Disclaimer: Fairytail rightfully belongs to Hiro mashima. I aint own anything.
Dedication: This chapter wouldn't be finished if not for 3 certain people who inspired me to pick my pen once more and write again.
First, I came across a drawing in deviant art. It's entitled "The Princess and Her Dragon " and it was just amazingly drawn. So I dedicate this chapter with the same title as her beautiful drawing to the talented artist Blanania/ black2sun2. Second, I want to thank you Elielou for encouraging me to write again .You are everything i could have ask for a friend. And last but not the least, thank you to my dearest Daisukii for correcting my errors and grammars.
Chapter 8: The Princess and Her Dragon
"Cinderella walked on broken glass,
Sleeping Beauty let a whole lifetime pass,
Belle fell in love with a hideous beast,
Jasmine married a common thief,
Ariel walked on land for love and life,
Snow White barely escaped a knife.
It was all about blood, sweat, and tears,
because love means facing your biggest fears"
Author unknown
The moon darted through the smoky haze and a creature that can only be seen in myths raised its ugly head to survey the destruction it had made. The halo of light that emitted from the moon showed the ancient beast was covered not in scales as most of the legends have uttered but…
In cold, thin metal layers.
It was a massacre - even the most heroic of soldiers and warriors weren't enough to stop the rampaging dark creature that can only be seen in myths.
The dragon gave an ear splitting cry; a pure coldhearted, wrenching howl as if calling for something… or someone it had lost.Its pair of molten blood shot eyes saw for a brief moment, a velvet robe hiding in the sprawl of ruins and at once, its pair of metal clad wings beat against the foul air. The angry bellows of the dragon can be heard as the ancient creatures blast a roar so loud it reduced the ruined buildings to ashes and grime.
A blue haired child, too young to even understand and witness death and destruction right before her very eyes, was seen crying as the mystical beast took its flight living nothing but ashes and debris in its wake...
Her small short hands held what looks like a worn out door knob. Golden molten eyes brimmed with unshed tears. this... this door knob was supposed to lead her back to their living room where her parents were waiting for her. It doesn't make any sense! W-why would-
"Oh dear, what was he done?! Oh-! Oh child... " An old, gentle voice disrupt her line of thoughts. "I'm so sorry, my child."
A short old man bent beside her - tired,worn out and helpless. He held her shaking hands- hoping this could ease her fragile heart.
"I'm sorry ... I have failed. If I'm too late... sweet child. I'm sorry ..." the words were repeated like a mantra and her young mind couldn't comprehend what he was atoning for.
"I'm truly sorry your family is gone."
A heavy pause...
And then she vehemently shook her head. tears started to fall from those golden eyes.
She couldn't understand, the concept was too strange, too unfamiliar she had a hard time comprehending why her family was gone. "Where are they? won't they come back in a few days?"
A lump formed in his throat, unable to confess to a young, naive child how cruel reality can be. Makarov shook his head. "Child, your parents are now in a much better place."
She swallowed the trepidation building up. Closing her eyes, she hoped –fervently expecting, that for a moment... all she had witnessed were nothing but a gruesome nightmare.
"I'll be here, lass. I'll be your family." She was a bright child and she didn't need to ask further questions as to what the old man was saying.
Around him lay books and tomes that survived the ravages of the dreadful incident... Between the edge of the burned structure and rubble, one book covered in dust and ashes caught his eye.
Makarov gently picked it up and smiled wistfully as he gazed at the title: A Collection of Fairytales.
Opening it, the pages showed a mermaid who traded her voice for a pair of feet, a maid who walked on a pair of broken glass, a princess who let her whole life pass... and a maiden kept in the highest tower guarded by a dragon.
" My dear child, every life, every story spun in this world are a mixture of fairytales...of long forgotten dreams and fantasies in between. " It made the child stop crying and for a moment, just for a moment, a flicker of light – something akin to hope flashed behind those wide golden orbs.
Encouraged, Makarov put a brave front and did what he did best...
Give hope ...when the child thought everything was lost.
"Think of your life as a story, and this is just one of the chapters!" Holding the bounded paperbacks in one hand, he let her grasp the worn out bindings of the fairytale book. "Think of it as a play, and you are the princess! The valiant knight in shining armor! You could be everything you want and it's your job to write down how your story will end."
For a moment, her tears were gone, replaced with awe and marvel that Makarov continued to conjure tales just to see the child-like wonder in her eyes again.
