Arieen was glad for the bubble head charm as well as the masks she had the foresight to buy. Waver had been down since losing Rider.

She didn't know what the fuck Saber had done, but the grail had basically exploded and created a massive conflagration. Worse, she was still fighting Archer during this mess!

Arieen ignored all that, as she was abusing the flame freezing charm and the bubble head charm to save as many as she could. It was a good thing she had very little modesty because her clothes were trashed by this point.

The firefighters had attempted to stop her from helping originally...right up until she picked up some debris that would have taken them at least three men to lift one handed and helped a victim get out before dropping it. The aura of competence didn't hurt either, and honestly it was such a nightmare that no one was going to question someone who at least looked like they knew what the hell they were doing.

The entire mess was a complete blur, and for once it wasn't due to the alcohol. Her only thought was to get as many people as she could out of the blaze and to safety.

Feeling the cool sensation of the rain against her cheek, she knew she had done all she could. It took her several minutes to register the coat that someone had kindly had put around her shoulders, replacing the outfit she had been wearing.

Once she regained her composure, she got up and started walking. Where didn't matter, Herne would find her soon enough.

Either way she was going to spend some time on her island kingdom and doing the most boring thing on the planet (paperwork) to calm herself down.

She was about read to pass out as it was. She was emotionally drained, her stamina was at it's limits, and honestly she was just done for at least a week.

That being said her inherent habit of saving others made her go towards the kid who looked about as dead on his feet as she was. Seeing him collapse hurt her, as she quickly checked for a pulse.

He was alive, but only just. His eyes locked on to her face, drenched by the rain that had been falling for at least thirty minutes now. Her hair framed her face, her hair tie having long since fallen out. Her appearance was an utter mess and she couldn't give less of a damn. She just cried tears of relief seeing that the kid was fine, if exhausted and likely traumatized as hell from having to walk through that blaze all alone.

Hearing someone walk up to them, she made sure to cover the kid with the coat since she didn't want him to die from a cold after surviving that hell.

Kiritsugu wondered what it said that while he was trying to simply survive, the woman known as the Knight of Betrayal had worked her ass off to save as many people as she possibly good, secrecy be damned.

She had even given a child she had never met in her life a coat that a random stranger had given her to cover her nudity just to keep him warm. Even though she was so exhausted she could barely stay upright.

Seeing the child on the ground, Kiritsugu checked for a pulse. He was alive, but that was all. His eyes said volumes of how the boy had mentally checked out, and there was no telling what sort of internal injuries he had on him.

Mind made up, and because he didn't feel deserving of the artifact in the first place, he removed Avalon and put it in the child.


Some time later...

Whatever Waver expected from the faerie kingdom, it wasn't the sight of a major festival in the works.

"Uh...is there some big holiday going on I've never heard of?" he asked Herne.

"The king is returning to his lands. Of course the people should properly show their appreciation," said Herne. He had called ahead to alert them after all.

Arieen was still on light exercise (read: limited to mortal standards) for the next week, as she had overdone it. Herne might be taking a bit too much amusement at the fact she was still in the wheelchair...until tomorrow. After all, her being in that contraption meant that she couldn't get up to her usual shenanigans.

Next to her, pushing the chair was her newly adopted younger sibling. The newly dubbed Shirou Black was a blank slate, but had taken the idea of being adopted by Arieen rather well.

"What about..." started Waver.

"Herne will be dealing with that shortly," said Arieen. She planned to kidnap her 'younger' self once she had Arturia settled.

Waver was somewhat taken aback at how people treated him on the island. In England, he was barely tolerated by the Magus and everyone considered him Arieen's "pet" of sorts. Which...to be fair wasn't that far from the truth.

But here he was an honored guest, and treated like one of the higher ranked Magus in Clock Tower. It was very weird and he had to keep reminding himself why that was the case.

Arieen cackled, and gave him a painful slap to the back in good humor.

"Just relax! Eat, drink and be as merry as you wish! Rider would have wanted that," said Arieen.

Waver's face was slightly downcast at the reminder of his Servant. Rider had been a major influence on him.

Arieen threw her arm around his shoulder with some difficulty.

"Hey, there's no need to cry. He wouldn't have wanted that. Besides, you'll soon be a member of my court, which means you have as much influence here as that asshole Kayneth had in Clock Tower...if not more," she said.

"Wait, what?" said Waver in shock.

"I'm not letting go of you that easily, Waver. Your potential might have been sparked by that mess of a war, but I plan to see it grow to it's fullest with the right guidance. Besides, we both know the El Melloi won't let you outclassing that asshole go down without a fight, and if we do things right you can steal his title from him for a time," said Arieen.

Seeing the spark that had been about to burn out come back in full force was gratifying. Once Waver mourned losing Rider, she had no doubt he'd bounce back and grow into a fine Magus that could kick the ass of the stuffy morons back in England.

Besides, she had plans for him and she wasn't going to let him go back without properly testing his stamina. Her younger self didn't know it yet, but she would be appreciating the fact that Arieen planned to break Waver in properly before letting nature take it's course.

He was her type, after all.


