Okay fine. I promised to put up the next chapter soon, but as you can see, things delayed a bit again. I'm currently between exams, so college is currently quite messy and I don't get much time to write. And I honestly admit, that whole Star Wars hype made me continue an old SW-story, that also took a bit of time. What shall I say? I already told you guys that I suck at Slice of Life and after that short, but crucial battle in the last chapter I wanted to give you a little breather with this one and the next. I should have seen then and there that my writing pace comes to a crashing halt then... So here we are, Team Lancer goes back to business!
Chapter 13 - Nina
Pontus, 1192BC
"I beg you to reconsider, oh radiant queen", the young boy Aeneas was on his knees. "Think of the long friendship between our peoples. The Greeks come under the pretence of righteous vengeance, but we all know what their true aim is. Troy controls the trade into the Euxine Sea. They come for our riches... and those beyond. They will not stop at our harbour!"
The queen was unyielding. Her throne room was dark and roughly furnished. There were no lavish decorations, no expensive carpets or anything else. Even the throne itself was hewn from a single black granite stone, massive and ominous, blood-red cushions being the most luxurious aspect of the room. You may have called it Spartan, but even the Lacedaemonians despite all claims to the opposite tended to brag with their riches. The Amazons did not. The young envoy from Troy at first looked quite underwhelmed upon entering the palace, he surely expected much more after so much travel. But the radiance of the queen herself seemed to have brought back his spirit. He defended his case valiantly, but it was for nought.
"My decision stands", the Queen of the Amazons replied, her fine features showing only soft signs of dismay. "We are not bound to the obligations made by men. Your prince Paris has offended gods and men. I say let the gods decide upon his fate and the one of his ill-begotten love."
The young envoy seemed taken aback. He gulped, seemingly uneasy what do make of these words which sounded threatening and yet contained craven meaning. The queen saw that and continued her speech in a softer tone.
"You have come a long way, brave warrior. Return home, tell King Priamos of my answer and find some rest. War is upon your people and you will need all your strength to prevail."
A soft blush rose to his face.
"You are kind to me, my queen. So you have no intention... to join the Greeks instead?"
It was a fear that came not quite out of nowhere. The queen he was talking to was called Hippolyta, she was the daughter of fierce Antiope. In her veins flew the blood of Theseus, the already legendary hero of Athens. And Athens joined the fleet of Agamemnon. If matters of commerce couldn't convince her, blood ties maybe did...
"Rest assured, young envoy. The daughters of Mars don't intend to spill blood on the fields of Illion. For either side", Queen Hippolyta couldn't help but give an amused laugh at the notion.
Indeed, her cousins may fight in the siege, but it was not a son of Theseus who let the Athenians. King Menestheus had no relations to her and didn't even bother to send an envoy of his own.
"I see", the boy mumbled to himself, at least until he remembered that he was still kneeling in front of a foreign ruler. "King Priamos will be disappointed, but this will be the message I will bring to him."
"Farewell then, you may go", the queen made a hand gesture offering her leave.
Aeneas rose, made a short bow and then proceeded towards the exit. Two other Trojan warriors fell in besides him as an escort. As soon as he left, Hippolyta gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her temples. In this moment another figure strode out of the shadows around the columns. Her fine features were not unlike the queen. She had the same olive skin, the same pitch black hair, the same majestic stature. And yet where the queen was dignified and made an impression of cold rationality this woman was wild and made the impression of a stalking predator starved for battle. This woman was the one who would become Lancer.
"How incredibly cautious of you, dear sister", Lancer smirked. "I think the boy for a moment believed himself to have arrived in the wrong country."
Hippolyta didn't take her jest as well as she expected.
"We may have our reputation, but a reputation doesn't harvest our crops, a reputation doesn't build our cities and a reputation doesn't do trade to fill our coffers. My warring predecessors have left the Amazons in a desolate state. If we do not take care, we will end up as a bare whisper of history instead."
Lancer crossed her arms, snorting derisively.
"Yeah I get it. War is expensive and our purses are empty. So we can't afford to defend an allied city. Shall we join the Greeks instead? You have heard the boy's fears, maybe we can make good use of our share of Priam's legendary treasury."
The queen gave her a dubious look.
"Troy is not some fishing village ripe for razing. With its impregnable walls the entire Mesogeios may attempt to storm it, just to break like a tidal wave against a sturdy rock. And like the waves they will need years to whittle the Trojans down. Trust my judgement, sister. Joining this conflict of men will only mean death."
The woman who was about to become Lancer sighed and raised her hands in an apologetic gesture.
"I see your point. I can't help it, you were always the wiser of us two", the scowl on her face made place for a bright smile, a smile returned by Hippolyte.
It was no exaggeration back then. Like always her prediction was frighteningly accurate. Years passed and while the Amazons prospered in peace, news of the heavy fighting around Illion reached us week for week. Unable to take the city by storm the massive Greek army was reduced to a band of marauders laying waste to the countryside, killing and plundering in desperate need for supplies. The Trojans also had trouble being imprisoned within their own walls without being able to care for their burned down fields. It all came down to who would falter first in this game of time and exhaustion.
