Come With Me - Meliodas x Reader

Chapter 6 - The Poem of Beginnings

The battle was still raging. Dust was flying and the ground was shaking and Elizabeth and Hawk watched on in despair.

Lady Diane stomped her feet, trying to squash Sir Meliodas like a he was a bug. But Sir Meliodas dodged each giant footfall.

'You're small, Holy Knight, but you're pretty tough,' she said.

'Yeah,' said Sir Meliodas, 'and you're huge but you're fast on your feet.' And he launched his own flurry of attacks that Diane blocked.

Hawk squealed. 'Each one of them seems to think that the other one is a Holy Knight.'

'It can't be,' said Elizabeth. She looked to Sir Meliodas and Lady Diane. 'Both of you have to stop it. Now that's enough!'

Amazingly, it worked. Sir Meliodas and Lady Diane stopped glaring at each other and instead looked around with brows furrowed in confusion. They both looked over at where Elizabeth was huddled with the shepherd boy and Hawk.

'Princess?' Lady Diane's voice was hesitant. 'What are you doing here?'

'We should be asking you that,' called up Hawk.

Then Lady Diane caught sight of Sir Meliodas. 'Captain?' she said. 'You're here? Where's that Holy Knight?'

Sir Meliodas looked around. 'Hey, you're right.'

The young boy started to struggle in Elizabeth's arms so she let him go. He ran up to Lady Diane and started to talk to her. Elizabeth took the opportunity to study Sir Meliodas. He was standing off to the side looking disoriented, like he'd just woken from a deep sleep. She was sure there was something off about him even though he'd stopped fighting Lady Diane, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Wait a minute... finger? She looked closer at Sir Meliodas's left hand and gasped. His ring was gone!

But it was too late to warn him.

Elizabeth watched in horror as Lady Diane and Sir Meliodas's eyes went blank again.

'Everybody's gone again,' said Diane quietly, looking side to side even though Elizabeth, Hawk and the shepherd boy were right in front of her.

Sir Meliodas tensed. 'That Holy Knight!'

Elizabeth ran to the boy standing stunned in front of Lady Diane. 'Sir Meliodas, no!' She grabbed the boy by the shoulders. 'Come on, you're in danger here.'

'You're hiding everyone from me again!' Lady Diane's yell was so loud it made Elizabeth's head spin. The two Sins started fighting again. Elizabeth twisted her fingers and looked around frantically. If only she could find Sir Meliodas's ring; that would be sure to snap him out of it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth noticed the shepherd boy run up to his father.

'I'm so scared,' the boy was saying, 'I don't wanna die! Please!'

The twinkling of a tiny bell rang in Elizabeth's head. It was such a small sound, but it blocked everything else out. And it didn't go away. It kept buzzing in her ear like a persistent fly.

'I'll protect you,' the princess shouted suddenly, 'I swear! Even if it means trading my life for yours.'

'You - you'd do that?' The shepherd man sounded so unsure it broke Elizabeth's heart.

'Yes,' she shouted over the continued ringing in her ears.

'Touching to see a princess who actually cares,' said a voice from behind Elizabeth. She whirled. Another Holy Knight! This one was in pink armour with a weird helmet that looked like a spider. Elizabeth felt goosebumps erupt on her arms. 'But is that truly what you would do or an empty promise?'