The Rider (Fate/Zero AU)

They saw the rider coming from quite a distance. The air was still and clear, and the dust from the rider’s horse was easy to see. Not too many folks came round this way, not since the barrier had gone down and Camelot had fallen. That had been nasty business, and only the truly desperate came out this far anymore. There was nothing much out this way except old ghost and demons.

They had maybe another half an hour before the rider got there, and the old man who ran the inn thought it might be a good idea to get the runes cleaned up. Sure, it didn’t much matter if the runes were covered or not. They either worked, or they didn’t. But most folks liked to see them glowing, liked to know that the inn was protected from the things that liked to wander in the night. 

The runes they had weren’t the best, but nothing too big ever came their way. The big ones, like the ones that had torn down the walls of Camelot and painted its streets red, those only ever went after the bigger towns and cities. A small, out-of-the-way inn like this wasn’t worth the effort. Still, that didn’t stop some people getting real nervous when the storms came. Things were always worse when it was dark, and the moon was better than nothing, especially since the stars alone didn’t count for much.

The rider pulled up just shy of thirty minutes later, going by the clock on the wall. The old man set his broom aside and waved at the water trough over by the side of the building. It would give the horse a chance to drink, and it would give him a chance to study the horse and its rider.

The horse itself was a lean thin, not scrawny, but whipcord lean, the kind of horse that could go for days and days. It was quiet, trotting over to the trough and lowering its head to drink without so much as giving him a second look. It was well-travelled then, probably used to meeting new people and seeing new places.

But it was the rider that made him wonder if he’d pegged the whole thing wrong. She was a little slip of a woman, almost still a girl, really. Her blonde hair was tied back, and she had wore one of those hats that all the riders wore, wide-brimmed and tilted slightly to keep the sun and the dust off her face.

Her eyes were a piercing green, cold and hard. Those weren’t a girl’s eyes, not by a long shot. He’d seen hard men before, men who’d spent their lives fighting to keep the barriers up, and none of them had ever had eyes like that. They seemed to see right through him, and the old man found himself standing a little straighter.

The girl, no, woman was wearing a pair of black trousers and a black jacket over a white blouse. She had a royal blue scarf around her neck, and a pair of black gloves. But instead of the guns so many people favoured, she carried a sword with her. It was a big thing too, seemingly too big for a woman her size to use, but she carried it without complaint, barely even seem to notice its weight at all. It was in a plain iron sheath, but the old man wondered what it would look like. A woman with eyes like that would have a good sword, he thought. 

The woman tugged her gloves off and washed her hands before taking a cupful of the water and drinking. Only then did she walk toward him, stopping just long enough to give her horse a gentle pat on the side.

“Are you the innkeeper?”

“I am.” The old man had to fight to keep his voice steady. Her eyes were drilling into him now, burning into him. It made him want to run, but his feet wouldn’t move. “Are… are you looking for a room?”

“Yes.” The woman tossed a sideways glance at the door of the inn. A few of the locals had come out to take a look, but they scuttled back inside beneath her glare. “I’m looking for a room… and I’m looking for someone too.”

“I see. I… who are you looking for?”

The woman reached into her pockets and pulled out an old photograph. It was heavily faded, and the creases were worn right into it.

“I’m looking for her. She goes by Irisviel or Iri most of the time. I heard she passed this way some time ago.”

“I can’t say I’ve met anybody that goes by that.” The old man pursed his lips. “But I can sort of remember someone who looked a bit like that.” He shook his head. Photograph were only black and white. He needed something more. “What colour were eyes?”

“Red,” the woman replied. “Like blood. You’d never forget them if you saw them.”

“Red?” The old man nodded slowly. “Oh, yes, I remember her. Her hair was pale, real pale, but it was shorter than in that photo, cut maybe half the length and done up differently. But I remember those eyes.”

“She would have talked like a lady. There might have been a few other people with her too, maybe looked like they could have been her sisters.”

“Yeah… I remember them. There were three – no – four of them all up, and they all could have been sisters, they looked so similar.” The old man sighed. “It was… maybe six, seven months ago now. They were headed toward Camelot, or what’s left of it, but I haven’t seen them since.”

