A/N:
This story took place about 12 years ago, after 'the Vampire of Edinburgh' case and before 'the SDS Vacation', so yes, they hadn't met with Tristan. Gwen is 'physically' 4 years old here. You can read my story 'The White Enchantress' to understand the full story~ have fun
O of Owe
Prompt: in which Ban remembered his talk with Merlin about their fight in the Edinburgh mission. Ban thought of it as a promise to have a friendly brawl. Merlin had no choice but to deal with him.
Ban barged into Merlin's laboratory, again "Merlin! Let's have a fun fight! You owe me one, after all. Come on!".
Merlin sighed, she didn't have time for this. She was rather enjoying giving the finishing touch to some of her experiments with Gowther's and Gwen's help. Just her luck, here the immortal remembered their conversation despite his drunkness state. She had hoped he would just forget it due to his drunk state, and yet, he remembered and kept demanding to have a friendly brawl with her. She seriously didn't have time to babysit him, babysitting Gwen was enough.
Without looking behind, Merlin was about to answer "Look, I don't have time to—".
"Mommy is gonna have a fight with uncle Ban? Why? Do you have a...", Gwen trailed off, thinking the right word for the situation before patting her tiny fist on her palm "What people said with... eto… um... ah, lovers quarrel?".
Merlin instantly dropped the flasks in her hands and froze.
Ban literally slammed his fists and forehead on the wall. Damn it, if not because of Gwen's cuteness, Ban could have yelled to her right away, but he held it back. Not to mention, dare to yell indignantly to an adopted daughter of the greatest Sorceress all Britannia? It was not a good idea, not under her mother's watch. Even an idiot with a muscled brain like Ban knew better than to shut his mouth rather than yelled to the little Gwen. Otherwise, Merlin was gonna freeze his mouth, for sure.
Looking at their reactions, Gowther pondered curiously "Hm, I wonder... should I laugh or be shocked? Usually, people laugh or be shocked at a time like this, right?".
Gwen blinked her eyes innocently "Why not both?".
"Gwen, sweetie~ listen to me, honey~", with a vein popped on his head, Ban squeezed her shoulders and smiled with a menacing aura "In the name of all shitty creators of this f*cking world where we live on, I already have someone I loved and of all women in this world, no offence, your mother is the last woman that I'll get interested with".
Lifting her hand, Merlin snapped her fingers and froze his head "No curses in front of my daughter".
Gwen puffed her cheeks and pursed her lips "But I'm curious, Mom! People around us always wondered about why mommy adopted me when you even haven't married yet. Do you even have someone you love?".
"Well, I guess...", Merlin scratched the back of her earlobe and quirked a thin smile "...Uh, I just haven't found the right person in my life, perhaps?".
If not because of those sad-looking eyes, Gwen probably would pester her further but because she didn't want to see her sad-looking eyes again, Gwen decided to drop the topic. She tilted her head and tried to divert the conversation "Then, how do you have a fight with uncle Ban?".
"No, Gwen, actually—".
"Actually, I and your mommy will have a fight, witnessed by the other Sins but other spectators can join to watch our fight in the courtyard of Liones Castle", Ban cut her off with his usual stupid grin on his face, patting Gwen's head "For your question, no, honey~ it's just a little friendly brawl, like the one I usually have with your Daddy~".
If Merlin sent the deadly glare to him, Ban wouldn't care about it from how the Undead simply averted his eyes and whistled nonchalantly.
"Come to think of it, I never saw how mother fought using magic before. I also could rarely see uncle Ban's regeneration because Daddy always told me to not see it, it's gruesome he said", tapping her forefinger to her chin, Gwen hummed thoughtfully before lifting her face to Merlin. Looking up to Merlin with her doe-like big, round eyes, Gwen stared at Merlin with sparkles of expectancy on her unique eyes "Mommy, I'm curious!".
Which meant she wanted to see their fight.
Crap.
When Gwen used this trick (she learned it from Meliodas, damn him, to think he would teach something cunning to her), Merlin didn't have the heart to say 'no' to her.
Merlin sighed in defeat and squeezed her shoulders "...Let's do it tomorrow, then. With one condition, you have to stick close with the Captain for your safety, got it?".
"Yes, mommy!", Gwen saluted, before she went out bouncing up and down excitedly like a bunny "Dad Mel! I've got great news!".
Ban grinned broadly "You sure spoil her a lot~".
Merlin closed her eyes and argued back "Not quite right. On the afterthought, I think this will be a good chance to know the limit of your regeneration".
Ban twitched the corner of his lips listening to it in disbelief "What? So I'm your guinea pig now?".
Merlin twitched her eyebrow in annoyance. Indeed, Ban told them that other spectators would be allowed to join, but she didn't expect to see nearly the entire Castle occupants come to witness their fight. The princesses, the Three Misfits, Vivian, Gwen, and the Sins were sitting on the fence to watch the fight from a safe distance along with the other Holy Knights or maids. Even King Baltra was escorted by Dreyfus, Zaratras, and Hendrickson when they watched their fight from above on the fort.
