Immortal: Hello today all of you! Today is the birthday of Mordred, so to celebrate, here's a little chapter preview of… things to come. Oh and by the way, this IS canon for at least this story. My co-host/slavedriver/gacha addict is currently being held at bay thanks to this newest event. Lady Reines Case Files! She was able to get her Little Okita Alter, spooked by Gilgamesh's clay bro for life, Vanilla Jeanne, the blonde girl who is now hijacked by the Greek goddess of justice, and Lady Reines herself! And it... only took a LOT of whaling, which makes my wallet and my heart very sad.
But enough about me and my complaints, this is a nice divergent story that while still canon for this, is something to warrant a short chapter!
Disclaimer: This story is fan-based writing. All characters and locations are owned by their respective copyright holders for the Nasuverse as well as Arthurian mythology. I do not own them in any way, shape, form, or concept, to include Reality Marbles, Singularites, or Lostbelts. Please support the official release, but don't go too crazy spending your money on the Fate/Grand Order gacha!
Happy Birthday Mordred!
"Good morning Senpai."
The gentle and welcoming voice of Mash Kyrielight was the first thing for Ritsuka Fujimaru to hear as she exited her room. Humanity's Last Master smiled brightly at her kouhai as she returned the greeting as well. Fou was resting as usual on the Shielder's shoulder, but the twitch of his fluffy white tail and soft barks of, "Fou, fou!", showed he was greeting Ritsuka as well.
The orange-haired girl gently scratched Fou under his neck in his favorite spot before she said, "Are you on your way to the cafeteria as well Mash?"
"Yes, I just thought to come see you first before we head out. The SERAPH was something else wasn't it?". Ritsuka Fujimaru had only just returned three days prior from resolving the crisis at the Mariana Trench. But the events had brought new allies with them; BB the self-proclaimed "Devilish Kouhai" and her Alter-Egos, Meltryllis, Passionlip, and Kingprotea.
"Kinda. I guess I'm still able to be surprised even after all this time.", said Ritsuka as she twirled her finger a bit through her side-ponytail.
The two girls walked side-by-side as they headed to the cafeteria, just talking about anything and nothing in particular as was their usual habit. As they walked, they greeted the staff members of Chaldea as they went about their daily business. Sometimes they even saw their allied Servants on the way. Ritsuka always made it a point to greet them and check how they were doing, even the more obsessive and possessive ones.
Ritsuka and Mash flinched as they walked past the karaoke room where Nero and Elizabeth Bathory were belting out new songs before hurrying along before they could be spotted and dragged in to be the audience. As they hurried along, they saw Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's face was pleasant as he walked by alongside his friend Marie Antoinette, but the Master and Shielder were reasonably certain that Nero and Eli's "singing", if it could be called that, was wilting his Spirit Core fort the blasphemy done to music. Marie Antoinette quickly greeted the pair before trying to steer The God of Music away.
Further on, they saw some of the children of Chaldea running along the halls and laughing as they were chased by a bemused Atalante. Nursery Rhyme, Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, Jack the Ripper, and Paul Bunyan spotted their master before they hurried over. They excitedly greeted Ritsuka before asking if it was true that they had brought another friend, one who was supposedly even bigger than Bunyan. Ritsuka lowered herself down and said that they had brought some new people along, but that Kingprotea was pretty shy, so she might need time to adjust, but that as long as they were careful then they were sure that they could befriend the Alter Ego.
"Yay!", cheered the four before the Chaste Huntress caught up with them.
She gently, but firmly reminded them that they had to be careful when running through the halls. Then she took Jack, who was the most mischievous of the group, by the hand and the group walked off to find Kingprotea, waving and calling, "Bye-bye!" to Ritsuka. Mash smiled at them before looking at her Master who waved back at them. She was able to tame even the likes of Jack the Ripper, one of history's most infamous serial killers, and bond with her to a level that was a far-cry from when they first met in the London Singularity.
They walked into the cafeteria and saw that it was busy as per usual, but there was a healthy mix of Chaldea staff members and Servants eating and drinking their morning meals. Though the Servants tended to keep to themselves or other Servants, there were a few who were milling with the Chaldea staff members. Fergus mac Roich was regaling a few of the staff women with tales of his exploits while at the next table over, Astolfo was happily eating with some Chaldea staff, next to his friend Sieg as he too entertained them with tales of his exploits as one of Charlemange's Paladins.