“Is that so?” The woman tensed, and the air was suddenly filled with tension. For a second, the old man couldn’t breathe. Then the moment passed, the woman seemed to realise what she’d done, eyes softening ever so slightly as she reached out to steady him. “Thank you, you’ve been very helpful. I’d like a room. I don’t think I’ll be staying more than a night.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?” The old man liked to know who was staying under his roof. “And, maybe, if she passes this way again, I could tell that other woman who was looking for her.”

“Arthuria Pendragon,” the woman said as she walked back to her horse. “Though I mostly go by Saber now.”

The old man watched her go and had to stagger over to a chair. He couldn’t believe it. He’d knew the name. Everyone did. Arthuria Pendragon had commanded the garrison over in Camelot when it fell. She’d led the retreat too, taking what folks that she could and fighting through the long, dark night to get them to safety. 

No one knew exactly what had happened that night. But out of the thousands who’d lived in Camelot, only a few hundred had survived. And out of that garrison, out of all those brave men and women, only one had made it through. 

If Arthuria Pendragon had come back this way, a storm was coming, of that the old man was sure.

Success Story (Final Fantasy XIII AU)

The Dia were absolutely notorious for a variety of reasons. There was their alarming tendency to go completely overboard when conducting scientific research, a tendency that had resulted in the destruction of countless laboratories, testing facilities, and at least two fairly large towns. 

Then there was their bizarre obsession with poetry as a form of combat, which had given rise to some of the most creative insults of all time. And perhaps most notorious of all was the Dia’s talent for selling things. It didn’t matter what it was, they could sell it. There was even a rumour that they’d managed to sell sand to the Al Bhed, which was quite an accomplishment considering the fact that the Al Bhed lived in the world’s largest desert.

As one of the Dia’s foremost negotiators and scientific researchers, not to mention their chieftain, Vanille was a shining paragon of Dia virtue. In other words, she was slightly deranged, maniacally determined, and bizarrely good at getting people to do what she wanted through a combination of logic, whining, and persistence. She’d needed copious amounts of all three to get the Yun and Cocoon to negotiate with one another.

It helped that she knew the military leaders of each side. She’d met Fang during the quest that every Dia undertook as a youth, a quest that had basically involved wandering around the world trying to make a living with nothing but her wits and her binding rod. She’d been seven at the time, which was younger than most people who went on the quest, and she’d ended up staying with the Yun. After all, she’d wanted to learn how to bash things with her binding rod, and there were few people better at bashing things than the Yun.

Vanille had managed to con her way into a merchant caravan before wheedling a very big and very scary Yun warrior into letting her stay at the local inn in exchange for fixing all of the mechanical and electrical bits and pieces they had lying around. After a while, the warriors had gotten used to the odd, little redhead who had somehow managed to upgrade all of their lighting and plumbing without any of them noticing. 

They’d given her lessons in how to handle herself in combat, and they’d introduced her to magic of an altogether more destructive variety that the Dia taught. Oh, sure, the Dia were experts in magic, and they could do all kinds of things. But the Yun had devoted themselves to killing things for centuries. Heck, Vanille hadn’t known there were so many different ways to burn something until one of the warriors had gleefully shown her twenty different spells for setting things on fire.

She’d run into Fang not long after that. Even as a child, Fang had stood out. She was a genius when it came to combat, but she was also a ridiculously hard worker, and Vanille knew that there were few things scarier than a genius who worked hard. So Vanille had tagged along, doggedly running after Fang until the older girl had agreed to let her train with her.

Vanille had stayed there for three years before moving on, but she’d kept in touch with Fang ever since. The two of them had gotten along quite well, and Fang had accepted Vanille’s quirks, of which she had quite a few, with a sort of fond amusement. It helped, of course, that the Yun and Dia were, if not allies, at least generally friendly. 

The Yun had a healthy respect for natural disasters, and the Dia were about as close to a natural disaster as it was possible for people to be.

Vanille had run into Lightning when she was fifteen. True, the Yun and Cocoon had already been at war, but the Dia had been a largely neutral party. As far as the Dia were concerned, the Yun and Cocoon could stab each other as much as they wanted, so long as they did it somewhere else. On the off chance that either side was stupid enough to drag the Dia into it, the Dia had an impressive, some would say stupidly large, arsenal of highly advanced weaponry to deploy.

Thanks to some wheeling and dealing involving poker, alcohol, and large sums of money, Vanille had managed to get onto a transport headed to Cocoon. Cocoon was one of the few places that could almost match the technology the Dia had, so she was curious to see if she could learn anything. 

