A/N: Happy New Year, my beautiful babes. It's lovely to see you on this wonderful day. I can feel it in the pit of my stomach that this year is going to be much better than the last. Now, normally, I start out the year with a clean slate of new stories, but…Well…We're going to go on with this one. Because idiot me decided to start a new lineup in November. But that's ok. What matters is that I got you and you got me. Our brief moment of time together each day (that is, if you're here every day. But if you're not, that's cool, too.) Regardless, I'm going to shut up and let you get into it, yeah? How's that sound?

The next morning, I woke up with a few aches and pains in muscles I forgot I had. I might have overdone it with Roland yesterday. He does show great promise, though. If he gets angry before any sort of fight, Roland could do some serious damage. I'm impressed. Regardless, I hurt in more places than I'd like to admit. I'll be ok, though. It's just a few spots in my arms and legs.

Until a sudden throb in my eyes made me nervous. That's not good. No. I'll be ok. It's just a headache. If I get out of bed and get moving, I'll feel better. It's not going to turn into a migraine. I'm going to go about my day like nothing happened. Just the few bumps and bruises from sparring with Roland yesterday. Other than that, I'm fine.

I shook it off and headed out to check on Jellal. Another piercing pain shot through my head. Oh, no. No. I'm not having a migraine. Not today. Out of nowhere, my vision started blurring. I haven't had one this bad in a long time. I'm ok. I'm ok. I'm ok. At least I think so. I hope so. I'm not having a migraine today. I refuse.

"Ms. Scarlet," Jellal's butler came out of his room with Jellal's breakfast dishes in his arms, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I hoped, "Thank you."

"Are you sure?" he worried, "You have the same look on your face the prince gets once in a while."

"I'll muddle through," I brushed him off, "What does the prince's schedule look like for today?"

"He has a fitting for next week's party," he filled me in, "Aside from that, he has a clear schedule."

"Good." At least it's going to be an easy day. The butler left me outside Jellal's door while I tried my hardest to push through the potential storm brewing in my head. I could do this. As long as I don't have to overexert myself, I'll manage. It'll just be a fitting for Jellal. I can do it.

"Good morning, Erza," Jellal came out.

"Good morning, Your Highness," I put on as much of a smile as I could muster up. He didn't need to know. He has plenty to worry about.

"Shall we get going then?" I saw it all over his face. Jellal wasn't going to let me slide. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Of course." However, I was all too aware of the problem. I just hope it doesn't escalate further than this.

As always, I stood by vigilantly while the two of us were in the tailor's shop. Jellal thumbed through different swatches of luxury fabrics. Is it me or are these lights in here way too bright? As much as I wanted to kill them all, I didn't want to cause a scene. Instead, I just shut my eyes, hoping that would help. Unfortunately, it only made me dizzier. Before I could trip over myself, I sought refuge against a nearby wall. This isn't going any further. I will not allow it.

But because Erza's not allowed nice things, my stomach had entirely different plans. A slight burp was all it took. And to make matters worse, Jellal immediately took notice, "Erza? Are you alright?"

"Excuse me, Your Highness," I paid him his proper respect and bolted for a secluded trash can, spilling what once was my breakfast into it. Why? Why does it have to be this bad? I thought I was over these. Yet once in a while, a migraine would strike me down. No. I'm ok. I can just shake this off like nothing happened. It wouldn't be the first time. It certainly won't be the last. I'll be ok. If I could excuse myself for this, I'm sure Jellal would be ok while I found some painkillers. And some water. Just enough to rinse the taste out of my mouth.

When I walked back into the tailor's shop, I pretended like nothing happened. It'd be best for everyone involved. I didn't want to make Jellal worry about me. He didn't have to. Although, I knew I wouldn't be able to decide that for him. As soon as I rejoined them, Jellal was at my side, "Erza…?"

"Yes, Your…?"

"Drop it," he cut me off, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," I lied through my teeth, trying to shake the sudden screeching sound in my ear. Oh, wonderful. Any more symptoms care to plague me today? Because I'm pretty sure they're all here. I did my best to breathe through it, "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Jellal knew better. Of course he did. He had the same problem I did. Jellal took an orange bottle out of his cloak pocket and shook one tablet from it, "Here."

