This chapter is kind of violent and suggestive, but it shouldn't be anything shocking. I'm enjoying writing a really angry version of Artoria. As always, please review!
Chapter 2: A King's Pain
"Did you see, the young Master has returned!" revealed Kisa, the young maid having heard many tales of the tragic story. Her senior, only a year or two older, nodded slowly in response, looking worried as always.
"But what happened to his face? And did you see Master Zouken's expression? What could make -him- happy?" she replied, causing Kisa to look quizzically at the ceiling.
The two maids walked near the room that was the Master's private study, only sparing a glance to the forbidden room. Kisa gasped, pointing at the smoke wafting slowly from beneath the door. She grabbed Maria's arm.
"Is that… a fire? Fire! We need to alert the household!" she panicked, but Maria shook her head.
"I don't smell anything burning. Look, it's dissipating, and we should not be this close. Master Zouken is practicing magic, and our souls are better if we do not witness his vile practices. Come, let us check on Mistress Sakura."
Before Kisa could reply, the door banged open, flying off its hinges and towards them. Maria pulled her junior out of the way just in time, the two trembling in shock. They looked at the smoke, a figure in armour taking great strides out and dragging something behind them.
Berserker dumped Kariya on the floor in front of her, arms folded. The two maids before her, probably gossiping about something as they passed, jumped at her presence. They cowered in fear; perhaps they thought the old bastard was going to punish them. How it sickened her to find yet another old man who needed to surround himself with younger women.
"Stand to attention!" she cried, drawing her sword to add weight to her words. They fell in line, standing prim and proper before the Servant. Berserker nodded in satisfaction, enjoying the fear she'd removed from her own servants at court. They had nothing to fear from her; and that was the problem.
"Zouken Matou is dead. This is your new master, Kariya Matou, and he requires some proper clothes. You serve him now, and his first decree is dinner. Everything you have. I expect you to have that, and him, at the dining room in thirty minutes."
Kariya trembled as the maids came to him, gentle hands aiding his wounded body. "Kisa, was it?" he asked weakly, and the maid nodded. "Maria will be enough. Please, find Sakura and bring her to my room, then inform the servants of my Servant's demands."
"Yes, Master Kariya" bowed the servant, walking off with a brisk step. The Magus allowed her to guide him, even though he tried not to put too much weight on the woman's body. Nothing was said until they had left the armoured Servants sight, and were close to Kariya's bedroom. Childhood memories flooded into the Magus' mind and he wept for a few moments.
"Master Kariya, may I speak?" asked Maria as she opened the door for him. The young man blinked as if coming out of a trance, and nodded, shuffling towards his bed. "Who… was that?"
"My Servant. You are to call her Berserker. Anything else is too complex for me to explain now. Zouken is dead, and we should be happier for it." He sat up on the bed, getting his energy back. "You know the circumstances behind Sakura's stay here?"
"Yes, sir. Master Zouken charged me with being her caretaker. She has been given to him to be raised as a mage, just like he planned for you. She was originally from the Tohsaka family."
"That will not happen now. Father was a monster, and would have used her for his own gains. She is to be treated like an ordinary girl now, and you will never again mention that bastard's name in our presence any more. Is that understood? snapped Kariya, causing Maria to flinch. A horrified look crossed his face suddenly at her tears. "I'm sorry, I don't mean-
"No no, Master Kariya I am… so happy. That poor girl…" wept the young woman, and Kariya embraced her. Together they shared in the grim happiness of Zouken Matou's demise.
Every servant had been gathered in the dining hall, most helping prepare the feast that had been laid out on the table. Sitting at the head, Berserker shovelled food towards her stomach, forcing it down her throat.
"Mm! This is good, and so is that. So many different styles, so much food. I could feed my Kingdom for decades on this" muttered Artoria between mouthfuls. Always giving up her food, spreading her wealth, it felt so good to be selfish, to have everything for herself. "More wine!" she roared, a terrified Kisa rushing forwards to pour some into her glass.
The Servant backhanded the maid, instead grabbing the jug and gulping it down. The maid cried out, echoed by Maria who moved in to help the the crying girl. Artoria turned her head to look, laughing at the blood that trickled from Kisa's broken nose.
She fixed her hungry eyes on the two serving girls, Maria's disgusted glare making the Servant rejoice inside. Yes, this is who she was, who she was meant to be. "See how a King should act, servants!" she laughed, returning to the food. "Hungry. So hungry."
She caught Kariya's look of disapproval and glared at him. "Don't blame me for this now, Kariya. Your Mana reserves are not nearly enough to support my full strength, so I must find sustenance some other way. We could fuck, but you wouldn't last five minutes."
Kariya flinched when she spoke to him, blushing and looking away at her words. "What? Is my eunuch embarrassed? Or maybe you're hungry? She ripped a chicken leg off her roast and threw it on the floor. "Come. Eat it."
"What? No!
"You would dare refuse my magnanimous offer? Do you know how many serfs would do anything to just sit with the King for a meal. Now come and eat. You will get nothing else but the scraps off my table!"
"Then I'll starve, and we'll die together" spat Kariya, staring his Servant directly in the eyes. "Sakura is safe; Zouken is dead. I've done what I wanted."
