Yay! Finally another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy this one!
Thank you stupidmaniac101 and IgnisTiger for their reviews! And I love that you guys are loving the story so much!
IgnisTiger: I know, I did too. Sparkle ass was definitely funny. I love being creative with their insults! ;) If you have suggestions I would love to hear them.
I do not own Fairy Tail, just Saphira!
Chapter 11
After meeting Cobra, Saphira had announced her intention to take the poison dragon slayer with her to the council. The members were less than pleased but knew fighting her on it wouldn't do any good. The councilmen had then said that they needed time to discuss the terms amongst themselves. So the trio of dragon slayers were forced to wait outside the sound proof meeting room once again.
"What do you think they will come back with?" Laxus asked.
"Something completely unreasonable… anything to deter me from taking him." Saphira answered as she kept her eyes on the door, already waiting for the clicking of the gears that would mean the opening of said door. They had been waiting for 45 minutes so far, surely that had to be almost done.
Another 30 minutes passed before the door budged. Lahar appeared and said, "They are ready for you Saphira."
"Finally! How bad is it?" She asked as she approached the door.
"Well I suppose it could be worse…"
"That's not comforting at all… Alright sit tight guys and I'll be right back." Saphira said as she disappeared through the door.
Once inside, she sat in the same seat as before and waiting for the old council member before her to talk.
"It is the decision of this council that the prisoner known as Cobra be placed into the care of Saphira Dragonair. In order to aid with his rehabilitation into society as an upstanding citizen… we have decided that you be allowed a trial period of six months. In which the council will periodically check in with the guild Fairy Tail to see the progress or lack there off. The council has also decided that Cobra should be under the direct supervision of Saphira at all times."
"Excuse me? Could you elaborate on the 'at all times' part?"
Another member spoke up and said, "Cobra is to live under the same roof as you during this six month trial. Should we see any indication that this experiment of yours isn't working, we will place Cobra back in his cell."
Saphira couldn't believe what they had come up with. She was to have Cobra live in her house? 'Laxus is going to loose his shit when he hears this… But I can't back out of this… That's exactly what they want me to do… And I won't destroy the little bit of trust Cobra has given me. We should be starting the training soon and that will have to be done outside of Magnolia… Loophole maybe? But this checking in regularly thing will be an issue…'
"Fine, I agree to your terms. I will expect to see Cobra at the carriage in 30 minutes. We have a lot of ground to cover before dark." Saphira said as she stood up. She nodded to the council members and then left the room.
(Line Break)
When the two male dragon slayers heard the door open they both jumped and immediately turned their attention towards the door. Only to see Saphira quickly walk out and continue down the hall.
"Guess we should probably follow her…" Gajeel said.
"Hm… probably. The council must've really pissed her off. I wonder what the terms were." Laxus said as they walked in the same direction Saphira had headed. They found her outside on her lacrima phone, so they stood far enough away to give her some privacy. But being dragon slayers they could still hear the conversation.
"This is no time to be laughing Makarov! Honestly! Don't you see the problem here?"
The laughing on the other side of the call slowly died out and then the master of Fairy Tail replied, "Yes, I'm sorry my dear. I see the problem quite clearly and dare I say I told you so?"
"He doesn't know yet so that is an invalid point. He won't sit idly by will he?"
"No, I imagine you are about to have a full house, my child."
'Full house? What does Gramps mean by that?' Laxus thought. The conversation didn't last much longer. Saphira updated the old man about their travel plans and their estimated arrival time. But before she hung up she asked one more thing of the master.
"When we arrive could you have Kinana meet us out front along with yourself? I spoke with her earlier and she knew of my plan. She is important to Cobra and will help keep him calm."
"Yes of course. I hope this will go as smoothly as you plan but…"
"Fairy Tail is about second chances… Cobra knows that this is his. I will see you at the guild."
"Alright, travel safe."
She hung up her lacrima phone and headed back over to Gajeel and Laxus. As soon as she reached them Laxus asked, "So what did the council decide?"
