Flower Circle

What was this energy!? From the heavens descended a strange raggered looking man, with long unkept wavy blue hair. Power and malicious intent radiated off of him. My mind failed to comprehend reason. My heart hurt, and my mother lay dead only a couple on meters from us.

My heart strained in its prison on my ribs when this stranger walked past me, uncaring for our presence. He couldn't be blind, but he certainly didn't act as if he had seen us, transfixed as he was on his destination… my mother's corpse.

My heart squeezed painfully and silent screams tore from it as this stranger defiled my mothers' body, disfiguring her face and kicking her body around. A pained, strangled yelp of anguish tore from my mouth.

"So, it was you! You were the one to bestow the power of dragon to humans! You are my teacher, and also my sin! All that I have become is because of you! And you are a maggot fest, a feast for the crows! You can no longer protect humanity! Rot in hell you, filthy bitch!" He screamed manically.

It has been many years since I have felt true helplessness and fear. I knew I could fight Kyoka, so even when she beat me, and tortured me, I knew I would win. I would defeat her. But now, my hand shook and trembled in fear. I was already weak and beaten. I had no chance against him, and I couldn't protect Wendy this time.

My heart told me to run, run away quickly and take Wendy with me. At the same time, the little girl inside on me who cried ever night for the mother who abandoned her want to try to save her. It was ridiculous! She was my enemy, right? She was already dead! There was nothing I could do. But…

Wendy held onto the hem on my pants from behind me and wept loudly. She shed the tears I wished I could shed. My hand rose to my face. It was wet. So, I had been shedding tears after all. My throat hurt and the mere prospect of speech, but I managed to force my self to speak… when we should have fled.

"S-stop that. Do n-not defile the dead." I managed to breath out. Unfortunately, he wasn't so far gone enough, to ignore my plea. He turned to face me and my heart felt as if it had stopped. As if it lost the permission to beat. His eyed widened before narrowing at me. His nostril flared and he began turning towards us.

"You have the same scent on you as this woman, little girl." He said evenly, but the promise of death behind his words were loud and clear. A loud cry of anguish escaped from behind me. Wendy shook violently and squeezed her hands over her mouth tightly and tears continued to run down her face.

"What this? A dragon slayer? This little brat has the power of dragons?!" He said threateningly. I unconsciously held onto Wendy's arm and walked backwards painfully. I think…no. I know who this monster is…but still I have hope to be misled.

"Who are you, fiend?!" I spat at him. No use trying to be timid now that he has seen us. Wendy muttered and stuttered into my back about him.

"Are you…Acnologia?" I asked with dread drowning my spirit. We were dead. We fought so hard to live but now we didn't have a hope. He crunched his hand into a fist and claws spouted from his finger nails. We wouldn't make it in time if we tried to flee. This was it.

"Heavenly Body magic, Shield of Pletiades!" Screamed a voice from the sky. An enormous shield erected around us, and our saviour landed in front of us protectively. Jellal!

"Heavenly Body magic, Seven Swords of Justice!" He yelled and launched projectile's at Acnologia, forcing him to dodge them and backtrack, creating more distance between his and us. Jell what are you doing!? He will kill you!

We should have been running but Wendy and I were glued to the ground by a sick mixture of fear and amazement. Jellal was holding his own against Acnologia! And Acnologia seemed to be scenting him, he wasn't even attacking Jellal back!

"Heavenly Body magic, Nine Thunder Stars!" Jellal cried out as levitated boulders of magna launched towards Acnologia. Jellal…he was still weak from battling August, he was injured and bleeding, and I could tell by just looking at him that he was already accessing his own second origin. First Ninheart, then August, now Acnologia.

"Be judged by the seven stars, Grand Chariot!" He yelled as the seven circles in the sky erupted into billions of meteorites directed at Acnologia. Even before the dust settled, Acnologia began laughing manically once more. Jellal was one of the strongest wizards on our continent, on par with Gildarts…and Acnologia was unharmed. In fact, no, it can't be!

But it was. Acnologia was eating all of Jellal's magic power through his spells!

"Impossible! He ate it! What element does he- "Wendy said from behind me, before being cut off by Acnologia.

"Element?! I have no such thing, brat! I commend you, my boy, for attempting to protect your mate and offspring, little good it has done you! I am the last dragon, the dragon of demise, the devour of all "magic"! I am the black dragon, The Evil dragon, Acnologia!" He yelled in triumph as he transformed into the same monster who almost killed us on Tenro Island eight years ago. The bile rose in my throat.

Acnologia descended upon us, something in Wendy snapped as she let go of my waist and transformed into her dragon-force form. She was muttering about protecting me as she hiccupped and sobbed.

I had to do something! I looked at my mothers' body and made a mad dash for it. I ripped out my sword from between her ribs and stored her body in the preservation space of my requip. I barely made it back to Wendy and Jellal in time when, as almost out of a miracle, the sky bomber Christina collided into Acnologia.

Once we boarded the ship and ascended a fair enough height, I crouched down beside Wendy, ignoring the agony it caused me, to evaluate her injuries. Once I was sure enough that she would be alright, I grit my teeth and moved to Jellal, examining his facial injuries with his face between my palms. Our eyes met and I jumped backwards.

Wendy clung to my waist again once we were settled. I wanted to thank Jellal for saving us, for protecting us. I wanted to ask him if he was alright. I knew he was injured but he didn't show it. My mouth moved to speak but no words came out of it as I evaluated our…company. I hesitantly tried to slip my hand into his. He glanced at me once before hold my hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Wendy collapsed to the ground exhausted, so I knelt to hold her more comfortingly. Jellal to my surprise, let go of my hand but knelt beside us. Jellal was just as suspicious as I was of our new 'ally'.

