“Vows Made in the Storm” Chapter 7 w/ Maabahrut Translations
This month’s chapter of Vows Made in the Storm contains quite a bit of the language of the Fae, called Maabahrut in Vows, in the second half. This is a language I am making up as we go, and this chapter was a good test to see if it’s something I want to continue using to this extent in the future. My normal method of putting translations at the bottom, however, would be very difficult to employ in this chapter, so I am posting the second half of the chapter with the translations here! Some of the words have already been used in the fic, so those will not be annotated here, but all of the dialogue will be.
Please, PLEASE, read and comment on ffNet or Ao3 before you read this version! There’s a joke in this chapter that reads so much better if you read the non-annotated version first. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in my askbox! Enjoy!
She looked like she was about to ask further, but they turned a corner and suddenly a large, stone building sprawled out in front of them. It looked like the jungle had taken the building over; vines clinging to every wall, plants jutting out from where ever there was a crack in the stone. With the midday sun filtering through the leaves overhead, the plant life was even more vibrant and colorful against the cool, grey stones, and Gajeel whistled lowly.
"This is where your friend lives?" he asked, and Levy nodded, beaming.
"Yes! Isn't it amazing?"
"It's certainly obvious that the island likes him back," he said with a bemused grin. They carefully began to make their way down towards the home, Gajeel occasionally reaching out to offer the princess a steadying hand as she made her way down the steep incline. When they reached the edge of the property, Gajeel noticed a familiar man working in the yard, waving his hands over a selection of plants in what looked to the Blood Prince like a vastly overgrown, but still well-tended, garden. Levy whistled loudly, waving her hand once she had caught his attention.
"Eebwalen, Droy! (Good afternoon, Droy!)" she called out, and Droy waved back with a wide grin. It was the same man that had worked the dragon puppet at the banquet the first night Gajeel had arrived, only now Droy was dressed in casual clothing covered in soil instead of the rich silks and thick canvas he had been wearing that night.
"Eebwalen, Levy!" he called back, pushing himself up to approach the two. He reached out to Levy when they arrived, the two clasping each other's arms in greeting. Droy turned to Gajeel and bowed his head respectfully. "Your Highness, it's a pleasure to see you again."
Gajeel returned the bow, his smile much more subdued now. He had never done exceptionally well around strangers, and he didn't know Droy enough for him to be anything but. "The same to you. You did a wonderful job at the dinner the other night; I apologize that I didn't say so to you sooner." Droy surprised him by laughing and punching him lightly in the shoulder.
"No worries! You rather had your hands full, I believe," he said, chuckling. "Levy's not being too rough on you, is she?"
"Droy!" Levy hissed, her cheeks flushing.
"Oh hush, aabeila," he chided gently, giving her a look. "Jet told me all about your game of hide-and-hide-better with the prince over here. We were a few short hours from coming and getting you out ourselves when you finally emerged." Levy's flushed cheeks darkened, and Gajeel couldn't tell if he should feel defensive on her behalf, or highly amused.
"Dro-y!"
The taller faery laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Easy, aabeila, I'm just teasing."
"Ay's breijja ji-faluut, bwatehn, (You're being an ass, idiot,)" the princess grumbled, making Droy grin.
"Saavehn a~ (Love ya~)"
"Aay, aay, palouna. (Yeah, yeah, shut up.)"
Grinning, Droy gestured towards the house. "I'm assuming you didn't come just to be teased by me. He should be awake, you can go right in," he said.
"Thank you," Levy grumbled, smacking his stomach with the back of her hand as she passed, and Gajeel grinned. It seemed his earlier thoughts about Levy not growing up with siblings were wrong.
"A good friend of yours?" he asked, humor in his voice. Levy nodded, sighing.
"Unfortunately," she said dramatically. "I've known him practically since I was born."
"It shows," he laughed. Levy just pouted. "So, he's not the friend we came to visit?" he asked as they drew closer to the house, and Levy shook her head.
"No, he's related to Jji-ooba though."
"Should I wait out here while you go greet him?" Gajeel asked. "I don't think he'd be expecting me to tag along."
