It didn't take long for Jellal get a campfire started and he knew enough about plants to see the difference between which were toxic and which were edible. Gathered berries and dug up roots, but both tasted so dreadfully bitter. Romeo at first out right refused to eat them but Jellal would let the stubborn boy have no peace until he at least ate enough required to give him proper nutrition.

"Come now Romeo, who knows how long it will be until we have our next meal. You need to eat when you can."

"But these are nasty!" His brother whined.

"They may taste awful but they're good for you! Now eat!"

"You can't make me!"

"Oh yes I can!"

Erza watched the two of them bicker and found it somewhat amusing. It reminded her of how she would often bicker with Laxus when they were children. He would call her bossy and she would call him rude, she would try to get him to focus more on his studies and he would often play a few mean tricks on her. It made her miss him for a moment, and she was surprised for she never thought that she would miss him.

She then glanced over at Wendy, watching as the girl ate the roots and berries as she was told to do without a single word. She barely acknowledged the bitter taste, she looked like she wasn't even aware that she was eating. It was her mind was somewhere else while her body acted on its own accord. Just what in heaven's name had that child been through? Erza had wondered.

"You're very young, are you not?" Jellal had asked Erza once he had finally gotten his brother to finish his meal.

"What makes you say that?" She counter-asked in her faux, deep voice.

"Your face, I can't explain it, but it's not like a man's. I figured you must be a boy, probably just turned fourteen or fifteen. Am I correct?"

"No. I am nineteen."

"Really?"

He lifted her head up and gazed directly into her eyes. He was once again studying her.

"If that's true, you're certainly the youngest nineteen year old man I've ever met. You're skin hasn't even sprout any whiskers yet. Quite usual for someone at your age."

Jellal's face was striking. It was a that commanded attention. Once seen, it would be very hard to look away. And she could tell by those serious, green eyes of his that he was nobody's fool. That he sensed that something was different about this "soldier" and he was determined to find out what that difference was.

"Would you mind taking your hands off my face?" Erza demanded, regaining control of herself.

"My apologies." Jellal said releasing her chin. "I guess I'm still a little paranoid. That can happen when you're betrayed."

"And that requires you to get too close to my face, because?"

"I have a bit of sixth sense if you will, I can always tell if someone is lying if I look directly at them when they speak. That's how I was able to suspect that traitors were among the tribe."

"And you suspect that I am a liar?"

"In some parts."

"What do you mean?"

"It's quite the conundrum, I've never had circumstances like this before. When you told me who you were and what your motives were, I could tell by your face that you were lying but at the same time you were being completely truthful."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Exactly, that is why I came so close to your face. Thought it would make it easier for me to figure out which is which."

"And did it?"

"No and that has me on guard, but I can tell that you wouldn't harm me or my brother or Wendy, so I'll leave things be for now."

Erza really wished he wouldn't look at her so much. It was very hard to keep up with the facade when his piercing gaze was on her. However she willed herself to ignore that gaze and try to get a proper night's sleep.

She would have to sleep with her helmet and armor on that night. It made her terribly uncomfortable but she couldn't take any risks, one look at her swollen breasts or long red hair, and her true gender would be revealed. She spent most of the night tossing and turning on the ground, trying not let her armor clang so much, and it was only after exhaustion gave way that she could finally sleep.

In the morning Jellal first wanted to see what skills this Ezra possessed and what "he" knew about combat. "He" had tried to use a bow and arrow on him, so obviously Ezra knew archery. But how well?

"I want to see you shoot." Jellal said, using his hunting knife to carve a target into a tree.

When he was finished, Erza wasted no time. With swift, sure motions she set her arrow to the bow, pulled back, and let the arrow fly. Straight and true toward the target it went, embedding itself into the tree's trunk.

"Not bad." Jellal said. "Not bad at all. Actually it's quite impressive."

"Thank you."

"But is that all you know how to do?"

"I didn't have time to learn anything else. It was an emergency, I had to leave to reach the Magnolia Nation as soon as possible."

"Then I guess your first lesson shall be hand-to-hand combat. Now I can tell by your stance alone that you lack precision and balance. You also suffer from anxiety and have a clumsy streak."

"There's no way you and tell all that just by how I stand."

"Yes I can. I've been training to be a warrior since I was a boy, you on the other hand are most likely just starting out. Which is why I can't help but question your title as a lieutenant. But then again I don't know how the military works in Tiānkōng Empire."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing really. It's just that what I view as inexperienced, the empire might see as advanced. Don't know how but their ways differ from mine."

