THE QUEEN OF CONNACHT.

Feigned innocence would be the bait dangling from their hook, and aside from the aggravated glare of one player — one who either boasted remarkable pride or a damning losing streak — the attention fell squarely upon the women. some might envision they had simply gotten lost whilst exploring the castle’s labyrinth. Saber took advantage of any such interpretation to scout their surroundings, honing in on the first clue towards the location of the alleged paintball court which had her fascination.

It was a diversion brief and corrected swiftly by the response to Medb’s interruption, a twinkle in his eye and a confident smile on his lips, conveying his misbelief that they might be easy prey for his wealth. And that would solidify their bait had its first sucker. “Aren’t you precious? The more the merrier as they say, but these guys like to play big, sure you’ll be able to keep up? We wouldn’t want such a sweet thing to walk away empty-handed”. the bravado was repulsive; a man flaunting his pride so shamelessly as if it were unable to remain confined to his digital bank account. Watching him plummet would be all the entertainment she could hope for, and thus Saber spoke up to test the line.

“She has the funds to compete, but I’m afraid we don’t really know how to play. Would you be so kind as to hold our hands through a round? This venue is so busy, and we were hoping you would have the patience to help two newbies”.

Medb did not bat an eye at the man who so disgustingly spoke to them with such a condescending tone; she had long known of the way men took to underestimating most women, the way they looked at women like objects to win and use as they pleased, like meat to be devoured and bones to spit out. These were the type of men she liked to take advantage of the most. To toy with such deplorable men excited her, it gave her just as much pleasure as indulging in more carnal desires did-- oh, what a fun night she was going to have!

“That’s right,” Medb cooed, taking her coin purse off of her shoulder and letting it drop on the table; the thud it made was only highlighted by the jangle of coins shifting inside of it. “Money is no object-- we’re women who prefer quality over quantity.”

Nothing she said was a lie, and that only made things all the more entertaining to her. Medb leaned against the table, letting the image of her beautiful body mix with the equally enticing gold just underneath her. Let them stare, she mused, as she was all too eager to see these vermin cry soon enough.

“Please, teach us.”

Nothing was worse than the wrath of a woman’s fury – an experience Archer had experienced… too many times in his life. This time was no better, especially it was from another Servant. Who happened to… be poking his cheek with a fork. Ow?!

“Uh…”

The waitress was now long gone, and it’s already becoming a scene… Man, he wishes he’d be that fast like the waitress who’d caused this situation. “An accident that is completely out of my hands… I’m really sorry…”

Ow, ow, ow…

“I’m really sorry – I was trying to avoid getting food and drinks spilled on me… but that’s not really what matters does it…” This is so troublesome… he wishes he could just disappear right now, but perhaps even then, she’d hunt him down… The hunter getting hunted… not a great sight in his future. “Um… I guess you can just… not.”

His answer doesn’t seem to matter at that moment however. How would he even rectify this…?

“Uh…. I can… run errands for you or something…? Or… help take … your pictures… or whatever you were doing… Become your personal photographer…?” He’s digging himself a hole he can’t get out of. Oh well.

An accident out of his hands? Regardless if that was a factual statement, Medb did not care. Her scowl remained.

He was sorry, and avoiding a mess? Regardless if that was a factual statement, Medb still did not care. Again, her scowl remained.

It wasn’t what mattered? Regardless if that was a factual statement, Medb undeniably, still did not care. Thrice now, her scowl remained.

Oh, but a personal photographer? Suddenly, Medb smiled, but this particular upward turn of her lips was anything but kind..

“Oh my, how gallant of you.”

“Offering up your body in order to beg for my forgiveness? Well, I cannot say you’re not the first to do so.”

(That was not what he said, but it was what Medb heard all the same.)

She laughed, in his face.

          IT’S   here that Hakuno finally relaxes ⁠— which simultaneously makes her wonder why she was tense in the first place. Much like the moon, this whole conversation has been way out there to the point of almost being amusing… but there really is something inexplicably intimidating about this Servant. Something about the intensity in her gaze, the way her eyes narrow slightly in focus mid-conversation… it actually reminds her quite a bit of her Caster. Not that she’d ever tell Caster that. But if there’s one thing she and Ritsuka’s Servants would always have in common, it was their admiration for Chaldea’s Master.

