A/N: A VERY VERY long time since my last update. It's been like... over a year. Really, really bad of me. But then, I kinda forgot that this story existed... Sorry about that. I left you guys on a cliffhanger for a stupidly long amount of time. I'll try not to do it again (although I can't make many promises).
ANYWAY, as you can probably tell, my writing has changed a ton over the year. I would go back and edit this mess - seriously, I would - but I'm honestly strapped for time right now. Hopefully my spread out updates will make it for it though...
Till next time my lovelies,
D.L.D
Elizabeth's (normal) P.O.V
"Welcome to Clan Academy!"
My tour guide, most likely some poor student that was scared to death of the older students, mustered their widest, brightest smile as they gestured about the school grounds. Despite their wobbly grin, they were proudly dressed in the dark tones of the school's uniform, their purple tie barely standing out against their black blazer. Detailed and obvious, the somber crest of the school - a direct homage to the Demon King himself - flashed in crimson thread.
A few other students were currently walking about, many of them in groups or idly chatting away on their phones. A couple of students were resting at the benches, intent on reading or doing whatever they were passing time with. Everyone else appeared to be wherever the students of this place went during their free time - and that number seemed to be quite a big one from the few students I could see lurking about outside.
However, the lack of students was not what made my eyes widen. It wasn't even what caused me to gasp, my senses overwhelmed by what I was seeing. What caused me to gasp was how familiar everything seemed to be, time appearing to have not passed at all for the school and its ancient grounds. Not even a tiny, fractional millisecond.
I didn't know what to expect when I had planned to come here. Perhaps I had expected things to change a little. Maybe I'd wanted the old, yet also perfectly functional, design of my old rival school to not be the same. Maybe I had expected new additions like Celestial Prep's main location often had: the increasingly intricate fountains, or pointless little things to commemorate certain students or a grand achievement within the school. Maybe I was looking for something different just to know that I had not stepped back in time. To know that I was still in the future.
I was left disappointed.
The main location of the Demon schools, the one which was used as the face of the whole federation, had not changed at all from how I remembered it. The large stony buildings still stood, beautiful in their own Victorian goth way. Spaced along the looming walls, the glass-paned windows and carved features reminded me of some of the more aged castles my family owned. Each twisting tower, the small spires and spikes made of wrought iron, made me think of the estates that my father owned farther up north.
Of course the school grounds had also been renovated, modern touches added for functionality as well as preference, but the archaic features still remained. Proudly and perfectly, they had survived the many years, never aging, never fading and definitely never breaking. That included the original stone outlay and occasional twisting pillar, the looming stone statues and spiked iron spires. Time would never change these; time will die before these things.
But, somehow, the lack of overall change somehow brought a sense of relief to me. A sense of overwhelming calm. Oddly, it was slightly comforting to know that Clan Academy hadn't changed too much over the years, the familiarity of the school's layout being something that would make my plan a lot easier. If the exterior hadn't changed, then mapping down the insides of the school wouldn't be too hard. Already I knew half of it, my memory serving well for the time that had passed.
Navigating the school would be a breeze. Well, I had thought it would be. But, as always, I had assumed my conclusions a little too quickly.
"Of course the school has changed over the years," The student continued, twisting a wild purple lock between their fingers. Their ocher skin shone against the low light, the cinnamon of their almond eyes standing out against their freckled nose. "However our principle, Principle King, likes to change the interior each year instead of the exterior. He says it's to keep the students on their toes, comfort being a shield for the weak and lazy."
At their words, I can only look on in awe as we enter the building, immediately gawking at the changed interior of the school.
True to my tour guide's words, the entire layout of the inner school had changed. What was once a smaller reception area, surrounded by bookshelves, trophy cases and the receptionists' desk behind a glass barrier, had been knocked down to form a more open-plan space. I could see up the stairway to the topmost floor, the more narrow and separated spaces I remembered being much more large and spacious now.
