High Hopes

Lily hopped out of the bag when he knew it was safe to, landing on the desk in the office. "Mest! Long time no see!"

"Who'd have thought I'd be getting the king's knight out of a sticky situation?" Mest said, leaning against his desk and crossing his arms. He directed his attention to the blue-haired girl he just saved. What was her relation to the king, and why did she venture to this city covered in his energy? It spelled nothing good! "And you are?"

Levy fiddled with the strap of her bag nervously, not anticipating the rescue! He looked around, she was clearly in the Council's headquarters, but how did she end up here? The man named 'Mest', was of average height, with shaved black hair and a scar in the shape of an 'x' under his left eye. He appeared very stoic, but he was clearly friends with Lily, so he must have been one of the good ones.

"My name is Levy McGarden! I was sent here on an important mission from the king!" She stated firmly and proudly. She needed to stand strong and represent him well!

Lily could only nod in approval and agreement. "After hearing about those mages, he could no longer stand idly by. And with Levy having special access, I figured it would be easier to travel with her so I don't attract attention."

"You guys were in a tight spot back there," Mest said, walking to the other side of his desk and sitting in the chair. "You know those were your guys, right?"

"I had a hunch," Levy said. "And I was trying to use fire and burn their cloaks off, but that didn't work. If only I could find something that stood out about them! Also, how did you get us back here?"

"Good luck. No one knows anything, and the people that do are usually killed. But there is a rumor floating around the Council saying they're working directly for Sting and Rogue." Mest wrote a few things down on a notepad. "And to answer your question, I'm a spatial mage. I teleported. Jellal notified me and said two individuals were looking for me, so I was in the area."

He left out the part that he was only able to find her because of the king's energy; she probably already knew. No need to beat a dead horse.

A spatial mage? How interesting! "Thank you for saving us back there!"

"No problem," he said with a wave of his hand. "How can I be of assistance to the king?"

"Our informant is missing," Lily said, cutting to the chase. "We need to find her and hopefully get her out today. If not, we'll have to come back."

"Oh, Juvia?" Mest said, opening a drawer and going through files. He'd known the king placed an informant within the walls, but since she had direct contact with him, he hadn't bothered to give any updates since she could do it herself. "I didn't realize she was missing. Let me see if I can find her."

"Well, it is just an assumption, but it's been a while since we've heard from her," Lily replied.

"So, the chances are high, yeah," Mest mumbled to himself, locating the prison files and searching in the 'L' section. He wasn't successful in finding her, but there may be another option. A dangerous one. "So, I'm not seeing her listed as one of the regular prisoners, but there may be someplace else she could be."

Lily didn't like the sound of that at all! There was another prison that he knew of, for the more dangerous mages, but he'd never seen it in person. He wondered if this gang of mages appeared after she was captured since she hadn't reported anything about it.

"I can take you guys there, but I can't stay. It's not safe," Mest spoke the truth, it already wasn't safe to loiter around the prison, but even more so not safe with her running around here like she was. It was only a matter of time before Rogue noticed.

"That's fine with us," Lily said, crawling back into Levy's bag. "I don't think we'll be able to swing by the Hargeon Library this time, Levy."

"That's okay, rescuing Juvia is more important," Levy chirped. What type of person was she? Was she good friends with Gajeel? "Or even at least finding out where she is."

"We have high hopes for this mission." Lily had to keep some semblance of hope or he'd lose all faith!

"Yeah, that's all you can have here." Mest stood and put his hand on her shoulder. "Ready?"

Levy nodded, bracing for whatever was about to happen. She screwed her eyes shut, finding herself in a park seconds later. This magic really worked well in a pinch, she was glad he was doing good work on the Council. She looked around, this park was the most decent place she'd seen so far, aside from the Council's headquarters.

"This park is owned by the Council, and we have people who walk the grounds and clean up regularly," Mest explained, his hand gesturing to the area around them.

"Why can't you guys do this for the rest of the city?" Levy asked, unable to help herself.

"It isn't that easy. There are only a few of us, if you know what I mean."

