Review:

Ive got to say, that is an interesting idea you've got there. The addition of Zeldris and Gelda shook up canon quite a bit. Its pretty cool. But I don't quite understand Zeldris curse that you mentioned. Chains? Does that mean his powers are limited? Would explain a lot. After all, at full power this early in canon he could otherwise just steamroll over all opponents. Even Hendrickson in his demon form would not be much more than a fly to him.

But than why did he say to Meliodas that he wouldn't have died, during their heart to heart? Or did I misread and you meant Meliodas said that?

And I didn't really get why Zeldris was so mad.

Just because he had to take care of the bar on his own? The subtext is a bit confusing.

But neither less I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Bye,

Blackdrake

Question, basically: Can you explain Zeldris' curse?

Answer: I find it funny that Zeldris' curse is the one thing about this fic that's confused a lot of people. So! Zeldris' curse. Eternal Chains.

The curse technically physically limits where Zeldris can go. He's "chained" to Meliodas, and there's a certain radius of distance he and Meliodas can be apart. If he's outside of this radius, Zeldris suffers an immense amount of pain until he is back within the limits of the radius (hence Zeldris being mad with Meliodas). Zeldris himself also cannot die, as that would more or less sever the "chains." Meliodas though does not feel the same pain Zeldris does if he leaves the radius of the curse, and there's a bit more of a consequence if Meliodas dies, however that will be explored later in the story.

As for Zeldris' power being limited, his powers are indeed limited! He'll always be slightly less powerful than Meliodas as long as the curse is in place. If Meliodas' power increases, however, Zeldris' power also increases.

I sincerely hope this explains things! Let me know if there are any other questions ^^

They did not, in fact, think of anything better by morning.

Ban, head pounding and in a sour mood that he'd lost to Meliodas once again in a drinking game, had no helpful input. He'd been in a prison for the last few years anyway, so no one was too surprised by this.

He had admitted to no longer knowing the layout of the kingdom, or any surrounding towns, and Ban conceding he didn't know was enough a shock to make this rather risky plan their first one.

Meliodas told Mama Hawk - or rather, he told Hawk to tell her - to stay put. The forest wasn't too far, really. She could move closer or a little bit further away if she wanted, but there wasn't much reason for her to.

Meliodas had caught Zeldris signing to Gelda after he had told Hawk this, "decoy," he'd signed, and well, Meliodas supposed he wasn't wrong. Mama Hawk would serve as a decoy if anyone came hunting them down. The blonde dug his nails into his fingers, glancing around to make sure everything was still in order. He took a glance over everyone else waiting; Ban bored and slouching over one of the tables, Elizabeth and Hawk anxiously whispering and Meliodas forced himself to tune them out for now, and then Zeldris and Gelda standing close to the door. His brother and sister-in-law both seemed to be carrying weapons.

He suppressed a sigh of relief upon seeing the swords.

Just because he refused to use them doesn't mean none of them should have one.

Maybe he should teach Elizabeth how to use one.

Meliodas shook his head, took a deep breath, and clapped his hands. Ban narrowed his eyes at him, while Hawk squeaked as Elizabeth turned to look at the blonde. Meliodas grinned, clasping his hands now.

"Alright! Let's get going!"

The forest was certainly… strange, even from the outside. Elizabeth's skin prickled and her hair stood on end just looking into the misty woods. She swallowed, forcing her feet to move alongside Meliodas', sorely wishing they had the time to come up with something better.

She supposed thinking things through was something of the past for her now, though. She'd no longer have all the time in the world to think. Since this all began, it seems like she barely ever had a chance to even collect her thoughts.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and shook her head. Now was not the time.

Their footsteps were quiet - well, most of their footsteps. She did her best to stay light on her feet, but Hawk's soft clopping and Ban dragging his feet were too difficult to ignore. A glance at Zeldris, the younger of the two brothers tense and alert and his hand resting on the handle of a sword.

She should be grateful for both him and Gelda and the fact that they came with weapons. Why hadn't Meliodas? But instead of relief or a sense of security, Elizabeth could only feel dread creeping up her spine. There was an urge to look over her shoulder and keep her eyes locked behind her. It took all her willpower to stomp that urge down.

