Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

"I think that is a terrible decision," said Siegfried. Though it was more than flattering to know that she wanted to be seen in his presence, for her own sake, it could bring nothing but judgmental stares. Whether he was imagining it or not, he could feel it now─ the few stray glances from the most random individuals. "The supposed Queen of Saints is keeping rather questionable company," he imagined them saying."Structured, you say. That must have been some incredible structuring," he determined about the way Jeanne and her group of siblings functioned in their previous life. Two, even three of them were very queer now, but what could they have truly been like before? Jeanne seemed the most normal from what he'd seen thus far, at least; he could take solace in that. "I mean no disrespect to the others, but I am very glad you were the one I encountered that day. Queen Artoria may have beheaded me."

Artoria had called upon the knights... quite vaguely. Siegfried felt strangely compelled to follow her as well, managing to refrain due to the fact that he'd come here only on Jeanne's request. He'd do his job, but apart from that, he would only be going where she went. Lucky him, of course, as all of Artoria Pendragon's knights were in for the revelation of a lifetime. She started with an apology? That was strange. Stranger still was the fact that she didn't deny any of their assumptions regarding her relationship with that man, much to Sir Lancelot's chagrin. "My Queen, surely you don't mean you've actually entered any form of relationship with that man? He speaks to you as if you're just a thing!" he griped. From Lancelot's perspective, King Gilgamesh had a desire for the Queen of Knights during her rise, as if he sought some sort of trophy wife. Given the way he behaved, that would have been no surprise at all. "Is it sorcery? Have you been enchanted?" he wondered, completely distraught. Gawain entertained the same idea, but he was not willing to believe their queen had been taken by something like that. "Don't be too hasty, Lancelot. I'm sure there is more to the story than what you're interpreting."

[Apollymi]

"Good thing it isn't your decision to make," Jeanne said these words and meant them. Then again, all of the Hoshimi children had their quirks and though she was nice and well-balanced Hoshimi Emi still wasn't actually a pushover of any sort. She was used to reigning in her siblings, after them, no one was immune to her brand of control. As for the structuring of their family, of course it was quite intense. "Yes, it was, but we aren't really as strange as we seem at a glance," she said carefully. Apparently, with no disrespect intended, Siegfried was happy that it had been Jeanne he'd met first, thinking the Queen of Knights might have beheaded him upon their first meeting. "I am sure she might have beaten you into submission. But even she is forgiving when she wants to be," she said of her elder sister. That last bit was obvious given what her betrothed was like.

Meanwhile Artoria had to calm the fears of her Knights. And this was much more difficult than she thought, especially Lancelot who again was most likely to lodge complaints. He apparently thought she was bewitched given her lack of disinterest in the King of Heroes. Both of the female Knights choked back giggles as they heard this. The Lady Kay thinking only one kind of magic brought women to heel as such and it wasn't anything so bad as anything these men thought. But they were quite protective of their Queen. "He does not speak of me the way he speaks of things. That much will become clear to you on your own... his view of things and his view of me are very different of this I am certain," Artoria said these words and fought the urge to rub her face. Gawain in his infinite calm made her heart sing. He was getting extra dessert. She also noted how quiet her female Knights were, ugh the men in her life truly all saw her as that much of a girl didn't they? "Gawain is right, there is no sorcery. I am not bewitched..." she said seeming to be thinking about how best to explain the situation. The Lady Galahad spoke up for the first time since they'd exited the building. "Well, we do only have your original sentiments about the King of Heroes to go on. Perhaps, if you explained your shift in... perspective, it would help us all," she said softly. Artoria looked at Galahad and found in those purple eyes understanding and softness, she was truly trying to get everyone to understand Artoria's mindset. "I should start by saying that I have seen him since that first statement. About a decade ago, when I took that walk..." she said. That walk. That walk that had her leave with Tristan and come back alone. The walk that had constituted a fortnight total for Queen of Knights and the walk, that had been the end of her sleeplessness.

