Chapter 14: Royal Tea Time
"Do you understand, Sirius?"
After explaining very thoroughly that I wasn't going to punish her in any conceivable way, Sirius and I managed to reach an understanding and recover some kind of human, or in her case non-human, decency.
"Yes, my honorable Master, however, I believe that pardoning me this easily will set a bad example for the rest of the maids; that's why I still think that I should be punished for my actions." She said, soundly completely serious.
"…"
I facepalmed. Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. It was never easy with these maids.
"I'll think of something later." I tried to reach a compromise."So can we leave it at that for now?"
"Understood." Sirius looked resigned but finally accepted.
I sighed deeply.
"Did you beat the other one?" I asked Warspite as I stood up and helped Sirius to do the same.
"I wounded her." She answered; a tired expression occupied her face. "In fact, she might just bleed out completely while you two fool around." Warspite eyes judged us; we must have looked like a pair of perverts to her. And frankly, I couldn't blame her.
"Say it sooner, then." I quickly walked past her and approached the other maid, who was still kneeling on the floor with both hands on her head. As Warspite said, she had a big wound that went through her chest to her stomach.
"Your Majesty…your Majesty…" However, she seemed more mentally affected than physically; hearing Elizabeth's voice really did a number on her.
"Hey, are you alright?" I kneeled down to her level as I prepared to use healing magecraft.
"I'll be useful, so please don't abandon me." She was in a trance; it didn't seem like she had noticed my presence.
Oh well.
"Excuse me." I put my right hand on her chest, trying my best not to touch her frankly ample breasts, and started reciting the healing spell.
At that moment, I again noticed the hole in her clothes; it showed a direct view of the lower side of her boobs, and I, for the love of God, couldn't understand why it was there. It wasn't like it was torn; the fabric clearly ended there. Her clothes were designed with that hole in mind.
I had some theories about the possible uses of that hole, but I did my best not to think about it and focus on healing her.
As with the rest of magecraft areas, healing wasn't my forte. The spell I was using was only a modified version of the one engraved in my old Chaldea uniform; it only worked as a replacement for first aid; it wouldn't wholly heal such a big wound. Still, it should stop the bleeding at least.
Or that's what I thought. But when the green light on my hand entered in contact with the maid, the wound began to close itself and rather quickly on top of it.
"…?"
I was honestly a bit confused; I could swear my healing was as mediocre as the rest of my abilities. Maybe it was more effective on her, or rather on her species, for some reason?
While I was asking myself that, I noticed that Dido stopped her mumbling about the Queen and was now looking at me with an expression I could only describe as a mixture of fear and confusion.
"Who…who are you?"
I felt a sense of déjà vu.
"I…" But when I was about to answer and possibly start another round of tomfoolery like with Sirius before, I suddenly felt dizzy, and my vision began to blur. I had to put a hand on the ground to avoid falling.
"Are you alright?" Dido must have noticed my state because she now sounded worried.
"I am fine, just…." I was losing my focus; the light of the healing spell began to waver as it started to lose force. The colors were slowly disappearing from my sight.
Ah, I see what's happening.
"Dido, can I ask for a favor?" I no longer saw her. Even though my eyes were open, I could only see small figures disappearing in the darkness.
"Eh?"
"Hold me for a bit."
After that, everything went dark, and I lost consciousness.
"Ahhh….ahhh….I….." I breathed deeply, searching for air to fill my lungs again. I was exhausted; my whole body was covered in sweat. However, this time was a success. "I…I think have done it!" I presented the sword to Emiya. Glowing green lines had appeared on it.
Emiya took the short sword and carefully examined the blade and the hilt. Then, he made a few test swings in the air.
"What do you think?"
"Sorry, Master. Another failure."
"What!?" I couldn't contain my surprise. "But it's glowing! It's just like you showed me! What you mean it's a-" I stopped because he suddenly moved the sword.
And stabbed me in the stomach.
"Wha-!?" My eyes immediately moved toward my stomach, only to find that I was not only safe and sound but that the sword I had reinforced was broken.
"When the reinforcement spell fails, the object you were trying to strength weakens instead." He handed me the broken sword. "Adding your magical energy to a complete object is usually harmful to it; if you don't control it well, the object will receive it as poison."
I took the sword and touched its broken blade. Surprisingly enough, it broke even more as I ran my finger on it.
I sighed deeply.
"Haa…maybe I am not cut for this magecraft thing after all." I collapsed on the floor, feeling disappointed in myself. "Sorry for wasting your time, Emiya."
"Are you giving up, Master?" If Emiya himself felt disappointed, it didn't show in his voice. In fact, I could almost feel a taunting tone in his tone.
"Well, I have my mystic code with me already; I won't go on a rayshift without it." I spoke words that only served to convince myself. "Besides, you are all there for me, right? I don't actually need to learn magecraft, do I?"
"Oh? But tell me, are you satisfied with that Master? Are you satisfied with always being protected?"
"I…" I lowered my gaze. "I am not, but….it doesn't matter. Even if I learn how to use reinforcement…Will that truly make the difference with the things out there?"
Being a Magus made no difference when a Servant could snipe me from kilometers away or if the assassin is undetectable until its dagger was on my throat.
"Hmm…maybe it would buy you three or four more seconds?"
