Monroe let out a huff as she stood on shaky feet in front of Hendrickson. They've been training for hours, and she hasn't landed one hit on Hendrickson. And she even had Griamore on her side, but her cousin was down for the count as he laid off to the side panting for air.
"You've reached your limit." Hendrickson said. "That's enough for today, little one."
"No!" Monroe said stubbornly as she shook her head. "Gil and Howey are still training!"
She pointed towards her cousin and friend as they continued to fight against Dreyfus. Both of them looked exhausted, but they fought on too.
"Yes, but they are training to become Holy Knights." Hendrickson said.
"I am too!" Monroe said. "I am the eldest child of the Holy Knight Asthore! I want to defend the kingdom like my father! And like you, uncle Dreyfus, and uncle Zaratras!"
Hendrickson smiled down at Monroe as she stared up at him with determination in her eyes.
"Very well," Hendrickson said as he got into another fighting stance. "We will continue."
Monroe let out a calming breath before she charged forward while giving a mighty shout. She jumped up trying to go for Hendrickson's face with her wooden sword. He blocked it with his own, but what he didn't expect was for Monroe to swing her body around while she was still up in the air to lash her foot out at his head. He barely had time to catch her foot with his free hand. His eyes widened partially at the force behind the kick considering Monroe's size. He quickly tossed her away, and she managed to land on her feet.
"Very good," Hendrickson said. "Where did you learn that?"
"Ban!" Monroe said with a big smile on her face.
"Why am I not surprised?" Hendrickson asked chuckling.
He then motioned her forward. She came at him and they swapped swings. Hendrickson blocked all her swings, but all of his made contact. He cracked the wooden sword across her knuckles, which had her hissing in pain as she dropped her wooden sword. It left her wide open as Hendrickson was bringing down his wooden sword. She flinched bringing her arms up to try and protect her head. However, the blow never came. She blinked looking up to see that Hendrickson had stopped his attack, and that his wooden sword was missing.
"That isn't very nice, Hendy." A familiar voice spoke behind the two sparring.
Monroe whirled around seeing Ban standing there while holding Hendrickson's wooden sword.
"You could have hurt my little girl." Ban said smirking.
Though there was a dangerous look in his eyes as he narrowed them at Hendrickson. Hendrickson said nothing in return as both men stared each other down.
"Ban," Monroe whined. "You're interrupting training."
She jogged over to take the weapon away from Ban who chuckled as he looked down at her. He crouched down in front of her, so they were closer to eye-level.
"I just worry about you, Mo." Ban said tapping her nose. "Besides, aren't you happy to see me?"
Monroe looked off to the side while blushing slightly as Ban continued to smile at her.
"Y—yes," She said then looked him in the eyes again. "But I need to train! I want to be strong enough to protect the kingdom, but I also want to protect you!"
Ban seemed surprised by her words as Hendrickson just smiled from behind the little girl. Her devotion for the Fox Sin was always so apparent. No one understood it, but the little girl has been taken with Ban ever since he came to the capital and met her.
"Me?" Ban asked.
"Yes, because you're one of my precious ones." Monroe said nodding. "I love you."
She gave him an innocent, childlike smile as she said this as Ban's eyes grew even wider. Ban then chuckled as he looked down at the ground.
"You sure have a terrible taste in men, kid." He joked.
"What's that mean?" Monroe asked blinking in confusion.
Ban just laughed as he ruffled the little girl's sliver-locks, which messed them up more than they had been.
"Ban!" Monroe whined.
Monroe's eyes snapped open from the dream while slowly sitting up. She looked towards the window seeing the light had drastically changed. It must be midday by now.
'I slept that long?' She thought to herself.
Monroe got out of bed while deciding to go see if they made it to the next town. Considering it seemed that they stopped moving, she'd say they did. She placed on her shoes then walked out of the room to head down the stairs. As she was walking down the steps, she heard Meliodas speaking to an unfamiliar voice. She made it to the bottom seeing some kid was in the bar.
