AN: I bet you didn't have "BonneyQ writing a Fic" on your 2024 Bingo Card, did ya? But here I am: the year almost finished but uploading something!

I AM SORRY I HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND! Having a toddler is already a full-time job but having her and a job at the same time is challenging and something had to take a hit in my life and unfortunately it was writing. But hey, the bebe is going to be 3 (!!!) in a few months so now and I am trying to get back on the horse, so I am very sorry if I am out of practice and this is crap LOL Also I can't promise this will happen often, but I will try when I get inspired.

And yes, you read it right. I saw ACOTAR and I saw Gruvia and yup, we are going there, and we are going to combine both worlds! Some people see 2 things that are not together and say: why would they? And I say: why not?

Honestly, could this be a "Ew why?" Yes. Am I known for not listening to my heart and what I like and not writing accordingly? Absolutely not. So, LET'S DO THIS.

For those who have not read ACOTAR, I will try to explain as much of the world as possible and, you should definitely read it. Power through the first one and the rest is so worth it!

This will have 2 or 3 chapters, this story is getting away from me! I have so much planned out but this chapter is so important so I apologise for the load of information you are about to go through.

As this is based off both ACOTAR and Fairy Tail, meeting will go in a different way, some things that happened on the Manga will have to be adapted and/or modified greatly to fit the story but in the end I hope I can capture their essence.

I have to remind you that Juvia is MUCH older than in Fairy Tail, therefore she has a whole different set of traumas, so does Gajeel, Gray, pretty much everyone. The problems they have at 17 are not the same they have at 200 so they will be slightly different, more mature in some ways, more traumatised in others.

A few things to note:

- Prynthian = Name of the Country

- Cauldron = their "deity"

- Prynthian is divided in Courts and are ruled by High Lords

- The Fae are not "man" and "woman", they are referred as "male" and "female" and yes, it annoys me too but it's part of the lore haha

- Bargains – "magical promises" that you cannot break or something awful will happen to you, they are marked by a tattoo on all parties.

- Each Court has a different "power", hence why Juvia is from the Summer

If anything else confusesou, let me know and I will try to explain better next chapter!

Now onto the story and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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You're a Sky Full of Stars

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To The People Who Look At The Stars And Wish - Part I

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Fae lived long lives, allegiances change and the enemy of today might be a friend tomorrow – and vice-versa.

Even at the young age of 200, Juvia Lockser had seen it happen more times than she could count. The war between the Courts a hundred and eighty years before had showed it to her as she walked with her uncle's guest to present him – a High Fae male from the Day Court. For years, even after the treaties, no one dared to step outside their own Court and then somewhere seventy years ago, there was peace and Fae once again went to different Courts all over Prynthian.

The soldier in her never truly felt right to go to other Courts, even at times of peace, but she was getting better at feeling less uncomfortable while travelling.

Two guards saw her, nodded her way, and opened the door to the throne room where the High Lord of the Summer Court presided.

She stepped in, the guest following, and she announced: "Lord Jude Heartfilia, my lord."

Her uncle waved his hand motioning for the male to get closer; he was a tall, slender Lord from the Day Court, his shiny blonde hair was cut short, and his blue eyes looked troubled.

"You can leave us, Juvia."

The female fae nodded and she could see her cousin, Gajeel Redfox, appear from behind their uncle's throne. His long dark hair untamed as usual, his dark red eyes almost glowing and his wings still hidden behind the throne. Juvia frowned slightly at the oddity of the request as she usually stayed but left the room as commanded.

It never ceased to amaze her at how different she looked compared to the rest of her family. Where they mostly have dark hair, she had bright blue wavy long hair and teal eyes – a gift from her river-nymph grandmother.

Juvia stopped at one of the large doors facing the ocean as she saw a storm brew and she closed her eyes, calming herself. She still couldn't control herself all the time when she was feeling emotional.

River-nymphs were lesser fae. Her mere existence was considered by many something to be ashamed of. Her mother was shunned by the nymphs as they do not take halflings and she was raised at the Summer Court castle almost as a slave in the kitchens; to this day Juvia couldn't understand why her grandfather kept her mother as he never showed any love or interest in her upbringing, or Juvia's. Her best guess was that he wanted to keep an eye on the bloodline and didn't want to kill an infant.

Her mother eventually found love, though, with a High Fae male. He was no Lord by any means, just a baker who fell in love with a blue haired half-nymph with webbed hands. He was kind, warm and easy to make laugh.

The thought helped Juvia's feeling subside a little; to know her mother lived such an awful early life but, in the end, she loved and was loved. Ten years after they got married, Juvia came along and the very little she could remember about their lives together, she was happy. Mama always smelled like the sea and Papa smelled like baked goods. They smelled like home.

Until, when Juvia was 10, the war started to brew and the invasions from the other Courts started to happen. Her Father died trying to protect Juvia and her mother – being slain along the way but buying enough time for Juvia's mother to hide her behind the counter with the baked goods to mask her scent, making Juvia promise not to make a sound, no matter what.

And she didn't. Even after hearing her mother's scream once she saw her husband's body, Juvia just put her hands over her ears and waited until the screaming and destruction were over, helpless to do anything but to cry.

That was the first time a perfectly beautiful night with no clouds turned into a storm so strong, it was one of the reasons the army retreated and why Juvia fainted with exhaustion.

She would never forget seeing her mother's body on the floor when she came to, arm towards her beloved husband and her father's body cut in half, his sword still in hand and not even red with blood. He was just a baker with no fighting skills and yet had tried his best to protect his family but in the end, the only one to walk out of their bakery was Juvia. The rain masquerading her tears as she walked towards the castle.

She had been there a few times, had met her cousins briefly and every time, her mother would have a fake smile. She didn't like to return to the Castle but often had to and to bring Juvia as well. Later in life, Juvia learned it was so her grandfather and granduncle, the High Lord, could see if either of them showed any powers that would interest them.

Even hating it, her mother always told her that if anything were to happen to either of her parents and she felt she was in danger, she should find her way into the Castle, as it would be the place with the most soldiers and protection.

That night, Juvia finally followed her advice and walked on the chaotic streets of the city. She could see houses and establishments destroyed, her people running, crying or dead. The water from the rain turned into red puddles in some places.

With the chaos of the afterwards of the battle, the castle staff only realised she managed to get in through a secret passage her mother taught her, after a whole day hiding in a small kitchen cabinet.

She was screamed at, as no one truly saw her around the castle more than once a year and no one would have recognised her. She was about to be thrown out when her cousin Gajeel recognised her by her hair colour.