Mash and Ritsuka got into line to get their food, standing behind Beowulf and Iskandar as the two kings chatted away. Iskandar of course was trying to get Beowulf to join his army, but the King of Geatland laughed and refused, saying he wasn't one to join other armies, but he would happily fight the King of Conquerors in a friendly match anytime.
"Yo, Master!"
A voice and a friendly pat on the back, which nearly knocked the wind out of Ritsuka, signaled that they were joined by none other than Mordred herself. After the events of the London Singularity, Mordred had been summoned to Chaldea as one of their most powerful allies. Despite being "pat" with enough force to knock a full-sized adult over, Ritsuka collected herself and greeted Mordred with a friendly smile despite needing to catch her breath.
Despite having developed good bonds with all her Servants, Mordred was perhaps one of Ritsuka's closest Servants whom she could rely on in a pinch. It helped too that Mash was quite fond of the Saber as well in spite of her past connection due to Galahad, but even after summoning the other Knights of the Round Table, Mordred was still close to Ritsuka, even to the point of swearing her formal loyalty to her as befitting of a knight.
But there was a huge problem that Ritsuka and Mash just couldn't really resolve with their friend. After the events of the Camelot Singularity, the legendary King of Knights herself, Artoria Pendragon, answered the call to aid Chaldea's efforts to fight against Solomon. Aside from fighting once or twice in their daily missions together, Mordred refused any and every opportunity to meet individually with her sire, stating simply that she served Ritsuka and that even she wasn't so fickle as to serve two kings. Artoria also had made no effort to speak with Mordred, stating that "she wasn't ready yet.".
Ritsuka respected that the two needed time to get themselves comfortable enough to talk, but weeks and months had gone by and the two barely acknowledged each others existence, going out of their way to avoid each other as much as possible. One by one the other members of the Round Table were summoned and yet there had been no progress between Mordred and Artoria. Humanity's Last Master had the feeling that there needed to be a right moment in time for the two to get together and have their talk. She just had to wait a little longer until the right time presented itself.
But in the here and now, Mordred was smiling and looked cheerful as she, Mash, and Ritsuka made their orders for food and were later served breakfast from the Queen of Victory, Boudica. The red-haired queen smiled at them and Mordred watched her leave before musing, "Oh yeah, she was also from Britain wasn't she? Huh, I guess I should take points from her on how to rebel?"
"Hey Mash,", said Ritsuka, "Didn't Boudica's rebellion, you know...?"
"...", Mash knew what her Senpai was getting at, but Mordred just raised an eyebrow before dismissing the the whole conversation as she began to eat her breakfast; fried eggs, beans, bacon, roast tomatoes, black pudding, and tea. All in all, a very traditional English breakfast, which Mash and Ritsuka didn't fail to notice. They asked Mordred if this was her favorite type of food to eat, to which the knight replied that while it was good, she didn't have any particular favorite foods. At Camelot, Gawain had been the one in charge of the overall meal plans that were served daily and even when he wasn't around, the food had to be prepared according to his specifications. Percival sometimes assisted as well, but he always gave them absurdly large portions to help them stay healthy.
She had a look of disgust on her face that was exactly identical to her father's when she explained to them the concept of Gawain's cooking. Ritsuka and Mash nodded knowingly. Gawain had tried to join the cooking crew at Chaldea, but he had not lasted more than a day before Emiya, Boudica, Tamamo Cat, and Raikou had banned him, to which Artoria and the Round Table seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
"But didn't you get to pick something you really liked on special days?", asked Ritsuka as she ate her omurice, "Like on your birthday, couldn't you request or try to treat yourself to something extra?"
Mordred set her spoon down as she looked at the remains of her breakfast. Her birthday... she had not thought of that in a long time. Not since she was alive in fact as a flesh and blood huma-homunculus. Sometimes she had to remind herself of that, but her Master affirmed that Mordred was Mordred and she would cherish her whatever she thought of herself as.
