Chapter 22 - Anticipation
Levy hated waiting. This was what she had decided after pacing around her tent for the past few hours. If she had known she would be pacing in a small area again so soon, she would have protested more strongly when Gajeel told her to stay behind. Five days ago, he had left for Helia's Pass with Rheyvar and the troops, ready to face Hades' forces and block the route. This would buy them valuable time in exchange for relinquishing the element of surprise. Of course, Levy wanted to come and help, but he'd convinced her to stay behind. She'd spent her days translating and practicing the magic language, which she'd learned from Rheyvar was actually a human adaptation of draconic language, hence the versatility. By now, casting most of the simple spells came naturally to her and after some more rituals and prayers, her body was well saturated with magic power. Despite not being a fighter, she wanted to be able to at least help out in case of emergency, protect the camp and herself. Not to mention the plan she'd been hatching for a while now.
Aside from practicing her magic, she'd been befriending the guard assigned to her. Being in possibly immediate danger and by now definitely considered a guest of honor, Gajeel had installed a guard for her. Most of the men were constantly switching, but he'd assigned one to be at her side at almost all times of day. A young fighter, barely older than her, but extremely skilled with the sword already. Additionally, he possessed mastery of defensive and simple spatial magic, not only a rarity in Terya, but suited perfectly to protect Levy. His name was Leo, and the two of them often spent time discussing magic, doing some basic self defense training, chatting over dinner or joking around with the other soldiers. Levy was glad for Leo's company, with Lily also leaving for Helia's pass, she knew no one in camp, but Leo was friendly and seemed to be well liked. With his help, some of the others in camp soon opened up to her presence.
"Madam, I fear I'll need a shovel to dig you out by dinnertime if you keep walking in circles like that."
He'd appeared at the opening of the tent with a mixture of concern and bemusement on his face.
"Come on Leo, they were supposed to be back by now."
"Ah, battles are unpredictable, no one can know really when they will return."
"I know, but I can't help being antsy, I'm worried."
Leo gave her an understanding smile. "I understand your worries for a loved one madam, but I have seen his Majesty fight, and I can tell you, you don't have reason to worry. I'm confident that he's the strongest warrior in the southern half of the continent."
Levy sighed. She knew Gajeel was strong, but unlike his men, she had never witnessed him fight, so she couldn't ascertain it for herself. Sometimes being such an analytical person helped her through hard situations, like in Erkar castle. Unfortunately, the lack of information only served to make her anxious in the current situation.
"Would you like to occupy your mind? We can spar, if you like, or visit some of the guys who play cards."
"Sure, let's look if someone's up for a game. I need to get out of here."
Nobody expected an army camp to be on call at all times, so the soldiers found various ways to occupy themselves. Cards were simple to acquire, easy to store and versatile. Being quick on the uptake and supported by Leo introducing her to the men, Levy had played a few games with some of them over the past days. She thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so, that she made plans to ask Gajeel and others at Farkesi castle to play with her in the future.
The sun was setting when she left the tent, the sky already turning into a deep lilac on one side, while still fiery red on another. A few stars could be seen twinkling faintly behind the various smoke columns rising into the night sky. If they weren't in such a tense situation, Levy would have savored it more. Crackling fires, people quietly talking, the occasional whinny of the horses outside, it almost felt peaceful. They didn't come far before the quiet was broken by two quick trumpet sounds. Levy perked up immediately, as did Leo. Two sounds meant approaching troops, if there would be another, it would herald the victorious return of their own. Levy stopped breathing, seemingly not the only one, the chattering had stopped, no footsteps were heard and even the horses went quiet. The tension inside the camp rose to uncomfortable levels, almost palpable, before finally releasing with the delivery of the sound heralding that it was their own returning. With the release came relief and soon after, rejoicing, hopeful voices ringing through the alleys of tents. Levy hurried to the western entrance, where the opening gate revealed a train of soldiers approaching over the hills. The two horses at the front were unmistakable, one white spotted, the other jet black. Lily and Gajeel, leading the victorious procession. Levy could feel her heart jump with excitement. They'd won, they were returning safely and the odds had just turned strongly in their favor.
Soon, the thundering of hoofes could be heard from afar, and after just a moment, Gajeel came barrelling into the camp.
"WE DEFEATED THE ADVANCE OF ERKAR! HELIAS PASS IS BARRED! TODAY, WE ARE VICTORIOUS!!"
After his announcement, which had the news spreading through the camp like ripples, Gajeel spotted Levy. The brightest grin spread across his face, he jumped off of Scenja and sprinted over to her. She laughed with him, burying her face in his shoulder as he whirled her off her feet, relieved and happy to have him back, safe and sound.
They soon welcomed the rest of the army, with Gajeel carrying Levy on his shoulder. She'd protested at first, but he simply laughed, telling her the soldiers would connect seeing her with winning and coming home, that they'd accept her more easily afterwards. So she obliged, wanting to be more connected to them. She wasn't naive, she knew he was set on their relationship being long term and she knew what came with it. Of course she also wanted to stay by his side, her love had long taken roots, not just for Gajeel, but also for Terya. But while being a queen was still an overwhelming prospect to her, she decided that growing closer to the people of Terya would be a good start.