He had been going through his Illyrian training but had known her mother and according to him, she looked so much like her he could have never mistaken who Juvia belonged to.

Juvia was brought in front of her Granduncle, the High Lord Jose – a couple of his sons around, looking at her in disgust.

"Your Grandfather passed during the battle, child." High Lord Jose told her offhand. "Since you are here and not your mother, I assume she died as well?" Juvia nodded and her eyes watered and she could feel a now familiar change brew inside her. "My brothers somehow liked to breed lesser fae." His sons snickered. "You don't have my name, the blood we share is close to nothing now. I let you and your mother live this long because of my brother and see if either of you could be trained for war like Gajeel, but since my brother is no longer here, you can fare for yourself. We are at war; I do not have time to care for children and- Why is it raining again?" He exclaimed, frustrated, looking outside of the large windows. "For fuck's sake this is the fucking Summer Court and for the past two days we have been having a storm so bad we can barely fight to protect ourselves outside!"

The words that Juvia uttered that day, changed her fate forever.

"Apologies, My Lord." She tried to dry the tears falling down her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Juvia cannot control it."

"No one can, halfling." One of her cousins taunted her. "It's a storm."

The little girls shook her head. "It rains when Juvia cries. I miss my Mama and Papa."

The High Lord looked at the girl with curiosity, then, for the first time in his life. "Are you telling me that you are creating the storm, child?"

"Father, that's ridi-" Her other cousin stopped talking after receiving a look from his father.

Juvia nodded and she could see Gajeel also look at her with interest from the corner of her eye. He had been there the whole time, quiet and waiting.

"It is told that my grandsire, besides of the natural water powers, could rule the skies, summon a storm so great he could have the whole city under so much rain no one could venture outside." Jose said, walking around Juvia while she was trying to control her tears and breathing. She didn't know how to stop the rain, but she had to. "My own father told me how it rained for days when my grandmother died, and my grandsire was grief stricken." He turned to his sons and nephew and pointed outside. "Does that look like a regular storm to you? We had no forecast of a storm coming, the skies were clear on the night of the attack and suddenly we were surprised with the biggest storm we've had in years?" Jose looked back at Juvia. "She is mostly High Fae, my grandsire's power could be there somewhere, causing the storm."

"She is also part River-Nymph." Gajeel finally saying something. "Don't discount that part and what could amplify her own powers from your line." He added after a moment. "My Lord."

Something shone in Jose's eyes. "Of course. She is young, but we could use this. It is how your barbaric people like, don't they, Gajeel?"

Juvia was confused, even though she could see some similarities in the family, Gajeel's big bat-like wings were not one of them. From what she could remember, he was also not purely High Fae.

Gajeel's jaw clenched but he took a breath and said, "Training starts around this age for Illyrians, yes."

"Well, there we have it." The High Lord was suddenly ecstatic. "She starts her own training tomorrow. Gajeel will teach her when we are here as he has just returned and let's face it, as barbaric as the Illyrians are, they are good soldiers." Gajeel opened his mouth, no doubt to disagree but Jose held a hand up his way. "That is an order. Find someone who can teach her water magic as well. I want her to be as deadly as we can make her. Can you believe this child can create storms?"

"Is Juvia going to be a soldier?" The little girl asked, confused. She wanted to grow up and be a baker like her Mama and Papa.

The High Lord grinned at her, a twinkle in his eye. "Of course, my dear. Like the rest of our family." He looked at Gajeel then. "Find her a room, new clothes, food. I have a meeting with the counsel."

Juvia felt the rough hands of her cousin grab her by the arm, just hard enough to hurt as he dragged her away from the room.

"I should have let the servants throw you out of the castle." Gajeel grunted. "It would cause less problems for both of us."

"Thank you for not letting them." Juvia said trying to keep up with the pace of the much taller male and failing miserably.

He stopped abruptly and let go of her, she almost fell. He looked down on her – she didn't think she had seen anyone quite so tall in her life. His eyes were red, and he seemed to always have a scowl but she noticed he was curious.

His large wings opened, unexpectedly, and Juvia's eyes widened. They looked so big and strong, and she stepped closer to try to touch it but he stepped back.

"Never touch another's wings." He warned her. Juvia nodded; she also didn't like when people wanted to get too close to her. "Usually, kids and grown folk are terrified of me when they see me, some even scream. You don't seem to be."

"The High Lord said we are all family." She shrugged with ease. "You are Juvia's cousin."

Gajeel squatted down in front of her and looked into her teal eyes. "You will never be their family." He pointed at the direction they had just come from. "You and I, we are not High Fae like them, our blood is muddied because our mothers' lines were not like theirs. My mother was Illyrian, yours was half River-Nymph. The only reason why they keep us is because we are soldiers to them. They will make you one too because you are powerful. Saving you today might have actually fucked up your whole life and if it did, well, tough luck; we all have our own shit to deal with. My advice to you is to train, be the best soldier you can be and show you can be just as good as any of them. Be the strongest and never forget you are not fully High Fae. They definitely won't let you." He got up and motioned her to walk with him. "Come. If I am to teach you how to fight, I might as well feed you first and for fuck's sake, make this fucking rain stop!"

And train she did.

For years, she would wake up just when the sun was rising, train with Gajeel for hours when he was not at away patrolling the borders himself, then meet with her water magic teacher. The second part was easy, after a few months, her control over water was so perfect, the teacher was only there to show her how some attacks were more efficient than others. She was water and water was her. They were one.

It took her a bit longer to master fighting. Gajeel was a commander of armies when in the battlefield and in the training ring as well. He never let her win out of the goodness of his heart – if she ever landed a blow on him, she had earned it. Juvia was constantly red and purple all over, bleeding was also not uncommon. Her uncle seemed pleased with her development every time he visited her training routine, which didn't happen often.

Gajeel taught her hand-to-hand combat, how to use a sword, daggers, bow and arrow, axe and even a mace.

A few years into her training and got frustrated, she couldn't defeat him with her own techniques and after he blocked one of her hits with his wings, she grunted loudly. "That is cheating! Using your wings to protect you is cheating!"

"Why?" He shrugged with a smirk on his lips. "It's part of my body, how is it cheating?"

"Because... because... not everyone has wings." It was her weak argument. "You are not preparing me for fair fights!"

"Of course not." He snorted. "When you go to the battlefield, there's no fair. You don't know what you'll find. I am trying to prepare you for the unknown. Also, why would I not use my advantage to win if I can? That's why it's called advantage."

Juvia raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously. "So... I can just use my water powers against you?"

He shrugged. "Of course. I always wondered why you don't."

