An Immodest Proposal

[crimson_war_demon]

Thus far, Lancer has had little occasion to speak with Lord Matou. His main duty now is to accompany her Ladyship, and assist her in her efforts, and he hopes he's performed satisfactorily in that regard. Now, however, he kneels in seiza before her Ladyship and Lord Matou both, and finds it easier to lower his eyes to the ground than to raise them. Should he look up, he would see Lord Matou all too clearly, and -- no, it is ungracious for him to think such things, and likely even dishonorable. Nevertheless a strange itch crawls up his spine; the sensation is not unlike what a cat might feel, were its fur brushed the wrong way.

"My lord," he begins, "and your Ladyship. Kamanosuke has delivered valuable information about the Lady Tohsaka, but there is a more pressing matter than that. While by the river, I encountered the Servant Saber -- a Western woman, though I cannot venture any other guesses as to her identity. She is as fast as I am, at least, and wields an unusually thin blade, and parried my blows well with it. After several passes, she offered an alliance. Of course," he adds quickly, lest they receive the wrong impression, "I would never presume to make such a decision in place of my Master, and told her as much! However, I gave her my word that I would convey her message to you, for my lord and her Ladyship to do with as they please."

He lowers his head, braces himself for reproach. "Lady Saber has proposed that I meet her tomorrow with our answer, whatever that answer may be."

Comments

[chanson_de_maupin]

The Messenger flickers like a guttering candle--a blink, a breath, and Saber stands in his place with her hand on her hip and her hair loose about her shoulders. "Never trust a messenger to do a hero's work," she says tartly. "You have my word, Lancer. I'll throw myself on any blade turned against your Master, and I'll do it gladly--if you'll swear to protect mine in kind."

[crimson_war_demon]

"I shall," he says, and bows to her. There is nothing shifting about his stance, nothing hidden in his eyes, nothing ambiguous or shadowed in his aura: if that cannot prove the sincerity of his oath, nothing can. "This war is meant to pit Servant against Servant. To strike against one who has no defense to call their own but flesh and magecraft -- it would be as cowardly as slaying a child."

[chanson_de_maupin]

"Don't let my Master hear you say that, or you'll find out just how defenseless she is."

Saber turns, studying the grounds and committing them to memory. "Now, I gather you're not fond of the plan."

[crimson_war_demon]

"I understand why you wish to hide our alliance from the others. And this false Servant is not unlike a scout's false report of a mysterious force to the east, so the army in question will not think to fortify the west instead. But it is not how I am accustomed to fighting."

[chanson_de_maupin]

"And I'm not accustomed to command," she admits. "We'll conceal our own identities the better if we fight in ways we're not accustomed to fighting."

[crimson_war_demon]

He can't dispute the truth of her argument, but it still sits uneasily within him, like a mouthful of stagnant air. "Do you not find such rules of engagement strange?"

[chanson_de_maupin]

She sucks in a breath to quell a burst of laughter. "More than strange--strange is being a dead woman in a land I never saw when I walked the earth. Strange is feeling magic on the air and knowing in my water what that feeling means ... this, this is like learning to walk all over again. Or like learning to fly."

[crimson_war_demon]

He inclines his head. "I see, Lady Saber. So much about this world, and about our role in it, is strange. To single one aspect out is itself strange, perhaps. But still, some part of me wonders -- we are called to this war because of who we are, I have been led to believe, and yet to achieve victory, our surest course of action is to behave as other than what we are. That seems to be what you suggest; forgive me if I have misheard your words."

[chanson_de_maupin]

"Once, my name was my sword, my shield, and my banner--men trembled to hear it, and only half their trembling was fear. I gloried in that fame, Lancer; I grew strong in it. The promise of making my name immortal is what brings me back to the world of the living. But when you met me on the field of battle, and I demanded your name, you gave me your truest name." She does not have to indicate his spear; he can no doubt feel its weight well enough. "You will never be other than Lancer, no matter what guises you wear or what names you take or who shouts those names to the sky. That is the man who was called to achieve victory."

[crimson_war_demon]

"I believe I understand, Lady Saber. You suggest that some core of us remains unchanged no matter how much of ourselves we reveal during this conflict, do you not?" He hesitates, reaches back to brush his fingers over his nakago. "It is not my name I fear for, nor whatever humble recognition I may have achieved while I lived. But I hope I am never called upon to renounce that which is dearer to me than my name."

[chanson_de_maupin]

"Your honor," she surmises. "You want to be able to say, as long as you live, that you fought according to your conscience and your loyalties."

[crimson_war_demon]

Lancer raises his head, his gaze steady. "It is as you say, Lady Saber."

[chanson_de_maupin]

She meets his eyes. "Someday, you'll have to tell me what that means to you."

[crimson_war_demon]

"It is my hope that my actions shall show it better than any words could."

[chanson_de_maupin]

"Tomorrow, then, we'll prove ourselves." She flourishes a deep, courtly bow, with a smile for Kaede--the girl looks like she could stand to see a smile now and then. "If you have no further business, I'll show myself out."