II.
Louise awoke to the room flooded with sunlight, the day having truly started in earnest while she was sleeping. As she tried to slide back off the still sleeping form of Rosa she felt her movement arrested and looked over to see that the other young woman had a tight grip on her own hand. Louise smiled gently on this display of affection and, careful not to disturb her too much, slowly uncurled Rosa's fingers from around hers. As Louise sat up she peered at the clock in order to check the time and immediately felt a strange mixture of surprise and disappointment to see that she had only slept for six hours. The combination of unusual position, sleeping during hours she would normally spend awake, and the improvised means of increasing the regeneration rate of her mana supply seemed to have caused her to recover from the incredible exhaustion she had felt the night before faster than she would have normally expected. Though she doubted it, Louise somewhat hoped she would have a chance to catch a nap later in the day to make up for the shortchanged hours of rest.
Louise spent some time cleaning herself up before heading downstairs to see how Grimaud and Rider were doing. The shower was incredibly rehabilitating, making her feel almost more refreshed than sleep had, and she was grateful for the chance to wash away the grime of combat, finding far more blood and muck stuck to her than she had originally suspected. As her thoughts fell to combat while she bathed, steam quickly filling the small shower attached to her apartment, she thought about how when things had first started, when she had initially summoned Rider, when they had fought the phantasmal soldiers, and even the battle with the Archers in the catacombs, about the rush of adrenaline and the thrill of a life or death battle she had felt. The excitement, the joy of combat, something she had never fully realized she held within her, had erupted to the surface as she entrenched herself in the fighting.
The last few battles though, the first confrontation with Rosa, the encounter with Lancer and her maddened citizenry, and especially the second battle with Rosa and Berserker, had not produced even a slightly similar feeling. There had only been terror, confusion, anger, and contempt. Louise thought again about the fate Leo de Franchi had met at the hands of Madame Fenix and her ruthless Servant, about the complete lack of regard the older mage had for anyone else. Louise had thought so little in those early battles about what the Holy Grail War, and even the fights it entailed, really meant.
As had been happening with more frequency, Louise's thoughts drifted to her sister, about how she had so easily consented to do battle with her. In her ignorance, one she had perhaps been forcing herself to live under, she had accepted it as if it was the most natural thing, not for one moment daring to actually understand what it would actually mean. But as memories of Leo's death, the look on his face, the sheer helplessness he had inevitably felt, she had begun to fully understand what her inevitable battle with Camille would mean.
"No." Louise said to herself, the water pouring down her starting to lose heat as the shower went on. "I won't kill her. Her and I will meet, we will fight, and one of our Servants will be defeated. There is still no reason for either of us to die."
Louise finally quit the bathroom and, after having changed into some fresh clothing, went down to see the others. As she mounted the stairs she gave one more fleeting glance on the still sleeping form of Rosa, her chest rising and falling in time with the slow, deep breaths of sleep. She couldn't suppress a smile coming to her face as she looked on the now peaceful features of the previously tormented young woman. "Don't worry, Rosa. I am going to make this right."
Hearing movement on the stairs Grimaud looked up from the puzzle game pages spread out before him on the dining table. Rider, who was across the room near the window, also looked towards where his Master appeared. The first thing Louise noticed when she reached the lower level, apart from the concerned and curious looks of her companions, was that a large black blanket had been hung across the opened portal that used to be the door, and that all the wooden fragments and debris had been removed.
Only then, upon seeing the makeshift covering and the bandages wrapped around Grimaud's head, did Louise even think about the safety of the old man. The night before had passed in such a blur of emotions and activity, all her own energy so focused on stabilizing and saving Rosa, that she had thought nothing of anyone or anything else, herself included.
"Oh, Monsieur, your door. And your head. Are you alright? I hope none of your wounds are too severe." Louise, having crossed the room from the stairs to where Grimaud sat, was worriedly hovering her hands around his bandaged face.
"Ooohh, these are nothing, Madame." Grimaud said, casually waving away her worried advances. He was trying his best to remain nonchalant, but the disingenuous nature of his words were still apparent to Louise. A long and uncomfortable silence reigned then for what felt like hours, the pressure of the situation pushing down on all who were gathered in the room. Louise had opened her mouth to speak several times, but without uttering a sound, just let her partially raised hand fall before she finally found the words to say.
"I'm sorry, Grimaud." She stared at the floor, not daring to let her eye meet those of the old man, for fear of the disappointment she would see there. "It's my fault you're wrapped up in all this. It's because of me that your home has been twice now brutalized. And now you yourself have been hurt. And I was so caught up in helping the person who hurt you, that I didn't even see to your own wounds last night." Louise was prepared for most responses Grimaud might offer. She was more than ready to accept him turning her out though, right as he would be to do so, she knew his nurturing disposition made it unlikely. She was also prepared for him to voice his disappointment, and how wrong he thought it was for her to be continuing to participate in the Grail War despite the dangers.
"She's very sick, isn't she?" Grimaud asked Louise, his gaze directed to the room above where Rosa slept.
Louise turned suddenly back to Grimaud, a look of bewildered surprise in her eye. She was unsure of how to respond to that unexpected question.
"You didn't get to sleep until early this morning. And the way you carried her in here and up those stairs all by yourself. She looked badly hurt, there seemed to be a lot of blood on her. But I saw something else. The look in her eyes when she stood over me. She looked so sad." Grimaud, his brows lowered, a sullen expression on his lips, and so much compassion in his eyes, looked straight at Louise as he spoke.
