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"Ngh, stop. I can't feel my legs." Rae whimpered as she felt Jellal thrusting inside her, pushing the essences of their bodies deeper. How many rounds had they done? She didn't know. The girl panted breathlessly as Gray rubbed her stomach to feel the bulge Jellal imprinted. "Gray—am tired." Her voice was muffled by his lips, her leaning back onto his chest while looking down at Jellal working his way for a release. Gray smirked against her lips, purposely humming teasingly.
He rubbed circles on her. "But you can take more right, mmm?"
Not long after that, the three of them lied on the bed breathlessly as both of them hugging her close to their bodies. Rae had her chest rose up and down, she really can't keep it up with their stamina. Jellal asked her to raise her head as he helped her consumed the energy potion and right on the spot, she felt a little bit better. "I just had a bath and right now, I need to clean my body again." Rae sighed hopelessly, taking a look at her sticky and sweaty skin. "Both of you really don't know what holding back means." She sensed Gray and Jellal shared a proud look.
Nevertheless, Gray took a wet towel to clean her thigh. "Damn, we really did a number on you." His fingers dangerously caressed her down there, trying to gain reactions from her.
Jellal hit his head. "Stop playing with her and clean her up properly."
"Let's take a shower together." Gray suggested but Rae had a feeling that it won't be a simple shower anymore and she was right. Not three minutes later, both of them started to team up against her and Rae was once again pleasured and filled to the brim. But she can't say she disliked it. Perhaps, she was just vulgar as she thought. Almost two hours later, she was finally released by them and the girl immediately chased them out of the bathroom once they're done showering.
Once she was done freshening up and showering, Rae found herself standing wobbly a bit and glared at the culprits angrily. "You're laughing?" Those two quickly shook their heads like scolded children. Rae rolled her eyes and walked to the mirror to dry her hair but Jellal took the towel from her hand and helped her with it. Rae let him be, expressing a satisfied groan when he massaged her head while doing it. "That feels so good." She heard Gray snickering. "Shut up, Gray."
"Didn't say a word, darling."
Jellal shook his head and kissed her on the side of her head. "You're happy, Rae?"
She stretched her neck to look at him. "I am happy when you are happy." Just when she was about to kiss him on the lips, her body started to lit up and her eyes were panicking. Gray's body too. "Jellal—"
He pecked her lips then looked at the Ice Mage with a nod. "Take care of her."
"I will."
Both of them disappeared and Jellal stared at the empty ring box he had in his hand. Thankfully, he managed to put it on her finger or else, he didn't know when will he see her again. Until then, he will try to find a way to get her power back. But now, he might need to change their bedsheet first. "Rae was right, maybe we need to hold back a little." Jellal covered his face in embarrassment as he noticed the bed was now broken, luckily he had the money to compensate the damaged furniture. It's not only the bed, even the couch was broken.
∆∆∆
"Gray!"
He threw his arms around her. But soon, his face reddened once he noticed her only in a towel. "Rae, you're—"
Rae pressed her lips together. "This is why we don't do it too much."
"Mama! Gray-san!"
Right, she forgot about Haruka. She hadn't explained to her properly yet. Rae thanked him for giving her his outerwear and walked to her daughter to ask if she's injured anywhere. It seemed like they were transported somewhere else and Rae gave Gray an apologetic look as she had to give his jacket to Lucy since her sister's clothes totally disappeared. What's worse, everyone couldn't use their magic now. Rae rubbed her forehead frustratedly.
She saw a kid running towards them and it was a little girl, she even called Lucy, mama. Rae was puzzled, even more stunned when a girl who looked strangely identical to Lucy came and Natsu loudly shouted, asking if they were in Edolas. Gray scooted over a little close to her to explain about Edolas to her briefly. Long short story, Edolas was a parallel word separate from Earthland where magic power didn't exist there. "Edolas? And I was dead here? Lovely." Rae groaned.
"Nee-san, it's good to see you again." Edolas Lucy stood in front of her and awkwardly tugged on her sleeves.
Nevertheless, Rae smiled and hugged her. "Lucy, you have a little girl now? Congratulations! Who's the father?"
