Sugar & Spice | jerza

Of Queens & Kings

Erza hadn't realized how claustrophobic the Woods had felt until she escaped its shadowy clutches.

"Do you see the palace up ahead?" Jellal whispered in her ear. She nodded. You would have to be blind to not see the scarlet castle looming over them like a bloody monster.

"The queen is in there," he continued. "I will break into the palace. You and your flying cat will enter through the window."

Erza gasped. "You can see Happy?"

Jellal snickered. "That's what you named him?"

She began to protest, but suddenly Happy appeared on her shoulder. "If you were able to see me, you should've said something. How rude. I suppose that's how Erza acquired her rudeness too."

"Not true!" Erza snapped. She looked over at Jellal for backup, but he only stared at her wistfully. "What?"

"Nothing." Carefully, he said, "Once you break into the highest window of the palace, find the king's chambers at the end of the hall. Speak to no one or they'll kill you." He grew quiet. "Approach the king. After you do so, yell 'Checkmate.'"

"But that signals the end of the game," Erza mused. "Won't the queen come up to save him?"

"She will. But I won't let her enter." His eyes darkened. "When you checkmate the king, the entire Red army will disappear. The king's sword will lie before you. Grab it, and you will become a White Queen."

"But Queen Strauss is White Queen-"

"The original White Queen, yes. I will have killed the Red Queen, but before she fades you will take her sword. With two swords, you will be a Red and White Queen."

His words sounded jumbled in her head, but she shook her head nonetheless. "That's an awful amount of power..."

"Not for long. I will escort you out of the palace and into the gardens beyond. The Mirror will be there."

"And I will go home?"

"And you will go home."

Jellal looked pointedly at Happy. "Cat. Please leave for a moment."

Happy grinned wickedly. Clearly, he planned to hang around. Invisible.

Jellal shoved a hand into the pocket of his white uniform. "I have...uh...a...present." He cleared his throat awkwardly and held out his hand, revealing a small box.

Erza's face flushed. Her first thought was that he was proposing to her- but that couldn't be because, in the movies her mother watched, the man got down on one knee. Also, she was too young to marry, so that couldn't be it. 

"W-What is it?"

"Open it."

She took the box from his hand and opened the velvety lid. Three dried blades of a brilliant blue-colored grass had been plaited together to create a ring. There were no jewels on this ring- only a single, silver lotus, barely bloomed.

"It's a ring," Erza said, mouth dry. She couldn't think. 

"I'm not proposing," he said, though his lips curled at the thought. "It's a promise ring. I made it. They're a popular here in Fiore."

"What are you promising?"

"I am promising that we'll meet again."

"What if I don't want to see you again?"

Jellal's smile faded so quickly it made her heart drop. "I...I was only kidding!"

He reached out and slid the ring onto her right hand. "If I break my promise, the lotus will wilt and the grasses will discolor. If I keep my promise...when I keep my promise-" He smiled. "-you'll see what'll happen."