More light flooded into the once dark and dreary place, offering an atmosphere that was less ominous and sinister and more lightly gloomy and shadowed. The wider halls and stairways allowed more students to flock about the place, many of them roughly barging past each other as they rushed up and down various flights of stairs. There was also the floors, cold and dark stone, that shone with a polished gleam.
A few signs were hung on the wall beside us, indicating the way to some areas of the school near here. From it, I could decipher that we weren't too far from the library, reception or drama hall. Furthest away from where we were, the ground floor, were the science labs, food tech and art rooms; those facilities were located all the way at the topmost floor of the school. That meant I was far away from any potentially useful chemicals or equipment.
"This place has really changed..." I breathe, watching as all the students milled about. I wasn't too sure about what to do next, especially as I was essentially lost within this building. That wasn't a comforting thought to have as a goddess.
"Yes, Captain Meliodas had said that you would find the campus different," The student nodded, humming as she adjusted the cuffs of her blazer. She then flashed me a bright grin, offering me a proud salute. "That's why he had me assigned as your tour guide. I know every nook and cranny of this place and so he wanted me to make sure that you knew exactly where everything is!"
"Captain?" The word passes my lips before I can stop them, the question taking up most of my brain. Meliodas had never gone by 'Captain' before leaving Clan Academy. Before he was known as something else - a title I cannot remember - but it was certainly a lot different from Captain. It felt like something more than Captain, something like Commander. But maybe that is just my mind playing with me. Meliodas was really influential - even when he attended here.
"Yeah," The student nods once more, already pushing us forward into the throng of students travelling around the building. "He's now taking charge of quite a few things around the school. In fact he even offered to help some of the younger students with sports and other stuff."
Nothing leaves my mouth. Nothing can. When Meliodas had just left Liones, announcing that he had never changed and that he always been a cold and callous son of the Demon King, I had never thought that he would do the good he did at Liones back at Clan Academy. When I had first met Meliodas, he was influential but not involved in the school's community. Having alumni status, but not really taking part in helping the younger years, he had always perplexed me.
Now, so many years later, it appears that I must have had some sort of effect on him. Part of what I have shown him, part of my belief, has still remained within him. Truly, even if he said he hadn't changed, Meliodas had. He wouldn't be helping the younger years if he hadn't.
For the rest of our trek across the school building, the student and I walk in silence. A few lingering stares are shot my way, my identity not at all secret to many of the students here. The Supreme Deity's daughter was never really kept secret - not even at the height of the feud between the Goddess and Demon schools. My face had always been used to advertise and advocate for my mother's schools just as much as Meliodas' was used for his father's.
So when I met the stares of the other students, saw their looks of disgust or grins of glee, I ignored it. I was used to ignoring it. Instead, I looked straight ahead, my head held high as I followed my tour guide toward my accommodation.
Apparently, I was going to stay here as a transfer student of sorts. At every possible moment, I'll be under the care of a student - most likely a Commandment - and I'll attend classes just like the many other students here. However, unlike most students, I'll be given some 'special privileges'. That meant I was kept in my own separate accommodation, a guard stationed at my door and all possible exits and escapes locked.
Free time and the chance to go into town were barred for me. I was too liable to escape to even be offered the chance of a little trust and freedom. Instead, I am placed under complete control and surveillance, my only true privacy being when I go sleep - if I'm not watched even then.
"You'll be staying in the Primrose House," My tour guide speaks once more as we exit the main building. Outside, large hedges grew, some of them twists of dry brambles and a few being dark emerald leaves. They grew along the paths, creating the illusion of a small but overgrown and twisted forest. "It's often used for important fairy students, but since you are a goddess, the Commandments figured that you'd find it more... familiar."
I know that the Commandments are really just Meliodas. No doubt he knew that the Commandments would happily house me within one of their own dorms, dying for the chance to see me argue and fight with others. Staying in a room with a bunch of bitter students and antsy enemies was bound to result in a terrible brawl. If that happened, then there would be an excuse for any injury I gained overnight or during free time hours.
"Thank you," I say quietly, suppressing the shiver that urges to travel down my spine.
