I can't believe I'm on chapter 10 already! Middle school me wouldn't have chapter 10 out for a year or so. I hope to finish this story in another 10 chapters or so, hopefully with my writing getting better and the chapters a little longer.

Lastly, I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, my teachers this semester like weekly quizzes and projects DX

Please review!

enjoy!

inky~

Elizabeth passed the time staring at the garden and watching the sun set. The rays of dying light reflected off the petals, causing the lilies to look like they would burst into flames. She was very perplexed about Meliodas-sama. She didn't know how to react to him, if he was serious or just playing around with her. She sighed heavily. She supposed she would go along with him for now, but try and be polite. They had to figure out who was attacking the human villages.

A knock sounded on her door, she opened it, expecting to see Meliodas, but instead saw a girl about her height. A brunette pig-tailed girl stood in front of her and smiled widely, "Hello, Princess! My name is Diane, and I'm here to escort you to the dining room."

"Oh, wonderful. Please, lead the way, Diane-san." Diane produced a comforting and confident aura around her. Elizabeth wondered if demons were just like humans, but with longer lifespans. If that were true though, why were they sealed away?

Diane nodded and smiled. "This way, Princess." Elizabeth followed Diane down stairs and around a few corners to some ordinary looking white doors. Knocking, Diane announced her arrival. "Princess Elizabeth has arrived, Your Majesty."

The doors opened revealing a small dining table big enough to fit about 10 people. Used to ones that could seat around 60, Elizabeth considered it cozy and personal. Meliodas sat at the far end of the table, and a setting was placed to his right. "Good evening, Elizabeth!" He waved her over to the table.

Elizabeth swallowed. "Good evening, Meliodas-sama." She curtsied. It seemed he was following proper manners, but if they were dining alone, Elizabeth thought the other end of the table would be appropriate. She walked up to her seat, and Meliodas pulled it out for her. Gently sitting down while he pushed her in, Elizabeth noticed the proximity between the two seats was very close. Maybe she was just being overly conscious?

A door on Meliodas' left opened and a man with white hair and red eyes came out with two trays in his hands. "Here ya go, cap'n! Princess!"

"Perfect timing! Elizabeth, this is Ban, our chef here. I guarantee his cooking is the best you'll ever have."

"Hello, Ban-sama, it's a pleasure to meet you." Elizabeth stood and curtsied to the man. Even though he was a chef, the way Lord Ban talked to Meliodas made Elizabeth question the relationship between the two men. They were obviously close friends, but something else. There was trust and respect in Meliodas' eyes.

"No need to be so formal Princess." He waved her away, and grinned. Leaving the way he came, Elizabeth sat back down and looked at her food. It looked amazing! The smell made Elizabeth's mouth water and stomach ache in longing.

"Please dig in!" Meliodas said happily, and picked up his knife and fork. Elizabeth did the same, and with a small bite in her moth, pure bliss over came her. She thought she had the best chef in the kingdom at the castle, but obviously there were far better in the universe. They both ate in silence, enjoying the food and wine.

Eventually though, as the bites began to slow in between each other, Meliodas wiped his mouth and turned to look at her. "So, Elizabeth. You're convinced it's a demon destroying the villages, yes?"

Elizabeth nodded. "There was a witness to the souls being sucked out, but he didn't get very far into details before he was killed as well. The villager left a note in his house, and in the middle of writing it, he was also killed, and as far as we humans know, no other race can extract souls."

Meliodas nodded, "It's true demons can take a soul out of the body. Did anything happen to cause these killings? Any treaty's broken, made, or even thought of?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Unfortunately, that I don't know. I would know of the publicly announced ones, but my father tries to keep business out of conversation with his family. My sister Margaret might know, she's been starting to attend some council meetings, but father says I'm still too young to join."

A moment of silence filled the room. Meliodas sipped his wine, staring off into the distance, deep in thought. "As I mentioned before, I didn't order any attacks on the humans. In fact..." Elizabeth leaned forward a bit, trying to get a look at his face. It was eerily neutral. "I mentioned an alliance to a few of my council."

