Several days had passed since the battle that took the lives of Assassin and King Lot, and much had occurred since. While Morgan and her children had mourned the loss of their husband/father, other members of the alliance were not so inactive. Lucius Tiberius had made a move to leave Britain and return to Rome to amass an army, using the power of his Archer to convince his homeland to join his fight for the Grail.
It had been Sirs Percival and Galahad, along with non-Master Sir Bors, that had met him in battle, seeing as it was through King Pellinore's territory that Tiberius had made for Rome. Alongside Lancer and Archer, the three had engaged the Roman and his own Archer to keep the War's influence contained to the island nation.
From the reports that reached Artoria, it seemed that Longinus and Arash were simply no match for the unidentified Archer in golden armour. His Noble Phantasm had decimated Camelot's warriors, killing both Servants and Sir Percival. It was only through the shielding of Sir Galahad that Sir Bors was only grievously wounded and not outright killed. Sir Galahad himself had gone missing during the battle. Although the specific circumstances surrounding his disappearance remained a mystery, he was currently considered to have been killed in combat.
Regardless, the Blue Faction was now down to its last four duos: Artoria and Saber, Sir Gawain and Caster, Sir Bedivere and Rider, and Sir Lancelot and Berserker. Meanwhile, the Red Faction retained five: Morgan and Berserker, Sir Mordred and Saber, Sir Gareth and Rider, Sir Gaheris and Assassin, and Tiberius and Archer. The one spot of good luck in all of this came in Tiberius' departure from the British Isles. With him now out of the country, taking his nigh-unbeatable Servant with him, Artoria and her faction had been granted time. Time with which to rid Britain of Morgan and seize the Grail before Tiberius returned to find a united front waiting for him.
Artoria lead the funeral procession for the fallen defenders of the nation, realising that she herself may well join them before she could hold a memorial at the end of the War. She prepared and delivered long speeches about the years of service from Sirs Percival and Galahad, and also eulogised the three fallen Servants: Semiramis, Arash and Lucius Longinus. They had fallen in the service of Britain, after all, and even the Roman Servant had earned the respect of the British knights through his service, in spite of his place of origin.
She then dispatched Sirs Kay and Palamedes to observe the situation in Rome, whilst she made preparations for the conclusion to Morgan's part in the conflict. With this, the only Round Table knights remaining in Britain were those actively fighting in the War, Sir Agravain, and potentially Sir Tristan, whose further involvement Artoria doubted she had cause to rely upon.
Even Merlin was no longer a factor in this conflict. He had departed this world to Avalon to evade the scorned Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. Artoria wondered if this was a cover for some secret true motive for his departure, but it did her little good to dwell upon it. Either way, his part in this conflict - explaining the nature of the Grail War and magecraft, preparing the ritual and the prospective Masters thereof, advising on the countering and utilisation of Servant abilities, and of course, detecting the dark hold Morgan held over Gareth and Gawain and thereby maintaining morale among the betrayed knights - had passed.
She sent her friend off with a smile and resumed planning for the War without him. She now planned solely around the active competitors, hoping for a surprise return of her absent knights, but not once planning for it. She spent several late nights plotting with Agravain, following long days of training with Gawain, Bedivere, Lancelot, and of course Shirou.
Besides being a fantastic sparring partner, serving as both a representation of the power of enemy Servants and a mirror highlighting the flaws in her own stance, Artoria also found herself able to be very open with him afterwards, voicing concerns and flaws she knew of in her strategy, which he never failed to ease her mind over. He even managed to suggest a few rather clever solutions to some of those issues.
"I learned that from watching you," he had claimed upon receiving a compliment on his keen eye from her. Even Sir Agravain had been impressed by the solution when she'd brought it to him.
The plans were finally starting to come together now. Agravain's intelligence network was keeping an eye on the movements of Morgan's faction. She was amassing a large army of homunculi and demonic beasts, and was expected to lead that army into battle any day now. Artoria felt a sense of pending finality that was echoed by each of her comrades.
