The Saber x Lancer fandom really needs more works, so I don't really think I have any choice but to continue. So please, enjoy the continuation of Knighted.
Chapter 2
"And so, the mystery of the missing children has gone unsolved so far. Sources say that the children were last seen being led away by a man in a mysterious purple jacket. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available." The TV reporter droned, causing Arturia to shudder a bit as she buttoned up her uniform for work.
"Wow, that stuff is really creepy." A fellow co-worker mused, to which she nodded in agreement as the older woman helped her tie up the loose ties of her bright blue apron that was paired with the white shirt that she was required to wear at the store.
She worked at the local supermarket, just a short walk from school. It wasn't exactly the best paying job, but it helped out her family as they went through some rough times, and right now, they could really use any penny they could get, so she was in no position to complain about the type of work she did. It wasn't actually that bad since she mostly cleaned and occasionally helped with the stocking of shelves. All in all, it was a good job for the wage and hours she worked.
"Thanks." She told the woman, who nodded and headed out of the locker room to begin her shift. Arturia glanced at a mirror that had been placed inside of the small room and gave herself a once over, mind still drifting back to her encounter with Diarmuid. As she did, she involuntarily blushed a little at the memory of his face peering at her own curiously.
There was something about the almost childlike and innocent expression that had been on his face that made her heart beat a little faster as she thought about it, although she had no idea why she was reacting to him in that way.
"It's probably just because he was such a creep." She declared out loud, trying to find a rational explanation for her own behavior. However, even as she said those words, she could feel that it was not exactly the case. Still, she had no other explanation for her body and decided to just ignore it.
She had work to do anyways.
Arturia stepped out into the aisles, having finished changing. The shelves were stocked full of produce from various sources, giving the whole store an eclectic mess of colors when it came to the variety of products available.
Wielding a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, Arturia began sweeping up the floor, laden with small bits of leaves from the produce. She began humming a little tune and made good progress on the vegetables before she decided to move on to the fruit, which demanded her attention.
Suddenly, as she did so, she noticed a man with light brown hair and a purple jacket seemingly searching for something in the aisles.
"Un, can I help you?" She asked tentatively, causing the man to turn and face her.
"Oh, I'm fine!" The man responded cheerily in an energetic tone that immediately set Arturia on edge. However, since she didn't really have much of a reason to be suspicious, she was ready to move on to the next task when she suddenly noticed a glint of metal from the inside of the man's jacket.
It was only for a moment, but she had seen what she swore was a knife concealed in his pocket.
Shocked by the sight, she stared at him for a moment before he noticed her gaze and placed his hands on his hips.
"Are you looking for something?" He asked, suspicion evident in his voice. She could tell now that a thin frown was beginning to form on his previously cheerful face, indicating the change in mood.
"No, not at all!" Arturia stammered, backing away from the man as quickly as she could without drawing too much attention. Her black shoes were silent as she slowly stepped backwards, putting more and more space in between her and the man each time.
Although he was sure that something was definitely not right with Arturia, the man nodded and returned back to his search, leaving her free to go, an opportunity she took advantage of immediately.
"Thanks for your work today." Arturia's manager thanked gratefully as the teen shed her uniform and closed her small locker, from which she had grabbed her phone.
"No problem. I'll be back tomorrow too." Arturia replied as she waved the man goodbye and exited the locker room, meaning to leave the store through the back door. However, as she eased the back door open, she suddenly noticed the same man in the purple jacket, standing in the back alley into which the door led.
Frightened by the sight, Arturia slammed close the door and stepped away slowly, trying to think the situation through. However, in that moment, she found that her fear was overtaking her, as she imagined the knife that she had glimpsed earlier, and the man wielding right in front of her face. The very thought was enough to make her almost pass out.
Instinctively, she flipped open her phone, meaning to call for help before she realized that the police would not come to act on a claim of one man's suspicious behavior. And her mother didn't get home until late at night, which meant that she only had one choice left…
"Say, what was up with that girl you were talking to earlier?" Sola asked Diarmuid, who looked at her in confusion.
"You mean Arturia?" He asked, racking his mind for any other girls he had been talking to earlier. And that list included a lot of names.
"Yeah, Arturia Pendragon. I heard that she doesn't ever talk to anyone and is always reading a book when everyone else is hanging out. Why did you want to talk to her for?" Sola asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice at the fact that Diarmuid was paying some bookworm more attention that he paid to her.
Diarmuid chuckled a bit at the question that Sola had posed him. Although she had a boyfriend already in Kayneth El-Melloi, the red haired girl certainly had no qualms with flirting with him or Gil.
"You know, she's right. Everyone's wondering about that." Gil added from his seat across from the two. The three of them were currently sitting inside of a café, each enjoying a coffee, having been there since school ended.
"She's an interesting person, and I wanted to talk to her, simple as that." Diarmuid shrugged his shoulders, not exactly understanding why he had been drawn to her either.
"Well, I don't think that she's good to hang around." Sola declared haughtily.
Diarmuid smiled, "I think that she seems like a good person. Aside from rudely bumping into me once, I don't have any reason to believe otherwise."
Before anyone else could speak up, Diarmuid suddenly felt his pocket begin vibrating and pulled out his phone, reading the screen to find that the caller was Arturia. Instantly, he picked up and placed the phone up against his head.
