My Scarlet Rose (A Jerza Fanfic)

Chapter 10 - If It Wasn't For Erza

"Here's two more." The guard said as he tossed two small children into a cell. One of the two, a little girl, cried. She was scared, terrified even. The other one, a little boy, watched the girl cry. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He knew why she was scared. Their parents had been killed and they had been captured. "It's gonna be ok, sis." He told her, trying to comfort her. Deep down, he knew it wasn't going to be ok. He didn't even know if they would make it out alive. But for now they had each other.

"You guys new here?" The boy whipped his head around and saw a group of kids and an old man in the far back of the cell. The boy nodded shyly. "What is this place?" He asked. "The Tower of Heaven." Another boy answered, walking over to them. "My name's Jellal. Jellal Fernandes." Jellal stuck out his hand in greeting. "What's your name?" The little boy looked at Jellal for a moment before reaching out his hand in return, shaking hands with Jellal. "Rick." He answered.

If only he remembered me, Rick thought as he sipped some tea. He remembered Jellal, but Jellal didn't remember him. It hurt. Jellal helped him and his little sister adjust to the Tower of Heaven. Jellal was his first friend. They took care of each other and stood up for each other.

"You runts really did it this time!" A guard sneered. "Which one of you threw this at my head?" He asked, holding a bowl in his hand. The soup that was once in the bowl, was now in his hair. What little hair he had left. "It was me." Jellal said. Truth is, it wasn't Jellal. It was Rick. And Rick couldn't let Jellal take the fall for him. He had to be a man and accept his punishment. "No, it was me!" He shouted. "What are you doing?" Jellal whispered. "I can't let you take blame for something you didn't do." Rick whispered back. The guard looked between the two boys, coming to a decision. "How about this: I'll take you both." He said, grabbing the two boys and carrying them away.