Sometimes it was surprising how quickly everything could turn to shit.

I attached my sword belt to my waist, resolute. Yesterday I had mastered my powers; today I was going to go out and practice my sword skills. I had on my lightweight armour too and the fireproof clothing – it was better to practice with everything on.

Still abhorrently strange though that I could don armour like I did with clothes – simple, easy, comfortably. I rechecked the straps on the vambraces and the greaves then my hair went up into a high ponytail and I strapped my sword onto my back.

When I looked in the mirror, I saw Holy Knight Estra staring back at me. I looked away quickly and opened the door to my room. My heart pounded in my chest and I pushed away the nausea that rose. Whether I liked it or not, that was always going to be a part of me and I'd have to learn not to fear it nor get washed away in the shame of it.

I made my way cautiously down the stairs. Hawk's mum was on the move and it seemed I still had trouble with my 'sea-legs'.

"Wow, Estra, don't you look fancy," Ban said as I entered. He was dressed in only an apron that said, 'I love the chef', and his signature red pants. He was also serving breakfast that had my mouth watering.

"Shut up," I mumbled, taking a seat and digging in. "If we're going to Liones, I need to be prepared."

"You know we aren't leaving yet, right?" He burst out laughing as I glared at him.

"I'm going out to train, you dolt. I might have been a Holy Knight but I'm not under their spell anymore which means I need to make sure I can still fight." The words came out harsher than I expected and I dared not raise my head as guilt streaked through me. He wasn't the target of the malice.

His hand came down on my head, sort of like a fatherly pat. "I'll go get changed and we'll see just how competent you are with a sword. If it's anything like how you are with your fist, then you might need some help."

I rose halfway out of my chair with a squawk.

"Please," came a groan. I looked around until I spotted King with his head on the table. "Don't make so much noise."

"Whoa, buddy, you don't look so good." I sat back down and slid my cup of water over to him.

Bleary-eyed he stared at it. "I don't think I have the strength to get it."

"Alcohol really does a number on you, doesn't it?"

"Didn't you have troubles with alcohol before?"

"Me? Pssh, I was great at handling it."

"Your memory says otherwise," Gowther said, appearing by my side.

I jumped and nearly fell out of my chair. "When did you get here?"

"I was here long before you were Estra, we met on the stairs," he replied, failing to identify what I actually meant. "Do you have problems remembering things?"

"What did I say about my memories, Gowther?" I threatened, jabbing a finger in his direction.

He spun away quickly then took a seat on the other side of King. Ban reappeared, dressed in a red leather shirt that matched his pants.

"Howdy, gang." All heads turned in Meliodas' directed. He positioned himself behind the bar and set at cleaning the overflowing stack of glasses and tankards in the sink. Half of those had to be from the two foxes drinking escapades last night so I tried to avoid noticing the pile.

"Hey, Captain, do you have any clue on where we're supposed to go next?" asked Ban.

King managed to grumble, "Any chance you have a lead on where the next sin might be?" before planting his face on the counter.

"Escanor and Merlin," Gowther muttered.

The Lion's Sin of Pride and the Boar's Sin of Gluttony. The damage we'd be able to do to Hendrickson with the whole Seven Deadly Sins was unimaginable but with our luck, we weren't about to find them anytime soon with Holy Knights breathing down our necks. Everything was a mad scramble these days and the tension in the air was thickening.

I began drumming my fingers on the table before Ban slapped his hand over mine and glared at me. Oops.

"No. The first thing I'm going to do is break into the Capital and get my sword back."

We all stared dumbstruck at the captain.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Ban. "You mean that dragon hilt you lost?"

"I'm not going anywhere without it." The vehemence in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. Hendrickson had been eager for that sword. If Meliodas was this riled up, then this was more serious than I thought. Meliodas slammed his fists on the table, jolting me out of my thoughts. "Okay, so who's coming with me?"

Ban reclined back. "Fun as that sounds, I think I'll pass."

"Besides," King said, twiddling his fingers. The colour was returning to his cheeks. "It's your own fault you lost it in the first place."

"He has a point," added Gowther.

