"The Seven Deadly Sins... are you really that wicked? Were you all terrible criminals like the rest of the world says? And if you are, what awful crime did you commit?" Elizabeth's voice floated up the stairs and I halted at the top, paper and pen in hand.

Curious, I walked down the stairs silently and peered around the corner. Elizabeth stood facing the back of Meliodas, who seemed to be in thought about the questions asked. I never noticed before, but Elizabeth seemed to be wearing some weird get up.

Why is she only wearing one sock? And why is her skirt so short?! Groaning, I realised that it must have been Meliodas who dressed her. Which also begged the question on where he got all this women's clothing from.

"My crime, huh?" Meliodas looked lost in thought. "Well..."

"It seems to me that I just don't understand what kind of person you are," Elizabeth said sadly. "After all," she said louder, her cheeks turning red, "you saved me even though you had no idea who I was."

"The truth is... ten years ago, I travelled through Liones stealing any pair of panties I could get my hands on," Meliodas confessed.

"You got to be kidding!" Elizabeth looked mortified.

I, on the other hand, felt sick. How did we end up stuck in the company of this sick pervert? The paper crinkled in my hand and Hawk's head swivelled round. I flattened myself against the wall, heart beating hard.

Trotters clanked on wooden floorboards and as Hawk stuck his head around the corner, I clamped my arms around his snout and dragged him around the corner with me before he could make a sound.

"Shh!" I whispered harshly, only releasing him when I knew he wouldn't make a sound.

The other's didn't seem to notice the missing pink pig as they continued their conversation.

Meliodas was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, still talking. "...did was stalk a thousand pretty girls with perfect boobs and groped them all," he said.

"WHAT TYPE OF A MONSTER ARE YOU?" I screamed at him, revealing my hiding spot.

"That's just a joke, right?" Elizabeth asked, scared now.

"Oh hi, Estra." He deigned to answer me in a calm tone?!  "Yeah, it is," he said to Elizabeth.

"Please stop messing around!" Elizabeth pleaded.

"Or you're going to have a pencil someplace special," I added venomously.

"Is the truth that you committed a crime so terrible that you can't put it into words?" asked Elizabeth. 

All Meliodas did was tilt his head to the side and said, "Maybe."

Elizabeth looked taken aback and even I was wary of this man now. First a pervert and now some high profile killer; why did I decide to stay? Suddenly, the floor shifted violently to the side and I went flying to the floor.

Meliodas caught Elizabeth around the waist, face buried in her chest, and I threw my pencil at the back of his head. It bounced off before Hawk trotted over to the two of them.

"Knock it off," he stated.

Hawk's mother snorted, and I swear I felt the whole floor vibrate from the exhale of air.

"Hey, we're here," Meliodas announced. "This is our next well- spring of information. Vanya village!"

I got up and brushed myself off, then realised I was missing another vital piece. My piece of paper. The one with the horrible drawings of foxes.

"Hey, what's this?" Meliodas said, picking up a sheet of paper.

"NO!" I screeched and snatched the paper from his hands.

"Hey, what is it?" Meliodas tried to catch a glimpse, but I hissed at him and shoved him away with my foot.

"If you must know, it's the tattoo design I've been working on," I mumbled, unfolding the page.

"Well, let's see it!" Elizabeth cried happily.

When I held it up for them to look at, their facial expressions all just seemed to freeze. Silence followed before I folded the paper back up.

"Does anybody know how to draw a fox?" I asked sheepishly.

"Sure," Elizabeth said, laughing awkwardly. "But yours isn't that bad."

"Don't lie to me; I already know it's shit. And I'm the fox, I should know," I replied, waving her off. "So, can you draw me one now?"

"Hang on," Meliodas interjected. "Let's get the tavern set up first. Okay everyone! Outside!"

So we all waited outside until Hawk's mum had dug a deep hole in the ground, covering herself and leaving the tavern, well, looking like a tavern again. I didn't question why Hawk's mother was buried several feet under the ground; there was enough crazy stuff going on at the moment. Heading back inside, Elizabeth snagged the piece of paper off me and set to drawing.

I went upstairs and found the boots Meliodas had given me, pulling them on my feet. Wouldn't do to get sore feet again; I tested my weight in them, satisfied that they cushioned my feet nicely.

"I'm finished!" Elizabeth called and I dashed down to meet her.

"Oh my," I breathed, taking in the picture Elizabeth had sketched. "It's brilliant!" I shouted happily. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," I praised her, bowing continuously over and over, before taking the paper from her and slipping it into my boot so I wouldn't lose it. 

"Well, I guess it's time to head into town," Meliodas said, waving us out the door.

