AN UPDATE - PARTIAL REVISION

Dear readers:

It has come to my attention through reviews, private messages, and other avenues online that there is a rather large issue with Gryder and Melina's relationship. Thank you for calmly alerting me to my mistake. I appreciate you guys telling me your opinions on the subject.

I have edited this fic to amend it, and it will be explained below.

I assume if you are reading this, you have 1| read the entire fic, 2| read up to the chapter in question, and stopped reading completely.

It's ok. I understand. I'm not mad.

But with this revision, I hope that you will read it again and enjoy it more than you had.

It was not my intention to have 17/18 year old Melina and Gryder fall in love. There was nothing in my notes about it, so a relationship was not in the cards. Though as I wrote the chapters, the relationship plainly presented itself (in my eyes), and well, my fingers took over and I went with them for the long ride. In other words, this author winged it.

I never thought that pairing the two after Gryder's attempt on Melina would cause a problem. Not in my fic nor with the readers, but I am not my readers and they are not me; my experiences differ from everyone else's. What is not a concern to me or a trigger for me personally may be for someone else. Because of that, if I have offended anyone with my written words, it was not on purpose. I apologize.

In my mind, there is a mirroring between Gajeel and Gryder, past and present. This fic has redemption and second chances themes in both plots. Melina would forgive him for his transgressions against her, just as Levy had forgiven Gajeel for his.

However, what happened between Gajeel and Levy is different from what happened between Gryder and Melina in that no one was forced into a relationship. This change is needed for Gryder and Melina's chapters.

As of 7-20-18, it is now changed from Gryder to Lyon for attempting the assault on Melina in the warehouse. Henceforth, Gryder had nothing to do with it and only took orders from Sting and Jose regarding her. He must watch over her and make sure she does not try to escape again. In this, he is not to harm her. It makes better sense realistically to gradually let their relationship form rather than what had originally been posted. I chose to change it to Lyon because he and Gryder are at odds (more on that in the sequel) and that it was the easiest fix. With this new revision, the relationship between Gryder and Melina is maintained, but the beginning is not one-sided as it was prior. It is now fully mutual.

As for the sequel, Finding Gryder, I can't tell you everything that will happen. I have the next few chapters plotted out. I don't want to give major points away before I write or post them, and some things I just don't know yet haha. What I can tell you that there is nothing like what I described above. There will be Gajevy. There will be Melder. There will be Lyon. There will be character sections and chapters, much like if you have ever read or watched Game of Thrones. And, there will be surprises and plot twists that connect characters from both stories (Trust me when I say, you will be thoroughly surprised).

Thank you again for bringing the issue to light so I could fix it. Thank you for reading this story and its sequel.

I have a story to tell with these, one very, very personal to me that is touched on in the AN of chapter 34. I wanted to share how my inspiration of my brother's life fueled the creation of this AU from its beginning to its end. Of course, this particular fic is complete, but please join me for the continuation in Finding Gryder.

Your fellow writer,

-CapAleran2