Two Princes

13. Would You Forget Me If I Asked You To?

"I thought you were taking me home!"

"This is home." Calmly Meliodas turns off the car.

"My home!"

"Oh." He shrugs his shoulders, managing to look innocent. "You never specified."

Elizabeth rolls her eyes and lets out a sharp breath, blowing her bangs away from her face. Every time...

"Does Bartra know yet?"

"I don't know. Veronica said Margaret would tell him."

"Then maybe you don't want to go home, anyway."

Well. She can't very well argue with that logic, so, as he unlocks and opens the door to the tavern, she follows him in without another word.

"Make yourself at home." He waves a hand, smirking mischievously. "I mean, you did before, anyway."

Ugh. Right. She winces, remembering the first and last time she came here, a drunken mess, and tries to push away the memory of that ill-fated night. Inside the tavern's main room, she plops her bag onto the bar and slumps onto a stool, cradling her head in her hands. "Could this week get any worse?"

"Let's see. You could be a princess, on the run from imprisonment by a group of knights who are supposed to protect the kingdom but instead have taken it over, and end up faced with demon with a crazy amount of power, and your pet pig could be killed in the war."

Elizabeth's head snaps up in bewilderment; Meliodas is staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, tapping his chin.

"You know, hypothetically."

She arches an eyebrow. "That's...oddly specific."

"Sure. But see, Elizabeth, things could always get worse."

"Are you trying to make me feel better?"

"It's not working?"

She rummages in her bag. "Maybe Veronica can come pick me up."

"Okay, okay. How about I get you something to drink, and you can tell me everything. Or not. Whatever you want."

"Got anything stronger than what I had the last time?"

He laughs loudly, running his fingers through his hair. "Sure, but you're a lightweight, Elizabeth. Let's work you up to that point."

He pours two mugs of a rosy golden liquid and slides one in front of her, leaning on the bar with the other. "I usually buy all my liquor wherever I can find it, but this one is special. This is the only one that I brew myself."

"You...you make this?" She raises the mug to her lips with both hands, and takes a tiny taste.

Meliodas sips his own, watching carefully for her reaction.

"Mmm... It's really good!" Elizabeth tries a longer sip. "Like...honey, and...pear?"

He nods, grinning. "You like it?"

She nods, gulping the drink, and he reaches over and gently lowers it from her mouth. "Slow down. This stuff's still alcoholic, and I can't take you home tonight if you get drunk again."

She levels her gaze at him. "I don't want to go home."

"Why not?"

Elizabeth stares down into the ale in her mug. "I don't want to have to face my father about this. He... I don't think he'll take it well. My relationship with Arthur was kind of important to him, because of his business relationship with Arthur's dad."