Erza POV
I moved out of the room and out the corridor door to the courtyard. The men swirled, like leaves caught in a whirlwind, still hollering about their victory as if they'd won the World Cup or something. I quickly counted. All eighteen of them were back, plus two captives.
"They put up a small fight, then scattered like dogs," Natsu said proudly to his father as he dismounted. I struggled to hear over the noise, but I didn't want to get too close, to interfere. Also, Carmen and Ava were already on the move, heading to their men. I wasn't going to get in the middle of that.
"We captured these two," I heard Jellal say as he motioned towards two men tied by the hand to a horse.
"Well done, my sons, well done," Makarov said, patting patting them on the back. "Have they revealed who was behind the attack?"
"Nothing, yet."
"We shall get it out of them soon enough. Once we have their master's name, we'll get them into town," he said to his sons, who nodded in return.
"Town?" I said, hope obvious in my tone of voice. "Could Juvia and I go with you? We might find Lucy and Levy!"
Jellal and Gray frowned. "The woods are filled with bands of robbers like these, taking advantage of the conflict between Fairy Tail and Phantom." Jellal said with a shake of his head.
"That unrest could go on for weeks, months!" I said, barely managing to hide the annoyance in my voice.
"Jellal," Carmen said, turning to flutter her eyelashes at him. "I agree with Miss Scarlet. If I were separated from my sisters for so long, not knowing where they were, I'd go crazy. And as I've expressed, I, too, would like to go into to town. Our wedding is not very far away, and there are many plans I must attend to."
"So you want us to escort four women to town now?" he asked in irritation, knowing Ava would want to come too. "In the middle of the worst times we've had in decades?"
We both stared at him, waiting him out. Who'd have guessed I'd ever be on the same side as Carmen?
"Fine," Jellal said, throwing up his hands. "We'll leave tomorrow. But only because my father wants us to take these men into town. And that's if they give us the information we need." He turned on his heel and walked off. And I turned away with a triumphant grin, resisting the urge to see if Carmen shared my feeling of victory.
Juvia POV
"How do you feel?" I asked, pausing in the doorway the next morning with Erza.
Simon looked toward me. He had more color, despite his surly glance. "That was the most uncomfortable night I've ever spent but, I feel better than I have in weeks." He patted his chest. "Today, I can breathe again. Really breathe." He smiled, the spark in his eye made him resemble his cousins even more.
"It's truly a miracle," he said. "I am most grateful for your methods. You've done more for me in one day than all the doctors my uncle has ever brought."
"That is great!" Erza said, unable to suppress a grin. The hope on his face filled us with joy. We'd never done anything that had really helped someone like this before. It made me feel bad about what we had to tell him, so I just plunged forward with, "Juvia and her sister are leaving the castle today-"
"Leave? You cannot leave! I'm just now getting better!" I could see beneath his panic was a slight twing of saddness. "You two are the only ones who keep me company aside from my cousins. Everyone else is too scared to approach me because they think they'll get what I have."
"Don't worry too much yet! We're just going into town to look for our sisters there. It's not certain that we'll leave for sure yet! If we don't find our sister's there then I'm certain you cousins will drag us back here. Even if we didn't want to." Erza muttered that last part in english.
"What do my cousins say of this plan?" he asked. "I was told that the woods were full of bands of robbers."
"They say the same, but they and your uncle feel it's important to take their prisoners to town if they find out who their master is." I shuddered.
"But surely my cousins wouldn't allow a woman to such a long and tediouos ri-"
"Don't worry over us Simon. Once we arrive in town, we will be safe." Erza reasurred.
"The nearest town is a six hours ride from here."
'Six hours?! Did someone just decide to put two castles in the middle of the forest?!'
"So, we'll just have to ride fast enough to make it in three, faster than any robbers or thugs." I said, more jauntily than I felt. I didn't want him to worry. It might send him into an asthma attack or something. "Juvia and her sister are fairly good with a sword," I said, walking to the only adornment to the room we'd allowed back into the room, six swords crossed in Xs on one wall. I ran my hand along one edge.
