Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Fairy Tail. All original characters and concepts belong to me. Cover art is property of Kwesi Abbensetts.
"Metalicana!" Gajeel looked up as his father's name was called, warily watching the short man approaching the group of people slowly flooding onto the dock. His wariness turned to confusion as he recognized the man not as one of the fae, but as one of his own countrymen. His white hair was carefully groomed, and his outfit seemed to consist of an eclectic mix of Fioran and Tenrjoujima clothing. He barely came up to Gajeel's chest, but had a large presence that was hard to miss. "How the years have been kind to you!" the man said, laughing happily.
Metalicana grinned widely. "Makarov!" The two men met in the middle of the dock, and Gajeel heard Natsu chuckle loudly as they hugged and Makarov's feet came off the ground. "Brats!" Metalicana yelled once he had set the man back down, and all the Heirs perked up and turned to face him. Juvia snorted delicately at Gajeel's side. "I'd like to introduce you to Ambassador Makarov. He will be helping us work through the negotiations-" Gajeel felt the Heirs look at him "- and make sure you ruffians don't break something with serious cultural significance." Sting huffed, crossing his arms.
"Break an alter one time," he grumbled under his breath, and Metalicana wasted no time in reaching over and cuffing the young Heir upside the head, not looking away from the ambassador.
"How have you been, old friend?" Metalicana asked, still smiling at Makarov.
"I've been well! I see you brought the whole family along!" Makarov looked at all the people coming off the boat, and Gajeel wished he were still still wearing his cloak so that he could pull his hood up and hide from view. They had probably brought more people than socially acceptable; what with nearly all the Heirs coming along, plus their personal handmaidens and servants, and the crew. That was at least thirty people, and Gajeel bit back a groan at Makarov's concerned look.
"Laxus isn't with you?"
Wait, what?
"We weren't able to reach him, I'm sorry," Metalicana said with a small frown. Makarov sighed, shaking his head fondly.
"That boy is far too much like his mother, I swear," he said with a short laugh. "She could never stay in one place for too long, either. Oh well, there's always next time!"
"Excuse me, sir," Wendy chimed in shyly. Makarov turned and smiled brightly at the young woman.
"You must be Wendy! Igneel has told me so much about you!" Wendy's cheeks darkened and she smiled gently.
"Um, pardon me for asking, but how do you know Laxus and the Lady Dreyar?" she asked, and Cobra made an interested noise behind her. All the Heirs turned and gave their attention to the short man.
"Ah yes, I imagine he wouldn't have told you," Makarov said serenely. "You see, I'm Laxus's grandfather." All the Heirs turned to stare at the short man in shock, and though the rest of her expression didn't change, Gajeel could see Juvia's eyebrows shoot up into her hairline.
"No fucking way," Sting said, and this time it was Rogue that reached over and cuffed him across the back of his head. "What!?" the Heir hissed. "We're all thinking it!"
Makarov laughed, and Gajeel distantly wondered what it said about their family that none of this behavior seemed to phase the older man at all. "It's quite alright," he reassured. "I've heard worse."
Wow, that wasn't reassuring.
"I'm sure you're all tired from the journey," Makarov continued, gesturing to the island. The Blood Prince had to stifle his groan. It had been a long journey to say the least; a day's trip by horseback to the shore and two days by ship to reach the island, all while Sting, Natsu, and Cobra were doing their best to drive Gajeel mad. The flight would have only taken a day, but with so much coming with them and too many people to carry, they had to travel on land. "Let's get you all settled in, shall we?"
Metalicana inclined his head towards Makarov, offering his arm to a grinning Wendy. "I'll trust you to lead the way," he told the Ambassador, and they were off.
"Oh, and don't worry about your ship," Makarov called over his shoulder as they stepped onto the actual island, Gajeel's heavy boots sinking into the fine, pale sand. "We'll make sure everything on the boat is secured and moved to the right rooms."
Gajeel felt his lip curl up in a grin as Juvia puffed up, clearly biting her tongue. As first mate on the Drakon, it was typically her job to make sure the ship was well-maintained and cleaned after a long journey like the one from the capital of Fiore to Tenroujima. As long as he'd known her - which was a very long time - Juvia had taken great pride in her ship, and the Blood Prince could only imagine how chuffed she must have been feeling. Gajeel nudged her side with his elbow, leaning down to her height.
"Let them handle it," he murmured. "I need you to come and make sure I don't say something stupid to the princess."
"Isn't that what your cousins are here for?" Juvia whispered back, but didn't hesitate to follow him as the group began to make their way towards the center of the island. Gajeel and Juvia had dropped to the back of the group, and he'd already had to grab Sting and Natsu by the back of their shirts to keep them on the path at least three times each.
Gajeel simply gestured to the two, quirking his eyebrow, and Juvia laughed into her palm. "Point taken."
Gajeel spent the rest of the walk wrangling in his cousins and admiring the scenery. It really was a beautiful island, with lush greenlife decorated with ribbons and wind-chimes, and a more vibrant populace. He had seen drawings of the fae before, and one of Laxus's companions was from the fae's Northern Kingdom, but none of that had prepared him for the people that greeted him now.
