Incarcerated Innocence, a Fairy Tail fanfic by Tsunami Storm
Chapter 10: Intimate Intertwining
-A few days after 'Insurmountable Integrity'-
"Because I love her,
I need her,
Like Earth needs the sun:
I need the one I love!
To keep my hope right,
My head right,
My heart fighting on,
Until I am back in her arms!
Because I love her,
And need her,
Like summer needs rain,
To grow and sustain each day.
I hear her singing,
And bringing
New strength to my soul,
Until I am back in her arms!
Miles apart,
Yet still my heart
Can hear her melody.
I'm more than sure
That I can't endure
Without her love for me!
Because I love her,
I need her,
Like I need to breathe.
Did Adam need Eve like this?
Now I see clearly, I nearly-
Gave up all I had!
So whatever our differences were:
I'll bid them goodbye,
I'll give love a try,
And all because I love her!"
"Wow!" Lucy breathed. "You have a beautiful voice!" She complimented her neighbor as she sat in her bathtub, already done washing- but just enjoying the hot water and relaxing. To her amusement, her comment earned her a startled gasp and what sounded like a frantic, bashful scramble to re-organize some items in his washroom- as well as more than a few splashes.
"Oh, Lucy. I- I didn't realize you were home." Her mysterious neighbor covered. "F-forgive me. I'd thought I was alone."
"Oh, don't be so modest." Lucy laughed, slapping her hand lightly against the tiled wall in a teasing manner. "You've nothing for which to apologize. That was beautiful. But who were you singing about?"
She heard a low chuckle, then her mysterious neighbor answered after a minute of silence. "Let's see if you can guess." Her neighbor seemed to smile. "I'll give you a hint: she's in our Guild, and has been there longer than I have."
Lucy laughed quietly. "Well, that's not really much of a hint, but I think I can figure it out. Your muse is Erza. Which would make you Jellal. Right?"
"Heh. Bingo." Jellal laughed ruefully, for it was indeed he.
"Since when were you my neighbor?" Lucy asked her fellow tenant, and Jellal answered a moment later.
"About a year after all of you disappeared with Tenrou Island. I asked your landlady if she had an extra room available to rent, because I wanted to start fresh in this town after I escaped from Era's prison. She agreed, and I've been living here quietly for the past six years." He explained. "I mostly tried to stay out of town on long missions, so that I didn't risk anyone in town or in the Guild recognizing me." He laughed again once. "That is, before I accidentally revealed myself while rescuing Asuka. I'd been masquerading as my doppelgänger Mystogan before that."
"Oh, so that's how you were able to keep our Guild from disbanding and total financial ruin. You would take Job Requests from the Board and complete them under the guise of one of our old members, sending half or more of the reward money home to the Guild." Lucy realized with a grateful and impressed smile.
Jellal chuckled again bashfully. "Yep. I wanted to make sure all of you had a home to which to return. When you finally came home."
Lucy laughed. "You're amazing, Jellal. I can see why Erza loves you so." Suddenly she grinned evilly. "With how strongly you two feel about each other, should I expect to hear wedding bells in the near future? I mean, you've already got your respective attire picked out." She giggled, not-so-subtly reminding him of the- interesting competition on Day Two of the Grand Magic Games.
Lucy couldn't see it, but her platonic partner of a few days ago had turned red as a beet at her words. "Well, we are engaged." Jellal answered. "It's just- with all the craziness lately, it's not really feasible to think of wedding plans in the middle of a war. We both agreed to wait, at least until things calm down- a little."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Lucy agreed. Done with making her friend uncomfortable, she changed the subject slightly. "Have you decided on a Best Man yet? Will it be one of your friends from the Tower? Or someone from Fairy Tail?"
"Oh gosh, don't start." Jellal groused, and Lucy could almost hear him roll his eyes. "There's just too many choices; Too many good men in Fairy Tail, each one a valid candidate for 'Best Man' in a wedding. I wouldn't want to choose someone, then have someone else be offended or hurt that I didn't pick them." He sighed heavily. "I'm having trouble simply choosing who to ask to stand up with me when I get married." Then he chuckled. "I imagine Erza is going through similar difficulties with her choices of bridesmaids and Maid of Honor."
