Everyone looked beautiful today. The women were elegant and sophisticated and the men all wore their smartest suits. Even Natsu had made an effort, though I later learned from Levy that it was only because Lucy had marched over to his, wrestled him into the suit and forcibly combed his hair. I had to chuckle at the thought. I wore a warm coffee coloured dress with a golden flower decoration at the single shoulder. My hair today was pulled back and plaited elegantly, several smaller plaits also being worked into the design which hung over my bare shoulder.
The cathedral looked wonderful, perfectly pristine and the seats were covered in a white overlay with silver and green bows adorning them, large bouquets of flowers lining the aisle where Elfman stood at the alter, waiting. There was a full orchestra and choir present also and I shifted in my seat, greatly anticipating Evergreen's entrance.
Finally the doors opened and everyone turned to look. She breezed in, smiling rather proudly as her pure white gown which instantly billowed out, the huge ball gown dress layered with more frills than I'd ever seen before. All the same, she looked breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair was loose and wavy underneath her veil and as she walked past me, I saw that the back of her dress was adorned with long fairy wings trailing down behind her. "She looks so beautiful!" Levy whispered to me, gripping onto my hand tightly in excitement.
"She does." I agreed, giving a soft smile as Freed, Laxus and Bickslow gave her away. Elfman was still in shock, looking at Evergreen with his mouth practically on the floor before Mirajane gave him a little nudge, waking him up so that he could start to stammer out his vows.
"I so hope that will be me some day!" Levy whispered, resting a hand on her stomach which was starting to show the smallest of bumps.
"One day." I definitely agreed, my eyes flickering over to Laxus as he took his seat next to his grandfather. My heart gave another jolt so I hurriedly looked away. It was a wonderful ceremony and there were no lacking of tears as the final vows were said and Elfman was invited to kiss his bride. He was so dumbfounded that Evergreen had to smack him awake and claim the kiss for herself, earning laughter from the rest of us before we all leaped up, cheering and celebrating as Evergreen and Elfman led the procession out.
Snow was starting to fall however it just made it all the more perfect as Elfman suddenly lifted Evergreen up, chanting loudly. "I feel like a real married man!"
"You big dumb brute!" Evergreen yelled at him with no lacking of affection as we all gathered around for the photo. I stood with Levy, Lucy and Wendy, placing my hand on Wendy's shoulder and she beamed up at me before turning to stand neatly for the photo, smiling with her hands clasped in front of her. After a day of rest and taking the medicine that I had bought for her, she was back to her old self and recovered from her cold. Several pictures were taken, however I knew Reedus would already be painting and I anticipated seeing the finished works join the others in the Hall of Memory.
"Hmm…wedding's always have such a fragrant parfum. Meeeeeen." A deep voice mused and I jumped slightly as everyone started to bolt for the guildhall where the feast awaited.
"Ichiya! It's so good to see you, how have you been?" I asked him as he appeared next to me. Evergreen had invited all of Blue Pegasus to the wedding and they'd all responded with an acceptance, so I should have known that I would bump into Ichiya here. I notice that Erza has already scarpered.
"I have been well, thank you kindly for asking, Lady Fae. Tell me, with your wonderful parfum, how is it that you have not yet tied the knot? Men." He asked me, giving a rather knowing smile at me and for a moment I was perplexed as to what he could mean, the two of us walking back to the guild together as the gentle snowflakes brushed against us, falling from a pure white sky.
"Well, one must be patient and wait for their perfect match before they even consider engaging into such a union." I reasoned simply as Ichiya jogged to keep up so I slowed down my pace, keeping better pace with him as he remained beside me.
"A wise and virtuous decision! I wish you luck, Lady Fae. Meeeen. Your parfum will reap good fortune in love, I know this." He said, giving me a sparkling wink and I recoiled slightly as he then trotted off towards Anna who smiled affectionately at him before the two of them linked hands. Of course, I had almost forgotten. After the battle, Miss Anna and Ichiya had started seeing each other. It was a peculiar match and it freaked Lucy out a fair bit, however the two of them were obviously very besotted with one another.
I remember Natsu had once asked Miss Anna what she found even remotely attractive about Ichiya, however she had very simply but sweetly replied that she thought he was a beautiful man. I stopped in the street, watching them head towards the guild hand in hand. In all honesty, I couldn't help but feel a little left behind and not in the literal sense. Everyone else were all getting married and confessing feelings, everyone was moving forward and I felt a little lost. What am I to do with my life now? Soon I might be left behind completely and that would break my heart.
