Meliodas and the Demon Queen
Meliodas and Cleo stand on the palace balcony looking out at the gardens and nearby village in the short distance. Meliodas is in his usual casual pose with his arms behind his head glazing at the view. He's never seen trees and plants like these. Even the butterflies and birds are extra pretty. There's also a nice, light mist in the air which feels great, and the temperature is perfect.
"Man, all this underneath a hot, gloomy land of dry sand, although the river was a sight to behold. This has got to be the most beautiful place on Earth, so to speak. If it wasn't for the miasma, I'd never believe this place to be a demon realm."
"Thank you, Meliodas;" replies Cleo; "but you really should see the places this realm is modeled after. My father really loved Indonesia, India, Thailand, and the Philippians. He brought back a lot of their plants and architectural designs, as well as their values. Even the church and the mosque kind of resemble Buddhist and Hindu temple designs."
Meliodas just nods slightly and tries not to shrug his shoulders, having absolutely no clue what she's talking about. "Man, your father must have been really influential to persuade the Demon Queen to do all this."
Cleo covers up a giggle.
"By the way;" Meliodas continues; "Where's Willie, and how can he survive down her? Humans would rot to dust in half a second as soon as they'd hit the miasma from where I'm from. So would any other race besides demons."
"Race?" Cleo's confused for a second; "Oh, you mean species. That would be true here too if not for our special miasma formula we coat any non-demons coming in here with. It's harmless to all the other mankind species, including humans, but strong enough to protect them. Those staying down here for a while have to be re-coated every week, although if they stay down here long enough, they'll adapt to the miasma eventually, including humans."
Meliodas is amazed; "Really? WOW! That's neat. You don't have humans actually living down here, do you?"
"Yes actually;" answers the queen; "About 234 currently to be exact, most who no longer need to be coated with anything. Should be 237 by the end of the year since two ladies are pregnant, one with twins."
Meliodas actually hadn't expected the answer to be yes. "Seriously? That's amazing."
"Yea." Cloe glazes at the tropical gardens for a moment. "Meliodas, would you like to take a walk and see everything up close."
"Sure. I do wish Elizabeth was here, she'd love this place."
They both leap from the balcony and tour the gardens. Meliodas is amazed by all the foreign plants but doesn't bother asking any questions. He really doesn't need to know anything except that these plants are beautiful, and that Elizabeth would love them (although he rarely gives her flowers. He'd much rather take her to the flowers for some "lovey dovey" action). However, he does mention that these certain trees(?) are the oddest he's ever seen.
"Those are bamboo plants, the fast-growing plants in the known world. Father brought some back from Indonesia and India. They are excellent building material and are good as food and medicine too."
Meliodas then notices strange huge birds in the pond, with pink feathers, long necks and becks, and long skinny legs. Some of them seem to be standing on just one leg.
"What are those?
"They're African flamingos. We feed them lots of brine shrimp, blue-green algae, mollusk, and even carrots and beets to maintain their color."
Another odd bird with big and beautiful tail feathers opened like a giant fan passes by.
"What's that?"
"That's a peacock, a male peafowl. They grow those feathers to attract a mate. A female is called a peahen. They have much smaller and less colorful tails."
"Jeez, that tail is the perfect fan size for Diane. She's a giant by the way."
Cleo gives him a strange look at the suggestion. She then takes a deep breath and cuts to the chase. "Meliodas, tell me about your family. You've got a brother named Zeldris who just became the new demon king in your home country, am I right?"
Meliodas looks at her wide-eyed; "Jeez, what else do you know? Yea, he's cool, if a bit too serious and stubborn. He always picks rock at rock-paper-scissors. He's a much better cook then I am, most definitely."
Cleo doesn't dare bring up Meliodas's father. "Any other close relatives; aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, your mother?"
Meliodas shakes his head; "Nah, just me and Zeldris. Our father was an evil sociopath, but we finally got rid of him. Elizabeth and I will officially become family soon. We're getting married in June. Fortunately, I don't have to become king for a few more years. We're going to concentrate on running the Boar Hat, my tavern, for a while and just chill."
"Ok;" replies Cleo, not really grasping what a tavern is. "Are you sure you don't know of any other blood relatives?"
"Nope, why are you asking?"
"Well..."
They suddenly hear somebody clearing his throat behind them. It's one of the queen's secretaries.
"Marks, I told you I hate it when you do that."
"Pardon the interruption your majesty, but I've got some papers for you to sign real quick before the mail run."
