Erza

That night, I was plagued with nightmares. I kept seeing Simon's face, except he was missing his eyes. And then Kagura would pop up and glare at me. It's your fault he's dead. He was protecting you. It should have been you.

I woke up to Gray's hand on my shoulder. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, thinking it was my turn to take watch, but I saw that the sky was already orange with sunrise.

"Hey, I was supposed to take last watch." I said as I saw everyone else packing up their stuff. Gray shrugged his shoulders.

"I thought you could use the extra sleep." He said nonchalantly, fastening his pack to his horse's back. I frowned as I sat up and shoved my blanket off me.

"Why?" I questioned. Gray mounted his horse and refused to look in my eyes.

"Just… from what you said last night. I thought you could use the sleep. I bet you haven't had much." I knew I should have been touched. I knew I should have felt happy that Gray was actually thinking about someone other than himself. But I just felt angry. Angry that he was taking pity on me when I never asked for it.

"You shouldn't have done that." I grumbled, rolling up my blanket and attaching it to Heavenly's back. "It's not fair to the others."

"They understand. Right?" Gray said, addressing the others. Lucy looked over at me and nodded with a friendly smile. Natsu rolled his eyes and jumped up onto his horse, wobbling slightly.

"Speak for yourself." He muttered in annoyance. Gray bared his teeth, but didn't say anything.

"I said, you shouldn't have done that." I repeated, mounting Heavenly. "I'm not some broken wimp. I got over it. I don't need your pity. This is why I didn't want to tell any of you what happened." With that, I pushed Heavenly toward Gray and snatched the compass out of his hands. "I'm leading today."

I glanced down at the compass and directed Heavenly to the north without waiting for the others. I hated being pitied. I hated feeling weak. I hated appearing weak. Simon knew that. He knew that never had to protect me because I could protect myself. Maybe that was why I was having so many nightmares.

It was Simon who'd saved me. And because of that, he died. He died because of me. Maybe if I'd been quicker, if I'd been able to protect myself, then he wouldn't have died. Maybe he would have been here with me right now. The two of us on the same mission to avenge Kagura. My dreams were right. It was my fault. But that only meant I had to redeem myself. I would never let anyone risk their lives for me again.

And because of that, I would never let anyone see me weak again.

As we traveled through the thicket, our horses could no longer gallop or canter so we had to resort to walking and if we were lucky, trotting. Everyone behind me was quiet and I could not blame them. The aura of the forest was much more ominous than it had been in Edolas. It was almost as if the air was thicker and the sun did not shine as bright. The forest was lush and flourishing, but that was the only thing redeeming about it. The branches on the trees looked like they could reach out and grab us at any moment.

I couldn't remember how long we'd traveled or how far, but when I saw the distinctive signs of lights and smoke from a village, I almost shouted for joy. So far, I hated being in Caelum.

We paused at the edge of the thicket, Gray and Lucy walking up on either side of me.

"Let's dismount." Lucy said, slipping off her horse. We followed suit and I took Heavenly's reins and stroked her neck. "We should go to the local tavern. We'll be able to find information there."

"I'd much sooner kill all these people than talk to them." Gray snarled, baring his teeth. "They're the ones who took Prince Jellal and they are the ones causing this mass suffering."

"No they aren't." Gray paused, staring at me. "These people are innocent. They had nothing to do with our suffering. We will not blame them." I said firmly.

"You of all people should want revenge against these people. I don't understand you." Gray said quietly. I looked him in the eye and frowned.

"Don't forget who the real enemy is, Gray. It was Lord Zeref who ordered the massacre of my village. It was he who kidnapped Prince Jellal and it is he that rules this kingdom. These innocents are not to blame." I explained calmly. Gray pursed his lips and looked away.

"Let's go." Lucy said. She paused and grabbed Natsu's wrist, looking at him sternly. "Don't do or say anything stupid. Just follow my lead." She ordered. Natsu blinked, looking offended, but wasn't given the chance to retort as Lucy stepped in the front, leading her horse.

I followed her with Gray behind me and Natsu bringing up the rear. As we entered the town, the people who were tending to their everyday life, turned to stare at us. It seemed like this village had never received visitors before, especially not ones coming from the direction of Edolas. I felt like tucking myself away, but I followed Lucy's lead and held myself high. Something about this place eerily reminded me of my own village.

I followed Lucy to what looked like the village inn and tied Heavenly up at the post right next to Lucy's horse. Gray came up next to me, his hand on his hilt.

"Don't forget where we are." He said softly. "We should try not to draw any attention to ourselves."

