Author's Note: This is word emphasis

This is dreams/flashbacks/mindscapes

This is copywritten stuff

This is telepathy

Chapter 2

Dream:

Meliodas falls ungracefully out of the chair he'd unintentionally slept in when he's hit by what he can see is a pillow. It takes a few seconds for his sleep fogged brain to realize that Princess Serenity was most likely awake, and wanted some answers. Well, he wanted some to, and they did need to talk about the now active Soul Bond between them. Of course they were in the Courtship, or get to know you phase of the bond. " Princess Serenity, I am Prince Meliodas, Heir Apparent to the Demon King. May I enquire as to why you teleported into Demon Land? "

Sapphire eyes widen in shock, " I did not have a set destination when I teleported away from an assassination attempt. I have been trained to Rule, not fight. My only thoughts at the time were to get away. Venus is going to be so worried and pissed. "

Meliodas frowns, " At the moment only my father and I know you are here, hence you are in my suite. You passed out from magical exhaustion, and we might as well address the Giant in the room. "

" The Active Courtship Level Soul Bond between us, correct? " Serenity deadpans.

" Correct, my father already knows, will you tell your mother? "

Princess Serenity snorts inelegantly, " Not a chance in Hades! Venus, Saturn, Jupiter...them I'll tell for sure, as I'll need some of my guard to know, mostly so they can cover for me. Mother will never accept my other half being a demon, irregardless of the fact that you are royalty, and I would not be marrying below my station. She is dead set on me adding Earth into the Silver Alliance, and the best way to do that would be to marry me off to that lothario, Prince Endymion XIII. She has no understanding of the Ancient Rules and Laws of Magick. I don't mind your people knowing, as long as they are aware my people will not know until I ascend to the throne. Only then can I tell my mother where she can place her ideas. "

" Your mother would truly go against a True Soul Bond? " Meliodas asks, even demons knew that True Soul Bonds were sacred, and not to be messed with in any way, shape, or form. He was reasonably sure his younger brother Zeldris had one with the vampiress Gelda. When Ancient Magic spoke you were supposed to listen.

" She's the only Lunarian female to have multiple male lovers, which says something since physiologically Lunarian females, especially the High Royal females, can only ever have one willing male lover. " Princess Serenity deadpans, " Now, since I am going to be on bedrest for entirely too damned long any health books on demons, and while you're at it, books on the laws, customs, and you can probably get me up to date on the political gossip. "

Meliodas grins, " The door to your immediate left is the ensuite lavatory. Any allergies I should be aware of? "

" Titanium, and I cannot stand most cooked vegetables, I hate the taste, I prefer them fresh. Any sweet pea scented soaps? "

" I use unscented, so you should be okay there, and I suppose I will need to make sure I have enough shampoo and conditioner for your hair. " Meliodas muses.

" Venus and Jupiter always help me wash it. This much hair is painfully heavy when wet, hence why I generally dry it with magic. " Serenity admits.

" That would be one of those spells all females seem to know, no matter the race, right? " Meliodas asks her.

Serenity smirks, " Why whatever would give you that idea, Prince Meliodas? "

Dream End:

Meliodas groans softly, why was he remembering his Rena now? Though at least the Courtship phase of their bond didn't make the still oozing wound in his soul hurt worse. Getting to know his Rena had been fun, though having to dodge the irate Sailor Venus' sword when he brought Rena somewhere neutral to return her home had not been. Jupiter had at least recognized very quickly that Meliodas was a highly trained warrior that could most likely kick both of their asses without breaking a sweat. Was he seriously going to relive his entire relationship with his Rena through his dreams, in sequential order no less? He knew he had gotten extremely lucky to not be sealed away like most of the rest of his people. According to Zeldris he'd missed out on that by seconds as he'd technically had to stop over at one way gate before he made it to Luna, his wife/mate's home.

There was a reason why his Rena had succumbed to magical exhaustion by teleporting directly into the Demon Lands. Only deities could do that easily, anyone else it took way too much power, hence the stop over way gate system. That Ancient Magick had apparently taken the opportunity to have them meet...well, he wasn't complaining about that, even if he missed his Rena fiercely, he at least knew she would be reincarnated, as she had to clean up her mother's mess with Metalia and Beryl. The Demon Prince and Dragon Sin frowns pronouncedly at the thought of Metalia in particular. Metalia was essentially a malefic black shadow whose power was on par with an Indura of his kind. Metalia had been sealed by a previous Queen of Luna, as she hadn't the power to destroy Metalia outright.

