Happy belated Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! To all those that call the US home, Happy early 4th of July!

Wow! I'm so thrilled that so many people like this story. Thank you, to all the reviewers, particularly the first time ones, that opted for option 3.

So decision made, once more info comes out I will either tweak the story to fit with canon or I will continue it the way it was originally intended . Either way, this story will continue. :)

With that in mind, I figured what the heck. I'm gonna post this, it's part 2 after all. ;)

Huge thank you's for the reviews/support from:

Queen Emily the Diligent
"Guesty"
Cerulean Grace
CaptainTwiggy0918
The Sassy Sylveon
Night's Bullet
peacerockergirl123

Quick note: This chapter features a scene taken directly from series, which of course I don't own. Also, for the scene, there are actually two versions of the actions(manga vs. anime) and three versions of the dialogue (manga, anime sub, anime dub). I chose the manga version, so if you've only seen the anime or that's the version you think of when you think of this scene then, it might seem wrong, but the manga version worked better for my purposes.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4(Part2): Found

Jacques hadn't been exaggerating when he said the maids were most likely organizing a search party for Elizabeth's doll. They had spent the remainder of the afternoon helping her search. Like a swarm of locusts in maid's uniforms, they'd swept through the castle's many corridors, rooms, and halls. Ushering himself and Elizabeth through closed doors first so that the occupants of those rooms couldn't object, and then flooding in behind in a wave of black and white, systematically upending everything in the room then returning it to pristine condition before moving on.

They'd retraced Elizabeth's steps and then some, adding to the search party as they went. When they swept through the area used for school lessons they had recruited her sisters, their nannies, and tutors. Veronica had taken over his place at Elizabeth's side, giving him a dirty look. Apparently, the middle child was still leery of him, and by leery, he meant trying to set him on fire with her mind. When they had searched the corridors leading to the knights training grounds Zaratras and Little Gil had been pulled into their ever growing procession. Little Gil had situated himself at Margaret's side. A move that hadn't gone unnoticed by Zaratras, who spoke animatedly about it as well as anything and everything else. Finally, even Baltra and two of his advisors joined the group following the search of the throne room.

It was surreal to see how many people Elizabeth could inspire to come to her aid simply by asking for their help.

But, in the end, as afternoon turned to evening, it became clear that they weren't going to find the doll. Meliodas tried to suppress the feeling that he had somehow failed her. It was just a doll, but it was important to her. He'd never seen her so disheartened and he promised her he would come back tomorrow to continue the search.

With that, there wasn't anything else for him to do but head home. Home, right now, was a converted barracks, designed to have areas tall and open enough to house Gowther in his ever present armor, Escanor during the day and Diane in general, as well as everyone else.

As he walked home, he couldn't shake the sense that something was off in the capital city. It seemed that from almost every house he passed, he could hear crying children. But as there didn't seem to be any other signs of panic or distress in the streets, he filed away the observation. Kids cried sometimes, it wasn't THAT weird.

Stepping into the Sin's house, all Meliodas really wanted was to drink with his friends. Finding Gowther reading and Diane napping, he poured himself a stein of ale and sought out the one man who would never turn down an opportunity to drink. He'd probably already started. Climbing the steps to the second story, Meliodas headed to the room at the end of the hall, passing King's and Merlin's rooms along the way. Finding the door open, Meliodas stepped into Ban's room.

And there he was, sprawled out like a sultan on a throne of plushies. Surrounded by already empty liquor bottles, sporting an inebriated flush and a self-satisfied smile.

"Ban, I can't believe I'm asking you this but…" Meliodas hesitated. There's no way….

"Hm?" Ban acknowledged him without taking the bottle from his lips.

"Did you go around stealing every plushie in the kingdom?" Meliodas took a gulp from his stein while subtly trying to survey the pile. After we looked all day...

"Day and night I put in sweat and hard labor for the Kingdom. I won't be cursed if I do something this small, right?" Ban slurred out while making exaggerated hand movements as if to stress his point.

