#4KOTAWeek

[oh-myluckystars]

4KOTA Week

Day 2: Confession [Trilance]

Lancelot never liked festivals much. They were crowded with people, it was obnoxiously loud, and everything was expensive. The only time Lancelot ever had fun at a festival was when Tristan had dragged him to one two years ago. That’s the only reason why he accepted Tristan’s invitation.

“Lancelot!” Tristan called out to him.

“There you are,” Lancelot said, turning around.

“So? How do I look?” Tristan asked, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.

As usual, Tristan was dressed elegantly from top to bottom. He was donning a ruffled, white blouse with black slacks. And of course there was the earring that his aunt had given to him.

Cute.

“Why are you all dressed up? Is there a dress code for this thing or something?”

Tristan pouted and he looked so cute doing it. “Lancelot, you just don’t get it. When people go to festivals they dress up. You have to get into the festival spirit, Lance!”

“I am dressed up. This is my favorite outfit.” Lancelot said, looking down at the clothes he was wearing.

“Well if you’re in the festival spirit then I guess I’ll let it slide.” Tristan said.

Tristan grabbed Lancelot’s hand and let him toward the festival. “Now come on, let’s go!”

You are going to have so much fun tonight, Lancelot. And at the end of night, I’m going to confess.

Lancelot had heard Tristan think that dozens of times before. He was always told himself he would confess to Lancelot but he would either wuss out or they would get interrupted by someone or something.

But not tonight. Lancelot would do whatever it took to hear Tristan say those special words to him.

And I’m going to make you confess.

—

“Ooh, this game looks fun.” Tristan dragged Lancelot to a booth. “You’d be good at this one, Lance.”

It was a shooting game, of course. Shoot as many of the targets as you can with the ammo you have to win a prize.

“That kitten is too cute!” Tristan cooed, eyes sparkling.

“Alright, let’s play for it then.” Lancelot said.

Tristan and Lancelot picked up their arrows, pointing it at their first target.

I want that fox, Tristan thought, eyeing the plush fox in the corner of the stall.

Why does he always think one thing and say another?

Lancelot shot down all the targets, one after another.

“Amazing, Lancelot! I need you’d be good at this game!” Tristan said, impressed.

That’s exactly why he picked it. All he wanted was for Lancelot to have fun, even if he wasn’t as good at it. Tristan would say he was good with an arrow but Lancelot was much better. Not that he minded, Tristan preferred fighting with his swords than with a bow and arrow.

Tristan ended up hitting three out five of the targets but it was better than nothing. Now that would’ve been embarrassing.

“I think you should stick to being a swordsman.” Lancelot teased.

“Was it really that bad?” Lancelot only snickered in response.

“What prizes would you boys like?” The stall owner asked them.

“Can I get the cat?” Tristan asked.

Didn’t you want the fox? Lancelot thought, confused.

For someone who could read minds, Lancelot always found it difficult to read Tristan. Not the thoughts themselves but what they meant. But when he heard the next thoughts in Tristan’s mind it all made sense.

Lancelot would like this, right?

He had finally figured out Tristan. Lancelot smiled smugly, crossing his arms over his chest. The stall owner raised a brow at him but the silver haired prince was too lost in his own thoughts to notice his abnormal behavior.

“I’ll take that fox.” Lancelot said with a smirk plastered on his face.

Well, Tristan? What’s your move?

But Tristan hadn’t even noticed Lancelot had gotten his prize. He was still wondering if the cat plush was a good idea.

It was looking like Lancelot had to make the first move.

“Tristan, I won this for you,” Lancelot held the stuffed animal toward Tristan. “You wanted it, right? I saw you looking at it.”

“Thanks, Lance.” Tristan took the fox from him, blushing.

Tristan looked at Lancelot shyly, hiding his red face behind the fox.

“I got this for you too,” Tristan handed Lancelot the plush. Lancelot positioned the stuffed cat so that it was sitting on his arm like a perched bird. “It’s super cute, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I like it. It reminds me of you.”

Tristan smiled. “And now we’ll both have something to remember the night by.”

Lancelot let Tristan take his hand, guiding him to the next stall over. Now that he understood where Tristan’s head was at he was confident he could get him to confess by the end of night.

—

Tristan and Lancelot had spent the rest of the night playing games and eating carnival food, all of which Tristan paid for. Now they were sitting on a bench, eating ice cream while they waited for the annual fireworks show to start.

Lancelot had had fun, just like Tristan had promised he would but he was starting to get frustrated. The night was almost over and Tristan had yet to confess to him. Just what did he need to do get a confession?

Lancelot looked at Tristan beside him as he ate his third ice cream that night.

“Tristan,” Lancelot leaned forward. He reached a hand out, cupping Tristan’s cheek. Tristan face reddened, looking back at Lancelot in shock. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for what would come next.

“You have ice cream on your lips.” Lancelot wiped off the ice cream from Tristan, licking it off with his thumb.

Tristan leaned back against the bench, trying to process what just happened.

I thought he was gonna kiss me… Tristan looked at his ice cream, disappointed.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” Lancelot asked.

How did he— He’s reading my mind! Has he been doing that all night? Oh no…

“Wait, Lance! It’s not what you think!” Tristan said that but he wasn’t sure how he was going to talk his way out of this one. His thoughts had made his feelings very clear.

“Tristan, I’ve been reading your mind all night…” Lancelot took Tristan’s hand, holding it tenderly. “I heard everything. Every wish in your heart, every fleeting thought. I even heard you say that you planned to confess to me tonight.”

Tristan blushed furiously.

“I like reading your mind, it makes me feel closer to you. I feel like I understand you better now.” Lancelot said, intertwining their fingers together. “…But that’s not enough for me. I want to hear how you feel about me out loud, not just in your mind.”

Are you really going to make me say it?

“Please, Tristan…”

Tristan had thought about how he was going to confess to Lancelot more times than he could count. He had had different plans every time but there was one variable that never changed, that he wanted to confess to him here on this bench because…

“Lancelot, the reason I asked you to come here with me tonight is because I wanted to confess my feelings to you here,” Tristan admitted. He looked toward the sky and then at Lancelot. “Because t was here that I fell for you. Do you remember, Lancelot?”

Lancelot did remember.

Two years ago, shortly after he returned to Benwick after being spirited away Tristan had asked him to come to the festival with him that year. They did the same things back then as they did now. The two of them played games, splurged on food, and at the end of the night they sat on this very same bench, watching the fireworks while eating ice cream.

That night was the first time in years that Lancelot had had so much fun. He could never forget it.

“Of course I remember.” Lancelot said.

“That night we spent together, I realized my feelings for you and now I can finally say it out loud… that I love you, Lancelot.”

