A/N: As promised! Here is another update! I LOVE LOVE YOU GUYS COMMENTS! They keep me going! Thank you so much for reading my trash! :D
Once again, Gajeel left his advisors in a worse mood then he went in. He stomped through the halls, his footsteps ringing off the walls as his entire body vibrated with anger. Every person that clearly didn't hear him coming, quickly got out of his way as his mood was evident as it came off of him in waves.
No right. They had no right to say such things! His mind didn't hesitate to remind him of the conversation that aided in his sour mood.
"Even though this plan is small and deals heavily on reinforcement to come and tell me the best choice of action, the best thing to do now is gather information from the previous epidemic and see if there's anything we could learn from it and if there was an antidote. Which we already did, and surprisingly, most of the ingredients can be found in our own herb garden but the rest has to be found elsewhere. We decided that once the antidote is made, every household will get one in order to make sure Lullaby doesn't spread. And any doctors not infected will go out and check for any infected citizens. It'll take us a while but I think we could get it done."
The advisors listened to Gajeel speak, nodding their heads in accordance to his plan. They voiced their opinions and questions on his plan and he answered them knowing his decision was sound.
"You keep saying, we, who is we?" One advisor asked his head cocked to the side.
Realization hit him as he realized what he was saying earlier. "Oh! Levy! She's the one that helped me and really formulated the plan. I just helped iron out some kinks since she doesn't know the kingdom as well as I do yet."
The advisors hummed in understanding, some making a face Gajeel couldn't decipher until someone spoke up. "Isn't this Levy, your hand maiden and tutor?"
"What of it?" Gajeel asked, suspicion coloring his tone. They seemed to be holding something back, debating whether they should comment on the little blue haired woman that has become Gajeel's little shadow.
The advisors looked at each other before speaking, as if deciding that they would voice their concern. "You've been spending a lot of time with her and there are rumors going around about your….alone time together."
Eyes going wide as his blood pressure started to rise, he tried his best to regain his composure at what the old men were hinting at. "Just get to the point." Gajeel grounded out, trying his best to stay calm.
There was no way they were implying what he thinks they're implying. For their sake, he better be wrong.
"We know you bought her from that…place and her lessons are helping you but she's also hurting your image. Some people are saying she's your concubine."
"What!" Gajeel yelled, his temper rising. "Who are saying these things? Levy is not my concubine!" He wanted to feel embarrassed, to feel flustered over their statement but he was more agitated than anything else. If it was someone else, would he be just as angry or is it just because it's Levy? His little blue haired fairy being falsely labeled something he's sure she wouldn't dare agree to.
"Well, one of the guards saw you frolicking in the woods with her and just before you came in, you two were apparently embracing each other. What are we supposed to think?"
"Frolicking in the woods? Are you serious? Who frolics in the woods? Not me, that's who and we didn't embrace, I was holding her hand."
"Well we think, you need to limit your time with her in order to prove that she's not your concubine."
Slamming his fist on the table, he stood up from his seat, the chair flying back from the momentum as he was reaching his breaking point. "I will do no such thing! I have to prove nothing to no one! And she's supposed to be by my side. She's my maid for fucks sake! How am I supposed to learn a new language when 99% of the time I'm trying to run a fucking kingdom?"
"She's just overstepping her boundaries, I mean she comes from a whore house, we just think-" before he could finish his sentence, Gajeel was already around the table clutching the front of his elder's robe, lifting him up by the fabric to eye level.
With gritted teeth and flaring temper he tried his best not to throw the old man across the room. "I dare you to finish that sentence." Gajeel growled out, hearing the old man gulp audibly.
Dropping the man back into his seat, he glared at each and every one of them before speaking. "I don't care who you are or what any of you got to say. If you ever speak of Levy like that again, I will not hesitate to remove you from my services. She is not some whore and where she comes from doesn't matter. We will do what we please and I don't care what any of you have to say about it. This meeting is over with." Before any of them could object or say anything else, Gajeel was already out the door.
"Bastards!" He shouted wanting to desperately punch something to relieve his pent up energy. The conversation replayed in his mind in an endless loop as he made his way outside, the desperate need of fresh air as he breathed heavily.
