A/N: aaaaaaah so you see something in Emiya that both differs and is the same as Shirou. :3 Also, what moron thinks I�m stupid enough to claim Dark Saber is mine, I ask you. The big clash is my idea and mine alone, and I�m the one that gets to make it mesh in a coherent fashion. I have to do this in the rpg as well. Amanda does her fair share, as usual, and I clean up the little bits that make no sense when she misses them.

But yeah� sorry, I just got a message from someone that made me go �Fuck the what?� (�what the fuck� backwards because whatever happened that caused the outburst was so far beyond comprehension that it reversed reality. Similar to �BZUH?�, but not, as BZUH is used when your brain has completely shut down entirely. )

Oh and� ah hahahhaa� I completely forgot what I had Emiya thinking in the last chapter. Aaah Gotta love it when I do this stuff at night. Makes the brain meats go crazy, but ultimately, I have trouble remembering what I did. XD

Chapter Sixteen

Cuchulainn practiced out in the field with his comrades, laughing as he once again enjoyed life as a soldier of the king�s army. His friends, men he had been raised beside, enjoyed having Cuchulainn in their ranks once more, though he had improved so much that they had trouble keeping up with him.

�Oi! Lad! Stop trying to take us all! You�ll break us!� laughed one of the older men.

Cuchulainn chuckled and stopped, putting his sword tip first into the ground before crouching down to roll himself a cigarette. It was a nasty habit of his, though it didn�t taste like much, for the leaves in the mix were odd and vended from in Scotland. He lit up his cigarette and waved out the match before looking up at his buddies. �Ah, it�s been a while since I was able to do this again.�

�Camelot raised a proper celebration after we all defeated Gilgamesh,� said a man around Cuchulainn�s age. �We didn�t get to attend it, though. Conochbar came over and retrieved us. He found out you had come.�

Cuchulainn cringed slightly. So that was why Conochbar had been so sore with him when he had come back! �I had a higher order� or really a plea for help from someone far fairer than Conochbar,� said Cuchulainn as he puffed on his cigarette.

A man chuckled. �A far fairer plea? Who would be this fair person that pleaded for your aid in that battle?�

�The queen herself,� said Cuchulainn, grinning mischievously. �Got a letter from �er on Skye, oddly enough. I figured it must be important and urgent to come to the island.�

�Hound,� snorted an older man. �You act just like one.�

�I was named properly, then, wasn�t I,� smirked Cuchulainn before he glanced up at the hill a ways off. He saw a black line of riders headed toward Ulster�s walls. He frowned. �Seems we�ve got company. Reckon its raiders?� He only saw raiders and Camelot knights wear such black armor. Could it be Camelot�s knights and possibly her queen was coming to Ulster? The thought made his heart thump in his chest. The little queen would be coming and he would finally get the chance to meet her!

�I�ll go send a runner to the king. He would know if we�re expecting Camelot or not,� said the old man. Then, he ran off. Cuchulainn stood up and pulled the sword from the ground and cleaned it off before sheathing it. He put the cig out on the sole of his boot and stowed it away for later as he watched the black clad group come closer. The group was ominous, though he did spot the bright red hair of the queen�s kin. He was like a lantern in the night, easy to spot for his hair fairly glowed.

�It�s Camelot, men,� he said.

�How do you know?� asked one of the younger men.

�Recognize the day glow red haired one. Fought beside him, in fact� well� sort of. He was fighting and I wasn�t paying attention.� Cuchulainn scratched his cheek a moment and watched the riders longer still.

Cuchulainn had to move out of the way quickly as two riders wearing Ulster armor galloped out on their horses. �Watch where you�re going, you pair of diseased rats!� he bellowed at them. �I bet your mam weaned you off your father instead!� The pair didn�t turn to him as they rode out fast to meet the small army headed for Ulster. Cuchulainn laughed anyway, though.

�Come on, lads,� said the old man as he came back, �Camelot has come to Ulster. Sean and Tristan just rode out for them.�

�Sean, aye? Better heckle him when he comes riding back with them,� said Cuchulainn with a broad grin.

Gawain held up his hand as they neared. �Greetings, Ulstermen. It seems we�re here for a party!�

The two chuckled and came around on either side of the contingent. �We�re here to escort you into the capital,� said the younger one, �wouldn�t want the queen o� Briton getting lost, now do we?�

�Keep your tongue in your head, boy,� said the older one, though, as Arturia looked at him, she noticed he wasn�t much older than the boy he spoke to.

�Will others greet us?� asked Arturia, watching the open gate.