Lancelot’s eyes softened. Finally, he had heard the words he had been waiting to hear after so long.

Who knew all he needed to do was ask for a confession?

“It was the same for me.” Lancelot squeezed Tristan’s hand. “I love you too, Tristan.”

Any second now, Lancelot thought, glancing at the sky. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small firework go off in the distance. Now’s the time.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” Lancelot asked again.

“Yes, please.” Tristan nodded.

Lancelot leaned forward, bringing a hand behind Tristan’s head, pulling his lips toward his. Tristan relished in the feeling of having Lancelot’s lips against his, squeezing his hand.

BOOM!

Fireworks started going off behind them, startling Tristan. He squeaked, pulling himself back and dropping his ice cream.

“Oh, no my ice cream…”

“We just had our first kiss and that’s the first thing you say?” Lancelot chuckled. That was just like Tristan.

“Sorry, can we do it again?”

“We can do it as many times as you want.” Lancelot said, pulling Tristan into another kiss.

[oh-myluckystars]

4KOTA Week

Day 3: Angst

One second Derieri was getting pierced in the heart by Mael and the next she was crying in her mother’s arms. Only that woman wasn’t her mother, at least not the one that she remembered. And they weren’t in the demon realm but in a small village on the outskirts of Liones. Not to mention the fact that she had somehow transformed into a baby.

“What should we name her?” Her father asked.

Her mother smiled softly, rubbing the baby’s cheek tenderly. “Thetis.”

Just what was going on?

After a few days of listening to what her parents were talking about Thetis had figured out what happened. Somehow the Seven Deadly Sins had managed to stop Meliodas from becoming the Demon King and then even managed to defeat the Demon King himself.

But the best news of all was that in one month, Elizabeth would be crowned the new queen of Liones. How she wished she could go to her coronation. But in her current state it was impossible.

One day she would see her again.

—

The process of grief was unpredictable. When she was a baby, Thetis cried over ever little thing. That was normal of course, she was a baby after all. She supposed that it was being reverted to a child again that made her so emotional.

Growing up, it was hard for Thetis to be at home. More than anything, she wanted to travel to Liones to see Elizabeth but she knew she couldn’t, not yet. So she had to stay in that small village on the outskirts of Liones.

The very same village where she stayed with Monspeet and Annie.

“Good morning, Thetis!” One of the villagers greeted her one day while she was in the marketplace. “Doing some shopping?”

That man was the very same man who she and Monspeet had saved from a bear attack when they first ended up in this village. It was because of that act that the villagers allowed them to stay.

After everything that happened Thetis was glad he survived.

“That’s right. Mother’s making fish stew for dinner,” Thetis said, placing a bag of potatoes in her basket. “Would you like to join us? My parents would be happy to have you.”

“Ah, I couldn’t possibly—” He started.

“Please, I insist. Join us.” Thetis said.

The old man faltered, chuckling. “Well, I suppose if you’re gonna twist my arm like that then I have no choice.”

That evening, all four of them came together for dinner.

“Thetis, sit up straight please. We have a guest.” Her mother scolded her.

“Yes, mother…” Thetis begrudgingly sat up, reaching for a glass of water across the table.

“Thank you,” Her mother smiled at her, placing a bowl of steaming, hot stew in front of her. “Now, let’s eat! Everyone dig in!”

Thetis picked up her spoon, scooping a portion out and putting it in her mouth. Tears began to fall from her eyes onto the stew as she broke down into tears.

“Thetis? What’s the matter?” Her father asked, concerned.

“Thetis?” Her mother asked.

But no matter how much she called out to her, she could not hear them.

“Derieri?” Annie asked.

“Yeah?” Derieri let Monspeet wipe off the residue of the stew from the corner of her lips.

“What do you think about the soup?” Annie asked, sitting down at the table with a bowl for herself. “Do you guys like it? It’s a new recipe!”

“I quite like it. It’s delicious, thank you, Annie.” Monspeet answered, stirring his soup.

“What kind is it?” Derieri asked.

Annie visibly brightened, which Derieri didn’t know was humanly possible. “It’s fish stew! The fish is good, isn’t it? Thanks again for catching it for me, you two.”

“It was nothing.” Derieri said.

Truth be told, Monspeet had done most of the work. While he was busy catching the fish Derieri had lazed around, letting the stream take her body across the river.

But Monspeet never complained, never even asked for her help.

“Would you like to learn how to make it? I’d be happy to teach you!”

“Sure, why not?” Derieri shrugged.

“Thetis, what’s wrong? Answer me!”

Thetis stood up right, knocking over her chair. She ran out of the kitchen, running to her room. She slammed the door shut behind her, letting herself to the floor in tears. She puts her arms around herself, squeezing her shoulders in a feeble attempt to control her breathing.

Living in this village was bittersweet for Thetis. She liked living here, it made her feel like she had never truly died. She had so many memories of this place. She remembered having dinners with Monspeet and Annie and helping the villagers find their runaway cattle. But she also remembered the villagers abandoning their home to save themselves from the demon clan. They had all run away, everyone but Annie. She had come to warn them but it was too late, Estarossa had found them first.

Why did she have to be the only one who survived?

Knock, knock.

“Thetis?” The villager said from outside her door.

Thetis didn’t answer, sniffling.

“Thetis, your parents are really worried about you. Please, talk to me.”

She opened the door. “You can come in.”

“What’s the matter, Thetis? You can tell me,” The man wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. But it was no use, the more that Thetis thought about the past, the less she could function.

He hesitated. “…Is it about Annie?”

Thetis flinched. How did he know?

“So that’s what this is about,” The man nodded. He tucked a strand of hair behind Thetis’ ear. “You know… as you were growing up, I had always felt like you were familiar… I just didn’t understand why.”

“But then as you started to get older, you started to look more and more like her. It’s you, isn’t it, Derieri?”

Thetis broke down into tears, falling onto her knees.

“I’m not supposed to be here…” Thetis cried, bamging her fist against the floor. “I should be dead but I’m not. Because she— she saved me…”

“Who did?” He asked.

“E-Elizabeth, the queen… of Liones,” Thetis stuttered.

“I see. I had heard the Queen possessed the magic of the Goddess Clan but I thought those were just rumors,” The villager said, rubbing Thetis back in a circular motion. He grabbed Thetis' chin, lifting her head up. “Would you like to see her again.”

More than anything.

—

It felt surreal to be back in Liones after all this time. It was like a dream. To think that she had first come to this kingdom to conquer Britannia. And now she had come to see Elizabeth who was now the leader of the kingdom.