"After we have Cobra in our custody and we are back at the guild I'll explain what is going to happen. The master should have everything in place when we get back. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to have to request Freed's help with something when we get back." She explained.
"That's fine. Freed is always happy to help whenever he can… Is the council's decision bad?"
"Depends on you look at it. I want to understand their reasoning, but part of me believes that they really hoped I wouldn't agree to their terms… I'm going to make this work, the council members are just closed-minded old men."
Laxus left the topic alone after that. Really he was content with just standing next to her. For some reason it was very calming to have her around. Was it the calming aura she had around her? No, couldn't be that. Sometimes her aura was a raging storm… Right now she was clearly agitated and her aura reflected that. Maybe it had something to do with what he said to his inner dragon… Laxus shifted his gaze to the blue-eyed beauty standing next to him. 'It would be so easy to find out.' He thought as he slowly inched his hand towards hers. Slow and steady, so he wouldn't alert her. He wasn't a moron. He knew she was keeping herself at a distance. The fact that she was even standing so close to him now was a mystery. 'Maybe my presence is calming to her?... Just a little bit further…' His hand was now millimeters away from hers…
The doors to the council building burst open, causing Laxus to pull his hand back towards his own body. 'Damn… I was so close!' He thought as he watched Cobra walk towards them, closely followed by Lahar. Cobra continued down the stairs and stopped directly in front of Saphira.
"I can't believe you actually did it. You are one fucking crazy bitch." He said.
Laxus sent a low warning growl Cobra's way. 'Little shit needs to learn his place.'
"It's alright Laxus… We had a deal Erik."
"I know… Just wanted to say it one more time before I have to be all respectful and shit." He grumbled. Cobra then bowed his head and deferred to Saphira.
"Welcome to the slayer family Erik. Are you happy now Lahar? I know the council sent you out her to see how this would go, and as you can see there are no problems."
"The council has put a great deal of trust in you Saphira. You shouldn't take that lightly." Lahar replied.
Saphira turned to enter the carriage, but paused and said, "Who said I was?" over her shoulder. She sat in her previous seat with Cobra in front of her, Gajeel to her left and Laxus in front of Gajeel. They were finally on their way back to Fairy Tail, but they did learn one thing on their way back… Even second generation dragon slayers get motion sickness.
(Line Break)
By the time they got back it was already 8pm. And as Saphira had asked Makarov and Kinana were in front of the guild doors waiting for them to arrive. The slayers slowly exited the moving vehicle that had been their prison for nearly two hours… but the reunion between Erik and Kinana was worth it.
You could see the relief and hope in her eyes. She was barely holding back the tears that were desperate to fall. The poison dragon slayer slowly walked towards her and stopped a foot away. Kinana immediately closed the distance and held him tight.
Behind the reunited duo Saphira watched his hands closely. She was sure they were mates. She just needed to see the mark to prove her suspicion… Sure enough, the second they embraced his right hand clenched.
"Cobra… I thought you were going to be stuck in that awful place forever…" Kinana murmured into his shoulder. The tears she had been holding back were now soaking his shirt.
He brought his arms around the woman in front of him and looked at his right palm. Sitting there, etched into his skin was a snake, resembling Cubellios. 'So she is my mate after all…'
"No I'm not Cobra anymore. Cobra was a criminal… Call me Erik from now on."
Saphira smiled at the sight in front of her. 'So I made the right call in the end.' Even in the face of a happy reunion she was still haunted by the fact that she had yet to tell her own mate. 'If I keep making an excuse I'll never do it…'
"Alright! Let's move this into my office. Everyone else has gone home so the formal introduction will be tomorrow." Makarov said.
"Hmm… That's fine. I'm just about wiped out today. Can't handle much more today anyway, the introduction would've been too much. The council was much more troublesome than I originally thought." Saphira said as she made her way inside.
Once everyone had settled into Makarov's office, they waited for Saphira to begin.
"I seem to be spending a lot of time in here lately Master…" She sighed. "Okay, the council had two pretty big conditions. One was that they would regularly send someone to check in on the progress made with Erik. Which is reasonable… The second one not so much… Erik is to live with me for the duration of the trial period which is six months. He is to be under my constant supervision." Saphira paused to look at the faces of the people around her, most held shock, except for one… Laxus was enraged, that much anyone could tell. 'This won't be good at all…' She thought.
