Arieen looked at the two flowers, one much bigger than the other. Running into the now former Magus Killer had been odd, but his request had given her pause.
For all of ten seconds, mostly trying to process the fact that Emiya had a daughter. Emiya had a deep red flower the color of spilled blood. When given the choice between dying a human or becoming part of her kingdom, he had chosen to stay with his child. Illya hadn't hesitated either, the second she was given the option.
Especially after learning that the king had once been a homunculus as well, but was now a powerful fairie.
Arturia observed her 'Master' being placed into the flower.
"Is that what you did to me?" she asked. She had been told of the Grail War and how her shade had been present.
"You took less time to convert," said Arieen. "He'll be in there for at least a year or two, maybe more. The girl will take at least six months. You only spent a month in there."
It was extremely disorienting, being awake again. In so many ways, the world had changed beyond what she could recognize. Yet, in Tenebrae at least, it stayed mostly the same.
Arturia rather approved of the system her child had created. Anyone could become a knight, even the lowest commoner.
The kingdom was thriving in a way Camelot hadn't. Everyone loved their king deeply, and accepted her faults without question.
Arturia vividly remembered Mordred's drinking habits. She had turned it into her biggest source of revenue for the kingdom. Fairy liquors were highly sought after by mages of all walks of life.
Since she was considered a 'guest' of the king, Arturia had taken to observing the squires and the knights. It was a source of familiarity and hearing the old oath spoken was a source of comfort to her.
Come to think of it, Mordred preferred to use the oath in place of the Lord's Prayer whenever she attended service.
It was rather surprising, learning that Mordred had kept up her oath even long after Camelot had become a memory.
The more Arturia observed her 'son', the more she began to wonder if she had ever truly seen Mordred for who she was.
Finally she couldn't take it anymore.
"Why?"
"Why what?" asked Mordred.
"Why did you hide your true self?" she asked.
"Why did you?" countered Mordred with a flat look. "The simple answer was that Morgana would have given me endless headaches if I had let my real personality show. She was obsessed with regaining that damn throne. I just made the best with what I had."
Arturia was dumbfounded, but recovered.
Mordred sighed.
"Honestly, I know when to pick my battles. The world had a strict view of how 'things should be' and it was more hassle than it was worth to try and change things at that point in time. It took centuries before women had anything remotely close to equal rights as men, or for humans to come around to the idea that a woman can be a king."
Arturia could understand that. What she couldn't make sense of was why Mordred chose now to resurrect her.
"Why did you choose now to bring me back?"
"That damn shade reminded me of the main reason I put you under that particular potion. Medicine had advanced enough that you could be saved, and more important be given some damn therapy to get over that savior complex of yours. I thought I had it bad, but you're a hundred times worse in that regard."
Arturia kept her tongue, because Mordred had made it clear that therapy was not optional. If she wanted to learn where Excalibur was at the moment, she had to show some actual progress.
The fact they were having a civil conversation without Arturia slipping into her 'kingly' persona was a vast improvement over how things used to be.
The two walked in companionable silence, before Arturia spoke again.
"What exactly is the relationship between you and that Waver child?"
"He's one of my new advisers," said Mordred. "Certainly, he has a bit to go before he's considered part of the inner circle, but he's a quick study."
"And the girl?" asked Arturia knowingly.
"Complicated," said Mordred without hesitation. "She has a great destiny, but the people in charge refuse to train her under the belief she is still a child. What they don't understand is their actions robbed her of any childhood she could have had."
Mordred had never forgiven Dumbledore for that nonsense, or his soft hearted approach to dealing with magical Nazis, who barely qualified as people to begin with. He still saw them as children he had taught, rather than adults who needed to face the consequences of their actions.
Her past self was beyond grateful, and it was plainly obvious that she was falling hard for Waver. Honestly, she could do far worse.
Mordred grinned at Arturia.
"You should spar with me later. Give the Squires something to aspire too, King of Knights."
Arturia smiled back, as she thoroughly liked that idea...even if the title was something she could do without. She had failed as a king after all.
ICW meetings were ridiculously boring, but the after party was so worth it. Apparently, Dumbledore had yet to cotton on to where his "protege" had actually disappeared to and was still looking for her.
Arieen had to withhold her cackles listening to him tell one hundred percent bullshit about her 'home life' and why she needed to be found.
Unfortunately for him, Arieen had gone to all her allies and explained the situation and a sworn statement from Potter what was really going on. Including pensieve memories of her time at Hogwarts. The Basilisk alone was enough to explain why the girl wanted nothing to do with Dumbledore.
It took less than fifteen minutes of viewing short edits from the girl's memories to get pretty much all the rational adults on her side.
Finally Dumbledore reached Arieen. She felt the passive Legilmency brush up against her mental barriers, but they were sound.
"You must be King Arieen. Congratulations on claiming your throne," he said pleasantly.
