To give a little background this story was partially inspired by my unapologetic shipping of Kadoc and Anastasia and coming across some fan art depicting the final fight in LB One, specifically one involving Ritsuka facing off against Kadoc, and one featuring Jalter against Anastasia. My writing finger started to twitch and there you have it. This story sort-sequels Dragon's Fire so Jalter will be addressed as "Joan" by Ritsuka.
I do not own anything.
Fire and Ice
A part of her questioned what she was doing here, in this frozen wasteland so far from her homeland. Despite only being a twisted reflection, she carried memories, feelings from the childhood of the girl known as Jeanne d'Arc. She'd heard stories of Russia, of the far off land of snow and mountains. It was a cold place, figuratively and literally. Though she never wished to visit the country a part of her wondered what it would be like. Was the sky blue? Was the grass really covered by pure white snow year-round? What were the people like? Had they become strong and hard due to the long winters they were forced to endure? What of the farmers? Were they no different than her own parents, meager people trying to scrap out an existence while nobles and royals fought in courtrooms and on battlefields, dragging the helpless masses into the fire with them? So many questions she doubted she would ever have answered in her lifetime, yet she still asked them simply because as a human being that was in her nature.
Jeanne Alter, Joan d'Arc, Avenger, Dragon Witch of France, Servant of Ritsuka Fujimaru, last Master of Humanity. Lover of Ritsuka Fujimaru, certified fool and all around nice guy to the point she wanted to tear his face off.
Now that was former Servant, and Ritsuka was no longer the last Master of humanity. There were now seven more, and they'd just finished defeating one of them.
After the Seven Singularities threatening to destroy humanity and all it had built, the Sub-Singularities which proved to be just as mind-bending, a part of Joan thought they had nothing left to fear. She wasn't quite wrong, but to say the threat possessed by these seven supposedly resurrected Masters, "Crypters", as Da Vinci had called them, they were…challenging.
The battle had been exactly like all their previous fights-hair raising and growing crazier and crazier by the second until it all finally came to an end that left them all feeling as if their hearts were about to burst from their chests. Joan had seen many things during her time as one of Ritsuka's Servants, things that defied human comprehension. What they'd seen in this Lost Belt, in this land of eternal winter ruled by men turned beasts…she wanted to laugh, laugh at the sheer absurdity that had consumed their lives. On the positive side, Joan definitely couldn't say she was bored: running from black-coated secret police, fighting off madden beasts who belonged in some whacked out zoo, including an enormous mammoth (she thought Darius' undead elephant was bad), covering her boyfriend from the air as he pseudo-piloted a giant golem to battle said mammoth, and finally, their first battle with another Master-Servant pair.
It had all been exciting, like a shot of pure adrenaline into her reincarnated flesh and blood body. Joan knew it had been the same for Ritsuka, even if he didn't want to admit. Even now, with the battle over she still felt her heart pounding in her chest. It was a pleasant feeling, something that told her beyond the shadow of a doubt, she was alive.
Unfortunately, so too was their opponent.
The little bastard was lying in the snow out cold, his Servant long-since gone as she'd taken the bullet for him. Literally. Casting a short glare at Billy she walked upwards to where Ritsuka and Mash were kneeling in front of their defeated enemy.
"So…you keeping him, or not?"
He looked like hell, which was completely normal after they survived a major fight. Some would have found it miraculous how Ritsuka managed to throw himself into so many life or death situations, and still come out alive and ready to do so again if it meant saving the world. The fire in his eyes never dulled, and Joan believed it never would, not even if his heart were run through. Granted, as long as she was around she wasn't about to let that happen. Looking into his clear blue eyes she saw his thoughts as clear as day. Sighing she planted her flag in the snow and groaned. "You realize we're operating out of a damn rust bucket, right? It's gonna be cramped as hell!"
"We can make room." He smiled. Mash looked across at him beaming, then at her.
"Jeez, you're such an idiot." Joan groaned running a hand through her pale white hair. It was a habit she'd gotten into ever since she was first summoned. Ritsuka stood up facing her, that soft smile she'd grown so used to plastered all over his sweat and snow-covered face. Without a word their hands contacted, warmth immediately passing between them. It may have been her imagination, but she was sure the snow was beginning to lighten up.
The centuries long winter that had plagued Russia had begun to come to an end, and when it ended the country would disappear along with all its inhabitants.
Joan d'Arc had seen a Russia locked in eternal winter, ruled over by a malformed madman who'd become a monster, who'd turned his people into damned furries so they could survive. She'd fought alongside her boyfriend and allies to free that land. She'd gone head to head with the last princess of Russia, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, in a battle of fire and ice, reincarnated Servant versus Servant, and she'd come out on top.
Yes, it wasn't exactly what the wide-eyed farm girl from France had envisioned, but in a way, her wish had been granted. She'd seen the great northern land of Russia, and proudly planted her flag in the snow claiming victory.
"Okay, let me hear it, I goofed up, I should have had let you all kill him. I can take it."
