Matter of Fate

"Why am I still alive?" He said, the sound of crunching bones and squished meat rang through his ears. He began standing up, regaining balance and equilibrium, trying to get a hold of himself. The knight's armor creaked as the metal scraped against itself, blood dripping from his helmet, right on the visor, getting in his eye, causing him to quickly toss the helmet off in a panic, tossing off his right glove and rubbing his eye clean with the cloth of his sleeves, the blood matching will with his red eyes, and standing out against his white and clear hair.

The young knight placed his hand over his mouth, keeping his gaze forward, as he began walking away. He tried his best not to avert his gaze from his path, to not look at the dead around him, the allies and enemies of this gruesome war. The skies were luckily dark, the moon was blocked behind clouds, giving little light, and making the various corpses hard to see, but their stench was too strong, and gave them form in his mind. And so, the knight kept walking, and walking, trying to find his way outside this bloodbath. How did he survive? For as far as he walked, he didn't hear another living soul around him, not even a grunt or a cough. Everyone was dead.

Everyone died, and only he failed to follow.

The man limped and arrived inside a forest, the tall trees with their thick and strong branches hiding the skies behind their leaves. The scent of blood made the animals and the other forest creatures distance themselves from him, giving him a clear path as he dripped blood from his silver armor on the surrounding plant life. He rested up against a tree, smearing the blood on the ground and the wood. His breathing calmed down after this trip, but he could see the smoke from the battleground, hundreds and hundreds of miles away, and the stench persisted. The knight got back up, removing his armor from him, clanking loudly against the stones and ground, leaving him with a black body suit he wore underneath the armor, that resembled a long sleeved shirt with matching black pants. He kept the metal boots, continuing on his way through the forest.

Eventually, he found a path of wonderous flora, colorful petals organized as a straight path, clean grass leading him deeper inside the woods. As he walked further in, the trees became decorated by vines that extended and wrapped around the body of the tree and their branches, flowers sprouting from those same vines, all white in color. The young knight approached and found a beautiful lake, a lake that truly glimmered in a silver light, as if it was molten metal, yet it looked clean, pristine. The waters didn't move, no leaves, feathers or any dirt were in the lake, yet he couldn't see through the waters.

He kneeled down near the waters, putting his right hand inside the lake, cupping and carrying the beautiful clean waters in the palm of his hand. Before he his lips could touch the waters, a blade pierced clean through the back of his hand, grazing against his cheek, as he jolted away, the blade stuck in his hand. He crawled away, losing his metal boots, but getting a small distance from the lake, grunting in pain as he bled onto the green grass.

"Who are you?" A feminine voice called, as the lake's waters began moving, small tides forming as a figure rose from the depths. As the water washed over the figures' body, and she took the first step on the grassy earth, it was revealed to be a woman, long, silvery pink and flowing hair reaching that reached her ankles, a circular crown-like object that resembled a bone hovered around her head, from the front looking like a pair of wings almost, while her eyes were a matching color to her hair. She was beautiful, stunning, most would agree, but the young man's focus quickly switched to the fact said woman was completely nude "A knight..." The mysterious faerie woman said, smelling the blood he brought with him, noticing the fresh blood trail he brought with him, the bloodied metal boots lying next to her.

"I ask again." The woman said, sounding more demanding, as a blade suddenly appeared, stabbing the earth near the young man, just barely missing his leg. "The next will land directly through your bones.".

"I-..." The young man choked on his words before he could even really begin. He tried to stand back up, grunting along the way and clutching his wrist "My name is...Arthur, and I..." The young man, Arthur, quickly averted his gaze before continuing, blushing in embarrassment at the woman's get-up, or lack thereof "I am but a mere knight, a foot soldier, really! There was a vicious battle and...".

"That doesn't matter to me." The woman said, holding a blade up to Arthur's neck, a blade which had supposedly materialized out of nowhere "You've come and were about to defile my lake, something punishable by death in my territory." She said, drawing the blade closer "You could have been more discreet...".

Arthur suddenly covered his eyes with his left hand "I-...If you need clothes, I can let you borrow my armor...or my shirt, I don't mind." He awkwardly stuttered, trying to offer the naked faerie some cloth to cover herself with. He proceeded to turn his back towards her, the blade stuck in his hand slipping out and falling on the ground, yet he seemed to not notice. Arthur seemed to have issues dealing with women of explicit nudity.