      ❛   For what it’s worth, I don’t think even she could wind up there. But compared to what she already deals with… She would come out on top no problem. Probably blow it up.   ❜

Now the Rider laughs, clearly amused by what the brunette has to say; she isn’t wrong, of course, as Medb truly believed her beloved Master could conquer anything. After all, Ritsuka had conquered Medb herself, and such a feat was (almost) unheard of!

“Ufufu!”

“Yes, yes! My Master can do anything-- nothing can stop her! It’s all apart of her charm!”

           THE   view had been almost breathtaking before she ruined it. Swathes of white and blue, reminiscent of Greece; nature and human architecture often blending together, fighting for coexistence in a sort of harmonious dance. She was more partial to the isolated, open areas, but places like this gave human pursuit some of its very, very limited charm. And here comes this Servant to trample all over that rare moment of peace, their gaze sharing a mutual glower of annoyance through the viewfinder of her camera. Naturally, Yu does what Yu does best— find an utterly unnecessary hill to die on ( so to speak ). 

       ❛   Then find another shot. Why should I move for something that lame ?  I was here first, you know !   ❜

Medb’s grip on her phone tightened, and if she had not controlled herself at the last moment, she might have broken it with her inhuman strength. That wouldn’t do; she needed this little piece of modern technology, after all. This woman, however, could jump off the nearby cliff for all Medb cared.

“What was that?” She hissed, but did not frown; she would not allow herself to make such an ugly face.

❁ : she’s almost relieved when the woman offers to help her - in truth, loid had been assisting with most of her outfits either through direct choice or by paying for whatever creations the tailor shop’s mistress had fashioned. either way, she’d had no part in choosing any of it except to say whether or not she liked any of the outfits (for which she was, undoubtedly, grateful). that relief quickly fades into another quiet bout of nerves: is she really unable to do something so simple as choose a proper, matching outfit on her own?

apparently. maybe yor really should just be grateful for whatever assistance this stranger kindly offers. shame and embarrassment can wait by the wayside; she’s not about to refuse this kind of help on basis of purely emotional reasoning. besides, the other is already at her side, so she momentarily wonders if there was even to be an option to refuse.

‘i would be extremely grateful.’ she knows she looks terribly out of place here, and now that she’s back to just owning her casual clothes and her “very best” outfit, it would be nice to at least have one more. certainly she has enough for one more change of clothes - looking halfway decent in them would be a bonus. judging from how cutely this woman is dressed, however, yor isn’t in the least worried that she’ll help her find something nice.

‘so, um… where do we start with this sort of thing? i’m not very good at picking out clothes or shopping.’ at all, she thinks to add, but somehow suspects it would be more embarrassing to admit how her grocery shopping usually goes. ‘or most anything involving… normal things housewives do.’ that’s not much better of an admission. ‘i mean to say that i just got married and - ‘

so far, she’s only making this worse, she feels, even if that last bit was a lie to attempt and salvage the situation. best to stay quiet and let the other work some magic - she hopes.

Medb’s already large ego was ultimately stoked and fanned like a blossoming flame by the other woman’s words; to the Servant, this was akin to rewarding charity work. She was so kind, so beautiful, so radiant-- anything but humble, of course-- that it was only one of her many, rightful, and queen-like duties to help women like this who were struggling in a subject that Medb herself excelled in.

Wasn’t it just an added bonus if Medb got to have fun, too?

The Rider was nearly lost in her own scheming, her own imagination running wild with outfit ideas for both herself and the other woman, when the latter’s rambling snapped her out of her own fashionista daydreams.

“Eh?”

“What did you just say?”

Suddenly, Medb grasped Yor’s hands with both of her own, leaning in so closely that their noses nearly touched.

“You’re a bride? A newly wed? Is that what you just said?” Now, she was grinning, her eyes sparkling. “Then that’s all the more reason you need a new wardrobe-- no, an entire make over!”

