Warnings | Description of immense pain/injury (though said injuries are used as similes), Mention of death/potential of death, please lmk if I need to add anything! ^^
Elizabeth wasn't too sure how they made a new Boar Hat uniform for her in a matter of just a few hours, practically an exact replica of her first one in exactly her size (without either asking for her measurements or having her try it on and making adjustments), however she was very grateful. Even if she wasn't sure who to thank exactly, as no one told her who actually made the clothes.
Whoever it was, Elizabeth was grateful - as comfortable as Meliodas' clothes had been, being in ones that actually fit again was nice.
"So… while I wait tables I try and find anything about the other Sins, right?" Elizabeth asked. She had already been given the general rundown of how to be a waitress, with Gelda having also given her a brief quiz on where the hidden weapons were. However, what to do about getting information was still a little unclear.
Meliodas smiled and shook his head. "Since it's your first night working, let's leave it at just getting used to waitressing. We can always get more information some other time."
Elizabeth took a deep breath and returned his smile. "Alright!" Clutching a tray to her chest, she took another deep breath and forced her shoulders to relax. "I can do this," she whispered to herself while walking out of the kitchen. Meliodas looked at Gelda, no longer adoring her usual yellow dress but in the same uniform Elizabeth was wearing, and signed to her.
"Keep an eye on her."
Gelda's smile was soft as she nodded.
"Always."
She gave Meliodas' shoulder a gentle pat before also leaving the kitchen, knowing how quickly the tavern could fill up - especially after Meliodas had practically saved them from being run out of business, it was sure to be packed - and not wanting Elizabeth to get overwhelmed.
Zeldris cleared his throat, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised when Meliodas looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Please remember to pay more attention to serving drinks, and not staring at Elizabeth. Aside from watching out that she keeps away from creeps, anyway."
"I make no such promises."
"You absolutely should, or else you're sleeping in a cupboard." Meliodas pouted, and Zeldris smiled. "Now you should probably get out, before people wonder why there's no one tending the bar."
Meliodas' eyes widened, and he swore under his breath before dashing out. He was the only one actually serving drinks, after all. Zeldris chuckled and went out back to drag Ban back inside, tempting the immortal man to cook for most of the night with the promises of not making him pay for the few barrels of alcohol Ban had drained the night before and not to telling Gelda that he had drank so much of their supply in the first place.
Needless to say, Ban joined Zeldris in the kitchen pretty quickly.
Even if neither would have happened if he refused.
Elizabeth took a deep breath, stepping back from the mass of people crowding around tables for a moment. Gelda was still weaving around, an easy smile on her face. She seemed to thrive in the low light from lanterns, and Elizabeth wondered just how long she had been doing this, dodging hands as drunken people gestured exaggeratedly and not stumbling once over others' feet nor her own.
She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little jealous of Gelda in that regard. Elizabeth had tripped at least a dozen times now, twice launching food onto someone and once dropping a tray with quite a few drinks onto a small group of people.
It wasn't just adults in the tavern tonight - Elizabeth spotted a few of the village kids sitting at their own table talking excitedly. They weren't being given any alcohol, luckily they did have some juice they could serve the little ones.
Elizabeth sighed, leaning against the wall. She'd get back to work in a few minutes.
There was a snicker from beside her, and Elizabeth glanced down. Mead was grinning, that confidence from when she had first seen her back in full.
"You're terrible at this."
Ever the honest kid.
Elizabeth let herself giggle, nodding just as the woman from earlier - Elizabeth had learned Mead called her Auntie - stepped in with a frown and hands on her hips.
"Mead, don't be rude, or you'll have to spend a night in the Forest of White Dreams."
Mead's face both fell and lit up with anxiety, eyes wide and pleading as he vigorously shook his head and clasped his hands. "No, I'll be good, I promise!" Mead spun around. "I'm sorry, Miss!"
"No, you're right," she said with a small laugh. "I am pretty bad, huh?"
Auntie shook her head, smiling reassuringly. "You're doing fine, dearie!"
Elizabeth wished she could believe her, but she knew Mead was absolutely the one most correct here.
Deciding not to continue arguing, Elizabeth tilted her head. "What's the Forest of White Dreams?"
"It's a terrible place!" Mead exclaimed, arms wrapping around himself and eyes squeezing shut. "There's all this groaning and rumbling and no one knows what it is, and it's haunted!"
