Cameo Appearance(s): Saria Knightwalker (Another OC -wink-)

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"Erza…" The young pup barked and parked herself by Erza's father's foot. "Not you, little one." She whined but instantly wagged her tail happily when a treat came her way. "What is it, Father?" said Erza while she placed a small red cone nearby a bush. She had marked each bush in the garden with a colored cone at each corner. Then, she let the puppy smell a piece of cloth that belonged her. "Well, your sister is in a bit of a fix." Once again, the pooch buried her snout inside the cloth, memorizing its scent. When she had it down, she scoured the garden for the bush that had some resemblance to the scent she had just learned.

"Which sister?" Her father squinted his eyes when they became a bit blurred. "The eldest one, Saria. Remember the scuffle she had with the loan sharks last year." A distant bark was heard. "Apparently, she has attracted more unwanted attention. Can you help her?" Before replying, the Captain checked if her newly trained tracking dog sniffed out the correct bush. She whistled and the dog came running. A treat was flung close to the dog's mouth and she caught it. "She won't accept any help from you again, father?"

He sighed wearily. "She didn't last time, she wont want it this time. But she listens to you, lass. Please, calm your Papa's nerves and check in on your sister." Erza wanted to respond that Saria was a big girl and that she could handle herself but the worry in her father's green irises told her that she should just comply with his wishes. "Very well, father. I will look into it this afternoon." A big Cheshire smile appeared on his lips. "Good, good. A Knightwalker must always make time for family." He quickly added, "Don't bring Gelatin."

The redhead blinked in confusion. "You mean Jellal. And why would I bring him?"

Ricard patted her cheek lightly. "That is what I said. Gelatin. Anyway, I say that because it seems to me that you two are attached to the hip, are you not?" He bitterly smiled at his youngest daughter.

Father and daughter stared at each other.

"He is not present at the moment." She uttered.

"Yes, I am…surprised, Erza." The puppy barked suddenly. "Adorable," Disdain oozed from his tone, "Him naming his dog after you. You should go get another puppy, and dub him, Gelatin."

"Jellal." corrected his daughter. "That is what I said, lass. Now run along."

"What do you have against him, Father?" Her question was left unattended to as the old man began walking away from her. He raised his hand for a wave. "I am sorry, daughter. The sound of my footsteps is drowning out your voice. Go to your sister. She'll set you straight." He yelled loud enough for her to hear. Erza arched her brow in question.

She'll set me straight? What did her old man mean by that?

Puppy Erza poked her head inside the doggy door. She identified that her owner is inside his office and barked. "Hello there, puppy." Jellal lifted her up and set her down on his desk. He noticed a rolled up paper tucked in her collar. "What's this?"

It read: "Wear something inconspicuous and follow me."

The writer of this note was in a rush when they wrote it but he was still able to discern its instructions. "Curious." He took a gander at his wall-closet. The white linen that closed off the closet hasn't been touched for a while. "Most curious." Reading between the lines, he changed into his old Earthland attire.

"Lead the way." She wagged her tail and exited through her special door. He followed.

Jellal effortlessly bypassed the patrolling guards and smirked with pride. Looks as though he hasn't lost his touch, yet. However, his lady Captain will probably not be too eager to hear that her guards hadn't sensed him.

Finally, after several minutes of sneaking around, he reached the outside of the castle walls and resumed the trail his clever puppy was laying out for him. Nobody thought it odd as the gray-furred pooch continued to escort the King to his designation. Stranger people have sauntered through these streets so his garbs didn't stand out as much.

She barked. The dog was steering him east from the central section of the Royal city. As far as he knew, the east area housed residents who want privacy from the loud bustle of the city.

He finally arrived in a residential area but Erza wasn't here. His dog yelped and pointed her nose towards an upward inclination that merged with the street. There was a house up on the hill. Jellal twitched, mouth agape with incredulity. He sluggishly stepped forward and observed his four-legged friend. She was enjoying their lengthy journey upwards far more than he.

Was he out of shape? "No. This hill is merely too steep. I am in peak…" The monarch wheezed. "…condition."

"Wait up." They finally emerged at the summit. There was a redheaded figure nearby a gated fence, leaning against a wall. "Erza." He whispered and limped over to the figure. She threw a toothy grinned at him and rubbed his belly. "Hey!" He didn't appreciate her teasing his…fitness. "Why go through all this trouble when we could've just traveled here together." She handed a bottle of water to her out of breath King. "I was testing the dog." Without hesitation, she caressed his wet bottom lip and added, " and your stamina." He felt an uncomfortable shift below his belt.

"Oh." While he just consumed almost all of the liquid inside of the bottle, his mouth was suddenly drying up. "Come, you can have a moment of respite inside the house." She guided him inside the gate. The yard was a jungle of spruce colored trees and unsupervised growth of bizarre looking blue plants covered what looked like the garden in the front yard. The secluded sepia toned house has seen better days but it emanated history and wealth of a different kind.

