"We need to talk."
How many times had either of us utter that statement to the other, in all the time we had first met? And yet, every time that phrase had been uttered between us, our relationship had always come out stronger in the end.
This time would be no different.
Mordred grunted softly in acknowledgment, but otherwise continued staring at me. I returned her gaze calmly, while inside my mind I was busy trying to figure out who should go first. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet.
"Just because I want to make sure that we're on the same page, you're upset over what Blackbeard's Lancer tried to do to me, yes? You haven't been giving me the silent treatment and acting like an overall tsundere for something I did?" Because if it was the latter, then this conversation was going to take one hell of a turn into Awkward Town.
Thankfully, Mordred nodded and muttered a soft 'yes' under her breath. I noticed the rather haunted expression in her eyes. And honestly, who could blame her? Especially considering everything that I have thus far learnt about this romantic partner of mine. I kept silent as Mordred breathed in deeply, before resuming speaking.
"If I had been a fraction slower, you would have…" Mordred paused, swallowing quietly before she resumed speaking. "You would have died. I would have lost another Master."
'And my lover,' was the unspoken ending to her sentence. I leaned back, humming softly.
"You know that this hasn't been the first time I was targeted by an enemy Servant," I started to say, before Mordred made a slicing motion with her hand in the air between us.
"No, but it's the first time that you could have actually died!" She pauses, and I could hear her breath hitch slightly. "And you would have left me…"
Looking down at the empty space between us, she fell silent, and I watched her for a moment. Right here and now, Mordred was no longer Mordred Pendragon, the proud and fearless Knight of Rebellion who almost single-handedly brought down an entire kingdom while still a teenager. She wasn't Mordred Le Faye, forced to be a tool to escape the cruelty of her mother.
She was Mordred, a girl, a knight, who had been forced to grow up too quickly. I felt a little bit of my heart shriveling up and dying. Someone who for so long, had fought alone, and only now was starting to open up to a few to various degrees.
Someone who feared returning to that loathsome isolation. And at this moment, there was only one thing I could think of doing to counter that fear.
"Mordred, can you look up at me, please?" I asked softly. After a second or two, my partner did exactly that. Her eyes look a bit red, perhaps from exhaustion, perhaps from emotions, but she refused to cry. She looked at me expectantly as I took a deep breath.
"Mordred Pendragon," I said, looking at her with the most serious expression I could muster. The blonde knight stared at me intently as I continued speaking. "I hereby swear, on both my honor and my family name, that we will fix not only this singularity, but the remaining four, together. When humanity has been saved, we will stand together and see the world. I swear this."
A tense moment of silence filled the tent. I bit down on my lip hard, and soon the faintest hint of a metallic taste entered my mouth as I drew some blood. I saw Mordred begin to lean forward, scowling slightly, and I closed my eyes instinctively.
I opened them again when I felt a light jab to my right shoulder, and I saw that Mordred's face was inches away from mine. "You better fucking keep that promise," she said in a stern, almost kingly manner. I nodded solemnly.
Her emerald eyes bore into mine for a few more seconds, before she hummed softly and nodded, leaning back.
I exhaled softly, my body relaxing slightly. My knight still had a wary look about her, but at the same time, she too adopted a more relaxed posture.
My knight. A strange thought popped into my head right then and there. My lip twitched slightly as I tried to resist the urge to laugh. Unfortunately, the temptation proved too strong.
I snicked softly, and Mordred arched a fine eyebrow.
"What's so funny?" She asked. Taking in a slight breath, I regained my composure and began answering her.
"I grew up hearing about stories of valiant knights in shining armor, dashing in to save the damsel from certain death. I never imagined I'd end up being one," I chuckled with a lopsided smile. It grew a bit wider when Mordred gave me a confused yet cute look, cocking her head to the side slightly.
"Jacob?" She asked softly. I couldn't help but smirk at her.
"You're my shining knight in armor, Mordred." I then sat and waited to see her reaction.
She certainly didn't disappoint me on that front.
