Orginal Publishing Date on Archive of Our Own: August 28th, 2020
Marie Antoinette. The wife of King Louis XVI, and the last Queen of France.
Well, if one thing is certain about what our current situation is now, it is that Jeanne and her two fresh Servants were no longer advancing. I turned to Ritsuka and Mash. "Get ready. Either we will take our chances and rush them, try to break free." My two friends nodded in agreement as I turned around, listening in once more to the last Queen of France.
"Silence!" Jeanne Alter roared. Instead of cowing the verbose queen, however, it merely quiets her as she cocked her head slightly. "You lack the right to participate in this battle."
"Oh, and why is that?" Marie Antoinette asked innocently. Jeanne Alter's lip curled in distaste and contempt.
"You led a life of luxury in a palace and died without even knowing what happened! Are you saying that you can somehow understand our hatred?" The alternate version of Jeanne d'Arc spat, staring incredulously. For a moment, a thoughtful expression graced the visage of the newcomer. Then she shrugged and delivered her response.
"I suppose I can't," Marie Antoinette admitted, causing Jeanne Alter's hackles to rise once more. Before the fallen Ruler can retort, however, the Servant continues speaking. "But that just simply makes me want to know more, Dragon Witch." Said Dragon Witch's right eye began twitching violently.
"…What?" She finally said.
"What I don't know, I learn. That's my policy," Marie Antoinette explained, looking sadly at the enemy Servant. "That's why I can't bear to look at you like this. Oh, Jeanne d'Arc, beloved saint!" The shout caused the Dragon Witch to recoil in anger for a brief moment. "All I know is that you're taking your rage out on the innocent, and I've not the faintest idea why. Everything's disappearing into a haze, like a girl going for a Sunday walk. What I do know, however, is this," said the queen as she walked over towards us.
"Along with the Jeanne d'Arc over there," my temporary Servant blinked, startled by the gesture, "is that I will make your heart and body mine!'
"What?" Mash asked in confusion.
"The hell?" Chulainn said.
"Oh my," Medea giggled.
"Uh….huh?" Jeanne asked, her cheeks flushed with color as she stared at Marie. As to my reaction? I felt my right eye twitch slightly as the various implications behind that statement might be.
….Is it too late to resume the mortal combat that we were about to have now?
"Oh, my," Marie laughed awkwardly, eyes swapping from Jeanne to Mash to Ritsuka to myself. "Oh dear, oh dear. Um, please don't misunderstand me," she said, her pale cheeks becoming a rosy pink as blood rushed up. "I just meant that as a queen, I'm going to bring you to your knees." The air fell silent at that, as even Jeanne Alter stared with a slack jaw and a dumbstruck expression on her face.
"…what?" I finally manage to say, suppressing the urge to either slam my head against a wall or throw myself off of the tallest building in town. Seriously, did the Queen of France just propositioned Jeanne d'Arc? "Mordred, please tell me this is a fever dream caused by undercooked meat," I groaned to the armored knight that has now started to snicker quietly.
"Sorry Master, but this…this is comedy gold," she chortled. I rolled my eyes dramatically at the Knight of Rebellion. Over our open communication link to Chaldea, I can faintly hear Roman gurgling in dismay. For once, the sometime over-dramatic (at least, in my opinion) ginger was spot on as he moaned about his image of the queen before us was fading away before his eyes.
"Enough of this farce!" Jeanne Alter howled, and for once I found myself agreeing somewhat with the Dragon Witch. "Very well then," she declared, pointing her weapon at the French queen, "you are also an enemy to be crushed. Servants, silence that annoying brat! Then we will deal with the others.
"Well, this is as good a time as any," Marie Antoinette sighed, staring at the advancing Servants. "Thank you for your patience, Amadeus. Crush them like bugs!"
"Leave it to me," another figure suddenly appeared in front of us. He had a slightly demonic visage that contrasted with the colorful robes of purple, black, and green. In his right hand he gripped a rod not unlike one that a conductor would use at a symphony. "Noble Phantasm, Requiem for Death!" With a wave of his rod, a host of phantom-like figures appeared and began to play music, directed straight towards the enemy Servants.
"Now then, good day to you all," Marie Antoinette said cheerfully, giving a simple yet elegant courtesy. "Au revoir," she said as she straightened back up. She looked back at us. "Come on, it'll only hold them back for a little bit. Follow us," she said in a softer tone. I looked over to my companions, asking silently for their opinions.
