Nobody's P.O.V

"We're here!" Lucy exclaimed, stepping out of the carriage. "It's hard to believe that we were here just three months ago," she said, feeling nostalgic.

"Lu-chan, clam down."

"That's right, Lucy-san. We're about to greet the king. Lucy-san is acting too unrefined. Juvia wonders if Lucy-san will be able to run a kingdom properly."

Levy and Juvia stepped out of the carriage behind her.

"Now, now," Mira consoled, smiling like always.

Lucy, Levy, Juvia, Erza, and Mirajane had just arrived at the royal palace in Crocus. They were here to greet the king before they left and to meet the other people he wished to send to the newly formed kingdoms.

As the group strolled through the courtyard, they encountered a young man with long, blonde hair.

Seeing them, he placed his hat to his chest and bowed.

"Greetings. I am Rufus Lore. I take it that you are mages from Fairy Tail?"

"Yes," Erza responded. "I am Erza Scarlet. This is Mirajane Strauss, Lucy Heartfilia, Levy McGarden, and Juvia Lockser," she said, pointing to each of them in turn.

Rufus smiled. "So I have been informed. I was sent by His Majesty to escort you to the ball room," he explained. "By the way, I will also be accompanying Mirajane-san to Miracle Kingdom as part of her entourage."

"Is that so," Mirajane said, surprised.

"Yes. Although, due to the nature of my magic, I'll be going from kingdom to kingdom a lot."

"By the way Rufus-san, do you mind me asking what your magic is?" Levy asked.

"Not at all," Rufus responded. "I specialize in Memory Make Magic."

"A lost Magic!" Levy's eyes shone.

"That's right."

"That's amazing!"

Rufus chuckled. "Thank you. If I remember correctly, Levy-san uses Solid Script Magic, am I right?"

Levy nodded. They then proceeded to converse about books and the like, walking side by side ahead of the others.

The others smiled. They found it fortunate that they were building good relations with the emissaries the king was sending with them. It would be terrible if their relationship with the king became strained due to them having bad relationships with people he was sending with them.

"It's a good thing he seems nice," Erza whispered in Mirajane's ear.

"Yes."

"It was your fault!"

"How was it my fault?! You were the one who knocked into it, flamehead!"

"What did you say?! You were the one who bumped into my, icecube!"

"Ashtray!"

"Icicle!"

"Stovetop!"

"Popsicle!"

"Grr!" "Grr!"

"Enough!"

While walking through the palace halls, the girls and Rufus stumbled upon Gray and Natsu (Gray was shirtless by the way), who were fighting over who knocked over a vase.

Erza, unable to stand any more of their bickering, went over and rammed their heads together.

Realizing what she had just done, Erza hurriedly backed away and prepared to apologize when...

"Erza-san is right, you two."

"Rufus!" the two boys cried in sync. They were currently both sitting on the floor, rubbing the bumps on their foreheads.

"But he was the one who-"

"The two of you, what do you think you're doing?" Fixing a deadly glare in their direction, he asked.

They gulped. "I'm sorry," they said meekly.

Rufus sighed. Using his Telekinesis, he levitated the broken shards of porcelain into a waste basket and used his Memory-Make Magic to conjure a new vase.

"Come on, the two of you. We're going to be late. And Gray, put your shirt back on."

"Okay."

They proceeded to make their way to the ballroom.

Erza tapped Natsu and Gray's shoulders. They turned back to look at her.

"Um, about what happened earlier," she said awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"For bumping your heads together."

Erza had expected for them to yell at her or be mad at her, but instead, their eyes shone. 

"That's fine," Natsu said. "Hey, you're Erza, right? Erza Scarlet?"

"...Yes, that's me." After she confirmed this, their eyes seemed to shine even more, if possible.

"I knew it!" Natsu exclaimed. "You see, Wendy told us about-"

"You idiot!" Gray hissed, clasping a hand over Natsu's mouth. "Remember, the King said to keep that a secret."

"Ah, right!" Natsu exclaimed. Turning back to Erza, he said, "One of my friends told me about you. She said that you were super strong."

Gray nodded enthusiastically. "Hey, later, after this is over, do you mind battling us?"

"Um, sure," Erza replied. "Can I have your names?"

"Oh, that's right. We're being rude, aren't we. I'm Gary. Gray Fullbuster. This flameball over her," he said, jabbing his thumb at Natsu, "Is Natsu Dragneel."

"Hey! Who are you calling a flameball?!"

"Um, we should introduce ourselves," Levy said timidly.

"No need," Gray said, grinning at her. "You're Levy McGarden, right? And your friends are Mirajane Strauss, Lucy Heartfilia, and Juvia Lockser."

"How did you know?" Lucy asked.

Natsu grinned. "Our friend told us. She really admires you guys, you see. She often tells us stories of your adventures."

"Who might that be?" Juvia asked.

"Sorry," Gray said apologetically. "We're not allowed to tell anybody. King's orders."

"N-no," Juvia stuttered. "It's Juvia's fault for asking. Juvia is sorry."

Gray shook his head. "It's not your fault. Anyone would have asked." He shot her a smile.

Suddenly, Juvia became very flustered. Her heart was beating fast and her face was heating up.

"Hm? What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

"N-n-no," she stammered. "N-nothing is wrong."

"Is that so?"

"Y-yes." Juvia immediately knew that she was in love (and her friends knew too. They kept making weird eyes and smiling strangely at her). But, mixed in with those fluttering feelings in her heart was the feeling of nostalgia. 'Have we met somewhere before,' she wondered.