4Hello and welcome to a new project of mine, titled 'A Knight's True Wish'
This one is a bit different than my other fiction about the Fate universe and has a concept that I don't think many Fate fictions have.
First and foremost, there isn't any grail war going on, this is a romance story between Artoria Pendragon and an OC.
I know OC characters are always a hit or miss but I do hope I do this right, I have a good feeling about what I came up with.
Now enough babbling, enjoy the story! (PS: Mordred isn't born yet and Artoria has Caliburn, not Excaliber.)
A Knight's True Wish
Chapter 1: A Stranger
"And thus, the merchant demands compensation."
Yet another complaint about a drunken soldier who wreaked havoc around the city's marketplace, with how often this is starting to happen the king has begun to expect such stories from every report.
"And compensation he shall receive," announced the king. "Give the merchant fifty silver coins and punish the solider."
"It will be done, my lord." Said the deep and calm voice of Agravain.
"That is enough from your report for now, we shall continue this later." The king said but soon added. "Does anyone require an audience with me?"
"Only a few farmers that wish to complain, most likely." Said the king's steward.
The words caused the king to sigh before motioning for the castle gated to open. They were exhausted and wished to retire but being a king comes first, it was their duty to listen to the people's cries.
A sliver of relief ran through the king's cold heart upon seeing only four people come in. This was thankfully bound to end quickly.
The first was just as expected, a farmer, he begged for a small amount of money for his sick son and promised to repay upon harvesting and though the steward advised against it the king decided to spare two whole gold pieces, shocking the farmer in the process. With so much money he would undoubtedly get the best medicine for his son.
the second was a tavern-keeper, begging for justice to be served on a company of soldiers that wrecked her tavern and ruined her business. Artoria pinned a mental note to include more disciplinary training for the soldiers as she handed the woman a sack of copper pieces to repair her tavern and restock it.
the third man though was different, he walked forward and bowed to his king as respect, one knee on the ground and a hand resting on the other. He had a hood sewed into his dark tunic that covered his head and most of his face.
"Rise," The man complied immediately and his king spoke again. "What brings you here?"
the man's hand moved up to take off his hood.
And thus he revealed his long brown hair, it was long enough to almost surpass his shoulder. And it also revealed his sky-blue eyes and a light beard.
"Not much,"He quickly answered, drawing confusion on the king's face. "Instead, I just hoped to see you, my lord."
That was definitely a first... and even though it was slightly interesting, the king had more pressing matters to attend to. "And so you did, I hope you're satisfied but I have matters to attend to." The king said.
The man immediately stepped aside and spoke. "Of course." He said as he bowed and took his leave.
"I think you should have ordered that man to be whipped." Agravain scowled as he said so.
He was always so strict and straightforward with his advice which with all due fairness was a fact that had its merits but it also had its flaws.
"That is unneeded, dear Agravain, for he broke no laws and showed no disrespect."
Agravain glowered. "I'd hardly call that respectful."
...
...
The king of Britain had finally retired back to their bedroom, exhausted but not willing to admit it.
By now the moon has fully risen and most of the honest townfolk had returned to their homes. The king ordered that a party of the older and wiser guards patrol the streets of Camelot to make sure that no more drunken soldiers can make a mess.
While the king never cared for their gender they still admitted to possessing the body of a woman and since none would dare to enter their quarters without permission the king felt safe enough to sleep with clothes that comfort her body.
And so they changed into a pure white velvet robe instead of the armor they had been wearing And made their way to the bed. Gunivere was attending a foreign wedding and wasn't expected to return for at least a month and a half.
Though the king was not worried since with her was a company of knights led by Sir Lancelot himself. She would not need more protection.
The king gently lifted the warm covers and slipped under them, her head rested on the soft pillow as she closed her eyes.
Unlike most nights, they had a hard time falling asleep even with how exhausted they were.
That in itself did not bother her. In fact, the only thing bothering her was the reason why she wasn't falling asleep.
It was almost petty.
She found herself thinking about the man. The one that came to the castle only to see her.
For some reason, she could remember his face as if she was looking at it at this very moment. She felt slight regret for not asking his name but it was already too late.
