Chapter 9: Meeting

Oh, I love the sound of your unfettered voice
And the shedding of tears lead me this way
So tell me, who will ever gonna stop us
On this, the eve of our revolution
No more hesitation, I will put up a flag
To stake my claim on your heart tonight

Elizabeth sat up with a soft groan. She pressed her hand to her head, wondering what had happened to her. It felt like she had been hit by something, her temples throbbing as she slowly opened her eyes.

She gasped when she looked around. There was no bed, no windows, just the stone ground and the stale air of the underground. Elizabeth spun around, her eyes landing on the dark and silent Horn of Cernunnos just a few feet away. She stared, unbelieving, until she felt something in her hand.

Looking down, she saw it was her blue earring. It must have fallen out, she thought—and then noticed her hand was not her hand, her clothes were not her clothes, and her body was not her own.

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped. "I'm Meliodas again!"

Quickly she scrambled up, and with a last glance at the cold and quiet horn, she stuffed the earring in Meliodas' pocket and hurried towards the steps. As Elizabeth climbed, she wondered what he was doing here. The Horn of Cernunnos was underneath her castle. But if she was Meliodas, then that meant he had come to Liones! Was he here now, in her home?

Her heart was pounding as she hurried her pace. Elizabeth heaved a shaking breath as she reached the top, blinking in the daylight as she emerged. If Meliodas was here, in her body, it shouldn't be too difficult to find him. And then maybe… maybe they could meet, and figure out what was happening to them… maybe he could help her with her father, and the Holy Knights, and she could meet Merlin and Ban and Hawk and have a cake in town and drink something at the Boar Hat… they could walk around Dalmary and throw pennies into the fountain, and he could show her his drawings, and—

All of her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she stepped onto the surface. "Liones?" she whispered. "It's… gone."

Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening as she took in the utter nothingness around her. Eyes welling with tears, she looked around to see what was once the castle, her home, but was now a field of little more than wilderness. Only a few scraps of the castle's foundation remained, but the walls were gone, the wood and the stone that had been carefully crafted, the stained glass windows, the flags and banners. Slowly she turned in a circle, a sob escaping her throat. The ground was scorched, grass appearing between cracks in the ground.

Beyond the castle was even more nothingness. The city that surrounded the castle had vanished. Elizabeth could look out a window and see stretches of buildings, barns, cobblestoned streets lined with shops and merchants and homes. There was no school, no smith, no stores, no stables. There were no people, no guards, no knights. They were gone too. Howzer and Jericho were gone. Her family was gone.

As she took it all in, Elizabeth tried to remember something, anything to give her a clue. The last thing she could recall was standing on a castle walkway with Jericho and Howzer. They had been watching for the comet—what had happened? It appeared in the sky like a vision, and the people were cheering—weren't they?

She began to shake as fear flooded her. There was screaming, she remembered now. Screaming, and heat, and bright red fire. There was a hand on her arm, someone saying her name, but Elizabeth had simply stared at the comet in the sky, thinking of Meliodas.

"Does this mean…?" Her mind tried to process everything. Think, think, she scolded herself, but there were too many pictures: the comet, the streak of blue in the sky, the shouts of the others, Howzer saying her name. There was a terror that took root deep inside of her, and Elizabeth fell to her knees.

She looked down at the grass that grew where the hallway to the courtyard once was. "Does this mean I… died?" she said aloud, her voice shaking.

The moment he was through the door, Meliodas heard his name. "Meliodas?" it called. "Don't you remember?"

He whirled around, pressing back against the wood of the door. There was no one there, however: just the hallway, dim without the lamps lit, that would lead to the stairs that would take him down to the horn. All he heard was his own breathing, and he pressed a hand to his chest.

"Meliodas!"

It came again, and his eyes went wide. That voice, he knew that voice, and he closed his eyes, trying to place it, when a memory surfaced.

Elizabeth was hurrying to dress, slipping the blue bead he had found among his things into her ear. It is an earring, Merlin was right, Meliodas thought.

"Where are you going?" Veronica demanded.

"I'm going to Dalmary," Elizabeth said quickly. "I… have a date."

Meliodas gasped along with Veronica. "You have a boyfriend in Dalmary?" she cried.

"I didn't say it was for me," Elizabeth said dismissively.

