A/N: Ok so last chapter was longer than usual and so is this one I guess! I actually had to cut this chapter in half... Anyway most chapters may be longer now - something that always seems to happen in my stories TwT. Also, I kinda did tell a half-truth with the last chapter as they don't enter Liones itself till the one after next chapter, but they do arrive there in next chapter. So yeah I kinda lied :I

Anydoodles (Yes I came up with my own word. I may replace anywho with that...), I'll just skip ahead to this week's chapter, well double update as I had to split it in half. Also plot-wise we're halfway through! So cheers and all that stuff! (Don't mind me I'm just being my British self!). Also we now have 21 Faves, 25 Follows and 28 Reviews! Let's keep it going guys, I was pleasantly shocked when I checked the numbers. This is one of my best stories! (*O*)

Darkjuliet444 - Well as always thanks for the review! Your waitress outfit ideas are so adorable and thinking of the scenario you envisioned certainly was funny. I'm gonna include yet another of your ideas again! In fact most of your ideas from this review will make it in, with an added bonus of two new nannies for the Sins. Bet you can guess who's gonna come along? Anydoodles, those ideas were all amazing and I can see them happening, with Liones being a kinda break chapter of course. Oh yes I have a ton of ideas now! UvU. Also the reviews are never too long, so don't worry about them! I'm actually enjoying the input.

CaramelPenguin - Well I'm glad you love the story! ^-^ Thanks for reviewing, it really lifts my spirit to read nice reviews from readers. Anydoodles I guess you'll see what happens next now. I hope you enjoy it too :)

Lillian - Message received! I'll try to squeeze in a lot more Melizabeth starting from this chapter. UwU

Till next time,

D.L.D

"How come Ban gets to drink when we can't!"

The Captain's constant proclaims of how Merlin and Ban's deal was unfair could be heard throughout the whole morning. All of the Sins had woken to it, especially after Ban had smugly went to get his fill. A very greedy fill if you were to ask me, but I'm just the author so ignore my opinion. Then as if to make things worse, the Fox Sin decided to put the blonde through more torture by relishing the thing so slowly and talking about how great it tasted. His personal way of getting back at Meliodas for letting the others petrify him.

"Because it isn't good for us Captain," King groaned as he buried his head into Chastiefol once again, trying to drown the complaints out with it. He'd been listening to this all morning, being one of the first to rise, and it was beginning to cause a headache.

"That means Ban shouldn't be having any either!" Diane huffed, the prospect of Ban having something none of them could annoying her greatly. How could Merlin be so unfair? Letting Ban of all people get a perk when they were all suffering. Not to mention that his dumb ass was the worst behaved out of them all. She could actually agree with the Captain on complaining. In fact she felt like joining in.

"I'm sure Lady Merlin has a great reason for why this happened," Elizabeth reasoned, small smile in place as she consoled Meliodas. Small pats were placed on his head as she gave him a hug, hoping that the simple actions would make up for the unfairness. Something that seemed to work as Meliodas seemed to have cheered up slightly, despite his comments.

However Elizabeth couldn't deny that it was an odd choice to let Ban of all people drink. He was the worst behaved of them all and no doubt the worst when intoxicated as well. However Merlin had seemed to ignore that little detail and allowed the Fox Sin a pass today. Something that was evident in the smirk he wore on his face and the way the mage sat in the corner, delicately watching the scene as she sipped her tea.

"That still doesn't mean it's fair!" Both Diane and Meliodas seemed to share the same opinion on the matter, sending deathlike glares at the Fox Sin.

Merlin let out a laugh at this, a peek of her smirk visible before she quickly masked it as another sip of her tea. King was about to bring this topic up, however Merlin beat him to it quickly halting him. Interrupting, the mage ceased her laughter to note an issue all seemed to have ignored the day before.

"You do have quite a few injuries, Captain," Merlin tilted a brow, expression displaying more amusement than concern. "May I ask how you acquired them?"

The ravenette knew what she was starting. A subject that would cause a small debate among the child Sins and allow her to sneak off to research their situation a little more. After all things shouldn't escalate as they all seem to be in a better mindset recently. A lot more mature than they were before really. So Merlin had no doubt that doing this would be fine. Perfect even.

"I got into a little fight," Meliodas brushed it aside, shrugging.

"What?! And you didn't tell any of us!" Diane frowned as she began to notice some of the leftover marks from the day before. However they didn't seem as bad as she had imagined them to be, in fact most appeared pretty healed up. She then turned to the princess. "Why didn't you tell us Elizabeth?!"

"S-sir Melio-d-das told me not t-o-o," The princess flushed as Diane began to shake her vigorously, much to the blonde's dismay. He was getting used to her petting. "Plus he seemed ok."

This earned a deeper frown from Diane, who then turned to lecture the Captain about such things while Elizabeth was hopeless to stop it. While that went on, the others Sins began to speak.

"Just like the Captain to do something like that," King sighed, shaking his head as he studied the blonde and the nearby princess.

