She was at the top of the hill, arms behind her head and eyes shut. The sun was beginning to set, and she was relishing in the serenity of the scene. It was days like these where the wind was softly blowing and the low hum of the nearby village that she enjoyed the most. If she could stay in that moment forever, she would.
Soft footsteps approached for, and she peeked an eye open at the intruder, her relaxed countenance on display. She hummed in question and watched as he grinned broadly at her.
"I've heard a lot about you," he cheerfully announced, blonde hair bobbing and hands on his hips. "The townspeople said you'd be up here."
"Who are you?" she drawled out lazily, basking in the remaining sunlight of the day. and shutting her eye again. A shadow came over her, and she opened her eyes again to see the boy standing over her, green eyes bright and friendly.
"I'm Meliodas," he introduced, jabbing a thumb into his chest. "The old lady asked if I would take you with me back to Danafor."
She glanced over his outfit, recognizing him to be a Holy Knight. She scoffed lightly, sitting up abruptly and suppressing a yawn.
"Alright."
Meliodas blinked a few times and cocked his head. "That's it? You're just going to come with me just like that?"
She stood up and stretched her limbs then shrugged noncommittally. "I have no ties here. I'm sure the old lady was tired of me freeloading."
She walked down the hill, not bothering to check if he was following. Her ponytail swished behind her, and she darted her half-lidded eyes at him as he walked beside her, an ever present smile on his face. She studied him for a moment before looking forward again.
"Risa," she finally said. "Your name is Meliodas, right? Huh," she thought out loud, missing the tense shoulders of her companion. "What a weird ass name."
He gave her a closed eye smile and bonked her on the head.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"It's rude to insult others, Risa!"
"So this is Danafor?" Risa asked Melodias when they approached the kingdom. She studied the mellow colors and the people happily roaming the streets. Melodias walked beside her, searching for something, or rather someone.
"Meliodas!"
His face lit up at the sound, and Risa watched on as a pink haired girl ran towards them, her visible eye twinkling at the sight of him. She stood in front of him, smiling cutely. "I thought you would be back tomorrow!"
He rubbed his head and laughed. "I did too. Risa made it easier," he glanced at the redhead behind him. "Risa, this is Liz."
"Yo," Risa lifted a hand in greeting. She studied the girl in front of her and lifted her lips into a smile. "Meliodas was right - you do have large breasts."
She received a punch on her head and rubbed the bump miserably, only smirking when she saw Liz standing above him, a glare on her face and arm positioned from her own punch.
"I'm sorry," Risa felt compelled to apologize to the girl. "I meant to say he was right when he said you were beautiful."
Liz's face lit up in a blush and she waved her hands at the girl. "Oh n-no! I'm not angry with you!" She grabbed Risa by the arms and walked away from Meliodas who was brushing the dirt from his uniform. "He told me that you'd say weird things."
"He did? Hm," Risa hummed. "Where are we going?" She continued to watch the people around them and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her skin. She liked Danafor.
Liz chuckled at her expression. "To our house! Meliodas told me that you were coming so we prepared a room for you."
A...room...?
Risa stopped walking causing Liz to stop as well. The pink haired girl gave her a confused look, and Risa stared at her, lidded eyes opened fully. "Why?" she asked simply. And instead of Liz getting angry or hurt at the question, she merely gave a bright smile and tilted her head.
"A friend of Meliodas' is a friend of mine! So let's go!"
Risa immediately met the eyes of small blonde boy. His eyes were serious, and Risa didn't turn away even when Liz led her away again, chattering away.
Meliodas...you know me?
Risa was panting, sweat dripping down her face, one eye closed due to the blood dripping into it.
"Liz!" she yelled out, standing in front of the Holy Knight, the destruction of the once beautiful Kingdom of Danafor around them. "Where's Meliodas?!"
The girl shook her head, and Risa felt dismayed. The demon in front of her was large and menacing. He had an ominous aura emanating from him, and Risa could feel Liz trembling behind her, and she gritted her teeth.
Liz can't die. she thought vehemently to herself, grabbing the Holy Knight and ducking from the swipe of the demon. Her and Melodias can't die here!
The demon chuckled darkly, a sound reverberating through her bones, and Risa felt scared for the first time in a long time. It was evil energy, and she hated that it felt almost... nostalgic in a sense.
A demon, she thought almost hysterically. An actual demon out of the seal.
"This brings back memories," the demon rumbled out. "You standing there in front of that woman. If only Meliodas were here then it would be a true reunion."
