Now and Forever

Chapter 18

She was dimly aware of being carried and people talking over and about her. Some were crying. She wanted to reach out and comfort them, but her arms wouldn't respond. Suddenly, she felt someone gently brush her hair away from her face and heard a familiar voice murmur lovingly into her ear, "it's alright; you're safe. You can rest now." And so she did, or at least she tried to.

"Hello?" she called into the darkness "I know you're there."

"Hello Elizabeth" he spat with distain.

"What do you want, General? You've failed and now you'll have to find some other way to break the seal on the Coffin of Eternal Darkness, considering that you no longer have the pure blood of an Apostle of the Goddesses."

"True" he muttered, "that may have been a small oversight on my part. Though, you don't have to sound quite so smug about it."

"Get out of my head" she said firmly and with a flash of golden light and a yelp, he was gone.

…

"Shhhh!" Hawk said loudly, "Elizabeth is still resting and you shouldn't be bothering her!"

The mental fog was slowly beginning to lift and she was starting to become more aware of her surroundings, though, she still hadn't opened her eyes. The bed was so soft and she could feel the waves of heat coming off of whatever she was laying next to.

"Hawk" Meliodas mumbled, "I swear if you aren't quieter or you say that one more time, we'll be having pork for dinner tomorrow." The pig squeaked once in fear and quickly left the room. She heard the door click shut as he tightened his grip around her waist and murmured into her ear "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

Of course, she thought, I'm laying next to Meliodas. "How long have I been asleep?" she croaked as she snuggled into him.

"Oh, only a week and a half" he replied lightly

"What!" she blurted in surprise as she quickly sat up and opened her eyes.

"Hey, I was still snuggling here!" he laughed in relief as he sat up with her.

She smiled at him but it quickly faded as she began to remember. Leaping out of the bed, she ran to the bathroom and turned on the lights. Quickly looking in the mirror, she was relieved to see two blue eyes staring back at her. She turned around to see Meliodas leaning against the door frame, watching her with a heartbroken expression.

"I'm sorry" he said softly, "for not finding you in time and for not being able to protect you in the first place."

"Stop" she said as she sank to her knees, "this is not your fault!" She rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "You can't protect me from everything Meliodas. Besides, the Goddess told me that my roll would have to change. She told me that I would now have to be both a healer and a protector."

He kissed her forehead and suddenly pushed her back so that she was looking at him. "Wait…what? What do you mean 'the Goddess told you'?"

"I spoke to one of the Goddesses"

"In a dream?"

"Of sorts, I suppose" she mused, "I was on the verge of death…but there was such a beautiful garden" she sighed, "I really wanted to stay but I knew that if I had, I would never have seen you again. The darkness was so cold and lonely in comparison, but it brought me back to you."

He blanched and, mumbling "I'm so sorry" over and over, pulled her back towards him and tightly held her close again. They stayed like that, each enjoying the closeness of the other, for a while, until she gently pushed him away. He looked hurt until she lightly brushed the side of his face with her fingertips; "I just want to take a shower" she smiled.