I'm suprised nobody showed up at my door with torches and pitchforks since it took so long before I updated this story. Not that anybody knows where I live, but you know what I mean.

But it's here, chapter number 9! I kind of have written like 100 versions of this chapter and that's because I kind of jumbled up the whole story plot. So the big thing I was talking about last chapter... yeah... you'll have to wait a bit longer for that... I'm sorry. You'll have to wait but this way the story will have more chapters, so more fun I guess? I hope you like it anyway. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Don't look back

By Neko Erza

Erza and Jellal ran outside the guild, leaving behind the place that already felt like a second home to the scarlet mage. She felt a sting of pain and guilt in her heart knowing she might have said a definite goodbye to her friends. She knew the mercilessness of the enemy. They were bloodthirsty and didn't scare away to murder anyone who stood in their way to victory. They had done it many times before, just like when they killed her mother. The chance of everyone walking away safely was non-existent. She couldn't imagine what she would do if she wouldn't be able to see Loke, Gray or Natsu ever again. Tears stung behind her eyes.

One of the biggest battles of Fiore Kingdom was at hand and she was now running away from it.

Never in her life the princess had run away from a battle or even thought about leaving her people behind. But in this situation she had no choice. If she were to be captured or killed during the battle, the people of Fiore would lose their greatest inspiration to keep on fighting. The whole country admired her power, empathy and perseverance and with her they wouldn't have the hope to ever win this war. And that was why the princess had to run.

"We need to go faster, Erza." Jellal said as he saw the girl had stopped and was looking over her shoulder, back at the guild. "We should cover as much ground as possible before night falls. We don't know when they will strike and how long Fairy Tail will be able to hold the intruders back."

The red haired mage looked at her bodyguard and he could clearly see the woman had tears in her eyes. She felt so helpless and useless that she couldn't help her friend and her country.

"Running away shouldn't be my path." She sniffled. "I'm the head of the army and I'm not even by their side."

"Fairy Tail isn't the army, Erza. Think about it that way." Her bodyguard tried to sooth. "They are giving you the chance to get away safely so you can go back to your army and lead them to victory."

"But I feel like I'm betraying them."

"You're not betraying them. On the contrary, if you had stayed you would have taken a big risk. The chance of you being captured was too big and that way you would have endangered the whole kingdom. They would constantly be looking after you to see if you were safe and then they wouldn't be focused at all. If you had stayed, then you would have betrayed them." Jellal said. "You did the right thing."

Tears still glistered in her eyes, but a small smile appeared around her lips. "Thank you, Jellal. I don't know what I would do without you."

The blue haired man smiled and reached out his hand. The scarlet haired woman gladly went in on the invitation and grasped the hand with hers. The man turned around and started their long journey again, pulling the girl with him.

The warm feeling of his hand and his fingers intertwined with hers gave her a safe and peaceful feeling and she was able to relax at least a little bit.

Loke and Gray watched how the two mages ran out of the guild. Loke let out a sigh, relieved to know that the princess would be safe. He turned towards the raven haired mage and saw the tenseness in his muscles.

"Come on, Gray. Erza will be fine."

"I hope so. Otherwise that bodyguard will have some explaining to do."

"You're going to attack him?" Loke chuckled. "Neither of us has ever been able to beat Erza and that man was. How in the world would you win against him?"

"I would if he were to harm her." Gray stated. Nobody who touched his Nakama would get away unharmed. "I know you think the same."

Loke kept quiet. He knew indeed how friends could give you power and that he wouldn't back down either before his friends were safe. Even if it was against someone as strong as Jellal or Erza. That's why they fit great in Fairy Tail: they all think the same way.

"Loke, Gray! There you are." Natsu's voice sounded. The two men turned around and saw the pinkette at the other side of the room. "I need you to come with me, we're going to discuss the battle plan."

"Has Laxus figured it out?"

"More or less. Apparently we still have some time before the army gets here. They're being hold back by the river. It will take time before all of them have crossed it."

"Do you have an idea when they'll get here, Natsu?"

"Laxus says probably somewhere tomorrow."

It was weird to see the dragon slayer in such a serious mood. He was never like that even when he should be. So the fact he acted like this now could only mean that the situation was to become even worse than they had anticipated.

After some time Erza and Jellal stopped running to safe their breath and traveled further at a steady walking speed. Jellal still hold Erza's hand tightly in his. Her fingers were starting to cramp up and she had tried to free her hand for a while, but the blue haired mage refused to let go. She wondered whether it was to comfort her or to hold her back from turning around and going back to the guild, where the members were certainly getting ready for the big fight.

It might be a good thing that he didn't let her go, because she wasn't sure if she would be able to keep on going. She couldn't forget that her friends were in danger and the thought she left them behind with a big chance of getting injured or even killed kept haunting her mind.

Instead on trying to keep on pulling herself free, she grasped the warm, comforting hand even harder. Jellal gave her an encouraging squeeze which gave her the strength to keep on going.

