The Ticklish Sin: Part 1

King could hear the voices of all his comrades as clearly as if they were standing right beside him.
   Captain Meliodas was chattering away with Princess Elizabeth about something that King really didn’t care about. Something having to do with how to properly care for her outfit so that she would get the full effect of it and draw in more customers with her beauty...perverted as always.
   Ban, the thieving lowlife, was on the top of the bar, drinking away and thinking about what he would have to drink when he ran out...disgusting. How Elaine had fallen for that fool was beyond King, but she had and King had no choice but to accept the idiotic immortal. After all...he did plan to bring Elaine back…
   Out of them all, though, King was most interested in the voice of the giant, Diane. He always enjoyed listening to her sweet thoughts.
   After a long night of travel, Diane had decided to lay down for a nap behind the bar. They had no plans to leave anytime soon, so she would no doubt stay there for a long while--maybe even several days if no one woke her up...and nobody wanted to do that…
   King smiled down at the sleeping brunette beauty as she slumbered with a peaceful smile on her face. He glided his pillow, Chastiefol, directly over her. He had been lounging here for the past few hours, keeping Diane company while she slept. He would remain here until the lovely giant awoke, ensuring that nobody disturbed his beloved.
   Anyone who even dared to look at his sweet Diane would get a face full of Chastiefol’s spear...and that was a promise.
   King could hear Diane’s sweet voice now as he thought of how grateful she would be when she awoke, fully rested thanks to him…
   Oh, King! I don’t know what I’ve been doing with myself! Chasing after Captain all this time. I see now that it’s you I love! Take me away, my sweet King of the Fairies!
   The mere thought made King’s entire face burn...but he knew it would never come true.  Diane would never notice him. To her, he was nothing more than a brother. Diane would always love the captain, no matter what...Meliodas was just too far out of King’s league. He could never hope to compete with him. The man who he held in such a high light...Captain Meliodas was truly deserving of  Diane’s love…
   And yet he didn’t requite it.
   He shot her down every time she tried to love him. Was the captain blind or just stupid? Who in their right mind would deny Diane? King would never understand it...he would do almost anything to be with his beloved Diane…
   “You seem troubled…”
   King jumped at the sudden voice and nearly fell off of Chastiefol. He looked around for the source of the unknown voice. Nobody could sneak up on him! King was always aware of everyone around him. Well, almost everyone…
   As if on cue, Gowther suddenly landed beside him, causing Chastiefol to tip to the side and nearly spill King off of it.
   “Gowther!” he exclaimed in annoyance. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
   Gowther blinked his girlish amber eyes innocently. “What am I doing?” He looked around as if he expected someone else to answer for him.
   King growled in irritation...Gowther had to be the most inept man he had ever met.
   “Do you want something?” he asked, trying to make it easier for Gowther to understand him.
   Gowther put a finger on his chin thoughtfully. “Want something? Well, yes, I suppose so…”
   “And what would that be?”
   The Goat Sin suddenly sat down cross-legged on the very edge of the green pillow and gazed straight into King’s eyes. “I noticed that you seemed to be distressed, so I thought that I would come and inquire as to what it was that was causing your stress. Was that an inappropriate action? Do ‘friends’ not behave in that manner?”
   King rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Gowther. Really.”
   Gowther pursed his lips curiously. “You are lying...why?”
   King let out an annoyed breath. “I don’t think that’s really any of your business...now, if you’ll excuse me…” He tapped Chastiefol’s soft surface and the pillow immediately flipped upside down. Gowther barely reacted as he fell off and plummeted to the ground thirty feet below.
   The knight did a mid-air somersault and landed perfectly on his feet. He looked back up at King curiously. “I believe that means you do not wish to talk?”
   “Yes.” King answered and leaned back against Chastiefol. Gowther just couldn’t take a hint.
   As King gazed up at the sky high above, he went back to listening in on his comrades. Surely they had some entertaining conversations going on…
   But King heard nothing.
