Guarded heart

Artoria woke up well rested for once. With her job, and being constantly annoyed and stressed, sleeping was a hard task.

So it was either suffering from insomnia or taking sleeping pills.

The good news, she took the pills.

The bad news? She woke up at 11a.m, and she would have continued to sleep if not for Kay calling her, and Cavall chewing on her leg.

"You don't usually sleep this late." Kay laughed over the phone. "You're that tired, huh? I told you to get a vacation."

"There is no point in getting one." She yawned, still unable to leave the bed.

"You're kidding, right? Because I am sure if you don't get one soon you will die from overwork."

"I won't die from that. I will at least die from high blood pressure." A.k.a Morgan.

"And what you need to do to avoid that, is a vacation! You have the money, you can go anywhere, and you can pick up ladies on the way. Do you even check the comments your pictures get on social media?"

"Didn't I tell Gareth to stop posting these?"

"Point is, women are thirsty for you."

"Kay. Be quiet for a minute."

"You're gonna have an easy time getting laid."

"Be quiet for several days."

"All I'm saying is..." He was trying to annoy her, wasn't he? "Spend the night with a woman, or two... if you're feeling spicy, even three. It's great exercise, and would definitely cure your insomnia."

"Kay."

"Yes?"

"I don't want to hear your voice for two weeks."

Artoria proceeded to hang up on him.

"Sometimes I regret answering my phone." She pushed herself up and picked up Cavall. "Who needs all that when I have the cutest puppy to make me happy?" Cavall barked happily and licked her nose, getting a laugh out of her. "Alright let's get you some food."

Artoria prepared for her day as usual, except this time, she had Cavall keeping the house animated.

“I’ll see you later.” She ruffled his fur, and locked the door.

It was just another normal day, except this time she took a detour with her car to a nearby store.

However, once she was out of her car, and about to turn around a corner, someone crashed into her, sending them both on the ground.

Artoria groaned, and rubbed her back, as her 'attacker' picked what looked like files, in panic.

"Damn you Rin, making me run these errands..." The mysterious woman muttered to herself, having to pick up some papers twice because her hands were shaking. "I am so sorry for-"

Both Artoria and the woman stared at each other.

Time was frozen when their eyes locked.

Artoria's own green met a bright shade of blue, it was almost like an ocean.

Loose brown locks of hair rested on her shoulder, and Artoria opened her mouth.

"Gui-"

The woman panicked and took all of her things and ran in the opposite direction.

"Wait...!" Artoria called out, but she was already gone. "...Guinevere."

And just like that, her normal day had been turned upside down.

-Guarded Heart-

Irisviel yawned, trying not to let her head slam against her desk.

While she was able to leave work at a reasonable hour, she still had a harder job at home. Being a mother.

Taiga had matters to attend to, so she couldn’t help Illya with her homework, and Irisviel felt as if she was already asking too much of her friend.

She continued to rub her eyes open, hoping she could get some energy back before her boss would-

“Good morning, Irisviel.”

…Show up.

Irisviel stood up abruptly, and came face to face with her boss. Although, Artoria’s eyes seemed saddened, with no sign of amusement at her predicament.

“Good morning!” Irisviel blinked, wondering if she was imagining it, but the sadness did not leave.

Artoria nodded and walked into her office with a coffee in hand. Irisviel quickly gathered her papers and followed her inside.

After a while of watching her boss quietly check her schedule and profiles, she decided to speak.

"You look..." Irisviel paused. "Are you okay?"

"I've had an... interesting morning." Artoria sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Did Lancelot and Bedivere leave for the opening?"

"Yes! They left early due to Lancelot's insistence."

"That's good." Artoria sipped her coffee. "They're going to fail the job." She said, calmly.

"Why?" Irisviel tilted her head. Artoria was a professional, she wouldn't send anyone who wasn't capable of the job.

"In all of these past years, I learned that anyone who participates in Gilgamesh and Ishtar's little war will come out of it miserable."

"Oh... is it that bad?"

Artoria stared at the secretary then back at her coffee.

She paused. And to Irisviel, she looked as if she was experiencing a horrible memory.

"Yes."

