Author's note:

Here comes a new story from me. I've been planning on this one for a long time and finally, I decided to sit down and write it.

As you can see from the summary, this is a Shirou x Henrietta fic. I love that pairing, and was kind of sad to see that there aren't many fics about them out there, so in the end, I'll just go and make one.

Again, just like my two other stories; Shirou here comes from a mixed route of FSN, with UBW as the core. Shirou isn't in a relationship with any of the FSN girl in this story.

Finally, this is slight AU.

That's all for now, please enjoy. Feedbacks are always welcome.

Henrietta was having mixed emotion. Part of her was filled with excitement, while the other was anxious. All because finally, the day she had been waiting had come – the day of the familiar summoning that had been prepared for a long time.

Summoning a familiar wasn't such a big deal, of course. However, for the princess, it entirely meant something else. Not long ago, her father – the King of Tristain, passed away. It wasn't confirmed that he died of natural cause or was assassinated. Henrietta suspected the latter. Her father was a healthy and strong man, he rarely ever got sick. It wasn't very convincing for someone like him to suddenly pass away. And the suspicion only grew firmer after she became the crown princess and gained more knowledge to the political situations going on around the neighboring countries. But in the end, without definite evidences, there wasn't anything she could do.

Needless to say, the unfortunate incident broke the hearts of both Henrietta and her mother – Marianne, the now former Queen of Tristain. Marianne, in despair over her husband's death, had stepped down. That was how Henrietta was made, or pushed to be exact, into becoming the Crown Princess of Tristain. Not that she was against it anyway, being as dutiful as she was. And the princess didn't resent her mother for her decision. Henrietta knew just how much she loved her father, and while Marianne didn't show much of her grief in front of her daughter, the princess could still hear her muffled sobbing during the night occasionally.

It wasn't like Henrietta was any better. She had had a fair share of nights where she cried herself to sleep. But now that she was the leader of her country, Henrietta knew that had to stop. After all, what kind of princess showed up in the morning, in front of her whole Council, with puffy red eyes?

Appearance aside, there was another reason why she couldn't afford to let herself being seen like that. She was a young, seventeen years old princess, whose experience in politics was next to none compared to some much older members of her own Council. Most of them were less than pleased with the decision of putting such a young girl into the highest position of power. Luckily, Henrietta was loved by the people of her country. Thanks to the pressure from public, together with the fact that she hadn't shown any weakness or made any mistake in front of them; that they still hadn't tried anything. But she knew that they were just patiently waiting for a chance where she slipped, before storming in and declaring that she was unfitted to be a ruler. And from the looks of things, that chance would surely come in the foreseeable future unless she did something about that right now.

In truth, Henrietta felt that she was still able to hold on until today was partially because of the supports from prince Wales of Albion – her cousin as well as lover. The thoughts about the handsome prince brought a smile to her lips as she walked to the room that had been specifically prepared for the summoning ritual. They'd been exchanging letters to each other, and each one from him was filled with loving and encouraging words that were able to cheer Henrietta up instantly. Of course, they hadn't met lately, and their love was still a secret seeing how…

As quickly as it appeared, her smile was gone, replaced by a sad look on her beautiful face. Albion was now facing a serious rebellion force, which was growing rapidly, stronger by each day. In that situation, their communication was interrupted, and prince Wales himself was now in constant danger. Henrietta worried for his safety to no end, but her hands were tied. She could only cling to the hope that he was still doing well, since if anything happened to Wales; that would be one of the first things included on the reports about the rebellion force that was delivered to her daily.

However, even that hope was gradually fading, from what Henrietta heard, the Albion's force was losing slowly. And as each day passed by, she wanted nothing more than leaving everything behind and come to him. But she knew she couldn't. Henrietta herself wouldn't allow it to happen. She was the ruler of this country. The people needed her, her mother needed her. She had her duties to fulfill.

And that wasn't even the worst of it. It was painfully obvious that the rebellion force wouldn't stop at just Albion. But Tristain itself was also a delicious prey. The King just died, and the current crown princess was an inexperienced girl, not to mention Tristain's military force was in a weakened state. They were in no position to fight. And in case Henrietta ignored all the political reasons and aided Albion; that still would be nothing but a suicidal move. Albion was famed for its unique placement. In order to reach there and break the rebellion's siege, Tristain would have to use its aerial force, the Griffin squadron, which was already very low on number. Besides, they would just become practice targets for the rebel's battle ships if they really tried to push the attack.

