Chapter 21 - Carefree Countdowns

As the oversized lance stabbed towards his chest, Jaune barely had any time to think.

The only conscious thought that managed to pass through his mind, just as it reached him, was that its owner had gotten even faster.

Fortunately, he also had his subconscious reactions, reactions which had been drilled into him until they were muscle memory, and even as he wondered whether it had been as fast as Pyr or Ruby his body was already moving.

Before, he would have raised his shield, braced himself, channelled his Aura into his arms and shield as he simply did his best to weather the blow like an unbreakable rock.

That bad habit had been beaten out of him (literally) by his new mentor, who'd made it abundantly clear that such a tactic only worked if your opponent wasn't strong enough to just break through your defenses (which, loath as he was to admit, did lend some credence to the idea that Pyr had really been coddling him...).

And even if he could endure such a blow (such as in this case)... why waste the energy and allow his shield to be potentially damaged?

(And that wasn't even factoring the fact that magic was a thing in Camelot; taking an unnecessary hit was just taking an unnecessary risk that the weapon you were being attacked by wasn't some magical artifact that could just cut through anything, including his shield and the fleshy bits behind it.)

Thus, when the blow came, he was already gone, pivoting his body to the side even as he raised his sword in preparation to counter-attack.

Of course, his opponent was also familiar with his reactions, and quickly halted her movement with one smooth action, transferring all her momentum into her lance even as its side was suddenly swung towards him like a club.

This time, he intercepted it, channelling his Aura into his sword even as he in turn swung upwards, battering the lance away from him even while he stepped forward, getting within the guard of the diminutive knight.

(He'd made sure to use the flat of the blade this time; even if his Aura would've stopped the blade from losing its edge he still didn't want to risk damaging the lance, not after having spent so long helping work on it.)

If his opponent had been any slower, the fight might have ended there, with Jaune's shield being rammed into her face.

But she wasn't, and so Gareth dodged the blow with far more ease than Jaune had dodged hers even as she let go of Ira Lupus and reached for her own sheathed blade.

Just as the two began to exchange blows however, with Gareth using her superior agility to test his guard while he tried to defend , an annoyed voice cut in: "Alright, stop! That's enough, you two!"

The two of them immediately lowered their weapons and relaxed even as they turned to the source of the interruption, an armored figure burying its helmet in a gauntleted hand even as it fumed: "What. In the Lord's name. Was that supposed to be?!"

"Uh..." Jaune's eyebrow rose as he shared a confused look with Gareth.

Mordred huffed in exasperation as she looked them over, before feeling her face loosen slightly when she saw her squire's face. Taking down a deep breath, she forced down her initial reaction, and instead sternly addressed them: "You two. You're holding back against each other too much. The two of you don't need to try and kill each other, but it's better for you to accidentally injure each other here than be unprepared in a real battle."

"I guess that's true..." Jaune conceded the point as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

Before Gareth could respond, however, Mordred turned to her in particular, and continued: "And you, you've been focusing on your lance too much. When's the last time you practiced with your sword?"

"It has been a while since I've had the opportunity to work on my swordplay with Sir Lancelot, Sir Mordred" Gareth admitted with a strained smile. "And Jaune's preferred style of swordsmanship is different from mine."

Even as Mordred began lecturing Gareth on how sloppy her swordplay had gotten, Jaune couldn't help but chew on her words once she'd mentioned Sir Lancelot. He hadn't really thought much about it back when Gareth had mentioned that Lancelot had been giving her more free time and had been more distracted recently, but considering what Arthur had told him a week ago, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

A sigh escaped from Jaune's lips as he continued pondering on things. Honestly, even after all this time, he still wasn't sure what to think regarding the whole thing.

Lancelot was a person he owed a lot to, having been the one to initially suggest bringing him to Camelot from Snowdonia in the first place, Gareth thought the world of her mentor, and even Sir Mordred had respect for him as an ideal knight.

But even if his suspicions weren't true, it still didn't change the fact that Lancelot had willingly had an affair with Arthur's wife.