The image blurred and the eerie darkness of the throne room was replaced by the bright green of a deciduous forest. The sun shone brightly and laughter rang through the woods as a group of four Amazons with throwing spears and clad in light leather armor arrived in a clearing.
Well, you know, peacetime is all nice and busy if you are a farmer or a craftswoman or a merchant. But if you consider yourself a warrior first and foremost, you tend to get bored quite quickly. Your daily exercises feel pointless without a foe of flesh and blood to slay, your muscles ache for true battle. In the end, I simply wanted to kill something, that is all. As the younger sister of the queen it was actually my duty to protect her and yet it was me begging her to accompany me into the royal woods. Just to vent some surplus energy, just to have some fun as the sisters we were.
"So what is it our royal highness seeks to hunt?", Alcibie asked the queen with a smirk. "A deer?"
"A proud stag?", asked their second companion, Thermodosa.
"A vicious boar?", the queen's sister proposed.
Hippolyte laughed.
"Now you are absurd. There was no boar sighted in the royal woods since Heracles came to get this accursed girdle from our aunt."
"Ugh... that monstrosity sure was a strain for our hospitality", Lancer groaned.
"Have you heard the tales the Greeks are said to whisper to each other?, Thermodosa asked with a worried expression.
Lancer and Alcibie frowned. It was only Hippolyte who nodded grimly.
"Slanders and falsities, most of them. People seem to confuse events happening during the visit of Theseus. Next time we must send our own storytellers to correct them or else our history is destined to be warped by the tongues of drunken singers making up forgeries to make their so-called heroes sound better."
Lancer seemed taken aback.
"Pray tell sister, what are those dogs singing about?"
Hippolyte shrugged, her features looking more resigned than angry.
"Many things and nothing at once. Some say Heracles killed my namesake in battle, some say he killed the queen of our people, some said our aunt was the queen. It gets more confusing with Theseus involved. Some tell the true story of Heracles receiving the hospitality of the queen correctly, just with the names changed. Some say Theseus tried to took our queen by force, the same way others say Heracles did that. Only few tell the boring old truth."
The woman who was about to become Lancer scowled.
"Yes, you are right. We should sent out our own singers. And we should order them to cut out the tongues of all they witness spreading slander."
The two companions laughed at what they perceived as a joke, but Hippolyte, knowing her sister well, just grimaced and tried to smooth the situation over.
"We should spread out. If we charge through the woods in idle chat, we will even scare away the chestnuts", she shot her sister grim look. "Alcibie!"
The warrior bowed deeply when asked to accompany the queen.
"You honour me."
And with these words the two of them strode away and soon disappeared in the dense rain forest.
"Have I angered her in any way?", Lancer asked, her dark mood suddenly swapped with confusion.
"Not more than usual", Thermodosa replied with a smirk, before she herself also made of into a slightly different path than the one her queen took.
"What is it you want to imply?", Lancer followed her aghast.
You may get the wrong impression from that scene alone. Though we disagreed quite often, I and my sister were quite inseparable. It was like a blessing from the gods that brought us together into this world in order to complement each other. Where I was blunt as a rock she proved politically cunning. Where she lacked decisiveness I was the one spurning her onwards. If she alone would have been queen, our people surely would have come to a standstill. When I would have been queen, our people surely would have grinded themselves down due to my short-sightedness. If this was the intention of our godly father, it sure was a nice spot of sanity for that brutish bastard.
Lancer and Thermodosa were still sneaking through the forest minutes later. Trying not to disturb their prey they ceased all conversation. Silently Lancer pointed at some broken branches and fresh dung indicating they were quite close to something. And something large at that. Lancer gripped her hunting spear tightly. It was a short weapon with both a reinforced handle and a little weight at the lower end to balance the bronze spear-head out. It was the kind of high-precision throwing spear you could find among hunters everywhere in the world.
And then they found it.
You might think such a life-changing event in my life was caused by some otherworldly perfect creature which looked like having escaped from the gardens of Artemis herself. Damn shame it wasn't. At least I could've guided my anger towards that goddess then. But this was just a deer, scrawny and barely grown. If I had any sense back then, I would have ignored it and moved on looking for better prey. But as usual my mind wasn't clear. The bloodlust was upon me.
The animal stood there at the edge of a small ridge, gnawing at the branches of a small bush. Lancer readied her spear with the right hand, the muscles in her arm tightening when she held it upright. The deer was completely oblivious to the scene when the Amazon carefully stepped closer. Thermodosa stayed back and watched how the captain of the royal guards made her kill. Lancer put forth her left foot and then with all her might threw the javelin forward along with her right foot. A crack echoed throw the forest. It was an amateur's mistake, one Lancer immediately cursed even before she saw its repercussions. She was so focused on her prey she paid no heed to where exactly her right foot ended up landing. And of course she stepped onto some tiny twigs, cracking loud enough to startle the animal and make it jump away. The spear wheezed forward simultaneously, but it was no good. It missed the deer, smashed through the bushes and disappeared down into the hollow below the ridge.
"Don't say a word...", Lancer grumbled to her companion, but Thermodosa shrugged as if she didn't care either way for that escaped scrawny beast.
The two Amazons stepped out of their hiding place and closed the distance to the ridge in order to retrieve the lost throwing spear.
Fool that I was, my only thoughts where about whether the weapon landed softly or not... I had no patience to bend the tip back into shape if it happened to hit a stone or something.