"Jellal," I kept my voice down, "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," he stood his ground, "Erza, I know a bad migraine when I see one. Please. Take it. I promise it'll make it all better."

"I don't…"

"No," Jellal put the medicine in my hand, "You can't protect me when you're not in top condition. And I don't want to see you so miserable like this. Please. Take it now and it'll be over in about ten minutes."

"Really?" I gave him a look, the sudden movement making me nauseous again.

"I've been taking it for as long as I can remember," he explained, "I know how well it works."

There was no denying it anymore. I knew I was in pain. I knew I was miserable. And I knew waiting for it to pass wasn't always an option. I had someone counting on me for protection. Letting him down was not happening. I threw Jellal's medicine down my throat and waited for it to kick in, "Thank you, Jellal."

"You're welcome," Jellal took my hand, "Don't suffer like that again."

"Is that an order, Your Highness?" I smiled a little.

"Absolutely," he giggled a bit to himself, "Go sit down for a minute. When the medicine kicks in, come back here. I'll need you then."

"For what?" I wondered, "If you don't mind me asking."

"A second opinion," Jellal insisted, "Granted, I have a general idea of what I want, but a second opinion wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Alright." Who was I to turn him down? I found a bench outside and let the cool, fresh air blow through me. Once I got comfortable, I could feel the pressure in my eyes start to go away. The nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach dissipated. Lights still seemed a little bright, but I'm sure that would go away, too. Wow. Jellal wasn't kidding when he said this medicine worked fast. Even the slight whining in my ear had gone away. Even though my migraines were far and few in between, I wouldn't mind having some of that on hand. Just in case one this bad kicks up again.

With a new lease on life, I got up from the bench and walked back into the shop. Jellal stood on a platform with his tailor next to him, getting a better look at one of the samples the tailor had on hand. Jellal caught a glimpse of me in the mirror, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," I joined him, "Now, what were you wanting my opinion on?"

"I'm torn," he admitted, looking himself over, "There was a dark red one I liked, but…I don't know. Something about the dark blue one…"

"I like this one," I decided, "With some gold trim on it. That'd be really nice."

"I think so, too," Jellal approved, "We'll take this one."

"Will that be all, Your Highness?" the tailor asked.

"Well," Jellal thought it over, "What do you have on hand that would match it? Say…For my lady friend here?"

"Excuse me?" I perked up. Now, I understood why he wanted me feeling better. Not just out of the goodness of his heart. Perhaps I'm just overthinking.

"I have a couple options," the tailor took a quick look at me, "Would you like me to bring them out?"

"Please," Jellal insisted.

"Your Highness," I stopped him, but the tailor had already gone to the storeroom, "Jellal, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"This is not nothing," I stood my ground, "I couldn't…I appreciate your generosity, but I really couldn't…"

"Please?" Jellal begged, "Indulge me. Just this once. Then, I promise you'll never have to do anything like this ever again."

"Fine," I let him have this one. Just this once, "One time. We'll call this even for curing my migraine."

"Thank you!"

The tailor came back out with a long, dark blue and gold dress and handed me the bag. Well…Here goes nothing. By the looks of it, this may actually be in my size, too. The neckline wasn't too low. The straps weren't too thin. This was nice. I quickly got changed and took one look in the mirror before showing Jellal. It was still hard for me to believe I mingled with royals on a day to day basis. The fact that I considered the prince a friend at this point still blew my mind. But this…I looked in the mirror and didn't even recognize myself. I've done a million and one wardrobe changes throughout the course of my life (most of them magically induced), but never did I think this would be one of them.

With a deep breath, I walked out to Jellal and stood on the platform next to him, "Well?"

"It needs to be taken in at the waist," the tailor pulled it back, "But other than that, this is a nice fit for you, Ms. Scarlet."

"Thank you," I smiled a bit, not expecting to try this on in the first place, let alone get a compliment.

"Do it," Jellal demanded, hiding his face a little, "And we'll take that, too."

"Jel…" I stopped myself, realizing we were in mixed company. For a brief moment, I forgot my position, "Your Highness, no. I humored you. That's as far as we were going to go with it, remember? I'm just your knight."

