Knightwalker walked down the lightly lit streets of Magnolia. Obtaining the location of his house from Mirajane, she found herself making her way to his home on the outskirts of town. She was completely lost in thought.
Why did he save me? I still don't understand it. What could possibly be in it for him? I was sure he despised me.
THUD!
Not paying attention to her surroundings, she bumped into a passerby and fell to the ground along with the person she collided with. Irritated Knightwalker looked in front of her, ready to attack.
"Pay attention you-"she stopped short when she noticed who she had bumped to.
The person she had bumped into rubbed their head and looked in front of them, "I apologize I wasn't-"
Knightwalker's eyes widened as she felt as if she was looking into a mirror. "Scarlet?" she asked.
The woman looked equally astonished as she looked ahead of her. "Knightwalker?"
The two women stood up and patted themselves off. They looked at each other and Knightwalker couldn't help but notice that Erza was more than a little dirty and bruised.
"Did you just return from your mission?" Knightwalker asked obviously knowing the answer.
"Yes, we just returned to town. Lucy and Gray went home, I was heading to mine as well. Where are you going at this hour? I thought you were staying at the guild hall while you were here." Erza inquired.
"I was…am." Knightwalker replied a little uneasy.
"Then where are you going so late?"
Knightwalker's face turned a as she looked at her counterpart. "Not that it's any of your concern…" her cheeks turned a light pink, "I was going to see Salamander at his home."
Erza's eyes widened in astonishment. "You were going to see Natsu?"
"Yes…I was."
"Why?" Erza was genuinely surprised at the reasoning behind Knightwalker's late night stroll.
"That's…none of your business Scarlet."
"Was it about the mission you two went on?"
Knightwalker looked away from her, her face as solid as stone. Erza smirked as she put her hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's talk at my place. It's pretty late so I'm sure Natsu is sleeping by now, besides I'm sure people will think they are crazy if they see me talking to myself."
"Fine, lead the way." Knightwalker replied annoyed still not looking at her doppelganger.
…
A few minutes later Knightwalker once again found herself in another unfamiliar room. She sat upon the bed that belonged to her counterpart, her "sister", Erza Scarlet. She looked around and marveled at how tidy things were, nothing was out of place. The clothes were neatly folded, the books that sat upon her shelf were arranged, by size, binding, author, and genre upon her dresser where there were pictures of various members of Fairy Tail. Knightwalker couldn't help but notice that Natsu was in a great number of said photos.
She looked at the photos, almost conjuring a smile before she heard the bathroom door click unlocked. She quickly raced back to the bed as Erza Scarlet emerged with a pink towel wrapped around her slender frame, another smaller towel wrapped around her head.
"Everything alright?" Erza asked noticing the sudden noise when she emerged from the door.
"Yes everything is fine." Knightwalker replied slightly annoyed, "Your room is so organized, it is almost frightening."
Erza chuckled, "Yeah, I get that a lot when I have visitors." Erza dried her long red hair and requipped into her pajamas as she sat on the other side of the bed across from Knightwalker, their backs facing each other. "I'm in charge of the dormitory so have to be an example for the other girls."
"I see." Knightwalker looked across from her to see a small collection of armor pieces and weapons hanging on the wall. "Where did you learn your magic Scarlet? Did your parents teach it to you?"
Erza placed the small towel next to her as she looked down, smiling weakly as she spoke. "I…don't remember my parents. I was taken into slavery when I was a little."
A silence rose between the two women as Knightwalker's eyes slowly filled with empathy. "I see, I apologize for bringing up such a painful memory."
"It's ok. While I never knew my real parents, I do have the Master and Grandpa Rob."
"Grandpa Rob?" Knightwalker asked interested.
"Yes, he was a man I met while in captivity. He was a kind and gentle old soul, he taught me about magic and its use. He died in a rebellion against out captors. That was also the day my magic emerged."
"You're requipping?"
