"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot
change their minds cannot change anything."
George Bernard Shaw

The Sixth Summer
5 years later…

June 2nd

Gray rolled his eyes at the servants rushing about in preparation for Princess Juvia's arrival. Year after year, it was the same thing… Juvia would visit, she'd piss Gray off in some way, Gray would run off with Natsu, Juvia would cry, then Silver would step in and punish Gray. Or at least, that had been what happened last year. He had decided to create an all-boys club up in the treehouse with a few of the other boys from the other Duchy's around Fiore. Natsu's father was Earl of Magnolia, Jellal's father was Earl of Akane Beach and Gajeel's father was Earl of Oak Town.

Naturally, the club didn't last long once Gray's father heard about it. The young prince had been lectured for excluding Juvia and ordered to make amends with her. Gray had attempted to protest by having the boys shun Juvia, but instead, a couple of them had actually taken a liking to her. Gajeel began to spend more time with her than with the other boys while Jellal admitted he wasn't opposed to her company at all, having a female best friend of his own at the castle; the daughter of one of King Silver's knights, Erza Scarlet.

Gray had forbidden Jellal from bringing the redheaded girl when they hung out. Thankfully, he hadn't put up much of a fight. Even Jellal knew that bringing Natsu and Erza into the same space would mean the inevitable destruction of the treehouse.

So far the only one in Gray's life who hadn't fell victim to Juvia's evil spell was Natsu and even he seemed to be wavering these days. Gray couldn't help but feel incredibly frustrated. For some unfathomable reason, his father desperately wanted him to be friends with this girl and all she seemed to be doing was befriending everyone but Gray. On top of that, Gray couldn't get away with anything anymore. Juvia had his father wrapped around her finger.

"They're here son!" He heard his father call from the bottom of the staircase.

Gray grumbled. Great, he thought. Princess Juvia has come back to steal all my friends away.

The young prince walked down the steps towards his father, grimacing the whole way.

"Oh, stop making that face," Silver chided, barely suppressing a grin. "You'd probably like Juvia a whole lot more if you quit letting your jealousy get in the way."

Gray scowled, "I am not jealous."

He heard his father snicker before responding, "Right, yes, of course."

Gray turned to argue but realized they were already at the door, about to go outside to greet their guests.

Instead he turned to his father. "If you make me kiss her hand again I swear I'll be sick." He snapped, crossing his arms across his chest.

Silver rolled his eyes. "The only one I sympathize with right now is poor Juvia. I'm starting to feel bad about forcing you upon her."

Before the raven haired prince could reply, the King opened the doors and stepped out into the sunlight.

"We're here your highness!" Their coachman called from the front of the carriage.

"Excellent," The Queen exclaimed as Juvia groaned. She was less than thrilled to spend the next 3 months having that jerk of a prince thrust upon her at every opportune moment. Summer vacation was supposed to be a time of relaxation and fun, and a summer with Prince Gray was anything but.

Thankfully, Juvia had been allowed to take on a lady-in-waiting after last summer and she got to bring her along this time. She turned to her companion, Lady Lucy Heartfilia, with a smile, "I'm so glad I have you here with me to deal with those brutish boys." She said, squeezing her hand.

"Of course," Lucy giggled, squeezing hers back. "We're best friends, aren't we?"

Juvia beamed and nodded. The role of a lady-in-waiting varied in different lands, but in both Darya and Fiore, it really just meant a close companion for a female member of the royal family. A lady-in-waiting's job in the two lands was rather simple actually, not much like a job at all. She attended all lessons with the princess, helped the princess with certain tasks, acted as a confidant and advisor, and supervised the servants. Not all princesses were always lucky enough to choose theirs, but thankfully Juvia's mother had been very supportive when she decided to ask Lucy to be hers, despite Lucy coming from another land.

"C'mon you two, time to get out of the carriage," The queen chuckled, having eavesdropped on their conversation. As the two girls clambered out, she put a gentle hand on each one's shoulder and kneeled between the two. "My darlings, no matter how brutish those boys may be," Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she eyed their sheepish expressions. "You must be on your best behaviour. You may be young but you're still here to represent our fair kingdom."

"Yes ma'am," The two girls chimed together, hanging their heads.

"Good girls," She patted their heads. As they looked up again, the doors to the palace opened and the king stepped out. Gray trailed behind him with his trademark scowl carved into his features.

"Is that the prince?" Lucy whispered in Juvia's ear with wide eyes. "He looks kinda mean…"

"I wouldn't say he's mean," Juvia whispered back as the two males drew near. "He can just be an idiot sometimes. You'll see for yourself."

The king smiled upon noticing Lucy, "Ah right, I almost forgot our little princess has a new companion," He walked up to Lucy, extending his hand. "It's very nice to meet you my dear, I'm King Silver of Fiore but you are more than welcome to just call me Silver like Juvia does." He winked, and the blonde blushed from the lack of formality.

Juvia couldn't help but grin. She had warned Lucy about Silver's easygoing personality but he had still managed to catch her off guard.

"And Juvia my darling," He swept the giggling blunette off the ground and into his arms, hugging her tightly. "It's so good to see you again." He still held her in his arms but loosened his grip on her a bit so she was face to face with him. "I trust you'll keep my pesky son and his friends in line again this summer?" He chuckled as Juvia nodded with a large grin on her face. Her grin grew even bigger when she heard Gray scoff from behind his father.

"Don't encourage her Silver," The queen admonished with a laugh.

Juvia giggled as the king set her down again. The princess had never known her father but oddly enough she'd never felt like she'd been without one. She had known Silver for as long as she could remember; he'd attended her christening, birthday parties and even made an effort to visit every so often throughout the year. The two families had even spent the Christmas holidays together a couple of times already. He was a big reason she continued to come back each summer, no matter how much Gray drove her crazy. In an odd way, it was almost like coming home.

"Gray, introduce yourself to Lady Lucy," He gave his son a gentle shove in her direction.

