AVALLO, THE TRAVELING BAR : EVEN IF I DIE
Chapter 4 - Silent Days
It was warm. Incredibly so, the season might had been summer.
Sunny outside it was, warmth sank into his soul. His fingers and toes were cold, however. He didn't put much thought on it.
Ah, but… The air around him was beginning to feel a bit suffocating- unbearable. He needed water, his throat was dry. It was warm, too warm.
Eyes squeezed shut, he tried to ease his own mind. Inner calmness could help him ignore the heat, but the warm air was like a thick blanket wrapped around his small frame. It was difficult to move, breathing was hard-
He heard a voice.
"Meliodas!"
Glimpse of silver entered his vision, and his eyes widened. Elizabeth grabbed his hand and grinned at him, pulling him along-
"What are you doing here all by yourself? Come on, everyone's waiting!"
He blinked. He blinked again, and he was blinking away tears-
"Huh?" The captain of the Seven Deadly Sins found himself saying, the air cooler and wind breezing. Up ahead, he could see them, all of them. The knights of Camelot were there, all over at the hill that was covered in beautiful, little flowers. They came in all colors- thrifts, mallows, cranesbills.
They were laughing, smiling, a bubbling relief and joy rising in his throat as well-
Emerald eyes opened.
There was a wooden ceiling above him, his body half covered by the feather-filled blanket.
Sluggishly, he coughed into his hand.
"You feeling alright?" A cool towel was plopped gently onto his forehead. The younger blonde grunted in response, raising a hand to wave him away.
"M'kay… Shouldn't you be… Some'ere else?" He slurred, eyelids heavy with drowsiness. The blanket was heavy on top of him, he wanted to kick it off.
Meliodas snorted. Settling down onto the chair beside the bed, he crossed his arms and made a pout. "From what I see, you look like crap. You think I can leave you alone like this? Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am?"
His doppelganger gave him a look, and Meliodas quickly averted his gaze.
Weaving his hands together, the demon sighed. "Well, that didn't end up well. Quite a fever you have right there, actually," he frowned. "You never got sick before."
He coughed again. "Have you?"
Meliodas chuckled, his gaze soft and tired. "No, at least not physically."
The younger tried counting the grains on the wooden ceiling.
"Did the stress got to you or something?" The demon grinned teasingly, arms still crossed and slightly tensed. The other rolled his eyes.
Grin softening, the mood turned somber. "Hey. Rest lots, alright?" Changing the towel again, he continued, "I'm worried."
Meliodas stared at him for a very long time.
He nodded slowly.
They exchanged stories, telling each other the events that occured on their own times. Meliodas explained what happened after they switched, and the other hummed softly as he filled him in with his own part. After another hour (and an additional half), Meliodas returned to Boar Hat.
And Meliodas, he found himself closing his eyes again, lethargy winning at last.
-.-.-
Avallo was closed for another four days. It didn't affect business, for said business had been nonexistent for years now. He hadn't had customers for a very long time- his bar was based in the middle of some forest for a reason, after all. But then again, Elizabeth managed to find him, whether it was intentional or not.
... He should relocate.
Dragging himself out of bed, he ignored the voice nagging at the back of his head. Meliodas' voice, more precisely, who pestered quietly but persistently, go back and rest!
But no, he had been in bed for far too long- way too long. A foot misplacing on one of the steps, the blonde nearly fell on his face as he tumbled down the stairs.
"... Drats," he coughed again. The back of his ears were hurting. Pushing himself off the ground, he dusted off his pants and stumbled to the the counter. At least Meliodas was kind enough to not cook for him, it would totally have worsen his illness by just seeing it.
Oh, but, he eyed the bowl of freshly-picked apples sitting over there quietly.
Taking one, he bit into the red fruit.
It was sweet.
Earlier, before he woke up, he had a dream.
It was a strange one, laced with sad memories and intense sparks of fear. Power Knight Dolf was looming over him, black liquid replacing tears running down his face. Dust and debris were everywhere- it was hell.
