The air was thick with silence as two beings flew over the top of the Fairy King's Forest. One had feathery wings that shone blinding white in the sun, the other's were a wispy black that seemed to suck in the light. Despite this contrast, the owners of each set of wings held hands tightly, so much so that their knuckles were white.

Neither said anything as they flew though, both heavy with the events of the day. The execution of the hostage demons, the loss of Gloxinia and Drole to the demons, the massacre at Stigma's base…

"Meliodas, what are we going to do now?" Elizabeth asked quietly as they continued to fly to their destination. "We've lost all our friends and allies, our base, everything."

Meliodas stopped and tugged her hand until she came close enough for him to rest his free hand on her cheek. "Not everything," he smiled sadly. "We still have each other."

"Are we enough to end the war? To protect her?" she asked him with fear in her eyes.

"I don't know," Meliodas sighed leaning forward until his forehead rested against hers. "But as long as we're alive we can keep fighting for what we believe in. Even if we're the only ones left. And even if we go down, we'll go down fighting, knowing that we tried."

"You're right," the goddess sighed closing her eyes. "But live or die, we do it together."

"Always," he promised. "Now c'mon. She'll be waiting for us."

Elizabeth nodded and they set off again towards a thicket deep in the Fairy King's Forest. There was a brief sensation of pressure as they flew through the invisible magic bubble protecting the thicket, but other than that they met no resistance. Stepping through the trees, a tiny log cabin became visible.

Most of Stigma had believed that Meliodas and Elizabeth lived apart from the base for the sake of privacy, which while partially true, wasn't the main reason.

"Big Sis-sis! Big Brother!"

A little girl came flying out the front door of the cabin and leapt at the demon and goddess. They each smiled their first true smile since the day started and caught her together in a three way hug.

"Hello Merlin. Did you have a good day?" Elizabeth asked the little girl.

"Mm-hm! I learned how to turn myself invisible!" Merlin exclaimed excitedly.

Meliodas chuckled at her enthusiasm. "What a clever little Mer-Bear we have," he said as he ruffled her hair. Merlin beamed in delight.

"But where's Uncle Gloxinia and Uncle Drole? I thought they were coming to visit today?" the young girl asked frowning.

While Meliodas and Elizabeth had been the ones to save her from the ruins of Belialuin and raise her in their home in the forest since, they had needed the permission and assistance of the Fairy King in the first place. And given that the Fairy King and the Giant King were best friends, whatever one knew the other did too. They were both fond of the little girl, and came to visit when they were safely able to do so.

But they were no longer kings of the fairies and giants.

Elizabeth gasped in dawning horror. "Meliodas! Drole and Gloxinia know she's here! Now that they've turned to the Demon Clan…"

"They could very well give us and our location up to the Demon King, willing or otherwise," Meliodas finished gritting his teeth. "We have to leave. Now."

"Merlin," Elizabeth said firmly, but kindly. "You remember how you've been practicing cloaking your magic and presence? You have to do that now. We're leaving the bubble around the house that does it for you."

"But why? What's going on Sissy? What happened to Uncle Gloxinia and Uncle Drole?" the child demanded with wide, scared eyes.

"It's a long story darling, and we don't have time for it now. Uncle Gloxinia and Uncle Drole aren't on our side anymore and we can't trust them. They might be coming for us right now to try and hurt us," Elizabeth said gently hugging the girl to her.

"Elizabeth. We need to go," Meliodas said tersely, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings and his sword at his side. Elizabeth nodded and stood, holding one of Merlin's hands while Meliodas reached to take the other and keep the little girl between them.

The three of them quickly used each of their own powers to take to the sky. After travelling through the night, they had left the Fairy King's Forest behind and were flying over a mountain range. Elizabeth and Meliodas began to relax and navigated down to one of the flatter mountain tops.

"We'll can camp here for a few hours before we keep going," Meliodas said. "We'll leave this afternoon."

"I love you," Elizabeth said, kissing him gently.

"I love you too," he breathed as she pulled away. Then he glanced down at Merlin and ruffled her hair. "Both of you."

Merlin giggled and swatted at his hand. "I-"

Her reply was cut off abruptly when both her companions went ridge with wide eyes.

"No…" Elizabeth breathed.

"Both of them?!" Meliodas choked.

They stared at each other in horror. "They'll be here in seconds. There's no way we can outrun them," he said.

Elizabeth's face hardened. "Then this is it. If we go down, we go down fighting."

Meliodas nodded determined. But a single tear running down his face gave him away. "Live or die, we do it together."

"Sissy? Mellie? What's going on? I'm scared," Merlin whimpered tugging on their hands.

"Oh darling," Elizabeth fell to her knees kissing the little girl's head. "I know you're scared but we need you to be the strong, brave girl we know you are. You need to go find a really good hiding place ok? Keep your magic and your presence cloaked. You can even turn invisible. Hide for as long as you can and then head to the nearest human village and see if you can find someone who will take you in."

"But you guys are coming with me aren't you?" Merlin asked her eyes filling with tears.

"We would if we could sweetheart. But it's just too dangerous for you to stay with us," Meliodas said getting down on one knee and stroking her hair. "We both love you, and we want to stay with you, but we can't keep you safe anymore."

Merlin threw her arms around each of them. "Promise me I'll see you again," she demanded.

"We love you," Elizabeth said instead wiping away the child's tears.

"Merlin, it's time to go," Meliodas said hurriedly.

"No! I won't leave you!" Merlin cried.

"Merlin go!" Elizabeth said urgently.

"But-"

"GO!" Meliodas yelled.

Merlin turned and ran, tears streaming down her face. But while she did cloak her magic and presence and turn invisible, she didn't leave. Instead she ran to the edge of the plateau and hid behind a large boulder. Not a moment too soon too, just as she reached the rock there was a huge boom. Peeking just over the top of her hiding place was a sight that froze her with fear.

