Hello minions!

So...I might be a little excited for chapter 14? Here's an early update, so I can update again tomorrow! =D

We are getting along quite well; I am LOVING all the wonderful reviews you loyal readers are leaving me. I love everything you have to say. Also! Do not be afraid to point out mistakes or holes. I want this Fic to be amazing! Help me make it amazing.

Please leave me a review or message! I'd like to know your favorite/least favorite parts. Or if you have a headcanon, let me know and I might slip it into a chapter.

~ With all the love my heart can muster ~

Peach

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Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Levy stared down at the parchment papers before her. She had been sitting at Juvia's little table for well over an hour and a crick had begun to develop in her neck.

Juvia had told her that Gajeel would be back tomorrow. He left to disband the mercenaries they had hired, which led to more questions, but Juvia continued her vague, almost-answers. It was maddening.

Levy had finished the translation, but was unsatisfied with the results:

Here I lie at your feat.

With crimson eyes look straight to see.

My tomb of stone encases thee,

But exit I will when duty calls.

The hard crown comes with truth.

"Well, that doesn't rhyme at all," she grumbled.

It was a riddle. He wasn't going to like that. Yet another stress factor to add to her pile.

She sat back, rubbing her neck to ease the sore muscles. She got up from the table, twisting and popping her joints. She opened the door to the outside, needing to clear her head. Juvia had awakened as early as she. Maybe she could talk for a little bit.

It was mid-afternoon and warm outside. The air held a hint of moisture which made it feel colder than it really was. She walked along an overgrown footpath to the rear of the cottage. Juvia appeared to be elbow deep in what was a section of dead grass, jerking weeds up with growing hostility. Along the opposite side of her, built into a sketchy formation of rock, was a single stall stable with a mare the color of rich soil.

"Can I help?" Levy asked, nervously shifting from foot to foot.

Juvia sat back on her heels with a huff, taking a momentary break from her work.

"Juvia thinks it's useless. Juvia will have to replant everything."

Levy stepped closer to see wooden barriers framing a large plot. All was overgrown with grass and weeds, but certain dead plants stuck out with equal distance to each other.

"A garden," she deduced.

"The frost killed it while we were gone. Juvia thought it would be okay to plant early, just in case," the blunette shook her head, swinging the tail of hair at the back of her head, and laughed at herself, "Juvia was wrong."

She stood, dusting her hands and clothes. She wore pants similar to Levy, but with a fitted black top that had no sleeves and left an open diamond shape on her back. Levy was right to think the woman beautiful.

"Just another reason to go to town. C'mon," she motioned for Levy to follow.

Levy stood at a vendor sorting through supposedly fresh produce for a decent selection that was not pocked with rotten markings.

She wished she had brought her cloak, if only to hide herself. If she thought the stares she received at Sabertooth bothered her, well she was mistaken.

Juvia had managed to get them in the city with much more finesse than Levy had expected. Being such a beautiful woman, she was not surprised the young guard at the gate was enraptured by her charm. Levy would never be able to pull something like smooching the poor kid to death just so they could shop. What a crazy world they lived in.

Levy perused the multiple produce stands, avoiding the melons at all costs (as they weren't in season and likely to be expensive). She tried to stick to the greener, cheaper vegetables that Juvia told her to get: squash, zucchini, and onions.

Juvia had wandered away somewhere and left Levy with a few coins in hand. She had no idea how much she held or if it would cover her selection so she tried to stall as long as possible, feigning great interest in the merchant's selection of berries. Then, someone running past bumped into her shoulder, causing her to stumble.

"Hey!" She yelled.

He was fast, but the white checkered covering over his head had fallen in his haste, revealing a head of pink spiked hair.

"Natsu?" she whispered at first, and when she was certain it was him, she cried out, "Natsu, wait!"

She chased after her friend, accidentally toppling a basket of apples. She made it as far as the center of the street before she was tackled from behind. Meaty hands pawed at her clothes and she shrieked when someone pulled her hair, shaking her. She could feel her shirt give an audible rip.

