The Tale of Tales

Chapter 15

When Juvia finally woke up she was startled to find two large men and a young boy staring at her.

"Oh dear!" She gasped.

"Sorry for scaring you Miss." Elfman said. "We just wanted to see if you were okay."

"Who are you people?" She asked. "And where am I?"

"Well we're dwarfs and you're in our house." Romeo said.

"You're dwarfs?" Juvia said confused.

"Yeah is that a problem sweetheart?" Gajeel asked gruffly.

"Oh no it's just that I thought you would be shorter."

"That is a vicious stereotype! I am not short! Do I look short to you?! No! I don't!" Gajeel said angrily.

"Please don't ever mention that around him again." Romeo whispered to her.

"Look dwarfs are not short little men. They are men who are strong enough to break through any material and we can bond with them. That's why most of the time we work in mines. Now that aside who the heck are you and what were you doing running around in the woods last night?"

"Well my name is Juvia and I'm the princess of Fiore or at least I was."

"Oh no a royal. Just what we need. Sorry princess but after what her majesty Queen Minerva did to us we've had enough of your kind. So beat it."

"But if you send me away the queen will kill me."

"I doubt that she would kill her own daughter."

"But I'm not her daughter. I'm her stepdaughter and she doesn't care at all about me. In fact she wanted me to be fed to the wolves."

"That's awful." Romeo said.

"But why would your stepmother want to kill you?" Elfman asked.

"I honestly don't know but I do know that I can't ever go home. So if it wouldn't be too much trouble could I stay here?"

"Does this look like a free room and board to you?" Gajeel asked.

"But I won't stay here for free. I don't have any money to pay you but I could work. I'll cook and clean and sew. I'll help out however I can and I won't complain."

The three dwarves walked off to discuss it for a moment.

"What do you think?" Elfman asked.

"I like her. I think she should stay." Romeo said.

"I don't know." Gajeel said. "What if the queen finds her here and does something to us?"

"If I may, my stepmother thinks I'm dead so she'll never look for me." Juvia said.

"Don't be foolish! You honestly think that she won't somehow discover you're still alive? She's an old witch I tell ya! And she has ways of knowing things."

"Isn't there anything I can do that will convince you to let me stay?"

"Look don't you have your kingly father to look after you?"