Chapter 1
Rin craned her neck and pressed her forehead against the cool double paned glass of the small window, her eyes flicking to and fro with nervous intensity as she studied the earth below. Her seats were in first class; obviously, nobody of her pride, bearing, and lineage would stoop to flying coach; and so her view was unimpeded by the massive tapered wedge of the airplane's wing. The ground was a topographical patchwork of fields and forests that gave way rapidly to concrete and asphalt. Buildings grew to tall spires wreathed with glittering traffic and beyond that stretched the deep blue expanse of the Baltic sea.
Because she was coming from a layover in Madrid she was approaching her destination from over land, a direct flight from Japan would have her approaching from the opposite direction. The contrast of the bleached white city against the backdrop of the dark water was jarring and beautiful when viewed from the air. Skyscrapers of glass and stone broke the profile into a jagged and haphazard pile with spindly fingers extending out over the water along the coast. The flecks of fishing boats could be seen on the water, resolving from specks to vessels as the aircraft drew closer. She was still too far away to be able to make out individuals Rin but could see crowds moving through the streets, people milling about on their daily errands unaware of the cosmic magical event that was about to rock their fair city like a meteor strike.
Rin felt like she had been training for this moment her entire life. The chosen daughter of the Tohsaka family, she had always been isolated by the expectations placed on her. A lonely childhood spent training under the strict tutelage of her father had only reinforced that isolation. Always she had been taught to put her magecraft and the future of the Tohsaka family ahead of herself. Hers was a life of duty, of sacrifice.
A hot flash of pride and ambition rose in her breast as she remembered all her training, all her trials, all the sacrifices she had made to be here. To follow in her father's footsteps. And now she had been vindicated. She alone had been selected from all the other magi in her bloodline to represent House Tohsaka in the Grail War. She had been found the most worthy, the smartest, the most powerful. And she expected to win. Rin knew what she had to do. She would summon Saber, the greatest of all the servants, and defeat each and every opponent with the same single minded determination that she had applied to every other facet of her life.
The beauty of the city was lost to Rin as the airplane landed and taxied. Her mind was too preoccupied with musings and strategies. Traditionally the Heaven's Feel was held on the Tohsaka's traditional holdings in Fuyuki City, their fiefdom since ancient times. Why was the grail war being held here, now, in Valencia, Spain? Someone very high up in the Mage's Association had to be pulling the strings. But for what purpose? Fuyuki was a veritable hotbed of magical ley lines, a convergence of mystical energies. The perfect place for a conflict like the War. Why change the location now, after so long? What had happened in the last Grail War that made research on the subject so impossible?
Rin's thoughts balked as they turned to the last Grail War. It had been 17 years ago when she was only six. She had been too young at the time to understand what had happened and, for some reason, all of her research in the intervening years had turned up nothing. The events of the fourth Grail War were a more closely guarded secret within the Mage's Association than the existence of the Association itself to the outside world. All she knew was that her father had lost his life, killed like a dog by some upstart magus who had not even had the strength to claim the Grail when the dust settled. The thought brought bile to her mouth.
The distinctive ding of the seatbelt sign turning off and the general hustle and bustle as the passengers around her began to disembark broke Rin from her dark musings. She pulled her carry on from the overhead compartment and made her way from the plane to the terminal. Most of her bags had been checked. She had no idea how long she would be staying in Valencia and so she had packed heavy, anticipating every eventuality. But the most important cargo she carried with her in a briefcase, a collection of enchanted gemstones that were her key to winning the Grail War. Straightening her dark traveling suit and tucking her briefcase jealously under one arm, she made her way down the short telescoping causeway and into the terminal at large.
To her great surprise there was someone waiting for her next to the disembarkation line. He was wearing a dark chauffer's uniform but there were several glaring incongruities with his general appearance and demeanor that immediately aroused Rin's suspicions. He wasn't all that old, perhaps a year or two older than Rin herself, and he seemed quite unlike any other servant, chauffer or butler that Rin had ever encountered. The Tohsaka family serving staff had a sort of demure but regal deference, men and women who served more out of duty to the family than for any compensation. Other hired help all seemed to have varying degrees of subtle sullen impatience, wage earners who were polite but just wanted to finish with their work and take their leisure.
