Ulmus- royalty, strength, age

The elm tree stood in what seemed like the very center of the Fernandes property. It was possibly the oldest tree on the farm and of an enormous size. Leafy arms reached up to the sky and Erza wondered if they possibly brushed the heavens. Jellal said that notion was silly and insisted it's height wasn't nearly as impressive once perched in the branches.

Even though her reply never wavered from a firm no, Jellal always asked if she wanted to climb with him. His mother's head would probably explode if she knew how often he could be found high up in the air dangling from tree branches. 'Little boys don't belong in trees!' she'd shouted often enough. Nevertheless, Jellal currently inched closer and closer to a bird's nest that sat too far away from the trunk for Erza's liking.

"I was just kidding, Jellal!" Erza shouted from the ground. "I don't really need to know if bird's eggs are blue!"

"It's fine, Erza!" he called down. "Just a little... bit... more..." Erza watched with lungs full of anxious air. When he finally leaned over the side of the branch and grinned she exhaled. "They're blue with yellow spots."

"Okay," she said shakily. The wind had picked up and the elm branches swayed dangerously. "You can come down now."

"Oh, wow!" Jellal exclaimed excitedly. "There's –" his voice cut off abruptly and Erza could only watch in horror as his body plummeted from the tree to the grass below. She stared with wide eyes and as her vision blurred with tears he finally hit the ground with a thump and a cry.

"Jellal!" she ran to his side and rolled him over to his back. "Are you okay?! Jellal!"

He groaned and curled his body around an arm that didn't look quite right. His skin was already starting to bruise. Erza had caught enough glimpses of her father's patients to know swelling would come soon after.

"Erza," Jellal choked out. "I don't think I can walk. Everything hurts."

"Okay." She sniffled and wiped at her face with her sleeves. "I'm going to get your dad, okay? I'll be right back."

Erza took off running across the pasture and with every burning exhale she muttered, "Please don't die..."

The frayed edge of her jacket sleeve was starting to unravel completely by the time Erza's father appeared in the hallway. She wiped her tears away, again, and gazed up at him from the chair. The guilt over not keeping Jellal out of the tree in the first place sat like a rock in her throat.

"Is he okay?" she whispered.

"Oh, he'll live," Doctor Scarlet said with a small smile. "No one blames you, sweetheart. It's okay."

"I should've –"

"Stopped him?" He removed his glasses and cleaned them on the flap of his coat. "I think we both know Jellal is a stubborn boy. If anyone could've stopped him, it might have been you." Erza's heart sank further. "However, if he'd been alone the situation would've been much worse."

"What's the situation?" Even at nine Erza understood complicated words. Terms like prognosis, diagnosis, and more specifically, ulna weren't at all unfamiliar.

"He's got a broken arm, and a severe sprain in his ankle. I don't think he'll be walking for a while. A fall like that is jarring."

Erza sighed in relief. Those weren't so bad, right? He'd hate the bedrest but – Erza's fists curled into knots – it served him right for scaring her so terribly.

"Can I see him?" she asked.

"Of course. He's likely to be a bit tired. I had to sedate him a little to reduce the break for casting." Doctor Scarlet stepped aside and Erza peeked into Jellal's bedroom. His father joined the doctor in the hallway and left her alone with a half-awake Jellal. He had the nerve to smile at her.

"Erza," he said in a slightly slurred voice. "You're hair is so red."

She frowned. "You scared me half to death today, Jellal, and all you can do is tell me something I already know?"

"It's pretty." His eyes slid into a long blink. "My foot hurts," he muttered.

"That's because you fell from the tree. Your mom will probably never let you out of the house again once she hears what you've done," Erza hissed. "You're lucky she's taken the baby to see her family, and wasn't here for any of this!"

Jellal blinked again and his ridiculous grin did not go away. Erza sighed and perched on the edge of his bed.

"I was so worried," she said, swallowing another bout of tears. "You fell like a rock."

"I'm sorry," Jellal said shifting on the mattress. "I promise I'll never scare you again."

"You better not." Erza poked at the hard cast on his arm. "You're so stupid, Jellal." The tears leaked from her eyes without permission and she let them fall on the sheets. He didn't hear her accusation as he'd drifted off into a drug-induced sleep.

Jellal looked so small in his bed and Erza suddenly felt the weight of the day on her shoulders. She crawled over him and to the side with no casts or sprains. Sleep came easier than expected.