"...no you definitely deserve to be cursed," Meliodas answered, spotting Elizabeth's doll in the pile. Before he could consider how to retrieve it, King joined them.

"Is that story true?" King asked Ban.

"King?" Meliodas had never seen him this upset, he looked to be an odd mixture of horrified and enraged.

"Do you have a proooooblem? Fatass?" Ban sing-songed, still looking way too pleased with himself.

"So that's why I heard the crying of little children throughout town." Meliodas connected, taking another sip from his stein.

The statement apparently triggered King as he began to sob obnoxiously.

"And now the cry of an old geezer has been added to the mix" Meliodas couldn't help but add because he truly hadn't heard anything worse than King's crazy over the top crying. Elizabeth hadn't even been this bad and she was four.

"Shaaaaaduuup" Ban dragged out.

"I'm sad, Ban!" King cried, "Every one of these guys... They have memories and feelings stuffed inside them! But then...you...you.. You're terrible!" King continued to sob. Meliodas watched the interaction from the sidelines.

"Noo! Aren't they stuffed with cotton or old clothes?"Ban grabbed a plush bear to show King what actually was inside, pulling a seam apart.

"Stop iiiiiit!" King snatched it away before Ban could do too much damage, cradling the plush bear protectively.

"There. There." Meliodas patted the sobbing King on the shoulder. All the while thinking that this was definitely not the type of thing he'd expected to deal with when he gathered "criminals" to be Knights.

"Come on let's go downstairs and get you a drink," Meliodas said as he guided the still sobbing, King out the door and down the stairs to the area that served as a living room of sorts. He set King up with a mug of ale, sitting him between Diane and Gowther. The two of them had no choice but to acknowledge him, he was making enough noise.

Leaving King to them Meliodas grabbed as many bottles of ale as he could carry and headed back up to Ban's room, formulating a plan as he went.

"Hey Cap'n." Ban slurred when Meliodas stepped back into the room.

"Hey Ban," Meliodas tossed Ban one of the bottles he'd brought with him. Ban caught it effortlessly. Not nearly drunk enough yet. Meliodas noted.

Meliodas sat down on the rug, leaning against the pile, of plushies, his goal in reach. Taking another gulp from his stein, he watched as Ban took a drink from his own. Every time he drank, Ban drank. Meliodas grinned, he'd thought he was going to have to make a more overt challenge, but it had become a habit for Ban to match him, drink for drink. And Ban had a significant headstart this evening. The night went on and all the while they drank, talked, and laughed. THIS was more like what he had expected when he'd gathered the Sins. Even if he could still faintly hear King sobbing downstairs.

The sky was just starting to show signs of brightening by the time Ban began to snore. Mel leaned his head back waiting for a while to be sure he was deep asleep. Stealing from a thief was a tricky thing and he had to be sure that Ban wouldn't easily wake up. About the time he was convinced Ban was out for the count, as if on cue, the door creaked open, revealing King's tear streaked face.

"Captain?" King paused, clearly surprised Meliodas was there.

"Yo," he waved from his spot in the pile of plushies.

King floated into the room, soundlessly. "You're not alright with this, are you?" King regarded him suspiciously.

"Nope," Meliodas responded without hesitation.

King held eye contact with him and Meliodas blinked innocently back.

Satisfied, King started gathering plushies from around Ban.

"Whatcha doing?" Meliodas asked.

"Returning them," King responded distractedly, as he tucked a large penguin under his arm.

"How do you know who they belong to?" He watched as King got closer and closer to Elizabeth's doll.

"They're cherished items," King answered as if that was supposed to make sense to him.

"But how..?" Meliodas hesitated not really sure how to ask.

"It's a fairy thing" King explained by not explaining.

King picked up a plush bear that sat next to Elizabeth's doll and nearly dropped the plush penguin tucked under his arm. Then King, arms full of plushies, floated out of the room.

