Chapter 11: Incentives
I wince, coming to a stand as the two men in the fighting ring move so fast I can hardly keep up. Meliodas is fully focused on this fight, blocking and punching and Ban has done the same. After seeing them together I expected a playful fight, a friendly bout but this is... brutal. Dark blood splatters when Meliodas' skull cracks from the punch and tears well, my mouth opening as if to scream but only the softest exhale escapes me.
A little hand touches my shoulder and Elaine is at my side, a soft smile on her face. "I promise they will be fine. They each know what the other can handle." When I nod to her, meeting her reassuring expression until a loud crack echoes around us. Her hand falls away and we both turn, moving to the edge of the tent to try to see through the dust that has kicked up. The fighting platform is cracked down the center, the two halves sagging into one another.
"Sir Meliodas!" I yell, flushing and panicking. I remembered too late not to call him that and I cover my mouth with my hands to stop any other noise from escaping. The other spectators are yelling themselves and I hope no one heard. Elaine gives me a double take but when the smoke clears and a bloody limping Meliodas is alone in the ring, she forgets all about me. Elaine bends, her hair fluttering prettily as she moves out from under the tent to look around. Not at the mass of people but toward the wilderness where a straight line of rubbled and torn-up trees lead.
She flies that way and I marvel at the strength it would take to hit someone so hard that it tears up trees from their roots. As soon as Meliodas is announced the round one winner he hobbles nearer and I rush to him. We met between the ring and the tent and I loop his arm over my shoulder to help him to our seats. He dips closer to me as I look him over and for a moment I think he sniffs me but when I turn to him he is facing the crowd.
I situate him to rest while I gather a water bowl and a handful of rags and bandages. In a few blinks, I am guiding his face by his chin to clean up his wounds. He never winces or reacts to my touch but I do. I hiss in breaths and hold back tears while erasing what I can of his hurts. His eyes follow my face and I catch his green fathomless orbs between my worried fluttering about his person.
"Did you like it?" Meliodas questions, his voice sounds a tad nervous, as if my answer matters.
"Do you have to get hurt?" I whisper, tugging at his shirt collar and he smirks as I wipe over his shoulder cut, touching his bare flesh there.
"Yeah," he breathes, his eyes on my hand making contact with his skin.
"Then... no." I admit honestly, a little sorry I can't give him the answer he wants. Meliodas simply laughs, his head falling back in joy and a little dark power sparks inside of his shoulder wound. It seals before my eyes and I flush, taking a seat at his side as I feel over the wound. I've never seen a demon seal their wounds before. Between me cleaning the blood from him and him closing the open flesh, he looks almost back to normal. I can tell he still hurt from how he sits but I feel better without the visual reminder of it.
"You worried about me," he hushes, eyes dancing and he leans in. I tense, frozen and he stops in his approach. He bores into me and internally something is squirming in my belly until he smiles, "thank you for caring for me and cleaning me up so sweetly." Another fight ends and neither of us watches. We stare, unable to break our gaze until the hair on the back of my neck stands tall and I crumble under the weight of my own feelings. I turn from him, wide-eyed as a hulking beast and a woman face off.
When I flinch at the first heavy hit, his hand finds my knee in comfort and I look to it with a soft smile.
He whispers close to my ear, breath on my neck to tell me he is going to get us some water to drink and I watch him go. When he returns a moment or so later it is his turn to fight again. He pauses before leaving me, expecting something but I simply wring my hands and whisper, "Please be careful," as I don't know the protocol for these things.
It seems Ban and Elaine left, as we watched for them but they had been gone so long I doubted they were coming back. This new fight is far less intense, but he's slower. He faces off against a man with fire magic, the two intent and aggressive. Meliodas takes hit after hit and returns them just as fiercely. It is obvious to me that Meliodas isn't fighting at full strength and I am not sure why.
Is he that hurt or does he not want to hurt the other older man? The ring leader calls the fighter, 'the Flame Barzard' and even seemingly drunk and old he is holding his own. Meliodas stands his ground when his opponent unleashes a ball of rolling flames and I jump up as if I can stop it. My hand reaches and a strange, "eeek," escapes me. Meliodas turns and looks to me for a second as if he heard me through the roar of the crowd. In a blink, he has the old man down and Meliodas is declared the victor.
