"Oh, be silent, King of Heroes!" Lancer snapped, quite fed up, only to be answered with even more insults than he ever knew existed. A couple of them were even in Babylonian.

Lancer could only wonder how Saber could put up with this man. From the moment they'd left he'd been shooting her with several err…attempts at seduction? For the first few minutes she'd been shooting him down but at some point had just been ignoring his remarks. It was clear by how he wasn't ceasing his barrage of… whatever it was… that he couldn't take a hint. Lancer, on the other hand might actually have been more irritated at the King of Heroes than Saber herself. It just didn't seem right to let him talk to Saber like that.

"I'd say Saber is more annoyed than caring towards you, King of Heroes." Eyes of gold orange clashed with red ones.

Saber…

She still had her fist over her chest.

Lancer cursed.

A few minutes into their trek he'd asked if she felt better. It still stung. She told him it felt like she was being tugged by something, as if there was a string tied around her heart. The more they traveled, the less it hurt, she explained, and that's all it took for Lancer to take it upon himself to ensure they got to their destination.

"Haaah? You dare say I'm mistaken? Are you challenging a king, you swine?" Gilgamesh's snake eyes flashed with annoyance.

"I shall not tolerate these nicknames any longer. As a knight, I cannot let that slide," Lancer declared angrily.

"Neither can I. Prepare to die, mongrel!" Gilgamesh shouted.

"Stop this nonsense!" Saber half-shouted, turning to face them with her fists clenched. Realizing she had just lost her temper she drew in a breath.

"I...am going to get to the bottom of this…" she put her hand over her chest. "With or without you."

She couldn't believe she just got caught in this ridiculous curse, and now thanks to her carelessness she was stuck trying to find her way to a place that was definitely not going to be good for her. The worst of it was that she had involved Lancer and unfortunately, that other king.

Ugh…

She whirled herself around and quickened her pace, leaving the two men watching her retreating back. Their eyes locked like the two dogs fighting over territory.

"If only you could be less obnoxious."

"If only you could go die like the pathetic, moronic, useless piece of existence you are, mongrel."

Diarmuid sighed. "I am going after her. If you want to come along, perhaps you should keep that mouth shut, lest we lose sight of her completely."

"You do not order me around, mongrel," he replied, eyebrows twitching in annoyance, nevertheless he followed, wiping the sweat from his brow before his…companions would notice.

Shit.

Thud.

"Nnnghh—!"

She'd only walked fifteen meters from them when she felt her heart scream. The ground wasn't a very comfortable place to land, but it was completely blocked out by the immeasurable pain that burned through her chest like lava.

"Arghh—"

It felt like she was being stabbed repeatedly in the same place. There was no physical wound. She wasn't bleeding. All she could do was try to bear it. The clenched hand she held at her chest threatened to tear her clothes. A sharp alarming sound was going off in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and block out everything. The black dizzying stars in her vision were dancing with the pain like she was some kind of joke.

Amid the rippling waves of agony she realized.

This does not make any sense…I am moving where this curse is taking me so why…?

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the sting almost bringing her to tears.

Think.

Damn it was hard to work her mind around things when everything hurt.

"Saber?"

An uncertain call from Lancer. She silently hoped the vegetation wasn't so dense that he couldn't find her. Moments like this, she hated the most…when she was helpless. Like a damsel in distress that could do nothing but wait to be saved.

Just when she was about to black out, she thought she heard footsteps, before she was lifted off the ground by the back of her dress.

"L-let me down!" she managed.

"I would never let you down, if you would simply accept my proposal and marry me."

.

.

.

He should have never let her out of his sight. Not even for a second. If this greenery wasn't so goddamned thick he'd have found her by now.

Ugh…

What was even more unsettling was that whoever cursed Saber had done a good job. Neither he nor…*sigh* Gilgamesh noticed anything. Now she was being forced to make her way to some unknown area, which is definitely a trap, which could endanger her, which is bad, which is completely his fault, which…

"Let go of me!"

Saber?

That bastard must have gotten to her first!

"Gilgamesh, if you make ANY move to harm her I swear I—"

Oh.

He was met with two pairs of "where-were-you?" eyes. He marched toward the two silently, trying to ignore that the other man's arm lingered on the small of her back.

"What happened?" he asked, suddenly wondering if he had been gone for too long a time.

"I had only made it this far when it…" Saber put her hand on her chest, "…it crippled me."

Hm. Odd. The pain had stopped just as suddenly as it began. That made no sense. Unless…

Unless…

She eyed her two companions. A gallant knight. A conceited king. Each looking at her expectantly.

"I think…you have to come with me."

.

.

.

That idea did not go very well with the two men.

"Will it not be best if we reach our destination unscathed? We can't be certain if danger awaits us or not. I am not about to drag you both there."

I don't have the strength to do that.

The trio marched on. When Lancer had found her a few hours back, she didn't feel like herself. She felt drained. The long upward hike through the dense forest only made it worse. She kept on walking, but let Lancer take the lead, not being able to hike fast anymore. The sweat trickling down her face made her wish she had a mount right now. Sadly, summoning a mount like Iskandar or Medusa could wasn't one of her abilities. She was so exhausted, asking the King of Heroes for a ride on his plane seemed like quite the good idea.

