Warcraft belongs to Blizzard
Fate/Stay Night belongs to Typemoon
UPDATED! 9/12/14
Xbox432 was kind enough to also come back and help polish this fic. Truly I am blessed.
Thank you Wayfarer for helping me polish up this chapter! He made this fic look good.
Also, this fic takes place during the first Orc -Human war.
Lioness of Azeroth
Chapter 1
**** Azeroth, Black Morass ****
"Arturia!" a girlish voice yelled out loudly.
"Hmm?" Saber inquired, glancing up at a group of girls no older than five waving to her. She still preferred to think of herself as Saber despite the fact that she regained her original name in this new but familiar world. The reason simply being she did not want to forget Shiro. Even now her heart yearned for him; so despite others calling her Arturia, in her mind she was still Shiro's Saber.
"Come play with us. You're just sitting here under the banner again!" one of the girls with curly brown hair and a simple dress said as she tugged on Saber's arm.
Saber looked up at the royal blue banner with a stitched gold lion figure. She did not know why, but she took great comfort in being so near it. Perhaps because it reminded her of home, of Britannia. Still she had pressing matter to attend to, most of which was this group of girls. "I am not feeling so well right now, Tiffany," she said softly, noticing the little girls look at her with concern. "Perhaps later?" she suggested.
The little girl in question, Tiffany, looked at her friend for a second and slowly nodded before running off with the other girls in tow.
Sighing again, Saber leaned her head back on the banner and closed her eyes. In a way, she got her wish despite the grail. She had a new life, a new life under a fair and just King from what her parents told her. Looking at the adults around her, she saw that they were happy, peaceful, even the soldiers from the local garrison appeared to be hardened but friendly.
In other words, they were at peace. Ever since being reborn into this world, in the land called Azeroth, she felt strangely at peace. Looking at her hands she realized that they have yet to take another life, have yet to be soaked in blood in defense of her country. They were clean.
"Arturia, there you are," a matronly voice said.
"Mother," Saber softly greeted her mother as she got onto her feet. Ironically her mother's name here was also Igraine. Not so her father however: his name was Athan, a farmer.
"Why aren't you playing with your little friends?" Igraine asked, concerned as she looked over her daughter to see if she was feeling well. Ever since Arturia had laid eyes upon it, she had been captivated by the Stormwind banner hanging from the center of their town. As soon as she could walk, the first place she went to was the banner. It was named, playfully, by the villagers as Arturia's Rest.
"I just did not feel like it, Mother," Arturia explained truthfully. Her mother was every bit as warm, kind, and gentle as she could have hoped for. Saber truly loved her, as she was the mother Saber never had back in her original world. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked eagerly as she brushed the dust off from her simple dress.
"And get your nice dress dirty again?" Igraine said scandalized. "I think not!"
"I can go get changed," Saber offered with a smile. She had the farmer smock that her father had made for her upon her request. She also loved the man who was her father who though not a King, was as noble as one. At least to her.
"Not a chance, young lady," Igraine countered exasperatedly. Her daughter seemed to spend more time in her farmer smock than the lovely dress she bought for her. "Now go play with your friends," she shooed her daughter.
"As you wish, Mother," Saber conceded with a soft smile. Her mother was forever fretting over her but she wouldn't have it any other way. Standing up she realized that even for her age of six, she was shorter than average. Dejectedly she realized that her height would stay the same in her new life. Still, at her mother's request, she would go and find her other playmates. Why that game of tag was almost like the training she used to do, only substitute hands for broad swords swinging at her and it was just the same principle. "I shall return before evening," she told her mother with a nod of her head.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Igraine responded in a rueful tone of voice as her daughter left. Honestly, her daughter talked as if she was a noble sometimes. Putting both hands on her hips she shook her head, she had no idea where her daughter learned such formal manners. Girls her age were polite, but her daughter took it to a whole new level. Still, it did give her a sense of pride when other mothers comment on how well behaved and graceful her daughter seemed even at such a young age.
