Hey, I'm really sorry for the long delay! I made a promise I'd see this through and though my updates may not be surely on time, I'll try my best.
Thank you to:
Himeka1010-I'm glad to see that you're waiting for an update! I apologize for the late update!
Hignum- I hope you can clear up who Gawain is in this chapter! =)
M117Master- I tried adding a bit of romance here and here it is! I'll try more later and yes, I am honored to hear the you are willing to translate to Spanish for me! It's always a pleasure to see people enjoy my writing, even though I don't think too highly of my own writing! -_-
Without further ado, here is Chapter 9!
Chapter 9- A Knight's Choice
The silence between the two seemed to solidify as the rest of the people could only watch as the air seemed to freeze. Arturia was still standing, her eyes still widened at the sight of the man in front of her. The man, though, seemed to display little to no emotion at all.
Shirou looked between the two silent warriors and proceeded to open his mouth, saying
"Uh…Arturia? Do you know him?"
Arturia was still stultified as the memories rushed through her head like a virus, touching the most painful and poignant memories.
Arturia found herself in an ornate court, filled with her subjects, the Knights of the Round Table, watching her. Remaining with her ever serious face, the knights were carousing and playing around despite their king's near emotionless stature. Feasting and reveling took place around the room as the sounds of celebration rang in the castle. The warm light of the torches seemed to illuminate and repel the cold that was in the snow outside. Arturia couldn't bear to crack a small smile, despite herself. Deep in her mind though, she was more at calm than she ever was, the quests and the trials put on hold during the Christmas festivities.
Returning her attention to the table, Arturia heard a loud crash. She diverted her attention to the black-haired man who was now standing back up, regaining his feet balance. As he stood up, he turned to Arturia and said,
"Forgive me my king! It seems that I may have slipped on an unholy ham. Would your lordship allow me to finish it off?"
The knights around him roared with laughter at the giddy young man, as Arturia replied,
"Of course, Sir Gawain. Why not finish this unholy ham you speak of."
Laughing, Gawain picked up the ham and proceeded to eat it but not before a loud crash was heard from outside, nearly causing Gawain to choke on his ham.
The crash rang throughout the castle, bringing about a silence that seemed to flood over the hall. While her men dazed at the direction of the crash, Arturia, ever vigilant, placed her hand on the pommel of her sword, ready to draw at the first sign of attack. From within the hall, a slow plodding was heard, the cobbles of the floor striking against what sounded like the hooves of a horse. Soon enough, a dark silhouette was spotted in the dark hall. Most of the men remained steadfast while the servants cowered in fear, as the silhouette was quite enormous, suggesting that the man riding it was either a giant or simply wearing enormous armor.
The people in the court continued to watch as the first vestiges of the silhouette were finally revealed by the firelight that illuminated the room. What the men saw was either extremely horrible or very amazing by any standards.
A green horse plodded into the court, armored in holly green armor. It snorted and whinnied loudly, the mist forming from its large nostrils. Upon it was a large, gargantuan man, his body covered in nothing more than pant breaches and some light leather armor, which, very much like the horse, was green. His eyes, however, were that of a red scarlet, piercing through his long, shabby hair that covered most of his face.
Looking upon the awesome gaze of the man who had walked in, he plodded up the hall, towards the king, dragging behind him a large, ornate axe. The axe itself was just as magnificent as the man and his horse, of not more. It was covered with iron ivy patterns and was coated with a beautiful sheen of shamrock green.
As the man approached, the knights quickly formed a perimeter around their king, drawing their swords. The man stopped before the knights, staring at them with an intense glare and spoke in his deep, resounding voice,
"I mean you no harm, King of Knights. I am simply known as the Green Knight and only come with a seasons greeting and a challenge. You see, I have come here from the Green Chapel and have traveled all this way to simply test the courage of the renowned Knights of the Round Table. I only come with the challenge of courage to your King."
