Warning: Some Talk of Past Abuse in this chapter, non explicit.
Chapter 8: A Demon Mate
I grasp hands with another duke, who brings my knuckles closer to his face to kiss when Sir Meliodas intercepts it. His hand plucking mine from the old man's grip.
"Duke Wellington!" Sir Meliodas chides in a joking tone, "I take offense to you making a move on my lady. I don't stand a chance if you're in the arena fighting for her affections with me." The pair laugh and I extricate my own hand back. The poor appendage has been sacrificed in squeezing grasps that pinched, weak dismissive holds and on three occasions now, this same joke. After the second man attempted to kiss my hand Sir Meliodas had whisked me away scowling while telling me, "Your allure is irresistible but I'll be damned if another puts their lips on that creamy skin before me."
The comment resurfaces in my memory and I grow warm, dipping slightly behind Sir Meliodas so his shoulder is before mine, between the couple and myself. I'm just starting to feel comfortable, with Meliodas at my side, even with his odd comments that keep me guessing.
That's when a hand touches my open back. I yelp, spinning to find a Meliodas look alike. Behind me, Sir Meliodas makes a deep noise in his throat, a growl? I am not sure but the meaning is clear, he is not pleased. This man and my date are very similar in build and face. Without having to be told I know this must be his brother, Zeldris. His black hair spikes out to the side and the dark black eyes with a mischievous twinkle set them apart.
"Lady Elizabeth," Zeldris greets, bowing and I return the greeting, speaking his name and I think it surprises him as he looks up from his bow, his black eyes finding mine. I hear Sir Meliodas excuse himself from the older couple and he spins a one-eighty to make us a group of three.
"What are you doing here?" Sir Meliodas' tone is deadly and a cold shiver runs up my neck. If I had been on the receiving end of that I would flee, but Zeldris' dark eyes don't leave mine and Meliodas' growl grows deeper, more agitated.
"I heard you were bringing her and I had to see for myself," his brother explains, looking me over with a slow assessment. I shift, uncomfortable, unsure what to do with my hands or how to respond. "I'm disappointed," he notes and I flinch, "in you, big brother," he continues. "You canceled our meeting with the Knights of Black, after the months it took to get them to agree, for a woman you aren't tupping."
While he is still speaking, Meliodas steps toward him, his hand wraps around the back of Zeldris' neck and he pulls his brother's ear to his mouth. I can't make out the words over Meliodas' strange chest rumbling but I can see Zeldris' strain and Meliodas' tense hold as if pinning him in place. The air grows colder, a dread settles heavy in my stomach and I look around, trying to find the source. Zeldris' dark eyes go darker as his face turns to mine and he captures my wandering gaze in his alarm.
"Sir Meliodas?" I ask, with a touch of a plea, and I brush my fingertips along the side of his palm hanging at his side. He releases his brother and Zeldris' resistance of the hold propels him back a step, but he catches himself just as Meliodas twists his palm around mine to take my hand. Our fingers intertwine. Meliodas smiles at me as the aura I felt blinks out and I breathe easier, wondering if it is my nerves acting up again.
"Elizabeth, this is my younger brother Zeldris, as you cleverly deduced," he introduces politely and to my surprise Zeldris re-bows as if granted a do-over. The cruel intent in his eyes I'd spotted moments ago is nowhere to be found in his black orbs. I play along, simply glad Meliodas stopped making that deep rumbling noise. After our re-greeting, Meliodas asks if I want to dance and I agree.
"When have you ever danced?" Zeldris inquires, shocked. "Do you know how?" His tone turns mocking and Meliodas chuckles.
"I know enough for this song, it's slow." Meliodas quips and he leads me around the people, away from Zeldris by our clasped hands. At the edge of the circle of dancers, he stops, taking my waist, my free hand finding his shoulder and he immediately leads me into the steps with no preamble as our clasped hands shift their hold to accommodate the change. "I'm sorry about my brother, he likes to push me. I can't blame him, I return the favor at every opportunity," he shrugs, his shoulder jumping under my palm as we move in a circle.
