Demon Tail (Book 1) ~Gruvia~

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Chapter 3

May 21, X877
11:00pm

The night ended with Juvia saying goodbye to Lady Mirajane and her twin sister Lisanna who were the harp players earlier.

"It was an amazing party princess; eyes were on you all night" Lisanna says cheerfully 

"Yes, they have finally seen what a beautiful young lady you have become" Mira -as Mirajane is called)- says, she seemed a bit saddened but tries her best to mask it.

"Thank you both. I know it was hard to take out time from your busy schedules, being guardians and all"

The twins beamed with pride. Mira and Lisanna were the guardians of the ocean and its creatures.

The girls exchanged their final goodbyes and left.

Juvia turns and swims casually about the place. Servants bow to their queen as they cleaned up the room and says encouraging words to her.

Juvia entered the main hall which would take her deeper into the palace to where her family resided. She swam slowly not really rushing to get to anywhere fast but her strides were quickened when she heard her father's voice in her head through telepathic link asking her to come to his room.

Juvia arrives mere seconds later. Her father's hard eyes followed her as she came in front of him. He stood tall with his arms behind him.

There was silence between them.

Then...

"Daddy!" Juvia exclaim wrapping her small arms around her father's broad frame.

He smiled and hugged his daughter giving her a tight squeeze.

"My queen" He joked then bowed

Jainir may seem to be the strictest looking merman alive but he wasn't. He had a warm and caring heart that made everyone love him. In truth Atlantis was famous only because it's rulers were fair and kind.

Jainir got closer to Juvia, he held her shoulders firmly to keep her in place and looked at her with wonder.

"I am very proud of you my dear. You have come so far just to stand where you are now" He says

Juvia blushes deeply causing her father to laugh.

"I too am proud of you" Dolia swims in and says. She positions herself beside her husband and stared at her daughter "You'll make such a great queen"

"Not as great as you or the first" Juvia sighs negatively

Dolia chuckles. She reaches around her neck and takes off her pearl necklace "This will reassure you" Dolia says before placing the necklace around Juvia's neck.

"These pearls have been worn by every queen of Atlantis from the first to now you"

Juvia touches the round beauties around her neck, she stood in fascination as they glowed as if filled with magic, She was truly Queen.

The 11:30 bell tones bringing them out of their brief moment.

"Well a queen needs her beauty sleep" Dolia says breaking the silence.

Janir let's out a deep chuckle "I agree, tomorrow will be your first expedition on land"

Juvia's face lit up "No way!" she squeals, she had always wanted to go on land, she'd heard the stories about the different animals, plants, people, it all fascinated her.

"Good night my dear" they say simultaneously laughing as they watched the daughter swim wilding around the room cheering.

"Good night" She replies before leaving the room.

Juvia's room was a little down the hall from the King and Queen's. With a push she enters her room and sighs.

"I've missed you!" She says then jumps freely onto her bed snuggling up on the comfy mattress made from cotton and the light blanket made from silk.

She closed her eyes thinking about her gifted life.

She doubted herself in being a queen. What if she messed up, what if the paper work became too much? What if she forgot how to breath on land tomorrow?

She sighed then got up and swam towards her open balcony window. She flipped her tail upwards and over before sitting comfortably on the balcony ledge.

'So many what ifs and no answers' She thought

 No matter how much she saw herself unfit of her role, she could not deny her kingdom's beauty. The kingdom stretched far out on the ocean floor, the moonlight grazed it with a fairy tale like grace. Everything seemed at peace.

"So what's a newly crowned Queen like your self doing out here all alone?" Juvia heard someone ask

She looks around frantically, it was a male's voice but it was the first she had ever heard it.

She saw no one until her gaze fall on a low roof across from her, there  stood a man dressed in all black which was weird when set against Atlantis' cheerful aura. He stared at her and she stared back.

"Was he the one that spoke to me?" She thought

The man just seemed out of place to her. Not only was he dressed differently, he had an odd tattoo on his left arm but most importantly he did not have a tail.

Wait, how was that possible?

Anybody who came to the mer kingdom was suppose to, no needed to have a tail.
And he uses telepathy? Juvia wonders

"Yes I was" His deep voice echoed in her head again

Juvia nearly tumbles over in shocked. She thought that only members of mer-royal blood could talk telepathically, boy was she wrong.

"Who are you?" she asked bravely

He looked at her quizzically.

Did she seriously not know who he was?

"I'm a friend" He replies

"Or a criminal" She huffs

He chuckles

Juvia gasps as he vanishes from the roof and now sits beside her on the ledge allowing his feet to swing freely over the balcony.

"Now its your turn to answer my question" He smirks speaking normally

Juvia stares in aw at the stranger. He tilted his godly carved face towards her, his eyes mischievously peers into her soul, toying with everything she knew and holds dear, he has this devilish grin on his face in a slight mocking way.

"That wasn't a real answer" she says finally tearing her eyes away from the beautiful stranger, hoping her hair would hide her blush.

"You talk freely to strangers that may or may not want to kill you" he said raising an eyebrow

"Maybe I don't feel threatened" Juvia chirped playfully smiling at him, maybe he was a delegates son, not many were allowed within the palace walls so freely. She trusted her guards enough to trust this man.

"Maybe you should"

Silence.

"What's you're name stranger?" She asks when the silence became too much to bare.

He thought for a while, "Gray" was all he said before he vanishes again going back to where he was.

"You'd have to catch me to know more" he says slyly

Something, she knows not what it is, but something compelled her, drove her to push off that balcony ledge and into the palace courtyard and to chase after the 'Gray' person.

"Its a race then" She says before taking off after him.

Who was he? Why did greet her this late in the night? How far would she go to know just a bit more...