"I'd complain, but I feel like I'd be wasting my breath. Besides, he stabs you in the back I roast him alive, so it's not like anything changes." The former Servant declared turning around and allowing herself to fall into her lover's waiting arms.
Despite Da Vinci telling them approximately three days had passed since they cleared the First Lost Belt it still felt like the final battle had been less than an hour ago. Ritsuka, Joan, and Mash had all been in something of a daze since returning from Russia, almost to the point they all felt like they were walking on thin air. Maybe it was the fact they'd defeated the ones responsible for destroying Chaldea and gained some measure of revenge, or perhaps it was the realization now that they were committed, they had to see this next battle through to the end. One Lost Belt down, six more left, each of them no doubt forecasted to be just as dangerous as the Singularities, if not more so. In time they'd head out to confront the next Lost Belt in what would be another fight for the history books, but first they'd rest and recover. And figure out exactly what to do with their prisoner.
Kadoc Zemlupus, one of the members of A-Team, the original seven Masters who were supposed to be humanity saviors, was lying in the infirmary seemingly dead to the world. Joan didn't really know what she wanted to feel for the white-haired man. On one hand, him and his associates had destroyed Chaldea, sure the mountain base was in built in the middle of a frozen wasteland, but it had its charms. Dare Joan say it, she'd gotten used to it. Seeing the entire place go up in flames…she didn't blame Mash for breaking down at the thought of leaving it, it had almost become her home too.
But the truth was, her home was sitting right beside her, waiting to get scolded for acting on his feelings instead of using whatever pea-sized object passed for his brain. "What the hell do you want me to say, Ritsuka, that we would have been better off letting Billy put a bullet in the bastard's heart? Least then he and his princess bride would be together." Clearly she'd said something because his expression did a complete one-eighty. His eyebrows rose in the same manner they always did when he had an idea. Having practically glued herself to him since the night they got together she'd come to recognize his facial expressions pretty well. "Master, I know you're trying to be optimistic, but that's a long shot."
"I know it's a long shot, but…it worked for us." Once upon a time he was actually scared of smiling at her, well, that was when she was still an enemy hellbent on burning all of France to ashes. Now, aside from Mash she was the person he trusted to confine his feelings in, sort of came with being in a relationship. "I guess…I just see a lot of myself in him. Hey, don't look at me like that, I'm serious." Holding up his right hand to show her the three scarlet Command Seals emblazed on his skin. "I never really asked for this either, but I chose to go forward."
Silently the Avenger stared at her Japanese lover with nary an expression visible on her face. Her supernatural golden eyes softened for a second before she allowed herself to fall onto Ritsuka's side; her head coming to rest on his shoulder. Angling his body so she was lying against his chest Ritsuka let his hands roam over her body. "You had a reason to keep going, he doesn't. Not anymore."
"Do you think it's stupid of me to try to change that?" He asked genuinely curious on what her answer would be.
Pushing herself upwards so she was straddling him Joan flashed the black-haired teen a rare, non-malicious smile. "Well, I would say to give up on a lost cause, an enemy, but that would make me a hypocrite. I tried to kill you and everyone else with an army of dragons, yet…you still took me in…you even found it in yourself to…love me." Her fingers curled against his chest while a soft blush painted her pale cheeks. Joan knew if he could have Ritsuka would have reached up and planted a kiss on her. "I…don't really have the right to tell you not to reach out to people…because I was one of those people you shouldn't have reached out to, but you did anyway. Besides…maybe it's like you said, maybe this guy's not so bad after all. I mean, when we were fighting he didn't strike me as your typical doomsday bringing asshole, just a lazy one."
"Was it the bags that gave it away?" Ritsuka chuckled.
"Something like that. Be honest with me, is it that…or because you want this place to be as noisy as Chaldea?"
It was the elephant in the room no one in their little group had wanted to address. When Chaldea went up in smoke, literally, they all felt like they'd lost a piece of themselves, a piece they were never going to get back. Sure, Da Vinci and Holmes had developed ways for them to keep on fighting, and Goldolf, the fat idiot, had actually prove himself to be useful. If it wasn't for them they wouldn't have this stupid pseudo-mansion in the middle of nowhere. At least there were enough rooms for everyone to have enough space to themselves; Joan was grateful for that, and the thickness of the walls. That said, the place was as empty as a grave, like Ritsuka and Mash a part of her missed the lively chatter of dozens of Heroic Spirits going about their business all parts of the day. It was going to take time before they could get that back. The halls had been staffed with humanity's best and worst from the far corners of history, herself included. Who was she to shoot down the chance of that happening again, with the added voices of enemies who'd once tried to kill them?
"You…Ritsuka, there's a chance it…the Anastasia you summon, it's going to be different from the one Kadoc knew. It's…it's a longshot." The Frenchwoman finally said tracing circles over his chest. "You wanted to see me again, I think…I think that's why I…somewhere I heard your voice and came running. Heh, me, the Dragon Witch, imagine that."
"On the bright side no one but us will ever know." He laughed before fixing her with an impish smile. "Well, until we have kids and we tell them how mom and dad got together, just like a fairy tale."
