"So…"
"I don't talk to myself."
Ereshkigal stood over Jeanne, who was still sitting with her back against a tree trunk. They were at the edge of camp, lit by the fire just enough to see each other in dim light. Ereshkigal used that to her advantage- the shadows caught on her cloak to make her seem more imposing, and, dare she say it, super cool.
Maybe that would make the Ruler forget about her ten-or-so minute conversation with a ghost she couldn't see.
Or, maybe she should be handling this like her sister would. Seduce the emissary of a rival god. Or kill them. With Ishtar, it was fifty-fifty. Ereshkigal's experience with that was limited to 'kill the rival god (Ishtar)' and 'try to kill the invading god, fail, and be wed to the awful, shitty god as his prize (Nergal).'
Oh. She hadn't thought about that in awhile. She'd unpack that later.
"I don't talk to myself."
Jeanne's concern melted into a kind, warm smile. "You've already said that, Lancer."
Thank every god and goddess to ever exist in any religion that the fire cast a red light on Ereshkigal's face, as it semi-successfully covered her face going beat red.
"What I mean is- no, wait, why am I even explaining this… don't question me, I'm the goddess of the underworld! I- hey, stop laughing! I'm serious!"
But it was too late. Ereshkigal could only fume and bluster and Jeanne devolved further and further into her laughing fit. It was a free, untroubled laugh, and in a way the happiest Ereshkigal had seen her so far. That didn't stop the goddess from laying dozens of curses on her, but it did make them slightly less drastic than they would have been.
She didn't exactly have the mana to burn on cursing her impudent allies, so they were all just words, anyways.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, that-" Jeanne took a deep breath to compose herself. "I had… goodness, I hadn't relaxed for a second since I was… summoned. I'm sorry for laughing at your expense- you say you're a goddess, right? I thank you for blessing me with laughter."
Ereshkigal seethed, still steaming red. "Oh, shut up. I thought I was a witch, right?"
Jeanne considered this. "No. The Grail, it helped me reconcile my God with your existence. I apologize for the offense, it was out of ignorance."
"Hm. Your apology is accepted." Ereshkigal shrugged her cloak off and laid it on the dirt so she could sit across from Jeanne. "As I am benevolent, I had written it off, anyways. You were under stress."
"Yeah," she nodded, eyes overcast for just a moment. "Stress would be underselling it."
"That being said, if I were at my full strength, I would have smited you immediately. Calling me a witch… the nerve!"
Just like that, the moment passed, and Jeanne's eyes were glittering and hopeful again. "I am glad we find ourselves as allied Servants, then! Being killed by a goddess right after being burned at the stake as a witch? That would be a lot of trauma for me to deal with."
"You're more… cavalier than I expected, Saint."
"Saint? I'm not…" she drifted into her thoughts- Ereshkigal could tell she dipped her conscience into her portion of the Grail's knowledge. "Oh! Oh wow, I'm… I got canonized! That's amazing, I can't believe it, I didn't think I… history doesn't remember me as a witch at all! I'm…" she covered her mouth with her hand, covering her huge grin. "I know that notoriety isn't the point of this, and I didn't do any of this with that in mind, but oh I'm so happy. Lord, thank you! Haha!"
Ereshkigal watched the girl jump up and celebrate, dancing and waving her arms and laughing, and she smiled. "Hush, now. Don't wake the mortals."
Jeanne stopped laughing, but the grin on her face barely held it back.
That was the moment it clicked for Ereshkigal. The girl in front of her was maybe nineteen. She was a Servant, yes, but… if someone like her hadn't been given the Grail's information, or at least not in a manageable way, and… if they didn't get to go to the afterlife at all. She really was just a kid, through and through. A kid who was already out of her depth as a messenger of God. A girl who had to, somehow, walk into a room of adult men and convince them that she had heard God, when women were by religious doctrine considered lesser.
To go through that and learn that you were then acknowledged as a Saint of your religion…
This level of cheer made sense.
Jeanne rejoined Ereshkigal after a time, tired out as much as a Servant could be. "I… I was always afraid I was just crazy. Just a little bit, you know? Most of the people I talked to thought so. Even the ones who fought with me faked it sometimes."
"Is your religion not based in faith? Pure belief?"
"Yes, and I am faithful, but… I don't know, I always knew I was right, but so few people believed me that the nagging doubt was always there. I guess…" She grimaced. "Oh, this is so vain. I guess this tells me that others had faith in me? That I meant something, and wasn't just the political pawn I felt like I was sometimes. Sweet validation." She paused. "Sweet validation? That's new. These new phrases are strange. Anyways!"
'She's still so human,' Ereshkigal thought. 'The Grail never made her into the ideal hero.'
It made the goddess happy.
