A/N: Hi, friends! Holy good gravy, guys. I've gotten more reviews for this in the last couple days than what I have since posting it. It's neat! But they're all guest reviews. I mean, I'm not going to stop you. It's cool that you don't have an account. But it'll take me a second to respond to you. But that's what this is for, right? First, let's talk to…Sweetnemesis!

To Sweetnemesis, it's lovely having you here. Although, I'm thinking you tried putting a heart emoticon in the comments, but it didn't work. I learned that one the hard way, too. But that's ok. Because I love you, too. How about I give you a chapter? And that brings me into my next guest friend.

To Moonwalker, more or less the same. I'm always happy to have new friends in the review section. And yes! Today is, in fact, our regular update day. I usually try to post around noon US Central time, but I'm about ten minutes late today. I'm sorry. I had to get a few things in town and here I am. But I'm going to shut up now and let you get into today's chapter. You have been waiting so patiently for me. K, love you. Bye. Xx

I've done my job to the best of my ability, haven't I? I've taken care of Jellal. I've shown him the utmost respect (as much as he'll allow anyway). Whenever he has episodes in public, I've always contained them quickly. I make sure he stays safe. If that's the case, then why would the king want to see me? It sounded awfully serious. Nevertheless, I still needed to report when summoned. I could worry about the why later.

"You wanted to see me, Your Majesty?" I walked into the throne room and found him sitting in the throne room by himself. Strange. If this were a more formal reprimand, one would think the queen would be here as well.

"Yes, I did," he confirmed, "Please, Erza. Come sit with me."

"With you, sir?" I gasped, "No. I don't think I could."

"Of course you can," His Majesty assured, ushering me over to his side, "Please. Join me."

I've never sat with royalty other than Jellal. Even that was less formal than this, yet on the same token, they're both still royalty. Conducting myself in a manner that would even suggest we were equals was unheard of. The slightest transgression would not only reflect badly on me, but on the guild as well. The king did offer, though, so it's not like I could refuse him. Jellal was a different story. His request for us to share a meal together was a much more trivial matter. Not to mention, he needed his rest. That was my way of protecting him. This seemed more of a formal request.

"Where should I sit, Your Majesty?" I asked.

"You may sit in Jellal's throne," he offered, "If anyone other than Her Majesty sits in her throne, she knows. And between you and me, she's scary after she finds that out."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I giggled a bit, hoping that was ok. I had to admit, though. Sitting in Jellal's throne…Something about it didn't feel quite right. Even calling it Jellal's throne felt weird. Like something was off. Bigger fish here, "What did you want to discuss with me, Your Majesty?"

"Not really much of a discussion," His Majesty admitted, "More or less an informal conversation. The queen has already gone to bed. But I've come to notice something in these last few weeks you've been at the palace. How have you adjusted?"

"To the best of my ability," I nodded, "Thank you. This has been beyond generous of you."

"It had to be a little better than the guild hall," he assumed.

"I don't know," I thought it over, "In all honesty, it's much quieter than the guild hall. That's for sure."

"So I've heard," His Majesty teased, "Sometimes from the furthest rooms of the palace. I've spoken to Makarov about it on more than one occasion. Do you know what he always tells me?"

"What?"

"He's tried," he laughed to himself, "But there are only so many hours in a day where he can clock them all together. Although, he does have help with that sometimes."

"I'm sure he does," I held back a smile, knowing exactly where that help comes from. It's nice to hear Master Makarov brag about me once in a while. Although, it's completely unnecessary.

"Is it true that all you have to do is walk in the room?" His Majesty wondered, "And they mostly settle down?"

"I wouldn't say that's entirely true," I clarified, "That's only with a few of them. The respect is nice. The fear is a harder pill to swallow, but whatever gets the noise to drop a little. Just enough to keep local authorities from coming over for noise complaints."

"How often does that happen?"

"A couple times a week. Give or take," I shrugged, "Depending on if I'm working a job out of town or not."

"When was the last time you were at the guild hall?" His Majesty asked.

