Drawing first Blood [/fin]

[Alexandra Ritter von Ehre]

1 Day before Day 1, 23:50

The pale moonlight was the only witness to the cruel game that had ended only a couple of seconds before a young magus stepped into the one-family-house. A small family consisting of a mother, father and teenage boy had lived in that house.

-crack-

The breaking piece of glass was only one of many, scattered on the ground and the flickering light just another signal to tell that something was not okay. A fresh smell of iron was in the air, but the girl had already known that all hope for those 3 was lost and paid it no heed. The little massacre was a sight that made her heart jump in joy. She could not have done it any better herself, yet it also was a bit problematic to have this little bloodshed intruding on her summoning ceremony.

A smacking sound drew her attention to one of the corners and she identified the source as some strange mix between a spider and a big dog. The word aesthetic did not really fit it, but it was still quite interesting to watch. She fearlessly approached the dark creatures who had chosen the youngest of this family as a meal and knelt down next to it.

"My, look what we have here. Couldn't you have waited a little longer? Now I need to take a hotel room and they were so nice to let me stay." She sighed and examined the disembodied head, which had been cleaned very thoroughly. "I see that you were hungry." It was not the first time for Alexandra, the younger of the Ritter von Ehre sisters to see a human skull, but she had to admit that he had been more attractive with a proper face. Her gloved hand nonetheless picked the remaining piece up.

"You are so beautiful lady!" she began to say trying to imitate a male voice, while moving its jaw accordingly. She enjoyed the little drama show like a little child playing with a doll. In this scene she was not only the flattering Skull Boy, but herself as well an she began to blush playing the embarrassed maiden.

"Oh, don't say that. It's not appropriate to lose your head over me hihihih" -crck- The sound was a serious mood killer. "...Sheesh, you should've eaten more calcium. Just look at you." It did not take a specialist to see that the jaw had decided to free itself from the rest of the skull.

"You broke it..." She glared at the monstrosity and threw the skull at it before turning to the blood smeared door that lead to the cellar. "Roaaar!" The beast was not happy about Alex' mistreatment, but had no time to attack the lady with purple hair, before something much stronger and bigger decided to eliminate the annoying little critter.

Sheer destructive power reflected in the dark, muscular physical shape of the monstrosity, but just like the others it did not seem to feel any greater interest in harming the Noble. Alexandra felt like there was a bond between them. Shapeless, boundless hatred, enough that this creature could stem from one of her dreams. Of course they were not hers, but it did not matter at the moment. "That's really cute, but there is no need to be jealous, my dear. Oh, look at the time. I need to hurry."

Without any further delay for games and her personal enjoyment, she walked with haste into the cellar and found the magic circle, fortunately still intact. Although she had enjoyed the little company, it was still nice to have none of those beasts around while performing the final steps of the ritual and time was really becoming an issue. She honestly did not feel the urge to discuss this little family drama with the local authorities or the church. Even less without being the actual culprit.

Her magic circuits came to life and also the air in the room seemed to flare alive when the magic circle began to glow after hearing the first verse. "Oh Stein der Gruendung, grosser Herzog des Vertrags. Hoer mich an im Namen des grossen Lehrers, Schweinorg. Forme die fallenden Winde zu einem schuetzenden Wall und schliesse die Tore in alle Richtungen. Erhebe die Wege ueber die Krone um den Pfad zum Koenigreich zu oeffnen. Schliessen." The energy rose and so did the intensity of the circles light."Schliessen."

She repeated her lines a few times, preparing herself for using some of her own blood. "Fuenf Perfektionen fuer jede Wiederholung. Und nun nehme die Siegel anstatt meiner. Setze." The od in the air became even thicker and arcane light blended her eyes, before she adapted. Hmm, midnight is close The rest of the incantation ran smooth from her lips, like she had hypnotized herself, every single line left her mouth like a machine and her blood hit the circle.

