AN: Hey Guys, I'm back!

I'm so sorry, I said I'd try to upload sooner, but life said no. As I feared, getting back into the Uni life has taken it's tolls. I just don't have the time to write that I had before.

Also, my mental health has taken a dent, which made inspiration or motivation difficult. I'm better again, don't worry, but writing is not always as easy as I'd like.

The upload rate will probably stay like 2-3 weeks, I just can't write faster, especially since I'm working on another story parallel to this one. I'll upload it in due time, but it will have longer chapters and so far I'm overall only at about 15000 words, which is not enough for me yet, lol.

So, enough with the serious talk, as always, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you're all still on board with my story!

Have fun reading, lovelies!


Chapter 10 – Goodbye

Gajeel felt himself waking up, but didn't want to open his eyes yet and turned around, still half asleep. He noticed his hands hitting an object and he remembered that Levy was in his bed when her scent wafted towards him. He grinned, carefully pushed his left arm under her neck, scooted closer and wrapped his right arm around her small figure. The petite woman probably woke up from her sleep as well, but she just made a few small, sleepy noises and snuggled further into the embrace of her boyfriend. Gajeels heart pounded harder, overcome with love and the urge to protect the cute little fairy who'd stolen his heart.

They snoozed together like this until a knock on the door woke them up. Well, it woke Gajeel up, the half-conscious, half-asleep state that it put Levy in didn't really count as awake. He detangled himself from their embrace, much to the discontent of the blue-haired woman in his arms. She let out a little growl and started cuddling a big pillow, which made Gajeel chuckle as he stood from the bed and made his way over to the door, still in his sleeping attire, even forgetting his crown.

He opened the large piece of wood and the servant in front of it bowed. "I apologize for the disturbance, your majesty. Some of your generals will arrive today and Master Lily has requested me to inform you that he will require your assistance in the strategy room."

"Tell him I'll be there soon. Please ask one of the kitchen maids to get me some breakfast there as well. I don't care what. You're dismissed, thank you."

The servant bowed again and walked away quickly as Gajeel closed the door. He sighed and rubbed his temples, he'd almost forgotten the crisis his beloved kingdom was facing with his even more beloved woman around. But now it had to be dealt with and Lily needed him.

Gajeel got dressed and went over to the large bed with the blue-haired fairy inside. He took a few moments to take a look at her.

She was illuminated by the morning sun filtering through the windows. She'd turned around, facing it, but didn't seem to be disturbed and Gajeel grinned to himself. Only one night and he'd already noticed that she was a real stone when sleeping. He himself woke up frequently, rarely sleeping through the night, but now he could look at her whenever he did wake from a nightmare or just plain habit and her calm presence calmed him down enough to go back to sleep himself.

Her mouth was open slightly, her full, pink lips puckered, almost begging for a kiss. Blue curls fell over her eyes and onto her pale cheek, one had even landed in the cupped hand next to her face. Again, Gajeel was overcome with his love for this small, incredible woman and carefully sat down next to her. He gently pushed a strand of her away from her cheek and replaced it with a soft kiss. She woke up from this and her hand reached for him blindly. He chuckled and caught it with his own, causing her to open her eyes. The sunlight hitting hazel irises reminded him of the sparkle of the sun on the river they had visited together so many times already.

"Mornin' sleepyhead."

"gwud mworign"

"Ghihee, you're cute when you're sleepy. Listen, I'll be away for some time, Lily needs me for strategy."

"mhm"

"Will you sleep here tonight as well?"

"Hmm, yes!" she was now fully awake and smiled brightly at the prospect of falling asleep next to Gajeel in his huge, wonderfully comfortable bed.

"I'll leave now, the generals are coming today, so I think we can only see each other this evening."

"That's fine, but you'll have to pay me in cuddling for it!"

"Sure, I'll remember it. See you later then."

With that he leaned down and they shared a few goodbye kisses before he stood up and made his way outside. Shortly after, Levy got up as well and stretched her sleep-tightened muscles. She decided to visit Shiro after breakfast, she'd gotten quite attached to the young horse, but also knew that he needed a lot more training before he was suitable for more inexperienced riders than her. She wanted to spend at least a few more hours with him before she had to leave the next day.

She returned to her room and got dressed in her riding breeches and dark blouse, combined with a belt and one of her usual headbands. Oh, Mary is probably wondering where I am, I should go find her! Following that thought, she walked outside of her room and started a short trek towards the kitchen. After a good month she finally knew her way around Farkesi castle and even knew some of the servants beside Mary. Still, the young woman had remained her personal maid and they had become more friendly with each other.

