Mata II

"Are…are you sure this will work?"

Mata was a bit flummoxed by it all. She had just done her best to escape from the Manse she had called her home only a few hours earlier. Of course, upon realizing that she needed to save Baelon, the group had agreed to go and save him from whatever strange ritual this Mairu was planning. For that, she was grateful for them and their support. That these people she had really only met once, and treated quite poorly, were willing to risk their lives to help her…

'I honestly can't thank them enough,' she thought, 'Though…'

That didn't mean that she wasn't somewhat put off by their plan of pulling off the chance to save Baelon. Ritsuka had said that Mata was going to have to help them infiltrate and try and find their way around the place. They hoped that Mata would be able to help find the places where Baelon might be held. Luckily for Mata, she still had the disguise cloths that had allowed her to remain hidden, so as long as she stayed near Ritsuka, she could remain hidden.

The problem was, that the spell that created it would really only work for one person. Mata didn't quite understand, the dark skinned woman and Emiya spoke of "Interference" and "Correct frequency", but they were only going to have this spell for her. That had meant, that when it came down to it-

"I think it should work," a young voice pulled her from her musings, "RItsuka…often comes off a fool," Mata looked down, and saw a young boy with deep black hair and a tattered tunic and trousers staring up at her, a slightly worried smile across his face, "But Da trusts him, and he hasn't failed before," the boy then ran his hand through his hair, a bit of a nervous reflex. That caused a sudden burst of black dust to shoot up, which caused him to panic slightly, before pulling his hand down, "Lady Mata, is my hair still black?"

"Yes," Mata could feel some sweat begin to bead on the back of her head, watching as Colan let out a sigh of relief at confirmation he had not just disrupted the plan, "Yes it is."

'To believe that I am to work with a child on this,' Mata considered, looking at the boy who, with blue hair now darkened to black from coal dust, appeared too much like a younger Baelon for her own liking, 'though,' the back of her mind turned to the more done up member of their group, who was walking up behind them, 'Considering what else I'm relying on…'

"So of course we can't just make any more of those invisible clothes,' the Dog of Winterfell groaned, leaning up against his couch, long legs shot out in front of him as he stared at the ceiling of the manse they were making their plans in, "That's great, really wonderful," he shook his head, "Nothing ever can go easily, can it?"

"The spell works on wavelengths that would take hours to get right," Nitocris said, "Emiya and I had to work all through last night getting it ready, and Mata has said we have likely until sunset before this…," she looked over at Mata, "Baelon?" when Mata nodded, Nitocris let out a sigh, "Right Baelon," she then looked back at Cu, "So we need something fast."

"I can't believe I'm helping a drago-," the warrior groaned, before gritting his teeth. Mata felt some discomfort at that, as the stories of that war so long ago came rushing to the forefront of her mind once more, "And of course, we can't just give them to Master, because of all that frequency bullshit."

"Yes," Nitocris sighed, "We needed it to be matched to Mata, so those will only work for her," she then placed a hand on her cheek, "and the entire plan hinges on Ritsuka…"

From what Mata understood, there was a magical barrier that would sense if any of these people besides Ritsuka or herself went inside the barrier, likely due to them being quite strong from her understanding. That-

"Cause if we try a full frontal assault," Ritsuka spoke up, getting them all to look at him, "Then that guy will use a spell like the one he used against you all in New Ghis," he pointed at the Dog and at the Yi Ti monk, who…well, more than likely shared Mata's issues with back pain, "So the way we deal with them, is have me get in there, and then use these," he held up his arm with the tattoos, "bring you in, take the guy out before he can do anything that might stop us."

"If we can't get Baelon out first?"

"That would be our goal, to get him out, and away without having to call you all," he smirked, "Then leave this city and run as fast as we can without any confrontation with this big group of mercenaries, or whatever weird spell this Mairu is trying to use," Ritsuka rubbed his chin, "Especially, since this ritual he seems to be doing is to turn this Viserys into a servant like he did in New Ghis," he looked back at the dark skinned woman, "That seem right?"

"Most likely," she said with a nod. Mata had been shocked to hear about Mairu and this group had been involved in all the trouble that had been happening in Slavers' Bay. She had only heard rumors of the slaughter of most of the Masters of the Bay, the launching of the lockstep legions, and the sack of Astapor. It made her honestly feel quite small to be dealing with peoples who had been part of something so monumental.

'Though do I have anywhere to talk?' she thought, realizing that she had been secretly keeping the rightful prince and princess of the Targayen Dynasty in hiding for over a decade, 'Perhaps I am more like them than I like to think?'

"So we need to get you in, and I need to go so I can show you around, so we can hopefully can find him through that place without having to disrupt the ceremony itself,," she sighed, "still, with only two of us, that will make it quite hard-"

"I can come too," the youngest voice of the group spoke up. Mata turned her head to see the small boy, the son of the Dog of Winterfell, sitting next to his father, leaning forward with his fists clenched. Just as Mata was about to try and tell the boy to calm down, he continued, "Se-Ristuka," he said, looking at the older boy, "I helped my father and Lord Emiya and Lady Xuan all escape from New Ghis," at that, Mata felt her eyes widen at realizing that this boy had been involved in such an adventure, "I can help. I am fairly good at sneaking around."

"Well," Ritsuka seemed to rub his chin in contemplation, but she'd seen that sort of look on Baelon when he was in one of his more…frustrating moods, and she already knew that, "Sure, I think that will work," he then stopped, before looking over at the Dog, "As long as your Dad say-"

"Why not," Cu laughed while shrugging, "He's already proved himself before, and I can't help but think he'll help give you all at least another pair a hands when it comes to getting through this," he then glared at Ritsuka, "Besides, if it gets to dangerous for him, I know you will call me there immediately, because there is no way you'd ever let anything happen to him," the growl was low, "Right?"

"Of course," Ritsuka didn't even blink at that, and Cu's harsh look disappeared.

'He trusts this boy,' Mata wondered, 'Is…is this boy somehow related to Stark?' she took one look at his quite Eastern features, and while she could recognize a bit of Andal somewhere in him, he was most likely from Yi Ti, 'No, then why…and why does it feel like he's familiar to me as well?'

"Now were throwing a minor in alongside our Master," the dark skinned woman groaned, and while Mata, or at least the sane part of Mata, couldn't help but agree with this Nitocris. She then pointed at the boy, "Though I'm not sure we can just send Colan in. Mairu saw Colan before," she then looked over at Mata, "And that's not mentioning that he's seen you too Mata," she leaned back, and sighed, "Though for you, with your distraction robes, it will be less of a problem."

"Wait," Mata stopped, and then turned to Ritsuka, "Then what about Ritsuka himself?" when Ritsuka blinked in confusion, Mata continued, "Mairu seems to hate you on a deep into his bones, so wouldn't it be quite likely that he'd know what you'd look like," slowly, the young man nodded in confirmation.

