Hmm, this one is a little more psychological than the others, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Scream
Gajeel remembered the first time he heard her scream. But, it wasn't at the moment most would expect a little, feminine mage to shriek at the top of her lungs.
She didn't scream when he easily overpowered her and the inept duo that followed her around like lost puppies.
She didn't scream when he backhanded her, weaving around her script-like magic without much difficulty.
She didn't scream when he attached her with iron fetters and manacles to a tree in the middle of the park, in the position of a crucifix.
Heck, she didn't even whimper when he crudely painted the mark of Phantom Lord on her exposed (and bruised) abdomen….
No, she screamed the moment he began to walk away from the crime he had committed.
She screamed out all her contempt, guilt, anger, and self-pity because she was unable to protect her comrades, the unwritten rule of Fairy Tail. To Gajeel, a screaming victim usual gave him a sense of empowerment, a high of some sorts. However, not hers. Her scream, so filled with raw emotion that should have never been found in the heart of an innocent maiden, caused him to stumble, to nearly turn around, to nearly make him pull her limp form from that now tainted tree. But, at that time, he was still the Iron Dragon of Phantom Lord and such actions should not have been even considered by him. And so, the little light that shined briefly in his heart was swallowed up by darkness once more.
When Makarov finally gave that light a reason to shine again, Gajeel encountered that tiny fairy once more. She winced when she noticed his gaze, a small hand unconsciously placed on her stomach. The memory of her scream echoed in his ears, making him rip his eyes away and storm out of the guild to clear his head. Regret… It had been a very long time since he had felt such an emotion. Years in darkness had made him forget its intense, poisonous sting. But now, it had returned…. And he hated it.
That is why, on that day, he promised himself that he would protect her for as long as he still had life in him… because he never wanted to hear her scream ever again.
Reviews are nice and awesome and make me happier than Happy in a fish market!
~The Dreamer
