The smell of death was inescapable. Pantherlily tried not to gag as the stench entered his nostrils. These poor,poor people. Body parts were strewn all over the place. Princess Levy truly was a lucky woman to still be alive.

"Hold back!" Pantherlily yelled to his men.

"I don't see anyone alive sir."

"Jellal,we should probably look in more places. There has to be at least one survivor!"

Pantherlily led his men to another part of the rubble. Sure enough,Pantherlily heard coughing and groaning.

"W-Where is my daughter?" The man said coughing up blood. He appeared to be on the verge of death.

"Don't tell me you are the king?" The exceed sat the man up,looking at his wounds.

There was a huge gash in his abdomen and he was missing an eye.

"L-Levy is m-my daughter." The man choked out.

"Your daughter is alive,but unconscious,she is expected to wake up soon. Lord Redfox saved her from death."

"Please tell me you are talking about the good Redfox brother."

"Yes sir. Lord Gajeel is the one who took her."

"Good. I was planning on selling her to him,anyway." The man said smiling.

Pantherlily let out a growl. Levy didn't deserve to be treated like some inanimate object.

"That is for you to discuss with Lord Redfox,we are going to take you to the castle for treatment."

Pantherlily pulled the man to his feet.

"Our nurses are very good at what they do. Lord Redfox only hires the best."

The man groaned in pain as Pantherlily,and his men put him in the wagon.

xxxx

Gajeel's eyes were getting heavy,but dread had settled deep into the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling there would be no survivors and the thought of telling her killed him on the inside. The princess had already been through enough hell without having to deal with that.

"How is she doing?" Lucy asked in a whisper.

"She's been groaning and talking in her sleep." Gajeel said looking at the princess.

"You should probably go to bed,Master Redfox."

"Nah,I will just sleep here."

Lucy couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips.

This was something she didn't see everyday,the young master staying by a girl's side.

Levy could see a light and she kept reaching for it. Her body felt so heavy. She kept trying and trying. The light was getting closer.

'I'm almost there.'

xxxxxx

Pantherlily carried Levy's father inside the castle.

"Where is Master Redfox?"

Lucy smirked at Pantherlily's question.

"You actually won't believe it."

"Try me." The exceed said lifting his eyebrow.

"He won't leave Levy's side."

Pantherlily chuckled.

"Don't say anything to him about it because we both know he will deny it." The blonde said as a small smile spread across her lips.

"I know, I am just kind of shocked..."

"I am going to take this man to the other infirmary room. Could you please tell him King McGarden wishes to speak with him?"

"I can do that." Lucy said as she headed to Levy's room.

Gajeel growled once he heard the door open again.

"What is it this time?" he asked in a whisper.

"Pantherlily found a survivor and has requested that you go see him in the other infirmary room. I will stay here with her."

Gajeel grunted in response.

"I will be back soon. If she wakes up,you better come get me."

Lucy tried not to chuckle.

"Yes,Master Redfox."

Pantherlily heard the door slam against the wall,the young dragon appeared to be angry.

"This better be important,Lil'."

"This is Levy's father." The exceed said pointing at the king.

Levy's father coughed as he reached out his hand for Gajeel to shake,the young lord just stared at his hand with disgust.

"Guess you aren't very formal,huh?" The king said chuckling.

"Bein' formal ain't my style."

"I just wanted to talk to you about my daughter. Are you interested in buying her?"

The question made Gajeel clench his fists in anger. The king was treating her like a fucking piece of meat,Levy didn't deserve any of that. By law if the lord wanted to court her,he did have to pay her father.

"Yes..." Gajeel scratched the back of his head nervously.

The king smiled. "Good! I'm sure she will make a great wife. If she isn't,then by all means bring her back,I will knock some sense into her."

Gajeel lost all control at that statement. The young master grabbed the king by his neck,causing him to choke.

"Ya might not want to talk about her like that." Gajeel gave a feral growl as scales formed on his arms.

Pantherlily got up quickly to pull the angry dragon off of the king.

"Master Redfox,what has gotten into you?" Pantherlily asked with concern.

Gajeel let go of the man and walked out the door,slamming it shut behind him.

The dragon was having inner turmoil as he grabbed his face. The sad thing was he had no idea what had come over him. The way that man talked about Levy had his blood boiling and now his dragon form was trying to take over. The blood lust was overbearing.

"NO!" Gajeel screamed as he felt his claws grow. Trying to get a hold of himself,he walked to Levy's room. His red eyes glowed in the dark hallway. If someone saw him and didn't know it was him,they would probably piss themselves in fear.

His whole body was starting to grow scales. Gajeel opened the door to Levy's room and Lucy looked at him startled by his transformation.

"Master Redfox,is everything okay?" The blonde asked concerned.

"I don't think so." He growled viciously.

"Levy is about to wake up,I can tell by how much she has been moving around."

Gajeel just let out a small growl in response.

"Please leave."

"But what if you turn into a dragon in here? Won't that destroy the room?"

"I will be fine!" He snarled at the nurse.

Lucy got startled by his sudden outburst and left in a hurry,she knew he wouldn't harm Levy,even if he were to transform.

The dragon took a seat by the bed once again,watching her peaceful expression. His arms were still covered in scales.

"What is wrong with me?"

The young lord stared at his claws,wondering what exactly had come over him. Did Acnologia do something to him? Was it Levy affecting him?

'Son,one day you will meet a woman,and she will change you. You are a dragon,a beast who is possessive and aggressive. This woman will cause certain things to happen to you. You will become enraged if anyone speaks ill of her or tries to harm her in any way. You were born to protect her,to love her,and always be there for her. If you try and break destiny,you will end up destroying yourself. Your souls will become one and you will spend the rest of your lives together.'

"Shut the fuck up,old man." Gajeel growled to himself.

The beast within him was dying to come out. Maybe he needed to go fly for a while and get it out of his system. Leaving her side didn't sit well with him,though.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Jose Porla,I heard you wanted to see me?" Acnologia asked,holding a mouse up by its tail.

"Lord Redfox,it is a pleasure to finally meet you,I have heard so many wonderful things about you."

Acnologia put the mouse in his mouth and chewed it. Mice were one of his favorite meals and the sound of their bones crunching gave him goosebumps.

"I am one of the strongest dragons known to man." The young lord bluffed.

"I heard you are not as strong as your twin brother,Gajeel. The evil that you have in your heart is what I am interested in." Jose said with a smirk.

Acnologia grabbed Jose by the throat.

"Don't you ever compare me to Gajeel again! Don't even say his fucking name." The dragon snarled,showing his fangs.

The evil dragon lord loosened his hold around Jose's neck.

"What did you call me here for?"

"I want to help you take over the continent. Don't you want to kill your brother?"

"I can kill him myself,I don't need your help."

Acnologia let go of the man and smirked as his fingernails turned into claws. The dragon's fangs glinted in the moonlight. His prey stared at him with fear. Saying his brother was stronger than him was one of the worst things anyone could ever do. He sold his soul for a reason. Destroying anyone standing in his way was all he had on his mind. How dare this demon try to help him. The only ones aloud to help him were the blood sages.

The young lord started speaking in draconic. Jose had no idea what was in store until it was too late. The spell that was cast upon him shattered his soul. He could feel blood pouring out of his eyes. The pain was so intense that he screamed. All he could hear as he died was the maniacal laughter of the dragon lord before him. The tales were true,a dragon's power was the strongest out there,and anyone who dared to fight a dragon would die. Tales of the Redfox brothers were often told throughout the continent,and now he believed every single one of them as the world before him turned black and darkness took his soul.