Hi everyone ! I'm back with chapter 21 ! Don't forget to leave a comment if you liked it ;)

Lily xxx

Both sides were staring at each other, but neither dared to act first. Then, without even knowing what initiated it, the tension dissipated soon replaced by the battle that just started to rage on. Gajeel had to refrain from attacking the first enemy in sight, but the shrimp beside him, his shrimp, helped him to stay focussed on his true targets: José and August.

So they circled the palace discreetly. Their group was supposed to take advantage of the diversion made by all this commotion to attack the two leaders. It included Natsu, Lucy, Laxus, Mirajane, Lisanna, Elfman, Evergreen, Cana as well as Gray, Juvia, Levy and him. They finally found the gardens' entrance, location where they estimated their chances where the best to go inside. However, a better chance didn't meant easy, Gajeel was more than certain of it.

"Let go of your weapons!" Yelled a voice in their back, confirming Gajeel's thoughts.

"Shit! Didn't expect them to show up this quick" grumbled Gray, seeing that a group of royal soldiers had noticed them.

"Go on" decided Laxus for those who were the most involved in this, slamming his fist into his other one. "We'll take care of these clowns".

"Yes! We are men!" Agreed Elfman just before getting hit behind the head by Evergreen.

"Who are you calling a man?" Complained the young woman, annoyed by his habit of saying "man" every time he could.

"Are you sure?" Asked Levy, uncomfortable with the idea of letting her friends behind.

"Don't worry" Mira reassured her with a warm smile. "We'll be fine. You, make sure you find those horrible assassins" she added.

Reluctantly, she nodded, but was hold back by a hand in hers.

"Lu?" she started, recognising her best friend.

"Natsu and I are coming with you. Two additional pair of arms wont be too much."

Levy nodded once more and started to run before getting caught up by the guards. Despite the worry she had for her friends, she knew they all had good bases in combat due to all those brawls in Fairy Tail. Even Mira, despite her angelic looks, had gained the title of she devil during her youth. As for Lucy, even though she always did everything she could to stay out of anything implying violence, she loved to practice archery during her free time and was, at this very instant, armed with a longbow.

Levy had to have faith in them. She focussed once more on the door she almost reached when she was thrown on the ground. Opening her eyes, she noticed that the shock wave that made her loose her balance originated from the canon that was shooting at them from the rampart. It barely took seconds before another hit enlarged the already big crater, almost hitting them this time. Happily, Lucy had reacted fast enough and an arrow had put the shooter out of commission.

They weren't however out of the woods yet and a handful of soldiers rushed to the gardens. "We don't have time for this" thought Levy, clenching her fists.

"Juvia and I will take cake of them" said a voice that sounded like it was far away.

After a quick look of her surroundings, she noticed that, Gray and Juvia had been separated from them because of the canon shoots. She made a step in their direction, but a hand on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

"To pervert said he would take cake of it" said Gajeel.

"But, there's only two of them" protested the young woman.

"Two persons really good in combat" he maintained his point. "You have to trust them shrimp".

"Be careful!" She yelled at the attention, reluctant to let once more some of their friends behind, despite the fact she knew their options where limited.

Because of all those guards that were hold back on their way to the palace, the now small group finally went inside, ready to once and for all put an end to August and José's tyranny.

***

"Ready?" Gray asked Juvia while they were standing in from of the imminent menace.

Juvia nodded, getting herself in a fighting stance. If she had been prepared for something all her life, it was fighting. And with Gray by her side, the young woman felt like she was invincible.

The fact that she hadn't took her sword out of her scabbard yet wasn't a disadvantage, not at all. She simply used a phenomenal agility, dodging the too slow sword hits that were aiming at her and replying with calculated hits on her opponents. Juvia knew what she was doing, practically acting only on reflexes. As for the small wounds she sometime got, she would deal with the pain once the adrenaline would leave her veins. But tiredness started to show while the attacks on her multiplied. Three men were already on the ground, two remained. As for Gray, he had managed to vanquish one, two enemies still on him.