"You little shit," he grunted hatefully.

The merchant had caught her, only she hadn't meant to steal anything.

"Stop! I-I didn't mean to take it!"

She desperately tried to push him away, catching his skin under her nails and sprinkling coins onto the cobblestones. The metallic clinking sound caused the merchant to shove her to the ground, quickly collecting the currency before someone else beat him to it.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes, rolling onto her knees. The food in her bag had been crushed, but hopefully not beyond edibility.

The man spat at her and went back to counting coins and tending his shop.

Levy was more angry than anything, but she tried to remind herself that he was just looking out for his business. She gingerly rubbed a sore spot on her cheek, brushing off the grime she had collected from her fall.

She stood and took the same path as Natsu through the curving street. Hope propelled her forward. She didn't have to go very far to arrive at the North Gates. There were many streets that converged at this point, which meant he could have gone anywhere. She was confused as to why Natsu would be in Magnolia in the first place. No one ever left Fairy Tail. Well, except for Jet, but he was Master's messenger to Yajima. It didn't make sense for him to be there. Unless Master needed to get a message to him.

Levy paused to think about the implications of getting a message to the other cloister leaders. It meant they were all safe, but it also meant Jet was still injured. She wrestled with the idea of visiting Magnolia's cloister. She didn't have her robes on, so they wouldn't exactly recognize her, but they also wouldn't believe her if Natsu had already been there.

Her thoughts were a downward spiral to the point where Levy considered it a bad idea. Besides, she needed to find—

"Levy!"

Juvia? Levy whirled in the direction of her name, seeing Juvia hold up two pairs of reins walking towards her from the street Levy had just left.

"Guess what Juvia found!" she bubbled excitedly.

Levy could clearly see what it was Juvia had found as she was face-to-face with an unfamiliar blue roan mare standing next to Juvia's own earth-tone mare.

"Well?" Juvia pushed the reins into Levy's hands, her enthusiasm losing steam.

Levy struggled for words to express how she felt.

"Juvia, she's beautiful, but...," the tall blunette eyed her with confusion, "But I can't take care of her. I don't know anything about horses! And you should not have spent your money on me. Really."

Levy was excited about the prospect of not having to share a horse with someone else, but she was a little more concerned for the cost and the animal's well-being. Levy was a bookkeeper, not a stable-hand. Sure, her cloister had horses, but it was a faraway world that Levy preferred to maintain. Her place was among books.

Juvia rolled her eyes at Levy's obstinacy.

"Then think of it as payback. If you take her, then she won't have to deal with her master."

"Who's her master?" she questioned, petting the mare's soft nose. She had no tack other than the bridle, but Levy didn't mind that. The saddle she rode in on with Gajeel had rubbed her raw in the worst of ways. Not to mention she would never be able to lift the heavy leather to the animal's back. Their height difference was just too great.

"Remember the owner of that vegetable stand you were at?"

Realization reared itself as her words clicked together, ignoring the fact Juvia had been watching.

"You. Stole. Her?!" she practically screamed. Juvia shot her a silencing glare.

"You can't steal a horse!" she continued, much more quietly.

Juvia ignored her and moved to mount her horse until Levy took hold of her shirt.

"Juvia, please! Return her!" she begged. It was wrong. Even if he deserved it, she would not keep a stolen horse.

Juvia angrily slapped Levy's hand away, "Juvia will not. Some people don't deserve luxury. The horse is coming whether you ride her or not."

Levy sighed tiredly, "That is not your decision to make."

She knew she came off as ungrateful. It was not her intent, the horse was gentle and beautiful, and Levy felt instantly comfortable with her. But was she going to forfeit every thing she has learned from her cloister just to get by? At what point would her morals and standards become firm?

Levy led the horse to the Gate, leaving the city with Juvia riding behind her. She would thank Juvia later. For now, she was upset, hungry, and fearful to give Gajeel her translation.