"Quite a splendid control of that magic of yours," Magister Pavus commends as he oversees Arturia's usage of the new staff within the large and spacious room. They are within one of the magister's many experiment rooms where he uses his own spells for practice. Test dummies are set up against the walls, and Arturia is catching each and every one of them with the fiery green spell that she channels through a brown, elegantly carved wooden staff gifted by the magister that hosts them. Though her face is impassive as she honed in on her magic, there was a little emotional exertion she unleashed upon the dummies as they became nothing more than ashes within seconds.

Dorian watches from the side, tactically far behind Arturia in order to avoid any backlash her spells could potentially cause - a practical habit taught to him by his teachers from the moment his magic capabilities were shown. Though the same cannot be said for his distant relative in the past as Remerien gives a few pointers to the knight's wielding of her abilities. Perhaps it is more so a precaution for the mage of the future, as the air between Dorian and Arturia has been noticeably colder ever since they returned from the market.

"You seemed to adjust the staff I've given you expertly enough. Though, it would be preferable if you can cast something that wouldn't instantly destroy a target," Remerien advises, gesturing towards a new batch of dummies in the next corner. "Try enhancing them, see if they can withstand something as strong as a blade."

"Thank you, Magister Pavus," Arturia states flatly to the man with a polite and, if one such as Dorian would dare to say, respectful tone as she refers to the other man in the room. "Since we've arrived here, I've unfortunately lost the staff that a companion of mine had given me."

"It could have been caught up in the currents of the spell that brought you two here," Remerien theorizes, stroking his chin in deep speculation. "Nothing concerning should happen from it. The staff is built to withstand magic, but more than likely, it should have disintegrated. With some luck though, you might be able to recover it upon your return, if it's not already in your future."

Remerien appears to be internally debating over something before speaking again, "You're free to own that staff for as long as you like. I doubt any time disruption would occur over losing one magic staff in my dusty old chamber. Hardly use it as it is. I'm sure you'll treat it far better than I ever could - and I don't give that compliment lightly, you know."

"It would be an honor to accept a treasure of the Pavus family," Arturia replies, aiming quite the sham of a smile at the magister, "While you may call this dusty, to be given by a friend makes this far more valuable than any gold could bear."

Ouch. Now she's just trying to get under Dorian's skin at this point. Really now, that girl...

As Remerien and Arturia resume their lessons, Dorian takes this moment to ponder over everything he has seen in this time period. While he had already suspected to be the case that many of his kinsmen would either deny or agree, it truly is a show of proof of just how far his homeland has fallen. The wonders of magic and achievements parading the streets at every corner and then some. The pure excellency of it all. And yet, with every light, there are shadows...and the shadows stretched far in this period.

In his era in Tevinter, there are people who, upon being faced with no alternatives, would willingly turn to slavery if it means to support their families. He could understand, though presumptuous nonetheless, that foreigners outside his land would see slavery as nothing more than an act that imposed against the will of a living, thinking being, rather than a means for survival that, in the south, don't even have that option for the truly desperate, starving and in poverty. The many vocal jabs tossed his way, "slaver," "murderer," "blood mage," all the oh-so-wonderful names he's accumulated.

However, after seeing how the slaves have been treated here as opposed to how they are treated in his time period, he's starting to get the picture of what everyone was not only upset about, but believed to be happening. There have been slaves in his era that are treated poorly, certainly, but never to this extent. Or, at least, none that he has personally seen, which... is a weak rebuttal at best. He was honestly thankful it wasn't so...ingrained in his home and era now as it is here, and yet, he wonders if he had been born in this era, would he dare to give a second thought to the abuse that every non-Tevinter suffer through?

He hardly thought much as it is until he visited the south. Now, it's all he could think about. If he had been born in this time period, would he be no different than the people who stood aside and watched indifferently as a child was about to be murdered in front of their eyes?

He shudders to think that he could have such deep apathy within him. It's not as if he didn't WANT to save that mother and her son, it's just that the chain reaction that could happen afterwards was just too risky to chance. Of course, before he could even try to stop his companion from not only exposing herself - and thus him and Remerien, she essentially disappeared from his sight, and suspiciously enough, the elven mother and son had disappeared as well. There was a mysterious bout of magic that every magic user in the area detected, and while there had been a momentary surge of panic and confusion, the crowd was calmed by the presenting guards as they soon scoured the area for the missing elven slaves.

