Konnichiwa, minna! Tadaima! Hisashiburi! Ok, I'll stop the Japanese now, but seriously, yay, I'm back! I know I promised to update more frequently, but a lot of things happened, and I'm back home now. Goodbye vacation! Goodbye Switzerland, Lebanon, and Jordan! I'll miss you!! To be honest I really didn't want to come back. Every five minutes I would ask my mom if it was possible to stay. Of course the answer was no, but I was hoping although I have already been abroad for seven weeks so... hehe, a great vacation! I don't want to go back to school! *sighs* Alright, I'm sure you guys have had enough of me rambling and whining so without further ado, here is Chapter 30!

          "You ready for the ball?" Gray asked from beside her.

          "Hm, I guess so," Lucy said, hands held behind her back.

          Gray was escorting Lucy back to her chambers. After showing them around and chatting for a bit, Erza thought it best to show Loke and the rest to their rooms so they could get settled before the ball, and so Gray had volunteered to escort her back, probably mostly because Juvia would be there.

           "Is something bothering you?" Gray asked.

          "Not exactly. I mean, I don't know," Lucy said, pulling at a strand of her hair.

          Gray waited patiently as she gathered her thoughts.

          "I'm not worried about Loke being a bad suitor anymore, I guess. I mean, he seems like a really nice guy, and the fact that you guys are friends with him is reassuring, although I'm still surprised about that part. I'm nervous about my father's announcement actually," she said, worry creasing her forehead just thinking about it.

          "What about the announcement?" Gray asked.

          "I'm scared that he'll announce that Loke is whom I'm supposed to marry," she said, coming to a stop. "Scratch that, I'm terrified."

          Gray stopped next to her and sighed, scratching the back of his head.

          "I wouldn't put it past him to do that, especially since you haven't agreed on any past suitors."

          Lucy clenched her hands together.

          "Would... would it really be so bad to marry Loke?" Gray said hesitantly.

           Lucy's head snapped to him and she stared at him in shock. Gray looked away guiltily.

          "Gray... are you really proposing a I marry someone I've barely just met? You can't be serious," she said, an edge of panic to her voice.

          "I mean- I wasn't," he sighed. "I just thought that it was your best option. Loke isn't a bad guy, and he's probably the best suitor you've had. If he's really your dad's final option, it wouldn't be that bad, right?"

          Lucy's mouth hung open in shock. She couldn't believe that her best friend, the person she considered her brother had just said that. He reached a hand out to her, but she recoiled in disgust.

          "Lucy..." he started, a look of hurt flitting across his face.

          "Don't. Just don't. I cannot believe those words just came out of your mouth, Gray. Do you even hear yourself right now? You're saying that I should just give up my freedom, my right to marry the person I choose, that I love! You're saying that I should just give up, marry a person that my father chooses, become queen, and let my father control me through the person of his choosing. It doesn't matter if Loke is a nice guy or not! That's not the point! I want to choose my own path, and make my own decisions, one of those decisions being who I want to spend the rest of my life with!"

          Lucy was yelling now, tears clouding her vision.

          "Lucy, I just-" Gray started, but Lucy held up a hand to stop him and took a deep breath before fixing him with a glare.

          "What's worse is that you're spouting this bullshit even though you yourself are with the person you love!"

          At these words, regret flashed in Gray's eyes and he closed his mouth.

          "You know the happiness of being with the one you love by your own choice, and you're still proposing that I give up the possibility of me having that happiness!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face now.

          Lucy took a shuddering breath and turned her back on Gray.

          "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my room," she said in a wavering voice. "And don't follow me. That's an order."

          Then she took off running to her room. Once she reached it, she wrenched the door open and slammed it closed behind her. She quickly looked around, and saw that Juvia wasn't in the room. Good, she thought to herself. Normally she would love to have Juvia with her, but she didn't feel like telling her what her boyfriend had said.

          Suddenly feeling very drained, she slid down against the door, hugging her knees to her chest and sobbed. It hurt that the person she thought understood her the most could have said something like that. She didn't want to become queen! She didn't want someone to choose her life for her! She didn't want to get married and be forced to spend the rest of her life with someone she didn't love! Especially when she finally felt like she had already fallen for someone. And that someone made her really happy. She smiled through her tears as his pink haired head popped into her mind. How he managed to make her smile even in this situation was beyond her, but she was glad that someone made her feel that way. Every time she thought about him, her heart felt light, and butterflies filled her stomach. She loved everything about him; his smile, his laugh, his tough guy act, how strong he was, how protective he was of her. Most people would say that that was just a crush and she only like the positives, but that wasn't true. She loved his vulnerability, his weaknesses, his childish ignorance, everything.

          She stood up, wiping her tears away. Sitting and crying wasn't going to do anything about her situation. She wasn't going to let anyone dictate her future anymore. Somehow or other she was going to get out of here, and nothing was going to stop her.

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was a little short. Mwahahahaha! Drama! How could Gray say that? What is going to happen to their great relationship? Lucy's finally conscious and accepting of her feelings for Natsu! Where with things go from here? Okay, I'll stop now. So, to be honest I wasn't sure who to interview today, but I finally settled with...nobody. Because I honestly don't know who to interview that is in the story right now and who I have not interviewed yet. Sorry if that disappoints you, but I really don't know! A bit of good new though is that I'm already halfway through writing Chapter 31! Yay! So that should be up soon. But anyway, for next time, let me know who you want me to interview in the comments so I can actually do it. I'm so ashamed that I can't think of anyone! Boo hoo hoo! But anyway, vote, like, comment, and I'll see you next time! Ja ne!