He is a quick study as he seems at ease leading me. His green eyes are clear and I smile softly as I tell him, "Don't worry, I seem to handle demon princes well enough." Meliodas smirks, doubly so when he pulls me against his body so our hips line up and my center is pressed to his. I gasp softly, my heart leaping with a jolt of excitement that rushes through my body like an all-systems alert. His lips part, his hand at my waist moving to my back and his fingers slip into the slit there, touching my bare flesh with his warmth. We stare into one another and I fumble my steps. Meliodas' eyebrow quirks and he looks smug for a flash of expression before he blanks.
"May I cut in?" A man asks and I turn as Sir Meliodas winces apologetically, "Actually the lady and I are just going for refreshments," but I detangle from Meliodas to take the man's hand squeezing it in both of mine. He is wearing a dark suit, trim in the middle with his broad shoulders stretching his coat tight. His eyes are blue, similar to mine, maybe a little darker. His salmon hair is ruffled and I know my sister's handy work when I see it.
"Gil!" I rush, grinning. "I worried you wouldn't make it." I drop my hands, turning to Meliodas and his empty face sparks an instant frown from me. "This is my sister Margaret's husband, Gilthunder. Gilthunder, this is my intended, Sir Meliodas." I don't look away from Meliodas as his lips tip a smile and his eyes shine back to life as he greets him.
I look around, trying to spot my sister in her sparkling gown and after a moment, Gil and Meliodas find a common interest. "We'll have to spar, just to see and after maybe we can train together. We're going to be family, after all," Gil jokes and I flush, turning from my search to catch Meliodas' guarded expression.
"We'll make a day of it. Have you heard of the Vaizel Fighting Festival?" Meliodas asks, refusing to look away from me when he addresses Gil.
"Oh good, you found her!" My sister's sweet voice chimes and I break our eye contact to see her pink with frustration, but it is fading. She hands Gil a white goblet after she takes a long sip from it. "You're stunning, Elizabeth." Her voice turns exasperated as she notes, "You're catching so many eyes I'm surprised you aren't being approached at every turn." My heart races at her words, warily eyeing around.
"I've prevented seven accidental gropings and tripped a man when he went back for a second after I stopped the first attempt." Sir Meliodas complains as if finally he has someone who can understand his struggle. Margaret gives a start, seeming to just notice the man at my side. I introduce them.
"Thank you for your due diligence, Sir Meliodas," Margaret smirks with a tilt to her lips that I know means she likes him. He laughs, his hand coming up to find that same spot at my back. His fingers play at my bare flesh. I grow warmer, exhaling in surprise. Tingles spread up my spine and I bite my lip, trying to hold the sensations as they wash over me.
A voice booms over the hum of the crowd, the sun is setting and the dancers on the ribbons above stop, spidering up to wrap their legs into a still split. "Ladies and gentlemen," a man speaks, his beard is thick, his dress shirt open down the front all the way to the buckle of his pants but it is tucked in. Somehow that does make it a touch classier. "The night has begun, we'll start the walks through the gardens to end our evening. Some of you have been invited to stay till morning to, at the stroke of midnight, witness my heir apparent and dear daughter awaken into adulthood." I frown at his words, dipping my lips to brush at Meliodas' hair.
"Why wait? Isn't the point to show her off to all of these people?" I ask. He tilts his face toward mine to answer.
"He's hoping the higher ranking members he's asked to stay take a liking to her before she's presented to any lower royals," he scoffs. "It's a game to collect the highest valued pieces still in play." His worlds are cruel but I know they aren't directed at me. I frown, if that's true, why wouldn't he use every... pawn he has? I hate thinking of people in this way.
"Lady Gelda is his daughter, why isn't she heir or presented?" Or have I misunderstood and this is for her? Gelda is older, nearer my sister in age. Meliodas tilts his lips closer to mine and I watch them move with a growing warmth as he tells me, "Gelda was not born in his marriage, she's a lady of his court but her standing is below others of lesser blood because of the circumstances." His breath tickles at my cheek and down my neck, fresh and hot.