"Oh, don't worry," Levy said, "he probably already knows we're here." Gajeel turned and looked at her with a questioning frown, and she grinned. "You know how Droy's area of expertise is in plant magic?"
Gajeel nodded.
"He doesn't hold a candle to his great-grandfather," Levy said cryptically. "He probably knew we were coming the moment we set foot into the jungle."
"Shee tambah bor ah ii kav-alhaa! (Stop talking about me and get in here!)" a voice called from inside the house, and Gajeel watched as Levy lit up, smiling brightly. He stood stunned on the threshold as she raced into the house, laughing giddily and calling out "Jji-ooba!" He'd never seen her smile that brightly or widely before, and it was like staring into the sun.
Once Gajeel could feel his feet again, he made his way into the house, looking around curiously. If the outside of the house looked like it had been overrun by the jungle, the inside had been completely taken over. Lush grass lined the floor, flowers blooming wherever sunlight streamed in through the cracked roof. Vines crawled over the walls and hung from the roof, and various trees blooming with flowers and fruit grew in clusters around the edges of the room.
As Gajeel made his way inside, careful to stay on the dirt path that led deeper into the house or risk stepping on one of the plants that lined the path, the buzzing of magic he had been feeling since leaving the market only intensified into a constant, internal hum of energy. With each step, he could feel the metal ores hidden deep in the rich soil and the stream flowing by the house. He had to stand still for a moment to try and sort it all out, breathing slowly and deeply. Normally it took him hours of meditation with Grandine to feel this attuned to the earth, but the island was practically screaming at his senses, demanding his attention.
"Ma uuliom uuhai a's Bavaho' wei Tenrohjima, paetii prei, (I believe we lost your betrothed to Tenroujima, little one,)" the deep voice from before hummed, bringing Gajeel back to his body somewhat. "Pohya uuhai savv ahl? (Should we save him?)"
"Gajeel?" Levy asked softly, laying her hand on his arm. "Are you alright?" Gajeel blinked dazedly, shaking the burbling of a running stream out of his head and trying to swallow down the taste of iron on his tongue.
"Yeah," he murmured, giving Levy a strained smile. "It's a lot of new magic all at once."
"Draagnis yuul majho' ei wo'ha jha crahtjja aah's tayii, ma na'waalei ahl eis breijja errga'ambai. (Draygns draw magic in instead of creating their own, I'm not surprised he's being overwhelmed.)"
"Hah'ir awn uuhai wa'omb? (How can we help?)" Levy called back into the other room.
"Travaj ahl ei co'el. (Bring him in here.)" With a nod, Levy pulled gently on his arm, leading the dazed Draygn further into the home. Gajeel was distantly aware of his feet leaving the dirt path and walking onto stone, but his attention was still split between the reality in front of him and the world his senses told him existed outside his body. He felt his body being led over some sort of short bridge and lowered to a sitting position, and he swayed in his spot. A cool, weathered hand rested on his knee, and suddenly everything stopped.
Gajeel blinked owlishly as all of his extended sense snapped back into place, leaving him feeling heavy and sluggish. The hand on his knee was wrinkled, but strong, with several rings weighing down their fingers. He followed the arm up to find the oddest looking faery he had ever seen looking at him with a grin.
"Salbaru-mai, (Welcome back)," he said, and Gajeel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Was this Levy's friend she had talked about? The faery truly looked like he was older than the tide, deep wrinkles lining his face. His skin would have been a dark, rich brown if not for the odd green tint that made Gajeel think that moss had begun to grow on him, and the way that his hair grew thickly away from his face reminded the prince of branches on a great, grinning tree. His wings were a milky, opaque brown, unlike the glimmering wings Gajeel was used to seeing around the island.
"Na-breezha roolah, ya'ahl? (Doesn't speak much, does he?)"