"Foreigners enter a small remote village? I think we've already checked that box." Lucy hissed back.

"It doesn't matter." I cut in. "We just need to get our information and then get out. The quicker we leave, the easier I'll feel." With that, the four of us entered the inn, followed by glances from the townspeople.

The inn was pretty deserted, only a few stragglers and the bartender. I took the lead and walked to the bar, sitting on one of the stools. Lucy and Gray sat on either side of me, with Natsu on Lucy's other side. The bartender turned to look at us and frowned suspiciously. He had navy blue hair that was slicked back with gel and an aging face that looked as though he used to be handsome when he was younger.

"Can I help you?" He said curtly, not looking like he wanted to help at all. I lifted my chin and nodded.

"Give us your house special." I said easily, giving him a firm smirk. The bartender narrowed his eyes at me, but nodded as he went along to start making drinks for us.

"Never seen you around here before. You foreigners?" He asked, placing four shot glasses on the table and pouring some kind of alcohol inside. He started mixing it with other liquids as I nodded.

"We're travelers. We want to see the world." I said vaguely. The bartender pushed the glasses toward us and I picked it up, looking at the other before taking the shot, wincing slightly as the alcohol penetrated my system.

"Well there ain't much here. We're just a humble farming village. You won't find much to your liking in Caelum anyhow." The bartender said as Gray placed a few coins on the table as payment for the drinks.

"Surely there must be some great sight-seeing here. You don't have a capital city?" I asked innocently. Gray shifted slightly as Lucy's arm tensed. This was it. We were walking into dangerous waters now.

"You've apparently never heard of Caelum have you?" The bartender asked. I tilted my head in confusion. "Caelum City is our capital. It is where our king resides. However, it is a horrible place. Most of the citizens in that city are prisoners. The whole city is a concentration camp. You don't want to go anywhere near that place. If you do, the knights will put you in the labor camp as well."

I was horrified by his words, but at the same time, I was excited. We'd hit the jackpot. There was no way the prince would be anywhere else. There was no way that Zeref would send him somewhere else if he could just keep him in his capital city surrounded by other slaves. The prince would never know he was actually in the capital.

We thanked the bartender and promised we'd steer clear of the capital city before leaving the inn and mounting our horses. I gave the others a look that stressed we couldn't speak here. I took the lead and lead Heavenly out of the little village onto a path that looked as though it was usually used by travelers. When we'd reached a spot that seemed far enough from the village, I paused and turned to face the others.

"He's there." I said simply, my eyes shining. "We're lucky, he's right at the capital city. And it's not far from here. We can get there in a day. We're so close."

"Hold on," Lucy said. "If what that guy said is true, there's no way we're going to get in without getting caught." Natsu grinned and pounded his fist.

"So we blow up some people and get him out and then blow up more stuff." He said nonchalantly, grinning. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"No." I said, shaking my head at Natsu who frowned and pouted. "I think I might have a plan. But I'd have to see the city before I know if it'll work."

"What's your plan?" Gray asked.

"Well, I think we'll need to split up. One team infiltrates the city as guards, the other goes as slaves. It shouldn't be too hard for us to find some guard uniforms that fit. We can take them from guards if we need to. Then I think we should have the slave team find the prince and extract him. But the only way we can do that is if the guard team makes a distraction. That's where blowing stuff up come into play." I said, smiling at Natsu. He grinned and his eyes shone. I never noticed how attractive he was when he was grinning.

"So we slip the prince out while there's a distraction and bing bang boom we're on our way." I finished. Gray nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"It's a good plan." He said. "It's a little rough around the edges, but I think it can work. Let's focus on getting there first. How long do you think it will take?" He asked me.

"No less than I day I should think." I said looking down the path. "I'm sure this leads right to the city. An easy path."

"Okay, let's do this." Gray said, moving his steed to the front to take the lead. I took a deep breath and followed him, feeling a pressure in my chest that seemed strange to me. I'd never felt it before. However, now was not the time to think about it. I had to focus on the mission at hand.

Zeref leaned back in the bathtub, reveling in the warm water soothing his tense muscles. His two female servants were standing by with pitchers of warm water to pour in should he ask for it. Zeref leaned his head back and smiled at the wonderful feeling of his muscles slowly smooth themselves out. He'd had such a busy week, from capturing the Prince of Edolas to overseeing the training of his new elite army.

He smiled at the thought of his new army. They would be the most feared team of elite in the world. He'd taken them from birth and molded them into cold-blooded, obedient killers. He had a team of archers, sword and mace fighters, and of rogues who could easily take down an entire nation alone. Edolas would never know what hit them once they completed their training.