"Then…"
"However." He smiled and laughed a bit. "That's enough time for us to act, Master."
"Eh?"
"A magus alone would never survive this ordeal, but you have us, Master. You don't need to be able to do everything by yourself. As long as you can support yourself with your magecraft long enough to let us act, something as mundane as a reinforced poster can make the difference between life and death."
"A…reinforced poster?" I didn't understand what he meant.
"What I am trying to say is that no matter how grim the situation may be, as long as you keep trying, you have a chance, if only minimal, but a chance in the end.'" He extended his hand, and a sword exactly like the one I had broken appeared in his hand. "It's the moment you stop trying when everything it's over."He took the sword by the blade and extended it to me.
I looked at Emiya; his gaze mocked me as if challenging me and saying "Will you give up already? I expected more from you."
"…I am going to reinforce this sword so well that it will cut through metal like it was butter." I stood up and took the sword, finding my resolve again.
"Hah, we'll see that." Emiya smiled with defiance.
The moment I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on a bed, the ceiling above my head looking vaguely familiar. However, I didn't have time to think about it because I felt an aching pain assaulting my entire body when I moved a muscle; the pain was extreme in my limbs.
It felt like I had been hit by a truck, and not content with that, stakes had been nailed into each of my arms and legs.
In other words, I felt like shit.
"Arrrgh." I sat on the bed with difficulty and looked at my surroundings. I was in the room that was assigned to me by the Queen, and most importantly, I was not alone.
"Dido...?"
The maid was sat on a chair next to my bed; her eyes were closed as she appeared to be sleeping. Her head slowly bounced towards the front, being dangerously close to make her fall.
"What are you doing here…? What…happened?" I tried to remember, but my memories were fuzzy.
While I did my best to recall the events that led to this situation, the room's door was opened, and someone walked in.
"Oh? You have finally awakened, my honorable Master."
"Sirius…what happened? Why am I in bed?"
"Don't you remember? You blacked out after our fight; you have been sleeping since then, my honorable Master. We brought you here so you could rest."
"Huh…is that so?" I brought my hand to my head and massaged my temples. "How many hours…?"
"Fourteen."
"Fourteen!?"
"You seemed to have severely overexerted yourself." For a second, Sirius diverted her gaze. "Even her Majesty was worried that you would never wake up again; it was difficult to make her understand that you were just unconscious."
"Ahhh…that long…" I held my head in my hands.
I knew it; this was the consequence of overusing my magical energy. I had been using reinforcement magecraft almost nonstop from the moment we beat Marcia's soldiers. Something like this was bound to happen; my energy reserves weren't exactly that large after all.
But fourteen hours were too much; I should be careful from now on.
"Wait, what happened with Belfast and the rest?" I suddenly remembered. "They went to fight the Sirens and-! "
"Don't worry, they are safe." Sirius quickly reassured me. "They returned a few hours ago, thankfully with only a few scratches. However, the leader of the Sirens managed to get away."
"Ah…good." I felt relieved at first, but a sudden thought was born in my mind. Why was I so worried in the first place? Had I really got that attached to them in this short time, even when we weren't precisely allies?
"…"
"This wasn't like in Chaldea. I was their Master in name only." I reminded myself. "My true objective was stopping Elizabeth, and if the maids get in the way, stopping them too..."
Frankly, now that I have come to know them, I would preferably not harm any of them. They weren't exactly bad people, just difficult to deal with. Even Sheffield, who had tried to kill me, could have some laid-back conversation with me now.
But if they continued following Elizabeth's plan, I wouldn't have another choice to face them as an enemy.
"…" As my eyes wandered in the room, they found the sleeping figure of Dido again.
"By the way, why is Dido sleeping here?"
"I told her that she could rest for a while, but she insisted on remaining by your side all this time, my honorable Master."
"All this time...?" I stared at the sleeping figure of the maid, to be here for fourteen hours...I couldn't help but to be impressed.
"She wanted to thank you for what you did back then." Sirius tided her head. "I am not sure what that green light was, but her wounds got almost completely heal."
"Ah, yes, that's one of my…abilities; I was trying to heal her." I looked at my right hand. "I didn't manage to finish, though." And that's probably what exhausted my magical reserves. How pathetic. "How is she? Did the wound close itself successfully? Was the scar too big? I can probably heal her wound completely once I get better."
Sirius didn't answer and just stared at me without saying anything.
"Sirius?"
"I am truly sorry, my honorable Master." She bowed deeply. "Despite what we did to you, you still care about us lowly maids; we don't deserve your compassion."
I sighed.
"…I won't lie: I wasn't meant to fight you." I confessed. "As my title indicates, I am supposed to be a Commander, not a frontline fighter. I could have lost my life back there."
I could immediately notice how she trembled at my words. She really was remorseful.
"However, from what I could tell, you weren't yourself when you attacked Warpite and me." I tried my best to reassure her. "And even if we got a bit hurt, no one died in the end, right?" I remembered how even while in that trance, they knocked out the soldiers rather than killing them. "So it's fine; what matters is that you returned to normal."
"Pardon me, but it's not fine." She raised her head, looking completely serious. "It doesn't matter that I wasn't myself." Sirius slowly approached and…started climbing the bed. "That doesn't change the fact that I hurt my honorable Master."
