AN: I managed to scrape my way past round 2. Luckily, I've had this pretty little gem up my sleeve for a while now .

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Luciano De Crescenzo or Litashe. Just saying.

"The execution… isn't tomorrow too sudden? We need more time to prepare…"

"No, Doranbolt. Now that Fairy Tail has returned, they're likely to stir trouble. If we can get Mr. Fernandes out of the way, we'll have more time to cover for whatever chaos will ensue." His companion replied sharply as they strode down the corridors to the next council meeting.

The memory manipulation mage sighed. He had been harbouring guilt over abandoning Fairy Tail for years; executing Jellal Fernandes would only make the load heavier. But Doranbolt had always been a follower, not a leader, and he would do as told.

"Very well, very well. Tomorrow it is. Shall we inform Fairy Tail?"

The other mage turned around, face incredulous. "Are you mad, Doranbolt? If we tell them, then there will be rioting. All hell will break loose. No, we shall dispatch of him quietly, then announce it a few weeks afterwards."

Doranbolt nodded with a stony face. Poor, poor Jellal.

The next day began with an end.

Well, not completely. It began with Jellal Fernandes being dragged out of his cell and forced to walk along the corridors of his prison, barefoot, barechested, barely conscious of his impending doom.

Or so it appeared. But he knew that this was it. His only companions, two guards, walked behind him, whispering to each other with hushed voices as they ushered him along through the dark.

He sighed, and the sigh formed the one name that weighed most heavily upon him.

"Erza."

One of the guards turned around, frowning, before asking his co-worker a question. "Does he mean…?"

"Erza Scarlet, Titania of Fairy Tail."

"How does he…?"

"Apparently, the two are childhood friends."

Jellal was murmuring under his breath. "...I gave her the name Scarlet, you know. Like her hair. Her scarlet hair…"

The junior guard whispered to his senior. "The poor thing's gone mad." The other quickly shushed him, but Jellal had heard. All of a sudden, he stopped moving. One of the guards turned around and barked at him, but he simply blinked, waiting until he could bring himself to form words.

When he did, Jellal spoke slowly yet powerfully, looking the guards directly in the eye, standing tall and proud despite the shackles on his wrists and his ragged appearance. His voice rang through the corridor.

"I am mad- to a certain degree. Why?"

It was a rhetorical question, and so his answer was silence.

"After thinking and thinking, I figured out that Erza confuses me terribly. Almost to the point of my mental-destruction."

And then he clamped his mouth shut, having left the world with his last words. Even though they were only heard by two imbecile guards and were not delivered to the people whom he cared for, Jellal felt that they were sufficient.

And so he let them march him along to his death, head held high.

That fatal day was just another ordinary day for Fairy Tail. In preparation for the upcoming wizard tournament, the guild had turned to 'intense training' that largely consisted of random shenanigans. Sure, it was hardly productive, but the light hearted days were a good change of pace from the intense trials of seven years ago.

Yet these days of fun were tiring, especially to Erza Scarlet. The woman had taken it upon herself to keep everyone in check, with varying degrees of success. For the past few weeks she had been off like a log the moment she reached her room in Fairy Hills.

She knew that something was wrong when she was still staring at the ceiling during the small hours. Despite her mind numbing fatigue, there was a gut feeling, this ugly knot in her stomach, a fear of falling asleep. Erza briefly considered waking Wendy for assistance, then changed her mind- the girl needed sleep of her own.

Erza refused the idea that she was sick, despite the fact her forehead was damp with sweat: the Titania had an immune system of steel. She knew that it was because, although she was tired, she was instinctively resisting sleep for some reason. It was unpleasant.

She wasn't even aware of whether or not she was dozing as the world seemed to blur.

…Tears? What am I crying for?

She was in a corridor. A dark, cold corridor. Where she was, she didn't know, she just wanted to get out.

One turn lead to another, corner after corner, twisting round in ways that didn't even seem possible. Erza quickened her pace before breaking into a run. Her feet thudded heavily on the floor, echoing all too loudly. But she ran because she felt as though the walls were pressing in, ready to close in, threatening to trap and suffocate her.

After what felt like hours of running, she came to a halt, muscles screaming in pain as her breathe stung. She so desperately wanted to carry on, to get out of the surreal tunnels; it was just that she could not carry on out of willpower alone.

Clink. Clink. Clank.

Unplastering sweat sodden hair from her forehead, the Titania looked up, brown eyes widening.

"Erza."

There he was. Bruised. Tired. Dirty. Chained. And with one small, ghostly wing, broken and at a crooked angle.

She would have cried had she not been so fascinated. Because she had known, and know she did know.

Strangely calm, she looked at him, her childhood friend.

"We're dead, aren't we?"

"I am. You aren't."

That was the moment when she cried, when she couldn't stop the tepid rains of sorrow from leaking out and running in silvery tracks down her cheeks. And she ran and enveloped him in a hug because they weren't young adults anymore, they were children, two best friends and sweethearts. And now they were children who weren't slaves, weren't living in misery, weren't sold because their parents couldn't afford food. They weren't anything- they weren't even Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes.

They were just two angels who couldn't fly.

Except they could and they were, because Erza felt strong gusts of wind whipping her face, sending her hair into a manic dance. She felt the corridor fade away, but couldn't bring herself to care. Because she was still busy crying, letting out all the tears that she had been so desperately holding back since her childhood.

All through it he said nothing, just sat there in silence before eventually prising her away.

"Goodbye." He said simply, a ghost of a smile gracing his face.

She took the time to collect herself before replying. "I expected more of a speech." She said, unable to conjure up any other response.

And then he kissed her, because that was how they were.

A few weeks later, news reached Fairy Tail about the execution of Jellal Fernandes.

Natsu and Gray rampaged.

Lucy and Wendy cried.

The rest of the guild was quiet and respectful.

Erza just munched at her cake, only just managing to stop herself from smiling as she remembered the night when she learnt how to fly.

"Next time, I'm not letting you go."

"Do you think I want you to?"