Fate / Arcana IC

-William-

"Well, now that we know you're capable of maintaining Archer's mana supply, I'd like to suggest a deal." William responded, picking up the ring from the counter and slipping it back onto his finger. "As a magus without any real knowledge of our world, you could theoretically continue on your own. However, it is likely that another of the Masters could best you while your Servant was otherwise occupied."

"In order to avoid such a situation, I can teach you magecraft." William leaned against the counter, looking more serious than he had previously. "In exchange, I ask that you ally with me for the larger portion of the Grail War."

"Obviously, neither Lancer, nor I will attempt to take advantage of you in any way during this time. I would ask that you and Archer abide by the same."

An alliance could be highly useful to them both, assuming Lily was on board with the idea.

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-Lancer-

"Yes." Lancer responded with a chuckle. "It's his sister, and he skipped out on breakfast with her this morning to come here. I think it will be rather amusing when she discovers him having breakfast with Lily instead."

She turned to Archer, giving the man another once-over. "You're far more optimistic than I expected. Some part of me anticipated the other Servants being as jaded as I. It's surprisingly comforting."

"Even stranger is the fact that you don't carry a bow." Lancer continued with a smirk. "Even as Lancer, I have some skill with one. What kind of washed-up Archer does that make you anyway?"

Feeling somewhat relieved, Elliot nodded as Caster agreed to his plan. Though they may now be allies, Caster still unnerved him. After all, a Heroic Spirit had far greater power than a magus, and Caster didn’t exactly owe Elliot any loyalty. He would have to make sure to avoid trouble with the pair.

Noticing the time, Elliot stood up.

“As informative this conversation has been, I am afraid that I must excuse myself, as I have prior commitments that I must attend to.” Bowing to the two men, Elliot moved to exit the room. As he opened the door, he paused, turning back to the men.

“It would probably be best to reconvene once I have had a chance to look through the records. Waiting outside the gates aimlessly every time we wish to meet would be unreliable, not to mention conspicuous. Any ideas?”

Jekyll, Elizabeth, Saber

What an unusual creature. With her pale skin and golden hair, she seemed positively angelic. And with every word, she seemed to reinforce that impression. She'd just found a stranger in the middle and nursed him back to health? Part of him wanted to condemn her as a fool for being so trusting and naïve, but it was hard to be so judgmental when looking into her large, compassionate eyes.

“I’m sorry, it’s been a long day… have you been told what’s happened? We found you last night in the park, you looked… let’s just say, not very well. But I think we managed to heal you alright, Mr…?”

Jekyll gave his most charming smile under the circumstances.

"Doctor, actually. Dr. Henry Jekyll. I'm most grateful for your kindness."

He could feel Saber's gaze boring into the back of his head, but he tried to ignore it. If he was going to come out of this situation at an advantage - if not, at least intact - then he was going to need to work on the Master.

"I'm afraid I don't know your name," he went on. "Your guardian was... uncooperative in that manner I hope you don't mind...?"

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Lily, William, Lancer, and Archer

An alliance?

Getting a bed for the night had already been more than Lily had expected. But an alliance? Why would anyone choose to ally with a girl who knew almost nothing about magecraft or Grail Wars?

If she didn't know better, she'd think William was trying to take advantage of her. But... he did seem sincere. Could she really trust him?

"I'll... have to ask Archer," she said. "I want to make sure we're in agreement."

She did trust Archer, in any case. If he thought they could trust William and his Servant, then that was good enough for her.

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Caster, O'Neal, Elliot

Caster stood as well, inclining his head.

"Of course," he said. "We wouldn't wish to keep you."

Elliot suggested a meeting place other than the palace. Caster nodded in agreement, stroking his mustache.

"Agreed," he said. "There is a small bookstore in Soho that should work well."

He slipped Elliot a slip of paper with the address as he stepped into the hallway. A guard was immediately at Elliot's side, looking to Caster for directions.

"Escort our guest to the gates," Caster said. The guard nodded and took off with Elliot in tow.

"Well?" O'Neal asked as soon as the door had closed once more. Caster hummed thoughtfully.

"Oh yes," he replied. "He'll do."