That doesn't seem fair. I shake my head, feeling a rush of nerves from our closeness as I bring my attention back to Lord Izraf. I've never seen him before but if this is the old vampire king, then he will be lord now. "Could he change that?" I puzzle, distractedly.
"He could have a while ago but it's been decided." He answers and I think of my own circumstance of birth, I had been adopted with no true bloodline link but I am the third princess, now simply a Lady. My sons will still be top of the list to rule in my clan, my daughters royal but only men can take the throne. If I had been legitimately born to my father and he decided against my standing, I am not sure how I'd feel, but I can't imagine Gelda being thrilled.
The king takes a hearty swig of his black goblet, pointing it when he finishes toward the doors that lead to the gardens, the way Meliodas had taken me when we first arrived. "May the night bloom as bright for you as it does for us!" When the sun disappears and it is just the candles lighting the place the vampires in the room seem to take a collective breath, a few eyes flashing in the dark. "Oh." The power shifts, the room growing stifling with it and I feel like a layer of sticky energy coats over my skin.
Meliodas' hand roams up and down my back as if to comfort but it's a whole lot of skin he's feeling and I shiver all the more. I'm unsure if my reaction is from the shift or from him testing our limits. Is he touching me for the people's benefit? He's never been so forward with me before.
Margaret and Gil talk about getting in line for the gardens and confirm with us they will be staying the night as special guests of Gelda. "We've been best friends since, well, since the day I met you, Lord Meliodas," Margaret's voice is tense, her eyes flash to my date with hunched brows as if the thought is unpleasant. "I remember that day, clearly, but it took years for me to understand it." She takes Gil's arm and leads him away chiding him when he turns back toward us as if to speak. He shrugs back at us, following Margaret with a smile.
"Well, we know who wears the pants in that relationship," he jokes and I simply tell him, "Margaret hates pants." He laughs but I'm thinking about my sister's words. Why hadn't she told me she'd met Meliodas before? If it had been when she met Gelda, it must have been when I was a small child... I frown, thinking.
"Have you ever had blood pudding?" Sir Meliodas inquires, and I spin to him, 'what? Ew.' "It's actually not bad, come on, let's get some food while everyone else is lining up for the night garden." He offers his arm again and I take it.
"Okay." I relent, "but I won't eat blood pudding and I do want to see the flowers that bloom at night." He grins, giving a serious nod as if I've given him a task he takes to heart. "Done," Sir Meliodas promises and as we walk I notice we are going against the grain. Couples are going to the balcony, talking about 'what a nice time' and a preteen whines to her father, 'I want ribbon dancers for my coming of age celebration'. Meliodas and I walk through them, seemingly the only ones doing so, until we come out of the crowd and there is Zeldris struggling to disentangle himself from the crowd a few feet away. He spots us and heads over. Meliodas lets out a long sigh and I can tell from that they must be close siblings since it seems Meliodas can predict Zeldris' next action.
Sir Meliodas speeds up our retreat, dipping through the double doors open wide to show a joining room with tables of treats, finger foods and a more varied choice of drink. "Mel!" I hear the gruff voice of his brother and he catches up at a run. He slides in front of us, blocking our direct path.
"You've stolen a touch, I won't allow you to steal any of my time," Sir Meliodas speaks and with his strange phrasing, I hope that he means alone time with me. Zeldris rolls his eyes, explaining, "If you turn me away, I'll be eating alone a table over, staring at you two."
Meliodas looks up at me as if asking me and I smile softly with assurance. "Fine," Sir Meliodas relents, and I'm glad to see his kindness again, especially to his brother. Among the crowd Meliodas had grown colder, never mean but he has rarely broken from his blank expression and dismissive tone. I missed this version of Meliodas as our time had worn on with the others. The room empties with everyone funneling toward their farewell walk through the Garden. The sconces that light the room flicker firelight across the blue opalescent decor, the delectable looking treats and the floors dance with the reflective flames.
