The pair have finally made to Camelot. It was a silent affair. The guards at the gate didn't ask for their names. A perk of being a Knight of the Round. They continued towards the palace of the King. As they walked the common folk distanced themselves from the Redhead and the Red Knight; a sign of respect I suppose. But that was not true, for in the eyes of "Archer", he saw the tinge of fear in their eyes. He then noticed their fear is not directed towards him, but rather towards his acquaintance.
'It appears Mordred's reputation precedes her.' Thought Archer. 'I wonder what she is currently thinking of.'
Unbeknownst to the redhead, the red knight is panicking inside.
'Fuck! How am I supposed to explain all this? I can't just say, "Your Highness, It appears that I lost and was saved by a person I did not know. Can you give him a job to do?" No! that's as stupid as the red-headed moron! Okay, okay… calm down. You're only going to say it when you've been asked. I don't have to say everything at once, Okay, calm down. You can do this, Mordred. Just Breathe… 1…2… 3- "Sir Mordred" 'FUCK!'
The voice who shook The Red Knight off her inner thoughts was none other than Sir Kay. The Tall Knight. One who is head and shoulders higher than Mordred. Whenever he sees Mordred, he takes his time annoying the hell out of the Red Knight. And now he's doing the same thing.
"Lovely day isn't it Sir Mordred. 'Tis a shame that I met you before I got to enjoy it. Anyways, I'm on my way to the palace to answer the Summons of the King. In fact, the whole Round is being summoned. Well, the knights who are in Camelot at least. Who's this man?" Said Kay, who was addressing Mordred before looking at Archer.
Ignoring the insult while gritting her teeth, The Red Knight replied. "This here is Archer. An... acquaintance." With barely hidden contempt, she continued. "He's here because he fought Drecken. He was valuable information that we can use to kill the bastard."
"Oh! What a brave man, this Archer is." He complimented Archer before continuing, "Now tell me, how did your fight go?"
"Well, he was a strong opponent, and a brutal one too." Said Archer, who was carefully choosing his words. "I fought him in a village not far from here. I saw that he destroyed half of the town and decided to fight him when I witnessed Sir Mordred becoming unconci- ugh! Uh I mean… pre-occupied with something." He was viciously elbowed by the subject matter before he talked about the Knight's loss. She would not allow anyone but the King to hear about it. And she most definitely DOES NOT want Kay of all people to hear about it.
But it was for naught. For Kay caught what Archer said before the redhead was silenced.
"Hoh… Sir Mordred lost? That's new. Either you were 'pre-occupied' long enough for Drecken to catch you off guard or you lost in a fair fight. Either way, you lost. Must be feel terrible now, does-
"SHUT THE HELL UP! YOU WEREN'T THERE. HOW COULD A WEAKLING WHO'S A TERRIBLE FIGHTER UNDERSTAND! DON'T FUCK WITH ME KA-"
Mordred had had it with Kay, consequences be damned. She was already drawing her sword when Archer stopped her.
"Mordred! Look around you. You're making a scene." He said bringing the Red Knight's attention the clearly distraught onlookers. Seeing this. Mordred sheathed her sword and with a huff she said, "Whatever. But know this, Kay." She glared at the Tall Knight, "One more taunt and you're dead!" As she was about to leave, Kay reignited their conversation.
"That sword… That's not yours, is it? Where's your greatsword? Can see that?", from playful and goading, he suddenly serious. And both Mordred and Archer saw that he isn't kidding. The two looked at each other asking what to do. To which they both decided to humor the tall man and gave him the sword. As Kay was inspecting the sword, Archer filled him in with the retreat of Drecken. The finding of the sword. And their journey back.
"The sword was in pristine shape." Said Archer, "It was sharp, it had no defects, and it had a weird aura around it when I picked it up from the temple Mordred and Drecken fought in. It disappeared when I held it, only coming back when Sir Mordred and I fought off some bandits on the way back to Camelot." He still tried to hide Mordred's loss. Since he knew how volatile the knight can become at the mention of it.
"I see… well, I can safely say that Mordred's new sword is a fascinating one. It has these weird markings that looks like runes on both flats of the blade. The design is superb… it looks like a sword made for a King…" "And how can you tell that?" Said Mordred, feeling a little elated the prospect of wielding a King's sword; and probably imagining herself as king in the process.
"Well… It has a pommel that looks like a Lion. Only kings are allowed to have Lions for pommels. And overall… the blade is great for a warrior like you Mordred." There was no playfulness in his voice to indicate he was joking. He was still busy trying to understand the sword. And it didn't matter to Mordred what he felt. She was busy basking in the feeling of elation at Kay's compliment. Archer on the hand…
"You know this sword?" said the redhead with a contemplating look. "I can't be sure." Replied Kay. "I know I've seen this before, but I can't seem to remember well. Do you know its name by any chance?" Archer then looked at the sword. He can analyze the sword and immediately know its name and history. But this time, the sword's history eluded him. Only name appeared. It was a strange name. It didn't mean anything in any language. That worried Archer. Since it never happened before. He made a mental note to investigate this when he has the time.
"Rhindon. The sword's name is Rhindon." Said Archer.
