Chapter 12 – Journey
For the next few days, the little group traveled in the direction where Arcadia sensed Gilthunder's presence. They came across some demons along the way, but nothing the group couldn't handle. It was nice, but each night that passed, Arcadia felt worse and worse.
As per usual, her and Hendrickson cuddled as they fell asleep. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was when Margaret looked at them. She had a longing look in her eyes and it was making Arcadia feel horrible. She was flaunting that she had her man, while the princess was searching for hers. So, Arcadia did the only thing she could think of. She began to pull away from Hendrickson, much to the man's confusion.
"Dreyfus..." Hendrickson mumbled late one night when the girls were out on a bathroom break together.
"Yes, Hendy?" Dreyfus questioned back, a little confused to Hendrickson's sudden speaking.
"Is Arcadia avoiding me?"
"...No of course not, why would she?" His hesitation at the beginning of his sentence made Hendrickson look over at Dreyfus.
"You're lying." Hendrickson had his answer now. His lover was avoiding him, and he wasn't sure why. "Did... I do something wrong?"
"No, Hendy, I don't think you did. Maybe you should ask her about it though. Women are fickle creatures and you are a little... unknowing when it comes to them. So maybe you accidentally said the wrong thing to her without realizing it." Dreyfus patted his friend on his back and then got up to grab a few more pieces of firewood.
Soon, the women returned and Arcadia took her seat once more. However, she sat a little further from Hendrickson than before. Instead of asking her about it, Hendrickson kept quiet. That was until it was time to go to bed and Arcadia declared she wanted to sleep by herself.
"What do you mean? We..." Hendrickson was at a loss for words. He just stared at the girl, a bit confused and a bit hurt.
"Now, now you two, what's going on? For as long as I've known, you two have slept next to each other." Dreyfus chose now to get involved. It seemed like Hendrickson was too inexperienced to know how to handle the situation.
"I'm just a little overheated, so it's best to just sleep alone," Arcadia spoke back sounding a little irritated.
"It's because of me, isn't it?" It was the princess getting into their conversation now.
"Of course not."
"Lady Arcadia, please don't lie to me." Arcadia then frowned and looked to the ground. She didn't want to speak any further about it. She didn't want to admit anything to the princess. "I understand why Arcadia has been pulling away from you, Sir Hendrickson."
"You know? Do you also Dreyfus?" Hendrickson responded, looking over at his friend.
"Yes, when you pay attention, it's easy to see," Dreyfus responded as he sadly looked over at his friend. Hendrickson was feeling clueless in that moment and he hated it.
"Sir Hendrickson, Arcadia loves you dearly. Just like I love Gil, and that's why she is pulling away from you. She is trying to be conscious of my feelings and protect my emotions."
"She saw that being near you was hurting Lady Margaret. So she backed off."
"...I see..." It was so obvious now that it upset Hendrickson further. He should have seen it and been more conscious as well. "I apologize, Princess Margaret. I should have noticed your feelings."
"It's..." The princess wanted to say that it was okay, but she knew that she was still upset over the situation.
"How about, we all go to bed and calm down for now? I sense demons nearby and I think they will cause us problems tomorrow." Arcadia spoke, trying to diffuse the situation. The other three adults nodded their heads and went off to their sleeping places. Dreyfus was near the fire on one side with the princess on the other, while Arcadia and Hendrickson stood there and stared at each other for a moment. They weren't sure what to do, but eventually, they made their way to each other and fell asleep holding each other like usual.
The next morning, Arcadia was still in Hendrickson's arms like she always was when they woke up. Hendrickson was almost worried she'd pull away from him during the night, but he felt relieved when she was still there that morning.
"I'm sorry for making you unsure of our relationship," Arcadia mumbled to Hendrickson as she tried to wake herself up. "Please, Hendy, don't ever doubt that I love you deeply."
"...I love you as well, Arc." Hendrickson eventually responded as he felt a smile rise up on his face. The girl smiled back at him before pulling away to sit up. Hendrickson followed her and noticed that both Dreyfus and Margaret were already up and ready for the day.
"It took you two long enough to get up. Lazy couple." Dreyfus muttered, with fake bitterness with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, hush, old man," Arcadia mumbled back, though Dreyfus was ready for that one.
"Just how old are you again?"
"How dare you ask a woman her age..." Arcadia responded with a fake gasp. Hendrickson just fondly smiled at the two of them as they fake argued with each other.
"They seem to get along great," Margaret commented as she joined Hendrickson in watching their companions.
"I'm glad. It would have been... difficult if they didn't get along."
"I've never seen you look at someone like that before, Sir Hendrickson. You must truly love her." Her tone was a little sad, causing Hendrickson to frown.