They all had tawny skin covered in freckles, darker even than his own, and none of them came up past his eyes in height. There was a startling variance in their wings; some had two sets, one set just about a smaller pair; some had only one pair. They all varied in shape and color, but they all seemed to hang down to the floor. They looked thin and fragile, not nearly strong enough to be able to lift anyone off the ground, but as several fae flew overhead, Gajeel had to admit that they looked rather stable.
He couldn't stop himself from noticing how nearly all of them carried a knife of some sort, and held themselves with an ease and confidence that showed that the rumors of most being trained in combat since childhood were seemingly true. A long-buried part of himself was eager to see how their fighting styles varied from his own, and how well their smaller and lighter frames would hold out against his brute strength-
Gajeel took a deep breath in and focused intently on the architecture of the buildings they passed until he knew the surge of adrenaline had passed.
As Gajeel observed the inhabitants of the island he may very soon be calling 'home', they observed him right back, and he was uncomfortably aware of how many large, vibrant eyes were on him.
"They're all curious to see the princess's new suitor," Cobra intoned from Gajeel's right shoulder, and the Blood Prince jumped in surprise. The other Heir smirked at him.
"Goddamn it, Cobra!" Gajeel growled, punching the snickering man hard in the shoulder. "Don't do that!" Cobra just laughed, seemingly not bothered by Gajeel's punch at all.
"It's not my fault you're being particularly unobservant today," Cobra said with a smirk.
Gajeel growled. "I'm not being unobservant, I'm just-"
"Nervous?"
"I hate when you do that."
"I didn't need to hear your thoughts to know that," the Heir said, and had Gajeel not known Cobra for over ten years, he would have completely missed the concern in the other man's voice. "You're not going to have any skin left if you keep rubbing your neck like that." Gajeel's hand jerked away from his neck and Juvia laughed from his other side.
"Are you going to tell me what they're thinking or not?" the Blood Prince grumbled, refusing to look at either at them. He didn't need to see Cobra's expression to know how smug he was that Gajeel had had to ask him, and he didn't feel like giving him the satisfaction.
"You know I can hear you, right?"
"Erik, I would rather not make my first impression on these people be me trying to commit treason by strangling you where you stand."
Cobra held up his hands in surrender, laughing under his breath. "Just trying to relieve some tension," he placated. "And if you want to know, most people's first thought of you is 'tall'."
Gajeel couldn't help but laugh at that. Even in Fiore, Gajeel stood taller than most of his countrymen, and he had to admit that watching his father - who was the same height as him - try to navigate around the much smaller fae was quickly becoming his favorite source of amusement.
"Is his height really all they're thinking about?" Juvia asked, still laughing under her breath. Cobra shrugged.
"Most of them don't know what to think of him, honestly. They're a little wary of this whole procession; they're wondering if the engagement is just a ruse for our more diabolical plans." Gajeel had to smother a grin. That had been his father and the Titania's plan; arrive in force to show to people just what their princess's marriage into the royal family of Fiore would mean. It was a power show, meant to reassure those who liked Titania Ardelle and her daughter, and a warning to the others.
Mess with the Titania, and the strongest warriors in Fiore would be waiting on your doorstep, claws bared and lips pulled back over sharpened teeth.
Cobra had that faraway look that he typically had when he was trying to listen to several people at once, so Gajeel didn't bother him again, instead striking up a conversation with Juvia and yanking Natsu away from a food cart full of something Gajeel honestly couldn't identify. They followed Makarov into a large courtyard, and the Blood Prince looked up to see the palace looming over them.
He'd seen it from the boat, the large tree that seemed almost comically disproportionate to the island itself with several buildings twisted around the trunk. It was like a large, ornate treehouse, and Gajeel couldn't deny he was excited to see it all from the inside. It was where he may be living soon, after all.
"You'll have to meet with the Titania before I can show you to your rooms," Makarov called out, every Heir turning to meet his eyes. "Tradition and all. It won't take but a moment!"
At the front of the line, Metalicana laughed. "If Ardelle hasn't changed too much from the last time I visited, then we may not see our rooms until after we've eaten," he said with a fond grin, and Gajeel's eyebrows drew together.
"When did you come here last?" he asked. He could vaguely remember meeting Titania Ardelle before when she visited Fiore to renew the pact between the Draygns and fae, back when he was a child. He mostly remembered being struck silent by her beauty and being fascinated by the piercings that decorated her skin. He would beg to sit next to her at dinner, and she would sneak him her desserts and teach him some phrases in the fae's tongue while his parents were distracted.
"It was a bit after your twelfth birthday, I believe," Metalicana said, looking back at Gajeel and nearly crashing into a woman with bright azure wings. The Heirs all muffled their laughter at the king's clumsiness as he quickly apologized - Wendy hurriedly attaching herself to Natsu's side instead to avoid being crushed - and they were soon moving again (Metalicana now sporting a flower in his hair that had been gifted to him by the fae woman). "Anywhom," he continued, glaring at a still-laughing Sting, "you were visiting with your mother's family at the time, which is probably why you don't remember."
