A Samurai's Pledge

A/N: And another chapter is up!

I've tried to keep everyone as close as possible to their characters in the anime though I'm sure there will be a few OOC moments. Comments and reviews are much appreciated. Enjoy!

For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:

trumm12345 – Thanks for the review! ^^ Fear not, things between Signum and Shamal will not always be this dark and depressing. As much as I like to tease you readers at times, I'm not that mean. XD As for Fate and Nanoha, you'll just have to wait and see. What I can tell you is that some familiar faces will be showing up at the end of the story making an interesting twist. Hehe.

Guest – Thanks for the comment! Here's the next chapter for you. :) For a posting schedule of my stories, check out my profile. ^^

Sammie-chan89 – Thanks for the reviews! Things are a bit rough for Signum and Shamal, but I have faith that things will work out in the end. :P

love thus story – Thanks for the review. ^^ Hehe, I can be so evil, I know. XD While Nanoha and Fate will be getting more involved, so to speak, the main focus is still on Signum and Shamal, so you probably won't see what they're doing too much in the background. Don't worry, I haven't written them out of the story. ;)

Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.

*** ~ Chapter 10: Ripping at the Seams ~ ***

Agito hovered in front of Shamal's bedroom door. A small fist raised to the door, but the tiny fire sprite hesitated. Biting her lip after a few seconds of indecision, Agito pulled back her fist to knock, only for her knuckles to stop just short of making contact with the wooded surface. Agito lowered her fist.

She couldn't do it.

Not when she could clearly hear Shamal crying on the other side of the door.

~ Yesterday ~

It had been three days since Signum awoke, the samurai captain still recovering from her horrific injuries. Even with Shamal's healing magics, the samurai was confined to bed, her bandages changed every few hours. Agito didn't know why, but for some reason, the pinkette's wounds were not healing as fast as they should be. Levantine was still in pieces as well, something which no doubt added to Signum's already dark mood.

"But Master-"

"I told you to never mention that name again, Agito-san."

Agito frowned, her lips pursing as she sought out Signum's gaze. The samurai wouldn't look at her. Signum currently sat upright in bed, thanks to the assistance of one of Shamal's Deshi. But as quick as the man came, Shamal's Deshi left soon after. Lunch had been prepared and left on a tray next to Signum's bed.

The fire sprite hadn't seen the blonde head healer since Signum awoke. Since informing them all of Signum's awakening, only Shamal's Deshi came this close to the swordswoman, and only for brief moments of time. It was as if an invisible barrier had been put up around Signum's room, preventing her from visiting. Or perhaps, it wasn't so much a spell, but a person.

"Master," Agito tried again. "I don't understand. What has happened between you two that she now deserves your ire?"

Signum gritted her teeth, a fist clenching a clump of blanket on her lap. "That is none of your concern," she grunted after a long few heavy seconds.

"Master-"

"What happens between me and others is not your affair!" Signum exclaimed. "Speak nothing further of this, lest I banish you too!"

~ Present ~

Agito hung her head in shame, vowing to come back at another time. A time when perhaps her heart didn't feel so heavy. With deep reluctance, the fire sprite turned around and left.

On the other side of Shamal's bedroom door, the blonde healer sat in the middle of her bed and wept. Knees were pulled up to her chest, her arms hugging her legs as her face was buried in her knees. Her room was pitch black, the drapes blocking out the light of the stars.

It had been days since Shamal last saw Signum. After their spat, the healer couldn't bring herself to face the samurai anymore. So instead, she sent her Deshi to the pinkette, ensuring the swordswoman's recovery wouldn't be hindered by her presence. But the distance between them, was tearing at her heart.

It hurt.

It hurt so much to know Signum hated her.

It hurt so much to know that she caused Signum pain.

So wrapped up in her sorrow, Shamal failed to notice the opening of her bedroom balcony doors, and the pulling aside of curtains. It wasn't until a hand rested on her shoulder did the blonde healer jerk her head up to see she wasn't alone.

"V-Victoria..."

"Cousin."

SMACK!

Victoria's head whipped to the side, the other blonde stumbling backwards, holding her cheek. She blinked a few times to clear the stars hazing her vision, but the moment they faded, wires were already coiling around her body. One hard shove sent Victoria tumbling backwards into the wall back first, just barely managing to stay on her feet.

