460The Einzbern Castle was under attack, and Illyasviel found that she didn't really care.
She hadn't found the motivation to care about a lot of things, lately.
"Failed?" she said. "Failed how, Grandfather?"
Acht barely seemed to hear her, instead pacing the hall in a listless manner. "The ritual failed. We were prepared for such an eventuality, of course… after failing the previous three times, it began to be obvious that this was not so simple as we supposed. And yet, and yet, the scale of this particular failure… there is no recovering from this."
"Oh." Illya considered this. "But can't we just try again?"
Her grandfather's pacing stilled, before he gave a bitter laugh. "Child, the Grail is broken. It is already leaking power uselessly into the earth – within a month it will have disappeared entirely."
Mama…
Illya pulled herself up, and tried to look very brave. "Don't worry, Grandfather. Even if Mama couldn't become the Grail properly, I promise I will! When Papa gets back we can, we can make better plans! We'll learn and get better, we won't lose next time!"
At this, Acht looked at her for the first time – and so, for the first time, Illya noticed just how… lost he looked. Like… well, she didn't have much of a frame of reference for this, but he looked like Illya felt when it snowed really bad that one time on her birthday and she couldn't go outside and play with Papa even though she really, really, wanted to.
"Child… Illyasviel… the Grail is broken. The Greater Grail. The one-off fluke that was Justeaze will remain an irreproducible miracle. There is no road to recreating the Third Magic." Illya blinked, shocked. But… that was the entire point! Of, of everything!
She opened her mouth to protest, but Acht's next words took her breath away.
"And your father is dead."
Illya remembered herself screaming, and not a lot else from that day.
As much as she had screamed and cried and pled, though, she could feel on some level that it was true. The Greater Grail was gone, and with it the Einzbern family's entire purpose.
The castle had basically shut down after that. Acht could no longer see the point of doing anything, and most of the attendants therefore likewise had no reason for doing anything. Only Illya retained a spark of life, and those maids assigned to her continued their own duties as if nothing had happened, shooting worried glances at each other when they thought she couldn't see.
Because Papa couldn't be dead. He was strong, and smart, and Assassin had promised to keep him safe. Not even a pinky-swear promise, a contract. The Grail… did seem to be gone, so Mama was too, but Illya didn't care what Grandfather's 'sources' said, there was no way Papa would go out that easily.
And that meant he was coming for her.
And then, on a day just like any other, there had come an almighty boom from below, and the castle had shook on its foundations.
It had been like kicking a bees' nest – homunculi a step away from simply lying down to die had sprung into action, dashing to and fro, arming themselves, pathetically grateful for something, anything to distract them from the meaningless continuation that their lives had become. Acht set to with a will. His programming had contained no instructions on what to do when the purpose of your existence was rendered null and void, but it had had quite a lot to say on how to direct the defence of the Einzbern workshop.
Illya, however, had not joined the defence. She gathered her personal maids to her, sat in her room, and waited for something to happen.
After a while – and after a lot of noise – a woman entered the room. Dark haired, sombre-looking – and with bandaged, shaking hands.
Manners were important, even at a time like this – especially at a time like this – so Illya rose and curtseyed. "Good morning," she said. "I don't know if anyone has greeted you properly yet?"
"Unless proper greetings involve halberds and wire constructs, probably not," said the woman with a slight smile.
Hmph. "Then, allow me. Welcome to the Einzbern castle. I am Illyasviel von Einzbern."
"I know who you are, Illya. I'm Hisau Maiya." Illya's jaw dropped.
"You're Auntie Maiya!" Well then, this changed things. If she was a friend of Papa's, then just what were Acht and the rest thinking, being so silly and hostile? "Then, my warmest greetings," Illya said, remembering herself. "I would offer refreshments, but I don't think anyone's bothered to make any. Did… did you come by yourself?" A little fire of hope lit in her heart.
"No," said Auntie Maiya, and Illya's heart leapt – before Maiya's eyes widened in realisation. "Wait, Illya-"
The door opened, and Illya raced towards it, a beaming smile on her face, and flung herself at-
-an unfamiliar man in priest's robes, who caught her round the shoulders and examined her closely.
In the silence, the only sound was Illya's heart being crushed once more.
Auntie Maiya knelt and laid a hand on Illya's shoulder, and lllya couldn't find the motivation to shrug it off. Reaching into a pocket and produced a little plastic bag, which she offered to Illya.
Inside, Illya saw two Deutsche Marks, before her vision blurred too much from the tears to be able to see anything.
"Assassin asked me to apologise," Maiya said quietly. "She couldn't keep her contract."
Illya took the bag and clutched it tightly, not even bothering to wipe away the tears that fell. Maiya folded her in a hug and it was all wrong because she wasn't Mama and she wasn't Papa and they'd never hug her again and-
"I miss him too, Illya."
