I Thought I Knew You

Why do you humor him?

"Why do you humor him?" Sariel raises a brow, his tone quiet and thoughtful.

It was Art and I just so happened to be in his class as well as King and Diane's. The latter had been seated at the back, with me having to be in the front due to the archangel's quick actions. In fact he seemed pretty weary of the Sins himself. I could see it from when he'd glance over at them, apprehension filling his gaze.

"What do you mean?" I reply slowly, cautiously, dipping my paintbrush into some paint.

"Meliodas," Sariel answers. His voice doesn't hold venom nor accusation, instead remaining plaintive and observant. "I've been watching you and you seem extremely comfortable around him..."

I blush. I didn't expect the Deity Society to have one of their members spy on me. I would've been fine if they told me that they'd have someone follow me, however that does defeat the whole purpose of spying. I'd definitely be more careful if I knew I had a spy on my tail.

"Well, we've been friends for a long time," I respond simply as I focus on my task. That'd be a lot easier than answering Sariel's questions. It's bad enough that he gets to spy on me and see into what I do. He doesn't need to know about my thoughts as well.

"Yes, you were," The angel's voice was filled with thought. "However...are you sure you two weren't anything more? You do seem awfully close for just friends."

"What?" I barely managed to squeak the words as I turned a violent shade of red. I never expected Sariel of all people to ask something like this. Maybe Jelamet or one of the other more doubtful members, but not Sariel. He was one of the first to agree with me on co-existing with the demons.

"I guess that is a no," He sighed as he returned painting, "...You know, I always thought you'd take a different path from us all. You never seemed to have the same resentment of the demons as we all did."

"What do you mean?" I arch a brow as the archangel smiles slightly, his eyes focused on his painting.

I'd always believed that I'd follow in my mother's footsteps. That I'd be a leader, a figurehead, to Celestial Prep and its sister locations. I believed that I would be the next representative of the goddess race. 

I always felt that I was born to be full of compassion and purity, like everyone believed Celestial Prep's students to be. I had always fit in with the other goddesses; we all had similar goals, motives and morals. 

How could I have been any different from anyone else?

"You were always a pacifist," Sariel answers, seeming to read my mind. "You never wanted to harm anyone, even the demons. I remember that undercover you were sent on, you came back empty handed."

I flush at his words, knowing them to be true. I had failed at that undercover, I had come back empty handed because I refused to to stoop to violence.

"Many blamed naivety on why you left us," Sariel continues, halting his painting. "But I don't see it that way. I say it was your very nature that allowed you to pursue Meliodas."

"But..." He pauses, looks up and glances right at me. "It was probably your naive heart that gave you the push to actually go against us. Many say that the demon brainwashed you into being that way. But you were always naive, weren't you Elizabeth?"

I'm breathless. Wordless. Sariel's words - observations - have taken me by surprise. He had clearly spent a lot of time analyzing what had happened to me, or perhaps even my motives. He knew a lot more about me than I did myself. I'd never even thought about why I left, I just decided that it would be the best choice. For me and for everyone else.