She was exasperated. "You were supposed to teach me hand-to-hand combat! No powers."

"I don't know where you got this idea from." He smirked, knowing how pissed off she would be. "My wings are a part of me just as much as your magic is of you. Use it, abuse it, hit me with it. You might actually do some damage now." He taunted her.

Within minutes, they were fighting at the ring again and with Juvia using her powers, Gajeel was having trouble keeping up.

For the first time in a long time, Juvia felt as free as she could be, laughing at her cousin's curses as she, well, beat the shit out of him. It took her a couple of years to fully beat him, but she finally did it.

Then at twenty-two, her uncle had allowed her to join the war and the things she did and seen, would forever be in her mind. She fought the war for fifteen years, mostly protecting their borders, before the peace treaties and it took her just as long to sleep through the night again and not see someone who she killed or who tried to kill her.

Neither her nor Gajeel were ever given a command of their own, always under one of her useless cousins and put in the most dangerous missions and more than once, they had been the only one left alive.

Gajeel had been right, they were not her family.

Two of Jose's four sons had perished in the war. High Lord Jose only had two possible heirs now, Joseph and Juan and Joseph were not allowed to fight the last few years of the war as they were concerned about the line of succession and Joseph seemed like the most likely choice. They were probably afraid Joseph and Juan would die and Gajeel would be High Lord, as the next male heir.

Juvia could hurt herself with laughter at the thought of Gajeel being High Lord of the Summer Court of all Courts, with his bat-like wings and permanent scowl and his usual preference of wearing leathers in contrast of the colourful clothes the rest of the Court seemed to favour. At least Jose could pretend to be pleasant and wasn't too bad at being political.

After such long time amid war, going back to peace was unsettling at first. She kept her routine of training every day to keep her form and often sparred with her cousin. She even reopened her family's bakery for a while but couldn't keep it up with also being a soldier so she gave it away to a nice family she truly hoped could have a happier life at the building than she ever did.

After his sons' deaths, Jose was much warmer towards his "family" and allowed Juvia and Gajeel to work as Emissaries to other Courts as needed or to guard him or Joseph. Both Juvia and Gajeel were subjected into a Bargain to never harm Jose and his children, though. He warmed up to them, sure, but as Gajeel always told her, they were not "them".

Juvia still felt as if she should be somewhere else, doing something else than guarding her family that barely acknowledge their bond because of her blood. Sure, they fought together in battle and her cousins were not as vicious with their insults anymore once they realised Juvia was easily stronger than both of them, but they were different.

What would it be like to just be... free? Had she ever been? It felts every decision of her life was not her choice from the moment she was born. Even if her parents had been alive, someone would have noticed her powers and she would be forced to be a soldier, no matter what she wished to do.

Juvia came back to the present when she heard footsteps her way. Gajeel nodded and Juvia just waited to join her cousin as he passed by her, falling into the same step as him.

"That male just asked our uncle to rescue his poor daughter, who, apparently, was kidnapped by the Night Court while they were visiting the Autumn Court." He said. "He and Uncle met during his last visit at the Day Court and he doesn't want anyone from his Court to know his precious daughter was kidnapped and maybe compromised so he is paying a lot of money to have this handled quietly."

"He is sending us." Juvia said in understanding. "Having a female there in case she was compromised will help. Also, Juvia can be a chaperone. You are after all, a ladies' male."

Gajeel snorted. "Yes, I will be ravaging some boring Day Court high born female before I hand her over to her daddy. Please, I can get all the women I want without resorting to that."

"Let's stop it right there, I don't want to know. I shouldn't even have started this conversation in the first place, it's my own fault." Juvia said and Gajeel smirked. "Give me 10 minutes and I will meet you at the courtyard?" He nodded.

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From what little information Jude Heartfilia gave them, his daughter had left a note saying she was leaving with the Night Court Emissaries and to not follow her.

As it happened just a couple of days before, it was likely they were halfway through the Winter Court already so Gajeel flew holding Juvia as far as he could until they were there, as its borders were connected to Summer's.

"According to the map, there's a town not too far from the Winter Court's Castle." Juvia said, looking at the direction they were supposed to go. "If Juvia had kidnapped someone, or if I was on the run, that would be the best place to mix with people and be harder to find. Also, even if they don't go to the city, they might be close enough to get provisions for the trip."

"Agreed." Gajeel nodded. "Give me a few minutes and we can fly again."

Juvia nodded and sat next to the him on the snowy boulder and took a deep breath. Winter was one of her favourite Courts. The smell of snow was just something that touched her soul at times.

"How sure are we that she was kidnapped?" Juvia wondered after a few minutes.

"What?"

The blue haired female shrugged. "She is young. Twenty-six, isn't it? She doesn't want her father to rule her life, finds an exciting alternative than her boring Lady-like life and she just... leaves. Maybe her father was forcing her to marry, to live a life that isn't hers so she does something about it and we are about to ruin it."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Are we still talking about the missing girl?"

Juvia looked away, back to the scenery. "We are not at war anymore; we guard the family, but we are not in the family. You remind me of that all the time that the real family is just you and me, Gajeel-kun. And don't you ever wonder what would happen if we could just leave? Start our lives somewhere else?"

He snorted. "Yeah, two half-breed fae trying to find a place to settle; that ought to be fun. I can't really cut off my wings, but I guess you could dye your hair and the River-Nymph in you could blend in." He shook his head. "We are soldiers Juvia; we have been moulded to kill. That's what we are and what we do."

"We can be more than that." She tried.

"Sure, Ameonna. Get back to me when you are not losing a grip on your powers when you are upset."

"Don't call me that." She hissed, showing her teeth. The High Fae liked to whisper that name behind her back, as she sometimes still couldn't fully control her emotions and rain poured down when it happened. She hated to be called that.

"Then stop with the crazy notions that we are anything else other than what they made us to be. We are what we are, and we can't change it. The sooner you accept that, the better." He was all but screaming. "Now let's get this fucking female out of the Night Court's Hands and go back home." It instantly started to snow, and Juvia realised it was how her rain was showing itself with the Winter Court climate. Gajeel must have realise it as well because he just glared at her. "Fucking great, now I have to fly during a snow storm."

"Well, stop being an asshole and it might go away." Juvia snapped at him and got closer so he could carry her.

His only answer was to grunt in annoyance before they took off in the direction of the town.

#

Juvia had been to the Winter main city many times and she knew it well by then. Gajeel was not the stealthiest Fae with his large wings so they separated. Gajeel was given a portrait and a scarf the girl with her scent on it, so after she had memorised her face, they cut the scarf in half and Juvia was following it the best she could.

