Her Champion Chapter 18, a fairy tail fanfic

Her Champion

A/N: Well everyone. We are entering the last few chapters of my first ever big story. I hope that it will take me four more chapters until this story is finished. I would really like to finish it before Christmas, hopefully, my laziness will not keep me from doing so.

Now let`s start with the reviews.

Jack-Septic-Eye: "The piece is the best fanfic I`ve found in a long while."

Me: "Thank`s Jack. I`m glad you like it."

Erasenpai946: "At first I was suspicious of Jellal, but now I think he wants to free Natsu because his way seemed to me to be his goal."

Me: "Jellal`s intentions for Natsu will be revealed in the next chapter. Showcasing the talk he and Natsu had before."

Anoyak111: "It wasn`t terrible. I think it was pretty good. With these kinds of stories I really didn`t care about the fights. It more of how Natsu and Erza will interact and them falling in love and how it will get there."

Me: "Thank you for your words. I am kinda sad that I did not make their interactions more detailed, rather than just write what they were doing and skipping on ahead with the story. So I hope these last few chapters do this two justice. Once again thank you for your opinion."

Reddevil47: "Here I was start singing "can you feel the love tonight" and then I forgot about that small detail... She lied about his dad oh God! Now I`m starving for the next update!"

Me: "You and me both. I had to go back to the previous chapters and see what their deal was all about. And oh boy... This is about to get intense. Hope you enjoy this next one."

And that`s all for the reviews. Hope you guys enjoy and I will be seeing you at the end.

Chapter 18.

The guilt paints the path.

Silence consumed the two young adults inside the med bey. The regretful look on Erza`s face and the shocked look on Natsu`s face was the only showcase of emotions they were currently feeling. As they set there in silence Natsu soon finds his voice again.

"W-wha-what did you say?" He asked in a shaky voice as if not believing the words he had heard.

Erza however kept her mouth closed and her gaze fixated on the floor. She could not bear to look at Natsu, for she knows that she will regret her action`s even more than she currently is. Her eyes started to water lightly as her thoughts continued to run wild in her head.

"ANSWER ME!" He roared at her which forced her head up to look at him and also take a step back in surprise but ultimately was able to answer him while looking into his eyes.

"I told you already... I lied." She watched with a regretful look as the emotions ran across Natsu`s face. First came confusion, then shock, then sadness, and finally anger. His eyes narrowed at her as his magic begin to pour its magical pressure into the room, rising the heat up.

"So all this time... You`ve been lying to me..." He said in a low voice as his hair covered his eyes and he stood up from the bed. Erza saw this and was about to tell him to sit down and rest or he will make his injuries worst, but she knew better than that in this situation.

"Nat-"

"SHUT UP!" He roared out at her which made her take another step back from how deep and angry his voice sounded. Her body begins to sweat both from the worry and fear she was feeling as Natsu stared at her with burning anger. "This was your plan all along wasn`t it? To make me believe that you knew where my father is so that I could win this stupid tournament for you? YOU LIED to me, about the only being that has ever loved me so that you could you use me for your own personal gain!"

"No Natsu you don`t under-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" He yelled at her as she tried to explain her actions to him but he did not want to hear it. "I really thought that you have changed over the time we spent together. I really thought that you now see me as something more than a male dog that should be put down and I really thought you were a cool person." He said in a sincere hurt tone of voice with his gaze moved down to the floor as his eyes started to water. At that moment Erza`s heart dropped as the guilt seeped into her core, seeing her champion like this, sad and disappointed made her body wanting nothing more than to walk up and embrace her champion.

"But now I know..." The very next second Natsu`s head moved up so his onyx eyes could look into Erza`s own brown orbs. Erza`s guilt increased even more when she saw the anger in them.

"You are just selfish bitch..." with that said. Natsu begins to move, not even looking at Erza anymore as his eyes were set on the door that leads out of the med bay. However, as he moved past her a cold metallic hand wrapped around his right wrist, stopping him in his track forcing him to look down at its owner. Erza had a hold of his right wrist and was giving him the sad and regretful look.