"That doesn't mean you don't deserve nice things," Jellal insisted, "Do the alterations you need to do and have it, along with my suit, sent to the palace please."

"Yes, Your Highness," the tailor agreed, already pinning it where it needed the alterations, "If you could very carefully take that off, please…"

"Sure," I went back to the dressing room and changed back into my normal clothes. After Jellal paid the man, the two of us left the shop and took a walk around Magnolia. Things seemed rather peaceful today. All the shops were open. The weather was perfect. And to make things even better, my migraine had completely gone away. As far as I was concerned, we could chalk this up as a good day.

"Erza…" Jellal broke the silence between us, "Do you think you could indulge me a little further today?"

"That depends," I was a bit wary. After the last thing he asked of me, I've learned to be skeptical, "What is it?"

"Well," he brought me over to the fountain in the city square, the two of us taking a brief rest, "For this upcoming party, I'm in need of an escort. My mother wants to choose one for me and I know if I let her do that, she'll likely be some princess from a neighboring kingdom that I won't have a single thing in common with. Or worse, she'll attempt to talk my ear off about something that barely interests me. So, instead of having my mother choose my escort for me, I was hoping you would be my escort."

"Me?" I gasped, "I don't know, Jellal. If I'm your escort, who's going to be watching your back?"

"I have no doubt in my mind you could pull double duty," Jellal begged, "Come on, Erza. I don't want to put up with an airheaded princess. That is not a way I want to spend my night. And I really don't want it to end up in my mother arranging a marriage for the sake of politics. Please. Save me from that."

"I'd love to," I decided, settling him down before he threw himself into a nosebleed, "I'll talk to the queen when we get back to the palace and see what she has to say about it."

"Thank you, Erza," he relaxed, "I love my mother, but…She can be a handful to talk to sometimes."

"I understand," I remembered meeting Jellal's mother. If I said she gave me a warm welcome, I'd be lying. Gray has made statues warmer than this woman. Her title aside.

It's for Jellal, though. He didn't deserve that kind of stress on his shoulders. It'd only throw him into a migraine and after the one I dealt with today, he doesn't need that either. When we got back to the palace, I left Jellal in his study and walked into the throne room where the king and queen had finally sent off their last complaint for the day.

"Excuse me, Your Majesties," I stood in the doorway, waiting for my invitation, "Could I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Erza," His Majesty ushered me in, "You're always welcome in here. Is everything alright?"

"Forgive me, sir," I took my bow, "But this is more a discussion for Her Majesty."

"Yes, Erza," Her Majesty allowed, "What is it?"

"The party next week," I began, "His Highness and I were discussing it earlier."

"Yes," she gave me a look, "What about it?"

"He has chosen his escort," I bit the inside of my cheek, doing my best to keep a level head in this situation, preparing to lower the boom, "Me."

"No."

I can't say I was expecting anything different. Although, her bluntness kind of caught me off guard. Regardless, I shook it off, "Might I ask why? Who would be better to escort him than his usual bodyguard?"

"A lovely young lady who understands the protocols," Her Majesty stood by her decision, "And not his…Wizard."

Wow…She really went right for the throat, didn't she? I didn't like the acidity in her voice. His Majesty leaned over to her, taking my side. He always did show me quite a kindness. Much like his son, "My queen, she makes a good point. If she were his escort…"

"I said no!" her voice thundered angrily around the room, "This will be the end of this conversation. I've had enough of it. Now, leave."

"Yes," I gave her one final bow, doing my best to keep my emotions in check, "I understand."

I left the king and queen in the throne room and went back to my bedroom. It had gotten late and a little sleep would probably do me some good. I stared up at the ceiling, lacking the courage to tell Jellal the bad news. I didn't understand it. Why didn't she like me? What have I ever done to warrant her attitude? I've been keeping a close watch over her son. I've been nothing but polite with her. But no. Just no. The word burned in the pits of my heart, tearing me apart from the inside.

I didn't expect it to get to me this bad. I wanted to fight her with every ounce of strength I had left in me. But I couldn't. Because of her status over me, I had a gag over my mouth. I'm sorry, Jellal. I asked, but she wasn't having it. Maybe he can talk her into it. After all, she is his mother. He is her son. She wouldn't say no to him…Right?