so, i usually don't put author's notes on ffn, but i figured i probably should.
this is a gift-fic (originally uploaded on ao3) for CaramelPenguin. her writing is phenomenal, i recommend checking her out :)
also, this is a holy war era fic, with a happy ending! i haven't a whole lot of holy war era stories with a happy ending, so im here to change that.
remember lovelies - this fic is rated M. blood and gore and all that jazz. happy reading :)
ooo
Elizabeth sits patiently on the withered seats of Heaven's Theater. The sky is a mix of blue and gray - a storm is to welt its rain on the land of Britannia soon.
As she fiddles with her thumbs on her lap, she can't help but smile to herself. Today, she would hear Meliodas' answer of whether or not he'll join Stigma. She had asked him, quite randomly and unprovoked, if he wanted to join. She could see it in his eyes, whether they were concealed by his darkness or not, that he was not happy with what he was doing - with how he was living.
All she could do was hope that he would agree. Because truth be told, she hated seeing him so distraught.
Just like her mother, the Supreme Deity, Meliodas' father was no different when it came to giving orders and sending him out on horrid errands. The Demon King was absolutely ruthless and cared for nobody but himself, at least according to Meliodas. So really, he was no different than her mother. Elizabeth loathed who her mother was - sometimes she thinks that her mother does not even deserve to be called just that; there was never a single moment where the Supreme Deity acted in a motherly manner.
Elizabeth was- is- simply a pawn in this absurd and futile war. The demon clan and goddess clan - from what Elizabeth had observed so many times - are evenly matched. Not one clan has a clear advantage over the other.
That was another thing she could not understand. Why must there be a war? Why must one clan go out of its way to prove that it is better than another race? Everyone, demon or goddess or anything in between, could co-exist. Everyone could live amongst one another. Elizabeth knew it was possible! No one seems to want to prove it but her.
If only her persuasion was greater than it was. Anyone or anything with less power and intellect than a Ten Commandment were the only beings she could persuade to her will. Though, in a sense, she doesn't like the fact that (for example) gray and red demons bend to her wishes with a simple glance to her eyes. They listen without much convincing - and while it does prove useful most of the time, she wishes it were entirely true;
That they would listen because it was what they wanted;
Not because she simply asked.
Her mother every once in a while would praise her for being such a perfect daughter, after listening to Ludociel and Mael's words of her victories in battle. After each instance, Elizabeth always felt like throwing up - because she would kill, she would spill blood against her will. She didn't feel good about murdering those who truly did not deserve it - she didn't feel good or right about the premise of war.
Sometimes she wishes she were born in a different time; in a time where war either ceased to exist or simply a time where everyone could live happily with very few quarrels. Of course, she would wish for obsolete fighting, but she knew it would be a foolish desire. Sometimes a bit of verbal arguing was needed to get a certain point across.
Elizabeth asked herself countless times on nights she spent by herself in her bleak room in the Celestial realm, if one clan is to be victorious then what will happen after? Everyone has committed themselves to this Holy War; they fight and train themselves like nothing else matters. And while it might be true, what will happen when everything is finally over? Will the victors spend the rest of time celebrating or will they try to adapt themselves to a simple life - like the kind of life Elizabeth wishes she could live?
Elizabeth isn't sure if she wants to stick around for that answer.
"You're doing it again," a deep voice interrupts her train of thought. She yelps and nearly falls from the seats of the Theater, but she quickly regains her balance and whips her head around only to lock eyes with a blonde demon. "You need to stop thinking so much sometimes," he says.
"Oh, Meliodas," she breathes out with a smile. "I was just thinking about some things, you needn't worry."
"I didn't say I was worried. I was merely telling you to control those thoughts of yours. Remember what happened last time?" He asks with a slight quirk of his lips, a slight smirk.
Elizabeth laughs softly as he takes a seat next to her, looking away from him as she recalls the memory. "Yes. In the midst of battle I let my thoughts distract me and I was severely injured. It took a few days for me to fully recover."
Meliodas gives a chuckle of his own. His sword clangs on the abrasive ground of the Theater and her gaze falls on him. His eyes are still dark but she does not tear her eyes away from him even as he closes them. He softly exhales and leans back against the dirty and withering seats, getting himself comfortable for the time they're here.
"Yeah. It wasn't funny then, and it really isn't now," he says softly.
"You would have laughed at me before," Elizabeth disagrees, thinking of the time when they first met. He was condescending and patronizing; he'd thought he was above everyone else, including her. She quickly proved him wrong - they would often battle and neither party would leave victorious or with an advantage. He was so determined to kill her, as she was of him, but Elizabeth was the first to realize that it was pointless. Their rivalry was just as futile as the entire war; the first born son of the Demon King and the daughter of the Supreme Deity at each other's throats is certainly a thought that makes Elizabeth laugh.
She couldn't believe they tried killing each other - she couldn't imagine them going back to that. And honestly, while she is glad that they talk to each other like they do now, she can't remember how it came to be. One day they simply… stopped.
The goddess supposes she won't complain.
