The Agony of Dereliction
Chapter 1: Illness
A lone, cloaked figure rushed through the pitch black forest, pushing aside branches and stepping through thorny bushes. Its breathing was heavy, and it was limping slightly... but it was still moving at a rapid pace nonetheless. A deformed figure with glowing green eyes was running a few feet behind the first figure, pursuing it intently. This second figure released a low growl as it moved along on all fours, and it was so loud that it caused the ground and all the trees in the vicinity to tremble.
Eventually, the first figure reached a small clearing in the trees, and after stepping out from the leafy maze, it stopped. Then, it bent down and placed its hands on its knees, taking in deep breaths. The tiny, circular clearing was completely surrounded by trees, and occupying the center of it was a small, wooden shack. A lantern was positioned on the left side of the door, offering a faint yellow illumination. Once the first figure had forced a sufficient amount of oxygen into its lungs, it began to approach the quaint residency. The second figure suddenly leapt out from the forest, but before it could reach its target, a faint sizzling noise came from its flesh. It immediately let out a pained yelp and turned around, quickly retreating back into the forest. The first figure shook its head in response to this, and it stopped once it was positioned in front of the door to the shack, reaching out and turning the knob. Once the figure pushed open the door, it stepped inside and then closed the rectangular object behind it. Finally, it reached up and pulled back the hood of its dark brown cloak.
The face of a beautiful young woman was revealed once the hood was removed. She possessed deep chocolate eyes and long, crimson locks of hair which were pulled back in a ponytail. Underneath her cloak, she was sporting a grey tank top and a cobalt blue skirt which stopped about half an inch above her knees. Each of her limbs were decorated with cuts and bruises in various places, and her right ankle was swollen slightly. Her face was abnormally pale, and the dark circles around her eyes were a clear sign of her exhaustion. Releasing a deep sigh from her lungs, she sank down with her back against a wall.
The small, rectangular room had a fireplace in the center along the opposite wall from where she sat. The flickering flames inside of it cast strange, moving shadows along each of the other walls. Two beds occupied the two corners of the room on the left side, and two chairs sat along the right side. A round, orange rug laid out in the middle of the room, covering the wooden floor.
Another young woman with blond hair stepped out from an adjacent room moments later, and she wore hers up in two short pigtails... one on each side of her head. She was carrying a silver tray of sweet morsels and humming a tune quietly. Upon noticing the red-haired female's return, her eyes widened, and she rushed to the other woman's side. After setting the tray down on the floor, she placed a hand on the injured female's shoulder.
"Erza, are you okay?!" She spoke up in a soft voice, and the concern was quite evident in her tone.
Erza slowly nodded in response, and a faint smile formed on the corners of her lips... she was attempting to reassure her friend, but it was proving to be futile.
"I'm fine, Lucy. I j-just ran into a little trouble." Her deep voice was quieter than usual, and she had to take a deep breath in between every few words.
"Was it one of them again?"
"Yes. It ambushed me when I was on my way into town. I attempted to fight it, b-but I realized that I was too weak... so I had no choice but to flee. It was so disgraceful..." Erza lowered her head in shame, trying to avoid Lucy's gaze for the time being.
"Another one of your nausea spells?"
"..." She merely nodded without uttering a single word.
"...I'll send for Mirajane then. We should have her take a look at you."
"That w-won't be necessary, Lucy."
"Erza!" Lucy suddenly grabbed onto both of the red-haired female's shoulders firmly. "You promised me that you'd let her look at you if you kept feeling sick like this. It's starting to affect your ability to fight, and that's really dangerous!"
"Very well." Erza once again met Lucy's eyes as she reluctantly agreed. "Go ahead."
"Thank-you. Now let's get you into bed." Lucy wrapped one of her friend's arms around her shoulder, helping the older woman to her feet. Then, she walked her over to one of the beds and helped her lay down on it carefully. "We should take care of that ankle also. I'll prop it up and wrap it in some cold fabric."
For the next two days, Lucy made certain that Erza remained in bed, much to the red-haired female's annoyance. However, at certain times, she was feeling too ill to put up much resistance. On the third morning, Mirajane finally arrived at the cabin, and she was carrying a large, cloth sack filled with medical supplies.
"Hello, Lucy! How's Erza feeling?" The white-haired female was sporting her usual cheerful grin when the blond female greeted her at the entrance.
"She's doing a little bit better... but I still don't think she'll be able to fight well in her current state."
"Okay. I'll check her out then." Mirajane nodded and stepped over to Erza's bed, kneeling down beside it. "I'm sorry you're not feeling well, Erza. About how long has this been going on?"
"For about two weeks..."
"I see. When do you notice it most often?"