"A customer?" She asked. "Melly, I had no idea you let kids into place. Seems like a bad image to give your bar."
Meliodas just turned to smile at Monroe as the boy jumped at her voice coming out so suddenly. He turned towards her as she was stretching her arms over her head.
"Did you sleep good?" Meliodas asked. "I went to wake you earlier, but Elizabeth said to leave you be. Something about you not sleeping well ever since leaving the capital."
"I slept fine." Monroe said as she moved over to the table they were at. "Anyway, who's the kid?"
She pointed at the boy as she took a seat next to Meliodas at the table. Said boy frowned at her, which had her brow quirking. Friendly, wasn't he?
"Uh, I think the villagers called him Mead." Meliodas said. "They kind of chased him out of the village with rocks."
"I see," Monroe hummed. "Why is he here though?"
"He said he was friends with the Seven Deadly Sins," Meliodas explained.
Monroe looked at the boy with a bit of interest now. She had to wonder if what he was saying was true then which Sin could he know. She knew it couldn't have been Ban. He was locked up. Escanor wasn't fond of children—at least his day self wasn't. Merlin never really showed too much interest in kids either.
So possibly King, Diane, or Gowther. The heavily armored knight did like to spend time with her and Feoras quite a bit. Always saying that watching them was fascinating. Diane and King used to play with her all the time too. King had a real soft spot for kids as well.
"That true?" Monroe asked the boy.
"Sorry," Mead said as he looked away. "Your friend's food gave me amnesia."
Monroe sweat-dropped as she looked down at the plate of food in front of the boy. Well, Meliodas's food could do a lot of things to a person. And none of it was good things.
"Wait a minute," Mead said as he sniffed the air. "Are you drinking Bernia Ale? Hey, should a kid your age really be drinking that?"
"I already told you, I'm not a kid." Meliodas corrected the boy.
"It's true," Monroe said. "I'm twenty and he's way older than me. He helped raise me…Well, he helped keep me entertained as a child."
Mead looked between the two in disbelief. He could believe Monroe was twenty, but he couldn't belief the pipsqueak beside her was older than her let alone old enough to help raise her. Mead then shook his head.
"Man, that ale tastes really good, doesn't it?" Mead said causing Meliodas to smile and agree. "It's the best, sweetest, full bodied—hmm, or so I hear from the adults."
Monroe shook her head at the kid. Here he was getting onto Meliodas and he apparently liked to drink ale himself. The group then turned towards the door as Elizabeth and Hawk came in.
"Oh, you two made it back." Meliodas greeted.
Elizabeth didn't reply as she turned her attention on the kid while placing her hands on her hips.
"So, Mead," Elizabeth addressed the boy. "I hear you're quite the prankster with a bad sense of humor. The chief in your village told me so."
"What's it to you?" Mead asked. "Who do you think you are? My mother?"
Elizabeth didn't get upset with his tone as she knelt down, so she could look him in the eye much better.
"When I was young, I used to get scolded by my father for pulling pranks." Elizabeth said.
"Feh, and that means what to me?" Mead asked with a scoff.
"I really wanted his attention." Elizabeth continued as if Mead hadn't spoken. "He wasn't the father I was born too. One day, when I was a little girl, I climbed a really tall tree in the garden hoping to give him a good scare."
Monroe snorted as she remembered that day. She had been going through the castle with her father when she heard the commotion coming from the garden. Imagine her surprise when she saw Elizabeth high in the tree and the King trying to climb up and get her.
He turned pale as a ghost and started up the tree to try and save me—this man who never climbed one in his entire life." Elizabeth continued. "And then he fell out of the tree and hurt himself. Luckily it wasn't serious. But still I remember every bit of it as if it was yesterday. If he died, I know I never could have forgiven myself."
Mead sat up in his chair as he pressed his hands firmly on the wooden table in front of him.
