I took up the same seat in the coffee shop and kicked off my shoes, curling my legs under me to snuggle into the seat. The Elven Queen series finale was in my hands and my eyes were far too busy reading to notice Levy's arrival.
"Lu!" I looked up to see her waving from a corner booth, a roll of white poster paper on the table and a large pouch holding it down. Gathering my stuff, I made my way over with minimal apologies and plopped down next to her.
"Hey." I returned her greeting with a smile. Levy unrolled the paper and opened the pouch to reveal a very large amount of markers. We dove into our work, analyzing the series down to its skeleton. Pages were flipped and reflipped, drawings were sketched and erased, heated debates were held. Neither of us noticed a good seven hours fly by until we beheld a finished product. The poster was everything a good poster should be - minimal words, colorful, easy to follow and read. Levy turned out to be an amazing analyst, and the way she read into the book was far beyond my capabilities. I helped her clean the sentences down to the bones and we both worked on decorating. Once we were both satisfied, Levy treated me to a steamy mocha with whipped cream. Both of us curled up on armchairs and massaged our sore hands.
"So, Lu, what did you decide?" Levy brought around the topic I dreaded with a small sip of her drink.
"I want to go, but there's a problem." I hesitated on the last part, unsure whether I should mention my relationship with the cult.
"What?" Levy twirled her cup.
"I'm kinda sorta being hunted by a Zeref cult." I lay it bare, holding nothing back. To my surprise and great relief, Levy took it in stride.
"Do you know why?"
"Of course, captain detective. No idea." I drawled, sarcasm coming back in full force. Levy rolled her eyes.
"Well, then you should definitely come to Fairy High. Everybody can help protect you." She said it in a matter-of-a-fact way, no bluster.
"Okay then. I'll come." I didn't know I could be swayed so easily, but apparently I could.
"Great!" Levy cheered. I was half expecting her to burst into cartwheels of happiness. "You can ride with me tomorrow. Gajeel's already gone back, so we'll take the train. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, it's fine. What's it like at Fairy High?" I couldn't help it. The best dragontaming school in the country and I had to know what it was like.
"Pretty cool. It's just like your regular school, but we all stay in dorms for the full year. You could say we're one big family." A soft smile formed on her face. "Dragons are part of our everyday lives too. We always have dragontaming sessions in the morning and then regular classes after. The curriculum is pretty tough, but it's manageable. Even slackers like Gray manage to pass with good grades." She paused at my confused expression. "You'll probably meet him in your dragontaming class. He hasn't exactly been able to level up because his dragon is a bit obsessive. He still can't convince her to do anything without him. It's hilarious to watch, because she acts like he's her god or something. It's always about dear Gray or beloved Gray or something like that."
A smile curved my lips upwards as I pictured the poor boy and his obsessive dragon. Levy kept going, telling stories about scary scarlet-haired monster ladies and white-haired matchmaking demons that led the dragontamers' first forest tour. She told me about her experiences and I told her bits and pieces about mine. The longer we talked, the more convinced I became that Fairy High would be a great place to stay, at least for some time.
In the morning I felt better and lighter than I had in weeks. It was a decidedly strange feeling, and I immediately attributed it to the knowledge that I was going somewhere where I could actually be safe. I went through my bath routine, this time without soaking my socks into oblivion, and checked out. Once again, the woman at the front desk was less than thrilled to see me. That may or may not have been due to the fact that she was having a coffee break. I found Levy arguing about her age with a stall manager from the Hargeon market.
"… and I'm telling you, I'm not twelve years old!" Levy's voice was indignantly pissed, her cheeks were flushed, and her bandana had fallen down to her neck.
"Sir, she's with me, and I can assure you that she's eighteen." I decided to jump in before the man could say something he would truly regret. Levy looked seconds away from breaking out whatever magic she used, and I was fairly certain that the manager had no means of defense.