Saber was greeted by the Stormwind footmen as she passed through the wooden doors leading outside of its sturdy stone wall.
"Remember, not too far young lady," the footman, a bearded man name Gerald, warned kindly.
"I understand," Saber replied with a nod of her head and walked to Tiffany and the other girls.
"You know, I sometime think she really does understand," Gerald's friend, Franklin, said with a chuckle. Meeting Arturia had been interesting, after all how many six year old girls usually asked about border defense and how far it extended? He could see in her eyes that she recognized the safe zone within their patrol routes and guided her friends within it making sure to gently keep them within the safety zone.
"That little girl is too smart by half," Gerald agreed, chuckling as he looked after Arturia.
"Going to be a real cutie when she grows up though," Franklin pointed out with indulgent smile.
"Prettiest eyes in the village by far," Gerald nodded. Everyone in the village, including the local garrison who had met little Arturia, would agree with his statement. Her blond hair was nothing special as they had plenty of blonds around. No, upon first meeting the little girl everyone was captivated by her eyes. Large, luminous, almost emerald in their color.
"Aye, that she does," Franklin agreed as he greeted the local patrol just returning. He then looked to little Arturia and noticed how instinctively the other children made way for her and listened to whatever she dictated. That girl was the natural leader of any group of children she was in.
++++ Evening ++++
Saber returned home and was immediately attacked by a grown man from behind. Immediately, her body went on the defensive as she elbowed the offender's head.
"Easy little one, I give up!" her father laughed as he backed away from his daughter and held his hand up in surrender.
Saber mouth gaped wide opened then suddenly shut itself as her face lit up red. She just attacked her own father!
"If it does not offend my little lioness, can her father give her a welcome home kiss?" Athan asked with a smirk as he watched as his cute little daughter pouted.
"Of-of course," Saber apologized, father picked her up and gave her a gentle loving kiss on her cheek before setting her back down. "I- I'm sorry for hitting you father," she said remorsefully.
"You have quite a punch on you," Athan mocked playfully grinning at his daughter. "You're gonna need it to fend the boys off with a stick when you grow up," he teased with a chuckle and watched as his daughter stammered cutely in protest. She had no idea how adorable she looked flustered.
Saber did not think she was anything special, she wasn't pretty like Rin or beautiful like Guinevere. Sometimes during the privacy of their bed chambers when she no longer needed to act like a King, Guinevere would tell her how she would have been a beautiful girl. Yet, she did not give it much thought, after all, when the Saxons were attacking all such talks were frivolous. Suddenly she was swept up into her father's arm and placed on his sturdy shoulders, she had been hoisted up like this by her men once before. She made her displeasure known then, and they had never done it again since. Yet when her father did it, with his easy going smile, it made her feel warm inside.
She shall allow it.
"And here we go, to help your mother with dinner! Yay!" her father said running to the kitchen to greet his wife.
"You should go cleanup for dinner, dear, would you help me set the table?" Igraine asked, to which her daughter nodded. Her child was so reliable and mature; why she didn't even need help taking a bath and was able to pay attention to the task at hand instead of being flighty like the rest of the girls her age.
After dinner, Saber slept in her own room, having reassured her parents sometime last year that she was not afraid of the dark. Which apparently only made them even prouder of her much to her embarrassment as her mother bragged to the neighbors about her bravery. Honestly, it was not like how she routed the Danes at Cornwall, now THAT would have been worthy of being proud. She taught Horsa and his Sea Wolves a harsh lesson that day.
Laying in her bed, Saber could not help but let her mind wander, once more, about her circumstances. The fact of the matter was that she had been fighting since she was 10 years of age in a time of constant war, peace, even though she had wanted it, did not come easy for her.
Still, day by day, little by little, the people around Saber were helping to heal her heart. Her village was a small but simple one. Located in what is known as the Black Morass, her village was on the outermost edge of the Kingdom of Stormwind.