"I get it." Levy understood that there were only a few good guys working in this town, and she wanted to change that! "I have a few ideas I want to run by Gaj—I mean, the king, and I hope he'll take them into consideration! I want to clean up these streets!"

Mest ignored the blatant formality she seemed to have with the king, appreciating the care she had for the city he was born in. It wasn't easy growing up in Hargeon, and he always vowed to make a change. He knew the king was a generous and caring being, and to see him putting his trust in someone who was just as compassionate only made his faith in him grow.

"I'm not sure what your relationship is with the king, but I'm happy it's you," he said fondly. "It's about time things started changing around here."

Why did everyone keep saying that?! Well, not everyone, but Lily said it, too! Was she really such a good match for Gajeel? That rude jerk? 'But you like it.' She blushed, holding the strap to her bag in a white-knuckled fist. "That's the goal… to make a change."

Could she be any more obvious? He understood then what was going on. 'She'd make a good Queen.' He cleared his throat. "Okay, do you have a map?"

"Oh, yeah," she pulled the crumpled map out of her bag and frowned. It must have gotten smashed during the attack. At least it was still readable. "Here."

"You're not too far from where you need to go," Mest took a pen and drew out a path for her to take, showing her which specific streets to avoid and which parts of the building were guarded. "I feel like I should tell you guys to make it quick and stay safe. You'll likely be followed. Use Sir Lily to make a quick exit."

"Will do!" Levy scanned the map, committing the path to memory and putting it back in her bag. "Thank you so much for your help!"

"No problem," Mest bowed slightly. "Please give the king my regards."

With that, he vanished, leaving Levy and Lily alone in Hargeon yet again. Levy was very aware that she would be followed, and for their plan to work, she needed to be. She purposely left herself exposed, and she knew she was covered in Gajeel's energy.

But she kept that part from Lily. She didn't want to alarm him and have him scold her for acting recklessly! She rubbed the side of her bag, petting him. "Alright, let's go find her."

"This is going well so far, Levy," Lily said, holding the enchanted glass tube she had in her bag. How were they going to implement the second part of the plan?

"I agree. We didn't expect to get help from the Council, so this cut our trip in half, at least!"

"Do you think Rogue will follow us?"

"Most likely," Levy avoided the streets she was told to avoid, and she was glad she did. That park was beautiful, but immediately outside of it? It was dingy and run-down, and she could tell the people were struggling. If she would have taken the fastest route, surely she would have been attacked again, or at the very least, approached by someone asking for more money!

"How much further until we get there?" Lily wasn't able to see the path Mest drew out for her from his position in the bag, but he did hear him say they weren't far. "Remember, we need to scope out the building, first."

"Not too much further. Maybe a block or two. I remember reading up on Hargeon and seeing something about their prisons," Levy said quietly. "Apparently, this is the only town with two of them since the crime rate is outrageous, here."

"Yes, the main one is for regular people and low-class mages," Lily bounced off her thought. "And the other one is for the stronger, S-class mages, or the ones harder to control."

"Or people being held against their will," Levy said, approaching an unusual patch of trees. "Lily… I think we're here. Ready?"

"Ready." Lily hopped out of her bag, giving a quick scan of the immediate area. He knew being out and exposed was dangerous, but it was a part of their plan to rescue Juvia. Though he expected it to be nighttime by this stretch of their mission, so it was a tad riskier than they planned. From there, whether the outcome bad or good, he planned on grabbing her and flying them out of there at top speed until they could safely land and catch a train back.

"Don't these trees look out of place?" Levy said, about to take a step forward when Lily stopped her with a paw to her calf.

"Wait, Levy. I don't think just walking in there is a good idea." If Lily learned one thing while being at Gajeel's side for all these years, it was that there was always more to the eye than what he thought. "If my suspicion is correct, these trees are shrouding the prison, which means they likely have taken measures to detect any magic within them. Can you cover our energy?"

"Yeah, sure." But she needed it exposed to gain Rogue's attention! Perhaps she could take down the rune once they found her. She took out her pen and worked quickly, just wanting to get this over with! She missed the comfort and safety of the house! 'Or is it Gajeel I miss?' Maybe she just wanted to get their unavoidable confrontation over with. It was sure to be awkward!