"An alliance!" Elizabeth breathed. That would be wonderful for the human kingdoms. Children would stop disappearing into the night, parents would stop shaking in fear, and adventurers would come home alive. "Are all those you've spoken to about this trust worthy?" Meliodas' jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. A small wave of power flowed off of him. A shiver went down Elizabeth's back. It was dark and curled around her like an anaconda, making it hard to breathe. "I'm sorry, Meliodas-sama, that was out of place." She looked down at her plate, appetite completely gone.

"Well," and in a second the air was light and a smile was back on his face. "I'll do some digging and threatening and all that good stuff." The usual smirk was back on his face, and the change in pace frightened Elizabeth. The control he had, and if that was even a bit of his powers, Elizabeth didn't want to be around when he was angry. "So, tell me about yourself."

"M-me?" She shifted in her seat. Elizabeth was a little uneasy about the way this was going. "What do you wish to know?"

"Well, for starters, how are you going to get home?"

"Ah. That. Yes. I have no idea actually. I came here excepting to be arrested or killed, and I couldn't exactly bring the sacred cave through its own portal. The moment I was tossed out, it closed behind me." Elizabeth wrung her hands together. She honestly wanted to go home, hoped to go home, but she didn't want to get any expectations up.

"Whoever is killing the villages must be moving in between the realms though. Maybe if we can figure that out, we can get you through as well." Meliodas said with a genuine smile.

She couldn't help it. She smiled back, possibly the biggest smile she's had in years. "That would be wonderful, Meliodas-sama." She clapped, and grabbed his hand, giving it a light squeeze.

He nodded, squeezed back, and continued on. "So what else about you? You're a princess, right? What kingdom again?"

"I'm the third princess of the Lioness kingdom. The kingdom is south, in Britannia."

Meliodas nodded, "So I'm guessing you have two older sisters, what other family do you have?"

"It's just my father, my sisters Margaret, Veronica, and I."

"Hmm. How old are you?"

"I'm 16 years old, but I'll be 17 in the late summer."

"And your favorite flower? Color? Boyfriend? Animal? What about favorite season? Music! Do you like dancing? Can you play any instruments? How about-"

"Um, Meliodas-sama!" He looked at her excitedly. "That's a lot of questions." She felt like she was being drilled.

He laughed loudly. "Yes, it is, I'm sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away."

She smiled. "Um, I'm very fond of those lilies in the garden, my favorite color is sunset pink, and no, no boyfriend. I can sing a bit, and I'm ok with the harpsichord, so I prefer to dance." A moment of silence. Elizabeth stared at her hands while maids, one of which was Diane-San, cleared the table.

"Would you like desert Elizabeth?" Meliodas asked. "I think it's tiramisu."

She nodded excitedly. That was one of her favorite desserts. The dish was placed I front of her and Meliodas, and he dug in. Clearing her throat, Elizabeth couldn't help but ask this question. The curiosity burned at her. "How about you, Meliodas-sama? Do you have anyone special in your life? Maybe a child?" As young looking as he was, he was thousands of years old, no doubt he hit demonic puberty by now.

But Meliodas shook his head. "Nah, just me, myself and I. Though I have really good friends somewhere around here." He motioned to the castle, and Elizabeth nodded. A king needs friends, someone he could trust without greed clouding their eyes.

When the dessert was finished and cleared away, Meliodas stood. Elizabeth followed suit, expecting him to leave. But before he did, Meliodas took her hand and kissed it. Grinning from his position over it, he said, "Good night Elizabeth. I hope I'll see you for breakfast tomorrow."

She nodded, blushing a little. She should be used to men kissing her hand, it was a common action among the men in the palace, but for some reason, her heart stuttered when he did it. "Yes, of course, I'd love to." She curtsied as he left, using the door the maids and Ban had used. Maybe there was a secret passage through there?

Elizabeth left the dining room, and managed to find the stairs, and eventually her room, where she collapsed on the tubs rim. She filled the bath and placed the lilies in her hair into the hot water. She slid into the water with a sigh, and luckily didn't fall asleep this time.