For three days, I avoided anyone who had ties to the dragon slayers or Fairy Tail. I couldn't even find it in my heart to talk to my best friend about the shocking revelation of my past lives. But I should have known that I couldn't hide forever. This forest was only so big, and the dragon slayers had nearly perfects senses.
My camp was located near another river to hide my scent, but it was no use. When I came back from gathering firewood, I found two very upset dragon slayers waiting on me. Damn their tracking skills! I wish I could say that it was Natsu and Laxus, but I would be lying. The sight that awaited me was Sting sitting on a log reading one of my many books that I brought with me on this camping trip and Gajeel was laying out on the other side of the grass munching on scrap pieces of iron.
The men were peaceful for the time being, but that was broken as soon as I stepped on a twig. Both men looked up to stare at me their best "why the hell did you leave me" glaze. I could have handled one of them, but both were a different story. I was terrified I would melt under the pressure of their glaze or pass out. I was leaning more toward passing out because it's kind of hard to yell at an unconscious body. Right?
With shaky breaths, I lightly tossed down the firewood. "Hi!" I said in a high pitched voice. I knew the scolding was coming, and I was bracing myself for the whiplash from it.
"Levy, Levy, Levy." Sting said as he closed the book and rose from his spot. A smile lit up his face as he slowly approached me. I threw a glance at Gajeel, who continued to ignore me and eat his iron. His attitude was fine with me. If I only had to deal with Sting's "wrath", then today will be an easy day. Gajeel was the main dragon slayer's wrath I feared.
"Sting, I can explain…" I started before he silenced me with a kiss. As shocked as I was, I responded to his kiss full force. I didn't care if Gajeel was laying ten feet over to the right munching on his iron. All I could feel was Sting's arms around my waist and all his feelings of worry and relief poured into the kiss. How could I not respond passionately in return? This was Sting - the man I once feared, the brave, fearless leader of Sabtertooth, and finally the man who returned the light to my darkened world.
He finally broke away the kiss leaving us breathless. Sting cupped my face with his hands and starred directly into my eyes. "Levy, you have to promise never to run off like that again! You worried us, cupcake! We could have helped you if you would have talked to us or at least let us keep you safe!" Sting's grip released my face only to run his hands up and down my arms.
"Sting, I am fine! You can see for yourself that I am in once piece." Once he was satisfied that I was telling the truth, he pulled me into a large hug before placing a kiss on my forehead.
"We were both worried. We've been searching you for days until I realized how stupid we have been. Your friends may know you well, but I've read enough of your books to know that the forest is the last place you'd travel through by yourself. It secretly terrifies you judging by your journal entries."
"What the hell? You read my journal without my permission?" I yelled. Steam emerged from my ears as Sting simply smiled. "I only read the ones that mentioned books, Levy. Don't look at me like I just killed a puppy! I promise that Gajeel didn't read anything if that makes you feel better."
I wasn't sure if I wanted to kill him, be thankful that he found me, or just hide under a rock because some of those entries were about him. Sting kept talking, but I wasn't listening. Red clouded my vision for the time being until I released some pent up magic on the ground. Finally, I caught the last little bit of his explanation.
"Logically, the forest would be the last place you'd hide since you hate it so much!"
With a deep sigh, I replied. "I don't hate the forest. I just have a severe dislike of creepy, crawly things that reside in it; hence, the campfire and magical warding." I knew I wouldn't win an argument with him when I knew he was right.
"The wards didn't keep us out, Levy. Were you not concentrating enough when " St
"I wasn't warding against friends. My wards were for people who intended harm and animals."
"How did you know pick these woods then, mister-know-it-all?"
"Laxus, Lucy, Natsu… Take your pick! Besides our friends said these woods are haunted. You'd choose the forest that no one would expect to find you in." I could hear Gajeel growl in response to Sting's answer. "Oh yes. And Gajeel over there helped too! We figured you would hide by a stream to mask your scent since you understand a dragon slayer's tracking methods."
