CHAPTER 51: THE KING OF KNIGHTS
(Ilya POV)
It had been difficult, a really difficult task, to restrain herself and control her emotions.
Ilya knew it, she knew who the ghost standing in front of her was...
Yes, there was no doubt about it. It was Arturia Pendragon, the girl who was known during her life as King Arthur, the King of Knights. There was no way Ilya could have been mistaken. Her aura... her feel... even though this time, she was nothing but a spirit without a physical body, there was no doubt about it... it was her.
And yet, for some reason, Ilya also knew that the ghost in front of her was a stranger. She knew her, yet at the same she did not, for they had never met. The ghost's scrutinizing look and unfriendly aura was proof of that.
Ilya had been hoping against hope that it wasn't the case, but her heart told her otherwise. The girl in front of her was definitely Arturia Pendragon, the Once and Future King of England, and yet she was not the person who the silver-haired had known, and had been part of her family...
Saber had perished, along with every other person that Ilya loved and cared for, during the 6th and final Heaven's Feel Holy Grail war, which occurred just four years after the 5th one, during which the silver-haired female was the only survivor...
Yes, it was painful for Ilya, knowing that she will never be able to see them again. First Shirou, then Seyla and Leysritt, then Fuji-nee, then Sakura, then Lancer, then Rin, and finally... Saber...
And among all the people she had met, Saber was the one who Ilya had been the closest to, next to her brother...
Ilya really missed the blonde female, having lived with her under the same roof, like family, for nearly four years, for the King of Knights had been convinced that the past should not be redone, and decided to stay.
Even after Shirou had sacrificed himself for Ilya's sake, Arturia, instead of following her Master who was her lover, opted to remain, having promised Shirou that she would stay behind and protect Ilya in her place, and formed a contract with the silver-haired female.
The two lovers, after all, had promised to meet again in the afterlife. Only this time their roles were reversed. The one who was forever waiting, and the one who was forever chasing...
Yes, Saber had become Ilya's Servant, but the silver-haired female did not view her as such. To Ilya, Saber had been like a mother, a sister, and a teacher, all at the same time.
And now, the feeling of hostility the transparent blonde in front of her had been giving off was almost exactly the same to the one that Saber used to have for her, when they had first met, the time when Ilya had set about killing her brother Shirou, and had set her mighty Servant Berserker, whose true identity was Hercules, on them.
The silver-haired female, despite her turmoil of emotions, kept it under control with enormous effort. Yes, the person in front of her may be giving off a similar vibe, but she was someone that Ilya didn't know. She was a stranger...
For she is Arturia, but not her Arturia. They are the same person, yet at the same time they are not the same person...
-BREAK-
(Arturia POV)
A long, eerie silence reigned, as a girl with silver hair stood face to face with two transparent beings, ghosts. One of them was Bedivere, one of King Arthur's most loyal knights. And the other...
... was the King of Knights herself, Arturia Pendragon...
It had been a long time... a very, very long time since then, since the time she had ruled Britain, and was known as King Arthur...
Yes, many would find it hard to believe, that the Once and Future King of England was actually a woman, and yet it was the undeniable truth. In her over a thousand years of existence as a ghost, Arturia had watched and observed, as her story was passed down, from one generation to another. Yes, she was a legend. The hero of Britain whose legacy people have continued to respect and worship, almost as much as they worshipped God, through the years...
And yet, as what happens with all stories when passed down throughout the centuries, some details are added while some are removed due to various reasons, either for convenience, for dislike of certain aspects of the story, or the simple fact of having 'misheard' and 'misinterpreted' parts of the story, as well the storyteller's own interpretation. It was actually surprising that many of the details of the different versions of her legend that arose were still accurate. However, there were some significant aspects that have been altered...