Walking through the maze of gardens, he slowed his pace when he heard a familiar tune. It sounded more lighthearted than what he remembered, but it seemed to slowly ease his frustration as he mindlessly followed it. Fairies. That's what it sounded like. Fairies humming a tune as they danced in the garden. What he walked in to find wasn't completely wrong but instead of many fairies, it was just one and she wasn't dancing.
Levy sat on the ground, her skirt pooled around her as the front of it was used to hold whatever she picked. Lily laid beside her, his eyes closed as his tail swished lightly, enjoying the warm sun and the soft humming of the woman beside him. Gajeel noted that her maid's uniform was getting dirty from sitting down on the ground, and made a mental note to get her some outdoorsy clothes.
The sight of her calmed him, dousing his raging flames once again. He stood there for a moment, just listening and watching her thinking how she really did look like a fairy picking flowers from his garden and placing them in her lap.
Stepping closer to her, he hummed along with her, clearly surprising her by the way she jumped, lifting her head quickly to look at him.
"Didn't mean to scare you." he chuckled crouching down beside her, "You've been a busy fairy."
Pouting at the nickname, Gajeel couldn't help but smile at her reaction. Picking on her was way too much fun. "You also seem to have gotten really dirty. Why didn't you grab a basket or a cloth before you came out here?" He asked, wiping a smudge of dirt from her cheek, watching it tinge pink.
He felt a sense of pride from her reaction as she averted her eyes from his to her lap. "I was so worked up earlier that I desperately wanted to get out the castle. I'm sorry I wasn't able to sit in with you." she said, fiddling with the plants that were in her lap.
It was a good thing she didn't. He would've punched those bastards through a wall if they said those things in front of her. His nostrils flared in fury with his hands balled tightly in his lap as he thought about the conversation again.
"Gajeel?" Her voice pierced through the red haze as he looked at her concerned face. "Everything ok?" She asked, reaching out for his hand as he did to her earlier.
Turning his palm over to hold her hand properly, he squeezed it lightly reminding himself that nothing they could say would change anything. It only made him want to do more just to piss them off. "Yea, everything's fine. Just a usual argument with the old farts. They can get under my skin sometimes." She smiled softly at him, rosy cheeks and hazel eyes filled with emotion, taking his breath away like a punch in the gut. He fought the urge to lean in as her scent seemed to surround him.
"Just do what you feel is right and everything will be ok. Plus I'm almost done picking what we need. It'll be a pain if they didn't agree with your plan."
"Our plan," he corrected her, "It's just as much of your plan as it is mine."
Nodding her head in agreement, she looked down at their still conjoined hands her blush darkening. "Yes, our plan."
"Good. Now that that's agreed upon, let's take the goods to the kitchen where I know Ms. Carrie will have a basket for us. Reinforcement's will be here any minute."
Grabbing the front of her skirt, Levy used it as a pouch to keep the herbs contained as she stood up slowly, exposing the white underskirt. "Lily, you coming?" She asked the big cat as he yawned, stretching his back in a usual cat like pose. He growled a response, that made Gajeel chuckle.
"Ok, you got 5 more minutes until you have to meet us out front." Gajeel said, as his friend laid back down with a happy grumble. "He didn't sleep too well last night." He sighed, leading Levy back into the castle with a hand on her back.
He watched her face fall into a frown, as they walked towards the kitchen. Ms. Carrie was excited to see them as she rushed over to help Levy unload the plants into an old bread basket.
She talked happily with the young woman as Gajeel stood back smiling at the two. He couldn't understand much of what they were saying but he got the gist of her concern for not seeing Levy for most of the day yesterday and also her dirty appearance now. Gajeel laughed as Ms. Carrie tried to clean Levy up with a rag, wiping her face as Levy couldn't do anything but stand there trying to tell the old woman that she was fine. Ms. Carrie became a second mother to Gajeel when he was young, especially when his mother died. She's the eldest of his staff and that made her the mother to everyone else in the castle too. So seeing her fuss over Levy, made him think back to when she did the same to him when he was a kid, coming through the kitchen dirty from playing outside.
"Ms. Carrie," Gajeel interrupted pulling Levy from the old woman, "It's my fault, I gave her a job outside not thinking of what she was wearing. Levy, go ahead and get changed and meet me outside when you're done."
