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Chapter 1 – Presage Flower
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That night from the corner of her eyes, Elizabeth saw two hooded figures came out of the room where they had put his body. Elizabeth asked who they were and to where they would bring his body, but they didn't answer her. They only exchanged glances. The taller one carried his body which wrapped neatly in the blanket. The smaller one crouched their body in front of her and handed the dragon hilt of Meliodas' broken sword, lifting her forefinger (only now Elizabeth realized this hooded figure in front of her was a woman). When she reached out her hand to Elizabeth, Elizabeth flinched, cowering in fear.
The hooded woman smiled and hugged her "hush, don't be afraid, little lady. We will meet again for sure someday. Until then, promise us, please take care of this sword and don't believe anyone. Your enemy is so close to you, right in front of your nose. For now, you can forget everything".
The next morning, they could no longer find Meliodas' body and they found Elizabeth instead, lying unconscious and holding the dragon hilt of Meliodas' broken sword.
10 years later...
The sun peeked on the horizon. Someone in rusty armor trudged on, step by step, holding a brown scabbard of a sword with the dragon hilt. Not too far from the Knight in rusty armor, there was a tavern. On the tavern, there was the board with sign 'CLOSED' was flipped into 'OPEN'. The little girl with long straight blonde hair reached her shoulders and golden eyes with curved eyelashes who had flipped the board sign looked pleased with her works, put her hands on her hips. Due to the lack of her height (thus she was helped by the pink pig), she had to stand tiptoeing after climbing up the pig.
Patting the pig below her, she sat on top of the pig's head and moved her fingers to speak with the pig using sign language "thank you, Hawk! You helped me a lot as usual! You think Papa and Mama will be pleased with my work?".
Hawk encouraged "sure, Isaye! You help them a lot. Surely, they will praise you. You're really a good girl!".
The little girl smiled broadly and caressed Hawk in pleasure, thanking him silently. When Isaye tried to climb down carefully, she gasped because someone carried her. It turned out that the one who carried her was no one other than her father. A handsome man with long straight silver hair and heterochromia eyes, an emerald orb of his left eye and a sapphire orb of his right eye. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with navy blue sleeveless vest, orange tie around his collar and brown trousers.
He ruffled his daughter's head "gotcha. What are you doing here, my little one?".
Isaye smacked his biceps and laughed soundlessly before she moved her fingers "I just want to help Papa and Mama for the opening. Mama is busy cooking in the kitchen. Welcome home, Papa! What did you get for breakfast?".
He showed what he had after he went hunting "only birds and rabbits".
Isaye looked horrified and she frantically moved her hands "poor birds and rabbits!?".
Hawk deadpanned "oi, Tristan, I don't think it's good to show the hanging rabbits and birds to your daughter like that".
"Nah, let's bury their bones later together, okay?", Tristan patted her head and Isaye nodded. He grinned and grabbed her hand, leading the way to the kitchen "I'm home, Iseult".
When the tavern opened, it was busy and crowded by people. They wondered since when did the tavern appear here? One of them even mentioned that three days ago, they didn't see the tavern here.
Woman with long wavy auburn hair and golden eyes who wore chef uniform moved out of the kitchen with the tray of steak and meat pie "Steak and Meat Pie special of Boar Hat are ready!".
When Iseult wanted to take the plate, she saw her 10-years-old daughter reached out her hand and Iseult chuckled "oh, it looks like our little waitress wanted to serve the food for the customer. Good girl~ bring it on".
"thank you, little miss!", the customer patted Isaye's head and the little girl grinned broadly "cute! She kind of reminded me of my daughter back at home".
"thank you", Tristan chuckled and served three bottles on the table "and here, your Ale".
Isaye patted the pig's head and tilted her head, she crouched her body and moved her hand "Hawk, help me to collect the empty mug and I will give you the leftovers from Mama's cooking that I stole a little, okay?".
Hawk lifted its ear "roger that".