"Probably," he agrees, "I wouldn't now though. What sort of friend would I be if I did that?"
Elizabeth freezes as she processes his words. He called himself a friend? Does he think of them as friends? She smiles, her blood running warmer at the realization. He said we're friends! Though she piques it odd for now, she'll take it as a win. She knows he doesn't like putting labels on things, but hearing the word friends come out of his mouth as he refers to them, she can't help but smile.
"Friends, Meliodas?" She parrots with a wide smile. "Is that what we are now?"
Meliodas makes an odd sound in his throat, one she cannot decipher. His eyes open and they immediately land on her own. They're still as dark as the night and just this once, she wishes she could see his true eye color. She's only seen it once, when he was vulnerable - a beautiful shade of green that rivals even the richest of emeralds.
Oh what she would give to see them again.
He breathes in and out before answering her. "Yes. Friends. I think that's what we are, especially since you'll be seeing much more of me."
More of me? Does that mean- "Are you insinuating what I think you are insinuating?" Elizabeth asks as she leans closer to him. Her smile only widens as her thoughts run wild, the thought of Meliodas truly joining Stigma brings more joy to her than it should.
But he nods and confirms her suspicion. "Yeah, I'm going to join Stigma."
She jumps from her spot and embraces him in a hug. Her eyes close in a somewhat bliss but she is suddenly filled with an emotion she can only describe as ecstasy when he wraps his arms around her. Her face ignites in a fierce blush - the very same arms that she's seen destroy entire mountains, the same arms that ignite themselves in dark hell blaze to burn his opponent hold her so gently as if not to scar or injure her.
She never imagined the day he would finally hug her, just as she wished he would - perhaps the more affectionate side of her enjoyed coming out to play whenever Meliodas was near.
"Oh Meliodas, I'm so overjoyed!" She confesses as she pulls away. She wishes she could've held onto him for longer because she already misses his warmth. But her smile falls at the sudden realization; "What about your brother?"
Meliodas' younger brother, Zeldris, always followed Meliodas around like a lost little puppy. From what Elizabeth has deduced from the stories Meliodas was willing to share with her regarding his brother, she knows Zeldris cares about his older brother. But now that Meliodas won't be returning to the demon clan, much less the realm, what will happen to Zeldris?
"He's furious with me." His words are soft but pained all at once. Elizabeth frowns as she looks down at the blonde prince. She knows, though he doesn't admit it, that he cares and loves his little brother. "I told him I was leaving and I told him I was doing it for you. I… I asked him to come with me, that he could take his lover with him as we could be free of my father's- the Demon King's reign, but he brushed me off and told me to leave. I did. I left and he called me a traitor."
Elizabeth's lips part and her eyes water at Meliodas' words. How could his brother say something so demoralizing? Perhaps it was a moment that made Zeldris feel vulnerable or even unwanted - knowing that his brother would leave his clan for the supposed enemy, who wouldn't feel the same as he did?
"Meliodas…" she whimpers, letting a tear slip onto her cheek. She shuts her eyes but then they snap open when she feels a warm hand caress her face. Instead of peering into dark, onyx eyes like she expected to, Meliodas' eyes had turned green - that beautiful shade that rivals the color of healthy grass and moss that she longs to see for every day that she breathes.
His own eyes brim with tears and they threaten to fall. Elizabeth's body moves on its own and she engulfs him in another warm hug. His arms wrap around her and he holds her tight to his own body. She maneuvers herself to his side, sitting down next to him on the seats so that they continue to hug in a more comfortable position.
The goddess hears him sniffle as she leans her head on his shoulder. "Elizabeth," his voice is hushed, speaking in a whisper. "I'm such a terrible brother to Zeldris. He needs me - I know he does and I left him. I should've taken him with me, Elizabeth, I should have!"
"Perhaps it's just a lot for him to take in, Meliodas," she tells him softly. "You've told me before that he's a bit stubborn, right? And he's quite loyal to your father without question. I think… I think he just needs some time to think about everything." He continues to hold her, occasionally tightening his grip on her but he shakes his head.
"I tried talking to him- I tried telling him that he didn't need to aimlessly listen to the Demon King," he says with a sniffle. "But I know that he's scared. Because I was, too - I was scared of what the Demon King would do to me if I dared to disobey his word. I-I'm afraid of what he'll do to Zeldris now that I'm gone."
He cried now against her neck, his tears wetting the exposed skin. Her hand snakes from his upper back to his golden hair, her fingers smoothing up and down the tresses. "Everything," Elizabeth says, her tone determined, "will be fine in the end, Meliodas. I swear to you."
She lets him cry into her dress for as long as he needs to.
When his crying dies down and his breathing is stable again, he pulls away to look her in the eyes but keeps his arms snug around her waist. His (still) green eyes peer into her soft blue. The way he looks at her now, with blotchy red cheeks and irritated eyes, he doesn't fail to look at her like she's all that matters. While she doesn't think it's true (they're just and solely friends, damn it), her heart still beats a bit faster under his stare. It was just then that she realized just what kind of light she saw him in;
I think I might be in love with him.