   Everything was completely silent.
   King sat bolt upright as a shock-wave of energy suddenly shot through him...he knew that feeling…
   “A holy knight!” he exclaimed.
   Immediately, King flipped off of Chastiefol and morphed the pillow back into its true spear form. He knew the others had sensed it, too. There was no way they couldn’t feel the power. It was practically on top of them! How had King not felt it before now…? A power that immense should have been detectable for miles. So how had the holy knight managed to evade King’s senses.
   Moreover, how had they been able to evade the captain? Captain Meliodas was renowned throughout the Sins for having an unrivaled sense of perception...so where was he?
   King searched the ground around the bar, but there was no sign of the captain or the other Sins. Even Ban was nowhere to be found. Gowther, too, had disappeared...where was everyone?
   Diane still slumbered soundly below him. She didn’t even seem to react to the immense power that was flooding King’s senses. Was the only feeling this or was he just crazy?
   As if on cue, an unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed through the air around King.
   You weren’t affected by my magic? How? Even the Dragon Sin of Wrath has fallen victim to my power...how is this possible?
   It took King a millisecond to pinpoint the source of the voice and he quickly whirled around and sent  Chastiefol flying straight toward the direction of the unknown assailant. The spear slammed harmlessly into the ground, but King was no fool. The second Chastiefol made contact with the earth, he flicked his finger to the left and sent the spear flying through the air once again...this time it hit something solid in the air.
   With a pained cry, a black-armored knight suddenly appeared and fell to the ground, grasping his left side where Chastiefol’s shaft stuck halfway out, the blade still buried deep in the knight’s side. A perfect shot.
   King floated down to the knight slowly. “Did you really think your pathetic magic would have any effect on me?”
   The knight grunted and glared up at him, his eyes glowed red from the inside of his helmet...King knew that look. This man…
   “A member of the New Generation…” He sighed sadly. “I should have known…”
   The knight laughed through pained breaths. “You don’t sound surprised...even though two of our weakest members already knocked your block off...you should be ashamed...calling yourselves warriors…”
   King shrugged. “We manage...now then.” He clenched his fist and Chastiefol dug itself deeper into the knight’s side. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?”
   The knight screamed as blood poured down the side of his armor. “Isn’t it obvious? I...came to eliminate...the Seven Deadly Sins…”
   “Yes, I guessed that already…” King pitied the boy. He sounded so young. It was disgusting how easily knights could be turned these days. “What have you done to my comrades? It’s obvious that you used some sort of magic on them...if you hadn’t, you would already be dead…”
   That wasn’t a bluff. King knew well that any one of his fellow Sins would have eliminated this pathetic excuse for a knight...but somehow this man had incapacitated them. Seeing as to how Diane was still here, though, King knew that he hadn’t sent them away...so what had he done?
   “They’ll all...be dead soon…” the knight spat up blood, but King could hear the arrogant tone of pleasure in his voice. “It’s only…a matter of time...there’s nothing you can do now...soon the Seven Deadly Sins...will be gone...and the New Generation...will conquer the kingdom…”
   Before King could stop him, the knight pulled the big sword from the scabbard on his side, and stabbed it hilt deep into…
   His own chest.
   King watched in shocked silence as the knight coughed up blood and fell to his knees. He gave one last evil chuckle. “Soon…”
   Then he fell on his side...dead.
   King stared at him for a moment...what could have possessed him to do something like that? Were the New Generation truly that loyal to their cause. So much so that they would commit suicide rather than give up information. That kind of dedication was scary...just how far would they go?
   “N-No! Bugs! Hehehe...no! G-Get off of me!” Diane suddenly muttered in her sleep.
   King looked over at her worriedly. “Diane? What’s wrong?”
   The giant didn’t answer.
   Her expression was one of pure terror. That was something you would very rarely see from Diane...was she dreaming? Or…
   “It appears that Diane, too, has succumbed to the spell.”