She looked to the man who lagged behind. He looked exhausted, weighed down by his heavy gold armor.

Perhaps not.

His movements were sloppy and he panted, clearly dead beat. His hair was out of its usual updo, and his long blonde bangs clung to his face, wet with sweat. Whatever arrogance he once had was replaced with hardship. He didn't even notice her eyes on him. She'd hate to admit it, seeing the King of Heroes like this felt like an achievement. She might even be a bit entertained if she wasn't equally as fatigued as the blonde man. Being a King, she could understand what he must be going through. Unable to keep appearances was a big blunder; that must be why he looks so agonized.

But Gilgamesh was still suspicious. No matter how tired he might look, he is still a ridiculously powerful opponent. Another thing she'd hate to admit was that she almost lost their final fight, and thought Lady Luck might have played a role in letting her win.

Besides the fact that he could be a threat, there was one other thing she couldn't seem to get her head around. The moment right before he faded to dust, he'd caressed her face, and for the first time since she'd met him she thought she saw something else besides cruelty…something entirely human that she thought impossible for him to have.

When he found her on the ground a few hours ago, she'd expected a more painful ordeal. She definitely did not expect to be let down like she asked. And it wasn't like she ignored the arm he placed protectively behind her, no matter how annoyed she was at it. She wasn't going to fall back down, nor did she need any support. Frankly it felt embarrassing, but he still did it.

In the time it took after he disappeared till the moment we met again…perhaps he'd changed?

She shook her head, tearing her eyes from the King of Heroes. She shouldn't be thinking about such insignificant things right now.

Saber faced front again, staring at Lancer's back.

Why isn't he even breaking a sweat, when the King of Heroes and I are completely drained?

There had to be something strange going on. The absurdity of the present situation was a bit much. The pull on her heart wasn't as painful. Right now it was like a light tug every now and then. By some magical force she knew…

"Halfway there," Saber's voice quivered so slightly that any normal person would have missed it, but Diarmuid had known enough proud leaders to know she was worn out, and by experience he was wise enough not to point it out.

If anyone saw them like this...well. They were Epic Spirits: Beings so powerful that their names and deeds are known throughout the world. And here they were, walking like zombies on crack. It didn't even end there. Two were about to drop from exhaustion. Hell, the ever aggressive Gilgamesh, who was really close to Saber right now, wasn't even making a move. The Gilgamesh didn't make a move on Saber. Who could ever predict this? Even Gilgamesh's prideful stance went down the drain. Lancer took one more look at the two.

Well perhaps I should point it out.

He stopped abruptly, causing Saber to bump into him, the latter quickly mumbling an apology.

"Perhaps we should rest a moment. The sun is still high. If this is halfway, we can afford to spend an hour," the spear master said. He closed his eyes and signaled for silence, missing a questioning gaze and an annoyed glare.

There's no doubt in my mind that I heard—there! Running water, and not too far off.

"There's a body of water to the northeast…probably. We can take a rest there," Lancer said, pointing out the way.

The armoured man groaned. The metal defense must have been heavy as hell.

"How far, mongrel?" Gilgamesh asked, thinking the mongrel must be lucky to even be having a conversation with him.

"Do I appear to be a map to you?" Lancer sarcastically replied, but satisfied by the king's undignified look, nonetheless answered the man's question.

"Fourscore measures in the least," Lancer replied. He glanced at his companions. Saber looked like she was about to collapse; Gilgamesh even more so.

"I can carry you there, King of Knights, if you wish it," Lancer offered, not wanting any harm to come to the girl.

"Oi. Mongrel. Do not even think about—"

"I shall be fine, it shames me for you to worry about such a thing," Saber interrupted, though clearly exhausted, but more discomfited. Lancer sighed, knowing she would answer that way, and reluctantly resumed walking, casting a worried glance back at her.

They might not make it, he thought. The trio travelled in silence, two members too tired to make a sound.

Thankfully, Lancer was right about the water. They reached a small waterfall that emptied into a clear pool. Gilgamesh was too relieved that he raced to the water and brought the cold liquid to his mouth with his hands. His shoulders relaxed as he continued to drink. The King must've forgotten his status and arrogance, as he was gulping down the water even without a fine wine glass or a chalice.

Lancer stared at the King, sending a thankful prayer to the gods that there really was a spring here.

"We made it, Saber," Lancer said, walking slowly towards the waterfall.

"Saber?" he called out, only to be answered only by silence.

Red snake eyes and gold eyes raced to the young woman. She was pale, and she looked like she was about to—

"SABER!"


OH NO, poor Saber!

Yeah...nothing much happened, they were just walking.

I know the story progression is kinda slow, but stuff's coming up.

The next chapter is a continuation to this one, so it should be up soon. I just need to edit a bit more. ;)

THANKS FOR EVERY REVIEW, FOLLOW, AND FAVORITE! They mean so much to me.3

Love you guys!

-akampana

P.S. If you'd like, check out my drabble series, Sweet Nothings. It's of the more fluffy type. :) Thanks!