From Rags to Royalty [Jellal x Erza]

A Royal Request

I can feel my heart beating, it's pounding against my chest as I run through the dark forest.

But I'm not alone.

There's someone running with me. A person is running in front of me. I must be following them.

And their hand.

They're holding my hand, guiding me past tree branches. I can't tell if this person is male or female, but they are gripping my hand tightly as if I would disappear at any moment.

"There they are!" A deep voice growls from behind us. "After them!"

Are we being chased?

The person before me tugs on my hand and begins running faster.

My chest hurts so much that I find it hard to breath. But I try my hardest to match the pace of this person in front of me.

I don't know where we're going or why we're being chased, but I have this . . feeling. I feel that this person is not a bad person.

And I feel like I can trust this person.

"Erza!" Is that my dad's voice? "Erza!"

"Hmm?" I humm.

"Wake up, baby girl."

Wake up?

I slowly blink my eyes open, my vision blurry at first.

I was dreaming?

"Dad?" I say groggily. I see my father standing by my bed, looking down at me. "Am I late for school?"

He smiles, chuckling softly. "'Fraid not, Erza. It's Saturday."

"O-Of course." I stutter, sitting up in bed.

"Get dressed and come downstairs." My dad instructs. "Your mom made breakfast and we've got a special order today. We'll need your help."

"A special order? From who?"

"Would you believe it if I said the almighty King himself? King Jeffrey Fernandes, or as I like to call him, King Jeff!" My dad grins, his eyes sparkling and full of excitement.

"T-The King!?!" I couldn't hide my surprise.

Why would the King come to a commoners shop? Doesn't he have a royal swordsmaker or something?

"Yep!" My dad's grin grows wider. "Isn't this great? It's perfect for business! With the King paying us, we'll be rich in no time."

"This is hard to believe." I mumble.

I don't believe for a second that the King would willingly choose our shop. There must be something behind this request.

I won't let anyone, not even the King, embarrass or make a fool out of my family.

❇❇❇❇

After I finish washing my face, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed, I went downstairs.

I instantly smell the aroma of bacon and . . . toast?

"Morning, sweetie!" My mom greets as soon as she sees me.

"Good Morning."

She turns to face me and hands me a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. I take the plate and move to sit at the dining table.

"And here you go!" My mom chirps, placing a glass of orange juice in front of me.

"Thank you." She smiles at me before going to the sink to wash the remaining dishes.

Once I get done eating, I start to help my dad with creating the perfect sword.

"It has to be better than Excalibur!" My dad had said.

We took every precaution in the making of this new sword. My dad was serious about making every single detail perfect.

"The King requires perfection." My dad told me.

When the sword was finished, the sun had already set. It literally took all day to make this sword.

To test it, I held up the sword in my hand. Or hands. I wasn't use to the weight of the sword yet, so it was quite heavy.

"Erza, be careful!" My dad freaks out, running towards me. "This is a precious merchandize." He says, caressing the sword.

"Dad." I groan, putting the sword down. "I was just testing it."

"Don't." He replies. "We don't want to ruin it before the King gets a chance to use it."

"Whatever." I grumble.

"They'll be here tomorrow to pick us up."

"Pick us up?"

My dad looks at me, a grin spreading across his face. "Yep, the King wants the Scarlet family to present him the sword in person."

Y-You've got to be kidding me!