[Bloodedge]

Being beaten into submission sounded more like a challenge than anything else to Siegfried, but... he was prone to thinking in such ways, in certain situations. However, he was not opposed to the idea of sparring with Artoria Pendragon. "Well, I suppose she would be welcome to try. I feel I could offer a decent challenge," the male surmised. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he felt as if challenging the Queen of Knights would be a worthwhile undertaking. "Anyway, I guess if I'm basing it all on you, the others can't be so odd either. You are... mostly normal."

Artoria disagreed with Lancelot's claim. Strangely, that just seemed to fall directly inline with the idea of something happening between the two. "Not bewitched, huh..." Lancelot mused. He still didn't understand the difference between how Gilgamesh referenced Artoria, and how anyone referenced objects, but he supposed everyone else in the building had been referred to as... dogs or something. They did still have nothing but her original sentiments about the King of Heroes to go by, as Lady Galahad declared. What could have been missing? Well, there was apparently a secondary meeting of the two from... about a decade ago? That was around the time of the first meeting, but mention of a walk... oh. "You mean the same two week-long walk that saw you return without Tristan, and with a random dagger you keep brandishing everywhere you go? I assumed you'd gone on a quest and conquered a dungeon somewhere. What the hell could you have done to make this happen back then?"

[Apollymi]

Ah, apparently Siegfried thought he could offer a decent fight to the Queen of Knights. A wide smile spread across Jeanne's face as she considered such a thing. "I would normally tell you to avoid fighting her at all costs, but she would enjoy a spar as much as the next person. And there is always something interesting to be learned from facing her," she said. "She is a monster though, be careful," Jeanne said she would be worried about the fight between her boyfriend and her sister. Especially when her sister found out this was her boyfriend. She was technically hoping to slide this information in under the bravado of the King of Heroes and lessen the blow a bit. Moving on, it seemed that Siegfried didn't assume too many negatives based on the the way she was and how it could correlate to her family. "I feel like I should question the mostly part, but I'll let that go~" she said with a smirk. Of course, she knew herself to be a bit different from the norm. Still, she felt like she should have been watching her sister explain to her Knights how she came to accept the King of Heroes in any light.

"I am not bewitched, at all..." Artoria said firmly. Ah, the mention of that walk seemed to stir the mind of Lancelot a bit. Apparently, his memory of that walk was pretty fresh even though it had been a pretty huge topic of conversation. Even so, she did not want to talk about it then and if she was being honest she didn't want to talk about it now either. "That is the walk, yes. And I do not brandish the dagger, it is simply really well-balanced..." she said, leaving out the comforting part. Technically speaking she wasn't lying either, that was a really nice dagger. "As for what I did to make this happen, well..." Artoria had to think of a way to phrase her rampage that wouldn't sound as bad as it did to her in hindsight. "First I need to state that this was a decade ago, and I have calmed down quite a bit since then," she said carefully. The Lady Galahad was studying Artoria and saw within the young woman classic signs of growth and regret. Lady Kay saw the childish version of the same girl and figured she'd done something violent. "I went on that walk to find a proper outlet for my rage at cultists and I found myself in Uruk. The King of Heroes explained that situation to me over dinner. I also might have attacked him when he tried to talk me out of it. Again it was 10 years ago," she said carefully. "I should also say he's sort of been proposing marriage to me since that first holy grail war we were both in and I almost killed him then," she said carefully. "Again over a decade ago," she said. "Anyway, I might have ended my fortnight of sleeplessness after failing to kill him that second time," Artoria explained of the situation. "But when I woke up I had breakfast and a long bath and destroyed a few temples with his consent. The dagger was a gift, because he wanted me to sleep without holding on to Excalibur," she said giving a general explanation. "Tristan disagreed with the way I treated the King of Heroes, he claimed I did not understand and that he could not bear to watch something so sad," she said thoughtfully. "I have not agreed to marry him as he wishes but he sees things more absolutely than I do. But I do not dislike him and I am not unsafe in his company," she explained of the King of Heroes. The Lady Kay heard out this story and could only blink a few times. If she understood this story correctly, the Queen of Camelot was being courted by the King of Heroes, this was the most girlish explanation she'd ever heard from their 'King' in her life.