All in all, the situation Henrietta found herself in right now wasn't a pretty one, and even that'd already been a gross understatement. She was lonely, and scared deep inside. She needed helps. But maybe only some sort of miracle would be able to pull her out of the mess she was in.

Shaking her head to clear the troubled thoughts, Henrietta stepped inside the room. The magic circle had been drawn. There were two member of the Musketeer squadron stood guard beside the door and six more inside, along with her mother. She thought of it as unnecessary though, for whatever creature she would be summoning later, it should be safe. Even before the contract was sealed, it was a very low chance of her summoned familiar attacking its master. But Henrietta knew better than to decline the good will of the squadron Captain. In fact, she had tried and failed. That woman had absolutely refused to leave her alone anywhere outside of her bed chamber.

"Good morning, dear," Marianne said with a gentle smile. "How are you this morning? Is everything ready?"

"Good morning, mother," Henrietta bowed slightly and returned the smile. "Everything's going well. Actually, I think we can start now without any problem."

"That's good to hear. How are you feeling? Summoning ritual isn't a hard thing to do. But to gain your first familiar is a memorable event. What do you think it will be?"

"I honestly don't know," she shook her head. "But I think a griffin would be nice. Or something…you know, powerful…" She murmured the last part. Marianne seemed to understand what her daughter was hoping for, only smiled encouragingly and pulled her into a hug.

"I know what you're feeling, and I really hope that you will get what you want," she said. "But whatever your familiar turns out to be…"

"I will take good care of it," Henrietta nodded. "I know, mother."

"That's good. Now go, it's time for the ritual."

Following her mother's words, Henrietta stepped inside the magic circle. She then closed her eyes, focusing her magic and chanted, opening the magical door to her most suited familiar.

"I, Henrietta de Tristain, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar."

Please, please, let me summon a familiar powerful enough to help me and my country, she silently prayed desperately.

"I need help," those three words were whispered so quietly that only she could hear them.

Around her feet, the magic circle began to glow in a bright, but calming light. Henrietta knew that she was on the right track as she felt her magical power sipped from her, going into the circle. However, after five, ten, then twenty seconds, nothing happened.

Did I mess up somewhere? She wondered worryingly. But before the princess was able to voice that question, a loud explosion boomed right in front of her. Everything was soon covered in a thick screen of white smoke. After a moment of freezing in shock, Henrietta realized that something had gone wrong. She'd never heard of any summoning ritual ended up like that. But before she could do anything, much less call for anyone for help, a white gleam suddenly cut through the layer of smoke in front of her. And within just a blink of an eye, the princess felt the cold edge of a blade pressed against her neck. And just as she let out a surprise and horrified yelp, the attacker had left his original position, moving behind her back and held her in place. His blade was held still and firm, threatening that if Henrietta did something as much as move a little, it would be the last thing she got to do.

For the first time in a long time, Henrietta felt scared for her own life as tear threatened to fell out from the corner of her eyes.

"I knew taking my eyes off of her was a mistake," Agnes, the Captain of the Musketeer squadron gritted her teeth as she raced through the hallway. Just a moment earlier, there was an explosion that shook the entire floor. That floor was almost deserted though, so beside a few guards that she put there, no one else knew about the incident.

Unfortunately, that was the floor where princess Henrietta was now performing her summoning ritual.

Upon reaching the door behind which was the room prepared for the ritual, Agnes kicked it open without hesitation, only to be welcomed by a thick curtain of white smoke. Not wasting another second, after seeing that the smoke wasn't harmful, she carefully stepped inside the room with sword in hand.

Agnes didn't have to wait long to see what was happening though. The smoke dispersed rather quickly, after a few seconds, she was able to see things in front of her. The guard Captain instantly realized the familiar purple hair of her princess. However, what she saw after that greatly shocked her.