"hey, I can see it, you two~", Iseult stood behind them with a dangerous smirk, earning flinches from her daughter and her daughter's partner-in-crime "what I told you before to not steal customer's food?! You could have asked!?".
Hawk conceded "forgive us, Queen".
Isaye stared up to her mother with her best puppy eyes "sorry, Mama... but I want to give the leftovers for Hawk too".
"fine, fine, but... you know?", Iseult lifted the tray in her hand "steal the customer's foods, then I will serve Hawk as grilled pork or roasted pig. No stealing".
On the counter, one of the customers who had been the usual customer (he came here nearly everyday) asked, pointing to something on the wall "say, can you tell me what are those, Master? Are those a harp and a sword?".
Tristan looked behind over his shoulder to the bow-like harp and square-pointed sword hanging on the wall "oh, yes. These are a harp and a sword belong to—".
Suddenly, a man barged into the tavern "I saw it!".
All eyes on the tavern directed to the panting, sweaty man who stood in the front door. That man told them with all seriousness about what he saw, 'the Knight in Rust'. However, the others laughed it off.
One customer waved his hand "come on, how old are you? It's only the fairy tale to scare the kids".
The others patted Isaye's head who passing by with Hawk "yes, like this little one".
Isaye puffed her cheeks and glared, or more accurately, could be considered as cute pout "I don't afraid at all!".
"she said she doesn't afraid at all", Hawk translated to them before the pig encouraged his best friend "that's our brave girl!".
The customer who just had come the last, blinked his eyes "wait, she's mute?".
Isaye didn't answer, she simply pulled the collar of her turtle-neck shirt down to show the scar on her throat before she mouthed 'accident'.
Iseult immediately came to pick her, carrying her in her arms "it's an accident when she played near the riverbank. At that time, Hawk found her and saved her, thankfully".
Hawk proudly snorted before noticing the gloomy mood of his little companion. The kind-hearted pig tugged Isaye's skirt "Isaye, I want my leftovers now. Let's go to the kitchen".
When her daughter looked up to her, Iseult smiled "the leftovers for Hawk are in the usual place. You can stay in the kitchen, time for your bread and milk. On your usual place of the dinner table, okay?".
Isaye smiled and nodded her head before she sat on top of Hawk's body (because Hawk told her to) and they ran off to the kitchen. Iseult sighed in relief. When the customer who had asked about Isaye's mute out loud apologized to her, Iseult only smiled and waved her hand, so the customer decided to continue their conversation, still arguing about the issues they had here.
He mumbled in worry "but what if 'the Knight in Rust' is one of the legends? You know, The Seven Deadly Sins".
Tristan perked "Seven Deadly Sins?".
The customer scoffed "what? The young master doesn't know about them?".
"here", Iseult handed the bottle to Tristan before she served the dessert for the customer with a sweet smile "unfortunately, we just moved from the Camelot Kingdom after we opened our business. About... 10 years ago, perhaps? Am I right, husband?".
"more or less. We moved to Liones not too long after Isaye was born, after all", Tristan hummed before pointing to the wanted board "come to think of it, you referred to the pictures on the wanted board? The Holy Knights came here every year to renew it".
Iseult added as she gracefully entered the counter "well... doesn't it mean these guys still haven't been caught?".
"but I heard their Captain, the Dragon Sin Of Wrath Meliodas, passed away already? The third princess of Liones witnessed it, right?".
"yeah, rumor has it, the third princess so persisted that he was innocent and he wasn't criminal. Meh, not a criminal my ass. The Seven Deadly Sins have been known as criminals".
After Tristan put the glass in his hand on the table, the glass broke and shattered into two pieces "huh? Honey, looks like it cracked. Could you take the new glass, please?".
Iseult gasped and checked his hand "later. More importantly, you're not injured, right?".
Tristan convinced her that he was okay. Next second, Isaye popped her head and tugged her mother's sleeve.
Iseult crouched in front of her "what is it, honey?".
Isaye moved her hands, pointing to Hawk than to the door "Hawk said he could smell something rusty from outside".
