A/N: Special thanks to EJR Horselady who literally beat this chapter out of me and read about three thousand or so versions, each one more awful than the last. One more chapter to go!
Chapter Seven: Secrets Revealed
The evening had shifted over to night, and the darkness obscured the small squad of knights that slipped through the city streets. The fighting in the distance was dying down, the flashes of magic mixed with the glowing fire of torches growing fewer and further between. Either that, Liz assumed, or people were switching to hand to hand combat and weapons.
Liz was silent as she followed behind Meliodas, navigating the streets of Danafor expertly and with a keen eye. She kept her focus on both her surroundings and on the Grand Master, not wanting to be ambushed or to get separated. Getting surrounded would be bad enough, but at this point getting separated from Meliodas would be a death sentence: either from Danafor's knights thinking she was with Pase, or Pase's knights thinking she was a traitor.
She refused to think about which statement was the truth. This was not the time to figure that out, if ever.
They stopped at a point where the roads split in four different directions, leading to different entrances to the castle. "Which way?" Liz asked as Meliodas looked around, trying to spot any enemies.
"We're heading North." Without any further explanation he turned and gave orders to the rest of the squad, who separated and headed in opposite directions. Then he gestured to Liz, who followed him towards the north part of the castle.
She wanted to ask desperately what the plan was, and luckily Meliodas explained once they were alone. "The castle will be under lockdown, but there is a hidden entrance, known only to the royal family and the Grand Master. We can use that to get in."
"All right," Liz agreed.
Despite the sounds coming from the city the castle was comparatively quiet. They went slower now, keeping to the shadows while listening intently for movements or voices or some sort of signal which could alert them to the presence of enemies.
"Still, how did they get inside the walls?" Liz wondered aloud, but still barely over a whisper. She did not even realize that she had spoken until Meliodas whispered back, "Spies? Or traitors…"
Liz didn't bother to reply to that as she followed Meliodas under a hedge of some type and through the now opened door it concealed.
There was a tunnel that went completely dark once the door was closed. Liz stood perfectly still as the bolt of the lock clicked loudly. There was no light to see at all, but a firm hand took hers, pulling her forward. Instinctively she curled her fingers around the ones entwining with hers, and with the other hand on the wall, together she walked hand-in-hand with Meliodas through the darkness.
There were muffled sounds around them, which she figured must be from the castle on the other side; the only other sound was her own breathing and the steady thump of her heartbeat. If it wasn't for the hand pressed into hers Liz would have sworn that she was alone. It was so pitch dark she could not see a thing, and Meliodas moved so quietly she could barely pick up the swish of his clothing or the light tap of his footsteps. It was unnerving to be without the use of any of her senses, sending her mind into a state of high alert. The only thing keeping her quiet, keeping her from panic, was the hand grasping hers.
After what could have been several seconds, several minutes, several hours, they stopped. "I knew you'd come back," Meliodas said, the sound of his voice making her jump.
"What?" she hissed at him. Her free hand pushed against the wall, and she stumbled forward. The next thing she knew Meliodas was pressed against her, his body shaking a bit as he laughed.
"Did you arrange this whole invasion just to get me alone?" The hand holding hers pulled her forward, until her arm was wrapped around his waist. Meliodas gave her hand a squeeze, and then she felt him laugh again. "I mean I knew you wouldn't leave, but all you had to do was ask me out. I would have said yes."
"I didn't!" she snapped, realizing how foolish she sounded. He was teasing of course, but it left her no less annoyed. Liz pulled her hand away and reached out to steady herself on the wall, her palms coming in contact with his chest instead. Meliodas gave a noise of appreciation, so she grabbed him by the collar of the shirt. "Do you take anything seriously?"
"Relax," he whispered, his hands snaking around the backs of her thighs. "The guards are changing and in ninety seconds we'll be able to step through the hidden door. I bet we could think of something to do in ninety seconds."
Liz could not help the snort that escaped her. "If that's what you say to all the girls you bring in here, no wonder you're single."
