Now and Forever

Chapter 12

Elizabeth was promptly ambushed by her two sisters, who were sitting around the evening fire waiting for her, as she came through her bedroom door.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Did he get down on one knee?"

"Tell us what he said, word for word!"

"Where is he now? Did he go back to his tavern?"

Elizabeth simply sat down on the edge of her bed and took off her shoes. "I swear I had no idea!" she laughed as she began to tell them about her night. By the time she finished, she had changed into her pajamas and taken her hair down.

"Uh, isn't that the nightshirt I gave you for your Birthday? I thought you had implied that it was a bit too revealing for your tastes?" said Veronica with a raised eyebrow.

Elizabeth looked down at the simple knee-length, "V" neck nightshirt and blushed. "Everything else just seemed very constricting" she mumbled as she quickly put a robe on over top. She had been traveling with the Sins for enough time, quite a bit of which she had spent running for her life, that she had come to appreciate the practicality of a good pair of flat shoes and clothes she could actually move in.

"So, where is Meliodas anyway?" Veronica asked suspiciously, "you didn't really answer us before."

"I have no idea. Father said that he could stay the night in the castle but all he said was that he was going to take care of Hawk and Sir Ban and that he would see me in the morning."

"Uh huh" she replied skeptically, as her youngest sister's face turned an unnatural shade of red.

"Oh Veronica, he'll probably just sneak up here later, like Griamore and Gilthunder do" Margaret giggled.

"What!" Elizabeth shrieked as she spun to face her oldest sister but they just laughed in response. "You mean that Griamore and Gilthunder…what! How long has this been going on?"

"She's so adorable when she's shocked and flustered!" laughed Veronica.

"Actually, there is something that I've been rather curious about." Margaret said as she raised an eyebrow. "Gilthunder took me past the Boar Hat the other day and it doesn't really seem like that big of a place. At least not big enough to fit seven people and a pig. So…where exactly have you been sleeping?"

Veronica's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise as she carefully watched her two sisters. Elizabeth just stared at her feet and fidgeted. "W-well" she slowly began.

"She's been sleeping with me, naturally!" said a cheerful voice by the window. "Though, before you start giving her a hard time or getting the wrong idea, you should know that Hawk insists on tying me up…tightly, I might add, to make sure nothing happens."

The three sisters spun around with a unanimous shriek, to find Meliodas sitting comfortably on the rough stone window sill.

"How long have you been sitting there" Veronica demanded "and how did you know that this was Ellie's room?"

"Long enough" he smirked as he hopped down to the bedroom floor "but don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your two frequent nighttime visitors. And, to answer your second question, I've been here before."

"Just so you know, the only reason I like you is because you make Ellie happy."

"Duly noted" he grinned. "Though just so you know, as I was leaving the guards area downstairs, I couldn't help but notice Gilthunder and Griamore quietly slip away."

"W-we should probably leave these two alone" stuttered Margaret as she eagerly got up to go. "Just don't get caught" warned Veronica as she followed Margaret out the door, shooting Meliodas one last look before closing it.