A/N: Sorry for the, aehm, HUGE delay on this. I had a few chapters ready for years, but my life sort of went to sh!t and I tried to pick up the pieces. I still am.
The latest bits on Edolas in the 100YQ (ch 65 as of now) sort of gave me that push to publish this and to start working on the next chapters again. I've planned a fairly long story.
I'm extremely sorry for anyone of you who liked the first chapter and expected another one in vain.

To old readers and new readers, welcome on board!
Enjoy =)


Chapter 2

The Beginning Of The End

"And finally, this is the armory room" he added, pushing with bent arms against one of the two large, ponderous doors, his mouth grimacing for the strain as his body leant in to add more pressure.

Young prince Jellal was a kid of dedication and meticulousness: of this, there was no denying. So, when he planned their secret tour of the castle for that day, he had made sure for each, minimal detail to fall into place perfectly. First of all, the choice of the day conveniently coincided with the eve of his father's return, after a week spent away from his kingdom on an hectic succession of diplomatic meetings and events. Which entailed, as a consequence, a multitude of servants, soldiers and courtiers of sorts to buzz fervently around the castle to guarantee their king an adequate welcome back, therefore efficiently making them oblivious to the presence of two unsupervised kids scurrying their carefree way around.

Then, there was the progression of the areas to be visited: the central library had been their first stop and, to be just completely honest, a mere excuse for him to boast some of the knowledge he had on a very selected number of tomes, all of which curiously pertained one of his great passions, that was, astronomy. Much to his dismay, though, Erza seemed much more involved in the architecture of the room itself (he remembered a comment along the lines of "whoa, this place is ginormous!" escaping her lips), rather than his fruitless brag. Which, all in all, dented his confidence just a tiny bit: he still had many aces up his sleeve, he had told himself with a resolved nod.

As a matter of fact, the two subsequent visits did succeed in scoring him some points: the disused dungeons provided the perfect scenery for a frightened Erza to unyieldingly clasp her hand in his, resulting in a flash of a toothy, goofy smile on his side. The keep was also a nice touch, for it provided a beautiful, enchanting vision of the whole reign of Edolas, and a resulting flabbergasted, entranced look of admiration from his redheaded crush (at that point, he was far from denying it). Her genuine, warm smile of gratitude directed at him, and solely at him, spoke volumes (to him, leastwise).

He had to admit he could have (and probably should have, on second thought) ruled out his room, though: a sad, pitiful wince crossed her countenance as soon as she noticed the distinct lack of toys or any other personal belongings that would have identified it as his personal room, or just any kid's room for that matter. Courtesy of his father, really, and of his asphyxiating obsession for him to concentrate on "none such trivialities", as he ever so frequently loved to remind him. Anyhow, he did succeed in taking it up a notch by showing her to his personal, secret passage (well-hidden by a small and surprisingly light bookcase nearby his bed) that eventually led them, under his guidance, straight to the kitchen quarters. By then, aside the little inconvenience of almost getting caught -weren't it for a large bask of freshly baked boules that effectively hid them last-second-, the fragrant, mouth-watering delicacies they managed to sneak were much worth the unplanned detour, all things considered.

But, as the saying goes, the best had still yet to come, and he would've proven so the moment they entered the final stop he had envisaged: the armory room, that was, or -as he liked to call it- the grand finale: a big grin playing on his expectant lips, Jellal was sure, that day would've finally been the day he impressed Erza.

Unfortunately, little did the poor boy know, that day would've also soon turned into the last day he would've seen his beloved friend in the span of years.


"Banned. BAN-NED! For two bloody weeks!" She rammed her fist against the table, her teeth gritting almost soundly.

"And you said the captains got to keep their positions?" A young woman with a fairly too tight-fitting choice of clothing asked her, leaning against a plank-table.

"Exactly, Juvia. Exactly" she stressed.

"Juvia has to say, she doesn't like this one bit" she commented, raising a hand to her chin. "At this point, Juvia wonders what's left to try. The King really does not seem on his right mind for such a decision."

"You can't possibly be serious, can you?" Another blunette chimed in, a hand resting on her hip. "I mean, I get it from the tomboy over there" she wiggled her finger in the direction of the short-haired ex-mage, who glowered in return. "But you? I thought you had more common sense than to question His Majesty's choices, Juvia-san."

"If it is a matter of common sense we're discussing, then it's most certainly the one the King is apparently out of." This time, it was Jet to intervene.