It was then that Arturia tapped him on his shoulder from behind. Surprising Dorian as he spun around and had one of the tools they have been looking for pressed against his chest before the silent knight abruptly turned away from the man. It was luck on its own that everyone had been distracted from the disappearing acts of the elven mother and son that no one would have seen this clear display of audacious disrespect.

Ever since then, Arturia has been acting colder towards Dorian and everyone around her. More curt and professional than the barest of warmth and leisure she had shown him the night before. It seems he has disappointed her greatly and is now letting her temper get the better of her.

While Dorian still believes himself to be right, it wasn't as if it didn't pain him immensely, especially now that Arturia has been doing nothing but ignoring him now.

Today's magic training session lasts for about another hour before ultimately, they ran out of dummies. No matter how Remerien instructs, Arturia has that built-up anger in her that has her outright incinerating every single dummy to cinders. Deciding to take a break, Remerien requested Arturia to ask one of the servants to prepare more dummies, and the knight accepted the task with a nod, taking a trip up the stairs.

As she begins to take her leave, Remerien strides to Dorian's side, and Dorian knew at once what his distant past relative intended to discuss. It is clear as day to practically everyone in this mansion, so much so that nearly all the servants have actively tried to busy themselves with many chores just to avoid Arturia's subdued wrath - aside from the one elf servant that already had her startled reaction towards the knight.

After Arturia completely leaves the area, Remerien turns to Dorian, "I'm going to amuse myself and claim that I have by no means suspect that your friend there had done something to that mother and her child. I assume she is well aware of the risks, but I digress. It's clear that whatever happened between the two of you, it's affecting her training and, consequently, hindering our progress in returning you both to your time. So, by the will of the Old Gods, and by the sake of my own sanity and everyone else's, I implore you to speak to her."

"Well, I'd very much love to, provided she doesn't have that staff or sword by her side, that is. Or else she might mistake me for a dummy," Dorian japes, though that seemed to earn him a disapproving look from his distant uncle.

"Bottle up that impudence, young man. I don't know what it is you two are in conflict over, and I don't particularly care. What I do know is that if you don't find common ground with each other, it'll not only affect this work of ours, but I imagine it'll affect your work with each other as comrades."

Well, that's something: Dorian got a good scolding from a magister of the past. Though, as obvious as it is that Arturia intends to ignore him until further notice, he knows that Remerien is right. Even if they do get back to their era, if this conflict of theirs resumes, then it could very well affect their teamwork. And, not only that, but Dorian was starting to view Arturia as a friend. He felt it would be a shame to lose that given how few of those he has already.

So, with a hefty gulp from the glass of the drink he had been holding this entire time, Dorian gives a salute to his uncle(?) and then, with a deep breath, traverses up the stairs after the lion-hearted knight.

It takes a moment, but he is able to find Arturia conversing with the first elf servant she met when she awoke into this era. The elf servant notices Dorian and with a quick bow of her head, an understanding in her eyes, she retreats to her work. Arturia looks behind her upon noticing the elf's glance and made no visible impression as she sees Dorian.

She greets him in a blunt and emotionless tone, "The workers here will procure more dummies within the next hour."

"Right. Well, I suppose we should take that chance to-" Dorian is about to say when Arturia suddenly begins to walk past him. He lets out a sigh, "-talk."

"There's nothing to talk about, Master."

"Oh please. Enough of that now. We're not even in public," Dorian lightly bites with his words, and that is enough to get the knight to stop and turn. "Look, I know that you're upset with me. But understand my position and that this hasn't been all so easy on me either."

The knight awaits as Dorian continues to speak. "The Tevinter Empire was built upon slavery, this is an undeniable note in history that cannot be changed. Granted, while in our era, the treatment towards slaves has been... lightened. Improved, if one were to be greatly generous, though it does not in any way alleviate the horrors that were done to these slaves in Tevinter history...and we cannot do anything about it, else the consequences would be very dire."

