Chapter 11

The King of Edolas was currently on his way to ask Serana to attend his upcoming ball. The Fairy Tail guild hall was about a 15-minute walk away, and there was a light spattering of rain, so Jellal pulled his hood over his head, further concealing his appearance. Having a little bit of time to think as he walked through the Royal City was beneficial. He was considering how it would be possible for him to find out Serana's reaction to him informing her how he felt since he was worried that she would feel uncomfortable. Part of him was concerned about it affecting their friendship, especially if she didn't feel the same about him. He was worried that their friendship would be ruined since she may feel uncomfortable around him if she didn't share his feelings. Although it would be hard, he would understand if she didn't want to see him for a while it might be necessary for him to not see her so he could settle his feelings.

He was catastrophising as he walked briskly towards the guildhall, so instead of staring at the ground, he lifted his head slightly so he could see what was happening around him better.

When he arrived, Bisca and Alzack were just on their way out, heading out to a mission and they exchanged greetings before leaving, and Jellal went inside the hall. There must have been a strange plot to stop him from avoiding the purpose of his visit. Bisca and Alzack looking at each other affectionately were somewhat overwhelming, but he just wasn't quite comfortable with public displays of affection. It wasn't that he couldn't appreciate their happiness, but maybe it was his lack of exposure to romantic relationships that made him uncomfortable with seeing them. He had never had the chance while he was in Earthland since he spent the majority of his time on his own on missions, most of which were of a stealthy type; subterfuge, reconnaissance and such.

The woman he was looking for wasn't in the main hall, but he said hello to everyone before following Mira's suggestion to go up to the third level. There was a window that looked out over the streets and Serana sat there to read sometimes. It must have been a quiet spot.

Jellal went up the two flights of stairs, to the small space that he couldn't stand up straight in, and saw the small figure sitting just next to the window, using the natural light to read. She was leaning against a pole, seated on a large cushion that looked like it was about 30 years old. Since he walked so quietly, she only noticed him when he came into her eye line, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw him. She flinched in shock, and he realised that he needed to remember to make his footsteps audible in these situations.

"Well, this is quite a pleasant surprise." She said as she placed her bookmark in the right place and closed the book, putting it down on the floor next to her and laughing at her surprise.

"I didn't even know there was anything up here." He answered, looking at the boxes and other random bits and pieces that were laying around.

"Most of its just storage or stuff we can't fit anywhere else. It's quiet up here, which is why I like it. There's a nice view too." She pointed to the window, and she was right; you could see down the long street the guild was on, and you could see the palace in the distance as well. "May I ask why you've come all this way in the rain?"

He huffed amusedly as he ran his hand through his hair, feeling that it was slightly damp. She seemed to sense his unease and indicated for him to sit down, shoving another cushion on the floor across from her spot, dusting it off first.

"Fire away." She said as he sat down opposite her, leaning against a pole as well.

Jellal took a deep breath before he spoke. "I'm organising a ball to fundraise for the historical site at Veruze repairs, and wanted to ask if you'd like to come." He was somewhat impressed with how calm he had sounded, but he could feel that he was wringing his hands in nervousness.

"I would like that." Her expression was surprised, but she stayed quiet as if she realised he had more to say.

"Cool," Jellal replied, not sure himself of what to say. This was the first time that they had been quiet around one another, aside from when he had been asleep. "Uh, I wanted to ask you to be my date, but I was advised to suggest an alternative first date since I'll be doing 'Kingly things'."

Serana blinked at him slowly, taking a moment to realise what he had just said. She opened her mouth to speak only to close it again three times before she finally figured out what to say.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out." He piped up, not knowing what else to do at this moment.

"No, no. Don't apologise. I'm just surprised…and flattered. Very much so." Her cheeks flushed with colour but she could only keep up the eye contact for a moment before shyness took over and she looked out the window again. The natural light coming through the glass showed her blush well, and he smiled.

At least he knew that she was pleased, judging by her reaction. Despite not knowing what to do for a date, he could at least read her reactions well enough to know she was happy. She was smiling, albeit bashfully as she continued gazing out the window. Feeling himself smile, he decided to take a big step and shuffled over to sit next to her. His arm was pressed against hers and she glanced down to see that they were sitting close to each other, and her smile grew. They sat together silently for a while, just watching the rain out the window before he got the courage to speak.

"I hope you like the ball. As I said, I did consider asking you to be my date, but it was recommended to me by experts to do something different. I'll be talking to nobility, and trying to convince people to give me money for the restoration after all." He noticed from her furrowed brow that she didn't know, and realised that he hadn't told her yet. "I didn't know if you liked that sort of thing anyway."

"I've never been to a ball. I couldn't tell you how I feel about them." Serana shrugged.

"You can bring someone from the guild if that would make you feel more comfortable. I don't want you being stuck on your own all night." He suggested, not wanting her to be all by herself throughout the ball. He knew that he couldn't stay by her side the whole time.

"That would be nice. Maybe I could ask the girls and see who will be here. I think Shadow Gear is leaving for a job tomorrow, and Lucy and Natsu are away too. Cana would be good to bring since she's not rowdy, unlike the others." Serana thought out loud for a moment, trying to remember who was away and who had jobs planned.