Romance was a complicated subject, and despite the marriage of her lifetime, Saber’s understanding was further limited by the element of necessity. There was no absence of love for Guinevere, however when came her affair with Lancelot, Arturia had re-evaluated her perspective — and with her feelings locked down behind a duty to lead, greater blurred the domain until scarcely would they be possible to distinguish among themselves. Like ink of a soaked scrap of paper bleeding away until illegible.

“I believe so”. A triad of brains, brawn and beauty was one factor of selecting a partner with had made itself known through passing conversations about the city, and the king presumed it one face of the Rider’s suggestion, without delving into the more intimate details one might associate with the queen.

No sooner had the other vocalised their march that her arms were around Saber’s once more and guiding her forth. unleashing an exhale to eject any coiled exasperation that interacting with the men would entail, golden eyes opened themselves beneath a smoothed brow with fullness frequently absent from the Alter’s expressions. Despite her sickly palette, she would smile with false charm emulating the genuine shine of Lily to further the act, with a brief utterance to test mimicking the young’s whimsical tone. “Let’s not waste any time, otherwise they’ll be finished us and we’ll miss out on all the games”.

Medb would have been delighted to hear the other Servant’s agreement (and she certainly was pleased by it regardless), but she was soon quite distracted by the array of games and related financial debauchery they were both now immersed in. To ask her of all people to not indulge in hedonism of her own liking would be just too cruel-- not that she would listen to many people, anyway.

Her giggling could easily be misconstrued as innocent, just as much so as the change in disposition Saber displayed. The two of them were quickly on the same wavelength, and their appearance soon garnered the attention of others who were previously determined on spending (with the hopes of gaining) copious amounts of money.

Just as she had taken the lead earlier, Medb soon waltzed over to the first game of poker that caught her eye, bringing Saber with her with ease. With a curl of her lips and a batting of her eyes, the Queen spoke up to the dealer.

“Won’t you let us join in on the fun, too?”

.It felt like bad luck had followed him around for sometime. Or maybe it’s been a persistent karma of some sorts, since he had entered this city. But anyways, perhaps he was exaggerating… if only that was half the truth.

Archer was really just trying to get a cup of coffee, but it seemed that the man had entered the wrong establishment. Most of the menu items were… not to his tastes, if anything and tried to leave. That was until… one of the waitress tripped right near him and throwing a tray right near his face.

However, he was flexible and was able to move out of the way… only to crash land onto a table! A table of a fellow customer, and right…. onto her order. Man, can his luck get any worse? “…“ Man. How does he end up in these situations. “I, well – this isn’t what you think it is. I promise…“

Medb was holding her phone in one hand, and the fork she hadn’t been using to eat her meal with in the other; as she scowled, she poked the other Servant’s cheek with the fork, and did so with quite a sharp amount of force.

“Oh?”

“And just what might ‘this’ be, then?”

Poke, poke, poke.

“Because all I see is a man interrupting my meal, my personal space, and my time.” Her voice rose as she spoke, causing the scene that had been made to contort into something worse. “Is a promise from such a disruptive man one I should listen to?”

(That was a rhetorical question, but even if it had not been, Medb did not give him time to answer.)

  well, it seems that Olga had no choice in the matter, now did she? she barely has time to set down her glass of champagne before getting tugged god knows where. ah, hopefully nobody tries looking for her anytime soon. sighing to herself, she goes along without complaints, half-curious herself at what could be inside wherever this woman stored her treasure.

            how did one even get treasure in this place….?

  casting the thought away, Olga merely looks on in silence as she’s led through the courtyard and into the castle, taking one of no doubt many grand staircases up higher. the halls were line with art (mostly of herself and her husband) and everything on display screamed opulence. as expected of a castle owner. just as she’s about to ask how much farther, they stop before a large set of ornately carved double doors. shouldn’t a treasure room be kept underground…?

     eyebrows furrowed in mild confusion (and slight apprehension) Olga crosses her arms over her chest, a stark contrast to the giddiness of the Rider. “ Well? Are you going to open the doors or what? “ she did say treasure as payment, though she’s still skeptical about such a proposal. it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t want to at least see this room and what it holds.