Her eyes widened slightly as her pale cheeks erupted into a bright red shade. Mordred squirmed slightly in discomfort, and she looked everywhere but at me. "J-Jacob…" Mordred stammered. I kept silent, not wanting to further embarrass the proud knight.
After a minute or two, the blonde girl brought her blush back under control, and gave me a dry look. "That was so bad, I want to knock you upside the head with Clarent." I couldn't help but giggle some more at that.
"Sorry, Mordred, but it's true." She rolled her eyes, trying to maintain a disapproving façade. Then her lips twitched slightly, and she snorted loudly, shaking her head in amusement.
"Like I've said, Jacob. You're an idiot," she looked into my eyes, a small, beautiful, honest smile on her lips. "But you're my idiot."
"And proud of it!" I quipped with a smile of my own. We stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, almost in unison, we both bent forward as we laughed. The sounds of it was almost musical to my ears, and it lasted for a good few minutes.
My sides now thoroughly hurting (though in the good way, mind you), I straightened up and saw that Mordred had done the same. The Knight of Rebellion looked completely at ease now, and I felt a rush of satisfaction.
Before I could realize it, I opened my mouth impulsively.
"When we retrieve the traitor's Grail, and return to Chaldea, I want to take you on a date." The words, uttered so easily from my mouth, might as well have had the effect of a tactical nuke on Mordred. My partner's jaw dropped, her emerald eyes wide-open.
A second later, her mouth began to open and close, and she attempted to say something, but couldn't yet quite manage that task. It took her a few minutes before she was finally able to speak properly.
"A what?"
"A date. We're dating, right?" Mordred nodded slowly at my question, and I then continued speaking. "When people are dating, they go on dates. We kiss, we hang out, and we even sleep next to one another, but we haven't gone on a date yet. I'd like to fix it."
"W-What would we even do?" Mordred asked, and I mentally flinched slightly. Shit, she had a point there. With most of Chaldea shut down due to the current shortage in manpower, there wasn't exactly a whole lot that could be done.
I gave her a lopsided smile instead. "How about you leave that to me?" Mordred chuckled at that, shaking her head slightly.
"Heh, I suppose I can. Means less work for me when we get back, too, doesn't it?" I rolled my own eyes at her light-hearted taunting, and she just laughed a bit louder. Yes, we were quite the duo, Mordred and me. Still, she had said yes to the idea, and that sure as hell was exciting to me.
Now, if only to figure out what to do for said date…ah, that can be something to worry about after we defeat Blackbeard and retrieved Lev's Grail. I did have one last question to ask my blonde partner, however.
"So, we're all good now on this whole topic?" I finally asked, daring to break the now-relaxed environment. As much as I was enjoying this, if Mordred wasn't at least in some way reassured by my promises and whatnot, then the entire purpose for tonight's talk wouldn't have been achieved. Thankfully, my fear proved unfounded, for Mordred nodded with a lopsided smirk on her soft lips.
"Just as long as you don't go dying on me."
"Back at you," I said, half-joking, half serious. Another moment of silence. Well, at least the problem was solved, or for now at any rate. I meant every word I said to her, too. Of course, this issue was probably easily dealt with on the basis that Mordred wasn't actually mad at me.
Eventually, that would happen, but until then, I saw no point in brooding any further. Besides, I had another issue now at hand, one not involving Mordred or any other Servants.
My eyelids were starting to feel a bit heavy, the events of the past twenty-four hours finally catching up with my body. I barely stifled a yawn, and started to stand up when an iron-tight grip on my right shoulder kept me sitting down.
"Can you…can you stay here for the night?" My knight said with a soft grumble, her cheeks a rosy pink. I made a silent sound of understanding. Yes, we had talked things out and all, but that didn't mean that everything naturally was good again. Mordred, though she would refuse to say it aloud, was still worried.