Looking upwards I watched the snow fell, feeling a chill crawl through me. I should have brought a coat, I did not exactly think this through. Shaking off the feeling I started to move forwards, however as someone came up behind me I felt something warm being placed around my shoulders and I found a black jacket enshrouding me. "You'll catch cold." Laxus informed me, placing a hand on my back and began to guide me forwards. "Come on, we don't want you getting left behind."
His words struck me like a knife through the heart. There was no way he could know just how meaningful those words were to me. Feeling much more settled I allowed him to guide me forwards, snuggling my arms underneath his warm jacket. "Won't you get cold?" I asked but he just shrugged, signalling that he didn't mind it. Not wanting him to catch a cold either, I snuggled close to him, leaning into his large frame and he started slightly.
"I'll keep you warm." I told him and he swallowed thickly, unsure of how to react before slowly he replaced his hand on my back, walking a little closer together. Back at the guild everyone was standing around the banqueting table, aweing at all the food however the moment I entered, Evergreen came rushing at me with a flurry of frills and grabbed my hands tightly in hers.
"You did an amazing job! It's more perfect than I can even describe, you really pulled through Fae!" Evergreen gushed at me and I smiled at her.
"It was my pleasure Ever." I answered her, glancing over to the cake. The enchanted gold sparkles flowed over the side of each layer like a fountain, shifting prettily around the decorations.
"And it tastes great!" Elfman grinned as he took a large bite out of the slice of cake he'd taken from one of the layers. Evergreen was instantly berating him, saying that he should have waited until after the starters and main courses and that they were supposed to cut the cake together. Elfman just grinned bashfully, calming her temper by saying that it was time to sit at the top table.
When I looked around the guildhall I hardly recognised it. Lights floated above, the ordinary benches and tables removed so that long tables rand down the length of the hall with a top table situated beneath the stage, everything decorated to look like a mixture between a winter wonderland and a garden party. The round tables were decorated with a clean white cloth with china teacups, pretty floral arrangements and tea cakes, however dotted around the place were numerous statues that Evergreen had insisted on using for decoration.
Sliding the jacket off my shoulders I held it out to Laxus, giving him a grateful smile. "Thank you Laxus, the gesture is most appreciated." I told him, handing it back to him before heading off to sit at my own table with Gray, Juvia, Natsu, Lucy, Cana and Erza.
"Fae! Glad you could join us." Cana grinned, already swigging on a bottle of alcohol. "It's a wedding so get drinking already!" She ordered cheerily, swaying in her seat as Erza looked at her disapprovingly.
"This is supposed to be a sophisticated event yet you are already bamboozled beyond belief. Have some restraint Cana!" She ordered firmly but Cana was already red faced and completely drunk.
"Why do I have to wear this stupid thing anyway? My own clothes work just fine!" Natsu complained at Lucy who glared at him hotly.
"Because it's a formal event!"
"Gray my darling, let us get married as soon as possible! I am in the wedding mood and everything here is just so magical!" Juvia declared, gripping onto Gray's arm tightly as he groaned, trying to push her off.
"You're being way too clingy!" He complained but Juvia ignored him, happily snuggling against him and I chuckled as I took my seat, sitting down peacefully as I reached for a glass of champagne and pulled it a little closer, taking a careful sip but no more. "Hey Fae, how's it hanging?" Gray asked.
"I'm alright, thank you Gray." I answered, looking up and smiling at everyone. "It's just…everything feels so surreal."
"I know what you mean." Lucy agreed, giving a sigh as she rested her elbows against the table. "After everything we've been through, it almost feels weird to have such normal lives now. I'm still waiting for my next adventure, but I can't go until I've found information about Aquarius's key!" That's right, in the battle of Tartarus, Lucy had sacrificed Aquarius's key in order to save everyone else.
"I'm sure it won't be long now Lucy, I have ears listening all over the continent for you. If there's so much as a whisper of the key then I'll know almost immediately." I informed her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "If all else fails, I can figure out a tracking spell and try and pinpoint its magical power, though this may take a very long time to accomplish."
"It doesn't matter, just so long as I get Aquarius back!" Lucy grinned and I nodded my head at her in agreement. Natsu and Gray started arguing with each other, starting up a fight however a sharp bark from both Erza and I had them sitting in their seats like scolded schoolboys. The laughter and gentle chatter was euphoric and I basked in the atmosphere, drinking tea until it was time for a toast and the speeches, where I then drank my champagne.
Mirajane got up on stage to perform a song or two, everyone cheering her at the end before food started to be served. Blue Pegasus had offered to serve as waiters and waitresses, so we enjoyed the luxury of having our food brought to us and our drinks never running dry, everyone enjoying themselves to fullest. As for the cake, after Evergreen and Elfman ceremoniously cut a slice from the cake, everyone soon piled forwards and devoured it. I was surprised that the twelve layers disappeared so rapidly, though when I saw Erza sitting with no less than fifteen slices all to herself, I found the main culprit. It made me chuckle.
