The previous night…
Shirou was looking down at the ground, cheeks red, to avoid staring more at the gorgeous white clad girl in armor who was in front of him. He had not been brought up to be rude. And he had no idea how to handle being cooed over by a girl his age.
The Saber on the other hand was busy trying to cool her cheeks from the embarrassment of spouting out how cute she found her Master.
The awkward silence lasted. For far too long, in both of their opinions.
Saber Lily took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks to work up her courage.
At the sound, Shirou looked up in surprise.
"Um," Saber Lily nearly lost her courage as her green eyes met his warm golden-brown ones. However, she was a knight (in training) so she had to press forward. "I am now Saber Lily! A knight in training. I don't know why I have changed to this younger form, but I hope to meet your expectations, Master!"
"Master!" The boy sputtered as he backed up, more red running to his cheeks as he waved his hands in front of him. "Hold on, I am not anyone's master!"
"But, you hold my Command Seals." Saber Lily blinked and shifted uncertainly. "And as you are the only magus around, that must mean you are my Master. Unless, did my transformation remove you as my Master?"
Saber Lily frowned, worried that she might have ruined her and her Master's chance at the Grail War because of the sudden change. Also, she couldn't sense any power coming from her Master. Was she a Rouge Servant? Did her change break their bond?
Bowing deeply, the Servant exclaimed. "I am so sorry, Master! I didn't think my transformation would do this."
"What transformation?" the red-head asked, getting more and more flustered as the girl bowed way too low to him. "Do you mean your clothes change? Your sword now being visible?"
"Yes, all of that is a sign of me becoming Lily," Saber apologized, not looking up. She wasn't a king yet so she should remain in her position of deference until her Master gave her permission to rise."
"I don't understand," her Master began, an air of bewilderment in his voice. "Who are you? Why are you here? What is a Command Seal? Why do you call yourself a knight? How did you change so suddenly? What is a Lily? How did you fight like that? Why was your sword invisible?
Why did you two fight and try to kill each other? And why are you calling me Master?"
Lily backed up as the torrent of confused questions poured down on her.
"Um, err," she began, forgetting to remain bowed and looked up. Her Master, who had scrapes blood stained cloth, and a hole in his uniform over his heart, looked completely out of his depths. "I am your Servant and I was summoned by you for the Grail War."
"What war?" her Master asked after a moment of confusion."
"Um, Master," Lily began. "What do you know about the Fuyuki Grail War?"
"The what?"
"Oh," Saber deflated. Her Master hadn't summoned her on purpose. He hadn't sought her out. That was discouraging. What would he think of getting a weak version of Artoria Pendragon instead of whoever he really wanted?"
"Um, sorry," the boy apologized. "I should invite you in. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shirou Emiya."
But maybe he summoned her through a compatibility summon? Saber wondered as she glanced up and saw him holding out a hand for her to shake. She was going to be king but it seemed like it would be a little lonely to be king. Maybe someone who was like her would be
able to help her prepare?
"Saber Lily," she reached out to his open hand, magically exchanging her metal gauntlet for a white glove. "But my True Name is Artoria Pendragon, the Princess Knight of Camelot."
Under the moonlight, palms together, the two teenagers stared each other in the eye.
Until they both blushed and looked away, letting go like they were holding a hot coal in their hands instead of another person's hand.
Artoria felt her heart pump in her chest like a purring lion, not that she had seen a lion before. But she had heard about them and Kay had carved her a wooden lion. Stepping back to gain control of herself, Lily heard a sudden crunch over the sound of her own heart in her ears.
Both Master and Servant looked down to see an underfoot, now doubly broken piece of wood from the room that had been damaged by Lancer's assault.
Artoria blushed. She wasn't that heavy! Was she? She knew her figure wasn't the best but she wasn't heavy, right? Would she need to go on a diet? That was what these modern-day girls did when they were too heavy right?
But, exercise was good for weight loss too. Maybe she could increase her training?
After going inside and talking a bit more about the Grail War, Lily determined that it was more accurate to say her Master knew nothing. Not even about the Grail, what a Servant was, or what the reward was. From what the Grail had told her, there was supposed to be some mediator, but Shirou didn't even know who the Second Owner of Fuyuki was or where another magus was so they had no one to ask.
So Saber Lily found herself in the position of explaining what a Servant was, what the Grail War was, what the Grail was, how it was the fifth such Grail War, no she did not know when the previous wars had happened, and who she was.