They both took a step in, unknowing of what they were really looking for. No one outside of Hargeon knew what the building looked like, and neither of them knew what kind of security there would be. Lily was going to suggest splitting up to cover more ground, but he no longer thought that wise.

"Something feels off," Levy said, looking through the thin woods. "I don't see anything!"

Lily strayed just a few feet away, something catching his eye. "Levy, I think I found the building…"

Just a few yards away, she spotted a long, what looked like a rectangular-shaped structure, but it was only about three or four feet high! They approached slowly while checking their surroundings, was this building… underground? Where were the windows? "This is insane…"

"I must agree with you, Levy," Lily got a little closer, floating a few feet off the ground and realized that the windows were on the roof! There were hundreds of them! This building was much larger than he anticipated! "This might take longer than we thought."

Once Levy got a little closer, she shared in his astonishment. They had their work cut out for them! But, how were they supposed to check this entire building in peace? And the thickness of the concrete it was made from looked to be nearly impenetrable! "And who's to say she's even in there?! Gods, this is going to take forever!"

"This won't be easy, that's for sure." Lily perched atop her shoulder. "There are hundreds of little windows on the roof, but they're barred. Guaranteed, this building blocks all magic abilities, so the chances of anyone escaping are slim."

Lily lifted her a bit off the ground, showing her just how big it was. "We have to check each of these windows to see if she could be in any one of them."

"That's not even taking into consideration the fact that things will most likely get noisy when the other prisoners spot us," Levy said. They'd probably see them and beg for help, making all types of noise and getting the attention of anyone around. "How should we do this?"

Lily was about to answer when he heard a branch snap somewhere nearby, which was strange because if someone intended to attack, they would have done it by then. He flew her over the building. Landing at one of the ends of it. "I guess we start looking through these windows. Juvia!"

Levy mimicked him, going from window to window, whispering Juvia's name in the hopes that she would speak up soon.

Meanwhile, they were indeed being watched by the individual they wanted the attention of, and they'd had it the moment they'd shown up at his gate. What the fuck was the king doing sending a human girl and his Exceed to his town? Did he cover that human in his energy on purpose to get a rise out of him? He watched from afar, sending his power-stealing mages after her with high hopes that they'd capture and torture her, but the broad was slippery, he'd give her that. But his question still stood. What were they doing there?

So, he decided he'd watch from a distance where he wouldn't be noticed until he caught up with them at his high-security prison. Now, things just got interesting.

About a year or two ago, a new girl named Juvia Lockser joined the Hargeon Council, but when they ran the background check, there was no information on her from anywhere. She at least wasn't from Hargeon, which was a requirement to be on the Council. Though her powers were so strong, they let her stay on to see what she could do, all the while watching her actions and movements outside of work.

One of the other members followed her to the post one day and waited for her to leave so they could intercept one of her letters, and found out she was placed there as an informant. Action was immediately taken, finding her in her home and apprehending her on the same day. She was tough to subdue, but once they knocked her out, they took her and locked her up.

With that being said, it seemed they were trying to free her.

Should he let them? What harm could come from letting him rescue his informant? More importantly, what unrest would he cause if he personally attacked the king's knight and the girl? What was their relation? He may not be too fond of Gajeel, but he was still King. Not that he really cared, he had his town full of people to control. But when that uppity bastard went trying to change shit and 'do better for the people', that's when he got angry.

Hargeon was his city! His and Sting's! They'd run this town how they seem fit! These people were just that. People. Humans. Garbage. Bottom-of-the-barrel. The king hated them the most, yet he always wanted to do right by them. What for? It wasn't like he'd be rewarded in any way. Humans were trash. Ungrateful trash! Even if he did somehow manage to make Hargeon a better place, Rogue would guarantee these people wouldn't give a rat's ass about it!

He just treated them how he believed they should be treated.