Diane clearly cheered for Merlin "Beat him, Merlin!".
King decided to stay on the same side with Diane, so obviously, King also cheered for Merlin. Gowther decided to observe in silence while Escanor shyly cheered for Merlin as well.
Settling Gwen on his lap, Meliodas cheered "Good luck, Ban! I will laugh it off when you get your sorry ass kicked by Merlin!".
Gwen only clapped her hands and laughed brightly. Elizabeth sat beside Meliodas because she wanted to stay near Gwen, she said. Veronica and Margaret sat near Elizabeth, obviously. Vivian surprisingly sat near Gwen and Meliodas (not too surprising, considering she sat right behind Gilthunder) because Gilthunder, Howzer, and Griamore decided to sit near them.
Ban drawled "Cap'n, it's so mean of you~ why everyone here thought I'd get my ass kicked by Merlin? Is there no one who cheers up for me?".
"There is!", Gwen lifted her finger upward to where the Fairy Ghost Elaine floating "Can't you see her? Up there".
Meliodas tipped his head backwards and blinked his eyes "What you're pointing at, Gwen? Nothing's there".
Gowther lifted his shining finger "Of course you can't see it. She's pointing to a ghost. She's not lying at all when she said she saw someone up there, Captain".
Everyone stared pointedly at Gwen (even Griamore was on the verge of tears because of scared) before Meliodas touched her shoulders "Sweetheart, next time you see a ghost, just don't tell us, okay?".
Gwen tilted her head innocently "But how can I possibly know they're ghosts or not?".
"I will teach you about it later", Merlin noted to herself about how many things she had to teach to the little Gwen before she pointedly lifted her finger to Meliodas "Make sure she's safe, Captain. I don't want her to get scratched at all".
"Oh, worry not, mom! You don't have to worry about us. Just focus on your fight, mom!", Gwen chirped and she snapped her fingers with a cunning smirk on her face "Perfect Cube".
Everyone here was amazed when Gwen could create the Perfect Cube that encased Merlin and Ban in it. Yep, they knew that she was a prodigy child but she was only a four years old little girl, for heaven's sake!
Merlin lifted her shaking finger "You... since when did you...".
Gwen blinked "Eh? I saw mommy using it once and I simply practised it".
Even Vivian couldn't do it yet. It made the 17 years old teenager frustrated, sulking on the ground "...To think I lost to my Master's four years old child...".
Meliodas ruffled her head and praised "Wow! Aren't you a genius?".
"That's my girl", Merlin appeared in front of them to hug and kiss Gwen's cheek, earning Gwen's delightful giggle, before Merlin reappeared inside Gwen's Perfect Cube right in front of Ban "Shall we start?".
Ban rubbed his hands with an impish grin on his face, jumping up and down excitedly like a child.
Zaratras came out of nowhere and acted as referee, lifting his hand "Fight, start!".
Howzer turned to Gilthunder "What is your father doing here?".
Gilthunder facepalmed "Father".
Griamore noticed "Even my father and Hendrickson also joined".
Elizabeth noticed "Our father, too".
Veronica shook her head and sighed loudly after listening to Margaret's stifled laughter "Seriously".
When Ban lunged at Merlin with a fist, Merlin cast the magic spell to stop his movement "Frozen Coffin".
Not giving a chance for Ban, Merlin launched another magic spell "Fire Storm".
The frostbite and burns on Ban's body healed immediately before the Fox Sin used his Sacred Treasure. Merlin dodged it easily and snapped her fingers "Endless Whirl".
When Ban was trapped in the centre of the wind, Merlin who had been floating in the air, dropped to her knees on the ground.
Gwen gasped "Mom! What happened?".
Meliodas frowned and prepared to close Gwen's eyes when it was needed "Ban was using his Snatch, huh?".
Escanor yelled when Ban approached Merlin, swinging his hand "Ban! Don't you dare to punch Lady Merlin or I will be your next opponent?!".
"Oh, come on. Escy~ how do you expect me to fight if I don't knock down my opponent?", Ban scoffed and lifted his fist "Don't worry~ I won't punch your face since you're a woman".
Someone cloaked in the fort snapped his fingers "Hell Blaze".
Ban yelped when Hell Blaze (the one that he remembered he had seen from the Captain when Ban had tried to steal the Captain's sword) lit up surrounding Merlin's body, protecting her. Remembering that this fire even could leave a scar on his body, Ban backed away "What the—!?".
"You underestimate me, Ban. I'm not known as the greatest Sorceress of Britannia for nothing", Merlin smirked cunningly, her piercing golden eyes were gleaming sharply before she lifted her Aldan and shot one of her best magic spell attacks "Exterminate Ray".