He stumbles far less on his way to me but I have the water and bandages ready by his seat this time. I help him again and I am far gentler dabbing at his burns. His hair is blown back, his face darker in soot and scorch marks.
"Why didn't you dodge the fireball?" I ask, biting my lip as I wipe the rag down his neck and he tilts to give me better access.
"You wouldn't have a reason to touch me if I had." His honesty is nice but my lip pops free from my teeth in alarm. I pull the rag from his skin and scowl. "Give me a better incentive than your gentleness and I'll see what I can do," he notes with a little tug of his lips and his expression reminds me of the chess game neither of us had won. Instantly my mind twirls with answers but I stare, not giving him a single one.
"An incentive," I mutter, frowning as I clean the soot from his face since he hasn't turned away. He nods against the rag and I scrutinize him. There are hints of mischief in his eyes and with his almost smirking lips I grow warm in the lower tummy. "What do you want?"
"Another kiss," he answers immediately as if he has held his answer on his tongue waiting for the chance to tell me. My face burns but my core pulses and the duality gives me pause. I like Meliodas, I want to kiss him again but it seems so hard to take that step, especially these last few days. Our first kiss had been a special case as he had done so much for me. After a few breaths, my other hand touches over his bare cheek as if in comfort, and he turns into the touch without breaking eye contact.
"Then, don't get hurt," I relent, agreeing but remembering his shoulder wound. He hasn't moved it right in the last fight and I know he is wounded there. My fingers twitch on his cheek before falling to the said body part, the urge to heal is strong but he tenses with a miniscule shaking of his head telling me, 'no' without saying a word.
"That's not very hard," Meliodas smirks. "For the prize of your silken kisses, you should make me earn them." My head tilts as my hands fall away and he frowns just a bit before he bounces back to this new playful side of him. "To be worthy, I won't take a single hit and I won't throw a single punch."
"And you'll win?" I ask. I can tell with his devious lilt that his plan had been to simply step out of bounds and forfeit for his prize. It amuses me that I can read him and I grin as I can see his mind whirring behind his eyes. The crowd cheers and a winner is called. I turn and take in the massive purple demon that Meliodas will be facing. My heart drops as he rises and my mind blanks as he dips to my ear, his nose touching the sensitive flesh and I shiver.
"It's a deal." He whispers, "You can touch me, kiss me, any time you want, Elizabeth." He is casual as he pulls away, his hands in his pockets as he reaches the fighting ring and fear grips me. What if he gets hurt because he doesn't fight back? I stand preemptively, wringing my hands together and already fretting over what is to come.
Meliodas had a little rest before this fight while the hulking beast was going from his last fight to this one without a break. I hope it gives Meliodas a leg up because he looks small next to the other demon. The crowd is shouting their favorites and calling out wagers but Meliodas' eyes finds mine and he beams as if he's already won.
They shake, hand to hook-appendage, the announcer calls out the start and moves out of the way.
The purple monster attacks. He lashes and crashes into the tilted stone platform while Meliodas dodges. The crack Meliodas and Ban left starts to chip farther away as the two dance around one another. The Hulk's massive form follows Meliodas' light hopping steps across the ground and it shakes the stage. Meliodas isn't fighting, he is wearing the big demon out but the spectators aren't happy with that plan.
Some call out for blood, others heckle and some switch from cheering on Meliodas to now backing the big Hulk. "Fight for real!" someone shouts and another, "He's all out of power!" My shoulders shake as I watch, my fingers hurt from the pressure of my own anxieties. I hope his alternate persona, Captain, won't get a bad reputation over our 'incentive game'.
Meliodas laughs, his head tilting back and I watch as the Hulk beast grows more enraged, purple magic leaking from the other demon. The way the magic moves reminds me of something and I can't put my finger on it. My hands drop and I gasp slightly as I remember the shroud of darkness around 'The Star of the Night' in my nightmares. It's then that Meliodas hops up and roundhouse kicks the beast in the chest. His magic dies around him and I shake my head to expel the visions.