"This is the Knightwalker's old house. Only my eldest sister and father reside here, now." A crunch of a branch alerted the Captain of trouble. She laid a weary hand on Jellal's chest to signal that he shouldn't proceed forward. The puppy whimpered and hid her nose under her paws. Erza picked up a twig and threw it in front of her.

A rope automatically snared the harmless branch and whirled upwards to the thick arms of the tree that hovered above them. The twig instantly snapped in two. Half of its piece fell on the ground while the other continued dangling from the tree. "Damn you, Erza!" A woman had opened a window from the second floor. "Always foiling my traps." A raven-haired woman winked at the unamused Captain. "Lighten up, will you baby sister. I'll open the door." Upon hearing the woman's voice, Jellal compared her accent to that of their father. He wondered where the Knightwalkers originated. [Again, think of an Italian accent.]

True to her words, the door opened. Once inside, you could hear the age of the house as the floorboards creaked with every step. She led her guests to the living room where she advised them to sit. "Hey, long time no see." Saria gazed at her sister's direction and then to the direction of Jellal, who still wore a covering on his face. "Who's the clown, Erza? You sure keep company with oddballs." Feeling slightly embarrassed, he undid his mask.

Saria gasped. "Tall, dark and tattooed. How did you figure out how I like my men, little sister?" The Captain growled rather impatiently. "Just kidding. I know who you are, your Highness. Why are you here? Did you impregnate my sister?" Not knowing how to answer to that, Jellal wordlessly shook his head no. "No? Then, you two are getting married? Look at you, baby sister. You went straight for the top, huh." Erza clicked her tongue.

"Saria, Father had informed me that you are having some mishaps with the local loan sharks." Bemusement marred the older woman's features. "Loan sharks? I have no mishaps with the local loan sharks." Then, she recalled their father's visit from this morning. "Oh right! No problems with those imbeciles but I am supposed to talk to you about the dingos and the birds." The couple was boggled by her words. "You know, the birds and the dingos…or is it something with beeswax…bees and the dingos?" Erza slapped her forehead.

"The birds and the bees." Saria snapped her fingers. "Yes! How do you know about that? What are you, twelve now?"

"Thirteen and a half." The younger Knightwalker played along. "Do you honestly believe I haven't picked up any knowledge of THAT throughout my career?" Both Saria and Jellal laughed at the spectacle of this exchange. "What did you want me to tell, Papa? Oh pops, you can't serious if you think that Erza is still a vir-"

"Saria!"

"Look, humor me. Let's chat. His highness could have a look-see at our family album while he waits." She directed him to an antiqued closet beside a fireplace.

"He doesn't need a look-see, Sister."

"Sure he does." The raven-haired sister hooked her arm into her sister's and dragged her to an adjacent room.

The moment the door closed its mouth all hell broke loose. "He's a bit timid for a King. Is it true that Papa calls him Gelatin?"

"Unfortunately." Erza could only guess where this conversation will lead them. "Well, as long as he isn't a gelatin down there if you know what I mean." The redhead frowned, causing Saria to giggle. "Don't be such a prude, little girl." Silence filled the air.

"He isn't a gelatin, right?"

"I haven't the clue." Saria covered her mouth. "Wait, you two haven't churned the butter?" Now, Erza could deduce as to where this conversation will lead them. "Wait, he hasn't thread the needle? Wind the clock? Knock some mops? Boom-boomed? Rodeod? Hokey pokey? My goodness, Erza. I always thought you'd be so…willing."

The Captain shook her head. "Thank you for insinuating that I am a whore."

"You are welcome."

"Why is every talk we have result in perverseness?" Her eldest sister chuckled.

The sisters conversed for a while longer before joining Jellal in the living room. "Jellal, I told you not to have a look-see." She tried to pry the album from his clutches but failed. "You were cute when you were a child." He dodged another snatching and laughed at her pout.

"Jellal!"

"Erza."

A sincere, pleased smile squirmed its way on the older Knightwalker's mouth. Never has seen her scowling sister behave so…childish "All right, kids. Your turn, Jellal…Time for the talk." The pair froze in time. "The talk?" They simultaneously said.

"Saria. We have run out of time. Maybe another day." Erza hurried the King out of the door. There was no way she was letting Jellal hear the "Talk" from her sister. "Nice to meet you, Miss Saria!"

"Arf!" The puppy's head shot up from her nap and followed her owners.

"Sure, next time, then." Saria caught a small thank you from the King and waved at them. As much as she enjoyed seeing Erza squirm, it was probably for the best that they leave now.

"Next time, then." She repeated and closed the door when the two finally disappeared in the distance.

She sighed in relief.

"I have nothing to worry about now."

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I had no idea what to call the Chapter so I named it the name you see in the chapter selection. If you don't understand some of the terms Saria had listed, use context clues...or google (although, I wouldn't suggest it...)

Thanks for reading.