The prince scowled and Juvia barely heard him mutter under his breath, "Another girl to torture me, just my luck…"

Juvia snickered at his discomfort as Lucy stepped forward, "Pleased to meet you, Prince Gray," She smiled politely and curtsied.

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Lucy," He grumbled, bowing.

"Well... at least you bowed…" Silver rolled his eyes at his son's behaviour and the blue haired princess laughed.

"What are you laughing about?" Gray turned to face her with his trademark scowl on his face, which only made her laugh harder.

"Shut up!" Gray snapped, crossing his arms.

Juvia immediately stopped laughing and crossed hers as well, "Make me."

"I've been practicing my sword fighting all year. I'll beat you," He challenged, walking right up to her with a smug look.

"I'd love to see you try," She countered, planting her hands on her hips.

Lucy let out a heavy sigh; if this was just the first day of their summer vacation, she was more than a little concerned about how the next few months would go.

"If you think this is bad," The king said, as if reading her thoughts. "Just wait till Natsu joins in."

"Natsu?" The blonde girl drew her eyebrows together. The name sounded familiar. "Who's that?"

Silver chuckled, "Oh you'll see my dear… you'll see."

June 5th

Even though it was technically their summer vacation; the children never truly had a break from tutoring. The kingdom of Fiore was known for its high standards in education. All schools were funded and looked over by the king and all children; rich or poor, were given the opportunity to go.

The tutoring itself wasn't so bad for Juvia. She found she actually quite enjoyed sessions with Mr. Crux. It was the company she shared that made the three hour long sessions almost unbearable.

Mr. Crux sighed, "Prince Gray and young Lord Dragneel are late yet again…"

"Can't we just start without them?" Juvia whined. "They're always late."

"His Majesty would not be pleased –" Mr. Crux began to explain, but was interrupted by a flaming arrow zooming past his head and into the nearest tree.

"BULLSEYE." Natsu shouted, running into view with Gray not far behind him.

"Don't use flaming arrows you idiot," He chided. But he had the same goofy grin on his face that Natsu had.

Juvia rolled her eyes and grabbed her glass of water from the table. She walked over to the tree and dumped it unceremoniously over the arrow before the flames spread.

"Oi, no fair Juvia!" Natsu pouted.

"You wanted to see that tree go up in flames?" Lucy spoke up for the first time, surprising everyone. "What are you, some kind of pyromaniac?"

Natsu stared at the blonde girl for a good minute before speaking. "Who the heck are you?"

"Eloquent as always Lord Natsu…" Mr. Crux muttered, shaking his head.

"I'm Lady Lucy Heartfilia," She offered a small curtsy, but no smile. "I'm Juvia's best friend and lady-in-waiting."

Natsu continued to stare at her, utterly perplexed, "Lady in what now?"

Lucy sighed and shook her head, "You really are as idiotic as they said you would be."

Natsu's jaw hung open as Gray and Juvia collapsed in a fit of giggles on the grass.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Natsu glowered at the laughing prince.

"I-It's tr-true though," Gray gasped through his laughter.

Natsu scowled, "Yeah whatever, you and your girlfriend laugh all you want."

That put an immediate halt to the prince's laughter. He sat up and stared daggers at his friend, "She's not my girlfriend! Gross!"

"I'm gross? Look in the mirror," Juvia stuck her tongue out and Gray mirrored her.

"Children please –" Mr. Crux tried, but Juvia now had Gray in a headlock.

"Seriously Ice Princess?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. "You told me you were getting stronger."

Gray struggled in her grasp, "S-shut up Flame Brain."

"Ice Princess? Flame Brain?" Lucy shot the pink haired boy a quizzical look.

"I like fire, he likes ice," Natsu shrugged; like it explained everything.

Suddenly, Gray manoeuvred and flipped Juvia onto her back in the grass, startling her.

"I have gotten stronger," He spoke to Natsu but was looking at Juvia. "But I'm not fighting a girl. It's not right."

Juvia scowled, "Don't be a wimp."

"I'm not," Gray snapped then looked a little sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. "My dad told me to stop and he was pretty serious about it. He told me I could seriously hurt you one day."

"I think he's actually right Juvia," Lucy said softly, helping her friend off the ground. "I think it's time to find an alternative to fighting."

"I suppose you're right," Juvia sighed, brushing dirt off her dress. "I'm a young lady and I must set an example."

Mr. Crux breathed a sigh of relief, "Very good your highness, now let's –"

"I'll just find other activities to destroy you in," Juvia continued, ignoring her tutor and smirking at the raven haired boy. "Archery, horseback riding, card games; I'll beat you in all of them."

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Bring it."

"Sounds interesting to me," Natsu grinned. "You can just leave the physical fighting to Frosty and I."

"How is that interesting for you?" Lucy turned to face him with a stunned expression.

Natsu's eyes gleamed, "Because I get to fight the winner."

Lucy rolled her eyes then turned to Mr. Crux, "Sorry Mr. Crux, I'd like to get started on our studies now."

The man smiled, bowing gratefully, "Thank you Lady Lucy. Yes, we'll do just that."

Natsu groaned, "I don't wanna study."

"Sit." She snapped.

For a ten year old girl, who wasn't even the princess of the realm she lived in, Lucy certainly had an air of authority to her. With that one word, she had Natsu subdued and sitting next to her at the table ready to learn.

"Wow, I've never seen him do that before," Gray whispered in awe, echoing Juvia's thoughts.

The other two children sat across from them and they started their lesson. Juvia found it hard to concentrate though as she watched Lucy whisper instructions in Natsu's ear and Natsu obey without so much as a peep of protest.

"Is your friend some kind of sorceress?" Gray murmured, eyeing the two. Apparently Juvia wasn't the only one having difficulty concentrating.

She couldn't help but snort, earning an inquisitive look from their tutor, "Not that I'm aware of. I'm just as surprised as you are."

After an hour of mathematics, they switched to the language portion of their session. Today's focus was French and Mr. Crux had them testing each other's vocabulary. When he told them to pick a partner, Juvia reached towards Lucy but Natsu had already snatched her hand from the table.