Of course, on the other hand, he definitely didn't know all the details; as his mother always said, there was always at least two sides to every story, and he only knew Arthur's. Moreover, despite being the most affected, it was Arthur who was more than willing to try and give the pair the benefit of the doubt even after everything, to be understanding and forgiving of the two he considered among his closest friends.

Honestly, it was that, more than anything else, that rubbed Jaune the wrong way.

If Lancelot had only fallen in love with Guinevere, without doing anything else, Jaune might've been more sympathetic and understanding to the tragic forbidden romance.

But doing that, to someone like that?

Maybe he was just biased: growing up with seven older sisters had meant he'd been forced to listen to no small amount of failed romances and relationship drama, and he'd been especially soured on cheaters.

Jaune sighed again, as he wondered just what was up with his complicated, drama-filled afterlife. Before he could sink into his thoughts again, however, a warm metal hand grasped his shoulder, and he almost jumped as Mordred's boomed in his ear: "Are you listening to me, squire?!"

"Sorry, Sir Mordred," Jaune immediately apologized as he turned around, finding his mentor right next to him even as Gareth swung her sword by herself a fair distance away. "You were saying?"

"I was saying, that you weren't doing Gareth or yourself a favor by ignoring all the openings she showed," Mordred repeated with just a tinge of impatience. "I know you could've easily struck while Gareth was fumbling to draw her sword, you're more than strong and fast enough."

Jaune highly doubted that, but the confidence his mentor had in him was almost touching.

Then, to his surprise, instead of continuing his reprimanding, Sir Mordred instead looked away, a gauntleted finger scratching his chin as he continued: "Anyway... what's on your mind, Jaune? Something's clearly bothering you, and... well..."

Jaune was honestly touched this time by his friend's words, but as much as he appreciated his concern, an Arc never went back on his word, and so-

"Does it have to do with what Fa- what the King's been asking for your recent assistance in?" Mordred asked before he could say anything, unknowingly hitting the nail right on the head with her guess.

Jaune suppressed the urge to gulp nervously, but it was a close thing.

Honestly, he really didn't like keeping Arthur's situation a secret from his son; he knew just how devastated Mordred would be if he found out. But at the same time, he couldn't disagree with Arthur that Mordred finding out before the matter was resolved was not something that would end well; he knew his friend would immediately attempt to challenge Lancelot to a duel, if not just outright murder him.

And so Jaune chose to lie, laughing awkwardly and looking up at a particularly-interesting cloud even as he deflected: "Don't worry, Sir Mordred. It's just a small matter, alright?"

"... if you say so, Jaune," Mordred conceded, her trust in her best (and only) friend winning out over her doubts; he was always the one who asked her to tell him if something was wrong, and so surely he'd tell her if something was wrong too.

Jaune's relief was short-lived, however, as Mordred simply continued the conversation: "So, what are you helping the King with, anyway? He's been seeking you out for seven days in a row already!"

Behind his mentor, Gareth had slowed her practice drills as she focused more on their conversation, and Jaune could almost swear her ears were perked up in their direction like a canine's.

"Oh, nothing much," Jaune quickly deflected. "Arthur's been a bit curious about how the Kingdom I came from did things, you know?"

That wasn't even a complete lie; the two of them used such discussions as breaks, in between rehearsals for that confrontation.

"... did you just call the King by his name, without any honorifics?" Mordred asked in disbelief, wondering if she'd misheard him.

"Oh, uh..." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as he realized his mistake, and quickly explained: "Sorry, Sir Mordred. It's just that, when we talk in private, we tend to drop formalities to make it easier to discuss things, and, well... it just kind of slipped out..."

"I never knew the two of you were so close..." Mordred couldn't help but frown behind her helmet, though she didn't know why. After all, she knew Jaune didn't mean any disrespect, and if Father had given him permission to do so, it wasn't her place to say otherwise.

Jaune simply gave a non-committal hum in response, not wanting to let anything else slip by accident.