Servants in tan smocks clean up tables and wait with tongs to serve us whatever we select from the options available. As we make our way to the food, Zeldris complains, "I won't have anyone to go stag with now that you are with Elizabeth." I flush. Sir Meliodas hands me a plate, it shines like it is carved from a seashell and I watch the swirls for a moment. "How you got this lucky, looking like a chewed up teenager, I'll never know. If you ever want to upgrade, Elizabeth, let me know." I flinch, dropping my plate and with a quick snag, Sir Meliodas catches it before it hits the floor, returning it to me.
"Thank you," I whisper to Meliodas before frowning at the back of Zeldris' dark head. "You two must be close with how you two jab at each other," I note and both brothers snicker so alike I can't separate one's laugh from the other in the air around me. Meliodas puts a hand on my back, fingers finding their way to my flesh again and I shiver as he leads me down the long food table filled with dishes, towers of treats and dipping sauces. Zeldris piles on his food, a servant struggling to balance another thing on the heap of his plate.
I pass on the main dishes, Meliodas points out the blood pudding and I shake my head no but he holds his plate out for some. It dollops like pudding but I look away, grossed out. Everything else looks good, but from all the activity and acting so formal, my tummy is twisted in a knot that hasn't unfurled yet. I can't pass up the chocolate and I select a big piece of gooey, whipped topped treat that I maneuver to be center-plate. When I come to the strawberries I arranged them around my dessert so it looks pretty, simply because I can. Meliodas chuckles at me and I stop fiddling.
Zeldris has taken a seat at a round middle table by the time Meliodas is done, so we head toward him. Sir Meliodas pulls out my chair for me and I sit. When he takes his seat beside me, his hand brushes along my thigh and I freeze, warm and over sensitive. Was that unintentional? He asks his brother about a 'hunt' and Zeldris grumbles with his mouth full that it, "wasn't as thrilling as last year."
"Come to Heaven's Theater," Meliodas suggests. "I've been fighting there for ages. Bigs will let all kinds of things fly if you pay for damages and both parties are okay with it." Through another mouthful, he agrees, asking something so mumbly I can't tell what he is trying to say.
"Will you swallow your food or slow down?" Meliodas chides and I take the first bite of my dessert. I moan softly, and for a blissful moment, I enjoy the rich taste on my tongue. When I open my eyes, four demon ones are focusing on me and I straighten in my seat, unsure.
"Do that again," Zeldris demands, brows low with a devious smirk on his face. Something shifts under the table and Zeldris winces while his chair skids a foot away. "Whatever. Elizabeth, do you realize you'll taste like strawberries and chocolate," Zeldris tells me with the biggest grin, and Sir Meliodas' face shadows as he angles his hair to cover his face from me, before standing.
"What I said earlier..." Meliodas' intensity jacks up and I grip his arm. He lets me pull him into his seat again.
"Please stop," I plea to Zeldris, staring into him. "I've not been permitted to leave my kingdom since childhood and I would hate for this experience to be marred by some rivalry between you two." Slowly, he stands, moving his chair back in place and with a sheepish nod he apologizes.
"I swear, I meant no harm, Elizabeth. It's just never been this easy to rile my brother up. As a child, it annoyed me to no end that he never reacted and with such juicy ones the boy in me has awakened to play." Zeldris looks to Meliodas after his explanation. "Of course, I admire his steady patience to the point of attempted emulation." Silence falls between us as he sits once more. We eat in it, my fork taps minisculely against the plate, the only sound outside of Zeldris' chewing. I can't finish, it is too rich but I bite a strawberry before I think of how I can remedy this.
"What was Sir Meliodas like as a child?" I attempt to start a conversation and he groans in chagrin at my side as Zeldris laughs.
His answer comes quickly, "Much the same. Intense. Our childhood was during the war, it ended in our teen years," Zeldris starts, picking up a piece of bread, covering it in toppings to shove in his mouth. I hadn't thought of the war or the timing it would have played in their lives. I'd been born in it, but it was over before I'd been old enough to retain any memories. My childhood is shot full of holes as it is but I don't mind. Some things are best left forgotten, like the blank white gaps that surround Master Twigo's crimes to my young body. "He jumped from one single focus, of ending the war, to another as during the treaty he-" Another shift, another wince, and Zeldris is pushed back even farther than before as his chair skids across the tile.