"You'll work with me right?" He held her hand between both of his. "You're a way better partner than Ice Princess."

Gray made a noise of protest as Lucy nodded her agreement. "Well of course I am. You have been listening to me and making progress so I suppose we can partner up again."

"Lucy," Juvia glowered at her friend. "You can't leave me with Gray!"

"Oi, I'm not happy about this either." Gray crossed his arms over his chest.

"You two will be just fine," Lucy waved them off. She opened her workbook to show Natsu the words they'd be practicing with, ignoring their glares in her direction.

"Let's just get this over with," Juvia grumbled, flipping open her book.

June 9th

To Juvia's relief, Natsu and Lucy's little friendship was short lived and she had her best friend back on her side a few days later. This was all thanks to the boys' stupid little clubhouse.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NO GIRLS ALLOWED'?" Lucy shouted up at the snickering boys, who were currently reeling in the ladder of their treehouse.

It had taken a week for Lucy to finally snap and give up on being civil with the boys. Juvia was actually rather impressed with her friend. She had lasted the longest out of all the girls.

Erza currently held the title for lasting the shortest amount of time. She had endured Natsu for 14 minutes before bashing his head into the nearest tree.

"For someone as smart as you, that's a pretty dumb question," Natsu chuckled, swiftly dodging a rock the blonde girl chucked in his direction.

Yep, gone was the Lucy that lectured the boys on proper etiquette and admonished Juvia for throwing Gray's sandwich into the koi pond. Juvia was more than pleased.

"Idiots," Lucy hissed. "Two can play this game!" She then turned around and stormed off towards the castle calling back to the princess, "C'mon Juvia I have a plan."

Juvia was thrilled to see this side of her friend finally coming out. She wanted to take down those boys and an angry Lucy with a plan was exactly what she needed to succeed.

Later that evening…

Silver sat in his study looking over a letter he had received that morning. King Makarov was getting rather old and his grandson Laxus would be taking his place as King of the Kingdom of Bosco in a few years when he came of age. Silver couldn't help but chuckle at the content of the letter. It was basically a full page of Makarov ranting about Laxus's attitude and his reluctance to settle down.
Silver could hardly blame the boy. He was only fourteen after all. Not many teenage boys are hell bent on getting married and settling down right away.

He chuckled again before neatly placing the letter back into its original envelope. Just as he pulled out a piece of parchment to write his response, he heard a small voice behind him.

"Silver?"

He turned to see Juvia standing behind him with a solemn expression on her small face.

"What's the matter Juvia, why the long face?" He had to supress a smirk as he asked. After all, he had a pretty good idea of what she wanted from him. Those kids had been fighting over the damn treehouse for nearly four years now.
"Gray and Natsu put a 'No Girls Allowed' sign on the treehouse," She pouted. "And Lucy and I have nowhere to play now."

Silver chuckled, "Wow, nowhere to play on this whole estate?"

The young girl huffed, "Nowhere fun to play."

Silver chuckled again. He knew exactly where this was going and how it was going to end. He had never been able to resist little Juvia's pouty face.

He knelt down in front of her and clasped her hands in his own, "Juvia darling, would you like a treehouse of your own to play in?"

The young princess lit up like a Christmas tree, "Really? You mean it?"

He grinned, "If the boys have their own hangout spot, you girls should have one too. It's only fair isn't it?"

He laughed as she squealed and flung herself into his arms, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Anything for you my dear," He ruffled her hair then swivelled towards the door to his study. "Oh and Lucy, you can come out now."

The young blonde girl peeked around the doorframe with wide eyes just as Juvia widened hers, "You knew?"

"I'm smarter than I look sweetie," He smirked and laughed again as the small blunette's cheeks went bright pink. "Don't worry; I've been expecting you girls to ask for this for a while now. I'm actually surprised you didn't come to me sooner."

Juvia looked a little guilty, "Mama says I'm not supposed to ask you for things. I'm supposed to be grateful for what I already have." Then her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, "Oh I'm ungrateful aren't I?"

Lucy stepped forward and put a comforting hand on the princess's shoulder, "Of course you're not Juvia. It's okay to ask for what you want. You just can't expect to always get it. Let's show our gratefulness right now with a moment of silence."

The young princess nodded vigorously and to the King's great amusement, the two girls joined hands and closed their eyes, falling into complete silence.

After about 30 seconds passed, they opened their eyes and gave the King a very serious look.

"Thank you King Silver, we are very grateful for our treehouse," Lucy fixed her chocolate brown eyes on him with a staid expression. Juvia copied her with her own intense blue eyes.

Silver fought the urge to laugh and mustered his best poker face as he responded, "You're welcome girls, I'm glad you appreciate what you've been given."

The two girls nodded and walked out the door whispering to each other. He returned to his desk and tried his best to keep his laughter as quiet as possible.

"Oh Nerida," He murmured once his laughter subsided. "Just what are you teaching those girls?"

June 15th

Naturally it was only a matter of time before Gray found out about the new treehouse being built for the girls.

"Dad how could you?" Gray growled. "Whose side are you on?"

"This isn't about taking sides son, this is a lesson in sharing," Silver sighed. "I gave you plenty of opportunities to share the treehouse with the girls and you never listened. It's been four years and I'm tired of this. Let this be a lesson to you–"

"Dad please! I'll share the treehouse, I just–"

"Gray," Silver cut him off with a severe look. "I told you last time that it was your last chance to behave and you refused to listen. This is your punishment and you will accept it." He paused, looking thoughtfully at the sulking boy standing before him. "Clearly I've indulged you far too much over the years. It shouldn't be this difficult to share, especially at your age. You're eleven years old and still making such a fuss over that treehouse. Why does it matter so much to you if Juvia and the girls have their own space to play? It's not like you want them around anyway."

"Because it's her," The boy practically spat. "She's always here; she gets my stuff, she gets my friends and now she gets her own treehouse. This is my castle in my kingdom. She doesn't even live here dad!"

