A/N: inspiration strikes again! This new one was inspired by the song, Secret Love, by Hunter Hayes. As always, Jerza time! hope you enjoy it!


Stayin' under cover and out of sight,

If nobody knows, then we're doin' it right.

Secret love.

Got a secret love.

-Hunter Hayes, 'Secret Love'

Jellal sat at his desk, staring down at yet another peace treaty he had to sign, along with other annoying official documents. Such was the life of the King of Fiore. He sighed, and pushed away from his desk, going to stand by the window of his office. He looked outside, staring down at the city of Crocus.

He sighed. Being the king of a country, fresh out of war, was not easy. For years, Fiore had been at war with its neighboring country, the principality of Veronica. Finally, after both sides suffering from innumerable losses but no clear winners, a peace treaty was called, and Jellal seemed to have gotten the bad end of the deal.

It wasn't anything like, losing his crown, or giving land to Veronica, but in order to maintain peace, he married the daughter of the king of Veronica, the princess Ultear. She had long black hair and odd red eyes, a beauty, but Jellal hated her. She was cruel and heartless. She married Jellal only because her father made her.

Jellal clenched his fist. Their marriage did not grow at all. A month into their relationship, Jellal walked in on her kissing a stable boy. She had just glared at him, and said, "Why shouldn't I? You're not the one I love." Jellal had walked away, stunned.

He kept her secret, and he didn't even kill the boy, or even banish him. Why bother? He wasn't doing any harm, Jellal didn't even like Ultear. Let her do whatever.

They avoided eachother alltogether, only acting like a happy couple when needed. Other than that, Jellal kept away, avoiding her like the plague.

There was a knock on the door. "Your majesty?" Someone said. Jellal turned. "Come in," he called, running a hand through his messy blue hair and straightening his shirt. The door opened, and a man with spiky black hair walked in, followed closely by a man with pink hair.

Jellal smiled. Gray Fullbuster, the dark haired man, commander of the army, and Natsu Dragneel, the pinkette, head of the calvary, Jellal's two most trusted men. They were originally the previous king's wards, companions for the young prince. When Jellal became king, they became the his trusted advisors, and partners in battle. There was no one he trusted more than these two men, no one he respected more. Not only were they his advisors, they were his best friends, his loyal companions.

"Jellal," Gray said, nodding with respect. Natsu smiled and gave a small bow. The serious looks on their faces made Jellal smile. He knew what they were up to.

Jellal chuckled. "Will you two drop the act already? What's up?" He asked. The two men smirked, and Natsu began to laugh. They both relaxed their uptight positions, standing more comfortably, casually.

Gray smiled, and came over to Jellal, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. Jellal grinned.

Natsu came over. "How's the paperwork coming along?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Jellal sheepishly gestured towards the stack of papers on his desk. "Great," he muttered lamely.

Gray walked over to the desk and peered down at the papers. He snorted, looking at the peace treaty lying on the wood. "I still can't believe you had to marry that bitch," he muttered. Jellal came over. "I did what was necessary for the people," he began.

Natsu shook his head. "I'd rather be at war than deal with her," he complained, running a hand through his pink hair. "Jellal, that woman is a monster. She terrorizes the staff, and makes everyone miserable."

Jellal sighed. "What can I do? The people were sick and tired of war. This was the only option."

"But you don't even like her," Gray said. Jellal turned to him. "Even though I may not like her," he began, "I have to do it."

A king's first duty is to the people. Then to the country. Then for his family. Then, himself. He can't put his heart before the people. No matter how much he may want to.

Gray sighed. "I'd rather see this country at war than to see you suffer like this." He murmured. Jellal smiled bitterly and clapped his friend's back. "I know, Gray. But we just have to deal with it. This is the promise that I made, and I will stick with it." Jellal hated it, but if there was one thing he was good it, it was keeping his promises.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. The three men straightened themselves. Jellal quickly sat at his desk, Gray and Natsu taking their places behind his desk. Jellal cleared his throat. "Come in."

The door opened, and a young woman stepped in, with long silver hair and blue eyes. She wore a black dress, and she smiled happily when she saw the three men facing her.

Jellal relaxed, dropping his "official" facade. It was Mirajane, or Mira, for short, the head of his castle staff. She was a sweet young woman who Jellal trusted very much.

"Mira, what can I do for you?" He asked. Mira smiled, nodding to Gray and Natsu, before stepping forward and placing a manilla envelope on his desk. "Your majesty, these are the papers for the new girl I've hired. She'll be arriving in a few days."

Jellal nodded and grasped the folder in his hands. "Thank you Mira," he murmured. She frowned. "My lord, have you seen yourself at all today?" She inquired. Jellal frowned and shook his head. "No, why?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes (which is something you shouldn't do in front of a king, but Jellal was very close with all of his staff; they were more like friends) and pulled out a small, hand-held mirror from the depths of her skirts. She thrust it in his face. "Take a nice long look," she advised.

He looked at his reflection, startled by his appearance: long blue hair, a red tattoo framing his right eye. His green eyes were fatigued, dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted.