"Und nun erscheine gesegnet durch dies blutrotes Kirschwasser." A dark smirk grew on her face, after the ceremony had reached its peak when the clock reached 0:00. It was not the most beautiful of places, and calling it according to plan was a bad lie, but she could already see the first sign of her future servant. A couple of seconds left and they could leave this place.

[Sigurd Fafnesbane]

I am Sigurd Fafnesbane. No, I am no Servant¹. I am no familiar summoned to the world to enact the whims of some Master². I am the Sigurd Fafnesbane of legend. I am the one who slew the dragon Fafnir, who served the King Gunther. I am the man blessed by Odin himself, the knight who would be the greatest of them all, a knight betrayed. I am Sigurd Fafnesbane, the one sitting atop the Throne of Heroes.

The Records of the Sixth Grail War, as much a fiasco as that was, lie before me. Out of boredom, I access these Records. What manner of debauchery and dickery would my lesser counterpart engage in?

We will have to find out.

---
¹_{Really, who came up with that name?}
²_{Oh, those assholes. Magiiii....!}

---

He was Sigurd Fafnesbane... Saber... no, not that. He was a shadow of the true Fafnesbane, merely Saber¹. He felt a calling, a solemn voice whispering to him from the black. An inexorable demand, a call to arms. At first, Saber resisted, but for only a moment². He willed his presence to surge forth, to answer the summoning. For the briefest of moments, he felt a brief pang of disappointment emanating from another being³. He ignored it, drawing on a power beyond comprehension, intertwined with a brief touch of mortal magecraft.

With a brief clap of thunder, the Servant broke the barrier of the murky nevernever between the real and the unreal. Twin, yellow baleful eyes peered out of the darkness, glaring at Alexandra Ritter Von Ehre, ignoring the entirety of his surroundings. All of his attention, all of his focus, all were directed towards the violet-haired woman, who merely waited for him. Two gleaming horns curved into the night, heralding the fallen knight clad in burnished grey armor. His heavy, azure cloak swept the earth.

Briefly, Saber merely stood in the circle, silent, thinking. He was returned to this world. Though formed of prana, he breathed, he felt, he saw, he lived. Yet, he was summoned for war. He was summoned to blindly serve another lord. Briefly, he clenched a gauntleted fist, before relaxing his grip. At the very least, he would have to serve in this war. He would fight. He would win. He would vanquish. He would claim the Grail by right of might, and accept that last, dying wish.

He was Saber⁴.

Then, with a sharp exhalation, he moved. Ponderously, with a kind of slow grace, Saber stepped towards his Master, dragging his weapon behind him. Where he walked, the world shrieked as his cruel blade drove casual, gouging furrows in ground. Finally, the armorclad knight stopped before Alexandra Ritter Von Ehre. He stiffly inclined his head, a bare, brief movement. Then, in a tone betraying no emotion, he growled with a voice like crackling fire, more monstrous than melodious, "I am Servant Saber, called to war. You are my Master." These words were demanded, not asked⁵.

---
¹_{Damn straight. I certainly would not have handled the war the way he did.}
²_{Oh, that's what it was? Thought it was just a brief, brief mindfart. Mystery solved.}
³_{Probably some asshole bishie lancer.}
⁴_{And, as you might know, mightiest of Servants, by default.}
⁵_{Because I don't take crap from nobody.}

[Alexandra Ritter von Ehre]

"Hihihihi." She began to giggle, exulting her servants appearance. He had kept her waiting for quite a while. Only some seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity ... around a months or so, for her. It was not required to take a look at her own body to confirm the contract, and Alexandra admired the surface of her warrior's armor. His advance seemed rough, yet graceful. Fortunately it was not necessary to keep anything of this building intact.

Still, she was almost embarrassed, not able to offer a proper place worthy of a Noble, just a cellar. But it had been the best choice and in the near surrounding the most cleanest of rooms. As a warrior he would not mind, the sweet fragrance of death in the air and the protruding smell of iron, telling of the monster's feast. The setting itself was perfect for her intended summon, albeit having attempted to go with a low profile at the start up, but the cape got dirty!!

