Greetings! Chapter 7 as promised. 8 will be up tomorrow. I haven't started on 9 yet, and there may or may not be a 10. It just depends on how I get nine to work out.
Thank y'all! I hope y'all enjoy.
Chapter 7
Interestingly, he didn't seem surprised to see them or if he was, he was doing an amazing job of covering it and remained expressionless. He'd seen Levy first and raised a brow, looking at her hair. But then he saw Natsu. Slight shock crossed his features before going back to an unreadable look.
Levy hesitantly initiated a conversation. "Hello," she stated slowly, gently waving a greeting. She started to speak again but was cut off.
Levi asked while tilting his head slightly, "would you like to speak with Sor-rane?"
To say the mages were shocked was a bit of an understatement. He could, not only, speak Fiorian, but honestly seemed to have expected them. Not only that, but he was, basically, offering to take them to the person they needed to speak with without them saying anything. What was going on here?!
Natsu was the one to ask, "how do you know our language?"
"My queen taught me, all the children, and a few soldiers Fiorian as well as several other languages," he explained almost seeming uninterested. "She always believed someone would come," he shrugged before continuing, "she just didn't know who or when."
Now, they were beyond confused. How did she know multiple languages? How did she know they would be rescued or that they even could be? How was she as powerful as she was? Who the hell was she?
Everything outside the first wall was showing damage that was well over 200 years old. That meant all these people had to have been there for their entire lives. They should only know one language! And, as far as they had heard in town that day, there was only one language.
"I'll let my queen tell you," Levi said, reading their perplexed expressions. "Though she won't awaken until tomorrow,"he started, "she's still exhausted from her fight this afternoon. But I'll take you to her anyways," he said simply, turning to lead them through the corridor.
Levy and Natsu rushed to follow. "Wait, if she's sleeping, shouldn't we leave her be?" Levy asked, concerned for the woman's health.
Natsu agreed, as much as they wanted to rescue everyone, it was obvious Sor-rane had over exerted herself if she was still sleeping and wouldn't wake until morning. But, then another thought crossed his mind, worrying him further.
"How often does she get like this?" he asked, not sure he wanted the answer.
Levi turned back to them, a worried look in his eyes, "Several times per week, sometimes every day. But she would be upset if I didn't take you to her, regardless of how tired she is."
Natsu and Levy looked at each other shocked. How was she surviving the strain? That would kill any mage in Fiore.
He kept walking, bringing them up several flights of stairs and down a few halls. Everything had been pretty bland in décor, almost as if a thing wasn't useful it was discarded or, possibly used for something else. The only decorations had been children's drawings and writings. They had to ask the significance.
Levi had explained as they walked that the orphans had been moved inside the palace with the queen for their protection. He further explained the townspeople were not empathetic towards the children. If it wasn't for Sor-rane's protection, they would've been killed to prevent a food shortage. It wasn't the first time in their history the children and elderly had been killed off after a wall was broken.
Levi shuttered as he remembered the day 16 years ago. The second wall had been lost and everyone had been moved inside the third and final wall. There was hardly any room for the extra thousands of people now inside the capital. Fearing the food shortage, the people had killed off all the young children, orphaned or not, and the elderly by forcing them off the wall to stave off starvation.
Sor-rane had been furious when that heinous practice was discovered, her own children having been threatened as well, and had destroyed the palace, the city, and final wall in indescribable rage. She'd intentionally allowed the "titans" into the city before forcing them back out and repairing everything back to its original state. The warning in her eyes had been clear and no one had dared question her absolute authority on that subject ever again.
"And that was before she was voted queen," Levi had almost sounded proud of her.
The mages had been furious upon hearing the story as well, silently applauding her for her mercy, as they weren't sure they could've done the same. Natsu's fists had sparked numerous times during the horrific story. Levy, a mother of three, cried for the children that had been lost, knowing she could never do anything like that to her own babies.
After a while, Levy started a new conversation, "You keep calling me, Sora," she started tilting her head, "My name is-," but she was interrupted.
"Tsora," he corrected, spinning to look at her, before continuing urgently, "you are a mage, like Sor-rane, yes?" he questioned. She merely nodded stunned by the sudden confrontation. "I am just a soldier, no one but the queen and her children will call you by your names."
"You call Sor-rane by her name," Natsu pointed out. "Isn't she higher rank than you as well?"
Levi blinked a him several times before doubling over laughing. It was an odd sound coming from him and they got the feeling it was definitely not a regular occurrence for him. "Sor-rane is not her name," he started in the interest of quelling their misunderstanding, still chuckling. "She has told me it several times, I still can't remember it or her children's names and I've known them for almost 17 years. Tsoraine is 'my queen' in our language," he explained, slowly pronouncing the word correctly. "And, Aurra and Niaco translates to my princess and my prince," he added finally sobering up.
Well, bang goes that theory.
They entered the queen's waiting room. It was nice, looking more like a classroom than a waiting room. It had several small desks and infinitely more children's decorations covering everything. It also had three other doors leading off it.
Levi walked to one set of doors and knocked before sticking his head in. He then opened the door the rest of the way gesturing for the mages to follow.
Levy entered first followed by Natsu who immediately crashed to his knees. Levy went to him worriedly checking him over. He was breathing hard through his nose, eyes wide in disbelief.
He would know this scent anywhere.
