"Mommy, look!" Lila tugged on Levy's hand the second she and her mother stepped back into the hotel room. Levy quickly picked up pace to keep up with her daughter, who excitedly started jumping up at the window, pointing at the light snowfall. "It's snowing again!"
Levy chuckled. "It is that time of year, Lila," She lifted her up onto the couch so she could see without having to jump. "It comes quite often, but the chances of it staying more than a day or two without melting are slim at best."
Lila pouted. "I want big snow."
"Big snow?" Casper perked up from where he had been laying on the bed, watching TV. "We're getting big snow?"
"Maybe," Gajeel said, turning around and smiling at Levy from where he'd been finishing another set of translations. "Lila didn't try to swim in a fountain today, did she Small Fry?"
Levy giggled. "Is she soaking wet?"
Gajeel raised an eyebrow and glanced at their daughter. Lila was still cooing at the snow, her tiny hands grasping the top of the couch, and her little legs bouncing in excitement There was a bit of snow dusting the top of her head and shoulders, but, apart from that, their little girl looked just as she had when they had left. He shrugged and leaned back against the chair, then reaching into one of the bags Levy had brought back with them. His eyes lit up in excitement when he saw that she had, in fact, gotten him screws to chew on. Levy kissed his forehead, shaking her head and squeezing his shoulder. He knew she would tease him for it later, something he always looked forward to, but he was more happy she remembered.
"If we get actual snow when we get back to Magnolia, I'm going to blame Gray," Gajeel remarked, stretching out his arms. "Sounds like the kinda thing he'd do just 'cause he got bored."
"Ah, yes!" Levy mimicked Gray's voice the best she could. "Sometimes I just have to remind people of what we need! You know what we need? The cold!"
Gajeel chortled. "You might wanna work on your man voice a little more, Small Fry. You still sound like you're just doin' a funny voice."
"Whoever said that wasn't my intention?" Levy teasingly retorted. "Maybe that's how I think he actually sounds!"
"You're silly, momma!" Casper giggled, looking up from watching cartoons. "Do daddy's voice!"
"She can't," Gajeel playfully punched Levy in the arm. "She's tried too. Lev-Lev can't get that close, but it's fine! She tries."
Levy rolled her eyes. "Are you trying to annoy me?"
"You don't seem particularly annoyed," He remarked with a shrug. "You're still smiling, aren't you?"
Levy started to argue, but fell short, settling to set her hands to her hips and jokingly scowl at him for a few seconds.
"I'm right!" Gajeel clasped his hands together in triumph. "Besides, Mest said just about the same the other night! You and Cana are terrible at mimicking us, I'm sorry! It's cute, but you two didn't sound anything like us!"
"You two didn't either!" Levy exclaimed through laughter. "Honestly, I -"
"Now, now, there's no reason to be like that," Gajeel put his hands up. "We were all joking around. You know I just like to mess with you Lev!"
He reached into the box and started to chew triumphantly on a screw. Lila, who had started watching her parents upon becoming bored with the snow, started laughing.
"Daddy's silly!" She declared. "He does that to keys!"
"He's done that to plenty of things," Levy ruffled her daughter's hair. "Oh, Lila, how did you get leaves stuck in here?"
The little girl shrugged. "Play!"
"I'm going to need to give you a good bath tonight," Levy shook her head, slowly picking the bits of leaves stuck into her little girl's hair. "You did get quite a bit of mud on your shoes too."
Lila glanced down at her feet, squinting at them and inspecting her socks before shaking her head.
"I'll clean them later either way," Levy tapped her nose. "You always seem to get dirty whenever I take you outside. It's almost like you go looking for mud!"
Lila giggled. "Mud is fun! Snow is fun!"
"She's going to make a mess of things when she's older," Gajeel remarked, chuckling when he looked over to their son, who had taken to spinning in circles to try and make himself dizzy. "Think our kids are going to be known for blowing shit up 'round the guild hall? 'Cause I might be a little disappointed if they don't destroy things."
Levy smirked. "I don't think your mother or brother in law will appreciate it."
"Sieg's secretly amused by them, I know it," Gajeel waved his hand dismissively. "Jade's probably going to let their daughter join Fairy Tail when she's a teenager and she and the princess are going to be little arsonists."
"I doubt Lacey has arson in her," Levy paused for a few seconds in thought. "Well, at least not right now."
"She is only two," Gajeel reminded her. "But it's there. That girl is going to be as destructive as the Salamander."
"I cannot believe you're taking bets on the princess and your niece," Levy shook her head and kissed his cheek. "Don't tell anyone I think you're right."
Gajeel winked. "Don't worry, Lev. I never do."
"Your majesties! There's something you ought to see right away!"
