"What's that?" Levy cried, helping Gajeel hobble along.
"I don't know," he replied.
"Are those people?" Lucy asked from another street.
"In the sky?" Natsu croaked as she supported him. "How?"
"That's crazy," Gray mumbled from near the city walls.
"Juvia would like to fly with Lord Gray," Juvia mumbled.
Gildartz watched wordlessly from the castle's ramparts.
In the sky, watched by the majority of Magnolia, two figures moved around like a dangerous ballet. Laxus travelled as a thunderbolt, constantly wreathed in electricity. Wings erupting from her back, Mira matched him move for move.
"Why don't you understand!?" Laxus roared, gathering his might. "All of you are such weakling fools, believing that friendship and cooperation are strength! Strength is strength! I am the prince! The man destined to be king! Through my own power I shall reshape this entire nation!"
"Why don't YOU understand!?" Mira screamed, darting through a hail of lightning bolts to smash him in the chestplate with the hammer again. Laxus grunted as he was thrown back. He'd used so much magic against Gerard and Erza that he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. "You are your father's son! He also abandoned us for his dark desires! Don't you remember the sadness you felt when Ivan left?"
"I ain't pops! I ain't gramps either! I'm me! I am LAXUS!"
"I asked if you remembered the sadness!" Mira urged, swinging in again as Laxus parried and jetted away.
"I remember! But he chose to do what he believed was right! What more can a man ask for?"
"He can ask that his father loves him!" Mira shouted. Laxus froze for a moment.
"What do you know!?" He screamed, eyes going pure white as he summoned a titanic quantity of magic into his sword. He lifted it horizontally, the lightning forming the shape of a halberd around the metal blade.
"We reach past that together!" Laxus froze again. "We all bear hurt on our hearts. Those whose parents don't love them, those who are abandoned by the ones they thought loved them, those whose own strength separates them from others. We all hurt, Laxus! Each and every one of us! That is what it is to be human!"
"Shut up!" Laxus roared, preparing to launch his attack. But all he could see was Mira's face as she closed the distance, her demonic visage. Wasn't Mira more…lovely? Pleasant, demure, happy. That was Mira, the woman that he loved. And because of his own actions, she was like this. In order to stop him, she had unleashed an abominable power.
He craved strength, and in becoming strong, Mira had changed from something wonderful to something abhorrent.
Because of him.
His attack never struck. Instead, he was still as Mira smashed him downwards, hurtling into the street below. Any normal man would have died, but Laxus was cloaked in magical power that shielded him. Mira landed nearby, striding to stand over him.
"Don't show me that face anymore," Laxus replied weakly, not getting up. "It doesn't suit you. You should be smiling, all the time."
Mira's power began to fade and she dropped the hammer aside, kneeling down to cradle Laxus' head.
"Oh, Laxus," she sniffed. "All I ever wanted was to see your smiling face too. Not the face of anger, or pride. Just be still for now. It is over."
And just like that, the war was over.
"Hold still!" Gajeel urged the wriggling woman on his lap. They were sitting on his bed as he tried to take care of Levy's injuries. He himself had already been seen to by Levy a few minutes prior. She had expertly treated his burns and cuts and he now vaguely looked like a mummy of ancient Egypt.
"You're bad at this!" She cried. "That's not how bandages work!"
"Listen, the docs are busy with all the wounded! We need to be able to look after each other!"
"Owowowow!" Levy moaned at Gajeel's inexpert care. "More gentle!"
"That ain't what you said last night! Gihihihi!"
"How can you say such crass things to a lady?" Levy pouted. "You should try to be more delicate in your language!"
"Fuck that!" He laughed dirtily and kissed her cheek, reaching around from behind. She blushed and tried to not look like she had enjoyed that. As he looked down upon her narrow back and the burns that marred it, his eyes softened. "You're really brave, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
"You're so little, and not very strong, but over the course of the night, you fought against Lady Evergreen, a dragon and Sir Justine. And you're still alive. That's actually pretty fucking impressive."
"I'm not brave, those things just kind of happened," Levy replied.
"Oh? Any reason that you couldn't have run away from Evergreen?"
"Um…Lucy and the others needed me…"
"And why'd you fight the dragon?"
"Well, people were in danger…"
"And why did Fried capture you?"
"Because I was skilful…"
A moment of silence passed and then Levy squealed in pain as Gajeel hugged her far too hard.
"I…had no idea. When I first saw you all those months ago, I saw something in your eyes. Some kind of fire, strength inside of you. But despite that, I dismissed it for your frail body. But even though you're not big or strong, you go and do these amazing things. And you don't even realise that you're doing them. You're…really special."
"Um…," Levy replied, not really sure of what to say. She found herself flipped around, brought face to face with Gajeel.
"I love you."
"Um…I not really…I can't…," Levy stammered, blushing madly.
"And if I love you, then there isn't any reason to not do this. You shouldn't have to live in sin."
Wait, what!? Levy's brain screamed. Was he saying…?
Gajeel set Levy down on the floor. He crouched down, getting to one knee as Levy's eyes widened.
"I…don't have a ring. And I'm not smart or clever. I'm violent and stupid. But, I love you, Levy, and…will you take my hand in holy matrimony?"
At first, Levy wasn't sure what to say. This was the goal of all women of the period. You couldn't not be with a man. Had she found the right one? He was indeed violent, as her body would attest. He wasn't smart, sure, but he wasn't as stupid as he thought, just perhaps single minded. But…he had taken her from a life filled with poverty and pain, where she went days with no food, desperately clinging to life. Her new life was surrounded by friends, extraordinary people with amazing talents and hearts.