"And here I was stressing out that I couldn't sleep. Now I won't be able to sleep, but for a reason!"
Ereshkigal flinched. "Oh dear."
Jeanne eyed her quizzically. "What?"
"You're a Servant. You don't sleep."
Jeanne's face fell. "No."
"You can let your mind wander or, how would they say it… zone out? I am not the right goddess to ask, I have never slept," she replied with a shrug.
"Is that why you talk to yourself?"
Ereshkigal stood abruptly, scowling. "I have told you, I do not talk to myself! As a goddess of the underworld, I am able to speak with the spirits of the dead, and they make lovely conversation partners, thank you very little!"
Jeanne hesitated. "Yes, conversation would be plentiful here, wouldn't it? A battlefield slaughter."
"No, I-" Ereshkigal cursed herself and her tendency towards creating misunderstandings. If she had been allowed to leave the underworld and socialize more this never would have happened. "Only one. Others, I would have to spend time and mana anchoring. This one…" she held her cage necklace tightly. "Her name is Olga, and she is my champion. She is very brave, and because of that, she is very disrespectful, but so be it."
"Ah. I see. Tell Olga hello for me, when you can. A goddess's champion… I feel like we have a lot in common."
They sat in silence for a moment. Ereshkigal wrestled with continuing the conversation or letting it end, split on which would be more awkward, but in the end decided a graceful exit was more appealing.
"I must get back to my watch," she lied, as her summoned spirits did the watching. "You're a pleasant human. Rest, we will be busy tomorrow."
Jeanne didn't know the name of the village she found the rogue Servants in, and she didn't care. She could have figured it out given enough time studying the geography, but she couldn't slow down to do that. It was all but decimated at this point, anyways.
The blue-haired Berserker lit up as a serpentine inferno, weaving through the burnt-out shells of peasant homes in an attempt to split her attention from the Lancer flying above. It wouldn't work- they weren't coordinated, didn't know how each other moved. If they managed to attack at the same time in the first place, it would be from exact opposite points.
They didn't. The flying Lancer took a deep breath, preparing for another one of her sonic blasts, and the Berserker lashed towards Jeanne to match- just a second too quickly.
The Lancer didn't take the smoke in their air into account- the smoke laced with her mana. She choked, and the Berserker didn't have enough time to adjust.
She caught the charging fireball, blue flames exploding against her gauntlet and lashing at her armor. It wasn't hot enough, not to harm Jeanne. Still, the snake tried to push on. Stupid, idiotic Servant- the audacity of it pissed her off. Trying to beat the witch clad in magma and dragonfire at her own game? Jeanne's sword ignited in her other hand, pure white fire, and flickered through the snake's hide.
The moment hung around them, unchanging, silent except the crackling around them.
The blue sputtered out, devoured by the hotter flame.
Jeanne still gripped the Berserker's hair as her spark left her, as her life dimmed- a black, charred slash ate at her chest. She gasped, trying to breathe.
"You could have just agreed to the contract. It's easier when you listen."
"You… the grail truly is a monkey's paw, hm?"
Gilles' smile had left him.
Jeanne quirked her eyebrow, annoyed. "The fuck is a monkey's paw?"
He looked at her with… disappointment? "You don't even have the Grail's wisdom? Hm."
No, this wasn't going to fucking fly. "You calling me stupid, Gilles? Is that what you came here for?"
"I came here for Jeanne, not… this."
Disgust.
Jeanne snarled, stabbing the Berserker again and throwing the dissipating body aside. Her eyes snapped up to the Lancer, another young girl. She froze, eyes wide with fear, her voice caught in her throat. It wasn't the smoke this time.
'If you're going to resist, at least try,' she thought.
And then the Lancer turned and flew the opposite direction.
"God DAMNIT!" Jeanne roared. She flipped her banner and launched it like a javelin, white flame slicing through the sky like a shooting star. The Lancer dodged it easily and continued her escape.
"Fucking SHIT!"
"No, no, no, this isn't right. You aren't my wish. The real Jeanne must be elsewhere."
She blinked in shock and rage. "The real Jeanne? Alright, fuck you-"
A flash of red, her body froze.
His voice was shrill, grasping. "Shut up, fake! Do not talk to me with her voice!"
It would be a stupid, useless, waste-of-time chase, then. She didn't have time to summon a wyvern, they were preoccupied, so…
"Gah!" She grunted, dashing after the Lancer. She could keep up, even if she couldn't fly, but actually taking her down… More evidence that God hated her.
She was so preoccupied watching the retreating pink dot in the sky, she barely managed to dodge the bronze shield swung at her face.
"You will not harm her, dragon-witch." The new arrival said. Long, brown hair, bronze armor with a red cross… Another one of the targets Gilles had set for her. Saint George. Dragon slayer. Highest priority.