The woman did not let this falter her, but she did find it odd that he seemed unfazed by the blade sliding out of his hand. The air getting on the open wound would usually cause a severe burning pain, on top of the actual pain of having a blade go through one's flesh and bones. Infact, judging by the blood trail, someone would usually be at a daze from the blood loss. Moreover, this man had an odd aura about him, yet not a "magical aura" or pulse emanating from him, but just something inside.

What was he?

Suddenly, she grabbed his Arthur's hand, dunking it into the lake "H-...Hey...!" Arthur didn't resist, fearing he might do something he'll soon regret from jerking his hand free "Please, I don't want to dirty your lake..." However, he soon felt a soothing sensation on the palm of his hand. When the woman pulls his hand out of the waters, they were still clean and clear, and so was his hand, free of blood, and a hole in the middle "Th-...The wound...".

The woman stood up, still gripping a sword in her hand "This Silver Lake is sacred, almost divine. It heals any injury sustained, but, it took three seconds less time to heal you." The woman said, referring to Arthur's injury "And that was no scratch either." She kneeled down, dunking her hand in the waters, before moving her finger against the scratch on Arthur's cheek. The traces of the Silver Lake's waters healing his wound, closing it as if was never there to begin with "Ah, I was wrong. 4.21 seconds less than the average. I wonder why?".

"U-...Uhm..." Arthur blushed heavily, stuttering awkwardly "What is happening...? If you want me to just leave, I don't mind..." He said.

"Ah." The woman coughed, before suddenly grabbing Arthur's head, burying it into her chest, performing the only action she knew to calm someone "My name is Nimue, I am the Faerie of the Silver Lake." She began introducing herself proper "I apologize for my rudeness and upfrontness, but I take this lake as sacred, it is my home after all. However, you are an odd case, the waters react differently to you, and something about you is abnormal. Furthermore, you are the first human I've met who has tried to dress me." Nimue finished, pulling Arthur back.

"...Was that necessary?" Arthur asked, his face no longer blushing, just honestly stunned and confused.

"You listened to everything?".

"Yeah.".

"Then it has been a success." Nimue said with her monotone voice, scratching her chin as if trying to look intelligent.

Nimue allowed Arthur to stay, her only condition being he isn't allowed into the lake, or drink from it. A nearby waterfall made up for it, however, and any food he needed he could get by hunting, using a smaller dagger he kept with him to kill and skin the animals he hunted, if he could. Nimue merely needed to snap her fingers and a blade would shoot forth and stab any animal into the ground, and her blades were sharp and excellent for skinning. He tried to start a small campfire to cook the food, but everytime he tried to get a spark or anything, it seemed as though he was more flammable than anything else, even when nothing was on him to catch fire, he still found a way. Luckily, Nimue's blade could be adjusted to allow them to produce sparks efficiently by sliding another blade against it, allowing for Arthur to start more controlled fires without burning himself.

"That's an amazing power you have." Arthur said to Nimue, carefully cooking rabbit meat stuck on his dagger's blade over the flames. "That...is magic right? I never saw magic in the flesh before.".

"Hm." Nimue sloshed around in the lake's water, swimming around it without needing to really move her body. She floated on her back, staring at the starry night skies "I suppose you can't call it anything else.".

Arthur still needed time to adjust to Nimue's shameless nudity, getting distracted by it too often. Such as now, where he noticed his rabbit meat got burnt charcoal black, reducing a good half of it into tasteless chalk. He delayed crying about it and just turned it to the other side "Does that magic have a name?".

"Name?" Nimue stood straight, her face lighting up in confusion, the most emotion Arthur has seen her display all day "I never pondered such a thing. Does a magic need a name?".

"I-...I mean..." Arthur distanced the meat from the flames as he searched for a reply "Logically, no, but...it would be cool...?".

"Cool?" Nimue tilted her head to the side, Arthur's words inciting further confusion "Naming something lowers its temperature?".