Meliodas gave me a pointed look. "I'd love to but I think I'm still woefully underprepared for a full blown fight." Now that I had transitioned back to Fox Estra, I wasn't sure I still remembered how to use the blade of a Holy Knight.

Meliodas' cheeks puffed out and he looked a little deflated. Then he pressed his head under Elizabeth's skirt and muttered, "I'm so sad."

Elizabeth, who was not even phased by it, just patted his head to comfort him.

The window shattered and half the wall blew in as Diane's face reared, her cheeks striped pink, purple eyes angered. "CAPTAIN!"

I hauled the captain off Elizabeth. "Enough. What's so important about the broken sword anyway and why did you never tell us earlier?"

Hawk appeared holding planks of wood, a hammer and nails. Almost like he knew an accident was bound to occur. Meliodas took them with a thank you and began fixing up the window. Now that everyone in the room was paying attention, he spoke.

"Right. The coffin of eternal darkness." The foreboding air grew stronger. With a name like that, it was bound to be horrible news. "That dragon hilt is a fragment of a ritual relic. According to an old legend, it's part of a relief that was created a long time ago, one that the Goddess, Giant, Fairy and Human races created to seal away the Demon race."

"Why do the Holy Knights want it? What could they be planning to do with something like that?" Elizabeth asked.

Suddenly, things began falling into place, puzzle pieces in the right slots.

The new generation and the demon blood; the mission I had been on for the broken sword and Guila's words, ones I'd forgotten. I clasped my hands together so tight that pins and needles filled my fingers. Oh sticks, we had really gotten in deep now.

Meliodas confirmed my fears. "More than likely, the resurrection of the demon race."

"Tch, those miserable bastards again." Ban didn't look at all upset by the notion.

"True. And wasn't it Hendrickson who turned Dale into that monster? It's not every day you can see somebody do that."

"Who's Dale?" I questioned.

"The demon Gowther had encased in his armour. He was human once, probably even a Holy Knight judging by the magic signature." King's eyes suddenly widened and his head whipped round to me.

My chair toppled back. "What the hell do you mean?" I snarled, grabbing him by his hoodie and shoving him against the bar counter. "What do you mean he felt like a Holy Knight?" My breath came in short gasps and the world was spinning around me.

My heart thundered in my ears. The only way a Holy Knight could even be mistaken for a demon is if they had demon blood in their veins – it was the only way magical signatures could be crossed.

And if Dale did have that, then he was a part of the new generation. He was the same as me. Which meant...

I stumbled back and released King. "You have to be mistaken," I growled. "You have to be! That demon, he can't have been a Holy Knight. No way." I looked at each of them in turn but neither could hold my gaze.

My stomach plummeted and the world went fuzzy at the edges, muted colours. Somehow, I'd forgotten how to breath.

"Estra," Ban started but I kicked him away and bolted up the stairs on jelly legs. The world spun as I barricaded myself in my room, pressed myself into the corner and drew my knees to my chest. I buried my face into my elbow, willing it all to be wrong.

Meliodas had told me the tale of getting Gowther and the monster in the suit in greater length on the drunken night. But he hadn't said anything about the monster's name nor who Dale was, but he must have known. That was why he didn't tell me. That was why they'd shared that look together, him and Ban.

Dale became a monster. He was a Holy Knight who most likely consumed demon blood. They knew what I might become.

No, no, no! I buried my fingers into my hair, gripping my head to the point of hurt. There has to be a reason behind what became of Dale. Otherwise I'm royally screwed.

A memory rose to the surface, not mine though. Leraj's. Before I even came to be in the kingdom.

"Your job is to get me the fox of Greed, not criticise." Hendrickson had his back to me.

"There will be no point if we kill her before the plan can be put into motion. How many others will die too because you screwed up with Holy Knight Dale?" I said.

"Not that it is any of your concern but we adjusted our... methods. And tested it on several apprentice Holy Knights. What happened to Dale was an unfortunate side effect and a one off occurrence."

The memory faded away and I let out a long exhale, throwing my head back against the wall. The pain was good at bringing back clear thought. Leraj knew what was happening, that Dale had become a monster, and so too did Hendrickson.

