Author's Note: Please note that in this universe the Goddess Race does not exist, instead there is the inhabitants of the Silver Millenium. Purists, you have been warned. Don't like, don't read. Simple, right?
This is word emphasis
This is dreams/flashbacks/mindscapes
This is copywritten stuff
This is telepathy
As an Easter/Ostara present for Moonrose221 I am posting this new story of mine.
Prologue
It was an assassination attempt that had Princess Serenity V of Luna teleporting without a set destination. All she wanted at that moment was get away from the danger to herself. She drops to her knees when she rematerializes in a brilliant flash of silverish white light, as her brilliant sapphire eyes slip closed they meet with hardened emerald eyes, recognition flickering through the both of them, and the Princess of Luna knows she'll be safe.
Emerald eyed, blonde haired Prince Meliodas of the Demon Clan instinctively closes the distance between himself and the female blonde with sapphire eyes in an instant, keeping her from hitting the ground. It was only when she was safe in his arms that he finally notices the golden upturned crescent moon shaped sigil on her forehead, marking her as the Crown Princess of the Silver Moon Monarchy. He never would have dared to think someone as pure and light as the Crown Princess of Luna would be his other half. He'd felt something slip into place the instant their eyes had met, the instant they had recognized each other. A slight sound has him vanishing with her. Until he could talk to his father he was not going to allow anyone to know the Princess of Luna was in the Demon Lands.
Luna:
Sailor Venus swears viciously under her breath, wondering for the umpteenth time why the Hell her Hime hadn't been taught at least basic self-defense! Her princess had teleported out, and they had no idea where she ended up! That could only mean that the princess hadn't had a set destination in mind when she teleported! The blonde with cornflower blue eyes rubs her temples wearily, praying to Aphrodite that her Hime was safe wherever the Tartarus she ended up.
Demon Lands:
Meliodas leans back against his closed bedroom door wearily, his eyes dancing over the exhausted form of the High Lunar Princess. The talk with his father had been mentally exhausting, though the amusement of seeing him look poleaxed at the fact that the High Princess of Luna was his eldest son's recognized other half made it well worth it. He locks the door as he shoves away, slips his boots off, and makes his way over to one of the nearby bookshelves. His eyes scan the titles until he found what he was looking for, a book of Lunarian Health and Physiology written by a Mercurian. Admittedly Meliodas was more of a warrior than a scholar, but he did learn the basics of those races he could interact with, especially the leaders and their heir apparents. He was the one most likely to inherit his father's throne after all.
He settles down to read while keeping an eye on the sleeping princess. Magical exhaustion could end up being very dangerous for the sufferer.
Chapter 1
Meliodas bolts awake in his bed at the Boar's Hat Tavern, running his hands through his spiky blonde locks. He could feel all seven of his hearts racing as he recovers from his dream of a memory. It had been a long while since he'd even thought about how he'd met his Rena. Time may have dulled the pain, but he still missed her keenly. None of his family could fault him for protecting Earth's people in her stead. As her consort Meliodas was duty bound to do so, and he had long since learned how to temper his cruelty with compassion. It was why he had spent so much of his time as a Knight. He had been the head Holy Knight in Danafall, but in order to deal with Fraudrin, a fellow demon that had attacked he'd been forced to wipe Danafall off the map, but not without giving the people time to evacuate.
It had been after that, that Zaratras had found him, and the departed Grand Master of Liones' Holy Knights had understood that Meliodas had only unleashed that kind of power as a last resort. Danafall's people had spread out across the entirety of Britannia. Once in Liones he had taken to training Zaratras' son Gilthunder whom happened to be the protector of the first born princess Margaret. Yes, Gilthunder had been young, but it only made sense for the princess to have a protector close to her age. His cousin Griamore being the protector of the second princess Veronica. He knew there was a third princess, but for some reason he couldn't remember ever interacting with her, just like he couldn't remember what had happened after he and his fellow Sins had discovered Grand Master Zaratras' body ten years ago. He remembered giving the order to escape and regroup from what had obviously been a set up, but it all went blank after hearing someone say 'Sorry, Captain'.
