"My… Mother? Is she… she looks to be…" Gajeel's voice trailed off in an inaudible whisper, his gaze fixed on the vision before him.
"She is not dead, little dragon. Although… She is not exactly alive either."
Gajeel finally forced his eyes away from the scene in the sky to look at the pixie elders, confusion writ on his face.
"But… But how? Wha… What do you mean?"
The lady pixie elder of the wood tribe smiled at him, compassion and grief mingled in her look.
"Your mother is Grisela, the high fairy of the earth. She is currently in a state of self-imposed stasis."
Gajeel caught a soft gasp from the edge of the clearing with his keen hearing. He inclined his head slightly to observe Levy watching him, sympathy and sorrow overflowing in her hazel eyes. He knit his brow, feeling more confused than before.
"I'm afraid I still do not understand, milady."
"A state of stasis is the final stage a high fairy takes before she… fades away. It is a state of hibernation which allows her the time and strength to collect her magic and mould it into a form which she can either use to prolong her life a few years further or… gift to another." the pixie paused, her eyes drifting to the necklace still around Gajeel's neck. "In Grisela's case, she has decided to fashion her magic into a special gift for someone she loves more than her own life."
Gajeel stared at the pixie, afraid to ask the questions swirling in his mind. Before he could contemplate any further, the pixie elder continued.
"May I see the medallion around your neck, Gajeel?"
Gajeel wordlessly removed the chain around his neck, handing it over respectfully to the pixie elder. She took it reverently, holding it up to the sunlight as she examined the intricate pattern on its face.
"It is well that you wear this from now forth. It will provide you a modicum of protection."
"Protection from what?" Gajeel snapped a little testily, unable to bear the tense atmosphere in the little clearing.
"From yourself, Gajeel."
This effectively rendered Gajeel speechless.
Levy's soft voice interjected once again, giving Gajeel a moment to collect his scattered thoughts and emotions.
"Vecmamina, why would Gajeel hurt himself? And how would this chain protect him? I… I can sense fae magic from it. But he is a dragon, what use would fae magic be to him?"
"Gajeel is indeed a dragon, but he is also much more." the lady pixie paused again, throwing a fleeting look at Metalicana before continuing, "His father is a powerful dragon. Usually, if a union occurs between a dragon and one of another race, the progeny of such a union is either wholly dragon or entirely that of their mate's race. Dragon genes do not allow for sharing, their magic is too forceful and dominating." the pixie elder ended with a rather wry smile.
"When your mother fell in love with your father and coupled with him, it was with the hope that the child that she bore would be fully dragon. And when you were born, she was ecstatic! She thought her prayers had been answered. However…" the pixie elder hesitated a moment, before sighing and continuing, "Grisela's magic was too strong for even adamant dragon genes to overcome completely. She discovered that although you are mostly a dragon, your heart is that of a fairy's. This meant that at some point in your life, the pure light magic within you would battle with the dark magic you are primarily made of - and once that battle starts, it would end only when one has destroyed the other and its host."
"So… No matter which kind of magic residing in me wins, I will die regardless?"
"Yes."
"But I feel nothing strange inside me. I don't feel sick. How can my light and dark magic be at odds?"
"The 'battle' has not yet begun. It will begin when you reach magical maturity - or it would start when you become aware of your fairy heart." the pixie elder stared at Gajeel with an apologetic and sorrowful look upon her face.
Gajeel scoffed. "How could simple knowledge trigger this side of my magic?"
"Because, you pigheaded boy," His father interjected with a growl, "Light magic is far different from the dark variety. It is far more subtle and flexible. It has lain dormant within you for this long because it was not self-aware, but now that it has been noticed it will not remain quiet any longer." Metalicana's eyes flashed with determination as he gazed down at his son. "This does not mean you will die, though. I swore an oath to your mother that I would not tell you of your heart myself, to protect you, but I am glad you found a way to know. You have the strength to find the balance you need. You need to survive until your mother reawakens - the gift of magic she intends to give you will permanently balance your magic, but…" Metalicana's speech faltered, his voice thick with emotion, "No one knows when she will awaken. It could be when you reach your age of magical maturity, or it could be far after… The sooner you learn to handle your magic within yourself, the better. The medallion your mother left in my safekeeping will help balance your magic by supplementing the light magic just enough to balance out the dark. It should be enough for as long as you are a hatchling. However, as you grow, your dark magic will grow with you and there is a possibility it will overtake your fairy heart despite the presence of the medallion. You must try to learn to balance your magic before this happens."
Gajeel's eyes widened. As if the magical heart in question could hear the conversation taking place, he felt a sudden thump in his chest. He took a deep steadying breath, closing his eyes and willing his mind to focus on what he now knew was light magic trapped in his body. A few minutes passed before he could distinguish the source of the growing discomfort in his own frame. As his father and the pixie elders had explained, he could feel the pull of the opposite magic from his heart, straining against the rest of his form, yet oddly comforting and calming at the same time.