I bend, looking under the table. Meliodas kicked him, it is the only logical deduction. I frown, looking up at Meliodas and he gives me a smile paired with a shrug. He's cute when he's trying to act innocent. "Be nice to your brother," I reproach, eyeing him sideways with a smile. The rest of our meal goes much smoother. Zeldris asks about me, my family and my life and I find myself trying to answer as best I can while the two brothers seem to devour every last crumb on their plates.
Meliodas tries to get me to bite the blood pudding but I won't. A vampire man takes our plates, pale and platinum blond. After, Sir Meliodas offers his hand to me, to assist me up. He's back to touching me when he leads. He's always looked and stared, but in my normal daily life I can go days without touch if Jelamet had a string of good days and didn't need assistance. To be glutted with touch, I feel as if I have already reached my limit and with each brush at the flesh of my back, or grasp of my hand I feel a chasm in me deepen.
The ballroom is thinned down, the dressiest of the rich and royal remain. We are in the doorway, having returned from our meal when a man trailing his young daughter behind stopped us by coughing to get our attention. Sir Meliodas told me earlier he steered me away from meeting the vilest of the leeches, his words- not mine. He hadn't introduced me to this man but I had seen his dark looming head try to narrow in a few times.
He speaks, his voice low and wheezing, "Lord Master Meliodas, Lord Zeldris and... Lady Ester, right?" He asks. I open my mouth to correct him but he's already moving on, "May I introduce my lovely daughter, Lady Ellen." The little girl steps forward, brown mousy hair and nervous shining eyes. Her small frame is quaking as she looks up at us, each in turn before speaking a sweet greeting with her voice trembling. "Ellen, didn't you want to recite to the Lords the poem you composed? She's so sweet, she's been talking about it for days."
I flush, my stomach dropping. This was what Lord Meliodas had been talking about, he is showing off his own daughter like a prized pony to assess his highest offer. The girl's small fingers tuck her hair behind her ears and she recites her poem with practiced, stilted repetition. She's been dressed and arranged to perfection. Hair pleated, her frilly pink gown silk with lace that looks like it cost sacks of gold. When Ellen finishes, her father claps once before pushing the girl off to the side to zero in on the Lords with talk of their upcoming negotiations for trade and how beneficial a more lasting bond between the two clans would be. Ignoring this, I step around the man, kneeling before the girl Ellen.
"I'm Elizabeth," I tell her and she smiles at me, shy. Her nervous eyes darting to her fathers but he's not paying her any attention and her shoulders dip without the pressure. "When I was a girl, about five, I was bartered away in marriage," I say to the girl, her eyes shine as she looks to me, surprised. "Truly, I'm betrothed and at the time, to a man I hadn't met. I just want to pass on some wise words an old woman once told me... If you don't want to do something, then don't, but be sure it's something you don't like because once it's gone you can't get it back."
"I only like horses." The girl confesses and I giggle, nodding.
"And poetry too, it seems," I answer and for a few moments, we talk about our favorite poets. It's uncomfortable crouching at her side but I endure as her face lights with delight when I finish a stanza where she leaves off. "I'll send you a favorite book of mine, it's a compilation of a bunch of different writers. Perhaps you can join me for tea sometime and we can talk about-"
The girl's arm is grabbed and the man is furious as he pulls her away. Ellen doesn't seem shocked, resigned to her fate and I have a flash of my own young face in hers. Ludociel, Tarmiel, Hendrickson... a slew of guard's faces appear in my mind having done that same move to my own arm over the years. The same shoulder seems to ache as if it remembers too. I won't forget to send her poems, but I doubt her father would allow a tea time with how he just acted.
Sir Meliodas offers his arm once more and I take it as we move into the ballroom, the dancers are moving again on their ribbons. Gil and Margaret have returned from the gardens and her flushed cheeks give away her pleasure from the experience or the amount of wine she's had. Zeldris follows and our groups are heading toward one another.
