I stared a bit blankly at the trio in front of me. "You want to what now?" I asked, uttering each word slowly in the desire to make sure that I hadn't misheard them. Mordred rolled her eyes a bit more theatrically than I felt was necessary, but did respond verbally, nevertheless.
"We want to go outside with the other Servants and mess around with the snow," my knight said, with more than just a hint of impatience in her voice. I blinked slightly. It was hard to remember at times that despite her age, Mordred was still a bit childish in some ways. That, and a part of me had expected for her to have repressed PTSD regarding snow thanks to Morgan Le Faye's 'training'. Apparently, I was mistaken.
"Come on, Jacob, it would be a fun way for us all to relax and de-stress," Rits chimed in, his eyes gleaming energetically. I hummed in thought, as I saw Mash nodding enthusiastically beside my fellow Master.
It had been a few days since my first date with Mordred. We had been fairly busy, all of us, with research or training. With Da Vinci working on both the Rayshift and Summoning machinery, there wasn't a whole lot to do.
Naturally, that was starting to take a bit of a toll on most everyone at Chaldea. Yes, we were an organization charged with safeguarding humanity's foundations and all, but that made it all the more important to be mindful about R&R-related matters.
I shrugged. "Eh, why not?" I said, having made up my mind. I smiled as I watched my three companions start cheering and moving about, and I couldn't help but feel a thrill of my own excitement shoot through me.
I mean, come on! Just how bad could it go for me?
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I asked for the twentieth time, licking my dry lips. I was dressed up properly for the weather, though other than a helmet, Mordred was in her normal clothes. Apparently, Servants weren't too affected by the weather!
As for what I was asking my partner about whether she understood what she was doing, it was regarding what we both were sitting on. Da Vinci had informed us that Chaldea had about a dozen or so specially-designed snowmobiles. Mordred's eyes had light up and she had requested (read as demanded) the chance to use one. After a few minutes of convincing, during which I had promised to watch over the leant vehicle while Mordred used it, the Caster had agreed.
At the time, I didn't think much about the risks or anything like that. Instead, like the 'sappy lover-boy' (as some of Chaldea was apparently referring to me as periodically) that I was, the chance of making Mordred happy once again overrode the small voice in the back of my head signaling that they were getting a sense of danger over the idea.
Now, just moments away from beginning our ride, I was starting to wonder just how stupid I was for ignoring that voice.
"Of course I do, princess! I have a Rank B Riding Skill. I can ride anything that isn't magical!" Mordred said cockily, lowering the visor of her helmet. She revved the engine, as if it were a motorcycle (which in a way it was), and I gulped. I lowered the visor of my own helmet as the energetic blonde continued her boasting. "Never underestimate a knight!"
Before I could reply, Mordred slammed the accelerator. The snowmobile didn't move forward; it shot forward! My arms wrapped tightly around Mordred's waist, holding on for dear life. I'd probably have been screaming, but the words weren't escaping past my lips.
"Make sure to hold on tight, Jacob!" Mordred called out as we began descending the side of the slope on which Chaldea rested on. She then proceeded to somehow encourage the snowmobile to go even faster, and I could finally utter some of the words that I dearly desired to share with my lover.
"Slow down, maybe, Mordred? Mordred?! MORDRED!"
Nero beamed excitedly at the sight of her fellow Servants enjoying their day-off. She stood in her normal clothing, though she had compromised through the addition of a transparent yet warm scarf, earmuffs, and a coat, in the only color suitable for the Emperor of Roses: a brilliant shade of crimson. "Umu! This was a most wonderful idea that the viceroy proposed!"
Chaldea was a most exciting place. Not the most exciting, of course. That privileged title belonged one place and one place only: her beloved Rome. No city, past, present, or future, could ever hold a candle to the city.
That's not to say that she couldn't create a replica of it in order to make Chaldea become ever-closer to becoming the next Rome. Having enlisted the help of her fellow countrymen Caesar and Romulus, the trio of Roman leaders had begun to make a miniature version of Rome.
