A Lost Boy

Epilogue Part 2

The party began with all the guests sitting down to a fancy dinner. There was plenty of small talk and long conversation, plenty laughs here and there. The children were all on their best behavior and had excellent table manners. All in all, the dining part of the evening went well. When dinner was finished they moved from the dinning hall and to the other room for the main event. All but one was inside that room and that one person was beautiful lady wearing an elegant blue dress that had come with a matching cape she had earlier left hanging with the coats and hats of the other guests.

"It will be starting soon." Lyon said to the lady. "Will you not come inside and join us my dear?"

"No. Not yet, I must wait first."

"Juvia it is a downright sin for any man to keep a woman of your beauty and compassion waiting."

"Perhaps but I'll forgive all his sins. Thank you so very much for escorting us here." She planted a kiss of gratitude on his cheek. "I often wonder what we would do if you weren't our friend."

"You're welcome. I consider it honor that I have your friendship and his. But he better not make me regret letting him have you."

Juvia giggled softly and watched him go back inside. Then she continued to wait and wait until at last her patience was rewarded with a fine gentleman coming to greet her. As expected his hair was combed properly and he wore a suit even though he found such clothing to be very restricting. His hand was in the pocket of his trousers and his fingers appeared to be fiddling with something inside.

"Hello boy." She smiled and ran her gloved fingers over the pendent of the necklace she wore.

"Hello Juvia lady." The gentleman smiled back. "I know it was improper of me to be this late but I had to get something for tonight."

"And what was that?"

He took his hand out of his pocket and held out what it was he had been fiddling with. It was a thimble.

"My kiss." He answered with a playful grin.

When that lost boy flew away from the nursery window back when Juvia was twelve, she spent an entire year waiting for him. She still attended school and spent her days with family and friends but her nights were spent waiting by the open window of the nursery, waiting for the boy to return as he said he would. But he seemed to have forgotten about her, for that whole year he did not come to her window once. At the year's end her father insisted that she stop waiting and close the window, certain that the boy would never return. She tearfully pleaded with Jellal not to shut the window for she had promised that such a thing would never happen. But the man was firm in his decision and could not be persuaded to change it. But this was not an act of cruelty, he made this decision because he could not bear to see his daughter suffer with false hope. However he conceded to leave the window open for just one more night.

Juvia stayed awake for as long as she could but all the crying she had done that night made her so exhausted that she did not last long. Her mother found her sleeping by the window and with her husband's help, she tucked her into her own bed. Natsu and Romeo were not in the nursery that night, they were away visiting with Mirajane and Panther Lily had broken his leg after slipping on the winter ice outside so he was not in the nursery either. He was resting in the drawing room on cushion, staying there until his leg had finished healing.

Erza still having not yet recovered from losing her children for such a long period, had no intention of leaving any of them alone in the nursery without a nurse. She had her daughter home again and she meant to keep her until she reached adulthood. She sat in her chair, very close to the fire, so as to see to read, for there was no other light in the nursery. As she felt herself become sleepy from the fire's warmth, she heard the sound of wind blowing through the window and something landing on the floor quietly. At first she thought she had dreamed it but she found the sounds to be real when she felt a hand on her shoulder.