An angry knot on her head. Reaching for her boyfriend's cheeks Joan forced a dark smile Ritsuka had long grown used to seeing. "Yeah, the fairy tale that goes with the witch chasing the fool all over the place trying to burn him alive, only for the witch to do the unthinkable-fall in love with the fool and help him save the world. Sure, just the story I want our kids to grow up and tell theirs, I gotta a reputation ya' know." Once she'd had her fun she framed her boyfriend's face and fixed him with a much calmer stare. "Even after everything we've been through, everything those bastards took from us, you're still trying to be the hero, aren't you?"
"Pretty stupid of me, huh?" He laughed.
Joan smiled before reaching down and planting her lips against those of her Master-turned-lover. Ritsuka's arms immediately looped around her waist tightening their embrace. The cackling of the fire just a few feet away from them was soothing in its own way; they'd gotten used to sound of wood cackling since being given this new room. For the two of them, it was comforting, especially when they were able to curl up together against the fire, though Joan's body could produce all the warmth of a heart, sitting side by side before a fireplace was simply a romantic fantasy her boyfriend happily let her indulge in.
Finally pulling away Joan buried her head in the crux of Ritsuka's neck. "Just don't get too chummy with that little ice princess, ya hear? Remember what I said about harems?"
Despite the forced smile he was putting on, and the promise of violence radiating from the white-haired Avenger, Ritsuka felt perfectly at ease. It went without saying that Joan "Jalter" d'Arc did not like being ignored or playing second-fiddle to anyone, and that was very much true when it came to romance. The night they'd confessed their feelings for each other Joan had made it clear she wouldn't stand for any fooling around with her heart or feelings, Ritsuka had no intentions of doing such a thing. Following that night Joan became just a tad bit testier with the rest of the female Servants at Chaldea, Mash excluded. To a degree, Ritsuka found it a bit cute and tolerable since the flame-wielding Servant never quite took her possessiveness overboard. He supposed as they began building back up their forces he should brace himself for more of the same, though this time he supposed this time he had an adequate way of putting Joan's fears to rest.
"Now why on earth would I ever consider someone else when I have the hottest, strongest, witch to ever grace the halls of Chaldea? I may be an idiot, but even I'm not that stupid, besides," Gently he brushed his lips against the top of her head, just lightly brushing up against her ahoge. "No matter what happens, I'll always be your idiot."
If anyone had told Jeanne Alter that she'd be lying beside a fireplace in the arms of a foolishly idealistic and kind-hearted boy, she'd have burned them alive. If they told her she'd love that boy more than the whole of humanity, she'd burned them. If they told her that boy would use one of the Holy Grails they'd recovered to reincarnate her so she could live a full life, she'd burn them. If they told her whenever said boy made a promise, no matter how crazy or ludicrous it seemed, she'd believe him, she'd throw them into the jaws of her dragons and laugh as they were torn apart and digested.
The fact that all of those things had happened had led Joan to one conclusion-the world may have been cruel and unfair, it may not have made a lick of senses when looked at from the viewpoint of the average person, but miracles could happen.
The tight embrace she shared with her former Master, her lover, the man she'd willingly give up her life for, was more than enough proof of that. If a such a miracle could be bestowed upon her, then maybe, just maybe there was hope for others as well, if only a little.
All things considered, things could have gone worse. It wasn't like any of them were expecting things to be sunshine and rainbows when Ritsuka summoned Anastasia and Kadoc woke up. Even Joan herself hadn't grown that optimistic. The former's summoning had gone off without a hitch, much to Da Vinci and Mash's mutual joy. Once again it seemed they were going to be fighting alongside people who at one point tried to kill them in various ways; Joan could hardly contain her excitement over the endless teasing and cracks she'd be able to get in.
Anastasia looked the exact same as she did when they fought her and Kadoc-clothed in those insufferable royal robes, her hair still as white as the snow and ice she wielded in battle, and that stupid doll held tightly in her arms. The second she fully materialized she felt the temperature in the room beginning to drop to near arctic temperatures; with barely an effort on her part Joan countered that by radiating a silent and invisible heat wave.
The Russian princess caught onto her little tricky in seconds resulting in their eyes locking onto each other. "So, we meet again, Snow Queen? Surprised to see me?" Joan challenged giving Anastasia her usual venomous smile.
In the span of less than a second the battle between fire and ice ended with the latter's sudden surrender. The Russian girl's icy blue eyes went from Joan to Ritsuka, who'd long since grown used to these tension-filled standoffs. "I am the Servant Anastasia, I came in response to your summoning request." Her voice was flat, as dead and echoless, a far cry from the cold dismissiveness it carried when they confronted them on the battlefield. "This is Viy," She said holding up that stupid doll. "Please, take care of us."
Joan hated being ignored, and she hated it when other Servants got too close to her boyfriend. Still, she'd learned how to reign in a little of her temper. For that reason over the next two days she was able to keep a cool hand as Anastasia got used to being a part of their little crackpot team. And by that, Joan meant she got used to the concept that none of them were her Servants or "agents" as she called them. Well, Ritsuka played along with the agent part, he always did that sort of thing to foster better relationships with his Servants; God knew it pissed Joan off to see him lower himself, but in the long run it was going to be worthy if it got Anastasia's loyalty.
