AN: I'm back!

I'm so sorry I kept you waiting so long (insert ugly crying here), but I don't want to keep you waiting any longer, so the longer explanation and an outlook to the future will be at the bottom for anyone who wants to read it.

Have fun reading :3


Chapter 12 - Erkar

Levy felt the now familiar feeling of regaining her senses. It was different from waking up, it felt more like she had been laying beneath a lot of blankets and they were now being lifted one by one. She hated being paralyzed, but couldn't figure out how it kept happening, at this point she just assumed it was some kind of magic she didn't know. She couldn't open her eyes but felt that she wasn't rocking back and forth anymore, so she must be off horseback. Finally, how long has it been? Two days at least from the way my thighs feel.

She tried to move and felt her fingers respond so she touched the ground she was laying on. It seemed soft and when she wiggled her body a bit she figured out she must be laying on a bed of some sorts. After a few more moments she could finally open her eyes and looked around. She was indeed laying on a simple bed in a stone room. Her vision was still blurry, but she could make out a big wooden table against the stone wall opposite the foot of her bed. It was day, light flowing through two windows illuminated the room. Levy could also see a closet, end table, sofa and even a bookshelf.

After waiting and listening some more, she felt safely alone, so she started to move her head and looked around, spotting two doors, some furs on the ground and a chandelier. She pulled herself off of the bed and walked around quietly, carefully examining her surroundings and herself. She noticed that she was still in the clothes she'd worn the day she was abducted and thanked Jhuvaia for it. Not only did this mean that she hadn't been redressed by a complete stranger, but she also still had something with her that belonged to her and reminded her of home. She eyed the bookshelf, but decided she'd look out of the windows first and have a closer look at the doors to determine her situation.

The view she saw when she looked out of the window almost let her forget her situation. It was positively breathtaking, a rocky valley spotted with foliage stretched out in front of her. The river that made it glistened in the few sunrays which were fighting their way through low-hanging, fluffy clouds. It was simply overwhelming and Levy couldn't keep herself from staring at it for a few minutes. She also noticed the rest of the castle, as well as the town below, but couldn't make out much more than that.

She finally detached herself from the view and walked to the other window, running her hand over the wood of the dresser that was standing against one of the walls. This room seems rather nice…I wonder why I'm not in a cell or something. The other window showed only more of the city below, nestled tightly beneath mountain cliffs, which Levy identified as part of Hut'lhur with it's significant, dark grey rock.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to finally try the doors and started with the one right next to the bed and the window facing the valley, which revealed a small washroom with a toilet, a bathtub and a stone sink. The second door opposite the other side of the bed wasn't opening up, but Levy had expected that. She tried to peek through the keyhole and could only make out a stone hallway. She did contemplate looking for a lockpick, but threw that idea out of the window rather quick. Breaking out of her room into a castle full of enemy forces currently wasn't her best option. Deciding that it was good to at least have something like it on hand, she looked through the dresser and wardrobe. The wardrobe only contained some simple clothing and towels, while the dresser only spat out various small things, including some candles, parchment and even an inkwell. At last, she even wandered around the room and looked in the crannies behind the furniture and even beneath the spacious bed, but it didn't yield notable results.

With her situation examined so far, she decided to finally give the bookshelf a closer inspection. It came clear very quickly, that nearly all of the books were about magic and magical theories. Two or three explained the history of Erkar and another few seemed to be some sorts of religious texts. Since she had nothing else to do than wait for someone to come for her she decided to read until that happened. Although after picking up a book about history and sitting down on the bed, she ended up contemplating her current predicament more than actually reading and now started to miss Gajeel desperately. She wished for nothing more than to be able to snuggle against him and breathe his scent. Even though the quiet, empty room emanated calm, she felt herself growing antsy and agitated. Lost in her thoughts like this, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps until someone started unlocking the door, causing her to jump.

She quickly grabbed the next best item, a candelabrum on the end table and backed up against the bookshelf, not leaving the door out of sight. The large piece of wood swung open and a tall, slender man walked in. Levy stiffened and glared at him, as he drew closer to her, ready to defend herself, but he stopped a few feet in front of her and, to her surprise, bowed.

"Do not fret, Milady, I will not attack you. I am merely here to welcome you and inform you of your task. Please do not feel threatened."

"Who are you? Where am I and why am I here? How did you bring me here and what is this task you're talking about?!"

"All of your questions will be answered in due time. The only thing you need to know right now, is that you are currently an honored guest in the infinite Kingdom of Erkar."

Levy lowered the candelabrum at the words "honored guest", but she kept alert as the man looked her up and down, sniffed and scrunched his nose. "You will have to redress; these rags are not befit of the venerable castle of his Holy Majesty. New clothes should arrive here shortly and then we can get rid of these." He gestured towards her and Levy's heart dropped, any inkling of rage at his condescending tone vanishing.

"Please let me keep my clothes!" she felt like losing them meant losing the last connection she had to her own life and Gajeel. After all, she wore them the first time they went into the forest and she cherished that memory.

"I apologize, Milady, but that won't do. These are neither befit the infinite Kingdom of Erkar or a lady. We'll have to get rid of them. Please redress now." A maid appeared in the doorway and put a set of folded clothes onto the bed, along with setting down a pair of shoes next to it. Levy felt her throat close up, but knowing how limited her choices were, she just nodded, grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom.

Inside she undressed and had a look at the clothes that she'd have to wear. A white, flowy dress coupled with a light, green overdress with gold rims made for an admittedly nice outfit. After she put it on, she noticed that another folded piece of clothing was left, some sort of very long, light green cape with flower embroidery Why am I being dressed up like this? I am their prisoner; this looks like evening attire.

