So, here's a new story! The setting is obviously a bit different, but I hope you guy's like it.

Chapter 1

Fiore Kingdom

Earthland. A land originally divided into several kingdoms, fourteen to be precise (Refer to the map of Earthland). The land hadn't had any wars for over 400 years. But 20 years ago this peace was harshly broken.

The kingdom of Desierto attacked the neighboring kingdom Joya. The ruler of Desierto, King Jiemma, thirsted for more power and land. The unprepared Joya was easily defeated and their royal family was brutally dethroned and they were forced into slavery by the cruel new master. With the new won land came new won lust for power. The reinforced army of Jiemma then attacked the kingdom of Bellum. Although they prepared for an attack when they heard the news about Joya, their untrained soldiers were soon defeated.

Within those 20 years of war Desierto Kingdom conquered almost all of the land. Although there are troops of rebels everywhere, their numbers aren't great enough to reconquer the land. The only independent Kingdoms that are left are Pergrande, Caelum, Iceberg, Seven and Fiore.

Pergrande was able to defend their borders because of their huge amount of soldiers. They are the biggest Kingdom and aren't defeated that easily, yet almost a fourth of the kingdom has fallen into Desierto's hands. Caelum was hard to attack since it is difficult to reach over the stormy sea. In Iceberg's case Desierto never really showed interest in it since the land consists only of snow and ice. There were only a few villages in this cold frozen land, and Jiemma didn't think it would be worthwhile attacking them.

And then there is Fiore. Even though there hadn't been any wars in the last centuries, the Kingdom was known for its warriors and their great bravery. Unlike the other kingdoms the people of Fiore were trained and could all handle weapons or fighting magic. They send troops over to Seven Kingdom to train their citizens and help them defend their borders.

If Jiemma could subdue those trained people and mages, he could use their power. And in that case, all of the remaining Kingdoms would fall into his hands.

"I don't care, father!" the voice echoed through the castle. "I don't need a new bodyguard!" The scarlet haired princes crossed her arms angrily and she gave her father a dirty look.

"Yes, you do! 'Cause you kicked the last one into the hospital!" The man responded.

"Doesn't that just prove I don't need one? What is the purpose of a bodyguard that's weaker than the one whose body is guarded?" Erza mocked. She wasn't planning on losing this conversation.

"I admit you're great at fighting, but that doesn't mean you don't need protection. Our land is in war. You might be able to fight off one or two people, but what if the enemy sends a whole squad? They've tried to kidnap you before. You need a bodyguard!" The king answered. His daughter clearly inherited his stubbornness.

"But…" she tried again.

"That's final!" The king shouted. The whole room went quiet. The king and the princess stared at each other.

"Fine. But look for one yourself, I don't want to have anything to do with it." Erza stormed out of the room. A loud sight escaped the king's mouth. A maid with blonde hair approached the king.

"My lord?" The girl asked.

"Yes, Lucy?" The king said, still a bit absent because of the fight with his daughter.

"Couldn't you be a bit softer for the princess? She's one of the strongest mages and warriors the land has. I think she can protect herself." Lucy said bowing her head.

"I know she's strong, Lucy-chan. But I don't trust our enemy; I got a threat saying they'll take away what's most precious to me: my only daughter." The king turned to look at the maid. "The people of Fiore love their princess. If anything would happen to her, their spirit will be broken and Jiemma will be able to beat us. And…" The king paused for a second. Great sadness could be seen in his eyes. "I can't lose anyone else close to me again."

"I know, my lord. I'm sorry." The girl looked at the portrait of a woman with long red hair: the queen. She died two years ago by the hands of Jiemma.

.

~One week later~

"This is Elfman. He'll be your new bodyguard, Erza." The king introduced the big muscular man standing next to him.

"We'll see about that. I don't think he'll last a day." Erza said while walking over to the training area.

"W-What?!" The tall white haired man shouted. "A real man won't give up after only a day!"

"We'll see." The princess said.

After barely two hours the 'bodyguard' was brought over to the hospital. The princess walked over to her father with a triumphantly look on her face.

"I told you, dad. I don't need a bodyguard, especially not an unskilled one like that." Erza said. "He lacks strategy and patience. But he was very strong. If he feels like it, maybe he can join us. He did have the right spirit of mind."

"That doesn't solve the problem about you finding a bodyguard. I won't give up on finding one. And by the way, you won't be allowed off the palace grounds without a bodyguard." The king grumbled.

"I know… What about Gray? He's very strong and skilled." The scarlet mage asked.

