" The Duke couldn't hide his confusion and bafflement.

Lyon smiled. "Don't play dumb, Gray. It does not suit you. When I was born, I was the rightful heir. I was the 31st Duke by heritage; as far as we know, Grandfather wanted me to marry her." The white-haired man could see Gray's mind working by his expression. "She was mine until the moment I gave up being..."

"Yes, you gave up." Gray snapped. "Everything that belonged to the 31st Duke came to me and I had to accept it, because there was no one else to take care of this land – the land you abandoned!"

"I am here now." Lyon opened his arms.

Gray stepped closed to his cousin and grabbed Lyon by his shirt. "No. You can't return after five years with your tail between your legs and try to take it all back. I accepted my position as the Duke; everyone else has accepted too. You cannot disturb peace again just because your life full of wonders is dull now. And you certainly can't come to my house and try to steal my wife."

Lyon didn't even tried to push Gray's hand away. "It wouldn't be stealing: I would just claim what was already mine."

Gray pushed Lyon to the wall behind him with a loud thud, he could barely contain his rage. "She isn't yours."

After a whimper of discomfort when his back hit the wall, Lyon had the nerve to smirk. "For what I heard, she is not yours either."

Confusion passed through the Duke's expression before he asked in a snarl: "What are you talking about?"

"You two didn't consummate the marriage." Lyon said and felt Gray's grip on his shirt loosen a little.

Gray's face reddened. "It's none of your business. Besides, you can't prove anything."

"Oh, but I can." Lyon's white teeth glowed with the light coming from the room's fireplace. "We have servants to change the dressings of our beds, Gray; they know exactly what happens inside our rooms and from what I hear, you haven't touched her yet and a simple examination would suffice to check that." Gray's reaction was to put his forehead on Lyon's throat and push until the white haired man couldn't help it but to try to push his cousin away, red faced by the lack of oxygen.

Gray released Lyon, knowing he would most likely die if he kept going, and the white-haired man fell into his knees, gasping for air. "You will leave tomorrow, because I swear, Lyon, if you are still here in the morning, I will kill you." And with that, Gray turned around and left without looking back.

Once he could breathe properly once more, Lyon panted. "Damn it, Gray. Can't you see I'm trying to save you?"

#

He was still angry when he entered the room he shared with Juvia and saw her waiting for him next to the fireplace and she was startled when he slammed the door behind him.

"Gray-sama, you scared m-" Juvia put a hand over her chest.

"What exactly happened at the market today? What did Lyon tell you?"

Juvia frowned in confusion, but when she saw the thundered expression in her husband's face, she quickly described what transpired ever since she told Lucy about her trip to the market, the man with the crossbow, Lyon pushing her out of the way and their return to Avalanche Castle.

By the end of the tale, Gray was walking in circles around the room. "He didn't say anything else?"

"No." Juvia was confused. "We talked about his life at Snow Storm, the places he has been and places Juvia wants to visit. Why? What was he supposed to say to Juvia?"

Gray stepped closer to his wife. "I don't want you alone with him, do you understand me? I don't know what his plan is, but it has to do with you and I-" He stopped when he felt Juvia's hand on his cheek; the softness of her skin calming him a little.

"Tell me what's wrong." She whispered, but he just shook his head and she sighed. "You are tired from the hunt and with Lyon-sama's visit. Come on, the maids prepared a hot bath for you." Juvia pushed his coat off him and he let her, knowing her words to be accurate and when she was finished, she kissed his lips lightly and before she could step away from him, Gray pulled her to him by the hips and deepened the kiss, to her surprise and delight.

The Duchess squealed when she felt the bed nudging on the back of her knees before Gray pushed her to the mattress without stop kissing her. Her head was spinning with the way he was kissing her, he never kissed her that way. It was like he was desperate for her.

Gray knew that she wanted to slow him down, that she wanted to talk to him about what was happening between him and Lyon, but he didn't want to deal with it just yet, not when he was moved to kiss her neck, her back arching while she bit her lower lip to keep as quiet as she could.

"Gra-" Juvia breathed as her nails dug into his back.

"I need you." He knew that his hold on her hips was maybe a little too hard, but he just wanted to feel her and nothing else. If he had her right then and there, Lyon would have nothing to hold against him and she would stay at Avalanche Castle, because Gray knew that with the right argument, his marriage would be easily annulled.

"Slow down." Juvia breathed when she felt his hand move from her hip to underneath her dress, his hand travelling from her thigh to her ass and bringing her close to where his need for her kept rising and she gasped with the new sensation. A knock on the door made both freeze in place.

"I-" Juvia whispered. "I think it's the food you asked for."

Gray blinked a few times and Juvia could see him paling slightly when he realized that he almost push her to have sex with him before he pulled away from her to stand next to the bed. "What I almost did?" He asked himself and Juvia sat on the mattress; when she grabbed his hand, he snatched off her grasp. "It shouldn't happen like this. I'm... I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apol-" She didn't finish the phrase because he was already on his way to the door before she could call his name, he was out of their bedroom, scaring the maid who had just brought what was supposed to be their dinner and leaving his wife more than confused.

#

When Gray didn't return to their bedroom that night, Juvia didn't go searching for him because she doubted she would find him if he didn't want to be found. Plus, if he returned, she wanted to be there waiting for him.

After a nap when she was too tired to stay awake, the Duchess woke up when the sun was coming up and she quickly made up her mind: she was getting to the bottom of what was happening between Lyon and her husband.

She went on with her morning routine and went to the dining room, asking a maid to summon Lyon – she could've gone to the room he stayed that night, but Gray's warning about her not being alone with Lyon passed through her mind. The dining room was of free access to the staff and if she raised her voice, she could be overheard easily.

Ten minutes after the maid left, Lyon and his valet – a man in his late thirties with dark blonde hair – entered the room and once he saw it was only Juvia in there, he told the older man to leave him and the Duchess alone.

"Lady Juvia." Lyon bowed his head. "I am surprised you called for me so early. Where's Gray?"

Ignoring his question, Juvia tried to gather all of her courage. "Lyon-sama, I need to know exactly why you are here and why you upset Gray-sama so much yesterday."

Lyon blinked two times before he took a few steps in her direction, studying her features. "I am trying to set him free of the obligation I threw at him five years ago when I reject to become the Duke. It was never his burden, it was mine and he had to bear it because I was afraid I couldn't live the way I wanted in here. He was fourteen and I was seventeen, yet he was braver than me."

Juvia pondered his words, trying to keep her expression to betray the mess her mind was. "And why would he tell me not to be alone with you?"

The white-haired man's eyebrows rose up but he looked straight into her eyes and said: "Because you were supposed to be my bride and if I have you, I can be the rightful Duke again."