"Help." Arturia's voice whimpered from the other end, distinctively weaker than he had ever heard it before.
"What's wrong?" Diarmuid asked urgently, understanding that something was wrong from the moment he had heard her speak.
"Just come to the supermarket. I'm waiting here." Arturia replied before the call disconnected, leaving Diarmuid staring forward in shock.
"What was that?" Gilgamesh asked curiously, taking a small sip of coffee.
"I've got to go. I'll see you two tomorrow." Diarmuid replied, quickly putting a few bills down next to his unfinished cup before he grabbed his jacket and ran out of the café, sliding on the white jacket to combat the sudden chill that had come through the air.
"Arturia!" Diarmuid shouted out as he entered the supermarket, instantly drawing stares from several shoppers who acknowledged his presence for a moment before they returned to their previous tasks of shopping.
"Here." Arturia said softly, stepping out from her position in an aisle which had effectively hid her.
"So, what's wrong?" Diarmuid asked, glancing around to look for the source of trouble.
"I'm…" Arturia trailed off, a little embarrassed to be admitting the reason why she had called him.
"I can't help if I don't know what's wrong." Diarmuid urged, trying to coax the answer out of her.
"I'm scared to go home by myself." Arturia admitted, cheeks burning red as she revealed the truth, pointing to the brown haired man outside, who was currently enjoying a cigarette, "He's been hanging around the store."
As she said the words, she realized exactly how dumb her reasoning for calling him must have seemed to Diarmuid. After all, there was guarantee that she had really seen a knife. For all she knew, it had been his phone reflecting the light, or something like that. There was really no reason that she should have called him out just for a man who may or may not have brought a weapon into the supermarket.
Fully expecting Diarmuid to laugh at her, she turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly, only to open them up when she realized that Diarmuid was not making a sound. She looked at him to find that his face was devoid of any emotion and was completely serious, a jarring difference from the relaxed smile that normally graced his face.
"I understand." He said, reaching out to clasp Arturia's hand tightly, an act that made her yelp in surprise.
"Wait…you don't have to grab my hand!" She stammered quickly, to which Diarmuid responded by pulling her figure closer to him, so that their shoulders touched as they stood side by side.
"If we're together like this, then he won't bother you." Diarmuid said, dragging a reluctant Arturia along with him as he crossed through the automatic sliding doors and past the brown haired man, who glanced at the two for a second before he shook his head and walked off in another direction.
As she saw the suspicious man leave, Arturia sighed deeply and stopped in her tracks, halting Diarmuid as well.
"Well, thanks for helping me out like this." She thanked awkwardly, intending to let Diarmuid get on his way.
"What are you talking about? I'm taking you all the way home before I'll let you go." He replied, the serious expression still on his face.
"No! I don't want to inconvenience you." Arturia protested, but Diarmuid was deaf to her pleas.
"So, point me to the direction of your house." He ordered, completely ignoring Arturia's words.
"Really, you don't have to do this." She added.
However, Diarmuid shook his head, "No. You asked me to come help, and I intend to. Now, point me in the direction of your house." He repeated, causing Arturia to sigh in defeat. She really had no choice now.
As the two walked together, following Arturia's directions, she felt stares from everyone who crossed their path. To the uninformed stranger, the two looked like any other high school couple walking home together, a fact that Arturia knew was not true. She and Diarmuid were not even friends, let alone dating.
Still, she took notice of how his smooth hand wrapped around hers as he led her home and felt strangely satisfied, content to merely be in his presence until they reached her front door. Her home was nothing special, just a regularly sized house with a small front yard and two stories. Just the act of being in front of it with Diarmuid, who seemed to be scrutinizing every inch of the house, made Arturia feel incredibly uncomfortable to be standing there.
"I know, it's just ordinary." Arturia sighed, wanting to crawl into a corner as she effectively embarrassed herself in front of the most popular guy in school.
"No, I think it's really cool. It looks really cozy." Diarmuid remarked with a candid air, although Arturia still assumed that he was doing his best to compliment it.
Arturia shrugged, "Well, it's enough for me and my parents, I guess."
"It must be nice." Diarmuid mused softly, Arturia not sure whether or not he was addressing her or not.
"Yeah, I guess so." She replied, realizing that they were still holding hands and that her mother could come home at any moment.
"Um… your hand." She managed, pointing a finger at their interlocked hands.
"Oh, right." Diarmuid realized what he had been doing and quickly retracted his hand and placed it behind his back.
For a moment, the two just stood outside the front door, not being able to find any words to say.
"Thanks for getting me home." Arturia offered, managing to break the silence.
"Right. So I'll see at school tomorrow then." Diarmuid nodded in response, stepping away from Arturia with the intention of leaving.
"Yeah."Arturia whispered softly to herself, glancing down at her hand.
For a moment, she closed her eyes and could still remember the sensation of Diarmuid's warm and inviting grip that had enveloped her own delicate and icy fingers. As she realized exactly what she was doing, Arturia's eyes snapped open and she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts in her mind.
Diarmuid was really a mystery. Although there was no way that someone as popular as him should even want to talk to her, let alone help walk her home, he had defied her expectations and done so without a second thought.
Yes, Diarmuid was an interesting man, she could tell.
Please, leave any and all thoughts, either in the form of a review or a PM. I would really appreciate anything I get.
Thanks for reading!
