'When blood of light and blood of dark join together in one heart.' Elizabeth's soft voice drifted through the open window. You stopped wiping the table and stiffened, listening closely. Elizabeth hummed the familiar tune as she swept the verandah.

She remembers the words, you said, feeling your breath begin to hitch. Not just the tune. The words as well.

It's okay. Meliodas's voice was soothing even as his forehead began to crease. Probably just because you sang it to her so much when she was a baby. That's all.

So it's my fault. You began to twist the rag in your hands. Your breathing became faster.

No, said Meliodas firmly. Those words will always be inside her whether we say them or not. He passed by your table and squeezed your hand for a second. The only thing you did was be a good mother. And before you say anything, he continued quickly as you pulled a face, you can't change my mind, so there. He poked his tongue out at you.

You rolled your eyes but couldn't stop from smiling slightly. You set about untwisting the rag. It was very wrinkled now. Elizabeth was still humming, so you wandered over to the open window and leant on the sill.

'And with her aid all war will cease and Britannia will finally know peace,' Elizabeth finished the song and leant on her broom with a self-satisfied sigh.

'That was a nice song,' you said.

Elizabeth jumped and turned. 'Oh, [Y/n], it's you.' She smiled and blushed a little. 'Thank you.'

You hopped up onto the windowsill and swung your legs. 'Did you make it up?'

'No.' Elizabeth shook her head. Her face turned thoughtful, her eyes looking far away. 'I heard it in a dream. But ... I feel like I've always known it somehow.' It was quiet for a moment before she laughed. 'I guess that sounds a little odd, huh?'

You could only return her smile a little bit. 'Not at all.'

A dark feeling crept over your skin. There was a Demon nearby. You jumped out the window and stood next to Elizabeth, one held out to push her back if necessary, the other resting lightly on Cosain's hilt. But, you noted, the Demon was moving fast. And not towards you.

'[Y/n]?' Elizabeth asked. 'Is everything okay?'

You kept your eyes on the horizon for a moment more before turning to her with a wide grin. 'Yep.'

The door creaked open behind you.

'Everything all right out here?' said Meliodas as he walked out to join you both.

'Sir Meliodas.' Elizabeth smiled. 'I finished the sweeping.'

'Good job. Thanks, Elizabeth.' Meliodas smiled back and met your eye. What was that?

You shrugged. No idea. It just disappeared.

Elizabeth looked between the two of you. 'Is ... is everything okay?' she asked again.

'Nothing to worry about,' you said. But then, almost immediately after you said it, something caught your eye. The universe just loved to prove you wrong. You enhanced your vision and glared at the whatever-it-was. 'Huh.' Meliodas and Elizabeth stared at you. 'Be right back.' And with that, you unfurled your wings and flew into the sky.

The piece of paper twirled in the air currents. You watched it for a moment, still not really trusting it, but when it didn't attack you decided it was indeed just a piece of paper. With something written on it. So you snatched it out of the air.

As you flew back to the Boar Hat, you read the paper. It was a poster advertising – oh. Meliodas and Elizabeth had gone inside and you took a deep breath before entering the bar.

They're making their move, you said, ignoring everyone's questions as they looked at your face.

Meliodas watched you closely as you walked to him. You shoved the paper into his hands and hopped up onto the counter and tried not to scowl too much.

'What is that?' Arthur asked, turning his question to Meliodas after you wouldn't answer.

Meliodas shook the paper out and began to read aloud, 'In the coming days, a Great Fighting Festival will be held in Vaizel and the declared winner of this event will be given the right to have any wish granted.'

Hawk snorted. 'Hold on. Isn't Vaizel that town Diane flattened like a pancake?'

'I gotta admit, that prize they're offering is pretty tempting.' Meliodas stroked his chin.

No matter how annoyed you were at the Ten Commandments, you couldn't help but snort at Meliodas's acting. No one would doubt he was being anything but himself.

As if to prove you right, Meliodas went on to say, 'Maybe I'll expand the tavern.'

'Oh, come on now!' Howzer burst in. 'You have to know that's a scam.'

'Hm?' Hawk looked at Howzer. 'So you think the Ten Commandments are behind this?'

'No doubt about it. Can you think of anyone else who would do something as crazy as getting Demons to hand out fliers?'

You giggled. 'Wow, you're actually pretty smart, Howzer.'

