[Chapter Two, Crimson]
Ahhaha. Sorry for the late update! Anyway, thanks to those wonderful people who have favourited, followed and reviews so far! I'm so glad—I really am. I love you guys!
Read, and enjoy!
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~[Crimson: a rich, deep red colour inclining toward purple]~
"S...so, Knightwalker-san likes sunflowers?" Dragion stammered.
"I think so. I mean, I hate them, and since we're counterparts, it should be natural that she likes them, right?" Erza pondered slightly.
"O...okay then. So all I need to do is to stand out more? I w-was thinking of surprising her, but!" the pink-head trembled slightly.
"Let's hear what you've got." Erza grinned, folding her arms on her chest.
There was nothing she loved more than a well-planned (battle) plan.
"I w-was...was thinking of leaving a cake on her dining table. During breakfast tomorrow. Maybe...she'll notice me more!" Dragion quaked slightly, as if the idea of it was too much to bear.
"Well, why not? Lemon soufflé right?"
Dragion nodded shyly, a sheepish grin on his face, as if saying 'I'm sorry? I didn't mean to spy on her...'
Erza laughed. "Alright then. You've got some preparing to do, and I've got a meeting to attend. I'll be going now."
"O-okay!" Dragion squeaked, jumping to attention. "M...many thanks for your kind help!"
He broke into a large smile, scratching the back of his neck nervously, and for a moment, he looked just like Natsu did; bold, daring, carefree and reckless.
Her heart stopped—unbelievable, because after so long, even now, she still loved him.
What was this change she wanted? What was this 'new life'? Why was the point of coming, if...if she still remained the same? The same manipulated girl who was head-over-heels in love with someone she shouldn't have fallen for.
The memories flashed past; bits and piece that stung her heart and burnt her mind...
"Bring it on!"
"I'm all fired up!"
"Erza belongs to Fairy Tail, I won't hand her over to you!"
"Love you, Erza."
"I won't leave you, okay?"
"You'll manage."
She hadn't noticed that she was crying until Dragion reached out, a worried expression on his face, and wiped the tears from her cheek.
"A...are you alright, Scarlet-san?" he said anxiously.
She jerked away, breathing hard.
"Don't touch me!"
His hand retracted hastily.
"Ah...I'm fine. I'm fine." Erza repeated, sounding as if she was convincing herself instead. "I'm fine. I just...I'm sorry."
"Ah. Okay." he mumbled nervously. "I'll be going now. M...many thanks for your help!"
"You're welcome." she breathed, hands over her ears as she crouched onto the ground.
He looked like he wanted to stay; to ask what was wrong; to comfort her, but a second later, he turned and sprinted down the hallway.
That's good, her mind echoed, leave me alone.
She didn't know how long she was crouched there for. An hour? Two?
There was shuffling from down the hallway, and she finally picked herself up, remembering suddenly that she had a meeting to attend.
Said meeting was already over when she reached the room. Sugarboy was cuffing Hughes by the head, yelling loudly about sleeping idiots and Hughes' lack of attention.
"Ah, Scarlet." Sugarboy paused from a rather violent uppercut to look at her. "What did he want?"
"It was nothing." she started.
Hughes wolf-whistled, before being punched again by Sugarboy.
"I see. The meeting is already over though."
Erza forced on a smile, "Well then, I see no point in staying. I have some things to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
"Bye Er-chan!" Hughes grinned and ducked another jab from the pink-suited male.
A sly smile from Knightwalker was all it took to make Erza scowl during breakfast.
They gathered at the dining room, as always, and as the occupants of the castle filed in slowly, Erza took a seat and glared at her counterpart.
"The meeting went delightfully well, I'm told."
And Erza was pretty sure that despite what she claimed, Knightwalker still retained some of her cruelty.
Aiming a friendly punch to her counterpart's shoulders, Erza huffed.
"It was horrible. I'm bound to resign one day. Either that, or Sugarboy will fire me."
Knightwalker laughed, a casual, easy laugh, and the way her eyes gleamed told Erza that there was something her lookalike wasn't telling her.
"So, how did it go? The relocation. You were with Mystogan, right?" Erza helped herself to a velvet cupcake.
"King Jellal." Knightwalker corrected, before turning slightly red. "It went very well, I suppose."
Erza wasn't sure if she was feeling amused or curious, so she simply remarked, "I see."
The both of them worked their way through the trays of cupcakes when a soft tap on the table made them look up.
"Um..." Coco stammered, "Someone told me to bring this to Knightwalker-san!"
Shaking slightly, she set a bouquet of sunflowers and a plate of lemon soufflé onto the table.
From the corner of her eye, Erza could see Dragion, dressed in a plain but elegant suit, puffing up slightly.
In his own way, it was like saying 'Look at me!'
She glanced into his eyes, and nodded approvingly.
"Oh. For me?" Knightwalker was saying, before Coco squeaked and scampered back to her seat at the King's table.
"Whoever gave this to you must be awfully nice." Erza commenting suggestively, before jerking her neck subtly towards Dragion.
"Huh? I suppose." Knightwalker blushed, fingering the petals on the sunflower while Erza continued her little show of pointing and jerking her head towards the pink-haired male at the other side of the hall.
Her neck was beginning to feel sore when her counterpart asked worriedly, "Are you alright, Scarlet?"
Dragion looked like he was about to explode in sheer joy.
"I'm fine." she groaned. It's Dragion! Look at him!
"Oh, alright then. You looked like your neck had a little hitch." Knightwalker decided, and as she turned her bouquet around, she seemed to be hit with a sudden thought.
"I think..."
Before Erza had any time to react, she turned her head and looked straight at Mystogan.
Thank you, she mouthed.
"Knightwalker, what are you doing?" Erza grabbed her counterpart hurriedly.
Mystogan frowned slightly, before raising an eyebrow and replying, You're...welcome?
"Saying thank you to the one who's behind this." her counterpart replied nonchalantly, though a tinge of red appeared on her cheeks.
Erza choked. "W...what?"
Knightwalker blushed.
"You think Mystogan, no, the King is behind this?" Erza demanded incredulously.
Her lookalike looked up at her and frowned. "Why not?"
Behind her, Dragion deflated a little, and Erza sighed.
Oh boy...this needs a whole lot more work...
Poor Dragion...
A/N: People, Knightwalker's preferences are not canon! I made up the sunflower and lemon soufflé parts myself! So yeah! (Took some logical reasoning on my part. Because they are counterparts, so they'd be opposite in personality and preferences. For the lemon soufflé, it's because Erza likes strawberry cheesecake, and I thought it seemed natural that Knightwalker would like something slightly sour. So lemon soufflé. And the sunflowers... It's because Erza likes acting so it seemed appropriate that she should like receiving roses, and to me, the opposite of roses are sunflower. Red, the colour of passion, in contrast to yellow, a cheery and light one. Har har. I'm sorry. Is my logic stupid?) Oh yes, there was a bunch of quotes from Natsu, if you guys hadn't noticed. Most are canon, and a few are from my other fic. Yeah. A reference there...
Also, they are eating in a biggg hall with all the inhabitants of the palace, so that's why Mystogan, Dragion and many unmentioned others are present. Yeahh.
So, did you guys enjoy? Did it suck? (I know it did; Dragion's ideas sucked...) Next chapter up in a month or so. I'll see... In the meantime, I'm just gonna go hide under the bed or something...
Please leave a review! I'd love to know what you guys think!