I promise I will find a way to fix formatting issues -_-
Chapter 4
Day One
"This...is a mess" the young man uttered with an inelegant sigh as he slumped his shoulders, slim fingers scratching through his purple, groomed locks as he contemplated the sight before his eyes.
"A mess indeed, hmm-hmm" the fellow captain concurred, his boots clanking on the cobbled road as he approached his side. "It's gonna take forever just to move all the rubbles, let alone rebuild the buildings and restore the main routes."
Royal City, Central Square. That was the place where a considerable amount of the current population of Edolas was summoned just mere days before through a royal edict. The contents were simple, but direct: at least one representative from each family within the Kingdom of Edolas was to turn up at the designed location (varying according to each region, district and so forth) in order to take heed of His Majesty's very dispositions regarding the reconstruction works that were about to start on that day.
Taking into account the vastness of the kingdom, selected delegates representing the Crown were sent throughout the land with a copy of the day's proclaim signed by the newly crowned King to ensure that, if not the entirety of his speech, at least its most important parts pertaining the instructions on the works to follow reached every single citizen.
That day, the beginning of the reconstruction of the Reign of Edolas had the most absolute precedence, henceforth, such activities as work, education, commerce and the likes were to be at least postponed until His Majesty had officially addressed how each citizen had to take part in it.
The Royal Army was no exception, of course: a handful from all its three divisions and their respective First, Second and Third captains were also summoned there as workforce, while the remaining troupes were stationed throughout the castle, the cities and the rest of the reign for their customary patrol duties.
"Quit complaining the both of you."
"E-Erza!" Hughes fretted, snapping unnecessarily to attention. "Amazing! I, uh, we were..."
"The King is about to leave, I just received word from Lieutenant Dreer. We need to get on the move."
"Lieutenant..." Hughes lowered an eyebrow to his eye, perplexed.
"Laxus" she cut short. She took a quick look at her surroundings: for the time being, everything seemed still in check. Despite there still being half an hour to 9 AM, the designed time for the King to arrive, as expected the large square was already completely crowded. Other than a public, mandatory convocation, the start of the reconstruction works was an event in and as itself. In contrast to the coronation ceremony, in which the monarch had indeed made a public appearance but within a limited amount of time (most of the day was unsurprisingly filled with political meetings and a magnitude of office work), this time was entirely different: he was going to be there as a citizen of Edolas, as one of them. To them he were to speak directly to, and with them he was going to work.
Needless to say, the security for both the king and the citizens was the utmost priority at the moment.
"Hughes" she nodded at her subordinate. "It's showtime."
"Huh? Me? Amaaaaaazing!" The man exulted, pumping his fist in the air as a sign of victory.
A scowl from the redhead dampened his enthusiasm right on the spot. "Sugar." She looked at the pink-clad captain on her right. "Can I count on you?"
"Yes ma'am. Public order, no mess, everything under control. You got it, hmm-hmm".
"We will be taking our leave then." She nodded at him one final time.
"I still don't get it" the young official commented as the duo approached their horses, his arms crossing behind his head. "Why not showing up earlier under disguise instead of making us go through the hassle of going back to get him? I mean, he even suggested it hims-OUCH!" He complained, his hand quickly covering the now painful side of his ribcage: she had hit him with the hilt of her sword, nonetheless. "The hell, Erz-" The complaint died on his lips as her glare froze him on the spot.
The hell with that brat.
Capable, witted combatant and surprisingly even an authoritative lead when the time called, his excellent swordsmanship had granted him in the past the title of Captain of the Third military division, back then, ahead even of older, more experienced soldiers such as Sugar Boy.
But a kid nevertheless, who still lacked the necessary etiquette at times, and whose young age and temperament needed a leveling only time and discipline would eventually attain.
"First of all, from now on I'm Captain Knightwalker, not Erza. No informalities of sorts: no slouching, no casual speech, no slang words, no idling around, no untidy appearance. Composure, all-the-time" she stressed. "You're a representative of His Majesty and the Royal Army, keep that in mind. Now, as for your ineloquently worded question" she paraphrased 'complaint' as she hopped on her white steed, groomed and embellished for the occasion, before quickly breaking into a gallop "that imbecile did suggest something along the lines of a reconnaissance mission beforehand this morning, in that absurd getup of his, mind you" she referenced his not-so-subtle-as-he thought ensemble inclusive of giant pants and a 'mimetic' mask. "Now, here's the scene: with all the paperwork he still had to review and sign before departing, let alone the last few arrangements for his delegations and his own mobilization, he'd come to a place bound to be flocked with people awaiting him just a measly hour or so in advance. To achieve what, exactly? Being recognized and losing face? Risking an assassination? Being thought of as a king who doesn't know how ceremonial protocols work or, even worse, as a king who doesn't trust his own subordinates to do their job? Rules are meant for a reason, and that reason is to keep everything in place. Rules..."