"Of course," I said gently. Catching the briefest hint of a soft and honest smile from my partner, before she de-spawned her armor and left in that under-armor of hers that to me still felt like pseudo-lingerie. Still, it wasn't exactly like sleeping in full plate armor was a comfortable experience. Even more so if you were sharing a bed with someone.
I crawled under the covers we had been given for the tent, and once she had seen that I was in a relatively comfortable position, Mordred muscular arms linked around my side. I smiled happily at the now-familiar and comforting gesture, and I wrapped an arm around her side carefully.
"Good night, Mordred. I love you," I said softly, planting a gentle and chaste kiss to her right cheek. She muttered something softly under her breath before resting her head in the crook of my neck, going still once she felt that she was in a comfortable position. As I closed my eyes, I heard something that made me smile.
"Love you too, Jacob."
Then sleep overtook us both. A blessed, dreamless sleep.
Dawn came early for the two of us. I awoke to both the comforting, and dare I say protective, grip of Mordred's arms around my midsection, and the sounds of cheering, shouting, and hammering. I stretched slightly, taking care to not wake up the Knight of Rebellion.
"morning, Jacob." Of course, it turned out that the gesture, well-intended as it was, was unnecessary. "Glad you're finally awake. Come on, there's something I want to show you."
"What is it?" I asked as we both stood up. Mordred's armor re-appeared over her muscular, lithe body once more, while I re-attached my belt and my two blades. Mordred was sporting a cat-like smirk.
"It's a bit of a surprise. Mash has one for Ritsuka, too. Come on." Despite further questions, Mordred kept quiet, only smirking or saying 'you'll see' to each one.
When we arrived at the forge, I saw that, sure enough, Mash and Ritsuka were already there. Rits looked a little sleepy, but he waved at me in greeting. I returned the gesture with a nod.
"Good morning, Mordred, Jacob Senpai," the Demi-Servant said sweetly. "Did you two sleep well last night."
"Yep."
"Indeed, and a good morning to you as well, Mash. So, Mordred says that the two of you have something for Rits and I?" Mash's smile brightened further, and she nodded.
"Yes. We asked the ship's smith to make these during the night. I hope that you two will enjoy them," Mash said, stepping to the side to reveal two medium-sized objects covered by a scrap of canvas. I raised an eyebrow, but before I could ask just what was under the cloth, Mash pulled it off, and revealed two dragon-scale breastplates.
"Shieldy and I wanted to make sure that the two of you would have some measure of protection," Mordred said boastfully, her expression virtually screaming for us to shower the two female Servants with praise. And, quite frankly, they damn well deserved it!
The armor looked magnificent, at least to my eyes. The red scales had turned a dark yet vibrant red, and each segment of scales was carefully arranged in a manner that both maximized the degree of protection the breastplate provided without overtly restricting movement. The scales, forged in a way to become almost like thin panels, were sown on top of a thick layer of dragon hide leather.
It felt surprisingly light in my arms as I continued to exam the gift. Perhaps one of the qualities of dragon scales? After all, the creature these had once protected did require to be at least a little bit lightweight in some manner.
"It's amazing," Ritsuka said next to me in awe, his eyes shining excitedly. "Thanks, mash!" With no other warning, my fellow Master stepped forward and wrapped his arms around our pink-haired friend. Mash's cheeks started burning as a shocked, yet pleased expression flickered over her features.
"Yo-You're most welcome, S-Senpai," Mash stammered, no doubt basking in the sensation of being hugged by her no-so-secret crush. I barley managed to squash down the urge to laugh at the sight.
When Ritsuka released his friend, mash had managed to more or less bring her blush under control. She coughed slightly, clearing her throat, before turning towards me and gesturing to the side with one hand.
"Mordred also suggested that you might appreciate having these as well, Jacob Senpai," Mash said politely with that soft smile of hers. Looking towards the Demi-Servant, I saw on a nearby table a pair of splint-patterned greaves and vambraces. Perfect for protecting my limps when using my savate techniques. I grinned at the Knight of Rebellion, getting ready to thank her for looking out for us once again when another voice interrupted me.
