Aaand it took me more than a week to upload this chapter and I'm so sorry. I kinda got stuck with this chapter as I originally planned for it to be an outsider's perspective. But I didn't like how it turned out, so we ended up with this long chapter. Anyways, enjoy

Meliodas was not happy.

Bartra insisted that as captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, his presence was crucial in their rescue and request for reinforcements in Bernia. Meliodas had been arguing for a while now that the others could easily handle a mission by themselves, and that Elizabeth needed him here in Liones. The Dragon Sin of Wrath was in no mood for this argument in the slightest; having thought that it was clear to everyone that he was no longer involved in this mission given Elizabeth's unusual fever. It angered him that clearly it was not.

The king sighed exasperatedly "Meliodas, I appreciate your concern for my daughter. But we will take care of her while you're away"

"No" Meliodas responded firmly. "Merlin and I don't even know yet what exactly is happening to her, and I'm not about to leave her in the care with just you humans" he paused, heaving a heavy sigh "No offense"

Bartra coughed, looking fully offended but decided to disregard the comment and stuck to the topic at hand "Hendrickson will be here just in case something happens"

Meliodas hands balled into fists. He was about ready to lose it, well, he already had the second that Bartra informed them that he was required to go to Bernia. The Dragon Sin of Wrath had just kept his cool thanks to Merlin's warning glares, but Hendrickson couldn't heal for shit, Meliodas thought. In fact, he blamed the old druid for teaching Elizabeth 'Be Well' which might have caused her unusual fever. It was still speculation of course, but it was just so coincidental that her fever happened just after she had casted it. He and Merlin hadn't talked properly yet since they went straight to this meeting, which is another reason why he's growing impatient with it. But he was gone for three months, who knows how often Elizabeth had used her powers like that. And why in those time, it didn't act like up like the way it did last night.

Meliodas internally sighed and relaxed himself. Hendrickson was a good man, and whatever the case, he couldn't blame him nor anyone else. They didn't know. It's been like this for thousands of years already, no one just knew.

Meliodas calmed himself before speaking, but as if on cue, Merlin spoke for him. "With all due respect your highness" the mage interjected. "But Sir Hendrickson can't do anything for the princess if the time comes, gods forbid. She needs our attention"

"I know you mean well, but this is imperative" The king insisted. Bartra shook his head not in annoyance, but what look to Meliodas as impatience and…anxiousness.

It was clear to Meliodas that the king was not happy about this hour-long argument either and he would have let him stay here in Liones if he had no other choice. The question was, why? Bartra may have strangled him for making his daughter a waitress and sharing a room with her, but he would never do anything that would upset and endanger her. And Bartra knew and saw that he was the only one who could take care of Elizabeth.

"What's this really about, Barta?" Meliodas finally asked. "What's going on?"

The king's eyes hesitated, but he took a deep breath and sighed in defeat and spoke "I'm afraid there's more trouble in Bernia than we had anticipated"

"What sort of trouble? I thought this would be easy" Ban complained. The Fox Sin of Green slumped in his chair with his arms crossed, annoyed at the sudden 'trouble' they weren't informed of.

The king apologetically explained that last night, he had a vision of a much greater threat in Bernia that the knights had not reported, because it was yet to happen. Escanor asked the king from across the room what they were going to deal with, but Bartra dodged the question and just emphasized that the Dragon and the Boar must be there for the mission.

"So, Merlin can't stay here too?!" Meliodas roared. "If I agreed to go, at least let her stay here so she can take care for Elizabeth while I'm gone."

"I calculate on whatever threat this might be, as long as Escanor is with us, we have 75% chances of success" Gowther added.

"What are you blind? It's clearly 100% success without a doubt" Escanor added proudly.

And they stayed like that for a couple more hours until no one had realized that the sun had set and the moon towered the sky and Escanor had returned to his night time form. The Sins supported their captain and assured on their success without his assistance, but Bartra kept warning them of the consequences of straying from the path of his vision.

"It's nothing too serious. However, we might not get the reinforcements we need from Bernia if we do not aid them as soon as possible" Bartra declared.

Meliodas pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. This has been dragging on long enough and he was anxious to check on Elizabeth. He took comfort in the thought that there were no guards and no screaming Hawk that busted through their meeting yet, so that would mean she was fine. But he was anxious still.