'No, it must be because of the cloud-like similarities.' But my chest ceases like I just had the nightmare and I can't shake the feeling quickly enough. Meliodas looks over to me, cocky and sure of himself as he kicks the demon a second time. I try to return the smile, my throat closing and eyes widening but he goes blank before seemingly focusing on his fight. I try to do the same.
He headbutts the beast but the Hulk doesn't go down. He responds quickly and the demon wooshes a punch at Meliodas, who barely dodges in time. His hair flaps from the force but he succeeds. That's when Meliodas' attacking takes a turn. I know he aims to end it as he jumps, flips and knees the Hulk in the side of the face. Blood, teeth, and saliva fly across the arena. With a hopping, wound-up to kick, Meliodas removes his opponent from the cliffside altogether. The purple demon grows smaller and smaller while sailing through the air until he crests, falling to the town below. I inhale as a muted impact is heard followed by a high pitched scream.
'Captain' is announced the winner but when he is offered the prize gold he refuses. "I fought for my own reward. Use it to fix up the ring, or give it away." Meliodas flits by the crowd, throwing a few waves and slapping a few hands before he dips into the tent. It is just me inside of it now and he looks me over with his blank face before asking if I am ready to go.
I don't have a reason to stay but the thought of home isn't appealing. Still, I agree, thinking I must have done something wrong for him to shift this quickly. The only thing I can think of is not smiling back quickly enough when he was winning. He doesn't need any tending to as he visibly doesn't show his wounds and as I trail after him, leaving the shouting crowd behind, I understand what he meant a bit better. I want to touch him and without a reason to, it's hard for me to initiate even with his obvious permission for me to take that liberty. Now, I feel differently about me demanding him not to get hurt, but it had been nice. Maybe that upset him? I have taken a bit of our easiness away when we come across so little of it between us and now a kiss looms.
Unless he changed his mind about the kiss?
I blow the Sky Manta whistle when we reach the open clearing outside the wilds and I hear the beast flapping in the distance. Meliodas, at my side, watches it approach and I watch him, trying to find the answer in the curve of his cheek and slope of his lips. He wets them and I grow too warm to look. I turn to the beast as it lands and when he offers to help me up, I take his hand. He smiles at my acceptance and I hope the gesture bridges the gap between us that formed moments ago.
I know the general direction of home as that is the way we came and I take the reins again as we head in the right direction. I sit with my legs bent under me and he sits a little ways behind me but within arms reach. Our day out seems to be ending badly and when I steady the sky manta I turn to him. He looks pleased enough. I move to face him fully.
For a long moment we stare, him reserved and blank and me worrying away. His expression reminds me of how he waits at the gates at the end of our visits. Slowly, it dawns on me that he had been waiting for a kiss goodbye each time and now I owe him one. Has he been waiting for me to make the first move this entire time?
"Sir Meliodas," I whisper, afraid my voice is so low it will get lost in the rushing wind but he inclines his head as if he hears. "I've never, before when we..." I flush, too warm, and I squirm in my own skin, uncomfortable. "After we visited the vampires when I-" My throat makes a strange choking noise and I grow more embarrassed and my hands fling up to cover my face. "Nevermind," I mutter. I turn away but Meliodas reaches out and gently take my forearm to still me.
"Tell me. I want to know about you," he confesses and the soft bloom in my chest cracks its petals open a little farther. I resettle before him, inhale a breath and stare into his soothing green orbs.
"You were my first kiss," I confess. His eyes crinkle with a smile and his canines flash. I mean, it feels almost obvious that I know nothing due to how caged in I am in life. Meliodas' eyebrow quirks up.
"You might not believe this, but it was my first as well." His grin fades into his zeroed out self again as my jaw drops.
"I'm sorry!" My hands come up between us and waves around in panic, before I reach and grip at his torn shirt. "I should have asked! I thought I was giving you my first kiss not taking yours!" My stomach rolls and my chest grows tight. I have been so wrapped up in my own feelings I haven't considered what he would want. He hadn't seemed to care, but perhaps he had been shocked and not so blown away as I had thought?
