Gajeel wasn't like the mortal girl who was easily lost in the maze of trees on the other side of Fiore's border. His eyes were keen and could see far into the haze that forever clung to the air like a disease. As he approached the darkness that lurked somewhere deep within the tangled black branches, he could easily make out the purple form that was Jose. He stopped approaching when the fellow immortal turned, exposing rows of razor sharp teeth in his smile.

"Gajeel," his voice made Gajeel's ears twitch with distaste for the sound, "How have you been fairing all the way out here? Drinking healthily?"

"What do you want, Jose,"

Jose frowned, his eyes glinting like and animal's. The air was so tense Gajeel thought he might choke. He hated this man.

"A few of my men went missing a while ago. I was wondering if you might have… intercepted them?" he stepped to the side, starting to pace like a lion trapped in a cage. Anger was rolling off of him freely now.

"Were they yours?" Gajeel tilted his head to the side, running his hand through his hair as if he was seriously considering the topic, "I suppose they could have been… but I knew you'd know better than to send them into my territory so they must have been runaways at the least. Correct?"

Jose growled. His purple eyes flashed in rage. Gajeel knew the ambitious vampire well. He knew Jose coveted his spot on the edge of the border. The dark man was obsessed with the world of the light. Or rather, he was obsessed with destroying it.

"My sources tell me that you killed them to save some fairy," Jose had stopped pacing, shooting him a dark look from under his hair, "Is this true?"

Shit. He knew there had been another one of those bastards lying low somewhere.

"Save some weakling light-dweller?" he snorted, a wicked smile touching his lips, "And why in the hell would I do that? Or even better, why would some little fairy girl come across the border? I'd have a talk with your spies, Jose,"

Jose smiled sadistically, "Who said I was talking about a girl?"

Well fuck.

"You either get me that girl or I'm coming after you Gajeel Redfox," he turned his back, his cape rustling with the movement, "I'm giving you three days,"

"She's rather interesting," Pantherlily smiled, crossing his arms as the girl whirled around Gajeel's throne room. The vast hall echoed with her unremitting chatter as she studied everything in the hall. Gajeel just stared at her. She was like a small child, eyes wide in wonder as she asked questions that she quickly answered with her own vast wealth of knowledge.

"Jose wants her," Gajeel muttered quietly, glaring at her as if all of his problems were centered around her tiny, carefree form… and they kind of were.

Pantherlily's ears flattened against his head and he looked at Gajeel out of the corner of his eye, "You're going to let him take her?"

"What do I care about the little fairy girl? He can have the nuisance for all I care. Let him deal with Makarov's wrath," he growled in return, diverting his gaze. He could feel his friend's glare bore through him. If there was anyone's opinion he cared about, it was his.

Without a word, the panther stalked away, his tail swishing about angrily. Gajeel could see his muscles rippling under his fur as they flexed. He was furious beyond words and the scent hit Gajeel like a brick to the head. His heart quivered… did he feel… guilty?

"Where did Lily go?" the girl suddenly piped up, looking at him with huge, brown eyes.

"Lily?" Gajeel's nose wrinkled in disgust of the name. Who in the hell was Lily?

"Pantherlily," she smiled, "I started to call him Lily for short."

He gave her a dubious look before answering, "He had some stuff to take care of around the castle,"

"Oh…" she looked down at her feet, "But he still had some places to show me,"

Her bottom lip stuck out just slightly in a pout. She intertwined her fingers and opened them back up again nervously. He could see the disappointment in her eyes as she stood. His brow furrowed.

'When did I go soft?' he felt his heart tug at the sight of her. He wanted to see her happy again… for some ungodly reason.

"Close your eyes," he said gruffly. She jumped, her eyes once again wide with curiosity.

"B-But… Why?"

"I said close your eyes, Shrimp," his lip twitched as if he were about to snarl.

"My name is Levy!" she glowered, stomping her foot. He just crossed his arms, staring down at her. She was a tiny spitfire… cute…

Wait… WHAT?! CUTE?!

Reluctantly, she closed her eyes and he swept her off her feet. She felt like a feather in his arms, as if he were cupping a delicate flower in his hands. She let out a light gasp and a deep blush filled her cheeks. Before she could react, he ran to the giant bay windows, sliding them open and jumping onto the railing of the balcony. He looked up to another balcony about twenty feet up. One strong jump sent them both into the air and he landed lightly, trying not to jolt her.

Finally, he sat her down.

"Ok… open them,"

Levy's face immediately lit up. Her eyes were glowing at the spectacle before her.

A library so huge and so beautiful stood before her. Shelves and shelves and shelves were lined with hardback books. She couldn't hold herself back from running through the shelves and running her fingers across the ageless spines. The smell of old paper and ink filled her lungs and made her feel like she was walking on air.

"You own this?" she said blissfully, marveling at the hundreds of titles around her.

"I do," he smiled.

Levy thought her breath had been stolen away from her. Just a little up-curve of his lips and all of a sudden her heart stopped. His eyes were devoid of the bloodthirsty intensity she'd always seen there before. His arms weren't crossed from irritation and his shoulders were relaxed. Like this, relaxed and happy, Levy suddenly realized that he was absolutely stunning.

Blush suddenly made her cheeks feel like they were on fire. He was happy because she was…

"That's incredible," she said, breathless. He walked past her, running his fingers where hers had been, tracing down the line of books. His ruby eyes had a far-off look to them.

"I've been collecting these over the years. I figured one day I'd get around to actually reading some of them… guess I just never found the time," his eyes suddenly cut over to hers, immediately captivating her.

"Oh?" Levy could have smacked herself. From all the vast knowledge that was contained between her blue locks, 'oh' was the only thing she could conjure up? Pathetic.

"Feel free to enjoy them for me," he said, his voice low.

He might as well have just seduced her. She felt heat flush through her body at his words and her heart suddenly started to race. He walked away from her through the walls of books but the damage was already done. She realized in that instant she was far more than attracted to the dark vampire… and he felt some semblance of feelings for her as well.