It was good, though it probably would have felt even better if her uncle were here again. She didn't hold the events of the Second Singularity against Caligula, however, it made Nero miss him. Maybe once Da Vinci had gotten the machinery fixed like she had stated a few days prior, either her Master or her Praetor would have Caligula answer their calls for assistance.
"Rome approves of this project, my child," Romulus rumbled softly, and Nero beamed at him, as she finished building her depiction of beloved golden theater.
"Umu, Holy Progenitor! I know we all miss our beloved city, but I figured that recreating it in any manner would feel good." Both he and the shorter Saber making up their trio
"It reminds me some of the wintery days during my conquest of Gaul," Caesar added, a nostalgic look in his eyes. Nero turned to speak inquire some more about his time in the region and his campaigns there when they heard a shout.
"Look out!"
"Praetor?" Nero asked, standing up as a peculiar noise that sounded like a mixture between a dull whine and a growl grew louder and louder. Romulus and Caesar joined her, looking just as confused as she felt.
Then, out of the tree line came what Nero had learnt was called a snowmobile. The driver of the vehicle was wearing a familiar red leather jacket that was buttoned up for once, while behind her another familiar figure was gripping the waist of the first one tightly.
"Mordred? Praetor?" Nero asked, tilting her head to the side as the duo drew closer and closer. And closer.
Without slowing down.
Nero's eyes widened dramatically as the vile machine grew lager and larger, almost drawing the brave fifth Emperor of Rome. Her sword wouldn't work—
"Look out, my child!" A familiar, strong hand grabbed the back of Nero's scarf and bodily hauled her to the side, just in the nick of time. Dangling in the air from Romulus's grip, Nero could only watch in horror as the painstakingly-crafted replication of their beloved Rome was squashed under the treads of the snowmobile.
As quickly as it had appeared, it was gone again. Nero felt her eyes wetting slightly as the Holy Progenitor put her down. Caesar waddled over to her, a sad look of sympathy in his eyes as Nero continued to stare at the ruins of the once-glorious city.
"We can always start again," Caesar offered, wincing as he saw Nero sniffling. He turned to look at an equally dismayed Romulus as they waited for Nero's metaphorical dam to break
Nero did the only thing she could: cry her heart out as she sung a ballad of her sorrow at the destruction of Rome-Chaldea.
Jeanne giggled slightly at the sight of Astolfo flopping down onto his back in a snowbank, the Rider's arms and legs splayed out as an almost child-like giggle escaped from the paladin's lips. Jeanne's smile grew as she watched Astolfo proceed to make a snow angel.
Jeanne had always enjoyed the snow as a kid, even if it meant the possibility of a hard winter. There was something wonderful about it. The figurative innocent conveyed to her when she woke up to see an unblemished field of it. The chance to play with the others, pretending to be knights and princesses and whatnot.
Simpler times. Good times.
"Thinking about France?" Her constant companion inquired, fiddling with the thermos filled with warm coffee that Boudica had provided her fellow royal Rider with when she and Jeanne had stopped by the kitchen earlier.
"Reminiscing about my childhood," Jeanne confirmed, taking a sip of the offered spare cup which Marie was holding towards her. It had a gentle, rich taste to it, far from the dark, foul-smelling brew used by most of the others at Chaldea, Servants and staff alike. She savored both the taste and the accompanying warmth. Though perhaps unnecessary given their status as Servants, and so therefore with far superior tolerance towards extreme cold, the warm beverage felt wonderful as she stood out in the cold, bundled with her cloak that she rarely broke out.
Marie giggled as she finished a sip of her own. Recognizing it as one of her more innocent giggles, Jeanne turned and tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked at her companion. "What's amusing this time, Marie?"
"I just imagined a young Jeanne, that's all. You must have been adorable!" The Flower of Versailles crooned affectionately. The Ruler felt her cheeks warm up as she instinctively blushed at the compliment. "My, you really are innocent at times."
