Author's note:
Hello! Here we have the third and final installment of Kalea's story. Once again, I am keeping this chapter as an M rating not a T rating. There is one scene in particular that may be a little much for some viewers. Please be advised you have been warned, although I tried to keep it as mild as possible.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. That privilege belongs to Hiro Mashima
Kalea stayed in Ms. Myku's room for hours, waiting for her to return. She sat at her desk, wondering what Ms. Myku could've been doing. She watched the sky grow dark as the day wore on into night.
What could be taking her so long?
Just as Kalea was beginning to tire, she heard footsteps in the hallway. Jumping up, she ran to the door to meet Ms. Myku and threw it open. But Ms. Myku's smiling face wasn't there to greet her. Her father stood in front of her, frowning down at Kalea.
"We're going home Kalea," he said.
He forcefully grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room. Kalea was panicking. Why was he here? Where was Ms. Myku? She was too afraid of her father to ask these questions however, so she reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged back home.
Her father brought her to her room and threw her in. Kalea fell to the floor, her back still aching her despite Ms. Myku's healing ointment. He slammed the door behind him, locking it from the outside. Kalea stared after him, wondering what was going on. She heard the footsteps recede and walked over to her desk. She picked up the lacrima phone and went into her bathroom.
Closing the door, she dialed the phone number she memorized weeks ago and brought the phone to her ear.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
…Hello!
Kalea breathed a sigh of relief. Shortly followed by a wave of disappointment.
Sorry I missed your call! Please leave me a message…
Kalea hung up. She'd have to ask Ms. Myku what happened tomorrow after school. She went back to her room, putting the phone on her desk, and changed for bed. Laying down on her stomach, Kalea tried to think about what could've happened.
Where did Ms. Myku go after leaving the school? Why wasn't she picking up her phone? How had her father known where she was? Hopefully she could find these answers tomorrow. Hopefully…
The following day, Kalea walked into the classroom to find the front desk empty. Students were filing in, some already in their seats talking with their friends. Kalea made her way to her own desk and sat down quietly. The bell rang for the first class to begin, but Ms. Myku was nowhere to be found. Other students started to realize they had no teacher yet.
"Where's Ms. Myku?"
"Do we get to leave in 15 minutes?"
"No teacher! No work!"
Everyone started getting excited when the door opened. Their principal walked in, silencing the students almost at once.
"Hello students," he said. "As you can see, Ms. Myku is not here today. Unfortunately, she will not be here tomorrow either. Ms. Myku is no longer teaching at this school so we will be looking for a replacement starting today. Due to the…unforeseen circumstances, we were unprepared for this so you will have substitute teachers from here on until we can find a permanent replacement for Ms. Myku. I do apologize for this. It was not our intention to leave you stranded for the rest of the semester. However, classes will still continue, so please respect your substitutes. For today, I will be substituting in for Ms. Myku."
He went to her desk to pull out their curriculum. Reading it over, the principal went to the blackboard and began writing their notes they were to take for the day. While her fellow students pulled out pencils and notebooks, Kalea didn't budge. She could only watch as the principal wrote down their notes.
Ms. Myku…was gone?
But…she promised she would come back. She promised she would help her. Tears filled her eyes as she tried to pretend this was all a joke. Ms. Myku would run into the room at any moment, a smile on her face, and tell Kalea everything would be alright.
But she didn't.
And after that day, everything was as far from all right as it could be.
When Kalea returned home that afternoon, she found both of her parents sitting in the kitchen. As she entered, they turned their heads towards her, their faces expressionless. Her father stood up and strode over to her. Kalea looked down at her feet as he approached. She just wanted to go to her room. She just wanted to get away.
"Look at me," came her father's voice.
Kalea hesitantly looked into her father's eyes. They were filled with disdain.
"Your mother and I have talked, and we believe it is time to continue with your punishment. You still have much to repent from your sinful actions," he said.
Kalea was horrified. She thought that was all over. They wanted to continue to punish her? Kalea started to shake uncontrollably. She couldn't handle that anymore. She shook her head, eyes drawn back to her feet.
"No?" he said sarcastically. "This isn't a question of yes or no. This is for you Kalea. This is so you realize what you've done. What sinful things you've done."
