Rebellion Zero
1: The Knight of the Sword
The little girl stared at the man.
The man stared at the little girl.
They stayed like this in silence for a long while, both equally surprised.
In the chapel of the Einzbern castle, Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel were about to start the summoning ritual. The man known as the Magus Killer was kneeling on the floor, checking the circle and applying the last changes in its silver pattern. His wife was standing right behind him, holding in her arms the greatest treasure of her family – Avalon, the scabbard of the most famous holy sword from the Western legends.
Their plan to summon the greatest known hero in the most powerful class container seemed simple, but Kiritsugu was worried anyway. How compatible he will be with the legendary king of Albion? How to use his enormous power? Will his tactics be effective enough to win the war?
No, it was not a good moment for doubts. He needed to concentrate on the ritual right now, to show his power of a Master strong enough to bind the Knight of the Sword to his will. There was no turning back.
"Iri, place the relic on the altar," Emiya said and stood up, finally ready to begin the summoning. "Our preparations will be then complete."
Irisviel nodded and did what he asked. She stepped aside and froze in anticipation, when the circle emitted a blinding, silver light.
Illyasviel's room was probably the cutest and warmest in the entire Einzbern castle, but it still seemed cold, especially when she looked through the window. It was the night of the full moon, shining too bright to let her sleep calmly under its touch. The winter wind was raging outside, making some annoying sounds, howling like a pack of hungry wolves.
Illya could not fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. She kept rolling in her bed, hiding from the moonlight under a pillow. It didn't work, the same with hugging her favorite teddy bear. The girl soon gave up on trying and left the bedroom.
She felt cold and lonely on the empty corridor, but mother told her, that she and Kiritsugu have some important work to do tonight, so Illya shouldn't disturb them. What was even worse, they would depart to Japan soon. Illyasviel promised to wait patiently for them, like a good girl should. She was their princess and a princess always keeps her promises, but…
Deep inside she was scared. She did not want them to leave, even for a week or two. She wished they could stay like this forever, going for walks, counting walnut buds - just being together.
There were many small rooms and mysterious chambers in the castle, some inhabited, others long abandoned and used mostly as storerooms. Although she was forbidden to do so, Illya regularly took trips through the Einzbern domain, too curious to just ignore its secrets and too smart to get caught.
Her bare feet were slapping on the floor, when she came down to the basement, attracted by the magical aura coming from one of the rooms. Fortunately, the door moved smoothly, without a creak. Illya sneaked inside and looked around. It was typical for the Einzberns to keep clean even long abandoned chambers, so the girl was surprised by the dust on the floor. But even with a thick layer of dirt, a red circle was visible beneath it, emitting a strange gleam of magical energy.
Illyasviel had seen such circle before, when she was spying on Kiritsugu. He was drawing a sign like this, murmuring a strange rhyme or song during the process. She remembered some words, so weird, that she couldn't tell, if it was an actual spell or just babbling of her father, bored with his drawing practice.
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill!" - she sang cheerfully, just for fun, twirling around the circle on the ground. "I propose… What was next? Come under my command. I will be good… in eternal world. Hmm… Difficult word. Come forth the circle of… another difficult word." She stopped and crossed her arms, disappointed. "Kiritsugu can't sing a good song! This one has no sense. Oh? What? It hurts!"
All magic circuits in her body reacted at once, as if an electrical impulse came through them. Illyasviel squealed and lost her balance, when the white light from the circle blinded her. Something magical and powerful was coming, but she could only sit like this on the cold floor, covering her eyes to protect them from the unnatural brightness.
"Who…?" Kiritsugu was shocked, not even able to finish the sentence.
"I ask you. Are you my Master?"
It was a slim person, almost as tall as Emiya, but definitely more delicate. The mysterious Servant wore a dark armor, with some elements stylized to look like parts of a dragon's body, and a helmet, completely covering their face. But even more disturbing was a weapon their wielded – more or less a lance, and a really big one, like the knights used long ago in tournaments to threw an opponent off a horse. It was definitely not Excalibur.