"Gray, she has plenty of her own stuff. I don't recall ever handing her anything of yours and telling her to keep it. Perhaps I've encouraged you to share a few items with her every now and again, but that's because sharing is a good thing."

"She never shares anything with me," The young prince crossed his arms.

"Do you really believe that?" The king raised an eyebrow, "Because I definitely recall her trying to share her favourite dolls with you on numerous occasions."

Gray made a face of disgust, "You mean those creepy ghost dolls?"

"Teru Teru Bozu dolls are considered very special in her kingdom. Darya is known for its stormy weather. Those dolls are made with special care by its citizens and hung by their windows to ward off the rain and bring good weather.

"Just because someone comes from a place with different customs and traditions than your own, doesn't give you the right to mock or ridicule them." Silver reprimanded the boy. He waited for his son to speak up again but this time he remained silent, deep in thought.

"And as for your friends," Silver got his sons attention again, but this time the boy looked less eager to put up a fight. "You've been with Natsu, Gajeel and Jellal for the past 3 days. They seem to be just as good of friends with you as they were last year and the year before that."

"But they also want to be friends with Juvia too now…" Gray's protest came out weaker than before.

"And that is a bad thing because…" Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.

The young prince hung his head, "I– I don't know…"

Silver knelt down and lifted the boy's chin up, "Gray my boy, I don't bring Juvia here each summer to upset you. She's not planning some kind of takeover. Queen Nerida and I are close friends and we only wish for the two of you to become as close as we are. She's not here to replace you or your mother; she's here to escape her rainy kingdom for the summer and give us some much needed companionship. Do you understand?" He released his son's chin and the boy nodded.

"Good," Silver stood. "I think you enjoy her company more than you let on anyway." He added with a grin.

This earned him a glare from the dark haired boy.

The King chuckled at the response, "Perhaps I'll try that again in a couple of years. I forget you're still in the 'girls have cooties' stage of life."

Gray frowned, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh don't you worry. One day you will."

July 2nd

The group of girls stood at the base of the large Sakura tree, gazing up at their new treehouse in wonder.

The house was quite large, appearing to have two levels. It was painted a gorgeous sky blue colour and decorated with crown moulding and light purple butterfly designs along the white door. There was a large balcony with white railings that matched well with the crown moulding and a small table surrounded by equally small chairs – all of which matched the colour of the butterflies on the door – set up on it. Half of the house was supported by the tree while the other half had giant wooden beams holding it up. The beams were painted white to match the colour scheme. Beside the house, attached to one of the higher branches of the tree, was a swing that could probably fit about three people on the long wooden seat. As promised, a retractable ladder was included as well for added privacy and 'No boys allowed' was painted in bright purple letters across the side of the house.

"Holy crap," Cana stepped forward with wide eyes.

"It's perfect," Erza gasped. "Absolutely perfect."

"This would be the best place to sit and read a book," Levy said dreamily as she sat down on the swing, testing it out. Lisanna and Mirajane sat on either side of the small blunette, giggling as the swing began to move.

"Juvia, forget sharing a palace with that grump of a prince; you and Lucy could just move in here," Bisca grinned, moving to stand next to Cana.

The young princess giggled, "It is pretty nice."

"I'm glad you think so."

Juvia whipped around to find Silver standing there with a big smile on his face.

"So I take it you girls like the treehouse?"

He chuckled as they cheered in response and Juvia leapt forward, throwing her arms around his waist, "You're the best Silver. Thank you so much!"

"No problem my dear. Those boys are going to be pretty jealous when they see this," He grinned.

"Yep, and they won't even be allowed inside," Lucy inspected the rope ladder, giving it a tug.

"We better get up there before they hear about it and try to invade," Levy said suddenly, leaping off the swing and running towards Lucy. "Hurry up Lu!"

The blonde girl scurried up the rope ladder and the other girls followed suit, giggling the whole way up.

"Have fun girls!" The king waved with a smirk as he walked back towards the castle.

The girls giggled and waved back from the balcony until he was out of sight.

"Now let's take a look inside," Cana grabbed the handle, swinging the door open.

"Wait for us guys!"

Juvia turned to see Evergreen and Wendy standing below the treehouse waving their arms. Mira and Lucy released the rope ladder they had been collecting so that the two girls could climb up. Since they were already being helped by the other two girls, Juvia decided to check out their new hangout.

She gasped as she stepped inside. The interior had the same light blue walls and crown moulding. The colour scheme appeared to be sky blue, light purple and white. There was a large white sofa up against one wall, while a white bookshelf and desk were pushed up against the other. The long coffee table in front of the sofa was the same blue as the walls with a light purple rug underneath. Beyond that was the second level they had wondered about. It wasn't quite another floor but instead a loft with another balcony. The loft was white with colourful pillows and blankets scattered all around.

Lucy walked up beside Juvia, "Wow this place is amazing. That loft would be great for sleepovers."

Erza appeared by Juvia's other side, "Indeed. I say we have our first official clubhouse meeting in said loft." She turned to the other girls, "Everyone to the loft!"

The treehouse was technically supposed to belong to Juvia, but no one dared speak up against Erza while she was barking out orders.

Once they were all seated, Juvia spoke up, "Thank you for joining Lucy and I in our new clubhouse. Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you girls to Evergreen and Wendy. I know a couple of you already know Evergreen but I believe this is the first time little Wendy gets to join us," The princess smiled at the young girl who blushed at all the attention she was getting. "For those who don't know her, Evergreen is from the Kingdom of Bosco. Her father is a Baron. She spends most of her summers here in Fiore, staying with the Strauss siblings at their estate. She's good friends with Erza and Mirajane but her closest friends are in fact Laxus, Prince of Bosco, as well as Freed and Bixlow who are both sons of Earl's over in Bosco."