The girl stiffened and seemed to be hesitant to tell her and so, Rae dismissed the topic and crouched down to look at the kid. "Hi, Nasha." She was shyer than Rae thought. Didn't expect that since Edolas Lucy didn't look like the type to be a shy girl like her sister. Rae patted the little girl on the head and watched Haruka hopped on her feet towards Nasha, asking if they were cousin. Edolas Lucy then took them to the Fairy Tail guild there and having the thought of Rae meeting other men in a towel only annoyed Gray slightly. He took off the shirt and pants he's wearing for her.
"Gray, I don't particularly want you to be naked too—"
"I'm already used to this and I might take them off sooner or later." He shrugged and leaned close to her ear. "Well, no one except Jellal and I can you see like this anyway."
Rae lifted an eyebrow. "What about Natsu?"
"Him too."
"Alright then, I'll take your offer." Rae wore his shirt and pants, asking him to hold her towel for a while but she didn't expect him to smell it. The girl only squinted her eyes at him disapprovingly. "Pervert."
Gray grinned, wrapping the towel around his neck as if it was his favorite scarf. "Your pervert."
Rae rolled her eyes and followed the rest to Fairy Tail. She was shocked to see everyone was different from the Earthland. But she didn't know why, Edolas Lucy and Edolas Natsu were kinda scared of her right now. They were apologizing to her for some reasons and Wendy told her that her Edolas version apparently was Edolas Natsu's former girlfriend. That explained the awkward situation right now. Rae cleared her throat firmly and those two straightened their backs. "Lucy, Natsu, congratulations, and I pray for your everlasting happiness." She smiled.
"Nee-san—"
"Rae—"
But she wasn't ready to hear the news about Edolas Juvia and Edolas Gray though. They were married and even had a child together. Rae blinked her eyes a few times as she took a look at Greige, their son. She could hear Gray panicking behind her, asking her to not misunderstand the relationship between him and Juvia but to be honest, Rae could care less about it. Rae just crouched down in front of Greige, taking in his features. He sure did look like Gray but his eyes resembled Juvia's. He was a very cute boy.
"Hi, Greige."
"Hello." He looked away with a blush on his cheeks.
Edolas Wendy then approached them with a laugh. "Aww, does little Greige have a crush on Rae-nee-san?"
"Hah?!" Gray shouted immediately.
Rae snapped at him. "Gray, lower your voice! You're scaring him." She turned to the little boy. "Are you alright?" She felt him nodding in her hug. Holding him like this reminded her of the non-existent chances of her to hold her own child, August. She never got to see him growing up. The girl almost teared up at the thought of her past life losing her child. Rae released Greige and excused herself for a moment and just in time, Edolas Mirajane took her somewhere to give her some clothes.
"Are you alright?" Edolas Mirajane asked as she did notice the tears in her eyes.
Rae smiled. "I am. Just missing my chi—nevermind. Thank you for the clothes, Mira." Rae folded Gray's shirt and held it close to her chest, taking in his scent. It did feel like a dream to be able to be this intimate with him.
"If you don't mind me asking, are you and Earthland Gray together?"
The girl nodded slowly.
Edolas Mirajane took her hands. "I hope you're not affected by Edolas Juvia and Gray here."
"Oh, no, I really don't mind." Was she truly? If she wasn't alive, would Gray and Juvia end up together like them here? Rae looked outside through the window, Gray was currently fighting with Natsu over the kids. Gray seemed to be protective of Greige, she wondered if it was a fatherly instinct. Would there be Greige in Earthland too? "Am I at fault for interfering this from happening? What if my existence ruining the existence of someone?"
"Rae?"
She didn't say a word, just barely said another thank you and left the room. Rae didn't talk at all throughout their journey to the Edolas Royal Capital. Of course, Gray would notice that. Even when she gave him his clothes back, she didn't say anything to him. Her mind was purely thinking about something else. Now, they were on their way to see Mystogan, Edolas Jellal. Apparently, he once came to Earthland as Mystogan and he even was the prince of Edolas. Rae had a bad feeling about meeting him now.
"Welcome, my friends from Earthland. It's been far too long." Mystogan greeted them as they walked inside the castle.