Artoria leaned back into her chair.

"The one time I went with Gilgamesh, I ended up soaked from head to toe with water paint, so much that the moment I sat foot into the house, my wife- ex wife immediately threw me into the bathtub."

Irisviel let out a chuckle, trying to imagine her boss in such a situation.

She did not dwell on the slip up.

A knock on Artoria’s office interrupted them.

“Boss? Can I come in?”

It was Agravain.

He opened the door, and glanced at Irisviel for a moment. “Boss, I would like to talk to you alone.”

“Oh.” Irisviel shifted awkwardly. “I’ll go back to my desk now.” She gave them an apologetic smile and left.

Artoria nodded, and motioned to her nephew to sit down.

“You seem upset, Agravain.” Artoria noticed the frown on his face. Granted, he was always frowning, but there were subtle changes.

Agravain paused, then placed a file on her desk.

Artoria raised an eyebrow at him, then opened it, and the first thing she saw was a picture of Irisviel, her eyes were darker, devoid of the light she usually had. Next to her was a picture of a man dressed in black. There were a couple of papers beneath.

“Agravain? What is this?”

“I trust your judgment, however, I did some digging on your secretary, something about her seemed eerily familiar.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and pressed his lips together, contemplating something. “My job is to protect you.”

Artoria’s eyes widened as she read through the files.

“I see.” Artoria leaned into her chair. “Thank you, Aggy.”

“You’re wel- w… What do you… Please do not call me that in front of others!” His stoic expression turned into a flustered one, as he desperately tried to keep his composure. “Anyway! I will not oppose whatever decision you make regarding this woman, but please try not to be too trusting.”

“I know.”

She knew too well how easy it is to break trust, she had experienced it many times after all.

But perhaps…No, she hoped… that Irisviel would be different.

-Guarded heart-

“These are all the spots that you need to check for any Ishtar traps.” Siduri handed Lancelot and Bedivere a long piece of paper, so long that when unrolled, it covers the floor.

Siduri looked sleep deprived.

The two thought they’d cover ground faster if they came early, but now with this list.

“Oh, and make sure to research the same places every half an hour, you never know when she could infiltrate.”

The two paled.

“And, just in case, try not to eat anything suspicious, she could poison your food.”

Bedivere sighed in relief, he had poison immunity.

“And because Enkidu decided to take a very convenient vacation…” Siduri sighed. “Please try to guard Gilgamesh as much as possible.”

Bedivere was now convinced that Artoria sent Lancelot here for a punishment, but what did he do to deserve this hellish job?

Once Siduri left -almost walking into a wall- the two went over the areas they had to cover.

“I think we should split to cover more ground faster.” Lancelot proposed.

“But what if one of us runs into her ?” Bedivere shivered, remembering Artoria’s state last year.

“We will be fine! We trained hard for this!”

“You’re right! Paint is nothing compared to losing an arm!”

“That’s the spirit, Bedivere!”

“Wow, Artoria sent me two whole idiots.” Gilgamesh walked towards them, laughing in his iconic ear deafening tone. “You’re not half bad! But you can’t both search for that stupid woman! I need assistance!”

“Uh… What kind of assistance?” Bedivere squinted. He did not trust this man.

“A massage, obviously! And I need someone to paint my nails, I must look perfect in a few hours!”

Silence fell into the room.

He wasn’t joking.

“Sir, we are bodyguards not personal assist-” Lancelot quickly covered Bedivere’s mouth.

“I’ll do it!” Lancelot whispered to his partner. “He is still a client even though he is annoying. We have to impress him.”

“How?”

“Watch me.”

Lancelot then fixed up his hair and tried to use his smoothest pick up line.

"You come here often?" He winked.

Bedivere stopped himself from groaning.

What did he expect? Definitely not this, but he still shouldn’t have expected much.

"Oh you're stupid." Gilgamesh laughed, and his hand moved to Lancelot's tie. "I like that in a mongrel."

"I-is that so?" Lancelot stuttered, but still managed to smile. "Well, I have a lot more qualities in me."

"Oh?" Gilgamesh leaned closer. "Like?"

