Author's note:

Here comes the second chapter.

Wow, 37 reviews, 180 favorites and 232 follows for the first chapter. I'm very happy and grateful for your support. It really motivated me to continue writing.

Also, I'm sorry for any mistake I've made. I've corrected the shower issue and any misspelled word that was pointed out by my reviewers. I'm also sorry for the grammar mistakes. I've done my best to weed them out but Words and my English skill can only help that much. I need to find a beta soon.

Well, that's all for now. Please enjoy.

"No way…" Shirou murmured between short breaths as he raced down the candle lit hallway. Taking a quick glance back, he saw that his pursuers had been cut off. That didn't mean he could relax though. Shirou didn't know how many of them were there, but every time he thought that he had escaped, more of them instantly appeared and the chase continued.

Damn it, there they are, the boy silently cursed as he saw three others of his pursuers jumped out at the end of the hallway, intercepting his path. Shirou wasted no time though. He took the nearest right turn and kept running. And the worst part of it is that I can't harm them at all.

While being chased, Shirou noticed that something was out of ordinary. They had let him run. The groups that blocked his paths didn't seem too interested in chasing him either. But instead, just more and more of them showed up and he didn't know how they did it, but the leader's group that had been chasing him around always seemed to be able to catch up with him while it was normally impossible for them to do so. To the boy's horror, he had a faint feeling that they had just been playing around with him.

In the end, it took Shirou several more minutes to realize what his pursuers really wanted. After taking another right turn to avoid the fourteenth intercepting group, he found himself facing a dead end with the only way out was to turn around.

However, even that option wasn't available now. Just as he turned on his heel, the leader's group had arrived, blocking his only hope of escaping. It seemed like the rest of them had regrouped as well.

How many of them are there? Shirou stared at them with eyes widened in horror. One hundred? Maybe even more than that…

"Well, well, Sir Emiya," the leader said sweetly. "It looks like the fun is over. You've been cornered."

"You've been planning this from the start, haven't you?" He grunted accusingly.

"Indeed. You may be much stronger and faster than us. But we have number. And certainly, we know this place much more than you do. Now surrender."

Taking it as an order, Shirou's pursuers slowly approached him; each of them was having a sadistic gleam in their eyes. He shivered slightly at the sight as cold sweats started breaking out on his forehead.

I blame you for this, Master, gritting his teeth, Shirou desperately looking around, trying to find a way to escape the fate that was awaiting him if he let himself get caught.

Meanwhile, said Master was sitting in her room, enjoying a cup of tea with her mother. Their tea time was a custom that the two of them had shared with each other for a long time. Those 'bonding' times between mother and child as Marianne liked to call them.

"The castle sure is lively today, don't you agree?" The former queen asked in an even tone, but a small smile could be seen tugging the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, it is, mother," Henrietta replied with an amused smile of her own.

"Are you sure it's fine for the maids to be running around like that?" Marianne cast a glance at her daughter after sipping on her tea. "And to involve Emiya as well…"

"They don't have to prepare our dinner for about another hour or so, so I've given my permission to the Head Maid. Besides, I haven't seen them having that much fun for a long time."

"Indeed. It wasn't an everyday thing for a male commoner that wasn't a guard on duty to appear inside the castle. Not to mention that you've specifically ordered them to force dress him by any means necessary…"

"That's because Shirou refused to wear the proper outfit for a guard when I asked him personally, mother," Henrietta retorted. "Saying how it would look ridiculous on him and what not. I think I heard him murmured that the outfit itself is ridiculous."

"And yet from the look on your face, I can't say that you mind," Marianne smirked slightly.

"A little insulting of him to say that, I have to admit," the princess sipped on her tea and sighed. "But he does have a point. I also feel that his current outfit suits him better than ours. But it was worth it for the maids to have fun chasing their new dress-up doll for awhile. That serves as his punishment as well."

She then grinned; remembering the outfit Shirou had worn (and was still wearing). It was some kind of long sleeved black and white coat and matching trousers, made from a material that she hadn't seen before. In her eyes, it strangely suited Shirou and certainly it allowed him to move more freely than Tristain's guard armor. However, that suit offered next to none protection as Henrietta saw it. Not to mention it seemed to lean toward the casual side.

