He could feel the suns warmth across his face and the aroma of warm vanilla in the room. His form felt weak, who ever his master was, they were a limited mage. Lancer stretched his long limbs and opened his eyes slowly. Red eyes scanned the room; a soft yellow paint was fading on the paneled walls and lace curtains framed a bay window that faced an open field covered in fields of varying flowers that turned the view into a layer of colors. There was a lack of business in the day, Lancer realized he was far from the city. He wondered where the Holy Grail War was now, though he could not wonder long as an emptiness from his stomach voiced its displeasure. Something was wrong. Heroic Spirits did not wake up because they did not need sleep, they were materialized after a summoning and they most definitely did not feel hunger. Yes, something was terribly wrong.
"You're up...err well good morning Lancer." Lancer snapped his neck to look at the girl in front of him. He sized her up as she stood awkwardly in the door way. She was a pleasant looking female, that he was certain of, but something did not feel right. This was his master. He knew it, he felt as if he knew her, as if she were carved into his bones, but how did he not feel her presence or her control over him? Yes, something was terribly, terribly wrong. He was at a loss for words and could only merely stare at her.
"I'm Raidon your…uhhh…Well I guess you could say I'm your master." The girl had at some point moved herself inside the room and closed the distance between them. Smiling sheepishly she stretched her hand out to him. He might have been charmed if he wasn't bewildered by the force of her and the utter lack of her magical power. His guards were up as Lancer looked at the girl and her outstretched hand.
"As if the God's would be so cruel to give you as a master. I can see you're nothing but a third rate hack; You can barely keep my vessel running with how little mana you produce!" He sneered at the gesture and kept his narrowed eyes on her face. She would show him what kind of Master she was though he was sure she was no Master at all.
"Aww so you did notice?" Her face fell seemingly disappointed by his words. Lancer almost felt guilty for his rudeness, but then her dark brows furrowed, "I had hoped you wouldn't feel the lack of mana. I'm working on a solution for you, but it could take another couple of days, please bare with me. By the way, before I forget to ask, did you want to know my wish for the Holy Grail?"
"A couple of days? You might be dead by then and I the Servant of another, stronger, more worthy master. Really, how did someone so weak even possess the ability to summon a heroic spirit?" Even Lancer did not fully believe what he was saying, how cold and arrogant he was being. He would serve her, she was his Master and he had no choice in that. But again she smiled, this time it was full of pride and once again, Lancer might have been charmed if their meeting had been under different circumstances.
"Well, you see," She began cheerily, "That was very easy for me. Science and faith. You're assumption was close that I was a low class mage, but you were still wrong. I'm not even that. HAHA! I have no magical circuits or crest or lineage. Nothing. Yet here you are and although you are weak, functioning almost human like err- well that will be fixed by a first class mage in a couple of days, I promise."
The girl finished quickly without finishing her point, but all Lancer was still stuck on were the words 'I'm not even that'. He could feel the anger rising in him. The idiot girl was not even a mage and entering a war where the weakest always died. He could sense the weakness and picture in his mind her death a thousand times over. It frustrated him, it angered him in a way he did not understand. Not even a mage and somehow able to summon a Lancer, one of the top servants in the servants class. And still he was certain she would die and no wish was worth a humiliating death.
He glared at her even more intensely as his dislike for her became more acute as her stupid pride in herself was brimming over. She was cloaked in that pride of her ability to summon him. He scanned her over- the visible parts of her body showed no signs of a command spell. Anger was heating him like a fire as she continued babbling, he could feel his body warming, as if he was being set ablaze and he could picture his hands around her pale neck.
"Trust me Lancer, we're going to win this war. All of us." She smiled at him brightly and it broke all patience in him. Swiftly he moved and grabbed her by the throat. Finally there was fear in her eyes as she was brought against the wall and her feet struggled to find flooring. Her hands grasped his, clawing at them.
"Trust you!?" he hissed, "You have no command spells, no way to control your servant. I could break your neck and find a new master -"
"A master who would sacrifice you to a corrupted grail!" The fear in her eyes had darkened to an anger and she lifted her chin to expose more neck to him. Her hands fell by her side as she let down her resistance. "Kill me Lancer, go ahead. Show me your ability and then find another Master, but no matter the skill of mage craft, you will never find another Master like me!" She was yelling at him as if his thumb was not stroking the pulse in neck. She was glaring at him and he was glaring at her, "I can only pray I don't find another Master like you." He sneered at her. "See I'll make you a deal kid. You release me and I'll let you live out the rest of your pathetic existence."
"I release you and you die" She yelled with desperation, "You are not a dog, you are a man and deserve to live YOUR life Cu Chulainn!" Tears filled her eyes as his grip tightened around her throat, but the pleading for his life had been his undoing. No one, in his past or current life had made a plea for his life and the feeling it had wrought him took the air from inside him.
He let her go stumbling away from her as she fell like a ragdoll to the floor. She looked at him for a moment as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her eyes were shiny and she began to look everywhere but him, he looked away as well, but at the sound of her muffled hiccup he peered beneath his lashes. The tears were coming down her face and Lancer could not bare to look at her, but he wanted to. He supposed it was his weakness, a woman's tears "I researched you, I followed my parents journals of the past Holy Grail Wars. I made a vow that this one would be different. For you, for ALL the servants who have a wish." Lancer stood his distance, but stared at her as if he saw her again for the first time. Fragile, but he knew now the spirit in her was forged in iron.
She cried for a good while, silent tears, that made the pit of his stomach ache.. She had said he deserved to live HIS life. Lancer didn't know why that effected him the way that it did. He had never had a life of his own, but somehow when she said that he did, it made him want it. He turned the idea of her wish over in his head. He brought himself on his haunches before her, the crying girl who almost had her neck snapped by a departed demi God. He stared at her quietly as she hid her face in the crook of her arms. Maybe he was quick to judge. Maybe he was a dog bastard. Slowly he stretched his arm, his hand open for hers.
She lifted her head slowly, eyes shining with tears. She sniffled a few times as she looked from his face to his hand. "Are you willing to give me a chance?"
"Listen, I have no regrets in my past life…But if I could I would like to try again. To enjoy life and live freely…For myself. So I'll give you a chance kid. I mean what's the worst that could happen?"
"The plan fails and we both die." Lancer, taken back by her frankness, felt laughter bubble inside of him. "With you as a Master I am certainly counting on it."
The girl took his hand and shook it firmly, "I will try not to fail you!" Lancer looked into the girls determined face. No guile, no deceit, just sincerity in wide brown eyes. He could feel himself grimacing even as his heart fluttered.
"I told you Lancer, I have a plan. So tomorrow we are on our way to the United States, then we'll travel to Japan for the Grail War."
"Why are we going to the U.S?"
"To meet up with our allies."