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Chapter 8 – Pride Of The King Of Knights
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Bedivere told her about what he saw before he reincarnated to this world, about what happened to her as long as she became the part of the Heroic Spirits and joined the Holy Grail War to fulfill her wish "whatever your wishes. Of course, I know about your struggles, including your fight with Sir Lancelot. To be honest... the first time we met in this world on the Danafor, I barely raised my sword to kill him, remembering what he has done to you".
Arthuria felt shuddered after looking at his eyes, but she quickly gathered herself and poised herself regally "...he has the right to be angry and punish me for his suffering that I've caused".
"no, he is not", Bedivere frowned "even if he is my old comrade, you are our King and as your Knights, we're supposed to protect and serve you, not betray and bring harm on you".
Turning her back facing him, Arthuria stood on the edge of the cliff which the wind fluttered her dress "do you think... they remember their past-life memories? All of them. Lancelot, Tristan, Gawain, and even Mordred?".
Bedivere bowed although she couldn't see it "to be honest, I also have no idea, my King".
"I'm not the King anymore. You don't have any obligation to obey my words and even still follow me around to serve me like this!", Arthuria turned her back around and shouted. She didn't doubt him. His undying loyalty to her. After all, of all her Knights, he was the only one who stayed by her side till her last breath "so why, Bedivere? Tell me, what for and why did you do this?".
Bedivere took her hand and smiled "...it's because I still remember your smile on that day, King Arthur. It's just like what Lancelot said, I still believe that you are the greatest King we have ever served".
Lowering her head further, she asked as her bangs masking her face "...do you still want me to be the King?".
"honestly, I don't know. Because you look happier and you have what you hardly have when you were our King. Freedom", Bedivere really meant it. As long as he spent his time with her and her new family, he never saw her that happy. Why should she be the King if that smile would disappear from her face? He wouldn't want it to happen. Narrowing his eyes, he sighed and asked in worry "do you not want to be the King anymore, Lady?".
"you already know what happened. Why should I be the King, when I only would bring destruction to my Kingdom and make everyone suffering?", sitting on the grass, with her hands above her skirt, she clenched her fist. Her voice shook as if she was gonna cry "but even so... in this second chance, even if I'm no longer a King, I still want to raise my sword to protect my people!", looking up and fisting her tiny fists on her skirt, the fire lit up on her eyes although she was on the verge of her tears "It's the only pride that has been left on me, as the King of Knights".
"then, you don't have to be the King if you don't want to. You still can raise your sword to protect your people even if you're no longer the King. However, I want you to remember", Bedivere dropped one knee in front of her and crossed his right arm over his chest, bowing "for me, you are my King and I only want to serve you. I swear with my life to be your shield and I raise my sword to protect you. You are the only hope that keeps my sanity. I will protect you till my last breath and I will not fail this time until you can earn your happiness. That's all the matters for me. As long as you can be happy, it's my greatest happiness. I wouldn't dream of asking more than it".
Even after 1.500 years of blaming himself, for pain and suffering, he was still dying to meet her and serve her again.
"Bedivere... thank you", she blinked away a single tear before she smiled broadly "thank you so much".
Bedivere blinked "what for?".
Arthuria felt it overwhelming, it felt like her gratitude would never enough "for everything. To keep believing in me. For not giving up and found me on the destructed Danafor. For your undying loyalty and for choosing to stay with me until my last breath in my previous life and to serve me until now even if I'm no longer a King".
"shall we go back home?", Bedivere reached out his hand and smiled back "I have a hunch feeling that Sir Meliodas would come looking for us if we don't go back sooner".
On the way when they climbed down the mountain back to the town, as Bedivere carried her on his shoulders, he asked her about her choice "is it really okay for you to not reincarnate into the future of our world where you could have been together with the man you loved?".
So he knew about Shirou, too. Of course, he was. Arthuria blushed and cleared her throat "it's alright. Before I came here, I've asked Thanatos to show me about what will happen to Shirou. He's married to Tohsaka Rin in the end, even having a cute grandson named Ritsuka Fujimaru".
Bedivere looked up "is it alright for you?".
"of course, he's happy, after all", Arthuria sighed as she leaned her head on his nape and closed her eyes "just like what you said, as long as he can be happy, I'll be happy for him too. I'm glad for them because Rin is really a good girl".
"But how about your happiness?", Bedivere couldn't ask it out loud, he decided to keep it to himself.
