I'm sorry there's been a lot of late updates recently but I'm really trying to stick to a schedule from now on. I've just been busy and not feeling all that well and haven't gotten around to writing as much as I want to. I hope that you guys enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Please leave a review because I love hearing from you guys so much and I hit like an inspiration jackpot when you do review and I write a whole lot. Feel free to tell me what you like about the story and I'll try to put more of that in there. Please enjoy!
I am not worthy of claiming ownership to Fairy Tail or its gorgeous characters, Hiro Mashima holds that incredible honor.
"Again."
Gajeel's breath came in short pants and his hands found his knees as he tried desperately not to keel over. Sweat trickled down his brow, causing a few raven strands to cling stubbornly to his forehead, which was crazy because it was the middle of winter and he shouldn't be sweating when it was so damn cold out.
Natsu was lying on his back several feet away. His arm wrapped around his midsection where Lily had mercilessly struck him with Bustermarm's hilt. Crimson Lotus still clutched in his gloved hand, the scarlet blade partially concealed in the white, fluffy powder. He released a ghost of a laugh. Of course, it would be his pansy-ass cousin who would name his sword after a flower.
Gajeel readjusted his grip on Karma Demon before charging Lily, swinging low in a steep arc that would have detached the legs of any normal man. Unfortunately, Lily didn't fall into the category of normal. Or anywhere even considerably near it. Moving like the exotic cat cat he was named for, Lily easily sidestepped the attack and spun on his heel before slamming the hilt into the center of Gajeel's back.
Gajeel gasped as the shock and pain from the blow traveled through his body in waves, he could barely even get his mind to register what had happened before he landed face-first in the slush, the freezing snow soaking his neck did little to aid his now sore back.
"Honestly, you boys have the energy to nearly kill one another on a daily basis but this is really the best you can do without unlocking your dragon form? How disappointing." He could almost feel the grin Lily was undoubtedly directing at him, and he mumbled a few choice words into the snow before pushing himself up. This was beyond ridiculous! He was practically the king of Kurogane, and yet he was, getting beaten like a dirty carpet. He cursed under his breath as the slush started to trickle down his back in frozen icy droplets.
They'd been practicing for over two hours, each taking a turn at sparring with Lily. He hated days like this, at least when he fought Natsu he knew he could land a good few blows. With Lily, that was basically impossible. A figure came into his peripheral vision, and he turn his head towards an approaching Juvia.
"Sir Lily! Juvia needs to talk to you!" The bluenette's cheeks were flushed, and he could hear her heart hammering in her chest even when she was across the courtyard. Whatever it was she to inform Lily about, it was clear she'd been running for a while, not doubt trying to find the knight who had yet to break a sweat as he pommeled him and Natsu.
Lily glanced over his shoulder at the girl before turning his attention back to them. "You boys can go, the last thing I need is to have you both catching a cold."
Gajeel wanted to retort that if he didn't want them to get sick, he shouldn't have gone out of his way to throw them both repeatedly to the frozen ground. That would only earn him an ass kicking, so he sheathed Karma Demon instead and followed Natsu back into the castle.
"Am I the only one who noticed that Lily was having a bit too much fun today?" Natsu asked, still rubbing his sore side.
"Please, with the pathetic way you fight, I'd be tempted to beat you too." He scoffed at his cousin, who returned a glare of his own.
"The way I fight? Please, you should see yourself," He lowered his voice in a mock impression of Lily's. "Gajeel, is that supposed to be an attack, or do you have a swarm of bees in your face."
Gajeel growled and reached out to cuff him over the head, but only snatched at air as his cousin tore down the corridor, laughing over his shoulder. He was really starting to get tired of that kid. He could handle being raised with his younger cousin, but it was the obsession with weapons, particularly ones that had been lit on fire, and the constant mishaps that had him often questioning whether or not Natsu had a cabbage for a brain that had Gajeel resisting the urge to strangle him.
He had a servant draw a bath for him once he got to his chambers, and within minutes he was soaking in the near boiling water. He pondered about what Juvia had been in such a rush to tell Lily about. He smirked as his mind traveled to several years ago when he'd first met Juvia, a scrawny kitchen girl at the time. She'd always been far too nosy for her own good, always keeping an ear out whenever she completed a task. Whether it was listening to the cooks gossiping amongst themselves, to listening in on Metalicana himself whenever she was nearby.
He'd ended up catching her in the act, finding her leaning up against the door that led into his father's private study, one ear pressed against the door. He'd known his father was in a private meeting with Lily, which meant everyone not including those inside must stay away, far away, until their discussion was finished. He told her he wouldn't speak a word of it to Metalicana if she would find out what happened in the meetings.
It turned out that the majority of the meetings were based around one topic; war. Gajeel had known that other countries in the continent of Fiore had their sights on the vast lands that made up Kurogane, but he hadn't expected the number to be so high. The greatest complication on the matter was that they were sneaking onto Kurogane lands, and building their forces under their noses.
He'd finally admitted to his father about Juvia spying for him, but instead of punishing them, it had given Metalicana a perfect plan. Juvia was to go to countries that Metalicana found suspicious and pose as a servant until she could clarify the situation about whether or not that country was preparing to attack. It worked like a charm really, and it had saved a lot of headaches for Lily and Metalicana.
He stepped out of the porcelain tub, dripping across the marble floor. There was a black tunic and trousers waiting on his iron poster bed, which he quickly threw on. He left his armor in a heap in the corner for the servants to clean up later. He pulled on his boots before snatching Karma Demon up from the pile, and set it on his desk before exiting.
