33 Punishment

Makarov's eyes widened at the large figure standing at the entrance and the room became silent once again as everyone turned their heads towards the guild entrance. Meliodas and Hisui turned around and saw Jura Neekis standing with a large group of councilmen behind him.

"Yo, Jura!" Meliodas greeted him with a smile as he waved, unfettered by the situation.

"We meet again, Meliodas." Jura replied. The silence in the room was broken as various members of the guild began talking amongst themselves.

"I can't believe it, Jura's here?!"

"They actually sent Jura Neekis?!"

"Who's Jura…?"

"Makarov." Jura said. He began to walk towards Makarov. The room became silent again as Jura began speaking. "Do not worry. Myself and the council will bring her majesty back to the capital."

A look of relief filled Makarov's face upon hearing this. One of the ten wizard saints escorting the princess back would be a best case scenario.

"However." Jura continued. "I will also be taking Meliodas with me."

"No you can't take Meliodas!" Hisui protested as she stepped up in front of Meliodas.

"Yeah, he didn't know that he accidentally kidnapped a princess!" Gray exclaimed.

"Yeah, you can't take our friend!" Natsu yelled. He began to angrily walk towards Jura with his fists clenched.

"Calm down idiot!" Makarov yelled. His entire left arm began to grow until it was nearly ten times in size. With his enormous hand, he stopped Natsu and grabbed him, keeping the dragon slayer from moving.

"Jura, you're here to take Meliodas..." Makarov said with narrowed eyes.

"Please calm down. Once we deliver the princess, we will just question Meliodas." Jura said reassuringly to Makarov.

"Alright then..." Makarov agreed. Since the princess willingly came with Meliodas, he figured he would most likely be pardoned, so he wasn't that worried. Makarov looked back over at Meliodas.

"Meliodas, go with Jura." He ordered.

"Sure thing." Meliodas replied.

Meliodas walked over to Jura where one of the councilmen that came with him cuffed him with anti magic cuffs while another took his sword. As the cuffs contacted his wrists, he noticed a familiar sensation, one that was similar to when he was fighting near the large anti-link crystal. 'So that's what they are using this for…'

"I am sorry Meliodas, but this is protocol." Jura said. Meliodas nodded and Jura escorted Meliodas and Hisui out of the guild hall while the rest of the guild members watched silently, unable to do anything as they watched Meliodas get arrested.

Erza turned to Makarov.

"Master, will it be alright?"

"Yes, since the princess came willingly, he won't get in much trouble. And I know Jura, he will make sure nothing unjust happens. The best thing we can do for now is wait." Makarov said.

----

Meliodas sat down, cuffed, on a train heading towards Crocus. He looked out the window at the scenery. The rolling green hills and widespread farmland began to make him feel nostalgic as he reminisced of Britannia.

Sitting across from him was Jura and sitting next to him was Hisui. Filling the seats around them and standing in the corridor, were over a dozen councilmen. The councilmen had secured the railway and the train privately to bring the princess back, so there were no other passengers.

"Meliodas, I'm sorry… because of me, you are being taken away." Hisui said as tears started forming in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Meliodas said reassuringly with a big smile. This will be a long train ride so feel free to ask any more questions about Fairy Tail. Hisui's eyes lit up at Meliodas's offer as she began bombarding Meliodas with many questions. Jura smiled at their conversation while he kept an eye on them.

"Hey by the way, you will be returning my sword right? Meliodas asked Jura.

"Don't worry, we will just hold it for now. Once you're let go, you'll get it back. Although I will say, it's quite the impressive sword." Jura commented. Meliodas nodded in approval and then looked back out the window as he answered more of Hisui's questions.

Before the sun had set, the train arrived at Crocus Station. From there, Meliodas was taken directly to the throne room where he stood before the King of Fiore. The throne room was a spacious room with large pillars engraved with various markings lined up on each side. There was a large red carpet leading towards a section of the room that was elevated by a few steps of stairs. The carpet ended at three chairs, lined up next to each other, with the chair in the middle being the throne. The throne itself was a heavily decorated large chair, twice the height of an average person with two large jewels embedded in it.

On the throne, sat the king, a short man who was around Makarov's height. The man had neck length white hair and a thin mustache. He wore a red cape with striped overalls underneath. Beside him, stood Arcadios and Hisui. Meliodas kneeled on one leg and faced his head down, not forgetting his royal etiquette he had learned over the years.

"Meliodas, do you have anything to say for kidnapping my daughter." The king asked.

Meliodas was unfazed and replied back.

