Minerva rubbed at her raw wrists, where the metal cuffs had dug into her skin. Porlyusica gently grabbed her wrist and smeared some liquid on to it.

"That should numb it. It will be healed in a couple of days."

Minerva nodded.

The ward walked out of the room and decided to leave the castle for a while. She didn't want to talk to Faust or Jellal.

She pulled on a dark hood and left the castle.

~ ~ ~

"Erza."

She looked at the prince. "Yeah?"

"You didn't help that guy..Elfman escape, right?"

"No."

He sighed. "Good. I don't want to watch you be executed."

I didn't realize how much that meant to me.

Jellal seemed to realize that he had actually said something nice for once so he added, "Then I'll have to find myself another 'temporary servant.'"

"Or," I suggested. "You get your lazy butt up and actually go to the Outer Sector and find someone!"

He snorted. "Nah. I could just send you to do that."

"But then who would make you lunch?"

"I'll make it myself."

I grabbed my cloak and started to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked in surprise.

"To find you a servant."

"But what about lunch?" he whined.

"I thought you could make it yourself?"

~ ~ ~

Minerva walked through the woods, tears drying on her face.

"I wish I didn't have magic. I wish I didn't have to watch execution after execution. I wish-"

"Freeze."

Minerva whipped around and raised her fists.

"W-Who's there?"

A  curly haired blond woman stepped out of the shadows. "I won't hurt you, my lady. I've come to help you."

"What?"

"The young Druid, Wendy Marvell sent me to teach you."

"Wendy? Is she here? Is she okay? Teach me what?"

The woman smiled. "Magic. You are a Seer for a reason, my lady."

"But.."

"Why would you want to let such power go to waste?" the woman asked. "You could save so many people from execution.."

~ ~ ~

I was really worried for Minerva. She'd been quieter than normal and hardly talked. She almost never ate dinner with the Fernandes' anymore.

"My lady," I whispered.

She stared at me for a moment before she said, "Scarlet."

It was without any emotion and for a second it was like talking to a complete stranger. Had she forgotten about the time where we had worked together to save Wendy? It may have been months ago, but still..

"You seem..down," I said.

Minerva sighed. "Just..nightmares. Weird stuff. You wouldn't understand."

"Trust me," I said. "I would understand."

You will never understand how badly I wanted to help Minerva. To teach her how to use magic for good. She was scared and lost and had no one to help her. I had Mira, Porlyusica, and Igneel..Well, I used to have Igneel.

"I'm fine," she said. "Really."

I walked out of her room but didn't believe her. Ever since Faust had thrown her into a cell for the night, she had changed. The innocent woman I once knew, had disappeared. Something was wrong.

I wish Igneel were here.

~ ~ ~

"My lady," the woman said.

Minerva laughed. "You can call me, Minerva."

The woman smiled. "You can call me, Morgause."

"I'm sorry I took so long...Morgause. Just some..delays."

"I see."

"And how is your training going?"

"Fumei," Minerva whispered. A small fire lit up her palm. The king's ward's eyes sparkled with delight.

"Excellent. One day your magic will be powerful, like mine," Morgause whispered. "And how have the dreams been?"

Minerva sighed. "Worse than ever. Porlyusica- she's the court's physician- has been trying to help me, but it doesn't work. Do you think she suspects me of being a Seer?"

Morgause shrugged. "No."

"Good."

The woman pulled out a silver bracelet from the folds of her cloak. "I brought you something, Minerva."

"It's beautiful," Minerva whispered, holding out her wrist so she could put it on.

"It'll stop the nightmares," Morgause whispered into her ear. "And will only allow you to see the future. On occasion."

The two women sat down together.

"Tell me, Minerva," Morgause said, sticking two twigs into the ground. "If I balance this big stick on top of these two small twigs, how do you knock off the big stick without touching it?"

Minerva thought for a moment. She reached out and knocked over one of the smaller twigs. The big stick fell to the ground.

"Clever," Morgause said, looking pleased with herself.

"I don't understand."

Morgause patted the younger woman's hand. "Fiore is a country filled with hatred for magic. We live in fear, in the shadows. We need to fix that."

"I agree. I will not watch King Faust execute or hurt any more Druids!"

The other woman nodded her head encouragingly. "But magic wasn't always like that. In the days of the Old Religion, magic was considered lucky. It was until Faust took reign, that magic was hated and despised."

"So.." Minerva's eyes widened with realization. "There was a time where I could use magic freely?"

"Yes. What I'm saying is that every king has a supporter. Knock down the supporter and the king will fall."

"King Faust's supporters are his sons'."

"Help me, Minerva Orland. Help me kill Jellal and Siegrain. Help me kill Faust. We can rule this country together. We'll be free! No more innocent children will die!"

Minerva backed away slightly. "K-Kill Faust? But I owe him! When my father died, it was King Faust who cared for me! Jellal and Sieg are like my brothers.."

"But would a man who thinks of you as his daughter, kill you if he found out you had magic?"