"Not an easy task with you around," the Maid of Orléans teasingly retorted, and Marie's smile brightened further.
"I like to think that my efforts in that regard have been doing wonderful things for our friends here," she said, not even trying to feign ignorance. After all, Jeanne held of the dubious honor of getting a glimpse of some of Marie's books. The more…risqué ones, to be exact.
"Jacob and Mordred do make for a cute couple," Jeanne said, wishing to maintain control over the flow of the conversation. As much as she enjoyed Marie, at times the former queen could be as unpredictable as Astolfo, though in different ways.
"And hopefully, they will soon be joined by more," Marie said with a contemplative hum as she finished her cup of coffee. Once finished, she began screwing back on the cap of her thermos, not wanting to let the coffee still inside the metal canister to lose its warmth.
Jeanne didn't have to ask if there was anyone specifically the Rider was referring to. Instead, she joined Marie in watching the heartwarming sight of Mash and Ritsuka working together to build Mash's first-ever snowman.
Mash seemed to be a bit hesitant, staring down at the snow as she held her gloved and half-clenched hands only a few inches above the ground. Her purple bangs partially obscured her right eye as she watched her crush demonstrate how to start collecting enough snow to form a proper sphere of packed snow for which it would serve as the base for their winter project.
Much to everyone's amusement, even Fou was joining in on the mini-project. As the French Servant duo continued to watch silently as Mash quickly began to pick up confidence, and the snowman started to look like what one was supposed to. Jeanne was smiling so much her cheeks were starting to ache. She couldn't spend all day watching them in silence, however, and so it was with no small amount of effort that the Ruler finally managed to tear her eyes away from Ritsuka and Mash to look back at her cheerful companion.
"How much do you want to bet that after the next deployment, Mash finally gives in and makes her move?"
"Hmmm," Marie said with another hum, rubbing her chin daintily with one gloved hand. "I'd have to say nothing, my dear Jeanne. Only a fool would go against that bet." Jeanne raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"Because you know it will happen, or because you will ensure it will happen, Marie?" Because if it was the latter, then the Maid of Orléans was going to have to quickly put a halt to any schemes. Marie quickly realized the true meaning behind her response and gave Jeanne a subtle shrug of her shoulders.
"Maybe a little of Column A, maybe a little of Column B. We didn't do it for Jacob and Mordred, oui?"
"Because I specially asked you to not do so," Jeanne said, arching a fine golden eyebrow. Marie wove off the mild rebuke, however.
"Oui, oui," Marie said breezily, smiling all the more. The sounds of a snowmobile coming to a stop had Jeanne looking behind her to see both her Master and her fellow blonde friend dismount from the snowmobile. To her mild amusement, Jeanne saw that Jacob seemed to be shaking slightly, and she suppressed a giggle when she saw the almost comical look of horror on his face as he removed the helmet he had been using. Mordred of course seemed to be on cloud nine.
Astolfo had told her about how the Knight of Rebellion had arrived (late) at the battlefield where the Servants of Red faced off against the Servants of Black. It seems that her dear Master had now gotten the dubious honor of experiencing it firsthand.
Jeanne started to open her mouth to issue forth a greeting when the soft cackling coming from Marie halted her. Her eyes wide in confusion, she turned to ask her just what Marie was thinking. Her jaw remained open. However, words didn't not issue forth as her turquoise eyes zoomed in on the small ball of snow the Rider was holding. She also noticed how an oblivious-looking Amadeus was wandering over towards them.
Quickly putting together a possible scenario that her good-natured yet mischievous friend was about to initiate, Jeanne snapped out of her shock. "Marie, don't," she hissed, only moments too late. She wound up and threw the snowball towards the couple.
With his back towards them, and being eight inches taller than Mordred, Jacob not only was unaware of the surprise attack that was directed at him, but also prevented Mordred from seeing it. Whatever Jeanne's Master had been saying was cutoff once the cold projectile hit the back of his neck, where just a hint of bare skin was visible as Jacob's hood was down.
