Author's Note
UWUWU! Another chapter because I was hit with a lightbulb! You won't see it now, but you'll see it soon. ;)
"Jellal!" Meredy whispers, shaking his shoulders with a firm gentleness. "Come on."
With a groan, Jellal sits up from his uncomfortable pallet and immediately began what had become the usual routine. Quickly pack up anything that they had unpacked and hightail from wherever they were.
The Magic Council recently started sending high profile mages after them, and apparently requests of their capture were sent out to the strongest guilds. Everyone knows what the trio looks like and that makes it impossible to travel by day.
Jellal throws the pallet to Ultear, who stuffs it under her arm before doing a last once-over of the dusty cellar that's been their home for a few days.
"Everyone ready?" She asks, and Jellal and Meredy nod. The one time they protested was met with a glare so powerful that Jellal and Meredy immediately became sheepish and, quite frankly, afraid. It only took that one instance for them to realize that Ultear's question was more synonymous to: "We're going right now, whether you like it or not," than anything else.
With a satisfied hum, Ultear saunters towards the one window that sits only a foot or so above her head. She pulls herself up to the ceiling, gripping onto the window sill with ease. With one incredibly fluid motion, she slides through the open window.
However, she is the only one to be able to do it with such adroitness. The window is small and narrow and Jellal knows that if he were in his best condition, he would not be able to fit. For once, he is appreciative of the skinny frame he had become during the time in prison. He hoists Meredy up, lifting her from her waist with a grunt.
Once she is through, he follows, rolling out onto the soft grass with a heaving breath. He can only see by the light of the moon and stars, the abandoned house he just emerged from seeming even more unsettling by itself in the large pasture than when they had found it a few afternoons ago.
Meredy is nothing more than a silhouette and Ultear, with her dark hair and now glowing eyes, looks like a demon more than ever. Jellal stands up, wiping the dust off his pants. They are surrounded by hills on each side, each adorned with large oak trees ascending towards the sky.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Jellal wonders aloud, his eyes meeting Ultear's. Meredy lets out a sigh- she has grown tired of the two's endless bickering over the past week and no matter how many times she tied to serve as a mediator, she could solve nothing.
However, Ultear does not show any hostility as she answers, and instead turns to her left as she lets out an inquisitive hum. "Vaguely. I plan to go to Crocus. And I'm sure it's this way… We'll see in a few days, no?"
"Crocus?!" Jellal exclaims so loudly it's a wonder that do-gooders haven't already descended from the hilltops ready to handcuff the man. "Are you insane?"
"Excuse me?" Ultear scowls, her head whipping towards Jellal. He takes a moment to curse his luck- he had been hoping she'd snap her neck.
"What are we going to do there?" Meredy quickly says, interfering before anything bad could happen. "Talk to the king?"
"No, of course not." Ultear says and even though her voice has lowered, her eyes still linger on Jellal with ferocity. "He has yet to release a statement on this whole debacle. We need to know how to approach him before we actually do. Anyway, we're going to meet an acquaintance that won't, hopefully, sell us out."
"It doesn't sound like you trust them," Jellal accuses, crossing his arms.
"He keeps his word- and we're in no position to be picky," Ultear decides to say, but even she doesn't sound wholly convinced. "And if he does test us, he will compensate with his life."
"Who are we meeting with?" Meredy questions.
"Ivan Dreyer," Ultear says, beginning to walk to the west. "But enough questions! We should probably start going."
"What do you mean?" Jellal scowls, pulling on Ultear's arm. "How have you gotten into contact with Ivan? He's one of the shiftiest men in Fiore! And where exactly in Crocus are we meeting him? You don't even know what you're doing, do you?"
Ultear's eyes narrow, slowly trailing down Jellal's arm before they rest where her sleeve is clutched by Jellal's hand.
"I said let's go," She repeats, but Jellal's grip doesn't even loosen.
"You can walk and talk at the same time, can't you?" Jellal seethes, and the two stare at each other until Meredy intervenes.
"You are not going to argue every single second!" She huffs, putting a hand on both their shoulders. "Let's be friends, okay?"
While Jellal doesn't feel compelled to change, but apparently Meredy's words strike something in Ultear, who, with one last glare, yanks her arm away from Jellal and walks away without a word. Meredy, lingering for a second, looks back at Jellal, but decides to leave him to smolder.
