Erza Scarlet walked briskly through the corridors of the Magic Council's prison amidst wolf whistles and catcalls from the assorted inmates. She was sure she'd be whipping out her swords any minute now just to establish some kind of order: between the noisy jeers coming from the prisoners and the booming footsteps that the guards that were escorting her were making as they walked along side her, the prison resembled pure chaos. Instead she stared straight ahead, not sparing a glance at the prisoners or the guards and making sure she appeared just as cool as ever.
"Left here." said the guard on her right. He was a man who seemed to be nearing fifty, tall and with a body that had probably once been fit but was now past its prime. She didn't bother answering and just gave a curt nod, however out of the corner of her eye she could see that the guard was still looking at her expectantly.
"I see."
"He's isolated from the rest of the prisoners. His cells not too comfortable though." A smirk appeared on the man's face. "I doubt you'll be able to do much." She finally turned towards him and stared him down. Did this man honestly just say that? Did he not know exactly who she was? It was either that or he was stupid.
"I don't like what you're implying." She answered coolly. The man laughed in her face.
"Look girlie, I've been a guard in this prison long enough to know what happens when one of these bastards gets a visit from a woman." His partner, a tall gangly man who seemed barely a couple of years older than her laughed. "Can't say the poor bastards in this part of the prison get a lot of visits though."
Erza clenched her fist. Injuring one of the prison guards would not be good. The situation was already fragile enough as it was and besides, if she kept clenching her fist like that her gauntlet was sure to dent. She tried taking calming breaths unnoticed and managed to keep up her pace. She suddenly noticed that the corridors had quieted down and that there were no longer any cells that she could make out. It sent her senses on high alert.
"This is it." the older guard said stopping abruptly in front of a large arc in the wall made entirely out of black stone. The frame was ornately decorated with runes and what had at first appeared to be precious stones but upon closer inspection were revealed to be lacrima. She arched an eyebrow and silently demanded an explanation from the older guard who was obviously the one in charge.
"It's been programmed to let you in. You just have to walk through the arc." She looked at the arc for a moment, not letting the hesitation she felt show and then walked towards it.
Strangely enough the thought of reuniting with her childhood friend, telling him the news she brought with her, it terrified her, much more than confronting him in the Tower of Heaven had ever affected her. Maybe the adrenaline from her previous fight with Ikaruga had served to numb her anxiety over that encounter. If she stopped to analyze things clearly though she knew that it was simply the fact that back then she had been able to mask it all behind tough words and a strong hand. Now what did she have? She had removed all barriers between them during the Nirvana incident and now she found that she was yearning for some form of protection.
Either way, as she placed her palm on the smooth surface of the stone the panic seemed to reach a whole new level. It didn't stop her, however, from slowly applying pressure against the stone and passing the magical barrier. She heard the guards make another stupid joke but didn't bother commenting; she just applied even more pressure so that their stupid laughter was quickly drowned out and she had finally completely breached the barrier.
The room she had gone into was much darker than the corridor she had just come from and the only source of light were the few and very narrow windows in the walls. The room was void of all furniture and the walls, the ceiling, the floor; all of it was made from the same black stone as the entrance. The moonlight that filtered in through the windows illuminated the stone eerily with a bluish glow.
It was on the far side of the room, sitting on the floor, back propped against the wall and face draped in shadow that Erza caught her first glimpse of Jellal since she had seen him walk away from her after helping in the destruction of Nirvana. His head was tilted so that between the shadows and the wisps of blue hair she couldn't make out his features and he obviously hadn't noticed her; but it was him, no doubt about it and she was glad for the chance to see him again; so much so that her anxiety ebbed down into a slight throb at the back of her mind.
"Jellal…" The quiet whisper reverberated on the walls of the cell and visibly startled him. His face snapped up to look her straight in the eye.
"Erza…" His voice was low and raspy; he obviously hadn't been able to make good use of it in a while. She hesitated for a moment then re-equipped so that her armor was no longer present. He was vulnerable and she didn't want to make this any more difficult by barricading herself from him. Now that she got a clear look at his face she could see that he looked weary, it was a look she had already seen on his face before when they were children, therefore it was somewhat relieving when, just like when they were children, he managed a small hint of a smile for her sake. It was familiar just like his hair color or his strange tattoo. He opened his mouth to say something else but decided to change his mind and closed it again and no matter how much she longed to just break the silence she found that there was no easy way to tell him her news.
"I'm glad I could see you again. I missed you." She had zoned out while thinking so it took a while for the words to sink in. She found that once she managed to fully process them it was hard to keep her emotions in check.
"Me too." She couldn't quite manage to keep her voice from straining in the end. She walked towards him and slid down so that she was leaning against the wall beside him. The uncomfortable silence swept over them once again and tears came to her eyes as she once again tried to think of a way to remove the awkwardness from the room.
"I've remembered things…" now she had to clench her teeth to keep a sob from wracking through her whole body. She was losing control and it was terrifying. How did he do it? Why was she always so exposed and vulnerable when in his presence? She glanced at his face, his smile had turned bitter, and she knew that what he had remembered weren't good things.
