"We'll stop here for a short rest. You have 30 minutes men, not a minute longer. And you…" Levy blinked at the man holding her captive on his horse. "Will stay where I can see you. Understand?" He stared at her with his dark, grey eyes and she nodded.
"Good," Laxus grunted and took off the large fur-lined cloak he let her borrow when her constant crying made her shiver uncontrollably. He moved his horse near a group of trees and held her arm to help her down. The moment her feet touched the forest floor Levy sprinted to the trees, leaving the shouting men and their horses behind.
She jumped over fallen logs and rocks, her feet flying over the leaves and needles covering the ground. She tried to use as many rocks as she could, to prevent any footprints from being left behind, but speed would be her greatest ally. The men would struggle with dismounting from their horses, only giving her a few precious seconds to put as much distance between her and them.
She ran until her lungs grew tight and a stab of pain formed in her side. She ducked behind a tree and focused on controlling her breathing, just like during her training: deep breath through her nose and a slow exhale through her mouth. The forest was silent around her and she dared a peek around the tree. There was no sign of pursuit.
"Maybe I lost them," she whispered to the trees with a smile.
A quick glance at the sun overhead told her which direction to move and she inched out of her hiding place, making sure to keep low to the ground in case one of the knights was more stealthy than she gave them credit for. She moved a few feet when she froze, certain she heard something that did not belong in the natural sounds of the forest. Willing her heart to cease it's pounding, she slowly turned her head to study her surroundings. The breeze through the trees, soft bird calls in the branches. Nothing out of the ordinary.
She jerked when she heard the sound again, a low mewling of an animal in distress. Against her better judgement, she moved to the side and peered over a holly bush. A small, black animal lay thrashing on the forest floor, its back leg caught in a hunter's snare. It was painfully skinny and a long scratch covered one eye. Her movement started the poor creature and it twisted wildly, its cries echoing through the forest.
A sharp pang of pity rose within her and she bounced on her toes, looking around the forest with a grimace. If she helped the poor thing, it would give the knights enough time to find her. But if she didn't do anything, then the creature would surely die. She hesitated a second longer and finally made her decision.
"If I get caught because of you, tiny thing, you will feel my wrath. Understand?"
The black ball of fluff ceased its frantic movements and looked at her with its wide, orange eyes. Levy slowly crawled over the bush and reached out her hand to the creature, letting it smell her before she started working on the snare on its leg. "Easy, there...I won't hurt you."
On closer inspection, Levy recognized the fluff ball was really a small kitten, perhaps only a few weeks old. He was tiny, with large round ears, a white muzzle and a white patch on his back that looked like wings. Levy smiled softly, eyes burning with unshed tears. Gajeel always talked about having a cat, but Metalicana had argued that he had enough to worry about without them chasing some creature around their territory.
She rubbed her cheek against her shoulder and worked at the worn leather snare, trying desperately not to think about Gajeel's struggling body covered in lighting and surrounded by swords. Did he even survive? Would he come for her?
The worn leather snapped beneath her fingers and the kitten lurched to its feet, limping slightly on his back leg.
"Come on, little guy. We need to get out of here." She picked it up by the scruff of its neck and held it close to her chest. It began to purr and its warm, soft body helped soothe her broken heart. She buried her nose in its soft fur and moved back onto her original path.
The kitten tensed and Levy heard someone crashing through the forest. Breath hitching, she bolted, but a sharp pain hit her foot and made her yelp. Another pain shot in her other foot and she saw streaks of lighting slithering on the ground.
"You're a fast one, I'll give you that. But you're stupid." Laxus pushed aside a branch and Levy gave him her hottest glare. "If you had just kept running you probably could have gotten rid of us. Why'd you stop for that thing?"
Levy scratched the kitten's head. "Because unlike some people I know, I know the difference between someone who needs help and someone who's perfectly happy staying where she is."
"Don't be gettin' all huffy at me. We need to bring you home and that dragon looked seconds away from blasting all of us." Laxus grabbed her shoulder and pushed her in front of him, leaving her no chance of escaping again.
"He would've too, if you hadn't cheated." She muttered.
She could have sworn she heard Laxus snort. "I didn't cheat, I just used my magic to render him powerless. A tactical decision, one that I needed to make when fighting a powerful dragon."
"So you admit that Gajeel is stronger than you."
"Was stronger. I'm sure even he couldn't survive my knight's attack."
SLAP!
The forest rang with the sound of Levy's hand hitting Laxus in the face. She didn't even remember spinning around or the kitten leaping from her arms. Laxus's head jerked to the side, a satisfying red mark marring his face.
"Never speak of Gajeel like that again. He is the strongest creature I know, stronger than even you. You'll see," she snarled, picking up the surprised kitten and holding him close. "You'll see, he will come for me."
Laxus glared at her, rubbing his cheek. "Whatever you say."
He grabbed her upper arm and drug her through the forest. Levy glared at the scar on his face, wishing that it would spontaneously combust into flames. Unfortunately they made it through the forest and to the horses before any fires could start.
Laxus picked her up and roughly placed her on the saddle. He mounted behind her and wheeled his horse around, looking at the shocked knights surrounding them. "The princess and I will continue on our way. Meet up with us after the horses are rested."
At the prince's command the horse picked up its pace and Levy struggled to keep her balance while holding the kitten at the same time. She could hear the knights murmuring in the clearing behind them, but she could only make out a single phrase.
"Am I the only one who saw the princess holding a panther cub?"