The garrison size was only a few hundred at the most, while the population only boasted a few thousand at best. Magic, she found out, was commonplace here in this world, though the only magic that she had seen thus far were from low level magi and the local cleric from Northshire Abbey.
Six years, six years she's been here. Six years of peace. Six war-free years. Maybe it was time she made a bigger effort to integrate herself with her new life. This was, after all, what she wanted from the beginning.
***** Nine years later ****
"Hello Arturia."
"Greeting, Mrs. Audrey," Saber addressed the local vendor woman as she walked down the market to make her selection for dinner.
"Hello there, lass!" Gerald, whose beard was beginning to be salted by some white, greeted the young woman as he too was out and about doing shopping for his squad mates.
"Good afternoon, Gerald," Saber replied to the man with a smile. "How are things looking out there?" she asked politely.
"Coast is clear," Gerald replied, was refreshed just by seeing Arturia smile at him. He was right: that girl did grew up to be a real beauty. Her long luxurious blond hair reached passed her shoulder swaying in the wind gracefully making many men stop briefly to admire her. Her figure while slim was quite athletic, and already he heard about suitors from other villages coming to ask for her hand. 'Good luck, ya wee bastards,' He thought savagely.
Saber walked down the market street, carefully making her dinner selection. After all this time she had finally learned how to cook. She briefly wondered if she would have made Shiro proud. That of course did not mean she was girly in the least. A few years ago she found out that girls could join the military just like the men. It had surprised her that such a society so similar to hers would be so fair with no set roles for either gender.
Naturally she started training in secret, but being a small village, it was not a secret for long. Within a couple of days after Tiffany and Alice saw her train, the whole village knew about it. The only stepping stone to her training was an older boy, ironically named Kay. He had told her that a small dainty girl like her had no business with swords or fighting.
Well, that was an insult to Saber if she had ever heard one, she challenged him to a duel on the spot. With Gerald and the captain of the Guard Johnathan as her witness, she trounced the boy three years her senior with ease. Ever since then, she was nick named the Lioness of Marshal's by the garrison soldiers. A play on the famed 'Lion of Stormwind', Sir Anduin Lothar.
"Arturia!" a male voice sounded off to her right.
"Kay," Saber said flatly. Of course a nickname was not all she earned as Kay, the big stocky handsome boy by her side, had not stopped pestering her since she demolished him in their little duel. In fact every time he saw her now all he can do is look away and blush. What kind of man would do that?!
"I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad," Kay explained hurriedly, his expression pleading for forgiveness as if his whole world hinged on her words.
"I am not mad and stop acting like that," Saber chastised the boy, a bit annoyed. She hated weak men like that.
"Of, of course, whatever you say," the older boy nodded nervously. Suddenly he could look anywhere but at the girl next to him. "S-say- A-arturia..w-would you like to go to the summer solstice festival with me?" he blurted out hurriedly, his face unnaturally red.
"Already promised I'd go with Tiffany and Alice. Maybe next time," Saber replied easily as she finished her purchase of fresh vegetables from the vender. Without looking to see Kay's expression, Saber continued her shopping and left the boy standing still at the stall.
"Better luck next time, eh Kay?" Regina, the fruit vendor, comforted with a kind smile. The boy had gathered up so much courage and the girl just shot him down so easily.
Kay continued to stand in once place not moving an inch, a broken expression on his face.
++++ Saber ++++
'Hmm, I think I have everything.' Saber mentally checked the list in her basket. Out of the majority of her friends she was one of the few that could read and write. For some reason that ability made all the children around her age look to her for guidance.
"Oh Arturia!" Tiffany greeted her friend with a gentle hug. "May the Light shine on you this day."
"May the Light be with you also," Saber recited automatically. They were similar to the bible scriptures she had back on her old world. Tiffany was dressed in her white acolyte robes, signifying her entrance into the ranks of the Church of the Light. Her friend had the ability to heal others no matter the wound. That to Saber was amazing itself, and to think this land was full of people like that... truly a different world than her own.
