A Warm Welcome
Protagonist: Ana/Medusa Lily
Genre: Friendship
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate Series or any of its characters.
Author's Note: Since the anime Fate Babylonia came out, Ana's just super adorable it's hard to resist. But….ummm…for me being so…biased (I guess that's the word?) toward Ritsuka-kun, I've decided to make my own version of Ana's first appearance. And Mikey helped me a little bit on this, so credit goes to him. Hehe~
A-anyways, please enjoy my first story with Ana/Medusa Lily.
"Everyone, my loyal subjects and all," The Lion King says as she has Ritsuka-chan, Mash and the three Saint Sisters gathered around her throne. Mordred is standing just about 5 feet away from her "Daddy", arms crossed with a scowl. "I have an announcement to make. Sorry for the late notice, but it was urgent at the moment. A few days ago, Merlin just so happened to bring someone in that was wandering around aimlessly. He figured that she had no place to stay, so he brought her to me and I volunteered to look after her. She's now under my care and protection."
"Who is she, My Liege?" Jeanne asks.
A soft chuckle comes from Artoria. "You'll see her right now." She turns her head behind her. "Come on out, Ana. Your new friends are waiting to meet you."
There is silence, but only for a bit. Everyone else leans in to get a closer look until a small figure pops out from behind the chair. A small girl with long violet hair tied in a single braid behind her and wearing a black cloak over her leotard and a tattered cape to cover it up a little, comes out in baby steps. She hides her face with her hood and runs over toward Artoria, burying her face on her leg.
"Ana?" Artoria questions. "Don't you want to introduce yourself?"
The violet haired young girl whines softly and shakes her head.
Ritsuka-chan steps up first. "Awww, come on! Don't be shy, little cutie! Hey, hey! Let's shake hands~!"
The violet haired little girl shakes her head again.
"Alright, I'll introduce myself instead. My name is Ritsuka Fujimaru. Call me Ritsuka, okay~?" the red-head says.
Mash steps up too. "My name is Mash. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ana~"
Jeanne is the next person. "I'm Jeanne D' Arc, Ruler Class and French Saint."
"U-ummm…hi. I'm Jeanne Alter. P-please call me Jalter." the silver haired girl stutters.
Jalter Lily is the last one to introduce herself. "My name is Jeanne Alter Santa Lily! It's so nice to meet you, Ana-chan! I hope we become good friends~!"
Ana slowly removes her face from behind the Lion King, looking at the kind people in front of her. She takes a few steps forward.
"Hello…everyone…" Her voice is so quiet, yet so adorable at the same time. "My name is Ana. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Hope we can…get along…just fine…"
Artoria gives a nod of approval. "That's very good, Ana. You're treating our guests well."
"Th-thanks…" Ana replies, adjusting her hood to hide her face. "C-can I go to my room now?"
"No can do, sweetie," the Lion King picks her up off the floor to carry her. "First off, you need to get along with our guests. You just met them and they want to talk with you." She leans close with a smile. "I'll give you a treat if you behave~"
The talk of being rewarded makes Ana gasp and glance at the girls. She bites her lip and just nods. There is no way she can say no to a treat. Artoria smiles and gently sets her down. She slowly walks over toward her new friends and the girls gather around to chat. Mordred takes a few steps forward, her arms still crossed.
"Dad," she says.
"Child, this is a must for Ana," Artoria says, glancing behind her. "You can help out, though."
"I'd rather not," Mordred says as she turns around. "This little girl can get all the attention she wants. I don't give a damn."
This makes the Lion King swiftly turn around, glaring at her. "Young Lady! How dare you speak in that manner!"
Mordred huffs and shakes her head. "Whatever…" Without another word, she walks away and leaves the throne room.
Ana slowly looks behind her to see Mordred storm out of the room. She slightly turns toward the floor, thinking that this blonde is angry about something. Whatever it is, she decides to stay away from her for a while.
**A Few Days Later**
Ana indeed has gotten along with everyone. Well…almost everyone. Mordred is still having some attitude and been scowling at Ana whenever she sees her. And all that did was getting Ana more and more frightened of her. And on top of that, Ana is getting Artoria's attention more than Mordred. The "son" is furious at that and cannot believe this little girl is getting all of the attention. It's not fair at all.
Like right now, Artoria has Ana on her lap, cradling her as she eats some pound cake and petting her hoodie. Mordred sees this as she had planned to talk to her "Daddy" in private, yet she's too late. And unfortunately, the Lion King sees her, but says nothing. Mordred huffs and leaves the scene, not caring one bit.
"Ana," Artoria says softly. "Why didn't you speak up and share your treat with Mordred?"
"S-sorry…My Liege…" Ana softly replies. "She looked a bit…scary there…"
Artoria frowns and looks in the direction Mordred left. Her child does not realize what's really going on here, yet she's taking it the wrong way. Ana just looks down at her piece of pound cake. It would be great if Mordred didn't have this kind of attitude.