Naturally, a victory warranted celebrating. Gajeel ordered all benches to be arranged in the open spaces of the camps and a right feast was prepared soon, consisting of mostly roasted meats, strong beers and warm bread. Suddenly, the previously quiet camp was abuzz with voices, the wooden clanking of tableware and beer mugs and most importantly, music. Teryans were known not only for their battle valor and hearty meals, but also for their voices. Whoever wasn't eating or talking was singing along to lutes, a harmonic rumbling of deep sonourous voices. Levy was nestled comfortably at the table of honour between Gajeel and Lily, listening to the tales of battle while dipping bread into delicious meat juices and beer sauces.
Apparently, they had come face to face with some of Hades' puppets and witnessed their ability. They had mastery of far more magic spells and fighting techniques than expected from simple puppets. There must've been some extremely advanced magic involved in their creation to imbue them with this much personality and power. However, when killed, their body dissolved into a dark mist after some time. Unfortunately, the puppets had been the only ones they had encountered, so no prisoners for a possible exchange or interrogation of any kind. Nevertheless, they had succeded in their ambush and Rheyvar had helped to destroy the entrance to Helias Pass. Now the only route over the border was further away and hard to reach from Erkar. The plan was to wait at this route and take the initiative on hopefully, the last battle. Everyone was aware they'd have more waiting, but for now they were basking in the comfort of victory and good food.
The night was at it's darkest when the festivities died down. Everyone was well fed, had danced, sung, talked and played to their heart's content, and the beer did the rest. Gajeel could feel it himself, he was spent from the previous battle, only having rested minimally on the way home, he was looking forward to a good night sleep. That's when he remembered that his tent had rather minimal furnishing, and while he didn't mind back then, with tunnel vision on saving Levy, an actual, comfortable bed seemed like a great idea. He organized for his current bedding to be upgraded, but since it would take some time, Levy invited him over to her tent for some conversation away from prying eyes. He suspected that while she was enjoying the lively atmosphere and worked hard on fitting in, she must be feeling exhausted from being observed so much. He happily obliged, figuring he could get comfortable on the simple sofa in her tent before finally getting to bed.
"I have something to ask you, love," Levy opened the conversation when they were comfortably nestled on the sofa.
"Mhm?" he was struggling to stay awake, especially since Levy had started playing with his hair, but what she said next certainly woke him up quite a bit.
"I'd like to participate in the coming battles."
"Absolutely not, bluebird. I ain't lettin' you anywhere close to the danger. Only reason you're in this camp and not on the shortest way to Farkesi is 'cause I'm here."
"But I think I can be of help with my magic! Let me ride on Rheyvar, I'll be safe there!"
"I'm sure yer helpful and even if Rheyvar is safe himself from Hades, which we don't know, I still won't just take you to battle. Blue, you're not a trained fighter, you've never been near a battle before. You stay back, defend yourself if necessary and kick anyone's teeth in who comes too close to you."
Gajeel could somewhat understand why Levy wanted to come, even if it also puzzled him. She must be scared to face Hades again, and she was smart enough to realize she couldn't fight in a battle of this scale. But at heart, he knew she was a fighter and a person of action, who would rather put herself in danger to be of help than sit back and wait. He could certainly relate to that, but he was wondering why she was so insistent this time. Back in Farkesi, she'd agreed rather quickly to return to Rhyacus. Of course, knowing her she could be hatching some kind of plan or strategy, but even if, nothing she was planning could convince him to put her in direct danger.
"But I..." she was interrupted by Gajeel grasping one of her hands.
"Look, I know yer not gonna let this go and I don't wanna be an ass about it, but I really don't wanna let you participate. How about this, I was gonna assign Leo to ya again anyways. You can come with us near, not on, the battlefield and observe. If any danger comes yer way at all, I want you to leave immediately."
"Fine."
Hearing her tome of voice, he turned to look at her: "Lev, that includes losing. Even if things turn for the worse, don't be a hero. Don't come looking for me."
Tears welled up in her beautiful eyes and once more, he yearned for the day when this would not be a regular occurrence anymore. But she didn't protest, so he just pulled her into his arms.
"I'm not just saying that because I want you to be safe, It's also 'cause I can look after myself. I'll do everything I can to come back to ya, safe and sound, but I can do that best when I know yer safe too."
"I know. Please be safe." she mumbled, snuggling into him. They stayed like that for a while, before someone outside called out for Gajeel, telling him his bed had been finished.
"Alright, sleep tight, Blue, see ya tomorrow."
"You too, I love you."
Gajeel smiled. He'd never expected how much joy he could feel from just a few words. He gave her a quick kiss and ruffled her hair gently.
"Love you too."
--
AN: I'm a bit sad that my hiatus seems to have been too long, so I'm not hearing back from anyone. But of course, I want to finish this, so I'll continue to post the rest of the chapters in case someone comes back/ someone new finds this story
If you're reading this: thank you for choosing my story and sticking it out until here! 33