let them eat cake.

[gozen]

["Death" loses its meaning when you're a Servant. The nature of the Holy Grail War gave no option: you either fought or you died. Reincarnated a second time, most Servants would choose to die fighting, honoring their legends that qualified them a seat at the Throne of Heroes. Yet-- knowing that the wounds sustained would be lost, that there would always be another "tomorrow" for them-- death does not lose its effect. It's one thing to kill an enemy in battle. It's another to see a friend felled.

Minamoto treats it as a mission gone wrong. She gives a brief review to her Master and refrains from expanding upon it. She goes about the usual motions of her day, always keeping a careful eye on Marie's quarters. She wonders -- just how long will Wonderland keep her? Will she be all right? Will her wish be granted?

Or will the Queen of Hearts keep her...?

Regardless of the thoughts swirling in her head, Minamoto watches and waits.]

Comments

hey i can finally tag this now that i know how her arc ended

[guilloqueen]

[only a week has passed since minamoto's execution in wonderland, but marie feels like a whole lifetime has passed when she finally returns to chaldea. it's simple, too, without any sort of fanfare—in one moment, she's fallen through the rabbit hole, wondering how far the tunnel goes; the next, she's sitting on her bed, the white walls of chaldea welcoming her home.

as she looks around to make sure this isn't a dream, the mere motion of moving her head around causes the sheep mask to finally fall from her face and onto her lap. she stares at it for a few seconds before she picks it up and puts it to the side.

she must find minamoto.

she rises from her bed and races out of her room.]

TELL HER ABOUT THE FUN ADVENTURES YOU HAD

[gozen]

[And Marie will find Minamoto in the kitchen, a plethora of ingredients before her. The warm scent of broth permeates the air, fresh and tantalizing. She offers only a glance at the doorway -- a natural response when one sees movement from their peripheral vision -- but her head quickly snaps up when she realizes who it is.]

Marie!

[Minamoto is unabashedly happy -- no, she's happy beyond words. She abandons her work and rushes over to the young queen, arms already open. Regardless of whether she wants it or not, Marie is being enveloped in a tight hug.]

[guilloqueen]

[she smells the scent coming from the kitchen before she gets there. even though she does not strictly need food, after two straight weeks of being surrounded by nothing but sugary sweets, she almost falls to her knees as she takes in the hearty aroma of minamoto's cooking.

and then she sees minamoto at the stove, and she immediately begins crying as she embraces the berserker, burying her face in the older woman's chest.]

I missed you, I missed you so much, dear Minamoto. [she looks up, her bright smile present despite her tears.] But I lived, just as I'd promised you I would do.

[gozen]

[Without thinking, Minamoto begins to stroke Marie's head. It's all right for Marie to cry. Minamoto, after all, was on the verge of tears herself. Towards others, she could be frighteningly stoic and coldhearted, but to those she cared about--

Yes, she was always weak to them.]

I am so proud of you. Don't cry, little Marie. You did a fantastic job.

[guilloqueen]

Did I? I didn't do much to stop the murders, and I helped put two innocent people to their deaths...

[she touches her hand to the one minamoto has atop her head. even though a worse fate apparently awaited ivan had he not been falsely apprehended... she couldn't help but feel guilty for leading him there. she's silent for a bit before continuing her reminiscing on the experience, as she surprisingly says,]

... yet I feel no emotion but pity for the Red Queen.

when u run out of the icons so u have 2 go with a mean icon

[gozen]

[On some level, Minamoto understood. Human morality was a labyrinth to an outsider but at the core of many was a simple fact: spare the innocent. Those who were weak, those who did no wrong, those who were righteous. Those were the ones you swore to protect upon taking the sword. Those who would do harm to your charges were to be despised. It's the simplistic, warrior-oriented view of the world. Minamoto was all too aware of that. When they were forced to vote -- forced to kill -- where did innocence lie? With those who strove for a just ending? Or with those who allowed themselves to die?

Yes. Pity was reserved for those forced into such situations but what she doesn't expect is pity for the perpetrator herself. Surprise flickers across Minamoto's face and she pulls back a bit.]

Why? She was little more than a mad tyrant.

[guilloqueen]

You forget, Minamoto—hatred knows no place in my heart.

[she takes minamoto's hand in one of her own. the other she rests upon her chest, speaking from the heart. she reflects upon her own life and reign as she speaks... though she had accepted her fate where the red queen had lashed out, she can't help but feel a slight kinship with the other monarch.]

There's no doubt that she was mad. But, at some point... she must have been beloved, once. I don't think the fear in her subjects' eyes was always there, nor was the madness and loneliness in hers. Even though she and I dealt with it differently, the weight upon a queen's shoulders when that love turns to hatred is a heavy burden to bear.

[gozen]

[--Marie is far too gentle. Perhaps that's why Minamoto finds herself endeared to her. When a creature such as herself is in the light of such a pure woman, its ugliness is revealed for all to see.

Her answer is laughter, soft and chiming like a series of bells.]

Oh, little Marie. You are very young and very, very kind.

1/2

[guilloqueen]

Eh—I know I've been summoned in the prime of my youth, but I lived to be 37!

[guilloqueen]

[... which, honestly, does mean she died very young. her own daughter outlived her, for example, surviving the massacre of her family and living to the ripe old age of 72. when she puts things into perspective like that—for she's just as capable of insight as she is of blissful ignorance—it hurts a little more than she'd like.

and so,]

... and after all those years, I've found that being cold is far too tiring.