She curtsied, before running off to her room to clean herself off and change into another uniform. He watched her leave, before turning to look back at a grinning old woman.
"What?" He asked innocently, matching her smile.
The old woman walked over to him, raising her hand to his cheek patting it softly. "You've changed." She said, causing his eyes to grow wide at her statement. "Change is good, young one. She's good for you, don't pay attention to the old men." She spoke Dragonic with ease, her long years in the castle caused her to adapt to the strange language in order to talk to a young Gajeel.
Frowning, he knew exactly what she was referring too. "What have you been hearing?" He asked, earning a shake of her head. She patted his cheek again before pulling her hand away to rest on his chest.
"You don't want me to answer that question, you're strong but your heart is fragile. Plus, I'm sure those old men told you what some of the people have been saying. You don't need to hear it twice."
Nodding his head in agreement, he sighed running a hand through his hair, not knowing what to do about the rumors. He guessed there's nothing you could really do about what people think of you, it just bothered him that Levy was in it too.
"I am correcting those I hear, if that makes you feel better and I've made sure she hasn't heard anything. Levy's a sweet girl and doesn't deserve to be talked about like that." Ms. Carrie said, walking away from him to the kitchen counter, aggressively wiping the counter down as she grimaced. "I will correct anyone who talks bad about you or that sweet girl."
"Thank you, Ms. Carrie."
Waving a hand in front of her face she dismissed his thanks, "It's nothing. Now run along, I need to get dinner ready. You're distracting me."
He chuckled at her response, leaving the kitchen so she could get back to work as he was told. He made his way outside to the front of the castle, where Lily and Levy were already waiting for him. Guards lined the steps from the wide porch to the walkway that lead to a cobblestone driveway that parted the freshly cut lawn, leaving the front yard open to see everything. The iron gates opened without a sound, white horses pulling a small dark green carriage with gold detail and golden dragon crest on the side of the door.
Gajeel smiled ear to ear, walking down the steps to the driveway as the carriage came closer, before coming to a stop. It didn't take long for the door to the carriage to swing open, a small girl jumping out with an excited squeal. Her burgundy dress a blur as she raced towards the man.
"Gajeel!" She yelled jumping into his awaiting arms. He spun her around earning another excited squeal, before putting her back down. "I missed you." She giggled.
"I missed you too, little dragon." He said, laughing when she frowned and swatted his arm.
The little girl held up her hand announcing, "I'll have you know I've grown 5 inches since the last time you've seen me."
"I noticed, but you'll still be the baby dragon, Wendy." He smirked, as she smiled back at him. "Who did you bring with you this time?" He asked, looking back up to the carriage.
He watched a white panther, Carla, jump out and immediately run to Lily, and a red head gracefully step out in her armor. A cold chill went down his spine, causing Wendy to giggle. The red head approached the Dragon Slayers, bending at the waist. "Afternoon, you majesty. It's great to see you again."
"You too, Erza. Thank you for always watching over my favorite cousin."
"My pleasure." She said, bowing her head. A large man, squeezed his way out of the carriage almost making Gajeel laugh at how he could even fit in there with the two woman.
"Good to see you too, Elfman," Gajeel said nodding towards the man that bowed before embracing Gajeel in a bear hug.
"Hugging is manly!" Elfman yelled as he released Gajeel. "So, is missing an old friend!"
Gajeel chuckled patting the big man on the shoulder, earning a surprised look from Wendy. "I'm sure you guys are tired from your trip. Did you want to rest before we got to business?"
Picking up the skirts of her light A-line dress, Wendy climbed the stairs determination in her eyes. "I would like to get straight to business, please. We have many lives at stake with no time to waste. I still know the way to your office." Erza, Elfman and the panthers quickly followed in step with the young queen as she walked into the castle.
Half the guards took Wendy's carriage to the back and the others followed her in. Gajeel walked towards a smiling Levy, who stared after the people that walked in. "She's wiser beyond her years." She said turning her attention to the smiling King.
"That she is." He smiled, chest swelling with pride at his cousin. "You may not have wanted to sit in with the old farts, but what about them?"
Levy beamed, taking his breath away once again. "I would love to. I'll get some tea and snacks, before I join you." She said, skipping up the steps and into the castle, Gajeel following close behind her.