"Don't worry princess, we'll get Gilthunder back." Margaret just nodded her head and returned to watching the bickering pair. However, Hendrickson decided that they'd pretended fought long enough and went to stop them. "Now, now, don't act like children."
"Oh hush, you're an old man too." Arcadia snapped with a smile on her face.
"You're more than 3,000 years old, you're an old woman." Hendrickson soon realized that was not the correct thing to say, as his lover just slowly turned to glare at him.
"How have you lived this long?" Dreyfus suddenly questioned before the girl could snap at her lover. She thought for a moment and then just smiled at the brown-haired man.
"I'm cursed to forever live. It's my punishment for being born. No matter how many times I lose my hearts, I'll come back, just like my father."
"Meliodas is your father, correct? Then who is your mother?" Margaret questioned, curious about it now.
"The original Elizabeth, she was a goddess. You can't tell her though... however I fear she has found that out herself from breaking Zeldris's curse."
"You were punished for being born?" Dreyfus asked, a little disgusted. He couldn't believe someone could curse a child just because they were born. Arcadia just smiled sadly at the man.
"Yes. My exact punishment is to watch all I love die, in the form of eternal life. I've seen so many people I grew to love die..."
"So you've loved more than just Fraudrin and Hendrickson?"
"No, well... One person was as important to me as they are, but she murdered me brutally, so she doesn't count anymore."
"What?!" All three people were a little horrified at that.
"Wait, she?" Hendrickson commented, being the only one who caught that. Arcadia just smiled at him, full of panic and shook her head.
"Nothing. That's a story for another time." Before the white-haired man could respond, two screams could be heard. "There are demons nearby. We need to go." The group then collected their belongings and got on their horses with Arcadia getting on a horse with Hendrickson.
Once they got there, they could see two humans being attacked by a giant bear-like demon and a few smaller, creepier demons. Hendrickson and Dreyfus took care of the bigger demon, while Arcadia and Margaret took care of the smaller demons.
It was one hell of a fight and it looked like the demons would beat Dreyfus and Hendrickson, but thankfully Hendrickson was able to get the upper hand. As the demon growled at Dreyfus due to the man's attack, Hendrickson darted forward.
"No, you don't!" Hendrickson then was able to purge the demon, winning their fight. Meanwhile, Margaret was having trouble fighting off her demons. Arcadia was fighting off some, but a few had slipped passed and got to the princess.
"Help me!" The man yelled out as he protectively held onto his woman.
"Get behind me!" Margaret forcefully spoke as she fought off the demons with her sword. She had been injured by one of them and was just swinging her sword without really hitting any of the demons. Thankfully though, Hendrickson and Dreyfus hurried over and used a combined attack to wipe out all of the demons instantly. It also thankfully missed Arcadia, because she probably would have been hurt by the purging aspect of their attack.
"That was close," Dreyfus noted as he looked over to Hendrickson. Instantly, the white-haired human made his way to the injured princess.
"You should not try to push yourself," Hendrickson spoke as he healed the girl. "Does it still hurt?"
"...I'm fine." The princess responded a little upset. Hendrickson just frowned at the girl, before their moment was interrupted by Dreyfus's yelling.
"This is outrageous!" Dreyfus yelled out at the couple. "Right now, there are demons running amok all over Britannia... and We're coming all the way out here into the mountains for a secret little lovers' rendezvous?!"
"Didn't you come out here for a rendezvous, too?" The man questioned innocently.
"WITH WHO?!" Hendrickson was instantly there trying to calm down his friend as Arcadia just laughed.
"Come on now, don't get upset." Hendrickson simply stated to his best friend after sending a glare Arcadia's way for laughing at the situation. "We're currently on a journey to find a certain hold knight and the sorceress that abducted him... Does that ring any bells?"
"...A knight... and a sorceress... not sure..." The man responded a little hesitantly as he thought about it.
"After this, don't you dare do anything foolish agai-" Dreyfus began to say but was cut off by Hendrickson speaking over him.
"Make sure you get home safely."
"Yes, sir!" The man spoke as he and his woman began to leave.
"Dammit, Hendy!" Arcadia ignored Dreyfus's complaining and watched as Margaret looked at the couple with such pain in her eyes. She was also acting a little weird.
"Gil?!" Margaret questioned, appearing to hear something as she spun around, to face Hendrickson and Dreyfus.
"Lady Margaret?" Dreyfus questioned, a little worried for the girl.
"Is something the matter?" Hendrickson asked next, also worried.
"Are you okay?" Arcadia muttered next, having heard what the girl had heard, but not clearly enough to understand it.
"Just now...Never mind, must have been my imagination. I thought I heard a whisper on the wind just now..."
