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Chapter 2: Surprises
She'd never climbed so high before. Elizabeth felt like she was flying, her one arm was stretched out and the opposite hand held the tree top securely, while the wind blew through her hair and caused her dress to flutter around her. The tree swayed with the wind and even though she was perched on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the garden, Elizabeth couldn't be scared, not when she could see everything.
The blue sky stretched out above her until it reached some distant dark clouds. Below, the interconnected layers of walls that made up the lower castle spread out in all directions around her. Veronica had said they were for "defense", whatever that meant. Elizabeth traced the paths with her eyes like she was tracking a maze on a piece of paper, following them one direction to the main castle, the other direction to the knights training grounds, out to the secondary gate, and finally into the city beyond.
A flurry of panicked shouts came from below her. Looking down, she saw Nanny and two of the maids looking up at her. They'd been searching for her for a while now and had only just spotted her. They called to her, but with the wind in her ears, she couldn't hear what they said. She didn't need to know what Nanny was saying, she looked REALLY angry. Elizabeth knew she was going to be in trouble when she finally came down. But she had a plan, so, for now, she settled in to wait for him.
She was going to surprise Daddy, show him how high she could climb. He'd been so busy lately, she hadn't seen him in almost a week. But she would see him today, she wasn't coming out of this tree until Daddy came.
The breeze blew, the tree swayed, and she was lulled by the feeling. Stretching out her arms once more, she pretended she was a bird. She imagined soaring over the walls of the castle, visiting distant places, seeing new things. Sometimes, she wished could fly away whenever she wanted. At home, unless she managed to sneak away, there was always someone watching her, telling her what she could and couldn't do. Instructing her on how to be a proper lady, how to be a princess, and scolding her when she did something wrong, which happened a lot. She wasn't even a real Princess. Why did she have to get in trouble for not being good at acting like one?
"Elizabeth get down from there this instant!" Her Daddy's loud baritone voice filled the air. Reaching her even over the sound of the wind. She smiled. It had worked.
"No!" she called back beaming down at him. She wasn't going to give up that easily. Distracted, the next strong gust of wind had her wobbling and gripping the narrow top of the tree with both hands to keep her balance.
She heard the maids shouting again, and looked down to find Daddy climbing up the tree. She didn't know Daddy could climb trees. He was pretty good at it too, he'd already gotten really high. Then, there was a crack, his eyes got very wide, and she watched him fall. The sound of him hitting the ground made her blood run cold. He didn't get up. Why didn't he get up?
The sound of the maids screaming jolted her into action. She began frantically climbing down the tree, but her hands were numb and there were tears in her eyes. Elizabeth didn't make it far before her foot slipped off a branch, and she was the one falling.
She shut her eyes tight and opened her mouth to scream. She barely managed a squeak before arms were wrapped securely around her. With a jostle and a soft thump, the feeling of falling stopped.
"Hey. You awake?"
He was at the training grounds working with Little Gil when he'd heard it. Blocking the boy's attack effortlessly, his head turned in the direction of the sound. Something was going on, shouts were being carried by the wind, women's voices and they sounded anxious and frustrated.
"Let's go see what all the fuss is about," Meliodas said, leading the way out of the training grounds, hands casually tucked behind his head.
The shouting got louder the closer they got. Coming around a corner revealed the source of the commotion. Visible over the high wall of the garden was the top of the tall evergreen tree that dominated the space. Standing triumphantly on the tallest branch, arms outstretched, was Elizabeth. He was caught between being proud of, and annoyed at, her fearlessness. He'd arranged a nice safe life as a princess for her, and what does she do with it? She climbs to the top of an eighty-foot tree on a windy day.
"Looks like she escaped again," Little Gil commented from next to him, also looking up at the princess in the tree.
"Escaped?" Meliodas raised an eyebrow at Little Gil's choice of words.
"That's what Margaret calls it," he shrugged.
They both heard the commanding voice of the King demanding she come down echo down the passageway. Followed immediately by her own cheeky reply of "no" on the wind.
"She is going to be in so much trouble," the boy next to him observed.
Meliodas couldn't help but smile. A particularly strong gust of wind had her teetering and gripping the tree trunk. His knees bent, ready to jump for her, but he relaxed when she quickly steadied herself. She was fine. She was tougher than she looked. Even so, he guessed he should probably go help Baltra get the fearless little girl out of the tree before the old man went more grey.
Walking through the covered passageway to the garden, Meliodas regretted the choice to not go over the wall. Having her out of sight in this situation made him uneasy, his pace picked up slightly. He reassured himself that she was fine. Then, the screaming started.
He reached the garden in a flash, just in time to see her fall. With a surge of power, he pushed off from the stone, stepping lightly on a few of the lower branches to get the right angle. He slowed just slightly before he reached her so he wouldn't meet her with too much force, still managing to catch her before she fell far. She clung to him immediately and he hopped down out of the tree making sure to absorb the impact with his knees when he landed. She was already scared. He didn't want to add to it. A quick glance confirmed that she wasn't hurt, though she had a white-knuckle grip on his shirt and her eyes remained tightly shut.