   King jumped in shock and whirled around to find…
   “Gowther?!”
   The scrawny knight adjusted his glasses and cocked his head to the side. “Yes?”
   “What happened? Where’d you go? Where are the others?” King demanded, his worry getting the better of him.
   Gowther looked back towards the open door of the bar. “The others? Well, the captain, Elizabeth, and Ban are inside the bar...all appear to be in a sound sleep…but it is unnatural…a forced sleep. I believe it to be a spell, though I am not certain. Perhaps they are just tired.”
   “A forced sleep?” King asked in disbelief.
   Gowther nodded. “Yes. As I said, I believe it to be a spell...something is syphoning their magic power away. I believe that is why we are unable to sense them...they are slowly dying…”
A cold hand clutched King’s heart and he looked back at Diane who was still muttering and shivering in her sleep…
   Soon the Seven Deadly Sins will be gone...
   King ground his teeth in pure rage. “How can we help them?"
   Gowther looked around for a moment, as if the answer would just appear. “I suggest that we find the source and eliminate it...to do that…” He suddenly shot a tiny ray of light into Diane’s neck. “We will have to go inside of their dreams. Since Diane was already asleep whenever the spell was cast, I believe the source may have attached itself to her…”
   King glared down at the dead knight...he was lucky he’d taken his own life…
   Gowther walked over to Diane’s giant head and knelt down beside her. “This will be a decent enough entry point. The sooner we go, the better. Are you coming, King?”
   King nodded without hesitation. “If it means saving Diane...I would give my life. Lead the way, Gowther."
   Gowther nodded and took King’s hand in his own.
   “Before we go,” he said, “I must warn you that delving into another person’s mind is quite dangerous...even though I am only projecting our minds into Diane’s...the danger will be very real. This is quite a deadly spell. If you die in Diane’s mind...you will die here as well.” He pointed at the pillow held under King’s arm. “Also, you will not be able to bring your spear with you...weapons cannot be transmitted into the dreamscape. You will be armed with only your physical and mental strength…”
   King gulped. “L-Let’s just go…”
   “As you wish…” Gowther took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A second later, his entire body began to glow white and energy flowed from his arm into King’s body, filling him with a strange light sensation, as if his body were made of air.
   King had a moment to appreciate the feeling...and then there was a bright flash and everything went black.

“AAAAAAH! AHAAHAHAAA! HEEEEELP!”
   “Diane!” King sat bolt upright as Diane’s loud screams echoed through the air. He cast his gaze around for the giant, but saw no sign of her. “D-” Suddenly a hand wrapped around his mouth, keeping him silent.
   “Shhh…” Gowther pointed towards the yellow sky above, where several black specks swarmed. They looked like enormous black wasps.
   King gulped. What the hell were those things?
   The wasp-like creatures swarmed above their heads for what seemed like hours, but just as King felt sure they were going to be found, a giant explosion to the north of them drew the wasps’ attention.
   Gowther waited several minutes before he finally removed his hand from King’s mouth. “I believe we are safe now.”
   “What about Diane?” King demanded. “Can’t you hear her? She needs our help!”
   “AAAHAHAHAHAAA! STOOOHOOOOP! G-GET OFF MEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEE!” Diane’s screams could be heard all around them, as if they were being projected from speakers.
   Gowther looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “Yes, I hear her...but it does not seem that she is distressed...listen more closely.”
   King tilted his head and listened. What did Gowther expect him to hear?
   “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAAAH! AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! STOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOOP! STOP! I’M TIHIHIHIHIHIHICKLISH! STOOOOHOHOHOHOOOOP!”
   “Ticklish…?” King muttered, unable to believe his own ears.
   “I believe it is a sensitivity that causes the afflicted person to involuntarily laugh. It is a weakness that most creatures possess,” Gowther explained. “Interesting, I never would have guessed that someone as powerful as Diane could have such a weakness…”
   King shook his head. “No, Diane’s extremely ticklish. She hates it, but she is-” He shook his head. “Wait, why are we talking about this?! We gotta save her, Gowther! Stay focused!”