This man was holding a hastily stenciled sign that said Tohsaka. His clothing was the nondescript black uniform of a driver or chauffer. His hair, cropped short under a black cap with a shiny brim, was an odd shade of light brown or red, almost orange. He stood with neither the indifferent slouch of the wage slave nor the formal rigidity of the professional. Instead he stood with feet apart, back straight, and head high. Everything about him spoke of motion and action; as if he were ready to burst into a sprint at any moment and it would be the most natural occurrence in the world. Somehow his stillness suggested more energy and speed than the slouched and jerky motions of the crowd that milled around him. Rin had to double check to be sure that he was not smiling. Altho his mouth was flat something about his features suggested a grin. Perhaps it was his eyes, something about the way that he scanned the crowd that made it seem as if he were about to burst into laughter. For an instant, irrationally, Rin felt herself hoping that he would.
But then the moment passed and Rin came back to herself. He was just a chauffer. She was Tohsaka Rin, heir to the Tohsaka bloodline, and she would not waste time staring at a rube. Resolutely she marched across the concourse towards him.
"I am Tohsaka Rin." She informed him curtly in Spanish. She had been studying the language since she learned the location of the Grail War and, like any academic subject that she chose to bend to her will, she now had a more than passable command of the language.
"Who sent you to wait for me?" She demanded with the air of someone polling a wristwatch for the time, an owner asking property for a trivial snippet of information.
Being both Japanese and a woman she found herself about level with his breastbone and she looked up at him. He was very tall. Still, Rin had always been a Japanese woman and she had a great deal of experience in that particular state of being. Even from her lower vantage point she gave the distinct impression that she was staring down her nose at him. She gave everybody that impression. Whether it was the inherent haughtiness of the Tohsaka bloodline or Rin's particular brand of fiery intensity had never really been clear to her. The one thing she new was that every time she had held someone to the exacting standards to which she held herself they had come up short.
"Miss Tohsaka? I've been sent by the Von Einzbern estate to drive you from the airport, ma'am." He replied. His words were polite but he spoke with an atrocious accent and something else, some twang or dialect that Rin couldn't quite pin down. Spanish was obviously not his first language and he was obviously not a native of Valencia.
Despite the rough delivery his words surprised Rin. True, she had been planning to stay at a friend's house. She had made the acquaintance if Ilya von Einzbern during the latter's first year as an understudy Mage at the Clocktower. Rin had been something of a mentor to the precocious youngster and was more than a little fond of her. She had obtained permission to stay at the Von Einzbern estate during the war but she had been under the impression that the place would be empty. Who was staying there? And who but Ilya would know of her arrival in Valencia? Could this new development have something to do with the changed location of the War itself? The Tohsaka and Von Einzbern families had long been allies but Rin certainly didn't trust anyone from the family besides Ilya.
She covered her shock with her usual defense mechanism, an icy outward demeanor and an instant attempt to take control of the conversation.
"Very well." She said, not betraying how surprised she was. "Follow me to the baggage claim. You can pick up my bags and then we'll be on our way."
The driver nodded and fell into step behind her as she marched off, her thoughts roiling. She quickly recalculated her plans and decided to go with him, cautiously, always ready to unleash devastating magic and escape if any foul play was forthcoming.
Rin stood off to the side as he picked up her bags, tucking the smaller one under one arm and then holding the two others by the handles. She almost told him to get a cart but refrained when she saw that he was handling the load without visible strain. He must be uncommonly strong, and Rin resolved to watch him even more carefully.
Rin continued to scheme as she followed him to his car. She watched with the same air of demanding scrutiny that she applied to every aspect of her life as he loaded her baggage into the trunk and then opened one of the rear doors for her. On a hunch she turned to him before ducking into the dark sedan.
"Thank you." She said in English.
"Why, you're welcome, ma'am." He replied in the same language.
He hadn't noticed her subtle play and that told her something about him. She was also able to place the mysterious twang to his words. In English he had what Rin had come to think of from movies as the 'cowboy accent'. Apparently he was an American and originating somewhere in the region of Texas. All of Rin's senses were in overdrive and her mind was filled with cautious misgivings as they began to drive towards their destination. Rin didn't know what the Grail War held for her but the recent developments had put her on the defensive. And Rin hated not having the upper hand.