It said something about her luck that when Arieen returned after investigating the explosion at the hotel Kayneth was staying at, she also came armed with a side 'quest' that would earn them a rather powerful ally. Even if she disliked the Servant in question.
"Hold up...you ran into Berserker's Master?" said Waver, before he sighed in exasperation. "I would say you were joking...but..."
"But?" said Rider grinning.
"But Arieen's luck on a good day is downright chaotic. She can find a valuable tome lost by complete accident when hundreds of people had looked at the same damn spot and missed it...all while drunk off her ass," said Waver deadpan.
"Hey, it is not my fault that those idiot wizards lost an entire shipment of the Invisible Book of Invisibility... besides, you weren't complaining when I gifted you a copy for free."
Rider's mouth opened and shut for a moment, before he finally asked...
"Why would someone make a book invisible?"
Arieen snorted as did Waver.
"Wizard logic," said Waver dismissively. "Whoever wrote it apparently believed that it was a brilliant idea to only allow those who knew the counter-curse to some of the spells inside to actually read the thing...despite the fact that the only place to find said counters were IN the stupid book in question."
"Yeah, and the ones who did manage to stumble upon the thing usually just pilfered their own copy and didn't bother paying. Half the box was already empty by the time I located it," said Arieen.
Naturally she had insured to hide her pilfered copies before alerting the owner to the box. She wasn't an idiot after all.
"So, about this quest?" said Rider.
"Berserker's Master is an unwilling one. He has no interest in the Grail, but he has a major grievance with Archer's Master. Considering what he told me, I have no issues killing the Tohsaka master if I get the chance," growled Arieen.
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" asked Waver.
"You know the lengths the older families are willing to go to secure their bloodline," said Arieen. "The Matou head likes to dabble in crest worms of all things."
Waver's expression became one of complete and utter disgust. He had only come across a brief mention of the things once, and that was more than enough to know he wanted absolutely nothing to do with them or the subject.
"So what has you so angry then?" asked Rider. Arieen was rash, but he had yet to see her truly angered. There was a cold glint in her eyes that spoke of fire and vengeance.
"The Tohsaka Master...he had two girls."
"Wait...'had'?" said Waver.
"From what I was told by Berserker's master, the bastard sold his youngest to the Matou to insure their bloodline continued because the youngest member isn't a Magus in the least. The man openly threw the girl into a pit of crest worms," said Arieen beyond pissed.
Waver's expression said volumes, and it wasn't a good thing. Rider didn't know what these creatures were, but the sheer feminine fury said enough for him to go by.
"This child...how old is she?" asked Rider.
"She wasn't more than four or five when she was sent to the Matou," said Arieen. "And from what I gathered, the old bastard didn't waste much time in throwing her in. He's still subjecting her to it even now."
Rider had an unusually serious look on his face.
"Even if we do rescue this child, from the sound of things she won't be the same again. Are you prepared to deal with what must be done?" asked Rider seriously.
Arieen's expression said that she was more than ready. Waver was only barely able to comprehend Rider's meaning and he looked sick to his stomach.
"We'll rescue the girl and see what needs to be done. Worst case scenario, I'll call in a few...friends...of mine to handle it. They most certainly won't be happy with what was done to her."
Titania was partial to children, and the thought of subjecting a little girl to that was utterly sickening. She would likely be better off being spirited away and turned into a fairy than spend another night in that house.
"Excellent! So we are off to battle then?" said Rider with excitement. Waver was a sheltered scholar...this might be the wake-up call he needed.
Arieen...discreetly texted Herne to get ready. Odds are they would have to convert the child to rid her of the wretched things.
It wouldn't be the first child Arieen had spirited away... unlike some fairies, she targeted those who didn't come from loving families. Those that would gladly cast aside their humanity for something better...something more than just mere survival that could prove useful.
She had long since grown her diminutive court into a respectable one, and her people loved her. And that wasn't counting the half-faeries that had found refuge under her wings when the human world became too much.
The United Kingdom was the territory of the Tuathe De. So she had made her own off somewhere in the Pacific which had long since been recognized as it's own country. The humans knew it was ruled by a monarchy, but that was about it. Certain members of her court took turns pretending to be king/queen to keep up the ruse. It had a rather flourishing tourist industry.
They also had one of the biggest exports of high quality liquor know to the magical world. Something she took exceptional pride in.
Kariya was warned that the girl, Sakura, might not remain human by the end of the war. He was fine with this, as becoming one of the Faerie courts was still preferable to what his 'father' was putting her through.
Waver felt some measure of pride that he had managed to hold back his stomach until he was outside at least. He thought he had known how disgusting the Magus world was...he soon realized he had only skimmed the surface.
The girl they had managed to kidnap was in bad shape. Her will had been more or less broken by her 'grandfather', and she had no hope to speak of.
Kariya had confirmed that Sakura was firmly out of the hands of the Matou, and had agreed to work with Waver's side of the war. Mostly because they both had someone they wouldn't mind seeing six feet under before it ended.
Herne took Sakura and disappeared into the night, ignoring the blaze that was once the Matou manor.
"A fine quest!" said Rider. The girl was saved, a monster firmly destroyed (or at least greatly weakened), and his Master had been given a hard look at reality and had come out stronger.
"Agreed! I think we deserve a celebratory drink!" said Arieen.