How long had they been walking now, she wondered. There was hardly any sign of light, the fog of the forest so thick it was a miracle they could all see as well as they currently were.

Elizabeth walked a little faster to catch up to Meliodas, falling into step beside him. She tugged on her hands and kept her eyes on the trees around them.

"How much further do you think we should go?" she asked quietly. Meliodas glanced up to her before shrugging, eyes back on the treeline.

"We've gotta be far enough by now!" Hawk whined loudly, and everyone including Hawk flinched at the noise. But Hawk only lowered his voice a little before continuing. "We're gonna get lost if we continue!"

"We're not getting lost, Hawk," Zeldris sighed heavily with an eye roll. Gelda nodded, her veil of shadows unnecessary in the misted forest. The trees looming over them provided enough shelter from the sun. Elizabeth still hadn't asked her about it, though she did have some ideas.

"Then can we stop walking now?"

Zeldris and Gelda exchanged unamused looks.

Ban huffed, his headache less intense now but Hawk's voice was grating enough that whenever he talked above a whisper it dragged the headache back. Then he grinned. "We can stop walking, right Cap'n?"

Meliodas looked over his shoulder, footsteps slowing and brow creased. "I mean… we can?"

"Then let's stop for Master, in a forest we have never been in with creatures no one has ever seen. I could use a break from trudging through roots too."

Ban flopped back onto Gelda, hands clasped behind his head and dropping all his weight towards her. She glared down at him, holding him up for only a moment before letting him drop the rest of the way. Ban exaggerated a pout.

"I mean, not like the creatures here are dangerous. Since supposedly even Holy Knights avoid this place."

"Probably haunted, too," Zeldris agreed, crossing his arms.

Hawk looked between them in confusion. "W-What?"

"Mead did say it was…" Elizabeth mumbled, to which Hawk's ears pulled back and his eyes darted around, a small whimper breaking past his snout. "But…" she trailed off, squeezing her arms and looking around as well, brows furrowed.

"But?" Meliodas prompted.

Elizabeth bit her lip. "But it's so quiet."

Gelda tilted her head and with a small frown signed, "so?"

"Well… Mead also mentioned a lot of noises… and we haven't heard anything."

"Most would find that comforting, Princess," Ban chimed from his place still on the ground.

Elizabeth's frown deepened and she hugged herself tighter. It did not feel comforting. If anything, it felt like they were being watched.

There was a time, a long time ago, where there had been a coup. She didn't remember much, being so young, but she remembered the silence. The silence came first, ominous and overwhelming and confusing, then the attack.

Meliodas bumped her side lightly with his elbow and flashed a reassuring grin up at her. "You got nothing to worry about, Elizabeth. Right Zel?"

Zeldris raised a brow at him before waving one hand slightly. "I mean…" Meliodas leveled him with a glare, and Elizabeth heard Ban take a sharp inhale at the look. But when she tried seeing what was wrong, he was smiling again and Zeldris was agreeing with an eye roll.

Gelda also rolled her eyes, walking as silent as the forest around them over to Elizabeth and placing a hand on her shoulder. She too smiled reassuringly, giving Elizabeth's shoulder a light squeeze before trailing her hands down to pry Elizabeth's forearms free of her own grasp.

"We should keep moving, though," Meliodas said, to which Ban groaned loudly and Hawk squeaked.

"We should definitely not! We should go back!"

"And risk a run-in with a Holy Knight who would gladly decimate an entire village trying to get rid of us?"

"You guys. I can't die."

"We know, Ban."

"Why did you have to go and become traitors?" Hawk whined.

"I haven't heard you complain about that in ten years."

"I've known you for ten years!"

"Exactly!"

Elizabeth watched them bicker, eyes flitting up to Gelda when she finally moved. Gelda didn't move far, her brows furrowed as she looked behind Elizabeth. Elizabeth managed to tune out the voices of the other four as she strained to hear or see whatever had caught Gelda's attention.

There was nothing at first, nothing that stood out at least. But then Elizabeth heard it, the faint rumble. It only seemed to get louder as the seconds ticked by, and the others fell silent. Elizabeth tensed, both relief and dread clawing up her throat.