I gasped as the ship laughed to the right, forcing me to collide against Jellal. He groaned and I yelped. Wendy still seemed pleasantly resting dispite the disturbance. Our eyes met and as I saw his cheeks redden, I was sure mine were even worse, I sprang off of him, pulling Wendy with me.

"I'm so sorry, Jellal…" I told him, afraid to look at him.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it…" He said shyly. I cast him a small smile which he returned.

The stranger, 'Anna', an ancestor of Lucy's, tried to take Wendy from me and I narrowed my eyes at her. I pulled Wendy closer towards myself and placed my hand down on the ground, only centimetres from my sword. Jellal also narrowed his eyes and tried to stand us, and move forward a bit to shield us. After some time, I let her see Wendy, if only for Wendy's best interest.

"Yes! Acnologia is following us!" The Pegasus boys cheered. Isn't that a bad thing? We should have stayed on the ground after all…

"No!" Wendy, Jellal and I shouted in horror as the magic canon Jupiter was fired at Acnologia. He hasn't even begun attacking yet and he has had two power ups!

We increased in speed as Acnologia chased us. The ship swerved harshly, causing Jellal's face to collide into my chest. Wendy seemed to know this Anna person and began talking to her. I hadn't realised before now, but my hand had flown to Jellal's hair and he still hadn't gotten up off of me.

"Ah…are you comfortable?" I teased him, even though it made me more embarrassed to speak about our situation. He stared at me in shock before slowly and steadily leaning up from over me. It was difficult to discern the emotions in his eyes. I probably imagined it but I thought I saw…passion in his eyes.

I felt slightly jealous seeing Anna hold Wendy the way only I usually could. I narrowed my eyes at her. What was she doing here anyway? Was she also a dragon slayer? Once we were standing, Wendy came back to me and Jellal stood a safe distance behind us.

…The story of Layla's sacrifice so that Lucy could be spared their families fate hurt me, and made me remanence over my meeting with my mother. She had clearly been insane. Flower circle…she didn't seem to have my death as her end goal from the start. It seems that she was only interested in talking to me.

The absence of magic she spoke of, Jellal said sounded like a black hole. Overall the plan was better than anything else we had going for us; the only problem was leading Acnologia to that exact point somehow…

"Why the long face?" Jellal asked from behind me.

"I am hesitant to trust a stranger who may have other motives, her existence itself is something that makes little sense, but we don't have any other plan to defeat Acnologia. I do…trust her, I have to, otherwise I have to admit that there is no point in fighting anymore." I told him sadly.

"That's what I like about you, though I suppose it is your weakness as well." He said ruefully. Just then the ship jostled as Acnologia caught us. He was touched by the ravines of time, but somehow, he teleported directly behind us! One of the dragon's evil eyes turned to Jellal and I and I was frozen in fear.

"I'll buy us some time!" Jellal yelled as he pulled me behind him, further into the ship. Before I could lurch forward to grab hold of Jellal and stop him, he shot forward with 'Meteor'.

"Jellal!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as Acnologia attacked him with a breath attack. He missed Jellal, thankfully, but he split the sea in two! Then as if by miracle the ravines of time burst open. Unfortunately, Acnologia saw it and became wary of it.

"Don't worry! If it's the last thing I do, I will drive him into it!" Jellal yelled. No! He will be killed with Acnologia! Please stop!

"Stop…Jellal!" I cried out trying to reach him trough my fear. He smiled then disappeared from my sight. He was successfully forcing Acnologia in the direction of the ravine of time. He narrowly missed being ripped apart and blasted by raw magic.

Somewhere deep in my heart I knew he was fighting for me, to earn my love, to save my life. He said defeating Zeref was his goal in life now, yet he is here with me, fighting for me. Then I screamed as Acnologia sucked in Jellal's magic and captured him in a clawed hand. No…this cant be it! This can't be the end of us, he can't die!

He cried out as Acnologia squeezed him tightly. Cristina crashed into the ocean. They spoke about hoe the explosion from Christina would push Acnologia into the ravine of time. That it. I will die with Jellal. We started together and we will end together.

The Cristine started moving again. Anna and Ichiya were flying Christina directly towards Acnologia and Jellal.

"No!" I screeched my heart out. Please don't leave me, Jellal! Ichiya freed Jellal from Acnologia's claw.

"Jellal, maaaan, you can't die now. You have the obligation to make people happy! You must have someone to protect with your life! You needn't waste that precious life today!" Ichiya said, touching my heart. I was terribly for being grateful that he would die instead of Jellal.

I made it close enough to where Jellal plummeted just in time to dive under and help him swim to the surface.

"You, stupid idiot! Why did you do that! I told you not to throw your life away! Ever!" I yelled at him between sobs and gasps for air.

"You told me to live. And if you didn't exist, my purpose in living would disappear. Dying to protect the one I love, the one who makes this world a place I can exist, this is the only reason I could ever die for gladly…Erza." He said to me before collapsing out of pain and exhaustion. Tears stung my eyes and I kissed his cheek.

Acnologia and Christina disappeared. Along with our old friend Ichiya and our new friend, Anna. Thank you…thank you! I bit my lip and held Jellal closer to my chest. I swam back to shore with the others. Wendy wasn't a strong swimmer so I let her hold my shoulders as I swam.

I collapsed ashore, gasping and panting. I had the urge to wrench my guts. A groan escaped the body I clung to.

"I…did I survive?" Jellal asked disorientated. I looked down at him and smiled. He stared at me for the longest time.

"It seems so." I said softly and smiled at him. He looked away ashamed.