"So I heard you turned down Kay in public at the market place," her friend accused playfully. "Why did you do that?"
Saber narrowed her eyes at her friend and for once cursed the fact that this village was so small because if Tiffany knew, then everyone knew. "I do not like bullies like him," she said with an upturn of her nose.
"The only reason why he bullied you was because he liked you, ever since we were kids all he could talk about was you and your pretty eyes!" Tiffany explained in a playfully jealous tone. "Did I also mention that he's handsome, and his family is well off? He's the most sought after bachelor in the village and he only has eyes for you!"
"Then you can have him," Saber countered as she continued on her way home. Her friend immediately followed next to her. Her mother would no doubt let her hear it again. She knew that it was almost time for her to wed and then have children. This was the life she wanted... but now that it came time for her to do it, she found the entire thought unsettling. If she wed... then it would be out of obligation not like with Shiro... yet even Shiro was starting to fade, strong feelings that she once had for him were starting to cool. She was not sure how she felt about that.
Was she betraying him?
"Honestly, for such a pretty girl you sure can be dense," Tiffany sighed in exasperation.
The two friends made small talk for some time before Tiffany broke off and returned to the local church while Saber headed home. Of course, true to form her mother was standing at the front door waiting for her. She could feel that another lecture was going to happen soon.
"Arturia," Igraine greeted her strong willed daughter.
"Mother," Saber returned to her mother with a smile as she stepped to move into her home.
"So… anything happen at the market today?" Igraine asked with a deceptively kind smile as she moved to block Saber's way.
"Nope, not at all," Saber replied easily. It was the truth, turning down Kay was routine by now. She made to shift left to move into her home again.
"That is not what I heard," Igraine said as she blocked her daughter's path then stepped forward. "I heard you turned down the poor boy in the marketplace in public!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
Sighing, Saber looked up to the sky and braced herself for the argument she knew was going to come. "He asked me a question. I answered," She explained with a soft sigh.
"He likes you, he's handsome and he comes from a good family. Why not him?" Igraine asked. While she grew to love Athan, it was still an arranged marriage.
"Because he is a bully and I do NOT tolerate bullies," Saber stated with her arms crossed. "Also I am not attracted in the slightest to him."
"That was years ago and it was a children's fight at that!" Igraine exclaimed. The one thing that most people in the village learned about Arturia was she had a long memory, and she grouped you into two categories: either you are with her or against her. Over the years there had been some real bullies but Arturia had thoroughly beat them to the ground much to her father's amusement. The only reason why Kay even got into a fight with her in the first place was because he wanted to protect her. He did not feel that a girl like Arturia should be wielding a sword and set about to teach her a lesson on how harsh it would be out there for a girl of her size and stature. Which was why it came as a complete surprise when Arturia destroyed the poor boy with ease.
"Still does not matter," Saber said exasperatedly. She wanted to tell her mother the real reason, that it was not because she did not find any of the men attractive or able. It was because none of them was Shiro. Still... did she plan on spending the rest of her new life alone?
"You better pick a suitor and soon," Igraine warned. "You are getting too old," she said firmly.
"If that is your wish mother," Saber sighed softly. Perhaps she should just choose any person and be done with it.
Igraine eyes softened and pulled her sullen daughter into her arms. "My only wish, my little lioness, is for you to be happy and surrounded by children," she whispered softly. "I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. I am just asking you to please keep an open mind."
Saber's lips pressed together thinly and sighed into her mother's embrace. "I- I will try. You have my word," she said firmly, making her mother gasp.
Igraine learned a long time ago that if Arturia gave her word on anything, come hell or high water, she was going to see it fulfilled. She hugged her strong willed daughter tighter.
"Father is not home yet?" Saber asked after a few moments.
"Hmm, no," Igraine replied to her daughter still hugging her. "Strange, he should be back by now, he has a shorter day today on the farms."