As she thought, the busy town would be a great place to disappear, but Juvia was a fairly good tracker.

The female they were tracking had the classic Fae beauty, blonde straight hair, and beautiful brown eyes. She smelled like sunflowers and new books and something uniquely her and that was the part Juvia was concentrating on.

After a couple of hours walking around, Juvia caught a sniff of it and followed It as fast as she could, and she was surprised it led her to a rather fancy inn. The uneasiness of thinking they had the whole thing was wrong grew more and more. If she had been kidnapped, they wouldn't be in an inn at all. Maybe camping outside of the city somewhere.

Pulling her dark blue hood closer she stepped inside the inn and the scent got stronger even with the strong smell of the inn's kitchen almost overwhelming her. The ground floor of the inn also served as its restaurant and with trained eyes, Juvia surveyed the place. She quickly saw her target sitting next to a window at the back, a male with pink hair (From Autumn, probably) next to her and she was laughing out loud at something he said and their dinners in front of them.

Juvia immediately relaxed; at least it didn't seem she was in any immediate danger – she actually looked like she was enjoying herself a lot.

She found a spot that could give her enough cover and still let her see the young female. A barmaid stopped by Juvia's table and she asked for some ale and stew.

With no way to contact Gajeel about finding their "kidnapped" victim, she enjoyed her food and kept an eye on the female, who was still chatting enthusiastically to the male – Juvia couldn't see his face.

And so, Juvia waited for the perfect time to retrieve her target without much of a fuss. As long as she was safe, Juvia wouldn't interfere yet.

#

Lucy Heartfilia was on the move, Juvia heard her say her good night to the male and make her way upstairs and with practiced casual manner, Juvia followed and to anyone else, it looked she was going to her own bedroom.

The blonde fae was none the wiser of Juvia following her and the moment she opened the door to her room at the inn, Juvia stepped inside and very gracefully closed the door behind her, earning a startled gasp from her target.

"What are- Who-?" She asked.

"My Lady." Juvia nodded and she started to look around her bedroom and noticed a window. She looked and, apparently the Cauldron was looking after her tonight: the window led to an empty alley. "My name is Juvia Lockser and your father charged my friend and I to retrieve you from your 'kidnappers'." Juvia quoted with her fingers, not believing the girl was going anywhere she didn't want to.

"My what?" The High Fae lady was exasperated. "I left a note to my father, I left of my own accord and-"

Juvia raised a hand to make her stop talking. "Not my problem. You can discuss this with him when you two meet at the Summer Court." She tried to speak again. "I have my orders and I will see them through."

"You don't understand, I-"

Huffing impatiently, Juvia stepped closer to the other female and with one swift motion, used a quick technique with her hand hitting the other's neck and before she could say anything else, the blonde female was unconscious, catching her just before she hit the floor.

"They always want to talk." Juvia muttered and with one swift motion, Juvia hauled the body over her shoulder as if it weighed nothing. She saw a discarded cape and a scarf and picked them up before leaving – she wouldn't let the poor girl freeze.

Easily, Juvia opened the window with one hand and after checking the alley was fully empty, she jumped with the unconscious female over her shoulder and started to make her way out of the town through back alleys and left the town behind.

Gajeel was waiting on the previously agreed upon meeting place at the forest, leaning on a tree and she nodded in her direction when Juvia appeared with the blonde female.

"Happy hunting." He grinned and Juvia snorted, placing her on the snowy ground.

"Please, I would have had more of a fight from a wild bunny." Juvia stopped for a second. "To be fair, I didn't let her even try to beat me." Gajeel hummed in agreement. "By the way, she did leave by her own choice."

"Good thing we didn't bet on it." Gajeel chuckled. "It does complicate things, though."

Juvia nodded. "They will come after her with more passion now."

"Are you okay to go home on foot?" Gajeel asked. "I can fly her back to the Summer Court, and we should be there by morning."

"Of course." The female agreed and checked if the cape was wrapped Lucy well enough. "She has been unconscious for about 30 minutes; you might need to get her back to unconsciousness before you arrive back home."

"No problem. Maybe if I drop her and pick her up again, she might just faint." He chuckled and Juvia narrowed her eyes in his direction. She never fainted when he had done it to her throughout the years, but it didn't mean she was happy with it. "Okay, no dropping."

Juvia shook her head and wrapped Lucy's scarf on her arm and the remnants of the one they tore apart earlier on her other arm. "Juvia will slow them down; I will go towards the Autum border. With you being airborne, if they pick up any scent at all, it will be from these. Juvia will be back as soon as possible."

Gajeel nodded and picked up the unconscious female. "See you in a few days."

He shot upwards to the sky, then, and Juvia took a deep breath, pulled her own scarf to cover her mouth and nose and then started to run to the opposite way to the Summer Court, hoping she could draw the "kidnappers" as farther away as possible before they realise Lucy was going to Summer.

#

By dawn of the next morning, Juvia was almost at the border of the Autumn Court when she realised, she was being chased. And not subtly.

She stopped running once the sun was up and she had reached a freezing river – she probably didn't need the extra help from her element, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Taking off the scarves from her arms and placing in a glade of her choice, Juvia hid between snowy bushes and waited, her dagger in hand. She could conceal herself very well, but she was also ready to fight if she needed to.

She waited for an hour until she heard quick footsteps and voices with her enhanced hearing and raised an eyebrow. They noticed the missing Lady quite quickly if they were just an hour behind her.

"The smell is getting stronger." A male voice.

"I know, but it makes no sense. Why would her father take her to the Autumn Court? Your family comes from there." Another male voice.

"Why does he do anything at all, Gray? To be a fuckhead that thinks I am not good enough for his daughter even though I am a General of the Night Court. But hey, my breeding is too low."

The second male sighed. "He doesn't know the whole story, Natsu. You are not even fully b-" He stopped. "I see something. Is that...?" Juvia's hands tightened on her dagger.

"Lucy's scarf." The first male said, and they stepped inside the glade just enough Juvia could see them.

One was the male she had seen with Lucy the night before, laughing and joking with her. The back of the second was turned to her, but from what she could see he had dark hair and was slightly taller than the pink-haired male.

It took Juvia a second to realise they were communicating without words, just like she did with Gajeel, especially during a fight. If it had taken her a little longer than that, she wouldn't have had time to jump away from the dagger being thrown at the exact direction she was hiding; the dark-haired male had done that without even looking at her direction, that was unexpected and exciting. It made Juvia's blood boil in excitement to have worthy opponents once again.