"I don't do this stuff because I don't feel for them." Mead said. "They're all really good to me."
"Why do you?" Elizabeth asked.
"My mom and dad were always going from place to place." Mead began. "I was even born on the road, but when we stopped here in Bernia a few years ago there was an epidemic then they got sick and died. That's when the people of the village took me in and raised me as one of their own. And I was so thankful they did, but I wasn't apart of anyone's real family. I got jealous cause I knew I'd never get what they had. I started lying and pulling pranks."
Mead started crying while wiping at his eyes while Elizabeth patted him on the back.
"Is that why you put the bug in the Holy Knight's drink too?" Elizabeth asked. "Because you were upset?"
Monroe, who was confused as to what they were talking, got up from the table to try and find something edible in Meliodas's supplies. Something that didn't require cooking.
"No!" Mead said as he slammed his hands on the table. "I did that because the knight treated everyone in the village like they were crap."
"I'm so lost." Monroe called from the pantry. "What'd I miss?"
"Oh, that's right, Monroe was asleep during all of this." Hawk said as he turned towards where the woman was "A Holy Knight used a sword to dry up all the water around here, so the villagers can't make their famous ale because Mead put a bug in his glass."
"…Oh, okay…" Monroe said shrugging.
Monroe then found some fruit to snack on and rejoined the others at the table.
"We just care so much about it." Mead said. "Everyone in the village put their hearts and souls into make that ale, but he insulted them! Holy Knights are no good bastards."
Monroe sweat-dropped once again as she silently munched on the fruit in front of her. She wasn't sure if she should be insulted or not.
"Okay, and what about you saying that you're good friends with the Seven Deadly Sins?" Meliodas asked.
"Well, I lied." Mead said.
Monroe sighed though wasn't too surprised most of the word on the Sins was nothing but unreliable rumors.
"Too bad." Meliodas said. "Gotta admit, I almost had my hopes up."
"What made you tell a lie like that?" Elizabeth asked.
"The Seven Dead Sins are wanted by the Holy Knights, right?" Mead asked. "If the Holy Knights are going after them, doesn't that mean they're the good guys?"
Hawk and Elizabeth just looked at Meliodas silently as Monroe thought about it for a second. She loved all the Sins, but they weren't saints that's for sure. Especially the pervert to her right. But they were family and they were all good deep down.
"What?" Meliodas questioned when seeing the looks.
Hawk and Elizabeth just smiled when suddenly the sound of shouting could be heard from the village.
"That's coming from the village." Mead said.
He hurried and left with Elizabeth telling him to wait, but he didn't. Elizabeth and Hawk quickly went to follow him as Meliodas was finishing up his ale. He then stood.
"You coming?" Meliodas asked Monroe.
"Sure, why not?" Monroe said as she stood up.
It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Besides, it'd probably be nice to stretch her legs.
Monroe walked into the village with the others to see what was going on. Her head tilted to the side when seeing a few lowly knights standing before the people of the village.
"Now, listen up, you peasant scum!" The tall one said. "If you haven't pulled out the Holy Knight's sword by sundown then we're going to charge you ten times the normal product tax."
Of course, his words were met with loud voices of protest from the villagers. Monroe frowned. To think a Holy Knight caused this kind of trouble for the people. Monroe knew for a fact the Holy Knights weren't all good people. Even putting aside those who wanted to start a war, some of them were arrogant and only looking to make a name for themselves. Usually letting their title go to their heads and thinking they were somehow better than the common folk. It made her angry just thinking about it.
"That's your punishment." The round knight said. "Not only did you insult a Holy Knight, you also claim to be friends with those known criminals—the Seven Deadly Sins!"
The villagers' angry shouts turned against Mead as they blamed to boy for what was happening. While Monroe could agree the boy probably could have handled things a different way, she didn't see him as the one to blame for what was happening. The boy acted out of the feelings of his fellow villagers. Hating that they were being insulted, he had stepped up for them in his own way. Said boy ran forward through the crowd to grasp the sword. Trying to pull with all his might, he shouted in frustration.