She had made it but the hard part would be getting into the castle. Would the castle guards believe her if she said she was a reincarnation of the Queen’s old friend? Probably not.

Sure, she could use her magic to simply teleport into the castle but Thetis didn’t want to get into trouble if she ended up crossing paths with someone else.

So what was she supposed to do?

Thetis was suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of familiar magic. It was Elizabeth! And she was nearby! She bolted toward the source, running across the streets of Liones.

Elizabeth!

“Healing Star!” Tristan said, holding his hand above the injured man’s wound. Sparkling light shined on him, healing his injuries,

“Thank you very much, Prince Tristan.” The man thanked him, bowing.

“It was no trouble at all. Stay safe, now!” Tristan said.

“Elizabeth,” Thetis said.

Tristan turned around, met with a pair of violet eyes. Those eyes… he had seen then somewhere before but where?

Thetis lunged forward, throwing her arms around Tristan.

“I know you don’t remember but all you need to know is that I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth,” Thetis cried, squeezing her tightly. She had been afraid of this, that she would come to Liones to find out it was all a lie. That Elizabeth had been reborn just like Thetis. “If only I could’ve done more for you. You… and Meliodas…”

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Derieri,” Thetis’ eyes widened when she heard him speak her name. “In fact, I should be thanking you. For everything you did for my mother. She’s been waiting all this time, searching for you and now you’re here.”

“Wait, you’re not Elizabeth?”

—

“Mother, I’m back!”

“That was quick. Did you—” Elizabeth turned around.

“Hi, Elizabeth.” Thetis rubbed her arm.

When Elizabeth met Derieri again, she didn’t know what to expect. She knew she would be Tristan’s age but she hadn’t expected her to look so different. Her hair was up in pigtails and she wasn’t muscular. But when she looked into her eyes, Elizabeth knew the young girl standing before her was Derieri’s reincarnation.

“It’s you… Derieri!” Tears fell from Elizabeth’s eyes as she threw her arms around Thetis.

Now she understood how Meliodas felt. After losing someone so important then having them return out of the blue like this… there was no greater feeling in the world.

And unlike Elizabeth, she wasn’t cursed to return and she had all memories of her past life intact.

“Oh, Derieri, I'm so happy to see you again!” Elizabeth cried.

Thetis closed her eyes, smiling softly. “Me too… I’ve dreamt of the day we would get to see each other again.”

If this was a dream, Thetis never wanted to wake up. Being held in Elizabeth’s arms like this filled her with such warmth. After all this time, she had finally been reunited with someone she could call a friend.

As the girls cried together, Thetis knew that everything would be okay. As long as they were together, she they could face any trial in their path.

[oh-myluckystars]

4KOTA Week

Day 5: Memories/Soulmates [Trilance]

It was on Tristan’s 10th birthday when the red string of fate appeared.

“Happy birthday, Tristan,” Lancelot said from the top of the stairs. Tristan looked behind him and immediately got kicked in the face.

Tristan fell down a few of the steps before he caught his balance on one of steps and tossed himself down the rest of the flight.

“Heh, you thought had me, didn’t you?” Tristan smirked triumphantly.

“Don’t act all cocky,” Lancelot said, sauntering down the stairs. “You didn’t even see me coming.”

“Only because you snuck up on me.” Tristan argued.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Lancelot stuffed his hands in his pockets.

He looked away, catching his mother’s gaze. She gave him a knowing look, one that she often wore when Tristan and Lancelot got together. She was telling him to play nice.

But he didn’t always listen to his mother. “Hey, Tristan, wanna spar together? It’s been a while.”

“Oh, sure! Let me teach you what my dad taught me!”

“Your demon powers? Aren’t you scared of getting in trouble with your mommy?” Lancelot lunged toward Tristan.

“Nope!” Tristan grabbed onto Lancelot’s shoulders, using it to push himself up into the air.

“What? No wings yet?” Lancelot asked, watching Tristan land gracefully in front of him.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Lancelot hurled his fist toward Tristan’s face but Tristan caught it before it could reach him.

“Nice one.” Lancelot said.

“Why thank you.” Tristan smiled, pulling his hand back.

But when he did, they both noticed something odd. Around their fingers was a red thread that connected them to each other. Tristan and Lancelot stared at each other, unblinking.

“What did you do?” Tristan started.

“Me? What about you? Your the one with goddess powers!”

“What do those two things have to do with each other?” Tristan asked, exasperated. He shook his head, sighing. “Let’s just get these things off.”

They both proceeded to attempt to untie the string but it was seemingly tied too tight. They then tried to break the string by tearing it off with their teeth and even pulling it but the string only expanded.

“Well, this is definitely a goddess magic thing,” Lancelot said with a sigh. “Let’s go tell your mom.”

“No, wait, Lance!” Tristan grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “We don’t have to tell her… We can figure it out on our own! I’m a goddess, after all. If I did it, I’m sure I can undo it.”

Lancelot stared at Tristan blankly. “Scared of getting in trouble?”

Tristan’s face flushed and that told Lancelot all he needed to know.

“What should we do then?”

When Tristan looked back at Lancelot with black, demonic eyes he knew they should’ve gone to see Elizabeth.

—

“Which one of you can explain to me what happened?” Elizabeth asked.

Tristan and Lancelot glared at each other.

“He started it!”

“No! That’s not true, that is not true!”

“Yes, you did! And I have a scar to prove it!”

“So what?”

Elizabeth should’ve known that wouldn’t work.

“Tristan, you aren’t in any trouble okay?” Elizabeth put a hand on Tristan’s shoulder. “Just tell me what happened. Please.”

“…Well we were just playing and then we noticed this red string,” Tristan lifted up his hand, putting their shared thread on display. “We tried everything to get it off but nothing worked so I um… well you know.”

“Thank you for being honest, Tristan.” Elizabeth smiled, reaching for Tristan’s hand. “Just be more careful when using your powers from now on, okay? You should never use them on your friends, especially when you don’t have control over them.”

Tristan lowered his eyes. “I know… and I’m really sorry. I know I shouldn’t have used my powers… I was just scared. I didn’t want you to get mad at me…”

“Mad at you for what?” Elizabeth asked.

“Tristan used his Goddess powers to tie us together with this string.” Lancelot said, pulling at the string.

“It wasn’t on purpose!”

“Actually about that. That’s not a goddess thing,” Meliodas said, stopping the two of them before they got in another argument. “It’s called the red string of fate and you two are the only ones who can see it, which means you’re soulmates.”

“What does all that mean?” Tristan asked.

“The legend goes like this,” Elizabeth said. “If you touch your soulmate for long enough, the gods will reward you for finding them by tying a red thread around your fingers so you can never lose them.”