"Hmm…Sirius?" I didn't like where this was going.
"That's why you should punish this naughty maid, who dared to raise her hand against her Master." She crawled on the bed until being on top of me.
"Sirius, this is…" I tried to say.
"Do you dislike it, my honorable Master? In that case, I'll apologize and stop immediately." She looked at me straight in the eyes, her red-tinted ones showing no trace of doubt.
Before such gaze, I was speechless.
She must have interpreted my silence as a yes, because she sat on my lap and moved even closer to me, putting her hands around me and shoving her face inches from mine.
"I'll accept any punishment; you can do whatever you want with me, my honorable Master."
I probably could shake her off if I tried, but I couldn't take my eyes off her being. She was beautiful. The previous unemotional red eyes who stared coldly at me during our fight now seemed to shine with a crimson passion. Her ample bosom slowly pressed against my own chest, letting me feel its godly softness, her lips, centimeters away from mine, slowly parted away as she spoke.
"Will that be fine, my honorable Master?"
However, she stopped there; she didn't impose herself aside from acting seductively. She…actually wanted me to make the first move; she wanted me to say that it was okay for us to continue.
And frankly, it was difficult for me to say no.
"We've just met; we don't know each other." I tried to think of excuses, doing my best to not see her directly but failing spectacularly.
"You are my honorable Master, chosen by the Queen herself. As a royal maid, I swore to give both my body and my heart to you."
"That doesn't mean anything. You may find something that you don't like about me in the future. You may even hate me."
"I would never." She declared seriously. "As long as you allow it, I will remain by your side, even if the whole world turns against you, my honorable Master."
To be declared such a thing made me skip a beat, and she said it with such conviction that I couldn't just disregard it. Had she fallen in love with me? No, that was impossible; people didn't suddenly fall in love with someone they just met, much less with people they had a fight with. Love was different. Love was something else, something that was built slowly as two people interacted and got to know each other. It was a sentiment born from the desire of never being apart from that person, the person you loved.
Love was…
"Hmm…are you…ready?" I said, trying not to look her in the eyes.
"I…." Mashu stuttered, also evading my gaze. "I am."
"Then…if excuse me." I brought my hand to her reddened cheek, it felt so soft that I almost forgot what I was trying to do, and remained motionless for a few seconds.
Mashu must have noticed my state of daze, because she finally looked at me, with waiting eyes.
"Ah…maybe you want to take your glasses off? I don't want to… accidentally break them or something…" I brought my hand to the back of my head in embarrassment. What the hell was I saying? Was I really that stupid?
"Yes...! Better to be sure…" She slowly put her glasses away while I wondered if my breath didn't stink. Had I used toothpaste this morning? I couldn't remember, but I wished I did.
"Senpai…?" Mashu's eyes now looked at me unrestricted. The glasses looked good on her violet eyes, but she gave a different feeling without them.
She always wore her glasses while we were in Chaldea, at peace, but they were always off while we ventured into the singularities; there, her peaceful gaze turned into determined one, the look of someone ready to fight for what she believed and protect those she cared about.
And even that decisive gaze still retained the innocence of a child, one that always brightened up the moment she discovered something new.
Maybe it was that gaze in her eyes that made me fall in love with her.
"Mashu…" I slowly moved closer to her.
She didn't say anything; she just closed her eyes and awaited my move.
And when our lips finally touched, I felt everything leaving me. Nothing mattered anymore, no Solomon, Chaldea, or Humanity, only she and I mattered.
Me and the person I loved the most.
Those memories…I remembered them as clear as day, it was like they had just happened instead of being years away. Those memories didn't leave me in all that time and I didn't think I could ever forget about them. Because whenever I closed my eyes, I could still see her, smiling and laughing.
I was happy back then, we were happy.
But those moments, however beautiful, would never come to happen again. That was the undeniable truth.
"Are you truly alright with this?" I stared directly into Sirius's eyes as I asked.
"Yes, my honora-"
I didn't let her finish because my lips meet hers in a passionate kiss. She soon understood my intent and opened her mouth to allow my tongue inside. Her hands hugged strongly as if she was afraid I would pull back, and I did the same; I didn't want to separate from her for even a second.
This wasn't love. It was obviously not love…but it didn't have to be love.
Her lips and mouth were warm, enough to almost melt my tongue; her intoxicating essence reached my nostrils and assaulted my brain. She invaded me completely; there was no other thought in mind that wasn't the taste of her lips, the softness of her body.
I wanted her; I desperately wanted her.
However, that hypnotizing spell came to an end as we had to reach for air and our lips separated. Our ragged breaths resounded in the silence of the room; we stared hungrily at each other, our foreheads touching.
"Dido is here." I said, my rational part made a last effort to stop us before we could indulge in debauchery.
"I will try to hold my voice, my honorable Master." She kissed me again with a light kiss and then moved to my neck, planting small kisses while slowly going downwards.
This was not bad at all.
If she wanted it, then who was I to reject it? Truth be told, I wanted it as well.
We had no reason to stop.
While she continued kissing, I moved my hands towards the back of her uniform, and I could feel with my digits the fabric of her clothes as I started to undress her. However, before I could actually work my way through her clothes, I noticed that Dido was no longer sleeping. In fact, she was watching us with the expression of a terrified child while hiding half her face with what I presumed was an old doll.