Rules are meant to keep those you love safe. To preserve order. Did you see? Did you see what happens to those who stray away from them?
The late king's ominous voice reverberated in her head.
"Erza-nee!"
"Milliana! Sho! Wally!"
There's only one way to see to that goal.
"No!"
"Erzaaaaaa!"
Magic is the key. Magic is power. Magic is everything. People who don't follow the rules will all wind up having the same tragic fate you've just witnessed. Do you understand, now that is too late?
"…"
This is your fault. You could've saved them. All of them, and even your precious Jellal. If you learn to follow the rules and to use magic to impose them, all of this would not have to repeat itself.
"Erz-...Captain?"
This is your fault.
"Captain…Knightwalker?"
This is your fault, Erza.
"Jellal!"
"Neigh!" The horse nickered disgruntled as she abruptly pulled its reins to a stop, just a few meters from the Palace's main entrance.
"So we've already arrived, it seems. Alright, time to get the king" she said casually, hopping down from her ride and approaching the gates on foot, the brails in her hand as the equine followed behind.
Hughes looked at her, eyes merely within his eye sockets as she strolled through the entrance while all he could do was trying to refill his lungs with some decicedly precious oxygen. That woman was anything but human, really, and to say he looked up to her with utter deference, especially at times like these, was the understatement of the century.
How could a soldier (trained as she was), or any human being for that matter, manage to utter such complex sentences while riding a horse at full speed, for starters, was way beyond the realm of his comprehension. Second of all, her knowledge of the royal etiquette and the rapidity she had at identifying and solving all sorts of issues, such as the prompt prevention of the aforementioned possibility of public disorders due to the king's presence, never failed to impress him.
Also, last but not least, he found it curious (and he would have even laughed, if he wasn't still desperately trying to catch his breath) how that woman could address the King both as His Majesty and that imbecile in the same sentence. For some reason or the other, his superior seemed to harbor a certain hostility toward King Jellal, and he briefly wondered what that could possibly be.
"Planning on sightseeing the castle much longer, Captain Hughes?" She called out.
She was a few meters ahead, her stance perfectly upright as she stood in front of His Majesty's carriage alongside a few other guards.
"Ah, no, I- Your Majesty!" He spun at attention as the King himself exited the vehicle. The door was already open as he did so, so he had a hunch he had been briefly conversing with Erza inside while he was spacing out.
"At ease, Captain" he smiled as his feet landed on the floor beside the woman. He found himself smiling back at the sovreign: there was something somehow reassuring in his every demeanor, a sense of certitude emanating from his gestures and expressions that made those around him naturally comfortable. He was pretty confident he was probably not the first person to notice that.
The blunette reverted his attention back to the First Captain. "Thus, I shall verify on site the compliance with the established specifications. If the situation is as you reported-"
"It is" she cut him short, glaring.
"If" he repeated himself, verbally overwriting her remark. "The situation is as you reported, then we shall proceed according to plan. You guys all know your places. Any questions?"
"Nossir!" Those present replied in unison.
"Then we shall be taking our leave" he stated as he entered his carriage once again, his foot catching on the heavy cape he was wearing and almost causing him to lose balance. He thanked his lucky star his trained quick reflexes made it lend eventually just atop the last step, so he could dissimulate the whole movement instead of making an utter fool of himself right in front of his subordinates. He felt also grateful he was wearing a much more comfortable outfit under a layer or two of ceremonial clothing (he was going to physically work, after all).
"Your Majesty, a word" Captain Knigtwalker said before the lot could start their march. His string of gratefulness ended there.
"Ah yes, Captain. Come on in" he said with an ill-concealed sigh, removing the heavy crown from his head and setting it aside. He most absolutely loathed that impractical, absurdly pricey piece of garish tat.
He absentmindedly observed the swordswoman as she closed the door behind her and sat up straight opposite to him with a naturalness that, if he were to be honest, made him envious; all the while rehearsing in his head for the billionth time his practiced speech: is crowning carried out smoothly, all in all, but that had been all talk and formalities. The real challenge was now, with fellow citizens he had been far from for almost a decade (however good his intentions may have been when he decided to leave), in a context and an environment unfamiliar to him after spending most of his recent years in Earthland. The pressure he felt, needless to say, was immense. What if his people didn't like him? What if they deemed him unworthy of being their king? He felt as if every single, microscopic movement he made, consciously or not, harboured a significance he was never fully aware of, and the precarious balance he was so desperately trying to attain was to crumble under his very feet any minute for the slightest of the blunders.