Rae took a note of his long hair, as she expected before, Jellal looked very good with longer hair too. Mystogan locked his eyes with hers and just as he was about to call her name, suddenly she was knocked off her feet by someone who looked extremely similar to Erza. "So, this is Edolas Erza." Rae rubbed her head, she was sure different that what she expected her to be. What should she say? Erza Nightstalker was definitely submissive for Mystogan. "Another harsh truth I need to accept." Erza and Jellal belonged to each other.
"Nightwalker, as you can plainly see, these are our guests. Please don't be so violent with them."
"I humbly ask for forgiveness!"
Mystogan looked at Rae for a second before asking Nightwalker to stop bowing. Rae couldn't handle her eyes and ears to watch those two, it was troublesome truth to be told. She let those two had their moments and breathed for air desperately. For some reason, the clothes she's wearing were suffocating her. Rae tugged the collar around her neck to loosen it to breath better but nothing seemed to be better. Or maybe she's just feeling overwhelmed by the fact that Juvia and Gray, and Erza and Jellal, were together in this world.
"Mama, are you alright?" Haruka walked to her with a worried face.
Rae took her hand in hers, gently caressing her palm. "I'm all good, Haruka. Thanks for asking." Her face was sweating a bit, she could feel Gray was concerned about her but she didn't feel like talking to him now. She wasn't feeling bitter, she promised. Rae followed Nightwalker and Mystogan to a dining room. They were discussing about something called Anima, Rae wasn't really paying attention to it. The voices in her head were coming back. They stopped appearing for a while but why did they come back now?
*tw: mentions of self-harming
Now, you know you don't belong here.
Why don't you just leave them?
Let them be happy.
Just leave.
Rae gripped the fork hard enough for it to break in two and it pierced into her palm. Everyone at the table was shocked and Gray was about to take a tissue to wipe her blood but Rae coldly brushed him off. "Let it be. It didn't even hurt." Rae ignored the scolding from Nightwalker, she ignored everyone, including her daughter. The girl stood up and left the room, she had to get out of there. Her body temperature was rising and she was sweating. She just wanted to disappear. She thought she could be happy now but fate was laughing at her.
Just trust us and we'll take care of you.
Let us devour you.
No one will miss you anywhere.
They can be happy without you just fine.
They don't need you anyway.
"Stop. Stop talking, please!" Rae clawed her chest, the burning sensation didn't disappear. "You were never mine. Both of you. You weren't mine to lose." As harsh it was, she had to accept the truth. Her existence alone interfered the world. She can see them lost in the memory. Rae felt tears prickling her eyes, begging to be released but she refused to cry. It's time to stop crying. Crying won't change anything. Staying alive won't change anything. Maybe, just maybe, leaving was the best option.
Rae looked at the broken fork in her hand, it was dangerously sharp enough to injure her. She never needed anything more. Her head was messed up. But Rae decided to walk ahead, walking herself through the crowd in the middle of town. The others were probably looking for her, she had to stop worrying them but her emotions weren't stable at the moment. Let's be real, her emotions were never stable from the beginning. She walked aimlessly in the foreign city and somehow she felt a little bit better than before. The voices were still there but her body temperature had turned back to normal.
She didn't remember walking that far but she had reached somewhere very far from the capital city. There's no one there and she wondered if she did lose her breath now, would her body be transported to Earthland or would it stay there? Rae closed her eyes to the gentle breeze blown on her face. It was peaceful despite the voices in her head were still loud and clear. She held out a hand forward and inhaled a deep breath, lips chanting a spell and the cliff ahead was filled with thorns.
Good, now just walk ahead.
What are you waiting for?
Just leave.
"I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough." Her feet took a step forward and strangely, she didn't feel any regret. She was getting closer now and one more step, she would fall to the abyss. Her short hair brushed her hair as if it was trying to console her.
But of course, somebody had to stop her. "Finally, I found you, the owner of Death and Life Magic. After centuries, we finally met." Rae stopped on her tracks and looked back at the woman behind her lifelessly. She's wearing a loose kimono and Rae could sense her emanating power. "Do you want to—leave the world that desperate, Blaire Heartfilia? No, you go by the name, Rae King now, isn't it?" The stranger stared at her face yet Rae can't read her face. Was she pitying her? Or was she finding it amusing?
