Chapter 151
The connection between Servant and Master was a deep and intimate bond, allowing the two to hear each other's thoughts and emotions if not careful. This was especially true when the human Masters slept, all their defenses lowered as they rested their body and mind. Unless the Master or Servant specifically set up measures to deal with it, it was all too easy for Masters to forge a link to their Servants in their dreams and take a glimpse of their past in these moments of unconsciousness, affording them more knowledge on the Servants history and identity.
For Emiya Shirou, right after he passed out on the futon from the fatigue of the battles, practicing Projection with Caster, then finally sneaking off to practice by himself, he found himself opening his eyes in an unfamiliar landscape.
Grasslands, rolling off into the horizon as far as the eye could see, while on the right a forest close by cut off the open expanse, oak and sycamore trees clustering around each other to form a great family covering a sizable plot of land. The sun lay hidden behind a bank of clouds, though the tip of it peaked out above them to shed a small measure of light on the land. He could also hear the sounds of cows mooing, and when he turned around, he found himself next to a cluster of hamlets, with rickety wooden fences of crude sticks tied to together holding in black and white cows, and more animals placed in different pens surrounding the village as well.
The odour of animals and refuse hit his nose, but he only wrinkled it slightly. The mixed smell of burning flesh, ash and melting steel was much worse.
"What...is this?"
Had he been kidnapped? Was this the work of an enemy Master? Maybe he had died in his sleep and reincarnated into another world?
These thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to figure out what had happened. With magecraft involved, there were many explanations possible.
The sound of footsteps alerted him to the presence of other people, and when he searched for the source of the sound, he found a man, who was obviously not Japanese, with dirty brown hair and blue eyes, walking over to the cows. The clothing he wore was far from modern, and Shirou could tell that it had been patched over in several places as well, though the thread work was done well. He leaned on the fence and stared at the cows, seemingly inspecting them, his eyes running over their bodies as he checked for anything out of place. After a while, he nodded and muttered to himself, then walked away.
"Ojii-san? Uh, Sir? Hello?"
Shirou didn't understand how he didn't notice him when he was just staring at the man a few feet away, but at least there were other people here. With nothing else to do, he decided to follow the man.
The man proceeded to check all the livestock near the village, then returned to the village, going back into his house, the wattle and daub walls and thatched roof serving as his modest home.
As for Shirou, he could only stand outside of the house, unsure of what to do. Should he knock on the door and try to enter? Or should he continue exploring the place and try to find out what was going on?
He didn't know where this was, or what time it was, or who these people were. His face twisted into a frown as his confusion took over, and then abruptly he realized that he should try performing magecraft. It would help to know if he could do it or not.
Stretching out his hand, he pictured the kitchen knife, the hammer of a gun clicking in his head.
"Tr-"
It didn't work.
The hammer of the gun clicked, but he couldn't feel his Circuits firing up. The now-familiar sensation of warmth and slight tingling, as well as a small amount of pain that he had naturally adapted to wasn't there at all.
So magecraft was out of the question.
Lowering his hand, he sat on a tree stump nearby, propping his chin on his hands.
He'd also noticed that he didn't feel hungry, or sleepy, with the temperature feeling odd as well. He felt that he should be feeling the heat from the sunlight, as well as whatever the local temperature was, but all he could sense was a sort of pleasant warmth. In addition, his body felt lighter than usual as well.
As he was thinking, a cart rolled up into the village, and he turned to look at it.
Two donkeys plodded into the village along well worn dirt roads, a man with a simple tunic and pants, along with a pair of heavily stained and worn boots driving the cart with the reins in his hands. The back of the cart was covered with cloth, protecting the contents of the cart from exposure to the elements.
One of the hamlets opened, and another man came out to greet the new arrival into the village. He had brown hair similar to the first person Shirou had seen earlier, and had a slightly crooked nose, with a few missing teeth as well.
Also did they not know the concept of baths? Out of the three people Shirou had seen, two of them had looked worse than the homeless people he sometimes gave food to as volunteer service. Only the driver of the cart looked somewhat normal to him.
"Yer early ta-day lad. Got sumfin hap'nin at the cas'l?
"Yes, we'll be havin a guests la'er today. Got ta stock up on food for em, ya know the lord doesn't want them tae go hungry."
