Author's notes: Heyyy guys. So just one more chapter with a flashback and then I'll really have to stop there and work on my Ban x Reader story 😂 By the way, this is not a continuation from the last chapter. This is a brand new flashback! But when I write these flashbacks, I'm getting these kinds of vibes that Meliodas and (Y/n) are lost teenagers and the only thing they know they're doing right is taking care of baby Estarossa and Zeldris :P
Alright now I really want to wait for the next 12 episodes to be released on Netflix so that I can continue working on this story and finishing it. There were several offers to help me with the outline of the story but I would rather not know any manga spoilers until I finish watching the series myself. Not exactly sure when the next 12 episodes will come out, but that gives me the time to work on my Ban x Reader story and my Dreamwastaken x OC story which I have not worked on for a few months 😳
Anyways enjoy this chapter for now, and hopefully see you soon with a new update! ❤
"ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴅᴇꜱᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ꜰᴇᴇʟꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʜᴏᴍᴇ."
ɴꜰ
"(Y/n) of the Dark Shadows, I will personally ask the Demon King myself to remove you from the next upcoming mission with the Ten Commandments!"
Lips quivering, tears building, I stay silent and curl myself into a smaller ball, my face pressed right under the top of my knees. Where I am right now, my parents will not be able to find me. I am hidden away in one of the tiny cracks of this grand canyon I decided to hide in.
"Dagon, please. Perhaps we should—"
"I am giving you five seconds to show yourself," my father roars, his voice echoing throughout the large canyon. "One."
I hear my mother struggling. "Dagon, she was only scouting the area—"
"No, she was not," my father growls. "She came out here just to see these damn Humans, Arica. These same Humans who will not hesitate to kill her. Two."
"She is only curious," my mother insists. "This is a whole new realm. Of course (Y/n) would be interested in—"
"Whose side are you on?"
"What?"
"You seem to not mind our only daughter frolicking in these lands like a complete lunatic. Three."
"Excuse me?" A bitter laugh fills the canyon. "How dare you. Our daughter is a young Demon who is trying to find her place in this realm, in this world, and you are doing nothing whatsoever to help her in this."
"Ha! Find her place? I have made sure that (Y/n) has her place in the Demon court, right beside the heir to the Demon throne who will be able to protect her and watch over her. Four."
"You cannot allow our daughter to become a weapon!" my mother yells. "Are you blind as to what is truly going on right now, Dagon? The Demon King has seen the extent of her powers and wants to use them, just like he did with his poor wife. He will not let go of (Y/n) now that he has a hold on her!"
"I can do nothing to protect my daughter!" my father erupts, causing everything within the canyon to shake terribly. "She has a chance to be safe with Prince Meliodas and that is all that matters to me, Arica!"
"She is my daughter as well, Dagon," my mother snaps. "You cannot be making such decisions without even considering her feelings."
"(Y/n) will thank me later on."
"And I will never forgive you."
Quietly, I slam a hand over my mouth as the unwanted tears spill over my cold cheeks, my eyelids falling shut.
"She's my baby, Ari," I hear Dad say with a broken voice, like he is about to fall apart. "My little girl. She wants to be free, she wants to find love, she wants to bring peace to all kingdoms. But she can't do that. That will only get her killed."
"You do not know that for certain, Dagon," Mum says with a much quieter voice. "You cannot tell what the future holds for our little one."
"I do not know how everything will play out, but right now, all I can do is make sure that she actually has a future. Five."
Silence fills the canyon. My hearts are beating so loudly that I'm afraid my parents will hear it.
"Like I said," my mother finally speaks, "I think she turned around and headed back home. She is probably with Cusack and Chandler at the moment."
"Father and Pa do not understand her either," my father admits softly and this statement strikes me straight through the hearts. "They constantly ask me whether she..."
"Whether she what?"
"Whether she actually is our daughter."
My ears explode with unbearable noise and the tears are now unstoppable as I bite into my lip, my whole body twitching.
"And? What do you tell them?" Mum demands. "Dagon, if you dare question this yourself—"
"(Y/n) may not act like the way we do," Dad cuts in, "but whoever said that a daughter must act like her parents to be their child?"
Pushing my knees away, I shove my palms into my eyes, my mind burning with hatred, love, guilt, turmoil.
"Oh Dagon," my mother breathes. "I truly do hate and love you."
"And I you, Ari dear."
Tiny sobs bounce against the huge canyon walls, causing my hearts to twist in pain, my mind to fall silent.
"Let's go home," Mum suggests quietly once she manages to control her soft cries. "Let's go find our daughter."
After I hear a few flutters of wings, the canyon goes completely quiet, not even the sound of breathing can be heard.
"Mother?" I call out with a croaky voice. "Father?"
But there is no response. Just the wind that now rushes through the canyon.
Standing on my feet, my wings spread behind me and then take me above the canyon, towards fresh air and dark skies. After I get my breathing under control, I quickly head towards the area I always go to whenever I am down, whenever I am lost and afraid.
"Damn it," I hiss once I land onto the soft grass, my hands shaking. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."
Blinking away the tears, I fall to my knees and then look up to the night skies filled with shimmering stars, my hearts finally calming.
"I thought you were back at the palace," a voice abruptly speaks.
My head whips around to the side to see the eldest son of the Demon King.
"Am I a weapon to you?" I ask before I can stop myself.
"Come again?" Meliodas chokes.
