Before Erza Scarlet became the fearsome Titania of Fairy Tail… she was just a girl with a sword and something to prove.
The year was X765. Magnolia's streets were colder that week, blanketed in a rare early frost, and Fairy Tail had just welcomed two new recruits: a quiet boy with strange black veins of magic—and a red-haired girl with steel in her spine and ghosts in her past.
Her name was Erza.
And she was about to go on her first mission.
---
"Delivery job," Makarov said, tapping the parchment in front of him as the young Erza stood stiffly before his desk. "Nothing too dangerous. Caravan to Oak Town, small merchant guild in need of guards."
"I can handle it," Erza said immediately.
Makarov raised an eyebrow. "It's a two-day trip, bandit territory. You'll be with two other Fairy Tail members—Laxus and Lisanna. You'll follow their lead."
Erza stiffened. "Understood."
He gave her a small, warm smile. "You'll do fine, child. Just… remember, a sword is more than sharp steel. It's the hand that holds it, and the heart that guides it."
She nodded, gripping the hilt of her worn blade tighter.
She didn't come to Fairy Tail for warmth or family.
She came for power.
And this mission… was step one.
---
The journey began before sunrise.
Erza met her teammates outside the east gate of Magnolia. Lisanna was cheerful, adjusting the straps on the cart's oxen. Laxus was, predictably, not.
He leaned against a tree, arms crossed, lightning sparking around his fingers.
"Great," he muttered when Erza arrived. "Another newbie."
Erza met his gaze without flinching. "I won't slow you down."
He scoffed. "You better not."
Lisanna intervened quickly. "Okay, okay. Let's keep the glaring to a minimum, yeah? It's just a caravan. We're guarding crates of cloth and maybe some spice jars, not storming a demon fortress."
Still, Erza's hand never left her sword.
---
The first day passed without incident. Forest roads gave way to wider, rockier paths, and the group made good time. Erza took the rear guard position and barely spoke, instead watching every shadow, every tree, her mind always calculating: number of steps to draw, distance to the treeline, time to switch stances.
Lisanna tried small talk. "So, how long you been with the guild?"
"Two weeks," Erza replied.
"Really? You carry yourself like a vet."
"I've fought before."
"Where?"
Erza paused. "… Somewhere no one should live."
Lisanna didn't press.
But Laxus—he did.
"You're that slave girl, right?" he asked casually, tossing a pebble at a tree. "The one they found after the tower collapse?"
Erza froze. Her knuckles whitened on the reins.
Lisanna snapped, "Laxus—"
"It's fine," Erza said quietly.
Laxus kept going. "You've got power. But don't think that means you belong here. Fairy Tail isn't a refuge for broken people."
Erza turned toward him slowly. "I'm not broken."
He smirked. "We'll see."
---
That night, they camped near a ruined waystation, fire crackling between them. Erza couldn't sleep. Her dreams were always the same: screams, chains, the tower, her friends—Simon, Kagura, Jellal.
Blood and silence.
She stood up and moved a little away from camp, drawing her blade. With careful, methodical movements, she began to train. Sword arcs, stance shifts, quickstep dodges. Again. Again. Again.
"I saw you fight once," a voice said.
She turned—Lisanna.
"During training," Lisanna said. "You held back."
"No, I didn't."
"You didn't use Requip. But you have it, don't you?"
Erza hesitated.
Lisanna smiled gently. "You're allowed to be proud, you know. Power doesn't mean you're dangerous. It just means you have something the world hasn't seen yet."
Erza looked down. "I'm not proud. I'm just… trying to make sure no one ever chains me again."
Lisanna walked closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Then let us walk beside you. Not behind. Not ahead. Just… beside."
---
They were ambushed the next day.
A gang of six bandits blocked the road, all armed with crude magic and sharper weapons. One had a flame-enchanted axe. Another, earth-magic fists like stone clubs.
Laxus grinned. "Finally."
Lightning erupted from his hands as he launched into the first two, sending them flying into trees. Lisanna transformed mid-air into a swift, winged beast and tackled another off a cliffside.
Erza faced the largest—the one with the axe.
He leered. "A little girl with a blade? You gonna cry?"
She didn't answer. She closed her eyes… and whispered:
"Requip: Heart Kreuz – Armored Maiden Form."
In a flash of light, her worn clothes vanished, replaced by glinting plated armor, red cape fluttering behind her.
The bandit swung his axe.
Erza ducked under and sliced upward.
CLANG.
His axe flew in two pieces.
Her blade stopped inches from his throat.
"Run."
He ran.
Laxus turned, watching the last two scramble away.
"…Not bad," he muttered.
Erza said nothing. She deactivated her armor and sheathed her sword.
Lisanna returned, beaming. "You saved my flank back there."
Erza looked at her. For a moment, she almost smiled.
Almost.
---
Back at the guild, Makarov nodded as they returned.
"Well done," he said. "No losses. Cargo safe. And you…"
He turned to Erza.
"…showed restraint. Strength. And heart. A good first mission."
Erza didn't know what to say. She simply bowed her head.
Makarov's next words stayed with her for years.
"Sometimes, the fiercest warriors are the ones who've already lost everything. But what makes them Fairy Tail… is they learn how to protect others from losing the same."