"Yes. And I fear she is only going to get worse unless I can find some sort of solution." Louise replied. "She's asleep right now, and the measures I've taken are only temporary. I think she's going to be mostly unconscious for now, her body is drained and her situation is precarious." Louise could not suppress the concern that colored her words as she spoke of Rosa. Her gaze fell to the floor as she finished.
"I'm assuming it's also not something a doctor or hospital can solve either, is it?" Grimaud had a grim, but well meaning smile on his face.
"No." Louise, not meaning to or even expecting it, couldn't help a small laugh that escaped with the word. "No, they're not really properly equipped."
"I thought so. Well..." Grimaud slapped his hands on his thighs, a grimace passed over his features as he did, having clearly struck one of his new wounds he wasn't used to being there. "If you vouch for her, and she's going to spend most of the time in bed and asleep anyway, there's no real harm in letting her stay here. I'll take her food while you're out. I... don't really think I'll be much help handling any special medicine you might prescribe her or anything though. I'm not particularly magical, you remember."
Louise smiled warmly at the old man. "You're far too good to me, Monsieur. What can I do, no, what MUST I do to repay you?"
Grimaud stepped over to Louise and put a loving hand on her shoulder. "Just make it through this thing, alright? All I care about is seeing you come back safely."
Louise placed her own hand on the one gripping her shoulder, applying a thankful pressure. "I promise."
Grimaud just smiled quietly with pride on Louise for several seconds before their mutual abstraction was interrupted by the sound of Louise's phone vibrating on the table near Rider. Louise turned to look as her Servant scooped up the device and looked at the screen. "You'll want to take this." he said matter-of-factly as he tossed it to its owner. Louise caught the projectile and looked to see what had caught Rider's attention. She immediately understood when she saw the Juge's number. Not wanting to suffer through another interrogation about dodging the authorities, Louise excused herself from Grimaud and, pushing the blanket aside to step out into the street, swiped the screen and lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Madame Saint-Hermine," The Juge's usual cold and casual voice said from the other end. "I'm glad to see that, though you aren't the best about placing them, you're at least able to answer phone calls."
Louise bit back a sarcastic remark of her own, reminding herself that, even though she was a person of little consequence, upsetting Maria too much would only complicate her situation. "How can I help you, Madame Juge?"
"Well I wanted to speak to you regarding some discrepancies in what you had told me and, considering your propensity for being conveniently out whenever someone is looking for you, I figured I'd just call you instead of heading to your current residence." The Juge replied with all her usual irreverence.
"Discrepancies, Madame?" Louise asked, worried that the government official had somehow figured out she wasn't actually staying with Ali and, worst case scenario, found where she was actually living.
"Yes. You had told me that your sister, Madame Camille Saint-Hermine? Had gone back home to Gordes, leaving you here to work with a family associate."
"Yes, Madame, that is correct." Louise was relieved that the conversation was not about her current abode, but her worry was renewed at the mention of Camille's whereabouts.
"See I find that weird considering I got an invitation from your sister to meet and discuss some details from the night of the attack. And not anywhere in Provence, but here in Paris." Maria's tone was somehow both flippant and accusatory.
Louise couldn't help but be stunned into silence for a moment. Why was Camille going out of her way to contact the Juge d'Instruction? And why now? Surely she must have known Maria would convey the information to Louise and endanger the older sister's incognito. Louise was incredibly worried and confused, but she did not want to make the situation worse by attracting Maria's suspicions further.
"That's very strange, Madame. Perhaps she has returned without my being informed and, having thought of something while she was absent from the city, arranged to meet with you right away before she forgot again. I can only assume that I should expect a call from her very shortly to explain this sudden change." Louise was just about to falsely claim she had a call incoming to support this when the Juge replied.
"It'd be an odd order for a doting older sister, but I'm sure you know her more intimately than I. I told her I'd call you and she said I should invite you to our meeting as well. Who knows, maybe her information will help you to recall something important as well." Maria said coolly.
Louise was once again surprised at the direction the conversation was taking. "Oh, Madame, I would be happy to accommodate, only..."
"Only?" The Juge asked, expectation and suspicion in her voice.
"Only it would depend on the time and location as I am, I have told you, quite busy with meetings and seeing to others needs." Louise responded.
"Well I do hope you can squeeze the irrelevant little no-names of the justice system into your busy schedule, Madame." Maria replied, finding it hard to not chuckle a little at her own words. Tomorrow night, seven-ish at l'Hotel Shangri-la. It shouldn't be too far from where you're staying."
Louise thought for a moment, letting the Juge assume the time was spent in consulting her calendar. "Yes, Madame Juge, I believe I can make that work."
"How courteous of you. See you tomorrow night, Madame Saint-Hermine." Maria, in her usual fashion, hung up before Louise could respond.
Louise stared at her blank phone for a few seconds, considering everything the Juge had said, before turning to go back inside. Just as she did so she heard the sound of footsteps off to her left. Turning her head she saw one of the robed attendants whom she had encountered at Ali's hotel. The strange individual, whose features were almost completely obscured by a large hood, stood before Louise mute and with an outstretched hand, a small folded letter in its grip. Louise spent a moment of confusion regarding the individual before she understood she was meant to take the letter. She gracefully accepted the dispatch and turned it over in her hands examining it. "Thank y-" she started to say, but upon looking back up, the robed individual was gone. The young mage returned inside, tearing open the missive with her finger as she brushed through the makeshift door.
"Well?" Rider asked as his Master came back in.
"Well," Louise responded as she read the letter. "It seems we are quite popular today."