Chapter 16

Levy's friend Lucy…a maid, Levy explained, muttered softly to herself as she quietly floated behind them. Gajeel made sure to study his surroundings carefully while Levy navigated them through a long passageway deep inside the human building. She turned a corner and hopped down a different incline than they used before. Gajeel took a deep breath and grabbed hold of the side bar attached to a low wall by the incline.

His feet landed heavily with each step. His knees shook and he tilted forward, causing him to place both feet on the same jagged section each time he took a step. He shook his head, eyes staying on the ground in front of him.

I gotta get used to this soon…I can't be feelin' so…heavy all the time.

By the time he made it down the incline, Levy and Lucy were waiting for him. They held onto each other tightly, their shoulders shaking. Their red faces made alarm fish float in his mind, but he held himself back.

Levy waved a hand and coughed. "S…sorry about that, let's keep going, ok?"

She grabbed hold of his arm and Gajeel glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Her face slowly returned to its normal color and the bright sheen in her eyes disappeared. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing that Lucy also returned to her normal coloring. Shrugging at the strange ways of human females, Gajeel eagerly let Levy drag him along.

Her small hand was warm in the crook of his arm. Her feet seemed to float as she walked next to him and her soft, wispy hair tickled his arm every time she brushed up against his side. His gaze never left the top of her head and he nearly ran into the wall when Levy suddenly stopped.

"Oops, sorry!" She giggled, nodding to two male humans standing on either side of a large room blocker. They were covered from head to toe in black and white and for some reason seemed to only stare at the air above Levy's head. At her nod, the two humans bent at the waist before pushing the room blocker open.

More darkly clothed humans scurried around the large room, each bending at the waist when Levy walked past. Gajeel stared at the room around him. Large windows lined an entire wall. A glittering, hard surface covered each window and blocked the outside air from entering the room. Pictures and designs covered the wooden and stone walls and a soft floor covering covered several sections of the floor. In the center of the room sat a long, rectangular table with over a dozen chairs sitting at the ready.

Gajeel gave a silent cheer, dropping Levy's hand and rushing over to the humans. He grabbed circular disks from one human and miniature weapons from another, their protests too fast for him to understand.

He circled around the table, placing a disk in front of each chair and setting the miniature weapons in the exact way Wendy taught him. When all the sitting spots looked exactly like the book he studied, Gajeel plopped down on a chair in the center and waved to Levy. She shared a strange look with Lucy.

Gajeel scooted out the chair next to him and patted the seat. He wiggled in his seat while he waited for his human to sit down. His gaze wandered around the room, making sure to memorize everything he could.

Two room blockers burst open on the opposite side of the room, bringing with them the sharp scent that made his nose twitch. His stomach growled and Levy chuckled from where she sat next to him. Gajeel peeked at her from the corner of his eye, watching carefully so he didn't miss any of the human eating rituals.

Remembering a final note from his human lessons, he grabbed a miniature trident in one hand and a miniature sword in the other. He flashed her a grin and her lips twitched. He raised an eyebrow, but before he could question her further, the black-clad humans placed large, circular disks and deep holders in front of them. Each container was filled to the brim with more human food than he had seen in all of the books he studied. He reached for one of the round, brown balls placed in front of him, but drew back when Levy cleared her throat.

She shook her head and made a point of placing her hands in her lap. The humans placed more food on the table and scurried to the walls where they stood with their hands folded in front of them. Their heads lowered until they stared at the floor. Even Lucy moved away from Levy's side and went to stand with human females dressed in the same long, black fabric. Anticipation hung in the air, so thick he could almost swim through it.

With a gulp, Gajeel placed his eating instruments back on the table and folded his hands in his lap.

What in the Seven Seas…

The door blocker creaked open and Levy stood up from the table. Gajeel hurried to copy the ritual, his chair screeching like a dying whale across the floor in his rush. Levy coughed next to him, her face turning red again. As one, each human in the room bent at the waist or dipped low to the ground. Gajeel stared the door, heart beginning to hammer in anticipation.