And at that exact moment, I realized what exactly we were doing.
"…Sirius, let's stop." I said, and I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice. "This…this is not the time for this."
"Huh?" She looked at me with surprise. I made a gesture pointing at Dido. She quickly looked at her, then back at me. After that, she silently un-mounted me, and got up from the bed.
"My honorable Master, I am aware that Dido wanted to speak with you, so I'll be leaving to let you have your privacy." She said professionally as if nothing had happened. "In the meantime, I am going to inform her Majesty that you have awakened."
"…Thanks, Sirius."
She nodded, made a small reverence, and exited the room.
The moment she disappeared from my sight, I sank my face in my hands once again. I wanted to scream for my idiocy, but I was in front of Dido, one of the beings I was supposed to command, so I did the impossible to restrain myself.
"Sorry for that…it…it is not always like this." I did my best to apologize. "I was…. I was just…" I failed to find a logical reason for us to start having sex in front of her, maybe because there was none.
"No… I…." She stuttered. "I-I understand!"
"Huh?" There was nothing to understand, I was just an idiot.
"What Sirius said…it's the truth." She lowered her gaze. "We hurt you, Master, and that's unforgivable. You have every right to discard us…"
"As I said, it's…"
"So I understand! If it's necessary I too…" Dido blushed profoundly. "If you desire it, I too would…."
"…"
What the fuck.
What are these beings? Are they actually all like this? Or am I just going crazy? No….maybe it's a tricky tactic? They want to appeal to my carnal desire, so I remain with them? Is that what's happening? Truth to be told, I had a fair amount of this type of encounters in Chaldea, but most of them were just my Servants teasing me, they weren't this…openly lustful with me; even Kiara in all her lewdness never offered herself in such direct way.
"M-Master?" Dido's voice sounded tense; maybe she thought I was ignoring her on purpose.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought." I tried to erase those thoughts from my head. "And again, sorry for giving you the wrong impression, but I don't have…that type of relationship with the maids; you don't have to offer yourself in this way."
"But…! I want to be useful!" Dido suddenly took my hand on hers. "I want to be useful, so you don't want to abandon me, Master!"
She really looked worried, even though I had made no sign of disliking her. Frankly, I was beginning to feel bad for her.
Maybe…she could help me.
"Alright." I have decided, if she really wanted to be useful, then I could think of something. "Do you really want to be useful to me, Dido?"
"Yes!" She nodded with conviction.
"And you would do anything I ask?"
"Anything." She lightly pressed my hand as if proving her point.
"Alright, I want you to remember that feeling."
"Huh?" She was reasonably confused.
"I'll be honest; I don't need anything right now, but maybe…" I tried to choose my words carefully. "Maybe there will be a time when I will; maybe there will be a time when I'll be surrounded by enemies." I stared directly at Dido. "If that time comes, I want you to be by my side, Dido."
"I'll always be by your side, Master! No matter what could happen I-"
"Even if the enemy is the Queen?" I interrupted her.
"Ah…? But…that's…" I could almost see turmoil going on her head. "That's..." She couldn't continue, it was clear that she couldn't fathom the idea of her Master and Her Queen being enemies. Knowing how worried she was about being "abandoned" by either of us, I could bet she felt incredibly lost.
"Don't worry; it's just a hypothetical situation." I tried to calm her. "You don't have to do anything, nor you have to choose between the Queen and me. Just remember this conversation, okay?"
"….Yes, Master." She said, probably not entirely convinced yet.
Hopefully, a time where Elizabeth and I were enemies would never come to happen. Still, it couldn't hurt to be prepared…to be prepared to neutralize her before she could willingly or unwillingly hurt the people of this country.
"The only thing I ask, however." I got up from the bed. "Is that you don't talk about this exchange with the others."
"Ah! Of course! This will be our secret!" She seemed to realize something and smiled "…a secret with Master."
"Good, now let's go meet-" I tried to walk toward the door, but a sudden pain in my muscles almost made me fall.
"Master!?" Dido came out of her trance the moment she saw that.
"I am fine." I put my hand on the wall to avoid falling. "Just…help me walk for a bit, okay? I am still a bit weak."
"Ah…sure!"
She quickly came and put my arm on her shoulder to help me stand up.
"Is this ok, Master? Does it hurt?"
"No, I am fine, I just need a bit of time; I'll be in top condition before you know it." I assured her. "Now, let's go meet the Queen. She must want to see me after my "nap."
"Alright, I'll be moving slowly to not hurt you. Is that okay?" For the first time, there was no nervousness in her voice, and I even could feel some cheerfulness. Could it be that she had finally found peace now that she was actually helping me to do something?
I smiled.
" I failed to introduce myself before. I am Fujimaru Ritsuka, Master of the Maid Corps. Hope we'll get along."
She looked at me, surprised for a second but ultimately smiled.
"Royal Maid, Dido. I'll hope to be of use, Master."
And so, we headed toward the throne room.
"Hmm?"
We got across a particular object on one side of the corridor.
"So it's still here." I looked at Lord Camelot leaning against a wall perfectly still, the same way I had left it when I fought Sirius.
