Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fairy Tail characters that honor belongs to Hiro Mashima!
I do own the Original Characters (Ocs) that appear in this story and the plot~
Chapter 25:Let's Be…
Sometimes the Iron Dragon Slayer hated the waiting game.
Gajeel didn't know how long he had been waiting for the blonde to wake up from her unconsciousness, but what he did know was his life may be in danger. There was an angry looking familiar spirit dressed in a maid outfit glaring at him with the upmost menace. She had appeared a few minutes ago after his big revelation. The maid spirit didn't even acknowledge him as he eyes pinpointed themselves onto Bunny Girl. And then she tried to take Bunny Girl out of his lap into her arms, but the Dragon Slayer was not going to allow it. He growled threateningly at the spirit tried to reach for her and he put his arm around Bunny Girl's middle so he could pull her closer to him. His growls effectively stopped the spirit and from the look on her face she was not happy with him at all.
Not that he cared about her feelings.
"Dragon Slayer, I sensed Hime's pain. So I came out to help her." The maid, Virgo was her name, glared at him. "I am only here to dress Hime's wounds."
He responded back with a growl and a glare of his own.
"Dragon Slayer, I implore you that you allow me to help her," Virgo paused, her eyes narrowed into blue slits and her voice was a small whispered that promised him pain." Or I will have to punish you, Dragon Slayer."
"Just try it." He snarled. He was not afraid of some puny spirit. His instincts were telling him to protect the vulnerable blonde in his lap. There was his instinct and there was his rational voice. His rational mind was telling him he should let the spirit help out, so Bunny Girl would not be in pain. It was an inner battle for him to say the least and so far his instincts were winning. "I dare you."
"You are being unreasonable," the maid replied. Her face was beginning to show that she wanted to smack him. And possibly want to slap him into the ground for not allowing her to help. "I am not a threat to Hime. I want to lessen her pain. Do you not want that?"
Gajeel heard another small pain filled whimper leave Bunny Girl's lips when she said that and fuck he really hated hearing that sound coming out of her lips. He looked down at her facing, seeing it scrunched up in pain made his heart ache even more. He had no idea how to ease her pain, so maybe he should let the maid help her. Like she said she would not hurt Bunny Girl, but even that thought did not reassure him. Why could he not trust one of the Celestial Mage's spirits? He growled frustrated with himself.
If the blonde was awake she would have yelled at him for mistrusting one of her friends.
"Fine, but I'm watching you."
"Understood." She nodded in approval as she eagerly took charge of helping Bunny Girl. She gently maneuvered the blonde around so she was still in the Dragon Slayer's lap. It was enough for her to work with. Gajeel knew the spirit could feel his steady, heated gaze on her, but as far as Dragon Slayer knew it did not bother her. He watched as the spirit created a sling for her arm, the broken one. "Hime injuries are not life threatening, she will live. She will only suffer minor pain when she wakes."
When he heard the spirit's words left her words Gajeel released a sigh of relief. He already knew that her wounds were not life threatening, but hearing it from someone else made him feel better. He lowered his upper body closer to the unconscious blonde as he took note of her sweat covered face and the hair sticking to her face. Seriously, how many times was her hair going to get in her face? He didn't know, but he still moved her hair aside. The Iron Dragon Slayer found himself fiddling with her hair. He felt Virgo's ice blue eyes focus on him and he thought she would stop him. She didn't. She just observed silently.
"I trust you will protect Hime if any more danger comes her way. The maid bowed to him. "I leave her in your hands, Dragon Slayer."
She faded out of the human world leaving him alone with her.
The Iron Dragon Slayer only grunted in response to show that he had heard her. His attention fully focused on the unconscious Celestial Mage in his lap. Her breathing had returned to back to normal. And if she didn't have that huge bandage on her face or the sling for her broken arm, she would look like she was sleeping peacefully. She looked as good as she could look. She was going to survive the hit from the wyvern and that was something the blonde should be proud of.
Bunny Girl was one lucky girl.
"Tough as iron aren't you, Bunny Girl?" He said with a small smile on his face as he leaned against a tree. It was a good thing he had sat down in a spot where a tree was behind him to lean back on.
His mind was becoming preoccupied with other things. And the one thought on the top of his mind was what was he going to do about his recent discovery? Bunny Girl, also known as Lucy Heartfilia, was his claimed female. She was the woman he had deemed to be his mate. It was a good thing he had figured it out, but that also caused him to question some other things. One was how he should act around her now? Should he even be acting differently towards her? He was so confused about what he should do with all these questions.
Even yet, he had a bigger question to ask himself.
Was he even going to mention this to Bunny Girl?
He could imagine her reaction if he told her off the bat. If he was completely honest with her she would probably think him to be crazy if he did that. Hell, anyone would think he was crazy, except maybe another Dragon Slayer. Yeah, telling her she was his mate at the get go would not be a good idea. He would have to wait for the right moment to tell her. And then there was the other side of the problem. And that was what did the Celestial Mage Lucy Heartfilia feel about him? And could she even see him as a potential mate? Would she consider him in a romantic sense?
He didn't know, especially with his history with him. From what little he knew, he could positively say she considered him as a guild mate. And although, she called him annoying every chance she got, Bunny Girl always had the light of enjoyment and happiness in her eyes when he was near her. He knew the blonde didn't fear him and she had hesitation to stand up to him. By further observation, the blonde didn't mind being in his company at all. Was that a good thing for him?
Did it mean she could possible grow to like him enough to cross the line of camaraderie and into something else?
Any thing was possible even that.
But how was he going to figure that out?
Yeah, he was getting a headache with all this questions dancing in his head.
Lucy was floating inside her dream feeling as light as a feather.