Her brain was still going over things when her mouth moved under her heart's guidance.
"Yes, I will." She said the words so clinically that she wasn't happy. "Yes, of course I will! I love you too!"
In the solitude of the bedchambers, the pair embraced, Gajeel lifting her high off of the ground.
"It's not fair!" Evergreen shouted at Laxus. "Why do only I get to stay?"
Laxus and his Thunder Legion stood at the city gates, clothed in simple attire now. They had no rune weapons or armour, though Bixlow's eyes were still there, of course. A host of city guards pointed weaponry at them, fearful of something going wrong. There were knights there too, Elfman, Natsu, Gray and Mira as well.
"We did something gravely wrong," Laxus said. "Exile is the least of punishments we could suffer."
"Alone with Laxus in the wild," Fried said happily. Bixlow glanced across and shook his head slowly. This was going to be great fun!
"But why not me?" Evergreen shouted. Laxus walked over and placed a large hand on her shoulder.
"You should forget about me. I hurt you and used you. It was wrong now, I can see that. Unfortunately, we do not live in a time where women have rights, though when I see people like Mira and Erza I wonder how long that will last. So I pledge you to Sir Strauss. He is your keeper now." He smiled as Evergreen began to cry. "I am sure that he will take very good care of you and treat you with the respect that you deserve."
Laxus took one long lingering look at Mira's face. Once again, despite her painful heart, she was Mira, smiling for the entire world to see. Laxus returned that smile and turned, walking through the city gates, flanked by Fried and Bixlow. The Thunder Legion left Magnolia, possibly forever.
There was a great congregation of knights in the throne room, kneeling as their king entered, flanked by Macao and Wakaba. He strode to the throne and turned to address the knights, who rose. Behind him, a large red velvet curtain shrouded people beyond. Gajeel wondered what was going on here.
"Listen up!" Macao rapped and the knights snapped to attention.
"In the wake of my grandson's departure and the events of recent times, there have been some shake ups." King Makarov Dreyar began. "Here is my first decree: women are now allowed into the knighthood. The first amongst them will be Lady Juvia Loxar. You shall treat her as one of your brethren. Her past is erased!"
Gajeel rolled his eyes. That was no announcement. She was already in the crowd, hugging Gray's arm fiercely while he looked massively uncomfortable.
"Here is my next decree: I am shaking up the knightly order! You shall now be split into four lances of equal size. You will each be led by one of the four Seneschals!"
Four? With Laxus gone, that only left two! And with Mystogan unmasked, potentially one! Was this a chance for promotion?
"The leader of first lance: Sir Gildartz Clive!" The man stepped forward from behind the red velvet curtain. Gajeel's heart fell. If they were behind the curtain, then they'd already been chosen.
"The leader of second lance: Sir Gerard Fernandez!" Now bereft of his alter ego, Gerard stepped out to join Gildartz.
"The leader of third lance: Lady Erza Scarlett!" There was a hush as the woman occupied the space on the other side of the throne, but no one argued. This was clearly a warrior born, regardless of her gender.
"The leader of fourth lance: Lady Mira Strauss!" Even in armour, Mira was beautiful, but she had her war face on, her features set and hard. Gajeel wondered if she had the stomach to lead, but there was no doubting her strength. "To be clear, fourth lance is the personal guard of the city. So Mira will still be occupying her role as chief Lady in the castle."
Makarov coughed, drawing momentum for the end of the speech. "These are the four Seneschals, strongest of all of Fairy Tail! In time, I will want a fifth, so train well and be pure in your heart and deeds. Eventually, you will be tested. Now go forth and spread the good news!" The congregation cheered.
The wedding bells chimed as Gajeel and Levy burst out of the church. Gajeel was grimacing, hating being the centre of attention. All these people clapping for him! It was madness! Levy was blushing, trying to keep the beautiful white dress clean as they hurried out. Lucy had spent so much to make her day wonderful.
Their steed waited, hitched to a small coach. The newly christened Panther Lily (Damn her!) snorted and pawed as he waited for them to get in. He watched his owner with an appraising eye. In his opinion, he'd gotten a pretty good mare. He began to trot off slowly, pulling the coach smoothly.
"So, feeling good, Lady Redfox?" Gajeel asked with a wild grin.
"Oh my, I'm really a lady now, aren't I?" She asked, hands covering blushing cheeks. "Aren't I just a poor peasant girl?"
"Nah. You dressed like one, but I think you were always a lady on the inside! Gihi!"
"Ah!" Levy started suddenly, realization dawning. "This is just like some of my story books. A little poor girl takes a voyage of romance and ends up a beautiful lady! But then, the story ends, right?"
Gajeel laughed heartily. "Maybe that's just the first part. The story goes on, Shrimp, the question is: does anyone want to read it?"
Across the moors a single white horse ran, hooves thundering across the sweeping landscape. The horse was a beautiful white mare, with a long flowing mane. On her back, a tiny blue-haired girl lay, half unconscious with fatigue.
"Charla…," she whispered. The horse took one look at her owner and redoubled her speed, desperate to find help for her. There was a city in the distance, their goal. Magnolia. Fear lent her speed, for she wasn't just trying to get somewhere, she was fleeing from something. Something huge, something terrible.
To call Laxus' creations dragons was a grave insult. Ten of them had not beaten Magnolia.
But the city of Cait Shelter had been utterly destroyed by just one.
High in the mountains it had awoken, perhaps the last of its kind, goaded by six powerful knights. The Knights of Oricion Seis.
A dragon.
Its name was Nirvana.