A week after the party at the palace, I had woken up with a much lighter feeling in my chest. The gentle breeze from my bedroom window blew between my toes and the warm sun shined down on my skin. To put the cherry on top, I got the best night of sleep I've had in so long. After being torn to shreds by the queen in a public forum, His Majesty apologized on her behalf and offered me my old job back. However, I turned him down. As much as I liked staying at the palace, I didn't belong there. I missed being a wizard.

Part of being a wizard meant getting out of bed. Hopefully, we'll have a few things to choose from on the request board. Something about it being so bare made me uneasy. As I stood at the top of the stairs, still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I took a moment to appreciate where I was. Home. This was home. This was where I lay my head at night and where I wake up to the best family I will ever have. No matter how manic they may be sometimes. And I wouldn't expect anything less. By the looks of things, everyone's here, too.

And I do mean everyone. When I walked not the main room of the guild hall, I noticed Natsu and Gray making a new friend. Well…I say new. It's not like they hadn't met before. At least this time, they were both still on the floor. Even though he wasn't exactly part of the guild, it was cute to see my boys getting along so nicely.

"Good morning, boys," I took my appropriate bow, "Your Highness…"

"Lady Titania," Jellal gave me a nod and the empty seat next to him, "Good morning."

"Lady Titania?" Natsu teased, "That's an awfully fancy title you have there, Erza."

"Since when were you knighted?" Gray wondered.

"The prince knighted me last week," my heart melted, "Speaking of the prince, are you traveling without your security detail, Jellal?"

"Yeah," Jellal hid his face, "Sort of. I might have ran off on him."

"Jellal," I sighed out, "Roland is soft and simple. You can't do that to him."

"But he knew where I was going," Jellal recovered, "Anyone at the palace knows if they can't find me, chances are, I'm either here or with you, so no one worries. The freedom is nice."

"I'm sure it is," I nodded, "But that doesn't mean you can run off on Roland."

"I suppose you're right…"

"And another one falls victim," Natsu chimed in, "Such a tragedy."

"What do you mean?" Jellal perked up.

"Erza's mom voice," Gray explained, "It's pretty biting. It's happened to all of us at one point or another. But usually, it's for a good reason."

"I do not have a mom voice," I defended, "I mostly stop you two from doing anything stupid and reckless. But then, you turn around and do it anyway."

"Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission," Natsu shrugged, "Besides, I believe our stupidity has gotten us out of some things."

"By sheer dumb luck," I rolled my eyes, "What brings you to the guild hall, Jellal?"

"I didn't want to wake you," Jellal began.

"Good call, dude," Natsu agreed, "Erza first thing in the morning is not a pretty sight."

"Natsu," I growled, "If you'd like to keep sitting where you are instead of being stuck in the ceiling, I suggest backing off now."

"Mira said I could wait down here," Jellal went on, "And Natsu, I've seen her first thing in the morning. I've woken her up before. And it was still a beautiful sight."

"Jellal…" I blushed a little, "You were also coming down from a nightmare."

"I wouldn't call that a nightmare," he stared down into the table, "Not anymore. I'd call that my brain's way of trying to show me the truth. At least until you did."

"I'm sorry for that," I bit the inside of my cheek, "I didn't…"

"No," Jellal stopped me, "It's ok. I'm not here for a therapy session. I was actually wondering if you were busy today."

"Well," I thought it over, "I could use a job. It's been a while since I've had one of those that didn't involve watching over royalty."

"You're welcome."

"But," I decided, a little smile on my face, "I suppose I could skip out on it for today. It's not like I'm going destitute any time soon. I did just serve the royal family for a while and that had quite the pay off. Why? What did you have in mind?"

"Aww…" Natsu gushed, leaning over toward Gray, "Isn't that cute? Erza's got a date with the prince. She may not be his knight for too long and end up his princess."

"And that prince can also let you sit in the rafters for the day with no chance of getting down," Jellal retaliated, defending my honor, "I wouldn't say it's a date, but it's nice to spend time with her, just the two of us."

"That sounds like a date, man," Natsu finished his drink, "But I'd rather not sit up in the rafters."

"Don't let Salamander taint my rafters like that," Gajeel laughed to himself, "Although, it'd be fun to watch him squirm for a while."

"Gajeel, please," Levy held her face in her hands, "Can't you and Natsu just play nice for a change?"

"What?" Gajeel defended, "I thought that was me being nice."

"No, it wasn't," Levy argued, "But don't worry. Our time will come soon enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see."

Levy was up to something. I could tell.

"Come on, Jellal," Natsu whined, "It's not bad enough that I have to deal with him. I don't want to have to spend the day on the rafters with Gajeel…I thought you and me were buddies!"

"Sorry, Natsu," Jellal got up from the table, "Erza watches my back. I watch hers. I'm sure you understand. You do have Lucy after all."

"Did I hear my name?" Lucy called out from the request board with Happy sitting on her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it, Lucy," Natsu brushed her off…along with his mild case of embarrassment.

"So," I wondered, ignoring them completely, "What did you have in mind?"

"I can't tell you," Jellal smirked, "That's a surprise."

"Can you tell us?" Natsu listened intently.

"I can't tell you either," Jellal shook his head, "I'd rather it not be screamed to the entire guild."

