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ARTURIA (past)
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Six months before
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Arturia would never have thought that her interview at Uruk Enterprises would end the way it did.
She had gone there because she absolutely had to try to apply for a job; Kiritsugu was extremely ill and Iri had been forced to give up her job to stay with him at the hospital, not just so she could look after him and their son, but also because her own health was quite poor as well.
When she had been doing her internship during the summer, Arturia had naturally looked into the company a little, but she had done a more thorough research before applying for an actual job there. She had asked some of her teachers at college too, and through her rather precise inquiries, she had soon found out that once a CV was submitted to them, it was carefully reviewed and all applicants were discreetly investigated.
Even though that made her cautious – the green-eyed woman did not intend to have her personal life under the scrutiny of complete strangers – after discussing it with her family, she had decided to apply anyway.
The man who received her – she assumed he was the director of the local offices – did not seem very enthusiastic to see her, and he was even less so when hearing that she was still in college. However, she did not let herself be discouraged and graciously but firmly insisted upon being interviewed. She was both relieved and a bit surprised when the man gave in, strangely avoiding her gaze, as if he felt intimidated.
Another person led her then to a room with a large mirror on one side of it, and started asking her the usual questions, confirming the information they had – "Arturia Pendragon, age twenty-two, senior year of college, correct?" – and she replied with what she considered sufficient composure and politeness.
However, before the serious part of the interview could begin, the one who was interviewing her was called out of the room without an explanation. A few minutes later, someone else replaced him and took the empty seat in front of her.
This blond man was different from the other two she had seen at Uruk Enterprises so far. He had a definite air of confidence about him–… or rather, it was pure arrogance radiating off him in waves.
He was more than likely to hold a higher position than the other two. Maybe he was the head director? Or maybe she was making assumptions and he was simply an arrogant man that held no significant importance inside the company.
However, such a thing was implausible; after all, he had not been asked to come speak with her, he had demanded to take the other man's place, and that one had obeyed without question, as she had overheard from inside the room.
But then again, why would the boss – if he was indeed the boss – bother to come to speak with her in person?
Since the man chose however not to introduce himself, none of her mental speculations was likely to find a satisfying answer.
While he was flipping through her CV briefly, she took her time in examining him.
He was tall, lean, and incredibly handsome; his hair was blond and spiky, and his eyes crimson like her sister's. As he put down the manila folder, she stared into those strange orbs, careful not to let her guard down but unable to fully suppress her curiosity.
Her sister's eyes were a warm, loving, caring dark red; this man's were a haughty, arrogant, almost malicious blood red.
He seemed amused by the fact that she was looking at him without fear. He still did not introduce himself, choosing to simply stare back at her intently before beginning the real part of the interview.
The questions were no longer the generic ones from earlier; they were instead very specific, precise and put forth in quite the complex way. The man was knowledgeable, that was no doubt, and Arturia warily answered each and every question that was fired at her, because he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping any time soon; but she made sure that, while never being overconfident, she stood her ground with every word she pronounced.
She was not going to be intimidated; she needed this job, and that meant that she wanted to do all she could to obtain it.
She dreaded the moment in which he would confront her with any personal information the company might have gathered on her, but to her mild surprise and deep relief, it did not happen. He tested her knowledge and her capabilities with implacable accuracy, but did not ask any questions about what she wanted to keep private – namely, her family.
When he seemed to be finished, the green-eyed woman could quietly draw her conclusions. She was not vain, but she was realistic enough. While the man was certainly not happy with her lack of experience, she knew that he was decidedly impressed by her competence. There was hope yet.
He remained silent for a while, tapping the side of the table with one hand, the other resting below his chin as he thought for a moment before deciding to finally speak again – and the words he said were those he used to finally introduce himself.
It took Arturia all her self-control not to drop her mouth open in speechless shock and maintain what was left of her composure.
The man who had interviewed her was Gilgamesh Uruk. The CEO of all of Uruk Enterprises, and of whom she had only heard on the news due to the rarity of his public appearances.
No wonder she had thought he seemed to be so extremely arrogant.
With a sinking feeling in her chest, she realized how slim her chances of being hired were. His reputation preceded him: he was a ruthless person. It was very likely that he had simply humoured her with that interview and amused himself by giving her a false sense of hope.
Still, she would not accept defeat so easily. Not until she was certain that there was no chance at all.
But as it turned out, instead of having to hide her feelings of sadness and disappointment – since she readily expected a rejection about the job position – she had to suppress the itch in her fingers to strangle the man in front of her.