But Cocoon had a very different culture from the Dia. There were so many rules and regulations, so many ways to get arrested and thrown into prison. After three stints in jail that ended in three escapes and just as many riots, Vanille had finally gotten a good enough grasp of Cocoon’s laws to begin exploiting them. 

One thing led to another, and she found herself, of all things, earning a living as a notary for the Guardian Corps. It wasn’t all bad. She had plenty of chances to sneak into the research and development departments, and she also had a chance to observe the training the officers went through. It was there that she met Lightning, and it took her less than three minutes to realise that Lightning was one of the scariest people that she’d ever met.

Why?

Because three minutes was how long it took Lightning to defeat the rest of her class in the melee that the instructors had her class participate in. It wasn’t even that the rest of her class was bad. No, they were all fairly skilled. Lightning was just some kind of super-advanced killing machine, at least, that’s what Vanille thought.

Naturally, Vanille just had to get to know her better. It took three months of constant nagging before Lightning finally agreed to let Vanille tag along during her training, and Vanille had a feeling that Lightning had only agreed because murdering Vanille would get her thrown out of the academy. Still, the two of them forged an odd sort of friendship, one mostly based on Vanille’s ability to put up with Lightning’s grumpiness and Vanille’s ability to interpret all of Lightning’s scowl, glares, and growls.

Vanille had help though. Lightning had a younger sister, and Vanille found that Serah was much more approachable. True, Serah had a temper, but she wasn’t nearly as scary as Lightning, and Vanille was good at getting out of trouble. 

Eventually, however, the time had come to move on, and Vanille had left Cocoon, promising to stay in touch. Well, time had passed, and Vanille had risen through the ranks of the Dia clan until, after years of political skulduggery, treachery, and general malevolence, she became the chieftain of her clan at the tender age of twenty-one. 

Now, unlike many of her peers, Vanille did care about what happened to Cocoon and the Yun, if only because she happened to know some people on each side that she actually liked. As the war dragged on and escalated, she decided that decisive action was necessary, and who better to host a peace conference than her?

By that point, Fang had clawed her way to the top of the Yun clan while Lightning had become the leader of Cocoon’s military. In a bizarre way, Lightning had Fang to thank for that. Her predecessors had all made the mistake of challenging Fang in combat, and they had all met their ends courtesy of Fang’s spear. Lightning was the only one who had challenged Fang and actually lived to tell the tale. In fact, if the stories were true, the two of them had been evenly matched, which gave Vanille a fiendish idea, one that appealed to the slightly demented Dia part of her.

X     X     X

“Please tell me that you’re joking.” Fang was sorely tempted to brandish her spear in Vanille’s direction. Only the fact that Vanille was her equal, a clan chieftain, kept her from threatening the redhead with anything more than words. “Even for a Dia, what you just said is insane.”

“It’s perfectly logical,” Vanille said. “And us Dia aren’t insane. We’re… creative.”

“No, you’re insane.” Lightning banged one fist on the table. The rest of her diplomatic team had run for it once Vanille had made her suggestion, as had Fang’s. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”

“Because the Dia have an absolute crap load of lasers, missiles, and guns, all of which they will happily use on Cocoon if you kill me.” She paused. “And I built a death ray last week.”

Lightning twitched. “It would still be worth it.”

“Oh, please, Serah would be pissed if you killed me.” Vanille cackled. “And just think about my suggestion for a second. It would bring an immediate end to the war. There would be no more fighting. No more soldiers dying. No more mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives trying to live without their loved ones. Don’t you want that?”

Both Fang and Lightning slumped back into their chairs. As usual, Vanille had hit the nail on the head. Both women cared deeply for their people, and both wanted to protect them as much as they could.

“Still, it’s crazy.” Fang pointed at Lightning. “You want me to marry her.”

“Yes.” Vanille nodded sagely. “It’s the perfect solution. Besides, I know you like women, and Lightning is, well, really hot.”

“What?” Lightning screeched.

“Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it.” Vanille sidled over to Lightning and gestured at her. “Great hair, great face, great body.” She nodded. “What’s not to like? Heck, even the grumpiness isn’t so bad once you get used to it, and she’s smart too. Perfect wife material, Fang, especially since you come from a clan that happens to be big on the whole stabbing-people-to-death thing, which Lightning is really, really good at.”

