Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Feathers and beads and sea green sequins dazzled the eye before the light dimmed to reveal the beauty set at the table.
Cana Alberona was enticing, unapologetically so; several women found it obtrusive at times and most men merely played into her palm without qualm. Her tent was hidden amongst the forest of canvas, and only those meant to find her would.
Those curious and brave enough to wander the Tail's grounds in the midnight hours were welcomed into her territory. Incense and the tinkling of pearls beckoned them to her table, and her smooth alto, perfume, and wispy smoke from her cigarette holder kept them there. Cana never turned away a cynic, as she lived to entertain those that thought her a fraud. She would overturn their lives and open their eyes to the real magic of the world.
Her cards were worn and scratched; they had been new when she was ten. The split edges soothed her patrons, for there was familiarity in wear and tear, synonymous with love and commitment. She played the part they wished to see to set them at ease.
The prediction tent was always filled with soft music, yearning trumpets and billowing cellos and chiming pianos.
It filled visitors' senses and dulled their staunch reality.
A young girl with cornhusk curls traipsed into her tent, polite and curious as a cat. Her pastel dress and silk ribbon tied in her hair hid the lace heart that pounded against her delicate ribcage. She believed with every ounce of herself that there was more here than clouded reflections and hidden trapdoors. A bird was fighting its bone cage and Cana Alberona held the lone key in her stack.
The dark haired woman's lips lifted cunningly as the tent flap was pushed aside, starlight filtering through the haze of her enclave. Rich and glossy waves framed her pretty face, a set of matching glims glittering violet when the candles' flame flickered. Fortunes were only a fraction of what she was capable of, so for this girl, Cana would break from the conventional and lead her to what she sought out.
Shuffled and spread, her hands glided over the card faces.
Her visitor's sapphires glued to her flexed hand and widened when the streams of tiny lightning jumped out to the card reader's fingertips. The light sparked and shocked her irises, Cana Alberona was a talent above traveler's that occasionally flitted through the town. Her finger flexed once more and the streaks disappeared, the taste of electricity heavy on their tongues in the silence.
A card was thrown onto the table, sliding to rest at the young girl's side of the table.
Images flickered and elegant laughter bubbled from nowhere. Summer dresses twirled and tea cups clinked, flower crowns sitting lopsidedly on coiffed hair. Young maids danced with each other in an unseen summer sun, voices like bells and birds tickling their eardrums. The Jazz record the tarot reader played faded into gentle harps and merry strings. The pocket-sized girls stopped, waving and bowing at their audience. The illusion flickered and the young girls disappeared, the only trace of their existence left in minuscule tulip petals scattered on the table.
Cana moved her hand once more, flexed, and freed a trickling waterfall from the border of the new card.
It seeped across the burgundy tablecloth, the deep velvet soaked and darkened with the liquid. It wound and twisted and looped towards the girl at her table, a transfixed charm illuminating the faded blue eyes to a cerulean. The water sped forward, a beeline for the girl's silk lap. Cana arced the card into the air, the water reversed in direction, sucked into the realm from whence it came.
The spell was broken and the girl jerked her head up to meet the card reader's gaze. Her governess would die of fright if she was witness to her charge's hanging jaw.
"Better hurry back, love. The show's about to start."
Celebration was heavy in the air the night Makarov threw another bash, this time for the long awaited, official engagement of Jellal and Erza. Natsu had appeared absolutely flabbergasted once the news reached him, as he'd been under the impression they'd been married since they were ten and everyone had gotten married using flower rings and Porlyusica's hymnal. The story had served to color more than one set of cheeks a bright red, but caused raucous laughter at the man's ignorance.
Lucy had pulled Natsu aside later and asked him if he had truly believed such a thing, as they were all just kids playing pretend after all. The fire breather was adamant though, he'd honestly thought it was real. The admission had pinked the girl's cheeks, because she and Natsu had been part of the group to wed. Although, he did marry Lisanna later that afternoon and Lucy had been their flower girl like Lisanna was for theirs, so maybe she shouldn't put much stock into what the fool was saying.