He'd sold his Sacred Treasure Lostvayne to get the money to start up the Boar Hat after he'd woken up in some basement with his talking pig buddy Hawk. The Boar's Hat actually rested on top of the head of Hawk's mother, a rather massive green pig. With the rumors of unrest going around he was actually considering searching out his fellow Sins. Still, he had a tavern to get ready to open, and dream sweat to wash off himself. The fare may suck, but he did happen to have top quality booze.
At the same time as Meliodas is going about his day an unremarkable looking teenager has made her way to Kaynes Village. Nothing about this female stood out, and that was just how she wanted it. No one in her family had seen the rebellion of the Holy Knights coming, she had been with her father when the Holy knights had come, and escaped through a secret passage known only to the royal family. She had done the prudent thing and hidden all signs that she happened to be the third born princess of Liones, Serena Liones. The earring her oldest sister Margaret had given was hidden in a drawstring pouch around her neck, further hidden under her top. Playing the part of a traveling minstrel gave her a means to listen to the rumors, and hopefully find the Seven Deadly Sins. Just hearing the rumors about some of the acts of the Holy Knights of Liones made her sick to her stomach. She didn't believe for one second that the Sins had killed Grand Master Zaratras, it was too damned perfect, and screamed of a set up to her.
If any group of individuals could help her to save her people, her country, her family it was them. Finding them was going to be the hard part, though she had heard rumors about Ban, the Fox Sin of Greed being in Baste Prison. Acting as a minstrel allowed her to hear things that a princess or even a noble girl simply wouldn't. There was no way she'd be able to get to Ban if that was the case, so she needed to find one of the other Sins. If only she'd had the time to look at pictures of them, the only way she'd be able to identify them was through the blood red animal tattoos placed somewhere on their bodies in the form of a Dragon, Fox, Serpent, Grizzly, Goat, Boar, and Lion. Since they happened to be wanted criminals then if they were smart they would hide the identifying marks so they could go on with their lives without being bothered.
She rubs her temples wearily as she relaxes at a small bed and breakfast. She sips a tea that would strengthen her voice while she rested it. Everyone knew that you could overuse your voice, it just didn't happen often. She took precautions against that, and because she made some money as a minstrel she could eat cheap yet healthy meals. No one would expect that a pampered princess could survive in the real world and not be busted almost immediately. Those singing, dancing, and bandolin lessons were now paying off in a very real way. It was as twilight was nearing that she decides to check out the magician's hat on the top of a hill. Imagine her surprise that it's a tavern. She had her bandolin and rucksack with her, so she takes a seat at the bar, " Not often I get traveling minstrels in my fine drinking establishment. "
" Any problems if I play for your customers, so long as you keep the drunken fools from getting handsy anyhow? " she asks.
He smirks at this, " The name's Meliodas, and I don't see a problem with you earning your supper. "
Years of court politics kept her from reacting externally, she would have never thought she'd find the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins this easily! He couldn't be human though, otherwise he would have aged, like in the wanted posters that were always sent out. " You can call me Sara(AN: From now until her identity is revealed Serena will be referred to as Sara in the story). Now, does this tavern serve anything non-alcoholic other than water? "
That startles a laugh out of him, " I do have a selection of teas as well. Give me a quarter of your earnings tonight and we'll call it even. "
" I can live with that. " Sara admits, " How fresh is your obligatory bar trail mix? "
Meliodas smirks, " Just opened this batch. I feed the stale stuff to Hawk, my pig companion. "
Sara looks down when she hears a voice, " Better than the scraps I get from your horrible cooking, bastard. "
Neither Meliodas nor Hawk were expecting her to squeal and hug Hawk, " I always wanted a talking pet pig. "
Hawk sends a smug grin Meliodas' way, and the demon flips the pig off. Yes, Hawk was getting hugged by a pretty girl, and yes, Meliodas had, had one helluva long dry spell dammit, but until he found his Rena he could control his baser instincts. His new in house musical entertainment settles back on the stoll she had claimed once she was done lavishing Hawk with attention. " What kind of teas do you have anyhow? "
" Green, Black, Peppermint, Spearmint, Licorice, Lemon, Chamomile, Jasmine, Ceylon, Darjeeling, and Willowbark at the moment. "
" Even mix of Green and Peppermint for me, I'll need all I can get to keep my voice strong. Any honey? "
" Clover, Wildflower, and Orange Blossom. " Meliodas answers promptly.
