Chapter Thirty

Revelations of Nightmares

Each breath was a tiny puff of steam released into cold, snow filled air. A hellish crimson glow radiated from the corrupted sword held in small, black armored hands. Golden eyes narrowed as they scanned the tree line for the tale-tell sign of red. Keen ears picked up the whirl of an arrow, and small feet pivoted gracefully as the cursed blade swatted away a gleaming arrow.

When steel touched steel, the projectile exploded. The force sent the black knight skidding backwards, her blond hair flying into her face. Smoke filled the air as the embers from the explosion fell into the snow. A smile crossed the bitter king's lips as even, white teeth were bared.

"Show yourself," the being once known as Saber, and before that King of the Britons, called out, breaking the silence. Her eyes scanned the tree line again and she caught sight of the red mantle of the man she had called out. Archer stood tall and his hands were empty, but Saber had seen him call up weapons without a moment's notice. She adjusted her stance as Archer slowly walked towards her.

Steel colored eyes narrowed, yet looked infinitely sad at the same time as his jaw twitched. "I didn't want this to happen to you," Archer said as he held out his empty hands.

Saber laughed, shook her head, and said, "Many things I have not wanted to happen have happened. All I can do is accept it now, and take what I want."

Heat filled her cold limbs as she stared at the other Servant. She wondered if his kindness in another time would have struck a cord with her, or would have it simply enraged her. Something akin to pity filled her armored breast; she knew this man had fallen as he had. The evidence had been marked as clearly as he had stood upon the Shadow without it taking him instantly.

Archer dropped his hands and asked, "What do you want, Saber?"

She approached him before driving Excalibur into the ground. It could be drawn to her hand faster than he could move, and she was not concerned with his skills. His cynical armor did nothing to

shield his heart of glass. Saber wanted that heart. She wanted to hold it in her hands and look to see what was in it.

She wanted to see herself reflected in its crystalline depths.

Her true self. Not the mockery she had become. She wanted to see the person she should have been, the king her people needed and could not be. Yet she knew if she could just see within him then she would have her answers.

All that was needed was him to tell her that she was not wrong, and that Saber had done all she could for her people. However those words were not passing his lips, not yet anyway. So she would settle with the comfort he could give her, because she would allow herself to be a woman with him.

"I want you," she said in a low voice before grabbing his mantle and pulling him down to her. His eyes widened before she pressed her lips hungrily against his, taking and needing. Trilled by the touch of his lips upon hers, she tasted him, let his scent of steel and smoke fill her nostrils. His warmth radiated into her despite the cold all around them.

She pushed him to the ground, her hands heavy on his chest and rendering him immobile. Something like fear flickered through his eyes, but that look only made her empty core clinch even more in need and weep for him. Black skirts were lifted and they were aligned. A scream tore through Saber as she sheathed him into her untried body.

Saber sat up, all but jolting up from her futon. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her hair was sticking to her cheeks and back. Silken wetness was spilling from her core. Heat was raging in her veins and she turned, trying to escape it.

That ache was still throbbing between her legs, demanding satisfaction. So she sat up and moved from the futon. She had cared for this urge herself a handful of times since Archer had instructed her to. It was nowhere as intense as it had been when it had been his fingers playing at her swollen flesh, but it was enough to calm her.

Considering the dream she had found herself awakening from, Saber was not going to comfort herself in that way. To think about what that altered version of herself had been doing to Archer and to pleasure herself with that thought would have been unforgivable. So, she headed for the dojo with her bokken in hands.

Taiga had gotten her the wooden practice sword, which was weighted and balanced as if it had been made of steel, that was a few grades above a shinai. Saber had barely touched it in the past year she had been existing, but she needed the comfort of a blade now. Its weight was reassuring in her hands and as soon as her bare feet hit the wooden floor of the dojo she was in motion.

The wooden blade sliced through the air, moving faster and faster as Saber fell into routine. She moved faster and faster, her eyes narrowed as she cleaved through invisible foes with her mighty blade. The fire within her smoldered into something else with each pivot, parry, swipe, and blow. Air whistled when the sword was spun in the air before imbedding into the chest of a particularly fierce foe. She moved to strike again when she felt eyes upon her.

"Couldn't sleep?" a soft voice asked from the doorway.