When they arrived at the house, Bedivere called but no one came. Strange. Bedivere put Arthuria down before he grabbed her hand, both walking to the living room where they found a strange thing. Gawain carried Mordred on his hands and Lancelot who carried baby Tristan on his hands, peeking into the living room.
Arthuria blinked and asked, "what are you guys doing here?".
Lancelot, Gawain, and Mordred turned to them, lifting their forefinger to their mouth before shushed them, asking them to be silent but it was too late. Meliodas opened the door widely and they were busted when Meliodas narrowed his eyes disapprovingly.
"Father, we're home!", Arthuria quickly handled this. Before Meliodas scolded them, she quickly darted to hug Meliodas' leg "up".
It was easy to get the attention and to attach people with a child's body, she thought it was interesting. As proof, it worked. She knew it worked from how Meliodas chuckled after that.
Meliodas grinned and lifted her off of the ground "welcome home, dear!".
When Meliodas carried her, Arthuria used this chance to take a look into the living room "oh, who are they?".
Not only Merlin and Meliodas but also other people were in this room. Three of them were the people they knew. Zaratras, Dreyfus, and Hendrickson. There were three new people they didn't recognize. A young woman carried the sleeping white-haired baby who, more or less, in the same age as Elizabeth. Grey-haired old man with a mustache and braided beard who looked like King Baltra, only younger and had sharper features. What poked Arthuria's curiosity was the young man behind this old man because he had a Guardian, a Fairy who... uh, no offense, but Arthuria thought her clothes were indecent.
Unconsciously, Arthuria stared at the young man "well... miss fairy, perhaps you can wear more proper clothes next time, please...".
The fairy, Invisible, quickly hid behind the young man and whispered something near the young man's ears that made the young man's eyes widened before he stared back to her, which Arthuria averted her eyes and pretended as if nothing happened.
Tightening her grip on Meliodas' sleeves, Arthuria demanded and puffed her cheeks "nee, who are they, father? You said we will have lunch together but you have several guests here. Does it mean we will not have lunch together?".
"don't worry, little Lady. We will not take a too long time. We just finished to discuss several things with your father", Zaratras chuckled and ruffled Arthuria's head before rolling his eyes to Bedivere "and as I expected, here you are, Oliver. What I told you before to have trained with Gilthunder?".
Bedivere bowed "my apologies, father, but from what I heard, Gilthunder will have Sir Meliodas as his instructor. Not to mention, Lady Alexandria just asked me because she needs me for her training. You don't need to worry, because I don't leave my training".
Zaratras sighed and snapped his fingers on his forehead "and what I told you before, no need to be so formal with me. I'm your father, not your superior. It's so lonesome of you".
"so, he is Oliver, your adopted son. He's not like what I've imagined".
They turned their eyes to the source of the voice, the man who looked like King Baltra. Zaratras introduced him as Denzel, King Baltra's little brother, Captain of the Pleiades Of The Azure Sky. Denzel crossed his arm before his chest and closed his eyes, bowing as he introduced himself. After he straightened himself, Denzel introduced the others one by one. The young man with a fairy was Denzel's subordinates, Holy Knight in training that Denzel chose and trained to be his right hand, Deathpierce. The young woman who carried silver-haired baby was Lady Gwen Kyrielight, Hendrickson's assistant and the baby was her daughter, Mash Kyrielight. Arthuria and Bedivere could understand why did Gawain, Lancelot, and Mordred looked intrigued (well, irk for Mordred, stunned for Lancelot, and conflicted for Gawain). In his heart, Bedivere had no idea of what his King thought of, due to her seemed unaffected and indifferent attitude (she was getting better at it thanks to her father, Meliodas). Not only the sleeping baby girl on Lady Gwen's hands looked exactly like Galahad, Lancelot's son, but also Lady Gwen looked exactly like Queen Guinevere. Yes, the famous Guinevere that had been known as King Arthur's wife and Queen, Lancelot's lover, and the woman who caused the fall of the Britannia Kingdom in Arthur's reign. Well, it was an understatement to say they were surprised, but clearly this woman was the different woman with Guinevere in their world.
After Meliodas put her down on the floor, Arthuria grabbed each side of her skirt and lifted her skirt as she closed her eyes and bowed her head "it's an honor to meet you in our house, Sir Denzel".
"such polite manners, good girl", Denzel dropped one knee in front of Arthuria and touched her chin, lifting her head up to take a good look on her face. With scrutinize eyes, Denzel approved "you have good looks on your eyes, young girl. It's the eyes of someone with the quality as the destined leader. It seems you've inherited it from your father".