He told her, a lazy smirk on his lips, that he knew that she had been an intern there, and reminded her that her status of a college student did not allow her to have a full-time job. However, he arrogantly added, she had to consider herself lucky, as he agreed to give her a trial period as a part-timer. She was going to be under constant scrutiny for the first few weeks, and at the slightest mistake, she would be out. But he would magnanimously give her the chance to prove herself.
She felt her anger boil. He had not acknowledged her competence; the conceited man had only stressed his own generosity at allowing her to work there. While she was indeed grateful because of that, he was condescendingly making sure she knew that she had to thank him – as if she actually needed a reminder of that.
But that was not the worst part of it. What was truly intolerable was the fact that he seemed to enjoy the fury she knew her eyes contained, because he was perfectly conscious of the fact that she could not give any kind of biting reply, as she so clearly wished to do.
He concluded the interview by dismissively telling her to enquire at the entrance desk for the information she needed about the job and the working hours, and then he stood up without another word, taking his leave with nothing more than a curt – and haughty – nod.
As soon as he turned around, she directed her most poisonous glare towards him. She fervently hoped she would never see him again, or at the very least, see of him as little as possible.
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But of course, it was a naïve hope.
Not only did she see him again frequently, he also made sure she was always fully aware of his presence. During the first week, he observed her keenly, and her every action was under tight surveillance. It was as if she was in a heavily secured prison, guarded by watchdogs, instead of working a simple part-time job.
And, not to forget, in addition to that she happened to have a boss who did all he could to make her life more difficult than it already was.
Luckily for her, she had had the time to go home to her family, calm down after the interview and collect her thoughts. When she went to face the first day of work, she had expected such a behaviour from him, and that, added to the worsening of her brother-in-law's conditions, only further emphasized how important it was for her to control her temper in order to keep that precarious but well-paid job position.
She would not let anything stop her from doing all she could – her anger and frustration towards Gilgamesh Uruk least of all – for she refused to lose this opportunity.
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MAIN (present)
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When nurses came to her to offer her something to eat or drink, Arturia politely refused for herself, but she did take a bottle of water and a snack or two for Shirou, so that she could have something ready once the boy woke up. Since her own stomach was however closed, she couldn't even think about eating anything.
She had very few elements to try to understand what had happened to Iri. Her sister had always been of a sickly constitution and she had been hospitalized more than once, especially in the past few months, but she had never suddenly collapsed like that, therefore it was impossible to guess the reason for it.
Hours passed with maddening slowness. It seemed impossible to her that she had been there for only an hour… two… three…
There was a clock in the corridor, and Arturia's eyes were drawn to it, far too often, especially considering the fact that she wasn't able to be really aware of what time it was. She could not believe that the clock hands were moving so slowly… and what time had it been when she had arrived at the hospital? How long had she already been there?
Not that it was something important to know, but to help pass the time, she decided she could very well ponder over it.
She tried to concentrate. Where had she been earlier that day? Oh, that was right, she had meant to study, but she had been forced to go the new shopping mall, where–
Oh. After the events from earlier in the day, she had probably lost her job. To be completely fair, she was only going to find out whether or not that was the case two days later, when she was supposed to have half a day's work.
Ah, but she didn't and wouldn't care at the moment. Her sister was her priority.
Her mind went back to the day's events, again trying to remember how much time had passed. If she recalled correctly, she had left the shopping centre in the early afternoon. Therefore, it was now evening.
She distractedly noticed that it was in fact getting dark outside. Hours had already passed by…
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As she was staring at the clock once again, the door to her sister's room eventually opened and several people streamed out of it. Her muscles were asleep after remaining in the same sitting position for so many hours, making Arturia unable to stand up right away. She realized dimly that her nephew's weight probably played a part in that, too.
She rapidly scrutinized the faces of the doctors, both males and females, who were leaving the room, but she couldn't make out much. When the last medic came out, a woman with a long black braid, Arturia immediately recognized the doctor as the head medic of the hospital.
She felt her heart sinking. If the head of the hospital herself was there, did that mean that her sister…? That she…?
The middle-aged woman nodded in her direction and indicated for her to come in. With some difficulty, Arturia stood, carrying her nephew inside the room.
Upon entering, the blonde woman saw her sister lying on the bed, several devices attached to different parts of her body and an oxygen mask covering her face. She was breathing slowly and – Arturia noticed with alarm – very faintly.
She couldn't help frowning. Iri's breath was strange; she seemed to be asleep, but her breathing was too artificially regular for that…
The doctor directed Arturia to a smaller bed in one corner of the room, where she helped her settle little Shirou, carefully making sure he did not wake up.
The black-haired woman then gestured towards Irisviel.
"You are Irisviel von Einzbern's younger sister, am I correct?"
