A/N: Hi, guys. Just so you know, next week is going to be the last chapter. I hope you're mentally prepared for that. It's been nice having you here. ;3

I didn't expect an audience with the prince after the display his mother put on in there. Then again, I wasn't walking with the prince. Not really. Maybe for all intents and purposes, this was, in fact, the Prince of Fiore by my side. Deep down? No. I walked with Jellal's hand in mine. My Jellal. My savior. Whether the queen liked it or not.

"Erza," Jellal broke the peaceful quiet between us, "Do you remember when we took our first walk through these gardens?"

"Of course I do," I smiled a little, swept up in the nostalgia, "You had woken up from a migraine nap. You were still half asleep, if I remember correctly."

"They take a lot out of me," he defended, "Can you blame me?"

"Never," I assured, "Why do you ask about our first walk through the garden? Are there any gaps I need to fill in for you?"

"Not exactly," Jellal stared up at the vast night sky, "Just lost in thought. I remember it, too. You offered me your friendship that afternoon."

"I did," I nodded, "That offer still stands."

"What if I wanted it to be something a little more?" he stopped us, making my stomach drop.

"What do you mean?" I wondered, trying my best to not start pouring sweat.

"Erza," Jellal held my hand a little tighter, "Ever since you came to the palace, I've felt this tug in my heart. It used to be a hole until you came along. Now, I understand. It's more than just intuition. It's you, Erza. It always has been.

"You're just saying that because I watched over you," I figured.

"Really?" he chuckled to himself, "You think that's why?"

"What other reason would there be?"

"It wasn't because of you watching over me," Jellal clarified, "But because of me watching over you. Ever since we were kids, I've had this feeling. Despite what the queen said tonight, Erza, you didn't have to save me then. We were just kids. We hardly knew if we were going to live to see tomorrow. I will never ever hold that against you. Besides, all that matters is that you're protecting me now."

"Thank you, Jellal," I winced a bit, "But I'm not even doing that. I'm not your guard anymore. I quit."

"And?" he looked at me strange, "Erza Scarlet, are you really going to let a title tell you who you can and can't keep safe? From what I understand, that doesn't sound like you at all."

"I've also never protected royalty until you," I pointed out, "It may not be the lack of title stopping me but the entire royal guard."

"Erza, you and I are the same," Jellal held my hand up to his, the tips of his fingers barely covering mine, "You're just as royal as I am."

"Only without the responsibility," I retaliated, "And the coronation. And the legal documentation that says you're the son of the King and Queen of Fiore."

"Alright," he caved, "But that's only on paper. I will forever be grateful to the royal family for taking me in like one of their own. Before I had them, though, I had you. You're just as much my family, if not more. If you're not careful, I might use that title they gave me against you."

"How would you do that?" I could understand that tug he was talking about. Stone by stone, the walls tumbled down.

"It'd be a way around the royal guard," Jellal suggested, "I could just knight you."

"But I'm not a knight," I argued, "I'm just a wizard."

"You're an S-Class wizard who could requip a sabre for me if I asked nicely."

"I could," I confirmed, "But…"

"Erza," he smiled, warming me inside, "Could you lend me a sabre and kneel before your prince?"

"You know," I reached out and grabbed one of my favorite swords, unable to deny such a request, "I seem to remember you telling me you hated your title."

"If it can work in my favor," Jellal shrugged, taking my sword, "Why not use it? Kneel before me."

"Yes, Your Highness," I dropped to one knee in front of him.

"Rise," he tapped my shoulders with my blade, "Lady Titania, Knight of the Realm. May you forever serve this kingdom."

"Thank you, Your Highness," I stood up, returning my sword, "Forgive my boldness, but I thought the king was the only one who could do that."

"I acted in his stead."

"Jellal," I sighed out, "You do realize that with your restored memory, you have a long road ahead."

"I do," Jellal laced his fingers in mine, "At least I'm not traveling alone through the fog anymore."

"Never again," I vowed, "I'll be sure to see to that personally."

"You're the only one who could."

"How about we take it slow?" I advised, "I'm running on years of dealing with it. Your past…Our past…is still very new to you. I'd hate for you to get overwhelmed."

"And no matter how difficult it may be," Jellal stipulated, "You'll fill in all of the gaps?"

"I'll try my best," I gave him a nod. Then, things got quiet again. Not that it was awkward or uncomfortable. Quite the contrary. It's because nothing more needed to be said. Jellal knighted me and solidified our friendship. Possibly suggesting something beyond that friendship. All I knew was that Jellal would always have my back. And I would have his.