In the medical ward Kadoc had shown signs of waking up. According to the doctors, it wouldn't be long before he was wide awake. Joan knew when he did awake from his slumber the world would very much look like a nightmare to him. Hell, for all they knew they'd have to put the bastard on suicide watch.
Since getting that report Ritsuka and Mash had tried coaxing Anastasia to go visit him. It was pointless as Joan took one look at the Russian Princess and could tell she most certainly wasn't the same one they'd fought. The Anastasia they'd done battle with, there was a certain cold firmness in her eyes, a hostility that Joan recognized as being similar to her, and respected. That trait was missing from the one Ritsuka had summoned in the summoning chamber Holmes and Da Vinci had set up, what she saw was more of a scared guard, a protective shell thrown up by a person who held no desire to reach out to them. Joan wanted to laugh, if Anastasia didn't reach out to her dear new Master what hope was there for her to form a bond with the sad sap of a human being lying in bed one floor down?
Even then, Ritsuka tried, all the while steadily building up his own bond of trust with Anastasia. Joan and Mash watched closely, maybe not always in plain sight, but close enough that they could hear the words being said and feelings being transmitted. Like with many before her, Anastasia was slowly opening herself up to Ritsuka.
"Senpai really is amazing like that, isn't he?" The Shielder-class Servant once spoke to her as they waited outside the door while Ritsuka served tea to their newest comrade.
"If by amazing you mean stupid, yeah, he's the most talented person I know." Joan tried to frame it as an insult, but even then it came out wrong as evident by Mash's uncontrollable giggling. The Avenger wasn't sure how or when, but the Demi-Servant had become the second closest person she could confine in, almost like a little sister. "If he keeps making her tea than I think he's going to start forgetting who's the Master and who's the Servant."
"Well, it kind of cutes both ways, Senpai has to form this relationship with her, otherwise she won't be able to fight." The silver-haired girl mused looking downwards. Joan never let the image of Mash tearful reaction to watching Chaldea burn. Somewhere, deep down, a part of her had wanted to grab the girl and hold her. She'd lost her home and family, Joan had lost her family, her sisters…her fellow Avengers. "Do you think Senpai will be able to convince Anastasia to…at least talk to Kadoc? If only a little?"
Briefly the two girls' let their eyes meet. Joan always hated that innocent yet determined the shield-bearer always gave a person when was wanted a question answered. With a sigh she started, "Damned if I know! I'm not a psychic! Gah, at this point I think it'd be easier if he didn't summon her at all. Besides, she and her boy-toy burned Chaldea to the ground, we shouldn't be trying to help them get back together, don't you think?"
It was a low blow that in all respect she shouldn't have thrown, but Mash wasn't the weak-willed point she believed her to be. Far from it actually. "To be honest…a part of me does want to hate them, but deep down I…I just can't." She began thoughtfully. Laying her hands out on the floor and stretching her legs out the look in her eyes became distant. "When I looked at them, the way Anastasia stood side by side with him, and the way she protected him from stray attacks…I thought of myself. I felt…like I was looking at a mirror. No matter what happened, she was Kadoc's shield against any and everything." Turning to Joan she gave the older girl that same annoying smile, the kind that pulled at her supposedly nonexistent heartstrings. "She also reminded me of you too, Jalter-san. In one look I could tell, Anastasia really loved Kadoc, enough she was willing to die and kill for him."
Joan felt like she was blushing, she could feel it. Quickly looking away she half-hoped the door would swing open and the ice princess herself would walk out only to find the two of them there. Sure, it would have been embarrassing, but less so than having her defenses peeled back by yet another goody-too-shoes. Alas, Joan fought too many of these battles, and lost just about every one of them. Sighing she threw a sideways glare at the still-smiling Mash, "You're almost as annoying as him, ya' know that? What, is he your teaching or something?"
"Well, he is my Senpai, does that count?"
She could almost feel the likes of Dantes, Moriarty and Saber Alter laughing in her ear. As a something question, get a stupid answer.
"I'm going to go do some target practice. Don't follow me." She groaned getting up and walking away, her melt dress clanging behind her while her younger comrade continued giggling to herself. Joan wasn't sure when she went from being the feared Dragon Witch of France…to whatever the hell she was now.
Joan made it five steps down the hallway before she heard the door swing open. Immediately she stopped, every muscle in her body freezing. She didn't need to turn around to know Anastasia was staring at her, and she wouldn't turn around and give her the satisfaction of watching her squirm. Instead, she straightened up and flooded the hallway with a furnace-like heat. Anastasia responded with an equally chilly blast of air. All around her Joan heard the hallway crack and sizzle under the elemental duel taking places between the two women.
"I guess you've got some bite in you after all snow princess." Joan shot at her elemental opposite without turning around.