Risa clenched her jaw because what the hell was he talking about and glanced back at her friend. "Go!" she shouted wildly, raising a sword of a dead knight to block an attack from the demon. "Liz, go! Find Meliodas!"
"I'm not leaving you here!" the girl shouted back, fully prepared to launch an attack, and Risa shoved the arm of the demon and yelled again, eyes flashing dangerously. "Leave!"
Liz looked ready to argue again, but Risa sent her a harsh glare. It wasn't ideal - Risa would much rather have Liz in her vision but she knew that Meliodas would do much better at protecting her than Risa could. And if the two of them together upped their chances of survival, Risa would allow it any day.
"You won't get away!" the demon yelled, darting from Risa in a speed she didn't think was possible for him, his aim being Liz. Shit! she cursed, following him. I won't make it in time!
A wet cough rang through the silence, and Risa's eyes were blown wide. There was blood - so much blood - and her chest felt tight at the sight.
"R-Risa!"
Risa coughed again, a spike protruding from her stomach, seeing Liz's eyes well up in tears, mouth agape, and some of Risa's blood covering her. Risa forced a shaky smile to her face as she looked down at Liz.
"Are...you...okay?" she rasped out, her eyes beginning to droop. "T-thank you...Liz..."
The spike was yanked out of her body, and she let out a grunt as she fell next to the Holy Knight. Liz immediately grabbed her, hands hovering over the gaping wound in her stomach, and Risa found it harder to breathe by each second. She could see Liz crying for her, and even she could feel her own tears welling up.
I'm sorry, she lamented, a tear flowing down her cheek. I'm sorry.
"This really does bring back memories!" the demon cackled. "I was surprised to see you, Risa, but it makes it all the better."
Her eyes shut before she could witness the rest of the battle.
She could vaguely feel the hands on her shoulders and the tears falling on her cheeks.
I'm alive...?
Her eyes cracked open and met the blurred green ones of her dearest friend. Meliodas was leaning over her, his teeth clenched in order to hold in his cries, and Risa weakly lifted a hand to his arm, making him stop.
"Risa!" he exclaimed, the pain still evident in his voice, and Risa squeezed his arm. "Liz...you need to get to Liz!"
He seemed torn for a second, and she couldn't understand why. But then he looked up, and his entire body went still, his arms going limp. Risa slowly followed his gaze, and her breath caught. Meliodas slowly walked away, and Risa tried to roll over to her knees but only succeeded in flopping onto her front, eyes trained on her two friends.
Oh god, Liz...
She heard the demon laugh at them, laugh at their dead friend, laugh at their poor luck, and laugh at their grief. Risa was crying openly, tears rolling down her cheeks without stop.
When the evil energy exploded from Melodias, however, Risa thought for sure that it was the end.
"A Holy Knight for Liones?" Risa asked skeptically, poking at the wrapping on her stomach as Melodias nodded, his signature smile on his face. "So we're staying here now?"
"Yep!" he replied. "I'm the Knight in charge of Elizabeth. The King said he would anoint you as well if you - "
"No thanks," she flopped backwards onto the bed and put her arms behind her head. "Too much work."
A fist came down on her head, and she yelled out in pain. "I almost died, you idiot!"
"You're too lazy," Meliodas shot back, and Risa cracked a small grin at him before sobering, eyes staring at the ceiling in thought.
"Hey, Meliodas," She could see out of the corner of her eye that his demeanor was serious. "Are we going to talk about it?"
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her, his tone much different than their previous interaction, and Risa shut her eyes and hummed.
"Meh, I guess not," she replied, a jaw-cracking yawn escaping her. "So when do I get to see the little princess, hm? I'm going to teach her all sorts of bad shit."
Another blow hit her, and she tried to swat his fist away, rubbing her head. "That's not what I meant to say, asshole! I meant to say I was going to teach her all sorts of cool stuff!"
"I don't believe you."
"Hey, Meliodas," Risa suddenly said again, still rubbing her head. He gave her a curious stare with his head slightly tilted, and she gave him the biggest grin she could remember giving and closed her eyes. "Thanks for being here."
He seemed taken aback for a moment, surprise coloring his features before he returned it. "Right back at you."
"Man, Liones is really nice," Risa mused to herself, walking the streets from the place she shared with Meliodas. It was her turn to pick up food for dinner that night (she also cooked it because although it was average at best, she wouldn't be getting any food poisoning) and she had a much better eye for food than her companion.
She said hello to the vendors and dodged any children that were running around, helping the few that tripped over their feet. She approached a fruit stand and contemplated what she should get.