They gasped when Ban's torso entirely perished, only leaving his body from his hips down to his legs that collapsed back to the ground. Thankfully, Gwen's Perfect Cube was quite tough, to the point it even could hold the impact of Merlin's attack. Before Elizabeth and Gwen could see it, Meliodas covered their eyes.
Gwen protested "Daddy, why did you cover my eyes?".
Elizabeth asked in confusion "And why did you cover my eyes too, Meliodas?".
Meliodas trailed off "...Trust me, you will be happier if you don't see it".
Hendrickson lifted his hand and acted as referee this time "And the winner is, no one other than Lady Merlin!".
Zaratras protested "Hendy! Why did you steal my role?".
Dreyfus rolled his eyes to his best friend and his brother "I don't get what you're fretting over, brother".
Gwen lifted her hands up, bouncing up and down excitedly as she still sitting on Meliodas' lap "Yay! Mommy won! Mommy won!".
Meliodas chuckled "Hey, careful there".
Once he fully regenerated, Ban stood up and protested "WHAT WAS THAT?!".
"Exterminate Ray, the beam light that can literally exterminate whatever it hit", Merlin smiled smugly and caressed her chin thoughtfully "So, it took about two minutes and a half minutes for you to recover when half of your body perished. Interesting. Your regeneration is quite fast".
"No, Mer, seriously", Ban covered his eyes and shook his head before he yelled with his eyes widened and it looked like his eyes were about to pop out of their places "You just launched that attack on me?".
Merlin shrugged "You are an immortal. It's unlike you're gonna die just because of it, so it's fine".
Ban grumbled about how an ordinary person could die instantly if her opponent were not him.
"Frozen Coffin, Fire Storm, Endless Whirl...", Gwen recounted the magic spell that Merlin used and she trailed off a moment before turning to Merlin "Mommy, what's the name of the magic spell that you used to protect yourself? The cool dark fire one!".
Merlin smiled and tilted her head, now she was curious about what her adopted daughter was up to "It's known as the Hell Blaze. What is it, dear?".
"Which one of... okay, I've decided!", Guinevere wriggled her fingers as she contemplated before she made up her mind and reached out her hands "Exterminate Ray".
Even Merlin gasped, quite panicked when the spark of blue hue ray appeared in front of Gwen's hands "Captain!".
Thankfully, Meliodas had an excellent body reflex. He wrapped his arms around Gwen's torso before he pulled her backwards, both lying flatly on the ground when Gwen launched her Exterminate Ray which was slightly smaller than Merlin's. The cloaked figure who was sitting on the fort only could stare at the sky and the fallen debris of the fort. Luckily, Gwen's Exterminate Ray only scratched the edge of the Castle's fort and no casualty in this accident, but still, they needed to repair it.
Merlin scolded Gwen sternly (though people could tell that she was trying to be soft and gentle to her) "Next time, don't practice the dangerous magic spell unless I allow you and you only can practice it under my watch, understand?".
Gwen sniffled in the middle of her tears and she rubbed her stinging cheeks where Merlin had pinched her rather hard, sobbing "...Understood...I'm so sorry, mommy…".
Deep down in her heart, Vivian cursed her Master inwardly because of how light Gwen's punishment compared to when Merlin punished her "when it was me, I got a heap of works and tests!".
Meliodas carried Gwen, stroking her back soothingly "There, there, don't cry, sweetheart. I'll buy your favourite apple pie, okay? For now, just take this. Open up! Aah~".
When Meliodas showed chocolate in his hand, Gwen stopped crying abruptly and opened her mouth. Meliodas chuckled because he successfully stopped her tears as the little girl was busy eating the chocolate.
"I try to not spoil her rotten, Captain. And here you are, spoiled her rotten, senseless...", Merlin shook her head before levitating herself "I will repair the fort for now".
On the corner of the fort where no one could see them in this blindspot, Merlin landed and smiled fondly "You are the one who launched the Hell Blaze to protect me just now, right?".
The cloaked figure waved his hand "Don't misunderstand it. I just don't like it. A gentleman shouldn't punch a woman like that. I dropped by and I saw something interesting, but because I saw him barely punch you in the gut, I decided to interfere".
Merlin pursed her lips and crossed her hands before her chest "But I think it's unfair to interfere in the middle of our fight".
"Everything is fair in love and war", Tristan smiled, turning his head as his hood was off of his head "Just think of it as I'm doing a favour for my ex-wife, or should I say, sister-in-law".
"This side of you is one thing I can't ignore", Merlin hugged him and gave a light peck on his forehead "Thank you, brother-in-law. I owe you".
Tristan rolled his eyes "And what was that for?".
Merlin lifted her forefinger to her lips "I bless thee".
Tristan shook his head and sighed, waving his hand "About time for you to stop treating me like a child, Mer".