"Would you ever get married, Natsu? Gem rings and a priest instead of weeds and Elfman with a tattered songbook?" She sipped from her glass, the light alcohol sweeping the chill in the air from her arms.
"Why? 'Re you askin'? 'Cause I think you're supposed to get down on one knee for that." Natsu had turned in his seat to her and smirked.
"N-no, I'm not asking! Who'd want to marry a moron like you anyways?!"
"Lighten up, Luce." He tugged her arm to plant her back in her seat and hung close to ear for longer than was appropriate. "Being married to you would be fun though."
"You're incorrigible."
"And you're a weirdo."
"Oh, put a sock in it." She huffed and turned away from him, her shoulders scrunched and arms wound together in front of her chest. He wasn't affected, as always, just chuckled at her expense and grinned all the wider.
Laki had set up the same dance floor as before, wood set in a square with plenty of room for dancing and brawls, whichever came first. Makarov's old records played at full volume across the expansive field of tents. Wild flowers bowed in the breeze as far as the eye could see and their scent lingered on the air with perfumed brooches and barrettes. Cana had yanked Levy from the punch table, cheeks flushed, and demanded she actually dance at this big to do.
The world blurred and tipped by as she spun around carefree with the rest of Tail's female acts, their laughter echoing to the stars in the sky.
The lively song faded to the static lull in between songs and Levy was given the opportunity to catch her breath. Piano melancholy drifted to her ears, a slow song that'd free her from obligation to the dance floor to get a bite to eat.
"Cuttin' out now?"
Levy pivoted on her heel to find Gajeel standing there in a crisp dress shirt, suspenders, and wild mess of hair slicked back into a ponytail. "What's it to you?"
"Figured you'd might want to try one of these out with an actual dance partner."
"Didn't think Gajeel Redfox was much of a dancer."
"I'm not, but I also thought maybe you'd like to try it now as we're both not running on exhaustion and with plenty of witnesses to gossip about it later."
"Ah, sounds like a right thrill."
"Am I to take that as a rejection or acceptance?"
"Amused acceptance, as it were." She stepped up to him and- after some awkward finagling and ignoring Cana's catcalls from her table with Wakaba, Macao, and Pantherlily, all of whom were snickering at the spectacle- they began to dance.
Another ballad followed in procession of the first and second.
Luckily, the attention had been diverged from them when Natsu had foolishly attempted to dance with Happy, much to the feline's bemusement. It was a fair bit easier to dance without Cana hollering tips from the sidelines. She was content to stay like this, even if it was for just a few more minutes. Erza and Jellal had joined the couples on the dance floor and were chitchatting like school children a few feet away. Levy was irrevocably happy for her friends.
"You get married like Scarlet and Fernandes back then, too?" He smirked down at her as his eyebrows rose to his hairline.
"No, I actually wasn't present for those nuptials. I had been training that afternoon, Lily was helping me with advanced reading. Besides, nobody would've married me, I was so small back then."
"'Back then'?" His amusement was clear as a bell in his tone and, even if she was the butt of yet another joke, she enjoyed the sound of another emotion besides sarcasm on his words.
Levy laughed, playfully smacking his arm in feigned annoyance, "Don't even start, we're having a nice time."
"All right, all right. Fair enough. But what about those sidekicks of yers?"
"Once upon a time I was only added to Shadow Gear because Droy refused to be in an act with just one other boy and I was the last girl without one. I guess I can't blame them, I was pretty feeble then."
Levy laughed at her early memories of her friends; things sure had changed in those years. Their preconceptions of her strength didn't last long, because once she got the hang of circus life, there was no stopping her.
A heavy jazz ballad started up, and a liquid melancholy seeped into her heels and pressed into her toes as their pace slowed to match the beat.
She knew deep down if they hadn't barely tolerated her company and she had been free that day of matrimony, she would not have married them. Her traitorous mind knew that if Gajeel had been with Tail back then, she most likely would have agreed wholeheartedly or even proposed herself.
