Chapter 24

Being held at the end of a very sharp looking sword was not very ideal. Any normal person would have been afraid or apprehensive at least. Then there are those who apparently fear nothing, like Archer. So of course Erza was not very surprise to find her smiling cheerfully, despite being at the sharp end of a golden sword. When the blonde worman in front of them appeared and held the sword to Archer's neck like that, Erza could only focus on her sword. Her sword was magnificent. The blade was pure gold. Erza knew for sure that it was most definitely gold just by the way it glimmered in the sun. The pommel and cross guard were a bloody red while the grip was seemingly gold as well. There was an odd symbol engraved on the rain guard. It wad only after she fully admired the sword that she focused on the situation. She felt very bad about being so captivated by a sword while her friend was in danger. Of course she knew that Archer wad not actually in any from of danger, but if it had been anyone else they could've been dead by now or something.

The woman wielding the sword had piercing red eyes that did not seem to affect Archer. She was dressed in some impressive amor. It matched her sword and again Erza was distracted. She couldn't help but admire and appreciate the masterpiece that woman wore. Everything from her helmet to her gloves to her boots. That armor was amazing.

"Why must you treat the child like that? " Demeter asked and pushed the sword away. The woman glanced at her for a moment before sheathing the sword and eyeing Archer for a while longer.

"I was testing her"

"You always test her" Demeter sighed.

"She passes everytime" The blonde responded, her tone unreadable.

"Well, good to see you again Athena" Archer finally spoke and waved. "How have you been? "

"Good enough" the goddess responded absentmindly as she eyed the mesmerized Erza. She took in the armor and sword she spotted. The corner of her lips tilted up slightly at the sight. "Who might this be? "

"Scarlet" Archer shrugged.

"Her name is Erza" Demeter informed. "She seems captivated by you"

Erza blinked at the words and blushed in embarrassment. She was staring at the woman and only then realized it. She looked away, but kept glancing at her armor and sword very often. She couldn't help it.

"Erza"

When the woman said her name she stood up straighter. Her voice was very authoritative and she felt like she needed to follow her every order. When the woman smiled she found it very hard to look at her. Why did she feel as if she was standing in front of a high ranking council member?

"You're a knight, aren't you? " Athena asked as she eyed the sword and her armor. "I must say, you have a very impressive sword"

"Thank you"

"That's Archer's sword is it not? "

"Yes"

Athena hummed. "She deemed you worthy of it. Interesting. " Athena observed the armor. "That armor is not as impressive"

"Don't you have an amor to go with the sword, Archer? "Demeter asked.

"Yes I do"

"Why have you not given it to your knight? "

Her knight? Erza glanced at Archer, who shrugged. Why would she refer to her as "her knight"?. It was embareasing.

"It always slips my mind" Archer shrugged.

Athena said nothing to that and continued to eye Erza with interest. She wondered how good she was with that sword and if she would make a worthy student.

"Draw your sword" Athena finally said. "You shall fight me"

Despite Erza doing as told she was internally questioning everything. Did a goddess just tell her to fight? Was she going to fight a goddess? Would she live to see the next day? What's was point of this? Why would she want to fight her? She was definitely not as good as her. She was a goddess. Her skills must be perfect.

Even with these thoughts in mind she still found herself standing opposite the blonde. The woman was observing everything she did. She judged her stance. The way she gripped her sword. Her movements. Everything was being observed and she felt selfcousious. Erza glanced at Archer, who had taken a seat under a near tree and was watching with a smile. She didn't know if she should be reassured or not.

There was silence between them. The only sounds being the blowing wind and the birds. Erza steadied her breathing. It would do her no good to be nervous. She needed to calm her nerves and focus. She kept her eyes on her opponent. Looking for any sign that would signal her next move.

She resisted the urge to yelp in shock when the goddess was suddenly in front of her. She buried the nervousness that erupted and moved immediately. Her first attack was bȧrėly evaded. She didn't get time to formulate her own, for Athena was impossibly fast and returned her sword to her. Despite her incredible speed Erza was quick enough to evade her second attack and wisely make distance. She took a deep breath, adrenaline already pumping through her. Athena stood a distance away, watching her.