"Ah." Arthur came to the realization Nimue may not be very well refined in metaphors "I didn't..." Arthur sighed, and as he moved his arm to begin explaining, his meat slipped from the dagger's blade, landing on the grass and dirt, quickly being swarmed by a variety of insects. As if on cue, his stomach growled at the sight of his food being devoured "Urgh..." He grunted in despair, but picked himself up and faced Nimue "W-...Well, what I meant is...naming your magic would give it more personality, a bit of character?".

"Like naming a child?" Nimue asked, sounding intrigued.

"Ah...I suppose?".

"Naming things gives them more personality." Nimue's eyes lit up. Or, well, as much as her iris' expanding by a few insignificant inches could be considered "lit up" for a woman of such low emotional spectrum "Then I could name swords as well...".

"Well, yes." Arthur said, unfolding a piece of cloth to reveal the rest of the rabbit's meat "But, you don't name something just randomly. It needs to be something special, that's why giving something a name is so important, it lives an impression." Arthur said, cutting a piece of the rabbit's meat and sticking it to the dagger's blade again, prepare to heat it up.

"Hmm...interesting..." Nimue stretched her arm forth, opening her palm, as golden energy began gathering around it. The energy swirled, and the Silver Lake's waters mixed with the energy, turning it a darker, yet soft grey texture, beginning to take upon a form akin to a blade "A blade of prime form and sharpness, a golden scabbard and guard. No. Too simple." Nimue said, talking to herself, the silhouette of a blade changing "Something more vibrant and out of the ordinary? No, it wouldn't be practical..." Nimue seemed to grow frustrated, judging by her tone. The swirling energy changing its trajectory, shooting up into the skies in a wide spiral that seperated, as if a river flow was disrupted "I need something defined, worthy of having its own name. A sword like no other that I ever crafted, but that can still be used to fulfill its purpose..." The swirling energy suddenly vanished, clutching her hand into a fist "Hm. Another time.".

Arthur was left in awe at the sight of magic being employed before his eyes. He had heard of magic and how it was the "power of miracles", but he never believed it. He had already seen the capabilities of minor mages, the creation of elements, the manipulation of pre-existing materials, but not something unexplained such as this. He couldn't pinpoint and compare it to anything he's seen before. Was she going to use the Silver Lake's waters along with her own energy to create a blade? Is such a thing even possible? No, thinking about it, "miracles" don't really need to abide by the laws of the world, at least not fully.

He snapped out of his trance when he smelled the burning meat, seeing it fell off the dagger blade and straight into the fire, burning it up into pure black "...It's okay, I can go a day without food..." Arthur's expression showed a smile of defeat, and his tone was neutral, yet internally, he was getting flashbacks to being attacked by bees for randomly treading on their territory when he was just young. He wasn't sure what the correlation was, besides the fact he felt pain in both.

"You are hopeless." Nimue said, standing next to Arthur, causing him to try and avert his gaze as much as possible. She stabbed a blade through the rest of the rabbit meat, creating a simple and medium length blade, personally holding the meat over the flame for Arthur "You get distracted too easy, hence you lose your food. That's dangerous. You would run out of rations quickly this way." Nimue explained to Arthur.

"A-...Ah, right." Arthur said, observing the meat as it cooked "Don't, uh, don't mind me asking but...aren't you cold?" Arthur asked Nimue.

"No. I do not feel the elements." Nimue said "The Silver Lake's waters protected me from them, preventing my body from getting ill, and even if I did get ill, a quick dip would cure my illness in seconds." She explained, pulling the meat out of the flames, poking it to feel its texture "Just a few for moments.".

"Does the lake really possess such power...?" Arthur said, glancing over at the wide lake "No wonder it has such a reputation...".

"Unfortunately." She said "There." Pulling the meat away from the flames, she pulled the meat out of the blade, holding it in her hands without flinching "It's ready." She said, dropping it on Arthur's hands, who immediately jolted from the scorching heat of the freshly cooked meal, causing him to drop it on the ground "...".

"..." Arthur crawled over into a bush, whimpering in shame.

"Wait...".

"I'm sorry. I'll leave first thing tomorrow. You won't have to see a living failure like me anymore..." Arthur said, his tone clearly delivering despair and self-loathing.

Nimue merely complied to what he said, walking back to her lake, standing on the water as if it was a solid surface before slowly sinking into it, completely submerged under it, slumbering inside the Silver Lake.