Evergreen gave a small smile and a wave before Juvia turned her attention to Wendy, "Wendy is the daughter of the court physician/herbalist here at the castle. She has no title but she's incredibly smart. She's already quite the healer and she's only six years old. The way she's going, she'll probably surpass Grandine before she reaches adulthood." Juvia smiled warmly at the girl who hid behind Evergreen as the other girl's ooed and ahed at her accomplishments.

"Wendy doesn't know anyone here besides Ever and I so I'll begin," Juvia said, adjusting herself on the pillows so she had a better view of her friends. She pointed to Cana first, "Wendy this is Cana. Cana is Princess of the Kingdom of Bellum. Her father Gildarts and mother Cornelia are the current rulers. Bellum has some of the best vineyards in the country so Cana has developed quite a taste for the stuff; though she's only twelve so she's not allowed near any wine while she's here." Juvia shot her a pointed look which the brunette shrugged off.

She pointed to Lucy next, "Wendy this is Lucy. Lucy is the daughter of the Earl of Acalypha here in Fiore. I've known her for many years thanks to my mother's many balls and my frequent visits here. She officially moved to Darya to live with me in my castle after becoming my lady-in-waiting last year. She's my closest friend."

The two girls shook hands and greeted each other as Juvia moved on to the next girl, "This is Erza. She is eleven years old. Her mother is one of only twelve female knights in the entire Royal army. Erza wishes to follow in her footsteps. She's quite close with the boys; especially Jellal. They've been friends for years."

Erza smiled and shook the girls hand as Juvia continued, "This is Bisca. She's twelve. She's also the daughter of a knight; her father is a member of the Royal army. She's good friends with Erza and Cana–"

"Don't forget Alzack," Cana cut in with a smug look.

"Who's Alzack?" Wendy piped up.

"He's the Prince of Joya. It's a Kingdom not too far from Fiore," Cana explained. "He's good friends with Gray and Natsu so he usually spends about a month here every summer. He met Bisca last summer and they've been getting along pretty darn well since."

"Okay next person please," Bisca rolled her eyes at Cana who snickered under her breath.

"Alright, Wendy this is Mirajane and her sister Lisanna," Juvia said, pointing to each girl. "Mira is thirteen like Evergreen and Lisanna is eleven. Their father is Earl of Onibus. They have a brother, Elfman, who is twelve."

"And last but not least," Lucy grabbed Levy and pushed her forward. "This is Levy. Just like you Wendy, she doesn't have a title, but she is incredibly smart. She currently attends one of the best schools in Fiore on a full scholarship. Her parents own a bookshop in Crocus – not too far from this castle actually – so naturally, she's an avid reader. She's ten years old and knows just about everything already."

Levy giggled nervously, "Oh Lu, you exaggerate."

"You do know quite a bit Levy," Juvia chuckled at her friend's obvious discomfort with all the praise.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS IS THEIR TREEHOUSE?"

The girls burst into giggles at the sound of Gray's angry voice from down below.

"Looks like they found us," Cana grinned.

They got up and walked out onto the main balcony of the treehouse. Natsu was leaping around below them shouting, "This is so awesome! Look at this place!"

"What are you getting so excited about? We don't get to use it flame brain!" Gray shouted at his friend.

"That's right Gray, you don't," Juvia stepped forward with a smug look, locking eyes with the dark haired boy below. "I'm sure you've seen the sign already."

"Yeah yeah," Gray grumbled, glaring up at the blunette. "I have no interest in fighting Erza today anyway."

The red haired girl smirked, "A wise choice."

Suddenly the other girls began shrieking. Juvia looked down again and saw Natsu working his way up one of the wooden support beams.

"He's climbing up!" Wendy shrieked.

"Jeez, what is he, part monkey?" Cana wrinkled her nose as she watched the boy climb up with ease.

"Do you want Erza to kill you, you moron?" Gray attempted to grab the pink haired boy but he climbed out of his reach.

"Gray, control him!" Juvia shouted.

"He's not my pet Juvia!"

"Natsu, get down from there. You're freaking the other girls out!" Lucy yelled at the boy.

"SILENCE."

The shrieking stopped and everything fell silent, including Natsu who was now frozen in place, clutching the beam with a sword tip resting at his throat.

"Leave. Now." Erza said in her deadliest voice.

Thankfully Natsu got the message loud and clear this time. He quickly scurried back down the beam and ran off to the castle dragging Gray and the other boys with him.

Once the boys were gone, the girls began to settle in and chatted amongst themselves. Juvia found herself flitting from one conversation to the next, brimming with joy. It was funny how she always put up such a fight coming here every summer, yet by the end of every summer she was always sad to leave. She loved her mother and her kingdom, but she had no real friends there besides Lucy. It was nice to have the extra company every summer, even if it included those pesky boys.

July 23rd

The King decided that the two young royals should spend more time in Crocus getting to know the people better.

"After all, if you are to rule the people, you must know the people," Silver explained, as the carriage neared the centre of town.

"Sure, I'll be ruling the people one day," Gray muttered. "But why is Juvia here?"

The young princess stuck her tongue out at him and he mirrored the action.

"Our two kingdoms are very close allies and it is important that we show the people that," Silver eyed them warily, "Which means the two of you need to put those tongues away –" He spoke rather sharply, causing the two children to retract their tongues immediately. "–and be on your best behaviour today."

They nodded sheepishly before turning their heads away from one another.

Silver sighed, "This is going to be a long day…"

"Most impressive, your highness. I had no idea you were so gifted at sewing."

Juvia smiled up at the group of seamstresses surrounding her as she put the finishing touches on her creation. "Thank you very much!"

One of the women, with long silver hair tied up in an elegant bun, stepped forward tentatively.

"Forgive me your highness, but…what is it?"

Gray fought the urge to snort. He could only imagine what was going through their minds as Juvia put together her little ghost-like creations.

He watched as Juvia lifted her head up with a sunny expression, "It's called a Teru Teru Bozu doll. They're very special in my kingdom. You hang them in your window and they chase away the rain and bring good weather."

The older women gathered closer to the young princess, filling the small space with their murmurs of appreciation and interest.

