A/N: R&R please.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Merlin was rummaging through her items in her room off the side of the Boar Hat. Some had started to pile up, and it was spring cleaning. How else would she have space for new creations? She didn't bother to look up when her door creaked open. "Escanor can you place this crate over there on the table?" She asked pointing to the box in question.
"Of course, anything for you." He responded picking up the box with ease; since it was daytime and his abilities from his powers were increased by the light of the sun.
She stepped back and looked at her full shelves and frowned. She still had a way to go. Sighing, she slowly began to go through every little vial, potion, and creature one by one.
"Merlin, do you know where you put that potion you made for my headache yesterday?" Princess Elizabeth asked peeking her head in the door.
The mage sat up and paused. "I set it on the kitchen counter on the left side. Ban might have moved it though so be careful. It's in a blue container." She tells her and points to another crate for Escanor to pick up.
The princess walked back out into the tavern and headed for the kitchen. Before she was able to get there however she collided with the Dragon sin of wrath. "I'm sorry Sir Meliodas." Her face lit up bright pink.
"No problem Elizabeth." He, not very subtly, steadied them by putting his hands on her butt. "Where are you going anyways?" He asked ignoring her embarrassment as his hands slowly massaged her rear.
Trying to ignore what he was doing to her heart and body she squeaked, "Merlin made me something to get rid of my recent headaches."
He frowned removing his hands from her. "I didn't know you were having headaches. Are you alright?" His eyes searched her face.
"Yes, I'm okay. It's mostly right after I wake up. I have been having nightmares and I think it's just been stressing me out." She tried not to shudder recalling those images.
"Talking about them can help. Why don't you tell me what they are about?" He led her to a chair to sit down at the counter and waited patiently for her to speak.
"I don't really remember much when I wake up. I keep having these repeated scenes play in my head like a memory I can't piece together. It starts with me wearing some weird type of armor, and my chest has been pierced by something I think; but I'm leaning against a pillar on the ground and it's pouring rain. I think I am saying goodbye to someone but their face is very blurry..." She trailed off and stared at the wall bringing the pictures back into the front her mind until she's brought out of it by the slamming of a bottle on the hard tabletop.
He didn't mean to frighten her, but it seemed like the best option at the time. Panic rose up in his chest, she was reliving her past life's death. He can't have her memories come back just yet when he still hasn't found a way to break the curse on them. "I'm sure it's nothing." He struggled to keep his voice even. "Next time you're having one of these nightmares you should wake me. I don't mind losing a bit of sleep if it keeps you from stressing."
She shook her head vigorously. "You've done enough for me already Sir Meliodas. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you more than I already have. I'm fine, the potion Merlin gives me relaxes me and gets rid of both the headache and the dreams for a while."
"Elizabeth how long have you been getting these dreams?" He clinched his hands under the counter away from her view. He wanted to know how long Merlin has kept this information from him. Didn't she think this was important enough? His eyes fell back on the princess and he suddenly worried about how much time they have together.
She closed her eyes to think. "About 2 months now. But after I drink the potion it only happens once a week now. I was on my way to grab it from the kitchen when I ran into you." Her cheeks flushed again thinking about where his hands had been only a couple minutes ago.
"I will be back." He stepped away from the bar and towards the Sorcerer's room not bothering to knock before he pushed it open and deliberately shuts it behind him.
She watched the place he disappeared for a few moments, hoping he wasn't mad at Merlin considering it was Elizabeth that asked that they kept it just between them. She stood up when it didn't seem like he would be back anytime soon and went to the kitchen. She looked around and noticed that Ban is also doing some cleaning with herbs of all kinds set on all the available surfaces. She went to the left side and stopped. Merlin said blue bottle but she could see there were many different bottles of colors and shapes now.
Not sure which one was hers she called out. "Ban, do you know where you set the blue bottle that was placed here earlier?"
The fox sin rolled out from under a counter rubbing his sleepy eyes. "It should still be there. I don't know what it was though." His voice coming out muffled.