Suddenly the bell rang from the town hall. Saber's eyes widened as she broke free of her mother's grasp. She looked immediately towards the front gate and saw the garrison soldiers rushing in formation toward it. "We're under attack," Saber whispered softly.
"Oh your father is still out there!" Igraine worriedly exclaimed in half hysterics.
Saber looked at the gate and at how the garrison soldiers were already manning the keep walls. "Stay here, Mother. I will try to get some information," she commanded.
Igraine did not know why, but she instantly obeyed her daughter whose sudden demeanor had changed. In her place was someone else completely, a person used to giving command. "P-please be careful," she told her daughter softly.
"I will Mother," Saber assured her mother with a firm nod as she rushed to the gate. As soon as she came in range she saw the two footman that had been indulgent of her as a child. "Gerald! Franklin!" she shouted spying the two familiar guard.
"Arturia! You should not be here!" Gerald shouted at the foolish girl. "Go back home and bar your doors!" he ordered.
"Not until I find my father. He was working on the western farm, did you hear anything?" Saber asked, no demanded.
Gerald did not know why, or how , but the sweet willful beauty that he known all her life suddenly turned into someone that radiated authority. It was as if he was standing in front of a general of the army. The words fell from his lips before he could even stop himself.
"The western farmland was the first to be attacked, only a few survivors made it," he reported gesturing to a small group of survivors that was being tended to by the clerics of Northshire.
"Thanks to their warning we are able to set up our defenses quickly and have already sent for help from Sunshire and Stonewind Keep."
Saber nodded and ran down to the survivor and instantly recognized one of her father's friends. "Glen!" she shouted, catching the man's attention who was on his back with a deep gash on his stomach. "Who did this to you?" she demanded. "Where is my father?"
Glen looked over to his friends little girl and suddenly tears filled his eyes.
"No..." Saber cried, Glen's look told her all she needed. "No!"
"I... I'm sorry Arturia, he wouldn't leave he held those... things back so that I could escape to warn the town, to protect you and your mother," Glenn cried softly. "I'm so sorry Arturia... forgive me for not staying by your father's side... forgive me," he sobbed out brokenly.
"NO!" Saber screamed. Her father, the man who loved her unconditionally in her new life. The man who accepted her for who she was, never once caring if she was not like other girls. Acquired her first wooden sword, then a real sword afterwards. Her father... dead? It didn't seem real. She never knew Uther but Athan... Athan was more of a father to her then Uther ever was, even Merlin. He simply asked her to be her.
"By the Light, those are no Trolls I've ever seen! What the hell are they?" a horrified voice from one of the armored footman asked as he gazed down from upon the battlements.
"A-are those heads they mounted on their spears?" Franklin, another guard on the wall, pointed out in a disgusted tone of voice.
Saber stood quickly and ran up to the battlement walls; she had to see this for herself.
"Arturia! No!" Gerald shouted as he saw the pretty blond girl running up the battlements. "Stop her!" he ordered two of the nearby guards. She did not need to see this... abomination.
To everyone's amazement, the smaller girl pushed the first armored man against the battlement walls, stunning him and pushed the second one off the steps without missing a beat. She was on top of the wall before anyone else could react in time.
"No..." Saber whispered softly as she saw the head of her father on one of the spears. Bracing herself against the battlements she looked at the men who did this to her father, only to find that they were not men at all but instead some kind of green monstrosity. They numbered in the hundreds, more than the troops garrisoned here at Marshal's Keep.
"Arturia..." a soft comforting voice next to her called.
Raising her eyes she saw that it was Kay who was part of the local militia. "Please, go home to your mother and let us do our job," he said gently. "Someone needs to tell her."
For the first time in her life, Saber felt grateful to Kay and nodded. She listlessly made her way down the stone steps and saw the sympathetic look from the soldiers as she passed. Even as she was leaving she could hear the local garrison leader, Lieutenant Johnathan, ordering the crossbow men to ready their weapons and assigned defensive position.