"Brei eylsa, Jji-ooba, (Be nice, Grandfather,)" Levy said, kneeling down next to Gajeel with a worried expression. "I'm so sorry," she said with a grimace. "If I had known the island's magic would have affected you so strongly I wouldn't have brought you out here at all. Do you want to go back to the palace, o-or to the market again? It should be fine now-"
"I'm okay, Princess," Gajeel reassured, interrupting her with the hope that if he stopped her panicked babbling she'd take the breath he knew she desperately needed. "I just wasn't expecting it. I'll be fine."
With another quick glance at the grinning faery that sat across from him, Gajeel looked around the room slowly. It was wider than the atrium, and the flora here appeared to be a little tamer. It came to the edge of the large, circular stone platform in the center of the room, growing in neat clusters of plants Gajeel couldn't even begin to name. The stone circle itself led off to a simple kitchen to one side of the room, a sectioned off part with a cot and several jugs and baskets, and the center where Gajeel was with the two faeries. They were sitting on a platform above a pool of water much like the glass one in the amphitheatre on the top of the Tenrou Tree. Small stone archways led to the floating platform, and the water lapped against the edges.
Even with… whatever the older faery had done to quiet his senses, the room was still so soaked with magic Gajeel felt light-headed. It was incredible, and more than a little frightening. The small faery fluttering over him nervously was supposed to rule this island all on her own someday?
Not on her own, he remembered. That was what he was here for.
"Ahl yuuls majho' fraa galaloht'mei naem Makaroov'ya, waaleijja, (He pulls magic more heavily than Makarov does, interesting,)" the faery said, patting Gajeel's knee twice before pulling his hand back. Gajeel braced himself, wincing as he waited for his brain to be flooded by information about the surrounding island again, but everything was still quiet. "Eita'l brei havaalat, ma guutjah bah'ayeit jha majho' tambatra. (It'll be alright, I've blocked the flow of magic temporarily.)"
"Jji-ooba, ahl na-breezha Maabahrut, (Grandfather, he doesn't speak the Mother Tongue,)" Levy said, still glancing at Gajeel nervously out of the corner of her eyes. He had hoped getting her away from the crowds and the other Heirs would help her to relax, but maybe she just needed to get away from him. The thought made some deeply-buried part of him snarl in annoyance, asking 'Didn't we already give her all the time she needed? Haven't we been more than lenient? Fiore doesn't have time to coddle her.'
Gajeel mercilessly smothered that voice with a grimace.
"Oo, ma wah-maahj, paetii prei, (Oh, I'm well aware, little one,)" the faery said, grinning. "Boh, n'irr a yirahjja soovo'hay? (Now, aren't you forgetting something?)"
"Yirahjja… Oo! (Forgetting… Oh!)" Levy straightened in her seat, cheeks burning a deep red as she looked at Gajeel with a sheepish grin. "Prince Gajeel, this is my good friend and mentor Warrod, son of Arohi and Oobai jha Jiima (Father of the Island)," she introduced, gesturing to the older faery with a smile. "Jji-ooba, tiiba Bahl-hoobe jha Fiiore, 'Ajjeel. (Grandfather, this is the Blood Prince of Fiore, Gajeel.)"
The princess's face pinched oddly, and she covered her eyes with her palm. "Ga-jeel," she enunciated carefully. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."
Was it? Gajeel hadn't even noticed, he was too busy picking his heart up off the floor.
The distant, angry voice faded away as the princess smiled shyly at him, golden eyes peering at him through long coils of blue hair. She was trying, he reminded himself. Cobra had told him so, the Titania had told him so, Sting had told him so (with an almost frighteningly serious expression for the Light Draygn), and Gajeel could see the evidence of her efforts in front of him. She had gone out of her way to seek him out ever since Sting had dragged her out to the training fields; either to start a conversation or ask for his input. She had invited him into the home of someone who appeared to be one of her very close friends, shoes abandoned somewhere in the jungle and bare, dirty feet splayed out from under her skirts.