"W...well." He drove himself into a corner. He was so focused on Gilgamesh that he didn't notice Bedivere walking away, stomping his feet. "I... for example I..." He was drawing a blank, when the blonde's hand moved to his chest.

Gilgamesh laughed, and dragged him away by the tie.

Bedivere started his search for any possible traps.

The locations he started with were the kitchen and bathroom. Nothing seemed out of place, but as he was about to leave the kitchen, he noticed a sticker on the floor that wasn’t there before.

The sticker had a cartoonish design of Ishtar.

If the sticker appeared out of nowhere, then she must be nearby.

Bedivere looked left and right, but there was no trace of her. He went right, following his guts.

On the way, he saw another sticker on the wall, this time in the form of an arrow leading him where to go.

This was definitely a trap, but it was a gamble he had to take.

It was a lose lose situation anyway.

Bedivere followed every trail he was given until he finally made it to the storage room.

There was a big red box with a picture of Ishtar on it.

He gulped, and looked around for any possible trap.

Why would Ishtar go through with all of this?

He slowly inspected the box from every side, then put it down.

Whatever was in there, it was not worth it.

It was then that he saw Lancelot walk towards him, looking as if life was sucked out of him.

His hair looked like a mess, his tie gone, and nail paint was spilled on his suit.

“What happened to you…?” Bedivere asked.

“Nothing.”

Lancelot looked like he just came back from war. Better not ask him.

“It’s been over an hour since I started investigating, did you find anything?”

“No, I was tending to our client’s needs.”

“Lancelot, That is not part of our job, why would you-”

“I thought he was hot… Now I regret it.” Lancelot muttered under his breath.

Bedivere was going to have a stroke.

“I’ll check now, alright? I’ll be quick, and no trap will go unnoticed!” He walked past the fuming bodyguard, and noticed the red box sitting in the room. “See? I already found something!”

“Something…? WAIT DON’T TOUCH THE BO-”

The room exploded, leaving the two covered in what seemed to be… Clay?

The two slowly turned to face each other.

This trap wasn’t made by Ishtar.

It was made by Enkidu for Ishtar.

“Well… We missed up but there is still time.” Lancelot tried to wipe the clay off himself, only to make it worse.

That was when they heard an explosion from the other side of the building.

The side Bedivere didn’t have the time to cover.

The two rushed into the scene... or at least tried to rush, if not for Lancelot walking into a range of Enkidu's traps, from bear traps, to a hive of bees, to a literal hole in the ground.

They rigged the entire building, and Lancelot had a knack to activate every trap.

When they arrived, it was at the building's entrance. The press kept a distance, leaving an empty-full of paint- ground for the two enemies.

Gilgamesh was covered in paint, but he was still laughing.

"Do you think you've defeated me, Mongrel?!" He yelled into the speaker  at Ishtar who was standing on the roof of the opposite building.

"Of course! You can't reach me! I won't fall for Enkidu's traps again! Today vi-"

Gilgamesh, Bedivere, Siduri, Lancelot, and every journalist around stood in confusion.

She was so far away that they couldn't hear her, and yet she continued with her speech.

"How pathetic." Gilgamesh poked a finger in her ear. "Siduri, do the thing."

"Yes, sir." Siduri pulled a toy looking bazooka that is shaped after Enkidu, and aimed at Ishtar.

"...And you will bow before me, and I will even make you kiss my foot, how humiliating would that be? Ohohoho!" Ishtar continued, blissfully unaware, until Siduri shot a ball with Enkidu's face on it, and the moment it collided with Ishtar, it exploded into clay, knocking her backwards.

Lancelot and Bedivere simply watched in awe as the crowd cheered.

Meanwhile, in another country, Enkidu's loud cheering could be heard as they watched the event live on their vacation, knowing that their anti Ishtar weapon won the day.

"I think something is seriously wrong with these people." Lancelot commented, but Bedivere ignored him and walked away.

Bedivere was a patient man, he really was.

But this? This was a lot.

This whole job was a disaster, and why? Because Lancelot decided it's okay to go and flirt with their client. Because he decided it's okay to leave him on his own. Because if this wasn't a series of stupid pranks, and was actually a serious attack, they would be dead.

