Diane fiddled with her hair, tugging almost painfully on her pigtails occasionally as Meliodas recovered from her assault. Zeldris was grinning despite the venomous glare his older brother was sending him, and Gelda was making sure Meliodas wasn't too injured. Hawk was pretending to not be cowering behind Ban still, even after Diane had calmed down.
And Elizabeth…
Diane wasn't sure what to make of the princess yet. She looked nervous still, wary after Diane's outburst even with the apology, but… but she was also trying to smile warmly up at Diane, a small laugh to her voice. The kind of laugh that fills your words when you're trying to not be nervous.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Diane!" Diane was skeptical of that, but Elizabeth continued before Diane could dwell on it. "I apologize for not introducing myself before Sir Zeldris interjected."
"Do not apologize for something as entertaining as that, Elizabeth!" the younger brother called over.
Elizabeth ignored him. "Is there a chance we can start over?"
"Start over?"
"With introductions!" Elizabeth was smiling a little more genuinely, it seemed, and Diane was confused but also intrigued. She wanted to start over?
It wasn't every day Diane came across a human wanting to start off on better terms.
Most humans didn't ever want to start off on anything, really.
"I suppose we can."
That's when the princess' face truly brightened, and Diane supposed she could see how the Captain and his family caved into doing what she asked. Diane felt her own lips tilt up at the sight of Elizabeth's smile.
"I am Elizabeth Liones. I'm travelling with Sir Meliodas, Sir Zeldris, Lady Gelda, and Sir Ban in search of the Seven Deadly Sins. It's an honor to meet you, Lady Diane!" She actually curtsied the best she could in the short bar uniform, and Diane giggled.
"It's an honor to meet you too, Princess Elizabeth." Diane bowed her head a little, what she would normally do years ago when visiting Liones.
It's been ten years since then.
It suddenly felt a lot longer than it had yesterday.
Despite the more pleasant reintroduction, Diane still glanced over the group before settling on Meliodas with a slight glare. "And you're sure there's nothing going on? Zeldris said you're sharing a room with her."
Meliodas held up his hands, shaking his head. "Zel and Gelda already share a room, and who wants to share a room with Ban?"
"Hey!"
Diane relaxed, laughing a little louder than she had allowed herself to do in recent years.
"Besides, Hawk makes sure they're never alone," Zeldris added, no longer trying to dig a deeper grave for his brother.
"And Hawk is… the pig?" Diane peered at the shaking pink form. Well, previously shaking. Hawk seemed to still be incredibly nervous, but at least he could stand properly when Diane looked at him. There was a confirming hum from someone, but Diane was distracted by her stomach suddenly aching.
When was the last time she had eaten?
She leaned back with a small sigh, staring up at the dull gray sky. She only looked back down when Meliodas called her name.
"So! Are you going to help us find the others?"
Normally, Diane would agree without hesitation. But...
"We're still considered traitors to the kingdom though, aren't we?"
She didn't feel like getting chased by pitchforks and torches and spears, thank you.
Not to mention the Holy Knights… they had to have gotten stronger in the last ten years. And though she loathed to admit it, she was out of practice.
"Yep!"
Diane frowned a little, her brows furrowing. "Then why are you looking for the Sins?"
All their eyes seemed to turn to Elizabeth, and Diane caught Meliodas shrugging before she looked at the princess as well. Elizabeth blinked, glancing around in confusion before realization dawned on her.
She smiled nervously. "I forgot to mention that, didn't I." It wasn't a question. "My apologies. I should have shared long before now."
"Eh… I can see why you would be hesitant," Zeldris said. "For many reasons, actually."
"We aren't a trustworthy-looking group," Gelda signed, and both Diane and Ban bit back their laughs - Diane was more successful in doing so.
Diane noticed Elizabeth's confused expression, and suddenly wondered how long she had been traveling with the others to still not know sign language. Elizabeth shook her head and took a deep breath. She kept her eyes closed and head bowed slightly as she started her story.