I ask Meliodas who the man had been that stopped us but he scoffs, telling me, "No one of any importance." I want to know so I can figure out which clan and how to send the girl the book and I frown at him. He looks confused but my attention is drawn away when Margaret and Gil stop before us and I introduce them to Zeldris. Our greetings are short as Lord Izraf booms his announcement, demanding attention.
"The time has come!" his voice fills the room and I note he has blood on his bare chest now. I flush, until two servants come from behind him, carrying a large tub and when it sloshes I see the red thick liquid and know what that is right away. "Oh," I exhale.
It's placed before the Vampire Lord, "My daughter shall be reborn through our traditional blooding." He steps into the tub and he calls out, "May I introduce Ren, my beloved daughter, and heir-" The door opens behind us, surprising me and our group. I turn, Zeldris scowls as he adjusts at Meliodas' other side. Margaret comes to my side with Gil pulled along so we are all facing the long white carpet before us. It hadn't been there before we'd gone in to eat. Other guests are on the other side of it, facing toward the doors that have opened, others press in behind us as I hear their murmurings.
Walking down the aisle is a dark-haired beauty, naked as the day she was born, wearing only a long veil. She's thin and I flush, looking away and catching Meliodas' eye, who is staring up at me with wide shining emeralds, he says, "I wasn't expecting that." Murmurs start and I giggle softly until Margaret nudges my arm and says, "Ren chose Gelda as her second, look."
I do, and I see the blonde-haired beauty, braid long over her shoulder, dressed in a flowing gown of black holding the back of her half-sisters' veil so it doesn't hit the ground. That's when a few things happened at once. Behind Gelda is a man in a tan smock with a strip of cloth over his forehead, holding towels, that I recognize. My heart drops. My grip on Meliodas turns desperate and my other hand comes around to grip at his jacket over his heart. The air changes, chilling and a dark burst of power come from the other side of Sir Meliodas.
People scream and I scramble closer to the man at my side as I grip him, fear coursing through me as if I am a child again, brought back to the state I was in when I'd last seen that man. The power that erupts around me is an afterthought. "Master Tw-." I cry softly and Margaret spots him too, gasping as her thin arm rises, shaking and pointing. He steps closer and closer, following the girls track down the carpet and with each step, my shaking grows stronger. The four-year-old me revives to take over my body and face her darkest fear.
"She's the Demon's Mate!" someone screams behind us, "Get out of his way!" another howled and the Vampire Lord booms with pride, "Ren! My own heir has awakened a Demon Lord!"
Over my years I've thought of so many things to say to this man if I ever saw him again. How despicable he is to have preyed on young girls. I had a whole speech prepared where at the end I condemn him, forcing him to show me the brand my people had burned into his forehead with our light. Instead, I cower into Meliodas, and I hate myself for it. A dark miasma starts filling the room and I watch Twigo's round face look alarmed before he backs away from the vampire royals to escape the way he came, towels abandoned on the white rug.
My eyes pinch closed and I fall into Meliodas, my face pressing into the side of his jaw. Twigo has left and I can breathe again, becoming aware of myself. When had Meliodas' arms wrapped around me? I feel him lift me and in a rush of movement, too fast for me to follow, we go. The screams fade with the distance, the miasma is gone and I know it's just him and I sitting outside, me across Sir Meliodas' lap. I can feel the cool night air at my back and I want to let him go but I'm still shaking.
"Tell me what you're thinking," Sir Meliodas says nervously as if he's pleading and... I don't want to. Not because I don't want him to know but to admit my failure? My inability to even stand on my own in the face of someone like Twigo. Useless. I shake my head no, releasing my death grip on his jacket and my hands slip from his arm and torso to flop where they fall. "Did Zeldris... when a demon finds their-"
"No," I whisper, feeling silly sitting on his lap and I shift my leg down off his knees to step to the ground and twisting my waist to slide off of his thighs. The stone bench under him is big enough for three and I ease into a proper lady's position, looking around. The moonlight reflects off the now open blooms of blue star-shaped flowers all facing the moon like worshipers glowing back at their god. The garden is stunning and I do a full rotation to look behind me at the castle and that too is amazing in the dark as it is glowing from the inside.
