Tied Ribbons on My Ankles
by SMYGO4EVA
Saber never knew who Sakura truly was, until everything fell. The fall changed the tides of the Holy Grail War.
Saber realized this early on. It didn't take her long to realize why. It was hard to forego everything that had been fought for, only to sacrifice it all. Even in that sacrifice, it would be all for naught. She had known that ache that coursed through her, known all her life, ever since the last Holy Grail War ended, the day her life ended. It was too much, and she clung to what she believed in for dear life, even when it was in vain.
Until there was Sakura. Until her destiny changed.
She tried to turn the tides of the war, so that Sakura wouldn't become entangled. It wasn't without scars, her defeat; her descent into darkness, all from the reliquary, but Sakura's were more dangerous. By sheer will alone, Sakura endured all the torturous training she was put through, the abuse from her "brother", but even so she held such untapped darkness. She pretended not to remember, but it was of no use.
It was easy, but tactless, to say that that you can let go of what you had learned, believe in, and dealt with your entire life. But Saber didn't, she couldn't, because all she wanted to do was to protect those who needed saving. The past was bondage, what propelled her forward, and what held her back.
But it was only after Sakura's smile finally disappeared, fallen away when there was nothing else. Her eyes glimmered yet steeled in brimming guilt and hatred. Saber felt the ache of such loss, of such betrayal a long time ago, and the wound had reopened upon such a sight.
Saber reached out, her hand gripping Sakura's, tightly. She never wanted to let her go again. Even when there were no more smiles left, she wouldn't let go, with the ribbon tied.