"Rhindon huh? Well, I'll look into it when I have time. Right now, we need to head to the palace, Mordred." He said to the fellow knight, who was shaken from her thoughts of kingship. "We need to go to the Round Table meeting. You can come too, Archer. You do have valuable information after all." He then went ahead of the two after handing the sword back to Mordred. They then followed Kay from behind.
"Quite the man, that Kay." Said Archer, trying to break the silence.
"Don't get me fucking started with that asshole!" Said Mordred. "I can't stand him! He comes up to me like he knows me and starts fucking goading me. One of these days I'm going to beat his ass up if keeps doing that…" She then continued to talk about everything that Kay does that pisses her off.
'Well… at least I now know Kay's weaknesses after opening the can of worms that is Mordred's frustrations with the man.' Thought Archer. It did give him insight with how the man fights-He doesn't. Kay is the weakest among the Knights in Swordplay. Although Archer concluded that the Tall Knight was more of a secretary to Arturia than a fighter.
'Arturia…'
The name brought him out of his current thoughts. What is Arturia going to be like? Is she still the same woman that she loved? 'of course, not' Thought Archer 'But I can't help but imagine her as the girl I love'
Emiya Shirou thought of her once more. The girl he loved- no. The girl he loves. Even after becoming a Counter Guardian, he did not stop loving her. He most definitely did not stop trying to find his beloved. And now that he has a chance to see her again… no, she isn't Arturia. Emiya was going to King Arthur. The King of Knights at the height of her powers. The King Arthur that hasn't lost everything yet. The same King Arthur that did not know him. The thought of that twisted his iron heart. He did not like the feeling.
Moving away from these thoughts, he then focused on his surroundings. Kay is gone. Probably went ahead of them. They were in this big hallway. Walking straight and going left and right occasionally. He looked towards Mordred, who was still going on ranting about Kay's irritating way of talking.
"…And when he talks, he does it in a goddamn irritatingly way that you can't tell if he was polite or insulting you…"
They were probably halfway there to the room that the Round Table meeting is. The two of them were alone. So, it wouldn't hurt to casually do conversation. Once he noticed Mordred's done talking, he interjected.
"Well, Kay might not be the best of people out there… but he did make a good point when we were talking with him." Archer calmly said.
Calm was not present in Mordred when the redhead said that. Instead, she felt furious. She stopped walking to look up at him and with a very agitated voice she said, "Hah! The hell did you pull that from?! Didn't you listen to a damn thing I said? How the hell did you manage finding at least one good fucking thing he said?!" Mordred was livid. How dare this moron say that Kay had said something good. The tall knight was mocking her just minutes ago! After watching Archer's face become impassive after her tirade. She continued.
"Alright then, I'll humor you before I cut you down." Hand to her hilt, she was really pissed to hear Archer's compliment of Kay. Besides, Archer can take her blows. Not like he'll die in one swing, that's for sure. "What good point did Kay say out of all the goddamn mocking he spat in my face?" She was seething at this point. Any wrong step, then Archer gets the end the blade.
Luckily for Archer here, he has everything he needs to say already in his arsenal. So, he can survive this confrontation. Calmly and with the genuineness he can muster he spoke.
"Simple. Earlier in our conversation with Kay he mentioned that your sword is fit for you because you were a fine warrior for it. One who deserves to wield a weapon of a King. Now, that's one good point he's made from all I've from him. I certainly agree with him there. Do you?"
To say that Mordred was surprised at what the redhead had said was an understatement. For the Red Knight, it felt like all her frustrations and irritations were blown away like leaves in the wind. And what replaced them was confusion. And then happiness. It was a good thing she had her helmet on, because she was as red as an apple right now. It took Mordred a while to get her words together and when she did, she couldn't talk straight.
"I, uh, o-of course I agree!" She exclaimed. "I'm the best damn knight out there. If there was someone worthy of wielding a King's sword then it will obviously be me." She was currently overjoyed by Archer's compliment that she didn't see the small smile that the redhead had before he went on to say.
"That's good Mordred." Said Archer. "Now that you've calmed down, I can see that you're ready for the meeting." "Huh? What's that got to do with the meeting?" Asked the Red Knight, now confused as to how Archer managed to connect Kay's compliment to the meeting.
"Well," Archer began walking at this, "I couldn't help but notice that you were too angry about Kay that it was starting to worry me. I imagined what would've happened when you enter that room with a hot head. So, I simply calmed you down before we got there." As Archer finished what he said, they passed the halfway mark. They were only 10 minutes away from the room.
'Now that I've thought about, Archer was right' Thought Mordred 'I was too mad at Kay to realize it. Argh! I really must rein in my emotions when I talk to Kay from now on. Actually, no. Fuck that. Kay was in the wrong. He was in the goddamn wrong in that conversation… I'm getting mad again. Argh! Damn you Kay!' As she was thinking that she then moved to what Archer said again. 'Well, at least it was nice being called a good warrior from warrior by Archer. Though I won't tell him that. I don't know why. But everything this guy says calms me down when I need it. I don't know how he did it, but now I'm starting to think the redhead isn't a bad guy after all. I mean, he is a great cook. That's a plus in my book. He also says nice things to me occasionally. Not something most people do when they talk to me. Although…'
"…Do you mean it?" Said a surprisingly meek Mordred. She said it softly that it would've been hard to hear by a normal person. Archer was not a normal person.
