SO it's almost been a month. I know. Sorry about that. I've been hunting for a job, and with the American economy in the crapper, that's been rough.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! There will be more soonish (much sooner than a month from now at least). I am trying to get back into my writing rhythm, but I can't guarantee anything at this point.

Fairy Tail isn't mine. If it was, I'd be drawing at 5:30 in the morning instead of writing fanfics.

Lucy was struggling to compose her letter. Lying to King Makarov was just as difficult as she thought it would be. King Gajeel was playing a dangerous game here, a game of lies, whose outcome depended on her princess' will to live. It was not any kind of game Lucy wanted to play.

But really, she had no alternative; circumstance demanded she make a choice. If she told King Makarov the truth, the marriage contract would be dissolved due to the endangerment of his beloved daughter and the extreme instability within Oak's aristocracy. If Lucy lied and Levy died –she shuddered at the thought –then not only would the contract be dissolved, but there would be full scale war between two nations who were so close to an alliance.

Lucy was determined not to be responsible for starting a war. But she was also determined that Levy was not going to die. Gajeel would take good care of her. And if that King did a bad job of it, Lucy had a well-thought-out plan to start her own personal war on his face. Or somewhere else that would really hurt.

So she lied. And she prayed that Levy would last the night.

Levy was freezing cold. She was practically lost in a sea of thick sheets, blankets and comforters, but every time Gajeel went to her side to check on her, her arms were dotted with goose bumps, and her lips were an unhealthy purplish shade. For a while, he debated whether or not to call in the handmaiden or even Mirajane for advice. But both of them were ailing and in need of recovery, and the handmaiden was hopefully in the middle of writing a very important letter, which he did not want to interrupt.

And since he had finished some of his own letters of importance, he made an executive decision.

Despite the horrible impropriety of it, what with not being married yet, Gajeel slipped into his bed next to Levy, climbing under the multitude of blankets. He reached for her and pulled her in close to his own body; his skin tingled as her frozen body met his blushing hot one.

Gajeel found her arms with his hands and began to rub small circles into her flesh, trying to stimulate what little blood she had left to pump faster and warm her back up. Then he worked at her legs and then her feet, noting how small and delicate they were. Her skin was soft, even with the goose bumps, which he was glad to see were beginning to diminish thanks to his efforts.

Gajeel pulled her even closer, almost on top of him, wrapping her right arm around his stomach so he could reach her back. The nightgown she still wore from the previous night, and had fought in all day, dipped low in the back, so Gajeel had full range of her skin as he wrapped his arms around her and ran his hands up and down her spine.

"You are so tiny," he said to her. Levy's head was nestled into the crook of his shoulder, angled up towards his face. Her mouth was kissed against his collarbone, her hair splayed out across his chest, tickling at the bandage over his wound.

Gajeel moved one hand off her back and clasped it around her hand at his waist; he held it up so he could see.

"So tiny," he said again, smiling softly. It was a strange expression on his usually impassive face. It felt weird to his facial muscles to smile so gently. The only smiles his mouth was accustomed to were smirks and wicked grins. Yet since this girl came into his life, he had smiled in admiration, had smiled warmly, and had smiled in relief. It was a change he had not expected.

Eventually, once he was sure Levy had warmed up a bit, Gajeel fell asleep, their bodies still intertwined. He slipped into dreams, none of which he would remember, but that would carry him through the best sleep of his life.

Levy, too, dreamt. At first she dreamt of home, the old drafty castle in Magnolia. She dreamt of her mother and father, and of her silly brothers. She dreamt of Elfman and Nab, who always winked at her and threatened to beat up anyone who even looked at her wrong. She dreamt of Lucy and all the time they had spent together, more like sisters than as princess and handmaiden. She dreamt of Natsu and his endless attempts to impress Lucy, and in her mind she laughed, all the while hoping that one day he would succeed. She dreamt of Erza and their training session and how it had made her feel strong to hold the weapon in her hands. And she dreamt of Gajeel, her King, the man she was supposed to marry. She had a vague remembrance that he was all right, and something about how warm she felt told her that he was nearby, watching over her. She wondered if that was a real memory, or if the blood loss was making her dream things that were not so.

