Chapter Text
Meliodas’s head was swimming.
Just moments ago Bartra and Zaratras had left him in the bakery with Doctor Herald. It wasn’t that he disliked the Doctor per se, he was just…unfamiliar.
Since the moment we woke up in the chasm — one that he now knew to be Danafor — he had barely kept his head above water. The more he tried to swim through the murky waters of his mind, the heavier his unanswered questions became.
Even his name felt…foggy. Almost as if he stumbled across it on accident, a glimmer of something tangible in the darkness. He clung to it, the certainty of it being his keeping him afloat.
But things were changing now. They had changed the moment he was thrust out of that pit.
He was no longer drowning alone.
Bartra and Zaratras, who were under no obligation to help, took a chance on him. Meliodas was cautious at first, for he knew he’d been drowned by trusted hands before — though he didn’t know where from. But in the end, he was tired of treading water and took a chance on them.
He trusted them to help him float. Only to drag them down with him.
Bartra opened up to him about who he and Zaratras were, where they were from, and what they were doing…Meliodas came to that realization. Though he was slow to trust, these were good people…good people who had friends in Danafor—friends who mysteriously disappeared—friends whom his memories held the only hope of ever finding out what happened to them.
At first, when he made this realization he was frustrated.
How dare they use me? Should I have never trusted them to begin with?
The more he thought, the deeper he sank. Meliodas’s problems were no longer only his problem. As far as he could tell, he was the only survivor of a catastrophe of unknown proportions.
And he was worthless.
So far he had done nothing but cause problems for his saviors. And yet he dared to doubt their good intentions. Furthermore, Bartra had offered him a home, and a…family. Something about that word made his breathing quicken. Was it excitement or trepidation? He couldn’t tell.
They had already done so much for him…so much that he couldn’t even begin to imagine how he would pay them back. First, he was failing himself, unable to remember the very essence of who he was. Now, his failures were hurting the few people who had come to his aid. He didn’t deserve to accept Bartra’s offer.
And yet as he sat in the back of the bakery — allowing Herald to check his injuries —he knew in his heart that if Bartra asked him for his answer, he would agree.
He was too weak to do otherwise.
He may not be able to remember what happened to Danafor, but he refused to weigh down his saviors. He had to find another way to help, maybe then he could allow himself the comfort of family.
—
Herald was fairly quiet as he looked over Meliodas. Only occasionally pausing to ask him if he felt any pain here or there. The entire process was much easier than Meliodas was expecting it to be.
Though Herald hadn’t done anything to make Meliodas suspicious of him, he hadn’t completely earned his trust. Not like Bartra and Zaratras had at least.
Bartra had been so patient. Allowing him to take his time to tell his story, and didn’t reprimand him when he struggled to remember something. He was honest too, he didn’t expect Meliodas to spill his entire life story without anything in return. Even if Meliodas was sure that a King shouldn’t be going around sharing privileged information; it meant a lot that he was willing to share with a stranger like Meliodas.
Zaratras, though he had spent less time with him, consistently took charge; and did his best to take the burden away from Bartra. He hadn’t known him long, but he could tell that Zaratras was as loyal as they come.
They had trusted him with their secrets, so he would trust them in return. After all, respect was a two-way street.
Herald cleared his throat, drawing Meliodas out of his thoughts.
“So, uh, quite a tumble you must have taken my boy,” Herald asked, clearly unsure of himself.
Meliodas wasn’t extremely familiar with the former Kingdom of Danafor, but he could deduce that the information Bartra gave him earlier was… privileged. During their entire first encounter with Herald, Zaratras had been cagey, to say the least. Especially about the circumstances of where they had found Meliodas. He became even more defensive when Meliodas described the darkness of the pit.
At the time, Meliodas wasn’t aware that this was…unusual. He had no memories to compare it to after all. But the more Zaratras skillfully navigated the conversation elsewhere, it was clear that Meliodas wasn’t supposed to tell his story to Herald.
Judging by Herald’s not-so-subtle probe into his story, it was clear that Zaratras wasn’t completely successful in diverting his attention.
Meliodas decided to slowly nod to answer Herald’s question. No need to give him any more information. He trusted Bartra and Zaratras…and they trusted him alone with Herald.
Which meant it was up to him to keep the truth about Danafor from the inquisitive Doctor.
Herald pulled out some bandages and began to apply them around his head.
“What exactly did you fall from?” Herald asked, clearly trying to sound casual. “You don’t have any serious injuries…but it looks like you hit your head pretty hard. There’s not many chasms around Hugo…ya know?”