In the middle of the room standing a horrified Henrietta. Behind her was a stranger that Agnes hadn't seen before. He was a young man in his early twenty at most, with auburn hair and golden brown eyes, which were now carefully observing the room around him. On his face, was a cautious look accompanied by a subtle hint of surprise. The boy, whoever he was, was wearing a strange set of clothes that Agnes was sure wasn't from around, his facial features suggested the same.

However, all of those details weren't as important as what he was doing. One of his hands was holding a white blade, which was now pressed firmly against Henrietta's neck, whiles his other hand holding her across her body, was also holding an identical looking black blade.

"You, release the princess this instance," Agnes grunted, ordering the stranger. Around the room, all of the guards had their swords out and pointed at him.

He must be an assassin sent to kill the princess, the guard Captain thought gravely. How could the guards let an assassin snuck in without being spotted?

All the while, Agnes's eyes hadn't left the boy even for a moment as her hand reached for the pistol strapped to her hip. She was waiting for him to slack his guard. And when worst came to worst, she and the others might just have to made some holes on him before he harmed the princess.

However, his respond wasn't what she expected.

"Princess…?" He asked hesitantly as his eyes widened a little, before quickly reverted to their original state.

"Don't play dumb," Agnes growled. "I don't know who you're. But I know why you're here. Now let her go, or I will make you."

To her annoyance and somewhat, fear, the boy started to smirk.

"Oh… How so? I'm the one with the hostage here," he said slowly. It looked like he wasn't used to speaking their language. "However, I mean no harm. As long as you aren't my enemies, that's it."

"Say the person who's holding a blade against someone else's neck," Agnes eyed him suspiciously, trying to buy some time. The boy was right; he definitely had the upper hand here. As much as she wanted to gut him, she couldn't let the princess be harmed.

"Safety measure. As far as I know, you may attack me the moment I release her."

You're right about that, bastard, Agnes glared at him.

"Seems like I was right," he grinned, making her frown. "That's good caution though. But I honestly just want to know what I've gotten myself into…"

"Don't deceive us," the Captain shouted back. "You're an assassin sent after the princess's life, aren't you?"

"Assassin?" The boy raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "I'm many things, lady, but never an assassin. If that was the case, this girl, the princess you say?...should've died already."

"Isn't that because you would've died too in that case?" Agnes asked. She was seriously annoyed his attitude by now. Just keep talking, just a little more, I'll finish him the moment he lowered his guard.

"I doubt that," to her surprise, the boy grinned widely. "Inside this room, only the princess in my arms here has a chance at stalling me, and maybe that lady over there too," he flicked his head toward Marianne, who was now watching the scene with genuine fear as her daughter's life was being threatened. "The rest of you… No offence, but you guys won't stand a chance."

"You…You bastard, don't look down on us. We're the Musketeer Squadron, the best trained soldier in the whole Tristain," one of the guards behind him growled angrily.

"And you said all that while hiding behind your hostage, you coward?" Agnes mocked.

"I just prefer not to fight unnecessarily," the boy replied simply, unfazed. "And since no doubt that you guys will force my hand if I let her go…"

"Coward!" The Captain spat out.

"That's enough, Agnes," suddenly, Henrietta regained her voice and spoke up. Both Agnes and the stranger raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"If he wants to talk, we will hear him out," she said. Her voice trembling a little but one could see that the princess was trying to keep herself calm. "He was right. If he wanted me dead, I wouldn't be speaking right now. You wouldn't harm me, right, Mister?"

"But Your Highness…" Agnes started, but was stopped by Henrietta.

"Indeed, Your Highness," the boy nodded. His voice suddenly became softer. "I'm sorry for putting you into this uncomfortable situation. But I'm just as confused here and I need to ensure my safety."

"Very well," Henrietta replied. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

Emiya Shirou was extremely confused. One moment ago, he was packing for his trip back to Japan inside his room at the Clock Tower. And now, he was in the middle of God-knows-where, having blades pointed at himself from all directions. He remembered stumbled upon a strange glowing oval shaped object on his way to retrieve some books that he forgot back down in his workshop and was sucked inside, falling into a pool of complete darkness before appearing here, inside this room.