Meliodas followed her out the door, watching as she ran through the castle and secured a horse from the stable. Without looking back she rode through the east gate and took the road through the city, going at an easy but determined gallop. "If I suddenly show up," Elizabeth said to the horse, the one time she stopped to water it, "will I be a nuisance, or a surprise?" She sighed and patted the horse. "He might not like it if I do."

The memory continued as she rode, the city behind her growing smaller and smaller, until she was in the countryside. Meliodas watched, amazed, wondering what she was doing—why would she just leave, and not tell anyone?

A short while later, the town came into view. Elizabeth slowed the horse down and pulled her cloak around herself as she approached. She turned onto the road and passed the sign that said "Dalmary Town", one he had passed himself, once.

Elizabeth climbed from her horse and strapped it to a post, adjusting her cloak once more, and then began to walk through the streets. Meliodas still followed her, watching in amazement as she went up and down streets that he had walked himself. Once in a while she would stop and speak to someone, asking if they had seen a man with blonde hair and a dragon tattoo on his arm; his throat was thick as one person after another told her no.

After a while Elizabeth stopped to rest, sitting on the edge of the fountain he remembered sitting on himself. "I guess it won't happen," she sighed. "But… what if it did? What would I do?" She pressed her hands against her knees. "Would I annoy him? Would it be awkward? Or maybe…" Elizabeth smiled to herself. "Maybe he'd be glad to see me."

She continued walking, going to another part of town, stopping in taverns and bookshops, looking in the windows of the stores, examining the pictures for sale on the street. The sun was just beginning to set, the sky moving its slow way from bright blue to a more muted one. "I guess we won't meet," Elizabeth sighed, finally heading back towards the front of the town where her horse waited. "But there's one thing for certain. I know if we see each other, we'll definitely know right away: that you were the one inside of me, and I was the one…"

Her eyes looked up, and Elizabeth stopped. Meliodas turned too and saw a signboard, moving with Elizabeth to read over the things hanging there. He was surprised to see the wanted posters for the Seven Deadly Sins; were there actually towns that still thought of them as criminals? Elizabeth huffed out a breath, her hand brushing over the poster for Ban, then for Merlin, before finally resting on his own.

Her expression turned to one of confusion, and Meliodas could not help but chuckle to himself. How that wanted picture looked so unlike him he could never get to the bottom of; he could only imagine what Elizabeth was thinking. After staring for several long minutes, she continued reading the signs. He was surprised to see several advertising specials around the arrival of the comet, and a notice from the town that the square would be open that evening for the people to come out and watch.

Suddenly she reached out and yanked a flier from the board. His eyes grew as large as hers when he saw the advertisement was for the Boar Hat.

Spinning around, Elizabeth dashed to the first person she saw, showing them the poster. The person pointed, and with a hurried thanks she ran down a side street. It led to the edge of the town, but once she cleared the buildings he saw a small rise up ahead—and at the top, his own tavern.

The bell jingled its familiar sound as she entered. The main room was crowded, and Elizabeth edged inside, slipping through the bodies as she inched towards the bar counter. Meliodas watched her, but then realized he was himself—behind the bar, pouring one drink after another. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone sit down on a stool, but was too busy listening to the more rowdy customers at the other end.

He had almost forgotten about the girl who had sat down until he heard his name. "Meliodas!" It was so sweet, and so unlike the rougher voices of the men, that it caught his attention. "Meliodas!"

He went to the end and looked at the girl calling his name, his eyebrows raised, wondering how she knew what it was. She was grinning at him, her smile so beautiful he could not help but stare. "Meliodas!" she said again, her eyes bright. "It's me!"

"Huh?" He blinked, frowning. He for sure would have remembered a girl this gorgeous.

Her face fell. "Don't you… remember?"

"Sorry, who are you?"

Another customer called for a drink, and he turned, distracted, to look over his shoulder. "Hey, did you want to order something?" asked Meliodas as he glanced back.

Her head was down and her cheeks on fire. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and he thought, what a weird girl.

"Come on, we need drinks over here!" The crowd at the counter moved a bit, and as Meliodas' eyes went to see what was causing the trouble, he saw her sliding off of her stool in the corner of his eye.

"Wait a minute!" he snapped at the customer, who glowered back at him. But Meliodas ignored the idiot and went back to the girl—who was now gone.

His eyes scanned the crowd and saw a flash of silver hair. "Hey!" he called. Quickly he hurried around the counter, once more ignoring the protests, and elbowed his way through the throng. I have got to find more help, running this bar by myself is too much, he thought for a moment.