"I think you underestimate just how rare of a privilege being able to talk to the King informally is, Jaune," Gareth interjected as she walked up to them, practice drills all but forgotten. "To say nothing of the King himself personally requesting for a squire's assistance in front of everybody; based on what I've heard, the dining hall was in a complete frenzy when His Majesty singled you out that first time."

This time it was with Mordred that Jaune shared a confused look, and he curiously inquired: "Was there such a commotion after I left? I didn't notice anything."

"Neither did I," Mordred simply shrugged, having paid even less attention than normal to her surroundings in the wake of her father summoning her squire. However, to the surprise of them all (possibly including Mordred herself), she then agreed with Gareth: "But... I would not be surprised if that is what happened. There must certainly be something about your Kingdom, for the King to publicly call upon you like so..."

"That's right!" Gareth nodded eagerly, quickly deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Fortunately for Jaune, before the unlikely duo could press the interrogation together (and Jaune could let even more information slip), Agravain approached them, walking out of the castle even as he called out: "Squire Jaune! The King requests your presence once more!"

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as he seized the chance to escape: "Oh, is it time already? Well, sorry guys, but the King's calling, so... see you tomorrow! Thanks for the help, Gareth, Sir Mordred!"

The pair simply stared at Jaune's retreating back as he walked away with Agravain, before Gareth awkwardly tried to fill in the silence: "So... what do you think the King wants from him?"

Mordred turned to her half-sister, unsure of how to respond now that Jaune wasn't around to serve as a buffer between her and Gareth. On the one hand, even though she had no interest in really interacting with her older sibling, she knew Jaune didn't want her to be so hostile to his friend, not when she was just trying to be friendly.

Also, she had to admit (only to herself and maybe Jaune, of course; she'd vehemently deny it to anybody else), she too was very curious as to what her friend and her father were discussing.

But on the other hand, she trusted her father, even if it had been diminished of late, and she trusted her friend. If it was important, she was sure they'd tell her.

Also, she really didn't want to talk to Gareth.

"I think that you still have a few more practice drills that you aren't doing," Mordred pointed out dismissively as she turned away from Gareth, who groaned in response but still raised her sword, taking Mordred's words at face value.

As Gareth began running through a simple series of slashes and parries, Mordred found herself begrudgingly acknowledging her sister's effort and obedience in the matter. Admittedly, though, having her swinging her sword against empty air wasn't particularly effective, but Mordred wasn't about to cross swords with Gareth; her elder sister wasn't nearly strong enough, and her skill with the blade had dulled as she'd focused more on Ira Lupus. Even if she held back and restrained herself (which would defeat the entire purpose of the exercise as she'd told Jaune), it was still more than likely that she'd accidentally injure Gareth, which would earn her lectures from Lancelot, to say nothing of what their brothers would do.

(She doubted Jaune would lecture her, but he'd still feel obligated to check in on and assist Gareth while she was recuperating, or so she was willing to wager.)

She wasn't interested in having to suffer through all of that, not for Gareth, not when Lancelot really should have taken care of it by now.

At least the task Mordred had assigned her, forcing her to wield her blade over the lance she and Jaune had worked with, would help her get used to the weight and grip of her sword again.

As for whether it'd be enough for her to not embarrass herself as a full-fledged Knight of the Round Table...

... well, considering she only had a few days left before she was to be formally knighted...

Mordred found herself wavering, before she reluctantly turned back to her elder sister and began overseeing her practice.

-ONE HOUR LATER-

"Guinevere, my wife, my closest friend and confidant in Camelot, I have always acknowledged the burdens you have been forced to bear for the Kingdom; the knowledge of what you have been forced to sacrifice has always inspired me, given me the strength to continue to sacrifice for the Kingdom in turn, for what I have given up has always paled next to you.