Tension filled Saber's limbs as she turned to look at her former Master standing in the doorway. Sakura was dressed in a vibrant pink robe that harmonized with her creamy skin and violet hair. Misty eyes like dew soaked irises met Saber's as the taller, voluptuous girl moved towards her. Saber nodded and looked away, absently biting the inside of her cheek.

Ever since being granted her second life, Saber rarely spoke to either of her former Masters. They never pushed, and they had been nothing but kind to her since the return. However, that does not make it easy to speak to them, Saber thought before meeting Sakura's eyes again.

Saber nodded and answered, "Yes, my sleep was troubled."

"I'm sorry, did something happen tonight with Archer?" Sakura asked as she laced her fingers together.

The memory of Archer on his knees before her cut through Saber's mind. It brought a smile to her face as she shook her head. "I had a nightmare, that is all," Saber answered with a shrug.

Sakura bit her lip, toyed with the pink ribbon in her hair, and said, "I still have nightmares too."

"You do?" Saber asked. No one spoke of the dark time with Sakura during the Grail War. Everyone was determined to push onto their happiness without a look back. Except Archer. Forgetting the

past means that it will happen again.

Those misty violet eyes looked down at the wooden floor as her long hair spilled across her cheeks, hiding her face. "Yes. Sometimes I hear screams. Sometimes I'm holding Nee-san's broken body in my hands," Sakura said in a soft voice.

Saber's eyes widened and she said, "I apologize for that, Sakura."

"Sometimes I see you bringing Sempai to my feet. Things that didn't happen, but could have," Sakura said as her small hands clinched at her sides.

The fallen king blinked and said, "But like you said, those things did not happen."

"Thankfully, but part of me wonders when I'll wake up from a pleasant dream only to see everything dead or worse around me," Sakura replied before looking at Saber again.

"But they will not happen again. Shirou is by your side. I am assured that he will help you keep nothing but a clear path," Saber said with a nod.

Sakura shook her head and then reached out to place her hand on Saber's shoulders. "I'm sorry for what I did to you," the younger woman said in her whisper soft voice.

Saber stood there, eyes wide as her heart pounded. She simply stared at Sakura as words floundered uselessly upon her lips. Then she shook her head and replied, "I understand your reasoning for

choosing me."

"Grandfather chose you and directed the Shadow there," Sakura said, "I just thought he made a good choice."

Saber squared her shoulders and said, "Then it was not your action that brought upon this. It was Zouken's."

"But I kept a hold of you, and I delighted in having what was Sempai's mine," Sakura said with a bitter smile.

"Then why not take Archer as well?" Saber asked, "That would have been a crippling blow to Rin as well."

Sakura's eyes lit up slightly and she said, "I tried. Archer didn't allow himself to be taken."

"He died on his own terms," Saber said with a slight smile.

Sakura nodded and she replied, "Yes he did. So, I take it he's making you happy? I mean, if you're not staying for Shirou or my cooking, then he has to be doing something right."

Heat filled Saber's cheeks as she said, "He does many things right."

"I'm not surprised," Sakura said with a chuckle.

Saber tilted her head and asked, "It does not bother you then? My relationship with Archer?"

"It did at first," Sakura answered as she met Saber's eyes again, "Partly because I wanted to see him with Nee-san. However, neither Sempai or I have seen you this alive, and the way he looks at

you . . ." The other girl shook her head with a wistful sigh.

Saber asked, "What do you mean about the way he looks at me?"

"It is the same way that Sempai looks at me," Sakura said.

The blond did smile at that and she asked, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Sakura said with a firm nod.

Saber said, "He and I are going on a date within the next few days."

"That's wonderful," Sakura said, all but bouncing and clapping her hands together.

Saber chuckled and said, "I even bought clothing and cosmetics for the occasion. The lip gloss I bought is called, 'Naturally Innocent'."

"Nee-san has one called 'Angry Streetwalker', but it doesn't look good on her," Sakura said with a chuckle of her own.

"I have found that the names of most cosmetics are needlessly verbose," Saber said.

Sakura nodded and said, "Good luck, and just be yourself."

"That is what I plan to do," Saber said, "Archer seems to care for me despite my flaws."

Sakura's smile conveyed a myriad of positive emotions as she simply said, "Good."