Anastasia's voice was clipped and cold, exactly as Joan remembered it during their battle. "And it seems you might live up to your…reputation…Witch of Orléans."
Joan waited until the princess' footsteps had disappeared down the hallway before turning around. The walls had indeed suffered some damage from the thermal clash that she and Anastasia had wrought with their little standoff. Doubtless she'd be in for a lecture from Da Vinci about how they needed to maintain this new base. Mash had been covering her arms, recovering from being so close to Anastasia when she walked out. In spite of that, she flashed her a reassuring smile she half-returned. Walking out of the door stood Ritsuka, looking completely untouched by the clash of hot and cold that had taken place outside his door.
Giving his girlfriend a grin he said, "Glad to see you're rolling out the red carpet for her,"
"What can I say? After the fight she gave me last time she's earned it." Joan responded throwing back her head in dark laughter.
The Anastasia Ritsuka had summoned wasn't quite the same as the one they'd fought, but she still had her counterpart's will, the iron-resolve that allowed her to stare down Joan's fire even as it consumed her and her precious Viy. So long as that was there she had reason to believe there was hope.
It was almost three days later that Kadoc woke up, sort of. Apparently he'd regained consciousness for about ten minutes before going back under. At least it proved he was out of death's reach. The problem though, had been getting Anastasia to go see him. Joan wasn't blind, whenever she was around she made sure to listen closely to Ritsuka and her conversations. She was dodging the topic of her former Master like a mouse seeking to avoid a cat's paw.
"Just leave it to me." Joan had told Ritsuka and Mash over dinner the other day before she and her boyfriend retired for the night.
As they lay barely awake together in bed she still remembered Ritsuka speaking to her, "Should I worry?"
"Depends, how pissed do you think Da Vinci will be if we start blowing holes in the walls like we did at Chaldea?" They'd laughed like school children and kissed each other goodnight, his permission given and his confidence in her reaffirmed.
That was why she was currently lying on the couch directly across from Anastasia, loudly smacking on her double paddy burger while she continued to drink her tea. Sitting across from each other, barely four feet separating them, it became incredibly obvious how different the two women were simply from watching them eat. Joan was laid back, her legs crossed and her gums loudly smacking as she chewed down on her "commoner food" as Anastasia called it. Crumbs and splashes of sauce covered her lips while an array of stained napkins lay scattered around her plate. Anastasia, on the other hand, kept her posture rigid and formal. Her tea cup rising and falling in an almost mechanical motion. Not a drop fell onto her white dress nor onto her table in complete contrast to Joan's messy eating.
As she finished her second burger the Avenger decided it was time to finally break the ice. "I'm a little impressed, you sat there that whole time listening to me eating and never said one damn word about it. It feels like I should be honored."
Anastasia's eyes never met hers, and her voice carried only the slightest hint of acknowledgement. "I have nothing to say since I've simply made myself used to it. Our Master is a commoner, so I must adapt myself to the workings of commoners such as yourself."
Out of reflex Joan felt her eyebrow twitch. "Commoner, am I?"
Finally, one of Anastasia's pale blue eyes settled on her. It wasn't as big as before, but the cold indifference from before was there, and seeing it made Joan's blood boil. "You are the 'dark-side' of the Maid of Orleans, a peasant girl who managed to inscribe her name in history by dying for her faith. Or at least, that's what I've been told. In truth, you are merely a shadow of that woman, a twisted reflection of her dreamed up by a madman. Even with the guidance of a Master, you still remain rather unclothe. Given your origins, I can't really blame you."
The small living room that had been set aside for them immediately became a cesspool of barely contained bloodlust and malice. The reincarnated Servant's smile went from simply teasing to outright venomous while Anastasia's face remained cold and expressionlessly. Adjacent to the two women a collection of logs cackled in the fireplace casting an eerie glow over them. Outside the setting sun had elongated the shadows of the room, including those of Joan and Anastasia. Upon closer examination one could have made out…discrepancies in Anastasia's shadow, in fact, it seemed as if pieces of it were simply flaking off.
"For a supposed royal princess, you've got a bit of a mouth on you, I can sort respect that. Least it means you're not one of those stick-up-your-ass nobles, I hate those." The pale-skinned woman jeered throwing a hand out over the couch. "It'll make working with you easier."
"I wish I can say something similar…but you are very much what I imagined you to be-an unclothe peasant girl with a vulgar mouth and vulgar desires."
"What? You mean you've heard me and Ritsuka? Let me guess, it was that shadow thing's ears, wasn't it?"
It was brief, but Joan saw a break in Anastasia's mask. "Actually, those are Viy's eyes, believe me…Jeanne Alter, you do not wish to see his true appearance."
Throwing back her head in arrogant laughter Joan paid no mind to the shadow-composed being that rose up from her former enemy's shadow. Once she got her laughter under control she stared back at the malformed smoke-like entity, her face framed in a confident smile. Indeed, the blatant supernatural chill accompanied Viy remained, even if its master's memories and cruelty did not. "I got a glimpse when we were duking it out, hideous yes, but oh, believe me, Princess of Russia, I've seen far worse. Shouldered things far worse than what your pathetic little playmate can inflict on me."