As she and Warrod got deeper and deeper into their conversation - speaking the old Fae language so quickly that Gajeel with his very limited vocabulary couldn't begin to keep up - and Levy began to loosen up even further, laughing and teasing him back, Gajeel found himself enraptured. This was what had drawn his attention to her so firmly when the stage on top of the Tenrou Tree had first flooded with light to reveal her slight frame; the energy and warmth the princess radiated was incredible. She seemed to be caught up in the story she was telling to Warrod, gesturing with her hands as she spoke and smiling brilliantly. Her tail was flicking back and forth rapidly, and Gajeel was suddenly grateful that Cobra hadn't followed them. His mental fumbling over how cute the action was to him would have sent his fellow Draygn into hysterics.
Gajeel let himself relax, pulling his feet in towards his body so he could rest his arms over his knees as he settled in to watch Levy and Warrod go back and forth. Even if he couldn't follow the conversation, it was fun to watch their expressions as they babbled at each other. Levy in particular got more and more expressive as the conversation went on and she relaxed further. She would stop occasionally to glance at him, a worried expression on her face, but Gajeel would wave her concerns away with a grin. It was a nice change of pace to not be expected to join in the conversation, and he was enjoying the break after the past several - stressful - days.
Gajeel had lost all track of time as he began to look around the room, trying to guess at what each of the plants in the room were good for. By the time Warrod stood up and brought Gajeel's attention back to the conversation, a couple hours had already passed. "Wuulm a ii Gajeel oltnaa yaaim luceidi, paetii prei? (Would you and Gajeel like some drinks, little one?)" Warrod asked Levy, and the princess nodded with a smile.
"Ata, geijah Jji-ooba, (Yes, thank you Grandfather,)" she chirped.
Milky wings spreading wide, Warrod picked himself off the ground and flew over to what Gajeel assumed to be the older faery's kitchen. Gajeel was happy to watch and see what the Fae used as an ice box on the island - a question he and Wendy had been debating on one of the days when Gajeel had been unable to see the princess -, but then Levy turned and smiled at him and his attention was solely on her.
"You still doing okay?" she asked, placing her hand on his bare forearm after a split-second of hesitation. "We can leave at any time if you want to."
"Princess, really," Gajeel said, putting his hand over hers. "If there was a problem, I'd let you know. Whatever Warrod did to help me out hasn't worn off yet, and I'm not feeling as light-headed anymore."
"'As light-headed'?"
Gajeel laughed, patting her hand. "Really, I'm fine. A lot of new magic at once can kinda overwhelm a guy." Levy looked sheepish, tangling her fingers into hairs at the base of her braid and pulling a few curls loose on accident.
"Thank you," she murmured. "For coming with me, I mean. I know this probably isn't a lot of fun..."
"But it is very relaxing," Gajeel reassured. "I love my cousins, really, but one can only spend so long in close quarters with them before being driven slightly mad." Levy laughed into her palm, and Gajeel grinned. "It's also nice to see you actually relax," he said before thinking, and Levy's smile tightened at the corners, her laugh turning nervous as she ducked her head. Mentally, Gajeel was cursing enough to turn a storm. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut!?
"You wouldn't believe how many times I've had someone say that to me today," she admitted quietly, tugging at her ear before stopping and glaring at her traitorous hand. She sighed softly before turning back to Gajeel and smiling. "But I'm fine," Levy reassured him, and Gajeel could almost believe it.
But her eyes were dilated and her smile was tight. Not to mention that her heartbeat was beating such an irregular rhythm that any human would have been having a heart attack. Gajeel didn't have Cobra's hearing or Natsu's sense of smell, but he was the Heir with the greatest sense of people. He could read the mood of a room in a moment, and Levy's nerves were practically screaming at him.
Gajeel opened his mouth, but before he could say a word Warrod flew back over with a smile. "Co'el uuhai irr, (Here we are,)" he said, handing them each a clay cup filled with with something that smelled wonderfully fruity and refreshing. Gajeel took the offered drink, happy for the distraction so he didn't accidentally stare at Levy. She took the glass with a soft smile, thanking Warrod with a nod and taking a long pull from her cup.
The cup was cold to the touch, which was something that Gajeel was very grateful for seeing as the sun was still near its peak in the sky and there wasn't any sort of a breeze on Tenroujima. He'd been warned it would be hot, but he didn't think he'd have to pull out the clothes he normally only reserved for long boat trips with his grandparents on only the fourth day. The thin cotton was already sticking to his back, and he took a long pull from the drink with a quick "Geijah-ta".