A high-pitched squawk of alarm, surprise, and mild discomfort escaped from Jacob's lips as the American magus stumbled forward into Mordred instinctively. The two turned to look at the direction of the attack. Jeanne tried to get her mouth to work, but Marie cut her off, looking innocent, her eyes wide with concern.
"Amadeus, why did you throw a snowball at Jacob?" She asked, causing her friend to sputter in shock. Her words did the trick, as Jeanne saw Mordred's own eyes narrow dangerously. She bent down and quickly scooped up a snowball.
"That's it, Caster! Stand still, will ya?"
"Marie!" Amadeus wailed in alarm as he started running away, thus doing the exact opposite of the instructions given to him by the now-irritate Saber.
"So, you have chosen death," Mordred declared, though it was clear she was exaggerating, if only slightly. The Knight chucked her own snowball towards the hapless Caster, who ducked the moment he saw its trajectory upon its terminal descent.
Instead of hitting Marie's close friend, Mordred's attack hit an oblivious Chulainn. The Lancer splutter in his own shock, before his eyes narrowed at the Saber responsible. The Irish Servant in turn prepared his own retaliatory attack, but ended up hitting someone else, causing a further cascade of attacks and miscommunication.
Jeanne looked back at Marie in horror, while her friend smiled smugly at her. "All part of the plan," she whispered to the Maid of Orléans in a pseudo-conspiratorial tone.
"Marie…" Jeanne said with a sigh, before once more being interrupted by shouting.
She didn't know who said it, but someone shouted out two words.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!"
Then all of chaos came loose.
"Not a bad job for your first snowman," Ritsuka said to Mash. The Demi-Servant smiled shyly at her crush, hoping that he would write off the coloring of her cheeks as just her body reacting to the cold. Unfortunately, as she was not a full Servant, she suffered from the cold just as much as he did.
"Yes. It was a very enjoyable experience," Mash said quickly, not wanting to leave her Master hanging. "Thank you for teaching and helping me make one, Senpai." The warm smile Ritsuka gave her made her knees feel weak momentarily.
"It was fun! Thank you for doing it with me!" Mash flashed him one of her more subdued but earnest smiles of her own. Further away, towards the main cluster of Servants to one side, Mash could hear shouting and movement, but didn't turn to see just what was happening. It didn't sound like an emergency, and so Mash wouldn't treat it as one unless told otherwise.
After all, there was something more important at hand for her today.
"You're welcome Mash. Would you like to try sledding next?" Mash tilted her head to the side slightly, humming softly. She knew of the activity of which her crush was suggesting, but Mash had never considered trying it before.
"That would be rather—"
"Master!" The cry of Amadeus had Mash and Ritsuka both jump several feet into the air backwards from one another, mainly due to how close it was to their position. Spinning around, Mash saw that Jacob's Caster was running towards them, looking other his shoulder. Behind him, Mash now saw that the Servants had engaged in what she believed was called a 'snowball fight'.
Chasing down the Caster, though, was a vicious-looking Mordred. In her hands was a snowball the size of the base of the snowman she had just built with Ritsuka. The Knight of Rebellion wound up her arms, preparing to throw her improvised weapon.
"Maybe this'll help you remember to think twice before, you music-loving asshole!"
Unfortunately for Mordred, at that moment, her target tripped and faceplanted himself into the snow. The snowball whistled over his prone form, and headed towards someone else. Mash's eyes widened as she realized that now it was heading towards Ritsuka!
"Senpai, look out!"
"Senpai, look out!"
Ritsuka was rooted in place, as the larger-than-average snowball rapidly closed in on him. The ball of snow wouldn't have hurt a Servant, nor would it kill him, but it would briefly bury him, no doubt. He tried to move to either side, but he couldn't move.
At least, not on his own.
Just seconds before impact, something tackled into him from the side, sending him rolling down the snowbank they had been on for a few yards until he came to a stop on his back. He groaned softly, as he felt a light weight pressing down on his chest.