When I meet Meliodas' eyes, staring into mine with his lost expression, on his usually blank face, it shakes me. I feel like I am the fumbling four-year-old again and I do want to tell him. I can trust Meliodas. "When I was a girl, I had a tutor," I start, getting a flash of the nursery rooms and looking up at a massive, rounded man with fear. "Master Twigo, the man in there, the servant following Lady Ren and Gelda... I never expected to see him again." Sir Meliodas nods, but his brows are furrowed. I am being too vague, avoiding it.
"I was so small, I don't remember a lot of it. I don't want to... but I was terrified of him." I take a breath, finding it easier while staring into Meliodas when usually I feel too overwhelmed by his gaze. "It was right after our family unexpectedly became the royal one, when my father's cousin died. A lot had been going on, people were busy and the three of us siblings were overlooked from the changes going on." I sigh, knowing this is why my father kicks himself so much.
"He, uh... well, the only things I remember is taking lessons. I'd have to get naked and we couldn't start learning until he..." I frown, furrowing my brow as that is all there is to the memories of Twigo. The night grows colder, darker as if it is closing in around me. "I don't want to remember and I'm glad I don't-"
"That man, with the head wrap? He was the one that touched you?" Sir Meliodas asks in a thick rasp, eyes burning in something fierce and my heart palpitates rapidly from his demeanor change. "He'd escaped while in transit. He had been intended for our prisons under my father after your people branded him." The way he is talking... he had already known what had happened to me? Sir Meliodas stands, shoulders back as he faces the castle with an expression of pure wrath. He takes a solid step away and I panic.
"Don't leave me!" I hush, just above a whisper and I follow him, looking around the dark garden, not with admiration, but in suspicion. There are so many places to hide. Absently, I reach my hand forward to his, taking it and his warmth spreads through me like hot tea, absorbing into my bones. He inhales a deep breath, steadying.
"You've had a long night, let me see you to your room." Sir Meliodas speaks kindly but with an edge that warns me, there will be no discussion. I know in my soul I am not damaged, as a man can't change a woman simply because they don't have that kind of power, but if Sir Meliodas looks at me with pity, like so many in my family do... It will change how I feel about him. My growing fondness will seize, our friendship will mellow.
So I don't look.
We walk through the garden, coming to a side entrance and a tan smock servant opens the door for us, asking if we need an escort to our rooms. I squeeze Meliodas' hand, hoping he won't send me off with this helper but he says, "I know my way, thank you," and we head in a direction. I don't want to be left alone when I know Twigo is around. Before I'd been eager to look at everything but now I stare at my shoes and follow Sir Meliodas' lead. We enter a hall of doors and he points to the one at the end, telling me that is his door and mine is across from his, directly.
Then, as if I just now process what else occurred while my world had crashed around me in the ballroom, I freeze. Zeldris has found his mate. It is rare for a demon to have a mate but in upper-level ones, it does seem to happen more often. Sir Meliodas, for the first time, doesn't patiently stare and wait. He moves, dipping his face to intercept my gaze and he inquires, "What is it?" gently as if I am a moment away from running. My death grip on his hand is a good indicator that I will not leave him.
That doesn't mean he will not leave me.
"One day, when you find your mate," I start and his eyes grow wide in alarm. "What will happen to us?" Will our marriage even still hold? A piece of paper formed from a treaty to end a war that has been over all these years, our world is peaceful as it is, without our union... I frown and a strange regretful groan sounds from his throat.
"Elizabeth!" A chiming voice calls out and I turn from Meliodas' severe face to see my sister, her dress hiked up in her hands as she runs to me. "I was so worried, with Master Twigo-"
"Will you take her for me?" Meliodas interjects, moving our joined hands toward Margaret, offering mine for her to take. Gil is rounding the corner of the hall behind her and I release Meliodas. He moves with confidence around us, heading the way we came, toward Gil. My sister takes me in her arms and I hug her, reassuring her that, "Sir Meliodas has taken care of me, I'm fine." Yet she fusses, pity on her face and I frown, looking to Meliodas. He's speaking to Gil, but as if my gaze draws him, he looks to me.