If someone should dirty it, then it should be her. She wanted to stain him, turn his shiny armor in black, draw the lines of blood on his armor, to be a perfect reflection of her desires. He was simply perfect for her plans, each passing step of the armored man making her more confident to have succeeded with the summon.

He finally halted his march. Saber, hmmm~

A knight for a knight, or should she call herself an evil witch? Perhaps a princess! "Yes, Saber, I am your master." She responded with joy in her voice, before putting her slender arms around the neck of her servant. Almost hanging, unable to cover the big difference in height, the supposed successor of a line of Noble Knights, betraying their ideals one after another, continued with a sultry voice.

"The princess has finally found her loyal knight." Her eyes looked longingly into those cold citrine, only looking at her. They would march into war together, slaying all those hypocrites that were speaking about peace, while beating their wives at home, caring parents, who were only waiting to get rid of their children to still their sinful hunger for pleasure.

She'd enjoy to break them and throw them into despair to be loitered in chaos. A picturesque drama of lost souls trying to grab the souls of others, dragging them down to share their pain, all for one greater purpose. The nurturing of great evil~

"Let's leave this place. I am sure you would not mind carrying me.~"

No matter how many might try to stop them, they would gloriously break through the rows of lambs, praying to a non existent god on this so holy soil, plunging their minds into despair before relieving them from their whimpering existence and crushing their tormented bodies once and for all. It was so beautiful~~~ Alexandra was in pure bliss, her mind filled with nothing but a thirst for destruction. Perhaps some neighbours would still be alive, praying foolishly, while something was scratching yearning on their door.

Her knight would not need to consume human souls, they were weak and ugly, not when he had her, but it was in another sense just beautiful to feed on them. She wanted to see it. But this little feast would need to wait. The church was the most desired target for violet haired woman, yet their power not to be underestimated. Foolishly walking into the dragon's den without being prepared? Even the greatest of enjoyments should come after work and preparations. They had to be cooked well, before consumption.

[Sigurd Fafnesbane]

Now that Saber had acclimatized himself to his new surroundings, he allowed himself to cast a sweeping glance. The room was dark. It was dank. It was dirty. It reeked of filth and mold. But it was all real.

With a swift and short jerk, he glanced at the ceiling. Beyond it, he sensed a bubbling morass, a whirling mass of prana given form... certainly not on the level of a Servant, but still somewhat formidable. Oddly, it did not attack. If anything, it was docile, a growling, mewling beast. Was his Master the reason for this?

Saber did not have the time to complete the thought as his new Master, belying her bubbly personality and frail exterior,¹ gleefully jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost standing on her tiptoes.²

Beneath the steel and the dragon, Saber allowed himself a rare smile. At least his Master was made of sterner stuff than he had initially assumed. Perhaps they did have a chance at winning this war. His Master continued unflinchingly, gazing into his eyes.

"The princess has finally found her loyal knight." Saber bristled. Even though it was not his life, he still remembered Sigurd's fall. He remembered the princess Gudrun, so enamored with the Dragonslayer that she had him bewitched and drugged just so that he would serve her. He rememberedsaw³ the deception, the lies, and the betrayal.

Even though he was this woman's Servant, he was not her Knight. He would be no man or woman's Vassal any longer.

Saber remained silent as the Master continued on playfully, ignoring her teasing. "Let's leave this place. I am sure you would not mind carrying me.~"⁴ She asked coyly.

Was she honestly that capricious? That flighty? Or was she merely stringing him along, attempting to ingratiate herself to him? Without even hesitating, he ignored her demand. That was too demeaning.⁵ He would not be so easily fooled by these sort of people. No longer. No more.

He shook his head once, and without pausing to allow Alexandra a chance to extricate herself from his neck, he turned towards the basement steps, and ascended them.