"A few weeks ago now, the Holy Knights apprehended the entire royal family with the exception of the King without explanation. They've told the people of Liones that the King is bedridden with sickness, and… and Father is. But he's also a prisoner in his own room. I don't… I don't know what's happened to my sisters, if the Holy Knights have kept them locked away in their chambers too, if they have gotten away, if they're even safe.
"But what I do know is the Holy Knights are attempting to start a war… with who, I also don't know, nor do I know what they intend to accomplish by starting one. They've been conscripting people from the kingdom, and nearby villages, slowly but surely making preparations to carry out a war that doesn't seem to have a reason for existing."
The forest was more silent than before as Elizabeth finished. The air was heavier. The Sins exchanged a glance, then Meliodas shared one with his family. No one seemed to want to be the first to speak.
Meliodas decided to take the blow.
"That's rough."
Diane cringed, his words flat and definitely not what Elizabeth needed to hear. Zeldris beat her to the punch in smacking him upside the head, shooting the blonde a glare.
Meliodas accepted the punishment without complaint, stuffing his hands into his pockets before continuing. "So, you think the Sins can help you."
"If anyone can stop the Holy Knights, it would be the Seven Deadly Sins."
"Why do you think we can help?" Ban asked, and he received twin glares from Meliodas and Zeldris at his tone, because it was somehow far harsher. The Fox Sin merely rolled his eyes, unbothered.
Elizabeth folded one arm across her chest, gripping her forearm with that hand tightly, no doubt digging her nails deep into her own skin. "Ten years ago, when fleeing Liones, you killed all of the Holy Knights which had ambushed you. Proof of the strength you seven possess, and…" she hesitated, continuing after considering how to continue, "and my father always spoke highly of you. Even after you all were charged with Grandmaster Zaratras'... demise… he still told stories to my sisters and I of all the good things you did for the kingdom."
She finally looked up from the ground. "Father, actually, told me to find the Sins. If he has faith that you could help, then I have faith as well."
There was silence once more, and Elizabeth squeezed her arm as they all contemplated her words. Guilt twitched at her expression, and Diane wondered why in the world she might be feeling that.
No matter, though.
"Don't worry, Princess." Diane was the first to speak. She gently brushed Elizabeth with a finger. "We'll help you and your family, and the kingdom I guess. Right, Captain?"
Meliodas didn't answer, and Diane frowned, looking over.
"Captain?"
He seemed zoned out, staring off into the forest. Anger flared in Diane's heart just as Zeldris nudged Meliodas and whispered something to him, snapping him out of his daze.
He smiled instantly though, a reassuring smile cast towards Elizabeth. "Diane's right! We'll definitely help." Elizabeth's shoulders slumped a little, and a small smile graced her face.
Diane was about to call out how he wasn't paying attention, and unbeknownst to her Hawk was about to do the same. A series of birds bolting into the air mixed with their warning calls stopped anyone from saying anything else on the matter.
Diane's brow furrowed. "That's odd…"
"Birds are odd, Diane? How long have you been asleep?"
Ban's attempt to lighten the mood was unappreciated.
She glared down at Ban and was tempted to flick him a mile away. She beat down the urge despite her better judgement. She could always send him flying later. "Not the birds themselves… but they never have a reason to take off like that. There are hardly any animals here..."
"Guys… are those thunderclouds?" Hawk asked, looking up.
Sure enough, the sky had grown considerably dark and lightning was crackling between the clouds. But it didn't look right; the lightning looked far from natural.
Diane stiffened as the lightning seemed to connect at a single point.
Zeldris and Gelda both reached for their swords - Diane hadn't noticed they were even carrying them - but were stopped before their hands ever met the handles.
Elizabeth blinked. One moment, Gelda and Zeldris were going to grab their swords and the next the lightning struck down on them all and there were bindings trapping Zeldris and Gelda's arms to their sides. Her eyes widened, but the bonds were around her and everyone else too before any of them could even so much as try to get away.
"What the actual fuck?" Ban said right as Hawk squealed in fright, the inability to move suddenly terrifying the creature who had really just been dragged into all this.