She shook her head and gently folded her old clothes when an idea started to form in her head. She knew that she had to give up her blouse and the riding breeches her parents had gifted her. But at least, she wanted to keep the scarf, that shouldn't be impossible. It reminded her of all the times she'd ventured out with Shiro and the first time she and Gajeel had visited the river at their clearing, so she decided that she would not lose it. Her confidence and sense of self-preservation had died down when it became clearer that her prison guards had a hold of power over her that she wouldn't be able to escape. Now, she decided to get the upper hand, even if just the tiniest bit.

After looking around, she noticed the small window next to the sink. It was high up, barred and too small to fit a person, but it had a handle, so could possibly be opened. Levy climbed up on the large sink, opened the window and tied the scarf around one of the bars before closing it climbed back down, brushed out her dress and took a deep breath to gather herself. She was determined to not be broken, not be pushed down by these people.

Sending a quick prayer to Jhuvaia, to give her strength and luck, she gathered the bundle of clothing into her arms and exited the bathroom.

"Ah, marvelous! Now, that I can work with!"

Levy sat down on the bed, the bundle of clothes still in her arms, as the man started talking once more. "You surely have been wondering why you are here, but I am forbidden to tell you just yet. His Holy Majesty has granted you a few days to settle in, the maids will tend to all of your needs and provide you with food, as well as clothing. After that time, His Holy Majesty will then assign your first task to you." With that, he took her clothes and left so fast, that Levy was unable to answer.

Levy groaned in frustration when she heard the door getting locked and let herself fall back onto the bed. Apparently, everyone will just ignore the fact that they abducted me to bring me here. Fine, I'll play along until I get a chance to get out of here. Hopefully I won't lose my mind until then. Gajeel…I hope you are alright.


I miss you.


That was the only thought Gajeel allowed himself about his beloved woman and the only thing that drove him forward. He knew he had to be strong. He might be driven by the desire to save Levy, but his soldiers only followed him. If he faltered, or stopped giving them a reason, they would lose their motivation to fight for him and without their help, he'd never be able to even get to her. Lily riding up to him interrupted his thoughts.

"We should reach the first campsite in a few minutes; I'll alert the generals so they can give out their first orders. More soldiers should join us in the morning, shortly before we depart."

"Thank you." Gajeel was glad that Lily had gone into full business mode, not forcing him to be emotional, but instead focusing on the task ahead.

They set up camp shortly after, focusing on mobility, rather than comfort, since they would leave in the morning. Gajeel himself slept on a simple mattress made of straw in an equally simple tent. It could only be made out to be his from the guards posted around it, as well as Scenja, who was grazing around the pole she was tied to. Since Lily had set up near them, Tinto occasionally came over to annoy her.

Inside the tent, Gajeel took off most of his armor and simply put it in a wooden box, the only other piece of furniture in the cramped room. He never cared much about comfort anyways, but now he had developed a tunnel vision onto his goal, completely ignoring his own feelings. He laid down on the mattress and pulled the thin wool blanket up to his chest. Even though it was only one night they'd spent together, he already missed Levy sleeping by his side, keeping the nightmares away with her own special magic. He also had no opportunity to listen to the waves on the shore or look outside into the garden to calm himself. How many nights without sleep will it take for me to become insane, I wonder? I can't let myself spiral, again, I won't get her back like this, but how long can I hold on?

His night was spent with those and similar thoughts, while he tossed and turned on his mattress. The few hours of sleep he managed to get were filled with the nightmares he tried so hard to banish during the day.

I miss you.


/

And I missed you all :3

After Christmas and New year were kinda stressful already, I had to write an entire paper in less than a week and get back into the uni grind in general. Me and my boyfriend also went on a study trip to venice with his class, which was quite frankly, torture.

Think standing for hours in freezing temperatures and you can't even enjoy the city because all you do is get dragged around to visit stuff that only your professor finds interesting. (I only tagged along with my bf and his class, all classical music geeks/music majors, while I, a literature major, can't even read notes, so I usually sat/stood there, freezing my butt off, while not even understanding half the things I was being told, so I also felt stupid and inferior the whole week :/) It was awful and I almost had a few breakdowns during our stay there.

I was feeling down and very stressed during those past weeks and had a major writers block, all the while missing you guys and my favourite dorks desperately. Being sad when seeing FT content is a bad feeling.

Now I have all of my things sorted out, I can finally relax and my semester break started, so I can finally write for you again! Makes me really happy :3

Over all of this I haven't lost my inspiration, in fact, I've been getting more ideas for more fanfics, including, but not limited to, a soulmate AU, a steampunky AU and a Witcher AU. (The Witcher 3 is my favourite game ever, I adore it to death and I'm binging it for the fifth time now, finally on the switch. While playing, I noticed that Gajeel would make a great witcher and I can't stop imagining Levy as a sorceress) On top of that, I still have the modern day AU in the works, but that one will also take more work and time before you can read it.

Now that I finally finished the rant, I can do my favourite part, thanking you guys for your amazing reviews :D

I especially wanted to thank Dragonfly2311 for pulling me out of the "coming back after long absence" anxiety. Your message made me so incredibly happy and excited to write for my wonderful readers and you especially. So, from the bottom of my heart, Thank You.

Livalibus: Aw, thanks for your support :3 I feel much better now, the winter stress is letting up and my boyfriend is doing the best he can to make me feel better. Looking forward to seeing you on the next chapters.

Mskumiko24: Hell yeah, the hunt is on!

Guest: And kick ass, he will. I'm looking forward to writing that, too ;P

Abbystar13: I'm happy that you like it :)

See you soon and have a wonderful rest of the week my amazing viewers :3