"Natsu, please! Let me expl-"

"NO!" He shouted out as he pulled his wrist free and barred his teeth at her like a wild animal would. His eyes all but catching fire with his anger as he came so close to Erza that they were almost touching noses. "I don`t wanna hear ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY. For you and me. This PARTNERSHIP we had. Is OVER!"

At those words, Erza`s heart begins to hurt. Her eyes filled with tears as her mouth opened slightly in shock and sadness. Seeing that she got the message Natsu turned back towards the door and opened them before leaving through them, slamming them shut afterwords. His footsteps could be heard growing lower and lower in volume.

Each time his footsteps got quieter and quieter Erza`s chest hurt more. She set down on the bed he was sitting on when he was gone and held her hands over her heart. Soon the pain was so great that she was soon laying down in the bed, curled in a ball as she held her pained area.

"Why... Why am I feeling like this." She thought as the tears fell from her eyes. She can`t remember the last time she felt like this nor when was the last time she cried. But she did not care for now as she cried to herself, the remaining fragment of Natsu`s scent reminding her of what a good champion she has lost.

Three hours later:

Erza was now on her way back to her kingdom. After she had calmed down as best as she could, she went to the two royalties of Fiore kingdom. Where the two congratulated her for winning and were about to start talking about the wedding plans but Erza told them that she was leaving and that they will be discussing the plans another time. Before any of the two could say anything, she left and went to find her rider to take her home.

While she was walking through the streets of Fiore. Her mind kept on showing her the images of the time Natsu and she spent while walking down these streets. All the time they would bicker for some stupid reason, all the time she would get angry at him for being a pain in the ass and all the time he would try to get her to laugh only for her to give him the cold shoulder. But he did manage to break her guard and make her laugh a couple of times.

Her face became sadder as she thought about those times. Thinking how nice it actually felt to hang out with Natsu. Even tho it was mostly them training and acting sassy with one another. It felt like she had truly got to know Natsu as a person, not just as his master but more so as a friend. And thinking about it like that made her feel even worse.

When she finally found her raider, she only told him to take her home with no stops and no rest. She had already packed all of her things and had them in her dimensional storage, so she was already set to go. While she was entering the carriage she turned her had to take one last look at the path she took, silently hoping that Natsu will come to her.

But he didn`t... So with the same sad look, she has been having an entire time. She entered the carriage and got comfy for the ride home.

Five hours later:

It was nighttime when she arrived in Alvarez and right as she entered her kingdom was waiting for her just like they saw her off the day she left, illuminated by the night lights of the kingdom. People were cheering and chanting her name but she didn`t pay attention to them since her mind was still thinking about what happened.

The carriage soon stopped in front of her castle doors where her mother and Kagura were waiting for her. Once she opened the door to her carriage and stepped outside Irene came over to her while Kagura bowed down to her princess.

"Welcome back my dear," Irene said as she gave her a motherly hug. Pulling back after a good few seconds and placing both of her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "How did it go?"

Erza did not meet her gaze and said in a low sad voice "I won..."

Irene was quick to catch Erza`s sad tone as same as Kagura and both looked at their princess/daughter in worry. Irene then noticed the lack of a pink-haired boy that her daughter left with and asked.

"Where is your champion?"

Erza however did not reply as she moved from her mother`s hands and passed Kagura before entering her castle without saying a word. Leaving behind a very worried friend, mother, and her royal subjects.

She made her way through the corridors until she did not come to her room. Opening the doors in haste she wasted no time in requiping out of her armor and into the more casual clothes before falling down onto her bed. Unleashing all of her guilt and sadness on to her pillow. Her heart crying with her as memories of what she did before Fiore came back to hunt her.

All the things she said to him, the torture she put him through, and a false promise she made. All because she wanted to achieve her dream of becoming someone that was known to the world. And she accomplished that so why?

Why was she feeling like she had lost everything...