"Well, you guys could always go with the already established pairs." She suggested, putting a finger to her chin and tapping it thoughtfully. She didn't hear anything from the other side of the wall, so she guessed that her neighbor was still listening to her quietly. "Y'know: me and Natsu, Juvia and Gray, Levy and Gajeel, Mira and Laxus… and maybe Cana and your friend Simon. I thought I saw more than a few sparks flying between them last time I was in the Guild." Lucy laughed, and she heard Jellal gasp in surprise. Apparently he hadn't seen that coming. To be fair, no one had. "And Wendy can be the flower girl." She continued teasingly, eliciting a laugh from her normally taciturn neighbor.
"When did that happen?" Jellal asked after a minute. "Cana and Simon, I mean?"
"After Christmas." Lucy recited with a romantic giggle. "When Wendy offered to restore his eye and jaw." She explained, her gaze turning inward to her memory of the event.
-Flashback to 'Invalidated Injury' (ch. 7)-
"Merry Christmas, my friends." Jellal smiled as the group stood to include the four new members who had joined them. "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
"Simon!" Four voices cried in joyful harmony as they all tackled their resurrected friend in a group bearhug. The Darkness mage laughed along with them as they fell to the ground, embracing his dearest friends with joyful tears running from his eye. The young man's remaining friend took the slower, more practical route as he joined the gladsome gathering, offering a hand to his brother child-slave and pulling him to his feet and out of the precarious pile of merry mages.
"This was your idea, wasn't it." Simon asked with a smile as he turned to his oldest friend, though there was no question in his tone. "I knew you weren't yourself, in the Tower. You came back to your senses, you asked your little angel friend to heal me, then you had that large winged panther take me to shore and leave me with instructions to reunite with all our friends today, seven years later."
"Not exactly." Jellal explained with a self-conscious smile. "True, I did ask Wendy to save you, but Lily acted of his own accord. I didn't exactly have a plan for our reunion. I hadn't thought that far ahead. It was- kind of a last-minute trip." He laughed shyly, rubbing the back of his head in a moment of embarrassment. Then he sobered. "I just- I couldn't live with myself- after what I did to you. When I discovered there was a way to heal you- to save you, I took it without hesitation. You deserve a long, happy life just as much as anyone."
Just then, the Sky maiden approached the group and interjected, "Speaking of healing, would you like me to restore your eye and heal your jaw? Those old wounds must bother you. Do you want me to try?" She offered, and Simon gasped in surprise. For his part, Jellal merely smiled proudly. She truly was an angel. An angel that he was blessed to call his daughter. If any good had come from his nightmarish life, he was glad that it was Wendy. She was the one beacon of light that he'd begot in his sea of darkness and sins.
Back in reality, Simon had recovered from his surprise and nodded solemnly, kneeling before the heavenly maiden and bowing his head so she had more easy access to his face. He was quite a bit taller than the twelve-year-old Dragonslayer, after all.
Wendy concentrated and breathed in deeply, gathering her energy for her most miraculous spell, a Sky Dragonslayer technique that quite resembled Arc of Time- in that it restored something to a previous state of existence. However, while Arc of Time only affected non-organic matter, Wendy's Sky magic could affect living beings- something which had been impossible for the now-deceased Time mage Ultear Milkovich.
Before he realized what was happening, Simon felt his prosthetic steel jaw fall away from his face and to the floor with a clatter as the Sky Maiden restored to him what once was lost. His missing eye was next to follow in the process of restoration, rendering his eyepatch obsolete as it too fell from his visage.
After a few more moments, the faint blue glow that he could sense from behind his eyelids slowly faded, and for the first time in fifteen years, Simon Mikazuchi opened both of his dark eyes to smile in thanks beyond words at the angelic maiden who had- not only saved his life seven years ago- but also restored him to full humanity once more. No longer would he have to use that uncomfortable, pathetic excuse for a replacement jaw, or that ridiculous eyepatch that made him look like a pirate. No longer was he a half-blind cyborg. He was whole once again.
"Wow, Simon!" Milliana exclaimed joyfully. "I'd forgotten what you'd looked like under all that! You look great!"