"Good thought. I didn't think about Fairy Tail's more boisterous members." They shared a chuckle softly.

They sat together quietly for a little while longer, just chatting about the ball and he told her some of the things that were discussed during the meeting since they weren't exactly secret. As they talked idly, gradually the sun began to lower until their attention was drawn down to the street lamps being lit. Just like it normally did when they were together, time just disappeared and Jellal knew that he needed to head back to the palace.

A team of his engineers was meeting with him early tomorrow as they were hoping to begin developing technology now that Edolas didn't have magic anymore. They were trying to create a new, and reliable power source, and they had been researching some naturally occurring sources, such as water and wind. They were giving him an update as they had a breakthrough and wanted to show him in their workshop. The workshop was about 30 minutes by carriage outside the city, so he had to make sure that he was up a little earlier than usual, not that he was getting a full 8 hours of sleep anyway.

Jellal stood up first and held his hand out to Serana who took it gently with a shy smile on her face. He felt himself smile as well, pleased that he dared to somewhat ask her out, although they hadn't quite nailed down the details yet. At least he had put the idea in her head.

Heading back down the stairs to the ground level, they parted ways, with Serana seeing him off just outside the door since it had almost stopped raining. It was only raining lightly now, so Jellal pulled his hood over his head once again and turned to smile at her a few times until he had gone around a corner and couldn't see her anymore. Seeing her happy expression, with just a hint of shyness made all of his uncertainty about their developing relationship disappear. By making a gentle nudge towards something more than friends, maybe things would continue down that trail from now on

Unable to stop smiling throughout his walk back to the palace, as he went towards his chambers so he could wash up for the night, he didn't notice Coco and Briyana nudging each other with their elbows and giggling at each other. The girls had been talking about what might have happened while they completed their duties while their King was away, and they were pleased to see his smiling face upon his return…

Back in the Fairy Tail guild hall, Serana returned to her third level sanctuary to mull over what had just happened. She couldn't see Jellal walking back to the palace from here, only the buildings and rooftops around them and the palace itself. Staring at her book, still closed on the floor where she had left it, a soft huff escaped her as everything began to sink in. Did the King really just admit he had feelings for her? Was that really what just happened? She was in shock, of course, but there was a large part of her that was overjoyed.

During the time they had spent together since they'd met, in the guildhall, in the palace library, she couldn't deny that she had developed a bit of a crush on him, but she hadn't expected it to lead anywhere. All she thought would happen was she would end up moving on since nothing would come of it. This was the last thing she had anticipated.

Realising that she hadn't expressed her feelings aside from telling her that she was happy about his invitation to go on a date, even if it wasn't at the ball, she made a mental note to let him know next time she saw him. With no idea how to voice these thoughts, she used some of the time she had in the quiet room upstairs to think about this, until the noises from downstairs began to get louder and louder when the guild members were having dinner.

Her stomach rumbled suddenly and she stood up, grabbing her book and heading back downstairs to get something to eat. Mira seemed to notice that she was somewhat in her world, and asked her about it.

"Serana. There's something on your mind. Was it something that the King talked to you about?" Mira sounded concerned until she saw that Serana was smiling. "Oh, something good then?"

"Um, yeah. I think so…" she trailed off and stepped closer to Mira while looking around to see if anyone was listening. Mira took the hint and gestured for them to go into the back room so no one would hear them.

Once they got there, only a few seconds later, Mira was almost vibrating with anticipation. "So, tell me!"

"Uhh… Je-The King came to ask me if I wanted to attend the ball he's holding at the palace soon." Serana answered with some hesitation that Mira didn't miss.

"That's not all though… Come on, don't leave me in suspense!" Although Mira said it with excitement, it wasn't just to know for the sake of knowing. Mira was incredibly trustworthy, and Serana smiled and nodded.

"He also mentioned that he wanted to ask me to be his date to the ball, but thought it might be better to do something different instead since he would be chatting to people and such." She tried to relay the information as calmly as possible but her bashfulness got the best of her and her voice got a bit quieter as she kept talking.

"Now that you say it, I can see it. It's not that he treats you differently, but he's always looked at you with a different expression. It makes sense." Mira's initial rush had died down, now realising why Serana had been unsure about talking about it. "I think he must really like you, especially if he's considered asking you to be with him in public. Are you going to go to the ball?"

"Mhmm," she answered with a nod. "It's to raise funds for the reconstruction in Veruze, and I like history, so I think I'll enjoy it."

"I'm so happy for you!" Mira burst into joy and grabbed Serana's hands, and she couldn't help but feel it too. They jumped up and down in a circle and laughed together for a few seconds until someone called Mira's name from the counter.

"Thanks Mira."

Serana wanted to make sure she showed her gratitude to the woman who was a few years older than her. Mira had always been a wonderfully calming presence and she was grateful for her listening to the news and being so encouraging. Serana was worried that she wasn't able to 'date' the King due to their difference in social standing, but Mira hadn't even mentioned it. Maybe it wasn't worth worrying about, but she would have to keep it in mind to ask Jellal the next time she saw him.

For now, though, she went and helped out Mira with the dinner rush, and they chatted idly and quietly together about what Serana should expect at the ball since Serana had never been to something like that.

Hopefully, everything would turn out well…