The sun rose over the horizon, its light seeping through the branches and leaves, creating shadows over the grassy land, but the lack of trees around the lake made the light pierce through the waters, reaching Nimue and waking her up. She emerged from the waters, walking on land, looking around and seeing the remains of Arthur's stay gone. The campfire he started was cleaned up, the blood trail he left dried up, and the armor he came with was also gone, and so was he.

"Hm..." Nimue looked back on the young man, before looking down on her palm, golden energy swirling once more about her palm, but cancelled it out "How do I even name a blade...? What kind of name do I give it..." Nimue pondered for herself. She leaned down, finding Arthur's dagger was left behind. Nimue examined it, placing it up against the sunlight to see the metal, the sharpness and durability of the dagger. It was awful. The blade itself got dull, and never recieved care from any whetstone, and the handle began to break apart slowly, forcing her to grip on it tightly in fear of it breaking apart. Nimue felt actual pity for this hunk of metal, and whatever other tool Arthur got his hands on, borderline mourning for these inanimate objects.

Nimue continued examining the dagger, focusing on it as she walked back to her lake. She stepped on the waters, but rather than slowly submerging into it or walk it as she typically would, she fell into the waters, startling her and snapping her out of her focus. Nimue struggled to breath, feeling the waters overwhelming her, forcing her to swim back up, clutching onto the ground, gasping for air as she got out. She climbed out, breathing heavily and looking back at the lake, as its silver color vanished and became the average blue, reflecting the sky on it. "W-...What...?".

Then, she saw it, a spiked demon, more like a hound, with fur as dark as the pits of Hell, and eyes soulless and void, blank with no visible irises. Its claws dug into the ground from its toes, while the ones on its fingers were more like blades used to skewer through armoured humans with ease. It had a humanoid body, bipedal legs and arms. Its face was like a beast, yet didn't resemble any known creature, but it had clear fangs that were dirty with remains stuck between the teeth, and dried blood.

This thing, the demon, also held something in its closed fist, something that let out a glow, and continuously spilled a silver substance from inbetween its fingers. Nimue expression became that of horror as she realized what has happened. The Grail was stolen from her lake. "Halt!" She said, quickly standing up, extending her arm forth, energy building up from her body, yet it quickly vanished. Nothing happened "No...no, no, n-...!" Nimue was interrupted by the demon's hand smashing into her, pinning her into the ground. The demon's hand was large enough to encapsulate her entire body by its palm, the fingers and claws digging into the earth. Blood built up in Nimue's throat from the impact, but due to her position, she had to turn her head to the side, coughing up the blood that built up in her mouth.

The demon raised its hand, grabbing Nimue by her hair and pulling, causing the faerie extreme pain, yet she refused to express it, instead trying to use her magic, but nothing happened. Without the Silver Lake at her side, she was nothing, and soon, would be no more. The signs became clear on her body, first with her skin losing its pigment, becoming paler and paler, making it difficult for her to move her body and fingers, as cracks followed. A feeling of dread and panic quickly overtook Nimue, as her face showed those same emotions, on the brink of tears as the looming threat of death has never been closer in these last 50 years.

"Please...I don't want to die..." Nimue tearfully said to the demon, who only growled.

The attention of both was taken by a sudden loud noise. A loud noise that was drawing closer, and sounded like the screaming of someone in a hurry. It drew closer, and closer, but they couldn't pinpoint from where. As if on cue, birds flew away from the trees, to which the demon turned to meet with the sight of a young man with ashen white hair and blood red eyes, and a face expressing clear wrath, carrying an uprooted tree above his head, and throwing it directly at the demon, forcing it to free Nimue and smashing its head into the ground, the impact shattering the tree into pieces.

Arthur landed on the ground, squarely landing on his left arm, discolated his shoulder in the process "Gah...!" He grunted, quickly getting up and making his way to Nimue "Nimue!" He shouted, stopping as he feels the stinging pain of his bone not being quite in its place, forcing him to relocate it back in place "Urgh...! Don't worry, I'm h-..." Arthur was squarely struck in the face by the demon's tail, hitting him in the stomach in a full swing, smashing and pinning him into the ground.

