Hello dear Reader!

If you are new to this story, welcome! If you had already started reading this when I had started writing this all these years ago, welcome back *Bows*, I hope life has been treating you well.

Side notes :

Narration

"Talking"

*Thinking*

Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail


Erza

The trip back to Magnolia was a short one from the small inn near the East Forest. However, since she had left quite late, Erza decided to return to the Girls' dormitory and get her thoughts in order for the conversation she would have with Makarov the next day. As she finished unpacking, the reequip mage found the old leatherbound book Tim had found in the old castle. Levy could probably read the old scripts, and since the small script mage was also living in the Dorms, perhaps she could drop it off now?

Heading to Levy's room, Erza checked the time before knocking on the door. It wasn't time for curfew yet and if Levy was in her room, she would probably be reading at this time. After a second knock and no reply, Erza slid the old book in the book box next to her door. Levy, being the bookworm that she was, had installed a special mailbox next to her door that Lucy had jokingly named 'Levy's Book box' and the name had stuck. Once the deed was done, Erza decided that a session of polishing and sharpening her different armors and weapons was in order. This had the benefit of making sure that her equipment was always spotless and her blades sharp, as well as soothing her mind as she kept her hands busy.

The next morning a resolute Erza walked into the guild while Lucy and Mirajane were chatting near the main counter, with Makarov at the end of the bar sipping on a beer. She gave a small nod towards the two female mages before marching straight to the Guild Master.

"Morning Master. We need to talk about Jellal."

Makarov's expression became somber, acknowledging her request with a short nod. Jumping off his perch and leaving his unfinished beer on top of the bar, Erza followed the small man up the stairs and into the infirmary. As she closed the door behind herself, Erza noticed that the two furthest beds were currently occupied by two bandaged up Jet and Droy who were quietly snoring. Those two could sleep through a monster stampede, so she doubted they would wake up from a conversation from the other side of the room.

Makarov took a seat on the nearest bed, patting softly the empty spot next to him as if urging her to sit. Erza obeyed, sitting stiffly next to him, back ramrod straight as she braced herself for their conversation.

"Relax child. I'm actually surprised you haven't come to me sooner." Makarov looked at her, a twinkle in his eye.

"I wanted to give him time, I thought he would come back to me and explain."

"So stubborn… the both of you". The old man sighted before continuing. "What happened?"

"Jellal and I crossed blades yesterday."

"Well, that's nothing new. A good sparring will strengthen your bonds with your comrades!", said Makarov in a cheerful tone.

Erza shook her head slowly. She always prided herself for being respectful of the rules, upholding peace and justice. Fighting her own comrades, fighting Jellal, was not something she wanted to be praised for. Erza's first memories were of the orphanage, a large wooden chapel outside a small quiet town and the Sisters that had raised her on the straight and narrow, to uphold the rules and respect other living beings. She had been one of the 'lucky' orphans, abandoned at the door when she was just a baby. The others usually came in later, dead eyes by day and screaming awake from nightmare by night, traumatized by their loss and tortured by memories of the loved ones they had lost.

"This wasn't a friendly spar, Master. I wanted to knock him down and attack a dragon."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Makarov's face blanch before shaking his head in what Erza interpreted as disappointment. The young woman's gaze fell to the floor as her mind went back to the first time she had met Jellal. He had been one of those 'unlucky' orphans, brought in by mages that had found him near the smoking ruins of a village. He had been smaller than her and had looked so scrawny in his torned up gray shirt that was way too large for him, but had the most beautiful royal blue locks Erza had ever seen. Every time she saw him she had felt the urge to pass her fingers through his hair, just to see if they were as silky as they looked. Unfortunately, like most children that arrived at the orphanage, he had that dead look in his eyes, barely responding to what the grown-ups were telling him.

Erza had hovered around him for the first few days, like she usually did when a new kid arrived. Afterall, since she had lived all of her 6 year long life in this place, she obviously was the best one to show him around. At first, he had ignored her, but she hadn't taken it personally, since he had been ignoring everyone, even the Sisters. If she left him alone, he would just stand there, looking into the emptiness with those dead eyes, so Erza, like she had done for quite a few other children, would gently take his hand and pull him around.

She would bring him outside in the sun when it was bright and the weather warm. For meals, she would bring him over to the cafeteria, sitting next to him and eating while greatly exaggerating her movements, taking big chomps out of her food and declaring loudly just how delicious the food was, to coax him into eating. When they were done, she would clean up after him, holding their plates with one hand while she held his hand with the other, showing him where they were supposed to put their dirty dishes. After lunch, she would tug him back to the dormitory and tuck him into bed for nap time. Whether it was during nap time or at night, she would climb in the bed next to his and lie down, staying close by ready to wake him up if ever he had a nightmare. At other times, she would bring him to different places like the library, the outside playground, the game room,... observing him while chatting away, explaining where they were, what the rules were here and making general comments. He didn't speak or seemed to want to interact with anything or anyone, so she let him take in his surroundings.

At first, she thought he had been feeling better when he started cleaning up his own dishes on the third day. Every morning he was always awake before her, showered and dressed before breakfast and was slowly building up an appetite. He also didn't seem to be having any nightmares. After a week, however, he still wasn't willing to speak, the same dead look in his eyes. Erza noticed that the dark circles under his eyes seemed to have gotten larger, as nap time came around, she realized that he would just lie on the bed while staring blankly at the ceiling.

