The fox ran out on a chilly night
He prayed for the moon to give him light
For he'd many a mile to go that night
Before he reached the town-o, town-o, town-o
For he'd many a mile to go that night
Before he reached the town-o
The music was intoxicating, Laxus thought from where he sat, keeping guard on the gypsies camped outside the town of Magnolia. It was understandable why the townspeople worried about their children getting lured away, he figured. Of course, as the grandson of the mayor, most trusted him to keep them all safe from the sin that those outsiders lived in.
"Che," he muttered, crossing his arms across his broad chest with a frown. They were all idiots really, fearing the wandering group that visited every six months or so when they still bought their wares. These people did no harm, not really, and there were more people out there to fear. Hell, his own father was more of a threat than the woman who told fortunes to any who wished to pay for a reading.
He had never given in and visited her for that express purpose, but something kept drawing the blond to the tall woman with the easy smile. "Cana Alberona," she had told him her name was, which only fit. His grandfather had told him of a woman years ago named Cornelia Alberona who resembled this one. The two had met when she was visiting the local pub a few years ago, when she had proven that even though she was a woman that didn't mean that she couldn't drink a man under the table.
Two things he had learned about Miss Alberona that day: She liked her alcohol, and she had a beautiful laugh. Her story was something she gave easily, or at least part of it. Apparently her mother had been the fortuneteller before her, and taught her how to read the cards. She never knew her father, which he supposed wasn't odd for her people, but there was a distant look in her eyes when she said that. Other than that, he knew that she honestly believed that the cards she used could tell the future, so long as you could read their tale.
"It's not easy," she confided one afternoon, when he had caught her setting up her table. "But if you know what to look for, everything is right there. The truth, that's all I deal in. Some may not like what I see, but I'm really just the messenger." Then she had grinned at him mischievously. "Maybe I should hire you to protect little old me~"
He had scoffed at the idea. "Please Alberona, I've seen you send a grown man flying with a wine bottle. You don't need anyone to protect you." She had laughed at that, that laugh that affected him more than a mug of ale did. Still, he had hidden it with an arrogant smirk, not wanting her to see just how she got to him. After all, she was a gypsy, a wanderer, and he was the grandson of Makarov Dreyar, mayor of Magnolia. It would be a scandal that could even eclipse his father's banishment.
His family didn't need that.
A/N: Ok, I had this idea for a short AU series inspired by the song "The Fox" (the version I have is by Nickel Creek) for one of my favorite ships. That, and I haven't published much Laxana lately. xD I've already started writing the second chapter, and I'm thinking about maybe six chapters, one for each verse of the song. Dunno when the next one will be up, but we shall see~ Hope you enjoy!