Gajeel gracefully rose from his napping position. To emphasis Sting's point, he stated, "Shrimp, there are three things you can't hide from in life. Me, pretty boy over there, and fate." He walked over to place a gentle kiss on my cheek. This was so out of character for him. "I don't care who you chose, but we need to know because people have already started to come after you."
Sting nodded at Gajeel's statement. "While you were gone, four assassins have been dealt with and given to the Magic Council. Even Jellal has put feelers out to help keep you safe. This is not going to be easy, but I do agree with Gajeel. We need to know who you choose."
The men looked at each other for a moment. "We both love you, Levy. Whoever you chose will respect your decision and will not pursue you unless something happens to the other. Will this work for you?"
Then I knew I had my answer because I saw his soul shine and mirror the woman I grew to become. I'm not just the shy, little bookworm anymore. I am Levy McGarden, Dragon Slayer Priestess, former Magic Council member, badass Solid Script Mage who has mastered multiple incantation style magics, and a mighty woman – hear me roar world!
Light filtered through my curtains as I snuggled deeper into the covers. I could hear my chosen guardian moving around in my kitchen, and the smell of bacon drifted into the air. His magic pulsed through the area as I hid my smile deeper into my pillow. He was trying to see if I was awake.
"Hey, cupcake! Time to get up!" Sting said as he came into my room and sat on the bed. "I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast." He leaned over to press a kiss to my forehead right before he felt to finish cooking.
My heart was full. Yes, I know what you are thinking at this moment, and some of you may even be freaking out. I don't blame you. Honestly, I was thinking that myself a few days ago until our unlikely trio's heart to heart. I can hear a few of you yelling why not Gajeel. Why did you choose Sting when you've recently become better acquainted with him? The answer was simple. Sting's heart and internal strength was exactly what I was lacking in mine. He was the man that made me strive to be better and to become stronger. He was the light in my dark world!
On the other hand, Gajeel was the reason for my darkness originally. But after our campfire discussion, the men helped me see things from their point of view. In my heart, Gajeel will always hold a special place because he was my first love, but Sting will be my last. Never fear! I have a grand plan for Gajeel! I want to drive his darkness away so he can find the happiness that I have now. But to succeed in my plans, I needed to get out of my bed and eat breakfast. Taking over someone's world required energy!
My emotions bubbled up and threatened to spill over as I bounced on to the bar stool as Sting dished out breakfast. I couldn't help but drool a little when I noticed he wasn't wearing a short. He was stand barefoot in grey sweat pants on the other side of the bar. But Sting wasn't he only thing that made my mouth water. The food was divine! I smiled shyly at him as I inhaled the food. I was thankful that he stayed over after he and Gajeel brought me home yesterday. "Sting, I want to do something for wonderful for Gajeel. Although, I don't want to step on your toes since this is so new."
"I'm sure he would appreciate anything that you do for him. Would you like me to call Lily for you? I can tell by that grin on your face that you have something grand in store."
"You are sure taking all this better than expected." I replied with a raised eyebrow.
"One, your large, caring heart is what I love the most about you so I will help you in any endeavored that you set your mind too. Two, I know that I have to share you with him. He is your other guardian. It would be rude to exclude him even if we don't see eye to eye a lot." Sting replied as he stuffed his face full of pancake.
I ran to hug Sting. His answer caused tears to form in my eyes. I felt like a little girl again with my giggling and heart overflowing with joy. As I finished eating, Sting called Panther Lily to come over. I couldn't wait to tell him about my plans for Gajeel! I knew that I slightly hurt him with my decision, but he knew I made the best decision for me. So I wanted to give him his own light for his darkness.
Inwardly, I knew my plan was a long shot, but I always had Freed on speed dial for this to work. As we waited for Lily, I gathered all the books that I needed to explain my plan. I also sent Sting down to the store across the street to get a few kiwi juices for Lily. Today was going to be a long one.
Thirty minutes later, we heard three knocks followed by a pause then a single knock on the door. "Lily!" I shouted as I pulled the door open wide. Sting was behind me in a heartbeat. He lifted me up and placed me behind him as he let Lily into the apartment. I watched as Sting stepped out into the hallway to see if he could sense another presence. He and Gajeel had become even more overprotective since the emergence of assassins earlier this week.
