Chapter 9: Elizabeth's Sin

The Seven Deadly Sins all stood, staring in shock at the princess. Elizabeth gripped the knife tightly, her nerves on edge as she waited for one of them to move.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?" Diane cried.

"It's the spell," Merlin said. She looked at Meliodas, who stood unmoving, his eyes locked on the princess. When he didn't respond, King asked, "Captain, what do we do?"

"Don't worry, I can handle her," Ban said as he climbed to his feet. "Now that I know just what she can do—"

"Don't go near her," Meliodas growled. "No one is to touch her."

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth taunted. "Are you scared of me now?" She held the knife out, pointing it at Ban. "You'll be the first to die."

Ban laughed. "You forget, princess, that I am undead." His staff appeared like a flash in his hands. King and Diane shouted at him to stop, but there was no need; Meliodas was on him in an instant, knocking him back to the ground and placing a foot on his neck. "I said not to touch her," Meliodas hissed.

"Hey, captain, she started it," he choked out.

"I meant it," the captain threatened. He turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "I have this in hand."

"You sure you can handle a woman, captain?" Ban taunted, jumping back to his feet. "Now that I've seen her fight, I'm putting my money on the princess!"

"Not. Helping." Meliodas gritted his teeth as he approached her slowly.

Elizabeth growled in fury and threw the knife at him. Meliodas expertly sidestepped it as Ban cracked, "What are you going to do now, princess? Grow some flowers at us?" He roared with laughter again, not noticing Diane behind him until she scooped him up in her giant hand and threw him into the ground. "Don't talk that way about Elizabeth!" she yelled.

Now it was Ban's turn to growl in anger. He moved with lightening speed and kicked the giantess in the thigh. She fell to the ground with a yelp of pain. King shot into the air, shouting, "Leave Diane alone!" Chastiefol broke into dozens of daggers and sped at Ban, piercing him through.

As the Sins turned on one another, Elizabeth rushed forward, taking a swing at Meliodas; however, the Dragon Sin was too fast. He easily ducked and stepped around her, grabbing Elizabeth's arm. Wrapping his other arm tightly around her, he pulled Elizabeth against him and down to the grass. The princess screamed in fury, trying in vain to break out of his grip. "Elizabeth, please stop," he pleaded. "This isn't you."

"You don't know anything about me!" she shouted, trying to wrest herself free.

"That's not true," he said firmly.

"Let me go!"

"I'll hold you all night if I have to."

As Ban broke free of King's attack, the Fairy suddenly shrieked and fell to the ground, clutching his head. "Why are you all fighting now?" Gowther asked curiously, swiping his hand to the side. Ban also fell to one knee, grabbing his temples. "The enchantment is over, yet everyone seems angry."

Diane swung Gideon, hitting Gowther and sending him flying into a tree. "Gowther! Dammit, get out of their heads!" she shouted. Ban and King, temporarily suspending their feud, also turned to the Goat Sin and summoned their powers to prepare their own attacks. Before they could unleash, Merlin sent a wave that hit all three. "Let Gowther be," she demanded, clearly annoyed.

King recovered first, and sent Chastiefol speeding towards Merlin. As she fought back, Ban came up behind the sorceress and sent her flying with a blow. "I'm not done with you," he growled at King, leaping at him and hitting him with another powerful punch.

King was knocked through the air, but was expertly caught by Diane. She shouted a command and boulders went flying, trapping Ban and Gowther beneath. "Diane!" Merlin yelled. "Stop this!"

"Stay out of this, Merlin!" the giantess yelled back, and more pieces of the earth flew. But Merlin was ready, and countered the attack with her own, sending the boulders in every direction.

"ENOUGH!" All five Sins were hit with a shockwave, and they each crashed into the ground. The Dragon Sin stood in the center, the struggling princess tucked under one arm. "Enough," he repeated, and sheathed his sword. "Elizabeth needs us."

The others recovered and climbed to their feet as Elizabeth shrieked, "Let me go! Let me go now!" Meliodas ignored her pleas and tried to regain his grip on her, but she kicked him soundly in the shin and scrambled away from him, breathing hard as she backed up, arms outstretched.

Their quarrels now forgotten, the rest of the band moved in formation, easily slipping into the roles they had played a decade before. "Princess," Merlin said pleasantly, walking around her but giving a wide berth. "No one is laughing at you."

King floated to the other side, flanking her. "This is the spell. You have to believe that."

Elizabeth looked at them both, then locked eyes with Meliodas, who was crouched on the ground. She clenched her fists, shaking with fury. They were lying, all lying. She thought of every joke, every comment, every time Meliodas had touched her, his hands on her at the inn, and it filled her with anger. "You think I'm a fool," she accused. "That I was too stupid to know you are all using me."

"Please, Elizabeth," he said sincerely. "Try to fight it."

"You won't let me help, you don't want me to even train! Are you afraid I'll become more powerful than even the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins?" she screamed wildly.

"Elizabeth, no—"

"You think that I am weak! But I will show you all."

A single tear fell down her cheek. A light began to glow around her, and it radiated out over the Sins and into the surrounding forest. Grass and flowers began to grow and bloom at an alarming rate, and Ban laughed coldly and muttered, "What did I say?"

