The port of Oak Town in the Iron Kingdom was surely a sight not to miss, busy fishermen in their boats returned from the stormy catch of the day ready to trade in the market, merchants dried their tents and resettled them to welcome the costumers of the rest of day, it was early in the afternoon. People walked and rushed down the port to welcome the fishermen and to keep up with their routine, children played in the wet streets hoping from puddle to puddle, glad that they could get outside as their mothers scolded them not to do anything that would upset others. It was so lively that Levy and Romeo itched to get out of the boat and go explore.

"Miss Levy, are you ready?" asked a voice as the owner joined the siblings' side to admire the view of the iron Kingdom.

She remembered their first meeting

"Miss Mcgarden?" asked a soft male voice behind them as they arrived to the cabinet where the siblings would stay for the journey inside on of Magnolia's best ships The Queen Mavis, "My name is Jellal Fernandez, I will accompany you and serve as your assistant during your stay here." said a tall man with short chopped deep blue hair and a strange looking red tattoo on his right eye, he was wearing a long navy blue cape, pine green pants a tucked in black shirt and black boots to match. As he bowed slightly extending his right hand to her and his left rested folded in his back like a gentleman he looked at her with kindness.

"Nice to meet you Mister Fernandez, " responded Levy while placing her left hand in his. " Please, call me Levy."

"Then, Miss Levy." corrected Jellal while placing a soft kiss in her hand "Please call me Jellal, It will be a honor to assist you. If you need anything at all please confide in me." responded the man as he pulled himself back to his

"Then you won't mind me asking something, Mister Jellal." responded Levy as she stepped closer to this new found man "Who ordered you to do so? I don't recall asking the university an assistant, and the job certainly did not mentioned anything about someone other than the teacher." she inquired while lifting a brow while smirking showing disbelieve.

"My, you are as sharp as you are charming, my apologies for the inconvenience, I was appointed by the headmaster and King Makarov, to assist in anyway possible, and to offer my help to take care of your younger brother when needed." responded Jellal while handing her a letter form the headmaster explaining in detail his obligations, thus assuring Levy he was telling the truth.

"Well then, Jellal, I look forward to work with you." smiled Levy sweetly "Let us use the time we have here on the ship to get to know each other and start arranging the study program, it will be faster with two heads."

"Well then, ladies first." Jellal held the door open to the cabinet as Levy and Romeo stepped inside.

Since then they would spend hours talking and working together the whole journey, she started to feel relieved to have someone else form her country supporting her in a strange faraway land.

"Yes!" Levy answered instantly, she was really excited, being finally at her destination made her feel eager to walk across the streets, get to know the marketplace, and of course search for a library to run her fingers while devouring the books and scrolls holding the country's knowledge. Knowledge… "That reminds me, Jellal, have you studied the notes I gave you for the first few lessons?"

"Of course, I also arranged the subjects by difficulty level and according to how the students progress in their learning. " confirmed Jellal holding his right index finger up with a smile of satisfaction. After all he would be helping her with her lessons and taking care of her brother while she was busy.

"Thank you so much! This really helps, now I can positively say I am ready! If the king asked I could start the lessons the second we arrive!" cheered Levy " And then go and explore the town!"

"I am afraid It won't be that easy, first we need to settle down, unpack, and get a schedule for the classes, not to mention the audience we have with the king as soon as we set foot in land." As soon as Jellal mentioned that last piece of vital information a beautifully decorated boat with metal incrustations forming a dragon that seemed to swim gracefully to the ship approached them. The crew aboard the Queen Mavis stiffened as they recognized the man that the boat transported directly to them.

"Who is that? Is he the king?" asked Levy after seeing the look the whole crew had on their faces.

"That, Miss Mcgarden, is the Kralahome Jose Porla. A very powerful man here, he is the Iron King's right hand." answered the crewmember that announced her earlier of their arrival to the kingdom.

