I just want to send a big thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story through my sporadic updating schedule! It means so much to me that people have the patience and enjoyment for the story to come back after so long. My love to each and every one of you!
Damnit!
Gajeel's fist slammed against the faux mirror, the glass shuddering under the force. He couldn't break it, he'd already tried and was met with hushed snickers from the other side. The doors were locked, the guards posted outside, and he was left utterly alone.
"Damnit," He cursed aloud, taking a violent step away from the mirror at last. Kicking and screaming had gotten him nowhere, and bargaining was out of the picture. What was he left with?
Nothing, he thought bitterly. He was left with absolutely nothing.
Gajeel wasn't stupid. He'd never been an intellectual, but he wasn't an idiot. If he thought for a long time, he would come up with an escape plan. He knew he would.
But he didn't have a long time.
Levy was gone, no doubt with Kale, and Gajeel had no idea what that meant for her immediate safety. It seemed like Kale had no interest in her at the moment, but who knew how long that would last? He needed to get out of here, and he didn't have the time to think about how.
Levy would know what to do. If she were here- and functioning, Gajeel added with a twitch of discomfort- she would come up with the perfect plan. He couldn't figure out how she did that, no matter how hard he tried.
With a grunt, Gajeel fell to the ground with his legs crossed. He folded his arms, closed his eyes, and began to think.
.
Kale led Levy through another hallway, a string of offices, and something that resembled a cafeteria, before finally stopping at a large iron door with running the length of it, as well as a tiny reinforced window that was above eye level. Looking at it made Levy uncomfortable.
"Here we are," Kale announced proudly, clapping his hands together and releasing Levy's in the process. "This is a new addition to the company, Levy. You won't recognise it, I'm sure."
Levy was still staring at the door. Gajeel could probably eat it, if he felt so inclined.
"I had it installed after your escape, actually." Kale mused, ignoring her apparent lack of interest. "You were the inspiration, saucy little minx that you are. You see,"
Guards shuffled behind her, passing something through their ranks until it reached the guard behind her and to her left, where it stopped.
"After your outburst, I decided that I needed better security for new arrivals. In particular, the more spirited ones needed time to themselves to prepare for their employment." Kale's tone was conversational, as always, but his voice held pride and tightly controlled excitement. The sound made Levy increasingly nervous.
"So I had a contractor come in and design this little beauty," He patted the cold frame affectionately. "We call it Scripta, after you."
Levy blinked. How did Kale know she was a solid script mage? He hadn't seen her fight, at least not before today. He would have no way of knowing that that was what she'd become after all these years-
She paused.
Scripta. Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Bluebell.
Levy nodded sharply, acknowledging Kale's expectant eye. She should've expected that.
Satisfied with her understanding, Kale held out his hand to the aforementioned guard. An arm appeared next to Levy's head, holding a set of large keys in thick, sausage fingers.
The fingers dropped the keys into Kale's hand and then retracted, brushing Levy's shoulder in the process. The touch lingered, turning Levy's stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the bile that surged into her throat.
Kale paused his examination of the keys to examine Levy's face, the sour expression she made, and the quick retracting of the guard's hand.
"You're dismissed," Kale said icily. He took a step forward, snaking his arm around Levy's torso and pulling her towards him. He was warm, but the warmth burned Levy's skin as she stumbled into him, gritting her teeth and struggling to be patient.
The guards hesitated, feeling out Kale's quiet displeasure, but ultimately deciding that their jobs- or their lives- were on the line if they disobeyed him. The company left.
"I apologize, Levy darling." Kale soothed, his hand moving to the back of her head, his fingers passing through her hair comfortingly. "It's so difficult to find good help these days. Let's continue, shall we?"
Kale released her long enough to insert the key in the lock, release the handle, push the heavy door open, and then he was guiding Levy into the darkness.
.
Garden.
He was in a garden.
He was in a garden alone.
He was in a garden alone and getting frustrated.
He was in a garden alone and getting frustrated and-
"Bah!" Gajeel slapped himself in the forehead with enough force to startle a nearby bird. He'd been thinking of an escape plan by compiling the little information he had and repeating it to himself, with no success. The bird chirped indignantly at his outburst, fluttering away from the rude fellow who'd disturbed his meal.
Gajeel sighed. He'd been listening intently for any sign of where Levy had gone, but he couldn't hear her. The walls were thick, not thick enough to deter a dragon slayer but certainly thick enough to muffle noises of regular volume.
The bird continued to chirp as though it were telling Gajeel right where he could go.
He'd already explored his surroundings to the best of his abilities, avoiding plants that didn't smell right, and had come up with nothing. He was looking for a vent, or a pipe system, something with a connection to the outside world that would help him. He'd turned up empty, much to his chagrin.