Gray grimaced. Once again his father had been right. Those dolls were important to Juvia and her people. He could tell by the way her eyes lit up with pride as the other women gathered around her, complimenting her creation.

"Oh– your highness, I didn't see you standing there!"

Gray looked up in surprise as the same silver haired woman from before stood in front of him with a warm smile.

He gulped, "Forgive me–" He stuttered a bit as he spoke; still not quite used to formal speech. His father and Natsu weren't great at reinforcing it. "I finished up with the men at the bookshop and they sent me over here…" He trailed off awkwardly at the end as he noticed all the other women, as well as Juvia, had turned to stare at him.

"There's nothing to forgive, your highness," Her warm smile had morphed into a rather sly grin. "I'm sure they could see you wanted to be back with your princess."

"M-my princess?!" Gray sputtered, feeling his cheeks flame up. He somehow ended up locking eyes with Juvia who looked just as baffled as he did. "No I–"

One of the other ladies cut him off as she spoke to Juvia, "Your highness, will you give your creation to Prince Gray?"

Now it was Juvia's turn to start sputtering, "G-Gray?! B-b-but I made it for you!"

"Oh we couldn't possibly accept it," The woman waved away the offer. "It's far too special. A gift like that is meant for someone you care deeply for."

"Indeed," The silver haired woman stood beside the other seamstress. "It's a crime to stand in the way of true love."

"T-t-t-true love?!" All the colour drained from Juvia's face and she turned to look at Gray who was looking very much the same at that moment. "Him?!"

"Her?!" Gray shot back. He meant to shout but it came out as more of a squeak.

"How are the children doing?" Silver's booming voice came from behind Gray, who had been standing with his back to the door.

"Oh splendid!" A few of the ladies practically sang back.

The silver haired woman spoke again, "Juvia made a special Teru Teru Bozu doll just for the young prince. Isn't it romantic?" She gushed holding her hands to her cheeks.

King Silver eyed Juvia and Gray, who were both looking incredibly uncomfortable, then smirked.

"Let's not use the dreaded "R" word in front of them, shall we ladies?" Silver chuckled as stole another look at the two children. "They're still young and easily frightened by it."

"Oh of course, we apologize your highness," They all nodded, reminding Gray of a brood of hens, the way their heads bobbed up and down in excitement.

"No harm done," Silver smiled. "We must be on our way now I'm afraid. The children have their supper waiting for them back at the castle."

"Of course," The group of seamstresses bowed at once.

"Will Princess Juvia give Prince Gray the doll?" One of the ladies spoke up.

"Ah right," Silver turned back to the children with a grin. "Go on then Juvia."

Juvia walked towards him and held the doll out. As Gray reached out to grab it, she surprised him by speaking.

"Please don't throw it away this time," She whispered so the others couldn't hear them. "I know you don't like them but…" She paused, looking down at the doll, her eyes filled with sadness and Gray suddenly felt extremely guilty. He really had hurt Juvia's feelings before. It had just been a joke to him, he had never meant any harm to her or her culture but clearly Juvia didn't see it that way. "But… they're important to me and… I-I worked really hard on this one…"

Gray grabbed the doll and gave Juvia's hand a quick squeeze, "I'm sorry I did that before. I won't do it again. Don't worry, your doll is safe." Gray tried his best to give her a comforting smile but with the hefty amount of discomfort he was presently in, he imagined it came off a little creepy.

Juvia noticed this and giggled.

"Oh how sweet!"

"Young love."

"What precious children."

Gray and Juvia broke apart rather quickly as the older women cooed over the gift exchange.

"Alright, alright," Silver chuckled, placing a hand on each child's shoulder. "It's time for us to head back. Thank you for helping Juvia with her sewing ladies."

"Of course!" One of the ladies called out. "Come back any time your highness!"

Silver smiled and nodded before ushering the children out the door. To Gray's relief the carriage was waiting for them outside the seamstress shop. He wasn't sure he could handle any more of the townspeople gawking at him and Juvia. He wondered if it bugged Juvia as much as it bugged him.

I'm sure it does, I can't be the only one… The young prince thought, glancing at the blunette who was now chatting animatedly to Silver.

They settled into their seats inside the carriage, ready for the journey home. Gray's father and Juvia were no longer chatting, both opting to relax in their seats with their eyes closed. Gray was unable to relax as there was still a stray thought floating around in his head, nagging at him.

He needed answers.

"Hey dad," He reached across and tapped his father on the knee to get his attention. Silver's eyes shot open and focused on his son. "Why are the townspeople so… obsessed with Juvia and I?"

Silver grinned, "It's probably just because I don't get you two out of the castle enough."

"Yeah but that doesn't explain old ladies cooing over us and people talking about 'young love'…" Gray grumbled, rolling his eyes at the 'young love' part.

The king laughed, "Oh I wouldn't worry about that Gray. I went through the same thing as a child. It's just part of the fun of growing up in the public eye."

Gray scowled, "Yeah, well Juvia and I are not in love." He looked over to the young princess for backup but she was fast asleep in her seat.

Silver chuckled, ignoring Gray's remark, "She's sure tuckered out isn't she? She spent quite a while on that doll." He said, nodding towards the doll in Gray's lap.

"I'm proud of you by the way," He added. When he saw Gray's puzzled look he explained. "I heard your apology to Juvia. I'm glad you actually listened to your old man for once." He chuckled at the glare the boy shot him.

"Yeah, yeah," Gray grumbled. "She's a pain in the butt but she doesn't deserve to have her feelings hurt…"

Silver opened his mouth to respond but the carriage suddenly came to a jarring halt, sending the two children flying into his arms.

"What the–" The king was cut off by the shouts from the men outside the carriage.

The carriage shook as one of the horses jumped around, crying out.

Juvia was wide awake now, her eyes darting around the carriage in fright, "W-what's going on?"