"I heard that too..." Arcadia's voice was low enough that no one heard her, but now she was on edge. "Come here you two, let me heal you," Arcadia spoke louder, getting the attention of the two males.
"We're fine," Dreyfus commented, but just got glared at by the woman.
"You both are bloodied up. Let me take care of it. Let me be useful, please." The two men couldn't deny the girl now that she'd said that. She purposefully had guilt tripped them so she could help them, otherwise, Hendrickson would have just taken care of it. However, Arcadia wanted the man to rest up a bit more before they headed out.
Once Arcadia healed and cleaned the blood off of the two men, they headed out. With Arcadia flying next to Hendrickson, the group traveled further into the mountains. Until they came across a fork in the trail they were on.
"The road ahead splits off into two. What should we do?" Hendrickson directed his question to Dreyfus.
"I believe the right on leads to a village." Dreyfus might have said that, but the princess had continued on her way, ignoring his next words. "Why don't we head there to hole up for the night, Lady Margaret." The princess chose the other route. "Lady Margaret... Err... The right..." While Dreyfus just watched confused, Hendrickson frowned.
Before the princess got too far ahead, the men hurried along after her with Arcadia flying with Hendrickson the whole time. The girl remained silent though. She had nothing to say to Hendrickson. It was odd because the girl usually used any chance to talk to the man. She was being silent due to her feeling a strange aura around them. It was like another person was present, even though it was only the four of them.
Later on, once night began to fall the group stopped. Hendrickson and Margaret built the fire while Arcadia and Dreyfus went on a hunt.
"What should we try to get?" Arcadia questioned as the two of them wandered through the forest together.
"How do you truly feel about Hendy?" Dreyfus countered, much to the shock of the girl. She froze in her walking and turned to face him. She didn't know Dreyfus all that well, but she could tell he had a protective face on currently.
"I will destroy anyone who threatens him."
"That sounds like such a demon thing to say."
"Well... I am a half-demon..."
"Do you truly love him, because if you plan on hurting him..."
"You don't want me to hurt him, and I don't want to hurt him. I love him more than I ever loved Fraudrin." That seemed to have been what Dreyfus was looking for, as he nodded his head and then continued walking, leaving the girl needing to speed walk to catch up with him.
"Arcadia, don't let that fool die." The girl was a little confused, but she just nodded her head anyway.
"I'd die long before I ever let him give his life."
"Good." Dreyfus had a smile on his face, and it caused a smile of her own to appear on Arcadia's face. "So, have you two kissed?"
"I kissed him once when he was still half-awake."
"I see." Dreyfus smiled softly at the girl. With that, Dreyfus seemed to have enough answers and went silent.
Soon, the pair had spotted a giant rabbit and darted after it. After a few bites and a lot of running, the pair had caught the monster rabbit. Quickly, they returned to Hendrickson and Margaret to see them chatting by the fire.
"Look, I know that you're upset... having to travel together with the person that caused you and Gil suffering for ten long years, and also twisted Vivian into what she became..." Hendrickson was saying as he stared into the fire. "The agony must be almost unbearable..."
"That's right... I'm so angry and frustrated... and I can't do a think about it..." The princess responded as she closed her eyes.
"Hang on just a second! If anyone's responsible, it's me..." Dreyfus tried to say but was stopped when the princess began to speak again.
"I'm always having to be protected, and all I can ever do is pray... I'm so powerless and helpless... Even at a time like this, when Gil is facing humiliation at the hands of Vivian." Margaret then looked up at the three adults watching her. "I'm so very thankful to you three. There's no way I would have been able to go on a journey like this on my own." The girl smiled at the three of them, causing Dreyfus and Arcadia to smile back at her. Hendrickson however just looked a little relieved.
"By the way Dreyfus... why didn't you want to head to the village?" Hendrickson suddenly questioned as Dreyfus sat down next to him. Arcadia had also sat down, but on the other side between Hendrickson and the princess.
"Huh? I... I was the one that said we should go there..."
"But you whispered that we should go left, didn't you?" Both men looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly, Margaret stood up with a gasp.
"What's the matter?" Dreyfus questioned as he worriedly looked at the girl.
"...I'll be right back." With those words, the princess began to wander away.
"Don't go straying away too far now!" Hendrickson yelled out to the disappearing princess.
"Alright..."
"...Hey Dreyfus... Those two earlier..."
"Gah! Don't remind me! These young-ins these days!" Dreyfus snapped out annoyed at being reminded of the two.
"Young-ins?" Arcadia muttered with a laugh, however, the tone turned serious instantly.
"No, not that... I'm sure Margaret felt really lonely then... From an outsider's perspective, however silly or meaning it may have seemed... I'm sure she would have liked to have done something like that with Gil." Hendrickson was dead serious as he stared into the fire. "...We were the ones that stole precious moments like that away from those two... That's why I want to try to make up for it somehow."