Jellal merely smiled with pride at his future daughter as all his old friends praised their blushing brother, proud beyond words or measure at her compassion and skill.
"I second that observation." A new voice commented from over by the bar. Jellal turned in his seat to find that it was Cana who had spoken, an impressed smirk clearly visible on her face as she straddled a barrel of alcohol that was as big as her entire body. The brunette abandoned the barrel and rose from her seat, approaching the group of friends by the door and extending a fistbump in welcome. "Name's Cana. Welcome to Fairy Tail- Simon, was it? I can tell you're gonna fit right in here."
Jellal had never seen his friend turn quite so red in his life, but Erza's beaming smile of anticipation quickly drove all other thought from his mind. Her smile could power a whole city in Edolas. From somewhere behind them, he heard a faint squeal of ecstasy. The romance-obsessed She-Demon Mirajane had overheard their conversation as well, and her elation was such that her eyes had transformed to pink love hearts. "Oh, this is too perfect! Everyone in Fairy Tail is finding new connections and growing our family! I couldn't be happier for all of you!" She gushed joyfully.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Mira." Erza beamed, radiating rapture.
"AYE, SIR!"
-End Flashback-
"Wow." was Jellal's only answer after the tale. "I- I'll think about it. Your suggestion. We'll see- what the future holds."
Morning came a bit too early for the Heavenly Body mage's liking as he yawned tiredly on his way to the Guild Hall from his apartment. That's what I get for being awake until three hours past midnight. He mentally chided himself. He and Erza had stayed up much too late last night discussing wedding plans and logistics of their varied guests they wanted to invite to the ceremony.
Stepping through the giant oaken doors of the Hall, the former Wizard Saint's gaze immediately gravitated toward one of the younger members of the Guild, his alternate future daughter Wendy. The Sky Dragonslayer was sitting alone at a table near the back of the Hall, clutching a large parchment in her hands and causing the air currents around her to swirl about in agitated patterns, looking almost like a gentle, miniature tornado. Slowly approaching the otherwise-unoccupied table, Jellal smiled silently at his clearly upset heir.
"What's wrong, kiddo?" He asked quietly, not wanting to startle his distraught daughter.
His efforts to keep her calm were dashed, however, as Wendy still jumped and squeaked in surprise, dropping the sketch from her hands and letting it fall to the floor beneath the table. The paper glided on the turbulent air currents for a moment, but then slipped right below Wendy's feet and slid to the ground right in front of her sire's own walking appendages. Curious, Jellal bent down and retrieved the sketch so it wouldn't be ruined or lost in the usual chaos of Fairy Tail, holding it up to inspect the drawing himself.
"Oh, Dad!" The child squeaked in surprise, but then calmed when she spotted his ever-gentle smile. Ever since they'd discovered their familial connection, it seemed that Jellal would always grace her with her favorite lopsided grin. A smile just for her, from a proud parent to his powerful progeny. "It's a sketch of me that Reedus painted when we were all stuck on Tenrou Island." Wendy explained. "He was trying to imagine what we'd all look like seven years older." She smiled sadly.
"It's a beautiful painting, Wendy." Jellal smiled, handing the sketch back to the still-sniffling maiden and taking a seat by her side, enveloping her in a gentle, fatherly side-hug. He'd never been able to stand it when he saw children upset, and now those feelings were doubled because the distraught subject was his own flesh-and-blood. "Why are you crying?"
"Oh, it's silly." Wendy hedged, wiping away some tears with her fist. "I just- I was thinking about my Edolas counterpart, too. Unlike me, she was super tall, super fit- and- her-" The Sky Dragonslayer broke off with a red face and steam boiling from the crown of her head. "Let's just say she was significantly more- blessed than some of the other girls in Edolas' Fairy Tail." She explained bashfully, face red as a strawberry and growing steadily darker with her embarrassment.
Jellal felt his own face growing warm as well in reaction to the awkward topic, but he wasn't quite as crimson as his daughter. Not yet, anyway. "Is that all?" He laughed nervously, trying both to cheer up his miracle child and to mask his own discomfort. "Is that what you're worried about? Wendy, you're still only twelve. Edolas Wendy was probably at least sixteen. You're just- a late-bloomer, that's all." He explained kindly, once again wrapping an arm around her small shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze to convey his affection.
