Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to remember our recently departed Dom. She died of massive blood loss when her fingers all fell off at once from so much typing. She didn't want anyone to know the truth, but she was actually writing 673 stories at one time. She hadn't slept in 4 years, hadn't showered in 2, and hadn't looked at the sun in over a year.

I'll always look back fondly on Dom and think about how she would like to kick my ass almost every day. She never hesitated to speak her mind and was very concerned with hurting the feelings of others. She never deleted anything, and when she was found in her home, she was surrounded by gigantic piles of old flash drives filled with author notes.

I know all of her legions of fans will be wailing collectively because they'll never know the ending of her most famous story, Can I Do Something Or Other, I Can't Remember. But just know that Dom was a sucker for love and it all probably worked out anyway. I will be collecting fanfics of her fanfic for the next two weeks, and will publish them as a limited edition volume to raise money for a charity in her honor. The $4.00 I'm sure we will raise will go a long way to help other authors who write 40 chapters a day and fear their own massive blood loss.

Dom was kind and smart. She used a lot of old-timey words and liked Merlin the best, but we can forgive her for that. We all make mistakes. She taught me a lot about trusting my instincts and writing what I felt instead of thinking too much. She liked to shout her ideas and used the word awesome a LOT. We were complete opposites in our approaches to writing and it's a miracle we didn't kill each other in the first 48 hours. But she was the ebony to my ivory, the jelly on my peanut butter, and always did the exact opposite of what I thought she was going to do. Although I can never hope to have a tenth of her talent, she was kind enough to take pity on a struggling writer like myself. The three weeks I spent bothering her nonstop will be three of my favorite weeks ever.

Dom leaves behind hundreds of loyal fans. I'd like to say a particular message to Ron: the answer was no, sweetie. Dom was too nice to say no, but I'm not nice like her. No, Ron.

Please enjoy this chapter as best as you can through your tears. Mayhaps Dom will resurrect sometime to respond to reviews in a future chapter. It will cause an incredibly ridiculous plot hole, but what are you going to do. Until then I will do my very best to continue on writing this story without her guidance. Whenever I feel the urge to delete, I will go to Dom's grave, trace my fingers along the ellipses carved into the stone, and remember her words: NOOOO DON'T DELETE.

.o0o.

Chapter 3

Meliodas looked down at the princess, unable to stop the huge grin that had broken over his face. Her eyes were locked with his, filling with tears that streamed down her face. "Meliodas," he said with a laugh. "That's my name."

He laughed again at her reaction, shaking his head. He could see each of her responses perfectly: her eyes widened, her cheeks flushed, her breath caught as she stammered, "Meliodas? What… it can't be… but… you look like… a child!"

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. First, Elizabeth's eyes landed on his arm, now bare where his shirt had been blasted away. "That symbol…" she gasped. "The Dragon!"

Meliodas glanced down and saw the dragon circle branded on his arm. Oh yeah, that, he thought, trying to stifle another laugh.

Then, her eyes darted over his shoulder. Meliodas figured that the Holy Knight had finally come into view. He knew he had been stalking towards them, raising his sword as he got closer. In his mind's eye, he saw exactly the number of paces it would take for him to reach them, knew the number of seconds it would take him to raise his sword, and saw the angle the sword would bear down on them. But Elizabeth's concern for him made him smile even wider. She didn't know all of this, of course.

He turned and performed Full Counter. Easier than swatting a fly. The knight started talking again, working through what happened. Meliodas frowned. Does this guy ever shut up?

"Do you really plan on fighting me with trash?" the knight boomed.

"Trash is fine," he answered pleasantly.

"Meliodas? Are you really that…?" Elizabeth said in a high-pitched voice. Meliodas smiled. He was excited to show off a bit for her, and slowly brought his sword up to display the tattoo. "Have you figured out yet who I am?" he asked, cutting the knight off from another round of blustering.

