A/N: Hi, guys! I totally forgot to talk to you last week, Moonwalker. I'm sorry. The way this has been going lately, it's just been, bam, bam, post a chapter. I promise I'm usually better at that. I like talking to you guys and I feel like I've been straying away from that. But yes. I did add the tags just for you. I could've sworn I did that when I posted it originally, but here we are. Now, as a side note, I had my beta read this a week or two ago and he kind of didn't talk to me for a while after. I mean, we're good now. We're family. But here nor there. I'm going to shut up and let you read now, k?

After a day of careful thought and deliberation (and my inability to stop staring at the royal invitation on my nightstand), I've come to a decision. I can't. I'm not doing it. Even if it is on guild business, Master Makarov is going to have to find someone else to do it. Because that someone can't be me. I woke up on the morning (or…Let's be honest, the afternoon) of and it was my waking thought. I'll be spending my evening either here in the guild hall or down the street at the bakery, eating myself into a sugar coma.

It wasn't until I heard a gentle knock at my door later in the afternoon that I even gave the party a thought. Don't be Jellal. Don't be Roland. Don't be Mira saying it's either one of them. I had enough guilt in my heart over not going in the first place, "Yes?"

"Erza?" Huh…Not who I was expecting, "Are you busy?"

"No," I let her in, "What is it, Lucy?"

"I thought you were going to the palace tonight," Lucy came in, sitting beside me.

"I opted against it," I admitted. If anyone would have somewhat of an understanding of my current struggle, it'd be Lucy. She knew what it was like to mingle among them. Although that life is behind her now, that didn't mean she wouldn't still understand.

"Why?" she wondered, "I thought you and the prince were close friends."

"We were…" my chest ached. How was Lucy supposed to know? It's not like I talked about it. Or even really came out of my room since I came back, "But I really shouldn't. The invitation isn't even mine. It's Master Makarov's. He told me I should stop feeling sorry for myself and go anyway. But the party's in an hour and the palace isn't a place for me. I don't belong there."

"Yes, you do," Lucy insisted, "I know you do. Erza, you were there for how long?"

"About four months."

"And in the times you'd come back to the guild hall," she went on, "You would come back here with Jellal and I had never seen you so happy. So…In your element. It was him, wasn't it? Jellal…The prince of Fiore."

"How did you know?" No sense in beating around the bush anymore.

"I had a feeling," Lucy smiled, "Besides, your orders were to watch the prince. And you wouldn't go back on those. It's your guiding principle, Erza. You protect those you care about. And that includes your assignment. But he became more than just your assignment, didn't he?"

"You're good," I stared in disbelief, "How did you know that?"

"I could tell," she giggled to herself, "And have you just met me? I know what that looks like."

"I should know better," I laughed with her, "But as much as I appreciate the cheering up, Lucy, I think I'm still going to stay home tonight. I don't have the time to get ready for a party with royals involved that I wasn't even technically invited to."

"That's not necessarily true," Lucy offered, "if you want, I can help you. It shouldn't take very long. Maybe forty-five minutes? That leaves you fifteen to get to the palace."

No one was really going to let me have a choice about this, were they? Maybe that's fate's way of telling me to go back, "Alright, Lucy. How do you figure you're going to help me and have me be ready before the party starts?"

"Not without a little divine intervention," she reached for her keyring and pulled out one of her gold keys, "Open, Gate of the Giant Crab…Cancer!"

Out of the celestial gate popped one of Lucy's spirits. I've seen Cancer a time or two before. There wasn't much to him. He truly was a giant crab. But he was also one of Lucy's stronger spirits, "What can I do for you, Miss Lucy?"

"You're not here for me," Lucy decided, "You're here for Erza."

"Lucy," my heart melted. Sometimes, this girl could be so sweet, "You didn't have to do that for me. I still don't even know if I'm going."

"What's holding you back, baby?" Cancer asked, already getting to work.