Just what is going on!?

Even though his knights had informed him of his daughter's strange visitor, whom she tried and failed to sneak through his castle, Makarov nearly froze in his steps the moment he entered the dining room. He hardly noticed the servants bowing or the way that Levy somehow managed to curtsy elegantly even though she refused to wear the dresses he bought her. Instead, his gaze focused on the tall boy standing at his daughter's side.

The boy was dressed in simple clothes, very similar to the ones Makarov knew the sailors wore during their time off. He wore no shoes, but had a bandana wrapped around his short hair. Levy wore an identical bandana, something, he noticed, that even the servants were taking note of.

Makarov made his way into the room and lifted his chin, seeing the fire in the boy's eyes and the way he moved ever so slightly in front of Levy. His piercing red gaze followed Makarov's every movement as he sat at the head of the table.

So…he's a fighter…

Even with several feet of table between them, Makarov could still see the numerous scares lining the boy's arms. His hands were large and weathered, as if he had held a weapon for most of his life. It was on the tip of his tongue to demand he leave, to stay away from his daughter, but she gazed up at the boy with clear adoration in her face. The boy looked at her with equal admiration, but also something a bit…warmer.

Makarov hummed to himself, his eyes narrowing. "I see Jet and Droy were correct in their reports. Who is your new…friend, Daughter?"

His daughter glared at her two favorite knights, who wisely fled to their posts by the door. Makarov smiled into his water glass.

"Like you said, Father," Levy answered with a smile that only served to raise his suspicions, "...this is my friend, Gajeel."

She carefully picked up her fork and knife, watching the boy next to her while she cut her meat painfully slowly. The boy fumbled with his silverware, making a fuddled attempt to copy Levy's movements.

Odd…

"And where are you from, Gajeel?" Makarov asked, taking a small bite of his own lunch.

He raised an eyebrow at the way Gajeel startled. The boy stared at him with wide eyes before turning to Levy. Levy bit her lip and leaned closer to whisper. Makarov watched Gajeel shrug at the quiet question.

"Um, Gajeel can't speak because of…reasons. Oh! But he's the one I was telling you about, the one who rescued me from the shipwreck."

"I thought you said he had long hair," Makarov stated, studying the boy closely.

He matched his daughter's description of her rescuer perfectly, save for the fact that the young man had short cropped hair instead of the long locks his daughter insisted her rescuer had. Makarov was more than ready to reward the person who saved his precious Levy, but he found himself hesitating. The boy…Gajeel, held himself with perfect, albeit clumsy, manners as far as he had seen, but there was something…strange about him.

Makarov turned his attention to his plate, content to study the duo from the corner of his eye. Levy hardly touched her food, instead showing the young man how to hold his silverware and admonishing him for shoving an entire roll into his mouth. They ate in near silence, the soft hush of Levy's whispers the only thing breaking the sound of clinking silverware. When the boy had finished everything on his plate and even seconds, Makarov wiped his mouth and addressed his daughter again.

"I will trust that he is, in fact, the young man who saved your life," he gave a slight nod to the boy, who jerked in his seat, "so he may remain in the castle for the time being. I will keep a close eye on him though, to make sure he is who you say he is."

"Father…" Levy groaned, glancing at Gajeel.

"That is my condition. I know all about your little adventures, so I need to give myself some peace of mind." Makarov stood and walked towards the door.

"No, you don't have to bow like that."

Makarov glanced over his shoulder in time to see Gajeel bent at the waist until he was nearly parallel with the floor. Levy jerked him upright and kept a hold on the boy's arm. Gajeel veered to the kitchen doors and Levy struggled to hold him back.

"They can clear the plates, don't worry–no, give that back to them!"

A kitchen servant hurried to reclaim the stolen plate and rushed through the kitchen doors. Makarov chuckled and left the dining room, heading to his study on the second floor. Jet and Droy trailed after him, their armor clinking slightly with each step.

"I want you to keep a close eye on my daughter and her friend," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose where a throbbing pain began to form, "Report back to me with whatever scheme she's planning this time."