Right after landing, Shirou traced his favorite pair of blades – Kanshou and Bakuya as he started observing his surroundings. His vision was blocked by a thick curtain of smoke though, so he had to depend on his other senses. There were people shouting and talking all around, but judged by their voices, they were all panic and surprised as he was, and were outside of his reach. However, there were two sources of prana. One of them was far in the back of the room and while being strong, it was paled in comparison with the one right next to him.

After years of training under Rin and going on mission with the Enforcers, Shirou had learned that when something unexpected like this happened, it was best to strike first, and strike fast. He didn't know what was happening or who those people were. But at least he would have a better chance at defending himself with a hostage. Since there were magi amongst these people, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. Suddenly getting pulled into somewhere else? That sounded awfully familiar, just like what a certain Caster had done years ago to kidnap him.

So he struck. In his hand, Bakuya swung toward the nearest prana source with lighting speed. He didn't intend to kill the target. He wouldn't take life unnecessarily after all. But at the same time, he refused to let his life being taken for nothing.

A girl? Shirou wondered and stopped his blade as soon as he felt it touched the target's neck and heard a surprised yelp. Whoever she was, she wasn't a warrior. No warrior would yelp like that. But still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Immediately springing up on his feet, Shirou got to the girl's back and held her across his body while keeping Bakuya still where it was. He could feel his hostage stiffened in his arm.

After the smoke had dispersed, revealing the scene around, Shirou realized that he was inside a fairly large room, the same kind that could be seen at the Clock Tower with some kind of strange magic circle drawn under his feet. For a moment, he thought that it was just an accident. Just a careless magus had made a mistake with her experiment and well…transported him from his room somehow. However, Shirou quickly dismissed that thought.

Firstly, he didn't recognize the girl in his arm. A beautiful girl, younger than him, with short purple hair and a slender face. Shirou doubted that he wouldn't recognize someone like this if she was a member of the Clock Tower.

Secondly, there were soldiers pointing their swords at him. Shirou was absolutely sure that they were mundane people since one of his best fortes was the ability to sense magic, and they had none. And it was a known fact that the Clock Tower wouldn't allow anyone who wasn't a magus to enter their territory.

Well, normal human soldiers are no match for me, he mused. But since it's come to this, I doubt that they would agree to solve things peacefully anymore. Better holding onto the hostage for a little longer.

And he was right, as a second later; another guard kicked the door open and demanded him to release the princess, as she put it. She spoke in what Shirou recognized as French. While he wasn't too fluent on said language, he could still speak it. Many of the magi at Clock Tower as well as some people inside the Enforcers were French. After spending time with them for years, Shirou was able to pick up the language. He then studied it some more, as he saw the benefits of learning other languages, especially for his plan to travel the world, helping out people. Shirou had never thought that it would become handy in a situation like this though.

But it was still a relief, if he didn't know French, then his entire plan to negotiate would've crumbled even before it began.

However, after a few minutes of exchanging words, Shirou started to feel that his effort was fruitless. Although, he was never a good negotiator to begin with, the woman, who appeared to be the Captain, was very stubborn. She insisted that he was some kind of assassin sent to kill the princess, who was in his arm right now. He had to note that for a normal human, she was a formidable soldier. From the way she held herself, to the way she walked, or how her hand had already ready on the trigger of the pistol on her hip. And there was also how she looked out for her princess's safety, all the while waiting for him to slack his guard to strike. There was no way Shirou would give her that chance though.

It was commendable, of course. But in this situation, it just served to worsen his growing headache.

Luckily, just as he was about to deem his effort of negotiating as a lost cause, the princess spoke up for the first time, stopping her guard from talking any further and decided to hear him out. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Very well," she said, staying still and looking ahead. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"First of all, where are we?" Shirou asked.

"This is the royal castle, Kingdom of Tristain," the princess replied.

"Never heard of it," he mumbled, trying to shake his brain to find any memory regarding the mention of said country name. Needless to say, he failed miserably. "Where is it, exactly? Europe? America? You surely don't look like Asian."

"Where are those countries?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. "I've never heard of them either."

"Really?" Shirou's eyes widened in surprise. "How could you not? Where on Earth…"

"How could you not hear of Tristain?" This time it was the guard – Agnes – spoke. "Our country is very famous within Halkeginia."