"How could you? How could you!" Shamal roared, rushing up to her prone cousin and grabbing her tightly by the collar of her shirt. "To Signum... you... you almost..."

Shamal struggled to breathe, tears clouding her vision again. Soon a sob escaped her lips, Shamal weakly leaning forward, her head resting against her cousin's shoulder. "You almost killed her..."

Almost? An amber coloured eye narrowed a fraction.

"I'm sorry, Cousin," Victoria said after a few seconds. "Everything happened so fast and I... I didn't have a chance to explain myself."

"Where were you!?" Shamal demanded, gathering up the last of her strength to look her cousin in the eye. "After all of this time, where were you!?"

Victoria looked away. "I was hiding," she admitted. In the darkness of Shamal's room, it was hard to make out Victoria's expression.

"Why?"

Silence.

"I was ashamed," the other blonde said finally. "When I saw her face, I just... I was so scared she was going to take you away from me like everything else."

The grip on Victoria's collar loosened a bit.

"Victoria? What do you mean?"

Victoria reluctantly met Shamal's gaze. She swallowed uncomfortably. "I didn't want her to hurt you... trying to get to me."

"I don't understand." Klarer Wind's wires retracted.

"That woman, that Signum-san you spoke of, was the same one who took my eye," Victoria said.

Shamal couldn't stop the gasp which escaped her lips. She took a step backwards in disbelief.

"Not only that," Victoria continued. "She killed the rest of our family, and nearly killed me too, years ago."

Shamal was shaking. This couldn't be true. What her cousin was saying couldn't be right. Signum was not a murderer. She wasn't-

"Some travelling merchants found me, near death, and nursed me back to health," Victoria pushed on. "And when I awoke next, I couldn't remember what happened before that. It took me years to remember who I was and who my family was. And when I did, I thought I was the only one left."

Victoria wrapped her arms around Shamal's shocked shoulders and pulled her close for a hug. "But then I found out you had survived, and came to find you as soon as I could."

"Why..." Shamal could barely breathe. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because it was in the past," Victoria said, resting her cheek against the side of Shamal's head. She stroking Shamal's hair. "And you were okay. I didn't want to worry you with that. But then I saw her, and everything, everything just came back. I got so scared that she'd come back to finish me off, to finish you off to get to me. And I lost it."

Victoria hugged Shamal tighter, burying her face in the crook of the other blonde's neck. "I couldn't," she said, her voice muffled. "I couldn't lose you. Not again. I couldn't."

"V-Victoria..."

Shamal was speechless. Of all the things it could have been, she never thought it would be this. As much as she wanted to refute her cousin's claim, what her cousin was saying, it occurred to Shamal that she really didn't know much about Signum's past outside of being Hayate's Wolkenritterand keigo. She'd never asked the samurai about her origins, hoping that Signum would one day feel comfortable enough with her to reveal it on her own. But Signum never did.

"Come with me," Victoria said.

"W-what?"

"Let's leave this place," Victoria said, pulling back to look at her cousin in the face. "Let's get as far away from here as possible. Travel the world."

"Victoria..."

"I promise I'll keep you safe from that woman. I won't let her hurt you."

"But-"

"You're the only family I have left, Shamal," Victoria said, cupping Shamal's cheeks with her hands. "I don't want to lose you again." Victoria leaned in to kiss Shamal on the forehead.

Moonlight glimmered into the room through the open balcony doors now, Shamal finally able to see the sorrowful expression on her cousin's face. It was... heartbreaking.

"I..." Shamal looked away, torn. "I... need more time to think about this."

Victoria was relieved, pulling Shamal in for yet another hug again. "Alright," she said. Her chin rested on top of Shamal's head. Shamal's cheek pressed against Victoria's collarbone.

"I'll wait for another few days for your answer."

The Empress' head healer would never see that malicious grin stretched across her cousin's face.

A/N: For those of you unfamiliar with the non-English words, I have translated them below.

Deshi = Apprentice/Pupil

Keigo = Body Guard

Wolkenritter = Cloud Knights (German)

For an explanation of Japanese honorifics (eg. [name]-sama), please check out: wiki/Japanese_honorifics