Looking around their table carefully to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and relaxing when he found that all the other keen-eared Dragonslayers were also currently absent from the Hall, Jellal bent closer to the girl and whispered, "Just like me. I didn't hit puberty until I was almost fifteen. It was a little embarrassing, especially with the way Simon shot up like a rocket." He blushed, but quickly recovered his famous composure. Normally he could stay cool under pressure in even the most dangerous of circumstances, and his poker-face was legendary among his fellow wizards of Fairy Tail and friends in other Guilds like Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Sabertooth. But now he'd almost turned as red as Erza's scarlet hair, when he thought of his biggest friend from the Tower of Heaven.
Wendy giggled. "Yeah, I kinda feel the same way around Elfman now. He's a giant and I'm a child's doll in comparison."
Jellal smirked too, his embarrassment slowly fading to his usual calm façade. "My point is, don't worry about the future, Wendy. You'll grow up strong eventually too. Just like all of us did. And- if your appearance now is any indication- you're gonna be a knockout when you finally come into your own. Just like your mother." He teased lightly, touching a fist to the Sky Maiden's upper arm in a playful 'attack'. This caused the already beet-faced child to nearly erupt in bashful mortification.
"Oh! Dad!" Wendy protested, steam billowing from her azure locks like a tea kettle left on the stove for too long. In fact, Jellal was mildly surprised that he couldn't hear any whistling coming from his appalled angel, and he laughed and hugged the once-again distraught Dragonslayer in a third and final fatherly hug, offering a quiet apology to his crimson-faced child. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Calm down. You don't want to give yourself heat-stroke with all that steam coming from your ears."
Wendy giggled again, taking several deep breaths of cool, sweet air as her face gradually returned to a healthy, human hue.
"That's better." Jellal nodded approvingly, then he gently bumped shoulders with her again in playful camaraderie. "Changing the subject slightly: Would you- be our Flower Girl at our wedding? I can't think of anyone more fitting for the position."
Wendy smiled and blushed again, though not nearly as red as she'd been a minute ago. "I- I'd be honored, though I might be a little old for it. Asuka would be a better choice."
"Nonsense." Jellal argued, playful smile still gracing his face. "You'll look adorable walking up with our Ringbearer: young Romeo. You two are about the same age now. And with your Sky magic, you don't even have to throw the petals and blooms. You can just make them dance on the wind." He added with an encouraging smirk. Then amended, "True, Asuka is adorable, but you fit the part more perfectly than she does." He affectionately teased again, gently elbowing the demure Dragonslayer.
"Seems like everybody here is one big dandy family." A dapper Wally Buchanan observed quietly from his seat at the bar. "Didn' expect Jellal ta have a twelve-year-old daughter, tho. Wonder when dat happened- wait. How's dat even possible-? Eh, whateva. None 'a my business." He mused as he went back to his sarsaparilla. He and Sho had come to Fairy Tail for another impromptu visit, wanting to see their 'sister' Erza and congratulate her on her upcoming marriage. Her, they were happy for. The groom- not so much. Sho in particular still held some deep resentment toward 'big brother' Jellal, and forgiveness would probably still be a long time in coming.
And nothing proved that better than the disaster that was asking his old friends from the Tower to stand up with him at his wedding.
"Uh… yeah. NO." Sho spat sarcastically before Jellal had even opened his mouth. He'd overheard Erza asking Millianna to be a bridesmaid, and the Cat Mage had tackle-glomped her big sister and started purring as loudly as she could- as in, loud enough for the whole Guild to hear. "In case you forgot about the Tower of Heaven- we're not friends. Dunno why you thought we still were. You might have been able to convince Nee-san and Milli and Wally that you've changed- ₶€££, even Simon- but it's gonna take more than pretty words and half-₳$$ed excuses about being 'possessed' to sway me. How stupid do you think I am?"