"Camelot must be destroyed. Camelot must be gone."
A chill ran up his spine as he wield Nimue carefully, the sword deflecting another deadly- how could he be so power- malice- it was the malice- blow from the offender. At the corner of his vision, he caught sight of the princess- Elizabeth was covered by the dead body of the grandmaster, unruly, black hair stuck onto her face and clammy with sweat.
Elizabeth, the look on her face was filled with so much despair. His heart ached as he watched her cradle her knight's corpse in her arms. She was trembling, sky blue eyes so wide-
Greed and Sloth nearly lost their lives, the latter nearly getting stabbed through the stomach. Lust lost an arm protecting hurt civilians. It was bloody.
The Curse of Inanis had been released. He could feel the dirt crumbling beneath his feet- such a horrible feeling. Life was rotting all over… What kind of curse was this? It was everywhere, unbearable, and-
Hold your breath, he heard himself yelling to his comrades. Hold your breath and be quick-!
Glazed over gold peered at him. He stared at the grandmaster as Tristan- he, he was mouthing something. He was already dead, but he was mouthing something. He couldn't see Elizabeth's face.
Emrys.
Emrys Clan, the Goddess Elizabeth had said quietly. Way before you came to join us, Meliodas.
Gerahade's panicked whimper, hurt and terror panging in her eyes-
They were obliterated!
Meliodas slowly wiped the tables with a rag. Face and neck still so warm, he frowned. Dizzy on his feet, he went outside to fetch himself some water. Being sick was awful.
Dunking his bucket into the river, he slowly dragged it across the surface of the water.
He took the time to think, and soon enough, frustration grew.
Meliodas always hid things, be it from friends or family or comrades-in-arms. He hid things- things that should be discussed- like the time he suddenly told his doppelganger to go ahead and live your own life from now on, 'cuz I'll definitely be alright!
Then he found Danafor completely destroyed, the once powerful kingdom replaced with miles and miles of void.
(Because Meliodas had lost himself to this wrath again. The wrath and frustration and sadness that his doppelganger helped keep in check, through the days they switched and switched and switched again.)
"But if you had been honest with me, I wouldn't have been angry, you know."
But Meliodas wasn't here to listen, and Meliodas continued to drag the bucket. He thought about the old man Cain, the sobs and tears as the elderly hugged him so tightly.
"You keep hiding things from me- little things that you don't dare to talk about- even though I'm supposed to be you. I know you inside out, but I guess it's because of that you don't talk about it. You know that I already figured it all out, that no matter what, definitely, even if I die, I always figured it out."
He sighed. Cold air pressing against his skin, he shivered and coughed again.
Sweat broke out, and he shook his head trying to get this ringing out of his ears-
"Ah," he whispered, tears dropping from his eyes. "Help."
Meliodas was there, unruly hair everywhere and grabbing his clammy hand before he dropped into the river. Meliodas was there, swiftly carrying him in his arms and took him back to Avallo.
It was like the old times, back in the cave that the demon probably furnished himself. Doppelganger back in bed, he felt the sudden need to-
To…
He hiccuped, and a rough hand was placed over his.
"Take it easy," he heard him say. "I'm here."
He told him about his dream (nightmare), and Meliodas patted his back softly.
"I miss them, I miss them so much."
Meliodas nodded, and it pained him so much to have him listen to his problems despite having so much of his own. When would this finally end? When would they finally be released?
When could they, Meliodas and Elizabeth, finally find peace?
"You're still worried about that?" Meliodas asked softly. Meliodas nodded, eyes aching and nose running. Fevers does things to the mind, it was horrible.
"Oh you," the demon leaned forward and hugged him. The embrace was warm. Meliodas continued to pat his back.
The next dream was full of dust and ashes. Black hair entered his vision again, and there was the grandmaster, sharp, gold eyes meeting his.