"...Yeah, we will definitely save Gil... Besides, we still need to pass along my brother's words to him, right?" Dreyfus smiled at Hendrickson and the white-haired man smiled back.
"Yeah."
"But I'm kind of surprised... that you're actually able to understand a woman's heart a bit now. Must be because of Arcadia, right?" Dreyfus then smacked Hendrickson right on his back causing the other man to jolt.
"Quit making fun of me! I've just gotten older, that's all... And that hurt!" Arcadia couldn't help but just laugh at the situation.
"Need me to kiss it better, you baby?" Arcadia asked her lover with a teasing smirk on her face.
"Don't you start making fun of me too!" Arcadia just laughed and leaned against Hendrickson. She kissed the side of his face with a smile on her own face.
"Don't be mad, Hendy. I love you even if I tease you." The comment made Hendrickson's face turn a little pink.
"You're supposed to say that you love her too and then kiss her now..." Dreyfus whispered to the white-haired man. He just glared at Dreyfus and began to speak.
"Shut it, I know!" Hendrickson then turned to his laughing lover and surprised her by pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers. She was shocked at first but quickly kissed back for a moment before the two pulled away from each other.
"...I didn't expect that..." Dreyfus had looked away from the kissing couple with a startled blush on his face.
"Now both of you, stop making fun and teasing me." There were a few moments of silence before Arcadia spoke up.
"So, um... the princess has been gone a while now, hasn't she?"
"Maybe she's takin' a piss?" To Hendrickson's words, Dreyfus turned to him to glare at him.
"I take back everything I said."
Instantly, the three of them all jumped up and extinguished the fire. As soon as the fire was out, the three began to call out for the princess.
"Lady Margaret! Lady Margaret, answer us please!"
"Where in the world did she get off to?! You don't think... she's been injured somewhere?!" Dreyfus yelled out as the three looked around for the woman.
"...Dreyfus..." Hendrickson mumbled worriedly.
"What?"
"...I've got a really bad feeling about this... In fact, it started ever since lady Margaret said that earlier... It's just like what we experienced 10 years ago in the chasm at Danafor..." Both men instantly began to sweat and got on edge.
"I've been sensing pretty weird things... Come, she's this way I think!" Arcadia yelled out and began to run in a certain direction. She led them to a boulder, where Hendrickson could now see the woman.
"Please be okay, Lady Margaret..." Dreyfus muttered.
"Dreyfus, in there!" Hendrickson called out to his friend as he began to head into the boulder.
"Why was she going into this boulder...?"
"I don't know... but for now, let's just keep going after her!" It took a little bit, but eventually, Hendrickson reached the inside with a gasp. Arcadia was next followed by a panting and out of breath Dreyfus. "Th...This is a druid altar! Though it's different from the ones I've known..."
"You're not Gil... Who... are you? Why did you call me?" Margaret questioned, looking up at the altar.
"Margaret... Bearer of such a sublime, beautiful, precious soul... I had been waiting for someone like you... I heard prayers, and brought you here to grant your wish."
"Th...this voice?!" Hendrickson gaped out horrified.
"I knew it!" Dreyfus commented horrified as well.
"Oh shit, I recognize that voice..." Arcadia muttered, slowly backing up now.
"But in order for that, your devotion and dedication is essential." The being continued to Margaret.
"NO! DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT IT SAYS!" All three of the other adults yelled out to the princess. However, it was too late.
"If I will be able to take back Gil from Vivian... I can bear anything." Suddenly, the girl was engulfed by light.
"This is bad!" Hendrickson tried to use purge, but it didn't work. Power was sent everywhere, shoving Hendrickson backward.
"HENDRICKSON!" Dreyfus yelled out, terrified for his friend. Arcadia was almost back to the exit now as fear filled her.
"Ah, yes... The secret technique that we had once taught to the druids... Ah, I'm overflowing with magic power... For it to have this much affinity with my magic... This is truly the perfect Vessel!"
"There's no doubt about it... I've felt this magic somewhere before... No, not from my memories, but from Fraudrin's..." As Dreyfus muttered to himself, Hendrickson nearly collapsed to the ground. "Hey, what's wrong?!"
"Your magic power... is filled with this much light?! Wh... are you?!" Hendrickson mumbled as he stared at the being. After the being calmed its power down, wings appeared hovering on Margaret's back.
"I am of the goddess clan, one of the four archangels, Ludociel. Follow me, humans... Become a member of my Stigma... And together, we shall destroy the demon clan." The being inside of Margaret spoke in a slightly different voice than hers. His eyes then landed on Arcadia. "Well hello there, little one. Trying to escape me, are you?"