"Of course, miss. My apologies." He gave me a quick nod and I responded with a smile before dragging Levy away.
"Lu! How could you side with that jerk!?" Levy yanked her hand away and furiously adjusted her bandana. I had to stifle a giggle.
"I didn't side with him. I told him what he wanted to hear before making the point of you being eighteen and not twelve." I calmly replied. Levy blinked once, blinked twice, and grinned. It was like she had a violence switch that had just been flipped off. Her change of mood was sudden and unexpected.
"Okay! Let's go, or we'll miss the train and it'll be your fault!" Levy took off at a run that I matched with ease the moment I actually caught up on what was going on. Running for my life had proven to be good for cardiovascular endurance.
"How, exactly, will it be my fault? We agreed that we'd meet at the edge of the market and instead I find you bickering about how old you are." I pointed out, my breath coming in small puffs as I tried to multitask at a near-sprint. Levy rolled her eyes.
"Cause if it's my fault, Gajeel's never going to let me live it down." She shot back and increased her pace even more. Damn, Fairy High must have a good physical education program. I could keep up only because of this little thing called survival, and if I hadn't had a cult on my ass I would've been left in the dust long ago.
"Aha." I liked that word. It was nice and simple.
"I'm actually kind of surprised you kept up with me." Levy ran up the steps to the station platform and slowed to a walk. It was my turn to roll my eyes.
"I've been busy surviving lately." I drawled. She laughed and led the way to a ticket counter, where we both bought passes for the Magnolia-bound train. Settling into an empty compartment, we dropped our bags and settled on opposite sides of the window. The inspector came by and we had our little pieces of paper hole-punched for us. The compartment jolted into action and little wheels moved forward, pushing us away from Hargeon. Levy and I settled into a comfortable silence, both watching the town, and then hills and forests, pass by our window in a flash of colors. I decided to break the quiet with a question that had begun to bug me since we boarded the train.
"Hey, Levy?"
"Hm?" Her hazel gaze switched from the window to me.
"Is there a test I have to take to get into the school?" I asked, suddenly feeling nervous. Any school I'd ever gone to required formal exams and certificates and whatnot to be admitted, but I had no idea what Fairy High would want from me.
"It depends on what program you want to take. Both are free and both include meals, but the dragontamer program is a bit different. If you go with the regular program, you don't need to take any tests - just come in and sign up. For housing, you have to pay a regular rent once a month. It's usually around eighty thousand Jewels, but it's only for seventeen and over." She paused and I nodded to show I was following. "If you choose the dragontamer program, which you should, then the Master will take you into the dragons' forest to see if a dragon takes interest in you. The final say on partnerships is up to the dragons, and you have a week to see if you're picked by a dragon. If you aren't picked, you move to the regular program. If you pass the initiation, then you get free housing until you complete your first job with your dragon. Then you have to pay rent based on where you choose to stay. I'm paying seventy thousand a month right now. You'll probably be able to move into the room next to mine - the person before you graduated last year."
"Huh. That's so…" I searched for the right word and didn't find it.
"Overwhelming?" Levy offered. I shook my head and finally found the word I wanted.
"No, different. The schools I used to go to all required exams to be admitted, and the tuition fees were huge." I leaned my head against the window, which turned out to be a mistake. The shaking of the train tried its very best to knock out my teeth until I removed my head from the glass.
"I don't know how it works, but, if I'm being perfectly honest, the dragontamer partners could keep the school running on their own. We aren't exactly low on money, especially the stronger pairs." Levy made the same mistake as I had, and her head didn't last much longer than mine. I yawned and stretched out on the bench. Even though I hadn't done any heavy lifting in the past few days, being on a train still made me sleepy. I stretched out on the bench and pulled out the Elven Queen finale, determined to finish the last couple hundred pages. Levy followed my lead and pulled out her own books, curling into the corner of her seat and covering her legs with a jacket. The rest of the ride passed in the same comfortable silence.