The view outside was magnificent, with rolling hills and quaint little cottages and stone bridges. The air was fresh and alive with sounds of animals braying and humans calling to one another. I laughed, spinning around, before bounding down the hill in front of Hawk. Country air always left me with a spring in my step.

"I usually buy all my liquor from wherever I can find it, but Vanya stuff is special. The best water you can find is here in this village. And with the gruit growing down by the river, it's used to brew Vanya ale," Meliodas explained. "It's got fans far and wide."

I reached the bridge first and peered over the edge, looking for the water Meliodas was quoting, but all I saw was barren dirt and dead weeds littering the bank.

"Well, it used to," Hawk commented, peering over the edge with me. "Now their famous waters of theirs have gone dry."

"Look, those herbs along the bank are dead," Elizabeth pointed out and I sniffed the air.

"Doesn't smell like there's been water here for a couple of days," I stated, before standing and brushing the dirt off my knees.

"What's going on?" Meliodas asked, puzzled.

We headed into the village, where a huge crush of people were standing in the courtyard. Disjointed chatter floated around, filling the air, with all heads turned towards a single point.

"Haha," Elizabeth laughed, smiling. "Just look at all the people here in the square. "Think it's some kind of festival?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Hey, what's up you guys!" Meliodas announced, striding over to the nearest men.

"Huh? Oh, it's the bar keeper," one replied, a man wearing a dark blue striped shirt and long grey pants.

"What's this festival for today?" Meliodas asked.

Striped shirt looked confused, and slightly angry. "Huh? Does this look like a damn festival to you? We're trying to pull out a sword some holy knight jabbed in the ground."

Interested, I weaved my way through the crowd, before crouching at the edge of it all. Within the crowd was a clear ring with more than seven men all struggling and straining to pull a steel sword from a crack in the ground. Some even used rope to no avail. I quickly headed back to my little group, in time for an explanation from the village elder.

"... infused his sword with mana, pierced the ground and locked away the water under our village."

"If we don't do something about this soon," I heard a man say, "we'll lose our water and our gruit too."

"Then we won't have any more Vanya ale," complained another. "Damn!"

"A Holy Knight? Think it might be that man you defeated the other day?" Elizabeth asked Meliodas.

"Who? That Twigo guy with the moustache? No, not a chance. He wasn't a Holy Knight," Meliodas replied.

"Huh?" Elizabeth and I replied. For a non- Holy Knight, he was bloody powerful.

"Trust me. The real ones are a whole lot worse." Meliodas' words weren't really filling me with any confidence.

"Only a Holy Knight has the power necessary to draw a sword belonging to another," said the elder sadly. "Breaking the news isn't going to be easy."

"Breaking the news?" I asked.

"I'm afraid this village is done for," he replied, shaking his head miserably.

"Oh no," Elizabeth moaned.

"Aw, give me a break. What's the deal with all this moaning and groaning?"

I turned to see a short, young boy with a fascinating hairstyle – hair split in two like weird ears – walking towards the main group of men.

"It's Mead," cried one of the men.

What a strange name, I thought.

"A Holy Knight sword stuck in the ground is nothing. If my buddies, the Seven Deadly Sins were here, that sword would be gone by now," he crowed.

"A friend of yours?" I whispered to Meliodas.

"Quiet, Mead!" said a lady with a red hat, scaring me with the harshness within her tone. "And whose fault was it that we're all in this predicament in the first place?! Of all the things to say! Did you have to mention those criminals too?"

"Yeah, she's right!" said a man, siding with the lady. "We don't need to make the Holy Knight angrier."

"Do you have a grudge against us or what, kid?!" shouted another.

Mead looked scared, frantically looking around for help, sweating dripping down his face. The crowd were getting riled up, closing in on him.

"No, come on!" Mead pleaded. His eyes started watering as he bunched his hands into fists. "That's not the reason I did it!"

"We've had it with all your mischief, with all your lying!" cried another man.

"You're such a jerk!" shouted a little girl, scooping a rock into her hand and throwing it at the kid.

Only, it flew past Mead and smacked Meliodas right in the face. I was torn between laughing or asking if he was okay; instead, I bit my bottom lip so I wouldn't be tempted to laugh.

"Well, I hate you guys!" Mead cried, oblivious to the poor person behind him who had taken a beating from the rock.

"Yeah, well, guess what! We hate you even more, Mead!" shouted a young boy, who had tears in his eyes.

Soon, all the children were throwing stones. I moved in front of the kid, catching stones in my hands before dropping them, as Meliodas whisked Mead away. When they reached a safe distance, I ran out of there as well, zigzagging to avoid the stones the children were now throwing at me.

"Sure looks like we picked a lousy time to come down here and hang out," I heard Hawk say, as I followed Meliodas up the hill and back to the tavern.

What a great way to start the day.