Chapter 11 - Apart

Where am I? What are those sounds?
Levy felt as if she was floating. Vague memories rose to the surface of her half-conscious mind, all of the times she'd gone to the beach with her parents or swam in the ponds of the castle in Rhyacus with Lucy and the other ladies of the palace. Occasionally, shreds of a conversation would reach her ears and she wondered what they were saying, but she was just too tired to understand anything. The only thing she felt was a strange calm, like she was diving in deep water. But she wasn't alone, the warm feeling of another human made itself known on her back. Gajeel? No, it can't be him, this doesn't feel like him at all. I wish he was here…but wait, what even is here? I can't…think…maybe…if I sleep… She felt her mind slipping back into unconsciousness and an image of the familiar face of her love formed just before she succumbed to the fatigue.

Gajeel awoke with a startle. After Lily finally managed to calm his dragon-like rage he'd stumbled back to his room in a stupor. He couldn't think, he couldn't sleep, at last he couldn't even move. He'd sat down on his bed and must have sat there for hours, or minutes, he didn't know and he couldn't care. Somewhere along the way he must've laid down and fallen asleep, only to be plagued by the same nightmare over and over again. Levy being hurt, abused, killed; reaching for him, her beautiful face twisted in anguish and horror, yet he couldn't do anything but scream in frustration when she slipped away from him.

He let his head sink into his hands and drew in a few shaky breaths. Something needed to be done, no everything needed to be done. And he'd have to be the one to do it.

He had to save her.

But it was hard. He'd never felt so lost, so helpless. Even in the last war, he was constantly on edge, hungry for fighting. After the death of his father, the looming responsibilities and reality of his life overwhelmed him to a point where nothing made sense anymore, nothing felt real or mattered. If he won, he would go on to the next fight. If he died it would just be his fate. Nothing more, nothing less. His own life was nameless and without meaning, without value. But now it was so different, he actually felt like he could lose something.

He could lose her.

NO! No, no, no, no, no! It was the only clear thought he had, everything else was a maelstrom of fear, anger, frustration, guilt and above all, crippling, mind-numbing despair. He'd repeat the word over and over whenever his thoughts went to a place too dark for his fragile self to bear. It was the only thing keeping him from going mad with fear and wrath. The only thing keeping the dragon at bay.

-

"…'ll want her to…rk right aw…ink. King Ha..s is an imp…ent man."

"Yeah! And he…to finally destroy th…stupid Terya. They ha..e become way too cocky."

"What do you mean destroy? We'll save the barbarians from themselves and lead them to eternal salvation!"

"Sure, as long as I get to kill some of those bastards…"

What are they saying? Who even are these people? Levy had finally awoken fully from her deep sleep and was getting increasingly panicked as her situation became clearer. She was rocking back and forth, apparently on horseback, couldn't move or open her eyes yet, but the muffled voices sneaked into her ears uninvited. What is that? Poison? Magic? Am I just tightly bound? No, I can't feel a blindfold. Must be something else. She started remembering what had happened. How she'd awoke in Gajeels arms, the warmth of the kitchen and smell of hay. Her stroll around the orchard on Shiro, telling the young horse her sorrows and picking apples from the trees to feed him. She also remembered having a weird feeling but brushing it off. Then, as they were about to head back, everything turned dull and after some time, black.
Oh no. Erkar probably took me for leverage against Gajeel. NO! This is why I wanted to go home!

Her eyes remained sealed shut, but tears formed in them when she slowly realized how dire her situation was and how it could hurt the man she loved, as well as the country that had grown close to her heart. The tears were rolling down her cheeks in no time while she tried to stay as still as possible, trying not to alert whom she'd know pinpointed as her abductors.

"Hey, is she crying?"

"I don't know, I can't see her, you tell me."

"Seems like it. HEY! Nah, only crying, didn't even flinch. Poison is probably still active."

Despite her situation, Levy's mind was still running like clockwork and her brain sprung into action, processing any information she could get. So I was right, a paralysis poison. But how did they get it into my body? Or did I inhale something?

"You should give her some more, just to be sure. We don't want her to know where she is."

"What are you talking about? She's from Chrate, how is she supposed to know where we are. It's a miracle she's still here and we didn't need to go all the way up to Rhyacus to get her."

Miracle? Wait, don't they know why I'm here? But if they don't know about the reason of my stay, does that mean they don't know about my and Gajeels relationship? That would mean they won't use me against him! But…why did they take me then? They must have a spy to even know that I'm here. Or maybe they just had one in Rhyacus…

No obvious reason for the kingdom of Erkar would going to these lengths of abducting her, if not for her relationship with the king of Terya came to mind. She didn't dare think it was anyone but henchmen from Erkar, everything else would contain a number of possibilities she didn't even want to consider. As a distraction, she tried moving again and managed to open her eye the tiniest bit. The horse in front of her was a dark brown heavy horse and the one to her right seemed like a white thoroughbred.
Shiro? No, that's not him, Shiro has a lighter mane. But…they must have took me while I was still on him, where is he?
Thinking about what might have happened to her lovely horse made her nervous and she wriggled around in her seat anxiously, prompting the man behind her to stop their horse.

"We should give her another dose, she's waking up."