"And that is why, had you but told me of your growing feelings regarding Lancelot, I would have been supportive, understanding, willing to discuss an arrangement for the three of us! As things currently are, however..." Artoria took a deep breath to collect herself, before sadly finishing: "As things currently are, as much as I empathize with you, as much as I rejoice for your newfound love... this situation cannot continue. Even if you and Lancelot manage to successfully conceal it from others, it is clear that your own consciences weigh heavily. Please, for the sake of the Kingdom, our friendship, and your own happiness, let us sit down and talk things out like rational adults. What say you?"

The blonde across from her pondered her words thoughtfully for a moment, before replying: "Yeah, I guess that works? Doesn't sound too accusing or confrontational, especially when compared to yesterday, and I don't think she'd have a choice but to engage with you after that."

Artoria breathed a sigh of relief at Jaune's words, but even as her shoulders loosened he quickly added: "But I don't know how things are going to go from there, Arthur; I don't know the Queen, remember? I can't help you with the rest of the discussion."

"You've already done more than any could have expected, Jaune," Artoria reassured him even as she quickly scribbled down her words on a parchment with her quill. "The outcome will depend on Guinevere, Lancelot, and I; regardless of the results, however, you have my thanks."

"I was just doing what anyone else would have done," Jaune immediately retorted, though he relented before Arthur could lecture him once more: "But... you're welcome, I guess. And I hope it goes well. When do you think you'll confront the Queen?"

"I'll do it next week, after Gareth's been formally knighted," Artoria answered as she sat down, not exactly looking forward to the prospect. But this was the kind of thing needed to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible; in fact, there was only one thing stopping her from doing it sooner. "I'd do it sooner, but all of us could do with some festivities to lighten our spirits, not to mention how important this ceremony is to my niece, and how much Lancelot's presence means to her. I'd rather not have this discussion also weighing on his mind when he publicly bestows his squire with her rightly-deserved knighthood."

Jaune nodded in understanding and agreement, also knowing how much Gareth had worked to earn this honor, before a frown crossed his face as he remembered Gareth's earlier words, and his suspicions.

"By the way, I heard you were training with Mordred and Gareth before I called for you earlier," Artoria continued conversationally. "Once again, you have my apologies for interrupting your training session."

"No, no, it's fine," Jaune told Arthur placatingly.

"Anyway, how are my niece and Mor... my son doing?" Artoria inquired casually.

"Still not getting along, same as always," Jaune snorted, not even being surprised with the change in topic. After all, as he'd told Mordred, the King did often ask him about Vale, though he'd neglected to mention that it was merely one of many topics Arthur frequently discussed with him. Personally, he just thought that, like Pyrrha, Arthur was just enjoying the chance to have a casual conversation. "Well, I guess Sir Mordred was a bit more civil to Gareth than I'd expected, though. Gave him proper advice when he'd noticed something was wrong."

"Truly?" Artoria blinked as she processed his words, before smiling: "While I've never known what grudge Mordred bears against Gareth, it is heartening to hear that he's grown enough to put it aside when needed."

"For what it's worth, I don't think Sir Mordred really hates Gareth," Jaune carefully admitted, recalling what his mentor had once told. After all, he'd always acknowledged Gareth as his "perfect older sister", and honestly he even reminded him of a jealous younger sibling sometimes when he talked about Gareth (he spoke from personal experience there).

But that wasn't his place to say, not even to Arthur, and so he quickly changed the subject to something more pressing: "By the way, I think Sir Mordred and Gareth suspect something's up."

That got Artoria's attention, and she immediately sat up and asked: "Really?"

"They're not anywhere near the truth," Jaune quickly reassured Arthur. "They were just wondering why you've been calling upon me so frequently, that's all. Even Sir Agravain asked me a few questions about it while bringing me here."

"... I suppose their curiosity is a more than understandable reaction to our sessions," Artoria allowed, mentally noting that things must have been more severe than she'd anticipated, if even Agravain's stoicism had been forfeit. "And what did you tell them, Jaune?"

"Eh, I just told them you were curious about the Kingdom of Vale," Jaune shrugged. "It was the first thing I could think of, and, I mean, it's partially true, right?"