Rider perked up at that.
"How can you think about drinking?" said Waver.
"Because then I'd have to contemplate that shit show sober," she replied without hesitation.
Waver considered this.
"I don't want any of the extra strong stuff. I know the type you drink would kill my stomach," he said finally.
"Tell you what, I'll break out my special stash for this. It's easier to handle," said Arieen. "Besides, I'm mostly doing product testing."
"Product testing?" said Waver, turning to stare at her.
"Ever heard of Red Knight Brewery?" she asked.
Waver stopped cold and turned to stare at her in disbelief.
"Hold up. You have connections to one of the top brands in booze for the magical, mundane and supernatural sects? The one that would put Kayneth himself on such a long waiting list he'd have to shell out untold amounts of cash just to be bumped up? The one that has been confirmed to have an effect in improving magical circuits? That brewery?"
"I don't have connections, I'm the primary owner. I don't know much about brewing, but I did help found the thing," said Arieen cheerfully. "I just rarely find anyone worth giving a free bottle to."
One sip and Waver knew he would happily pay any amount of money to get his hands on more. He could feel his magic circuits reacting to whatever was in the alcohol. Almost as if it was refining them somehow.
Arieen grinned at him.
"Wait...is this the reason you're always drinking?" he asked.
"Partially," admitted Arieen. "Mostly it's because I have certain issues in my life I'd rather not contemplate sober. Like my parentage."
Waver took another sip before something occurred to him.
"Wait...the apartment back in England... You own it don't you?"
Arieen grinned at him.
"Yup."
Waver swore, just a little.
"Hmm...do you think the other Kings would appreciate this vintage?" said Rider, holding up one of the 'cheaper' bottles of Arieen's special stash.
"I don't see why they wouldn't," said Arieen. She eyed him for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"I want to have a proper conversation with the other kings in this war," admitted Rider.
Arieen looked thoughtful.
"That...actually sounds like fun. It would be nice to talk to Gilgamesh properly," said Arieen.
"What about Saber?" asked Waver.
Arieen grimaced.
"If I have to put up with Saber, I'm bringing the extra strong stuff. Either way, I have the feeling she's going to say or do something that will piss me off that she's going to recognize me."
Rider had the feeling it was going to be a rather...enlightening...conversation for multiple parties.
Considering this was a meeting of kings, Arieen decided to pull out her better clothes. Her usual slovenly look had been replaced with something that had Waver staring at her in disbelief.
"If you have stuff like this, then why..."
"Because the thought of how my parents would react to me wearing that sort of outfit daily amuses me, and it's easy to move in."
As they crashed into the castle, Rider grinned. Arieen's outfit looked good on her, and it suited her stature as a King.
"Hello Saber!" he said cheerfully. "I came because I wanted to see your castle. Rather gloomy, don't you think?"
"Rider...what do you want?" demanded Saber.
"I came here to drink, what else?" said Rider cheerfully. "Why are you wearing such tacky armor? Did you think I came here to battle?"
Arieen was not so discreetly cackling at the way Rider caught Saber so flatfooted. This was hilarious.
"And what of you?" she asked of Arieen.
"Oh, I'm here to see how many drinks I can make it through before you realize who I am," she replied cheerfully. "I wouldn't be the fairy king of chaos if I didn't stir some up at such a prime opportunity!"
Saber was rather baffled by that response. She still didn't know what to make of Arieen.
Seeing Gilgamesh there did not help her mellow in the least.
Rider broke open the barrel he had brought. Arieen wanted to get a good buzz going before she broke out the really good bottles from her special stash. Besides, she wanted the King of Heroes honest opinion of it.
Gilgamesh turned his nose up at the barrel, but looked intrigued at the bottle Arieen brought out.
He took a decent sip, before eyeing the bottle and taking another.
"This vintage...is acceptable."
Arieen grinned at him. She was glad she had taken the opportunity to get properly dressed, because Gilgamesh had given her an appreciative look when he arrived.
"I'll tell the others you liked it. It's high praise getting a seal of approval from the King of Heroes himself," she replied.
"It's not often one partakes in fairy wine," he replied.
"Fairy wine?" said Saber, startled.
"Saber, I would have thought you of all people would have realized that our dear friend here was not boasting about their royal lineage!" said Rider.
"Not much of one, considering your parents allow you to walk around like that," snarked Saber. Something about the way the girl had dressed before had rubbed her in all the wrong ways. She couldn't explain why though.
"The fact you say that tells me you still haven't figured out who I am...Saber," smirked Arieen. "Though the fact you didn't recognize Berserker is even more proof you've gone senile."
"Berserker?" said Saber, confused.
"I suppose the fog made it harder to recognize him...that or you're desperately trying to forget what damage he did. But he was one of your most loyal knights until the incident."
Saber's expression was stricken. Likely at the thought of one her own becoming that monster.
"Wait...how did you recognize him?"
"Like I wouldn't remember the armor of the idiot who couldn't keep it in his pants," snarked Arieen. "Weird obscuring fog or not, you don't recognize a combat style like that in a hurry, especially with what happened."
Saber was becoming more and more confused.
"You speak as if you know the Round personally."
"I did," said Arieen. "I was there at the battle of Camlann, in fact."
Saber went ramrod straight at that.
"What?" she said horrified.
Waver sputtered in disbelief.