   Gowther cocked his head to the side curiously. “Oh. Very well.”
   King rolled his eyes and carefully floated out of their cave hiding spot and into the hot air outside. Gowther followed him, casual as always.
   King looked around, taking in all of their surroundings. They appeared in some sort of mountainous region. Everything around them was made of solid black stone. Steam seeped out of the cracks in the black stone, creating a heated atmosphere that made it hard for King to breathe. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that steam was toxic. Could this be…
   Suddenly a nearby rock outcropping exploded, sending steam and lava flying into the air like a geyser.
   “A volcano!” King screamed. Even as he said it, more lava geysers burst to life all around them, covering the black stone with red hot molten rock.
   Gowther knelt down and touched the ground. “Hmm...it appears we are standing on top of an active volcano, yes. How unfortunate.”
   King grabbed the pink-haired idiot around the waist and flew up higher into the sky, dragging Gowther along with him, dodging spouts of lava as they erupted all around him, singing his hair and burning his skin.
   “Oh no…” Gowther suddenly said.
   King looked back and his heart leaped into his mouth.
   Ten feet behind them, approaching swiftly, were the same giant black insects from before. Now that they were closer, King could see them much more clearly...and the sight made his stomach sink.
   They were giant black wasps with three-foot-long solid red stingers.
   “What kind of place is this?!” King screamed as he dodged another lava spout and then spun to the side as one of the wasps attempted to spear him with its stinger.
   “It is Diane’s mind,” Gowther answered.
   Oh...right. King had almost forgotten.
   If this was Diane’s mind, though, then where was she? Shouldn’t the giant have been inside her own mind?
   At last they made it through the minefield of lava and broke away from the black volcano. A moment later, they were flying over a dense green forest.
   King’s muscles screamed from Gowther’s weight. He wasn’t built for this kind of labor! King was a king, and Gowther, despite his size, was really freaking heavy!  
   King immediately flew down into the foliage and landed in a nearby tree. He dropped Gowther and the nimble knight landed gracefully on the branch, barely making it bend. King landed beside him and the two fell still...waiting.
   The wasps passed overhead several times, searching for them. Finally, they seemed to give up and quickly dissipated again...but King knew that they were still there. They were waiting for them to come back out into the open.
   “What are those things?” King asked.
   Gowther adjusted his glasses. “Nightmares.”
   “What?”
   “Nightmares. They are creatures formed the greatest fears in Diane’s subconscious. I have induced several things such as this. They are hunting us because we are intruders...they will eventually find and kill us both if we do not find Diane quickly.” He tilted his head and cupped a hand over his ear. “Luckily I believe she is close.”
   King listened as well and, just as Gowther had said, Diane’s laughter-filled screams seemed to be a lot closer.
   “AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEELP! HEEEEELP! NAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GET ‘EM OFF A MEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE!”
   It seemed to coming from just beyond the nearest trees. Diane was close...but what was torturing her?   
   Without Chastiefol, there was no way he could fight off Diane’s captors…
   He looked over at Gowther who seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.
   “Do not fear.” Gowther smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “You will be okay. I will protect you, King. That is what friends are for.”
   King nodded. “Thanks, Gowther.”
   “HEEEEHEHEHEHEEEELP!” Diane screamed so loudly that it shook the tree they were perched in.
   “We’d...better get over there…” King said nervously.
   “Yes.” Gowther jumped out of the tree and made a swift dash for the treeline.  A moment later, he was gone.
   King gave a deep sigh and flew out of the tree. His entire body shook with terror as he thought of what he might find on the other side, but he quickly steeled himself. He was here to save Diane...weapon or no weapon. No matter what lay on the other side of these trees, he would face it head on...for Diane.
   “For Diane!” King charged through the trees, fists swinging.