Erza, never one to stay still when she saw a problem that demanded to be solved, got up and pulled him out of bed. The blue haired boy didn't complain as he followed her silently. They tip-toed around the orphanage as she led him to the attic. It was a bit dusty, but Erza was determined to get him to fall asleep. In a corner of the attic, in front of a small window that looked over the playground, she had built a small castle out of cardboard boxes and had filled it with pillows. It was too small to hold them both so she urged him inside. The small girl lifted a fluffy blanket with strawberry prints from inside the cardboard castle and wrapped it around his shoulders before stepping back.

"This is my secret castle. No one will come and bother you here. Also, that blanket is a magical shield that can protect you from everything!", she declared before turning around and sitting cross legged in front of the castle door.

They stayed like that in silence for a good while, almost an hour, before Erza heard sniffles coming from the castle. She didn't move, her back straight as she looked on the other way. A few years back, she had accidentally stumbled on one of the older boys crying in a corner. She had tried cheering him up but he suddenly started screaming angrily at her. Confused and hurt, she had started crying herself until one of the Sisters took her aside to calm her down. Sister Ani had then explained that, sometimes people can be very very sad, to the point that sadness is the only thing they can think of and will not want to be cheered up. In that case, it was better to let them cry. The important thing was to let them know that, when they were ready to feel comfort instead of sadness, you would be there for them. At first, Erza hadn't understood Sister Ani's words, until a few days later when the older boy came up to her and hugged her while giving her a bright smile. Erza was pretty sure this was the same thing for the boy with the pretty blue hair.

More time passed as the sniffles turned into muffled sobs. Erza still didn't move, waiting and unmoving, guarding the castle door. At some point the boy was quiet once again, but still she didn't move. She could hear voices coming from downstairs, chatters and running footfalls. Nap time had been over for a while now, hopefully he would wake up before supper, or before someone came looking for them… As she pondered this, trying to estimate the time that had passed, she heard movement from the cardboard castle. It was difficult to stay still, she really wanted to turn around and ask him if he had slept well, but she didn't. Like Sister Ani had said, he would come to her when he was ready. As more shuffling sounds came from behind her, she concentrated on slowing her breathing. Who knew waiting could be so difficult! To her surprise, she didn't need to wait much longer as two small arms entered her vision as they slowly wrapped themselves around her shoulders, his head coming to rest against her back.

"Th-thank you, Erza."

The young girl felt herself smile widely as she registered the boy's soft words, telling herself that the waiting had definitely been worth it. After that, Jellal had finally given her his name, even if it had taken two more trips to the castle during nap time.

Erza blinked herself back to reality, chuckling at the sweet memory. She was still sitting on the infirmary bed next to her Guild Master. The elder man watched her silently, waiting for her to collect herself. Clearing her throat, Erza continued her story.

"I was searching for two missing children that were last seen playing near an old castle. I felt a burst of magical energy followed by a beastly roar, then the old stone castle started to collapse. When I got there, I spotted a large golden scaled dragon. I felt anger towards the beast. We have lost some much to them… ", her voice cracked on the last words. She had wanted justice. Retribution! Caught up in her anger and anguish, Makarov's soft voice surprised her.

"They have also lost much to us, humans." Erza's eye snapped his way. He looked… sad? Her anger dwindled out at the sorrow she saw in his usually vibrant eyes. When he didn't add anything else to his statement, the young woman spoke up again.

"Jellal stopped me from going for the dragon… I know you've forbidden us to attack dragons, but I was… so angry." her words seemed hollow now. "And he was right to stop me. The dragon had protected the children from the collapsing stones."

She had been on the verge of attacking a defenseless living being. Who was she to pass judgment upon someone without even knowing of his deeds? She felt ashamed now, this was not who she was, how she'd been raised. This was not how Fairy Tail's Titania should be behaving. Calm washed over her as she finally asked the question that had been torturing her all night.

"Why was Jellal protecting that dragon?"

Erza was now facing Makarov, her gaze steady, unyielding. The Guild master left out a soft sight before smiling brightly at her.

"I figured I wouldn't be able to keep this a secret forever, unfortunately, this isn't my secret to share…".Erza glared at him, her gaze becoming menacing "... but! If you must be angry, be angry at me. I am the one that tasked Jellal to protect that golden dragon. That kid is part of Fairy Tail and is my precious family. That is all I can tell you. If you want more answers, you should try asking the dragon himself."

Erza blinked once… twice…

"What?... Ask… who?"

Makarov's smile grew wider, pleased with himself.

"The flashy golden dragon. Go talk to him. He's not the most talkative guy, but if you tell him I sent you, he will answer your questions. He won't attack another Fairy Tail member. After all… you've met him before."

Erza just sat there on the bed, dumbfounded. He wanted her to go talk to the dragon? A giant reptile that, apparently, could answer her questions? And more importantly, it was a member of Fairy tail?

Seeing her dumbfounded expression as she processed the information, Makarov got off the bed, patted her leg gently before leaving the infirmary.


It has been quite a few years since the last update and I wish to thank everyone that still follows this story for their patience. I wish to also thank Chibimancer, Akina Falls, Sapphire Water maiden, Dvel732732, Nitebreaker, AnonymousStalkerFriend, Usweasil, Fanficlove2014, qyu00, Tara Luna Apple, artery, marti36, rexray, Ensis96, DragonSlayer2526 and all other Guests that have taken the time to read and review the last chapter.