"Hold on!" Meliodas reached her, throwing his hand out and grazing her arm. "What's your name?"

She turned, and her blue eye flashed. "It's Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth? Hey, wait a second—"

"It's Elizabeth!" The crowd was so loud, and someone pushed him; he reached out a hand to stop her, but instead felt something small pressed into his. Meliodas felt a hand grab his vest and yank him aside. He turned and shrugged the rude customer away, but when he spun around to look for the girl again, she was gone.

Meliodas shook his head. "Three years ago," he said to himself, his heart beating so fast it felt as though it would burst, "three years ago, you showed up at the Boar Hat… you came to see… me."

At the other end of the hallway, Elizabeth slowly climbed to her feet. The tears had finally stopped, and she took one step, and then another, her eyes on the ground, pulling the vest closer around Meliodas' body against a wind that blew sharply and chilled her. She felt so heavy with the weight of everything that had happened. Was she dead? Was Meliodas dead? Where was she, and how?

"Elizabeth!"

Startled, she looked up. Someone screamed her name again, but it was her, it was her voice!

"Meliodas?" she called.

"Elizabeth!" There it came again, and her mouth dropped open in shock. "You're here, right? You're here, inside my body?"

She gasped. "Meliodas?" Elizabeth turned around, looking around for him. His voice was so close, but there was nothing to see but the emptiness of Liones' ruins. "Meliodas, where are you?"

Meliodas jogged down the hallway, his eyes crawling over the walls and floor, looking for a clue or a door or a window, somewhere where she could be. "That's Elizabeth, I know it is!" he muttered to himself. "I know I heard her… but where is she?"

"Meliodas!" There it came again, and it was his voice calling out to himself. "Meliodas!"

"I'm here!" he shouted. "Elizabeth, I'm here!"

He took off in a run, barreling down the hallway towards the door. Maybe she was down under the ground, with the horn? Would her voice travel that far? He picked up the pace, the door getting closer and closer with every passing second until—

They both stop. Something is there, pulling each backwards, and both freeze where they stand, scared to move, scared to breathe. But then they both turn, slowly, as the light in the hallway gets a bit brighter with the setting sun shining, and the light outside gets a bit dimmer as the time passes into twilight.

"Elizabeth, is that you?"

"Meliodas, are you there?"

Each reaches out a hand, grasping for something invisible. They each reach for something they cannot name: a feeling, a ghost, a moment that will fill the emptiness of the hallway and the field, the emptiness inside of them.

From the side, a purple glow catches the attention of both. Deep within Liones, the goddess power awakens, and the Horn of Cernunnos flares with a gasping energy. This meeting of two souls fuels the dormant curse that lived between them and within them, and whatever goddess magic is left in the world responds to the power that is Meliodas and Elizabeth, together.

Elizabeth blinks at the violet-colored glow, and then turns her head back. As she does, she sees Meliodas there, doing the same. She is trembling, unable to think, unable to draw a breath: it is the one she knows, and she recognizes him, not only from this mysterious force that has drawn them together over the past months. No, she recognizes him from before, and before, and before, back over thousands of years, as another mysterious force had brought them together, staring in awe at one another just like this: love.

Then, Meliodas does something amazing: he smiles. He tilts his head and huffs out a little laugh, the sound more precious than anything in the world. "Elizabeth," he says, gently, and looks up into her eyes.

A long moment passes as they take in the sight of the other. Meliodas admires her as he always has, the beautiful face now dusted pink and wet with tears, her eyes shimmering as she stares in wonder. Elizabeth does not notice at all, blinking them away with long lashes, a sob welling up inside of her to see the familiar half-grin and green eyes that had captivated her so long ago.

"Meliodas," she finally says, and takes a step forward. "Is it really you?"

Her arms go out, and so do his, and they embrace. Her face presses into his neck as his own goes to her hair, their hands clutching one another, unable to get close enough. All is silent as they simply hold one another, their hearts and souls connecting once more.

Elizabeth has experienced this before; as she holds her love tightly, the memories of all of their times meeting floods through her, filling her with emotion. She tilts her face a bit, her lips brushing on his skin, sighing to find he still feels the same, still tastes the same. One hand slides through the long locks that cover his neck, and she feels the strong arms around her tighten.