She didn`t know how much time had passed since then. But she heard the sound of her doors opening and the sound of high heels hitting her wooden floor. She chooses to ignore it and continued to cry as soon another weight was placed on her bed and a soft comforting hand started to rub her back.

"Shh... Shh... Let it all out, my child." She recognized the voice of the woman who did not raise her but did nothing in order to stop her. She just continued to cry her eyes out. After a few more minutes of crying, Erza finally set up on her bed. Her face stained with tears and her eyes red from crying.

"What do you want?" She said in a weak and sad voice. While she usually did not want to sound rude to her mother, she couldn`t help herself now that she felt so hurt.

"I want to know what has caused my daughter to cry. I never saw you cry like this before. Not ever since you were so little." Her mother said as she wrapped an arm around Erza`s shoulders and brought her close.

"Oh, so NOW you care about me?" Erza said with venom making Irene`s eyes widen in surprise as she moved away from her and looked at her with anger. "Where were you when I needed you HA? Where were you when I needed my mother?"

"Erza I-"

"YOU WERE BUSY AM I RIGHT!? IT`S ALWAYS THE SAME WITH YOU ISN`T? YOU ARE AWAYS BUSY WITH YOUR QUEEN DUTIES, YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME NOR HOW I FEEL. SO WHY START NOW!?" Erza shouted at her mother, tears once again going down her face. "YOU WERE NEVER THERE WHEN I WANTED YOU TO BE. YOU WERE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF. LIKE A SELFISH BITCH YOU ARE!"

Irene was surprised by the insult but kept on her stoic face as her daughter continued to yell at her.

"AND IN TURN YOU MADE ME INTO ONE. I DIDN`T ACKNOWLEDGE ANYTHING OR ANYONE. ONLY WANTING YOU TO BE PROUD OF ME. FOR ME TO FINALLY HAVE A MOTHER I ALWAYS DESERVED. BUT IN TURN U MOLD ME INTO ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU."

Irene kept silent as Erza`s breathing became rapid and her tears fell harder.

"And now..." Her voice quiets down into a sad and weak voice. "I am hurting... I don`t know why but I am. And it frustrates me because I don`t know why. And you being here acting as if you care does not help."

After that Erza brought her head in her hands and once again entered another crying fit, all while Irene watched her daughter with the same sad and guilty look she has had all day. Irene knew that everything Erza said was right. She was never a mother her daughter deserved.

She was always getting into political and diplomatic relationships with other kingdoms in order to spread the Alvarezes name, that she completely ignored her only child. Much like Erza, she wanted the world to know the name of her kingdom as one of the most powerful kingdoms in existence. It was a selfish wish and she did anything in her power to accomplish it.

But in turn... It cost her her daughter...

After a few seconds Irene once again slipped her arms around Erza and brought her into an embrace. Letting her daughter cry into her cleavage. Even when Erza tried to pull away she held a firm grip on her.

"I know that I never was a mother you wanted... Nor was I ever a good queen that you needed... So I`m sorry Erza... I am so sorry..." Irene`s own eyes let out her own tears as she held her daughter. Erza soon stopped resisting and let her mother hold her, accepting the shoulder to cry on.

Both the mother and her daughter let go of each other after a few minutes have passed and Irene planted a kiss on top of Erza`s head before the let go. She put her hands on her cheeks and made her look into her eyes.

"Feeling better dear?"

She got a weak nod in response. She let go of her cheeks and decided to rub her back in comfort as comfortable silence fell between the two.

"I shouldn`t have done it..." Erza finally said after a minute of silence.

"Done what?"

"Lied to him..." Erza said in a sad voice. Irene, of course, knew who she was talking about, with how a limited number of males Erza knew it wasn`t hard.

"What did you tell him?" Irene however did not know what the lie was.

"That if he won the tournament... That I will tell him where he could find his dad." At hearing that Irene`s eyes widen in shock. She couldn`t believe what her daughter has just done. All of her`s and Kagura`s plans could now very possibly been for nothing.

