"Is Carpagia nearby?" Gajeel asked hopefully as they walked through a field in the cold. The wind had grown icy and Levy shivered. They had moved out of town to the border, walking through tall, dry grass.

     "No."

     "Gah! I hate walking! Call a flying horse or somethin'." Gajeel frowned at her in irritation.

     "With my reed pipe summoning spell? It's too cold for flying horses here, they like the warmer climates better, like back in Magnolia."

     Levy's reed pipes worked several melody spells, which were songs she could play on the reed pipes that would do certain things. She could play several different summoning spells to summon a few different creatures, a Pegasus being one of them. She would play a song, and any nearby pegasi would be drawn to the music like a moth to a flame.

    "We've been walking for hours! Are we at least out of Hitherdale yet?" Gajeel grumbled, crossing his arms as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

     "We're almost to the border," Levy replied, clasping her hands together firmly behind her back as she walked, "But I suppose could try to call a griffin or a dragon of some sort."

     "Yeah, do that," Gajeel nodded vigorously.

     Levy pulled her reed pipes from her bag she carried on her back and brushed them off, "Let's see if I can recall the dragon summoning spell..." she put the reed pipes to her lips and began to blow softly releasing an enchanting melody into the air.

     Gajeel stared at her, a sense of wonder filling him. The melody was so relaxing, so beautiful, that he felt drawn to it by some inexplicable force. He stepped forward, feeling as if he was in a daze as he reached out, but suddenly the music stopped, making him blink hard, giving his head a shake.

     He was standing an inch away from Levy, his hands clasped around hers, and she was staring at him with a stunned expression.

     " Wah!" Gajeel leapt back quickly, "Wh-what the hell-?"

     Levy blushed scarlet, which made him blush too, "G-Gajeel, what just h-happened?"

     "I-I have no idea!" he said hastily, rubbing the hand he had touched hers with as if it was burning, "I-it was just like... I had to get closer..."

     "That was dragon enchantment magic, not huma-" she broke off, "Wait...your magic. Before you cast each spell back in Rauberia, you began it with 'Iron Dragon'."

     "Uh...you think I use some kinda dragon magic?"

     "Well, that part's obvious. But the magic isn't just spells you subconciously know how to use, this means your magic is in your blood." Levy said thoughtfully, brushing hair from her eyes, "It's you. A part of you."

     "Yeah...?"

     "That's it! Now we only have a few more questions to ask to solve this! Good job," she smiled, continuing to walk through the long grass.

     "But... I didn't do anything," Gajeel frowned, realizing it was true. Levy had been the one solving it, knowing where to go, what to do, what to look for. He hadn't really done anything.

     "You made me blueberry cake," she reminded him with a grin.

      Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Yeah, cause that contributes so much," he said sarcastically.

     Levy shrugged, "Maybe not, but I still need you," she flashed him a cocky grin, "After all, what's a girl in a fairy tale without her knight in shining armor?"

     "Whatever," he scowled, but he didn't feel as annoyed as he felt he should be. Why did he suddenly feel so strongly for her? Ever since the fiasco in Rauberia, something made him hesitate to get angry when she was being annoying, something stopped him from getting annoyed when she complained.

    "Can I become a succubi now?" She asked hopefully.

     "Sure, but weren't you gonna summon a dragon or something?" Gajeel remembered.

     "Oh, right, I forgot!"

     "Do it."

     "Okay fine," Levy sighed, "But you have to put your fingers in your ears so you don't hear it," she waited until he had done so, then began to play the song once again on her reed pipes. 

     Gajeel saw a blue creature fly down from the clouds, doing a loop before beginning to circle around. It landed in front of them with a growl,and Gajeel shifted in front of Levy just in case the dragon didn't care about the music and just wanted a snack.

      Levy was touched by this, and she smiled as she lowered her reed pipes from her lips. She gently pushed Gajeel out of the way and held a short conversation with the dragon in a different language.

     Then she turned to Gajeel, "He says he'll give us a ride, but only because you smell like a dragon. But he doesn't like succubi, so I'll have to stay in human form." she climbed onto the dragon's back, now  in human form again, and Gajeel climbed on behind her.

     The dragon spread its wings, rearing up and taking off into the sky. Levy fell back against Gajeel's chest, nearly knocking him off the dragon. The dragon steadied, the only movement of his body being the rhythmetic rocking of his wing beats.

   "I don't feel so good..." Gajeel clapped a hand over his mouth as his face paled, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

     "Ew," Levy pulled quickly away from him, "Please refrain, that's gross. And you didn't get sick when we rode the pegasus to Rauberia!"

     "The pegasus... wasn't so rocky..." Gajeel managed, swaying from side to side.

     Levy rolled her eyes, twisting around to face him to make a snide remark, but broke off as she saw his face. His eyes were half closed, and his face was sweaty and pale, and his cheeks were puffed out as he fell forward.

     She laughed, steadying him, "Careful or you'll fall off, silly. It's only five hours."

    "Just kill me now..." He moaned, making her giggle again, "It ain't funny, shrimp! "

     Levy smiled, turning back to face forwards again. She took his hands in hers and pulled them in front of her so that he was pulled forward, leaning into her back. "Now relax, Baka." she stiffened when he actually did, resting his chin on her shoulder.

      Then she sighed, rolling her eyes again, "Definitely a baka." she saw his eyes drift close and smiled slightly despite herself. "But a pretty cute baka nonetheless." she gave his hands a squeeze as she smiled at him.

    And he blushed.

     AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hello out there! Thanks for reading! And don't worry, we'll get back into the mystery and action in the next chapter. The book is only about halfway over, sorry if it's a little long. Anyway, hope you like it so far and are looking forward to the next chapter as much as I am! Thanks again! :) —gajevyx99 out.