This was a new world, a new war. He, Saber, did not care for the rest of the world. It could burn, it could thrive. But for the Servant, there was only one goal: The Grail.⁶

----
¹_{Seriously, not bad. She had a lot more balls than my first summoner, who immediately pissed his pants when he saw me eating some asshole. Godsdamned jerk burned his last command seals to force me to commit suicide. I was Rider at the time, so I probably would have lost anyways. But still. Pisses me off.}
²_{I reiterate. A LOT more balls.}
³_{My memories. Not Saber's. Mine.}
⁴_What.
⁵_{Denied, Alexandra! Denied! Denied a thousand times over!}
⁶_{Winner attitude there, champ.}

[Alexandra Ritter von Ehre]

A mass of molded flesh, the whimpering voices of lost souls, trying to grab the next innocent to join them in their gory, cruel, pleasure of absolute agony. Derived from normality, they were no more than things, nothing that could return to Akasha and the world would be full of that mass. Faces, robbed of their humanity, swollen and close to bursting with mucopus, after monstrosities had mutilated them. Alexandra was reminded of a swarm of bees performing their wonders on the human skin and giggled during her dream state, while still holding unto the knight.

Unlike her fantasy and her desire to turn the world into that messy glory, her body less than strong, could not keep up. She fell and awoke from her dreams quite roughly. Worse than the hard landing on her bottom was the smack to her pride. He had rejected her!! He did not even deem her worthy enough to give a proper answer, he was just another jerk, that did not deserve to govern, rather than serve. She stood up, and almost lost her balance again. He had dared to hurt her with his march of ignorance. Gritting her teeth, she looked after him, before showing more of her undesirable self.

"I see, Saber. You are just like the others." Enough of those moral apostles, enough of getting betrayed, enough of people stealing her life, her love. This servant would not betray her, he would not get any chance for it. She had changed, her power grew beyond even her own expectations and all she had to do was losing her feelings of pity. And this was just a handicap for her anyway. Getting rid of it helped to live on, until she destroyed everything. Many desired to get to Akasha for eternal life, she preferred to become the Anti-Akasha and destroy all creation. Of course it would require access, but all she required for that were souls, just like Saber.

But, despite her initial thought of just killing him and thinking about another servant, he was not allowed to go, yet. She would still play with him, and drown him in madness. "Not much of a knight... I am disappointed, but if you do not wish to be the knight on my side, you can be the slave, huhuhu."

Her sultry voice was enough to make people imagine worms creeping under their skin and slowly trying to approach the brain to seize control over mind and body, and in Saber's case it was not far from the truth. He would soon have to give in, or at least losing another part of himself to his master's control.

"I demand absolute obedience, Slave!" With this short phrase, she had placed a clear order and one of the command seals was gone. But she did not simply stop at giving him the order, she was angry enough to continue and explain what she had in mind, albeit of course not a part of the command anymore. Her voice on the other hand was not filled with anger, rather than joy. She just enjoyed the explanation too much.

"When I ask you for a ride, you will go on all fours to carry me, if I tell you to jump, you will ask how high. When I want a glass of freshly pressed apple juice, you will go to the neighbor's garden, and get the apples. Do you understand, Saber~?"

He had angered her severely and that was retaliation. It was certainly not the most power oriented version of a Command Spell Use, but quite efficient for her intentions. A servant so unwilling to follow his master, one who did not even care if she got hurt was totally useless. She had changed that, and the dark smile on her face just grew. "I am sure that we will enjoy ourselves, big time. How about carrying me now?"

[Sigurd Fafnesbane]

As the master tumbled and fell to the floor, Saber took two more thunderous steps forward, before gaining the faintest inkling of a hint that something was a little off. As the master slowly rose, dusting herself off, she spoke, through gritted teeth, "I see, Saber. You are just like the others." This time, she spoke in a no-nonsense, almost businesslike manner. To only a raised eyebrow, the ¹Master continued. "Not much of a knight... I am disappointed, but if you do not wish to be the knight on my side, you can be the slave, huhuhu."

Saber barely spared a shoulder towards his monologuing master, only slightly glancing back.