The knight began to shout, drawing his sword up to deliver his final blow. Meliodas' eyes followed his weapon, easily tracking the strength and trajectory of the attack. With one exact swipe he sent it back at the knight. The air grew still for a moment, and Meliodas held out his arm. "The Seven Deadly Sins' Dragon Sin," he answered. "Meliodas!"

.o0o.

Meliodas clutched Elizabeth tightly to his chest, reflexively keeping the woman as far away from the many sharp weapons pointed at them as possible. He let her legs go and gripped her firmly, cradling her against him with one arm. The other hovered over the hilt of the sword that he wore across his back, ready to draw it if any of them tried to charge. His eyes darted around as he began to plan out his strategy, should they just immediately try and attack without hearing him out.

And what exactly was your strategy to get them to listen? he asked himself rhetorically, cursing himself for not contemplating that on the way here. His attention had been elsewhere...

"Halt! Not another step."

The demon's attentions were immediately brought to the three dozen Druids and Holy Knights now surrounding them. Nearby, casting a rather daunting shade over the entire area suddenly was a Giant with a similar power level. He would have been impressed—had he not been in the position he was in currently.

"What do we have here?"

"I have one of your girls," he answered slowly. "You left her behind in the retreat, and she—"

"Do not draw your weapon," warned one Holy Knight.

Meliodas lowered his hand. "I just wanted to bring her back to you. She's hurt and needs the healing of a Goddess."

"What happened to her?" the knight demanded. This one must be the leader, Meliodas thought.

"She was poisoned—"

"By you?!" one of the soldiers shouted snidely from his side. The soldier took a menacing step forward, and Meliodas shot the loud idiot a glare.

"No, while she was retreating."

"Likely story!"

"Believe what you will," he spat, deciding it best to ignore the ignorant lesser class. They would only serve to piss him off anyways. His eyes locked back on the one in command. "Are you really going to just let one of your own die here?" he asked incredulously, his tone more accusing than angry. Meanwhile, he could feel Elizabeth's fever spiking even higher. Could someone so fragile even get this feverish?!

The Holy Knight gave a quick glance at a Druid standing by his side, who narrowed her eyes on Meliodas dangerously. Then he went on, "I would have you remember your place, Demon. You are a long way from allies, so I would advise you think carefully before using that deceitful tongue."

He suspected they would react this way. The enemy shows up with one of their wounded? How convenient. He would be suspicious too. Hell, he'd kill the miserable bastard for getting caught along with whoever thought it wise to try something so obvious. Hopefully, though, they were not like him.

"I have no malicious intentions here. I am merely returning one of your fallen," he pressed.

"You'll have to forgive me if I find all of this a little hard to believe. You're telling me you have abandoned your army—an army which is wreaking havoc over the mortal realm." The Knight's voice boomed in a commanding tone, demanding the attention of all. "To deliver an injured enemy to her own?"

When he put it that way, yes… it did sound quite unbelievable. "That… is exactly what I'm telling you." He made a mental note to contemplate his sanity and priorities later.

The knight's brows shot up skeptically, before he let out a laugh that echoed around the demon as the other Holy Knights joined him. Even the giant started laughing. They weren't buying any of it.

"Demon, I haven't the faintest as to what would possess you to come here willingly, but I assure you, you won't live long enough to regret the decision."

Meliodas' jaw clenched tight, trying with a great amount of difficulty to hold his temper. This knight was much too arrogant for his own good, and Meliodas would have liked nothing more in that moment than to cut him down to size. But that wouldn't do him or Elizabeth any good at that moment. He spared a quick glance down to the Druid in his arms. Elizabeth was completely limp, her skin a sickly pale. He could barely feel her heart beat anymore. She would not survive much longer at this rate.

There was a shifting of the bodies surrounding him then as the Holy Knight raised his hand to give his next command. The soldiers surrounding Meliodas all readied for the attack. Meliodas wasn't watching them, though. His eyes remained on Elizabeth, and his brows creased in determination. He had made her a promise, and he'd be damned if he just gave up so easily.