"But why? I'm…" He began and my smile fell. I knew what he was thinking. 'I don't deserve to exist.', 'I am a waste of space.', 'Why am I here when people who deserves life and happiness more than I do are dead because of me, as if I killed them too.'. A loud sob escaped me before I turned away and hid my face.

"You are alive because… master Ichiya said you have to use your life to protect someone special." Said Jenny from Blue Pegasus, after she finished praying for Ichiya and Anna. I nodded and looked back to Jellal. I stoked his cheek tenderly as his head lay in my lap. He looked back up at me.

"They died for you. That's why you must treasure your life. To do otherwise would be an insult to their sacrifice, and to the ones who hold you dear in their hearts." I said softly and he gasped. We stayed that way for a while before we were ready to do a head count.

Everyone seemed to be alright. But Jellal and his guild were gone by the time everyone had regathered.

Over a year later I sat at my dresser brushing my hair. I closed my eyes in memory. In my mind I say Jellal's back walking away from me. I saw the headlines from months later when the entirety of Jellal's guild were pardoned and reinstated as legal citizens. I remember expecting to hear from him. I knew he would need time and it did occur to me that he might not have wanted a future with me in the way I did with him.

I placed my brush back on the dresser and shook out my hair that shone like satin. I caught a few strands between my fingers and brought them closer to my eyes. Scarlet…hair just like hers. Hair that 'he' loved so much. unknowingly, my throat became strained and my lips turned down in distaste and sadness.

I wished I could have gotten to know my mother while she was still sane. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them with the resolve to forget my troubles momentarily. I was supposed to meet my group at the guild since we were leaving on a job together.

Many said it was unfair for all the S-class wizards like us to stay together so whenever we aren't together, we take some of the aspiring wizards on harder missions with us to train them. My entire group, in fact the entire Tenro team and then some others were made S-class. Master was strangely happy to award us the rank. Laxus, Mira and I were made SS-class, and Gildarts finally decided to settle down and become the 'future' guild master, should anything happen to gramps.

I know he did it for gramps sake. He needed the reassurance more than ever now in his old age. Gramps couldn't protect the guild like he used to. Gildarts also accepted the position of wizard saint. I over heard him talking to gramps once and he said that he remembered the Spriggan named August from his childhood. He raised him and taught him magic before he disappeared one day. It wasn't stated outright but it made sense for him to be Gildarts father, Cana's grandfather. Family of Zeref and Natsu.

In the end we believed that primordial magic saved Mavis and Zeref, as well as master. It also killed August. While both Zeref and Mavis did surely die, as well as gramps, the magic of love revived them to live anew. The power of love for his mother ended up killing August. He killed himself because the thought of not being loved by his mother once she saw him broke his thin will to live.

Something else had also been rumoured but it quickly died out. Wendy said that Jellal and Acnologia's scents were similar. It occurred to me that I didn't really know much about Jellal. Where he came from before we became slaves or about how he lived in general.

I sighed away the last of my unhappy thoughts as I made my way to my friends. My family. As strange as it sounds, Natsu and Gray fought a lot less than they used to. Of course, they got into fights, all of Fairy Tail got into fights. But their friendship was impenetrable now. I smiled as I made my way inside the guild.

As I came to a stop beside Gray, I noticed a new member sitting beside Natsu. He had a bright scarlet emblem on his left bicep, and apart from his rather expensive fashion he covered his face with a hood.

"Alright! We're all here now we can get going!" Natsu crowed and hurriedly cleared the table of any and all food. I hit his hand away just in time before he could pick up the slice of cake Lucy had ordered for me.

"Not for you!" I scolded and smiled at how he clutched his hand in agony. The man beside me laughed and his hood fell down.

"So, the rumour is true, you do adore strawberry cheese cake." He said and smiled at me. It's been so long since I have seen him smile like that. I bit my cheek to stop myself from crying.

"Jellal? You're…here?" I asked to confirm my observations. The guild watched us both carefully except for my group who were happily laughing and patting each other on the back or crying from happiness.

"Yeah. It took some time to…adjust and I had a few things I needed to take care of first, but I guess I'm here to stay…if that's alright with you?" He asked and smiled hesitantly. I could feel my chin wobble a bit and my eyes were becoming blurry. What could I say?

"Here, you can have my cake if you are hungry?" I offered and bit my cheek as the guild erupted in laughs and incredulity. 'Haha, she never shares her cake!', 'Aren't they a cute couple?', 'I want some cake too Erza!'. I flushed and looked away from Jellal to the open door of the guild into the blue sky.

"Thank you, Erza. I'll try it but you can have it." He said in humour and I looked up at the roof.

"Aww, look Gray! Erza's face is so red! She is so embarres- "Natsu began before I handed the plate to Jellal and sent Natsu flying through a support beam.

"Oh, you want to fight do you?!" He said slowly getting up. Oh shit. Natsu wouldn't try to hurt me but now he was a lot stronger than he was before. I quickly stood behind Jellal and pushed Gray at Natsu. They headbutt and began to brawl. I sighed in relief.

"Hey Erza, you know you still have to stop their fight, right? While we still have a guild hall?" Lucy said worriedly.

"No, no that's not necessary." I said, cringing as Natsu and Gray landed monstrous blows onto each other. Jellal stood up and walked towards them, narrowly avoiding being hit. He brought down his fists on their heads and down they went.

"I see why Erza loves him, he is just as much of a monster as she is!" Happy laughed, causing me to punch him and for him to be sent flying into Lucy's face.

"Oh my god! Lucy I'm sorry!" I squeaked but she just waved it off before passing out.