He couldn't decide if Warrod's laughter was a result of the way he had butchered the pronunciation of his thanks or of the way his eyes had widened the moment the drink had hit his tongue.
The only way he could think of describing it was "Magic".
And not in the good way.
Gajeel choked as the effervescent drink was violently rerouted up his nose, burning as it went and causing his eyes to water and him to drop his cup onto the ground. He could vaguely hear someone laughing as he tried not to choke, and he felt annoyance begin to burn through his panic.
The last Heir of Fiore to be poisoned had been a Sky Draygn nearly six hundred years ago, and Gajeel was not looking forward to being the next on that list!
"Breathe," Levy said between giggles, placing one small hand against his chest as her other began to rub in circles against his back. "You're fine, just breathe."
It took Gajeel a few minutes to get his lungs back under control, and when he had finally managed to sit back up, Warrod was still laughing hysterically. The older faery was nearly falling off the platform laughing, and if his mother hadn't raised him to always be respectful of his elders, Gajeel would have kicked him into the water below. Now that he was breathing right, Levy was having to fight harder to control her laughter, and the reproachful look she was giving Warrod bordered on a grin. "Jji-ooba," Levy said, "a tol aah-va na-oltnaa Bahtiil ei Fiiore. (you know they don't have Bahtiil in Fiore.)"
"A-ahl's facha! (H-his face!)" he gasped out between giggles, slowly pushing himself back up until he was sitting upright. The broken clay shards from Gajeel's cup floated back to the kitchen with a dismissive wave of his hand, and he grinned at the frowning prince before looking at Levy. "Toohbyir preima rir a's tahtanin oltin Bahtiil? (Remember the first time your cousin tried Bahtiil?)"
Levy's eyes widened before she began to laugh hysterically. She clutched her stomach as tears of mirth began to roll down her cheeks, rolling onto her side as she snorted and laughed inelegantly. Her hair was beginning to fall out of its careful braid and her jacket was so skewed that Gajeel could see her short wings fluttering rapidly.
Gajeel could have sworn she was glowing.
Looking away from the still-laughing princess as he felt his ears begin to burn, Gajeel accidentally met Warrod's eyes, the older faery smiling with a humor that ran deep in the lines on his face. He looked at Levy - curled up on the floor and giggling up a storm as her tail curled and twisted through the air - and back at Gajeel, and winked.
Gajeel's eyebrows shot upwards, his mouth gaping. Had… Had Warrod planned this? Playing a prank on him just to get Levy to relax and laugh? It had certainly been effective if he had, although Gajeel could have done without the "mortal terror" part. As Levy began to push herself up, having to reach out to Warrod for help as her giggles kept sending her back to the ground, Gajeel felt a smile begin to grow on his face, and knew that it had been worth it.
Seeing Levy relaxed and glowing with joy, golden eyes sparkling and twin dimples on either side of her bright smile, was most certainly worth it.
"Jji-ooba," she said as her giggles began to fade, "brei eylsa! (be nice!)"
"Ma ihm eylsa! (I am nice!)" the older faery said with a laugh, holding up his hands in surrender. His laugh turned into a deep yawn, his eyelids drooping heavily. "Ii roh, ma uuliom eita's rir oor aa wei selbiid, (And now, I believe it's time for me to rest,)" he said, holding his hand out towards the atrium. A long, gnarled walking stick was drawn to his palm with a sharp 'snap', causing both Gajeel and Levy to jump. "Wa'omb aa yip, Bahl-Hoobe, ii cei ma a jaht'oi wei pohrta'. (Help me up, Blood Prince, and I'll see you both to the door.)" Warrod held his free hand out expectantly towards Gajeel, and he knew enough Old Fae to recognize his title and a command when he heard one. He stood too quickly and stumbled as he realized that his legs had managed to fall asleep while the two faeries were visiting, and Levy began to giggle again into her palm. Once he regained his balance, Gajeel helped Warrod to stand; acting as a brace for his surprisingly heavy and muscular body to lean against until he got his feet beneath him. Levy had stood as well, stepping to Warrod's other side to help him.