"Are you okay, Senpai?" Mash's voice, filled once more with concern over him, sounded far closer to his ears than he had yet heard. Blinking open his eyes, Ritsuka stared into concerned orbs of rich amethyst.
"Yeah, nothing's broken or sprained. Thanks, Mash," Ritsuka said. A part of his brain still wasn't registering just what was pinning him down. But when it did, he suddenly froze in place, his eyes wide-open.
Mash was straddling his chest, in a way that felt almost suggestive. Her face seemed to be mere inches away from his. He could feel her warm breath caressing his cheeks, and no doubt she was feeling something similar from his own breath, which was now starting to pick up speed.
Was it his imagination, or did Mash's lips always looked that red? Soft and inviting. A man had to be either blind or ignorant to deny that Mash was an attractive-looking girl.
"Senpai?" Mash asked softly, leaning in closer. "You're turning a bit red."
"Ah, it's nothing," Ritsuka stammered, though he could have sworn that Mash had raised an eyebrow briefly at him in a gesture of skepticism. Then, to his surprise, his kouhai started to lean closer in on him.
To his confusion, he copied the actions, leaning up to meet her, hormones flooding his body. Was this actually happening?
Their lips were mere inches apart.
"You two having fun down there?" The voice of Drake with a mischievous lilt to it reminded Ritsuka that they were a) not alone, and b) what was going?!
Mash almost leapt off of him with a startled but adorable squeak in her voice. Ritsuka's own face lost its color momentarily, before it returned with such a vengeance that a part of him wondered why the snow wasn't melting slightly from the intensity of his burning cheeks.
There was some grumbling from the others that had walked over to watch them, but Ritsuka didn't really focus on listening in on them. Having done the best to regain her composure, his adorable friend offered Ritsuka a hand, which he gladly accepted, and Mash hauled him up onto his feet. Was it his imagination, or did she look slightly disappointed?
"I'm glad you're alright, Senpai," Mash said softly, and he nodded in understanding. Their eyes flicked upwards, to see that it was starting to grow dark again. "I think that's going to be the end of our little excursion out here, Senpai."
Ritsuka nodded, trying to not focus on just how close their lips had been to one another. About how he had wanted to press his against hers at that moment, and very well would have were it not for Drake's unfortunate interruption.
"So it would seem. Let's find Jacob and start packing it in. Once we've finished and are back inside, I want to swing by the kitchen. Pray tell, Mash, have you ever had a drink called hot chocolate?"
"Glad you finally got your revenge, Mordred," Jacob said, sounding rather unamused even as she continued smirking heartily. Damn right she got it. That'll teach the nosy bastard to mind his hearing! She knew that it wasn't Amadeus who had thrown the snowball that started the fight, mind you (she was impetuous, not a dumbass, thank you very much). But it was still a generous offer Marie had given her, and a way to get some well-deserved payback without breaking the rules and disappointing her lover by doing so.
Instead of responding with words, the Knight of Rebellion merely raised her mug of hot chocolate towards her partner in a mock salute before taking a sip, savoring the warm richness of the brew.
Whoever invented hot chocolate needed to be awarded a lordship.
"I still think you should have been more careful, Mordred," Mash chastised with that soft but steel tone in her voice. Normally, Mordred would have bristled and demanded to know just who the hell they thought she was, but leaning against Jacob slightly, and drinking hot chocolate, she felt more relaxed.
"Eh, maybe a bit. But hey, it all worked out in the end, didn't it, Shieldy?" Mash's cheeks flushed at the hidden implication. Seriously, though, just how thick-skulled was Ritsuka?! A part of her expected that if he walked into a room and seeing that Mash was waiting for him naked, he'd assume that something had happened to her wardrobe or something!
And some people dared to think that Mordred was dense. Bah!
"I'm just glad we didn't have to worry about snow-ice," Jacob said, and three heads swiveled at him in near unison. "It's what I refer to when snow becomes so hard that you could literally knock someone unconscious. I don't consider that to be snow. I consider that to be wannabe-ice."