The Green Knight raised his finger and pointed towards Arturia and boomed in his stentorian voice,
"King of Knights! My challenge is simple. Take this axe which I hold and strike a blow at me. If it is not sufficient to kill me, then allow me to return the blow later on."
Silence gripped the hall as many of the knights though in their minds whether the man before them was simply mad or suicidal. Arturia, however, remained silent and refused to move. Her eyes were firm and still fixed on the Green Knight. Speaking in her strong, firm voice, she replied,
"I do not see such a point in a pointless challenge. If it is combat you seek then I shall do so but I will not participate in this useless game of yours."
Her gaze remained fixed on the man, who simply scoffed loudly and shouted out,
"I never knew the Knights of the Round Table to be such cowards! Your courage and reputation truly is nothing more than pure fallacy! Is this truly your king, a pure coward who only boasts of kingship and courage? All pure lies! You're better off giving that Excalibur of yours to me!"
In an instant, the knights were thrown into outrage, their anger seemingly reverberating towards the hall. Many knights drew their blade s and menacingly approached the Green Knight. Before any action could be taken, however, Arturia raised her hand in a gesture to stop.
Her visage stoic as she stood up and stepped down to the Green Knight. Her face calm and emotionless, Arturia spoke in a reverberating voice amidst the silence that consumed the hall,
"Very well, I shall accept this childish challenge if only to prevent you from insulting my knights any further."
The Green Knight scoffed and said,
"So at last, you finally step up? Take this axe here and land your strongest blow."
As Arturia was about to grip the axe, another loud voice rang through the hall.
"No, my lord! I shall handle this craven heathen in your stead! A king has no need to dirty his hands with the blood of an idiot!"
The whole court turned towards the knight who had just shouted: Sir Gawain.
His black ponytail flowing behind him, he stood in front of Arturia and looked into her eyes. In that instant, as if an invisible conversation had been spoken, she consented and handed the axe to Gawain. Turning to the Green Knight, he lifted the axe high and shouted to the Knight,
"Here is your wish!"
The axe was brought down and blood sprayed the floor. The large green body stumbled to the ground and all seemed to be relieved. Despite the temporary respite, gasps filled the hall once again as the Green Knight's body stood up and gripped its head as if nothing had happened. From its head, the Green Knight spoke,
"In December, you shall come and receive your returning blow, lest you lose your honor! Remember this Sir Gawain!"
With that, the headless body mounted its horse and stormed out of the castle, leaving many bewildered at this sudden turn of events.
Months passed as Gawain slowly prepared himself for the trial. When at last the time came, he left the castle, receiving many a farewells as there was a small chance he would return alive. From that moment, weeks passed as people began to actually fear that Gawain had died.
Arturia herself felt the smallest fear and worry for her knight. However, she never let her emotions get the better of her and remained confident that Gawain turn up. Within the space of two weeks, a ragtag man in armor came through the gates. He looked vaguely familiar yet his armor was rusted, with a green sash tied around his waist. The most notable feature, though, was his gargantuan axe that had once belonged to the Green Knight.
Arturia stood up at this knight and spoke,
"Fellow knight, may I ask who you are?"
The ragtag knight looked up, his face all too familiar with a tired expression.
"Do you not recognize me, King Arthur? It is I, Gawain, who has returned."
The hall remained silent for a moment before the cheers came and rang through the halls. In the whole celebration, everyone was focused on Gawain and no one saw the slight smile that cracked across Arturia's face at the safety of her vassal.
The memories stopped flowing as Arturia was brought back to reality once more. She was still staring in shock at her knight, her former vassal. Yet all she could manage to say was,
"How..how did you get her?"
Gawain looked down, his eyes filled with shame. Yet his voice remained strong, with a tinge of sadness and regret.
"You know well why I am here, Arthur, or rather, Arturia. I come here to change the past and prevent suffering from ever happening. You of all people should know this."
Arturia eyes widened. She knew that what Gawain sought for was banal and fruitless, having learned that lesson herself at the end of the previous War.
