Elizabeth wriggled in her tiny throne, impatient as usual. She glanced around and sighed loudly.
"Keep still, Elizabeth," Margaret chided as she herself was sat perfectly.
"Don't wanna," Elizabeth whined, kicking her feet.
"Please Ellie," Veronica begged.
"Ugh!"
The girls were sitting for a painting. The Three Sisters. Veronica sat in a gown of pale pink silk which she was eager to get out of. Margaret was in a gown of blue silk with a small tiara on her long tresses. In the middle, the five year old Elizabeth was sat in a gown of spring green with her hair combed out.
"Could someone please keep her still!" the royal painter exclaimed. But try as they might, the sisters were powerless against Elizabeth's wriggling.
"Hey Elizabeth!" a cheery voice suddenly called out. Immediately Elizabeth's eyes seemed to sparkle and smile flooded her face.
"Meli!" she cried out, wriggling off of her chair before scampering over to the Holy Knight. He picked her up, ignoring the protests from the painter and gave her a big kiss on the head. Elizabeth giggled in response to this.
"So what's going on guys?" Meliodas asked the sisters as he shifted the toddler to his hip.
"We're trying to have a painting done, but Elizabeth won't sit still," Margaret sighed," I don't know what to do."
"Hmmm…" Meliodas hummed before turning to Elizabeth," Ellie?"
"Hmmm?" Elizabeth copied.
"Do you want a present?" Meliodas grinned. At the word "present" Elizabeth's eyes lit up and she started to giggle.
"Present, present!" she cheered.
"I'll take that as a yes," Meliodas smiled, before seating Elizabeth on the chair," But you gotta sit nice for the painting, okay?"
"Hmmm… okay!" Elizabeth agreed. The rest of the group sighed with relief as Elizabeth stopped wriggling.
"Finally," the painter whispered to himself as he grabbed his paintbrush and once again began to paint.
…
Meliodas came back later to see that the painting was nearly done. It was truly a masterpiece. The sisters had been sent away as the final touches were merely cosmetic and did not require the girls to be there.
"Hey!" Meliodas waved to the painter who set down the brush and smiled back," I need a small favour!"
…
Later that night, Elizabeth sat in her room with her teddy bear, waiting for Meliodas to read her a bedtime story. Hearing footsteps, she snuggled under her blankets, excited. The door creaked open and there stood Meliodas, holding something in his hands. He went over and sat next to Elizabeth's bed, holding out the gift for her.
It was a Faberge Egg. It was silver, with little metallic feathers covering it. When she was older, Elizabeth would discover that on the bottom of the egg, there was a blood ruby, contrasting the pure white angelic feathers with it's darker meaning. Elizabeth awed at the egg and clicked the small button to reveal the treasure inside.
In the egg was a tiny portrait of Elizabeth in her silk green gown, sitting on Meliodas' lap. The look on her face was the expression the artist had seen when Meliodas had first arrived in the room. The expression on his face was a look of love, tender and gentle.
Elizabeth kept this present for many years and when Meliodas would go on missions, she would pull it out and trace the canvas with her fingertips, her eyes softening with love for the man in the painting.