Chapter 1: Silver Key
I woke up.
A loud sound echoed in my room, indicating the beginning of the day.
"Ahhh...shut up… I am already awake." I almost smashed my alarm clock. With a "click" the annoying sound finally stopped.
With difficult, I sat on the bed. A sharp pain ran through my entire body.
"Ahhhh…my head…what did I do yesterday?"
I had the impression that sleeping helps to rest the body, not the opposite. So why do I feel like a truck just ran over me?
"Did I drink some of Shuten's sake? No, I am no that stupid…I think"
Well, no use suffering alone here. Maybe Roman can give me a painkiller if I go to the infirmary.
I finally abandoned the bed. I briefly thought about doing some stretching before showering, but immediately reject the idea. It was impossible with this headache.
I undressed and began to make my way to the shower.
"Let's see…the last thing I remember is…"
Talking with Da Vinci. Yes, I was talking with her about our schedule for the day…but that was yesterday morning. What did I do for the rest of the day?
I entered the shower, and slowly turned the water on, in hope that a cold shower was enough to put my aching head at ease.
But no water came from the shower, no matter how much I turned the faucet.
"Huh…It's one of those days." I said, resigned.
Did we have a shortage of water or was my shower just malfunctioning? I didn't know. What I know was that I can't bath, and the headache was getting worst.
"It's no use; I just ask to use the bath of another room…" I said to myself, I didn't even have the strength to be angry.
I was about to exit the bath when I heard something.
Footsteps.
"…?"
Someone was in my room without my permission, again.
Did Kiyohime try to get in my bed again? I can't let her see me like this or things will get ugly…Or was it just Mashu? It wouldn't be rare for her to come to wake me up in the morning. Not that I could let her see me like this either.
Just to be safe, I decided to put my ear on the door and wait.
I could still hear the footsteps; they came and went throughout the room, almost as if that person was looking for something and wasn't finding it.
Come to think of it, why would someone enter my room without knocking? I mean, we are all friends and all but I could be in a compromising situation, like about to bathe, naked.
Maybe it was Kiyohime after all…
While I was pondering that, I realize that the footsteps were getting closer and closer.
Wait…they aren't going to enter the bath, aren't they? Why would…?
The doorknob moved.
…!
I quickly put all my weight to the door, preventing the door from being opened. The doorknob move again, this time, more violently, that person really wanted to enter.
However, after some time, the pushes stopped and the doorknob stopped moving.
"…hello?" I said, against my better judgment. If it really was Kiyohime, then she would now say something like "Achin-sama, let me in, I want to wash your back." and proceed to push the door again.
But to my surprise, no voice came from behind the door. Everything went quiet.
I opened the door a bit and took a peek outside; my room was exactly as I left it, with my bed being a mess and the light turned off.
"…"
I didn't know what to think. Did that person already leave? Why did they want to enter the bath so much? I swear these servants of mine can do so pretty strange things.
*Scene Break*
"Hmmm, everything seems fine." Roman said, talking the stethoscope out of his ears and putting it in one of the pockets of his white coat.
"You said that, but my head still hurts like hell." I replied, a bit annoyed.
"We still don't know what exactly cause the migraines. "He began to explain. "There are a lot of factors like stress, change in the clime or even problems in the brain. The least I could say is that it seems to be nothing serious."
"Maybe stress has finally begun to affect me."
"It could be it. I'll give you something to ease the headaches." He looked away from me and began to look for painkillers in the top shelves. "By the way, did you sleep well last night? You seem tired."
"I am…not sure." I confessed. "Actually I can't remember what happened yesterday."
He looked back at me with horror.
"Hey Guda...why didn't you say that before? That's not normal! Memory loss at your age could be a really serious problem…!" Roman said, actually worried.
"But you said I was fine right? No brain issues or anything like that…"
"Yes…everything looked fine in the check-ups…but what could-" He was wondering when he seemed to suddenly reach a conclusion. "Wait, memory loss, migraine…you didn't drink Shuten's sake right?"
"…"
Poor Shuten, we shouldn't think so badly of her…not that much.
"I don't think so, but as I said, I don't remember too much. Didn't you see me yesterday by chance, Roman?"
"No, sorry, I was buried in a mountain of paperwork and I couldn't leave the office…but I do remember something."
"…?"
"Da Vinci briefly came to my office yesterday; she said that you were about to perform thr summoning of a new servant."
Summoning a servant? So that's what I was doing…but why can't I remember it? What happened during the ritual?"
"Maybe you should ask her for more details."
"Yeah, I'll better do that." I was about to leave when another headache assaulted me. "Ah…Roman, could you give me at least some painkillers? This pain is getting on my nerves."
"Sorry Guda, I can't give you any medication if I don't know what exactly happened to you. You will have to bear it for now."
"...Alright, you are the doctor." I sighed, and leave the room, a bit unsatisfied.
*Scene Break*
Having decided to visit Da Vinci's workshop for explanations, I walked through the empty Chaldea corridors. Maybe she could tell me what I did yesterday and why I can't remember any of it.
Alone I was when, having walked through what looked like the same hallway for a while, I started noticing something weird.
Since I left the infirmary, I have not encountered a single person or servant.
Normally I would meet a servant or two and probably get forcefully dragged into their antics, that was basically my life outside of doing rayshifts and solving singularities. But today was different, everything was weirdly peaceful.
Not that I don't welcome a change of pace once in a while. However, the fact that I hadn't encountered any Chaldea staff either began to worry me.
Where was everyone?
Worst of all, the headache was getting stronger.
"Damn…" I touched my head. The pain was actually becoming unbearable. Maybe I should just postpone going to Da Vinci's and rest a little bit.
I was about to turn back and went back to my room when I lost my footing.