Jellal merely stood by in silence as Sho vented all his anger and hatred- taking it all out on his former 'brother'- staring at the floor of the Guild Hall and internalizing all of the Card Mage's barbs. Every single accusation was wholly deserved. After the fifteen-minute tirade, Jellal barely raised his head marginally and agreed. "You're right. You have every right to hate me for the rest of time for my past sins. And I completely understand that you don't wish to associate yourself with the likes of me. However, the offer to attend the ceremony and reception still stands. I know you won't lift a finger for my sake, but please- do it for Erza. It would mean the world to her if you could still attend." He offered, and his heart lifted a little when he saw the corners of the young man's mouth twitch infinitesimally.
"I'll come. For her sake." Sho relented, stuffing his fists into his pockets so he wouldn't be tempted to use them as weapons of revenge.
"That invitation extends to you too, Wally!" Jellal called over to the bar with a grin, and he received an only half-mocking salute to indicate his old friend had heard him. "Nothin' dandier dan a party! Count me in." He added before turning back to his drink.
"How did you manage to get Simon of all people to be your Best Man? You were the one that killed him!" Sho asked incredulously, and Jellal returned his gaze to the floor.
"I didn't. Erza asked him to be her Best Man. I asked my friend Meredy to be my Maid of Honor. A little unorthodox, I know, but it works." He answered with a small smile that was once again directed at the ground.
"Huh." was Sho's eloquent answer, but then Jellal continued. "I did think about asking him myself, but then surmised that his answer would be similar to yours. Somehow he's found it in his heart to forgive my despicable actions of the past, but I can't see how or why for the life of me."
"You've changed. Simple as that." Simon answered as he approached and put a comradely arm around the bluenette's shoulders in a brotherly side-hug. "Rather- you've returned to your true self- that might explain it better. I'd always known that the real you would never have done any of those things you were forced to do. Before the rebellion, you were always so kind to everyone. Gentle with those who were hurting- loyal to a fault with us, your friends- self-sacrificing with those in need-"
"-And the epitome of a sunny disposition when trying to keep everyone's morale up." Erza interrupted with a sly grin on her face, walking up to the conversation and quickly pecking her fiancé on the cheek, knowing this simple action would make him blush. And he was so cute when he was being bashful. Clearly, she was attempting to even the score from when he would always play with her hair as a child. As predicted, Jellal turned red for a moment, but then returned the peck right back to its sender. However, Erza merely smiled wider instead of blushing, much to his disappointment at the missed opportunity. After all, she was so cute when she was being bashful.
"Oh! Weddings have to be one of my favorite celebrations!" Mira gushed as her younger brother Elfman put both bride and groom in a gentle but manly headlock- taking both of them by surprise- and cried at the top of his voice, "Weddings- are MANLY!" "Everyone in blissful harmony and joy for the lucky couple, and new and old friends connecting and bonding even closer as a family! It's just so beautiful I could cry!" She wailed happily, waterfalls of liquid joy streaming from her eyes and disappearing into her beaming smile.
"Speakin' of connections and yer big day-" a new yet familiar voice growled from the doorway, "We thought we'd drop by for a visit."
"ERIK!" A surprisingly enthusiastic cry of elation sounded from the bar, and all that the members of Fairy Tail could see was a light-green and purple blur as Kinana tackled her best and oldest friend from the Tower, kissing him full on the mouth without any hesitation whatsoever. If Cobra was surprised by this, he didn't show it, returning the kiss with enthusiasm. Behind them, Sawyer and Macbeth rolled their eyes at the young woman's eagerness, Sorano smirked at her forwardness, and Richard beamed at the consummation of the couple's long awaited reunion.
"Oh Yeah! Love is in the air!" His booming, enthusiastic voice called from behind the Poison Dragonslayer and his former pet-turned-girlfriend. "Congratulations, my good friend and comrade!" The wizard formerly known as Hot Eye gushed as he entered the Hall and caught up a surprised Heavenly Body mage in a bone-crushing bearhug. Back at the bar, a certain angular-shaped mage swiveled on his stool to face the giant oak portal. "It can't be-" The Block Magic wizard breathed incredulously, then, "Richard?!"