"Mead, why don't you go and get something to eat?" Auntie cut in, nudging Mead towards the table with the other kids and a small smile on her face. "You must be starved, standing here for most of the night."
"I won't go to the forest?"
"No, dear."
"Promise?"
Auntie patted his head and nodded. "Promise."
Mead's grin came back and he dashed off. Auntie stood back up, returning her attention to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's confusion had not lessened within the past few minutes of standing there.
"Is what Mead said true?"
The older woman shook her head. "Not really, no. But it's what we tell the kids, makes sure they stay out of trouble." Auntie laughed softly. "Well, it's a story that keeps most of the kids out of trouble. Mead still tends to cause mischief."
Elizabeth glanced back at Mead, fond smile slowly forming. "He's got a lot of spirit. So, it's just an ordinary old forest?"
"Goddesses, no! It really does have all that rumbling. I've never seen anyone - even a Holy Knight - enter it. No one wants to risk it."
"We'll make sure to avoid it, then." She smiled at Auntie. "I should get back to work, but thank you for the information."
"Good luck, dearie!" Elizabeth heard Auntie say just before returning to tending tables. Elizabeth tripped exactly four times on her way to the bar to get more food and drinks for customers.
She'd need all the good luck she could get, really.
Meliodas swept his gaze across the tavern again, frowning slightly as he poured another drink. He was thinking of cutting this one person off for the night, they were beginning to sway in their seat. But that was more of a third thought, his first being an increasing concern for a certain silver-haired girl he couldn't locate. And his second thought was far more recent, a strange sensation settling in his chest, enough of a distraction to almost override his focus on looking for Elizabeth.
Eventually, Hawk rounded around the bar, having just finished cleaning some food Elizabeth had dropped about ten minutes ago.
"Have you seen Elizabeth?" he ended up asking Hawk. Hawk glanced up at him with a perplexed look, before shaking his head.
"I think she went outside for a breather."
Meliodas hummed softly, setting a newly filled tankard in front of someone. He set the cloth he'd been using to clean the counter occasionally under said counter before making his way out from behind the bar.
Hawk made a disgruntled sound as Meliodas weaved around him. "Now where are you going?!"
"Bathroom," Meliodas said simply, yet most definitely not going upstairs and making his way out front.
Hawk muttered under his breath, looking to the kitchen. "Zeldris! Can you take over for a bit, Meliodas is being lazy!"
Though Meliodas didn't hear Hawk, slipping through the Boar Hat's door. He was hit with far too much fresh air at once, but still breathed it in deeply. A single glance around and he instantly located who he was looking for, and he walked over to her without saying a word.
Elizabeth looked up, hearing the grass crunch lightly. She brushed some hair back over her shoulder and turned back to looking over Bernia Village, sighing quietly.
"Sir Meliodas! I'm sorry- I know I should be working, but I just needed a bit of a break for a little while. Seeing Mead and the villagers… it reminded me of my father."
"Oh?" He continued to walk around as Elizabeth pulled her knees to her chest, his brows furrowed slightly. Maybe here?
"I shouldn't- there's no time to feel homesick, really." A little this way? "People are suffering after all, and their future seems bleak if their princess is like this."
Meliodas glanced at her, frowning at the smile on her face - it was sad, and he almost wished there was a frown there instead, because the self-deprecating saddened smile hurt his hearts far more. He forced his own frown away, replacing it with a warm smile.
"Well, you found me, didn't you? And Ban. You found him, too."
Elizabeth looked at him again, brows furrowed. "Huh?"
"Whatever your people are suffering from - whatever pain the Holy Knights are causing them - they'd have no chance at all if you hadn't searched and stumbled into my tavern." He turned to her fully, making sure she saw his smile. "I'd say that's pretty strong. And that's not even touching on how well you handled those Weird Fangs." She perked up slightly at his words.
"You really mean that?"
Meliodas really, really, really hoped Elizabeth didn't notice how his expression somehow became even softer.
"Yeah."
Elizabeth seemed more content now, relaxing, back on her hands for a few moments before pushing herself up. Meliodas turned back into the direction of that off feeling, staring into the sky.
Something flashed in the light of the moon, and Meliodas began to hope again - this time, that Zeldris wouldn't downright murder him. Because whatever was soaring through the air was coming in fast, right at him.
"Thank you- Sir Meliodas!"
Elizabeth screamed as something collided with Meliodas - or rather, flew past and Meliodas had grabbed onto. She stared over the cliff, where he had just been standing, a massive path being carved right down the hill and towards the village with no sign of slowing.