"I…" For the first time since this all started, I wasn't entirely sure. Being back at the guild hall gave me time to think, but all I've done is stuff my face with cake and lie in bed completely numb. I knew exactly what it was. I just didn't want to say it out loud, "I was in over my head when I stepped foot in that palace. I should've known better than to let my guard down. All that got me was pain."

"In other words," Cancer assumed, "You fell in love."

"Well," a sudden knot formed in the pit of my stomach, "I don't know about that. Maybe. I might have done something stupid like that."

"That's not stupid, Miss Erza," Cancer pointed out, "That's life. That's a beautiful thing. It happens to the best of us sooner or later. And that's ok. It's proof we're alive. It gives us something worth living for. Sometimes, it can even save us from ourselves."

"Cancer," Lucy awed, "That was beautiful."

"I've seen it from you from the celestial realm for ages, Miss Lucy," Cancer pointed out, "You and the little dragon slayer. You both fight for each other. You want to protect each other. Despite wanting to occasionally kill each other at the end of the day, there's no one else in this world either one of you would rather be with. And if that's not love, I don't know what is. It's the same way with Aquarius and Scorpio, if Scorpio would ever let Aquarius do any of the heavy lifting. They're adorable. But she'd kill me for saying that, so if you could keep that between us…"

"Got it," Lucy promised, just as afraid of Aquarius and her wrath as Cancer was.

However, Cancer did have a point. I wasn't sure if I was in love with Jellal, but I knew I wanted to protect him. More than anyone else in the world. Almost as if it's what I was put on this Earth to do. I thought me leaving was how I could protect him the most, but in hindsight, after everything Roland told me, I only hurt him. That was never my intention, but I was hoping he'd get over it. Looks like I was wrong.

"Erza," Lucy begged, "You have to go to this party. If not for yourself, for him."

"Besides," Cancer added, "I don't want my good work to go to waste."

I had been so numb to this entire experience. My venting had taken over. I had no idea Cancer had been doing anything. Either that or he was that good. I looked in the mirror at the intricate braiding running from my face to the back, joining into the rest of my hair carefully piled on top of my head. Cancer did a good job. I'll give him that. And it was nice to get some life advice from a celestial being.

"So?" Lucy waited with bated breath, "Are you going to the party tonight or are you still staying in the guild hall?"

"Well…" I hid a little smile, "I guess I could go to the party. Cancer did work hard for me and come all this way from the celestial realm."

"Yay!" she sang out, "Good…I thought I was going to have to resort to conspiracy with Natsu."

"What?"

"Do you want to borrow a dress, Erza?" Lucy offered, "I have a few in my closet I could go get."

"Don't worry about it," I stood up, casting a little requip spell. If I was going to a party with the royal family involved, I might as well look the part. And…Well…The prince did ask nicely, "I got it handled."

"Wow, Erza…" she gasped, looking over the dark blue and gold detailing on my long dress, "It's…It's beautiful. When did that get added to your repertoire of requipping spells?"

"Actually, it didn't," I admitted, "A couple weeks ago, Jellal and I needed to see his tailor anyway and he asked him if they had anything in the back that would match him for me."

"So, the feeling's mutual," Cancer figured, "Alright. I can dig it."

"Wait a second!" Lucy's heart stopped, "Jellal picked this out?"

"He wanted me to be his escort tonight," I shuddered at the memory of me asking the queen's permission, "However, that wasn't allowed. The prince needed to be escorted by another royal, not…Not his wizard. The queen was deciding for him."

"His escort?!" a little line of blood trickled out of Lucy's nose. Fortunately, I got her to sit down before she collapsed.

I stuck my head out of my bedroom door, "Natsu! Lucy's about to pass out! Can you come get her please?"

"Coming!" the thundering pitter patter of Natsu's feet up the stairs could be heard throughout the kingdom.

"And I suppose you can go back to your gate, Cancer," I allowed in her stead, "Thank you."