She moved again, but this time Erza kind of knew what to expect and tried to parry her sword. And she did. She smiled in her achievement, but did not let it get to her head.

Athena had an almost invisible smile on her lips as she eyed the redhead.

~~~~~~~~~

Archer watched the little match. Erza never landed a hit, but she met many. Athena was fast and Erza did her best to keep up with her. The woman was also stronger and Erza was very careful. When the woman had her pinned she summoned another sword to ȧssist her. She grazed the other. That was the closest she got to striking the blonde. That was impressive. If one got that close Athena deemed them worthy. Hell, if they managed to survive longer than twenty seconds she would consider. The fun thing is that she is not very serious in this fight. It was just a test . It was always a test.

In the end Erza lost and was left a panting mess. She was sprawled out on the grass, staring up at the sky with glazed eyes. She was soaked in her own sweat and her clothes felt very uncomfortable on her. Her body hurt in places she didn't know could achieve such pain. She never once touched the woman. She tried very hard, but it was futile.

"Yo" Archer stood over her with a smile. She seemed very amused.

"This is not finny"

"I know, but.. " Archer continued to smile.

"Ignore her" Demeter came to sit at her side. She placed a gentle hand on Erza's stomach and began the process of healing the child. "Archer enjoys watching others struggle"

"I'm not a sadist"Archer frowned. She seemed in thought after that. "It's just oddly satisfying to s-" she cut herself off with a look of realization.

"I'm a sadist"

Erza ignored the girl. She seemed to know herself very well and yet she now discovered such a thing. It would explain a lot.

Once Erza was fully restored she did a couple of stretches to make sure she felt no more pain. She retrieved her sword and returned it to its place at her waist.

"I shall train you, child" Athena spoke. "You impressed me"

Erza opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't really know what to say. She felt honored. And very happy. She was mesmerized by this goddess. Being trained by her would be amazing. The things she could learn. She could become so much stronger.

"Thank you ma'am "

"You call me Athena"

"Of course. Athena"

Archer had a look of interest as she watched the interaction. This would do Erza a lot of good. Archer learned most of her weapon use from Athena. She even learned hand to hand from her, although most of that was taught by her parents. Erza is already very skilled in the arts of swordsmanship. With Athena's help she could become a master. She would be the best swordswoman on earth land.

It would be very interesting.

Archer and Erza soon returned to Lady Emerald's estate to collect Wendy. They would be returning to the guild after that. Archer was wondering about her next mission. She would be taking the twins with her this time. That meant she would be leaving Wendy in the hands of Natsu and Gajeel. That was not the brightest ideas. While the two can be amazing older siblings they can be a very bad influence. She was not leaving Wendy with them. She was better off in the hands of Levy and Lisanna. Hell even Mira would be a great options. She's very sweet to her siblings.

Archer was snapped out of her thoughts when Wendy ran into her. The toddler fell to the ground upon impact. Archer looked down with furrowed brows. She watched the girl stand and try to force back the tears that were threatening to spill. It amazed Archer that this child knew how to take an ȧduŀt in a fight and yet she cries whenever she falls.

But then agaim she is still a baby.

Before Wendy could cry Archer picked her up and tried to comfort her. It worked immediately. Wendy just buried her face in her scarf and calmed down.

"Huh" Erza eyed the scene. "Look at that"

"You shouldn't run into people like that" Archer said as she adjusted the girl in her arms.

"I was excited" Wendy mumbled in reply.

"Yes, you were, but you got hurt"

"I'm sorry"

"No need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. Just try not to get hurt next time "

"Where's Lady Emerald? " Erza asked as they walked down the hall.

"I am right here" a familiar voice spoke. Lady Emerald appraoched them with a smile. "Wendy knew of your arrival before anyone else and could not contain her excitement "

"Oh we know" Erza giggled. "Thank you for watching her"

