Eerie Forest & Serene Forest

Within the Einzbern castle, things were progressing peacefully.

Ryker continued his training in an attempt to understand his abilities better.

When he wasn't training he was tending to Iris and Illya.

Soon days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, as Iris' due date was fast approaching.

~Present Day~

Silence,

Snowflakes continued to fall and flutter about,

Yet within the forest, not a sound could be heard.

The silence of nature would normally cause one to feel at peace,

Not this silence,

One could almost feel an eerie undertone to the silence which spread throughout the forest,

As if it threatened to consume the entire world, basking everything in a false sense of stillness.

A woman stood within this silence, her blonde hair tied tight, eyes closed in concentration.

She felt the world around her moving as if following a natural rhythm.

The woman allowed her senses to flow alongside the world's rhythm,

Yet the silence confused her senses, causing her to be unable to find what she desired.

Just when the women was about to give up, she felt it.

An overbearing, ancient aura suddenly consumed her.

Cutting her connection to the world, she braced herself.

Glistening silver armor was donned, as she raised her golden sword over head, her stance was steady.

She waited…her lack of movements only serving to add to the eerie silence.

As if attempting to break free from the stillness, tiny golden wisps akin to fireflies, rose up from the ground.

The wisps slowly congregated towards her sword, moving in opposition to the falling snowflakes.

An ancient chant sounded out within her mind, allowing her to break free from the illusionary shackles the aura had placed upon her.

{'Her sword shines, a dream that all warriors scattered in battle, past, present and future, hold and mournfully exalt as their final moments approach.

She carries their will as her pride, bidding them to remain steadfast in their loyalty.

Now, the undefeated king sings aloud the name of the miracle she holds in her hands.

It's name is…'}

She moves, her stance shifts as she brings her left foot forward before firmly planting her feet into the snow cover ground beneath her, she waits.

From nothing, chaos is born.

Space shifts, as Illusory turns Reality.

The void screams its claim upon existence, as from within an ancient beast rears it head.

Pristine white scales, sharper then the finest of swords, and more durable then the strongest of shields.

Majestic wings beat upon the very fabric of space and time, torrents of black lightning and flames leap out from within the gaps of its scales, threatening to consume all who come near.

A Dragon.

Upon the beasts back, a knight, clade in pitch black armor darker then the very void itself in which the beast originated from.

The knight wields a tower shield in his left hand and in his right he holds a set of chains.

The chains wrap around the knights arm, linking him to the beast which he rides.

The tower shield is massive, yet from behind the tower shield the handle and tip of a lance can be seen, due to the lance being even longer then the shield.

The shield and the lance were both of similar color to the knights armor, all except for a silver symbol which decorated the shields front and the lances pole.

The symbol was that of two majestic dragons, one white while the other a dark red. The dragons wrapped around one another, from their tails to their necks.

The Dragon Knight, had previously pulled back on the chains, which had been the reason in which the Dragon's charge through the void had come to a halt.

He turned his attention forward and studied the blonde haired woman in front, her sword now glowing brightly with a grand and powerful golden light.

The Dragon Knight knew what was to come. Flicking the chains he held his tower shield to his front.

Feeling the chains flicker and receiving a mental command from its charge, the white scaled dragon opened its maw as sparks of black lightning and wisps of black flames, could be seen congregating together before forming into a ball of pure void energy.

Seeing the dragon gathering energy, the blonde haired warrior made her move.

Bringing her sword down in a downward strike, she cried out the name of the miracle she held in her hand,

"Excalibur!"

A golden beam of light surged forth with the fall of her blade.

The Dragon Knight, also called out to the beast in which he rides,

The Harbinger of Death, Ruler of the Void, Master of Time and Space, Consumer of Stars.

"Aka'rosh!"

A pitch black breath shot forward to counter the golden beam of light, it was reminiscent of flames, yet crackled like lightning.

The two forces of black and gold collided causing devastation to the surroundings.

Stray black lightning bolts broke free, cleaving apart the earth wherever it passed.

While smaller beams of light cut cleanly through trees, causing them to topple to the ground.

It wasn't long before a winner was decided as the energy from the void began consuming the golden beam, reducing the beams size while fueling its own strength.

Knowing that her attack wouldn't last much longer, the golden haired woman quickly leaped to the side just in time to dodge what remained of the dragon's breath.

Finishing her roll, the golden haired warrior quickly sprang to her feet, and cleaved forward with her sword.

*Clash*

The sound of metal colliding range out within the forest, as the warrior had swung her sword just in time to block the thrust of the knights lance.

Yet the weight of the lance had been to much for her, causing her to be caught off balance.

While pulling his lance back, the knight wasted no time as he thrust his tower shield forward, ramming it into the off balance warrior.