Then. With the force of thunder and the command of a king, she barked: "I demand absolute obedience, Slave!"² Within his mind, he could feel a worm already burrowing its way within his mind, a hot knife peeling away his will's many-layered defenses.³

To the external world, Saber merely remained rigid, unmoving, still as stone. But within, it was a climactic battle. He ignored the master's posturings and banter as he dealt with the seal inexorably bearing down upon his power. Despite himself, Saber had to admire the woman's strength. Despite the weak command, her will was almost enough to assert some level of dominion over him.⁴

Almost. He was Servant Saber. He would not fall so easily to any man or woman. With an effort of will, he threw off the brunt of his Master's command, the seal's power already spent.⁵

However, there was still a light pressure slightly influencing him. Saber shrugged. Probably just some aftereffect -

Another demure smile. "I am sure that we will enjoy ourselves, big time. How about carrying me now?"⁶

For a moment, Saber considered ignoring her demand again - and the pressure intensified, causing the Saber to sway on the spot - albeit momentarily, a slight twitch of a movement.⁷

Letting loose a heavy sigh that was either one of weary resignation or submission, Saber strode over to Alexandra. With each step, the pressure lessened, until it returned to a buzzing white noise as he stood over his master. She smiled, certain that victory was hers -

And then Saber, faster than the eye could see, reached down, plucking her by the leg, causing her hair to barely sweep the barren stone ground.⁸ He cast an inquisitive eye over her once, before ambling towards the stairs for the second time in as many minutes, still carrying his master, leg up.⁹

Halfway to the stairs, however, Saber relented, and set his master on his shoulder. Without sparing her a glance, Saber growled slightly, neither sneer nor smirk evident in his voice, "Well done, Master."

----
¹_{quite-possibly unhinged}
²_{Wait, what? Did she actually - I don't even -}
³_{Fod damn. She did. She used a command seal. On the most vague demand possible. Fod damn.}
⁴_{No, you're just fucking weak.}
⁵_{Hey, you aren't all useless after all, it would seem.}
⁶_{She... actually thinks... fuck wow.}
⁷_{... I rescind the above.}
⁸_{And suddenly, pantyshots. Okay, none here, but it FITS.}
⁹_{She never specified.}

[Alexandra Ritter von Ehre]

His movements halted quite soon after her command had been issued. It was not only a try or a vague wish, but she was fully aware of her quite whimsical command and its effect. Not even the most powerful of wills could resist her, and this just gave a boost to her ago, albeit she had to admit that the servant was quite more capable than her rude tongue had stated.

He certainly tried hard to avoid falling into her clutches, but resistance was futile. Besides, did he really despise her so much? She certainly was not in her best shape, walking through this bloody mess of a house, but she was not ugly, was she? Or could he see inside of her? There she was an abomination and no one knew better than herself. It was also easy to tell whom she despised the most. There was just one answer to that... herself.

Maybe Alexandra should not worry about that too much right now, though. A part of herself was still interested in normal things. Finding love, friends and happiness, but she was not allowed to get those anymore. Not after all the horrible things she had done, not after what the world had done. Mankind would die, and if someone deserved to end it, then it should be her. At least, that was her thought. Saber came closer and closer, each step letting a bit of small debris fall from the ceiling. One could clearly see and hear the weight of his massive armor and that the house had its best times behind it.

The purple haired young appearing lady stopped her malicious grin and looked up at her servant, despite having some interest in his profile, currently more interested in snatching a peek on his face. Her gaze was almost dreamily, the curiosity of a child coming through the outer layer of a possibly sadistic master. She was about to raise her voice for a question, but could only utter a surprised gasp, when the unnamed servant showed another display of strange, quite unsuave methods.

Pain shot through her leg, when he picked her up, faster than she could perceive and her entire weight hang on that single part of her body. It felt a bit like it was ripping off any moment, and her dress, unable to defy gravity, began to roll back and expose more of her body than she was willing to show in this kind of situation.

