Saber Alter?
To say that Saber Alter's sudden visit left Lancer Arturia and Lily surprised would be an understatement.
The world of the original Arturia was in its resting phase, so this was generally the time that the Arturias kept to themselves and their own worlds in this mysterious space. However, Saber Alter's intrusion broke the mold of normality.
Neither of Lancer Arturia or Lily ever expected Saber Alter to visit so anxiously, let alone to the extent of shaking Lancer Arturia awake from her alternative record so clumsily that Lily woke up as well.
Lancer Arturia pushed up into a seated position, and soon got up onto her feet, followed by a confused Lily who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"C-Can we talk…?" Saber Alter asked Lancer Arturia before she trailed off, glancing at Lily and pursing her lips.
How could Lancer Arturia not understand the cue?
"Lily," Lancer Arturia called, noticing that something wasn't quite right with the cold and generally aloof Saber Alter.
Lancer Arturia gestured towards Lily to give them a bit of privacy, and the youngest of the Arturias furtively complied without much fluster.
Lily's mentality had matured in the years that passed, and she was no longer as flighty as she'd been when interacting with her older counterparts. However, a part of Lily's easy compliance was due to empathy.
She was not naïve enough to not know that a divide existed between the Arturias that had lost their Shirou's and those that didn't. This was made abundantly clear years ago when Saber Alter, Saber Arturia, and Lancer Alter couldn't bear being in Lily or Lancer Arturia's company, and left to stay on the other side of the forest space.
The fact that Saber Alter had suddenly broken the unsaid boundary and crossed it to speak with them spoke volumes, and Lily wouldn't be the one to tarnish whatever courage Saber Alter had mustered.
"I'll just be in over there then," Lily nodded stiffly to Saber Alter and walked off.
This left Lancer Arturia and Saber Alter more or less alone.
Watching Saber Alter shift her weight around from foot-to-foot, and appearing as if she was fighting back the urge to sob, Lancer Arturia stepped towards her in concern.
Years of being a mother had long since clued Lancer Arturia into the subtle things of body language and understanding when her children weren't being forthright with her.
Saber Alter was hurting like Lancer Arturia knew she was. The only difference between Saber Alter and the others on her side of the boundary, was that Saber Alter appeared as if she'd reached her breaking point.
"I…I…" Saber Alter kept trailing off, unable to start. She was practically on the verge of tears despite her neutral features. Her eyes were misting over, swimming with unshed droplets as her lips wobbled.
Maternal instinct kicked into full gear for Lancer Arturia.
Without prompting, she pulled the stubborn dark knight into a hug, leaning her face against her left shoulder, arms tightly wrapping over her back.
From her grip around Saber Alter, Lancer Arturia could feel the minute trembling of her shoulders, as Saber Alter gave a token resistance, only to slump. The accompanying wetness of tears staining Lancer Arturia's dress was only further exacerbated when Saber Alter's knees gave out.
Poor girl.
Lancer Arturia adjusted herself accordingly to support Saber Alter's weight.
What sort of tragedy could have happened?
Lancer Arturia drew circles over Saber Alter's back. God knows Saber Alter needed some form of comfort after her Shirou was taken from her, and now this. Who else but her could Saber Alter draw warmth from, Merlin? Absolutely not. Preposterous.
The thought almost made Lancer Arturia snort in derision, but she didn't dare to due to the sensitivity of the current matter. How would Saber Alter seemingly react to being belittled in a moment of weakness? Obviously, not well.
"Let it out," Lancer Arturia said patiently, cupping the back of Saber Alter's head with a palm. "It's not good to hold these things in. No one sees you here."
Saying this, Lancer Arturia abruptly shot a withering stare at a gaping Lily who'd evidently still been near enough to notice what had happened. Ducking her head between her shoulders, Lily scampered off further away before Lancer Arturia could tell her off for her unneeded curiosity…ugh, the fearlessness of the young. Or was it ignorance in this case? No matter.
"Take your time. I won't tell anyone," Lancer Arturia promised, features softening with motherly grace. She neither judged, nor said anything else after this moment.
An indiscriminate amount of time passed before Saber Alter wordlessly pushed away and stared at Lancer Arturia with equal parts mortification and gratitude.
"I, I need advice," Saber Alter said, eyes flickering with resolve while using the back of her hand to wipe the redness out of them.
"Advice?" Lancer Arturia questioned, never imagining an Alter of her would ever say such a thing through their pride.
Whatever event had transpired for Saber Alter, it was life-altering.
Slowly, surely, Saber Alter began to explain under Lancer Arturia's patient coaxing.