He wanted to find Lily, or maybe Juvia. It didn't matter as long as he could find out why Juvia had been in such a rush to talk to Lily.
"All you have to do is load light the barrel, like this, and then pull that lever right over there!"
"Oh, I-I see."
He immediately recognized the louder voice to be Natsu's, but the other one, much quieter and shy sounding, was far more difficult to place. He was sure he'd heard it before.
He turned a corner to discover Natsu talking with the tiny bluenette from the village, but his focus wasn't on either of them, it was on a large, wooden object. An object that he distinctly remembered had been locked up in the stables along three others. Upon seeing him his pink haired cousin turned around to fully face him.
"Hey, Gajeel! You met Levy? I like her more than you." His cousin declared, an idiotic grin plastered to his face. He gestured back towards the girl.
Gajeel growled and grabbed his cousin by the front of his tunic. " What the hell did I say about the damn catapults, Natsu!" he shook him several times. Natsu offered him a pouting look in return.
"I wanted to show Levy them, though," he wriggled out of his grasp and wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders, much to her obvious discomfort. "She's nice and only a year younger than me," he smiled at her before glaring at him. "Not to mention, she's actually interested in my ideas."
"Come up with an idea that ain't completely idiotic and a danger to everyone present, and maybe I will be." He growled back, ignoring his cousin's enraged glower and training his gaze on the little girl, Levy, he'd called her? He'd only seen her once after the attack, but hadn't really gotten a close look. It was impossible to guess she was only a year younger than Natsu, who'd turned eleven in the summer. After all, she barely came up to his chest. Her jagged blue hair that had nearly swallowed her head was now tied down with a black cloth, he had to admit it did draw attention to her golden brown eyes, which were locked on her feet. Her wounds were disappearing, he couldn't even see the nasty cut on her forehead anymore.
Gajeel sighed, and turned his attention back to Natsu. "I want those things out of here, Natsu. If I see them again I'll turn them into firewood." He growled before turning away, he had better things to do than handling Natsu right now. He nearly bumped into Juvia as he turned the corner. Damn, how many people was he going to run into in this corridor alone?
"What was it you needed to tell Lily about?" he walked past her and glanced behind his shoulder to make sure she was following, which she was.
She trotted a few paces forward so they could walk side by side. "It's not too important, Sir Lily will probably talk about it with Gajeel later."
She gave him a strange look, and Gajeel turned to fully face her. "What?" he growled.
"Gajeel needs to work on not glaring at people, it was making Levy uncomfortable."
"I wasn't glaring at her," he scowled. "The hell gave you that idea?"
"Gajeel glares at everyone. He does it so often that he forgets he's doing it himself." She explained to him like she was explaining something to a small child.
He glowered at her for a few more moments, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know that Juvia?"
"Juvia's well aware of this." She replied calmly, before flashing a smile and walking off in the opposite direction with a bit too much spring in her step for his liking.
He growled under his breath as he watched her leave. He was too tired for this, and his back still hurt. He needed a nap, he decided; stretching his arms over his head.
He saw Levy again the next day. It was strange since he hadn't even heard her walking near his door when he opened it and saw her several paces ahead, practically floating on her tiny feet instead of walking. He could tell by the hesitation in her steps that she was lost, and it was strangely amusing whenever her head would slightly turn to the side in obvious attempt to figure out where she was.
He quickly caught up to her and reached to tap her shoulder to get her attention, but fate would have it that she turned around at the last moment and he ended up prodding the soft pink flesh of her cheek instead.
"Ah! Prince Gajeel! I'm so sorry I didn't see you there, it's just I got lost and I-" she stammered, looking again at her feet.
Gajeel arched an eyebrow in confusion; the hell was she apologizing for?
"S' fine," he interrupted. "What are you looking for?"
"Well Juvia said if I needed anything to do there was a library around here but I'm not quite sure where."
He retrained a snort from escaping, the library was on the other side of the castle. He hadn't been there in so long he'd almost forgotten about it.
"Come on," he said, walking past her. When she didn't follow he turned around, a confused expression as on her face. "If I tell you where it is you'll probably just get lost again," he shrugged his shoulders.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, it was strange. He didn't have anything to say to her, and it was next to impossible to guess what she was thinking. She seemed to take great interest in her feet, though. Every time he cast a glance towards her her eyes were always planted there.
They reached the library after a while. It was one of the tallest rooms in the castle next to the great hall. Colossal bookcases reached up to the ceiling, all overflowing with more books than he could count. Light streamed in through the windows, and a large stone fireplace kept the room warm. Red velvet sofas were scattered in the middle. A layer of dust covered the majority of the room, proof that no one had entered in a while.
"It's beautiful," a whisper escaped the girl's lips. He smirked down at her, her eyes were shining as if pieces of stars were embedded into their depths.
"Aren't girls supposed to be interested in dresses and stuff?" he asked her, slightly cocking his head to one side.
She smiled up at him and he felt his throat tighten. It was insane for him to be thinking this but with her eyes shining like gold and the warm glow of her cheeks, she looked like damn angel in that moment.
"Maybe, but a dress is just an object, a pretty thing that's only exciting the first time you wear it. After that you get more bored with it every time you put it on. With books you can never have the same experience twice; it's always changing every time, even if the words don't. I'll take an eternal adventure over an unchanging garment any day." She smiled again and went over towards the nearest bookshelf. Gajeel watched her the entire time. 'An eternal adventure, huh?' he smirked again, 'sounds interesting.'
That last part took waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long to write. I kept deleting it over and over and was finally left with this. It hope you all enjoyed and, as always, PLEASE REVIEW!