"Hey!" exclaimed Meliodas, but at that moment there was a noise from the other side of the wall, and Liz covered his mouth with her hand. "Quiet," she breathed. "Someone is out there."
They remained still, pressed together as they listened. There were voices and then the sound of movement, and when it was quiet again Meliodas let go of her legs as she released his mouth. "Get ready," he whispered, reaching around her. At once there was light, and Liz was pulled forward. She blinked the spots from her eyes, wincing as she looked up. "Is this the castle?" she asked quietly.
"Throne room," he answered.
The throne room it was. A chandelier hung above all, dozens of candles lit on the ends of the arms that twisted outwards from the centerpiece. The crystals that hung reflected the light cleverly around the room, revealing the high ceiling and wooden beams. Tapestries hung on the wall, dark gray stone punctuated by gold-plated sconces burning low. The floor was dark pine, covered by a thick carpet that sat before the dais.
Liz's eyes traveled up the steps to the heavy wooden throne that sat atop. In the chair slouched a pouting middle-aged man wearing what looked like pajamas and wrapped in a plush purple robe. She frowned a bit as Meliodas walked forward, not bothering to bow or even salute the monarch. Hesitantly she followed, her hand on her weapon, her eyes sweeping the room for any threats.
The only other person there, however, was a Holy Knight who stood to the side as guard. Surprisingly, when Meliodas approached, the knight stepped up to block his path. When the king spotted him, he slowly sat up, looking down at the knight with tightly drawn brows and pursed lips. "You!" he shouted. "Where have you been?"
"The Pasilian army has been stopped at the wall, but there—"
"I don't pay you to stand around on a wall!" the king shouted. Wine sloshed out of the goblet he held tightly in his hand as he banged it on the arm of his throne. "I pay you to protect me."
With a bit of a sigh, as if he were a teacher scolding a tiresome student, Meliodas continued, "Protecting the wall was the utmost priority. If Pase was allowed inside the city countless citizens would have been hurt, or killed."
The king fumed. "I should have you arrested. Maybe a night in the stocks will remind you exactly who you are and who you work for. I am your king, it is my life that is important!"
Meliodas sighed and bowed his head as the stream of curses and threats continued, and Liz watched in shock. Was he giving in so easily? Liz did her best to feel out the king's power level, not surprised when she sensed none at all. For someone filled with harsh words and threats, he was certainly without his own strength to back it up. The king was wrong, so very wrong, and it turned her stomach to think of his words and how callous he was when speaking of the people. All the jokes Meliodas had made before suddenly made sense, but in a very sour sort of way. How could he stand to be belittled by someone so arrogant and weak?
Then she wondered, how did he get here, anyway? Was Meliodas as bound to this king as she had once been to Pase? But he wasn't a slave, unable to leave, living under the whip of the masters. He had a choice in his life and Liz found herself growing angry as she watched Meliodas choose to stand there and listen to the king rage at him. Why didn't he stop him? Why didn't he flatten that ridiculous ruler right onto his back?
As if he could hear her thoughts, Meliodas took a step up the dais, only to be stopped again by the knight. She wondered who would be so bold as to step up to the Grand Master, and when the knight removed the helmet she understood immediately: it was Fay, the knight who had tried to kill her even after Meliodas had made it clear she was an ally.
Liz seized as her heart pounded wildly in her chest. The woman had the same terrifying scowl she had when they fought, and it was everything within her to keep standing. The look of hate that filled the knight's eyes as they had sparred and Fay had done everything to cut her into pieces flashed in her mind, dousing her senses like icy water. She cursed herself for her fear, but no matter how she scolded herself, Liz remained frozen in her spot.
Meliodas, however, looked unfazed, even when Fay tossed her helmet to the ground. The metal made a loud clang as it hit the stone railing around the dais, making Liz jump and bringing the king's tirade to an end. "You dare to bring that murderer here?" she seethed. Once more he ignored her as he lifted his leg to step up towards the throne, but was stopped when she grabbed his arm.
"Don't you dare," she snapped. "I should arrest you for bringing the enemy here, in front of our king."