They passed a few villages on their way and decided to warn them for the attack, saying they should leave as soon as possible. If Fairy Tail wasn't able to hold the attack back, the villagers should at least be safe behind the next watch posts which were a few days away. If they left now they would be in time to avoid the enemy's troops if they managed to get past Fairy Tail.

Erza and Jellal had hoped to find a communication lacryma in one of the towns so they could contact the palace to let them know what was happening and that they were coming. But they didn't have the luck yet to find one when the sky was slowly getting darker.

After the long day Erza's legs felt like they would fall off. It had only been last night that she had lost her virginity and she was still a bit sensitive between her legs. After a whole day of walking she couldn't ignore the returned pain anymore.

"Jellal…" The princess said when the pain got too bad and she couldn't take another step.

The bodyguard turned around and saw the pained look on the scarlet girl's face and knew she couldn't go on any longer. He came to a halt to look around and find a place to spend the night. He spotted a forest nearby where they would be safe for any possible luring eyes. He turned towards the girl. "You think you can make it up to that forest? It's still quiet far away."

Erza gave a not-too convincing smile and nodded her head. "Of course. I'll manage it."

That smile wouldn't fool anyone, let alone the blue haired man. He shook his head disapprovingly and pulled her closer. "I'm carrying you."

"Really, I'm fine, Jellal. I can walk myself." Her stubbornness got the best of her again. However much she tried she couldn't shake the habit. She wanted to be a burden as little as possible and so she decided to walk by herself. Jellal gave her another disapproving look, but she ignored it and walked passed him letting go of his hand.

She marched up to the forest, but a sharp sting went through her lower stomach when the ground became rougher and harder to walk on. She put her hand on the painful spot, hoping the pressure would make it go away. Jellal let out a sigh and walked after her, picking her up as he passed her.

"Don't even think about complaining, princess." He said with an 'I told you so'-look on his face. He couldn't believe just how stubborn she could be, so he called her 'princess' to tease her a bit.

Erza just crossed her arms stubbornly and looked the other way as her bodyguard carried her princess style, which in this situation was quite a fitting name. But she was too annoyed to care for the irony.

Jellal walked with her like that for a while in silence, but after a while he sighed and started talking.

"You're hurting because of me, aren't you?" He asked with his eyes fixated on the forest before them.

"No, I'm just tired from the long trip." Erza lied with a smile.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" Jellal sighed. "I know it was my fault. I've seen what damage I did this morning in the shower remember?"

"Oh yeah… But it's not your fault. It's just… bound to happen the first time." A slight blush appeared on the scarlet girl's cheeks. "It's not your fault either. Nobody could have known we'd have to leave today." The blush became brighter before she whispered. "And it was me who urged you on."

"Still." Jellal said pessimistic. Erza rolled her eyes and pulled down the mask that hid the blue haired man's face and pressed her lips against his. Jellal came to a halt a bit surprised but didn't pull back. He enjoyed the feel of her soft plump lips against his and gladly savoured her lips thoroughly. The scarlet mage felt how his arms pulled her a bit closer to his body. She remembered how that body had moved last night and how it felt to have it so closer to her and couldn't help but blush again.

After about a minute the man parted their lips. "It's kind of hard to walk while kissing you."

"Too bad." Erza said as she placed one last peck on his moist lips. Jellal smiled and walked further over the rocks and dirt where they finally reached the forest.

The sun had sunk even deeper and the sky was getting a pinkish orange colour. Jellal had found a little open spot deeper into the forest and had carefully sat Erza down at the rim of it so he could put up what could barely be called a camp. Apart from the backpack they didn't have anything with them, because that would have made travelling too difficult. So they didn't have a tent or even a sleeping bag. The only thing to keep them warm was a small fire the blue haired mage made. The large trees kept it out of sight of any possible by passers. Not that there would be many people passing by the forest, but it couldn't hurt to be sure.

Erza poked in the fire with a gloomy expression as Jellal sat down beside her. He tried to catch her gaze, but she stubbornly refused to meet his eyes. She hated it when he tried to pry out her feelings like that. Whenever he did, she felt vulnerable and weak. And those were the things she refused to be.

"Spit it out."

"I don't have anything to spit out." Erza muttered as she threw the piece of wood in the flames.

"Come on, ever since we made the fire you've been even gloomier than before." The man looked at the flames of the fire. It licked up the new piece of wood and slowly scorched it black. Then it hit him why the sight of it made her feel bad.

"You're thinking about that fire mage."

Erza's eyes shot up and finally met his. "How did you know?"

"You've been looking at that fire for a while now and your mood becomes worse by every second." Jellal explained. "You feel bad that you didn't get the chance to say goodbye to him and everyone else."

"I don't like it that you know all of that just from looking at me." Erza said as she shifted uncomfortably.

"I've spend almost every second by your side for the last month. It would be disturbing if I didn't know you like that yet."

Erza smiled. They did spend all their time together and she became to trust him with almost everything on her mind. "Still, it's amazing how you can read me like that."

"You're like an open book." The bodyguard smiled then his face became serious again. "Try not to think too much about Fairy Tail. You'll meet them again, I'm sure of it."

