Chapter 19 - What If

Another short night comes to an end when I wake up to the voices of Meliodas' friends in the morning. I move myself out of the bed and head downstairs only to smell the most delicious food ever.

"Please tell me Ban has been cooking!" I say and lick my lips.

"You really think I would let the Captain near the kitchen?" asks Ban as he comes out of the kitchen, placing a plate with food on it in front of me. It does not only smell good but looks really delicious as well.

"Ban, you outdid yourself!" I say happily and dig into the food before I begin to drool.

"I would be offended by your criticism but the food is really good!" says Meliodas and shaves the food in his mouth.

"Meliodas, you eat like a pig!" I complain and smirk at him as this brings back old memories and he smirks back at me, his green eyes lighting up in amusement.

"Hey!" complains Hawk. "There's nothing wrong eating piggy-style. After all, we pigs know how to enjoy a meal!"

"I am sorry, Sir Hawk. I didn't mean to offend you."

"If you leave me some scorps, I might forgive you" he jokes and I chuckle. "I will" I say and wink down at him.

"You don't have to" says Ban as he comes back from the kitchen another time, holding a bowl of food in his hands. "I'd never forget you, Master" he says and places down the bowl in front of him. Hawk squeeks in excitement and dugs his head right into the food.

"So, Captain, what do you think about the Kings prediction that seems to be about Yami?" asks Ban as he sits down with us.

"A prediction?" asks Meliodas and looks up from his plate.

"Don't start this again, Ban" I sigh but he ignores me.

"Yeah, seems like your friend is going to end the war."

"Yeah, I will along with you guys!" I say and get already tired of the conversation. I really don't want to talk through this again. "Pretty sure you're misunderstanding this."

"Yeah, how so?" Ban asks and looks at me challenging, his right eyebrow rised.

"What do I know? Guess it's because someone had to lead your guys asses whilst Meliodas was knocked out."

"Hey, I wasn't knocked out!" complains Meliodas. "I was... healing. Now, what's the prediction about? It really says that Yami is going to end the war?"

"It is not!" I complain once again.

"One of them and yet completely different. Only those who do not choose any side will choose the right one" says Merlin and I glare at her angrily. "That is, what the King said."

"This whole talking about our King and the Majesty is really confusing" sighs Diane and rests her head on her hands that lay folded on the table.

Another pair of feet walking down the stairs can be heard and we all look up to see Elizabeth joining us. Silence fills the room immediately as no one knows what to say. Worriedly and filled with shame, I look at Meliodas, which eyes are filled with nothing but love. He then gets up from his seat and walks over to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asks her softly and she gives him a warm smile.

"I am fine, Meliodas. I'm sorry to see the curse hasn't be broken. Are you doing okay?"

Meliodas and my eyes fill with tears and he nods. "As long as you're with me, I'll always be fine" he says. Elizabeth turns to the rest of us and smiles at her friends.

"Diane, King... It's so good to see you again."

"Oh, Elizabeth!" Diane cries out and runs to her friend, hugging her tightly, not able to controll her emotiones. "I am so sorry!"

Once again, I can't help but feel guilty and look away in shame whilst my heart seems to break. Ban leaves into the kitchen and everyone else begins to talk to Elizabeth whilst she assures them that she's fine. Just shortly after, Ban walks out of the kitchen again and places another plate of food on the table.

"You really should eat, Princess." Then he looks down to Hawk. "Mind bringing this to Elaine?" he asks and places a plate on Hawks back.

"You really shouldn't trust Hawk with food" says Meliodas. "But I guess you're saying we need a plan."

Ban smirks at the Captain while Hawk leaves us, going upstairs. "You know me too well, Captain."

"Now... Who can give me an overview of the current situation?" asks Meliodas and sits down again.

"I don't like the idea of seperating again" says Diane sadly, as we're about to leave the Boar Hat again.

"It's different this time" I say with a smile. "We'll do our best to keep the Commandments away from the kingdom. We're still together for the same thing this time."

"Yeah, we're all here now!" says King motivating and gives Diane a warm smile. She smiles back at him.

"Hey, Captain!" she then says and turns to Meliodas. "Make sure to keep an eye on Elizabeth, okay?"

"Of course I will" he says, a cheeky grin on his face as he squeezes Elizabeths boobs with his one hand and her butt with the other one.

"She said 'Keep an eye on her', not grope her!" I scold and Hawk screams at Meliodas, pulls onto his pants with his jaw as he tries to pull our pervert friend away.

"Don't worry, Diane" I chuckle. "I'll make sure Meliodas keeps his manners. If he ever had those." Diane pulls me into a hug to say Goodbye.

"Why are you the only one staying with them anyway?" asks Ban, holding Elaine in his arms. He's bringing her back to the castle to fight once against near it to see her every day.

"Because I'm the only one who can do this..." I say and swing my arms until they change into wings, leaving everyone stand there in shock and surprise. I smirk at Meliodas' friends and change the wings back to my arms again. "These wings let me travel from any battlefield back to the tavern way faster than any of you could ever be here. Except from you, King" I say and look up at the Fairy King, hovering next to Diane.

Diane nods at Merlin. "I'm ready" she says and jumps down from Mama Hawk, getting back to her usual size. "Now, that feels better" she says with a smile, holding up her hammer. "I'm ready to fight some demons!"

