Author's Note
This time it's Jerza, though. I've been reading a book that has soooo much imagery, something which I'm not good at incorporating into my stories. I'm trying to kind of use that element, but there's barely any here, or maybe none at all. SHRUG. Anyway, this one's a Jerza story. I hope it turns out okay. Enjoy!
He hears the footsteps first. They are impressively silent, but it is enough to disrupt the quiet he had grown accustommed to. A few grunts and heavy falls and then someone's knocking on the door.
"Hey." Someone hisses urgently, and Jellal, curiosity piqued, moves to the door. There's glass, but he can't see through it although the strangers on the other side can. He blinks at it, trying to imagine who it could be, but no faces come to mind.
"Move out the way of the door, dammit!" A second voice whispers, and Jellal complies. THe door swings open, quickly, and two women move into the room, quickly shutting the door behind them.
One, the oldest of the two, is a stunning woman with purple hair so dark that it's almost black and amber eyes that regard him with some emotion he can't place. Her companion, seemingly much more excited, has an appearance much more bubbly. Her short, straight hair is bright pink, a startling contrast in his gray cell, and her eyes magenta. Both wear black outfits designed for stealth and infiltration.
The older one scowls, disregarding Jellal as she searches the cell. "You haven't even tried to escape?" She asks, baffled and slightly irritated.
"Ultear?" Jellal exclaims, baffled. "What are you-"
"Answer the question." Ultear snaps, and Jellal instinctively does so.
"I don't want to." Jellal briskly answers. "But what are you-"
"What?" The pinkette asks, stepping closer to Jellal. Her sparkling eyes quickly darted to her partner. "Ultear, that kind of defeats the point of us being here."
"Do you think I'm giving him a choice?" Ultear responds, finally collapsing on Jellal's cot with an exasperated sigh. "His file said he didn't resist arrest, but I thought it was just an act to get out of jail early for good behavior."
She looks at Jellal, eyebrow arched and eyes full of suspicion. "You're not hiding anything are you?"
"What? No. And what the hell are you doing here?!" Jellal nearly shouts. "And who are you?" He asks the other girl, who eyes him in blatant annoyance.
"Meredy. And don't shout so loud!" She chastises, a small frown tugging at her lips. "I can't use magic in here, so let's just... calm down. Things are complicated enough."
"I'm surprise you even remember me." Ultear whispers, her expression softening as she stares at the ceiling. "I'd apologize now, but we have to find some way out."
"You just came through the door."
"And we left the keys outside in a hurry." Meredy responds, nervously laughing. "And the door's closed. And there's no door handle here, so..."
"So this is an escape attempt?" Jellal asks, nodding his head in understanding.
"Yes." Ultear confirms, swinging her legs off the bed. She rises to her feet, clapping her hands together. "So help us look for an escape route."
"You must've not heard me when I said I have no intention of leaving."
"You must've not heard me when I said you don't have a choice." Ultear growled. "So get up, now."
"Or?" Jellal questions, sitting down on the floor. As if he would go anywhere with that canniving woman and her new lackey. She is the reason he's sitting in the jail cell in the first place. Who knows what she's planning this time?
"Do you think that a scrawny, half-starved prisoner like you could beat a woman like me, well trained in magic and combat who is completely healthy?"
"She's really pugnacious." Meredy whispers to Jellal, squatting down next to him. He scoots away from her and she giggles as if nothing is wrong.
"You're modest as ever." Jellal says, rolling his eyes. Ultear angrily huffs and goes back to searching, whispering incoherent phrases under her breath.
Meredy's eyes slide to Jellal, and although there's nothing calculative about her expression, he still uncomfortably fidgets under her glance.
"She's changed." Meredy says, and she pulls Jellal's gaze to her. "Ever since we lost to Fairy Tail, she's been different. In a good way."
"She's evil."
"So were you." Meredy softly whispers, eyes falling to the floor. "Which is why you should understand her."