Gajeel nodded, trying to remember which trip to the Inland Isles his father was talking about. They all seemed to run together in a blur of sand and salt water, the memories of his mother's laugh haunting each remembered moment. He always felt closer to her when he was by the ocean, and he wondered - not for the first time - if wherever she may be, she was by the water.
Gajeel spent the rest of their walk to the palace squashing the voice in his head that whispered that she probably wasn't near anything. That she was probably dead.
It didn't take much longer for them to reach the base of the large tree, which Makarov had called the Tenrou Tree. Looking up at it from the bottom, the palace seemed even grander than before; vined walkways bridging golden buildings and archways, twisting in and out of the tree itself like a snake. Many fae were flitting from building to building, foregoing the bridges altogether, and Gajeel distantly wondered why they had been built in the first place before realizing that they were probably built for visitors like himself and for residents like Makarov; helping to ease the strain of running around the island without a faery to help them.
They made good time climbing up towards the center of the structure, fae bowing out of the way as they passed, and Gajeel felt nerves begin to make his stomach churn. In a few moments, he could be meeting his future wife, if all worked according to plan. They stopped in front of a large set of carved, wooden doors; skillfully painted to depict a young faery in what looked like meditation, long golden hair curling out around her. Her circlet was a large, gold band actually inlaid into the wood, and there was a single unpainted portion of the door where a cutlass was balanced across the young woman's lap. It fit into the carving like a scar that would never fully go away, but it seemed to be right at home by the faery, and Gajeel wondered if she was the reason the fae were so well known for their extraordinary sword work.
"That's the first Titania of Tenroujima," Makarov said proudly, gesturing to the doors, "Titania Mavis. She was the one who lead the fae to this island and helped them to settle here. She actually designed this castle!"
"She's amazing," Wendy breathed, eyes wide.
Makarov nodded in proud agreement. "Yes, she was quite remarkable," he said, moving to press his hands to the cutlass with a small grimace (Next to him, Cobra laughed into his palm, and Gajeel made a note to ask him about it later).
The doors to the throne room swung open, and Gajeel nearly felt his jaw drop. The room had been placed in a hollowed-out section of one of the twisted trunks of the tree, with several large windows that were carved out to open the room up to the elements, the smell of salt water and coconuts tickling at his senses. The throne was vastly different from the King's Seat back home, which was molded out of the rock from the mountains and inlaid with various jewels. The Titania's throne was more like a nest of pillows in various shades of gold, blue, and green, silks draped over the pillows and over the wall.
The woman lounging in the throne, however, was by far the most impressive thing in the room.
The Titania looked up, and Gajeel dropped to his knee on reflex, feeling his father and cousins do the same. He made sure to bow like their tutor had taught them so many years ago; down on one knee, his hands pressed together like a prayer and his forehead pressed to the sides of his thumbs.
"Your Majesty, Titania Ardelle," Metalicana said in a low, respectful tone. "We thank you for your kindness and hospitality in letting us in your home. Our well-being is in your hands."
Gajeel snuck a look through his hair as the Titania stood up gracefully. Her skin was dark and freckles covered almost every inch, barring the scar that stood out across the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were a stormy grey, and her hair looked several shades darker than Juvia's. It was twisted and plaited into a complex braid, with her golden circlet woven in. She had several golden piercings, each decorated with some sort of jewel, but the one that stood out the most was the wooden earring that hung from her left ear, a colorful feather dangling underneath. Gajeel had the distant thought that if the Princess looked anything like her mother, then there might be hope for this union after all. He kicked out behind him when he heard Cobra snickering at him, a flush moving across the back of his neck. This whole "Hearing people's thoughts" thing was really annoying when you were being the one listened in on.
"King Metalicana, the Tetsuryu of Fiore," she said in reply, her voice a soft, soothing alto. "I welcome you and your company willingly onto Tenroujima; may you find what you seek on her shores."
After a few moments had passed and the old ceremonial words had drifted out the windows and into the blue sky, a bright, wide smile lit up Titania Ardelle's face. "Oh, get up you old fool," she said with a laugh, picking up her skirts so she could cross the room easier. "It's been far too long since we've seen each other for you to keep being so formal!"
Metalicana pushed himself up with a chuckle, easily catching the faery and hugging her tightly. "It's good to see you again, Ardelle," he said, and she returned his tight hug easily.
"Metalicana, you great lizard, if you didn't have such a good excuse I would smack you for staying away so long," she said with a small grin, and Metalicana's laugh rumbled up to the ceiling. The queen's smile dimmed. "I was sorry to hear about your wife," she murmured, taking a short step back to look up into the king's face. "Voeda was a dear friend to me, and I can only imagine how much you must miss her."
Gajeel felt his heart compress in his chest, and he had to press his forehead harder against his hands to stop their trembling. "Thank you, Ardelle," Metalicana said softly. "I know she thought highly of you." A moment of silence was observed for the missing queen, and then Gajeel felt a hand on his shoulder.
