A/N (2018/02/08): Saphira Veera is very kind to offer me to do beta-read for this fic. This is the 2nd fanfic I wrote for Jerza and the one that has received the most responses. I think it deserves to be edited into something finer for readers to enjoy. My heartfelt thank you to you Veera!
This edited version is posted on 2018/02/08.
Crime Socière had been hunting down another dark guild just a week ago. It was not a very strong guild; composing of not more than fifty members. However, it turned out that the guild was in no way an easy one to deal with. Reason one was that the all-year-round snowing mountain at the north of the country where their headquarters was based, was a perfect natural barrier to prevent intrusion from outsiders due to the bad weather and the complications of the topography. Reason two - the guild members, although not very powerful in terms of their magic power, were pretty intelligent to otherwise escape from the clutches of Crime Sorciere several times. But of course, no dark guild can truly escape Crime Sorciere and its determined leader forever, as Jellal defeated the last of the members with a final Grand Chariot. However it had taken them most of the year for the chase to end. As a result, after living in less-than-worthy conditions of constant snow and ice for six months, Ultear decided to put her foot down and strongly suggested that they take a well-deserved break before the next hunt. After some searching, Ultear rented a vacation house located by the side of a lake in the countryside near the east border of the country - for her and her comrades to enjoy some hard-earned leisure time.
It was the second night of their week-long break. Jellal was resting on the sofa, staring at the ceiling and trying to relax, when the door of the house opened.
"We're back!" Ultear and Meredy said simultaneously as they entered the house.
"Welcome back," Jellal smiled at them. "It seems that you two have big plans for tonight's dinner."
Ultear and Meredy went to a nearby town to buy food in the afternoon and Jellal could see that the two girls were holding two large bags brimming with fresh ingredients.
"Yes! Ultear and I decided that we will have a 4-course dinner tonight as a little reward for our hard work for the past six months!" Meredy spoke with eagerly, nearly stumbling in her excitement to get the ingredients to the kitchen. Ultear shook her head, smiling a little as she placed her bag on the kitchen table.
Jellal stood up and followed them into the kitchen, seeing as that the prior attempted relaxation was doing no wonders to his current state of mind.
"We've bought romaine lettuce, croutons and parmesan cheese for the salad. Pumpkin is for the soup. These beef steaks will be the main course…and ice-cream for dessert!" Meredy exclaimed enthusiastically, pointing out at each ingredient sprawled on the table.
"And your favorite red wine too," added Ultear who was now holding three wine bottles in her hands.
"That sounds really great. You need any help from me?"
"Um thank you, but no. Don't you remember that you have already demonstrated your terrible cooking skills when you volunteered to cook for Meredy's birthday dinner? I don't want you to mess up our well-planned dinner tonight," Ultear teased Jellal. "So go and do your own thing, it's fine. Meredy will help me do the cooking. We'll call you when it's done!"
"Well…um…" Jellal cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. "I guess I'd better stay out from the kitchen then."
Jellal stepped out, walked past the living room and went to the balcony. In the darkness of the night, he could see no scenery of the lake or the countryside but only the twinkling stars in the dark blue sky which were nonetheless beautiful. Yet he still preferred the scenery during the daytime. With sunlight, the balcony provided a stunning view of a sparkling green-blue lake surrounded by maples with leaves already turned fiercely red in the autumn season. Unavoidably, the flaming red of the maple leaves reminded him of the color of hair of the woman he loved.
Erza Scarlet. Jellal hadn't seen her for more than a year now since the end of the Grand Magic Games. It didn't mean that the two had lost contact, as Jellal did keep his promise to write letters to Erza several times to assure her that he was still alive. It's just that Jellal never received a reply from Erza. The reason? Crime Socière was constantly moving from one place to another following the activities of different dark guilds that it was impossible for Jellal to provide an address for Erza to write back.
But Jellal did know a little regarding Erza's current situation. Being the strongest female mage in Fairy Tail, the number one guild in Fiore, Erza attracted lots of attention in the magic community. Therefore, Jellal would, from time to time, hear people gossiping about Erza's recent activities. Sometimes, he would also find her in the Sorcerer Weekly magazine that Meredy bought. It seemed to Jellal that Erza was living a good life so far after the Grand Magic Games, since never once did Jellal hear that she failed a mission, hurt or charged by the Magic Council. The knowledge that Erza was doing well brought Jellal some comfort even if it wasn't in person. But if Jellal were to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that such comfort was far from enough to fill the void in his heart caused by Erza's absence in his life.
He missed her so much. Her hair, her face, her smile, her voice, her touch, her scent, her tenderness, her affection. Her forgiveness, her kind heart, her strong will, her childish demeanor sometimes, even her fragility. Her...everything. Everything.
Yet no matter how desperate he yearned for her, he could not come close. This was the cruelest punishment he had chosen for himself, because that was what he rightly deserved for the unforgivable sins he had committed. To have her presence in his imagination was all he allowed himself to do.
Jellal closed his eyes and the image of the scarlet haired woman gradually formed in his head. He liked to imagine her carrying a worry-free smile on her face. After a short moment, he opened his eyes and inhaled deeply the cool air of the night, trying to clear up the thoughts in his head.
"Jellal?" Meredy called Jellal from inside the kitchen, breaking the silence surrounding Jellal.
"Yes, Meredy?" Jellal replied back, a little startled at being called so early. He stepped back inside the living room only to have his hands shoot out in pure reflex, neatly catching a magazine that Meredy had thrown at him. It was the Sorcerer Weekly.
"The latest issue," Meredy said, poking her head out of the kitchen. "I think you can read it to kill some time while waiting for the dinner. Moreover," she paused for a second and gave Jellal a sly yet sympathetic look. "I think there's something you would like to read in this week's issue." She smirked at Jellal and went back into making the dinner.
Jellal felt butterflies in his stomach as he took in Meredy's hint. The pink-headed girl have always known that his main interest in reading the Sorcerer Weekly was to read Erza's news. Jellal looked at the cover of the magazine. The cover story of this issue was titled "Welcome to Lamia Scale's New Headquarters!" and on the cover he recognized Jura, Lyon and Shelia. These familiar faces brought a smile on Jellal's face. However, the smile quickly faded away as his eyes caught another familiar face with its accompanying bold red title occupying the lower right corner space of the magazine cover.
It was Erza and the lines across her photo read:
"Meet Titania's boyfriends! Who will win the Fairy Queen's heart?"