Chapter 2: Lancer

What is a princess? Answer; a tool used by countries for political gain. Every country in Terra that has a system of nobility or royalty uses their women as a means of settling arguments and furthering their own power. The women have no power or freedom when they are born to princesses. All they can do is smile, look pretty, and marry anyone they are told to.

Even when she was a child, Princess Elaine of Koura knew how little freedom she had. Her life was basically that of a caged bird. She has always hated that she was born the second daughter of the king of Koura. Someday, Elaine would be married off for the furthering of Koura's political power. As the saying goes, fate is a cruel mistress. After her older sister, Elena, was married off, Elaine swore she would somehow break free from her fate and find freedom.

However, only a few days ago, her father announced that Elaine would marry the first son of Koura's ally nation, Gouma. She had not even heard about the engagement until the announcement. It was her worst nightmare come true. Elaine had no idea what to do. If she did not do something, she would never know freedom.

Elaine's fiance's name is Silvio Gouma. He has blonde hair, brown eyes, is short, despite being twenty years old, and slim build. No matter the occasion, he always wore the fanciest of clothes. To Elaine, he has always seemed arrogant, snarky, and cowardly. He was the last person she wanted to marry.

Elaine is sixteen years old, has purple eyes, brown hair and stands almost a six inches over Silvio. She is constantly forced to wear make-up, jewelry, and pretty dresses. In her closet, Elaine as hidden some men's clothes she stole from her brother's room. She has sometimes sneaked out of the castle at night through a secret passageway she found dress in those clothes. To Elaine, those were some of the happiest nights of her life. In the village below the castle, she would look at books, play games with some children, walk around, etc.

This night, as Elaine had found herself unable to sleep, she had decided to do something bold. She was going to ask her father cancel the engagement. Quietly, Elaine walked to the throne room. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard voices. It was her father, King Koumei, and Silvio. Elaine decided to eavesdrop on them.

"I hope you understand your obligations, Prince Silvio." The king said. "In this Holy Grail War, you must obtain the grail and prevent a tragedy like what happened in Yuyuki. You will have the aid of this entire country in your mission. In return, I will not only give you my daughter, but I will step down and declare you king."

Elaine had heard of the Holy Grail War. A war where the victor's greatest wish is granted.

Their greatest wish granted …

"Worry not, King Koumei." Silvio replied. "With the Servant you will provide me, along with your country's aid, I swear I will obtain the Holy Grail."

It was then that Elaine made a decision. She would take the grail in order to have her wish granted. With the grail, she would be freed from the fate of being a princess.

The next day, Elaine went down to the Royal Sorcerer's chamber with a bottle of wine. The Royal Sorcerer is wielder of magic who serves Koura's ruling family and advises the country's ruler in all matters concerning magic. He is a chubby old man who has liver spot on his forehead and no hair. From what Elaine has heard, he cannot resist anything alcoholic. Too bad he did not know that she had mixed in a sleeping potion in with the wine. That part of Elaine's plan was pretty easy; the moment the sorcerer saw the bottle, he gulped down the whole bottle faster than Elaine could blink. Once he was asleep, Elaine went to work looking for anything to do with the Holy Grail. This was the hard part. After she searched for a hour, she let out a frustrated sigh.

"How could anyone find anything in this mess?!" Elaine complained.

The room was the very definition of "disorderly." Books were stacked randomly in random places. Empty bottles of wine and barrels of beer were everywhere she looked. Vials and beakers littered the floor. Also, the place stank so bad, Elaine had to breath through her mouth.

Elaine spent another hour before she found a book titled, "Story, Rules and Methods of the Holy Grail War." She was found behind a pile of bottles. The conveniently self-explanatory title. Quickly, Elaine grabbed the book and headed to her room. She was careful not to be seen with the book. There was no telling how Elaine's father and fiance would react to her planning to take part in the Holy Grail War. Once she reached her room, she told her maid that she wanted to be left alone until tomorrow morning. Then, Elaine locked the door to her room and began reading the book she had "borrowed." She was done shortly after nightfall.

"So, I need to draw a magic circle in blood, huh." Elaine said to herself.

Even though the blood did not need to be her own, Elaine had no other source. Using one of her hairpins, she pricked her finger again and again until she had finished the magic circle. According to the book, a Master can summon a Heroic Spirit of one of seven classes. Each class can only be summoned once to one master in each Holy Grail War. Each Servant is chosen based on compatibility with the Master, no matter what class they are from. However, if one possesses something connected to a certain Servant from a class that has not been summoned, they can then summon that one specifically. It was clear which method of summoning Elaine would use.

"Now, what class of Servant should I use?" Elaine pondered. "If I pick one that has already been summoned, I will have to repeat the process. Meaning I would have to draw a whole new magic circle. That would be a pain."

Elaine did not want a handsome prince-like character who would act all charming and say things like, "Worry not, I will protect you." She really could not stand those types, so Elaine decided on the Berserker class. This particular class is known for its raw power and insane nature. Seemed like a perfect fit for her, because Elaine wanted to an ally that would crush the other Servants for her. Not someone who would think her incapable of fighting, or of doing anything alone, just because of the fact she is a woman. The classes that would most likely give her a Servant like that are Saber, Archer, and Lancer.