"Ye, Suh Ector don't like le'in down his gests. Well then, lemme star' loadin the goods."
Shirou could somehow understand what they were speaking even though the forms their mouths made didn't match what he heard. They also had a difficult accent, but he was able to somewhat parse through the dialogue to get the gist of what they were saying. Also, judging by their mouth shapes, he guessed they were probably speaking English. He was no expert lip reader, but it looked similar to how Taiga spoke when she used English. Was he in Britain, or America?
As they were talking, the cloth on the cart rustled slightly. Slowly, a corner of the sheet lifted up, unnoticed by the two adults, and then something slipped out of the cart, exiting the vehicle to crouch behind the wheel of the cart stealthily, hidden from sight.
Only Shirou, positioned on the other side of the cart, noticed the young blonde boy crouching down next to the wheel as the two men entered the hamlet to get whatever they needed to load onto the cart. As soon as they entered the door, he dashed out of cover and towards the edges of the village, short legs pumping as fast as they could go.
He didn't seem to have noticed Shirou either, and seeing something so suspicious, he couldn't leave it be. He dashed after the kid, following after him as he sprinted.
Oddly, he didn't feel winded as he ran, and it felt like he was floating slightly. He also noticed that he seemed to be going more than his normal sprinting speed, and yet the kid was still ahead of him. He sure was fast.
The boy ran past the animals and out the village, heading straight to the forest nearby. Only when he crossed the boundary of the forest did he start to slow down, secure behind the barrier of trees hiding him from sight. Panting heavily, the boy kept slowing down until he stopped at a tree, panting hard as he leaned against the oak, sweat rolling down his head in fat drops.
All the while, Shirou kept pace, watching him as he came to a stop.
It wasn't long before the boy resumed breathing normally, leaving the tree as he stopped leaning against it.
Shirou hadn't really noticed it while he was running, but the boy's features were exceptionally exquisite. The cheekbones and chin were covered by baby fat, as he was still young, but already he could tell just from the subtle contours of his face that he would grow up to become a most stunning figure. The clear emerald eye and short blond hair of striking gold drew the eye, and his skin was unnaturally fair when compared to the three men he had seen earlier.
Jumping into the air, the boy let out a cheer.
"Yaayyy! Now I don't have to stay with those guests anymore! I can practice for as long as I want, and no one will bother me, ever! Father and Kay won't be able to find me, I'm sure."
Shirou paused upon hearing him speak. Wasn't that a girl's voice? It seemed a tad too high pitched for a male. Perhaps he was mistaken about their gender. Still, it wasn't abnormal for boys to have higher-pitched voices when they were young too. The only way to know for sure was to strip him or her.
He obviously wasn't going to do something like that though, and in any case, he wasn't sure if he could even do so. For now, he'd just tentatively call the child a her. Bowing his head, he silently apologized to her if he'd guessed wrong.
"I, Artoria Pendragon, will become King of this forest and polish my skills right here. Watch me, my loyal knights!"
Saying so, she drew the wooden sword at her waist and started slashing at the air.
Her audience of a couple squirrels and birds simply stared at her while she did so, plus Shirou who smiled at her innocent roleplaying. It felt like himself a long time ago when he pretended to be a hero saving others. Kiritsugu often played the bad guy with him, when he wasn't lying in bed, and Taiga also chipped in occasionally as well, though it was probably more for spending time with Kiritsugu.
After an exuberant display of swinging and hacking with abandon, she lowered the sword, closing her eyes and then opening them again.
"Alright, let's start seriously now."
Her feet settled into a proper stance, legs spread apart shoulder length, with one foot slightly in front of the other, knees bent to lower her center of gravity. Clutching the handle of the sword with both hands, in a Western style grip that favoured having the hands in a fist-like grip wrapping near the guard and next to the pommel, unlike in kendo, where the hands were spaced further apart, with the left at the end of the hilt, serving as a leverage point for more force, while the right remained near the guard in a delicate grasping position than the left for control and direction.
Breathing in and out in regular intervals timed with her sword swings, she practiced, drilling into her body each stroke and slash.
Besides her, Shirou watched in silence, marveling at the dedication to the craft and skill she had honed up to now, a strength that she had cultivated for one purpose, and one purpose only.
To become king.