"It is through these books that words come alive, that the doors opening to myriads of realms were discovered. These books have bound, for several hundreds of years, the fine line between the world of reality and fantasy that sometimes... sometimes the two worlds intertwine and one cannot fathom what reality is and what is not."
He let himself drown in the intensity of her wide golden eyes eager to hear more of his stories.
"Fantasy is the ancient language spoken by fairies and elves written in pixie dust and sand and grime. It is the image of a rising sun peeking through the horizon, it is the colour of a thousand stars scattered across the twilight midnight sky. It is splattered with gold, layered with ivory and lilac and vermillion hues!"
The more she heard...the more she saw... the more she imagined and felt she could change anything.
"Fantasy is the sound of... of a nightingale's melody, of the soft tinkling of bells, of a nymph's mischievous laughter. It can be heard in the sweet pause of a mother's lullaby. It can be felt in a dragon's mighty roar; it can be experienced in the wind beneath an angel's pristine wings."
With a new resolve, she tightened her small hands around the old bindings of the book, and urgently asked "How-how do I make my fantasies a reality?!"
The question was so sudden that Makarov was taken aback. Then he laughed.
"Why, my child..." he cackled. "You write it down, of course!"
Never had he imagined the child in his arm would soon conjure a magic so rare, so profound that she would make her fantasies a reality... with just a wisp of a pen in her hand.
"Then I will write to have my parents back! To bring back time! To have my happiness –"
She was cut off as the old man could do nothing but embrace her tight. "Oh child... if it were in my power, I would do anything to bring them back to you."
Brows furrowed in confusion. Her young heart broke and she had a hard time comprehending the situation.
"I don't understand! You told me...!" Seeing the man before her broke down, rendered her speechless. Her young mind registered what he was trying to tell her all along. As she looked at her surroundings covered in ashes and ruins, the child realized that the old man has lost a lot... probably more than what she had lost.
And despite the bravado he put up, a single tear rolled down his cheek. "We will start anew, eh? Now smile for me, and we'll look for more brats like you who have nowhere to go."
"We will build a new family?"
He stopped in his tracks and he fought back the tears that tried to escape his eyes. "Yes...yes, we will." he paused for a moment and gazed over the child who clutched the worn out book.
Smiling fondly at the title, it gave him an idea. "And we will call it... .Fairytale. Or perhaps Fairy tail? Yes! We do not even know if fairies do have tails, do we?"
"Fairy...tale?" she grinned. "Like the title of this book? Will we have a happy ever after?"
And he laughed. It was the kind of laughter that gave you hope, that for a second, everything will be alright.
"Aye. We will have a happy ending, child! A family-a home - a guild full of warmth, of rambunctious laughter and I'll watch all of you brats grow. Yes!"
Short, bony hands reached out to hers, encasing her small ones in his. "Read books."
It wasn't any relief or comfort- it was a command. "For in reading books, we tend to leave reality and enter a world far more amazing than any reality could ever conjure. Inside those rusty, tattered pages and stains and ink, you will find fantasy, romance, adventure- all the colors of life."
Wiping away the dirt from the golden engraved letters of the book, the cover glistened and Makarov looked her in the eye.
"And the most important of all, inside those thick bounded papers... you will find yourself."
He was a short old man – just a foot taller than her, yet he enveloped her in his small arms hoping to protect her from the gruesome view of what was once has been her town. "Always remember, Levy, my dear child, when everything in this world seems too heavy to bear... Books can be your sole companion."
.
..
...
..
.
Books... can be your companion.
"I'LL REMOVE ALL THESE BLOODY BOOKS IF YOU DON'T EAT!"
That made her eyes ablaze. The iron dragon inwardly smirked – trusting her to give up everything, even her petty soul for a bunch of books!
Oh, but she intend to prove him wrong. Aside from that single reaction, the girl didn't move from her position. She gazed at the ceiling as if thinking of all the possibilities and consequences.
"Do I look like I care? Besides I wouldn't need books if I were to di-"
"I'll be damned if you die because of hunger – you… Y-YOU-!" he threw his hands in frustration. Earlier, she was adamant- no, DESPERATE to live and not a week has passed and she was already suicidal! His patience was wearing thin. Heck, he didn't even know he possessed that trait until this infuriating woman tested his limits!
Levy sighed, unfazed by his supposed–to-be intimidating stance. If he hadn't realized it yet- he is ALREADY damned.