Meliodas laughs. His head tosses back and my eyes snap to his bobbing Adam's apple, a smudge of soot is there leftover from his fight with Barzard. My grip falls away but his hand finds one of mine in their retreat and his other hand joins ours to cage mine in, holding it. Breathing becomes harder as his joyous expression centers on my confused one.
"I like you, Elizabeth," he starts, his voice dances with his eyes and his mouth tip up in a grin. "You did give me the best of gifts. It felt as if a rose petal fell from the heavens and caressed my lips so delicately I fear nothing will ever be as sweet in comparison."
I blink, unsure if I heard him correctly but when his hands around mine tightens fractionally and he graces me with a warm, melted smile, a fire blazes to life inside of me.
"Truly?" I whisper.
"All seven of my hearts stopped and honestly I'm dying to know if our next kiss will be the same." His voice is open, honest, and yet I can't seem to accept his kind words. He likes me, I am still stuck on that, the words circling around my head like a buzzing fly trying to find a place to land. My palm wraps around his as the rest of what he says plays again in my mind for me to process.
He is usually so closed off it is nice to see him like this. Was it the fighting that put him in such a good mood? Or is it getting away from our kingdoms? Do I dare hope it is from being with me and our upcoming kiss? I shift a little closer, worrying before I inhale a shaky breath just to exhale and meet his gaze.
"You- you did win a kiss," I mutter, steeling myself to do this again, and his grin flashes wide but he neutrals as if trying to take this seriously. It reminds me of how he braced himself before his fights earlier today. "Close your eyes," I press, and when he shuts them some of the nerves in my tummy fades. How can he be so closed off most of the time but his eyes implore so intensely?
A chunk of time passes where I do nothing. Our hair tousles in the wind and when one of my locks breaks free and grazes over his arm his lips part in a soft sigh. I remove my hand from his and lean, my heart racing and my eyes pinching but I hold my breath as my fingers come up to touch either side of his cheeks. Meliodas angles to me, our lips lining up, ready, and I stare, noting his harsh breathing. It mingles with my own breaths and when I feel him exhale on my face it sparks my own jilted one. He stops breathing altogether.
I touch my lips to his and spread my fingers up into his hair, feeling him gently press back as if afraid to move too much. As if he will scare me away. I pull back just enough to shakily inhale but press forward again to feel his giving flesh against my own. He compared me to a rose petal but he feels and tastes like sweetbread to me. A similar hunger sparks in my core and I shiver as I realize I want to devour him.
In a few books, there have been scenes of kisses. Of fires starting and bombs exploding when characters caress as we are, but this is different. Nothing goes boom, instead, a slow build of sensations inflate inside of me. He is firm where I am soft and I like that. I feel as if I am slipping on the edge of my sensibilities as my feelings grow into a twisting urge to touch more of him, to get closer.
His chest rumbles in a growl as I linger on my third kiss, grazing my bottom lip across his top one in my retreat. The sound reverberates in my own chest and I breathe, our caress separating but my hands weave in farther to cup the back of his head to keep him here. I am not done and I inch my knees closer. My eyes open wide as I lick my lips to taste them. I can still feel him there and I wish they tasted like him, so I kiss him again, more solidly to mark myself with his taste.
"Meliodas," I whisper, a hair's breadth from another dip into him but his eyes open from the sound. His pupils are blown so wide only a thin band of green remain around the edges. "Kiss me." I direct so softly. I don't know how he hears, but his hands leave his lap. One rests on my outer thigh and the other tenderly pats my hair down until his fingers reach my neck. He doesn't pull me, as I expect, he uses his kiss to press up as he moves to his knees.
His hand at my thigh roams with barely-there touches to stop at my waist. I gasp, my mouth parting hot against his and his chest rumbles deeply again. So many sensations course through me I close my eyes as if to endure better, to feel more of what he has awoken inside of me. I am not sure how to move or what to do but we seem to manage well enough as his fingers tickle at the back of my neck and my hands fist in his hair.