"Hey. You awake?" He asked, and her deep blue eyes snapped open, looking directly into his.
"Get the Doctor!" someone shouted and Meliodas didn't understand why. He'd caught her. She was safe. Then his eyes landed on the unconscious form of the king at the base of the tree. Whoops! He probably should have noticed that earlier.
"Daddy!" Elizabeth screamed and pushed off him, running to her father, draping herself over him and sobbing.
Meliodas took control of the situation, sending Little Gil for the doctor, and the maids to the barracks for a stretcher.
In the resulting quiet, Elizabeth's cries for her father seemed louder. Her nanny, a harsh looking middle aged woman, stood rigidly a few steps from the girl. He recognized her as the one that had come looking for Elizabeth last week. She had barely acknowledged him at the time and had spoken to Elizabeth in a detached manner that made him wonder why she was in the position in the first place. Sure, the woman had apparently once been an Apprentice Holy Knight but she was a horrible bodyguard and didn't seem to like kids. Even now, she was glaring at the sobbing girl. He'd been trying to get the opportunity to speak with Baltra about the woman all week, but the old man had been intensely busy reevaluating defense plans for Liones in the wake of what had happened in Edinburgh. Meliodas was starting to wish he'd been more insistent. He was crossing the distance between them, intending on trying to offer some comfort to the girl himself when the nanny's cool facade snapped.
"Get away from the King!" She barked at Elizabeth, who looked stricken at the woman's harsh words. "You've done enough already!" Elizabeth cringed as the nanny reached for her, but Meliodas got there first.
He eyed the woman darkly, gripping her forearm from his place between her and Elizabeth. "You should go look for the doctor as well." He schooled his features into a bright smile, "Don't worry. I can keep an eye on the Princess." he added, releasing the woman's arm and stressing the "I".
Anger lit the woman's eyes and her face turned red with rage. "A REAL princess would know how to behave like a lady. She wouldn't go climbing trees, and endangering the King with her foolishness." The woman growled, glaring at Elizabeth over his shoulder.
He shifted himself so that he more fully blocked the little girl, and replayed the woman's words in his head. A REAL Princess? Was that why this woman had been so inattentive in her duty? Because she didn't think Elizabeth was worth protecting because she wasn't a REAL princess? Internally he seethed and his hands clenched into fists, but his poker face never cracked, "If she's not a princess, I guess that means you're out of a job. You should go now." he said in a purposefully cheery tone.
She glared at him, challengingly, "Mel, was it? A child like you has no authori-"
"Meliodas, actually," he corrected, cutting her off, "and I'm not a kid. I'm the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins. Dragon Sin of Wrath, to be specific," he reinforced.
Her face fell and she blanched.
She looked genuinely scared of him. He grinned, reputations were fantastic, "Bye." he dismissed.
The word made her jump, and she hurried away without looking back.
"Mel, why won't Daddy wake up." Elizabeths soft voice drew his attention back to the King. Kneeling next to Elizabeth at Baltra's side he assessed him. He had a bad head wound, was unconscious, and pale, too pale. His breathing was off too, his chest rose and fell in an irregular rhythm. Sending for the doctor had been a waste of time. The King was going to die here. Humans could be so fragile.
He looked at the little girl next to him and in a moment of selfishness that would impress Ban, he was happy that it wasn't her lying here. Silently, he thanked whatever coalescence of fate and coincidence had put him in the right place and time today. The Goddesses must be watching over her because it certainly wasn't done for his benefit.
"Mel? Will Daddy be alright?" she asked. He looked at her not sure what to say, but she figured out the meaning of his silence. He witnessed the instant her heart broke, blue eyes filling with tears before she returned to her position, crying on her father's chest. Guilt, that he couldn't protect her from this, twisted in his chest.
Then, something he hadn't experienced in millennia occurred. From the sobbing girl, a faint light emerged. It washed over him like a warm summer breeze, enveloping all three of them. The blood flowing from the king's head stopped, and his breathing became deep and regular.
Meliodas stared at Elizabeth in disbelief. She looked up at him, her right eye glowing with the symbol of the goddesses, but with a blink, it was gone.
"Mel? Will Daddy be alright?" She asked innocently as if the last thirty seconds hadn't just happened.
"Yeah" he breathed, before collecting himself and grinning at her "Your Daddy's going to be fine." he reassured, patting her on the head.
"What just happened?" a light voice asked, standing a few feet away was Princess Margaret. When did she get here?
"Your Daddy tried to climb a tree and fell. But don't worry, he's going to be alright." Meliodas feigned ignorance with a bright smile. In 3000 years, not one reincarnation had awoken the power of the goddesses and she had done it at only four years old. If Elizabeth was destined to be an Apostle of the Goddesses, the fewer people who knew, the better. That included her sister.