Runaway Bride ~[Nanatsu no Taziai/Melizabeth]

[3] : Brother?

[Meliodas' POV]:

I held the door open for her, expecting the shocked reaction to occur. Eventually, her eyes lit up when it layed eyes on the interior of the tavern, and that's when she was startled.

"Heh, I get that reaction a lot. It's not every day you see a boy like me owning a tavern like this." I chuckled. I admired from a distance as she walked around.

"It's lovely- how long have you had this place for?" she asked whilst still taking her own tour around the place.

"Years now. This tavern is basically my home."

"So, question.." Elizabeth trailed off. I looked at her, slightly concerned.

"Hm?"

"D-don't um, take this the wrong way, but are you a kid or not?" a shy tone laced in her voice. She immediately became apologetic.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Don't worry, it's fine. I get that a lot too. To answer your question, nope, I'm not a kid. I have the physical appearance of one, though."

"God knows how old he is." Hawk snorted. I simply laughed at that, although he has a point. Nobody in this present time knows how old I am, apart from myself. I shouldn't concern myself with telling them now, though. A later time would suffice.

I went up to the cooking section of the tavern, and filled Hawk's bowl up with scraps. Of course, he squealed at the scent of them, and started digging in straight away as soon as I placed the bowl on the floor.

"Hmph, these scraps will do I suppose..." he commented, hinting to my poor attempts at cooking. I laughed again.

"It's better than none at all. Hey Elizabeth, follow me for a second."

As soon as I said that, I grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs to my room. I sat on the bed, gesturing for her to sit next to me, which she did. Her wedding dress practically covered 99% of the bedding, it was very big. That's what you get for a member of the royal family, though.

Admittedly, she looked amazing, even with the exaggerated dress. I wonder what caused her to run away-

Now I recall it. She said it was arranged, and it was probably too much pressure. I didn't think her father would actually force a marriage upon her, it seemed unlikely for him to do something like that. I haven't spoken to him for 10 years now, so maybe things have changed. Just how much, I'm not sure.

"Sorry about my dress." Elizabeth giggled slightly. "God, it's crazy thinking about what happened."

I thought I was imagining when I heard sniffles coming from her just a few seconds after that comment, but I glanced at her and saw the tears escaping her eyes. She was trying not to cry, but it seemed impossible with a situation like this.

"I really am a clutz, aren't I? Running away? What was I going to accomplish?" she continued crying. "I-I just want a normal life, for me..a-and for the people..."

I placed a hand on her back softly and started rubbing to comfort her. I didn't know what else to do, a princess who was about to get married to a prince she hardly knows, is sitting on my bed crying right this second.

"The people..?" I repeated her last words, confused. At this point, she started balling.

"Yes, the people!" she shrieked. "They're being lied to, and me and my siblings are being used. I don't know what my father wants, but I hate it.."

"I...HATE IT!!" she screamed again, at this point I hugged her to kept her calm. She became more calmer and relaxed, and eventually hugged back.

"I'm sorry, hehe. I got your shirt soaked." she frowned in guilt. "I can clean it for you if you want..?"