Seeing only nods or shrugs, we followed after the duo. Behind us, I could hear Jeanne Alter snarling in frustration.
"Looks like it is safe now," Marie Antoinette said. After having made our escape from La Charité, the French Servant and her friend Amadeus had led us to the outskirts of a decent-sized forest after forty-five minutes of running. For the sake of Ritsuka and I, a few five-minute breaks had been taken in between the two locations to allow us to catch our breath while the Servants with us stood guard.
Thankfully, however, it seems that whatever this Amadeus character had done did the trick, for our flight had been unmolested with combat. Looking at the French queen, I activated my commlink.
"Doctor Roman, any readings of Servants nearby?"
"None. It looks like you lost them for now. However, I am picking up Leyline readings from that nearby forest," the acting director for Chaldea reported. Well, looks like we might have found the location to set up our base camp.
"Very well," Mash said, turning to the two French Servants in our little group. "Jeanne? And…Marie?" Asked the Demi-Servant hesitantly. A feeling that I shared. Until now, the closest to royalty we had dealt with on a consistent basis was Mordred, who thankfully did not lord it about (over than her typical 'rants' about her father). The Servant perked up, staring intently at a now-uncomfortable Mash.
"Marie, did you say?"
"F-forgive me," Mash stammered. "I-" Before she could finish apologizing however, a wide and honest smile graced the queen's lips as she clasped her hands excitedly.
"Oh no, you weren't being rude! Quite the opposite, really, you made me so happy!" Her blue eyes once more twinkled with joy. "The way you addressed me was so adorable! Please, splendid foreigners! Would you mind calling me that from now on?" Marie Antoinette implored Mash, and by default the rest of our group.
"Uh, yes," Mash said, a bit awkwardly. "Miss Marie, or Mademoiselle Marie, perhaps?" She offered, perhaps not quite comfortable yet with addressing a queen so informally, even with the explicit permission/request of one. Marie pouted slightly as she shook her head emphatically.
"Nope, those won't work at all," she responded. "Just Marie! Like the sheep!" She added with a soft giggle.
"I'm pretty sure that was 'Mary'," I muttered, before nudging Ritsuka forward. I might be taking the lead for this mission at the moment, but I wasn't going to sideline my friend and colleague.
"It's nice to meet you, Marie," Ritsuka said with a smile, bowing slightly. Marie clapped her hands again. My god, is she just a bundle of joy and energy? It certainly was infectious, for even Mordred, whose helmet was now retracted, had a subtle grin on display.
"Yes!" She gushed. "Yes, yes, yes! Nice to meet you! I'm Marie. I love understanding gentlemen. Let me guess," she said, a mischievous grin appearing. "You must be very popular with the opposite sex, right?" She asked Ritsuka. Both he and Mash flushed. My, she certainly is willing to speak from the heart it seems.
"Um…Marie, may I speak?" Mash asked, cheeks still a faint red. Marie herself also blushes as she realizes what she just did.
"Oh, my apologies," she said apologetically, appearing to be calm again. "I got excited for a minute. How rude of me. So, how may I be of service?"
"A strong Leyline was detected in that nearby forest. we'd like to head there and make camp, if that is all right?" She asked in her typical, timid and polite manner. Marie nodded.
"Of course, that's fine. Is that all right with you, Amadeus?" She asked, turning to her rather quiet companion. He shrugged, closing his eyes and grinning softly at the Servant.
"There's no point in asking for my opinion," he said nonchalantly. "Do what you want, Marie."
"Well, it seems like we have a unanimous agreement," Jeanne said after none of the other Servants contracted with Ritsuka and I spoke up. Mash nodded, and then turned around towards our next destination.
"Let's start moving out. We can rest properly once we set up a camp. Then we can talk about our next move," Mash offered. I nodded in appreciation at the Demi-Servant.
"That sounds like a fine idea to me. Good thinking Mash," I said with a smile. With that decided, we began to move out once more.
Even though it appears that no more Servants are following us, at least for the moment, not a single one of us lowered our guards. Mash and Mordred were in the lead along with me. Meanwhile, Chulainn, Medea, and Sasaki silently brought up the rear.
It must have been less than five minutes after we entered the forest that I sensed something was wrong. My hands gripped the hilt of my sword, pulling it free from the sheath as someone from behind cried out my name in alarm.
The blow forced me down to one knee as I blocked a sword that was more of a club. My arms strained to keep it at bay as some spittle landed on my face as humanoid-shape attacking me snarled ferally. Thankfully, a familiar armored fist slammed into the face of my attacker, sending it stumbling backwards.
