Hello my beautiful readers!
I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for being so understanding of the late update last week. I would also like to thank all of my reviewers, you guys are beyond incredible. I'm not a very experienced writer, but it's something I love and you guys saying you love my story makes me feel so big inside. And for those of you haven't reviewed, DON'T BY SHY! If you do enjoy the story, tell me what you enjoy about and I'll try to put more of that in the later chapters.
I have also decided what I'm going to do with this story. At first, the whole 'fairy tail characters as youngsters' idea was going to be for maybe three chapters, but it's getting to be longer than that. So, I decided this will be a prequel series to the actual one when they're all grown up. That way when this is done, I can immediately get the sequel out and we get to the good stuff. Tell me what you think!
PLEASE ENJOY!
I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's beautiful characters, Hiro Mashima has that great honor.
She didn't see Juvia after that.
More nurses and came and tended to her for several more days; at least, she thought it was days. It was hard to tell since she was staying in a room with no windows, and was always kept well-lit by the fireplace and torches that hung over her bed post.
The nurses had been kind, of course; offering her soothing words when she had flashbacks and being extra careful with her bandages. But she felt like she had found something of a friend in Juvia, which was absurd because she'd only ever had one conversation with her. It may have had something to do with the fact that they were so close in age, she didn't know.
Most of her wounds were healed; her minor cuts and burns had begun to fade, and the wound on her forehead was closing up so she no longer needed a bandage wrapped around her head. Her shin and the bottom of her feet were far less tender, she found she could walk around the room as long as she moved slowly and didn't put too much pressure on her heels, where the burns were worst.
She still needed the layer of bandages around her stomach in case it reopened. She had been given different clothes; a pale yellow dress that she had to roll up to keep the sleeves from covering her hands, and some slippers. She rarely ever bothered to put on the slippers; there was barely any need to leave her bed unless she wanted to eat at her small table or use the chamberpot that occupied the opposite corner. The rest of the time, she either slept or thought.
When she had first awoken, the incredible contentment she had felt at the very thought of not having to die had drowned out all other emotions. But as time passed that happiness slowly diminished and more realistic emotions for someone in her situation settled in. Her life had ended even if she was still alive. She would never again wake up to the warm woodsy smell of home. She would never get to press her face into her mother's soft apron when she was hugging her, or have her father raise her high above his head so she could 'fly' in their small home. And she could never tear through the marketplace in pursue of her friends, who always managed to stay ahead of her on their longer legs. She had been able to make up for it though when it was their turn to catch her; crawling under the vendor's stands, just avoiding their reach. All of that was gone now.
She gathered herself into a tight ball, wrapping her small arms over her knees and holding them to her trembling chest. Her chin rested on top of her knees and a single tear appeared through the curtain of bangs that covered her closed eyes.
She was so lonely.
And she was bored. As beautiful as the small room was, with it's lovely bedspread and simple yet elegant furnishings, it did little to appease her ever-increasing rise of boredom. What she really yearned for was a good book, but she was at the point where a fly would interest her; she would listen to it hum until it drove her crazy and she would have no choice but to maneuver around the room until she caught it.
She wiped away the salty trail the tear had left and threw her legs over the bed, slipping her bare feet into the slippers. She would just go out for a look, just enough to see the hallway and then head back before anyone noticed. She grabbed the handle and turned it, slightly pleased that it wasn't locked. She stepped outside the door and closed it as quietly as she could behind her.
She was surprised at how dark it was in the hallway, which only had a few torches hung on the walls providing minimal light. She was fairly sure it wasn't night, though there weren't any windows to check. She took a few more steps towards the center and started walking off to the right. The eerie glow of torches and iron weapons that were hung up prompted her to walk faster and faster, and she kept getting the weird feeling that she was being watched, she found herself glancing over her shoulder several times.
She soon reached the end of the hallway, there were two separate corridors that branched off to the right and left. She took a final glance behind her and stepped into the right one. She gasped as she was hit by a force that knocked every ounce of breath out of her and sent her sprawling towards the floor. Before she hit a blur of pink sped by her vision and a hand clamped over her shoulder and mouth. She let out a muffled squeak as she was pulled back into the previous corridor and felt her attacker's strong chest panting heavily against her back as they pressed against the wall. She tried to scream but the hand was clamped so heavily down on her mouth she couldn't get a peep out. She tried pulling at the arm wrapped around her but it just tightened around her.
A loud clanging sound made her stop and she felt the person behind her stiffen. She could hear metal clanging together and a large dark figure ran down the right corridor and into the left one, completely passing them both without stopping. She felt them relax behind her and their grip loosen on her mouth. Not wasting the opportunity, she bit as hard as she could on one of the fingers. The person let loose and very unattractive scream and shoved her away.
She landed on her knees and spun around. A boy with a messy and unkempt head of pink hair met her gaze. He clutched his right hand with his other one and stared at her with dark,scared eyes as if she were a feral animal with a bad case of rabies. His pale trousers were stuffed carelessly into brown leather boots, and a white scarf was draped over a red tunic.