But there was something else, multiple things, and suddenly Elizabeth's skin was crawling as she realized they were being watched.

Of course they were being watched. The forest had been silent for hours and then they were suddenly squabbling at normal volume.

Elizabeth briefly glanced at Meliodas as he took a few steps in front of her, hands stuffed into pockets and not on his sword. Even if it was a broken blade. Gelda also moved, eyes narrowed and teeth slightly bared and goddesses above were those fangs?

She set that observation aside for now and instead backed up a little, no weapon of her own to help. Whatever was staring at them vanished, but the sensation of eyes on them didn't fade. It seemed to get worse, actually, and Elizabeth clutched at her arms again as she looked around.

Ban pushed himself up to a sitting position, not getting up quite yet, while Hawk cowered by Elizabeth, shaking. Zeldris' sword was drawn unlike the rest of his family, but his back was to Elizabeth as he slowly walked backwards towards them. Ban huffed a little and hauled himself up, following Zeldris' lead and completing the little circle they'd formed. There wasn't much he, Elizabeth, or Hawk could do though.

Well, that might not be true. But all three were at a disadvantage with no weapons.

There was a snap to their right, and with no hesitation, Gelda sent a fireball towards the sound. There was a yelp and a lot of scrambling in the brush but Elizabeth couldn't get a good look at whatever had attempted to ambush them. Until there was more snapping from above them and along with a multitude of branches some kind of creature fell on top of the group, forcing them apart.

There was a hiss, a muttered curse of "are you fucking kidding me?", a confused squeak, and an elegant "what the fuck". Not that Elizabeth noticed who said what. Because, really, how could she distinguish the voices over her own racing heart as she stared at what was essentially her reflection.

Elizabeth took a step back, then another. On her fourth step, she bumped into something, someone shorter than her, and she hoped to the goddesses that it was Meliodas. But whipping around she realized that yes, it was Meliodas, but there were about a dozen different Meliodases that she could see.

Her eyes widening, she took in the similar bewildered expressions flitting across most of the beings before her. Because it wasn't just Meliodas and herself who had been mimicked, it was all of them.

An arm slipped into hers, and Elizabeth was going to jerk away but she hesitated when it was Gelda, an annoyed expression on her face. She tugged Elizabeth away from the clones, and Elizabeth could hear Hawk's mix of whimpers and yelps of confusion but she couldn't quite tell which one was making the noises, but she supposed it was better than being in the approaching group of Meliodases and Zeldrises.

That was until Gelda made a low hissing noise out of frustration, starting to jerk Elizabeth a little more harshly, and a chill ran up Elizabeth's spine because Gelda never made noise.

Yanking her arm free Elizabeth stumbled out of the Gelda's reach, though there weren't many places she could escape to. There weren't a lot of… she supposed clones was a fitting name, she still couldn't tell who was who.

Until one of them burst into flames and let out the most horrific scream Elizabeth had ever heard. Soon, at least three more followed, and Elizabeth quickly realized it was the ones who looked like Gelda that were being set ablaze.

They didn't look like Gelda for long, morphing into creatures that Elizabeth had never seen before.

"Oh, just great," a Zeldris said, "Hide 'n' Seeks."

"Gelda! Blast at any that look like us, too!" a Meliodas called, shoving a fellow short blonde man out of the way and that must have been the real one, unless it was a 'Hide 'n' Seek' with a death wish.

Panic flitted across the faces of multiple of the clones, but a hesitancy was also there. There was no way Gelda would actually do it, right? She risked hitting the real ones. Everyone seemed to know that.

Well, maybe Gelda didn't. She was the only one there now and her face was set in determination and fire began to spark in her hands once more.

The clones vanished.

Well, not vanished. The ones remaining booked it for the trees, pushing and shoving their way past the originals and morphing back to their original state as they fled.

Gelda huffed silently, letting the fire in her hands disappear. Hawk was still trembling severely as he stood back up, clearly having almost been trampled on. Zeldris was glaring at the trees as Ban looked to be healing from his midriff, and it was only then Elizabeth realized that Zeldris' sword was covered in blood and Ban was glaring slightly at Zeldris.