Of course after all the food had been consumed, the tables and chairs were magically whisked away to open up the dance floor, lights dimming to a romantic glow as Evergreen spun Elfman about the floor, directing him in a rather vigorous waltz. Mirajane and Lisanna giggled together as Elfman stumbled for the hundredth time. All the same, I've never seen Evergreen smiling so freely.
As the next waltz started, people began entering the dance floor with their own partners. I saw Juvia drag Gray with her, almost knocking over everyone else in her wake and my smile broadened until I felt a gentle tap on my arm so I looked to see Wendy standing there, wriggling with a blush. "Um, Fae? Will you dance with me please? I'm not very good at dancing and Carla's over there with Happy…"
"I'd love to Wendy, shall I lead?" I offered and instantly she brightened, nodding her head enthusiastically so I took her hand and stepped onto the dance floor where I then helped her memorise the steps, taking it as slow as she needed before we brought it up to speed. "You're a natural Wendy, very light on your feet." I complimented her as I spun her under my hand then returned her to me.
"Only because you're such a good teacher, Fae." She answered with a giggle and I grinned back at her before the music changed to something very different, a foxtrot. Natsu didn't care for the steps, merely swung and dragged Lucy around with him whilst he cackled wildly and she yelled in fear for her life. "Oh my…"
"That Natsu…" I shook my head, exhaling before I stretched out my hand and grabbed a fistful of his scarf and yanked him back, making him yell as he flew into Gajeel and flattened him but as Lucy started spinning out of control and threatened to fall I held out my arm, catching her under her stomach so that she wouldn't fall. "Don't worry Lucy, I'm here." I reassured her gently, holding her upright until the spinning sensation in her head had quelled.
"Thanks a bunch, I owe you one." Lucy breathed a sigh of relief though blushed as she looked after Natsu. "He's such an idiot." I heartily agreed before spinning her around, taking both she and Wendy by the hand to dance with them. Gildarts was trying to persuade Cana to dance with him but she was too heavily latched onto her booze, disappointing him sorely.
Erza had claimed Gray and was rather ferociously leading him in the foxtrot, dragging him around and flinging him away as it suited her, Juvia glaring with a rather ominous aura about her whilst Lisanna tried to keep her calm. This guild was full of lunatics, I loved it so much. I danced my way around all my friends, enjoying the vast contrasts of music. I especially enjoyed country dancing with Natsu, the two of us spinning around with linked hands, grinning from ear to ear.
Everyone was enjoying themselves so much that the warmth of the guild seemed to only grow. I think I need a breath of fresh air. I feel so flustered after so much dancing! Heading towards the door I noticed someone creeping inside, looking around with a rather alarmed expression, however they were desperately trying to call out for help. "Uh, someone? Please help! Hello? Anyone?!" They were frantic, waving their arms and hardly able to breathe they were in such a panic so I placed a hand on their shoulder, making them shriek.
"Please calm yourself, my name is Fae, is there something the matter?" I asked and the man, who I presumed came from outside the city as he did not carry Magnolia's scent very strongly.
"Oh please, you've got to save us! Magnolia…it's about to be buried under an entire mountain of snow!" Instantly I was alert, grabbing the gentleman and dragged him outside so that no one else could hear.
"Explain." I commanded, folding my arms as the snow fell around us, growing a little thicker.
"I herd a flock of sheep on the other side of the mountain, it's…it's just so horrible!" He sobbed so I placed my hand on his shoulder once more, requesting that he took deep breaths so that he could speak coherently. "I was tending my sheep, trying to get them all inside before the snowstorm when I saw something coming. It was…huge! So monstrous and terrifying, I almost died on the spot for fear!" He ranted, still not entirely making sense. "A monster, some kind of snow beast, it ripped the top of a mountain off with just one swing! I saw it! It's coming this way, I ran here as quickly as I could…it's causing avalanches of catastrophic size just with one roar!"
"Where is this beast?" I demanded, glancing inside. This day is a joyous day, I will not allow anything to spoil it for Evergreen and Elfman, especially not some monster. The changes of season always bring out new kind of beasts, I have no doubt that this one must have awoken with the winter and has started hunting for food.
"It's coming over that mountain there. You must beware, just one breath can freeze an entire city!" The man informed, panicked still so I nodded my head and started to make off.
"You don't think you're going alone, do you?" A voice demanded and I stopped, looking back to see Laxus following after me. He'd taken off his jacket and tie, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt as he moved forwards to follow me. "If this thing is as dangerous as it sounds, you might need an extra pair of hands."