"I-I drove him away after finding him again…I, I-" Saber Alter swallowed down the lump in her throat. "I just want to get him back, and if it means lowering myself, then so be it. Please. I know the others won't be much help, but surely you must have some idea?"
Lancer Arturia wet her dry mouth at the revelation of it all. Obviously, Saber Alter was right not to ask this of any other counterpart than her. Saber Arturia was still mired with hiding her emotions, Lancer Alter had become blatantly reticent, and Lily was too inexperienced to understand. Lancer Arturia really was the only one left, and it just so happened that she knew Shirou better than all her alters, even Lily.
For all the time Lily spent with her Shirou, Lily differed from Lancer Arturia in that Lily still fought as Queen. Meanwhile, lancer Arturia had been living a quiet life with her Shirou away from outside forces.
The time Lancer Arturia spent with her Shirou, meant that she knew the quirks and habits of her husband by heart.
"Search," Lancer Arturia advised. "Even now, your Shirou will surely be waiting."
"But I-"
"Hush dear," Lancer Arturia cut Saber Alter off by raising a finger. Subconsciously, she was treating Saber Alter to the same extent as she treated her own children when they asked things of her. "He'll know of your sincerity. You've ruined your reputation, and set your Shirou against the entirety of our former Round Table, but it's not the end. So long as you have the will to change, time and action will help people to forgive a lot of things," she said from her own experience.
Lancer Arturia grew melancholic. A part of her still resented Morgan for the clause she'd been forced to sign for her Shirou's well being, but another part of her was secretly thankful and it only grew with time. If not for Morgan forcing her to sign a Geiss, then she wouldn't have her current life. It was a truly complex thing.
"Look," Lancer Arturia placed a hand over Saber Alter's shoulder. "Convey your feelings to him not through words, but through the sincerity of your actions. When you search for him, help those in need of aid, and try to better your image. If your Shirou's anything like mine, he'd never be able to sit still with others bad-mouthing you, as I'm sure you'd know. Therefore, change yourself, and use your sincerity to move his heart. He loves you. That much is certain. You need only take that first step. And let me guess, Merlin won't help you find him because this was your own fault?"
"…"
Typical Merlin. Trying to make a lesson of everything. Lancer Arturia cursed the man inwardly, but could understand where he was coming from.
"Take heart, and if you need support, I'm here. If you better yourself as you search for your black knight, then surely, he'll appear in front of you again, and when he does, you better damn well move past your pride and reservation. 'I love you! Don't leave me! Stay!' you better shout your lungs out. He's a blockhead at the worst of times."
Saber Alter opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say as she dwelled over the suggestion, cheeks blushing at the thought. Eventually though, she nodded.
"Good. I bid you good luck."
Lancer Arturia gave Saber Alter a curt hug of support and invited her to stay with her and Lily, but Saber Alter declined.
Watching Saber Alter still maintaining her reservations, Lancer Arturia sighed, knowing that the road ahead for Saber Alter was going to be a rough one.
A cold exterior, but a heart of glass.
Lancer Arturia hummed before shaking her head.
Only time would tell what result Saber Alter would have.
Work hard.
Lost in thought, Lancer Arturia soon closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift back to her own piece of utopia.
When Arturia Lancer entered her alternative record, a pleasant wind blew across her face.
For the longest time, she had always imagined what her life would have had been like had she lived an ordinary and simple life. Now though, it was practically her reality, and it was as beautiful as she'd always assumed it would be.
A soft smile tugged on her lips from where she stood by a window overlooking a plain of grass and distant wheat fields. She was in a quaint wooden house built in the middle of the woods that she called home. It had a small porch, an out house, and was situated in a way that light could always pool in from the east during sunrise and illuminate the area until evening.
The house was built from Shirou and her own efforts by hand. They cut down trees, hammered in nails, and erected the place with uplifted hearts.
A new start.
A future beyond all the fighting and the weight of worldly obligations that sought to deny her this idyllic life. She'd even started a family.
Lancer Arturia shifted her gaze away from the window and back to what she was doing before she'd been woken up by Saber Alter.
Wearing a long gown beneath a sleeveless tunic, and an apron adorned atop all else, she was dutifully preparing food in the kitchen. Her hair was let down past her shoulders, and a gentle motherly aura abounded her as two children came barreling in from the front door, pushing against each other.
One was a girl, and the other a boy. Both had similar height with the boy being just a few inches taller. Looking closely, one could see that their features were a direct mix of Shirou and Lancer Arturia's own. The girl inherited her father's auburn hair, while the boy inherited the same eyes and soft blond of his mother's.
The two wore cotton tunics and trousers tied in place with tiny sashes.
"Mom, can we eat yet? I'm hungry," the girl came scampering up and hugging Lancer Arturia's thigh.