Juvia had jumped straight at him, dagger in hand and he was already expecting her.

He might have been the most handsome male she had seen in her life and Juvia was no prude. Dark eyes matched his hair, his strong jaw and determined look somehow waking something in her.

It didn't matter, though, he was the enemy, he had just tried to kill her.

He let her get close enough and held the hand she had with the dagger, but Juvia punched him with her other hand and kicked him on the chest to break free, taking pleasure in hearing the hiss from when he released her, and her dagger cut the palm of his hand.

She landed a few meters away from him and was suddenly attacked by his pink-haired companion with a sword. Juvia didn't have hers with her, but she had fought with less.

To fight a sword with a dagger required a certain... technique and Juvia was certainly holding her own quite well until the second male joined in with his own sword and Juvia used her other hand to engulf his sword in water. It took a little of concentration to be fighting in two fronts but she had the sword thrown close to the river. The pink haired male hesitated for a moment after seeing her disarm his friend and it was the opening Juvia needed to do the same with him and unarm him, the sword falling next to the other one with a thud.

"Alright boys." Juvia said, panting and both males looked at her in anger. "Let's all talk for a minute." With a swift move, the pink haired male got his own dagger from his belt and pointed at her. Using her power she once again had water envelop his hand but instead of throwing it, she held it. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't take kindly to pointy things so let's all just... talk."

Both males looked sceptical of her, rightfully so, of course.

The pink haired male growled, and his hand lit up on fire and Juvia raised an eyebrow. That was rare. And interesting. "Where is Lucy?"

Her eyes kept going to the dark-haired male, who was standing as if he was ready to pounce on her in a second and something inside her was starting to awaken, which was very strange. She took a moment to analyse his smell: the lovely smell of fresh snow, pine tree and something extra that absolutely made her mouth water.

Juvia reached for the scarf covering her face and both males became even more alert as she moved – smart – but relaxed when she showed her face. She also pulled down her hood.

"You are the Ameonna, aren't you?" The dark-haired one asked, realising who she was by her hair colour.

"Do not call me that." She hissed, a repeat of her interaction with Gajeel the day before. Strangely enough, her heart hurting more because this new male had said it than her cousin. "But yes, Juvia has been called that."

The pink-haired male frowned. "Jude went to the Summer Court for help? Why?"

Juvia shrugged. "You know as much as Juvia does. We were tasked to retrieve a young lady who was 'kidnapped' by the Night Court." She nodded in their direction. "I don't think her father believed her note."

He snorted, the dark-haired male watching her carefully. "Oh, he believed it. He just wants to marry her off before we can bond."

Juvia's interest picked up at that. "Bond?"

"You idiots kidnapped his mate." The dark-haired male said, and Juvia was surprised. Mates were rare. Fae could be together for a lifetime completely in love and never mate. That bond was deeper and stronger than anything known to anyone in the world. It was pure instinct and sometimes it took years to snap in place and it was even rarer when the bond snapped at their first meeting. "She finally got away from her father and you stole her."

Something roared inside Juvia at the sharpness of his voice.

"My High Lord gave me a mission and I saw it through." She answered with the same sharpness, and she saw his dark eyes narrow. "We were told a kidnapped Lady was in need of rescue. I assume you would have done the same if your High Lord had given you the order?" She raised her chin in challenge.

"Nothing of this matters, Gray." The pink haired male said, almost in desperation. "I need to know where she is, right now."

Juvia eyed him and even though he was still looking as if he wanted to fight her, his hands engulfed in fire and ready to beat the answer out of Juvia, she saw something else in his dark eyes. His search for this Lucy, it wasn't a question, it was a need. The need of a mate seeking for their other half and the fear of losing them forever.

She never thought she was a romantic, but it seemed she was. "We were to deliver her to the Summer Court. Her father is waiting for her there." Juvia told him, voice softer. "By now, my cousin already handed her to her father." Juvia sighed and pointed at the river. "If you follow this river, you will have an almost straight line to Summer, and if you run full speed, you could be there by nightfall." Both men looked at her with suspicion.

"Natsu, I don't know if you should believe her." The dark-haired male – Gray – said. "She could be trying to throw us off."

The other male – Natsu – looked at her. "Why are you helping me?"

She shrugged. "No one told Juvia she shouldn't tell anyone else what she knows or to aid in any way other after the mission was over." She stared at him. "Also, if the Cauldron ever blesses me with a mate, I would like to think I would get help if I needed."

They stared at each other for a few moments, and he nodded, the fire on his fists vanishing. "She is telling the truth."

"Natsu..." Gray said in a warning tone.

"What do I do once I get to Summer? Where do I go?" Natsu asked Juvia.

She shook her head. "I cannot give you the weaknesses of my Court, as much as I would like to see you reunited with your mate." She raised her left sleeve and showed them a small tattoo on the inside of her wrist, a Bargain, to never help anyone harm the Court. "Juvia can only help you so far. Once you get there, I am afraid you are on your own."

"He has me." Gray said, stepping close to his friend and that did things to her heart and Juvia frowned at the foreign sensation for a millisecond.

"Only one of you will be going." Juvia told them and they looked at her in confusion. She patted to her Bargain tattoo. "This also bounds me to protect the Summer Court and sending the two of you, as interesting to see as it would be, would endanger my people. He wants to go to get his mate, Juvia can find a loophole for that. You," she pointed the dagger she still held on to her hand towards Gray "have no mate to retrieve and therefore is an enemy at the moment. Also, Juvia needs to fight at least one of you to explain her lateness to arrive back home to 'help' so you are going to be my alibi. Also, two Generals storming into another Court could be seen as an act of war and trust me, my High Lord is well versed in war. We don't want all this to spark anything."

The two males looked at each other and Juvia wondered if her and Gajeel looked as obvious when they shared their looks.

"Fine. I will fight you." Gray finally said in defeat and Juvia nodded.

"So... I just follow the river?" Natsu asked her.

"Full speed or you might not catch them." She warned him and when he went to retrieve his sword, Juvia used his power, and a stream of water gave her back the two discarded swords. "Can't let you go armed either."

Natsu sighed and waved his hand in dismissal. Apparently, he understood about her limitations because of her Bargain with her uncle. He nodded her way and then to Gray. "Meet me at the Mountain. I will get Lucy. Blue Hair here is right, we can't start a war with the other Courts. Just me is fine, but if you go too..."

Juvia knew they were being vague about their rendezvous location, and she understood why. She was putting hers and Natsu's dagger hidden away on strategic pockets in her armour.

