Our First Fall

A Meliodas and Elizabeth story
Jesterbelle Beta'd this chapter and I'm very glad to have her.

Chapter Twenty-One: A Free Ride

I sat in the study thinking over everything Meliodas told me the evening before. We had another day of all-meat meals as he explained that the Commandments would all be parting soon, that he would take over training the newest troops and that soon the entire city would be free for me to explore after he showed me around, "then our relationship will be known through the city." He had looked apprehensive but determined.

When I'd asked why he looked hurt when we'd been in the hall, he told me he didn't like that I'd acted differently in front of the others. "You can be yourself with me, always. No matter who is watching or where we are." Just thinking about it made my face grow warm. He'd told me he wanted us to be together, to force the world to change for us. For the first time he sounded like he would like us to be long term.

His words were sweet but he still hadn't touched me.

That night we were simply soft with one another. I wasn't near brave enough to initiate our intimacy and I wondered if my joke about keeping his hands to himself had affected him. It couldn't have, right? He knew it was a joke. We'd orgasmed every night since the ocean view on our travels back, yet as soon as we arrived here... nothing. I missed it, my body actually pulsed when I thought about it, as if in anticipation, longing.

I was scratching at Estarossa's head while he napped when the door of the study burst open, Mina falling over herself when she sees me. Her darkness swirled with purple, leaking off her as she moved. Something was wrong. I didn't know her that well, having only spent a day with her but with the expression she was making, anyone would be able to tell how distraught she is.

"It's Polly!" She exclaimed, taking my wrist and forcing me to follow. "She's fallen, I wasn't fast enough to catch her and she's hurt, the baby!" I wasn't fighting her to begin with but with that I took to the air, her letting go of me as I followed her much faster off my feet. Mina guided me to the kitchens. I'd never been in here but Meliodas had pointed out the door to me, which swung wide under Mina's force.

Polly was on the floor, clutching at her tummy and I ignored the tipped chair, spilled broth and meat chunks across the stone under her. I dropped beside her, hands going to her belly but her pained face turned sharp, her grip on my wrist surprisingly painful.

"Save my baby." She orders me, daring me to disobey her.

"Of course," I relent, moving to feel her, exploring with my warm glow. "The amniotic sac is detaching," I tell her, thinking back to so long ago when Lady Graelle had brought me with her on the midwifery visits when I had been a teenager. I shifted my position, leaning over her and pressing on the other side of her stomach. Using as precise a point as possible, I focused my magic to knit the sac back in place. Mina took Polly's hand gripping it as she screamed, in fear or from the feeling of my magic moving inside her, I didn't know.

Still, when I finished we were both panting in heavy breaths. I helped her to stand and Mina was crying, thanking me again while Ms. Polly felt her belly, shocked and looking up at me. "You healed Mina and now this... our family owes you a great deal." I wave her off but she insists.

"Not as repayment but I do want to be a better cook. I promise I'm hopeless but if you could let me watch I may get better." I smile as she nods so quickly. "After tasting Meliodas' cooking, I don't think I'm near as hopeless as him." I make a face with my tongue out, joking to ease the tension and both Polly and Mina stare, more tense than before. What? I grow self-conscious but the moment passes when Mina feels Polly's belly and they talk together about the baby as if I'm not here.

Polly declares herself perfect, even her aches and nausea were gone, she said. I smiled, glad. Polly's darkness had dissipated under my healing glow but it flicked purple around her belly once more, renewed. I'd met her before but after seeing her in pain a moment ago, she did look younger now. Perhaps she'd been suffering for a little while and hadn't said anything? Her eye wrinkles were gone, her mouth rested easier.

I find a rag and start cleaning up the spilled soup, mopping it with what I could find. This spurs the others into action.

"Lady Elizabeth you've done enough, please let me," Polly insists, her long hair trailing in the soup and she flicks it back over her shoulder, drops of soup flying.

"Just Elizabeth. Please." I tell her, "I'm used to scrubbing floors." Mina already knew this but Polly's eyes widened. Did she think the goddesses had slaves too? I smile, about to tell her but the kitchen door opens.

Cusack walked in, dark hair and mustache long and swaying with his walk. He surveyed the three of us on the floor and his lip twitched up. "So this is the goddess that has the young master acting so rash." His voice was low and cold. "He's thinning our strongest. Is that the plan, are you controlling the young master?" My face grew hot.

