Fairy Tail: Origins

X770

"Now everyone stay put and shut up!" The guard hollered. He was wearing a gray shirt and pants with a purple cape that had an odd symbol on the back. Anybody with that symbol was to be feared, I would learn quickly.

I looked down at my wrists, where they had put on two black bracelets. I don't know the reason; however there seemed to be an energy flowing in them. We had all been piled up onto a cargo ship and were moving—our destination unknown. I sat, huddled in a corner, fear running through my body. My town had been raided, my parents and I separated. I don't even know their current location. Our captors seem to be vile people, who care not for the feelings of others. I looked around at the forlorn faces surrounding me. There was one woman who was pregnant, rubbing her giant belly. There was another man who seemed to be mourning the events that had just occurred. There were even some children as young as I, few even younger. We all may not know each other, however we had one thing in common: we were all afraid.

And it was this moment that I realized that tears were rolling down my cheeks. I put my hand up, shocked. Then, suddenly, I burst into tears. I was afraid and alone. I didn't know what to do.

At some point, I seemed to have cried myself asleep, slipping into a deep slumber. I awoke to find a guard hollering at me.

"Get up, you little brat!" He shouted, smacking me across the face with his hand. I immediately rose, stunned. I've never seen an adult hit a kid, especially in the manner like that. He grabbed my shoulder and threw me off the cargo ship. I stumbled and fell, but managed to get up by the time he jumped down. We were all standing on a dock. I breathed in the salt air and looked around.

There were no other islands in sight. We were completely cut off from the outside world, in a desolate and deserted area. Before us lay just a small rock plateau that, at first, housed nothing, save a few small buildings. However, if you looked closer, you would realize that the plateau was actually made of stone and was being built. There were workers in ragged uniforms carrying materials and wheelbarrows, some children breaking stones apart. Guards were watching them, whipping those who slowed down. I stepped back, fear running through my veins again. This wasn't happening…

"Welcome to Paradise Island!" One of the guards retorted.

Paradise Island? This was a nightmare! A couple people turned around to run away, however the guards were quicker. They took out their staffs and began shooting at the people, wounding them. For those who witnessed, it was a sign to not disobey them. One of the guards, a tall, muscular man wearing a purple suit, turned around to face us.

"If anyone wants to join them in the Underworld, feel free to run now."

Nobody moved, but some people gasped, others crying.

"What kind of crap is this?" A man hollered. "You can't do this! We have rights you kno-"

Bam. A shot from the guard's staff and he was dead.

The harsh reality seemed to grip some of the people more tightly.

The man in the purple suit looked up at us. "My name is Flavius. For those of you left alive, you will be laborers from now on."

A wave of gasps went through the crowd.

"You will do what we say and when we say it. Any disobedience will result in ultimate execution." He circled around us, like a lion ready to strike its prey. "Now, you are probably wondering what we are doing here?" He smirked. "Well, scum like you just won't understand." He put up his hand. "Guards, take them to their cells."

People began wailing, but did not resist as we were all rushed to a small building. I was nearly run over as we were thrown into a cell, ragged clothes thrown at us. One of the guards threw me a cloth dress….just a rough white material. They told me to get changed and report outside immediately. They turned around and gave us our privacy (surprisingly, although we caught a couple trying to peek). I quickly changed and put on the dress, not looking away from the ground. I put rubbed my hand on it when I noticed a dry brown mark on the inside. My eyes bulged, realizing it was dried blood.

This dress had belonged to someone….and not just anyone, a girl about her age. Whoever had owned this dress was probably dead…and they reused the clothes for their next victims. Tears were beginning to appear again and I wiped my eyes, not wanting the guards to see me crying. I walked up and the guards all had us stand in a line.

"Your first task will be to carry the supplies to the workers who are building the walls. You will work until we say your are finished and then you will get a meal." The guard turned around and pointed to a pile of rubble. "Now get going that crap isn't going to move by itself."