“At least that’s the version I always heard.” Elizabeth added.

“What’s a soulmate?” Lancelot asked.

“It’s… well there are all kinds of soulmates,” Meliodas paused while in thought. “There are soulmates like your parents who love each other but there are also soulmates who are just friends, some are even enemies.”

Lancelot’s face grew pale. After tonight, he definitely didn’t want to be Tristan’s enemy.

“Meliodas,” Elizabeth scolded and he put his hands up in surrender, hiding behind Tristan. “What he means is that a soulmate is a person that you are meant to find in life. What kind of soulmates you want to be to each other is up to you.”

“What she said.” Meliodas agreed.

Lancelot made a disgusted face. “If we’re soulmates like our parents are does that mean we have to kiss and stuff?”

“Good idea, let’s do it now!” Tristan leaned forward to give Lancelot a kiss. This was Tristan’s interpretation of the phrase “kiss and make up”.

“Gross no.” Lancelot said, dodging his kiss.

Fine, I didn’t want to kiss you anyway…

Lancelot took offense to that. “You liar! You just tried to kiss me!”

“What are you talking about? What am I lying about now?”

“You said you didn’t want to kiss me but you—”

“I never said I didn’t want to kiss you,” I only thought it. Wait…

“Yes, you did! I heard you!”

“No, I didn’t!” Tristan insisted. “I only thought about it! That means you read my mind, Lance!”

“Wait, really?” Lancelot asked.

Tristan nodded. Really. You can hear me right now, right?

“Wow, maybe being soulmates won’t be so bad.”

—

“Something on your mind?”

“Just thinking about when we found out we were soulmates,” Tristan said, looking at the strings that brought them together. “It’s a little embarrassing actually. Whenever people ask about it, I feel so judged.”

“They’re not judging us, trust me.” Lancelot squeezed Tristan’s hand.

“Liar.” Tristan said.

“Are you reading my mind now?” Lancelot chuckled.

“It’s only because we’re soulmates. I just know you that well.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s embarrassing. I actually think we’re lucky.”

“Lucky?” Tristan wouldn’t put it that way.

“Most people don’t find their soulmates until they’re already in a relationship,” Lancelot explained. He was right about that. Tristan couldn’t think of many people their age that knew they were soulmates before they started dating. “If we had never fought that day, we would be like the rest of these clueless idiots..”

“Lancelot.” Tristan couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend’s crudeness.

“What? It’s true.” Lancelot said.

“You’re right… but you shouldn’t say it.”

“Make me then.” Lancelot challenged, leaning forward.

Tristan smiled and grabbed his face, kissing Lancelot.

He was right, Tristan would take fighting Lancelot to find out they were soulmates over not knowing for years and missing out on moments like this one.

[oh-myluckystars]

4KOTA Week

Day 6: Wish/Mythology [Persiens]

Nasiens inhaled, taking in the sweet, salty smell of the ocean. It was sickening sweet, actually. That was good, that meant they were close.

“Are we there yet?” Donny asked for about the tenth time that day.

“We’re nearly there,” Nasiens squinted, putting a hand over his eyes to cover the blinding sun. “Anghalhad, you see that island up ahead? Let’s stop there.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Anne saluted Nasiens, steering the ship toward the seemingly small plot of land.

The island they were heading toward was called Mermaid Island. It was an old sailor’s tale that a group of people had been stranded on this very island for a year. They would’ve died but one of them found a magical chalice filled with a unique potion. Extremely dehydrated, they all drank it and wished that they could swim home. Upon drinking it, their wish was granted and they grew tails and fins and swam home.

It was an interesting story but Nasiens didn’t completely believe it. He found it strange how popular this story was and yet, no one had ever seen a single mermaid before.

But Nasiens didn’t care about the mermaids. He had heard many retellings of this legend, all of which had some evidence to back it up. He was confident that this cup of wishes was real.

The holy grail existed and he would find it.

—

The legend of the holy grail had many versions. In some, people found it in the sand, othertimes in a cave, but it was commonly found in the water.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get to searching.” Nasiens dragged out their treasure chest onto the sand with a huff. He opened it, revealing the magical items they would be using.

“Donny, you can look in the cave.” Nasiens tossed Donny a latern. He fumbled with it, almost dropping it.

“Why do I gotta look in the cave?” Donny asked, earning a pointed look from Nasiens. “I mean, why can’t you or Anne do it?”

“What? You scared or something?” Sin, their fox mascot asked. He was also the cocaptain.

Some people might find it strange for a talking animal to help lead a crew of humans but he was actually very helpful. Sin had been the one to tell Nasiens about Mermaid Island and the Holy Grale in the first place. They wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him.

“No! I’m just asking, is all.” Donny faltered under Sin’s gaze.

“Here, take this to defend yourself with.” Nasiens gave Donny a small knife. It wasn’t much but he doubted that Donny would need it anyway. It was just an extra precaution.

Donny grumbled, putting the knife away.

Nasiens looked at Anne. “Anghalhad, you and sin will be digging.”

Anne took the shovel with a sigh. There was a lot of land to cover but she would just have to put up with it.

“And I’m going to be looking in the water.” Nasiens announced the obvious.

He plucked two bottle of pills from the chest. They were special medicines he and his grandfather had crafted. One for seeing underwater and one for breathing underwater. Once you take one, it is effective for up to one hour. They packed in bulk for this trip.

“Everyone to your stations!” Nasiens ordered.

“Aye aye, captain!”

—

Nasiens and his crew searched all day for that mythical chalice but found no trace of it. Nasiens wasn’t worried though, he trusted Sin. He knew it was here all they had to do was be patient.

But Nasiens wasn’t sure how much time they had left.

When the rest of his crew was asleep he went to check up on them.

“Delores, how is he?” Nasiens asked, putting a hand on his sister’s back.

“It’s… been a rough trip for him,” Delores answered, placing a warm, wet towel on her grandfather’s forehead.

Ordo stirred in his sleep, mumbling something that Nasiens couldn’t understand.

“How… how much longer do you think it’ll be until you find it?” Delores asked.

Nasiens frowned. He knew what that meant. Their grandfather was running out of time and fast. They didn’t have time to be patient.

“I don’t know,” Nasiens answered honestly, sighing.

Delores put a hand over his shoulder to reassure him. “It’ll be okay, you’ll find it. Don’t stress, okay.”

“Right, thanks, Delores.”

After talking with Delores, Nasiens had tried to get some sleep but he just couldn’t. He was usually a restless sleeper but knowing that the holy grail was here, ripe for the taking wasn’t doing him any favors.

So instead of wasting his time trying to sleep he decided to be productive and search some more.