She was floating in a sky; at least she believed it was a sky. She only was there for a few seconds when she began to descend downwards. The blonde found her floating self landing softly in a grassy meadow. It was a meadow filled with what looked like only one type of flower. It was a meadow turquoise colored orchids. They were swaying in the small breeze that passed through. She didn't know where this area was all she knew was the sweet smell of orchids filling her nostrils. It was such a nice, pleasant smell. Lucy stood up to see if she could see anything else in this area. Nothing came into her field of vision so she decided to walk around. She took small steps forward enjoying the beautiful view of the fragile flowers as she walked looking for anything else that stood out.
It only took her a minute to notice the sudden chill in the air.
Why would it be chilly in a meadow like this? The first thought that crossed her mind was that she was imagining things, but she wasn't. She knew this because she could see her breath in the air. And it was more evident that she was not imaging things when she saw something different in the meadow. Her brown eyes widen when she noticed the orchids were frozen over with a thin crystal like sheet of ice. And a section of them had a thicker sheet of ice covering them. It formed some sort of frozen trail. Lucy decided it would be beneficial for her to follow it.
It had to lead somewhere. She took a careful step on the ice trail testing to see if it would hold her weight if she walked on it. It didn't even give in to her weight so it was stable enough. The blonde walked on it as her eyes scanned her surroundings. After what felt like a short walk to her, Lucy observed something in the distant. It was a pillar of ice and something was obscured inside of it. She tried to figure out what it was, but she couldn't tell what it was at all. She wanted to get closer to it to inspect it some more, but an icy wind blew around her. The wind caused the blonde to close her eye from the sudden shiver that went through her body. Even with eyes closed she was able to hear tiny sliver of a voice speak to her. The voice was a cheerless whisper.
Do I deserve forgiveness for what I have done?
Do even the most grievous of offenders deserve a second chance?
Lucy was confused. Was someone asking her this? And if they were why would they ask these types of questions. She didn't have the time to dwell on an answering them. She didn't have time because she was pulled out from it right after those questions were asked. Ugh, but waking up was just as painful as falling unconscious. She groaned as her eyes began to flutter open as she left her dream land. The blonde's vision was not clear at all and she needed to get it focused again. She slowly began to regain her vision when she noticed her head was placed somewhere that was very comfortable and extremely warm. She ended up snuggling her head into the warmth of whatever it was.
Did she mention she was in pain?
Yeah, she was in plenty of pain. The pain was slowly filtering through her body as she laid there. She wanted nothing more than to knock out again. She wanted to knock out only for the sole reason of not feeling it again. How did she end up like this again? Oh, right! Her breath hitched when she her mind became overfilled with a flashback. She remembered walking as she talked about something then her path was blocked. It was blocked by a creature much bigger than the corpse lizard she had encountered the last time she was here. It was a—a wyvern! That's right a wyvern had appeared and it attacked her. It had swung its tail and she was hit dead on by it.
And then black nothingness.
Shit, she felt like she was hit by a train at full speed. And she lived through that too. She tried to move only for her to release a whimper as a hot flash of pain went through her side. It hurt, her whole body hurt, but she had to get up and move. She was on a job. And where was Gajeel? Did something bad happen to him when she knocked out? Was he okay? She attempted to move again with the intention of finding her guild mate, but a hand held her shoulder still. And a voice filled her ears.
"You shouldn't move so soon. That maid spirit of yours just looked you over a couple of minutes ago." Gajeel's deep baritone voice floated around her semi-conscious mind. Good, he sounded like he was okay at least. He sounded so gentle and calm. "You took a serious hit, Bunny Girl."
"Ugh, tell me about." She replied as she made a mental note to thank Virgo when she had the chance. Her vision was clear and the pounding in her head was becoming a dull thud. Her brown eyes went around the area scanning for the wyvern that had attacked her. Her eyes spotted something. It looked like shredded meat to her, but she knew it could only be one thing. It was the wyvern's corpse. "Did you-?"
"Tch, don't worry about it." The Iron Dragon Slayer stated with a shrugged. "I took care of it."
"You're not hurt are you?" Lucy asked as her eyes returned to look up at his face. She saw some dry blood stains on him, but she figured it was not his. At least she hoped most of it was not his.
He sure did a number on that thing.
"Nothing too serious." He looked down at her. "Just a few scratches."
"Ahs, that's good." The Celestial Mage hummed, before she realized just where her head was. She blushed. Oh dear, I'm in his lap! My head is in his lap! I feel so embarrassed! Oh, but it is comfy…no, bad thoughts! "Um, can I stand up now?"
The Dragon Slayer only nodded. His large hand gripped hers firmly as he helped her get back up on her feet. She felt her limbs ache with what she had to knew was soreness, which was painful. Her limbs may be sore, but she decided it was not as bad as the pain coming from her broken arm. Yeah, broken bones were always the most painful in her opinion. That small detail seemed unimportant when something else caught her attention. The blonde noticed how gentle he was being with her. It was like he was afraid of hurting her. He was acting different.
Was it because she was hurt that badly?
Maybe.
"It had to be guarding something." Gajeel voiced as he stretched out his legs probably trying to shake out the numbness from sitting too long, but his eyes remained on her.
"Guarding something?" The blonde didn't know much about wyverns and there behavior. So she trusted the Dragon Slayer's word on this. "Do you think it could have been guarding what is causing this forest to be so…"
"Fucked up."
"Yes, that." Lucy nodded with a small smile. Gajeel did have a nice way with words. "So we are heading in the right direction, which is probably why it attacked, right?"
"More than likely." He paused as he took a quick whiff of the air. "It smells like that flower."
"Like an orchid?" She gasped. Flashes of her dream entered her mind. Orchids, she had dreamt about a meadow of orchids. And not mention the fact that she and Gajeel saw one during their nightmarish illusion too. The flower, the orchid, was a significant clue to this whole mystery of the forest. "Gajeel, do you think you can track the scent of the flower?"