"The little bigmouth," The taller knight scoffed. "This isn't going to be any fun at all if he's the only one."
"So, we're going to charge twenty times the tax now." The round knight said.
Mead paid neither one of them any mind as he continued to try and remove the sword from the ground. The villagers yelled at him to stop and making things worse as Monroe was about to move forward. However, Meliodas held out his arm to prevent her from doing so. She looked down at him curiously as he watched the scene silently.
"Alright, that's enough!" The village chief suddenly shouted.
Everyone got quiet while turning to the elderly man and parting aside to let the man through.
"Who insulted our great skills and wounded our pride as ale makers?" He questioned the villagers. "Was it Mead? No. Wasn't that boy only expressing the feelings we were all having deep down inside?"
His words had the villagers quieting as they all looked down. Some of them looking ashamed for how they had acted. Slowly a woman and two children went to join Mead in trying to remove the sword from the ground. An action that had those two sorry excuses for knights heckling the villagers as the men moved forward to help.
They ignored the two as the men tied ropes around the sword, so every man in the village could help try to pull the sword from the ground. Though the women and children were asked to move out of the way, Mead stubbornly continued to help. As the villagers struggled those two men sat down and drank and laughed at their attempts.
"Can we hit them yet?" Monroe asked Meliodas.
"It's okay," Meliodas said as he stepped forward. "I'll handle it."
Monroe shrugged as she was fine with that as long as someone shut up those assholes and took care of the sword in the ground. Meliodas first took the ale away from those unappreciative men who blinked in confusion when their mugs were gone. Then he drank said ale as the ropes on the sword gave way causing all the villagers to fall to the ground.
"Do you really think he'll be able to help them?" Elizabeth worried as Meliodas sat the two empty mugs to the ground.
"Yeah," Monroe said as Meliodas, who told the villagers he had no money for the ale, moved to grasp the sword. "Melly won't have a problem."
True to her words, Meliodas easily lifted the sword out of the ground. The sword the entire village had trouble dealing with. Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't the only one surprised as many looked at Meliodas, who asked if removing the sword was good enough payment for the ale he drank, in disbelief.
"Impossible," The taller knight said. "Only a Holy Knight could have pulled that sword out. So…how did he do that?"
The ground then began to rumble beneath them, and before they could figure out what was going on, the top of the well they were sitting on shot up into the air due to the water finally being released. The villagers cheered at the sight of the water as Meliodas stopped in front of those two idiot knights.
"Think this is yours," he said before dropping the sword at their feet.
They squealed in fright before they took off running with the sword in hand. They ran right by Elizabeth and Monroe with the latter scoffing at their cowardly retreat.
"Well, now that that's over, I think it's time to return to the bar." Monroe said. "I have a feeling we'll be having guests."
"This waitressing business is hard work." Monroe said as she got more ale from Meliodas. "I'm really not enjoying myself."
Meliodas chuckled at her words at Monroe balanced the tray she was carrying in one hand.
"You seem to be doing well though." Meliodas said as he wiped down the bar.
"Yeah, unlike someone," Hawk said looking towards Elizabeth who once again tripped.
She sent food flying at one guy's face and it went splat. The man took it rather well since he just blinked. Monroe sweat-dropped at the umpteenth mistake Elizabeth made though the princess actually saved that guy's tastebuds.
"Oh yeah, there won't be any shortage of scraps for me tonight." Hawk said.
As he walked over to eat the fallen food, Monroe shook her head then delivered the drinks to her table.
"Hope you enjoy." Monroe said smiling.
She then went over to Elizabeth to help the princess off the ground. Monroe then moved Elizabeth to the side.
"Perhaps you should take a break, Pri—Elizabeth." Monroe said while quickly correcting herself.