"Why is he …?" She was about to ask when the Kralahome himself boarded the ship using a wooden stair that was being held by various palace guards at the bottom where the small boat was and three other sailors on the upper end. He was accompanied by other two guards, one in each of his side, and went straight to them, since they were the only travelers a board the Queen Mavis.

"I give you a thousand welcomes to our kingdom, honored guests" said the Kralahome while bowing slightly opening his arms in a welcoming manner " I am the Kralahome Jose Porla, I hope your journey was pleasant."

"Very, thank you." Answered Levy bowing slightly " I am Levy Mcgarden, the teacher the King asked and this are: Romeo, my brother and Jellal Fernandez, my assistant." as Levy introduced each of the members of her party she gestured to them who in turn gave a slight bow in respect.

"Pleasure, have you any friends in the Iron Kingdom Mr. Mcgarden?" suddenly asked curiously Porla.

"No, I know no one…yet."

"In that case, if there is anything you need you can come to me." offered Porla rolling the last word with a grin in his face. " Now I shall take you to His Majesty, the carriage awaits." announced Porla as he turned his back to them and headed to the wooden stair where he came from motioning Levy and the others to follow "We will also take care of your luggage, it will be taken to the place of your stay."

As they descended to from the ship and walked to the carriage that waited for them at the docks, the town kept getting louder and fuller with people going everywhere, colors filled their eyes with exquisite variety and brightness, their noses were filled with the delicious salty smell of cooked fish with vegetables and a sweet and spicy sauce made with so many things they could not distinguish what it was, everything was so new and different from what they where used to.


It was a day long journey all she had to do was wait patiently and she would be free, well sort of, her plan was simple: wait until the King had to deliver tribute to the Iron Kingdom as part of the peace treaty, check; Prepare so that no suspicion whatsoever about her whereabouts were found out by sneaking out three days earlier, check; Get a simple outfit that could make her pass as one of the many slaves that where to be delivered and sneak into the group unnoticed, check; Get into the carriage where they would place them all for the journey, check; Now all that was left to do was jump outside the carriage just a few miles after leaving her home kingdom behind and be on her own way to start a new life, free of everything, and free of... HIM. Everything was going according to plan, except for one thing, check through of the tribute including servants Shoot, I did not think of that. Lucy thought to herself as she searched of a place to hide or a way out of her current position, without bringing much attention to herself.

"Hey this one here is not branded!" shouted one of the supervisors over Lucy's shoulder. Cold sweat running down her body, she could not escape now. If she was branded she would never be free, she would live a life as a slave for the Iron Kingdom that was not as nice of an option as staying in her own kingdom. She had to fight… NOW.

In a swift move she kicked the supervisor behind her making him fall, and ran as fast as she could. But where? Where could she possibly escape? There was no back up plan for this kind of case scenario, her mistake. Other supervisors shouted after her, trying to catch her.

"Get her! She mustn't escape! Call the guards!" she heard someone order.

Damn it, if they call the guards I will be in serious trouble. Stomp, she fell face first tripping on a small rock ahead of her, and felt strong hands holding her arms to her back and making her stand forcing her to face her new, not planned, fate.

"Caught ya, little bunny." smirked the guy holding her firmly as she struggled to break free kicking all over and shaking her whole body.

"Fwett-fuu, this is a cute one." whistled another man as he helped his mate to hold the rebel blond in place.

"And she sure can Kick! look at that poor bastard Ken, his leg is all swollen and that fall made some of 'em teeth to fall!" laughed another guy.

"Hold her still, I have the brand."

Ordered a tall muscular man with white hair styled with a medium ponytail and a short beard, that approached the others with a hot iron branding tool that had the four leaved flower, meant for servant girls. Her eyes widened as she felt the heat from the tool get closer, panic went out of her mouth as she whimpered trying to break free unsuccessfully from the, now, three men holding her still, one of them extended her right arm with a firm grasp so that her hand was resting on top of an wooden box.

