Italic = narrating

"Speak"

- Thought

"CAPS LOCK" = SCREAMING

Disclaimer: not owning Fairy Tail nor the original fairy tales


Jellal and the armor clad princess

The big day of the tournament was finally here. Servants all over Magnolia prepared the leave for their masters. But while this happened, our young hero at Dragbuster´s house had already been up for hours.

Siegrain looked at the list in his hand once again. He had three things left to do, but they were bigger and harder tasks than the previous ones. However, if he worked effectively, he should be able to come with his brothers and cheer for them like they wished he would.

He started to make their breakfast – a big breakfast so they would get enough energy – and then he left the food on the stove as he headed to clean all window- and doorframes. Cleaning two windows, he returned to the stove and made sure it didn´t get burnt, he then headed back to cleaning and then back to the food. This continued until the food was ready. About then the time had come for Natsu to smell the food and ome down. Today he had Gray a couple of steps behind him, but they didn´t fight, meaning Natsu actually had woken Gray up in a normal way. Whatever that meant for them, Siegrain did not know.

The two boys took their seats just in time for Siegrain to finish the last of the food and put it on the table. The three boys ate in silence, the brothers still half-asleep and Siegrain busy thinking of how he would complete his tasks in time for him to leave together with his stepfamily.

After the boys had finished, Siegrain quickly collected the dishes and cleaned them.

"Siegrain, should we get mom so she can eat too?" Natsu asked.

"No need to wake her up to get down here, she´ll only be grumpy then", Gray said. "But we could bring it up to her if it will be easier for you, Siegrain."

Siegrain thought it over. "If you want to, then I won´t have to keep it warm."

The brothers nodded and lifted her plates onto a tray. They then headed upstairs for the master bedroom and their mother. Siegrain cleaned the last of the dishes and then continued with the window- and doorframes.

When the clock struck nine, mrs Dragbuster called up her stepson. Siegrain hurried there and in two minutes, he was standing in front of her.

"Help my boys to get dressed, we´re leaving in twenty five and they need to be as good as done. The heaviest parts will be put on there."

Siegrain nodded and left.

"Natsu, Gray, what are you doing?!"

The two looked up at their stepbrother. "We have some problem", Natsu admitted.

"It´s all his fault", Gray added.

"If you hadn´t…!"

"I don´t care who´s fault it is", Siegrain interrupted. "You can explain later, right now we need to get you out of this and put it on you instead."

The brothers had somehow managed to get stuck in parts of the armor, lying in a mess on the floor. When Siegrain was finished with getting them loose, he still had to clean mrs Dragbusters´ dishes and he only had ten minutes before they were supposed to be leaving. He hurried to get them, unprepared for what would meet him.

Siegrain was busy with different things than Erza, but she had her hands full too. Doing her chores, putting her hair up and getting into her armor so she wouldn´t be recognized – it had taken her a long time. But the worst part was left.

"Are you crazy, Erza?!" Lucy shrieked.

"Juvia agrees, Erza-nee, we can´t do that."

"Of course we can. It will be good training for you two."

"But it´s madness! And we´ll lose!" Lucy cried out.

"Juvia agrees!"

Erza rolled her eyes. "I said it´s training. You don´t have to win. But having one or two matches can be good for you. It´s a big difference between fighting for real and training. You have to do a bit of both to get well in fighting."

"We have only trained twice!" Lucy reminded her older sister.

"Juvia doesn´t think it´s a good idea."

"And what if we get hurt?" Lucy chirped in. "What will gramps say then? We can´t have him worry."

Erza raised her eyebrows. "I have already talked to him, he thinks it´s a great idea."

Lucy paled up. "B-but I still think it´s terrible!"

Erza smiled calmingly. "Don´t worry, you won´t get hurt. There are judges who make sure that the participants won´t get hurt. When one of the fighters have lost, either by not holding their weapon anymore, or by being threatened to a deadly blow, the other win."

Lucy still looked uncertain, and Juvia stared to the ground, scared.

"You don´t have a choice, it´s already decided and I will help you get into your armors", Erza said and the younger sisters knew that when she used that voice, there was no point in arguing.

Reluctantly, with hanging heads, they followed their sister.

When the clock struck half past nine, many carts left their mansions and houses to head for the tournament grounds close to the castle. From the Dragbusters´ left a cart too, a cart with one empty seat.

Siegrain watched as his stepbrothers and stepmother disappeared in the cart. He had been on time, he had finished his chores, but when he had finished helping his brothers and had headed to get his stepmother´s dishes, he had discovered that she had dropped it and there was glass, porslin and food all over the floor and carpet. She had looked like she was really sorry over it, but Siegrain knew she could might as well just have pretended. She had let him stay behind and clean up after all, not saying that it could wait until they came back like she would have had if she had cared.

- But it doesn´t really matter, ´I wouldn´t have been able to participate without an armor, Siegrain thought. No need to sulk. And you never wanted to do it anyway, he reminded himself.

But words didn´t mean a thing. And Siegrain was sick of always being treated like a servant. It hadn´t always been like that.