Margaret promises to help me get ready for bed and to stay with me for as long as I need. I nod, absently.
"Do you need my help handling him?" Gil asks, "Or Zeldris? Margaret and I have done a lot of research on demon mating, any assistance you need, I'm your man," he states and Meliodas gives him a quick once over, assessing.
"I need you to protect Elizabeth," Meliodas requests. "Can I rely on you?" He's serious and Gil takes it that way, nodding eagerly as Meliodas turns to me again.
"We have Elizabeth," Gil declares. "For you to ask that of us, it's- of course." Meliodas doesn't look away, staring into me but he nods infinitesimally in acknowledgment of Gil's words.
"With Zeldris' mate awakening him, at least we didn't have to watch a strange naked bloodbath between Lord Izraf and his daughter," Margaret notes with a shiver. I feel it as she is still in my arms, nervously trying to fill the silence. But my gaze is locked to Meliodas', something is happening between us. Is Sir Meliodas going to bring Master Twigo into custody? He is a wanted criminal...
"Will you let me know when you're back?" I ask him. "I'll feel better knowing you're across the hall." Meliodas nods, green eyes flickering to black, deep in so many feelings but I smile as I do not find pity in him. Anger, sure, tons and tons of boundless anger, but not a drop of feeling sorry for me.
"It'll be late when I return, but I'll knock," Meliodas promises, stepping back from Gil, spinning smartly on his heels and he leaves me behind.
"Be careful!" I call out softly and his steps pause, his face moving over his shoulder to give me one last long look from top to bottom. Then he's gone. My sister's hand runs up and down my back reassuringly, feeling so different than how it had when Meliodas had done the same movement. We head to my room, a cozy suite with a big bed and my black bag with the blue bow is here.
I remove my dress and find my pale pink pleated nightgown. Margaret helps me unpin my hair and I return the favor, the two of us talking like old times. She's sitting between my legs, me in the chair she had just vacated when our talk turns to the event I'm sure everyone is still buzzing about. "Seeing Zeldris awaken, it looked different this time, not so scary."
I frown, "When have you ever seen a demon find their mate?" Margaret winces when I tug too hard on a hairpin and I apologize, smoothing a thumb over her skull.
"A long time ago. It seemed so overwhelming then, but I suppose through the eyes of a child things aren't as reliable." She notes. "Gelda didn't look thrilled to be on the receiving end but I'm sure when it's an outside species they never are."
"Gelda! I thought it had been Ren." An image of her naked in her veil comes to mind and I shake my head. I shouldn't judge someone's culture. "Lord Izraf is probably so upset it wasn't Ren, I heard him booming about his heir catching the Demon Lord!" We laugh at my words, talking about Gelda and our hope for her. "I guess it would be overwhelming to have someone instantly in love with you, while you don't even know them. I hope Gelda's okay..." I muse. Margaret gives a nervous laugh. I finish with her hair and she thanks me.
It is late, Gil is waiting and I know she's tired. Their room is next to mine and I remind her of that when I walk her reluctant form to the door. "I'll rush over, or scream, if anything happens," I reassure Margaret. "Meliodas will handle it, I'm sure of it," and she retires as well after I insist for the fourth time that I am going to sleep.
Alone in the gray room, I pull the comforter free from its perfect tuck-job and situate myself over the pillows on the bed, looking up at the flat white ceiling. My eyes grow heavy and I try to stay awake to hear the knock Meliodas promised but sleep creeps in. I hope Sir Meliodas isn't angry with me. Our night out ended in a lot of work for him. Will he be called away to handle the proceedings?
Slowly I think of something else that happened tonight. He didn't answer me... which is its own answer, isn't it? He wouldn't be able to help leaving me if his mate comes along. It isn't like he chose me. We are assigned one another.
I can't be truly upset about it.