"She's not like that," Mina defended, standing and pulling me to my feet too. Polly takes a little extra time to raise but she does, the soup cleaned.

"I don't think anyone could make Meliodas do anything." I offer, keeping eye contact with Cusack, I can see him agree with me but he doesn't say another word, just turns around and strolls out.

"I wonder what he wanted," Mina puzzled, but Polly curses, low and long, new words I'd never heard before. "The Soup." She explained and she gets started on another batch. I watch her cut the meat she unfolds from its paper wrapping. Mina fetches some water, bringing the pot with her. I study her movements, trying to learn the seasonings and how she handles the food.

Mina returns with a little boy at her ankles. He was talking a mile a minute, excited about a game him and a friend had invented and he was explaining the rules. When he spotted me, he ran to Polly, hiding behind her legs.

The child feared me.

At the goddess compound Meliodas had been sneered at, feared sure but I hadn't seen children run from him. My heart ached and I looked up, trying to stop my tears from welling. My goals here will be so much harder than I thought. "Pip, this is Lady Elizabeth. She healed Mina and me today. Lady Elizabeth, this is my son- we call him Pip." Polly touched the boy's head.

His spiky hair stuck out all over, reminding me of Meliodas but those were the only similarities, he peeked out from behind his mother at me. His skin was darker, his hair brown and his eyes a pale orange. Polly had the same hair color but that's the only feature he seemed to inherit from her. Pip doesn't stay, taking the farthest-from-me path he could to leave out the back door and into the open air.

"Don't mind him." Polly quips, looking a little bashful as she admits "His father and I tell him the goddesses will get him if he doesn't act right and, well, we may have created that fear." She hardens, "not without cause, it's safer for him to run." I get it, nodding slowly, knowing the stories I'd heard growing up about demons. I imagine demons had similar one about goddesses.

Polly finishes the soup and Mina takes it, carrying it out through the door leading to the castle. The silence spreads between us and just as I was about to go, Polly gathers a string of rabbits, explaining how to skin them. I haven't had this much meat since Megadozer.

I excuse myself, thanking her for letting me watch her. On my way out, a tall man that looks like a grown pip comes in, two dead turkeys, one in each hand were up as if showing off the prize. "How's my sweet, glowing lady today?" He grins, before spotting me. He drops the turkey's, hand on the hilt of his blade in a moment.

"No, Lostian, this is Lord Master's, uh, friend." Polly explains and she turns to me "Lostian hunts for us when he's not patrolling the borders." Oh, a guard. I share my pleasantries before I make my excuses to him as well, flustered. Maybe they ate meat as he provided everything and clearly he was a skilled hunter. I frowned, thinking I may have made another friend but I wasn't sure...

I collected Estarossa and in the courtyard, we played for a while. If I had seeds, which I had not thought to bring, I could make my own garden here. Would Ludociel send me a packet of them if I asked? I doubt it. Maybe Meliodas can find me some? I did not want him to think I don't appreciate his regions meals though. My doubts are strong enough to dismiss the notion with a little frown.

I laid down, watching the clouds when I felt eyes on me. I turned, looking up at the castle and there on the third-floor window was Meliodas. With a big smile, I took to the air, flying up to him. Midway, he opened the window and when I stepped down on the steep roof he reached for me. There were people in there, but he leaned out, blocking me from view and me from seeing in.

Without saying a word, our lips find one another and I feel his face, smiling against him. With a giggle I pull away, kicking off to do a little flip backward, flashing my panties. The wicked smile that spreads across his face paired with the surprised laugh was worth it. My face burns as I drift down to the courtyard again. "I hope that greeting was better," I call out and he smiles.

"The best." He chuckles, but it fades as he turns to frown behind him. With a resigned smile in my direction, he shuts the window. Meliodas told me tonight would be his last night with the commandments. I hadn't met them, I think by design as Meliodas seemed genuinely worried about us crossing paths.

At our next meal, we had turkey, sitting on the floor and I frowned at the squawking bird wishing we were eating him instead. That's meat I would enjoy. Meliodas had come back excited, telling me we had all the days together, going forward. "If I had any warning that I'd be taking you with me when I went in search of just a few moments with you, this would have been handled before you arrived."