"The enemy?" the king echoed in confusion, but Meliodas simply shrugged her off. "Lovely to see you as always, Fay," he responded with a dismissive tone.
"Get out."
Meliodas did not look at her, but simply folded his arms and turned his full attention to the king. "We have stopped the attack, but there are at least two bands of soldiers who slipped into the city. I have every reason to suspect they are on their way here—"
"As if you care about that!" Fay shouted. Stepping around Meliodas, she drew her sword, her eyes cold as they locked onto Liz. "I see one soldier of Pase that made it inside."
Liz gasped, taking a step back as the knight was about to charge; but Meliodas stepped in front of her, blocking the tall woman easily with a foot planted on her thigh. "I'm going to have to ask you not to get any closer to Liz."
The knight sputtered in response as Meliodas looked around. A heavy silence fell on the room, the king plopping back down into his throne with an uneasy look on his face. But Liz felt herself trembling, angry with herself for not meeting Fay's challenge. She had come leaps and bounds in the week since they fought; how did this knight still hold any sway over her now? Would there ever be a day when Liz was not afraid?
Her hands shook as she balled them into fists as Meliodas asked, "Where are the other knights?"
Fay stepped back suddenly, her hand tight around her weapon. "The knights are out fighting—"
"No, I mean the ones assigned to the king's guard. It's policy that the king has no less than four guards at all times." Liz's eyes grew wide as she looked between the two knights. Meliodas looked genuinely confused, but something told her it had to be an act; Fay meanwhile was turning a bright shade of red.
She looked up at the king, who seemed to have forgotten his anger at Meliodas as he too looked shock at the exchange. "My knights?" he snapped. "You—you sent them out, you said you had orders!"
"There are soldiers from Pase who have made it to the castle," Meliodas answered slowly. His eyes slid to Fay. "You knew they were coming, that's why you sent the others away."
The king shouted again, but neither knight paid him any heed. Then a sickening smile slowly crept over her face as Fay said, "You want the king dead as much as anyone." Her voice was quiet and impossibly cold, the two soldiers locked on one another, the air beginning to grow electric with the unspoken threat surrounding them. "Do not pretend to care about this place or these people. You sold us out for a pair of tits and some pretty eyes."
Liz's face suddenly burned, but Meliodas only snorted. "Is that what I did? And what was the price of your betrayal, Fay?"
"My brother died defending Danafor from those animals. From her." The cold eyes darted to Liz and lingered on her for a moment before she continued, "He died defending this kingdom, but it was a soldier's death. An honorable death. And you spit on his memory by bringing her here, bringing her home, letting her play at being a knight of Danafor."
"I'm not playing!" Liz burst out, her voice shaking slightly. "I am a Holy Knight and I will do what I must to protect this kingdom, which is my duty!"
Fay turned her malicious smile towards her and laughed at the outburst. "What a clever speech from a clever liar. But even if I were to believe you, I would call you a fool. You would serve this idiot king and this crooked Grand Master only to watch them consort with the enemy." Liz swallowed, her own anger swirling at the insult; yet she tried to remain solid, and unaffected, just like Meliodas. "You'll do what you must? Even give your life? Then you deserve to die in their service for being such a fool to give it."
"Are you done?" Meliodas interrupted.
"Never!" Fay cried, and then at once the room exploded.
Liz barely had time to gasp as her body flew backwards. The sound of stone crashing echoed in her ears, the sound deafening as the world became a flash of white. Her body went through the air, and she screamed as her arms flung outwards, trying to grab anything to stop the momentum. The roaring grew louder and louder, the wind furious against her face, pieces of debris hitting her skin and arms and legs, the power and energy rattling her bones and her teeth and setting her lungs on fire.
An instant later there was a hand grabbing onto her arm, then a body pressed against hers, and Liz realized the blast was over. She was facedown on the ground, someone laying on top of her, and once the world stopped moving, she was able to take a breath and sit up. Blinking rapidly Liz looked around as Meliodas climbed off of her and the king, who was cowered and groaning on the ground next to her. In shock she spun her head back to Meliodas. How did he move so fast?