Anastasia was silent as she finished off the remainder of her tea. Once she sat the cup down Viy withdrew leaving a cold-eyed Anastasia alone with the Dragon Witch. "Are you seeking to incite me? According to Mash we have already fought, and apparently you proved the might of a dragon is superior to the Romanova Family magecraft."
"I'm trying to figure out if there's anything left of the woman who came within a hair's breath of killing me and my boyfriend. You're going to be fighting with us, and we need that woman now more than some spoiled royal brat." Joan answered.
"Is that the case, or" Anastasia's eyes narrowed. "Is it you're hoping inciting me will reawaken some old memories of my 'other self', the 'me' that served…that man."
"That's a question you're better off asking Master, he's the one with the heart of stupid gold, not me."
"You're his lover, does he not divulge his thoughts to you? Or is your relationship merely one of a concubine and her-"
Without warning the fireplace exploded in a mighty eruption of red, orange, and yellow. Scorching the carpet and wooden floor the hungry fire lashed out, its bright embers quite literally licking at Anastasis's still composed form. Directly across from her Joan, her face illuminated by the bright fire, grinned viciously at her supposed ally.
"Now, you look like the witch Shakespeare spoke of."
"Word of advice, you don't want me to burn you, don't mention that bastard's name around me…ever."
"Noted." It was clear she was keeping the flames at bay via her powers. Joan had to focus her mind's eyes to see to thin layer of icy blue energy that outlined her. Where Anastasia a normal person or the weak-willed princess she'd previously believed, she'd be little more than a sweaty mass begging her to turn the fire down. "Why is Master so intent on getting me and…that man together? I have nothing to do with him. That was another me, a me that killed your comrades and laid waste to your fortress, should you not wish to keep me away from him? To continuously torture him as punishment for what he has done?"
The flames receded leaving behind black scorch marks. No doubt Joan would catch an earful from maid staff and Da Vinci, but it wouldn't be the first time nor the last. Looking her opposite in the eye she laughed, "What a cruel and vicious idea, how befitting of an ice princess like you. Sorry, but that's not how this little merry band of fools operates, nor I. Kicking that bastard's ass was enough for me, and watching him cry his eyes out as his beloved Servant faded away after saving his dumb butt. I may be cruel, but even I draw the line somewhere, shocker, am I right?"
At first a moment of silence followed making Joan believe she was free to continue speaking, but Anastasia's voice, quiet and soft as a feather, cut her off. "No…isn't…not that…unbelievable, at least…not to me." Immediately the flame-wielding witch's eyes widened and her posture transformed. Straightening herself up, Anastasia began to explain herself. "You are…brazen and brutish, even for a peasant, yet…you are the one Master Fujimaru has…taken as his woman. His…one and only woman." For a brief second Joan could have sworn she spotted blotches of red covered the Russian girl's cheeks. "He often speaks of you when we're together…praising you…boasting of you. It is clear he…he is yours, and yours alone. He is…different from other men that I have known, and from what I expected. I…I don't think I quite understand it."
It was then Joan's turn to be silent as she contemplated everything she'd just heard. A part of her felt like jumping in joy at how dedicated Ritsuka was and how he practically worshipped the ground she walked on, while another part of her felt disgusted for that same treatment. She'd developed a reaction to this duel feeling whenever it arose inside of her-smiling and placing a hand over her heart. "He…said all that…didn't he?"
Shyly nodding Anastasia began to fiddle with her ever-present doll. "I…I…don't quite understand it, but he…the way he speaks and looks at you…it…reminds me of my parents." Looking out at the window she caught the ember-like glow of the setting sun, something she'd last watched with unease and faint despair. Now, as she stared at it from the confines of a warm room safe from the dangers and evils of the world a part of Anastasia couldn't help but let her mind drift backwards. The warmth, the light, all of it reminded her of a time that felt like a hundred years ago. In a sense, hundred years had passed, according to Ritsuka, it'd been over ninety years since she and her family had been assassinated. She remembered an almost surreal feeling upon learning that. If things had been just a little different would she have lived that long? Into the twenty-first century? Would she have been the matriarch of a proud and noble family like her mother before her? "Jeanne Alter…how…how did you and…Master Fujimaru….how did you two…"
"Ya' know, that's a pretty personal question, the kind that I'd burn people for asking." Joan didn't like people inquiring about her relationship with Ritsuka, but she knew it was only natural. They were an odd pair to say the least, and people got curious. Hell, Joan herself was still struggling to believe it was all real. Every morning she woke up in his arms, his sleeping face inches from hers, she felt a strange mixture of euphoria and alienation. Several times she'd tried to describe it to others, and it always left her feeling more confused than liberated. Odd as it was, she'd gotten used to it, and eventually accepted that confusion as her form of liberation and peace of mind; even after being reincarnated, she found the duality had simply become a part of who she was.