"…!"
Luckily I manage to stop my fall just before touching the floor.
"Ah…" Suddenly I began to feel bad…really bad. It was not only the headache now, but my vision was also begging to blur, to the point it was difficult to keep standing.
"What…what is happening to me?"
I put my arm on the nearest wall to prevent falling off again, but I was not okay. I didn't know what was happening to me, but I needed help.
The world around me seemed to dance as my vision became more and more blurry. The corridor in front of me had become a strange mess of colors and forms.
While I walked glued to the wall, trying not to fall, I notice something.
A door.
Or at least something that resembled a door in the sea of colors that had become Chaldea.
"Help…" I tried to shout, but only a cracked low voice came out of my mouth. It's no use, nobody will hear me. I had to reach that door.
With difficult, I advanced to the door and when I was finally close by, with all the strength I could muster, I hit it.
The door was not locked, and I fall inside the room as it was opened.
What awaited me on the other side was darkness, the lights of the room were turned off.
"Help…" I said again, doing my best to crawl inside the room. But nobody answered; the room was empty.
All my efforts were for nothing.
My consciousness was slowly fading, but at the last moments, I could hear something.
Footsteps.
Slow and heavy footsteps could be heard coming from the darkness, until they were so close that I could hear them next to me.
But they didn't stop; they passed by me, and continue their way to what I think was the door.
What follows was the loud sound of the door being closed.
And then, I lost consciousness.
*Scene Break*
I felt like I was floating in the air, as if my body was weightless.
A sensation of comfort went all over my body. No trace was left of the pain that previously tormented me. Instead, I felt a warm sensation, a gentle embrace, like a child on his mother's arms.
I felt at peace with the world, like I had just born anew.
"Are you comfortable, Master?" I could hear a woman's voice calling me.
I didn't recognize it… but hearing it was strange. That voice…it was relaxing, calming... so calming that I almost forget to respond.
"I fell as I could sleep forever." Was all I could say to her, and those were my sincere feelings.
"You can continue resting then, I don't mind." She spoke again, with the same peaceful tone." Just close your eyes and relax, Master."
"Thank you…" I closed my half-open eyes again.
"Sweet dreams, Master."
And so I did, all my desire to wake up disappeared and I indulged in the dream world once again.
There will be time to worry later, for now, it was time to sleep.
*Scene Break*
I woke up with a yawn, feeling extremely relieved.
Nothing beat a good night of rest. I think I almost forgot the last time I slept so well.
"Good morning, Master."
"Good morning. Man, I feel so good. I slept like a baby."
"I am glad to be helpful."
I got up and prepared to do some stretching. I shouldn't neglect my daily morning stretching since it important for-
Wait. Did someone just greet me?"
I slowly turned my head to discover a girl I didn't recognize. Her long hair was blonde and her eyes were navy blue. She wore a black long dress, decorated with dozen of orange and violet ribbons. In her head rested a small hat of the same color as her dress and in her hands was a stuffed animal, maybe a bear.
The unknown girl was sat on the bed, and she was smiling at me.
"…"
I looked at her, and she looked at me. And that's all we did for two minutes straight.
"Ah…I am still asleep?" I began to talk to myself, while bringing my hand to my forehead. "Why I am dreaming about little girls on my bed….that is dangerous."
"Master?" The girl looked at me, with a curious expression on her face.
"Hello little lady, what are you doing in my room?" I approached her. I may as well see where this is going.
"Hmm, this is not your room, Master. This is actually my room."
"That's strange, then why was I sleeping in your room?"
"You came to me yesterday, you looked really bad, so I let you sleep on my lap." The girl said, smiling while patting her lap.
"Oh…Is that so…?"
That sounded awfully familiar...
Wait, I remember now. I was feeling ill and ended up collapsing as I entered a room. Then that means…
"This isn't a dream…right?"
"Hmm, I am awake so…I don't think so." The girl answered while tilting her head.
"Arrgghh, I am so sorry, where are my manners…" I deeply apologize to the girl. "Thank you for taking care of me A-"
I stopped; suddenly realizing that I didn't know this person.
"Again, I am sorry but…who are you? I don't remember seeing you around here."
The girl expression suddenly turned grim, as her eyes turned downcast.
"So you don't remember…" Her voice had lost its cheerfulness, and it was replaced by a sad tone.
Oh shit.
What have I done? Did I just hurt this girl's feelings? But I truly don't know who she is. Did she perhaps know me from somewhere? Was I supposed to recognize her?
I thought really hard about her.
"Could you be the new servant that I summoned yesterday? I happen to have trouble remembering what happened yesterday so…"
"Yes, I am your servant." She said, still crestfallen. "I am your servant..."
Maybe I really did hurt her feelings. I have to fix this now.
"I am really sorry for forgetting." I was about to pat her head but decided against it, we weren't that close, so I just kneeled down so to be face to face. "Think we can start this over again?"
The girl finally looked at me, and nodded wordlessly.
"In that case, I am Guda, your Master." I said as I smiled and extended my hand to her. "Nice to meet you."
She looked at my hand with a somewhat doubtful expression, but finally took it on a handshake, her hand still covered by the sleeve of her large black dress.
"I am Abigail Williams. I am from the Caster Class." She sounded a bit happier now. "If it's okay with you, please call me Abby, Master."
END OF CHAPTER 1
AN: So first chapter is here.
I thought about this story a lot, not sure if it was worth continuing it.
In the end, I came up with a somewhat interesting plot, let's see if I am able to pull it off.
Important: This chapter and the prologue was written without "proper" proofreading since my Beta is busy with college and I don't want to bother him. So If anyone happens to be fluent in English and want to help, just send me a PM and we talk.
TNG-san.