"That," Nitocris pointed at Mata, "Is another good point, excellent," she then smiled, "It's so good to have someone else in the group who is," she stopped, seeming to struggle for the right word, before finally settling on, "Sane."

"Ah, you love us Nitocris," at that, the dark skinned woman puffed out her cheeks, and crossed her arms, before the boy continued, "But you are both right, we are going to need something to disguise us better, considering I guess I just got lucky in him not seeing me before," he smiled, "But still, this shouldn't be too big a hill to get over, we just need to maybe do me and Colan up a bit, since Mata will already have her invisirobes or whatever we are calling those things," he then pointed at Colan, "Hey, how close did he ever really get to you Colan?"

"Um…" the boy paused for a moment, looking into the air to think, "Maybe, from one end of this room to the other?" he said.

"ANd you were with these guys every time he saw you?" he pointed boy to Colan's father, but also to the female monk of Yi TI and Emiya. Colan nodded at that, and Ritsuka smirked, "Well then, he probably didn't get too good a look at your face, so if he noticed anything, it was probably your hair," which made some sense, blue hair was rare all around the world, at least wherever Mata had been, "So, we got any charcoal around? Emiya nodded, and Ritsuka smirked, "we can probably just cover your hair in that enough to make you look like any ordinary street urchin who got called in to be a serving boy," he looked over at Mata, "That seems like something that we can pull off?"

"Yes," Mata nodded. As long as there hadn't been too much direct contact, a boy like Colan could probably hide his identity very well, "As long as he doesn't speak too much, he has an accent that might give him away."

"Think you can manage Colan?"

"Yes," the boy nodded.

"Great," Ritsuka then laid back, his smile disappearing for a frown, "Unfortunately, my disguise might be harder," he looked over at Mata, "When I was there, there really wasn't a uniform for any kind of guard. Is there one that I might be able to steal or maybe disguise myself in or-"

"No," Mata shook her head, "The guards wore only some leather armor when I was free, and that still seems to be most common," she grimmaced, thinking of the tall bare chested horsemen who filled out the ranks of the guard, "That, and the Dothraki."

"Yeah," Ristuka chuckled, patting his chest, "Don't mind saying I don't think I could pull off trying to act like that second group," he rubbed the back of his head, "Though maybe we could find some leather armor," he began to tap his chin fiercely, "Or maybe, if we could lure a couple of guards out, we could jump them and-"

"That won't work," Nitocris's words cut off Ritsuka's musings, "There will be constant checks no the guards, and more than likely they will notice a novice coming in and joining their ranks," she rubbed her chin, "So that's out of the question, if we don't want them to notice you."

"Then maybe I can just put on a tunic and act like befo-"

"Now that Mata's been freed," the monk spoke up, "The guards most likely will be on alert, and as Mata says," she pointed up at Ritsuka's face, "he will more than likely have them be on the lookout for someone who looks like you."

"Then…," Ritsuka had brought his left index finger to his mouth, and slowly began to chew on it. Mata could see that there were some indents in the skin that looked like a human mouth, and wondered if this was something he did as stress mounted, "Then maybe, we could change my hair color too," he reached up to the mass of black hair on his head, "Maybe we could find a red die or-"

"Wouldn't work either," Mata again added, "Boys from Yi Ti such as yourself are quite rare here, especially for a servant. More than likely, seeing a boy from Yi Ti with freshly died red hair, which would be fairly obvious to the observant, would just bring you to Mairu's attention, and well, after that…"

"Well," at that, Ritsuka began to gnaw at his finger even more. Mata couldn't help but feel a small sweat begin to form on her forehead as she watched the boy fidget, "We could…I mean," he grumbled, "That might…" he the growled, "no, that still wouldn't…maybe, no Emiya would hav-"

For a moment, all the group just stared at Ritsuka. While there was still acceptance in their glances, there was a hint of worry there as well. None offered any words, and several of them just seemed to stare into the distance, trying to think of something as well. Mata looked from all of them, from Emiya, to the monk from Yi Ti, to Nitocris, to the Hound and his pup. Then, finally, she turned her head to the Ash Valyrian, the one who was standing up against the wall.

And it was while watching that woman that Mata finally noticed that she wasn't in the same contemplative state that her comrades were. No, this…"Jalter" if she remembered correctly, was seeming to fidget. Though that wasn't the right word either, as she seemed to be shaking up and down. Mata was about to say something about her possibly being sick, when Mata looked at the woman's face, and saw that the woman…had a massive grin on her face. The woman then looked over toward Ritsuka, and then had to slap her hand over her mouth, and let out a slight wheeze for a second. Almost as though she was…giggling.

'What?' Mata thought.

"Excuse me," she spoke up, trying her best to gain the Ash Valyrian's attention. When the other woman still seemed stuck in her own head, she asked again, "Excuse me? Ms…Jalter?" everyone else finally turned their attention to her, but Jalter herself was still ignoring everyone else. Finally, Ritsuka got up, and walked up toward Jalter.

"Jeannette," he spoke up, which was enough to get her to turn her head. As she stared at him, her cheeks began to puff out, as though she was barely able to contain herself, "If you have an ide-"

"Bwhahahahahaha," she roared with laughter, nearly falling over. She did manage to keep herself upright, though it clearly took some effort. Ritsuka on the other hand did fall over onto his butt. He just stared up in surprise, as the girl continued to cackle, "Hahahaha, oh god," he brought her arms around her belly, holding it lightly, "Oh god, ha ha," oh god it's perfect," her face was now fully red, "Oh god, I can't breathe."

"Um," Ritsuka said while staring up at her, "Jeannette," finally, the girl stopped, smiling as she looked down at him, "Is…is there something funny?"

The smile on the Ash Valyrian turned into a smirk. It was something quite familiar to a former servant like Mata, who'd been forced to help deal with cleaning out vermin from many different store rooms.

It was the smirk of a cat who'd just stumbled upon an unwitting mouse.

"Why Ritsuka, I figured out how you are going to get in there without all the guards coming down on your little head," she waved a finger up in the sky, "Surely, this is why having me, your most precious and powerful servant is so important," she then pointed directly down at him, her free hand placed on her cheek with a mocking tone now adopted in her voice, "For only I could come up with a plan as clever and devious as this."

"Oh," Ritska said, somehow most of the tension leaving his body. Somehow, Mata didn't think that was the correct reaction, "Well, then, what is your plan."

"Well, tis quite simple really," Jeannette, as Ritsuka called her, then pointed at Mata, "Honeypot-"

'I can't help but feel insulted for some reason,' Mata thought to herself, though she shook her head, waiting for the other woman to continue.