Arturia nodded briefly, avid to know more, but since she knew that those questions were official formalities that could not be overlooked, she had to state things clearly.
"Half-sister. We share the same mother. I am Arturia Pendragon."
The doctor did not comment, and simply nodded.
"Your parents? Irisviel's husband?"
"They are dead. We have no other relatives except for a cousin on my side of the family, and he lives abroad." Indicating Shirou, Arturia continued, "Shirou is Irisviel's son. Please, can you tell me about my sister's conditions now?"
She was aware of how desperate she sounded, but she was past caring after those long hours of waiting.
The doctor nodded again, her manners delicate and calming. She took out a chair seemingly out of nowhere, and invited Arturia to sit down.
"Please take a seat, Ms. Pendragon. This will not be easy for you."
Arturia did not utter a syllable as she complied with that request. There was no point in arguing about sitting down or standing.
The doctor looked at her keenly.
"As you can see, your sister is in a coma."
Arturia remained stiff in her seat.
The doctor continued, "She has a rare disease. It has apparently been dormant inside her for years, only manifesting through smaller illnesses, frailty, and general weakness of the body. But now, it's fully spread, and it's depleting her body of its nutrients at an alarming speed. The only way for her body to fight it is to remain resting as long as possible, and this has induced the coma. However… it's only a temporary solution. Her organs will slowly shut down one after the other."
Arturia swallowed and, her voice hoarse, she managed to whisper, "And… and what is the possible cure for this?"
The doctor's eyes, for the first time since she had started talking, flickered for an instant with an unidentifiable emotion.
"There is no cure."
Before she could even register those words fully, the doctor spoke again. "That is, no cure that is affordable for this hospital."
Hope surged through Arturia's chest at those words.
"There is the possibility… not a very solid possibility… for a treatment. Through very expensive medicines and complicated surgeries for which we don't have the equipment, there is the possibility to save your sister and her child."
Any hope was instantly crushed as the doctor said the word 'expensive'. She and Iri were alone in the world and they didn't have any money; they barely had enough to pay the rent for their apartment and to raise little Shirou–
The doctor's last words made her snap her head up suddenly. Confused, she stared at the boy. How was he involved in Iri's illness?
It was a strange detail, but she grasped onto it, even if it was just to keep her sanity.
"I'm afraid I misheard you. Shirou is not Iri's biological child – he was adopted. Her illness can't affect him…–" Her voice died in her throat when she saw the surprised look the doctor gave her.
The woman's black braid fell forward as she leaned towards Arturia.
"Ms. Pendragon… you were not aware of your sister's conditions?"
"Her… conditions?" Arturia felt it was too much. Her mind was about to go into overload from what she did not dare formulate coherently.
Carefully, the doctor eyed her, a very earnest expression settling on her features.
"It's the reason why she collapsed today and the reason for which finding a cure is so desperately delicate. Irisviel is three months pregnant."
Eyes impossibly wide and body utterly rigid, Arturia could not do anything aside from staring at the medic in front of her in pure shock.
What?
What?!
Iri… was pregnant?
But… Iri had been told by the doctors that it was very unlikely for her to ever be able to conceive…!
And her body… even without the illness she had just been told about, her body was not strong enough for a pregnancy…! She would never make it!
Arturia felt her head getting light and her vision seemed to blur as she swayed slightly in her seat–… but she collected herself before the doctor could notice.
She had to be strong, in that moment more than ever before. She could not afford to show any weakness, she could not afford to be a weakness. Not when her family needed her. Not when her family needed her so much…
But the head medic was not oblivious. Realising that the young blonde woman was decidedly traumatised by what she had just found out, the doctor cleared her throat discreetly.
"I will leave you with your family now, Ms. Pendragon. This is a very tough situation to deal with… please take your time. I have told you all I know. We can discuss more details later."
She took a deep breath. "However, you know that I don't have the habit of embellishing the truth with false hope. There is a possible cure for your sister – but its cost is extremely high." She named an estimated number that was the largest amount of money that Arturia had ever heard in her life. "Nothing else will work. We can't do anything more, aside from making the following months as comfortable as possible for her. We don't know if she will wake up from the coma, but it's unlikely."
There was another pause.
"You are your sister's closest – and only – relative, and she is not conscious to express her own opinion on it. I realize how harsh it is to say… but the decision on what to do lies entirely on your shoulders."
Before leaving the room, the doctor turned to look at the stock-still blonde woman once again.
"Ms. Pendragon. You are a very strong woman. I trust you will be strong in this situation, too."
With those words, the black braid disappeared from the room, and Arturia was left alone with her messed up, jumbled, and chaotic thoughts.
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