The demon's tail infact sprouted from the palm of its hand, at such a pace and speed that Arthur didn't notice it "Gah...! N-...Nim-...!" Arthur's throat filled with blood, stopping him from finishing his words. The tail moved away, but Arthur grabbed onto it as he stood back up, beginning to pull it "You...What did you do to her?!" He asked, but the demon said nothing in return, only staring as it tried to retrieve its tail "What's in your hand?" His eyes lit up with anger again, noticing the demon's right arm was clenched into a fist.

Suddenly, the demon rushed towards Arthur, almost causing the latter to lose his footing and fall, as his stomach met with the demon's foot, kicking him and raising him above the ground, as tendrils sprouted from the demon's shoulders, entangling around Arthur's limbs, smashing him into the ground, scraping it alongside the grass and dirt, before rising him up and smashing him up and down repeatedly, as Nimue helplessly watched, losing all ability to move.

Arthur bit one of the tendrils, his teeth sinking deeper as he struggled to free himself, the repeated smashing stopping him and forcing him to start again "Nimue!" He exclaimed, breaking free one arm, which the demon took notice of, making him throws Arthur into a tree, breaking it down with his body. Arthur got up however, making his way to the demon "Haaah..." He cracked his neck as he rushed towards the demon, clenching his hand into a fist, but was swiftly smacked into a boulder by a tendril, pitifully slamming against it and falling on the ground.

"I came here for the Grail." The demon spoke, its voice surprisingly sophisticated and humane "You're being a pest.".

"But Nimue is dying..." He said, standing back up, dazed from the impact and barely walking straight "Whatever you did, fix it!".

"You should know, talking to me won't change my mind.".

"I know." Arthur rushed at the demon again, as tendrils shot from its body, aiming to rip apart the young knight. Arthur dodged the tendrils as he got closer to him, but failed to dodge all as a tendril pierced his stomach, pushing him back.

"Young knight, you are going to die if you cont-..." The demon stopped, not because Arthur stood back up, but because a strange aura emanated from him, as the wound in his stomach closed, leaving behind only the torn clothes and blood "Healing...? Ah, a regenerator mage. Those are persistent fighters." The demon said, attempting to deduce Arthur's magic.

Arthur tried to think and plan around this foe, but Nimue's condition was valuable time. He couldn't waste time making intricate plans "My body has always been odd, but my fate was worse." Arthur said, beginning to walk around the demon, making no advances towards him.

"Yes, I've noticed." The demon said, its senses on guard "You are those born condemned to a life where nothing is meant for you. The name of living omens, of any race, the White Rose.".

"Mistress Fate was a bit too cruel to me." Arthur grinned, leaning down to grab his dagger lying on the ground "I've always failed at whatever I tried to do, and no hard work or effort alleviated me." He said, recalling everytime he raised a sword and began practicing his swing, and would somehow lose it to the trees. Everytime he took a bow and arrow, aiming, it wouldn't even two feet away from him, landing pathetically on the ground. No matter how much effort, or how hard he tried, Arthur could never achieve anything on his own. Even the townspeople, when he was a mere street rat, did not try and stop him from stealing food, not out of the kindness of their hearts, but out of pity.

The life of a White Rose is one where the only available path is failure, misery and misfortune. Even in this world of magic, Arthur refused to believe that. No "fate" is going to choose what life he leads.

"I will not fail this time." Arthur said, rushing into the trees, as the demon's tendrils proceeded to slash through them, the swing of the tendrils slicing through the air and cutting down a good portion of the forest before him, forcing Arthur to duck down, almost crawling to save himself from losing his head. He stomped the ground, bursting out of the bushes and rushing at the demon again. As the demon's tendrils attacked again, Arthur leaped forth, clutching his dagger in his right hand.

However, his heroic deed was cut short by four tendrills stabbing into him, two through his stomach and abdomen, and the other two through his left shoulder and right arm "Today! Failure is not an option!" Arthur wrapped his arm around the tendrills stabbing his left shoulder, pulling it out and pulling on it, viscerally breaking free from the other bandages, heading back towards the demon, aiming for the head with his dagger "I'll return you the kindness you gave me!" The demon casually raised his arm, grabbing Arthur and stopping him in place.

"Worthless.".