Despite what a show off the Rider was, the part of the mansion Medb was now forcing Olga to was one few people got the chance to visit. Medb herself only had allowed her beloved Master and a select couple of people to gaze upon; so in her conceited mind, Medb was giving Olga quite the treat. Her giggling all the way to the vault did not necessarily convey the importance, but, Medb clearly wasn’t thinking of such pleasantries right now.

That is, until they arrive.

With a smirk, Medb opens her arms wide in front of the unnecessarily opulent set of double doors before the two of them. She tries to build of some sort of hype, but ruins it without even realizing it. Just how much alcohol had she consumed?

“Yes, of course!” Medb bursts out with laughter, pushing open the doors (that did look quite heavy) with ease.

What awaits the two of them is a large room, filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures imaginable-- gold, jewels, and any and all other fineries Olga could think of. Everything in the room dazzles and shines, making the sight of it all undeniably overwhelming.

Medb waltzes in with a twirl in her step, arms still upright to gesture at the treasure she was now showing off.

He refuses to say anything on the grounds of being very very embarrassed. And yet, despite it all, he still takes her hand in his with that same tender touch. His features softening as he looks towards his future bride (in like two or three hours depending on how things go), before the both of them make their way to their guests who eagerly await to greet the couple.

There is still some difficulty in trying to keep an appearance of normalcy when Django is the type of man that he is. His mask had begun to slip a long time ago—rather deliberately as he found no need in hiding away who he was anymore given all that had occurred on this island over the past couple of years. However, this shouldn’t mean that a good sense of manners wasn’t worth keeping around, especially for these sorts of occasions.

He knows how greatly important it meant to blend in with your surroundings; both from his own mother’s teachings and from that weird and short bookstore owner that he strangely missed. So for both his and Medb’s sake he will be social. He will smile and say hello to those he’s not quite familiar with, and leave them with an impression of a man who, despite all appearances, seemed to be rather polite for the most part.

But god knows he’s gonna feel a helluva lot more comfortable around those he’s unknowingly let into his life. He’s certainly in a far better place for doing so, even if he doesn’t realize it just yet.

The two of them make the rounds of social pleasantries and polite words, things Medb could do with the same level of ease and charm even if she was suddenly stricken blind or otherwise impaired; she was simply that talented at such things, as it was one of the many gifts she had as someone with blood like her own. Being a Rider, a Servant, did not deter from the fact that she was a Queen. Nothing could ever deter her from the spot light, the attention of masses, nor the love that came with being royalty that was dedicated to her people.

Yet, when her hand was in his, Medb felt something else.

It was not the adoration of people who worshipped her, it was not the lust of a one night stand that temporarily sought after her body or power. 

When Medb held Django Foley’s hand, she simply felt love. True, deep love, that touched her in a way that few had ever made her heart stir in any way, shape, or form. It was almost entirely unique to him, and as her fingers interlocked with his, Medb knew she never wanted this feeling to end.

Her existence as a Servant was fleeting, and they both knew that their own time on this island was potentially even more temporary; the threat that at least one of them might disappear, never to return (or even worse, return different) loomed over them constantly. Even so, when she felt his warmth beside her, even just from his hand, the Queen felt at ease. She felt loved.

Leaning over, Medb tugged on his arm after they had politely greeted another set of guests. It was a gesture that would do well to bring his face down to her own. She whispered his name, his true name, and left a not so chaste kiss on his cheek.

“I love you.”

❁ : yor hesitates - she doesn’t know what she’s doing here, and she has even less of a clue what might be useful (much less look nice) to have in her wardrobe. she’d thought she needed to expand it beyond just having her nicest dress and her casual clothes, but what in the world was a normal housewife supposed to wear? what, exactly, was considered “suitable”? or normal, for that matter?

as she deliberates over a dress that slightly resembles a more toned-down version of her best, yor finds herself stopped by a stranger. while at first she’s on edge, when the woman’s words finally make sense she gasps and covers her mouth with her free hand.

‘i… yes. a little.’