The guards hadn't made any contact with him either, not since the snickers he'd heard earlier. Gajeel was being ignored to the point that he was practically non-existent.
At least the bird acknowledged his presence.
Wait. The bird…?
Gajeel had initially thought the bird had simply stopped chirping, but after a few moments of intense listening, he discovered that it was no longer in the garden at all. That meant that it had to have left.
That meant there was a way out.
Gajeel stood, tilting his chin to squint at the ceiling. It was high, impossibly high for a normal person. Luckily Gajeel was not a normal person. At first he didn't see anything of interest, but after some careful scanning Gajeel managed to locate a small opening in the ceiling admitting sunlight and, he grinned, small woodland creatures.
He couldn't believe he hadn't realised it sooner. Sunlight was bouncing off of all of the walls, it had to have been coming from somewhere. Pushing his disappointment in himself aside, he felt a surge of pride.
He had his way out.
.
The iron door shut snugly behind them, the metal key screeching as it locked the two of them inside. There was a brief moment where they were doused in darkness, but it was ended with the lighting of a lantern behind her.
"It's a little claustrophobic for my tastes," Kale admitted with a shrug that Levy could nearly hear, "But it was an unfortunate necessity for its purpose."
With the low lighting, Levy could look around and make out the basics of the room.
There was no bed, as she suspected, but there was a pile of rags in the corner that could serve as a place to sleep. There was a low-lying sink, a wooden chair, and a grubby mirror hanging from one wall. The room itself was made entirely of iron or steel, she couldn't tell exactly which, and felt desperately cold.
It was a cell. A cell and a death sentence all rolled into one.
"Every girl who stays here is washed and groomed upon leaving, of course," Kale nodded towards the filthy pile of rags. "I only accept the highest quality goods; this is simply a temporary solution."
He paced the room, barely looking at Levy.
"Once their stay in Scripta is over, they're moved to much more comfortable accommodations in the basement. They remain there until they're shipped out, and I'd like to think they're quite happy while they're here. But perhaps that's too confident of me."
Arrogant, Levy mentally corrected. It was too arrogant of him.
"You will only stay here for a short while," Kale paused to examine himself in the mirror. "Being a veteran, after all. And you won't be living with the other girls once you leave here. My personal employees have their own rooms, and yours will be right next to mine, naturally."
Levy looked at the floor. She was fighting to keep her lunch in her stomach.
"Anything you need, you may have." Kale assured her, as though it were her biggest concern. "Do you have any requests?"
"What happened to my mother?"
The question slipped out before Levy could think about it. She didn't know if she really wanted the answer, but she needed to know. Kale contemplated her request for a moment, scanning her with his eyes again. She refused to squirm.
"The answer may upset you, love." Kale's voice was sympathetic and low, genuine sadness seeping into his tone. "Are you sure that's what you want?"
Levy remained stubbornly quiet.
With a sigh, Kale began his answer.
"She came to me, just as I said." He turned away from her, staring at the wall. "She wanted to know where you were, and simply wouldn't accept that I didn't know. She kept returning to me no matter how many times I threw her out, and eventually I offered her a deal.
"I reasserted that I didn't know where you were. She seemed to be starting to believe me, so I suggested that I would stop looking for you if she agreed to take your place."
Levy pictured her mother, scared and desperate, kneeling before Kale and begging him for mercy for her daughter.
"She took the deal."
"She's here?" Levy flicked her gaze to Kale, still staring at the wall above the pile of rags. His jaw twitched, as though he didn't want to share the next piece of information with her, but had no choice.
"Was, Bluebell." Kale whispered sadly, raising the lantern he was holding and illuminating the wall before him. "She was here."
Blinking, Levy took in the sight before her.
There were papers on the wall, ones she hadn't seen before in the dark, but they weren't like the wall in Kale's office that they'd stumbled on before. There were only seven or so pieces of paper tacked to the metal here, and all of them were drawings.
The first was an elegant sketch of Levy as she'd been many years ago, a bright eyed young girl with a soft smile. The picture was signed by her mother.
The next was a projection of what Levy might look like now, and barring a few errors it was fairly spot on. That one was coloured with cheap pastels.
The next was a sketch of Levy with her parents, outside of their house, picking apples.
The next was of her father.
The next was of her mother, alone in this room, crying.
The next was of Levy, alone in this room, crying.
The last picture, placed high on the wall, the farthest from the pile of rags, was a barely interpretable abstract piece. The pencil marks were harsh and ragged, the colours dark and fearful. It looked like a face, but Levy couldn't be sure. Scratched below the drawing were the pitiful words 'Let me die. Please, let me die.'
