Remaining Days: 1
This is the last day of the last Preparation Period—tomorrow we will have the last big battle. And indeed, it is the biggest battle at the same time. I believe in Saber wholeheartedly, but at the same time I worry about her. Facing a knight of the round table is not exactly easy for her, considering she is the one who decided to stand against all of them. But this time, she is not on her own—I am by her side. Forever, and ever.
I wrap my arms around her, to which she snuggles her face to my chest. This means she must really be asleep still, if she was awake she would be way too embarrassed to seek contact like this. I run my fingers through her blonde strains. There is not much time left to take in everything of her, I know. And then, I will never see her again. It is painful, but at least all memories I have are with her.
I fear I would be crying if I would stay like this for her, I need to distract myself from the thought that our time together is slowly coming to an end. So, I get up and get dressed. When I turn back to the bed, Saber is looking at me, sitting up already.
"Something wrong?" She is really observant for such a stubborn, childish Servant. But I do not want to worry her, because this battle should be hard enough without me adding to her worries.
"No, everything is all right," I lie. I am not sure if she buys it or just trusts me to not talk about it, but she drops the question. "Training in the Arena sounds like a good idea, right?" I ask her. It is probably the best idea in fact—giving Rin the time and silence to work on the Code Cast that will save the battle for us and distracting myself.
And I feel like Saber needs distraction herself, even though she seems to be better than me at not showing her concern.
"Of course," she says, getting up and throwing her sleepwear casually on the bed, materialising her red armour. "Let's go!" She seems enthusiastic about training, but I cannot blame her. Just doing anything is better than having to face the thought that tomorrow is going to be our last day either way, no matter how it turns out.
In the Arena, as usual, Saber has close to no issue fighting Enemy Programs. Except for a bigger one. It looks like a bull, though its body reminds a bit more of a cube. It dashes at Saber and pushes her back fairly easy.
"Saber!" I call out to her, preparing my terminal to send any sort of Buff Code Cast to her.
"I'm okay," she assures me before materialising her full armour. "Just completely underestimated this fucker." She seems really… angry. But now, with her full armour, there is not much to worry about. It takes some time, considering the bull's horns are blades, but Saber brings it down eventually, then dematerialises the helmet, so it becomes a mere part of the big chunk of metal that forms her armour.
Before I can even praise her, Saber's eyes widen in shock, and I turn around. Behind us are standing Leo and Gawain.
"It almost seemed like you would need a hand, we were about to step in," says Leo. How gallant of them. But… wait. This means, they saw Saber. Gawain takes a step towards Saber, clearly disgusted at her.
"I knew you seemed familiar. Mordred, Knight of Treachery. Son of King Arthur, a disgrace to us knights of the round table." This statement hurts even me, I cannot imagine what it feels like for Saber. Saber chuckles, hiding that his words sting.
"Funny coming from the guard dog who in all those years never noticed this oh-so-perfect king is in fact a little girl." It must be true that most people did not know of King Arthur's true gender—or Saber's.
"How dare you soil the king's name with such lies! Arthur was a great king, and if not for you, he would have flourished, I am sure of that."
Saber grits her teeth. I know her feelings towards Arturia are, easily put, complicated. Neither Gawain nor Leo would be able to understand that.
"Gawain, let us leave—leave the hostility out of the battle. You will face each other tomorrow." Thankfully, Gawain is someone to be able to listen to reason, even when angered. I am not sure I could have called Saber back without using a Command Seal.
They walk away, but not without Gawain turning around once more. "I swear I will kill you, for causing the whole kingdom to fall into ruin." Saber chuckles once more, and I am sure Gawain could not hear it, but I notice her voice cracking.
"I'm looking forward to see you try!" I am wrapping my arms around Saber, holding her tight to let her cry on my shoulder, until she has calmed down enough to get back to our room.