Meliodas on the other hand, fully intended to use Full Counter to send Metalia's magic back at her, the name was feminine so female pronouns had been assigned, and end her with her own power. That would be so utterly ironic, and poetic justice at the same time. He had not been idle while waiting for his Rena to come back to him, he'd been training his ass off, honing his powers and skills as far as he could. He so missed Ban, and the Fox Sin was the only one he could actually fight seriously, and not have to worry about accidentally killing him. Yes, his Snatch skill was highly aggravating, but Ban happened to be his best friend. Snatch was similar to empathy only it drained a person's speed, strength, magic, stamina...essentially the channeling part just without emotions. He'd also been keeping an ear out for anything that sounded like Metalia's canon fodder minions.

He does have enough presence of mind to remember Sara's presence, thankfully Hawk had done the subsequent concussion checks throughout the night, better safe than sorry. He doesn't just walk into the bathroom, and takes what he needs with him as well. Once he's ascertained Sara isn't up yet he heads inside, and locks the door behind himself. Ten minutes later he's dressed, and unlocking the door before heading down to the tavern level of the Boar's Hat. There was still some clean up that needed done. Needed to make sure the Boar's Hat was ready to open come nightfall once they reached Bernia Village. He has no way of knowing what befell his apprentice Gilthunder, and the eldest princess Margaret upon the framing of the Seven Deadly Sins. Margaret witnessed the murder of Gilthunder's father, told the pink haired apprentice of Meliodas, and then they both got subsequently cursed by Merlin, the Boar Sin of Gluttony's apprentice Vivian.

As it was Gilthunder drove his sword into the ground to cut Bernia Village off from their water supply in order to find out if his mentor happened to still be out there. He knew Meliodas appreciated top quality liquor. The Holy Knight knew damned well his mentor was his and Margaret's only damned hope of ever being free of the curse they'd been under for a decade. Gilthunder loathed acting in such an uncouth manner for a Knight, but Vivian and Hendrickson had him over the barrel.

Camelot:

In the shadows a girl with blonde hair held back by a red ribbon that reached her lower back, and cornflower blue eyes looks out for any of her ancient enemy's canon fodder minions. Her name is Martina, which meant who loves everyone, warlike. She thought it suited her quite nicely. Artemis had found her nearly a year ago in Liones. The only reason she was in Camelot was because her parents had been sent as diplomatic envoys. She did find it rather ironic that her princess had been reincarnated as her princess once again. If only she'd had her memories a decade ago she would have recognized Meliodas, the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins! He'd gained a Lunarian's immortality unless killed when he and her princess had completed their Soul Bond, though they did have a Bonding Ceremony on Venus as well, just to cover their bases.

It was nice that Arthur didn't mind sparring with her as Sailor Venus, mostly so she could get her swordsmanship back up to where it needed to be. Then again Merlin happened to be his advisor, and was a prime example of not pissing off the magically powerful female. As it was she was going with him as Venus when he made his way to Liones with Merlin. She was almost done cleaning out the trash here, and Arthur's knights could handle the minions, in another week she would go after the General in charge of them here, and shut down the whole operation with Arthur and Merlin's help. Venus had gotten Arthur to promise he would not go to Liones without her.

Liones Kingdom, on Hawk's Mom's Back:

Meliodas winces when he hears Sara fall down the stairs from the third to second floor. He hated it when he was too sleepy to make it down the stairs, and instead fell down them. He was not surprised to hear the muffled swearing rant though. Something like that happening was always worthy of painting the air blue. Sara was on the first floor twenty minutes later, grumbling under her breath about evil stairs. Meliodas hands her a banana, " What tea would you prefer this morning? "

" Black for the first round, then green and peppermint mix. " Sara answers, " Any oranges around here? "

" No, but I do have some blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. I could put them in a bowl for you. " Meliodas answers as he starts making her Black tea, " Straight, or sweetened? "

" Teaspoon orange blossom honey. " Sara answers.