"You're always hungry," the boy chided, possessing a temperament much like her own in her early years.
"You're the one who stole my chicken leg daddy roasted for me!" The girl accused; her temperament less restrained.
The boy may have been the one to sneak the chicken leg, but who was the one who cozied up to her father and ate the rest of the chicken? Lancer Arturia blamed Shirou's pampering, but he insisted that there was no need for their children to act in certain ways.
Let them be free and unbridled, unlike how her childhood had been.
"Hunger is the enemy," the boy replied matter-of-factly.
Lancer Arturia herself nodded at those familiar words.
Good, just like she'd taught him.
These were her two treasures, her children, Artus and Annabel Ashton, both five-almost-six years old having been born as twins. Artus was the older one, and Annabel was the younger sibling. They were conceived months after Lancer Arturia had revoked her right of kingship, and she and Shirou retreated from the political sphere.
At one point, Lancer Arturia deliberated with Shirou whether to give the twins the Pendragon name, but Lancer Arturia decided against it to prevent tying them down with any obligations. Her children would be free to become whatever they wanted.
"Is your father back yet?" She called out to them, rather than answer.
"Okay, I'll check!" Annabel waved her right hand up in the air excitably whilst covering Artus's mouth with the other before he could call dibs.
Be that as it may, before Annabel could even rush out the door, a dull thump that sent subtle tremors through the wooden house alerted Arturia Lancer to where her Shirou was.
Washing her hands in basin of water by the sink, Lancer Arturia dried them with a cloth before making her way out to the door of her house, Artus and Annabel on either side of her.
There before them was Shirou who'd just cut down a tree in the backyard's forested area. In the front of the house were green grass and wheat fields, while in the back was a forest clearing. The location was the best of both worlds, and took advantage of what nature had to offer.
Shirou had just emerged from the woods, hefting an entire tree trunk over his shoulder, and supporting it with one arm; the other arm holding onto a line of fishing wire where several hooked fishes from the nearby lake were suspended.
"Seems like I got back on time," he grinned, dropping the tree trunk onto the ground before nodding at Lancer Arturia. "How's lunch?" He asked almost challengingly.
Lancer Arturia cooking…what a novelty.
"It's done." Lancer Arturia did not pout. "Go put away the fish and fire wood. I'll prepare the table," she snorted and headed back in with the twins in tow, pushing on their backs to herd them in with her.
Soon enough, when the twins were out of sight and Shirou Traced a few nameless swords to cut the felled tree into blocks, he put the fish on a drying rack and entered the house.
Needless to say, but Artus and Annabel were ignorant of the capabilities of their parents. Shirou never revealed his magecraft, and Lancer Arturia had stowed away her armour, sheath, and swords in a basement beneath the house. Even Efret who was perched on a roost at the top of the house had learned to hide away its flames. Both Shirou and Lancer Arturia wanted to give the twins an ordinary life, and in a couple years, the family would move into a little village to let the twins interact with their peers.
Upon entering his home, Shirou moved to enter the dining room where Lancer Arturia had already set down the dishes and cutlery. Expectedly, the food wasn't anything too complex. One stare told him that all the vegetables were practically just boiled, while the meat was roasted. However, parts of the meat were too browned or dry on the chicken and pork cutlets. Overall, it was definitely an improvement from before.
Artus and Annabel were seated opposite from each other while Lancer Arturia sat waiting for him to take his seat.
"Looks good," Shirou smiled while pushing his chair back and sitting down. "Right guys?"
Artus and Annabel didn't particularly agree, their face scrunching and unable to meet their mother's expectant gaze.
"It's good, but uhm-" Artus mumbled before Annabel decided to just be blunt.
"…Daddy's cooking tastes better," she whined.
"Hey, your mother's been practicing," Shirou chastised, putting a few pieces on the plates of the twins before moving on to do the same for Lancer Arturia. He took his own food last.
"Yours still tastes better," Artus refused to lie.
Only when it came to food did these two children have any sort of attitude. Then again, one need only look at their mother's glazed face at the mention of Shirou's cooking to see where they got it from.
"Eat up, and stop looking so wronged," Shirou lectured only to soften his stance from his daughter's drooped eyes, reminding him too much of how Lancer Arturia had looked as a child.
Dammit, he was whipped.
"I'll cook dinner tonight, alright?" Shirou relented.
"Yes!"
Shirou pinched the bridge of his nose in second-hand embarrassment. Let him tell you, but it wasn't the children cheering the loudest at the declaration.
Lancer Arturia blushed, and lowered her arms before glancing away from Shirou's 'really?' stare.
