I stared at the gigantic green monster corpse in front of us. I hadn't delivered the final blow or even gotten near killing it, but I did something.
I looked down at my hands as if they were magical, which I guess, maybe at this point, they were. I had summoned a god damn tornado! I practically squealed out of excitement, look at me being all strong and capable.
"Good job Kid." Ban smiled, his arm still draped over my shoulder.
"I barely did anything," I replied feigning humility, but I couldn't quite hide the proud grin stuck on my face.
I quickly returned to my senses remembering my earlier vow to not get in the middle of his relationship with Elaine and I squirmed out from under his arm. He glared at me before rolling his eyes etching an indifferent look onto his face.
"Come on, I'll make us some food."
I looked at him skeptically, "YOU'RE going to make food?"
When we were teens Ban lived off the food I gave him from the inn I worked at and anything he could steal from food stalls in the streets. I had never once seen him with as much as a pan in his hand.
"It's been ten years Teenie, things have changed."
Well, clearly.
We quickly set up camp with whatever twigs and brush we could find to start a small fire. I sat next to the fire my hands held up to it for warmth.
Meanwhile Ban was cutting off some meat from the beast that lay discarded a couple hundred feet away. It irked me and I insisted that we set up camp slightly away from it.
When he began to roast the meat I could feel myself salivating, how long had it been since I ate good food? We'd eaten the last few days at Escanor's destroyed pub, but this smelt so yummy!
My stomach grumbled and Ban looked up at me chuckling.
"Someone's hungry... String Bean," He teased.
"Did you just call me String Bean?"
"You're right, that isn't very fitting. A string bean is still bigger than you."
I scowled at him, when we heard the sound of someone approaching. Would we finally be reunited with the rest of the group, I wondered. I stood up preparing for whatever was approaching, better cautious than be attacked by another monster.
Ban stopped cooking for a moment to stand as well. I didn't miss the slight gesture of him stepping in front of me protectively, but I tried to push the feelings that the action elicited deep deep down.
Two figures walked out from behind the wall in front of us.
I took a step back, slightly raising my hands in front of me defensively, where Ban took a step towards them. I squinted slightly and saw two short boys in front of us. A blonde and a ginger who had a... cat... on his head? They were sort of cute, but I still felt a little uneasy at the strangers in front of us.
Ban and the blonde boy were staring at each other, and the ginger who stood slightly further back, glanced at me, then to Ban and Blondie's staredown.
"Huh? What's this atmosphere?" I hear him ask aloud.
Glad I'm not the only one confused.
Then the strangest thing happened.
"CAPTAIN!" Ban practically screamed.
"BAN!" The blonde replied happily.
The two approached one another and I inadvertently took another step back. I recall him mentioning the "captain" a few days ago, but I never asked what that meant. Was he just the group leader perhaps?
I watched as they high fived each other so fast it looked like a game of patty cake. I gasped when Ban then punched the small blonde. I was even more concerned when the boy punched back with even more strength than even Ban, who flew into the rock wall behind him at the impact.
"BAN!" I scream, but my feet are frozen to the ground, I was paralyzed in fear.
"Sorry about that I got carried away." The boy said, scratching the back of his neck.
I don't even think the blonde registered that I was there as they continued to interact and chat, moving onto an arm wrestling competition. The ginger boy looked over at me a couple of times, but said nothing about it.
I watched in amazement and horror as Ban easily won the arm wrestle the Earth around them fracturing. It was only after their arm wrestle that my existence was acknowledged.
"She's not how you described Elaine." Blondie said.
My cheeks flushed at this statement. No, I was not Elaine, but this only went to prove how little Ban cared about me. He told everyone about Elaine but never once mentioned me. Jericho knew about Elaine, and now this boy does. I was about as important to Ban as his shirt was, completely disposable.
The sadness washing over me was quickly replaced with rage. My face twisted slightly out of anger and I crossed my arms over my chest.
"I'm not Elaine." I snarled.
"Oh, sorry." He responded not noticing my anger, still sounding peppy and unbothered.
I knew I should probably introduce myself, but I was annoyed that I sat back down at the campfire, ignoring the new company, staring at the roasting meat over the fire.
I couldn't stop myself from listening in on their hushed conversation.
"She's from before Elaine... She's been through a lot... Hybrid race."
I heard bits and pieces, before the ginger kid sat down besides me. I looked up at him and he smiled warmly. He held his hand out to me.
"Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot."
My jaw dropped, I couldn't help myself. I had lived my life being as poor as dirt and I was now talking to the King of Camelot. I hesitantly shook his hand and replied.
"Julie Page, normal girl."
His smile widened slightly at my introduction and I felt small butterflies erupt in my stomach. I had been neglected for so long that any sort of attention makes me feel warm and tingly.
Maybe I could make Ban jealous after all, I thought deviously.
"How do you know the Sins?" He asked me, holding eye contact which made me somewhat uncomfortable.
How was I meant to explain my tragic life without sounding pathetic? I decided to keep it vague, "I've known Ban for awhile, not the others."
After some relaxed small talk, Ban and Blondie finally come over. Ban takes the meat off the fire while the Blonde introduces himself to me.
"I'm Meliodas, Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins. Dragon Sin of Wrath."
I glanced at him, wrath? That overly happy kid? I doubt there was an ounce of wrath in him.
"Hi." I replied flatly, still annoyed at being mistaken for Elaine. I knew I didn't have to introduce myself since they'd been gossiping about me ten feet away a moment ago.
"How do you feel about training with a demon?" He asked.
I squinted at him skeptically, but I guess he was the 'captain' for some reason. I didn't want to hold a grudge against him, but being called Elaine really rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know how much more it can be shoved down my throat that I'm not as good as her, that the man of my dreams chose her over me.
I took a calming breath, pushing the feelings down further.
"I think it would be an excellent opportunity." I reply dismissively.
"Great! We can get started as soon as I win this fighting festival!" He was so perky, I wasn't used to so many positive emotions.
We all sat down and ate, and I tried to go through a bullet list of all the names and faces I had met in the past few days. I added Meliodas and Arthur to the growing list.
I liked at least one of them.