Howzer puffed out his chest with a proud smile before what you said sank in. 'Hah?!'

'Meliodas,' said Hawk, 'no matter how you look at it—'

'No matter how you look at it, it's a trap,' said Hendrickson.

'I was gonna say that!'

I think it's Gloxinia, said Meliodas as the others kept talking. And if it is, then it's Drole as well. You know what that means right?

You nodded once, even though Meliodas wasn't looking at you. Gotta stay blank.

Right. Or at least don't think about anything important.

Easier said than done. You sighed. Meliodas was way better at keeping his thoughts and emotions under check than you were. Even when you thought you were doing a good job there would be something to give you away. Like the tone of your voice or your stance. And other times when your emotions would just burst out. Like back when you shouted at Bartra for—

You can do it, Meliodas said firmly. I know you can. And if how you spoke to Bartra is making you feel so guilty then just apologise when we get back to Liones.

You sighed again. You knew I'd end up feeling bad and apologising, didn't you?

Meliodas laughed lightly. We both did. And then he spoke out loud. 'All right, guys, I've got an idea. Since Escanor's signal just vanished into thin air, why don't we stop by?'

'But—' Hendrickson stammered. 'Are you serious? Do you have some kind of plan or—?'

'Nope.' Meliodas grinned. 'Just sounds like fun.'

Gilthunder cheered.

'Um, [Y/n]?' said Hawk. You looked down at him. 'Aren't you gonna stop him? I mean, you know it's a trap, right?'

'Aw, don't worry so much, Hawk.' Your grin matched Meliodas's and you tilted your head slightly. 'It's gonna be fun.'

—

Deldry's blood dripped to the floor and Fraudrin smiled. The other humans' shock. Deldry's ragged breaths. Grayroad's unnerving presence. What a wonderful scene. And Fraudrin knew he had a way to make it even better.

'By the way,' said Fraudrin as he walked away, 'here's a message from Dreyfus inside me. "Don't ever do anything like that unless they're worthy."' Behind him came the sounds of Denzel and Deathpierce appearing. Fraudrin turned slightly, still smirking. 'Before I go, I'll share a couple things with you. The first thing is I'm not actually one of the true Ten Commandments. To be more precise, I'm a substitute. The real one exists somewhere else entirely. He once reined as a member of the Ten Commandments before the Ancient War three thousand years ago. But due to a certain set of circumstances, he vanished from sight and went missing. However, I sensed his existence during the battle in the royal capital just the other day. The moment I saw him, I froze. I couldn't say a thing, but inside my heart was soaring. He has no memory of who he is. Nor does he recall anything about us. This unfortunate state of amnesia is a manifestation of his own Commandment's curse. His memories and emotions have simply disappeared.'

'They what?' Deathpierce seemed to be the only one who could say anything. How delightful.

Fraudrin's hands began to tingle as he anticipated their reactions. And this wouldn't even be the end. 'Now listen closely and I'll tell you the name of that Commandment. His name is Gowther of Selflessness.'

Those words fell with such force, no one moved or spoke. The humans had frozen completely. The only movement Fraudrin could see was the rise and fall of their chests and the steady dripping of blood from Deldry's wound.

With a clanking of armour, Denzel stepped forward. 'And what was the other thing you wanted to say?'

Fraudrin chuckled lowly. 'Sixteen years ago, I fought Meliodas and [Y/n] in Danafall.'

'We know this,' said Deathpierce, breaking from his stupor. 'That's why you possessed Dreyfus and blamed the Sins for Zaratras's murder.'

'Patience, Deathpierce,' said Denzel. Deathpierce scowled.

'You think you know, but you've just been deluded by foolish humans blinded by loyalty.' Fraudrin sneered. 'And loyalty is something [Y/n] does not deserve. None of you know who she really is. Or what she really is.' The silence became heavier. 'Because sixteen years ago during our fight, I killed her.'

'But that's ...' Deathpierce stammered. 'That's impossible. I saw her. Spoke to her.'

'Oh I promise you it's true.' Fraudrin's malicious grin stretched further. 'Her heart stopped beating by my hand. So the question becomes how is she still alive? Or if the [Y/n] you think you know is the real [Y/n] at all.'

~~~~

Happy holidays, everyone!

Hope you're all staying safe. Please know I appreciate you all very much.