Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi

Chapter 2: Il Mondo (Part II)

"No, I don't want to go."

Luvia slouched on a couch in one of her London mansion's sitting rooms, this one with no windows so as to afford greater privacy. She looked away with a pout, resting her chin against an elbow, her otherwise languid pose and the loose dress she was wearing giving her something of a spoiled appearance in this situation.

"Lady Luviagelita, what are you saying?" the uniformed manservant gently asked. "These are high nobles of the Clock Tower. And if you refuse Lord Ross' invitation once again, what will the other nobles say about you in the following months?"

"I despise Lord Ross." Luvia bluntly remarked. "The way he struts around as though he's so important…"

"I'm sure Lord Ross despises you too, my lady," the manservant agreed as Luvia trailed off. "But didn't he graciously invite you anyway?"

Luvia made a dismissing sound and gesture. "He probably only wants to increase his attendance." She said. "Must I play the fool to demonstrate his authority and influence? What nonsense!"

"Lady Luviagelita…"

"Yes, yes…" Luvia said with a sigh before sitting up straight. "You're probably going to remind me that since Lady Barthomeloi will be coming, it would be impolite not to go. What a waste of my time."

Luvia snorted while getting up to her feet, and smoothed out her dress. "At the very least," she said. "My cousin will be there, along with some of my friends and acquaintances from across the Clock Tower. I shouldn't be driven to my wits' end with them to keep me company tonight."

"As you say, my lady." The manservant said a bow. "As you say."

Luvia nodded and turned to pace the room. "Now then," she began. "I wonder…what should I wear tonight, and what present should I give…"

"Should I prepare a selection for both that my lady may peruse through later?" the manservant politely offered.

"Yes, you do that, a very good idea, thank you very much."

The manservant bowed again. "You are welcome, my lady." He said after rising once more. "Well then, I take my leave."

Luvia nodded, and with another bow, the manservant left her alone in the room.


Orchestral music echoed out of the grand mansion in the London suburbs, even as cars of various makes – Rolls-Royce, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Lamborghini, Renault, and many more – drove up and around the rotunda and its fountain centerpiece, crowned by a Neoclassical sculpture of Cupid and Eros. Passengers dropped off in a colorful variety of gowns, dresses, and styles, at least when it came to the women, as the men all uniformly wore dark and somber-colored formal clothes.

"George Frederic Handel," Luvia thought in recognition, as she heard the music faintly through her car's walls. "Water Music Suite No. 1 in F major: III. Allegro-Andante-Allegro da capo, if my guess is right."

"You should be able to go right in, my lady." Her attending maid said as their car drove up to the drop off area.

"I know." Luvia said with a sigh. "However, I intend to slip out as soon as possible. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I'll have you and the driver keep the car idling in the parking area for just that purpose."

"I understand, my lady." The maid said with a bow. "But please, don't worry about us, my lady. You should go ahead and take your time enjoying yourself."

"That's easy for you to say." Luvia murmured, and opened the door. Then she was coming up short, at a faint sound of surprise and alarm from outside the door. Looking in its direction, Luvia found herself facing a balding old man with a neatly-trimmed white beard and muttonchops, dressed in a black frock coat with a high collar over a shirt and trousers in pale violet. He wore a white cravat with a gold-rimmed amethyst brooch, and his frilled cuffs were white.

And more importantly, aged fingers clutched shakily at a gilded cane, topped with another amethyst. That was enough for Luvia to put the story together.

"Oh, that was very rude of me!" she immediately said, getting out her car and giving a contrite curtsy. "Please accept my apologies, sir."

The old man just glared silently at her, and seemingly struggling to keep himself restrained. "…if I may…" Luvia continued while rising to her full height. "…have I accidentally injured you?"

Without any words, the old man stomped away in silence, leaving Luvia looking after him in surprise and concern, one shared by her maid a moment later, the servant leaving the car to stand next to her mistress. Then both were turning the other way, at the sound of a familiar laugh.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho…that was quite the eccentric old man there, wasn't he?" Sakura asked as she approached, hiding her face partly behind a fan of blue silk with a pearl-inlaid frame.

"Lady Sakura!" the maid exclaimed in surprised recognition, before giving a low bow. Sakura acknowledged her with a nod, and then turned back to her cousin.

"Good evening, Luvia." She said with a curtsy, and one that Luvia returned. "You're looking splendid tonight, though I must say, I'm rather surprised to see you in those colors."