No matter how much their meeting had dragged on, Meliodas knew that Bartra was right, and he was the only one who was actually dragging this along. He needed to focus on his real goal, and to do that, Liones needed reinforcements. He and Merlin planned on retaking Camelot with just the Sins since they had taken out most of the Commandments. But he had opted to prepare a larger offensive force just in case. Meliodas hated the idea of leaving Liones undefended and Zeldris could be preparing a hoard of lesser demons that he could deploy anywhere that would leave them at a bigger disadvantage. Gathering reinforcements would solve the problem of an undefended Liones, as well as having the advantage of a mobile offensive front that would head towards Camelot after them.

They were still so unsure on what to make of Elizabeth's powers acting up, and the worst part was, they didn't know how long this mission was going to take.

"How soon is soon, Bartra?" Meliodas asked impatiently.

"Tomorrow, at the crack of dawn."

As the first son of the Demon King and being born to lead at such a young age, it was etched and beaten to his very existence to always think about the next steps he was going to take, especially in war. Formulating plans and possible scenarios was a skill he didn't like to use. But it was undeniable that doing this mission would increase their chances at finally ending this war. For now, he just needed to trust Elizabeth.

Meliodas sighed heavily and finally said "Fine, we'll go. But I need to talk to the Sins first before we leave."

The king sighed in relief, finally coming to an agreement after hours of convening. He saw that he wasn't needed anymore so he stood up and nodded good night before taking his leave.

The Sins grumbled in annoyance as the king left, complaining about the extended meeting. Merlin took a deep sigh but retained her natural calculating expression.

Despite his utter anger just moments ago, Meliodas couldn't help but chuckle at his comrades. He appreciated how they supported him in staying here in Liones, rather than complain why they would go on a mission just by themselves. He also appreciated, for a long while now, that they weren't afraid to show or tell him how they felt about him, whether if it was annoyance, doubt, or distrust. It was completely different from what he had a lifetime ago.

"I'm sure you're all pretty hungry so this won't take long" Meliodas promised. "I just need one of you to stay here while the rest of us are in Bernia."

"Yeah, we're fucking hungry!" Ban complained but there was no hint of anger nor impatience on his expression.

The rest of the Sins looked to him patiently, waiting for his instructions.

When their meeting had finally ended, Meliodas quickly made his way back to his room, eager to check on Elizabeth. Their meeting ended just five minutes after he convened with the Sins alone, but he and Merlin had to talk after which took an hour or so.

Meliodas had planned on having Ban stay instead, Bartra emphasized that he and Merlin were the requirements of the mission, so he's sure he wouldn't complain on his alterations. Although feeling very shorthanded for the mission, Meliodas really couldn't leave Liones undefended without one of them at least to guard it. The chances were slim, but Zeldris knows that this was his home territory now, so he could decide to attack it anytime. And more importantly, he trusted Ban more than anyone else to take care of Elizabeth while he was gone.

Merlin was already preparing the necessary arrangements for them, as well as a special pill made just for Elizabeth just in case. No one in this kingdom would have the power to control her without Merlin here. So, as much as he didn't want it, worried of the side effects of what Merlin was creating, it was necessary. They didn't know how long their mission would take, and he was determined to finish it as soon as possible, but he could only hope that she wouldn't need it while they were gone.

It was really late, and he's pretty sure everyone in the kingdom has fallen asleep by now, so he quietly opened the bedroom door and effortlessly made no sound as he walked. Elizabeth had already fallen asleep, but it looked like she had been waiting for him all night as she fell asleep on top of the blankets in a slight sitting position with a book that had fallen from her lap. Hawk was at the foot of the bed and his head jolted up when he felt the light enter the room, but went right back to sleep when the pig noticed it was just him.

Meliodas quietly approached Elizabeth's sleeping figure and gently touched the back of his hand to her forehead. To his relief, it looked like her fever hadn't returned since her temperature was back to normal. But there were still much to worry about, but he didn't want to wake her up just to check on that.

Meliodas finally felt his body ache and his eyes droop from having no sleep the night before, plus having a battle meeting that took the whole day. But before he could plop down on the bed, he saw from the corner of his eye the glint of silverware that rested on the table next to the window.

As he took a closer look in the dark, he saw that it was heaping pile of untouched food. There was an assortment of meat and vegetables, a bowl of soup, a mountainous plate of mashed potatoes, and next to the ornate silver tray, was a mug full of rich yellow liquid, which was probably ale. Meliodas guessed that Elizabeth must have assumed that he wouldn't have eaten yet when he would return from their meeting, and prepared his dinner just in case.

