Medea's Cookies: Prologue
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Caster, also known as the Princess Medea of Colchis, was a strange yet ambitious woman for all humans. Sure, there were times they would hear her murmuring some unknown words under her breath, or she would cackle like an insane person when Kuzuki would make a lame joke...but she was also loving, sweet, and caring housewife. She was sweet to her husband, concerned for the young Issei Ryuudou, and usually lent a helping hand to the Ryuudou Temple residents.
But she was still a strange woman.
Despite those comments from the humans, she didn't let them falter her status as the loving wife of Kuzuki Souichirou.
Where am I going with this exactly?
Well, these thoughts were now rushing through Medea's mind. She remembered those times she heard comments of people calling her weird, and thought of how the Holy Grail Wars were weird itself.
Even the not-so-clear events of some sort of infinite time loop happening, or how almost every single participant or witness of the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grails were alive again. Minus some unwanted people, of course. Or even when some woman suddenly summoned the Grail! Or the time some more odd people appeared, claiming to be brought here by some man named Zelretch.
Those were weird, and she was weird herself. But perhaps, what was bestowed before her...was the weirdest thing she has ever encountered in her entire lifetime...s.
"Wh-What?!" were the first words that Medea could only stutter out.
Setting aside the weirdness and all, today was supposed to be a normal day for Caster. She was out buying groceries for the monks in Ryuudou Temple, then she would buy medicine for the sick Issei Ryuudou. Afterwards, she would eat dinner, take a nice, hot bath, then fall asleep with her lovely Kuzuki, and the next day would arrive with a not-so-exciting day greeting her.
However, the tables seemed to have turned.
She wondered why he looked like that, perhaps…perhaps…
"Ah, Caster, is everything all right? You look pale." Gilgamesh asked and he tilted his head...and he did that quite cutely too.
The first thing she noticed was the orange ribbon tied on the right side of Gilgamesh's hair. He was holding on to a grocery basket filled with meats, vegetables, and a handful of cleaning supplies. Bestowed before her was supposed to be Gilgamesh, the proud King of Heroes! The King who finds housework to be the work of slaves, the King who have bedded thousands of women, and the King who only had one friend.
And here he was...grocery shopping.
Caster continued to sweat and her face paled even more.
It was then the loudest scream in the entire Fuyuki City was heard.
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A few days before the shocking encounter Caster had met with, she had a small emergency meeting with Kuzuki and her Servant, Assassin.
She remembered that night, wherein the stars shone brightly up in the sky and the solemn chirping of the grasshoppers were heard. They decided to meet at the temple gate, as they were both aware how Assassin couldn't really leave the gate due to his status as a Servant.
"Caster, Assassin, you both wouldn't mind doing a favor for the Ryuudou Temple monks, right?" Kuzuki asked, with his eyes directly staring at Caster's.
Caster nodded almost immediately and Assassin gave a small nod.
"Very well then, I need you both to find a way to earn money. The temple monks need them badly because of taxes and repairs around the house." Kuzuki announced, "I have an idea that might help, which is a one day bake sale."
"Oh, that's a great idea, Souichirou-sama." Caster commented happily, "I'm willing to bake cookies for the event, if you wouldn't mind...of course. Assassin is also going to help me."
Assassin was dumbfounded and a little wary of having to help Caster, "Caster, I-"
"It's settled then." Kuzuki interrupted him and fixed the position of his glasses from the bridge of his nose, "You are both going to bake the cookies in our proposed idea for the one-day bake sale."
"Yes." Caster spoke firmly and smiled. Assassin could only sigh.
And so, the next few days involved Caster taking over the kitchen during the mornings. On other days, she had to bake outside...using that cauldron of hers. Yeah, the same cauldron she uses to create potions. Do not fear, for she cleaned it before using it! This is also a way for Assassin to, at least, help her.
She would hum to herself as she browsed through the different cookbooks and followed each step of it as precisely as she would.
"F-For Souichirou-sama and his friends…!" she would always say as she waited for the cookies to finish heating up in the oven.
It wasn't until the day before the one-day bake sale was when she discovered the perfect recipe for all her cookies. She had Assassin to thank for, as he suggested this 'sweetener' vial he had 'supposedly' created some time ago. There were thirteen different 'sweetener' vials, each with a different tang in it.
