I was curled up on my bed in the attic, silently sobbing to myself. I knew that I shouldn't have let Hawk's words get to me, but they did. It didn't help the fact that no one had spoken up for me at that moment. I somewhat understood Zephyr not, as I think he had just given up on ever speaking to the pig. But Harlequin, Meliodas, and Elizabeth? Even Diane, who had been watching through the window, hadn't said anything!
Eventually, Harlequin and Diane had come looking for me. Zephyranthes had wanted to, but Meliodas had stopped him, with Elizabeth recommending that he remain resting. The fairy and giant had taken a moment to calm me down. Oh, and Harlequin had told me that he had told the whole crew what I'd told him earlier before heading out to find me. I guess it kind of made since to tell them after me running off like that, seemingly randomly. But it didn't stop the feeling of betrayal.
I heard a knock at the door.
"Zinnia-chan?" The door cracked open, revealing Meliodas. I had almost been expecting Harlequin, perhaps coming to seek out forgiveness, but apparently not.
"What?" I sat up and perched on the edge of the bed, rubbing my arm across my reddened face to dry it of tears. "If this is about what Harlequin-sama told you guys, I don't want to talk about it."
The shorter man wandered into the room, glancing momentarily at Zephyr, who was now wrapped thoroughly in bandages and sleeping deeply at the foot of my bed. He ignored my comment and folded his arms. "What's this about you getting stabbed? I'd never heard about it."
Huh. This wasn't the tone he normally used. Had he stopped pretending that we had just met? Guess I'll drop the charade for now, too. "Of course you hadn't. I doubt that Onii-chan went around announcing it to everyone after I left."
"And why do you still call him 'Onii-chan'? You know he wasn't really your brother, right?"
"Of course I know that. He just taught me to call him that, and it stuck." I sighed in frustration. "Look, can we not talk about this now? Why did you really come in here?"
"Let me see your scar first." Meliodas was determined.
"Fine. But you better not do anything like you do to Elizabeth." I pulled the edge of my shirt down again. I was really glad that the mark wasn't any lower so that I didn't have to reveal anything else.
"Of course I wouldn't do that." He was now looking intently at the mark on my chest. He held one hand to his chin, as though deep in thought. Meliodas then nodded. "Okay, that's enough. So what I came in here for was to tell you that we've arrived in the next town: Vaizel. There appears to be a fighting festival going on here, and I suspect that the prize is Diane's sacred treasure - Gideon. Ban, King, and I are going to enter so that we can win Gideon. Do you want to come?"
I looked away. "I thought that Zephyr and I just brought trouble…"
"Don't take anything that Hawk says seriously." Meliodas smiled. "Elizabeth gets into way more trouble than you. You just tend to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Well, why didn't anyone say anything the other night?" I was starting to tear up again at the memory.
"What, that?" He chuckled. "You didn't even give anyone time to say anything. As soon as the words were out of his mouth you were out the door."
"R-really? It felt like I had given you guys plenty of time!" I sobbed a little. Was it true? It had felt like an eternity, what with me suddenly remembering what my old friend had done to me.
"I guess that it can feel like that sometimes. Look, you two are trying your best to help, but you haven't really been with us all that long. Don't expect instant results, especially with having been as out of shape as you were." He paused and looked me up and down for a moment, confusion entering his gaze. "Actually, how did you get so much better so soon?"
"No clue… I thought it was because I was a fairy or something. Or that Ban-san put something weird in my food, though that idea was more of a joke…" I trailed off.
"Huh. Perhaps we could ask King at some point about that fairy theory. Anyways," he went on. "Do you want to go to the festival or not? If you do, Zephyr-kun has to stay here."
"Well, I don't really think so. I might like to go into town, but I'm not sure about the fighting festival. Hmm... maybe I'll drop by to see the finals." I'd actually love to see about some sewing supplies to fix my old dress. But I didn't have any money…
"Okay. Here." As though reading my thoughts, Meliodas pulled a bag of coins seemingly out of thin air. "Use this if you want to buy anything in town. It's not much, but it's something. Think of it as an apology for how Hawk treated you." He grinned mischievously. "I told him that it's from selling Ban's leftovers."