Fang almost laughed when she saw Lightning reach for Vanille, only for the redhead to scamper out of the way. “I’ll admit she isn’t hideous.”

“Thanks…” Lightning drawled. “You’re not hideous either.”

“But you can’t seriously expect this to work,” Fang said.

“At least consider it. You wouldn’t have to get married right away although, as a clan chieftain, I could totally marry you right now if you wanted…” Vanille smiled hopefully. “Or not. But at the very least, you two could call a ceasefire while you get to know each other. If everything works out, there would be lasting peace between the Yun and Cocoon, plus I’d get the credit for brokering an awesome peace agreement.”

Lightning took a deep, deep breath. “Fine. I still think you’re an idiot, Vanille -”

“That’s Chieftain Vanille.”

“Vanille.” Lightning’s jaw clenched. “But I would not mind calling a ceasefire for a few months while Fang and I got to know each other.” She lifted one hand as Vanille beamed. “No, we are not going to marry each other. But this war was started over a misunderstanding. Perhaps… perhaps it can be brought to an end through better understanding.”

Fang sighed. “You know, I can’t let you come off as the rational one. It’s worth a shot. If it doesn’t work out, we can always just go back to stabbing each other.”

X     X     X

One year later…

“Hah!” Vanille jabbed one finger at Lightning and Fang and then proceeded to dance around them, making a complete mockery of the solemnity of the occasion. “I was right.”

“Oh, shut up,” Lightning muttered as she signed the peace agreement that would bring an end to the war and marry her to Fang. “Even an idiot is right sometimes.”

“Aw, just let her enjoy it.” Fang rolled her eyes. “Besides, you have to admit, no one else saw it coming.” She smiled and put one arm around Lightning. “Not that I’m complaining.”

And that was how Vanille ended the war between the Yun and Cocoon and became the most awesome chieftain of the Dia ever.

Worthy (Fate/Zero AU)

Note: This snippet is set in an AU in which Irisviel really is Saber’s master. Irisviel and Kiritsugu have never met although Maiya does work for the Einzberns.

X     X     X

Saber stood atop the hill and let her eyes wander over the city below her. How many times had she done something similar before the Grail War? Too many too count. There was always another battlefield to survey, always another city to defend or besiege, always another battle to be fought.

So heavy, the weight upon her shoulders had been so heavy. As much as she regretted her failure, as much as she wished she could change things, there was a part of her that had wanted nothing more than to give up at Camlann, to seek the peace that only death could provide. Had she not done enough? 

And now another battle awaited her, perhaps the most important of her life. if she won the Grail, she would have the chance to fix everything, the chance to make right all of her mistakes. Her kingdom and its people would be saved. Her life – her reign – would not have been in vain. 

“Saber, come back here.”

The Servant turned. Irisviel and Maiya had finished setting up the picnic. It was an utterly foolish thing to do in the lead up to the Grail War, and it was, of course, completely Irisviel’s idea. But neither Saber or Maiya could deny Irisviel anything, albeit for very different reasons.

Saber had never felt worthy of her kingship. She had ruled because she had to and because there had been no one better. If there had, she would gladly have stepped aside for the good of the nation and the people. Yet she had always wanted to be worthy, to know that she was truly the best king her people could have had.

But more than anything, right now, she wished to be worthy of being Irisviel’s Servant. The other woman had treated Saber with nothing but kindness. But most of all, Irisviel had believed in her. She had believed that despite all the stories, the myths, and the legends that Saber had ruled well, that Saber had been the king that Britain needed.

In Irisviel’s eyes, Saber was the greatest of kings, a light that shone through the long dark of history. Saber had always dreamed of Avalon, an ever-distant utopia that she would never reach. But Saber was Irsiviel’s Avalon, and Saber had never felt so humbled, so unworthy in her life. But instead of making her sad, it made her want to be more, to be truly worthy of the esteem Irisviel held her in.

One way or another, Saber would prove that she was worthy. 

As she walked back to Irisviel and Maiya, the crimson-eyed woman laughed and drew her down to sit beside her. 

“You always have such a serious expression, Saber. You should relax. We’re having a picnic.”

“We’re about to go to war.”