Iseult stood and told Tristan what Isaye said to her "that's what she said. You don't think—".
Next second, the door opened wide as the Knight in Rust came in, lifting its hands and talking with the vibrated voice "The... Seven... Deadly... Sins...".
"IT IS HERE!? THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS!?".
All customers left the tavern, only leaving Tristan, Iseult, Isaye, and Hawk.
The first one who reacted was Isaye who moved her hands in front of Hawk "they said the Knight in Rust is only a fairy tale to scare kids. I don't afraid of it. They were the ones who ran away. Who are the kids here, I wonder?".
Hawk flattered "you're really brave and sturdy".
Iseult cupped her cheek, tilting her head "oh my, how about their payment? Do they have given their payment?".
"not all of them, unfortunately", Tristan jumped out of the corner and landed in front of their unwanted guest, shielding his wife and his daughter behind his back "who are you?".
The Knight in Rust dropped the sword in their hand and collapsed backward. The helmet fell to the side and Isaye stared, really stared down to the unconscious Knight in Rust, ignoring Hawk's yells about how dangerous it could be for the little girl to approach the unknown opponent. Instead, the little girl seemed oblivious of the pig's concern and waved her hand, telling the pig it was not dangerous at all. Tristan, Iseult, Isaye, and Hawk stared down to the unconscious Knight in Rust who turned out to be a silver-haired girl.
Hawk blinked, it was just like what Isaye said, it was only a girl "...a girl?".
Tristan clarified "teenager".
Iseult nodded "a girl".
Tristan crouched by her side and lifted the sword, inspecting the dragon-hilted sword with scrutinizing eyes.
It was so warm and... safe. For how long she hadn't had this feeling? It was so long, she thought. Ever since she lost him, the owner of such gentle hands who patted her head. When she felt tears falling from her eyes down to her cheeks, she felt someone cupping her cheek and wiping her tears.
Elizabeth opened her eyes and wondered why her body felt so warm but also heavy. Next second, she saw a little girl with blonde hair and golden eyes sat on top of her body that covered with blanked, lying on the warm bed. It explained about the heaviness and warmth on her body now.
The little girl seemed startled before she quickly turned to her companion, the pig who leaned its head on the edge of the bed. At first, the girl moved her hands in front of the pig, then Elizabeth realized it was the sign language. It seemed the little girl asking the pig to translate what she said to Elizabeth who just regained the consciousness before asking the pig to tell her parents to come here because she had regained her consciousness.
Elizabeth pointed herself "um, I can understand the sign language, so you can just tell me what do you want to talk".
Isaye and Hawk stared at her before they exchanged glances and nodded their head. Isaye moved off of her and sat on the edge of the bed as Hawk dashed to outside (to pick her parents, probably).
Of all things, the first thing Isaye asked her was "why did you cry, Miss?".
When Elizabeth hesitated to answer, Isaye added "don't worry. I and Hawk have agreed that we will not tell about it to my parents. It's our secret".
When Isaye lifted her forefinger to her mouth, Elizabeth giggled and lifted her finger to her mouth "yes, it's our secret".
Back to the question, Isaye wasn't the type of a child who would feel satisfied unless their questions were answered, so Elizabeth answered, "and for your question, I just... remembered of someone I lost for long, long time ago".
Because Elizabeth looked sad, Isaye patted her head and tried to cheer her up. Elizabeth chuckled at her antics. Not too long after that, Iseult came into this room, Hawk in tow "oh, glad to see you're awake. Come with us downstair, I've prepared the meals for you. You must be hungry".
As Iseult said, Elizabeth's stomach growled and she blushed furiously when Isaye giggled (without sound, of course).
When they went downstairs, they saw Tristan on the counter, inspecting the dragon-hilted sword in his hand and that was when Elizabeth burst out "my sword!".
"I know", Tristan handed the sword back to her "you dropped it before you collapsed unconscious".
When Iseult asked her to sit down and eat, Elizabeth asked, "are you the owner, Lady?".
