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Gajeel didn't think he would ever get to see sleep but he finally managed, even if it was only a few hours sleep. He sat up and saw PantherLily stirring as he got up. Looked like he managed to get some sleep as well. The dragon sat there and rubbed his head. How long was he going to have to continue with this farce?
The two got dressed and opened the door to their room. The hallways were still dark even in the daytime. PantherLily hopped up on Gajeel's shoulder as the two made their way to the staircase and descended them to the main floor.
Before they could make it to the bottom Gajeel heard his name called from behind them. One of the Raven Tail guild members stopped them on the stairs.
"Master Ivan requests that you join him in his office...now" he said and stepped aside for the dragon to walk by.
"What the fuck does that bastard want now?" he thought. Gajeel nodded as he started climbing back up the stairs to the top floor. PantherLily looked at Gajeel wondering the same thing. "You don't think he's on to us, do you?" he whispered in his partner s ear.
"For Levy's sake and our own I hope not" he said in a low voice.
Levy awoke with a renewed sense of hope after her meeting with Gajeel last night. She sat up in her cot, stretching the best she could with the shackles on her wrists. She would still feel his arms around her and it comforted her. The bluenette then reached for the knife she stuck under her cot and looked at it.
"I can at least try" she said as he tried to pick at the shackles using the knife which was proving more difficult than she thought. Being able to use only one hand wasn't as easy as she thought.
The knife slipped and went straight down towards her legs. Thanks to her wiggling about her legs weren't directly under the knife, but it did tear her dress up pretty good. The bluenette sighed when she saw what she did. "Great" she mumbled but decided to try once again.
Levy suddenly stopped was she was doing as she heard a door opening outside of her cell. She quickly hid the knife back under the cot and pulled her knees up to her and waited for whoever might be outside.
Ivan stood in his office looking out the same window he did before as if he were waiting for someone to arrive. There was a knock on the door as he turned his head. "Enter" he commanded.
Gajeel opened the door and entered the Raven Tail master's office. PantherLily jumped off his shoulder and stood next to the dragon. Both bowed their heads.
"You summoned me, Master Ivan?" Gajeel asked. As he straightened up he realized they were not alone. Flare was standing in one of the corners and made her way over to Ivan's desk.
"Well hello, Gajeel" she said with a sadistic grin as Ivan turned completely around and walked over to his desk as well. The master took a seat in the rather large chair behind the desk and stared at the dragon.
"Gajeel-chan, explain yourself" he said.
Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the guild master in a confused manner. "Master, I don't know what you're speaking of" he said.
Flare started waving her finger at the dragon, "Naughty Gajeel, I saw you sneaking around last night. You went down to the dungeons through the secret passageway near your room."
Gajeel was caught completely off guard. He didn't see anyone around last night, he checked. And who would have known that Flare knew about that passageway as well.
Ivan's eyes narrowed, "Whatever were you doing down there Gajeel? I'd hate to find out that you were up to no good."
PantherLily looked up at Gajeel nervously, waiting for him to reply. The Exceed was starting to get a bit nervous with this sudden interrogation.
Gajeel lowered his head. A few seconds later he raised it back up with a smirk on his face. "I figured that since Flare was able to have a bit of play time with the fairy why couldn't I? gi hee" he said.
Ivan raised one of his eyebrows at the dragon's answer and smirked.
"Then why were you sneaking around?!" Flare demanded as she moved closer to the dragon. Normally she dared not do such a thing but she figured she had Ivan backing her up on this one. But Ivan just sat there and listened, not saying anything.
Gajeel looked at the red head, narrowing his eyes. "What...and have to pass by every person who might have been skulking about and explain my reason for wanting to indulge myself in a little fun of my own with that cute little fairy?"
Flare stood there at a loss for words. All her accusations seemed to have reason behind them and the guild master wasn't saying anything to support her. She slowly backed away from Gajeel and back over towards the desk.
Ivan suddenly began laughing with amusement from Gajeel's answer. "Of course it's perfectly fine Gajeel-chan, if what you say is true" the guild master spoke. Gajeel was beginning to think that Ivan might not have been buying this story. But how was he possibly going to find out if what Gajeel said was true. Then he started to get a bit nervous...what if he had some security lacrimas hidden down there and saw what he did? If this was true then he was in serious trouble.
Gajeel was about to make a move when suddenly there was a knock on the master's door. "Flare-chan, open the door for our guest" Ivan said as Flare obediently went and opened the door.
Levy was shoved into Ivan's office, falling onto her knees. Gajeel clinched his teeth as he looked towards the guild member who shoved her into the room. The bluenette was roughly hoisted her back onto her feet as she looked around the room. She looked over and saw Gajeel and PantherLily but she tried to not react to their presence. All she could think about right now was what the guild master was planning now.
Ivan rose from his chair and walked over to Levy. "Ah, fairy-chan. Nice of you to join us" he said grinning. "I hear you had a visitor late last night" he said as he turned his gaze to Gajeel.