"Hmmm. I can sense disappointment in the air." Annoyed by the prolonged silence, the Servant took off the helmet, revealing her blonde hair and beautiful golden eyes. The woman looked at Kiritsugu with a mix of curiosity and discontent in her gaze. "Servant Lancer, Arturia Pendragon, came to your calling, Master. I would like to have a proper conversation first, but it wouldn't be wise with an enemy Servant nearby."
Thousand thoughts came across Kiritsugu's mind. 'A woman? The King of Knights was a woman? What's with this strange weapon and aura around her? Why not Excalibur? Why not Saber?' – and many more, but her last words seemed the most important at the moment.
"Another Servant? Here, in the castle?"
Lancer only smiled in response, hearing loud sounds of footsteps on the corridor. Someone raised an alarm, a bunch of armed homunculi was heading to the basement. It looked that even the old golem Jubstacheit was involved, so this unexpected threat must have been serious.
Kiritsugu and Irisviel exchanged worried gazes.
"So…" Arturia raised her strange and scary weapon, ready to fight. "Shall we go, Master?"
The little girl stared at the man.
The man stared at the little girl.
They stayed like this in silence for a long while, both equally surprised.
Well, this is not what I've expected, the Knight of the Sword thought.
He knew he was needed here, obviously. This small creature in a nightgown needed him, her pure voice had reached him, ignoring the barriers of time and space. Her innocent wish seemed so refreshing and beautiful, that he decided to answer the call. No excuses. No complaints. Even if she was not an adult, even if she wasn't fully a human being...
She is my Master now.
From the first moment he saw this little girl, he felt an urge to protect her. He just couldn't do anything about this feeling. It was irresistible.
"Servant Saber. I have answered your calling, Master," the freshly summoned Heroic Spirit spoke first, in a calm and kind voice.
"Master?" Maybe because of the essence of Justeaze in her body, or maybe because she'd been created to become a vessel, Illya instinctively knew about the Master and Servant system. "Servant… Mine? Really? Only mine?"
Saber nodded, then smiled gently, seeing the girl's reaction. Her red eyes were shining with joy and excitement.
"Wooow!" She accepted the hand reached out to her. The swordsman gently pulled her up. Now, with the warrior still on his knees, their eyes were more or less on the same level, so the girl came closer to inspect him. "It means that you will do everything I ask?"
"Well…" This was problematic, truly. Maybe even dangerous. "Technically yes, but…"
"Aaaah! So great!" Her face was very close now and a little finger poked his cheek. "You're not as scary as you look."
Saber gave her a really strange expression, before he gave up and just sighed.
"You really think I look scary, Master?"
She nodded without hesitation. Saber found it painful, not really sure why.
"Um, this big sword is scary. And this cloak. And the light on your neck." She chuckled, playing with his hair. "Almost as white as mine, ha, ha!"
The Servant endured this treatment with admirable patience.
"Master, may I ask your name?"
"Um! Illyasviel von Enzbeirn. And you have a name, too?"
"Yes. It's better to call me just 'Saber', but I'm…" He stopped suddenly, stood up and grabbed his sword, placing Illya in the corner of the room, behind his back.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone is coming, Master. I detected an enemy Servant."
"Ene… my?" She looked up, surprised how tall he was, even taller than Kiritsugu.
"Don't worry, Master. I'm here to protect you." There was something warm in his voice. It made the girl sure, that he truly meant what he had said.
"But Sab…"
The door opened, but no one dared to enter the room, seeing a tip of a giant sword pointed at their face. Jubstacheit, surrounded by the armed homunculi, frowned, visibly displeased.
"Too soon. She's not finished yet."
Finished? Saber gave him a very unfavorable gaze. Like a thing, a property?
Something was clearly wrong with the mages of this castle and he had to quickly figure out their true motives for the sake of little Illyasviel.