Meliodas felt the smile that slowly crept on his cheeks. How he loved this, loved how Elizabeth would always be so considerate and thoughtful of him. No matter what life, whether they knew each other for days or months or years, she would never fail to be like this.

His stomach grumbled, but he felt like it was way past dinner time to have a mood to eat anything, but he didn't want to waste Elizabeth's efforts. He reached for the silverware and dug right in. After finishing his late-night dinner, he cleaned up the tray and silverware and fed the leftovers to Hawk, who woke up the second he started eating.

After changing into more comfortable clothes for sleeping, he went to the bed and started fixing up the sleeping Elizabeth. The book that fell from her lap and into the blankets had already closed, indicating no trace of what part she had stopped reading. But Meliodas took a whiff of the book, smelt the dominant scent from the pages, and folded the small corner of the page where she most likely read last.

He then started to gently move her body to lie in a more comfortable position. Elizabeth must have been incredibly tired, Meliodas observed, as she didn't wake up from being jostled and her breathing was heavy. He tucked her under the blankets and sat for a moment before he lay down next to her.

As soon as his full weight rested on the bed and his head hit the pillow, Elizabeth stirred and moved so she was positioned facing him, her eyes slowly opening.

"Uh- Sorry" Meliodas whispered, as he was suspended mid-way from grabbing the blankets

Elizabeth paused and looked at him for a moment, her eyes looked like they were seeing nothing. After finally adjusting to the darkness, and after registering that the figure that lay beside her was really Meliodas, she quickly wrapped her arm around him and rested her head on his chest.

"What took you so long?" Elizabeth asked in a groggy whisper.

"Your father had a personal grudge on me" Meliodas joked. His arms were suspended in mid-air, not knowing how to react to Elizabeth's embrace. But judging from how she comfortably clung to him, it was safe to assume that she remembered as far as their night in the nursery. So, he happily wrapped his arms around her, smelling her silver hair that tickled his chin.

Meliodas waited for her response, but Elizabeth started breathing heavily again and nuzzled closer to his chest. He took a deep sigh and nestled with her in the warm blankets.

He'd give anything to stay like this forever, but with 3,000 years of rotten luck, he's leaving for Bernia first thing in the morning tomorrow for who knows how long. He doesn't know how Elizabeth will react to this, but judging from her reaction this morning, she wasn't going to be happy about it either. And he's sure she won't be happy if she would find out the instance she wakes up. He didn't want to disrupt her sleep, especially when she looked so tired, but it would be better if she would find out sooner rather than later.

But before he could nudge her awake, she started speaking.

"Meliodas, I've been meaning to ask you..." Elizabeth said sleepily, it was more of a low mumble, but with his impeccable hearing, Meliodas understood just fine. He wasn't sure if she was dreaming or sleep talking, but he was curious to know what she had wanted to ask.

"Yeah?" He prompted.

"Why don't I remember you from back then? About being my knight and the Sins?"

With everything that happened in the past weeks, preparing to siege Camelot, repairing the Boar's Hat, and saving surrounding villages among other things, it had gotten hard to talk to each other in peace. He was sure Elizabeth had been waiting to ask him for days now but couldn't find a good time. They couldn't even have dinner together despite living under one roof. Meliodas didn't want to think about it, but it started to feel like Deja vu. He didn't have personal time anymore; he doesn't even eat lunch or dinner at the right time. There were still a number of differences, but one good thing was, he didn't have to sneak out to see Elizabeth anymore.

"You hit your head in an explosion while trying to save us" Meliodas explained.

"Explosion?"

"I don't really remember much either" He chuckled and started caressing her back with his thumb "I got knocked out too"

There was a long pause before Elizabeth spoke, and Meliodas guessed that she was confused. He expected her to ask more questions or to clarify what he had said. But instead, she whispered
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Meliodas felt an ache in his heart at her words. This goddess had always been so fucking absurd and ridiculous, he thought. He was the one who failed and left her for so long while he was doing gods knows what, and here she was, apologizing for not saving them.

But all he could muster was "I'm so sorry I left you." And it was an apology he knew very well that applied not only for what happened just 10 years ago.