Of course, there was still a small matter that bothered him. One loose end that kept him from being completely sure of his control of Caelum. He hoped to tie it up soon. As soon as he heard back from his scouts, he should be able to easily fix the problem without it posing too much trouble.

There was a knock at the bathroom door and Zeref frowned, opening one eye. He did not like to be disturbed, especially when he was having such a fine bath. The door opened and his scout walked in, panting from running. Zeref leaned back and closed his eyes again, signaling for the servants to pour more water in his bath.

"I hope you have a suitable reason for disturbing me." Zeref said calmly, a sharp threat ringing in his words. The scout gulped for air and nodded, coughing slightly.

"Yes sir, I have just come back from the outer village. It seems that Edolas has sent a rescue team." Zeref opened his eyes and grinned. He sat up and snapped his fingers, standing up in the bathtub. The scout averted his eyes, but Zeref no move to cover up until a towel was handed to him. He did not care about who saw his body or what they thought of it. He was still the one with the power, so it made no difference to him.

"Excellent." He said, hopping out of the tub and wrapping the towel around his lower half. "Bring me my pets." The scout bowed and was about to scurry off, when Zeref snapped his fingers, thinking of something. "How many did they send?" he asked.

"Four, sir. Two men, two women. One of the men was a Brogo officer. The others looked like peasants." Zeref rubbed his chin, smirking slightly.

"Trying to be inconspicuous are we?" He muttered in thought. "What did they look like?"

"One of the men has dark hair, while the other has salmon-colored hair. One of the women is blonde and the other one has crimson red hair." Zeref's eyebrows rose.

"Crimson, you say? How old were they?"

"No older than twenty, sir." Zeref nodded and waved the scout off. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but it seemed too perfect to be a coincidence.

It did not take long for Zeref to dress and walk into his office. It took even less time for a knock to appear on the door and the scout to enter, two prisoners in tow. Zeref smiled as the scout pushed the two women prisoners forward, their wrists still shackled and their bodied coated with dirt and rust.

"Welcome back, my dearest pets. How are we feeling today?" Zeref asked in mock kindness. Neither girl spoke as they stared at their shoes. Zeref smiled and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He'd molded these two well. They understood that he was in complete power and could do whatever he wanted to them, so they'd given up on hope. Now they did everything he asked without question.

"I have a mission for you." Zeref said smoothly. The eldest looked up, staring at him through dark lashes. "I trust you've met Prince Jellal." The girl nodded submissively, causing a spark of pride to flow through Zeref.

"Yes, my lord. What would you have us do?" She asked. The younger one inched closer to her older companion, still staring at the floor. Zeref smiled and leaned his chin on his hands.

"I want you to befriend the prince. Make him trust you. A rescue team is coming and they will try to save him. Make sure he takes you with him. Then you will fulfill the purpose I gave you when you were first brought to me." They bowed submissively and Zeref smiled, leaning back.

"If you succeed, you will be rewarded, if not, you will be punished. It is quite simple. Dismissed." The guard began to escort them out and Zeref's smile faded slightly as he called out after them. "Oh, and one more thing." The two girls stopped, the older one turning to look her king in the eye. "Watch the red-head." With that, they nodded and left the room.

Zeref leaned back and cracked his knuckles, sighing slightly. If his intuition were correct, his problem would be solved quite soon. He leaned over and pulled a string on the wall next to him that rang a bell. Not three minutes passed before there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Zeref said gruffly. The door opened and his General, head of his entire military, entered and kneeled in front of him.

"My Lord." He said in greeting, not looking his king in the eyes. He would not until Zeref gave him permission. Zeref trusted no one more than General Mard Geer. Even so, he did not fully trust the man. Like Zeref himself, Geer had an ambition and drive that controlled most of his decisions. However, Zeref prided himself in being able to invoke fear and respect in everyone. Mard Geer was no different and sometimes, Zeref could feel him clipping at his heels.

"Rise." Zeref commanded. "We have some visitors that will be joining us shortly. Make sure they have a warm welcome. And make sure they receive our parting gift fine. I do hope they enjoy it. I've spent much time preparing it." A smile spread across Zeref's face as Geer bowed his head and turned to go make preparations.

He turned to a picture frame on his desk and picked it up, smiling at the scene.

"Soon, everything will be in place. We will have everything he dreamed of. I won't fail you." Zeref promised. He brushed the pad of his thumb over the girl in the photo and clenched his other fist. He would not fail.