Elizabeth was surprised by his answer; a... doctor? ...That was unexpected. He didn't particularly look the park. Though if she'd learnt anything in her life, it was that looks could be deceiving.

"My name..." she glanced at her servant, unsure of what to do. Would... would she mind? What was in a name after all? It... surely it wouldn't matter too much... right?

"...It's Elizabeth. Pleased to meet you, Dr Jekyll."

There, that'd do. It was a small compromise, but giving half a name was better than no name at all. Hopefully he'd be fine with that. If not... well, Saber would probably stop any more questions. Flicking a fallen lock of hair back, Elizabeth tried to stifle a yawn. Goodness, so much had happened she could barely keep up with anything...

"Um... if you don't mind me asking... what happened to you last night, doctor?" She enquired, "Forgive me for saying, but I was hardly expecting a man of your standing to be found face down in the dirt. Were you in a fight?"

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" Wonderful. " Archer shared his companion's mirth, already interested in where this was headed. Now he could see her probably he decided he was right; there wasn't a threat at all from her. Perhaps maybe if he was far away from his Master and she wasn't, and she decided to attack, but Archer didn't see that as likely.

"I'll take that as a another compliment. Being so cynical about life I find is rarely the way to do things. I suppose I could be a little more cautious... but that's a waste of time, don't you think? The world is a large place to explore after all, I'm confident in my victory, so why worry? This is more of an adventure than anything else. Fate will take me whenever fate wants to take me... so why worry about the journey when I can't change its course?"

He nearly finished with Besides in my experience, those who have to worry about their abilities generally really do have something to worry about! but somehow he realised that wouldn't go down well with the servant in front of him. So he changed the subject with a shrug.

"As for my choice of weapon, well... who's to say I don't? Perhaps I chose to use what I did last to conserve on mana. Perhaps my bow is invisible. Perhaps it's pointed at you right now. ...Hah, no, I jest. as far as I know even in this marvellous new era they've not developed a weapon that could be fired when your hands are still in your pockets. Regardless of that, what a forward question, wielder of lances! To probe so quickly into something that could identify me! My weapons are hardly something to discuss lightly of course, unless you were willing to return the favour."

His tone was light enough to be taken as a joke, but his face mirrored Lancer's smirk.

-William-

"That's understandable." William responded. "I wouldn't want to pressure you into anything."

His eyes lifted to the doorway behind Lily, and he was sure that all the color probably drained from his face.

"William Marshall, what exactly are you trying to pressure this lady into?" Cynthia marched into the kitchen, hands on her hips, and placed herself between William and Lily. To anyone else watching the fourteen year old Cynthia trying to look down her nose at her older (and much taller) brother, the scene might have been comical, but William was anything but amused.

"What are you doing here, Cynthia?" William asked after a moment to compose himself.

"I came to talk with Earl for a little while, since someone skipped out of breakfast with me." She raised an accusing eyebrow at him. "But, now, I'm standing between you and the woman you were obviously about to accost on some level."

William groaned and lowered himself back into his chair. "Have you ever known me to accost a lady?" He asked, trying to keep his tone mild.

She seemed to consider this for a moment. "No, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. You could just be more careful about it than Max." Her voice contained a mixture of stubbornness and hurt.

"Why not ask Lily?" William gestured to the lady sitting behind Cynthia.

She slowly rotated in place, actually looking at Lily for the first time. Something similar to recognition dawned in Cynthia's eyes, but then it was replaced by confusion. "I apologize for whatever my brother has done. It seems neither of them have any class, although I'd hoped that Will was better than that."

"I didn't do anything..." William said from his seat behind her.

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-Lancer-

"On that note, I feel that we shall simply have to disagree." Lancer responded to Archer's comment on fate. "To me, rising above fate is the greatest sign of influence. Who stands taller than the one who looked at their fate and said 'I can do better.'?"

She took a step back and leaned against the wall. "I'm also unaware of a weapon that fires without using at least one hand, and I didn't mean any offense by asking after your weapons. It just strikes me as strange that Archer wouldn't use a bow. Forgive me if I was too forward."

