#sterza

Sterza -“I will beat the title of ‘prince’ right the hell out of you!”

Erza was furious. This was the last time she would let Sting out of her sight. Anytime they were in public, he managed to slip away from her grasp. His escape always led him to trouble, whether it be with girls or getting into a fight.

She believed that as his bodyguard, (escort, or whatever you’d like to call it) she was supposed to be on duty until the king released her. And yet, she wished she could be kicked from this job. It was too much to look after the Prince of Fiore. And he wasn’t much fun to hang around either.

“Sting!” She called out, holding her hand over her mouth. “I will beat the title of ‘prince’ right the hell out of you! Get back here right this instant!”

A pair of hands were placed over her eyes and she fumed. Now was not the time to be playing games, “Remove your hands from my sight, you scoundrel.”

Though the body didn’t listen, Erza could feel her stomach drop ten stories. What a pervert! In one fell swoop, she turned and smashed her steel gloved hand against a familiar head of blonde hair.

“Ow!” Sting groaned, holding his head. “I was only trying to have some fun, princess of knights.” He teased, a familiar toothy grin growing on his face. “Lighten up a little, will ya? No one’s ever gonna give you a kiss if you act like this.”

At the mention of a kiss, Erza blushed. She couldn’t help it, but romantic affairs always made her so flustered. “I-I’ve gotten a kiss before. Don’t assume such things.”

Another thing, she was very bad at lying. She squirmed when Sting came closer, eyeing her with those sparkling blue eyes.

His toothy grin flared into a devious grin. “Oh yeah, then show me. Your future king demands it.”

He brought his face closer, puckering his lips obnoxiously. And the knight couldn’t help herself, she smacked him with her iron gauntlet. A third strike and Sting would have been down for the count.

He stumbled back, rubbing his face. “I should have expected that.”

“No kidding,” she said curtly. “Now, we have things to complete before the sun falls. No more games, prince.”

“Ugh… Being a prince is too much work.” He laughed his rejection off, but little did she know he would keep trying.

Graytear - “I’m begging you.”

He never expected Crime Sorciere to show up to the GMGs or be a part of the aftermath. Mostly because he didn’t want to see her. That violet haired woman, the daughter of his caretaker -Ultear. Her red orbs haunting him, following him into darkest fantasies or most joyous dreams. It infuriated him how much she was in his thoughts.

Gray had thought he would never see her after Tenrou, but here she was; fighting annoying dragon babies. These miniature versions of the real dragons kept coming in wave after wave. He was losing stamina, and he didn’t think he would last much longer. But Ultear kept him going, he couldn’t see her go down by them.

But then they got separated, Gray had been in search of Ultear ever since he noticed. But the more he looked, the more he felt time was running out for their sake.

“Ultear,” he called, his throat raw from yelling. The current commotion wasn’t in his throat’s favor, he ripped through those loud explosions and fights going on around him.

Was it possible, she got crushed by falling debris? He shook his head, stepping over rubble. That wasn’t possible, someone so strong would never receive that fate. Gripping his necklace, he prayed that it wouldn’t happen -that he would see the dark haired beauty one more time.

Rounding a corner, he could see the outline of a figure kneeling amongst the fallen walls of various buildings. “Ultear?” His voice a crisp whisper.

She stirred, those signature white bows glistening in the given light. He felt lighthearted to see her once again, hastily making his was through the crushed terrain. “I thought you… What happened?…” She looked past him, not focusing on him. “Are you ok?”

“Gray!” With a flick of her wrist, everything slowed. Hope had shone in those red eyes, but he knew he couldn’t be saved.

A burning sensation could be felt against his bare back, sending small waves of his pain. But then it became more concentrated, that searing heat coming drawn to his abdomen. Then it spread through him, his stomach torn from the beam of energy that him. A shot of blue escaping from his insides, blood spewing everywhere.

It felt like a lifetime as his body fell to the floor, he was dying. Ultear made quick work of those draconic-creatures, falling to her knees. “Gray,” she pulled his hand over the gaping hole, tears already rushing down her face. “Freeze it, please. We can fix this,” she sobbed.

But he wouldn’t comply, his magic reserves were gone. He grunted as he tried, not one drop of magic left. He wished he could see her smiling again, Gray didn’t want to see Ultear in a state such as this. “Go, Ultear. Go help everyone else, I’m just one person.”

She shook her head, pulling him into her lap. Everything began to go dark at that moment, the world becoming fuzzy. All he could see was light, bright and warm. Though screams of terror rung in his ears, and the sobbing of Ultear.

As he fell away, he could feel a greater power being drawn to him. Something from the bounds in which he could control. And from there everything reversed.

The next thing he knew, he awoke in a hospital bed. Those he called family, watching over his state. But he was just with Ultear, wasn’t he? He was supposed to be dead, unless everyone else succumbed to the dragons.

They were in relief to see him awake. Once he had eaten, they explained they found him unconscious on the battlefield, next to a white ribbon.

His window of reality was shattered in that moment. She did exactly what Ur did, sacrificed herself for him. But he couldn’t accept the fact, Gray was lost.