But on the subject of birthdays... nobody, not one person had ever asked her about her birthday. She knew only that it was May 1st, today in fact, but nobody-
'That's not true.'
The thought came unbidden as Mordred realized that there WAS one person who had asked about her in regards to birthday. But when pressed about it, Mordred scarfed down the rest of her food, gathered her tray and said, "I don't wanna talk about it. Master, I'm gonna go to the training room."
Ritsuka watched as Mordred began to leave when the doors opened and she came face-to-face with none other than Artoria herself. The Knight of Rebellion paused as she looked her father in the eyes in slight surprise, but the King of Knights kept a neutral expression, showing neither surprise, nor anger, nor sorrow. The pair stared at each other for a long moment before finally they spoke.
"Father."
"Sir Mordred."
At that, the knight let out a short, sharp intake of breath, baring her pointed canines before she and Artoria stepped around each other, the former storming to the training room. Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other before sighing. Realistically, they both knew that the pain that had been etched into the very souls of Artoria and Mordred at their mutual slaying had been a result of tragedy, but they still would not resolve the issue.
Frankly it was starting to get annoying and eventually it would come to a head, but for now Ritsuka resolved to wait until something came to mind.
/~/
That night...
It was another campaign against yet another invasion from the Saxons and the military commander in charge of the fighting force had been relieved to be allowed to go home and celebrate the birth of his child. As the closest Round Table Knight in the vicinity, Mordred had been ordered to take overall command. It had been her first command of a larger campaign and it was found that the Knight of Londinium had a really good head for command via use of scouts and obtaining badly needed-supplies. But she was always insistent on being where the fighting would be the thickest, which gave the common soldiers confidence and raised morale that King Arthur's own personal knights would fight with them.
The campaign had been short and brutal against the Saxons, who were routed and the outlying villages had been safeguarded. After the campaign and the subsequent cleanup, King Arthur had made an unexpected visit to the battlefield to see to his people and how Mordred was running the campaign. The King had listened attentively and spoke quiet words of thanks to the men, who had their hearts swell with pride and joy. Mordred had felt the words just as acutely if not more so, before she was approached by the king astride his magnificent white horse.
"The commander will soon relieve you. His child's birthday I am told was a joyous one."
"As you say, my King.", said Mordred in formal response, though she held some disdain for the man, wondering why the celebration of one's birth was of any importance.
"Pray tell, Sir Mordred, when is the day of your birth?"
The young knight felt her breath suddenly taken away as it took her a moment to register the question. The king was... interested in knowing when she was born? Though her armor prevented her showing it, she saw that King Arthur could tell the question had taken her off-guard. She struggled to remember the day of her own birth, "Pray forgive me my king, I have... never celebrated my birth before. I need but a moment."
She wracked her brain until the day finally popped in her mind, but before she could answer, a herald had come with an urgent message. Another lord had declared open rebellion and was amassing forces, claiming himself a voice of freedom against a tyrant king who knew nothing of the commons.
King Arthur took in the news as calm and understanding as ever, but Mordred stomped to the herald and demanded, "Where is this?! I will go myself and personally put this rebellion down before its disgusting slander spreads any further-!"
"Sir Mordred."
King Arthur's voice gently cut her off and Mordred stopped her angry tirade before she looked at her magnificent king. The damned nobles and the ignorant masses were ungrateful to the endless personal sacrifices of King Arthur! How DARE they think of him as a tyrant! Of course though, being humans that were selfish, stupid, and foolish they would of course flock wherever their errant petty concerns took them.
But King Arthur looked from the messenger to her knight and said, "Sir Mordred. I would have you rest before you move to this campaign. If you can bring the lord's people back into the fold, then I order you to see it done. Treason cannot be tolerated, but if it can be afforded, show the people mercy."
"I serve and obey, my king.", said Mordred solemnly and turned to begin her preparations before she remembered her king's first request and she turned to say, "Before I forget, my birthday is May Day, sire."
Though it had been long past, King Arthur nodded subtly before saying, "Then upon the next May Day, I give you my word as your king, we will hold a celebration for you. To celebrate the birth of one of my precious knights would be a worthy day at my court."
That promised celebration never came to pass.