They were in the underground chamber- the place where they found the grandmaster bleeding out, dying. The place where the curse- Inasis' Curse- was sealed. Everyone- the sins- were all frozen, half into motion and still. They weren't moving and it was dark, the walls dimmed coolly by emerald light. Only the grandmaster and himself didn't have color. They were in shades of grey- it was unsettling.
Gold eyes were still gold, however, and they were staring at each other. Meliodas frowned-
But you aren't called Meliodas. Meliodas flinched with a start, nearly taking a step back in surprise. Emerald orbs were blown wide, his throat was suddenly very dry.
You aren't Meliodas, the voice said again. You aren't.
You're not him.
He gritted his teeth.
"Then who am I?"
A pause, and then a hand was raised.
Tristan's eyes were no longer glazed. The form of a young child with bright, gold-colored eyes overlapped with the knight.
Search for it.
The grandmaster of Camelot pointed ahead.
The last of King Inanis' Swords.
Something seemed to be on his mind. They all noticed- the four other sins, Hawk, and the princess herself as well. After the events at Vaziel and so quickly, the encounter with the demon-turned Holy Knight Dale, little by little, it became more obvious.
Captain was agitated by something, but the rules said to not pry.
Ban took another swig of alcohol, attempting to wash down the concern and worry with burning liquid. A man had his right to keep his secrets- and besides, he was Captain. Either way, he always had some sort of agenda behind those carefree eyes and grins.
It didn't stop him from being curious, however. Hell, watching the captain so blankly staring out the window was just... Unsettling. He was worried for his buddy.
… They were best friends, after all.
Captain grabbed for his broken sword and fiddled with it, expression aloof and silent. He did it so nonchalantly, at first glance, none would have noticed the frown stuck on his face. But Ban finally noticed (and it scared him, actually).
At that thought, an unsettling question made itself known to the Fox's Sin. How many times did the captain have that look on his face, anyway?
"Lord Meliodas?" Captain looked up to meet with the princess' eyes. The princess was a strong girl, definitely, even threw the captain a sword when the broken thing got knocked out of his hand.
"What's up?"
For a moment, the princess didn't say anything, her lips pursed into a line. Captain tilted his head slightly to the side, waiting.
The princess seemed to have given up, however, shaking her head with a weak, shaking smile. "No, nevermind. It's not important."
The captain blinked. "Huh, alright then."
The next course of action was simple: continue the search for the sins. They had five now, and searching for the last two should be the most difficult and annoying thing next. How the hell would they know where Merlin could be, the mage was probably already putting tabs on them either way.
"And because of that, Merlin isn't our biggest concern as of now," Captain simply stated, arms crossed as his eyes skimmed through the map. "Though, reaching out to her could make it easier to find Escanor."
Hawk snorted. "What's up with Escanor?"
The captain grinned, motioning his hands as if he was wearing glasses. "If he still got that magic tool Merlin gave him ages ago, it'll be practically impossible to find him- night or day!"
Hawk tilting his head in confusion, the old man, King, made a thoughtful hum.
"Merlin, huh… How do you think we can get in contact with her? And… Wasn't she the one who… You know," he motioned lazily. "Ten years ago?"
Meliodas hummed. "About that second question, good point, but it should be alright. Once we find her I'll ask about it, no biggie. Finding her is the real question."
He was returned with an unimpressed gaze.
Well, it wasn't like Merlin would betray them or anything. Like, she probably (no, definitely) was the one who located them all anyways, when the captain was first building this order of knights. No doubt in that.
Gowther raised a hand. "The probabilities of finding Merlin and Escanor are equally as low. What do you suppose, Captain?"
"Right~ So, I've been thinking," blonde hair bobbing as he nodded, he dragged a finger across the map. "So here, here, and then here… Really good places for gossips and the like. Escanor's hobbies include poetry and alcohol, so we can try with the old fashioned way," pausing, he snickered. "He's really good at hiding when he actually tries!"
Ban laughed. "Hah, you're right about that, Cap'n."