Arieen withheld a snort. From the tone Dumbledore was using, it was clear he only saw her as a cocky twenty-something.
He had no idea what he was up against, and it was going to be hilarious.
"Fortunately the royal line of stewards knows how to properly maintain a kingdom," said Arieen calmly. "They've honored their ancestors by holding the throne until a king came to reclaim it."
Most magical countries had no idea that the 'royal line' of Tenebrae were in fact a line of Stewards, not actual royalty. But they were the highest ranked nobility on the island next to the actual king.
Arturia had nodded in approval when she heard of the system, which Arieen had specifically set up to insure that she could return at any time and reclaim her throne...or put the crown down to get a much needed vacation.
Each new steward that took up the mantle was given a private meeting with Arieen herself, to assess whether they were worthy of the honor. Most were taught from childhood about how the king was an immortal faerie, but liked to travel.
Dumbledore's mental prods were beginning to annoy her. Arieen kept up her smile, knowing she had the upper hand.
Her former headmaster might have had more than a few decades to build up his political power...but she had centuries.
Not only that, but she had lifetimes of blackmail on damn near every member in the ICW.
Arieen's smile turned vicious, and a chill ran down the fool's spine.
"I wonder how Arianna would react knowing her elder brother was such a damn fool he nearly turned an innocent child into an obscurial because he was too damn idiotic to realize that blood does not always make a family?" she said calmly, her smile showing entirely too much teeth.
Dumbledore's face went pale.
"What?"
"The Potter girl. Her aunt never loved her, and her jealousy of what her sister was and what she could never had prevented any real familial attachments from forming. You all but imprisoned that poor child in a home without love, and for what?"
Dumbledore's magic began to pool around him. The other members of the party looked in their direction before silently backing off. There was no doubt who they would back first...while Dumbledore was respected, Arieen was a known Power in their world. Even if the old fool had yet to recognize her true nature.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"My name," she enunciated with Authority in her voice, "Is Mordred Pendragon, child of Arturia Pendragon."
While their relationship was still a bit rocky, Arturia was slowly coming to terms with Mordred being her child. Not enough that they could easily forget Morgana's actions against them both, but enough they were willing to claim kinship.
Any thoughts of demanding she return the girl or showing his limited powers over others was shot to hell in an instant.
Names had power, especially among their kind. Dumbledore could sense magic backing her claim, verifying it beyond a reasonable doubt.
This...this was beyond comprehension.
Mordred stared Dumbledore down, her magic gathering as her body aged ten years in an instant.
"You have been overstepping your authority for far too long. The Potter girl no longer belongs to your kind. She is one of my own, and I will protect her from your foolishness. I suggest you leave, and warn that corrupt Ministry of yours that I am back and that there will be a reckoning should they annoy me."
Seeing the man she had once viewed as a grandfatherly figure in her life slink away with the tail between his legs was incredibly satisfying.
She had centuries to go over his actions...or more like inaction...and had come to the conclusion that Dumbledore had been a king in all but name, and was too foolish to use his authority properly.
It was past time he had someone who could step up and tell him "No, I will do things properly."
Arieen looked at all the international papers with bored disinterest. Ever since she returned from the meeting, the magical world had been utterly abuzz with the news that Mordred Pendragon had returned.
Naturally she had cut off most communication coming from Tenebrae, putting the kingdom in a pseudo lockdown.
Shirou had approached her one morning, curious as to what she was planning.
Arieen had grinned, and ruffled his hair. He scowled briefly, but Arieen knew he loved it.
She also noticed Arturia's arrival.
"What are you planning?"
Arieen grinned at them both.
"The world has gotten so much bigger since our time. Messages can be sent in seconds, rather than the days or weeks it took before. Which is why I've been controlling all the communication outside. We're going to throw a proper party, and all the magical realms are invited."
"Wait...magical realms?" said Arturia.
"Titania and Oberon have been waiting for ages for me to properly wake you up," said Arieen.
"Didn't they throw a party to celebrate your coronation?" asked Shirou, frowning. Or rather, the return of their king.
"Yes, but this is to let the world know that King Mordred has returned...as has King Arthur," said Arieen. Arturia frowned. "And before you ask, there's no way in hell you're going to England right now. The place is a festering pool of corruption."
A sense of relief filled Arturia. Honestly, she did not feel ready to even remotely reclaim her former throne.
"So what can I do?" asked Shirou.
"We are going to put on a show for the outsiders. You and the other squires will demonstrate our training and resolve, and will lead the kingdom in reciting the full Oath."
Shirou's eyes widened.
It was an unspoken fact that the entire kingdom had that oath memorized by this point. It was a point of honor to be able to speak it before the throne when obtaining full knight status.
For him to lead such an important ceremony showed Arieen's trust in him to do it properly.
Shirou, when given permission, all but dashed off to insure his formal armor was polished to a shine. He refused to disappoint his teacher in such an important task.