Meliodas' intense glare met the leader's again, halting the Holy Knight's command before it could leave his mouth. "This woman is going to die if you don't get someone out here to heal her! I don't fucking care what happens to me, just..." He paused, swallowing thickly, hoping the sincerity of his words reached someone in the crowd. "Don't let her die," he finished, finally locking eyes with the Druid standing nearby. She had yet to speak, simply watching the exchange with a dark expression. In his look, Meliodas made another promise. And a thousand promises after that.

First was that he wouldn't run away. For some reason beyond him, he genuinely did not care about his own well being in that moment.

Second, and a thousand times over to every soul standing around them: that he would not rest until every one of them was dead if they did not heed his plea.

There was a long silence that fell over the field. Every shifting body came to an abrupt freeze; every breath held. Even the wind seemed to halt in the anticipation of what was to transpire.

The Druid held up a hand while she searched his face, effectively stalling the impending attack. The knights quietly murmured among themselves for a moment before their attention was returned to him. With a suspicious yet thoughtful gaze, the leader of the Druids motioned with her head and a younger female pushed her way through the barricade surrounding him, followed by a bulkier young man. The younger girl held her hand over Elizabeth's face, using her power to feel for signs of life before nodding to the leader. The young man approached Meliodas with a glare, but didn't hesitate to take Elizabeth from Meliodas' arms just as gently as the blonde demon had held her. The Druid turned to carry her away, but something stopped him up short.

Elizabeth's hand had snapped up to grab Meliodas' shirt with a weak grip, surprising all who watched on, the demon included. "P-please..." she rasped, through what labored breath she had left, before her voice disappeared all together. Instead, she pleaded with him through heavy-lidded eyes to run while he still had the chance. Somehow, even holding on to her last threads of life, this infuriatingly beautiful woman was still more concerned for him than she was for herself.

Sorry, Elizabeth… I'm nothing if not a man of my word...

Meliodas' face softened as a small grin crossed his lips. He found his fingers gently pulling her grip away and placing her hand to rest on her chest. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised. This 'promising' thing was going to be the death of him… In more ways than he cared to count.

With a final firm nod at Elizabeth, Meliodas glanced up at the man who had taken her from his arms. "Take good care of her," he asked, and the man turned quickly, retreating further into the camp. Meliodas watched until he couldn't see them anymore—before shifting weapons brought his attention back to the growing number of Holy Knights surrounding him. With a long breath and a roll of his eyes, Meliodas slowly put his hands up on either side of his head, before his arms were forced down and restrained tightly behind his back.

They pulled the sword from his back and the dagger from his belt before leading him roughly away. He was pushed into a small tent with nothing more than a pole standing in the center. One of the knights attached the restraints around his wrists to the center pole, the angle forcing Meliodas to sit on the ground with his back against the wood.

A Holy Knight entered and the commotion died down. Meliodas looked up and regarded him carefully as he walked through the group of knights surrounding him. He was obviously one of the generals. "Where is he?" he shouted, pushing through the group as they parted.

The knight pulled up short in front of Meliodas. "You are from the demon clan," he said.

Meliodas didn't answer, and instead returned his glare in silence. He didn't need to; it was obvious to all. "What are you doing here?" the knight pressed.

"I brought one of your own back," he answered coldly. "You left her in the woods. She was attacked by a demon, and you left her there to die."

The Holy Knight narrowed his eyes. "Let me see his sword." One of the soldiers handed it over, and he drew it from its sheath. After examining it for a moment, he looked back at Meliodas. "Keep him well guarded," he said curtly, before turning and stalking out of the tent.

Meliodas watched the knight leave, and the others following until the tent's opening was closed and he could make out the guard's shadows standing vigilantly. It was only then, as the silence finally fell over him that he allowed himself a long breath. Allowing his heart to quiet as the initial danger passed. He let his head hang, dropping his chin down to his chest, before a soft chuckle left him as he ran the day through his head in review.

