***Author's Notes: Thank you so much for all your patience during these last few months of silence. Life just has a way of hitting you and not letting up, but I am persevering. This story is not dead, I'm not dead, and neither are any of our characters... yet. I plan on posting the next update in two weeks, and may keep an every two week update schedule until things stabilize here a little more. I look forward to your ongoing support. Thank you so much!

Chapter 6.

The Juge d'Instruction, Maria

I.

Louise left Grimaud in a worrying silence for several minutes as she stood at the window, concealed behind the curtain, watching the street for any more of the summoned soldiers. When she was convinced no more were coming for her, she let the curtain close fully and turned to the concerned old man. She wasn't sure how to explain everything to him. She had been so desperate to stay close to Grimaud, but now that proximity could threaten his safety. Louise had begun to care for Grimaud, but was starting to think that pulling back from him may be a better option.

"I apologize for the late hour, and for the manner in which I have kept you these past few minutes. I can only assume you must have a number of questions for me."

Grimaud, who was hunched over himself on the couch, lifted his head at Louise's words. "A few questions may be an understatement, madame. I have begun to very much doubt the validity of many of the things you have told me up until this point. Or the validity of many things I thought I knew up until this point."

"I can understand your apprehension monsieur, and I can't say I blame you for being suspicious of me, you've every right to be. If you will allow me, I will be fully honest, and try to be quite frank with you."

"-Careful what you say Master,-" Rider, in spirit form, had arrived in the apartment, and his voice was back in Louise's mind, the tone of which implied a sense of wariness about the situation. "-I do not know if it would be wise to reveal too much to this man. Recall our conversation on this matter earlier.-"

"-I appreciate what you are trying to say Rider, but in this case I think it is the appropriate thing to be completely honest. He deserves the truth, and Grimaud, at least, is not someone we need to be so cautious with.-" Louise would have accompanied her thoughts with a stern look towards Rider if she had been able to see him.

"Louise, my dear, you were saying something about frankness?" Grimaud gave her a quizzical look, puzzled by the strange moments of silence. He was still incredibly uneasy, given everything that had just happened, and Louise's promised explanation was the only thing that could possibly set his reeling mind at ease.

"I apologize monsieur." Louise moved away from the window and sat down at the dining table before continuing. "By now you may have guessed that the business I had said I was here on is not quite what one would call typical. But I assure you though that it is still on behalf of my family that I am here, that much was true."

"I don't doubt the atypical nature of what you are doing. But it seems to me to have a rather dangerous edge to it." Grimaud looked nervously towards his damaged door as he spoke. "Those men. The ones you fought. They weren't... I mean, they just... disappeared." Grimaud tripped over his words every time he thought too long about what he had seen, his conventional worldview being torn apart by the supernatural happenings.

Louise sighed. She knew what she was about to say was an inevitable part of the conversation, but people of the mundane world rarely took it well. "You see Grimaud, those creatures were not men."

"Creatures?" Grimaud gave a sort of scoff as he spoke, rebelling against his commonplace views of how the world worked being taken apart.

"Yes, creatures. They were beings of concentrated energy and will forced into a human-like shape and given a sort of programming that acted as their driving force. Golems of sorts. Monsieur Grimaud, they were beings of pure magic."

An oppressively long silence followed Louise's revelation. Grimaud's eyes moved around the apartment as if he were looking for a more reasonable explanation to come floating down from the ceiling. He rubbed his face in both hands, wondering if his having been so abruptly woken had affected his reasoning. After far too long, he lifted his tired face from his hands and looked Louise in the eyes. Her stern, serious expression betrayed no humor or deceit. The elderly photographer gave a long sigh before finally replying.

"You're quite serious aren't you?"

Louise responded by giving a slight nod of her head, her eyes still terrifyingly still and intense.

"And that, energy... That was around your arm? Magic as well I suppose."

"Yes, monsieur."

"Your business, that brings you to Paris? How is that tied to it all?"

If Louise were able to see Rider she would have noted the fierce look he shot at her while he violently twisted his mustache in agitation. As it was though, despite being unable to actually perceive his feelings visually, Louise felt very certain of what he might be thinking.

After weighing carefully what the possible consequences may be, Louise took a deep breath and explained the Holy Grail War, at least the basic concept of it, to her elderly friend.

Grimaud didn't react in any visible way during her entire explanation. After Louise had finished he leaned back into the couch and nodded his head a few times before letting out a massive sigh. Grimaud was a man of reason, who had just experienced some very unreasonable things. He was going to need more time than Louise was sure to afford him right to process everything. If he couldn't properly put the concept of magic and hero spirits into a sensible place, he could at least be concerned about the things he did understand, chief among them being Louise's safety. "And your family, your parents, insisted on your taking part in this contest?"

"Yes monsieur. It is considered the best way to judge a mage's worth."