Luvia gave a smirk at that, a subdued hand movement showing off her off-the-shoulders gown of white brocade with elaborate embroidery in pale pink. "None may claim that Luviagelita Edelfelt is incapable of spontaneity." She said.

"Hmm…I believe the message is well-sent." Sakura said with a smile.

"Indeed," Luvia agreed with a nod, before tilting her head. "You're also looking splendid tonight, though on a similar note, I wonder at the reason you've decided to go monochrome for this evening."

This time, it was Sakura's turn to smirk, a similarly-subdued hand gesture showing off her elegantly-austere and sleeveless dress of rich blue brocade, a rose of the same color pinned to her left shoulder. She also wore a Eugenie hat, though instead of feathers another blue rose had been pinned to the hat's crown.

"All I can say it that there is a way to go Art Nouveau without extreme elaboration." She replied, and Luvia gave an amused laugh.

"You and your fondness for the Art Nouveau school." She said with a fond shake of her head. "On to more serious matters…Sakura, do you know who that old man was?"

"No…" Sakura said, before turning to the party behind them. "But I suspect our fellow partygoers here do. Good evening, Lady El-Melloi, and Lord El-Melloi II."

"Good evening to you as well, Miss Edelfelt-Tohsaka, and to your cousin, Lady Edelfelt." Lady Reines El-Melloi Archisorte said, the little blonde girl wearing an elegant and modest dress of white with pale blue embroidery.

"Good evening, my lord and lady." Luvia said with a curtsy.

"As to your question, Miss Luvia," Lord Waver El-Melloi II began, and electing to address Luvia by her given name considering the existing (business/academic) relationship between them. "I believe that was Lord Parker just now."

"Lord Parker…?" Luvia echoed uncertainly, and with a glance at her cousin. Sakura just shrugged at her, clearly not recognizing the name any more than Luvia did.

"It's understandable." Reines said with a curious look on her face, and also looking in the old man's direction. "He was banished from society over thirty years ago. In all honesty, it makes me wonder what he's doing here."

"…it does seem rather strange, doesn't it?" Waver mused aloud, crossing his arms and tapping his lips with a finger in thought.

Both Luvia and Sakura traded glances again, before looking in Lord Parker's direction, but even then, neither had an answer to El-Melloi II's concerns.


The orchestra continued to play, even as Luvia made her way around the hall, regarding the paintings and other works of art lining the wall with a practiced eye. One, in particular, caught her attention, that of an oil painting of a man in an 18th Century Royal Navy Admiral's uniform, hanging in a gilded frame.

"Life-sized, too…very impressive…" Luvia mentally-remarked. Then she blinked, as an oily voice from behind her interrupted her appreciation.

"Well, well, if it isn't the hyenas' alpha female." the man began. "Why are you hiding along the walls like this? Or perhaps you just have an eye for paintings?"

Luvia turned and narrowed her eyes at a man of average height, his brown hair cut into a cropped bowl, wearing a violet frock coat trimmed in black with a high collar over a brown shirt and trousers. He wore a white cravat at his throat, held in place by a jeweled brooch, and held a half-drunk glass of wine in one hand.

"Well, each and every one of them is worthy of the foremost nobles, first-class paintings all of them." Sir Aston – the man – said, while holding up his glass in the direction of the painting Luvia had been admiring recently. "This portrait, in particular, was a gift from someone down on his luck. He thought it worthy of Lord Ross, and presented it with head bowed."

Luvia made a sound of curious intrigue. "And who is that?" she asked. "Who would be so desperate that they would act in so blatant a manner?"

"That fellow over there," Sir Aston said with a tip of his head across the room. "The one standing by himself, Lord Parker."

"Lord Parker?" Luvia echoed, and looking in the indicated direction. Sure enough, there was the old man from earlier, nursing a glass of wine by himself next to a window looking out over the inner gardens, and leaning on his cane.

And clearly a non-entity as far as everyone else was concerned, or so it seemed to Luvia.

"I see." Luvia said with a smile while continuing to look in Lord Parker's direction. "It goes without saying that the recognized arts only belong to those of importance and worth."

"Indeed." Sir Aston agreed with an oily smile.

"That said," Luvia continued as a hint of malice flickered in her eyes. "Lord Parker and his family were important too, once upon a time. Is there any who can say with complete certainty that Lord Ross may not have to part with his collection too in days to come?"