"Well should we get going then? Its not going to be light out forever!" Natsu crowed after picking up Happy and Lucy and throwing them over his shoulders. I sighed and sent Jellal a grateful smile.

"Gray-sama! Juvia wants to come with you!" Juvia wailed and threw herself at Gray just as we made out way out of Magnolia.

"Would you quit it! I will be back after our mission is done. Just go home and do whatever you usually do." He said back to her coldly. Gray and Juvia started living together after the city was rebuilt. They seemed closer these days but sometimes he was too harsh and others she was too much to handle.

"You! Erza-san! Choose! You can't have the love of both my love Gray-sama and Jellal-kun!" She yelled and pointed at me. For a moment I was taken aback before I decided to dismiss it and quickly run towards out destination. I could wait for the others to catch up. Is it possibly that she knew Gray had feelings for me in the past? No, she treats all woman as her 'love-rivals'. Still, her tears seemed real…

I stopped and leaned against a tree to catch my breath. Jellal jogged up to me.

"Hey, what's that about?" He asked me. I could see he was running through possibilities in his mind.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Juvia thinks all women are her rivals for Gray's love. Though I thought they had sorted out their feeling already." I said through breaths.

"I see…so, you and Gray are just friends? There aren't any other feelings there?" He asked me cautiously. I grimaced a little at his attentiveness. Gray's feelings weren't his business but I didn't want to lie to Jellal.

"We are just friends. During the Grand Magic Games Gray confessed to having feelings of a more romantic nature towards me but he understood that I already have someone in my heart. As far as I know, he and Juvia share a mutual affection for each other. I don't think Gray's feelings for me persisted over time. They probably had an argument and I was dragged into it." I sighed and shrugged. For a long time, he stared at me.

"He probably will always have feelings for you. Anyone who knows you can't help but love you. Why didn't you give Gray a chance back then?" He asked me softly. I shrugged and looked down. Our friends were heading our way now.

"I don't know. You, Ultear and Meredy found us back then and seeing you again… and after what happened, or almost happened with us at the beach… How could I give him false hope? I only loved one person since forever, even if we became closer, I would never be able to truly love him or support him. The second I saw you I would feel ashamed or I would direct my attention to you instead of him. Gray deserves better than me. He deserves someone like Juvia who loves him completely, everyone does." I told him and leaned off the tree to walk to the path we were traveling on. He touched my elbow, stopping me.

"I'm sorry for making you feel that way. I didn't mean to hold you back. But if I were in his situation, I would have taken any part of you that you were willing to share. You…" He trailed off then shook his head.

"I think you have things wrong. No one deserves you. That's why confessed to you knowing you wouldn't be able to precipitate his feelings. Gray is a good guy but you are…heaven sent." He told me and I smiled shyly at him.

We were re-joined by our group. Jellal and I started walking together but as the day progressed, He ended up walking beside Wendy and Lucy. I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous. Ever now and then Jellal's and my eyes would meet, only for an instant before I looked away or either Natsu or Gray spoke to me.

Somewhere along the way Wendy and Lucy grew tired of walking and used Lucy's clock spirit to carry them while they rested. I looked at them and sighed. Honestly, I was tired but I wasn't about to admit it. Natsu and Gray weren't all that stronger than me now but I was still in the process of learning Eileen's…mothers magic. Once I mastered it, I would enjoy brawls with them once again. I smiled subconsciously. A hand grasped my arm gently.

"Hey, Erza, aren't you hot and tired? I can give you a piggy back like old times? You know I'm always chilled out." Gray joked and I laughed. It was really hot today. I stopped laughing and looked at Gray's face he flushed and scratched the back of his head. My smile dropped a little bit. I saw Jellal watching us from the corner of my eye. I bit my lip and looked at the ground. I would have to say no. I didn't want Jellal to see me that close to another guy. A guy he knows for certain had feelings for me in the past.

"No, it's alright Gray. Perhaps we can take a break though?" I offered as an ultimatum. He scrunched up his nose before diving low and picking me up. I gasped and flushed.

"Come on Erza! It's not like you to take a break over a piggy back ride! Besides, we know a great place to camp only a few more hours away. It's near a stream and the view there is beautiful during sunset." Gray said enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes and grinned despite the uncomfortable situation. I sighed in pleasure and wrapped my arms around Gray's neck.

Not even fifteen minutes later Lucy's spirit disappeared.

"Hey that looks like fun! Jellal, can I please have a piggy back ride?" She asked adorably. I looked at him and smiled as he said yes. She was too short to see over his shoulders so she ended up sitting on his shoulders instead.

"Hey Luce! Come on and piggy back ride with me! We can beat those turkeys in a race!" Natsu said enthusiastically. After trying and failing to outrun him she was situated on his shoulders like Wendy was.

"Too hot! Someone help me I'm dying! Erza trade with me please!" Lucy begged. I sighed and trued to get off of Gray but he pushed be back up.

"Oh no, the race is on you chicken!" He said and ran after Natsu. I squeaked as Gray tried to pull my higher up his back to sit on his shoulders. Finally, I gave in.

"Gray, freeze the floor!" I ordered.

"I'm on it!" He yelled back up at me. Jellal and Wendy were behind us so they had more time to prepare, but Natsu tripped and Lucy went flying. Gray and I high-fived and continued forward skiing. Wendy used her wind to create a boost for Jellal.

"Erza do something! You have to distract them!" Gray commanded from under me. I shakily stood on Gray's shoulders and requipped into my cat costume. I flushed as Jellal looked directly at me.

"Meow." I said seductively. Just like that we won as Jellal tripped and Wendy went flying.