" Teaspoon of wildflower in my tea then, in a properly cleaned mug as well. "
" Considering you're a temporary employee I can do that. Don't suppose you can cook, Sara? "
She gives him a deadpanned look, " I can sing, dance, play the bandolin, and have some limited skill as a seamstress. I am an unmitigated disaster in the kitchen. I will be sticking to fresh foods that cannot possibly be screwed up. "
Meliodas finds a spot for her to perform, and makes sure he has everything ready for her. Though he does remind himself to keep an eye on his patrons once the booze hit them. He'd have no problems with throwing them out bodily if they tried to get too friendly with his new in house musical entertainment, at least for the evening. When things really get going, Sara singing ballads of times long past, all it takes is Meliodas threatening to cut most of them off from the booze, though no one ever cheated him out of his due. Things go well until a Knight belonging to the Beard of the Mountain Cat, stationed at the base of a mountain near Kaynes Village actually grabs Sara/Serena by the arm.
Meliodas was leaping up over the bar, and punching the fool out of his establishment almost before anyone could realize that what was going on. The male blonde had no way of knowing he'd just created a headache for himself and the traveling minstrel whose virtue he'd just protected. Once the tavern has been closed down he looks at Sara, " How would you like to be the live musical entertainment for the Boar Hat full time? The Boar Hat is a traveling tavern. "
Brown eyes look at him, " You'll have to tell me later how a tavern can travel. Free room and board, right? "
" Long as you help out. " Meliodas answers firmly as they clean up from a busy night of drunken merrymaking.
" As long as we keep fresh foods stocked that don't need to be cooked in order to eat them. It's not too hard to gather fresh foods right now. " is the deadpanned reply.
Neither one of them were expecting the Beard of the Mountain Cat group of Knights to just barge in, " You two are under arrest. "
Meliodas doesn't even hesitate to grab the Boar Hat's new minstrel whom happened to be wearing bright red tunic with black pants, and a silver belt cinched around her waist while wearing sensible brown boots. He leads them out a side door and into the forest nearby. Sara had never been more grateful for the fact that she was actually in shape than now. She'd been working as a traveling minstrel for a month now, ever since the coup the Holy Knights had lead against her family. She had no idea what was happening to her father or sisters. " Figures that moron would get pissy about the fact that I bodily ejected him from my tavern for getting fresh with my new minstrel. " Meliodas snorts.
He grins as he hears Hawk starting to take out the Knights chasing them, and he scoops Sara up, picking up his speed, and leaping up into a tree. The final knight chasing them just manages to hit the breaks before falling off a cliff, only to have Hawk knock him off. Sara bops him over the head for groping her left breast before he jumps back down out of the tree, " I am willing to concede that the groping may have been an accident, but no liberties will be granted until there's been a proper courtship. "
" Fair enough. " Meliodas admits, and the groping had been accidental. He did happen to be shorter than Sara, so holding her in a princess type carry would end up with some accidental gropes. Until he found his Rena once more he had no interest in intimate endeavours of any kind with another person, " Why become a traveling minstrel anyhow? "
" Princess Serena sent me on a mission to find the Seven Deadly Sins as the Holy Knights of Liones performed a coup. My princess never once believed that balderdash that they turned traitor, she said it was all too neat. Once she explained her reasoning to me I looked at the so called evidence from an alternate perspective, and it came up lacking. Dragon Sin Meliodas, will you help save this country, and live up to my princess' faith in you? "
Emerald green eyes narrow, " Why should I help out a country that branded me a criminal without doing a proper investigation? "
" The people are suffering under the rule of corrupt Holy Knights. The things I've seen and heard since setting out on the mission my princess gave me. Holy Knights are abusing their authority, and I just barely heard rumor that one used his sword to cut Bernia Village off from their water. Without water they can no longer make the alcohol they are famous for. If that rumor is true then only another Holy Knight would be able to remove the sword. " Sara answers.
Just as Meliodas is about to reply the area next to the cliff they were standing on is cut away. Sara, Hawk, and Meliodas all start to fall as gravity asserts itself over them. Meliodas acts quickly, grabbing Hawk, Sara, and the poor knight Hawk had pushed over the side of the cliff before leaping back up. He gets them all back up safely just as the four lesser knights are apologizing to Sir Twigo, for what Meliodas had no clue. " Hey, it's Alioni. " one of the knights says, pointing to the knight Meliodas had saved.