"oh, I'm just a waitress and cook here", Iseult introduced "the Master and the owner of this tavern is him, my husband, Tristan. The little girl is our 10-years-old daughter, Isaye. The pig is Hawk. We run this tavern together".
After Elizabeth ate the meals and asked how she could pay them back, Iseult waved her hand, saying it was nothing but her husband was not in the same place.
Tristan leaned his head on his chin "well, as the payment for your meal and drink... how about you tell us your story? About what happened to you, how and why did you collapse on our tavern".
When Elizabeth shut her mouth, Tristan added "otherwise, I can't let you leave without payment. That sword as the payment, perhaps?".
Elizabeth cursed under her breath and relented "...fine. Actually, I'm looking for the remaining members of the Seven Deadly Sins".
When Isaye who sat on top of Hawk's body pointing to the wanted board, Elizabeth nodded "yes, them".
Hawk surprised "why? They're villain, right?".
Elizabeth closed her eyes and frowned "then what do you think about the Holy Knights?".
Hawk blinked "they're the Hero, the protectors of this country".
"those fiends are the hero? Huh, ridiculous!", Elizabeth slammed her fists on the table "you just don't know what they've done behind you and you don't understand!".
Tristan challenged "then make us understand and tell us what do you know".
Before Elizabeth could answer, the Holy Knights who claimed themselves as 'the beard of the mountain cat' and they demanded to bring out 'the Knight in Rust' as they banging the door. Isaye covered her ears, complaining about how loud those annoying Knights were to Hawk and her parents. Because she was mute, the four other senses in her body turned sharper than normal people had.
Elizabeth didn't want to create the trouble for this kind-hearted family (well, she had...) so she grabbed her sword and stood "well, it seems like they're looking for me. I can handle this".
Not giving Elizabeth the chance to act, Tristan took the ropes and five black bags in his hand "Iseult, Hawk, take care of Isaye and our guest. I have to throw the thrash somewhere".
When her father walked to the front door, Isaye lifted her hand pointing her father "didn't father throw the thrash every morning?".
Iseult smiled and shook her head "no, honey. It's not the thrash inside our home, but outside our home".
When they heard the shouts and yelps from outside before it turned to silence, Isaye tapped her tiny fist on her palm "oh, I see".
Tristan came from the back door, asking them to continue the conversation and to change the place to talk. From the corner of her eyes, Elizabeth noticed the five Knights were tied, hanging on the tree with a black bag covering their head. Elizabeth couldn't help it, she covered her mouth and halted her laughter. It had been a long time since she could laugh heartily like this, she thought.
On the edge of the cliff, they continued the talk after Tristan asked, looking straight to the mountain in front of him "so, why did you search for the Seven Deadly Sins? Rumor has it, their Captain passed away 10 years ago. There were the witnesses for his death, even. One of them... The third princess of Liones Kingdom, is it?".
"...but the six others, the remaining of them are still alive, right?", Elizabeth told them about what she knew, about what the Holy Knights of this Kingdom were plotting and why she had started her journey to search the Seven Deadly Sins "had I been strong enough to stop them alone, I'd have done it, but... I can't. I'm not strong enough to stop them all. That's why, if there... were one thing that could stop the Holy Knights, it would be the Seven Deadly Sins".
"Not that I want to make you feel down, but do you even know what kind of people you're looking for? Even if Seven Deadly Sins do still exist, there's no guarantee that they will help you".
Hawk deadpanned "Tristan, that's so mean of you".
Tristan shrugged "what? I'm only telling the truth".
Iseult interfered "what my husband tried to tell, they can be dangerous people. Do you even know them personally? At least, you will need the guarantee as a reason why they should help you and lend their strength to you, right?".
"I will try my best to convince them later when we meet. But what's most important!", Elizabeth turned to them, on the verge of tears "even as we're speaking, the Holy Knights are the ones who are actually making people suffer, not the Seven Deadly Sins!".
