It was a foggy and blurry night. The air was rather dense, with the weight of the passing cloud. A gentle but chilly breeze caused Artoria's ponytail to flutter slightly in the wind. The sound of distant cars wooshed past. Artoria shrunk her neck deeper into the sweater's collar; how she regretted not packing a jacket in the morning. The night was quiet; the thick fog mostly muffled all sounds which meant it was eerily quiet. Artoria looked up at the light post above her; its harsh white light lit a halo around it. Light tiny droplets of water sprinkled her face, the soft gust of wind burned her nose. It was nearly May, and the weather was still as cold as it could be. Artoria took a deep breath of the heavy air; it smelt of earth and grass and all that was natural.
It was days like these that Artoria was slightly grateful that her bus stop was far away; that way, she could take her time walking home. The week had been unusually cold for springtime, but she chucked it up to climatic anomalies, or whatever kept winter running longer. However, Artoria welcomed the fog; it had always been one of her favourite weather types, second to lukewarm spring days.
Foggy days helped clear her mind. As she sat on the bus, she had been thinking about her future. There was a small blessing in having her motorcycle in repairs. Now that she was walking home, it was starting to stress her. What was she going to do after she graduated from university? She didn't want to think about what sacrifices she had to make or what awaited her. She still had another four months of school, but life after school was soon approaching, and it caused her great unease. What was she supposed to do with her life? Would she even be hired anywhere? Sure, she had her parents' company to fall back on, but it wasn't something she wanted to do.
A sudden buzz interrupted her downwards spiral, and she searched her bag. Pulling out her blue cellphone, Artoria clicked it on and saw the notification.
Mum 10:33 pm
Honey, I have a work emergency; I won't be in tonight. And your father has to stay another day in Paris.
Artoria was used to this, not that she minded. Being the child of company owners wasn't all so bad. Her family had good times, and that's why she had never really felt left behind by her parents. Both Igraine and Uther always made the best of their time when they were together, and now that she was in university, it wasn't vital for her to be glued to her parents.
She typed a quick reply and shoved her phone back into her bag as she continued to walk up the small hill. She reached the gates of her house and quickly typed in a passcode before stepping aside for the gates to swing open. She smiled and waved at the guard that stood at his post, and he greeted her briefly before going back to his job.
Artoria's family had always been wealthy, coming from generational wealth. It was a common thing for them to have guards and maids. Artoria, however, was never really one to flaunt her wealth; it had never really been part of who she was. In fact, the most expensive thing she owned was her motorcycle, and even it wasn't the latest and brand model.
She pushed the front door open and stepped inside. She slipped off her platform sneakers and stepped into her blue slippers that sat next to the shoe closet. The house was an old mansion, passed down in her family for generations, it had victorian gothic architecture, and the walls were covered in white and gold floral wallpaper. There were antiques hung on the walls and placed on old and quaint wooden tables. It seemed as if the house was more of a set for a period drama rather than a 21st century home; Igraine had a rather peculiar taste.
Artoria made her way upstairs to her bedroom. Although the house was rather old, it had been recently renovated, and so the wooden boards didn't whine under her weight or crack with every step she took. She made it to her room without running into any staff, which she was glad for. She threw her bag into the armchair next to the door and yawned, pulling off the sweater.
Her evening routine wasn't anything special, really. If she'd had a long day, she would take a quick hot water shower (the type where the water nearly burns as it touches her skin, the mirror fogs up, and she feels satisfied when stepping out) and slipping into pyjamas before she knocked out on her bed. She was halfway through her evening routine, having already slipped into some black shorts and a t-shirt as her pyjamas and taken a nice relaxing shower (a little longer than usual) when she heard a buzz from her phone. As she was drying her dripping hair with her towel, she eyed her phone and noticed she had a text notification.
