And there she was, delicately laying next to him. As he ran his hands through her dark ebony hair, he felt calm in the world again. The comparison if his dark, dusty skin compared to the delicate fabric of her pure white complexion was a reminder of how angelic she was. He was alleviated of any worries in the world as long as he kept her safe; the world coming into harmony because of her...his diamond in the rough.
He could sense something was off as he entered reality. He could feel a pressure in his room-something was different. Why is everything so strange suddenly? Why am I having these dreams, and what is going on? Archer could feel that there was someone else in the room, but he wasn't aware of who; a thought that desperately bothered him. My best plan would be to slowly make my move in case it is an intruder. He waited for a moment to see if he there was going to be any movement, and he found it. It was a very delicate step, and it sounded as if it was near the bathroom. He couldn't quite make out what it was, but it was beginning to sound somewhat like a gentle motion of sound.
Finally, out of frustration, Archer got out of his bed and looked around. His room looked in order, the dark red of the wall contrasting with the white fabrics of everything in his room seeming to be unchanged. He slowly scanned the room until he found nothing else strange, save for the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar with steam coming from it. Did the Head Maid go ahead and run water for this morning? Truth be told, it had been quite a while since Archer had woken up early enough to catch her running the water since he spent so long in his study at night.
As he neared it, something unfamiliar washed over his body. He could smell a beautiful jasmine smell. It was entrancing, and he had never smelled it before. No doubt this was because of something that the young Tohsaka girl had requested be brought to the home.
A bath might be nice after everything that has happened...
Archer opened the door, throwing caution to the wind as he entered. The room was full of steam and sweet jasmine, sending a sensation through his body. As he scanned the room, finally resting his eyes on his goal-the tub-he came to a realization: the bath wasn't for him.
Resting delicately in the water was the gossomer skin of the young Tohsaka girl, hair tied up, and delicate petals floating around her. She was submerged, in a world of her own. Archer was frozen, unable to fully comprehend his situation for a moment. Just as he began to turn, the young girl opened her eyes, reacting to the sounds of Archer entering. Within a moment she was yelling at him,
"Get out! GET OUT!" and covering herself. He quickly turned and closed the door behind himself, locking the memory deep within his mind.
Wh-what is she doing in my bath?
A ferocity of sounds was heard as he walked over to his wardrobe and grabbed a shirt for himself. He less than enjoyed what had transpired, and the way that he probably appeared committing such an act with only his sleep trousers on. He must have looked detestable.
This couldn't have been worse...
Within moments, Archer could hear the sound of the bath draining as the door opened. A young Tohsaka, clad in towel, peered out at him.
"What were you thinking?!"
That I had privaleges of privacy in my own home.
"That I was going to use MY bath to take a bath MYSELF."
Rin seemed to glare and cut a glance at him that would have frozen any man. However, Archer found himself becoming accustomed to the feeling, if not readily able to combat it. Rin looked as if she was trying to think everything over.
"Why were you even in here to begin with?"
"I-I was taking a bath obviously. Mine was broken. They couldn't get it to work, so they assumed I could use this before you woke up."
Why...does everything seem to be happening around me.
Whether he liked it or not, Archer had caught himself watching the girl wrapped in the towel, intranced by her very motions while she spoke.
Stop it.
"I'll leave and take breakfast in the study. You can finish your bath. I'll wait until a better time."
And like that, Archer turned and left the room for the safety of his study. As he entered and sat down, it felt hot. It wasn't until then that he realized his face may have been somewhat flush while talking to the young girl. He sat, replaying the entirety of the interaction in his head, and wondered what this was going to get him into.
The silence was finally broken by the sound of the door opening. The young girl slid herself into the room, dressed in a casual red gown-something a girl would wear when spending time at home without any company. Archer felt a tinge, as if she was showing him a level of trust and comfort. He noticed that she carried with her a small tray. Miss Tohsaka gently crossed the room to his desk and sat the tray down in front of him.