Lying back she inhaled a deep breath, one that was mirrored by the stoking of the flames across from the two women. "That's a really, really irritating story, one that I don't like telling, but…" A lone golden eye fell on the still-bodied princess. "If I tell you, you better listen. I'm not going to say all this crap again."
Eagerly she leaned in like a child ready to listen to a bedtime story.
"…I haven't got a clue."
"…E-Excuse me?"
"What? I told you, I haven't got a clue. It just happened."
"…You're lying."
"Oh, so you're calling me a liar now?"
Anastasia thought for a moment, not wanting the discussion to devolve into a fight or stare down she realized she had to try a different approach. Looking down at her beloved playmate the Caster realized there was only one way to get what she wanted. Internally sighing she allowed her shoulders to go slack and her voice to relinquish its previous hardness. "I'm…jealous."
That part Joan wasn't entirely expecting. Eyes slightly enlarged she stared at the ice princess who now refused to meet her gaze.
"I…when he talks about you…I…a part of me feels…envious of you. When he looks at you and Shielder, the trust and affection you all share I…" Gripping her doll Anastasia struggled to contain the buried emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her. "It reminds me…of my family, the family I lost. How did you all become so…close?"
Sighing Joan threw up her hands. "Like I said, I don't know! We just…crazy as it sounds, we became like that from fighting." The cruel smile returned somewhat putting the Russian royal on edge. "Can you imagine that? Crawling through mud and shit? Fire and death all around you, your life hanging in the balance like you're walking on a tight-rope?"
"Don't mock me." The Caster fired back. "I may be a princess, but don't you dare mistake me for being too delicate for the battlefield. I was strong enough to give you, a witch who commands dragons, a fair fight."
At hearing that boast Joan's smile deepened. "To answer your question, we all became so close running around trying to survive. When your back's up against the wall, you rely on the person next to you, sometimes as a good meat shield…and sometimes to save your ass when you're too weak to do it yourself. That's…part of being on a team. Or at least, that's what I've learned." Her hand moved from her heart to her stomach, where she was sure her innards were churning around like a vile whirlpool. "At first…I hated the thought of relying on other people to help me, and I hated others relying on me…but…after a while…I realized just maybe…having someone else do the heavy lifting for you was…alright. They covered for me…and I covered for them. You could almost say it's a give and take, you save their ass, and they'll return the favor, if they know what's good for them."
Anastasia lowered her head in slight thought at the description Joan had given her. She never thought much of soldiers and the lives they lived, to her all they were meant to do was fight and that was all. The comradery they formed in the trenches, it was an alien concept to her. "And…you and Master Fujimaru? How did you two…did you bewitch him somehow?"
If Anastasia was expecting another threat or sarcastic quip, she was sorely disappointed. Leaning back into the couch the Avenger allowed a rare genuine smile to plaster her face. For Anastasia, who'd only ever been the receiver of scowls and glares, it was quite a sight to see. "Actually, princess, it was more like…he bewitched me. To start with…I tried to kill him, Mash, and all his allies when I was created. You know about the Singularities, I was born in one of those, a twisted copy of the Holy Virgin Maiden created by a child-murdering ass. I wanted to burn all of France down, and I nearly did, but…he stopped me. Against all odds, that idiot and his merry band of losers kicked my ass and saved France."
"And afterwards he made you his woman?"
Again, there was no explosion of wrath or heated denial. "No, we meet a few more times, but…it wasn't until we meet again in a Sub-Singularity that we….I…fell for that idiot. Without me, Ritsuka would have been dead, but…no matter how terrifying I was, how loudly I abused him or our allies, he…stayed with me. In spite of everything I'd done to him and done to others, he went above and beyond for me. Not just because I was a Servant and he was a Master, but…because he saw me as a person. Against all odds…in spite of every law and rule…he saw me as a woman…worth loving. He reached out to me…and I accepted him."
Anastasia had known Jeanne Alter for little more than a week, and in that time, she'd already formed something of an opinion of her. What she'd just heard and seen, from the words to the deep affection she spoke with, challenged all that. Keeping her mouths shut as to avoid stumbling over her words she looked back at the fire, trying to figure out where next to take her inquiry. "Were you…scared?"
"Of him reaching out to me? Hell yeah I was, I tried to kill him multiple times, but in the end, I accepted, and…" a rare honest laugh fell from the pale-haired woman's lips. "I'm happy I did. Not just because I'm alive, really, truly alive, but because…I have something to live for." Bravely looking up she forced Anastasia to meet her in the eye. The Russian girl seemed a little taken back by the upfront nature of the Frenchwoman. Without a doubt, Jeanne Alter seemed truly the embodiment of fire and passion, a complete and total opposite existence of Anastasia. "It's that I don't give a shit about human history and all that crap, it's just to me…the world, humanity…Ritsuka is all those things to me. He's my everything, and I will burn anyone and anything that threatens him."
Anastasia was beginning to tremble, she could feel it. In the back of her mind she felt Viy stirring, as if wanting to lash out at the witch in front of her simply for existing. "H-How…do you know…that one day, he won't…betray you?"