"Wally?!" The Earth Magic wizard echoed, just as shocked as his beloved younger brother. "Oh Yeah! This truly is a miracle! Families reunited, comradeship budding into friendship, and friendship blossoming into love! Love is truly the most powerful magic of all! Oh Yeah!" He cried, racing across the length of the Hall and sweeping up Erza as well as Wally to join Jellal in his full-Nelson embrace.
"AYE, SIR!"
-One week later-
"Jellal Fernandes?" A vaguely familiar voice called from somewhere behind him, and that was all the warning the young mage got as he was swiftly tackled to the ground from behind, a pressure on his back so that he couldn't rise to his feet, and a slender, pale thumb placed in the center of his forehead.
"What-? Who are you? What are you doing?" Jellal growled as he struggled, but his assailant was too strong and had pinned him in a manner from which he could not escape on his own.
"My apologies, my friend. But I was given specific directions to subdue you in this manner, as I was informed that you would resist if you were cognizant of your fiancée's plan." The assailant apologized quickly, and Jellal calmed at the mention of his beloved. If Erza was involved in this, then he knew that his 'attacker' was no foe.
"Brace yourself." Rufus warned. "This might feel a bit strange."
Jellal closed his eyes in anticipation, expecting the worst, but was surprised when he only felt something akin to a heavy weight being lifted off his shoulders. All of a sudden, he felt infinitely lighter than he'd felt in nearly a decade, as if a giant burden had been removed from his conscience.
"What- what did you do to me? I- I feel light as a feather all of a sudden." Jellal breathed, confused and finally turning to look his 'ambusher' in the eye. To his surprise, it was Rufus Lore, the Memory Mage of Sabertooth and one of the more powerful wizards that participated in the Grand Magic Games.
"Just- modified your memories a bit. The misplaced guilt you carried was literally tearing you apart. Now that you are freed of that burden, it is your lovely fiancée's wish that you will return to your old self. I think you will now find that you are also more powerful. Guilt can be corrosive to one's magical ability as well as the soul, like a potent acid eating away at solid steel. It would not surprise me in the slightest if your strength doubles at the very least." Rufus explained calmly, much to the bluenette's dismay at first, but then- inexplicably- a calm suddenly washed over him and he nodded in gratitude. He grinned in a bashful moment of self-deprecating humor. "Erza knows me all too well. She knew that I wouldn't agree to her plan to erase some of my memories. So she had you jump me and take me by surprise. So I couldn't be stubborn and refuse. Again." He stood to his feet, then offered a hand to the Memory Make wizard. "Thank you. Thank you for helping me see the light in the darkness once again."
"Thank Miss Scarlet. This was her plan." Rufus deflected humbly. "I merely played the part as the tool, the instrument to assuage your toxic guilt. However, I feel I owe you yet more of an explanation. I took the liberty of modifying the memories of your friends as well. Those young people with whom you grew up in that island prison." At Jellal's look of alarm, Rufus elaborated. "Fear not. I merely reinforced the memory of your possession by that evil spirit, and the fact that your subsequent wicked actions were not your own. In addition, I highlighted all of their good memories of you, from before and after the change. For example, teaching the younger children magic and skills they would need to survive in this world, and looking after them like a big brother should."
"Thank you, Rufus." Jellal smiled sadly as a few tears of liquid gratitude gathered on his lower eyelids. "There are no words to describe how much this means to me. I'll never be able to repay you."
But Rufus shook his head with a challenging smirk. "Very well. If you insist, then my payment shall be thus: You will use your entire arsenal and every skill in your bag of tricks in the Games the next time we face off. Who knows? Maybe Fairy Tail will even come in second. Behind Sabertooth, of course." He joked as he slapped Jellal on the back in a manly gesture of camaraderie.
"Heh. Right." Jellal laughed, returning the jovial slap with enthusiasm. His newfound- or newly recovered, he still wasn't sure- strength was such that the Minstrel was pushed forward several steps before slowing to a halt. "That is what I am talking about! Give Sabertooth all you got, because we sure as ₶€££ are not going to hold back! Not this time!"
"Agreed. I shall look forward to it." Jellal grinned back, raising a hand in farewell as Rufus tipped his hat as he returned to his journeys.