"It's ok. I knew you had to..." Elizabeth muttered something more after, but it was a low whisper that it was inaudible even to him. Meliodas wanted to ask what it was, but it looked like she had fallen asleep again.

Meliodas breathed a chuckle and just watched her slowly sink back to a slumber. He's sure she'll forget about it and ask another question if she wakes up again.

They stayed like that for a couple heartbeats, and just as Meliodas felt his eyes finally drop, Elizabeth murmured a question just as he anticipated.

"Why did you pretend like you didn't know me?" There was a hint of hurt in her tone, and he could feel her brows knit on her sleeping face.

There were so many things Meliodas wanted to answer, but the safest and the most truthful was "It's dangerous being around me"

He was prepared for her anger or resentment, and he deserved every bit of it. Not only had he abandoned her, but he didn't even bother telling her himself about them ten years ago. No matter which way anyone would look at it, it seemed like he didn't want to have anything to do with the third princess of Liones. But Elizabeth didn't say anything more about it, instead, asked something he didn't expect.

"How long were you alone?"

Meliodas frowned. It felt like her question was more about being concerned for his wellbeing ten years ago as a wanted criminal. It was so typical of her to just forget her own feelings and worry about him.

"I found Hawk soon after. And I wished I hadn't" He joked.

"No. I meant..." Elizabeth hesitated.

"What?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "It's nothing"

"Come on, you can tell me" Meliodas prompted.

"I-I...meant when you betrayed the demons" She answered shyly in a low whisper, but Meliodas heard her loud and clear.

He stiffened, not knowing what to answer or how to react. The subject quickly escalated to something they shouldn't be talking about at all.

He opened his mouth to make a joke and to completely divert the topic, but before he could, Elizabeth spoke again.

"I-it must have been difficult to leave your brothers" She stammered. "B-but if you don't want to talk about it-"

"Nah, it was ok. They were a pain anyway" Meliodas joked. It was getting too dangerous, but he somehow couldn't help himself. She was so concerned for him, and she was so ashamed of having to ask him such personal questions when of all people, she was the only one who had the right to know. So, how could he reject her like that? Hadn't he done so much damage already? For as long as he lived, he had always wanted to just tell her. But he had to be careful, the consequences were far too great. And they can't now, not when they were getting so close.

But, was it getting dangerous? "Why'd you ask, Elizabeth?" He inquired in a light tone as he buried his nose again in her hair. They should stop talking about this, now, but he couldn't make her feel like her questions were unwelcome.

"I just couldn't help but think about how lonely you must have felt..." Elizabeth hesitated again "A-after you betrayed your own kind, a-and being resented by others"

How lonely he was after betraying his own kind? A lot of things went through Meliodas' head, a lot of them painful, a lot of them bittersweet, but despite all of that, he just muttered in her hair "It was worth it"

Elizabeth said nothing after, but just nuzzled closer to his chest and wrapper her arms tighter around him. After what feels like an hour or so, she had gone back to a peaceful sleep. Meliodas finally felt his eyes grow heavy and welcomed a very well-deserved sleep, completely forgetting that he was supposed to tell Elizabeth about tomorrow.

The next morning, when the sun hadn't even risen from the horizon, Elizabeth was woken up by a gentle nudge to her cheeks.

"Elizabeth. Wake up" A familiar voice called gently.

Elizabeth groaned. She felt so tired and her body ached. Just after noon yesterday, while the Sins were in meeting with her father, there had been a carriage full of wounded survivors from a nearby village ravaged by demons. It had been her job for months to heal the wounded, but a lot of people had urged her to rest since she was ill just a night ago. But the survivors' injuries were grave, and their lives would have been in danger if she hadn't helped.

She had spent the whole afternoon healing more wounded, as more carriages and survivors entered the courtyard. As she healed to what feels like a hundred people already, she realized she actually felt a lot better. The cloud that fogged her head and troubled her all morning dissipated, feeling like her powers had finally worked on her again.

Come late afternoon, just before dinner time, Elizabeth hurried back to their room to drink the medicine Meliodas gave, which she was supposed to drink four hours earlier. But before she could reach their room, she passed by Ban and Elaine's quarters, and saw a pale looking Elaine on the way to get some food.

It had been also a routine for Elizabeth to heal the fairy princes whose life was splitting between life and death. Elizabeth still doesn't understand how to use her powers to the fullest yet, since no had taught her completely. But whenever she would heal Elaine, it was like touching a ghost, it was like reaching out and touching nothing. But she always did the best that she could do, and whatever she did, it worked somehow. After healing Elaine, Elizabeth accompanied her to dinner along with her sisters.