A man simply smiled and snapped his fingers. The rocks suddenly began to glow pink and were raised in the air. People watched in amazement as the man was using Levitation Magic. The guard grunted and shot hit staff at the man. He moved for a second, and the shot hit him in the shoulder. The rocks fell to the ground. The man clutched his shoulder and fell to his knees. He looked down, his hand blood smeared. The guard walked up to the man and smacked the sword into the wound. The guard then took his staff and hit the wounded man in the head, knocking him unconscious. The guard turned around. "Infirmary."

"Yes, Ackley. Two guards picked the man up and hurried him off to a building with a red cross on it.

The guard, Ackley, turned around to face us. "I may have forgotten to mention: we prohibit the use of magic. That man will be let off with a warning, but after this point, anybody who utilizes the power of spells will be automatically executed on the spot."

Ackley ordered us to begin and we all looked for a rock. I wanted to prove to them that I was strong, so I found a fairly large boulder. I tried to lift it up, however my arms could not bear the weight. Other men, whom were strong, had a stone lifted atop each shoulder. I pushed the boulder, but to no avail. I turned to find a guard staring me down, with an annoyed expression on his face. He got out his staff. "Oi brat, get moving."

"I'll help her." Someone called. I turned around to find a man above me. He was fairly tall with crazy gray hair that was overgrown. He was wearing a white t-shirt that was ripped and torn with gray shorts that were too short due to his height. He pushed the boulder and easily moved it. The guard turned around to go watch some other workers. I looked around and found a smaller, easier rock to move, and tried to catch up to the man who had helped me. When I finally caught up to him, I noticed that sweat was rolling down his face. He seemed to be out of breath and was straining to move. Then I realized it: this man was too old to be doing this kind of stuff and on top of that, he didn't have the strength left to move the rock. I put down the rock I had, coming back for it later, and helped the man push the boulder, much to his surprise. He looked down.

"Oi, girl, you're going to get in trouble." He whispered.

"Whoever said I can't help you?" I smiled back at him. The man smiled back and we both continued to push the boulder.

We reached the wall and were both drenched in sweat. We turned around and realized how far we came—probably a mile or two. We walked back, out of breath.

"Move it!" A guard shouted, waving his staff. Both of us ran further to the other side to pick up more boulders.

We reached the other side when the old man wheezed and picked up another boulder. "I'll be going on ahead. Let's stay distant; to make sure the guards don't think we're doing anything." I tried to stop him, but looked a little ahead to realize that a guard was breaking up a couple who were walking together. I didn't say anything after that and continued on.

After two hours of labor, the children were let out before the adults; they usually worked a little longer. The children were all huddled into a cell, stuffed together. I walked to the back corner and sat down on the cold floor. My bare feet were covered in dirt and blisters and were very sore. I put my knees to my face and wrapped my arms around them and began sobbing. I couldn't help it, but I just started. This place was a nightmare and I couldn't get away from it.

I wiped my tears and looked up to find a couple of the kids standing above me.

"Yo." A blue-haired kid smiled. He was dressed in the same clothing as the boys: a white ragged shirt with green shorts. He had a weird red marking on his face that intrigued me. "I'm Jellal. Jellal Fernandez."

"Jellal, since when did you act so cool." The girl chuckled a little. She had short brown hair and wore the same white tattered dress as I was wearing. "My name's Millianna Nekama."

A boy with tanned skin and blonde hair pointed to himself. "I'm Sho Ralston."

Another boy with olive skin and brown hair spoke. "Simon Blakewood."

"Yo, Wally Bucahnan's the name." A black-haired kid with a pointy noise piped in.

"What's your name?" Jellal asked.

"Erza." I mumbled. My cheeks were still streaked with tears.

"Erza?" Jellal asked.

I nodded.

"Do you have a last name?" Wally asked.

I shook my head. To be honest, I didn't know my last name. I never really bothered to learn it I guess.

"Well, how about Scarlet?" Jellal said.

"Scarlet?" Millianna asked. "I like it."

I looked at my scarlet hair.

"Yeah, that way we'll always remember, no matter what." Jellal smiled.

"Erza…..Erza Scarlet." I liked the name and smiled. Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized it was the first time I smiled since I arrived at the island. Maybe….just maybe, it won't be hell after all…