Child Of Heaven (Fairy Tail Erza x Reader)

Chapter 24 - Aiming Towards the Future

I was seating beside Juvia looking out toward the large lake that flew by the Forest's tree. We have come back from the Job a few days ago…thought Juvia mostly wanted to talk to me about what had happened and about why the man called me a slave.

I let out a sigh before turning my attention toward the girl beside me.

"You remember when you asked me why I wear a mask?"

"Of course Juvia remembers," she said.

"It's because of what that man had done to me as a child," I told her.

Juvia seems confused at what I said but I raised my hands toward the face mask I usually wore before pulling it down, showing her to mark that was engraved upon my skin. I notice her eyes widening in shock as she stared at it.

"Dear God in heaven…," she whispered.

I looked down toward the ground, not meeting her eyes.

"How could someone do this to a child?" she asked.

"Because I was a slave Juvia," I told her, "It was as he said it…I was a slave."

Juvia frowned.

"But how, you were a child when you joined Phantom Lord right Eve?" she asked, "Juvia doesn't understand how that could have happened to you."

I looked down toward the ground in front of me.

"That was before I joined the guild," I told her, remembering those horrible days, "I was… a slave working with for a dangerous cult that kidnapped children all over Fiore along with adults forcing them to work. I got that scar because I had tried to help a friend of mine…"

I trailed off, thinking about Mui. I didn't know what happened to him over the years since I left but I am sure that he was still at the Tower…I wonder if he believed whatever story that Jellal had told about what really happened to me.

Well, nothing I can do about it right now.

"That must have been terrible," Juvia said.

"It was a terrible life," I told her, pulling the mask upon my face, "Not something I wished upon anyone…but it wasn't always that bad."

I thought back to Grandpa Rob, Simon, Wally, Erza, Millianna, Sho…

"I had friends to help me cope with it…and despite the suffering, we relied on each other…"

Jellal's face swam forefront in my memories…with the strange Z symbol upon one of his eyes…

"So this is the thing that had got your panties in a bunch these past few days," a familiar voice said.

Both Juvia and I turned toward it, finding Gajeel walking toward us. I stared at him, surprised seeing him there. I thought that he was away on a Job.

"Ga…Gajeel,"

How much did he hear?

"What are you doing here?"

"Was looking for you actually," the Iron Dragon Slayer said, with a frown upon his features, "I came back from my Job an hour ago and they said that you were back in town so I looked around for yah…"

Meaning you searched out my scent which led you here.

I looked away from the Dragon Slayer.

"How much did you hear?"

"Everything."

"Oh…so, you know,"

His footsteps reached me and then he took a seat right beside us.