When he looked up, Titania Ardelle was standing above him, her smile wide and bright. "Prince Gajeel, it's been ages!" she said. "Oh, and look how you've grown!" She took his hands and tugged until he was standing. It amused him to see how short the Titania was compared to how impossibly large his memories of her made her out to be. Like Makarov, however, it didn't diminish her presence, and she still seemed to take up most of the space in the room.
"Your Majesty, it's an honor to see you again," Gajeel said, bowing his head to her. She returned the gesture, her delicate fist pressed over her heart, and he smiled a bit at the nod to their culture. It was a comfort to him while he was so out of his element and - yes, Cobra - nervous, and his already high opinion of the Titania only grew.
The corners of his smile tightened as he felt Natsu bouncing excitedly next to him, and Gajeel turned and regarded the younger man with a quirked eyebrow. "What? I wanna say hi!" Natsu said with a grin, only lighting up further when Ardelle's attention turned to him.
"Oh, I'd recognize that grin anywhere," she said teasingly. "You must be Igneel's son. He's told me so much about- oof!" The Titania was caught off-guard as Natsu pulled her into a tight hug, being sure to be careful of her wings but not hesitating to lift her into the air and spin her around.
"Auntie Ardelle!"
Gajeel was going to kill him.
"Yup, definitely Igneel's," Ardelle said, laughing breathlessly. She smoothed out her skirts once Natsu set her down (even Natsu was taller than the Titania, and he was the shortest of the male Heirs), and looked to the rest of the group. "Now, let's see if I can guess the rest of you," she said, cocking her hip as she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Rogue, Sting, Cobra, aaand Wendy!" she said, pointing to each Heir as she said their name and looking very proud of herself when no one had to correct her.
"I shudder at the thought of what stories Igneel has been sharing with you that made you so familiar with these brats, despite never meeting most of them," Metalicana muttered, and Ardelle laughed - her smile a bright, warm thing.
"Nothing worse than the stories Iggy has been sharing with you about my child, I'm sure," she said, playfully punching the king's shoulder.
"Ah, true. I didn't believe the story about the tropical storm, though."
Ardelle laughed nervously. "That one is actually true," she admitted, and the humor on Metalicana's face was replaced by surprise and a bit of awe. Gajeel felt nerves churning in his stomach. He sincerely hoped that the princess had simply done something silly during a tropical storm, and hadn't caused it.
"She totally did," Cobra whispered in his ear, and Gajeel would deny the following whimper until the day he died.
"Where is the princess, anyways?" Metalicana asked, clapping his hands together and looking around the room. "I'd feel terrible if we were wasting time gossiping while she was waiting to come in."
The Titania looked at Makarov with a quirked eyebrow. "You didn't tell them about the dinner?" she asked, frowning, and the small man chuckled nervously.
"I was getting to it?" he offered. Ardelle frowned at him, one pierced brow raising even further, and the ambassador coughed awkwardly before turning to the Fiorans. "It's traditional that the family of the intended suitor not meet the princess until dinner," Makarov explained before turning to face Gajeel. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer to meet her, young man."
"That seems a little silly," Rogue murmured under his breath, and this time it was Sting who shushed him. Gajeel couldn't deny that he was a little relieved that he wouldn't have to face the Titania's daughter straight-away. It was hard to make a good first impression while cranky from dealing with his fellow Heirs for three solid days and while smelling of salt water, sweat, and brine.
"Of course," Gajeel said, bowing his head. "We are guests, after all; we'll observe the island's traditions." Ardelle's eyes shined with silent approval, and Gajeel felt his lips pull up in a little smile. If nothing else, it seemed that the Titania still liked him.
"Well, dinner's just after sundown, and I would like to offer you all a tour of the island to help the time pass a little faster!" Ardelle said, gesturing out the window to the colorful island below. Makarov coughed, and she muttered a little "oh!" before her cheeks burned a darker red. "Though, um, I suppose you would like to perhaps settle in a little more before going out. You have just finished a long journey, after all."
Metalicana laughed, and even in the opened room, it seemed to echo. "Those both sound like marvelous ideas, Ardelle," he said, stepping up to the Titania and offering her his arm. "Good to see you haven't changed too much while I was away."
The Titania smiled as she took his arm, somehow still looking larger than life even next to a man twice her size. "The same can be said to you," she teased. She glanced at Gajeel out of the corner of her eye, and Gajeel didn't need Cobra's help to know that she was wondering how much he had changed in the past several years, and if they were all changes for the better.
Levy had known from a very young age that Tenroujima had a consciousness. Hundreds of years of memories and magic had built up over time, and sometimes Levy could believe that the island had more of a personality than some of the inhabitants. Her tie to the island was stronger than her mother's - probably due to the fact that Levy spent more time on the ground, Lucy would tease - and Levy knew that she could always trust that the island would take care of her.
So when she felt a tug in her stomach about an hour or two into her walk, the princess didn't fight it. Instead, she followed the feeling, politely making her way through the busy market. Some of the fae smiled brightly at her, bowing their heads in recognition and calling out hello's. But others simply ignored her, though she could feel their dark looks aimed at her back when she walked away.