Cleo rolls her eyes, forgetting momentary that "anybody" right around her can understand each other when her language spell is on. She fails to realize that Meliodas is understanding her secretary. The dragon sin cleans out his ears, wondering if he heard right.
"Just sign here quickly ma'am, then I'll take my leave."
"Hold it Marks;" she says sternly; "You're not sneaking anything past me. Give me those." She looks at the papers as Meliodas's jaw drops and his eyes bug out. "Why is there an order for almas caviar in here?"
"Is there?" Marks tries to play stupid; "I don't know your majesty."
"Yes, you do;" she rips the paper in half; "I'm not wasting funds on ridiculously expensive food just because the cat demons want it. I told them that. Speaking of funds, is the order for schoolbooks, supplies, new desks and playground equipment in here?"
"Yes, your majesty."
She finds that order and signs it. She then sees some surface pass requests. "Why am 'I' getting pass requests for the insect club?"
"Insect club?" wonders Meliodas.
"Because the travel master denied their requests;" answers Marks; "They really don't want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to study the killer locust/killer bee hybrids before they are all destroyed."
"Absolutely NOT;" the queen rejects the request; "I'm not allowing them to comment suicide just for a bug sample that doesn't even need to be here. Can't they just stick to less lethal bugs, like fire ants?"
She finishes signing the papers and hands them back to Marks. "Oh, one more thing. Have you answered that letter form the Pope yet, your majesty?"
"Already done;" answers the Queen; "I put it in the mail this morning."
Marks thanks her then takes his leave. Meliodas is staring wide-eyed at Cleo. "You're the...you're the DEMON QUEEN!"
"Oops." Now Cleo remembers the effect of the spell, sheepishly puts her hand behind her head. "I guess my cover's blown. Oh well, pardon the deception Cousin Meliodas, I play that trick on all my first-time guests."
Meliodas is more perplexed then ever; "Did you just say, Cousin Meliodas?"
"I did. I am Hatshepsut-Cleopatra I, queen of the eastern demon clan of Egypt. I'm also your first cousin, once removed."
Meliodas stands stiff with a frozen face. This must be some kind of joke.
"Um...wait. This is all part of your prank, right?"
A surprised look appears on Cleo's face; "Why would I joke about something like that? I'm serious."
Meliodas's jaw drops and he feels weak in the knees. All seven of his hearts are racing. He un-intently drops to his knees. Cleo also kneels and reaches out to him. "Meliodas are you ok? Sorry, I really didn't mean to spring this on you like that."
The dragon sin takes a few deep breaths. His insides are shaking and his head hurts. It's been an awfully long time since he's been this shocked about anything. "Your...highness...can I please stick with Cleo?"
"Of course."
Tears start falling down his face; "Are you really my cousin? How can that be? My father didn't have any siblings?"
Cleo takes a deep breath herself before continuing. "Actually, he did. He had a younger brother, my grandfather. My father was your first cousin."
Meliodas gasps; "Seriously? I have an uncle? I've never even heard of him."
"Not surprising. Grandpa left Britanna while you were still a baby. He tried to take you with him, but that didn't work out. He can tell you about it himself."
"Really? He's still alive?"
"Absolutely." A thoughtful look appears on the queen's face; "Meliodas, if you want proof, our blood can be annualized and compared."
"Nay, that won't be necessary;" Meliodas wipes the tears from his eyes. His mind can barely process this right now, but he can feel in his soul that it's all true. "Cousin Cloe, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Can I give you a hug?" Cleo smiles and opens her arms, and they give each other the biggest hug, not to mention the tightest. They both can feel each other's powerful strength.
"WHOA!" says Meliodas after exiting the hug; "You're extremely strong, nearly as strong as me! I think you actually cracked my ribs."
Cleo laughs and rubs her right shoulder; "Funny, I think you just fractured my shoulder."
They rub their injuries and laugh, feeling just a little bit of pain, in a good way. "Hey Cleo;" asks Meliodas; "Do you like arm wrestling?"
"I sure do! But let's wait until we get our injuries healed first. If we run into Iris, she could do it. She healed you all up last night. That hand and wrist of yours were in pretty bad shape."
"I noticed." Meliodas looks at his hand. It still has some burn scars that are still healing, but otherwise feels all better. He then realizes that he feels a little nauseous. His insides are still shaking from the shock and wave of emotions, and he's getting a little hungry again.
"Queenie Cousin Cleo, can I please have a snack. I sure could use a few drinks too."