For now, Artoria was soaking in her private bathtub, the hot water and Shirou's firm massaging of her stiff shoulders easing the tension in her body, while his words eased her mind. She almost worried she might lose her edge if Shirou continued to pamper her so. For now, though, she allowed him to continue. He had already made her legs and feet feel lighter than air, so she could hardly ignore the protests of the rest of her body.
"Do we know where the best place to confront her army would be?" Shirou asked after Artoria laid out the latest news from Agravain.
"There are a few," she sighed, feeling yet more tension leave her body. "Based on the locations where her faction is currently operating, Sir Agravain believes a battle at Camlann may be the best course. But other options are still being considered.
"Camlann, huh?" Shirou uttered idly.
"Yes, Camlann. Are you familiar with it?"
"N-Not especially." The hurried nervousness with which Shirou delivered this response made Artoria eye her Servant with suspicion.
She nodded her acceptance of his response, but privately wondered if it was the twenty-first century boy's own knowledge of history leading him to his unconscious parroting of Camlann's name. Was this a significant location in her future, then?
Artoria opted to keep these ponderings to herself for now. She could contemplate all of that later. Right now, she needed to focus on healing from today's training and strategising. It would not do for the king to be unable to reach the final battle due to strain, after all. Especially with the growing discontent within the populace surrounding the War. That was yet another issue she would need to deal with once the next battle concluded. Assuming she survived, of course.
Artoria was pulled from her thoughts as she noticed that Shirou had been massaging the same spot for a few minutes now. It seemed he was also lost in thought.
"Is something on your mind, Shirou?" she asked, grabbing his attention.
"Hm? O-Oh, no. Nothing, really. Nothing important."
"'Nothing important', is it? I would like to hear it, regardless."
"W-Well, it's just... I was thinking about the fact that, in my War, you and I spoke a lot. About the War, my life, your life, what we were having for dinner. Stuff like that."
Artoria smiled. "That sounds nice."
"It was. But we always spoke in Japanese. But here, now, we speak English. And either way, it's totally natural for both of us - like we've both grown up speaking both languages."
"That is mildly amusing."
"Yeah. Even as different as things are between our respective eras, a lot is still the same. Small things like that. Or how you conduct yourself."
"How I conduct myself?"
"Yeah. I'm sure you've realised that I'm nothing like the person I was back then. I was just a kid trying not to get killed; all the while, constantly putting myself in danger. I wasn't much of a fighter. It was something I had to work at during the War. But here, I can go toe-to-toe with lifelong warriors and not have to rely on luck or other people to get me through it.
"With you, though, it's different. You've always been more than capable. You're a lot more powerful as a Servant, of course, but that doesn't make you any less amazing here, as a human. The only thing that's really changed - or, I guess, will change - is that in my War, you were a lone knight. You didn't have any of your comrades from this era to fight by your side.
"You always cast this... gallant silhouette, standing so nobly in your silver armour, your spectacular sword in hand. It was so beautiful; overwhelming at times. But I always found comfort in having you by my side. I suppose that's part of the reason I fell in love with you.
"But in this era, the idea of you being this legendary king is a lot less abstract. I only had brief glimpses in my dreams before. But seeing you now, at the height of your legend, leading your people like a true king... I've only fallen deeper in love with you."
Artoria slowly turned in the tub, her shoulders pulling free of Shirou's grasp. By now, she no longer felt any sense of embarrassment or self-consciousness over her body being visible to him. Not even the below-average size of her bare breasts could make her feel in any way inadequate, knowing that Shirou loved her for far more noble reasons. It was respect that drove his love for her, not lust. He loved her for her strength of both body and of will. She had no reason to fear being rejected over something so shallow and irrelevant.
She wrapped her arms around her Servant, and she kissed him.