Jellal looked back at Mira, who was looking at him with concern. "You slept in here again, didn't you?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. This woman could read him perfectly. There was no hiding anything from Mira.

Jellal nodded. He'd been sleeping in his office lately, avoiding Ultear, and whoever she brought to bed. It sickened him, how disgusting and lowly she was. He didn't want to know what else she did.

Mira cursed under her breath. "That ungodly woman," she hissed. "She's killing you, Jellal. Why do you put yourself through this?"

Gray sighed. "That's what I told him."

Jellal put his head in his hands. "What can I do? It's for the good of the country."

Mira reached over the desk, and placed her hand on Jellal's shoulder. He looked up at her, her blue eyes filled with concern. "I'll have Cana and Lucy draw you a bath," she said. "You need to relax. I'll figure out something for your sleeping arrangements, so you don't have to sleep here."

Jellal smiled. "Thank you, Mira."

She smiled sweetly, and nodded, turning her back to leave. Before she slipped out the door, however, she turned back to the king.

"My only wish for you is that you find the woman who is deserving of your love." She said, before exiting the room, the wooden door closing behind her with a soft click.

Natsu sighed, coming around the front of Jellal's desk and plopping down on the sofa. "You slept here again?" He asked. "This is the fifth time. Jellal, you have to do something about this. You're not getting enough sleep." He looked at Jellal, worry in his slanty onyx eyes.

Jellal sighed. "I don't want to sleep in Ultear's bed. Who knows what she did in there. Not to mention, she'd probably kill me in my sleep." He was serious. He kept himself on edge with her in the castle. He still didn't trust the king of Veronica. For all he knew, Ultear would kill him and take over. She seemed capable of that kind of thing.

Gray sat on the edge of the desk. "I still say get rid of her," he snarled, his dark blue eyes narrowed. "No one trusts her. You'll end up with a knife in your back."

Jellal sighed again and opened the manilla folder he was holding, pulling out several papers. He immediately looked at the photograph, which showed a beautiful young woman with long red hair and brown eyes. Her name was Erza Scarlet.

Gray whistled appreciatively. "Well, damn," he said. Natsu perked up and came over, wondering what the others were looking at.

Jellal stared at the photo, his mouth going dry. She was gorgeous. His heart thudded in his chest. He looked at the information. She was going to be a maidservant.

Jellal looked back at her photo, feeling his heart pounding. For the first time in months, he felt hopeful again.


The young woman sighed, leaning against the tree, poking the small fire she had lit. She hugged the blanket tighter around her body.

I'll be in Crocus in a day, she thought to herself, pulling her long red hair back into a high ponytail.

The scarlet haired woman relaxed, looking up at the star studded night sky. She had an odd history, that one.

Erza Scarlet, the woman with the mysterious past. She had no memory of her history, all she remembered was waking up amidst several other people. A man asked her for her name. 'Erza Scarlet', she told him.

There was training. Pain. Fatigue. Weapons. Erza had been found by a sect of the Fiorian Army, Fairy Tail. They were the stealth force, assassins, strategists, fighters. And they had trained her to be one of them.

Erza had fought in several battles, the war against Veronica raging on. She saw plenty of death, and had killed many herself. She had a natural ability, and gained a reputation as a natural born killer. But after came peace, and Fairy Tail disbanded, leaving the young red headed warrior with no memories looking for work. Her name faded, and she melted into the background once more.

And then she had been found by a close friend, Lucy Heartfilia, another Fairy Tail member. She had been working in Crocus as a maidservant to the king, and had put in a good word with the Staff master. So now, here she was, Erza Scarlet, on her way to the capital.

Once again, Erza tried to recover the memories locked away in her mind. All she really remembered were two warm hands, a woman's laugh, and a stuffed teddy bear. Everything else was gone. Stolen from her. How did she get here? Who was she? These questions flew through her mind, but she couldn't answer them.

Erza sighed. Her life wasn't easy, but it was her life. And she was determined to make something of it. She'd find her memories eventually, but right now, she had to keep on living.

She looked out at the dark road, leading towards her future. She did not know what was ahead, or who she would meet. But at least she was looking ahead. She'd save her past for another time.

The wind picked up, the fire sputtering. Erza gave it one last prod with her stick before throwing it in. She curled up in her blanket, making sure her sword lay by her side, ready to be used if she was attacked. That was the one things she kept from her time with Fairy Tail. Her katana, which she had taken from a supreme commander from Veronica. Her mission was to assassinate him, and she did. While she was leaving, she stumbled across a hidden room, where she had found this sword. It was the legendary blade, Benizakura, a sword with a bloody past. She had taken it, and it has been by her side, ever since. More lives fell to its bloody blade.

Erza yawned, her eyes closing. She was extremely tired, and she needed to preserve her energy for the next day. She closed her eyes.

She dreamt of a faceless blue haired man, a red tattoo on his featureless face. He kept walking towards her, but never reaching her. He reached a hand out. Something spoke deep inside of her, and she reached a hand out too.


A/N: well, what did you think? Do you like it?

Thanks for reading, See you soon!

-Wolfspirit44