"Shhh," Silver placed a finger to her lips as he held the two children close. "Are you both wearing your rings?" He asked, eyeing both their hands. They nodded, showing him their hands; each had a silver ring placed on their ring finger.

"Good," He whispered, patting their heads.

Outside, the voices grew quiet and the horses were no longer jostling around. Silver went to open the door but one of his guards beat him to it.

"Your highness," A tall woman, clad in armour, with long red hair greeted him with a serious expression.

"Erza's mom…" Juvia whispered so quietly Gray almost missed it.

"Irene, what the devil is going on out there? "

"My sincerest apologies your highness, the horses got spooked by something and we thought we saw a figure in the distance…" She trailed off, looking apprehensive.

"Was it who I think it is?" He asked in a quieter voice.

"We think so… but it was hard to tell. The figure was quite far away. I just find it odd that the horses reacted that way…"

Gray watched his father nod with a solemn expression, "Very true. Are we okay to head back to the castle?"

"Yes, it should be safe now. We're taking an alternative route though just in case," Irene answered, eyeing the frightened children.

"Good idea," Silver nodded, "Let's get back to the castle as quickly as possible."

Irene nodded and left. As the guards and coachmen shuffled back into their positions Gray spoke up.

"Dad what's going on? Are we in danger?"

Silver smiled but Gray could see it was forced, "No my boy there's nothing to worry about, just a false alarm over some animal."

Gray was still unconvinced though. There was something very strange about the way Irene spoke. She had sounded almost frightened and Irene Belserion was known for her fearless persona. He had never seen a look like that on her face before.

Gray looked over to Juvia and they locked eyes. Hers were telling him that she was thinking the exact same thing he was.

As they continued their journey home, Silver shot down most of Gray and Juvia's questions leaving the two children more curious than ever.

When they finally arrived at the castle, Silver turned to face them once more.

"You must not, under any circumstances, remove those rings." His tone was severe. "Do you understand?"

The two children nodded and he turned without another word towards the castle doors.

August 4th

Instead of his usual teasing, Juvia was surprised to find Gray rather subdued the weeks following the carriage incident.

Instead of the usual goofing around that took place, tutoring sessions were now spent doing actual schoolwork –much to Mr. Crux's delight and Natsu's immense displeasure. On top of that, Gray seemed rather wary around his father and Juvia caught him twisting his ring around more than usual.

Juvia had already tried asking him about his odd behaviour but being Gray, he had shut her out rather quickly.

She figured he would talk to someone when he was ready. Or at least she hoped.

August 8th

Juvia's week seemed to be growing duller day by day. Gray was all serious and boring and now Lucy had come down with the flu. To add to her list of grievances was Erza joining their tutoring sessions. Juvia wasn't sure if Mr. Crux was thrilled to finally have order during class time or disappointed because a certain redhead had effectively taken over his role.

The one good thing about Erza's presence during their sessions was that she prohibited any fighting between Gray and Natsu; something that had been occurring much more lately due to Gray's weird moods.

As Juvia walked to her tutoring session that day, she couldn't help but miss her best friend. Sure, she loved Erza but Erza could be rather scary when it came to schoolwork or other important tasks. She was much more fun to be around up in the clubhouse.

As the princess arrived at the session, she found Erza already seated with a subdued Natsu and Gray who both had a rather gloomy aura surrounding them.

After years of wild tutoring sessions with Natsu, Gray and a desperate Mr. Crux, Juvia wasn't sure she'd ever be able to get used to this.

"Ah Princess Juvia, you're here. Excellent, let's begin," Mr. Crux opened up his textbook and began lecturing on the history of Fiore. Erza listened intently, scribbling notes down furiously while Gray, Natsu and Juvia eyed her warily.

When they got a 5 minute break to stretch their legs, Juvia felt someone grab her arm.

"Hey Juvia, where's Lucy today?" Natsu whispered.

"She's got the flu," Juvia huffed. "Wendy's mom said it'll probably be a couple of weeks before she's feeling better."

"Huh." Was all Natsu said, but Juvia saw the gleam in his eye as he sat back down at the table.

When Wendy and her mother finally left, Lucy rolled to her side and groaned.

They had been feeding her special concoctions and rubbing medicinal balms on different parts of her body all afternoon and while she appreciated their efforts, all she wanted to do right now was sleep.

And sleep she did.

For about an hour at least… That's what it felt like when she woke up to find a pair of large onyx eyes staring straight down at her.

She was barely able to get her shriek out before a warm hand clamped down over her mouth.

"Shhh Luigi, it's me." She heard Natsu's voice whisper before he removed his hand.

"It's Lucy," She hissed back at the pink haired boy. "And what are you doing here Natsu? You guys aren't supposed to visit me. Silver doesn't want the rest of you getting sick."

Natsu shot her his signature grin, "Don't worry, it's just me and I never get sick."

The blonde girl couldn't help but roll her eyes, "There's always a first time for everything."

Natsu huffed, "Are you really that desperate to get rid of me? I thought you'd want company after being stuck here by yourself these past few days."

Lucy shrugged, "I guess I'm just used to it at this point."

"What, being alone?" Natsu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That's impossible. You and Juvia are glued to the hip."

"We weren't always," She admitted, looking down. She wasn't sure if she should be telling Natsu any of this, but for some reason the story came tumbling out anyway.

"Did you know I'm not actually from Darya?" It was more of a rhetorical question but Natsu shook his head in response anyway. "I'm from Fiore like you guys. My father is Earl of Acalypha. My mother and Juvia's mother were very close friends though so we visited Darya frequently throughout the year.

"Then a couple of years ago, just a couple of weeks after my 8th birthday, my mother passed away suddenly. No one knew how or why, it was so out of the blue…" She paused when she felt Natsu's finger brush a tear off her cheek. She hadn't realized she was crying. She looked up at the pink haired boy and noticed he looked completely serious. Not a trace of any teasing or silliness anywhere on his face. This had to be a first. "E-even the doctor couldn't figure it out. No one knew what had happened and my father… he was devastated," She paused again, allowing her tears to fall now, not caring how Natsu would react. To her surprise, he remained silent and still. "After the funeral, my father shut me out. We no longer shared meals together, he refused to play with me or talk to me saying he was too busy to do so. Eventually I found myself spending more and more time with Juvia and her mother and eventually Queen Nerida invited me to stay at their palace permanently as Juvia's lady-in-waiting. My father wasted no time packing my bags and sending me out the door…" The last sentence left a bitter taste in Lucy's mouth. She hated thinking about that day.