The king sighed inwardly, they noticed that the candle in the room had almost run out even though it was full when she lit it.
She sighed as she realized she had probably been thinking about him for the better part of the last hour... strange.
She blew out the candle and tried to force her mind to stop thinking as she closed her eyes, tomorrow was bound to be tiring and she needed the rest.
...
...
"My king, may God bless you with a safe journey!" Was a line amongst the many the king heard as they and a small company of knights on horseback rode through Camelot.
The king had a quest that must be accomplished, while Gunivere was busy attending a wedding in a foreign kingdom the king would do the same with another kingdom. These acts of goodwill could be the key to maintaining peace for the year.
The Once and Future king noticed that a mother had her small son lifted in her arms, the boy had his hand extended and a flower in hand.
The king held out her hand as she slowly rode past them and took the flower. It was a white tulip. She stuck it in between her hilt and her holy sword.
Time went on, the king and knights were now in the countryside. Sadly though, none of the knights were from the Round Table as each of them was engaged in another task so they couldn't accompany the king. It got to the point that Bedivere had offered to drop any quests he needed to attend to so he can accompany his king.
But of course, she rejected, mostly because she didn't need much aid, the knights she took with her were more than enough to attend a simple wedding.
After a while, the king decided it was time to rest the horses and so they set camp in the forest, they were still in a friendly territory so there wasn't too much of a need to keep their guard up.
It was almost evening and the king wrapped themselves with their blue cloak, the fur reaching her neck warming her. She found one of the older knights sitting on a chopped down tree close to the fire they started.
She believed that she remembers his name. "Sir Lern?" Damn it, she didn't mean for it to sound like a question.
He looked up, his eyes had a comforting feel to them. "Close, it is Lerno. My king." He said it in a way that made it sound like a light-hearted jest.
"Of course, I am sorry." The king said. She soon added. "May I sit next to you?"
The knight immediately smiled. "Of course! It would be an honor." He made space for his liege to sit as he said so.
The king sat and examined her surroundings after setting Caliburn on the ground next to her. She hated to admit but she didn't know the names of a lot of these knights
"Do you have children, Sir Lern...o?" She almost said his name wrong again.
It seemed like he noticed it as he chuckled. "No, my wife passed away from sickness when I was just a squire... I loved her dearly and never remarried." His face looked slightly grief-stricken.
"I am sorry for your loss..." Was all the king managed to say. She might seem emotionless but she still had a heart. Only it rarely shows.
"Bah, love is a weird thing." He said. "It is both a blessing and a curse. A loyal dog and an ungrateful venomous serpent." He paused. "A loyal companion and a Treacherous assassin."
That was a... unique explanation.
"But enough about that." He grabbed two rabbits that were cooked on the fire. He handed one to the king, impaled on a stick.
"Thank you." She murmured as she took it. It looked cooked well enough and she was, in fact, starving.
The king ripped off the leg. the insides were dry and not full of juice but it wasn't like she complained.
She bit into the meat, juices sprayed all over her face. Strange, it had some juice after all.
She turned around to ask for a towel from the knight next to her.
Only to be met with a blood-freezing sight.
The knight sitting next to her had an arrow sticking out of their neck. The juice that sprayed over her face was his blood.
Without even thinking she found herself reaching for Caliburn... only it wasn't there.
She tilted her head upward only to barely make out the shape of a leg as a hard boot kicked her in the face. The impact strong enough that she fell to the ground.
It followed by intense dizziness but she could make out the sound of knights running to her aid. With her blurry vision, she looked at them.
The situation though. Was nowhere near over.
Her vision straightened and she noticed the carnage start. Not between her soldiers and whoever attacked her but between her soldiers and themselves.
The soldiers in the backlines started backstabbing the ones in front.
She winced from the pain in her head and screamed in her mind as she realized why she did not remember the names of some of her knights.
It's because she never knew them! They were assassins in disguise!
It all happened so fast. With her soldiers surprised, surrounded and betrayed... they never stood a chance.
And that's not even counting the fact that they were ill-prepared for such an attack since they were still in friendly lands.