And one the most significant aspects of the legend which was incorrect was the gender of the King of Knights, although this was not caused by the eventual alterations of her story that happened through the centuries. From the very beginning, no one, except for Merlin, her adoptive family, Sir Kay, Sir Lancelot, and Sir Bedivere, knew that she was a girl (Even her half-sister, Morgan le Fay, thought that she was a pseudo-male or hermaphrodite, unaware that Merlin's magic was behind it, and temporarily turned her into such.). Even her biological parents did not know the truth, for given the rather unpleasant circumstances around her birth (Her biological father, in a fit of lust, with the help of Merlin's magic, disguised himself as the man's wife and slept with her, and Arturia was born from this union.). As of present, there was no one in existence, except for her and Sir Bedivere, and Sir Lancelot, who knew the truth. For as far as she knew, they were the only ones who knew of the secret who had become ghosts. The rest have moved on to the afterlife. Yes, the three of them were the only ones who knew the truth. The rest of the world believed she was a man...
Or so she thought...
Arturia had been passive, preferring to wander alone as a ghost, for hundreds of years. Yes, she had fought for the sake of her kingdom with everything she had, and tried to become an ideal king. When she removed Caliburn from the stone, she already knew what her fate would be. Still, her desire to protect her country urged her on, and she tried to go against the prophesized doom. However, in the end, she still failed at her task, and her kingdom fell into ruin. She died full of regret, and was thus unable to move on, and thus was turned into a ghost...
When Bedivere first told her about what happened, she couldn't believe what she had heard, thinking it was nonsense, and did not give it much significance. However, as her subordinate continued his report, the fire within her, that had been extinguished for hundreds of years, ever since she died at the Battle of Camlaan, was rekindled...
-BREAK-
(Arturia POV)
"Tell me," said the female King of Knights in a cold voice, finally breaking the silence, as she stared into the emerald eyes of the silver-haired girl in front of her. "Who are you?"
"Ilyasveil von Einzbern-Emiya," replied the girl after a moment. Her voice was calm, but Arturia, who had fought in many battles, could tell that she was nervous.
"Do you know my name?" the blonde-haired ghost continued.
"The King of Knights, the Once and Future King of England, Arturia Pendragon," said the girl in response.
So Bedivere was telling the truth, thought Arturia, as she took once glance at her subordinate, before turning back to face the girl.
While the King of Knights did not show it, she was actually surprised. The girl recognized her, that was for sure. When they first appeared before her, Arturia could tell, based from her(the silver-haired girl's) reactions that she knew who she(Arturia) was, and now she had confirmed it. However...
"So you know who I am," stated the blonde-haired female ghost in a monotonous tone. "Now tell me, Ilyasveil, have we met before?"
The girl was quiet for a moment before responding.
"No," she said finally.
At this, the ghost of the knight standing by Arturia reacted.
"So you were lying to me when you said that you met my liege's spirit?" Bedivere asked the girl, in a growl-like voice. It was understandable. Arturia knew that her subordinate prided himself in being able to tell if people were telling the truth. Apparently, this time, he was mis...
"No, I wasn't lying to you," replied the silver-haired female. "I told you that I knew Arturia Pendragon, but I never said that I was acquainted with your king."
Silence reigned in the room for a moment...
"Could you please repeat what you said?" inquired Arturia's subordinate quietly.
"I know Arturia, but I do not know your king," replied the girl simply.
The King of Knights was confused, very confused, by what the girl had said. And from the look on her knight's face, it was the same for him. And to make matters even more perplexing, Arturia could not see any signs that the girl was lying, as if she believed that what she was saying was the truth...
"So what you are trying to say," began Bedivere slowly. "Is that you are friends with the spirit of Arturia, but you are not acquainted with my king?"
The silver-haired female nodded.
"But the one standing in front of you is Arturia, as well as my king!" declared the knight, now looking utterly confounded.
Arturia watched in silence as her knight and the silver-haired female continued their conversation, which was going in circles. She was confused, greatly so. From the very first question she had asked the girl, Ilyasveil, seemed to have answered her honestly. Being the king of her country, Arturia has had training in the aspect of discerning people's motives, and aside from the training, she had had a lot of experience dealing with various types of people, so it was not easy to lie to her...