"Evergreen will notice your absence, I don't want her to worry on her wedding day. I'll be swift, I'll deal with whatever it is that's coming and then I'll return before anyone will notice that I am gone." I reasoned, however just as I finished speaking a huge roar split the soft silence of the snowfall, a mountain trembling in the distance and a huge peak of snow started to slide down. Laxus had instinctively shot out an arm to shield me, glaring towards the sound.
"This is her big day, there's no way I'm going to let some stupid pest ruin it for her. I've already asked Freed to take care of everything and make sure she doesn't notice me gone. I'm going with or without you and that's final, so let's just make this quick." He told me firmly and I stared at him slightly, my heart beating a little faster. He was being quite assertive, for some strange reason I found it quite attractive. Hiding my blush I nodded my head, stepping aside and spread my wings as they appeared.
"Need a lift?" Laxus scoffed but smirked, body becoming encased in lightning before he shot up into the air, powering straight towards the mountain and I had to rush to catch up. Cheek, he started ahead of me. It took no time at all to clear the city and head for the mountains where instantly gale force winds smacked against me the moment I landed, specks of ice grazing my skin as I lifted my arms to shield my face. "Laxus!"
"Here." His voice was much closer than I expected, from right behind me in fact and I jolted violently, leaping away from him.
"Oh! R-Right. Well, let's go beast hunting." I quickly turned around to hide my face, focusing on the task at hand. Where was our little monster? Surely it must be here, we had certainly heard something and that snow did not collapse for no reason. "So…where is it?"
"Keep a look out." Laxus replied, scanning the area to the best of his ability. "You'll freeze like that, you should have changed into something." I looked down at my coffee coloured gown then blushed, quickly pulling the material to hide the small slit which revealed my calf.
"I didn't exactly have time." I shot back at him dryly, shooting him a look but knowing he was right, I allowed myself to warm up by using the flames of Volcanic Priestess. "Ah, much better." I grinned, rubbing a horn as my hair smoked backwards. "Are you cold?" I asked him but he shook his head. I could see that he was lying, however as he was tightly gripping his fists and there was a very slight tremble in his body. "Here." I murmured, stretching out a wing and curled it around him, making him start in surprise. "I'll keep you warm."
Our eyes connected and I felt myself wanting to lean closer and simply inhale his scent but I quickly snapped myself awake, closing my parted lips and looked away hurriedly. We started to walk forwards, keeping a close eye on our surroundings however nothing came at us. "I'm thinking that this might just be a trick." I mused and Laxus nodded his head silently, crouching down to try and peer through the snow so I curled my wing a little closer around him, the warmth radiating from my skin keeping him warm.
"Let's go." He finally decided, standing up. Sparks crackled off his hair and skin in his irritation, so I placed a hand on his arm to calm him. No sooner had I done so, the ground began to tremble. "What is this?!"
"Avalanche?" I questioned, however as the snow shifted I cried out, feeling myself rise up and Laxus instantly went to steady me, grabbing my arm to keep a firm grip as a towering shape rose from where it had buried itself into the snow, my eyes going wide. Snow fell from the white furred back, huge sloping shoulders instantly making us lose our grip and we tumbled down the back, yelling as we slide before we both plummeted towards the ground.
Quickly I opened my wings, gaining lift and held onto Laxus with both hands so that we descended more elegantly, softly landing on the ground as the beast behind us roared. Immediately I clamped my hands down over my ears, gritting my teeth as I looked at the twenty foot tall beast. "It's a northern Terra Beast!" I gasped, seeing the huge form turn around, punching a fist into the side of the mountain and caused a huge fall of snow from above. "Its natural instinct is to expand its territory which it does by covering everything in ice and snow, burying any other habitats so that it can…"
"Okay, okay I got it. Take it down before it buries Magnolia." Laxus answered, stepping forwards with a casual walk.
"Wait! This thing is highly dangerous, you can't just…" However without even listening to me Laxus charged up an attack, folding his arms across his chest.
"Lightning Dragon…ROAR!" The loud bellow penetrated the air, the sound of crackling energy surging around me as the attack struck the left shoulder of the beast however even though it made it drop forwards, it was quickly spinning around to reveal two rows of extremely sharp teeth, an oversized muzzle, three protruding horns out of its sloping skull and six angry red eyes. "You're a tough little sucker, ain't ya?"
"Laxus don't!" I called out though he continued to ignore me, going for another attack and the loud boom of lightning made the mountain tremble, snow starting to shift. "You idiot, do you want to bury us?!" I demanded, racing over to him with a flap of my wings, rising into the air as the Terra Beast took a huge bite of the snow covered ground, gulping it down before it blasted an ice breath attack straight at Laxus. "Look out!"