Her heart dropped as she saw the last of her real knights fall. He was Called Ishnes. Her loyal bodyguard for five years. If they managed to take him down this fast then these assassins were not cheap but probably insanely expensive. Not anyone can beat that man even when he is outnumbered.
She started counting her enemies. Her soldiers managed to bring their numbers down to twelve. One of whom visibly had Caliburn in his hand.
They all laughed as they made their way to the king. She unhilted the sword of the fallen knight next to her. Swearing to avenge her men, she charged at the assassins.
Sadly, she forgot to count the two enemies behind her.
As she ran she suddenly lost balance and was flung to the ground and dropped the sword. She felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder and cursed upon realizing that she had been hit with an arrow.
Her arms were quickly pinned to the ground by the assassins. "Let go of me you rascals!" She demanded but it was to no avail.
Her eyes shut unwillingly as the man wielding Caliburn came out of nowhere and stabbed her thigh with her own sword.
She gritted her teeth and bit the inside of her mouth. The pain was intense and the shock made it worse.
But it wasn't over, the sick bastard started twitching with the sword and digging deeper with it into her thigh, that's when the yells and screams she had contained inside burst out all at once.
The sick pigs were enjoying this! She thought, her eyes still closed because of the pain.
And finally. The sword stopped twitching in her leg, her yells calmed as she opened her eyes.
The man who stole her sword, he had an arrow piercing his chest!
Not only that, the others, one after the another they started getting picked off as well. The speed that the arrows were being fired at indicated only one person shooting but the precision and accuracy were near perfection.
The assassins started running amok like wild deer until they were no more.
The king's vision was getting blurry and she started fading into unconsciousness but before that, she could make out a pair of hands moving towards her way and felt herself being lifted off the ground.
The last thing she saw was a pair of sky-blue eyes.
...
...
Her eyes snapped open, what in the world?
She had vague memories of what happened... they were ambushed, betrayed and cut down within a minute.
But she somehow survived.
More memories came back to her. The reason for her survival was most likely related to the arrows fired before she fell unconscious.
A sudden surge of pain reminded her of the wound in her thigh. Curse those rascals!
Deciding to keep their composure, the king examined the surrounding area.
She was only a few steps away from where the battle took place. Some of her men were still lying in the same place but she quickly figured out that most were buried thanks to the bumps coming out of the ground and the obvious decrease in the number of bodies.
She herself was set against a tree. Looking at herself. Her clothes were torn and the armor above them was in horrible shape.
The torn parts on her clothes only revealed her arrow wound and thigh wound. Someone has been treating her wounds.
She slowly staggered to her feet, how long has it been? She felt like she hadn't moved in years and her throat was drier than a desert.
"King Arthur!" A shocked yet familiar voice rang out.
Her eyes quickly made out the face of Ishnes, he survived!
For a moment, the king felt relieved. "Ishnes, You survived!"
The bodyguard dropped the sack in his hand and ran up to his liege.
"But how? I saw you get stabbed in the chest." She said with awe as he made his way to her.
And just like everything else that happened recently, her hopes suddenly shattered.
She saw as an arrow hit him in the head, her eyes, as if with pure instinct, located the shooter of the arrow.
She only had enough time to see that he was wearing a mask before she ran up behind a tree for cover.
She winced from pain, she stepped too hard and too fast, her wound opened up again.
"It's all right. I'm not shooting any more arrows." She heard a male voice coming from the other side of the tree.
Was he making fun of her? Her blood started boiling at that thought. He even killed her Bodyguard right in front of her eyes!
"Look, I know this might sound weird, but that is not your friend- err... knight." the man called out again. "Just look at him." He added with a sigh.
Her eyes switched to the fallen man, obviously fully expecting to see him dead.
But again, everything seemed to turn from bad to worse. Or in this case, weird to weirder.
"See?" The male voice said... wait, why did he sound so smug?
Instead of Ishnes lying dead on the ground, she found a woman wearing a black cloak dead in his place.
"Who are you?" The king asked with an authoritative tone to her voice.
"Just a man, really. I don't think anything about me would interest you." He said, for some reason, it felt like he genuinely believed what he just said.