I grow hot, picking at the slice of cooked bird and giving Estarossa the darker chunks. "I'm sorry I'm not any use to you," I tell him, trying to meet his eyes but failing. Cusack's words echoed. Meliodas had weakened his city. As a spy, Ludociel would kill for this information but I would never and I hated that Cusack's theory had probably run through everyone's mind.

"Elizabeth," Meliodas' wicked grin spreads, "I know plenty of uses for you." His voice is suggestive and I drop my food, looking up in alarm. He is looking nonchalant as he runs the back of his knuckles down my arm.

"Will you touch me tonight?" There was a waver in my voice and although his eyes swirl in that liquid way he changes the subject. Inside I feel lost for a moment as if the ground dropped out under me and I flail internally.

"Sent any letters yet?" Meliodas questions and I frown, not wanting to think about that.

"No." I give Estarossa the last of my food, too nervous to eat. "I was going to maybe start with writing about being stuck here, not lying but framing it as if I'm under restrictions. It will buy me more time." His brow raises, chin up as if he approved of that course of action. "I want you to read everything before I send it." His nod stops, eyes flashing dark, still looking at me.

"Okay." He says, "I'm excited to show you off. Demons gossip worse than old ladies. I'll have finally returned your kindness to me." I move my licked clean plate, thank you Estarossa, to the tray on the floor between us. We were sitting cross-legged on the rug, as sitting in opposite chairs isn't close enough to one another.

So, because I wasn't ashamed of him in my city, he was returning the favor?

"Meliodas," I start, alarmed. "If you don't want to do this, it's okay. I understand, with the Demon King and the Commandments, it sounds like such a risk to you and-"

"You had just as much to lose, your people don't have princesses, but that's what you are. Like me you were born into a role, your clan looking to you for guidance." He puts his own plate down, leaning toward me. "I admire your strength, while you forced them to accept demons in their city, intending to couple..." His eyes pinched and when they opened they shined with adoration "you were fearless, Elizabeth. I strive to be like that. To face my fights with purpose, not because I've been told."

"Oh." I close the gap between us, kissing him. In no time at all, my hands find his top shirt button as I delved into his mouth. He thought I was fearless and it made me want to be. Meliodas wanted to lead his people into accepting me, too. Just as I undid his top button he pulled away, detangling us and then picking up the tray to bring it just outside our door.

Was I doing this wrong? I bit at my lip, thinking of all the times Meliodas had to lead me into an orgasm. Perhaps he didn't like to be pressed upon, but liked to be the aggressor? Confused, I stood, feeling the sting of rejection. I'd never felt it before. I hadn't ever tried to start something with anyone before. I chalked it up to lack of experience. Meliodas had guided me so skillfully into touching that denying him had never crossed my mind.

"Elizabeth..." Meliodas starts, I can't look up, as just his voice sounded distressed. I searched for anything but that to talk about.

"How old are you?" I question, finding my nerve to look at him, resolute.

"Two hundred and twenty-four." He answers, sounding uneasy but less so than when he'd said my name a moment ago. I couldn't help but gaze over him then, confused. Shouldn't he look older than he does? I knew he was an adult but he looked like he had stopped aging in the middle of his teen years. "You seem surprised?" He questions and I try to brush it off. I'm too late to cover my reaction and I smile ruefully. "How old are you, then?"

"Eh, twenty-nine," I admit and I watch as his eyes widen, pupils shrinking to little points and he halts in his walk towards me.

"A twenty-nine-year-old demon would be a child," Meliodas tells me, studying my curves with awe and bewilderment.

"Demons must mature slowly. I know our lifespans are only off by what... a few hundred years?" I added, hoping he wouldn't think I am a silly child. Ludociel liked to point that out as often as possible, referencing my fevers as if that proved his point. Which it didn't! I know fevers are supposed to be over by fourteen. So what that mine are lasting more than twice that long!

"Oh, I may not have reached my final form, but I think I've shown you how physically mature I am." His devious grin makes me warm in the tummy and I feel myself get wet. I shift, uncomfortable and not sure what to do with this feeling after Meliodas pulled away. The stupid bird squawks and with a little strain, Meliodas offers to help me with my first letter to Ludociel.

We went to the study, him sitting at his desk and with a little coaxing, I sat across his lap. His hands roamed and I wondered if this meant he would touch me tonight but when I froze over my writing Meliodas would breathe into my ear asking "What's got you distracted, Elizabeth?" In his suggestive tone and I would shake myself to focus.

