Chapter 7 – The Day After
The first thing Hendrickson and Arcadia did after he healed her, was return to Griamore's side with the help of Gilfrost.
"Arcadia!" Griamore yelled out as he left Gilthunder's side to run to the girl. He practically pounced on her as he ran into her, very literally. She would have fallen over if it wasn't for Hendrickson. The man had his arm around the girl's waist, holding her up as she was still shaken up and injured despite his healing.
"Hey, Griamore." Arcadia allowed herself to just fall to her knees as she hugged the boy.
"Are you alright?" Hendrickson asked as he bent down to check on the girl. She, however, was now crying. "Arcadia?"
"I...I'm sorry..." He wasn't sure what Arcadia was sorry about exactly, but he knew he needed to comfort her anyway. So, both he and Griamore both hugged the sobbing girl. It seemed like her emotions had finally caught up with her.
"Arc, why are you crying?" Griamore questioned as the girl began to slowly calm down.
"I couldn't do anything but watch and I ended up losing... we ended up losing Meliodas because I wasn't strong enough."
"It wasn't your fault, Arcadia. It was clear that they were going to kill you as well. Why didn't they in the end though?" Gilthunder questioned next as he approached the girl. He was calmer now, but tears were still present in his eyes.
"I don't know, maybe Estarossa forgot... or maybe it was because of Fraudrin," Arcadia responded as she looked up at the man. She then smiled at both Hendrickson and Griamore, before standing up.
"He kissed you. We all saw it, and we heard what he said to you at the end. He wanted you to join him so it could be like the old days. Can you explain that? Plus, you called Meliodas your father and Estarossa your uncle."
"I'm sorry Gil, I can't tell you why I called them those names. It's a secret that I can't tell yet. However, I already admitted to being with Fraudrin and the demons before. I was on their side until 16 years ago."
"I see..." Gilthunder processed what the girl said and then opened his mouth to speak again, but was stopped by Howzer putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Gil now isn't the time to keep badgering her with questions."
"Thank you, Howzer." Arcadia smiled at the blond man and then looked down at the little boy. He was holding his arms up for her to pick him up, so she did. It hurt a little bit to hold him, but it made her feel better in a way. She then turned to Hendrickson and asked him a question. "So, now that we're in Liones, what are we going to do? You haven't been back here since..." She left it off, not wanting to get into it.
"I know and... I think it's best we leave for now."
"Leave?! How come?" Howzer demanded as he took a step forward.
"I agree. I think we need to go and fight some demons before things get too bad." Arcadia responded in place of Hendrickson. "Because things are going to get bad, very bad."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Hendrickson spoke, agreeing with the girl.
"But we... you just got back and she's hurt." Howzer was hesitant to speak and was a bit worried about the girl.
"I'll heal fast, and Hendrickson already mostly healed me completely. I just have fewer hearts than before..."
"Will you take Griamore with you? Shouldn't he stay-"
"NO! I'm going to stay with Arc and Hendy!" Griamore cut in angrily as he held onto the girl tightly. He was clearly going to be a bit more clingy now, due to her almost dying.
"It will be dangerous, but I refuse to allow anyone else to die. I won't let it happen... not again..." Arcadia held the boy tightly to her and then looked over at Hendrickson. She was worried for him and the boy in her arms, but she knew she would do anything to make sure they live.
"Can't you at least stay for the night? Rest up before you leave?" Howzer questioned as he looked at the girl. He seems to have grown attached to her as well.
"I don-"
"That sounds good." Hendrickson cut the girl off. She then looked back to him with confusion written on her face. "You need to rest before we travel anywhere. Griamore also needs his rest."
"...I understand..."
"Will you stay in your house?" Gilthunder questioned as he now got involved in the conversation.
"If it's alright."
"...Of course." Gilthunder was hesitant but was going to allow it.
"Thank you, Gilthunder." With that, Hendrickson placed a hand on Arcadia's back and began to lead her away from the little group. It wasn't that long of a walk, but eventually, they made it to Hendrickson's house. It was mostly in one piece and was beginning to get dusty.
"So, you lived alone?" Arcadia questioned just trying to get over the silence.
"I did."
"My house is close by too, but I don't want to go there without my father..." Griamore noted suddenly and sadly.
"It's alright, Griamore. You can rest assured, we'll save your father one day." Arcadia mumbled to comfort the little boy.
"I believe in you and Hendy."