Together with Meliodas, Elizabeth and Hawk, I watch our friends leave in different directions. Once again, we seperate to protect the kingdom from all sides. Within the past few days, the demons came closer to the kingdom and it looks like they're becoming more as well, which won't change as long as the seal is broken and the Ten Commandments aren't defeated.

"And there were only four left" says Hawk and I turn to face him.

"Make that three, Sir Hawk" I say and wrap my arms around my best friend. "Make sure to keep your hands off of her" I chuckle as I let go of him. Then, Elizabeth hugs me.

"Please be careful" she says softly and I nod at her encouraging.

"I'll see you later" I say and fly away, leaving Meliodas, Elizabeth and the young piggy behind.

The further I fly away from the kingdom, the stronger the feeling of the dark demon powers gets. It's such a strong feeling that either there are members of the Ten Commandments nearby or a large horde of demons. Of course, I would prefer the latter. Nonetheless, it's safer for me not to fly any further to not get caught so easily. I haven't been gone for long yet but I already wonder how the Seven Deadly Sins are doing. The thought of them having to fight harder battles than I have to gives me a stomach ache. I can't really understand it myself. It's only been a few weeks that we have known each other and yet I feel responsible for them. I want to protect them and I feel bad that they are involved in a fight that began long before their time.

3rd persons POV

Zeldris flies along the way to the kingdom, checking the situation and finds many dead bodies from demon beasts. He grits his teeth in anger as he sees what's happening around him. He spent the past few days to hold himself back and hide to regain his old strength. But as he now sees what happens to everyone and everything belonging to their race, he knows time is slowly running out. It is time for him and the other Commandments to make their way to the kingdom themselves.

He finds a human leaning against a stone wall, who seems to be asleep. He just passed another battlefield and just a few miles away, some weak human fell asleep. But then he wonders if that human maybe has fought these demons. No matter what, it's pathetic. That human is an easy target and deserves to die. And on top, its soul will give him some strength. Quietly, he goes to land in front of it but then his eyes widen in surprise. It's her. It's the new leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, sleeping closely to the killed bodies of her own race. Then he realizes that it must have been her that fought these demons. He feels anger rise inside him and the urge to kill her becomes even stronger.

But as soon as his anger came, it disappeares when he looks into her sleeping face. She looks so exhausted and peaceful. Once again, he feels the same like on the battlefield. He feels drawn to her in a way he has never felt before. Almost as if there seems to be a connection between them that he can't really understand. But he quickly pushes that thought aside. After all, she's still his enemy and has proven that by killing her comrades of the same race.

Zeldris grabs the hilt of his sword but immediately stops again. There's another strange feeling. The feeling to protect her. And it's so strong that his hand, holding the hilt, drops to his side. He knows that feeling... He has felt it before... But how is that possible? There's a strong feeling growing inside him that he can't understand at all and he just stands there and watches her sleep.

"Screw it..." he mumbles and kneels down in front of her, not willing to hurt her in any way. He takes an even closer look at her face. Her breathing is steady and her eyelids twitch here and there and he can't help but wonder what she's dreaming about.

She looks so tired that Zeldris starts to feel sorry for her but he knows he has to wake her up because she can't stay here. It's not a safe place to sleep at. He moves his hand to her body and carefully touches her arm, shying away instantly. He felt a tingling sensation when he touched her skin and now looks at her with shocked eyes as his heart is racing. He wonders what is happening to him and what kind of feelings she causes inside him. He almost trembles as his thoughts and feelings go crazy. For the past 3.000 years, he has felt nothing but hate and the wish for revenge but the closer he comes to her, the more confused he gets.

But his short, kind touch is enough to wake her up and her eyes flutter open. How cute, thinks Zeldris. Her sleepy eyes widen once she sees Zeldris and she tries to move backwards but her back is already leaning against the wall and there's no escape.

"Do I scare you so much?" he asks at her attempt to escape and fails to hide his amusement.

"A couple of days ago you complained that I wasn't scared of you" she says and he remembers what he had said to her when they first met. But now he almost regrets his words and the thought of her being scared of him is nothing he likes.

"Don't worry, if I would have wanted to hurt you, I just blew the best chance to."

"Comforting."

"You can't stay and rest here."

"I didn't plan on falling asleep. ...But... Thanks for waking me up" she says thankfully.

"You are really lucky it was me who found you."

"Geez, Zeldris. I already said thank you" Yami says but can't hide her amusement and Zeldris has to chuckle. "What are you doing here?" she then asks him and stretches out her legs.

"Checking the situation. Passed by some dead demons, you know anything about that?" he asks and his dark eyes glare at her. Yami tries not to show him how uncomfortable she feels.

"What do you want me to say, Zeldris?"

Suddenly, Zeldris feels sorry for putting her under pressure. He already knew that it was her that fought the demons and he didn't take any revenge. There was no need to ask her about it. He sees a hint of fear in her eyes and the feeling that he needs to protect her grows even stronger inside him and he can't be mad at her at all. "That's war. They sure aren't the only victims."

Even tho it's a mistake because it's a sign of weakness, Yami looks away as she doesn't feel like she can look into his eyes for any longer. She still hates fighting and Zeldris is right to give her a bad feeling about it. After all, she lived in the demons world for 2.000 years and belonged to them. And a part of her still does.

"I won't hesitate to kill you if you tell this anybody" Zeldris says threatingly but then his voice becomes softer. "But what if I really felt something on the battlefield, just like you said?"