But when they reached the ridge and scanned the area below, it was like the time was frozen for the moment and the entire forest fell into an eerie silence. The woman who was about to become Lancer looked into the scenery of green and yellow, but it was the red that made her feel dizzy. She hadn't even fully realized what happened and yet her heart and her head already knew. When she looked down into the wide-eyed face of Alcibie, she already knew what happened. She never even needed to look at the face of the person who lay struck down at the ground, a spear in her belly.
"Please, please, please...", Lancer pleaded softly.
The setting had changed. The group had apparently moved the queen to a small cabin nearby. It was inhabited by an old couple and since Lancer was too focused on her sister, it was the job of Alcibie to apologize for the intrusion and ask for help. The old crone hurriedly begged them in, ordering the husband to bring clean sheets and to boil some wine. They had already broken the spear back in the woods so that only the tip was sticking out of the belly of their queen when they placed her on the bed. But the wound was still bleeding profoundly and the face of Hippolyte was pale from agony and blood loss. She was barely able to keep herself awake.
"Please, do not leave me!", Lancer begged, holding the hand of her sister tightly.
"Grip it any more tight and you'll break it", Hippolyte chided her softly then.
The sister grimaced in her worry, unable to accept her attempt at lightening the mood. Even when Thermodosa came back with the healer, she never left her side. Even when Hippolyte gasped in pain about the spear tip being removed and the wound being burned out, she never let go of her hand. Only after the queen fainted during the appliance of some weird looking tincture to the wound, Lancer allowed herself to join the healer and her sisters in battle outside.
"How does it look like?", Thermodosa asked warily.
"Your queen is strong, that is the only certainty. Any lesser woman would have surely died by now", the wise woman replied. "But fate is a fickle thing beyond the grasp of humans. Right now her life is in the hands of the Gods. They claim it or may decide not to, I have done everything I could."
"Don't speak in riddles, crone, I have no patience for it. What is her mortal condition?", Lancer snapped.
The old woman shook her head.
"The wound is severe. Her inner organs are damaged, poisons are surely seeping out. I have done every magic I know, but I fear I cannot revive the dead."
For one moment the three warriors just stood there in shock. Lancer looked as pale as her sister did before.
"What have I done...", she whispered.
"You have done no-", Thermodosa tried to comfort her, but she didn't listen to any of it, she just turned away and entered the room of her sister again.
She was awake again. Whether she had willed herself back into consciousness or never really faded out in the first place, it made no matter. When her sister sat down next to her bed, Hippolyte's eyes followed her every step. Lancer struggled for words, but unable to find anything appropriate, she allowed silence to swallow the room. And while stared at the feeble woman who was so full of life just half an hour ago, her eyes began to get watery with tears.
"So bad, eh?", the queen's voice was thin and hoarse, her face grimacing in pain.
Ashamed about the fact that her tears betrayed her thoughts, Lancer rubbed them out of her eyes, forcing a stern look unto herself.
"No. You have the strength to live to the next day, that's what the healer said", Lancer said miserably.
Hippolyte gave a weak sneer.
"You were always a miserable liar."
The warrior averted her gaze.
"I killed you", she admitted stricken with grief.
"Everyone with eyes in her head will tell you otherwise", Hippolyte replied chidingly, she then stretched out her pale hand. "Stay with me, please."
"I will", the sister answered, taking it firmly.
It is the coldness that I can still recall vividly. Her hands were cold as ice, as if the warmth of life was fleeing her.
"Our people... it needs you, sister", Hippolyte whispered softly after a while.
"It needs you, that is the only truth I can accept", Lancer replied.
"I mean that seriously...", she groaned.
"Sorry... I just... can't..."
"Can't what? Bear the responsibility?", her pained face formed a dark smile. "You have to... You are my heir... so listen... guide them... with strength as much as with wisdom."
"You can't just burden me like this", Lancer pleaded.
Hippolyte gave a strained chuckle.
"See it as... some kind retribution... Accept it... and make the best out of it", these last words came with a sigh so deep it sounded like all energy was already leaving.
"Please, don't..."
"You are queen now... Penthesilea", and with these words, the spark of life vanished in her eyes.
An entire life shattered by one simple mistake. With this cruel fate ended the life of the Amazons' last great queen... and my story begun. A throne that I never wanted thrust at me, along with the vengeance of the Erinyes for having taken the life of my sister. A sin I would need to atone for one way or another...
Einzbern, 2006
Nina Linke was shivering when she opened her eyes. Sitting up, she stared at her hands and found them shaking. She had never before in her life seen someone die. Of course she had her share of losses, but somehow she was either lucky to have never suffered to witness it or too craven to actually seek it. Even when her father died, he did that quietly in a hospital bed while she had spent the night at home. Nina had felt the shock of course. It had felt numbing, she felt helpless, but she was also able to look at it with a rational mind and accept it as it was. This was different. She had still the rattling sound of Hippolyte's last breath in her ears. She had shared the sheer terror Lancer had felt. And Nina was barely able to grasp how Penthesilea could remain that cool during the entire tragedy.
A myth from thousands of years ago... kind of baffling to see the real people beneath.
