Chapter 1: The Seven Deadly Sins
Ten Years Later… Near Cains Town
The sun rose over Britannia that day, calming as its warmth spread over the hilly countryside bringing a pleasant shiver with it as the coolness of night slowly faded away, until it was to return again. Through the peaceful twittering of the early birds, was the overwhelming clang of armor pieces jumbling against each other, the ugly noise traveling across the meadows as the knight swathed in the rusty metal trekked across the grassy terrain. Each step slow and clunky, but refusing to slow down, despite the thousand pounds on their back and the sun beating down on them, cloaking them in heat.
They had not seen civilization for days, but they would not stop, not until their quest was fulfilled.
Near the town of Cains in the hill-covered landscape, top a high cliff, sat a little tavern called the Crow Bar. So far it seemed to be a pretty busy day for the tavern resident's favorite waitress.
A tray of frothing mugs of beer was set in front of the group of red-faced men by a large blond girl with equally large… assets. In fact while one would suspect the men to be staring hungrily at their drinks, the woman's buxom chest stood out more than anything else in the bar.
"Okay, here you go! Thanks for waiting, drink up!" she said, her tavern wench attire highlighting her large chest as much as she pleased, giving a perky wink to her newest customers. In fact she was receiving loads of new faces today, every man from and around the town of Cains seemed to be entering and exiting the bar by the minute. It was a little crowded, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.
The tavern door opened with its telltale ring of the bell as more men bustled in to drink their fill and get a look at the gorgeous waitress. "Any room for one more?" one called.
The blond gave a pleasant wave, "Right over here!" she gestured to a table with a few empty spots, noticing a rather heavyset man hogging most of the space. Smiling cheerfully she tapped his shoulder, "Hey, you think you could move over a little?" Very little a man could say no to her mass of wavy golden hair, energetic lilac eyes, and of course her ravenous bust.
Noticing a table with a few empty mugs, she gathered them up in her arms, making sure to push her chest up as well, and carried them back to the bar for cleaning.
"For such a sweet thing, she is one hard working waitress…" a drunken man slurred, not hiding his stares at her retreating form.
The blond woman heard his comment and turned back with a proud smirk. "Hate to break it to you buddy, but I'm not just the waitress." She winked again, "I'm the owner of this place!"
"Huh?" the man gaped, flabbergasted yet still pretty drunk. "She's the owner? A pretty thing like that?"
She set the mug down behind the bar before opening the oven rooted next to the wall of booze, using a mitt to pull out what looked to be a delicious and steaming meat pie. Carrying it over she set it down in the center of the table, the browned crust and vaporous aroma filling the tavern and making the men's mouths water. "Alright! Fresh from the oven, it's the meat pie that made the Crow Bar famous!"
"It looks great!" one man among the three seated rasped, dying to have a bite.
"Let's dig in!" the three cheered, each having a large hunk of the pie on their forks as they shoved it into their eager awaiting mouths. They savored each flavor that danced across their tongues…
At least until they realized it tasted like utter crap.
The vegetables were bitter and rotten, the meat tough yet slimy, even the seemingly perfect crust tasted charred and doughy. The whole pie was somehow burnt and raw all at once. The men felt sick to their stomachs. They all heaved over and upchucked the entirety of the pie and their drinks onto the table, the rest of the pie cast to the floor like it was poisoned.
The blond still wore her smirk. "You should've known, our reputation is for having really good booze… the food, not so good."
"YOU MIGHT'VE MENTIONED THAT!" the men yelled, not happy about their spoiled meal they were so excited about. One of them rolled his sleeve up his bicep while his buddies looked like they wanted to start a brawl with her. "Are you messing with us you big bimbo?!" he barked.
His friend was smart enough to stop him when he noticed the weapons guarding the girl's wrists. "Hold it, this lady's packing some serious gauntlets…" the men stopped to notice the intricate details in the black iron gauntlets adorning the tavern girl. Shining, the color of oil, and engraved with ravens with crimson jewels for eyes. Eyes that seemed to stare right through you, much like the serious stare the blond was giving them.