Levy's heart began to beat audibly, slamming against her ribcage with enough force to snap her bones. Her mother was dead. Kale had killed her through neglect and malice.
Kale waited for her to process the harsh information, his expression patient and etched with pity. She wanted to punch him, no that was too easy. She wanted to plunge a knife into his heart, that would be more fitting. Instead, tears began to pour down her cheeks.
Kale let her cry. He waited, circling back to the door in preparation to leave her to her sorrows, but before he did Levy cleared her throat.
If she let Kale walk away at this moment, he would win. She would lose her chance, and possibly be stuck here forever. She wasn't prepared to let that happen. Her heart ached, and she felt nauseous, but she could grieve later.
She couldn't lose it. Not yet.
Shaking her head, Levy lifted her chin and unclenched her fists.
Kale watched her, surprised and impressed, as she collected herself. This was certainly his Levy, but she had grown so much. She was a woman now, no longer a little girl. He grinned.
Levy was lost in concentration, focussing on keeping it together, when Kale's arms wrapped around her waist. She inhaled sharply, her shoulders going rigid. They folded over her stomach, his face pressing against the side of her neck.
Her heart began to beat faster, but it wasn't time yet.
"I've missed you," He whispered, inhaling deeply. Levy felt a shiver ripple through her spine as his words caressed her ear. "It hurts me, you know. Picturing you with Hammond…"
Kale's lips kissed along her neck, his hands sliding to her hips.
Not yet.
"You will always be mine," Kale's teeth sunk into the soft flesh of her earlobe; Levy fought back a yelp of pain. "Hammond can wait an hour or two."
Levy struggled to keep her expression even as he turned her, slowly, to face him. She held his lustful gaze as he ran his hands over her body, one coming to rest on her ass and giving a nearly painful squeeze.
Not yet.
Levy bit her lip, refusing to break his eye contact. With soft sigh, Kale dipped his head, kissing her gently on the mouth.
Not yet.
Levy remained still, neither fighting or complying, as Kale worked his lips against her, willing them to respond to his kiss. His hands, one still gripping her ass and the other now wrapped around her waist, pulled her small body flush against his. Only when the ice in her heart had solidified, did Levy finally relent and begin to kiss this man. This man who'd ruined everything. This man who'd killed her family.
Kale groaned into her mouth, relieved that he was finally getting what he wanted. He began to paw at her, gripping the hem of her skirt and lifting-
Now.
Levy shoved Kale in the chest, bringing her knee up until it collided, roughly, with his crotch.
Kale stumbled backwards, cursing in pain, as Levy brought her leg up again, kicking him in the jaw with the top of her foot.
He fell against the door, his body weight hitting the metal and producing a terrible crashing sound. The guards would be here soon, Levy knew, but she had time.
"What the fuck-?"
"Shut the hell up," Levy whispered, her fist shaking with barely controlled rage. Kale stared at her, his pale eyes wide with shock. She'd taken him off guard, she knew, and that didn't happen very often. The moment would pass.
As she predicted, Kale composed himself in seconds, righting his suit as he stood. Her attack had knocked him to the ground, soiling his jacket with dust. His expression twisted into one of malice, no longer fighting to maintain a pleasant demeanor.
"You're adorable, Bluebell," He acknowledged her with a tilt of his head. His voice was no longer smooth, but roughed as though it had been skimmed with sandpaper. "You think you can take me on all by yourself?"
"I know I can," Levy snapped viciously, her eyes brimming with angry tears. Her arm whipped before her in a flash, leaving a trail of spiked letters that rushed towards Kale, thorny vines erupting from the barely legible text and targeting his chest. "This is for my mother, you bastard!"
.
A loud crash.
He didn't need his dragon slayer hearing to detect it, it was loud enough to spook the guards that were clamouring to grab hold of him.
Gajeel perched atop the apple tree, balancing precariously on its slim branches. He could make the jump to the window from here, if only he could shake the guards reaching for his ankles.
He'd kicked some of them away, but a few resilient motherfuckers remained. The crash had come at a perfect time, scattering the stubborn ones and allowing Gajeel to make his jump.
His fingers hooked on the edge of the window, and he had to dig his nails into the concrete to keep from slipping. With a great pull, Gajeel vaulted his body onto the roof and finally felt his magic begin to return.
Resisting the urge to celebrate, he took off in the direction of the crash. He may not know exactly what had cause it, but it was his best chance of finding Levy and finally- finally- ending this.
A little bit on the shorter side for this one, but there's a lot going on and I didn't want to bombard you guys with stuff. The next one will certainly be longer though; we have a battle to fight after all!
Review, follow, favourite!
(PS If you leave reviews as a Guest, I can't reply to them. I read every one of them though!)