He puts up a hand as she is about to retort, wishing for her to let him say further, "If we were to change the past and let's say, free all the slaves, destroy the system in place, rid those of governing power, ultimately causing this entire empire to crumble, we would live in a world very different from the ones we are from. There's a very, very good chance that you may end up erasing not only the cities, but Tevinter as a whole. I don't believe everyone deserves that fate, and you've met Remerien, so you very well know he does not deserve that fate either."

Arturia frowns, holding eye-contact with Dorian, with him taking it as a sign to go on.

"And it's not just Tevinter, everyone would be affected. For better or worse, none of us can tell, and neither of us should risk it, especially if it may mean me disappearing from existence altogether," Dorian ushers himself, and that most certainly made the knight freeze. Well, it's good to see that she at least cares for him still, if even a little. His tone becomes gentler, "I understand your frustrations. Believe me when I say that I had those very thoughts far longer than you did. Now, after being faced the magnitude of what my homeland has lost due to the hubris of those that rule this era, as well as what isn't missed, I promise you that I am going to do my very best to make the future of my homeland better than anything it was in the past."

Having stated his peace, he awaits for Arturia to say hers. At first, there is nothing for a moment, then she turns from him. There is a flash of disappointment in Dorian's expression before he hears the knight speak.

"...I know you meant well Dorian. I know, as well, that you are not a heartless man. You were trying your best to keep both of us at bay, even if it was too painful to bear. It was only an effort to look after not only us, but our entire future."

Her eyes softens rather sadly, as if remembering a hope she once held before it suddenly died before her eyes. Seeing such a subtle, yet sorrowful gaze, Dorian is beginning to think that this isn't simply about him refusing to help that poor mother and son, but rather, there is something even deeper than that. He wants to ask her about it, but then the knight turns away fully.

"Forgive me. My attitude towards you was unworthy. Not many bear this weight of responsibility as we do now currently. I don't wish to let you carry that alone."

It is as if she is speaking from experience, and Dorian most certainly intends to talk to her more about it. However, the knight starts to walk away in an effort to avoid wanting to discuss such a topic, though he calls victory to this discussion as her tone towards him is much warmer now than it has been for a good while.

"I will hold you to that promise, Dorian, and I look forward to seeing it come to fruition, should life allow it."

Feeling as if a weight has been lifted from his chest, Dorian nods even though she was no longer looking, and proceeds after the knight in a casual walk beside her. "Since Remerien's workers will be occupied," Dorian said, "why don't we take a stroll along the garden? Staying indoors too long can rot the brain, most certainly, and I would like to keep my head fresh and full of clever quips."

He spots that hint of an amused smirk in Arturia's expression, and he never thought he'd be happier to see it. "Perhaps. It does tend to get a little stuffy in here."

"Let's not let Remerien know that, else he'll deny that he might have a hoarding problem."

A small chuckle between then, they then walked towards the hall that would lead them to the backyard of the mansion garden.


Arturia takes a deep breath in as she enjoys this evening stroll alongside Dorian in the large backyard of the Pavus Mansion. There is a mystical fountain in the center of the garden, with hedges and flowers surrounding them, and stone walkways to cross, as well as small bridges over ponds filled with exotic fishes and flowing streams that trickled against the rocks.

She knows that her anger towards Dorian had been irrational. While she feels it is too much for her to ignore the cries of the elves, she shouldn't have to express her passive anger towards Dorian, especially considering the fact that the consequences of attempting any type of change in the situation they are in was too risky. The slightest change can mean the end of their timeline, and therefore, their existence as well. It would have been against Arturia's character had she truly ignored those innocents under normal circumstances, but it is also against her character to risk the lives of her comrades and everything they know in life.

Loathe as she does to admit it, she let her emotions get the best of her. Perhaps it is the hidden beast inside her that has given her these bloody golden eyes. Or truly, this is Arturia Pendragon unrestrained, without any mask nor restraint to fall back onto.

Of course, there is more to it than her being unjustifiably angry at Dorian. She knows the man did not tell her to stay out of it out of disregard for the lives of that mother and child, and yet, it is an order so similar to another. At that moment, it was as if she was back at that mansion with Kiritsugu and Irisviel as they watched those innocent children be butchered by that mad Caster, with even the man's own wife being stunned by Kiritsugu's cold nature. Despite how shortly she's known the altus, Dorian could never be anything like her old Master, yet just the thought of it was enough to put Arturia on guard, and she instinctively closed her heart from him.