Although, she was a bit wary of the sweetener vials Assassin gave. It was Assassin for God's sake, the one man Caster knew that hated her. Assassin could also sometimes be…tricky, especially when it's about her.
She used them and managed to create thirteen different cookies. She sample tasted her cookies, and when she did, she felt as if she bathed in a vat of rich chocolate syrup. Her taste buds quivered and she craved for more, but she held back her temptations. All in all, her dish was so delicious and she was so proud of her achievement.
The day of the bake sale had arrived, and it was held in the center of the Fuyuki's biggest shopping center: Verde. She was there with her Kuzuki, and she had a splendid time selling her wonderful cookies to the curious people. She took note on how parents and their children would come by and buy from them. She smiled and thought that perhaps, she would experience something like that with Kuzuki. She smiled, one day...
"Oh Caster, it's you!" a familiar voice called out to her. She turned to see Shirou, Saber, and Sakura. Shirou and Sakura were holding a paper bag each while Saber was eyeing the food with wonder.
"If it isn't you, boy." She spoke and smiled, "Would you like to buy some of my cookies?"
"You baked these, Caster?" Saber asked and Caster nodded.
"There are thirteen different cookies. The most popular from the amount sold is the classic chocolate chip cookies." Caster explained, and showed a small box with a baker's dozen of chocolate chip cookies to Saber.
Saber's eyes fixated on the box of cookies held by Caster and shook her head. Saber wanted the most fascinating in her eyes, and her eyes started to wander to the other boxes. She found a particular box of cookies, and her eyes sparkled. They were small, but they held a unique design and it was also quite colorful.
"Caster…" her mouth watered, "What cookies are these…?"
"Oh, those?" Caster asked, "They're spritz cookies. I found them in the Internet, they originated fr—"
"I want ten boxes of them." Saber interrupted her and she started to pick ten boxes of the spritz cookies. Her eyes glued to it.
"S-Saber! Let's just buy one box for your cookies!" Shirou spoke up, sweat trickling down as he thought of his wallet. He took great pity at the amount of money he spent during their trip to the grocery.
"Yes, Saber. Wouldn't one suffice?" Sakura questioned.
"B-But Shirou, Sakura...these cookies look delicious…!" Saber protested but then she stopped and brooded over it. Remembering how they were little on money recently due to the number of residents back in Shirou's home, she realized that it was best to only buy at least one box of the spritz cookies. With a sigh, she picked up one box of the cookies she wanted, "…If that is what you wish, fine. I'll take one order of these cookies.
Shirou let out a sigh of relief and said. "Thank you, Saber ..."
"Oh Caster, you mentioned that you used the Internet to find some of the recipes for the cookies. Does that mean that you've been learning on how to use the computer lately?" Sakura asked curiously. Meanwhile Shirou began to search nearby for the cookies that he would like to buy for himself.
"Oh, yes." Caster responded to the girl with a smile, "I learned how to use the machine with the help of Souichirou-sama. He taught me the many wonders about the use of the Internet, how to connect to it, and check for those things they call sites using some sort of browser."
"I'm glad you're learning a lot from Kuzuki-sensei, Caster." Sakura gave a smile upon hearing Caster's response.
Soon, she began to inspect the cookies that she intended to buy for herself, Rider, and her brother, Shinji.
In the end, Shirou decided on buying the chocolate chip meringue cookies. Meanwhile, Sakura bought the snickerdoodles for herself, the almond blueberry cookies for Shinji, and chocolate crinkles for Rider.
After paying the money to Caster, Shirou, Saber and Sakura left happily with their cookies. Caster noticed on how Saber was already starting to eat her cookies, and Caster couldn't giggle a little bit. She continued to sell her cookies to the public. They left happily, and Caster continued selling her cookies to the public. It wasn't until two familiar faces appeared her once again. This was a rare sight to see though; the father and daughter from the Church are together in the mall.
"Hello, what would you like to buy?" Caster inquired.
The girl by the name of Caren Hortensia looked at the cookies. She pointed to the Florentine cookies and the chocolate chip cookies.