Levy kept her head high, ignoring the tears pressing at the back of her throat.
The tugging got more urgent, and she rolled her eyes as she ducked under the feet of a passing faery that was flying overhead, waving and smiling at them. When the tugging suddenly stopped, Levy did as well, looking around.
She had been led to a large square in the market, free of stalls and with a tall fountain at the center. The flowers that floated in the water had a sharp scent, and Levy's nose wrinkled slightly. It didn't take her long to find who the island had been wanting her to find, and she hurried over to the panicked girl standing by the fountain.
"Excuse me!" Levy called, waving and smiling once she caught the girl's attention. She couldn't have been more than fifteen or so, with long hair left loose around her shoulders and wide, brown eyes. If her style of clothing hadn't marked her as a foreigner, than the silver circlet perched on her head certainly did. "Are you alright?" Levy asked softly, quirking her head to the side.
"I…" the young woman started, before sighing. "No, I'm not," she admitted shyly in a heavily accented voice. "I was going on a tour of the island with the Titania, and I got distracted and now I can't find my family. There's too many strange scents here for me to pick out theirs."
"Oh, so you're a Draygn?" Levy asked, and the girl nodded.
"I'm Wendy, Fourth Heir to the crown of Fiore," she said, giving a little curtsy. Levy pressed her lips together to smother her wide smile, and swept into a bow. Wendy seemed to be very sweet, and Levy already liked her.
"Well then Wendy," she said, peering at the giggling girl through her bangs, "you can call me Levy. Would you like me to take you back to the throne room? You can probably meet up with your family there." Wendy's eyes lit up, and she bounced excitedly on her feet.
"Could you? That'd be so helpful," she said with a grin, and Levy smiled, holding her arm out for the younger girl.
"It would be my pleasure." Levy started to lead the Heir through the streets, making sure to take a bit of a scenic route. She had started to point out different points of interest, but it didn't take her long to realize that Wendy was too busy trying to take it all in to listen to her. Wendy seemed particularly interested in the fae, almost running into solid objects several times as she craned her head back to look at the fae that flew overhead. It wasn't hard to figure out how she had been separated from the rest of the group from Fiore.
"How do they keep from crashing into each other?" she asked, awe in her voice, and Levy giggled.
"Instinct, mostly. Though there have been accidents when someone isn't paying attention," Levy admitted with a grin. "What about you? You can fly as well, right?"
"Yes, but I'm too big in my other form to fly between these buildings, and I never figured out partial transformations," the young woman said. "Very few Draygns can do it. My Uncle Metalicana is the only one I know of."
"Not even the Blood Prince?" Levy asked, trying to sound neutrally curious. She felt a little bad for not telling Wendy that she was the princess of Tenroujima, but she might not have spoken candidly to Levy had she known.
Wendy laughed. "Skies no. His focus is better than say, Natsu's, but it's also a born trait. Some have the capability, some don't."
"Like our tails, then," Levy murmured to herself, humming thoughtfully. Wendy's eyes locked onto Levy's tail, watching as it swayed back and forth in time with the swinging of her hips. With a grin, the faery princess flicked her tail up, tickling Wendy's chin with the long hairs at the end and making the young woman laugh in delight.
"It's beautiful," she told Levy once her laughter died down, smiling brightly. Levy felt her cheeks burn with the compliment.
"I- Thank you," she said with a small smile, and Wendy's smile only grew brighter in response. Their conversations flowed easily as they walked, and before Levy knew it, they were passing through one of the markets closest to the base of the Tenrou Tree. The shops here were a bit more expensive than the wares that could be found in the market where she found Wendy, and Levy distantly wondered where her mother had been leading the Fiorians. Probably towards the grounds where their warriors trained.
"Ooooh!" Levy turned and watched as Wendy looked at a jewelry stall with shining eyes. Her fingers hovered over a gold nose ring with a small sapphire on it, and Levy was about to call out to her when the curtain behind the stall was pushed away.
"I don't think you're quite ready for that particular piece, little one," the stall woman said, and Levy grinned.
"Hello Cana!" she called out, waving as she made over to the two. The taller faery came outside, grinning as she leaned against the table holding various pieces of jewelry.
"Good afternoon, aabeila," Cana cooed, reaching over and tugging playfully on one of Levy's loose curls. "Had I known you were giving tours, I would have closed the stall for the day!" Rolling her eyes, Levy rested her hand on Wendy's shoulder.
"It's not a tour," she responded, sticking her tongue out childishly at her friend. "Wendy here got separated from her family and I'm taking her back to the throne room." The younger woman was staring up at Cana in awe, and the princess couldn't exactly blame her. Cana was taller than most of the fae, with long hair half-pulled back in a series of twists and braids, shining in the light of the slowly-setting sun like the sinhalite gems that were set into some of the various pieces on the table. Like all fae, she had several piercings all over - all a brilliant shade of gold and inlaid with topaz gems - but it was only when she turned around to retrieve something from behind her curtain that you could see her most impressive pieces of jewelry.
