Artoria fidgeted with the tulle of the blue dress, rubbing the coarse fabric between the tips of her fingers. She would have rather stayed home to figure out every detail of this war, but of course, her mother didn't want to hear it when she begged to stay behind. Instead, the previous night, Artoria had stayed up, reading through some of her great grandfather's letters and documents she had found stashed in the cellar. Her servant had filled in some gaps, telling her about the other servant classes and giving her slightly more insight on the grail itself. Diarmuid had even told her about his noble phantasms and his weaknesses.
Igraine had told her that the lunch was moved and replaced to dinner that evening, as the Uruk family had an urgent inconvenience to attend to. It might have given Artoria and Diarmuid more time to weigh their options, but Artoria deemed it not enough.
"Honey, you seem nervous," Igraine spoke gently. "You needn't be."
Artoria lifted her head and offered her mother an obviously forced smile. "I'm not exactly nervous, mum. I'm bored."
Igraine gave her daughter an even look. "I know you didn't want to come, but at least try to look like you want to be here. What would Ninsun think? How would your lack of enthusiasm reflect on us?" She scolded.
Artoria rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, I understand," she groaned.
"Very well." Igraine set her attention back on a stack of documents that she held unto. She read over the pages and flipped through them now and again. "As long as you don't make fools of us, everything should go smoothly."
Artoria hummed in reply and let her gaze pass from her mother, who sat next to her, over the driver and settled beyond the car window to the setting sun. She had learned about a servant's ability to dematerialize and suggested to Diarmuid that he do so while they were out and about with her family.
If you don't mind me asking, where are we going? Artoria jumped at the sound of her servant's voice. She looked around for a second before she recalled she read that a servant could communicate with their master telepathically.
She didn't reply, not because she didn't want to, but rather because she didn't want her mother to be all over her if she even breathed differently. Artoria stared out her window, watching the trees and houses blur past. The sooner they got there, the sooner she could get back to planning war tactics with her servant. And the sooner she'd part ways with that less than pleasant acquaintance.
Although it had been sunny for the first day of May, it was still very chilly outside, even more so that the day was coming to an end; thus instinctively, Artoria wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her upper arms in an attempt to feel warmer as soon as she left the car. Igraine stepped out from the luxury vehicle, leaving the stack of papers behind in the back seat and joined her daughter as they walked into the botanical gardens. The Uruk family had rented out the place to have their dinner there. Of course, they were rich enough to do so.
"Now, remember, dear, smile." Igraine reminded her. "You don't want them thinking you're a bore."
"Yes, mum," Arturia sighed. "I'll smile."
Once they stepped through the glass french doors, Artoria took in the sights of the thick green plants and scattered flowers. A brightly patterned butterfly flew a few centimetres in front of her, and she had to take a moment to admire it. The dinner wouldn't be so boring after all; the botanical garden was enough to keep her attention, to say the least. Inside the gardens, it was warm enough for her to feel refreshed in her sleeveless dress.
Artoria's eyes settled on a white iron table that sat on a cobbled patio amidst the surrounding plants' fresh, huge vibrant dark green leaves. The table was set with macrons, tarts and fruits on a stack platter and fine blue decorated white china plates with matching teacups. It had been a while since Artoria attended a high circle function, even if this was deemed more casual. Artoria found some delight in being surrounded by plants and flowers.
"It seems we're early." Igraine made her way towards the table, setting her purse on her chair.
Artoria let her eyes wander. "Is it possible that I can take a look around?" She asked, blinking up at her mother.
Igraine looked down at her gold watch and nodded. "We aren't to meet for another twenty minutes; just please be back on time."
"Of course, mum." She nodded before turning towards a wooden archway wrapped in pink rose vines that opened to a thin cobbled path. "I'll set the timer for fifteen minutes," she said as she pulled her phone from a clear clutch that was swung over her shoulder.
Artoria's low heels clacked against the uneven stone path as she stepped deeper into the jungle of plants. The black pathway lamps flickered on, now that it was getting darker and the botanical garden was made only of windows. "We are at the botanical gardens on some ridiculous set up by my mother," she finally replied to Diarmuid.