Rituska Fujimaru woke up from her sleep, realizing that she had once again been dreaming of the memories of her servants. Mash had arrived to awaken her since she slept longer than usual, entering the room to check on her Senpai. Upon seeing the look on Ritsuka's face, Mash asked in concern what had happened. Chaldea's Master explained what she had dreamt, but as the two began to talk, an idea began to form that soon was becoming something too good to ignore.
Artoria had said she would celebrate Mordred's birthday, which had never come to pass. But here and now at Chaldea, they could help give Mordred a proper birthday for once. But it would require some help, but Mash Kyrielight had a good hunch of just who exactly could help them prepare.
/~/
"Hey Master, how long are we gonna keep farming these flying lizards for?", asked Mordred as she pried yet another Dragon Fang from a fallen Wyvern and tossing it over her shoulder
"Not much longer. We need about 24 more before we can upgrade your Mana Burst. We have a slight surplus of Chaos Claws, so we can use those as well.", called Ritsuka as she collected the Dragon Fang and stuffed it in her pack.
After working with Sherlock Holmes, Da Vinci, and a number of other servants, the group had devised a plan for a small surprise party for Mordred. Jeanne Alter Santa Lily would use her magic to create the festive flair while Tamamo Cat would make the cake. Mash had stayed behind and worked alongside the Servants most skilled at diplomacy such as Julius Caesar, would convince the other Knights of the Round Table and Artoria to attend this party.
Ritsuka privately felt that Mordred would probably get irritated, but she felt her friend deserved at least one genuinely happy birthday. Mordred was likely to not want to have her birthday seen as a big deal and would get really mad, so she and Mash agreed that the gathering should be for only those who Mordred knew well and actually liked or partially tolerated. So it had fallen to her to keep the Knight of Rebellion occupied while the others got things prepared. Thankfully Mordred did relish any chance to get to fight and she had been moody as she usually when whenever she met her father, so it was good to be able to let her blow off some steam.
But she was still hopeful that Mordred would be at least happy if nothing else, so she pushed herself hard to be a good Master and support Mordred as they continued their hunt for dragons. Jeanne Alter, after much begging and bribing, was able to amply supply the wyverns that would keep Mordred and Ritsuka good and occupied for a long while yet.
Eventually, Mordred and her Master farmed all they could, holding enough Dragon Fangs to build a miniature replica of Camelot itself. Mordred had a feeling in her gut that her Master was keeping something from her, because she had that dumb smile she always had whenever she was trying to hide something. Her Master was such a good person at heart that even trying to hide something was hard, but it just made Mordred more fond of her. However, upon return to Chaldea, Ritsuka had rushed off before Mordred could demand to know just what her Master's deal was.
Jeanne Alter looked pissed as she always did, but that was nothing new and when Mordred asked her what the hell was going on, the Dragon Witch said dismissively, "Go ask your Ice Bitch Queen of a father. I don't really give a shit."
"Hey, don't talk about my father like that!", snapped Mordred as Jeanne Alter laughed rudely and said, "Which one? All but one of them have a reason to not want anything to do you."
Mordred snarled and shoved past her, walking away with her middle finger raised as Jeanne Alter yelled obscenities at her back. The knight responded by holding up her other middle finger as she walked away until the Dragon Witch's voice was lost to her.
For now though, Chaldea seemed to be strangely empty as she stormed her way to her room, her armored boots thumping on the floor. Despite being able to go about in spirit form, Mordred preferred to be in a physical body and as she approached her room she thought she sensed the presence of people in her area. A frown set itself on her face and she summoned Clarent into her hand. Despite the rule of "no using weapons" anywhere but the training room, Mordred broke this rule frequently. She was the Knight of Rebellion dammit!
The door slid open and the room was dark as Mordred charged in, roaring and brandishing Clarent to punish the intruders into her private room when the lights came on.
Confetti burst from poppers and various voices called,
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORDRED!"
"Ehhhh!?"
Mordred was frozen in place, shocked, confused, and still a little angry as she saw that in her room were the Round Table Knights, all the child servants of Chaldea, Tamamo Cat, Mash Kyrielight, and Ritsuka Fujimaru, all wearing strange paper-coned hats. The room was decorated with colorful streams and other celebratory flair, despite the decorations being more suited to Christmas, it was really well done. Party favors, food and drink, and a dart game was set up to add to the excitement.
