This is me procrastinating from finishing the latest Trading Game and instead writing another DxD plot thread that I cannot get out of my mind. Cutting this to bite size pieces so that I don't lock myself in a room and go out with a 15k mess like Passing the Torch.
I own what I own
Avalon Le Fay 1 - (DxD SI with Fate elements)
'She' knew that something was wrong the moment that 'she' opened her eyes.
One of which, as a matter of fact, 'she' could open her eyes.
To many, such a thing would not be a problem in the least. In fact, usually the fact that someone being unable to open their eyes was the problem instead of the opposite being true.
But in this one case, the fact that 'she' could open 'her' eyes was a problem.
After all, you shouldn't be able to open your eyes if you're dead.
And yet 'her' eyes saw light, blinding and bright as if 'she' was staring at the sun itself, with blotches of colours splattered all along what constituted as 'her' field of vision.
And while her senses were failing her, her body was strange, not at all listening to any of her commands. Her limbs felt heavy and weak at the same time. Moving them took effort, as if she was in a body of heavy water. Her voice came out garbled and jumbled, not at all allowing her to even speak.
'Her' ears were ringing, sounds and noises entered and grated 'her' ears as 'she' tried to make sense of the current situation, the abnormally abnormal situation that 'she' had somehow found herself in.
Yet through the cacophony of noises, 'she' could hear one clear voice cutting through.
"It's… a girl." A soft voice chimes as she feels her body being moved, being brought closer to something large, larger than her, something that was warm to the touch. She felt her body being wrapped in something.
She tried to resist to the best of her efforts, flailing her limbs as much as she could, resulting in nothing, and she felt herself being moved once more by forces beyond her control.
Something larger once more held her, an incomprehensible force that gripped and held her fate by their hands. Something warm caressed her face, sending a wave of feelings across her body as a voice once more cut through the loudness of the world.
"Le Fay. That's your name." The kind voice said as it caressed her. "From today onwards, your name would be Le Fay Pendragon. My daughter."
The words soon clicked as the strangeness of her situation reasserted itself, a new context allowing her to look back at what had happened to her in a new perspective.
The difficulties that she had found in controlling her body, the trouble that her now revealed newborn senses had caused her, was all caused by a simple fact.
She had died, and she was somehow reincarnated.
With that knowledge, it wasn't hard to put together that the unknown being that was holding her, the large blurry splotch of yellow and green that was the giant, was her mother. The mother that had just given birth to her, her very own daughter which she had named Le Fay Pendragon.
For the first time in this new life of her's, her vision finally focused, the blotch of colour giving way to form a beautiful blonde woman with kind eyes as blue as the ocean itself.
She was beautiful, a picture definition of a beautiful lady as she caressed her cheeks, with love and kindness reflected clearly both in her eyes and her action.
This was the day that she would meet her new mother, in this world filled with the fantastical and the magical.
And it was the same day that she would bid her goodbye.
Her new father did not have the best opinions of her.
No, that wasn't the best way to describe her relationship with her father. Like everyone else, he has complex feelings for her, and in truth, so does she.
He blames her for the death of his wife, her mother, who had died in childbirth, after giving birth to her more specifically. She could tell from the first time that she met her father, after the cacophony of a disaster that was her mother's death, the spectrum of emotions that he showed was clear.
Rage. Anger. Fear. Grief. Sadness.
And that was the first, and latest meeting that she had had with her father. What with him having refused to even see her in person, having dedicated an entire manor to keep her away as much as he could. Anything else was told by his servants or through the handful of letters that he had sent to her.
She knew that deep down, there was love from the man who called himself her father. After all if there wasn't then she wouldn't be here, living in luxury, a whole manor that would take an egregious amount of money to build, all to take care of a single child.
The man, Uther Pendargon, was simply going through the many stages of grief. And though he wasn't completely denying her existence, he was doing his best to forget her as much as he could.
As was evident by the fact that he was not present, for what was to be her fifth birthday.
"Not like I was going to celebrate it anyway." She muttered under her breath and hugged the large book in her hand tighter as she trotted through the empty hallways of the manor, no one there to stop her from reaching her destination, what with the servants currently being out to do their other duties.
