The journey back home was slow with the guards surrounding the carriage when they reached the edge of Natsu's kingdom at his request. Dust settling around the carriage when it arrived in the small courtyard of the McGarden Manor. "Well I will see you at the wedding guys." Levy hugging Lucy before lifting the hem of the dress carefully and stepping out of the carriage. The manor was passed down from generation to generation, while it wasn't a great big home it was all she needed for her books and her two friends that stayed with her.
"Levy!" Jet and Droy running out of the manor with smiles on their faces. Droy was slightly out of breath when they reached her. "How was your trip?" Jet having pulled her luggage from the carriage and placing it next to Droy. They both waved at the pair still inside before the horses and guards pulled out of the courtyard in the direction of Lucy and Natsu's home.
Hiding the left hand with the sleeve of her dress, Levy wanted to surprise them with the engagement when the time was right. The red jewel would've prompted questions the second that it was spotted, Levy just smiled gently back at her friends. "It was very nice, I also got some exciting news to share with you guys at dinner."
"You're engaged to King Redfox?!." Jet said in disbelief, it took some effort to keep his jaw from dropping to the table while Droy looked at her skeptically. Both him and Droy just arrived back after taking a long journey to the coast while she was gone, so hearing her announcement at dinner really came as a shock to them. Taking a deep breath and gathering himself before speaking, Jet did not want to jump conclusions before hearing Levy's explanation. "How?"
Levy stood up from her seat, the rug muffling her footsteps while walking around the table to her two close friends. "You could say love at first sight." Smiling gently at the memory of their first meeting, placing a hand on Jet's shoulder. "He protected me when we were attacked." Levy could see Jet's eyes widen in surprise, cutting him off by lifting her free hand up. "But even before that I was already in love with him." Placing her arms around both of their shoulders and pulling both Jet and Droy into a hug. "If you give him a chance you will understand."
Both Jet and Droy nodded in understanding, both knew their friend since they were kids. Levy is a kind and loving person who wouldn't surrender her heart over to just anyone. Both of them knew since she both shot down their offers of proposal in a matter of seconds. So knowing that Levy accepted his proposal, that Redfox had captured her heart.
Jet pulling away from Levy to scoot back his chair, standing up while stretching out his arms. "Guess we should start packing, the books will take a week alone to pack." Both he and Droy laughing slightly when Levy smiled sheepishly. They knew she loved collecting any book she could get her hands on, so her collection was quite large. "Don't worry we got it, just show us which ones to pack extra careful."
"Thank you guys."
"Lady McGarden has returned!" The spotter rushing up to Gajeel, having ran all the way from his post he was almost out of breath. He was told to inform the King the second her carriage was spotted along with the guards that were sent to escort her back. The man instinctively flinched when Gajeel turned around, normally the annoyed glare he would get from the king would scare him but this time the spotter found it was lacking that.
"Good." Gajeel turning back around slowly and walking to the entrance of the castle. But on the inside he was trying to hide his excitement, it took everything he had not to break out into a run. Every corridor he took seemed to take twice as long to walk, but his patience was rewarded once he pushed open the heavy iron doors.
"Gajeel!" Levy greeting him before stepping out of the carriage, picking up the dress so she wouldn't trip on the long green fabric when she met him halfway up the steps. Gajeel quickly grasped her hand, moving it into the crook of his arm and hastily leading her into the castle. He took some large steps that Levy had some difficulty keeping up with him. Once making their way far enough into the castle and rounding a corner she squeaked slightly in surprise when he pulled her close to him, arms slipping around her waist.
"Your home." Gajeel eagerly covering her lips with his, while she was only gone for a short time it still felt like ages to him. He didn't realize how difficult it was to have her gone for a month, every morning he would wake up and realize that he wouldn't see her that day just put him in a bad mood. Fortunately overseeing the expansion of the castle library passed the time and sparring with Lily helped with the irritation he felt.
Smiling into the kiss, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, Levy could almost feel the emotion that was coming from him. Looking up into his eyes when his forehead pressed against hers. "Yes I'm home." Slipping her hands down the black fabric of his tunic, grasping her hands with his and look up at him with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry it took so long to return, trying to decide what books to bring right away was more difficult than I thought."
Gajeel couldn't help but chuckle, she was just simply too adorable for her own good. "So that's what took you so long?" Pulling back slightly and shaking his head. "Your love of books is incredible you know."
"I've been told that before." Levy shrugging slightly before squeezing his hand when Gajeel led them towards the gardens and to a large tree. Gajeel sat at the base of the trunk, leaving her enough space to sit in between his legs and lean back. She left out a soft hum when he wrapped his arms around her and holding her close. "You're being very affectionate right now." Levy teased at him before feeling him rest his chin on the top of her head.
Gajeel shrugged slightly, the gardens were empty so they had the privacy that he wanted. "So? Nothing wrong with that." The soft breeze moving the tree branches above them, it created a peaceful feeling that he welcomed. "Besides we're getting married." Blue hair moved from under his chin when Levy pulled her head to the side to look up at him.
"Yes and there's a lot to plan for the big day." Leaning up she planted a light kiss on his lips. "But first I should go freshen up from the long trip back."