"Gajeel, do you ever think about getting married?" The question left her mouth before she could filter the implications of her words.
It wasn't exactly a proper conversation piece to pose to a man, especially one she had allowed to kiss her stupid in his room.
Anyone would get the wrong idea, but thankfully, he knew how she could get caught up in her thoughts and speak unbidden at times.
"Gihihi, better watch what yer sayin', some people might get the wrong idea." Levy pouted at his teasing comment and attempted to step on his foot in retaliation. "Calm down, I know what'cha meant. It's not something I pictured myself doin' really."
"I always thought I'd get married, but as I got older…Well, a circus showgirl's not really the cookie cutter image for bride material."
"Scarlet seems to have missed the memo."
"Rare exception, her and Jellal have been thick as thieves for longer than I've been here. Nobody here really caught my eye like they had for each other."
"And you test those waters by drinking and necking all available candidates to find out or?"
"What?! No! No, no, no, no, no. Besides you just said- and we're not really- this is all kind of new and-"
"We're in front of the entire circus, I don't think you'd want me to kiss ya here to shut ya up, half pint."
Levy smirked, biting the inside of her cheek as she spoke. "We'd certainly give Jellal and Erza a run for their money, might even knock Cana out of her socks if we did."
Gajeel raised one of his brows, mirth and split decisions behind his smile. "Are you trying to convince me otherwise? Because it's working."
Levy shrugged her shoulders, "No. Just saying, is all."
A merrier tune picked up as she looked across the floor. Erza's head was thrown back in laughter as Jellal spun her around. Mirajane and Lisanna cooed at the sight from their seats, ever the hopeless romantics.
She had secretly dreaded a brawl or fire or freak snowstorm would mar the perfect night for the couple, but it had all turned out lovely. It was nice to see Tail behave for once, of course that may have had something to do with Lucy petting Happy's belly with Natsu and Juvia and Gray engaging in an excited conversation at their table. She held the other main contributor to those fights in her arms.
Levy smiled to herself with the thought, she let herself believe it wasn't the other way around.
Gajeel cleared his throat and brought her attention back to him. "Just to clarify, I only said it's something I didn't picture myself doin'. Considering what I did before, I'd say it makes sense."
"But you're here now and- Oh."
"Don't think too hard, Lev."
Well if her heart wasn't about to break through the cage doors of her ribs, hearing him use the new nickname would surely do the trick. The things he did to her mind and heart and sense were unfair, the tingling in her toes was probably not normal and should warrant serious concern. Something definitely to be looked into before it became serious.
And she would have if he didn't glue her damn feet to the floor.
The kohl's tip pressed to her lid and bloomed kaleidoscopes behind her closed eyes. Baby pinks and blues splashed with white and violet, the colors played along her friend's lilting tone and struck her concentration to what Lucy had been speaking of with hammers of light. Levy bravely peeked the unoccupied eye open, her vision going cross with the kohl moved to the corner by her nose.
The three day stay in another town named for flowers was coming to an end.
Their tented menageries would fall down and vanish the second the last patron stepped away the hour past midnight.
This last night would out all the stops, extravagance was an elementary term to what Makarov Dreyar would throw up for the last hours. Acts were extended with twists and tricks, costumes held in storage were pulled from their trunks, and even the animals got their own coat of polish.
Nerves twittered beneath her torso and resounded in her heart, as tonight a combination of her routine with Jet and Aurora would be stitched together.
Levy set still for Lucy as pink powder was dusted over her cheeks and dyed balm pressed over her lips. The livery she wore was stiff with disuse, and the fabric scratched at her skin in time to her weighty chest falls. Perfumed daises had even been pinned to her headband. Lucy slid an extra pin onto the flower stem, just to be safe, and spun her friend around on the stool to face her reflection.
"Ta da!"
There was no question that if she were in the trapeze, someone would have to be blind not to see her bright eyes and full lips. "Lucy, as always, you've out done yourself. But my face feels so heavy!"