I giggled slightly. "Serves him right. Thank you so much, Meliodas-sama."
"And drop the '-sama'. It feels weird coming from you." The blonde stood up and turned towards the door.
"Meliodas-san?" I tried, screwing up my face at the feeling of using the common honorific with him.
"Eh, close enough." He was walking through the door, but stopped in the doorway. Tilting his head to look back at me, he threw some final words over his shoulder. "I think..." But then he shook his head and continued on his way.
"What? What were you going to say?!"
But he was already gone.
"Ow!" Someone had stepped on my wingtip, which was just barely poking out of the edge of the cloak that I once again donned to better traverse the festival.
I turned to try to see who had done it, but the crowd was so thick that it could have been anyone. Countless people wandered the cobbled streets in search of deals at the shops that had popped up to celebrate the festival. Noises, colors, and scents battered my senses as I attempted to make my way through the crowd. Dust filled the air as it was kicked up from people's shoes.
I tightened my cloak around me, drawing my wingtips closer to my body, before looking around at the shops that lined the road. Sewing supplies, sewing supplies, sewing supplies… I just couldn't find a store that seemed to sell them. Oh, a general store. Maybe that has something. Clutching the coin bag that Meliodas had given me, I pushed my way through the throng towards the smaller building.
The crowds thinned as I approached the store, eventually opening up so that I could see that almost nobody was even looking at the building. That made sense, seeing as how it seemed more permanent than the other shops, signifying that it was here year-round, unlike the vendors that were selling out of the tents that lined the streets. I let out a sigh of relief when I no longer felt bodies surrounding mine.
When I pushed open the wooden door to the store, a little bell tinkled above my head. "Welcome! Welcome. What can I do for you?" A lanky older man with graying hair greeted from behind the counter to my right. He quickly hopped down from the stool he had been sitting on and hurried to my side.
"Yeah… Ummm, do you perhaps sell sewing supplies here...?" I trailed off under my breath as I glanced around the shop. There was no one in here other than the clerk and I. It was much larger on the inside from what it had looked like from outside - there were even stairs leading up to a second story. Shelves lined the walls and there were many different aisles filled with all kinds of odds and ends, including a small grocery section. Perhaps the muted color of the building had detracted from it, making it seem smaller in the brighter colors and bustle of activity from the festival.
"Why, of course, little lady! Right this way." He led me down one of the rows of items, past rolls of fabrics, and showed me a small section of needles, threads, pins, and a couple of patches. "Is your mother teaching you how to sew?"
"Wh-what? No." I shook my head before examining the contents of the sewing section. "I just need to fix my dress. It's falling apart."
"Oh, but surely-" The bell from the front door tinkled again, signalling the arrival of another customer. "I'm sorry, young miss. I have to go and check on this other customer. Flag me down if you need me!" He then turned and swiftly made his way back down the aisle he had led me down.
"Pfft, 'young miss.' How young does he think I am?" There wasn't much to look through, so I grabbed a random spool of white thread and a couple of needles, along with some of the cheap, excess scraps of fabric in similar colors to my dress. It's not gonna be beautiful, but it shouldn't fall apart. After a moment of indecision, I also grabbed a long, deep green ribbon.
"What can I do for you, sir?" The shopkeeper's cheary voice came from the front of the store. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Books." The voice that responded was very monotone.
Huh? That voice sounds somehow familiar. But where from?
"I'm so sorry, sir. That's actually one of the few things that we don't have here. You should be able to find plenty of vendors selling books for the festival, though."
"Oh," was the only response.
Curiosity dictating my actions, I tried to hurry towards the entrance, but by the time I'd reached the front of the store, the other customer was gone, this sound of the door's bell having gone off a moment before I exited the aisle. I tried to spot the person out the windows, but it was impossible to tell who had left the store.
"Did you find what you were looking for, little miss?" The shopkeeper was making his way back to behind the front counter.
"Umm, yeah." I approached and set my supplies on the counter.
Who was that, and why did they sound familiar?