His cousin smiles; "Sure. Let's go to the vendors near the hot springs and mineral baths. I'm supposed to meet Angel there in just a few minutes. We'll probably run into Willie since it's near the grotto caves. There's somebody else you must officially meet as well."
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Gowther, Margaret, Guila, and Jericho are face to face with the Archbishop in Cario. They arrived here this morning via a teleportation mage. The city of Cario, what little they saw of it, reminded them of what Lions looked like after the Holy War. Part of the city, which is even larger than Alexandera, was partly in shambles and unrest, there's also a lot of trash on the street. The neighborhood that the church and monastery is in is cleaner and less unrest, although from what they were told, even these streets aren't always safe. Cario is usually in a constant state of power struggles and unrest, with different sultans and governments taking the throne every other year or so and people constantly changing their loyalties, never knowing for sure who their allies are. The church is technically in neutral territory, although even it has suffered attacks occasionally.
The overpowered fight between Nuri and Herman caused even more damage and unrest than usual.
Gowther and the ladies were shocked when they meet Archbishop Azarath. He appears like a short, extremely ancient human, but Gowther confirms that he's in fact a demon, and an extremely old one at that. His powers remain at their peak, and he's not very fragile at all, although physically he's no longer in his prime. Jericho had pointed out to a few monks that their Archbishop is a demon. They all already knew and took it as no big deal. Gowther took a peek into their minds and confirms that nobody is under any kind of mind control or spell. While he can only read the surface thoughts of the archbishop's mind, Gowther feels confident enough that he's genuine and that he only desires peace and love. Margaret too feels a genuinely good soul in him, and she's usually right. Jericho and Guila are a bit more skeptical but do agree to corporate. They even accept biscuits and tea offered to them but regret it immediately after trying them.
"Did those come from our kitchens?" Azarath ask the servers.
"Yes sir. We ran out of the store-bought ones."
"I believe in hospitality, but please don't bring anything else out unless one of our somewhat decent chefs makes it, or it's store bought."
"Yes sir."
The lady holy knights had to accept filtered water to wash out the nasty taste, even the tea was bad. "I do apologize for that; we really don't have the best cooks around here. Most of our monks won't even try anymore."
"I wish Meliodas would quit trying;" says Jericho; "Now Sir...Azarath?"
"Yes, Miss Jericho."
"How...old are you?" Jericho puts her hand over her mouth. Why did she just ask him that?
"I'm nearly 4,000-years-old. Now, as I said, I can't confirm if your friends are in Amalfi without something personal belonging to them, like a hair sample or even recently worn clothing item. I do believe I've located Wildelfredrico's presence in Luxor, meaning a couple of your friends may be with him as well. Now, one of my contacts there reported to me in person this morning that there was a major battle there just yesterday." He actually shows them parts of the two separate battles captured by a crystal. It doesn't long at all to recognize one of the fighters.
"That's the captain!" says Gowther.
"Meliodas!" says all three ladies in unison.
When the second battle flashes, Gowther notices that his captain's demon mass is a dark purple color rather then it's usual black, and that he seems to be acting like he does when he loses control. "The same color as these jewels;" Gowther shows them to Azarath; "It wonder if he got any stuck in him. Do you know what these are, Sir Azarath."
Azarath looks at the shards but decides not to touch them; "I'm not sure exactly. Be extremely careful of those. I feel evil demonic power from them. I also feel Japanese aura, so they must be from Japan. Those phoenixgons you fought yesterday are from far eastern Asia, including Japan. I believe they came through a dimensional rift in both locations."
Azarath ask them if they know the other person from the second battle, but the Britannians confirm he's not one of their missing friends. His robe suggest that he too might be from the far east, possibly Japan. Margaret asks if she could see the footage again. She realizes that Elizabeth never shows up. If her sister was with Meliodas, she'd surely be fighting by his side, unless she was seriously hurt, although she can heal herself of most injuries and curses in minutes.
"Archbishop, can you get us to Luxor so we may retrieve Meliodas;" ask Margaret.
"I can;" replies Azarath; "First, however, may I ask a favor of you, Gowther?"
"Yes sir, you may."
"We don't have time for favors!" yells Jericho.
"Calm down Jericho;" says Guila; "maybe it's related to our mission."
"It may be" replies Azarath; "Gowther, you may read my mind."
Gowther proceeds and learns what the archbishop wants. "I see, interesting."
