Now and Forever

Chapter 1

Where am I? he thought as he tried to look around; there wasn't the slightest bit of light anywhere, just a suffocating darkness. But he sensed there was something more...something prowling just beyond his reach and he could feel it's power crashing against him like waves.

There was something unnervingly familiar about the feeling and while he couldn't quite place it, he instinctively knew it was dangerous.

"Who are you?" he called out in a bored voice.

His question was met with the same heavy silence as before.

Suddenly a voice whispered in his ear "you can't have her, you know."

He stiffened and quickly felt his mouth go dry. Struggling to keep his voice calm and detached, he merely responded with the same question as before.

"I said, who are you?"

"The goddesses will never let you keep her". The bodiless voice continued. It had a rough and raspy quality and there was a gleefully maliciousness to the statement. "You're tainted. Nothing more than a monster that destroys everything it touches."

He felt himself go cold and the fury began to tingle at the base of his spine. But there was a third feeling he was unaccustomed to that began to curl around his chest, making it hard to breathe and he began to feel nauseous. It was fear; not for himself but for Her. As heavy as he thought the darkness had been before, he now felt as though it was slowly crushing him.

"If you touch her, I will destroy you" he hissed before he could stop himself.

"Really?" replied the mysterious voice as it began to laugh "How very interesting."

It was a cold, cruel laugh that got louder and louder until it suddenly stopped; leaving him alone in the oppressive darkness.

...

Meliodas suddenly sat up.

His clothes and sheets were soaked with sweat and his hands shaking from a mixture of anger and fear. He quickly looked to his right and felt relief wash over him. The moonlight lit up the bedroom with a silvery glow and he could easily see Elizabeth's calm, sleeping face while her chest gently moved with every sweet breath she took. At some point during his dream he had gotten free of the coarse ropes and they were currently laying, broken and useless, beside the bed. He got up as carefully as he could and silently padded across the room to change into a dry set of clothes. Looking back towards the bed, he thought again about how lucky he was to be there. Powerful or not, there had been moments in that final fight against Hendrickson where he wasn't sure if he was going to make it through alive. Then she saved the day and didn't even realize it. She's truly incredible he thought as he grinned and a faint blush spread across his cheeks. He gently crawled back into bed and comfortably settled next to the Princess.

Well, if I'm going to be in trouble tomorrow, I might as well make the most of it he thought to himself.

Leaning forward to brush her silver hair aside, he placed a soft kiss on the Princess' forehead. She sighed and smiled in her sleep and he looked to make sure he hadn't woken her. Maybe it was the subtle fear that still licked at the edges of his consciousness, but he carefully wrapped his arms protectively around her and drew her tightly to his chest. He bent his head and kissed her forehead again.

"I will always protect you. You're too important to me, now and forever."

She suddenly snuggled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his chest, and whispered his name. Surprised, he quickly looked down to make sure she was still asleep. He hadn't actually confessed his feelings to her yet…well, not while she was conscious. Though, he smiled to himself, he had a feeling she had heard him anyway. He relaxed and, enjoying her warmth and calm in the knowledge that she was safe, fell into a dreamless sleep with his lips resting gently on her forehead.