It was a tad unromantic, or at least this rough kind of taking seemed quite improper and outdated in her eyes that tried to reorient while being in this upside down position, strains of hair not only beginning to sweep the ground but also obstructing her vision.

But .... she did not wince or scream. She remained quiet. Even if he would threaten to rip her apart, Alexandra would not cry. She had withstood pain to come to this point, so unbearable and horrible that many bodies or minds would shatter. Yet... her mind may already be broken beyond repair. Even herself had realized that and in some nights found it hard to bear this knowledge.

Fortunately enough, he seemed to change his approach and stopped to tarnish his master's appearance any further. She could care less if other masters would see her in that awkward predicament, as she would just kill them and sending their souls off to feed the grail, but a more proper first meeting was preferred. Least not, as it was not the greatest of pains, but still quite uncomfortable.

He used his strength to set the light weight on his shoulder and she found enough place on his broad shoulders. The armor was cold, as to be expected of steel and certainly not the softest of seats either, but she felt some strange warmth, like from a father to his little daughter, while carrying her from one sight to the next.

Of course it was just a faked feeling, artificial like a part of her personality, and the relation between herself and Saber. It was no more than a feeble sentiment of an alternate reality, when her father would have loved her, like he was supposed to, instead of throwing her away, like a defect and unnecessary product.

The unavoidable flash, an image of a deceased person, giving her a comforting smile briefly showed up in front of her eyes. She had loved him. It was only a one sided love and yearning, but he was still nice to this broken product and yet it was her fault that he had died. A small tear rolled down her cheek and unnoticed by herself dropped on the solid armor, only a faint, almost unhearable sound paying witness of its existence.

"You are really unexpectedly rough,"

she stated, not unaffected by the overbearing sadness in her heart.

"I hope that you will direct this disdain and violence to your enemies and not your master. ...let's go."

She had better things to do than wasting one seal after another to keep him from ignoring or worse, hurting her.

"It would also be nice if you could tell me your name and your desire."

The Ritter Magus did not know herself, how this sudden interest came to existence, or why she felt nostalgic. There were many memories in her head, seeming so important, yet so distant and extrinsical that she could not fathom them to be her own. She even had already forgotten the name of her love, only her feelings remained, and twisted into self loathing and hatred. Perhaps her desire was to find out, how ugly the man under the mask was, or if he had still some light.

Huhuhu.. light that should be tainted... YES!

"Who are you, Saber?"

[Sigurd Fafnesbane]

To give his master credit, she took it quite well. She did not wince nor flinch, nor did she even elicit a faint cry. She merely remained silent, even as Saber clomped his way up the stairs. After he set his Master on his shoulder, she spoke. "You are really unexpectedly rough." Did Saber detect the slightest hint of reproach in her voice? Perhaps. But he was not after her approval. He was after the Grail – anything else was of little consequence. He gave no indication or sign of acknowledgement.

"I hope that you will direct this disdain and violence to your enemies and not your master. ...let's go." A slight heave and a shake. Sure, that made sense... why not?

"It would also be nice if you could tell me your name and your desire." The shadow of his Master's command seal pressed upon him once more. He remained silent as she continued. "Who are you, Saber?"

As the Servant reached the top of the stairs, he shoved the door open, taking care to duck under the lintel. There, he was faced with nothing more than a mongrel, a massive hound. The Barghest, normally a fearsome nightmare of a beast, was oddly... docile? It seemed to be either ignorant of both Servant and Master, or prostrating itself... then again, it could have just been licking at the remains of its prey, too focused on the spoils of the hunt.

A vicious smirk flitted across Saber's face beneath his helmet. He needed a warmup anyways. Yet, the seal was still pressing down, almost making him a bit more sluggish than usual. He sighed. He wasn't about to wait to explain things to her, so...

"They called me Sigurd." He stomped towards the beast, dragging his weapon behind him, the sword screeching as it tore a furrow in the waxed wooden floor. The Barghest slowly turned away from its meal, suspiciously sniffing at the Servant, as if aware of its impending doom.