Arieen knew Shirou was watching her with rapt attention. She had just come back from placing her father's sleeping form into one of the flowers of the World Tree she had planted when she claimed the island for the Faerie. It had grown to truly impressive proportions by modern standards, and was carefully tended to by an entire clan of faeries who's sole purpose was to insure it was thriving.

Finishing her current set, Arieen turned to the child she had taken in.

"Want to try it yourself?" she asked.

"Can I?" he asked.

Arieen made a come hither motion, and the boy eagerly ran towards her. In no time at all, Shirou was going through the same motions. Not as easily or as cleanly as Arieen had, but it was better than most.

It was obvious he had the right build for it.

Arieen bent down to eye level with Shirou.

"How would you like to be trained as a knight?" she asked.

"A knight?"

Arieen pointed to the coat of arms that were scattered all over her castle.

"A knight is sworn to valor. We defend the helpless and uphold a moral code," said Arieen.

She took Shirou on a tour of the training grounds, where her own personal court were training. Not that they had ever had to deal with a proper enemy in years, but it was the principle of the thing. Visitors from other countries were encouraged to come to the training grounds and spare with the royal guard all the time.

The more serious and dedicated martial artists loved the kingdom, because they wouldn't automatically be arrested for using their more lethal techniques and they could push their limits properly.

It took all of an hour for Shirou to become hooked at the idea of becoming a knight, and for him to fall under the spell that many of the children who lived on the island did.

Arieen took him straight to the royal blacksmith.

"Um...why are we here?" asked Shirou confused.

"Knight armor is heavy, even the cheap stuff. No way are you ready to wear any of it, let alone carry a real sword. So you'll join the other knight candidates in training until you're big enough to practice with actual steel instead of wood."

Arieen hadn't changed the training regimen of a proper knight since she was a girl. She might have updated a bit of it to include a real education and modern knowledge, but the core of it remained the same.

All knight candidates were required to take on an apprenticeship with a tradesmen that would help them build up the required muscle tone and at the same time give them a fall back should they fail the tests to become a knight.

Shirou was going to be apprenticed to the blacksmith. He had the right build for it, and something told her that he would fit right in.

She would be right.


Blue sky. It was such a simple thing, but it was something she never thought she'd see again.

Arturia slowly started to lift herself, feeling a bit of lethargy in her bones. She wondered how long she had been sleeping, though the land around her held the familiar feel of faerie lands.

With them, you never knew how long the passage of time was.

"The lost king is awake!" said a voice.

Lost king?

Her eyes were a bit wide, as she behind the prosperous kingdom the likes that were unheard of even in her time.

The kingdom was in the throws of a massive festival of sorts. There were foods and wares that defied the imagination. It was very clear to her that this was not her beloved England. Not in the slightest.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're on the island of Yggdrasil, in the kingdom of Tenebrae," said her escort. He appeared to be a skilled archer, with deep auburn hair and a presence that spoke of his skill level.

"I don't recognize those names."

"You wouldn't. This kingdom came into being a hundred and fifty years after your supposed death," he replied.

She stopped cold.

"A hundred and fifty years?" she repeated.

"The year is nineteen ninety five," he replied. "It has been well over a thousand years since the battle of Camlann, and by this point your kingdom has become that of legends...even if modern man debates on whether it existed in the first place."

She stared at him in shock.

"Wait...how am I alive after over a thousand years?" she demanded.

"Ask the king," he replied. "She will answer any questions you may have."

"She?"

The expression on her face when she saw Mordred, decked in all manner of glory and royal bearing was rather comical in a way. Beside her was a red haired boy about seven or eight, and the way he held himself indicated he was a knight in-training.

"You are the king of this land?" she asked.

"I am," agreed Mordred. "Camelot wasn't worth the effort of keeping, as the other knights would never allow a so-called traitor to rule, never mind the headaches of my mother. Far more rewarding to set up my own kingdom and start fresh."

She stared at her 'son'.

"What exactly happened?"

Because obviously Mordred hadn't killed her, or been pierced by her spear.

"I dosed some halfwit to take my place and used a spell to make him act like how everyone perceived me to be. Then while sir Bedivere went to toss Excalibur into the lake, I dosed you with a potion that causes a false death state...and I left you in the faerie realms for over a thousand years until I figured out what to do with you."

She twitched.

"What do you mean, figured out what to do with me?"

"Medicine hadn't advanced enough to save your life after the mortal wound you took. Leaving you to sleep was the best option," shrugged Mordred. "Though after what happened recently, I decided it was easier to convert you into a fairy instead. Your body had been in the realms long enough that it took less time than most."

The lost king's reaction was almost painful to look at.

"Why? Why save me?" she asked.

"You were a victim of circumstances beyond your control, forced to shoulder a burden that would have broken anyone else. I can respect the pain and effort you went through to make that kingdom work, even though it fell apart because you refused to let anyone in," said Mordred calmly. "Besides, this would be the ultimate prank against that asshole Merlin."

There was a long pause, before she snorted. Mordred and Merlin had been in an unofficial prank war against each other since the day Mordred became a knight.

In Avalon...

Merlin stared at the form of his King in disbelief. While it was unfortunate she was a faerie now, the fact she was still alive was enough for him.

Also, he was a bit peeved Mordred had managed to pull the wool over his eyes for well over a thousand years. How was he supposed to top that?