The plants grew and grew, rising out of the ground, twisting around each other. Beautiful at first, their presence quickly became overwhelming, their perfume grotesque. Eventually they started to wilt, and then to shrivel. Within moments the flora and fauna started to die. The ground was turning black with the rot of them, and the trees began to droop and break. King shouted, "The forest! Princess, don't do this!"

Cracks formed in the ground beneath them. "What the hell?" yelled Ban. "How is she doing this?"

The forest was dying all around them, and the ground itself began to break apart. "For there to be life, there must also be death," Gowther observed.

"We have to do something!" Diane yelled, but Meliodas still called for them to stand down. "Elizabeth!" he shouted. "Stop this. Now."

The princess looked at him coldly. The wind whipped around her, and her hair flew in all directions, revealing the eye that marked her belonging to the Goddesses. Suddenly a ball of energy blasted out in all directions, and all but Meliodas were knocked over by the sudden force.

"I just wanted to keep the kingdom safe!" she cried. "I am a princess of Lyoness. It's my duty to protect my people!" Her hands clenched into fists as she glared at Meliodas. "And you—you would keep me from that! You are a Holy Knight, sworn to my father! And yet all I am to you is a waitress working off her debt. All I can do is serve you and the others. I'm good enough to touch, but not to trust!"

Calmly, Meliodas walked towards her. "I am in service to you, princess," he said. "We are all here because of you. Because of your courage, you brought us together."

Tears streamed freely down Elizabeth's cheeks. "You are lying," she whispered, but sounded unsure.

Meliodas shook his head. "You protected us from this enchantment, and so took it on yourself. You did what we could not."

"I—I don't believe you!"

"You saved Lyoness and all of its people from the demon. Now you have saved us from this spell. We are in your debt." He stood in front of her now, close enough now to see how much she was trembling. Elizabeth's head pounded as his words conflicted with her reality. She knew, was certain he was lying to her, manipulating her again; but she also know that he was speaking the truth. Her power hummed through her body as her mind whirled. The air surged around them, and as the ground itself seemed to swirl, Elizabeth started to panic.

"I—I don't—" she stammered, looking at him helplessly. "I can't stop this."

"That's fine," he said, stepping closer. He reached a hand up and cupped her cheek, just as she had done two nights before. "Let me shoulder your sin."

Elizabeth gasped, her eyes growing wide. "Meliodas—" she breathed, but before she could stop it, a powerful blast of magic burst from her. The Dragon Sin absorbed the blow, flying backwards and landing with a bang into the thick of dying trees. The world seemed to explode in branches, leaves, and dirt. Then, everything was still.

"Sir Meliodas!" Elizabeth cried, taking off in a run. The other Sins also moved all at once. King went to stop the princess, but Ban pulled him back.

Elizabeth dropped to her knees next to the captain. He was covered in dirt and blood, his hair tangled with splinters of wood. "Sir Meliodas?"

A few tears fell, landing on the Dragon Sin, and he opened his eyes. "Elizabeth," he grinned. "I'm glad you're back."

.o0o.

The next day, Elizabeth was still making a fuss over the captain. She insisted he stay in bed, but Meliodas would only agree if she'd stay in bed with him; when she protested that, he jumped out and proclaimed he felt fine. He did allow her to set him up comfortably in a seat downstairs, fluffing up extra pillows and tucking blankets around him and fetching him food and drinks. The other Sins watched in amusement as the princess fretted over Meliodas.

Almost all the Sins. "Just shameless," King muttered. The captain winked at him as Elizabeth leaned over to prop another pillow behind him, unaware that her chest was angled a hair's breadth away from his eyes.

Eventually Meliodas tired of the game and they all enjoyed a much quieter celebration than the night before. "I'd still like to know who the woman was," Diane remarked.

"I'm sure Merlin has a guess," Meliodas replied, shooting her a smile.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she answered evenly. "Based on the strength of the spell, the princess' description of her, and the way it affected her, I would say that it was a Druid."

King frowned. "A Druid? How many of them are even left in the world?"

"Oh, I'd say this was one of the Old Druids," Merlin explained. "One that fought in the Great Holy War."

"The Great War!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "But if the stories are true, that was a thousand years ago! How could anything still be alive after all this time?"

"Who knows?" Meliodas laughed. He turned and looked at Elizabeth, who was frowning in thought. When she noticed Meliodas looking at her, her frown melted away and she smiled warmly at him. "There are certainly many mysteries in this world," he said.

.o0o.

.o0o.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! This was amazing fun, and I certainly hope that everyone enjoyed the story. I hope to continue it eventually, and I have some idea we'll see the mysterious old woman again one day.

I was planning on this being my only story for the time being. The idea had just burrowed into my brain and I knew if I didn't write it out it would drive me crazy. However, two things have happened: one, everyone has been so kind, funny, and gracious that I want to stay active here; and two, chapter 163 came out and completely bowled me over! I won't spoil anything, but it has definitely been inspiring (to say the least), and I've already begun a shorter piece I'm posting next as well as a much longer story that will be up soon.

Speaking of which, if anyone is interested in lending me a brain to pick once in a while, send me a PM. I'm not looking for a beta, more like someone I can bounce an idea off of if I get stuck. I'd happy to reciprocate if needed!

I hate overly long author's notes, so I'll just say again: thanks for reading, hope you liked it!