"Arthur..." Nimue extended her arm forth, aiming at the demon, her vision blurry and her body still writhing on the ground. Forcing out whatever magic power she had left independently in her, she summoned one blade, shooting it through the demon's back, making it way through to the other side, appearing through its stomach, before she collapsed down again, her flesh falling apart like brittle stone and beginning to bleed profusely, seeping from the cracks.

"...!" Arthur was freed from the demon's grip. He quickly grabbed the blade, pulling it through the demon's stomach, a gushing blood fountain shooting out. Aiming for the heart, Arthur forced the blade through the demon's chest, where he predicted the demon's heart would be "I was supposed to die, but I failed, so please make up for my own short comings!" The blade made it way through the demon's chest, poking from the back.

But the demon didn't stop. The demon grabbed Arthur, raising his arm up, and smashing the young man into the ground, sending a tremor through the earth, a small crater of cracked rocks, followed by another cracking sound of bones. The demon casually tossed Arthur near the lake, beginning to walk towards Nimue "I will finish off what I came for." The demon walked towards Nimue, its tendrils taking aim at Nimue, shooting forth.

Blood gushed and sprayed, as the tendrills stabbed into Arthur's body, shielding Nimue "H-...Hey..." Arthur coughed blood, accompanied by blood dripping from his injuries, down from his body to his legs, to the ground "I'm not done...".

"You are going to die for some woman?" The demon asked, mocking Arthur's efforts.

"I don't...have anyone else to fight for really..." Arthur said, taking a step forth, pushing the tendrils with him away from Nimue as best he could "I have no one. It's even a miracle I became just a foot soldier. But! This woman stabbed my hand, and gave me a place to say at! So! The least I can do is try and save her! Repay her! My name is Arthur, and my ambition, is to succeed!" Arthur declared, extending his arms forth, grabbing the tendrils and pulling on them "And I will succeed in saving Nimue!".

"For what purpose?!" The demon roared, two of its tendrils were ripped right off by Arthur's strength "What could you gain?! Do you desire that body as a reward? I would expect nothing less of a human!".

"Heh..." Arthur placed his fists up forth, clenching them tighter, almost losing his balance from his broken bones and injuries "Just a thank you would be enough." He tried to give off a confident smile, but blood dripped down his chin, and his entire body was shaking and barely staying still, making it obvious for Nimue and the demon he was having a hard time just maintaining his footing.

"Fine. I'll kill her first, just to make you regret this decision." The demon cruelly said, but after taking only a single step forward, its body caught in flames, engulfing him an intense flame that vanished quickly as it appeared, reducing the demon's body into ashes that was blown away by the wind.

A golden cup with a crack rolled on the ground, as a cloaked figure grabbed it, tossing it into the lake, its silver color returning, followed by Nimue's body returning to normal and healing as well. She took a deep breath, gasping, almost hyperventilating, as if she was deprived of oxygen this entire time, coughing at the end. "Nimue!" Arthur fell on his knees, but tried to support Nimue "Are you okay?".

"Hey...kid..." The cloaked figure spoke, her feminine voice having a cheerful tone despite just commiting murder. Murdering a demon, granted, but murder nonetheless. The woman took off her hood, revealing a long, flowing crimson hair, and brown, pupiless eyes "You wanna be a hero?".

"...Uh, maybe later..." Arthur said, going back to focus on Nimue "Let's get you back in the lake, Nimue." He said, helping Nimue stand back up, when in reality, she was helping him by letting him use her shoulder as support "You'll get better once you go into the lake, right?".

"Arthur..." Nimue said, monotone as always, turning her face directly to meet his.

"Y-...Yes?" Arthur replied, almost anticipating something from Nimue, to the point he didn't realized he was pushed down into the lake, where he soon began drowning due to his lack of swimming expertise, despite the fact the magical waters weren't depriving him of oxygen at all, making his wild flailing and holding his breath rather pointless.

"So..." The strange woman who just burnt a living creature to ashes began speaking "It seems tha through fate, I've met with you three, and through fate, this meeting has been made possible." As if on cue, Nimue stepped on the waters, slowly submerging herself into the waters, ignoring the woman completely "...Okay, I'll wait." The woman said, sitting down, and resting her head on her hand.