The group had been traveling for two days now without stopping and weren't even at the base of the mountain yet. Which made King anxious as- although he had a close friend, ally, and someone personally trained by him in control with him gone- he didn't like leaving his kingdom for too long. This would be the longest hed been away since Elaine had passed.
That thought sent his stomach in knots..
Doing his best to not complain regardless of his agitation and suspicion of why this was taking so long as it would only worry Elizabeth more, he walked behind as usual with his guard up as he watched Elizabeth and Meliodas.
She was smiling in a way he hadn't seen her do since Meliodas's sacrifice, and although he was worried it would end in heartbreak for her, Harelquin couldn't deny that he liked seeing her so happy again. It was like her light had been extinguished when the blond's was, and was now slowly coming back even as his light had been turned to darkness.
It was refreshing to see, and eased his agitation ever so slightly as one of his closest friends looked happier then she had been in a long time.
Getting lost in his thoughts again, he didn't realize how dark it was getting until he saw the other two stop walking and go back towards him.
"We should probably stop for tonight since it's getting dark. Where we were yesterday was fine to walk through since there wasn't anything truly harmful out, but in an area like this, it would be safer to stay where we are. I'll take first watch."
"Excuse me? I don't think so. I'll take the first watch. No offense, but I don't trust a demon to be on the lookout for monsters. Who says you won't leave us behind or purposefully bring the monsters to us?"
"Why would I leave you behind when I wanted you two to come along in the first place? Same going for summoning monsters. Look, I completely get that you don't trust me, but at the very least we're on the same side. I wanted you two to come along, I wouldn't just ditch you like that."
"I'm not exactly going to just take your word for it demon. I'm taking first watch."
Meliodas sighed, clearly getting annoyed.
"Look, you want to be sleep deprived when climbing a mountain? Fine. But I don't exactly trust you either ya know. It wouldn't suprise me if you tried to take Ellie and find the place on your own since clearly you hate me that much and don't use logic in risky situations and want to get your ass killed. So either way I'm staying up. It's just your choice on if you want to sleep or be exhausted tomorrow."
Elizabeth seemed nervous while King was slightly surprised by that. The Meliodas he had known was always very even tempered and cheerful, always dealing with arguments with calm, tactful, and patient behavior. And yet now he was not only being sarcastic and sassy, he had cursed. Something he never ever did before.
Although he couldn't be too surprised, the boy was a demon after all. Although he couldn't really blame the blond for not trusting him either. As much as he hated to admit it, the other had been right. He had considered a few times taking Elizabeth and trying to find the place on his own.
So both too stubborn to back down, the two decided to avoid conflict. They would both stay up while Elizabeth got some sleep. She had offered to stay up herself so both of them could sleep without worrying, but both boys refused the offer as they knew she must be exhausted as well.
So making a fire as King collected sticks and Meliodas lit it with a demon's ability called Hellblaze, the three sat around the fire to keep warm as Meliodas tended to it periodically and the fairy kept a good supply of vines and wood nearby to make sure it didn't go out. However as the three stayed in silence and the fire continued to burn and crackle, Elizabeth slowly drifted off and rested against the closet thing to her.
Meliodas's shoulder.
He blinked before looking over at the girl fast asleep and snuggling down against him slightly. And in that moment, King saw the blond's eyes return to the soft look they had always been before.
It was something the fairy didn't even realize how much he missed, however it also reminded him of how different they were now, even if he couldn't place exactly how they were different from before.
Watching carefully as the demon gently leaned back onto his forearms so she could rest on his chest, Harelquin felt himself wondering how a creature of chaos could be so gentle and tender with a creature it was designed to destroy.
That is until Meliodas closed his eyes and darkness started to lightly surround the girl not roused from her sleep even slightly.
Alarm filled the fairy as his mind went back to all of the goddesses and soldiers consumed by the darkness and lost to it. Meliodas himself even included in that list of the fallen..
Not her too! I CAN'T LOSE HER TOO!!!!
"GET AWAY FROM HER! Elizabeth? Elizabeth can you hear me!?"
"She's fine you know. I'm not turning her into a demon or anything. It's just something to keep her warm."
"Like hell it is! Let her go now!"
The boy shrugged.
"Kay."
Closing his eyes again, the darkness faded back into his skin slightly as it revealed her body perfectly unharmed and her wings still as bright and intact as ever.
"W-What?"
"Like I said, she's okay. It's just something that I used because she looks cold. It's like a blanket of sorts. Here, let me show you."
Before the fairy could protest or react, the darkness covering the goddess and demon spread to him as alarm bells and fear ran through him.
Nononono! I can't get turned! This has to be a trick! This must've been his plan! Lure away the future leader of the goddesses and the Fairy King and turn them into demons! I can't let this happen. I-I can't end up like Elaine!!!
Closing his eyes as he waited for pain and for the darkness to consume him, he felt a sensation of warmth and looked down to see it was covering him from the shoulders down and didn't hurt at all. In fact, it avoided his wings altogether as if to protect them from the darkness and simply brought warmth as Meliodas said they would.
"See? I know you don't trust me, but did you really think I'd sink that low? I mean, sure you've been getting on my nerves and we've had our differences, but I know what it feels like to be turned, and I wouldn't do that to you."
That gave King a nice big dose of guilt. It was easier to disassociate the Meliodas in front of him to that of his friend incase he did need to kill the demon to protect himself and Elizabeth, however hearing the boy talk like that... it reminded him that he really had experienced being turned and being taken away from everything he had known.
"What... What does it feel like? Being turned I mean. Does it feel like this?"
The other chuckled, but it was humorless, bitter even.
"No, not at all. It was... burning. Agonizingly hot to the point of where I felt like my skin was melting off. But also... cold somehow? I-It's really hard to explain. I do know that it hurt though. Not in the way you'd expect, it didn't hurt physically. It hurt.. the internal part of me. It made me feel so... alone, and hopless... I hated that feeling."
Oh that made Harelquin's heart clench painfully in his chest. Hearing that the very symbol of hope, the most cheerful and confident person he knew felt helpless? Hopless? That hurt almost as bad as the thought of if Elaine had felt the same...
The moment feeling grim and sad, neither said a word as both were lost in their own thoughts. That is until Elizabeth stirred slightly and snuggled closer into Meliodas's chest, making him blink back into reality.
"Well, anyway.. you can keep the blanket. I know it's cold out and Elizabeth was shivering pretty bad so I figured you were probably feeling even worse since fairies don't like cold. It should last throughout the night."
Feeling slightly shocked by the kind gesture, the fairy nodded. Laying down as regardless of his attempts to stay awake, the warmth of the blanket combined with his exhaustion started to lull him into a deep sleep.