Hawk was most likely taking a nap now since the concussion check was over. Meliodas had been the one to fight, and Sara had been the one that had gotten knocked out. Once they've both eaten, and Sara has her mug of green and peppermint tea Meliodas leads her outside, and immensely enjoys her What the Fuck moment when she realizes the Boar's Hat is a literal hat on a massive green boar that just so happened to be Hawk's mother. " Okay, now I understand why you said your tavern is a traveling one. I'd think I was drunk, but this is too weird for a drunken delusion. "

" We're almost to where she'll settle down near Bernia Village. If it's true about the water source getting blocked, I'm going to fix it, preferrably in front of bootlicking knights to take the message back that the source of the blockage has been dealt with. No one messes with the best source of high quality liquor in Liones while I'm alive and kicking. " Meliodas says, his tone full of dark promise.

Gilthunder shudders, and resolves to have a bottle of high quality booze from Camelot to placate his mentor. Meliodas has no idea that he caused Gilthunder to shudder at his declaration. Sara drinks her tea, and remains mostly quiet, though she does listen to Meliodas essentially giving her a tour while on boar back. He didn't expect her to speak, he knew she needed to rest her voice so she could work again that night. Though she would need some clothes for when she was off the clock. He'd have to see about that in the next town after Bernia Village. For now he just shared his knowledge about the area around them, especially the historical events, as those would help her with her job. He had lived through a lot of history after all. He was too active to be anything other than a knight, though he would make one helluva killing as a traveling minstrel, especially since he could put his own spin on what had happened. He'd have to see about writing a historically accurate book about times long past from a purely neutral stance, by giving all sides to any conflicts. History was generally written by the victors after all.

No one had won when Beryl unsealed Metalia, subverted the wills of several innocent people, and then attacked. Metalia had her subvert the wills of just enough people to make that damned seal on the Demon Race. He had the Dragon Handle in his possession, and to be fair there were some of the Commandments that he did not want getting out! His brother he wouldn't mind, some of the others...yeah, he'd spent far too long protecting the planet and her people, and he knew his people, he'd have to damn near kill them to get them to submit. He was not allowing that seal to be broken, dammit! Maybe once he found his reincarnated mate/wife she could free Zeldris, and maybe Gelda of the vampire race. His father could stay where he was, once the seal had fully settled he'd been fully cut off from his family, and honestly he only really missed his little brother.

As for his mother...he had no memories of her, and asking his father whom she had been was about like getting a straight answer from Princess Setsuna of Pluto, annoying to the extreme. Hm, maybe he could get the true story of Luna's fall out there, not to mention the truth about whom Serenity V had fallen in love with. Meliodas could see the inquisitiveness in Sara's eyes, she knew damned well he couldn't be fully human since he hadn't changed in the slightest since he'd last been in Liones, on that horrible day when the Sins were framed for the murder Zaratras. Any thinking person would have known that Meliodas respected the man too damned much to do so, at least those of the Holy Knights. He did like the fact that Princess Serena had never bought into such an obvious frame up.

" I'm of the Demon Race. I narrowly escaped being sealed because I could feel the unmitigated terror of my mate/wife according to the Ancient Laws and Rules of Magick. According to my younger brother, whom I managed to contact before the seal fully settled I missed out on being sealed by mere seconds. This all happened during the Fall of Luna. My beautiful Rena, or by her proper name Crown Princess Serenity Ophelia Rachel D'Luna V, heiress apparent to the throne of Cosmos. I know all the stories say she was to marry Endymion XIII, but that was all her mother's doing. The reason everything fell apart all those years ago is because the Queen went against Ancient Magick. "

Sara cocks her head to the side at this information, " Want to tell me the whole story so I can put my own spin on the Moon Princess' epic star crossed love? "

" I can do that, no problem. It would be nice to get the true story out there, though the senshi, and my Rena have all been reincarnated to clean up my mother-in-law's mess. " Meliodas says.

