A gasp made us pull apart as we hadn't realised that Elizabeth had opened the door and seen us. Tears trailed down her flawless cheeks as she ran out.
A guilty expression adorned Meliodas' face which made me regret kissing him back. I leaned in to his ear, my fists clenched by my sides and said to him "that's why."
-
(Side note: I'm changing the papers Lilia gave her to a journal instead)
Meliodas looked into my eyes for a few seconds before turning on his heels and going after Elizabeth.
He turned his back on me and followed her instead.
Sighing, I went to my bed where there was still a blood stain from my 'failed suicide' as Ban described it, and took the journal that was there.
I made sure my dagger holsters were attached to my thighs and carefully placed both daggers in their respective places.
Taking a deep, calming breath that was pointless considering I was still painfully nervous of what was going to happen, I made my way downstairs.
Elizabeth was crying in Diane's arms and said mini giantess was glaring at Meliodas who was sipping at a mug of ale.
"What did you do do her Captain? She said she was going to check on you and Ashe, then next thing you know she came downstairs crying." Diane accused.
"Nothing, Diane." Meliodas briefly replied.
Ban and King were watching everything go down and Gowther was beside me.
"I swear to everything both holy and unholy Gowther if you try picking through our memories-" I started, but it was too late.
"Elizabeth walked in on the Captain and Lady Ashe kissing." He summarised.
King spat out his drink, Ban shrugged as though he knew it'd happen and Diane glared at me instead.
Where was Merlin when I needed her?
But then again while Merlin and I were friends, she had a history with Elizabeth and might have just stayed to the side and watched.
"How could you, you're Captain's friend and you know that Elizabeth has feelings for him!" Diane exclaimed.
"Oh I'm sorry, you wanted me to ignore myself and focus on someone I've known for two minutes instead?" I snapped.
Why was Meliodas staying silent? He was just as involved in this as I was.
"What, so you're Captain's friend yet you have feelings for him?" The giantess asked.
"Diane, sweetheart, when did I say anything about being Meliodas' friend? 'Cause I've been in the friend zone love, and it's not a fun place to be, so I wouldn't be forcing myself into it now, would I?" I lifted a brow as I crossed my arms and kept my eyes trained on them.
"I don't care! You made Elizabeth cry and that's not okay!" She closed her eyes in frustration.
"Are you guys gonna say what's on your mind or are you just gonna watch?" I asked the other three onlookers.
"I mean, I have no idea what's going on." Ban said, shrugging as he took a swing of beer.
"I think we need to hear all sides of the story." King sighed as he got comfortable on his pillow.
"I'm yet to come to a conclusion." Gowther added.
"Wonderful!" I said, taking a seat at a table and placing my booted feet on top of it. "So I guess it's story time. I'll go first, explain my life story then we can go around and introduce the side characters. Is that okay with everyone?" I cheered.
I held a hand out and magically pulled a large bottle of Vanya ale towards me.
"Ashe, stop turning this into some sort of free show." Meliodas commented as I downed a quarter of the alcohol.
"Oh but that's what you've driven me to, Meliodas. Because of your indecisiveness, my life has turned into nothing more than a free show. So welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the wonderful life of Ashe." I dramatically declared.
"So it all began on a dark and stormy night- oh wait let me explain. Act One Scene One takes place in the Realm of Shadows. Moving on, enter Ashe, the star of our Romantic Tragedy.
She's been told that she's to be married to a Demon in order to form an alliance. She hates the idea but says yes anyways because of how absolutely selfless she is.
Next scene, cue best friend's death, waterworks, emotional funeral, you know the drill. Next scene, we're now in the Demon Realm and Ashe has convinced the Demon King not to get her married off.
Cue Meliodas, the male lead.
After numerous flip scenes of heated fights, flirty banter and missions together, BOOM they fall in love. It's all sunshine and rainbows until for some unexplainable reason, they break up.
Just like that, this couple that everyone envied is left to nothing. With no reason to explain it.
But as fate would have it, the couple decide to remain as friends. You know what they say about couple who become friends though: they were never in love, or they're still in love. Only Ashe and Meliodas were very much in love.
Meliodas began to take longer missions on his own and one day, our dear Ashe decided to follow her good friend and there she found him with a very beautiful woman. She had really pretty hair that Ashe didn't know why but she had the random urge to rip it out of her pretty skull.
Anyways, Ashe couldn't take it any more so she left.
Meliodas didn't seem to care so she tried to forget him, she really did. But you see, there's something about love that makes it kind of hard to forget.
So every couple of year (more like centuries) Ashe would check on Meliodas.
She'd see him living his life and that would break her beyond repair.
