Chapter 15

I can't believe I got stuck like that…

Gajeel refused to look down at Levy, his face still uncomfortably hot from his mishap. Of course Levy noticed the warmth in his face, but thankfully she didn't say anything as she led them closer to the human building. She pushed aside a large blocker nestled within the wall of the building and pulled him through. He flinched and ducked under the opening before noticing that his head was several fin lengths away from the top of the opening.

He twisted to look around him, the tug from Levy's hand the only thing keeping him moving forward. The cool, dry interior of the building surrounded him. His feet padded on the cold stone floor and even his breath seemed to echo in the narrow passage. After only a few steps, the narrow passage opened and Gajeel jerked to a halt, his fingers slipping from Levy's hold.

The room was larger and taller than anything he had seen, larger than even his father's main throne room. Light fixtures were secured onto the walls. Decorations hung on the stone surfaces or rested on the floor of the building. The ceiling was covered with more light fixtures and decorations and Gajeel wondered how in the Seven Seas the humans made it to the very top of the giant room without any water to help them.

Another wooden blocker opened and the same yellow-haired female from the ship approached Levy. She jerked to a halt at the sight of him. Levy grabbed her arm and turned her away. Their whispered conversation drifted across the large room and Gajeel took a moment to continue studying the wonderful human work around him. The yellow-haired human glanced over her shoulder at him and Gajeel's heart pounded.

I should greet her properly!

He hurried across the large room and stood directly in front of the human, smiling down at her in what he hoped was a proper human greeting. She was taller than his Levy, with the top of her head reaching just above his shoulder. Her yellow hair shone like the sun across the ocean and she must have been attractive to the other human males, but Gajeel preferred Levy's wispy, playful blue hair and sparkling eyes. He took a step back, darting a glance at Levy to make sure she didn't think he favored the new female over her.

Levy took his arm and pulled him next to her. He stood straight and tall, warmth filling his chest at her bold claim to him. He fought back a smile and tried to ignore the exchange in front of him.

"Sorry, he's still getting used to other people. Can we put him in the room next to mine? It should be empty, right?"

The other female frowned, "You know the king would not approve."

Levy waved her free hand, her other hand still warming the skin on his arm. "Let me worry about my father. But for now, a room and a few changes of clothes. Obviously the sooner the better."

Both females turned to look at him, their gazes roaming up and down his new human body. Gajeel's face warmed again and he reached up to scratch his curling ear fins. His fingers twitched when they met nothing but a smooth ear.

"I will see if the other servants have anything we can use until we find a better option."

"Thank you, Lucy!"

The other human, Lucy apparently, hummed deep in her throat. Gajeel felt his mouth hang open.

I didn't know they could speak our language!

"Come on, Gajeel!" Levy tugged on his arm and hurried to the center of the room. Lucy slowly followed, mumbling under her breath.

A steep, jagged cliff connected the lower section of the human building to an upper section that curved around and led deeper into the building. Levy let go of his hand and lifted her feet to step onto the first part of the incline. Her feet quickly bounced onto each small section until she was several fin lengths ahead of him. Gajeel stared at his bare feet, still firmly anchored on the bottom section.

"Gajeel?"
Ok, you can do this…just one feet…foot after another.

Using both hands to grab a smooth bar attached to the side, Gajeel slowly lifted his foot to step onto the first section. He lifted his other foot, his hold on the pole the only thing keeping him from topping over, and placed his other first next to the first. He crawled his way upward, eyes never leaving his feet. His legs and knees shook beneath him each time he balanced on one leg, nothing like the way Levy seemed to almost float up the steep incline. It felt as if he were being weighed down by some invisible force.

A bead of liquid tricked down the side of his face by the time he made it to the top. He gave a final small hop to the final section and placed both feet firmly on the ground. He beamed a triumphant smile at Levy.

Did she see? I conquered my first human challenge!

Levy stood with a hand clamped over her mouth, her face turning an alarming shade of red. A shimmer of liquid covered her eyes and her shoulders shook.

Is she sick!?

Gajeel hurried to her side, looking down the incline to the human Lucy for help, but found the yellow-haired female in the same red-faced state as his human. He turned back to Levy, reaching out to do…something, anything!

Levy held out a hand, shoulders still shaking, "I'm fine, Gajeel…just…sorry, give me a second!" The liquid spilled from her eyes.

Gajeel tilted his head, the choking sound making her words too warped for him to fully understand. She coughed and sighed heavily, wiping the liquid from her eyes.

"That was the funniest thing I ever saw," she murmured before turning back to him. "Remind me to help you practice climbing stairs a few more times."

She grinned up at him and Gajeel gave a shaky smile in return, even though he didn't understand a single word she said. A frown formed on his brow. He looked her up and down, her face still splotched and red.

"I'm fine, really. Let's get going."

She took his hand again and he glanced over his shoulder to give the stairs a final look. Levy finally regained her breath and chatted non-stop as she led him through the human building. Her words came faster the farther they walked, but he noticed that they didn't confuse him like they did when he first swam Levy back to her home.

Maybe now that I'm a human I can understand the human language better?

Levy led them to the end of the long passageway, where a smaller blocker closed off another room. Lucy leaned down to murmur something in Levy's ear before darting down the pathway. Levy pushed the blocker open and led Gajeel through the opening. He looked around the bright room with wide eyes, instantly surrounded by Levy's familiar scent.

This must be her bedroom!