He popped one of his pills into his mouth and put the bottle in his pocket. During the day, he had left it with Anne and Sin to take care of but they weren’t here so this would have to do,

Nasiens braced himself for the cold water and dived in to the ocean. He shivered, feeling the cool water surround around him.

He swam and swam until he reached a part of the ocean that he didn’t recognize. There, he found an abandoned ship that had sank.

Sin was right, the legend is true! Nasiens thought, biting his lip out of excitement.

In all his excitement, he didn’t notice his bottles of pills floating away from him. Nasiens reached a hand out to grab them but the current took them away, drifting them to the inside of the abandoned ship. He swam inside but didn’t see them anywhere.

Where’d they go?

“These things taste weird,” He heard a voice say, accompanied by a crunching noise. He followed the voice to the back of the ship where a young boy was lying in bed, eating his pills. “But I’m gonna keep eating anyway!”

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Nasiens snatched the pills away from the green haired boy with oddly shaped hair. “You can’t eat those, they’re mine!”

“Oh, sorry, the law of the land says that we can take whatever ends up in the ocean that humans don’t want anymore. But I guess you still wanted it, huh?”

“Aren’t you a human too?” Nasiens asked, putting away the medicine.

“No, not really,” The boy answered, swimming out from under the covers revealing a green, scaly tail. “I’m a mermaid. Or merman, I guess. I don’t really know.”

“A mermaid! How amazing!” Nasiens bit his lip, swimming toward the mermaid. “You must be—”

“Woah, your lip is bleeding!” The mermaid exclaimed. “Let me help you with that.”

Nasiens was suddenly swarmed by a school of glowing, green fish. After a moment they disappeared, swimming to the mermaid’s side. He ran his finger over his lip and the cut was gone, those mysterious fish had somehow healed him.

“How— How is this possible?”

“This is my magic and they’re my Mini Percys,” The boy said, rubbing one of the fish’ scales affectionately. “I’m Percival! What’s your name?”

“I’m Nasiens.”

“So Nasiens,” Percival said, stretching his arms above his head as he swam beside him. “What are you doing down here? No normal human could survive down here.”

Nasien’s face turned serious. “I’m looking for the holy grail. Do you know it?”

“Of course, we all do!”

Who’s we?

“Do you know where it is then?” Nasiens asked, hopeful.

Percival shook his head. “No, I’m sorry I don’t.”

Nasiens face fell. “All I know is that it’s somewhere in this ocean! Don’t worry, I’ll help you find it!”

“You will?!” Nasiens brightened and Percival nodded.

“Of course.”

Percival gasped when Nasiens hugged him. He smiled, putting his arm around him in return. It was a strange sensation, hugging Nasiens. It felt so warm, a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Happy to help.”

—

“Why are you looking for the holy grail, Nasiens?”

“…It’s for my grandfather, Ordo,” Nasiens answered quietly. It wasn’t something he talked about often. His crew mates all knew the story but only because they had been there when it happened. “He’s cursed. A Holy Knight from Camelot cursed him and now he’s losing he’s slowly losing his life force. If I don’t find it soon my grandfather will…—“

“It’ll be okay. We’ll find it,” Percival comforted him, holding his hand. They both looked at their hands and they blushed, pulling their hands back. “Actually, I think I might be able to help with my magic. If not, I know a friend who might be able to help!”

“Another mermaid?” Nasiens asked.

“Oh, there he is know!” Percival pointed to a mermaid with long, silver hair.

“Not here either,” The mermaid sighed, putting down the rock. He looked at the other mermaid, a woman with dark hair. “Gawain, I am going crazy here.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“Tristan, Gawain!” Percival called out to the mermaids.

“Percival, where have you been?” Tristan asked. Nasiens wondered if his hair was like that because of whatever stress he was under.

“Looking for the holy grail,” Percival explained. “This is Nasiens, he’s looking for it too.”

Gawain crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing Nasiens, “I don’t know what a human is doing here but he better keep his hands off the holy grail. We have dibs!”

“Actually…” Nasiens started. “Percival said one of you might be able to help me. My grandfather’s cursed. Do either of you have healing magic too?”

“I do but I can’t heal curses, only wounds. I’m sorry about that.”

Percival had forgotten about that.

“…I see.”

“Maybe I can still help. I’ve never healed a curse before but who says I can’t?" Percival said, optimistically. “Why don’t we give it a try, Nasiens?”

—

“Sin! Anghalhad! Donny!” Nasiens called out from in the water.

Anne was the one who answered. “It’s the middle of the night! What do you want?! And why are you in the water?!”

“Never mind that, just bring down the net! And fill a large tank with water and bring it to my grandfather’s room!”

Nasiens instructions made no sense but she still obeyed him. She lowered the net, catching them both and bringing them on the ship.

“What the— Is that a mermaid?” Anne couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Hi, I’m Percival!” Percival beamed at her.

“Where’s Donny?” Nasiens asked, picking up Percival in his arms.

“Getting the water ready.” Anne answered.

“Good, let’s go.”

The three of them walked into Oreo’s bedroom where Delores was helping Donny fill the glass with water.

“A mermaid?!” Donny shouted, almost spilling water everywhere. “So Sin was telling the truth, after all

“Perfect, it’s ready.” Nasiens said, dropping Percival into the tank. He kneeled down beside him. “Do you need anything else, Percival?”

Percival shook his head. He actually didn’t need the tank of water to begin with but they had already gone through all the trouble of setting it up for him so he didn’t mention.

“I’m ready.” Percival summoned his Mini Percy fish and they swam around Ordo, making odd fish blurbs. When they disappeared, Ordo looked visibly younger.

“Ordo!” Nasiens cried, joining his side by Delores. “How do you feel?”

Ordo smiled. “I’ve never felt better.”

Nasiens looked to Percival, wiping tears of joy off his face. “Thank you, Percival for everything.”

“What is what all that racket? I was in the middle of a really nice dream, you know.” Sin walked into the room, yawning. He saw Percival, sitting in a tank. “Percival?”

“Lancelot!” Percival exclaimed.

“Lancelot? Not sin?” Donny and Anne looked at each other.

“What are you doing here, Percy?” Sin asked, walking toward the tank. “Didn’t you go home with the others?”

“Home? You mean Liones?” Percival asked, tilting his head. “No, we’ve been here the whole time. We’ve been looking for the Holy Grail so we could make our wishes and find you again. We wouldn’t leave without you, Lancelot.”

Sin’s eyes softened. “Of course you wouldn’t.”

“I’m guessing you guys haven’t found it yet then.”

“Incorrect!” Tristan announced, holding up a golden cup filled with a mysterious liquid. “Behold, the Holy Grail!”