'HOW COULD SHE AGREE TO THAT! Having another slayer live in her house with her! One that is not her mate! I saw what happened to that bastard's hand. Kinana is his mate! Not sure if I should feel sorry for her or not… But this is clearly asking too much!' Laxus thought. He completely ignored the conversation going on around him. Only vaguely hearing the master take about the arrangement. About having Freed set up ruins around the house to allow Erik to only be able to leave the house if Saphira is with him, and many other things.
"No… NO! I can't believe you are actually going along with this old man!"
Everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to the enraged lightning dragon slayer. His anger had already started to manifest on his skin as little bolts of electricity bounced off him.
"How can we let Cobra stay in Saphira's house?! We have no idea what he'll do!"
"It is my decision. You have no part in it." Saphira replied. The tone in her voice leaving no room for argument, but Laxus continued anyway.
"Of course I have a say! You are putting yourself in danger! How can I stand by and let that happen? He could kill you while you sleep! Don't you see that?!" Laxus yelled, desperate to get his point across. 'How could she not see that I'm trying to protect her?! After not seeing her for ten years I'm not going to let her disappear again…'
"Erik understands what is at stake! I have to trust that he will not kill me. Giving him something to live for was paramount in all this! I took a huge gamble thinking Kinana was his mate! What would've happened if I was wrong? Don't you think I've thought this through?!"
"Still that is no excuse to harbor an ex-criminal in your house! You should've said no to the council!"
"YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING! You are speaking out of selfish reasons! You have no idea what is at stake! If we are not prepared Acnologia will kill all of you and force me to be his mate. And believe me… I will kill myself before I let that happen."
Saphira's eyes hardened as she stared directly into Laxus's infuriated eyes. The thought of her dying brought him out of his irate state. 'That's right… She's forming a team to take down Acnologia… but still…'
"I still don't like it… It all seems like a really bad idea to me. You may have put your trust in him but I haven't." Laxus said, after he had calmed down.
Saphira sighed and said, "You don't have to like it. But you will need to trust him eventually. If there is any doubt in your mind when we do fight Acnologia… you will end up being a huge liability." She then flippantly said, "If you are so worried why don't you move in as well."
The people whom had been silent up until now all gasped, completely shocked. Master Makarov was on the edge of his seat waiting for his grandson's answer. Even though she had half said it as a joke this was still a huge development! If he could get them under one roof the odds exponentially increased in his favor! 'Come on Laxus! Say yes my boy!'
'Is she serious? Should I agree?' Laxus thought.
'If he agrees… it will certainly help his relationship with Erik… But I'll also be putting myself in the middle. My secret is going to come out soon…' Saphira thought as she watched the emotions flick across Laxus's face. 'Which way will you go…'
"It's too late to call Freed now to lay the ruins. I'll have him do it tomorrow. Besides I'm tired, I want to head home to rest. So Laxus… what is your answer?"
Laxus snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Saphira. Who was now standing with Erik behind her. Erik was also watching him. 'I know you can hear me. I won't let you hurt her, from here on out I'm going to be watching you very closely.' Erik glared back at him, a sure sign that he had heard.
Laxus stood up and said, "I'm coming, do you have the room for both of us?"
"I have plenty of room. Do you need clothes?"
"Ah no… actually I took care of that." Makarov said. "I may have had a feeling or rather hoped it would turn out this way so I asked Freed to pack you some clothes." He said while hesitantly smiling and rubbing the back of his head. In the small master's hand was a black duffle bag that seemed to be stuffed to the brim.
Saphira calmly walked over and wretched the bag out of Makarov's hand. Then she growled dangerously, "We will discuss this later."
She watched satisfied, as a small shiver made its way up his back. As she headed out the door she threw the bag at Laxus's head. He did manage to catch it before it hit his head though.
The group followed her downstairs where she stopped and turned around.