*Thud*

The power behind the shield blow was nothing to scoff at, as the warrior found herself with a sudden feeling of weightlessness before feeling an impact against her back.

Not bothering to watch the warrior who was now barreling through the trees, the knight gave his mount another mental command before attacking the tower shield to his back and charging forward at a speed so fast it seemed as if he had vanished.

Quickly the knight caught up to the warrior who now was attempting to right herself in mid air.

Not giving her an opportunity, he used his forward momentum to initiate a spin, now going the same speed as the flying warrior.

At the start of the spin he held his lance with both hands before bringing it higher as he spun.

By the time he was once more facing the warrior his lance was at its peak.

Using his momentum from the forward charge and the spin, the knight brought down his lance, striking the warrior with the pole.

*Bang!*

Struck with a force no less then that of a meteor hitting the earth, the warrior released a groan before she was sent into the ground, bringing a devastating crater with her.

*Cough*

Due to the sheer force from the impact, air was forced from her lungs as the warrior was forced to cough up a mouthful of blood before attempting to move out from the crater.

Using her sword, she propped herself up in an awe-inspiring show of resilience.

Yet as soon as she managed to stand, the sound of wind thumping, and space tearing thundered from above.

Looking upwards, the warrior saw the large spiked tip of the dragon from earlier, coming down onto her from above.

Quickly her knees bent as mana begun to permeate out into her immediate surroundings.

Just before the tail crushed her head, she disappeared.

*Boom!*

A loud explosion akin to thunder sticking the ground sounded out.

The blonde haired warrior appeared a few dozen feet away, she was releasing agonizing gasps as sweat slowly slid down her elegant, yet childish face.

'Huh?'

Her instincts screaming in alarm.

Sensing movement behind her, she quickly jumped up, dodging a lance sweep which had threatened to cleave her in half.

Kicking out behind her, her foot found purchase as she used the force of the collision with the knights shield to put distance between the two.

Once her feet touch the ground she entered into a ready stance.

A ferocious Dragon to her left, a deadly knight to her right.

She waited.

Knowing she couldn't be the first one to move, otherwise she will find her back penetrated by either claw or lance tip.

Her pervious laborious breaths began to calm down as she was allowed a moment to catch her breath.

Silence once more dominated the surroundings.

The only noise coming from the slow, heavy, breaths akin to a growl which originated from the enormous Dragon.

As if on que, the Dragon's breathing ceased as its powerful muscles constricted.

Sensing that the beast was about to begin its charge, the warrior tightened her grip on her sword in preparation.

Wings tucked, and its tail flicking behind it possessing a strange flow alongside the rest of its body. The Dragon raised its sharp jagged maw.

*Roar!*

As if sounding a new battles start, the beast roared as it begun its charge towards the warrior.

"Haaa!"

Releasing a battle cry of her own, the warrior gathered mana in her legs in preparation, while she herself charge at the oncoming Dragon.

Seeing an opportunity, the knight reversed his grip on his lance. Bringing his arm up, he hurled his lance at the warrior's back, before following behind it.

In a blinding display of speed, the lance soon found itself a short distance behind the warrior.

'Got you!'

The warrior thought as she spun on her heels.

Now face to face with the oncoming lance, the blonde haired woman brought her sword up. Using the flat edge of the blade, she redirected the lance's trajectory towards the oncoming Dragon which was forced to use its attack, that was previously planned for the warrior, to stop the lances momentum.

With the Dragon stalled, the warrior released the previously gathered mana in her legs, and reversed her charge, this time heading towards the lance-less knight.

She felt like she could see the knight smirk beneath his helm, causing her to feel a sense of doubt creep up from within her, yet she didn't halt her charge.

The knight brought his shield off from his back and held it parallel to the ground before hurling that too at the warrior.

Surprised the warrior was forced to halt her forward charge and sidestep the shield that was barreling towards her.

Once she dodged the shield, she turned her attention once more to the knight only to discover he was right in front of her, arm cocked back.

Bringing up her right arm, she blocked his strike only to feel the bones in her arm creaking and groining.

Sliding on the ground due to the impact, the warrior bent her waist backwards as she dodged a sweeping kick meant for her head.

Not even bothering to right her center of gravity, she used her backwards lean to pivot around as she dodged a heavy axe kick this time.

Yet she wasn't able to keep up with the knight in hand to hand combat as she was quickly caught off balance and found a gut retching punch connecting with her sternum.

Due to the force of the punch she was sent soaring through the air once more, right into the awaiting claws of the Dragon who had now joined the fray.

Closing its grasp, the Dragon on its hind legs caught the warrior before slamming his front limb down, releasing his grasp just before the moment of impact.

The warrior was sent deep into the earth, this time taking far longer to crawl her way out.