A gentle hand on his shoulder stopped King’s mad charge. He stopped and looked over in surprise to find Gowther calmly staring ahead.
   “Gowther? What are you doing?”
   Gowther pointed ahead of them. “Look…”
   King looked where Gowther was pointing...and was greeted by a sight that rocked him to the core…
   “AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OHOHOHOHOHOFF!” Diane squealed and rolled around , banging her fists on the ground and kicking her legs. “HEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEELP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"
   “D-Diane…?” King couldn’t believe his eyes.
   Diane was a child. She looked exactly as she had five-hundred years ago…
   That wasn’t the only thing that shocked King, though. As he watched her laughing and struggling, he saw tiny figures crawling around on her gigantic upper body and feet. King squinted to get a better look at them…and nearly had a heart attack.
   Meliodas crawled around on Diane’s giant feet, jumping from one to the other, scribbling his fingers across her soles and trying his best not to get squished.
   On her upper body, Ban ran around with two sticks, poking and raking them across Diane’s stomach and under her enormous arms.
   “What are they doing…?” he asked absentmindedly.
   Gowther pointed to Diane’s right hand. “I believe they are trying to save the princess…”
   Now that Gowther had pointed it out, King saw the tiny figure clutched in Diane’s fist.
   “Lady Diane, sto-o-o-o-o-o-o-op!” Elizabeth shouted desperately as Diane shook her to and fro. The poor girl looked like she was about to be sick.
   “AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! N-NOOOOHOHOHOHOHOOOOO! STOOOHOHOHOHOOOOP! NO FAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAIR! THAT TICKLES!” Diane laughed and squealed in response as Meliodas and Ban tormented her sensitive body.
   “It appears that the spell has bound their minds together…” Gowther said thoughtfully. “They are all experiencing Diane’s nightmare alongside her…”
   “Then why are they tickling her?” King asked. “Shouldn’t they be helping her?”
   Gowther shook his head. “No...Diane is not herself. Her mind is the way it was when she was a small child...she does not recognize any of them. They are merely defending themselves the only way they know how to without harming her.”
   Meliodas seemed to notice them for the first time as he squeezed between Diane’s toes, raking his nails along their sensitive skin as he did so.
   “Guys! You made it!” he exclaimed with a grin. “Where’ve you been?!”
   “AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GET OUTTA MY TOOOHOHOHOHOHOOOOOES! AAAAHAHAHAAAAA! NOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOO!” Diane screamed and scrunched up her toes, trying to squash Meliodas.
   Meliodas jumped up and landed on the top of her wriggling toes and flipped backwards onto the ground, giving Diane a brief respite before he jumped back onto the sole of her right foot and began spidering around again.
   “We have to do something…” King slowly glided towards Diane, but Gowther quickly grabbed onto his arm to stop him.
   “Wait, King. Diane will not recognize you, either.”
   “Let go, Gowther…” King shook Gowther’s hand off and flew to Diane’s head, dodging her swinging fists with ease. He gently landed on Diane’s shoulder and sat down cross-legged.
   “What’re you doin’, King?” Ban inquired as he ran by with his sticks.  
   King ignored the thief and leaned in close to Diane’s ear.
   “Diane…” he whispered. “It’s me...it’s Harlequin…”
   Diane’s purple eyes opened wide and without warning, she reached up and plucked Ban off of her chest and threw him. Simultaneously she kicked Meliodas so hard that he went flying high up into the air.
   “Wahoooo!” they both cried in unison. “Awesoooooooome!”
   King rolled his eyes. Idiots.
   Diane grabbed King in an enormous, gentle fist and sat up, bringing up to her face as she did so.
   “Harlequin?” she asked. Her eyes clouded as she tried to remember him...but then they suddenly lit up. “Harlequin!” She pulled him into a huge hug and rubbed him against her cheek lovingly. “Harlequin! Harlequin! Harlequin! You came back! You came back! Oh, I knew you’d be back!”