He still hovered over her, still shielding her, even though his face was turned to look over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed and searching the dissipating cloud where the antechamber used to be. "Are you okay?" he asked without looking back.
"I think so," she rasped. Her throat was raw, her ears were still ringing, but nothing seemed hurt. Liz was hauled to her feet by sturdy hands, and she blinked down at him and nodded. "What happened?"
"Fay attacked," he answered. "Are you hurt?"
Instead of answering, her eyes then looked over the wreckage of the room. The floorboards were broken, the stone of the dais in a crumble, the throne itself toppled over onto its side. If the king had been there…
Shaking her head, her gaze landed on Fay. The knight was face down, unconscious on the floor. If Fay had done this, then how did she get hurt?
Green eyes stared up at her in concern, and Liz blinked, her mind so filled with questions she could not hope to begin. Had she ever learned what his power was? Was it enough to cause this?
His brows went up in question, so quickly she looked down to assess herself. There were small cuts on her arms, her uniform was covered in smeared dirt, and she could feel a bruise forming on her side where she had landed on the ground. But overall she felt okay, her head clearing rapidly even as it pounded. The sense of urgency to get out of there beginning to sound an alarm in her mind. "I'm fine," she answered, her breath coming in short gasps. "Nothing serious."
Incredibly, Meliodas grinned, and then gave her a wink before letting her arms go. "This is some crazy date. Now let's get out of here."
"Date?" she squeaked, but he ignored her.
She watched as Meliodas hauled the king to his feet. Liz looked over at where the king lay moaning on the ground. He was definitely alive, grumbling himself as he teetered up on hands and knees, the blonde grabbing his elbows and heaving him upwards. There was blood and dirt in his hair and on his robe, but everything seemed to be in place, and no obvious injuries were evident. Meliodas looked even worse, his hair sticking in every direction, his tunic nearly disintegrated, the bottoms of his trousers torn to shreds. She needed to ask him how, how did he grab the king and her, how did he stop the blast and survive and be okay enough to joke, but she was still trembling and could not find the words.
"Your Grace," he said quickly, "we need to go. Get somewhere safe."
Suddenly she remembered again what Meliodas had said. "They are looking for something," Liz said out loud, frowning in thought.
"What?" snapped the king, leaning heavily on Meliodas.
"Pase isn't invading. They are here to steal something." Surprise registered on his face, and Meliodas pressed his lips together as she stepped forward. "Do you know what they are looking for? What could be here that they want?"
"Those bastards!" he shouted, struggling in Meliodas' firm grip. "They want to steal my gold? My treasure?"
The adrenaline that had been coursing through her made her anger flare suddenly. "You idiot," she hissed, and Meliodas snorted. "Pase is richer than you could ever hope to be. What do they need your money for?"
"You dare—" the king growled, but just then Meliodas interrupted, "You have a point. If it's not the treasury, then what?"
Liz took a deep, shaky breath as they stared at one another. "Something about the goddesses," she answered.
"The goddesses!" Both of them looked over at the king, who was now steady enough to pull himself away. "Could that be it? Could they…?"
Meliodas narrowed his eyes when his voice trailed off. "What are you talking about?" he growled.
It was a tone not to be questioned, and Liz could see the king knew it too. He swallowed visibly and then explained, "We found an artifact when exploring the caves underneath the city three months ago. It's something I've never seen before, made of a material no one knows. Like something out of legend."
Liz frowned, confused, but Meliodas pressed, "Which legend?"
"Danafor's founding," the king whispered.
The change in Meliodas was instant. "You found—" He sucked in a deep breath, obviously trying to remain in control. "Give it to me. Now."
Nodding, his eyes wide in alarm, the king hurried to climb through the rubble. He reached throne that had toppled over in the blast, pulling it upright so he could pull off the cushions. Liz watched, utterly baffled by what was happening, when Meliodas grabbed her arm. "Liz," he said quietly, and her attention snapped to him. "Liz, I need you to listen to me."
"O-okay," she hesitated.