Squawks is sent off an hour later, seemingly just as glad to be away from us as I was to be rid of him. That night, Meliodas and I stared at one another until I fell asleep. My nerve to initiate had been shot and I knew if Meliodas wanted something from me, he usually made it happen, so the fact that he didn't just meant he didn't want too. It was fine, if our relationship stayed like this I would still be happy.

Being next to him calmed me. He was a natural balm to my soul.

When I awoke, Meliodas was dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed leaning over me. He pushed my hair from my face and smiled at me. "We have so much to see." I rub at my eyes, blinking to focus on him. He had the leather vest I'd made for him in Megadozer on and it pleased me to see it again. I gave him a shy smile and his eyes swirled with deep emotion I couldn't place.

I rose, gathering my clothes for the day and burning hot when I see Meliodas wasn't leaving. He actually leaned back against his headboard, arms up as if waiting for the show. He wanted me to undress in front of him? "Oh, where's my brave girl who flashes her panties?"

"That's different," I answer, trying to think of a way to explain a little flash vs. full-on exposure. With him not moving, I relent and spin around shimmying out of my dress. I hear him groan.

"Your ass is a work of art, Elizabeth." He tells me and I know I must have caught fire, I feel so hot. His words make me fumble my new dress and I drop it. I hear the bed creak as he moves and I bend fast, picking up my outfit. Meliodas hums 'mmm' from behind me and I peek over my shoulder. He was laying on his back, head off the mattress to look at my backside from below, his palm was pressed to the center of his chest. I pinched my eyes closed, knowing he probably got an eyeful from there. With a few wiggles, I pulled my dress on, stepping into my panties and reaching for my pants.

"Oh no," Meliodas interjects, rolling off into a flip off the bed, grabbing for my pants but I'm too fast. Or he let me tuck them behind my back and a little game of keep-away began. I stepped to the right, he lunged and I laughed, running up over a chair and flying up when he got clever. His laugh rang out, abandoning the game to stand under me, looking at my panties. I flush, descending down and he bends to see for as long as possible. "Mm, this is just the beginning of how fun no pants can be."

With my face all hot, I put my pants away and Meliodas' grin makes my face burn all the more. I had grown braver with flashing my panties and now I decided to not wear pants? Am I evolving? The fact that this might entice him to touch me again was the main factor in my decision and that would have alarmed me greatly a few months ago.

He's excited today. I gather a few gems intending to trade and take care of Estarossa before we all go. I'm not sure which of them is happier, Estarossa for coming with us or Meliodas, taking my hand and pulling me along. This was the complete opposite side of the coin from when we arrived, sneaking around on high alert. We were out in the open, people shying away from us but staring. Some spotted us and turned about face as quick as they could. They wore clothes though, dresses with low cuts and slits up the legs or trousers with open tie front shirts. It made me feel less out of place as the castle seemed to only use their darkness to cover themselves.

It didn't bother Meliodas though, he pointed out taverns, breweries, and pubs. I commented on how many drinking establishments there were he laughed. "That's what we're known for. Alcohol comes before bread to my people."

"I've never had alcohol before," I tell him, watching him look back at me in astonishment.

"Here, if you know how to walk, you know how to drink." I must look equally as shocked as he smiles, one full of promise.

"Another time." He assures. Estarossa trails around us, sniffing and keeping an eye on me. We spend the whole day, together, getting food from a street vendor who looks like he would rather pull his teeth than have to talk to Meliodas and I. Hands shaking as he passes us the meat kabobs. They were tasty but I still shared with Estarossa.

Meliodas thoroughly groped me all day. Sometimes it was just a little graze that was gone so fast I wasn't sure if I felt it and other times it was full on, face between my breasts, hands palming my behind. I would yelp, and wiggle free. Although, he seemed to like that. He tried to explain it away "Here, groping is the same as holding hands to your people- I'm declaring my intentions to couple you. It's my culture, Elizabeth." I wasn't sure if I believed him, but it could be true. When the evening faded to dark and we still hadn't hit the Market district, Meliodas declared the day a success.

"I'm glad I've gotten to see where you grew up," I tell him, a group of women stopping in their path toward the markets to openly stare, a few of them stepping back in fear. That's when I notice it's not me they are afraid of. It's Meliodas. All those that turned around at the sight of us had been to get away from him?