Four golden hoops lined the top ridges of her wings on either side of her spine, trailing down from just below where they emerged from the dark skin of her back. Wendy inhaled sharply, eyes going wider at the sight of the piercings going right through the delicate, golden membrane of her wings. When Cana turned around she was grinning, and Levy didn't doubt that she had heard the Fioran's little gasp.
"It's a good thing you came around, aabeila," Cana continued, starting to unwrap the package she had pulled out from behind the curtain. "I meant to give this to you at rehearsal this morning, but Matim wanted to give it a second polish and it was either leave without it or be late."
"You were late anyways," Levy said with an exasperated grin, gently ushering Wendy behind the table with her.
"Okay," Cana said with a pout, "late-er." She pulled away the last corner of the fabric wrapping, and Levy smiled brightly. Laying on a swatch of dark velvet was a crystal necklace, several square-cut gems set into a golden frame. It looked like long, flowering vines were holding each stone in place, and after having been thoroughly shined and polished by the best jeweler on Tenroujima, it seemed to radiate glittering light. Wendy cooed over it, her eyes reflecting the light with something that looked like hunger.
"Oh Cana, it looks beautiful!" the princess said with a bright smile. She handed the velvet back to Cana and quickly put the necklace on, clasping it together under her braid with practiced ease. The necklace had originally been her great-grandmother Mavis's; passed down from daughter to daughter as they each came of age. "Tell Cornelia that I said thank you!"
"Tell her yourself," Cana said with a smirk, "she's going to be at dinner."
"You're going to the Titania's dinner?" Wendy asked, finally managing to look away from Levy's necklace. She had been practically hypnotised by the sparkling jewels, and Levy wondered if it was part of her dragon-like nature. Cana shoot Levy a confused look, and she realized that Cana didn't know that she hadn't... enlightened Wendy to the fact that she was the princess. She looked at the other faery with a sheepish smile, trying to convey how important it was that Cana not accidentally reveal who Levy really was. The taller woman seemed to understand her, and looked back at Wendy.
"Of course!" Cana sat down on a stool, her tail flicking behind her as she winked at Wendy. "After all, I am performing there tonight," she said.
"There's going to be a performance?" Wendy asked excitedly, and Levy nodded.
"They're going to be doing some traditional dances to welcome your family and to bless the Blood Prince's potential courtship with the Princess," Levy explained, also taking a seat on one of the crates that was stacked by the backroom of the stall. Levy knew that it led to Cornelia and Cana's workshop, and wasn't surprised when their pet island fox, Kieja, came out and greeted her with a small 'yipp'. "Not to mention there will be music all night, and the dance floor will be opened up to everyone after the main course," she continued, stroking Kieja's fur.
Wendy was practically bouncing in excitement. "It all sounds amazing!" she gushed, and Levy hid her pleased smile behind a few stray curls of hair. She and her mother had been planning this dinner for weeks now, and it was both a large "welcome" party and an opportunity to show off what their little island would be able to bring to this union. Levy's frail wings fluttered under her jacket as Levy got excited for the evening's plans, and she felt nerves slam her anticipation mercilessly back into the ground.
She needed to impress Prince Gajeel, underdeveloped wings or not.
"Okay, so you see the palace?" Levy jerked out of her thoughts and watched as Cana moved to stand behind Wendy, bending her knees until she was at the younger woman's height.
"It's a little hard to miss," Wendy said dryly.
Cana grinned. "Oh, I like her. Can we keep her?"
"I'm sure her kingdom will be wanting her back," Levy responded with a smile.
"Anyways," the taller faery said once she was done pouting at Levy, "you see that big island-looking thing on the top?" Wendy nodded. "There's a large amphitheater carved into the top, with plenty of seating for everyone. That's where dinner will be held."
"Hope you don't have a fear of heights," Levy teased. Puffing out her cheeks, Wendy turned to face the princess with her shoulders back and head held high.
"Sky dragons do not fear any height," she informed the two fae proudly. She pulled back her hair from the right side of her face, revealing a single feather that had been tattooed just behind her ear and trailing down her neck.
Cana leaned forward and whistled lowly. "That's some impressive ink you've got. It mean something?" she asked, and Wendy nodded.
"It's the symbol of my province. I'm from the Eyrie in the Western Mountains of Fiore," Wendy explained, "and it's traditional that when a Draygn or magic-user comes of age, they get one of their province's symbols as a tattoo. This is just the first one!" She bounced excitedly, smiling off into the distance as she was too lost in her daydreams to focus on anything. "Next year for my birthday I'll get another feather done, and then I'll keep adding on on each birthday until it's complete when I'm twenty."
Levy carefully reached over, waiting for Wendy's nod of consent before pushing her long, dark blue hair behind her ear, revealing the tattoo once more. "It's very beautiful," she told the Heir earnestly, admiring the detail that had been put into the small piece of living art. Tattoos on Tenroujima were little more than art, but she supposed that on the mainland, jewelry and piercings were just decorations and bobbles.
"A pretty piece like that shouldn't be hidden away under all that hair of yours," Cana gently teased, ruffling the Fioran's hair and sending her into peals of giggles. "Here, how about I do your hair up Tenroujima-style for dinner tonight! We can use one of the smaller tail cuffs to hold it back."