"Gawain…stop now. You cannot change the past. I have already learned this" she whispered, unable to look her knight in the eye.
Gawain opened his mouth to speak, before he stopped. In response, all he replied was,
"I see. Our goals are different and with that, we cannot let the past linger. For now, we are no longer vassal and king but rather enemies on the battlefield. Remember that next time, Arturia Pendragon and do not let the past hinder you for it will only lead to your demise against me."
Turning back, he took Ayako's hand and walked into the crowd, leaving Arturia stultified while Shirou and Rin looked towards the same direction of the man who had just left. Thing were truly getting more and more complicated.
The walk home was silent with Rin having gone ahead and Arturia unable to speak more than a few words, while Shirou could only be enveloped by Arturia's sadness. Gazing mournfully towards her, he all well knew the pain that she felt. Being forced to fight those you loved, the ones you swore to protect. These emotions were all too familiar to Shirou. In spite of this, Shirou turned to Arturia and slowly yet deliberately placed his hand with hers. Arturia slowly gripped his hand in response and walked forwards.
The walk home continued in silence until Shirou broke the solid ice silence that had wrapped around them.
"Arturia, you're not alone."
Smiling to her, Shirou continued to walk with Arturia, who was gaining a phantom of a smile on her face. In a soft voice very unlike her, Arturia replied,
"I still remember when you told me not to cling to the past, but it seems that the past is clinging to me now."
"I'll be there to ward it off. For once in your life, trust me and don't do things alone," Shirou said.
The evening sun seemed to set while Shirou turned to Arturia. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes, seeing the emotions, the experience, the pain, and the trust that existed between them.
"You're not alone. I'll say it hundreds of times just to make you realize it."
Arturia's brows seemed to come together as her eyes grew into of a somewhat irritated yet saddened expression. She didn't like the idea of being protected. As a king, she had protected her people and as a Servant, it should be no different. She opened her mouth to speak,
"Shirou, you can't possibl…"
Her words were cut off as Arturia felt a warm soft feeling on her lips. Her eyes wanted to grow larger yet against her wishes, they closed while Arturia returned the emotions and the love. In the few moments, all the anxiety and the time seemed to flow away. Arturia couldn't care less about the rest of the world while her lips were locked with the one she had to pro…No… The one who would protect her for once.
The crimson rays of the setting sun finally died out while the two pulled apart. Opening her eyes, a deep blush flowed into Arturia's cheeks, yet it was controlled by her stoic emotions. Shirou showed no signs of blushing at all. Instead, his eyes remained the stronger, still gazing into Arturia's. In their eyes, the reversal of roles seemed clear with Arturia as the one in need of help and Shirou as the guide.
Whispering ever so silently against the rising moon, Arturia said,
"I…love you, Shirou."
Another whisper returned, flowing with the air,
"I love you, Arturia Pendragon."
The crescent moon rose in full glory, bearing its light upon the two who were not lovers, but more. Rather, the two were one in soul and in mind where one could not live without the other. The world seemed to calm as the moonlight serenely continued its waltz.
However, in the distance, a familiar figure stood, a smug grin upon his face. His brown, auburn hair went with the wind. Shouting out, he spoke,
"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your little serenade here, but I believe we have a match to finish?"
Arturia and Shirou looked up at the challenger, with his French armor and his hand and a half sword. Within moments, Arturia was in her armor in a dash of jet blue, charging in a nearly invisible blur to Rider. Smiling sadistically, Rider dodged the blow, side stepping Arturia with an instant response impulse.
"Well, well, Saber. Let's get this party started!"
Elsewhere under the serene moonlight, a dark alley stood. Under the shadows of the alley, a dark skulking figure seemed to blend with the shadows. However, rather than hiding, the shadow was darting at full pace, whipping itself from corner to corner.