Once out of the deep hole stretching into the earth, the warrior laid on the ground taking laborious breaths, her armor was caved in due to the earlier punch, restricting her breathing, while her clothes were torn and ripped.

He sword was no were to be seen signaling an end to the devastating battle.

The Dragon knight gave a mental command to his mount before walking towards the down warrior.

Hearing the command from its charge, the Dragon didn't continue the fight, instead it retreated back into the void in which it came from, disappearing from reality.

Reaching the downed warrior, the Dragon knight placed his hand upon her armor. As if reacting to his touch, the armor slowly disintegrated allowing the warrior room to breath once again.

Reaching up, the Dragon knight removed his helm, causing his long flowing black hair to run down his back.

Releasing a breath of his own, the Dragon knight addressed the warrior while helping her into a sitting position.

"You did well Saber, I feel as if you're becoming stronger and stronger the more we fight. Especially that little tactic you pulled at the end, haha!"

The knight laughing heartily was precisely Ryker, while the blonde haired warrior was Saber.

The two were having one of their sparing sessions.

Thanks to the constant sparing against someone who was stronger then her, Saber had been growing stronger at a remarkable rate.

Ryker on the other hand had just hit the bottleneck he was anticipating. Although he had hit a bottleneck with regards to his understanding of his skills, it didn't mean he didn't learn anything.

Thanks to the months of experimentation and practice with his abilities, Ryker had also grown at an astonishing pace, improving all of his abilities, and skills across the board. Whether it be cast time, single target might, AOE might, mana cost, the knowledge of when and how to use a certain skill, and many other things, all saw a huge improvement.

One of the things Ryker had picked up was how to improve his 'mimic' abilities.

Prior to his experimenting, if Ryker had took on the guise of a Rider class servant, the outcome would be rather average, with him ending up relying more on his own parameters rather then the class itself.

Now though, he had been able to improve it to the point where he was able to improve his 'Rider class' into a 'Dragon Rider class', even summoning [Aka'rosh] a Dragon of his own imagination.

That was another thing that improve, now rather then only being able to copy the skills of already existing legendary figures such as Saber's sword, he could now make use of his own Akashic Records to create his own legends.

Then he could copy the things from those 'legends' and bring them into existence, thus [Aka'rosh], The Harbinger of Death, Ruler of the Void, Master of Time and Space, Consumer of Stars, was born as the mount of his 'Dragon Rider class'.

Releasing a sigh at her defeat, Saber accepted Ryker's offered hand, and rose to her feet now that she had caught her breath.

"You really are strong Ryker, and you only continue to grow ever more as the days pass." Saber said as she looked Ryker in the eyes, as if trying to discover the secret to his strength.

Chuckling lightly Ryker simply stated, "You too can become as strong as I am one day Saber, I'll even help you become stronger, after all you mean a lot to me."

Blushing lightly Saber tried not focusing on the last part of his words and instead asked, "Can you really help me become stronger? How?"

Although he found her blushing face to be quite adorable, Ryker knew he couldn't tease her to much otherwise she might attack him to hide her embarrassment which wouldn't get them anywhere, "Why don't you focus on your Sword Technique for now as that is the thing I feel you can improve the most on. Although you are an excellent swordsmen, I feel that at the same time you rely to much upon your sword."

Saber was glad at the fact that he had stopped teasing her but she couldn't help but grow confused, "I rely on my sword to much? What is that suppose to mean?"

"You're sword is strong Saber, Excalibur together with Avalon form the core of your very legend. They are largely what gives you strength, yet at the same time, they are what holds you back. Excalibur, a mighty sword capable of striking down any foe, and Avalon, the scabbard which can heal any wounds, protecting the one who holds it from the clutches of death. Where in there does it say your name?"

With a blank expression all Saber could get out was a, "Huh?"

Seeing her confusion Ryker continued, "You, Artoria Pendragon, have long since been overshadowed by your own equipment. When people think of your name, they think of Excalibur. The mighty sword and its wielder, this is not how a sword should be. You need to be the core. You are the one who wields the sword, the sword does not control you."

Beginning to understand where he was going Saber listened intently as Ryker continued, "There are many master swordsmen who are capable of turning even a simple slash of their sword, into a Nobel Phantasm. If you are able to completely master Excalibur, I feel that one day you may even be able to release your anti-fortress Nobel Phantasm with every strike."

Although she had an idea where he was going, Saber couldn't help but tremble at his words. With an almost overwhelming level of excitement, she asked, "Is that true Ryker?! Is that truly possible?!"

With a serious look on his face Ryker looked Saber dead in the eyes and said, "Yes, and I will bring you to that peak."

Attempting to suppress her trembling shoulder, Saber soon discovered it was futile as tears began to gather at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall.