"No, not yet anyway. I didn't learn requip magic until I was much older. My initial magic is a form of telekinesis, that's what allows me to control multiple weapons when I fight in my Heaven's Wheel armor and such."
"Oh I see, interesting."
"That's enough about me, what about you Knightwalker? I'm sure your life in Edolas had to be much more enlightening than mine." Erza said smiling.
Knightwalker sat back, putting her arms behind her to brace herself as she looked up at the ceiling. "I wouldn't say enlightening. My childhood was filled with expectations that had to be reached, tests to pass, and people to impress." She squinted as she looked at the groves in the ceiling. "My parents were a part of the kings royal army, my father was head general, while my mother the king's aide. So for as long as I can remember I've been in the service of the king."
"What were your parents like?"
"They were strict, but beyond that I couldn't tell you. My father wanted a boy, so he spent whatever time he had turning me into the warrior he wanted his nonexistent son to be."
"What about your mother?"
"I wouldn't know, she died when I was 8. During the war between magic guilds and the kingdom. My father followed a couple years later."
"Was that why you decided to start hunting Fairy Tail and the other guilds? To avenge them?"
Knightwalker smirked, "That would be the easy thing to say wouldn't it? That I blamed magical guilds for the death of my parents? That I swore vengeance on them for ruining my happy family?" She turned attention from the ceiling to the wall again.
"To be honest, I didn't feel too much of anything when they died. No anger, no rage, no sadness, no joy…just nothing." She chuckled "I guess that makes me a monster."
"Well if you didn't fight to avenge them, then why serve the king?"
"I felt like it was my duty to protect the king and his ideals, even if they were wrong. I guess that's the one way I honored my parent's memory."
"I see. I'm sorry if I brought up any unpleasant memories."
Knightwalker smirked, "Don't trouble yourself, it's not like I'm broken by it." Knightwalker stood up and walked towards the dresser and looked at the pictures. "You certainly do have a lot of photos here."
Erza looked over to her dresser and saw Knightwalker holding one. "You like them? I could give you one, I have many."
"No thank you, it would be a bit unsettling to have a picture of people I barely know with me." She glanced over all of them. "Salamander is in quite a few of these photos, were you too…involved?"
"Why? Are you envious?" Erza asked teasingly.
"No, I'm not. It just struck me as curious."
"Natsu and I have been friends for years, it only makes sense that he's in a lot of these photos."
"You're avoiding the question Scarlet."
"Haha, you're right I guess I am." She leaned back and looked up at her ceiling fan. "To be honest, there may have been a time when Natsu and I were more, but I don't think we could go back to that place."
"Why not?" Knightwalker asked interested as she sat next to Scarlet.
"I don't know. We're just…we're different people now. We've both grown so opposite of one another that I don't think we would work if we were romantically entangled. That and Natsu isn't always honest with his feelings."
"I sense some regret in your voice." Knightwalker commented.
Erza chuckled, "You might be right about that. So what happened between you two on the mission?"
…
The two Erza's sat in silence, as time continued to pass in the night. Erza Scarlet had sat with her hand under her chin in a thinking pose for almost an hour as Erza Knightwalker sat impatiently next to her. The continued silence made Knightwalker more than a little annoyed.
Honestly, she thought as her irritation began to build. If she has a problem with how I handled things the least she could do is speak up. This silence is trying my patience.
"Is that all that happened?" Erza said finally speaking up.
"Yes." Knightwalker replied. "Are you going to give me a lecture about killing that bandit as well?"
"No. While I don't agree with what you did, I'm not in a position to scold you."
"Oh…" Knightwalker said raising an eyebrow, "Has the honor bound Erza Scarlet taken a life?"
"No I haven't, but I would be a liar if I said that there weren't times where I considered taking a life. Natsu is no different."
"Salamander has killed?" Knightwalker asked surprised.
"Ni he hasn't, but he's come close." Erza looked down regretfully as she thought of the circumstance surrounding those times.