"You said it" Droy spoke as well. "Levy, do I have to remind you they got rid of half of our guild already? And not to mention the ones they completely tore to pieces! We can't have them near us, it's far too dangerous. For the sake of Fairy Tail, we need to find a way to have them expelled, or fired at the very least."

"I can't really do anything from here" Lucy sighed, biting one of her knuckles. "And what's even worse is that he agrees with him."

"Who?"

"Gildarts. He just sat there nodding to everything the King said...he even told me I was 'overreacting', as he put it. He might be the Chief of Staff now but dammit, he's still a Fairy Tail member first! Ahh" she grunted, taking a seat and crossing her legs in her characteristic way. "At this point I'm not even so sure there's anything left to do..." she trailed off, her voice getting lower and her gaze following as well. "I mean, the King had made it clear he's not going to retrace his steps, and honestly, by the end of the meeting I run out of arguments."

"Hmm...did you try and make a point out of the damage they've done so far? He can't be ignoring all the raids they've been responsible of, now, can he?"

"Just what do you think I kept insisting on, Juvia? He said the army is loyal to them, her in particular. How could I object to something like that? And what's more, now he expects us to work side by side on the reconstruction site. If I think...if I just think of all the times she has forced us on the run! If I think of Freed, Mikuni, Bickslow, Wan, Laki, Max...she has murdered all of them! And they expect me to put on a smile and pretend everything's freaking fine!" She growled. "I still remember the day Kinana..."

"The day Kinana what, Lucy?" A muffled succession of clacks against the plywood flooring introduced the guild to the presence of a white-haired young woman, her expression a mixture of sternness and ruefulness. "Don't you try. Don't you just try to use my best friend's demise as a vehicle to vent your temper, Lucy." She said in a surprisingly subdued tone.

"What in the world is wrong with you, Mirajane?! I was trying to defend her! It was Knightwalker who-"

"It was a legion, Lucy."

"And guess who is known to ride legions around here, Mira?"

"It wasn't hers."

"Are you seriously taking her side?!"

"IT WASN'T" her breath hitched in her throat, and her lower lip trembled noticeably as she tried to calm herself: Kinana had been her first true friend since her preadolescent, short-tempered-self joined the guild years ago, and with time, she grew to become akin a third sibling to her. Alas, with the cruel irony only life seems to be capable of at times, her demise followed shortly after her sister's, and with Earthland's Lisanna getting back to her original world, both wounds did nothing but deepen.

"It wasn't" she spoke more evenly "hers. Did you really think I haven't bothered with some research after her d-" she gulped, rendered unable to utter the word by the heaviness of its significance. "...after she was gone?" She eventually corrected, biting down hard on her lip. "Knightwalker was stationed on the Northern Region back then. And you know better than me that's at least one month away of travelling, even with the fastest means of transport available. Again, don't you dare use Kinana as an excuse for your anger, Lucy, I won't allow that. Besides, I think you've said more than enough in the last Council Assembly, yes Gildarts informed me" she impeded her comeback as soon as she saw the blonde breathing in. "And he asked me to fill in your place, at least till your suspension lasts. Look..." she heaved a tired sigh, approaching the younger girl and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not enthusiastic to work along with them, either. I know what they did to our guild...but if it's the king's will we're talking about, we don't have much of a choice but to behave accordingly: we accepted so yesterday the moment he was crowned, didn't we? He's not his father, this should be evident to all of you. Just look at all the improvements we've achieved in such short amount of time under his guidance! I'm positive whatever choice he takes, it has to be for our collective good. Lucy...you guys...shouldn't our priority now be to rebuild our homeland, regardless whom we work with? Can't you just try and move on? To think about what's best for this kingdom, and not for yourselves?"

"What about what's best for the guild, Mira-san?" Juvia spoke again. "She might have not killed Kinana, but what about the rest of us? You're underrating the circumstances, this is what Juvia thinks. If they attack again and we're unprepared, this could be the end of Fairy Tail. Juvia is not gonna stand for that."

"Uhm, excuse me" a curly dark-haired man spoke from a corner, politely raising his hand. "But if I'm not mistaken from what's been officially reported, the King himself adduced the possibility of the whole army revolting against him due to its loyalty towards the captains, hasn't he? And as you mentioned before, he also stated he wasn't going to reconsider this specific decision. Is this all correct?"