"What am I to you?" I ask weakly as my fingers wrap themselves around the grass beneath me. "A weapon? A soldier? Someone who does not deserve your time?"
"Where is all of this coming from?" Meliodas asks firmly as he walks over to me. "Did you have an argument with your parents?"
"Mel," I whimper helplessly. "I don't know what I am. I don't know what I should be."
"You're my friend," he says sharply as he pulls me in for a hug. "You're my best friend, (Y/n). Don't ever forget that. You hear me?"
I bury my face in the crook of his neck and shut my eyes, my hearts pounding. "I hear you."
"Why weren't we invited to the party?" an annoying voice speaks.
My eyes snap open as I tug myself away from the Demon Prince only to see that the other two Demon Princes are here as well.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Meliodas snarls as his hands land on my shoulders. "The two of you are meant to be in bed."
Prince Estarossa pulls down an eyelid and waves the other hand. "You thought wrong."
Meliodas snaps his gaze to his youngest brother. "Did he force you to come with him?"
As Prince Estarossa protests loudly, Prince Zeldris answers, "No. I wanted to come. Sorry Big Brother."
Meliodas sighs, moves his hands away and then sits himself down beside me, crossing his arms and legs. "Better get comfortable then. Earlier today I heard from some Humans that there's going to be some star showers tonight."
"Really?" Prince Estarossa asks eagerly. "Hell yeah!"
As he sits himself beside his older brother, Prince Zeldris asks quietly, "But what about Father?"
"I'll deal with him," Meliodas says, waving his hand as he sits back on his elbows.
"Awesome," Prince Estarossa says as he lies back on the grass.
"Come here, my Prince," I call out to the youngest and pat the spot next to me.
Hesitantly, Prince Zeldris does this.
"Hi, (Y/n)," he greets shyly.
Giggling, I greet back, "Hello, my Prince."
A bright light burns above us so we all turn and gasp when we see multiple stars shooting through the black skies, like a paintbrush gliding across a blank canvas.
I raise an eyebrow when I hear soft humming beside me.
"Meliodas, are you alright?" I ask hesitantly.
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."
My hearts screech to a halt. "Are you...smiling?"
"What?" Meliodas blinks and then turns to me with a blank face. "What are you talking about?"
"You were smiling!" I insist excitedly and start to lightly punch him on his shoulder. "Do you mind telling me what has gotten you in such a good mood?"
"Woman, what the hell are you doing to me?" Meliodas growls playfully as he grabs my wrists. "Are you out of your damn mind?"
"You are if you're smiling," I retort sharply, grinning madly. "Come on. Tell me, Mel."
He yanks me towards him, hands still gripping my wrists. "(Y/n), really. There's nothing going on."
"Holy crap," I breathe. "You have met someone."
"What?" Meliodas squeaks and quickly sits up. "What are you on about?"
How interesting. Now which Demon has managed to catch the eye of the future Demon King?
"What's going on?" Prince Estarossa asks as he sits up.
"Are you fighting with Meliodas, (Y/n)?" Prince Zeldris asks with obvious fear in his voice.
Just as I am about to comfort him, tell him that I am just messing around with his older brother, Prince Estarossa says, "Yeah, they are, Zeldris. And now, (Y/n) is going to hate Meliodas so that means she's going to hate us as well. Forever."
"Forever?" Prince Zeldris's cheeks start to tremble.
"Enough," I growl, my shadows looming over me threateningly. "Prince Estarossa, I will only say this once. Believe whatever you want, but do not dare create ludicrous scenarios for your younger brother to believe in."
Prince Estarossa shivers. "You really scare me sometimes, (Y/n). You know, if Meliodas wasn't here, I wouldn't be surprised if you became the Demon Queen, (Y/n)."
"What?" I snap at the same time Meliodas starts to choke on his giggles. "Now that is an insane idea. This is what I am talking about. Get those unnecessary thoughts out of your head, my Prince."
"Are you hinting at treason, brother mine?" Meliodas attacks his younger brother and the two of them start rolling around on the ground.
Rolling my eyes, I turn to the other Demon Prince and my annoyance immediately disappears when I see him shivering slightly.
"Are you cold, my Prince?" I ask softly.
A quick nod. "Yes."
My shadows swiftly wrap themselves around Prince Zeldris, but I stop them when they reach his tiny hands. Looking down at my own, an idea pops into my head. I peel off my grey armour specifically meant for my hands and then gently put them on the youngest Demon Prince.
"(Y/n), I can't take these," he protests as I finally get both of them on.
"I'm afraid they are a gift so you cannot refuse them," I say with a large smile. "They look good on you, my Prince."
Prince Zeldris's cheeks start to turn red as he raises his now armoured hands in front of his face and admires them.
"Hey, how come you never offered me?" Meliodas whines as Prince Estarossa shoves his face to the ground.
"Your youngest brother deserves them," I say loudly and all of them make different noises at the same time. One of them is shocked, one of them is horrified, and one of them is happy.
"Thank you, (Y/n)," Prince Zeldris says in a small voice.
"No problem." I tug him towards me so that his cheek is pressed against my own. "Now you keep them safe, my Prince."
"I'll wear them for as long as I live," Prince Zeldris declares and snuggles closer to me, and this immediately gets his two older brothers giggling like idiots.
Smiling fondly, I pull back slightly and then ruffle his black hair. "I'm sure you will, my Prince. I'm sure you will."