Arrival

Luvia's head turned from side to side frenetically as she desperately ran through the forest, still partially encumbered by her elaborate dress. She was looking for anything that might be able to get her out of her current predicament. Her magical energy was all pumping into her legs as she sprinted away from the wolves that were hounding at her ankles. Each step was followed by the snapping of jaws as she only just managed to keep ahead of the beasts.

As she ran, her hands were rapidly running over her dress, groping at her pockets and the seams and hidden pouches built into her outfit that would have normally been filled with gemstones. And yet Shirou had insisted that they were going on a perfectly normal date and that meant that they weren't allowed to bring any magic with them. For the both of the two girls, that meant they had to leave their jewels at home.

Another wolf made an attempt at her legs, and she jumped straight up, before slamming her foot down on its neck, killing it instantly, but almost immediately she was swamped by four more wolves before she even had a chance to move. She spun, trying to get out of their grasp and back to running before she was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. One particularly horrid creature snapped its jaws down around her forearm while she tried to bash another away. She instinctively wrenched her arms back and away from danger, and her dress gave in, the entire arm ripping right off.

A glint of light flashed as a jewel fell out of where it had been sewn into the shoulder of her outfit. She seized it in a moment, and a second later she was calling out her incantation. Half the wolf pack died immediately as spears of earth and rock grew up out of the ground, penetrating right through them without a hint of resistance. The emerald shattered as its energy stores ran dry, but it was already enough. She snagged the ripped off arm of her dress from the maw of the now dead wolf and vaulted over the earthen spikes to get back on the run now she had a bit of breathing room.

The wolves were almost immediately back after her, but she had gotten some time since they were **** to circumvent the mass of spears she had left behind. That was good. It gave her the time to use her ripped arm as a makeshift bandage for where she'd been bitten, and to stem the bleeding. She'd have time to try to use magic to purge any possible infections later, for now survival was more important.

She burst through a thicket of brambles, their thorns tearing more gouges into her dress, and found herself arriving onto what seemed to be a well trodden dirt road leading through the forest. One way lead just deeper in, but the other way held a figure sitting astride a valiant white charger. The sound of the wolves grew closer, and she desperately pushed herself forwards to get more distance before they were upon her again, the first one hurling itself from the undergrowth jaws already trying to snap shut.

She needn't have bothered.

The beast never got close to her. A blade severed it in two before its hindquarters had even cleared the brambles, and those following received a similar fate. In a flash of white, blue and gold, she was suddenly rid of pursuers, the last couple letting out piteous whines and scrambling back from whence they had came. A ring of red surrounded her and her saviour, and yet not a droplet had gotten onto either of them, the blade strokes had been so precise.

She looked up at the man who had saved her as he turned to regard her as well. He was clad in thick steel plate that was as white as ivory but was also trimmed with gold, and he wore a cape hanging from his shoulders that was a royal blue, and swayed gallantly in the light breeze. His hair was purple, as were his eyes, and he outstretched a single gauntlet to her with a clink. "Are you unharmed my lady?"

What could a lady do to that but swoon?

Shirou's trip through the forest he found himself lost in was significantly less exciting. He found himself entirely alone, beside a doe that he spooked as he trudged his way through the forest, stepping over roots and fallen logs, but ultimately finding no sign of any life at all. Or perhaps that was the wrong thing to think given the way that a small squad of red squirrels bounded across his path, nuts in their paws, and they decided to dash right across his feet to make sure that he acknowledged their existence. He waited for them to go past before continuing on.

Well this was one huge predicament that they had ended up in because of his careless words, but he couldn't complain about the view at the very least. The whole place was verdant and blooming with plant life. The wind was light and made the tree leaves rustle perfectly to create a natural chorus, while the sun in the sky seemed to be perfectly positioned to let golden light stream on through and warm him wonderfully.

Maybe once everything was sorted out and he had regathered his prospective girlfriends, they could all come back to this spot for a picnic. He could cook plenty of dishes including all of their favourites. It would probably be the perfect way to make it up to them both for getting them stuck in this situation. After that it would just be a matter of figuring out how to get back to the shop and hopefully back to their lives. That would be more difficult, but with two geniuses like Rin and Luvia working together, it should be possible.