Illya buried her face in Maiya's shoulder and wailed.
After… well, who cared how long, Illya broke away with a sniffle and wiped her eyes. It wasn't proper for a young lady to lose herself so completely – especially not when there were guests round.
"Please excuse me," she said to the unfamiliar priest. "I mistook you for – it was a case of mistaken identity. Please think nothing of my rudeness."
"There's no need to think of me as a guest," said the priest. "I think once one kills half a castle one forgoes any guest right they may once have held."
Illya tilted her head. "Half the castle?"
"In self-defence, I assure you. And only those whom I could not otherwise subdue. After Maiya broke open the gates and wards in a single shot with that ludicrous Noble Phantasm gun of hers, it seems the homunculi became quite agitated."
The man was watching her closely, and seemed to be waiting for some reaction, but if so Illya was going to have to disappoint him. A quick end doing something they wanted to do was probably the best that could be hoped for Acht and the others at this point.
"So… why are you here?" she asked, confused. "If it was just to kill homunculi, you needn't have gone to the trouble, we were about ready to just stop all by ourselves."
"It was no trouble, believe me," said the priest, and Illya glared at him, pride stung. "To answer the question, though, I am here because Maiya asked me. I am trying to do good deeds, whenever the opportunity arises – to be a better man. Yesterday I helped a dog back to its owner. Tomorrow I might spend some time with the lonely elderly. Today I am rescuing a crying child. I have no instinct for these things, and all I have to guide me is the dream of a dead man, interpreted by one of the woman who knew him best: so when Maiya calls I answer. Despite being a filthy Godless heathen, she has not steered me wrong yet."
Maiya rolled her eyes. "Enough with that, Kirei. If you start with your 'living in sin' rubbish again I'll tell Risei you called him 'the lonely elderly'."
The priest – Kirei, apparently, though he hadn't introduced himself – smiled serenely. "I did no such thing. My father is and always has been far less lonely than I am, and even less so now that I have taken back custody of Caren. He has always loved being a grandfather. Almost as much as he liked being a father-in-law."
Illya looked between the two of them, confused. This was that thing that Papa and Mama did sometimes, where they would say things that sounded totally normal but had Mama giggling to herself and singing out loud for hours afterwards.
"A-anyway," Maiya said, cheeks pink. "That's why we're here, Illya. I don't think your father would have wanted you here. If you'd like, Kirei has a place where you can go."
"A new house?" Illya said doubtfully. The Einzbern castle was literally all she'd ever known.
"Not quite like this," said Kirei. "But a new home, certainly. They do say parenthood changes a man, and for that change I have been more than willing to try my best to make a new life. One more child will be more than welcome."
Illya looked at Maiya. "Will you be there?"
For some reason, Illya couldn't guess why, Maiya's cheeks got even more pink at that. Was she cold? It was pretty chilly in Illya's room… and the rest of the castle, for that matter.
"From time to time, yes," Maiya said, smoothing her hair with a stiff hand. "My work often takes me elsewhere."
"What do you do?" said Illya. "Is it the same work as Papa?"
"Partly. Sometimes, I search for wishes. Magic lamps, falling stars, ancient wells… the Grail didn't work out, but that's no reason not to keep searching. The world is full of stories. One of them must be true."
That made sense, Illya supposed. She turned to Kirei. "So I'd be staying with you?"
"And my father and daughter, yes." Kirei apparently saw something in Illya's face, because he suddenly knelt down and looked her in the eyes. "I cannot replace your father, Illyasviel, and I would not try to. But, if you wanted to tell me stories about him – the enemy I never knew, the inspiration I hardly met – I would be fascinated to listen. And I know Caren would be delighted to have a sister."
Illya thought it over. In the end, there really were only a couple of questions.
"Can these two come?" she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the maids, who started at being addressed. "They've not been any more useless than the rest have been, and it feels wrong to just leave them here."
"Certainly. My father would appreciate the help around the house."
"Good! I'll learn your names at some point," she said to the two maids. "But don't tell me now," she said as they opened their mouths, "I'm too excited and I won't remember. Second!"
She fixed Kirei with a calculating stare.
"This daughter of yours… would I be the older sister?"
The car sped down the mountain track, leaving eddies in the snow.
In the back, between her two terrified-looking maids (poor things, they were even younger than she was and they'd never been outside the castle either), Illya turned to look out the rear window.
The Einzbern castle, that monument to recreating the past, receded into the distance. In moments, it was lost in the snow, fading like a dream.
Illya turned to face forward. Through the windscreen, trees, cliffs and rocks rushed towards and past her, appearing only fifty feet ahead through the driving snow. The world ahead was a grey blur, and she couldn't tell what might be about to appear.
Even so, the road stretched on ahead, and Illya met it with a smile.
THE END