Ban l My Lily [On Hold]

Chapter 36 l Home

"So I suppose this is away to overcome the past, eh druid lady? I hope you know this entire ordeal is shoved under a bunch of other past trauma." Her eyes narrowed down at her mother. "And that woman is just a puppet. So I don't know why you bother~" The woman's eyes gleamed before her image wavered, splitting into seven, the latter being in the middle. The rest were all in dark clothing, but had a symbol of a lost kingdom on the front.

"Do you know who these people are, Calla?" The woman asked, motioning to the stock still figures. Calla shrugged.

"Nope." She answered.

"They are the clan sent to assassinate you father and I." The color drained from Calla's face.

"What?" She echoed. "So what? Were you guys fucking criminals or something? Wouldn't surprise me Or what? Vampires? Getting hunted by some religious fucks!" She shook her head. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with." She took a step forward, only for a cool blade to press against her neck.

"I wouldn't move." A man's voice hissed. Calla snapped. Finally lost her shit. She dove forward, watching as blood sprayed the rooftop and she rushed forward, a torn scream passing her lips as she went through the mass of people.

"Deadly Whirlwind!" She shouted, watching as her mother stumbled back and the copies disappear. The puppet woman stumbled back, holding a hand to her stomach. Calla flicked her wrist, making the last copy disappear before walking towards the woman. The latter watched Calla approach, the rain swirling around her and lightning illuminating her form.

"Heh, I'm quite surprised." The woman said. "But from this, know you have grown stronger." Calla scowled.

"Yeah, sure." She brought the sword down.

~

"Wasn't that a bit brutal?" Meliodas inquired, walking beside Calla out of the cave.

"Maybe." She retorted. "Not like I care. If we're going to keep training, keep my past out of it." Meliodas shrugged, but froze in his steps when he felt her storming over.

"What. Was. That?!" Jenna demanded, stopping in front of Calla. "You went A-wall!" The latter crossed her arms.

"Still made it through though, didn't I?" She said. "And I think you forget what I just went through in the past like, two days." She pointed out. "Thought this twerp was dead-" she motioned towards Meliodas. "-thought Diane died, got kidnapped by the Ten Commandments and ended up going through the wringer. But guess what? Everyone's still alive. Whoop-de-do. And then my past comes back to haunt me and two minutes later, I'm trekking through my old home. So yeah, that's cool." She jabbed a finger at the druid's chest. "So don't even think about getting mad if I snapped. It doesn't happen often, so calm your panties." Jenna blinked. 

"I see." She mumbled. "But getting over past trauma is the best way to become stronger. Just remember that." She said. Calla snorted then.

"Past trauma?" She echoed. "I can barely remember my parents, much less what happened that night. No, most of mine comes from who I thought were my parents and my close friend's death." She huffed. "It doesn't matter now, but next time we go into one of those caves, it better not be from my past." Jenna sighed before nodding.

"Well, either way, Meliodas wanted to just start training one on one anyway." Calla's gaze turned towards her Captain, who shrugged.

"Yep. Got a few things I'd like to teach you. One in specific." Her brow rose and he continued. "Full Counter."

~

"So you're not joining up with the rest of the team yet?" Meliodas asked, hovering in the doorway where Calla was pulling her fixed clothing back on. She paused, pulling up her longer hair.

"Not yet. There's somewhere I have to go. Somewhere I should've went awhile ago." She answered.It had been only three days, but she had improved exponentially. Meliodas had taught her the basics of Full Counter, but she figured she would only need to use it the direst of situations. She had also figured out he had gotten his power returned to him, and the Meliodas she was training with was nothing but a copy of his original self. Finishing with her black locks, Calla swiped up Sekhmet, slipping it into its sheath on her waist. "You can head back to your original self, I don't need you to follow me." She said, brushing past him. Meliodas clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait." She turned her gaze towards him. "What's wrong, Calla? There's obviously something, because you haven't made a sarcastic remark in, like, six days." She sighed, dropping her head and shaking it.

"I don't know." She mumbled. "It's like a dark haze settled around me." Her green-blue gaze turned towards him. "I think I've just hit a big low, emotionally." His face softened some.

"Hey, then let's get to the manor, and you can see the rest of our little rag-tag team." She smiled a little.

"Kay. Then let's get moving."

~

Meliodas let out a low whistle at the sight of the pristine black manor. Back in the training cave, it was hard to really appreciate the building itself. It was big, most definitely. Almost the size of a mini-castle. A dark spire nearly kissed the sky, it's windows shining in the afternoon light. Calla's lips had parted, taking careful steps towards it. They climbed the stairs and she lifted her hand, brushing it against the knocker on the right door. It clicked and the door creaked open. She stepped in, the tapping of her boots echoing through the foyer. The grand staircase split in front of a large painting, depicting a woman sitting in a grand chair, pink hair flowing over her shoulders. In her lap sat a small boy with blonde hair, smiling widely. Behind the chair stood a tall man with messy black hair spilling over his face and slightly pointed ears. And in front of her mother's legs and chair stood a small girl with black hair, her blue-green eyes seeming to gleam off of the canvas. Calla, who had been climbing the stairs, brushed her fingers across it.

"Heh, I can barely remember my parents, and here this painting lay." She shook her head. Meliodas followed her as she trailed through her past home, finger trailing over the fine line of dust. She would stop every once in awhile, observe, shake her head and move on. It was when they finally stopped at a pair of double doors when she finally talk-talked to Meliodas. "This is my parents' room." She explained before huffing out an amused breath. "I remember one time, I had a really bad nightmare--don't know what it was about--and I ended up sleeping in their bedroom for the next few days...Caed being jealous was an understatement." She chuckled. "He then proceeded to sleep in there for the next week." A smile still adorning her features, Calla pushed open the doors. She stepped in, carefully before trailing over towards the bed. Her lips parted at the sight of three envelopes. One read her name, the second read her brother's name and the third read...."Calla's Significant Other...?" She wondered. "He seriously wrote a letter to whoever I fell in love with." Calla snorted. "Next time I see Ban I'll have to give it to him, and Caed too." Slipping her finger underneath the seal, she ripped it open before pulling out the aged paper. Unfolding it, her eyes flicked over the cursive. 

"What's it say?" Meliodas asked, appearing beside her as Calla folded it back up. 

"Bottom line is, they were being hunted down by people whose sole purpose was to rid the world of Elves. Mostly because of what they can do with the body once they're done. And, well, my parents didn't make it. They wrote a little about wishing me well, and saying that I would inherit the Estate..." She tucked the envelopes into her jacket and turned to Meliodas, giving him a signature grin. "So, whaddya say we go and see the team?"