Her gauntlets slammed down on the table, making everyone jump. "Get out. Aren't you supposed to be preparing dessert? You, go and order some of this fried food the Grail has told me."
"Y, y, yes, m'Lord." Trembling, another maid left the room along with the injured one. Kariya saw she was breathing normally, but the dried blood struck home how bad the situation had gotten. When the rest had filed out, Artoria stood up, walking around the table to stare down at Kariya with another leg. He held his ground, defiantly matching her gaze. All of that went when she picked him up, bringing their faces closer.
"You brought me to this world. That makes this YOUR RESPONSIBILITY! I have been given a second chance at life; the only thing I ever wanted, yet YOU would decide to just GIVE UP? I AM A SERVANT IN NAME ONLY; YOU ARE ONLY MY MASTER BY CHANCE."
"I'm not going to be your servant or slave. I am your Master, whether you like it or not. I fed you, I will clothe you and help you, but I will not bow to you. I am not a dog or a eunuch; I am Kariya Matou!"
"GOOD!" She pushed him down, a satisfied smile on her face that was close to being a leer. "You are weak in body, but strong in spirit." She flicked his forehead, ignoring the cry of pain. "Stop THINKING about Sakura. The innocence of a child will weaken you in the coming battle!"
She bent down, presenting her bosom to the irate Master. He turned away a minute too late, the lust evident in his eyes. "What's wrong? What is there to be ashamed of? Being unfaithful to a woman whose NOT EVEN YOURS?!" laughed Artoria cruelly, flicking away a lock of hair.
"Imagine her like this, or maybe this" whispered the Servant, straddling him and lifting her head up. "Oh, Kariya, take me away. My Husband is bad to me and our children miss you so much." This was in a sing-song voice, and ended with a hollow laugh that turned Kariya sheet white. He pushed her off him and scrambled to his feet, panting heavily.
Chuckling on the floor, the knight looked up into the traumatised eyes of her master. "That's it. That's what you need. You don't love her, you just want her, so bad you can't stop thinking of her. Those kids? They should be YOURS! Instead she loves another, and you can't stand it" spat Artoria, getting to her feet.
Gripping the hilt of Excalibur, the wind around it that constituted Invisible Air shrouded his eyes in darkness, Kariya panicking yet again.
Two delicate hands ran up his legs slowly, moving up to his chest and framing his face. A woman's heavy breathing, a feminine presence, made Kariya whimper, because the first image he imagined was Aoi doing this to him.
And she was naked.
"No, stop it" whimpered the Magus, moaning as the phantom spoke with her voice. "With the grail, I can be yours. Tokiomi will die by your hands, and I will receive your heroic return. Kariya, you are the only man for me."
A silken hand stroked his lips, and Kariya ran with a shrill scream. He couldn't see where he was going, but he knew he had to get away from the lurid fantasies. His sight returned, seeing the fiery eyes of Artoria as she stood in front of him.
She tripped him, and jumped on his back with an evil grin. "Admit it. Admit you want her. You want to fuck her, don't you?"
"Yes! OK? I WANT her to be MINE. She SHOULD BE MINE!"
"YOU WANT TO FUCK HER, DON'T YOU?"
"YES! But she loves Tokiomi. She loves him, she has children with him. She will NEVER LOVE ME" shouted Kariya, weeping into the carpet. Shuddering, he spoke slowly; "I thought I could be happy for her, but… but I love her. If I hadn't run away, if I had fought harder, then maybe, maybe Sakura and Rin would call me, papa."
"How does it feel to be left with nothing? To be forsaken by the ones you help? Now, you know my pain" whispered his Servant, anger imbuing every word that touched his ear. He stopped struggling, just given himself to her voice.
"Forget the past; we can change the past. You can be their, papa." She said the last part in a little girl's voice, and Kariya howled in pain.
"FINE! OK? FINE!"
She got off him, staring at the mess of emotions that was her master. "Now get up. If you want food, then order me to give you some, or get the servants to do so. Just because you fear me doesn't mean you should be a little bitch about it."
"So you see me as an equal now?"
"We are not equals; you wanted to be my vassal. You will do what I say and advise me on important matters. Now come, food awaits, and then battle."
She walked back to the dining room.
"BURGERS? YOU BRING ME BURGERS?! YOU SHALL BE REWARDED!" boomed Artoria's voice, the sounds of her eating resuming. Picking himself up, Kariya walked back, stopping outside the doorway and gesturing to Maria. The maid bowed slightly as she saw him, but he waved it away.
"How is Kisa? Is she OK?"
"Yes, it was just her nose. She's shaken more than anything."
"I'm glad. I will see her later. Where, where is Sakura? I asked Kisa to bring her to me but-
"Ah, I meant to tell you about that, Master, since Kisa passed the task to me. It's not good; she won't come out of her room. She wants to see you first. I think she heard the shouting."
"Fair. Come with me, won't you?"
She just supported him as a response, and they headed off to meet his darling Sakura.
I always have way too much fun writing stories like this. I originally thought she should poke his eyes so he was blind but I think with gauntlets that would actually blind him permanently. It's longer than the first, but I thought it needed a bit more than just always Artoria and Kariya. I don't have any plans to ship these two, but I haven't written any later chapters.
Thanks for reading, please review!