Her mother walked up from behind him, carrying the belt. Not wanting to go through that torture again, Kalea quickly turned around and tried to sprint back out the door, but her father was too strong for her. He gripped her arm and held her in place. Kalea started to cry. She didn't care if they saw anymore. She just wanted it all to stop.
"P-pl-please!" she exclaimed. "I-I-I'm y-your d-daughter! W-w-w-why a-are y-you doing th-this to me?" she cried at them.
Her expression never changing, her mother ignored her. Instead, she brought the belt down as hard as she could.
And once again…Kalea felt only pain.
.
.
.
They didn't punish her nearly as long as the first time. They told her she still needed to go to school. Education was important.
But as Kalea lay in bed, numb from everything but the pain in her back, she couldn't help feel as if school was the most unimportant thing right now. Ms. Myku was gone. The one person who she thought she could trust. The one person who made her believe her life could be different.
Now that trust was gone. There was nobody who was coming to help her anymore. Nobody to hold her, telling her it would be all right. She had nobody.
The following week went by excruciatingly slow for Kalea. Every night, without exception, her punishment was due. And every night, she would lie awake in bed, never sleeping. All she could feel was pain. By the time the weekend was finally upon her, Kalea felt broken. Her body. Her mind. Everything about her was broken.
The Saturday after Ms. Myku disappeared, Kalea was woken by her father, who thrust her pills into her sleepy face and left the room without saying a word. Kalea stared at the bottle without really seeing it. She stayed like this for hours, until she finally realized she needed to take them.
Not able to get up, Kalea reached her other hand around to open the bottle and poured the pills into her hand. As she did so, she accidentally poured more than she had intended. She stared at the pills, then, she poured even more into her hand. She tilted the bottle until every single pill was sitting in her hand.
She…could get the pain to end if she really wanted to. She could get everything to end if she wanted to. She didn't have Ms. Myku anymore to help her. She had to help herself. And she could…she just had to swallow the pills.
All the pain. All the anguish. It could go away. It could go away in the blink of an eye. She'd finally have peace. She would no longer be in pain.
She felt…hopeless. She felt numb. Numb to everything around her except the pain in her back. But if she took these pills…she could save herself. Nobody would care if she did it. Nobody would remember her. Maybe this was best? Maybe this was what she was meant to do all along. Maybe…she was never even meant to be born. Her life was some huge mistake. Some huge joke.
Her hands started to shake.
This is for the best.
They slowly crept towards her mouth.
It had to be this way.
They were mere inches away.
Nobody will miss me…
Moments before the pills touched her lips, her hands shook so violently she spilled them onto the floor. She clutched her hand to her chest, trying to suppress her shaking. She started to cry, her head felt dizzy.
I'm…such a coward…
She couldn't do it. She looked down at the pills and suddenly felt a wave of nausea. She threw her head over the side of her bed and threw up. She stayed in that position, eventually drifting back to sleep.
When Kalea awoke, it was already dark. Her room was pitch black. It was obvious her parents hadn't bothered to see how she was doing since her father had been there that morning.
She struggled off the bed, lighting a lamp and limping to the bathroom to wash herself. When she returned to her room, she went to her desk and sat down, absently staring around her room. She saw the pile of pills on the floor and quickly looked away, the sight causing her to feel nauseous again.
If she couldn't go through with it…what else was there? Did that mean she had to endure this torture for the rest of her life?
Don't ever let negative people dictate your life Kalea…
No. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't take the constant fear anymore. It was time to leave.
As quickly as she could, Kalea gathered some clothes and shoes into a bag. She grabbed a few more items she thought might be useful and walked to her door. She passed the pills on the floor and hesitated. If she didn't take them…she could die.
Shaking her head, she walked away from the pills. She would find another way.
Opening the door as quietly as she could, Kalea peaked her head into the hallway. All was silent in the house. As slowly as she could, she crept towards the front door. Entering the kitchen, a floorboard creaked underneath her foot. She stopped, listening for any sounds from her parents room.
Nothing.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Kalea continued to the front door. Exiting the house, Kalea couldn't believe it. She actually made it out!
She walked to the road, looking back one more time. The outside world was foreign to her. And although she had felt nothing but pain in her house, it was at least familiar to her. Could she survive out there? Did she have the strength to move on?
Squaring her shoulders, Kalea turned away from her house, from her parents, from her old life. It was time to move on. To where? She had no idea. But anything was better than living with regret.
.
.
.