When I closed my eyes, tears slipped free. Relief slowed my heart. I wasn't going to become one of them. Dale must have been the original generation, a tester of sorts for Hendrickson so he could get it right. It curdled my insides though; Dale probably had a family, maybe a wife and kids, a home in Liones. He'd probably devoted himself to the cause.

But I was going to be fine and that was all I needed to hear. I should probably head back down, I thought, wiping off the tears. No one had come up to check on me, or I probably didn't hear them over the panic attack. They'd be worried though. Embarrassment and resentment burnt hot through me and up into my face. I felt like a fool but that didn't excuse the fact that they'd hidden this from me.

I creaked open the door. There was a commotion coming from downstairs, Hawk groaning and squealing. I cocked my head to the side and made it to the top of the stairs. Elizabeth was asking him Hawk if he was okay and he said something in response.

"What's going on?" I asked, making it to the bottom of the stairs just as she appeared.

"It's simple," the newcomer said, her voice tinny through the lopsided slits in her distorted helm. A single eye slot glowed pink as she stared Elizabeth down. "She's the last key to breaking the seal." A Holy Knight. How the hells did she get in?!

"Oh crap, get away from her!" Meliodas shouting, throwing himself across the room for Elizabeth.

The air around the Holy Knight, Hawk and Elizabeth shimmered yellow, their figures outlined in golden light before they faded from existence. Meliodas hit the ground where they'd been a second too late.

"DAMMIT!" His roar blasted air around the room, a burst of magic that had me shielding my face.

"Who the hell was that?" I screeched as Meliodas ran past me and grabbed a short sword from the wall. He didn't answer, instead running out the front door.

'What the hell?" Ban rose from his chair.

"That was probably a Mage. They can appear and disappear within the blink of an eye using advanced teleportation," Gowther explained. Ban, King and Gowther all ran for the wide opened door and I followed suit, hand on the hilt of my sword half expecting a troop of Holy Knights to be surrounding us.

"Follow me! I'm headed to the capital to save Elizabeth!"

Hawk's mum had settled down and now we stared off into the distance of rolling hills and wide, open spaces.

"But how? It's more than forty miles away," King said. He made a compelling point. There was no way we'd be able to cover that distance in a day, not at the speed we keep up.

"Diane?" Meliodas turned to our resident giant.

"Gotcha."

"Not so fast," Ban said, hugging Meliodas around the middle and scooping him up. "I changed my mind. I'm coming too."

"And me!" I said, standing beside them. I punched my fist into my other hand, flames sizzling. "There's no way I'm staying behind."

"Ban! Estra! Can you two stop fooling around?" King pleaded.

Ban said something to the captain but the adrenaline running through me made it hard to concentrate on sentences.

"I'm coming too," Gowther proclaimed and wrapped his arms around my midsection.

"Huh? What are you hugging me for?" I asked, trying in vain to pry him off.

"Better hold on," Ban said to me, nodding over at Diane. She was reaching down for us. I latched onto Ban so fast that I almost brought us all down.

I squeezed tight just as Diane did, lifting us high into the sky. Oh sticks, was she?

"Here goes." She drew her arm back. "I might be a little off."

Oh holy sticks. She was going to throw us. My stomach dropped back down to where my feet should probably have stayed. I didn't know why I thought we'd possess fancy magic like the Mage.

I missed what Meliodas had to say while I was saying my prayers.

"No matter what happens, just bring Elizabeth back safe," Diane said. She took off at a sprint and then threw us like we were a javelin. 

A/N: I'm drowning in assignments so updates will be tortoise-pace slow until the end of May. 

Please let me know what you thought of the chapter! I also have a little challenge. 

But he hadn't said anything about the monster's name nor who Dale was, but he must have known. That was why he didn't tell me. That was why they'd shared that look together, him and Ban.

Whoever is first to find the chapter where Meliodas shot Ban a look and comment below, I'll head over to their profile and read five chapters of a chosen book of theirs and leave a few comments :) 

{ Can you tell I'm at the peak of procrastination these days XD }