vatheon | VI // what we forgot to say

Entry tags:

VI // what we forgot to say

Who: Ilya (

pendragon)
When: tonight
Where: Saber's place at the Ordo Apartments
Style: it's prose right now, but I'll match!
Status: closed.

It's been a week since Ilya received the message on her voicemail.

For the first day, she honestly didn't notice that there was a little notification telling her that there was a message waiting to be heard. Ilya never received a voice message before, after all. So when she finally noticed, it then took her another little while to figure out how to get to listen to the message.

But that was maybe two days after the message came, at most. And for the last five days, she's just been deliberating.

What would she and Saber even talk about? For some reason, the homunculus just thinks that it'll all dissolve into misunderstandings that make it even clearer how different they are and where they come from. But in spite of all that, Ilya's also very aware that Saber is the only one here who knows any semblance of the kind of person Kiritsugu was. And... well, if she's going to ever have any peace about what she thinks of her father, then she'll have to eventually talk to Saber again anyway.

In any case, her feet take her outside today, and she finds herself at the Ordo Apartments, standing in front of number six. Ilya checks the clock on the SFC - it's 8:30. Everything's in place, somehow. All that's left is to knock...

Slowly, the girl raises her hand to the door, and gives it a gentle knock. It's so soft that she's not sure if Saber could hear it.

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Thinking she may have heard something, Saber left the downstairs living room and made her way towards the small enclave that went to the den and front door. After checking, she came to the conclusion that perhaps it had been the front door.

Looking out the security hole in the door, Saber stepped back. Currently, she was wearing her dress without her armor. Deciding that was appropriate, as .. well, she was home, the King of Knights opens the door.

"Greetings, Ilyasviel. I take it this is in return to my voice message?"

Stepping back and to the side, Saber holds the door open for the girl.

Ilya isn't really sure what she was expecting to see, but it's definitely not what she's seeing now. And yet, there's the awareness that not much is different about the person standing in front of her. Saber is still blonde, with her hair tied up and wearing her blue dress -

- ah, so without her armour. When Ilya makes this realization, she's even more aware of how she isn't used to this.

"I guess so," she answers, trying not to sound very committed to the idea. Because she's still not sure why she's here, after all.

Ilya carefully steps through the doorway into Saber's apartment. At a glance, it seems just like most of the residence accommodations at Vatheon, and the girl can't help but wonder if Saber has done anything to customize her living space. Somehow, Ilya doesn't picture it mattering too much to Saber.

The Ordo apartments did come pre-decorated, and since they were known to be the most expensive and lavish.. The entire apartment was quite worthy of praise. Saber hasn't really customized anything, if that means only buying and adding items. Rather, she's moved most of the furniture so that the rooms are better organized and have more space. Even if the furniture and decorations are all very exquisite, the room she created makes it feel more humble.

"Please, follow me."

Walking down the short hallway, Saber leads Ilya to the main downstairs living room. It has two large cushioned chairs in front of a fireplace, and then a couch further back. Between the chairs, there's a small table with a few books to the left side. Saber had been reading, sitting in the right chair, up until Ilya knocked. Of course, the fireplace is lit.

"Take a seat, and I'll make some tea."

As much as Ilya feels unsure as to why she's here.. Saber's brain is racking as to what to actually do to entertain the girl now that she's here. Going to the kitchen, Saber begins to prepare Earl Grey; it's much too late in the day to make a breakfast tea, as comforting as that may be.

Ilya follows Saber down the hall into the living room, taking note of the decor and the furniture arrangement. Overall, it feels just a tad reminiscent of the castle with its more ornate pieces of furniture, but that just serves to reinforce the fact that this isn't the castle, and it makes her a little more uncomfortable. She knows it's a needless worry - Saber is too chivalrous to kill under the pretext of a conversation, and it's very clear that the War hasn't been brought here - but she's apprehensive nonetheless.