Afterwards, Elizabeth had waited for the king and the Sins in the dining hall, but their meeting still hadn't adjourned after hours of waiting. So, she went back to their room, finally remembering that medicine she was supposed to drink. Meliodas hadn't explained what it was exactly for, but she's pretty sure she wasn't supposed to drink it ten hours later than the time she was asked to drink it. She'll just have to apologize to him when he gets back.

After freshening up and changing into her night gown, Elizabeth had finally felt the day wore her down. But despite her body aching and her eyes dropping, she waited for Meliodas to return from his meeting. She tried to stay awake by reading a book while she waited, but it was an hour to midnight, and there was no sign of him. Elizabeth had put on a robe and wandered down the hall to Ban and Elaine's room, checking if the Fox Sin of Greed had returned. Elaine was alone, also waiting for Ban, so it must have meant they hadn't adjourned yet. So, Elizabeth headed for the kitchen instead to fetch him some dinner.

When she had returned to their room with a tray full of food, hoping he would return soon, she had fallen asleep without even reading a single paragraph of her book. Next thing she knew, she had felt small movements on the space next to her, and woken up to a startled Meliodas about to lie under the blankets beside her.

Elizabeth suspected their meeting had taken so long because they were planning to leave for Bernia soon. She didn't know how long they would be gone, but she knew for certain it would be for days. She didn't know how she managed to, but she apparently had asked Meliodas a lot of questions despite her exhaustion. She had felt so bad for asking, especially since he had been in a meeting the whole day, so she just buried her face deeper in on his chest and let sleep claim her consciousness.

"Elizabeth?" The voice called again.

"Hmmm?" She groaned and blinked an eye open to find two emerald green eyes inches away from her face. "Meliodas?"

"Yo" He grinned. He was sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her and she felt his warm hand on her cheek.

Elizabeth smiled back and started to sit up as well, but before she fully could, she noticed something off. Meliodas was wearing his full armor, the new one, with the black obsidian metal and sharp burgundy shoulder pads. She quickly looked at the window and found that that it was still night time, but there was slight glow of the sun already rising. Or has the sun already set?

"W-why are you in armor?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.

Meliodas' beautiful green eyes looked down in guilt as he spoke. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Our meeting just took so long and you were already asleep..."

"You're leaving for Bernia? Already?"

"Your father saw something there" Meliodas sighed "and he wanted us to leave as soon as possible so we could get the reinforcements we need."

Elizabeth had already expected this, but she wasn't prepared for it to be so soon! But despite her distress, Elizabeth controlled her expression, not wanting to show Meliodas how upset she was. She was the reason they were traveling after all, and she wasn't about to hinder his responsibilities as captain of the Seven Deadly Sins.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Five in the morning" Meliodas groaned "I only got two hours of sleep"

It was still too early, but judging by how Meliodas was already fully suited, they were leaving real soon. "Do you still have time for breakfast?" Elizabeth hoped he would have time for at least that so she could properly send him off.

Meliodas chuckled and looked at the silver tray she had left for him by the window, completely empty. "Thanks, but I just ate two hours ago" His eyes returned to her again and the hand still on her cheeks held her tighter and closer to him. "Listen, we've got to go. And I don't know how long we'll be gone, but I promise I'll be back soon."

Elizabeth smiled in response. She had to remind herself that he would only be gone a couple of days, but she couldn't help it. The last time they had separated, it was for three months and Meliodas had been dead.

"I know you would"

Meliodas stood up, and Elizabeth already missed the hand on her cheeks. He grabbed Lostvayne from the wall and fastened the straps to his back and put on the gloves of his armor.

"I'm sorry I woke you so early. But you can go back to sle -"

Elizabeth quickly stood up and grabbed a robe before Meliodas could finish. "I'll send you off!" She plastered on a huge grin and as she grabbed his arm.

Meliodas chuckled "I knew you would" and he grabbed her hand and reached for the door. "Don't forget to put on some shoes"

The halls of the castle were still deserted, and the torches on the walls were still lit. Elizabeth tried her best not to shiver as the cool early morning air penetrated her robe and into her sheer nightgown.