Nina looked around and found herself back in the modern age, but still somewhat in the past. It was her own apartment, not the one of Nick she had spent most of the last months in. Once again she was glad that she never really moved into his place. After what had happened during the summoning of Lancer she couldn't stand setting even one step back there. At least she hadn't left much stuff there and nothing she would miss much. Therefore she had no problem returning home with her unexpected ally.
"Good morning, Master", a hard voice announced.
Nina looked towards the doorframe. There she stood, wearing casual clothes and yet resisting to be casual at all.
"Good morning, Lea", Nina replied, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Did you keep watch all night?"
"It is important to stay vigilant. This place is not very defensible", the Amazon replied curtly.
The Master sighed. A real person from thousands of years ago was still a person from thousands of years ago after all.
"It doesn't need to, it's just where I live...", she complained.
"Just one more reason to make our base habitable as soon as possible."
The 'base' in question was the clubhouse. Nina could still not quite believe how fast she had gained the trust of everyone in the Einzbern chapter. The previous day still lingered in the back of her mind like a vivid dream. One that ended as a nightmare, but a dream nonetheless. After she made such a striking first impression Lea never let her off the hook, helping her rally the chapter to set in stone her position as the new Einzbern representative. It was eerie how fast the responsible decision-makers from the mother club faltered at the words of the Amazon and the support of the boys, but now she was officially recognized. It was odd in more ways than one. While the club itself was not known for excluding female members like others did, she had never heard of a woman being in a position to decide things. At least there was no one she was aware of. That the old bears made an exception for her of all people felt somehow flattering and undeserved at once. What happened thereafter however...
Fuck that damn pharaoh...
She cursed her own stupid idea even more than she did that opponent they had faced. Nina thought it was a good idea to gather a group of her boys to encircle an enemy Master in the vain hope to startle them through superior Masters. But already after fighting that little girl with her red knight she had realized that no mortal could make a difference in these disastrous duels. This was fight between armed opponents, this was the facing-off of two natural disasters. Even though she had realized that much, the knot in her throat made her hesitate too long while most of the boys were too awestruck to do the clever thing and go home. So before she was able to give the command, she suddenly found herself following Lea to the next enemy together with their entire entourage. And of course that became a disaster as soon as the police showed up, startled by the ruckus in their wake.
Thankfully they had no evidence whatsoever that we were involved in the incidents at all. Heck, the streets looked like a bulldozer crashed through them! How could a couple of guys with motorbikes do so much damage?
"They seemingly let the boys go that the caught", Nina said a few moments later during breakfast with Lea.
She was checking SMS on her phone during their plain meal of bread and sausage. The boys sounded glad enough to have been let off the hook, but a few of their words sounded grumpy.
"I guess I can count myself happy if they show up today at all...", she sighed, typing excuses.
"Don't be so sure about that", Lancer smirked between two bites. "It takes more than that to scare men like these followers of yours away. In fact I believe now that they are privy to the stakes of your battle, their faith in your leadership just grows."
Nina looked up from her phone warily.
"Whether your words are true or not, I will promise them to not drag them into this again. It was a stupid idea... let's give the boys the scouting jobs while we do the fighting on our own."
Lea gave her a mischievous grin.
"Agreed. Let's do it like this, my Master."
Having her good blessing was enough to make typing easier. She needed as many of them as possible to get the clubhouse running. Having finished everything she had to do, she continued her breakfast, silently watching the Amazon queen dutifully munching down a slice of toast.
She could wear a potato sack and still look royal. I still can't believe how beautiful she is.
"And you still haven't changed your mind about our strategy?", Nina asked carefully.
"No, not at all. Trust my judgement, we have seen the last of those two."
It bugged her since the day before. There was no way they could have kept on fighting the pharaoh, but Nina thought Lea let go of that knight far too easily. Especially since it looked like she was about to win the fight. She kept insisting it was part of her strategy and that she was trying to bring them down with minimal effort, but it still felt like it served no purpose.
But this was a thought for another day. Their the next destination was far more mundane. After finishing their meal and preparing herself Nina and Lancer went to their bikes and rode out towards the old building in the industrial district they had procured. It was the last remnant of Nick's short-lived leadership and the first step into hers...
For a bloody ruin without a lock it looks surprisingly well., Nina thought inspecting it the third time.
"The walls can barely delay an enemy, but its location makes it ideal to force an intruder out into the open", Lancer complemented her thoughts, stepping down from her machine.
They at first were strolling around the yard, looking for any cracks on the outside. Luckily they found none. In fact apart of the occult scribbles made by those youngsters there was nothing wrong on the inside either. Even the bathrooms looked usable, even though they needed to connect the building to the water supply in order to find out whether they were prone to flooding the ground level. According to those kids, they broke in only a bit more than a week ago, apparently word of the unguarded real estate hadn't spread in this time.
Let's see how much we can do today.
Lancer was wrenching open the windows which were nailed shut by the former owner. It was a little strange watching her doing that with bare hands, but Nina was just glad it went so smoothly. They had already reached the first floor, with Lea having just finished the first one in an empty room up there when Nina saw the first guest of the day arriving in the yard. It was no member of the club chapter formerly known as Vipers. In fact this person was using a bicycle instead of a motorcycle... It was a young girl with a schoolbag, stopping in the middle of the empty yard, scanning her surrounding warily.