"Words are born into air,
And quickly fade out in the wind.
But they find their way inside you
Where they live on forevermore.
When the skies are dark and full of rain,
Look inside your heart.
Light, so warm and all aglow,
Shining just like the sun.
You can see how much you've grown.
Just how strong you are.
Love will open up to you,
And it starts from the day that you-
First heard those words.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
"I can see you there,
Right by my side, as always.
You've never left, or let me down, my friend.
I can feel you there,
Close to my heart as always.
Your soul and mine share a bond made of love.
So, as the skies turn gray,
And the clouds gather above,
Trying to fight back your tears,
Feeling so lost and alone.
I am the star that burns for you,
Shining through the night.
Just follow me; I will guide you home.
And when you're feeling lost at sea,
Listen for my song,
Calling you back- to the shore."
"'Do you, Jellal Fernandes, take this woman, Erza Scarlet, to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, from this day forth, to love and to cherish, until death do you-' wait. That's already happened, hasn't it? 'For as long as you both shall live', then?"
Both young lovers quietly snorted at that, and Jellal shared a grateful grin with their adorable flower girl and daughter Wendy. Turning back to face the love of his life, the bluenette answered their First Master and Ministress, Mavis Vermilion. "I do." He declared reverently, selecting the ruby and sapphire-adorned ring from the satin pillow Romeo held and slid it onto Erza's delicate digit with effortless ease.
"Okay, Erza. Same question." The perky spirit beamed, skipping over the long-winded speech in favor of getting to the good part more quickly. Titania rolled her eyes and smirked at the First's antics, but then cleared her expression and smiled solemnly and adoringly at her husband-to-be. "I do." She echoed her true love, mimicking his actions and threading the scarlet and cerulean wedding band onto her life partner's finger with practiced precision, though gazing into Jellal's hazel orbs the whole time.
"Yay!- Um- I mean- what was I supposed to say next? Oh yes! Ahem: 'By the power vested in me by the kingdom of Fiore, and as the First Master of the Fairy Tail Guild, I now pronounce you-' oh, you know the rest! Just kiss already!" The Fairy Tactician giggled in anticipation, causing all the 'congregation' to snicker at their hopelessly romantic Founder.
Jellal laughed joyously as he swiftly closed the distance between himself and his beautiful bride, sweeping her off her feet and bowing so low as they kissed that her scarlet tresses nearly touched the stone steps of the Kardia Cathedral. This was infinitely better than the last kiss they'd shared on Akane beach, and yet infinitely more gentle as well. There was no urgency in this kiss, no worry about when or if the next would ever come. Jellal was hers, and hers alone. He was here, and here was where he would stay. By her side, as it always should have been.
"I'm proud to introduce for the very first time, the happy couple: JErza Fernandes!" Mavis squealed ecstatically, and the cathedral erupted in cheers and raucous applause. Not a single eye in the church was dry, all family, friends and Guildmates tearfully expressing their joy for their comrades, friends and surrogate brother and sister; now united in holy matrimony.
Everyone was there, from the former members of the disbanded Oración Seis to the couple's various allies from around Fiore and its many varied Guilds. Everyone in the wedding party was among the last to quiet their enthusiastic applause, then followed their newest newlyweds down the aisle. Simon as Erza's Best Man, Meredy as Jellal's Maid of Honor, then NaLu, GrUvia, GajEvy, MirAxus, and RoWen bringing up the rear as Ring Bearer and Flower Girl.
"…and that's how our Fairy Tail family came to be." Lucy finally finished as she read to her newest nephew, born about a year after his parents were married. Already, little Sieghart Scarlet looked so much like his father, sharing his face and his golden, ocher eyes. However, his hair came straight from his mother. Crimson tufts of fiery red hair that stuck up all around his head like a halo.
"Dada!" Sieg babbled, and Jellal smiled fondly, taking that as a sign that his son wanted to be picked up. "That's right, buddy. I'm your 'Dada', and I promise that I'll never let you go. Ever. You'll always be in my heart, right next to your mother, your big sister, and every other member of our Fairy Tail family."
The End (unless I think of something else to add!)
God Bless!
Tsunami Storm