Suddenly she felt a pair of large, strong arms wrap around her back, as she was pulled into an embrace. Confused, she stood blankly allowing Ryker to hold her, as she heard him say softly, "Saber, there is no need to hold in your tears. Remember, you have others who care for you deeply, there is no need to bottle everything up when in front of me. I promise you on my name, Ryker Akash, that I will bring you to the peak of this world, and even beyond if you are allow me to."

The tears Saber had been so desperately holding back, soon burst forth as she began to weep well in his embrace. Bringing her arms forward, she wrapped them around Ryker's waist in an attempt to tell him, 'Me too, ill be here if you need me', but due to her tears she was unable to speak what she had wanted to say.

Regardless if she said it or not, Ryker managed to understand her thoughts, as he brought his right hand to her chin as he lifted it softly out of his chest.

Seeing her tear stained, yet happily smiling face, Ryker could resist as he lowed his head and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

Surprise by his sudden action, Saber initially wanted to pull away, but when she felt the gentleness and warmth coming from his lips, she couldn't bring herself to pull away as she awkwardly attempted to return the kiss.

Breaking off the kiss once he felt Saber running out of breath, Ryker one more looked her in the eyes. They which were still red, but had at least stopped crying after his comforting. He spoke once more after confirming she had refocused on him, "Oh, Once and Future King; Artoria Pendragon, will you give up your seat upon the 'throne' and instead walk alongside me towards the future?"

Saber thought over it deeply, she knew it wasn't right make him wait like this but she knew it was an important life changing decision for her and she wanted to think over it before answering, she knew he wouldn't blame her for it as well.

Ever since her first talk with Ryker, he had managed to get her to question her outlook on life.

She no longer had the notion that she is only a Servant, a tool for her Master, first and foremost in her mind. Instead she started to see herself more and more as a person. Yet in the end due to her stubbornness she ignored him mostly and ended up reverting back to her prior mindset, this time around though, her mindset wasn't as stable as in the past.

The second time they had their heart to heart, her walls had already shown signs of cracking, and he managed to open her mindset even more.

From then on she started questioning many things about her life. Her past, her dreams, goals, she even began to question herself.

It was from then on that she had begun to feel a strange sensation in her chest. Yet due to her strong disconnect from her humanity in her past and lack of interaction with others her age and social status, she found herself confused by the sensation.

With time though she started becoming more aware of the differences between males and females, and even started looking at her own body differently. Having allowed herself to become more self-aware of herself as a woman, she had eventually grown self-conscious of her body. She felt like her body was unsightly, especially when she compared herself to Iris. Having also become more aware of others' physical appearances, she often envied Iris' womanly figure, compared to her own rather muscular one.

It was during this time of self conflict that Ryker showed her the movies.

She had come to a decision then, that she would allow herself to be happy as a woman, but she still didn't know how to go about doing it. All she knew was that, whenever she was with Ryker alone, her heart would beat faster then normal, almost to the point where it threatened to leap out of her chest.

She was confused about this feeling and confronted Iris about it. After telling Iris of her worries all she received was a mysterious smile at first. It wasn't until she had practically beg her that Iris told her what she was going through, she was falling in love.

When she first heard her say that she nearly panicked, she felt like she had betrayed her best friend, yet Iris and her talked for a while afterwards about many things, including the fact that Iris actually supported her being together with Ryker, yet Saber hesitated. She felt like she wasn't good enough to be with Ryker and it held her back in making a decision.

When she heard him say that he would help her become stronger, she felt so happy that she even started crying like a child. She felt ashamed of herself, but when he pulled her into his arms, she felt all her worries blow away, as if they didn't matter. All that mattered was the two of them.

Thinking everything over Saber once more looked up at the patently waiting Ryker. Saying what she felt might be the most important words she had ever uttered in her entire existence, "Please take care of me…"

Smiling brightly, Ryker once more kissed her lips. The kiss started out tame and gentle yet it grew increasingly passionate as time passed.

The two were lost in their own little world, as the gently embraced one another.

The forest once more was basked in silence.

Yet this time, rather then eeriness, there was a sense of serenity and peace to the forest.

As two warrior's clad in armor were locked in a battle of tongues.

Their fight…was that of love.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-..-

(Author's Note: Sorry I was late on the chapter release, as I said yesterday I went to get my knee looked at. The specialist put me on these meds which made me feel rather lethargic, and I ended up crashing after I took them so I wasn't able to write anything last night. To make up for not posting it on time, its a longer chapter this time around ending at 4,000+ words. I hope I did Saber justice in this chapter. Know that the two wont be very couple like, due to Saber's personality. Although she's starting to view herself as a woman, she still thinks of herself as a 'King' and 'Knight' causing her to have a strange 'professionalism' to her actions. Regardless, I'm pleased to announce the harem has officially begun! 'Yay!!' Thank you...thank you...)