Slowly Saber made her way back home to her house, lost in thought. When she reached the front door to her home Saber stopped. She was hesitant to knock, and wanted all of this to be a bad dream. That was when the door opened and her mother shot out like a cannon and latched onto her.
"Oh Arturia, you're back," Igraine said in relief. "Did you see what happened, do you have news of your father?" she asked, only to feel Arturia body stiffen at the mention of her father.
Igraine slowly pulled her daughter away from her and saw her daughter face. On her face was an expression of pain and sorrow but most importantly, there were tears. In all her life, even when Arturia was an infant, she had never cried. "Arturia?" she asked softly and suddenly she knew. She knew what had happened. Her own legs fell out from under her as she lost the love of her life.
"Mother!" Saber shouted in alarm as the older woman collapsed. Suddenly her mother latched onto her, and she could hear her mother sobbing in her chest. Together mother and daughter wept for the most precious man in their lives.
Saber had been shocked; she thought that she would get a peaceful life. Fifteen years, Fifteen years of peace was what she had and now it was gone. Something attacked them, something not even human. She would make them pay. "Mother, I am going," she stated softly causing her mother to stiffen.
"No, you can't leave," Igraine demanded hysterically. "I- can't lose you too Arturia!" she pleaded desperately.
"And you won't, Mother," Saber assured her as she reigned in her emotion, standing up slowly. "Thank you, Mother, for giving me such a peaceful life. You were more than I could have asked for," she spoke softly, confusing her mother.
"What… you act as if you are not coming back," Igraine said fearfully.
"Keep the doors locked," Saber ordered as she went to the kitchen and took out the sword her father acquired for her. "I will return for you," she said firmly.
Igraine watched in horror as her daughter took her longsword and cut off her long luxurious hair leaving it short up to her neck. "Arturia, what are you doing?" she asked, confused by her daughter's sudden change in demeanor.
"Going to war," Saber replied as she rolled her hair familiarity into its military style bun behind her head with her two bangs framing her face. Looking at her mother she nodded. "Remember to keep the door closed until I return," she ordered.
"O-okay," Igraine complied as she watched her daughter turn... something else then walked out from the door. Her daughter had always had a presence around her, but the one that was in the room just now was overwhelming. For a moment it almost felt like she was in the presence of King Adamant Wrynn from when she was just one of the people in the crowd celebrating his return from successfully repelling the Gurubashi Troll attack.
++++Battlement walls ++++
Saber strode purposefully up the battlement as she saw the town defenders armed, armored, and ready.
"Arturia!" a voice shouted in concern. It was Gerald. "You shouldn't be here," he told the smaller girl firmly.
"I am here to contribute to the defense of Marshal's Keep," Saber replied giving Gerald a look that made him back down.
Johnathan who watched the exchanged saw the girl's demeanor and noted that she held herself well. There was not a single ounce of fear running through her in contrast to some of the militia group. "Get her some armor," he ordered.
"Arturia, what are you doing here?" Kay asked to the girl of his dreams. He was amazed at how she faced down the intimidating Gerald.
"Kay..." Saber uttered in a low tone, for once softening for the boy.
"Yes?" Kay said in confusion at the change in her tone. Then he saw her smile at him, a genuine smile, one that he had wanted from her since he laid eyes upon her.
"Thank you," Saber said before schooling her face and observing the creatures closing in on their keep.
Kay could only blush in reply as he also turned to face the incoming creatures. They did not look like Trolls from the story books that his father read to him as a child, but they sure were green. Still, despite how menacing they looked, he felt like he could take a hundred of them on after Arturia smiled at him.
"Armor for you, it fits," a footman offered as he handed Arturia some smaller armor.
To the surprise of everyone present, Arturia stripped off her clothing right there and put on the grey-ish armor with the blue color trim.
"Alright, Arturia, grab a shield and man the east section. Kay, you go with her," Johnathan ordered as he directed them to the weak spot along the wall.