"Don't mention it," The student grins back.
Soon, we stop outside of a small building. Small bushes of flowers grow around it, their pink petals and gentle scent identifying them as Primroses - the namesake of this accommodation. Light tiles pave the path toward the building, matching the light grey brickwork of the building. Glistening and lined with black iron, the windows are small square, giving a cottage-like feel to the place. As if solidifying that atmosphere, a few fairy students fluttered about the area, grinning and laughing.
True to the student's words, this area of the school felt much more familiar and welcoming than the rest of Clan Academy. Unlike the spacious and bustling halls of the main building, this area was much quieter and boasted a more bright and relaxed air than the main school. Plus the students here were less likely to start a problem with me, the fairies often having much more passive personalities, like myself.
Taking in a deep breath, I allow the gentle scent of the flowers to fill my lungs. Calming me, the aroma makes me think of tranquil peace, mindless relaxation - a feeling which I had gone without for a very long time. This whole building, this entire area, felt like somewhere where I could just stretch and feel the sun. It was a place of no worries, a place of no cares. If I stayed here long enough, then I would probably forget every little problem that plagues my mind...
"How do you find it, Elizabeth?" My tour guide asks, their smile soft and gentle as they spot my dopey expression. "Do you feel welcome?"
"Extremely so," I nod, happily giving back my own smile. "It's almost like I'm back home."
When those words leave my lips, it's then I realise what is happening. Heavy, it hits me like a ton of bricks. This place, this accommodation of fairies and freedom and flowers, is just a way to distract me. Pleasant and pretty, this place is made to put me at ease. This place was chosen, selected for me, because of how it could easily lower my guard and make me feel as if I am at home. That means I will have to keep my guard it. This place was chosen to earn my trust.
I must not fall under its spell.
"I'll show you your room then," My tour guide, hums, again adjusting their sleeve as they timidly approach the main building.
I follow behind, watching the fairies who laughed and giggled and tumbled in the green grass stretching across the green. They look so happy, so carefree, as if they do not know anything at all about the true circumstances of their lives. Some of them are former students of schools absorbed into the Demon School federation, others are children who were shipped to this country from overseas - similar to Elaine.
As I watch them all tumble and laugh, grin and beam, I wonder if they know that this place was not their true home. I wonder if they remember anything about their lives before Clan Academy. Or did they all fall under its spell? Victims of a dream fed to them through familiarity.
Meliodas' P.O.V
Meetings are always long here. When I left Clan Academy I had never missed the afternoons spent sitting in a classroom, listening to pointless suggestion after pointless suggestion, waiting for everyone to come to a conclusion. With ten of us sitting in on these meetings, it was often a miracle if we managed to get through one meeting and meeting a definite agreement. When others came to sit in, like Chandler or my father, we were lucky to reach anything near an agreement at all.
Yet today the old pattern of meetings feels like it has broken, with only three of us occupying the classroom this time.
Zeldris sits across from me, stormy as ever as he holds a binder filled with files and pictures and writing. Tension is obvious from him, palpable. Ever since I came back, he hasn't stopped glaring at me. Resentment is clear in his eyes, it fills his dark pupils with a tighter edge and pulls at his face as he fights the urge to just growl at me. What's funny is that I don't even blame Zeldris for feeling that way. I was a shitty brother. I was never really there.
Estarossa is different - just as he always is. Despite being pissed at me, he hides it well with a wide grin and an eagerness to please. Taller than Zeldris and myself, he slouches in his chair, his shirt unbuttoned and tie undone. In front of him is nothing but his phone, the screen pinging with notifications as it buzzed away on the tabletop. I know that Elizabeth is the reason why Estarossa's pissed at me; that's his only real problem with me.
However, despite the obvious tension drifting between the three of us, we sit at our table, discussing the next course of action for our plan. Well, we were discussing that until the subject of father came up - and that is where it all fell apart.