"Did you sleep in here?" She shouldn't be surprised he seemed to fall asleep where ever he fell the night before when he was drinking. "Are you and Elaine having a fight?" She didn't want them arguing, thinking about how close of a friend Elaine now was.
"No, King kicked me out muttering something about how fat he is… I don't remember. It's too damn early to think!" He complained running his hands through his hair.
Elizabeth started to sort the dozens of containers. She set all the could be potions in one pile. Three to choose from. Her brow nit together, Ban came up behind her and grabbed one.
"This is vegetable oil." He confidently stated moving it to the other side.
They both hovered over the two tiny bottles trying to figure them out. "What exactly are we looking for?" He asked rubbing his temple. He needed another drink to get rid of this hangover.
"It's medicine that Merlin made for me." Elizabeth studied each carefully before picking the one that looked the most like the last bottle she took. "I think this is it." She took the top off and sniffed it. "I'm pretty sure. It doesn't have a smell or a taste." She tipped it back and downed it in one swallow.
"You look like you'd be good at taking shots. We should try that next time." Ban laughed, the princess rarely let herself get drunk and when she looked like she might do something fun the captain always put her to bed.
"That didn't taste right." Elizabeth mumbled pursing her lips together. "Can you pass me the other bottle?" She asked him curiously.
"Here." He set the second bottle in her hands.
She looked up to take it when everything seemed to stop. She forgot about the bottle just letting it fall to the floor. She wasn't sure what was going on but suddenly nothing mattered but this man in front of her. "Were you always wearing that?" She asked sliding a bit closer to him.
"Yeah?" He stared at her like she lost her mind but didn't move away from her. "What did you drink?" He chuckled right before she pressed her lips to his. "Umm." Not sure how to respond he gently pushed her off of him and quickly called out, "Merlin! Captain! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"
"We're dealing with something important Ban, can it wait?" Meliodas strode out of Merlin's room only to see his Elizabeth sucking face with his best friend. For a split second he was frozen, in the next moment Ban was sailing out of the tavern and into the forest.
"Was that necessary?" The princess pouted.
"What the hell was that?"
"Meliodas!" Merlin scolded him putting her hand on his shoulder before moving to the woman. "Elizabeth can you give me the potion bottle you drank from?" She locked eyes with Meliodas when Elizabeth went back into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle.
"I think you put something different in there. It tasted weird." She returned a minute later. "I seemed to have dropped it on the floor." She shuffled her feet embarrassed. "I didn't mean to break it but I just had to kiss Ban's adorable face." Meliodas made a disgusted look and grabbed her around her midsection when she tried to dart out the hole where Ban disappeared. "I have to make sure he's okay!"
"He's undead. He's fine." Meliodas grumbled letting her go when she settled down.
Gowther, King, Diane, and Elaine came down the stairs to find out what the racket was.
"Where is Ban?" Elaine asked peering suspiciously at the broken window where Meliodas threw him. "What happened down here?"
"Gowther, can you please go pick up the glass fragments from the kitchen so I can analyze them." Merlin asked the doll who nodded slipping into the kitchen. "Now everyone needs to calm down. I'm sure there is a simple explanation for this."
"Of course, there is. I got jumped. Twice." Ban stumbled into the tavern brushing off pieces of leaves and branches. Elizabeth ran over to him and grabs a hold of his arm.
"Did Meliodas hurt you?" She checked him up and down, satisfied when he appeared to be completely healed aside from the tears in his clothes.
"Are you serious right now?" The captain couldn't believe her behavior just what was in that liquid she drank. "He is undead!" He shouted annoyed by all the attention Ban was getting from the princess.
"He may be undead but that doesn't mean you didn't hurt his feelings." Elizabeth helped Ban into a chair and started to rub his shoulders unknowingly making Meliodas' eye to twitch.
"Ooh, That's nice." Ban commented sinking into the movements of her hands, ignoring the glares from Meliodas who was having a hard time keeping his wrath in check.
Elaine popped in front of Ban. "What are you doing love?" She asked in the sweetest voice she could as she took his hand and squeezed it.
