As the breeze glided through her hair, Elizabeth sighed as she watched all the members of the Seven Deadly Sins train from afar. With five Commandments still loose, they didn't exactly have the luxury of doing nothing. Since the fall of Camelot, the Sins had been training endlessly as they prepared for the final battle to come. It was hard to say who was putting in the most effort, as they were all getting stronger to protect something that was very dear to them. Elizabeth admired them all, every single one of them. She aspired to be strong-willed and physically tough like they were. Not backing down in the face of danger, instead, facing it head-on. Alas, she could only hope, as she was still figuring out her powers. Right now, she was pretty useless. Sure she had the ability to heal, but it wasn't a combat style. It wasn't like she could knock out her opponents with healing. Elizabeth looked down, both her bangs covered her eyes. If only she were stronger, then she would be useful to the Sins. They had done so much for her, she had to pay them back somehow.

"Yo Elizabeth!" Meliodas shouted.

Elizabeth lifted her eyes up and saw that the group was walking towards the steps of the tavern where she was sat. Both Ban and Meliodas no longer had shirts on which was the result every time they had a battle. The two men were having a heated argument again, probably over something stupid. Ban was making his angry face which meant he was close to punch his short friend, while Meliodas pointed fingers at him. The closer they got, the more Elizabeth could hear. And she was right, they were discussing something stupid.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Butts rule captain. That squishy firm feeling of the behind beats one of the fronts for sure", Ban explained.

"You're out of your mind if you think butts can even compare to boobs. But to be fair, you've never groped Elizabeth so you wouldn't know", Meliodas replied.

Elizabeth's entire face immediately reddened at the sound of Meliodas's words. Now that she thought about it, he was very drawn to her chest area compared to her behind. He did indeed prefer boobs over butts. Meliodas walked closer to Elizabeth and gave her right boob a squeeze. The princess gasped and pleaded for him to stop. Meliodas laughed evilly before squeezing once more, this time a little harder.

"Sir Meliodas please stop!" Elizabeth cried out.

"Let go of her you filthy animal," Ban said.

"What's the matter, feeling jealous much?" Meliodas teased.

Ban just waved his hand dismissively as he entered the tavern, followed by everyone else. They all took their seats at a round table and began eating, while Merlin went over specifics. Elizabeth had seen her do incredible things and she was Vivian's former teacher, so her abilities were beyond what Elizabeth could ever imagine. Perhaps Lady Merlin could help her get stronger since she was an exceptional magician herself. But Elizabeth doubted that she would be interested in teaching someone as weak as she was. Lady Merlin probably wanted someone with magical potential, something she clearly lacked. After all, she failed the trial given to her by Lady Zaneri in the town of the Druids. If she couldn't even succeed in something so basic, how was she supposed to get stronger? Maybe it was time to accept that she would never truly be part of the team. She had nothing valuable to give or bring to the table. In other words, she was just extra baggage. Elizabeth rose from her seat and moved away from the table. This caught everyone's attention.

"If you would all excuse me," Elizabeth said turning away from them.

"Is everything okay?" Diane, who had been shrunk down to human size, asked concerned. She noticed that the princess had been acting more reserved than usual lately and had been spending long periods of time in isolation. She wasn't acting like herself.

"Yes, I'm fine," Elizabeth lied before heading upstairs to the room she shared with Meliodas. All the Seven Deadly Sins members looked at each other before looking at their captain who shrugged. Meliodas was as clueless as they were.

"Well if she's not going to finish that, I'll gladly eat for her!" Hawk said between mouthfuls.

"Hawk!" Everyone shouted glaring at the piggy.

"I'll go and see if she's okay," Meliodas announced while rising to his feet. He insisted that Merlin continues with the briefing, she would fill him in later. Merlin agreed, and he left the group to go upstairs.

Meliodas stopped in front of his bedroom and knocked. There was no response. The short man frowned and tried again, this time leaning against the door frame. He heard faint cries and sneezes. Meliodas raised an eyebrow, then pushed the door open slowly. When he saw the state of the princess, his heart sank. Elizabeth immediately sniffed and wiped her tears away.

"Elizabeth..." Meliodas managed to utter.

"I'm fine Sir Meliodas, really, it's nothing. Everything's okay", Elizabeth said between sniffs and sobs.

"I can tolerate a lot but having people I care about lie to me just won't do. Especially not you", Meliodas said sternly.

Elizabeth gulped, and Meliodas's face softened as he sat on the bed by her side and stroked her cheek. At first, the cold surface of his fingers shocked her, but she became accustomed to it quickly enough. Elizabeth looked away ashamed of herself. She felt like a child all over again. She remembered that when she was younger and used to be upset, her father would comfort her in the exact same way. She hated this, Meliodas was pitying her. It meant she was still a little girl. How was she supposed to become stronger if she still needed to be babied every five seconds?

"I'm sorry Sir Meliodas. For being such a burden for you."

"Come again?"

"You and the Seven Deadly Sins have always been there for me. You came to my rescue when I needed you the most, and you've saved my life more times than I could count. But what have I ever done for you? I'm not useful, and I'm not strong at all. I can't fight, and I don't have any effective powers-"

"Enough." Elizabeth looked up, and a gasp escaped her lips. Meliodas's voice was sharp, he only said one word, but he said all he needed to say. Elizabeth couldn't guess his state of mind, his locks covered his emerald eyes.

"Sir Meliodas..."

"I refuse to hear any more of that nonsense. I protect you because I want to, not because you owe me something in return. I will continue to be by your side and save your life a thousand times more until I no longer have to fight to keep you. Do you understand now? You are the most important person in my life Ellie", at that point Meliodas looked up. His face was serious. It was obvious he meant what he said. Elizabeth looked down and saw that their hands were intertwined in her lap. She smiled.

"I.. I am?" Elizabeth stuttered a little, surprised by his confession.

"Of course you are! Now about you getting stronger, I'm sure Merlin can help ya out. If not, I think we can spare another trip to the town of the Druids. They are definitely the best-suited teachers for your type of magic."

"Okay! Well, that sounds like a plan!"

"Yeah, and Elizabeth?"

"Yes, sir Meliodas?"

"Don't ever say such silly things again. You are a valuable member of our team, and you belong with me."

With that, Meliodas left the room and headed downstairs. Elizabeth was left flustered on the bed. His words had warmed her heart, so she no longer needed to cry. But more importantly, he said she was the most important person in his life. She couldn't help but blush when he said that. Wait, did that mean he had feelings for her? Did he like her like her? It was always so hard to know since he toyed with her so much. He was a prankster and a flirt, which made it hard to uncover his true feelings sometimes. But this time he was serious, Elizabeth was sure of this. After all, he called her Ellie. The last time he called her that, was when he promised to come back to her alive when she was a little girl. And now, he revealed that she meant something to him. That part stood out the most, but he also said some strange things - he said he would save her life a thousand time until he no longer had to fight to keep her? What a peculiar thing to say. Those words sounded terribly similar to the ones he said to her on the day he killed Fraudin. I'm scared of turning back into the person I once was, but I have to let it happen. Otherwise, I won't be able to save you. There wasn't a clear meaning she could decipher from that, but she could tell that he was committed to protecting and keeping her. But what exactly did that mean? Elizabeth heard a loud bang and snapped back into reality. She looked out of the window and saw that the Sins had returned outside to resume training. She watched the mysterious captain evade a hit while countering with another.

"Sir Meliodas, just what are you hiding from me?" Elizabeth whispered against the window.