"Still, you should order him to wear something more appropriate for a royal guard. Or at least something that might benefit him in a fight," Marianne spoke up and Henrietta agreed, since that was also what she had in mind.

"I'll have a talk with him later, after the maids had done with him," the princess answered and her mother chuckled. "But to be honest, I'm a bit relieved that he refused my order. Though it was more of a request than an actual order."

"Oh?" Marianne raised an eyebrow. "Why is that, dear?"

"He's a human, mother," Henrietta replied. "A Noble at that. It wouldn't be right if I were to force him into submission against his will. That's why I was a bit startled after hearing him called me 'Master' right after finishing our contract. I think it would be fine with an animal since it might be dangerous. But a human being…"

"May be even more so," her mother finished the sentence, shaking her head. "Of course you're the Crown Princess now, so your word is final. But take this little advice from your mother."

"I'm grateful, mother. And I promise I will be careful around Shirou. But somehow I think I can trust him. If he wanted to harm me, then yesterday was the perfect chance," she smiled. Especially when it seemed like he comes after my prayer. I can't prove it, but somehow, my mind keeps telling me that it's the right explanation…

"That wasn't what I mean by 'dangerous', Henrietta," Marianne sighed. "You have to be aware of your position. You're a royal princess; that means you have political power and wealth. Not to mention you're very beautiful," she then paused a little and looked at her daughter with a proud smile. "Those are what a cunning man will aim for, rather than your life."

"If worst comes to worst, I'll be able to defend myself, mother. I'm quite powerful, as you've already known. At least I think I can keep him away long enough should the need arise. Besides, his power may just be what I need now…"

"What do you intend to do with Emiya? Send him to Albion to Wales' aid?"

"That was my original intention," Henrietta sipped on her tea again. Somehow the discussion had taken a serious turn. "But now I don't think it's such a good idea anymore. As much as I'm worried for Wales, I have responsibility for Shirou and my people. If I were to send him to Albion, his sudden absence would raise unwanted questions. Also, no matter how powerful Shirou is, he is just one man. I doubt that it would be able to turn the table."

The princess then closed her eyes tightly for a moment. As reasonable as they sounded, those words were cutting her deep inside. She loved Wales and was so worried for his well being. But Henrietta also knew that her prince wouldn't approve the action of recklessly sending her familiar to the battlefield without any guarantee of succeed, not to mention damaging her own reputation in the progress.

I'm sorry, dear, she vowed silently. Just hold on a little longer, I'll find a way to help you as soon as possible…

"Are you alright?" Marianne, no doubt sensed her daughter's troubled feelings, reached out and took Henrietta's hand in her own.

"I'm fine. Thank you, mother," the princess opened her eyes and gave her mother a smile. "Anyway, for the time being, I think Shirou's power will be greatly needed here. In order to help Albion, we will have to strengthen our military and Council first. From what I gathered, there're many Nobles within our rank that were corrupted, abusing their power over the commoners and even accepting bribe or taking part in shady business. But then, without solid evidence, my hands are tied, once again, just like father's case," she paused. Although it had been quite some time since the King's death, its mentioning still made her heart ache and tear welled up in her eyes.

"I'll have him and Agnes gathering evidences for me for the time being," Henrietta concluded after calming down. "We will discuss this together after I found out more about Shirou's true potential. With Earth magic of that level, surely it wouldn't stop at just creating swords. And I'm going to use that to my advantage."

"A wise course of action," Marianne commented. "But I still say that it's risky to let a stranger take part in that plan of yours."

"I have no choice, mother," Henrietta sighed. "Agnes is the only one I can trust in this castle beside you. And Shirou is my familiar, so I have to wager on him. We don't have time to hesitate now that a door had been opened for us with his arrival. The longer we wait, the direr the situation becomes."

"I hate to agree to that, but you're right," the former queen sighed heavily. "I just hope that you chose the right people to place your trust."

"I…" She was about to answer, but right at that moment, there were other voices on the other side of the door.

"Emiya, oh Brimir, what happened to you?" Henrietta heard one of the guard asked in astonishment.

"You can't go in there. Your Highness has ordered us not to accept any visitor," the second guard said firmly. She then hesitated a little before adding. "But really, why are you looking like that?"