"We won!" Grey yelled triumphantly. I jumped off of Gray and struggled to keep my balance. I almost fell before an arm came from either side of me to steady me. I looked up to see Gray and Jellal watching me.

"Congratulations on your victory." Jellal said and smiled hesitantly. His eyes became steely when he saw Gray's hand still supporting me.

"Here, I will give you a ride now. I'm sure Gray is tired. Wendy weighed almost nothing so I'm still good to go." Jellal said and crouched down and waited for me to climb onto his back.

"I smiled at Gray when Lucy tackled him and demanded to be the next rider. Wendy walked beside Natsu and they talked about something together and laughed quiet often.

"Hey you guys know that Levy and Gajeel are having a baby, right? Well I also over heard Elfman and Evergreen talking about getting married soon because Evergreen is also expecting!" Wendy said happily.

"What! Mira didn't tell me anything about that!" I cried out indignantly.

"Well I doubt she knows yet. They were trying to be very secretive about it. What do you think their baby will look like?" Wendy asked innocently. Horrible images of an ugly baby came to my mind. And I began crying all over Jellal.

"Oh my god, that poor baby! And they will probably name it something stupid as well, I mean look at their names!" I cried out horrified and Lucy and Wendy joined me in tears while Gray came closer to put a hand of comfort on my leg which he squeezed gently.

"Come on Erza, Lisanna and Mira are pretty and Elfman has their gene's too you know. It might not be a completely ugly baby." He said comfortingly. I shrugged and nodded.

"Say Gray, have you and Juvia talked about having kids yet?" I asked and his smile disappeared. One appeared on Jellal's face however.

"Ah, we're not really there yet." He said dismissively.

"Maybe she was upset earlier because she is also pregnant. It seems to be going around." I joked and Wendy and Lucy burst into laughter as well and Natsu. Even Jellal snorted.

"What?! No! I mean we hardly ever…" He began before turning cheer red. I burst out laughing and quickly covered my mouth and looked away before Jellal looked towards me.

"Don't let it bother you Gray. I'm sure that you will be a great dad when the time comes. If it makes you feel better, you will most likely be a better father than 'Shubeedoba!' and 'I'm a real man!'." I told him teasingly. He grinned and slapped my ass hard making me squeak and rub my behind.

"Sorry it was too tempting! Besides, you deserved it after scaring me like that! You know Erza…you would make a really good mother." He said looking ahead.

"Quit talking nonsense." I chided and rested my head on top of Jellal's.

"I'm serious. You taught Natsu to read and write, you were always getting us to bath and brush our teeth. You are strict but loving…any kid would be lucky to have to as a mom. Any guy would be lucky to end up with you for that matter. You should really think about setting down." He said in all seriousness.

I sighed and let my arms flop lifelessly over Jellal's chest. Even though he was doing the walking, I felt like I was exhausted.

"Are you okay up there?" Jellal asked me sincerely. I nodded against his head.

"Yeah, I guess. What do think I would look like if I was pregnant? I don't want to get fat! And out of everyone I probably know the least about being a mother. My mother…" I trailed off. My smile quickly vanished and I began moping on Jellal.

"Hey. Someone with as much love as you have can't be a bad parent no matter how hard you try. I'm sure you will be the best mother ever. And you know you will lose weight after having the baby. You would probably look even more radiant though. You seem to magically get more and more beautiful every time I see you." He said reassuringly. He stroked my leg comfortingly.

I didn't know if I should have done what I did but when he looked up at me and smiled. I just bent down…and touched my lips to his. It was only briefly, but he looked shocked. So did Gray from beside him. And Wendy, Lucy, Natsu and…

"Hahaha, they're in love!" Happy sang. Our faces flushed.

"Well this is our stop!" Lucy announced.

"Why don't you three boys go find food and firewood while the three of us get a camp sorted out and get cleaned up?" Lucy suggested. I gulped and slid off of Jellal. I knew they secretly wanted to get rid of the guys to ask me questions. I looked down and made my way to Lucy. Wendy hugged my waist. After a few minutes of no one moving, I growled deep in my throat and turned to the boys before summoning a sword.

"Aye sir! Firewood and food, on it!" Natsu and Gray sang before sprinting into the woods. I flushed and restored my sword.

"Erza, can we talk for a moment?" Jellal asked me and swallowed down my sadness. I could never tell what he was thinking.

"Sure." I said, and we walked towards a grove of flowers and plants. We sat one an old bark branch and waited in the silence. Just as I decided to apologise to his for kissing him, he began talking.

"I know I don't deserve you. No one ever will. But…when I used to think of the future when we were kids, you were always right there with me, holding my hand. My best friend. And then after I was possessed, the future seemed empty. I couldn't see anything but blackness and the goal Ultear made me believe was my cause for living. While I was in a coma, even during the period of amnesia, when I thought of a future, you were there with me in it. After Ultear broke me out of prison, there was nothing but darkness set before me again until I saw you again. The darkness disappeared, there was just me and you." He began I listened carefully. This wasn't the talk I was expecting but he was obviously telling me this for a reason.

"I'm not sure but I think you feel for me the same way I feel for you. I don't know…I'm selfish, possessive, over protective and insecure. I've done terrible things. No one could be less worthy of you than I am. Tell me Erza, what do you see when you look into the future you want to make for yourself? Am I really apart of it? I wouldn't blame you if one day you realise you wasted your love on me." He said sadly with a broken smile

I closed my eyes and let the tears roll down my cheeks. So, we are finally here. This discussion. I waited all these years hoping.