"I'm sorry but I can't let you come near my Master, unless you tell me your intentions towards her," he said politely. "Could you please explain, who you are?"
The head of the Einzbern family stared at the knight.
"You are not the one to ask questions, but to obey, familiar."
"I will obey. But only the orders of my Master.
"Really? And maybe we should just leave you alone, so you can manipulate the child and do as you please?"
"I would never do such thing." Saber frowned, deeply offended. "You have my word."
"So I have nothing, because this is how much a word of a ghost is worth."
The swordsman sighed painfully.
"What sad and awful times have come, when people no longer believe in a word of their hero."
"An insolent familiar, as expected from a Saber class." The Old Man Acht was far from becoming nervous or losing his patience, he just stated the undeniable fact. "Know your place, tool."
"Maybe we are tools, but we will never stop being heroes, even after death. It's been carved in our souls."
"Oh? What a proud declaration, I cannot ignore it!" – a deep but definitely feminine voice sounded on the corridor.
Three more persons entered the basement, one of them was a Servant with a powerful, dragon-like aura, which made Saber ever more cautious and tensed than before. Lancer was prepared for battle, but, in the presence of too many bystanders, including a child, she just waited, letting her Master decide, if fighting in such circumstances was necessary.
"What the…" Kiritsugu had no words for the madness of this night. He blinked, impressed by the general potential of the new Servant. This one must be a local hero to gain such fame boost here. I could make good use of him.
"Illya!" Worried Irisviel rushed to her daughter, completely ignoring the sword and its wielder.
Surprisingly, Saber just let her pass and hug the girl. But when Kiritsugu tried to do the same, he was stopped halfway, so fiercely, that even Lancer instinctively reached for her weapon.
Two Servants were looking at each other for a while and came to the same conclusion – it won't be an easy victory.
"Don't even try to fight, you fools," Jubstacheit said, somehow able to sound as emotionless as usual. "Just force this familiar to obey, he will serve us well."
"Mother, look at my Servant!" Illya clung to Irisviel, not really understanding – or just ignoring - the seriousness of the situation. "He's so strong! He told me, that he will do everything I ask."
"I see. Then, please, tell him to calm down and put away the sword."
"I can't do this," Saber said with an apologetic look. "Not in the presence of an enemy."
"Kiritsugu is not the enemy…" - Irisviel started to explain.
"Um, he's Daddy!" – Illya finished, making her Servant even more confused than before.
It means they'll be fighting each other, sooner or later, he thought. This is how the Holy Grail War goes, I see. Not good, I will be involved in another family conflict.
"Saber?" Irisviel smiled to assure the swordsman that everything was fine. He recognized her as a pure-hearted and gentle creature, there was no reason to not believe her. Although still reluctant, he eventually put his gigantic weapon on his back and stopped blocking the passage. "Thank you. Come, Illya, it's late. You should be sleeping now. We will talk tomorrow."
"But my Saber is not going anywhere?" Illyasviel made a really cute, worried face. "He will still be here, when I get up?"
"Of course, Master. I'm not going anywhere without you."
"You promise?"
"I promise." For now this oath had to be enough to maintain their contract, still unstable after the imperfect summoning. Mentally he already felt attached to this child, it was easy to notice in his calm, blue eyes. "Sleep well, Master."
Illyasviel smiled and waved to him, leaving the room with her mother.
To say that Kiritsugu was displeased, did not seem enough to describe his feelings about this ridiculous situation.
"Come, Saber." He spat the last word almost like an insult, probably still angry and confused about everething that had happened tonight. "We need to talk."
Thank You for reading!
All chapters have been polished/fixed a bit, yet I guess they still need some work. English is not my first language and I'm doing what I can, athough it's still not enough. If You want to point out some mistakes, don't hesitate to PM me, I will fix them as soon as possible.
All characters and themes belong to their rightful owners, etc., etc. I own only my stupid ideas and terrible writing.