"Sorry, Master!" Dido quickly apologized. "We tried to bring it to your room, but for some reason, we couldn't lift it! Forgive my uselessness!"
I see, so they also couldn't move it. Everyone that had tried to wield it had said it was impossibly heavy, even though I could lift it with a single arm.
I wondered; why did Lord Camelot only react to me that way? Was it because of her or…?
I extended my hand to grab it but stopped just before reaching it, as I remembered what I had done with Sirius.
Did I have the right to...?
….
...
...
"It's fine, Dido. Let's continue."
"…? Don't you want to bring it with you, Master?"
"I want to, but in my state, it will only hinder my movements." Even if it was light for me, it was still too big to just carry it on my person. "Besides, I don't need to use it now as I don't plan to fight with anyone."
At least not now.
We knocked on the door before entering and waited for a bit, as it was apparently the custom for meeting her.
"You can come in." Said a voice I recognized as Warspite's.
"Fujimaru!" Elizabeth greeted me the moment Dido and I entered the throne room. She was sat on her makeshift throne with Warspite standing at her side like always.
Sirius was also in the room, though she was a bit far from the two as if she purposely stood away to give me an uninterrupted view of the Queen and her knight.
"How are you feeling? You have been sleeping for quite a while." While Sirius had said that Elizabeth was worried about me, I couldn't notice anything like that on her.
"Not going to lie, I have been better." No use trying to appear stronger than I was, especially with Dido by my side. "Nothing that a good meal and some rest can't heal, though."
"As expected of my chosen knight! You are fine even after facing against one of our best maids." Elizabeth declared magnanimous."Don't you think he already proved himself, Warspite?"
Warspite looked at me for a bit.
"While I think your tactics were a bit unconventional, Ritsuka Fujimaru, I recognize that you led us to relatively safe victory, as both the maids and you only received minor injuries." Warspite's gaze turned fierce. "However, I am still not convinced that you can protect her Majesty as a Knight."
I narrowed my eyes. Was it just my imagination or Warspite was suddenly wary of me? Maybe she realized that I held no loyalty towards her Queen?
"It takes a lot of you being a Knight; it's not all about fighting strength; you also need the proper mindset." She began. "You need to be by her Majesty's side all the time, always thinking about what possible threats might exist around her and how to eliminate them. You can't forget to put her safely and only her safety first, and you should always…" Warspite seemed to be capable of going on and on.
…or maybe she was just preoccupied with me actually doing a good job as a Knight?
"Don't worry, Warspite." The Queen cut her off. "He'll soon have a chance to show what he is capable of." She turned towards Sirius. "Bring him a chair and call the rest of the maids. Now that the Commander is awake, we can finally start."
"Yes, your Majesty." Sirius bowed and walked towards the exit. It might have been my imagination, but I thought she shot me a glance before exiting the room.
"Start what, your Majesty?" I asked.
"Fufufu." She laughed with a knowing smirk. "The first Royal Navy Tea Party, of course! Now that the final battle is approaching, we must regain our strength and prepare for the final confrontation."
"Final…battle?"
"Yes, after this is over, we are going to assault the Admiral's base." She declared, losing all her previous cheerfulness. "And put an end to this conflict once for all."
In few minutes, I could see every maid coming and going from the room, bringing various things like chairs and tables. I tried to offer my help, but Elizabeth immediately shot me down with an "It's the maids' job," and sadly, my aching muscles agreed with her.
Anyway, it seemed like the preparations were finished in no time. The room had now a big round table with two chairs and the "throne" of Elizabeth around it, and another small table next to it with a tea set on top.
"Only three chairs…" I thought.
Warspite sat on one of the chairs while I brought my own, with Dido's help, to the table. That meant that Warspite, Elizabeth, and I were the only ones that were sitting while the maids remained standing behind us, Belfast and Sheffield on Elizabeth's side, Edinburg next to Warspite, and finally Dido and Sirius to my sides.
It bothered me a bit that all of them were standing when they could have easily fit at the table with a couple of more chairs. I guessed that they were just fulfilling their "role" as maids, never resting and always waiting for new orders, but it bothered me all the same.
"You can serve the tea, Bel." Elizabeth ordered.
Belfast wordlessly nodded, took a cup alongside its saucer from the small table, and placed them in front of the Queen.
"Here you have, Master." I heard from behind. It was Sheffield who placed my own cup on the table.
"Ah, Sheffield. How did-" I was about to ask her how did their encounter with the Sirens go before she suddenly approached my ear and whispered.
"I know who you are."
"Eh…?"
"Is something wrong, Sheffield?" Warspite asked, apparently noticing our little exchange.
"No, Lady Warspite, I was just indicating Master to refrain from small talk while we serve the tea."
"Hmm, alright." Warspite seemed content with that explanation.
I shot a confused look towards Sheffield, but she didn't look me back, opting for going back to that "waiting for orders" state of the rest of the maids.
What was that about?
"I apologize for the lack of refreshments," Belfast said, as she poured tea on Elizabeth's cup. "All the base's food is military rations, hardly a proper meal to serve alongside tea."
"It's alright, Bel." Elizabeth reassured her. "I am aware that we still lack a lot of things to call this a proper Royal Navy base, but that soon will change." She took the cup and observed how the brown liquid moved to form small waves. "Our next tea party is going to be in a place worthy of us."