"So, you are Artoria Pendragon," Shirou frowned as they both sat down at the table, returned to its proper place from where Shirou and Lancer had kicked it during their brief scuffle. "The same king Arthur in history. And you're a girl."
"Artoria nodded to show he had gotten it right. Merlin always did when she answered one of his questions correctly. "Well, I'm not king yet. My older self, the one you originally summoned, was the king. The current 'me' is still in training. I've drawn Caliburn but I still need to prove myself to the kingdom."
"How?" Shirou's brow creased. "How can you prove yourself? Camelot is gone."
Artoria opened her mouth before closing it.
He was right. As a Heroic Spirit, she was outside of time. At this time period, there was no Camelot to prove herself as king to. It was destroyed and gone, buried in the past.
"Well," she stumbled. "I could train and get better and stronger-"
"But are you able to return to the past?" Shirou asked, still confused. "I mean, nobody can go back in time. Time flows forward and we must overcome the past to make the future better. So any training you do now would never make it to the past."
"W-Well," Saber Lily trailed off."
He had some good points. Points that she didn't know how to answer. How could she improve and train to be king of a kingdom that was gone?
"Maybe I can use the Grail to travel back?" she ventured randomly before shaking her head. "No, I still exist in the past and if there were two of me, it would divide the kingdom even further. I can't go to the past, it would just make things worse. Umm, what would I use the Grail for? Oooh, I wish Merlin was here."
Both of them fell silent, thinking.
"I don't have anything I would need the Grail for," Shirou offered up. "So do you really need to fight for it? It's bound to be safer to not need to fight."
"Umm, well, it just seems wrong to be summoned for a Grail War and not fight," Artoria Lily disagreed, her eyebrows flat as she frowned in worry. "But maybe I could think of something to use it for? Or maybe I could replace myself from the past?"
"Maybe," she brightened up. "If I can train by fighting the other Servants, maybe I can improve. Get stronger and wiser before I become king. And then I can use that improvement to reduce the tragedies and cut down the feuds and wars and then abdicate to my mortal self and spend my days as the king's knight."
"That sounds really complex and unlikely to work," Shirou deadpanned. "I mean, two King Arthurs running around? Having to fight a small war in the future just to get to the past?"
"Well," Artoria blushed. "It's better than doing nothing, isn't it?"
Shirou was silent for a moment.
"That's true," he agreed. "If I do nothing, then people will die. Alright, I'll fight alongside you but we won't kill anyone and we'll try to get the fighting to stop."
"What?" Saber Lily blinked before waving her hands wildly. "But you're my Master! You can't fight against Servants!"
"Why not?" Shirou challenged. "If people want to fight, then someone needs to make sure they don't get out of hand and kill someone. And we don't know who the Overseer or Second Owner is so someone has to do it."
"But," Saber protested. "This is a Grail War. We Servants are supposed to kill each other and protect our Master."
"Why can't we just choose who gets the Grail?" Shirou asked. "Negotiate instead of kill each other. Shouldn't the Grail go to the person with the best wish?"
"The Grail doesn't work that way," Saber shook her head. "It needs the Servants to power it and only one of us can get the wish. That is just how it is set up."
"That's wrong," Shirou rejected. "Nothing is worth killing other people for."
"What about other people?" Saber asked. "The Saxons have been invading Briton for years and every time, they kill more and more of our people. They won't stop so we have to kill them to keep our own families alive. Should we let ourselves die so that other people can destroy our families?"
"There should be a way to peace," Shirou stubbornly insisted. "We just have to find it. A way for everyone to be happy."
Saber Lily hesitated. It was a very nice ideal and she wanted life to be that way. But Merlin had taught her that it couldn't be.
The Saxons were determined to gain the kingdom for themselves. In addition, the current lords each had their own desires and ambitions that they wanted fulfilled. Vortigern was ruling in fear,
terror and destruction for his own desires.
And many of those people were so determined to get what they wanted that they would fight to the death to get it.
She was no different. She wanted a peaceful kingdom, an utopia. But the only way to get it was for her to be king and to fight everyone who opposed. Those who wanted to take from the kingdom.
"Well, what can I do?" Saber Lily asked. She was in training and you could learn from anyone. Maybe her Master, despite his ignorance of what he was in would know?"
Shirou opened his mouth and paused.
Saber waited, hopeful sparks starting to die but not gone yet.
"I," Shirou began awkwardly. "I don't know. But there has to be a way to help everyone."
"Saber Lily shook her head. "No, there isn't. Perhaps the previous king could have but he was murdered by my uncle so… yeah."