"No… please…this was a mistake… I should not be here..." cried Lucy in a soft trembling voice that grew louder as the man with the hot iron held the tool closer to her hand and with force marked her symbol in her hand as she screamed from pain.

"Geez this little bunny caused us to lose some precious time, What do we do with 'er boss?" said the man that caught her to the white haired muscular man that tossed the branding tool aside.

"Put her in the last carriage, where all the good that go directly to the King are." ordered the man as he held a long smoking pipe to his mouth and lighted it. A strong smell of tobacco filling the air as he puffed his first smoke. " You unfortunate woman, the only worse job will be yours for all the trouble you caused us..." he smirked to her as he crouched near the blond crying girl that was in a fetal position trying to forget the pain in her hand. "You know what they say about those stranger servants that go to the Iron Kingdom to serve the King? They don't last anything, they overwork them and starve them to death, one small mistake and you will face a worse punishment. Heheheee."

Lucy could not hold back her tears now, this could not be happening, I just wanted to be free… She thought as the men grabbed her from her arms and tossed her inside the carriage like an object. The only thing she could do was wait until she arrived to the palace and try her best to make the king not want her as a slave in the palace, without losing her life in the process, at least she had time to think another plan to escape.


The carriage went through the streets passing by stores of clothes, food stalls, homes and people going on and about their normal lives until the town was no more and a giant yellowish wall stood on their way, a shining metal gate opened as the guards above recognized the carriage, and as soon as they went through the gates closed sideways with a loud thud and a clicking of various locks.

Ahead of them what seemed like a jungle with a lot of trees and plants of all lengths grew stretched far in the horizon with a stone path that lead the way. There where flowers of different shape and size growing everywhere, vines intertwined in the trees and hanging from the branches, everything was green and full of life, birds flew above them perching themselves in the trees that held exquisite looking fruits

At some point the jungle turned into gardens, where everything was adorned, the lawn was mowed perfectly in each sector forming at some points flowery designs or perfect geometrical shapes, there where bushes that served as walls for certain areas where different flowers grew, a small lake ran along the garden and through beautiful fountains and small bridges crossed them. Blooming trees grew everywhere they looked, an absolutely breathtaking view. Levy wondered exactly how large where the palace grounds to have a jungle and gardens this wide, the white and yellow palace presented in front of them. It was a rather simple design that made harmony with the opulence of the garden; she could see huge round balconies in each window and beautiful carvings in each frame, Everything is so bright in this country she thought.

As they approached the main entrance to the palace they saw they were not the only guests the king was receiving today. A lot of adorned carriages waited ahead of them, some were for transporting merchandise as Levy could observe, and four palanquins along with the carriers waited. The carriage came to a stop just at the entrance, that was after a long set of at least 20 stairs, guards in each side at the beginning and the end of them stood in a still position holding long curved double spears, a deep green and blue uniform, and a steel adorned armor, decorated with the royal crest in the left side of their chest and a shining red belt held their swords. The heat of the day started to feel heavy as Levy, Romeo and Jellal went up, not being used to go up so many stairs, Porla, The Kralahome waited for them at the top already, not a sweat drop in his face.

It was hot outside, the sun was as bright as everything else in the kingdom, but a sense of coolness welcomed Levy and her party when they entered to the palace, the ceiling was high so the inside was pretty cool, turquoise painted the walls and the ceiling along with silver, and paintings at the ceilings, each with a different story and style. It was after a little while that they arrived to the throne room, where the king was to receive them.

A silk curtain served as a barrier between the hall and the throne room, there was the king seating comfortably with a panther at his side, Levy had never imagined the king to be so young, she knew that he became king recently but the image of him was completely alien. His long raven hairs although unruly was combed back showing his face, he was handsome, and from where Levy stood she could see his defined cheekbones, and piercings adorned his face three where his eyebrows should be, two that ran down his nose bridge and other two down his lower lip and chin. He was wearing a black short-sleeved robe with a crossed neck and was closed with a silver waistband and beige pants. He had iron cuffs in both his wrists and his feet, they had bright red stones incrusted in them, showing his wealth.