[Bloodedge]

"I certainly imagine she would. I'm very fond of a spar myself, and I am always willing to learn when possible. Besides... I guess she's my queen at the end of the day, isn't she?" Well, life was somewhat strange at times. In his time, Siegfried would have served two queens, after himself being born a prince. The strangest part was that one of those two queens wasn't much of a "queen" at all. Jeanne definitely had no true way to question the "mostly" in his earlier clause while she was the not-queen in question. "And look, the saintly quality shows itself~" he said as she decided not to question things at all. A light chuckle escaped him. "Something to drink?"

Not bewitched, the queen repeated. Lancelot simply couldn't wrap his head around this situation, and frankly, neither could Gawain. Of course, they had very different reasons for this. Gawain couldn't believe the woman was partaking of any relationship, of any sort. Lancelot couldn't believe she would pursue someone so aggravating. Ah, but clarity would soon be given to all. That little walk she'd taken ten years ago was more of a journey, a crusade against whatever sent those wretched men to her bedroom. Suddenly, the amount of time she'd taken on that "walk" made a great deal of sense. The way she phrased a few things, however, made one such as Lancelot assume a few unrelated reasons she might have ended her sleeplessness. "My Queen, are you telling us you went on a journey of vengeance after going without sleep for ages, fought a pompous treasure-hoarder, slept with him, took a gift that you've been coddling for ten years since, and defiled several places of worship?" At this point, Lancelot was rubbing the bridge of his nose. It certainly sounded as if all of his interpretations were true, and worse yet, she claimed her attachment to the dagger was purely because of its balance? "I've seen a thousand daggers that are well-balanced. Why that one? Honestly, if I may be so bold, you sound like a schoolgirl with a crush she refuses to admit she has. Moreover, that was enough to make Tristan leave? What, did he walk in on the two of you and decide he was feeling too envious to bear being around you both?"

[Apollymi]

A chuckle escaped Jeanne as she nodded her agreement. "Oui~, my sister is the Queen of Knights. I am quite surprised you didn't feel compelled to join her when she commanded the Knights to leave with her," Jeanne said wondering if his split allegiance was something to question. "Though I suppose you don't need an explanation for why the King of Heroes speaks to her, in the same way her own knights would need to understand. I imagine that is an interesting conversation~" Jeanne said seemingly amused by the entirety of the situation. "Of course, I am a saint!~" she said seeming to find that amusing beyond all reason. As for a drink, she would definitely have one. "Of course, Sieg. We can have a drink and wait to see how my sister's knights react to her news about the King of Heroes," said Jeanne.