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-Saber-

She remained silent as Elizabeth conversed with Jekyll. Something about this man felt wrong, but she couldn't point out what it was. He was asking all the wrong questions, she realized. This man knew more than he was letting on. He wasn't a Servant though. She would have known if he was. Did that mean they'd captured a Master? Surely a Servant wouldn't have left their own Master in such a state as they found Jekyll the previous night though. More likely, this man was associated with someone who was a Master, and he had been caught up in the crossfire of last night's battle.

Saber narrowed her eyes, watching the man carefully. Wounded as he'd been, she doubted he'd made a conscious decision to infiltrate Elizabeth's mansion. That would have been suicidal. It simply meant they'd let a rat into their house, thinking it was a mouse instead. That wasn't all bad though. They might be able to follow this rat back to its friends...

Lily & William

Lily was pleased to see that William respected her desire to confer with Archer on the alliance. If he was a trickster, he was certainly a considerate one.

William seemed to be focusing on something other than her at the moment, however. Lily turned and saw that it was not a something, but a someone - a young lady. From the ensuing conversation, she realized this was William's sister, and apparently one of two siblings he had.

The talk of accosting her was a bit embarrassing, but she was glad to know the family took some pride in their reputation.

"He's been nothing but a gentleman so far," Lily said politely, curtsying to the young lady. "I'm Lily Edrington. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She hesitated. Was this girl a magus also? Did she know of the Grail War? Lily felt it safe to keep quiet and let William handle those details. She didn't want to say anything she shouldn't.

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Jekyll, Elizabeth, & Saber

Elizabeth... A lovely name, and it certainly suited her. Only a first name, however. On some level, it seemed, she didn't trust him.

"Ah, last night," he murmured. He winced - it didn't take much acting, as even the memory of it still hurt - and relaxed a bit more on his pillow.

"It's all still a bit muddled," he said. "I was taking a stroll through the park. It helps to clear my head - the cool breeze and the stars above - especially after being stuffed up in my laboratory all day. I remember hearing a tremendous crash and thinking it must he a sudden gale. I think a tree fell, and I think it hit me. It's a miracle it didn't crush me, though it certainly feels as though it did."

He fell silent, pondering the events of the previous night. Was there a way to control the transformation, to keep from losing all sense? If not, it's unlikely he would be so fortunate the next time.

"And how did you come across me, my lady?" he asked, flashing a charming smile. "I would hardly expect a lady of your standing to be wandering about at such an hour."

Exiting the palace, Elliot returned to the library. The morning’s events had led to an interesting meeting, and indeed, had gotten him one step closer to his goal. Before long, he found himself at the entrance to the library.

After changing into a new suit, he waited at the gates along with his parents. James wore a similar attire to Elliot, and Meredith donned a rather extravagant red dress. The occasional patron passed by them on their way into and out of the library.

“So where were you this morning?” Meredith spoke, turning to Elliot. “I was worried that you had reneged on your promise.”

“Just attending some personal matters,” he responded. Before he could elaborate further, his attention was caught by the clopping of horseshoes on cobblestone. Looking at the road, he saw a horse and carriage stop in front of the gate. The door opened, revealing a young woman.

She was clothed in a somewhat plain white dress. Lustrous brown hair swayed softly in the breeze, and bright, green eyes observed the estate with interest. Despite the plain clothing, she was, admitted Elliot, rather beautiful. Noticing the trio, she walked towards them.

“Greetings, sirs, milady. I am Florence Ellingham, the daughter of the writer Peter Ellingham. I presume you are the landlords of this estate, Mr. and Mrs. Swann?”

“Ah, yes, that would be us,” James replied, stepping forward. “I trust your journey was pleasant?”

“Indeed, the weather is quite fine today, isn’t it? It made for a relaxing trip.”

Noticing their guest glancing at Elliot, who was still standing behind his parents, Meredith spoke up.

“Where are our manners? This is our son, Elliot.”

Elliot bowed towards Florence.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Florence. As my mother has said, I am Elliot Swann.”

“Well met, Elliot,” replied Florence, smiling warmly. “I believe you are to give me a tour of your estate?”

“That is correct, milady. If you would like to follow me, we can start at the main library.” Gesturing to the library behind him, Elliot led Florence towards the library.