"Maids…" was the murmured answer from Shirou that no doubt confused the two. Henrietta and Marianne on the other hand, just looked at each other and giggled lightly. The princess then walked toward and opened the door. In front of her standing two wide eyed guards, together with a pitiful looking Shirou. His hair and clothes were a mess. Cold sweats covered his face and he was breathing wildly just like he had just finished a marathon. Which in fact, he had.

Clearing her throat to cover up the laughter that was threatening to escape, Henrietta then asked, feigning surprise. "Shirou? What happened to you?"

"You…" He stuttered, but finally sighed in resignation. "Never mind. I've never realized that you were such a petty person, Master. But please don't comment on that. Just let me in before the maids found me."

"So you agree to wear the outfit that I requested?"

"No freaking way, Master," he answered flatly, making the two guards' eyes widened even more in shock at the way he speak to the princess.

"Watch your language, Emiya," from inside the room, Marianne stepped out and scolded him. "I don't know how you normally speak. But please restrain from using such word around my daughter."

"As long as she stopped unleashing the maids on me, madam," Shirou bowed a little. "And I have good reason to prefer my outfit over the armor, Master," he turned to Henrietta. "You just never let me explain myself."

"You mean beside its appearance isn't up to your liking?" The princess raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Well, come in then," Henrietta eyed him a little before saying. She then turned to her mother. "I'm sorry, mother. I think we have to end our bonding time early today."

"It's alright," Marianne replied with a smile. "You need to bond with your familiar as well. And certainly there're many other important things to do than chatting over a cup of tea."

"Spending time with you is just as important as any other, mother."

"I understand, dear," the former queen waved her hand with a smile. "So same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," Henrietta nodded. Her mother then turned away and left.

"You two please return to your duty. And absolutely no visitor this time. Call me when it's dinner time," she told the guards before closing the door and walked back inside. There were many things that she wanted to ask Shirou now that his little chase with the maids was over.

"So for the reason I prefer my outfit," Shirou began his explanation after he and Henrietta had sat down at her table. "It's because your armor restricted my movement. If it's protection that you're worrying about, then don't. With my magecraft, I can strengthen my clothes to stop attacks from mundane weapons just like any armor. Besides…" He then stood up and started rolling up one side of his trousers, revealing an array of Runes on the inside.

"Those Runes, when activated will give me an instant boost to my speed for a brief moment, enough to surprise any opponent. And I don't want to go through the progress of engraving them all over again on a set of metal armor," he explained. That array was used by Rin. According to the prodigy magus, it was those Runes that saved her life on her first encounter with Lancer Cu Chulainn. Shirou figured that having a burst of speed beyond his reinforcement level was always an advantage.

Besides those Runes, during his time at the Clock Tower, Shirou had learned a lot of others as well. But since he'd already had his 'Reinforcement', there was no use to engrave strengthening Runes on his clothes. Therefore, he only used those in making bounded fields, which was also one of the things that he could do quite well now.

"I see," Henrietta nodded. "But still, can I suggest something more appropriate? You can't dress like that all the time as my personal guard. And I think something more… fitting will be more suited in a fight than those clothes."

"I have a set of battle outfit, back home that is," Shirou sighed. He had made an imitation of Archer's black armor using a different material. However, it was currently lying inside his trunk back at the Clock Tower at the moment. "But I think I can make one more if I have the necessary materials."

"What do you need then? I can order our craftsmen to make it for you."

"Thank you, Master. But I prefer to do it myself," he smiled. It would take much less time to craft the set using his 'Alteration' rather than wait for the others to do the same. "As for the things I need, I can give you a list later. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess it is," Henrietta nodded after pondering for a moment. "Let's move on then. I've wanted to ask you since yesterday. Why did you suddenly address me as 'Master' instead of 'Your Highness' after our contract? Are you sure the mind controlling isn't affecting you?"

"I'm sure," Shirou answered, looking straight into her eyes. "I address you as 'Master' because…well, you're my master. Of course, there isn't any obligation regarding such thing. I just wanted to honor…an old friend. I can call you 'Your Highness' or even your name. Just so you know I'm not bound by the side effect of the contract."

"Then I think it's fine to address me the way you did before our contract," Henrietta said, sighing. "I'm not really comfortable with the whole 'Master' title. Especially when you use it in front of the others."

"As you wish, Your Highness," Shirou nodded. "On that note, I've got something bugging me too."

"What is it, Shirou?"