Soon enough, she reached her destination, a set of double doors that was many times her height, with even the handle being out of her reach.
Normally that is. It was why she was carrying this large book with her. "Here, we, go." She said between huffs as she let go of the large book in her hand, the book landing on the marbled floor with a thump, and getting up on said book and jumping to grab the door's handle.
And with the weight of her entire child body, the door's handle then was pulled down, the door opening with a creak as her grip loosened and she fell down right onto the hard floor below.
"Ouch…" She mumbled as she nursed her behind, and shook her head as she quickly leapt back up, picking the book that she had left on the floor as she entered the room. She didn't bother trying to close the door, she knew that she couldn't even push it close after all. And it was only a matter of time before they found that she'd managed to sneak into here again.
As soon as she entered the room, she basked in the library's vast expanse of books, the vast amount of knowledge that it held, all in the tip of her very fingers.
Or at least, the ones that were on the bottom rows of the bookshelves that is. She still has no way of actually getting to anything higher than the fourth or fifth shelf, and that's already with stacking several books under her to stand too.
Truly, the 'debuff' of being a growing child was something that she would have to endure for the coming years. She couldn't wait for when she could actually take the books from the higher shelves. She bet that that's where they would hide the good books too.
"But well," She muttered as a small, genuine smile formed on her face. "It's not like any of the books here are bad." She said as she trotted onto one of the shelves, placing the book that she carried once more on the ground, and picking out a different book from the shelf.
"Let's see…" She grumbled as she spun the book that was the size of her body in her hand, turning it to see if there was any sort of information on its cover, and raised an eyebrow at the book that she had found. "Fenian Cycle? Isn't this… an Irish legend book rather than an English one?"
That's strange. So far the books that she's read have only been either books about slightly outdated general knowledge. Or is it actually up to date? She didn't truly know. But most of the time, they were books that centred about general knowledge, or the history of England.
They were, most of the times, actual historical records written by someone, which was then compiled and turned into a book by the Pendragon family of that era, a compilation of history spanning many generations across multiple eras that has passed, all divided into books scattered across this manor's library.
"Though there's probably more of those accounts in the actual Pendragon manor proper." She mumbled as she held the book in her hands, making way to one of the tables that the library had. "But this is the first one that I've seen that's about something outside of the country, then again, it is about Irish mythology."
She didn't doubt that there were certainly more books about the world outside of this land in this library, but this one, even if it was a book of times long past, was still making her heart drum with excitement.
Hurriedly, she stacked some other books to bridge her way to the chair, along with putting a few more books on said chair to make it so that she could read the book on the table, like a reasonable and cultured person.
Of course all of the books that she was using as both a staircase and a seat bump to elevate her height were all books that she'd already read. So using them for a purpose other than reading, even if it does still pain her, was still something that she could bear doing.
"Now then… let's see here…" She said as she placed the book in her hands onto the table, opening its pages and reading its contents. "Fenian Cycle… Fianna Cycle… the warrior-hunters of Gaelic Ireland, most famous of which was the fian leader, Fionn mac Cumhail, Finn mac Cool, a hero of Irish mythilight as well as Scottish and Manx folklore… "
She engrossed herself in the book, in the story, the book's contents that detailed the warriors of old and their infamous leader, a man who had carved his name into the world and was sung as a hero of legend, or his origins, of his trials, of his accomplishments, of his downfall, of his demise.
Like every other book that she had read before in this life, even as she closed the book, even as she finished reading it, the story stayed with her, the experience carved deep into her soul, never to be forgotten ever again.
It was a quirk that she finds in this new life of her's, this ability of her's. A boon that she enjoyed whole heartedly, as it allowed her to recount and retell any form of knowledge that she had learnt one way or another.
The fact that it made her a walking encyclopaedia with the amount of books that she had read as soon as she could read was something that she was quite proud of.
With a large smile, she closed the book that she had just finished reading, satisfied as she had gotten a step closer to her goal of reading the entire contents of the manor library's repertoire of books.
And heard coughing right behind her, freezing the smile that she had and her entire body in place as soon as she heard it. She slowly turned her head to meet the grizened and elderly features of the head maid of the manor, dressed in the typical maid attire of the Pendragon household, a dress akin to that of the classical victorian maids.
