Chapter 2: A Invitation

March 20

That night, again, Elric was awakened by the nightmare of Mordred's memories. Returning him to that battlefield, and to that moment when he was being lanced.

Days had passed since the summoning yet the nightmares persisted. With every dream and nightmare he saw more of Mordred's life—they were fragments, and presented to him in incoherent sequences, but Elric could discern the order in which they played out and the last fragment was always the same. It bothered him to no end to think about them. He simply wished for them to cease.

Sitting up he pulled himself up to his feet and proceeded to dress himself for the day. Walking out of his room to find Mordred treating herself to some food—a lot of food, more than he would ever consider eating.

He greeted her with a "Mordred." whilst walking across the room.

"Master?"

"What?" he turned to face her but Mordred's eyes were focused below his neck then he looked down and realized he forgot to put on a shirt and she saw his scars. "Oh." Specifically the one at the center of his chest. "These are old, just ignore 'em." He had had them for so long Elric was used to seeing them.

"If you say so; none of my business, I guess." Mordred said before resuming with her meal.

In terms of personality, Mordred's okay. She was far from what he expected of the infamous Knight of Treachery based on what he'd read in books on Arthurian mythology; for the most part she's pretty fun to be around, although a bit scary at times (such as when bringing up the subject of her gender). In terms of skill she was everything he expected from a knight, especially one who used to sit at the Round Table. The way she handled the Homunculi the other day was impressive, alone.

The only downside to this new partnership was a mind numbingly asinine nightmares from her life.

"So what's happening today?"

"Not sure. If you want you could always go explore the area on your own."

"But it's no fun going alone."

"What are you, a child?"

"Do I look like one?"

"Well…" Elric prepared to shoot off a sarcastic remark or something about her appearance but then remembered her temperament and that oversized sword and simply said "Never mind."

He explained, while preparing himself a meal, that unless someone requested his services he had to keep a low profile. Much to Mordred's dismay.

They share the table as they eat when suddenly he hears his phone ring. Elric answered it—discovering that it was Dio on the other end he learned he wanted to meet again. So the freelancer agreed.


Elric separated from Mordred once they were in town, meeting with Dio while his servant chased after a cat.

Watching as Elric seated himself, Dio said "About the homunculi…"

"I presume you're satisfied with the result."

"Yes. Your pay has already been transferred."

Smirking, Elric prepared to leave while saying "Good. Then I guess I'll be on my way." before Dio grabs him by the arm.

"Not so fast." Dio told him, grabbing Elric by the arm. "I also need to discuss something with you, about Edward Rheon."

Father?

Stopping, not attempting to break free from Dio's grip, Elric sighed at the mention of the name.

"What does he want now?"

"He claims that he wishes to rectify some long standing issues."

"Wonder what that's about..."

"Maybe he wants to discuss the Saber...or reconcile this status quo between the two of you."

"Doubt it. He's wanted nothing but me suffering for a long time. He'll probably just want to talk about Mordred."

"You never know, maybe he's gotten over it."

"Edward Rheon doesn't "get over" one of his grudges. He just looks for ways to get even...or manipulate someone for one of his schemes."

"Elric, it's been years since he last saw you. People change over time."

"Some people, not everyone."

At that Dio left Elric to think on it.

It bothered the freelancer to think about the possibility. The idea of seeing Rheon again just made him feel angry, remembering all the things he did to him, all the things Elric did to him. It all just seemed too good to be true.

Finally he left. Unsure of anything let alone his own feelings on the matter. How people feel about their family is a complicated thing—deep down, we'll always love them; but we can also hurt them, and they in turn can hurt us in ways other people never could; and Edward Rheon definitely had that effect on his life.

He sojourned at the local eating establishment while he waited for Mordred. Contemplating the thought of meeting his father again. How it could play out between them. How he could handle it. How it could backfire on him.

Then he thought the whole idea was absurd and tried to focus on eating his meal.

By the time his Saber joined him, Elric was perturbed from just thinking on the matter.

He talked with Mordred some. Trying to distract himself. But he ultimately needed some advice—as pathetic as he thought it would sound—and thought who better to ask.

So he tried to work up his nerves.

He had not been that nervous since the first time he asked a girl out.

"Mordred…" Elric said. "You know, because I summoned you, when I sleep, sometimes I see fragments of your life in my dreams. I'd be tempted to call them nightmares, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Yeah." Mordred responded, confused as to where this was going.

"I've seen your life...what happened to you...what your parents did to you; and I need some advice from you on this." Elric explained before elaborating "If one day someone told you one of them was interested or there was a possibility of reconciling with them—despite everything Artoria did to you—would you be willing to try?"

Mordred that time hesitated to speak, for half a second, only to tell him "Perhaps." Surprising Elric as she elaborated. "I'd still be angry with Father for what happened, but if given the chance for us to reconcile I would consider taking the opportunity while I still could."

"I see…" Elric muttered. Able to see she was leaving some stuff out but did not want to press the matter too much. Then he had another question which came to mind. "What if it was your mother?"

Mordred responded rather bluntly "Hell no. Never." That time failing to surprise Elric as he imagined what Morgan Le Fay did was too despicable. "What Mother did to me—to Father—is beyond forgiving."

Again, Elric muttered "I see." with a faint smile. "Well, I guess we'll be visiting England."

"Huh?"

Elric then proceeds to explain the situation.


A few days later, Elric found himself fitting on a black jacket with a red hood, and he began to collect some things.

A few pictures, some old trinkets, and the few objects he still kept with him on his travels.

One to catch Mordred's eye was a photo her new master had yet to collect—on it she saw a young Elric standing beside a pair of children. He seemed sad, almost depressed and lost in his own little world while the other children were oblivious.

"Time to go."

It was also packed away with Boomstick before they disembarked; with Mordred relaxing and chewing down on a snack.