As if by queue, a large, loud set of footsteps crashed through the alley. A monstrous roar was bellowed by this newcomer, who was an enormous figure. The dark shadow at last landed in the illumination of the moon, revealing a skull mask with an emaciated figure. From the shadows emerged the figure that had been chasing Assassin. His armor simply silver and rusted, his T-patterned helmet obscuring his face, an ornate fur coat made of wolf skin, and in his hand a long broad sword with a shield in the other, the figure stepped out.
Assassin gazed at the patterns in his armor and drew his knives. Throwing them, Assassin darted away. With amazing dexterity unlikely for such a figure of his stature, the larger figure dodged the knives and jumped higher than any other man could wish to ever jump. He whipped his sword at Assassin, striking its arm and screaming incoherently. Assassin let out a shrill shriek at the feeling of its arm disconnecting. Within moments, Assassin was once again thrown to the ground, leaving a deep crater in the street. The armored figure towered over Assassin and before it could regain its composure, the figure slashed madly at Assassin, cutting off other limbs and body parts. Black fog and liquid sprayed throughout the crater and the warrior's armor. At last, when the carnage stopped, the armored figure looked at his work.
Assassin was lying there, albeit severely wounded. With a slow sparkle, Assassin's body disintegrated into dark, black powder. The powder flowed into the air where it finally disappeared. With this, the warrior bellowed in triumph towards the sky, letting his victory be heard everywhere.
Zoken Mato watched in great interest as he saw through his orb a great distance away from the battle field, gazing as his Servant got destroyed by the large warrior yet no sign of its Master.
"I expected nothing less from Berserker," he said to himself.
Despite the loss of his Servant before his very eyes, Zoken remained generally calm. Turning back to the orb, he simply let out his hand and threw a skull mask into a red pentagon painted on the floor. He cut his finger and let the blood drop to the floor. With a flourish of his hands, black flames emanated from his hands. He pointed to the skull mask and shouted,
"Arise once again!"
The black flames began to take shape of a tall emaciated figure with a skull mask. As Assassin stepped out of the pentagon, Zoken turned back, chuckling to himself.
"It's wonderful to make the rules."
The fight between Arturia and Rider intensified with the sparks and clangs sounding and appearing sporadically throughout the night sky. Arturia, for the most part, seemed to be gaining the upper hand, though Rider in his self seemed to maintain his own fight.
Turning in mid air, Rider let his blade gather the moonlight, the night sky seemingly flowing into the blade as well as the darkness of space flow into his blade as well. Whipping his blade through the air, he shouted,
"Flammes de Vengeance!"
At that moment, the black and white flames leaped forth from the blade, dancing in a cyclone towards Arturia. Arturia, too, drew her blade back and let it collect the air and wind around it. With the aura of azure shining every so brightly around her blade, Arturia let the golden yellow essence wrap flow into her weapon. Shouting, Arturia brought her blade in the direction of the white and black torrent.
"Excalibur!"
The golden yellow force leapt forth, combating and colliding with the white and black flames. Both of the warriors kept their energy on their respective powers. The forces seemed to be balanced while Arturia pressed forth. Slowly but surely, the energies of Excalibur were overtaking Rider's own flames. Shouting once again, Arturia pressed the power of her scabbard into the force. In that moment, the yellow shined brighter, nearly illuminating the whole neighborhood. In a flash, the gold consumed the black and white, while Rider was thrown into the wall, a dent formed where he had collided.
Rider's armor was now crackling with golden energy from Excalibur. His head was bleeding from the impact. Despite his condition, Rider managed to stumble up with a small smile on his face,
"I..I…expected none less from Excalibur…"
Coughing, he felt himself fall while Arturia drew her blade up for the finishing blow. From behind her, however, Arturia heard Shirou yelp in pain. Darting her head back, she caught a glimpse of a figure out of sight who had a gleaming revolved aimed at Shirou's head.
In a sweet, feminine voice, the figure said,
"Now, now, Saber. Put down your blade or I'll put down your Master."
I'm very sorry for the wait, once again. Thank you for the support, and I hope to be making more of these by the time my finals are over!
Thank you!
-Komina