"Apples? I think we have a few. Oranges? Nah, takes too long to peel. Hm," she muttered to herself, rubbing her chin in thought and glancing at all of the prices.
"You'll never make enough for you and Cap'n if you just get fruit, Risa," a voice teased from behind her. Risa blinked and turned to face the presence, somewhat surprised to see her friend's comrade.
"Hello, Ban," she greeted, ignoring his previous statement. "You wear too much red."
A hand swiped at her, and she dodged it easily, scratching her cheek. "What are you doing here? It's unlike you."
He barked a laugh at her, tugging roughly on her ponytail. "Cap'n sent me to get you. He said the little Princess is asking for you."
Risa's eyes lit up, and she gave Ban a harsh pat on the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Carry me there, I didn't prepare myself to walk this much today," she demanded, waiting for him to gather himself.
"Hell no!" he argued, pointing a finger at her. "You're too damn lazy!"
"Why are you shouting? Aren't we going back to Meliodas?"
Risa smirked at his indignant shout as he hurried to catch up with her. He was mumbling insults to her, but she knew it was all in good fun. Ban wasn't a cruel person, and Risa wasn't bothered. They got along well enough, which was good as Ban and Meliodas were very close as well. It seemed fitting that the three of them held each other in such high regard.
Risa turned to Ban once they arrived where Melodias and Elizabeth would be playing together. "You really need a haircut."
His hand swiped at her again, and Risa revised quickly, "I meant to say thank you for taking me."
Ban grunted and gave her head an affectionate pat compared to the blow he was intending earlier. "Learn how to thank people first," he teased and turned to leave. Risa watched him depart with a slight smile on her face before grinning at the Princess.
"Your favorite person has arrived!" Risa called out, allowing the knock on her head from a certain blonde, not faltering in the slightest. "I heard a little Princess was asking for me?"
"Risa!" Elizabeth cutely yelled out, almost tripping a few times as she towards the woman and hugging her leg tightly, looking up at her with bright eyes. "I missed you!"
Risa gave her a soft pat on the head and shut her eyes in a smile. "I missed you too, Princess."
She met eyes with Melodias who was watching the scene with a melancholic smile on his face. She didn't have to ask to know what he was thinking so she turned her attention back to the little girl in front of her, leaning down and whispering, "How about we gang up on Meliodas over there? Between me and you, I think we can win this time."
The Princess' eyes filled with determination, and she nodded seriously. Risa smiled at her and looked at Meliodas. "Go!"
The courtyard was filled with the giggles of the third Princess and the irritated cries of her womanly companion.
"Merlin?" Risa cocked her head to the side, very confused. Risa had no problem with any of the Sins - she considered herself to be on a somewhat amiable level with each of them despite not spending a large amount of time with them like Meliodas did. However, other than Ban and perhaps Diane, they didn't seek her out without any ulterior motives. And Merlin usually had an ulterior motive.
"You've heard what's happened?" the mage asked, a calm air around her despite the sounds of of shouting and fighting coming from the capital. Risa shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck. "Eh, I caught the gist of it. You guys are murderers now, huh?"
The mage chuckled. "It would seem so. That's part of why I'm here, Risa," the woman became serious as she explained, "The Sins are splitting up to avoid this fiasco. I sent the Captain away already, and I'm sure the Holy Knights will take you into custody if you stay here - "
"Not that big of a deal," Risa yawned, sticking her feet up on the table. "I meant to say, this sounds like shit. What's your plan?"
"I was going to tell you before you interrupted me," Merlin pointed out, a hint of exasperation and fondness in her voice. "I'll send you to his location - you'd much rather be with him, correct?"
Merlin was studying her for a reaction, Risa knew. What reaction she wanted, Risa wasn't sure of, but she nodded anyway. "Yeah, might as well. I feel like he'll get himself into trouble without me."
Whatever Merlin was searching for, she found it, and her signature sly smile widened. Risa peeked an eye at her. "You're using your magic, right? If not, I'm just going to let myself get caught."
Merlin let out a small laugh, more of huff than an actual laugh, and nodded. "Of course." Risa was preparing herself to leave when Merlin stared at her seriously. "Risa, there's some things you need to talk to the Captain about, things that'll help you."
Risa just saluted the mage. "Sure thing. I'll try and remember. See ya, Merlin."
With that, she was sent to a cave where Meliodas was sprawled out close to her. She poked him with her foot a few times, and he didn't budge. Sighing, Risa plopped down next to him and leaned her head on her hand.
"Looks like it's just me and you, Meliodas."