Chapter 4

Candy Meadow and the Sugar Plum Fairy

With the bright, yellow sun staying in its fixed position in the sky and the swirly clouds frozen on the blue expanse, Gajeel was unable to determine exactly how long he and Levy trekked through the snowy forest. His legs quickly crossed the snow-covered ground, but not once did he grow tired. Snow kicked up his boots and landed on his white pants. He brushed off the white powder, noticing it didn't even leave a wet mark on the fabric. A second set of footsteps crunched the snow next to him and he darted a glance at his fellow guild member.

Besides the occasional remark about their surroundings, Levy was surprisingly quiet. He pegged her for the loud, bubbly type based on how she interacted with the other mages back at the Guild Hall, but she had been strangely quiet throughout the entire morning. Not that he blamed her; even he wouldn't want to be waltzing through a strange wood with his worst enemy walking next to him. He peeked at Levy again.

She stepped a few feet closer to him to skirt around a tree. Once the obstacle was avoided, she moved until there was a large gap between them. She caught his staring and gave him a wide smile. Gajeel snorted and turned forward, moving faster.

She was still scared of him.

The thought shouldn't hurt. He was used to stares and looks filled with hate and distrust, but it panged his heart just the same. Oh she hid it well enough behind her pretty words and her even prettier smile, but he knew what to look for; a slight tremble in the lips, a shaky hand quickly hidden…he knew all the signs. Yet he had to give her the respect she deserved for still walking next to him and not hightailing it the moment they were alone.

Gajeel shook his head to dispel the depressing thoughts and took a deep breath. He froze, closing his eyes and slowed his breathing.

Snow crunched next to him. "What is it?" Levy whispered, close enough that Gajeel could feel the warmth from her body.

"Smell that?" He opened his eyes and looked around.

Levy craned her neck and Gajeel stared at her tiny, quivering nose. She leaned back with a gasp, smiling at him.

"It smells sweet! Like candy!"

Gajeel blinked against the brightness of her smile and the sparkles in her eyes. Face feeling strangely warm, he grunted and hurried away. "Yeah, I'm gonna get sick just smellin' it."

He rubbed his chest, taking shallow breaths to keep the sweet scent from gagging him. The warmth on his face disappeared by the time Levy scurried to his side. It was the closest she had been throughout their entire walk.

"You don't like sweet things?"

"Don't have time for silly stuff like that," he shrugged, pushing a branch out of the way. He stopped in his tracks, feeling Levy crash into his back.

A snow covered meadow stretched in front of them. Colorful rocks and patches of winter grass popped up through the white blanket. The grass waved in the small breeze, scattering sparkles of light across the snow. Bushes sat bright and merry against the pristine white expanse, each covered in round, shimmering fruit. A faint sound floated through the air, as if tinkling bells were playing somewhere unseen. They chimed with every step and echoed across the meadow as if encouraging them to dance. Gajeel frowned at the expanse around him, head lurching from side to side as he searched for danger. Levy giggled and skipped into the snow before he could stop her, creating small whisps with every step she took. One whisp landed on her outstretched finger and she licked it off.

"It tastes just like powdered sugar!" she beamed at him.

Gajeel turned away. Shaking his head, he continued walking, but unfortunately his keen ears picked up each word of the idle chatter coming his way.

Apparently the sweet smelling meadow and soft music made the small mage momentarily forget her fear of him and Gajeel found himself actually enjoying the mostly one-sided conversation. She didn't force him to join her conversation and didn't even seem to mind his short responses to any questions she actually paused long enough for him to answer. He was simply able to walk and listen and pretend like things would be the same once he finally woke up.

A loud gasp stopped Levy's story about Jet and a water fountain. Gajeel followed her pointed finger to a small grove of red trees standing on a hill cleared of snow. Their trunks were striped with red and white, almost like the hooked candies he had seen when he was a kid. Small bushes surrounded the trees, their branches charred and blackened. Levy hurried to the grove, Gajeel following carefully behind.

