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"Jellal!" She called his name, despair ruling her voice. He spun around.

"Erza!" He shouted and it echoed from the dark walls. "Erza! Where are you?" He ran. He had to stop abruptly, locked gates towering in front of him. He turned, hurrying across the clacking marble floor. Another wall. Where was she? And where was he? Were there no doors? "Erza!" His voice was scratching in his throat, his lungs burning.

"Jellal!" She yelled and he sprinted in the direction she revealed to him. "Here," she choked. His eyes widened. There was nothing there. "Jellal…" she struggled and his gaze fell to his feet. Catching sight of a pale hand down the ravine, he dropped to his knees. He reached for it, forcing his body into the rock beneath, trying to get a grasp of her arm. Her knuckles were white from holding on to a small ledge, everything else clad in darkness.

"Hold on," he groaned as he stretched as far as he could. He scooted forward, hardly able to stay above the gaping gorge. He felt for her, scraping his fingers on the pointy rocks. "Erza…" he pressed between gritted teeth.

Something cold clasped his wrist. He yelped, digging the nails of his other hand into the edge of the cliff, nearly falling. His stomach lurched with panic. He lifted his other hand, already assuming a seal stone chain. His heart stopped and white-hot horror clawed down his back when the only thing clutching his wrist was her disembodied hand.

"Erza!" Wendy winced awake when he screamed. Her heart hammered shortly but she knew his must have been even wilder. Jellal was panting; she could hear his breath rasp irregularly from behind, his bed probably drenched in sweat. At this rate, he would choke himself to death.

She was about to open her eyes and turn around, when the floor creaked.

"Jellal," Erza's voice was croaking as softly as it could. He gasped, the bed shaking ever so slightly, then the wood sighed under her added weight.

They had gotten two rooms in an inn and Erza had offered to sleep on the floor as they were short of one bed, either room holding three. Everyone knew why she had actually volunteered, though no one dared to say it aloud. Their nerves were all still frazzled, hers most of all.

"Erza…" he wheezed and Wendy thought to hear the squelching of a hand holding another.

"I'm here, it's alright," she soothed, "we're all safe," she went on, her voice mellow and hushed. "How are you feeling?" She asked. As much as Wendy did not want to eavesdrop, she wanted to know whether there was something she could do to help. She needed to know his answer. That, and she could not exactly close her ears.

"Where are we?" Jellal cawed instead, his breathing only slowly calming itself.

"In an inn in Oshibana; I found you and Meredy unconscious in a mansion,"

"Meredy?"

"She's fine. Wendy healed her and she is asleep now, just over there," Erza reassured him, probably pointing across the room. "We could not catch the man who caused all this but we will – for now, you need to rest,"

"We?"

"Natsu and the others. We were all relieved when we finally found you," she retold, tying to keep her voice down. "How are you feeling?" She asked again and he gave a hitched breath before being able to answer. Wendy could not see the arm he lifted to cover his eyes but she smelled the hint of salt of his tears.

"Ashamed…" it was hardly audible. A tiny gasp escaped Erza's lips and the bed squeaked a little as she shifted her weight. "I couldn't even tell you apart from an imposter, I'm-"

"Neither could we," she rushed, then lowered her voice again, "Natsu thoughtlessly attacked him and he vanished – we wouldn't have known otherwise," she allayed, "you couldn't have known…"

"I'm so pathetic…" he sobbed.

"No, you're not," Erza murmured, her voice only just hearable, even with Dragon Slayer ears.

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't be," she hushed him. Wendy's heart leaped once when the faint smacking sound of lips on – on skin? on lips? – reached her. I'm not supposed to hear this, I'm not supposed to hear this…

The bed creaked one final time and the sheets shuffled for a few moments longer. There was a deep sigh which she could not associate, followed by another of those gentle, forbidden sounds. Then everything fell silent again.

Wendy relaxed, being the first one to fall back asleep and the first to wake the following morning.

Blinking against the sunlight, the young Dragon Slayer arched her back, stretching while still lying down. She glanced at the peaceful form of her Exceed companion, crawling out of bed without disturbing her. She had not turned again after accidentally overhearing the conversation during the night and getting up now, she knew why.