"What is that? A continent?"

"It's this continent, idiot."

How could I've not heard of it if it was an entire continent? Shirou wondered, deeply confused. And how the heck haven't they heard of America or Europe? Then a thought suddenly hit him like a Gandr curse fired by Rin herself. It was crazy, no doubt, but he couldn't think of any possible explanation.

Did I somehow get to another world? He started to panic, but managed to keep himself calm, on the outside at least. But that's impossible. Only Zelretch knows the Second Magic to travel between alternate worlds. Or is this a bad prank from the old blood sucker?

"So where are you from?" The princess asked, cutting off his train of thoughts. "Also, how did you get here?"

"I'm from Japan," he answered. "And for the latter question, that's what I want to ask too. I was just going down a corridor before bumping into a glowing oval shaped object. The next second, I was here."

Upon hearing his answer, he felt the girl in his arm stiffened even more for a second, before starting to relax her body and let out a sigh.

"In that case," she said slowly. "I may have the answer for you. It's unbelievable, but still… Can you please let go of me first? I swear that we won't harm you in anyway."

"Not convincing enough," Shirou shook his head.

"Right, everybody, please put away your weapons and leave us alone," the princess ordered. "But can my mother stay though?" She asked, and Shirou agreed. Her mother, who the other magus appeared to be, wasn't much of a threat.

"But Your Highness," Agnes, on the other hand, started to protest. The other guards weren't willing to budge either. "He's dangerous. He threatened you and tried to kill you."

"I may have threatened her. But I've done nothing such as trying to kill her," Shirou retorted. But just as the Captain tried to argue, the princess raised her hand, despite the blade pressed against her neck.

"Agnes, and all of you. I order you to leave us alone. Mother, please stay with us," she said gently but firmly. And everyone knew that her order was absolute. One by one, the guards started leaving. Agnes was the last to linger inside the room. But after a final glare from the princess, she also left after casting a hateful look toward Shirou.

After confirming that they were away with his reinforced hearing, Shirou finally relaxed and released his hostage, carefully put some distance between him and the magi.

"Thank you very much," the princess and her mother bowed a little.

"Eh… You're welcome?" Shirou was confused. Did his hostage and her mother just seriously thanked him?

"Now that we've been safe, it's time to clear some misunderstanding. My name is Henrietta. I'm the crown princess of the Kingdom of Tristain. And this is my mother, Marianne."

"Emiya Shirou," he bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry that our first meeting wasn't ideal. And I'm sorry, madam, for threatening your daughter…"

Did I just really take a princess hostage? Shirou thought. He was now freaking out on the inside. However, it didn't look like he was getting into trouble, judging from the way they talked to him.

Marianne stared at him for awhile, and was about to say something. She opened her mouth a little, but then decided against it and stayed silent for another couple of minute, before saying. "I understand where that came from. And judging from your answer, I also know why you're here and how that must've shocked you. But if you lay your hand on Henrietta again…" She then left the sentence hanging, but Shirou knew what she wanted to say. Never, ever, it was a good idea to challenge a mother's love.

"Of course, madam," he bowed again. "Then can you please explain to me just how I got here?"

"You were summoned, by me it seems," Henrietta replied. "I know it sounds crazy. I myself don't really believe it either, but it's the only explanation…"

And Shirou knew she was telling the truth, at least the part about her didn't believe her own words.

"Summoned?" He repeated as his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry. It must've been a shock for you. I take it magic isn't popular where you came from?"

"That's not it," Shirou shook his head. "But human summoning?" He asked. Of course, he had deal with summoned Servants before. But they were Heroic Spirits given human forms. Summoning a living human being on the other hand…

"That's what I thought too," Henrietta nodded. "I also never have heard of anything like this. But you see, I was doing a familiar summoning ritual. And just as I finished chanting, you appeared in the magic circle."

"We have a way to find out if that's the truth," Marianne spoke. "All you need to do is to complete the contract, dear. If you're able to do so with him, then he is indeed your familiar. But I'm surprised to see that you summoned a mere human as your familiar, someone who appeared to be a commoner at that."