"Well boys, looks like we've got a problem." She snapped her fingers, almost menacingly. "Now let's fix it."
Not that they'd ever admit it, but the three beefy men were slightly nervous, not knowing what this woman was capable of. They were surprised that she was the owner, and that she brandished such an intimidating weapon, but they were even more surprised by what came next.
Out from under the bar, waddled a fluffy little creature. "Come on, you call that a mess?" it yipped, stubby little tail wagging as it trotted over to stand at the girl's side. "Really, what do you need me for?"
The men felt their mouths hanging open, but could not do much to stunt their shock. "Wait, that dog, it's talking to us guys!" the beefiest one cried.
"Yeah, yeah… I'm a talking corgi! Man… what a bunch of hicks am I right?"
The blond seemed unimpressed, even casual, by the small dog talking like it was a human being. "Zwei, we've gotta get this floor cleaned."
The black and white corgi actually rolled his eyes and scoffed as he leaned down to lick at the spilt food. "What a pain in the muzzle…" he grumbled as he set to work, munching and gobbling up the remains of the meat pie. "Scraps disposal is a tough gig." Was heard through his large mouthfuls, but within seconds the floor was sparkly and new, almost as if the stain had never been there to begin with. "Next time, try to drop some decent sized scraps around here." Zwei barked, scratching behind his large ear before he pattered off.
The blond raised her eyebrow, but then grinned mischievously at the three men. "You know, I've got a recipe for Korean BBQ Mutt-en chops if you guys are interested…" she chuckled to herself at her own pun, the men silently groaning in return.
Zwei bounced up with bright eyes and bushy tail at those words, "I am so full! You always drop the best scraps boss!"
The rest of the customers, having overheard the conversation, all laughed lowly at the amusing scene before them. The bell above the door chimed again, oddly making every face in the tavern turn their heads, as if the sound had cut through all the chatter to draw any willing gaze to look upon what was meant to be looked at. In the doorway stood a young man, leaning against the frame, panting as he struggled to regain his breath. He looked nervous, jittery, and most of all… afraid.
"I… I saw it…" he stammered. The blond woman set a mug of foaming beer at a place-setting nearby, allowing the exhausted soul to pop a squat and have a pint or two. But strangely enough, he was too frightened even for a drink. "No kidding, I saw it with my own two eyes." He explained, the froth in his mug overflowing and dribbling down the side onto the table. "I swear, by all that's holy, it was the Wandering Rust Knight I saw out there…"
The topic seemed to cut the table's buzz as the others chimed in their own stories of the Rust Knight. "Yeah, seems like it's been on everyone's mind."
"Come on!" one scoffed, "They're just made up stories people use to scare their children into behaving! If you don't do what I tell you, then one of the Seven Deadly Sins will come for you in blood-rusted armor! Oooooooh-aaaaaah!" the table burst into guttural laughter, not noticing that they'd peaked the barmaid's attention.
Her large lilac eyes gave away her intrigue. "The Seven Deadly Sins?" she asked.
The men ceased their laughter, "Oh? You mean you've never heard of them, ay pretty tavern owner?"
"Their wanted-posters are hanging everywhere, like those over there!" another pointed out, turning everyone's gaze to the board hanging on the far wall of the tavern, displaying seven wanted posters as described. Each one looking equally intimidating and, pun intended, deadly.
"What was it… about ten years ago? Dozens of Holy Knights from all across the land were butchered so fast, that they didn't even have time to defend themselves… and the Seven Deadly Sins were the one's responsible for it. From what I've been told, the way the Holy Knight's Grand Master was murdered… it was too gruesome for anybody to even look at!"
Their voices lowered so only the maiden could hear, being sure as to not frighten the pretty thing, even though not much did that with her.
One leaned in close and whispered to her, "It's said that their captain, Yang Xiao-Long, was the scariest one of them all! They say she's even brought down entire countries before!"
While they told their story, the maid poured another bottle of booze into a wooden mug, letting it foam before giving the glass container a lucky tap and sliding the mug down the bar to her next customer with her usual cheerful smile.