I grabbed him under the arms and gave a strong flap of my wings, lifting him up and we dodged the attack, hovering above the beast's head. "This thing has some decent moves." Laxus mused.
"You thick skulled moron! Quit it with all the lightning attacks or you're going to bring down the mountain without that beast's help!" I informed him angrily, tempted to just drop him as the beast growled, searching for us but when it caught sight of my hot flames above, it growled and started to climb up towards us. "You should probably leave this to me."
"Like hell I am!" Laxus answered back indignantly. Not caring anymore, I dropped him. He fell into a blanket of fresh snow, the storm beginning to swirl around us as the ice monster roared once again, causing part of the ice capped mountain to fall from above and crash into the mountain underneath. "This is not good." I grit my teeth, quickly avoiding another breath attack by flying a loop then banked hard to get around it. From what I'd read about this type of monster, there were very few ways to kill it as it was very sturdy. Underneath that fur was a hide so tough, I doubted even Erza could penetrate it without a couple of good blows.
There was, however, a weakness. If you were able to pierce the soft spot at the base of the throat, then it would certainly die. These beasts are listed as extremely dangerous and are blacklisted as they've been the cause of so many towns, villages and even cities in the frozen territories going missing under snow, people frozen to death in mere moments. If we get caught in just one of those breath attacks, it's game over. "Alright beastie, it is time to meet your demise." I murmured before taking a steep dive.
Magma swirled between my hands in a glowing orb before I dropped it onto the base of the monster's skull, making the fur sizzle and it howled in pain as I quickly flew out of the way, avoiding a huge claw in the process. Just as I came around again, Laxus suddenly appeared and struck it with his own body, slamming it to the ground in one hit. "Laxus!"
"No way am I going to sit back and watch you take all the glory." He informed me pointedly, shooting me a dark look.
"You don't know anything about this creature, you'll be eaten in seconds. Watch out!" I dove for him, slamming him out the way with all my strength just a mere breath before the tail swung out aiming to knock him out of the sky but hit me instead, making me grunt from the blow. We plummeted into the snow, skidding a long distance as my form dissolved, my concentration being broken as I momentarily blacked out but I quickly came back around as Laxus shook me.
"Hey, hey! Wake up!" He was yelling at me and I blinked. Laxus cursed before suddenly scooping me up in his arms and jumped backwards, avoiding another tail strike as my eyes finally flew wide open.
"Find cover!" I ordered, looking around desperately before I leaped out of his arms and dragged him towards a jut in the mountain where we could hide for a moment, the beast losing sight of us. As we hunkered down, I glared after it. "It may have six eyes but it's sense of smell isn't great, this'll buy us just a little time but not much."
"You should stay here, I'll distract you so you can get out of here." Laxus said but I just glowered hotly at him.
"Not a chance."
"But you were hit." I stopped for a moment before chuckling, cracking my knuckles
"It'll take more than a weak blow like that to take me down. Don't worry, I know exactly what to do. You see the base of its throat?" I asked, pointing carefully to the base of the creature's throat as it roared, bringing down more of the mountain as it started to gather all the snow it could. "There's a slight orb like shape there. If we pierce that, it'll die instantly and it's the weakest spot it has. If you can get its attention, I'll come up from underneath it."
"Why should I be the bait?" He objected so I rolled my eyes. We don't have pride for his masculine pride right now, the beast is getting closer and closer to us.
"Just do it Laxus, we'll have to work together on this one. When that thing has gathered enough snow, it'll cause an avalanche to bring it all down over Magnolia. There's been so much snow recently that there's a chance it'll reach even at this large of a distance. Besides that, the Terra Beast can expand snow storms. Just one breath is all it takes and then Magnolia will be a frozen ice statue. So just do as I say!" With a flash of anger at him I got up, readying my chosen form as he grudgingly obeyed.
I waited until he'd flashed forward with a bright glow of golden yellow, calling the beast over to face him before throwing a few attacks to keep its attention. Now it's my chance. Opening my hand as armour encased me I felt the spear appear and I readily gripped onto it. This will be my best shot, I'd better take it and not miss.
Without warning one of Laxus's shots went wide, veering around to strike the beast in the side of the head, making stumble to the side but it hardly affected the beast, only made it even angrier than before. It chomped down on more snow, fuelling its attack as it stomped the ground and made an entire blanket of snow crash down towards Laxus who had to quickly throw himself out of the way.
The beast snarled, whipping around its long tail and smacked Laxus backwards and I cried out his name, rushing forwards as the light started to surround me, changing my form so that my regular wings appeared. They were faster than my armoured wings and I did not have time to call on anything else. My air form would freeze over and my Lightning Deity would only cause troubles and react against Laxus.