From her voice, Shirou could feel that he had been insulted somehow. But now wasn't time for trivial matters. He needed to find out if he was really summoned here, to another world, if his suspicion was correct.

"I also feel the same, mother," Henrietta lowered her head. And Shirou felt like he had been insulted once again. Was summoning him really that much of a shame?

"But I'll take good care of my familiar, no matter what, or who is summoned," she concluded before turning back to him. "Mister Emiya Shirou, can we please try to complete the contract now?"

"Just Shirou is fine, Your Highness," he nodded. "And yes, it should clear things up faster that way."

"Very well, then allow me…" She said and started getting closer to him. Shirou instantly tighten his grips around his blades, but didn't do anything else. Henrietta then took a few other steps and was now standing right in front of him, blushing a little.

"Alright. Here I go," she said. "My name is Henrietta de Tristain. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, bless this humble being, and make him my familiar."

The princess then started leaning in. And Shirou knew instantly what she was trying to do. He only had a second to note that Henrietta looked even cuter up close now that he had a chance to look at her carefully before her lips pressed against his. They were incredibly soft, and the smell of her perfume was very comfortable and gentle.

"Ugh…" Suddenly, a surge of prana violently ran through his Magic Circuits, no doubt coming from her. That confirmed it, the contract had been established, and he was now taking supply energy from his master. That also meant that he was definitely summoned. And in front of him, Shirou could see that Henrietta was feeling it too as she grimaced and groaned a little at the sudden sensation of her magic being sipped.

Just as I thought, he mused, considering the large amount of prana he was receiving. She's very powerful. Not Rin-level powerful, but close.

A burning sensation of focused prana gathered on his left forearm. And when Shirou glanced down to check, he saw some unfamiliar Runes had engraved themselves there, glowing brightly for a few seconds.

After a brief moment, Henrietta broke the kiss. She then looked at him in the eyes and smiled, still flushing. "It seems like I was correct. That's the familiar Runes. And can you feel it, Shirou? Our bond?"

"I certainly can, Y…Master," Shirou bowed. "You really are a powerful mage."

"Thank you," the princess nodded. "That settles it for now. Let us go back to my room, there're still many questions I want to ask you. And then there's also the issue of how to present you in front of the whole Council. They know I'm doing the ritual today, and surely they will want to know what my familiar is."

"You shouldn't let them know you summoned a commoner, dear," Marianne said and Shirou winced. He didn't know what the 'commoner' title meant in this world. But from the way the woman said it, it wasn't something to be held in high regard.

"It would be worse to let them think that I failed and couldn't summon anything, mother," Henrietta replied calmly. "And hiding him will raise suspicions. Besides, if what Shirou said was true, then he may not be just any commoner."

"Pardon?"

"He said that Agnes and her guards, the most competent non-magical squadron of our country, would stand no chance against him," the princess glanced at him. "And also both you and me could only stall him, isn't that right, Shirou?"

"Indeed, that was what I said, Master," he replied.

"What if you were just bluffing, familiar?" Marianne turned to him. "What do you have to back up your words?"

"Madam, I assure you that I can very well live up to my words," Shirou said evenly. "But before that, I still have question. Why do you keep calling me commoner? Well, I can understand that anyone beside royalty can be considered as such. But I can't help but think that there's something more behind the title."

"Shirou, a commoner is someone who isn't blessed with the gift of magic by our Founder Brimir," Henrietta explained. "And for those who is, they're called the Nobles. That's us, me and my mother."

"So it's as simple as that? The ability to use magic is what decides your rank in the society?" He raised an eyebrow. It wasn't an unfamiliar setting. The strong ruled over the weak. Even between the magi back at the Clock Tower, such procedure existed as well.

Henrietta nodded in confirmation.

"But well, even by that definition, I may still be a commoner," Shirou shrugged in respond. "Because I'm sure that whoever that Founder Brimir is, my power didn't come from him."

"You… You can use magic?" Both the princess and her mother's eyes widened at the revelation.

"The proper term that I use is 'magecraft', Master," he corrected her. "Shall I demonstrate here? After all, my abilities shouldn't be a secret to my Master. But it would need more than both words to explain."

Staring at him for a long while, Henrietta finally nodded.