"What was that?" Sir Aston asked in outraged shock.

"It's honestly quite farcical, when you think about it, all this passing around of portraits and sculptures back and forth, over the generations." Luvia mused.

"…don't get too full of yourself, brat." Sir Aston snarled.

Luvia gave a small laugh. "I'm not being full of myself." She said before turning to face him again. "It's just that when hyenas get barked at one too many times by ill-bred dogs, the hyenas eventually tear the throat out of one or another, to teach them their proper places."

"Why, you…!"

Then he broke off, as the orchestra stopped playing, and the sound of a silver spoon tapping against a silver goblet called for everyone's attention. Conversation, laughter, and the trading of barbs came to a halt, as eyes turned to where Lord Ross was moving to address them all. "I've just received word that Lady Barthomeloi has left the Clock Tower, and is on her way here even as we speak." The corpulent man in a golden frock coat over a red shirt and trousers said. "I simply wished to inform you all, and to ask that you prepare accordingly. That will be all, and please, continue to enjoy the food and drink."

Murmurs of understanding echoed across the gathered magi-aristocrats, moments before conversations, laughter, and the trading of barbs resumed against an orchestral backdrop. "I'll remember this." Sir Aston hissed at Luvia. "And I will settle the score with you."

"By all means," Luvia mockingly replied. "I am at your convenience, whether it is by magic, blade, pistol, or even just simple hand to hand."

Sir Aston sniffed disdainfully before turning away and vanishing into the crowd, Luvia watching him all the while.


Dice clattered as they were tossed inside the cup, and then the cup was clattering in its turn, as it was pressed down against the ground. "Place your bets." The dealer said.

Some of the drivers and attendants not allowed to join their employers inside the mansion had formed an impromptu gambling ring in the parking area. Technically illegal, and by all rights, the guards on duty should have told them off. And they did, along with passing off a warning that they – the guards – had better not see a repeat later during their rounds.

A wad of banknotes for every guard on duty guaranteed that much.

"Evens." A driver said.

"I'm going with evens too." Elisa said in her turn.

"I'm putting my money on odds." Another attendant said.

"I'm on odds too."

"Odds over here as well."

Others present made their bets as well, and then the dealer lifted the cup, revealing the dice…

…evens.

Words of dismay and delight went up over the gambling ring, even as money was passed around, whether it was prizes handed out or losses getting collected. But while that was going on, something drew the attention of those present from a corner of their eyes, and causing them to turn in its direction.

It was a balding old man with a neatly-trimmed white beard and muttonchops, dressed in a black frock coat with a high collar over a shirt and trousers in pale violet. He wore a white cravat with a gold-rimmed amethyst brooch, and his frilled cuffs were white. The gathered gamblers looked on in silence, following him with their eyes as the old man got into a car, one whose driver had kept the engine running idle, and who had not joined them or even conversed with them. Then the car drove off, carrying its passenger with them.

"Well, that was weird." One man said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Another man said.

Elisa gave them all a look. "We all work for magi." She said. "Shouldn't we be used to weird stuff all the time?"

That got a chorus of agreement from everyone present, and then calls were made for the dealer to get ready for the next round. Despite herself, though, Elisa was uneasy, her sixth sense tugging at her conscious mind, that something was wrong, and that the girl she'd looked after ever since she was a baby was in danger.

"Make your bets, everyone!" the dealer called.

"Sorry, I'm cutting my losses for now." Elisa said, and giving a good-natured smile at the jeers and catcalls that went up in response. Waving the others goodbye while slipping out of the circle, she walked away to a soft distance, and reaching into her coat, pulled out her sidearm.

A flick of a switch had the laser sights coming on, before Elisa chambered a round, 9x19 mm Parabellum with a hollow-point bullet. Then after making sure the safety was on, Elisa holstered her weapon again, before walking to move closer towards the mansion.

"Sakura…" she thought. "Stay safe."


"Sakura," Luvia began, as she approached Sakura at the snacks table, where the younger woman was filling up a plate with finger food.

"Hmm?" Sakura hummed in acknowledgement of her cousin. "I see you're looking rather bored, Luvia."

Luvia gave a small smile at that. "Not really," she said. "The sightseeing is quite amusing, if nothing else. However, something seems off…starting a little while ago, the party's atmosphere took a change for the worse."

"Oh? You didn't hear?" Sakura asked before popping fried shrimp into her mouth.