"Good." Arcadia hugged the little boy tightly and then set him down on the floor. "So, I'm guessing you only have one bed here, right?"
"Yes," Hendrickson responded, not really sure where she was going with the conversation.
"Is... is it alright if we all sleep together again... I don't want to be alone right now..." That hit Hendrickson's heart hard and he nodded his head instantly. He didn't even have to think about it.
"Of course, Arcadia. I'll get Griamore ready for bed."
"Alright." Hendrickson led the two of them to where his bedroom was and allowed the girl to just stay in there by herself. He went off with Griamore to help the child with what he needed.
Meanwhile, Arcadia thought back on her day. She ignored the depressing part and thought back on how Fraudrin reacted to her. She'd never seen him so concerned for her well-being before. It was strange and concerning, but most of all, it brought back old feelings. She couldn't help but think about what they could have been, had he showed such a side to her before he killed her mother.
"Arcadia?" Hendrickson broke her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"Griamore has decided that he wants to sleep on the couch tonight."
"Oh... alright. I guess that's fine." Hendrickson was now also in different clothing. He was wearing sleep clothes and had some in his arms for the girl.
"Here, you can change into these."
"Thank you, Hendy," Arcadia smirked at him as his face got dusted with pink from embarrassment. He wasn't used to hearing the name from his female friend. He turned away to walk out the door to give her privacy, but he paused.
"After you get changed, we need to talk."
"Of course..." With that, Hendrickson left and Arcadia changed into his clothing. It was embarrassing for her, but she tried hard to not think about it too much. Once she was changed, she went and found Hendrickson. He was in the living room with Griamore. He was tucking the child in. Once he was done with the child, he looked up at her. "Goodnight Griamore," Arcadia spoke to the little boy.
"Goodnight." He responded in a tired voice as he drifted off to sleep.
"Alright, let's talk in your room." Arcadia then turned around and walked back to where Hendrickson's bedroom was. She then awkwardly stood there and waited for the man to appear. It only took a few seconds for the man to enter the room. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"You called Meliodas your father and that demon your uncle."
"Oh... I guess I need to explain that to you, don't I? It's not like I'll lie to you, but you need to understand that you can't tell anyone else what I'll tell you."
"I understand." With that, the two sat down on Hendrickson's bed and began to talk. Well, Arcadia talked that is.
"So, Meliodas is my father, and Elizabeth, the original Elizabeth is my mother."
"Original Elizabeth?"
"She was originally a goddess. She and Meliodas have a curse on them and he is immortal and will wake up each time he dies while she will die and be reincarnated."
"Sir Meliodas will wake up, even this time?"
"Yes. Maybe a month from now, but he will be a little darker each time he gets reborn."
"Darker?"
"More demonic and evil. Soon, he will be consumed by his darkness." Arcadia frowned as she said that. She hated to think about how bad her father could become, considering she heard stories about how he was before she was born. "So, is that it?"
"Fraudrin... he kissed you..."
"Does that bother you? Because it bothered me."
"It did bother me. I don't like that he touched you like that."
"I see..." Arcadia was trying to not read too much into it. She didn't want to get her hopes up too much, so she just smiled at the man. "I definitely didn't want to experience that again, and I feel a little bad for your friend. I'm sure he didn't appreciate his body kissing someone without his permission."
"I'm sure Dreyfus was more worried about you."
"You think so? How about you tell me about him? I wanna know all about the man I'm going to help you save." Arcadia had a huge smile on her face, causing Hendrickson to smile back at her.
"Alright." Hendrickson simply responded before diving into it all.
Hendrickson told her all about how he met Dreyfus when he was a child and how the man practically raised him. He told her all about how great of a man Dreyfus is and how he sacrificed himself to save Hendrickson all those years ago at the crater and many other instances. The man told Arcadia all about how strong Dreyfus's will is and how unbreakable he seemed to be despite the irony of his power being 'break'.
It was nice to hear Hendrickson talk so enthusiastic about someone, and it showed in his tone and words that in his own way, he loved Dreyfus and that the brown-haired man is incredibly important to him. The girl sat there and listened for what felt like hours, just enjoying herself. She loved to hear Hendrickson speak and loved to hear the words coming out of his mouth. Which caused something to hit her. She was more than likely in love with the man, but she decided that tonight, was not the night to talk about it. That would be a conversation best left for after getting Dreyfus's body back.
