Never Close Our Eyes

1

"Hendrickson...!" The hurt and sorrow on his plaintive call made the Holy Knight thin his lips into a line, hardening his gaze as he looked to the man behind the iron door, forehead red and bloodied from bashing it against the metal. "Why...? Why..."

"It'll be explained in due time," he replied as steadily as he could and he heard a faint choked sob from within the cell, the hand visible through the crack in the door grasping onto the ledge for support. Hendrickson felt strangely powerless, even though he himself was the one who placed the other male behind bars.

"I thought...I thought..." his voice was weak and coarse. The white-haired man touched the other's fingers as they were the only part of him he could reach. He felt the other male flinch, but didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry, [First Name]." The man's fingers intertwined with his, but they trembled - weak and frail, starved from days without proper nourishment. He sighed silently, he thought he'd told the guards to feed him well. "I'm so sorry. This will all be over soon."

"Hendrickson, I...can I believe you anymore?"

His fingers slipped away as he collapsed limply onto the ground.

--

"Lord Meliodas?" The man hummed, not looking over his shoulder at the silver-haired girl sitting at the bar. "Did you ever know a Holy Knight named [First Name]?" For the first time since she had joined him, Meliodas visibly stilled, Ban's expression turning grim as King flinched. She studied them before frowning, concerned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - "

"Yes, I did. We all did, he was a good man," he replied smoothly, interrupting the girl. "What about him?"

"W...was...?" both King and Hawk seemed confused by this choice of words.

"Wait, Meliodas!" King zipped over, hovering behind the man. "Do you mean to tell me he's...?!"

"His status is unconfirmed as far as I'm concerned, but Hendrickson himself sent me a messenger bird with his final letter and his necklace," Meliodas spat out the name like it was a sour taste in his mouth. Elizabeth's eyes widened at his words and she stood up, suddenly slamming her hands onto the bar, startling everyone in the room with her sudden outburst.

"H-His necklace?! Do you still have it?!" Meliodas blinked in surprise before nodding with a sound of confirmation, reaching under his shirt to pull it out, revealing he'd been wearing it this entire time. He removed it and handed it to her, and she cradled it in her hands, trembling softly. "No..."

"E-Elizabeth? What's going on?" Hawk poked the woman's leg, but she bit her lip in attempt to rid her throat of the lump that was forming. "Who's this [First Name] guy?"

"He...He was..." Elizabeth choked back a sob and Ban sighed, walking over and patting her head roughly, opting to answer in her place.

"He was a Holy Knight we knew ten years ago, we were friends with him. Probably one of the most friendly Knights you could ever hope to meet, but the day we were framed for trying to overthrow the kingdom, something happened and we haven't heard anything from or of him since." The pig frowned, looking at the ground in light sadness.

"He...that day, Sir [First Name]...he tried to protect me..." Elizabeth's voice caught their attention as she shook, eyes fixated on the necklace in her hands. "He was my escort, he would always tell me how I was one of the most important people in the world to him. He played with me, he taught me so many things, and...to think he's dead...it can't be true! Sir [First Name] is strong and stubborn! He promised me he'll never die so long as I am alive, he never goes back on his word!"