"I hope they're fine. I mean… a whole army?"

"They've been keeping the borders safe for years. I'm sure they will deal with it. It's full of talented mages."

"That's true." The scarlet girl smiled. "And they have Laxus. He's one of the greatest warriors I've ever met." She thought back at all the times they spend together when he still worked at the palace. She could barely suppress a snicker. "He can be a real dick though."

That comment made Jellal laugh. "I've heard stories about him."

"But I'm glad I got to see him again. Since he left the palace I hadn't seen him once. But to know he's a part of Fairy Tail… it's assuring. Both that he has found a great place to stay and that he's there to keep an eye out on Natsu, Loke and Gray."

"You did get to see and say goodbye to Loke and Gray at least."

"Yeah… I hope they're safe. I've known them for years." Erza smiled a bit sad.

"How did you become friends with them anyway? I mean… they don't have royal blood or something."

"You know I don't care about somebody's title."

"Yeah, I know. But still. Those two are a special kind."

The scarlet mage had to laugh at the truth of that. "Yes they are. Loke met Lucy a few years back on a market."

"Lucy? The blonde servant?" Jellal recalled seeing her at the palace a few times.

"Yes, and of course mister Casanova went after her skirt the moment he saw her. She rejected him and right after that he ran into me and tried to flirt. Of course I had to kick his ass."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jellal chuckled.

"But he stuck around because he still had a thing for Lucy. We all became friends and apparently he got along great with Gray and so they became best friends."

"So the ice mage was already around back then?"

Erza nodded. "I was only 10 when Gray came to the palace."

"How did he get there anyway? He's an ice mage, which is pretty rare for Fiore."

"I don't know much about his time before he came to the palace. He only told me once about it actually. He doesn't like talking about his past even to his friends. He came from a small town in Iceberg kingdom."

"That explains the ice magic."

"Yeah, the town was located near the border and the whole town had decided to join Jiemma's side." The girl had trouble with saying the enemy's king's name, because it also brought back memories of her mother's death. "Gray's parents didn't want to join and because of that they were killed by their own people. Gray managed to escape, but without his parents he didn't have a place to go. He wandered around the snowy land for a while until he met a certain Ur. She was an ice mage and took Gray in and taught him how to use it too."

"I've heard about her. She was well known in other kingdoms too." Jellal said surprised. He hadn't expected the ice mage to be a disciple of her.

"Then you probably know how the story ends."

"She died."

"Yeah. With her death Gray was alone again and somehow ended up in Fiore. I caught him when he tried to steal food from the palace's kitchen." Erza snickered by the clearly happy memory. "We had a rough start; he didn't really like me in the beginning."

"I can hardly imagine that if I see you two together now." Jellal noted.

"Yeah." Erza snickered. "He's like family."

"He doesn't really like or thrust me, does he?" The blue haired man asked. Of course he had felt the raven man didn't trust him. He saw the glaring looks and avoiding behaviour.

Erza got an apologizing expression on her face. "No use lying I guess?"

"It's kind of obvious."

"I'm sorry. But before we left… he told me that he decided to push his worries aside."

"Do you trust me?"

"You really have to even ask that?"

Jellal smiled at that answer. He just wanted to make sure. "You should go to sleep. It's another week before we reach the palace."

"I hope one of the next villages will have a communication lacryma."

"Me too." The blue haired man sighed as he hold out his arm along with the cloak. "Come. You need your sleep."

Erza crept closer and cuddled against her bodyguard who wrapped his cloak around her. Erza had longer for this all day. Just be by his side and feel his warmth on her skin. The male mage placed a small kiss on the top of her head before he pulled up the mask again covering the lower side of his face so only his eyes were visible.

"No." Erza said as she reached up and pulled down the mask again. Jellal looked at her confused. "I like it more when you don't wear the mask."

"Why?"

"The mask makes me think 'Mystogan' instead of 'Jellal'." The girl explained.

"What's the difference?" The blue haired man chuckled.

"I like Jellal better."

The male mage was a bit taken aback by that answer. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that I associate the mask with the man my dad forced me to call my bodyguard, Mystogan. I didn't like him at all because he was pretty annoying." Erza chuckled as she thought back. Just like with Gray, she and Jellal had made a rough start. "Then there's the man I trust my life with. The man that isn't scared about telling me about himself and the man I'm falling for more and more. Jellal is the man behind the mask."

The blue haired man's face went serious after the explanation and stared at the flames. The sudden pensive look confused Erza.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked worried that she somehow insulted him. The male mage kept quiet a bit longer before he turned to her and smiled.

"I think I like Jellal better too."

End of chapter 9

Thank you all for reading, I hope you liked it. Be sure to let me know. This story currently has over 10 000 views, which might not seem that wonderful compared to probably almost every other writer, but it really made me happy and do know I really appreciate you reading and reviewing this. It really is good to know that I don't put my time into writing this for nothing.

I'm not going to tell you when I'll update, since I can't seem to make my own deadlines, but I try my best to get it up as soon as possible. Tell me what you liked or didn't like, constructive criticism can be really helpful.