On her master's lap was a beautiful round cheesecake, layered with red cream and delicate silver trimmings to form her sword, Clarent. On the edges were freshly-sliced strawberries shaped like her choker when she wore her undergarments that allowed her to go without her armor. In the center of the cake was a single candle that glowed bright yellow as it flickered.
"Wha-what the hell is going on!?", said Mordred, now more confused than angry as she lowered her sword.
"Well, it's to celebrate your birthday! It's May 1st or May Day after all.", said her Master as she brought the cake forward for the Knight of Rebellion. The Holy Grail provided information about any era that servants were brought into, so she knew what she was supposed to do, but Mordred only stared at the candle. The other servants watched her expectantly, but Mordred only stared and looked ready to walk out the door.
"Do you- do you not like the cake?", asked Mash a little nervously, seeing how Morded did not looked pleased. The Knight of Rebellion looked at Mash and the others; Gawain, Lancelot, Tristan, Bedivere, the kid servants, but she noticed something amiss. After a while, a dejected look appeared on the Knight of Rebellion's face.
"Father didn't want to come, did he?"
The words were delivered pointedly as Ritsuka and Mash looked uncomfortable. The knights had various looks from neutral to disappointed as well. But it was true. Artoria was not there and when reminded of her past word to Mordred, the King of Knights had disappeared without a word, not telling anybody where she was going, only stating that she needed to go somewhere.
/~/
Mordred laughed suddenly, drawing a looks of surprise and concern, especially from the kid servants as the Knight of Rebellion said, "Of course Father wouldn't come! Even now, even after all this time, he still hates me for what I did."
"Mordred..."
The Knight of Rebellion's laughed on and on, her voice becoming more and more bitter as she felt her eyes sting. Ugh, couldn't they get that damn candle out of her face, the heat was stinging her eyes!
"Sorry to make you waste your time Master.", said Mordred as she clenched her fists and started to walk out, "There was no good of ever me being born- Mmph!"
As Mordred started to walk out her room, she was stopped as she ran into for the second time that week, Artoria. But it was not her father as she knew. The body she ran into was too... soft, too bouncy, and too... womanly. Mordred's vision was blocked as she realized she had walked face-first into the bosom of Artoria Pendragon, her Lancer version. The Knight of Rebellion looked up nonplussed at her other father, her face buried between the royal valley before she yelped and stumbled back
"Please excuse me Mordred.", began the elder Artoria as Mordred's face turned bright red, her royal ermine cape billowing majestically as she announced, "It has taken some time, but we have gathered to fulfill a promise that we had not seen through. Alter or not, all of use who knew you, or a version of you had given our word to celebrate the day of your birth, and thanks to Chaldea's Master, we were reminded of our promise, which we will now render unto you!"
It was only at that point that Mordred registered that it wasn't just the Lancer version of her father that stood before her, but all the others thus far that her Master had summoned. They stood in a line, each with a package in their hands or some other gift that they had gathered to fulfill their word to their unknown child.
The Lion King version of Father drew forth a beautiful silver rapier with an elegant loopguard that was part of her formal attire before walking past and setting it on Mordred's bed.
She placed a hand on Mordred's shoulder before saying, "I heard of your feats against the Goddess Rhongomyniad. Mordred, I place my trust in you to defeat me if I should ever turn into that version. You are not the Mordred I knew, but I'm proud of your feats nonetheless."
Next to arrive was the Alter version of Artoria Lancer, the Storm King whom her Master had faced in the London singularity. But this version gave the Knight of Rebellion a nod and presented her with a pair of colorful wrap-around sunglasses, magically enhanced to protect one's eyes while traveling and to never stain nor wear.
Mordred tried to formulate a response when the Storm King said solemnly, "In my timeline, you joined me in the Wild Hunt. Even as others fell away, you stood by my side until your natural lifespan came to an end. You may not have been my son, but I see in you that same strength as the one who rode with me."
Next to arrive was the pure and innocent version of her father, whom everybody affectionately referred to as "Lily". This version of her father did not view Mordred as her son in any capacity, but rather as a cool person to admire for her bravery, prowess, and confidence.