As Kalea walked along the main road, she felt extremely fatigued. It had been three weeks since she left her village. Kalea wasn't sure where she should go, but since there was only one road in and out of her village, she at least had a start.
She passed through Freesia Town as quickly as she could, seeing as most of the people there knew her family and knew what she looked like. Luckily, that went without incident.
She had a little money with her, so she was able to eat at least once a day, but due to her condition, her health was beginning to deteriorate. She didn't have her pills anymore so she had nothing to combat the disorder from taking over.
She mainly slept on the side of the road, seeing as she wanted to save her money for food, and was starting to get very dirty. She had been in a rush when leaving and only packed a few pairs of outfits. Since she had no way of cleaning them, they were all beginning to get disgusting.
Many people stopped her, asking what she was doing, but she ignored them. She had come to a decision while walking. Kalea wasn't meant to have friends. To have people who cared about her. Most people were going to hurt her. She learned that growing up.
And even if there was somebody who tried to help her…they'd leave her in the end. Just like Ms. Myku did. It was better this way. It was better to close herself off to the world. Better to push others away. She couldn't get hurt this way.
Right?
And so it was that Kalea unwillingly made her way south. Slowly but surely, she headed straight for the town of Magnolia. Not realizing she was headed straight to the person who would change her life forever.
Around a month after leaving her home, she entered a forest outside of Magnolia. Of course, Kalea didn't know this, she was just trying to follow the road as far as she could. She'd walk as far away as she could before her disorder didn't allow her to walk any further.
Upon entering the forest, Kalea spotted a short, balding man resting among the trees. Hoping he wouldn't notice her, Kalea continued on her way. She passed the old man, who seemed too distracted by some sort of magazine to notice her, and thought she was in the clear when she heard a voice behind her.
"And where might a young lady such as yourself be headed all on your own?"
Wishing he could've minded his own business, Kalea didn't respond. She continued walking but the old man got up to follow her. He was more sprightly then he looked.
"You look lost my child. Are you far from your home?" he asked.
No response.
"I see…" said the man.
He followed her for a long time, making Kalea feel slightly uncomfortable. What did he have in mind?
"Do you need help?" he asked.
Kalea abruptly stopped walking.
An image of Ms. Myku swam into her vision.
Please call me if you need someone to talk to…
"N-no!" she shouted.
She hadn't meant to respond. Something about the old man caused her to think about Ms. Myku and it just came out of her. He crossed his arms and watched her before responding.
"I can sense great pain in you child," he said. "Great turmoil. What is troubling you? Sometimes it helps to have someone just to talk to. I'm a great listener." He threw her a wide smile.
Although she didn't want to admit it, Kalea couldn't help feel slightly more at ease when the old man smiled at her. He emitted a comfortable, warming aura. She felt her guard start to fall, and, looking at his smile one more time, her resolve crumbled. She fell to the ground, tears flowing down her cheeks. The old man wrapped his short arms around her, covering her in warmth.
"There, there," he said soothingly. "Everything is going to be alright now. I can help you. Please…let me help you."
Despite telling herself she no longer needed help from others, that she could fend for herself, Kalea felt herself nod at these words. Who was she fooling? She'd always need to rely on others. She was weak…she was worthless…
Kalea allowed herself to be dragged along the forest to an odd house. The old man had introduced himself as Master Makarov. He asked her what her name was, but Kalea didn't respond. She felt numb again.
Entering the house, Kalea saw a very tall, very old woman sitting on a rocking chair, knitting what looked like a sweater. She had bright pink hair and held an intimidating scowl on her face as they entered.
"Makarov!" the lady said. "What do you want? You know I hate it when you come here without asking first."
Master Makarov threw his hands up in apology. "I'm sorry Porlyusica. I honestly had no intention of visiting you today, but I came upon a young girl who I believe is in need of your attention."
The woman named Porlyusica glowered at Kalea as if this was all her fault. Used to this kind of treatment, Kalea gazed down at her feet. Master Makarov gently touched her chin with one hand and lifted her head up.
"Look up dear," he said gently. "Porlyusica may seem a bit harsh, but she always means well."
Eyes avoiding Porlyusica, Kalea awkwardly stood there as she was surveyed by the woman. Porlyusica walked around her, examining her entire body. Finally, she planted her feet in front of Kalea and crossed her arms.
"You've been through much child. I can see that. Please don't move," said Porlyusica.