But anyway, even though they pretended to be here for the rescue of that mage, he was very certain they had other motives. Had he heard about his gang of mages? He was sure they weren't there to do anything too risky. Were they just checking the place out? He sent a shadow in their direction, hoping to listen in on anything they may be talking about before his mages showed up to attack them again.

He just couldn't help himself.

"Juvia!" Lily called into the opening at the corner of the building. He was on one side of the building while Levy was on the other. They really shouldn't have been more than a few feet apart, but she was still within his eyeshot, and they wanted to move as quickly as possible.

"Sir Lily?" A weak voice called back to him.

"Juvia! Levy! I found her!" Lily gripped the metal bars on the window, shocking himself instantly.

"Lily!" Levy ran over to the corner of the building tending to an injured Lily.

"I'm okay, Levy," he said, blowing on his paws.

"But you won't be for long," one of the mages from before appeared on the ground behind them.

"Juvia!" Lily said urgently, directing his attention back to her. "We're going to get you out of there!"

"You can't! Magic can't touch this building!" Juvia called out. "Just handle yourself! I'll be fine, I promise!"

"We can't leave without you!" Levy called before running off to face the mage threatening them. "Lily! I'll hold him off while you get her out of there!"

Lily changed into his battle form and pulled out his sword, swinging it with all his might at the roof in the hopes of cracking it. It did very little damage, and would take forever for it even make a small hole! This wouldn't work! They needed brute force! Did he have enough?

While Lily was now trying to punch a hole in the concrete, Levy was dipping and dodging giant rocks and using her pen to create sharp blades of air to slice the huge plant stems coming at her. This magic was similar to Droy's, so she knew how to fight against it. Maybe she could get him to launch one of those rocks at the building! She ran to the target spot, holding her pen in defense. Would he buy it?

The mage growled, this bitch was trying to keep her distance! But what she didn't know was he had backup coming, specifically for that Exceed. The girl was smart and fast, but she wasn't that strong. All he had to do was capture her!

Lily was in the middle of trying to frustratingly damage the concrete when he saw what he assumed were the same chains from earlier shooting toward her. He lunged, her name at the top of his lungs before his leg was caught by several of them. 'This is a problem.'

By the time Levy registered Lily telling her to look out, her pen had been knocked out of her hand, and her entire body was wrapped in chains! There were even a few around her neck! They were trying to keep her from using her voice! Crap! She was trapped and surrounded, and it sounded like Lily was struggling, too.

Lily was strong; he fought with the king himself. He took this opportunity to use his strength and break the chains with his bare hands before lunging at the mage with the chains and tackling him. He used one arm to pin him down and the other to disarm the ones that were holding Levy hostage. "Levy, run!"

Levy wriggled out of the chains and narrowly escaped shards of rock being thrown at her. She ran, swiftly letting down the rune that covered her energy and pulling the small glass tube out of her bag. Rogue had to be around here somewhere!

"Going somewhere?" The mage wielding the sword from earlier caught her from behind, holding the blade to her neck. "I'd stop struggling if I were you."

"Let me go!" Levy flailed her legs while she tried to pry his arm from around her. "If… if you hurt me, the king won't be too happy!"

"Tch. Fuck the king!" The mage gripped her by the hair, yanking her to the ground and holding a foot to her back to keep her there. "I'll kill you right here, right now."

"Push," Levy whispered the word that sent him flying off of her before standing to her feet and running back to Lily.

"Not on my watch!" The mage used his speed to catch up to her, managing to swing his sword and strike her in the arm.

"Ah!" She hissed, holding the gash on her upper arm. Her whole body reacted to the injury, slowing her down quite a bit! His blade, it must have had some special properties to it that slowly injured the target somehow. This wasn't good! They needed to retreat! "Lily!"

The mage knocked her over again, holding the tip of his sword at her spine. "How do you like that? This shit will slowly kill you, so the king himself will watch you die with his very own eyes."

Levy lay on the ground, was this it? She looked at the empty tube in her hand, she… failed. How would Gajeel view her then if she made it out of there alive? She had no strength, she failed both the mission to rescue Juvia and the one to steal a bit of Rogue's shadow, and Lily was busy fighting his own battles!

"Let her go," a voice sounded from somewhere around them.