‘or, wait, were you asking if… i was supposed to be here…?’ that someone should think she’s completely in the wrong place is somehow even more embarrassing. ‘no! i mean - no… i’m here looking for a new outfit. this is a lot harder than i thought it would be…’

Medb blinks, taking in the woman’s words carefully.

“...”

“Then... you are not lost?” If this woman was here for clothing, then she was in the right place-- she seemed to be ‘lost’ in a different sense of the word, is all. 

Medb, in her years of experience with spending money, especially on clothing, struggled to comprehend that someone else may not be as well versed in the act as she was. Then, when it dawned on her, the Rider grinned.

“Is that so?”

Within a blink of an eye, Medb was suddenly at Yor’s side.

       – and here comes the bride!

  the sudden appearance and being pulled close is almost enough to make her lose her balance but she remains standing, one eyebrow raised at the Servant. ah. that’s the smell of alcohol alright. it wasn’t even the after party yet, but she restrains the instinct to gripe about it. 

     after all, this was Medb’s wedding and Olga does have manners. plus, the last thing she wanted was to piss off a drunk Servant. hell, she didn’t even think they could get drunk.

“ As you should. I gave my utmost for it and it shows.” she’s allowed to boast, isn’t she? “– treasure? You have treasure here?”

How much alcohol had Medb consumed? Well, it probably didn’t matter-- she was a Servant, and one from Irish mythology at that. She was just having some fun...

Medb was beaming. “Ufufu, I’m very pleased. You ought to be rewarded for your hard work!”

“Pfft--ahahaha!” Peals of her high-pitched laughter rang out. Did she have treasure? What a silly question!

“Of course! Come, come!”

“ I had been expecting more tomfoolery from the media circus alone, but….” surprisingly, it was quite the opposite. even if the extravagance of everything did seem, well, over the top, there was some class to it all.

……the groom’s parachute entrance aside, that is.

“ I suppose it isn’t half bad. ”

Suddenly, Medb.

“It’s lovely! Whatever are you saying?”

“I adore it all!”

Medb swung one arm over Olga’s shoulder, pulling her close; how much alcohol had she consumed? It was her wedding, who was counting?

“ Quit gettin’ handsy with the goods! You know it’s only gonna make us want to delay the ceremony! ”

“ Listen, we should probably go and get changed now already. Unless ya wanna talk a bit more with everyone who came. I’m good with anything, really. ”

She couldn’t stop her giggling, not when he had such hilarious reactions. Oh, but, he was making a good point... 

Medb, still smirking, leaned back with her hands in the air.

“Eager, are we?”

“Well, so am I. Shall we go then?”

The queen’s penchant for mischief and drawing attention to herself made for easy corroboration, and as one skilled in the act of attracting the straying eyes of males, she would be the lead in their act. With her frame, there was only so much Alter could do, and with her personality further hindering the sway of fickle hearts. It played to both their preferences — Rider holding the reins and Saber pressing whatever buttons be required to plunder the fools, whether the tactic be fear or coaxing them towards her companion. A good cop, bad cop act, where the good cop herself was no more than a swindler.

Her eyebrows inched higher, feigning surprise in recognition of Medb’s admission. “Oh? He is certainly more liberal than other men. Even in the present, there is an expectation among them to beat their chests with pride to the opposite end of stupidity”. She knew the man in question to be one of pride, but his centred on where it counted, rather than the farcical social hierarchy of a personal network where his exploits might have him on some unperceivable pedestal. Quite frankly, she loathed those types and could fit none whom she had encountered into such a pathetic mould.

“let’s. I shall lead the vanguard to you and take a supportive role to ensure none of them wriggle loose of the net”.

Medb broke character for only one moment, just to laugh at the things the other Servant said; she wasn’t laughing at the blonde, no, no, but merely the notion she was verbalizing about Medb’s own lover.

“Ufufu... well, yes, he may not be the most intelligent man I’ve ever laid with, but...” A tinge of red seeped onto her cheeks, and it was not from the previous liquor she’d indulged in. “That does not quite matter much to me. He has so many other wonderful qualities, you see.”

“You know what I mean, don’t you?”

There was no need to elaborate any further, as the Rider assumed she was being perfectly understood; that, and it was time to enact their very important scheme of swindling.