Without warning, she put both of her hands on Kalea's shoulders, holding her in place with a surprisingly firm grip. Her hands started to glow.
Magic!
Suddenly, Kalea thought back to Ms. Myku. Thought back to how betrayed she felt. She wanted to get away. She needed to get away. These people were wizards.
Trying to escape, Kalea attempted to turn around but Porlyusica wouldn't let her go. She felt a strange tickling feeling run through her body as the hands on her shoulders glowed even more brightly.
What is she doing to me?! What do these people want?!
"P-p-please let me go!" Kalea shouted.
Porlyusica ignored her, continuing her work. Master Makarov touched her lightly on the arm. She flinched away from him.
"We are just trying to help you my child. That is all," he said.
"I-I don't w-want your help!" her shouts were becoming more frantic.
Just as she thought she could never escape, Porlyusica released her. She fell to the floor and crossed her arms over her chest, wondering what was going to happen next. She had to escape, she just didn't know how.
Should she try to use her magic? She hadn't made an attempt at using it since she was caught by her parents. She wanted it all to go away.
The magic.
The memories.
"Stand up," said Porlyusica.
Shaking her head, Kalea stayed where she was. She didn't want to be around these people anymore. She wanted to escape.
"I must examine your body to be sure I have rid you of your disease altogether," said Porlyusica.
Kalea's head shot up.
"W-what…?"
"I rid your body of your autoimmune disorder. I must examine you to be sure there are no lingering aftereffects," she said blandly.
Kalea looked between the old lady and Master Makarov. What did she mean? She got rid of her disease? Kalea suddenly remembered what the doctors told her when she first found out about her disease.
Only a powerful healing wizard will be able to cure you completely. Unfortunately, the only thing we can do is suppress the disorder with these pills. You'll never be cured with these, but it will help you live a somewhat more comfortable life.
Was this true? Had she been cured?
As she sat there, she realized she did feel better. The constant headache she always had was gone. Her stomach felt fine. Although her limbs were weak from her travels, they didn't have the deep aches she always felt growing up.
"D-did you really cure me?" she asked.
"If you would just stand up I can see if everything is gone, yes," scowled Porlyusica.
Master Makarov held out one hand to her.
"We are here to help you my child. I would never lie," he said softly.
Kalea's eyes filled with tears. Maybe…she couldn't necessarily trust these people. But she could at least listen to what they had to say. Standing up with help from Master Makarov, Kalea crossed her arms while Porlyusica gave her one last examination.
A few minutes later, she said, "I believe I have eradicated the disease from your body. It is going to take you a long time to recover. You've been living this with most of your life from what I can gather. It's going to take years to fully recover what you've lost."
Kalea nodded, accepting this. If it meant she no longer had to take pills just to get out of bed, she didn't care. She was free. Free from her disease. It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She realized that her disease had reminded her of her parents. They both shackled Kalea down. They both held her back from being what she could be. And now they were both gone.
She felt better. At least a little bit.
She still didn't feel as if she could trust anybody. She learned growing up that trust was a fragile concept. When she had finally given it to someone, they betrayed her. They left her.
No, she couldn't ever truly trust anybody again. But she could try to move on. Try to start a new life. Maybe Master Makarov could help her achieve this. Kalea thanked Porlyusica and made her way back to the forest with Master Makarov.
As they walked, Master Makarov explained where they were and who he was.
"….the town of Magnolia and I am a guild master here. I am in charge of a guild called Fairy Tail. Have you ever heard of it?"
Kalea shook her head.
"I see. Tell me, what is your name my child?" he asked.
Kalea hesitated before responding, "Kalea."
He smiled at her.
"Well Kalea, do you have any magical abilities of your own?"
She didn't respond at first. Was it okay to trust this complete stranger with that information? Maybe not. But she had to fend for herself now. Maybe it was important to continue developing her powers. If not for anything else then to be able to survive in this world.
"I…can levitate things," she said.
"Really? That is amazing! Why don't you show me?" he asked her, picking up a twig from the ground.
He handed it to her and, after a moment's hesitation, she took it.
Concentrating, she lifted the twig a few inches off her hand. As she did so, Ms. Myku's image flashed across her eyes. Her concentration broke and the stick fell to the ground. She watched it fall and felt as if her own heart was falling. Would it be like this if she used magic again?