"What kind of father does that?" Natsu looked a mix of angry and confused. "I– I can't imagine what I would do if my father turned his back on me like that. That's awful."

"I hate him." Lucy practically spat out the words, but she knew deep down inside she didn't mean them. As much as she wanted to mean it, she knew she couldn't. Her heart wouldn't allow it.

"You shouldn't." Natsu said quietly, surprising her yet again. The boy was on a roll today.

"Why? You even said what he did was awful."

"Yeah but he's still your old man. And you only get one Luce…"

Lucy felt her jaw unhinge a little as she sat there gaping at the normally goofy boy who called her Luigi to get a rise out of her and set things on fire for fun. Gone was wild Natsu, replaced by a calm thoughtful version who happened to be a great listener and giver of life advice.

"Just give him some more time Lucy. If he still doesn't come around in a couple of years, I'll just beat him up!" He raised a fist with a cackle and Lucy found herself giggling along with him.

"Now there's the Natsu I know."

"Oi, shut up!"

And somewhere beneath the nauseous feeling currently settling in her stomach from her illness, Lucy felt hope stir for the first time since her mother's death.

"Thank you Natsu," She smiled sincerely at the pink haired boy.

His cheeks tinted and he looked away, "Yeah yeah, just stop with the creepy look…"

"I'M NOT CREEPY!"

"Whatever you say Luigi."

Lucy scowled, but the scowl melted away as she thought about all the friends she'd made – even the pink haired menace – just this summer. Thanks to Juvia, Natsu and the others, loneliness truly wouldn't be an issue for the young blonde girl any longer. And for that, she was truly grateful.

Don't worry mom, She thought with a smile. I'll be just fine.

August 15th

Juvia packed up the last of her belongings into her small brown leather travelling bag. She and Lucy were supposed to have another couple of weeks in Fiore before heading back, but after the carriage incident and Lucy's illness, the Queen decided to retrieve them early this year.

A soft knock sounded on the door as Juvia zipped her bag closed.

"Come in!" She called, moving the bag from the bed to the floor. She figured her mother had finally come to fetch her.

But when she stood up and turned towards the door, it was not her mother standing there.

"Gray," She gasped, unable to mask the surprise in her voice. Gray was never the one to seek out Juvia. The dark haired prince stood in the doorway looking a little uncomfortable, probably thinking the same thing.

"So you're leaving early huh?"

"Yes, my mother was a little concerned."

He nodded but otherwise remained silent, his brow furrowing as he seemed to fall deep into thought.

"Gray I think I know why you've been acting weird."

This seemed to startle the boy out of his thoughts. "W-what?"

"Our rings," She nodded towards his hand with the ring on it. "You figured it out didn't you?"

The way his jaw dropped at her question told her that was exactly what had happened.

"The rings won't come off no matter what. I asked Lucy and she had the same issue. Something is holding them there…" Juvia said.

Gray nodded, "Natsu, Jellal and Gajeel have the same issue. I haven't checked with the others yet though." He paused. "Could it be… magic?"

"I was wondering that myself," Juvia admitted.

"My father says magic doesn't exist, which makes this all the more confusing. These rings are supposedly family heirlooms so our parents would've worn them at some point. Wouldn't they have noticed?"

"They might've. Or perhaps they had no issues with the rings and we all just happen to have chubby fingers," Juvia joked, but it was lost on the dark haired boy who was staring intently at the ring on his finger. A single snowflake was engraved on one side while 'Fullbuster' was engraved on the other.

Juvia looked down at hers. She had a single raindrop on one side with 'Lockser' engraved on the other.

"They're hiding something from us Juvia."

She glanced up at the boy and he was scowling at the door. There was the light patter of footsteps coming down the corridor towards her bedroom. Her mother would be here any moment.

"Let's just trust them for now, okay?"

Gray frowned at the suggestion, "Why?"

"If it's something important, I'm sure they'll tell us when the time is right. Let's face it Gray, we're still just kids. You really think they would give important information to a ten year old and eleven year old?"

She took his lack of response as a no.

"Exactly," She said, picking up her bag as she heard the footsteps grow closer outside. "We can still do our own research on the side but let's give it some time before we hassle our parents over the issue. Okay?"

"Fine." He grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as a loud knock sounded on the door.

"Your highness, your mother and Lady Lucy are waiting for you in the carriage." A guard called from behind the closed door.

"Thank you, I'll be right out." She called back.

She turned to the prince, "Bye Gray, I'll see you next summer."

He blinked as she turned and opened the door to leave. Just before she closed it behind her, she heard his muffled response, "Bye Juvia. Good Luck."

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review, etc. it inspires me to write.

As you've probably figured out by now, I won't be covering every single summer. I'll cover more of them in their teen years (cuz let's face it, it's way more exciting) but this chapter had to be done. I think you'll really enjoy the next ones and the arc that follows :)

**AGE GUIDE: (For this chapter. I'll include one in all future chapters with updated ages. I'll try to be clear but just in case this will be at the bottom of every chapter. There's a reason I have everyone at different ages btw, you'll see as the story goes on)

(and honestly even if you get the ages mixed up, it's not a huge deal anyway)

Gray, Natsu, Erza, Lisanna: 11 years old
Lucy, Juvia, Levy: 10 years old
Wendy, Romeo: 6 years old
Cana, Gajeel, Jellal, Alzack, Lyon, Elfman, Bisca: 12 years old
Evergreen, Bickslow, Mirajane, Freed: 13 years old
Laxus: 14 years old