Wendy lit up at the suggestion. "Really?" she asked. "You would do that for me?"
"Why, of course!" Cana stood and gave Wendy a little curtsey before walking over to the table and inspecting the jewelry she had on display. "Consider it a welcoming gift to visiting royalty."
"Do we have time?" the Heir asked Levy, concern for her family twisting her mouth into a small, nervous frown, and Levy nodded.
"The walk to the throne room is only about ten minutes from here, and Cana's very fast," she reassured. They both turned when Cana made a small, satisfied noise as she held up a wide silver cuff, lapis lazuli carefully laid to look like a faery's wing pattern in the middle.
"How old did you say you were, Wendy?" Cana asked.
"Fourteen?"
"Okay, so silver will still be good," she said with a nod, placing the cuff in Wendy's hand. The Draygn cooed over it, eyes sparkling.
"It's so pretty," she sighed.
"It's yours," Levy said with a smile, looking at Cana and mouthing "I'll pay you back later". Cana happily ignored her.
"Now, come sit in front of me, aabeilen," the jeweler said, sitting in the grass that lined the floor of her stall. "I'll do it up like mine so some of it's still hanging down, how does that sound?"
Wendy scrambled over towards the older girl, making Levy laugh as she perched herself eagerly in front of Cana, practically in her lap. "It sounds perfect! Though, um, what does ay-bay-lin mean?"
"Aabeilen," Levy corrected gently as Cana began to work, easily making several smaller braids and working in some silver ribbon she normally used for wrapping up packages. She carefully wove some of the braids into the younger girl's circlet, securing it with an ease that Levy recognized from the many times that Cana had done her hair over the years. "It means 'little sister'." Wendy's cheeks flushed at the knowledge, and she smiled shyly at the grass.
"Thank you both for being so kind to me," she said softly. "Um, can you answer another question for me?"
"The answer is no, I don't normally hand out free stuff," Cana joked. Wendy laughed quietly, but shook her head slightly.
"No, I… um." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt nervously. "What's the princess like?"
Silence descending thickly on the trio, and Levy felt her throat go very dry. Wendy still hadn't looked up from the ground, and for the first time Levy didn't think of her impending engagement as the prince coming to live on Tenroujima, but as the prince having to leave Fiore.
If this marriage worked out, Levy could be taking away one of Wendy's family members, and the idea made her feel suddenly very dizzy.
Cana was grinning, obviously looking forward to being about to gossip about Levy without the shorter faery being able to say anything, but quickly looked up at the princess for permission. Levy quickly schooled her expression into one of resigned embarrassment, and gestured for her friend to carry on.
"The princess, huh?" she murmured, starting to work all of the smaller braids together with a few larger clumps of hair. "Well, the princess is very kind. She's smart and brave, and more than a little stubborn," Cana said, looking at Levy with a smirk. Levy returned the look with a silent promise to kick her butt later. "She's a lot like her mother, no matter what she may sometimes think, and she's going to make a wonderful Titania someday."
"Is she pretty?" Wendy asked quietly, a small smile on her face after listening to Cana's glowing praise.
"Oh, she's beautiful. Wait until you see her dance tonight, it'll be unlike anything you've ever seen before."
"I just…" Wendy started, fiddling with her shirt once again. "I just hope that she likes Gajeel. Dragons mate for life and I… I don't want him getting hurt."
After a few beats of tense silence, Levy leaned over and rested her hands on top of Wendy's, stilling their nervous fidgeting. The Fioran looked up at her, and Levy smiled. "I'm sure she'll love him," she reassured. "After all, if a girl as sweet as you can be so worried about him, I'm sure he's wonderful."
"Oh, he is!" Wendy said with a wide smile. "He's amazing! He's brave and loyal and funny and smart and he always makes time to go flying with me even when he's busy and-"
"Breathe, aabeilen," Cana said with a laugh, and Wendy's cheeks turned a deep red as she took a deep breath. "This prince of yours sounds great," she reassured, "and I'm sure that he and the princess will be amazing friends." Levy didn't feel like reminding them all that she wasn't supposed to be friends with him, they were supposed to be husband and wife.
"Aaand, done!" Cana pulled her hands away from Wendy's hair, smiling brightly at her handiwork. "Our little sky Draygn is gonna be the talk of the whole island, with all those stars in her hair," the older faery teased, and Wendy was positively glowing.
"Thank you so much!" she gushed, fingering some of the strands that had been left hanging. She stood carefully, almost like she was afraid that she'd undo all of Cana's careful braiding if she stood too quickly. "How does it look?" she asked Levy with a smile, turning to show off both her hair and her tattoo.
"You look wonderful," the princess assured the younger woman with a grin. "Cana did a great job. And now we should be getting you back to the throne room!" Levy stood as well, brushing the dirt off the back of her skirt as her tail quickly flicked back and forth to do the same. "I don't think the Titania wants to deal with a bunch of worried Draygns tearing the island apart to look for you."