When Levy arrived at the kitchen, she knocked and the door was opened by a young girl who immediately bowed when she spotted the blue-haired woman.

"Oh, good morning, Milady."

"Good morning, Sarah, was it?"

"Yes!" The girl smiled until a voice behind her called out.

"Sarah, who is at the door? Don't just stand there, let them in!"

Sarah stepped aside and made a gesture for Levy to come in, so she walked down the few stone steps as the blonde maid closed the door behind her. Margaret, the head chef and overseer of the kitchen bowed when she saw who their guest was.

"Good morning Miss Levy! What brings you to us?"

"Hello Margaret! I was actually looking for Mary; I know that she works here sometimes. And I hoped to grab a quick breakfast as well."

Before Margaret could answer, Mary herself peeked out from behind a shelf

"Miss Levy! I was wondering where you were this morning!"

Levy froze when she realized that she didn't exactly want to tell half of the kitchen staff where she'd spent the night. They would probably tell others and she didn't even want to imagine the gossip. I didn't think this through. She came up with the quickest excuse she could think of.

"Hello Mary! I woke up early so I went for a walk in the garden. I wanted to find you so you wouldn't worry."

"I was slightly worried, but I figured you were exploring again." They both chuckled and Levy's stomach grumbled.

"You need breakfast, Miss Levy! Come here, I'll whip something up for you." That was Margaret, now on her way to the large stove.

"Thank you, oh, can you make these little, sticky sweetcakes again? I'll also need some carrots and apples."

"Sure, takes just a few minutes! Mary, be a darling and get her the carrots and apples."

Levy sat down and waited for her cakes, watching the maids rustle around the kitchen while Margaret prepared some dough and heated butter in a large pan atop the fire. She fried small, round pieces of dough in the hot butter and threw them in a bowl with some honey.

Levy thanked her, took the bowl, a bunch of fresh carrots and a few apples, packed them into a basket and bid farewell to Margaret and the other girls in the kitchen. She didn't tell them of her departure, as it was something she herself had to come to terms with first.

When she arrived at the stables, she sat down to eat and started thinking. There was something besides Gajeel that made her want to stay in Farkesi.

She felt at home in the cozy castle, more than she felt at the palace in Rhyacus, the capital of Chrate. Sure, she loved the library, but it was about the only place she was comfortable in and even there, privacy was a rare occurrence. The palace was so big, she only saw about half of it in the six years she'd been living there, even during her time as a maid. She knew that she also had responsibilities back home, but she already dreaded to see the pretentious clerics and scientists she'd have to deal with on a daily basis again. All she wanted to do is explore, analyse, research at her own pace. But instead she'd have to get the approval of several other people before she could even do a field trip. She realized how unfree she'd been in her work these past few years and how much she liked to just go out into the woods and start looking for new things, like picking flowers and comparing them to the botany books in the Castle library. She told herself that it wouldn't be forever, that she'd return to this new, free life she'd found so expectantly, but she realized, that it could very well take years before Terya was safe enough for her to return. She sighed deeply and shook her head, hopped from the hay bale she'd been sitting on to eat and grabbed a carrot. No use dwelling on it, she'd made her decision and she'd have to live with what was coming.

She was about to head to Shiro's box when a strange, tingly feeling crept up the base of her neck and she turned around.


Gajeel opened the door to his chambers and heaved himself in. A full day of strategizing with strong, stubborn men was more draining than getting beaten up by Lily.

"Hey Levy, I'm back and ready to pay my debt!"

He walked around his rooms looking for her, but couldn't find her anywhere, so he figured she must have ventured into the garden. Right before he went outside to look for her, he noticed that her book was still lying untouched on the table by the sofa. Huh, a whole day without a book? Maybe not the garden after all. He chuckled, as he pictured the petite woman hunched over a book, candle at her side and completely forgetting the time. So, library it is.

But the library was still locked when he arrived. He'd given her the spare key, figuring she could use it, but she usually didn't lock up behind her. Nevertheless, he opened the large door and peeked inside, only to find the library empty. No light and no Levy.

He sighed and locked the door again, now he had to walk through half of the castle to get into the garden again. Shaking his head, he grumbled to himself, now grumpy that his intuition had failed him. On the way there he also checked her room, but that was uninhabited as well.

He walked through the garden, on the lookout for blue hair shining in the pale light of the moon, but she was nowhere near the kitchen or flower gardens. He checked his spot, but had no luck either. Now he was slowly running out of options, the only other things he could think of were the kitchen, the castle yard and the stables. He couldn't imagine that she was at any of these places so late in the evening, but he decided to give the kitchen a try, maybe some of the gossipy maids had seen her.