"WHAT?!"

"Look at that, Natsu," I teased, beaming with pride, "He's hardly met you and already, Jellal has you in a box."

"Natsu," Lucy joined the rest of us, "He's got a point. Need I remind you of Gray's surprise party a few years ago? How you were the last one to find out about it?"

"Oh…" Natsu hung his head in shame.

"Alright then," Jellal took my hand, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely."

I didn't like being kept in the dark on most things. However, I also trusted Jellal with my life. How could I not? He could've thrown me to the wolves ten years ago, but instead, he pointed me in the direction of safety and comfort and the chance for a future. Whatever the surprise may be, I know it's meant with the purest of intentions. Although, when we started walking toward the outskirts of Magnolia and into the woods, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous.

"Jellal…?" I treaded lightly, "Where are we going?"

"I told you," Jellal reiterated, "It's a surprise. I thought we could go out in the middle of the woods like they were the gardens at the palace. Besides, this isn't quite the surprise yet."

"Then, what's the surprise?" I asked.

"Well," he began, "Do you remember how I said I had been at the guild hall since before you woke up?"

"Yes," I nodded, "What about it?"

"I wasn't only talking to Mira," Jellal smiled a little, "I was having a word with Master Makarov as well."

"I didn't even know Master was in this morning," I remember him saying something last night about how he was going to let Icepick sit and rot for a while before he bailed him out again. And how he owed him enough favors as it is. I'm not sure about some of the shadier things Master Makarov has gotten himself involved in, but I figure it's not my place to ask.

"He was," Jellal continued, "But after I was done speaking with Makarov, I did get to see Mira again. And…There's something I want to show you, but you have to promise me you won't get angry."

"Jellal," I took his hands, "I owe my entire life to you. Past, present, and future. Nothing you could do would ever make me angry. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"That's good to hear," he undid a few buttons on his shirt and reveled a bright, beautiful red mark on his chest. It looked an awful lot like the one I had on my arm, only mine was blue, "I'm assuming you know what this is."

"That's…" my heart stopped, "Jellal, that's the guild mark for Fairy Tail…Did you…?"

"I did," Jellal confirmed, redoing his buttons, "That was one of the things I had to talk to Makarov about. I don't have to abdicate my throne. I am, for all intents and purposes, still the Prince of Fiore. That hasn't changed. However, on that same token, I am also the newest member of the Fairy Tail guild. I wanted you to be the first person I told."

"Jellal…" I was completely dumbfounded. Out of all the things he could've done, he joins a guild? And not just any guild, but the loudest, roughest, most notorious guild to ever exist? I wasn't sure how to feel about this. In the end, I suppose it is his decision. I reached out and touched his guild mark, still not sure if any of this was real. Maybe I was still asleep at the guild hall.

"I know," Jellal backed off, "I should've talked to you about it first. But I figured this would be better. That way, you couldn't talk me out of it."

"And you know I would have," I chuckled a little.

"It's like Natsu said," he smiled back, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness. What's done is done and whether you like it or not, I'm just as part of your guild as you are."

"I wouldn't say that," I punched a tree down to the stump, needing to get a little aggression out. To say I relied solely on my magic would be an insult, "You did just join after all. You may be royal by technicality, Jellal, but you still need to rise in the ranks."

"And to do that," Jellal took a seat next to me on the fallen tree, "I'd need to shadow an S-class wizard for a while. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find one on such short notice, would you?"

"You know I'd be happy to," I agreed, "But what about your head? I thought your magical abilities triggered your migraines if you used them too much."

"I haven't had a migraine in a couple weeks," he reported, "Not even the slightest inkling of a headache. Yet I've still been practicing my magic. Once in a while, I'd use it on myself and float above my bed. Worried my mother sick. But after a while, I'd come back down. And no headaches. No migraines."

"That's good," I let out a heavy sigh of relief, "I will let you shadow me on one condition."

"Name it."

"You take decent rest breaks after you use your magic," I put my foot down, "I don't need you getting sick in the middle of battle."

"Deal," Jellal rested his head on my shoulder, "Erza…"

"What is it, Jellal?" I put an arm around him, "Are you alright?"

"I'm very alright," he assured, "I'm so glad we found each other again."

So was I. For the longest time, I thought I found a home in the guild. Of course, I still did. However, I still had a part of me missing. For ten long years, I thought I'd never find that part. All because I was so scared of looking into my past for answers. But now, I had all the answers I needed. Right by my side. Now, I could finally move on. We could move on. Together.

A/N: Hi, guys. For those of you who stuck it out this far, pat yourself on the back. Because it has been an absolute pleasure to write this story. Although, I didn't write it for you. I didn't even write it for me. Do you want to know why I've been writing this Fairy Tail series? To get a little one to like reading. And I'll be honest. The ego stroke he gives me is great for my self-esteem, too. But now, this journey has come to an end. But fret not, my friends. Because this Fairy Tail adventure isn't quite over. We're going to hit the reset button and try a little something different for the next one. The funny thing is, you already know what it is. It's been real, but I'm going to go now. I won't be gone long, though. The new volume will be out on March 4th, if you're reading this in real time. We're going to take a 3 week break, so in 21 sleepies from now, we'll be back to more fun and adventures with Fiore's most notorious guild. Love you. xx