"Oh. My condolences." Shirou seemed awkward about it."
"It's sad, but I never met him," Saber Lily shrugged. "He died just after I was born and gave me away to be raised by Sir Ector while my uncle took over."
"Oh. Sounds like it was a bad time," Shirou frowned before asking hesitantly. "Was your uncle a bad king?"
"Very," Saber Lily replied instantly, remembering the stories that Father—Sir Ector, she wasn't supposed to call him Father now—tried to prevent her from hearing. The depravities that happened at court. The slaughters and massacres of villages and the armies not moving to help. Monsters roaming the land unopposed. The Lords fighting each other more than they fought the Saxons, who invaded and pillaged further and further every year."
Camelot was dying and people were losing hope. Villagers were terrified even though Sir Ector was a good knight and had never failed them before.
She couldn't let this continue. She had to save the kingdom and its people. And the only way was for her to be king.
A cold wind blew in from the broken walls and Shirou shivered.
"Oh," Artoria stood up before realizing she didn't have a cloak to offer. She didn't feel cold, couldn't as a Servant, but her Master obviously did. "Um, should we clean up the mess? I mean, as I arrived too late to save it, I should help put your home back together."
"You're a guest," her Master objected, also standing up. "I couldn't make you help clean this up."
"But I can't sit still while you work," Lily protested. "That's wrong and not worthy behavior of a knight. Besides, the work will go faster with two people."
Her Master's frown wavered and Lily smiled. "Besides, we can continue talking while we work."
"If you insist," Her Master's voice was full of reservations so Lily nodded with all her might.
"Then I can't exactly turn you down, can I?"
"Thank you!" She beamed; her own smile unable to be hidden."
Her Master stared for a second. Long enough for Saber to wonder if there was something on her face. Then he shook himself and acted like nothing was wrong.
"So what is with the Saber Lily thing?" Shirou asked as he led to where he kept the spare materials and tools."
"It says what my specialty is," Artoria skipped alongside him, hands behind her back like she was going to a picnic instead of replacing a few doors. "and that I'm a Lily Servant. It basically means that I am at the start of my legend instead of at my strongest point. Like see?"
Her sword suddenly appeared at her waist in a beautifully ornate blue, gold, and red sheathe with a gem on it. She drew her sword with a flourish, the rasp of metal unmistakable.
"This is Caliburn. If I were older, I would have Excalibur. Or maybe Rhonomynia- Rhongyomynead- Gah!" Her audible pride at her sword turned into an exclaimed frustration.
"Why am I mispronouncing it? Ron-go-my-knee-add!"
Shirou chuckled at her stumbling over the name.
"Hey, that's rude!" she complained, glaring at Shirou while red tinted her cheeks and ears. "Don't laugh at me for mispronouncing Rhongomyniad! Why don't you try saying it?"
"Ro-n-go-mi-ni-a-du," Shirou said easily."
"Bzzt! Wrong!" She exclaimed pointing one slim white gloved hand at Shirou. "See, you can't pronounce it on the first try either!"
Shirou grumbled as he looked away.
He couldn't look at her. Not with how cute she looked. Her smile from being so happy that she had beaten him in pronunciation was like a spear to the heart. Only a lot more pleasant and less painful.
As the sun rose, Shirou yawned as he worked on making breakfast, having just finished cleaning up the yard and replacing the door.
"Ah," Lily yawned too, one hand covering her mouth, from where she sat at the dining table."
He felt really tired and he guessed Artoria was tired too. He hadn't gotten any sleep since yesterday night, unless he counted the brief period of time after he was stabbed as sleep. But that felt more like dying than sleeping. Some people would say that dying was a rest but Shirou wasn't that overworked.
"Sorry," Lily apologized. "I could try my hand at making something if you want to sleep."
"It's fine," Shirou dismissed. "I like cooking and it is breakfast time anyway. Can't sleep too well on an empty stomach."
A growl came from behind him and Shirou turned his head to see Saber's face turn beat red.
"And it sounds like you would like some too," he continued. "Also, you don't know where the food is anyway."
"Well, I could try my hand at, uh," Artoria offered, her mind stumbling over what she could cook.
"Well, I can roast a chicken over a campfire. Sometimes."
"Yeah, but you don't even know where the chicken is and we use stoves now instead of fire," Shirou pointed out. "Again, I like cooking and it would be rude of me to not give you any breakfast."
"It smells good," Lily sniffed at the air. "And it is bad to let food go to waste."
