Jerza: To Love A Prisoner

Chapter 9:

"Erza are you okay? You seem to be hurt. You have scratches on your arms." The king asked me.

"I do?" I asked. I looked down to see he was correct. I quickly thought up something to tell him.

"Yes my king, I see them now. I'm fine thank you for asking. I got attacked by a rogue wolf, but I fought it off and it ran away with marks from my sword. It managed to get a few pieces of food though, but it didn't make a dent in how much we already have." I said in my most believable voice.

He nodded. "Good. Now go see Porlyusica about those scratches, and get some rest. The festival is later and Prince Lyon of Lamia has already arrived. You will meet him tonight at the feast." He ordered. I nodded and left for the infirmary in the castle.

I arrived and knocked on the door, then opened it hearing the call to come in. I saw the pink haired old doctor that the castle hired. Her name was Porlyusica, and she was an old friend of Mokarav.

"Good gracious child your arms! What have you done this time." She scowled.

Yeah, she pretty much hates everyone except Mokarav, me, and Wendy. Wendy is her 14 year old assistant, and Natsu's younger sister. She lives with Natsu's parents Igneel and Grandeeney. Wendy hopes to take Porlyusica's place as the royal medic when she retires, so the king allowed her to be an apprentice, and later a royal medic if Porlyusica says she's ready. Porlyusica doesn't even like the king. She won't tell me why, though. I'm not bothered by it, because not everyone has to like the king. They just have to follow his lead and orders.

"Miss Erza I asked what happened! You don't get scratches like these just anywhere!" She yelled, getting annoyed.

"I fought a rogue wolf." I said quietly, knowing she was going to scold me, and mouthing off to her wouldn't help me at all.

She sighed. "I knew it was a possibility but I never thought you'd actually encounter one. Such a troublesome child." She chuckled softly. I smiled to myself, knowing I got to witness something rare. Porlyusica almost never smiles, let alone laugh or even let out a chuckle.

She started cleaning and wrapping my wounds, saying they would heal before the festival came. I was glad of that. I don't want to be embarrassed by them in front of our people or the Lamia Kingdom. We heard the door to the infirmary open softly and knew that Wendy had entered.

"Greetings Erza-san! Are you okay?" She asked sweetly. Wendy was by far the most gentle person in the castle. Mira and Lucy may have been the nicest, but Wendy was so careful with everything and everyone, as if she was handling a fragile delivery, or something similar.

"Don't worry Wendy I'm fine! I just got a few scratches while out on my hunt. I was also training a little while hunting, and I may have gotten a little carried away with it." I reassured her.

She smiled, and finished wrapping my bandages while Porlyusica mixed some pain reliever into a small bottle.

"There you go, Miss Erza." She handed me the bottle after she finished. "This should get rid of any pain you might have, and I mixed in some aloe leaves to help those scratches heal. Take a little of it whenever they start to sting or ache." She instructed me.

I nodded and left with a parting hug from Wendy, returning to my room to place down the medicine bottle. I went to Mokarav's office and asked him if I could see the king.

"Yes you may, my child. King Precht has no meetings. I will alert him of your wish to meet him. You may go." The old man who I call my father said.

I smiled at him and left for the throne room. It was time to put my plan to action.

I knocked, and entered the room again.

"What do you wish to speak about, Erza?" He asks me.

"I would like to say that I found a perfect training spot within the forest. I wish to ask if I may make that spot my personal training area and take some training dummies and targets from our own to place around it?" I said politely. He seemed to be pondering it. The fact I came back with scratches might lower my chance of him saying yes.

"Very well. You may take a few from our area and make it your own. I will make sure no guards step foot in that area. I know very well that you want to improve your training, and you can't do that with the guards there. It's better to do it yourself so I know that you are capable." He told me. I smiled, knowing I'd be able to see Blueberry again. I thanked him and went to gather some training equipment to transport there tomorrow.

I put the items at the side of the pathway leading to the forest. I looked up at the sky, and it was almost evening. I rushed back into my room and found that Lucy had put the dress on my bed after finishing its adjustments. I put it on quickly then looked in the big mirror hanging on one of my walls. I pulled off the bandages carefully and saw that the scratches were barely visible. I smiled, happy with the results. I then looked at myself in the mirror.

It was a beautiful dress. A violet sleeveless dress, tight around my waist, but flows down from there. There were scarlet roses lining the bottom of the dress, that matches my hair. I had maroon flats on. My hair was left down, but Lucy had also come in and curled it at the bottom a little. She also gave me a violet shiny headband. Lucy really worked hard on this outfit and it shows. I really did look amazing if I do say so myself. This is why Lucy is the best dressmaker we have.

Lucy waited outside the room in her own dress, which was an emerald color. Levy had an orange dress and Juvia had an ocean blue dress on. The staff members and their families were given the day and night off to enjoy the festival, although we asked that they finished cooking and doing their jobs before it began. The food was already set out, and the king hired staff from a close kingdom in which we had an alliance with to serve everyone during the festival.

The feast was being held in the castle courtyard, because it was the only place big enough to hold the entire kingdom and our guests. The girls and I walked down to the courtyard from my chambers, and we went out separate ways. Juvia walked over to Gray, who was actually her boyfriend. Levy went over to Gajeel, who was her boyfriend, and a guard of the castle. Wendy ran up to Lucy and hugged her, then greeted me. She was wearing a sky blue dress.

"Lucy-san! Onii-chan is waiting for you. You look beautiful! And you did great with Erza-san's dress." She said.

I sometimes forget that Wendy and Lucy are now related through her marriage with Natsu. Wendy treats her like her real big sister, and Lucy does the same with Wendy.

"Okay, let's go find him. Bye Erza! Tell me how it goes with the prince!" She waved goodbye and tried to keep up with Wendy, who was running towards Natsu while holding Lucy's hand.

"Excuse me, Miss. Might you be Princess Erza Scarlet of Magnolia Kingdom?"