Sara listens avidly as he recites how he met his Rena, their courtship, and finally their marriage, and how it all tragically ended. " You could make a mint on that story alone, Meliodas, just change it a bit, and market it as historical romance. "

Meliodas has a thoughtful look on his face at that suggestion, " I was thinking about writing a series of history books from a completely neutral standpoint that would cover all sides in any conflicts that I've seen. I can also give you the real story behind the fall of Danafall. I was there after all. "

The minstrel in Sara is literally salivating at this. She'd discovered she actually liked being a minstrel. Minstrels didn't have to put up with nearly as much political bullshit as princesses did after all. Maybe she could have Meliodas teach her some basic self-defense, she couldn't always rely on him to be there to protect her after all. Meliodas smiles when he sees the glint in her eyes, the look of someone when they were practically guaranteed to make money hand over fist. With the stories he could tell her, and then she could put her own spin on...yeah she'd be making more money shortly, and probably long term as well.

From what he'd observed previously she was damned good at making history interesting, which was a very rare talent. If he had to play the part of a bouncer as well, he would. He never could stand morons that just did not understand that some wo(men) were not interested in them. Forcing the issue, well, his Rena never complained about him brutally teaching such morons why it was a BAD IDEA to force themselves on someone. Oddly enough he'd gotten along splendidly with Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, Moon, Childbirth, and Protector of Young Maidens. Mostly for how he dealt with rapists whenever he came across them. Though he might have taught her a few new sword techniques as well, even if she preferred archery over swordsmanship, it was always good to have a fall back option.

Sara had long since finished her tea, and is just content to listen as Meliodas tells her about what really happened in Danafall, and then they have reached their destination, and Hawk's Mom burrows into the ground, leaving only the tavern visible.

Bernia Village:

Meliodas frowns as he takes in the fact that the underground water source for Bernia's river had in fact been cut off. He did not like it when someone messed with one of his favorite alcoholic beverages, dammit! Whatever IDIOTIC HOLY KNIGHT THAT DID THIS HAD BEST BE PREPARED TO GROVEL PROPERLY!

Fort Solgales:

Gilthunder shudders, perhaps he'd best source another bottle of liquor, this one being really rare. Maybe King, the Grizzly Sin of Sloth, would be willing to help him out with that. He did not want to face the Wrath of his mentor. Meliodas was given the Dragon Sin of Wrath FOR A REASON! Perhaps one from the Fae Realms, he did not want his mentor putting him through the Hell that rookies went through all over again, since Meliodas did happen to like him. King, also known as Harlequin, King of the Faeries, Grizzly Sin of Sloth, has to laugh at why Gilthunder wants a damned good vintage of Fae Realms liquor, he couldn't blame Gilthunder for wanting something to soothe the Dragon that happened to be Meliodas' temper though, especially since Gilthunder had been stupid enough to mess with the supply of Bernia Ale. One thing the Sins had all learned rather quickly was to not get in the way of their captain and his fine quality booze. Hell, he kept his own collection in a pocket dimension which meant he hadn't lost it thanks to the destruction of the Faerie King's Forest.

In the immediate aftermath of finding out his home had been destroyed, he'd discovered one of his fellow Sins had been present, he had to have been to keep reviving after so many kill shots, which meant he'd partaken of the Fountain of Youth. Initially he'd wanted nothing more than to Petrify Ban with Chastiefol's Third Configuration Fossilization, but then he'd remembered, once his grief lifted enough, how the Sins had been framed, and no one asked for their side of things. Sloth may be his Sin, but he was also a King in Truth, which meant he'd needed to at least give the appearance of being Fair and Just in his decisions. He was now going to ask Ban for his side of things. Gilthunder had helped him to spread the word that he was dead, mostly so he could operate in the shadows, and watch the back of Meliodas' student.

He'd heard enough to know that Margaret knew they were innocent, she'd witnessed what went down, and that Princess Serena had thought things through. She didn't buy the story the people had been fed for one second. Had he known about the curses placed upon Gilthunder and Margaret he would have found a way to take them both out at once, though he would have bided his time. There was no way to deal with the rot festering in Liones without the help of his fellow Sins, especially the Captain. He may be a King, but even he absolutely fucking LOATHED POLITICS!

