Tinted Windows

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Selene walked down the stairs and went straight towards the kitchen. The others walked inside and sent her worried glances when she didn't say anything. Turning her head to the side so they didn't notice her tear-stained face, she walked into the kitchen and locked the door behind her. She leaned against it and slowly slid down, sitting on the floor, sobbing silently for a moment. It just felt like everything was adding up. All of the pain, all of the loss, all of the mistakes. She sat on the floor until she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Are you alright, Selene?" Elizabeth said softly from the other side of the door. Selene shot up and wiped her tears.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just trying to find the ingredients for pancakes. Meliodas keeps this kitchen an absolute pigsty." Selene walked over to the cabinets and started grabbing the ingredients.

"Yeah, he's such a pig!" Hawk screamed from the other side of the door. Selene smiled and shook her head softly.

"Seriously, Hawk?" Meliodas said slightly muffled from the door. Selene started cooking a large plate of pancakes for everyone. It was bittersweet. Cooking made her feel connected to Ban. He was always the one cooking for everyone, but not anymore. She filled up a large plate with the pancakes and brought it out to the others. She placed it on the table and looked over at Meliodas who was deep in thought looking down at a piece of paper in his hands.

"In the coming days, Vaizel will be holding its big fighting festival. And the champion will be awarded the right to have 'any wish fulfilled'...?" Selene's heart stopped. She yet again was full of hope. She knew it was suspicious and she shouldn't trust it but it gave her hope. Hope that she could bring Ban back to life. Everyone grabbed food and chatted about the festival but Selene was completely zoned out. This was the only chance she had. And she had to take it.

"Selene, you alright?" Meliodas asked while walking over to Selene, snapping her out of her trance. "Aren't you going to eat anything? You said you were starving."

"I'm good. My stomach is irritated so I lost my appetite." He sent her a worried look. "Don't worry, Meliodas. Just a little stomach ache." Meliodas nodded half-heartedly and shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

Before they knew it, they were on their way to the fighting festival. When they all walked into the maze, Selene was in a trance. She was so deep in thought, she hardly even noticed everyone getting separated. Hawk was running up in front of her and Elizabeth was just a few steps in front of Selene. Selene snapped out of it when they stopped in front of Diane. Selene stood silently, just watching Diane and Elizabeth talk until she was noticed.

"And who's that?" Selene's heart broke slightly that Diane didn't remember her.

"Selene." She spoke softly but clearly.

"And we all know each other?"

"That's right! We're friends!" Diane glared down at them and turned her back on them. Selene zoned out again, trying to come up with a game plan. A plan for what she would do next. "Selene, are you okay?" Elizabeth asked once she noticed Selene wasn't following her.

"Yeah, sorry." Selene ran, trying to catch up to her friends. Once she did, she zoned out again. It became hard to breathe and it wasn't because she just ran. It was one of the moments where she realized how much her life was crumbling around her. It was like the past ten years were all hitting her at the same time. She was so deep in thought, she didn't even react to her falling when the ground gave out from under her. Diane caught them and placed them on the ground.

Selene remained in her trance. It was like she was sleepwalking and everyone noticed. She didn't snap out of her trance until Elizabeth jumped into the water and started pulling leeches off of Diane. Before the leeches could bite back on, Selene hit them with her powers. Once they were all gone, Selene leaned up against the side of the cave and buried her head in her knees. She stayed like that until she heard screaming. She ran out of the cave to see what was going on and was scooped up by Diane. She noticed all of the Meliodas's running after them and stared at the others in confusion. As she looked around, she noticed a Meliodas standing on Diane's shoulder.

"Meliodas?" Selene asked softly as she approached it. Once she was close enough, it hit her in the face, knocking her out.

Selene regained consciousness while she sat against a wall of the maze. She was dizzy and her vision was blurry but she could make out Elizabeth placing her hand on the opposite wall. Selene slowly stood up with Hawk's help. Elizabeth noticed and walked over, wrapping her arm around Selene to help balance her.

"Selene, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling like I want to punch Meliodas."

"But that wasn't him!"

"Doesn't matter." Elizabeth looked worriedly at her friend but Selene cracked a smile showing she was joking. Elizabeth let out a soft sigh.

"Selene! You look awful."

"Thanks, Howzer. So sweet of you."

"Are you alright?" Gilthunder asked his sister. She nodded and sent him a small smile.

"Just a little dizzy. Good to see you guys again though." She said as she placed her head on Elizabeth's shoulder and closed her eyes.

~~~

"So, Ban. Where have you been?" Meliodas asked his friend after he lost the arm wrestle.

"I was searching for Selene. I already told you that."

"Yeah, but what about Elaine?" Ban took a deep breath and looked back over to his friend.

"I buried her. She's been dead for twenty years. The only way to bring her back is apparently through you and I know she wouldn't want that. I just want her to be at peace."

"Then why are you here?"

"I came with Escanor to deliver some booze for the festival. Even after all of that time searching, I still couldn't find Selene. I just hope she's alright. I really can't deal with burying another person I care about anytime soon." Meliodas let out a smile and looked up at his friend.

"I bet she'll turn up sooner or later."

~~~

Selene's eyes fluttered open when she heard a loud explosion. Elizabeth pulled her back from the wall and everyone ran for cover. The wall they were just standing at, appeared to be breaking. Meliodas ran through with two other people behind him. Selene couldn't tell who they were through all of the dust. Meliodas and everyone had a touching reunion which just made Selene feel even worse. Her hope in bringing Ban back was fading more and more. She would never get the chance to see him again. She stared at the ground as she fought the tears that were threatening to leave her eyes.

"Selene, look up." Elizabeth said as she gently shook her friend's shoulder. Selene just shook her head and ignored her.

"Long time no see, Selene." 

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Hi guys! I'm back. Thank you so much for giving me this time to focus on my studies for the past few weeks. Also, thank you so much for a thousand reads! It feels so surreal. I am so grateful for every single one of you for taking the time out of your days to read my story. Every read, like, and comment means the absolute world to me. You guys are amazing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to share Chapter Thirty with you all!

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