"What is it Gowther? asks Guila. Gowther zaps the requests into their minds. Azarath's asking Gowther to help him find a possible 'leak' in their communications system. According to reports, the magic tele-line and even letter communication has been off for the last few months. Azarath himself only just learned of the issues yesterday, having only returned 3 weeks ago from a long journey to Isarel, Turkey, and other parts of the middle East and up into Russia. Although he had noticed something was silently different in some of the messages. Plus, he hasn't been able to contact several areas directly, including his granddaughter and the Amalfi coast, although the high volcano activity in Naples would inhibit tele-lines, they could still communicate through letters. Azarath had questioned the guys in mail and communication departments the night before and had even given them truth serum and polygraph tests. Nobody seems to know anything or say anything suspicious, except a few mentioned a 'new guy' known only as "Bela" who occasionally shows up in the departments. However, Azarath wasn't aware of any new or transferred monks or employees since the start of the year. He had even stayed up the previous night searching the files. Nobody new had joined or started working for the church since before he left. There was no information on any "new person", certainly nobody with the name of Bela.
"So, you want me to try and fish out this person;" says Gowther.
"I'd appreciate it if you could;" replies Azarath; "I've come across a similar situation before. That situation involved a copycat. It's an extremely rare form of magic. People with this form of magic can take on most any person's exact physical appearance, voice, and even personality and character traits simply by just touching them. They can even to a small extent copy the person's strengths, powers, and abilities, but just enough to through off suspicion. Copycats also take on the auras and key of the people they copy, making it difficult for even experienced and seasoned veterans to detect them. However, copycats can't read minds and can't copy memories or deepest traits. There's also certain powers and abilities, such as spiritual and anti-magic, they can't copy. If there is a copycat around here, it'll take your abilities to find him or her, Gowther."
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In Amalfi, Zeldris, Elizabeth, Ban, Hawk, and Wild are on the stone wall overlooking the beach, each taking turns reading parts of Scout's journal. The story is so shocking and heartbreaking that they often have to take a break to compose themselves before continuing, especially Zeldris. The story of Meliodas and Zeldris's conceptions are beyond shocking, as is Zeldris learning the identity of his mother and also that he's not what he always believed he was. Ban is so disgusted at the demon king he's been expressing a lot more anger then Zel.
"I'm so glad that baster's dead, or I'd be given him even more of my mind then I already have! How disgusting!"
Elizabeth is in tears and hands the book to Wild to take his turn. She always felt some true humanity in Meliodas, but she had no reason at all to believe he was anything more than a full-blooded demon. However, this story reveals that isn't the case. She wonders if that's the reason why he always struggled to control his demon powers, or demon side. Zeldris did too as a youth, but to a lesser extent, probably because he's always been much less emotional and steady than his brother.
"I don't understand it;" says Hawk; "Why would Barbatos do that?"
Wild looks up from the book; "I don't know for sure, but rumors from the mortal world always leaked into purgatory back then, as well as after Barbatos arrived there. There were several rumors that Barbatos actually had other sons before Meliodas, but they all died during the Holy War. I remember one rumor of other races breading with humans actually created better and purer offspring, something about the blood, despite them being so much weaker with sorter life spans then the other races. Michael, the goddess race's original archangel, was said to have been such a hybrid. Maybe that's why Barbatos choose Isabella."
Zeldris suddenly lets out a furious scream. With tears in his eyes, his demon marks appear, and his eyes go black. He smashes the stone wall to rubble, the other four falling to the sand below. Zeldris jumps onto the sand and shouts out to the horizon. "Father, you better be burning in hell for all eternity with the Devil. I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! NEVER!" Zeldris does another scream and shots his demon mass into the air. He then calms down and his eyes return to normal. He flops down into the sand, the evening tide reaching him. Elizabeth arrives next to him and tries to hug him, which he allows. Zel turns back around to face the others. "Sorry."
"That's ok man;" assures Ban; "You have every right to be the angriest guy in the world. You know, I too wish things could've been different for you both, but I'm sure glad Meliodas was born, and you too. I know Gelda's grateful you were born."
"I don't wish I wasn't born;" explains Zel; "I just wish, it had been different, as you said. Why did she have to suffer like that, not once, but twice, just because Father wanted the perfect vessel, and a spare. Plus keeping her prisoner like that, and not even allowing her to see or touch her own sons. That's beyond evil."
Zeldris then realizes what he did to the wall. Jasmine arrives in front of them. "Sorry, I'll build a new one."
"That won't be necessary." Jasmine unleashes her lava power and hardens it, building a perfect new wall in seconds. "Don't touch it. It'll take a while for it to cool, then I'll do more to it to make it good and sturdy."
"I'm sorry about that;" Zeldris approaches her; "tell me, what became of Isabella? And Scout, how did she know about all this?"
