3,000 Years

Sleepy Nights: Part 2

Meliodas woke to still silence, the pounding of his hearts echoing within his ears. 

Thump, thump, thump; he could hear them: steady and heavy, heavy and steady. Just like every time he woke up from another one of the dreams - another one of the visions that he is constantly plagued to see again and again. 

It doesn't help that they come at the most random of times, constantly reminding him of things he wished he could simply forget. 

Things he wished he could leave in the past where they belonged.

But like always things could never go as planned. Meliodas knew that better than anyone and so he never set his hopes on much. Not when he knew that having too much hope could cause a spiral into even deeper despair. A despair that was nearly impossible to climb out of and leave behind. 

But even so, Meliodas couldn't lie to himself either; he couldn't deny that he felt hope. Hope that had slowly seeped within him beneath the steely guard of his creeping despair. Something that he had never thought would happen. 

But now, he had more hope than ever that perhaps an end was near. That perhaps he could finally end the eternal cycle of wandering...

Shifting is what snaps the Dragon Sin from these thoughts, his attention turned from his thinking to the still unconscious princess. She had turned to lay on her stomach, her face half buried in the pillow below her head. Silver hair tangled over her body, her back slowly rising and falling with every breath. Her face was framed by silver locks, her cerulean eyes covered by lids that were framed with thick lashes. Pink lips were parted slightly, a hand loosely clutching at the pillow.

Her likeness to the original was always as frightening as it was exciting to Meliodas. All Elizabeths had shared the same sort of look - distinct features always being prominent - but the Dragon Sin couldn't help but notice how Elizabeth Liones was a lot more alike to the first Elizabeth than the others. The shade of her hair, the colour of her eyes, even the dip of her nose and the sound of her voice were too similar to be different. The only real difference was the wings missing from her back. But even so it was still something.

Perhaps it was even a sign.

Of course, to Meliodas, all Elizabeths were their own person. They weren't 'replacements' for the former Elizabeth. They weren't like disposable things. He had seen them for their differences and noticed how none were truly ever the same as the ones before. But still, he had never come across one that reminded him of the original so much. He had never crossed one like Elizabeth Liones. That being said if she was so alike...

An idea forming, the blonde quickly moved to see if his late night thoughts were actually leading anywhere. The lingering sourness of his dreams (if he would even call them that) was replaced with curiosity, Meliodas easily removing the duvet from her form. 

If his memory served correctly, which he was absolutely sure it did, the blonde remembered something about a birthmark or something on original Elizabeth's shoulder. Usually this wouldn't be passed through the incarnation line, but the blonde had a strange gut feeling that this time was different. 

He knew that something about Elizabeth Liones was peculiar compared to previous times. Meliodas had a feeling that perhaps she would be the last incarnation. So he had to check. Even if it was just to satiate his curiosity or calm the despair creeping at edge of his mind. He just had to check.

His hand went to move the neckline of her nightgown, but then paused. It hovered right over the fabric, a slight frown forming on Meliodas' features as he looked at it.

The Dragon Sin didn't expect her to wake up, Elizabeth was always a rather deep sleeper. He didn't know why, but it was something that happened to nearly every incarnation of her. They had very deep slumbers. Nothing could wake them unless it was like a fire, or Hawk squealing his head off because Diane was threatening to roast him again. But even then, the Dragon Sin couldn't help but pause. He knew very well that doing something like this would look very wrong if she woke up. It may even scare her. Therefore, he had to think of whether it was worth it to do it in this way. After all, he could easily just ask Elizabeth if she had a birthmark on her shoulder...

Too late.

Curiosity struck at hesitation and before he knew it, Elizabeth's shoulder was exposed. To his surprise, the mark was there. Right where it originally was, the outline of a feather impossible to miss. 

The mark wasn't too large or prominent, in fact it was hardly noticeable perhaps passing for an oddly shaped beauty mark. Nevertheless this caused Meliodas to blink in surprise, his mind actually caught on the fact that it was actually there. That he was right for once in this situation where he was always grasping straws. An odd thing really, when it was only the first Elizabeth who had it. None of the others did.

"It really is a sign..." Meliodas grimaced as he stared at the mark, the shape as evident as ever.

He could remember when Elizabeth, the first ever one, had first told him about it. She'd been awfully embarrassed and said that it was a mark the Supreme Deity had given her to distinguish her from others. No-one else was given the feather-shaped mark and so Elizabeth chose to keep it as a secret of sorts. At first Meliodas had felt honored that she chose to confide something like that in him, but now the memory felt sticky and stale. It left a dark feeling growing in his gut and he could sense the lump forming in his throat. The dread forming with the realisation.

That mark was only proof that something horrible was going to happen.

"Sir Meliodas?" Sleepy, half-lidded blue eyes bore into his own, the owner's voice coming out soft and muffled.

The blonde froze, the familiar voice breaking his thoughts as he stopped wondering about the mark. Instead he was mentally searching for a response, all sorts of curses going off in the background.

"Sorry, Elizabeth," Meliodas flashed a sheepish grin, trying to answer as smoothly as possible despite the blunder he'd already made. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine..." Elizabeth gave a small smile, her yawn betraying that she was still half-asleep. "But why are you up so late?"

"Just Hawk being Hawk," Meliodas answered simply, brandishing the rope Hawk often used to tie him up. Not that it restrained him anyway - but he'd let Hawk think that. The next step would probably be making him sleep outside.

The princess didn't think to press further on it, instead taking the chance to fall asleep before she fully woke up. So after another word or two she was soon out like a light, the sound of her breathing filling the empty space as Meliodas released yet another sigh.

A few moments passed before his gaze fell once again to the sleeping princess. The sleeping beauty of his tale. While it would be best for him to tell her the truth, he just can't. Not when it would hurt not just him, but Elizabeth too - and he couldn't live with another inevitable repeat of the past.