A setup?
"You can materialize. There's no one around, anyway," she suggested after taking a careful look around.
A cloud of glowing dust swirled next to her and formed the figure of the man. He appeared, bowing slightly with a hand to his chest. "At your service, master."
Artoria eyed him momentarily and rolled her eyes. "You don't need to do that. Anyways, my mother wants me to meet someone beneficial; she's hoping we might date and, even more so, marry."
"I thought times were different now…." He stood straight and analyzed the area.
"They are. At least for those that don't have to worry about family legacies," she huffed. "What's your favourite flower, Diarmuid?" She asked, looking up at him after she stepped onto the raised stones on the side of the path that separated the trail from the flowers.
Diarmuid looked at her, his eyebrow raised and his lips twisted in a bewildered smile. "My favourite flower? With all respect, what does that have to do with anything?"
Artoria nodded. "Mine is a vervain...it's simple," she shrugged, "but it means protection against evil." She steadied her steps as she balanced on the raised stones while she walked.
"I don't think I've ever seen one…." Diarmuid mumbled as he offered her a hand to steady herself.
She denied his hand. "You probably have; they're quite unassuming." She shrugged. "So, what's your favourite flower?"
"No one has ever asked me such a question." He stared at her quite perplexed.
Artoria turned her head towards him, looking over her bare shoulder and stopped balancing on the wobbly stone. "Well, it's an important question. Flowers have meanings, and they can say quite a lot about who you are."
"Surely a flower can't tell you who I am. I might just like a flower because it's pretty. There doesn't have to be a meaning to it."
Artoria jumped from the raised shoulder and landed on an uneven cobblestone that slightly pained her ankle; she regretted that tiny hop. "That's certainly true. But when you know the meaning of flowers, they give a little depth to details you put. For example, if I were to love black roses and give one to a woman with child and she knew the meaning, I'd probably get cursed at."
Diarmuid cracked a smile. "I haven't any idea of what a black rose means, but it mustn't be good."
"Goodness no! It means death."
"Then I'd have to think about it. I can't possibly choose a flower at random and risk you thinking I'd betray you."
She nodded. "Well, a word of advice, steer clear from a black dahlia."
"Why do you know so much about flowers?" He questioned, shaking his head and raising an eyebrow.
Artoria rolled her eyes. "My mother made it her mission for me to know everything that I might need to be a quote-on-quote 'proper lady.' Who knows flowers' meanings nowadays, right? It's ridiculous the amount of useless knowledge I know. Still, flowers are pretty, so it wasn't much of a chore to know what meaning they'd been assigned."
Diarmuid's smile faded in an instant, and he looked around, wrapped swords flickering to existence in his hands.
Artoria raised an eyebrow as he took a protective stance in front of her.
"Stay behind me, master," he instructed. He bent his knees and steadied himself into a defensive stance. His eyes narrowed beyond the foliage, and Artoria tried to look past his shoulder to see if she could spot whatever it may have been that he spotted.
"What's wrong?" She mumbled, stretching onto her toes but failing to get a peak. He was still too tall.
Diarmuid didn't look back towards her. Instead, he raised his weapons, ready to strike whatever was about to emerge from the dense plants. There was a particular sound of jingling chains dragging over roots and branches, causing twigs to snap and leaves to rustle.
Artoria caught sight of a figure splitting the dense foliage. A woman emerged as she stepped onto the path, straight lilac hair falling to her ankles, while her little strapless black dress covered only to her upper thighs. She wore black thigh-high boots with magenta steel details, and her arms were covered in a similar coloured material. What was rather peculiar was that a thick magenta steel mask covered her eyes, and a strange red insignia painted her forehead. Even more strange was that the sound of chains that persisted but there were none in sight.
"Hello, Saber." Her voice was sweet and fluid, even seductive, Artoria dared to think. Artoria had to admit she was charming and stunning. "It's a pleasure meeting you here...however, not quite befitting of our circumstances, I suppose."