"Do not tell me that you two can wield swords as well as read."
"We can," Erza said, grinning at him over her shoulder.
"They raise women in Bellum quite differently than in Fiore."
"Very. Simon, Could Juvia and Erza borrow this one? We'd feel better if we were armed. Anyone who dared to attack us would be as surprised as you are to find us bringing a sword against them. It would give Juvia and Erza an advantage."
"Those are uncommonly heavy," he said. "They were my grandfather's."
'Trust me, that won't be a problem.'
"Better than nothing," Erza pressed. After what happened two nights ago, we didn't dare try to steal from the armory and recover the short broadswords and daggers we'd worn before. "I could return it to you with one of your cousins if we don't return."
"If you must," he said doubtfully.
I smile with gratitude. "And another thing, Juvia asks you to continue on with what we have recommended. Work up to solid foods as soon as you can, and when weak, return to the soup."
"You can add blankets and other comforts and examine if they interfere at all with your breathing. If they do, remove them again. Understood?" Erza said with a slight authorative voice.
He nodded. "We never did get back to our reading," he said, fiddling with a splinter in the arm of his wooden settee. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. He was so desperately lonely. How would I feel if my friends left me each day, with nothing but books to keep me company? At least we had Internet.
A/N: That sounds like heaven to me personally
"If we don't return, perhaps we'll meet again and we'll have the opportunity to read more together," I offered.
"That would be a delight," he said, his eyes meeting ours.
And with that we turned and left the room before I bursted into tears then and there. Oh, the irony. Juvia Lockser. Able to take down a large, strong man in a sword fight but can't handle simple goodbyes.
In the courtyard, Gray and his men were bent over in a circle. Jellal was drawing with a stick in the dust. A plan, I sensed; they were making a plan. My heart lifted when I heard the familiar sound of Pollux's hooves on the courtyard stone floor. He trotted towards me in excitement, the longing in his eyes visible. He immediatly placed his head on my shoulder so I could properly wrap my arms around his neck and stroke his mane. "Hello, Pollux! Did you miss Juvia?"
His response was to nibble on the collar of my shirt lightly, coaxing a giggle from me. He proceeded to once again tousle my hair by lifting my hat and plopping it back down on my head. It's almost as if he knew I had an apple up there for him. "Okay, okay! But only if you've been a good boy!" He bobbed his head up and down as if he understood me. I grinned and removed my hat to get the apple that was balanced on my head. Pollux shifted from foot to foot like an excited but impatient child.
"Steady..."I said as I placed the apple to balance on his forehead. Pollux held my gaze without moving. I grin and snap my fingers and almost immediatly he jerks his head up, catching and eating the apple mid-air. At that moment, Carmen and Ava emerged from the dining hall, accompanied by Makarov, Bora, and their ladies in-waiting. The girls looked a bit warry at the prospect of riding out in the middle of such danger. I turned away so they wouldn't see me rolling my eyes, and tried to feel compassion for her.
Macao arrived and lifted two sheaths to Erza and me. "Courtesy of Simon," he said. He quickly handed them to us, and I slid my sword inside. "If he continues with this I'll be a crying mess before we even leave the castle gates." I muttered in english as I hid the sword in the bag on Pollux's saddle that was probably meant to carry clothes and other toiletries. Erza barked out a loud laugh, surprising anyone nearby.
At that moment Gray and Jellal appear beside us. They lean down, and once again without warning I find myself biting back a shriek as he grips my waist and lifts me up to the saddle."No bareback riding today."
"Juvia realizes that," I bit back, unable to control my irritation. I mean, can't he give a warning?! 'Hey, I'm about to lift all hundred and something pounds of you onto your horse without so much as a grunt!'
He paused and looked up at me. "We have enough to deal with guarding Ava, Carmen, and their ladies in waiting. Our knights are charged with the prisoners as well. You will ride beside Gajeel, right behind me. If you break formation or do anything to try my patience at all, I'll send you back here immediately and refuse to take you to town for a month. Understood?"