"I don't understand," Jellal starts, looking at an oblivious Ultear. "How she can do so much wrong and just, live with herself. How she can just let herself walk free and be unburdened."
"You're wrong." Meredy says, shaking her head. "If she had no burden, she would not have kept me around and she would not be here for you. She feels like she has something to repay the world. At least she's actually trying to do some right instead of sulking in a cell."
"I'm paying the time that's been sentenced to me."
"Jellal, you're scheduled for execution." Meredy says, eyes wide and hands moving furiously. "Surely, Fairy Tail gave you some over exaggerated speech about living and righting your wrongs?"
"How is Fairy Tail?"
Meredy frowns, obviously angry at Jellal for changing the subject. Still, her hands fall back to her side. "Gone, mostly. Their signature members, anyway- even the master."
"Dead?"
"I don't know, probably. Tenrou was attacked, and we left before we could get caught in the middle." Mereday sighs, shaking her head. "They've been gone for a year now."
"A year?" Jellal murmurs, the faces of the guild members flashing in his mind. All of them, gone?
Meredy looks back to Ultear, smile returning. "Well, I better go help her." She reaches a head towards the ex-dark mage, not faltering even when he doesn't grab it. "Oh, come on." She scoffs, and she firmly grips his hand and pulls him off the floor.
"Ultear!" She whispers loudly, causing the older woman to turn around.
"What?"
"Found anything?"
Ultear scowls, punching a nearby wall. "No. Damn it! There's nothing here!"
"Which means we can escape the fun way!" Meredy squeals, clapping her hands over her small chest.
"Which is?" Ultear gruffly questions, softly knocking on the walls with the elbows.
"Surely some backup will come and try to detain us and punish us for breaking into a prisoner's cell, right? We push straight through them." Meredy says, eyes brightening at the idea. She looks to Jellal. "We just have to make sure he won't get hurt."
"I'm not going with you!" Jellal scowls, impatiently tapping his foot. "How many times do I have to tell you that? You get yourself out of our own mess. You always try to involve others with your stupid endeavors!"
He stares pointedly at Ultear, whose expression remains unusually calm and still. She regards Jellal with a neutral stare that manages to almost send shivers down Jellal's spine.
"You may babble about how you want to waste the little time you have left in your life wallowing in resentment and self-loathe all you want." She slowly says, as if speaking to a child. "And I am kind enough to not let you do that to yourself. When people reach out to you, take their hand."
She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Goodness, now I sound like Fairy Tail."
Meredy shushes her, oblivious to the glare she gets in returns. She hears something, and at first Jellal doesn't. Ultear picked up on it, too, and Jellal looks at them both with a scowl on his face.
"What?" He demands, and Meredy turns to look at him with a big grin on her face.
"It's go time!"
As if on cue, the door is thrown open, and Jellal catches a glimpse of around a dozen magically armed guards surrounding the door.
"Hands up and knees on the ground!" The one in front commands before an elbow is sent flying into his gut. Ultear's smirk grows, and even magicless, as the guards shout and storm the room, she does not look worried and overpowers them with ease. Jellal, on the other hand, let's himself be pushed onto the ground by a guard, who barks in his ear so ferociously that Jellal feels drops of spit rain on his face. After a few seconds though, the guard is sent flying into the wall, and Meredy crouches in front of him.
"What are you doing?" She questions. "Come on!"
She pulls Jellal off the ground with a grunt, and he is dragged towards the cell door, marveling at Meredy's strength.
"Too easy," Ultear mumbles as she walks through the door, inhaling a deep breath as the magic surges back into her body. And soon, Jellal is hit with the sensation as well. But no magic comes, just the sickening feeling that he is missing something but can't grasp it. He lets out a surprised gasp as his body finally registers the change of environment, as his body tries and fails to absorb the Ethernanos that have already returned to his companions.
"Jellal?" Meredy questions, her face full of worry.