The next scene, Ashe decides to meet with an old friend who was painfully suspicious of her. Eventually, she reformed the friendship she used to have and they decided to come over to Liones to check on Meliodas again.
Now, what she saw was quite interesting so she decided to take part in it.
But guess fucking what? This time, Ashe let her presence be known to Meliodas. She thought it was finally time to show herself after so long and what did she get? A violent awakening to the fact that her and Meliodas are only friends.
And to make matters worse, he gave her so many damn mixed signals.
Now then Ladies and gentlemen, is there anything you'd like to add? Anything I missed?" I asked, dropping the empty bottle to the floor and watching as it shattered.
How ironic.
I turned back to my audience who were wide eyed and Elizabeth who was no longer crying.
"Yay I made her stop crying, it worked." I suddenly smiled.
"What?" Diane and King asked, confused.
"Don't tell me you guys really believed that story." I laughed. "But then again, Meliodas did tell me that I've always had a creative imagination. And Elizabeth, sweetheart, Meliodas wasn't kissing me, he was looking at this, see." I went closer to her and showed her the rash on my cheek.
"We think I've been poisoned. Now stop crying and go wash your face. While you do look beautiful crying, you shouldn't do it often, and you look much better with a smile on your face." I smiled again, much warmer this time.
"Anyways people, I'm gonna go see if Merlin can find me a cure for this." I pointed to my face and walked away. "Sorry about the mess Meliodas." I grinned to myself.
Lilia once told me, 'All it takes is a beautiful smile to hide an injured soul and they will never notice how broken you really are.' I wasn't broken. Heartbroken, yes, but I would never allow anyone to break me further than I already was.
"You always were good at acting." I heard Meliodas whisper as I left the Boar Hat.
That I was.
-
I was sat in Merlin's lab, swinging my feet as she looked at my face, examining my cheek.
"So she kissed your cheek and you felt it burn up? Other than the rash, there's no other signs of poisoning." She analysed.
"I'd say that too if it wasn't for the fact that A, I've never gotten sick since I was three and B, any marks on my skin disappear after an hour at most." I sighed.
"Use this salve on the irritated area and drink this every two days. I'll try to see what else I'm able to find." Merlin hummed as she gave me a small tub and a blue bottle.
I gratefully took both and put them in my hip pouch, feeling the brush of Lilia's journal.
"One more thing Mer, does this look familiar to you?" I asked, showing her the engraving on the front of the journal.
Her eyes slightly widened in recognition, but she shook her head and refused, saying she'd never seen it before but would go through her books.
So that meant that it was either something really important, or something really dangerous. Regardless, it was something.
And if that something involved my mother figure and I, I wanted to know exactly what it was.
Eventually, I made my way back to the Boar Hat.
"Elizabeth, glad you're smiling again." I said to the girl.
She smiled back and came to give me a hug which I reluctantly and awkwardly reciprocated. "Thank you for everything Lady Ashe, I don't know what caused me to assume things when I walked in on Sir Meliodas helping you." She said to me before pulling away.
"That's okay love, no harm no foul." Apart from the part where I want to personally invite you and Meliodas to mine and Creede's torture chamber that we were given as kids.
I'm sure you guys would love his hospitality.
"But, um, I have a question." She quietly said.
"Mhm?"
"Please don't mind me asking, I'm just curious as to...what you are."
"Oh? Didn't I say before that I'm from the Realm of Shadows? I'm a Shadowe." I replied.
"But you were joking?" She tilted her head in confusion.
"No sweetheart, you're getting it wrong. I'm a Shadowe, that part's true, but the rest about me being hundreds of thousands years old was a joke, and me and Meliodas being lovers. I love dramatics you see." I explained.
Sometimes, I'd be so good at lying that I'd believe my own lies.
I wish it could be like that now.
"So how old are you?" She asked again.
"It's not nice to ask someone's age you know. I'm not as young as I could be, but not as old as you might think." I vaguely replied. "How old do you think I am?"
"I honestly don't know. The Sins have been around since I was a kid so I've come to see that appearance doesn't always relate to age." She smiled.
"You're a smart girl Elizabeth." I said to her as I walked away. Smart enough to know when to stay away because I was done with being used then pushed to the side as soon as her Royal Highness came back into the frame.
Done.
-
A/N: I need to dedicate myself to this more-
This chapter was really rushed and hasn't been edited so I'm sorry in... the opposite of advance.
Also, I skipped over Signs of The Holy War and next chapter will start with Revival of The Ten Commandants.
Let me know what you think and the next chapter I post is gonna be a Bonus Chapter so let me know if you have any requests!
One more thing, I LOVE YOU GUYS SMMMM
WE'RE ALMOST AT 600 READS!!!! I fully wasn't expecting that lmao.
Jā na.