Once he heard the front door close, Meliodas stood and stretched, scooping up Elizabeth's doll and tucking it under his arm. He headed down the hall, a little pleased with himself for pulling it off, without tipping off either Ban or King.

He didn't even hear her door open.

"Good morning Captain. Don't tell me you're collecting toys now too." Merlin smirked at him from her doorway.

"Nope, just helping King return them." Meliodas deflected and continued walking. Wishing Merlin had spent the night at the magical research tower like she usually did.

"Of course," she responded.

Meliodas thought maybe that would be the end of it.

"Oh by the way..."

Nope, he'd thought wrong.

"...Did you happen to hear that there was quite a commotion at the castle yesterday?" she asked from behind him.

Meliodas paused "Oh?" he looked over his shoulder at her.

"Yes, apparently, one of the princesses lost a doll" Merlin paused to smile at him, "I think it was the youngest one, Elizabeth? Maybe?"

Meliodas turned to face her fully, "Sounds right," he allowed, trying to feign ignorance.

"Anyways, I had heard that a large group was mobilized to search for it, all the castles maids, the King and even a few Holy Knights." she smiled at him knowingly.

"That would be hard to miss." he smiled, trying to maintain his well-practiced nonchalance, "Did they find the doll?" he tried once more to bluff her.

She looked up and away, resting her finger against her pursed lips as if she was thinking, then her gaze drifted sideways and not so subtly to Elizabeth's doll still tucked under his arm. "I think it may have been found...you could always ask her next time you see her. It's usually Friday mornings if I'm not mistaken."

Crap

"It's Friday afternoon this week." Meliodas corrected. Now that it was confirmed that she knew, he would rather be direct about it than allow her to keep toying with him like a cat with a mouse. He turned to face her fully. "So when did you figure it out?"

"I wish I could take credit, but I just happened to see you at the castle a few weeks ago. I must say Captain, it's quite adorable watching you play tag with the girl." Merlin smirked at him. "How exactly did you find yourself in that situation

"She asked me to," Meliodas answered knowing that that wasn't what Merlin was asking. Her eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly, he'd dodge the question and she didn't like when he did that. Good.

"But, Nanny seems an odd task for you to be chosen for." She smirked at him. She was intentionally trying to aggravate him. Testing him and assessing his reaction.

He shrugged, "You know we can't refuse an order from the King."

Merlin held his gaze. Meliodas smiled back blithely.

She broke eye contact first and her smirk morphed into a more pleasant smile "Of course you can't. I was merely curious Captain" she waved off.

Potential mutiny averted, he turned to leave "See ya later Merlin" He waved over his shoulder, descending the stairs, and stepping out into the predawn light.

He should have known that he wouldn't be able to keep being assigned to Elizabeth a secret. Merlin was a glutton, for magic and information. If she hadn't already, she would soon begin making connections and if Merlin could do it then others would too.

Meliodas tucked the little blond haired doll behind his back as King passed by, heading back for a second trip.

He'd enjoyed being Elizabeth's friend, but it would be safer for her if, once the new nanny was hired, that came to an end. To start, he would give the doll to the maids to return. They had certainly put in enough effort searching for it. They could be the heroes of this story because it wouldn't be long before he returned to being "le tuteur de la petite princesse" from a distance.

Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly not sure what had woken her, her sisters were still sleeping soundly on either side of her. With Dolly still missing she hadn't been able to sleep, so Veronica and Margaret had joined her in her room for the night.

There was a soft knocking at the door. Elizabeth sat up looking at Margaret's nanny, slumped sideways in the chair at the bedside, a book hanging loosely from her hand. She was a nice woman but not very good at staying awake. The soft knocking came again and she crawled to the foot of the bed and slid off. Her feet landing softly on the floor. When she opened the door she was greeted by the smiling face of a maid. It took a moment but she recognized her as the one that had suggested they all go look for Dolly together.

"Good Morning Princess Eli-"

"Shhhh!" Elizabeth shushed her harshly and the maids mouth snapped closed, "They're still sleeping." Elizabeth opened the door a little more to show her the sleeping forms of her sisters.