"Today, actually," I remembered, smiling at the memory of Jellal meeting Mira. I didn't expect that to make his day that much. But whatever I can do to help, "His Highness wanted to see the guild hall, so I gave him an escort. My main troublemakers were out on a job, so things were pretty safe."

"I've always loved the Fairy Tail guild hall," he admitted, "Its tenacity astounds me."

"Sometimes, it astounds us," I told him, "Our little guild hall has seen some of the worst tragedies, yet it comes back bigger and stronger than ever. That's the true strength of the Fairy Tail guild."

"Speaking of the prince," His Majesty went on, "You two have gotten awfully close lately."

"I…" I bit the inside of my cheek, "Is that not ok? I am the one that's supposed to be watching over him and making sure he's safe. It's part of my job."

"It's fine," he allowed, settling me down, "Erza, could I tell you a story?"

"Of course, Your Majesty," I insisted, "Please."

"The prince may not appreciate me telling you this, though," His Majesty winced, "Although, I think you should hear it. The story of how he came into our lives. He may not look it, but Jellal is around your age, too. He was amongst a group of other children being held by a dark wizard. That dark wizard had put him through quite a bit. Especially when he found out Jellal was a telepath. It breaks the queen's heart to even think about the state we found him in. Exhausted, malnourished, covered in his own vomit from his migraines…A truly pitiful state. I'm sure that if she didn't already have such high respect for Makarov, another wizard would ever step foot in this palace. Dark, light, or otherwise. But we brought him here and adopted him as if he were our own. That boy has been in such a dark place for so long, Erza. However, he seems to be in higher spirits these days."

"He has," I smiled a little, "It's been wonderful to see firsthand."

"It's just that…" he continued, "He's usually so sick. And he succumbs to it so easily. It's difficult for him to maintain any sort of positivity when he's not feeling well. As if he loses all will to fight it when it does hit him. He only stays in bed and tries his best to do his duties from there. His butler helps, but some things only Jellal can do. It's heartbreaking to see. Although, lately, there's a certain lightness to him. One I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. For the first time in a very long time, he came to my study last night. We sat and talked for at least two hours. I don't think we've done that since he came to the palace. But that was when he told me everything about the absolute horrors that happened to him back then. Before I had to send for a special type of wizard…Here nor there. I'm starting to ramble. Forgive me."

"If you don't mind me saying so, Your Majesty," I corrected him, "You're not rambling. You're venting. It's not good to keep these kinds of things bottled up. I appreciate you trusting me enough to vent to me. I'd be more than happy to listen."

"If I can trust you with my son," His Majesty smiled, "I think I could trust you with myself. But I truly am starting to ramble. How was your trip to Magnolia this afternoon?"

"It was wonderful," I felt a sudden lightness in my chest, "No one knew His Highness was the Prince of Fiore. We kept his identity a secret for his own personal safety. As far as anyone knew, he and I were merely walking through Magnolia, seeing what could be seen. Although, he did manage to stir up a migraine. Fortunately, he had his medicine on him."

"He never leaves the palace without it," he assured, "How is he now? I haven't had the chance to see him yet."

"He's ok now," I reported, "He's resting. I'm sure he's asleep by now."

"That's good to hear," His Majesty approved, "You should get some rest, too, Erza. I'm sure you've also had a long day. You deserve it."

"Thank you, sir," I gave him a bow, "You're right."

"Be sure you stop by the kitchen first," he ordered, "I will not allow an empty belly in my palace."

"I will," I promised, getting up from Jellal's throne, "Is there anything else?"

"Not that I can think of."

"Alright then," I bowed one last time, "Good night, Your Majesty."

"Good night, Erza."

I left His Majesty in the throne room and walked into the kitchen. By the looks of things, all the kitchen staff had gone to bed. I'm sure I could find something in here. In all honesty, I wasn't very hungry. Jellal and I had eaten plenty while we were out that I could skip the next day or two. But who was I to turn down the king's offer? I cut a chunk of bread for myself and brought it into my room. Just as I turned the corner to my bedroom, I noticed the king coming out of Jellal's room. I put my back to the wall and let him pass without seeing me. It's nice to see him so concerned. It got me thinking how many times he's done that. After hearing more of Jellal's past, that number had to have been astronomical.