Meanwhile, the female Knights jumped to no such conclusions, but Lancelot jumped quite a few hoops that made Artoria's eyes widen and her face crack just a bit. "Whoa, where in any of that did I imply I slept with the King of Heroes?!" She seemed to be genuinely shocked by the assertion. "No such thing occurred; I said I finally got to sleep. I meant I was rendered unconscious in the aftermath of an actual battle. I slept in that bed alone for three days, that is all," Artoria stated with absolute clarity. Both of the young women in this group laughed again. She definitely had not slept with the King of Heroes. If she had, they doubted he would have been quiet about it. "And I do not coddle the dagger, it is just a really nice dagger..." She could not stress this fact enough. "I have always slept with one, even as a child, even in my life before this one... I am vividly attached to my weaponry. I did not know this was a point worth being confused about," the young queen explained of herself. The Lady Kay spoke up in this instance. "I can confirm that even as a young child, once she was old enough to claim one, Artoria has always slept with a knife on her person... a strange habit, but not one I thought was worth mentioning. The comfort of sleeping with a weapon isn't one I understand, but finding comfort in a gift after experiencing a strange discomfort is not so uncommon," she said. Artoria's gaze shifted; she found it odd that Kay of all people was sticking up for her. This was such a shocking turn of events, she could hardly believe what she was hearing. Taking a moment to calm herself, there was the matter of Tristan and why he actually left. Since she didn't sleep with the King of Heroes, Artoria supposed it was worth explaining. "Tristan left because he heard a declaration the King of Heroes made to me about my potential futures, while I was calmly trying to talk him out of his infatuation with me. Tristan said the King of Heroes' convictions were real, and that I did not understand the hearts of men. He said it was sad to see me behave with such reckless abandon towards the feelings of another person." Artoria admitted these things, and both the young women with her watched as she'd obviously been processing all of that for the last decade, without telling anyone. "I have always told all of you, you could speak freely with me, and I did mean that. I released and told him he could come back whenever he felt like it. I wouldn't punish him for being honest with me. So, Tristan left and I spent a while thinking over his words; that is all. I consider that I may not fully understand the King of Heroes' preoccupation with me, but I cannot rebuke honesty," Artoria concluded.

[Bloodedge]

Siegfried raised a brow to Jeanne's assertion. It wasn't as if he didn't feel compelled to follow the Queen of Knights. "I did, but that is not my place. I am here by your request. So long as you don't want me to go where they've gone, I have no reason to," he said frankly. "Besides, I get the strangest feeling we wouldn't truly get along. Just a hunch. As for why that king speaks to her, I hardly get your meaning. Though, that is also not my place. I'll find some wine; I keep hearing about how incredible it is." With that said, Siegfried bowed once more prior to taking a temporary leave of the saint. He would go on to locate a pair of needlessly ornate chalices, already filled with wine. Many things in this place seemed so ridiculously extravagant, he wondered how much of it actually belonged in the original venue.

Speaking of wondering, Artoria seemed to wonder how Lancelot made such a leap. Well, that much was obvious. "You had dinner, you fought, he presumably kept propositioning you, and you 'might have ended a fortnight of sleeplessness.' The signs are all there; who am I to see anything different when talking about someone who obviously wanted that outcome." As far as Lancelot was concerned, it wouldn't have been surprising if Artoria later mentioned being drugged mid-combat, and taken advantage of in her sleep. Maybe he spent a little too much time in his job as a bartender, back in his previous life. Either way, Lady Kay came to the queen's defense regarding that fancy dagger of hers. Sure, there was nothing out of the ordinary about going to bed with some sort of protection... but it wasn't like he'd seen her carrying it to bed, either. "On her person, yes. That usually doesn't involve the rest of us watching her play around with it, does it?" he asked of the group at large. He'd personally never seen her just fiddling with some random dagger, but maybe he just happened to be alone in this. "Whatever. That part is if no importance. So, Tristan somehow became even sadder, and he left because you turned down someone obsessed with you. You know, just because you can't rebuke honesty, doesn't mean you must bend the knee to it. You tried making it clear to the King of Pomp that you had no interest before, so why would you not make it clear to everyone when he speaks to the contrary? If you'd decided to stop rejecting him, there would hardly be a point to this meeting, no? On the other hand, if you are still rejecting the idea, perhaps this was a story to tell more than just us."

[Apollymi]

Sieg didn't believe he'd truly get along with Artoria and Jeanne could do nothing but agree with that notion. Her sister seemed to harbor a special amount of disrespect for certain people and she wasn't sure what it was that made it so. Still, her elder sister was quite flexible when it came to family and as such Jeanne was quite certain it would be fine. "I suppose you wouldn't get along, well not in the super friendly sort of way. But she would be nice and civil once the shock as worn off," she said seeming to have a unique understanding of her elder sister's personality. Of course, this was due in large part to managing her for so much of her career. "As for the wine, Siduri is probably the best wine-maker to ever exist so if her works are being passed around, you definitely have to have some. I've actually missed having her around since the last time I saw her~" the Queen of Saints had interesting thoughts on drinking and fun for someone who was hailed as a saint.