Which made things even more puzzling. The girl had recognized her. She knew that the ghost before her was the King of Knights. Yet now, she was saying that she knew Arturia, but she did not know the spirit that was standing in front of her? It was all inconsistent and very much confusing. Still...
"ENOUGH!" shouted the blonde female ghost loudly and with authority, as her already echoing voice echoed throughout the room, silencing the ghost of her subordinate and the human who were arguing in her presence.
There were other pressing matters at hand, and she cannot let the nonsensical conversation continue...
"Tell me, Ilyasveil," began the blonde-haired female knight, deciding to temporarily drop the previous topic and move on to the other important issue. "Why is it that you possess my sword, Caliburn? If memory serves, I had Bedivere return it to the Lady of the Lake?"
The knight beside Arturia was about to open his mouth, but his superior raised a hand to silence him...
The silver-haired girl was silent for a moment, with a confused look on her face, before it turned into a frown...
"I see, so things really went differently in this world," muttered the girl, more to herself than to the spirits she was talking to.
"Is there something wrong, Ilyasveil?" inquired the blonde-haired female spirit, as she looked at the girl with scrutiny in her eyes...
"Nothing is wrong," replied the Ilyasveil, who still looked puzzled, as she looked the ghost straight in the eyes. "It's just that as far as I know, the sword that Arturia returned to the Lake Spirit was Excalibur. And if memory serves, it had been given to the King of the Knights when her first sword, Caliburn, the sword in the stone, was broken. "
The eyes of the King of Knights widened at the girl's answer. It was unexpected. For as far as Arturia knew, there was no version of her legend in which there was an accurate account related to her swords. Even the version of the Wizarding was wrong, for they believed that Caliburn and Excalibur were the same sword, as well as the sword in the stone, and they believed that it was Merlin who created it, which was half-true. Caliburn was indeed placed by Merlin into the sword and anvil, but he never explained, even to Arturia, who exactly forged it. But Excalibur was a different sword, and it had been given by the Lady of the Lake. And according to the Wizard's account of the story, it was Caliburn or Excalibur, that was thrown into the lake, believing that the two names referred to the same sword. They never had any records of the blade being broken.
For even among her knights and subordinates, there were none who had given her change in weapon much attention, save for a select few(including the one who had successfully stolen Avalon), for Caliburn and Excalibur, while different in many respects, would look similar to unobservant eyes, and most of the knights focused on the king, not the sword. Still...
"You are correct," said Arturia monotonously. "Caliburn and Excalibur are indeed different swords. However... you have not yet answered my question. Why is Caliburn in your possession? Why is my sword, which has been broken, whole once again? Who was responsible for forging it back together?"
Yes, this was the question that Arturia truly want answered. Her sword. Her Caliburn. Even though Excalibur proved to be the superior of the two, the King of Knights still preferred Caliburn, her first sword, over it. For Excalibur was a sword that was given by the faeries, while Caliburn, while it may be inferior to it in quality, was a sword that more fittingly symbolized her and her ideals, and as Arturia betrayed herself to protect her country, it resulted in the sword being broken...
The silver-haired girl took a deep breath before speaking...
"I am sorry, King of Knights," she said. "But I do not have your sword..."
-BREAK-
(Arturia POV)
"I beg your pardon?" inquired the blonde-haired female ghost quietly, as she looked at the silver-haired girl straight in the eyes.
"I do not have it," said the girl simply. "Caliburn is not in my possession."
For a moment, a jolt of emotion was felt by the King of Knights, disappointed, for she had been fond of that particular sword, and she was actually hoping to see it again. When the sword was broken, Arturia had it hidden in her chambers, where it lay forgotten, for she had been too busy with her duties as a King. And when she came back later, as a ghost, for a visit, she found the castle in ruins, and the broken sword was nowhere to be found...