With a small nod, Ilya sits down on one of the two large chairs in front of the fire. It's a big chair for a normal person, so it's pretty massive to her. As she waits for Saber, she just stares into the fire. Never mind that she came here in the first place, but now that she's here, she doesn't have any idea what to talk about.

Well, maybe she'll just leave it to Saber. This is all her idea, after all. Ilya just decided to show up.

It doesn't take long for Saber to come out with a tray. There's the tea pot, and two tea cups on saucers with spoons. The knight doesn't know what the girl likes with her tea, so she brought sugar and honey.

Setting down the tray on the table between the two chairs, Saber takes the other chair and looks to the fire briefly before speaking.

"..Thank you for coming, Ilya," the King of Knights starts, her voice a bit soft compared to usual. Why is this so difficult? "I was hoping we could speak of the events both of us experienced during the Fifth Grail War so we could have a better understanding of each other. I.."

Saber sits back in her chair, looking down at her folded hands in her lap. After a moment, she reaches for her cup and saucer and fills it with the brewed tea, then adds a bit of honey.

"I do not expect to become your friend. However, I do think it'd be beneficial for us to at least consider each other allies. We're the only ones from our world, after all."

Straight and to the point, despite the difficulty that she seemed like she had with wording it. It seems almost typical of the knight, although it's strange that Ilya would get such a notion when they hadn't really ever conversed at all. But she appreciates it; a person who is so blunt could hardly be the kind to make meaningless small talk.

And Saber's being genuine, as far as she can tell. When words are so often empty things, someone who sounds genuine is rare.

"I guess so. There's not much to be allies against here, though." Ilya says so lightly, and with a smile on her face. "But it'll make it a little more fun, so okay."

Her playful tone is meant to loosen the atmosphere as much as it is to confuse Saber a little bit, but really it's because Ilya doesn't know what to say next, anyway. But if both of them were as stiff as Saber is about this right now, their little meeting wouldn't go very far. And... well, they still have a lot of issues to settle, and arguing about them like they were doing with text messages won't do any good, either.

Edited 2013-06-13 22:11 (UTC)

More fun..? Saber does pause, wonderment on her face as she looks at Ilya. Having looked down then, Saber realizes she hasn't poured Ilya her tea. She carefully pours Ilya a cup, and then sets down the teapot.

"Forgive me. I'm not used to serving."

With that, Saber sits back in her chair once more and brings her tea cup and saucer with her.

"You never know. It's always best to be careful. It may not be needed, but I am not nearly at the potential I could be while being powered by this Lamufao. Perhaps, that is what leaves me feeling unsettled at times. I could not perform at my best when the city was attacked."

A gentle sigh. Saber lifts her tea cup to her lips for a moment, and then looks to the fire as she lowers it.

"I have no interest in divulging into your private life, so I would like to know what happened starting at the beginning of the Fifth Grail for you.. even if but a short summary."

Ilya daintily takes the teacup and the saucer into her hands, and then raises the cup to her lips for a sip. It's hot, but well-steeped and pleasantly fragrant. Saber is a very good host, although that isn't unexpected either. With how proper and refined she seems all the time, it's almost natural that she does an excellent job.

The small Einzbern pauses for a few moments after sipping the tea, gathering her thoughts into exactly what she wants to tell the Servant.

"I came to Fuyuki City with two tasks, although you already know that. One was to be the Einzbern representative in the Holy Grail War, defeating all the other Masters to claim victory. The other was to kill Emiya Kiritsugu for his betrayal of the Einzberns."

She says this without any sign of emotion. Objectives are objectives, and that's that.

"Berserker and I found you, Shirou, Rin and Archer walking in the streets at night at the beginning of the War. You were in no condition to fight us, but you tried to stop Berserker from killing Shirou anyway. And Shirou... he decided to run out and shove you away from Berserker's final blow. But there wasn't any fun in killing someone so stupid, so I left after he did that."

Ilya pauses. That, at least, she knows is different from what Saber must remember. From their first conversation, it seems like the fight Saber remembers took place in a graveyard instead...

