Chapter 8
AN: Well I decided to be nice and put up the next chapter anyway (Now I really have to bust out the next few chapters! Eek!)
*Gajeel*
"Hey Rivet Face! Get in here and greet your favorite cousin! I still need to get you back from that time at Jellal's Christmas party!"
Gajeel groaned and slammed his head against his desk. He was finally about to try to get some work done before dipshit cousin arrived. He failed.
Yelling and crashing could be heard from outside the door of his study, most likely it was his cousin looking for him. At the moment, Gajeel didn't care whether or not guests were here, that is, until a soft knock was heard on the large oak door of his study.
"Door's open," he called out half-heartedly. Soon, the door creaked open and the soft voice of his little sister floated in.
"Um, Gajeel?"
He lifted his head a bit to look at the small girl that now stood in the doorway. "Yeah?" he asked, even though he already knew what she was going to say.
"Cousin Natsu is here,"
"Yeah, I noticed,"
"So is Cousins Gray, Jellal and Evergreen," Wendy murmured.
"Uggh," he groaned dramatically and slammed his head against the desk again. With those four here, they might as well go and buy a new castle.
"That's not very good for your head you know," she nagged softly.
"Yeah, I know," he muttered, not caring at all. Maybe if he hit his head hard enough, he could knock himself out. That way he could avoid those idiots for at least a few hours.
About a second after he thought of his brilliant idea, another knock sounded at the door. This time, however, it was stronger, more demanding.
"May I come in?" a deep voice asked.
Gajeel mearly grunted in response.
"Wendy, may I speak with your brother alone?"
"Yes, of course Father,"
Gajeel lifted his head to see Wendy walking out of the room and his father shutting the door behind her.
"So, you've finally decided to get some work done?" the king teased, leaning against the door frame.
Gajeel now sat up straight and crossed his hands over his chest. "I tried to, but you just had to invite them early," he grumbled, glaring at a spot above his father's ear.
The king chuckled warmly and moved to sit in a large armchair that sat near his son's desk. "Well this is a big event. My eldest child upholding tradition and choosing a bride by his 21st birthday. I think that's cause for a little more celebration than just a ball, don't you?"
Gajeel didn't say anything, but instead stared at the floor.
His father sighed and shook his head, "I know this is a big step, but its tradition. I understand that you feel... unnerved by this whole situation, hell," he chuckled, "the thought of me picking a bride nearly made me soil my trousers when I was your age,"
Gajeel finally lifted his eyes to meet his father's, "But what if I choose wrong, er what if the chick don't agree, then what do I do?"
"Gajeel," the king placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "I have faith that you will choose correctly, and that the woman you choose will choose you as well. And if your mother were here today," he smiled sadly, "She'd tell you the same thing,"
His mother. His dad hadn't spoken about her that directly in about a year. Every time she was brought up, a sick feeling bubbled in Gajeel's gut. Guilt and anger were the only emotions he ever felt about that subject. Not towards his mother, but towards the dragon that had killed her.
One day, when Gajeel was 15 years old, his mom had taken a trip to a neighboring kingdom, to visit one of her old friends. She had taken no guard, assuring everyone that she would be fine. She wasn't. On her way back home, a dragon had found her walking, and took off with her. There wasn't even a body to bury by the time they found out what happened.
In a fit of rage and sorrow, Gajeel and ran away in search for the dragon. It took him a few weeks, but when he finally found the beast that had killed his mother, he had ended its life in an instant, returning home with the title of "Iron Dragon". Every time he thought about his mother, and the way she died, the dragon's bright green eyes and metallic scales filled his mind, haunting him with the fact that he had killed the beast.
Gajeel knew that his father was only trying to make him feel better about this situation, so he covered his father's somewhat wrinkled hand with his calloused one, "Thanks Pop. I 'ppreciate it,"
His father smiled at him one last time before standing up. "Come on now. Your cousin's must be getting restless and we can't have little Wendy out there entertaining them for too long. Mavis only knows what might happen to her,"
Gajeel allowed his father to lead the way out of his study and into one of the grand seating rooms of the castle.