Jellal follows just as the darkness makes the two disappear.
The train ride is long and silent. Jellal still holds the white box in his hands, though he has yet to open it. Erza's eyes fall on the small cake box every so often and she only looks away when she realizes Jellal is watching.
Finally, as the train slows to a stop that is not theirs, Jellal holds out the cake. "You know, you can have it if you want," He offers, although he supposes it's less of a gift and more of a return.
"No, it's fine," Erza says, shaking her head. Her hands are clenched in her lap, and he can tell that she had to force herself to keep from looking at the cake box.
"You obviously regret giving it to me," Jellal says, reaching out farther. The cake is just a few inches in front of Erza, and she bites her lip.
"Well," she says slowly, as if waiting for Jellal to change his mind. Her hands slowly leave her lap and come to hold the box, her hands on top of his. Her cheeks slowly pinken and she looks down. "If you insist…"
Jellal lets her take the box, his hands falling to his lap. "Yeah."
An awkward silence follows. Jellal looks outside the window until the constant view of trees bores him so he turns his attention to Erza, who pays him no mind as she silently eats her cake. Her red hair is still the same as when he last saw it. Her brown eyes still hold the same authority that masks her confusion, her mannerisms no different than when they were both kids.
She barely changed.
"It's like you haven't aged," He blurts as soon as the thought comes to mind and Erza looks up, her fork falling into the box. At first she seems shocked, but then her heartwarming smile appears and she picks up the fork, ready to take another bite of cake.
"A lot has happened," Is all she says.
"I could say the same."
When they arrive at Magnolia, it's mid-evening, streaks of oranges and pinks appearing in the sky as the sun begins to dip below the trees.
"Oh no," Erza murmurs to herself as they step out of the train station into the noisy streets of the city.
"What?" Jellal questions, his eyes trained on the large canal they're walking beside.
"I haven't thought of where you would stay," Erza admits, her cheeks coated with an embarrassed blush.
"With you?" Jellal suggests, seeing no shame in it until Erza's pink cheeks turn into a deep red.
"Of-of course not!" She stammers, her hands flying in front of her. "Be-Besides! I live in Fairy Hills and males are prohibited!"
"Well, I haven't any money, so what do you suggest?" Jellal asks.
"Well, I'm sure someone in the guild will be willing to let you stay with them."
"No."
"Why not?" Erza questions, having recovered from her wild thoughts quickly.
Jellal only shrugs, although he could name dozens of good reasons, but he decides to keep them to himself.
"I don't have enough money to rent out a space," Jellal states, eyes widening as he realizes that he has no money at all. "How much money do guild jobs pay?"
"It's easy to find one for a few thousand Jewel," Erza says, grateful for the change of topic. "Generally, the harder the job, the more money it pays. So, the stronger you are, the more money you make."
She looks at Jellal," You shouldn't have a problem."
Jellal grunts, tapping his finger against his leg. He cares nothing for the acknowledgement, he knows his capabilities. It'll take at least another year or two for his magic container to be as large as it was in his prime. He doesn't want to wait that long.
When he snaps out of his thoughts, he notices that Erza has drifted away from the center of the town and instead is heading towards the luscious hills that lie in the city's outskirts. The amount of buildings dwindles as they walk along, the stone walkways transitioning to hardly defined dirt paths.
"Are we taking the scenic route?" Jellal questions, turning behind him.
"No," Erza says, a small frown tugging at her lips. "We had to change locations."
"You don't seem happy about it."
"Because I'm not," Erza says, an edge of bitterness to her voice. She turns and offers him a smile to assure him that her resentment wasn't towards him, although he already knows it isn't. "But, it's nothing for you to worry about. It's being dealt with right now, I assure you."
Jellal nods, not bothering to prod. He isn't too interested, anyway. He still doesn't want to be here.
Eventually, they reach a small basin between to hills where a small farm lay near the back of the clearing. A small garden is enclosed by a weathered fence covered by wilting vines. A small stone pathway leads from the barn doors to just a few feet away from where Jellal and Erza stand.