"Is that all you want from it?" Grimaud raised an eyebrow at Louise, indicating he doubted something about her own personal investment.

"Pardon, monsieur?" Louise was not expecting that to be the part that Grimaud questioned.

"You said so yourself that it is a life or death contest. That you could be killed at any moment. I saw that possibility myself just minutes ago. And you are even pitted against your own sister. Your flesh and blood-"

"I am an adopted member of the family..."

"That is hardly of consequence. They consider you family enough for you to be a representative in this important... Thing. But that does not answer why, despite all these awful aspects, you are choosing to take part."

"Monsieur, it is my responsibility as an heir to the family name to do this. If it is what my father wants then I must."

Grimaud scrunched up the features of his face, the expression showing both disappointment and understanding. "Louise, my dear. There are times where our family asks things of us that we simply cannot do for them. They ask us to be people we are not. Trust me, I know. But no matter how important those people are to us, no matter how much they have done for us, when we grow old we tend to regret not having done more for ourselves. Not being the people we really are and letting others dictate that for us." Grimaud stood as he spoke, crossing the room to stand in front of a large portrait of two young men that hung on the wall opposite the couch. "Now tell me, do you really want a part in all this?"

Louise was stunned by Grimaud's sudden burst of candor. She was unsure of how to respond to his question, not even knowing herself how she truly felt about participating in the Grail War.

"Her feelings are irrelevant." Rider had remained silent up to this point. He disliked Louise making Grimaud privy to the details of the war, wanting to adhere to the guidelines that stated involving non-mages was prohibited, but he was aware that she had little choice in the matter considering the circumstances.

"I beg your pardon, Monsieur d'Fere?" Grimaud was surprised at both his sudden appearance, as if from thin air, and the words he had chosen.

"I said that, considering the situation, Madame Saint-Hermine has no choice left. She has already summoned a heroic spirit and made a contract. We are now, both of us, in this until completion. She must see it through, if not for herself, than for me whom she pledged to fight alongside, as I have no interest in backing out." Rider circled to stand behind Louise as he spoke, wanting to emphasize their now inseparable nature. "Would you have her break a bond and an oath so recently formed?"

Louise looked to Grimaud, a hard, serious energy in her eyes, one that mirrored the intensity that Rider was also staring at Grimaud with. "I cannot answer your question honestly at this time, Monsieur Grimaud. But this I do know, for my own honor, for my honor as a Saint-Hermine, and for my honor as a mage, I must see through what I have started here."

Grimaud was awestruck at the determination Louise possessed, despite being unsure of her own personal motivation. "You seem determined. I suppose there's nothing an old fool like me can say to change your mind. I'm sure you're tired after tonight's events, and my interrogation will only tire you further."

"I appreciate it monsieur. I'm afraid I must leave you for now to go find new lodgings... Once again. I don't deserve to ask any favors of someone as kind and understanding as you, but, if I may be so bold, please speak to no one of everything you have learned here tonight, for my safety yes, but especially for your own." Louise stood up to leave, but just as she started to walk towards the door Grimaud stopped her.

"Now now, there may be more of those things out there looking for you. No need to pointlessly endanger yourself. Besides, you don't know Paris all that well, and checking into a hotel at this hour, if you find one, would just put you out further. I have the guest bed upstairs. It's quainter than the hotel you were staying at, but you're welcome to it."

Louise was caught completely off guard by Grimaud's generous offer. She stammered for a second before giving him a proper reply. "Oh, monsieur I couldn't possibly put you out in such a fashion. As you just said, my business is quite dangerous. I would hate to put you in harm's way."

"I doubt I'll be in harm's way. Those things clearly knew where you were staying. Someone probably checked the hotel records and found your name. My home however has no such records. And you dispatched your foes before coming inside. It's safer here than to go wandering the streets tonight. I insist. Stay here tonight. Consider it a favor to a concerned old man."

Louise turned to Rider, his input was important to her, and she wanted to prove that fact to him. Rider had a thoughtful look, his brow knotted in deep reflection. After a few moments he turned to his Master and gave her a nod in favor of accepting Grimaud's proposal.

"It appears, monsieur, we are agreed in accepting your generous offer." Louise gave a light bow to Grimaud as she spoke.

"Excellent. I'll go up and prepare the bed for you. Monsieur d'Fere, I cannot offer you a bed, but I can bring some blankets and pillows down for you to use the couch."

"You may call me Rider, monsieur." Rider mirrored Louise's bow as he answered. "And that will not be necessary. As a Servant I do not require sleep or a place to do so. If you will both excuse me, I am going to the roof to keep a watch and make sure no more of our unwelcome guests reappear." With these words he disappeared into spirit form and was gone from the room.

Grimaud shook his head, still unsure of how to process all the magical things he had only just that night become aware of. "What a curious individual."