Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here, bringing you yet another chapter of "The ABCs of Natsu and Erza!" Today's letter is K for Knight!
I struggled with this letter for a bit. There just didn't seem to be any good K words that would fit. But eventually, this idea struck, and let it be known that I will NEVER attempt to write another setting like this unless the fandom I'm writing for is set in that setting. I struggled to make it work, but eventually, I decided... Well, I'll let you read for yourself.
I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters. That honor belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Lady Erza the Scarlet, a knight of King Makarov's round table, was traveling towards Mount Igneel, a volcanic region to the north of Magnolia, or the Royal City.
Her task was to slay the dread dragon Salamander that had been terrorizing the village at the base of the mountain. She was accompanied by a fellow knight by the name of Sir Jellal.
Jellal had come from the neighboring kingdom of Caelum and already earned the King's favor by defeating the Black Knight Erigor. Though she was grateful to the blue-haired knight for his service to the King, she was somewhat troubled by him. Nonetheless, the King had put his full confidence in him, and so, she would as well.
"Pray tell, Lady Erza, how much farther until we reach the village?" asked Jellal.
"'Tis no more than ten miles, Sir Jellal," replied Erza.
"Then let us make haste, for our destiny awaits!" cried Jellal. He spurred his steed, a black horse, onward. Erza did the same, and together, the duo made their way onwards.
When they reached the village, Erza and Jellal learned that the dragon's appearance was only a recent phenomenon. All the villagers knew was that a knight of Makarov's court had come to the volcano seeking a treasure, and three days later, a dragon started attacking the village.
"'Tis most suspicious indeed," said Erza. "Methinks I smell a trap."
"Bah!" Jellal scoffed. "The knave more than likely tried to collect a cursed treasure. We shalt destroy it and return our fellow to his rightful form!"
"Yea verily," said Erza half-heartedly. Though Makarov was a wise king whose judgment she fully trusted, she still could not say the same for the knight. Still, she thought, better to keep him close, if only for her sake. She and Jellal spurred their horses on towards the volcano with the sole intent of slaying a dragon.
As they rode to the base of the volcano, the horses started to buck and whinny. "Whoa, girl!" said Jellal. His horse calmed down, and Jellal dismonted. "I do believe the horses are afraid to go any further. We'll have to continue our quest on foot," he explained. Erza only nodded her approval, and the pair continued onwards.
About halfway up the mountain, Erza heard a faint rumbling. It grew louder and louder until…
"Watch out!" Jellal screamed as he tackled Erza off to the side, just in time to save her from a large boulder.
Except… Jellal himself was crushed by said boulder.
"Jellal!" she cried out, knowing subconsciously her pleas were in vain.
"Erza…" Jellal wheezed. "Slay the Salamander… not for me… but for our King… and the Kingdom… of… Fiore…"
Tears invaded Erza's eyes now. "I will, brave knight," she said. "Your noble sacrifice shan't be in vain!" Jellal just smiled and allowed his eyes to close, the sweet grasp of death taking him.
Erza was shaken up from the events that had just occurred. But however much it affected her, she could not – would not – let it interfere with her quest. She trudged on, sword in hand, ready to slay the dread dragon Salamander.
Erza bravely marched towards the cave where the fell beast dwelt, and drew her sword. "Salamander! I, Lady Erza the Scarlet, have come to smite you in the name of the Kingdom of Fiore!"
The dragon roared and stomped out of its cave to get a look at the female knight who came to slay it. It was large, as most dragons were, with crimson scales and the smell of sulfur around it. It let loose a blast of fire, which Erza rolled out of the way of.
The beast would not be denied its victory so easily. It continued to breath fire at the knight, and all Erza could do was guard against it with her shield. She soon saw an opening, rushed up to Salamander, and stabbed it in the heart.
The beast howled in pain for a moment, then glowed a bright yellow, much to Erza's surprise. Her great blade Titania was made especially for slaying dragons, but sometimes, it dispelled curses relating to dragons. That meant…
The dread dragon Salamander was actually a human being.
The dragon assumed a human shape, and with a loud clang, Titania was forced out of its heart. Finally, the light faded to reveal a pink-haired young man in a suit of armor designating him as one of King Makarov's knights.
"Lady Erza?" the man asked disoriented.
Erza recognized that head of pink hair. "Sir Natsu!" she exclaimed.
"I always knew your great blade Titania would free me from the dragon's curse," he said. "I thank thee for your valor."
"No thanks are necessary, Sir Natsu," replied Erza. "But pray tell. How did you come to be cursed by a dragon?"
"Like you, I too came here to slay a dragon," said Natsu. "However, the beast played a trick on me and cast its wicked magic on me, transforming me into a dragon like him, while it assumed a human form."
"Do you remember the Dragon's name?" Erza prompted.
"I do," said Natsu. "It was Jellal."
Erza felt a jolt of horror go through her. Jellal? The Jellal she traveled all this way with? No! He was dead!
Wasn't he?
"Ah. I was too late to stop you from revealing my secret, Natsu. Oh well, you both die here anyway," said an all too familiar voice.
Jellal.
"What black magic is this, Jellal?" Erza demanded bravely, though she was scared half to death.
'Tis the power of a dragon, Lady Erza," said Jellal simply. "I do not die but to beheading or a sword through the heart."
