Hello my lovelies!

I'm on a roll with getting these chapters out! My Easter break just started and I have a few days so I'm able to relax and really spend some time on my fics!

It's really tough writing so many ships at once! There are the main ones that I'm trying to focus on so the more minor ones won't be as in depth...but I may get around to writing for those later. (Like Romeo and Wendy, and Elfman and Evergreen- but I don't think I could write lemons for them... My brain just can't do it) I said I was going to try to get in as many POVs as possible, and while I'll still try to do that I think I'm going to be sticking to a few major ones while throwing in some others at appropriate times... Its really hard keeping up with so many at a time... *nervous laughter*

Anyway... I hope that you guys enjoy the chapter. I've got some ideas coming up that I think you guys are going to like! I've spent so much time working on the antagonists for this fic that I'm scrabbling to come up with the trial that everyone will be participating in tomorrow! *slaps self* Bad Sabina!

But in all seriousness I'll probably work on it tonight since the mountain of laundry I have will be killing any social plans that I would have made so I'll have plenty of time to write while doing that!

As always I love hearing your reviews and suggestions!

Also go check out my NaLu oneshot (if you're up to date on the manga) and Gajeel fic (sequel to my first fic) that I've been working on! *shamless self advertising*

Much love

Sabina

Day Three

Gray's POV

As much as he hated to do it, Gray really needed to slip out before Juvia woke up... He had spent the whole night with peacefully sleeping next to her and he awoke feeling very refreshed. Careful not to wake the still sleeping water mage, Gray sat up on the bed and stared down at her face. Gray didn't understand how he hadn't seen how beautiful she was before... Her lips were pulled down in a little frown as she pouted at something in her sleep. He found himself wondering what it was she was dreaming about... Deep down he knew that it was probably something to do with him, and that made him smile. A strand of her blue hair fell down across her eyes and he had to work hard to suppress the urge to tuck it back, lest he wake her. Slowly he got up off the bed and took a few steps towards the door.

"Gray..."

His heart pounded at the tiny sound. He looked over his shoulder to see her still sleeping, a slight smile now on her face. Something about her not using the honorific with his name set his heart racing and begged him to get back in the bed with her. Levy stirred in the bed next to the one he and Juvia had been sleeping in and Gray new that he had to go... He didn't want to embarrass Levy or have to explain why he had been sleeping next to Juvia right then... He looked over his shoulder one more time as he opened the door to look at Juvia again. Once more his name slipped from her sleeping form as he shut the door...making his heart squeeze with longing...

Rogue's POV

He had gotten the whole story from Sting once he had returned to the room that night. Once he had seen Sting head downstairs with Sabina he had decided to wait a while before going back to their room for obvious reasons... What he hadn't expected was to find Sting alone and looking dejected. It hadn't taken long for Sting to explain what had happened, and by the end Rogue was feeling a bit worried about the whole situation as well. He had agreed with Natsu and Sting's decision to go and talk to Erza about the issue in the morning though.

Rogue paused by the door as he watched Sting wearily head towards the bathroom so he could have his turn in the shower. The white dragonslayer obviously hadn't slept well at all... He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked absolutely exhausted.

"Sting... I'm sure she'll listen... Sabina isn't the unreasonable type..." he said encouragingly. Sting nodded dumbly and shut the bathroom door behind him. Lector frowned as he stared at the door.

"Poor Sting... I've never seen him so upset before..." said the little red exceed. Rogue didn't comment. He had seen Sting like this before, when he had thought that Lector was dead. Depression really didn't suit the young guildmaster...

"I know that Natsu told Sting he had to explain on his own... But I think I should talk to her first... She'll still be really upset, and sometimes that makes he not want to listen..." said Rogue as he and the exceeds exited the room. Frosch looked sadly over his shoulder as they walked down the hall.

"Fro thinks so too... Fro doesn't like seeing Sting and Sabby sad..." he said, little tears forming in his eyes. Rogue smiled at the little feline.

"Don't worry Frosch, they'll be fine. It was all a big misunderstanding," he said as they headed down to breakfast.

Sabina's POV

"Come on Sabina you need to eat. We have the first day of testing today and you need to be at your best," said Ulf, pushing Sabina's plate of food closer to her. She stared at it sullenly, not wanting to eat it. It had taken her a long time to stop crying the night before. What she had seen and heard had impacted her much more than she thought it would. Even now she could picture those two women, both kissing Sting... She growled angrily and ripped into a piece of bacon, anger causing her canines to lengthen into small sharp fangs. Ulf eyed her warily.