"When I look into the future, I see myself with the man I love. The man who became my best friend when we were young, the boy who named me, whose smile gave me hope and dried my tears when I thought I would break or die from the abuse. He gave me the strength and hope I use till this day. I will wait for him however long it takes him to see what he is really worth. He was so hurt, so abused…" My tears began sobs. I knew I probably looked pathetic in his eyes.

"He was traumatised at seeing his friend so terribly injured. That trauma helped a girl with an evil mind brainwash him and make him believe his thoughts were his own. Made him believe his actions were his own. I never for a second hated him because even though I didn't understand what happened to him, I knew he was confused and hurting. Does that sound like a bad person? He taught me how to hope." I said sadly.

"I always wished we would be free, sitting together as we are now. When you tried to sacrifice yourself to kill Acnologia, I was planning to join you in death." I told him secretly. And I smiled bitterly and fat tears fell down my face. He gasped in horror. I stared at the sun that was soon to set.

"Erza. What are you talking about?" He asked me desperately, standing up and standing in front of me. I wiped away my tears and tried to steady my breathing.

"For the first time since I was a slave at the tower of heaven, my future disappeared before by eyes. I felt hopeless. We started off together so I was going to let us end together." I said brokenly.

"Jellal…are you really going to stay? In Fairy Tail? With me?" I asked him hesitantly. He looked contemplative.

"I will stay with you until you order me to leave. I know it sounds stupid but from the moment I saw you when we were kids, I knew I was in love with you. I believed with all my heart that we would be together when we were free. I dreamed of us escaping together, living together…creating a life together. I know, those are pretty deep thoughts for a kid, but they were all sincere. I have always loved you Erza." He said and leaned his forehead against mine.

"I know. I have always loved you as well. But what does this mean for us?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Well I only just got to Magnolia, would you like to find a place for us to stay together? We can start our relationship by staying together, then moving at our own pace." He suggested reasonably. I smiled. It almost seemed too good to be true.

"I like that idea. Jellal, are you sure you want to be with me?" I asked him sadly. I was just so used to him leaving it was difficult picturing us together. He lifted my chin and slowly came forward. He was giving me time to reject his advances. I put my hand on his shoulder and he froze. I slowly slid my hand into his soft blue locks and closed the distance between us.

Once our lips met, he put more force into the kiss. He knelt down in front of me and gently parted my legs. He crawled forward until we were chest to chest. I gasped when I felt his tough come out and lick my lip. I clenched my knees around his waist.

His tongue slid into my mouth and explored me. I flushed at how experiences he seemed at kissing. Though I doubt he has been with anyone else. He picked me up and lay be of a blanket of flowers. I hesitated but I decided to store my armor. Instead, I exchanged in for shorts and a vest shirt. He stopped kissing me and lifted his head. I bit my lip and glanced away.

"I'm still waiting to wake up from this dream." He murmured. I took a deep breath and turned to face him. He was holding one of my hips and just below my breast.

"I love you Jellal." I told him as my hand moved up to hold his face gently. I kissed me again long and passionately. A hand moved under my vest caressing my smooth stomach. I shivered and fidgeted my legs on either side of me against him. He seemed to want to touch me more privately but he was being cautious.

"You can touch me. It's…alright if its you." I told him shyly. He smiled into the kiss. And slowly his hand lifted onto my breast. His thumb brushed over my nipple and I moaned surprising us both. I gasped and covered my face with an arm.

"Erza, don't do that. I liked it. Come on." He said comfortingly. I licked my lips and slowly removed my arm. He kissed me again lovingly. We carried on this way for a few minutes until he pulled my vest over my breasts. I held my breath.

"God, you are so beautiful." He murmured before kissing me again. Each hand teased a breast. I was moaning and panting. He slowly moved down my body until his mouth surrounded one of my nipples. I cried out in pleasure and tightened my legs around him, bringing his groin to brush against my throbbing core. He groaned loudly making me shiver and hold him tighter.

I was shyer than I thought I would be. I slowly untucked his shirt and slipped my hands up his tones body, slowly and sensually. His muscles rippled. I cried out as he nibbled one of my erect nipples. He thrust our groins together. Eventually I tiered of struggling with his shirt and requipped it off of him and placed it beside us. He gasped.

"Your vest…unless we are going to far?" He asked me hesitantly. I smiled cheekily before I stored my vest and my shorts leaving only my underwear. His eyes widened as he took me in. I bit my lip. Perhaps I went too far? I looked away before he gently moved my face to look at him.

"Erza how long do we have until they come looking for us?" He asked me and I froze.

"They shouldn't come looking for us unless there is trouble." I told his after some thought. He nodded and ran his hands un and down my thighs.

"Would it be alright if I…kiss you there?" He asked me and touched my damp panties. I flushed and bit my lip. I nodded. He smiled and slowly slid my underwear off of my legs.

"You're perfect, Erza." He groaned as he took me in fully. After some thought, I requipped his pants beside him as well. When he looked up at me, I leaned forward on my elbows to see him better.

"I feel strange being the only naked person here…" He grinned and spread my legs. I relaxed and lay back down. After a moment of him examining me and smelling me, he began licking me. I thought I was in heaven. I had the strongest urge I have ever had to copulate. He held my hips in a deadlock with his arms so that I couldn't buck.

"Jellal." I moaned his name and he groaned against my core sending shivers to the centre of my core. I cried out my release and panted as he licked up my liquids.

"Jellal…can I…see?" I began but I didn't know how to finish my sentence. He smiled at me.

"Sure, but I can take care of it myself, you don't need to worry." He told me a stood out of his briefs. I took my time studying his gorgeous naked body. The urge to mate was still extremely strong. I held my hands forward gesturing for him to kiss me. When he did, I pulled him down with me, on top of me. He groaned and thrust against me. I moved my legs back over his waist and pulled him towards me.