"It is your mother's magic." The pixie elder said softly as she observed Gajeel's internal struggle, "It will fight the dark magic within you, but it will still love and support you. The key to finding your balance will be to reconcile both sides of your magic to the fact that they cannot overwhelm what you call yourself." she sighed, a slight frown adorning her face, "I suppose that sounds rather cryptic…"
"No." Gajeel breathed, letting out a shuddering breath and opening his eyes. He bowed to the pixie elders, "I think I understand. At least I know what I must endeavor to do. Thank you." With a resigned sigh, he then turned to his father, his head bowed in guilt and sorrow.
"Father… I am sorry…" His words were abruptly cut off as Metalicana pulled his son into a bone-crushing hug.
"Err…"
Metalicana pulled back just as suddenly as he had started, looking his son seriously in the eyes. "You ungrateful, headstrong brat. I will only say this once, you arrogant little hatchling. I am proud of you. I always have been and always will be."
He let go of his son's shoulders, straightening up and crossing his arms over his chest, a stern expression returning to his face.
"Now, we still have to discuss your punishment for attempting to kill an innocent being, as well as attacking the fae fledglings. These are not crimes I can take lightly, young dragon."
Gajeel looked his father straight in the eyes, squaring his shoulders proudly.
"Of course sir. I am prepared."
"Very well then. You will be banished to the northern kingdom for a period of a year."
"WHAT?!"
Levy's sudden outburst caused the rest of the clearing to look at her curiously. She flushed under everyone's gaze but persisted nonetheless.
"Doesn't that seem a little extreme? Yes, he said he wanted to kill Lucy… But he didn't actually accomplish the deed! Doesn't that deserve some leniency? And he didn't hurt me and the boys! Well, not very much… Besides, we just found out that he literally has a battle raging inside him - shouldn't we be more concerned about helping him conquer his balance?"
Lucy raised her eyebrows, an evil smirk slowly making its way on her face. Levy was awfully concerned about the metal dragon, especially for having just met the brute barely a few hours before - this merited some looking into. She ignored the fact that her friend had basically brushed aside the fact that said metal dragon had almost tried to kill her. Inconsequent details to Levy, apparently.
Metalicana grinned at the little pixie, his thoughts having taken a similar vein to Lucy's.
"Why little one, that's quite thoughtful of you. May I ask why the special interest in protecting my boy?"
Levy blushed to the roots of her hair, dropping her gaze to her bare feet and clasping her delicate hands behind her back.
"I… I just understood where he was coming from. About wanting to know his background. And even what he tried to do to Lucy, was done more out of a desire to protect his kin, rather than a malicious intent towards her! I just feel that he should not be so severely punished for his curiosity and misplaced sense of duty! There are dragons who have done much worse!"
Levy ended her flare-up with tears in her pretty hazel eyes, her gaze darting between the two remaining dragons in the clearing.
Gajeel was the first to break the uneasy silence that had settled in the glade.
"She speaks of what happened to her people, father." He frowned, facing his father with his arms crossed over his chiseled chest, the well-defined muscles already evident at his young age thanks to intensive physical training. "The pixies claim that a flight of dragons destroyed her home and slaughtered her tribe."
Metalicana gawked. He glanced at the pixie elders in bewilderment.
"Is this true? Why have you not informed me or Igneel? Surely you know that a crime of such magnitude would not go uninvestigated and unpunished by either of us, we would gladly ensure such heinous criminals from our kind face the justice they deserve…"
The lady pixie raised her hands in a placating gesture. She offered Metalicana a wane smile.
"We never contacted you because it was never necessary my friend."
She took a shaky breath and turned towards Levy.
"We owe you an apology, dear Levy. Today is the day that even you shall learn the truth of your heritage."
The pixie elder paused, her look of sorrow deepening.
"The dragons did not kill your tribe. That was a rumor the other elders and I introduced and allowed to spread."
Levy looked aghast. "But… why?"
"You were beginning to question your roots. We wished to provide you an explanation that would deter you from seeking any further. Your situation is similar to Gajeel's, although unlike him the knowledge of it will not affect you. At least we hope not, but we did not wish to take the risk…"
"I still do not understand, Vecmamina"
"You, my precious child, are the last of the spirit fairies."
All the magical beings in the glade collectively gasped and turned to observe Levy. The little pixie herself looked stunned. She blinked a few times, struggling with the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes.
"You are immensely special, Levy." Her elder continued, her own eyes slightly watery, "You were entrusted to us by Lady Selena herself. Your magic is quite close to that of the high fairies, only slightly lesser in strength. Therefore… You face the same danger of fading that they do." the elder took a deep breath. "That is what happened to the rest of your tribe. They were not killed. They all faded away. Only you were saved in time."