It was still very early and not many of the others had woken up and come down to breakfast yet. Sabina, Ulf, and a few others from Fairy Tail were the only ones in the quiet dining hall besides a couple sitting off on their own. The sea dragonslayer had elected to sit by herself that morning, not really wanting to converse with Gray and Romeo as they sat together at a table. They had picked up on her bad mood as she had entered the hall and hadn't pestered her to sit with them.

"Jeez Sab what did that bacon do to offend you?" said a familiar voice as she tore at another piece. She looked up to see Rogue and the exceeds walking over to her with full plates. She tried to smile warmly as Frosch settled on top of her head and Lector waved cheerily at her.

"Oh... Hey Rogue..." she said, her anger abating a little as her childhood friend gave her a sheepish smile.

"I heard about what happened last night..." he said as she sat down. Sabina scowled.

"Let me guess... Master Eucliffe told you," she said bitterly. Rogue whistled at her tone.

"Yes... Master Eucliffe explained the whole thing... Including the part about how you didn't bother listening to his side of the story," he said, chastising her a little. Sabina glared at Rogue angrily.

"Excuse me for being a teensy bit upset at finding him with two women fawning all over him," she snarled. Rogue eyed the knife she was using to butter her toast, wondering if his life would be in danger at any point in this conversation.

"I can understand that you would be upset... But you really should listen to what he has to say about it," said the shadow dragonslayer. Sabina huffed and stared sullenly down at her plate. Rogue's tone softened as he saw that there was genuine pain in her eyes. "It really wasn't him Sab... Sting isn't like that... He really likes you, and he would never stand you up for someone else... He told me how it went down. Those women cornered him then disappeared after you got angry with him..." He saw her eyes widen a bit at this.

"So... He wasn't picking them over me?" she said quietly, not raising her head. Rogue chuckled a little. Sabina really could be quite insecure at times...

"No silly woman... I'm sure you've heard this before but he's head over heels for you... You heard him on the train and yesterday morning... I know he'll kill me for telling you this, but trust me... You're all he's thought about since he first met you," said Rogue, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. She seemed to cheer up a bit at this.

"I guess I can listen to what he has to say..." she said. Rogue smiled at her and Lector looked relieved. Ulf just shook his head exasperatedly.

"You're such a pain Sabina," said the little golden feline. Sabina stuck her tongue out at him. The tension was gone as they finished their breakfast.

"How about we go for a quick warmup jog before we get to work?" suggested Sabina as they got up from the table.

"Sounds good. We can meet everyone at the testing site," Rogue agreed. He knew that he had been planning on talking with Sting, Natsu, and Erza about what the two women had said but he didn't think they'd need him there. They headed off out the front doors of the hotel.

Sting's POV

"Yo Sting, over here!"

Sting looked around the room as the voice called out to him. He quickly spotted Natsu, who was waving his arm in the air and beckoning. Taking his plateful of food, Sting joined the fire slayer and Erza at the table they had taken in the corner of the dining room. Sting could tell that something was up the moment he sat down. Natsu and Erza both seemed on edge.

"What's the matter?" he said suspiciously. It was strange to see such strong mages looking so rattled.

"Natsu filled me in on what happened last night," said Erza, her tone stern. Sting began to panic. Erza was a very formal and proper thinking woman... What if she got mad at him for what he had intended with Sabina? He flinched as she picked up her knife. "What those two women said worries me greatly," she continued, and Sting sighed with relief. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Natsu trying to suppress his laughter.

"Yeah it was rather strange... It seems like their goal was to...uh...turn Sabina against me," he said, awkwardly avoiding exactly how it had happened. Erza nodded, clearly intent on keeping the conversation on track.

"Why would they be trying to stir up trouble between you two? Did you accidentally offend those two in the past or something?" asked Natsu. Sting shook his head.

"No I've never seen them before in my entire life. They were strong though," said the white slayer. It had been really worrying when he had discovered exactly how strong they were... Erza seemed to check that nobody was within earshot before she spoke again.

"I think I know what they might be after," she said quietly. Sting and Natsu gaped at her.