Laxus paled, immediately concerned for his daughter though he let out a small sigh of relief upon seeing that Lacey was still sleeping in Hisui's arms. Lana Marie, hearing the way Arcadios had spoken, whimpered and clutched onto her father's leg. Siegrain picked her up, wishing Jade were back already; she had gone down to the wine cellars with Mira but he felt suddenly rather inadequate without her. She was as anxious as their daughter could be, and had always been better at calming her down. A sense of dread pooled in his chest when Arcadios motioned for him and Freed to follow as well. When he realised where they were going, everything in him went cold, fear setting in rather quickly. Freed cast a nervous look towards him, seemingly just as unsettled. Things suddenly felt very, very wrong and there was no way to explain it. When they stepped into the frigid darkness of the wine cellars, that feeling was only exacerbated, even when the low lights flickered on.
"We have no idea what happened," Arcadios said calmly. "But we've already called a doctor. There's no way to truly explain this. It's bizarre."
Their eyes adjusted to the lights, they took in the room. Just a few seconds later, Hisui let out a small gasp, twining her hand tightly around Laxus'. In the corner, Mirajane was shaking, huddling against herself. Freed rushed over to help her up and took off his over cloak, wrapping it around her while she shivered. It was then they saw, on the floor just a few feet away, bare feet and a pair of heels beside it. Siegrain set down Lana Marie in shock, and Laxus took his young niece's hand, realising what his brother in law just had. The woman laying face down, unconscious on the floor was Jade Norwich-Fernandes, her hair an utter mess, the right side of her red jumpsuit torn near the ankle, and her glasses askew. Siegrain ran over to his wife, his hands badly shaking. He quickly pulled her into his arms and held onto her, relaxing only a little when he found her pulse. He paused, however, his eyes going wide in horror when he realised her magic energy seemed far weaker than usual.
"Cariad," Siegrain briefly brushed his forehead against hers before standing up slowly. "This probably isn't the best place to treat them."
"You can take her up to our suite," Hisui told him, quickly catching up with his step, Laxus only shortly behind her. "I'm sure she'll be alright, Sieg. She'll wake up soon, I'm sure of it."
"'Sui's right," Laxus agreed, briefly exchanging a worried look with his wife. "She'll be fine."
Mira, still rather dizzy, mumbled something to Freed, and the two of them stopped while Laxus, Hisui, and Siegrain all but ran up the stairs, Lacey was stirring in her mother's arms but, thankfully, did not quite wake up. Lana Marie, terribly confused and anxious, kept trying to get past her aunt and uncle to see her father but couldn't quite push through them despite being rather small herself. Finally, once they reached the room, Hisui laid Lacey back down in her crib and gently kissed her forehead when she saw her baby girl was starting to stir. Laxus held back Lana Marie in the doorway while Siegrain laid Jade down in the bed, sitting down beside her and looking about ready to cry. Hisui tiredly probed her forehead, her mind reeling. Seeing Jade was alright, Laxus let Lana Marie past and the little girl immediately ran over to her father. She all but latched onto Jade once she had climbed onto the bed, hugging her mother tightly and squeezing her eyes shut.
"Mommy?" Lana Marie sniffled when Hisui gently tugged her off her mother, worried that Jade would be rather startled if she awoke to that. "Is mommy okay?"
"Your mother is going to be fine," Hisui told her, helping her down. "Lana?" She loosely embraced her niece. "It's going to be okay. You needn't worry about her, alright?"
The six year old shook, tears still streaming down. "I want mommy."
"Lanie, listen," Siegrain sighed and knelt down to his daughter's height, lightly resting his hands over her shoulders. "Jade is sick right now, and she needs to rest. You know what that's like, don't you? Think you can let her rest?"
Lana Marie nodded, startling briefly when Siegrain lightly brushed her tears away with his sleeve.
"You're a brave girl," He told her. "And Jade is too. You're so much like her. She's going to be so proud of you, I know it."
Laxus looked worriedly towards his sister, taking Hisui's hand. She squeezed it tightly, chewing at the inside of her cheek.
"This wasn't an accident," The queen whispered. "Someone attacked her and Mira."
Laxus suddenly looked to her in horror. "No…" A terrible thought dawned on him. "Could it really have been him?"
"He's gotten into the palace before," Hisui quickly grabbed his other hand, seeing that he was trembling. "I'm not in danger, Laxus, and neither is Lacey or the baby."
"You don't know that," He pulled her tightly against him, his fingers treading quickly through her hair. "If this was him, then it's the second time he's gotten into the palace."
Hisui felt one of her hands brush against her belly before she had even realised she had moved. Laxus reached over, and pressed his lightly over top of hers, hoping to soothe her.
"He's not going to get away with any of this," He murmured. "We'll find him. He's going to get reckless soon enough."
Hisui bit her lip. "And what if he already has?"
"We'll handle it," He softly kissed her, tenser than ever. "I promise."