Artoria for her part in this, had it made clear to her why Lancelot had jumped to the conclusions he did. She supposed outside of the situation was it was, she could see why he would see it that way. Even so, he was still gravely mistaken on the King of Heroes persona. "He isn't like that. I will admit if I heard such a thing I might assume the worst but he is not that sort of man," Artoria said calmly. She was defending the King of Heroes and that in and of itself was surprising. Kay found herself looking strangely at her Queen, for all of this girl's brash attitude she seemed to have a greater understanding of the King of Heroes than she was letting on. Perhaps they truly did have a long conversation. "I noticed that habit while ago. More directly our Queen tends to attack when she is upset and thus feels more comfortable with a weapon in her hands in general. Even right now she is fidgeting," said Galahad who'd remained quiet while Artoria explained mostly to figure out where the mind of the Queen of Camelot was. In those minutes Galahad realized that the Queen of Knights harbored a decent bit of confusion surrounding her own feelings. Lancelot pointed out that she didn't have to return the feelings of someone obsessed with her. And of course Artoria realized that, it was simply more complicated. "I... do not dislike the King of Heroes. I am not bending the knee to his affections. In fact, if you hear him properly I am kicking and screaming and fighting all the way and he is simply accepting that as part of the inevitable. This story is for you all because it is my fault you did not know about it before. The people of his country and the rest of the empire are aware of my existence and his desire to marry me," she said carefully. "I cannot accept how he feels. I do not understand his devotion when I have done nothing to inspire it, and done what I can to crush it underfoot but... the matter is still more complicated than that," she explained. She knew she was going to die, she did not wish to share this information with everyone and leave them hopeless. At the same time, she did not wish to give Gilgamesh hope in her returned affections while knowing her death was permanent. Both her Knights and Gilgamesh were to be in the same boat without her, but at least her knights would eventually have her brother to replace her missing place in their lives. Gilgamesh would be given nothing of the sort and as such she didn't like the idea of presenting him with the blind hope of having her, no matter what he claimed to see of their future. Artoria could see Lancelot's concern, she could understand how genuinely confused he was by her lack of force in this situation, she wished she had a better explanation for her behavior. "You aren't truly considering her feelings, Sir Lancelot. Regardless of the fact that Artoria Pendragon is our Sovereign, she is also still a young woman. You would have her completely embarrass herself trying to explain how she feels about a man while passing negative judgement over him in the same breath? It is fairly unreasonable to ask her something like that in the middle of a celebration of her victory organized by the man whom you hold such a negative opinion of but who rather obviously has nothing but positive things to say about our Queen," the Lady Kay was speaking and as was usually the case when she did, her points were firm. "It seems to me this should be taken rather simply. The King of Heroes is courting our Queen, and in her youthful inexperience she is unsure of how she feels about it. Perhaps it works out, perhaps it doesn't, but isn't it then our duties to stand with her while she figures that out?"

[Bloodedge]

Siegfried and the Queen of Knights would not get along in the friendly way; that information wasn't surprising at all. He expected that she would always be a person he could respect, but never truly bond with on any level. Well, perhaps there were a few levels. The true extent of it all would be something he discovered eventually, possibly even soon when considering they were all inhabiting the same building at present. For the time being, he was content to return to Jeanne's side with wine in tow. One serving was to be passed off to Jeanne, naturally, while the other he kept raised. She spoke so highly of this wine, he absolutely had to try it for himself.