"I can't believe- How could I-" he stopped and took a few calming breaths as he got his thoughts sorted out. "I'm sorry." He murmured it quietly but it still managed to once again echo around them. As he spoke his smile had disappeared completely to be replaced by a frown. She allowed the echo to die down before answering; it allowed her to get control of herself again.
"I know." That wasn't right! It was too cold and unforgiving. She had to… had to make him understand. It wasn't forgotten, of course not, but it was behind them, they could work through it. But she couldn't find words to fully express her feelings.
"I understand." She looked him in the eye. It was the best she could think of. It would have to do, at least for now, but he also had to understand. Slowly his face seemed to relax and his jaw lost most of its tenseness, but he didn't smile.
"Why did you come?" He wasn't aggressive nor was there an accusatory tone in his voice but he was strangely calm as he leant his head back against the wall and looked at the ceiling, almost as if they were commenting on the weather. The tears surged forwards again and this time she couldn't stop them, it was all she could do just to keep the sobs back. He noticed her sudden stiffness and turned to look at her and she threw caution out the window as she wrapped her arm around him in a one armed embrace and buried her face in his shoulder. He was surprised, but a part of him remembered several situations similar to this where he had comforted her when they were children and the basics of it were still present.
He wrapped his own arms around her and let her take her time calming down. As he held her he realized that things became more familiar as time went by: the feel of her hair tickling his chin or the way the little shudders swept through her body as she forced the tears back. Even the feel of the cold skin of her bare arms against his own much warmer palms was familiar in a way.
Eventually he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer, he had to know.
"They've decided to execute me haven't they?" She froze. He stayed still as he waited for her to either confirm or deny it. Eventually she pulled away from him with a furious glare on her face.
"How…" Her voice was quiet and deadly. "How can you say that so damn casually?" She grabbed on to his shoulders and locked him in place; their faces were so close that he could see every individual eyelash as he was forced to look her straight in the eye.
He couldn't help the slight quirk of his lips that made her glare harden; her indignation at him on his behalf was strangely amusing.
"It's been about a year since I got here. I've had time to think about it and come to terms with it." He stretched his hand out towards her and picked a lock of her hair between his fingers. "So it's true." He sighed and let go, watching as it settled and draped along her cheek.
"I don't know yet." She mumbled looking away from him. She brushed the stray lock of hair from her face and was startled when she felt the soft touch of her own skin instead of the cold metal she was used to. She had forgotten that she wasn't wearing her armor.
"What do you mean?" He spoke calmly and it once again felt completely out of place considering the nature of what they were discussing but she was too worn out to scold him about it again.
"There are about twenty people from different guilds arguing your case in the courtroom right now." All the people who had helped destroy Nirvana where there as well as master Makarov and a few other Fairy Tail mages.
"Natsu…"
"Yeah, he's the one who stirred them all up." She gave a little half smile and shrugged. Even Jellal knew of Natsu's pushy attitude. However the smile was only fleeting and soon disappeared when she remembered their conversation. "You'll either be acquitted of all charges or executed, Jellal. The council hates you and it hates Fairy Tail, things aren't looking good. Natsu's getting all worked up and it's all we can do to keep him in check."
"We?"
"A thought projection of myself is in the courtroom, someone has to make sure they don't piss the council off too much." she stopped speaking for a moment and seemed to gaze at nothingness, head tilted as if she was hearing a voice that wasn't really there. "They've just retired to debate." Her face remained stony but he could tell that she was beyond worried and he once again felt an angry helplessness at being trapped in this situation. Dragging Erza into it made it even worse; it was unbearable. He knew how the council worked, he had been a member long enough to know that they cared for nothing except preserving their good name. He was a liability and he would be eradicated. However…
"I don't care what the geezers say." His voice was stronger, it carried across the room far easier than it had before.
"What!" she hissed. She couldn't understand. Was he not aware of what was at risk? His life was on the line! Did he really want to just throw it away?
"What do you think of me? Of this?" He quieted down again. He kept his gaze fixed on her, coaxing an answer from her.
"If they sentence you to death you'll die no matter what! What I think doesn't matter!" she shouted.
"Like hell it doesn't!" His voice finally managed to boom through the dark room, it swept away the echoes her shouts had created and the sudden loudness wrapped itself around them, its suffocating presence only leaving them when he spoke again. "Your opinion is the only one that matters..." Damn the magic council for all he cares, he'll live by her words, no one else's.
"Jellal…" He pulled her into a tight hug, much like the one they had shared in the Tower of Heaven. He smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and bunched the material of his coat in her fists. As her thought projection saw the council men file back into the room she drew herself closer and tightened her hold on him. As the head of the council started announcing the verdict a single tear escaped her.
Thus we pray…
AN:/ Well, I don't really have much to say about this one… I just thought that these characters and the manga/anime as a whole deserve more attention. I hope I managed to keep them somewhat in character… I'll be posting other stories for these characters as well as their edolas counterparts and any other characters that catch my attention so stay tuned!