Wendy had grown. The last time I saw her, she was a young, innocent fourteen year old- and a bit short for her age. But now..her hair was longer and she was much taller. Fifteen years old.

"Shoot her!" I whispered fiercely, remembering my dream. The vision of Wendy stabbing Jellal was still playing vividly in my mind.

Jellal lowered his bow. "It's her. The Druid girl my Father wanted killed."

"Run!" Wendy yelled to us. "I'll hold them off for a bit!"

~ ~ ~

"They're looking for something," Gajeel whispered, pretending to use the pickax to hack away at the stone. "A key."

"Why?" Natsu asked, keeping his head low. He had already received a beating from of the guards for not working.

"I don't know. To destroy Fiore. Kill us all."

~ ~ ~

"Erza! Erza? Erza Scarlet! Er-chan!" Jellal whispered.

"Er-chan?" I mumbled. "That's the best you can come up with?"

"Let's talk about names later," he retorted. "Wendy saved us for a couple hours. Now it looks like we got company."

"Found you," Hades sneered. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Wendy blurted out. "Let's all rest here. If they run, we kill them."

"You're too soft," Hades acknowledged. "I suppose all girls are like that."

Wendy sighed and sat beside Hades, opening up her sack.

"Dinner!" Hades announced, taking a bite of chicken while Jellal and I watched wistfully.

"I'm going to kill him," I murmured.

"Same. Just stay calm, though," Jellal replied. He ran a hand through my tangled hair. "Get some sleep."

Wendy knelt beside us and gave us each a piece of bread. Looking Jellal straight in the eye, she whispered, "Hello, Jellal."

~ ~ ~ 

When Jellal fell asleep, I asked the girl, "Why are you doing this?"

"I apologize, Zarina. I said things I shouldn't have when I was younger."

Was she forgiving me? Suspicious I asked, "But why Jellal?"

"He saved my life. I owe him."

"What?! When?!"

"When Minerva helped me leave the castle, she dropped me off at the camp. But that night, I went to do my chores, and Jellal found me. I begged for him not to bring me back to Faust. And he let me go."

"I didn't know," I replied.

~ ~ ~

A blue light woke Gajeel up. Natsu, and the other captured were all sleeping, side by side, on the hard ground in the cave beneath the fortress. 

"Where are you going?" Natsu asked sleepily.

"I'll be back," Gajeel said, sneaking away. He walked down the narrow exit of the cave, which led him to a different underground cave.

"It's a dirty, little slave sneaking away!" a guard yelled, grabbing Gajeel and knocking him unconscious, leaving him on the ground.

~ ~ ~

The next day, we arrived at the Fortress of Ismere.

"I guess 'the lady' will be here," I said. "Whoever that-"

Jellal gasped, as Minerva appeared behind him. "M-Minerva?"

"My dear brother," she greeted. Turning to Hades, she threw a pouch of gold.

Hades grabbed it and left. Minerva turned her attention the Druid girl.

Wendy's eyes widened with recognition. "Minerva!" she choked out.

"Wendy!" Minerva said, her eye getting teary. "What are you doing here?"

"I left the camp and found a job as a slave trader."

"Nonsense," Minerva said, forgetting us for the moment. "Work with me. We can work together. I'll protect you from..him."

She jabbed a finger towards Jellal.

Wendy frowned and said, "Let's talk somewhere else, Minerva."

~ ~ ~

"You should've shot Wendy," I mumbled, as the guards escorted us to some underground cave.

"She's just a girl," Jellal said. "Anyway, she gave up magic. She admitted magic was wrong."

"Gave up magic?" I asked, slightly frustrated. One of the guards handed me a shovel and yelled at me to start working. "You can't just give up magic?"

"Well, yeah," Jellal admitted. "But Wendy told me she had a magic ring. And she destroyed it."

I internally groaned. Jellal could be so naive and stupid sometimes. But how could I convince him Wendy was born with magic without giving away I had magic.

"Jellal?" Natsu exclaimed. "Thank god, it's you!"

"Don't thank god yet," I retorted. "We're stuck as Minerva's slaves too."

"Do you know what Minerva's looking for?" Jellal interrupted.

Natsu shrugged. "A key."

"Where's Gajeel?" I noticed. Gajeel was typically quiet, but his presence was usually intimidating.

He shrugged carelessly again. "He went somewhere last night. Never came back."

"Great," Jellal grumbled. "Now we have sixty-two knights, one king, and one missing knight down here."

~ ~ ~

"It's very nice to see you! And you've grown so much!" Minerva exclaimed from beside Wendy. They were sitting side by side in Minerva's new chambers, in the Fortress of Ismere, enjoying a lavish dinner.

"I've missed you too," Wendy said with a smile.

"Why did you leave the camp? It's because of Jellal, right?"

Wendy's smile faltered. "...Yeah..Minerva? What are you looking for?"

"A key, said to exist down here. This key contains the knowledge of everything. I will finally know her true identity."

"Who?" Wendy asked.

"My enemy. She's destined to kill me, but I won't let that stop me. How was your journey?" Minerva continued.

"Rough. We nearly lost Jellal and..Erza."

Minerva's face grew stern. "Hades told me. He said you helped them escape."

"I did not."

"But you didn't stop them!"

"I owed Jellal a debt."

"Listen here, Wendy. You choose Jellal or me," Minerva whispered softly.

"I choose you."

~ ~ ~

"We need to start a rebellion," I whispered. "That's the only way to get all these slaves out."

Jellal nodded. "Let's begin."

~ ~ ~

The alarm bell sounded, and Gajeel picked himself up from the ground. He had lost a lot of blood and felt dizzy and weak. Why was the alarm going off? Intruders? No. Hopefully Jellal was coming to rescue them.

"Wake up, sir," a girl whispered.

Gajeel turned his head slightly and found himself staring into the eyes of a petite, blue-haired girl. Her body glowed a brilliant blue. So she was the light he had been following.

"The guards are coming," the girl repeated. "It appears your friends are rebelling."

"I can't move," Gajeel groaned. "And why are you here? Are you working with Minerva?"

"No. I work on my own. I'm Levy McGarden. And you are..?"

"Gajeel Redfox. But that makes no difference. I'm probably going to die here."

"Stay still," she instructed. "I'll heal you."

He watched, motionless, as the girl pressed her small hand against his wound and he instantly felt better.

"Are you a sorceress? Is that why you glow?"

Her lips twitched. "No. I am the Diamair."

"The Diamair?"

"You might know me as the Key of Knowledge."