Meliodas pulled Arthuria away from Denzel protectively "actually, she's got it from her mother".
"I think you have such talented child, Sir Meliodas", Deathpierce lifted his forefinger, poking Invisible who floated near his ear "she even can see Invisible, my Guardian Fairy here".
Mordred lifted her forefinger with an uninterested face "the little thing who keeps floating next to you, you mean?".
Gawain cleared his throat and clarified "ah, you mean the tiny fairy who floated near Sir Deathpierce. Right, Bella?".
Bedivere lifted his hand "I can see her, too".
Lancelot nodded "me, too".
Deathpierce gawked "EH!?".
"Now, I understand why my older brother wanted your daughters and his friends to be trained as Holy Knights. However... I can feel something strange, something different from your daughters, the oldest one", Denzel lifted his hand and clarified when he saw Meliodas narrowed his eyes, caressing his beard "oh, no offense, Sir Meliodas. Instead, I think she will be someone with a huge influence in the future like... the Queen".
Arthuria hummed and tilted her head "I don't think so. I think you're giving me too much credit, Sir Denzel".
Denzel raised his eyebrow "how old are you?".
Arthuria blinked "4 years old".
"I have three nieces and I never have seen a four years old little who can talk fluently like you", Denzel smirked in amusement "do you never think there's something wrong with your daughter, Sir Meliodas? She's quite like a mature woman inside a child's body instead of a child, unlike an ordinary child around her age".
Crap. Arthuria had tried her best to act like a child and yes, while usually, adults on the Danafor praised her and her parents for being a timid and genius child, it was a different case with Denzel. King Baltra's little brother was perceptive. Arthuria nervously glanced sideways to Meliodas who seemed indifferent.
Meliodas grinned and chirped, patting Arthuria's head "of course, she is. She is my daughter, after all. It's because she's a smart girl, just like her mother. And just the same with Alexa, Bella is also a smart girl in her own way".
"I think both Sir Meliodas' daughters, be it Lady Alexandria and Lady Bellatrix, they are talented and genius in their own way. Even if they are twins, they have different talents", Gawain complimented "that's what Sir Meliodas wanted to say, right? Of course, as their father, Sir Meliodas is the one who knows his daughters the most".
Mordred blushed and tried to divert the conversation because she felt Arthuria's discomfort "speaking of different, you have a rather different blade with an ordinary Holy Knight, old man. Is it katana?".
Gawain crouched behind Mordred and covered her mouth "Bella, language. He is King Baltra's little brother. Show more respect, please".
Unbeknownst by them, Arthuria felt like someone calling her and she heard that voice coming from the blade on Denzel's hip. She walked closer when the others were too busy to talk. Merlin was the first to realize it when Arthuria reached out her hand to the blade on Denzel's hip, she shouted to warn her but it was too late. When Arthuria touched the blade on Denzel's hip, the blinding bright light struck them, coming from the blade before Arthuria felt knocked by an unseen force. She yelped as her tiny body flew backward. Luckily, before her body hit the wall, Lancelot (because he had the longest leg and he was the nearest) jumped and caught her.
When Lancelot wanted to check on her, Arthuria swatted his hand "don't you dare to lay your filth hand on me, human".
Meliodas blinked "Alexa?".
Mordred was worried and confused "sister?".
"wait, something's wrong here", Merlin lifted her hand, asking them all to not move "she is possessed".
"possessed, you said? It's not quite right, Sorceress", Arthuria's eyes turned into golden eyes and two pairs of white-feathered wings appeared out of her back before she floated upwards, looking down to them all disdainfully "I am a Goddess Rhongomyniad, the Bearer of Holy Lance Rhongomyniad, the Spear Of the End".
Merlin looked up with scrutinize eyes "I never heard your name as the part of Divine Lance Corporal".
"Divine Lance Corporal? Heh, don't group me with those weaklings. My entire existence is clearly on the different levels", Arthuria giggled before she clarified "well, you can say my magic power is similar to his right hand, though. The Shining Arm, Airgetlám".
Bedivere nervously grabbed his right arm when everyone in this room stared at him. Before Bedivere could say something, Gawain shouted something about the blade on Denzel's hip. Everyone turned to the blade on Denzel's hip and they saw Denzel's blade shining. Surprisingly, it spoke and introduced itself as a Goddess named Nerobasta, one of Divine Lance Corporal.