She is early.
Nina looked at her companion. Lea also looked through the window and while she kept her guard up, she somehow seemed a tad less aggressive than usual. The Master shrugged.
"Hello there, Sarah!", she called out.
And the girl looked up in surprise, forcing herself to wave back. It seemed she wouldn't let go of that last trace of suspicion.
"Come right in, we are alone!", Nina said.
She and Lea went down to the ground floor. Sarah stood there in the middle of the still rather dark hall. Despite the windows now being open, it was still rather ominous with both the lack of electric lightning and the presence of those dark occult mandalas everywhere.
"Sorry for the mess, we haven't expected you so soon", Nina apologized while Lancer just stood behind her with crossed arms like some kind of mean bodyguard.
"No problem, I don't mind", the girl replied, casually waving towards the drawings.
In her ordinary clothes it was difficult to believe that this girl was partly responsible for these scary scribbles. Right now there just stood an ordinary girl going to middle-school in front of Nina, not the habit-wearing witch-in-making she had met two days ago.
"You look a bit distressed?", Nina observed with a frown.
"Well... I'm just a bit in a hurry", Sarah replied sheepishly. "I have to assume the fighting has begun..."
"It certainly has", Nina replied gravely, pictures of Lea's previous fights flashing up in her mind. "How do you know?"
The girl grimaced.
"They thrashed my school."
"Ouch...", Nina commented. "Who?"
"No idea", Sarah shrugged. "But it were likely Heroic Spirits. I managed to get a glimpse at our sports field and it looked like a hurricane went through."
"When did it happen?", Lancer suddenly asked.
Sarah looked up at the Servant in the background. Her irritated face betrayed that she was still sore about not having been able to claim Lancer herself.
"I haven't heard anything yet. Apparently it happened yesterday, but sorry, I don't know more."
Lea didn't reply. But instead she just nodded, giving a mischievous smile.
Does she know something I don't know?
"Well anyway, I am glad you came", Nina said after a little pause.
For lack of any suitable accommodations she had to offer her a seat on the lower steps of the stairs. Nina herself sat down there herself, waving towards the empty space next to her. Sarah hesitated a bit, but at last put down her bag and sat down. She opened it and took out a small book with a leather binding. The cover had neither any writing nor any illustrations, it was bare of any information regarding its content. And yet Nina gulped at the sight of it.
"This is it. The book that silver-haired woman gave to us", Sarah explained.
After the first shock of Lancer's summoning had settled, Nina tried to ask the kids as many questions as possible. But since most of them were still rather freaked out about it how their ritual turned out, so most of them took their battered friend and went home. Only Sarah, the girl who tried to attack Nick, remained long enough for Nina to catch her on the way out. Still being confused about the whole mess, Nina riddled her with questions. And for some she even got answers. Apparently these kids were members of an occult club that dabbled in some black magic. Nothing serious though, and they took offence at the notion of having something satanic to do. They insisted on only using medieval tomes written to summon angels and channel faith.
But it was also apparent that their occult magic was nothing more than a gag to spend their pastime, nothing of that ever really worked... at least until they got this book and things became real for once.
"A silver-haired woman?", Nina asked, glancing at the small book in Sarah's hands.
"Yeah... she approached us after she witnessed a ritual of ours two weeks ago", the girl said, answering Nina's suspicious look with an innocent one of her own. "Nothing unlawful, really! Just... a little blessing for an upcoming exam."
Nina frowned in amusement.
"Did it work?"
Sarah shrugged.
"Maybe, maybe not. But it sure was successful in drawing her attention. She entered the abandoned playground we were using, applauded us and gave us this spellbook."
"Why should she do that?", Lea asked.
While the two were talking, Lancer prowled restlessly through the entrance hall.
"I admit we never really asked. We were glad enough to be met with so much understanding. And yet...", she hesitated.
"Yet what?"
"This woman... she was strange, no matter how you look at it. Not only her hair. Not only her eyes... red ones like Lancer's... She talked about how wonderful our magic is and yet she looked sad..."
Lea seemed confused about that notion. Nina not.
"You found the ritual to summon Lancer in there?", she asked.
"Yes", was the concise answer.
It was a trap... she wanted them to summon Lancer and participate in the battle...
It seemed too cruel a plan to think of. These were children and yet this someone thought it would be a good idea to throw them into a battle to the death.
"Can I?", Nina asked, waving towards the book.
"No problem. I guess you'll need it more than I do at the moment. But I want it back after you won!", Sarah held the book out for her to take.
That brought a smile to her lips.
"Are you that sure of my victory?", she laughed while taking it.
"After you snatched Lancer away from us, you better make up for it!", Sarah groaned.
Nodding in agreement Nina leafed through the pages. There were a lot of detailed illustrations, but the writing was most interesting. The explanations and chants were carefully handwritten. In many ways it seemed odd and old-fashioned, Nina wouldn't be surprised to find out it was written with a quill. Going through the pages she saw that more than half of the small thing was dedicated to the summoning of a Heroic Spirit, explaining what could be used as 'catalyst' and what the meaning of the steps in the ritual were. The rest of it was about some other magic tricks like the offensive spell Sarah had used on Nick.