Her stomach agreed again, causing Shirou to hold back a small smirk. Already her stomach was turning traitor and joining his side.
The miso soup finished, Shirou brought it out to the table. After putting a bowl down in front of her, Shirou suddenly remembered that a lot of foreigners didn't like miso soup.
But before he could take it back in order to make something else she might enjoy, Saber was picking up her spoon, a look of eager anticipation on her face.
If she doesn't like it, Shirou figured. He could always make something else. Besides, it never hurt to try something new.
"Taking a seat at the other end of the table, Shirou invoked "Itadakimasu."
"Itadakismasu," Saber repeated before putting her spoon into the soup and bringing it up to her mouth."
Shirou watched, trying to not be conspicuous about it. He failed but Saber was a little hungry so she could forgive a little rude table manners in favor of the food.
Saber Lily slowly brought the spoon full of fragrant soup to her mouth.
Shirou hoped she would like it.
The girl put it in her mouth.
Shirou held his breath.
And Saber Lily brightened up like the sun, nearly blinding Shirou from pure happiness. Shirou blinked, restoring his vision and heart, only to find Saber Lily scarfing down the soup like a happy and hungry dog given food.
"So," Shirou cleared his throat, feeling rather relieved. "Is it any good?"
.
"It's amazing!" she exclaimed, taking a moment to pause in her inhalation of the soup. "I've never had anything like this before, but it tastes so good!"
"Try varying bites with the rice," Shirou suggested. "The side-dishes also help vary the flavor."
Saber Lily picked up her chopsticks and with the ease of a food critic, used the unfamiliar tools to pluck out a large chunk of rice before plopping it in her mouth.
Again, her face flickered into happiness like a lightbulb, nearly blinding Shirou.
"SO GOOD!" the girl exclaimed, cupping her free hand to her cheek and closing her eyes in bliss."
Shirou swallowed as the radiant beauty and happiness of the teenager across from him struck him in the chest like a sledgehammer.
"I-I'm glad you like it," he managed before glancing away.
Stupid! Why is he acting so stupid!? She may be a very pretty girl who is obviously enjoying his food, but he doesn't have to act so stupid about it!
"Shirou, are you alright?" Saber Lily asked, tilting her head to the side and letting her blonde ponytail cascade over her shoulder. "You haven't been eating breakfast. Is there rationing going on? Or is this all the food you have? Oh it is, isn't it! I'm sorry for eating so much! You can have the rest! Servants don't need to eat, so you should have it! I'll be fine without it so you need to eat, Master! Don't hold back on my account. Eat your fill please!"
Shirou found his heart rate rising again as the cute gesture of the lovely woman alone with him in the dining room. He really needed sleep if he was letting this much affect him. She wouldn't appreciate it if he continued this train of thought.
"No, it's fine," Shirou interrupted Saber Lily's babbling as she dropped her chopsticks and shoved her food towards him. "We have plenty of food. You don't need to restrain yourself."
Artoria paused at that.
"Well," her hands stopped gripping the table as if she were about to push herself away from it and started drifting back to the bowl and dishes she had pushed towards Shirou. "If it isn't a problem…"
She slowly started dragging the dishes back towards her.
"It's fine," Shirou assured her. "If you want more, I can always make more."
"Oh," she said before straightening up and smiling a very happy smile at him. "I appreciate your generosity, Master!"
Shirou missed how she fell back to 'Master' as he nearly had a heart attack from how heart-stoppingly beautiful her smile was.
But he shook his head and regained himself.
He glanced down at the table, only to see the amount of rice and side-dishes rather low.
He probably should eat some before there was nothing left.
After the Master and Servant pair finished eating, leaving behind a table that looked like a swarm of locusts had devoured everything edible on it.
"I guess you liked the miso," Shirou commented as he came over to Artoria's side to start collecting the dishes to put in the sink."
"It was fantastic!" Lily's eyes sparkled before she clasped Shirou's free hand between both of her own, ungloved hands. "I want to eat your miso soup every day!"
Shirou's face instantly erupted to a shade of red darker than his hair at the implied traditional Japanese proposal.
"WHAAAT!" came a screech from the doorway as a brown-haired Tiger with flames rising behind her slammed the door open before pointing at the startled blonde teenager. "WHY ARE YOU TAKING MY BREAKFAST!? WHO ARE YOU!? AND WHY ARE YOU TAKING MY COOK!?"
"Why do I feel that the first is more important to you, Taiga?" Shirou complained, ears still red.
.