The Heart in an Iron Cage
Year X780
Gajeel signed as the train pulled into White Lily Village Station. The job in Zoin was finished and he was ready to just relax and spend sometime at his forge. Gajeel activated his magic and the metal piercings in his face and arms sank back into his body. He then messed up his hair so it was even wilder. Lastly he put on his glasses and stepped off the train.
"Hey Fox long time no see!" a man shouted.
Gajeel or Fox as everyone in White Lily Village knew him as smirked and shouted back, " Yeah haven't been by the forge for a few weeks and decided I better drop by and get whatever orders I got finished."
"How long you in town?" the man asked.
"A few weeks at least I don't got anything planned so I can restock and sell quite a few pieces before I leave town again."
"Great cause I was about to put an order in for my wife's birthday for next Friday."
"Come on by later this week. I should have most of the orders done by then," Gajeel stated as he walked out of the station.
Gajeel walked down the road and up to building with sign that read Fox's Metal Arts. It had been a year since he had come to White Lily Village and had found the old forge. Wanting to find an escape for his life at Phantom Lord Gajeel had made a new life in small town. Here everyone knew him as Fox Tetsu a young fifteen year-old who owned the local forge and made the most beautiful metal sculptures and jewelry on this side Fiore. Fox was who Gajeel really was behind his tuff guy persona he put on at Phantom Lord. Here he could show his softer side like when he would just go the park watch kids play or eat something other then iron like the sweet buns Mrs. Tops makes at her bakery.
When he wasn't at the forge he was off traveling wherever he pleased aka he had jobs to do for Jose. Really the only time he went on missions was when Jose told him too other wise he just lazed around the guild. So when he traveled to White Lily a few years back he found he liked the place and decide to make it he vacation spot for when he wasn't needed by Jose. So as soon as the list of missions Jose gives him is done he heads down to White Lily and spends his time as Fox Tetsu the iron sculptor.
He even went the extra mile made simple disguise for when he was in town. It was really simple he just took away the piercing in his face and arms one of his most memorable feature. Next he would change out of his black clothes and hair. He usually would be seen wearing a jean jacket with t-shirt and some jeans and would mess up his hair a to give it an even wilder look or have it pulled back in a high ponytail when he was working in his forge. Finally he wore glasses with a spell cast on them to change his red eyes to green.
Unlocking the door to the building Gajeel went over to his order box and check to see what he need to make before he left town. Gajeel raise a brow when he saw only six-request lacrima. Gajeel thought back for a moment and remember that there weren't any major holidays or events coming up for a month or so.
"Gihihi, guess that mean I can get some jewelry and miniatures made to sell in the shop for next couple of months."
Gajeel looked over the orders and smirked a three personalized miniatures for birthdays, an iron rose for a sweet heart and two memorial sculptures. Today was Tuesday if he worked late the next couple of days Gajeel would have them all done in by this Friday and that would give him at most three weeks to restock the shop and sell off what ever jewelry and statues he already had made. By then Jose would have a new list of missions for him to perform and he'd be gone for two to four weeks.
Walking up to window and flipping the closed sign to open Gajeel went into the back room to the get metals ready for melting and get the molds prepared for the memorial statues. Pulling his hair back Gajeel got to work. It was 10 o'clock close to closing time when Gajeel heard the bell of the front door open. Wiping the sweat off his forehead and checking the melting metals and inspecting the molds he was making for the statues Gajeel grabbed his glasses and went up to the front of the store.
Gajeel's eyes widen when he saw who it was. It was the girl he had met just the other day on the train Levy if he remembered right. She was looking at the necklaces he had on display smiling happily as she picked up one. Gajeel smiled when he saw it was one of his dancing dragon medallions. They were a specialty of his. Gajeel cleared his throat and Levy turned around and spotted him behind the counter.
"Can I help you?" Gajeel asked as he walked up to her.
Levy was looking at him funny as if she was trying to figure something out.
"Umm is there a problem?" Gajeel asked her as she walked up to him.
Levy suddenly jumped up swiped his glasses off his face.
"I KNEW IT!" Levy cried out as Gajeel's green eyes turned back to red.
Gajeel gasped in surprise as Levy grinned up at him.
"I knew I had seen you before. Why do you look so different, Gajeel? Are you undercover or something?" Levy asked as she stared into Gajeel's eyes daring him to lie.