Eventually, both adults began to feel tired and Arcadia couldn't help it, and she ended up yawning.
"We should get to sleep now. It's gotten late." Hendrickson commented as he watched the girl nod her head.
"I agree. I'm extremely tired." So, both of them got under the covers and laid down facing away from each other. Hendrickson was about to drift off to sleep when he heard Arcadia whisper to him. "Hey, Hendy..."
"What is it?" He turned around to see her now facing him. She had red dusting her face as if she was embarrassed about something.
"Can... can we... snuggle or something... I don't... I..."
"It's alright. Come here." Hendrickson lifted the covers and his arms, showing the girl it was alright to come closer to him. She instantly moved over and into his arms. She was a little surprised he was alright with it, but it just showed that he, too, cared about her.
Having Arcadia in his arms now, caused Hendrickson's heart to beat a little faster and he couldn't help but hope that she couldn't hear it. However, Arcadia was in the same position. Her heart was beating faster as well.
So, the next morning, Griamore found the two all cuddled up together and smiled at them. He then positioned himself in between the two and fell back asleep, much to the adult's confusion when they woke up later that day.
"When did Griamore get here?" Arcadia muttered as she detached herself from the child and Hendrickson.
"He must have seen us and wanted to join, then fell back to sleep," Hendrickson responded as he sat up and began to shake the boy. "Griamore, it's time to wake up. We need to get ready to leave."
"Al...alright..." The little boy mumbled as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He clearly wanted to still sleep, but he also knew it was time to get up.
"Let's get ready, get something to eat, and then say our goodbyes before leaving," Arcadia explained as she climbed out of bed and stretched.
"Alright..." Griamore again mumbled. He, too, climbed out of bed and began his process of getting ready.
"Thank you for last night, Hendrickson. I slept better than I have in a long time."
"I did as well. I finally had no nightmares. Then again, when we shared a bed before, I had no nightmares that night either." Hendrickson responded as he got out of bed and began to go to his closet. He gathered his clothes and then left the room to get ready.
"Did he say he's been having nightmares?" Arcadia asked the empty room. She could understand though. He met the Ten Commandments and went through hell before that. He must have many dark thoughts that spill over in his sleep.
So, now that she was left alone in the room, she changed back into her clothes, despite the shirt having two holes in it now. She made a mental note to buy a new one later in town.
Eventually, all three of them were ready to face the day but were also very hungry. Even so, their first stop was to a place for Arcadia to get a new shirt. The shirt she chose was another tank top. Exactly like the one she was already wearing. Griamore complained about not changing things up, but she didn't want to hear it. She liked what she liked and nothing would change her mind.
After she changed into her shirt the three of them went to grab a bite to eat. They then, coincidentally, met up with Howzer and Gilthunder there at the place they chose to eat at. The five of them chatted as they ate, but then things turned serious at the end.
"We must get going now." Arcadia declared as they all stood up from the table.
"Arcadia is correct. It's time for us to depart." Hendrickson confirmed as he looked over at the woman.
"You sure you can't stay here?" Howzer asked, one last time, hoping to get a different answer.
"I'm sorry, Howzer, but we will be back. Possibly in a month." Hendrickson responded simply.
"A month? Why that specific?" However, Hendrickson didn't answer. He just allowed Griamore to walk in front of him.
"Goodbye, Gil, Howzer," Griamore spoke as he looked up at his two friends.
"We'll see you later, Griamore," Howzer stated as he patted the child's head.
"Stay safe," Gilthunder spoke as he smiled down at the child. He was a little uneasy about letting Griamore go off with a former bad guy, and a girl he'd only met recently. However, the little boy was determined to stay with them so he couldn't do anything about it.
"I will!" Griamore than turned to Hendrickson and asked to be picked up.
"Tell the others we said goodbye," Arcadia muttered simply as the three of them turned around and began to walk away.
"Make sure you come back alive! All three of you!" Howzer yelled out as the three of them got further away.
"Goodbye!" Arcadia yelled back, as she waved at them.
With that, Hendrickson, Arcadia, and Griamore began a new and dangerous journey. They weren't sure where it would take them, or if they would all even come back alive, but they knew they had to do it. Hendrickson wanted to atone for all the sins he's committed, and Arcadia wanted to be by his side to help him along the way. The little boy just wanted to be near the two people he now viewed as his adoptive parents. The three of them were sure of one thing, they would do their part to save the world.
