((A/N: Close to the end my loves! Listened to Ed Sheeran's songs while writing this. Hopefully you like it! Oh, R&R!
P.S: TTT-TTT I'm so sorry))
The Wolf who Fell in Love with Little Red Riding Hood.
Seventh Visit: Sunday Dawn
It's funny how many things can change in just one week.
Erza was walking through the forest just a few hours before dawn, the sky at it's darkest.
Her mother had died that day.
She had been sick for the last seven days, but hadn't been well since her father died. Erza wasn't there when her mother passed, and there was no one for Erza either. There was a deadly epidemic around town, and everyone was suffering their own grief. The medicine was too expensive for all of the town, and the doze that was on sell was too little.
She hadn't gone to Lucy's for a while now, and she wouldn't go just in case she is carrying the virus with her.
She had given them enough supplies for a month last week, and had told them about her mother, and how she would be taking care of her.
Erza wasn't sure why she was walking through that forest right now, if she wasn't going to visit her friends. There were so many papers on the trees, more than usual, she noticed. Yet she didn't look into any of them.
There was no reason to be here.
Maybe she still had that hope, that naive hope that he would come. She really didn't want much. Just someone.
It wasn't winter anymore, but it was still so cold.
She sighed and saw her own breath. Taking the detour, she just sat by one big tree. The flowers had grown again. She smiled, and started making a flower crown, it was almost as her hands were moving on their own, even though it had been years since the last time she had done one, she seemed to remember every single step. "Remember these?" she said to no one in particular.
She stared at the nicely done crown. Her mother would love it.
A half smile grew on her face as the lonely thought appeared once again that day, her hand dropped the flower crown and she looked down at the grass.
The house is going to be so empty.
She looked up at the tree's branches, subconciously checking, but there was no one there.
Lately no one seemed to be. She felt dizzy.
"Are you here?" she called out to the dark.
Silence.
"If you are," she said softly, closing her eyes slowly, "I trust you". Surrounded by the silence of the woods, she fell asleep.
A low sigh was heard by the dark. A sad smile crossed the wanted man's face. He climbed down the tree where he had been watching over the woman he loved and walked towards her. After kneeling in front of her, his hand trailed to the back of his neck as he looked, yet didn't dare touch.
He didn't know what to do.
He should take her back home.
But she would wake up.
He sighed.
"Why would you trust me like that?" Jellal sighed, again. He seemed to do that a lot.
Erza's eyes slightly opened. Her cheeks had an unhealthy red on them. Jellal frowned, and he brushed his hand against her forehead. It was burning.
Now he had to take her home for sure.
Gently and carefully he put a hand below both her legs and the other one on the small of her back. He looked down at the flower crown and put it on her head, slightly grinning at the cute view, he walked towards the town where he remembered Erza living at.
"Why are you even here?" he asked out loud, more to himself than the Little Red Riding hood in his arms.
"Jellal..." he heard her mutter under her breath, when he glanced down at her, he saw that she was barely awake. But she was still staring at him, in a daze. "Your voice sounds odd, is something... wrong?" Erza asked.
Jellal shook his head, "It's just been a long time, Erza"
Erza looked at him, well, more at his ears, "What big ears you have"
He chuckled, "The better to hear you with"
Her gaze then went to his dark eyes, "What big eyes you have"
He heard some noises behind him, but when he turned, he saw nothing. "The better to see you with", he replied, his step quickened. As he ran he saw a paper with a drawing, a drawing of his face and his name, with four words below it, and nine numbers below those.
JELLAL 'THE WOLF' FERNANDEZ
WANTED - DEAD OR ALIVE
$ 100,000,000
That's a lot of money for someone like me. He thought.
He glanced at Erza, who was slightly smiling at him. He felt a warm feeling he hadn't felt in a long time, Happiness.
"What a big smile you have"
They arrived to the town before Jellal could reply, and he headed to where he remembered Erza living at, a feeling of guilt continued to stab him.
And he had been stabbed before. Of course it wasn't even comparable.
He walked with Erza to her home, he opened the door, and wondered why was it opened. He tried to close it, but found it rather difficult.
Jellal walked to the first room he found, luckily there was a bed in it.
The room didn't have much on it, just a bed, a desk, a chair, and a wardrove. He glanced down at her once again, he saw she had fallen back asleep.
He layed her down on the bed, and looked around for something to cover her with. And maybe a small wet towel.