Eventually her dreams shifted to the fight, and to Jose, and to slashing at her own wrists to free herself from her bonds. She dreamt of fire and of laughter, and a great fear swept over her. Where was Jose now? Had he somehow managed to survive her barrage of flames? How long had she been unconscious? Was Gajeel still fighting him in some corner of the palace? Had her magic not been enough?

But then she dreamt of hands, warm hands, and a distant voice, willing her to be alive, to be all right. She dreamt of Gajeel's face, slightly bloodied and full of concern, as she thanked God that he was all right. And she knew that was the truth, and not just the blood loss. Gajeel had found her, and the fighting was over.

And then she slept without dreams. Her mind stopped running a mile a minute, and focused on keeping her alive.

In the morning, Mirajane and Lucy met at the door to Gajeel's bedroom, where Erza was standing guard. Lucy carried fresh clothing for Levy and bathing supplies, and Mirajane carried a tray of tea, coffee and light breakfast foods in one hand, and a much heartier breakfast of potatoes, eggs and steak in the other. She was sure Gajeel was hungry after all of yesterday's activities, and in case Levy was awake already, the toast and jam, and the rice porridge would do well in giving her energy.

At Mirajane's urging, Erza opened the door, allowing them entrance. Immediately, Mirajane's eyes found the huge pile of blankets on the bed, and the tufts of black hair and blue hair sticking out from underneath them.

Well, well, she thought to herself, with a smile. It seems like he's taking this seriously.

Lucy's thoughts were quite different. What is he doing to Levy! Why is he in bed with her? Warmth, yeah, warmth. He is just keeping her warm! That has to be it!

Gajeel woke to the sounds of Mirajane preparing his morning coffee, the clink of spoon against ceramic cup. He tried to sit up but felt something on his arm that kept him rooted to his bed. He looked down and found Levy curled up against him. Sometime in the night he had moved, and now their legs were wrapped around each others', their fingers intertwined, and Levy's head firmly nestled against his chest. She seemed to be smiling, but that might have been wishful thinking on his part.

And she was warm. Which meant Gajeel was sweating buckets. When she had been cold, his temperature had stayed even, despite being under so many blankets. And though he was thankful she was warm, without her to even him out, he had gotten overheated quickly.

"Oh, good morning Your Majesty," said Mirajane, noticing Gajeel's movements. "Is there any change in the young princess?"

"She is warmer," said Gajeel. He moved Levy off of him gently and sat up, sliding his legs over the edge of the bed and standing. His skin was glad for the cooler air of his room.

"I should hope so after you went to the trouble of warming her," said Mirajane, a grin curling her lips. Gajeel did not reply, but the slightest of blushes on his cheeks told Mirajane all she needed to know.

"Your Majesty, my letter is written and sent," said Lucy as she moved towards the bed. She placed the clothing at the foot of the bed, and bowed before heading into the adjoined bathroom with the bathing supplies. Gajeel bowed his head slightly in return to her statement.

"I will need to address my court today," said Gajeel, accepting the cup of coffee Mirajane had proffered him. "And letters will have to be drafted and sent to the regional governors. Everyone must know what happened, and everyone must be on their guard."

"Yes, but later, Your Majesty. It is still early. And most of the court will have to be summoned back to the capital. Perhaps they should be addressed tomorrow?"

Gajeel nodded, seeing the logic in that. "But the letters must be drafted today."

"I will send the calligrapher to you in the afternoon," said Mirajane, bowing.

"Thank you Mirajane. For everything. Are you…"

"I am perfectly fine, Your Majesty. As I mentioned yesterday, most of the blood on me belonged to other people. My only real injury is a slash on my upper arm from a cavalryman that got a little too close. Other than that, I was not touched."

"For that I am grateful."

"And how is the princess? Tell me the truth before Lucy returns."

"She seems to be the same, except I think her body is generating its own heat now. But she is alive, and she will get stronger every day."