"This artifact, if it affects you in any way—if it, I don't know, if it makes you feel anything, makes you remember anything, tell me right away. Promise me."
She blinked down at him, opening her mouth to ask why, but he squeezed her arm gently. "Please," he begged.
"I will," she promised.
"Here!" Both then turned to see the king standing up, and holding the artifact in the air. Meliodas hurried over, and Liz followed slowly, looking carefully at this thing that was the cause of all of this. It was a weapon of some kind, she guessed, the material twisted into a coil on one end. The other end was formed into the head of a dragon, its eyes made of flashing rubies. Three spikes stood out from the top, three more around the curve at the bottom, and the entire piece was carved to give the effect of scales. It was strange, and unsettling, and… familiar.
The king did not hesitate to hand the artifact to Meliodas' outstretched hand. Liz was surprised to see him shiver as he touched it, his lips parting slightly as he ran his fingers over the strange shape. "What is it?" she asked.
Meliodas did not answer; instead he looked darkly at the king. "You found this," he said slowly, "you found this, and didn't tell me? You have had this all this time, and have been keeping it under your chair?"
The king grit his teeth even as he took a step backwards. "Y-you can't s-speak to me—I-I-I am the—"
"You've had the dragon fragment. All this time. And you kept it under your ass."
The king opened his mouth to argue back, but then his eyes lifted and widened to saucers as he looked over them. Meliodas and Liz turned at the same time, and then Liz felt white hot agony searing across her stomach. She cried out, tasting blood, but her body moved on instinct.
Twisting around, she pulled her sword from its sheath, holding it across her chest—Never know who or what you'll be fighting, Cain barked at her as he disarmed her again—as she planted her opposite foot in order to step in front of the king—I am a Holy Knight and I will do what I must to protect this kingdom—drawing in her power and ignoring the pain, ready to face what it was, ready to die if she had to, as Meliodas did the same beside her.
I told you before how I knew you were a slave. Would you like to know how I know you're not?
The words came back to her as they fought, side by side, the soldiers from Pase finally having arrived. He blocked their attacks, a technique that was as incredible as it was unbelievable, and Liz covered him, acting as shield and guard for the king.
Slaves are broken. Slaves are obedient.
One soldier moved in a flash, practically disappearing and reappearing next to them, and Liz swung. He disappeared again a split second before the blade connected, but not before she sent a pulse of her own magic out. When he reappeared behind the king, the knight collapsed on the ground, and Liz wondered briefly what Cain would have to say about that trick. But there was no time to think, only to act, and she stretched out her sloppy elbow as she pulled the king back behind her.
Slaves are afraid. But you are none of those things.
By the time she turned again, another knight was there, weapon waiting, and Liz gave a shout in surprise to see it was Fay. No time to think, to wonder, and she moved, trying to stay out of the way of the lance she wielded while keeping the king out of reach and looking for an opening for her own attack. Fear pulsed in her veins, and she used it to move, to strike, her feet dancing in the steps she had been taught, her arms up and her shoulders relaxed, her grip tight, and she fought with all she had against the knight that scared her more than any other.
You have never been a slave, Liz. Not now, and not then.
She thrusted her sword upwards and twisted, and Fay ducked to the side just in time. "Where did you learn that?" she demanded, stumbling back to gain her balance.
"I'm a Holy Knight of Danafor," Liz laughed.
Fay's face twisted into an angry snarl, throwing her weapon out. There was a small burst of light from the end, and Liz knew suddenly that she had no time.
She pushed the king out of the way as it hit, the force of the devastating energy sending her skidding across the floor of the ruined throne room, her body tumbling until she slid to a stop. Liz gave a groan and lifted her head, her vision going blurry as another light appeared on the end of the lance.
Then he was there, again, her ears ringing and her eyes watering, her throat and her skin on fire, the cuts on her body screaming, but alive, and she watched as Meliodas swiped an arc with the dragon piece in his hand. The light bounced backwards, the room going white, and as Liz slowly closed her eyes, the last thing she heard was his voice calling her name, and the last thing saw were not green eyes, but black, with a mark of black ink swirling across his face.
