Chapter 17

Between her father's interrogation and Gajeel's constant distraction of wanting to go into the castle kitchen, it seemed to take her an eternity to finally drag her merman from the dining room. She kept a tight hold on his arm and led him well away from the large doors before she stopped.

"So…" she started, feeling confident enough to drop her hold on Gajeel's arm and clasp her hands behind her back. "What do you think so far? Is the castle a lot different than your home?"

She waited while Gajeel processed her words. After only a few seconds he shrugged and held his fingers close together.

"A little different?"

He grimaced, holding his fingers further apart. Levy laughed.

"I suppose it would be! Now, where to next," she tapped her chin, turning in a small circle.

I could give him a tour of the whole castle, but that's probably too boring. But the armory might be interesting for him, and maybe the artifact room? But first things first…

"We have three days," she turned back to Gajeel, "So I want you to enjoy everything you can. First question: Do you want to be inside or outside?"

The confused tilt of his head and awkward silence made Levy mentally slap herself.

"Restart. Inside," she pointed to the floor, then to the window, "or outside?"

Gajeel's lips twitched, but thankfully he simply pointed to the floor underneath them.

"So inside today and outside tomorrow?"

Gajeel nodded, shuffling forward to stand right next to her. Levy cleared her throat, turning away from his intense gaze.

"G-great, let's go then!"

She grabbed hold of his arm to help support him as he walked. It was the least she could do, since he took who knew what types of risks to get to the surface. She certainly didn't have any ulterior motives, like admiring his tall build or wide shoulders. She peeked up at him, her gaze colliding with his, and ducked away. She ignored the way her heart hammered in her chest and rambled about everything they passed by. From the stained glass windows, to the suits of armor and tapestries. Gajeel stared around him in wonder, his mouth moving with every new word she taught him.

At some point during their walk, Gajeel took her hand from his arm and placed it in his. Between the warmth of his shoulder and their fingers intertwined, Levy felt her words stumble about on her tongue. She cleared her throat, glancing up at him.

"Sorry, everyone tells me that I talk too fast."

She scratched her head and pretended to admire a painting on the wall. A small snort sounded behind her. She whipped around to glare at Gajee, who covered his mouth with his free hand.
"What!?"

Gajeel smirked and moved his fingers up and down like a mouth.

"I'm aware I have a talking problem, but you don't need to laugh at me!"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow, pointing to himself. Levy shifted and let go of his hand to cross her arms.

"What now?"

She followed his pointed finger back the way they came, then watched him lift his legs in large steps before doubling over as if he were laughing. Levy felt her face grow warm.

"Ok well…you climbing those stairs was really funny, alright?"

Gajeel frowned and lifted his legs in large steps. He pointed to his feet, tilting his head at her. Levy blinked.

"Huh?"

She watched him point to his ear, take three large steps, then pointed to his feet.

"Stairs? You…don't have stairs at your home?"

Gajeel shook his head and used his arms to pretend to swim.

"True, you probably wouldn't need them, huh?" She resumed their walk. "And please let me know if I'm talking too fast. I tend to ramble…and don't you laugh at me, or else!"

Gajeel smirked and patted her hair, tapping the side of his head.

"Huh?"

He wiggled his finger in a circular motion.

"You…want me to keep going?"

Ugg, I'm officially banning charades from the castle!

Gajeel nodded and moved his finger faster.

"But aren't I talking too quickly?"

He shook his head and tapped his temple with a grin.

"Wait, you can understand me better now? That's amazing! Now I can talk as much as I want and not have to worry about you!" She threw a cheeky grin over her shoulder.

Gajeel let out a silent groan and rolled his eyes. Levy laughed, holding his arm close to her side, and hurried down the hallway. They snuck around guards and suits of armor, passed by townsfolk on guided tours, and more than once ducked into an extra room to avoid Jet and Droy's suspicious scouting. Levy quickly led them to a closed off room and, after checking that her two bodyguards were nowhere in sight, ushered them both into the room.

Levy breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her hold on Gajeel's hand. "Don't worry, we're safe in here. Only those with special permission from the king can have access to this room."

She studied the large room, trying to picture it through Gajeel's wide eyed wonder. It was her favorite room in the entire castle, not counting the castle library. Glass cases hung on the walls and display cases sat in straight rows around the room, each filled with a relic from Fiore's long, ancient history.

"These are my country's heirlooms…er, special things that have been passed down from each generation of the royal family. Look at this one!" She stopped in front of a case with a thin pair of glasses. "When I was little, I always begged my father to let me use these…according to legend, they can help you read at the speed of light."

Gajeel peered over her shoulder at the glasses. Her face grew warm and she quickly moved onto the next display case.