Which made it all the more frustrating that he had no idea where to look. This forest seemed to be a big place, and they could be nearby and he wouldn't know. Or they could have been scattered to the winds. He would prefer not to have to go all the way north to Scotland, or god forbid somewhere even further afield, just to get Rin and Luvia back. The worst case scenario that he tried to assure himself wouldn't be the case was that they hadn't actually all arrived in the same time at all. If that was true then he had no clue what he might end up doing.

Clink. Clink. Clink

Shirou immediately went stock still as he heard the sound of someone else moving about the forest, and most definitely not either of the two girls he hoped to find. That was the sound of someone wearing armour, metal armour. This was most likely the time of Camelot just like he'd joked, which meant that historically they shouldn't be wearing much more than chainmail, but he'd already met Arturia before, wearing anachronistic plate armour. Plate armour would definitely be a lot harder for him to deal with if it turned out this other person wasn't friendly. Being non lethal was a lot more difficult when you had to use so much **** just to make your enemy feel you hitting them.

Still the Married Blades were in his hands in a moment, called forth from the world that existed within his mind and soul. They had been the blades that He was most familiar with using, and so they were the ones that Shirou was most familiar with as well.

The knight that appeared before him was small, almost as small as Saber had been, possibly even smaller than she had been. They were dressed in shimmering white and gold full plate on the upper body, as he had expected, but that stopped at around the waist and instead was followed by what seemed like an armoured skirt or kilt that hung down to around mid thigh. And that was where the problems really started, because after the skirt cut off there was a large gap of exposed leg until her armoured boots began halfway up her calves. In between, that gap of exposed leg was clad only in what was almost a stocking.

He had no idea what that was supposed to be. If this was Modern Day Japan he would almost describe it as Zettai Ryouki, a style specifically designed to entice the attraction and arousal of a man. But that couldn't possibly be the case here, because if the earrings were real, then this was England over a thousand years into the past, and not only had that style not even been invented yet, it should not at all be something on the mind of a Knight, whether they were of the Round Table or one of the countless others.

And yet there was no denying it.

What there was also no denying was that this Knight was most definitely a Knightess, though she didn't seem to intend to be identified as such. Her hair was cut short and almost deliberately unstyled so that she looked more masculine, as well as it slightly changing the shape of her face to make it more angular and blocky. Her armour was obviously designed to eliminate the bulging of her breasts, and even with her feminine legs on show she overall appeared more like a feminine boy than a woman.

What gave her away though was her lack of an Adam's apple, combined with the way she walked. The female pelvis was shaped differently to allow for the birthing of children, and it caused slight differences in gait and stride between men and women. Nothing that a little acting or attention to posture couldn't disguise, but either she had let down her guard and was walking naturally right now, or more likely at this point in time that subtle distinction simply wasn't known. It wouldn't usually be a problem given most people in this time wouldn't be able to recognise it, but Shirou had time on his side right [now.

In all of this time it took for Shirou to make these observations, the Knightess noticed him as well. "Ahem." She cleared her throat as she noticeably lowered the pitch of her voice to sound more like a man. "Stop right there and put your weapons down, in the name of King Arthur!"

This was feeling all a little too coincidental. Because Saber had been a female disguising herself as a male. And now here he was arriving back in Camelot during her reign, meeting one of her own knights, and they just so happened to be doing the exact same thing? He looked on incredulously, the swords dropping from his hands to the earth almost as much from just sheer shock as him obeying her words. It was just enough that he couldn't hold back his words. "Is it just Normal for all of the Knights of the Round to secretly be women?"

A ripple ran out through reality at those words, though there wasn't a person alive who was able to perceive it. And all across Albion, the world shifted.