"Sigurd Fafnesbane." He raised a fist, swinging it at the grail monster lightly - by his standards, at the very least. The creature loosed a furiously pitiful howl as it was sent flying, smashing through the wooden wall, crashing into the tiled kitchen. Snarling furiously, the creature bounded through the hole, loosing a gout of black balefire.

Though it was nothing more than a perfunctory motion, Saber grasped the side of his cloak, sweeping it in front of the onrushing gout of flame, shunting it aside. He started walking towards the beast, unheeding and uncaring of its burning flames, taking care to shield his Master behind his own armor. "This," he said, raising his weapon, "Is Gram, also called Balmung by my father, granted by Odin himself, who cleaved the Branstock tree, until a warrior worthy enough would claim it." He swept out with the aforementioned sword, cleaving the burning fires out of existence with an air of finality.

"I have slain the dragon Fafnir and claimed his hoard." Sigurd broke into a light dash, holding Gram to the side lightly. The Barghest retreated as it ineffectually sprayed more balefire, each and every gout bouncing off and around the Servant's armor. Seeing the futility of its acts, it howled, accelerating prana through its entire form. With the chill wind, it grew. It hunched over as its jaws elongated, its canines growing more wicked. However, before it could finish its transformation, a single stroke from Gram parted its head from its body. As the beast collapsed in a heap of bone and flesh and shadow, Sigurd casually inspected Gram, noting, with faint distaste, the creature's blood. He wiped the blade on the creature's pelt.

"Then defiled his corpse. Swam of his blood, ate of his heart." Sigurd raised a booted foot, and stomped on the corpse once, then twice, then thrice... only when the being's carcass crossed from meat to slurry to dust did Sigurd relent.

Turning away from the violated and devastated grail beast, Sigurd continued, balancing Gram on the floor. "I am Sigurd Fafnesbane, called to war... And my wish...? To become the dragon that will conquer everything... even the Throne of Heroes."¹

Turning his head to his Master, who was still perched on his shoulder, he asked, "And what of you, Master. What are you called, and what is your desire?"

----
_{Sorry about not commenting earlier, but come on. Would you?}
¹_{wat no}

[Alexandra Ritter von Ehre]

Sigurd Fafnesbane.

She had finally received an answer and wondered why he could not answer a simple question like this before the application of a command seal. It could not be that he was shy, deep within this massive armor and steeled muscles, could it? The master of the warrior known as Sigurd in his previous life almost snickered at the thought but casted it aside, while listening to the rest of his elaboration on his person.

He seemed quite busy during his speech, while wasting one of the stupid creatures the grail brought forth. It was dumb, no more than an animal that only had feeding in its repertoire, but it was beautiful in its own way. Dark, destructive and meant to feed on the weaker. It had performed its only objective quite well, until it met someone who was just more powerful than itself.

"Huhuhu."

She could not hide her bemusement of the situation and did not feel inclined to do it either. Yes, the creature was beautiful, but even more beautiful was to see said beauty getting smashed to bits. What irony! A weapon of destruction getting trashed. It was just wonderful. The creature had no chance to avoid the impeding doom, and Alexandra wondered how well the dragon slayer would perform against the stronger enemies. She could feel the grail beast's remains return to its origins when Saber turned away from it, quietly listening to the most interesting part of his words, the goal.

Becoming the dragon that will conquer everything... even the Throne of Heroes.

She liked the idea, although ready to modify that wish a little. It fitted him, and also did match her own desire to some extent. But his question still caused some problems. She just could not find a proper answer.

"Hmmm..... what was it again?"

Some seconds passed when she hurt her brain to get the answer, but her request to herself was denied.

"Huh? I can't remember?"

She held her own head in disbelief and shook it, like someone trying to deny that something had just happened, but it happened.

"...Cherry? No. HAHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T REMEMBER!

The purple haired master laughed hysterically, raising her head towards the sky, torn between despair, sorrow and madness.

"This is funny, isn't it?"