"The ice mage? That guy who walks around naked most of the time? Yeah, I didn't think so. He might be strong and a friend of yours, but I won't let my daughter be guarded by a stripper." The king shook his head. "And… he's been reported missing, didn't you know?"

"What? I spoke to him last week. He said he was leaving for a job for about two days, hasn't he returned yet?" Erza asked looking up.

"He hasn't."

"I'm… sure he's all right, the job's probably a bit tougher than he thought. He'll be back in no time." She said convinced. "And what about Loke? He's really strong too."

"That man has slept with most of the women in this land. You really think I'd allow him to be by your side 24/7? I've called over some other candidates. They'll be arriving here somewhere this week." The king left the room.

A loud breaking sound filled the room. Erza had smacked a vase off of a table onto the floor.

"I can't believe that guy. How can somebody be this hard-headed!" she yelled at no one in particular. She kicked the table the vase had stood on.

"I'm sorry to say this, princess, but you're actually like a female version of him." A voice snickered. Erza turned around and saw Lucy. Even though the girl was a maid at the palace, Lucy had been one of Erza's closest friends.

"Oh, hey Luce. Have you been here long? And you know I prefer it when you call me Erza."

"I've been here long enough to hear your conversation. You know, Erza, your father only wants you to be safe." The blonde girl said with a sweet smile.

"I know, I know. I just hate the thought of a person following me around all day." Erza sighted.

"I'd hate it too, glad I'm not a princess." Lucy said.

"You'd be perfect for it though, wanna trade places?" Erza laughed.

"Only if I get that beautiful blue dress you got. And if you look for a handsome prince I can marry, one that looks like he ran straight out of my dreams." Lucy joked back.

"Hmm, so one that looks like Loke?" The princess said teasingly. Lucy went all red.

"N- No! Why'd you think that?" Lucy said trying to act casual.

"Oh come on, Luce, your eyes can't break loose from him when he's around."

Lucy just wanted to say something in her defense when another servant entered the room.

"My lady, I'm sorry to disturb you, but your father forgot to tell you that there already are new candidates." The man took a deep bow. "Would you please follow me?"

"Good luck, princess." Lucy said with a comforting smile.

"Erza." The scarlet mage corrected.

.

"Dad? That man gives me the creeps." Erza whispered to her father, looking over at a small man standing a few meters away.

"He's rumored to be a very powerful mage, Honey. It doesn't matter what he looks like." The king said with a questioning look on his face that contradicted his words.

"I know it doesn't matter what he looks like, but he really gives me the creeps." Erza said, looking at her father who was obviously sharing her opinion, only not out loud. The servant walked over to the small man and introduced him.

"My lord, princess, may I introduce you to

Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki." The servant took a deep bow.

Ichiya sniffed the air and approached the princess. "What a beautiful perfume you have."

With a disgusted look on her face, Erza kicked the man and sent him flying. "NEXT!" she screamed.

The other candidates didn't make the selection either. The following days a lot of other men and women came over to apply for the job as the princess' bodyguard. Even though there were some strong mages and soldiers, none of them got the job.

"How many have come by already?" Lucy asked after four days.

"I dunno… about 30, I guess." Erza sighted.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but another one has arrived." Lucy said.

"Already? I really don't feel like meeting another one." Erza said defeated. She laid her head on Lucy's shoulder. "I've had it. I don't want to go."

"I know you don't, but I think this one is different. He arrived about three hours ago and the whole castle has been in commotion ever since then." She said while patting Erza on the head.

"Why?" she asked a bit interested.

"You know May?" Lucy asked. Erza nodded.

"The girl with brown hair that can sense magical power?" Erza said, still not lifting her head from Lucy's shoulder.

"Yes, apparently when that person walked by May, she passed out. She tried to measure the magic of the strange man and her magic apparently couldn't take the huge amount of power that guy emitted."

"Okay, I admit… now I'm a bit interested."

"Tell me how it went." Lucy said with a final pat on the scarlet hair.

.

Erza walked over to the meeting room, where apparently her father and the mysterious person were waiting. A man, who was the king's advisor, opened the door for her and walked in after her.

"Ah, there you are, Erza!" her father said excited. Next to him a tall person was standing, clothed in a long black cloak, wide pants, and bandages covering his arms and legs. He carried large magic staves on his back. A mask covered most of his face, only his eyes were visible. A bandana with a silver forehead protector covered the rest of his head. "This will be your new bodyguard. Let me introduce you to Mystogan."