Saber nodded and walked off without hesitation as the green brutes stopped in front of the gate. She glanced down and searched for her father's head. She swore she would be getting it back.
"LOK TAR ORGAR!" the green creature at the forefront yelled. As if that was the signal, the army of greenskins surged forward as one with a crudely built ladder that latched onto the keep wall.
"Here they come!" Johnathan shouted out loudly as the greenskins were mounting the ladder. "Remember your training! CROSSBOWS FIRE AT WILL!" he shouted.
Saber watched as the crossbow men peppered the oncoming greenskins with thick wooden darts, hitting anything within sight. With so many greenskins down there it was hard to miss. Still, the enemy was starting to latch onto the walls in greater numbers, some of them even jumping from the ladders before it even touched the wall.
Longsword in her right hand and a shield in her left, Saber watched as the beasts started to make their way over to her section of the wall.
"RAWRRRGHHH! LOK TAR!" the Greenskin yelled as a half dozen managed to climb on top. Instantly the Stormwind defenders swarmed toward the intruders and tried to force them off the wall.
Saber saw another bigger greenskin make its way over an exposed area, the other defenders were too busy pushing back the latest incursion along other sections of the wall. Leaving Kay's side, Saber charged at the greenskin and slammed into him with her shield. Her force and speed stunned him, leaving him open for a sweeping strike that lobbed off his head. Striking the greenskin's body with her shield, Saber watched as it toppled onto another one of its comrades. Another green face popped up between the battlements, snarling at her. Without even hesitating, Saber slid the sword into the attacker's snarling mouth, pushing it through the back of its head before pulling the blade out. It was dead before it hit the ground.
Kay watched in amazement as Arturia dispatched two big greenskins easily. He knew she was skilled, but he never realized just how much. He watched as she ran with great speed to open gaps along their lines, cutting down greenskins or pushing off ladders from the wall with her plated boots.
"You there! Get up!" Arturia ordered a resting troop after what seemed like hours of battle but really only last minutes. "This town is depending on you, up on your feet!" she demanded.
The soldier, who had known Arturia all her life, instantly snapped to attention. Her tone and mannerism spoke of one used to command, and as he had watched her fight tirelessly against the horde of greenskins he could not help but feel ashamed. "For Stormwind!" he shouted as he charged back into the fray.
Saber did not know how long she fought, she just knew she had to kill the greenskins and protect the people at all cost. Whenever a soldier might look like he was about to falter, she was there to save him. When someone looked ready to give up, she was there to order them to continue as she charged into the fray.
When her sword broke due to the stress of the battle, she used her shield. When her shield was broken, she grabbed a great sword from a dead defender and used that instead with great proficiently. Saber cut down the greenskins mercilessly.
"They breached the GATE!" Gerald yelled as the wooden gate of the keep was smashed wide open.
'Mother!' Saber thought in a panic as the greenskins charged their way into the town. Luckily there was a wall of defenders there, three deep, ready to stop the invading horde. "Huuah!" she yelled as she jumped from the battlement down to the gate itself and swung heavy powerful blows from her great sword.
"What is that girl?" Johnathan asked in awe. His armor was dented and his face bloodied but that did not stop him from seeing the little waif of a girl swing the two-hander like a veteran.
"Raggh!" the Orc he was engaging yelled as it tried to cleave his stomach open with an axe.
"Die greenskin!" Johnathan shouted and shoved his word into its ribcage before jerking it to slice the inside up.
Still the battle was going bad for the defenders as slowly, but surely, the garrison troops were getting overrun. There was starting to be an even number of greenskins and Stormwind footman on the wall while the defenders on ground were starting to thin out despite Arturia's efforts. "DO NOT YIELD!" Johnathan shouted loudly and suddenly knew nothing else.
Saber watched as the commander of Marshal's Keep, Lieutenant Johnathan, was beheaded by a large creature, bigger than the greenskins, its skin sort of a light peach color. She could sense the shift in momentum from the defenders as their commanding officer died. She had to change it.