"Getting a shoulder rub, duh." He pointed to a spot that he wanted the princess to rub.
Elizabeth continues rubbing him as she turned to Elaine. "Would you like one next?" She smiled at the fairy who was completely confused by the situation even though she could read all the thoughts that passed through the woman's mind.
"If you're giving out free shoulder rubs I want one!" Meliodas complained going behind the counter to grab some ale. Obviously, something was wrong with Elizabeth but he had a feeling Ban was going to milk this for all it's worth.
"Sorry, you didn't go through a window." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"He's always abusing me." Ban frowned playing it up just to see how far he could push Meliodas. "He beats me up and forces me to cook. It's awful. Why do I always have to slave away in the kitchen? King and Diane know how to cook. And Gowther is just fine if he has a step by step in front of him."
"I'm so sorry you've had to put up with it for so many years. Don't worry Diane will make breakfast this morning. Won't you Diane?" Elizabeth sent the giant a pleading look. The giant only agreed, and dragged King into the kitchen with her, because she's wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be around when Meliodas lost it.
"You want abuse?" The captain jumped from behind the counter in front of Ban who was clearly amused.
"Stop bullying him!" Elizabeth shouted blocking Ban from his point of view. She stood in front of the fox sin unafraid of the demon who at this point was causing red sparks to fly around the room as his mark appeared on his forehead.
"Princess." Merlin put a hand on Elizabeth's gently getting her attention. "Why don't you and Elaine go for a walk? I will keep an eye on the captain and Ban."
"Alright if you're sure." She held out her hand for Elaine to take. Curious the fairy took her hand following her out. As soon as they were far away enough Merlin smacked Ban in the back of his head.
"You idiot. Are you trying to get us all killed?" She lectured.
"I was just having some fun." Ban laughed glancing over at the demon who now that Elizabeth was gone seemed to gain back some of his sanity. "Come on. I can hardly ever get under your skin. It's not like I'm going to bed with her."
The demon took steady breaths until his mark faded and he glared at the fox sin. "You know how I feel about her. She's not a joke Ban." He growled before turning to the mage. "How fast can you fix this?"
"Well I first need to figure out what I'm dealing with." She heard Gowther come out with the shards in his hand. "I'm going to be in my lab, don't do anything stupid." She directed most of her anger at Ban but Meliodas frowned watching Merlin vanish behind the door.
"What were you thinking? Out of everyone in here it had to be you. I don't know what is going on with her but stop trying to egg me on." He picked up a bottle of Vanya ale and downed it in seconds.
"Hey get me one." The fox tried to grab Meliodas' drink only to get a broken hand.
"Get your own." He grumbled tossing the empty container over his shoulder.
Ban laid his head on the wood counter. "I could always wait and ask Elizabeth. She seems willing to do whatever I ask." He joked just to see the captain take a deep breath.
"I'm warning you Ban. Leave Elizabeth alone. She's obviously not herself and you need to keep your grimy fingers off my woman." He growled threatening.
Entertained by the situation he pressed the captain further. "Your woman huh? I don't recall you laying any real claim to her." He stood and backed up out of range of an immediate attack. "Does she know she's yours?"
The door to the Boar Hat flew open and the two women came back in. Elaine with a frustrated look on her face. "She refused to go any farther." She sent Meliodas an apologetic glance.
Elizabeth ran forward and threw herself in Ban's arms, who luckily caught her. "I know we were only gone for a moment but I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Elizabeth buried her face in his chest. She was heavily breathing in his scent.
As much as Ban liked to play games with the captain he didn't like to see the hurt Meliodas was trying to keep off his face when he turned away from them and gazed down at the floor his blonde bangs covering his eyes. Besides the princess was being way to friendly and it was making him feel awkward. He set her down softly. "I'm going to see how King and Diane are doing in the kitchen. I left quite a bit of a mess." He smoothly slipped from Elizabeth's grasps. "Why don't you two," He pointed at Elizabeth and Elaine. "Go sit and talk. I'm sure the captain won't mind bringing you guys a drink."