Of course, he can!
He's a Dragon Slayer!
"What do you take me for, an idiot?" He glared at her, but Lucy saw no hostility whatsoever in his red eyes. In fact, they were shimmering with an emotion Lucy could not decipher. "I can track a damn flower."
"Just making sure." She replied as she looked at her broken arm and frowned. "I guess I won't be that much help in battle."
"I'll do all the fighting. You just worry about yourself." The Iron Dragon Slayer gazed at her for a moment before he turned away. "Just stick close, Bunny Girl."
"Sure, sure, Iron Hedgehog Head." She smiled as she stood beside him, but her smile faltered when he grabbed her good arm. She felt his fingers encircle her wrist with a tight hold. "What are you–"
"So I don't lose you, Bunny Girl."
All Lucy could do was blush as Gajeel pulled her along farther into the forest.
And the farther they went in the more annoyed Lucy found this forest to be and she had no qualms about making her feelings known.
"What the hell is up with this damn, forest?" The ex-heiress complained again. She normally didn't complain this much during a job, but this place was testing her limit and her health too. On cue, her stomach violently lurched as she took another step. It had been getting worse the deeper in they went. She didn't understand it. She was feeling just fine a few minutes ago. Well, as fine as she could feel with a broken arm and bruised side, but now she was feeling like she had been sick for days. "I feel so queasy and my legs feel like they are going to fall off."
Gajeel turned to look at her and she expected him to say something about her being weak and to stop her annoying complaining, but to her utter surprise it was quite the opposite.
"You're so troublesome Bunny Girl." He picked her up in his arms and held her like a bride being carried off to her honey moon.
"Kyaaaaaaa, what are you doing?" Lucy screeched her face and ears were red.
"What does it look like, idiot?" The Dragon Slayer frowned as he went back to walking forward. "I'm carrying you."
"I know that, but I'm heavy!" the fluster woman hid her face in his chest so he wouldn't see how red it was. Her heart was racing a mile a minute just because he was holding her like this. "That's what Happy always says…"
"Tch, that cat is weak compare to me, Bunny Girl." He smirked a teasing light sparkled in his eyes. "What, never been held by a real man before?"
"Shut up!" She squeaked. Oh how she wanted to smack that smirk off that face of his! That feeling was fleeting when she felt like vomiting again. "Ugh, I feel like total crap."
"You look like crap."
"Thanks for being truthful." She grimaced. "Seriously, I feel like I've done nothing to help during this job and now to feel queasy? Do you feel sick?"
"It's the magical residue in the air. Its making both of us feel like shit." He replied ignoring the glare she was giving him. "Though I can handle it. Truthfully, it's nothing compare to motion sickness."
Ah, the dreaded motion sickness.
"Motion sickness is nothing compared to this, really?"
"Yeah, nothing compared to it." He smirked. "And I'm me."
"You have stated many times to me before about how ridiculously strong you are, Gajeel." Lucy puffed her cheeks in annoyance as she removed her face from his well tone chest. "Seriously, you are so cocky."
"Tch."
"Have I mentioned to you how annoying you can be?"
"More than one occasion." He grinned.
"I take it back," She stuck her tongue at him. "You are extremely annoying."
"I take that as a complement, Bunny Girl."
"It's not supposed to be one, Gajeel." She frowned; she shifted slightly in his arms trying to make herself more comfortable. "Anyways, are we close?"
"Yes, the scent of that flower is growing stronger." He nodded his eyes surveying ahead of them. "It's just up ahead."
"Okay," the blonde said. "Gajeel, what if there is an enemy waiting there?"
"I'll take care of it."
"Alright, I trust you."
Lucy said no more words as Gajeel stepped through some rather thick bushes and under an archway of trees. Before long she felt an amazed gasp leave her lips at the sight before her. It was just like in her dream. A field of turquoise blue orchids was silently dancing in the gentle breeze in front of her. She was awed by its beauty for a brief few minutes, but her awe vanished when she heard Gajeel's boots crush some ice. Ice there was ice here. She saw that a section of flowers frozen over the farther in and soon they came upon a massive altar like structure in the middle of it.
The stone pillars were place in a circle shape with blue engravings swirling on them in various shapes and symbols. They were ancient and beautiful. It was something her father would have enjoyed researching about if he was alive. She would have liked to see each engraving closely, but something caught her attention. And it was in the middle of the pillars. It was small plain pedestal. Something inside her told her she needed to get closer. She had to get closer it whispered to her. She silently motion for the Iron Dragon Slayer to move in. He was hesitant at first, but he slowly and cautiously made his way over to the center.
And it was freezing cold.
The entire center was covered in ice, freezing cold ice. And it caused Lucy remembered the whole incident with Deliora long ago on Galuna Island, except Team Natsu was not here with her. Besides, in Deliora's case she knew what they were up against because Gray had the knowledge. Now, she was only fishing for answers of what was in here. The blonde could feel there was some sort of presence here and the presence was coming from the frozen diamond shape block of ice floating above the pedestal. It had to be trapped inside of there. And she felt something else too. It was something strangely familiar.
It took her only a second to realize something.
This was the source of the strange magical reside hanging over the forest. She knew it was from the reaction her skin and sixth sense were giving off. And there was the fact she felt much more nauseous than earlier. She hoped she didn't vomit on Gajeel. That would be embarrassing and she needed no more embarrassment at the moment. Then she had another ah-ha moment when she surveyed the area some more. Her mind was preoccupied with another thought. This was the cause of why no living being lived here or why nothing would venture in here. This must have been what the wyvern was guarding. Yet she could not help but wonder why the wyvern was able to be in here for so long. What made the wyvern any different? Maybe it had something to do with being half dragon she thought. Gajeel didn't look that affective by the residue that much either.