"Erza... Do you have any idea, what you have done..." The look of confusion on Erza`s face told her the answer. "Dragon-slayers are very emotional people. They are very closely drawn to their parents and love them to no end. They would destroy anything in their path in order to see their parents again. And you... Just lied to him about that."

"I know that I shouldn`t have done it... I was angry and frustrated at him for beating me in a fight and making a fool out of me in front of my kingdom... I just wanted to begone. But... Now that he is gone, my heart won`t stop hurting." Erza said as more tears wiled up in her eyes while bringing a fluffy object to her chest.

Irene raised her eyebrow at the fluffy object and asked Erza about it. "What is that Erza."

Erza blinked at her mother`s question before following her eyes to the object in her arms. She pulled it away from her chest and inspected it. She realized that it was the red dragon plushie Natsu has won at the festival. Her first gift from him to her,

Why was it out here? Did she requip it out? But she never thought about requiping it so, how did it end up here?

Irene however had a small smile on her face. As she watched her daughter's eyes widen in recognition and shock. "It`s a gift from him isn`t it."

Erza`s surprised eyes looked away from the toy to take a glance at her mother but they quickly moved back to the toy. "Yes... I was given this by him when he promised to..."

"Promised to what?" Irene said in curiosity.

"To make me smile." After those words left her a warm smile spread across her lips as she hugged the toy close to her once again. Irene stared at her daughter, the smile still put on her lips as she saw how she cared for the toy.

"Sound like you two became close." Irene said making Erza look at her in confusion. "Erza let me ask you... What do you think my intentions were by sending you to Fiore?"

Erza looked at her mother again before answering in an uncertain voice. "You wanted me to show that kingdom how strong Alvarez is?"

"Maybe that would be the case in the past. But no Erza... I would never send you for something like that, the only thing I wanted out of this is for you to gain something that you so very much deserve."

When Erza was silently expecting the answer Irene gave it to her.

"Love..."

...

"Eh!?"

"That`s right my dear. I sent you there to find love."

Erza was shocked beyond her core. She sat there looking at her mother with wide eyes and mouth opened, her brain not believing what she was hearing.

"Wha-Wh-Wha-a" Her words came out like a broken record and her face turned the color of her hair. Her mother only chuckled at the face her daughter was making.

"It`s true my dear. I only sent you there in order for you to find the love interest in the prince of Fiore. But as it seems your loved one was in your arms all along, wasn`t he." She teased her daughter with a small smile on her face.

" why?" Erza questioned her mother.

"Well, it was either that way or you're into girls. And I want grandchildren so I forbid you from being into girls." Irene said before raising her eyebrow. "You are into boys right?"

"GAH! Yes mom I am! But this whole journey and adventure was pointless. I do not need someone to love! Most especially not someone with pink hair." Erza said while shaking her hands with her right still holding the little plush toy.

"Oh? Is that so? So... You don`t mind handing over that then." Irene said teasingly as she went over to grab the red dragon plush.

However, Erza jumped off her bed and held the toy to her chest tightly, as if it will just disappear if she let him go. "No way! It`s mine!" She soon realizes what she was doing and blushed as her mother was sporting a teasing grin on her face. "This doesn't prove anything. I just like this toy that`s all."

"You never like any of the other plushies the servents bought you..." Irene said in a deadpan tone.

"Well, this is the first one I like. So what? Nothing strange there." Erza said. Irene sighed at her daughter's stubbornness before standing up herself and facing Erza fully.

"Erza dear. Tell me... When you hear the name Natsu. What is the first thing that comes to your mind." Irene asked to which Erza was quick to replay.

"Stupid, stubborn, and reckless."

"And what would you say are his good qualities?"

"Well..." Erza stopped to think about her next words. "He is... Kind... and strong. Has a really poor sense of humor" At that comment, Irene`s eyes narrowed. " But it did make me laugh sometimes and... He always had this smile that I absolutely..."