I shook my head as I lead Lily into the living room. Beaming my killer smile at him, I sat down next to Lily with my calculations and overall game plan on a few sheets of paper. "Thanks for coming, Lily." I said with a blush. Inwardly, I hope he didn't hate the idea that I was about to propose to him.
He placed a big paw on my hand. "Levy, don't be so bashful. I've heard you've blossomed since you moved on from Gajeel. I can see that everyone was right. You have a stronger spirit about you." He threw a glance at Sting and growled a little under his breath. "But I can see why. He treats you like a treasure."
"Well, I wanted you to help me do something for my other guardian since I'm pretty sure Gajeel filled you in on everything going on."
"It's kind of hard not to be filled in with him, Laxus, and Natsu running around the guild sprouting orders." A grin spread across his face as I was trying to hold in my laughter.
"Yeah, I'm sorry that they are taking it a little to the extremes, but I'm glad you can find some humor in this!" I stated as a full smile blossomed on my face.
"Levy, everyone likes you at the guild. It's only natural that your friends gather around to protect you, even if you think the dragon slayers are going a little over board. Can you blame them though? You're a reincarnated priestess who holds secrets to their past. Oh course they are going to protect you at any cost."
A dark blush crept up my cheeks. "Speaking of friends…" I regained some of my composer. "I had a plan that I need your help to finalize a plan for me." I waited for Lily to nod his head before I continued. "So this plan of on mine basically all hinges on your cooperation."
"You should know that I will help you anyway that I can, especially if it involves Gajeel."
"Good. So the first part of my plan is for you to steal the old book Metallica used to read Gajeel when he was younger. Since the book was basically Metallica's story, I figured that I could make him come to life."
"You can make a book come to life?" Lilly asked in shock.
"My goal is to combined three magics: Dark Ecriture, Pict Magic, and some odd Script Magic to make the book come alive and to stay that way. If my plan works, Gajeel should be able to see Metallica whenever he wanted too."
"If you could pull this off…" Lily became a little tear eyed for a minute as he thought about his best friend's ultimate happiness. Shortly, he regained his composer. "He would love you till the ends of the earth if you could do that for him."
"He needs to find his inner light, and I think my project is best bet for his happiness."
I threw a glance over at Sting who was sitting in a chair listening to us today. "All the dragon slayers were deeply affected by their adoptive parents' deaths. I wish I could help all of them, but most of them have found a new light in their life except for Gajeel. As a coincidence, he is also the only one who had a book about Metallica."
Sting nodded at my statement. He agreed that all the dragon slayers were happy except for Gajeel. "Levy's plan should work not only because she is brilliant, but because her powers have already increased. She is past a guild master's magic at this point, and she's only going to get stronger. Her enchantment on the book should hold for years."
Lily turned to me, "So when do you want to do this?"
"From what Mira has said, a mysterious job just arrived at the build hall, and she thinks Laxus and Gajeel need to go on a trip together. Before you panic, the trip is like 4 days, and Wendy will be going with them to minimize their motion sickness."
"So all I have to do is sneak in after he leaves, grab the book, and bring it back to you?"
"Yep. Easy as pie! I would do it myself, but my scent would linger in the air. He would then question me about being in his apartment, and I don't think that would go over so well with Mr. Sabertooth." I said as I pointed my thumb at Sting who was semi-glaring at me for the moment. I sent him a wink to let him know that I was playing. He shook his head at me, but he didn't say a word. "Once I have the book, I will cast the enchantment. I am still working out how I want to give him the book, but your work will be done unless I have you stick it back into the apartment."
"Everything sounds reasonable then." Lily stated. Sting silently agreed with him.
"Then let's set the plan it motion!" I said enthusiastically. There is nothing better than a perfect plan, except for completely it to a T of course!
Hey y'all! Sorry for the long awaited update! I was sick and then I had writers block plus work! I hope you enjoy the update. I have one more chapter, and the story should be finished. I want to apologize for a little OOC going on. Thanks for sticking with the story!
