A/N: Mother of Christ it's been so long. Sorry for the sporadic updates, I kinda got really busy, with Christmas being near and all, so here's a chapter.

SPECIAL NOTE: Shirou switching his style in speaking actually hints about his inner struggles!

Now for the review answers:

Amazed Guest: Thank you for the review, it fills my heart with joy as a newbie writer. The Fate Shirou idea really stuck out to me because he's technically the "weakest" of the bunch.

Lugal Kug-ka: No more OG cast for now, though I might change my mind in the future. And about Meriel, yeah, she's totally really lucky… tooootally.

yann0406: Ok then, ig.

Loli4Lyfe: YES! INHALE MORE!

GrandSaberEMIYA: Thank you for the response, this was one of the moments that I was actually really excited to write.

Quathis: Truth to be told I just planned for Saber to enter the capital by herself, but that's boring so I'm like: "Hey! Taiga's already here, let's make them meet first!" XD

Kurogami Mikoto: Thank you, I do practice all the time, those college essays helped weirdly enough.

Bucio: Well, about Meriel. My idea was to actually reveal her involvement a little later, but thanks to the comments I managed to work out a way to make hints about what she actually is.

Now, let's dive in!

Meriel

Meriel considered herself a lucky person. A pre-written resume and application letter, the inherent charm and abilities she possessed due to becoming the heroine. But lately doubts had arisen from her being. Her signature ability "Sympathize" won't work properly.

It was supposed to make the main character learn about the capture targets' pasts as long she talks to them. But lately, it hadn't been doing that. When she tries to use it she suffers a blackout, and sometimes it just triggers and randomly gives her flashes. But at least her "Charm" still works.

Suddenly, she felt her head tear itself apart, her eyes ached with unbearable pain. It was one of those flashes again.

"Ah yes, my name is ****** Watson, in the flesh. This is my son, ******." The woman points at the ***-haired child with a redacted face. "Say hi sweetie!"

The boy waved at the person his mother was talking to.

…
...

"Oh, yeah! About my stories? Yes, I agree with the proposal!" The woman said gleefully, her son looking at her with a confused face. "I know how much Japan likes their dating sims, it would be my honor-"

And then it cuts. Meriel looked around her, sweat trickling from her brows. She was holding herself up using a cupboard. "Oh, shit! I was cleaning the kitchen!" She recalls. The head-maid would scold her again if she was caught slacking.

The door behind her suddenly opens. At the entrance was a caramel-haired young man named Lars Watson. "Miss Mayfield? Are you alright?" The aide-in-training asks worryingly.

"Ah-oh!" She her body flails as she straightens her posture. "No need to worry, Mister Lars!" Her eyes glow briefly as she looks at the young man.

"If… you say so. Is it alright if I come in?" He inquired to the maid, trying not to sound rude. His shyness being his most prominent trait showing itself.

This confused Meriel, she never called him. Why is he here all of a sudden? She knows that she maxed out his affection now but the capture targets don't usually go to her at their own initiative. What changed? She wonders. "So, what are you doing here?"

Lars just stares at her before answering. "I- just want to spend time with you I guess. You were… one of my first friends since my arrival to the castle. With the king and princess on a trip I guess Mister Bartholomew gave me a break for once." He spoke in his usual low-volume shy voice.

"WHAT!?" Meriel stood up in shock and slammed her hands at the table. "What did you just say!?"

This made Lars recoil in confusion. He had never seen Meriel this mad. "I-I said that I wanna spend time with you-!" He tried to calm her down.

"No! After that!"

"The king and princess went on a trip! Urgent business in Shelston, they told me!" He spoke in a panicked but loud tone. "Weren't the servants informed of it?"

"I was not!" This just ruined Meriel's other plans. With Isaiah gone she couldn't possibly use sympathize on him. Even if it fails, it's worth giving a try. She arrived at one conclusion: 'Elise! That bitch!' She bit her nails in anger, the harlot was interfering with her plans again. 'What possible excuse could that villain have used to drive Isaiah away from me!' She thought, anger welling up on her.

"Y-you, are sure you're alright? Do you need tea perhaps?" Lars asked.

"N-no! Nothing to worry about as I said." She cupped her temple, leaning at a pillar. "Just… please leave me alone for a minute." She clasped her hands as she asks Lars.

"If… you say so." The young man gulped and nodded. Opening and closing the door as fast as he can.

Now Meriel was alone again, she needs to rethink a few of her plans. At least Lars's affection is full now, earlier than expected. "I'm half-way through Jackson, dammit if he's only so easy to find!" As an avid player of the game, she knew all of their schedules.

"If this continues I might have to restart from scratch, at least Raul's is largely the same."

Stop annoying me, maid! Get back to work!

She recalled the words of the librarian. "Tsk! He seems to hate me for some reason." She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "But Jackson, he's like a critter sometimes! Usually I just see him at the corner of my eye and he proceeds to-!" She cuts herself of. 'I'm talking to myself again!' She didn't have this habit when she was in Japan… did she?

Jackson

The blonde knight-in-training swung his sword in the air, its force cutting to the wind. He was bored lately. With Mister Stick-up-his-ass busy in the library he really didn't have anything to do besides training right now.

