AN: Hey guys, I just wanted to thank everyone for the follows, faves, and reviews. That means a lot, and I hope you come to enjoy upcoming chapters. I would also like to apologize since some are not happy that Ban is paired with an OC in this story and not Elaine. I feel that there are plenty of wonderful stories containing Elaine and I would encourage you to seek them out. This is a fanfiction which I have chosen to include an original character of my own. Of course, the word fanfiction explains itself. Again, I would like to apologize. Writing this is a practice for me, and tends to work very well when I have trouble working on my main piece. So thank you all for taking the time, even if you were mislead or surprised by the contents.

"Hey, kid. We thought you were dead."

My eyes flew open at the sound. Ban sat by my side with a crooked smile. I was terrified to move, unsure of the entirety of my injuries. Yet, I felt completely numb. I blinked my eyes over and over again, trying to picture something else besides the ceiling and Ban in my peripheral vision. Despite the loss of feeling in my body, I felt all too much; my mother's betrayal being the pivotal point. My mind was eluding me, twisted with worry and sadness.

With every minute that passed I could hear a page turn. In the corner of my eye, I could see Ban move his fingers and stroke the spine of the book. I suddenly felt sweat from the nerves and decided to raise my head for a moment. Tiny scratches were scattered across my shoulders and upper arms. My chest was completely wrapped in a lilac velvet cloth, all the way up to my neck. I knew it was magic; it had to be the only thing keeping me from feeling any pain.

"Don't move. Merlin said any sudden movements will throw you off balance."

"Merlin?" I whispered.

"Present." I heard a sultry voice. "Ban, please assist her. She can sit up."

Ban eased me up. I craned my forehead into his neck for support, but I'll admit I also did it because his scent made me feel secure. His hair brushed my nose and I felt him put a pillow behind me. The scantily clad Merlin seated herself at the end of the bed, lightly touching the sheets as she watched me. I admired her beauty and her aura of confidence. She wore the most brilliant purple, hardly covering her breasts. Her shorts fit snug right off her hips. Merlin looked perfect, and I could sense that she was incredibly strong.

"You're going to be fine, Lenara. If I had arrived a moment later you probably wouldn't have made it."

"The Boar sin." I whispered, catching a glimpse of her tattoo.

"Which means I also knew your mother." She winked at me. "Meliodas filled me in on what was happening. I will say, it seems you've been quite exercised in your magical capabilities."

"Too bad I couldn't stop that glass." I chuckled lightheartedly.

"It wasn't your fault." Ban said between his teeth. "This wouldn't have happened if those zombies didn't come out of nowhere."

Merlin wagged her finger at Ban. "Now, she has a point. She needs to expand her ability, Ban. Volaria would have easily dismissed such an accident without any trouble."

"Merlin, do you know what that was?" I asked, thinking back to the grey horde.

She grinned. "I came as soon as I sensed it. Ban's correct in a sense; the dead were evidently triggered by your return."

I heard a scratch before the door pushed open. Kovak trotted around the bed and hopped onto the edge gazing at me with big bright eyes. With all the anxiety I was having, I couldn't even remember the last time I saw him. I felt like a terrible mother, but I knew he could stand his ground if need be. I leaned over just a bit for him to move closer, allowing me to scratch his ears.

"They sensed magic." I said flatly.

"Your abilities are similar to your mother's." Merlin replied, stretching her fingers across Kovak's back. She gave him a nice scratch before he rolled over, tongue flopping out of his toothy grin. "I'd like you to come with me, Lenara. Unfortunately, my last apprentice got a little…cursed."

Ban raised his brow. "She should stay with us, Merlin. Captain seems kind of worried."

"I understand, Ban. However, I feel that it's necessary to educate her instead of allowing her abilities to wane or spiral out of control. Lenara, what do you think?"

I felt trapped by the question; a little uneasy that she continued to call me by my full name. Still, Merlin was a member of the seven deadly sins; she had to be someone I could trust. Ban looked at me a little blankly, and Merlin was studying my reaction with splendorous eyes. "I think I should go with Merlin."

"Bye, Lenny!" Elizabeth called out.

"Bring me a souvenir!" Diane laughed. "Wait, where are they going?" I heard her ask Elizabeth. She shrugged in response before shrieking at the squeeze around her bum.

"Well Elizabeth, I guess that means we've got a little more privacy." The captain squealed. Surprisingly, Diane didn't over react to the comment. Instead, I watched her follow King inside with a smile on her face. Everyone else followed, but Ban lagged behind with a sulky posture.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Merlin assured me. "I can teleport us anywhere, anytime."

Kovak brushed his forehead across my fingertips before giving them a good lick. "You insisted I bring him with us. Why is that?"

"Lenara, you're going to ask a lot of questions. They'll all be answered in time, I promise."

I blinked and everything changed. The Boar Hat disappeared from behind us, and all of the trees were gone. I stood in an open field with Merlin, scanning the distant mountains and open skies. There wasn't a bird or a bug in sight, and it was deathly quiet. While the location was lovely in appearance, the silence and lack of movement bothered me.

"Shunkan Ido." Merlin breathed. "This is the teleportation spell I've used to take us to Camelot."

"Merlin, why is it so quiet here?"

"It's the perfect place for us to concentrate. Unfortunately, I block out everything else around me when I'm focused on my abilities. I have found that training here is adequate since there aren't many surprises."

I looked down at my feet and concentrated on a blade of grass. With a pinky, I levitated it into the air and wrapped it around my finger. Merlin watched as I split it into half. "So where do we start?"

Merlin laughed and crossed her arms. "I'm going to try and kill you, but you'll need to defend yourself."

My eyes grew wide as she took a few steps back, urging me to run with her fingers. Kovak stayed behind with her, much to my surprise. I thought he would come to my aide, but I was thankful he didn't. My slow jog sped up to a complete sprint once I realized the beam in her hand was nothing to joke about. Merlin was dead serious, and I was going to be dead in a minute if I didn't do anything about it.

"Let's see if you can try to dodge my shock stinger!" She called out.

"Fuck." I whispered.

Craaack!

My eyes were tightly closed at impact, yet I didn't feel a thing. I watched the shock set fire to a precise target upon the ground, cracking beneath my feet.

"So you can fly." She laughed.

"Somehow I think I've done this before."

"Well let's do something you haven't. Concentrate for a moment in the air, and figure out how you're going to deflect these." Again, she took a few steps back and readied her palms for more lightning bolts. I started to panic. How the hell was I going to deflect her magic? Sure, I could levitate objects, but…

I heard another massive crack, but I could feel the release as I quickly crossed my arms over my chest. Had I been a second later, I would have been obliterated. I was quite lucky that time, I thought. When I looked down, I noticed Merlin standing below with a strange look on her face. Hopefully she wasn't mad at me for doing something wrong. Slowly, I levitated my body back to the ground.

"How did you do that?" She inquired.

"I don't know. Actually, I-I think I've seen my mom deflect magic before. It's a little funny though. I didn't even know I had that memory until I was in the same situation."

She twisted her lips in thought. "You diverted my bolts pretty far. I've seen her do the same thing, but I'm beginning to wonder if your abilities are influenced by emotions and memories. " She tapped her chin. "Maybe you just inherited them."

"Beats me." I shrugged.

Merlin put an arm around my shoulder. "Think of the best food you've ever eaten and we'll head out."

I won't lie, I thought of pork.