'Excuse Juvia? This boy is crazy if he thinks he can keep Juvia here for a whole month!'
I clenched my lips and glared at him. "Could you be any more clear?"
He looked puzzled at my sarcasm.
"Juvia understood," I finally said. He left me then, even as Gajeel rode up. With his long black hair and dangerous red eyes, I immediately pair him up with Levy in my mind. Don't ask me why! It just seemed like it would be super cute! I giggled and he looked at me like I was crazy.
'Nothing Juvia's not used to by now.'
"We've already told you," Carmen said to Jellal, her tone sweet but her words unbending. "It is unseemly for us to travel without our ladies in waiting. They are willing to take the risk."
I glanced behind us, back to the women two rows behind me. They did not appear at all willing.
'Selfish girl! Making those poor ladies do something they clearly don't want to do!' I looked back to Gray and Ava. Erza followed my line of sight and shool her head slightly. It was not our place to speak. 'Blend into the walls, Juv's.' I reminded myself again. 'Make them forget about you.'
"Take close care, my children," Makarov said. "We will be anxiously waiting for your return."
"Aw! don't worry pops! We'll send a message as soon as we arrive in town!" Natsu said with his signature grin.
My eyes shifted back to a mule that was tied behind the last two guards. Cages with pigeons rested on either side of the mount. Homing pigeons, or messenger pigeons to be exact.
Makarov nodded and we immediately set off. I glanced at Ava and Carmen, who both had no problem at all in their saddles. I pouted at the unfairness and shifted uncomfortably, hoping to find peace with my own span of cursed leather. 'Perhaps Juvia's and Erza's rears are that much bigger than theirs,' I thought. The things in this time and dimension were probably meant for size fives, not our much more... curvaceous figure.
"Oi, you okay?" Gajeel rumbled beside me.
"Juvia will live," I muttered. I glanced at him, but his eyes were already tracing the forest, alert to any attackers huddling there. I looked down the line and saw that the other sixteen knights did the same. A shiver ran down my back. I was glad for the sword in the sheath hidden in the satchel.
Hours passed and we saw no sign of any robbers so we all relaxed a bit, enjoying the warming morning sun. In front of me, Gray and Ava were talking, and I realized they had some semblance of an honest relationship. She smiled at something he said, and he- sort of- smiled back. (It looked more like a grimance really, but lets give the guy some credit for trying.) Maybe they were actually in love. Who was I to judge? I had no idea, really, how love affairs were conducted in this place. I thought back to all the pointed looks Erza would give me every time Gray and I interacted, implying that he was interested in me.
I shook my head. It doesn't matter anyway. We were soon going to disappear.
About another hour or more into our ride, everyone seemed to settle down. There was something about being halfway there that made us feel like we were going to be okay. A scout that Jellal had sent ahead returned, and they brought us to a halt. The man reported a clear road, no sign of the rogue bands of robbers or Phantom Lord.
Gray shook his head and glanced back at Natsu. "It makes no sense. Phantom Lord could not have missed that we are on our way to town. They always have spies out, watching the road."
Gajeel did a quick three-sixty, and then his red eyes widened. "Get down!"
Everyone immediately ducked, instinct taking over. I could hear the singing whistle of arrows. I glanced to my left. Gajeel tugged me down from the saddle, using our two horses as shields. 'They are shooting at us,' I thought distantly, as if I wasn't in my own body. Ambush.
The men had been covered with gray cloth, blending into the granite boulders above us. But the archers were only the first volley. They were now swarming down over the rocks, like an army of Gollums with uncanny agility. Gray frowned at them and made a sound of frustration. He looked to Jellal.
"They purchased his loyalty," he said, jutting his chin toward the scout, who scurried over to the boulders.
I let out a humorless laugh. Some things never changed. For the right amount of money, one could always find a traitor.
They were getting closer.
Jellal looked back at Erza and I with alarm. "Can you keep your seat?"
"What?