"None of them have been caught yet, have they?"
The man telling the story chuckled mirthlessly. "Nope, not a single one."
"Well I've heard rumors that they've all been dead for years now!"
Another man snorted, "Of course they're dead! They have to be! The new Holy Nights would never let them live after what they've done."
"Yeah, you've got a point there…"
"Bottoms up!" the feminine chirp of the tavern owner distracted them for a moment, taking their time to gulp down their alcohol before continuing on with the story.
Once the beer sloshed warmly in their bellies, one added on, "Even now, with the king sick in bed, you can bet their still going to make sure, that the kingdom stays safe for all its people!" despite the obvious reassurance that came with the name of the Holy Knights, one question still lingered in the back of their booze-clouded, yet still functional minds.
"But, those notices up on the board get updated every single year! Doesn't that mean those seven criminals are still out there?" after a while, other parties turned to listen in on the male gossip about the Seven Deadly Sins, the possibility that they might still be alive somewhere, one of them even hiding out among them seemed possible!
The silence was broken by a drunken laugh, "Yeah well… some spooky knight walking around in rusty armor sounds pretty ridiculous to me, I mean come on!" the other men joined in on the laughter, scoffing at themselves for thinking there was such a thing as the Seven Deadly Sins in the first place! How idiotic right?
"Guess you're right…" someone said before going back to their mug.
A loud crash of metal on metal suddenly clanged from just outside the door, startling all the men inside and making some even drop their beers on the floor. Another clang came shortly after, and then another, all in time with the rhythm of footsteps as they came closer and closer to the tavern. Their steps almost sounding like those of… armor. The bar had gone completely silent, each man listening intently to the metal footfalls, clattering and screeching similarly to rusted iron.
The talking corgi, Zwei, hid behind the blond barmaid's legs, taking a quick sniff for safety. "That smells an awful lot like rust boss…" he whined.
The footsteps stopped, and the small moment of relief was replaced by terror as the front door slowly creaked open, revealing the massive form of a suit of incredibly rust-covered armor. The person inside said nothing, only taking another shaky and scratchy set of steps, raising their arms as if reaching out for something… or someone.
"The… Seven… Deadly… Sins…!" they moaned, the helm they wore giving their voice a demonic echo.
"IT'S HERE!" the men screamed, believing this knight to be the blood-rusted knight they spoke of. Not taking any chances, every living man in the bar bolted for the door, running for their lives over the hills until the tavern's full-bosomed owner and her talking dog. Said dog was currently trembling as he clung to his blond owner's booted leg. She gently pushed him back behind the bar as she stepped forward, now face-to-face with the armored person.
Whoever they were, they were persistent, as not even a tavern full of screaming grown men deterred them from their obvious struggle just to walk forward.
"Now, who are you?" the woman demanded, arms crossed across her chest and hip cocked out to show her more overpowering nature. She was annoyed at this mystery person more than anything, for scaring off all her customers, who made quite the mess in their hasty exit, and making a fuss.
Their stare down went on for some time, before the knight seemed to lose balance in their armor. They stumbled forward as they tried to regain their footing, before failing and toppling backwards onto the floor with a heavy crash, their horned helmet clattering off in the process.
The large blond gasped at the revealed face of the mysterious Rust Knight, having not seen a face like that in many years…
Long silken raven hair, an angelic fair complexion, and a black satin bow tied off on top of their head.
It was… a girl?
WHAT?! Blake is Elizabeth?! yeah I wanted to do this au for a while and thought Bumblebee would be the perfect main pair for it, and you guessed it! Yang is Meilodas, Zwei is Hawk our favorite snarky talking pig, and Blake is the lovely Princess Elizabeth, although I will be changing things to have Blake's personality and Elizabeth's meet in the middle, Blake will cry more than she normally would but other than that she is the same. I won't be revealing who the other Sins and Characters are until I get further into the story. I'll be including some usual ships, one of my OTP's and some crack ships for fun, but nothing too crazy I promise, it will fit! Chao for now!