The mage knew who it was, and he didn't like the fact that he was saving a human! He sucked his teeth, connecting the hilt of his blade to the back of her head, hoping it knocked her out. He turned to face Rogue, who casually strolled up to them. "Saving some human girl?! Why can't I just kill her?!"

Rogue let his shadow go and investigate to see if she was at least still breathing. "Because, like she said, the king won't very much like that."

"Who gives a fuck what the king thinks?! You should have let me capture her and take her powers!"

"He knew what he was doing, sending people to my town, but I can't just act recklessly," Rogue explained, getting a good look at the girl on the ground. What was her relation to the king? It better not have been what he thought it was! "I have a feeling that even injuring her this much will cause problems. Give her the antidote."

What Rogue didn't know, was faking unconsciousness was one of Levy's plans. She figured, if it came down to her getting knocked down, she could just pretend to be out until there was a decent time to act. A silly and cowardly way to fight, but she couldn't be prideful in this situation. She opened one eye ever so slightly, seeing his shadow swirling around her. Perfect! She used her thumb to ease the lid off the small glass tube, her enchantments creating a vacuum of sorts and sucking shadow into the tube until it was full. 'I guess this fight was worth it.' She slid the tube into her sleeve and continued to lay there. Did she hear something about an antidote? Probably from the blade that got her arm.

"Tch." The mage really didn't want his hard work to go to waste, especially since one of his other guys was currently fighting with the Exceed. He dug a vial out of his pocket containing the antidote and tossed it at her body. "If she can get up and use it, she can have it. I'm not saving her!"

"Call off your guys and let them go," Rogue said. It was clear they weren't doing any rescuing anytime soon. But to avoid the king sending someone back for his informant, he'd have to kill her.

Lily was busy trying to avoid this guy's chains, which he'd admit, he was very skilled with them, and Lily was more trained in physical, close-quarters combat. The mage had an advantage, being able to capture and harm from a distance, but his mighty sword was holding up well! He wanted to save Levy, but the mage was working hard to keep them separated! He just hoped she was doing well and holding her own. Suddenly, the mage stopped, and his chains retracted. "Giving up already?"

The mage just stood there, devoid of any emotion that Lily could see since he had on that insufferable cloak. He used his opening to revert to his smaller form and fly over to Levy, landing at her body. "Levy!"

"If it isn't the king's personal knight, Exceed Lily." Rogue appeared behind him, standing over the cat and the girl with a scowl. "What are you doing here?"

Lily matched Rogue's glare with his own, choosing not to answer. Why wasn't he attacking? No matter. He needed to get Levy out of there! He noticed the mysterious vial lying next to her and picked it up before picking her up and taking to the skies as fast as he could. "Sorry, Juvia. You'll have to wait just a little longer."

Rogue stood there and watched them fly off, unknowing that a piece of his energy was stolen and about to create a stronger, stealthier King.

Lily flew with Levy in his hands and anger in his veins. They couldn't rescue her. And he was almost certain that Levy was unable to carry out the other half of the plan given the current state she was in. This mission was a failure! How could he call himself the king's knight if he couldn't even carry out a simple rescue mission?!

"Lily…"

Lily looked down, she was conscious! He looked around, they were near the river, which he deemed far and safe enough of a distance to land and tend to her injuries. "Levy! Are you alright?"

She groaned, rubbing the back of her head. Yeah, she was conscious, but her head hurt like hell! She was definitely going to need a day or two to recoup! "Yeah, the adrenaline must be wearing off."

Lily examined her as best he could, seeing the decent-sized gash in her arm. "You're injured. Let me take a look at it."

"He got me with his sword," Levy said, hissing when she moved her arm to look at it. "I think there's a poisoning agent laced in the blade or something. Rogue said something about an antidote."

"That must be what I picked up," Lily took out the vial and investigated it. He wasn't sure if it was wise to take it since he wasn't sure what it was, but if she was in dire need, then he supposed they could take a chance. "Levy, how do you feel?"