"How did you know my name?"
"I know more than you think."
Rae looked at her blankly, her eyes trailed up and down to inspect her characteristics. "Selene, the Moon Dragon God perhaps?"
"You're smarter than I thought. What gave me away?"
"Nothing in fact." She just bluntly guessed it. Or probably, she heard someone was looking for her.
The Dragon God smiled yet Rae couldn't identify if it was sincere or not. "Do you want revenge?"
Rae scoffed. "What revenge? There's no one to blame for my condition. It's all me and my head."
"Then, do you want to die?"
"If you didn't appear, I would have already." She rolled her eyes and disabled the magic she cast for the thorns and that's when she only realized, she's using magic. "What—how?" She thought no one could use magic in Edolas. How can she use it? Blood pouring out of her nose as it happened before when she healed Natsu. Rae held her head as she heard the voice grew louder and she gritted her teeth in anger. "If you didn't interfere, I would have found my peace—" Her body swayed left and right and eventually, she fell into her arms.
Selene looked at the human longingly. "If only things were not rough on you, you would have been happier." The Dragon God carried her effortlessly and did a water circle before transporting somewhere else. She shall now have her fun. She never cared about Earthland but watching her from afar was entertaining. However, Selene felt something she never thought she could feel for a mere human. She had seen her journey and life entirely. Wasn't her life too cruel on her?
∆∆∆
Rae was waking up because of her body temperature rising again, as if there's something inside her coming out. Her eyes frantically looked around, she didn't recognize her surrounding. She didn't know where did that woman transport her to but she had to calm herself down first. "Water—I need water." Right, she's feeling thirsty and hot all over. Rae struggled on her feet to stand up and she took a look at the place, she was in some kind of forest and she could hear everything loud and clear. Even the quietest sound a bug made sounded very loud to her.
Her nose sniffed the air and she could smell something to quench her thirst. Figuring it would be a spring or a lake, Rae ran following the smell but, she can't exactly say she's running. It was more like she teleported. Just in less a second, she was there but there's no source of water nearby. There were only wolves but they looked somehow delicious to her. Rae closed her eyes to calm herself down. Every step she made, the forest either withered or grew healthily. "Could it be that my power is back?" Could it be because of the burning sensation inside her chest? Rae didn't know anymore.
"Your Majesty, finally you're back." A man with black hair and few strand of red hair appeared by her side. She remembered him. If she wasn't mistaken, he was her familiar or something.
"Ares, what are you doing here?" Rae looked around.
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? You summoned me."
"I did?"
Ares observed her face, noting her dry lips and pale face. "Your Majesty, could it be that you haven't consumed any blood ever since we left?"
Rae almost tripped over her foot once she heard that. "Consumed what now?"
"Blood."
"Do I have to?"
Ares sighed. "You really haven't." He didn't say much after that, just folded his sleeve and made a slash on his arm for her to take a drink from him.
"You want me to drink this?"
He nodded.
She didn't want to but the scent of his blood was really intoxicating. "Well then, thank you for the drink." Rae decided not fight the urge anymore and sank her canines in his flesh for more. She didn't remember having canines before, just as she thought, her power was coming back. That was good. She needed that to survive in a foreign place. She couldn't stop herself, not until Ares tapped her hand to stop. "I'm sorry—I don't know what exactly happened—" Just after she pulled away, she could see his face turning blue a bit.
"It's alright, it's my job, Your Majesty." Rae put a hand on his head and in one second, his condition was back to its usual. "Thank you. But where are the others?"
"Oh, we are separated. I was transported here but I don't know where this is." She smiled to assure him that there's nothing to be worried about. "How was your mission with Surtur?"
"We are still chasing after him. I gotta go now, Your Majesty."
Rae nodded. "Take care, Ares."
"Will do." Ares bowed to her and just before he vanished, he turned to her for one last look. "Welcome back, Your Majesty."
"I'm back, indeed."
17/10/23