That part of the garden where the rose bushes were was like a paradise for me. When I'm in a bad mood, I always come here to calm down. This place was perfect; it had a swing for two people to snuggle up, and even better, it was well-hidden behind a large fence with some Red Roses that extended throughout the garden. By the way, it was quite far from our house, so we could talk freely without worrying about anything.

"Please don't call me that, Gray. You know I don't like it. First, my mother, then Agatha, and now you"

Lucy said, her cheeks slightly puffed, indicating her dissatisfaction.

"There's no avoiding it. I always tell you not to forget how beautiful you are"

Gray, a tall man of medium height with slightly spiky, messy black hair and dark blue eyes, frowned, not understanding why Lucy didn't like his compliments, as he sat on the swing.

Lucy sighed, shifting her gaze to the Red Roses adorning the nearby fence.

After smelling the sweet scent of roses in the air, Lucy decides to sit next to Gray on the swing, but when she realizes that his legs are very tight, she decides to sit between them, like a child asking for a lap. After seeing this cute scene, Gray gives her a little kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry if I'm not being so affectionate with you today. And... I'm not in a good mood. We received that stupid letter from the kingdom this morning that I feared so much"

Lucy said, getting slightly irritated again.

"No problem, because it's the same at home too"

Gray said, letting out a long sigh as he leaned back.

"We also received Levy's letter this afternoon."

I couldn't have been more surprised, of course Miss Levy, with her shoulder-length blue hair and black eyes that looked like chocolates, wasn't going to be left out of this selection.

"You should have seen the tantrum she threw when she received the letter"

Gray said, letting out an almost discreet laugh, but it was noticed by Lucy, who still remained in his lap.

"She started screaming and running around the house, saying she would go on a hunger strike if they tried to enroll her in the selection. And the reason is always the same: she's saving herself for Gajeel."

Gray continued, this time with a vulgar smile on his face, which did not go unnoticed by Lucy, who decided to give him a tap on the shoulder as a reprimand.

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"Why do you keep doing these things? You know that's not at all romantic?"

Lucy asked, still staring at the Red Roses in front of her.

Gray laughed at Lucy's reprimand, gently massaging the shoulder where he received the tap.

"Well, everyone has their peculiar way of expressing themselves, right? And your slaps are still as weak as ever"

He replied, smiling mischievously. Lucy sighed, still focused on the roses swaying gently in the wind.

After he said those words, his lips were already touching mine, and from that moment on, I couldn't think of anything else. For me, at that moment, the selection, the poor family, and even the Kingdom of Fiore didn't matter. The only thing that mattered at that moment was Gray's hands on my back and his lips sliding down my neck.

"You're lucky I didn't use even one percent of my real strength"

Lucy said, getting up from the swing with a slightly embarrassed face.

(Damn, two years and he still manage to make me blush.)

Lucy thought, staring at the Red Roses in front of her.

Gray was that typical pretty boy from the city; he was pale, had black eyes, and his hair was slightly spiked up and messy, which gave him an air of rebellion. And his smile, I don't know why, but whenever I saw it, it made me think he was hiding something from me. He was tall, slim and strong.

In the middle of that beautiful garden, hardly any light penetrated. But, after the moonlight hit where we were, I noticed small dark circles on his face, probably caused by spending weeks at the police base with his father.

When I looked at his clothes, I noticed that he was wearing a blue cotton shirt and jeans that I was sure cost more than the TV we had at home.

But even with all this difference in life and everything that was happening to me, I didn't care, as long as I could be like this with him, lying by his side and giving him a comforting massage, and maybe even giving him advice so that he wouldn't stay at work until late at night. And, finally, cooking his favorite food while we ate by candlelight.

(I didn't want to be the princess or the queen of the Kingdom of Fiore, all I wanted was to be loved and to be Gray's, his princess, and nothing more).

Lucy thought, beginning to stare at that beautiful dark sky with all those free stars, being able to do whatever they wanted, unlike her, who would be forced to marry a spoiled prince just because it was her birthday. It hurt to have to stay away from all that and especially to have to stay away from him.

I would only need a few days away from that life of mine to start going crazy and wondering what Gray and my family were doing.

When I couldn't look after Mr. Lockser's horses anymore, it was Gray who secretly came to help me. And no one ever found out about it, Mr. Lockser should also thank Gray for his mares being so award-winning, after all, without him, I wouldn't be able to do half the things. Gray always managed to drive me crazy and that was as bad for me as it was for him, after all, he was a 'two'.

The Fullbuster’s were one of the few traditional families that still existed within the kingdom, and to make their reputation even better, they had one person in the family that the royal family itself would put their hands on. As well as being second in command, he was also Gray's older brother, Gajeel. As well as being an excellent soldier and having his own battalion, he also had the queen's own personal guard at his disposal.

RECOGNITION TO MEMBERS:

Matthew Jimenez🤝 - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MAHAYANA PRISON".

Gkiller ⛩️ - THANK YOU FOR ACTIVATING THE DOMAIN EXPANSION "MALEVOLENT SANCTUARY".