Hiro Mashima owns everything here. I mean it. Everything.
Chapter Six - On the way to Era
"Jellal. Let's go, we need to hurry" called a woman in a hood with a deep voice. Her long hair were sticking out of the coat. Her covered face was turned to the man's figure on the ledge of the mountain, who was standing there with closed eyes.
"I'm coming, Ultear. Is Meredy also ready?" he answered without opening his eyes nor turning back.
"Yup!" the other woman called with enthusiasm. "Jelly, you're the only one left!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Tell me…" Meredy ran to him and, tangling her hands behind, she leaned over him. "Were you thinking of her?"
"Meredy" warned her Ultear, however, the man remained silent.
"As always? Every day, every moment, and that's why you're so… Strange?"
"MEREDY!" yelled at her the brunette. "You're being rude. Shame on you."
"No, that's all right, Ul. And yes, I'm thinking about her" replied after a small pause Jellal, who finally had opened his eyes. He turned them onto the woman next to him. She shivered when she saw that sight full of sadness and pain.
"Why did you do this to yourself…" Meredy sighed and shook her head. The man frowned and opened his mouth, but she lifted her hands. "That was not the question."
"I know." Jellal's brows returned on their usual position and he cleared his throat, putting on a cloak, along with a big hood onto his head. "Let's go. We need to get to the Magic Council before twilight."
Ultear glared at him carefully, with worry. Well, there was nothing she could have done for her friend, but still… She remembered the reason of rescuing him from the Council's prison. She and Meredy had been extra careful with all the preparations, expecting the man to be out of magic power and strength, which had been needed for the escape. After releasing him from the lacrima he had been kept in, though, he had seemed so lively and determined that they had been amazed. However, the reason had been quickly released for them – that mage, who was kept inside of a lacrima which was supposed to suck out his magic strength, had been able to use his ability of telepathy. What was more, he had been constantly contacting a woman, Erza Scarlet, with who he had seemed to have a special relation.
Nevertheless, when he had asked his saviors about Fairy Tail and Erza Scarlet, he had found out about them being missing. He had taken it horribly, and Ultear with Meredy had had to use all the forceful moves to keep him alive and in quite normal state of mind. It had taken some time, surely. Yet he had returned to quite stable psychical state.
At last, after over six years, the rumor had been spread that Fairy Tail had returned to Fiore. Ultear had seen Jellal that day – he had started to live again, his face had started to show something more than nothing, his eyes slowly had begun to live again, the deep emptiness had gone away. Somehow, Jellal had found out that the group, where had also been Erza Scarlet, had been going by the sea to train for three months before the Grand Magic Games. He had convinced his companions to meet them in the forest nearby, and Ultear had promised to fasten their training by unleashing their second origin. But under one condition. The male mage would have finally told that woman how he had felt. If not, the deal had been cancelled. After some struggling, to the woman's delight, Jellal had agreed.
And so it had happened. The group of Fairy Tail had come to the place, where Crime Sorcieré had been waiting. Ultear had felt Jellal's excitement and nervousness. Yet, the brunette had been sure of the scheme.
At some point, the plan had succeeded. The man had disappeared with the scarlet-haired for some time, probably to talk and fulfill the promise. She had given her magic to members of Fairy Tail, which had caused them to suffer. Well, that was the price. After the sunset, the mages had come back, looking somewhat relieved. Ultear had obviously thought that it had been due to the confession the man had made. She applied to Erza the Lost Magic and the whole guild had decided to say goodbye for the time being.
"How did it go, Jellal?" she had asked the bluenet, curious.
"Not very well" he had confessed.
"WHAT?! You chickened out?!" Meredy, who had clearly known everything, creid.
"Kind of."
"What have you done?"
"We almost kissed*. And after that… I told her that I had a fiancé" Jellal had admitted with a blush.
"Wait, what do you mean: almost?" Ultear had frowned.
"I pushed her away."
The woman had been furious, yet, she had decided that getting them together would have been something she had to do. Even if that thing would have been the last thing in her life. And she had a plan already.
Erza woke up, feeling uncomfortable and numb. The reason was evident – she had been sleeping under a huge tree, on its roots, on the naked ground. Her back hurt, although she was not sure whether the reason was either the way she had spent the night, or the fact of being pregnant. Dammit. She overslept the sunrise, and it must have been already something around eight in the morning.
"Well, time to go" she murmured, stretching her back and arms.
The spell Chelia had casted on her was gone for long by then and some nauseous feelings went through her body. However, Erza was too determined to be defeated by a stupid queasiness and stood up. She looked around and found the main road several meters from her. That's strange, I thought I walked further from the GOŚCINIEC, she thought. Packing her things did not last more than five minutes and the redhead was already on her way.