Suddenly, the earth below them gave away because someone slashed it. Only Hawk's frightened scream and Elizabeth's startled yell that could be heard as they fell. Twigo had come and after he released his subordinates, Twigo attacked them with his sword. Looking down to the cliff, Twigo confirmed the death of a family and an unknown people.
One of Knights protested "Lord Twigo, don't you think you've crossed the boundary? One of them is still a child, even!".
Twigo raised his voice "then shall I add one Knight to my death toll confirmation?".
"EEK! We're sorry!".
Next second, Tristan landed on the ground, dropping Hawk and Elizabeth to the ground "okay, so he is the type of someone who will kill us no matter what after he confirmed our death".
"Wow, what a jerk", Iseult landed on the ground, carrying her daughter "do you need a sword?".
"lend me your sword, princess Elizabeth", Tristan reached out his hand to Elizabeth "and one thing for sure, Iseult. We will need to take a bath after this".
Iseult put Isaye down on Hawk's body "don't worry, I will prepare the warm water, but we will need to clean Isaye and Hawk first~".
"How could you still think about taking a bath at the time like this?!", Hawk glanced to Tristan and Iseult back and forth "and by you mean princess Elizabeth, as in the Third Princess of Liones Kingdom?!".
Elizabeth gawked "how do you know—".
"the symbol on your earring is that of the Royal Family", without waiting for her agreement, Tristan reached out his hand to the dragon-hilted sword "also, I've seen you once in the Castle when we visited my father, but... it's the scenes from a long, long time ago".
Elizabeth refused to give the sword and walked forward passing him by. When Elizabeth walked to Twigo's direction, Isaye grabbed her wrist and shook her head, looking up with pleading eyes.
"If I surrender myself, perhaps they will not kill you and your parents", Elizabeth smiled and kissed Isaye's forehead "forgive me, but I don't want to see people died because of me again".
Tristan snatched the dragon-hilted sword from Elizabeth's hand and pushed Elizabeth to his wife "make sure they will not able to get closer as long as I kick these guys' ass, Iseult".
"as you wish, my husband", Iseult smirked and lifted her forefinger to her mouth "Perfect Cube".
When Elizabeth, Isaye, and Hawk were secured within the Perfect Cube, Elizabeth stared to her in awe "Lady Iseult, so you are a Sorceress?!".
"of course, I am. How do you expect me to levitate and use the Perfect Cube?", Iseult crossed her arms before her chest "well, although I'm not as good as my sister".
The fight started. Twigo slashed his sword with the intention to kill not only Tristan but also Iseult and the others behind Tristan's back. However, it was Twigo instead who got the hit.
Twigo was shocked and the recognition came to his mind when he saw Tristan carefully "I remember now! This magic... that face... why did you look like that man?!".
"I look like him, you said? Of course", Tristan scoffed. The wind blew his long straight silver hair and the tattoo of Hydra could be seen on his nape "because I am his firstborn son. Dragon Sin of Wrath, Meliodas is my father. My name is Tristan. Remember it and tell the Kingdom, I will clean my father's name and once I find out who dared to do it to him, I will kill him. I will make sure to take revenge for my father's death. I'll drop the hammer of justice to those fiends who dared to hurt my family and make them pay off what they've done because I am the Hydra Sin Of Revenge".
Twigo lifted his sword "it can't be... how dare you to even exist in—?!".
"idiot", Tristan slashed back "Full Counter".
After Twigo was flying somewhere, Isaye and Hawk saluted to the flying Twigo who looked like a star in the middle of the day. Iseult snapped her fingers and the Perfect Cube disappeared.
Tristan walked to them and gave the sword back to Elizabeth "just so we're clear. I know who you are ever since I saw this sword, my father's sword. It seems you found your first Sin, princess. As we run the tavern, we also have been looking for the other Sins".
"Sir Tristan, first of all... your father's death...", Elizabeth closed her eyes and lowered her head further "...it's all my fault, so you can drop your hammer of justice to me".
Tristan narrowed his eyes and demanded "tell me what happened. All of it".
Iseult suggested, "for now, let's go back to the tavern and continue there".