"Bring her home safe." It was all Gray said before his friend sprinted down the way the river went, and they were alone, the sound from the river and birds were all they could hear. Gray finally looked at her in the eyes and she could see he was not happy at all about the whole situation. He seemed annoyed more than anything, like a child who didn't get his way to go play outside. It was quite endearing. "Do I at least get my sword back?"

Juvia smirked and she held a sword on each hand. "You do if you can take it from me." She swirled them around a little to get used to their weights and lengths.

Gray sized her up with a look and put his right fist on top of his left hand and in a few seconds, he had a full longsword, a very detailed one. To say that Juvia was impressed was an understatement and Gray smirked when he saw her expression. Ice user, huh?

Oh yeah, she was going to have some fun.

#

They were exhausted and it feels they matched each other's attacks perfectly, blade meeting blade, blade meeting ice blade, punches, and kicks. It had been a long time since anyone other than Gajeel made her work this hard to win.

"You are quite obstinate to defeat Juvia." She panted.

He looked at her with a serious expression, and she could see he was also getting more and more tired. "Sorry, but it doesn't matter if you are a female or even a child, I never pull my punches against anyone who hurts my friends. If the Night Court needs to go into war to get Lucy back, we will."

For some reason her heart skipped a beat and again the pull in her core tightened. She didn't understand what that was. Suddenly, a wave of pure jealousy washed over her. Maybe Gajeel would fight this hard to save her, but they were family. Juvia had no one else and this random young girl from the Day Court had such an impact in so many people they were ready to go to war.

Her conversation with Gajeel came back to her. They were soldiers, nothing more.

Juvia roared and had the water from the river to surround him in a perfect sphere. No one ever broke that move before, not even Gajeel. She could see him panic at the water and his confused expression – they all did the same when in her Water Lock. She didn't want to kill him, just incapacitate him enough she could leave and go back home. Back to being... nothing. Another soldier with muddied blood.

Juvia didn't need anyone's love. She needed none of it. She was what they made her to be.

She could feel unshed tears burn her eyes; this mission too close to home. Snow started to fall, and Juvia knew it was her rain's manifestation at the Winter Court's climate again.

To her surprise, the water started to freeze and exploded, knocking her back through a tree then she hit a large boulder. After she could shake the initial pain and shock, she looked back to where she had the water sphere, Gray stood, wet and panting. Juvia felt a sharp pain on her side from where she was thrown but her surprise was more palpable.

"Shit, that is some fucked up move you have there." He looked at her direction and she was too surprised to say anything else, just looked at him in wonder. No one had ever broken out from that.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, and he grinned for the first time since they started their little destruction of the forest a couple of hours before. As if they were just casual sparring partners, he sat across the glade, the opposite side she was in, and he also seemed to need a break.

"Well, has that cooled your temper a little bit or do you want to go for another round with me?" And with just those few words, Juvia's core exploded in understanding, and she froze, the only thing preventing her from hang her mouth open was the fact she was still trying to understand what had just happened.

It made sense... his smile, his words, his enticing smell and finally the feeling she has had growing inside her since she saw him for the first time.

She knew who he was and if his reaction was anything to go by, he didn't.

Physically, she could fight more, for longer and with different ideas on how to beat him. Mentally, spiritually, and instinctively, she couldn't bear the thought of it. And just like that, snow stopped falling and she could see the light blue sky again.

"Juvia has lost." She muttered, looking at him, appreciating his beauty.

Gray rose an eyebrow. "Don't get me wrong, that was the most fun I've had in ages, but this doesn't feel like a match to the death." He said with sarcasm.

"It wasn't." She said, trying to sound nonchalant. "Alibi, remember? Juvia is beaten up enough it will be believable." She pointed towards the general side of her side where she was sure would get a large bruise.

"Oh." He hesitated, knowing he had to go. "Are you going to be okay out here? It's pretty remote."

Juvia wanted to laugh hysterically at his face, but she didn't think either could take it.

"The river will take Juvia home also there's no shortage of cold compresses to put on my side." She told him waving around the surrounding mounts of snow and then added. "You should go. If Juvia gets home and Natsu-san is in need of assistance to get to his mate, Juvia will try to help as much as she can without breaking her Bargain." She hesitated. "I can only do so much." She needed him to understand, to see she was more even if she doubted it herself many times.

He looked at her to what feels like were hours and nodded. He got up and walked to pick his sword – they had a fun sword fight for a while after he got his sword back and then lost it to her again before it was on the ground again after a series of blows from both.

"We were never properly introduced. Gray Fullbuster." He said with a slight bow of his head.

"Juvia Lockser." She replied.

"Take care Juvia Lockser. I feel this is not the last time we see each other." He started to walk to the opposite way she thought he would go, and she didn't know if it his real destination was that way or he wanted to throw her off, which was not a bad idea.

Juvia just stared for a long time at the direction he went, wistfully because as fate and the Cauldron would have it, she had just met and fought her Mate, and clearly, he had no clue.

#

It took her almost two days to return home, even just stopping to rest every few hours and walking during the night, the bruise on her side made her go much slower than intended and even her Fae healing was having trouble. She would need a few days rest at least before she could be back in shape.

What kept her suspended in a cloud of where time seemed to mean nothing was the fact that she had a Mate.

Even though she could feel it, she could feel it alive and pulsating in rhythm with her heart, the longing and pain they were separated, she couldn't believe her out of all people had a Mate.

Her reception at the Summer Court was met as usual, the guards knew her status as family of the High Lord and nodded as she walked through the Castle. She needed to speak to Gajeel.

"My Lady." One of the guards caught up with her. "High Lord Jose wished to speak with you." Juvia groaned lightly, she hadn't slept or rested for three days now. "Apologies, My Lady." The young guard seemed genuine once he saw her holding her side. "He said straight away."

She nodded and thanked him, taking a few deep breaths before following him to the counsel room where her uncle and cousins, minus Gajeel were.

After announcing her, the guard left and Juvia stood straight, pain shooting through her, but she had trained her features not to show it.

"Niece." The High Lord greeted her, and Juvia bowed her head slightly.

"Uncle." She looked around. "Is Gajeel-kun back?"

"He is at the infirmary." Jose waved his hand dismissively. "We had a bit of an... altercation while you away. Yes, he is fine." He said once she opened her mouth to ask. "Jude Heartfilia and his daughter have left as well as our unexpected visitor from the Night Court." Juvia raised an eyebrow in question. "Jude left alone back to the Day Court, and the young couple left together." She wanted to breathe in relief but couldn't not when she was in the presence of her uncle and his sons. They could and would use anything against her. "Jude paid of course. Our agreement was to deliver the child to him, if he couldn't keep her, that is not my issue."