"Right, yesterday I was too confused to really realize it. But didn't you say that you were worried because you think I was a Noble?"

"I said it would raise unwanted troubles," Henrietta corrected. "What about it?"

"Then what if I was really just a commoner? Would you just go ahead and seal the contract without giving it any thought at all?"

As if seeing where Shirou wanted to go with his questions, the princess smiled sweetly before standing up with him.

"Shirou," she said softly. "Commoner or Noble; we're still human. I still wouldn't be able to have a goodnight sleep knowing that I'd just enslaved a human being against his will. That law was only there to prevent the Nobles from taking advantage of another Noble. Besides, I don't think that any Noble would take a commoner as their familiar."

"What a comforting consolation," Shirou snorted humorlessly, feeling the anger building up within him. "In the end it was only because you Nobles looked down on the commoners. And by the way the law is phased; it appeared that whoever wrote that line didn't care about the commoner's rights and freedom at all, since it's still fine to bend the mind of the commoners against their will."

What an unfair world. It seemed like the wedge between social classes here was deeper than he thought. By no mean it was alright to mess with a person's mind and enslave him. Of course, as far as Shirou knew, nothing like that had ever happened. But still, in theory, that was accepted by the law, one that completely disregarded the rights of those who were considered lesser beings, just because they couldn't use magic.

"Shirou…" Henrietta hesitated.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I know you're not like that," Shirou assured her. "The way you trust Agnes is enough to prove it. And I'm not saying that all Nobles are like that either. But to have that kind of people sitting at the top and writing the laws? I don't think I can accept that," by now, he could feel his anger was slipping out with his words, as his voice started trembling. However, Shirou knew that it was unfair to direct that anger toward Henrietta, so he tried his best to restrain it. After all, the girl had done nothing wrong.

"You know what, Shirou. I agree," the princess said solemnly while looking deep into his eyes. "There're way too many unworthy and corrupted Nobles sitting in powerful positions within our Council. Let them be and they will only cause harm to our country and people."

"Then why not punish them?"

"It's not that simple," Henrietta shook her head sadly. "They're very cunning and slippery. The evidences of their wrong doings, if any still exist, were hidden very well. And I can't do anything without getting my hands on those. If only there's a way to bring those corrupted bastards to light…"

Shirou's eyes widened in shock at the normally graceful princess's choice of word. He then chuckled loudly, earning a shy smile from Henrietta.

"I'm sorry, it seems like Agnes has been rubbing off on me," she murmured. Her cheeks reddened a little as she looked away bashfully. And Shirou couldn't help but notice that she looked even more beautiful and cute that way. He found himself staring for several seconds before snapping out of it.

"I don't mind that. But I can't say the same for your mother," he returned her smile. "You're right though. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I knew you would ask, Shirou," the princess beamed up at his offer. "I've been hoping that you could somehow help me with dealing punishment to…to those bastards."

Shirou grinned as Henrietta chuckled lightly, flushing again. He was glad to see that his Master still had a humor and relaxing side to her as well. Obviously, his chase with the maids earlier was another indicator to that statement.

It's good for her, Shirou thought. I was worried that she would be too caught up in her problems and forget to have fun. But it looks like I was wrong.

"But before that," she continued after awhile. "I'll need to know more about your abilities so we can make plans accordingly. I'm sure that creating swords isn't the only thing you can do, right?"

"Of course not, Your Highness," Shirou shook his head. "Here, please sit down and let me show you more. By the way, do you want some more tea?"

"It's delicious," Henrietta exclaimed excitedly after taking a sip of the tea made by Shirou. "You're really good at this, Shirou."

"It's one of my abilities in case you need to take note of," the boy smiled brightly. "That and cooking, or any house chore in general."

"You're kidding," the princess's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would a Noble…"

"Again, I'm not a Noble, Your Highness," Shirou reminded her. "At least not at where I came from. I used to live by myself when I was a kid, so it's natural for me to have to cook and do chores. Apparently I've taken a liking to it."

"Where're your parents…?"

"Dead," Shirou simply shrugged. "They died in a fire when I was about five years old. I was adopted soon after but my adoptive father also passed away not long after that."

"Oh…I'm sorry, Shirou. I didn't mean to…" Henrietta brought her hands up to cover her gasp as she looked at him apologetically.