"Alright, time to get started," Elaine said with a smirk.

She began the incantation. "Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill your mind, body and soul with nothing but your heart's truest desire. Come forth, so that we may slay our enemies and each obtain our greatest dream. Now, I order you, appear before me!"

There was a loud crackling noise and black smoke began rising from the circle. The smoke quickly became so thick that Elaine could not see inside the circle. Then, the smoke disappeared in an instant. Now standing within the circle was a man with long-purple hair, a scar across his left cheek, muscular body, and sharp gaze. In his hands, he held an iron spear with a red cloth tied to it just beneath the blade. His clothing consisted of a black iron chest plate and red pants. His feet were bare and his arms were completely exposed.

Also, a symbol appeared on the back of Elaine's right hand, like a tattoo. It look like two spears colliding in front of a circular shield.

"I, Isao Kachidoki, Servant of the Lancer class, ask you," he said. "Are you my master?"

"Wait a second, did you say you are of the Lancer class?" Elaine asked.

"Yes, I am a Lancer class Servant." Isao answered. "You did summon me, did you not?"

"Well, ya, I summoned you, but I was trying to summon a Berserker." Elaine replied.

Unable to understand what she had done wrong, Elaine looked to the book. Then, she realized that the Berserker symbol had a stain on it which made it look very similar with the Lancer symbol. This was quite frustrating.

"Hey, uh, Isao, sir." Elaine said. "I did not mean to summon you. Sorry, but could you just return to your place in the afterlife so I can summon a Berserker."

Isao was not listening to her. He was studying her room. From what he saw, Isao deduced this girl was of a noble, or perhaps even royal, family. Her room had two exquisite portraits, a finely crafted desk, a large bed, and a balcony. Isao sighed in annoyance.

"Hey, are you listening to me!?" Elaine shouted.

"I agree that this is clearly a mistake." Isao replied "I bet you mess up the summoning ritual, because that is the only way you could have summoned me. I detest those of wealth and nobility. There is no way that we are compatable."

"Oh, good, then you will have no problem returning to your previous realm of existence." Elaine said. "Wait, did you just insult me?!"

"I am afraid that I can not return to the Hall of Heroes, the realm in which all Heroic Spirits dwell." Isao replied. "A Servant, once summoned, can only be returned through death, and if I die, then you will have no means of participating in the Holy Grail War."

"Damn it!" Elaine screamed. "I can't believe because of one stupid mistake, I am stuck with this jerk! How can this be?!"

Isao sighed again. "Tell me, why is a privileged little girl like yourself taking part in the Holy Grail War? What could you possibly have to wish for? From what I can tell from your room, you live a life many other girls would kill for."

"Shut up!" Elaine shouted. "You don't know the first thing about me! You think I want this life?! A life where I am treated like an infant, constantly told what to do and never able to make my own choices?! A life where I cannot even choose who I marry?! No one in their right mind would want this life! I am taking part in this Holy Grail War so I can escape my fate!"

For a brief moment, Elaine thought she saw a look of shock and sorrow on Isao's face. However, it lasted but a moment, so she assumed she had imagined it.

Suddenly, there was a pounding at Elaine's door. When she failed to answer, the door was broken down by Imperial guards that were on the other side. All of them were dressed in the traditional red armor that was worn by Koura's soldier. About five of them quickly entered her room, and she could see more outside. One of the maids must have heard her shouting or the crackling noise from the summoning ritual, then sent for the guards.

"You!" One of the guards pointed his sword Isao. "Step away from the princess!"

Oh, no! Elaine thought. It is all over now. Father will surely punish me for this. I will never be able to taste freedom. I will forever be a prisoner to my fate!

As one of the guards hurried to her, Isao sprang into action. He jumped and kicked that guard so hard that actually went through the brick wall behind him. The other guards charged at him, but he deflected their attacks with his spear, then counterattacked with his legs. Once the first five were unconscious, more began to enter the room. However, they were now more cautious of Isao. Suddenly, he grabbed Elaine by her waist, then dropped his spear to the floor. At first, the guards were confused, but decided to attack now that their opponent was unarmed. Unfortunately, they did not know of Isao's power. His spear flew up from the floor and disarmed all of the guards before they could even blink. Then, the spear destroyed the door to the balcony. It was then that Isao picked up Elaine and ran towards the balcony.

What happened next made everyone's hearts skip a beat; and that includes Elaine. Isao jumped off the balcony. Elaine shut her eyes and screamed for a moment, before realizing that she did not feel as though she was falling. Once Elaine opened her eyes, she saw that they were riding Isao's spear like a surfboard. She looked back at Koura's Royal Palace, and she saw how beautiful it and the town below looked from this perspective. The castle's outward appearance was made entirely of gray stone with lanterns and torches light by every window. In the town below, Elaine saw houses, carriages and people. However, they were so small they looked like little insects to her. It was truly beautiful. Then, she looked up at the moon that shined bright as ever and surrounded by countless stars. Being so high in the sky, made them seem even more wondrous.

"Hey, it just occurred to me, I never got your name." Isao said.

"Elaine," she said with a kind smile. "I am Elaine."