Sacred Song, Mirror Water [Fairy Tail Fanfic]

Chapter 20

"What a beautiful day." Her voice was soft and kind, just loud enough for him to hear since he was so close.

He looked to his left to see the blanket they were laying on and then her. She smiled at the sky, colours mixing together as the sunset. Her chest rose and fell slowly as she breathed, calm and even. She must have felt his eyes on her, so she turned to look at him. Her smile grew, and her cheeks flushed with a soft colour, somewhat dulled by the sunset's pinks, oranges and reds.

Sitting up on one elbow, he kept eye contact with her, and she copied his movements expectantly. Shuffling closer, although they were already close, he lifted a hand to the side of her head. He combed his fingers through her hair a few times before cupping her cheek. Their breath mingling between them, he leaned nearer as her eyes shut and her chin tilted upward.

"I love you," he said against her lips.

"I love you, too." Serana answered sweetly.

No sooner did he feel her soft lips barely brush his own...

"Your Grace." Coco gently nudged him awake. "We're back in the city."

"Hmm? Oh, thank you, Coco. I didn't realise I dozed off." Jellal responded with a drowsy voice.

"You were off in your own world for a while, but I think you dozed off about twenty minutes after we left the lab." Coco smiled and spoke softly.

"I would like to write to Serana, but it might be too late by the time we get back and get everything sorted." He mainly mused to himself but said it out loud anyway.

"I've already written most of the report, so there isn't much you'll need to do except add your thoughts and comments." Coco gestured to her notebook, which she had carried everywhere with her.

"That's what you were scribbling on the way back?" He continued when she nodded with a smile. "I'm sure you deserve a pay rise, Coco. Please remind me of this once we get this new technology going. Our economy will boom, and you deserve much more than you get."

"I'm happy to be of service, Your Grace," Coco said bashfully, but he knew she was grateful for the praise.

They arrived back at the palace and disembarked from the carriage. As they walked inside, Coco reviewed her notes so that Jellal could write a report and pass it on to the Court. This would be a perfect opportunity to write it up since he had made sure to not schedule anything else for today, but he did want to write to Serana tomorrow at the latest. Being committed as he was, he knew that the report came first, so he would hopefully get it done soon and then he would still have some energy left to write a nice letter to the woman he loved so dearly.

It would only be a few more weeks until Veruze would be reopening and she would be back in the Capital after that. Hopefully, Serana would also agree to accept the apprenticeship from Dreyer so that she would come and live in the Palace. Maybe he would be brave enough to ask her to stay in his chambers with him so he could wake up next to her every morning.

He let out a soft sigh as the cart entered the Palace gates, doing his best to be patient until he saw her again...

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Serana was currently being laughed at by Robin, who had seen her poke her head up to look out the window at least twelve times in the last fifteen minutes. She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. The King was due to arrive, and she was rather impatiently waiting for him. They hadn't seen each other since she visited just under 4 months ago, and that was only for just under a day. Her nervousness wasn't as intense as it had been going to the Capital, but she was nervous about Veruze's reopening going off without a hitch. The formal reopening was today, and then she would return to the Capital with Jellal. She'd chosen an emerald-green dress with longer flowing sleeves and an uneven, rounded hem that rose to her thigh on the left and lowered to her calf on the left. It had a rounded neckline and a fabric belt tied around her waist. It had cost her a decent chunk of her paycheck, but she just hoped Jellal liked it.