However, I needed to go to sleep. His Majesty was right. It had been a long day and I wanted nothing more than to requip into some pajamas and crawl into bed. My big, overly lavish bed that, given my own extremely humble beginnings, I never thought I'd have. Even staying in the palace still baffles me. Somehow, I ended up going from sleeping on cold, hard stone to a giant guild hall to an even bigger palace next door to the prince. The mere thought of it shocks me horribly, yet it's been my reality for almost a month now. I'm not complaining. I have no right to.

It did have me thinking about those kids we saw earlier today with Romeo. They don't exactly have it easy either. Will today be the turning point for them? Were Jellal and I their versions of the king and queen and Master Makarov? Were we the cautionary tale and the living proof that their situations aren't permanent and that they can get better? I wasn't sure. Only time would tell. And not everyone gets lucky enough to have that certain someone fall in their lap to help them out of the misery they may be in. But those kids did have Romeo. Romeo tried his hardest to help them. Granted, not in the most legal of ways, but he still tried. And I admired him for that. With that said, I shut my eyes and fell asleep.

Later that night, I sat up in bed at the sound of a knock on my door. Who in the world would be at my door this late? I'm sure it was already early morning. Everything else in the palace was awfully quiet. With the exception of the tapping on my door. I requipped myself a quick weapon, just in case it was someone trying to break into the palace. Nothing too fatal. Just a dagger. It would get my point across without too much damage. Although, once I saw who was on the other side, I put my dagger away. Even though I knew he wanted to spar against me, something tells me I could get in a lot of trouble for pulling a dagger on him.

"Your Highness," I greeted him formally, still shocked by his presence, "Is everything ok?"

"Do you think I could come in?" Jellal requested, "I had an awful nightmare and I could really use a friend."

"Sure," I nodded, "But is it ok for you to be in here at this hour?"

"It's my palace, too," he put his foot down, "Besides, no one's awake to stop me."

"Ok," I let him in, closing the door behind him, "Jellal…What happened?"

"Like I said," Jellal reiterated, taking a seat at the edge of my bed, "Nightmare. Usually, my nightmares, when I do have them, are just flashbacks to the time before I came here. What little I can remember. But that's probably for my own good."

"And now?" I wondered, sitting next to him. He wouldn't have come to me for just a normal flashback nightmare.

"I saw you," he kept quiet, "It's strange. In what little I do remember from then, you weren't there. Although, this time, you were there. You fought alongside me. Teeth bared, ready to go for the throat. I wouldn't expect you any other way. Especially in something like this. But…This was so vivid. Almost like…No. It's not that. You were probably there because you and I have spent so much time together lately."

"That's probably true," I took his hand, offering what little comfort I could in this situation, "Jellal, I was hired for a reason. Even in your dreams, I'll always be your vigilant bodyguard. It's what I'm here for."

"Thank you, Erza," Jellal smiled a little, his grip on me tightening, "That's very kind of you to say. I know you don't have any control over my dreams, but knowing you're here for me, even in my sleep, is very comforting. Could I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you think…" he wondered, thinking long and hard about what he was going to say, "Do you think we met in a past life?"

"I don't know," I thought it over for a moment or two, "Maybe we did. It did take us no time to become close. Perhaps that's by design. Whatever it is, I'm glad it happened."

"As am I," Jellal agreed, "Listen to me, rambling on. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"It's alright," I brushed him off, "There's no need for you to apologize, Jellal. My door is always open to you any time you need it. Come on. You should get back to bed."

"You should, too," he insisted, using me as a crutch to get up from my bed.

I brought Jellal next door and put him back in bed, "Are you going to be alright? Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you," Jellal shook his head, "Just some more sleep. Good night, Erza."

"Good night, Jellal." I walked back to my room and back into bed I went.

As I stared up at the ceiling, Jellal's question still burned in my brain. What if we did meet in past life? What if we knew each other before we met? Was it possible that he could be…him? No. I'm overthinking it. Although, I could hardly remember my savior's face. And I'm sure it's changed considerably in the last ten years. We both have. But I fought alongside him. In his own dream. I really was Jellal's protector, wasn't I?