Bernia Village:

Sara is absolutely livid at how young Mead is being treated, especially when she hears the full story. Still, she starts strumming her bandolin, and the children all gather around, though she has Mead stand beside her. She weaves a tale of how a young prince, overshadowed by his older siblings, would put horse dung in their boots, rocks in their pillows, and slip different, non-harmful things in their drinks. This was all so he could take out his rightful annoyance at how they treated him on them, in a way that he couldn't really be punished for. By the time her tale in song form is done, Mead holding the hat for donations, everyone had received her message, that Mead was not to blame for someone else's actions. What he did may have led to the knight slamming his magically charged sword into the ground, but he could have taken it as a boy being a boy as well.

Meliodas, leaning back against one of the buildings, smiles at how she'd woken the people of Bernia up to how stupid they were being for treating Mead so badly. Honestly, saying that Bernia Ale was only slightly better than horse piss...that was sheer BLASPHEMY in his honest opinion. He did happen to be a Oenophile, which happened to be a person who enjoyed wines, usually as a connoisseur. He was also a Cicerone, which is a trained professional, working in the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industry, who specializes in the service and knowledge of beer. He knew damned well Bernia Ale was the best available in Liones! Sara knew her trade, and he knew his as a tavern owner whom ran the taps. All he needed to do was find a fucking cook! It would be nice to actually be able to sell edible food for once. Hell, to actually eat a home cooked meal again.

He knew he had a complete inability to make anything taste good, yet he used all the proper ingredients, only for anything he cooked, or baked to end up tasting horrible, yet looking like it should. He knew he had baffled any cook he came across, as none of them could understand how the hell it looked right, but tasted like shit. They'd even watch him measure everything out properly, follow a recipe precisely, and anything he cooked/baked still ended up tasting like excrement. There were many whom had tried to discover just how the Hell anything he cooked/baked tasted like the cud of a ruminant animal thrice chewed. Mages had even checked him for numerous curses to no avail, and this actually included Merlin. She was just as baffled at the phenomena as anyone in a culinary profession. There was actually a challenge for any in the field to figure out how. Hell, he'd like to know why anything he cooked tasted like month old rotting compost.

Since he had led battle campaigns he'd had to take his turn manning the mess until his complete inability to make anything taste anywhere near remotely edible was discovered. After that he was made to hunt for their food while those that actually could cook did. He could hunt and gather with the best of them, and as long as he only handed out fresh foods like fruits, berries, roots, and nuts then everything was kosher. He really needed to find a cook whom knew how to preserve things as well, that way they could lay in provisions for winter.

Meliodas wasn't the only one in the village smiling at how the traveling minstrel had subtly woken the people of the village up. This person has wavy oak brown hair, forest green eyes, and is wearing a deep green dress cinched at the waist by a dyed brown woven hemp cord, with brown breeches on under the dress, comfortable and durable light brown boots, pink rose earrings in her ears, brown leather arm guards, with a quiver of arrows on their back. This huntress' name is Alaura, after the bay tree, and she was only in Bernia Village due to her funds running low. She had learned how to take her kills down in such a way to be able to get good money for the furs, skins, and what meat she didn't eat she could sell as well. Tanners loved her, and would generally check her leather workings over for free since she'd bring them so many new skins to work with.

Butchers didn't mind her either, as she knew how to preserve the meat long enough to get it to them, and furriers adored her for the fact that she didn't ruin the value of the fur pelts she brought to them. Getting her money pouch charmed against thieves, to be featherlight, and expanded to hold more than should be possible had been more difficult. She managed it by gathering the ingredients that the enchanter had needed. Still poor Mead had not deserved the enmity of the villagers of the only place he'd ever been able to call home. As a fellow orphan she could relate to him, and she'd secured a fur lined cloak for him for the upcoming winter. The furrier and the tanner had loved working on such a project together, it was a challenge for them.

Yes, the whole village looked after him, until just recently, having the other kids throw stones at him, the adults berating him with every word they said to him was rather harsh on a kid that only had the village as his family. She would have already moved on, but until this mess with the sword that the Holy Knight had shoved in the ground was resolved she didn't dare. Mostly to give Mead someplace he could seek shelter at, even if she lived just outside the village in a tent it was better than having no shelter at all because those around him were being petty idiots.