It was a bad idea to let just anyone hear that Elizabeth was a princess, so it was decided both girls would drop the titles when needed. Especially while working. The two then turned to Mead when he let out a laugh.
"Ha, you haven't done a day of hard work in your life, have you?" Mead teased Elizabeth. "Oh, it's totally obvious. You completely suck at this job."
He then cried out when Monroe lightly bonked him on the head with her tray.
"You're one mouthy kid, aren't you?" She questioned. "Tell me, kid, how many hard days of work have you actually done?"
Mead pouted up at Monroe looking like he was about to mouth off again, but he was interrupted by his auntie.
"That's enough." She said firmly. "Don't go mouthing off again. Didn't you learn your lesson today? Children who get too big for their britches get taken out and left in the Forest of White Dreams."
As Mead gasped in horror, Elizabeth and Monroe exchanged a glance. Monroe has heard about the Forest of White Dreams but has never been there.
"Oh no, not there!" Mead begged.
"Forest of White Dreams?" Elizabeth questioned.
"It's a place so spooky even Holy Knights won't travel through it." Mead explained.
He then went back to begging his auntie not to send him there as Monroe hummed. The place certainly sounded interesting. A place where Holy Knights wouldn't go also sounded like a place someone trying to avoid them would stay. Is it possible a Sin could be there? It was something to keep in mind at least.
She then went to the bar to get more ale when the door was suddenly opened. Monroe and Meliodas looked up curiously when Elizabeth suddenly left. Monroe blinked wondering where Elizabeth was going. She then stiffened when sensing something was coming.
"Gilthunder." She murmured recognizing the power heading this way.
She looked towards Meliodas to see he had sensed it as well. He glanced towards Monroe as she was looking at him in question. He gestured that she should stay there. She nodded her head knowing he would handle things. He went outside as Monroe and Hawk were left taking care of the many customers inside.
"Maybe with Meliodas outside, you can cook food that actually tastes good." Hawk said hopefully. "Then I'll get some decent scraps."
"Actually, I'm probably not much better than Melly if at all when it comes to cooking." Monroe said honestly. "If my cousins didn't know how to cook, I would have starved a very long time ago."
Hawk sweat-dropped wondering how there could be two people in this world who cook that badly. Monroe sat some drinks on a table as the power she sensed earlier struck and clashed with Meliodas's aura meaning he had intercepted the attack.
"Squee!" Hawk exclaimed as the flash of light appear outside followed by the ground shaking a split second later. "What was that?"
He ran out the door with everyone else following him, but Monroe remained in place. She silently returned to work while cleaning up the mess left by the villagers. There was no point in running out there. Meliodas was fine and she was sure he'd return the warning tenfold. But still, she had this gut wrenching feeling that she'd be seeing Gilthunder again very soon.
—FLASHBACK—
"Gil, wait for me!" Monroe called as she hurried to catch up to her older cousin.
The pink-haired youth paused while looking back at Monroe as she tried to keep up. Her dress making it hard on her as she kept tripping.
"Can I come watch you train today?" Monroe asked her cousin hopefully as she finally caught up.
Gilthunder had recently started his lessons to someday become a Holy Knight like their fathers and uncle. Monroe had to wait another year before she could start her training, but she was so eager to get started, she wanted to watch Gilthunder's training with the other boys.
"Sure," Gilthunder said with a smile.
Monroe smiled back before falling into step with Gilthunder as they headed for the training yards.
"Soon I'll be joining you, Gil." Monroe reminded him. "Then we can become great Holy Knights together and protect the kingdom side by side."
"That's right," Gilthunder said as he reached out to ruffle the younger child's hair. "We'll be unstoppable just like the Seven Deadly Sins."
—END OF FLASHBACK—
'Things aren't exactly going as we thought they would, are they, Gil?' Monroe thought. 'I'm sure my leaving didn't make things any easier on you. But with how things have been between us lately, I'm not sure if you even care that I'm gone.'