Nightmare

Erza curled into herself in the freezing confines of her rocky cell. There were no blankets, just a cold, harsh, cracked, concrete ground. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering and tears streaming down her face, leaving clear tracks in her dirt-smudged cheeks. The beating had been brutal. She hadn't meant to make a mistake. She was doing the best she could for being just a little girl. She tried to keep her cries quiet, but couldn't suppress her soft sniffling.

Erza tucked her chin against her chest, covering her face with her arms, her small fingers clutching at her head, drew her knees up to her stomach and sobbed as quietly as she could so as not to waken her sleeping companions. Grandpa Robb was asleep in the corner, Sho laying on his lap snoozing soundly while Simon leaned against his side, the older man's arm around the younger boy. Her other friends were scattered about the cell, just as curled into themselves as she was, trying to find a shred of warmth amongst each other, though the difference was, young Erza was alone in a corner of the cell, tucked into herself as best she could.

Erza was surprised when she felt a warm hand lay against her quaking shoulder and she gasped lightly before looking up. Through her tear-filled vision, she could see a tuft of cerulean hair and the familiarity if that curious, red tattoo adorning his face. Erza felt her heart skip a few beats. The boy who'd given her the last name of Scarlet was sitting beside her now, worry showing clearly in his blue eyes.

"Erza?" his voice came softly and she sat up to face him, attempting to sniff back more tears, but to no avail. "Hey what's wrong? Are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?" Jellal's concerned voice, soft and ever endearing to her resounded in her ears, and Erza's heart pounded, but she shook her red head gingerly, unable to speak. "Are you hurt? I know they really did a number on you earlier. Come here." Jellal brought his arms out to Erza and she silently tucked into them, allowing the boy to envelope her in his comfort and she noted he was shivering just as much she was.

"I'm j-just... cold," Erza managed to stammer out through her tears, though it wasn't just about her being cold, and Jellal knew that just as much as she did.

"It's okay, Erza. I'll keep you warm," the young man told her gently as he pulled Erza's shivering, frail frame close to his own. " Jellal placed one hand on top of her head to pull her closer and peered down at her face. She still hadn't stopped crying. He couldn't handle seeing Erza like that, and worry overtook him. "Erza, please talk to me. I'm here for you. Tell me what's wrong?" he pleaded softly to her, and Erza inclined her gaze upward to look at him.

"I-I didn't have a nightmare, Jellal," Erza replied, her small hand clutching at his torn and tattered shirt. "This place... this place is the nightmare!" Erza broke out into fresh sobs and buried her face in Jellal's chest.

His own lip quivered as he fought to hold back his own tears now because he knew exactly how Erza felt. He was tired of seeing his friends work, and suffer and be tortured for making mistakes that they couldn't help from. He was tired of watching everyone go through what they went through daily. They were just innocent children, ripped from their homes and forced to become slaves. He wondered why and what did any of them do to deserve this pain and suffering? Jellal swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, and blinked against the burning in his eyes, before resting his face on top of Erza's pretty scarlet hair.

"We will get out of this, Erza. We will leave his nightmare and we will have our freedom. I'll do whatever it takes." Jellal raised his head and glared out of the bars of their cells at the magic soldiers roaming the place. "Whatever it takes."

Erza could only curl into Jellal's comforting embrace and hope with all her heart that he was right.