Whatever the case was she didn't too much time on thinking about it, since Gajeel took all her attention back. She believed that he was still going to walk farther into the pedestal, but he wasn't moving. The Iron Dragon Slayer would not get any closer and she wondered why. She looked in his eyes attempting to decipher his reason. All she could figure out was that he was on edge, extremely on edge. It was like the Dragon Slayer was waiting for something evil to pop out and attack them any minute. It was quite possible he was waiting for the little boy she had seen in the forest earlier. She found herself filling with doubt. She felt like he was not around anymore. If he was then he would have taken the chance to attack them now, since she was clearly out of commission. This was the perfect opportunity to take them out.
Or maybe she was just being hopeful.
Her train of thoughts was interrupted by something. From the corner of her eyes the blonde saw something glittering. It was coming from the inside that diamond shaped block of ice. She pointed towards the area and she waiting for him to move, but the Dragon Slayer wouldn't budge. She nudged him hoping he would get the silent message. Still he did not budge. For some odd reason he was being cautious, to cautious if you asked her. Lucy grew frustrated with his overly cautious behavior so she decided to something about it. She pulled on his hair in order to catch his attention, which it did.
"I swear if you pull my hair one more time I will BITE you hard, Bunny Girl." He growled his red eyes snapping down to her. "Hard enough to leave marks."
"You can bite me as much as you want later, Iron Hedgehog Head! Right now, I want you to put me down since your being all Mr. Cautious. I want down!" She emphasized her point by pulling his hair harder again. She wanted to get things down. "Now!"
"Oi, don't order me around!" He retorted, but none the less he set her down with a frown. The Celestial Mage for some odd reason felt lonely that she was not in his arms or against his comfortable chest. "What's got the little bunny all rattled?"
"That!" She pointed to the glittering object near the center, ignoring the rabbit reference.
"And that is?"
"How should I know? I can't see it!" She answered, but her stomach did another painful lurched. She was getting too excited. "Damn it I hate this damn forest and the magical residue!"
"We're in a meadow." The Dragon Slayer stated the obvious. Lucy resisted the urge to tell him that or make a snippy remark.
"That's beside the point!" She smacked her face with her uninjured hand. "Let's go check that out!"
He nodded in agreement. The ex-heiress walked forward towards the center of the altar and she expected Gajeel to be right behind her. Or at least beside her, but he wasn't. She turned to seem outside of the perimeter of the altar. She didn't understand why he was not following her. Was he messing around with her? She curiously looked at him; his own face seemed at a loss of what was going on. He moved to follow her again. She watched him walk over to her towards the center, but he was pushed back some invisible force. The blonde Celestial Mage frowned not quite understanding what was stopping him coming in. Why could she go through and not him? If this was a trap it was a good one. If something happened now then she would be defenseless since Gajeel would not be able to help her.
"Bunny Girl," his red eyes reflected downright annoyance with the new situation. Lucy also saw worry flashing in his eyes for the tiniest of seconds.
"I don't understand either." The blonde replied out loud confused. She deduced that there had to be some sort of barrier stopping him from entering."I promise if something happens I'll run out towards you okay?"
He nodded his body tensed with anxiety.
Lucy turned mentally reassuring herself that nothing bad will happen to her. Nothing bad will happen she repeated over and over again. The injured blonde went back towards the pedestal. She stood in front of it, her face drawn in concentration as she tried to ignore the freezing cold temperature. Damn, she wished she had worn something warmer than that what she had on. She shook it, off concentrating on the glittering object and to her amazement what she saw were words. They were floating words in a language that was not regularly used today, but she recognized them. The blonde observed them trying to decipher each word slowly. She translated each individual word in her head. It didn't take her long to realize she was being asked a question.
"Potest remitti semper a tergo ceciderunt stellam in caelo noctis?" She read out loud enjoying how the ancient language rolled off her tongue.
"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?" Gajeel asked his voice laced with irritation.
"It's a question." Lucy replied her brown eyes set on the glittering letters. "Can a fallen star ever be forgiven back into the night sky?"
"What kind of question is that?"
The Celestial Mage didn't answer him right away, though she shared his sentiment. She was busy racking her brain for a plausible reference for this question. Surely there had to be something she had read in the files about this. Or maybe someone had told her about it. Then she remembered the legend Jared told her and Gajeel earlier. She could hear his voice echoing in her mind as she stood staring at the floating glittering letters.
It is said the forest was the site of a massive battle between man and evil. It was a hard fought battle. It was hard because the evil was able to draw out the ugliness inside any being. And many had turned from ally to enemy from the exposure. The longer they fought the bigger the chaos became. The ground was flooded with the blood of the many victims of this evil and of those who fought against it. The side of good was dwindling and it looked like they would lose. Eventually helped had arrived when they the forces of good needed it most. In the end, with the help of beings not from this world, the evil was finally subdued. It was over, but the pain and the evil that oozed out of men still lingered in that forest wandering around in purgatory. It became an area for lost souls, but that was not the only thing that is hidden in the forest.
Within its depths lies a traitorous being. It was frozen in punishment for its sins. Frozen to relive the suffering and agony they had cause. This frozen being is what keeps the living animals out from the forest and only stays among the dead. Some had attempted to seek this being out in order to gain power for their own needs. Out of all those no one has ever seen this being and lived to tell the tale.
There definitely was no ghoul here she thought and the legend seem to hold more merit than it anyways. Her mind was already working on overdrive trying to pick out clues in the small story Jared had told them. What caught her interest the most was what it mentioned. It spoke about beings from another world. And this beings from the other world helped fight in the battle that had occurred in this forest. Beings from another world what could that mean she wondered. She prodded her own brain harder for any relatable information that would make this clear.