"Open," he breathes and him talking against my lips feel so nice I inhale a gasp, giving him what he requests. His bottom lip slides in between mine and a breathy noise escapes me. I jolt from the sound, alarmed but too lost, having slipped from the edge of rationality while falling into Meliodas' wicked mouth.
I love how warm he feels, how my insides heat with him and I press my thighs together as I return the favor and move against him to press my bottom lip between his. One of my hands releases his hair to caress down his neck to hold him at the back of his shoulder and I use it to guide him closer. I suck, slightly, at his lip and he groans, his own fist clutching at my waist noticeably and the very tip of his tongue pokes as if he is wetting his lips but catching mine. I shudder, the little suction I have pops free as I gasp against him, breathing unsteadily.
"Again," I hush. I can feel his panting breaths mingling with mine and when I press another kiss to him, our lips part together and ever so tentatively our tongues touch. I quiver, my body burns and I moan as we explore. He seems just as caught up, making strangling noises when I dip into his mouth for the first time and our knees tap together as I inch closer.
He continuously rumbles and the noise spurs me on while his gentleness leaves me aching in another way. I had been so nervous to kiss him but now I don't want to stop. I can't be close enough and when his arm wraps around me to hold me against his hard torso I reward him with a deeper kiss. My breath trembles into his mouth and he absorbs it like a sponge left to dry out too long.
Meliodas shifts forward and ever so slightly something makes contact with my inner thigh. It is warm and firm but too much. I flinch, dropping my hands to retreat them protectively over my heart. I shake my head, eyes wide but he is still, chest still rumbling and lids shut. Meliodas' hands have moved to let me back away but they stay in the air as if he doesn't have the control over his body to let them fall limp or position them.
I catch my breath but Meliodas is still panting and his chest heaves with the exhales. His lips are parted slightly and with each sharp inhale his nose flares as if scenting something but his expression is relaxed. He calms, sitting back on his heels and drops his hands to his lap. Meliodas keeps his eyes closed and I flush, turning away from him to look at anything else.
The trees under us are lush, the valley's open and a castle looms up ahead but as I look around, I didn't know where we are. How long have we been kissing? Are we lost? I thought I aimed the sky manta in the right direction but I haven't paid attention and if we hit a wind current we would have drifted. With careful crawling, I return to the reins but I don't know the world well enough to even guess. If I had a map...
"Meliodas." I call and he hums as his acknowledgment. I glance back and his eyes are still closed as if he is just waking up from a dream. I chuckle, "We're lost." He barely cracks his eyes open, turning from me and brings his hand up as if blocking the sun to make a little shield with his palm on his brow. He looks around and points. I abide and when I give him a, "thank you", I spot that his eyes are closed again.
He did that the last time I kissed him. I flush, thinking he must have taken it seriously when I asked him to close his eyes or, maybe his hearts really did stop? I balk at the idea, turning to look him over. Is he truly this affected? My own heart races at the thought.
"Do you really have seven hearts?" I ask, trying to remember if I ever read a demon anatomy book. I thought their species differed so vastly, just by what I visually have seen, that I hadn't considered a 'standard' among them. There would have to be, to be a completely separate species. The similarities have to be numerous and I almost cursed myself for overlooking this. I should know this stuff if I am going to marry Meliodas.
Not 'if'.
I have to marry Meliodas. My fate is set and I wish we can unfolded differently, I know I would be less wary of him if I had a choice.
Some of the floating calm that has poured into me hisses out in a rush of breath, the last dregs remain and I hold on to the last bits of the light feeling. My hands sag on the reins and I hunch into myself. He likes me though, I know that. He reacts to me and hasn't kissed anyone before too. Which... is weird isn't it? He is free to go where he pleases and do what he wants.
"Yeah," he answers over the wind. "How many wings do you have? Or do goddesses control how many they summon?"
"I only have four." I stretch my shoulders back, feeling a little better that Meliodas didn't know something as simple to me as how many hearts he has is to him. He smiles when I peek back but his hair hangs over his face, blocking his eyes. The landscape starts to look familiar after a few flaps of the sky manta's body and I look to the clouds, trying to spot my city.