The intention seems clear. Everything in here looks like preparations to summon Lancer.
"I think I'd like to speak a few words to that woman...", Nina growled.
"Good luck with that, we had a tough time trying to find her afterwards", Sarah explained. "Nobody in that neighbourhood knew a woman of her description. You might think such a person would draw attention to herself."
"Then she was not from Einzbern", Lea observed.
Sarah nodded.
"We assumed as much."
"Thanks a lot for the book. Don't worry, Sarah. I'll make good use of it and give it back as soon as this Grail War thing is over."
She continued looking through the pages in the vain hope to find a few hints about their author or at least to find something helpful for how to defend against a proper mage. But of course there wasn't. There were a couple of offensive spells, but they were hideously complicated (despite the text's claim to the opposite) and Nina suspected the author intended the reader to be soothed into false confidence.
There is no denying whoever wrote this knew this subject well. If these kids had faced her, they surely would have died.
She was still reading when the sound of a car was audible from the outside. While Lea paid no mind, Sarah looked up warily.
"Who is that?", she asked.
Nina looked at her wristwatch. It was already late enough.
"Oh, just one of the boys. We were meeting up here to bring the clubhouse into shape."
"I see", Sarah said, jumping up and buckling her bag again. "I guess I better take my leave."
"You don't have to", Nina replied soothingly. "I don't think anyone would mind you."
"No thanks, I really don't need stay any longer. Bye then... we will see us when things have settled down a bit."
And with that she left. Nina and Lea followed her outside, but they were only able to watch her taking her bike and leave.
I guess even her trust has its limit... I guess we didn't really make that much of a good first impression after all.
She looked back at the book in her hand. Even if she didn't trust the club, she trusted her at least. The book was proof of it. She went towards her bike that stood idly on the yard and hid it in a saddlebag for the time being. She would have more than enough time for further studies later at home. Right now she had to deal with the white van that had entered shortly before. It was decorated with the name of the painting company Martin worked for.
"Hello, great to see you!", she called out, giving him a friendly hug as a greeting.
Lancer remained behind, being courteous enough but kept her distance.
"I'm glad you still showed up, even after the shit that went up yesterday", Nina admitted her doubts, especially since he was among those who ran into the police.
"Ah, no harm done. I think the cops are still having a headache from imagining what could really do so much damage..."
Nina nodded in relieve, all the while looking back towards Lea. She gave her a smug look that had written 'told you so' across her face. Not worrying further about things outside of her influence, Nina followed him towards the rear of the van. There the Vipers-member opened the rear doors to present his cargo. It was half filled with industrial sized cans of white paint as well as large mats made of felt which were splattered with the remnants of decades of usage.
"It's all there. The material we need and somewhere buried beneath are tools and overalls for everyone. Well, there are more coming, are they?"
"They are", Nina insisted, now with more confidence.
"Great. Well my boss agreed to give you special service", Martin explained. "The club only has to pay for the resources, not the manpower. It's a day off for me, you see."
She had to grin about that.
"I don't even know how to thank you. You saved me a lot of trouble with our club treasure. Getting a professional for a job without ruining us..."
"Who says you hired a professional? I show you guys how you do it without embarrassing yourselves and then I enjoy the view with a drink in hand", he gave her a toothy smile.
"Fine, then I hope you are at least more competent as a teacher than you are as a biker!", she turned towards Lea, still chuckling. "Come, let's start getting this stuff inside. We are going to need as much of the daytime as possible."
Lancer was a bit reluctant, but once Nina took one of the mats, she quickly joined them in the carrying business. Of course she was worth an army of ordinary people, even though the cumbersomeness of the cans slowed her down. Well, either that or she didn't bother enough to actually put any effort into the task. So while they were still at it, more and more of the other bikers arrived and joined their struggles. And it weren't only the bikers themselves. Even though the mother organization of the Vipers wasn't enforcing any kind of gender discrimination in its recruitment policy (much unlike a few other groups Nina was aware of), they were still far away from attracting a large number of female members. Fortunately Lea was hell-bent on changing that. As reply to this Nina proposed they could start by encouraging the members to bring their partners to group activities as a means to forge a stronger bond. Some the guys were reluctant, especially when the first common activity should be the decoration of the club house. And yet many seem to have heeded her advise, Nina was able to greet many unfamiliar faces.
Soon enough the ground level was properly outfitted with the mats. Martin gave his instructions where necessary, but otherwise did his best to paint over the biggest walls with a speed Nina could only dream of. He even left Lea behind, who proved that superhuman strength and agility are by all means no guarantee for fine-motor work. She especially lacked the patience to properly wipe the brayer at the grating. A flaw Nina pointed out over and over again, but the Amazon didn't listen. At least until she tried to tackle the ceiling, causing her face and precious black hair to be showered with a rain of white paint. Lancer shot the chuckling Nina a murderous look afterwards...
That way however they made good progress. The hours passed in the blink of an eye, soon enough they were moving to the second floor with all the mats and their equipment and everything. They managed to make dozens of those freaky scribbles disappear before Martin took Nina to the side.
"Sorry for the interruption, but I've been thinking...", he said in an unusually serious tone.
"Try not to get a headache", Nina quipped, trying to take the tension out of him, but he just grimaced.