"For me and my father." She said.
They made the sale and left from the stall. Caster pondered over on how they were a strange duo indeed. But, she shouldn't let it interrupt her motivation to continue selling her cookies.
The day carried like normal but not while Caster observed the Servants or Masters who stopped by and bought something from her.
She remembered Bazett, who stopped by and greeted her happily. She bought the peanut butter cookies and raspberry almond linzer cookies, proclaiming it was for her and her Servant respectively. There was Rin and Archer, who bought the oatmeal raisin cookies and gingerbread cookies and wished to Caster a good luck for her one-day bake sale. Lancer came by and purchased Angeletti cookies, but not without ranting on and on about his dislike for Kirei.
Illya also stopped by and bought the glazed lemon cookies and chewy chocolate cookies, stating that it was for her and her Servant, Berserker. Caster also noted that after she purchased those cookies was when her two maids appeared by her and started scolding her for leaving them alone.
The one-day bake sale was now over. The monks were dismantling the stall and setting it away to their vehicle. Caster and Kuzuki tallied on how much they have earned today. They were at peace together, and Caster liked it…until a certain King of Heroes arrived.
"Oh, Caster. I heard from my lovely wife that you have some wonderfully baked cookies!" Gilgamesh proclaimed to the couple, a smile formed on his lips.
Caster scoffed, "First of, Saber is not your wife, King of Heroes. Well anyways, we're closed."
She continued to tally the amount of money she earned but having Gilgamesh's presence bothered her to no end. Caster paused her actions and just glared at the blonde-haired Servant. It was then she remembered that they did have a one box of cookies left. She searched for it quickly, took it and threw it at him; Gilgamesh caught it with one hand.
"There, now go home. You can take it for free if you want." She spoke.
Gilgamesh just shrugged his shoulders and left the couple in peace.
She went home a little later on, the monks saying that she deserved to rest from a tiring day of selling her cookies. Upon reaching the temple, she plopped herself onto the futon in her and Kuzuki's room.
"What a tiring day…" she murmured, "And I still have to go grocery shopping tomorrow…"
And she fell asleep, completely unaware of what tomorrow would bring.
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"Th-Thank you, Caster. But you didn't have to assist me in buying the groceries, you know..." Gilgamesh stammered, wondering if his words were the right words to say to the former Princess.
They had just finished grocery shopping and left the store. The unlikely duo stood to the right of the entrance of the grocery.
Caster just smiled as she heard him, and handed to Gilgamesh his set of groceries.
But actually, Caster was just trying to repress all the stress that was building up inside her.
"Well, you best be off now…are you going back to the Church?" she asked.
It took awhile for the question to process in Gilgamesh's mind. He stood still for a few moments, and when he realized what she asked, an intense blush had formed on his face. How unnatural for the King of Heroes!
"A-Ah, yes! These groceries will be used for cooking later. K-Kirei…will be cooking tonight."
The mention of the false priest's name only made Gilgamesh's blush grow more obvious. The sight of it made Caster confused if she should laugh for seeing a really, really different King of Heroes, or cry and reflect on just what the heck was she seeing.
Then somewhere deep in her thoughts, an idea suddenly popped. A small guess, or theory...that could relate to the sudden change in Gilgamesh's behavior.
"Say, do you remember about my cookies yesterday?" Caster inquired.
Gilgamesh contemplated on it for a while and responded to her with a smile, "Ah! Yes, I do! I was shopping with Kirei and Archer and then we saw your stall. We decided to buy those cookies and we went home-uh, Caster?"
Caster stared at him and was lost for words. That wasn't what happened at all! He got a box of cookies for free, right? Didn't he suddenly appear and inquired about those cookies? Didn't she throw it at him because she wanted him to leave her alone?
"Oh, I understand..well, bye!" she bid him farewell and sprinted away from him as fast as she could. Gilgamesh didn't even have the time to bid her farewell.
Running through the more empty streets of Miyama where there was no one nearby, Caster was panicking mentally, with the current event she had witnessed stuck in her mind.