"It's okay, Meredy." Ultear says. "It's just taking a while for him to adjust."
Alarms are ringing all around them, but there are no more sounds of rushing feet. Prisoners are banging on the doors, obviously wondering what's going on, but Meredy no Ultear moves to free them as well. Out of all the prisoners, Jellal wonders, why did they have to free him. He is hoisted onto Ultears back, who starts jogging through the hallways with Meredy right behind her.
Jellal's ears are ringing, his body aching, and stomach clenching. He barely notices that he's been picked up, and vaguey wonders if this is what Magic Deficiency Disease feels like. He wonders if he'll never be able to feel the rush of magic again, if he'll just feel the Ethernanos but never be able to utilize it again.
And then all there is is blackness, so dark that he feels he could slip into it and forget his own existence, and then he can't feel anything, except the dull rocking as he is being stolen from the prison.
Jellal paces around his cell, slowly walking from one gray wall to the next. It's difficult, with the chains shuffling along with him, never letting his legs become too far apart, but what else is he to do? There's nothing in this cell that could give him entertainment, not like he deserves it. Just a wooden cot broken by the termites that have long since abandoned the place and a pillow bitten by the moths circling around the flickering light above his head.
And the window. He has gotten used to the guard on the other side, always watching, always ridiculing. Even though the window is soundproof, so Jellal can't hear anything that's on the other side of the glass- which finds a way to stay sleek and polished, even on his side- he can imagine the man's thoughts.
He must pride himself, Jellal thinks bitterly, for being the guard that keeps the horrible Jellal Fernandes detained. And then, he remembers that he himself thinks that this is what he deserves, and he feels guilty for feeling otherwise. In a moment of anger, at himself and the world that must hate him, he glances towards the window, mustering up as much bravado he imagines a villain like he was should have.
Only the guard isn't there. Jellal blinks, confused. The guard's always there, whether alone or with others who find themselves giddy at looking at the ex-dark mage. He cautiously steps closer to the window, suddenly noticing the silence. Has it always been this quiet?
He doesn't know where his prison is- just that it's maximum security and that the cell's been all he's known for years. Years. How Jellal isn't insane is beyond him- maybe it's the universe's way of making sure he can face his memories- all of which he keeps tucked away in the cornes of his mind- with a conscious mind.
The same guard has been watching over him since he was imprisoned eight years ago, and he has never left the room just outside of his. He peers past the glass, coming close but not touching it. The room is completely empty, but it couldn't have been for too long.
The door leading into it is swung open so Jellal can see into the dim hallway, and the chair that Jellal can barely see, as it is on the far side of the room, still swivels in place.
Keys jangle nearby and Jellal scrambles away from the window, although it doesn't matter. The cameras caught it all. It takes a while for his door to open, there must be many locks, and by then Jellal is more curious than tense. Is he being moved to another cell?
His guard's head pops through the door, hardened eyes scanning through the room before landing Jellal. They light up a bit at the unbecoming sight, and his lips quirk upward as he regards Jellal with a small nod.
"You, come on." He swings the door open completely, and the rush of warm air takes Jellal by surprise. He had gotten used to the cold in his room- it must be the middle of winter- and the heat is unsettling. It's sad, he thinks, that such small changes disorient me so greatly. But why wouldn't they? He's had no change in environment for a long time.
He follows the man out the door way, taking the moment to look at him up close. He was all pudge, with stubby legs and short arms that almost look too short compared to his body, since he is almost as tall as Jellal. His thick fingers clench the key ring and he stuffs them into his front pocket before beginning to walk down the hallway. It's not big enough for the both to walk side by side, so Jellal walks behind. The guard's heavy footsteps nearly drown out the clanks of the chains that keep Jellal's movements limited as well as his magic.
"Where are we going?" Jellal asks, head snapping from side to side to take in his surroundings. Just bland gray walls with other doors holding prisoners of the same caliber as him.
