[X] [Myself and Fujimaru are going]
Thanks to
@Armoury for the beta!
—
You force yourself to remain calm, it is admittedly difficult, you have been ambushed twice this morning. And this was now… you had lost count in the last two weeks how many times you had been nearly killed. It was becoming a disturbingly regular occurrence. Kidnapped, stabbed, burned, chopped, decapitated, choked. You were known at school for not really being… active, emotionally. You knew your own reputation as a helpful, if not particularly interesting person. That suited you just fine, you didn't particularly care about attention as you weren't someone worth giving attention
to.
Though as of late, it seemed you had little choice in the matter. Regardless, you kept yourself calm, staring down at the servant that had either simply been invisible given how none spotted a tall purple woman standing in the middle of a snowbank. Or, more likely given your own limited experience with her. Had simply moved so quickly that it didn't matter. "I wish to speak to Illya regarding a missing person. If she doesn't want me to bring my servants, that's fine and I understand, but I'm taking Fujimaru with me." You reply, gesturing to the girl. "It's her friend that is missing, so she should come with."
Illya's servant stares up at you for several moments, at least, you think she does. With that blindfold it's rather hard to tell precisely what she is looking at. "You would go without your servants so willingly?"
You nod your head, ignoring the fact that Caster was ever so slowly turning her own head to stare at you. "Of course, Illya's my sister after all, why wouldn't I?"
Circe, Sakura, Ritsuka
and Caster are all staring at you now along with Illya's Servant, and you find yourself wondering briefly if you had done something wrong.
"Shirou… you… cannot." Caster says, she stops briefly after every word, like they are each a struggle to get out. "You cannot think this is a wise decision! In any capacity!"
"If Illya wanted me dead I would be already, thrice now." You reply evenly. "Her servant could have slain me at the house, I could have been killed at the castle, and I could have been killed here. But she hasn't, I trust her, and her servant."
"Shirou, I… I know what you… I know how you choose to perceive this world. But even
you must see the fault in this action."
"That it's dangerous? Probably. But we'll get nothing by trying to force the issue and fight her servant, and I'm not putting anyone else in danger this morning if I can help it." Once was enough, thank you. And you were still processing the fact that you would likely have to deal with Rin, likely lethally, before this was all over. But that was not something you wanted to focus on at the moment.
Sakura speaks up, her quiet, nervous voice in opposition to Medea's last stern tone. "Are you sure, Shirou?"
"I am." You reply firmly. "Illya won't hurt me." You were less certain of that than you would outwardly admit. She
had kidnapped you, and there was more than you could gleam from the short conversation you had had together. But it was a start, and you would take whatever you could get at the moment.
"Then… just be careful." Sakura says.
You smile. "I'll be back Sakura, it'll be fine."
Medea opens her mouth to argue once more, but is interrupted as you find yourself suddenly staring at the wing's of a hawk wrapping around you. With all the grace and dexterity of a pickpocket Circe swaps Sakura into Caster's arms, then takes yourself and Fujimaru down to the ground where she presents the both of you towards Illya's servant "Shirou has made you a counteroffer, do you accept it?" the Witch asks, smiling at the servant. You note, however, she was still not moving her damaged arm at all.
The servant was a bit taller than you, not to some massive extent, but she was taller. So she had to look down to gaze at you, then at Fujimaru. Fujimaru for her part was smiling up at the servant, showing no actual sign of nervousness. Whether that was confidence, or she did truly know that the blindfolded servant was 'fine' as she stated back in the school, you weren't aware.
"Agreed." The servant says quietly. Then, she reaches down to grab the two of you.
A moment later, all you heard was the wind.
—
The forest was large, the forest was dense, the forest was a maze of trees, rocks, rivers and streams that even the most experienced hiker could get lost in. People did, every year. Go in without a plan and go off the hiking trails, only to either never emerge again, or, more commonly, have to be rescued from where they had fallen.
You could say with complete earnesty that you had no idea
where you were going, all you knew was that you had crossed
miles in less than a minute. The trees didn't so much fly by you as become shapeless blurs. You could hear nothing but the wind, your eyes could barely be opened, the force was so intense that you could feel them being physically shoved back in your skull. That was true of your entire body, your clothes slammed against you, being pressed as tight against your body as possible without actually going
through you.