That was a good question. Aside from the splitting headache and the wounded arm, she was honestly… okay. She was slowing down earlier when he first struck her, but she was fine now somehow. "I'm fine, I just want to go home."

"Do you feel you're able to make it back to the house without taking this?" He asked, watching her use the river water to clean the dirt off her hands and face. "I'm just a bit wary since I don't know entirely what it is."

"That's okay, I'm sure with a bit of rest, I'll be fine." She ripped a piece of her shirt to wrap her arm and stop whatever may still be bleeding after cleaning herself up. She really couldn't wait to take a warm bath!

"Gajeel has medicine for just about anything," Lily said, following her actions and cleaning himself up. "He gets any medication he might need from Wendy."

"I read somewhere that Clover was the town of medicine, and if you needed serious attention, that's where you'd go." She stood, straightening herself out and looking around. She didn't think they were that far from a station. "Thanks for saving me back there. I was nearly a goner."

"No need to thank me, Levy," Lily held a paw up, denying thanks. "That's what I'm here for."

"I'm just super bummed that we couldn't save Juvia," she let her head fall, her mind overcome with shame. "But, on the bright side, I was able to get this!"

Lily watched the glass tube slide out of her sleeve and his eyes widened. It was full! "Levy! How did you manage to get that?"

She shrugged. "I played dead. Well, not dead, but unconscious. It was my last resort. I knew I'd eventually be knocked down somehow, and when he sent a shadow to make sure I was still alive, that's when I did it. And he was none the wiser!"

"Then all isn't so bad," Lily chuckled. She was smarter than he gave her credit for, which was saying something! "Let's go. We're not too far from the station."

It was an eventful and exhausting day, and they both just wanted to go home and sleep. Levy was appalled at the state Hargeon was in! It was a lot worse than it was the last time she visited, and she planned on making a good change, whether big or small next time she went! Lily was equally as appalled, but not really surprised. He knew how dragons viewed humans, so it wasn't shocking to know that there were some cruel ones. But, like Levy, he too wanted to make a change. Nobody, good or bad, should have to live like that.

They made it to the station minutes before the train came, and when they got to their car, they could finally breathe easily. They only had a few hours until they reached Crocus, a few hours until Lily could have a kiwi, a few hours until Levy would be confronted by Gajeel.

Gajeel.

What was he doing? What was he thinking? Would he be disappointed in her for not completing the entire mission? Would he judge her when he saw that she was hurt? How could she fix her lips to ask him for medicine after she'd been so mean to him over the past few months? Maybe she could just let Lily do all the debriefing and hide out in her room for a day or two.

Lily saw the look of worry on her face as she stared through the window and hopped into her lap. "What's on your mind, Levy?"

She supposed if she could talk to anyone about it, it'd be Lily. "I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Are you talking about your next interaction with Gajeel?" He knew all too well exactly what she was talking about. He just wanted her to admit it out loud.

She nodded. "I mean, I was so mean to him. How am I supposed to look him in the eye? And this whole 'mate' business? Why me?!"

"That is a good question, since he does have that rule in place," Lily said with a paw to his chin.

Rule? "What rule?"

"You know, that rule he created saying not to mate with humans," Lily explained, his blood going cold when he saw her face. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to share that with her. "Which I'm starting to think is a rule that only the dragons know…"

A rule not to mate with humans? Then why the hell did he choose her?! Why would he put her through this torment for it to be illegal?! Right when she decided to give him a chance, too! Well, she couldn't be an advocate for the king breaking his own rules!

Aside from that, she was bummed out. Like, super bummed. Why? Sure, whatever, she didn't hate him anymore, but… she didn't like him like that, did she? Just because she stayed, unable to reject him didn't mean she… 'oh, who am I kidding?' The rule sucked!

Now it was Lily's turn to panic. Did he just ruin things between them by telling her that?! He knew she was a good Samaritan, and she wasn't one for breaking rules. Gajeel, on the other hand… he might find a way to work around it, but Lily really couldn't see how. But if those books Levy left him really gave him the information she said they would, then there was no way he'd stop because of that one measly rule!

Gajeel was very persistent when it was something he wanted!

And he definitely wanted Levy!