Once Upon A Time

Chapter 3

After talking with Gray the people of Fiore were living in great fear of what Lucy was planning. For many the thought of being parted from those they loved most and trapped in some terrible place was the most terrifying thing in the world. That was certainly the case for Erza and Jellal. Fate had always been cruel to them but they never thought that it would be this cruel. To have some curse tear them apart just when they had finally been married and there was nothing they could do about it.

"I've had all my royal scholars do research on everything about this curse." Jellal said as he talked with his wife and loyal knight. "They haven't found anything on this. It's like the information on it is completely lost."

"Do you think the fairies might know something?" Natsu asked.

"A large number of the fairies have been wiped out." Erza said. "There's only so few of them who remain and fairies don't really know a lot about dark magic."

"What about Makarov? He might be able to stop her." Jellal said. "He is the most powerful sorcerer in the entire land."

"No good. I've had all my men search the kingdom and ask around, he's completely disappeared." Natsu said.

"What a time for him to go missing. He was our last hope."

"No he's not." Erza said. "The two children that Gray spoke of, they're our last hope or rather they're our only hope."

"But we don't even know who these children are. We don't even know if they exist. What if Gray lied to us?"

"He doesn't lie. He's a master at word play and trickery but he's never lied. At least not when a deal is involved." Natsu said.

"So everything he told us is going to happen like it or not." Erza sighed while looking so greatly saddened. "She's going to take you away from me and just when we finally have started our lives together."

 Jellal sat next to his wife and gently grasped her hand.

"If you really believe that then you must believe what he said about us being reunited one day." The prince said. "He said that the curse wouldn't last forever. That we would be together again. We must have faith."

She put her free hand over his and gazed upon his face with all the love she had. He always had a way of giving her hope when things looked so bleak. He was right, if she could believe that this curse was coming and that it couldn't be stopped then she could most certainly believe that the curse would one day break and they would be together. 

"I do have faith." She assured him. "But I'm so afraid. I can't bear to be apart from you."

"Neither can I." He said.

"This is all my fault." Natsu said. "It's really me she wants to hurt. She shouldn't be taking her revenge out on you and everyone else."

"You're not to blame for this Natsu." Erza said. "All three of us did something to stir up her wrath."

"Yes but she was already dark when you two took her kingdom from her. What I did turned her to the darkness in the first place."

"You know it occurs to me that in all the years we've known you, we don't know exactly what you did to her." Jellal said.

"Really? She never told you what I did?"

"No. All she ever said was that what you did to her was unforgivable and that it was most evil act that anyone could ever commit." Erza said. "But we know that's not true. It can't be true. You'd never do something like that."

"You wouldn't think I would but I did."

"What was it then? What did you do to her?"

Natsu gripped his hands into a fists as he thought back to that day which still haunted his nightmares. The day that Lucy officially became the Princess of Darkness. The events that had caused it didn't happen in the way Lucy thought but It did happen because of him. Because he had been too weak.