"But…" From outside, Diane peeked into sight from the window. "I'm still concerned. Why are the holy knights always after your sword and Elizabeth? And… And what happened at that little village, too. Isn't it scary?"
The omniousity behind Holy Knight Dale's demise. Ban thought about that little parasitic thing as it twitched and squirmed in his hand.
The bar going quiet, the captain kept his arms crossed as if deep in thought. After a few seconds of thinking, everyone giving him a pointed gaze (sans the princess, she only fidgeted on her feet nervously), he sighed.
For a moment, it was almost as if he (finally, finally) resigned.
"Ah, well. This sword here?" He pointed at the hilt. "It's a fragment of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness."
A silence.
"... Coffin of what's-it-called?" Ban blinked slowly, barely registering what he just said. As for the others- King nearly fell over his stool, sputtering.
"Fragment of the- what? Why would you have something like that?!"
Red eyes squinted. "Oi, help explain?"
"It is what was used to seal the Demon Clan, Ban," Gowther stated camly. Oh, demons. Great.
...
He shot a look at the captain. What the hell.
"Weellll," Meliodas trailed, eyes to the side as he continued. "This and that happened, and then it ended up in my possession-" and just barely, since Ban was finally paying attention, he noticed the sudden twitch in his buddy's movements. "That being said!" Making an easy-going step towards the door, the blonde shot a quick grin to the rest of the group. "I'll be right back. Ban, don't touch the alcohol. Look after the bar, ya'll!"
"Wha- hey, Captain!"
Silence swept into Boar Hat.
At his peripheral vision, Ban spotted the princess disappearing into the kitchen, silver hair at her back.
"Captain seems to be agitated by something," Gowther pointed to the elephant in the room.
"... Law Number Three, Gowther," Ban replied lazily, eyes skimming through the display bottles on the shelf, "Law Number Three." He got up to leave.
Gowther blinked, and when all that was left in the bar was the doll and the talking pig, he tilted his head and blinked again.
"Seven Laws of the Seven Deadly Sins, Law Number Three: A sin shall ask no questions of another member's sin," he paused, and Hawk stared up at him curiously. "But it has nothing to do with his sin?"
Hawk stared at him for a long while.
"What do you mean by that?"
Staring back at the pig for a short two seconds, Gowther stood up and left for the stairs. Hawk remained alone on the ground floor of Boar Hat.
Shortly, he decided to go check up on Elizabeth, leftovers finished up and clean.
Closing the door behind him, Meliodas raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. He sighed. A migraine. Before Diane could spot him, he quickly headed out, the dragon handle on his back heavier than ever. Wind pressed against the skin on his face. He darted through the meadows, only dust left on his tracks.
Contrary to popular belief, Meliodas was not strong at all.
The feared, ruthless commander of the Ten Commandments, the Demon King's first born son, the very man next in line for his father's throne and all of those titles. Perhaps he was like that, years ago, and maybe it was also true- the fact that he was getting soft. Softer and softer, sharp edges sandpapered out-
But no, he and Zeldris were definitely brothers. He couldn't understand why Zeldris fell for that vampire back then, why he cared so much for her, but after meeting the goddess known as Elizabeth, everything changed.
He saw things from a different perspective: maybe he was capable of love. To care for someone. To be gentle. To be kind.
Or rather, that "it was okay to be kind."
Because Elizabeth told him otherwise, that this kindness in his heart was his strength. And- and her saying that, it got to mean something since he took Meliodas (that boy, he wasn't called Meliodas then) in even before he actually met the goddess for the first time.
That got to amount to something, right? (Or otherwise- the reason why he wasn't strong- was it because he wasn't kind enough? Could it be that? Was he really so… Evil? Bad? Could he ever be good enough? Was it something you could only be born with? Kindness? Was he even kind?)
And maybe nine hours intervals to check on him was a bit much, but he still couldn't help but be worried. The last time he saw him so uncomfortable and feverish was when he first woke up back then, thousands and thousands of years ago.