"Lady Le Fay, it seems that you have found yourself in the library once more." The elderly woman behind her said with an even yet tired tone, having done this song and dance for who knows how many times at this point of her career of being her personal caretaker.
"M-marie… I… didn't think that you'd be back so soon…" She said as she glanced away as if to hide from the maid's gaze, doing her best to shrink and disappear from existence.
Marie simply sighed as she heard her excuse, shaking her head as her hands remained crossed behind her. "Lady Le Fay, I am quite sure that you have been informed that you are not supposed to go to the library alone."
"W-well, it just can't be helped! I just couldn't wait for you to come back to go and read the books that were here!" She pleaded back as she slapped her hands onto the book that she had just finished reading, giving her best impression of a saddened animal to her maid.
It was, of course, the famed puppy dog eyes technique! Able to garner sympathy from even the harshest of people! Especially if done by a small and adorable being such as herself! Or so she wanted to believe, having seen her own fluffy blonde locks and ocean-like blue eyes reflected on the mirror, an image similar to that of her own mother.
A technique that Marie had, of course, gotten used too. Having seen her use it for how many times over the years of taking care of her ever since she was born.
Thus the elderly maid simply kept stoic as she shook her head, a stern frown now decorated her features as she held her shoulders. "Well then, as it seems that you have finished your book, we should make our way, we have prepared some food for the celebration."
Hearing that sent a feeling that made her stomach turn, slumping forwards and grasping the book in front of her. "Um, well, h-how about one more! Can I take at least one book back with me? Please, Marie?" She practically begged as she looked up to the maid, in hopes of taking another book back with her.
Once more, she applied the puppy dog eyes technique, her ocean blue eyes meeting Marie's own obsidian ones, and after several seconds, the elderly woman let out a sigh and relented.
"Alright, if this would make it so that you would leave the library then if you must." She said with a shake of her head, a small smile creasing on her face. "I had intended to give this gift after the celebration, however, it seems that I would need to give it as a bribe then."
Marie's words perked her interest as her hand that was still hidden behind her moved, revealing that she was holding something the entire time. The item was, of course, a book, just like every other book that was in this library.
She cooed as her eyes glued onto the book, her hands reaching out to the large book, and the maid complied as she placed the book in her hands. Letting her touch the book's hard leather cover.
That elected a very short giggle from the elderly maid, "This isn't just a simple book, Lady Le Fay." Marie said with a kind smile. "This here, Lady Le Fay, is a grimoire." The woman told her.
"A grimoire…" She mumbled the book's name, no, the type of book that Marie described as she caressed the book's cover, feeling an indescribable feeling coursing from the book in question as she does so.
Grimoire. A term for a textbook of magic, a book of spells, or a spellbook in one way or another. A description for either a book that contained supernatural magical power, or a book that grants knowledge about said magical power.
Magic, a quaint idea, but one that she's had an inkling was real in this strange new world.
For one, she had been reincarnated. There was no reason as to why such a supernatural occurrence wouldn't be commonplace, even if she hadn't heard of such a thing occurring, then again she was pretty much isolated from the outside world in this manor.
The fact that she's been reborn in what was essentially the house of nobility, with actual servants and maids and everything was a dead giveaway.
But with the existence of this grimoire, something that Marie had intended to give her for her birthday present, and the fact that she could feel the strange unnatural energy that came from it, proves the existence of magic.
That, and it would give an explanation to her own existence. An explanation for the eyes that she has.
The same pair of eyes that lets her see that the words that came from Marie were genuine and truthful, not a single lick of lies or deceit in her words. Everything that she had done, was done with genuine love and affection.
It was why she could trust Marie Westcott, she knew that the elderly maid was someone that she could put her full trust in. and she certainly was glad that she could put her trust in the woman who had all but raised her in this life.
"Now, I would ask that you wait to read the book after the celebration, Lady Le Fay. And do please keep this a secret between us, yes?" The elderly woman said as she placed a finger in front of her smile, a gesture for her to keep this gift of her's a secret.
"Un! I won't tell anyone!" She said while vigorously nodding, holding the gifted grimoire close to her chest while she had the largest smile that she could give.