"…"
So the time had come, they were going to attack. Was it because she wanted to retaliate after the Admiral's attack, or was that her plan all along?
"Allow me to serve you, Master." Said Belfast, who was now at my side.
"Ah, sure." I moved my cup closer to her, and she poured the light brown liquid on it. Honestly, I was not an expert on teas, so I had no idea which flavor it was, nor did I want to ask; the atmosphere just didn't call for such frivolous talk.
We were going to discuss war, after all.
"Now, is everything ready?" Elizabeth looked around the room. "Before we start, I would like to formally welcome our new maids, Dido and Sirius. I understand that you were mistreated during your stance with the Admiral, but rest easy, he will never lay a finger on you again."
"Thanks, you Majesty." Both said in almost scary synchrony and bowed.
"With that settled, it's an honor to inaugurate the first Royal Navy Tea party." She looked at her left, where her Knight was. "Warspite, would you mind telling us the main matter of discussion?"
"Yes, your Majesty." The knight stood up and started talking as if she was giving a speech. "As you surely have noticed, my fellow vassals, we have been under attack by two forces that seem to be acting independently. The Sirens led by what we think is a high-ranking Siren called Purifier, and a group of rogue humans that don't recognize the authority of Her Majesty the Queen, led by a man we identify with the military title of "Admiral." She looked at me first and then at the maids. "Thanks to the actions of our maids and recently appointed Commander, we have managed to defend ourselves; however, I think it's also time for us to make our move; the purpose of this meeting is to define our next course of actions as a unified faction." Once she was done, she neatly sat back on her seat.
"Well done, Warspite." The Queen closed her eyes and took a small sip of her cup. "And I absolutely agree with you, my friend; we have been far too passive during this conflict. Don't you think so too, Commander?"
Suddenly Elizabeth placed her eyes on me, indicating that it was my turn to speak as a Commander. I could felt the expectations on her stare; if I said the wrong thing, I would be immediately discharged and lose my position in this debate.
"What do you propose we do, your Majesty?" I refrained from accepting or denying that claim, opting for a safe approach.
"We have multiple enemies, Ritsuka, and the recent attacks made it clear that we lack the manpower to fight both the Sirens and the Admiral's force at the same time." She placed her cup on the table. "That's why it's time to bring the rest of the Royal Navy to this world."
"The rest…?"
"Most of our compatriots still lay dormant in the Wisdom Cubes." It was Warspite who answered me. "It's our duty to wake them up so they may fight at our side once again."
"And to do that, we need two things." Elizabeth raised two fingers. "The knowledge that the human posses to awaken the cubes, and the cubes themselves."
Wisdom Cubes? Was that the object used for their conception? They used the word "awaken" though, not creation. Did that mean that they already existed and we humans only woke them up? No, the specifics could wait. What was important was what they planned to do to get those things.
"So that's why you want to assault the Admiral's base. He is in possession of the Wisdom Cubes and the technology to use them."
"We don't actually know if he has them in the base, but using Dido and Sirius as an assault force suggests that he at least has access to them." Said Warspite.
"Whatever the case is, we can't allow anything like what happened with Sirius and Dido to happen again. The Admiral activities must be stopped." Elizabeth's gaze turned fierce. "That's why this will be your first mission as Commander of the Royal Navy, Ritsuka Fujimaru: You must assault the Admiral's base, stop him, and secure the location of the Wisdom Cubes."
"…"
That was the first direct order I received from Elizabeth. Her tone indicated no room for refusals; not only would my abilities be tested, but my loyalty also.
"Do we know where he is, though?" Once again, I didn't directly accept.
"A military base about an hour from here, Belfast has already been around its perimeter; as for the interior…" Elizabeth turned to Belfast, who nodded and walked towards the door.
When she opened it, a man I didn't recognize entered the room; he carried some kind of rolled-up sheet of paper.
"Your Majesty." He kneeled towards Elizabeth and presented her the sheet.
"Good work, soldier." She took it. "You have helped the Royal Navy a lot with your contribution."
"It's the least I could do after Her Majesty pardoned my crimes." The soldier didn't even raise his head as if he wasn't allowed to see Elizabeth directly.
Elizabeth opened the sheet on the table, revealing some sort of rudimentary map.
"Is this…?"
"Yes, a map of the Admiral's base, alongside the number of troops we can expect on each area." Even though it was obviously made in a hurry, the map was surprisingly detailed, showing the approximate area of each room, the entrances and exits, and the spots where the cameras were placed.
"Does that mean…?" I looked towards the man. "You are one of Admiral's men that came with Dido and Sirius?"
"Not anymore." He did raise his head to look at me, and I saw a big bruise occupying half his cheek. "I have seen the truth; I understand now who the true monarch of this country is." His eyes didn't show a trace of doubt.
"…!" I couldn't lie; that terrified me a bit. "What did you do…?" I looked at Elizabeth.
It was just like Johnson, this man who yesterday was a sworn enemy now had become a follower of Elizabeth. Just what had she done to create such a change in character…
"It's natural. The moment he saw me, he understood everything." Elizabeth smiled, her chest puffed. "All of them understood where their loyalty must reside."
"What…?" That answer made me speechless.
