The Next Day...

[h2]Saber[/h2]

Mira would open her eyes to what could be described as hell.

There was fire. There was death. A vast field lined with fighting. Men in armor, with swords and bows, with long-handed, bladed weapons, clashed. Horses fell and died, sending warriors tumbling from them to be cut to pieces. Blood spattered across the green grass at every moment. It seemed as if every second was filled with another death, another life cut short in a flash of steel and a spray of red. It was a hellish visage, a battlefield where everyone was steeped in the blood of others. It could be called nothing short of a nightmare. Arrows pierced a man through his throat and chest and he fell to the ground gurgling blood. Another man died when a yari cleaved his arm off before claiming his head.

It seemed that there was no end to the carnage. And, on top of that, it seemed as if the one side was beginning to overwhelm the other. Indeed, the attacking force, their lacquered armor painted red, was striking down and slaying more and more of the defenders, who wore a somewhat familiar style... largely white...

With every moment, more men died. More blood sprayed.

It was some kind of hell.

And yet... there were shouts of joy from the defenders. Those furthest back began to cry out in celebration, thrusting their fists into the air as they cheered...

A girl. A young woman. Her long black hair flowing as she sat astride a horse, raising a bow, knocking an arrow...

Saber.

The arrow flew and hit home, sending a man to the ground. Another, and another, each shot seemed to send a man to the ground, dead. Her arrival on the battlefield was marked with a series of rapid deaths on the attacking side. The moment she drew close to the frontline, she sprang from her horse and drew her blade... that long katana glinted in the light of the flames, and in a single motion she had cut a man in half before her feet hit the ground. It was gruesome work, what followed, but it was almost like a graceful dance. A beautiful show of swordsmanship in which each motion lead to violence in what could have seemed like a coincidence. If not for the death that Saber's blade had sewn with each strike, it could have just as easily been some kind of beautiful performance. Single-handed, the number of soldiers she had slain seemed to swell and swell...

And the scene seemed to melt away in a second, replaced with... it was some form of party, undeniably. There were many women of varying ages dressed in fine kimonos, and there were cups of sake, and many dishes of fish and rice.

Saber was there, dressed in a fine kimono as well, a splash of greens and pinks and whites... she was blushing, embarrassed as she was complimented by others for her appearance.

"[i]So strong, and so beautiful as well.[/i]"

"[i]Ah, I'm almost jealous![/i]"

"[i]One of our finest...[/i]"

And yet, there was another voice...

"[i]So strong and beautiful... can she even be called human?[/i]"

~

It was there that the dream seemed to end.

Saber had, quietly, take up a position outside the door of the house. Her injuries had, mostly, mended. Any healing that was still required would be finished soon. So she had selected, instead, to guard the manor. Even if it was protected that did not mean she could let her guard down while her Master slept.

Especially after the attacks of the last night...

[hr]

[h2]Estelle Varianbec, Master of Rider[/h2]

Sitting in her warm bath, the white-haired girl stewed in anger. She'd been absolutely humiliated last night... she'd let herself panic and it mad her so mad! She couldn't forgive Johanna Faust for that. Her maids had sensed something was wrong, even though she had not told them, staying quite as they tended to her needs, cleaning her thoroughly. Now, however... she had simply elected to sit in her bath and pout irritably to herself. Even after what Rider had told her last night, the memory of how frightened she'd become had gripped her again and made her furious...

Her maids were somewhat concerned, but unsure of exactly what to do.

[@Feyblue][@Dblade26][@Crusader Lord][@Raineh Daze][@Seirei No Hai][@Cu Chulainn][@Rin][@Blackstripe]