Disclaimer - Saver and all of the characters belong to Eun-Young Lee

Note - This is a revised version of my original story. To not confuse those who have read this chapter already, these first chapters take place earlier than they did before, but they'll come together. I just wanted to revise it to make it more similar to the real plot. I also switched from first person to third person, it's easier to write in...

However, since this is an 'alternate ending' fic, I am excluding everything from the end of volume 17 (except for Eleanor's death.) Pretend none of it happened... xD

So, as a back-story explanation, the war has ended (yay), Eleanor is dead (double yay), and everyone is now at Ashton. This takes place a few weeks, perhaps a month after Saver ends.

Lena slowly opened her eyes, taking in the dark canopy attached to the ceiling above her bed which fell down in thick folds all the way to the floor. Her lips twisting into a frown, she sat up slowly and threw the piles of fluffy blankets off of her body and climbed out of the unnecessarily large bed that she slept in each night. Having somewhere to call her own room felt somewhat bizarre after traveling as a mercenary for so long. More than once she had wished for a nice bed to sleep in every night instead of on the hard, lumpy ground, but having the stars strewn across the sky to see was something she missed quite a bit. But now that she was staying at Ashton castle, sleeping outside would be pointless. If it were up to her, she would be housed in the barracks, or at least a small, undecorated room that only held what she needed. This room only got on her nerves with its elegantly woven tapestries hung on the walls, soft carpets scattered about the floor, and enough space for several people to stay in comfortably.

Slipping off the silky robe she'd slept in, she dressed quickly in the gratefully plain clothing that had been provided for her. It had taken a week and a fair amount of yelling to get the servants to stop bringing her nightmarishly frilly dresses and brightly colored trains of fabric that she wouldn't be caught wearing even if she were dead. It hadn't taken her long to track down the one responsible and threaten him into submission. The prince of Aran, Siegfried, always had tried his hardest to get Lena to wear what Lena referred to, none too fondly, as "princess clothing". She was suspicious that Siegfried wasn't the only one who had been involved in the dress scheme, but since the servants no longer offered her the dresses, she didn't particularly care who it was.

With a sigh at her own reflection in the gigantic mirror leaning up against the wall, she tied her hair up out of the way and attached her two swords to her belt. The gracefully forged medieval-style sword from the Leon tribe, and her old, battered Japanese katana that her mother had given to her over ten years ago on the day she started kumdo lessons. One from Scotland, one from Korea. The past and the future. They reminded her daily that she belonged neither here nor there.

As she straightened up from buckling on her scuffed-up boots, a soft knock sounded on her door.

"Ley, are you awake?"

"Yes," Lena called back, striding quickly across the large room and unlocking the bolt on the door. She swung it open and smiled down at Sharis, who stepped backward a ways to allow Lena room to exit. Lena shut the door behind her and walked with Sharis side-by-side down the long, dimly lit stone passageway. It felt significantly cooler out here than in her bedroom where a fire was kept constantly burning in the hearth under the supervision of the servants. Their footsteps echoed noisily along the passage, adding to the bustling sounds of the servants and other castle-dwellers hurrying past. As they reached the top of the large staircase which led to the castle's spacious entryway, Sharis sped up her pace as she descended, waving her arm at Sean, Michael and Cid who had been conversing together moments before. They turned toward the pair of women and smiled.

"I found her!" Sharis called with a laugh. "She was still asleep."

"I was not," Lena said as she followed.

"You have been getting lazy since we came here," Sean said to her as she stopped in front of them. "We have been up for hours!"

"Oh, shut up," Lena glared down at him and watched a smile spread across his childish face. His bright blue eyes lit up with amusement at her irritated response. "You probably only just woke up yourself."

"Yes, he did," muttered Cid.

"Cid!" Sean exclaimed, looking indignantly at the rugged man beside him. Cid crossed his arms and shrugged slightly with a smile.

"Oh, was I not supposed to say? I was unaware that it was a secret."

Lena shook her head and stalked away after smirking at Sean. "Whatever, let's just go get breakfast."

Wending her way through the crowded hall, she entered the kitchens and dodged around the many cooks and servants that were swarming throughout the area. Not only did many of them have breakfast to deliver to their masters, but they were also busy making preparations for the celebration that would take place that night. Since the war between Tamir and Kabul had finally ended, Lucien had once again taken up residence in Ashton and the day of celebrations of his victorious return was finally at hand. Quickly snatching up a wooden tray that was laying abandoned on the edge of one of the tables, Lena covered it in whatever food happened to be nearby and then left the kitchen to rejoin her friends who had waited outside, not wanting to add to the chaos within.

"You are always so good at sneaking through crowds," Sharis said as she took a tart from Lena's tray and began to eat it.

"She is sneaky, no matter where she is," Michael chuckled lightly as he also took a tart.