"Well, I didn't actually kidnap anyone. I just asked if she wanted to see Fairy Tail and she said yes."

The king sighed and looked at his daughter, who nodded at him.

"It's true father. I am sorry for the inconvenience I caused…"

The King remained silent for a few moments. He turned to his side and began talking to Arcadios along with several other men, who Meliodas assumed were the royal court. After several minutes of talking, the king turned back to Meliodas.

"You are dismissed."

Meliodas nodded and walked out of the throne room with a few council guards as escorts. They gave each other confused looks as they showed Meliodas out of the room.

'This guy is so cavalier.'

'Isn't he afraid of the king?'

---

Meliodas sat down in the main lobby of the castle, still cuffed, with several palace guards watching him. There, he waited until Jura had finished his meeting and was chatting away with the palace guards about ale in the meantime. After about half an hour, Meliodas heard footsteps coming from behind him and turned around. There he saw Jura walking towards him.

"Yo!" Meliodas greeted.

"Meliodas, his majesty said he doesn't have any reason to punish you. The princess told his Majesty everything that had happened prior to your meeting with him. However, the council has decided to detain you just for a week as a formality, due to the unfortunate encounter the princess's secret guard had with you."

"Fine…" Meliodas sighed. "But if I'm kept any longer, I'll break out myself." Meliodas replied with a cheeky smile. Jura laughed in response, as he didn't really think anything about Meliodas' comment and passed it off as a joke. From the palace, the council once again escorted Meliodas to the Council Headquarters, which was directly south of Crocus.

---

The punishment was already decided and Meliodas was taken to his cell. It was a small room with runes grafted along the walls. Meliodas was placed inside and his cuffs were replaced with a thick, steel bracelet attached to his wrist to restrict the usage of his magic. Compared to the cuffs, the bracelet would be harder to break out of.

Meliodas sat down and looked around the cell and was surprised. It was surprisingly large and had a proper bed mounted to the wall with a toilet in the corner. It was quite comfortable for a jail cell.

The door closed behind Meliodas and the guard left, leaving Meliodas alone in the room. It was already night and Meliodas decided to sleep for the night.

Early the next morning, Meliodas woke up. He stared up at the ceiling of his cell as he layed in the bed.. 'Damn, a whole week of this.' He thought as he laid down on the bed.

An hour later he noticed a strange frogman guard stopped by his cell. The frogman opened the door and placed a tray of food for Meliodas. Meliodas looked at the contents of the tray. There was a bowl of cereal with a cup of milk on the side, an assortment of fruit, and biscuits covered in a thick gravy sauce.

"You got any ale?" Meliodas asked the frogman guard.

"No, this isn't a hotel. You are a prisoner." The frogman guard gave Meliodas a stern look.

"Well, alright then." Meliodas responded as he began eating his food. To his surprise, the food tasted pretty good. The frogman left the room and closed the door.

Meliodas walked up to the door of the cell and stood on his toes, looking at the hallway. Once he made sure no one was there, he walked over to his bed and sat down. He looked down at his left wrist where the cuff was placed and placed his right hand over the cuff.

Gripping the bracelet as hard as he could, he managed to break it right off as it made a small cracking noise. He took off and placed it at his side. The bracelet was still nearly intact apart from a small part that was broken off, in case Meliodas had to put it on again. Meliodas raised his hand in front of him and summoned a bottle of White Wyvern Ale. 'I'm glad I learned this magic.'

---

One week passed, and Meliodas lay on his bed, his eyes open, staring at the blank ceiling above when he heard footsteps approaching his cell. His cell door swung open and the frogman guard came in.

"Get up." The guard said.

"Meliodas hopped out of bed with a smile on his face. A week had passed and he knew he got to leave today. The guard escorted Meliodas out of his cell and down several long hallways until they reached the main lobby of the Council building.

"Alright, you are free to go. By the way, here's your belongings." The guard said.

"Thanks!" Meliodas replied as he took Melf Force and strapped it on his back. He made his way towards the exit.

"Wait, I have to take off your Anti-Magic bracelet." The guard yelled. The guard looked at Meliodas's wrist and was shocked when he realized the magic restraining bracelet was gone.

"Oh the bracelet. It got annoying so I took it off!" Meliodas said as he waved at the now dumbfounded guard and left the building.

"Took it off??" The guard questioned. He walked back to Meliodas's cell and saw the magic restraining bracelet on the bed. There were two pieces on the bed from the bracelet. The guard picked it up and examined the remaining pieces. 'He broke this without magic?!'