"It is, Gajeel" Levy nodded. "There's also nobody who can replace them, but no one here seems to consider the consequences of an army without a lead" she huffed.

"So can't we at least give them the benefit of the doubt? I mean, from what I know they are fearless combatants, and they did swear loyalty to the current crown, hadn't they?"

"This is pointless" Jet scowled annoyed, tapping the tip of his foot repeatedly against the ground. "Whose decision was it to accept this big-mouthed weakling into the guild anyway?"

"Hey, this is not a very polite thing to say to a newcomer, you know?" The reporter countered, mildly offended.

"Jet!" Levy reprimanded. "He's been a very useful addition to our guild, if you must know. Don't call him that."

"Why, thank you shorty!"

"And don't you call me that either!" She stuck her tongue out at him, closing her eyes just above the streak of red now crossing her cheeks. He chuckled, amused.

"So...where does all of this leave us, in the end?"


"Are you sure we are allowed to come in?" She said, a timorous hand reaching her mouth as she looked from left to right around the aisle.

"Never said that" he replied with a mischievous smirk. "Come on, it'll be fun!" He cut short any potential protest from her by taking hold of one of her hands, his touch gentle but firm.

He turned the lights on and, as soon as they made their way into the room, Erza found her breath catching in her throat, her big, roundish childlike eyes shining in indiscriminate marvel: all around her stood, in all of its glory, a full display of neatly organized sets of armors and weapons of all kinds and sizes. Majestic elements of silver and golden artistry towered all around them, prideful and authoritative in their appearance, some with precious gems encrusted on the surface, some other accurately assembled with pieces of fine textiles; the Royal City crest in various colors and sizes embedded on each and every piece. Right above their heads, far, far up high, the massive crystal chandelier, with the many lights emanating from its numerous arms, conferred to the general ambience a golden glow that rendered the room and its main attractions all the more lustrous and appealing to the eye. They looked so...bright. So important.

"Jellal, this is...this is beautiful" she breathed out, the depth of her eyes twinkling almost as if shining with their own light.

He stared back at her, enraptured in his own owe as he couldn't pry his gaze away from the graceful, splendid creature she was even if he tried to, his stomach exhibiting in a curious set of metaphorical backflips all the while.

"Told you it was worth it" he breathed out, his voice regaining confidence at each word as a prideful and satisfied grin eventually found its way on the corner of his lips.

"Is...is this a storage room or something?" She asked naively.

"Ohh, not really, no" he chuckled. "This is more of a display, actually. Edolas' most dauntless warriors once wore and used the equipment you're seeing. It's sort of a wall of honor, if you will, only the size of an entire room I guess."

"Aaaaaaahhhhh" she commented in understanding, her voice thrilled. "So" she added, quickly snapping out of her reverie as soon as something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. "What is this?"

She was eyeing a particular, sharp blade, its hilt a deep shade of blue with spirals of gold twirling all around the grip.

"Oh, this is a very ancient one. It belonged to General Shirogane: he was a fearless combatant who lived 500 years ago, and he was believed to be one of the greatest strategists ever existed along with General Shinomiya. Those over there are their armors."

"Oooohhh!" She squeamed in delight. "He must've been soooo cool!"

"Hm" he snorted, an unexpected pang of jealousy stabbing him through the ribs. "It's also believed by some that studying strategies of war was his only real skill, and he was otherwise a complete loser in everything else he did."

"Well...I don't buy it" she scoffed, raising her chin up hauntingly. "I bet he was very talented instead!"

He groaned, his eyebrows knitting. What was with her so keen on defending a guy she just heard about, instead of just trusting his words?

"Hmmm, what about this one Jellal?" She quickly diverted her attention to a very sharp, dark golden blade protected within a showcase, his reaction passing completely unnoticed.

"This is called...uhh...what was its name again? Right, it's the Blue Dragon Sword. It belonged to Captain Homura and was believed to be flamed by his very life-force."

"Ahhh, you know so many things Jellal! You're so...wait, look at this one!"

"Hold on a second, Erza! What? I am what? What were you about to say?" He tried to complain, but was cut short as soon as she unceremoniously dragged him by an arm towards the front of a long, aquamarine-blue trident spear.

"It's huge! Whom did it belong to?"

He flinched, then grimaced. Why had his father moved it there?

"This..." he hesitated, taking a long thorough look at the weapon. "This is the Ten Commandment spear. It's...it's supposed to belong to me."