"How did she leave?" Juvia was confused.

Jose grabbed a goblet with wine from the table in front of him and laughed. "Apparently Jude's daughter likes lowborn and mated with him. In a last attempt to not let his daughter go, Jude offered Gajeel a huge amount of money to fight in his stead to win over his right to his daughter, some Day Court law or something." He drank his wine. "As you can assume, as entertaining as it was to watch, Gajeel did not win." His sons laughed and Juvia narrowed her eyes at them. "How about you? Who beat you up?"

Juvia told the rehearsed story about the two males from the Night Court catching up on her and while Natsu had ran to Summer, Juvia had fought the other in Winter until she was incapacitated. She chose her words carefully and was sure to not tell a lie.

The High Lord watched her carefully. "I see. What was his name? I have heart an Ice user had joined the Night Court but I don't know his name, never had a reason to bother." He asked smoothly, clearly to put on some list of soldiers to look out for.

She didn't want to offer the information, overprotective of her Mate, but it would be something he could easily find out now. "Gray Fullbuster."

To her surprise, Jose started to laugh. "Silver's boy!" Seeing her confusion, he explained. "Silver Fullbuster is brother to the current High Lord of the Winter Court, I met him

y times but he has been wandering the country last I heard. It makes sense you lost to his offspring. He comes from a strong, pure High Fae line." Juvia all but bit her tongue to not betray her feelings with the not too subtle insult. "If he joined the Night Court and can beat us this quickly it is a sign that we need to become even stronger."

"They had a reason to fight." Juvia said, cooly. "They were protecting their loved ones and friends. Juvia and Gajeel were sent to retrieve someone who didn't want to be brought back, for money. Our hearts weren't exactly in it."

"Juvia." Her uncle said in warning.

"May I be excused to the infirmary, My Lord?" Juvia asked between gritted teeth.

He studied her for a few moments and Juvia had the irrational fear that he knew what she had discovered that she had fought her Mate and why she was being so disrespectful. He didn't say anything and nodded to her request. Juvia bowed slowly and turn on her heels to leave.

Jose knew there was something Juvia wasn't saying, and he would get it out of her sooner or later. She needed a plan.

Going straight to the infirmary, she found the healer and told her quickly what happened and what she needed. The young male asked her to go lie down while he gathered his supplies.

Finding Gajeel was easy, thankfully they were the only ones there apart from the healer.

Juvia lied down on a bed next to her cousin. The half-Illyrian male was lying down, bandages all over his body, especially his naked torso looking at the ceiling and Juvia did the same.

"Two of them chased me. One got away right after I met them. Fire user, I only got his first name: Natsu." She said in a whisper low enough no one but both of them could hear.

It took a few seconds, but Gajeel replied. "Yeah, I fought that one. I lost."

"That sucks." Juvia hummed in understand. "I lost to the second one."

"Hm." Gajeel said and then echoed her with a: "That sucks."

"Want to hear the craziest part?" She turned her head to look at him and he did the same, his red eyes finally made her feel like she was home and safe. "The second one turned out to be my Mate."

Gajeel raised his eyebrows in surprise and then return to look at the ceiling.

"Well, fuck."

"Yup." Juvia also looked back to the ceiling. "Fuck sounds about right."

#

Within a few days, Juvia was fully healed and even though she was supposed to rest, she still got up early to practice with her swords and bow and arrow while Gajeel was still healing. That training time by herself gave her enough time to think and to feel.

She had a plan.

Was it a crazy plan? Without a doubt, but crazy was all she had been for the week that followed her meeting her Mate.

She had gone to the library and read about Mates, bonding, rejection, one side bond, the frenzy and it all terrified her more than going to war. She learned that he could never have the bond snap in place for him. She could spend her long life with him every day and he would never have the same feeling as she did.

Juvia had barely spent two hours in his company, the majority of it fighting him, and yet she felt so restless she could barely function, all because he was far from her.

All she wanted was to know he was safe and logistically she knew he was, but she needed to see him, to know for sure.

Juvia was in her bedroom when there was a quick knock and then the door opened straight away and without even need to smell or turn around from her place looking out the window to the beautiful view of the ocean, Juvia knew it was Gajeel. He had little time for other's privacy.

"I am finally free from that shithole." He said. "Let's go. I need a sparring partner, stretch my wings. I can't lie down in another bed for a while."

Juvia turned around to face her cousin and she hesitated, but he needed to know. He also needed to have a choice in her plan.

"Gajeel-kun." Juvia started. "I need to talk to you."

He groaned. "Not about that supposed Mate again."

"Not supposed." She cut him, annoyed.

"Whatever." He dismissed her. "It wouldn't work out anyway. Now, let's train these feelings away."

Juvia looked at him, exasperated. "No."

"No?" He crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"No." The female said again. "I said we need to talk and we will talk because you are the only one in this place who I can talk to and also gives a shit to what happens to me."

They locked eyes and had a battle of sorts and when Gajeel realised she wasn't going to back away, he sighed in defeat and sat on the small sofa opposite to where she was and motioned her for her to go on with his hand. She took a deep breath and finally said the beginning of her plan out loud.

"Juvia is leaving the Summer Court."

Her cousin did nothing for a moment, but she could see his face growing redder and then jumped out of the sofa letting out a loud "What?"

"I need to leave. He is out there right now, and I know who he is." Juvia explained as calm as she could.

Gajeel shook his head. "I think this is pent up sexual tension. It has been a while for you and for me too. Come on, let's go out tonight and I am pretty sure we can find a few guys who looks just like him you could fuck the feelings out and get it over with. You told me black hair and eyes? That's easy enough."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "This is not lust, Gajeel-kun. Even though Juvia must admit he is very handsome." She shook her head. "That is not the point. I am leaving in a few days."

"You are not leaving the Court, Juvia, don't be ridiculous." Gajeel said with finality but she detected a sliver of doubt. "You can't. Remember all the Bargains? If you break it, something terrible will happen."

The female jumped to the mention of the Bargains. "Juvia has been going over all the Bargains we ever had with Uncle and our cousins very carefully and none of them mentioned not being allowed to leave. We can't aid an enemy to attack Summer, we can't tell weakness, we must protect Uncle, Joseph and Juan's lives when we are with them, we are not allowed to kill them." Juvia stepped closer to her much taller cousin and put her hands on his scarred upper arms. "They forgot to bound us here. They thought we would be so happy to just have somewhere to stay, they didn't think we would want to leave. We can leave out of that door right now and never come back. We could be free."