What the hell was going on? The Servant who proclaimed to be the strongest and truest king has reduced to nothing but a blubbering, shy, and sort of cute…king? Caster pondered that it had to be the work of some sort of magic created by the Tohsaka head, but it doesn't sound like something Rin would do…right? True, she could be a bit mischievous, but an act like this is not a Tohsaka thing at all.
As she ran and focused intensely on her thoughts, she bumped into someone and Caster fell to the ground.
The figure she bumped into had turned around, and Caster gasped.
"S-Saber...?!"
Indeed it was the King of Knights, Arturia Pendragon...or Saber, by her friends. Caster gazed upon her and noticed a drastic change in her apperance. Her hair was no longer tied to a bun and her green eyes glared down at Caster. She wore a white and blue striped tank top, with a leather, black jacket over it. She also wore denim, short shorts and black, knee high boots.
"You dare bump into ME, the King of Knights, peasant?" Saber asked, with clear irritation in her voice.
Caster gulped and was starting to sweat. She didn't know what to say, and she couldn't move for some reason.
"Saber, please, I didn't know where I was-"
"Oh, so you're not just a fool for bumping into me. It seems that you don't answer me and treat me properly as the true king I am." Saber made a soft chuckle, "Well then. I'll make sure that peasants like you never exist!"
Caster's eyes widened, left in disbelief of what occured.
"Gate of Avalon!"
Thousands of blue circles appeared behind Saber, glowing brightly as if it was the Sun. Swords, spears, axes, and many more weapons slowly appeared within the circles. Caster's thought process was halted as she set her eyes on the circles and all Saber did was laugh heartily.
"I see that you are enamored with my power, hm? Let's see if you can dodge this!"
With a snap of her fingers, the weapons rained down to Caster's direction. In panic, the blue-haired woman woke up called out the quickest spell she could think of to be able to counter with Saber's flying weapons.
"Μαρδοξ!"
The spells that Caster called out managed to counter the weapons that targetted her, but not to the weapons that could harm the passerby.
'How can Saber have this sort of power?! Isn't this the power that Gilgamesh possesses? Also, is Saber seriously attacking me now?! We're in public, damn it!' Caster thought.
Just as she thought that sentence, a sword was heading straight for her face. Caster noticed it too late, and as it was about to hit her, a familiar figure appeared and countered the sword with it's own weapon.
The figure quickly deflected all the other weapons that were about to stab Caster. She couldn't see the face of who saved her though, as the figure was quick in it's movements when deflecting the weapons.
The barrage of weapons stopped, and Caster was now able to get a clear look on her savior. It was...
"Ar...cher?!" She gasped.
Archer turned to look at Caster with a concerned expression. Caster noticed something on top of his head...was that an ahoge?!
"Well, well, well...if it isn't my love, Archer!" Saber proclaims proudly. She smirked and her lustful eyes gazed upon Archer's figure.
Archer turned his attention to Saber and sighed, "Yes, it is I, Archer. Saber, why are you attacking Caster?"
"Hmph, why are you concerning yourself over that peasant? And why are you here, Archer? Have you finally decided to set down your weapon and become my loving husband?" Saber inquired and it was followed by a haughty laugh.
Archer's brow furrowed and clenched his weapons tightly. That was when Caster noticed that there was something odd about his weapons. She had an inkling that they were swords, but they were...invisible? It's as if he's hiding them, just like how Saber would hide her sword.
Could it be...?
"Haven't I told you, you egotistical King of Knights, that I refuse to be your husband?!" Archer shouted and rushed to her preparing to attack Saber.
"Still refusing me with that spirit of yours, I see? Well, let's see if you'll still refuse me after I take out a limb or two."
The weapons now positioned to Archer and with a snap of Saber's fingers, they rained down at Archer. He managed to deflect as much as he could.
While the two Servants were left engrossed in their battle, Caster started to run away again and headed for the Ryuudou Temple. She had no idea what happened or why she saw Saber and Archer acting a little different. With the groceries still (miraculously) in her possession, she thought that perhaps, the answer on all these mishaps lies somewhere in her beloved home.
A/N: Welcome to the rewritten prologue of Medea's Cookies! Okay, go to the next chapter.
P.S. Piece of advice, take note of the cookies everyone bought.