"Wouldn't you kill two birds with one stone if I die? My guild mates thought I am already dead. It would save you the trouble of protecting me from other dragons. You killed not only the suspect but also the witnesses in my abduction! What's left for me to-?"
"Who said to take the matters by your own fucking hand?!" he bellowed. "Just because that shitty phantom guild decided to put you on a stake, you'd willingly surrender yourself! FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE DAMN IT! Where is the warrior who put up a good fight that night when you were brought to me?! "
She blushed. The dragon called her a warrior not a weakling or a captive.
Amidst all those curses, she can't help but hear a bit of concern laced in his speech. She shook her head furiously when she realized she was getting intimidated by his words. She even lost track why she was defying him in the first place! Undaunted, she raised her head defiantly.
"That aside, I still won't eat!"
"Don't test my limit, shrimp…" one moment he called her a warrior, not a minute has passed and he already called her a shrimp. It seriously pissed her off!
"And what will you do?" she challenged.
Oh … she was really asking for it. He wore that feral grin that made her knees weak. "You leave me no choice - I'll have to force it down your throat then."
Her eyes widened in horror as the harsh realization dawned upon her. "D-Don't you dare¬!"
He took a large swig from a goblet of wine as he made his way to her. Without further ado, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her intensely on the lips – forcing the red fluid down her throat.
Amidst her struggling, gajeel can't help but shudder as drops of red liquid trailed out of the corner of her lips to her beautiful pale neck and down to her small, well shaped breast.
"I HATE -!" The moment she opened her mouth, he wasted no time in shoving a spoon between her parted lips- then, he abruptly stopped. What kind of food did he just thrust in her mouth?
Wait… was there even a morsel of food in the spoon in the first place? Darn it! He can't believe he's being distracted by those drops of liquor!
"ARGHH! I'LL SHOVE A METAL POLE DOWN YOUR THROAT ONE DAY!"
Ooopppsss…
Her threat (or was that an invitation?) made him grin. "Oh shrimp, you'll be doing me a favor by feeding me metals."
The look on her face was utterly priceless. Gajeel was enjoying every second of this. She angrily spit the spoon at his face but he didn't seem to mind. To her surprise, he even caught the metal ladle and chomped on it.
"I thought you're smart, bookworm? I AM the iron dragon. I don't need any human food. I feast on iron, metals… and maidens." He emphasized the last word as he pushed her on the bed.
He wouldn't-! Sinking further into the center of the divan as the dragon entered the chamber, she tried to scramble away only to held by a strong pair of arms. The cushion plunge invitingly as they both struggled for dominance. Holding both of her arms in one hand, he positioned it above her head. He took a bite from a fruit, stole another kiss and forced it on her mouth.
His lips slanted over hers making her moan in pleasure. His breathe smelled of an enticing combination of danger, wine and metal. Each passing kiss became longer and were more gratifying than the last, leaving her gasping for more. The moment she breathed in, he would insert small pieces of fruits into her mouth leaving no room for complaint. Gajeel was satisfied to see her flushed and out of breathe. It did wonders on his ego that only he can see her in this state, that only he can make her moan like this – that only he has the pleasure of granting her bliss no man could ever hope of giving her.
As her molten orbs gazed at him, he vowed to himself he would let NO man ever see her vulnerable like this.
Levy knew she should do something about this queer spell, but she could not. She could only lie helplessly as this mysterious man possessed her mouth over and over again. A tingling sensation went through the course of her veins and she knew at that very moment that this was a kiss of a marauder- an assailant– of someone who fought roughly and demands kisses as a form of price. This wasn't the gentle tender kiss she had envisioned in her novels; it was fierce, feral, demanding yet exciting - thrilling in ways she had never felt before.
"L-Levy…" her name was whispered like a forbidden spell as if it can free him from his curse. How ironic that while he held her imprisoned in his tower, it was actually him who was enslaved to her every beck and call.
Pushing another piece of fruit inside her mouth, their tongues danced in a heated battle for dominance. Never had she imagined being kissed with such ardor even in her darkest, wildest dreams. She kissed him back with such genuine innocence the dragon was tempted to kiss her deeper. Harder.
Another bite from a fruit.
Another sigh.
Another stolen kiss.
She was drowning in him, oblivious of her own beauty, unaware of how her honey dewed eyes glowed so temptingly under the moonlight or the curve her body possessed or even the alluring fullness of her plump lips.