"Hear what?" Luvia prompted with crossed arms.

Sakura masked her face with her fan while leaning in conspiratorially. "It seems that something important came up for Lady Barthomeloi." She said softly. "They say she's turned back towards the Clock Tower."

"Really? And so suddenly at that?" Luvia wondered before giving a small snort and continuing in Finnish. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Queen decided she had better things to do than attend a celebration for the sake of celebration like this."

Sakura snickered. "Poor Lord Ross…" she responded in the same language. "He's going to lose face."

"He should be thankful the Queen gave him the courtesy of having an official reason as to her decision not to attend." Luvia cheekily added.

The two cousins shared a laugh at that, before Sakura offered Luvia her plate of finger food. Luvia accepted the offer, the two of them munching on finger food while looking and listening around them at the muttering and murmuring of their fellow partygoers, until at last, Lord Ross called for their attention again.

"I'm very sorry to inform you all that Lady Barthomeloi has been informed of a serious matter demanding her personal attention while on the way here, and has thus returned to the Clock Tower." Lord Ross began. "While it might not appear especially pressing for us, we cannot fault the Vice-Director for her dedication to the duties and responsibilities of her station, something we can all look up to as an example to aspire to follow. I know we're all disappointed that Lady Barthomeloi won't be joining us tonight, but even so, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the evening regardless."

As the short address came to an end, the partygoers broke out into a renewed mass of muttering and murmuring, and within a few minutes, people began to bade each other farewell before taking their leaves. Individuals first, then small groups, before whole cliques began to leave.

"If Lady Barthomeloi isn't coming," Luvia remarked in Finnish. "Then there's no point in staying further."

Sakura chuckled at that. "You can also see how much everyone here actually regards the host." She said.

"Indeed." Luvia agreed before they shared another laugh. "Shall we take our leave as well, then? We might only have had white wine, but perhaps we can have some tea between us before taking our rest for the evening."

"Hmm…now that sounds lovely…" Sakura began, only to break off at a commotion on the far side of the hall. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Luvia said. "Let's go take a look."

"I've got your back." Sakura said, falling into step behind Luvia. Making their way across the hall while politely stepping past and around the cliques and people still around, many of whom were equally-interested in what was going on, Luvia and Sakura eventually pushed forward to see the familiar form of Lord El-Melloi II attending to an unconscious old woman lying on a bench, while a younger woman, possibly the old woman's daughter, stood nearby.

Then everything went to hell.


Elisa staggered and struggled to stay on her feet as the ground shook, raising an arm to shield her face as an explosion shattered the mansion windows. "Oh no…" she whispered as her ringing ears began to hurt, and all the cuts on her face began to sting. "…Sakura!"

Pulling out her sidearm, Elisa rushed into the building with her weapon held low in both hands, and she wasn't alone. Household guards were rushing in from the outside, along with attendants and bodyguards forced to stay separate from their wards.

Regardless of where they entered the hall from, they entered into a scene of carnage, bodies lying everywhere amidst the wreckage, small fires burning here and there, all to the sounds of people crying, groaning, moaning and calling for help. "Sakura!" Elisa shouted, before belatedly remembering she was in public. "Where are you? Lady Sakura!"

There was no response, and Elisa found herself walking briskly through the ruins of the hall, looking from side to side, ignoring the injured, the dead, and the dying to look for her ward, and hoping despite the cold tightness in her chest that she wasn't among the latter two. "Lady Sakura!" she shouted again, turning back and forth as guards and others began helping survivors. "Lady Sakura! Lady Sakura! Where are you? Please answer me!"

And then…

…an answer…

"E-Elisa…" a voice weakly-called, and Elisa immediately rushed over, to where Luvia and Sakura were struggling to get up, covered in soot, scrapes, cuts and burns, their clothes torn and gashed all over.

"Lady Sakura…Lady Luviagelita…!" Elisa said in relief as she rushed over, and holstering her sidearm, sank down to her knees before them. "Are you alright?"

"My ears are still ringing." Luvia said while dabbing at one of them. "But I don't seem seriously injured…Sakura…?"

"My ears hurt." Sakura said with a nod. "But I think I'm fine…mostly…"

Immediately, Elisa fumbled for her kerchiefs, having long had a habit of carrying two, one for herself, and another for Sakura. She handed them both to Luvia and Sakura this time, for them to wipe their faces with.

