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CHP 13: The Knight Who Remained
🕑 Added 2023-03-02 19:58:24 +0000 UTCArtoria Pendragon was at a loss for words, she tried to speak, she did but nothing would come out. Aston was a knight with a background of no renown who had been among the first to answer her call, when she was but a cheery teen and served her until both his and her final moments.
Initially, as the perfect greedless ruler, she had discarded the very fact that she was a woman but that changed no sooner than she made the decision.
How couldn't it?
In the constant company of someone like her knight, who was annoyingly blunt and coy with the way he spoke it was hard to not be conscious of oneself, Aston could fool someone into thinking a donkey was a horse. Artoria knew because she saw him do it.
They'd been companions from a young age and she was no fool, long being aware of his feelings of admiration and adoration for her but Artoria had always believed that was for King Arthur, not for Artoria.
So, now that he had made it so painfully clear, the King knew not what to say other than that she did not deserve such a thing. After all she had done to him she genuinely believed she didn't but he refused even that, he didn't care.
It would also be a lie to say that that did not give her even a shred of joy. When Merlin had proposed that the King needed a significant other, Artoria was not averse to choosing the person who had always been there for her, whom she could always trust and rely on but KING Arthur was, for a man to wed a man went against the very course of nature.
Something revile, prosecuted and disgusting.
And so she wed Guinevere, under the identity that was the King of the land, it was also then that she found irrefutable proof of what SHE desired,
"I'll admit it was one of the most hateful experiences of my life when Gawain went on shouting about the false wedding." Aston felt that now that he had said so much, there was no point in holding such thoughts to itself. He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering how he'd wanted to just burn down Camelot but was calmed down with the combined efforts of Gareth and Lancelot. Something King Arthur never came to know.
"It hurt when you.. did not throw a tantrum as you would have." That was Artoria's answer to him, it was far more painful to see him simply bow and take his leave than bluntly throw a tantrum and shout profanities like he usually did. She'd even been prepared for him to perhaps hit her or throw down his weaponry, that way at least it would have alleviated the suffering even if slightly.
Aston pursed his lips, averting his gaze ever so slightly, he had indeed thrown a tantrum, just not in front of her, "Perhaps you never learnt of this but I almost made a donut out of the Queen." Then he realised the woman wasn't to blame at all, being forced into it by the fickle thing called 'Fate'. She had never intended for theirs to be a marriage of love, instead only expressed sadness when she saw his outrage.
"D..Donut." Artoria wanted to pout at that but could only muster a weak smile, he was attempting to distract her from her sorrow by mentioning his own dishes. It was truth that when bribed with those, she momentarily forgot her own standing.
Of course both of them shared the understanding that even if they'd wished for it, theirs was a story that simply could not have a happy ending, in an era where both of them were required to be in a position where one would be below the other, where their union would be shunned and disliked, counterproductive to the ideals they shared.
"My King, we happen to be in a different era, thought of as nothing but fairy tales. I do believe this is a boon." He'd never expected to run into her here, even doubting that he'd meet a fellow knight in the war but he could not say he disliked that even one bit, "But I must ask, do you have a wish?"
Artoria nodded, not caring how it grazed her forehead against his armour, "I would.. undo my rule." She paused for breath as her tears dried up, "So that a better might take my place." That way, her wrongs would be righted.
All the suffering she'd put everyone through and the hateful acts she committed would become dust to the wind.
"So that our people may truly prosper."
That way, she would not be king but a simple squire, perhaps of a lesser standing, perhaps meet a fiery haired knight tired from combat and tend to his injuries, have a family, live her days in peace and pass surrounded by those she treasured.
That way, this guilt rooted into her heart would not be in place, that way she wouldn't have to loathe herself. That way she wouldn't have to betray those she treasured, that wa-
"I'll have to express my disagreement with that, my King." Aston looked down and emerald eyes met dull blue ones, "Take it from my humble self, as someone who was there from the start to end, yours was a splendid rule. That was why so many could give their lives with not an ounce of hesitation. You did liberate the people, gave them the utopia they desired." It was their fault then that they disliked a King allegedly TOO perfect, "You did well."
Artoria was hardworking, selfless, pragmatic, without greed but Aston knew she was far from perfect, she came to hate herself and became someone so selfless she lost all self-worth.
Damned be the fools who would take up arms against one who had given and lost so much for them.
"I ..see." Artoria whispered, her gaze downcast, it shouldn't have mattered what he said.
His opinion shouldn't have mattered against the facts she knew and what she saw but, it did.
She didn't understand why, or perhaps she did but could not accept it. His words gave her the approval and release Artoria desperately sought in the latter half of her life, the approval of the masses had died down and lost it's significance when faced with the harshness of reality but for some reason, his never lost the place it held firmly for a long time.
A small, weak smile crossed the lips of the King who had fallen to betrayal from those she held dear, "You say you offered me the one thing... you had left, Sir Aston." But he'd also taken something equally valuable in exchange hadn't he? It was undeniable.
The sorrow she felt before his corpse, clashing with her bastard child was something Artoria would never forget even if it was something she never wished to experience again.
Aston smiled, pleased with the meaning behind her words and hugged her head with one hand, staring at the beautiful moon in the sky, "It is a new era, my King. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad to take advantage of the fact that no one expects anything of two travellers."
"It would..not."
Though Artoria knew she could not forget deeply rooted self-hatred and guilt, she would try, for the sake of the knight who stayed by her side until her last.
Bazett Fraga McRemitz felt like she had seen something she wasn't meant to and was flustered for the woman who had seemingly forgotten of it's existence, maybe from sorrow, maybe from joy. She stood near the equally confused Shirou Emiya with both hands behind her back, even as her cheeks flushed and heat rushed to her face.
This outcome was something she hadn't expected but it made her glad all the same, she was happy that her servant was at least recognised by one for why he was a hero, even if the books described him as a monster that only knew slaughter.
"I umm.. What's going on here?"
The other Master, Shirou Emiya didn't share in her understanding silence and finally asked the question that had been on his mind for quite a while now. Some girl came out of an explosion of light, asked him if he was her Master, rushed outside and then he witnessed what was perhaps a happy ending to a tragic story?
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