Once Upon A Time

Chapter 9

The next morning Erza quickly prepared for her mission. She dressed in peasant clothes so no one would recognize her as a lady in-waiting, packed a satchel with food, the potion, and the map, and for extra measure she brought along a bow and arrows. One of the things she enjoyed doing for fun was archery. She had a gifted aim and was very agile. There were very few times that she missed her target. Through most of her life she had seen it as a hobby instead of a form of defense but that changed today. If this guy really was deranged then she needed to be ready if he suddenly decided to attack her. 

With all her things packed she went outside to the front of the castle where there stood the horse Lucy had given her. She mounted the horse and got on to it's back then she took a look at the map and willed her horse to go into the right direction. She went over a few hills, passed plenty of farmland, and went down a few roads. A simple journey at first but things got a little difficult when she reached the forest. It had become dark by then and she was having a hard time reading the map. She hoped that she wouldn't become lost again or worse eaten by wolves.

"Need some light?"

She almost fell off her horse when she heard his voice. She was so certain that she was alone out here that hearing another's voice startled her. She got down from her horse and look ahead to see a light in the distance. It was coming from a lantern that was being held up by someone.

"Oh yes thank you." Erza said with relief. "It's so dark out here and I can't read my map. Would you mind coming a little closer with that?"

"No problem."

Even though it surprised her at first she was glad to find that she wasn't alone in this forest. Especially at night time. However her relief turned to fear when the man with lantern came closer and she could see his unsettling appearance better. He was young but his skin was so rough and had streaks of black scars, his fingernails were as black as his marks and could easily be mistaken for claws, his teeth were as sharp and pointy as knives, and his eyes, his eyes were his most terrifying feature. It was like they held some sort of deep rooted madness in them. 

"Something the matter?" He asked with a grin that made her shudder.

"No...No." She said trying not to let his appearance get to her.

"Then why are you staring at me like that?"

"Was I staring? Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to I just...I...Uh...I...I uh...I...I-"

"Yes I know, I'm hideous. But I've learned to live with it so your look of appalled horror does not phase me."

"Well I wouldn't say that you're-"

"Please do not humor me with lies of pity. I'd rather have a cruel truth than a kind lie." He said. "But look at me, getting personal with a woman without even introducing myself first. Where are my manners? I am Gray."

"Gray?"

"That's my name of course you're probably more familiar with my other analysis. The Shadow Beast."

Erza briefly felt her breath stop and her blood run cold when she heard that. The shadow beast was an entity who seemingly manifested out of no where years ago. According to what she heard from many villages he had killed 12 trained soldiers with just a wave of his hand when he first arrived. He was said to have the strongest dark magic in all the world, posses an incredible amount of intellect, hid himself in the shadows, had a seemingly indestructible body, was a notorious deal maker, and above all that he was a beast who had no love in his heart.

"You're him?" She said stepping away. 

"I am indeed and this forest that you're passing through happens to be apart of my domain." He could already see the fear in her eyes. "Now, now there is no need to be frightened."