“You guys found it. Took you long enough.” Sin said.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t run away then we could’ve found it earlier.” Gawain huffed.

“Can someone please explain what’s going on? Who are these people?” Donny asked.

“Let me explain,” Sin cleared his throat. “The story I told you guys about, about the people who got stranded here. Well, that was us. We came on a journey to this island but our ship crashed and sunk.”

“We would’ve died if Gawain hadn’t found the Holy Grail. We all made wishes when we drank from it and they ended up as mermaids while I ended up a fox.”

“You guys wished for that?” Anne raised an eyebrow..

“Not on purpose,” Tristan said, handing Percival the cup. “You have to be very specific about what you wish for.”

“After that, I made another wish and I ended up in Liones.” Sin said, licking the liquid out of the chalice. He turned back into a human and he stretched his arms, standing up. “I don’t know what happened after that but I guess the Holy Grail got lost.”

“I assumed everyone else swam home but I decided to come back here to find it,” Lancelot looked at Nasiens. “But then I heard your story and told you about the Holy Grail.”

“Well, that explains why a fox could talk.” Donny said.

“What will you four do now?” Nasiens asked, looking at Percival.

“We’ll go back to Liones,” Lancelot said, setting the cup down. “Will you take us? I’m still cocaptain, right?”

Nasiens smiled. “Of course.”

Now that they had all gotten what they had wished for they set sail for a new site, Liones.

Percival leaned against the ship, watching the waves crash against the boat.

“Percival.” Nasiens said, joining him. “Thank you again for everything. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am.”

“It was nothing. I’m just glad your grandfather’s okay,” Percival smiled. “And thank you for taking us back to Liones.”

“Right, of course.” Nasiens smiled sadly. He knew Percival deserved to go home after all this but he wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye. If only they had more time together.

“And when we get there, I can show you around!” Percival said, tearing Nasiens away from his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Why don’t I take you to a restaurant? Just please don’t order any seafood…”

Nasiens laughed, taking Percival’s hand.

“It’s a promise.”

[oh-myluckystars]

4KOTA Week

Day 4: High School/Uni [Gawain x Isolde]

Tick, Tock.

Tick, Tock.

Isolde stared at the clock expectantly, hand clutching her pen tightly.

Come on, come on…

The clock finally struck 12 and the school bell rang all across Liones High School, indicating that it was lunch time.

But not for Isolde. She had more important matters to attend to.

It was the first day of the new quarter, which meant it was the start of her volunteer work for Nurse Elizabeth.

“Good afternoon, Nurse Elizabeth!” Isolde exclaimed, panting in the door way. Maybe she shouldn’t have run all the way to the nurse’s office knowing it was on the other side of the school.

“Isolde, you’re here early.” Elizabeth could’ve sworn she just heard the bell ring. “What about your lunch?”

“Oh, I already ate in study hall,” Isolde said, earning an annoyed look from Elizabeth. “I’m sorry, I was just so excited to learn from you. I didn’t want to waste any time.”

“Oh, Isolde…” Elizabeth just couldn’t stay mad at her when she said things like that. It was moving, truly.

Knock, knock.

“I’m back, Nurse Elizabeth.” A muscular woman opened the door.

Despite looking so big and strong, she was surprisingly beaten up. Bruises all over her face and arms and she even had a black eye.

It certainly wasn’t what Isolde expected to see on her first day of volunteering.

“Oh, Gawain not again. And on the first day of the new quarter!” Elizabeth shook her head, disappointed.

“He started it!” Gawain said, defensively. She noticed the tall girl beside Elizabeth who looked like she was trying not to stare at Gawain. “Hm? Who’s this?”

“Oh, yes. Let me introduce you two. Gawain, this is Isolde. She’s a volunteer, she’ll be assisting me for the rest of the school year,” Isolde waved shyly to Gawain. “And Isolde, this is Gawain. She a bit of a trouble maker, always getting into fights. Trust me when I tell you that you’ll be seeing each other often.”

“I like the sound of that.” Gawain leaned forward, admiring Isolde.

“Gawain.” Elizabeth scolded.

“Sorry, Nurse Elizabeth…”

—

Once Gawain’s injuries healed, she came back to the nurse’s office after getting into another fight.

“Oh, dear.” Isolde said when she saw the state she was in.

Gawain looked worse than the last time Isolde saw her. She had a gash on her forehead, a beat up lip, and her knuckles were stained red from blood.

Though Isolde didn’t know if it was her blood or her opponent’s blood.

“This is nothing,” Gawain said pridefully, blistered hands on her hips. “You should see the other guy.”

“Isolde, quick! Get me some gauze!”

Isolde returned from the back with a roll of gauze. She handed it to Elizabeth, watching intently as she applied pressure to Gawain’s forehead.

“Apply pressure here for me,” Elizabeth guided Isolde’s hand with the gauze to Gawain’s lips. “Okay, good.”

“Okay, just stay like that for a second,” Elizabeth said, instructing Gawain to hold the gauze against her forehead. “Let me get you an ice pack, sweetie.”

“Just how much trouble are you in for this?” Isolde asked.

“I’ll find out, after this. They sent me straight here after they found us fighting,” Gawain said with a wince. “Why? You worried about me?”

“Of course, I’m worried about you,” Isolde said, annoyed. She applied more pressure than necessary, making Gawain wince. “And you should be too. This is serious, Gawain.”

“Yeah, I know…” Gawain lowered her eyes. “I just—”

“I’m back!” Elizabeth announced, holding up the ice pack and a pack of alcohol wipes.

Isolde tried to pay attention to what Elizabeth was doing but she just couldn’t. All she could look at was Gawain.

What were you going to say?

“There, all better!” Elizabeth said, tossing out the bloodied trash. “Now you can go see the principal.”

“Are you okay to walk?” Isolde asked, worried.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about—” Just as Gawain stepped off the exam table, she lost her balance, falling forward.

Isolde grabbed Gawain’s waist, catching her before she could fall.

“Why don’t I take her to the principal’s office?” Isolde suggested, draping Gawain’s arm over her shoulder.

“I was just about to suggest that. Please do.” Elizabeth nodded. “Just be careful, okay?”

—

Isolde had been waiting so long outside of the principal’s office that she had lost track of time. She would probably be late for class but she didn’t care. The only thing she could think about was Gawain.

She had tried to eavesdrop on her conversation but it was no use she couldn’t hear a thing. She just hoped the student Gawain had fought didn’t get too badly hurt.

Wait, the other student?

If they had gotten hurt like Gawain did, they would’ve come to the nurse’s office too. Maybe they were with Elizabeth now…?