"It does seem much less used than the other ones" she rightfully noted. Its colors, although not particularly bright, made it neatly stand out amongst the rest of the weaponry that, in spite of being well-polished and zealously taken care of, could not be rendered immune to the opaque film the passing of time inevitably conferred to each element. The absence of dents or signs of wear also contributed to the pristine look of the spear, as if it had been scantly ever used before.

"If it's yours then, why is it here?"

"I have no clue, actually. It just...it makes no sense at all. I train with this almost on a daily basis, even though..." He lowered his head, dejectedly, his eyes deprived of all their previous enthusiasm. Erza felt a tight, painful pang of sorrow for him hitting her right through the chest, which only increased markedly when he spoke his next words. "Well, until now I was never really able to use it...no matter how much Father would want me to nor how hard I try" he concluded bitterly, his hand balling in unconscious anger. Whom it was directed to, whether himself or his parent, she honestly couldn't tell.

"Jellal..." she approached him, tenderly enclosing her hands around his fist. He relaxed instantly in her hold. "Don't worry...I'm sure you'll learn how to. I believe in you" she offered, smiling earnestly, and he swore it was the most adorable sight he'd ever witnessed. He couldn't help but reciprocate the smile, fondly.

"I really do hope so. Thank you, Erza. Thank you so much" he squeezed her hand affectionately. "So, you wanna hold it?"

"Je...Jellal, are you sure? Aren't you going to get in trouble for this?"

"Ah, don't worry. Most of the court hardly ever comes around this area of the castle, and besides, nobody can be allowed in this specific room without explicit authorization. Father is out of country and he's not due to come back till tomorrow, so we're positively safe. Come on, don't you tell me you didn't feel the urge to take hold of it ever since you laid your gaze on it?" The moment her eyes grew wide as saucers in glimmering expectation and her body unconsciously inched onward, he knew he got her. He smirked to himself: her reactions were always so predictable.

"How would you know?" She said defensively, her dissimulation made useless as she was clearly unable to tear her attention away from the fascinating piece of weaponry.

"I know you, Erza. You're like an open book to me. It's actually lighter than it looks, see?" He reached for the grip and carefully removed the spear from its place: curiously, it sat tightly between two separate sets of armors, adding to the impression it didn't really belong there. As its weight fell completely within his control, the piece of artillery started to sway from one side to the other, and its holder alongside with it, until he was finally able to balance it within his grip and reposition it horizontally, the way he was used to hold it during his training sessions.

"Grab it like this, this way it's much easier to move. Got it?"

As she nodded energetically, he held it out for her to grasp. "You think you're good on your own?"

"Hmm-hmm" she answered through pursed lips as she concentrated on her task. "See? See? Jellal, I can lift it! I can!" She took a small jump, almost dropping it on their feet hadn't she had her fingers still firmly wrapped around it.

"Easy there. It might not seem like it, but this is actually the most dangerous weapon around here. Probably the whole kingdom."

"Reaaaallyyyyy?" She asked, all the more enthralled. "What does it do?"

"It's magical. It's supposed to change its form into any kind of spear you can think of...or something like that. I don't know for sure, I've had it for years now but it never really did anything."

"This is just awesome, Jellal! Can I try? Can I?" She asked hopeful and exuberant, inching her face towards his, her eyes sparkling all the more in trepidation.

"Well" he looked down at her, the upper parts of his cheeks flushing vehemently. "Of course you can. Just don't be disappointed if nothing happens, after all-"

"JELLAL!"

He recognized the voice instantly. Every single muscle of his body snapped rigid on the spot, his eyes growing wide in pure, unadulterated terror.

"Fa...fa...ffa..." he stuttered, desperately trying to regain control of his system and failing spectacularly.

"Father..." he breathed out at last. When he finally found the courage to turn around and his eyes slowly slid their way up to meet the elder's, a wave of new-found horror washed over him.

For some reason, he knew it was the beginning of the end.


A/N: This story (Chapter 1) starts some weeks after Natsu and the others left Edolas. I still have no idea what's going to be on the next 100YQ chapters so expect some discrepancies...I wrote some of these chapters a few years ago but I am revising them. Also working on the next ones.
I'll probably find a few billion mistakes on this and the previous chapter so expect some minor corrections.
Twitter at MerakiWrisp for updates/Jerza stuff/manga stuff.