"Over there, was explaining why this other magical shit head would probably be on the look out, right?" when Ritsuka gave a nod, the girl's smile widened even further, "Well then, the reason why just dying your hair won't work, is because he'll still be looking for a "boy from the east", right?"

"Yeah," Ritsuka said.

"Well then, you just won't go as a boy from Yi Ti," her smirk was almost enough to cut her head in half.

"I-what?"

"Remember Shinjuku?"

…

"Noooooo," Ritsuka slowly began to crawl away from Jeanette, "No, no," however, as he did so, the woman above him continued to advance, the smirk on her face almost demonic, "Nooo!" he looked around, clearly looking for help. However, the looks on the others faces ranged from apprehensive to delighted to determined to rolling on the couch with laughter of their own. He then, having been scooting away from the Ash Valyrian, slammed into the wall. No longer able to push himself back, he made to try and stand, but then a foot slammed right next to his head, with Jeannette looking down at him, the smirk seeming to have completely taken her over, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Let's get this over with," Mata heard a defeated sigh from behind her, and watched the third, final, and most important member of the team come out of the shadows. A girl of Eastern blood, she had long black hair, a thin frame, and a sweet face upon her. While still clearly growing into her body, the slave girl's dress somehow managed to show how well toned her body was, though not to a manful degree. Her face was marked by enough make up to enhance her femininity, but not so much to appear a whore or a crone. Even her voice, though slightly deeper than one would expect from a girl, was not so mannish as to mark it undesirable, and seemed to match her fitness. All that mixed together to form a very handsome young woman.

It was too bad this was in fact, a young man.

"I swear, all the shit I put up with," Ritsuka Fujimaru groaned, while rubbing his hand through the long black hair atop his head, "I'm just glad we used a linking magic for getting this on my head, and not glue or something that might rip out my actual hair," they had managed to send someone out to steal the wig and makeup while they had forced Ritsuka into this dress for readying him for the mission, "And let me tell you," he twisted his torso, and Mata heard an audible crack, "I can't wait to get this shitty makeup off my face."

"SNRKKT," Colan snorted, barely covering his face. This caused the older boy to glare at him, and stalk forward toward him.

"We need to move now," Mata said. This stopped Ritsuka in his tracks, and forced him to sigh, and nod at her point. At that, Ritsuka moved forward, leading Colan to be right next to him, "Now, I'll follow you, and keep within range so the spell will continue to work."

"Sounds like a plan," Ritsuka took one final pose in his dress, looking at the front entrance of the ramp, "Now, follow us, we should be able to push in without anyone guessing who we are," he then smiled, "Just make sure to watch my back, okay?"

'Yes,' Mata thought, as she looked over Ritsuka as he stood in front of her, her eyes slowly lowering below his belt into a very shapely rump on the bo-girl, who was helping her sneak in to save her son, 'Yes, I shall endeavor to watch your back.'

As Ritsuka and Colan lead the way, walking toward the great door of the manse, Mata followed. It wasn't as though she wasn't grateful for what he was doing, or that she was getting a rather nice view, but…but…

'WHY IS HE THE PRETTIEST GIRL I'VE EVER SEEN?'

They had made it inside the Manse relatively easily. The one guard at the gate had accepted that Ritsuka, using the fake name Oresa, was asked to help work the wedding, and had brought her brother, Irro to help. The man himself wasn't too educated, and had given Ritsuka a rotten look, but had allowed them in, also allowing Mata to slip by. After word, Mata pointed toward one of the different dining rooms that dotted the Manse, "There, we should be able to regroup there, and make sure that we can figure out our next plan in peace."

"I understand," Ritsuka nodded, though there was still an annoyance in his voice. Not much of one, Ritsuka was quite good at hiding it, but it was quite clear that this mission was getting on his mind far more than the previous one he'd rescued Mata herself in. Which…wasn't really surprising.

'He doesn't like everyone staring,' she realized, as she watched the few idle guards watching "Oresa" scurry through the yard. While there were some who were like the guard on the outside frustrated at dealing with a girl and her brat brother adding one more thing to look after, other men were staring at him with…hunger. Mata nearly shook her head, 'What might they say were they to know that they knew you were a boy, I wonder.'

"You there," Ritsuka stopped, as did Colan, who nearly ran into his "Sister", as one of the older serving women called from across the courtyard. Ritsuka turned, and when the older woman waved him forward, he followed, as did Colan, but as the older woman saw this, she pointed at the boy, "Not him, Master Mairu wants to look over the girls for a bit. No boys."

"Uh," "Irro" stammered, not quite sure what he should do, when suddenly, "Oresa's" hand fell on his shoulder.

"Go on to the room, I'll meet you once this is done," the "Girl" said. That the "Girl's" voice was quite clearly a girl's voice, a strong but sweet one, was yet another strange aspect of this whole disguise. It floored Mata, that Ritsuka was such a natural at pulling this whole thing off.

'Almost as though he is half a girl already,' she shook her head. It made her wonder…

Quickly, the older woman began to lead RItsuka away. Mata, realizing that her spell disguising her was based on being close to Ritsuka, she began to push to follow him. She placed a hand on Colan quickly, before moving her head toward the dining room they had been originally going toward, "Go there, it should be empty, and you can wait for us to get in after this," Colan gave a quick nod, and rushed to the room, making sure to not bump into anyone. Luckily, almost everyone was too busy watching Ritsuka and the older woman march toward a large store room. The older woman pointed through one door, and Ritsuka bowed her head in deference as she went inside, with the older woman following behind her. Mata slipped through the opening just as the door was closed, and she sighed with relief when she saw that the meeting that Ritsuka had been called to would just be in this room, meaning no more chance of possibly exposing herself by opening a door.

There were nearly thirty women standing in a straight line against a large set of crates along the back of the room. She wasn't sure what was being held in those crates, but many of them seemed new. The girls also seemed mostly new. There had been quite a few serving girls at Illyrio's manse before, but almost none of them were here. Perhaps there had been a bit of a spending spree to bring in new blood. Whatever the case, it honestly made it easier for Ritsuka to sneak in, since there probably wasn't anything unusual about another serving girl.

'Mairu must really be relying on his spells to detect any issue,' she sighed, 'Though…arrogance does seem to be a point of his.'

As if Mata, thinking of the mage summoned him, the door to the room opened, and Mairu waltzed through. She turned back to see him, and suddenly saw five large pots sitting against the wall, with wide openings but compact enough for an adult to pick up and carry on their own. On each side of the pot was a large staff with untouched torches at the top. Mairu's robe had gone from the dark brown cloak to a deep velvet black, with red swirls along the sleeves, making him appear far more in line with the Targaryen way of dress than he had before. She could imagine him in King's Landing, though likely as one of Aerys' pet Alchemists.