"Do you think father will approve of this plan?" Zeldris raised a brow, using that as his reason to disagree with me. He'd never directly attack my own plan - not when it sounded logical. Instead he'd try to use father as the excuse, always being the biggest suck-up, eager to please the old bastard. "Not that I doubt your plan, Meliodas. It's just that father is extremely particular about how things must be done and I fear that your plan will violate what he wants."
"Who cares?" Estarossa groans, rolling his eyes. Sighing, he shakes his head, scratching at the silver stubble on his chin. "If he causes too much trouble, we can always plot against him. The old fart's getting ancient anyway. Plus he wants to hand the legacy over to Meliodas."
"He never said that directly!" Zeldris counters, hissing at Estarossa. Dangerous and dark, his glare grows sharper as he pinpoints it on our brother. "You know that he will also consider us if Meliodas is not fit for the job."
After I left, Zeldris had always been suspicious of how well I would handle taking over the family legacy. When he was younger and I had been his role model, he had never questioned my decisions or choices. He grew up seeing me in this light that glorified my actions to the scale of a superhero. That only caused more damage when I more or less betrayed him, choosing to leave instead of saving him from the pressure and weight of father's crushing orders.
After I left Clan Academy, he dropped contact with me, stating that I would only come back to ruin everything again. He's not wrong about that; I plan to ruin everything. Yet, seeing him years later made me realise that leaving caused more damage than I thought. There is something within Zeldris that is hurting; there is something that we need to talk out. But Zeldris will never want to talk it out. All he sees me as is the asshole of an older brother.
"I am best suited to take over," I interrupt them both, making sure to sound as firm and final as possible. I raise a brow at Zeldris, daring him to challenge me. "Do I need to remind you that father waited for me to come back because he wanted me to take over? I was raised to take over, Zeldris. It's my job as the eldest and most capable sibling to take over."
"But you don't deserve to take over," Zeldris interjected, his voice as sharp as a knife as he glared at me. He slams a fist onto the table, his frown obvious as he glares. "Unlike you, I truly believe in this school and how well it can do. All you ever did was run after that silly goddess of yours, Meliodas. You never even took your role seriously. You never took this school seriously!"
Not a lie. Not a lie at all. Countless memories come to mind, short snapshots of the past, and in all of them I don't give a damn about this place. Cutting class, storming off down corridors, going missing for days on end... Those days were pretty dark for me. Those days are better left forgotten, gathering dust in the furthest depths of my mind. But there's no point in doing that. They'll always come back to haunt me at some point. Zeldris will always bring them back.
Something twitches, "I took it more seriously than you thought," I answer, trying my best to remain as unbothered as possible. Not an easy feat. Everything he said was pretty much true - still is true when I really think about it all. But that doesn't mean I want it to be.
"Yeah right," Zeldris scoffed, rolling his eyes. He still radiated anger, still looked as if he'd strangle me if I said the wrong thing. "That goddess distracted you right out of it."
It's hard not to wince at his words. Extremely hard. For a good moment, I have to pause and remind myself that Zeldris is only saying that because he is angry. Angry people tended to say things they didn't entirely mean. Zeldris was one of those people who just said things without thinking properly when he was mad. That was something I told him to do when we were younger; looking back I should have never told him that.
A stormy stare-off settles between us, none of us willing to give up. There is no way I'm letting Zeldris get the upper hand here; there is no way he's going to make this easy for me. Then there's Estarossa, as unbothered as ever, his eyes flicking over the pair of us.
"Seems like the answer is pretty simple here," Estarossa huffs, stretching as he let out a long yawn. A wicked grin crossing his face, he looks from Zeldris to me. "I will get the goddess and Meliodas won't be distracted. That way the old man doesn't get on our asses about the whole inheritance crap and Zeldris' precious school will be in good hands."
"No!" Both Zeldris and I end up standing.
That situation, that compromise, was the worst one offered all day. But of course Estarossa would be the one to offer it. As the middle brother he was always the most chaotic. From as far back as I can remember, he was always the biggest pain in the ass. Not even Zeldris was as annoying as him and he was the youngest. But I think Estarossa does it to compensate for how left out he is. His way of letting us know he's still here. Most of the time people just forget that he exists.