But as much as the young woman wanted to get closer to him, she knew she had to get rid of her own adversaries first, and the two remaining where the toughest. Between two hits administered to her enemies, one of them reached her with a hard kick in her ribs, depriving her lungs from air. Juvia collapsed on the ground. She only had time to roll on to side to dodge the sword blow that was about to pierce her abdomen.

Another assault plunged on her, the young woman only able to avoid the attacks without being able to get back on her feet. She had to put herself together, otherwise everything wold be lost. With one of her feet, she tripped the man at her left, taking advantage of his fall to get back up and attack the other one. This time, the soldier didn't stand a chance and collapsed under Juvia's hit. Catching her breath, she turned to the last enemy. However, before she even saw it coming, the later jumped on her. She collapsed under the man's weight, her head slamming on the ground.

Something hard, probably a rock, hit her heard. Fog filled her vision. She attempted a desperate hit, making him drop his sword and probably saving her live by the same occasion... for now at least. Armed or not, the man didn't seem to be done with her and dragged Juvia to the pond that decorated the gardens. In addition to her sight that was failing her more and more, it was now air that started to abandon her.

Tears stated to fill her eyes, mixing with the water that was about to suffocate her. She, that loved water so much, was about to drown... the irony. Her heart tightened at the though that she would never see Gray again, but she had no strength left to fight against the one that was maintaining her head under water. Gray... she thought one last time before sinking into darkness.

***

Gray just got rid of a second enemy when he froze. Juvia was just slammed on the grown and wasn't getting up. He however had to put his attention back on the one who almost ended his life. But even if he should have focused on is own fight, he couldn't help but checking between attacks if Juvia was back in the fight. He felt like his heart just stopped when he noticed he couldn't see her anywhere. That's when he understood, seeing Juvia's opponent in addition of splashes in the pound. A rage he never felt before took over him. Without even knowing it, the last man was lying on the ground, out cold.

She was so far from him. Since when was she immerged? He ran like his own life depended on it to the inert body of a man he had vanquish and took the bow he noticed earlier. Hoping wholeheartedly that Lucy's lessons would come handy, he shot Juvia's aggressor with an arrow, freeing her. However, Gray noticed with horror that Juvia didn't break up the surface. Running even faster, he threw himself in the ice cold water, coming back to the surface seconds later, Juvia inert in his arms.

He dragged her to the shore. Both of them where soaked and frozen, but Gray couldn't give a damn. Juvia wasn't breathing. He started to compress her chest, trying to press out the water that had taken place in her lungs. Then he put his lips on hers to share is own air. "Come on, Juvia, breathe!" he said between two insufflations, on the edge of a nerve attack. She couldn't die this way. She simply couldn't die. The weight on his heart seemed heavier and heavier as time passed by without Juvia breathing. Then truth hit him. He should have given her his answer before the battle. He should've tell her he loved her when he still got the chance. However, he didn't really have the answer himself until then.

"Juvia!" He yelled, while his tears fell on her face, paler than ever.

He stayed this way until he felt his own heart beating again along with Juvia violently coughing, ejecting from her body the water that shouldn't have been there. Gray looked at her, incredulous, while she opened her eyes on him, still coughing a little. Then, noticing that she had started to breathe normally again, he placed his lips on hers, this time for a totally different reason.

"Gray..." she whispered once he ended the kiss.

The young woman was still on her back on the grass, Gray on top of her.

"I love you" he said.

"What?" she exclaimed, certain she hadn't heard right.

"My answer" he confirmed. "And don't ever do this to me again" he let out, still shaken up by the events.

Despite her heart pounding, she only managed to nod, still weakened by the attack she had suffered. Without a warning, Gray got up, Juvia in his arms bridal style, and left this place. He had needed to believe she was gone for good to realise how much he cared for her. But now that this realisation was made, he'd do everything in his power to keep her from ever being in such a situation again.

P.S.

Gruvia fans, I know I may have neglected you a little, focussing more on Gale these last chapters, but this one was for you! Hope it was up to you expectations :D !