Mairu ran his eyes over the long line of girls. While the first few passed by quickly, he stopped first at a girl of mostly Andal blood, with short blonde hair, and an unusually large chest. The mage's hand fidgeted behind his back, and then he nodded as he pointed at her, and then continued down. Two girls later, there was another girl, this one completely Rhoynish, with shapely hips, and he pointed at her as well, and she nodded the same. Every few girls, he would stop, give them a specific look, and then they would freeze at the look, and nod back. About two thirds of the way through, his eyes stopped, and stared directly at "Oresa".

'Oh no,' Mata thought, watching Ritsuka freeze up, but gave the same accepting nod back to Mairu. Mairu smirked, kept looking down the line, and chose three more girls, giving him seven total. He then stopped, and waved his hand forward. For a second, none of the chosen girls did anything, but he then slammed his foot down, and the

"If I have not chosen you," he said firmly, "You may go return to your duties," the women who were not pointed to all seemed to jump, though there was undeniably relief on most of their faces. Most of them rushed out of the room not even bothering to look back, others gave looks of pity back at the girls who had been chosen. A few of the girls that had been picked out almost made to follow, but they stopped, most realizing there was no way out of this. Somehow, Ritsuka had ended directly in the middle, between two girls of Valyrian descent, from their silver hair and purplish eyes.

After all the other girls had left, and the door had closed behind him, Mairu took his time to walk up to the girls, continuing to eye them closely. He slowly stalked around all the girls, moving his eyes over them.

"Tonight," Mairu began, as he turned around the blonde at the front, his face only a few feet from her's, "There will be a great ceremony for our king, and everything must be perfect," He leaned closer to emphasize it, "Absolutely perfect," the girl quickly made to answer, but he raised a finger in front of her lips, "I do not need words, only your attention and your obedience," at that, the girl snapped her lips together, and nodded. Mairu smirked at her, and walked past the girl.

"Perfection is what is required," he continued, walking over toward the next girl, the Rhoynish one, "This spell is difficult," he walked behind her, eyes quite low, "If this does not go correctly, the dragons will not be reborn from the long frozen eggs," he then leaned over the girls' shoulder, "And should that not occur, I would not wish to be the girl to whom the king would turn his wrath," the girl began to shake, only stopping when Mairu leaned back away from her, "So, for your sakes, this most go without any error."

He then moved to the third girl, the first Valyrian girl, with the other being on the opposite side of Ritsuka, "For this task, there has been a special oil provided in the crates behind you," the girl didn't move a muscle, which was the correct decision, since Mairu did nothing, "It shall be opened, and distributed into the great urns that are behind me. Those urns shall be carried by five of you," he made a quick point to grab the red headed girl's shoulder, "While you shall carry the first torch," he then turned his eyes, and pointed at the second one, "and you shall carry the second behind all the others."
He then stopped, and his hand shot out, grabbing the first Valyrian by the cheeks, and squeezed them, "The garden yard has been chosen due to the ivy around it's walls and the protection it provides," his fingers squeezed more tightly, so much so that Mata could begin to indents forming along the girl's skin, "If you allow even a spark to catch on those vines, then the ritual can be disrupted," he pushed his head forward, so his nose nearly met the girl's, "Understand?"

The girl attempted to nod, but couldn't from the strength of Mairu's grip. Finally, he relented, and let her face go. She nearly fell backward, but kept her feet. She looked at him, as he continued to stare at her, the pain she must have felt clear in her eyes. It was also clear in the slight indents of fingernails in her cheeks. Mairu didn't give her another glance, before moving to the next girl.

'Ritsuka,' Mata watched the "girl", thin but pretty, stand as straight as a board, 'Please don't do anything that might get us caught,' She could tell that Mairu was taking a great deal of joy in terrorizing all the girls around him. The girls were used to such treatment, being servants and women. But Ritsuka was a young man, and if he was anything like mo-

"So once you are inside," Mairu continued, looking Ritsuka up and down. There was something strange, and for a moment, Mata worried that it Mairu had already caught on to the disguise, but the taller man soon began to speak again, "The five casks of oil," he motioned once more towards the urns at the end, "shall be poured along the pyre with the dragon eggs atop them," he then reached his hand out, and rolled his fingers down Ritsuka's cheek, "And once done, you shall come round, behind me, and wait."

He then let Ritsuka's cheek go, and then moved to the other Valyrian girl, with Ritsuka visibly drooping at having been passed over, "Then you two with the torches shall go on opposite ends, and shall wait until I signal it is time for the fire to be set," he leaned forward, "Which you shall do as I say so," the girl nodded, watching his hand, though sighing like Ritsuka as the mage moved on to the next one without thrashing her as the previous torch bearer.

"All of you shall then stand behind me, holding your urn or torch above your head as the fire burns and I shall say the spell," he said to the next girl, another Andal. The girl nodded, though there was a slight look of disbelief in her, that Mairu was just not able to catch as he continued on, "There shall be a massive surge of energies, but do not fear, they shall not harm you, even as they wash over you."

Then he came to the final girl, a summer islander, "Once the ceremony is complete, you shall stay there until I leave, after which you shall follow me from the courtyard," when the girl nodded, he turned, and strolled back to a few steps away from them, "The magics that washed over you shall need to be," he turned, and looked the girls over, "removed, and I shall need to have you join me in my rooms for the night to ensure that no…problems arise from the ceremony," he adopted a satisfied smile, "For your safety of course."

The girls said nothing, for they could say nothing.

"Well then," he looked outside, "I suggest you all go out now, and rid yourself of any distractions for tonight," he motioned towards what Mata knew to be the nearest few privies in the Manse, "Return within an hour before sunset," he then opened the door, "Now go."

Most of the girls did not have to be told twice. Those that Mairu had handled particularly roughly nearly sprinted from the room, the first Valyrian girl barely containing her bawling, while the other girls were still moving with a determination not to look the Mage in his eyes. Ritsuka took one moment to give a side glance towards Mata, likely making sure he never got to far away from Mata so the spell hiding her would keep working. Mata quickly got in close behind him, and the two made their way toward the door, when suddenly Mairu put a hand on Ritsuka's shoulder.

"Hold a moment girl," Mairu smiled down at "Oresa", who looked up at him while shaking slightly, "You…are new here?"

"Yes ser," Ritsuka said, his voice as feminine as he could muster. Which was, again, surprisingly convincing. Mairu nodded at that, though his eyes scanned the girl he held in his grip. Ritsuka fidgeted for a second, before asking, as demurely as he could manage, "Is there anything you need of me, ser?"

"Not…for the moment," the hand on Ritsuka's shoulder slowly snaked down his shoulder blade, his fingers seeming to trace the bone, "You have your duty for the ceremony," and then fell off the bone to the small of Ritsuka's back, "Though after the ceremony," and right past that until his hand was firmly on "Oresa's" rear, "You will have many duties after tonight. The effects of the spell require my," and he squeezed, "personal touch."