"Finally! Took you long enough to show up Bolts for Brains," Natsu stood behind one of the love seats. His coat had been discarded and his red dress shirt was untucked from his trousers. His wild salmon hair jutted out from all angles and his smoky onyx eyes gleamed mischievously.
"Glad you could finally join us. Those morons you call princes were starting to get a little too rowdy," Evergreen spoke up from her spot on the love seat. She had her light green fan spread out in front of her face, hiding herself so only her eyes could be seen. She was dressed in an extravagant emerald ball gown that was about two sizes too small in the chest area. Her breasts were practically spilling out the top. Gajeel was extra careful not to cringe at the sight.
Evergreen was the Princess of Viridi, a small country known for its breathtaking views and gorgeous flowers that bloomed there.
"Hey the only moron here is Flame Brain over there!" Gray exclaimed. Unsurprisingly, he was dressed in only his black trousers, his shirt and jacket her littered in different areas of the room. That guy seriously needed to get over his stripping habit.
"Hey you wanna go Ice Princess?" Natsu challenged, getting in his face.
"Bring it on Fire Breath!" Gray countered, flinging his pants off.
Gray just so happened to be the Prince of Glaciem, a country known for its cool climates and snow covered mountains. Natsu was the Prince of Ignis, which was the exact opposite of his cousin. The country was well known for its tropical climates and active volcanoes. Living in kingdoms that were polar opposites of each other, it was only natural that the two would clash.
"Knock it off you two," Jellal stepped in between them and shoved them apart. "You need to behave while the King is present," Unlike the two men beside him, Jellal was actually fully dressed. His dark blue jacket was the exact same shade as his hair as well as his trousers, both of which were in pristine condition. He wore a white dress shirt underneath it all with a blood red tie that matched the shade of the tattoo that went over his right eye.
Jellal was the Prince of Eques. His smaller country was known, not for climates or views, but for being the worlds best place to train knights. It had the finest security and warriors and in fact, the Captain of the Royal Guard, Lady Erza, was sent there to train in her youth.
"Oh, don't mind me," The king chuckled, "I'm just going to go fetch lady Juvia. Your outfits of the ball should be done by now," the king gave a little wave and marched off to find the seamstress.
By the time he returned with Juvia, Gray had fully stripped, Natsu had broken a vase, Evergreen scared Wendy off, Gajeel had bruised his forehead from banging it on the wall, and Jellal just sat on the couch with a cup of steaming tea, watching the chaos unfold around him.
"Ehem!" The king cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. "Lady Juvia is here with your outfits,"
Juvia came forward with five clothes bags in her hands. She walked over to Evergreen and gave her the largest of the bags. "Lady Evergreen. Juvia made sure to put extra green rhinestones on the bodice just like you asked,"
"Thank you," Evergreen put her fan away and took the bag out of Juvia's hands.
"Sir Jellal," she made her way over to the man on the love seat, and handed him his assigned bag.
"Sir Natsu and... S-sir G-Gray," she fumbled with Gray's bag as her face flushed a deep cherry red.
After finally giving Gray his bag (with quite a bit of difficulty) she handed the last bag to Gajeel, "Prince Gajeel," she gave a small bow.
"Thanks Juvia," he relieved her of the bag and placed it on a table that sat beside him.
"Do you know what you're going to do at the ball?" Juvia asked quietly.
Gajeel's were set in determination as he watched his extended family fight, and joke around, "Yeah," he mumbled back, "I do,"
AN: Whoo! Finally finished with this one! Haha! I'm so proud of myself! I am exhausted and I'm about to fall asleep at my computer so, I hope you enjoyed!
Later Taters!
~Icy
(Also I couldn't remember any of the names of cities in FT so I went made up the kingdoms of my own. If you speak Latin, then you'll find these names extremely fitting XD)