The distinct sound of metal clanking together caught everyone's attention. Elizabeth's heart stopped beating for a second as the armor-clad person approached.
"And you are?" Meliodas asked.
"We meet at last, Sins."
Elizabeth barely heard them, staring at the pink-haired Holy Knight. She'd recognize him anywhere, instantly. How could she not? He had been around her and her sisters all throughout their childhood.
"Bit rude," Zeldris huffed.
"Cap'n…"
"This power…" Diane trailed off same as Ban.
"No doubt about it," Meliodas said. "You're a Holy Knight, aren't you?"
"Gilthunder…"
"Eh?" Ban looked over his shoulder at her. "What was that, Princess?"
Elizabeth swallowed thickly. "Holy Knight Gilthunder."
Meliodas looked up at her. "You know him?"
"He was my father's attendant… son of Grandmaster Zaratras. I've known him since I was little."
The blonde hummed. "The Grandmaster's son, huh?" His eyes lit up and he gasped, a grin stretching across is face. "Hang on, are you Little Gil?"
"This is Little Gil?!"
"How do you not remember, Zel?!"
"Wait, you know him, too?!"
Meliodas was smiling far too bright for a man currently trapped in lightning. "Yeah, I gave him lessons a few times when I was at the palace!" He looked back at Gilthunder, who had remained both silent and expressionless the entire time. "Wow, you sure have grown… It has been ten years, though, so it shouldn't be surprising!"
Gilthunder's face hardened, and his voice sent a chill up Elizabeth's spine. "If you have time to prattle on like this, you should spend it thinking of how to escape those bonds." Elizabeth bit her lip harshly, brows drawn close. She was nervous. When did Gilthunder, sweet Gilthunder who always cared for her and her sisters, make her nervous?
"Wait, no, I'm sorry. This is the kid you made me ditch my job for so you could train? Seriously?"
"Is there a problem with that? I mean, it happened ten years ago."
"No, but you didn't think to train him in more than just swordfighting?"
"That wasn't my responsibility!"
"It's common sense, brother. Have you no thought into the future?"
Gilthunder's eye twitched, his glare growing harsher.
Meliodas huffed, moving on from Zeldris and back to Gilthunder. "When someone blocked Bernia's water supply, then tried to blast the village away, that was you both times, wasn't it?"
Elizabeth was about to protest, because there was no way that was Gilthunder, but when she looked at the Holy Knight her words caught in her throat and she took a step back. He looked… His expression was terrifying. Angry. Hollow. Dead. Her hands shook and she clenched her fists to stop their trembling, or at least lessen it.
"And the one that attacked the tavern. Did he work for you?"
Gilthunder didn't answer, only circling around Meliodas and Elizabeth, stopping behind the blonde and raising his sword. Gilthunder rested the blade by Meliodas' throat, and Elizabeth's eyes widened. Meliodas looked at Gilthunder over his shoulder.
"Gil-"
"Do you know why-" he cut Elizabeth off "-the Holy Knights are after the heads of the Seven Deadly Sins?"
"Not really, no." Meliodas said.
"Half called for the eradication of the rebel order that plotted to overthrow the kingdom. The other half wish to battle against the former legends to prove their own strength."
"And which half are you in?"
Gilthunder's glare had disappeared, replaced once again by the hollow, almost numb expression. "Both. Neither. I want more."
"More?"
"Yes." Gilthunder's eyes narrowed, though not as intense as before. "I want revenge. Revenge for my father, Zaratras, Grandmaster of the Holy Knights."
"What will killing us do?" Zeldris asked. "What will killing him do?"
Gilthunder didn't look away from Meliodas. "It will show that I have surpassed my father, celebrated as the most Holy Knight ever."
"So you're saying I'm the man who murdered your father?"
"You claim differently?"
"Beats me." Meliodas finally turned away from Gilthunder, looking up into the canopies. "I don't remember much from back then."
Elizabeth noticed Zeldris' frown deepen and look away. Guilt, she recognized. Gelda wore a similar expression. But why?
"Captain…"
Ban said nothing. Elizabeth wondered if he had any recollection of that day.