"I-I brought you breakfast." She seemed to be focusing quite hard on something. "I-I-I'm sorry. I'll wait until you are out of your room next time. " Archer could tell she struggled with the words-admitting she was wrong was something that Rin Tohsaka was not an expert at.
"Thank you Miss Tohsaka."
She silently nodded before looking at Archer and down the stairs. "I think I'm going to retrieve a book for the evening." She bowed and quietly descended the stairs; Archer finding the melody of her descension to be somewhat comforting. He remembered making the same sound when he was younger and hearing it from his brother. It brought a familiarity to him, hearing someone continue up and down from the study below besides himself.
Archer began eating his tea and small breakfast, and-before long-the maid came to retrieve it. She made a remark that he continued here through noon and wondered if he would want to have lunch taken in the study again. Surprisingly, he turned it down, wondering if it was consistently rude to remain hidden in his study.
"Where is Miss Tohsaka taking her lunch?"
The Head Maid quietly seemed to think about it, perplexed by Archer's intrigue.
"She will be taking it in the garden today. She was quite enjoying interacting with the flowers around the home."
With that, Archer arranged to take his lunch in the same place and slowly made his way to the garden. Outside was an elaborate scenery. They had a back pond, small hedge maze, and a plethora of flowers planted outside the home. His mother had avidly been consumed with planting and raising flowers-a way for her to expand her motherly love. She had an overwhelming amount that she gave to every aspect of her life.
She oddly would have loved everyone. Including Miss Matou...potentially even Miss Tohsaka.
Archer sighed at the thought. Her opinion of anyone wouldn't matter now, no matter how much credence he gave it. He silently opened the door and walked down the stone pathway surrrounded by red rose bushes on each side. It finally opened into a large sitting area surrounded by trees for shade. You could see that winter was upon them-the flowers, attempting to hold their shine, were all slowly beginnning to recede into their winter hibernation.
However, there was still a beauty to it, even Archer could not deny it. He gently sat himself at the table and watched for Miss Tohsaka. Slowly, he spotted her out of the corner of his eye, far too far away to realize that he had entered the gardens whatsoever. She was gently looking at some more roses planted next to the maze. The white roses had been a favorite of his mothers, and they had always been maintained with the upmost care for her. Miss Tohsaka was gently looking at them, seeming to be stunned by them. Actually, she seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the entire garden itself. Archer guessed she hadn't really interacted with one before.
The young girl continued to look at the flowers until she finally spun herself towards Archer. She seemed to be surprised by his appearance for a moment before she began to move towards him. As she finally reached close enough for vocal recognition, she bowed, motioning to Archer at the table. He simply stood and nodded before moving to the other side, pulling the chair out for her. After she took her seat, he returned to his, staying facing the flowers while she was facing towards the maze-neither was making eye contact.
"You have a beautiful garden Colonel Emiya. It is outstanding if I may say so. Do you take care of it yourself?"
"Not in its entirety. I have taken care of a small amount of the flowers, but I have no amount of time to be in charge of the garden in its entirety. We have a man that comes in every week to maintain them and check their condition."
Colonel Emiya had spent most of his life purely maintaining the section of the garden that his mother had grown. He had always had a weak spot when it came to women—often trying to take care of them more than they probably needed. He would do anything to protect and save a woman if possible. It couldn't be helped. As the heir to the heir of the family name and responsibility, he has been raised to be an asset to those around him, and protecting them was something that came with the job.
Archer watched as Rin continued to look over the garden, seeming to excuse the flowers that were gone as a sign of the upcoming winter. The silence was only broken by the sound of dinner being served and consumed. After it had ended, there was still some sunlight left as the chill bit the air.
"I have always enjoyed this time of year Colonel. I like the bite of the air on my skin. People tend to forget there are many feelings in life, and they live absentmindedly. However, the bite of the winter seems to bring back the feeling that I'm alive and should be doing something more. It is nice."
I never would have pegged her for being the philosophical type.