Master Makarov interrupted her thoughts. "Kalea…is there anything you'd like to talk to me about?"
Ms. Myku…
"No…" she said.
"Hmmmmm. I see. I won't push you my child. However…" He put a hand on her arm once again. She flinched away at the contact.
"I believe you have much more in you than you realize," he continued. "I thought I could feel something when I touched your arm back at Porylusica's house. I believe there is much more to your power then simple levitation. If you'd like…you could come with me. I can help you. Help you develop your powers. Or at least give you a place to stay while you recover. Please, allow me to do this for you."
He smiled at her again. There was something about that smile…
"Why do you want to help me?" she asked.
"I believe…in the good in people," he said. "I believe everyone carries something deep in their hearts. We all have our own troubles my child. When I see someone in trouble, especially if they are on their own, I can't help but want to help them. It's an unfortunate habit of mine. And I can tell you are in need of assistance. Please Kalea…come with me. Come to Fairy Tail. There are many young children there around your age. I believe we can help you out of whatever darkness you are going through."
Master Makarov's words hit home so badly that Kalea felt her eyes fill with tears. Everything he said was true. And he reminded her so much of Ms. Myku. But Ms. Myku was gone. Would he abandon her just like Ms. Myku had? Would he give her hope then crush it just like before? There was no way of knowing. Kalea had to take a leap of faith. But faith wasn't something she had in excess. Should she go with him?
"….okay. I'll come with you," she finally said.
His smile widening, Master Makarov gently took her hand and guided her out of the forest. His hand felt oddly warm.
As they exited the forest, they came upon a bustling town, the biggest she had ever seen, and Kalea spotted a giant cathedral near the middle of it. She couldn't help but think how beautiful it was.
Master Makarov guided her through the streets of Magnolia, talking to her about the guild and explaining about jobs and where she could live. Kalea barely paid him any attention. She was distracted by the large buildings and the immense crowd swarming the streets.
Before she knew it, they were stopped in front of a magnificent looking building with the name 'Fairy Tail' inscribed above the large wooden doors.
"This is it!" he said proudly.
Kalea couldn't deny it, the building was impressive. Before she could fully take it in, Master Makarov was dragging her through the front door. Kalea realized she wasn't ready to be introduced to a large crowd of people. She began to protest but her words went unheeded.
He burst through the doors and Kalea stared in awe at the room before her. It was filled with long tables, where a huge crowd was sitting and laughing. The chatter around the room filled her ears and she couldn't help but want to put her hands over her ears and leave. This was all too much at once.
When people started to realize Master Makarov entered the guild, he was greeted with waves but he held a hand up, silencing the guild almost at once.
"Listen up everyone," he said. "Today, a new member will be joining us. I would like everyone to say hello to Kalea Baak."
Suddenly, all eyes were on her. She could feel heat rise to her cheeks. She was about to let her eyes drift back down to her feet when she spotted someone staring at her.
A young boy, she guessed he was around her age, stared at her with a giant dog sitting next to him. He had the strangest hair she had ever seen. It was a pure silver color, his eyes matching his hair. She had never seen anyone with that color hair.
One day, you're going to meet someone who will treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Who will look at you…and see the beauty you couldn't see in yourself…
Her eyes widened for a moment. Why was she thinking of that now?
She felt her cheeks burn even more and realized she needed to get away from all the stares. Spotting an empty table at the far end of the room, she made her way towards it. Sitting down, she stared at her lap, trying to ignore all the staring eyes.
Clearing his throat, the Master continued. "Yes…well. I hope everyone will help make Kalea feel at home. We are all a family, and now so is she."
He walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. An awkward silence fell around the guild. Then, slowly, people went back to their conversations. Kalea sat there for the rest of the day, ignoring people who made an attempt at introducing themselves. She wasn't ready for all of this. She wasn't sure if she ever would be.
Near the end of the day, out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted the silver haired boy make his way to the bar where the Master sat. As she watched him, she felt a slight compression around her heart. Her hand went up to her chest.
What…was that…
Author's note:
And there we have it! Kalea is all caught up to Fenris now. That ends her story and next chapter we return to the two of them in the park. On a serious note, if you are ever having suicidal thoughts, just know there's someone out there who wants to help you. Talk to someone, anyone. Message me! I'm always willing to lend an ear or a word. It's never too late to ask for help.
See you next time!