I dove forwards, eyes wide in horror as Laxus slowly sat up, rubbing his stomach where he'd been hit. "Laxus!" I cried out in warning, white wings blurring as I flung myself at him just as the beast roared. A blast of freezing ice struck us but I curled my wings around Laxus to shield him, gritting my teeth as my hands hovered above him, reaching outward but I felt the ice freeze me in place, turning me to solid ice and the shock made my mind go blank.
My ice form would have been able to withstand the blast for long enough to either absorb the ice or create a barrier, however time was not my ally today. I only just about managed to save Laxus from freezing to death. He uncurled, blinking before he stared up at my ice sculptured form. "No way…" He breathed before suddenly becoming angry, growling at the beast however before he could charge at it, my wings started to glow.
The beast became distracted, seeing its targets as nullified and left us alone as my wings grew brighter until suddenly the ice melted away, brilliant flames of white dancing across my feathers as my wings flapped, removing the ice and it shattered, allowing me to then break off the rest of the ice. I gasped when I was freed, the ice turning to fine shards as I collapsed, sucking in a deep breath but Laxus instantly had his hands at my arms to steady me, allowing me to drop to the ground to rest for a moment. "You…you shielded me…"
"Of course I did you moron." I snapped at him, still struggling for breath. "You were about to get turned into an ice statue. What on earth was that last shot?"
"I was trying to get it to lift its head to give you a clearer target!"
"Well that worked splendidly didn't it?!" I returned his tone, voice raising as I glared at him. "You went charging in and didn't even think about what it was you were going to do, did you? Didn't I also say that too many blasts will bring the mountain down anyway? You thick skulled brute!"
"At least I'm actively trying to do something about that thing, you're just getting in my way!"
"Am not! You're the one in my way!"
"I'd have had that thing dead and buried by now but you're just slowing me down, just sit out and let me handle this!"
"Not a chance in the entire world, you'll just end up zapping yourself with your own lightning then cause an avalanche that will bring about the next ice age!" We stopped, seething at one another with dark glares before finally he looked away, tusking his tongue in irritation so I also turned my head sharply, refusing to look at him again. Right, we should really take care of that monster. "Stay here, I'm going after it."
"What? Like hell!" Laxus answered back, hurriedly jumping to his feet but I was already off, flying after the beast. I exchanged forms, hand reaching out for my spear as it appeared then grasped it, quickly whirling it around then used the sharpened blade edge to slice through the monster's cheek, searing off the hairs and it roared after me, leaping forwards and starting to give chase in huge leaps and bounds. I weaved my way through the mountain terrain, wings spread wide before I suddenly turned, the blade of my spear glowing as I charged an attack.
At the last moment I dove under, releasing the charged beam with a yell and the monster squealed in pain, the blast throwing it onto its back and the crash took out a mountain peak, the rock tumbling into an abyss below. I sighed irately, the tail had curled under and protected the weak spot. This isn't going to be easy.
Before I could move, however, the tail had whipped out and snagged my wing, making me cry out as my spear fell from my grasp and it tumbled from the skies, burying itself into the snow as I hurriedly corrected my flight pattern, wheeling around but without me even noticing, the beast lunged for me and punched with a huge fist, knocking me directly out of the sky. I almost cursed, however before I could strike snow familiar arms wrapped themselves around my middle as my wings melted away into specks of light. "This is not going to plan." I grumbled as Laxus hovered with me, my arms instinctively gripping onto him. "Here it comes!"
The beast roared and struck the mountain above us with its tail, sending huge chunks of snow down towards us but Laxus blurred away. I was tingling all over as he held me, the lightning sparks dancing over my skin as he got us far enough away that we were out of range of both the tail and the breath attack. "Maybe a plan is necessary." Laxus finally agreed so I shot him a look.
"Obviously." With a sigh I wracked my brain. "There is only one way to do this. You can't use your attacks as they are too noisy, they'll cause an avalanche and destroy everything down below. My spear is over there and I'm too cold to function properly, I can't sustain my magic for very long." Laxus sent me a funny look.
"The cold affects your magic?"
"For your information, I am wearing a dress and heels in sub-zero temperatures and I dislike being cold, so yes it is affecting my magic!" I snapped back at him, placing my hands on my hips. "However, I have an idea. I can use my chains to lock him down and keep that tail away. You go for my spear and drive it through the weak spot then we can go home. Simple enough?" I drawled at him but he only answered with a glare. "Very well, to work then."