Levy averted her eyes from Ivan, trying to avoid the question. The guild master placed his hand on her cheeks and turned her head back towards him. "You will answer me fairy-chan, if you don't want to get hurt again like last time" he said. "Now, did Gajeel pay you a visit last night...yes or no?" he asked as he forced her head to turn towards Gajeel.
Levy shook her head releasing it form Ivan's grip. She looked over at Gajeel and bit her lip as she turned away from him. "Yes...he did" she said. She wasn't exactly sure why Gajeel was here and why they were questioning him but she could only guess that someone, namely Flare, saw him last night.
"And for what reason did he have to visit you?" he asked.
Levy hesitated as she tried to think of an excuse. "Think Levy, think" she said over and over in her mind.
Ivan was now circling Levy as Gajeel and PantherLily could only stand by and watch. The guild master was eyeballing her up and down when he noticed something. "My dear fairy-chan, however did you rip your dress since yesterday?" he asked as he lowered his hand and lifted the ripped portion up.
Levy could feel her skin crawl as she bit her lip as Ivan's hand was so close to her skin. It made her tremble. What made her feel worse was that he had been paying that much attention to every detail of her. She kept trying to think of a response to the guild master's interrogations.
Ivan looked over at Gajeel, "My, my...you were a naughty dragon last night, weren't you Gajeel-chan?" he said with a laugh.
That must have been it..it had to be she thought. "He did it" she said as she glared over at Gajeel. "He tried to force himself on me last night!" she said shamefully as she pulled up fake tears for her act. "He thought he could have his own amusement with me last night when no one was around!"
Ivan raised an eyebrow at Levy's answer. "And yet you remain unscathed from his so called advances?" he asked.
Levy continued glaring at Gajeel. "I think that rough kick to his dragonhood was enough to keep him off of me before he could..." she said as she cringed and turned away.
Gajeel crossed his arms and turned away also, keeping up the act as if his pride was hurt. "Good girl" he thought.
PantherLily meanwhile shook his head and smirked. "Sounds like the Gajeel I know" he said, adding icing on the cake. "Not too popular with the ladies, gi hee."
Gajeel felt his eye twitching from the Exceeds comment but he said nothing. He would certainly have to give his cat an earful once they were out of this mess.
Ivan began laughing again after hearing everything. He motioned for the guild member to take Levy away. The bluenette didn't struggle but went willingly just so she could get out of everyone's sight. She wanted to look back at Gajeel but she didn't want his cover to be blown because of one slip up by her. She had to continue acting as if she were still angry with him.
Ivan walked over to Gajeel and placed a hand on his shoulder. Without saying anything he turned around and looked at Flare.
"Well Flare...do you have any more false accusations to make?" Ivan asked.
Flare nervously shook her head. "N-No M-Master Ivan. I just thought that Gajeel went to..."
"To what Flare? Release the prisoner so casually under Master Ivan's nose?" the dragon asked, interrupting the red head.
By this point Ivan was rather cross with Flare for false accusations against one of his most loyal members. "I suggest you leave before I change my mind about what to do with you" he said sternly.
Flare didn't hesitate as she quickly left the room. Gajeel could breathe a sigh of relief now that this whole mess was done, but he wasn't out of the woods just yet. He watched as Ivan crossed back over to the window and looked out it. Gajeel was now getting curious about this as he looked down at PantherLily who seemed to wonder what he was looking for.
"Master, are you waiting for someone else to arrive?" the dragon asked.
Ivan nodded, "Indeed I am. I am expecting the arrival of the Grimoire I told you about. It should be in my hands today!" the guild master said as he turned his head with a maniacal grin on his face.
This wasn't good. If Ivan gets his hand on that book and forced Levy to decipher it he could bring down Fairy Tail and any other guild with the magic from its pages.
"Is that all you need from me, Master Ivan?" Gajeel asked.
"Of course Gajeel-chan. You are free to go but I may require your services later" he said.
And with that the dragon and the Exceed left the guild master's office and headed back to their room. They had much to discuss and figure out...namely how in the hell they were going to keep that book out of Ivan's hands and free Levy.
Gajeel and PantherLily returned to their room and quickly went to work on figuring out their next move. The dragon didn't think that Ivan would get his hands on the Grimoire so soon and he had no idea as to who was bringing him the book. PantherLily looked up at Gajeel. "Does Master Makarov intend to step in and stop this from happening? And for that matter how are we suppose to let him know what's going on?" the Exceed asked.
Gajeel shook his head, "I have no idea what the old man is planning or how to get a hold of him. He didn't mention anything about coming here or a rescue team. As far as I know it's just you and me" he said disgruntledly looking at his partner. This operation just got a lot more complicated. Now he had to somehow keep the Grimoire out of Ivan's hands, somehow inform Master Makarov about all of this and free Levy...all of this without blowing his cover. Gajeel took a seat on the bed while trying to think of something. "This isn't going to be easy..." he muttered.