Wendy's brilliant smile dropped from her face, replaced by a worried grimace. "Yeaaah," she groaned, rubbing the back of her neck. "We should probably hurry."
"Far be it for me to get in between a young lady and her family of highly-skilled warrior Draygns," Cana said with a laugh, sitting back behind her booth and lifting her hands innocently. She tugged on one of Wendy's loose strands of hair as she and Levy walked out from behind the table, smiling brightly. "See you tonight, aabeilen."
"It was a pleasure to meet you!" Wendy called as she started to follow Levy towards the palace, a new hop in her step as her freshly-braided hair trailed after her.
"Oh! Wait, Wendy!" Cana called out, and both Levy and Wendy stopped. "How good are you at catching things?"
Levy and Wendy shared a confused look. "Fair enough, I suppose," the Heir responded with a shrug. "Why?"
Cana's grin was far too devious for Levy to feel any comfort at all. "Well, tonight during my dance, my partner has two swords she needs to get rid of. I was thinking you could catch them for her," she said with a wink. "Ya know, a little audience participation."
Levy's insistent "No" was easily drown out by Wendy's delighted "Of course!". Wendy looked up at Levy with her lower lip pushed out, but the princess had been on the opposite end of that look far too many times for it to work on her. "Cana, the king would have a heart attack," Levy said. "Not to mention the Titania's reaction."
"It's not like she'd be in any real danger, aabeila."
"They're real swords, bwatehn!"
"Okay, even I know what that last one meant," Wendy said with a small grin, and Levy's cheeks flushed. "You sound like you know a lot about this dance of hers."
Levy frowned. "Well of course I do, I'm her partner," she said with a wave of her hand, realizing her mistake only after Wendy had stationed herself at Levy's side, a wide smile on her face.
"Pleeease, I promise I won't miss!" Wendy begged, eyes shining at the prospect of being a part of the excitement. Levy grimaced, tugging nervously on her ear. It had been hard enough to convince her mother to let her use her dual sabers in the first place; Levy couldn't imagine how much trouble she would be in for throwing two sharp blades at a table full of visiting royalty and praying that the young woman in front of her would be able to catch them by the hilt.
"Aabeilen, catch!" Cana suddenly yelled, holding a walking stick she had snatched from the stall next to her own (judging by the red-faced faery yelling at the taller woman and gesturing at his table wildly). She tossed the stick through the air, and Wendy didn't even look over as she caught it easily at the base, her hand shooting out in a movement almost too quick for Levy to follow. She twisted the walking cane in lazy circles around her wrist, never breaking eye contact with Levy, still smiling brightly.
Levy frowned at them both. "You're both awful," she told them with a pout, "and if the king takes my head off for throwing sharpened blades at one of the Heirs, I will blame you two." She snatched the walking stick from Wendy with a rueful smirk, lightly tapping the young woman on the top of her head before tossing the stick back at the merchant Cana had borrowed it from, calling out an apology. He simply huffed at them, and Levy winced as he slammed the stick back onto his table with a resounding 'crack'!
"Now, let's get you back to the throne room before you two talk me into any other ridiculous plots," the princess said, gesturing for Wendy to follow after her as she waved good bye to a still-grinning Cana. The Heir trotted happily in front of her, her newly-braided hair swinging behind her like a tail, and Levy wondered if Wendy would still look as happy when she discovered later tonight that Levy was the mysterious Princess that might take her Blood Prince away from her. The idea made guilt turn her stomach sourly.
In the grand scheme of things, a scolding from her mother was a price the princess would gladly pay for the chance to give the young Heir at least one good memory of this island.
Aabeila (ay-bye-lah) - beloved sister
Aabeilen (ay-bye-lin) - little sister
Matim (ma-tim) - Mother (borrowed from Atlantis)
Bwatehn (Bwah-ten) - Idiot
So this chapter is only vaguely edited, but I'm still pretty happy with it, and it's close enough to the month mark that I don't feel guilty lol. I'm really enjoying being able to explore this world and the way these two cultures meet and mix together. There's going to be a lot of world building and exposition in this fic, and I'm always happy to answer any questions you have about the world (save for spoilers of course!). Also, the translations for some of the terms in the Fae's language will always be at the bottom, so if you see something and can't work it out with context clues, just scroll on down and there it is! I'm having way too much fun with being able to come up with this whole language, it's so much fun!
I'm so thankful to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this fic so far! It's great to see so many people excited to see where this au will go, and it's super encouraging! Thank you so much!
The next chapter probably won't be out in as timely a manner as this one, and there's a few reasons for this. 1) I really want to try and update nest fic in the next couple of weeks. I want to get the Edolas arc started up. 2) Unlike this chapter, I don't have anything started for the next chapter yet. This chapter was half-written when I posted the first chapter, and this time I have to start from the very beginning. These chapters are seeming to stay at a pretty consistent 6k-8k length, and that takes a while to write. And 3) the next scene is honestly more suited for visual media like animation. It's going to be interesting to see if I can pull it off.
tldr: The next chapter will most likely be out in June instead of May. Thank you all in advance for your patience!
Remember, reviewing encourages me to work faster *double pistols and a wink*