"That tiny little girl saved us all, you know," said Mirajane, staring fondly in Levy's direction.

"I know. I owe her my entire kingdom," said Gajeel.

"I think she would settle for your love," said Mirajane, smiling as Gajeel blushed again. "And I think she has proved to you that she deserves it."

"Aye, she has at that."

At that moment, Lucy came out of the bathroom, her hands wet from testing the bathwater's temperature.

"If it is all right, I will bathe the princess now. Her hair still has dried blood in it, and her wounds need to be cleaned and redressed," said Lucy.

Gajeel nodded his consent. Mirajane moved to help Lucy and Gajeel sat at his desk to eat. As soon as he ate the first bite of steak, he realized just how hungry he was. Then he remembered he had not eaten since before he and Erza had visited the site of Jose's first attack. Within five minutes, everything on his plate and two cups of coffee were gone. Then he started on the silverware and the serving tray.

Lucy and Mirajane were debating what to do with Levy's hair. The ends were bloodstained, and no matter how many times they ran shampoo through it, it would not come out. Levy's hair was too light and the blood had had all night to soak in and dye it.

"We will have to cut it," said Mirajane. "I think there is a pair of scissors in His Majesty's desk. Give me one moment."

Lucy sighed and started to wash Levy's face with the delicate sponge she had brought with her from Magnolia. She was so pale. Not that Levy had ever been particularly tan, but even in the warmth of the water, there was barely any color to her skin.

Before she could stop it, Lucy found herself sobbing softly into Levy's bathwater. She dropped the sponge into the bathtub and wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands, only managing to make her face wetter than before.

"Please wake up. Please, I beg you," she whispered.

"Lucy?"

Lucy's head shot up, her eyes looking straight at Levy's. But they were not open.

"Lucy, why are you crying?" Mirajane's hand touched Lucy's shoulder, making her jump.

"No reason. It is nothing." She wiped away the tears with her now dry hands. "Did you find the scissors?"

Mirajane nodded. "Help me make it even. We will have to go kind of short. Well, really short. The blood soaked in pretty high up in the back. It is certainly a shame. Right before the wedding and her hair has to be cut."

"If there even is a wedding," said Lucy, holding out a handful of hair for Mirajane to cut.

"Of course there will be. Why would you think otherwise?"

"What if Lev…I mean Princess Levy, wakes up and thinks it is no longer worth the risk to her life? What if she wants a war now that her life was threatened by someone from Oak."

Mirajane gave Lucy one of her motherly smiles. "My dear, do you really think that is likely? It is obvious she cares for this country, and for its people. She fought so hard, even nearly killing herself to fight back. She saved us all, Lucy. She belongs here with our King. And when she awakens, she will say the same thing. You may believe me when I say that. She knows that our two countries need each other now more than ever. And she will realize just how much our King needs her, and she will not be able to leave him."

"Do you really think King Gajeel needs her? He seemed pretty tough yesterday."

"You saw how they were this morning. Levy is catatonic and cannot move. He is the one who pulled her close."

"To keep her warm. He said so himself," said Lucy, still unconvinced.

"The way they were entwined, he must have been holding onto her tightly. More tightly than necessary if his intention was simply to keep her warm. He may be a little slow at realizing his own feelings, and he may be a little gruff and stupid when it comes to being a caring human being, but when no one is looking, when he drops the powerful leader façade where all his actions are strictly calculated, his instincts take over and he becomes something akin to a real human being. And I have never seen him smile so much in all his life. Even when his mother was alive. Believe me, there are plenty of hardships ahead. Neither of them is very forthcoming with their emotions, except for the violent angry ones, but given time, they will find their way to each others' hearts."

Lucy smiled and held out another handful of hair for Mirajane.

That is right. Everything is changing. Hurry and wake up Levy or you will miss it.

Next Chapter Preview: Levy wakes up but is in a bizarro world where dinosaurs are eating egg salad sandwiches while rabbits do magic tricks on their backs...

...Kidding. But Levy does wake up.

Till next time!