Fate Series One Shots

Saber - Sir Gawain

⚠️Content warning⚠️: Mentions of animal slaughter, homicide, suicide, and cults
(Just in case it matters)

I've always been treated like a delicate girl, because of my incredibly 'unmage' like nature, but being the next head of my family was no option for me. I have no siblings, aunts, uncles, or cousins.

I have always highly valued living things. I took water to the plants in the house, took care of our pets and other wild animals.
My father always tried teaching me a lesson by killing them for their live energy, in other words mana.

I have my own graveyard for them on the property.
I've learned to just do what I'm told, and I've been told to win the Holy Grail.
Ive always been seen as an innocent, pure young woman by everyone.
Even if they know that being a mage has left the blood of so many in my hands.

——————
To reach the Root.
That is the desire of a mage family.
That is my goal, and reason to succeed.

I stand before my servant I have just summoned. My father was extremely prepare, and had long ago obtained a catalyst that would guarantee the most powerful servant class, Saber.

A man in silvery shining armour, golden blonde hair, and aqua blue eyes. His top was black with two gold chains. He wears a long blue cape, shoulders and inner collar lined with fur and edges lined in gold.
The Platinum Saber.
My knight of the Sun.
The White knight the round table.
Nephew of King Arthur.
Sir Gawain, Knight of Camelot.

He is such a cooperative servant, a chivalrous knight.
Such a wonderful companion.
So different from the people I've been aloud to associate with in the past.
He makes me wish I could be a knight rather than a mage.

——————
The Grail war continues and another pair is defeated.
Saber soundly defeats the servant, while I deal with the master that attempts to hide away from the battle.

The magic passed down in my family consists of the draining of life for mana.
It's an extremely painfully bloody process.

"Master?" I don't look up at my servant as he addresses me.
"20." I hold the hand of the dead master, sitting in a puddle of blood.
"20?" He asks.

"This kid is the 20th person I've murdered..." 
"He is possibly 10 years younger. He is not a child."
"A teen? A high school student... A kid." I feel tears running down my face. "Damnit..."

"I don't know what to do Saber." I wipe away the tears on of one cheek smearing blood on that side of my face.
"Let us go home." He knees down in front of me, and I feel the cold metal of his gauntlets on my face wiping away the tears and blood.

The first thing I do arriving home, is take a shower.
I sit in my room.
Saber is outside in the garden.

I'm afraid to go out there and enjoy it too. My father has always controlled me through fear. The fear that he'd take away the things I loved. That fear stays with me even now.

Saber comes back to me with a single small blooming flower and presents it to me. I take it, and I also take his had and pull him down the halls in a rushed manner. Down in the basement I have an alchemy lab.

I run around my lab and Saber watches, as I haven't it told him what I am doing.
I take a small clay pot from a drawer, and place it on my work bench.
I have a small sac of soil on a shelf, that I grab putting in a handful that fills the pot.
I place the small flower in the pot.
I take a dagger an cut my palm and Saber flinches as I do so.
I draw a magic circle on my work bench, in my blood, and place the in the middle of it.
The magic circle has shapes with corners in it, and I place metals and gems at the corners touching the outer most circle.

I start chanting in Latin, as I channel my mana into the circle.
The circle glows and the metals and gems melt into circle.
The blood and minerals disappeared under the pot and the glow fades.

"Look Saber," I have him look at the potted flower. "Now this flower will never whither, it will always be in bloom. My mom taught me this." I smile with my eyes closed before tear fall from my face again. "Damnit, I hate crying." I sigh.

The nickname that my family has earned is the "Blood Mages". We're basically a cult.
Out family magic crest transplant is so culty. It's literally a ritual.
Traditionally the head of the family (my dad) commits suicide with a magic dagger and the heir (me) makes a magic circle with the blood. The spouse (my mom) of the family head is the first kill for the heir to the family as a "sacrifice" to our magic crest for mana during the transplant to the heir.
Very rarely does my family die from natural causes.
Homicide and suicides are what we're known for.
It's even rare in our history, for homicide to be committed by someone outside the family.

The day of my transplant, is engraved in my mind for the rest of my life.
The crest is quite literally made from the blood and tears of my family ancestors.

Saber knows, I told him. I could never keep it from him. He deserves— needs to know exactly what kind of Master he's decided to serve.
"You must stop Master." Saber tears me from my thoughts. I've completely blanked out thinking of my mother.

I am no longer holding the flower pot, it sits on my work bench. He has one hand on my head and the other arm around my waist, as I'm pulled against him. His head on my shoulder and I put my arms around him to hug back.

"Your spirit was never meant to be that of a mage."
"But... but, I... I can't just—"
"Leave?" He pulls away, and places a kiss on my forehead while holding onto my face.
"How could I? My entire family sacrificed themselves for it." I hold onto his wrists to make sure he doesn't move them.
"You can be the last. You only need to choose it. For yourself and your descendants. You are so strong to have made it so far, but if you continue, this burden will shatter your breaking heart."

——————
"Must you burn it down? You have decided already you are moving."
"This is something the church has always wanted. It's like their late Christmas present. Besides my father always told me that the first mage of our family began it in blood in fire. It seems fitting I end it the same way."

"We must go Master." He picks me up bridal style. "The fire is sure to raise suspicion. It will bring the attention of the church as well as the remaining Masters and servants."
"I can walk, you know."
"You need to rest, so you can recover. You've used a lot of blood setting the fire."
"Thank you Gawain." I close my eyes and lay my head on him holding on tight to the only thing I decided I would bring.
A small clay pot with an everblooming flower. A present from a knight.