Which is a shame all things considered, given that she just opened it up to him last night, even if a little bit.

It is similar yet different from when she confronted Leliana before she could have rashly murdered a traitor in their ranks before he would see the due process. With Leliana, Arturia was able to stop the woman from going down that very path Kiritsugu had, for Dorian, it is as if he'd already been there, but that was an assessment Arturia mistakenly and rashly made. She should have known better than to compare Kiritsugu and Dorian, for as little as she knows of Dorian, he is a man who was willing to go the extra mile for his teacher, even as his teacher continues to fall further from grace, Dorian still sees a soul that could still be saved. He is not Kiritsugu, she has to tell herself that to hammer the point home.

It made it all the more meaningful when Dorian was willing to talk about it. Another shameful action of Arturia was to sometimes ignore the man, to avoid discussing what happened, nulling any attempt at communications. In this manner, she was no better than Kiritsugu. It was her who could have sabotaged their cooperation and teamwork, their entire future, and ensuring that this would not be the case, she greatly appreciated Dorian's willingness to reach out to her despite her, for lack of better words, immaturity.

She can also admit her foolishness for reacting in such a way. Dorian made strong points about her not only risking their timeline, but risking their positions that would have gotten them arrested and therefore, prevented them from ever returning home, or at least, make things that much more difficult. Yet, although it was a foolish act given all that she dared to risk, she doesn't regret it in the slightest.

It is still a shock to the knight how everything, time itself, had suddenly been frozen all around her, but while she was taken aback for a moment, she used this opportunity to act. Having seen the safety of the elf mother and her child, time resumed back to normal by her literal hand. To say that the two were shocked by the sudden change of place was an understatement, finding themselves within an alley and their immediate distrust of Arturia, especially at the sight of her eyes. Arturia was able to gain their trust however when she spoke in their language, and granting them the imprinted sigils of House Pavus - which she obtained through certain means during the time stop - promising them that they will be safe there when they arrive.

The mother gave her only a mountain's worth of thanks before she and her son took on the cloaks - which she also obtained through certain means during the time stop - Arturia handed over to them, and they went on their way.

Without another moment to lose, she then went back to Dorian and Remerien, giving the former the cold shoulder as she rudely hands over one of the listed tools they are searching for - which she ALSO obtained through certain means during the time stop - before turning to speak to Remerien, pulling his attention away from the crowd and boldly, albeit rather subtly, requesting if she could bring something that was "not on the list" back to the mansion. He didn't give much thought to it, although there seemed to be an instant understanding as he looked to where the elven mother and child had previously been, before approving Arturia's request.

She must think of a way to give her proper thanks to Remerien for overlooking the sudden "extra" servants he's gained in his home. He simply opted to give the mother and child work while later assuring Arturia to discuss what to do with them, though avoiding the public eye would be the best course of action. Just seeing those two safe from harm is good enough for the King of Knights.

Though now that she realizes why she was so harsh towards Dorian, she can admit to herself that it is more than just a memory of Kiritsugu that had Arturia on edge, but also her desire to change the past that correlates to her one wish for the Holy Grail. She must get a hold of herself, find the strength to let go of all of that pain, to move on from what cannot be returned. However, it is proving to be more difficult than she imagined, easier said than done as the saying goes.

She truly wished Cole was here...

Arturia has yet to come around to explaining her sudden time-manipulating abilities to either Dorian or Remerien, mostly due to the fact that she had been irrationally angry at Dorian and didn't wish for Remerien to be wary of her and reconsider his hospitality. Perhaps when they gather at the spellcasting room, she can explain it to both men then, or Dorian alone. That will certainly be an interesting discussion she'll be looking forward to.

For now, Arturia will take this time to enjoy this peaceful stroll with Dorian. The burdens of their future may hang over their shoulders, as the weight of the past's horrors haunts them both. For now, though, they'll shed their worries for the next hour as they listen to the melody of birds, as if time itself is not an issue at all.


A shorter chapter than usual, but buckle up! Because next one is going to be a hefty one. Which means... *dives into the ocean known as Hiatus*

Thank you for reading! Please leave a kind and honest review and I'll see you guys next time!