Henrietta was deeply amazed. Surrounding her familiar was now hundreds of swords of all kinds, floating in midair. What was more? It seemed like Shirou just created them out of thin air, he used neither a wand nor an incantation. And more of them were still appearing continuously.

Earth magic? She wondered. To be able to achieve a feat such as that, Shirou must be at least a Square-level mage of Earth element, maybe mixed with Wind to make those swords float like that. Behind her, Marianne was also stared at the scene wordlessly. Shock was transparent on her face.

"Is this suffice, Master?" Shirou asked, still looking at her. The number of swords was still increasing rapidly.

"Yes, very," Henrietta nodded. "Thank you, Shirou. However, that raises another problem."

"What is it?" He asked. And instantly, all of the swords around him dissolved into thin air. She blinked at the scene, but didn't comment on it.

"Well, you can use magic, that make you a Noble," Henrietta sighed. "But again, the laws stated that we weren't allowed to form a familiar contract with another Noble, for the contract has a side effect. It will bend the familiar's mind to follow and obey the Master's orders, complete submission."

"Ah… In that case, worry not, Master. I'm sure that I'm still acting out of my own mind, for my magecraft granted me the ability of magic resistance, I can fend off things like mind control with ease. And just as I said, since my power doesn't come from Founder Brimir, I'm not a Noble."

"Even if that's the case,…Emiya," Marianne said, suddenly addressed him differently. It seemed like it was true that the Noble title had a big influence here. "Don't expect anyone here to buy that explanation."

"We know you're telling the truth, Shirou," Henrietta spoke up just as he was about to retort. "I can see it in your eyes. But you have to understand, me and many other Royal Council members, we're… not really on friendly term. They're all waiting for me to slip up so they can bring me down. Summoning a commoner as a familiar is one thing, sure, it will damage my reputation, but still better than complete failure. And it's certainly way better than breaking the rule and establishing a contract with a Noble."

"If your power got out, Emiya, they will cling onto that reason to bring down Henrietta," Marianne continued. "You're still young, and surely aren't from around here. So I feel the need to remind you that politics is a dangerous and delicate game. Don't show them any weakness to exploit. At that point, even if you get angry and threaten them, or resort to violence, it will only worsen the situation for your Master."

"I think I can understand that," Shirou nodded. "I was an apprentice until just recently. And my mentor also had one hell of a reputation to uphold. Thank you for your concern, madam," he then looked at Henrietta. "So I guess for now I will hide my power?"

"That's the plan. Do you have any other talent other than ma…magecraft?"

"Well, I'm a swordsman, as you can see," Shirou raised Kanshou and Bakuya, which were still in his hand. He then dismissed them and traced a long black bow – Shirou's bow as he called it. It was a tweaked version of Servant Archer's bow used in the Fifth Holy Grail War. "I also take pride in my skill with a bow."

"Really? That's good then," Henrietta smiled. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to announce that I've summoned you, a commoner. And you will be made into my personal guard. That way I can have you by my side all the time without much question. And you will only take direct order from me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Master," he nodded. "Of course, that goes without saying that I'll take your order alone. I was summoned here to help you. You're the only one who have authorize over me."

To help me…? Henrietta paused a little at his words. It was true that she had asked for help. Was that why I summoned him? I have confidence in my skill; there was no way that I messed up something as simple as familiar summoning ritual. But here he is. Something that's never happened before, happened right after my prayer…

Nonsense, there's nothing indicates that was what happened, she quickly shook her head. "Well, Shirou, let's go to meet the Council. I will have your own quarter assigned later. My apologize, I thought that my familiar was going to be an animal of some kinds, so I was prepared for it to be in the same room as me."

"It's alright," Shirou smiled, dismissing the bow. "If possible, can I have a room near yours? I wouldn't be able to assist you effectively if I stayed too far from you."

"Emiya," Marianne suddenly asked. "How old are you?"

"Me? I'm twenty one. Why do you ask, madam?"

"And Henrietta's seventeen," the woman continued. "Do you honestly think that it's a good idea to let you near my daughter every night? I trust her, but you I've just met. I'm sorry if it sounds rude but please understand a mother's concern."