"Did you like it?" He coaxes and I flush. Of course, our kisses blew me away. My core still pulses and I want to do it all over again but fear we will be spotted by a scouting goddess. He breathes life into me and I lost my senses.
"Yeah." I mutter, nervous when I turn to him and he doesn't meet my eyes. "Did you like it?"
"I always love being with you. I'd take you away all the time if I could." He quips, he rubs at his face as I realize he means if I liked Viazel, not about his kisses. I flush all the hotter. Now that we are closer I drop the reins and sit half facing him and half watching where we are going.
"I'd like that," I admit, awkward as the Sky Manta curves nearer the city. A few angel guards gleaming in bright armor near us, scrutinizing and Hendrickson grips his sword as he stares at my demon escort. Instinctively, I reach my arm out to angle it between the guard and Meliodas. It doesn't do much but it does draw the sentry's eyes away.
We pass, soaring with a little circle before we land in the back of my castle with a solid thump. Meliodas hops off first, reaching up for me and rather than fly I slip down the slope of the beasts back into his arms. I grip his forearms as he lifts me to my feet and in the move, he dips his face into my hair. With a quick inhale he smells me. We are separating, my fingers lingering on his bicep when a snort sounds.
I jump back, feeling as if we are caught doing something wrong, but we really are not. I look to Meliodas but he is looking toward the sound and I follow his line of sight. A black beast of a Wyvern sniffs the sky, another snort cut through the air as it exhales through its nose and as it steps forward, Meliodas positions himself between me and the dragon.
He needn't have.
"Who's a good boy!" I coo, stepping around Meliodas until his arm comes out to stop me. I smile to him but he doesn't look my way, intent on the beast. "Come here!" I call to the dragon and the beasts horned head dips, tongue lolling as he bounces nearer, bigger than the sky manta. Meliodas simply drops his arm and seems to want to see what will happen, walking alongside me as I move to meet the sweet beast.
As soon as the dragon looms overhead before me, I reach up and scratch at his underbelly, then up and under his chin which he moves to give me access to. "Veronica acts like this good boy is all bite but he is just goo if you scratch him right. I think that's how she captured him but she will never admit it." The Wyvern, Griamore, flops, the ground rumbling as he rolls to expose his belly and the two of us duck under his head as he lays it down to stretch.
Meliodas chuckles as I scratch my fingers farther down to the dragon's tummy. A deep purr rumbles from under my hands and I give Griamore soothing words and compliments. "You are the toughest boy, the best boy." I show Meliodas the beasts tickle spot and Griamore shudders, his scales clicking and wings spread wide to shade us from the sun. "He'll do anything for cheese too." I give Meliodas a side whisper in a joking tone but he watches the dragon stretch without responding.
"You take down dragons," Meliodas mutters, "with your little fingers alone." He doesn't look when I turn to him.
Griamore snorts, his nose looping around to nudge at my hip and I stumble from the force, catching myself on the beasts rounded chest before me. I laugh, righting myself to push him back. The dragon plays dead, flopping back dramatically and Meliodas' chuckle rings through the air. I jerk to catch his expression but he turns away. After spending so much time with him where he is constantly staring at all parts of me, I feel strange that he isn't doing that now.
"Why won't you look at me?" I ask, stepping back from the playing dragon. My hands clasp together as I worry that perhaps our kiss has changed his mind, that maybe he doesn't like me anymore. Has he been trying to force his feelings for me this whole time and I am so bad at kissing he can't even face me?
"I don't want to scare you," he confesses, squaring up to me but his gaze stays down at the grass between us. The sky manta lifts off, and I frown, glancing over at the renegade flapping animal back to Meliodas.
"From looking?" I puzzle, bending to try and meet his gaze. He takes a long exhaled breath before straightening, meeting my eyes. A tiny gasp escapes as the start of his demon mark is shining on his forehead, a black smudge that kind of looks like a swirl. Rather than the emeralds that usually shine, his eyes are deep onyx. My jaw slackens but I snap it closed and cover my racing heart with my palms. He's a demon but it doesn't matter. "How did... I mean, is there a reason... or does it happen sometimes?"