Trees encase the small building with shade, except the windmill hovering above them. The Fairy Tail symbol hangs proudly right beneath it, the power associated with it completely foreign to the quaint place it's found itself in.
Jellal immediately decides that he likes it, but Erza's stoic expression reaffirms that she doesn't. They walk towards the building in silence and Jellal looks at the many wildflowers sprouting from patches of weeds in the otherwise well-maintained grass. A pile of logs sit near the doors of the new guild building, though there is no smoke coming from chimney.
The opening of the guild doors brings with it the unique cacophony of Fairy Tail- shouts, music, and rough collisions all blending into one wonderful, horrible symphony. And Jellal decides that maybe he doesn't like this place as much anymore.
But, the noise dies down quickly, as the members notice his presence. Jellal awkwardly shifts to his side, trying to hide behind Erza until he realizes that she isn't there.
"Erza did it!" Someone shouts, and the guild erupts into a symphony of cheers and Jellal brings himself to look around. Everyone seems friendly with their wide smiles and welcoming gazes. He spots some familiar faces, Lucy barely convincing Natsu to not bother Jellal, Wendy smiling at him with a book clutched to her chest, Gray watching everything unfold, and a few others that Erza had mentioned on the way here.
Erza reappears to his side, dragging him to the raised platform where the most of the guild sits. Wordlessly, she wards off anyone that gets too close and sits him at the bar. A smiling woman looks at him for a second before her eyes train on Erza.
"Good job, Erza," She commends, and Jellal tries to keep himself from scowling. He doesn't like how people speak as if he is a lost object that Erza retrieved. And why the congratulations, anyway? "Good job for bringing an ex-convict to our guild," is more like it, but Jellal knows that none of them feel that way. He's not sure they can.
"I didn't do this to be commended, but thank you, Mira," Erza shrugs, her eyes sliding to Jellal. Mira nods, her attention back on Jellal as she rummaged through a drawer.
"So, Jellal, how was the ride?" She asks, trying her best to keep her bright blue eyes on him even as she scowls because she can't find what she's looking for.
"Peaceful," Jellal answers, slightly leaning forward to see what Mirajane is searching for, but she slams the drawer shut to open another that he can't see without being obvious.
"Hardly," Erza snorts, and Mirajane gives her a brief questioning look. "He punched someone." Erza explains, and Mira laughs, her eyes searching Jellal for a confirmation.
"Seriously?" She asks, and Jellal huffs and looks away, which is a good enough answer. "That's badass of you."
"Replace badass with stupid," Erza mutters, and Mira's eyes light up.
"Of, found it!" She announces, holding out a stamp. She reaches towards Jellal, leaning on the counter. "Where do you want your guildmark?"
Jellal bites back the want to say," Nowhere." He had already decided he would give Fairy Tail a shot. Erza's tentative glare reminds him of that. He lets out slow exhale, and turns to his right, tapping his right hand against his exposed shoulder.
"Right here." He murmurs, and Mirajane nods.
"And what color?"
"Doesn't matter."
Mirajane shrugs, her mouth twitching into a smile before it's replaced with mock solemnity as she dips the stamp onto the ink pad before pressing it against Jellal's skin. It's cool enough to give him a chill, but it lasts for less than a second. By the time he blinks, Mira's hand has retracted.
"It's official," Mira smiles, though it was tainted with mirth instead of genuine happiness. Jellal narrows his eyes, about to question her, before again, the guild erupts into cheers. They had apparently been watching.
He looks at Erza, whose eyes are glued to his shoulder. Realizing that he hasn't taken the chance to look at it himself, he shifts his arm upwards so he can clearly see his guild mark.
It looks foreign on his skin, he expected that, but that isn't what surprises him. It's that the mark of the strongest guild in Fiore is colored a bright red- the same shade as Erza's scarlet hair.
Author's Note
Just so you know, this chapter didn't have meh lightbulb. The lightbulb won't reveal itself for a while, haha~. Anyway, if you must know, Jellal arrives back at the guild just after Wendy and the others return from visiting Porlyuscia (did I spell that right? Internet's acting up so I don't wanna search). And, obviously, Crime Sorciere doesn't exist! I felt the need to mention that. When it comes to matching my events with events in the actual story, I suck, so don't expect too much from me :3. Hope you enjoyed!