"Cowardly bastard!" Mordred hissed, her eyes burning in fury as my assailant shook its head. Finally having a moment to observe it, I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth as I stare at the red-furred, canine-headed humanoid.
"Ok, so first it is the undead. Then it is wyverns and zombies. Now werewolves?" I growled as a dozen or so more werewolves charged out of hiding. They surrounded us, not that it would do any good. "Mordred, you know what to do," I said calmly. The Knight of Rebellion nodded and charged forward. With a single thrust, she pierces the werewolf's heart with Clarent before kicking the dying body off of the blade. The other Servants began engaging the ambushers.
"Masters, it seems that just beyond these foes is the Leyline!" Mash reported as she blocked a club from a werewolf before pushing with her shield, throwing the attacker off-balance and therefore vulnerable to the shield bash that Mash followed up with.
In a matter of minutes, the last of the remains of our attackers finished dissolving. Honestly, it kinda felt good to finally defeat a force that was evil but also didn't have some sort of BS booster.
"Now, I will set up a summoning circle. After that, we can set up our camp," Mash said, before getting to work while Ritsuka and I, and the others, began to set up our camp and gather wood.
Once Mash had finished setting up the summoning circle, we then set up our camp again. Judging by the position of the sun, we were approaching the mid-afternoon. Marie coughed politely, after most of our Servants had decided to explore the surrounding perimeter to ensure that there will be no unpleasant visits. I turned to look at the French Queen as she smiled.
"Well, now that things have settled down for now, and that you are all set up, I'd like to introduce myself again. My true name is Marie Antoinette. I've been summoned as a Rider," Marie said, giving another elegant courtesy. "As for who I am, I'd be happy if you could examine me closely with your eyes and ears. As to why I was summoned, however, neither Amadeus nor I have a clue. After all, we both have no Master." At the mention of his name, Amadeus cleared his throat before speaking.
"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Caster-class. As for why I was summoned, however, I don't feel like I was a hero. Yes, I was great in life, but even so, I was but one of many artists," Amadeus shrugged before tapping a finger against his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, I did apply magecraft in my music, but that was only because I was drawn to the sounds played by demons." For a brief moment, the clearing fell silent at that last part.
Okaaaaaaaaaaay then," I finally said. "Now for our introductions. I am Jacob Aronson, a Master. It is nice to meet you two," I said, bowing my head slightly. While Sasaki and the others were standing guard for any wyverns, werewolves, or Servants, Mordred had stayed along with Jeanne.
"Mordred, Saber," my first Servant said curtly.
"I'm Mash Kyrielight. I am a Demi-Servant, and I have no idea what my True Name is," the Shielder went next, before gesturing to my fellow Master. "This is Ritsuka Fujimaru, my Master." The Japanese Magus waved one hand a bit lazily.
"Whassup," he said, causing me to resist the urge to slap my face. I thought that joke had died out years ago.
"Oh my! What an interesting greeting! Wh…Whassup! My homies!" I raised a hand over my mouth to hide the smile at the sight of a member of royalty tried to speak like a 21st Century girl. Mordred blinked slowly.
"Hmph," Marie sighed, slightly put out apparently. "It seems different when Ritsuka said it…maybe I need to think more like a peasant…" the Rider muttered, looking up at the sky as if for inspiration. Meanwhile, I notice Mash gently elbow her Master.
"Come on," she said quietly. "Don't teach her weird greetings." Before Ritsuka could respond, however, Marie snapped her fingers, an a-ha expression on her face.
"Oh, I've got it! I have to be more needy!" She turned to her friend. "Come on, Amadeus! Whassup!"
"Whassup! I like it, Marie. Keep it up! I can feel the love of a century beginning to fade!"
"…. say what now?" I notice as I said that how Marie's smile faded a bit.
"Hmmph," the Rider sighed crossly, glaring at her companion. "I'm sorry, Ritsuka. Whassup is a very stimulating greeting, but I must reluctantly refrain from it." At seeing the confused expression on our faces, she continued explaining. "If Amadeus likes it, that must mean it's not appropriate for a lady to use."
The Caster scoffed slightly and waved a hand dismissively. "Let's not be slanderous here. You're acting like I'm a pervert gentleman who loves dirty jokes."
"Don't blame me. You're a child when it comes to everything but music." Despite her choice of words, I get the feeling that there is not actual hostility between the two, and that the conversation is merely a playful argument between friends.