I know very little about demons and I feel inadequate. His eyes storm, the black in them moving as if it is alive and as I look into him, I do grow more and more afraid but he has an actual expression on his face. His brow is pinched in concentration and apprehension, as if he is anticipating a scream to burst from my lips at any second.
"Inside I have a lot of power and it is sentient to a degree. It's... like a soul for me, demons in general struggle to contain their inner selves." His voice is careful as if talking me down from doing bodily harm. "I won't hurt you." He promises and I smile, waveringly but I force myself to step toward him. I nod, bending and to show him I am not terrified I aim to kiss him once more. His dark eyes widen as I near to give him a press of lips like our first one but an angry shout stops me.
My sister's voice is heavy in condemnation and I yelp, stepping back with a burning face. I spin, alarmed at having been caught. Griamore rolls, eyes opening to look at Veronica as if the sun rises and sets from her grumpy silhouette. "Father is making me go to the fifth wedding of the giant king!" Her finger comes up to point at me as if I caused this.
I look down at myself as if where she points will have the answer. A fifth wedding? Why is that my fault?
"I haven't gotten to ask her yet," Meliodas calls out, looking back at the dragon rather than my sister. His demon mark must not have faded yet. "I petitioned your father first, with all the details, but I thought you might want to see Megadozer. The giants do weddings much differently than either of our clans." He grins sideways and I look between Meliodas and Veronica, who is storming nearer.
"And, stop reducing my monster of a dragon to a weak little puppy." Veronica admonishes, glowering over Griamore with a long angry set to her eyes. "He may not look like it now but he eats demons in one gulp." She means it to intimidate Meliodas but I giggle.
"He can't eat Meliodas now though, I showed him Griamore's tickle spot." I turn, strolling that way to dig back into the Dragon's hide and the beast gives jumping snorts from his nose, his version of a laugh.
"Elizabeth!" Veronica scowls but Meliodas chuckles, his hands find his pockets and he taps back on his heels as if unsure if he should leave or not. "I'm not going to that idiot's wedding! He remarries with the seasons! I need you to stay here, or convince father-"
"Just don't go," I tell her, leaving Griamore and walking to Meliodas' side. "I'm going to see Meliodas to the gate, we can eat together or have tea when I get back, we'll come up with a plan. But, since Meliodas asked me to go, I'm going," I address Veronica but take Meliodas' arm. My sister stomps to Griamore, snapping at him to get into a 'warrior stance' but the dragon is too relaxed, looking wide-eyed and adorable as he ignores her demands.
We leave them behind. His arm is warm as we walk through the gardens and around the side of the castle I grow more and more flushed. His head tilts in my direction and I hear him inhale and exhale shakily.
"I'm sorry I didn't ask you first, about Megadozer. I thought it would take Lord Bartra longer to approve." Meliodas hushes, warily flashing his dark eyes to look at mine before they flit away.
"My father likes you, he didn't before. But, he didn't know you. He does now, with me recounting some of our talks and whatnot," I explain and he gives a little 'huh' before we meander down the front path and around the stairs that lead up to the front doors of the castle. We go the opposite way, farther from my home. "I want to thank you for the little adventure and for... uh, the incentive," I whisper at the end and his laugh chimes.
"I can still taste you on my lips," he smirks, staring and when we reach the gate I can't look away. "I'll see you in a few days." Meliodas opens the gate, dips around me and waves his goodbye. My smile matches his as he continues down the street, walking backward to stare.
I turn when far in the distance he falls out of sight. Now, to see what I can do about Veronica. I return to where I left her but as I approach another voice rings through the air. Hendrickson is speaking to her angrily and I listen as he asks about another scouting mission.
I give my sister a confused look and she shrugs diving headfirst into a rant about how demons should stick to their own kind as she takes my arm and guides me away. "I don't care if they have their own magic that binds them, you stay away from Meliodas, Ellie. He isn't good! Don't go to Megadozer. It's two nights and that is too long to be alone with him! Who knows what will happen!"
But her words don't frighten me. Instead, I grow excited. Two days away, on an adventure! Who knows what will happen!