AN: It's been a long time since I last updated or posted anything on here, so I decided that I post this. I've been putting this off for a long while, so I guess I better show this story some love too. The next few chapters are going to be a bit...sad-ish. This one is actually pretty tame compared the (very possibly) next chapter, so I hope you enjoy. Prompts, reviews, and others are very well appreciated.

Ciao. c:

It was dark and it was cold. That was all Erza knew as she stood where she was. There was a lingering familiarity of the place, along with the sense of dread that went along with it. Her heart thumped, and she took a breath of the musky air. Erza swore she could smell the odor of blood, along with other familiar, horrid scents. Off in the far distance, there was a sharp crack, and then a pained yell. Erza flinched instinctively; she knew the pain of being whipped far too well.

Reaching out to her side, her hand touched the cool stone wall. The edges of crudely shaped stone bricks pricked her fingertips as she walked forward, the echoes of her steps bouncing around, filling the seemingly long corridor. There was an occasional clink of her armor, and Erza took solace in the only familiar thing she knew. However, it was naught but a pitiful candle in a raging blizzard, and such security was quickly extinguished.

The redhead flinched again as another crack of the whip ruined the eerie peace; she swore she could feel the harsh lick of the lash against her cheek. She hadn't realized that she had stopped, so she continued walking the long, lonely path. The longer she wandered through the labyrinth, her mind began wandering through a journey of its own.

What am I doing here? Something about all this seems so oddly familiar, but I just can't seem to lay a finger on it…

Another sharp sound pierced the air, this time sounding much closer than the other two had been. Erza's senses of awareness kicked in, but she could not shake off the budding feeling of dread accumulating in her gut. An unexpected draft came in, chilling through Titania's armor, biting hard into her skin; bumps arose on her arms and neck as a result.

There should be an opening nearby if it let a draft in, though it would be a rather small one—

She stopped in her tracks as she caught a whiff of a familiar scent underneath all the horrid odors, one that she could easily recognize among others instantly, one that she found security and solace in when the memories became too hard to handle. Erza could feel her face pale as that damned feeling in her stomach clawed up to her chest like some feral beast, leaving a slimy trail of fear in its wake as she took another intake of air, the traces of vanilla doing nothing to soothe her nerves. Gingerly, she took a step, and then another, dots of light in the distance. Erza picked up her pace quickly, and began to sprint to the source.

God be good, I hope that she's going to be alright…

Before she knew it, Erza was standing in front of the bars of a cell, a barred window on the other side, barely illuminating the center of the tiny room. But it was just enough to make out the blonde figure, handcuffed and slumped over, dressed in rags. Her skin was decorated with gashes and wounds, welts and dried blood. Bruises were very visible, shaded with sickly and unhealthy mixes of colors. The tips of her blonde hair were red, and Erza could make out dried blood from the corners of her mouth.

"L-Lucy?" was all that Erza could wrench out, her body frozen with shock. "O-Oh God, what happened—"

The Celestial Mage tilted her head gently, her usual bright brown eyes, dimmed to a low glow. "E-Erza?"

"Lucy! What happened to you? Who did this? I swear I'll make them pay!" Titania growled, her fear subsiding to make way to anger. She gripped the metal bars, her fists shaking with an uncontained rage.

The blonde, however, feebly shook her head. "Y-You can't."

"I can!"

"You should listen to what the girl says, Titania," came a raspy voice, sharp like the whip that resounded earlier.

"Who the hell are you?" Erza barked, her face contorting into an expression of unbridled fury.

"Your worst fear."

At first, she didn't understand what it meant until she heard the piercing screech that ripped from Lucy's throat as a blade came down to separate her blonde head from her body.

-x-

Lucy didn't know where she was at first. It was all very dark, but everything seemed so familiar. It only took her a few short moments for her to realize that she was on the floor of Erza's apartment in Fairy Hills. Sighing, she climbed back onto the bed that she shared with the redhead, noticing the pained expression on the latter's face, and the strewn way the sheets were arranged. Lucy knew instantly that she had another night terror, and had involuntarily pushed the blonde off of the bed. It happened time to time, but this particular one seemed to be taking a toll on Erza.

Gently, she nudged Erza's shoulder with her hand. "Wake up, Erza."

The redhead mumbled something under her breath.

Lucy shook her more forcefully. "Wake up, c'mon."

This time, the blonde managed to catch what Erza said.

"No, stop."

Lucy furrowed her brows, and stopped what she was doing, listening intently to the mumblings of the older mage.