"The last thing I remember," Meliodas continued, "is being summoned to the old castle on the outskirts of the capital."
Ban leaned back slightly, his words coming out as more of a drawl than anything. "We found the Grandmaster's body. It was brutal, however he died. We didn't have much time to think about it, though. Soon after discovering the body we realized we were being ambushed."
"The Captain said to split up, and we'd meet up later..."
But they never did, Elizabeth finished Diane's thought. It struck her then how that must have felt, for all of them. The terror. As powerful as they were, they still obviously cared for each other.
To not know what would happen to the others…
She understood how that felt. She hated understanding how they probably felt.
"The last thing I remember is someone apologizing to me. The rest is a blank." Meliodas concluded. "Next thing I know I was laying in a cell somewhere, and that's when I met Hawk. We met up with Zeldris and Gelda later."
"Wait…" Elizabeth stood a little taller, realization striking her quicker than Gilthunder's lightning binds had. "Then it wasn't you who killed the Grandmaster!"
"What difference does it make?" Gilthunder asked.
She glared at him. "It makes all the difference!"
Gilthunder just ignored her. "A traitorous order that plotted to overthrow the kingdom. That's what the Sins are."
"But you heard what they said! If the Grandmaster was already dead when the Sins found him, then they didn't kill him!" Gilthunder finally looked at her, and Elizabeth had to force her nerves down.
"Elizabeth." She continued to glare, though it had no effect on the Holy Knight. "The kingdom has made it top priority to take you into protective custody, but that's of no interest to me." He pointed his sword at her now, and Elizabeth took a half step back.
Years ago, she could have read him like an open book. Not anymore. Now, she couldn't predict what he would do.
"Whether you are dead or alive, you're just a grain of sand on the road we are travelling." He lowered his sword, and Elizabeth jolted when the bonds around her disappeared. "Go. My business is with the Sins, and the Sins only."
"You will not lay a hand on them!"
Elizabeth could see the hint of exasperation in his expression. "Elizabeth."
She mirrored his tone, moving in front of the others still trapped. "Gilthunder."
"I'm not going to hurt you, Elizabeth."
"And I'm not going to let you hurt them."
"Elizabeth, it'll be alright." She glanced over her shoulder at Zeldris.
"Huh?"
"Little Gil! Let the pig go too, and he and Elizabeth will leave."
"Sir Zeldris-"
Gilthunder looked past Elizabeth and narrowed his eyes at the younger brother. "Excuse me?"
"Let the pig out of your lightning, and he and Elizabeth will go."
"Fine."
"Sir Zeldris, I'm not leaving."
"He's right, Elizabeth, we'll be fine." Meliodas smiled up at her as reassuringly as he dared. It wasn't reassuring at all, though. "Besides, I think Hawk is getting fried, and I'm the only one who's allowed to cook him in the future."
"You are definitely not allowed!" Hawk squealed, and Elizabeth noticed his voice was more strained than usual.
They were telling her to leave. Glancing between them all, Elizabeth realized they had to have something planned. And… and they could hold their own. They could definitely hold their own.
Well, she hoped. She wasn't sure how strong they would be against Gilthunder. She didn't know how strong he had become.
No, they could manage.
Elizabeth still hesitated, looking first between the brothers, Gelda, and finally the other two Sins. She took a deep breath, fist clenched over her chest, but stood back.
As agreed, Gilthunder released Hawk from his bonds as well, and Hawk slowly walked over to Elizabeth. She picked him up as gingerly as possible, grimacing at the seared flesh. Gilthunder hadn't moved yet. No one had but her and Hawk.
Once she had Hawk situated, Elizabeth stood tall and walked towards Gilthunder. But he didn't look at her, eyes trained on the Sins. She couldn't do much physically to him, anyway. She and everyone else knew this.
She stopped at his side, though, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
She didn't speak loud. She didn't have to. He would have heard her next words no matter where they were.
"I wonder what Margaret would think if she saw you now."
Gilthunder said nothing, but Elizabeth saw his jaw clench - the only reaction she would get out of him - then continued on into the forest.