Joan shrugged. "He won't, that because he knows if he ever does I'll run him down and feed him to my dragons."
"I…see it, so you have proficient ways of keeping him in line."
"If you ever find a guy you'll understand." Joan snickered. "You said you're jealous…why not take a chance with our former sleeping beauty?" As if a switch had been flipped Anastasia went on guard causing Joan to laugh. "Don't look so shocked, just because Master's being all buddy-buddy with you doesn't mean I have to let you run rough shot over this place? Imagine me finding you sneaking into the infirmary to catch glimpses of your former Master."
"Are…you angry? Or happy?"
"Whadda' mean? Angry that you're sneaking off to go see another man? Or happy that you've got your eyes on someone else?" From the bottom of her heart Joan wished she had some time of camera or recorder, this entire conversation was great dirt for her to hold over Anastasia for the remainder of this little adventure. The frigid glare the white-haired girl gave her only made her laughter grow in volume and intensity. "Oh, relax, ice princess, it's not like I've got much room to talk. I'm no longer a Servant, but I am his girlfriend."
Anastasia still wasn't quite sure what to make of Jeanne Alter's existence as a reincarnated Servant. She knew it was possible with the use of a Holy Grail to give a Servant a human body, but she never she'd meet a Servant who actually succeeded in doing.
"Ritsuka Fujimaru is…unusual." Anastasia stated. "I don't believe there's a magus like him."
"Nope, and he's all mine."
"Yes, you've…made that abundantly clear." She said in a distant voice. "We…Servants aren't supposed to do that, become…close to their Masters in that sense. However, this whole situation is…unusual." Anastasia leaned back for the first time since the sit down and looked to the elongated shadows that blanketed the room. "Did you call me down here to convince me to talk to Kadoc?"
The fact that she even called him by his name meant Joan had done at least one thing right. She supposed that could count as a victory. "I called you here so we could settle this once and for all. In a battle of fire against ice, I came out on top, my flames of hatred beating out your despair-borne ice. Whenever it was between us, is settled. If you ever want another ass-kicking, I'm always available."
"Provided you and Master…aren't…coupling."
As Joan's eyebrow twitched in annoyance the faintest hint of a smile appeared on the princess' face.
"Watch it, princess."
"You seem to express no trouble in speaking your mind, so I believe the same privilege should apply to me, we are equals here, aren't we?" She responded in an ironically haughty tone.
Standing up Joan made her way to the door, feeling she'd done all she set out to do.
"Was it…scary, when you realized you'd let Master Fujimaru in?"
Stopping in her tracks the former Servant placed her right hand over her heart again. Her face contorted not into a wrathful scowl, but a thoughtful frown, one that Anastasia could not see. "Of course, it did, opening yourself up to someone…after having the entire world go up in flames is scary as hell. I did everything I could to keep him away…but he didn't care. He walked through the fire for me and told me he'd stay with me through thick and thin." Slowly she turned back and smiled at her elemental opposite. In that moment Anastasia found it hard to believe this woman was once an Avenger-class Servant, a being composed solely of hatred and rage. Illuminated by the rays of the setting sun outside Jeanne Alter, also called Joan d'Arc, seemed more life-like and human than Anastasia herself when she looked in the mirror. "People like us…we're lucky if we get a chance at revenge, luckier if we…get another chance at life. I don't plan on squandering mine."
Before she can take one more step Anastasia blurted out the question that had been eating at her for days. "Did I really sacrifice myself for him?" Joan's eyes squinted and the princess felt the desire to pull back, but she ignored it. "Did…the other me really…take the bullet for…that man?"
"…Yeah, he did. Jumped right in front of Billy, despite barely being able to stand herself." Joan answered in a distant voice remembering the moment. Watching one enemy dive in to save another, it had awoken something inside of her. The night they returned from Russia she remembered Ritsuka gripping her just a little tighter as they slept. She didn't have to think hard to know why. "He cried his eyes out as the other you faded away, but she just kept on smiling. To be honest, the whole scene pissed me off."
There was nothing else to say finally allowing the yellow-eyed woman to leave the room. Anastasia sat alone with the continued cackling of the fire beside her. Dropping her invisible barrier she allowed her skin to feel the warmth of the orange blaze a few feet away.
"Another…chance at life." The youngest daughter of the last Tsar of Russia repeated holding up her dearly beloved doll.
Took me a while longer to write this since I kept going over it again and again. Not exactly pleased with how it turned out, but it's the best I could come up with. Historically speaking, Joan Arc and Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova have a few things in common: both being extremely symbolic women whose lives are subjected to multiple interpretations by the modern audiences, were made Saints after their death, both are national icons of their respective countries, and both of them died in incredibly gruesome ways. Given Fate's interpenetration of them I decided to write on that a little with Jeanne Alter being the fiery fury and Anastasia being the cold counterpart, oh, and both fell for incredibly average men way below their league. Both those guys got close to their respective Servants despite the dangers and walls they put up.
Next chapter is Ritsuka and Kadoc, the two most inapt Masters have a little talk with each over their perceived uselessness and mediocrity.