"[b]Midnight Planning[/b]"
[i]Marianne's Safehouse, Septum[/i]
---
Marianne smiles to herself and takes a lengthy drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke up towards the ceiling and watching it rise. For just a moment, silence fills the warmly lit Safe house, but its owner does finally break the silence and speak-

[i]"Regarding the girl, she is a leftover from my summoning preparations. I took her in case I ended up needing more blood, but it turned out to be unnecessary. Now she is probably going to turn out as a midnight snack, in order to recover my energy. Virgins are quite good for that, you see?"[/i]

[i]"Now, as for our plans for the war..."[/i] She sits up straight and leans over the coffee table, looking over the map placed meaningfully atop it. [i]"I think that it would be in our best interests to reserve this night for reconnaissance."[/i]

[i]"Once we've rested a little, I was thinking that perhaps we should survey this district of the city, to see if any other Masters may be present in the area. I am no magus, so any skills you have that might help us in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Regardless, once we've determined either the presence of enemies or otherwise in this region, we can return here and make our preparations for tomorrow's war."[/i]

Now, Marianne sinks back into her couch and smiles at Rider. Once again, she asks, [i]"Anything else that you think we should discuss, Rider?"[/i]

---
"[b]Partnership[/b]"
[i]Butcher's Shop, Septum[/i]
---
Colour returns to Saber's skin as she begins to visibly blush, embarrassed by the fact that she was being lifted up and tended to by her Master. If she was not so weakened, she would have likely pushed her Master away and walked to the table herself, but it seemed like that was not an option. Her Master carefully sets Saber onto a nearby table, before getting to work on healing her injuries. 

Saber apologizes, [i]"I'm sorry, Master."[/i], before coughing up a small bit more blood than before. She doesn't speak again after this, allowing her Master's healing magic to restore what damage her internal organs had taken before she finally lets out a sigh of relief. Her breathing stabilizes, and when she finally voices her thoughts on the situation, her voice seems steady and clear.

[i]"Thank you for the assistance, Master. I don't know what happened with the summoning, but the physical damage I received seems fully healed."[/i]

Now that she was able to talk freely, Saber's french accent was more prominent Her expression was pleasant, but clearly quite tired. Suddenly, she frowns as if noticing something was wrong, and immediately puts on another apologetic smile.

[i]"There is, however, the matter of damage to my spirit. I do not know how extensive it is, and I will not know until I enter battle, but I seem to have lost some of my skills..."[/i] She pauses, feeling for her hip and finding the hilt of her sword. She smiles slightly, but her next words are just a continuation of the earlier ritual.

[i]"We have yet to finish our contract, Master. It would help with my recovery if we could do that as soon as possible."[/i]

With more grace than before, Saber sits up from the table and steps on to the ground, once again kneeling before Beatrice in order to continue the ceremony. She looks up at her Master's face in the gloom, smiling with appreciation for what she had done for her. Once more, she speaks the ceremonial words...

[i]"Master, my Lady, do you accept my blade?"[/i]