Curses! But maybe now I know how they got it into my system before. Just as the paralysis was starting to wear off. I hate this feeling. I wish Gajeel was here. I need to leave him a clue…but I can't even move. I can only sleep…wait, why am I sleepy again? Is that the poison? I didn't notice how they did it…but…it must be…I feel so…heavy…

Everything started to slow down and at last she fell back into black unconsciousness.

-

Gajeel barked orders over the courtyard, the only thing keeping him together by now was taking action. After looking for Shiro, who'd thankfully been smart enough to stay on castle grounds, he'd made the announcement about Levy's abduction and started to prepare his subordinates for the things coming. The abduction itself was cause enough for him to act, yet on top of it there had been even more reports from the border of the Erkarian forces now approaching Terya directly with clearly aggressive intentions. Any and all attempts to communicate had been rejected with the answer of being on an unchangeable mission. In response to this news, as well as the kings summon reaching them, most of the generals in Farkesi had brought their direct subordinates to the castle and Gajeel was now giving them their orders to take to their battalions.

"We start to move at dawn. The first outpost is just a few hours on horseback away, but will take almost the whole day on foot. We will set up camp for two days to regroup and let others join us. Afterwards we will only set up camp for one night before moving to the next outposts. With this pace we will arrive at Erkars border in a week, but our main forces will stay behind as to not be endangered. Scouts will clear out any area we want to set up camp at, especially the last one. It is important that we are not aggressive in any way as of yet and Erkar should be kept in the dark about our movements. That is all."

"You are dismissed!" Lily's order set the men in motion. They bowed, gathered and left through the main entrance of the castle.

Gajeel turned around and went back inside, Lily following closely behind.

"Do you want some company, Gajeel? We can stay up together if you'd like."

"Nah, it's fine. I wanna be alone."

"Promise me not to destroy anything and I'll leave you alone."

Gajeel just growled in annoyance, but it was enough for Lily. Incidents of the past taught him enough about his friends personality and coping, so he didn't want to press the issue.

-

"He's hurting so much I can feel it in my fur and it's making my whiskers tingle."

"The woman he is loving is taken away from him. He will not stop hurting until he knows she is safe."

"I know; I just wish I could help him somehow. It's not just that he's angry or sad. He's so raw and full of emotions that he thinks I don't know about, but I can feel them to a point I want to run away because they are so strong."

"What he must feeling if it is so strong for you, I cannot imagine. But I think that you are helping by staying next to his side. I just hope you are unhurt in the fighting."

"I'll try my best. I hope you won't be too lonely without our teas? How do you get along with the others?"

"Do not worry too much. Enough of them are treating me kindly and even those who do not are not cruel. I am paying them no mind when they eye me with suspicion. The only one I need to be concerned about is Kofu and she does not indulge in their spiel. Also, Mary and I are getting along well, she is a nice girl."

"I'm glad to hear it. Paying them no mind may be your best option to show that you are not an enemy."

"I would rather have them just leaving me be. I am grateful for the opportunities you granted me, but I will be moving on someday. Rest is for the housecats."

"I do have to say I was very surprised you took my offer in the first place. I did not expect you to be content with the work of a maid."

"I do not mind the work, but my fur is itching to be back on the road. I want to follow the way of our people. Being honest, I have no idea how you are staying here so long. I know that more and more Exceeds start settling down these days, but I thought a warrior like you would be even more connected with the blood of our elders. Yet I am seeing no trace of our way of life in you."

"You know, there is no reason why I need to ride out so often. Most of my duties could be fulfilled by a messenger, but I use the opportunity to travel all over the kingdom and sometimes the continent. I do have the thirst all Exceeds seem to be driven by, but I like living here. I like that my life is organized if I want it to be and that I don't have to worry about my next meal. I life a more comfortable life than most and I owe all of it to the Redfoxes. Gajeel is my friend and I wouldn't want to leave him behind."

They talked some more before Shagotte had to return to her duties and Lily had to prepare for the coming day. He gave his Goodbye with the promise to stay away from harm, both of them full well knowing how unkeepable it was.

The buzzing of the grindstone could be heard over the courtyard of Farkesi Castle as the sky slowly began to brighten, the last stars still clinging to their nightly resting place. Gajeel sat in full armor in front of the stone wheel and sharpened his sword, Dragonfang. It was his favourite, forged with steel made from the best iron in Terya and imbued with magic spells during forging so it would never break or rust. Apart from the masterful crafting, the design of the weapon was pure art. Stretching in length from his feet to his upper waist, the two-hander displayed a wide handle with a ruby shining in the center. Intricate carvings all over the blade made it seem much more delicate than it was, but anyone trying to lift the gigantic weapon would quickly know that it was anything but delicate.

Lily walked out onto the courtyard on Tinto, leading a saddled and prepared Scenja on her reigns beside them. Gajeel stopped mistreating his ears with the screech and sheathed the massive sword before walking over to his friend.

"We're ready to leave at your command."

Gajeel mounted Scenja and gave the signal for the castle doors to open, revealing a few hundred soldiers waiting in the streets of Farkesi and on the pathway towards the castle. They turned towards him and stood in attention as he gave Scenja the signal to move forward with Lily and Tinto on his heels. The castle guards would stay behind until they were needed and keep the peace in the city.

Gajeel shifted in his seat to get comfortable as Lily slowly came up beside him. Only one thought resided in his head:

"Let's go save my Queen."