Hey there!

So here it is, a new story!

While writing my previous (and first) fancfic Scarred Pasts I discovered I really like to write about what the manga left open for us, especially the most recent timeskip of a year. After finishing it I started thinking about how all of the other Fairy Tail member spent their time in that year and that inspired me to write this fanfic ^^

Enough talking for now, enjoy ^^

Special thanks to missyplatina for revising my grammar :)

Small trails of light peeked through the gaps between the ochre curtains, announcing the rising of the morning sun. The narrow beams revealed the drifting dust until they landed on the sleeping mage's face. A strand of bright red hair fell over her nose as she moved her head, lazily opening her eyes.

Even though she seemed to have woken up peacefully, the stains in her pillow revealed quite the opposite, more nightmares had been haunting her.

Erza swung her legs over the bedside, not wanting to remain any longer between the damp sheets. She stretched her arms out over her head and felt the dark oak floor warm up beneath her feet.

She turned her head to the long case clock that was lit just well enough to distinguish the time, it was 9 am. It had been a while since she had slept for so long straight.

Although the sun tried its very best to break through, the curtains wouldn't let it, leaving Erza's bedroom in a shimmer. She pulled the curtains aside, allowing the autumn sun to warm up her face. She opened one of the few big windows her room had to let the chilly air in.

The view from her apartment was quite different than the one she had at Fairy Hills. No longer did she see endless hills with Magnolia in the far distance. Instead, rows of apartments divided from hers by a narrow street.

Some mornings kids would run over the cobble stone pavement, laughing with utter joy. This morning, however, showed no signs of activity. The street was empty, aside from some pigeons feeding on the leftovers that someone must have tossed out from their window.

At the end of the street she could see the canal that went straight through the heart of the town Onibus and one of the many bridges that crossed it. At the other end of the street a part of the town's famous theatre could be seen, the one that had given her and her friends many fond memories. Memories like these were what made her decide to live in this place.

She turned around and walked to the kitchen in the corner of her large room to prepare some breakfast. She drifted off into her thoughts as she poured milk over her cornflakes with dried strawberries.

It had already been 4 months since the guild had been disbanded. Everyone had found a different place to live and somehow everybody was able to live with the idea of the guild never getting together again.

It sure had been rough in the beginning, but even she found a way of living on her own. How long would it take before she would meet her friends again?

A cool breeze that lifted the pages of the Sorcerer Weekly that lay on the table woke her from her thoughts. She stood up to close the window. Just as she was about to lock it, she spotted something from the corner of her eye. A figure had appeared in the alley. Judging by the person's height and build it must be a man. He was wearing a dark hooded cloak and somehow she could sense there was something familiar about him. The person didn't seem to move, he just stood there as if he was lost.

He must be one of the many tourists looking for the famous bars or maybe even the theatre, she thought. If I would have been outside I could have shown him the way. She locked the window and before she turned around she thought she saw the man turn to her window.

Did he really look her way or was her mind playing tricks on her?

She could always handle being alone very well, but months without any real human interaction would make anyone lonely. And loneliness and living on your own doesn't go well when it comes to feeling safe.

It wasn't like she had anything to be afraid of. She was one of the strongest mages of the whole kingdom for Mavis' sake. But sometimes at night she found herself holding her breath if she heard a loud noise outside. And now the thing that bothered her was just the uneasy feeling she was getting from this stranger.

She walked back to the dining table, only to find her cornflakes soaked and sloppy. She sighed as she sat down and took in a spoonful of the goo that her breakfast had become.

The pages of Sorcerer Weekly that lay open caught her eye, wedding pictures of Sherry and Ren were all over it. It had been the latest happening of the week in the magic community.

Suddenly she heard someone knocking on the door downstairs. She jumped up, in all those months she had never had any visitors, who on earth could be at her house at this time? She quickly changed clothes and carefully went down the stairs, could this be the man who was standing outside? She requipped a sword into her right hand, prepared to confront the stranger, not wanting to take any chances.

As soon as she readily opened the door, she held her sword in front of her, pointing at the upper body of the person who was indeed the hooded man. "Who are you?" The requip mage asked in her well known low voice, still not able to see the man's face beneath the hood. "Show yourself!" she yelled as she received no answer to her previous question.

"Calm down Titania, you know there is no use in using moves like that against me." A familiar rasping voice said.

Erza froze as the stranger took off his hood, uncovering his dark maroon hair. One purple eye looked straight into hers as he grinned, revealing his dragon like fangs.

A chill travelled down her spine. "Erik?!" Erza gasped. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I could have received a warmer welcome than a sword on my chest, hm? Would you mind putting it down?"

"Not until you tell me what you're doing here," she steadily said.

He laid his hand on the tip of the sword, gently pushing it down. "I can read your thoughts, Titania, you know that. So I know you wouldn't hurt me until you have at least some information, isn't that right?"

Erza's face cringed as she reluctantly let her weapon vanish into thin air. "Would you please stop calling me by that name?" she requested to the dragonslayer.

"If you could stop calling me by the name Erik, then we're even." He smirked as he walked right past her onto the stairs.

"Hey! You can't just go into my house!" she yelled, quickly passing him and blocking his way.

"The information I want to share with you is top secret. I can't just tell it to you at the doorstep."

The red haired mage crossed her arms. "I don't even know if I can fully trust you Er- I mean Cobra. Why would I let you into my apartment?"

Cobra shrugged. "I thought you'd want to know about your lover's whereabouts, but oh well…If you don't trust me…" He nonchalantly said, turning back to the door opening.

She felt her heart jump to the top of her chest. Did he have information on...?

"Wait!" Erza yelled as she ran back to him. "You came here to tell me where Jellal is?"

He turned around. "Not exactly. As you know, I'm part of his crew. That'd mean I'd reveal my own whereabouts as well, right?"

That's right, Erza thought, the entire Crime Sorcier guild consisted of escaped prisoners.

"However," Cobra continued, "I have a request from him that I had to pass on to you. I came all the way here to you for that."

"A request?"