“Yes, but aren’t you the one who always talks about how important it is to eat properly?” Irisviel handed Saber a sandwich. “So eat and try to be less serious for a while.”

Saber’s lips twitched. “Is that a command, my lady?”

“Does it have to be?”

“No.” Saber took the sandwich. “We should enjoy the calm before the storm.”

Irisviel giggled and then swatted Saber on the arm playfully. “I told you to stop being so serious. Saying things like that… you’re being more serious than ever.”

“I apologise.”

“You’re still being serious.”

“I apologise…” Saber trailed off as Irisviel raised one eyebrow. “Very well, let us eat.”

“That’s better.”

Saber… Teaches Table Manners (Fate/Zero AU)

Note: This snippet is set in an AU in which Irisviel really is Saber’s master. Irisviel and Kiritsugu have never met although Maiya does work for the Einzberns.

X     X     X

Irisviel did her best not to stare as her Servant inhaled dinner at a truly staggering pace. How could someone so small eat so much? And how on earth could Saber manage to shovel all of that food in her mouth and still look so majestic and regal? 

“You are to be commended, my lady.” Saber reached for another helping of rice and chicken. “The food is excellent.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it.” Irisviel smiled. “But is it really okay for you to eat so much?”

“Of course.” Saber nodded solemnly. “The Grail War will likely be an extremely taxing and arduous contest. It is best that we eat well now, for we may not have the opportunity later. It would not do for us to succumb to hunger during the battle.” 

“Ah, I see.” Irisviel bit back a laugh. Saber could say the most amusing things so seriously. The Grail War was certain to be tough, but she doubted they would be defeated by starvation. If anything, they should be more concerned about their opponents. “Maiya, would you like some more?”

The other woman shook her head. She had not eaten much, but she never did. It was one of her quirks. “Thank you, Irisviel, but I’m done.”

Saber banged her fist on the table. “Unacceptable!” There was a flash of movement, and Maiya was suddenly staring down the length of Excalibur. “Our lady has worked hard to produce this feast. You will eat, and you will enjoy it. All of us will need to be at our full strength when the Grail War begins. An army marches on its stomach, so your stomach must be full before we go into battle!”

Maiya gulped and then snuck a glance at Irisviel. “Irisviel…”

“Eat!” Saber brandished her sword again. She paused and then eyed the rest of the food on the table. She looked like she was about to drool. “Or surrender the rest of your food to me!”

The HMS Fangrai

The HMS Fangrai is no puny ship or rust bucket… it’s more like this:

Those planes are the competing ships.

Smile

Up until I was a teenager, I was generally unable to smile in photographs. In fact, I didn’t smile very much at all. I spent most of my time scowling, glaring, and generally being grumpy.

It was only as I got older that I realised the value of a smile. I guess it’s easy to be grumpy at the world until you hit some real adversity. After you’ve been through some rough patches, you learn to appreciate the good times. 

Now, I smile more. I’m even smiling as I write this. And every now and then, my sister sees me with a stupid smile on my face and whacks me over the arm. Good times.

So, if you’re stuck at a family reunion with little kids…

konohura:

do what I did.

Bring a pack of cards, and you can either, learn how to do magic tricks which is better in some long term aspects.

Or if you don’t know how to do magic tricks, then you teach them poker.That’s right. Teach them poker. And if you want to be mischievous like me, use snacks as chips, steal their families’s snacks.

Thank you Raziel12 for giving me the idea in a large number of your previous fanfics, I now have a large amount of marshmellows, japanese candy, and chicken. Want me to send you the pocky raziel? 

^_^.

Ultimate Alliance (Ordinary Heroes AU)

Diana cackled evilly. At last, she would finally have her revenge against her big sister. Averia had always been too big, too fast, and too strong for her to defeat. But finally, finally, Diana had help.

“Go Taren!” Diana jabbed one finger at Averia. “Kill!”

The toddler giggled and stumbled over to Averia before grabbing her leg and giggling some more.

“Hah!” Diana punched the air in triumph. “Now that our little brother has immobilised you, there’s no way that you can dodge my ultimate attack!”

“Uh… I’m hardly immobilised.” Averia reached down and patted Taren’s head, earning herself a sunny smile from the boy. “And what is your ultimate attack, anyway?”

