Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Blade/Edge/Calibur. Nor do I own Siegfried Schtauffen. Those items belong to Namco. I do, however, own my original characters.

Saving Grace

by: Fiona Fairhame

Chapter One

He awakens in a cold sweat once again. The nightmares of past sins continue to haunt his sleep. Though he travels from sunup to sundown every day, his haunted dreams keep him from sleep. He lies back down, too tired to do anything else. The remainder of the night passes with him mostly awake, dozing fitfully between haunting memories.

Siegfried rises before the sky lightens in the east. Though he shattered the demonic blade, Soul Edge, weeks before, its presence still lingers in his mind. He spent too many years as its wielder, the Azure Knight, Nightmare, for it to do otherwise. He fears he may never be truly free of the sword's evil influence.

Striding out of the copse of trees he sheltered in this past night, Siegfried turns his back on the now rising sun and begins his journey once again. It has been four days since he last saw any people or any sign of civilization. He avoids the main pathways for fear of being recognized from his long stint as Nightmare. He has seen enough fighting, enough bloodshed for dozens of lifetimes. If recognized, he would have to fight for his life against those seeking revenge for Nightmare's atrocities.

The morning passes with no sign of human settlement, or the end of this forest, in sight. Mid-afternoon, topping a small hill, the sheltering woods end. Before him lies a handful of farms outside a small village. A large keep graces the other side of the wide valley. Now he must decide to either approach the town or try to find another westward path. After a few minutes' indecision, he is struck by an overwhelming desire for human contact. It is too easy to lose himself to the past when alone.

He reaches the edge of the village in less than half an hour. The few people on the streets of the village simply stare, openmouthed, as he walks by. The stares unnerve him a bit until he realizes these simple people have probably never seen someone wearing full armor with a two-handed sword strapped to his back. The villagers flee when he tries to approach them. He merely wants to know the name of this town and discover if he is still in Germany. Sighing with frustration as yet another villager flees at his approach, he decides to try his luck at the keep. Its occupants should be more familiar with armor.

His long strides reach the keep in just a few minutes. The gate is closed, so he attempts to hail a guard, "Hello there." Several seconds pass before he hears any reply. The guard says something in heavily accented German that Siegfried takes to mean he is to wait.

Several minutes later, a blue-robed, raven-haired beauty appears in the opening gate. She is surrounded by swordsmen, two of whom appear to be her brothers. "What is your business here?" she inquires in nearly perfect German.

Siegfried finds himself unable to reply for several seconds, so overcome by her beauty is he. "My lady, I merely wish for information. I mean no one harm. Please ask your guards to sheath their blades."

"I will do no such thing while you wear that sword. If you wish entry to my home, you will bring your sword, and any other weapons you may be hiding, and lay them at my feet," she commands, violet eyes flashing.

She is as stubborn as she is beautiful, that much is obvious. In the few short seconds they have talked, he has decided he wants to get to know her better. He finds her intriguing. Most women would be scared of the imposing figure he knows himself to be. She does not appear to be fazed by him at all. He unstraps the blade, Requiem, from his back and slowly approaches her holding it blade down. He then removes the sheathed short sword, Soul Calibur, from its place at his waist and lays it atop Requiem.

She stoops to retrieve Soul Calibur, unwittingly giving him a glimpse of her milky-white cleavage. As she stands, she motions for one of her brothers to retrieve Requiem. "Thank you. Now my guards will sheath their swords. Please follow me to the hall where we can talk in comfort. You must be tired from your journey." She smiles then for the first time since they met, causing his heart to skip a beat.

She turns to speak with her guards in an unfamiliar language. They disperse, sheathing swords and talking amongst themselves. Two of the men, the two who appear to be her brothers, remain. She then turns and walks towards the keep proper, still clutching Soul Calibur. The man holding Requiem follows, while the other motions for Siegfried to go ahead of him.

The two men seem very protective of their sister. They will not allow him near her. She stops at the door to the stone keep to speak with a servant, and motions her brother on ahead. He refuses to acquiesce, replying to her unspoken request in the unfamiliar language and motioning backwards with his head. She turns from the servant, who scurries off to do her bidding, to respond. Eyes flashing violet fire, she speaks harshly to her brother in a low tone of voice. Though he can not hear her words, Siegfried believes she may be mixing the two languages.

She turns to face him. "I apologize for my brother's bad manners. He was supposed to see you inside so you could get off your feet." She glares at the offensive brother who simply shrugs and returns her glare. "Now, if you will follow me..." She lets her voice trail off as she turns to lead the group inside.

Siegfried fails to notice the surroundings as he follows her into the great room. His eyes never left her voluptuous form. She reminds him of another thing he missed during his years as the Azure Knight. He has not been with a woman since before his father's death nearly seven years ago. Her wide hips, ample breasts and overall beauty are making him think of the adorable children she will have and how he wants to sire them. However, he still feels the need to atone for past sins before attempting to settle down. Maybe a serving wench can help calm his sudden yearnings.

Author's Notes: As you may have guessed, this takes place after Soul Calibur III. Siegfried's personality is based on my interpretation of the character. I hope you enjoyed it. I have seven chapters written so far. I will post one every 2-4 days depending on how long they take me to edit and/or response to the prior chapters. Big thanks to Kojii-kun for all his help with editing, etc. I love you little brother! Please R&R. Suggestions and constructive criticisms are welcome. Flames will be ignored.