Ritsuka's body did not react. Really, it was as though the boy had become stone itself. All the while, Mairu continued to rub his hand over Ritsuka's rear. Just as the Mage was about to move the hand forward toward the crotch, Ritsuka spoke up, "Yes ser," Oresa said, a tinge of fear in "Her" voice, before moving forward out of the mage's reach, "I will…be ready for tonight ser."

"Don't try to run," Mairu said, smirking as he watched the now shaking girl in front of him, "A girl like you-from where you are from-you won't make it a day without being spotted," he leaned forward, making direct eye contact with the serving "Girl" he had just touched, "And should you have to be dragged back here, I will do to you what I had been planning, but a hundred fold."

"...Ser."

"Good girl," Mairu waved, and Mata slipped past and into the opening of the door, as Ritsuka finally came out of the room, shaking slightly, "Now go do your tasks, and be back here when I told you too."
At that, Ritsuka skittered out of the room, Mata making sure to follow as quickly as she could behind him. His sprint was hard for Mata to keep up with, but soon he slammed through the door that Colan had gone through before the whole interrogation had occurred. Mata rushed through as Ritsuka slammed the door open, and then did her best to close the door. When she could see the only one in the room was the boy, she sighed, before allowing a slight bit of exasperation to overcome her.

"Ritsuka," she said, "You need to cal-"

She stopped, as she looked at him. Ritsuka was lucky, in his haste, that he had not knocked off any of his outfit. But his shoulders were shaking, and she could see, even if she was only looking at his back, that his fists were clenched tightly. Colan could only stare at the older boy as he seemed to step back.

"Ritsuka?" the boy said. At that, Ritsuka's head snapped towards the boy, who almost jumped at the sudden motion. Mata saw Ritsuka's pupil's at tiny as she thought she could, and saw several veins bulging along his forehead.

"Ritsuka!" she said aloud, causing him to snap her head towards her. For a second, his pupils remained as focused as before, his eyes directly staring into hers. However, soon he blinked, and she watched as the tight fist as his side loosened, then relaxed, and then opened up. Ritsuka just kept looking at her, before finally letting out a sigh, closing his eyes fully. He just stood there then for a moment, before reopening his eyes back up, and his eyes looked normal.

"Thank you…Mata," he said, before stopping and looking at the younger boy. He bent down, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Sorry, Colan, I was just really angry," he stopped, and stood back up, "So, despite," he stopped, and ducked his head slightly, his frown coming back, "all that, I think sneaking in that meeting was helpful," he turned to Mata, "Mairu just probably told us something we have to deal with. The Ivy."

"Ivy?" Mata blinked, as Ritsuka continued to look at her. She blinked, and made a guess, "If it's the Garden Yard, there are vines all across the walls on the inside of it," she rubbed her chin, "I think they go around all its walls."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's part of the spell he was talking about," Ritsuka offered, before rubbing his chin, "Or maybe something else. We need to get that stuff burning once we get inside, if for no other reason that it will let us get inside to where this whole little ritual is and get Baelon when we get inside."

"You don't think we can get in and sneak him out before the ritual?" Mata seethed.

"Unfortunately," Ritsuka groaned, "I've been spotted and chosen by that jackass, so I don't think I can try and sneak about. Colan can, but I'm not sure he's going to be able to get him free on his own," he gave the most understanding look he could to Mata, "We need to wait for this ritual, where Baelon should be, and snatch him up there, since he should still be alive then."

"I…I," Mata wanted to complain, wanted to demand that they go back to immediately searching for her son, but she had to shake her head.

'Nothing else we can really do,' she thought, 'We're already taking on this chance by being here,' she thought of the Baelon, smiling at her, 'But…for some reason,' another boy entered her, a smaller boy, 'I don-I'm remembering someone I can't-'

"Mata," Ritsuka's hand was quickly on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Oh-I…I…,"

"Mama," she stared down, at the small boy reaching up, his face deeply red, "Mam-"

"Mata!"

Mata suddenly found herself on her knees, staring up as suddenly both the young men in her vision looking at her in shock. She wobbled for a second, before standing up again, and staring at her hand.

'I don-'

"Maybe," she stopped, when she heard Ritsuka begin to speak up again, "Maybe you should just head out, and wait back at th-"

"NO!" Mata slammed her foot down, "I can help you."

"But if-"

"I'll be fine," Mata groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I-I," she shook her head one last time, "I can do this. Just let me help," she looked into Rtisuka's eyes, "Baelon, he…"

At that flashes of images rushed through her head. The first was of Elia, laughing as she dragged Mata into the pools of Water Gardens. Then there was Doran smirking on his throne and Oberyn chuckling along the side. Then…then there was a strange man with a strange beard that curled down in front of his ears and covered only the top part of his lips alongside his cheeks. Finally, there was a small boy, forever young, and a young woman, who looked suspiciously like Mata herself, thin yet brave.

"Baelon is all the family I have left," she said finally, "I won't abandon him."

"...Okay," Ritsuka nodded, "Well then, might as well make our final plans for tonight," he smirked, "Now here is what we are going to do."

Mata's eyes scanned the top of the wall. For a second, she couldn't see anything, the setting sun causing the shadows to extend and darken the whole of the structure. But within a moment she caught some movement, and let out a sigh, as Colan twisted around the parapets along the inner wall, flint and a pot of reading oil at his side.

She reached out, and tapped Ritsuka's shoulder, which he nodded at, though only slightly. The tap had meant that Colan was in position, and he could go without having to offer a distraction. Which, if the sudden relaxing of the "girl's" shoulders was any indication, was something of a relief for him.

"Come along," Mairu's voice was solid. His robes were as neatly placed together as possible, and his eyes were focused on all of them. The five girls in the middle all grabbed their pots up, and carried them forward on their shoulders. The two Valyrians then followed, torches held out in front of them., lights still not set. Mata hung right behind them, As close as she could be to Ritsuka without the chance of running into anyone.

"Now dears," he pointed towards the opening gate, "The fires are to light at sunset, so you all shall proceed once the gate opens into the yard," the girls all gave acknowledgement, and Mairu, eyes pointed towards the gate itself, "Remember, this is the most important night of you lives," his voice was solid as it had ever been the promise of punishment hidden, "Make sure you do not make fools of yourselves."

At that, he held his hand up, repeated a short spell, and there was a short blast of light. Mairu was gone, leaving them all alone. Quickly, the girls got into line, with the torches now lit. Mata held back, a few meters behind the boy who was the best chance she had to save Baelon.