All the while, Fujimaru seemed relatively relaxed. From what you could see past the giant wave of purple hair separating the two of you. Illya's Servant had said nothing since grabbing the two of you, but then, in the short, indeterminate amount of time that had passed between your lift and now, you could see the castle jutting out of the forest like a page rising out of a children's picture book. You had seen the interior, and only the interior. But now you knew for certain that this was
nothing that you had ever seen in Japan before. Proud spires of tan brick rose out of the snowy forest, regal and austere, with hints of a blue roof tucked away underneath all the snow that had fallen upon it. A stone bridge leads to a portcullis gate, watched over by battlements… all for decoration, as
everything about the place was to show off wealth and ostentatiousness, instead of serving as a place of defense and holdout. The idea was not new to you, but the concept of someone living in a castle in the modern era for simple comfort… was quite new.
Then you were standing there, in front of the rising portcullis. Your body didn't lurch, you barely even realized the change for a moment. One second you had been just crossing over the treeline and the castle had entered view. The next, you were there. Your feet on the ground, Illya's Servant's arms no longer wrapped around you. You blinked, moving one hand to rub your eyes, before you looked back to see… she wasn't there. Fujimaru was, standing just beside you, the woman staring straight ahead towards the castle. But Illya's servant wasn't, you turn your head this way and that, trying to catch sight of her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
… You draw in a breath, then begin walking forwards. Fujimaru takes up pace beside you a moment later, her eyes flicking up to the structure. "Nice place."
"Looks like too much to clean," you reply.
"With a house like this she probably has people for that," Fujimaru notes.
"She does," you reply. "One's there to greet us now."
At your mention of that Fujimaru looks back down to the gatehouse, where, indeed, one of the servants you had seen when you had last visited was standing there. Which you couldn't tell, they were both seemingly identical. But then, last time, you hadn't exactly been paying much attention either.
You come to a stop a few feet in front of her, meeting the maid eye to eye. "Hello I-"
"It is now time for you to die." The maid intones dully.
You tense, your hand moving to your side, for what, you weren't sure. But Fujimaru takes a quick step back before-
"That was a joke." The maid continues. "Are you here to see the Master?"
You nod your head. "I have a request to make of Illya, is she in?"
The maid tilts her head minutely. "Yes. She is awaiting your arrival at the grand hall."
"You asked… if he was here to see her, but then say that Illya was waiting for him already."
"Yes." The maid replies.
"And you don't see any paradox in that?" Fujimaru asks.
"No." She replies just as bluntly.
"... Alright, well, where's the grand hall?"
The maid steps back, turns, then begins walking into the ground. An invitation to follow, you suppose. The central garden, snow covered as it was, was just as pretty as when you were last here. And to your left you could see the same door you had wandered out of after having been kidnapped just a short lifetime ago prior. The maid however, leads to the right towards a building made up of many,
many windows. She opens the door, then steps to the side. You look at her a moment, thank her, then step inside.
…
There was likely more wealth in this room than Raiga had in his entire home.
Your shoes clicked onto a white and black marble floor polished to a mirror sheer. You stood in an
expansive chamber, more than a hundred yards from end to end. But not barren, far, far from it. The room was well lit by well over a dozen chandeliers, and well heated by no less than four roaring fireplaces set around the place. Portraits and paintings hung on the wall, each easily a dozen feet tall and half that wide, but they were so put into scale by the room itself that they seemed far smaller than they truly were. Expansive windows, each easily the size of your old dining room, and likely far more expensive than what had been there. Were dotted every six feet on both the lower, and upper level, illuminating what the chandeliers did not.
And it all somewhat paled in comparison to the princess standing at the far end. From the door you had entered she couldn't have been more than thirty feet away. Atop a marble staircase flanked by handrails of gold. With a
spotless red rug running down them more like a river of blood than a stretch of fabric. Atop it, one hand on the rail, was Illya. Dressed far unlike you had ever seen her before. When you had last seen her she had been bundled up in winter clothing, now she was dressed in something far more flowing and loose. A purple longsleeved shirt that came down over a white skirt that flared out to just above her knees. Capped off by a pair of purple boots the same shade as the shirt. Between the gold lining, the gleaming buttons, and the silken ribbon she wore to hold it together around the neck, you could see that despite its 'simplicity' it was still quite an expensive outfit.