Jasmine gives a somber expression; "You haven't gotten to the end yet."
"I couldn't finish it. I don't even want to read any further. Tell me, how do you and Scout know all this, and why didn't she tell me all this herself? Is that why she left, too flea?"
Jasmine thoughtfully shakes her head; "No she didn't. She really has to touch base in Cario since we haven't been able to reach it. She couldn't have told you about this directly even though she wanted too. She suffers from severe shyness and selective muteness. She hadn't even breathed a world since before we were trapped in purgatory, until the other night when she finally whispered my name again after so long. Besides, would you have believed her if she told you."
That hits Zel at the core. He lowers his eyes; "No, I wouldn't have." Zeldris gasps loudly thinking of something.
"Wait, Scout, is she Isabella?! IS SHE, MY MOTHER?!"
Jasmine's look softens. She looks down at the sand with sadness in her eyes, then looks at Zel again with a compassionate look. "No, I'm afraid she's not. Isabella is long since dead and is now with God. I'm sorry Zeldris. I really am."
At this point, nobody is holding back tears, not even Ban. Something else then hits Zel like a ton of bricks; "NO! HE DIDN'T! HE DIDN'T!"
Hawk's jaw drops and he looks at Ban; "HOW?! NO! IMPOSSIBLE!"
Elizabeth gasps, as does Wild. Ban is stunned shocked and can't even speak. All seven of Zeldris's hearts stop. He gasps for breath; then all his hearts start racing. More tears form in his eyes. Jasmine catches him as he loses his balance. "Jasmine, tell me. Is she..."
Jasmine smiles and answers.
They all take several minutes to process what they've just learned, Hawk himself actually being the most shocked. Jasmine shows them the part in the book towards the end that confirms what she just told them. Jasmine then reveals that Scout actually had dreams and nightmares about this stuff from an early age and figured what they meant on her own. The pastor also reveals that they only learned the full truth 3 years ago when Scout turned 15, and who had told them.
"SISTER JAZ!" It's Chole calling from the top of the hill; "I need your help. It's urgent."
Jasmine rolls her eyes; "Yea, urgent for a teenager."
"SISTER JAZ, Chole took my clothes!"
As the pastor hops up to the girls, everybody else is still trying to process what they just learned and look at Zeldris. "Zel, are you ok?" ask Hawk.
"I will be, when she comes back."
They hear the teens squabbling and can't help but be curious, even Zeldris, feeling he needs a change of pace. A couple seconds later, they are back in the church courtyard, listening to the problem.
"Jaz;" asks Chole; "should I wear this dress with these shoes, or this dress with these shoes."
"Chole those are MY clothes!" says Amara.
"They don't fit you anymore."
"You should've asked me first, instead of stealing them."
"Borrowed."
"Girls;" says Jasmine; "Yes, Chole, you should've asked Amara about taking her clothes first. Without consent, it's called stealing. That violates trust."
Chole feels guilty and turns to Amara; "I'm sorry Amara. You're right, I should've asked you first."
Amara nods; "That's ok, just don't do it again. I trust you after all. Now, what do you say to me."
Chole exhales a little annoyed; "Alright. Amara, may I please borrow one of your dresses for the dance tomorrow."
Amara smirks; "Yes, you may. You can have them, they're too short on me now anyway. Let's go try them on. But you're going to have to wear your own shoes."
Jasmine shakes her head, but also giggles a little. "It's just the monthly Saturday social dance, but it's the biggest deal to young people. You three are welcome to attend, if you'd like. Sorry Ban, cash bar, limited alcohol. It's a family affair. And I'm trusting you not to steal anything, especially alcohol."
Ban's a bit disappointed but understands. And despite himself, he's not going to violate her trust, as long as they share a drink together afterward.
"Are you going Jasmine;" ask Wild; "they say you haven't dated since..."
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't finish that sentence."
"Sorry."
"If you'll excuse me, I'm checking the tele-line again. It said I had some messages, but they weren't coming through this morning. I hope I calmed down Vesuvius enough to get them."
"That was scary this morning;" says Elizabeth; "The mountain nearly blow."
"That's why I can't leave right now, and I need to care for my sisters and congregation too. However, I may have no choice but to rejoin..."
"JASMINE!" 5-year-old Emily runs up complaining that 8-year-old Mia allowed the goats to eat her doll on purpose because she was mad at her. Mia says it was an accident and that she forgave Emily for ruining her molding clay.
Jasmine takes a deep breath; "The joys of children. But they really are worth it."