Mum 12:02 pm
Sweetheart, remember about tomorrow's lunch invitation. I left your tea dress in the basement. I want you to be wearing it in the morning. Xx
Artoria rolled her eyes once she had read the text and set her phone back down before she walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the stairs. She had dreaded the lunch invitation, for she knew it was essentially a date set up by her parents and those of another prominent family. She had heard her fair share of whispers about the Uruk family. People had said they were more powerful than the queen of England herself; they had a monopoly over the oil industry and even owned part of a big agricultural company that produced quite a bit of food. Of course, the Uruk family had a handsome son who was full of himself; Artoria had the displeasure of meeting him briefly at a charity event two years back...she settled on the fact that she didn't like him, mostly because of his haughty attitude. Igraine, however, had convinced Artoria that they met a long time ago, and he could've changed quite a bit. Perhaps she could even come to get along with him (even if not romantically).
The prospect that he wasn't egotistical didn't stop her from dreading the meeting. She had better things to do on a Saturday afternoon than go to a not-so blind date, like, take her dog to the dog park, or meet up with her friends. Of course, the duty to the family always had to come first.
Speaking of her dog...where was the hound?
"Aithusa!" Artoria called out. How hadn't she noticed she hadn't come to greet her? Well, now that Aithusa was getting older, sometimes she'd rather stay in bed than greet everyone who came in through the door, especially since Friday was a busy day for the staff. "She must already be in bed…" Artoria mumbled to herself as she reached the basement door.
Once opening the heavy wooden door, she flipped on the light switch and descended the stairs. The basement had been renovated a few years back, so it was well lit and bright, not anything like some whimsical dark and damp dungeon. It was when she reached the bottom of the stairs that the white and brown spotted dog she had briefly been looking for her ran up to her.
"Aithusa!" Artoria laughed as the dog jumped on her, whining slightly. Artoria fell to her knees and pat the dog's head. "Hey baby, why're you down here? Did you get locked in?" She frowned exaggeratedly and kissed the dog atop her head. "Come on, baby girl, let's go get that dress."
Aithusa licked Artoria's face and wagged her tail excitedly.
"I know, I know, baby, you're happy to see me. I'm happy to see you too." Artoria hugged the dog, and she stood back up, looking around. "How long have you been down here? I hope not too long. Have you had dinner yet?" Artoria spotted the blue tulle tea dress she had been looking for hagging on a rack along with a few other dresses.
The basement was either reserved as a part cellar or for Igraine's workshop. Igraine was a designer and model before she had married Uther. Still partly a designer, she created a few dresses every now and again, one of which was the blue tea dress that Artoria was to wear the following day.
"Do you want to eat?" Artoria looked down at the still-very-excited Aithusa. "I'll give you a snack when we go upstairs, yeah?"
Artoria picked up the dress and made her way to the stairs once more. Once she fed her dog, she could finally go to sleep. Artoria was already thinking about what time she had to set her alarm so she could wake up, fit into the dress and be ready on time. She was breaking the day down in her mind as she turned off the light of the workshop and stepped onto the stairs.
Artoria's head turned when she noticed Aithusa was not following after her. "What's wrong, baby? You wanna stay down here?"
Aithusa looked up at Artoria, still wagging her tail in excitement. She turned in her spot and then stepped back into the dark workshop.
"Aithusa, let's go upstairs now. Don't make me carry you," Artoria warned as she stepped back down. She reached for the light switch to flick on the lights but once she flicked it, the lights remained off. She frowned and tried a few more times, flicking the switch up and down, but to no avail; the light wouldn't turn on.
Artoria groaned and set the dress on the stairs' railing and went in pursuit of her dog. "Come on, Aithusa, it's time to go to bed. Hurry." Artoria's eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light and she could barely make out her dog scratching on the wooden floor next to the cellar. "Oh, Aithusa, don't do that, mum'll kill us." She sighed as she rushed to the dog, pulling the dog away from the spot by the leather collar. It the mess of things, while pulling her away and the dog's erratic behaviour, Aithusa managed to bit Artoria, not very hard, but enough to draw blood. "Bad girl. You know you shouldn't scratch the floors. What am I going to do with you?" She drew her hand away with a hiss. Artoria felt the blood drip off her finger, and she quickly brought her finger to her mouth to suck the blood out. She grumbled as she pulled the dog towards the stairs.