"Lucy!?"

The blond-haired mage stepped around the largest tree. Orbs of light floated around her head. He frowned at her dress, yet another impractical outfit for the snowy weather around them.

The pinks and creams of her dress made her look as if she were just another colorful bush sitting in the meadow. Her skirt puffed around her legs and dainty pink shoes sat on her feet. Her hair was bound and coiled around her head and a glittering golden crown sat on top of her curls. Levy squealed and exclaimed over the celestial mage's outfit, but Gajeel couldn't find anything special about it. She simply looked like a ball of cotton candy. He walked up to the red trees a good distance away from the girls, keeping a safe distance away so he wouldn't find out what the celestial mage could do with that glare of hers.

"Lucy, do you have any idea where we are?"

"Not a clue, I was hoping you might have an idea with all the books you've read."

Gajeel watched Levy glance around, her hands still clasped tightly with her friend's. "I'm…not sure. I feel like I've read something about a candy meadow before, but I can't put my finger on it."

Gajeel frowned, looking at the trees and bushes around him.

Candy, hmm?

With a glance to make sure the girls were still occupied, Gajeel reached down and carefully removed a small fruit that managed to withstand the fire damage. He turned his head slightly, sniffed the sparkling red fruit, and took a careful lick.

Flavor burst against his tongue, sweet yet spicy at the same time. He nodded in approval and took a large bite of the fruit. It crunched in his mouth and filled the air with a sharp, cinnamon scent. The girls' chatter stopped. Gajeel looked over his shoulder at the silence. They stared at him as if he had grown another set of piercings.

"What?" he barked, taking another big bite. "Ya said it was candy, so I'm helpin' myself."

The blonde startled, taking Levy's hands once more. "That reminds me! Natsu…" she spat the name as if it were a curse, "came this way with his 'minions,' as he called them. Shot fire every which way and startled all my celestial spirits."

Gajeel looked at the orbs swirling around Lucy's head, vaguely seeing a solid shape in the middle of the lights.

"I managed to find a few, but could you help me get the rest? I started with ten."

"Ten? But I don't remember you having that many."

Lucy shook her head, her crown not budging an inch. "I normally don't, but for some reason that's how many were following me before Natsu's little appearance. I can't help but be worried about them."

Gajeel crossed his arms, belly content with his candy snack, and rolled his eyes at the girlish cries of sympathy coming from Levy.

"Of course we'll help!"

"We?" Gajeel relaxed his stance, stalking toward the girls. "Hold up now, there ain't no we. I promised to help ya find yer book, not go looking for some random…orb…things." He swatted the air, where an orb that strangely looked like a sheep woman butted into his head.

"But she needs our help…" Levy peered up at him with her big, brown eyes.

Gajeel gulped.

…n-not gonna work again!

The blonde woman smirked, "And the faster you two help, the faster you can leave."

Gajeel blinked at the woman. Was it just him, or was there something about the way she said you? Lucy glared back, not even bothering to hide her frown from Levy. The tiny mage glanced between the two of them, her adorable nose beginning to scrunch. Gajeel rolled his eyes and snorted.

"Fine by me," he growled over his shoulder as he stomped away from the trees and searched the bushes for the blasted orbs. He heard whispers behind him, but didn't bother turning around to look.

Between the three of them, it took…well, he wasn't sure how long it took for them to collect all of the mage's spirits. The sun and clouds remained exactly where they had been hours prior, with no sign of moving any time soon. The two girls worked together to find most of the spirits. Lucy kept Levy far away from Gajeel's side of the meadow, throwing visual daggers whenever he wandered too close. But somehow he managed to keep his face neutral when the girls asked for help reaching into the higher branches of a tree to collect the final orb, but he finally lost the battle when he caught Lucy's eyes; the sour expression on her face when he handed her the last spirit would fuel him for weeks!