It was so insensitive of me. Why else a kid would have to live by himself? She thought, couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy in front of her. The princess herself knew the pain of losing a parent. She was still much luckier to have her mother, while her familiar had lost both of his parents, then even his adoptive one. And he still so young back then. Not that he was old now though.

"Don't worry about it," he waved his hand. "It happened a long time ago."

Henrietta stared at him for a moment, but didn't say anything as she knew better than pursuing the subject. She then asked.

"So you're going to show me your other abilities?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Shirou nodded and emptied his tea before handing her his cup. She looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was doing. "As I've told you, I have an ability that I can use to strengthen my clothes called 'Reinforcement'. You've probably figured out what it does based on its name. Here, try to smash this cup on the floor."

Hesitating but couldn't deny that she was also feeling excited, Henrietta reached out, taking the cup in her hand. She then cast an uncertain look at her familiar. After receiving his encouraging nod, she raised her arm and threw down the cup as hard as she could. To her surprise, it wasn't the shattering noise like she was expecting. Instead, a loud dry 'clang' could be heard, and the cup remained intact without even a dent.

"Wow," Henrietta exclaimed. "If it is what I think it is, then this is a very useful spell you have there, Shirou."

"Indeed," Shirou nodded with a smile. "It strengthens its targets. Not just harden them, mind you. For example, if I were to use it on a sword, said sword would become sharper as well. And If used on a human body…"

"Then that person's attributes will raise," the princess nodded in awe. Of course, in her world, there were strengthening Runes. But their effects weren't as flexible as Shirou's 'Reinforcement', not to mention the need of engraving complex Runes arrays before it can be used. Compared to Shirou's instant casting without even her noticing, it was clear which one was the better. "It's a very useful spell to have," she told him with a smile.

"It is, isn't it?" Shirou, on the other hand, replied with a crooked grin. "Unfortunately, 'Reinforcement is a double edged sword," he said while bending down to pick up the cup. "It works by having the caster transfers his prana, or magical energy, into the target, strengthening it. However, each object only has a certain limit on how much it can be reinforced. It can't accept any more prana once that limit is reached."

"What happen if the caster forces it to?" Henrietta asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

"Well, here," her familiar simply shrugged, flicking his head toward the cup in his hand. And just a second later, the cup shattered and exploded into many small pieces, causing Henrietta to yelped in shock and surprise.

"Imagine that happening to a human's body," he said before noticing the look on her face. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Especially right before the meal…"

"No, it's alright," Henrietta murmured with wide eyes, trying to push away the gory image of an exploding human body. She then looked at Shirou and asked gravely. "And you've been using that dangerous spell? I knew you've used it on your body too. You wouldn't give that example otherwise…"

"That's right, Your Highness," Shirou smiled at her. "Most of the magi from my world considered it too risky to even attempt…"

"And I can't say they're wrong."

"Right. But there's another thing you need to know about your familiar. I'm a unique mage. Rated by our own standards I'm just a third rate one, for my element doesn't allow me to perform spells effectively except for a few that normally considered useless by the others. That's why I spent all of my time and attention at mastering them."

"What do you mean by that, Shirou?" Henrietta asked. "Here in our world, Earth magic is one of the most widely used."

"Earth?" To her surprise, Shirou raised an eyebrow. "No, I think you've mistaken, Your Highness. My element isn't Earth. It's 'Sword'."

"Sword?" She repeated after him, totally confused.

"I take it also is one of the irregular here," he said while gathering the broken pieces of the cup.

"It doesn't even exist here," Henrietta murmured, surprised, but no doubt found the revelation to be very interesting. A whole new magic system had been opened In front of her, brought by her familiar. And while the princess wasn't certain if she could learn to use it or not, she still wanted to know everything possible about it. After all, in her mind, knowledge was power.

"You never know," Shirou chuckled. "Anyway, it took me a lot of trials and errors to figure out my body's limit. Through the use of another skill of mine - 'Structure Analysis' as you can call it; I've been able to inspect my own body and experiment on it. A painful progress, I have to admit. But the result is totally worth it."

The princess froze in place hearing her familiar's explanation. Is he insane? She thought. It was unthinkable for anyone to do what the boy had done. Even some of my most driven scholars won't go to such extend, risking their own lives like that…

However, before Henrietta was able to voice her question, they were interrupted by some knocks on the door, informing them that it was dinner time. With a sigh, she turned back to Shirou.