"Really? How?" said the fire slayer incredulously. Sting too was intensely curious. Was it just him, or did Erza's cheeks look a little pink? That was odd...

"I spoke to an informant last night about it," said the requip mage. Natsu's eyes narrowed and he sniffed, a scent catching his attention. A big grin appeared on his face and he eyed Erza with gleeful suspicion.

"Ohhh... I think I know who it was Erza," said the pyro. Erza's blush intensified and she laughed nervously. Sting was shocked to see her like this. He had always thought of her as unflappable and constantly composed.

"Natsu I don't think that this is the time for..." she began but Natsu cut her off.

"It was Jellal wasn't it?" said Natsu teasingly, nudging Erza with his elbow. Her face reddened even more and she sputtered. Sting had heard of Jellal. The former dark mage who had formed his own independent guild to take out the dark guilds around Fiore. It seemed as if Erza had some kind of history with him... While this subject was interesting, Sting really wanted to know what Jellal had said.

"Back to what you were saying Erza... Jellal said that he knows what they're after?" said Sting. Erza seemed relieved to have the topic get back on track. Natsu grumbled a little but didn't push it.

"Yes... Jellal has been tracking the movements of a group of eight dark mages. It seems as if they've been going around searching for strong female mages. Recently they found someone suitable for whatever goals they may have and kidnapped her," explained Erza. Sting and Natsu looked at each other in confusion. Erza went on. "Now we aren't sure what their goal is or what the specifics for their targets are... But the young woman that was kidnapped happens to be a dragonslayer."

"What?" exclaimed Sting and Natsu. Erza shushed them and looked around before continuing.

"Calm down... We have evidence that suggests it's not only dragonslayers that they're after... The exceed that was with the dragonslayer said that they called it a bonus that she was a slayer... This leads me to assume that they're simply after women with great magical power..." she said. Sting reflected on this... So they were after strong female mages? He flinched as he thought of all the very strong female mages that were in this very hotel...

"I see that you've realized what this means..." said Erza, who had been watching him. Natsu still looked confused.

"What does it mean?" said the fire slayer. Sting and Erza sighed at his thick-headedness.

"It means that this place is practically a buffet for them," said Sting. "I assume that Jellal told you this because he has reason to believe that they're in the area?" he asked the red headed woman. Erza nodded.

"Yes... It's no secret that members of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth are staying in this hotel... It wouldn't be difficult for this group to find out and come here seeing strong mage..." she said. This was not good news...

"We should inform the council and try to get the testing postponed until we can catch these guys," said Sting. Natsu scowled and shook his head.

"Where's the fun in that? I say we hunt them down without putting off the trials," said Natsu, an excited gleam in his eyes. Erza seemed conflicted.

"Jellal did have a plan... But its very risky..." said Erza. Sting had a nagging feeling that he knew what it would involve. "He thought of informing the council as well... But he thinks that if we were all on high alert the group would move off and target other women... Then we might lose track of them and end up being too late to stop whatever they're doing... So he thinks that we should continue on with the trials as if we haven't noticed anything. With so many strong female mages here, the group is bound to show up and try to kidnap at least a few of us," said Erza. Natsu's eyes narrowed and Sting clenched his fist.

"So you're saying that you and all the other women are going to be bait?" growled Natsu. Sting knew that he was thinking about the celestial spirit mage. "I don't like it."

"I don't either... It's very risky," said Sting. No way in hell he was going to risk Sabina getting captured, even if she was furious with him.

"What other choice do we have?" said Erza. "All of us are strong... We can handle them in a fight if it comes to it."

There was a long silence as Sting and Natsu thought about this.

"I guess we don't have any other options..." said Sting reluctantly. "I suppose we should tell the others about this."

"I'm not so sure about that... If everyone is on guard at all times the group might get suspicious and move off. I say that we only inform a few others, ones that we can trust to be discreet about keeping an eye out," said Erza.

"I suppose that makes sense... I say we tell Lucy, Rufus, Gray, Rogue, Gajeel, and Orga..." said Natsu. Sting and Erza both nodded in agreement.

"Alright then..." said Erza. "We should probably get going to the testing grounds."

Sting walked a little behind the two as they headed out the lobby doors and towards the testing grounds. Would Sabina listen to him? Had she calmed down enough? His heart was filled with worry as they neared the site...