"It certainly is," Artoria agreed, allowing herself to relax a fraction again. "That should hopefully keep them occupied long enough for the situation to be resolved."

That got Jaune's attention. "You're planning on telling them? About this?"

"Mordred, at the very least, and perhaps Agravain," Artoria nodded, before explaining: "There have been far too many secrets kept between my child and I; I would rather not mark the beginning of our new relationship with yet one more... though, of course, such a discussion can only occur after I have come to an arrangement with Lancelot and Guinevere, lest he choose to seek out justice on his own."

"That's fair, though convincing Sir Mordred not to go after them anyway is definitely not going to be easy," Jaune remarked.

"It would indeed be a herculean endeavour," Artoria agreed, with perhaps a miniscule amount of amusement, before adding: "And that is why I was hoping I would have your help in doing so..."

Jaune could only groan, though naturally he still said: "Fine, of course I'll be there. And what about Agravain?"

"Do you truly believe they could keep this a secret from Agravain indefinitely?" Artoria asked rhetorically. "They may be safe for the foreseeable future, but any arrangement we come to will likely have them continuing to see each other. I'd rather Agravain be already informed and assisting us in covering it up, than finding out on his own and taking matters into his own hands, acting without knowledge of the full situation."

"That's... certainly true..." Jaune could only concede the point, unsure of what else to say.

Fortunately for him, before the silence became awkward, Artoria smiled softly and changed the subject: "Now that our matters for today have been mostly settled, perhaps it would be beneficial if we were to end the day on a lighter note?"

"You want to know even more about Vale?"

"I believe yesterday you were talking about how humans lived in coexistence with another race?" Artoria inquired curiously, leaning forward. "I believe that would be a good place to continue..."

Later that night, as Artoria returned to her private bedchambers (she made sure to knock before entering the room, of course, as well as making sure Carnwennan's magics were dispelled this time), her good mood vanished like smoke as she laid eyes on the room's other occupant.

Underneath the covers, Guinevere slept uneasily, releasing sobs and incoherent apologies occasionally even in her sleep, and as Artoria quietly approached her friend, her heart continued to break as she took in more details, such as her unkempt hair and the water-stained pillow her head rested on.

If anything, she'd been understating things, when she'd said that her friend's conscience weighed heavily, but even as her hand immediately began to move, to tuck a few loose strands of hair that rested on her face, she hesitated.

They'd already barely talked for the past few weeks; if Guinevere was accidentally woken up by her actions (more than possible considering how uneasy her slumber was), a small gesture intended to ease her rest, what would she say?

Brushing it off as a simple action would just make her feel more guilty over her perceived betrayal, if it even worked; Guinevere had known her long enough to know that she wasn't blind or oblivious.

But would she simply feign ignorance, just as they both had been? Or would she press the matter, suspicious of why Artoria wasn't pressing the matter despite her obvious sorrow?

Would that lead to the inevitable confrontation she'd been preparing for?

It wasn't the right time to talk to her yet.

She wasn't ready yet.

Her wavering hand slowly lowered back to her side as she forced herself to turn away from her wife, her friend, her confidant.

"Soon," Artoria promised with a whisper, as she began to walk away.

Soon, she'd talk to her.

Soon, she'd try to put and end to her torment.

-AT THE SAME TIME-

"It really is true..." Agravain breathed incredulously, slumping back against his chair even as his hands limply fell against the desk he'd been seated at.

When his mother had first approached him without warning the other day, he'd been immediately on guard, knowing full well what she'd intended for him and Mordred to do in Camelot initially.

And then she'd begun to talk, and he hadn't been able to believe his ears.

The tale she'd woven was wild, fantastical even, and he'd scarcely been able to even comprehend it, let alone begin to believe it.

After all, it was far, far, far more likely that it was just some lie, a part of some plot or scheme to usurp the throne and overthrow the Perfect King like always, and he'd only agreed to look into it because one didn't say "no" to Morgan le Fay (except for the King and Merlin, of course).