�Aye, more than likely, your highness. Cuchulainn saw you coming and inquired as to who you were and we were sent to bring you into our walls,� said the older one as he moved closer along side to be nearer to her. He had a charming smile, though nothing special.

One of the men beside her grunted and made him move a little farther back. Despite the helmet he wore, Arturia recognized that his armor didn�t fit right; he was a bit too small for it. She had noticed it while they were coming to Ireland that one of her men had trouble keeping his breeches on and would constantly hide his red brown hair in case someone saw him. She flicked her gaze back to the gate once more as they grew closer. She saw a flash of blue hair and frowned. She remembered seeing blue hair before, though she couldn�t remember why. She also remembered a young man, about her age, sitting and singing, though she couldn�t remember fully why. It had been as though it were nothing but a dream. She remembered pressing her lips to his cheek, but only feeling as though she were kissing a ghost. Was she the spirit?

She would deal with Emiya when she was settled. For now, she wanted to see how he faired with hiding himself. It was a good, fair, start on his becoming an assassin, should he continue to serve her as such. Blending in was paramount.

Cuchulainn watched as the procession rode in through the gates, black armored men atop horses as they rode past him and his men. He ran up beside Sean and chuckled. �Your mam would be so pleased to see you ridin� like a knight in shining armor,� he teased.

Sean flushed faintly and attempted to kick at Cuchulainn. �Shut it, mate, shut it. I don�t need that from you!�

Cuchulainn continued to walk beside Sean as he looked past him. There, in the middle of her guarding knights, was Queen Arturia. She was looking at him imperiously with a certain amount of chilly irritation sent his way. Cuchulainn grunted and took a hold of Sean�s saddle to make sure he kept pace. If the woman hadn�t looked like she could give her own country a run for its money on being cold, he might have thought she was pretty. She looked away sharply when she saw him and moved up through her guarding knights toward her kin. Was it his imagination, or did Cuchulainn see the fainted hint of pink in her white ears?

Arturia came up beside Gawain as he grinned at her. Once again her cheeks were pink as she eyed him. �Why do you look at me so?�

�Because it seems you have found a man who causes you to get hot in your cheeks,� he said, teasing her. �You look very maidenly with those pink cheeks,� he said.

Arturia gave him an icy stare before moving back toward Emiya. By that point, the blue haired young man had already moved off away from her escort and gone somewhere else. What was it about the young man that caused her cheeks to burn?

She watched as a violet haired young woman, her long, beautiful hair pulled back in a loose braid, walked past her. Arturia frowned faintly as she watched the young woman. She was younger than Arturia by a few years, most likely either at the cusp or just past the cusp of marriageable age. Despite being so much younger, she was beautiful, beyond beautiful, and it caused a strange sensation inside Arturia�s chest as she watched her. A feeling of dread accompanied the strange tight feeling inside her as she watched the woman walk through the crowd.

Was Arturia as pretty as the girl? Was she desirable? Arturia had not grown up with this sort of thing in mind, for she was brought up to rule as a king. She knew she was a girl and did not like the idea of hiding her gender simply to rule, so she had decided long ago to make sure everyone accepted her as their queen and not their king.

Some told her she was maidenly, but that was not what she felt. She felt old and unwelcome. She moved silently through the people milling around until she caught sight of blue hair. Her heart thumped oddly as she saw it and moved toward it.

She came to a clear area and found her target turned away from her. He was dressed in his finest clothing, plush dark blue velvet and gold trimmed tunic complimenting his odd hair wonderfully. He turned and looked toward her, still smiling from whatever conversation he had been having. His red eyes were stunning! They were like Gilgamesh�s had been, ruby red with cat like slitted pupils. He had a lithe body with relatively broad shoulders and trim waist. His blue ponytail was pulled back with a dark blue ribbon and the top part, which was messy when she had first seen him, was brushed back and looked nice. The very image of him caused Arturia�s body to tremble. If he wasn�t from a god or a faery, she would cry, for it would be the first human man she had ever seen that was so beautiful like a faery!

�Hello, little queen,� said the beautiful young man, still smiling at her.

She snapped out of her reverie to look up at him again. �Hmmm? Pardon?�

�You are Queen Arturia of Camelot, correct? I remember your name from the battlefield and from the note you sent me,� he said, smiling charmingly at her.

Arturia�s heart thumped hard in her chest as her eyes grew wide. �My letter?� Was this young man Cuchulainn?!