"Jellal…I want you…do you want to…" I trailed off. He groaned and tried to move away from me.

"Erza, we shouldn't, not yet." He said. I pursed my lips together and swallowed the lump in my throat. I looked away as a tear fell from my eye.

"Alright. But are you sure?" He asked me.

"Yes, but just be gentle." I cautioned. He nodded and kissed me as he aligned himself with my vagina. My body hummed in satisfaction as I felt him start to enter me. He stopped kissing me to watch my face. I breathed more heavily and I grit my teeth as he slid into me. When he was fully inside me, I cried out and panted.

"Thank you, Erza. Oh my god, this is…unbelievable!" He exclaimed and kissed me again. Finally, Jellal and I are joined as one. Slowly he began to move. We moved slowly creating our own pace. Once we were both lost in pleasure, we began being more expressive towards each other. We bit each other and nuzzled each other. We both cried out in ecstasy at our release. I whimpered as he slowly pulled out of me.

"I need you. I love you Erza, so, so much." He told me between pants. We lay in the afterglow of our coupling for a few minutes till the chill of night air urged us get dressed. I was a little sore and my legs still shook a little. Jellal came up behind me and kissed my shoulder sending shivers through my entire body.

We walked back to our camp site together, first holding hands but then he put his arm around me. It felt nice and warm.

"Hey, why do you smell so funny?" Happy said to use and the hairs on my back rose. Natsu took a whiff of the air then grinned.

"Well did you two enjoy your talk?" He asked suspiciously calm. I narrowed my eyes at him. He only grinned evilly at me.

"So, you are also planning on having a baby soon Erza?" He asked randomly. Everyone looked between Natsu and Jellal and me. Jellal pulled me closer to him but his cheeks were almost as red as my hair.

"The hell? Did you two hook-up in the woods?" Gray asked incredulously. I coughed into my hand and led Jellal to our sleeping spot.

"Well we are…together now. And it wouldn't scare me if I did fall pregnant. Our kids would be adorable!" I said ever so proudly. Jellal coughed beside me and wrapped his arm around me after retrieving our portion of the food. Everyone was shocked except Wendy who races up to us to hug us.

"Oh yay! Now I'm going to be a big sis!" She said and I flushed. Jellal didn't know that Wendy and I stayed together or that I treated her as my own child or little sister.

"Hey, I'm not pregnant! I'm just saying our kids would be adorable…like Wendy." I said and shrugged. When we were preparing to turn in for the night, I told Jellal that I would have liked to sleep with him but when we camp out, I usually share my sleeping bag with Wendy and Carla.

Then next morning when we were preparing to leave, I stopped my group.

"I actually have something I need to do here for a few hours. You all can head forward, I will catch up with you when I am done here. It's sort of personal." I told them. It took a while for them to agree to leave ahead of me. Jellal however refused and said he would stay with me.

I waited thirty minutes in silence with Jellal until I was sure that the others were far enough away from us for me to have more privacy. I requipped myself a shovel and a spare shovel that I tossed to Jellal. He blinked at it blankly.

"I need to dig a grave. You can still leave if you want to." I told him and he looked at me curiously.

"Who is the grave for?" He asked me curiously. I looked at him for a moment before I gave in and confessed my plan to him.

"Just before you saved Wendy and me from Acnologia back then, my mother…killed herself to protect me. I don't know how to describe it but I saw Acnologia defile her corpse and that really hurt me. I didn't know her and she was my enemy. She tried to kill me and even Wendy, she was nothing but a corpse…still I wanted to give her a proper burial. She…when I met her, she was already insane, but from what she told me about my origins and herself, after what she did for me…" I trailed off.

"I see. I understand. But this isn't something you should have to shoulder alone, Erza. I'm glad you let me stay with you." He said sympathetically.

"The thing is, I want to be allowed to cry, and hurt and I don't want someone I love to see me like that…" I tried to explain. He walked over to me and kissed me gently.

"I would never think any less of you. I love you. I understand you Erza. Take as much time as you need. I will use my magic to bring us to the others." He told comfortingly before letting me go and starting to shovel the dirt.

Once the hole was dug, we filled it with flowers and soft green grass. I took a sheet out of my requip and braced myself for seeing her corpse.

"I don't think you want you see this." I told him honestly but he assured me that he would stay with me. It wasn't me I was worried about.

"It looks really terrible now…and she looks a lot like me. I don't want you to see it because you might see me through her." I tried to explain to him. He hugged me close to him and kissed my forehead.

"I'm staying with you. I won't let you do this alone." He said solemnly. I cringed and took a deep breath. I lay half of the sheet in the grave before I retrieved her body and placed it on the sheet. I took a minute to look at the part of her that hadn't been disfigured. She beautiful and almost identical to me. Her body still bled, and the blood stained the sheets. I heard Jellal coughing behind me and I glanced at him. He looked absolutely horrified. I gulped down my unease and searched my requip space for items I kept for myself as mementos of growing up. Milk teeth, locks of hair, favourite teddies, my first real jewellery, my favourite sword, my favourite blanket, my favourite childhood book and other childhood mementos, even one of the manacles from my imprisonment. Lastly, I placed a golden star over her chest, and a few dragon scales that I had salvaged from the wreckage and the book based on her, that told of her as a hero and then as a monster.

Jellal watched me all the while but helped me cover his up with the rest of the sheet. He had been incredibly quiet. After we buried the grave again I enchanted the dirt to make a grave stone.

It read,

'Eileen Belserion

Queen of Dragons

Warrior, General, Queen, Friend, Wife, Daughter, Mother

The last of the great dragons.