This was completely and utterly insane.

What was he doing here? Possessed was right… on nothing but a whim, Meliodas had abandoned the army, rescued an enemy soldier, lied to and misled his own flesh and blood, willingly ran into enemy territory, and to top his madness off; he allowed them to capture him! For what purpose?

It had all seemed so clear before. Now, as he sat chained in an enemy camp, everything felt so fuzzy. That drive to protect he had felt before was foreign to him now. Like coming out of a heavy trance. Meliodas frowned in thought. Maybe it had been a trance? Even though he couldn't explain his actions, it didn't feel like any kind of enchantment.

He contemplated the situation for a while, watching the shadows in the tent move as the afternoon wore on, until another concern occurred to him. He was going to be missed eventually, that was for certain. The battle had ended hours ago. Zeldris would be waiting for him to receive his report, and Estarossa would also be returning from whatever errand the demon king had sent him on. Meliodas groaned inwardly at the thought of Estarossa. He had seen him with Elizabeth, and knew he had traveled too far from the army. There is no way he bought the lie that Elizabeth was dead. He was probably out there looking for him now. Meliodas thought of the mad dash he made to the camp, and wondered just how bad the trail was he had made in his panicked state.

Get a hold of yourself, you need to get out of here... He shut off his thoughts and let the soldier side of him take over. He would use this time to complete the task he had originally set out to do: find out why the Holy Knights were increasing in power. As he waited for whatever would come next, he let his senses explore around him, watching and listening. But even this task proved difficult as his mind kept wandering back to Elizabeth, and how he had ended up here. He banged his head against the pole in frustration.

The General Holy Knight returned all too soon to interrupt his thoughts, barraging him with questions and demands once more. Meliodas remained silent, uninterested in his questions. Instead, he preferred to continue exploring the madness that had brought him to this damned place. She was just an ordinary girl, nothing particularly special about her other than that she was a Druid. But he had encountered Druids before and never reacted like this.

"The General asked you a question! How did you get here?"

He should have let her be. There had been so many opportunities to just leave her and get back to what he was supposed to be doing. His need to protect her had been completely undeniable, so much so he barely recognized himself.

As the Holy Knights continued their questioning, he wondered where she was now; if they were actually helping her or making her suffer through this same barrage of questions and demands that Meliodas refused to answer. The thought of them causing her any distress made his hands ball into tight fists. I have to get out of here, he thought. The only way he was going to escape whatever this was would be to get as far away from the girl as he could.

It didn't take long for the General to grow tired of him ignoring him as he then introduced physical torture in conjunction to his interrogation. As if the droning sound of the knight's repeated questions weren't torture enough. Meliodas swore he'd die of boredom before this guy ever got close to killing him himself.

The General's guard threw another solid hook at Meliodas' jaw, and the demon could taste the metal when he ran his tongue over his split lip. He spit blood defiantly at the knight's feet with a cocky rise of his brow. He was relishing each blow; his mind was finally beginning to focus on the enemy.

Have your fun while you can, he warned the knight in his head as his mind was made up. He had fulfilled all of his promises. He had brought Elizabeth back. He had allowed the soldiers to capture him… never did he make the promise that he would stay long enough for them to kill him.

What the General failed to realize was that he was actually working against himself. The longer he let this so called 'interrogation' continue, the more information Meliodas absorbed. The number of knights guarding this tent and every shift they made. The rounds taken by the scouts around the camp. The time of day and how long he had until night fell - which wasn't much longer. That was going to be his best chance at escaping without much collateral damage. Aside from the General; the thought of taking this cocky bastard out just felt too good to pass up.

"Was it the girl that told you we were here? What else did she tell you?" the arrogant knight asked.

Meliodas started, all thoughts and breath hitched as he looked up at them then. "She told me nothing," he finally answered in a warning tone.