"Indeed. That is true Miss Tohsaka. It is quite wonderful. I'm glad that you are finding this evening to be the most enjoyable for you despite its circumstances."
The young girl seemed to look around as the sun continued to set, remembering everything that had recently happened. She decidedly stood up and began to look at flowers-the view seeming to take her somewhere else. Potentially, Archer had been far too abrupt with is word choice. He had neglected the girl's need to escape the facts oft he world around her. She had lost so much so quickly. Surely, she had just wished to forget the world around her for a moment-she just wanted to live a life that had been taken from her. The coldness of what he said seemed to hit him worse than the cold that he had felt from the wind.
Silently, the young Colonel stood up from his seat, gently gliding towards the young woman who was so damaged by these past days. In a motion that seemed practiced yet graceful, Archer removed his black dress jacket and adorned it over the shoulders of the small, delicate girl beside him. As he rested it on her, she slowly turned to face him-her eyes saying a thousand apologies and thanks that she could never express.
Archer gently stroked hair from the side of her face before extending his arm. The young girl reached out, taking his hand, as he tucked her arm through his. He began guiding her back to the house-the sun finally beginning to set, and the cold getting to be too much of a risk in his opinion. When they reached the inside, Archer could feel her pull away, but he simply placed his hand on her arm, comforting her. He refused to relinquish his charge as an escort until he reached her room.
The long walk to the room of the young Tohsaka girl was too short for one that contained silence. However, Archer felt no real discomfort in the silence. There was something comforting in it-a momentary feeling of peace compared to everything recently.
When they reached the door, Rin gently pulled away after Archer turned the doorknob.
"Thank you Colonel Archer. I appreciate your escort, and the kind gesture of lending me your jacket. It was all quite unnecessarily, but it was quite appreciated." The young girl gently takes the jacket off and hands it to Colonel Emiya. Archer felt a small feeling he was unaware of as the young girl delicately turns and shuts the door behind herself-the night finally drawing to a close between them.
He quietly walked to his room-the jacket tucked under his arm, and a confused look on his face as he entered the room. He had been given no moment to reply to the young girl before she had retired for the night. Instead, his last remarks had remained at the flower garden-a stark comment that reminded her of the tragedies she had experienced. He felt guilt about it. He remembered when his parents had passed-when everyone had traveled to the house to share their condolences. Archer had constantly felt as if everyone was only reminding him of everything that had been lost. He had just wanted to forget.
I can't do anything about this until the morning...
Truthfully, there was nothing more to be done about the situation until they had awakened that morning. With routine, Archer entered his room and delicately placed the jacket back in his closet before getting prepared for bed. The young Colonel lays in bed, the beautiful bronze of his skin contrasting beautifully against the sheets of his bed. Unlike his usual schedule, he felt the exhaustion pressing on him, laying into him like a tidal wave. It overtook him with determination, and he slowly slipped into a deep sleep.
He had returned back to the world that he had abandoned in the morning. The delicate girl laying across from him before getting out of bed. Her delicate skin seeming like a white silk against the dark black of her bed dress. There was a beauty to the contrast that made a warmth travel through his body. As she entered the bathroom, he felt himself get up from the bed-the warmth of the sun reminding him of the beauty of his life.
Archer felt the dream-almost too real to be believed. However, the dream only lasted for so long. It was broken by the sound of loud knocks against the door. Archer quickly stirred from his sleep, sitting up in bed at the urgency of the knocks.
"What is it?!"
The annoyance in his voice wasuninetentional. It stemmed from his wish to remain undisturbed. Despite the dreams, of which he wasn't sure if they were much of anything, he wanted to remain in that deep sleep he had neglected for so long.
"Master Archer. We've had to call the doctor. The young girl has developed a bad illness rather quickly."
His heart immediately began to race; a sensation that he hadn't felt in quite a while. Archer was anxious, and immediately fled from his room, grabbing one of his shirts and simply throwing it on with pants before fleeing towards the room of the young girl, whose side he had only left hours beforehand.