But he hadn't been able to forget her words, or the sheer conviction in her voice, and when he'd begun his investigations it had been with every means at his disposal (though he'd rationalized it back then as simply doing his duty to King Arthur and treating any and all threats seriously, no matter how unlikely).

And when he'd begun to browse through the archived reports, he hadn't been able to help but spot the glaring inconsistencies, things he'd overlooked previously suddenly seeming obvious in hindsight.

He would have kicked himself for being so blind, but the possibility would have been unthinkable without Morgan's warnings, and nobody else had noticed it anyway, for if they had surely they would have acted.

More importantly, there was no time for recriminations; he had to act swiftly, and remove the traitor at the heart of the Kingdom before more harm could be done.

"Soon," Agravain swore, crumpling the parchments in his hand as he balled his fists with determination, already making plans and contingencies for what needed to be done.

For his sisters.

For the Kingdom.

For his King.

Author's Notes: Despair at yet another slow and simple chapter, where absolutely nothing important happens. The plot fairy has the worst timing, and kept hitting me on the head with new ideas for both this and that other project while I was busy at work.

Expectedly by now, the first part took a few tries to get right; besides containing even more hints of exposition, the initial draft also had Jaune being a lot more judgemental towards Lancelot, and Mordred being almost outright hostile towards Gareth. But those didn't feel right, so I basically rewrote it to turn things down quite a bit, and now while Jaune can't help but have an opinion on the whole situation (he's only human), he acknowledges he's biased and doesn't know the whole situation, and since "Arthur" is being understanding he'll do his best not to judge.

Mordred, on the other hand? Well, Mordred still doesn't like Gareth (or perhaps it's more accurate to say that she hates that she can't hate her perfect older sister, because basically nobody can really hate Gareth), but since she agreed to the request from Jaune, and since she's also trying to be a better knight...

On a side note, Gareth's actually a fairly accomplished warrior by this point in time already, and she's definitely also strong and skilled in her own right (not to mention being much, much, much faster than Jaune). Unfortunately, with Jaune helping her tweak Ira Lupus she's been spending the past few months neglecting the sword and focusing on the lance, and since Lancelot's been a bit too occupied to correct it... well, when she gets accidentally disarmed by Jaune (who's also grown a lot thanks to Mordred) and has to rely on her sword, Mordred immediately takes notice.

Notably, that first part was also a chance for me to contrast the fighting style of FIIIP's Jaune (Jaune-F) with Jaune from the original ATDITW (Jaune-A), who as a recap for those who forgot/didn't read ATDITW got isekai'd to Skyrim (among other places) instead of Camelot, and thusly didn't get a mentor like Mordred. To put it simply, where Jaune-F's learned how to fight, Jaune-A simply grew strong enough to get away with it. No, I'm sure there's not going to be any plot relevance or anything, I just thought it'd be fun to highlight the differences between Jaune-A and Jaune-F despite them having the same starting point.

As for the second part... there honestly isn't much to say about it. Really, it's just Artoria interacting with her "Emotional Support Jaune" (to steal a term that a lot of people have been using) even as he vehemently insists that he's absolutely not qualified. Additionally, Artoria's plans to tell Mordred and Agravain, as mentioned above, is to basically present them a fait accompli, with the knowledge that an agreement has been already reached (and it's one she approves of) hopefully being enough to prevent them from taking matters into their own hands (and she's not telling Gawain this because there is pretty much no way he's going to let Lancelot get away with cucking his "uncle"). Also, that bit with Guinevere is honestly the best way I've been able to attempt to interpret the line of Guinevere becoming a tormented and ignored woman who wept all day (it's a bit of a stretch, admittedly, but FATE lore and Arthurian lore are notably light on details and contradict each other more often than not).

Regarding that tiny third part... I got nothing at all. Nothing should be a surprise. Of course when a ceremony gets mentioned multiple times across a few chapters, something's bound to happen.

Considering this chapter's got the word "countdown" in the title, and keeps emphasizing the word "soon"... I feel like I must apologize, because the next chapter's definitely not coming any time soon.