"Fine." Gajeel grumbled out. "Don't take too long, Juvia is just dying to meet you." When word got out that he was engaged, Juvia just appeared at the castle entrance a week later to congratulate him in person. "Before you ask, no she is not another sister of mine." Gajeel shuddering slightly, hearing the enthusiastic scream of joy behind him after finding him in the castle nearly gave him a heart attack. Of the few friends he had, Juvia was the only one that was really able to catch him off guard and surprise him. "But I swear she is one at times."
Levy laughing slightly seeing him cringe. "Well I'm looking forward to meeting her.
Time passed quickly but soon the big day arrived at last. Outside, servants were hastily finishing up the preparations for the ceremony in the castle gardens, guests slowly trickling in. Many of those attending decided to pass the time by looking at the tree's and flowers that were in full bloom while they waited. A black blur could be seen rushing around to each of the of the arrangements before landing in front of a small group of people.
"Is the music prepared?" Lily asking the musicians that were standing by, all of them nodded which gave him some relief. "Good, can't have anything bad happen today." Spreading his wings he took to the air to get a visual on the entire ceremony area, Lily was pleased seeing that everything was going well.
"Lily there you are!" One of the chefs responsible for the food rushing over to the exceed with sheer panic showing on her face. "We have a major problem." Following the chef back to the kitchen, Lily was greeted with the sight of a blue exceed stuck headfirst in the cake. "Happy?! What are you doing?" Changing into his larger form before yanking Happy out of the cake by the tail. Lily just shot him glare at Happy.
"I tried offering Carla a fish." Happy trying to explain what happened moments earlier. "But she just tossed it to the side before flying out of the kitchen."
Lily rubbed his face with his free hand, it was obvious Happy was leaving out an important detail. "That doesn't explain how you got into the cake." Walking over to the table, he dropped the blue cat on top of the wood before changing his smaller form and stood in front of Happy.
"So then I went to catch the fish and well….." Happy looking down at the table with shame on his face. "I landed in the cake."
Lily wasn't sure what to do, of all the things to go wrong that day this was near the top of the list. "We will talk about this later but I need to get this fixed." Tapping his chin with his paw, Lily tried to figure out a solution. While their pastry chef was talented they lacked the speed to put everything together in time for the reception.
Then the solution hit him.
Without a second to waste, Lily spread his wings and took off in the direction of the armory hoping to find the person that he needed. Yanking the door open, a wave of relief washing over him when he spotted the red hair pulled back in a elaborate updo holding a sword in her hands. Light bouncing off the dark blade she was scrutinizing, it was her wedding gift to Gajeel. She requested from her personal swordsmith so she was doing one last inspection before gifting it to him. "Queen Scarlett we need your help, the cake has been ruined."
Erza quickly turning around to face the exceed, hand gripping the hilt of the blade tightly."How?" She was not pleased to hear the news, not only did the couple deserved the perfect day, she was also looking forward to having a piece of the cake.
"Don't have time to explain." Lily shook his head. "So may we get your assistance?" Erza was known in not only her swordsmanship but also her mastery in the kitchen.
"Of course."
"Oh Levy you're so beautiful!" Lucy and Juvia fawning over Levy when she stepped out from behind the divider. The white dress was adorned with a flower design covering the entire bodice, petals scattering down the rest of the dress. The off set shoulder ball gown shoving off her upper chest while preserving her modesty for the big day. Long sheer sleeves covered her arms, to Lucy she looked like a fairy but was missing something from the look. Turning to the dresser, Lucy picked up the bridal tiara and gently placed it on Levy's head. "Perfect!" Lucy taking a step back to admire the now complete look of her friend.
Levy smiled and did a small twirl when Lucy motioned with her finger. "Thank you Lucy." Taking a look in the mirror she couldn't help swishing from side to side, watching the fabric move with her. "It's so beautiful." Lucy walked over and stood behind her, the pink regal dress was specially picked so it would show her status but without outshining the bride.
"Still can't believe Wendy made this." Lucy commented while looking at the fine details of the flowers strewn across the dress. "If I knew she had such talent I would've asked her to make mine." Laughing slightly to herself while Juvia nodded in agreement.
Levy couldn't help but giggle slightly at her friends. "Well atleast you know who to ask next time you need a special gown for whatever event Natsu decides to throw." She was still in awe of the dress, Wendy pulled her aside the night Gajeel announced their engagement. Levy could still remember the excited look on her face when she asked to make the dress for her.
"Well it's almost time." Lucy could feel the tears of joy welling up, grasping a handkerchief to dab lightly at her eyes in order not to mess up the makeup she had on. "My best friend is getting married." Lucy cried out while hugging the smaller women to her.
Levy patted her friend's arm softly. "It's ok Lucy"
A light knock on the door caught everyone's attention, Wendy poking her head into the room. "Everything is almost ready." Carla was right behind her as she walked in, her dress was similar to Levy's but with ribbon around her waist and the bow behind her. The silver crown resting on her head had a flower design, perfect for her role as the flower girl. "Levy are you ready?"
Juvia handing Levy the teardrop style bouquet while Lucy worked on placing the veil in her hair. While she was nervous about walking down the aisle and not tripping, just knowing that Gajeel would be waiting at the end would be well worth it. "Yes."