She presented Mordred with a red ribbon like her own and said that she made it herself for Mordred. Although she knew the truth of who Mordred was, Lily said, "I know it's too late, but um... if I ever get to meet my Mordred, I'll be the best parent I can be for both of you!". She said it with such determination that the Knight of Rebellion couldn't help but be touched.
The next person to arrive was the Alter version of her father, the Dark-tainted Tyrant. Her pale face and yellow eyes stared hard at Mordred, who couldn't help feel a chill as she was reminded of Camlann. But this version did not wear her armor, instead wearing her black dress, and in her hand were two things; a set of keys and a picture.
"Wreck this and I will destroy you.", said Alter as cold as ever, but with a small smirk as if daring Mordred to prove her wrong, "I did not know a Morded as I am now, though I imagine that you would have been hailed as a hero of justice for being the one to bring me down.. As expected of the one who shares my blood."
Her Alter version of her father had given her the keys to her beloved motorcycle, Curassier Noir. Mordred made slight choking noises as if she were being overwhelmed by the sudden attention of her various fathers. She wanted to scream, to run away, to kill all witnesses, to just... do SOMETHING, ANYTHING! Artoria Alter walked past Mordred into the room, announcing that she had been told there would be cake.
Next to arrive were the Riders, Maid and Santa Alter. Maid Alter gave Mordred a brand new two-piece swimsuit that was red as her clothes while the Santa version of her father reached into her sack and pulled out a package also containing clothes. It was a red jacket, a white tube top, very short jean shorts, a necklace, and black biker boots.
The latter drew forth vague memories of another time and another place, but they were dismissed when she was greeted by Mysterious Heroine X and the Alter version of her. X gave her a ticket that said, "Restraining Order for one use only. All Sabers must die, but this gives you a head start run." EX on the other hand gave her a small box of Japanese sweets that she had Tamamo Cat make for her. Neither were clear on how they knew their Mordred, or if they ever had one at all, but they were doing this because they were asked.
At the piles of gifts on her bed, Mordred was still utterly dumbfounded and yet... despite all these gifts from the various versions of her father, none of them were actually Artoria, and she wondered if that was the only version of her father that would never show her affection. Perhaps she'd have more luck seeing her father dress like a bunny, like that Irish servant, that blue dog Cu's master.
After all her gifts had been set on her bed, Mordred asked the Artoria's which of them came up with the idea. They all looked at each other before they said, "She did.", and they all pointed at each other. Mordred threw her hands up and went to leave before her insanity finally broke. She barely got out the door when she heard yet one more voice, this time from the one she dreaded most.
/~/
"Mordred."
"...Father."
Mordred went to walk back into her room when the door was shut and locked.
"HEY! What the hell!?", she demanded and Gawain shouted through the door, "You don't get to come in until you and the King talk. Resolve your issues for goodness sake!"
Mordred called to her Master, but Ritsuka and Mash said it was for her own good and that this had to be resolved. The Knight of Rebellion threatened to kick their asses collectively once she got her hands on them, but the group kept quiet so that the Pendragons could finally talk. It took almost a good five minutes as the two stood in the halls of Chaldea, before Artoria finally asked, "Shall we, sit down and talk?"
"Fine.", grumbled Mordred before she walked over to a bench, "Beats standing anyway."
Mordred noticed that her father wasn't wearing the armor she usually had, instead opting for the blue dress she wore underneath it. Artoria sat calmly next to Mordred as opposed to the rough way her son sat. But once more it was incredibly awkward and the pair did not know exactly how to begin.
"Mordred." "Father." "Go ahead-" "Say what-" "No I insist-" "Please just-" "How about you-" "How about you-"
"UGH!", groaned Mordred as she slapped her leg in annoyance, "Okay, you go first, say what you gotta say father. I'm sure you have other things to do or better places to be."
For some reason, Artoria's face had a gentle humorous look to it as she asked, "Where else could I go? I am like you Mordred, summoned for a purpose until my time has come to return to the Throne of Heroes."
"Okay fine, it's not like you can just go for a pack of cigarettes and never come back. So... let's talk then."