Erza was holding Jellal close with both arms, her head above his, fingers straddled through his messy hair. She had one shin snug between his legs, his arms around her back seemingly pressing the air out of her lungs, clutching her fiercely, even in his sleep. He seemed calmer, though his features spoke of exhaustion, more mentally than physically.

Wendy had to smile as she watched the fondly entangled couple. She knew they did not need her now, easing her mind. Turning her head, she regarded Meredy. The young woman had coiled herself up on her side, telling of sleep and not unconsciousness – another relief. The blanket rose and fell steadily, not showing any signs of pain.

Reassured, Wendy stole herself into the bathroom. She freed herself of her clothes, enjoying a hot shower before putting her dress back on. She halted in her tracks when voices reached her through the door. One voice in particular.

Charle.

"… all that snogging in front of the child," she was scolding and Wendy winced on the lectured couple's behalf. She carefully pushed the handle of the bathroom down, not making a single sound.

"We weren't-"

"I may not have her ears, but if I could hear it, so could she!" Charle raged. Peeking around the corner, Wendy saw her floating between the beds, wings outstretched, arms crossed. Both Jellal and Erza were kneeling in front of her, hands on their thighs, heads bowed like children, being caught with pilfering sweets.

"It wasn't-" Erza tried again, but the Exceed silenced her with an angry huff.

"And sleeping together – right next to her!" She exclaimed, making everything sound so much worse than it had actually been. Frowning with pity, Wendy stepped out of the door.

"It's okay,"

"It's not," the white feline immediately snapped, only then realising whom the voice belonged to.

"Nothing happened, Charle," she said and her friend turned away, slightly embarrassed. Still nothing in comparison to the submissive couple on the bed. "They just really care for one another; that's nothing to be mad about," she smiled at them, only finding Erza's loving gaze. Wordlessly thanking her guildmate, Titania returned the smile, the flaming of her cheeks subsiding.

Charle snorted, lifting her chin. She threw them one last glance over her shoulder, then proceeded to fly out the glass doors onto the small balcony. Wendy gave an apologetic look but Erza dismissed it by shaking her head. Both winced when Jellal slackened, nearly falling over.

"Jellal," Erza reached out to steady him but he moved away.

"It's fine," he pressed with a clenched jaw. He furrowed his brow, still keeping his head bowed as he got up from the bed. "I'll just…" he staggered, making their eyes widen, "get myself some… water…" he struggled to keep his balance, staring at his feet, willing them to obey.

"No, don't," Erza scooted forward, freezing when he held out his hand to stop her. It rocked him more than intended and his legs shook. Wendy blankly stared at the scene, wondering how her guildmate put up with such idiotic stubbornness. Then again, she was no better. Perhaps even worse.

One thing was clear, though, there had been more to his knocked-out state than just those cracked and broken bones.

"You're in no condition to walk," Erza scolded. He turned his head, looking as if the world mercilessly spun around it.

"You…" he managed, sounding strangled. He seemed to reconsider, the stubbornness leaving alongside the colour of his face. "Might want to catch me…" he said, collapsing. Erza gasped, dashing forward, arms catching him just so. Her knees crashed into the wood as she landed on the ground, panting.

"Jellal," she lightly shook him, staring at his in discomfort furrowed brow, his squinting eyes and the drops of sweat that rolled down his temple. Collecting herself, Erza stood, placing him back on the bed. "You need rest," she muttered, not knowing whether he heard her. She stroked her fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face, then felt his forehead with the back of her hand.

"Is he okay?" Wendy asked meekly, interlacing her fingers in front of her chest. Erza gave a vague hum.

"He doesn't have a fever and his wounds should be fine, too," she informed, continuing to think out loud, "perhaps they slipped him something…" she narrowed her eyes, glancing over at Meredy. Wendy followed her gaze.

She used healing magic on both of them for minutes to pass. Nothing seemed to change, except Meredy awoke at some point. They just finished their report to her when there was a knock on the door.

"It's me," Lucy's voice came and they opened the door for her, "the boys are finally up. We wanted to go to town and fetch some breakfast. Any requests?" She asked, peeking past them to be able to see how everyone was faring.

"Cake." Erza plainly said, looking confused when both of her guildmates giggled.

"Who would have known…" Lucy held her hands behind her back, smiling, then even wider when meeting green eyes.