"I didn't grow up here." Meliodas starts, "I have some memories as a child here but I've only been in this realm constantly once I'd hit puberty." I had lost track of my own thoughts, of what I had said and it took me a second to catch up to him. I was torn then, to ask about why everyone was afraid of him or asking after the realm he grew up in. Unless I was wrong and it was me they were afraid of, it wasn't like I knew for sure.

"I'd like to hear about that realm sometime but... are your people afraid of me, or you?" I queried, a guard was walking around the gate and he stood straight, hands to his side when he saw us.

"Me." Meliodas answers "Most demons are lesser demons, a small candle to my raging inferno, its intimidating and I haven't given them much reason to see me in any other way."

Hm.

"You can roam the city now. Just the thought of incurring my wrath will keep you safe." I flush at his words. He'd only let those he could control through their fear stay in the city? Cusack's words came to mind, that the city was weaker and I confessed my worry to Meliodas as Estarossa ran off to the courtyard in a bounding run of excitement. "I placed the commandments at the border, we would have plenty of notice if anything came our way."

Meliodas gave me a long, look, as if studying me before his eyes eased and his smile returned. "Are you worrying about the demons?"

"Well, yeah," I tell him, thinking of Mina and Polly, plus all the children that ran the streets in dirty clothes. Even before that, all the demons I healed on their last breaths on the battlefield.

That night was another repeat. Chicken in a meat base gravy and I was so over meat at this point, but would never say a word. I took a bath while Meliodas was summoned by Chandler and I played with Estarossa until he returned, waiting up for him. When he did come back, he oozed kindness, telling me he both hoped I went to sleep and that I hadn't.

We went to bed and butterflies erupted, it had been a few days since I'd touched him and I worried over it. I should not have though... he never kissed me any deeper than soft flutter kisses. They were wonderful but I tucked in against him, thinking even after all that groping, Meliodas didn't want to orgasm with me anymore. Still, I was happy to be with him and gave soft touches to his chest. Sweetly, he fell asleep to them, and I closed my eyes to follow him.

The next evening the market district was bustling. We left Estarossa behind. Hulking beasts were buying tools and haggling for prices. The shoppers stayed away from us but the sellers excitedly spotted Meliodas and seeing me on his arm, calling out for 'the lady to look at' this or that. Coins were rarely parted with. I watched and thought, maybe coins came with struggling.

Nothing really drew my eye. Jewelry didn't appeal to me and I didn't need a weapon. I found watching the people, with strange heads and wide mouths full of sharp teeth, doing everyday tasks much more interesting. The only thing that did give me pause was a dress, purple-black that reminded me of Meliodas' darkness, swoop necked with a thin ruffle around it. I pass it up but Meliodas snatched it up.

"Will you take a gem?" I asked the woman who looked at the offered jewel with longing, then to Meliodas with a touch of fear.

"We'll convert your gems to demon gold," Meliodas told me, using his hand to close my fingers around the gem. He gave her a gold piece, the same as the one I had in my bag back in his room and she looked more than satisfied but told me "Come back anytime, dear," folding the dress up and tying it with a cord to carry easier. We walked a few paces to the center of the square, cobblestones underfoot in a large open space.

"Meliodas, since I'm staying with you and eating your food and spending your gold now would you accept the gems as payment for-"

"No." Meliodas doesn't let me finish.

"They were given to me, it's not like-"

"I like taking care of you." Meliodas spins to stand in front of me, tenderly touching my face and tucking my long hair behind my ears. "I've never taken care of anyone before. Have never wanted too." I want to kiss him, looking at his lips, then down at my feet. I reach for and grip his upper arms, growing nervous. I dip halfway, letting him decide. He doesn't hesitate, tilting up to capture my mouth, his hands feeling around my waist to grip at my hips.

Murmurs started and even a gasping scream. I pulled away, flushed for a darker reason and I wiggled my hips under his grip from the onslaught of sensations at my core. He grins, adjusting his firm grip and then tossing me in the air a few feet, grabbing my knees as he ducks under me.

"Gah! Meliodas!" I screech, he spins in place and I'm suddenly sitting on his head. My thighs dangling over either of his ears while he strolls down the street holding me there, his fingers around my calves. A kid points as we pass and I don't have a place to grab, so my arms cross over my chest as he weaves this way and that. He actually stops and talks to someone. Really?

