Author's Note: I've gotten into the Fairy Tail fandom now! And my OTP is JerZa (JellalxErza)! XD Ironic how my first FT thing only implies my favorite pair and isn't strictly about them, but oh wells. :P This particular piece is based off the 1st OVA, the one with Fairy Hills; and yes, my favorite part of the OVA was Erza's little back-story section.

Sidenote: Btw, I may include more chapters of Erza's time spent at Fairy Hills as a growing girl if people have enough interest.

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. The idea for this fic and the time/effort that went into it is mine.

The Eyes of Youth as Seen by Old

Hilda had been the matron of Fairy Hills far longer than she should be, perhaps. She was old and not getting any younger, but she loved the girls and looked after them with the solemn gaze of a hawk watching its offspring attempt to learn how to fly with their half-down, half-flight feathers. And since being the matron, she had met many girls with different fires in their eyes. Fires that told their histories, their dreams, their passions, their fears, their doubts. The fires that belonged to the exuberant girls burned more brightly than the shyer ones, but theirs burned stronger to make up for their lack-luster appearance. So many different stories that belonged to the young girls who grew into adults and moved away or found a cheaper place to stay and Hilda treasured every last one of them. But in all her years as guardian and matron, Hilda had never seen a girl with eyes quite like those of the scarlet-haired young waif who'd just entered the lobby.

"You're Grandma Hilda?" the girl had asked. She looked about eleven.

"Aye, that I am," Hilda confirmed as she looked over the girl.

She wore nothing, but a plain light-blue dress that was splotched with dried blood and torn in places. There were indentations on her wrists and ankles which were red, probably where something had rubbed at them. There were also old scars and new cuts all up and down her arms and legs and worse yet, she had a make-shift patch over her right eye, another battle wound. She looked to be in a downright sorry state, but her countenance spoke otherwise. She could see the girl sizing her up, trying to figure out if she was an enemy or not. She sure was a guarded young lass for her age.

She finally lowered her eye and bowed her head. "H-How much does it cost to stay here?" she asked timidly. It was so very different from the first question she'd asked, it was a little unsettling.

"100,000 jewel per month for a room," Hilda answered, still watching the girl curiously. It was the standard expense for all of them and she wouldn't lower it for anyone.

The girl's head shot up and stared at her with such complete horror in her eye, like she'd been given a death sentence and she stuttered, "H-H-How m-many days are in a m-month?"

An odd question. Did she not know what a month was? "There's usually 30. Sometimes there's 31, but not often."

The girl frowned in intense concentration and her lips moved, but no sound came out, like she was trying to figure out something. When she finally accomplished whatever her goal was, she looked up again and said in a determined, but still shaky voice, "I... I'd like to... to... um... what's the word for buying something for a short time, but it's still not yours?"

"'Rent'?" Hilda supplied helpfully.

"Yes, rent! I'd like to rent a room here. I... I don't have any money yet and... I don't know how to read, so I don't understand the job requests, but I'll do my best to learn if someone would be willing to teach me and I'll pay you as soon as I can," she continued frantically, her eye wide with fear and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Calm down, young one," Hilda said with a sigh, "I'll teach you how to read. And the first month you stay in Fairy Hills is free, so you don't have to worry about that yet either. Now may I ask your name, young lady?"

"Erza."

"You got a last name, Erza?" Hilda asked a little impatiently.

The redhead looked surprised for a moment, then glanced over at her hair out of the corner of her eye, before muttering, "Scarlet..." Erza smiled fondly at a strand of red hair and didn't take her eyes off it for even a second. "My name is Erza Scarlet," she said proudly, but in a soft, gentle voice, and that was when Hilda saw it most clearly.

If Hilda weren't so old and observant, then she might not have noticed, but when Erza had held her hair and spoken her full name, she had let her guard down and Hilda saw into her soul. It was rare enough as it was, but she had never before seen a soul so completely claimed by love at such a young age. Most women lived their entire lives without ever finding their perfect soul mate (which was not to say that they didn't get along with their husbands/boyfriends, but it took more work to make it happen), and yet this little girl, Erza, who couldn't be older than eleven, had already found hers. The way she fondled her hair and spoke her name suggested that the two were connected and brought about a cherished memory of the one she loved so dearly. But there was also a great sadness in her young brown eye. She had tasted the bitter fruit of betrayal at his hands. It was an unseen scar that would never heal by her will alone. Only he who had caused his precious darling to be so grievously wounded would be able to ease the pain.

"Alright, Erza Scarlet." She did not miss the glow in the girl's eyes when she spoke the last name, "If you'll follow me, then I'll show you to your room, introduce you to the other girls here, and give you a small tour of Fairy Hills in the process."

Erza bowed low and her hair jerked violently from the motion, "Thank you so much, Grandma Hilda."

Hilda felt unreasonable, but still justifiable, rage towards Erza's soul mate. That he betrayed the heart of such a sweet, little girl! If Hilda had her way, then she'd find the young man who did this and string him up by his ears as punishment, have him scrub the entire pool all by himself without magic, and then have him do some other form of hard labor just for good measure. But the damage had been done and the old woman could only hope that she'd be around long enough to see Erza's mended heart. It made her wonder what a truly happy smile would look like on her face.

Feedback is always appreciated. Bah! Hilda really should be a character on the Fairy Tail characters list! Erza called Hilda, 'Hilda obaa-san' which is very similar in form to what she called Rob (Rob ojii-san), and since the English dub (OMG, Robert McCollum's voice for Jellal is sooo sexy! XD) translated it as Grandpa Rob, I decided to apply the same format for Hilda.