Marie responded with a smile of her own, before the elderly woman then hefted her with both arms easily, earning a small yelp from her as she held onto the newly acquired grimoire as if her life depended on it.
"Now then, it is best that we put your new 'book' back into your room yes? It's best for us to prepare you for your big day, Lady Le Fay. And I request that you do not read it without supervision." The woman said once again, mentioning the birthday celebration that she would have to endure.
"...Okay." She said with a short nod, as she held tight to the magical book in her hands.
Today was already a fruitful day, regardless of what happens after.
The celebration could barely be called a party, what with the attendants being only just herself and the head maid Marie.
But even so, with the extravagant foods that the two had cooked, it was still an extremely enjoyable experience. The most enjoyable birthday that she's had yet if she was being honest.
"... It would seem that both Lord Uther and Young Master Arthur could not make it." Marie announced with sadness, her eyes downcast and filled with regret as she stood behind her extravagantly large luxurious chair.
"Is that so?" She hummed nonchalantly as she took a bite into the perfectly cooked dish that was in front of her, all prepared with the perfect portion for her as well. Hm! As expected of Marie's cooking, it was perfect as usual!
Though that did bring back to a thought that had passed her earlier today. The topic of reincarnation. What with news of her older brother being called the second coming of his namesake.
She wonders if her brother, Arthur Pendragon, was actually the reincarnation of famed king Arthur. She's heard from Marie that he was talented at the art of the sword, and has an affinity for holy swords. He's already said to be the most talented swordsman of his generation.
Traits which of course, the Pendragon family famed over, but she wonders if that was all inborn talent, or was any of it caused by him being the reincarnation of their famed ancestor.
Because if not, then she'd like to file a complaint for both their parents and grandparents. Naming their children after their ancestors was one thing, but the fact that someone named their child Uther, and said child then named their own child Arthur, who just so happened to be one of the most talented swordsman of his generation.
There was just a sense of irony in that. And though her mother didn't straight up name her Morgan, naming her Le Fay was most probably the closest that she could in doing something like that.
"... I am sure that Lord Uther has his reasons for not being able to make it." Marie tried to reason an excuse, but even without her eyes, she could tell that it was a white lie that was meant to soothe her worries.
It didn't, really. Even though she knew the reasons for his appearance was due to him still coping with the death of his wife, the fact that, from what she heard from Marie, all of which were true, he had spared time to personally train her brother Arthur, while she was left here.
"Hm." She responded, giving a nod as a response as she took another bite of her meal.
Silence befell the dining room once again, one that was only filled with the relatively silent sound of her enjoying the meal that Marie cooked for her, though it did saddened her that the other foods that she had prepared and placed in front of all of the other empty seats of the dining table would most likely go to waste.
The sound of the dining room's door creaking open took both of their attention, and for a split second, she had thought that someone from her family had an amazing semblance of a sense of time, but instead the one that came from the other side of the door was a black haired young girl, whose black hair was tied as if a ribbon on the back of her head.
The girl was dressed in a form fitting maid uniform, the classical victorian maid. Though unlike the conservative long skirt that Marie had which reached her ankles, her skirt was quite short, just reaching her knees.
"Oh, it's you, Elaine." She said between bites of her chicken, something that brought a frown to the young girl's face as she closed the door behind her.
"Lady Le Fay, grandmother, I have returned." The girl said with a curtsy, before she power walked towards her, the frown still on her face as she leaned forwards, pulling a napkin from god knows where and cleaning her face much to her dismay.
"Wha-Elaine! I can clean myself!" She groaned as she weakly tried to push the older girl away from her, but to no avail of course with how much stronger Elaine was compared to her five year old self.
"While I do not doubt that, Lady Le Fay, it would seem that the etiquette lessons that you were supposed to learn in the case for fine dining are not being properly displayed." The black haired girl said in an even tone, the frown solidly placed on her face.
"Yea, that's well, I mean there isn't anyone that important coming around here anyway right?" She said with a shrug as Elaine pulled away after she was finished with cleaning whatever traces of food there was on her face, before she once more continued to eat the fine dish before her.
That just made her personal maid sigh loudly, something that she was pretty sure a maid normally wouldn't do right in front of the person that they were serving, though she didn't really care much about decorum or the like really. "Even so, Lady Le Fay, it is still the principle of the matter. Might I remind you, Lady Le Fay, but as someone of your standing, you need to always act like a proper lady."