He arrived at the unusually calm kitchen. It was seldom so empty, but the late hour was probably to blame for that. Two maids he vaguely recognized were busy preparing large glasses, presumably to pickle any leftover vegetables the garden was giving in such abundance. They almost didn't notice him, but when they did, they shirked away from him and bowed deeply, waiting for him to pass before resuming their duties. He always felt too large and like too much of a presence in the small, cozy kitchen and hurried his steps.

He finally found someone he was sure would be able to give him a clue about his bluenette's whereabouts.

"Good evening Margaret."

The poor chef almost dropped the pan she was holding and barely managed to catch herself and the utensil. She put it down gently and bowed.

"Good evening, your Majesty. Can I help you with something to such an advanced hour?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Levy, has she been here? Maybe told you something about her plans?"

"She's been here indeed, but only in the morning to get her breakfast and some fruit."

"Hrm. That's not as much help as I'd hoped, but thank you for the information." He turned around and was walking away when Margaret called after him:

"Your Majesty! I don't know where she is right now, but Mary, Miss Levy's personal maid could know more. The two of them like to talk and she was here this morning also!"

"Oh. I'll look for her then. Thank you Margaret, have a good night."

"Likewise, your Majesty."

He left the kitchen and turned towards the stairs, not down, to the servants quarters, but up, to where Lily had claimed a few rooms as his own. He needed the help of his friend. Said friend seemed to have still been up, the door opened almost instantly when Gajeel knocked on the hard wood.

"Oh, it's you."

"Well I'm terribly sorry to disappoint. Who were you expecting?"

"No one, especially not you. What's the matter?" Lily looked and sounded as tired as Gajeel felt, the day had been exhausting for everyone involved.

"I can't find Levy anywhere. Margaret says that her maid, Mary, could know where she went, but I don't want to wake up all the servants or Kofu. Can you help me find her?"

"That's easy, she's sharing a room with Shagotte."

"Well how do you know that?"

"Don't wriggle your non-existent eyebrows at me, Gajeel. They're the newest here, so they're sharing a room. I helped Shagotte set up if you remember? I met her as well."

"Fine, then let's go, I'm getting nervous."


They set off to the servant floor and knocked on the door of the room the girls shared. Shagotte opened the door after a few moments, looking very tired with a candle in her paw. It was the first time Gajeel met the female exceed and he grinned to himself when he looked at his best friend, whose eyes were soft with adoration. Lily could evade his questions all he wanted, he definitely was interested in the pretty maid. While Lily resembled a panther, Shagotte was quite a bit smaller, more akin to the grey spotted cats that lived around the peaks of Hu'tlhur. A cute, round face and small, fluffy ears fit perfectly to the big blue eyes she was now rubbing sleepily.

"Oh, hello Lily, what brings you here so late?" She hadn't noticed Gajeel yet, he was standing a few steps behind his large friend. The iron king snickered when Shagotte called the castles swordmaster and resident protocol overseer by his first name. He'll never hear the end of this.

"Good evening Shagotte I'm sorry to disturb you. Is Mary with you?" At that, a small voice called out from behind the door.

"I'm here!" Seconds later, Mary emerged at Shagotte's side "What do you need, Sire?"

"Actually, Gaj-The king needs to know something." The tired Exceed caught his slip, but Gajeel couldn't care less and pushed beside him. Mary bowed instinctively and Shagotte followed her hastily.

"It's fine. Shagotte, as lovely it would be to meet you, I fear that pressing matters are at hand. You can go to bed, I don't wish to keep you from sleep longer than necessary." Shagotte nodded, bowed again and passed the candle holder to Mary before vanishing into the darkness of the room.

"Mary, I'm looking for Levy, would you happen to know where she could be beside the garden or the library?"

"Oh. Miss Levy is missing? I assume she isn't in her chambers?" Gajeel flinched a little when Mary used the word 'missing', he wasn't ready to call it that.

"Yes, and I haven't seen her on my walk through the castle either. Margaret mentioned that you were with her in the kitchen this morning?"

"I was. She came to us for breakfast. I couldn't find her in her room this morning, but figured she was out exploring. She also told me as such. She didn't exactly tell me anything about her plans, but she took her food outside, together with apples and carrots. If my memory serves me right, she was dressed in riding breeches."

Gajeel felt a wave of relief, he hadn't really considered the stables as a location, but he could imagine that Levy had overdone a training day with Shiro. She loved the young horse and could forget time with him just as much as with her books.

