The sun had only just begun to peak over the horizon when Elizabeth awoke to the sound of arguing from downstairs. A sleepy fog still clouding her thoughts, Elizabeth didn't think to worry as to why there was arguing in the first place. Muttering to herself, she rolled over into the pillows that were far too soft for a guest room above a tavern and curled further into the warm and comforting blankets. It had been weeks since she had slept in a proper bed like this, since she had slept properly at all.

The arguing quieted for a moment, following a thud Elizabeth should have heard if it wasn't for the fact that she was almost asleep again. Then the voices came back, much quieter but still there and coming up the stairs but Elizabeth didn't stir.

She did bolt upright when her door opened; as quiet as the intruders tried to be, the door emitted a very loud squeak anytime it was moved.

Eyes that were wide slowly closed with a sigh, shoulders once tense drooping, and trembling hands gripping a blanket relaxed their death grip.

Elizabeth let herself melt back into the bed for a moment as Meliodas walked in looking sheepish, followed by Zeldris, who remained at the door glowering.

"Sorry Elizabeth, we didn't mean to scare you," Meliodas said as he walked over to the bed. "I thought you were still sleeping." He set a tray down on the nightstand and smiled at her. He tilted his head after a moment and the smile slipped a bit. "Are you alright? You're looking a bit pale…"

"You just scared the daylights out of her," Zeldris pointed out with a huff. "And now you're trying to poison her."

Elizabeth, who had been reaching for the tray, froze.

Meliodas spun around to face his brother, huffing and crossing his arms. "I am not!"

"Really now?"

"Truly!"

"And that's why you insisted on making her breakfast, instead of just letting me do it?"

"My cooking isn't poisonous!"

Zeldris raised a brow. "Didn't you give yourself food poisoning one time?"

Meliodas' face tinted pink, barely noticeable though. "That was one time-"

"And just last week someone had to be carried to the town doctor. Three last month if I recall, when you made that new dish which we scrapped from the menu."

Elizabeth watched the exchange quietly, having relaxed once again, and she looked to the tray and pulled it over to herself. Neither of them seemed to notice as she began to eat the breakfast, which did taste worse than any kind of breakfast that she had ever had in her life. But… but the taste also made her feel weird, and she hummed softly as she felt almost comforted from the vile taste on her tongue.

The two continued to bicker, not paying attention to Elizabeth as she finished the meal and set the tray, now empty, back on the nightstand. She leaned forward and rested her arm on her knee, then her head on her arm as she half-heartedly listened to the two of them.

Elizabeth couldn't remember if her and her sisters ever bickered this much… was it always like this between the two?

Though, as Zeldris kept needling his brother, Elizabeth didn't think she'd mind all that much. It was entertaining, sure, but even still partially asleep Elizabeth could see the small smiles they wore, the teasing merely that: teasing.

Zeldris only stopped bringing up instances where Meliodas' cooking had gotten someone hospitalized when Gelda appeared in the doorway, looking rather exasperated with the other two.

She silently huffed, pulling Zeldris out of the room and motioning for Meliodas to go as well. Elizabeth noticed Meliodas frown slightly, and Zeldris snicker quietly at the expression before quieting when Gelda gave him a look. She made a motion with her hands, one Elizabeth didn't understand, and Meliodas' face became a bit pinker, this time enough so Elizabeth did notice it.

"R-Right! Sorry for barging in again, Elizabeth," Meliodas rubbed the back of his neck, smiling at Elizabeth sheepishly. "We'll all be downstairs, come down when you're ready and we can start moving out of here."

He grabbed the empty plate as he spoke, and Elizabeth tilted her head, suddenly confused. "Wait… we're leaving the tavern?"

Meliodas also seemed confused by her question, but his eyes lit up when he was suddenly hit by a realization and he laughed lightly, shaking his head. "No, we're not leaving the tavern."

"Then how are we going to get moving?"

Meliodas grinned. "You'll see!" There was a loud knock on the door, and when they glanced over Gelda was lightly glaring at Meliodas, making a motion that Elizabeth knew as hurry up. Meliodas rolled his eyes and went to leave. He stopped just at the door, turning suddenly and pointing towards the closet. "There are some clothes in there you can wear, by the way!"

And then the door closed, leaving Elizabeth alone.

Elizabeth blinked at the sudden silence, and her brows furrowed as she tried to imagine how they were supposed to travel without abandoning the Boar Hat. Shaking her head, Elizabeth pushed herself out of bed, making a small noise as she stretched and her joints popped. It really had been a long time since she had slept so well.

Sighing, Elizabeth went to the closet to see just what she was going to end up wearing.

Elizabeth stared down at the outfit, twisting a bit to get a better look at herself.

It wasn't exactly what she normally wore, not even close. The short black skirt which barely covered her thighs at all, the one knee-high stocking, and pink blouse that ended just above her stomach, she was certain if her father ever saw her in this, he'd faint. She brushed her bangs from her eyes, taking in the more revealing outfit.

Despite how small it seemed, it fit like it had been tailored to her specifically. It was also incredibly comfortable, despite what she had expected upon first seeing it.

She didn't really hate it, either.

Smiling to herself, Elizabeth brushed her hair then ventured downstairs. She didn't want to keep them all waiting, after all. And the sooner they could get moving, the better.

It was fairly quiet in the bar, despite all four other inhabitants seemingly being lively. Gelda was moving her hands around in a way that Elizabeth didn't realize until just now was sign language, and mentally cursed herself for both not recognizing it sooner and for not learning it. She really should have, and was probably going to sometime soon, but she had to leave before there was a chance. Zeldris was watching her, a small smile on his face as he'd nod or make comments of his own - also in sign language, Elizabeth noted. And Meliodas busied himself with cleaning glasses and looking over a map as Hawk ate some scraps.

