The Sun peeked from behind the distant clouds, casting it's light upon the peaceful city of Fuyuki and serving as a natural alarm for a certain percentage of the city's population. Homes lit up, stoves were set aflame, and breakfast was prepared as the citizens prepared for the battle that was their daily life.
A certain distance away from the city, Bazett Fraga McRemitz for the umpteenth time, found herself in the middle of a forest, awoken by sunlight directly falling into her eyes. Except this time, she was lying on a dark, very familiar cloak.
"Hmm?" Confusedly, Bazett sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes before noticing that the item of clothing under her was supernaturally comfortable, "This is..?" The Enforcer didn't get much time to be embarrassed by her situation as she soon noticed she'd possibly been sleeping by a hillside, only a few metres away from falling over.
"Greetings, my Master. I trust your sleep was well? Who am I kidding, it most certainly was wasn't it? You made but a rug of my cloak." Aston was sitting right beside her, arms wrapped around his legs and seemed to be peering off into the rising Sun listlessly. The Lancer felt somewhat irked by the mysterious servant's words but would most likely have ended up disregarding them if not for the fact that he had the entire night with nothing to do other than watch over Bazett and think.
"Y..You're certainly stingy even in the morning." Bazett spoke embarrassedly, joining her servant in peering off into the distance. As a grown woman, it was slightly embarrassing to know she'd fallen asleep in the arms of a man, even if he was her servant, and then slept on his clothes.
That and, Aston wasn't wearing his armour but instead just a form fitting black shirt that accented his well-built form and grey trousers. The Lancer was most certainly handsome but perhaps would be shunned by some for the scar running diagonally from his neck to his left eye, Bazett didn't much mind that though. She even thought it looked kind of cool.
"Ah I do apologise my Master. I only had my entire life insulted and then had to take care of you too, I should be nicer." Aston's words were as gentle as ever, enhanced by the gentle smile she now could see on his lips.
Bazett stopped for a moment before sighing a bit, "So him calling you an attack dog did upset you." Servants were human too, it made sense for him to be sour about someone insulting his life's work.
"Not truly.." Aston shrugged, "It serves as a good enough excuse." He wasn't completely upset because he genuinely disagreed with those words, and not in some unfounded way, "You could say I obeyed my king all my life and you would be right but at the same time, wrong too." The complete truth was always lost with the passage of time, his tale wasn't exempt from such a thing.
"How?" The Enforcer questioned curiously, what she read was the exact opposite of that.
"His insults were born of a sort of frustration, my Master." Aston held up a finger, explaining calmly, "Frustration afforded only to the talented strong, the prodigious and the entitled." He turned to face Bazett, a slight glow in his dull blue eyes, "He ignored that I was not born nobility, I was not the offspring of some superior being or part god nor was I a child of prophecy or something along those lines."
Bazett was only confused further by his words, not really seeing the point to his words.
Aston only smiled at his Master, she had perhaps missed it but he didn't, the mysterious servant held high ranked Divinity and each single weapon he'd used was a noble phantasm. The powers servants had were based on their legends or the nature of their existence, the insults thrown his way were more like some child who had always had what he wanted throwing a tantrum.
"I was born to villagers, in an era where one would be glad to have bread and water. Even that was stripped away by pillagers who enslaved all the women, and killed all the men, elderly and children, taking all they had built up through effort and hard work." Aston took in a deep breath, pausing for a moment, "I lost my mother that way."
"And this.." The knight put a hand to his cheek, running his fingers across it, "Is the gift they left me." They'd thought it would kill him and it should have, but he preserved, dragged himself through the mud and dirt to safety, to the forest where he met his dearest friend and greatest enemy.
"But because I did not possess some earth shattering weapon, I tried to be as you magi are, thinking only of myself." Aston spoke entranced, recalling his early life with a nostalgic tone to his voice, "And I failed, I could not simply stand by as the undeserving were tortured, played with and stripped of their livelihoods for entertainment so I tried by myself to change that."
He drew in a long breath once more before staring at the blue cloudless sky with a small smile, "I failed again, not all of us are kings, monarchs or leaders. For every one I could protect, dozens, perhaps hundreds more would fall so.." He clenched his fist, "I swore my loyalty to one who could, someone who was certain to make change. Bring peace and prosperity to the people."
Of course those were the same people who rebelled because the king was 'too perfect' but what could he do about that, life wasn't all sunshine and daisies.
The Lancer then sighed, "Admittedly, I would never choose the many over the few and only did that because my King had ordered as such. Humans are pretty strange aren't they? But, if I am a mutt for following my king into battle as a knight, then I find nothing wrong with that." Aston finally met the gaze of the silent Bazett. That wasn't all there was to his story but hey, it was a start. The knight knew his aspirations weren't among the best but they were his, how could one not be moved by such a king?
"Why tell me?" Bazett asked in a strange tone, slightly confusing her servant.
"Why of course, I wouldn't want to waste your kindness." Aston jumped to his feet, his armour manifesting onto his figure as he took a few steps forward, "You ignored the pain of being betrayed to ask about my well-being, I feel I would be less of a man if I didn't trust you with this much." He smiled under his helmet, peering off into the distance. He still wanted to rip that pompous piece of shit limb from limb though.
Bazett didn't know how to respond to his words so she only averted her gaze, flustered at being found out. But, she knew now why Aston was a hero of legend.
What else could you call one who had done what he disliked for the people, unable to simply let them suffer even when he could have prospered by himself but a hero?
It would be right to say he'd served his King all his life but it would also be wrong at the same time.
"Now come, my Master. I've located Caster, let us strike her down and be done with it."
Aston summoned his spear, grabbing onto it with his left hand, "I am about to become an Archer." He would throw it and destroy the entire immediate vicinity of the enemy servant, that would most certainly be the optimal method to victory.
Bazett sighed, remembering her servant's strangeness, "You can't just throw a weapon and call yourself an Archer." If that was the case, everyone could be an archer!
"Are you sure about that, my Master? Are you truly sure?"
=
Hey guys.. What's with that absurd ranking?