They are at my back and I turn to see, a tall man with gray hair who looks alarmed up at me, mouth long across his face with sharp teeth and too many eyes. He tells the man he'll be down for a drink soon, "I want Elizabeth to try your cinnamon mead." Meliodas looks up, the top of his head rubbing against my core and I gasp "It's delicious, you'll like it." With a slow twist as if he knew just what he was doing, he looked back at the brewery guy, saying his goodbyes.

Meliodas crouches low, bending down and I think he's letting me off for a second before he jumps into the air. I can fly, but this was different, like being anchored to a runaway demon intent on making me uncomfortable. He lands on the roof of a shop, hopping from one to another, laughing at my yelps. "Meliodas!" I yell, my wings tucking in, but ready to open at any indication of falling.

It was like flying backward, hair whipped in my face as I watched the people below look up in shock. We stop on a wall, built around the training grounds and Meliodas sits down. "Down!" I demand, my finger pointing at nothing and he laughs under my butt. With a little pull, I slip back, over his face and into his lap, his hands still holding my knees on either side of his hips.

"Oh." I hush as we align.

"I've always been a runt, slow to mature but now, I can't find a single thing wrong with being short." He expresses, his face pressed into my chest, the perfect height to have access to them in this position.

"Gah!" I wiggle, trying to move off him. That's when I feel him, hard against my core through his pants. I freeze, alarmed and something like yearning spreading from my core and up my spine. He pulled at my thighs, my core rubbing against him and I gasp, finding my hands at his neck and back of his shoulder. "Meliodas..." I whisper, looking around for anyone that could be seeing us like this.

"Hmm?" He asks, obviously enjoying himself as his fingers explore up my legs and under my dress at my hips. My body woke, arching without me deciding too and I froze, he pressed at my core and I don't know what to do. Meliodas takes pity on me, flipping me around to be seated next to him, facing the barren land, the circle pits cut out of the earth had planks holding the sides up. The building in the distance is large and looked like a training center.

Meliodas points out where he will be and that I could come to visit whenever I wanted, that late nights and mornings will be ours. I catch my breath my eyes drifting to the ruined fields. That's why we had meat all the time. These people rely on hunting to live because the Goddesses destroyed their crops. I flush, devastated at the act and my slowness to comprehend this. I wanted to slap my own forehead over and over, cursing myself.

"Elizabeth?" Meliodas' concerned voice reaches me, his face bending to block my view. I open my mouth to respond but behind him a crouched man lands on the wall, balancing to stand. He had black hair sticking up to one side, his face similar to Meliodas' and build almost exact. "Zeldris." Meliodas says, not turning from me until I meet his eyes. I wasn't afraid if he was worried about that.

"You sent everyone away and left a slew of shit to do. I'm not going to do it all while you play with one of your toys." Zeldris scowls, arms crossing. I flush, clearly, he meant me as the toy.

"I'm sorry if I've been keeping you-" I start, hushed and concerned to Meliodas' tense expression but before I could finish, he's gone. Zeldris and Meliodas crashed, skidding away from me down the top of the wall. My hands clasp at my heart as their movements blurred, metal clangs ringing out and people stopped to watch below.

I couldn't tell who had the upper hand as it seemed blow for blow the two were harmonized. This wasn't their first fight. I knew it from Meliodas but seeing it, it was like a dance they had practiced their entire lives. Some people moved on, seemingly bored but I couldn't look away for more than a few seconds, afraid for him, for them both.

Meliodas' laugh rings out and I hear him give a sharp "Fine."

Zeldris scowls as he feels the shallow slash on his face, it trickled blood. "You went too far."

I couldn't see Meliodas' face but I heard him, "You insulted my lady." It's flippant like he was explaining why it rained during a storm. Like Zeldris should have expected this. Zeldris swipes at his bleeding face and looks over at me, one eyebrow cocked.

"You risk her when you feel this way?" Zeldris asks, genuinely alarmed. His confounded look turns to Meliodas, staring as if trying to figure him out and failing. "You are overconfident." Zeldris warns, stepping off the wall, calmly landing to walk below and calling back over his shoulder "I'll not do your duties a third day, Meliodas."

Our easy days were over, it seemed. I'll be back to entertaining myself.