Elaine guided Elizabeth over to a table away from the brooding demon and sat with her. "Why don't you tell me your favorite thing about Ban?" The small fairy prompted folding her hands.
The princess frowned for a moment as she considered. "My favorite thing about him is his loyalty. He puts up a big front but he cares very much about all of us here. We're all like a huge family, aren't we?" She giggled excitedly thinking about all their adventures and their day to day interactions.
Elaine smiled back. "I know I love being here with you all. Nothing is ever boring around here." Meliodas set down some mugs of ale for them. He didn't speak, leaving them alone going back to behind the bar. "So, when did you notice you loved Ban?"
Elizabeth didn't speak for a while and appeared puzzled as she tried to remember. "This morning in the kitchen." She seemed confused by her words. She grabbed her head like she was feeling pain as she tried to think about it more.
Elaine reached over and placed a hand on the princess's. "Are you alright?" She was concerned, her friend didn't normally look this troubled.
"I just can't seem to shake this feeling of something being wrong." The princess appeared surprised when a tear trailed down her cheek. She swiftly wiped it away.
"Tell me something Elizabeth. Have you ever been in love before?" The fairy knew the answer but she wanted to hear her say it out loud. She thought going through the steps might cause inconsistencies in her brain and it might force it to repair itself.
"Yes." She looked shocked as the words flew out of her mouth without her say so. "I don't remember his name though." She struggled to recall any detail about this but the more she seemed to think about it the more her head hurt. "I feel like I should know but I can't remember." She took an annoyed breath.
"Well why don't we try it out slowly? Like do you remember the color of his eyes?" Elaine heard her thoughts ponder it as she searched in her memories to the fairy's question.
"Black." She finally said but then shook her head. "Weird, I can't see him in my brain but black is the color that comes to mind. I don't think we know anyone with black eyes."
Elaine pursed her lips together. They did of course but she didn't say anything. "Well what about hair? Do you remember anything about his hair?" She peered at Meliodas out of the corner of her eye, he was drinking heavily, she noted and her heart went out to him.
The princess hummed lowly to herself in contemplation. "I can't see the color but I think his hair was messy? Unruly?" The more she tried to bring it forward the more painful her headache became.
Ban slipped out of the kitchen trying to be stealthy but both the Princess and Fairy gazed at him strangely. "I need to run into town we're missing some herbs. Elaine come with me?" He practically begged her.
"Of course." She squeezed Elizabeth's hand once more before heading with Ban out the door.
"I want to come!" Elizabeth whined popping up from her chair, pouting that they were going to leave her behind.
Elaine floated over to her quickly before whispering a plea in her ear. "Meliodas looks depressed. Don't let him drink himself to death. Ban would be very upset if his best friend injured himself."
Elizabeth nodded, sad she couldn't go with them but determined, she turned back to the bar to see the demon chugged an entire barrel of ale. She approached him carefully taken aback by how much he was drinking. Was he trying to drink himself sick? She saw him reach under the bar and pull out another entire barrel, opening it before beginning to drink yet again.
"Something wrong?" She asked taking a seat on a stool addressing him quietly. Did he know how much he had drunk already?
He didn't look at her as he continued to finish it very fast. "No everything is fine." He replied between pauses brushing her off.
"Maybe you should slow down." She suggested wondering how did she miss the already 9 empty barrels sitting haphazardly behind him laying on the floor.
He stopped for a moment. "Why should it matter?" He shrugged downing the last of the barrel in his hands before dropping it to the ground. He grabbed for another as she came around the bar and puts a hand on his.
"You're worrying me." She stared down avoiding his face. She wasn't sure why but she felt the need to stop him from hurting himself and a part of that was how Ban would feel but mostly it was because if something bad happened to him she didn't think she could handle that. Her brain and her heart seemed to be out of sorts with the other.
He stumbled a bit and used the counter as support. "You shouldn't be worried. I'm fine." He began to drink yet another barrel.
"Meliodas please." She whispered forcing him to focus solely on her. "Stop. You've had enough now." She placed her hand onto his cheek and he leaned into her and he placed a kiss in her palm.
