The second chapter has been completed! Oh my god that took longer than I thought it would, but I'm so glad it's done :) Sorry for it being a little late and not very long. I've had an extremely busy week and haven't been able to write nearly as much as I want to. It's gonna be longer next time, I promise. Don't forget to review and tell me your opinion of the story! Please Enjoy!

I FORGOT THIS PART LAST TIME :( :( :( :( I'm so embarrassed! (cries in corner of shame!)

I am not worthy of claiming that I own Fairy Tail of any of it's beautiful characters, Hiro Mashima holds that great honor.

Gajeel was fed up with that knight.

He leaned further into his horse as it shredded through the frozen woods. Thundering down the trail and leaping over logs now covered in the frosty white powder.

Metalicana had only been missing for a month, and he was already behaving like his bloody father.

It was snowing now, tiny flakes that almost danced together in the wind, blowing straight into his face and shoving its icy fingers down his back. If he froze to death out here, Lily would more than likely just blame it on the fact that he hadn't brought a thick enough cloak.

Lily had told him to practice hunting, but there was no damn way any animal with any trace of sense was out in this cold. Besides, the wind messed with his senses, blowing scents around until it gave him a bloody headache. Once in a while he would get a whiff of something but before he could even decide what it was, much less its location and whether or not it was edible or if it could be skinned, the wind whisked it away.

Your father has been missing for a while now, Gajeel, as much as I regret saying this, we need to start assuming that the worst has happened. So until further notice you're going to have to pick up your father's duties until he can return. It's your responsibility as a member of the royal family, not to mention your father's sole heir.

His grip tightened on the reigns. Lily's words kept replaying themselves over and over in his head. He kept lecturing him on responsibility, yet treated him like a toddler who needed to be scolded by his mother. 'Go freeze your ass off in the cold, Gajeel. Fix your sloppy defense stance, Gajeel. Don't rip the head off of Igneel's brat's body. I'm sure he didn't mean to burn down half a village with his bloody flamin' catapults.'

"Bloody misfire my ass." he murmured.

He was just going to ride for a little more, and then go back. Not even Lily could put up a good argument if he told him he couldn't find anything; just as long as he'd spent an appropriate amount of time out. A strong scent of smoke hit him like a sword's pommel to the stomach, throwing him into a coughing fit.

How was there so much smoke? The only town wasn't for a little ways to the North. Besides, judging by the amount of smoke, the fire had to be quite large, and there's no way any sane villager would light such a large fire near a village. All it would take is a strong gust to blow it over near even one house, and it wouldn't take long for the whole place to start on-

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

Gajeel didn't know what it was but something was telling him to follow the scent. If his senses were right, which it usually was in situations that counted, then there was definitely something wrong. The closer he go to the village, the stronger the scent of smoke. And something else, an almost hidden scent that had confused him at first but now he was completely positive.

He was smelling blood.

He urged his horse faster, he could feel his shoulders tensing up as he got closer and closer. The smoke was visible now; whispering around the trees like some kind of haunted fog. The soft pale glow of the moonlight gave it an even more ghostly appearance.

He burst through the treeline only to be faced with what most would call 'a living Hell'.

Every single house was now on more than a mere pile of ash. Dead bodies littered the streets as if a horrendous plague that had hit full force upon the town. The stench of blood and smoke tainted the air, and cruel slash marks were visible in some of the dead bodies. It made even Gajeel's stomach uneasy.

He slipped his right foot out of the stirrup and swung himself off his mount, ignoring the 'splash' when his boot descended onto a pool of blood. He gathered the reins into his hand and made his way around. He knew it was a complete waste of time to look for survivors, but it would be worth it if he found out what dumbasses had decided to conjure up their own death wish by destroying this village.

Something caught the corner of his eye and he fixed his gaze on an oak tree a little ways to the East. He could make out the body of someone who'd been strung up and hung over one of it's branches. No, their hands were over there head, so they hadn't been hung, they'd just been tied up.

He made his way over to the tree and towards the body. The moonlight reflected off the strung up victim, so Gajeel could just make out her features. Yes, he was quite sure she was a girl with her slight build. She stank of blood and burnt flesh. She was unconscious, but he could just make out the faintest of heartbeats.