Then it clicked. It clicked when she recalled the first time she had been to this town. She remembered the incident on the train with Loke. He had been so adamant about warning her about this place and what it was in the Celestial Realm. The lion spirit had warned her that his forest was a prison for fallen Celestial Spirits. It made sense with the legend too. Beings from another world could only mean they were Celestial Spirits. And they were involved in the battle fought here.
The only thing she could not understand was why Celestial Spirits would be involved in a war with humans.
The only answer she could come up with was the spirits were forced to participate, but even that was farfetched. She knew the King would never allow that to occur. He would have closed the gates and barred their involvement in human affairs. That was just the type of King he was. So why did they fight in the war here in Aeterna Caelestis? Why would the Celestial King willingly allow his kin to meddle in human affairs? Unless, the traitorous being was a Celestial Spirit! Yes, that has to be it! It was the only thing that made sense.
She had some doubts because she had never heard of a Celestial Spirit betraying their fellow Spirits, but it was the only possibility that made sense to her.
"I get it!" Lucy grinned at her discovery. She felt a sense of triumph fill her body as she spoke. "Gajeel, I know what the cause of this whacked forest is! I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner!"
"You're confusing me, so why not enlighten me."
"It's a spirit, a Celestial Spirit. There's a spirit frozen here!" She began to explain, but her explanation was cut short before she could get any further. It was interrupted by a sparkle of light appearing next to her. A hand grasped her wrist and forcefully pulled her away from the pedestal. She could hear Gajeel snarling. "Ow, that hurts!"
"Lucy, you shouldn't be here!" She recognized the voice even when it was laced with anger. It belonged to Loke. "Hell, a town shouldn't even be here either!"
"Loke, let me go!" She demanded, but he held onto her arm as he continued to pull her away. "I said let go!"
"No, you have to leave this place!" Loke screamed back at her. "Those people in that town in to leave here. No one is safe here!"
"Loke, if you don't let me go this instance I'll let Gajeel beat you up!" The blonde retorted though she did not mean those words yet. She managed to pull her wrist out of his hold. She glared at the lion, but the glare was replaced with one of shock. She noticed how frazzled he was. He wasn't wearing his usual blue tinted sunglasses, so his hazel eyes were visible. They were in a frenzy of worry. "What's wrong?"
His gaze met hers.
"Lucy, please you have to get out of here." Loke replied in a quiet voice. "Nothing good could come out of this place. Please, leave."
Gajeel could feel his instincts were on fire.
They were raging as the Leo manhandled her away from the pedestal. He wanted to act upon his rage, but he couldn't. He snarled frustrated at the lion and at the fact he could nothing except watch. His red eyes were focused on the orange haired spirit ignored the blonde's protests and pleas to release her. If only he could get near them without being pushed back by that invisible force. Then he would teach that lion about touching his female and treating her like he was now. Much to his delight the blonde managed to slip out of the lion's grasp and add some space between them. Her face was set in anger, but was soon replaced with shock and confusion.
"Lucy, please you have to get out of here." The lion argued with the blonde in a quiet voice. "Nothing good could come out of this place. Please, leave."
What the hell is that playboy lion shouting about?
He noticed how tense the lion was. And that was something that was not normal for this spirit. At least that was what he had gathered from the times he had seen the lion. Something was making Bunny Girl's lion act up. He just didn't know what it was, but he had an inkling of a feeling about what it was. He was sure it had something to do with the frozen pedestal she was standing by a few moments ago before he had moved her. That and his eyes kept shifting back to the frozen diamond shape block of ice floating above with displeasure. His hazel eyes were filled with scorn like he already knew exactly what was there.
Yeah, that floating block of ice is what get his fur all ruffled up.
"Lucy, you have to listen to me." The lion said as he tried to convince her to move. "This area is off limits. You have to leave now."
"Loke, this frozen spirit is what causing this forest to be, as Gajeel has said, fucked up." Bunny Girl replied with a clipped voice. She looked ready to argue her way out of whatever the lion was planning on doing. "I have to get it out of here in order to complete my job."
"Then fail it."
He did not just say that.
"What? You got to be kidding me! I specifically was asked to do this job and you ask me to fail!" Bunny Girl yelled upset. Her eyes were brimming with hurt because of what the spirit had asked her to do. "I can't do that Loke!"
"But Lucy–"
"No, buts!" She crossed her arms and glared defiantly at the lion.
"Damn it, Lucy you don't understand!"
"Then care to explain yourself?" Gajeel drawled adding himself into the conversation. He was tired of watching the lion talk without explaining what he was saying. "You seem to know just what exactly is frozen there."
The lion glared at him and Gajeel knew there was some merit in his statement. The spirit did know what was frozen here. And he was hiding it from the blonde. The spirit looked like he was about to say a few choice words to him, but the ex-heiress intervened, stopping the Leo's word's .
"Gajeel has a point. Loke, you're the leader of the Zodiac and you have lived for a very long time." Lucy placed a hand on her hip her face drawn in a scowl. "And I recall you telling me about this place being a prison the first time I was here."
A prison?
This place was prison? Gajeel wondered.
"I…" The orange haired man was looking much more nervous than before.
"That and your frantic behavior just makes me more suspicious of you." The blonde woman stated sternly. She walked closer to her spirit and placed a hand on his cheek. I suspect that you do know what spirit is in this forest."
"Lucy, I do know. That's why I am telling you to leave." The lion hung his head down leaning in to her touch. The Dragon Slayer could tell keeping this secret from her was tearing the spirit apart. "Please, don't get involve with this."
"Explain." Bunny Girl said in a voice that left no room for argument. She stared down at the lion waiting for him to give in. "I want to know."
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you."
Lucy was shock.
Loke had never refused to tell her anything before. He had always been so open with her about everything even when she didn't ask him too. Loke had always done anything to help her out, anything. And she would do anything for him or any of her spirits as well. It was so surprising for her that he denied her the identity of the spirit frozen here. It had been a long time since they were opposing each other though she understood one thing. The refusal of her loyal lion to tell her the identity of the spirit in here meant it was something serious. And that possibly only a select few actually knew of this place and who was here. It was a dark part of the history of her Celestial Spirits.
