Sugar & Spice | jerza

Of Keys & Candies

"Over here," Wendy called, waving Erza over hurriedly. "I found the exit."

"Wonderful!" Erza exclaimed, following the shorter girl through the fog. They entered a round room with black and white checkered tiles lining the floor. Pale yellow paint adorned the walls, emphasizing the five different sized doors that bordered the expanse.

"Which one," the blue-haired girl muttered, scratching her head. "I always forget..Every damn time!"

"Well," Erza decided, trying to be as helpful as possible. "The one on the far left looks way too small.."

"Size doesn't matter," grumbled Wendy, pacing back and forth.  She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

"Are you praying?"

"Hush. I'm trying to think." Without opening her eyes, she hissed, "That table behind you. See it?"

Erza whirled around and found herself hovering over a doll-sized table

"Don't step on it!" Wendy exclaimed, her eyes still closed.

"But it's so small," Erza commented, kneeling down beside the small piece of furniture. She placed a hand on either side of the table, taking care not to smoosh it, and positioned herself so she could see the contents on the table up close.

A small vase with flowers, a basket filled with sweets. Erza grinned, imaging what her mother might think if she ate dessert before supper. Well, no one was there to stop her now!

"Just go to the table and pick up two of those candies."

The scarlet-haired girl studied the colorful wrappers of the assorted candies. "Which ones? The ones that say 'Eat Me' or the ones that say 'Take Me?' or 'Pick Me?'"

"Doesn't matter just bring them here."

Erza obediently scooped up two of the candies from the box and hurriedly brought them over to Wendy, balancing the sweets on her pinky with greate care.

Wendy knelt down beside the smallest door and touched the brass handle with great care. "Now listen to me very carefully, Scarlet.

The girl looked at the therianthrope eagerly.

"Unwrap one of the candies and lick the left side."

She was about to begin complaining about how miniature the candies were, that it would be impossible to unwrap them without a microscope and tweezers, when she heard something clatter to the ground.

"You clumsy child!" Wendy groaned, bending down to retrieve them. The scarlet-haired girl was now contemplating whether or not she should argue Wendy Marvell was also a child- a child at least a couple years younger than her.

Erza looked wistfully at one of the candies. "Can't I take a bite-"

"No! Just a lick!"

"An itty bitty bite won't hurt..."

"Do you want to be the size of a germ forever?" Wendy asked with annoyance, holding out the two sweets.

"Fine," the scarlet-haired girl sighed, accepting the candy. Instantly, the table that stood nearby shot up, as did the doors. Or maybe it was the girl that had shrunk. She wasn't sure. A rabbit in a fancy waistcoat sat beside Erza, signaling with its ears to move forward.

"I'm opening the door," Erza warned, wrapping her hand around the brass knob. She pushed open the door, bracing herself for what might come.

"Welcome to Fiore," Wendy announced, morphing back into her human form. She tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear and pointed toward the horizon. "That's Magnolia Town."

"How late are you now?" Erza questioned, glancing at the watch that hung precariously out of the other girl's pocket.

"Shoot!" Wendy exclaimed, bolting forward. "I gotta go!"

"Wait!" Erza cried, stumbling forward. "You can't go!"

The therianthrope was nowhere to be seen.

Sighing, Erza continued the trek towards Magnolia. "It appears you can go."

~ ~ ~ 

Magnolia Town was unlike her village back at home, Rosemary. Yes, there were trees and flowers, and small houses with neat lawns, and roads that created an orderly town. But there was an eerie silence in this village. The playful banter of children was absent, as was the bustle of stressed adults, hurrying off to work. 

It was empty.

"Hello?" Erza called weakly. "Wendy?"

No one replied.

"I'm trying to get to the Looking Glass. Can anyone give me instructions?"

Silence.

The cool air that Erza had been enjoying during the walk suddenly turned chilly. She wrapped her arms around herself instinctively. "Hello?"

Somewhere in the distance a bell rang, echoing throughout the ghostly village.

The stone houses that lined every street suddenly lit up, creating a coruscating kaleidoscope of color. The doors of every home flew open and children poured into the town square.

Blonde hair, tanned skin, green eyes- all the children looked identical.

Erza gasped, moving closer to get a better look. 

"Recess," a voice said hollowly from inside one of the biggest homes.

They bent down in unison and each scooped up a spinning top from the barrel that stood in the middle of square.

The girl watched with a sort of fascinated horror as the blonde-haired, green-eyed children held their individual tops out in their right hands. The steady vibrations of the synchronized spinning tops against the stone ground began to match her fast heartrate. Magnolia Town wasn't any ordinary town, she realized with a jolt. As a matter of fact, it was far from ordinary. Was all of Fiore like this?

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a teasing voice murmured.

Erza whirled around, her long ponytail hitting her in the face. With a muffled whimper, she held her hand to her cheek, trying to ease the stinging pain.

"W-who are you?"

"Me?" the voice asked with amusement. "Who are you?"

"I'm Erza Scarlet. From Rosemary Village. I'm trying to go home."

"Through the Looking Glass?"

"Yes," she said, nodding eagerly. "Do you know the quickest route to get there?"

"Ah. So you're from the Other Side."

"Mm." Erza was beginning to get comfortable with this strange voice.  That was, until she saw the most curious crescent moon appear in the sky. And then the eyes, dark black spots, appear ontop. And the tail, long and blue.

"You're a cat!" the girl squealed, watching as the silhouette of a grinning cat began to form. "A blue cat!"

The vibrations of the spinning tops against the ground slowly stilled as everyone in the village held their breath.

"Now look what you've done," the cat said, fading away.

The green eyes of the blonde-haired children turned towards Erza Scarlet.