"And this is a ring that can create words out of thin air! Oh, and here's a sword that belonged to a warrior who could change her armor at will."

They went from case to case, studying each artifact in the room. Levy knew each artifact's history by heart and was certain she was boring Gajeel to tears, but he seemed to hang on her every word. Her chest warmed with all of the attention.

"Oh, come over here!"

She dragged Gajeel to the back of the room, where over a dozen paintings hung on the wall.

"See him?" she asked, pointing to the largest portrait, "that's the first king of Fiore, back when magic was still thick and strong. He ruled the land with what was supposedly the most powerful weapon in all the world."

Gajeel stared at the portrait, slowly pointing to the glowing weapon.

Levy clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. "Hmhmm, it really was the most powerful, at least from what I've read. I'm not sure how a trident could be that strong and the story says it disappeared ages ago, but I suppose–"

Gajeel shook his head, rapidly pointing from the trident back to himself. Levy grinned.

"Oh! That's right, you're a warrior yourself. You've probably fought with something similar–"

If Gajeel had a voice, Levy was certain he would have cursed. She frowned at him, watching as he pointed to his eyes and then the trident.

"You've…" she hesitated, watching his movements, "you've…seen that?"

He nodded so hard his bandana slid into his face.

Levy scratched her head. "But…but how?"

That's impossible! The trident disappeared centuries ago, how would Gajeel of all people have seen it?

Gajeel lifted his hands and took a deep breath, but slowly let it out as his hands dropped. He gave a shrug and Levy bit back a sigh of disappointment.

"You really need to get your voice back. I'm dying to know what you're talking about right now." Her eyes burned and her voice became tight. "But I can't even talk to you, because someone decided to get rid of his voice, not like that's one of the most important things to have in order to communicate with someone–ouch!"

Levy glared up at her merman and rubbed her sore forehead. Gajeel gave her a small smile and pointed to his legs.

She sighed, "I know, but you didn't have to go that far, I was planning on visiting the beach every day until I saw you again…what are you doing?"

One moment she was standing on her own next to the offending painting, the next she was surrounded by Gajeel's familiar scent. His arms wrapped around her tightly and she hesitated only a moment before nuzzling against his chest.

"I missed you too. But next time, maybe talk to an actual human first before taking such drastic measures, alright?"

Gajeel swayed from side to side, as much of an answer as he could give. His heart pounded against her cheek and Levy sniffed into his new shirt. She fought the rising disappointment that threatened to clog her throat.

She had been so excited to see Gajeel on that beach, to finally be able to show him her world and teach him all the things he longed to know. She wanted to know his opinion about their food, about the clothes she picked out for him. She wanted to ask him about his culture and why he decorated his long hair. How old was he? What did he do for fun? Was he the son of the royal family just like she was?

A heavy sigh lifted her shoulders. Gajeel tightened his hold and she clenched his dark vest between her fingers. They stayed like that for a moment, simply basking in each other's warmth. Footsteps sounded outside the room and voices echoed mutely from the opposite side of the closed door.

Levy cleared her throat and took a step back.

"Want to see my favorite picture?" she asked, swiping away a stray tear lingering on her cheek.

Gajeel stared at her, but finally nodded. He reached up to cup her face, wiping away the last of the moisture.

"I'm fine, just a little sad." She shook off the gloom clinging to her shoulders and flashed a wide smile. "C'mon, this way!"

They both made their way to the end of the wall where a small picture hung. Dwarfed between two portraits nearly as tall as she was, the painting had escaped Levy's notice for years, but had easily become her favorite.

"See that?" she tugged Gajeel closer, "It was the strongest magic Fiore ever had. Stronger than even your mysterious trident."

A young man stood on a bed of rocks, a storm raging around him. Lightning flashed in the dark sky and waves crashed high along the cliff, but the man stood firm. A gleaming ball rested between his hands, casting his determined face in shadow and light.

"Legend says it wasn't an artifact, but some deep, innate magic hidden within oneself. No one knows what the exact spell is, or if it even was a spell, but it would always appear when the kingdom was in great distress and when the great kings of old needed it the most."

She huffed a small laugh, giving Gajeel a sly look. "I used to try and create it when I was in trouble with my father."

Gajeel's shoulders shook in silent laughter. He flashed her a grin and Levy's heart skipped a beat.

I don't know which is worse…human Gajeel or merman Gajeel…either way, it's bad for my heart!

"Let's get going. We've been inside long enough and I'm sure you want to see more of the gardens!"

At Gajeel's nod, and before Levy convinced herself to do something silly like kiss his cheek, Levy creaked open the door and the two snuck through the castle and into the warm, afternoon sun.