"I'm serious here. I have seen with my own eyes what this Lancer woman could do and didn't you guys tell me she came out of one of these crazy circles here?"
"It was right over there, actually...", Nina pointed towards on of the mats behind Martin, on the floor beneath it the circle had been the day before. "First thing we did that afternoon was erasing together with those kids. Just in case..."
Martin scratched the back of his head.
"Yes, you have successfully erased that one, I see, but...", he sighed. "You know, the other ones are still around. Beneath the paint, completely untouched."
"What do you mean?", Nina frowned.
"I'm just a bit concerned we could say the wrong words and one day something nastier than Lancer comes crashing out of one of these walls."
Nina grimaced. Sarah had assured her that they used most of these for painfully mundane tasks and she couldn't help but think that Sarah herself was far from being an expert witch.
"These are sprayed, buying chemicals to erase them is outside of our budget...", Nina pondered aloud. "But I can tell you, the only summoning circle in the book they were using was that for Lancer. Outside of stuff in the book nothing had really ever worked for them."
He crossed his arms.
"I see..."
When they returned to the others, the second floor was basically finished. Nina was glad about at least so much. They had brought the inside of the building back into shape and still had roughly an hour of daylight left. Now she only hoped that Lea was able to keep attacking Servants outside, so that all their work won't end up buried under a pile of rubble.
"Great job, everyone!", Nina announced grinning. "Let's tidy everything up, so that the party can start."
'Tidying up' meant not only to bring all the equipment back into Martin's van, it also meant scrubbing the floors. As careful as they were with covering everything up with mats and tape, they were still some places they missed. Well, there was that and that the entire building was in dire need of a thorough cleaning anyway.
"For what do you take me?", Lancer glared at her when Nina asked why she just stood at the side, watching everyone hurrying around with a bored face.
"Uh... I took you for a teamplayer, that's why I asked", Nina replied with a frown.
"I am a warrior, not a lowly servant...", she groaned with a lowered voice so that the others won't hear her.
"Oh come, everyone helps... and with you at our side we are finished in no time. Think about the barbecue!"
For a second Nina thought about using the promise of a sausage to goad her into helping out, but she immediately abandoned the idea thinking that while Lea acted unusually childish, she was still an adult after all.
"Are you afraid to make your hands dirty?", she asked after her first attempt brought no reaction, Lancer even averted her eyes.
"No... I have no qualms about manual labour, I thought my work here is proof enough for you, Master."
"It is...", Nina admitted, still waiting for an answer.
Lancer sighed.
"Cleaning is men's work...", Lancer admitted.
It took Nina a few seconds to process that.
"What?", she asked aghast.
"It is not a job for a warrior..."
Nina put her hands into her sides, observing Lea's pained expression with slight amusement.
"You're kidding me, right? I mean, come on! Look how everyone here works together! This is our clubhouse, it is our little project. Don't make yourself sound like... some kind of chauvinist... just... against men... whatever you call that anyways."
Lea scratched the back of her head.
"I see your point. You are sisters and brothers in arms, you share all burdens together."
"Right...", Nina applauded eagerly.
"I am sorry, I... this future confuses me sometimes. I will try to be open-minded towards your group. As open-minded as you are about my culture."
Nina nodded, setting up her most diplomatic smile. Lancer still didn't move. After a small silence, Nina realized the mop in her hand. She nudged it forward, offering Lancer to take it. Sighing and resigning, she finally took it. Work continued thereafter. Lancer helped out, begrudgingly, but she did. And shortly after darkness had set in, everything was finished. All of the members and helpers gathered in the yard for the final celebration.
One of the boys had donated a large barbecue grill, an old model, but it was so large it looked like it was taken out from some mobile fast food stall. Others had brought beer, sausages, meatballs, steaks and bread rolls. Another one of the boys even brought a sound system, allowing them to have some music to liven everything up. Unfortunately they had no benches or chairs, something that stood right on top of Nina's list, but even while standing or sitting on the ground they found relieve from the hard day's work. The chilly night's air was nourishment enough for their aching limbs. And yet these aches were of the good sort, of the one that had 'good work' written all over it. There were many proud smiles, many content faces. Even among those still unknown to Nina. The teamwork really helped to build bridges, so she hoped these would last long enough to bring all these new and friendly faces into the club. After her aching legs had recovered a bit, Nina raised herself up, clacking two beer bottles against each other to get their attention. The chatting seized slowly and dozens of eyes rose to meet hers.
"I thank you all, people. Really. In just one day, we, as a club, as a team, have accomplished so much. Be proud of your work! And remind yourself that this is your blood and sweat in these walls whenever you wander through the halls of our clubhouse. It is ours now and will ever be!", she gave them a cheery salute with her bottle. "Let's drink to our achievement! This is the first day of a new, reformed club!"
A wave of cheers answered hers.
"We still need a new name though", a single voice rose among the others, Nina saw it belonged to Martin. "'Vipers' was Nick's idea. But this is not Nick's chapter anymore."
He is right...
A wave of guilt washed over her. There was so much to do in the last few days, she totally forgot that. And now her non-existent creativity left her speechless. She knew she had to say something, suddenly aware of the imploring looks. Looking for a way to escape, she found Lea standing idly to her left. A cruel idea passed her mind and stayed there.