"Jji-ooba, yahm aa- (Grandfather, let me-)"
"Ma'tam eit, ma'tam eit. (I got it, I got it.)" With a push from his wings, Warrod balanced himself upright and tapped the ground impatiently with his walking stick. "Kahva uun, ma jaael wei hak'waa selbiid! (Come on, I want to go to sleep!)"
Levy snuck a look at Gajeel and rolled her eyes, causing the prince to grin. "Is he kicking us out?" Gajeel asked, his voice barely a whisper.
She nodded. "Time for his Majesty to take a nap, apparently," she whispered back, and Gajeel snorted a quick laugh. When Warrod stopped and turned to face them with a suspicious glare, they both smiled innocently back at him.
When they passed back through the atrium, following the dirt path back to the front door, Gajeel was wary of the island's magic pulling him down once again. But Warrod's magic held, and the ore and the stream were a whisper against his senses instead of a shout. Levy's hand hovered near his own, almost like she wasn't sure if her help was needed or wanted, and Gajeel grinned. He followed her out into the mid-afternoon sunshine, taking a deep breath and letting the smells of the jungle fill his lungs.
"Geijah oor yahmjja hai kahva oovai, (Thank you for letting us come over,)" Levy said to Warrod, easily stepping into the larger faery's open arms and hugging him around the waist. Warrod smiled softly in response, pressing his lips to the crown of her hair.
"Respeerai, paetii prei, (Breathe, little one,)" he murmured, and Gajeel almost wanted to look away from the intimate moment. "Yahm Maateim fahgei a'ii a tyah tol ahmbal. (Let the goddess guide you and you will know peace.)"
"Ii mya Maateim fahgei a wei a's ahmbal ihs wah. (And may the goddess guide you to your peace as well.)" Levy kissed his cheek before trotting back to Gajeel's side, and Warrod's attention was on the Blood Prince. He held out his hand and grinned, and Gajeel mimicked Levy and Droy's actions from before and gripped the older faery's arm tightly just below the elbow. Warrod nodded in approval, taking Gajeel's arm in return.
"Na-yahm el luuy a erajh'tahnd, (Don't let her push you around,)" he said with a grin, and Gajeel looked at a blushing Levy with furrowed eyebrows.
"He's basically repeating what Droy said earlier," she muttered, and Gajeel found himself grinning with Warrod.
"Ma n'tyah. (I won't.)" Gajeel grimaced at how his tongue felt thick and awkward as he attempted to respond, but Warrod just smiled.
"That's what I like to hear," Warrod said with a grin that only grew when Gajeel's jaw dropped as perfectly-accented Fioran flowed from the older faery's lips with ease. "Now you two get home safe, and don't dwadle! The wildlife on this side of the island always begins to act up around this time of day."
"W-wait! You speak Fioran!?" Gajeel asked, aghast. Behind him, Levy was nearly in tears again as she laughed, clutching the doorframe for support. Warrod just continued to grin.
"Well, of course! Where did you think I lived before Mavis decided to drag me around the world to find this place?" he said with a bark of laughter. He patted Gajeel's shoulder, leaving the prince stunned on his doorstep. "Have a good evening, you two. Give your mother my best, Levy, and don't forget to do your breathing and meditation exercises tonight. Ardelle told me you had several headaches after your performance at the banquet and you should know better after using that much magic."
Levy's "Ata, Jji-ooba" was nearly lost in her laughter, but Warrod nodded at her before giving Gajeel one final, cheeky wave and disappearing into the house.
It took Gajeel several minutes to move again, grumbling under his breath about tricky old faeries, and it took several minutes longer for Levy not to burst into fresh peals of laughter every time she looked at Gajeel's frowning face.
"It's not funny," he growled, fighting the urge to cross his arms and pout like a child as they made the trek back through the jungle and back to society. Levy giggled, shrugging apologetically.
"It sort of is," she said with a grin.