He stuck his foot into the tree, an audible 'click' was heard as his boot's spikes embedded themselves into the icy bark. He scaled up the tree and swung his legs over the sides of the branch. He bent down until his cheek nearly pressed against the wood and grabbed onto her wrist. He was surprised at how completely frozen her fingers felt against his skin. How the hell was this girl not dead yet?

Keeping a firm hold of her wrist, Gajeel used his free hand and unsheathed his dagger from his belt. He placed the dagger on the rope and began sawing back and forth in a grooving motion. He grunted as the last of the fibers gave way, and the girl's complete weight bent his back slightly. 'Good thing she's such a lightweight', he thought pulling her up towards him.

He pulled her up onto the branch and wrapped his arms around her to keep her balanced. Her head rested almost comfortably against the crook of his neck, and he could feel her heart weakly beating against his chest. He looked down, they were a good twenty feet above ground. The idea that he could jump down and escape injury would certainly be doubtful, even more so with a half dead girl in his arms, but it was definitely less humiliating than scooting backwards on his ass so he could climb down.

He sighed, screw it.

Drawing his feet to his thighs, he pressed his feet against the bark and pushed back until his back hit the trunk. He let go of her with one hand and stabbed the dagger into the trunk. He pushed off the the branch and slid down the side of the trunk.

When his boots hit the ground, he sheathed the dagger and hoisted her over his shoulder. Thankfully his horse hadn't run off while he'd been in the tree. He grabbed the horn of the saddle with his free hand and inserted his foot back into the stirrup, swinging himself back into the seat. He eased her off his shoulder in a position so her body was facing him, her head once again rested in the crook of his neck.

He urged his horse into a canter back into the woods, once they were back on the trail he pulled back into a walk. He stared down at the small girl; she couldn't have been more than eight with her tiny size. She had tiny cuts etched into her face, the largest was a cut on her forehead that was coated in dried blood. Other than those injuries, and the fact that she was cold as death, her skin was extremely soft and felt, surprisingly, good against his neck, if it weren't threatening to give him hypothermia. And her hair was, surprisingly, blue. Kinda like she was born out of a piece of sky. He smirked at the thought.

She started to make tiny whimpering sounds that sent chills down his neck. He shifted in his seat, who was this girl? And why the hell had she been the only one spared?

This question drifted in the back of his mind until they'd reached the front gates. There, in dim light of the torches scattered along the iron gate, he could dimly see a very displeased knight was positioned just outside, with a very unamused expression painted across his dark face.

"Where in the hell have you been!" he outraged, marching over towards him. "What have I told you about wandering off- Gajeel, who is that?" his eyes had diverted from Gajeel, and had now locked themselves on the girl. "Gajeel, care to explain yourself?" his eyes locked on him once more, a scarred brow raised.

He met his amber gaze with red ones, "There's been an attack on one of the villages, she's the only one I found who hadn't been the slaughtered by the bastards."

Lily erased the distance between them with a few quick strides, snatching the girl off the saddle. "My god, he said, cradling her the way a mother might do for her newborn. "Is she even alive?"

"Yeah, I can hear her heartbeat; it's pretty damn weak, though."

He shifted the girl in his arms, his eyes not once leaving her. "Put the horse away, I'm taking her inside." He rushed off into the castle, leaving Gajeel to do as he was told.

He groaned and trotted into the now opened gates. He dismounted and handed the reigns to a wide eyed stable boy, who had just witnessed the whole scenario. "Don't ask." he murmured. The boy answered with a quick nod and clutched the reins in his pale hands.

He walked into the palace, his knew his boots were probably trailing in snow and blood onto the cobblestone floors, which the nurses would probably throw a collective fit about, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He rounded the corner into the Solar. Inside the girl was lying on a sofa while Lily poked at the wood of the fire.

Her burns were a lot more serious than he had originally assumed. Her shin, palm, and the bottoms of her feet were the worst, and she had several smaller burns on her arms and legs. And there was a lot of blood coming from her stomach, the cloth of her tattered dress was completely stiff with the stuff.

He reached down towards her stomach and held the fabric tightly with both hands. Ripping it from the top of her ribcage to her abdomen. He heard Lily step behind him, probably to cuff him over the head. "My god." He murmured under his breath. Gajeel felt his throat tighten.

This little girl had the Phantom Lord emblem carved into her stomach.