Suddenly he clapped his hand two times, and a short round man, approached the king slowly and bowing countless times until he was in front of him just below the few stairs that separated the platform where the king seated in his throne and the rest of the room and held a deep bow, until the king motioned him to rise and speak with a soft movement of his hand. The man then seated in the floor motioned his followers to come forth and started to display and describe each of the many many objects in front of the King: beautifully decorated rugs with many colors and complex embroideries, jewelry and delicate bases passed in front of him.

"Woow, What is all this about, sis?" Asked Romeo impressed by the many things that came almost endlessly to the throne room.

"That my friends, it's the ambassador of Jade Kingdom, he comes every six months to deliver tribute to the King." answered Porla with a serious tone. "Jade Kingdom is the nearest Kingdom and holds a strong history with The Iron Kingdom, until five years ago a treaty was established to stop the fight between the two countries, and the Jade kingdom swore to give tribute to the Iron kingdom from then on…"

"In exchange for what?" asked Levy, she heard about the conflict the two kingdoms had going for several years with the previous king, and even knew that Magnolia intervened taking the side of the Iron Kingdom, however some details where still unknown, the only thing that mattered to most was that there was peace.

"For keeping their current King." smiled wickedly Porla while looking at Levy with a glint of evilness in his eyes, Where the kings in here that rude? I could not be, the king that was in front of her didn't had an arrogant attitude, he had a rather bored manner the hole time they had been there, and not a word had left his most feared mouth. Where the rumors wrong? If that's the case I knew it! He doesn't seem so bad, maybe even a little indifferent? Went on Levy thinking until something caught her eye, a blond girl probably around her age, with a beautiful figure and face entered the throne room and was presented to the king.

"What about that girl?" asked Jellal who kept silent the whole ride to the palace, observing with a sharp mind everything in their surroundings.

"Oh, another present for his majesty, it has been a while since they gifted his majesty with a new palace servant, usually they send them to work on the mines or in the case of women for sale." Answered the Kralahome, knowing the reaction that his comment would leave on the guests. They gasped. Slavery was long forbidden in Magnolia, it was considered one of the most horrible things any kingdom could allow, with the raising of the Iron Kingdom they never thought there would be slaves anymore, seems they were wrong.

"Your Majesty, we bring you one of the flowers from the gardens of Jade, here to serve as you see fit." said the ambassador describing the last present for the King, to this The Iron King shifted his position to look at the girl now bowing in front of him.

"Woman, tell his Majesty The Iron King, what you can do to serve him."

Now Lucy, it's your chance, I hope this works…"Your Majesty, Mighty Iron King, This lowly one can… read and write!" Said Lucy with all the seriousness she could, keeping calm as they all looked at her in disbelieve.

"Why is everyone acting like it's weird? Even I know to read and write!" said Romeo.

"Here it's considered outrageous for a servant to know how to read and write, they believe slaves should stick to know how to do simpler jobs because they think, as mistaken as it is, that reading and writing are exclusive for those that have freedom…They don't think of them as humans." answered Levy with anger in her voice, as her hands formed tight fists. It was truly horrible and unacceptable, and determined herself to teach not only the princes but the king as well some things.

" I beg a thousand apologies, Your Majesty," said the ambassador as he bowed his head "She can do many other things! Like making beautiful flower arrangements!"


Second Chapter! I really had it tough with this one since I had so many things in my mind describing what the palace and the town looked like, also Yayyy Jellal and Lucy! I heard the King and I is/will be playing somewhere in NY, I hope I can go watch it!

Thank you so much for reading! I was hoping to make Levy and Gajeel meet on this chapter but it seems it will have to wait until next one. Please rate and comment!

Terms:

Palanquin: its a sort of carriage, used in Easter Asia to transport one person, usually someone with a high status, but instead of being pulled by an animal it has poles at the front and back to be carried by many men.