towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Saber (Alter) and You!
Setting: Dorms (Room 1-09), Graveyard (floor 48) and Forest (Floor 32)
Format: Starting Action, but I'll match.
Summary: A 'gift' from home makes Saber think on the past maybe a bit too much.
Warnings: none expected, but remember no superpowers on 32nd floor

[Dorm]

[When Saber had seen the basket of food, she was quite happy. After having been ill and with the limited food, she'd barely eaten anything all month. Of course, being a Servant, she didn't require food, but she so did love to eat. And then she saw what kind of food it was in the basket - things she hadn't had since she walked the hills of her homeland.

It made her go to hide it in her trunk and that's when she saw it. Wrought of the finest gold, sparkling sapphires inlaid into the band... it was her crown. The royal crown of King Arthur. She picked it up and held it before her, pale eyes drinking in the treasure. She could tell it was hers and not a reproduction; a king knows his crown.

Walking away from the trunk, she hesitantly put it on her head. It fit as she remembered, the weight as it should be and it rest perfectly. And then her eyes widened and she snatched the crown off her head. No, no, no, she didn't want to be king anymore. She wanted to reset things, change her destiny... redo the selection. Save Britain from herself.

So it was laying on her back holding the crown above her, turning it slowly in her hands with a distant look in her eyes, Saber would be found in Room 1-09. The door was half-open, unnoticed by Saber, as she thought about the past.]

[Graveyard]

[Saber walked through the graveyard, past stones, until she came to one that was broken. In rubble at her feet - the letters S BE visible in a few pieces - she stared down at the stone. She now knew who this grave belonged to. It was her own, but not her own. And so, thinking she was alone, she spoke to it in a quiet voice.]

A battle has been fought and is now over. Place your sword upon the ground and rest in the temporal peace. After dozing in the warmth of a dream, a new day will begin. The days keep passing by...

And we still chase the same star we once saw.

[Saber folded her hands into her greatcloak and bowed her head.]

Forest Floor 32]

[To clear her mind, Saber chose the forest where she felt the most human. Here her prana was quiet and she had to rely on skills and knowledge learned from her childhood, her time as a squire, and not the might of a Heroic Spirit. It was calming.

Quietly, she moved through the forest, downwind, as she tried to sneak up on a grazing deer. She was close, waiting patiently behind cover, when something made the deer raise his head, antlers brushing the branches above. And then it took off, having noticed whoever came upon Saber in her game of skill.

Sighing, she stood up, revealing her concealed presence.]

...great.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Zelda opens her mouth to protest - she has her own blanket, you know - but realizes this is probably not the best of times. Instead, she bows her head gratefully, then moves to sit on her own bed across from Saber.

Irisviel said she should avoid the topic of leadership, but...]

... The things they tend to give as "gifts" often have too much emotional weight attached to them or none at all, it would seem. If you are wondering why, I do not think there is any rhyme or reason to be found.

[But she is just too much of a bleeding heart when it comes to people who seem to be in pain in one way or another.]

[Bah. The furred cloak is warmer than that blanket.]

There is always a reason. We simply do not see it.

...and this place seems content to force me to remember the silver knight. And the betrayal.

[Well, maybe, but still.]

Would you like to talk about it? [She asks earnestly, without judgement or derision.] I will not force you, of course, but perhaps sharing the burden will allow one less thing for them to force you to think about, if that is their purpose.

You know my legend, Princess. The betrayal I speak of it easy to identify.

How do the tales say King Arthur died?

Simply because I know a legend does not mean all parts of it are entirely truthful. You are proof of that fact.

And simply because one knows a legend does not mean you cannot confide in someone. I may know the chronological order of events and the names of people and places, but I am only able to imagine what it would be like to experience such things.

I did the best I could at the time for my people, but I failed them. They turned upon me and revolted, lead by my own son.

...and I deserved it. I was not a good enough king.

And yet you are known as the Once and Future King to generations after your time, who still look to you as a figure of guidance during times of trial and darkness.

[Of course, Saber probably knows that, so she continues.]

When given a position of immense power, you did not become a tyrant, like so many would be tempted to do. You did the best you could, and for so many years you protected your people admirably. That is more than many kings and queens can say.

Forgive me for arguing against you, but I do not believe you deserved it at all.

'King Arthur does not understand human feelings.'

A king is not human, Zelda, so a king cannot protect the people with human emotions. That is what I believed and the oath I staunchly followed, so I contained those human feelings. I never showed any grief or worry I may have felt while on the throne. I punished criminals without error because emotion was never part of my decision.

The closer I became to being the perfect king, the more my people - my knights even - questioned me as a ruler. They believed that a human without emotion was not qualified to rule over others. I lost many of my knights, even one of my best friends, Lancelot. To this day, I still believe I am the one that drove him to his insanity.

And I did nothing when all this happened. I was not human anymore - I was a king - and such things, like abandonment, fear and betrayal were trivial. My people were unhappy, despite their prosperity, and I did nothing but continue to be the king I was, believing in my ideals and that of my people - sacrificing myself to those ideals.

It is no wonder they turned on me while I was off winning my greatest battle to finally bring Britain back to the land it was meant to be. I did all of that and they hated me because I would not let my emotion guide my rule.

[She scoffed, anger growing in her and the scrawling red mark on her neck appeared to grow and creep up her cheek.]

One truth I learned when I fell from grace was that the duty of a hero is to be hated: to be ostracized. And I was prepared for that from the day I drew the sword from the stone. If I must be hated, so be it. I will take up the darkness of 'All the World's Evil'. The obligation is mine, and I owe it to all of the lives that were lost because of me.

[...yeah, she really is the Batman of Nasuverse.]

Edited 2012-12-29 00:52 (UTC)