She was also frowning. "Why haven't you visited?" she asks, sounding more an indignant child than a princess.
"Sorry Illya." You say earnestly. "I've been very busy recently, and people have been trying to kill me… some got rather close."
The frown drops, and she gains a look of worry for a fraction of a second before it morphs into that of anger. "Then you shouldn't have ever left! I could have kept you safe here." Illya blinks. "I could have… yes… I could have just kept you here."
"I have people I have to look after," you say. "It's a lovely castle, and you are lovely as well. But I have people to look after mysel-"
"And I'm your sister, I should get priority, big brother." Illya replies. The frown returning. Then, with a rapid series of steps she makes her way down the staircase and comes to a stop in front of you. "What happened?"
"There's a monster out there hunting down random people, a big bulging mass of flesh and eyes and… frankly I couldn't tell you what he looked like fully. He changes everytime I think about him, if it even is a him. He stabbed me," you leave out Medea cauterizing the wound via magic, deliberately. "Then I got my hands burned by another servant, lost the use of them for a time." That was, you think, your fault. But you weren't quite sure yet. "And then I got… almost decapitated." You weren't sure how dreams worked in that regard, but it felt real enough for you at least.
"You should stay here where it's safe." Illya says. "That way
I can look after you and we never have to be separated. Then we could play all day!"
"As… lovely as that would be, as I said I do have people I have to look after. And I'm sorry I couldn't come back quickly, that day I came back, after we had our talk, I found my home in ruins and I had to quickly find another place to stay. Things have been chaotic ever since."
"Even
more reason for you to stay here." Illya presses. "I can keep you where nobody will ever hurt you again, then nobody can separate us!" she steps closer.
"Illya, I
can't." You say, doing your best to sound calming despite her pleas. "I'll come by more often, I promise."
Illya looks up at your face, saying nothing for several moments. Her hands clutch at her side, balling into frankly adorable little fists, before she releases the tension, then turns her head towards Fujimaru. She stares at the woman for a good ten to fifteen seconds, her eyes flitting up and down. Before she takes a step back, grabs the hem of her dress, and curtsies. "I am Illyasviel von Einzbern, welcome to my manor."
The mood shift from desperate pleading to dignified courtly manner is nearly enough to get whiplash, but Fujimaru recovers admirably. "Fujimaru Ritsuka."
Illya smiles at her, then turns to look at you once more. "You needed to speak to me?"
"... Yes. Fujimaru?"
Fujimaru clears her throat. "My friend has gone missing, she's my height, wear's black armor and carries a cross-shield taller than she is. Purple eyes, pink hair. We were hoping you knew something about it."
Illya looks over to you. "You think I have her?"
"No." You reply earnestly. "But you are one of the few people I consider trustworthy that aren't immediately around me. So I wanted to check to see if you knew anything. Fujimaru isn't part of the grail war so I'm helping her."
"I don't know anyone like that," Illya says after a few seconds of staring at you, she had been gaining a small smile but wipes it away with visible effort.
"Then, could you help me look for her? I'm well aware of the speed of your servant."
"And why would I do that? I am a rival master in this war Shirou."
You tilt your head. "Because we're family?"
Illya blinks, once, then twice. Then she runs up the stairs. "Okay! I'm going to get dressed!"
She takes a right, then disappears through a door, leaving you standing there alone with Fujimaru.
"Well," Fujimaru says after a few seconds. "That was easy."
You were halfway sure Illya was about to kill you more than once, but still, yes. It ended well enough. But the question was… now what? You glance around the room, then to Fujimaru, then to the maid you could see waiting by the door where she had let you in. You could simply wait, you suppose, but this was the first time you were in the castle of your own free will.
… Hmm.
—
[] [Talk to the Maid]
[] [Look for Illya's Servant]
[] [Talk to Fujimaru]