Gelda and Zeldris didn't look to her just yet, but Meliodas' head had turned the moment the stairs had creaked and Elizabeth felt her face warm as he looked over her with a proud smile.

"Those look good on you, Elizabeth!" Her face flushed more, but she returned his smile as she made her way over to the bar. Zeldris and Gelda both looked over to her and nodded in agreement. "That's just the tavern uniform, if we get a chance to stop at a town, you can get some more casual stuff to wear."

Hawk looked up from his food, and huffed in annoyance as he glared at the bar owner. "You really had nothing else for her?!"

Zeldris snickered softly as Gelda rolled her eyes, and Meliodas crossed his arms. "Nope!" he said with a grin. "Nothing that'd probably fit her, at least. Gelda's clothes would be too big."

Gelda nodded in agreement. She was taller than Elizabeth, and her clothes would be far too loose on the princess.

Besides, the three knew Elizabeth would never fit in Gelda's clothes. They had checked ages ago.

"So, Elizabeth," Zeldris turned to face her fully, "since you've already started this search, do you have any idea where one of the others may be?"

She bit her lip lightly. "I never gathered much, unfortunately. My search began very suddenly, without much preparation."

Zeldris hummed. "Alright, that's a bit disappointing." Gelda agreed, leaning on the counter. "We can't exactly just head off in a random direction, though."

"Knowing our luck, we'd just get further from finding them. Or it'd take years, since Merlin isn't here," Meliodas admitted. Elizabeth frowned.

"And we don't have years."

They really didn't. Elizabeth hadn't told them why she was searching for the sins, but it was (correctly) assumed that it was fairly urgent. The youngest princess didn't just go searching for seven of the most dangerous people in the world because of something happening decades from now.

"Right!" Meliodas clapped his hands together before pulling a map out from under the table. "Then we use what we do know. Any rumors we haven't looked into yet?"

Elizabeth listened as rumors were suggested and proven false - she was a bit surprised by how long they had also been looking for the others - while glancing over the map, frowning as she tried to recall any information about each and every place. Some of them had been crossed out, places they had already looked.

One name, one not crossed out just yet, caught her attention.

Something about that place… Baste Prison...

Why does it seem important?

Yes, it was a prison, but other prisons were also crossed out. Besides, if any of the sins were in prison, Elizabeth was sure there would have been news about it floating around-

Her thoughts came to a halt.

Right.

She had heard something about Baste Prison. It had been a while, over a year now probably, but she knows what she heard. She had overheard it from some lower-ranked Holy Knight, gushing about the great capture of one of the sins to another Holy Knight. It was no wonder she had forgotten it, though. When she had asked for the knights to repeat it, asked if it were true, and they had said no, she had misheard them. But they claimed if one of the sins were captured, they'd be put there.

Elizabeth blinked out of her thoughts to Meliodas and Hawk arguing over whether going through some mountains was a good possibility, that maybe a sin was hiding far far away from any civilization, and if Mama Hawk - who in the world was Mama Hawk? - could get them there.

She felt bad for cutting in, glancing at Zeldris and Gelda, who were watching the duo in amusement and making no attempt to stop their arguing as insults began to be mixed in with their reasons. Elizabeth took a deep breath.

"Um, I think I know where we could check."

All eyes turned to her, and she pointed to the map, to Baste Prison.

"Why there?" Zeldris asked after a moment of silence, having looked to Gelda as she had signed something, and Elizabeth thought he may have been translating for her. Elizabeth sat a little straighter, fingers drumming on the wooden counter.

"A while ago, I heard someone say if any sin was caught, they'd be put there. Probably, at least. They were low-ranked knights, so… I don't know if that's completely reliable. But it's a start, right?"

Meliodas hummed, looking over the map. He glanced to his younger brother, received a shrug, and relaxed, flashing Elizabeth a smile.

"You're right, it is a start! Definitely better than aimlessly wandering. Hawk, can you go tell Mama Hawk to get going?"

Hawk frowned. "Wait, we're going, just like that?"

Gelda made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Any better ideas?" Zeldris asked.

Hawk's mouth opened, closed, opened, then closed again. With a small huff, Hawk gave in and trotted outside.

"Who's Mama Hawk…?"

Meliodas grinned. "Oh, you're gonna love this!"

"And you might want to hold onto something," Zeldris advised.

Brows furrowed, Elizabeth gripped the counter tightly with both hands. Nothing happened at first, then Hawk came trotting back inside and the entire tavern began to shake. Elizabeth squeaked slightly and lurched forward a bit, hearing someone - she assumes Zeldris based on the direction, but can't quite tell - chuckle. It stills again, before there's a small sway, and Elizabeth vaguely remembers the feeling, from so many years back it's a miracle she can even recall the idea of it, of being on a boat. It's not so bad, though. Almost comforting, like being rocked in the arms of her father after a bad dream.

Elizabeth slowly relaxed, but nothing had been cleared up. They were moving though, obviously. Meliodas was still grinning as he hopped over the bar and held a hand out for Elizabeth.

"C'mon!"

She took his hand, allowed him to lead her outside with Hawk, Gelda, and Zeldris following behind, and nearly tripped as she realized what it was they were riding on.

A massive, adorable, and totally awesome green pig.

Elizabeth grinned, not noticing how Meliodas' hand gave hers a light squeeze and Zeldris nudged him gently, too busy asking Hawk about his mom as he rambled about her proudly.