He had no idea where to search for.
After a while of searching around the house, not finding any trace of someone else living in there either, he finally found a big warm blanket and a small napkin which he wettened to put on the eighteen-year old girl's forehead.
He grabbed the chair and sat beside her.
He should leave.
Maybe she would wake up and think it was a dream.
He should leave.
But he didn't want to.
And he stayed.
He doesn't do much, he just watched over her, changed the wet napkin when it he had to, and stayed in case she woke up, maybe felt hungry.
It felt nice, taking care of someone. Wendy wasn't there for him to care of anymore, and not that he could anyway when she was. It was always mostly her taking care of him, healing him when he got hurt, and trying to make him laugh.
He didn't do that a lot.
He wondered whether Wendy was doing well in her new home. Hopefully she didn't have any more nightmares.
The pink haired lady seemed okay. Wasn't the nicest around, but was open to have an apprentice.
She had also said something about taking care of her family.
"Here" he heard Erza's voice say.
He looked down at her, eyes opened widely at the sudden way she had spoken. She was giving him the crown.
His look softened and he chuckled. And took it.
...
A couple of days passed.
Jellal stayed longer than he had ever thought possible.
Erza was getting better.
And even when she was already better, Jellal stayed.
"You shouldn't be eating cake. You barely got better" he said, resting his head on his right hand, his elbow on the table, yet he didn't stop her.
"Exactly, we should be celebrating" she said, getting another bite.
"You say 'we', yet you are the only one eating cake" he replied, his eyebrows raised.
Erza gave him a small glare, and unconciously grabbed the plate closer.
He chuckled, "I don't want any, anyways"
Relaxing, she put the plate on the table again. "So..." they both stayed quiet for a while "How long has it been?"
"You woke up two days ago, I found you four days ago"
Erza nodded. Both of them knew that wasn't really the question she had asked, but neither said a word about it.
How long has it been since we changed?
And truthfully, she didn't knew the answer.
She would like to think she hadn't change, but deep down she knew that wasn't the actual case.
We all change.
Back then, she would have gladly asked directions to a stranger in the forest, even if he looked and sounded like a wolf.
Because she would trust, and hope, that it was nothing but a disguise so everyone would run away.
Now that hope and trust were gone.
She no longer was the Little Red Riding Hood.
Not even if Jellal thought that as well.
When she closed her eyes back at the forest, days ago, she had been holding onto her knife so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
We all change, that's right, but does it mean we can't change back?
Erza sighed. "Is something wrong?" Jellal asked.
She looked straight at his eyes, "Why did you howl that day?"
She knew he knew what she meant. "I don't know, I was young and thought you wouldn't notice" he chuckled half-heartedly.
"You could have stayed quiet if you didn't want me to notice" she frowned.
"I don't know, maybe I did want you to notice. It was a long time ago" he said, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"How long has it been?"
"Since what?"
"Since you've starting watching over me"
He took a deep breathe in. "I..." he sighed, "It was one bright morning, a monday, I believe...
A blue haired kid was climbing trees, as his father had once taught him. As years passed, he became better and better at it, and he could easily jump from one branch to another tree's branch. But it was one monday morning, when he heard a lovely voice singing. At first thinking it was mearly his imagination, probably a hallucination thanks to being too high, he shook his head, and lowered himself from the tree slowly.
But then saw the source of the angel-like voice, all he saw was something red at first. He glanced at it from behind a tree. "Down by the water, under the willow" it sang.
He followed silently at the red, no, scarlet-haired girl, few trees behind her.
"Sits an old ranger, minding the willow" she wasn't singing it loudly, just barely above a whisper, but still, he was able to hear every word clearly. "he and his wife, once lived happily, planted a seed, that grew through the reeds"
She was carrying a basket, probably it had some food, and just by the thought of it, he felt his stomach growl.
The girl turned around, and Jellal gasped lowly. She was beautiful.
When she didn't see anything, she continued with the song, but her tone was even lower, as if scared something would hear her. He followed up even closer, yet moved slower so she wouldn't hear him. She fixed up her little red riding hood, but no matter how she wore it, Jellal thought it was just perfect for her. "Summers and winters, through snowy decembers. Sat by the water, close to the embe-" she looked around again, and saw his shadow.
She grabbed the basket tightly and ran away.
He was sad he couldn't hear the rest of the song.
