Now and Forever

Chapter 3

It was dark as the stranger tripped and stumbled his way down the rocky path, making his way towards the deepest part of the wood where there was a pool of sorts. It was stagnant and full of dead rotting things; the animals of the forest avoided the area even during times of severe drought. As he approached, it began to feel as if he were wading through the thick darkness; as though it were a tangible thing instead of merely a lack of light. He bent down towards the surface, whispering some words, before he began to speak.

"Do we really need to do this here? It's a pain to get to and it stinks" he wheezed.

"Find me a place this close to the palace where you can get a better connection and the same amount of privacy, and we can speak there. In the meantime, stop whining. So…how did it go?"

"I nearly had her, General. Wh-"

"I highly doubt that" he interrupted.

"Well he is very protective of the Princess!" he wheezed defensively. "Ugh, can't I move to a different body? I can't begin to tell you how much I hate this one! I can't breathe, I'm old, and I'm pretty sure I smell. How am I supposed to abduct the Princess like this?" he grumbled.

The General ignored the complaints and continued. "We need her Jirou, you know that."

"Um, about that…do we really need tokill her? I mean, she's absolutely stunning. Are you sure…uh, we can't just keep her?"

"Of course she's stunning! When have you ever seen a homely Apostle? They're said to take after the goddesses themselves but she's not a pet Jirou; she's dangerous to us. Besides, you know that killing her will crush Meliodas' spirit and his own wrath will slowly begin to destroy him from the inside as it did before."

"Yes, but I was thinking. Wh-"

"Your job is not to think but to do as you're told."

"Regardless…W-what if we converted her?"

"Oh, you've found religion, have you?" he said dryly.

"No. Do you remember when that fool Hendricksen gave those idiots demon blood to drink? What if we gave some to her?"

"You think she'd just voluntarily sit down and sip it like tea, do you?"

"All I'm saying is what if we don't give her a choice? Worse case: she dies painfully. Best case: we use her against the traitor."

"Oh yes, I can't see how your well thought out plan could possibly blow up in our faces. I guarantee the goddesses will find some way to intervene. Hold on…wait a second, am I detecting some jealously on your part?" the General said gleefully.

"What? No!" Jirou wheezed "I-I just think that she'd make an excellent trophy. I mean an Apostle of the Goddesses , who is also a human Princess, andMeliodas' fiancée."

"So he did propose, did he? He always was a romantic. Ugh, I just don't understand that boy!" the General fumed, "I'm glad I only made one like him. He was my first successful creation, you know…if you can even call him a success. I gave him tremendous power but I gave him the ability to love; I mistook love for passion and passion for strength. He began to question authority and eventually he became completely uncontrollable. That is where I went wrong. No! No, I didn't go wrong...He was fine until he met that woman; that Apostle. And now she just keeps showing up, lifetime after lifetime, like a bad penny...no matter how many times we kill her."

"You're rambling again, General."

"Oh, I didn't realize you had more important places to be. By the way, the Demon King wanted me to remind you not to get in Fraudrin's way. Apparently, he still wants Meliodas and doesn't want his capture to be compromised."