"Finished your whole special moment?" Drake said cheerfully, and I noticed that she and her pirates were now just either lounging around or finishing break camp. I coughed and regained my composure.
"Captain Drake. Finished up with the Hind?" I asked calmly. Drake smirked, waving a hand towards the still-beached Golden Hind.
"Yep. Improvements and repairs have been completed. That armor of yours isn't the only thing we made from all those leftover scales thanks to Mordred, either. We've also equipped a batting ram," Drake said giddily, sounding almost like a child at that very moment as she rubbed her hands together. I looked at the bow, and sure enough, haphazardly attached though it might seem, there was a sleek-looking scaly projection just below the waterline. "Things are going to get interesting." I chuckled a bit dryly as I fidgeted with the straps for my new breastplate.
Finally getting the last latch open, I began putting it on. While I had never done something like this in real-life, I had watched the occasional YouTube video on various Medieval topics, and there had been quite a number involving through discussions and demonstrations on putting it on. Once I had done so, Mordred walked over and quickly fixed any mistakes she had noticed. When she had finished, the knight stepped back with an approving smirk, and I gave her a grateful nod.
While Mash did the same with Ritsuka, I turned back to Drake. "That's certainly one way to describe it. I certainly don't think Blackbeard would expect any sort of ramming attack." Drake laughed heartily, hands on her hips as both Lu Bu and Asterios wandered over.
"Ah, good! Tough guys, time for your unrivaled strength and dauntless courage to step up once more!
Wow, Drake. Skimping on the praise much? Lu Bu gave a single nod, tramping over to the beached bow of the ship. Asterios, meanwhile, gave Drake a toothy grin.
"Uh….Uhhh!" He grunted. Euryale skipped over and quickly looked him over, pursing her lips until she finished circling the Greek Berserker. The gorgon nodded slowly.
"Looks like your wounds have healed. Finally. You really are durable after all. Just like my loser sister." Not for the first time when she said that had I wonder if she was referring to her older sister Stheno, or the younger and more famous one of the trio, Medusa. "All right, Asterios, go for it!" She said in her usual commanding tone.
Grunting in acknowledgement, the Minotaur jogged across the sand, joining my Berserker. Looking at one another, the two juggernauts exchanged a quick and silent conversation. Then, they pressed both of their empty hands to the side of the bow, Lu Bu on the right and Asterios the left.
Their abnormally large muscles tensed up as they both roared loudly and began pushing forward, their feet sinking into the sand slightly at first. Nothing happened at first, but finally the ship appeared to shift slightly forward, a small wake of water starting to be kicked up.
With both Berserkers groaning loudly, the ship started sliding back more and more into the water it belonged in. When the newly-equipped ram was finally dragged off the beach and immediate shallow waters, we all cried out in celebration.
"Whoa!" A pirate whistled in awe.
"Incredible!" A second chimed in with their agreement. Bombe sauntered over and slapped Asterios's back with a smirk.
"Damn, Asterios! Is there anything you can't do? Or you for that matter as well, Mister Lu Bu? We all admire you two," Drake's second-in-command said. Lu Bu seemed to have shrugged off the praise, the former Chinese general instead wading into the water before being tossed several ropes and being hauled aboard. Asterios, however, the more expressive of the two Berserkers amongst us, gave a more visible reaction.
"Ugh…huh," Asterios muttered unintelligibly, shuffling his feet in the sand. Wait, was it just me, or was he acting rather bashful at the moment? Before I could ponder further on that subject, though, Drake clapped her hands loudly. Everyone still on the beach spun around to look at the pink-haired pirate.
"All right, men! We're officially back in business! Get to the boats, and get aboard the Hind! It's high time we took our revenge on Blackbeard!" The dozen and a half pirates who were still on the beach all roared and cheered enthusiastically. "Don't worry, lads, this time we'll be fine! Believe in me, and follow me!"
"Drake! Drake! Drake!" Chanted her pirates. And not just the ones near us, either. The rest of her followers now manning the Golden Hind once more also added their voices to the rowdy choir Drake's words had gotten.