"I have to be, if I ever want peace and quiet," Lena said huffily. "You all would always be following me around otherwise, and I'd have a constant headache from your chattering."

"Oh, do not be like that," he smiled around the tart he had lifted to his lips. "You know you love us."

Lena replied by lifting her free hand and smashing it onto his face, causing the entire tart in his hand to be crammed into his mouth. His eyes widened and he coughed in surprise, trying to not choke.

"M-Michael," Cid looked at him with an expression torn between amusement and concern.

Michael raised a hand to wave him off and concentrated on chewing, his pale eyes watering. He finally swallowed and breathed deeply. "I-I am okay," he choked out, trying to smile reassuringly.

"He wouldn't die from a fruit tart," Lena grumbled. She ignored Michael's exaggeratedly wounded expression and set the tray down on an unoccupied end of a long wooden table in the corner of the great hall and slid onto the bench beside it.

"Looks like everything will be ready ahead of schedule," Sean observed as he tore into a piece of meat he'd taken from the tray.

Lena nodded with a bored expression. She found this whole thing completely pointless, but was forced to agree to attend as a guest of honor. Lucien had suggested having Lena and her four friends being presented to the guests during the celebration. He thought it would be a wonderful moment of glory for the Five who had brought about the defeat of the antagonistic Queen Eleanor. Lena hated the very thought of having to stand in front of so many people, but agreed since she didn't want to refuse a request from the king in front of his group of court nobles who had been there when he made the suggestion. She figured that was the only reason he had asked when he did, judging by the victorious smile he had shot at her afterward.

Her hand squashed a tart in annoyance and she tore it apart, eating it slowly in small pieces. "I just want it to be over and done with."

"We just have to stand and be applauded," said Cid as he patted her shoulder. "It is not like we have to address everyone with a long-winded speech about how we won."

"That is Lucien's duty," Michael said as he ate, somewhat cautiously, another tart.

"My parents will be here too." Sean smiled happily at Lena from across the table.

She still didn't want to do it.

Large hands suddenly grabbed Lena's shoulders and she jumped in surprise as an obnoxious laugh burst out from behind her. Her eyebrows reflexively drew together in irritation, both toward the owner of the hands, and toward herself for still not having adequate defenses against getting grabbed by him, after knowing him for so long.

"Good morning, my lovely friends!" Siegfried called loudly over Lena's head, gripping her tightly and making her sway back and forth despite her attempts at keeping herself upright.

"Good morning, Prince Siegfried," came the scattered reply as Lena tried to shake his hands off but couldn't break free. His hands slid down her arms and he hugged her around her middle, constricting her breath.

"Good morning, Ley," he sniggered into her ear.

She elbowed him sharply in the stomach which resulted in a satisfying "oof!" as Siegfried let her go and held his side instead. "Good morning, idiot," she answered in a cool voice and turned to glare at him.

Lucien stepped up behind him with an angry look. "Prince Siegfried, will you ever learn?"

"Ah, apparently not," he wheezed and rubbed the spot where Lena's elbow had struck. He suddenly straightened up and gave an annoyed look to his bodyguard, Visal, who was standing to one side. "Are you not supposed to be protecting me?"

Visal turned toward the wild-looking prince, amusement flashing in his dark eyes as he kept his face blank. "I apologize, your highness. Sir Ley moved too quickly for an intervention."

Sean snorted into his breakfast and hurriedly tried to cover it up with a pretend sneeze. Siegfried didn't seem to notice. He laughed again with a nod, "Yes, she is a swift one, is she not? Gets me every time!"

"You wouldn't get hit if you didn't grab me every chance you get," Lena snarled.

"That would be a waste," he replied swiftly. "Now then, I have to leave. Very busy today, you know."

"Then why did you even bother coming here in the first place?"

"Oh, yes," he raised his eyebrows as if remembering something. "My lady, Ley-"

"Stop calling me that."

"-there is a very important person I wish for you to meet tonight."

Lena stared at him suspiciously. "Who?"

"It is a surprise!" he said as he beamed at her and turned away, striding toward the entrance hall with Visal trailing silently along behind him. "See you all tonight!"

Lucien leaned over and took a tart from the almost empty tray, trying to hide a faint smile.

Lena glanced at him as he straightened. "You know who it is, don't you?"

He shrugged in a neutral way and looked elsewhere.

"Fine, don't tell me," she muttered and turned away. For a moment she stared down at the shredded remains of her tart, not feeling hungry anymore. She hadn't the slightest idea who would want to meet her, but she knew that if it made Siegfried excited, she probably wasn't going to like it.

Reviews are always nice! :3 I dunno how many people actually read this, since the Saver fancore is pretty tiny... But I hope the few of you who have taken the time to read this enjoyed it!