But a little closer to the source, a female knightess desperately trying to pass herself off as a male suddenly squawked in surprise as she too dropped her weapon, and almost her shield as well. "How did you know???!!!!" She quickly snatched up her lance again and dashed forwards jabbing it at his chin and trying to be as intimidating as she could, while also literally shivering in her boots and looking for all the world like she was on the edge of tears. "You tell me right now or I'll.... I'll k-kill you."

From the quavering in her voice, that wasn't something she was looking forwards to, if she was even willing to go through with it at all. That was good. Even with a lance pointed at his throat, he was actually more comfortable with the woman now that he knew she wasn't someone who was quick to launch to ****, and who wouldn't kill unnecessarily. He relaxed himself completely now, letting the blades he had projected vanish into magical energy again, and raised his hands in a clear surrender. "Y-you're not exactly doing the best job of hiding it." He commented.

"But no one else has realised! The only people who know are my siblings!! So how can you tell when they can't?!"

Well this could get awkward fast. But thankfully he had the good old standby to fall back on. "Magic."

"Y-you're a wizard?" She stared up at his face for a moment, inspecting his features closely. And then her eyes darted down to his feet for a moment, noticing where there had been blades and no longer were any. "Alright. If you really are a wizard, then the King will want to see you, to make sure you aren't a problem. You're coming with me." She reached out with her other hand and grabbed him by the wrist, beginning to drag him along behind her as she immediately headed off the way she had come.

Her head turned over her shoulder to look at him as he followed along obediently, slightly bemused at the situation. "And if you tell anyone, I will make sure you get the attention of the Court Wizard. And I promise you, you won't enjoy that."

"Don't worry. I'm used to keeping these kinds of secrets."

"My lady?" The hand was still outstretched to her, and she gently placed her hand into it and allowed herself to be pulled up and onto her feet. But there was... something off here. She stared up into the eyes of her rescuer, brilliant purple things, though a little dull. She'd have imagined them as being bright shimmering amethyst things if she could design her perfect knight in shining armour. Well no. If she could have her perfect knight in shining armour, it would probably be Shirou dressed in the male equivalent of Boob Plate.

Just because she was a woman didn't mean she wasn't allowed to ogle.

But it was more than just the eyes that were the slightest bit wrong. Something about the shape of her rescuer's face and the smoothness of their skin. They were almost feminine in their appearance. Well, Shirou had a cute face too, she wouldn't hold it against them. "Why thank you kind sir. I wasn't sure what I was going to do."

"It was my honour my lady. Now, might I inquire as to where you are headed? At this moment I am patrolling these lands on behalf of my King, and I would be more than happy to help escort you to wherever it is you wish to go."

"Most gracious of you Sir...?" She left the question hanging so that he would realise he hadn't shared his name.

"Lancelot. Sir Lancelot of the Round Table. And you?"

"Luviagelita Edelfelt." She replied even while she squealed internally at the fact that she had actually been rescued by the man who was quite literally the stereotype of 'Knight in Shining Armour' if not the originator of the concept. This was definitely one of the most amazing days of her life just from this fact alone. Then the specifics of the situation returned to her mind and she straightened herself out again. "Actually Sir Lancelot, I was travelling with two companions. My lady in waiting." She said even as she chuckled slightly at how that would tick off Tohsaka once she found out. "And my bodyguard."

"Then we shall find them immediately." He replied to her without blinking, standing tall and taking a small look around between the many trees. "Do you know which way you came from?"

"I'm afraid not sir. I quite lost track of myself as a fled those beasts." That was as good an excuse as was necessary. She couldn't exactly say they had been magically separated. A female magician in these times would almost certainly be suspected of being Morgan Le Fay in disguise, or in some way related to her. And if what Shirou had said of King Arthur was true, then it was quite probably they looked somewhat alike already. "Lead on please sir. I will follow at your side."

"Of course my Lady. Your companions shall be found within the hour." He gave a small bow and... did he just? He had practice to be sure, that or he was quite adept with subtlety, but when he had bowed to her, his eyes had quite clearly strayed down her cleavage.

'Oh dear. It seems I might be another Guinevere.' She thought to herself as she followed the feminine Knight back into the woods in search of her friends.