Wreathed in Sin, Wrought by Destiny

Chapter Five

"N-no, it's fine," he stammered, dropping his gaze. Just... "Please don't do that again, though..."

"I won't," she assured him warmly. "See, Hawk? All better."

"Yeah, yeah, just don't pull anything like that again, ya hear?"

"What, you'd turn on me so easily? I'm hurt!" Elizabeth staggered backwards as if stabbed in the back, mouth curved in a brilliant smile, and Meliodas hid a smile of his own as he watched the two bicker back and forth. His hand instinctively came up to twist the pendant made from his old earring, fingers seeking the familiar blue crystal.

The familiar blue crystal that was missing. With a sharp inhale, Meliodas grasped his neck quickly in search of the chain it hung from, glancing around worriedly. Did I—did I drop it somewhere? No, I never took it off, and I definitely put it on this morning. Did...no, Elizabeth wouldn't do that. Would she? I don't know what she's fully capable of, and I certainly couldn't stop her if she wanted it...but why would she? She's been nothing but kind to me so far, more so than I deserve, and stealing isn't her style.

A groan escaped him as the painful truth set in. It's really gone...

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" the talking pig bellowed in their direction, and Meliodas stiffened before shuffling along again, silently lamenting the loss of his pendant.

"Hawk, maybe you should calm down," Elizabeth reasoned. "It's no fun traveling with a nervous pig."

"Nervous?" The prince jolted as Hawk's voice seemed to echo several times over. "Who're you callin' nervous, huh?"

What in the... He slowly looked up at the talking pig, hand clasping the hilt of his dagger. A row of a dozen or more...Hawks? stood in front of him, all freaking out about the others and insisting they were the real one. Have I gone insane? This is...this is way too weird!

"Waaah! There's so many of us!"

"Well, duh, Porky!"

"Hey, who're you callin' Porky?"

"Man, this is a pain," Meliodas heard Elizabeth sigh—and then she seemed to vanish and reappear, a trail of scattered Hawks in her wake. So fast—I can't remember her ever moving like that before! How strong are the Sins? A chill ran up his spine as he watched her straighten, a fluid motion that seemed almost predatory. How strong is Elizabeth?

"Hawk, are you okay?" he called out, hoping that only the real one would respond—but of course, they leapt up and raced for him as one with matching wails. Great... "Um," he muttered, turning to the pigs with raised hands. "Hawk—"

And he froze. A silhouette rose from the shadows, straightening. A glimmer of green shone in the shadows, a dark shape slipped out of the fog, and Meliodas found himself staring (in horror and confusion) at his own face. He took a step back, only to stumble right into another not-him. Several more doppelgängers rose out of the mists, each one of them with a faintly insane smile on their faces that he was certain he'd never sported.

"Lady Elizabeth, you know know I'm the real one, right?" the one to his left called out, and he stiffened.

"Don't be fooled by that faker, I'm the genuine article," another one singsonged.