Erza stopped speaking as her face morphed into the one of realization.

"That you absolutely what?" Irene asked holding back a smile from stretching across her face.

"Love..." After Erza said that one word both the queen and the princess once again fell into silence, all while Irene held a proud smile on her face. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Erza got up from her bed and started to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Irene asked

"I have to find him... After this... I can`t let him walk away from me. I need to know how he feels about me." Erza said as she was about to exit her room but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"And how do you expect to talk to him. When you don`t even know where he is." Irene said making her daughter stop in her tracks. It was true. When Natsu and she had their fight, he never said where he was going. So she had no clue on where he could be right now. "But there is a way to find out."

Erza quickly turned to look at her mother with an interested and hopeful look in her eyes.

"While he was here I made sure to memories his dragon-slayers magic with my own. That allows me to sense his magic from anywhere in the world, no matter how far it may be." Irene said to which made Erza act quickly.

"Then tell me where I can find him. HURRY!" She shouted out her demeaned.

"Okay. Okay. Calm down... No need to get all excited about it." Irene teased once again but did close her eyes and started to sense for Natsu`s magic. Erza watched as her mother`s facial did not change for a few minutes until she narrowed her eyes and opened them afterward.

"So?"

"It seems that he is... heading towards Edolas kingdom," Irene said as she looked over at her daughter in confusion. Erza`s face mirrored her mother's as she thought about why would he go there.

"If I recall. Edolas is the only kingdom that has no magic in it. Why would Natsu go there?" Irene asked more herself the Erza.

Erza however started to think back to where she had heard that kingdoms name before. The image of her Edolas look alike came to her mind as she remembers brief encounters with her. But another memory came to her mind... The one in which she saw Knightwalker walked into the dungeons right as she came out of them and she did that while her champion was out fighting in the arena.

Why would she go there? There was no one there except for one of the other champions and...

Natsu...

Realizing why he was going to Edolas. Erza quickly requiped into her armor and sprinted out of the room.

"Erza!?" Irene shouted out in surprise at the sudden actions of her daughter. Which was soon later followed by Erza`s voice yelling for Kagura to get a horse ready.

5 hours earlier:

Natsu was really mad. Actually... Furious was more of the right word. He was currently marching on the dirt path towards the only god knows where while being mindful of his injuries. He left the kingdom as soon as he made it to the main gates and did not look back. Even as he passed the people who congratulated him for his win, he paid very little mind to them. All he wanted right now was to go as far away from her as possible.

He couldn`t believe she lied to him. After all this time...

"Sigh..." He let out a breath to try and calm himself down. Part of him was kinda regretting that he left her like that. He didn`t know why but as the memory of her sad and regretful face entered his mind. His heart felt pain. He couldn`t understand why...

He should be angry with her. He should be cursing her name to the very hell. And yet...

His heart... cries out for her...

His eyes frown at this, clouding his thoughts with this feeling. Making him not notice a carriage that drove up to him and stopped by where he stood. Natsu, realizing something stopped next to him. Look at the carriage with a surprised and confused look. His hearth's hope raised as he thought that Erza might have come looking for him and take him back with her. Though he was still angry at her, he thought that if he talks with her about what her lying, his heart may find its peace.

The doors of the carriage opened reviling the red-haired beauty that was Erza.

However, one sniff of the air coming from inside the carriage told him, that this was not the Erza he thought about.

"Knightwalker?" He said in a surprised tone. Not expecting to see the princess of Edolas out here.

"Hello, Natsu. Would you be so kind as to help me with something?" She asked with a smile on her face. Behind that smile, a plan was put into action inside Knightwalkers head.

A/N: And that is done. Now I am sorry if this was poorly made. I don`t have much experience in love so I just went with what I thought will be most logical. The next chapter should be that last fighting event in this story. And after that one, only two will be left for me to write. I am sorry if this was all rushed and pieced together to look like something.

But I will try to make these last three (hopefully) chapters be as best as they possibly can. Thank you all for understanding.