"Her Majesty didn't do anything, she just talked with them once we capture them, and they saw the truth." Warspite interceded. "Also, Fujimaru, remember to always address Her majesty with respect." She scolded me.
"…my apologizes, your Majesty." I swallowed my pride; that didn't matter at the moment. What Elizabeth described sounded a lot like brainwash, and that definitely wasn't normal.
I need some time alone with the soldiers to corroborate my suspicions, but things looked grim. Could it be that feeling I got from when she was trying to knight me wasn't just my imagination?
"It is fine as long as you understand." Elizabeth wasn't mad at all. "However, you still haven't given me an answer. We would provide you with the forces and the logistics you need, Commander, so will you accept this mission?"
She was sharper than I thought; she noticed that I have been evading the question.
"…"
Honestly, I didn't want to. Regardless of the Admiral methods, bringing more of these "weapons" to the world sounded like a bad idea. On the other hand, the Admiral also used them to attack us, so he isn't entirely innocent.
Which one was the lesser evil, I wondered.
"Have we exhausted the diplomatic channels? Maybe there is still a way to…" I tried to say.
"Ritsuka, her Majesty asked you a direct question." Warspite interrupted me fiercely. "Answer her."
Tch, no other way then.
"Alright, I accept." I finally answered her. "I will lead the assault toward the base. However, I have one condition."
"You are Her Majesty's vassal! You can't-" Warspite started but was quickly shut up by a movement of the Queen.
"Let him speak, Warspite."
"Thanks, your Majesty." I thanked her with a small nod. "Then, if I am to lead the assault, I want it to be on my terms. I'll get to decide how our forces will move and, most importantly, the use of lethal force or not."
"Rejected."
"Eh?"
"I don't have a problem with letting my chosen knight take command of our forces. However, you don't get to decide who lives and dies; that's my responsibility as the Queen." Elizabeth's voice was firm. She wasn't backing off.
"I won't tolerate senseless killing." I said plain and straightforward, disregarding completely the authority she was trying to impose. The only thing I couldn't accept was having even more blood on my hands.
"Fujimaru, know your place!"
"I agree with him, Warspite. In fact, I would be disappointed if he just wanted to storm the base while killing everyone on the path." Her voice turned soft for a minute. "Those people are as victims as us; they have been living under a false monarchy all these years…We can't just ignore them. It's our duty as the Royals to save them and guide them."
What she said could almost be mistaken by compassion if the core idea wasn't just plain wrong.
"That's why you can rest assure, Fujimaru Ritsuka!" Her voice adopted new energy that seemed to come out of nowhere." As long as I'm the Queen, none of the soldiers serving under the Admiral would be killed; only he would face punishment for his actions."
"Punishment? Will you…?"
"Yes, once we secure the location of the cubes, the Admiral, alongside the former Commander, would be executed."
Once the military matters were done, the atmosphere changed completely, and everyone seemed to forget all about it. Elizabeth went back to her child-like self and always complimented Belfast's tea, while the maid once again lamented not having a proper accompaniment for it, to which Edinburg happily added that they would be procuring ingredients once they could freely travel the surface.
Warspite also seemed to regress to a more cheerful mood and talked in great length about Dido's and Sirius' swordsmanship, pointing things about stances and different offensive approaches. They eventually ended promising a training spar in the near future.
In other words, the tea party stopped being a serious military meeting. It became an actual tea party where everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
Well, everyone except for Sheffield and me.
Frankly, I was with my back to the wall; I just couldn't think of a way out of this situation. If I led the attack, then not only would the amount of their kind increase, I would also be responsible for the death of at least two people. I had no love for Haydes or that Admiral, but what happened if they were just the first of many? What if the next thing she asked me to attack was the Parliament or the Buckingham Palace?
On the other hand, if I went against the Queen, I would be fighting the entire Royal Navy by myself. Maybe I could bring Sirius and Dido to my side with enough luck, but that was still three against five.
Both paths represented high risks.
And while I was debating between those two hard decisions, the other person who wasn't enjoying the party, Sheffield, was looking at me as if I had just murdered her entire family; I could swear she hadn't moved her eyes off me a single time since the party started.
I wondered how I could manage to always piss her off?
Anyway, I needed time to think, and I wasn't going to do it here.
"Well, this is a lovely party, but I am afraid I must take my leave," I said to Warspite and Elizabeth. "I need to rest to be ready for the assault, after all."
"Ah, is that so?" For some reason, Elizabeth looked a bit sad. "Dido, accompany Commander to his room."
"It's okay; I think I can walk without problems now."
"I must insist, Fujimaru." Elizabeth was quite stubborn today. "Dido, could you-"
"Your Majesty." An unexpected voice interrupted Elizabeth. "I would like to accompany Master myself if it's not a problem."
Elizabeth was speechless for a second as if she was stunned by the sudden eagerness of Sheffield. Meanwhile, Dido was looking between the two, unsure of what to do.
"Master wanted to know the details about our recent fight against the Sirens. I can brief him while we walk towards his room." Sheffield continued as if explaining her sudden outburst.
"Ah, I see." Elizabeth was content with that explanation, and I couldn't help but feel that she was easy to deceive. "In that case, you can go in Dido's place."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Sheffield took my arm by force and basically dragged me out of the room before I could say a single word.