The march toward the gate, Mata looked up. She saw Colan dive one last time beneath the parapet, and sighed, knowing that it was now or never. She would have to rely on these boys now, with the best she could do to be somewhat useful. As the procession passed into the courtyard, Mata tried to take in everything inside. There were dozens of different wealthy guests, most of whom Mata guessed were wealthy merchants and aristocrats of Pentos, though almost none of them were friends of Illyrio. She wondered for a second, where her old Master was, when just as she looked around, she suddenly saw a massive wooden mound, and in the middle was-

"Aegon!"

Mata stopped, and looked in the direction of the shout. Sitt-no standing now, eyes wider than Mata had ever seen, was Rhaenys. She looked more regal than she'd ever seen Mata, and in the back of her mind Mata winced at the thought this is what the girl would have looked like if Rhaegar had won. But that was quickly tossed aside when her mind remembered what she had just seen on the mound. There, tied up in rope, with another thing of rope between his teeth, was Baelon. Mata felt the need to try and rush the mound, but at the moment, her mind was pulled away by the girl at the table.

"What! WHY?" she screamed, before turning to her husband, who seemed calm as he ever was staring at his tied up nephew, "What are you trying to burn Aegon?"

"You should calm yourself Rhaenys," He said without turning his eyes toward her, "My nephew is going to make a magnificent sacrifice for our family," he waved his hand toward the tied up young man, "He shall be giving his life so we may regain our rightful place," he wiped his hand across the bottom of his right eye as though there was a tear to clean away, "Once we have reclaimed our home, I shall have a statue of marble and gold built to recognize his contribution to our restoration.

"He's a prince," Rhaenys said, trying to push herself in to Viserys vision, "He is our family," she began to shriek, "He's the last member of our family besides the three of us," she gestured towards Dany, who was looking down, shame and fear over her.

"And I am the family's head," Viserys noted, before turning his head toward Mairu, "Begin."

"NO!" Rhaenys screamed, throwing a hand toward the mage, who did not listen as he turned and began to walk towards the long line of girls. The mage motioned towards them, and the five with jars began to pour the oil over the bottom part of the wood, including Ritsuka. Mata, at first seemed to move next up, but was distracted by the next of the girl's cries, "Please, you can't do this!"

"We are going to do this," Viserys said, causing the girl to stare at her brother, tied up like a hog before his slaughter, as the contents of the oil flowed over the wood, "It is our destiny," Mata could the orange and red of the sun reflected in his purple eyes, "As burning is his," he didn't not even bother to turn around, "Now I will hear no more of your despair, for in death of that boy, the dragons Targaryen shall be born a new."

Rhaenys just stared at him, before shouting, "Listen husband," she grabbed at her uncle's shoulder, "List-"
SLAP

At that, Rhaneys was sent sprawling backwards. Viserys had not turned, as he stared at the process of the spell. Mata returned her attention back to the great mound, and saw that the last of the oil had been spilt. Mairu, seeming satisfied turned back to the great table, and raised his hands up toward the two torches, his fingers waving.

"And now," he declared, as sparks began to dance among his fingers, "I sha-"

CRUCAHSH

Mata blinked, and saw that Mairu was now leaning over, his head bleeding, as pieces of ceramic pot fell off of his head. She stared at the image of "Oresa" who was standing over him quite proudly, and Mata realized that with none of the oil in the vessel, Ritsuka had been able to lift it up and smash it over the other mage. Mairu seemed dazed for a moment, and every other person in the courtyard just seemed to stare at the "Girl" who had just assaulted a magic user with a pot, jaws hanging open. All…except the Rhoynish girl from earlier, who stared at her own pot, and then raised it over her head, and almost leapt as she threw it down on Mairu's head as well.

"GHEAHHH!"

Now, Mairu was nearly laying on the ground, moaning from the crash. The other three girls with pots stared at one another, before raising their own pots, and slamming it down on the man's prone form. Suddenly, the two Valyrian girls ran over, their torches still not lit, and began to smack down on the mage as he writhed in pain. At the same time, "Oresa" and the other girls began to kick at the beaten man.

"I…what?" Viserys blinked, before suddenly his face turned red, "What you are all waiting for!" the guards around the group began to straighten, "He's our only mage, seize them!"
At that, the guards all began to converge on the crowd of girls. However, as they did so, Mata saw two small hands reach out over a thin patch of ivy, and oil being poured over the dry leaves. Knowing no one was able to stop that, Mata turned her attention away from the confrontation in front of the bonfire to be, and rushed behind the table.

And kneeling there, tears pouring down her eyes, was Rhaenys. The young girl's body was shaking, staring at her gloved hands, a growing red welt on her face. Mata gave one look to make sure no one was around, and ran up so she was kneeling next to the girl. As she got close, she reached out in front of the girl, and realized she was still close enough to Ritsuka to not be visible.

"Rhaenys."

The girl's eyes widened. She began to look around, but still could not see, "Mata?"

"I'm with you," Mata said, making sure to check for any guards, but none came, "Did he hurt y-"

"He's going to burn Aegon," the girl cried, "He's going to kill our family," whether she was referencing Mata as part of the family, or Viserys, Mata didn't care to ask, "We…we were supposed to go back together. To be safe and happy again," she coughed and wheezed for a moment, "but-but you were right."

"Rhaenys," Mata had to make sure she was meeting the girls on her own terms, "Rhaenys listen to me," the girl, still wheezing and coughing, snot now joining her tears, "You need to stand up-"

"I got my brot-"

"Your brother isn't dead yet," Mata listened, as there were still sounds of a scrum between the girls and the guards, "But he might be soon if you don't act."

"I…I…"

"Listen," Mata placed her arms around the girl's shoulders, and at first the girl seemed to freeze in shock. But then, Rhaenys leaned into the embrace as much as she could, "You aren't the sort of girl to bend when told what to do. Remember the cheese rush?" at that, Mata felt Rhaenys freeze up again, but the girl nodded, "You will fight for what you think. Will you fight for your brother?"

"I," she began, "I'm so much weaker than them. And the-"

"Your mother wouldn't lay down before some pampered prince like Viserys," Mata said, and she could see Rhaenys's eyes widen, and then Mata knew the next move, "And your father wouldn't either."

"Pa-papa?"

"Your father," Mata mentally prepared herself, "Your father knew what he thought needed to be done. No matter who or what said otherwise, he'd do so, even if it seemed mad-"

'Even if it was mad,' Mata said to herself.

"And your father often fought a real king, with real swords, and real danger," she said, remembering the confrontations that Rhaegar had had with Aerys, "Do you think he's let some king without throne or army stop him?"

"...no," Mata could feel the muscles in Rhaenys back tighten. At that, Mata could feel the edges of her lips twist upward, as Rhaneys began to catch herself, and push upward.

"Then I say," Mata whispered, slowly letting go of her daughter, "Take one of those sharp knives," Rhaenys's eyes twisted towards the table, "And show the world that Rhaegar and Elia still live."