"I'm sorry, but I think we have to stop here. Can you please escort me to the dining hall?"

"Absolutely, Your Highness. We can continue this tomorrow," Shirou nodded with a gentle smile. The two of them then left Henrietta's room.

The princess felt no appetite at the moment though. Her head was filled with questions about Shirou. If anything, his explanation only confused her more. What kind of person was he? Henrietta trusted that he was a good person, seeing his strong disapproval of manipulating the commoners' minds. But she also knew that there were more to her familiar than he let on. He didn't seem to shy away from her questions though. So maybe once they had the chance to talk more…

On the other hand, that 'magecraft' thing Shirou was using, especially the 'Reinforcement' spell, while it was quite useful, it was also appeared to be highly dangerous. Remember what happened to the cup sent a shiver down the princess's spine. Shirou was confident about his ability. But what if he messed up somehow in the future? There was no guarantee that he wouldn't after all. And Henrietta would hate it if her familiar injured, or even killed himself using such dangerous art, especially when he was on a task assigned by her. She summoned him here after all, so it was her responsibility to see to his well being as much as possible.

Should I ask him to restrict its use? She wondered. According to Shirou, he had done experiments on his own body, so he had to have a grasp, even vague, about his own limit. She didn't think he would argue if she told him not to approach that line too closely if he could help it.

Well I guess I'll have to talk with him tomorrow then, Henrietta sighed heavily before realizing that she wasn't alone. Looking behind, she noticed Shirou and two of Agnes's guards were looking at her with concern. Feeling her cheeks heated up a little, the princess gave them a reassuring smile before quickening her pace. Marianne didn't like it when she was late for meal times, and Henrietta knew better than to upset her mother. However, there was still a final question that she wanted to ask her familiar.

"Shirou," turning back once again, Henrietta asked. "How did you escape the maids earlier?"

"Please spare my dignity," Shirou grimaced and refused to answer, making her and the two guards next to him giggled at his embarrassment.

After dinner, Shirou found himself wandering the castle's exterior, applying his 'Structure Analysis' here and there. He had determined to figure out and remember the place's lay out as much as possible after the chase with the maids. Normally, it would take weeks for him to completely scan the whole area. But with Henrietta's prana supply, he could keep on doing so without having to rest for a long time.

It was rather late, and the princess had returned to her room after dinner. Since servants and familiars weren't allowed to eat with their Master, Shirou had to stand beside her during the meal, and went to get his own after she had finished. Not that he mind though. He wanted to find out more about her, so watching her talking with her mother was a good opportunity just as any. Shirou noticed that dinner time was considered their relaxing time, as the two of them only talked about everyday mundane things.

He was pretty amused when Marianne once again decided to tease Henrietta about her relationship with Wales. It seemed like they were cousin, related by blood even. But from what he heard, it wasn't such a big deal here in this world. Besides, he had seen too much weirdness in his own life so something like that wasn't enough to greatly surprise him. Also, he had spent years living amongst magi at the Clock Tower. Needless to say, 'moral' was one of the least regarded concept there.

Wales seemed to be a good guy though, Shirou mused. During the meal, he had heard both the Henrietta and her mother complimented the prince. And if he truly was that good of a guy, it wasn't a surprise that his Master fell in love with him. Heck, Shirou probably would too if he was a girl. Blond, handsome, intelligent with great charisma, not to mention that the guy was also powerful in his own right, and on top of that, he was a prince. What was there not to love about a guy like that? Ignoring the fact that his head was currently wanted by the rebellion of course.

I wish those bloody rebels could be deal with quickly, Shirou sighed heavily. Henrietta might not realize it, but sometimes, he could catch her casting longing looks out of the window. She looked so lonely during those moments, making his 'helping people thing' act up. Shirou had even intended to go to Albion and break the rebellion's siege himself, or at least kidnapping that Wales guy back here so that the two of them could meet, even just for a little while. However, the realization soon dawned on him that he didn't have a clue of where Albion was and how to get there. Not to mention Shirou was completely clueless about the rebellion's army size, what weapon they used, or any spell/special ability they had. His utter lack of knowledge about this world's magic system didn't help either. Frankly speaking, there were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong if he were to attempt such attack.

