The Duchess - Gruvia

Chapter 08

Duke Gray Fullbuster was known for being a brave man. He had faced some enemies in his not so long life, he fought and won; very few things actually scared him. But enter in the room that he was now supposed to share with his wife was scaring him more than he ever thought it would.

For the gods' sake! He defeated warriors from Across the Sea, from Beyond the Cold Mountains. He faced warriors that had the advantage; and Gray never even blinked before going to battle.

He was a brave man, an excellent soldier and incredible leader when it came down to war.

So why getting inside the room with his new wife scared him so much?

The Duke was about to turn and go away for the night. He could deal with her later, right? It wasn't unheard of the newly-weds to not share a bed right after when the marriage took place, but of course, most of those marriages were performed in the middle of war for alliances purposes, so the bride and groom didn't exactly have much time together.

And there wasn't a war happening, so Gray needed to rule that excuse out for not entering the room.

He sighed. It wasn't like his wife wasn't pretty. Gray found himself surprised once he saw her, actually. The rumors he had heard convinced him that the reason why the girl never appearing in public was because she was not pretty, but that was wrong info. Gray looked down; it wasn't that what was making him uncomfortable. Actually, he was quite sure that he would very much like it when they tried to make... successors.

Shaking his head slightly, he knew exactly why he didn't want to come in. It was an arranged marriage. Arranged by two old men who were mostly like drunk when made the deal. That woman was a complete stranger to him, and she was the person that he was going to spend the rest of his life with. The only woman in his life from the moment he signed the papers until the day he dies.

Gray raised his head and with determination, entered the room. It was his duty as a Duke to guarantee that the marriage didn't fall into pieces and he was going to do just that.

Once he opened the door, he was surprised to see her standing and even more surprised to learn the length of her hair, long enough to reach her hips. The times he had seen her, she was wearing the curls by the end of it and found it odd, but probably was some kind of Rain thing. The Marchioness – now also Duchess – was wearing a very ugly and large white nightgown – which only left her head and hands showing – and he wanted to laugh at it, but didn't. Gray didn't want to insult her during their first night together.

Her deep blue eyes were showing the fear and uncertainty that she was feeling at that moment and Gray felt bad for her. The look in her eyes resembled a lot the one he always received once a deer he had been hunting acknowledged his position and intentions.

It never ended very well for the deer, he was afraid. But he was going to try to do better by his... wife.

"Hi." Gray greeted his wife and closed the door of his – no, their – room. He saw her blush and he also felt his cheeks become hot. At that very moment there were people toasting because the duke was producing heirs and that bothered Gray; he didn't want everyone to know what he was doing with his wife. He removed the thought of his head and spoke again, more firmly this time. "I know you know this already, but I'm Gray."

She looked confused for a moment, before saying in a tiny voice: "Ju-Juvia." She did a curtsy.

"Nice meeting you." He offered her a smile and stepped forward her, making the blunette step back. Gray immediately stopped once he saw it. "Sorry. Sorry." Of course it was her reaction to retreat: she was terrified.