Two Princes

17. Every Part of Him

By the end of the week, word has spread throughout the halls that the golden couple, Elizabeth and Arthur, are no longer together—though the details have not spread beyond their circle of friends, for which both are grateful—Elizabeth even more so, because in spite of these details, none of them have ousted her from the circle, either. She knew Elaine and especially Diane wouldn't, but she was less sure of Ban and King, but they treat her as they always have whenever their paths cross. Even Arthur will give her a courteous greeting, whether she is near Meliodas or not.

The rest of their friends are not yet sure what to make of him.

"I mean..." Diane twirls a chocolate-brown curl around her finger in thought. "We don't really know anything about him, Elizabeth. I don't know anything about him. Except that you dumped Arthur for him, and he comes across as just your stereotypical bad boy." She narrows her eyes as they darken. "Leather jacket, motorcycle, cigarettes, and he hasn't made an effort to get to know any of us—so, how can we trust him? How can we possibly know that he's not just going to hurt you?"

"Diane, he's not dangerous." Elizabeth gives her best friend a look, punctuated by a deep swig of her cinnamon vanilla latte. It's Saturday afternoon, and after a successful journey to find the perfect dresses for the dance, the two girls are unwinding over coffee and pastries at the local coffee shop. "Do you honestly think I would spend time with him if he was?"

Vigorously Diane shakes her head. "That doesn't mean anything! Bad boys are hot!"

Elizabeth raises an eyebrow. "But on paper, Arthur is perfect. And my father told me that when I broke up with him, I threw away my future. Don't you know that I wouldn't have done something like that if I didn't have a reason, if, somehow, I wasn't sure about Meliodas? About every part of him?"

"Well... I guess not."

Elizabeth swallows thickly. "I get that you're worried, Diane. I wouldn't want anything less from you. But...when we were together and when I first got paired up with Meliodas for our project, Arthur was kind of concerned, too, like he didn't trust him, like he was afraid for what might happen to me. But there have been so many opportunities, and he hasn't done anything." She fills Diane in on her time with Meliodas, and Diane's eyes widen with each new story.

"I'd say he's a bad influence on you if you weren't sitting in front of me, the same Elizabeth you've always been." Diane shakes her head again, this time in incredulity. "But it sounds like he takes such good care of you, really...I'm almost envious." She laughs.

"But, look, Elizabeth, okay? If he does anything to you, one foot out of line..." Diane narrows her violet eyes again and clenches her hands into fists on the table. "He'll regret it."

Elizabeth grins in relief. She couldn't ask for a better promise from her best friend.

❤︎

Veronica is tromping down the stairs when Elizabeth walks in the front door. "Ellie, you're here! Father wants to see you in his study."

"Okay." Elizabeth leaves her shopping bags at the foot of the staircase and takes a deep breath. Maybe it's a good sign; maybe he came around already!

One of the doors is propped open, so she walks in without knocking and perches on one of the chairs. "You wanted to see me, Father?"

"Yes, Elizabeth." His head is bent over the open planner on his desk, and Elizabeth waits patiently while he checks off a few items, makes a few notes, types a few figures into a calculator at his left hand and notes them down. She narrows her eyes, straining to read just a little of whatever's in front of him, but she can't make any of it out, and as soon as he catches her he closes the planner with a quiet thump. "Business, Elizabeth. Nothing for you to worry about."