"Urgh... I swear the commoners grow more and more in their quantity by the day Rider."

Elaina groaned, stifling her yawn with her gloved hand. She looked how she always did; amused, with the air that she knew she was doing better than most of the people around her. Luckily for her (and probably Rider too, considering she seemed to have a complaint about every serf they passed) despite the time the street of London they were progressing down seemed pretty empty. Elaina looked around, glancing at the road ahead.

"Honestly, you'd think they'd all be working now. Fancy not having a job in this day and age! And they all wonder why they have no money... They could all work for me! There's more than enough jobs for them. I'm almost a charity at this point Rider, and yet people are too prideful to accept help! It's their own fault really... oh, here we are."

Sure enough, their latest turn took them straight to their target; the park. Mercifully, it was still rather oddly. Elaina was actually quite surprised; considering all the racket yesterday she'd been expecting at least a dozen policemen. She'd even brought her larger purse, just in case bribes needed to be made... oh well. She wasn't going to complain about not spending money.

"Well Rider... I guess this is your cool. What should we look for first? There's got to be some clue about what the hell happened last night, wouldn't you say?"

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Elizabeth couldn't help but grow concerned as she noticed Saber's reaction to the curious man. Did... did she not approve of him? ...No, apparently she didn't. Their time together had only been short together, but she felt she knew her Servant well enough to notice the warning signs. But what could be wrong? He was not a Servant, but... no, surely not... No, Saber was probably just being cautious. That seemed more likely than the alte... oh!

The young woman quickly snapped back to focus on their guest once he spoke again. Good lord, could that really be true? The man seemed honest, but Elizabeth wasn't sure. If it was the truth, then he was either the luckiest or unluckiest man in the country. Unlucky by being hit, lucky for surviving.

"Yes... I daresay the Lord was with you if you escaped with only a few scrapes! I suppose the trees in that park are very old, you must have just chanced upon one with a rotten bark... I'm sorry, in my excitement last night I didn't check your surroundings. Certainly, there was a lot of debris, but any fallen trees nearby I just don't recall..."

This may also be due to her lack of sleep, but this was hardly a ladylike thing to mention. Not that she had a chance to react; the doctor's question caught her off guard completely. What could she say to that? 'I was walking around due to this war over the Holy Grail, you may have heard of it?' was not an answer she could give, this man might barely know magic exists. Oh... confund it, she should have thought of this before she slept. The blond haired woman flicked her hair back as she thought up an excuse.

"Ah... well, I... yes, it is a little odd, I suppose... I...I was visiting a few friends of mine! ...We were, I mean. It'd er, been a while since we'd last met up, so we completely lost track of time... to be perfectly honest, they'd asked me to stay the night, it was so late. But I simply couldn't do that, I couldn't possibly intrude at such a late time! Haha... I guess you were really lucky then, Dr. Jekyll. It was fortunate we found you when we did, I'd shudder to think what would have happened if we'd stayed... isn't that right, Saber?" she finished, glancing at her guardian. Hopefully she appreciated the excuse.
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((Turns out helping with weddings in the family takes up more time than you'd like. :/ The rest'll be here tomorrow.))

-William-

Cynthia looked into Lily's eyes for a moment before nodding, as if confirming something for herself. "I'm glad he's still the brother I expect him to be." She said before returning Lily's curtsy in kind. "Cynthia Marshall." There was a moment's pause before she continued. "I know I've seen you somewhere before, but I don't think we've ever been formally introduced."

William cleared his voice from behind his sister. "Earl is hanging the laundry."

She shot a glare over her shoulder but seemed to take the hint. "Yes, I suppose I should get out of your business." Cynthia hastily stepped towards the door. "It was a pleasure meeting you!" She called from the doorway, as she made her exit.

William let out a sigh, shaking his head from side to side, before turning his attention back to Lily. "I'm sorry. If I'd known she would be here, I would have arranged for our conversation to be somewhere a bit more private."

"In any case, I think we've discussed all we need to for now. Discuss what you need to with Archer, and we'll talk again tonight."