He turned in a small circle, staring around him. The room was nearly as large as his back home, but covered in colorful human decorations and fabric. Thin fabric covered the windows and let in the light from the bright sun. What looked like a bed rested near the far wall, draped in blue and yellow fabric and three fluffy white pillows. It looked so different from the one in his own sleeping quarters at home that he took several steps forward before stopping himself.

I don't wanna get her things dirty.

Holding his hands behind his back to help him resist temptation, Gajeel trailed after Levy as she puttered around her room. Her voice lifted as she told him about the many human trinkets scattered about. She led him to the wall where rows and rows of books sat on shelves the same color as the trees they passed along the beach. He carefully ran a finger along the ends of the books.

I wonder if she'd like the book Wendy found for me…

Levy had just led him to a shiny reflective decoration hanging low on the wall when the wooden room blocker creaked open. Lucy stepped inside and quietly shut the blocker behind her.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, it took me a while to find clothing in…his size."

She deposited the bundle of human cloth onto the bed. Levy hurried over and sorted through it.

"Thank you, I think this will work just fine."

They lowered their voices and peeked at him from over their shoulders. Gajeel tilted his head, his normally sensitive ears only able to pick out the words 'how do we help' and 'can't exactly show him.'

He moved to the bed and peered over their heads at the clothing. They startled and he jerked backwards, lifting a hand to his chest. The two females glanced at one another and after a moment, Levy sighed.

"Ok, Gajeel…watch this."

She opened another wooden contraption and took out fabric that looked similar to the pile on the bed. He watched carefully as she demonstrated how to put on a shirt and pants.

"Normally you would take off your dirty clothes first, but I'm showing you like this for now."

He wasn't quite sure what she meant, but a simple glance at the clothes hanging on his body showed they were much too dirty to put new fabric over top of them. With a nod of understanding, he began to unravel the piece of rope holding up his pants.

"What are you doing!?"

"No! Stop Gajeel!"

Both females screeched, their faces turning an alarming shade of red as they scrunched their eyes shut and waved their arms in the air. Gajeel yanked the pants up as high as they could go, his heart pounding.

What!? What'd I do!?

"You need to change over there!"

Levy pointed to a screen of some sorts, head still turned away from him. Her hands fumbled in the air until they landed on his arm. Grabbing the clothes from the bed, she thrust them into his hands and pushed him towards the screen.

"Just…just do what I showed you! But don't come out until you're completely covered, understand?"

Gajeel hurried behind the partition, making sure the patterned wood completely blocked his entire body from the humans' view. His heart finally settled back to its normal rhythm and his face cooled.

That was…ok, so humans never change their clothing in front of each other. Odd, but good ta know…

The whispered conversation on the opposite side of the barrier no longer seemed laced with panic. With a shrug at the human's strange ways, Gajeel quickly took off his tattered clothing and attempted to pull on his new, clean coverings. The fabric twisted and bunched around him and it took him several attempts to make sure most of his skin was covered.

He peeked around the barrier. Levy glanced at him cautiously and gave a relieved sigh. Gajeel's shoulders relaxed and he hurried to her side.

"Much better, but they still seem to fit oddly…" She straightened out the fabric and pushed circular disks through holes in the fabric to fully cover his torso. Gajeel studied Levy while she worked.

It was still strange, constantly standing upright on two legs. He could hardly see her face, unless she looked up directly into his eyes. He made due with simply staring at the top of her head, tilting his head every so often to catch a glimpse of her face. She was so tiny, even smaller than he originally thought when he swam with her after her ship sank into the ocean. The salty sting of the ocean no longer surrounded them and instead she was covered in a crisp, cool scent. Gajeel found himself leaning forward, wanting to get closer to her intoxicating smell.

"I think that'll do."

He jerked backwards just in time for her to smile up at him. She patted his shoulder, adjusting the fabric one more time. Even with a layer of fabric covering him, his skin still turned warm where she touched. She took a step backward and Gajeel bit back a growl of disappointment. She reached for another piece of clothing and motioned for him to move his arms. He forced himself to watch how she smoothed the cloth over his shoulders, instead of trying to catch a glimpse of the sparkle in her eyes.

"There," she said with a final pat on his shoulder, "What do you think?"

Holding back the urge to pull her into his arms, Gajeel looked down at his first pair of real human clothing.

His legs were covered in a pair of dark blue pants that ended just a little lower than his knees. He moved his arms, feeling the light fabric of his shirt twisting around his body. The white fabric rested softly against his skin and a black, smaller shirt of some kind overlapped the undershirt. He stood tall and placed his fists on his hips, giving Levy a wide smile. An answering grin lifted Levy's lips.

He ducked his head quickly, dark strands of his hair falling into his face.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

Levy darted away and grabbed a piece of light blue fabric, similar to the one she gave him the first time they met. The one his father destroyed.

Gajeel worked to keep the frown from forming on his face as Levy hurried back to his side. He bent his head at her directions, spreading his legs slightly to keep his balance while she tied the fabric around his head.

"There, that should help keep the hair out of your face, hmm?"

She dimpled at him and he played with the fabric. He opened his mouth to give her his thanks when Lucy cleared her throat.

"If you are finished playing dress-up, Your Highness, it is almost time for lunch."

"Perfect!" Gajeel startled at Levy's loud clap, "I can't wait to show you some real human food! We can figure out shoes for you later, so don't worry."

She grabbed his hand and dragged him from the room. Gajeel smiled and eagerly followed.

Not sure what shoes are, but if Levy's that excited then they must be a good thing!