The Eighth Sin

Episode 7.5 - The Strands of Mistrust

"Ellie, slow down!" Y/N shouted to her younger sister, who was racing ahead of her.

"It's not my fault you're running as slow as a snail!" Ellie yelled back, slowing to the pace of her elder sister. Y/N groaned in exasperation and trudged on despite Ellie's taunts. "Hey, why are we going through the woods, anyway?" Ellie randomly asked. "We usually just walk through the town." 

Y/N rolled her eyes. "It's because of that rumor going around time, remember? The one about the monster rampaging through these woods?"  

Ellie paled, laughing nervously. "R-Right, of course. But, those are just silly rumors, so we can just go back and go through the town..." She said, tugging gently on her sister's arm. Y/N turned around, looking at her sister.

"What's gotten into you? It's our job to protect this town, so rumor or no rumor, we need to patrol the woods if we here of a monster rampaging in them. Not to mention it would be a huge waste of time to turn around and walk all the way back to town."  Y/N scolded. Ellie grumbled but continued on.

As the sisters walked through the woods, the sun sank lower and lower in the sky, until it was barely visible. Y/N started whistling quietly, careful not to draw any attention to herself. Suddenly she tripped over a rock, gasping. "Ugh, Ellie? Can you help me- EEK!"

-Time Skip-

Y/N tapped her foot up and down, staring at her younger sister and the handsome young man in front of her. "So... You're the monster that's been rampaging through the woods?" She asked.

The man nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Ellie squeezed his hand and took a step forward. "Y/N, sister, please  don't be too mad. I found him a few months ago while I was out on patrol in the woods. I had  to help him. He was on the verge of death!" Ellie pleaded, hovering her fingers over the man's bandages. "See? If it wasn't for me he would've died!"

Y/N brought a hand up, motioning for her to close her mouth. "Ellie... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I... I couldn't tell you about him because I wasn't sure that you would... That you would approve of our relationship." Ellie said, barely meeting Y/N's emotionless eyes. The eyes that would have normally displayed hurt, anger, and sadness, were as blank as a freshly cleaned slate.

"I see." Y/N said, turning to face the man. She stepped closer to him, examining him. She did a surprisingly good job of intimidation, despite her small size. "Very well... I accept your relationship. Just do yourself a favor and quit running around the woods. Ellie, come on. Let's go home."

The pair walked through the woods, Y/N taking notice of every detail. She saw how sister carried herself, instead of stepping through the woods confidently, she hesitantly followed. Ellie's every action was an involuntary effort to make herself appear smaller, a natural response of someone who's just upset their older sister. "So, what's his name?" Y/N asked her sister.

Ellie's eyes flitted to look at her sister, confused at the sudden question. However, once seeing that Y/N was completely serious, her eyes lit up and she answered with glee. "His name is Emerald, but he told me to just call him Emer. Isn't it so cool that his name is my favorite gem?" She gushed, playing with her hair.

"How... Convenient..." Y/N grumbled.

Ellie's eyes quickly fill with fear and sadness. "You're doing a very good job at being the protective big sister..." She mumbled.

"Well, since both of our parents are useless, it's my job to be the responsible, protective one. It's hard to balance being your mother, father, and  sister, you know." Y/N said, smiling at her sister.

Ellie laughed nervously, and a little to hard. On the outside, Y/N knew they looked just like they used to. But, even then she could feel the wall that was building between them, the strands of mistrust threading through their tightly knit relationship as sisters- and best friends.