"This is where we split up. Gajeel will you take Kinana home? It's late."
"Yea, sure." He grumbled.
"Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow then." Saphira said as the pair continued on and left the guild.
"Alright, follow me you two." With that they left the guild and started to make their way towards Saphira's house. 'What a day! I can only imagine that it's going to get worse before I get any sleep…'
(Line Break)
After the long walk home Saphira was practically dragging her feet as she approached her door. 'I'm so done with today…'
She unlocked her door and made a mental note to set Laxus up in the system some time tomorrow. 'Now where to put them?' She wondered. 'Having both of them upstairs would be disastrous… So one up, one down. There is no way Laxus will leave Erik downstairs alone with me, so...'
"Erik, your room will be upstairs. There are three up there so take your pick. Laxus, yours is over here. You'll be downstairs with me."
The poison dragon slayer glanced over at the stairs and then turned his attention back to Saphira, "You sure you don't want me downstairs instead? You are taking a pretty big risk ya know." He said with a devious smile.
Yet again Erik causes Laxus to growl. 'I'm too tired for this shit.' Saphira thought as she sighed.
"I'm sure… And I would appreciate it if you would keep your mouth shut." She warned the maroon haired man.
"Tch…" He started to make his way up the stairs but paused half way. "You are running out of time Alpha." He said mockingly.
'He's right… I am running out of time… damn, stupid ass, know it all, pain in my ass bastard.' She glared at Erik as he finished climbing the stairs. And hearing her current thoughts he laughed when he reached the top.
Letting out a long sigh she looked at Laxus who still hadn't moved his attention still at the top of the stairs. 'Fuck! Damn stupid ass poison breath knows something about Saphira that I still don't. What does he mean she's running out of time? She couldn't be dying right?! She's supposed to be immortal. No… that isn't right she can still die if she wounded badly. She looks fine to me… Maybe she's sick?'
He turned his head towards Saphira only to find that she was watching him closely. They continued their staring contest, neither one willing to give up. Finally Laxus asked, "Do you feel alright?"
"I feel fine… why?" She asked confused.
"….No reason… Oyasumi (Goodnight)." He said before heading in the direction of his room.
"Oyasumi." Saphira turned and walked past the kitchen to her room. Not bothering to change, she crawled into bed and immediately fell asleep.
(Line Break)
His room was rather plain, light grey walls, a dark dresser, decent sized closet, queen size bed, and the bathroom was in the room next door. Overall he had no complaints. Besides that fact he wasn't tired at the moment. There was no way he could fall asleep now, what Erik had said was still bothering him. So he figured he would unpack and see what Freed had packed. Knowing him, he probably thought of everything.
'Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, cologne, change of clothes… ha even a razor. He really does think of everything…' He glanced back towards his door and wondered if Saphira had already gone to sleep. She had been pretty tired so it was a safe guess that she had. Laxus started to strip down to his boxers, throwing his dirty clothes in the convenient basket next to his door. Sleeping with a shirt on was extremely constricting so he usually just slept in his underwear. 'I can't believe I'm in the same house as Saphira. It really is amazing. Perfect distance from the town and the guild, minimal noise and it's beautiful. I wouldn't mind living here forever…' Crawling into bed he managed to catch a snort coming from upstairs. 'Poison breath must've heard something funny… asshole… Wonder if it's hard to fall asleep when you constantly hear other people's thoughts?'
From upstairs Laxus heard the light footsteps of the dragon slayer upstairs. Quietly he made his way downstairs and to Laxus's door.
"For your fucking information, yes it is very fucking difficult to sleep when you hear other people's thoughts. But just as you thought, this house is located far enough from town so it's not so bad here. The only god damn issue right now is you! If I have to I will knock your lights out Sparky! Go To Sleep!" Erik hissed through the door, and then made his way back upstairs just as quietly as he had come down.
'For him to make the effort to be so quite Saphira has to be asleep, otherwise he would've just yelled.' Laxus thought as he rolled over on his left side. His eyes slowly closed as his body relaxed, his breathes coming slower and deeper as he finally nodded off.