Of course it was not funny, rather than just another proof of losing herself. A part of herself was scared, but another just too grateful to accept it. Maybe it was just another painful part of her past that was better of forgotten or a worthy punishment. And she had better things to do than getting all gloomy. She had a servant and a good start into this little adventure.

"Well~~ It is not too important. Maybe I will remember this unimportant detail, later. But my wish is revenge on the world. I can't wait to destroy everything and you are the dragon who will devour all. I like the idea. We are a wonderful team. Destroy as much as you want. Eat until your soul can't take anymore. Feed on the ugliness of this world! You have my full support~"

She had begun the introduction of her plans with an astonishing amount of hatred in her voice, finally revealing something that could be called human. The end of her comment on the other hand, was just bemusement. The moon was gracing them with its blessing, it only did not have the best color. The sacred night, tying the destroyers together would soon come to its end, and this scene was only good for a curtain fall. Alexandra was done with this place and its inhabitants. She had not counted their death into consideration, nor was it her fault, but she still felt no sadness.

"It is a bit of a pity what they did to this place. I thought about using this house as a second Base, but it seems that we need to use the original house. It will take a while to get there from here. Just go out of the house and head east. Oh, and say hi to Pete. Bye Pete~"

She pointed to the skull, that had served earlier as an item for her little play and then waved energetically and friendly.

[Sigurd Fafnesbane]

Saber patiently waited for his Master's answer. She, still perched atop his shoulder, continued with her frivolities. She readied her answer, smiling... and then froze.

"Huh? I can't remember?" Saber remained silent, slightly bemused.¹ He briefly turned his head to his Master, slightly curious. Now, the woman seemed to be calming down slightly... "Huh? I can't remember?" she muttered quietly. She clasped her head in her hands and started violently shuddering, as if trying to recall something forgotten. Then the shaking subsided, and suddenly, she muttered, demurely at first, voice rising into a maddening cacophony: "...Cherry? No. HAHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T REMEMBER!"²

Saber nearly flinched - not out of fear, but rather the suddenness with which she shifted track, from tenderness³ to melancholia to a mad mirth. He merely waited as the last vestiges of her laughter died down, calming down.

"This is funny, isn't it?" No, it was hardly amusing. Playing to the whims of a capricious or unstable woman was not a priority of his... but then again, at least her desire, whatever it was, apparently complemented his own. Such a person was an oddity, a one-in-a-thousand. They were far too similar for him to not accept her as his Master. He had accepted her earlier, but that was out of necessity. For a brief moment, he felt a form of honest kinship with her.

So be it. She had accepted his wish, for better or worse. Saber only nodded mutely as he waited for his Master's next command, neither stance nor expression betraying any thoughts⁴. He was no schemer, only a warrior.

The woman then suggested that the two of them retreat to another house, presumably her workshop. For a brief moment, Saber briefly entertained the thought of immediately beginning the hunt, before discarding the thought. The war was still a mere flame, flickering from the start. But he knew that it would eventually erupt into an all-devouring inferno, ready to engulf and devastate all that stood within its path. But now, the day had not yet begun, and the Masters, hardly decided. He would hunt later.

With another curt nod, Saber turned to the door -

"Oh, and say hi to Pete. Bye Pete~" Again, the seal pressed on his mind. With something resembling a weary sigh, Saber glanced over his shoulder, at the skull, and waved at it, a short, brusque motion.

Turning back to the threshold, Saber kicked the door open, ripping the wooden thing off of its hinges. The Grail advised secrecy... at least, this way, the family's death could be explained on brigands.

Crouching under the doorway, taking care to not bump his Master's head against the frame, Saber exited into the black night, striding with purpose, guided by his Master's hand.

The War for the Grail had begun.
----
¹_{I swear, ONE MORE TRICK...}
²_{Okay. Slap her. Slap the SHIT out of her, seals be damned. Unless her name actually IS Cherry.}
³_{For lack of a better word, I guess.}
⁴_{What expression? HELMET! lrn2expressyourself!}