"Hey…Erza?"

"Hmm?" my ear perked up, "What is it, Jellal?"

Without hesitation, Jellal threw his arms around me, hugging me tight. And if I didn't know any better, I'd think I had the prince crying on my shoulder, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," I reveled in his embrace, losing myself in his warmth, fighting tooth and nail to keep my own tears to myself. However, that effort was fruitless. Along with the walls coming down tonight, as did the floodgates. And in all honesty, given my company, I was perfectly ok with that.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Jellal offered, wiping his eyes, "Somewhere less…I don't know…Stuffy and stuck up?"

"Yes, please," I nodded. Yes. He's only royal on paper, but at the end of the day, he and I are the same.

"Where would you like to go?" he took my arm as the two of us started walking back toward the palace.

In these trying times, I could only think of one place I'd love to be. Especially with him, "Do you trust me?"

"Always."

"Roland," I called out, knowing he was around here somewhere, "I need you to do me a favor."

"Yes, Erza?" Roland jumped to my side, "What is it?"

"Tell the king that Jellal and I are going into Magnolia," I ordered, "Just the king. Make sure no one else hears you."

"Yes, ma'am!" he gave me a little salute and started running off.

"Roland!" Jellal stopped him, "You realize what no one else means, don't you?"

"Given what happened earlier," Roland assumed, "Particularly the queen, Highness?"

"Good boy," I let him go, "Tell the king. We'll be back in a little while."

"Ok!" He really is a good kid at his core. Where Jellal would make an excellent king of this land one day, I had no doubt in my mind that Roland could keep him protected. He's been a good little squire in my time here and he's definitely got promise with a sword, if he keeps up his training. Although, I couldn't help but wonder what he'd be like if he gave magic a shot. Nevertheless, I had one place in all of Magnolia that I had yet to show Jellal. As much as I'd love to just go back to the guild hall and go to bed, I thought of one place better.

"A bakery?" Jellal looked over the brick building in front of us, a tad confused, "Really? This is what you wanted to show me?"

"Absolutely," I opened the door. Fortunately, we got here just before closing time, "Hello?"

"Miss Scarlet!" the baker came out from the back, "I was just about to lock the doors. How is my favorite customer?"

"Much better," I reported, "This is Jellal. He's a very good friend of mine. He had never been here before and I thought I'd show him the best Magnolia had to offer."

"You flatter me, Erza," he melted, a sudden spark twinkling in his eye, "You know what? I have something for you. Why don't you and your friend have a seat and I'll bring it to you."

"Thank you," I brought Jellal over to my favorite table by the window with the beautiful view of the canal, "The baker really is a nice man. He's treated me well over the years."

"I can see that," Jellal giggled, "How often do you come in here, Erza?"

"More than I'd care to admit," I shrugged, "But like I said. The baker has treated me well."

"After last week," the baker came out with a layer cake far too big for one person. Although, I wasn't the average one person. Nor was there only one of us here, "I thought I was going to have to schedule daily deliveries for my suppliers."

"Thank you for coming to the guild hall for me," I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to hide my shame from Jellal, "I really appreciate it."

"Of course," he gently lowered the cake onto our table, "I don't deliver for just anyone. Then again, I've never had someone place such a big order for a single…"

I glared a hole through him, hoping he'd get the message, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the baker put his keyring on the table, "Stay as long as you'd like and lock up when you're done."

"I will," I promised, already getting my fork off the table.

"Erza," Jellal's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "Isn't this a little big?"

"Not really," I told him, "I can still see you over the cake. Normally, he makes them bigger for me. I have a high metabolism."

"Clearly."

"You know, Jellal," I took his hand from across the table, "I'm glad we're back together again."

"Me, too," he smiled. However, his elation didn't last long.

"Are you ok?" I worried. The hardest step to take is the first one.

"A lot of it doesn't feel real," Jellal vented, "It's like watching a play unfold in my head. Like…These memories aren't mine."

"But they are," I assured, "Those are your memories. Because I remember them, too. It's unfortunate that it had to happen that way, but it did. And there's nothing we can do about it. What we can control is how we let it affect us."

"It's made my nightmares make a lot more sense," he laughed it off, hiding the hurt I knew raged in him, "I thought it was just something to write off. Like when you have nightmares where all your teeth fall out. Just my memories trying to make their way back to the surface."

"Hey," I lifted his chin back up, "We're going to be ok. We have each other. And you know where I live."