You will be missed and you were dearly loved.'

Once her grave was completed, I knelt beside it. it was time to say my goodbyes. It was time for me to say goodbye to my mother.

"Mother…I wish I could have known you. After a lot of thinking since we met, I believe I have judged you unfairly, but then again, I was terribly confused and scared. Ever since I was little, I always wondered what could have been so wrong with me that you wouldn't want me. I was often teased about having a strange hair colour, and I grew to be self-conscious of it at a very early age.

Still, I never resented you. I always wondered who you were more than I ever wondered about my father. I understand that you left me because you were afraid that you would endanger me. I am grateful for you giving me the chance at life after protecting me for 400years.

I wish you didn't have to suffer so much in your life. From what you told me and from what I have read about you, you were a kind and caring ruler who supported peace and coexistence between humans and dragons. You became the first dragon slayer because you believed that humans needed power to defend themselves and others, only your wish became a nightmare when Belserion died and you were forced to marry a man from another nation for peace.

You genuinely loved me from the moment you realise that you had conceived. You enchanted your me to remain ungrowing until you were safe enough to birth me. But father betrayed you and sent you to the dungeons to be tortured. He didn't believe you when you told him that you were pregnant with me, because you protected me completely no matter what torcher they made you endure.

Eventually he had enough and tried to gut you to prove that you weren't pregnant. Your fear of losing me caused your transformation to complete, and you turning into a dragon in order to safe guard me. Only you were never able to turn back into your human form.

You spent 400years living like an animal, hunted by humans and dragons. All the while protecting me and hoping for a brighter future for me. Then you met Zeref and he changed you back to your human body. Only your humanity had been lost, as well as your sanity. In your desperation to become yourself again, you decided to birth me to take over my body as your own.

However, the love you felt for right from the start stopped you from going through with you plan. I was helpless and defenceless and yet you decided not to harm me or kill me. You told me you abandoned me in and ally, but since I was a child, I was showing the basket and blankets you delivered to them, they even said you paid them to make sure I had the best upbringing.

It's alright though. Because one day in Rosemary village the followers of a dark cult came to abduct children. I was one of them. But if I hadn't endured all that, I never would have met my new family.

I met Jellal, Simon, Wally, Sho and Millianna at the tower of heaven. And I because good friends with all of them. We were child slaves and we wouldn't have made it if we didn't have each other. To this day all of us are friends, and now I am in a relationship with Jellal. You would have liked him, he uses the same magic as you did.

Something bad happened and I lost a friend who was dear to me, but he led me to the wizard guild called Fairy Tail. I found it difficult to make friends there because I was clinging to my past. Mira used to bully me and Gray used to fight with me constantly because I wouldn't talk to the other kids. One day Gray made me cry and since then we have been inseparable. We all became best friends and even family. So, you don't need to worry about if I was lonely or unloved. Perhaps for a while but I found a family better than any other in existence. You would have loved it.

I have gotten into a lot of trouble over the years, I have overcome many pains and many loses, I have reluctantly been forced into taking a life. It was difficult but I had my friends to help me overcome my sadness and self-doubts. I fought friends who needed to be saved, enemies from dark guilds, demons from the books of Zeref and even the elite from the Spriggan 12.

A long time ago I thought I had to say good bye to someone I loved forever. But after Tenro Island resurfaced I found him again. He was free and doing good by eradicating dark guilds. I even got to see him smile once or twice after so many years. It was difficult coping with the seven years stolen from us because of Acnologia though. Some of us lost loved ones, and some of us had to see how others had progressed while we were the same, young and weak.

Even still, we stuck together and even after all the hardships we have endured together we are still standing strong. Now we are the strongest wizards on the continent, never mind individual guild strength.

I even travelled to Edolas once. We saved Earthland and we freed the Edolas world from its usurper king and Mystogan a friend of ours stayed behind with the Edolas Erza to rebuild the kingdom. We ended up draining their world of all magic, sending us all and the entire magical race called the Exceed.

You know, mother, I think you never intended to kill me or Wendy right from the start. You knew I loved her and you loved me too much to take someone I loved away from me. You also wanted to see my strength for yourself, didn't you? I hope you admired what you saw. I will always remember the flower circle you make for me our of swords. The more I think about it, I think that was your way of saying you were happy to see me. I will always miss you and wish that we had more time together.

One day when I have children, I will make sure they know their heritage. Who knows, they might rule the world one day. They will have some seriously impressive genes.

I hope I have done right by you by giving you a decent burial. I love you mother, and I will visit you whenever I am able to when I am in the area. I hope with all my heart that you were able to find peace. If anyone deserves it, you do. I hope you are happy in the next life. If we are lucky perhaps, we could be family again.

Until then, this is goodbye mother. Farewell, Eileen Belserion, queen of the dragons.

I took a moment to regain my composure and dry my tears. Jellal's hands encircled my waist and he places a gentle kiss on my neck.

"I'm sorry. You have been though so much heartache. Mostly because of me. I swear I will never hurt you in any way ever again. I love you Erza and I will always be here for you. Perhaps you could talk to me about her? I am interested in learning about your heritage." He said comfortingly. I smiled and nodded at him.

"It did scare me when I saw her. If anything, I will be ever more protective of you. I hope you will bear with me. It was just unimaginably difficult to see…to see the face of the person I love more than anything in the world, battered, beaten, disfigured and dead. This moment will be something I fear forever. I will take care of you and any children we might have in the future to the best of my ability, I swear." I said seriously and squeezed my hand between his own.

We caught up with the others, completed the quest and returned home. The past was left in the past and our present and future appeared bright.