Before Isolde could figure it out, the door opened and Gawain came out.

“Gawain!” Isolde stood up immediately.

“Oh, you’re still here.” Gawain said, closing the door behind her.

“What happened in there? You’re not in too much trouble, are you?”

“Not at all. The Principal just gave me a earful,” Gawain waved her hand dismissively. “…But I do have to go home for the day. Just to get some rest, though.”

Isolde walked Gawain to the parking lot where a ginger haired man and a raven haired woman were waiting for her.

“You ready, Gawain?” He asked.

Gawain nodded and Isolde helped her into the back seat. She handed her the icepack and put on her seatbelt.

“Feel better, okay?” Isolde leaned forward, giving Gawain a kiss on the cheek. Gawain looked back at her, holding the spot on her face that she had kissed.

Isolde blushed, looking away. She got up and closed the door.

“I’ll— I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“R-Right. See you tomorrow…”

“So, that was Isolde?” Arthur gave her a knowing look from the rearview mirror.

“Just drive!”

—

The next day, Isolde got to school early, hoping to catch Gawain. She didn’t see Gawain so she just assumed she was running late or that she needed an extra day to rest.

“Good morning, Isolde!” Tristan called out to her as he got out of the car with his parents.

“Oh, Tristan, good morning,” Isolde said.

“What are you doing in the parking lot? Don’t you walk to school?” Tristan asked.

“Oh, I uh— I was just waiting for Gawain,” Isolde admitted cheeks flushed. She remembered that Tristan and Gawain were friends or at the very least acquaintances. She had seen them around together a few times. Maybe he knew what was going on with her. “By the way, do you know if Gawain is coming to school today? I’ve been waiting all morning but I haven’t seen her.”

“Isolde, you didn’t know?”

—

The sun peaked it was way into Gawain’s eyes, blinding her. She tried to move her arm to cover her eyes, sending piercing pain into her shoulder. Instead she closed her eyes, in too much pain to move.

“Everything hurts…” Gawain groaned.

Knock, knock.

“Leave me alone, I’m tired!” Gawain shouted at the door.

“I brought you your school work,” Gawain heard Isolde’s muffled voice from outside the door.

Gawain immediately sat up right and she immediately regretted it, screaming out in pain. Isolde opened the door right away, rushing to her side.

“Gawain, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Isolde asked, kneeling down beside the bed.

Gawain nodded, clutching her ribcage. “I-I’m fine. Nothing I can’t handle.”

Isolde didn’t believe her but she didn’t press her further. She stood up and placed her school work by her desk. She leaned against the desk, crossing her arms over her chest. She tried glaring at Gawain but seeing her battered and bedridden like that just made it impossible. So instead she looked away.

That’s the only way she would be able to confront her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Isolde asked quietly.

“Tell you what?”

—

“GAWAIN GOT SUSPENDED?!” Isolde exclaimed.

Tristan nodded. “Yeah, I’m surprised she didn’t tell you. You two seemed pretty close.”

No, Gawain didn’t tell her she got suspended. And what was worse was that she lied about it. But what reason would she have to do that?

“But why? Isn’t that a little extreme?” Isolde asked in a whispered. She was out of ear shot of Meliodas but she still didn’t want him to hear her. “I mean, what about the other guy? What happened to him?”

“…He’s in the hospital.”

“The hospital? He got that hurt?”

If Isolde thought that Gawain’s injuries were bad then she didn’t even want to know what happened to the other guy to get him landed in the hospital.

“A broken nose, ribcage, and a dislocated shoulder but that’s just off the type of my head,” Tristan said. For all he knew, it could’ve been much worse. “Normally, Gawain would’ve been expelled but my father let her off with a warning. I just hope she’s learned her lesson.”

“But why would Gawain do that?” Isolde knew Gawain got into a lot of fights but she never would’ve imagined she’d go that far.

“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her yourself.”

—

“That snitch, that wasn’t any of his business. The next time I see Tristan I’m gonna—”

“You’ll what?” Isolde asked, walking to the foot of the bed. “Gawain, you have to stop acting like this. Violence isn’t the answer to all your problems. You have to control yourself.”

“I know but this time I just couldn’t control myself. When I heard him say those things, I just snapped.”

“What did he say?” Isolde asked.

“It was bad enough that I heard it, you shouldn’t either. But… it was about you,” Gawain said, looking away.

Isolde didn’t need to ask again, she knew the kinds of things people said about her both behind her back and to her face. She used to be just like Gawain, picking fights with people over the littlest of things but even after she changed people didn’t stop talking about her. They say she should act more ladylike, that there’s no point in someone like her trying to act like a saint.

That’s why she was being so hard on Gawain. She didn’t want her to suffer the same way she did.

“I’m used to people being assholes to me but I never want to hear anyone say those things to you.” Gawain said and it was like she was reading her mind.

“I feel the same way,” Isolde smiled sadly. “And thank you for defending me but you didn’t have to be so hard on him. A couple punches would’ve been enough.”

“I know, I’m sorry… But in my defense he broke a bunch of my bones too. We’re basically even. I don’t think we’re gonna have any problems when we come back to school.”

“You have broken bones?! Why didn’t you say anything?” Forget saying anything, Isolde had to take her to a hospital right now.

“That’s just the difference between me and Edlin. He’s a total crybaby and I’m not,” Gawain smirked, shrugging despite the seething pain it gave her. “Anyway, I’ll be fine. My aunt and uncle are taking care of me so…”

“Then I am too.” Isolde said, sitting at the corner of her bed. She grabbed her hand, locking their fingers together. “I’ll come over everyday after school and bring you your homework and take care of you. And when you come back to school, you won’t get into anymore fights, right? You promise?”

“I promise… if you go on a date with me.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

[oh-myluckystars]

4KOTA Week

Day One: Pining/Coffee Shop ☕️ [Trisolde Flavored]

“One espresso.”

The customer was about Isolde’s age, she might describe him as tall but when you’re as tall as Isolde is it’s a little hard to tell. He had long silver hair with bangs that covered his eyes a little so it was hard to tell but she could make out blue and green under there.

“Alright,” Isolde said, grabbing an espresso cup and uncapping her pen. “Can I get a name for that order?”

“Tristan.”

She wrote down his name and the order, then passed the cup off to Chion to be filled.

“That’ll be three pounds.”

Tristan paid without saying another word, silently sliding the money across the counter to Isolde. Chion handed Tristan his coffee and he took it from him, making a swift exit from the café.

“What a weirdo.” Jade said.

Isolde looked dazed.

“Hm?” She asked. “You think so? He was actually pretty handsome, don’t you think? I hope he comes back.”

“Are you serious?”