Mata backed away, and Rhaenys stood up. Slowly, the girl turned around, and walked over to the dining table. Mata stood back, and slowly walked to the front, 'I want to see the little fuck's face,' she thought, as she moved around. As she did so, she saw the scrum was over, and all seven of the girls were now held by the guards, as Mairu was slowly pushing himself back up to his feet, blood pouring down his head, 'Uh oh.'

"Now this rebellions is most unfortunate," at that, Mata seethed, turning to see the cock staring down at the girl's, "But do not worry, if you are so inclined to rebellion, then you shall be fine to join my nep-gah!"

At that, Mata smiled, because along the neck of the "King" was a carving knife along the edge of his throat. Next to him, glaring at her husband to be through waves of tears, was Rhaenys Targaryen. She glared at the man she held in the palm of her hand, and Mata could see a sudden dawning terror on his face. The woman then glared out at the crowd.

"Let my brother and the girls go," she declared. When the guards just stood there stunned, she inched it closer to VIserys's neck, and shouted again, "Let them go or I slit the throat of your king!" at that, most of the men, who were holding the girls back, seemed to loosen their grip.

"Don't!" but that loosening stopped, as Mairu finally seemed to regain his senses. His face was already swelling, stained red blood from the cuts the broken pots had caused, and the mear act of shouting seemed to cause him to wince in pain, but he again forced himself to his feet. He then pointed toward the high table, in the general direction of the pair, "Don't you let this girl stop this. What shall she do," Mairu laughed, as Rhaenys pushed the knife closer to the vein along VIserys neck, "Shall she really set fire to all of her dreams, and then find herself hung from the wall, for killing the king?" he stopped, nearly falling over from the pain, but he held himself up, "No, no set fire to wood," he waved his hand, with spark coming, "And we shall show this girl what fire-"
"FIRE!"

There was a scream in the distance, and suddenly everyone's attention was drawn to one of the tables near the entrance. As Mata turned, she saw that at least twenty meters of wall were aflame, the vines that had once snaked along the walls burning. She made a quick look to see that Colan was not in sight, and was glad not to see the boy in danger of being caught. Just as she saw the some of the lines break, breaking the full circle of greenery that surrounded the courtyard, she turned back, and saw Mairu's dazed eyes, almost cross eyed from the beating, widen.

"No…no," he stammered.

"That was what you were using as your conduit to trap the servants when the arrive, wasn't it?"

And then Mairu's pupils shrunk so small Mata could not make them out. He slowly turned his head toward the voice, the masculine voice, only a few feet behind him. Of course, all the guards and the girls were staring at "Oresa" as she smiled. Slowly, the pretty figure pulled one arm free, and held a set of tattoos right in front of Mairu's face.

"By my Command Seals-"

"NO!" Mairu screamed, rushing, hands stretched towards the neck of the mage who had taunted, beaten and humiliated him. But the distance was too great, and the flash of red magic around Ritsuka's right arm was too bright. And as he opened his mouth, Mata knew that this plan had somehow worked out.

"COME TO ME MY SERVANTS!"

CREAAK-BOOOM

There was a massive burst of smoke from the red lighting. It did not last long, as a slight breeze seemed to take it up, and carry it away. The guard who had held Ritsuka had been knocked far back onto one of the tables behind him, and several other guards had already begun to inch away. But it was Mairu who pulled the most attention, as his outstretched arm was inches away from Ritsuka.

But inches away was as close as he would get, as a pale hand was gripped tightly around his wrist, the black robed arm leading up to the Ash Valyrian face of the girl who had suggested they dress Ritsuka up. The girl had a cruel smirk on her face.

"Get out of here you little shit," she said, before merely swinging her arm, and sending Mairu himself dozens of feet away, into another table. She then turned her head toward Ritsuka, who was smiling, "Took long enough, idiot?"

"Had to make sure that we disrupted his defenses," Ritsuka said, while reaching up and pulling down his wig. The guards around the girls all seemed to back away, leaving all of them staring at him, a few with light red tinges on their face. The Ash Valyrian seemed to notice, and marched in closer. But she was soon joined by the other members of Ritsuka's group, all of who seemed to be ready for a fight. Knowing he had back up, Ritsuka smiled, and said, "So, Mr. King. Let's go over how this is going to go-"

"YOU!"

Ritsuka turned, and saw the leader of the Dothraki, one leg and all, stalking forward, his face in a fury on his face. Already several dozen of his tribesmen were gather ing around him, weapons in hands. Ritsuka just stared at them for a moment, before raising his fist, and catching it, suddenly remembering something.

"Yeah, we totally met before didn't we?"

"You cheated me!" the former horse lord shrieked, before waving his sword toward the group, "Bring me his head, all there heads!" At that, the dozens of men charged as swiftly as if they actually did have horses.

"Right," Ritsuka said, "I didn't realize they'd be here," he turned his head, "So-"

"I got it," the hound of Winterfell stepped forward, a dark red spear suddenly appearing in his hand, "Need to get some stress out," he turned his head to the dark man in red, "Want to get in on this one or-"
"Have at it," two blades appeared in his hands, "I have to probably go cut that kid free."

"Suit yourself," Cu laughed, before charing, "AAAAGHGHGHH!"
"They're insane," the dark skinned woman said, before turning her head to the ivy that had burned away, "Well, at least you managed to disrupt the sealing circle, that could completely incapacitate us if it had been up and running," she sighed, "Though really I wish it wasn't so difficult."

"Well the-"

"What is happening?" Rhaenys asked, and suddenly Mata realized that this must be quite the sight for someone who didn't understand that they were dealing with two different groups of mages fighting with one another. Mata, feeling in control, grabbed the robes over her heads, and unwound them, allowing them to fall to her feet. That alone was enough to reveal her, and Rhaenys's eyes widened again, "Mata…you-"

"We must move quickly, Rhaenys," Mata said quickly, hoping onto the stand, and slipping past Dany, who was seemingly stunned by everything happening around her, and just wanting to avoid getting in anyone's way. Mata walked right up to where her daughter was holding the prince hostage, reared back her right arm, and threw it forward.

CRACK

Slamming into the "King's" nose, and sending him falling backwards, dazed. Mata smiled for a second, before grabbing Rhaenys by the hand, feeling the girl's skin through the ripped palm, and pulling.

"We need to leave before more guards arrive," she said. For a blink of an eye, the girl stared, before coming to her senses, and rushing behind Mata as they hopped from the platform. At the same time, Mata could see Emiya's blade cut through the rope around Baelon's arms, and the boy finally pull himself from the wooden beam. He groaned as he adjusted his jaw, but he suddenly was lifted up, and placed on top of the tall man's shoulder.