*Fwish!*

'Elise and His Majesty just bolted to Shelston. I wonder what happened.' The ducal son thought as he primed another big swing. He was bored, really bored. At least the princess' magical experiments despite being borderline torture gives him something to work with. 'Hey! I learned some magic from her! At least barely.' He thought, he really doesn't know why she insist on calling it magecraft instead of magic… well maybe because of those weird lines in his body.

"Soar!"

Glowing pathway-like lines in his body appears as he chanted his "aria". He felt the mana or "od" as the princess insists to make a distinction, flow through his body as he reinforces it, carefully making it stronger in order not to strain himself.

"Careful not to overload! Swing!" He swung his sword through the air as it made contact to the ground and shattered itself. Jackson looked at the shattered blade in his hand. "Well, that's an improvement, still not on Isaiah's level though." He thought about the king's mag- ahem, magecraft. Oh how he dreams about being able to summon swords out of thin air. Which is disappointing because it was unique to the red-haired king for some reason.

Moments later he sat down on a bench. Thinking about it, that cute maid didn't come this time around. He barely even sees her but she's always been in his mind lately.

"Milord Jackson! I bought cookies!" From far away, a pink-haired figure waves her hand to the knight.

"Well, speak of the devil… angel? Whatever! And they shall come!" He quipped while Meriel approached him, holding a basket. "How're ya?" He asked the servant in a casual tone.

Meriel covered her mouth and giggled. "Same old, Milord. I bought snacks, it is cookies this time." She lifted the basket to Jackson's face.

The blondie took the basket from the maid's hand and proceeded to open it. He saw a pile of chocolate cookies filling up almost all spaces of air inside the basket. "Damn..." He was speechless. "You really like baking, don't you?" The ducal heir whistled.

"Fufu~!" She giggled again. "Head-maid Rosa gave me some free time after cleaning the kitchen." She smiled while clasping her hands together. "I decided to bake!"

"Heh…cute." Jackson chuckled, whispering the latter word.

"What was that?" Meriel asked, tilting her head and appearing oblivious.

The knight became flustered, jumping a little. "Nah, nothing- let's dig in!" Jackson spoke enthusiastically, trying to change the subject as he picks up a piece of cookie. He proceeds to rub the back of his neck out of embarrassment. 'Mother of Mothers, I am picking up Isaiah's habits!' He thought.

"Did you like it?" Meriel inquired.

"Oh, of course! It's as good as always!" He praised the maid. It seems that this has happened before, despite of their inconsistent meeting schedule. "So, did you hear about His Majesty and Her Highness' trip?" He asked as the maid sat down beside him.

"Hm? Oh that? Yes, all of the servants were notified." She answered in her usual cutesy high-pitched voice. "What of it?"

Jackson nods as he takes in the information. "Meriel, do you perhaps know the reason why they were in a hurry? Nobody informed me why." He asked.

Contrary to his expectations, Meriel just stayed silent and stared at him for a short minute.

…

…

The silence continued moments later. "Oi!" He yelled at Meriel, waving his hand in front of her dazed face.

"Kya!" Meriel jumped in shock, as if she didn't see Jackson's hand. "Oh, forgive me Milord! I was justthinking of something!" She spoke with a nervous tone as she tries to regain her composure.

"Huh, it seems that you are not well. Are you sure you're alright?" Jackson spoke with a worried expression.

"No! It's nothing Lord Jackson! What did you ask again?"

"It's about His Majesty, do you perhaps know why he's in a hurry?" The blondie asked, albeit with subtle reluctance.

Meriel

Meriel gaze was fixated to Jackson as he took a bite on another cookie. She was glad that he liked it, considering that she's past 50% affection on him, it would be waste of he didn't like the cookie.

"So, did you hear about His Majesty and Her Highness' trip?" Jackson asked her.

Of course she's heard of it, Lars informed her despite the princess deliberately hiding the information from her. "Hm? Oh that? Yes, all of the servants were notified." She decided answer in her usual cutesy high-pitched voice. "What of it?" Meriel's eyes glow briefly as she starts using "sympathize" after asking.

The first few milliseconds were peaceful, until suddenly, she felt something snap inside her brain. Again, she cannot move, she cannot speak, multiple voices spoke inside her mind.

TAKE!

GET BACK WHAT IS YOURS!

GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK! GET IT BACK!

After a few seconds, a warm relief washed her away from her stupor. As if the loud surroundings went quiet. She felt saw a hand waving directly in front of her face. "Kya!" She recoiled.

'What was… that? It's one of those blackouts again, I don't remember anything.' She thought confused as how long has she been looking up in a daze. "Oh, forgive me Milord! I was just thinking of something!"

"Huh, it seems that you are not well. Are you sure you're alright?" She notices Jack's worried expression. 'Need to fix this, now!'

Meriel tried to regain her composure the only way she knew. "No! It's nothing Lord Jackson! What did you ask again?" She asked, genuinely not having any memory about Jackson's question.

Jackson blinked for a moment and drooped his shoulders. "It's about His Majesty, do you perhaps know why he's in a hurry?" He asks, filling in the blanks in Meriel's head.