"That's not what she told us," the knight responded.

Meliodas scowled at him, but then read the lie in his face. It was no wonder the humans had no hope in this war. He could not believe he had ever been impressed with their power; then again, power and intelligence were two very different things. He turned his head away in dismissal, the bored expression returning to his face.

"You don't believe me? Why don't we bring her in here and ask her, then?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Meliodas saw the flap of the tent lift. He glanced up but immediately did a double take, eyes widening as Elizabeth was escorted inside by knights on either side of her. Surely, his vision was deceiving him. There was no way someone who had been so close to death looked so… His mind couldn't even form the word he was looking for to describe her. Elizabeth's color had returned to what he assumed was her natural soft peach. So… soft and supple. Her blue eyes shone despite the lack of direct light in the tent, like the vast sea or the cloudless summer sky. Meliodas swallowed thickly as his gaze traveled down her form, unable to do much more than stare and breathe.

Elizabeth took a few timid steps forward before her eyes fell on him. "Meliodas!" she gasped, hurrying forward. The General called for her to stop, but she ignored him, falling to her knees next to him. "Are you alright?" she whispered. She reached a hand up and drew her fingers over the bruises he had, courtesy of the knights. He found himself very quickly being swallowed up by those fretting blue eyes, completely under her spell.

Before he could answer her, the General strode forward and grabbed Elizabeth by the arm, yanking her backwards. She cried out in surprise, and Meliodas was instantly moving. In a split second, he had broken the restraints and was up, pulling Elizabeth back with one hand as he shoved the general hard in the chest. The Holy Knight stumbled back as he pulled the girl behind him. "Don't touch her," he growled, hearing her gasp behind him.

The general growled as he righted himself, "They're allied! Kill them both!" he snarled his command, and once more, Meliodas and Elizabeth were surrounded by knights.

.o0o.

Meliodas finished setting up the third floor bedroom and climbed through the window. He stood on the lookout balcony, leaning his arms on the railing and smiling. He watched as Elizabeth excitedly talked to Hawk below, asking him about how they had met and where they had been and answering his own questions about being a princess. He was glad to see that they got along so well. They were instant friends, much the way he and Hawk had been.

Mama Hawk walked them towards the next town - one of his favorites in fact, and Meliodas laughed to himself whenever Elizabeth lost her footing and stumbled. This one wasn't very graceful. He had already offered her a job as a waitress, and he now figured that was probably a huge mistake. She was going to be trouble in more ways than one, that was for certain.

Elizabeth looked up and caught sight of him. "Sir Meliodas!" she called waving her hand. He waved back. She insisted on using the honorific, even though he had told her a dozen times not to call him that. He had to admit, though… he did kind of like it. It reminded him of a time when he was surrounded by good friends, good food, great adventures, and even better booze. It was hard to believe it had been ten years already.

Time sure does fly when you're on the run… he thought sarcastically, before his mind and eyes returned to the silver-haired beauty he was stowing away.

Ten years. It was amazing what ten years could do to a woman. Now that he thought about it, he recalled the little silverette princess always wandering about the castle. He'd had the pleasure of speaking to her a time or two late in the middle of the night after reporting to her father. She was certainly not a little girl anymore.

But… Could she really be her? Meliodas' grin dipped slightly as those wayward thoughts made their presence known. She certainly had the same spirit. But was that enough? No… he couldn't possibly make that assumption because she tried to give up to the worst worst (and most stupidly named) Holy Knight Apprentice just to try and save his skin. She had heart. He'd give her that.

That familiar twist in his stomach, though, seemed to speak otherwise. There was only one person he had ever felt that pull towards. And his instincts were never wrong.

But, that begged another question. If she was in fact the same, why so soon? It wasn't as if there was a set number of years that needed to pass by… but this was the shortest he had ever had to wait for her.

So many questions… and something told him he was just scratching the surface.