"Not that much." Erza thought. "You're definitely as arrogant as most of the men in the empire are."

"However you're not a hopeless case. I can tell from your eyes that you're strong, determined, intelligent, you have excellent coordination, and most important you have a remarkable spirit. Spirit is a great virtue in battle and personally I admire anyone who has it. But your spirit and other gifts can only help you if you know how to use them. Which is what I plan to teach you to do."

Erza had been taught by her mother on how to deal with bandits in case she was to be day be attacked or mugged on the streets, but none of that prepared her for Jellal's training. He had her climb trees, perform jumps and swings, how to use a sling and spear, how to fight with her hands and her feet, how to listen for danger, how to hide, and how to keep her steps quiet as to not alert enemies.

"Your stance is too wide!" He would criticize to her. "That plunge was too slow! Your steps were too loud! You're a fast climber but not a quiet one! You're losing focus!"

He was a very strict teacher and she was not an easy student. She failed every test he gave her that first day, She kept getting into the wrong positions, tripping over herself, not moving quick enough, letting her anxiety get the better of her. Now she understood why the empire forbade women to join the army, after this one day of training she was ready to drop dead. Yet she refused to give up. She had sworn a sacred oath to herself that she would do whatever it took to reach the Magnolia Nation and secure a means a peace between all the realms to stop her people from going to war again, and if keeping that oath meant she had to suffered through aches, pains, bruises, and brutal training, so be it. If the emperor and the emperor's grandson could do it then so could she.

"You know the training would probably be easier if you took off all that armor." Jellal suggested. "Why don't you?"

He was right. One of the reasons why this was so difficult was because she kept doing it with her armor on. Without it, she would definitely fair better. But what about her breasts?

"I think it would be better if I trained with it on." She fibbed. "After all, I'll have to fight in armor anyway. Might as well get used to it as soon as possible."

"Perhaps but judging from mother climate of where we are, the temperature will continue to rise higher in this season. If you keep training in armor in weather like this, you'll suffer from heat stroke. For your own health, take it off."

"I...I...I can't."

"Why not? We're in the middle of the wilderness, there's a slim chance of an attack by an army happening here and wild predators don't typically hunt humans. Although if one makes an attempt, it can easily be scared off by fire or an arrow. Your armor is not needed."

"It's not that really protection that I need it for it's...It's..."

"Yes?"

She racked her brain for any excuse she could possibly give. A believable excuse that is. Then she recalled one of the emperor's tales of war where one soldier had injured is back so terribly that he had to wear a special suit of armor to keep his back straight for the rest of his life.

"It's for my back."

"Your back?"

"Yes. My spine is crooked and the armor helps me keep it straight. Without it, I hunch over."

"Oh...Still it's too risky to let you burn up in that suit. Perhaps we could bind you instead?"

"Bind me?"

"We have some very strong cloth material, if secured tight enough, it might be able to hold your back straight."

"I suppose it's worth a shot."

With that said, Jellal, Romeo, and Wendy each gave Erza a part of their wraps and Jellal offered to help Erza secure them but she insisted on doing it herself. She walked a few miles away from their camp, making certain that they couldn't see her, and went behind a large tree to change. She removed her armor and took off her shirt. Next she wrapped the three cloths around her torso and tying it so tight that the fabrics pressed down on her chest, making it appear flat. Finally she used one of her hair pins to hold the knots in place to avoid the fabric from falling off.

"With my shirt on they probably won't notice." She thought, adjusting the cloths. "But what am I going to do about my hair?"

Suddenly Erza heard a small gasp from behind and turned around to find Wendy staring at her, mouth agape, catching the supposed solider with long red hair and cleavage.

"Oh no." Erza said. "Okay now don't be alarmed. This isn't what it looks like!"

Wendy started to panic, she ran.

"No! Come back!"

Erza raced after her as fast as she could, and without that armor weighing her down, she moved like lioness. Poor Wendy was like a young gazelle when compared to her now and the child stood no chance once Erza pounced.

"Jellal!" Wendy tried to scream when she got caught. "Jellal- Mmmph!"

Erza covered her mouth before another word could be screamed out.

"Don't scream! Please just let me explain!" Erza pleaded.

She pulled the struggling girl back behind the tree, holding on to her tightly until she would calm down.