She growled as the Lancer disappeared into the clouds. "You ready to die, then? I'll just get her after."
George raised his shield and readied his blade. "No offer of a contract, then?"
Jeanne spat. "No. You pissed me off, so fucking die already."
"If the Grail wants to be like this, to… taunt me with false images, then I will meet it where it stands! You, fake- you will make this right."
A flash of red from his arm.
"Find the real Jeanne, bring her to me."
A flash of red, this one further up near the shoulder..
"Find those other rogue servants who would oppose me. Kill them, or have them contract under me."
Another flash, from his back. "And burn down this accursed country in the process. Do not rest until all kneel and renounce God. "
Jeanne blinked, panting as George's body disappeared. Adrenaline rushed through her, kindling her rage further. She logically knew she should rest, recover, and plan, but any thought of stopping tightened the red chains around her spirit. She wanted to scream and rage and burn, but the longer she waited the further the Lancer got. How much time did she waste on George? Ten minutes? That was too long. She needed to move.
The Chaldeans did not find a settlement to the south- they found a fortress. Bodies of soldiers and starfish alike littered the scarlet fields around the stone structure, still with the lull between battles. Or maybe it had already been overrun. Jeanne shuddered at the thought.
Fujimaru pulled a small pair of binoculars out from a shirt pocket and peered through them. "There's still movement in the fortress- I see lookouts in the windows. They look human. Lancer, can you scout the area?"
Ereshkigal shook her head. "Negative. Someone has set up a Bounded Field, I couldn't get a spirit close without triggering an alert."
The male voice, Dr. Roman, interjected. "Lancer, would you say this is a powerful Bounded Field? Servant-made, perhaps?"
She nodded. "Definitely."
"We can't scan through the field, but we can assume there is a Caster Servant present at least. Be on your guard, Fujimaru."
"Always am, Doctor," he smiled.
"Your medical record says otherwise."
"That's in the past! My organs are all back in their rightful place."
Jeanne balked. "What?!"
Fujimaru waved her off. "It's a long story, I'll tell you some other time. For now, how does everyone feel about knocking on the front door?"
"Master…" Mash started, but kept her silence afterwards.
"Maybe we send Jeanne? They probably know her," Ereshkigal offered. Jeanne nodded.
"They fly the flag of my allies in arms. I'll go on ahead and then signal after I've talked to them." She started to get up, but he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back down.
Fujimaru shook his head. "No. No one's going alone."
A beat of silence. She… had to wait for Fujimaru's orders. That was the Master's position. It grated on her, just slightly.
"Jeanne, I would be thankful if you led us, but we will not split up."
And so Jeanne led them through the maroon fields- even as they crossed the Bounded Field and were spotted by the lookouts, the world remained silent. She knew this moment, as she had been in fortresses during similar situations. In their battle-fatigued, paranoid minds, the soldiers were deciding whether it was worth the risk to see if they were friendly, or to treat them like an enemy and figure it out later.
An entourage didn't help. Even in scales of armies, four people were more of a threat than one. Four people could control a doorway and force the army to approach them in smaller numbers if they were let inside a fortress. The story of Leonidas and his three-hundred men was well-known and well-respected.
She should have explained that to Fujimaru, why did she just silently agree to this? Or argue down to fewer people for the approach?
But they made it. No arrows or crossbow bolts stopped them from reaching the fortress gate. Fujimaru knocked, a pitiful sound on the thick banded wood. Watchmen looked down at them, silent and grim.
"Uh, hi!" Fujimaru beamed up at them. "We're here to, uh…"
Jeanne stepped forward. Gently pushing Fujimaru behind her. "I am Jeanne d'Arc, an ally of France. I would request an audience with the lord or lady of this fortress."
Whispers. Movement. At least it was response.
The gate began to lower, the clicking of gears and pulleys adding tension to the quiet. A silver-haired woman stood at the other side, her hands folded in front of her. Her regality was stunning, enhanced further by her obsidian-black dress highlighted red, and Jeanne fought the urge to kneel immediately. She seemed older than Jeanne by a number of years, but radiated a calm, vibrant power.
"Greetings, Jeanne." The woman nodded to her, which she returned. "I am humbled to have such a famous visitor. I am Lady Marie Antoinette, pleased to make your acquaintance."
She held out her hand. Jeanne stepped forward to meet the noble, kneeling and taking the hand in her own. "The pleasure is mine," she said, kissing Marie's knuckles.
She stood and created a respectful distance between them. This was not a noblewoman she knew while alive, and the power she exuded… this woman must be a Servant, she concluded.
"Who do you travel with, Jeanne?" Marie asked, looking over Jeanne's shoulder.