"Prisoner's don't ask questions." The guard grunts, abruptly stopping at a larger door near the end of the hallway. Taking out his keyring again, he jabs the key into the hole and shoves open the door. He holds no grace at all- just brute force, although Jellal can tell that he's undoubtedly weak. But who is he to judge?
Jellal doesn't apologize or prod, for fear that either one could get him into trouble. The next corridor is wider, but Jellal doesn't move to walk side-by-side with the guard. They walk in silence, save for the heavy footsteps and clanking, until the walk through an archway into a large room.
It must be one of the main offices, Jellal guesses, for it is better furnished and well-kept unlike everything he's seen so far. Light floods through the grand windows all around him, the ground now carpet instead of cement. To his left is a polished desk, seemingly freshly stained, with a stone-faced woman manning it. She doesn't bother to look at them. Instead, she disappears into a room that's behind the desk.
"Call her in!" She yells, before coming back out. This time she spares a glance towards Jellal and the guard, seeming equally disgusted with both. She wipes her pale hands on her plum colored shirt, dark eyes ripping away from Jellal,
"Abel." She curtly greets, frowning.
"Avery." He responds just as rudely, and the conversation ends. If you could call it one. Opposite of Jellal, grand doors etched with beautiful patterns creak open, and a woman steps inside.
Suddenly the room becomes much smaller. The colorful rugs and wallpaper fade into obscurity. Abel and Avery's voices disconnect from his reality. And it's all drowned out by her loud hair.
Bright red hair that reminds Jellal of the sun falling from a blazing sky or crimson blood that many shed at his expense. Why is she here? What does she want?
Her lips move and she steps towards him, so he takes a step back.
"Jellal." She says, but he can't hear her. But he recognizes the familiar movement of her lips when she says his name. What does he look like right now? Crazy, probably, with him backing into the hall he just came from, but his small, afraid footsteps do nothing against her big strides.
"Go away." He says, or at least he thinks he does. He is still overwhelmed by the deafening silence that he might've just let out a horrified yelp and he wouldn't notice. But seeing how her brown eyes widen- so dull compared to her hair- and how they darken with hurt, he guesses he said what he meant to. And then he feels guilty.
And the guiltiness brings him back into reality, somehow, and the noise and colors return. The white curtains stand still. He can see the leather arm chairs in the corner of his eyes.
Abel eyes him with disregard, hands fumbling. He looks at Erza, eyeing her up and down. She certainly isn't dressed for the winter. Her simple black shirt cling to her body, exposing her midriff and a black skirt that falls to her knees. Oddly, she wears armored boots, and Jellal can see the hilt of a shortsword peeking at the top.
Abel eyes her hungrily, a smug grin creeping on his face. "Do you need me to escort you. I'd hate for a woman as beautiful as you to walk alone with this creep."
With unveiled disgust, Erza's eyes harden as she glares at Abel. She manages to keep her composure though, and Jellal marvels at how calm she is. Abel's outburst riled him, though he thinks he managed to hide it, and he barely had the self-control to stop his fist, chained or not, from colliding with Abels's face. How dare he speak to Erza that way?
"I'll be fine." Erza replies, an underlying threat to her words. Abel catches it and doesn't press any further.
Avery, with the ghost of a smile, clears her throat, and Erza steps towards the desk.
"Sign this." She instructs, and Erza looks up at her questionably.
"What is it?"
"It basically says that Jellal is now Fairy Tail's problem, until he finishes his sentence. You are here in Makarov's absence, aren't you?" She haughtily sniffs, smacking a pen on the document. "Hurry now."
Erza's eyes skirt over the paper, and with a few scribbles she's finished. "Here." She says, sliding the paper back to Avery. She ignores Erza, and instead turns to Abel.
"Well, go ahead."
Jellal looks confusedly to Abel and Avery- he refuses to meet Erza's eyes- for he had not been listening to the conversation and only caught useless bits and pieces. Another blink later, his shackles are on the ground.