—

Tristan closed the door behind him with a sigh. He leaned back, watching cars pass him by.

Why do I have to be so awkward around girls? Especially the cute ones…

Tristan took a sip of his coffee and made a disgusted face before swallowing slowly.

And why did I order this? I don’t even like coffee!

What a waste. Well at least—

Tristan slipped a hand in his empty pocket— Wait, empty?

My wallet, it’s gone! No, I must’ve dropped it in the coffee shop! But I can’t go back inside now…

Oh, I know! I’ll just—

“Excuse me, sir- er, Tristan,” Isolde tapped his shoulder.

Tristan jumped. “Y-Yes?”

“Here, you dropped your wallet in the cafe.” Isolde handed him his wallet.

“Thank you very much.” Tristan said.

“It was no trouble at all.” Isolde smiled at him. Anything for an excuse to talk to Tristan. “Enjoy the coffee!”

Isolde dashed toward the door, returning inside. She was gone for a second and back in the blink of an eye.

“I forgot to give you your receipt, sorry!” Isolde apologized. Before Tristan could thank her, she ran back inside.

But that wasn’t the strange part. The strange part was that he could’ve sworn that Isolde had given him his receipt inside the café.

When he looked closer at the receipt, he realized that it wasn’t even his receipt. He thought about returning it but when he flipped the paper over he saw numbers scribbled on it with a message.

‘You’re cute, call me sometime’

Tristan blushed, staring at the receipt in disbelief.

He took another sip of his coffee. It still tasted bad but he could bear it if he got to see Isolde.

Maybe coffee wasn’t so bad after all.

—

Tristan came back to the coffee shop the following day.

Today he was determined. He would order something he actually liked, maybe flirt a little, and if he was lucky he could get a date.

He was not lucky.

Yesterday, Tristan couldn’t even get out a word when Isolde greeted him yesterday. Her beauty just stunned him into silence. But today would be different, he swore it.

But today the one waiting for him at the cashier wasn’t Isolde but Chion.

“Hey cous,” Tristan chirped, leaning against the counter. “Working hard or hardly working?”

“Here to see Isolde?” Chion asked.

How did he know? “No, no, of course not. I came to see my favorite cousin!”

Chion raised a brow at him.

Tristan leaned forward, speaking in a whisper. “But just out of curiosity… Isolde wouldn’t happen to be working today, would she?”

“Nope, I’m all alone at the register today. Even Jade ditched me.” Chion wiped away a non-existent tear from his eye.

Tristan stared at Chion blankly.

“Well? You gonna order something or what?

—

Tristan picked up his spoon, stirring the tea slowly while in thought. The hard part was over now that he had Isolde’s number. Now came the harder part, getting her to fall for him.

He and Isolde had texted each other practically all night long. It felt a lot easier texting her instead of talking face to face. Mostly because he couldn’t get distracted by her beautiful face.

But that didn’t change the fact that he was disappointed he couldn’t see her today. After all that time he spent talking with Isolde over the phone, he had been excited to see her in person.

But then Chion had to go and crush his dreams like that.

Man, I really wish Isolde was here today…

“Tristan, you came!” Isolde seemingly appeared out of thin air behind him, towering over his shoulder.

She smiled at him. “Mind if I sit?”

“Yeah, of course. Go ahead.”

Tristan picked up his cup of tea, blowing on it gently. “I’m a little surprised to see you. Chion said you weren’t working today.”

“Hm?” Isolde put her down her drink. “No, I was here, just in the kitchen, baking. I’m not usually on the register but the café was pretty busy yesterday so my boss made me get on.”

“You bake? I have to admit I’m a little jealous,” Tristan said, leaning his face against the palm of his hand. “I can’t cook to save my life, much less bake. I think it runs in the family.”

Isolde sat up straight, folding her hands against the table. “Tristan, let me let you in on a little secret. Anyone can cook, in fact it is quite easy. All you need to do is follow the recipe to the tea.”

Isolde cringed at the unintentional pun at the end of her speech but she hoped that her message went through to Tristan. And it looked like it did. Tristan stared back at Isolde, speechless.

Maybe I went a little too far there…

But Isolde didn’t stop there.

“Here, try one of my scones. It’s an Isolde Original Recipe.” Isolde said, passing Tristan the bag of pastries.

Tristan plucked a scone out of the bag and took a bite. Isolde watched him intently, trying to read his facial expression as he chewed on the pastry.

“Wow, it’s delicious!” Tristan said.

Isolde smiled, relieved. Now she could proceed.

“You know, when I said that it was on Isolde Original Recipe that was actually a lie,” Tristan gasped. Isolde nodded, looking at him with a serious expression. This was in fact a very serious matter. “But it’s good, right? You don’t need to do anything fancy to make a good pastry. All you need to do is follow the recipe.”

Tristan nodded in agreement, too busy enjoying ths scone to form a response.

“And I think what you need is a good teacher. Luckily for you, you’re talking to the best baker in Liones.” Isolde said proudly, gesturing to her name tag.

“Really? You’ll teach me?”

Isolde picked up a scone for herself. “Of course I will! I must correct this injustice, Tristan.”

Tristan chuckled. “Alright, if you insist. But I will warn you right now that it won’t be easy.”

“You are going to eat your words, Tristan,” It came out sounding like a threat so she added, “And delicious pastries.”

“How’s Sunday?” Tristan asked.

“It’s a date.”

—

Over the next couple of days, Tristan returned to the coffee shop everyday to see Isolde. They sat and talked about what they oils be doing on their date and she even got him a cook book. Tristan spent an entire day studying it in preparation for their date.

The result was something resembling scones.

“…They look edible.” Tristan said, optimistically.

This was their 5th attempt and if they failed again, they wouldn’t be able to make a 6th batch. She could only hope Tristan’s was right.

“Only one way to find out.” Isolde fanned the scones off with a hand.

Isolde picked one up, examining it from every angle. She hesitantly took a bite, fearing what it would taste like.

“It’s good!” Isolde said, surprised.

“Really? Can I try?” Tristan asked.

Tristan closed his eyes and opened his mouth. Isolde blushed, guiding the pastry toward his lips. He took a bite and and opened his eyes. He gasped, holding a hand over his mouth.

“It’s good, right?” Isolde laughed.

“Really good. I can’t believe I made that.” Tristan was surprised with himself.

“See? I told you, anyone can cook.” Isolde took a bite out of the scone.

“What should we make next?” Tristan asked.

“I think we better save that for another time.” Isolde really needed to go grocery shopping after all they had been through that night. It would be a load off her paycheck, that was for sure. “…Assuming that you’d like to do this again.”

“I’d like that very much.”