"Mother!" Henrietta immediately protested. Her face flushed a little. "Nothing will happen. He won't be in the same room, and did you forget that Agnes has two people from her squadron stand guard outside of me room at all time?"

"But Emiya himself said that those guards wouldn't stand a chance against him. If he really wanted to…"

The princess then threw an apologetic glance at Shirou. But the boy didn't seem to be offended at all. In fact, he was just stand there and watching them with a smile.

"Don't worry, madam," finally he said. "It's true that our ages are close, and my Master is certainly a very beautiful girl. But even I know that it's inappropriate for a knight to think of his princess that way."

"That's right, mother," Henrietta nodded quickly. "Do you really think I would let anything like that happen? And not to mention that I've already had Wales…" She let the sentence hanging and looked down. Her cheeks reddened a bit more.

Really, mother, she thought to herself. With all the speech, you just did this to amuse yourself, didn't you?"

Shirou was standing on the balcony of his newly assigned room. Finally, evening came, and his first day in this foreign world was now coming to an end.

He casted his look to as far as he could see with his enhanced vision. It was a nice city in his opinion, but wasn't a modern one. Of course, Shirou should've realized that after an entire day spent inside a medieval castle like this.

Leaning against the wall, he turned his gaze up to the sky. There were two moons, and they were both much bigger than the one back in his original world. However, after all the strangeness that Shirou had seen in his life. Maybe something like that couldn't surprise him as much as it should.

Now that the day was over, Shirou finally had some time alone to reflect on today's events. Everything happened so suddenly and swiftly. And he had to admit that even now, his mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that this wasn't just a dream. Shirou was sure that by this time, Rin was freaking out back at the Clock Tower. It was understandable though, he disappeared without warning, with his luggage was still in the middle of packing. A shiver ran down his spine thinking of what the prodigy magus had in store for him once he came back.

But can I ever come back? He wondered and felt his chest tightened a little. Now that he was sure that it wasn't due to some cruel prank of Zelretch that he ended up here, but the result of a summoning ritual, how will he come back? Then there was also the contract with Henrietta. Of course, a contract could be easily severed whenever Shirou wanted, but after spending the day talking with her, he realized something.

That girl needed help.

She didn't appear desperate about it. But he could see it in her eyes. Her situation wasn't a beautiful one, having to deal with silent oppression from her own Council, while preparing the country for a possible invasion. Not to mention the fact that Henrietta was now being forced to stay out of the way while her lover was in danger, all in the name of politics. Wasn't that too heavy of a burden for a seventeen years old girl? Sooner or later, his Master would collapse from the weight of her own responsibilities.

And knowing that, can I still bring myself to leave her? Assuming I can find a way back… The answer was awfully clear. Shirou didn't know much about summoning rituals. But he knew that Henrietta had summoned him without a catalyst. That meant he was the best match for her. She needed help. She needed him. He was the solution for her problem. And surely, the two of them had something in common that they hadn't discovered yet.

I'm sorry, Rin. It looked like I have to take my trip sooner than expected, Shirou snorted dryly. His original plan was to travel the world, of course. But now, he had taken a step further and went straight to another world. Damn you and your E rank luck, Archer, he silently cursed. The only explanation for him being pulled into mess after mess was because he was blessed with a certain damned Counter Guardian's luck.

Shaking his head to clear the unhappy thoughts, Shirou decided that for the time being, there was no other way for him than remain here, helping his Master out of whatever trouble she was going to find herself in. Just like Henrietta, he was inexperienced in politics. But he could be her sword, protecting her from dangers and fight for her cause. And together, they could improve on whatever they were lacking. Even though they had just met, Shirou had been with her the entire day. And from the way he saw her interacting with people around the castle as well as normal citizens, he decided that Henrietta was worthy of being his Master. She was strong, powerful, kind, warm and gentle, and most of all, loved by her people. Someone like that couldn't possibly be a bad person.

Seeing it was getting late, Shirou got back inside, taking a quick bath before throwing himself on his bed. He was exhausted, not physically, but mentally, from the hectic day. He decided that it would be best to get some rest right now, and deal with the remaining problems later. He didn't need much sleep. But it was better to think with a clear and well-rested head.

End of Chapter 1.