Uncomfortable and feverish, because earlier, he took in his blood. Meliodas' blood. He wasn't able to control the demon's power well at the time, but then- unexpectedly- it took them only ten years. And maybe another five. (And then another decade, because sometimes the darkness would win and the older would embrace the younger as his doppelganger writhed in pain, a small, timid voice asking him why was he still alive? Why must it hurt to be alive?)
Reuniting with him two thousand and five hundred years ago showed how much Meliodas (the human who lost his past, his personality and everything) had grown. He was smiling. He barely smiled before- as himself, that was. He even got himself an attitude.
Meliodas was awed. (Proud, he was so proud of him. Happy for him.)
So before he opened the door to his doppelganger's bar, a trip that nearly took him three hours long, he paused.
His hand twitched, and a split second later, he threw open the door and ran up the stairs, barging into the bedroom with a foot hitting the wooden plank so frantically-
It was empty. The bed was unmade and empty. (Meliodas never left his bed unmade.)
He checked the entire forest.
The vicinity, the villages.
The sun was beginning to fall. And for the first time in forever, Meliodas panicked.
Because while running off without telling the other from time to time was not exactly a rare occurrence, a feverish, definitely-not-getting-better human like Meliodas, wandering out there alone, was definitely not a good idea.
And as his self-proclaimed guardian, Meliodas could nearly feel himself feverish from all the head-spinning events crashing in one after the other like Tarmiel's Ocean.
Speaking of crashing, he suddenly had this urge to crash down and tear his hair out, but he couldn't because he couldn't, couldn't, couldn't-
Stop doubting him, help him- just- believe in him. Get yourself together, Meliodas. You can't keep using him like that. He's old enough- he was already old enough since ages ago. He's not a kid anymore, not that five-year-old anymore.
He's not yours.
(He's Isotta's.)
Trust him. Trust that he'll be able to take good care of himself. Focus on Elizabeth, trust him.
The image of him falling into the river was too strong. The boy-kid-adult was barely breathing, motionless and still when the older grabbed for his arm. Pushing him back to bed, he noted how the younger's illness showed no signs of recovering.
The thought of soughting for Merlin's help crossed his mind, but this…
Could he still last?
First step to happiness is to be honest with your friends.
A tease, a grin. Scabbard swung over his shoulder, blonde hair ruffled up to resemble his.
… He didn't want to show weakness. He didn't want to be so close to them- the end of the journey was death, after all. To find peace.
But Meliodas was not a weakness, he was never a one, and like a proud parent, he wanted to talk all about him to his comrades, his best friend, Elizabeth.
He wanted to talk about Meliodas.
He wanted to properly introduce him to them.
(But could he do it?)
This- this wasn't supposed to be so urgent in the first place. They were supposed to have time.
The Holy War and the Ten Commandments- they weren't supposed to be involved- at least not yet. Because he still has the fragment with him, and Elizabeth should be safe-
The demise of the Holy Knight Dale.
The New Generation Holy Knights.
The Demon's Blood.
(He thought of the time when he saw him on the ground, arms and limbs half severed and a spear through the ribcage and emerald orbs so dead. Precious Emrys blood was spilled all around him, blonde hair pooling beneath his heavily bruised head.
It wasn't a rare sight to see such a thing. He dealt with the rabid demons swiftly- they were deserters.
But that boy. That man.
… Isotta's.)
The second hand was ticking.
Meliodas was at a loss.
Because during that time when they were discussing about the fragment of the Coffin of Eternal Darkness, he felt Meliodas' magic suddenly weakened considerably. It was still there- but it was incredibly weak, too weak.
Almost nonexsistent. Disappearing.
...
"Meliodas," he choked out, gripping his head with both of his hands as he tried to keep his voice from trembling with so much distress- nine hours were too long, he should've come by sooner, more often, but then his comrades, the sins, Elizabeth- "Where the hell did you go, you idiot?!"