Artoria was confused, she knew some people are calm but this man is speaking way too casually for the situation they were in. It was almost annoying.
Silence rang for a few moments as The injured king thought about what she should say.
Was this the part when she needed to ask him the 'How do I know that I can trust you' question? Because with all due honesty, everything was pretty obvious. He was probably the man who saved her.
She just had one more thing to ask though.
"This woman, she appeared as if she was my bodyguard...how?"
Thinking about it, her question did have some meaning to it but he still thought she'd have already known.
"Magus." He said, almost hatefully. "She's a Magus, a user of magic. She used an illusion spell of some kind."
"And you saw through her spell?"
"No, actually. I just remembered the face of the man she was appearing as because I had already buried him."
It did make sense, she admitted it. And she knew that mages were real thanks to Merlin but the possibility of the assassins being mages still did not cross her mind until now. But with that aside, she heard the footsteps of the man, he just got closer to the tree.
"I'm going to show myself now. No bow in my hand so please don't hit me." He said. Artoria's eyes quickly fixed on the side of the tree she felt he would appear from.
She saw his hand first, he was holding something wooden! The liar had his bow!
With those thoughts, Artoria saw as her arm jerked forward. Her hand meeting the man straight in the forehead.
Damn, that sounded like it hurt. Her steel gauntlets probably made everything ten times worse.
The man immediately covered his forehead with his hands and groaned from the pain after dropping whatever was in his hand.
Her heart filled with a bit of regret as she realized that he only had a small log in his hand that she mistook for the bow.
"I thought I just said don't hit me!" He said with a loud voice.
"I apologize... I had thought you lied." Was what she had to say as she slightly clenched the fist she just punched him with.
"No no, it's fine. I'm an idiot for not dropping the wood." He explained.
She felt a bit bad, especially after punching him so hard but she agreed, that was a stupid action from him.
Although he was wearing a mask that covered most of his features, she still noticed the frustration he felt from the movement of his eyes.
He heaved a heavy sigh. "Seriously... I leave you for a few minutes to find some wood and then all this happens." He picked up the log from the ground as he said so.
Artoria could only say one thing. "I appreciate what you've done but I'm not your burden to bear, I can get back to the city on my own." Was her reply, she added. "Where is my horse?"
The man looked at her for a moment. "The horses ran away during the ambush."
He then looked at her leg. "Yeah... I'm not letting you go with a wound like that."
Before she could reply, the man ducked down and examined her wound.
With the way he was speaking and acting she was starting to wonder if he knew who he was talking to.
"This is not good. The wound opened up again." He said, getting up on his feet as he did.
"Come on, we need to patch this up."
...
...
"Ack!" She tried to contain her groans but it hurt too much. It felt like the needles were on fire!
"Sorry, Just a few more and we're done." He reminded.
She'd have stitched herself up if she knew how to but he was doing a much better job at it than what she'd ever manage to.
"Come on, talk to me, it's better than focusing on the pain." He soon added.
So far he seems like he's on her side, in fact, he had all the time he needed to kidnap or even kill her when she was unconscious and he didn't.
But even if she can put her trust in him she couldn't stop wondering how he is speaking to her so casually. Does he actually not know who she is?
"Do you know who I am?" She wondered. The man immediately chuckled.
"Yes, you're our king." He said, still concentrating on the wound.
Artoria had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep it closed as he kept stitching her thigh.
"Why'd you help me?" She managed to ask.
"Can't- no, shouldn't a man help his king?"
Fair enough, it made sense.
But he wasn't finished. "Besides, I owe you one." He said softly.
Before she could ask for a better explanation he got up to his feet and stretched his hands forward.
"And we're done." She watched him say and then noticed him handing a sack over to her. "I managed to sew you some clothes when you were asleep, oh, and your sword is in there as well."
With the mention of her sword, Artoria quickly opened the sack and indeed found it alongside some clothes.
"There's a lake you can bathe in, come, I'll take you there." He said, Artoria followed with care to not open up her wound again.
I hope you enjoyed, please review!
Much Love! Stay Hopeful! ZilverHope Out!