Not that Zeldris cared to notice, because his attention turned to Meliodas after a moment and he was shaking his head.

"Don't even think about it."

Meliodas didn't answer.

"Meliodas, I swear to the gods above and below-"

The blonde flashed Zeldris a grin that Elizabeth thought was an attempt at being apologetic but was way too close to mischievous for her to tell. She was utterly lost until Meliodas darted into the trees after the Hide 'n' Seeks.

Zeldris swore loudly before racing after his brother. Gelda glanced them all over before following suit.

"Um-"

"We're seriously following those things?!"

Ban shrugged. "Looks like it." And then he was gone too.

Elizabeth looked at Hawk, then took a deep breath. She really hoped it wouldn't turn out like Baste as she began to run.

Well, they found the source of the rumbling.

Elizabeth slowed to a stop behind the others, Hawk skidding and panting beside her. The six of them watched the Hide 'n' Seeks circle a giant sleeping girl, all stunned into silence.

"Lady Diane! Lady Diane!" they were crying out. "We accidentally allowed in Holy Knight trespassers! Lady Diane!" They sounded so desperate, voices shaking.

Elizabeth couldn't really blame them, though.

The giant's eyes snapped open, and Hawk and Elizabeth gasped as she sat up.

"Holy Knights…?" She was glaring down at them all, her voice both loud and quiet at once. The groaning, Elizabeth realized. It was probably her voice echoing through the forest.

They called her Lady Diane.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she wasn't sure if it was fear or joy as it clicked.

Before anyone could say anything, though, the giant swiped Meliodas up and held him at eye level with a glare. There were minor protests from the others, Ban shouted an "oi!" after just barely dodging the grip himself, Zeldris put minimal effort into looking worried, and Gelda just looked amused now.

"You're a Holy Knight?" She narrowed her eyes further before they widened as recognition flashed across her face, and Meliodas grinned in her grip.

"Captain?"

"Hey, Diane! Long time no see! Been… what, ten years now?"

Diane blinked at him owlishly for a moment before her face broke out into the brightest grin, and she hugged Meliodas close, ignoring his small "oof" as he was squished.

"Captain! It's been so long! I've missed you so much, Captain!"

"Nice to see you doing well too, Diane."

Diane finally looked back at the small group and she looked mildly embarrassed, but she was still smiling. "Zeldris, Gelda! I'm so sorry for not recognizing you at first!" Her smile widened, and she tapped them both a few times on the head. "I missed you too!"

"Ain't that sweet… but let me guess, you didn't miss me?" Ban too was grinning.

Diane huffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "I could've gone another century without seeing you again," she grumbled. "Did you have to drag him here too, Captain?" she asked.

Meliodas shrugged the best he could. "He was the first we found, Elizabeth remembered where he could've been-"

"Elizabeth…?"

Diane finally took notice of the only two she didn't recognize, and then she glanced at the three she did recognize. Zeldris had a shit-eating smile on his face.

"Zeldris-" Meliodas' eyes had widened.

"That's right! You don't know Elizabeth."

"Zel-"

"This is Princess Elizabeth, traveling with us in search of the other Sins."

Diane was staring at Elizabeth, taking in the revealing uniform. Gelda was half-heartedly glaring at her husband while Ban snickered to himself, already catching on.

"Zel please-"

"And because of space reasons and Ban being a selfish bastard they currently share a room in the tavern."

There was a moment of silence as Diane took in this new information. Gelda silently heaved a sigh, and whacked Zeldris upside the head. Ban was nodding, and Elizabeth watched in confusion as Diane looked at Meliodas, utter joy completely gone from her expression and instead replaced with one of the most rage-filled looks Elizabeth had ever seen. Meliodas appeared resigned to a miserable fate.

The next thing she knew, Meliodas had been launched into the ground and Diane was spitting insult after insult at him.

Zeldris looked overjoyed, watching Diane beat Meliodas into the Earth.

Ban too was grinning. "Princess, I introduce you to the Serpent Sin of Envy, Diane!"