Gajeel had figured out on the train that it was difficult to lie to Levy. She could just tell when he was lie like when he had talked about how fun it was at his guild. It was big fat lie and she called him out on it right away. The guild was dull, spooky and even a little creepy to make it fit into the name Phantom Lord. It was one of the reason's he made the forge. Being stuck in such a dreary place was not fun even for a tough guy like him. He was pretty sure that if he did stay in the guild for to long he would go insane like Aria with all the crying. Gajeel grabbed his glasses and put them back on his face. He grabbed Levy without a word and dragged her to the back room.
"How the hell did you know it was me?" Gajeel asked as glared at her.
Levy just smiled and said, "Well I will admit that you do look a lot different without the piercing and the black clothes and all, but your voice is still the same Gajeel.
"Do you how many people I know from Phantom Lord have come in here and bought something and they didn't even flinch. I have met you once and you knew it was me by my voice."
Levy shrugged and said, "I got a good ear so why are you dressed like this and working at one of the best forge's in Fiore?"
"I don't work here Shrimp, " Gajeel stated with a smirk, "I am the owner."
"What? But everyone says that its owned by some guy named Fox Tetsu."
So for the next hour Gajeel explained how he found the forge and how he used it to get away from Phantom Lord. By the end of it Levy was just staring at him in shock. He put so much work into this just to get away from his guild.
"You did all this just to get away from your guild. Why don't you just quit?" asked Levy.
"You don't quit Phantom Lord okay? Trust me many have tried none have succeeded. The only way to get out of Phantom Lord is get hurt so bad you can't work anymore or you die on a job end of story," Gajeel said as he sat down, "Most of the members don't stick around the guild to much because they are always going on jobs. But Elemental Four and I only go on jobs that Jose picks out for us so we all have to find ways to keeps us occupied. Before I found the forge I would just wonder around looking for my dad."
"Your dad? You mean the dragon that raised you? Is he missing too like Natsu's dad Igneel? When did he disappear? What was his name?"
"His name is Me- Wait why am I even telling you this? You should leave Shrimp like now!"
"What? Why we just talking like friends do?"
"We aren't friends Shrimp. Look you are a fairy and I am a phantom. Our guilds hate each other Shrimp okay? If my master knew that was I talking to you like this he would have my head and then he would have your for trying to be my friend."
"Oh please Gajeel we talked for seven hours while we were on the train to Zion and we just talked for an hour about how you basically hide here to get away from Jose and the rest of your guild. We are already becoming friends Gajeel."
"That's what I don't get for god sake I have met you twice and you know more me about then anyone else. I barely know you, but here you are able to see through a disguise that some my own guild mates haven't been able see through."
Gajeel stood up and walked to front of the store with Levy right behind him. Gajeel didn't get it at all, he had just met this girl, but already she knew more about him then anyone at Phantom Lord. The people of White Lily didn't know much about him because they only knew him as Fox. At the Guild he was cold and cruel and would beat up a guy for looking at him funny while in White Lily he did have the freedom of showing his softer side, but they still didn't know his darker half. He didn't really have friends in either life just acquaintances and know here this girl he just met comes around wanting to be his friend even though she knew all the rumors about how he was monster and that he was basically living a second life to get away from those rumors. He didn't get why he was able to talk to her so easily when he learned years ago that he couldn't trust anybody but himself.
"Gajeel look I am going to be in town for a few days. If you change your mind about us being friends meet me at coffee shop down the street. I'll be their most of time I'm here reading okay," Levy said as she opened the door, "Your secret is safe with me Gajeel because honestly I was really happy when I met you the other day. I can tell that was the real Gajeel that I was talking to not Black Steel or Fox Tetsu. Don't you think at least someone should know the real you because I would think that hiding who you really are for the rest your life would be a heavy burden for even a dragon to carry?"
Gajeel slumped down to the floor and signed. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. He knew the moment that Metalcana had disappeared that he was going to be alone for the rest of his life. When he was a kid he had tried to make friends, but no one wanted to be friends with freak raised by a dragon and at the guild he had learn quickly that you couldn't put your trust into anyone there or you would get stabbed in the back. Even here he kept everyone at distance because he knew that one day they would turn on him just everyone else had.
Gajeel got up sighed and flipped the closed sign over and stared to close the shop up. It would take the rest of the night for the metals all to melt and be ready for the two models he had finished. As he headed upstairs to the apartment overhead and laid down in his bed as Levy's words flashed in his mind. Don't you think at least someone should know the real you because I would think that hiding who you really are for the rest your life would be a heavy burden for even a dragon to carry?"
It was a heavy burden to carry, but so was a heart that had taken rejection time and time again every time he let someone passed the bars he had put around it.