Another day goes by. Mordred is still giving everyone the cold shoulder, Ana being scared and Artoria trying to figure out a way to explain to her child what's really going on. There is nothing on her mind right now and she's panicking...just a little bit. It's frustrating to see her child like this.
"Hello?" Ritsuka-chan knocks before opening the door.
"Master? Oh, come in," Artoria beckons the cute redhead inside. "What brings you here?"
"I've been noticing some...odd things going on for the past few days," Ritsuka-chan says. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Artoria nods, sighing softly in relief. "Actually, I need you to do a little favor for me."
"Oh, anything~" Ritsuka-chan says. "And Mash is there to help as well~!"
The purplenette pops her head from the door to wave at the Lion King. "We can help any way we can."
The blonde King smiles. "You have my gratitude, young ladies." She clears her throat and explains the situation.
Ritsuka rubs her chin in thought. "Okay, I see your problem. Mordred is just jealous!"
"Huh?" Artoria asks with her head tilted. "I beg your pardon?"
"Well think about it," Ritsuka says. "You're spending all that time with Ana that you never once gave your attention to your child."
Artoria is stunned. "Impossible. I could've sworn I have spoken with Mordred."
Mash frowns. "When was the last time you had your 'Father and Son' time together?"
The king tries to remember this past week, but gets nothing. She sighs in defeat.
"Okay maybe you're right," Artoria says. "Ana wanted so much love that I couldn't keep my eyes off of her."
"You wanted her to get along with everyone else too, right?" Ritsuka-chan says. "And that should include Mordred. Why don't you give her a chance and make up with her?"
"Master..." The cute redhead is also right about that. Artoria has been so attached to the little violet haired girl that she ignored Mordred and didn't think about how she felt. It's time to start redeeming herself. "Okay. If we're going to solve this problem, we should do this together. I'm sure Mordred would listen to you as well."
"We'll try our best~" Ritsuka-chan says with a fist pumped. "Right, Mash~?"
"Absolutely~" Mash nods in agreement. "Your family needs to get back together."
Artoria nods with a smile. "Then we have no time to lose. Let's get Ana first and then Mordred."
**Later**
Mordred paces around in her room in frustration. "Father's gone too far. How can she and that little rascal…haaah…I can't take it!" She slumps on her bed, hanging her head down.
She wonders if she's already chosen Ana to assume the throne, at least that's what she's been seeing for the past few days. She's cute and all, but still, Mordred wanted that position for so long…and have a stronger relationship with her "father" at the same time. But has that all been shattered?
Knock! Knock!
"Go away!" Mordred says. "I want to be alone!"
"Mordred! It's me," Artoria says. "Please. Let me come in."
"We want to say something to you!" Ritsuka-chan adds.
"Huh?" the pony-tailed blonde raises and eyebrow and lifts her head up. Then she hears another voice.
"We really want to help you feel better. But you have to let us in, in order for us to do that," Mash says.
Mordred hesitates just a bit before walking toward the door to open it. She is greeted by her "father", Ritsuka-chan, Mash and…Ana?
"What's she doing here?" Mordred asks.
"Calm down, child," Artoria says. "All I want is to reconcile. You may not realize it, but Ana just wants to get along with everyone…including you."
"Wh-what….?" Mordred says in disbelief.
Ana takes baby steps toward the "son" and holds out a small flower. "I…I want us to be friends…O-Onii-chan. Her highness and I have been talking about it for a while. I was scared because…you might not want to talk with me."
The pony-tailed blonde stares at the purple haired cutie while Ritsuka-chan steps forward.
"It's true," she says with a smile. "You don't have to worry, Mordred."
"It was all a misunderstanding," Mash adds. "I hope you can forgive us…and Ana here." She pets the little girl.
Mordred bites her lip and looks down at Ana, who is still holding up the flower, a little higher this time. Those adorable eyes of hers are just so hard to resist. Why is she THIS cute!?
"Haaaah….oh, man!" Mordred sighs heavily. "I can't take it! Alright, alright, alright! Ana, you got me. You win."
The little girl gives a soft, happy gasp and then runs toward the blonde to give her a hug. "I love you…Onii-chan…~!"
Mordred smiles as well and returns the embrace. "I love you, Ana. Welcome to the family."
Artoria, Mash and Ritsuka-chan exchange smiles and let out elegant and lyrical giggles at the same time. All water is under the bridge. Mordred is happy again and the family is together. Best of all, Mordred has welcomed Ana to the family, so they have a new member.
A/N: Truth is, I wanted to do more "remake" stories, but some of the scenes from the anime contained Ana, so I wanted to do this first before anything else. XD
A-anyways, hope you all enjoyed this and thanks again Mikey.
Have a nice day~!