Beauty and the Beast (Gajevy Fanfic)

Chapter 3

The red head dodged easily and countered with a swipe of his sword, but the blade just clanged off the scales, and Jet was forced to step out of range by a swipe of the beast's claws. It turned on Droy, who was closer, and began a furious attack on the man. Droy valiantly defended himself, but Levy knew he was no real fighter. Jet lunged back into the fray, but they were doomed from the  start. Their soft skin was all too vulnerable to the beast's claws, while his scales protected him from anything they threw at him.

It was as good as over within a few short minutes. Levy took a few, scared steps backwards, her hand over her mouth in horror, as first Droy, then Jet, fell to their knees, bleeding heavily from a multitude of cuts. "Run, Levy!" Jet gasped, leaning on his sword to keep him upright. Droy finally slumped over on the ground, his eyes fluttering shut, and Levy let out a little pleading whimper. "Please... stop!" She whimpered. "Don't- Don't kill them!" She pleaded, her eyes shut tight, tears leaking from the corners.

"RUN!" Jet yelled, before he too shuddered and collapsed sideways.

Levy could feel the beats's eyes on her, could hear every slow steady footstep he took towards her, could smell the odd mix of musty animal with a sharp metallic tang woven in. She felt his breath on her face, and, her own breathes coming in rapid, shallow gasps, she opened her eyes. His face was but an inch from hers, his red eyes glaring, his lips drawn back in a silent snarl. Then the strangest thing happened. Levy felt all the fear drain from her, leaving her only intrigued. She saw, behind the animalistic rage, a deep human intelligence, and she found herself wondering just who this beast was. Quite suddenly, the beast raised a hand and swiped at her face. Levy raised her arm to block the majority of the blow, but his claws still nicked her cheek. Her forearm, meanwhile, was sliced open, the four deep cuts extending all the way down to the bone. She screamed, and heard voices yelling.

The beast raised his head, ears twitching, sniffing at the air. Then he turned and fled into the forest on all fours with a dark, disappointed snarl. Levy stumbled towards her brothers, checking that they were still breathing. When she found that they were, she let out a sigh of relief and slumped against a tree, clutching her injured arm close to her chest. A few minutes later, the men of the village appeared, thundering along the path with pitchforks and torches held aloft. In the lead, Levy saw, was the man who was, by almost unanimous consensus, the most eligible bachelor in the village: Laxus Dreyar.

"Levy!" He cried when he saw her, and hurried over. The other men checked on Jet and Droy then hefted them up to get them to the village healer. "Levy, are you alright?" Laxus asked.

Levy nodded, her eyes slightly glazed with pain. "Yes, Laxus. I'm fine. It's just a scratch." She murmured. Laxus gently pried her arm away from her chest and looked at the wound. He scoffed, but said nothing as he scooped her up into his arms and began trekking back to the village. Levy thought she saw, over Laxus' shoulder, a pair of red eyes glowing from the darkness beneath the trees, but then they were gone, and she shook her head to herself. The trauma had gotten to her. The beast had fled. Why on earth would it stick around a whole bunch of men who had real skill with swords? No reason, she told herself firmly. She was just going into shock or something. She allowed her eyes to flutter closed, and sleep took hold of her, dragging her down into the depths of unconsciousness.

Word count: 648