ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ | ʙᴀɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰɪᴠᴇ

Author's note: For this chapter, I have included a bit of Aldro's back story and the reason why he's your protector. And there's a particular someone who comes looking for Ban 😏  Next chapter will be up next weekend! Enjoy :)

"ᴀᴅᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴘᴀᴛʜ ᴛᴏ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ." 

ʟᴏʀᴅ ʙʏʀᴏɴ

"What the hell is she saying?"

"Shut up, Ban," I snap and then continue speaking in my language, bidding farewell to Zhivago's soul.

Early in the morning, Ban and Aldro dug a grave on a hill outside of the town and buried the Beastman there. Now that everyone has said their goodbyes to him, I'm doing the same but in the language of the Demons so that only Aldro understands. Whatever I have to say does not concern the others.

When I'm done, I swiftly get up to my feet and start walking away, my mind still full of grief and confusion. The rest of the group is not far behind me, and I can feel the awful tension in the air that refuses to dissipate.

Everything is happening far too quickly for me. Leaving the Demon realm with Aldro, finding my older brother, meeting the Seven Deadly Sins, joining Ban on his quest, losing Zhivago, all of this has happened in a blink of an eye. And I just can't seem to keep up.

"(Y/n)." I ignore the immortal. "(Y/n)."

Swerving right, I bolt straight into the woods and hide within the trees behind the large trunks. They can't see me but I can see them, each one with a different expression on their face. Aldro's misty face gives away absolutely nothing, Jericho's is clearly sympathetic, and then there's Ban. One would think he did not care at all but the pain in his crimson eyes says otherwise.

Aldro murmurs a few words I cannot hear, probably urging the group to move on, and they do exactly that. After they are a couple of feet away, only then do I start following them. Right now, I cannot deal with Ban. In fact, I'm really not in the mood to speak to any of them. Even Aldro.

(Y/n)—

Give me some space. Please, Al.

His silence is confirmation that he will follow my order.

I crinkle my nose when I hear them talking again. Awful as it is, I hear every single word they are saying when I listen harder.

"Give her time," Aldro says. "She and her siblings are known for not dealing with grief well."

"Was she like this when her mother passed away?" Ban asks.

"Worse," Aldro answers solemnly. "Last night must have been a painful reminder of her mother. The day her mother died, they were sitting together in her chambers and sharing their memories of Meliodas. Her mother completely shut down when our people found out young Meliodas had left us behind to pursue a new life. Among our people, her death is not considered...admirable." I grit my teeth. These were the same words I had heard from many other Demons, including my own father. They were bastards, all of them. "However, I simply believe it demonstrates the love she felt for her eldest son."

"So she died of a broken heart?" Jericho asks.

"Yes," Aldro says. "They both fell asleep next to one another on (Y/n)'s bed, and when (Y/n) woke up, her mother was dead. Can you imagine how she felt when she discovered this? Death, ever since then, has truly terrified her."

They fell silent, the wind whirling past them.

"Aldro?"

I try not to snigger when my protector sways to the ground before coming back up again. "I—Yes, Ms Jericho?"