A pulsating glowing white light lit up the room and Artoria let go of Aithusa, jumping in surprise as she turned back. Right where Aithusa had been scratching, an intricate pattern consisting of circles, stars and symbols glowed in a white-bluish light. Artoria froze in shock. Was that—, she thought, was that there before?
She took a step back as the glowing light got stronger and stronger. She had to squint her eyes and cover them with her arm as the white light glowed unimaginably bright that it was nearly blinding. The light shone, washing the entire basement white, invading every crevice, every crook of every object to the point that not a single part of the room was a slight bit dark. A gust of wind radiated from the center of the pattern and burst through the room, knocking Artoria off her feet. She landed on her butt with a groan. Slowly and cautiously she opened her eyes, making sure the light wouldn't blind her. The glow had died down sufficiently, so much so that it looked no more than a ring of soft white patio lights. Artoria saw as Aithusa ran to the center of the circle, her nails clicking on the wooden floor.
It was when her sight finally adjusted that beyond the settling fog, she saw a person standing in the middle of the glowing circle, with, of course, Aithusa who was overly excited to be meeting a new person.
"I ask you, are you, my master?" The crisp, deep voice of a man echoed in the room.
Artoria blinked as her breath caught in her throat. Glowing amber eyes pierced through the fog and stared into her very soul. The man (Artoria had gathered that much) that stood before her was well-built; he had wide shoulders and had a muscular build. His raven black hair was pushed back, and there was a single braid that hung down to his chin at the left side of his face. Artoria noticed a small beauty mark under his right eye. He had a sharp jawline and narrow eyes. Artoria would consider him what one might call nowadays as a 'pretty boy'; he could well have been the most handsome man she'd ever come across.
The man wore a crop top of sorts; his abdomen was left bare while blue armour was strapped securely across his chest and arms. There was a fluttering white cape with gold details that almost seem to float around him. His green pants bloomed to his thighs, and another piece of armour was sinched at his hips. Brown boots towered above his knees, and the same blue armour decorated his feet. Leather straps decorated his outrageous outfit every now and again, and in his hands, he held two swords, one slightly longer than the other. The glow in his eyes had finally disappeared.
"Wha...What the hell?" Artoria scrambled to her feet, finally reacting to the situation. "What the hell are you doing in my basement? Who the bloody hell are you?" She took a step away from him.
"Are you not the one that summoned me?" He tilted his head as his weapons disappeared from his hands into glowing dust. There sure was a lot of glowing involved with this man, wasn't there?
"What are you talking about? Why the fuck are you in my house?"
The man looked taken aback, and then he looked down at the summoning circle. "You weren't the one who made this?" He questioned, looking back up at her.
"How did you get in my house? Oh my god! I'm calling the cops." She reached for her phone in her back pocket but noticed it wasn't there, recalling she had left it on the bathroom counter. "Damn," she grumbled under her breath.
The man squatted down and swiped his finger over the ground. He stood again and held his hand out to her. "Is this not your blood?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Artoria narrowed her gaze and then looked down at her punctured finger. "It...yes."
"Then it was you that summoned me, master." He fell to one knee, which was when Aithusa took the opportunity and jumped on him, toppling him over and licking his face. He laughed as he petted the dog and pushed it off himself gently. "Hello, hello," he managed through light-hearted laughs as the dog continued to jump and trot around him. "It's an honour to meet you, doggie." His smile was bright and genuine that it confused Artoria.
Slowly, Artoria let her guard down. Usually, Aithusa was rather protective over Artoria when strangers approached her. Still, the fact that Aithusa was friendly with the man meant he wasn't really a threat or a threat to Artoria at least. "So, you're telling me that this...glowing thing brought you here?"
"The summoning circle is part of the ritual for your servant to fight for you." He finally stood from the ground as he gave the dog one last pat on the head. "I'll be fighting for you in the Holy Grail War; I wish to bring you victory, master."