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-Saber-

"Yes." Saber responded when Elizabeth offered her a way into the conversation. "I'm afraid m'lady had one too many glasses of wine while we were visiting, and she fancied a midnight stroll through the park." She smirked down at the doctor. "I guess I should thank you. Unfortunate as your situation may have been, it did a good job of sobering her up so I could get her home without further distraction."

"Of course, then she spent half the night hovering over you to make sure you didn't pass on." Saber turned her eyes up to Elizabeth, and when the woman met them, she darted them towards the door, a signal to leave the room.

"Now that m'lady is awake, would she like breakfast?" She continued talking as she rose to her full height and started walking towards the door. "I'm sure I can find something for the patient as well." Saber quipped sarcastically.

William & Lily

Lily shifted uncomfortably as Cynthia mentioned recognizing her. Had she been at the Cormiers in the past? It wouldn't do to be recognized now. Fortunately, William encouraged her none too subtly to leave.

"It's fine," Lily said once Cynthia was out of earshot. "Thank you. I'll see if I can find him."

She searched for Archer's presence, then followed it out of the kitchen and out onto a nearby balcony. She was surprised to find Lancer there, keeping Archer company.

"Oh, excuse me," she said, "I didn't mean to interrupt."

She glanced from Lancer to Archer, then cleared her throat.

"Would... would it be all right if I spoke to Archer alone?" she asked.

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Saber, Elizabeth, Jekyll

Jekyll listened to Elizabeth and her Servant's explanations, projecting an air of interest. It was only too obvious a lie, but he certainly wasn't going to press it here and now.

"Well, it seems fortune was smiling upon both of us then," he said, giving Elizabeth a charming smile. Saber immediately interjected with a thinly-veiled barb before suggesting breakfast, grudgingly including him as well.

"Breakfast would be most appreciated. Thank you," he said, turning a smile with equal charm on her that would probably just annoy her. He turned his back decidedly on the Servant to engage the Master once more.

"Do you live alone Elizabeth?" Jekyll asked interestedly. "I would not be surprised if a lovely lady such as yourself were already married."

===Elliot===

As Elliot guided Florence around the grounds, they exchanged pleasantries and other small talk. Their conversation, while polite, was formal; each party aware of the fact that their parents were engaged in business discussions, and an ill-considered comment may jeopardise their deal.

After visiting the main library, Elliot led Florence to the outhouse.

“If I may inquire, what is in this building, Elliot?” asked Florence, evidently curious about why the tour had not concluded.

“This is where we keep our magi documents. Should our parents secure a deal, this is where we will place your father’s books.” he replied, opening the door.

The interior of the small structure was fairly small, but the Swanns had managed to cram a surprising amount of shelving into the building. However, only a handful of the rows contained books- evidently, they had planned to eventually fill all of the shelves but at this moment were lacking the material. A number of desks were arranged at the front and back of the room.

Walking over to one of the bookshelves, Elliot absentmindedly picked out a book and began leafing through its pages.

“You can see we haven’t filled a lot of these shelves, but that is why we’ve been contacting authors such as your father, so we can eventually fill this room with magi knowledge.”

“I see,” replied Florence, from behind Elliot. “Oh, what is this?”

Turning his head, Elliot saw her picking up a familiar leather tome off the nearest desk. With a start, Elliot realised that was his tome. He must have left his things on the desk after his morning trip and forgotten about them. He swiftly made his way towards Florence and gently pried the book from her hands.

“Err...um…this is...” he stuttered.

“It looked to me like those were incantations...” Her eyes brightened as she came to a conclusion. “Oh! Is that perchance a spellbook?”

Elliot sighed. She really shouldn’t have looked in that book. Especially considering that was essentially part of his family’s line of magecraft. He silently admonished himself for being so careless.

“...yes...milady,” he slowly replied. "Actually...it's my own personal spellbook."

Florence’s expression changed from one of curiosity to one of apology.

“Oh my, I’m deeply sorry! I shouldn’t have been too nosy, that book must contain familial secrets.” She said, lowered her head.

“Oh, no… the fault lies with me, milady. I shouldn’t have left it out in the open for anyone to read,” Elliot replied quickly. “Shall we continue, milady?” he suggested, wanting to continue past this episode quickly.

“Please, call me Florence. It’s the least I can do to apologise for my actions… but yes, let’s continue.”