"Can you keep your seat, on your saddle?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"I need you to ride ahead with the women. Your only chance is to outride any that give you chase. We'll send two men with you, but your best chance is to ride fast."
Erza and I nodded, not feeling it, but seeing no opportunity to disagree.
Gajeel tossed me- literally- back up to the saddle as Natsu did the same with Erza. They smacked our horses on the behind, and the animals lurched forward, nearly unseating me. I glanced back. The brothers were pressing through the knights and horses behind them, trying to get to Ava's and Carmens's ladies in waiting, to free them, too. Our horses, sensing the urgency, were churning down the road, and from the side, determined to keep us safe. I saw more men coming down the hill toward us, attempting to cut us off. "Ride faster!" Erza yelled to Carmen and Ava, who we had just caught up to.
They looked back over their shoulders and screamed toward their ladies in waiting to hurry. I leaned forward on my saddle, knowing speed was truly our only ally. We were more than halfway to town. If the forest was similar to what it was in our dimension back in the day, it should give way to farmland outside the town gates, we might reach safety sooner than we thought. Or at least someone to help us.
The last of the archer's on foot missed us by a only eight feet, roaring in dismay, but then turning to wave their arms, attempting to make the other approaching horses turn so they could capture the ladies in waiting behind us. Carmen and Ava pulled up on their reins at the next bend of the road. No one came into sight. "We cannot leave them," Ava sputtered, her horse prancing in a nervous circle around mine.
"You must get to safety! There are knights with your ladies in waiting. They will do their best to protect them." I really hated saying this but we had no other choice.
Still, she hesitated.
"You do them no good by getting captured yourselves!" Erza reminded. The pounding of hoofbeats grew closer, then, behind us.
"Go!" I urged.
In response, they lifted their reins and pressed their horses into action, Erza and I hot on their tail, trusting the knights to protect their ladies in waiting. One benefit of the sidesaddle, was that it's easier to see both in front and behind. I glanced back to see who it was, behind us.
One. One Fairy Tail knight.
Fantastic. Hardly reinforcements. I wished it had been Gray or one of his brothers. Then I might have been able to breathe. But at least it was better than none.
We turned around another bend in the road, and I sensed Carmen and Ava pulling up before I saw them. Another group of men, six of them. Three on the road, hands on their hips, three on either side. Just waiting for us. Ava jumped off her horse. "Come with us," she said lowly, then pushed into the woods, Carmen followed her.
Erza and I groaned. They had disappeared through a small gap in the trees. We pulled out our swords and slid off of Pollux and Castor, telling them to go get help. Bending as low as we could, well aware that men were charging up the road, toward us, we followed her, as did the knight behind us. My eyes searched the forest for a glimpse of my leader. I ducked under one branch after another, finally catching sight of the gold of the cloth of her dress.
But then, there she was, in a clearing before me, eyes wide in frustration and fear. We were in some ancient limestone canyon, blocked on three sides by twenty-foot cliffs. I looked back. The path in was filled by the knight, who looked around and groaned as soon as he saw our predicament. We could all hear the men crashing toward us.
"Climb, ladies," the lone knight said. "I'll hold them at bay. It is your only hope."
I had to hand it to Ava and Carmen. I thought they were far too prissy for such things, but they were immediately off. Ava helped Carmen to the top of the first boulder, and she turned to help her up. They turned to us and frantically waved us over. "Come! Hurry!"
"No," I said, with a shake of my head. "We will stay and assist him," I said, gesturing over my shoulder to the knight. The first of our attackers was now just ten feet away from him. "He cannot do it alone, and if he breaks, you two will be caught as well. Climb," Erza growled, unseathing her sword.
Carmen's and Ava's eye's all but popped out of their heads. They were brought back to reality when the clang of metal on metal was heard and they quickly turned and scrambled up another rock, and then another.
"You cannot hold us off alone!" barked a Phantom Lord knight, showing his allegiance with his violet colors. "Surrender or die."
"He is not alone," I said, heaving the sword into the air. "You'll have to get through us two as well."