As they walked the halls, Elizabeth hadn't realized that Meliodas had started giving instructions. "Listen, I've asked Ban to stay and defend Liones while we're gone. I've given him something just in case your fever acts up again."

Elizabeth just nodded in response. She was sort of confused as to why they would leave Ban here when they were already shorthanded, but it also did make sense that he would stay here to defend the kingdom. Thinking about it, if none of the Sins would stay here and with some of the Holy Knights deployed somewhere else, they might not have something to come back to if an assault would happen.

"Stick to the medicine that we gave you, what we gave Ban is only for emergencies. Drink it regularly and on time after lunch like I told you" Meliodas instructed.

Elizabeth almost tripped. She hadn't told him yet that she had drank her medicine 10 hours later after lunch yesterday. But he was in a hurry to leave, and she didn't want him to be worried while he was gone. She'll just make up for it next time, and she didn't feel anything, so she's sure it's fine.

"Right." Was all Elizabeth could manage.

"And please, tell Ban immediately if you feel strange" Meliodas begged.

As they exited into the courtyard, the rest of the Sins were already there waiting for them. They too were also suited up, except for Ban, and each had a black leather duffel bag over their shoulders.

Elizabeth surveyed Meliodas. "Where's your duffel bag?"

"I actually don't bring anything on missions"

"Why?"

"They just get destroyed"

Elizabeth didn't know why, but she couldn't help but giggle.

Merlin started to conjure a portal that would send them directly to Bernia, since the Boar Har was still in repair and other means of travel would be too slow. Elizabeth had realized that Elaine was with Ban and was helping the Sins pack for their mission. Thanks to her healing last night, the fairy princess had a nice pink glow to her cheeks and had a livelier skip to her floating. When Merlin finished her spell, a small crack that was large enough to fit an early morning Escanor, appeared from thin air.

"Let's go" Merlin ordered.

Meliodas lightly squeezed Elizabeth's hand before letting go. "Don't learn new stuff while I'm gone, mmkay?"

"I'll try" She chuckled before she enveloped him in a tight embrace. "Be careful."

Meliodas hugged her back and before she knew it, his hands had quickly found its way to her back side and squeezed tightly. "I'll try"

Elizbeth squealed lightly and blushed a deep red. She noticed anyone who had their eyes on them had looked away in embarrassment, and anyone who hadn't, pretended not to look.

When they had pulled away, the other Sins had started entering the portal, while Ban was just beside it, hands in his pockets, looking absolutely sleepy. Meliodas was talking with Ban rather seriously before it was his turn to enter the portal. They were out of Elizabeth's earshot to hear what they were talking about, plus the portal was giving a feint buzzing sound that made it more difficult.

When it was just Meliodas left to enter the portal, he gave Ban a light punch to the shoulder before looking back at Elizabeth again. He smiled so warmly at her and it made her heart ache to think that she wouldn't see him for who knows how many days. She tried her best to give back a reassuring smile, trying to hold back the tear that wanted to fall, as he disappeared into nothingness.

It had been two days already, and Elizabeth was missing her blonde demon terribly. She kept herself busy by attending to her duties and helping the kingdom as best she could. Fortunately, there had been no wounded villagers for the past two days that regularly entered the palace courtyard ever since the war began. So, it would mean that their troops were doing well to ward off the demons, so Elizabeth could focus on other tasks.

Elaine had also helped her with her duties for the past two days, keeping her company in her lonesome. She accompanied her to practically everywhere, while Ban would help out the soldiers in just the outskirts of the kingdom, but never really straying too far. Elizabeth had no idea how Meliodas and the other Sins were doing, since Merlin had not prepared any type of communication medium for them, but the Fox Sin of Greed had reassured her many times that they would be doing ok.

"The king said so himself that it would be nothing serious, princess" Ban reassured her when she had voiced her thoughts out loud, again.

"Yeah, and I'm sure they can handle anything" Elaine added as she gingerly watered a daisy.

The three of them were in the castle gardens, tending to the plants and flowers. Just like the castle, it too hadn't been spared during the fight with the demons. The assortments of flowers that Elizabeth used to enjoy as a child had now been reduced to ashes, the trees that had been around for hundreds of years had broken in half and destroyed the castle wall it stood next to.

Elaine had found this the other day and wanted to restore the garden and Elizabeth wanted to help in her spare time. Elizabeth had thought that as the fairy princess, Elaine would have restored the garden in no time. But drawing power from the Sacred Tree and into a distant human land would be too strenuous for Elaine whose very life was coming and going by the day.