What?
The noise the shackles made echo against the wall, and Jellal looks at his wrists and ankles. No longer are they bound by the strict metal chains, and he suddenly notices how sore he is, before the feeling disappears. Magic reenters his body, surging into him all at once, making him stand a little taller and feel a bit better.
"You're free to go."
And at that, Jellal's left wrist feels something worse than the binding chains. It's the grip of Erza's hand as he's being dragged out the door.
"What horrible people they were." Erza says, walking ahead of Jellal. "Rude and cunning. They'd get their heads chopped off talking to a criminal how they do!"
They walk past many guards lining the hall, all of which mind Erza with a respectful nod or glance but immediately cast dirty, digusted looks at Jellal when she passes by. Feeling shamed, Jellal takes to looking at the ground in front of him, not letting himself make eye contact with anyone.
All he can see now is the red tips of Erza's hair to her feet. She doesn't walk gracefully like he always thought she would. He never got the chance to think of such a thing, with their previous meetings anything but lovely.
Instead, her footsteps are commanding, firmly planted into the ground. She walks like a leader, chin high and posture straight.
"Where are we going?" He asks, quietly.
"Home." Erza states simply, before stopping. She laughs awkwardly, turning around to face him. He keeps his eyes trained on the ground. "Though I suppose it doesn't hold the same title to you. I apologize. We're going to Fairy Tail."
She starts walking again, but Jellal stays where he is.
"I refuse." He says. Once again, Erza stops, her tone losing its cheerful tone.
"Excuse me?"
He forces his eyes to meet Erza's, and his eyes explore her face. "I'm not going to go." He repeats, frowning.
"Where else would you go?" Erza asks, confused and shocked. "Back to jail?"
"Yes." Jellal nods. The guards look on with badly hidden curiousity, making him embarrassedly shift his weight.
"I went through so much trouble to prove to get you out of this horrible prison!" She protests, frowning back at him with her arms crossed against her chest. "Fairy Tail went through so much to get you out of jail. As if we haven't had enough to deal with already!"
"If you didn't have the time for me, you could've just leave me be." Jellal replies quietly, slightly hurt. Of course, he's just Fairy Tail's good deed. "I was perfectly fine."
"I didn't mean it like that." Erza says. "What I mean is, you can't just throw everyone's efforts away!"
"I didn't ask for those efforts. Although I appreciate them."
"Goodness Jellal!" Erza exasperatedly sighs, raising her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. She shakes her head, mumbling to herself before looking back up at him.
"Please." She murmurs. "Just, please come. You don't have to stay but I don't want to disappoint everyone."
Jellal blinks down at her, and she looks away from his blank glance.
What is wrong with her, he thinks. What does she not understand about atonement? Why can't she leave me alone?
For a moment, he considers walking back to the office and begging to be taken back to his cell. But then he looks at Erza again and sees the sadness she desperately tries to hide. He had done so much to Erza already. How could he consider betraying her, leaving her once more?
Is his atonement just a selfish aspiration to escape his problems? He's a coward, and she is not and he wonders how she does it. How can he be any more pitiful?
"Okay." He nods, half regretting it, half not. This is his true chance to atone for his actions, by reconciling with the people he hurt. Or at least try to. Why anyone would want to befriend him is beyond him, but Fairy Tail is a very forgiving guild, their weakness, and their strength.
Erza doesn't reply, but she turns around with a small smile on her face and walks a little quicker. Still maintaining the same distance as before, Jellal follows after her, feeling a little warmer himself.
Maybe it won't be too bad going to Fairy Tail, though he can't shake the feeling that it will.
Author's Note
And there we go. Maybe you notice the change in writing around some point in the story. Still finding myself when it comes to writing style~ (cringe) and since I worked on it over a long period of time, different elements inspired me to pick back up all of which somehow influenced my writing. Don't worry, I didn't steal any lines (I don't think) but still. Hope you enjoyed!