This confused Meriel. She thought that the king's cousin would be one of the few people that should be told about important matters like these. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

Jackson sighed in exasperation after hearing the maid's answer. "Oh, well. Let's just hope that the trip would go as planned." He surrenders.

Meriel however, was seething in hatred internally. 'Damn you, Elise!' She spoke the name of her rival as she boiled in anger.

Shirou

Soldiers from the royal convoy sat in front of a bonfire as the cold autumn winds made their presence known. It was nighttime of the first day of their journey. The king decided to setup camp as soon as dusk came, it was ensure that they could sleep early so that the convoy could start moving again before dawn.

In their right was another bonfire. There, are the knights of the king, higher ranked warriors their mere foot soldier selves could never even aim to best in skills alone.

"Damned snobby knights, they get all the good food and we get what? Jerky!?" One of the soldiers ranted, stunning his comrades in the process.

"You shut your trap- What if they hear us?" One of his comrades sneered at him, not wanting to get on the bad side of the knights and the king.

"Then what's he gonna do!? Order them to kill me!? That coward doesn't have the guts!" He yelled.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming their way. The soldiers turned their head.

"Who doesn't have what?" The source of the footsteps spoke, it was their king, Isaiah. In his hand is a giant cooking pot. "Well, I heard what you said about my knights, I believe there is a misunderstanding." He spoke while handing them wooden bowls and utensils.

"Hmmm…" The redhead narrowed his gaze to the soldier that slandered him. "Erik, was it? From Windshire?" he cupped his chin, staring intensely at the soldier.

"Y-yes, Milord!" Erik answered nervously. 'I shouldn't have let my anger- wait how does he know me!?' He thought, fearing for the worst.

The king's demeanor suddenly changed. "No need to feel nervous, soldier." He sat at one of the logs, making the other soldiers nervous as well. "You were… half right. Some would say that I fight like a coward. Some of my opponents remarked that I was suicidal. No one can decide for sure." He said as he poured food from the cooking pot into their bowls.

The bewildered soldiers stared as their king "served" them food, it was a surreal experience for them. "I am fine with these remarks, Erik. But next time, do not let your anger control you, you have family waiting for you right?"

"Y-yes, sire."

"Then make sure to come home safe. I would hate to break the news to your family if you died of carelessness in battle. Understood?" He told Erik as he patted the soldier's shoulder. "Also, I fed the knights first. They're going night shift, so sleep tight, hm?" He said as he waved goodbye to the soldier, going the direction of the forest.

"Erik, you shouldn't have done that. The king's too nice for his own good." One of Erik's comrades spoke.

Erik looked down at his food, feeling disappointed to himself. "Yea, I know." He starts chowing down on the food.

Elsewhere, not far away from the convoy, was the King and The Princess, sitting beside each other in a giant rock. They were gazing at the beautiful night sky in the edge of a cliff, where the air is cold but the view is immaculate.

Shirou looked up while Illya was leaning in his shoulder. "Y'know…" He starts to speak. "About the stars."

"Hm? What about it?" Illya asked, still leaning beside Shirou.

"Do you ever wonder if could count it? Or even begin to comprehend how many of them litter the sky above, there might be millions, billions, even more to the point that you start to lose all hope of counting it." He said in a sad tone.

Illya knew what this is about, it's her brother thinking about the love of his life again. "Is this about Saber?" She knew it all too well, Shirou's genuine sadness about his search for Saber.

Shirou stayed silent for a minute. "Yeah, I've been looking for her since forever… to the point where I started to question myself, those people who died at the meltdown that day, I couldn't save them because I was searching for clues about Avalon at an antique store not far from it… I could've done something, anything. But I was selfish and desperate, I wanted to find Saber. To this day look at that sky and think to myself: "If I replace the stars with years, that's how long it's gonna take to find her." It's silly, I know, but I can't just give up. If it weren't for our citizens I would've left the throne long ago to wander around." He spoke in sadness, his hand reaching out for the stars above.

Illya's gaze focused on Shirou's face. "Shirou, again it's not your fault. You can't just save everyone all the time." She spoke solemnly.

Shirou's fist clenched. "But, it's not right… I- can't just let that happen. When I saw what happened after the meltdown. It's like history repeating itself. I wondered on and on about how many survived the tragedy, how many children were orphaned, how many people did I fail? Everything about it is just… not right."

Illya pulled her brother on a tight hug, Shirou mirroring it afterwards. "Being right is not everything, Shirou. Sometimes being wrong is better, like how I thought about you and Kiritsugu. It was one of the few moments where I appreciated being wrong. Someday, you're gonna be faced with a choice, and you're gonna be happy on getting it wrong."

Shirou looked at his hand in contemplation. 'Happy for being wrong, huh.' He thought. "Yeah, I sure hope so." He smiled faintly at his sister, who was now sleeping in his lap.

A/N: I decided to cut this chapter into two sections: Meriel's and the Main Crew, maybe some of Jackson's magecraft sprinkled in it. Hope you like it. Please follow and favourite. And if you could, please review. Goodbye for now- imma go to sleep.