Meliodas, however, experiences this for the first time. Each time they had met, he already knew her; how could he ever not recognize Elizabeth, the other half of himself? But this time, it is different, because he had forgotten. The question of how and why is pushed underneath his own wonderment: is this how she has felt, every time, all one hundred and six times they have met before? Does she feel this same overwhelming incredulity, this wave of feeling that has left him breathless and relieved all at the same time?

They hold one another, until Elizabeth eases back. Her hands cup his face, the tears flowing freely, and Meliodas' heart skips when she laughs. "Meliodas?" Her thumbs graze his cheeks as he smiles at her. "Is it really you?"

"I came all this way to see you," he replies, his arms still around her waist. "It wasn't easy, since you were so far away this time."

"But how?" she whispers. "Back then, I…"

"I left a request for the goddess." Meliodas chuckles as his fingers spread across her back. "I can't believe they listened to me."

Elizabeth sucks in a breath and takes a step back. "The goddess? In the Horn? Meliodas, the curse!"

"I know," he says sadly. "I remember it too."

She sighs, leaning in once more to graze her forehead against his. Their lips are barely touching, and Elizabeth looks deeply into his eyes, the memory of their parents and the curse and the pain of dying and living piercing like a knife… until Meliodas drags his hands downward and grabs a handful of her backside.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, jumping away. "You-!"

He is laughing even as she blushes, and Elizabeth folds her arms in a not-entirely-sincere show of indignity. "You are still such a pervert!"

"What?" Meliodas looks surprised and reaches out for her, but Elizabeth scowls. "I remember what you were doing. You were always touching me, when you were me!"

Meliodas laughs and rubs the back of his neck. "You know it's not like I never—"

"Veronica saw you!" she accuses. "It was embarrassing!"

"I couldn't help myself!" he pleads. "It's not my fault you're so perfect!"

Hearing this, Elizabeth pauses; how can she argue with that? "Yeah, well," she mumbles, glancing at him through her lashes, "I can't believe after all this time you're still trying to get in a grope."

"It was just the one time," says Meliodas sheepishly.

Elizabeth snorts. "The one time?"

"Look, I'm sorry…"

Elizabeth laughs, and suddenly the emotion bubbles up and over. She is laughing, and Meliodas joins her, and it goes on for a long moment as she is nearly doubled over and he has his face buried in one hand. The sound of their laughter echoes, and Meliodas looks up. In the distance, a streak of blue is parting the sky; the comet is approaching.

He shoves his hands in his pockets, and then his eyes go wide. She watches as he pulls them out again, opening up one palm. Inside is the blue earring, and on instinct Elizabeth reaches up and brushes her earlobe, finding it gone.

"Almost forgot about this," Meliodas says, and then extends his hand. "You gave this to me, at the tavern… but it was before we started switching, and I didn't know you then." Elizabeth carefully plucks the blue bead from his hand, and he watches her as she slips it into her ear. "I've kept it for three years, but I think it's time you had it back."

She smiles at him and tucks her hair behind her ear. The light glances off of the bead as her finger traces the shape of it. "What do you think?" she asks.

Meliodas grins. "Beautiful as ever."

They smile at one another; she reaches out, and so does he, and their fingers lace together. "Elizabeth," he says, sadly. "You still have a lot to do."

She looks up, her eyes tracing the path of the comet. "I know," she breathes. "Hendrickson… I have to stop him."

"It's more than that," Meliodas says, their eyes meeting again. "The curse… Elizabeth, I forgot you. I've been forgetting you every day. But this is the first time! I've always known who you were, I've kept the memories of us this entire time. But this time, I forgot."

"What does it mean?" she murmurs.

"I think the curse is beginning to break," he says. He hangs his head a bit, the bangs falling into his eyes. "You are supposed to die and be reborn, and that happened—but I'm supposed to remember and find you again."

"But… I didn't," Elizabeth interrupts, blinking at him. "I didn't die—at least, not the way I am supposed to. This time, I didn't die in front of you."

His mouth drops open as his pulse quickens. "You're right! You died here, while I was in Dalmary—Elizabeth! This could be what breaks our curse."

She gives a shaking laugh and her cheeks flush in excitement. "I need to go back. I need to stop Hendrickson. I have to live, and then I'll—"

Meliodas shivers as she slides her fingers through his hair, tracing the shape of his face. "I'll find you, this time."

But her touch is bittersweet at best. "We might not remember." His voice is shaking, and he is surprised to feel tears welling in his eyes. Elizabeth is the one who cries, not him. "What if we don't remember? What if we get rid of this curse and I never see you again? We could break this curse and then not remember each other at all."