Elizabeth looked as Ritsuka Fujimaru exited the room alongside Sheffield and couldn't help but feel defeated.
Why? Why hadn't she seen loyalty in his eyes yet?
Queen Elizabeth was no fool; she could recognize loyalty precisely because he was surrounded by loyal servants. She could see it in Warspite, her friend and right hand; she could see it in the maids that served her with everything they got; she could see it in humans that recognized her nature as the true monarch of the United Kingdom.
So why couldn't she see it in the man that was supposed to be her chosen knight, the man she personally chose to be the Commander of her forces.
Was she too uncompromising with him? No, in fact, she was actually too lenient. If any other of her vassals spoke to her with such disrespect, they would be forced to kneel on the ground until she decided it was enough.
It was not her fault; she was already the perfect Queen. But then, why hadn't he noticed yet? Why hadn't he seen her aptness and greatness as a Queen yet?
"Your Majesty?" A voice suddenly brought her back to reality.
"Ah…what it may be, Warspite?"
"No, it's nothing. It's just that your Majesty seemed preoccupied with something."
"Is that so…?" As expected of Warspite, she immediately could tell what was on her head. "But don't worry, nothing troubles me at this moment. I was merely thinking about the future."
"At long last, the final battle awaits…"
"Indeed." She actually wanted to ask her opinion about the apparent defiance of the commander. However, she couldn't possibly show doubt in front of the maids. After all, she was the Queen; it was her duty to always be "right"; she had to be the figure that guided them all, someone without fails that always took the best decision for their country. "But fear not because, with my guidance, we'll surely become victorious."
And maybe that was what she needed to gain Ritsuka's loyalty. To show him that as the Queen, she stood on top of everything.
And he would see it, once she expelled the false Queen and sit on the throne that belonged to her by birthright, as the true Queen of the United Kingdom
"Sheffield, I know I said I was okay, but could you please not drag me like this?" I asked as I was dragged by her. She was more forceful than usual. "I can walk on my own, you know?"
I got no answer. She just kept going.
As we kept walking, I noticed that we weren't actually going towards my room but to a different part of the tunnels.
"Hey, where are we going?"
Again no response. I was starting to get worried.
"Sheffield, I asked you a question."
But she didn't say anything.
"Sheffield goddammit, talk to me!" I managed to get my arm out of her grasp, and I stopped. "I won't walk another step until you-"
She turned back and pointed her gun at me.
"What are you doing…?" This surely didn't feel like when we were joking around. She seemed serious this time.
"You'll have to come with me, Master."
"Where?"
"My room."
"…didn't know we were that close." I said half-joking, but she was having none of that.
"I have to ask you a few things, and I don't want anyone to interrupt us."
"Can't you ask me right here?"
She shook her head.
I sighed.
"Look, I don't know what happened, but you won't gain anything pointing that thing at me." I tried to reason with her. "We are out of that phase already; I know you aren't going to-"
I heard a loud sound, a single shot was fired, which hit the wall behind me, leaving a black hole a bit too big for a regular bullet.
"Next one is going towards your leg, Master." She said, moving her gun a bit downwards.
"…alright, you have made your point." It was no use trying to reject her, she was pretty adamant about wanting to talk alone. "Lead the way, then."
I truly hoped she had a good reason for that because I was in no position for another fight.
She immediately locked the door behind us the moment we entered her room. The room itself wasn't really that different from mine if only a bit more spartan. It lacked pretty much any living arrangement aside from a bed.
"You aren't planning on executing me in secret, right?" I knew she disliked me, but I wanted to think that her hate wasn't that strong.
"Depends on your answers."
That wasn't reassuring at all.
"Alright." I resigned myself to begin questioned at gunpoint. "Ask away."
"Then, I'll get straight to the point. How did you arrive here?"
"Eh…? What are you talking about?" I couldn't hide my confusion. "You and Belfast brought me here, remember? We-"
"This world." She interrupted me. "How did you arrive to this world?"
"…" I forced a smile. "Sheffield, what are you saying?" I released a small laugh. "Is this your idea of a joke? I really don't…"
"I know about Mashu."
The moment I heard her name coming from Sheffield's lips, the smile on my face disappeared. I felt like time had stopped for me, as I could no longer breathe normally. The weight of my memories suddenly began to crush me. The pain I always tried to forget resurfaced all at once.
It was useless to pretend ignorance now.
"Who told you that name?" I asked, staring deeply into her amber eyes.
END OF CHAPTER 14
We have a discord server now, where we talk about important things such as how Unicorn is the mastermind behind the sirens and what would happen if someone had two pairs of arms.
Also, I post mini-updates there, I guess.
Invite : discord. gg / kvRCbruzaT (erase the spaces, obviously)
AN: Chapter 14 done, actually one of the longest chapters of this fic, with about 9k words
This chapter was meant to be the aftermath of what happened in the previous ones, also the introduction to Sirius and Dido to the group. For those who were waiting for that Sheffield and Guda's talk, don't worry, it would surely happen next chapter, which will probably be done around late March. Finals are just around the corner so I'll be busy until then.
And I think that's it, if you want to ask me something, you can hit me on the discord or with reviews.
See you on next chapter.