It was strange to see the Queen of Knights defending the very man she spoke somewhat ill of after their initial meeting. It was all a little ridiculous, hearing her both accept and reject the idea of a king who sought her hand. Lancelot was beyond curious. What would she do in the end, after all this talk? Would the Knights of the Round Table have a sudden king in addition to their existing queen? That would be strange, though Lancelot wished he could know ahead of time regardless of any weirdness. Whatever happened, a few things were beginning to make sense at last. Lancelot sighed. "If he's earnestly that attached and you don't understand it, I suppose I understand Tristan's decision." With that said, Lancelot leaned against his own hand, sighing once more. Kay being the one to take Artoria's side so directly was yet another oddity in this situation. Frankly, he understood why she took such a perspective, though he stood firm in his own stance. "Well, someone was going to ask these questions eventually. It isn't as if I require an answer. But, what I've said should be taken into consideration at the very least. I would just like to know if there is ever going to be a second person added to the list of people we swear our fealty to. I swore myself to Artoria Pendragon," he said, his eyes glossing over the queen herself. "I do not want to directly serve that arrogant king, but if you ever decide to accept him, I will make him my... number two option."

Gawain silently listened to multiple sides of the ongoing discussion. His stance was no less firm than Kay's or Lancelot's, though it was of a different nature entirely. "I believe we've strayed too far from the beaten path here. Should it be this relationship, or lack thereof, that we are discussing? Whatever our queen's intentions, we should be grateful that it was brought to our attention when it needn't be. The last decade has not been easy for anyone, but look where we are now. The Round Table is soon to reach heights unknown to most of the world, all because in spite of what is going on here, our queen made it happen. We should be toasting, not debating matters of the heart! Our queen can approach these matters however she sees fit, and if she is in need of guidance, I'm sure she knows we are all willing to assist if asked."

[Apollymi]

Siegfried and the Queen of Saints were now in a position to have a drink. His cup still raised she'd meet it in a toast and enjoy a sip of wine that caused her soul to sing. "Siduri is something else, of this I am certain. Would it be weird to saint a wine-maker because I consider it every time I have one~" Jeanne mentioned but it was not quite as joking as one would have assumed. The Queen of Saints was truly a strange woman but that didn't actually matter.

Artoria on the other hand, found herself and her love life as the main topic of conversation for herself and her knights. As always she would take their opinions under advisement. And it would seem that Lancelot understood the reason for Tristan's leave over a decade prior. "Yes, I also understand that part of it now... even with my own issues," she said carefully. If she were the type to be completely honest, the loss of their resident Archer and one of her closer knights had hurt Artoria's feelings just a tad, but that was why she left him the option of coming back if he wished. She'd never be opposed to the return of the Knight of Lamentation. To Lancelot's real question of his answering to multiple people, Artoria strangely had an answer. "Well, I am the Queen of Knights by title. You swore yourself to me, but even if you did not you would now and always answer to me first," she explained. "There is also still the matter of Arthur Pendragon but I will leave that decision to you. I am sure by the end there will be more than enough knights to go around for you to serve who you want," she answered honestly. Ah but her shining beacon in everything. The sunlight to mirror her own understanding of true darkness, Gawain had something pointed to say. The win of the Holy Grail and congratulatory statements should be what they were after. She'd done what she'd said she would do and was going to lift their kingdom to new heights. A small smile crept onto Artoria's face in that moment. 'I do not care what anyone says... that is my boy! Rie can eat that,' she mused happily. Yes. Gawain was definitely getting extra dessert or something to that effect. Agravain a few moments after their stare down with Gilgamesh, in hearing the full story and coming to a conclusion finally had something to say. "I agree with Gawain. You have done quite a bit my Queen, according to the Queen of Saints you also technically won the previous Holy Grail War, so the world has you to thank for the Holy Knights as well," Agravain's words came with the bowing of their head. The words to be shared later would be a bit less happy, but if the Queen was happy then Agravain could respect the King of Heroes, even while not liking him.