"So, you are Jeanne d'Arc, yes?" Marie asked, looking at the Ruler with a reverent expression. "The saint who saved France. One of the people I wished to meet in my life." Once more Jeanne looked down at her feet a bit awkwardly at the mention of her status as a saint.
"…I'm, not a saint," she finally said, unable or unwilling to look at her countrywoman. Marie shook her head slightly.
"Yes, everyone knows that's how you saw yourself. But the way you led your life was true, and we all know the results. That's why everyone will always remember and admire the name Jeanne d'Arc, and the miracle of Orléans." The words do little to sway Jeanne, and Amadeus sighed, rolling his eyes at the queen.
"Of course, your life ended at the stake and resulted in that witch. It's just like Marie to only look at the good parts," he said with lighthearted exasperation before focusing on the Ruler. "Am I wrong, Jeanne d'Arc? Your life was a little out of tune. Jeanne herself is the one who gets hurt when people call her a perfect saint. Listen, Marie. You always say what you think others want to hear, not what they need to hear. Sometimes you need to scold or deny others," he chided to his friend.
Marie crossed her arms. "I-I don't need to hear that from you, Amadeus!" She stammered. "You already tell me that every day! T-This is what you want, right? Piano-brain! Piece of human garbage!"
"Hey, Master," I turned to Mordred, noticing the bemusement in her eyes as she whispered to me. "Do you know if Roman is recording this?" I rolled my eyes good-naturedly at her comment, desperately trying to not giggle. Marie's face suddenly turned bright red as she continued ranting at her friend.
"You're a pervert who can only get it up for musical scales! If you like music so much, you should turn into a piano!" At that point, my resistance finally breaks. I bend forward slightly, unable to suppress my laughter. Ok, I hope Roman is recording this. Otherwise, I don't think anyone will believe what a queen had just suggested!
Amadeus has an expression that simply screams of conflicting emotions at that last insult. He took a few seconds before finally speaking. "….I don't know if I should say this, but when you insult me like that, I feel something indescribable," he mused, before suddenly smiling. "But see? You can do it if you try! Go on now, give the same treatment to Jeanne. Faster. Stronger. More violent! Tell her all of her flaws as you seem them!" 'This…this is the man whose music so many children listen to growing up…I'm semi-speechless…' I thought to myself as Marie calmed down, shaking her head at Amadeus's suggestion.
"Non, that's impossible Amadeus," she replied, a serious expression on her face for once. Human garbage like you has nothing but flaws. But Jeanne herself has none." Out of the corner of my eye, I notice both of my two female blonde Servants stiffening. Jeanne, I could understand. Why Mordred was reacting to that last part, though, I have no idea. I frown, wondering what could be bothering her, but elect to say nothing for the moment.
Amadeus runs a hand down his face, shaking his head sadly. "Are you serious? I didn't know you had it that bad. You really did love Jeanne d'Arc, didn't you?" Marie shrugged, the high energy and positivity I have quickly come to realize was usual of her still subdue.
"I would say 'worship', rather than 'love', And a bit of guilt as well," She added, glancing regretfully at the saint. "…a tiny 'sorry', the size of a teaspoon. The natural guilt we foolish royals felt towards the saint we did not rescue." Those words finally cause Jeanne to look up, a sad smile on her face.
"Marie Antoinette. Your words honor me, but that's why I must confess. In life, I was no saint. I held the flag high for what I believed in, and as a result, I stained my hands with blood. Of course, I don't regret that. Nor do I regret the Inquisition or my own death," she admitted. "But I shed too much blood. I believed in the dreams of a little country girl, but at the time, I never imagined how high the price of that dream was. I never regretted it, nor did I feel fear. And that is my greatest sin," Jeanne said sadly.
"Only the outcome of my actions made me a saint. I do not think it's the right word for a country girl like me," she finished. Marie said nothing for a long minute, her eyes examining the now-silent Ruler before finally nodding my head, apparently finding whatever it was she was looking for.
"…I see," she finally said. "So, you're not a saint, right? Then, may I call you Jeanne?"
"Y-yes," stammered a surprised Jeanne, though she recovered quickly. "Of course. It feels like that would bring back old memories. Good memories."
"Wonderful," Marie smiled. "Call me Marie, then. If you're simply Jeanne, and not a saint, then I want to be Marie, and not a queen. Please Jeanne, will you call me Marie?" The Rider implored with an earnest smile.
"All right," Jeanne nodded with a small smile. "Thank you, Marie."