Crap. Their earlier conversation did bring up the chasm, didn’t it?
“I don’t know,” Meliodas mumbled, carefully avoiding meeting the Doctor’s eyes directly, “I’m not familiar with the area.”
Herald’s face contorted into a tight smile at that. “So you're not from around here…eh?”
Meliodas did his best to school his expression. Shit. He’d accidentally given him more information. He had already failed Zaratras once…he refused to be the cause of more problems.
“I couldn’t tell you honestly, I only woke up a few hours ago. ” Meliodas said, playing up the confusion in his voice. “I’m sorry…I wish I could help more. You’ve been so kind to us strangers.”
Herald looked taken aback at that. Maybe he hadn’t expected such a sappy response.
“No no, don’t worry about it child,” Herald said, somewhat reluctantly. “After getting a look at your head injury it's no wonder you don’t remember anything… You're lucky that there was no further damage.”
Meliodas signed in relief. It looks like complimenting the Doctor was the best way to turn the conversation elsewhere.
“What about Zaratras and Bartra then…where are they from?” Herald asked, false cheer dripping from his every word.
“I’m not sure mister, I only just met them, “ Meliodas replied with confidence, seeing an opening to shift the conversation. “But wouldn’t it make more sense for you to ask them?”
The smile on Herald’s face became more and more strained as he spoke.
Meliodas grinned unapologetically.
At this point, it didn’t matter if Herald caught onto his reluctance to talk about himself. By turning the questioning back at Herald…he had flipped the interrogation. Now, Herald was the one under scrutiny for asking impossible questions of an injured kid.
“So Doctor, besides my head am I going to be okay?” Meliodas asked, using Herald’s confusion to keep control of the conversation.
Herald stuttered a little, then replied, “Well, yes…yes everything looks–”
“Okay then!” Meliodas said, mimicking Herald’s false cheer from earlier…”How about we go outside and ask Bartra and Zaratras where they’re from then? You seemed really curious about that…it must be important!”
Herald’s body language abruptly changed. He was stiffer and less sure of himself. In response to that, Meliodas sat a little straighter.
Meeting Herald's eyes, Meliodas stood up and ran through the bakery to the outside door. As he did this, he heard Herald shout something disgruntled, but couldn’t tell exactly what he had said.
At that point, it was clear that whatever medical care Herald had been using to stall for time had long since been completed. Truly, besides his head injury…all of his wounds had been superficial. Besides from a few cuts and bruises that he must have accumulated on his climb out of Danafor…he was remarkably untouched.
Meliodas decided to dismiss these thoughts for now. He had more pressing concerns.
Not waiting for Herald to catch up to him, Meliodas burst through the front door. The sun had finally set while he was inside with Doctor Herald, but the streets were fairly well-lit. Right beside the door to the bakery sat Zaratras and Bartra on a bench.
The moment he burst through the door, they both turned to look at him, slightly surprised looks on their faces. Overall, they looked fairly jovial, like they’d been laughing at a joke that only they knew.
“I’m all good now!” Meliodas exclaimed, carefully making eye contact with Bartra and Zaratras. “But I think the Doctor has some questions for you.”
Meliodas intently held Zaratras’s gaze as he spoke, hoping that the knight would pick up on what he was trying to tell him. To his delight, he saw Zaratras’s eyes widen slightly, his face shifting into a confident smile.
“I understand,” Zaratras said with clear intent. “How about this…I’ll answer any questions our good doctor may have and the two of you head back to the Inn!”
Bartra began to protest but was quickly silenced by a knowing look from Zaratras.
Just as he heard a commotion from within the bakery coming closer, likely Herald following him outside. But Meliodas wasn’t worried. He had won after all. He had successfully turned Herald away from the information that Zaratras worked hard to keep hidden.
He trusted Zaratras and Bartra, and he had now repaid that trust.
“Well, shall we go then?” Bartra asked, pointing in the direction of the Inn.
Meliodas grinned and reached up to grab Bartra’s hand without any hesitation.
“Okay,” Meliodas said, his mind finally made up.
“Alright, the inn is just this–” Bartra started.
“No, you misunderstand,” Meliodas interrupted. “Earlier today you asked me a question and you told me to think it over before making a decision. I…well, my answer is yes.”
Somehow, Bartra’s grin got impossibly wider.
Without uttering a word, he squeezed Meliodas’s hand a little tighter and led them back to the inn.