Artoria put total faith in Shirou. Without Merlin and Kay's expert advice, she found herself relying more and more upon Shirou to help guide her. She knew he was more than capable of fulfilling that role; that was why she decided to present Camlann as the site for the final showdown. Shirou had responded to the name, suggesting significance. He must know some of what was to take place there, and how to circumvent it, giving her side an edge exclusive to that site. Prior versions of her - particularly the one he met in his time - had certainly never had Shirou by their side in this coming battle.
Artoria had absolute faith in her and Shirou's ability to lead their forces to victory against Morgan and save her nation. And then, one day, perhaps she could return the favour and help him to create a brighter future for himself in his own Holy Grail War.
Artoria removed herself from the water, taking a towel to dry and cover herself with while a blushing Shirou averted his eyes, as he always did when she emerged from a good soak. Her wet feet padded across the floor towards her sleepwear. Once she was dressed and ready to get some rest, Shirou bade her a good night. She took hold of his sleeve as he made to leave, surprising him.
"We have one last matter before you go. Do you mind?"
"N-No. Not at all."
"Thank you. Please, stand over here. Artoria led Shirou to a spot in the centre of her bedchamber and had him take a knee. She then collected Excalibur from its resting place and withdrew the blade from its scabbard. She held out Avalon for Shirou to take in his hands. It was fitting, she felt, for him to hold the device that connected the two; that allowed them to summon one another to play a role in the most pivotal battles of their respective lives.
With the accompanying blade in hand, she held it aloft and delivered a brief speech about chivalry, about nobility and purpose. And fate. She tapped him across each shoulder with the sword of the king before lowering it and resting her hands upon the pommel.
"There may not have been an official ceremony, and your name will not appear in history... but you are now a Knight of Britain, Sir Shirou Emiya, Knight of Fate."
Lancelot unthinkingly passed by the room as this event transpired. His mind was, ironically, filled only with thoughts of his own affair with the queen as he passed obliviously by the king's affair in progress. He maintained a swift pace as he eagerly made his way towards his latest secret rendezvous. His only thought towards his king came as he passed the door to his bedchambers and subconsciously reaffirmed that his affair with Guinevere was just.
In truth, he knew, deep down, that this 'affair' was something he needed right now. Sir Galahad, one of the most noble and dutiful of all the Knights of the Round Table, had been Lancelot's own son. The two had hardly had the proper relationship of a father and son, but it still saddened Lancelot greatly for his son to have so suddenly disappeared - mostly likely killed along with Sirs Percival and Bors by that monstrous Archer of Red. Thanks to him, Lancelot would never again have the chance to be the father that Galahad deserved.
A part of him blamed Arthur for sending Galahad and his compatriots to King Pellinore's domain, but the rest of him knew that was unfair. This was war, after all. Each of the knights had pledged to place his life on the line to defend this nation and its people. To not reinforce their ally's lands after all of the aid he had provided them would be grossly dishonourable, to say the least. And sending another in Galahad's place, like Sir Bedivere or Sir Kay, would be to sacrifice them in his place. Arthur had made a decision, Galahad had agreed to it, and Lancelot would have to live with that.
There were nights when Lancelot felt that it was, in fact, his own fault for not being the father and mentor Galahad deserved. Perhaps, if he had just been there to train him personally, Britain would still have its noblest knight and one more of its Servants... It was on those nights that the kind, soothing words of Queen Guinevere were the only thing keeping him from losing his sanity...
His habit of walking down this passage each time had not gone unnoticed, however. One of his fellow knights had taken note of this behaviour and found it rather odd. What reason would Sir Lancelot have to pass by the king's chambers each night? His quarters were not in that direction, nor even in this part of the castle. And yet, he had been consistently coming down this hallway for several consecutive nights now.
And it was on this night that Sir Agravain would silently stalk his fellow knight to his secret destination and uncover the truth of his compatriot's unusual behaviour.
You don't know how tempted I was to have Artoria dub Shirou the "Fate/Stay Knight."