   King felt his cheeks burn with a blush. “Y-Yeah...I came back, Diane…how have you been?”
   Diane pulled him away from her face and pouted. “Bored! You’ve been gone forever!”
   “I’m sorry…” King looked away, unable to meet her innocent gaze. This wasn’t right…
   “E-Excuse me...Lady Diane…”
   Diane’s eyes suddenly flashed and she glared down at the white-haired princess still held in her other fist. “What?”
   Elizabeth seemed to shrink a little. “U-Umm...c-can you put me down...please?”
   Diane narrowed her eyes. “Why should I?”
   King stared at her in astonishment. Diane had never been this cruel to humans when she was young. Even now she was more envious of humans than anything else...but she was never cruel to them.
   “Put her down, Diane, it’s okay,” he said gently.
   Diane pouted at him. “But…”
   “C’mon, Diane. Do you really wanna hurt her?”
   Diane sighed and put Elizabeth down. “No…”
   Elizabeth backed up a few paces, but she didn’t seem to be scared. “Thank you, Lady Diane."
   “Save it…” Diane pushed Elizabeth away with her forefinger. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Harlequin.”
   King’s face felt as hot as the volcanic eruptions. “D-Diane…”
   “What the hell was that all about?!” Ban demanded as he came waltzing back out of the forest. Tree branches stuck out of his spiky white hair and his leather jacket was missing a sleeve, but other than that he seemed perfectly unharmed.
   Diane held King close to her chest and glared at him. “Back off!”
   Ban barely noticed her.
   He walked right past the giant and instead focused his attention on Meliodas, who had just made his way back out of the forest as well.
   “Your technique was totally off, Captain!”
   Meliodas shrugged. “Yeah. I’ve gotten kinda sloppy, huh?”
   Ban nodded in agreement. “Prison got me pretty rusty, too.” He jerked a thumb back towards Diane. “Looks like King calmed her down, though."
   Diane growled. “You’d better stay away from me if you know what’s good for you!”
   King patted Diane’s thumb soothingly. “It’s okay, Diane. They’re my friends.”
   “What?!” Diane exclaimed. “Harlequin…you hate humans!”
   King shook his head. “No, Diane. I don’t hate them anymore...humans are cruel, but not all of them are bad. It’s okay to trust them. Don’t worry, they’re not gonna hurt you.”
   Diane didn’t seem convinced, but she released her grip on King and allowed him to fly over to Meliodas and Ban.
   “What’s goin’ on here, King?” Meliodas inquired, hands behind his head casually. “This is one messed up place. How’d we even get here? And what’s up with Diane?”
   “And why’s there no booze here?!” Ban demanded.
   “I believe I can answer that.” Gowther walked over to them and groped Meliodas’s chest. “Greetings, Captain.”
   Meliodas grinned. “Hey, Gowther! You know what’s goin’ on here? You didn’t do it, did you? You gotta quit messin’ with people’s minds, man…”
   Gowther shook his head. “It was not me, Captain. The spell was cast by a holy knight. It seems that it has latched itself onto Diane’s subconscious, though I am uncertain what the purpose of the spell was…” He gestured to where Diane sat eyeballing them suspiciously. “As you can see, it has done extensive damage to Diane. Her mind has been spliced. We will need to locate our Diane before any of us may escape her mind. If we fail…”
   “If we fail?” Meliodas pressed.
   Gowther took off his glasses and stared straight into Meliodas’s green eyes. “If we fail...then we will never awaken…”

King sat beside Diane as the others gathered together supplies for a campout. According to Gowther, time outside of Diane’s mind would pass much slower than it would outside. Three days in here would account for a week on the outside. If they didn’t find the real Diane soon...then there bodies would give out of thirst and starvation.