"In the morning... but it occasionally occurs at other times during the day." Erza glanced over at Lucy before speaking up once more. "...and Lucy won't even allow me out of bed when I start to feel better."
"Now, now... she's just looking out for you." Mirajane giggled softly.
"I suppose so, but she..." Before Erza could finish her sentence, she suddenly doubled over and winced slightly as she placed a hand over her belly.
"Erza? Are you feeling ill again?" The white-haired female's expression turned serious, and her patient nodded in response.
Mirajane then proceeded to perform a thorough examination of Erza, and once she was finished, she asked a few more questions. Finally, she reached a diagnosis and stood up, sighing. "Well, I know what's making you feel this way now, Erza."
"You do?"
"Yes, and fortunately... you aren't sick."
"I'm not?"
"No. You're... pregnant."
"E-excuse me?" Erza's eyes widened in shock, and Lucy gasped whilst placing both hands over her mouth.
"I said that you're pregnant."
"I heard you, but... but that's impossible!" Erza quickly sat up in bed, and every muscle in her body tensed up.
"I'm not so sure it is. I don't mean to pry into your personal life, but... you and he were... getting quite intimate, weren't you?"
"...but I... h-haven't even seen him in over three months." She sounded slightly dazed and delusional as she spoke.
"I know. He disappeared, and no one has seen or heard from him since. However, during your last night with him... that's probably when you conceived."
"..." The red-haired woman could barely speak... she was still attempting to make her brain register the situation. So far, it wasn't exactly going very well... and she was beginning to feel rather light-headed.
"Don't worry. It'll take some time for everything to sink in, but you'll be all right. I'm always here if you ever need anything, Erza... and so are the others."
The door suddenly flew open, and a blue-haired woman stepped inside. She was breathing heavily, and her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes appeared to be sparkling as she spoke up in an elated tone.
"Everyone, guess what?! This morning, Juvia almost touched Gray-sama's... what's wrong?" She raised an eyebrow upon noticing the odd expressions on the other females' faces.
"Erza's having a baby!" Lucy blurted out, then quickly covered her mouth again.
"Lucy!" Erza instantly shot a glare at the blond woman. It was obvious that she didn't particularly wish for everyone to know about the news yet. Unfortunately, it would be difficult for it to remain a secret for long since most of her friends possessed big mouths.
"I-I'm sorry!" The younger female whimpered, looking rather intimidated.
"Eeeehhh?!" The blue-haired female fell over on her side, and her right eye was twitching slightly.
"I think your reaction was a little overly-dramatic, Juvia." Mirajane wore an uneasy smile as she turned her head to look at the woman lying on the floor.
Juvia didn't respond... she appeared to be paralyzed with shock even though she wasn't the one who was going to be a mother soon.
"Could you all... leave me alone for a while?" Erza spoke up after a few moments of silence, using a low, serious tone.
"Of course. I need to be heading back home to check on Lisanna anyway." The white-haired female started walking toward the door once again. "Take it easy, Erza... and remember, you're eating for two now. You'll need to make sure that you're getting the proper nutrients." After giving those final words of advice, she bent down and grabbed onto Juvia's left arm. Then, she started dragging the motionless woman outside. "Come on, Juvia... I don't think Erza wants company right now... especially yours."
Lucy merely stood in the same spot, just staring at Erza while an awkward silence enveloped the room. Perhaps she just wanted to make certain that her friend would be okay. Eventually, she cleared her throat and spoke up.
"I'll go outside for a while. Just let me know when you want me to fix dinner." Her tone sounded slightly nervous as she spoke, and she soon followed the other two outside. After closing the door behind her, she headed toward the garden behind the shack.
Once she was finally alone in the house, Erza released another deep sigh. Her eyes dimmed as she focused her vision on the floor. Hundreds of thoughts were tumbling around in her mind at once, and she couldn't ponder over a single one of them yet. She was still far too depressed and anxious to focus. On top of that, her hormones were starting to play with her emotions as well... which only served to cause more drama for her. After immersing herself in complete silence for several minutes, she finally whispered under her breath.
"Why... why did you have to leave me behind? I never thought about becoming a parent before... but I wouldn't mind it if you were still with me." Her eyes suddenly became rather glossy, and her lower lip began to quiver. "...I don't even know if you're still alive. Do you realize how cold and empty I feel inside without you? Certainly, you must have known how it would make me feel when you left..." A single, warm tear rolled down her right cheek as she closed her eyes. Some of her memories were starting to resurface... memories that she had pushed into the back of her mind since his disappearance. She was attempting to forget about them completely since they only brought her heartache, but she couldn't. She could never completely erase him from her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried. "Where did you go... Jellal?"