Mordred's lips twitched slightly, and out of the corner of her eyes, the blonde knight could see that Mash and Ritsuka were also amused not only by her partner's words, but the look of indignation that quickly followed Jacob's words as the endearing idiot realized just why they were snickering. He quickly moved on, his feelings not actually hurt, as indicated by the theatrical eyeroll he gave the trio.
"Well, the War of the Snowball aside, I had a wonderful time. Thank you, Mordred, for putting forward the idea. You two as well, Mash, Ritsuka."
"Heh, told ya I have some great ideas," Mordred boasted, basking in the praise once more being lauded on her. What's the point of being a bad-ass Servant if you don't get to have your ego stroked when it was appropriate, after all? Mash and Ritsuka, as always, were more modest in their responses.
"You should be thanking Mordred and Ritsuka Senpai," Mash said softly, taking another sip of her own chocolaty beverage. Ah Mash, ever the counterweight in their modest quartet. She had all but direct confirmation on why that was the case for Galahad's host, but it wasn't Mordred's secret to share.
"We should do this more often," Ritsuka chimed in. Mordred titled her head expectantly at her dear partner. Jacob shook his head with a small smile.
"I see no reason why we can't," he said, though Jacob briefly shot Mordred a surprisingly dry glare. "But next time we go out and use one of those snowmobiles, Mordred, I'm driving."
"Hey, I didn't get us into a crash!"
"No, you just destroyed Nero's mini-project and subjected a quarter of Chaldea's Servants to her singing." The quick rebuke caused Mordred's follow-up to falter, and the blonde Saber ended up just coughing a bit awkwardly, looking down into her hot chocolate as she did so. "That being said, maybe, maybe, we could practice on them, and sometime have a race?"
That had Mordred perking right back up. The offer light a familiar and most enjoyable fire of competition in the pit of Mordred's stomach, quickly spreading through her body and limbs like wildfire.
"Oh, you are so on, Master!"
And with that, the rest of the night continued on most enjoyable, with much banter and laughter being exchanged (and more hot chocolate!). Soon, they would all head to bed, and Mordred would have another peaceful sleep and a wonderful sight to wake up to.
Life was good for the Knight of Rebellion now.
Original Endnotes: And done! So, what did y'all think? I had a lot of fun writing and imagining this chapter personally, so I hope it was just as good for you, my awesome readers! I wanted to do a more slice-of-life oriented chapter, to continue fluff and get to see the other Servants being more than just muscles and background characters and all. It was also a chance to show some of the other Servants who have or haven't been summoned yet that we haven't seen being deployed yet in any of the singularities up until now.
We were so close! Damn it, Drake! ;P
Now, we're going to be starting the next deployment in a few chapters. As I mentioned several times already, London is not going to be covered by Jacob and Mordred. That's going to be a separate story that I'm hoping to get started on and finish over the summer, and it will be focused more on Ritsuka and Mash. Before you get too upset, do remember that we will be seeing Jalter and her joining of Chaldea in the next arc! Hope that's as suitable enough consolation! Also, next chapter, be prepared for some Artoria moments!
Now, with that out of the way, it's time for the question(s) of the chapter! First up, in keeping with this chapter's theme, what are some of your favorite activities during a snow day? Secondly, for FGO players, who's going to be doing this year's GSSR, which banner, and who are you hoping to get?
As always, thanks for both reading and all the wonderful support and comments y'all have consistently given me. Honestly, I think the story wouldn't be half as awesome if it weren't for the encouragement and all y'all have given me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to read what you guys and gals thought of it, plus your answers to the questions of this chapter! Have a wonderful day, and see you in the next chapter!
Updated Endnotes 6/15/22: I've been busy with IRL stuff, including going full-time at my job and also burying my uncle. Sorry for the delay. As always, if you want to get caught up ahead and all, you can check out the version on Ao3 if you want. I hope you enjoyed today's update, stay safe and healthy, and I'll see you all next time :)