"Anytime, baby…" Cancer slipped back into his gate, returning to the celestial realm.

"What about Luc…" Natsu walked in, stopping dead in his tracks, only to let out one long whistle, "Wow, Erza…What's the occasion you look like a centerfold?"

"Natsu…" Lucy growled, coming to again. I'm not sure if that was deliberate on Natsu's part to get her to snap out of her shock, but it worked.

"I have a party to attend to at the palace," I grabbed Master Makarov's invitation off my nightstand, "And if you ever whistle at me again like that, I will rip your tongue out of your mouth and hang you with it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Natsu immediately straightened up.

"Good," I checked the clock, "I'm glad we understand each other, but I need to be going. Thank you, Lucy."

"You would've done the same for me," Lucy let me go, "Now, go get your prince."

"Prince?" Natsu scoffed, "Erza? No. She's not going after the Prince of Fiore."

"Natsu…" Lucy let out a heavy, exasperated sigh, "I'll explain to you later."

"Explain what?"

"I suggest going now, Erza," Lucy insisted, "Before Natsu has an aneurysm. This is a special night and you don't need to deal with him."

"Thank you, Lucy," I gave her a nod, silently wishing her luck. And I started heading out of the guild hall as inconspicuously as possible.

"JELLAL?! THAT JELLAL?!" I bet if he listened close enough, Jellal could probably hear Natsu's voice from the palace. Even over all the conversation and the music. I see Lucy waited until I was gone before she dropped the bomb on Natsu. She's a good friend.

Regardless, I needed to get to the palace. I didn't have time to deal with Natsu's shenanigans. By the time I got there, people were already starting to pour into the palace. No doubt, eighty percent of them were more royals from neighboring kingdoms. A couple Wizard Saints. Now, I understand why Master Makarov was invited. He wouldn't be the only Wizard Saint here. However, I wasn't here for them. I had bigger plans in mind for my evening.

"Erza!" I heard my name being called out from the crowd. And I could only think of one person as to who it may be.

"Hello, Roland," I smiled, knowing he meant well the last time he and I saw each other, "It's good to see you again."

"You look incredible," he awed, quickly snapping back into his head, "I mean…You know…Me speaking as your subordinate and you as my superior and all…And…"

"Roland, it's alright," I settled him before he and Lucy shared the same fate, "I'll take the compliment. Thank you. As nice it is to talk to you, I'm here on a more significant mission…If you know what I mean."

"I know exactly what you mean!" Roland nearly came out of his skin, "You're looking for His Highness, aren't you?"

"That's the one," I nodded, "You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

"I do!" I missed Roland's energy. He had his moments where he was about as spastic as Natsu, but it was nice to have it back. Why did I ever leave the palace? That was a dumb move on my part, "He's over here! Come with me!"

This was it. Roland and I fought through the crowd on our great, grand search for Jellal. I needed to tell him. Talking to Cancer did wonders for me. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right. In my time at the palace, I managed to fall in love with Jellal. Plain and simple. And it scared me. It downright terrified me. Aside from it being wildly inappropriate for me to fall for the one I was assigned to protect, I didn't even know if he would come close to feeling the same. However, with the revelations Roland brought to light when he came to the guild hall, there's no way he didn't. Not much could bring Jellal down other than his migraines. But…Maybe he loves me, too. There's only one way to find out.

"Excuse me, Your Highness," Roland bowed, paying his proper respect, "I have someone here who would like to see you."

"Your Highness," I, too, paid my due respect. We always did say we still needed to be formal in mixed company, "Go ahead, Roland. I think I can handle it from here."

"Ok," Roland ran off to God knows where and left me alone with the prince.

I missed him. I missed him so much. And now…I finally get to tell him face to face, "Hello, Jellal."

Jellal smiled at me sweetly, warming me inside. But then, he squinted his eyes, almost as if he were confused, "I'm sorry, Miss. Do I know you?"