"Then… you were the dragon of Mount Igneel!" shouted Erza.
"Yes, and no," said Jellal with a chuckle. "Igneel, for whom this mountain was named, was a dragon of peace. He never raised a claw to the villagers that dwelt below his mountain. Some call it inspiring, I call it… weakness." Here, Jellal flashed a wicked smile.
"So I did what must be done. I killed Igneel, took his mountain as my own, and terrorized the village at my convenience. Eventually, Sir Natsu arrived to slay me. However, I cursed the knave and took on a human form, while he would become a dragon to carry on my legacy of terror.
"So now, Lady Erza," said Jellal as he drew his sword. "You die." With those words, he lunged.
Erza cursed herself for not reaching for her sword. On top of that, she could not will her body to move. "This is it," she thought. "I'm really going to die."
She opened her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them, to see Natsu blocking Jellal's sword with his own. "Natsu!" she exclaimed.
Determination was wrought all over Natsu's features. "Seize Titania and slay this beast!" he yelled. "I shall keep him busy!" Erza nodded and reached for her sword.
Jellal cackled. "No mere knight shall oppose me!" he shouted with glee. He roared as a black light engulfed him, and when it faded, there stood a dark blue humanoid dragon.
"Have at thee!" Natsu yelled and charged at Jellal. The dragon knocked his sword out of his grasp with a clawed hand and blasted what appeared to be a meteor at the knight, knocking him back.
"You cannot defeat me, Sir Natsu," growled Jellal. "I hold the powers of a true dragon!"
Natsu smirked. "Then 'tis a good thing I hold equal power," he said.
"What?" exclaimed Jellal.
"When Lady Erza pierced me with the great sword Titania, she broke the curse that you laid upon me," explained Natsu. "However, Titania breaks the curses of dragons… without stripping their victims of the powers they've obtained.
"I thank thee, Jellal. Through your dark magic, I have gained the powers of a true dragon, and thanks to Lady Erza, I have been reborn… as a Dragon Slayer!" Erza and Jellal both gasped at this revealation.
Natsu took a deep breath. "Fire Dragon's… Roar!" He exhaled a blast of flame, burning Jellal all over. The dark creature screamed in pain, and when the flames finally died out, Jellal fell to his knees, charred and weakened.
"Now, Erza!" exclaimed Natsu. "Aim for the heart and strike true!" Erza thrust her sword into Jellal's heart. Blood spurted from his chest as he gave one final roar before succumbing to grim death.
As Jellal the Dragon died, Erza woke up with a start. She looked around and saw that she was sitting in a train car, coming back to Magnolia after their little vacation. As reality started to return to Erza's mind, she remembered that Lucy had met a boy at the station and was currently having lunch with him in the dining car, whereas Gray and Happy had decided they'd rather be anywhere but next to a groaning Natsu.
Currently, Natsu was fast asleep, his sickness from eating the Magic Council's Etherion blast cancelling out his usual motion sickness. Basically, he was too sick to be sick, if that made any sense.
This was a far cry from the Natsu in her dream, so bold and confident and charming… not that he wasn't any of those things in real life, of course.
Wait… Charming? Did she just call Natsu charming?
Well, she had harbored a small crush on the Salamander for a while now, and it had only grown with the events of the Tower fresh in her mind. But the thing is, Natsu never needed to be charming before.
Of course, it didn't hurt, but Erza decided she could do without.
She leaned over to Natsu's forehead. "Sweet dreams, my knight in dragon scales," she whispered as she placed a light kiss on her forehead. She looked up to see Lucy, having returned from her lunch date, smiling and giving her the thumbs up.
Erza glared at the Celestial Mage, telling her to keep it to herself without words. Lucy only shrugged and waved it off, giving a nonverbal reply that she wouldn't tell anyone.
But enough about Erza's crush. She was dying to hear about Lucy's date.
I imagine I confused a few of you with this chapter, so I'll explain. The idea is that Erza was having a dream, which served as a metaphor for Erza's life. When the boulder crushed Jellal, it represented Erza losing him. Salamander turning into Sir Natsu is Erza meeting Natsu, and the battle with Jellal at the end, however much I may have half-assed it, was symbolic of Natsu saving Erza during the Tower of Heaven arc. The fact that it all took place in a medieval setting was indictive of the nature of Erza's magic. Too bad I couldn't work in Natsu eating Etherion, but that's just how it goes sometimes.
I have ideas in mind for L through P, R through T, and W, but that's about it. Anyone interested in tossing out ideas for Q, U, V, X, Y, and Z? And speaking of which, I'm not sure when I'll write L, just because I have another project or two in mind. SmurfLuvsCookies knows what project I'm talking about.
And I guess I'll formally announce the ABCs of Natsu and Erza Q&A here. Basically, you can ask me any question pertaining to the story or the canon I've established for it, but you gotta get it in before I post the L chapter, which isn't written yet, and I'll be focusing on something else for the next week or so, so don't worry about getting it in in time. Furthermore, I WILL ONLY ACCEPT QUESTIONS ASKED THROUGH REVIEWS OF THIS OR THE NEXT CHAPTER. ANY EARLIER, AND I WON'T EVEN CONSIDER IT.
So with that said, I think I'm just about done for this chapter. Until next time, peace and love from Nightlingbolt! Bye!