He climbed up another tree quickly watching just in case something happened to her, he couldn't bear the idea of not listening to the rest of it. The curiosity and need of an closure would kill him.
Then, it wasn't just about what he needed.
It was about keeping the bad people away from his Little red riding hood.
"...So it was basically since I first saw you. Of course, just when you were in the forest, it was filled with criminals and you were just a kid"
"You were just a kid too"
"But I had been living there for a couple years"
Erza sighed. "Thank you"
Jellal blinked, "Uh, it was nothing"
"It was a lot"
"Thank you, Erza"
Erza smiled, "For what?"
"For everything" Jellal stood up, and slowly walked over to Erza, who was following with her eyes every move he made, smiling when he saw that she had a bit of cake on the corner of her lips. He knelt next to her, to be at her sitting height, and cupped her face in his hands. He leaned in, and Erza closed her eyes.
He kissed that same corner where the bit of strawberry cake was. Nodded softly, "I should have taken a piece of cake for me too"
Erza didn't open her eyes, but her cheeks were red in embarassment.
"I have to go" he muttered, loud enough for her to hear.
Erza sighed "Why? Why do you have to go now?"
He blinked in shock. Then he breathed in. Standing up slowly, "You know I can't-"
"Tell me. Why not?" she said, standing up right in front of him. "You never stayed. Why not?"
Jellal opened his eyes wide. "Erza..."
She continued, "And, it's so amazing how even if I barely see you, how I barely get glances of you, and I still somehow have fallen-"
"Erza. Please" he interrumpted, his voice was begging.
Erza took a step back, after a few moments looking down at her feet, analyzing the situation, she looked up, a sad smile attached to her face and said, "Maybe you are right. You should leave"
She walked over to her bedroom, and returned moments later. The flower crown from four days before still in an amazing perfect state. She smiled gently at Jellal and chuckled as she put it on his head.
"Just keep it close"
Jellal looked deep into her eyes, and almost without realizing it his hands were on her shoulders as he said, "Always"
It was so much more than just the flower crown.
...
And he left.
Like he always did.
It was okay.
Or that was what Erza continued to repeat in her head.
.
.
.
((A/N: Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
Not yet))
.
.
.
Honestly.
She couldn't help it.
Maybe she should have, she should have stayed with the simple okay.
But she couldn't resist the thought of great.
Of exceptional.
So hours later, she grabbed her riding hood and headed to the forest in a rush.
Thinking, Please don't let him be too far.
She ran through that forest she had seen many times, yet didn't know nearly as much as she wanted to.
She thought she had an eternity to get to know it.
She had a small smile as she ran in search of him, thinking of the many things she could change, but even if she didn't, she thought of certain words she wanted to tell him. She thought of his reaction, at first shocked, then a smile would grow on his face, and he would say something like 'You shouldn't have come for me'.
Erza rolled her eyes.
She searched on the tops of the trees, thinking how his title shouldn't be 'The Wolf', but rather 'The Monkey'. She chuckled at the thought.
Jellal 'The Monkey' Fernandez.
Maybe 'The Blue Monkey' fit better.
She let a small chuckle escape when she felt she had step on something soft. She stopped abruptly a few steps later and turned to look at what she had stepped on.
A flower crown.
She blinked in confusion.
What?
She walked over it, and knelt to see it closer.
No.
She chuckled softly, "It looks so similar-" she stopped, feeling her own eyes tear up at the lie she tried to tell herself.
She grabbed it by the red petals and felt something wet.
She looked down at her hand, red.
The red petals were actually blue.
"Always" she muttered under her breath.
A small unbelieving smile grew on her face.
A shaky breath escaped her lips.
"Jellal?" she called.
No response other than the birds waking up, the cicadas, and the wind.
Ah... The sounds of the woods are so beautifully painful.
It all dawns on her. Her mother, her father, her love.
All gone.
A pair of tears finally fall down her cheeks.
Fall, because she didn't want them to.
She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to feel sad, she didn't want it to be true.
She didn't want them to be dead.
The words she wanted to say echoed in her mind, almost as a mockery.
"I would choose the wrong road for you"
Hey, isn't it funny..?
How so many things can change in just one week?
.
.
.
((A/N: You can hate me.
LePotato: Awww, thank you. And you have me! Thanks a lot, I think I'm blushing. It's just that I have a lot of 'me' time. In other words, I am alone a lot. Ideas and my computer are around a lot.))