While the pair she called her family stood tall and determined, holding hands tightly, they seemed tiny and insignificant when faced with the hulking forms of the Demon King and the Supreme Deity themselves.

"Meliodas of the Demon Clan," the grinding voice of the Demon King started.

"And Elizabeth of the Goddess Clan," the Supreme Deity chimed in musically.

"You both have been found guilty of treason on three counts."

"While it was bad enough that you both fell in love-"

"You also abandoned the Demon Clan to fight for our enemies Meliodas. Had you been within my grasp, you would've died years ago for that alone," the Demon King growled.

"I turned the other cheek for your first infraction Elizabeth, but saving two Commandments? Do you realize what you've done?" the Supreme Deity demanded.

"Yes," Elizabeth said standing tall against her mother. "I helped two people who were hurting. I saved two lives that were in danger. I found joy with the man I love. I've done nothing wrong Mother, so if you're going to judge me for it I'll gladly plead guilty."

"You insolent little-"

"You said three counts," Meliodas cut her off. "If you're going to punish us I'd like to know all the details."

"According to my two newest Commandments, the pair of you have been harbouring and protecting a fugitive that was sentenced to die by both of us," the Demon King sneered.

"A fugitive?" Elizabeth asked playing dumb.

"Don't be coy," her mother snapped. "We know that you know what we're talking about. The daughter of Belialuin."

"But everyone from Belialuin is dead. You both razed the city to the ground," Meliodas frowned.

"Enough," the Demon King said. "Lying and pretending will get you nowhere. I've seen Gloxinia and Drole's memories for myself and I know the truth. We can sense another presence aside from the two of you. Where is she?"

"We don't know," Elizabeth said quietly after a moment of silence. "You're mistaken about the third presence. We sent her away. She'll be long gone by now."

"Lies," the Supreme Deity hissed.

"Actually they're telling the truth," the Demon King mused. "I would know if they weren't. Besides, the other presence doesn't feel like a child of Belialuin. More light a mix of light and dark magic. And now that I concentrate on it, it seems to be intertwined with your daughter's presence."

The plateau went deathly quiet.

"Y-you mean… I'm…" Elizabeth stuttered.

"Pregnant," Meliodas breathed his eyes shining with awe and joy as he looked at her.

"Another crime to add to your list," the Supreme Deity sneered.

Horror quickly dawned on the couple as they remembered their company and the fact that their chances of survival from this encounter was close to zero.

"For your crimes against your respective clans," the Demon King intoned.

"You both have been sentenced to death," the Supreme Deity finished.

"No!" Meliodas exclaimed jumping in front of Elizabeth.

"May your suffering be eternal," the Demon King said wickedly.

The next few minutes were bloody and brutal, but Merlin made herself watch, even as tears flowed down her face. Her loved ones were clearly on their last legs. Bruised and bloody, but still standing. Elizabeth protected her tummy with one hand while the other held an ark to the side. Meliodas stood slightly in front of her with his sword ready. The gods hadn't even formed a sweat.

Meliodas leapt at his father again with a furious war cry, only to be smacked back down with a lazy wave of the Demon King's hand.

"Meliodas!" Elizabeth cried reaching for him.

"Enough. This ends now," the Supreme Deity declared. She and the Demon King both lifted their hands and aimed at Elizabeth.

"NO!" Meliodas roared just as they fired. The shockwave that resulted in Meliodas taking the blow sent him flying backwards, knocked Elizabeth off her feet, and sent Merlin over the edge of the mountain.

She almost screamed as she fell, but she knew if she did she would give herself away to everyone on the mountain. So she swallowed her surprise and focused on funnelling her magic into slowing her fall. After what felt like forever she finally came to a stop in the air. She took another moment to breathe before floating herself back up to the plateau.

Just before the top she paused. It was silent. No yelling, or panting, or magic, or clashing blades. The battle was done. Praying, she peeked her head over the cliff. The Supreme Deity and the Demon King were gone. But Meliodas and Elizabeth weren't.

She quickly scurried over to them. "Mellie! Sissy! You won! They're gone!" Merlin exclaimed looking around.

Neither of them responded.

"Mellie? Sissy?" Merlin asked hesitantly looking at them more closely. She gasped.

Meliodas was lying on his back with his arm outstretched to Elizabeth, who lay on her front, his hand clasped in hers. They could've been sleeping. Except for the blood everywhere. Meliodas had a gaping hole shot straight through his torso, while Elizabeth's wings lay in tatters. Every inch of them was covered in blood, cuts, and bruises.

"Mellie! Sissy! C'mon wake up! Say something!" Merlin said desperately shaking one of them with each hand. Neither stirred. "No. No! Please! Please, please, please…" Merlin gasped. Then she whispered, "I didn't get to say 'I love you too.'"

She never knew how long she knelt there crying for the loss of her second family.

"This is my fault," she eventually hiccupped. "I brought the gods' wrath down on Belialuin, and then on Sissy and Mellie too."

She stared at them as her tears finally ran out. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you both. I promise, I'll go learn everything there is to know about magic. I'll use my power to teach and support others, to create peace, to protect everyone like you both did," she said determined. "And to keep them all safe, I'll never tell another person I love them again."

She stood up and looked down on the goddess and demon who had become her family the last few years. She wished she could do right by them and bury them, but there was too much of a chance that the Supreme Deity or the Demon King would return for the bodies. If they knew someone had been here they would track her down, which would make her family's sacrifice pointless.

"Goodbye," she whispered to them. Then she flew away, ready to fulfill her new promise.

AN: If you liked this story, feel free to check out the companion fic to this one that I wrote: Grief and Relief. Not sure if it's as good as this one, but feel free to let me know!