"..The idiot," the knight is unable to help but interject with, but then she goes quiet. This is the extent of what Saber had also told Ilyasviel, where she had faced Rin and Shirou, and then Archer managed to intimidate or impress Ilyasviel enough to cause her to leave.

Remaining quiet, Saber sips her own tea while she looks into the fire. She will, occasionally, look to Ilyasviel as she speaks and make eye contact to make it obvious she's listening. It's simply not comfortable to be turned in these chairs, and Saber would rather stare into the fire while she thinks rather than at Ilyasviel.

Well, at least it seems like they share one opinion in common, at least.

Ilya tells the rest of what she recalls from the Fifth War after that point, about the strange shadow that appeared, the assault that it launched at her castle, the dark knight who surfaced... when she thinks about it, it's been a rather long time since those two short weeks, and yet she hasn't forgotten at all.

Finally, the small girl finishes her story. The tea cup sits empty on top of the saucer, after she kept drinking from it. She's not used to having to talk so much; she looks over at Saber, wondering what her host is thinking about the story she's told. Could what they experienced really have been that different from each other?

Rather, is she meant to die every time?

There's no name mentioned with the dark knight, so Saber thinks little of it. It is a slight cause of interest, but there was also mention of another Assassin Saber was not familiar with, either.

"As I stated before, we first met in a battle in a graveyard. You went on your way.."

Saber attempts to summarize how the Fifth Grail War went for her. Shirou and Rin working together against Caster and her Master, Archer betraying Rin in order to break his own contract and fight Shirou, how Saber became Rin's Servant, and then how Rin, Shirou, and Saber assaulted Gilgamesh at the temple.. even though Saber was commanded to leave Gilgamesh to Shirou with the final blow being dealt by Archer.

There's quite a few things missing in Saber's story, mostly due to how she wasn't present while being under Caster's control. That would include not knowing what had truly happened to Ilya, although Saber had an idea. It was likely somewhat easy to piece together as a listener, too, considering Saber took the time to briefly explain what kind of state the Grail was in.

"Hmm.. I may have missed a part without meaning to, so feel free to ask if you'd like any specification."

A giant lump of meat. Ilya doesn't really want to hear the details about that; knowing that the Grail had somehow manifested was more than enough.

Ilya can't help but think it sadly amusing that Shirou somehow lost Saber both in the series of events she knows and the ones Saber experienced. At least Saber was spared being ensnared by the corruption, and a contract with Rin definitely maximized Saber's ability more than Shirou ever could.

The part with Archer, though, is particularly interesting. Given what happened with Shirou and Archer in her own timeline, Ilya has some kind of idea of their relationship...

"Archer and Shirou fought? Do you know why?"

"Archer was Heroic Spirit.. Shirou Emiya. Archer wished to stop Shirou from making the same mistakes he had. When Archer was defeated by Shirou and then the Grail War ended with my destroying the Grail, he seemed much more at peace. Does Archer and Shirou being the same person line up with what you knew?"

Ilyasviel had kept her version of the Grail short in her story, so Saber had the courtesy to do the same. The Archer and Shirou detail was likely something she should have included, however.

By now, Saber's tea is empty, so she pours herself one more cup.

Ilya nods. Archer never said as much, but... the fact that Shirou was able to use with Archer's arm was enough to raise suspicion. Perhaps Archer had wanted to do the same thing in her own timeline, but the appearance of the shadow became a bigger threat that needed to be dealt with first.

Archer's arm was still helping, at least. They had a plan. And then... Ilya was taken from there to Vatheon. That was half a year ago.

"Shirou survived an attack from the shadow because Archer gave his arm. The fact that Shirou could survive the grafting, let alone begin to use the arm, told me they were connected somehow. I was pretty sure I knew who Archer was, but... Shirou didn't need to hear that from me then."

Ilya stares into the fire. Someday, when she returns... none of what she says now will matter. It's a somewhat disturbing thought, actually.

"I see. Then yes, the grafting having been successful would be made possible only by them.. being the same person."