And Loke didn't want her to have anything to do with this.
She could see the suave playboy was struggling. She wanted to console him and not force him to relive a painful time in his life, especially if he refused to speak about it. A part of her wanted to listen to her loyal lion's pleas of her to leave this area alone, but she had to complete her job. She had to complete her job. Her pride as a mage demanded it. Her brown eyes focused on the question floating above her head. The words looked so innocent and yet Lucy knew her answer would have either a positive or negative effect. Would she be able to handle it? She didn't know. She took a deep breath clearing her mind of any doubts. She felt her heart race as she took in the surrounding scent of orchids.
She had to make a choice.
Can a fallen star ever be forgiven back into the night sky? A voice echoed around her. She recognized it as the one who broke the illusion.
"I don't know what this key did to be punished like this, but I believe it has suffered enough." Lucy's brown eyes gazed at the frozen block of ice. "My answer is yes. Yes, I believe a fallen star can be forgiven back into the night sky."
As those words left her mouth two things happened simultaneously. One was Loke looked like he had been hit by a train, but his eyes reflected that he knew what she would choose in the end. Lucy felt bad, but she knew she made the correct choice. Loke would forgive her eventually. Then the glittering words vanished. And the wind that was a gentle breeze at first grew stronger spreading the petals of turquoise into the air. The chill in the air suddenly dissipated as the ice receded into nothing. Before her eyes the diamond shaped block of ice melted and revealed what was inside. It was a silver key. It landed on the ground with a small clank and the magic residue in the air disappeared completely.
This key was the reason why the forest was so uninviting.
Or rather its prison was.
The blonde Celestial Mage stood there for a few seconds allowing her mind to process this. She was becoming hyper aware of her surroundings expecting something else to occur, but nothing happened. She exhaled as she bended down reaching for the key with her uninjured arm. As soon as her fingers touched it the feeling of gratitude fill her being. The feeling was coming from the spirit of this key. The blonde held it lovingly as she promised she would do her best to help this spirit out. This moment was short lived. Loke was in front of her again and his posture was aggressive. His face was set in a glare and his hand was outstretched.
"The key, give me the key Lucy." He demanded as his facial expression changing from anger to anxiety as he eyed the key in her hands. His eyes reflected uneasiness as he eyed the key like he was expecting it to kill them at any moment. "Give it to me now."
"No." Lucy replied her voice set in seriousness.
"Lucy, that Lapsis Stella in your hands is nothing but a traitor to our kind and to humans. You have no idea what that Lapsis Stella did to warrant this punishment." Loke explained his eyes were filled with contempt. "Give it to me."
"No, this key is mine." She held it with her uninjured arm close to her chest protecting it from the lion's heated gaze. "You have no right to ask for it. You know I will say no, Loke."
"But–"
"You stupid lion, let her have the key." Gajeel's voice rang close to her and it reminded her that he as there. He was standing next her and that affirmed that there was some barrier earlier. She glanced at him and saw he was glaring at Loke. "She got it out of the ice, so that means this prison released the key to be with Bunny Girl."
"Gajeel's right, Loke." She looked at the leader of the Zodiac with pleading brown eyes. She wished Loke would let this one go. She already hated the fact that she was putting him through this. "This key belongs with me."
Loke looked in disbelief at the two mages, but he knew what Gajeel said was true. If the Lapsis Stella was released from its prison then that meant that it did belong with Lucy that was how the prison worked. The Lapsis Stella was only to be given a second chance only if someone was able to find it and reply to the question. It was what the Spirit King had decreed long ago and Loke had no place to interfere.
That didn't mean he could try.
"Fine, but I will be reporting this to the king." Loke sigh in defeat. "Except a call from the king soon about this, Lucy."
"That's fine." The blonde nodded. The lion returned it and left the human world with a frown.
Lucy knew she would have to do some more snooping to find out exactly what was happening with Loke and this key.
"Seriously, that lion of yours can be annoying, Bunny Girl." The Iron Dragon Slayer crossed his arms as he glared at the spot where Loke last stood. The blonde didn't know why Gajeel looked so upset. "All this fuss over a little silver key."
"He's just worried about my safety." Lucy replied. She smiled down at the key her eyes following the small engraved pattern on it. "Let's be good friends, Little Fox."
Happiness radiating from the key in her grasp.
Oddly enough the trip out of the forest was not as difficult as going in it.
She had to admit it was the most stressful job she had ever had the pleasure to go on. It was filled with too many surprises for her liking, but in the end it was a very successful job. Although they did suffer some minor injuries, mostly Lucy, the two Fairy Tail mages found themselves with a nice amount of jewels and the feeling of accomplishment. And to their surprise the town even threw a party for them. Lucy was not one to turn down a free meal and a good time every once in awhile, but she hesitated to say yes to the offer. It was Gajeel who accepted surprisingly enough.
Besides, the town's people were really wanted to celebrate the good fortune.
Lucy, even with her broken arm, was able to have some fun. Gajeel didn't party much. He had spent most of the time sitting down and eating as she chatted happily with the town's folk. The blonde did notice something about him. Every time she stood up to move somewhere else his red eyes were not too far behind her. His eyes were following her every movement. She really didn't think much of it summing it down to being a Gajeel thing. Or he was still on edge because of what they encountered. Overall, the party was a nice distraction for awhile, but it was now the next day.
It was time to go back home.