To be fair, Lancer Arturia knew she wasn't the best cook, and this was after having to put up with her own cooking since Shirou said she'd be spoiled if he cooked all the time.
Besides, Lancer Arturia had figured that if Shirou could a wield a sword and cook proficiently at the same time, then she could too…if only it was that easy. She'd had enough stale bread and burnt crumpets for a lifetime already.
Mollified with the promise of a better dinner, the twins began eating without anymore complaints.
Lunch continued in this manner with Shirou fretting over his children, and Lancer Arturia fondly watching from the side.
In some ways, perhaps her alternative record was the most blessed of them all…
/-/
Dinner was a rather sordid affair as Shirou hadn't cooked for the entire family in a few days since Lancer Arturia tried taking over.
The bond between mother and children was tested as they competed with each other for the food. Shirou had been constantly forced to go in and out of the kitchen for seconds upon seconds until the entire family was satisfied. Even now, he was still cleaning up all the plates and utensils, as Shirou had been insistent on using them rather than their bare hands to eat.
Well, it was habit by now anyway.
Sitting alone on the top of a small hill near their house, Lancer Arturia stared out into the distant night horizon. Her thighs were pulled up to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around them, chin leaning over her knees.
The twinkle of stars lingered throughout the sky, and it all contributed to making her a tad melancholic.
A rustling of clothes alerted her to her Shirou walking up to her.
"The kids are asleep after eating so much," he told her, moving to sit by her side. His right arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her close; his face leaning down to softly kiss her forehead before pulling back and giving her some room.
She crinkled her nose, as a pleasant tingling on the back of her neck had her curling her toes over the grass.
Shirou snorted, offering her a cup of warm honey water and shifting his gaze to the distance where Lancer Arturia had been staring at prior. Left unsaid, but Camelot lay in that direction, and beyond that was the warfront where the battle against the Saxon invasion still raged. He could guess what might have been passing through his wife's thoughts.
"Thinking about the past?" He inquired knowingly.
It would be a lie to say that Lancer Arturia wasn't.
"Mhm," She hummed, taking a sip of her drink before contentedly leaning her head against Shirou's shoulder. He reciprocated the gesture by leaning his head against the top of hers while his left hand found hers and interlaced their fingers together.
"If you regret it, I told you that it's never too late. We can train the kids, prepare them for any dangers our positions may bring them," he whispered softly, the buzzing of crickets acting as a backdrop in the silence.
"And I told you that I've never regretted my decision. If I did, did you think we could have ever pictured ourselves living like this? Sir Ector always thought one of us would be King, and the other a righteous Knight."
"You say that, but this isn't the first time I've found you on your own and lost in your own thoughts. Feeling guilty for leaving it all behind?"
Lancer Arturia didn't speak for a moment. It was all too true that she felt a dull ache at the thought of her countrymen and fellow Knights dying and fighting for her country's behalf. When she considered that she could have been leading them, and maybe put an end to all this fighting years ago, the feeling only intensified.
Then again, she thought of Artus and Annabel, and the moments she shared with Shirou.
"Not at all," She answered. She was no longer the same woman as before. New attachments, responsibilities, and goals had taken the place of the old. "This life, this family, what more could I ask for?" She said open-endedly.
"You're third kid? You've been going on and on about that."
Lancer Arturia glanced at Shirou from the side of her eyes. In his own way, he was obviously trying to comfort her, and take her mind off things by distracting her. He was right though. If there was one thing that she learned while living this simple life, it was that nothing had to be complex.
Just let it go, and find your way.
"Hmph," she curled her lips. "And you're obviously just not working hard enough."
"Is that a challenge? I'll have you know I've been practicing Reinforcement to increase-"
"Pft- hehehaha," she chuckled before grabbing the cusp of his tunic and pulling him overtop her.
"Hey, I was being serious about what I said. No need to laugh…"
The two rolled over the grass, legs interlocking, and fingers squeezed together.
For all his skill, Shirou really could still be a sheepish dork.
"Shirou, I love you," she kissed him. He always did know how take away her doubts and concerns.
"I love you too."
Lancer Arturia smiled in contentment.
Let it go. What's passed is passed.
The Kingdom, the country, the people, and the invasion.
They weren't her problems any longer.
Let Morgan handle it.
Elsewhere:
"I warned you before dear Morgan, but you weren't the child of prophecy."
"-I can handle it, Wizard. Just do your job."
"This country needs it ruler. In less than four months, Camelot will be under siege. You've failed to stamp Vortigern out, and now the Saxons are encroaching towards the defensive front."
"-I know what you imply, but I won't call for her. I don't need her."
"Then the country you wish to protect, will fall under your rule."
"…Damned Wizard."
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