“The Flying Kick In The Back Technique… Version Seven…” Diana tried to get behind Averia only for her older sister to raise one eyebrow and simply turn to keep facing her. “Taren…” Diana whined. “Immobilise her!”

Taren laughed and grabbed Averia’s other leg. Diana slapped her forehead.

“I showed you how to do this earlier.” Diana went over and tried to manoeuvre Taren into a suitably effective position, but rather than follow along, he decided to grab onto her instead. “Gah! Treachery! Treachery!”

Averia rolled her eyes and gave Diana a playful whack over the back of the head. “Stop trying to turn our little brother against me. Face it, you’re doomed. I am simply too awesome for you to defeat.”

Diana huffed and tried to pry Taren off. He had a surprisingly strong grip for a toddler, and it didn’t help that he had somehow managed to scramble up onto her back. “One of these days…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Averia grinned. “Now, come on. It’s time for Taren to have some lunch.”

“Do you hear that, Taren?” Diana lifted the toddler off her back and into her arms. “You’re getting lunch.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll even sneak you some candy if you help me overthrow our sister later. I know it didn’t work this time, but I think we can get her next time…”

Animal Control (Ordinary Heroes x Unfinished Fairy Tale)

Chirpy was not especially fond of Mr Cuddles. The pesky hamster had a knack for winning people over, but Chirpy could see right through him. The hamster was cute, cuddly, and extremely evil. But even Mr Cuddles didn’t deserve to be eyed like he was food.

“Look, I think they like each other!” Diana cried as Fluffy the cat took a very long, very hungry look at the hamster.

“Um… I’m not sure that Fluffy likes him,” Luna said as the cat prepared to pounce.

“Of course he likes him.” Diana laughed. “That’s why he’s smiling.”

That, Chirpy thought, was not why Fluffy was smiling. Mr Cuddles must have known it too because the hamster was staying as close to Diana as possible, not that it would help much if the cat decided to go after him. So, as Fluffy prepared to pounce, Chirpy stepped forward and put one big, sharp claw between the cat and the hamster.

“Oh, do you want to play too, Chirpy?” Diana patted his claw.

Chirpy nodded and then turned his attention to Fluffy. The cat was an ill-tempered thing, but he wasn’t stupid. 

“Kweh.” Translation: the hamster is with me.

For a moment, Chirpy and Fluffy locked eyes before the cat backed down. Oh, the cat didn’t like backing down to a bird, but Chirpy was not some helpless pigeon. He was a chocobo, and a fully grown one too. If Fluffy pressed the issue, he was in for a rude awakening.

As the cat slunk off, Chirpy bent down, so that Mr Cuddles could scamper onto his back. He might not like the hamster, but he didn’t want to see him get eaten either. Casting a keen eye across the front yard, Chirpy ambled over to where Chomp was lazing about under a tree. The big dog was exceptionally friendly, and he could be counted on to keep Mr Cuddles out of harm’s way, if need be. 

Glaring at the three other animals, Fluffy was about to try to sneak closer when Diana grabbed him.

“Come on, Fluffy!” Diana and Luna marched toward the manor. “Luna says that you haven’t had a bath in ages. We’ll make sure you get nice and clean!”

Fluffy yowled and tried to wriggle and claw his way out. Diana simply giggled and transformed into her Ragnarok form, rendering all of the wriggling and clawing completely useless.

Under the tree, Chirpy and Mr Cuddles both snickered. It served Fluffy right. And Chomp? He decided to take a snooze, using Chirpy’s side as a pillow.

Broken Sword (Fate/Zero)

Saber broke the moment she understood what the Grail truly was, and she broke a little more when she realised what she had to do. 

But it was only after, when the Grail was destroyed, that she allowed herself to fall to her knees. She was already fading. A few moments more, that was all she had to stare at the ruin she had wrought. What was one more failure on top of all the others?

What indeed?

And yet… 

So many of her people, even her own knights, had seen her as a cold, unfeeling king. They were right, in a way. She had never allowed herself to feel, to stray from the lonely path of kingship. But Irisviel… Irisviel had made her feel, if only for a while.

And now Irisviel was gone, and Saber had destroyed whatever had been left of her when she had destroyed the Grail.

She closed her eyes and faded.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back at Camlann. She threw her head back and laughed until the tears came, and when her eyes were dry, still, she laughed.

What a fool she’d been to think that she could save her country when she couldn’t even save one woman.