"Why don't we ask the one who made this all possible?", she offered Lancer her place.
The Amazon looked up at this gesture, making a morose face. She drew circles in the air with the half-emptied beer bottle in her end, looking like she was still weighing whether to drink it or to put it away.
"I have done nothing worthwhile, this is your effort alone" , Lea said evasively.
"Don't be silly, I would have never managed it without your guidance. Come on, give us a bit more of your wisdom!", Nina urged.
"I'm sorry, Master, I am not good with words..."
"Me neither. Just do it! Say some words to all those who have witnessed your fights and those who haven't."
Lancer sighed, but stepped forward regardless.
"Fine then...", she then raised her voice. "You know that I come from a long forgotten age, from a long forgotten people. And now it pains me to see, what we are seen as, what we have become in the minds of those who came after us. We were the Amazons. An actual people consisting of actual humans. We had a civilization, we had our cities, we had our gods and our festivals."
She looked down at the bottle in her hand again as if she didn't know where to put it, before facing her audience again.
"And now we have become a vague legend. No. Worse still, we have become a ghost story told by craven old men who wanted to instil fear in the hearts of their fellow men of what would happen if they don't chain their wives to the hearths. Tales of mad warriors mutilating their own breasts for no gain whatsoever. Tales of enslaved men, even tales of a people slaying male newborns... All preposterous nonsense! Lies and forgeries to mock a fallen civilization! We were a kingdom that offered a place for everyone, a place where everyone had the option to prosper. And yet... and yet..."
Her voice was turned bitter with anger, but she swallowed it down and her features became more soft again.
"Today you reminded me that not all men behave like this... and that not all women believe their lies. We worked together here, as one unit. Regardless of rank and gender, we made this fortress of yours happen. Your comradeship is truly inspiring and should be the one trait you need to cultivate at all costs. Regarding a name, though... I am in no position to put these efforts into words which do justice to your achievement."
Apart from the dimmed sound of the sound station, everything was silent. Whether they were thinking about her praise or still a bit awestruck about her emotional outbreak, Nina couldn't tell.
"Why not 'Amazons' then? Not the ones of the myths, but the true ones!", a voice proposed.
It was one of the women who came due to Nina's and Lancer's offer. One of these unknown faces she had hoped to keep in the club.
"Nah, nobody would get that!", one of the boys replied. "We are not an all-girls club after all."
"We would get the reference! Isn't this enough?", she was able to make him silent again.
Nina herself was still not quite convinced... He was right, the word had gained a connotation that doesn't quite fit their club... and yet she thought that they could turn this on its head.
A first step to retrack the original meaning of the word? Is that even possible?
"How about 'True Amazons' then?", another voice called out. "We might need to stitch larger insignia's, but then everybody would know that we have our own meaning of the word."
Lancer stared at him in disbelief. It was Martin.
"I... I would feel honored... honored to know that you want to revive our heritage", her voice was nearly a whisper, but for the first time Nina saw a completely genuine smile on her face, reminding her how beautiful she was after all.
There was still a lot of discussion thereafter, but it in the end they voted through raised hands... and thus "True Amazons" became the name of the Einzbern chapter.
A few hours later Nina and Lea were back at the apartment. While the Servant looked no worse than at noon, Nina was completely exhausted and heedlessly threw herself onto her bed. Being back in the warmth of her home, the coldness of the night fled her body and made each and every muscle remember the work they had done this day.
"I'm burning alive", Nina growled into her pillow.
"It wouldn't be so hard if you trained you body more. If you wish so, I can train you at arms", Lancer replied.
Nina looked up at her with dark eyes. Regarding her current attitude towards every kind of further exercises, she didn't feel able to tell whether the offer was genuine or meant mockingly.
"I'll pass...", she replied, rolling herself onto her back and reaching out for the remote. "Let's just see what happened elsewhere in the world and call it a day."
After some struggle she managed to find it and switch on the TV. At this hour nothing worthwhile was to be found, so moving through a bunch of crappy channels she looked for something where there were news. When she finally found one, the letters on the screen hit her immobilized body like lightning.
Einzbern?
Indeed this was her hometown in the news. And it wasn't a regional channel either, they were in the country-wide news. Even Lancer tensed when the newsreader reported some stuff about a collapsed bridge over Einzberner Ring caused by... a filming crew?
"Don't tell me...", she whispered.
And then came the video footage. The figures fighting on the road were nearly shapeless due to their immense speed and yet if you knew who it was, the implications came immediately. The figure on horseback was unknown to Nina, but the other one...
"Pharaoh guy!", Nina shouted out.
"It seems he already found his next enemy. Interesting...", Lea mused.
During the whole day Nina was able to forget why exactly Queen Penthesilea returned to Earth and stepped into her life. But fate seemed to be hell-bent to not allow her to rest. The Grail War continued. And it was only a matter of time for Lancer's next turn in this bloodstained game.
Author's notes: Heh, I am fairly sure there are several people out there smugly saying "Called it!". Now it is out, the identity for Lancer. I am no fan of hiding such a thing for a long time though. Fate/Zero didn't need that to generate a good story and I hope I don't either. So don't worry, the remaining participants won't stay a mystery for long. See you then!