"Maybe not," she whispers sadly. "But I have to save them."

He swallows thickly, nodding. Elizabeth would give up this chance for them to be together if it meant saving the lives of others. That is who he loves, the goddess he has known all this time. There is no question… even though, deep inside, he feels as though this is the last time he will ever see her.

The purple light from the Horn suddenly begins to glow again, rising from the ground, and they both look at each other in alarm. "We're running out of time," she says. "It's almost over." He searches her face, knowing she is right.

So Meliodas pulls her against him, and her arms go around his neck, and their lips meet; he kisses her slowly, tasting her, memorizing the feel of her, so surely he will remember.

And Elizabeth kisses him back, her lashes damp as they brush on his skin, her fingers digging a bit into the muscles of his back, so that she will always remember.

"I have an idea," he says against her mouth. Elizabeth looks down at him through hooded eyes, and he pulls a pen from his pocket. Meliodas takes her hand, and she watches as he writes on her palm. "Let's write our names down," he says, giving her a wink. "That way, when this is over, we'll be sure to remember."

Elizabeth nods. When he is finished, she takes the pen, and then takes his hand. She looks at the palm and the fingers that she knows as well as her own, that have destroyed and created, that have brought her pleasure, brought her joy. "We'll remember," she whispers, and draws the pen over his—

The pen made a click as it hit the floor. Meliodas stared at the ground, the pen rolling for a second over the grass until it rested against his boot. He gasped, startled to see his own feet and legs, before his head snapped up. He was in Liones, but his own Liones, that was nothing more than ruin, in his own body.

"Elizabeth?" He turned, looking for her, knowing she would be gone. The light had faded now that the sun was below the horizon. The world was covered in shades of blue and violet, and as he got his bearings, he looked down at his hand.

"Elizabeth?" There was a single pen stroke on his hand, the start of the letter E. He rubbed the thumb of his other hand over it, the blood rushing in his ears. "I wanted to tell you something. No matter where you are in the world, I'll find you again. I swear it."

He looked up and saw the moon just coming into view. "Your name is Elizabeth."

Meliodas breathed a sigh of relief. She may not have gotten to write her name down on his hand, but he remembered it anyway. "It'll be okay! I'll remember. Your name is Elizabeth."

He grinned to himself, thinking of the first time he saw her, silver hair flying, lovely white wings spanning outwards. "Elizabeth."

Then again, the curly hair framing her face as she glared at him, on the ground from her punch across his face. "Elizabeth."

The shining blue eyes of a servant girl, smiling shyly at him. "Elizabeth."

Riding a horse, laughing, glancing at him flirtatiously over her shoulder. "Elizabeth."

Sitting on his lap, kissing his temple, his muscles sore from fighting as her healing magic slowly relaxed him. "Elizabeth."

Her mouth passionate against his neck, their bodies rolling together in bliss. "Elizabeth."

Pink hair heavy with the rain, blood trickling from her mouth as she smiled at him. "Your name is Elizabeth."

Long silver hair falling over one eye as she looked in the mirror. "Your name is—"

Meliodas gasped. What was it? It was just out of reach, he was just saying it, what was it again? He dropped to his knees, scrambling on the ground for the pen. He knew her name, he just had to get it down. He needed to remember.

A cold breeze blew by, and with it, his thoughts scattered like papers blowing on the wind. He choked on a breath, looking around, as if he could catch a glimpse of one of the pictures that had just been flipping through his mind's eye.

Write it down! he scolded himself. Meliodas lifted his palm and pressed the tip of the pen into his skin.

But it was shaking, and he realized his hand was trembling. "Who… are you?" he whispered.

Meliodas looked up, startled to see the empty grounds around him. "What did I even come here for?"

The tremor that traveled all the way through his arm made him drop the pen. He glanced back down at his hand, where a single line of ink stood out against his skin, and he said, "I came here to see her! I came to save her! I came because I wanted her to be alive! But who?" Slowly he climbed to his feet, his eyes darting around for a clue. "Who? Who was it? It was someone precious to me." He pressed his face into his hands, tears rolling down his face. "Someone… someone I don't want to forget! But who? Who? WHO?"

Looking up, he cried out, his vision blurred as he screamed, "What's your name?!"

Sobbing, he raised his hand. The ink on his skin was now almost gone, the streak a blurred and smeared from his tears.