"But that does not explain why you lied! And why did you blame the dragons?!" Levy gnashed her teeth and clenched her tiny fists. Almost unconsciously, Gajeel had drifted to her side. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She relaxed into his hold, the subtle gesture not missed by Lucy and Metalicana.
"It was for reasons of practicality..." The elder shot Metalicana an apologetic look. "After the night of blood occured, we assumed dragons were no longer the friends of humans. And as it was imperative that you think of humans as your friends, we hoped that making the dragons the 'enemies' so to speak, would encourage you to think kindlier of their opponents - the humans. A convoluted thought, we know, but we were desperate…"
"Why is it necessary that I think well of humans?"
Her elder's look turned grim. "There is a part of magical lore, dear Levy, that is not openly discussed in either book or banter. It has to do with the nature of the 'immortality' of the high fairies. As you know, although we speak of them as immortal, we also say that they have the capacity to 'fade away' which is akin to dying. The difference between them and the other races that are inevitably fated to die, is their ability to convert magical potential into energy to feed their life span. Every race possess an extra bit of 'magical potential' in addition to their regular magic, but the race that possess the most raw magical potential is…"
"The human race." Levy completed breathlessly. She trembled in place. Gajeel gently removed his hand from her shoulder, opting instead to wrap his arm around both her shoulders and pull her into his side. He turned to the elders, addressing them gruffly.
"But what has this to do with Levy? And how does it make her predicament similar to mine?"
"Being a spirit fairy, Levy has their 'drawback'. She will need to feed on magical potential for most of her lifetime in order to exist without fading away too soon. However, this condition will not afflict her until her magical maturity. Until then, she will be able to live the life of a normal fledgling, unless she uses her magic. That will cause her physical pain and speed up the process of maturing. After she matures… She will need to seek out as many beings with magical potential as she can." The elder's sorrowful gaze fell on Lucy. "We were so happy when she befriended a human! We hoped that through her new friend, she would meet more and increase her chances of survival…"
Yet again, a deathly silence followed the pixie elders words. It was finally broken by Gajeel, who turned to the deathly pale pixie still locked under his strong arm.
"I have even more to atone for now. I attacked you and forced you to use your magic. Not to mention I tried to kill your means of survival…"
He was halted by a dainty hand clamped over his mouth. "Quiet, you stupid dragon! If it weren't for you and these unfortunate events I would not have found out the truth I longed for! You have nothing to atone for. In fact… you have my thanks."
The pixie elders smiled at the exchange between the metal dragon and the little pixie fledgling, trading knowing glances with each other.
"We must return to the grotto now, my friend and little ones. We wish you fair fortune and hope we cross paths again soon. Droy, would you return with us? Your help is needed for some of the afternoon chores. Levy, say your goodbyes to your friends and return soon as well…"
With those parting words and graceful bows, the elders exited the clearing, Droy tagging along behind them after waving goodbye to his friends in the glade.
Metalicana bowed as they left, a smile of gratitude on his lips. He turned to survey the clearing once more, a deep throaty chuckle escaping him as his gaze fell on the younglings. "My nephew is smitten with a human and my son has fallen for a pixie. Will wonders never cease?"
"What do you mean 'smitten'?!" Lucy shrieked, her cheeks a rosy red. "He's not… I mean… why… how?!"
"I… I would not assume that…" Levy exclaimed in a whisper, throwing a shy glance at the dragon beside her. Gajeel merely shrugged off his grip on Levy and rolled his eyes.
"You're a gossipy old dragon with an overactive imagination. The Salamander may have fallen for your bait, but I'm smarter than that fire-breathing clown."
As if on cue, Natsu descended from the sky, landing neatly between Metalicana and Gajeel, fists raised and an excited grin upon his face.
"What bait? And those are fighting words I heard, Black Steel! Fight me!"
Gajeel didn't bother responding. Metalicana sighed, rubbing his temples.
"What are you doing back here, Natsu?"
"Well, as soon as we reached Alagesia, Happy awakened. He is fine, but since Carla offered to feed him his fish, he is going to spend the rest of the day recovering his full strength with Wendy and Carla." Natsu paused to shoot a smile at Lucy, who was visibly relieved by his words. "Father said I was far too fidgety to be kept home, so he sent me back here!" Natsu concluded with his trademark dazzling smile.
Metalicana groaned.
"Of course he would pawn his hyperactive offspring off on me to hatchling-sit, that flaming old pile of…"
"Err… Uncle Metalicana? Is that who I think it is?"
All three dragons paused as a new scent assailed them. As one they turned to face the bushes at the edge of the glade, waiting for the next addition to the drama unfolding in the clearing.
Author's Note: If anyone can guess who the mystery person entering the glade could be, I'll post an extra chapter next week ;-)