Chapter five

Written by: DarthPel

Beta'ed by: FreelanceroftheTriforceKeyblade

Word count: 1,390

Morning arrived too quickly for Artoria Pendragon, Queen of Britannia. Stretching out the kinks of sleep and looking around the room, she turned to find her husband dutifully asleep in their marriage bed, tired from the activities of the night before.

The now grown woman of 37 smiled as she thought of everything they achieved so far, from managing to find love in the rocky and unstable start of their arrangements to liberating Britain and uniting the island under a single banner. Free from the shackles of tyranny and oppression, earning her the title of Queen of Knights.

Of course very few knew that the honorable Queen of Britain had a dark side, a shadow that did the dirtier side of running a nation and keeping it safe and secure with finesse.

Her husband Naruto Uzumaki, her Shadow.

He undertook everything from exerting diplomatic pressure against foreigners to assassination of any potential threats. He was the one who went undercover before every battle to ensure the odds remained tightly in their favor, to most people, he was just her husband and Advisor, a brilliant military tactician for sure, but an advisor most of the time. And of course the father to their brilliant if bratty child.

She laid back down and snuggled into him, it was uncommon for him to be home in Camelot, not rare, but not a common sight. So she treasured every moment she got with him

Mordred would be ecstatic that her father had returned.

Suddenly, she was harshly yanked back to reality.

If only it was so simple the words were a harsh reminder of reality. As Artoria Pendragon found herself bleeding on the ground, her scabbard, Avalon, had been stolen from her. Stolen by the very daughter that she had carried, and had betrayed her. The daughter that now cradled her as she laid dying.

Flashback

In the aftermath that was the chaotic night of thunder, as she had come to call it. She eventually found the unconscious form of her husband along his presumed enemy, who now sported a familiar whole in his chest.

With great struggle he was carted back to Camelot, she had called Merlin, and even the Uzumaki's former guardian, Zelretch had appeared. That's when she was informed of a terrifying prospect.

"Naruto here is overloaded with energy, a hundred times more than he normally produces and well exceeding his natural capacity. If the system that contains this energy cannot expand or adapt in time, it'll rupture, and if that happens… well, he will die."

She protested, asking "Couldn't Avalon heal him?"

"Maybe, maybe not. That's not something I'm even sure of myself." Zelretch stated as he began to walk away, "Whatever you choose to do, it's a gamble. If I was you I would prepare to say my final goodbyes."

Not even a week later, Naruto Uzumaki was pronounced dead.

Artoria never recovered from that.

Seven months later, she gave birth to a baby girl. Mordred was a daily painful reminder, with his whisker marks on her cheeks, and the mannerisms that so perfectly mimicked her father.

She tried to show love for her daughter. She really did, but the painful memories she could never push aside made it difficult for them to be in the same room.

Soon her father, Sir Ector, died, adding into the pain she felt.

Artoria resolved to become the ruler she was told she should be, hardening her heart and cutting herself from any desires. Her focus became strictly ruling over Camelot and the realm.

She became so distant her inner circle began to resent her. Her own daughter wouldn't trust her.

Flashback ends

That was the poison that killed the great tree, Artoria noted.

"Mum," her daughter's voice called out, "Why didn't you step down… why did you force me to have to kill you."

"You… weren't… you…" the elder Pendragon stopped, realizing that she was going to make up an excuse and lie to herself. As much as she wanted, that whiskered face was too much like his own to summon the courage to hate and lie too, "You… I had to… I had to protect you. Didn't want to lose you… Just like your father."

"You didn't protect me… you hardly raised me." Mordred answered, holding tighter. She knew her mother was never the same after her father's death. Though she never got the chance to meet him, based on what Artoria had told her and from what she heard from a few people around her. The man had been someone to look up to, though the information scraps had been little.

From what she gathered the man had been extremely secretive, and the extent of his deeds went unnoticed.

Years after the disastrous rebellion, which left many dead.

Mordred continued to look for traces and story of her parents, often coming to the mage Merlin.

Eventually, the mage led her to the doorstep of an old acquaintance of her father.

As soon as she raised her hand to knock on the door, it opened, and an old man with red eyes greeted her, "Merlin sent you?"

She nodded silently, intimidated by the presence of said being.

He ushered her inside, and once they were situated, he said, "You are here about your father, Naruto Uzumaki."

She nodded and asked, "How did you know he was my father?"

"Well, for one the whiskers gave it away." The vampire answered, enjoying how flustered she got, as he continued, "That young chap. A real tragedy he died, a man of his talents are impossible to find."

"Who was he? I mean as a person. There's so few things left of him. I don't know why my mother had everything about him destroyed." Mordred asked curiously, letting some of her frustrations show.

"Actually, that was a protocol your father created." Zelretch stated amused, "If there was one thing your father feared was being used to hurt people he loved. A fear well warranted, where he comes from, there were techniques that allowed one to revive the dead. He has seen that technique used against him and his allies in war. He wanted nothing to be left of him in the event he died."

"Where?" The curiosity kept drawing the blond haired young woman in.

"Yeah, Naruto is not originally from this world. But for a number of reasons, his world was destroyed. I found him lying in egypt, passed out in the sand after losing everything." The old man paused as he stood up, "You ask me who Naruto was? He was many things. An Orphan, A failure, Unwanted, a sacrifice, a pawn. But he was also a Hero, a warrior, a man of principle, he was selfless, ambitious, brave, foolish, a genius. He was willing to bear the darkness of the world, but don't mistake him. He was no martyr, he despised being a martyr."

"I wish I could've known him," Mordred murmured.

"Wait here." The vampire ordered as he walked away.

A few minutes later, he returned carrying two different knives, and handed them to her, butt end pointed towards her, "I managed to recover these. The longer one was a weapon passed down to him by his teacher, I believe it was known as the White Fang, and the other is a knife he used to aid him in combat."

Mordred picked up the two weapons, bringing them up to inspect them.

He then set a book down on the table, "And I believe this was his favorite story, written by someone very dear to him, his very namesake."

Mordred opened the book up, but found that it was written in characters she couldn't read.

The vampire burst out laughing, much to the irritation of his guest, "I forgot about the language barrier."

"Whatever, I'll treasure this regardless." The blond girl answered.

"Aye, now. You should be on your way, I hope you've learned enough to satisfy your curiosity." Zelretch stated, receiving a nod of confirmation, he escorted the lady to the door.

Before she left he left one last cryptic message, "Don't be so downtrodden, you may meet your parents yet again."

"Do you know why he died?" The question seemed to be asked randomly by the girl.

"Yes, I do."

The End

Or is it?

Author's Note: Whooo hoo! This story is over! Did you enjoy it? Did you see the end coming? *Cruel smirk* of course you didn't.

Well, leave a review! I'll be looking forward to what y'all have to say about this *cackles*