"Ohhhh," she whispered with a smile. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I thought you would want this right away."

Elizabeth's eyes bugged out as the maid pulled Dolly out from behind her back.

"Dolly! You came back!" Elizabeth squealed, completely disregarding her own instructions to keep quiet. There was a flurry of surprised shouts and the sound of a book hitting the floor behind her, but she was too busy hugging Dolly to pay attention. Soon she was joined at the door by her sisters and Margaret's nanny.

"Look she found my Dolly!" she showed Margaret and Veronica.

"Elizabeth, what do you say?" Margaret prompted, while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Oh! Thank you!" Elizabeth beamed at the maid.

"Oh no," she waved them off with a smile, "I didn't find it. Sir Meliodas did." Then she did something Elizabeth found very funny, her mouth snapped closed and she turned very red. Elizabeth was going to ask her if she was feeling sick, but Veronica spoke first.

"Probably stole it in the first place," Veronica grumbled.

"Mel wouldn't do that!" Elizabeth defended, shocked that her sister could think that.

"He's a criminal. Criminals steal stuff." Veronica challenged.

"He's not a criminal." Elizabeth countered and the girls locked eyes with each other.

"Yes, he is"

"No, he's not."

"Yes! He is!"

"No! He's-"

"Girls, it's far too early for bickering." The baritone voice of their father as he came down the hallway, brought the argument to a stop. He was in his housecoat and bare feet. The three little girls smiled up at him, while the nanny and maid dropped into deep bows averting their eyes. "Now what's all the noise about so early in the morning?" Her Daddy asked, looking them over.

"Dolly is back!" Elizabeth hurried to her father. He picked her up and she held Dolly right up to his face to show him.

"That's wonderful news." he said, gently pushing dolly away his face "Now you must take better care of your things." he chastised "It was very irresponsible for you to have lost it and it greatly inconvenienced many people."

"It really was no inconvenience, Your Majesty." The maid offered without raising her head.

"Hm..And what is your name?" Her Daddy turned his attention to the maid.

"Sarah, your majesty, I am one of the maids of the castle"

"Yes, I can see that from your uniform." Her Daddy teased and Elizabeth saw the back of the maid's, the back of Sarah's, neck turn red.

"Where exactly did you find my daughter's doll?"Her Daddy questioned.

"Oh it wasn't me Your Majesty, Sir Meliodas found it and brought it to the servants dining room during breakfast. I was just the one chosen to return it to the Princess."

"And why you?" her daddy was looking down at Sarah and Elizabeth could tell he was thinking about something.

"Because I was the one to organize the search."

"Were you? And why did you do that?"

"I wanted to help the Princess, your Majesty. She is very sweet." the maid glanced up at her and smiled. Elizabeth grinned back and waved from her place in her daddy's arms.

"Hmm. Come see me in the throne room once your work is done this afternoon. I would like to speak with you about something. For now, you are dismissed."

"Yes, your majesty. Thank you."

The girl hurried away.

"Well girls, we should all go off and get ready for breakfast ourselves." he addressed them all, setting Elizabeth back on the ground.

Margaret and Veronica headed to their own rooms and Elizabeth went to hers, Dolly still firmly held against her chest.

Crawling up on her bed, Elizabeth sat in the middle of a nest of blankets and began to look over Dolly. straightening her dress and smoothing her hair. Dolly had to be ready for breakfast too. "I'm glad you're back," Elizabeth said while running her fingers through the doll's hair. "I missed you, but don't worry Margaret and Veronica took care of me last night. And, it was kind of fun looking for you. Like a huge game of hide-and-seek. Except I didn't have to look alone. I had lots of people helping me. It's nice to have so many friends. I'll remember to say thank you to Mel next time we see him."

So what did you think?

Reviews, Favorites, and Follows are all greatly appreciated.

Sorry there is no direct interaction between Meliodas and Elizabeth in this part, it just didn't work out.