The two mages were seated in their train seats, which was located in a quiet section of the train. Lucy was grateful for the silence. She didn't really want to deal with noise at the moment, not when he arm was still in pain. She wanted to relax, but she was in such a good mood that she wanted to talk. Even if it was with a grumpy Gajeel
"That was some job!" The blonde stretched her one good arm as she leaned back into the salmon colored train seat. Her brown eyes sparkled with happiness waiting for Gajeel to agree with her. "Wasn't it so much fun?"
Gajeel only nodded in agreement.
Okay ,at least he responded with a nod. He didn't outright ignore me.
"And I got a new friend too!" She smiled when she remembered the new key she had acquired from the forest, her excitement clearly audible in her voice. "I wonder what kind of magic he or she uses?"
He didn't answer her.
Did he just straight out ignore me?
Lucy snuck a glance at the Dragon Slayer, who usually said something rude or sarcastic to her when she spoke, but right now he was very quiet. He was looking out the window as they waiting for the train to leave. She had never seen Gajeel act like this before. He looked to be in serious thought about something, but Lucy had no idea about what. The Iron Dragon Slayer had been pensive since this morning when they had woken up. It was odd to say the least. Normally, she would have voiced her thoughts about his sudden silent and pensive behavior, but she decided it against. She figured it was best not to bother him at the moment. So she made herself comfortable on her seat as best she could with a broken arm. She hoped Wendy was back from her job by the time she got home so she could heal her arm. Or else she would be unable to go on jobs for awhile, which meant no rent money. The good thing was she had enough to get by from her previous jobs for a bit. She sighed and was about to go to sleep when Gajeel spoke to her.
"Oi, I got a question for you, Bunny Girl?"
"A question for me?" She turned her head so she could see his face. He had a neutral look on it.
"Yes, a question." He replied crossing his arms. "You know I ask something and you reply back sort of deal?"
"Well, then ask it before I decide not to answer you." She huffed, noticing he was teasing her again.
"Your reasoning for leaving Salamnder's Team, what was it?" He asked. He remembered that day well when she had quit that idiots team and became a solo mage, but he did not know why she had made such a decision. He knew they were becoming distance from the blonde and yet he knew there was something else involved than just being ignored by two of her teammates. "What was the real reason?"
Lucy knew her face fell into an expression of complete shock. She didn't expect someone like Gajeel to prod about her reasons why she left Team Natsu. The only people who really knew anything Gray and her spirits. She had not told anyone else. Not even Levy. So what in the world made Gajeel think she would tell him? He had to have an ulterior motive her mind told her. She was sure. The blonde Celestial Mage stared at the intimating man before her, trying to gauge some reasoning why he wanted to know such a thing, but as always his red eyes were guarded.
So she went for the more direct approach.
"What does that matter to you Gajeel?" She said with a little bit of anger in her voice.
"Just humor me Bunny Girl."
Brown and red clashed for a bit as Lucy tried to figure out if she should tell the Iron Dragon Slayer her reasons for quitting Team Natsu. Could she trust him with something so private? From what she knew of Gajeel's nature she figured he would not be the type to be spilling her secrets to anyone else. Maybe it would not hurt to tell him? And from the determine look on his face she knew he wanted an awser. She mentally sighed and smiled at him before she spoke.
"Fine, but I don't know why you would want to know something like that." The blonde did her best attempt of a shrug with a broken arm. She chewed her lips nervously as she tried to gather her words. "It's simple really. Natsu and Erza wanted to put Lisanna in my place on the team. They didn't want me as a teammate anymore. I guess because I'm not some destructive powerhouse like them."
Gajeel said nothing as he listened to her speak, he looked to be deep in thought again.
"That was part of it, but I quit mostly because I want to prove myself to them." She clenched her fist.
"Prove yourself?"
"My magic as a Celestial Mage is strong. And just because I don't have physical strength to destroy an entire town does not mean I am weak." She said seriously, her eyes harden as she spoke the truth. "I want people to know that I can stand on my own with my own magic. And what better way to prove that than being a solo mage."
"Sounds understandable." The Iron Dragon Slayer spoke clearly. He could understand her reasoning. "Every mage wants to be strong. You're no different."
Lucy didn't know what to think about his sudden talkative mood with her, but it was better than nothing.
"Exactly!" She smiled at him brightly for a few seconds then a small frown appeared on her face. "But you know, sometimes it does get lonely being by myself. I mean have my spirits, but they can only stay in the human world for so long."
Sometimes it just nice to know you have a friend to talk too. She added mentally.
"You ever think about partnering with someone else?" He asked another surprising question. What had made the man suddenly so talkative she asked herself.
"Good question." Lucy pondered. It had crossed her mind a couple of times to ask Gray to form a partnership, but he was with Team Natsu and then there was the whole Juvia thing she had to worry about. Otherwise, she never really thought about it before. "I have considered it, but I don't think anyone would partner with me at this point."
"Why say that?"
"Think about it. Everyone pretty much has the whole partner thing set up already." She looked out the window. "So there really are not a lot of people to choose from."
"Have you even tried asking?"
"No, like I said everyone has the whole partner thing set up already and I don't want to interfere with anyone." She replied her eyes darting back to him. "Unless you're offering, which I highly doubt it."
"Who said I wasn't offering, Bunny Girl?" Gajeel's deep baritone voice responded back with ease.
"Wha–?" Lucy's eyes widen as she stared at him in disbelief. Did she just hear what he said? There was no way Gajeel Redfox was offering to be her partner! She never thought that would happen in a million years! She had to be dreaming? Hallucinating! Maybe she had hit her head too hard when the wyvern had bashed her with its tail? "You're joking right?"
"Bunny Girl, I hate repeating myself." He frowned slightly annoyed. "I'm offering."
"But you have Lily and not mention Levy too!" The blonde exclaimed her eyes still wide with shock. There's no way he is serious about this. He's just messing with me!
"Lily's my cat, so he goes where I go. Well, sometimes he does his own thing with Wendy. Besides, I was talking about a human partner. Unless you really are part rabbit?" He eyed her before a smirk adorned his face. "And you sprout bunny ears and tail at whim, Bunny Girl."