I jumped down off our mountain, spreading my wings and soared back towards the beast. Keeping my eyes narrowed against the biting cold and snow. Turning on my side I flit past the monster's face, forcing its attention to me as I then dropped into the snow, legs spread wide and one hand dragging through the fine powder to stop. "Chains of Binding!" I called out then pressed both hands into the ground, a magic circle appearing under my feet and huge chains erupted from the snow, rising up and wrapped themselves around the monster, making it roar.
Keeping it still and pinning down the tail, I turned towards Laxus. "Now!" He'd already reached my spear and with a flash he disappeared like a flash of light before reappearing underneath the monster, giving a yell as he drove the spear upwards. The monster bellowed, writhing and fighting against the chains before jerking its head to the side and the blow glanced off, making Laxus lose grip on the weapon so he snarled, balling a fist which crackled with thunder. "Don't do it!" I begged, however before I could do anything to stop him, Laxus punched through the orb at the base of the throat, causing the beast to bellow in anger and agony before it started to collapse.
Laxus quickly grabbed my spear and got out of there as I withdrew my chains, standing upright as I shivered. Please say we can return now. "Yours." Laxus handed over the spear so I snatched it from him, glaring as I then held it out and allowed it to disappear. Without hesitance, I punched him in the chest.
"You idiot! Did I not say do not use a loud attack?!" I demanded however just as I did so, an echoing thunder rolled off the mountains, responding to Laxus's finishing blow and I tensed, pressing my eyes shut before daring to open them. A huge wave of snow came thundering towards us, pure white and deadly whilst moving faster than I could react. "Move!" I pushed Laxus behind me and spun around, lifting my arms to block the avalanche with a force field, the resulting impact making me feel the intense boom as snow swirled around us, burying us deep as I then lifted out my other hand, feeling my Ice Queen image starting to rise. "Ultimate Freezing!"
A blast of pale blue light shot out from around me and melted into the snow outside, rippling several times as the snow slowly began to stop, freezing seemingly in time as my ice magic affected the very terrain we stood upon. It was a very special move that I had developed myself, being able to release a blast so cold upon my intended targets or terrain which allowed me to momentarily freeze or slow them in time, though outside of the effect time moved normally.
"What did you do?"
"Stopped an entire avalanche that you caused, you blockhead." I answered, spinning around as my image disappeared with a flash. "Do you not ever listen? I was trying to warn you but you seemed adamant of doing your own reckless thing!"
"That's how it works for me, usually I don't have such nagging brats around to contend with!" Laxus responded hotly, sparks jumping off him with a threatening crackle but I was unfazed, meeting his glare measure for measure.
"Excuse me but I am actually your senior, you should show more respect!" I retorted, folding my arms to show my displeasure.
"Senior or not, you're still a brat in my view." His rumbling tone responded, making sparks flare in my stomach out of hurt pride and fury.
"It's a wonder anyone ever has the patience to deal with you, such rudeness!" His eyes narrowed dangerously but I held them firm, unwavering in my resolve as I stepped closer to him, trying to get him to submit. I am not going to allow him to intimidate me in any way shape or form. "Perhaps people are wrong about you, Laxus. You haven't changed a bit! You're still proud and arrogant, thinking firstly of yourself."
"I don't care what others think. Besides, who was it who carried your drunk ass back after getting yourself attacked by thugs?" He questioned and I couldn't help but blush slightly, remembering that night.
"I could have handled things perfectly well." I answered, voice lowering slightly so that we were not shouting at one another whilst still contained within the force field sphere that I'd managed to raise around us before the snow had hit. It allowed very limited space but the intensity was just growing and growing. Laxus snorted in disagreement. "It is true! I was merely momentarily stunned. Besides, I thought we agreed never to speak of what happened that night."
"You're the one who said you wanted to forget." He reminded me. "Worried that you did something you might regret?" His face inched closer.
"Not at all, I pride myself on being always the rational person." Haughtily I lifted my chin, eyes of blazing amber meeting steely grey, clashing hot against cold and the effect caused the heat to rise between us immensely. "I do not care what I did."
"Are you sure? Because I don't think you can handle the truth." A slight sneer painted his lips, making me growl darkly.
"Of course I could!"
"Doubtful."
"Go on then, tell me the truth!" I demanded, lifting a hand and pushing it against his chest in a quick strike to expel some of my anger towards him, though I was a little shocked at myself afterwards. Why was I losing my usually calm attitude around him? It's like he sent bolts of electricity up along every single nerve on my body and it had me on edge. "What did I do?!"
