Now and Forever

Chapter 6

"Do you think this colour makes my eyes look weird?" Diane said while holding up a bolt of buttery yellow satin to her face. "I think that's my favourite so far. It looks absolutely beautiful!" exclaimed Elizabeth with excitement. The two ladies had been at the shop debating colour all morning.

"Elizabeth, this is really too much you know; Buying the cloth and having my dress made" mumbled the Sin in embarrassment.

The Princess looked over at her friend with a smile "Diane, it's the least I could do after everything you've done for me! Besides" she continued, watching her friend carefully "you were going to go with King, weren't you? I think he's going to love that colour on you!"

The Sin looked at her and turned such a violent shade of red that the Princess would have been concerned had she not known the cause. "D-do you think he'll say yes?" she stuttered uncharacteristically while twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"I think that he'd be a fool to say anything else!"

"Well, you have to get whatever that is that you're holding! The Captain will be speechless!"

Elizabeth's cheeks flushed as she looked towards her friend. "W-would you be upset if he and I went together?"

"There was a time I would have said yes" she began thoughtfully "but I don't think that I could have let him go to anyone but you. Besides, hereally likes you!" she finished with a grin.

Elizabeth giggled as she turned towards the shop keeper with their order. They left, weighed down with bolts of cloth, and made their way back to the castle to meet with the seamstress.

On their way in, they ran into Meliodas who was on his way out, having just finished his meeting with the King. "Yo, Diane" he greeted "a-and Elizabeth!" he stammered as she stepped out from behind the Serpent Sin. "You seem surprised Captain" grinned the tiny giantess "you know, this is a castle and she is a Princess." Ignoring her, he quickly asked how their shopping trip had gone.

"Quite successfully, Sir Meliodas" the Princess smiled as she moved her bolts of cloth so he couldn't see them.

"How was your meeting with the King?" Diane interrupted with obvious curiosity.

"Oh…Uh, it was fine."

They could have sworn he was blushing.

"Whelp, I'll meet you both back at the Boar Hat when you're done" he announced before quickly leaving. Elizabeth and Diane could only watch as he walked away and look at each other in wonder.

However, at that moment the King came out of his study. "My dear, thereyou are! I was beginning to think I would never see you again." He looked down to see the cloth and continued. "If I had known a ball would bring you back to the castle, I would have thrown one sooner!"

"We were just on our way to visit the seamstress!"

"Ok, well off you go. You girls have fun" he chuckled with a smile before heading down the corridor.

"Did any of that seem a bit strange to you?" the Princess asked. Diane just shrugged, "what doesn't these days?" she laughed.

...

The same time the girls were looking at cloth, Meliodas was on his way to meet with the King. He didn't want to be late for his meeting but other than "afternoon" and "castle" he had no other details to go off of. Hopefully someone will be there to meet me he thought as he walked up the steps to the main entrance. He was surprised at just how nervous he was feeling, but then, he only had a vague suspicion of what the King wanted to speak to him about. Luckily someonewas waiting for him when he got there; "Right this way sir, the King is waiting for you in his study."