Erza I

When Erza regained consciousness, she certainly wasn't in the guild anymore. Much to the contrary, she was in what looked like a field. Jumping to her feet, she looked around her. This didn't look like any land she knew, since it certainly didn't look like Fiore.

Getting to her feet, she scanned the area. She was surrounded by lush meadows as far as she could see, with rolling hills in the distance. Since those hills were the highest points she could see, she headed over to those.

Once she got to the top of the hill, she got a look at her surroundings. She noticed even more rolling meadows, which didn't give Erza any real indication as to where she was. However, one thing she did notice was what looked like a road carving through the land.

"Well, its better than nothing," she said out loud, before heading down to it. However, when she got to it, it seemed that this "road", wasn't so much that, as it was a beaten trail. If anything, Erza had seen mountain trails in better condition than this. After some time of walking, she came upon a small stream, which she promptly took a drink from. Savoring the cool liquid running down her throat, she only just managed to notice something floating down the river. Quickly collecting it, the knight found that it was a rag doll. Deducing it came from upstream, Erza decided to make it her mission to return it, if only to help a sad little girl, and hopefully find some people.

Traveling up the river seemed quicker than traveling by road, possibly because she wasn't crossing over the hills while doing it. Eventually, she saw in the distance, what looked like a watermill. Smiling at the sight of civilization, she hurried up the stream. However, as she got closer, she noticed that the mill seemed to be a state of disrepair, and was only just in working condition. Erza wondered if this was the doll came from, but honestly couldn't imagine someone living in such a place. She was also happy to see a woman outside of the cabin, in front of a water basin, apparently washing clothes.

"Hello!" Erza called, waving. The woman looked up, and after a moment, she smiled.

"Greetings my Lady," she said, standing up, "What brings you to these parts?" Erza briefly looked over the woman. She looked to be in her thirties, and would've been pretty, if not for how dirty she was. Her clothes weren't so much "clothes", as they were rags stitched together. Her hair was under a wrapping, though a few brown locks emerged from under it.

"Its a long story," Erza said with a smile, "But wandering is what brought me here." The woman looked over Erza for a time.

"That armor certainly isn't Bretonnian, are you from the Empire?" she asked. Erza wasn't sure what she meant. She'd never heard of "Bretonnia", and Erza didn't know of any countries in Ishgar that took the title of "Empire". Perhaps the vortex spat her out on an entirely different continent.

"So where are you from?" the woman asked.

"I'm from Fiore," Erza answered.

"Is that one of those coastal cities to the South?" the woman asked, cocking her head. Erza considered her next words; she didn't want to reveal the truth about where she was from just yet.

"Well, again its a long story," Erza said, and fortunately, the woman ended it there, and Erza decided to ask the all important question, "Where exactly am I?" The woman looked at her surprise at such a question, but answered it nonetheless.

"You are in the Kingdom of Bretonnia, my dear," she said, "More specifically the Dukedom of Brionne, though please do not make me recite the rest of the nobility."

"No need," Erza said, holding up her hand with a smile, "I'm just glad to finally know where I am." That was when she remembered part of what brought her here.

"If it means anything, I was up the river earlier, and I found this doll," she said, holding up the toy, "Does this mean anything to you?" The woman balked in surprise at the sight of the doll.

"By the gods," she said, "Ada was so upset after she lost it. Ada!" After she called, a little girl maybe around seven or eight came out of the cottage. She had similar brown hair to whom Erza assumed was her mother.

"Yes, Mama?" she asked.

"Look what this kind lady found," the mother said. The girl looked, as Erza held out the doll.

"Ms. Pretty!" the girl said happily, as she took the doll and hugged it.

"She was hysterical without that doll," the mother said with a smile, "Thank you."

"Its my pleasure. My name is Erza"

"My name is Fleur," the woman answered, "And this is Ada."

"Pleased to meet you both," Erza said, smiling back, "Now I should probably stop bothering you, and be on my way. If you could maybe point me in the direction of the nearest town?"

"Nonsense," Fleur said, "You deserve some proper gratitude. Come join us for supper. Jaune!" A man with short blonde hair and a close cropped beard came out of the mill wiping his brow.

"Yes?" he asked, before noticing Erza and smiling, "Who is this fine young maiden?"

"My name is Erza Scarlet," Erza said, "And I'm just a traveler."

"Look Papa!" Ada said, running up to her father, "She rescued Mrs. Pretty!" Jaune chuckled at that, before smiling back at Erza.

"Got to show our gratitude there," he said, "Please." Erza was then lead into the cottage, which was small and dirty, but homely in its own way. Erza was sat down at a table in the center, as she watched Fleur prepare whatever they were eating, until the wife called her family over to the table, as they all sat down. Erza, while not surprised, didn't expect to see such a measly meal, only really consisting of some bread, and a little bit of meat.

"Yummy!" Ada said, as she sat down, and reached for the food.

"Now, now!" Jaune said, "We have to say our prayers first." With that, the family all folded their hands in prayer, as Erza remained quiet out of respect. Jaune muttered a few prayers to some gods that Erza didn't know, and once he was done, they started eating.

"You said you weren't a soldier, right?" Fleur asked, "But I take it from your armor that you're some kind of warrior."

"That is right."

"So, are you a mercenary?" Erza opened her mouth, then closed it again. While most guild mages resented being called that, that was what they essentially were.

"Something like that," she answered, "I'm a member of a guild." She decided not to mention that it was a mage guild for now.

"Well, we have to go to the castle later to deliver our harvest," Jaune said, "There's a small town around the castle; you can maybe get some work there."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Erza said, smiling. She had to admit, she was grateful she ended up in a place that seemed relatively nice.

Note: Bretonnia was probably the easiest one to decide on. What better place for a knight to end up, than a country that prides itself on its knights? Even though said knights act in defiance of anything that could be considered chivalric. I think Erza could do this place a load of good.

Something to take note of, these introduction chapters are happening simultaneously; in other words, in universe, they're happening at the same time, not one after another. Also, if I can, I'm not going to do all these introduction chapters one after another, since there are a dozen of people here, and it would take forever. I might briefly pause the introductions, to do something with Natsu, Lucy, or Erza again.

Be sure to review.