Even though, that didn't mean what he did was right. Most of the time, he chose the worst possible route. Today wasn't much different.
"Why not?" He raises a brow, leaning back in his chair as he glances at us both. He knows that he is making sense; he also knows that I'm hiding something from him. "It's a perfect win all round."
"Yeah right," Zeldris scoffs, folding his arms. His glare sharpens, cluing into his growing agitation. "I don't get shit from that agreement."
"Yeah, it seems like you get the biggest win," I agree, raising a brow at Estarossa. That wouldn't be weird for him - he was always self-serving. Looking out for number one was his only true priority in this whole situation. He didn't care about anything but what happened to himself. "That's not exactly a compromise is it?"
A laugh leaves Estarossa, "Never said it was."
This is new. A lot of things here are new. So much has changed. So much in so little time and I don't know what to do with it. Obviously, I didn't expect things to magically be the same when I came back. Five years is a lot of time and five years can change a lot. But even though five years passed, I didn't think it would affect so much. I didn't think that Zeldris would be so difficult to communicate with. I didn't think that Estarossa would actually go against me. I didn't expect any of my brothers to actually... challenge me.
In the past, I was the eldest. I was the one who called the shots. Zeldris and Estarossa didn't get a say when father gave me the opportunity to lead the three of us. Back then they would have blindly jumped off a cliff I told them to. They wouldn't have hesitated. But now it's different. Now they have changed. I have changed.
But I can't let them know that.
"We're going with what I said," I ignore Estarossa's offer completely, knowing exactly where he was going with it. His scheming wouldn't lead anywhere good. If anything, it would just ruin everything faster.
"No we're not," Zeldris argues, scowling at me. Once again he looks ready to snap my neck, his hand twitching on the tabletop.
"Says who?"
"Says me," Zeldris storms up to me, his hands balled into matching fists. Anger radiates from him. His darkness flares as he lets out a large huff. "You may be the eldest Meliodas, but you don't pull any weight around here. You're not the boss anymore!"
"Oh really?" Suddenly, I grab him and yank him down by the ear, just about done with his tirades. If I was going to get anything done here, if I wanted to convince everyone that I hadn't really changed, then I needed to act as ruthless as possible. Like in the past, just like I had before I left, I needed to act as if I didn't give a shit about anything. I needed to convince everyone, including these two, that nothing had ever changed.
"Oooh!" Estarossa cackles, a wide grin on his face as he rocks in his chair. He looks genuinely entertained, pleased. "Nice one, big bro!"
He isn't laughing for long. Soon he joins Zeldris, dragged through the classroom door and down the hallway, his ear caught in my iron grasp.
"Hey!" Estarossa whines, rolling his eyes as I dragged them both along. He ignores Zeldris who is kicking and flailing beside him. "What did you do that for?"
"You're both pissing me off," I grit out, already knowing where I was going to take them both. An old memory - a place that was sure to have them both reminded of who I used to be. In the past, I'd always take them there to work out in-fighting between us. When they had once tried to mutiny against me, I'd used that room as a way to teach them to never try something like that again. All it took was a few minutes, a few moments, and they were scared shitless.
"That arena's not gonna work anymore," Estarossa drawled out, reading my mind. He rolls his eyes, blowing a strand of long hair from his face. "We're not five anymore, Meliodas."
Yeah, they're not. Like everything, they've changed. But that doesn't mean that I haven't adapted anything else too. That arena had far worse things than the ring. They don't remember, but I do. I remember exactly what father showed me, exactly how he warned me, when physical scare tactics began to fail. Unlike my brothers, I didn't have anyone to scare me and keep me on the right path. I didn't have a older sibling. All I had was the old man and damn was he cruel.
"Oh, I'm not thinking about the arena," I respond, casual and light. I don't bother to hide the smirk on my face as we arrive at the door, the plaque engraved with one word: Purgatory. "I have something much better planned."