" You there, how dare you survive without my say so! I shan't revise my death count. "
" Who asked you to anyway? " Hawk calls back.
" Hey, you awake? " Meliodas asks Sara softly, she had taken a knock to the head when the cliff broke apart under them after that slab had been cut away. All he got in response was a pained groan. He shifts his grip on her so he could run, " Hawk, when I give the signal run into the forest. "
Hawk nods his understanding, " I cannot afford to allow you to live. Conclusion, you must all perish. "
" Run! " Meliodas snaps out.
He just barely manages to get out of the way of the magical shockwave from the swing of Sir Twigo's sword, and shield Sara, while also keeping her from taking another knock to the head, " Hey, Hawk, are you okay? "
" No, I'm shaved pork on a skewer. Mom, oh Mama! " Hawk cries out as he races off, passing Sir Twigo as he approaches.
" Pig, no matter. " Sir Twigo mutters.
Meliodas looks around at the devastation the disgrace of a Holy Knight had caused, all so no one would find out about his conduct unbecoming of a Knight of his status. The whole forest was just gone. He makes sure Sara is as comfortable as she can be, then he gets to his feet, and spins on his heel to face Sir Twigo, drawing his broken sword, emerald eyes hard, only to have to hurriedly use Full Counter on the attack heading his way.
" What's this? I know I hit the mark, and yet the one to feel my attack is me. " Sir Twigo says.
" Attacking me is a very foolish move. " Meliodas says, moving his body into his preferred stance, his broken sword now near his right hip, knees bent, and legs spread apart to give him optimal balance, he'd had millennia to perfect his fighting form.
" That form, that face, they're starting to come back to me. This cannot be possible! You haven't changed at all. "
" All right, time's up. Figured it out yet. "
" No, it can't be, and yet you still dare to EXIST! " Sir Twigo exclaims even as he swings his sword down in a doublefisted overhead strike. Meliodas just swings his froken blade to use Full Counter. Even as his own power is sent back at him strengthened, " Conclusion, this incomprehensible, extraordinary power is that of the LEGEND! " He goes sailing up into the air, his armor breaking off of him as he's propelled upwards, before landing.
Meliodas smirks, " The Seven Deadly Sins, the Sin of Wrath, the Dragon Sin, Meliodas. "
Once he's certain Twigo won't be a problem any further he turns his attention back to the unconscious Sara. To think one of the princesses of the Realm had sent someone out to find Meliodas and his fellow Sins. He already had decided to look for them, though the first stop would be Banya Village. No one messed with his booze supply. If Banya Village had been cut off from their water supply then Meliodas would make damned certain to rectify that problem. He supposed he could help Sara, and help to bring Liones' Holy Knights to heel. Now all he had to do was wait for Hawk to arrive with his mother. He picks Sara up with his left arm, he'd have a rope ladder to climb soon. He does enjoy the What the Fuck looks on the faces of the knights when Hawk's mom arrives, dropping down out of the sky. Hawk lowers the rope ladder, and Meliodas climbs up with the unconscious Sara. He owed it to Zaratras to bring his true killer to justice, to unveil the truth.
Once inside the Boar's Hat Meliodas heads to the only other room with a bed, and lays Sara down before waking her up, " How many fingers am I holding up? "
" Three. " Sara answers, " It's Friday, and we met last night when I decided to check out the hat shaped building, then after you closed down for the day you offered me a full time job as the in house musical entertainment. "
Meliodas chuckles, " Well, you don't have a concussion. Get some more sleep, we're heading towards Banya Village. Once you wake up I'll introduce you to Hawk's mom, okay. "
Sara nods and was back under immediately. Meliodas frowns as he leaves her temporary room, it was obvious Sara wasn't a fighter, but a healer, yet she had been the one sent to find the Sins. Then again she obviously had enough skill to fly under the radar as a traveling minstrel, making it that much harder for any pursuers to find her. If he was in her position he would have made damned certain he was as unremarkable as possible. He'd have to keep his stocks of Green and Peppermint teas filled. He understood all too well that she would need those two in order to strengthen her voice, and she would also need to rest it as well in order to keep her income coming in. He'd actually made more with live entertainment, even if he only got a quarter of her earnings.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or The Seven Deadly Sins.