Using his other hand to cradle her head, he fisted her cobalt locks, tilting her head more as he gazed down at her hungrily. Cheeks flushed, lips slightly parted, eyes glistening with lust, and yet she couldn't look more innocent and vulnerable than this… this look. He vowed no mortal would ever have the pleasure of seeing her this way.
"M-more…" and who was he to refuse her plea?
She didn't have to ask twice. Once the word tumbled out of her lips, he gladly obliged, descending once more to her parted ones. Gajeel closed his eyes in mind-numbing bliss as he claim possession of her lips and released all his pent up desires. With that, he sensually gripped her hips holding her captive as he lusciously delved his tongue inside her mouth- granting her more than just passion, bliss and everything she could have ever ask or yearn from a mortal man.
The dragon didn't even realize he was the prisoner in his own den. For he would do every single request – every single yearning her heart desires.
A prisoner in paradise.
" You've once told me…"Gajeel reminded her of her words, his lips roughly brushing against her soft ones. "that a kiss can break even the vilest of all curses."
Levy gasped into his mouth as their tongues danced in a heated battle for dominance. Dainty hands found its way to grasp his long, jet black hair, down to the wide expanse of his shoulder until she accidentally brushed a burned scar in the form of …
The crest of Raventail.
The kiss ended abruptly with him shoving her suddenly at arm's length.
"Wh-what-?" She gasped. An odd mixture of confusion and distress can be seen in her frightened eyes and just for a moment, Gajeel actually thought he saw his reflection behind it.
And he was disgusted.
Disgusted as he caught himself hoping- that for just even a second- he could be accepted. Disgusted at the marked emblem in his right arm. Disgusted at the very thought his wild carnal hunger would eventually lead him to be the person he didn't want to be.
"EAT." He demanded, the mirth gone from his eyes. "Or I'll force every last morsel on you. There better be no food left by dawn, woman." With that, he turned his back on her and the large metal door slammed with such a force that the whole lair shook.
Something heavy settled on the pit of her stomach. A streak of tear escaped those golden eyes as she gazed at the closed vaulted door. She didn't know what to do anymore. She couldn't even properly think. The moment she touched the scar, a flash of the unwanted emblem of raven tail came to mind.
Deep down she refused to believe- to accept the truth. Yet all the evidences were already laid out before her very eyes.
Behind the other side, the dragon slumped against the metal door unable to control the rage and self loathing that surfaced inside him. Gajeel vehemently grasped his right arm and felt the burnt guild mark which the girl nearly caressed.
The gruesome emblem reminded him of what had transpired several years ago. He remembered the bastard in thick velvet robe, taking him as a hostage and branding his arm in that odious guild mark in an effort to anger his father.
With a vicious snarl, his fingers mutated into thin metal blades and began desperately clawing the scar that had labeled him as one of "them". He vowed that while this detestable insignia was branded like a painful reminder of who he should be, he will never associate with the likes of them. Yet…
Yet he had been so close to becoming the kind of person he hated the most.
Gajeel hissed at the burning sensation of his skin being sliced open with the metal's sharp edges yet he paid no heed. Scarlet wild eyes nearly split into narrowed slits as his anger almost consumed him. He scraped and scratched repeatedly until his arm bled and it almost left him gasping from the excruciating pain. Yet the physical pain paled in comparison with the agonizing memories of the past.
His life- pathetic and helpless back then, was dangled in front of his father like some mere plaything before Metallicana went berserk and wreaked havoc in a certain town. The town of thatbastard's father.
His keen sense of hearing enabled him to hear her choked tears and he abruptly stopped.
He looked at his hands and his eyes narrowed in contempt at the hideous sight before him. The right hand was unmistakably in human form albeit covered in metallic scales while the other was in the shape of knives and blades.
Both were covered in his blood.
Could a kiss really break even the vilest of all curses?
Hah! What a bloody fool he was!
Closing his eyes shut, he grimaced as images of the blue haired angel came to mind. Her voice, her tears… her kisses.
Her desperate, foolish wishes…
He didn't know if he was even human anymore. Hell, he couldn't bloody look at his reflection in a mirror anymore – afraid to see if he had become the monster he feared to be.
Author's Note : sorry for the late update guys. I could only hope you have not given up on this story. And for those who took their time and read this work, I really want to thank you for still giving this story a chance. Thank you.