"That is certainly surprising." Knightwalker commented, "I can't really imagine Salamander being the type to take a life."
"He's not, it's more my fault that he even considered doing it."
"How so?'
"There have been two occasions where Natsu has come close to taking a life….and they were both for my sake."
"What could you have possibly done to make that happen? I can't imagine you telling Salamander to kill anyone on your behalf Scarlet."
"I didn't…I wouldn't."
"Then what happened?"
Erza sighed and told Knightwalker her troubles once more. "In the Tower of Heaven, there was a boy…his name was Jellal. He was kind, brave, and always tried to make the rest of the kids in the tower feel better about our situation." She pulled a lock of hair in front of her eye line. "In fact he was the one who gave me my last name, after my hair color." Erza began to blush.
"The way you speak it seems you were in love with this boy." Knightwalker inquired
Erza smiled softly as she let go of her hair, "Perhaps I was, he taught me how to believe in myself. Without him I probably wouldn't be here today." She then looked at Knightwalker, "He is also Mystogan's Earthland counterpart."
"King Mystogan's counterpart?"
"Yes, he is. After the rebellion I managed to escape, but Jellal and the others weren't as lucky as I was."
"Did they die in the battle?"
"No, Jellal became possessed by what he thought was the spirit of an ancient evil wizard. He bainoshed me from the tower with the threat that if I returned he would kill everyone, but in turn when I was gone he lied and told them I had abandoned them."
"He sounds like a traitorous dog to me." Knightwalker said with no emption in her voice.
"No, he wasn't in control of himself. The things he did weren't his fault…at least not fully." Erza looked down and clenched her fingers together tightly. "Years later, under circumstance out of my control I returned to the Tower. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, & Juvia followed me there."
"That does sound like your friends."
"During the fight with Jellal, my friend Simon was killed. Seeing me grieve over Simon's death caused something in Natsu…he I don't know, he snapped and attacked Jellal on full force. He would have killed him if I hadn't done something."
"You should have let Salamander finish him. This Jellal betrayed you and killed your friend, he deserved death for his actions."
"No, I don't believe that."
"You're too soft Scarlet."
"Besides, even if I hated Jellal for what he did, I would never let Natsu carry the burden of taking a life. He should never have to experience something like that."
"Are you saying that because you care for Salamander? Or because you still love this Jellal?"
There was a pause as Erza thought about the question her counterpart proposed to her. She would be lying if she said she didn't still have feelings for Jellal, if anything the fight against Oracion Seis proved that fact to be a truthful one, but she also couldn't deny that she had budding thoughts about Natsu. Although the thoughts never actively conflicted with one another until this moment.
Erza leaned back on her bed and looked at her whirling ceiling fan, the cool wind it generated brushing against her cheeks. She closed her eyes as she spoke, "I don't know for sure, I suppose you could say it's a touch of both."
Knightwalker smirked at her answer, "You are surprisingly indecisive for someone so composed Scarlet."
"Do you think so?" Erza chuckled, "I guess you're right, I'm pretty useless."
The two of them began to laugh at one another. It was so random and neither of them said anything that really constituted the laughter, but for some reason it felt right to them. Knightwalker found herself genuinely laughing at something other than the pain and suffering of an enemy. Something about this simple caused her to feel a slight tug in her chest, it was an odd feeling, but not an unwelcome one. It felt…liberating.
The two women finally calmed down after a few minutes and regained their composure. Erza stood up from the bed and walked towards her door, opening it. "Would you like a cup of tea?" she asked as she opened the door wider.
Knightwalker nodded and Erza gestured for her counterpart to follow her downstairs to the kitchen area of the Fairy Hills dormitory. Reaching the small but well equipped downstairs kitchen, Erza placed water in the kettle and placed that on the stove to heat it. Knightwalker found a stool next to a raised table facing the kitchen. Erza soon joined her and once she had settled herself, she asked a question that she had originally planned from the beginning. "What do you think of Natsu?"