"SOLDIERS OF STORMWIND!" Saber shouted as she charged up the battlement steps again toward the giant creature. "YOU WILL NOT YIELD!" she roared as she jumped up and sliced the giant creature's head off with a powerful swing of her greatsword. Picking up the Stormwind standard, she held it in her hand much like her flag spear of old and shouted a powerful war-cry.
The soldiers of Stormwind, tired and bloodied, were reinvigorated by the sight of the smaller girl cutting down the giant size Ettin like creature.
"WE ARE WITH YOU ARTURIA!" Kay yelled as he too fought harder than he ever had in his life.
"ARTURIA!" the Soldiers of Stormwind yelled as if her name was a prayer before redoubling their efforts.
"STORMWIND!" Saber shouted back calling upon their love and loyalty for their country. She then turned around and started to kill even more greenskins.
However, there was a limit to all human endurance, magical or not, and slowly but surely the Stormwind numbers thinned out. Saber saw Kay swamped by an attacking surge, then cut to pieces by the brutish beasts. Still she fought on and fought her way down the steps even as the retreat horn sounded for the Stormwind defenders to pull back.
"Arturia," Gerald said as she saw the greenskins starting to swarm through the town and the soldiers being surrounded. "It's been an honor fighting along your side," he meant it.
Saber swiveled her gaze and saw the soldiers looking to her for guidance. Saw the swarm of greenskin spreading through the town and saw all their escape routes cut off. "Take as many of them down with you as you can," she said, staring each of them in the eye.
"That we shall, won't we boys?!" Gerald yelled as he saw Arturia charge into the greenskin ranks. "We gonna let that little slip of a girl outdo us?" he shouted and then charged with his shield raised high.
'So this is how my new life ends,' Saber thought even as she cut down more greenskins in her way. 'If only I had Excalibur, I could have turned the tide,' she thought to herself. "TO THE DEATH!" she shouted and charged.
Suddenly, a loud blaring noise echoed over the field.
Gerald, who was fighting alongside her, recognized that sound. "We're not going to die this day lass!" he said gleefully to the girl who seemed to have taken command of their forces during mid-battle. "You hear that horn?"
Saber heard it; in fact it echoed all through the town with how loud it was, confusing even the greenskins. "Yes."
"That means reinforcements!" Gerald shouted over the noise, footmen and knights in pure black and gold armor streamed in from the outside, destroying the greenskin forces.
"It's the Stonewind forces with some of the Brotherhood forces!" he crowed and pointed at one of the black and gold armored knight.
"Brotherhood?" Saber asked as she watch the knights in black skillfully destroy all in their way while the knights in white rode down the greenskins in disciplined formations.
"Aye, the Brotherhood of the Horse, Stormwind's most elite fighting force," Gerald said proudly. "The strongest in the world!" he bragged as he waved to the black armored rider.
Saber had to admit, they were well armed, efficient, and brutal. The greenskins fell to them with such ease from their battle tactics. They were elite, almost as good as her knights of the round table. It was then that one of the cavalry caught sight of her and galloped at a dead speed toward her.
Saber watched as the Brotherhood Knight stopped his steed right in front of her and dismounted. He seemed to be searching her with his eyes as he towered over her. So it was to her shock when he took off his helmet that she recognized his face.
Long dark hair framing a handsome rugged face smiling at her with that arrogant smile of his. Her one time best friend, her one time enemy. "Lancelot?" Saber asked in disbelief.
Eyes shining in merriment, he smiled at her. "At your service, my King," Lancelot pledged with a deep, respectful bow.
TBC.
A/N: It doesn't matter here as it has been updated! Those who actually read it before already know where I stand. :D
This is written for fun and for those that like it, cool, for those that don't I am sorry. Also, one might ask how Saber will get into the proper WC world? Three words, Time Travel Bullshit. :D
As always C+C appreciate, Reviews welcome.