"You know where I live, too," Jellal smiled a little, taking a glance over my shoulder, "Hold on."

"What?" I turned around, not really understanding what was happening.

"No, no," he turned my head back, "Keep looking at me. It's a surprise."

"Jellal…"

"No," Jellal demanded, "Look at me, Erza."

"Alright," I wasn't going to fight him. Although, he looked so concentrated. But then, I understood why. A red velvet cupcake floated in front of me, "Jellal…You didn't have to do this. You've had a hard night as it is. You don't need to overwork yourself."

"That's the thing, though," he took a bite from our bigger cake, "No headache. No exhaustion. Nothing. I'm perfectly fine. In my defense, though, it was just a cupcake. It's not like I lifted an entire building."

"You're…" I held my face in my hand, "You're too much."

"You're welcome," Jellal took a knee at my feet, "Only the best for my knight."

"Your Highness, please," I could feel my cheeks burn, "It's hard to believe, thinking back on the before times, that you were the one to become royal."

"And?" he got back up, "You became a wizard. Not just a wizard, but a great one. Don't sell yourself so short."

"I wouldn't say I'm selling myself short," I pointed out, "It's more like modesty. I know I'm one of the greatest wizards Fiore has to offer. I'm just below becoming a Wizard Saint. If we're being honest, though, I could see you becoming a great wizard, too. I don't know many telepaths. You're the only one."

"I don't know about that," Jellal thought it over, "That would mean abdicating."

"Would you?" I wondered, "If it came down to it?"

"I'd think about it," he admitted, "But right now, let's just have our cake."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

This was a beautiful cake. Although, the white frosting was interesting. Usually, these cakes are nicely decorated, but this one didn't have anything going for it. However, it was an incredible cake. Mostly because the baker didn't know how to make a horrible cake. But we did leave a little money for the cupcake Jellal was so kind to give me out of the case. By the time neither one of us were in the position to move, I boxed up the rest of the cake (and I had all intentions of devouring it later in the night) and we walked back to the guild hall.

"You know," Jellal played with my fingers, "We could do this again sometime. But maybe with more moderation on the cake."

"That might have been overdoing it," I giggled, "But absolutely. Anytime. You know where the guild hall is. You're always welcome here."

"Maybe I'll come back tomorrow," he decided, "Maybe you could drop by the palace."

"Maybe," I let him go, "I can go inside the guild hall, go up the stairs, and go to bed."

"That's fine, too," Jellal pulled me into his chest, "I really did miss you, Erza. And I'm glad to have you back."

"We'll see each other soon," I promised, "Good night, Jellal."

"Good night, Erza."

"Wait…" I stopped him, "Are you going to be ok walking back to the palace by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," Jellal promised, "If anything happens, I know you'll come running."

"Without hesitation," I stepped inside, "Good night."

"Good night."

When I closed the door behind me, my entire body started buzzing. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, I was truly home. To think, I wasn't going to go to that party. All because I let my stupid pride get in the way. I thought I was protecting him, but how many times has he protected me? As much as I hated thinking about those days, I can only be more grateful for the life I've been given. Especially since the one who gave it to me just left me here. But I knew better. Our good night was not our goodbye.

"HE'S A PRINCE?!" To no surprise, Natsu bombarded me at the stairs, "THE GUY THAT THREW GRAY AND ME AROUND LIKE WE WERE RAGDOLLS WITHOUT EVEN LAYING A FINGER ON US IS THE PRINCE OF FIORE?"

"Yes," I let him have that, swallowing the hitch in my throat, "But he's more than that, Natsu. So much more."

"But seriously, Erza…" Natsu calmed down a little. Or so I thought, "JELLAL IS A FREAKING PRINCE?!"

"Yes, Natsu," I giggled, hugging this idiot tight, "Good night."

"Wait a second!" he called after me while I walked upstairs, "Erza! You can't just leave me hanging like that! I want answers!"

"Good night, Natsu," I slipped into my bedroom. I'll give him all the answers he wants in the morning. But for now, I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. It had been a long night and I wanted to go to bed. I did a quick requip into some pajamas and crawled into my bed.

I just hope I did the right thing when I restored Jellal's memories. Maybe I should've gone back to the palace with him. Just in case. It's not like anyone else is going to know the kind of suffering he's been through. Not firsthand like I did. But I can trust one thing. He's strong. And he can get through this. Because he knows I'll come running. The moment he needs something, I know who he'll go to first. Good night, my prince…My savior…