Something in the situation didn't add up and he could feel it. The fairy knew for a fact that Meliodas couldn't have emerged from a fight in this form as unscathed as he was. It had to be some meddling on the princess' or maybe the blonde's part for the Captain to appear almost unmarked.

Plus for Elizabeth not to tell anyone about it...it seemed way to convenient. Like they both knew that he was fine. But how could they know that?

"Well I for one find it quite interesting," Gowther had joined the conversation, surrounding the Captain and princess along with Diane. He already knew what was going on. He could sense it in the surge of power, although small, within one of them. Something that happened only the day before. "Clearly there has been a change within the princess."

Diane and King seemed to freeze at that, eyes and minds unbelieving of such a thing. Princess Elizabeth, changing? In what way? Of course she was a little different in her child form. More adventurous and some may even argue ambitious, perhaps? Things like being timid and polite were definitely a little less evident in the child version of Elizabeth, but they were still there within her. So how had the princess changed?

"What are you talking about Gowther? She's the same," Diane grimaced as she prodded at the princess now.

Elizabeth flushed at the attention, large crowds and being center stage always being things that flustered her. She had never enjoyed being made an example of nor being studied. As a princess she had sat for many portraits and such, and many had taken those opportunities to ogle for longer than necessary. Thankfully her sisters had always told those people to move on and stop looking where they shouldn't, but the princess had grown to link such things to that.

However Elizabeth knew that Gowther was right. She had changed in some way over the past day, however she wouldn't say how. Not yet. Not until she had some sort of use and control over it.

"No the princess has changed," Gowther insisted, his mind and expression as certain and insistent as ever. He then turned to the blonde. Poker face met poker face as the doll and demon looked at each other. "And you know that too, don't you Captain?"

A silence settled over the group like a murky fog. Thick and heavy, tension and anticipation seemed to mix as one as they all glanced at the blonde who wore a simple grin in response to what the doll had said. A grin that could pass as Meliodas' usual 'I have no idea what you're talking about' grin, however if you knew him well enough you knew that he knew. He knew exactly what you were talking about.

"Can you all stop pestering her!" Ban seemed to growl as he roughly pushed through the group. The Fox Sin had broken the silence, his voice cutting through it like a sharpened knife. Blood red eyes appeared to soften as he reached Elizabeth, recollection seeming to cloud him, "You hungry, kid?"

Everyone seemed to blink in surprise at the way Ban seemed to change. They were pretty sure he was too busy gulping down ale to care about what was going on, but instead he bumped right into the middle of it. Not to mention that he was being kind to one of them. Well that one being Elizabeth, but still. Ban being kind and not a complete ass? That's...impossible. Improbable. No-one's been able to do that apart from Elaine.

"Uh...yes?" Elizabeth answered, uncertain of what was going on.

Ban seemed to frown at that, brows furrowed as he looked at her.

"Well let's get you some food then, Kilia," Ban took the princess by arm.

His statement left a bunch of questions in the rest of the Sins' heads as they watched the taller boy guide Elizabeth into the kitchen. He seemed to take a lot of care with her, as if she were a family member or someone of a lot of importance. In fact he even scolded her about not telling him she was hungry. However the biggest question left was who was Kilia and why did Ban think she was Elizabeth?

"I see you're all eating well," Merlin clicked her tongue as she surveyed the scene.

Thanks to Ban, all of the Sins were eating heartily, enjoying the meal that the Fox Sin had cooked from them all. It was a full out meal this time, the lazy gob actually putting in the effort to cook properly and well. A real treat for the children.

Elizabeth was given the most of all, Ban saying that she needed to eat up after going so long without anything in her system. A way to build up her strength again. That statement was odd as the princess could recall eating not too long ago. In fact she found the whole situation odd, especially when Ban addressed her as Kilia and seemed to scold her for small things. When the princess had asked why Ban had simply let out a laugh and said that she knew exactly who she was, ruffling her hair. So that left the princess questioning more than knowing who Kilia was and why she was mistaken for them.

"Yes, Ban made a great meal Merlin!" Hawk spoke between mouthfuls of food, his snout buried in his bowl. "Would you believe it's more heavenly than usual?!"

The mage chuckled at that, sending a thankful smile towards Ban. Clearly her little deal had paid off, especially since Ban hadn't noticed the trick yet.

"Yes, I can," Merlin nodded as she took a seat and a full plate was slid to her. "I actually came down to address some news, but I think I can stay for a bite to eat."

This then led to animated chatter about what the news could be. A new subject for the children to spill all over and occupy time with. Maybe it was that Merlin found a cure, or perhaps that she had news about Liones. The news could even be about places that they had no idea about. Or even that this spell would wear off on its own. However none of those seemed to be the answer as Merlin dismissed all theories as she made her way through her plate.

Once she was done, the child mage looked at each of the children. Hazel eyes seemed to mist over, something unspoken and unseen passing through them as she let out a long and low sigh.

"I have bad news," Merlin frowned, finger coming to her chin as she sunk into thought. She looked far off into the distance, frown in place as she explained her findings. "Yesterday Escanor and I encountered some signs on our way back here. They're wanted posters issued by the Ten Commandments and...it's confirmed that they're looking for us."