   However, it was too dangerous for them to travel the dreamscape at night. So Meliodas had decided to call it a night and allow them to rest before they started off again. His theory was that they, with Diane’s help, could find their way through her memories until they reached the point in time whenever she reached the age they were looking for...but King knew that would take hundreds of years and thousands of memories. He, Gowther, Ban, and Meliodas would be fine...but Elizabeth’s body wouldn’t last long on the outside.
   According to Gowther, they had only another day to find the real Diane and destroy the spell...if they failed, then Elizabeth would die.
   Despite that, however, the princess was just as happy as ever.
   “I never knew that someone as strong as you could be ticklish, Lady Diane,” she said with an amused smile as she sat in Diane’s palm.
   Diane shrugged. “I’m not that tough. Just sturdy.” Curiously, she wiggled her pinky finger on Elizabeth’s torso. “What about you?”
   “Aha!” Elizabeth squeaked and fell over as Diane teased her sensitive belly. “N-Nohohohohoho! That tihihihickles!”
   Diane grinned evilly. “You’re ticklish too, princess?”
   King smiled up at the two of them. Diane had always been able to chase away the darkness of his thoughts.
   Eventually, the others all settled down around them, realizing that there was no food to be had in this place and that a fire was pointless.
   “How much longer do we have, Gowther?” Meliodas asked casually.
   “Twenty-two hours, I would estimate,” Gowther answered immediately. Then, without warning, he suddenly got to his feet and walked off without a word.
   King knew that he was probably off to read or to study their surroundings. Gowther was a strange one, but he was an invaluable member of the team. In the dreamscape, Gowther was like the holy savior. Without him, they would be lost.
   Ban sighed miserably. “Almost a full day without any booze...that’s gonna be rough…”
   King rolled his eyes. “Can’t you focus on anything but alcohol?”
   Ban flipped him off and lay back with his hands behind his head. “Wake me up when we’re ready to go.”
   Diane glared at him. “I don’t like him…”
   Meliodas laughed. “Not many people do...but he’s a good guy.”
   “I can hear you,” Ban grumbled.
   “Good.” Meliodas grinned and fell back on the forest floor as well. “Same for me guys. Wake me up when you’re ready to go.”
   Elizabeth lay down beside him. “Me, too, please.”
   King nodded. “Right.”
   Diane gave a tired yawn, but she shook her head quickly to shake the sleep away.
   King smiled at her sympathetically. “You should get some rest, too, Diane. It’s gonna be a hard journey tomorrow.”
   “I don’t wanna…” Diane whined. “I don’t wanna sleep around humans…”
   King floated around her to where her feet stuck out. “C’mon. They’re not gonna hurt you.” He landed on her soft bare foot and sat down cross-legged in the center of her arch. “Here…” Gently he began to knead his fingers and thumbs into Diane’s sole.
   “Oh…” Diane sighed. “Th-That’s not fair…”
   King smiled. Diane had always loved having her feet rubbed. He remembered whenever she couldn’t sleep unless he rubbed her feet first. Nowadays, that wasn’t a problem and King was too scared to offer.
   However, this was the Diane he had known so long ago. The who had yet to fall for the captain...the one who still remembered him as Harlequin.
   Without warning, Diane suddenly fell forward.
   “Diane!” King shouted in shock. He flew off of her foot and made his way around to her face. Was she hurt?
   Diane snored quietly, a peaceful smile on her face.
   She was asleep...
   King let out a relieved breath. Diane must have been more tired than she’d let on.
   He floated over to her back and sat down cross-legged, watching the forest. He would keep watch until the others were ready.
   The journey ahead of them was going to be rough and difficult. They were going to have to fight with all they had just to survive. There was no telling what lay in store for them within Diane’s mind...
   “Hey!”
   King looked down in surprise to find…
   Ban lying half-crushed underneath Diane’s giant body.
   “Get me outta here!” he shouted angrily.
   “Shh. You’ll wake, Diane.” King grinned evilly.
   “When I get outta here, you’re dead, King!”
   King tuned him out and looked back at the forest. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all…

TO BE CONTINUED...