He frowned. �Oi, yeah, your letter. I�m sorry if you thought I was being rude earlier when I was talking to m�friend Sean, earlier. He�s younger �n me and I enjoy teasing him when he gets important tasks to perform.�

�Are you� Are you Cuchulainn?�

He grinned and bowed with a flourish. �That I am, little queen. I am Cuchulainn, hound of Ulster, as everyone�s so fond of pointing out.�

Arturia�s cheeks were aflame. She backed away slightly, uncertain of what she should do. When he took her hand and kissed it, she eased slightly and watched him with curiosity. He stood up and smiled faintly at her, leaning over her a little as he did so. �You moved me with your plea for help, so I came and did what I could. After all, you were right. If he had gotten through us, he would have gone through all the islands and waged an attack on everyone.�

Arturia gazed up at Cuchulainn as though she were drunk. Sher certainly felt like she was, for her mind was hazy. Cuchulainn also had a strange feeling in his bones as he gazed at Arturia. It was as though he knew this was most definitely not the last he would meet of Arturia and it unnerved him greatly that he felt as though he were fulfilling a part of destiny that he did not wish to fulfill at this point.

�Cu?�

Arturia�s attention snapped over to the violet haired young woman as she came closer to Cuchulainn�s side and took his arm. She had a ring on her left hand that left little room for doubt as to why she was so close to Cuchulainn�s side. �Cu, aren�t you going to introduce me? This is the woman you went to Briton for, right?�

�Ah! Yes, I�m sorry, Emer.� Cuchulainn laughed and looked to Arturia, grinning. �My lady Arturia, this is my wife Emer. We recently married and I sometimes forget about her presence!�

Emer pouted as Cuchulainn laughed more. Arturia bowed her head slightly toward Emer and then backed away. �Pleasure to meet you. I must mingle now. Thank you for your aid, hound of Ulster,� she said.

Cuchulainn chuckled and then turned to Emer as Arturia moved between several people so she couldn�t hear what they spoke of. The pair acted as though they were in love, all right. Emer looked puzzled as Cuchulainn blushed faintly and laughed, causing Emer to blush herself.

Arturia�s heart felt numb. She felt as though someone had pulled her heart from her breast and left her with a gaping hole where they ripped it out. She could barely breathe and her head was getting light. All she could see was the young woman beside Cuchulainn and how beautiful she was as she laughed heartily at Cuchulainn as he spoke something. He moved closer to her and nuzzled against her temple and then kissed her cheek, his arm going around her shoulders. He licked against Emer�s earlobe and nibbled as the girl blushed heavily and tried to shove him away.

Arturia felt something fill the void inside her. Cold fury filled her heart as she watched. All she could see was herself impaling the girl with Excalibur and putting her head on a pike for all to witness. At that moment, Arturia moved away swiftly and went up the stairs toward the guest quarters. She didn�t notice Emiya behind her as he watched her run oddly, falling against the walls as she became dizzy. She didn�t notice when he lifted her up into his arms and carried her to her room. She only noticed when she felt the soft bed against her back and saw Emiya move away from her.

�Queen Arturia�� is saddened.. by something?� asked Emiya, forming his sentence slowly so he would not mess it up.

Arturia blinked and shot up from the bed. �Emiya, I thought I had told you that you were to stay in Camelot.� Her voice was far colder than he had ever heard it. He grew afraid and touched the scars on his face, reminding him why he had to remember to stay calm, to make certain he did not initiate the reality marble.

�I felt.. it would be.. good training for me,� he said, trying to remain calm.

She sat down and nodded. �Very well, you did poorly. However, it is your first time attempting to do this, so I must not be harsh with you. Please leave my room now, for I am cross with you for being here.�

Emiya frowned and shook his head. �My place� is with my queen.�

The gaze Arturia gave Emiya made the very marrow of his bones shatter from the chill. Her armor started appearing on her body as she stood slowly. He gulped and hit the ground on his hands and knees. �Forgive me, my queen!� he cried. �I was only� I wa� I was only concerned!�

She kicked him square on the jaw. Emiya flew backward and landed on his back. His skull connected with the stone floor and caused stars to appear before his eyes as his hand went up to his jaw. He could move it, though it hurt like hell. �Leave. Now,� said Arturia. He rolled to his feet as quickly as he could manage and ran out to find his room.

When he left, Arturia�s gauntlets were fully formed on her hands. With a cry of absolute outrage, she slammed her fist into the wall, rock breaking and falling at her feet as she pulled her hand away. As she looked down at her hand, the armor disappeared and she wasn�t even bruised.

With that, she sat back on her bed and pulled her knees up, hugging them close to her as she stared at nothing.