To put it simply, he was always under the impression he never truly had an idea of what he was actually supposed to do, whilst at the meantime, Captain Erza Knightwalker, the woman who was facing him at the present moment, perennially gave the exact opposite appearance.
She was witty, competent, dependable, and could quickly come up with brilliant strategies in the most stressful of the situations.
Also, she had a terrible attitude, and he was unmistakably convinced he was just about to get a taste of it.
"May I suggest" he started, noticing in that moment the fact she had closed the door this time, unlike their previous conversation when she had deliberately left it open. He supposed this was a matter just for his ears to listen to. "If you were to seduce me, Captain, I have to tell you I like scented candles and assorted chocolates" he said lightheartedly, trying to ease his own tension: not for the Captain (he was getting accustomed to her bad temper after all), but for his mind was once again restlessly skimming through his seemingly endless list of tasks, dreading he could be overlooking something. He found a little, tiny part of him wondering if it could be the case that, maybe, the woman before him was there to speak some sort of word of comfort.
The contemptuous glower she rewarded his joke with reminded him of his own idiocy.
"I just came to remind you, Your Majesty" she said, indifferently crossing her arms as her expression regained its cool "of the paramount importance the speech you will be giving today has: it will be essential to establish what kind of relationship you, as the newly crown King, will have with your fellow citizens from now on, in addition to giving them a clear image of the kind of monarch you intend to be. Therefore, I request you to please choose each and every word with that objective in mind."
Marvelous, he thought to himself as he exhaled an uneasy breath, the palms of his hands gradually coating in cold sweat. Ever the motivator Captain, huh?
She opened the door, and, just as she was about to exit, she added "Also, candles and chocolates? What are you, a lady?" She said with disdain over her shoulder. She bowed curtly, then shut the door close. "Charioteer, soldiers, you shall proceed now!" she commanded, getting on her horse once again.
He let his shoulders skid deflatedly through the cushioning of his seat. That was going to be a long, long day.
"...therefore, I once again thank every single one of you, my fellow compatriots, for joining me on this very important day. I look forward to work side by side with you all. Now, let's join forces, and let the reconstruction of our kingdom Edolas begin!" He said triumphantly, raising his fist up in the air.
An enormous, cheerful acclaim boosted throughout the entire square as the king stepped down from the stand to cede the floor to his aides to assign to each group of people their specific task.
For the first time that day (or rather, that week), he earnesly felt relieved: all things considered and despite his own insecurities, the speech went on smoothly, and the people seemed to greet him with much more warmth than he had expected. It was not really different from the first time he made a similar speech after defeating Natsu, aka the Demon Lord Dragneel, now that he thought about it. Perhaps it was the chance that spending day after day closed up in his offices overworking himself, actually led him to worry far more than it was necessary.
Easing a bit the tight-fitting garments around his collar, he took his time to have a good look at his surroundings: the city had been divided into well-defined areas, each with a selected division of the army patrolling it. Of said divisions, a specific number of soldiers were to actively take part in the handwork alongside the civilians, while the rest provided overall security. To prevent the eventuality of malcontents to arise, both the army and the people would take turns in all the reconstruction areas, as well as the soldiers would switch roles with those performing their customary duties at designed times. The work schedule seemed to be well organized itself, and thus far, no signs of complaints emerged from the population.
Now that things were about to go from theory to practice, his real test as a trustworthy lead was about to begin, but the success his speech just attained gave him the confidence he needed to believe he was effectively up to the task.
"I have to say, Your Majesty" a tawny-haired man approached, standing respectfully at his side. "Excellent speech. Truly inspiring. Also, I applaude such a flawless organization of the works. A remarkable job, indeed" he bowed.
"Ah, yes...thank you, Gildarts" he replied passively, his gaze swimming through the mass of people as he searched specifically for something. It eventually ended its quest as it landed on a whiff of bright, sunset-colored red hair.
The older man smiled politely. "May I tell Captain Knightwalker you have her praise as well?"
"Eh? No, I was just...actually..." he fretted, not entirely sure how to explain himself.
"Don't worry. This level of precision has the name of the Captain written all over it. Regardless of whom the credit it is due to, in the end it's all for Edolas' inclusive interest, don't you concur?" He placed a respectful hand over his shoulder.
"Seemingly so" he said, dubious.
It was not the first time he'd been complimented for the accuracy of the reconstruction plan of action, and he was certain it was not going to be the last.