"hate to admit it, but she's right. Once upon a time, Supreme Deity has created a Holy Spear that no one can use because it's too strong. Even the strongest Archangel Mael couldn't use it. Only the Supreme Deity and her daughter, our Goddess Princess who can use it... or perhaps, their descendant. It was also said, only someone with the pure, innocent soul and high dignity who can use it. Whoever has an evil intention or tainted soul can't even touch it", Nerobasta raised her voice and demanded "and who are you, little girl? How and why the Supreme Deity give that Spear to you?".
"Watch your mouth, Servant. Do you know you're speaking with who right now?", Arthuria glared and reached out her hand. Holy Spear, exactly the one she used to attack Fraudrin on the Danafor, appeared in her arm "I can easily destroy you, you know".
"Goddess or whoever you are, I don't care", Meliodas growled, "get out of my daughter's body, now".
"Sorry, not possible. Before Supreme Deity sent me to reincarnate in this world, we have the pact and as a gift, I can keep my Holy Lance with me. Holy Lance Rhongomyniad was not given by Supreme Deity to me, it's mine from the first place. Because I was born with it as the main source of my magic power, this Holy Lance is the part of me and trying to separate it from me, it's just the same with you trying to kill me", Arthuria sat on the fence, dangling her legs "and~ before you ask me, what I mean with similar, just like my Holy Lance Rhongomyniad, The Shining Arm Airgetlám is planted on his right arm and has been one unity with him as the part of his body, trying to separate it from him means killing him".
"you will have to forgive me later, Lady", Bedivere appeared behind Arthuria and knocked her with his weakest move using his right arm "Airgetlám".
"I just wanted to knock her out, but you did it before me", using her magic power to levitate, Merlin caught Arthuria in the mid-air before she touched the unconscious girl's forehead "she's burning up... Perhaps, her body as a child can't contain her overwhelming magic power".
Mordred knew that sometimes, her older sister could easily get sick and the doctor said it was because of her magic power "is she gonna be okay, Aunt?".
"your older sister has too strong magic power. It doesn't fit with her body as a child. That's why, she is easily getting sick", Merlin mumbled, "perhaps, if I seal her power just like I did to Mash...".
Hendrickson explained that Mash, Gwen's daughter was born with powerful magic and she was easily getting sick. Because she was worried about her daughter, Gwen asked Hendrickson about what should she do and Hendrickson suggested her to come with them this day here, so they could ask Merlin and the Sorceress suggested to seal her magic power.
"if you think it's necessary and it will make her better, do it. I approve", Meliodas said for his daughter's part, already carrying his feverish daughter on his arms before rolling his eyes to Bedivere "I rely on you as usual, Merlin. Although, you are the last person that I thought of attacking her, Oliver".
"I apologize for my rudeness, Sir Meliodas. However, I thought Lady Alexandria wouldn't be pleased at all if she were possessed by the Goddess for too long", Bedivere blushed and bowed "not to mention, she had talked too much".
"Oliver", Zaratras called with a smile on his face, but his aura surrounded with authority which meant he wouldn't accept 'no' this time from his adopted son "I believe we need to talk A LOT. Perhaps we also can talk with Lady Merlin, about your arm".
Merlin smirked smugly "nice idea, Sir Zaratras. Actually, I just want to ask your permission if I can do the physical examination of your adopted son as one of my researches".
Meliodas deadpanned "to make him as your guinea pig, you mean?".
Mordred tugged Meliodas' shirt "Dad, I'm sleeping with sister until she's better. No protest".
"Sure, but with a condition", Meliodas lifted his thumb to the Bedivere, Gawain, and Lancelot who looked eager to help "let them accompany you and we", Meliodas referred himself and Merlin "as the adults, we will stay with you to nurse your sister. Got it?".
Mordred, Lancelot, Gawain, and Bedivere saluted "yes, Sir".
Before they left the living room, Mordred who left the living room the latest, accidentally overheard the conversation between Denzel and Meliodas where Denzel asked "speaking of which, do you have the list already?".
"sure, Merlin has it", Meliodas nodded his head and crossed his arms before his chest "we just need to pick them all one by one, but it looks like I need to wait until my daughter's getting better before we start their recruitment".
Denzel nodded "do as you please, as long as it's needed for Liones' protection".
"pick to recruit who?", Mordred knitted her eyebrow at that, but she didn't take it seriously because her mind right now focused more on her sister. Little she knew, their new house would be crowded by five more strangers that not only would be their trusted ally but also they considered as their family.