So, they had tended to the garden manually, planting seeds, taking out weeds, watering, and fertilizing. It was hard labor, but it took Elizabeth's mind off of the imminent Holy War. Mechanically shoveling, planting seeds, and formulating animal manure had been the most relaxing things she's ever done in months.

Elizabeth just wished it wasn't so hot though. "Yeah, I'm sure they are fine. It just makes me anxious not knowing what's happening." She said in between breaths as a bead of sweat trekked down her nape.

"These flowers are not as good as the ones in the fairy king's forest..." Elaine mused disappointedly as she planted a limp, pale looking daisy.

"The flowers there must be incredible" Elizabeth implied.

"Yes!" the fairy princess beamed "Oh you should see them Elizabeth. There angel's horns there, sunflowers, different types of..."

Elizabeth clutched her trowel as she tried to listen. She had been trying hard not to show how the humidity was making her feel dizzy. The day felt rather stuffy the moment she woke up, so she wore a sleeveless summer dress for the day. But the humidity just kept getting worse and worse as the afternoon progressed, and it was getting harder to breathe. She wondered how Elaine managed, wearing a long sleeved, turtle neck dress in the hot afternoon as they pulled out weeds and shoveled soil.

"I'd love to see them." Elizabeth tried to say as enthusiastically as she could manage.

Their conversation was interrupted as a knight appeared from the entrance of the garden and asked to excuse the Fox Sin of Greed. Ban yawned and lazily went over to the knight.

"I'll just be by the courtyard" Ban informed the two girls before he left.

As they continued to work for a few minutes, Elizabeth practically wanted to strip herself down if it wasn't for the sake of propriety. It was really getting hard to breath and she needed a cool glass of water.

Her legs felt wobbly, so she inhaled deeply before she prepared to stand up from her crouched position on the soil.

"Are you ok?" Elaine inquired.

"Yeah" Elizabeth breathed "It's just the heat. It's making me a little dizzy"

"Heat?" Elaine asked in confusion. Elizabeth heard the fairy float closer to where she was and heard her small dainty feet land just in front of her.

"Yeah, it's becoming unbearable"

Elaine grabbed her shoulders. "Elizabeth, it's been cloudy all morning and the winds have been blowing nothing but cold air"

What? Elizabeth crouched lower on the ground, her vision was getting blurry and it felt like she was being engulfed in flames. "Huh? What do you mean? My skin is prac-"

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Elizabeth"

She quickly turned and saw nothing but a clump of dirt.

"Did you call me?" Elizabeth tried to find the one who had called her, but there was no one else in the garden except her and Elaine.

"Call who?" Elaine asked.

"Someone called my na-"

"Hey, Elizabeth" It called again. The voice was so familiar, but it sounded distant to decipher who it was. Like they were masked by the sound of roaring winds.

"No one else is here, Elizabeth" Elaine insisted. "Something's wrong with you, let's go ins-"

Elizabeth screamed. It felt like the sun's rays had all focused on her, frying her on the spot like a piece of meat sizzling on a hot pan. Her skin burned, and the pain blurred her vision and blocked her lungs.

There were two voices that called out to her while she writhed in agony.

"Elizabeth!" Elaine was shrieking frantically.

"Hey, Elizabeth" The body-less voice called out again from the roars of the wind. But it grew closer and she could almost make out who it was.

Elizabeth screamed louder. She felt a glow around her that almost made her pain bearable, but it wasn't enough, it was just too painful, and it kept hurting her.

"Ban! BAAAN! BAAN!" Elaine screamed from the top of her lungs.

Elizabeth dug her nails in the soil, her vision was nothing but white now, and her breathing was being choked by her own screams.

"Hey, Elizabeth" The voice was now in front of her.

Despite seeing nothing but white haze, Elizabeth could vaguely make out a large figure slowly approach her. It seemed like a large bird, with wings and sharp talons. But before she could peer through the haze, her ears rang with mixtures of screams, either her own or Elaine's, she couldn't tell anymore.

"Hey, Elizabeth"

And large arms had wrapped around her and there was nothing else but darkness.

This chapter was actually posted a long time ago in AO3. I really have a lot of trouble posting here on Fanfiction. The chapters I upload don't seem to upload properly. Anyways, enjoy and thank you all for those who are liking this so far!