"This!" Suddenly his hands gripped my face and forced it to tilt backwards, his lips crashing against mine with bruising force and I instantly gasped, my entire body freezing in place as heat flared up inside me and my skin tingled underneath his touch. His kiss was rough and demanding, leaving no room for protest as he claimed my mouth and refused to let go, my eyes remained wide and alarmed as Laxus tightened his grip on me almost to the point where it hurt. Almost.
Admittedly, the kiss was wild and thrilling, causing excitement to rush through me as slowly we tipped backwards before we crashed into the snow, Laxus's mouth still sealed to mine however as one hand left my face to run through my hair which had come loose from its plaited style, he became softer and tenderer. The kiss relaxed and I felt my body go into a trance, mind falling away from reason as thoughts failed to compute and a euphoric sense of desire began to touch at my chest. He kissed my lower lip, capturing it gently before slowly pulling back, opening his eyes to look down at me. "You did that quite a lot."
All at once, my face turned redder than a tomato, as if I had stood under the sun for an entire day without sunscreen. I could feel the steam rising off my skin, snow practically melting around me as my hands jumped to my lips where they started to swell. Laxus arched an eyebrow at me, an amused and rather smug expression settling on his features. "Don't tell me you feel shy now, you were more than comfortable taking off your clothes that night. I had to wrestle you to try and stop you."
"Wrestle…clothes…you…me…kiss…" I trailed off, unable to put the pieces together as my mind was still in shut down.
"I'd taken you up to my room and intended to leave you there, but you begged me to stay. Even tried to seduce me." I gasped, lifting my hands higher to cover my eyes so I didn't have to look at him, shaking my head rigorously. "You started taking your clothes off but when I tried to stop you, you started taking things a step further. You're a rather violent kisser when drunk, you know." No I don't know and I don't particularly want to! Oh how shameful, I'll never be able to look Laxus in the eye again! "Any way, we wrestled, you managed to get my shirt off and then you hit me with a sleeping spell then must have passed out. I don't remember anything after that except finding you gone in the morning."
"Oh dear…oh no…this is terrible…just awful…I am so sorry please forgive me…" I mumbled behind my hand however when Laxus tried to lift them away, I panicked and quickly shook my head, squeaking fearfully. He exhaled heavily before shifting his weight so that he was holding his own weight but still sitting above me, using both hands to drag mine away so I pressed my eyes shut, protesting as he held my hands down either side of my face.
"Hey, look me in the eye." He ordered but I refused until he leaned a little closer. "Not afraid of me, are you?"
"Not likely!" My eyes snapped open to glare at him, expecting taunting features however I stopped, staring at him blankly as soft eyes looked down at me, a tiny smile touching his lips as he hovered directly above me.
"I'm the one who should apologise. I let myself get seduced by a drunk woman. I promise, nothing else happened other than what I said." He assured me and I blinked at him, hardly hearing him but when his words finally registered, I tilted my head at him.
"I never doubted that, Laxus. When I said I knew you weren't that kind of guy I meant it. I don't question your integrity." He relaxed a little, shoulders slumping and his fingers loosened from around my wrists. A small smile flickered on my lips before I groaned, wholly embarrassed. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"
"Who'd I tell? I'm not the touchy feely type." Laxus answered as he sat up and dropped to the ground next to me. "So, are we getting out of here or are we stuck?"
"No, no, we're alright. Let me just gather my wits about me." I answered, sitting up also and brushed my dress off. The snow had made it all wet. Just perfect. "Well, the only thing keeping the snow at bay is the barrier, so I'll just expand it until we have an opening, though I don't know how much snow there is above us so we may have to just force our way through with physical strength." I reasoned, mostly to myself but Laxus listened all the same.
"I'll let you call the shots on this one." I flashed him a smile, still feeling a little giddy like a young girl who'd got her first crush. For a first kiss, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought I'd ruin it by being clumsy and inexperienced but Laxus hadn't even allowed me time or space to respond. I'll just never speak of this again, perhaps it'll all pass over. Laxus is just getting back at me, it's not to say it means anything.
"Right. I think what I'll do is make an opening. Stand back." Laxus shifted behind me as I held out a hand, lava swirling into an orb as my forearm became glad in a dark red gauntlet streaked with gold like flames. "Here we go." Releasing the attack I dropped the shield for a mere moment, timing everything to perfection so that the blast shot straight through but then the barrier returned once it had passed, keeping us protected as an opening was made. "Excellent. Follow me."
We walked out of the huge tunnel I had created, a bright light greeting us on the other side and I blinked against it before my eyes adjusted. "I think we should return to the wedding. It's getting dark and someone would have noticed that we were gone by now."
"Yeah. They might start coming up with rumours about the two of us." Laxus smirked and I was startled by the thought, however before I could confront him he blasted off into the sky.
"Wait…get back here you jerk!"