Now and Forever

Chapter 20

"So, let me get this straight…" Merlin recapped for what seemed like the hundredth time. "The Princess, an Apostle of the Goddesses, is now part demon. And, she's powerful enough to be able to banish an albion of that size and power level in an instant, then go on to heal the entire city" she finished in obvious disbelief.

"Yup, that sounds about right" Meliodas replied with his face set in an indifferent mask. Inside, he was quickly growing angry at the tone of the questions and finally, having had enough, got up from the table. "Look, I told you what happened and I've answered all of your questions...a few times over. I don't know what you think you're going to hear but it doesn't matter how many times you ask, the answers aren't going to change. We're done here."

"Fine" the mage replied in a clipped tone, "I'll just have to question and examine the Princess for myself" she finished with a smirk as she pushed her chair back and started towards the stairs.

There was a quick blur and her smirk disappeared when she suddenly found her way blocked by a veryangry demon. "Don't even think about laying a finger on her" Meliodas snarled as the demon marks began to creep across his skin. "She isn't one of your playthings or experiments, so back the fuck off Merlin" he growled. The rest of the Sins watched the scene with a mixture of curiosity and dread; they had an idea of how powerful the Captain was but The Sin of Gluttony kept her abilities close to her chest and they knew that they had yet to see what she was truly capable of.

The Boar Sin's eyes narrowed slightly as she replied in a low, dangerous voice. "What did you just say to me?"

"You heard exactly what I said and I won't be repeating myself."

"Meliodas?" interrupted a soft voice from behind him. He immediately felt his shoulders relax and his demon markings began to pull back as he turned around. Merlin raised an eyebrow and looked at the pair curiously, making a mental note to pay closer attention and observe the two of them a bit more closely when they were around each other.

"Elizabeth!" he smiled. The Princess took in the still somewhat defensive postures of both Merlin and Meliodas as well as the fact that the rest of the Sins were all the way on the other side of the room; about as far from the pair as they could get while still being able to watch what was going on.

"Were you two arguing" she began to ask as the Boar Sin and Dragon Sin both refused to make eye contact with her, "a-about me?" she finished softly as she slowly realized what she had walked in on. "I have some very important things to take care of in my laboratory" announced Merlin before she spun around and marched towards the door. She was halfway there when she heard Ban snort as he tried to conceal a laugh. She stopped walking and stood in the middle of the floor, not moving, for a moment before continuing out the door without a word. The Sins each let out the breath they had been holding and there was a collective sigh of relief. "You had better watch yourself Ban" King warned him.

"Anyway," Meliodas said with a smile as he took her hand and started to pull her towards the rest of the group. They glanced at the Princess nervously and subtly shifted their chairs away from her as she sat down. "I'll go grab you something to eat, you must be really hungry!" grinned the Captain as he made his way into the kitchen.

Everyone just sat around the table as an uncomfortable silence settled over the group. "Glad to see that you're, uh, feeling better" Ban commented after the Captain had gone. "Oh yes, much better, thank you!" replied the Princess, eager to move on from what she had walked in on. "So!" said Diane "i-it looks like it's going to be a really nice day today! Not a rain demon in sight!DROP, RAIN DROP!" she clarified loudly as her violet eyes went wide in horror at the slip. She turned a violent shade of red and began waving her hands in front of her. Suddenly they heard the sound of a plate being dropped to the floor in the kitchen but other than that, everything had gone uncomfortably silent.