Thinking of Archer and his questioning of her still chasing her ideals, Saber shakes her head and then looks towards Ilyasviel as she gazes into the fire.

"Thank you for sharing your story. I.." the knight pauses hesitantly. Now that she's had a few moments to digest Ilyasviel's story and to think on it, she can take a guess at something. "..assume that dark knight was me?"

No, Saber couldn't believe that she was immune to something as terrible as the Grail. It seemed only that the King of Heroes could, although Saber had many reasons to doubt that he wasn't affected as he claimed.

"That's right."

There's no point in lying. Saber, too, seems to have an idea of just what is in the Grail.

"I don't know the details of how it happened, but somehow the shadow in the Grail consumed you after you were defeated, and took you for its own. It... it happened to Berserker too, but what the shadow did to him was different."

It's hard to sound detached about Berserker. He was special. He was her Servant, after all. And to see him blinded by insanity, without a shred of what she knew him as, was probably the worst.

She frowns at the memory, but stops herself before allowing any other show of emotion.

Saber has nothing else to ask about Ilyasviel's story, and she can tell that the mention of Berserker didn't bring back pleasant memories from the look on the girl's face.

"I.. hope the tea and cookies were satisfactory."

Unfortunately, the knight hadn't baked the cookies. She did, however, prepare the tea. She.. really needed to learn how to cook and bake sometime. It just seemed like it wasn't going to happen for her as she continued to put other tasks in higher priority.

Ilya nods. The refreshments are simple, but they aren't bad-tasting, and they serve their purpose as breaks between conversation. She takes a cookie and carefully bites into it, making sure not to leave crumbs all over the place. They don't taste like they're homemade, but that's rather irrelevant.

She can't really picture Saber as much of a baker, anyway.

As she can't think of anything else she would particularly like to talk about with Saber, Ilya remains silent. Saber invited her, so the young Einzbern doesn't really feel burdened by the need to talk or make conversation. And... well, even after everything, there's still that level of reservation between the two of them.

Saber allows a silence to come between the two for a moments, and then shakes her head. Looking towards the girl, she smiles gently and then looks back to the fire.

"I have nothing else to.. talk about, so I am fine if you wish to be on your way. I wouldn't want to keep you all night."

The knight is sure that there's other activities Ilyasviel would rather be engaged in rather than sitting in awkward silence. Saber looks towards Ilyasviel, speaking once again with a softer tone.

"I appreciate you coming over and discussing this with me. Thank you."

She bows her head and shoulders briefly.

There are other things Ilya would rather be doing, it's true, but there's little that she usually engages in at night. Saber doesn't have anything else she would like to say... so it's okay if she just leaves now, isn't it? That sounds about right.

"Thank you for having me over," she says, getting up from the chair and giving a small curtsy. It's only polite. "And... I guess it's good that we talked about what we know a little."

More than that, it helped to put her at ease a little bit about Saber, if only slightly. Ilya knows that they're definitely better off as allies, and getting to talk to her is helping her put aside some of the other prevalent memories she has, at least.

Following the magus' example, Saber bows her shoulders and head and then leads Ilyasviel to the front door. She holds the door open for Ilyasviel, waiting patiently.

"Be safe on your way home."

The idea that Vatheon is mostly safe hasn't sunk into Saber's mind. And there were always exceptions, weren't there?

"..My door is always open, and my communicator always on," the knight offers gently, wanting to let Ilyasviel know she was welcome to contact Saber any time.

Ilya nods at Saber's offer.

"Well, I guess I'll think about it," she answers casually with a smile. She doesn't want to leave on a heavy mood, and it's easier to be less attached about things when you're light about them, right? This way, she doesn't feel any sort of obligation to follow up on it.

She steps out of the door and gives Saber one more curtsy before turning to leave.

"Good night then, Saber," Ilya says with a small wave, and then walks down the road back to her own apartment. That... could have been worse, couldn't it?

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VI // what we forgot to say

prose is great!

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ooc: aw I'm so glad they managed to patch up... a bit lol