Alaura makes her way over to the minstrel, and drops in some money for the donation hat as well. One of the children had already gone to get her some Green Peppermint Tea. " You did a good thing, and got the people to think. Poor Mead is an orphan, the villagers are the only family he's got. I'm Alaura. "

" Sara, short, blonde, and spiky is Meliodas, owner of the Boar's Hat, and now my employer. He can't cook/bake worth a damn though. " Sara replies.

" I can, but no one will hire me. " Alaura states.

" I will, after a trial run tonight. Should your food go over well, you're hired, though you will end up sharing a room with Sara. Should you be hired we'll work out the rest later, though you will get free room and board. " Meliodas says as he makes his way over, " I also don't mind if you hunt for our food, if you can preserve it, even better for the winter months. "

Alaura blinks, " That simple? "

" Hell yes! With a decent cook we'll make more money. " Meliodas deadpans.

Well, looked like she'd need to pick up a few things, like clothes she could cook in, an apron, and depending on his culinary tools, she might need to get some of those as well. She'd love to actually be able to cook for people and have them enjoy her food. Just because she hunted game most people wouldn't hire her. Furriers, tanners, and butchers didn't give a damn about whom was selling them things, just that what they were selling was good quality product. The three of them look over at a sudden commotion, and Meliodas' emerald green eyes narrow into furious slits at what they see. Two normal knights were trying to extort the people of Bernia Village. Well, now was as good as time as any to send a message about messing with a Cicerone's best source of Ale.

Meliodas casually meanders his way through the throng, and reaches the sword before Mead can. He wraps his left hand around the hilt, and nonchalantly pulls it out of the ground, then he tosses it to the fools, saying in a rather dark tone, " I believe this is yours. Next time don't mess with the best source of ale for a Cicerone. "

The morons grab the sword and hightail it, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the blonde's wrath, though they did wonder how the Hell he'd been able to pull the sword out from the ground. He looked barely old enough to be in his teens, yet claimed to be a Cicerone? Had Meliodas known of this thought process he would have been irritated. It was not his damned fault he barely looked fourteen. There were times being a demon, and gaining a Lunarian's immortality unless killed was a pain in the ass. He did like the fact that he healed at such an accelerated rate though.

The last three thousand years had been rather boring, but at least the Races were still known about, so therefore no one said anything about the fact that he didn't age. That would have made things even more difficult for him while waiting for his mate/wife to be reincarnated. While Alaura is gathering what she'd need for her audition night as the hopeful cook for the Boar's Hat the minstrel and the Cicerone head back to said tavern, and get ready for another night of business.

Fort Solgales:

By the time the two dumbass knights have made it there the Boar's Hat is doing a rather brisk business, Alaura's cooking was a major hit with the patrons, and report to Gilthunder what had happened. That was when he makes his second dumbest decision, borrow's a spear from one of the lower ranked knights, charges it with his magic, and throws it like a javelin towards Bernia Village.

Boar's Hat:

Meliodas' eyes imperceptibly widen as he senses the incoming danger, and doesn't see Alaura stiffen as she senses the building electricity in the air coming ever closer. Making sure none of the male patrons would take any liberties with his in house minstrel he refills every mug within reach, and then slips out back, using his ability to sense magic to find the right intercept point. As he catches the spear he does briefly wonder why he always sets up on hills, as the momentum of the spear drags him backwards down the hill, on his feet, creating an impact crater at the bottom, then dragging him into Bernia Village proper. He leaps over a water trough, manages to turn around, and come to a stop, his back arched, then he stands up straight, spins around, and fires the spear straight back to where it came from, and not that he knew it, destroying Fort Solgales.

The only way anyone knew anything had happened was the damage that had been done, though it could have been much worse without him there. The villagers thanked him for his quick actions in keeping their home from being completely destroyed, and it was thanks to Mead that they had an idea of where to go next, the Forest of White Dreams. Meliodas suspected one of his fellow Sins was there, which one he didn't know. Alaura finds herself with a rather permanent job now, though Meliodas had no problem with her continuing to hunt, hell if she'd give some of the money she made off of the furriers, tanners, and butchers towards the Boar's Hat he might be able to add another floor with more bedrooms, since his fellow Sins would most likely be living with him until they saved Liones from the corrupt Holy Knights.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Seven Deadly Sins.