"Rather sweet than savoury," Meredy grinned, her usual cheerfulness drowning out the happenings of the day before. Her emotional strength really was admirable, though Wendy felt that she was not yet up to the mark.

"I'll have whatever you guys are having," Wendy smiled. They all turned to where Jellal laid still on the bed.

"Anything will do; maybe something with oats," Erza supplied, receiving a nod. "Don't split up," she ordered, then offered Wendy to go along should she want to. The Dragon Slayer shook her head.

"Then you'd be the only one to defend them," she argued, not being met with any protests. They watched Lucy, Natsu and Gray disappear down the hallway. Wendy froze shortly when a hand rested on her head. Looking up, she met the warm gaze of Erza, beaming a grateful smile in response.

"It was meant for you; I heard him say that," Meredy retold darkly, addressing Erza, "he mentioned Fairy Tail, too," she disclosed everyone watching her.

"Did he talk about me or Natsu or Gray?" Lucy asked from the foot of the pink-haired mage's bed. Meredy gave a sigh, nibbling on her breakfast.

"I'm sorry, that's about all I remember," she said, meeting understanding, brown eyes, "he ambushed me by burying me beneath the wall. He sounded angry that it was me and not Erza who had come…"

"But before that, you heard a voice and just… followed it blindly?" Charle asked, her voice still sharp from the morning. She did not grace Titania with a single side glance, especially now when she was kneeling on the opposite bed, Jellal's head resting on her lap.

"It was Jellal's voice, so of course I did," Meredy defended herself, though she did not seem irritated. She was most likely still struggling with whatever had drugged them, coping much better than her guildmate, however, who was currently out of commission. "He asked for help, but he was saying her name," she shifted her gaze, meeting Erza's eyes. Everyone followed.

Erza stiffened ever so slightly. She had not meant for her team to walk back in when she had just placed his head on her lap; she would have at least tried to make it a little less obvious. Then again, they had already been like that before and with a larger audience of Blue Pegasus wizards. It did not have to mean more than usual.

It did, though, and she was sure that they could all guess.

"Then it seems the telepathy reached the wrong person," she pondered, feeling pressured to do so out loud.

"Is that possible?" Wendy asked.

"We can ask Warren," Gray reminded from where he was stuck between a munching Natsu and concerned Wendy on the young Dragon Slayer's bed, "but we do know that telepathy can be interrupted or even manipulated. Remember that guy from Nirvana?"

"Yeah," Lucy grimaced, "he used Hoteye's voice to lure us into a trap,"

"Richard…" Meredy quietly corrected under her breath.

"It was most likely the same trick," Erza speculated, now absently caressing Jellal's hair with one hand, "which means we are dealing with someone who can both use telepathy and create illusions."

"And has access to seal stone," Lucy added.

"Naarg," Natsu wailed furiously, "I wanna punch that bastard into ashes already!" He hollered, enticing an annoyed groan from Gray.

"Don't you think we all do?" The ice mage growled, and they were already at each other's throats.

"We need to report back to Master first," Erza interrupted, giving them a strict look. Straightening like soldiers, the two piped a 'yes, ma'am' in unison.

She held Gray's gaze when he gave her a look – something between mocking and curious –, his eyes flashing from hers to Jellal and back. She stopped fondling with her beloved's hair, only now noticing her actions. She suppressed a gulp, firing back at her guildmate with all the authority she could muster, refusing to be embarrassed.

He backed down first, averting his gaze with a played, uninterested sigh. Lucy and Wendy exchanged a glance while Natsu started to eliminate their breakfasts, completely unaware of the wordless clash.

They went to pack their bags, readying to return to Magnolia.

"I knew this was serious when Erza didn't pack her million suitcases, but I wasn't expecting that," Natsu said on his way out.

"Who would have thought that we'd actually find the guy behind the poster?"

"We don't know for sure if it's him," Lucy interfered the boys discussion as they left the room.

Erza relaxed visibly when the door fell closed, shoulders sinking. She had not realised to have tensed so much, sighing to herself. Her eyes wandered down, glazed with worry, watching the twitching of his eyebrow. She ran her finger over it, noting with relief how it seemed to ease him.

She pondered whether it would be smart to move him in his current state, finally concluding that it would be best to get back to Magnolia and the guild as quickly as possible. She could carry him, no problem. Only hiding her affection during the entire trip back would not come as easily…