"I travel with the Chaldeans, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash Kyrielight, and Lancer Ereshkigal," she responded, motioning to each in turn. Fujimaru and Mash kneeled- Jeanne's brow crinkled, why would they kneel? Did they recognize her name? When Ereshkigal just nodded, Jeanne relaxed slightly.
"Ah, Chaldeans. I've heard of them, yes. Let me see, what would they respond to… Ah! Yes, of course! How did it good"
Marie grinned widely, struck a sideways peace sign, and said "What's up, my homies!"
The tense air melted immediately as Ritsuka started cackling.
Marie led them through the dark, dreary fortress, lighting their way with smiles and laughter. "Oh, Chaldeans, how I've been waiting for you! And you bring our martyred saint with you, how wonderful for morale!"
A few soldiers trailed the halls. If Jeanne was helping with morale, it didn't show.
"Jeanne, dear, oh if you had only come a couple of hours earlier you would have been able to see your old friend Monsieur de Rais!"
Jeanne felt her spirit soar with relief. "Gilles is alive? Oh, thank the Lord, I was worried about him."
"Yes, of course! The marshall is a tenacious one, no? He is leading our army against the foul demons as we speak."
"So that's why this place feels so empty," Fujimaru noted.
"Yes, most of us are out bravely fighting against the dark forces that threaten our country. We cannot risk leaving this fortress unguarded, though- it would be a terrible nest for starfish and wyverns." She stopped, ushering them through a door into a sparse dining room. "Having a bastion for the soldiers to return to is paramount, so we remain to hold it."
Marie motioned for them to sit and brought a bottle of wine out from a cupboard. She uncorked it and took a long drink from the bottle, then offered it to Jeanne. She took it and held it awkwardly, then placed it on the table equidistant from everyone.
"So, Chaldeans, as you've probably pieced together, we're fucked."
"Queen Marie, if I may…" Fujimaru started, waiting for the Queen's nod of permission.
And, in the brief second between those two moments, Jeanne's stomach dropped as she realized how she had addressed a queen. Oh no.
"It may be dire, but we know that if we retrieve the Grail, this will all go back to normal. Do you have any information that could help us understand the situation better?"
"Hmm." Marie pondered, taking another sip from the bottle. Ereshkigal followed suit afterwards, but otherwise it remained untouched. "Mozart and I were both summoned five days ago."
Mash's jaw dropped. "Mozart is here, too?"
"Oh, yes! He's such a sweetheart. He's tending to our wounded, currently, but I'll be sure he takes some time to introduce himself." She cleared her throat. "Anyways. I'm easily distractible, as you can tell. This coincides with the date of dear Jeanne's execution-"
"Indicating that's what began the singularity…" Fujimaru breathed.
"Indeed. Almost twenty-four hours later, the sky turned orange as the wyverns arrived. Those demonic starfish came from the northern shore in an unending hoard. We… tried. Nobles like Monsieur de Rais raised their land's armies, and we managed to organize some… I don't have the same sway four hundred years before I was born, you understand, yes?"
A solemn stillness engulfed the room.
"We found some other stray Servants, Mozart and I. They're investigating some rumors we've been hearing about a dragon-slaying Servant and should be back soon, hopefully."
On cue, a dull rumbling signaled the gate being lowered. Marie clapped her hands. "Ah! There they are, perfect timing. Let's go meet them!"
Marie grabbed the bottle of wine and led them out, leaving the Chaldeans scrambling to follow. Jeanne took the chance to walk beside the Queen.
"My queen, I apologize for my insolent behavior- had I known of your royal station, I would have been more-"
Marie held a finger up to silence her. "Shush, my dude."
"My dude?"
Marie's serious facade didn't falter. "My dude. None of that. Consider us equals here- I won't be queen for another couple centuries. Besides, I've always looked up to the Maid of Orleans. It would be a shame if we both kept looking up and never saw each other."
"I… of course, my queen-"
"Marie."
"Of course… Marie."
"There we go. Now…" she pushed open the last set of doors, smiling brightly at the pink-haired girl who stood in the gateway. "Lizzie, welcome-"
Her face dropped in concern.
"Where's Kiyo?"
The backlight from the open gate hid her for a moment, but as her eyes adjusted Jeanne could tell something was wrong. The girl was practically shaking, with burn marks and cuts across her body. Her eyes were wild and tear-stained.
"Marie, she's gone, the witch, she-" the girl finally looked over Marie's shoulder, scanning the Chaldeans. They stopped on Jeanne.
"YOU!"
Author's Notes: I don't know. I really don't. I wrote this fully the day after posting the last chapter, let it sit, did some editing. I was in the flow, y'know?
I am so, so appreciative of all the support on the last chapter- shout out to y'all, honestly. Absolutely amazing.
I think my only note (for now, possibly updated later) is that I'm using the older Marie design. Personal preference, among other things.
Let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!