"What's so special about Ban?" He asked getting irritated at the current situation not thinking before speaking. "Sure, he's not bad looking, and he's not as mean as he tries to be but I'm the one always looking out for you and protecting you. I've seen you die many times and have been by your side through everything." His filter seemed to disappear.
"What do you mean?" She backed up slightly. Her heart beating faster at his words even though she couldn't understand exactly what he is talking about.
"I love you Elizabeth. What else would I mean?" He pulled her close before she could move further away and crushed his lips to hers.
She could taste the ale as he kissed her. Her body wanted her to push away, this wasn't Ban; but her mind seemed to be winning out and this just felt right. She suddenly was kissing him back needing to feel more of him. They melted into each other. His arms went to her waist and she put hers on his shoulders angling to make the kiss deeper. This caused her mind to stir, she had done this before, it felt so familiar.
Someone cleared their throat causing the two to jump apart from their extremely intimate position. "Well I analyzed the liquid, it was a powerful love potion that I had taken from Vivian's stash." Merlin's eyebrow raised as she studied the couple.
Elizabeth's face flushed bright red, she remembered it wasn't Ban that she wanted it was Meliodas. The realization came that even though her body was taken over with the love potion, her heart and brain had been trying to tell her all along that Meliodas was the person she loved.
"Good news is by kissing your true love the spell gets broken." Merlin glared at Meliodas who looked like he was sobering up fast. "Although it looks like you didn't need my help after all." The mage examined the captain's face trying to see how much danger the princess might be in.
The princess stared at the floor. She felt warm arms embrace her. "That still doesn't answer what Meliodas meant when he said he watched me die many times." She made eye contact with Merlin and saw panic flit over her features. She wasn't ready to look at Meliodas who had her wrapped around him in a very tight hold. It felt nice but she was wondering what she was missing. This wasn't the hold you put on someone who you are comforting, it reminded her more of him not willing to let this end yet. What was she missing?
"Gowther!" The sorcerous yelled. The doll came out of the back room curiously peering at the two as Merlin had.
"Let me kiss her one more time please!" Meliodas begged, his voice was desperate a tone Elizabeth had never heard him use before and anxiety rose in her causing her heart to hurt at the sound. What were they going to do that caused him so much pain?
Merlin and Gowther exchanged a look before Merlin nodded to the captain.
"Elizabeth, I am so sorry. I hope you'll forgive me." Meliodas took the princesses lips one last time, kissing her in the way she had always imagined. She was so confused but she finally was getting to taste him but too soon he was pulling back with a tear in his eye.
"Wait!" She wanted to know what was about to happen but soon she was falling into darkness.
She woke with a start in hers and Meliodas' shared bed. Everything was cloudy and she was having issues concentrating on any one thing. She sat up, glancing around, and saw she was alone.
There was a knock on the door. "Hey, just checking up on my favorite waitress." Meliodas' voice came through as he slowly looked inside. "How are you feeling now?"
She had a headache. "What happened? Did I sleep all day?" She asked mortified as she thought of all the stuff that still needed to get done before they opened.
He smiled at her causing her to automatically relax. "You weren't feeling well earlier so I sent you back to bed. Just take it easy. Diane and Gowther have covered for you. You should rest." He turned back to the door about to leave.
"Please don't go." Her face heated up, wondering what caused her to sound so desperate. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked knowing she had no right to hope. The tavern was probably busy and in full service by now.
"Of course." He agreed easily, climbed in the bed with her and to his surprise she nuzzled into his neck. "Don't go getting too touchy if you aren't going to follow through." He joked grabbing her chest and felt her stiffen.
"Sir Meliodas!" She whined looking up at him. "Why can't I remember anything from this morning?" She tried to think about when she woke but it was like there were gaps in her memories.
She felt him shrug. "You were really dizzy complaining about nightmares so Merlin gave you something to calm you." She heard him say. She also thought she heard nervousness in his voice but she must have imagined it. She settled onto his warm chest and closed her eyes drifting asleep almost instantly.