The smoke and dust of destroyed ground and buildings was just starting to settle when there was a sudden flash, the object that had been sent to undoubtedly destroy Bernia flying back the way it had come. Elizabeth hastily began to slide down the hill, heart thundering in her ears as worry clawed at her throat.
Zeldris was going to kill him.
Well, not kill him. Zeldris could never live with himself if he killed Meliodas. Or hurt him seriously. Maybe he'd just punch Meliodas really really hard and make him sleep in the cupboards for two weeks. The really tiny ones, that not even Hawk could get comfortable in.
Zeldris had excused himself upstairs, claiming he needed a small break from talking to anyone. Which wasn't technically a lie. Well, it was, he didn't need to go upstairs for that reason but he was tired of socializing with drunk people.
His throat burned as though someone had forced him to swallow multiple serrated blades, and his legs gave out when he had reached the top step, a mixture of numb and feeling as though someone was bashing a massive boulder onto them, crushing his bones into tiny irreparable pieces. Each breath hurt, more than any kind of punishment Zeldris had received in his youth, and he had received a lot of painful and creative punishments.
Killing Meliodas definitely seemed very tempting at the moment.
Zeldris' body lurched along with the rest of the tavern, and he smacked into a wall, only adding to the pain very quickly creeping through his body and surely promising him a bruised arm for the rest of the night.
Taking a gasping breath, which felt more like swallowing light from goddess magic, Zeldris was able to make out the sound of screams downstairs and fuck, he had to get up, huh?
Gritting his teeth and profusely cursing through them, Zeldris grabbed onto the rail by the stairs and hauled himself up with far more effort than it should have taken him.
He could have tried walking down the stairs, now that he was on feet that felt like he was walking on needles, but he didn't get a chance to decide if he would try walking or just jump back downstairs, as there was another lurching and he was thrown back down and how fucking far was Meliodas and why was he taking his sweet time getting back?
Zeldris miraculously landed on his feet, and Gelda was by his side, looping an arm under his shoulders and pulling him out of the rocking tavern. The screaming seemed to both get quieter and louder as they broke out.
Out of the building, the pain slowly started to lessen, still very much there though, and Zeldris reluctantly pulled away from Gelda. She looked far too angry, signing at a man that Zeldris had never seen before with nothing but pure rage in each word she signed.
He decided to leave it uninterpreted, instead glaring at the man as well.
"May we help you?"
"There are reports of some of the Seven Deadly Sins members being in the area. Conclusion, they are in that tavern."
Zeldris raised a brow, feeling actually starting to return to his legs and he managed to stand a little straighter now, and thank the stars Meliodas finally remembered that he couldn't just leave to wherever the hell he'd gone to.
"You think so?"
"Yes, so where are they?"
"No clue. Hey, did you do this?" Zeldris looked at a massive line carved into the hill, frowning when he noticed it led right into the village. The man shook his head, and Gelda's glare grew sharper as she pointed to a different area, where the cliff had been cut clean away instead of carved in.
"Casualties."
So that explained the lurching. And the screaming.
"Conclusion, you're hiding the criminals."
Zeldris' face scrunched up; he'd heard this kind of talk before. Who had he heard it from again? Wasn't it some brute a few years back?
"You have absolutely no proof."
"You fit the descriptions of the people accompanying the escaped Fox Sin, and possible descendant of the Dragon Sin."
If looks could kill, whoever this guy was would have been dead under Gelda's stare. Her mouth twitched, and Zeldris was worried for a moment she might actually bare her teeth at the man.
Pain easing away from his bones, though, Zeldris grabbed his sword and leveled him with a blank look.
"Alright, asshole-"
The man looked downright furious for a second. "I am Sir Twigo-"
"-you have ten seconds to get a head start on running before she gets a go at you." Zeldris tilted his head to Gelda, who's rage subsided for pure delight at the mere idea.
Zeldris was being generous, too. The pain was gone from his bones almost completely now, merely a small ache remaining for the moment, and he could hear Meliodas at the bottom of the cliff with Elizabeth and Hawk helping the people who had been swept up in the attack.
This man was very clearly not the brightest, though. He didn't take Zeldris' advice, and even attempted to attack them head on.
Twigo's sword clashed with Zeldris', and the shorter of the trio gave an exaggerated sigh. "Well, I warned you. Gelda?"
Twigo didn't even get a chance to scream.