The red head realized that what he said earlier was a critical hit to Mordred's heart. 'She was obviously shocked by what I said' he concluded 'she's probably asking to confirm if it was a fluke or not' It isn't. But Mordred is naturally bad at taking compliments since they are so rare for her.
Archer knew that their relationship would change by a longshot. From their typical 'frenemy' status at the beginning of their journey to 'comrades' after facing those bandits in the journey to 'somewhat friends'. It is a lot to take in for the Red Knight since Mordred has not a lot of friends. But to Archer, he views it as a step to the slow process of convincing Mordred not to rebel. And to forever stop Camlann from happening. All he needs to do is pull off his most heartwarming smile and say,
"I'll never lie to you Mordred. You are an amazing knight. And nothing is going to change that. I mean, the fact that you've made it here as one of King Arthur's most trusted Knights is a testament to your brilliance and accomplishments. Don't forget that, okay?"
There it was. The most heartfelt thing the Red Knight has ever heard from someone. Not even Morgan can trump this. The Knight stopped in her tracks. Even with the helmet on, Archer can tell what she's feeling right now. Happiness, joy, elation. And the fact that Archer added in Arturia multiplies the Red Knight's merriment at what he said. She was literally shaking with joy- at least from what Archer is seeing; to an onlooker it looked like Mordred was as still as a statue. She barely got out of her euphoria when suddenly a white-haired Knight from behind them and called for Mordred's attention.
"Ah it's Sir Mordred! You've finally arrived. Are you here to be debriefed about your mission? Good, you're right on time." He was a gentle looking person with kind, teal eyes. He was well armored knight with beautiful teal cloths under his armor. If anything, this knight looked like he was straight from a fairy tale. 'Well, technically I'm in a fairytale' thought Archer. As the knight was about to continue talking to Mordred, he noticed Archer and directed his attention to him. His eyes marred with confusion. Then suspicion. With a calm tone laced with a threatening undertone, the knight asked, "And who might this good sir be." Looking at Archer while saying that gave the redhead the signal to speak. "Good day to you Sir Knight," His voice filled with false kindness that's enough to be taken as the genuine kind. "I go by as Archer. I am an acquaintance of Sir Mordred over here." Said knight just nodded, much to the surprise of the Teal Knight, who was used to his colleague's boisterousness. But he kept it to himself. "I accompanied him in his journey back to Camelot after we met in a village not far from her" Archer had to be careful not to let Mordred's real gender slip. He didn't need to think of the consequences should he slip up.
The Teal Knight brightened up with the recognition of the redhead in front of him. "Oh! You're the one Sir Mordred accompanied when he fought off the Tyrant Drecken." All suspicions the Teal Knight had for the redhead left him when he heard what Archer had to say. "I only heard about you from Sir Kay, but he didn't mention you in detail, so I didn't realize it was you." He explained. "Oh my! Where are my manners? I am Sir Bedivere, Knight of the Round Table. It's a pleasure to meet you." 'Yeah, I know. Arturia told me all about you' thought Archer as Bedivere finished, watching the Teal Knight raise up his hand expecting Archer to take it. As the redhead shook the knight's hand, he said, "Twas a pleasure meeting you as well Sir Bedivere." He said with a smile. "I believe that you mentioned a meeting. Is the meeting you mentioned about the one where the King summoned the Knights of the Round? Because that's where Mordred and I are going." The redhead was speaking for the Knight here, who he noticed hasn't composed herself after hearing Archer's compliment 'Must've been a really good compliment if she's still shaken about it' he thought.
Sir Bedivere answered with glee. "Oh! That's right. Well then follow me, Archer and Sir Mordred." He motioned the two of them to the door that was to Archer's left. 'Wow. Never knew we were that close to the room.' He then thought. The redhead had to grab the left arm of Mordred since she hasn't responded to his calls. As they were at the door, Sir Bedivere noticed Archer's hold on Mordred but didn't think much of it. As the trio went in all three had differing reactions.
'Ah, it's the King.' Thought Bedivere 'Never late, as always.'
'Shit! It's the King!' Thought Mordred. 'Okay, Okay, calm down. Keep calm Mordred. You can get through this.'
Archer had a very different reaction compared to the two them. He knew it was Arturia in from of him. He saw her golden hair and ahoge. She was wearing her 'usual' battle armor right now. Nothing different compared to his Arturia right?
Wrong. Dead wrong.
'Something's wrong, her eyes are cold as ice' he thought to himself. And he was right. Her eyes look like they were carved from ice. Shivers unseen to the human eye came upon Archer as he felt himself lost withing those emerald orbs. 'Sure' he thought, 'I expected her to be aloof when I see her. Emotionless even. But I never saw Arturia as ice cold.'' After 1 second real-time, Archer's gaze moved towards the King of Knight's body (With his prowess as a quick observer, Arturia will never notice it.) and to his shock, he realized one thing.
'This is not my Arturia'