She could see in his red eyes that he was also thinking about all the Bargains and that no, they were not bound to stay.

"They will hunt you down." Gajeel snarled and Juvia flinched. "They will make me hunt you down for leaving and they won't forgive you. Ever. You are just going to go after this random male you met for a few hours and leave it all you build behind?" Gajeel stepped away from her, looking at her with betrayal in his eyes.

"Not all. Juvia was hoping you would come with me." She said carefully. Gajeel's mother had been Illyrian and their territory was in Night Court territory so technically, Gajeel was as much from Summer as he was from Night Court.

He had hated it, though. Being a half-breed in Illyria was worse than anywhere else as Illyrians were warriors and they literally punched, kicked, terrified, and tortured him starting at the age of eight. He had just been back from there when he found Juvia on that fateful night after her parent were killed.

"Go back there? Are you crazy?"

"We would be nowhere near Illyria." She tried to reason. "We could go to one of the small villages first then after a while see if we can get an audience with the High Lord-"

"Oh, sure, they will just fetch their High Lord for us because we will ask nicely." He said, sarcastically.

"Well, I am sorry I don't have it all figured out." Juvia hissed, annoyed. "All I know is that I need to be as close to him as I can and right now, that is going to the Night Court. I do not want to leave you, I want you to come with me, but I can't stay." She calmed down. "You don't understand it yet-"

"As if I am going to get a Mate of my own now that you have one?" He said mockingly and Juvia knew it was just his way of trying to hurt her because he was also hurting. "This Mate of yours might not even want you."

"You are just afraid that if Juvia can have a Mate, so can you. And the thought of loving and bonding yourself with someone terrifies you more than any war or enemy you ever fought." Juvia challenged him and he recoiled a little with her words but recovered fast.

"Remember who we are, what we are. Remember that our blood is not like theirs, we are not them-"

"Stop!" She screamed. She had enough. "By the Cauldron, stop talking about being half this or a third as if it is such an awful thing. I know we are not them and you know what? You remind me of it more than they do." Juvia pointed towards the door. "Most people don't even care what we are, Gajeel. During the war they wanted to know if we were strong enough and after the war, everyone was so giddy with the prospect of peace, they didn't give a fuck." Juvia sighed. "I know you were hurt; I know growing up hearing that every day for years fucked you over but enough is enough because your trauma fucked me over too. Almost two hundred years of you repeating the same thing! 'We are not pure; they hate us for it'. I will tell you what you told me after Juvia was found here at the Castle: tough luck; we all have our own shit to figure out. And my advice to you is to just let the fuck go. We can change, we can own ourselves, we can be fucking free and all you keep saying is that we are not them. Well, guess what? They are not us either and to me, that'd sadder because we are fucking awesome." She took a moment to breathe. "All we need is to be brave enough to step outside and we can be free. No one is locking us in if we don't want to. I needed to find my Mate to be brave to do it. I found it now, it has always been inside me, I just needed the spark and now Juvia knows that out there there's, somewhere or someone I can belong. The plan is not fool proof, Juvia will probably be locked up somewhere with suspicious of being a spy but I am going."

He took in her words, she knew, but he shook his head and sat back down on the sofa. "You are crazy."

She sighed in defeat. "Aren't we all?" She sat down next to him. "I am afraid to leave, though." Juvia looked at him. "I am afraid for you."

He looked surprised. "Me? Why me?"

"It has been almost 200 years, Juvia knows how quick you can get into your own head, how darkness can consume your mind. Mine too, if I'm honest. Without Juvia to keep you in check, Juvia is afraid you will lose yourself, the little bit that is left. Uncle will take it."

Gajeel looked away. "Maybe I should let them."

Juvia grabbed his face and made him look at her and she said, seriously. "Never let them. You can be good; you can choose another path. If you just came to the Night Court with me..."

"Not happening." He interrupted.

"If you are not coming, then do it for me. Don't lose yourself." She pleaded. "And if that's not enough, do it to spite the bastards. Don't ever let them take you away."

Gajeel didn't say anything as he just got up and left her room.

#

It took Juvia another week to gather all her money and necessities for her trip without attracting too much attention. Throughout her life Juvia had stashed away a lot of money in case she needed, and thank the Cauldron she did. With how much she retrieved, she would be able to live comfortably for a long while.

She hid away her bag in the forest, in a place she was certain no one would find and waited until the next day to leave. She had her morning training session, then breakfast with the rest of the family as they sometimes did and Gajeel kept staring at her intently and she stared right back just as hard.

Their Uncle looked between them and probably realised they were in the middle of some sort of riff and knew better than to interfere.

After breakfast, Juvia put on her fighting leathers, usual sword and hidden daggers, dark blue cape and casually strolled out of the Castle as she usually did and walked around in town for a while to make sure she wasn't being followed and then went straight to her stash, her bag was intact and she turned North.

She started to walk, as she was sure she had a while before anyone even realise she was gone. Maybe even a couple of days if Gajeel didn't say anything.

Juvia was walking through a buttercup field when she had the hairs on the back of her head rise, and she knew she was being followed. Hunted.

Already? She left an hour before, had Gajeel said anything and her uncle had sent soldiers after her? She could take most of them but it would take her longer to get to the Night Court.

Suddenly she felt a blur of someone go by so fast and picked her by the ankle in a very risky and practiced swoop. It was only her very extended training that prevented her to scream but she admits she squealed with surprise.

She was hanging from the air, looking down to the buttercup field and she heard a familiar bark of laughter. Juvia looked up and saw Gajeel grinning down on her, his large wings moving. "You should have seen your face."

"You dickhead!" She screamed and he laughed again, that was the best thing she could her at that moment. "Why are you here?"

"If you are going to go and get yourself killed, I might as well be there to say 'I told you so'." He said. Juvia grinned and the bastard dropped her and that time she did scream. He caught her a few seconds later, this time holding her by the wrist and Juvia cussed him out. "You deserved this."

"Shut up and fly, you big bat."

"To freedom." Gajeel said sarcastically.

"To freedom." Juvia repeated, smiling and looking at the horizon with hope.

#

AN: I know, I know: 20 pages 11k words and not a lot of Gruvia, some Gajuvia friendship and a shitload of backstory but I swear it will be relevant.

Also, now that I got to the end of Part 1, I think this will have more than 2 parts. I mean, Gray and Juvia barely even spoke on here and the next part... we will have more Gruvia interactions but also others that will also be very important and well, I guess you have to wait to read about it tomorrow.

If you got this far, thank you and I hope you enjoyed it!

13/12/2024 ~ BonneyQ