Her goal for the day was the town of the Magic Council, Era. She had traveled almost half of the way the day before, so with a little bit of luck she would have reached the Council at that day, or the next one. Or so she hoped.
Erza was going with a constant tempo, and she went quite a distance before meeting anyone on the route. From a distance the woman had noticed a dirty coat and a dry branch, a stick in his hand. The person was limping. The mage sped up and caught up with the covered someone, still unable to see his face.
"Excuse me, mister" she started with a smile.
The figure stopped, his head – apparently, because the hood was covering everything, and logically, a head should be right there at that place – lifted, and there was silence for a moment. Then, suddenly, the stranger yelled, not saying the words too clearly: "Mysteh, my ass! I'll geeve ya a myster, lout!"
"I… I am so sorry, I couldn't tell because your face…" Erza tried to explain, perplexed and ashamed of the mistake, however, the stranger would not have let her finish.
"My face's not yar problem! Who dou you theenk you are, you littl…"
"Excuse me" the Reequip mage felt an irritation growing inside. Her aura darkened and she changed her attitude. The wanderer got quiet and gasped. "I don't deserve such treatment. Or your hostility. Do you still have a problem?"
"N-no!" the person squealed quietly.
"I thought so" the dark impression was gone and Erza smiled again. "So, who are you and where are you going?"
"I-I…" the personality cleared his throat and decided to take the hood off. His dirty hands were going slowly aback with the material, revealing a face… Or, was it to be called a face? Erza took a step back. What on Earth…?
The face of that human being was all twisted. He – or she – had both eyes, although one of them was normal… Yet, the second one was much too low. What was more, half of that visage looked like it had been burned, full of bruises and horrible twirls. It was a terrific sight, even for the mage.
"I'm sorreeh for my previas byhavior. I'm not used to talkin'… To enyon. I'm Thereesah" The person said. Erza could not have told if she was wearing a grimace because of the words she had said, or due to her facial… State.
"Nice… Nice to meet you, Teresa. I'm Erza…" the redhead answered, feeling a shiver going along her spine.
"Nice ya, ha?"
"So… Where are you going?"
"Walkin' here and thyre, not yur business. And ya?" she growled and shot Erza a very nasty look. Then Teresa decided to put her hood back on.
"I'm going to Era, where the Magic Council is. I have a… Business right there" the mage answered with a smile. "Also, I am willing to find someone…"
"Someone? Hmmm" Teresa commented and begun to walk again. "Whey?"
"I need to talk to him. Something very important is happening and… And…" the redhead's eyes watered and she sniffed with her nose. Teresa glared at her, but after a second her sight softened and she nodded.
"Nau, nau, don't cry. Ya can teel meh 'bout eet by the wai."
"B-but you don't need to if you don't want to!" she opposed.
"I don't mind, hav time and nathin' else tu do."
Scarlet blinked once, twice and once more. Then a whole river of worries, complaints poured from her mouth. The strange woman was listening, from time to time expressing her emotions by onomatopoeias and spitting. However, she never cut into Erza's monologue, being patient from the beginning until the very end.
After a whole day of walking together, the scary woman, Teresa turned out to be quite a nice company, especially for Erza Scarlet. The Titania was not sparing any details of her life, and the woman revealed some of her secrets as well, seeming to know much about as specific types of men as Jellal.
Despite being held back by a slow tempo of Teresa, Erza did not mind her company. She was going to reach Erza the next day, and that one day would not have done any harm, or so she hoped. Finally, the females stopped to rest for the night, they created a fireplace and went to sleep. However, Teresa waited until Erza would have fallen asleep and stood up. She looked around and sneaked out of the clearing where they had been for the night, just to disappear in the darkness. No one would have seen it changing its shape.
Sorry, Erza. You will be pretty surprised when you wake up later on... Was the silent phrase of the woman, which stayed in the air, being repeated by the trees after the figure vanished.
Sorry. I don't know, what to do with this story, because I feel it's not as good as, for example, Strike a pose! or my new OneShot. And you've been waiting for the new chapter, and you get THIS – a crappy one, short and with no real ending. But, I am stuck in this moment, and don't really know what to do. When I finally get through this, it'll be better, because I have the whole plan for the future. But now? Uhhh.
It's not even worth excusing myself with the exams at the university, and I know it's unforgivable to write this, but I need more time to run away from this shitty moment I'm right now. So, sorry to disappoint you.
Ah, special thanks to AddictedToFT, who's always so much of the motivation and a good friend for me, asking about the work and stuff:) thanks!