Kidnapping the Prince Charming was even more out of question. He was the leader of the Albion's force. If he were to disappear, it would surely cause chaos within their ranks, making them fall even sooner.

And lastly, but also the most important reason that held Shirou back, was that Henrietta needed him here in Tristain. She needed him to help her clearing out the worms that were corrupting the country's government. That was the first step to strengthen their stance against the invasion should Albion fell. Sadly, from what Shirou gathered, the downfall of Albion would happen sooner or later. That much was certain, unless a miracle happened.

In the end, Shirou could only pray that Wales would at least come out of it alive, regardless the inevitable result. He didn't want to see Henrietta with a broken heart. However, deep inside his mind, Shirou knew that the chance of that happening was slim, if not downright impossible. If what he heard about the blond prince was true, then it wasn't likely that that guy will abandon his comrades to save his own skin.

I don't know how, not now. But I will think of some way to keep that guy alive, Shirou thought. That shouldn't happen, Henrietta loved him. She needed him to live and be with her, not to die for his honor. Besides, as long as Wales was alive, there was still a chance for him to retake Albion from the rebellion. That's right, as long as he doesn't die, there's always hope.

Shaking his head and sighing, Shirou returned to scan the castle's lay out, deciding that it was still too soon to worry about such things. His top priority now should be helping out Henrietta and learning more about this world. He wasn't a Servant, so there wasn't any knowledge provided for him after the summoning ritual. That wasn't a big deal though. Shirou could totally manage studying on his own.

That was a surprising and unexpected result of his 'Reinforcement' experiments on his body. During one of the sessions, Shirou had got an idea, one that was both brilliant and foolish. He wanted to know what would happen if he tried to reinforce his brain. And that was exactly what he did. At first, Shirou had got splitting headache and a severe bleeding nose, but he didn't give up. After awhile, his brain started to adjust to the changes and he was actually benefited from doing so. Obviously, with a strengthened brain, Shirou could process information at an inhuman rate. He could see things in slow motion, which took him a lot of time to get used to and reinforcing other body parts to be able to match his brain's reaction speed. But nevertheless, that was a big advantage on the battle field.

The second benefit was that Shirou could now read much faster and remember things way better than any normal people with his reinforced brain, which made study become much easier than it should. He still remembered how envious Rin was when she first discovered his new found ability. It wasn't his fault though. He risked his life for it, so he had every right to use that ability to his advantage.

The only downside was that the human brain wasn't made to withstand the pressure of being reinforced for an extended period of time. During battles, Shirou could only use it about ten minutes before the side effects started showing, which included headache and nosebleed. It was better when he was just studying, not moving around much. Shirou recalled that he had lasted an hour in his last study session before being forced to cancel the reinforcement. For a normal person, an hour of study may not be anything big. But under the spell's influence, Shirou was able to read and remember way more that what a normal person could do in at least seven hours. Needless to say, for any outside observer, all that person could see was Shirou flipping through the books and scrolls with an inhuman speed, since he had to reinforces his hands, arms and eyes as well, to match the brain's speed.

"Seems like I got lucky for once," Shirou chuckled softly. It was only then he realized that it was really late. He had walked around the entire castle once and was now memorizing all of its passages and hallways as well as rooming placements. He was quite surprised to figure out that there were many hidden passages within the castle's walls, no doubt used by the servants to move around quickly within such a large building.

So that's how those maids managed to always catch up to me no matter where I went, he grimaced. But now that I know about their secret, it'll never happen again.

"You, what're you doing out here at this time," suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind, making Shirou turned around. Standing not far away from him was the Musketeer Captain – Agnes. She was wearing full set of her armor, which wasn't anything unusual. However, on a closer look, Shirou also noticed that she was sweating all over and her breathing was a bit short.

"Good evening, Captain," he greeted her with a smile. "I was just taking a walk. Do you always practice this late? That's admirable."

"Save your flattery," Agnes snarled. "I'm not your friend and I'm not here to have a chat. Say, what're you planning to do with the princess?"

"Helping her," Shirou answered truthfully. "But really? You really expect someone with ulterior motives to answer that question?"

"I'll just make him, nevertheless," glaring at him, the guard captain placed a hand on her blade's hilt. "And don't fool me. You suddenly showed up from nowhere and now you're claiming wanting to help the princess? I don't trust you."