"Rider." Diarmuid stared at her, shifting his position slightly to be completely between Artoria and the other servant. It was much to Artoria's relief that he acted so defensive; it made her feel safe enough around the beautiful but frightening woman.
Artoria took a step back just as Rider stepped forward, the invisible chains jingling with each movent the woman made.
It was Diarmuid who attacked first. He launched forward, the longer sword extended out towards the woman.
She parried to the right in a quick jump, chains rattling.
Artoria caught sight of Rider's leg lifting as she spun and managed to hit Diarmuid in the arm, a loud thud resonating.
The obnoxious ringing of her phone caught Rider's attention, and Artoria cursed herself for having put on the alarm. If Rider didn't kill her, her mother definitely would. Rider took off in Artoria's direction; a could of smoke settling behind her. Artoria managed to jump out of the way but not before Rider seemed to throw something in the air.
Diarmuid leapt in front of Rider and clashed the shorter sword against the invisible weapon. Chains clattering to the floor. "Master, get out of here. It isn't safe." He called before he clashed weapons with Rider once more.
Rider's weapons finally became visible, two long chains attached to daggers that she held tightly in her hand.
Artoria analyzed the situation, not moving from the path. Rider wasn't stupid, so tricking her wasn't going to work. The previous night, Diarmuid had told her the fastest way to getting rid of a servant was to kill the master; it would make annihilating a servant a million times easier. Where was Rider's master? Were they targeting her?
"Master, run!" Diarmuid grunted as he attacked once more, only to be kicked back by the lilac-haired woman.
Rider was incredibly fast, as was Diarmuid. She jumped from side to side as if teleporting, chains slithering like snakes, hoping to bite on Diarmuid.
Luckily, he wasn't completely useless; in fact, he put up quite a fight. Rider was exceptionally flexible, escaping from Diarmuid's swords with summersaults, kicks and inhuman maneuvers. Every clash of their weapons sent a blast of air around them, destroying plants, bursting lightbulbs, and lifting soil and dust. Sparks flew when the weapons clashed, flickering lights on the servants' features.
Her phone rang, and Artoria looked back at the path they had come from. There was no way in hell that her mother and the guests had not heard a thing. The servants were knocking trees over. A window of the botanical gardens was smashed, shattering and falling over the servants, like sharp, sparkling raindrops.
Artoria looked at Diarmuid one last time before she ran off to find her mother. She didn't want to risk her mother's safety just to know what happened to her brother. Her low heels didn't help and caused her to be more careful with every step, so she kicked them off and tried to find her way back to where the table had been set. The very ground shook beneath Artoria's flying footsteps, rattling the cobblestones. Artoria didn't think about the sharp and blunt objects she had been stepping over; the pain was overridden with the sense of urgency to take her mother to safety.
A loud blast resonated, knocking her down to the floor and shattering all the garden windows, cutting off the lights. Artoria's ears rung, and fear settled in her gut as the glass fell upon them all. She covered her head, and once the bulk of the glass had fallen, she pushed herself up from the floor with a groan and sprinted to the broken wooden archway she had come through.
The fact that her feet stung didn't even cross her mind once she reached her mother, who was on the floor unconscious and covered in hundreds of tiny lesions, some worse than others. Panic exploded in her heart and she fell to her knees with a cry by her mother's side, shaking her. Artoria's hands were trembling and she was running out of breath, taking quick and shallow breaths. She looked around and saw Ninsun, Gilgamesh's mother, also on the floor, her blond hair fanned around her, decorated in glass shards.
Glass crunched behind her while clashing weapons was still heard in the distance. "Artoria?"
author's note
My dearest reader,
I hope this update finds you well. How have you been? I hope you have been well.
Please stay safe out there, it's a scary world. This past weekend my car got stolen and it's been really hard.
Please keep me in your prayers, if you are religious, and please also stay safe
and watch out for yourselves and your family, friends, and neighbours.
I hope you are all doing well and continue to do well.
Please, please, be careful. Take good care.
xx
sincerely, with love and well wishes,
Ms. AtomicBomb