"She might be at the stables then, thank you Mary." He grabbed Lily and was about to turn around when Mary spoke up.

"Wait, can I accompany you? I haven't seen her all day and I'm slightly worried!" She was about to slip into her shoes, but Lily interjected.

"Mary, we don't want you to lose any more sleep. If you are worried, I will come here and tell you when we found her."

"Thank you, Sire, that is very kind of you."

With that Gajeel pulled Lily away from the door and Mary closed it before shuffling to her bed.


Lily could feel the Iron king quicken his pace and he knew that he had to keep himself from outright running. He himself was quite worried about the blue-haired woman, so he understood how anxious his friend must feel.

They arrived at the courtyard and hurried over to the stables. Right before they arrived, Lily felt his whole body tingle in a familiar sense as every hair in his body stood on end and all of his instincts screamed one thing. DANGER

He gripped Gajeel's shoulders, pushed him behind his own body and came to a halt.

"Lily…what?"

"I sense danger Gajeel. I don't know why or where, though."

Gajeel immediately tensed and assumed a fighting stance as they inched forward. The yard in front of them was full of footsteps, but Gajeel couldn't see anything that seemed dangerous.

After some looking around they found Levy's Headband beside on of the hay bales, as well as a basket with some carrots and a bowl.

"The sense of danger is fading; or maybe I'm getting used to it. Let's go look for Levy, but we should keep being careful."

They went into the stables and Gajeel immediately walked over to the box usually holding Shiro. The door was open and the box empty, so he turned around and went to the training grounds, Lily following him closely. They didn't find either Levy or Shiro anywhere and were about to turn back to the castle doors when Lily's hairs stood on end again.

"I smell blood. From over there!" he dashed to the secret pathway that Gajeel and Levy usually used to leave castle grounds. The iron king felt his heart speed up, and he ran after Lily, passing him and barrelling along the path until he could smell the tin-like smell of blood himself and stopped dead in his tracks. He saw a dark shape along the path and his blood ran could. Lily ran past him towards the dark shape and kneeled down.

"It's a guard!" he called out. Gajeel started breathing again as the clouds parted and a full moon illuminated the rest of the pathway, revealing several other shapes, he identified them as guards as well. Their breastplates and helmets shone wherever they weren't coated in blood, their shields and weapons scattered around. The entire path showed other, clear signs of a fight, stirred up ground, damaged foliage and blood splatter everywhere.

"No…" Gajeel just breathed as Lily walked back up to him.

"Looks like someone took her and I'm pretty sure it was Erkar… I think we won't find her Gajeel." He was about to lay a paw on his friend's shoulder but jumped back when his instincts screamed danger again, only now he had a clear sense of direction about it.

It was coming from his king.

A surge of power erupted from Gajeel, making the ground shake and rustling the leaves of nearby trees and bushes. Lily could swear he glowed green for a second and all the hairs of his fur stood up straight when the man in front of him spoke. Gajeel always had a rather low, gravelly baritone, but that didn't even come close the growl that now erupted from the black haired man's throat.

"Erkar has declared war upon us. And they will pay the price for what they did."

The iron king turned around and Lily had to keep himself from running away upon the sight of his king. His eyes were glowing in an unnaturally red colour, his arms covered in metallic scales, his hands like claws with huge equally metal talons. His hair seemed wilder and an aura of power radiated from him, making the surrounding air flicker like summer heat. Gajeel snarled and showed off elongated fangs and sharper teeth than humans should have. Lily had seldom been this terrified, yet he couldn't help but wonder if Erkar knew the consequence of their actions.

A dragon is coming after them.


/

Bet'cha didn't see that one coming.

Please tell me if I you notice any plotholes or other mistakes, I have a feeling that I mentioned Chrate's capital under another name already.

I have an elaborate plan to implement magic in this world and will embed that in the next chapters, just so you know that Gajeel's transformation doesn't come from nothing and I actually have a plan for it.

I have a question for my wonderful reviewers (or readers): Is anyone of you a beta reader/ has interest in beta reading my new chapters and the new story I mentioned? If any of you are interested, PM me ;)

On the topic of wonderful reviewers:

Dragonfly2311: Yay to you for the review! I hope you'll like this one too, sorry to keep you waiting *bows* ;P

trienniagala: *heart emojiiiis* I love them too, did you see the bonus chapter of the 100 year quest? A-ma-zing! I also love your reviews, your enthusiasm makes me really happ :3

Vancouvermoon: wow, two reviews! thank you, I hope you like this one as well! You're very helpful :3

Have an amazing week, until we see each other again!