"You are lying," said Bedivere, his voice firm. "I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes. I witnessed how you fought against the giant, and I must admit I was impressed. It was a heroic action, Ilyasveil, a noble and selfless act to protect the innocent. However... there is no way I could have been mistaken. The sword that you used belonged to my king."
Silence reigned in the room reigned for a while, as Arturia stared at her subordinate, who looked uneasy. The knight, as far as the blonde-haired female ghost could tell, was sure with what he saw. Aside from that, Arturia had also been sure that she had felt Caliburn's energy, even for a moment, and in fact, she had felt it twice that day...
"I did not lie to you, Sir Bedivere," replied the silver-haired female calmly. "I never told you that the sword in my possession was Caliburn."
"But I saw you, I heard you," said the knight, his voice rising. "You called out its name to unleash its power when you..."
"It is not real!" the silver-haired female snapped, as she cut the ghost off, her voice also rising. "My sword is but a copy of Caliburn which I created...It is nothing but an imitation of the original!"
"An imitation?" scoffed Bedivere. "Now you are pulling my leg. It is impossible for the weapon you used to be a mere imitation. There is no magic in existence that can copy that sword, I doubt if even Merlin would be able to pull something life that off, nor is there anyone in this present time who can make a sword of that calibre, not even the goblins. But if you insist it is nothing but a mere copy of the original which I doubt, please explain how you managed such a feat."
"I think I told you before, Sir Knight," said the silver-haired female coldly. "As for the matter regarding the sword, that is something between me and Arturia."
"Then explain," said the King of Knights, her gaze still locked upon Ilyasveil, whose eyes were also locked upon her. "I am here. So explain."
Silence reigned in the room for a moment...
"No," said Ilyasveil finally, looking away. "You may look like her, but you are not her. You are not Arturia."
For a moment, the King of Knights felt sympathy for the silver-haired female, seeing the sad look that appeared on her face. However...
"I am not Arturia? Are trying to say..." began the King of Knights in a dangerously quiet voice. "... that I am an impostor?"
The moment the sentence registered in Arturia's mind, her feeling of pity was forgotten, as anger dominated her...
"WHAT?" shouted Bedivere, looking outraged.
Silence reigned in the room once again, as the two ghosts stared angrily at the female with silver hair.
"No, I am not saying that you are an impostor," began Ilyasveil in a quiet voice. "You are Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights, of that I have no doubt of. However, you are not the Arturia I know..."
"STOP TALKING IN RIDDLES!"
Ever since she had become a ghost, Arturia never thought that something like this could possibly happen to her. But now, for the first time in hundreds of years, she had lost her temper. She was getting worked up, feeling exasperated. She was angry and confused, as the girl had apparently insulted her. And yet, while it seemed as if the silver-haired female was fooling around with them with words, the King of Knights could not help but feel that the girl was telling them the truth.
True, she may have been holding back on details, but as far as she can tell, the girl Ilyasveil had never, not even once, told them a lie. The King of Knights did know why, but for some reason, her instinct was screaming at her that the girl was not lying...
The King of Knights, losing control over her conflicting emotions, decided that it was time to proceed with her plan, the course of action she had originally planned to take if the girl turned out to be an evil person. Now, however, even though Arturia was not yet sure if that really was the case...
"Prepare yourself," the King of Knights declared, as she gritted her teeth, staring at the silver-haired female in front her...
"?"
The blonde-haired female ghost had sprung from where she was standing, holding something sharp and metallic in her hands, and in the next moment...
"?!"
WHOOOSH!
CLANG!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Alright, another chapter out...
First and foremost, I know that some of you would be asking about what happened. And probably many of you will be asking questions, especially the part concerning the ghosts in the Harry Potter Universe, their abilities, what they can and cannot do, etc. Well, if you think I made an error in that aspect... well, let's just say it will be explained in the next chapter...
And like always, I hope you enjoy reading my works...
Later then, people...