"Hey, Darling." Artemis said, looking at Orion, who was sitting on her right shoulder. The Greek goddess had a whimsical look that seemed to be tinged with giddiness. "Let's do that thing. You know, the whole 'I'm standing at the bow of the ship, both arms extended, with my beloved holding me from behind' thing." I felt the instinctive urge to vomit. Apparently, the odd duo had seen the movie Titanic.
Orion scoffed dismissively. "Yep, you can do it. By yourself." The possessed doll paused for a moment. "Oh, and be careful of seagulls."
Artemis kicked up a small pile of sand with a fearsome pout on her lips. "You won't hug me from behind? So cruel!" Yeah, it was cruel. Cruel for us! I turned to Mordred.
"Think we can get away with marooning them somehow at a later date?" I whispered softly. An unimpressed Mordred nodded.
"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?"
"Don't ask a plush toy for the impossible!"
"Hey, Boss," Bombe spoke up, warily eyeing the aforementioned plush, one hand resting loosely on the hilt of his sheathed cutlass. "What is that thing?" Drake snorted in amusement, shaking her head with a lopsided smirk.
"It's a harmless creature, like Fou. Just let it be. Fou is way cuter anyways." The critter in question shot up into a sitting position on Mash's shoulder.
"Fou!" He cried out, and I swore that he had a look of utter indignation in his eyes. Mash gently scratched the bottom of Fou's chin, causing it to relax slightly as she looked at Drake.
"Fou said, 'Don't compare me to that,'" Mash said, and as if to confirm the Demi-Servant's translation, the aforementioned critter chirped loudly and nodded its head as if it was in a mosh pit for good measure, before relaxing once more to the chin scratches Mash was offering to him. Drake rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, before titling it towards the indignant critter in an apologetic manner.
"Oh, dear," Drake said. She then took of her hat and made a slight bowing gesture in Fou's direction. "I'm sorry, Fou. Indeed, you have far more class, and flair!" Standing back up and repositioning her hat, Drake looked around. Seeing that we were all ready to depart, the English pirate took in a deep breath before bellowing at the top of her lungs.
"All right, let's move it!" We all boarded the half-dozen odd rowboats and were soon standing on the Hind's main deck, as the sails were unfurled, and Drake brought her ship around as we started to head back towards the direction we had last seen Blackbeard and his crew.
Next stop: The Queen's Anne Revenge, and defeating Blackbeard.
Original Endnotes: And done! Lotta fluff in this chapter, did you all enjoy it? Sorry if the talk wasn't as exciting as you might have wanted for an angst moment, but to be honest, in this case, Mordred wasn't upset at Jacob. Ergo, I imagine that it would, at least in this case, be rather easy to resolve, at least in the short-term, anyway. Of course, that doesn't mean that Mordred's fears/anxieties in this matter have been fully dealt with, but that's something for later.
Also, finally, Jacob asks Mordred on a date! Only been a few weeks or so since they started dating, but hey, better late than never, am I right? Also, did I do a good job with the whole Jacob x Mordred scene?
Mash gets a hug! One step closer! *cackles*. Also, protect your dignity Fou! Don't become like Orion!
Now that's been said and all, time for the question(s) of the chapter! First up: What's one of your most fondest moments of high school and/or college? Second question: Which of the various demon pillar designs from the game do you like the most and which the least?
As always, thanks for reading and supporting this story for so long and all! Really am happy to know that I'm making at least some people's day more enjoyable with each update lol. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and I eagerly await to see y'alls feedback and question answers! Have a wonderful day, and see you guys and gals in Chapter 67!
Updated Endnotes 11/23/21: I'm sorry for my absence in updating the version on Fanfiction. I've been dealing with the passing of a dear family pet and a bad resurgence of my depression. Doing better now. Also, as always, fully updated version of Will to Fight can be found on Archive of our Own if you desire. Have a great day, early Happy Thanksgiving, and see you all around later.