"It was a delight. She's an angel" Lady Emerald said as she plucked the giggling Wendy out of Archer's arms. "I could keep her"

Archer chuckled. "You could, couldn't you"

"Unfortunately we'll be taking our leave today" Erza said. "We need to return to our guild"

"So soon? "

"Yes"

"Disappointing" Lady Emerald sighed in her displeasure. She would miss the sweet little Wendy. Such a cute child. She smiled as she neatly arranged the blue hair on her head. "Do keep in contact. I would love to have you all over again. You're a very delightful bunch"

"You're too kind" Archer said, her smile hidden under her mask. "Worry not, we shall visit whenever we can. I know you cannot go without my angel of a sister"

Erza was one to pay close attention to Archer's changes. She tended to talk as she usually did around those who are more likely to understand her. Those people tend to be people such as Lady Emerald. Her way of speaking would convert back to how she spoke upon their first meeting. It was interesting to watch.

"That sounds splendid. I shall make arrangements for the future. Do make sure to visit very soon"

"I shall try"

During the entire conversation Wendy had been paying close attention. She admired how proper Archer was and how well she spoke. She wondered if she could be like that.

"Big sis is amazing"

"You think? " Erza asked. She had caught up to Lady Emerald and decided to entertain the toddler.

"Yeah, she talks so politely "

"She does, doesn't she? "

"Yeah. But sometimes she doesn't talk like that " Wendy said with a curious look. "Sometimes she's very funny and normal"

Erza hummed in response.

"I like that Archy too"

"I do as well"

"Do you like proper Archy too? "

"Yes I do. I like both sides of Archy"

Erza smiled innocently when Archer shot her a look. She was told not to use that nickname, but she still did anyway. It amused her. And it was very cute name. Even more so because Wendy seems to be the only one who uses it.

"Sometimes she's mean" Wendy suddenly said.

"Oh?" Lady Emerald suddenly took interest in the conversation. "Whatever has she done to you? "

"Nothing. She's never mean to me or big brother Rogue" Wendy informed. "But she can be very mean to big brothers Natsu, Gajeel and Sting"

"Oh? " Lady Emerald glanced ay Archer. It's interesting to know the child had more siblings. "What does she do to them? "

Archer sighed as Wendy dived into all the stories of all the times Archer punished or just toyed with the boys. Thinking back to it, most of the things she did to them amused her. She chuckled at the thoughts. Wow. She really was a sadist. How had she not discovered this about herself before? She prided herself on knowing who she was and yet this crucial factor was not known.

Oh well.

It's not a very big deal.

But then again she wasn't very aggressive. Her sadism didn't go that far. She's only amused by the little things.

Well there are times where some extreme actions do amuse her to a degree. But it's only on that level if the person suffering is one she deemed her enemy.

The smile she had on her face when she punished Erza's good for nothing father was devilish.

She never thought she would be that type. In all honesty she wouldn't be surprised if she found out she was a mȧsȯċhɨst. She's been bullied for her entire former life. If she had developed a liking to such things she would not be very surprised.

"What's on your mind? "

Archer glanced at the redhead. Her eyes suddenly gleamed with interest.

Erza yelped when Archer pinched both her cheeks and pulled. She didn't need to see under the mask to know of the smile she most definitely wore. That look in her eyes annoyed the redhead while it also embarrassed her.

"Let go" Erza whɨnėd and slipped out her grip. She rubbed her cheeks while letting out an annoyed huff. "What was that for? "

"Just making sure" Archer shrugged.

"Didn't you say you were immune to illnesses? "

"Yes"

"Does a disorder count as an illness? "

Archer furrowed her brows. Now that's a question.

"I suppose, yes? "

"Is sadism not a disorder? "

Archer stopped for a minute. Okay. Now that she thought about it. Sadism was considered a mental disorder. Wow.

"You bring up an important subject" Archer said in thought. "But I suppose it all depends on how sadistic I am"

"Maybe"

"I'll be thinking about this for some time"

"Sure"

"What's sadism? "

Both girls and Lady Emerald immediately looked at the curious child. Each of them smiled.

"Ah, nothing you need to be curious about"