The news spread heavy and thick among the children, some receiving the message, but others confused as to why it was bad. After all the Ten Commandments were just a group of people, it wasn't like they wanted to kill the Sins. Perhaps it was just Merlin saying that an ally was looking for them through those posters or that it was a confusion. They couldn't recall any meanies named as the Ten Commandments after all, so they're most likely nice people. However despite the confusion, all seemed to have a sense of dread towards what the mage was implying. That she was lightly putting that they were in a lot more danger than they thought.

"So they're behind it, aren't they?" Meliodas raised a brow, already knowing his suspicions to be confirmed. Puzzle pieces seemed to click into place with this news from Merlin, especially with why they hadn't seen this coming. It also gave a motive as to why Vivian would agree to do this when her 'precious Gil' looked up to them so greatly.

"I'm afraid so," Merlin released another sigh, hand running through her hair. "I'm afraid that they're searching for us as we speak. Hence why it's taken so long to get to Liones."

A gasp sounded from Diane and Elizabeth, Diane's significantly louder as she hugged onto the other female like a lifeline.

"That's terrible!" The brunette shook her head, pigtails swishing furiously. "They have to be meanies then! There's no way they're nice like us."

A small smile formed on mage's face as she nodded, understanding that although they were all kids, everyone still maintained mature levels of intelligence.

"Yes and that's why we have to prepare for battle. I believe that we have someone expecting our arrival."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Diane squealed as she hugged the pill bottle to her chest, glad that the tiny miracle giving things were back in stock. Something that the shrunken giantess had been fretting over for a while since she had ran out, but thanks to Merlin's mysterious contacts the things were back in her possession.

A small grin betrayed Merlin at this, the mage happy to see that Diane was in a cheery mood thanks to something as trifle as supplying shrinking pills. Something that someone like herself would see no need for, but yet seemed to be as rare as gold or silver for the giantess. A feeling nor thought process that Merlin would never be able to understand, but through her own experience and nothing else. No book or logic or theory could make it make sense: only experience could.

"Well, I'm happy that you like them Diane," Merlin grinned warmly as she directed the giantess towards the door. She was just about ready to catch a nap and perhaps pick up on where she left her research the night previous. After all Diane loved to keep up conversation and things like that were tiring for Merlin in this form, especially when she had so much on her plate as well. Conversation merely wasn't on the table right now.

Following the older girl's guide, Diane cheerily nodded and hummed in agreement, as she was slowly pushed out of the room. She continued to natter on and on until Merlin interrupted, her role as mother duck in play as she softly narrowed at the brunette.

"Now make sure not to lose them this time!" Merlin warned, a soft look of scolding on her face. She even held a finger out to emphasis, puffing out her cheeks to display anger.

Diane nodded at this, pigtails once again swishing as she gave Merlin a mini salute. It was paired with a determined smile as the giantess slipped her pill bottle into her pocket (something added in by King since Diane lacked her usual cleavage, which she used as a pocket).

"Of course I won't, I promise," Diane gave a smile, hand resting over her heart.

The ravenette seemed to brighten at that, a weary smile betraying how she was really feeling at the moment.

"Good, now tell the others to remain quiet as I'll be busy," Merlin nodded, just as she closed the door. "I'll be down in a few hours."

The door slammed shut almost immediately after, leaving no space for a word edge ways and allowed the mage to release a sigh. A long, deep and flowing one, similar to a wave that allowed all of the building up pressure to simply wash away. To dissipate and lose itself within the vast seas. Seas that seemed so huge and deep compared to simple, shallow problems. However the pressure quickly found its way back onshore, sudden and smothering, as it harshly dragged Merlin back into reality. Just as the a loud crash sounded downstairs, rumbling all around her and placing her thoughts on the children downstairs.

Eyes widening, Merlin rushed to the window. Peering outside, pupils seemed to shrink to dots as they spot a red hulking beat outside; its features grotesque and appearance even more so. Its face was inhuman, in-anything! Eyes seemed to be deathly holes, with a single blazing flame acting as a pupil, paired with thick, fat lips that guarded a big mouth. A real big mouth. Merlin could bet that inside that mouth were rows of sharp and jagged teeth. Perhaps even sharp enough to cut through steel like butter - maybe even bone. Oh and those nails, or should she say claws! They were so long and sharp, unlike anything you could compare to a cat's. No these claws were made for killing, or perhaps even puncturing.

A pure being of danger and chaos is what that beast was. Round, blubber and fat, though immense in strength and by no way an enemy for the kids to encounter. In fact it was the last thing they needed; the last thing that needed to be added to their nightmares.

A red demon.

"Start running Hawk's mom!" Merlin called out to the green pig, who seemed to pick up pace immediately.

Merlin let out another sigh this time, however it seemed a lot more panicked and stressed as she ran a hand through her hair and paced her room. A room that seemed so small and hopeless when a giant beast was giving them chase. In a matter of life and death...

Mind racing at a thousand miles a minute, the mage chuckled, a tired hand coming to her face as all seemed to stop.

Of course something like that had to happen, just as she was beginning to relax too...