"…good thing we stayed where we were." Sakura eventually said. "Otherwise, it'd have taken longer for you to find us."

"I'm very sorry!" Elisa said with a bow. "But I had a…premonition of danger earlier. I should have come sooner, maybe even insisted on being allowed inside."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked with a chuckle. "I don't really think you could have done that, but you're here now, and as soon as you could at that. So I'd say there's nothing to hold you responsible for."

"Lady Sakura…"

"Well, well, well…" Luvia interrupted, and causing her cousin and her cousin's bodyguard to turn to her. She grinned while holding up an intact bottle of wine. "You're Catholic, aren't you, Elisa? I think it's not unreasonable to see this as some sort of sign from God."

Sakura chuckled. "I think we could all use a drink." She said.

"I'm sure we could, my lady." Elisa agreed, before helping Sakura and then Luvia to their feet.

"Do you mind if I join you for that drink?" a feminine voice joined in, and they turned to see an unharmed Reines nearby, no doubt thanks to the mystic code she had inherited from her brother and predecessor, the late Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. Said mystic code, Volumen Hydragyrum, was right behind her, holding an unconscious, bleeding, and very battered Lord El-Melloi II in its arms.

"I wouldn't mind you joining us, Lady El-Melloi." Luvia said. "But I daresay you have to bring your older brother to a hospital, first. You can join us later if you wish, though."

Reines made a sound of disgust. "I'm grateful for the offer," she said, before jabbing a thumb in Waver's direction. "But I think brother's affairs will take up the rest of the night. Oh well…at least we're in better shape than those clowns."

They all turned in the indicated direction, where Lord Ross and Sir Aston were both frantically trying to save their family's art collection, happily burning away. Luvia tutted at the sight.

"What a waste…" she said.


Hours later, and the Edelfelts were watching through familiars as the Parker mansion in a country estate several kilometers away from London burned to the ground. Enforcers were trying to break through the property's bounded fields, to try and salvage anything before Lord Parker's final act of spite after his failed bombing cum assassination attempt denied them – and Lord Ross – anything of value, but they weren't having much luck.

"His family might have been disgraced," Luvia mentally remarked. "But like I told Sir Aston earlier, they were important once too. And in our society, power and importance go hand in hand."

"…Aunt Lumikki warned me about how the intrigues here in Britain were much worse than those in Finland." Sakura said.

"Are you surprised?" Luvia asked.

"I guess it never really sank in until just now." Sakura replied. "A bombing in the middle of a party? And the culprit enjoyed the host's food and drink beforehand? The host who graciously invited him into his home despite all the bad blood between them? I don't know about you, but if this is the level of intrigue here in London, I'd rather be in Finland, or somewhere else on the fringes…"

"…where the intrigues, plots, counterplots, treacheries and conspiracies don't make mockeries of us all." Luvia concluded. "Be grateful you have the opportunity, no, the liberty to make that choice. Some of us aren't as lucky as you."

"Sorry, Luvia." Sakura contritely thought.

"No need to apologize." Luvia said with a mental smile. "I wasn't offended. Others might be, though, just something to keep in mind going forward."

Sakura gave a mental hum of acknowledgement, continuing to watch with Luvia as the Parker mansion caved in on itself in a shower of sparks, a roaring blast of flame, and an even greater volume of smoke pouring into the sky. Luvia opened her eyes, returning to the here and now in her London residence.

"I guess that's the end for the Parker family." She said. "At least the last of them went out swinging, and on his own terms."

"…maybe." Sakura said.

"You disagree?" Luvia asked.

"He did just try to kill us." Sakura pointed out. "Well, not us, we were just collateral, but you know what I mean."

"True," Luvia said with a nod. "But that aside, there's nothing we can really hold against him, is there? At least, on our part."

"…I suppose not."

Luvia smiled, and then picking up her teacup, took a sip of her drink.


A/N

Just goes to show that just because things have gotten better, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Sakura either. That, and she should be thankful that she's still just a branch scion of Edelfelt, as it means she doesn't have to deal with all the shit Luvia has to wade through in London as the head of their family.

Yes, the Lady Barthomeloi referred to here is resident badass, Lorelei Barthomeloi, as implied by the mention of her official rank, the Vice-Director of the Mages Association. She is also the 'Queen' mentioned, though AFAIK that's just an affectionate name for her by the Clock Tower people, the Queen of the Clock Tower, that is. Makes sense, and it fits.