"And thank you as well," Maire replied good-naturedly, her smile wide and full of teeth. "I am sorry for how I keep pushing my own views on you. You've lost your own answers about yourself, haven't you? Just like the day I died, not knowing a thing about what was going on. We'll have to find our own answers. I certainly want to treat you as a saint, but I'll stop myself!" Marie declared. "I won't believe in you, no, I will support you! Is that not what female friends are supposed to do, Amadeus?"
The Caster smiled slightly before shrugging. "I suppose so, yeah? You guys can go eat sweets or something," he said nonchalantly. As much as I was enjoying this moment, however, it was time to get back on track. I coughed politely, getting the attention of the trio of Servants along with my three friends.
"Well, at least we have our own merry band of travelers," I said, smiling slightly. True, Jeanne Alter was still around, along with numerous over Servants under her command and whatnot, but now we have even more allies. Better yet, the lack of having summoned a Servant belonging to the Rider class was no longer an issue. "However, as much as I would love for us to spend the rest of the day like this, we can't ignore what we have seen today. Mash, do you mind filling in Marie and Amadeus about what has happened?"
The Demi-Servant nodded and turned to the two, who listened attentively. I turned and walked over to Ritsuka. "How are you doing?" Ritsuka didn't meet my gaze, shrugging.
"I'm okay." I frowned and looked at Mordred and Jeanne.
"Hey guys, you mind giving Ritsuka and I a minute?" Jeanne nodded in understanding, while Mordred just shrugged and walked over to the unlit campfire. Now that we were alone, I looked back at my fellow Master. "Ok. It's just us now. What's wrong?"
To his credit, Ritsuka kept himself composed as he looked up, a mixture of frustration and sadness in his blue eyes. "I-it's just…. I feel so helpless right now, and I hate it!" Ah. I had a suspicion this might happen. I find it a bit ironic that I was helping someone else out with self-doubt when I had gone through my own one not even a week ago. I reached out a hand and gripped his shoulder.
"Is it because of what happened in town, or the fact that you feel like you only contribute by providing Servants with contracts?" I asked.
"A bit of both, I suppose…" Ritsuka muttered dejectedly. I sighed internally. His heart is in the right place at least.
"First of all, you haven't been helpless or useless. For one thing, you saved my sorry ass from that zombie," I said, causing Ritsuka to adjust his posture, straightening slightly. "Secondly, on our first day, you risked your life to save a girl you barely met. That was a very brave thing to witness, you know?" For a few seconds, my friend was silent, and I was the same, content to wait for his response.
"Can you teach me?" He said suddenly, a rather intense look on his face. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Teach you what, exactly? I hope you're not talking about magcraft, because you're better at it than I am," I said, half-jokingly. Ritsuka rolled his eyes slightly, unamused.
"Can you teach me to fight, so I can defend myself?" He asked. I bit the inside of my right cheek, mulling over the request. I mean, it's not like I am a martial artist or something. I could teach him the basics of fencing, though…that might be a good idea.
Honestly, the idea of my friend being able to defend himself if ever a skeleton or something else got past our Servants and, as a last resort, myself, was rather appealing. It might also improve the way Ritsuka views himself. We're suppose to be partners. Equals.
Yes, I might be taking charge of this current mission, but that won't be how the next six will go. Presuming, of course, that we survive this one, but that's not the point right now, I suppose. I hummed at that, before finally nodding.
"When we return to Chaldea, I'll teach you the basics of fencing. However, don't ever think you are useless. Ok?" Ritsuka's eyes light up as he smiled excitedly. I guess he has no idea what learning to fight with a blade is going to be like. I don't have the heart, though, to pop that bubble of his. I looked over at our Demi-Servant friend.
"Now then, it looks like Mash has finished explaining the situation to our new friends. Let's go over and start discussing ideas for what to do next, yeah?" Ritsuka nodded, a determined smile on his face as we walked over. At least that issue had been dealt with.
Now all we had to do was to defeat a small army of Servants and mythical creatures and retrieve a Grail.
Notes:I plan on having Ritsuka be more prominent in terms of combat skill for the following singularities, though obviously neither he nor Jacob could go head-to-head with a Servant, even if it was a shadow Servant. However, I imagine that after being a bystander of sorts to all of the fights recently, he would be a bit depressed and question his value, and therefore ask his friend to help him out or something. Now, for the question(s) of the day: Do you think that Amadeus and Marie are better as a couple or just as friends?