"You already decided?" Erza said pissed.

"You should hear what kind of jobs he's done before. I don't think we'll find anyone better than him." The king said trying to sooth his daughter.

"I'd like to decide for myself. A bunch of stories doesn't prove anything, dad." Erza said, looking over at the mysterious guy. For a mere second their eyes connected and Erza felt a shiver go down her spine. She shook the feeling away. "If he can beat me, I'll believe it and I'll accept him as my new bodyguard."

The king sighted and took a step closer to his daughter. "Erza, I really don't think that is necessary. Mystogan, you …"

"Deal. I'll fight you." The deep voice of the cloaked guy interrupted the king.

"You don't have to, Mystogan-san. You got the job." The king said, trying to avoid his daughter to wreck another candidate. This guy was the perfect person, but he wasn't sure he could beat his daughter when she was in a rage.

"No, it's my pleasure. I don't like being doubted." Mystogan countered. Even though his voice was a bit muffled due to the mask, his eyes showed the determination.

"You think you can impress anyone by saying that?" Erza grumbled, now completely pissed off.

"Come and try me, little girl." The mysterious man mocked. She could practically see his smirk through the mask.

"Fine!" Erza wanted to show her father that he was wrong and she wanted to smack the (invisible) smirk of that guy's face. She ran over to the man and swung a punch right to his face. Instead of connecting to the guy's face, she felt a hand clamping around her fist. To her surprise, he had blocked her punch with only one hand. He didn't even move one bit from his spot.

"Good. The rest couldn't even dodge that punch, let alone stop it." Erza said, hiding her surprise. She freed herself from his grip. She gave another few punches and kicks, all he did was block her attacks with one of the magic staves.

"Not bad." She exquiped into her Black Wing Armor and attacked Mystogan again. This time it was obviously harder for him to just block the attacks. He took a few steps back. The fight continued for a while like that, obviously both didn't want to give up.

"Not bad yourself." The guy laughed. "But this lasted long enough. Let's end it."

"You've barely even showed any of your magic." Erza bit at him.

"Neither have you, princess. All you did was changing your outfit, other than that you've just used fighting skills, not magic." Mystogan said. "Just accept me as your bodyguard." He stared into Erza's eyes.

She felt a shiver run down her spine again. 'What's the matter with this guy?' she thought.

Even though he didn't show it, she could hear that his breathing was a bit ragged, just like hers. His mask and bandana had shifted a bit and a small piece of blue hair peaked out.

"Show me your magic. IF you're going to be my bodyguard, I have to know what you're capable of." Erza said, taking a deep breath.

"You want magic? I'll give you magic." The guy answered darkly. "Meteor."

Erza blinked and the cloaked guy had vanished.

"Where did h…" Erza's sentence was rudely cut off when she felt something hit her back. She fell to the ground. She looked up only to see the guy hanging in the air with a light glow around him. She felt amazing magical pressure.

"Meteor is the type of magic that allows me to move in such speed, barely anything can keep up." He explained. Before Erza knew it she was slammed to the ground again. And again. And again. And again.

Erza was too shocked and her body hurt so much at the moment she didn't get up. She saw two feet appear next to her.

"I'm sorry, princess. As a bodyguard I should protect you, not hurt you. But you asked for it yourself. I think you've had enough." Mystogan's voice sounded. Erza looked up. The guy had squatted down next to her and hold out his hand to help her up. Stubborn as she was, she did not take it and crawled up by herself.

"Erza, are you alright?" The king ran over to his daughter. "Why do you have to be this stubborn?"

"My lord! You're not going to lock that guy up? He beat up your daughter" The king's advisor shouted. Before the king could say anything, Erza's voice sounded.

"No. A deal's a deal. You're hired." She said looking over at Mystogan.

"You're very honorable, princess." Mystogan answered with a small bow.

"But I have one condition." The scarlet mage continued.

"Yes, my lady?" The cloaked man asked a bit surprised.

"Take of your mask. I don't like not knowing who I'm dealing with."

A small snicker escaped from behind said mask. "Fair enough."

The man brought his hands up to his head and pulled of the bandana. Spiky blue hair became visible. After he tucked away the bandana, Mystogan pulled down the mask.

Erza didn't expect the man to look like this. His face had quite soft features and he looked about the same age she was. A large red tattoo covered the right side of his face. The man stepped closer, till he stood before the princess. He kneeled onto the ground and grabbed Erza's hand. He looked up to her.

"It will be an honor to serve you, Princess Erza."

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think.