She pressed her hands against her knees and stood up. She was just about to ask the boy who he was when the loud clanging returned again. The boy looked towards the noise and stiffened again, before glancing around frantically as if looking for an escape. A giant figure appeared in the entrance of the hallway, casting a shadow along the stone floor. Levy understood the boy's fear now, the man was huge! Large silver armor covered the majority of his massive body, save his dark face. And a long scar stretched across his right eye, incredibly pale against his skin. His crimson eyes were darkened in a fiery storm of anger as he focused a glare that made Levy want to whimper on the boy.
He reached the boy in two quick strides, grabbed a fistful of his pink hair and yanked him up until his toes barely skimmed the floor. "What the hell did you think you were doing, Natsu! Was burning down one village not enough for you? You had to burn us down as well!" He gave the boy an angry shake. "And on top of that, when Gajeel confiscates your catapults you saw fit to fill his boots with horse dung! Horse dung! It took me nearly an hour to convince him not to have you loaded into a catapult!"
A tiny snort escaped Levy's lips before she could halt it's release, and she raised a hand to her mouth. The man turned towards her, the fire in his eyes dying as he regarded her in surprise. "Well, it seems our little guest is at least recovering." He stated calmly. He let the boy go and shut his eyes, holding the bridge of his nose. "Natsu, I'll speak with you later, I've got more important matters to attend to then deciding on your consequence." The boy dashed off, rubbing his now undoubtedly sore head.
He opened his eyes, scanning Levy up and down with interest. A small smile crossed his lips. "You look better." He stated.
Levy stared at the floor, "I feel better."
"Well that's a rather good thing to hear. It's been more than a week since you came to us, I was starting to wonder if you were going to make it."
Levy's eyes widened, had it really been that long? She let her eyes wander up to meet the man's, they were a lot kinder now; the previous anger that set them ablaze had faded. "I'm Levy." She blurted out.
He smiled, and held out his hand, which Levy took. "It's a pleasure, Levy. Call me Lily." His hand practically swallowed hers with it's large size.
Recognition flashed in her eyes as he released her hand. She straightened up and bowed her head until it touched her chest. "Um, one of the nurses, Juvia, she told me you saved me! I can't thank you enough, really!" She sputtered, arching her back.
He raised a scarred brow in confusion, "Juvia, you say, that can't be right she isn't a-"
"DAMNIT, LILY!"
The huge voice bellowed through the corridor Lily had just come from and against the walls, almost vibrating them with their volume. Levy let out a tiny whimper and covered her ears. She was shocked at how calmly Lily was: calmly turning around with nothing but an exasperated grimace on his face.
A large boy stormed out in front of them, with short, spiky black hair and crimson eyes so ablaze Levy thought she might get burned from just looking at them. Small metal studs replaced nonexistent eyebrows, and he wore a set of armor extremely similar to the dark man in front of her. Though Levy noticed, with a shred of amusement, he was, indeed, very notably bootless.
"Forget the damn catapults, Lily! When I get my hands on that runt I'm gonna rip his head off and use it as a ball!" He outraged, throwing his hands into the air.
Levy peered curiously out from behind Lily's leg, and the boy noticed her for the first time. His crimson eyes locked onto hers and she lowered her head to try to escape his gaze that nearly froze her in place.
"Sir Lily," Levy jerked her head up at the sound of the familiar voice. Juvia came dashing down the hallway and came to an abrupt halt several paces behind the large boy. "Juvia checked the study; it hasn't burnt to the ground but there's charred wood everywhere from where the barrel when it hit the wall." She panted, resting her hands on her knees. The disappearance of Juvia's nurse outfit was the first thing Levy noticed. In its place was a dark leather vest over a night blue garment with sleeves that reached just below her wrists. She wore a matching colored skirt that came down to just above her knees, and Levy could faintly see the navy stockings that peeked out of black leather boots.
"Ya see?" Gajeel threw his arm in Juvia's direction. "He's gonna burn the whole country to the ground at this rate!"
"I am not!" a whiny voice traveled from behind Levy. "I had a target set up in the courtyard, it's not like I missed!" Levy turned her head over her shoulder to see the boy - Natsu - stomping towards them, acting similar to a child in the process of a fit.
"YOU! I'M GONNA DESTROY YOU!" Levy felt Lily's hand fasten onto her shoulder an instant later; pulling her out of the way of a very angry Gajeel.
Levy watched in disbelief as he literally lunged at the poor boy and the two ended up in a pile of squirming, spastic limbs as punches were thrown and she was pretty sure that one of them bit the other. Lily released her shoulder and strode forward to grab each boy, Natsu by the back of his tunic and Gajeel by his hair, and attempted to wrench the two boys from each other.
Levy felt another hand touch her shoulder, and turned to face a smiling Juvia, who gave her a forced smile. "Maybe Juvia should take Miss Levy back to her room."
I honestly only imagine Gajeel with eyebrow piercings; don't know why, just do. Anyway Natsu lives with Gajeel even though the other dragon slayers and their kids rule over separate areas of Kurogane, with Metalicana, well I guess Gajeel now, as king. Sorry if this chapter doesn't live up to your expectations; I've been doing a lot of serious stuff and I just wanted to lighten the mood. Sorry about not being very long, either. Like I've said, I've been busy. I'll try to get a longe