"How could you?" Erza unexpectedly sobbed, a few strands of tears dripping down from her closed eyes.

Lucy began to panic, unsure on how to wake up the poor girl. In a drastic effort, she did what she seemed right; Lucy slapped Erza.

The latter woke instantly, her eyes fluttering open. She was panting heavily, and Lucy noticed that her cheeks were tinted red (although the one she struck was a darker color) Erza had a wild look in her eyes, almost as if she had seen Hell itself.

Although, it may have been the case with this particular nightmare…

"O-oh God, Lucy," Erza stammered, reaching out to cup the blonde's cheek. Lucy leaned into the other's touch, turning her head to kiss Titania's palm. This visibly calmed the latter, and she pulled the blonde into a tight hug.

"What happened?" Lucy quietly asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I had a dream, and I was in a really, really dark hallway. I could hear a whip somewhere in the far distance." Erza took a breath, and Lucy stayed quiet, her fingers faintly tracing the white scar that poked from underneath the former's pajamas; she knew of her horrid past, and how much she had been abused in the Tower of Heaven. "I kept on walking, and then I came across this jail cell. A-and then I saw…" Her voice trailed off, nuzzling her face into Lucy's flaxen hair. "I saw you."

"You saw me?"

"Uh-huh. You were chained up, and it was obvious that you were being tortured for God knows how long. I said that I would get you out, but you said that I couldn't, and then this hooded figure came out and, and," Erza took deep, shaky breaths to calm herself. Oh so gently, Lucy laid Erza on her back, never breaking the embrace as she did so. Once they settled down, with the blonde on top of the redhead, Lucy buried her face into Erza's neck.

I've never seen her so afraid, Lucy thought. It almost unnerved the blonde, to see the powerful Titania reduced to a nervous and scared wreck.

"It stabbed you."

That phrase sent a cold, raking chill to roll down her skin.

"What did?"

"The hooded figure stabbed you. When I asked what it was, all it said was, 'Your worst fear' before taking out a blade and just…" Erza let out a quiet whimper, and hugged Lucy tighter against her body.

"Your worst fear…" It was supposed to come out as a question, but Lucy could only mumble it with an astounded tone. It was such a heavy phrase, and its presence lurked around, almost as if it was just outside the bedroom door. Even she was starting to feel a bit scared herself.

"I don't ever want to lose you." Erza blatantly said aloud, completely out of the blue. "The thought of it just scares the living hell out of me, and to have a dream about it?" She shook her head softly. "I'm starting to doubt that I'm even capable of protecting anything."

"Never say that again," Lucy immediately said, her tone clearer and stronger than she had expected it to be. Erza seemed shocked with the sudden outburst—admittedly, Lucy was surprised herself. "You're a very strong person, Erza. I don't know anyone else who's as strong as you."

"I'm not strong, Luce. I'm just a girl who cries a lot—"

"No, you really are, and I mean it. You've been through so much, yet you've managed to come through and fight it all. You've risen to the top, despite all that has been thrown in your way. Yes, you have moments where you sometimes retreat or breakdown, but you always, always manage to stand on your feet once more. Many would have run away, but you didn't. You fought against the tide and won countless times. You have a strong, undying will, Erza. That's why I'm positive," Lucy took this moment to lift herself up a bit, so that she could see the redhead straight in the eye. The vulnerable look in Titania's brown eyes was just enough to make Lucy's heart almost stop. The blonde had never seen the warrior so touched. It took a moment for her to search her brain for the words she was supposed to speak, "that you'll be able to protect not only me, but everyone in Fairy Tail. Your powerful will inspire so many of us, Erza, and that's why I love you so, so much."

There was a long silence between the both of them, with Erza staring blankly into Lucy's eyes. For a moment, the Celestial Mage wondered if her speech was just a bit too cheesy.

But then, Erza broke into tears, a stupid, happy grin splitting her face. Lucy could feel her own expression matching Titania's.

"I l-love you t-too, L-Lucy…" The redhead hiccupped, leaning up ever so slightly to meet the blonde's lips. Lucy reciprocated the gesture, and they languidly kissed.

Later that night when the redhead had grown too tired to continue and gave in to exhaustion, Lucy Heartfilia vowed fiercely in her heart that she would do her absolute best to protect all of Erza Scarlet, from the brave knight, to the scared little girl looking for a home.

Although I need to find a better way to wake her up aside from slapping across the face, Lucy amusedly thought, laughing quietly to herself as she lightly kissed Erza's red cheek before succumbing to sleep.

Both their dreams that night were ones of utter bliss and happiness.