"Ugh, I guess that's true… Eh, I guess that's true. But I'll just act like a 'proper lady' when I need to~" She hummed as she slumped forwards, almost toppling the glass that was next to her plate, only for Elaine to deftly hold it to prevent it from breaking. "Ah, sorry."
"Haaah, and this is another reason to keep your manners, Lady Le Fay." The black haired girl said as she narrowed her eyes towards her. "If your table manners and etiquette were better, then you wouldn't be breaking so much glassware…"
"I-it was just one time! And I was just being clumsy alright!" She complained back, waving her arms in defence. It wasn't her fault that her hands slipped! Her baby hands just weren't used to handling high quality slippery glassware out of all things! Just give her a plastic sippy cup or something, why don't you!? Even if it would be a blow to her pride!
"Uhum, it seems that you have returned earlier than expected, Elaine. Did something perhaps happen?" Marie asked from behind her, with her leaning her head back to see the elderly maid in question.
"Hm? Ah, the lectures simply ended earlier than expected. That's all." The black haired girl answered back to her grandmother, taking the now empty plate in front of her, along with all of the other plates that still had food in them, and taking it into the cart that was set on the room, and pushed it out, leaving her alone with Marie once more.
"Hey, hey, Marie." She called out to the elderly maid as her legs dangled from her obscenely large chair, and Marie regarded her with a glance. "Since nobody else is coming, can you get the grimoire that you gave me and let me read it now?"
The maid took a second to think of her request, before closing her eyes and solemnly nodding. "It would seem so, Lady Le Fay. Then, I will be back soon."
She beamed at hearing that she accepted her request to take her present and let her read it now, in a place that she was sure doing something like that would be considered impolite. But then again, this manor really only had the three of them as residents so it didn't really matter, and there weren't any guests anyway.
So she eagerly awaited for Marie to return, humming and swaying her legs according to a beat that only she could hear.
In a quaint minute, the door once more opened, and she all but jumped off of her seat to see Marie and her newly acquired grimoire-
Only to find that it was Elaine, having finished returning all the dishes, both finished and unfinished, and taking them to the kitchen.
"Oh, it's just you Elaine." She said with disappointment as she once more slumped forwards to the table, the energy that she had shown disappearing in a split second.
"... Lady Le Fay? Where did grandmother go?" The young maid asked while looking at her strangely while her eyes darted to search for Marie who had left.
"Marie? She went to get something real quick." She answered with a hum, fiddling with her hair as she kept waiting. Elaine nodded to her answer and made way to her side, standing silently as she kept guard beside her.
The silence was only filled by her humming and nothing else, and as the minutes passed with the both of them waiting and doing nothing else, soon enough Marie arrived, opening the large double wooden doors, the elderly woman carried with her the grimoire that she had given to her as a gift for her birthday.
"Marie! You're back!" She exclaimed with clear happiness as she jumped from her seat, arms reaching out towards her and the book that she carried with her, all while the young maid behind her sighed in exasperation at her unladylike behaviour.
"Yes, I have returned, Lady Le Fay." Marie said with a small smile, silently closing the door behind her and walking to the empty space beside her, presenting the grimoire and placing it in front of her.
"Is that… a grimoire?" Elaine remarked from her left as she cooed at the magical book that was placed in front of her. "Grandmother, why is something like this… given to Lady Le Fay?"
"It is her present after all." The elderly woman said with a gentle smile, moving to stand behind her as she watched over both her and her granddaughter. "Though house Pendragon is renowned for its holy sword wielders, there have been times where its scions focus on the magically inclined. To cover the bases and weaknesses that the purely trained swordsmen and swordswomen have."
And she then clapped her hands as she eyed the both of them. "Now then, I do believe that it would be good if you were the one to teach Lady Le Fay of this topic, Elaine. It would certainly put those lessons you take at the Golden Dawn to good use."
"I understand, grandmother." Elaine said with a nod, and turned towards her as she addressed the book that was in her hand, and opened its first page. "Then, Lady Le Fay, we will start with the fundamentals of magic."
And thus began her dive into this magical world under Elaine's guidance.