"Part of the glamor." Lucy winked and giggled with her friend. Even after all this time, year after year and season after season, the last nights felt like the firsts and butterflies rampaged their blood streams. "You'll be all right until the show? I've got to make sure Natsu's not asleep somewhere or rolling around in the dirt with that lion of his."
"Yes, yes. Go on! I'm just going to spin a few curls around my face with the heated iron. You don't mind if I borrow it, do you?"
"Knock yourself out." The girl who hung stars packed away the rest of her cosmetics and squeezed her friend's shoulder in farewell. "Break a leg."
"I'd say you too if you didn't stay seated the entire time." Lucy left with a laugh and lifted Tail's signature gesture over her shoulder.
Levy sighed deeply and carefully took the iron into her hand, blithely turning the strand of hair around the heated metal. She closed her eyes and in steadying breaths counted to just the right amount. The curl fell from her grasp and bounced cutely against her cheek. The defined lock would fall the moment she stepped into the ring, but for now she enjoyed the tamable sleekness.
She worked and angled her wrists to the other side of her face, glad when the last strand wrapped around the tool. Her arms had started to fatigue with the stretches. The iron nearly fell from her steady hand when her eyes caught the tall figure reflected in the background, sniggering in his position from the doorway.
"You scare too easy."
"I was lost in thought."
"Nothing new, then?"
"It's not polite to loiter in doorways."
"Are you specifically complainin', moineau?"
"No." Levy turned herself to face him, a smile creeping to her face. "No, I'm not." Her heart nearly stopped at the lopsided smile on his face, it wasn't the teasing smirk he usually wore.
"Yer eyes look big."
"Lucy's doing. Last night and all."
"Yeah. Makarov's about to do his opening bit."
"I was just finishing up here."
"After the show?"
"Yeah, I'll see you."
Gajeel jerked his head, satisfied with her answer and strode away from the door. He had other priorities to look after, the rope securing the weather terrors had to be double checked. They had been installed the show after Juvia had nearly taken a fall because the rain and ice made the rafters slick with black ice. Lily would also require his assistance in pleasing the rowdy cub while his parents went out with Erza.
Levy stretched and ran through halfway serious routines with Jet in the clown alley. They had spent most of the time tripping in circles and laughing until her head felt light.
Member after member passed her by into the tent, and as her anxiety rose and rose and reached such great heights, it left her breathless. She would not wish to be anywhere else. That sentiment stuck happiness in her throat and swelled her heart to breaking point.
Cirque did not always mean childhood fantasy.
There were days Aurora refused to obey her cues, Jet and Droy bickered like children, her muscles and mind ached from her duties with Freed, and where she would rather sleep for a thousand years than fight her way into her costume. Despite the hardships that befell the patchwork family, she would not give it up for any amount of gold or jewels. This was her life.
It was a reality cradled in true magic and dreams.
The lights shone brighter and smiles flashed in her peripheral vision as it came time for her to enter the ring. Laughter rang louder and applause thundered into a deafening fuzz. Adrenaline coursed through her bones and thrummed against its bond within her skin. Levy pulled herself onto Aurora's shoulder one last time for this one twinkling town, her muscles bowed with practiced ease and lithe angles. She opened her eyes before she finished her flip.
The old lights glittered against the silver band around her finger, casting freckle prisms across her cheeks.
-circus vocab.
clown alley: backstage area
-French
moineau: sparrow
cirque: circus
A/N: And that's the end.
Sorry you had to wait for so long to get this, I apparently had the last chapter finished up and just waiting for editing. So I thought for months there was still a lot of rewrites to do. I know I had said there was going to be an epilogue of sorts, but that's been trashed. I might post the ideas I had for it on tumblr, we'll see.
A few last minute tidbits on this story before the official close; Cana's bit was my favorite to write, clown alley's where I got the title, since everything important between Gajeel and Levy occurs off stage (or backstage in this case), and the last line about the ring was the entire basis and reason for this story.
Edit: cover image by Rboz.