When disserting about what needed to be effectively done on site and how, the ones in charge spent most of his time (and his patience) arguing and pointing out the flaws in the others' strategies, rather than trying to cooperate together, most likely out of the shallow pretension to somehow make themselves look better before his eyes. It all, thankfully came to an end when the short-tempered woman Captain tactlessly (but effectively) banished them all from his office in order to speak to him privately: after tossing piles of useless papers from his desk onto the ground, she proceeded to enounce clearly and systematically all the necessary matters to address, and most importantly, how to.
What followed was a bit unexpected.
After relieving the people he'd hired of a duty they were demonstrably unable to carry out, he asked the Captain to work together, mostly the two of them, on the plans she'd laid out, and to his utter, sheer surprise, she agreed with a placidness that caught him completely off-guard: for the first time in forever, he had the feeling she was genuinely trying to help him, other than the citizens. At the end of the evening, they had achieved in just a few hours what others couldn't do in the span of days, and it was solely thanks to her if the reconstruction works were flawlessly starting today.
When he tried to thank her, first by promising she would've received the merits she deserved, then a monetary compensation for her work, she refused both without so much of a real explanation, leaving him to ponder.
"Don't you come near me, you jerk!" Lucy Ashley's voice somewhere in the midst of the crowd abruptly drew the two men's attention.
"Lucy, I-" this time, it was clearly Natsu to speak.
"I said get lost, you piece of-"
"Your Majesty" the elder intervened with some discomfort. "May excuse myself?"
"Ah...sure. Go ahead" he conceded to his Chief of Staff, lightly wondering what the commotion was about.
"King Jellal, Coco here as ordered!" The kid saluted as she halted her run in front of him. He chuckled, relaxing his shoulders. Finally a friendly face!
"No need of such formalities, Coco, I told you" he ruffled the top of her head, referring to her trademark military greeting. "What do you have for me?"
"A map of the city updated with the list of today's volunteers and their arrangements. Erz-aehm" she bit her toungue. "I mean, the person in charge told me it has a color code so to make easier to see which chore is done where. Although for the next days it's mostly removing all the debris."
"Perfect. Great job, the both of you...whoever that other person might be" he smiled, slightly tilting his head to the side.
"Thank you, sir! Now off to work!" She exclaimed before scurrying away.
He chuckled heartily, before shifting his attention to what he'd been just handed.
"Hmm" he murmured to himself, scrutinizing the papers in his hands as a question he had for the past few days in the back of his mind started to resurface to his attention: when illustrating him the affected areas and the necessary works to rebuild them, Erza had been exceptionally accurate. Her estimates turned out to be coincident, if not even more precise, than the ones he'd officially conducted through third parties. How could she have such a faultless knowledge of the city's current state? She spent most of the day at the castle, either within the military grounds or at his side (weather aiding or hindering him, he still wasn't sure). And a soldier high her rank wouldn't normally go patrolling the city without serious grounds for concern such as his personal safety or the possibility of war.
Moreover, closely observing the map, it seemed that some sub-areas were already cleared from a fair share of obstructions already, even though they had only just officially started the actual works.
Something was definitely not adding up.
A/N [HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RECONSTRUCTION! It's been 4 years today, but similarly to the time skip in FT, let's pretend it's been just one XD Sorry for the delayed update!]
As usual, THANK YOU my wonderful readers and reviewers, because I honestly couldn't keep writing this without your support. Every bit of motivation helps!
This story, I tell you from the bottom of my heart, means to me more than you'll ever know!
One person I want to give a special thanks to is Foxydame: she's reviewed every single chapter of this story at lenght and I loved reading her wonderful insights about my fanfictions, not to mention she's encouraged me a lot to keep on writing. You're the kind of reader any writer would be elated to have!
While chatting you also rightfully noted how Erza's attitude as a child seemed different from Jellal's: you're most absolutely right for they grew up with very different backgrounds. This is something I was trying to portray (and will keep on portraying) so I'm glad someone noticed.
Now if ya'll are wondering whether the flashbacks are over, the answer is: nope, not by any stretch. I can't tell you too much, just...they are an essential part of this fanfiction, and things will take quite an interesting turn soon, in more than one way.
Pay attention to details, because in this story, I'm inserting many that will pave the way for future plot twists.
Now, multi-chapter stories with bulky chapters as this one (Reconstruction) require quite a lot of work: I have pages and pages of notes alone, so again, each and every bit of support from you guys helps!
If you had the patience to read this far (ohhh who am I kidding? I'm probably talking to myself by now XD) I remind you there are more Jerza/Mystwalker/Jelsie stories in my profile and that I'm quite active on Twitter (MerakiWrisp). If you want updates, insights or even little spoilers you know where to look =P
Hope I can update this story ASAP!