Knightwalker raised in eyebrow in slight confusion as she let Erza's question hang in her ear. "What do I think of Salamander?"
Erza smiled softly, "That was the question."
"What is there to think? He's an idiot, he's reckless, he's rude, he has no tact, and he's wholly self-righteous." Knightwalker recited without any hesitation on the subject.
Erza laughed a bit heartedly, "That sounds like Natsu alright." Well maybe not that last part.
"But-"Knightwalker began again, "There is something about him that I can't explain. Something that draws people towards him. I assume that's why everyone I talked to at Fairy Tail spoke so highly lf him. I can't really put anything on it myself but…It's something oddly enlightening." Knightwalker smiled a bit as she spoke.
Erza smiled softly and looked down. That's Natsu alright he can shine light on most everyone, it's the one thing he's good at besides fighting and destroying things. The two women once again sat in silence, small grins on their faces.
FWEEEET!
The whistle of the tea kettle broke their concentration, bringing them back into reality as Erza rose from her seat and walked towards the hot kettle. She poured some of the water into a teapot and placed a teabag inside for the flavor. After a few moments she poured two cups and then opened the fridge. "What do you take with your tea?" she asked looking over at Knightwalker.
"Honey is fine."
"Honey it is then." Erza closed the fridge and reached into the pantry over the sink, reaching inside until she pulled out a medium sized bottle of honey. She slowly poured it into both of the cups and when she was finished she put it back. She then grabbed both of the cups by the saucer and brought to the table where the two sitting.
"Thank you." Knightwalker said appreciatively as Erza placed her cup in front of her. She let it cool a bit before bringing the warm cup to her lips. She sipped a bit and her eyes lit up. "This is wonderful Scarlet." She said extremely pleased as she drank more, savoring its rich flavor.
"Thank you." Erza replied smiling as she sipped her own tea. "However I'm not as good at preparing it as Mirajane."
Knightwalker took another sip of mug and sat it down on the table, clasping her hands around it. Her face read with all signs of unfamiliar emotions.
"Are you alright?" Erza asked concerned.
"I must admit this is…odd for me." Knightwalker said with a sheepish smile.
"What is?"
"This, sitting here with you drinking tea so casually. Not too long ago I was trying my damndest to kill you and your friends, but now I'm in Earthland with no way to return home and I honestly do not know how to feel." Knightwalker said as she began fo sulk lower.
She felt a warm hand on hers and looked up to see Erza smiling at her. "Just try to take things one day at a time, we'll find a way to send you back home."
"Heh" Knightwalker smirked, "Sometimes I think about not wanting to return home. Here I have no responsibilities, no duty that I am sworn to uphold. No hunts, no battles, no pain, just nothing."
"I thought you liked to fight."
"At one point I did, but after so long, it begins to become just another chore."
"Maybe you should just give up." Erza said nonchalantly as she took another sip of tea.
"Maybe I should." Knightwalker said chuckling, "But that would be unbecoming of a knight of the Royal Guard."
Erza smiled, "Well as long as your still here, you might as well stay the night."
"Don't pity my just because we've actually exchanged friendly conversation Scarlet."
"It's not pity, you have nowhere else to go. Besides you have admit that talking like this has been nice for the both of us."
Knightwalker sighed slightly annoyed, "Fine. I'll stay for the night."
"Good, and don't worry you can go see Natsu in the morning." Erza commented mischievously.
"Shut up." Knightwalker said quickly as she turned away from Erza, despite her attempt to deny it, Knightwalker could not hide the fact that she was indeed…blushing.
...
Sorry this chapter took soooo long, life has seriously hindered my writing haha. I tried to take a bit of a different approach on this chapter detailing some more on the two Erza's relationship. I also tried to inject a bit of a backstory into Knightwalker, nothing too in depth just a bit of a broad look at what she was like before she became the Fairy Hunter so let me know what you guys think of that. As always thanks for reading and share your guys thoughts via review or msg. Thanks again :)