"Wh-"

"Okay, let's get a move on," Ritsuka shouted. Suddenly, Mata found herself raised into the air, and saw that Rhaenys was shot into the air to. She looked down, and saw the smiling female monk from Yi Ti. Too tired now to question all that was happening, she just let out a sigh, as Ritsuka turned and shouted back toward the fighting, "Cu, we're leaving!"

"Oh come on, I've only killed fo-"SHUNK"-FIve of these fuckers," Mata wasn't able to turn around, but from the crossed arms on Ritsuka, she almost thought he looked like a disappointed parent, which was only further confirmed when she heard an annoyed sigh, and heard feet running up behind her, "Fine!"

"I have no idea what is happening," Mata looked over to her daughter, and just shrugged. The younger girl stared for a moment, before shaking her head. Already, Ritsuka was waving his arms, as the different girls were bolting for the open gate. As were dozens of the guests, most of whom were likely not ready for any kind of fight. The few guards between them and the gate were making to get out of the way, as everyone readied to start running.

"Hey, honeypot!" Mata turned to the Ash Valyrian. She was looking back, glaring at something, "That little dragon shit's getting back up," and Mata realized that she was looking at Viserys, "Where is the prick's room?"

Mata blinked, "Um," she stopped, looked around, and pointed at the small building near the balcony, about two hundred meters away, "That would be-"

"Thanks," she raised her hand up, and smiled, "This is for calling me an old hag!"
And then a jet of black fire shot out. The fire seemed to arc across the sky, shining through the orange light of sunset, before slamming directly into the room that the prince had used as his quarters for the last few months. She suddenly heard a wail from behind her, and didn't need to look back to realize that Viserys had just seen most if not all of his greatest possessions go up in smoke.

"We need to get moving people!" Ritsuka shouted, before suddenly charging off. Mata suddenly felt something move, and suddenly the entire group was charing forward towards the gate. Mata saw the charcoal haired boy standing atop the parapet, waving at them. Colan then bent his knees, and hopped down as they began to pass through.

"Nice work," she heard from behind her, along with the sound of the boy being caught from the air, "Couldn't have done it better maself."

"Thanks da," Colan said, as they found themselves in the main courtyard. The plaza was now a mess of crowds and shrieking, people trying to push their way out of the main gate, but with so many fleeing from both the wedding and the sudden fires burning throughout the whole of the manse. As they found themselves stuck behind the crowd pushing out, the group came to a halt, one that lasted for several seconds as guests and servants pushed their way out of the funnel. Slowly, Ritsuka, who was still directly in front of Mata, turned his head, staring at the Ash Valyrian, who was right next to her, along the back of the group.

"Oh come on," she shrugged, "They were going to be doing this anyway," it was only then that Mata saw Ritsuka's eyes widen as he stared at-no behind the woman, "If we can just knock a hole into this other wall," and suddenly, he reached out, and grabbed the girl by her shoulder, and tossed her.

Shunk.

"What the h-," the woman on the ground stopped, and stared at Ritsuka. Or more specifically, at Ritsuka's chest, where a long, rippled steel blade was sticking through the young man, right through his right lung.

"Wh-who-whore," Mata froze, and craned her neck to see the Viserys Targaryen, face covered in blood from his broken nose, breathing heavily from more running than he'd done in his whole lifetime, staring down at the Ash Valyrian His hands were along Blackfyre's handle and he seemed to be gaining confidence as some guards, both Dothraki and otherwise, were finally coming up behind him, "This fool may have saved you, but I will show you what a dragon can really do."

The girl did not respond, simply staring at the boy currently trying to hold himself up after being stabbed. Finally, Viserys pulled the blade from Ritsuka's chest, simply sliding it out due to the Valryian steel's quality. As Ritsuka fell to his own knees, the girl he'd pushed away just continued to stare at him.

"Why?" Jean Alter asked.

"Because you love her," Mata laughed, as Ritsuka stared at her. The boy stopped, blinked for a few seconds, and laughed.

"Really," Ritsuka rubbed the back of his head. He was doing that thing where he tried to pass off his discomfort as a simple misunderstanding, but Mata would not be fooled, "Jean Alter is a friend," he then winced, "Though I'm not sure she would want to be called that," he chuckled, "Besides, we need her to help us save human-"

"Oh pshaw," Mata leaned forward, making sure to push her chest in front of the young man, who did his best to keep eye contact, "I see the way you look at her," she stopped, and tapped her chin, "Really, thought you'd have better taste than that, but no matter, I can work with this."

"Mata, please-"

"Ritsuka, when I agreed to become your servant," Mata said, the slight discomfort at her station. She appreciated much about her new life, from simply having it to the sudden…additions that gave her great pride, she wasn't so happy with the title, "I said i would always expect honesty, and that so should you," she leaned forward, "So listen to me when I say this," she pointed her finger onto the young man's nose, "You love that girl."

"Well, I-"

"So you better enjoy it while you have it," Mata let out a small sigh, bad memories over taking her, "You can't understand how quickly love can make you-"

"Suffer," Viserys continued to shriek, waving the sword around in triumph, "Just have I have suffered. I'll take you-"

Mata tried her best to pull free, but looked down, and saw that Xuanzang was locked in shock. She reached down, and slapped the monk on the face. When Xuan looked up, Mata said, "Xuan, let me down, we need to try and stop the bleeding!"

"Wait," Xuan blinked, "Mata, are you-"

"I'm back," Mata said quickly, pushing her easy front he monk's grip. As she laid there, she stared at Ritsuka, who was now lying in a growing pool of his own blood, "Help me staunch the bleeding!"

"Rig-"

"Now die!" and then Mata's eyes were drawn back to the prince. Blackfyre was being raised over his head, preparing to strike down Jeanne Alter, while Emiya and Cu were both seething while preparing for the oncoming guards. However, just as the blade reached the highest point for a swing, it stopped. For a second, Viserys held it in place before he suddenly released it.

"Gah!" he cried, holding his hands out. At that, Mata marveled as she saw steam pouring from the man's palms, and the shape of a pommel indented into Viserys's flesh. He stepped back for a moment, his eyes staring at the scars on his hands. Then, the woman beneath him stood up, a similar steam seeming to lift off of her as she turned around. Mata used the distraction to finally reach Ritsuka, tearing off some of the cloth from her robe and placing it over his wound. She turned back, and stared at the back of the Avenger who was stalking toward the "Last Targaryen."

"You think yourself a dragon?"

One of the guards, a man with light leather armor and a steel tipped spear, rushed past Viserys. Most likely thinking this would earn him some reward, he aimed to stab into the Witch. But as he got within a few feet, suddenly he burst into flames, and fell to the ground screaming. Jeanne Alter seemed to pay him no mind as she stalked forward towards Viserys, who was beginning to back away, eyes growing wider and wider. The woman then opened her mouth once more, and Mata could swear she saw Jeanne Alter belch smoke as she screamed.

"LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT A REAL DRAGON IS!"