"Yes.", said Artoria, but once more silence lingered before the King of Knight finally said, "I... spoke to Master, who reminded me of your birthday. I had made you a promise a long time ago didn't I? That when your birth date came about, we would properly celebrate it."
"Yeah well, that shit didn't turn out so well did it?"
"Unfortunately it did not. But I know that a great deal of the blame lays with me, for things turning out the way they did."
The lights had begun to dim in Chaldea, for night mode as it were to preserve power that wasn't as badly needed. Artoria continued in response to the raised eyebrow from Mordred, "When I had told you that I couldn't recognize you as my son, I believed with all my might that I was making the correct response. You had not been trained as I was how to rule a kingdom. I couldn't recognize you as my son because that would have thrown into question my marriage with Guinevere. Furthermore, the circumstances around Morgan Le Fay's way of taking my seed to make you was... extremely painful for me to think about. When I realized the truth of who you were, I remembered what had happened, how I had been deceived and taken against my will. Not just of my male parts."
As Artoria spoke, Mordred's face slowly began to turn to shock and horror. Her king had been... raped?! Mother had done such a vile act to her father? She looked down, the sick feeling rolling in her stomach like worms as she said, "Mother... Morgan really did that to you? I was a rape baby?"
"Mordred.", said Artoria in a tone that brooked no argument, causing the knight to look at her father, "I KNEW that you were not to blame for Morgan's deception and deeds, but I had discarded all my emotions to make what I believed was the true and correct response. But in doing so, I had cast off the empathy that I should have felt for you. Had I hung onto my emotions a little more, I would have explained it better to you. But I could not for the sake of the kingdom and its people give the throne to somebody who I knew so little of. It was admittedly a brief temptation, but I also didn't want you to bear that suffering that came with it. After Camlann, upon seeing what the result of my rule had brought, I believed that I should never have been king to begin with. That surely somebody else could have done better."
This was all so much to take in that Mordred would have need to hang onto the wall for support as she looked at her father in a whole knew way. She had her own presumptions of why her father couldn't stand to be around her, but now that she knew... Even as a Heroic Spirit, her father still carried the weight of what she had done in her, and Mordred had carried the belief that despite her father declaring she didn't hate her, that it was a lie. But her father had been suffering more than anybody else, that she was carrying a secret pain that she had shared with no other, and that her regrets and self-doubt had been enough to make her feel herself the wrong choice to rule.
How could have not realized this? How could she have let her father carry all this self-loathing and shame for so long? But wait... wasn't there a point where she had an epiphany? Where she had realized that her father had become a king for the sake of the stones on the roadside, that is, the people and not herself, never herself. The Throne of Heroes gave her knowledge that Morgan le Fay had deceived King Arthur to create a child, but the fact that the King of Knights was raped... that she did not know
Artoria had laid her soul bare before her son, but now things would not be the same. There was no going back, and what would Mordred think of her now? She was not the perfect king she had known in life, the heartless father who rejected her, and that there were layers to her that Mordred had never known.
"I... had a wish that I would have made on the Holy Grail.", began Mordred, looking at the ground between her feet, "That I would be allowed to draw the Sword of Selection. I didn't want to just be GIVEN the throne. I wanted to prove that I was worthy as well. I... I should have explained myself too."
Mordred looked at her father's green eyes, full of warmth and gentleness, so unlike the pale eyes of her mother.
"I didn't want to just be given the throne because I wanted to rule. I mean I did, but I wanted to relieve you of the loneliness of being king. When I saw you for the first time in person, I thought you were beautiful and perfect in every way. But I saw that despite everything, you looked lonely. I felt a connection to you because I was lonely too. I loved and admired you, and I thought that... if you declared me your heir that you would be able to rest. You would be able to smile freely again, that you wouldn't have to endure such terrible suffering, and I..."
Emotion began to well up in the homunculus as she cursed the stinging in her eyes, "I didn't want the person who I adored more than anybody else to be suffering and alone anymore! You didn't even know me and had no reason to acknowledge me after all that stuff mother did but I had felt so much hurt and anger, I was so selfish when I didn't get the acknowledgement I wanted that I... Father I-!"