What is it with him and comparing me to a rabbit!
"Don't be smart, Iron Hedgehog Head!" Lucy's brown eyes burned with slight anger due to his comment. "I am not part rabbit or part any other animal that screwed up head of yours dubs me as. I'm just Lucy Heartfilia, a HUMAN Fairy Tail mage!"
"Sure."The Iron Dragon Slayer grinned mockingly at the blonde. His red eyes were dancing with mirth before he answered her other reply."And Shrimp is not my partner. I just help her out once in awhile."
"You help her out?"
"Yeah, so two buffoons are useless sometimes. So I just help out. It's nothing permanent and never will be."
"Well aren't you nice."
"The point is I have no human partner." He stated firmly. "And you're partner-less so I don't see the problem in asking."
"Gajeel, I just can't believe you would want me as your partner." Lucy played with her hair nervously. "It's just–"
"Tch, it not like you're that bad Bunny Girl. You beat that corpse lizard without my help before and you have been completing all your jobs just fine." He lifted up his fingers and began to count to his reasoning for why she would make a good partner. "One you're smart, and you know how to use your smarts during battle. Two, your magic is versatile and could help out in any situation. Three, you've got guts do what it takes to get the job done. Four, you know when to shut up and fight. Five, you aren't as annoying as the rest of guild mates. Six, your sane."
"Whoa, I think you just complemented me Gajeel." The ex-heiress giggled when he gave her an annoyed face that said don't get use to this onetime thing.
"You get my point then?"
"Yes, but I still find it hard to believe you want to be my partner." She averted her eyes from his gaze slightly embarrassed. "You and me as partners, can you imagine that?"
"A sane blonde with an insane Dragon Slayer not afraid to fight it all out sounds like a fun." Gajeel's grin broadened his fangs glinting in the sunlight filtering through from the train window. "Plus, I think we cover each other's faults nicely. I think we'll make a good combo, Bunny Girl."
"We do have traits that complement each other." Lucy mused. She was actually thinking of considering his offer. He had something's Lucy's magic lacked and vice versa. They would balance each other out really well. "But I just don't know…"
"What's stopping you from saying yes Bunny Girl?" He held his hand out towards her. He was waiting for her to reply back."Let's be partners."
Lucy Heartfilia was silent for a few minutes. Her heart raced with the idea of having a partner like Gajeel. She was totally leaning towards saying yes as she weighed the pros and cons of a joint partnership with Gajeel. The pros were he had psychical destructive strength, he was powerful, was efficient with his magic, he was smart, he had some self control, he never was boring to be around with, and she enjoyed annoying him too. Plus, his company was not too bad. The cons were that annoying nickname he had given her and sometimes he could be very annoying himself. So far the pros outweighed the cons, but the bigger question she had to ask herself was…
Was she even ready to have another partner after what had happen with Natsu?
Was she ready to have such a relationship again?
She would not lie. It still hurt her immensely when she thought about what happened with Natsu. He was in a sense the very first real friend that she made that was not a spirit. They had such a strong bond of friendship that Lucy treasure beyond anything else. He was her very first partner and she treasured that as well. She had given him so much of herself to him. She believed Natsu felt the same way about their partnership, but then he had to crush her feelings under his foot when Lisanna came back.
Lucy understood though. She knew that before she had arrived, that Natsu and Lisanna had also shared a close bond. The blonde couldn't condone Natsu for being happy to have his friend alive and well. She was happy to see him smile. What hurt her was how easily he had tossed her and their partnership aside. She felt like she was nothing when he did that.
And seeing so easily tossed aside made her afraid to seek out a new partner.
She was afraid of getting hurt again.
That was why she was so reluctant to take up Gajeel's offer. Still, if she really thought about it she and Gajeel were in the same boat. Both of them joined after Lisanna's time, so they were still fairly new to the Fairy Tail family. Like her he had no prior affiliation with the white hair mage so he would not ditch her for Lisanna. He had much more history with Lucy herself than anyone else in the guild. Well, except Juvia. Would it be good to be his partner? Gajeel may annoy, be slightly antisocial and tease her, but he had proven that he had her back. She thought about the wyvern he had killed in the forest and she doubt he would betray her. She knew from what she had experience today that he would be a good choice.
Yet she was still hesitant to answer and Gajeel seemed to pick up on it.
"If you're worried I'll be an ungrateful ass like Salamander then you have nothing to fret about." Gajeel spoke to her, his voice filled with reassurance. "I won't abandon my partner. I give a Dragon Slayer's promise."
"That makes me feel so much better." She laughed somewhat bitterly. His words reminded her of the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Natsu said something similar to me before and look what happened. He ditched me as soon as he got the chance."
"I told you before, don't compare me to Salamander. We are nothing alike." He produced his trade mark smirk. "He's not as much of a Dragon Slayer as me. I don't go back on my word."
She gulped.
"Don't you want to witness what a real Dragon Slayer can do?"
"Are you going on an ego rant now?" She smiled slightly as her hesitation filtered out of body.
"No, I'm just saying the difference between me and Salamander is obvious." He made a small biting motion with his teeth. "I'm more bite than him, Bunny Girl."
"I know."
"So just say yes. It will be beneficial for you to my partner!" He gloated. "I just don't ask anyone to be my permanent partner. Think of it as an honor."
The Celestial Mage shifted in her seat; she knew Gajeel's words rang true. Gajeel was nothing like Natsu and he would never be like him. He was Gajeel. And he was her guild mate offering her a chance of not being lonely. He was offering her a new start. Lucy didn't know how much this decision would affect her life.
"Alright," She grinned and took his outstretched hand, shaking it in agreement. "Let's be partners."
Reposted 6/5/2015