"You said it. I just showed up from nowhere, so what do I have against the princess that makes me want to harm her? I didn't even know she was a princess in the first place," he retorted with a sigh. "And hello? In case you forgot, it was the princess herself who summoned me, forcefully pulled me away from my home world. If anyone has the right to doubt and complain, it should be me."

"Why is that? You're now her personal guard. You're in the perfect position. What's there to complain?"

"How about the friends and plans that I have to leave back home and disappeared without saying a word?"

"That's…" For the first time since Shirou met the woman, she seemed to be at a loss of word.

"It's alright though," he shrugged, making Agnes raised an eyebrow. "I've always wanted to help people. So if the princess needs my help. I'll be willing to provide. I think we're alike in that aspect. Why can't we just be friends?"

Staring at him questioningly for awhile, Agnes finally answered. "Because I don't trust you," she said simply. "You've just arrived for over a day, and haven't done anything worth noting, besides pressing your bloody blade against the princess's neck, that's it," she spat out angrily. "I'm not her. I don't trust people that easily. And I'm sure that I have no intent of being friend with someone whom I can't trust."

"Fair enough," Shirou sighed. It was also like this back when he had first take part in missions with the Enforcers. Some of them didn't trust him at all. It was only after he was able to prove his worth on the battle field that they started to warm up to him. "I guess it can't be helped. I understand your reason though."

"At least you're smart, unlike some scatter brains that I've met," Agnes replied sternly before walking past him to return to her quarter. "Watch your back, Emiya, for I will closely watch over your every move. If I find out the slightest hint that you mean harm for the princess…"

Agnes didn't finish her sentence. But Shirou knew well enough to understand her. Watching her disappear toward the castle's front gate, he couldn't resist the smile that was sneaking onto his face.

"First your mother, now your Guard Captain. You certainly have good people who really care for you, Your Highness," Shirou murmured softly in amusement. He was happy for her.

Well, it's time to come back, he thought while stretching his body. I can practice my magecraft a little before going to bed. After all, I don't need much sleep. Tomorrow I will expand my scan to the castle's exterior areas.

With that in mind, Shirou also turned and slowly walk toward the castle's gate, all the while enjoying the cool night breezes that were gently caressing him.

Agnes had returned to her room after her daily practice. After a bath to clean herself of the sweats and dirt, the Musketeer Captain then prepared to turn in for the day. However, her thoughts were still lingering around a certain auburn haired boy and their recent encounter.

Who is he, really? She wondered. Despite her limited knowledge about magic, Agnes knew that human summoning was unheard of. However, it was the princess herself who claimed that she had no doubt summoned him. She even went as far as making him her personal guard – a position that Agnes herself wanted. The guard captain couldn't help but felt a tingle of jealousy when she first heard of the announcement.

However, Agnes also knew that her distrust toward the boy didn't come from jealousy. No, she was better than that. It was simply how she was. After all, she didn't get this far without being cautious. And a stranger, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took the princess hostage certainly wasn't someone to be trusted easily, if not at all.

But again, Agnes was obviously taken aback when Shirou told her what his intention toward the princess was. Helping her, he said. Did he really think she would buy that? No, of course not.

But he looked so sincere when he said that, another part of her retorted. Nonsense, they were nothing but empty words. Until I see his actions, I'm not going to trust him the slightest.

Agnes had been observing the boy closely for most of the time. And she was disappointed from not being able to discover anything about the mysterious familiar, be it good or bad. He'd even let the maids chase him around for hours for Brimir's sake, just because he didn't want to wear the guard outfit.

What is that bastard playing? Gritting her teeth in annoyance, the Guard Captain then quickly trying to calm herself down. After all, she couldn't do anything to him now as he had the princess's protection. But as soon as he slipped and let out something suspicious…

Until then, I'll just keep an eye on him, Agnes told herself as she climbed into bed. It was late, and she still needed to wake up early tomorrow for her patrol. It wouldn't do to have the Captain dozed off while on duty. She had to set an example for her squad. That was still her first and most important priority at the moment.

With that in mind, Agnes closed her eyes and let the sleepiness took over her mind. Not knowing that by the following day, she would receive an order from none other than Henrietta, one that she wasn't going to enjoy at all.

End of Chapter 2.