Mordred gasped as she was enveloped in a loving embrace from Artoria. Mordred felt her emotions go all over the place before Artoria's hand stroked her hair tenderly and said, "It's okay Mordred. For what little it is worth to you now, I am sorry I failed you."
That broke the dam. Tears began to fall as Mordred Pendragon wrapped her arms around her father's body, buried her head in her neck and sobbed, "No! No, I'm sorry Father! I'm so sorry! Father, I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't mean to! I'm sorry...!"
Tears pricked at Artoria's eyes as well as she smiled and let the emotions out, albeit in a much more subdued manner, stroking her Mordred's head, embracing her as a Servant in a way she never did in life. All the while, Mordred continued to weep a stream of endless apologies, of begging for forgiveness, and to which Artoria replied with gentle and sincere words of forgiveness, understanding, and her own apologies too.
Finally, when Mordred calmed down enough she pulled back and Artoria wiped the tears from her son's eyes, while Mordred used her sleeve to wipe her father's face. Although a little rough, Artoria didn't mind it before she said, "Mordred Pendragon... my son, will you let me try again? Will you let me be the parent I failed to be in life? This fleeting form may not forever endure, but I would like to try again if you will let me."
Mordred sniffed and wiped her eyes again before she said, "Yes, yes! A thousand times, yes! Father, I'm always going to be known as the Knight of Rebellion, but... is it fine? Will you let me be the son you deserve?"
"I would like that, Mordred... Son."
Then Artoria smiled. It was perhaps the single most beautiful thing Mordred had ever seen in her living life and in her Servant life. It was that smile that she had sworn to protect, that her fellow knights would have died to protect. What allowed goody-two-shoes Bedivere to endure unimaginable trials to protect. Gone was the emotions of sorrow, now Mordred felt her heart swell with pride, with determination. She was given another chance and she would never squander it again.
"Father, I will never let you down, ever again."
Artoria reached to a pocket in her dress and pulled out a package, wrapped in silver wrapping and tied with a blue ribbon. On the package was a small card that read, "Happy Birthday, to my son Mordred Pendragon"
Once more, tears of joy threatened to fall as Mordred pulled off the ribbon, carefully took apart the package, and opened the box, gasping softly as she saw what her father had gifted her.
This was truly the happiest birthday Mordred had ever known. It wasn't a dream, nor a fantasy. It was happening here and now and she looked at Artoria, who once more gifted her with that beautiful smile that was more precious to Mordred than anything in the word.
/~/
In another time, in another place...
Mordred woke up and yawned as she heard the crowing of the cock. The sun was not yet risen, but today was going to be an important day for training. Sir Bertilak would finally tutor Mordred in the sword. The squire had been diligent enough to recognize the different weapons presented to her, but now it was time to focus on one weapon and master it. Naturally, the squire had chosen the sword as it was the weapon of choice that King Arthur and his knights were most well-known for.
As she dressed, she heard voices in the courtyard began to talk about May Day. May Day... wasn't that the day that Mother had said she was born?
There was a nagging feeling that she had, that something special should occur on this day, but she didn't know why. The squire shook the thoughts from her head, finished dressing herself, and then walked out of the room, closing the door to begin a new day as a squire.
Immortal: Okay, spoiler alert here, this one was done in a single session with no breaks. I mean, once I found out today was Mordred's birthday, I planted my butt on my chair and just went for it after some thought. I hope I didn't make too many grammatical errors in this though, cause that would be embarrassing. I have always held the thought that as Servants, even with the power of hindsight, Mordred and Artoria would need time to be able to sit down and talk.
But once the honest feelings and the clearing of misunderstandings arose, the pair I feel WOULD forgive and start over with each other again. As I have mentioned in my summary, love and hate are separated by a fine line, but it would be in-character for Artoria's naturally good and kind heart to be able to reach Mordred. On the other hand, once Mordred made her side of the story clear, that while it was not well-thought out, her intentions for the throne were NOT out of malice or arrogance that she could do better, but that she genuinely thought she was helping her father.
So again, while the birthday Mordred is NOT Squire Mordred, there IS a relation somewhere that WILL become important. Side-note, I decided to make Ritsuka Fujimaru the female protagonist, who will also become relevant down the line. Anyway, I hope you all like this brief chapter for what it is.