"Look, Bedi, I'm sorry-" Lancelot rubbed his neck. "We just got a little clay on us, it will just wash off."

"You don't get it, do you?" Bedivere felt rage. "I am mad because you were irresponsible during a job! I was left alone to take care of everything when you came back you kept messing up!"

"Bedi..."

"And you were supposed to be the best guard out of us but you keep indulging when you shouldn't and it's because of that Artoria was left heartbroken!"

The two froze in shock.

So, the elephant in the room was finally acknowledged.

"I...I'm sorry-"

"No... you're right." Lancelot gave him a sad smile, and sat by the nearest bench. "That day when I found her at the bar, she looked so distraught that I wanted to listen to her. But I made the mistake of drinking as well, to the point of blacking out."

He sighed.

"I  am good for nothing. I always make the worst decisions, thinking that I would help, when I end up making things worse."

Bedivere sighed and sat beside him. "It's all behind us now. But... it is hard seeing you like this. You're supposed to be the best out of us." Bedivere placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've been trying to run away from your guilt, haven't you?"

Lancelot remained quiet.

He then clenched his fists, ready to say the thing he had been bottling up.

"All of that was MY fault. Artoria should have forgiven Guinevere." Lancelot stood up. "There should not have been a divorce."

"You're mistaken, Lancelot." Bedivere sighed. 

If only things had turned out differently.

"The one who wanted the divorce was Guinevere, not Artoria."

-Guarded heart-

“How did this turn out worse than last time?” Artoria muttered to herself, watching the stream of the opening event on her phone.

A bouquet of flowers isn’t enough to compensate for the suffering Siduri endures dealing with Gilgamesh and Ishtar every year.

Perhaps she should give Bedivere and Lancelot a raise after such a disastrous job.

She put away her phone, and looked at the file from earlier, then left her office and stood by her secretary’s desk.

Irisviel stood up and gave a respectful bow, flashing her the usual smile.

Artoria found words hard to come out.

"Irisviel… Do you need to pick up your daughter after work?" Artoria asked. She did not look at her.

"No, I asked a friend to do it for me." Irisviel tilted her head, trying to figure out why she would ask that.

"In that case, I was thinking we should both leave work early." Artoria turned to her and smiled. "Irisviel, have you ever been to the beach at night?"

Irisviel had never been to the beach.

"No." She only knows snow.

"In that case, I will wait for you in the car."

“But Boss, is there a reason why-”

“Since we are done with work, simply call me by my name.” Artoria said and walked away, leaving a confused Irisviel.

They had not exchanged a word during  the entire ride, but the sudden invitation confused her, and she wasn’t sure what to say.

And even if she had anything to say, it all died down the moment she stepped into the beach. She gasped in awe at the moon, and its light reflecting into the sea.

Irisviel took off her shoes and curled her toes into the sand.

Her heart soared with happiness.

Artoria watched her explore with a smile.

The ocean breeze was something she did not experience often.

The moon was at its brightest, and the sound of the waves helped calm her nerves.

Artoria's eyes wandered back to the woman before her, skin and hair as white as snow, yet her eyes were a bright shade of red she had never seen before.

She laughed as her bare feet danced in the water.

Artoria found her laugh contagious.

"I am glad you are enjoying yourself."

The woman turned to her, smiling.

"Are you going to just stand there? Why don't you take off your shoes?" She asked, already taking her arm and dragging her towards the water.

"But…" Her protests died as soon as they came out.

She was right though. The feeling of her feet touching the cold sand and occasionally the water, was nice.

This was nice.

She… was nice.

"Artoria, do you like the sea?" She asked her, and Artoria found herself struggling to find an answer.

"I am not sure. I never thought about it."

"Then how about this very moment?"

Artoria smiled.

"I suppose it is refreshing. I wouldn't mind doing this more often."

The woman giggled.

"I am glad." She paused. "It was nice being escorted by a gentleman."

Artoria's smile widened.

"Did I make a good escort?"

Those red eyes met her own, almost sparkling from happiness.

"Yes! You were wonderful!"

At that moment, Artoria thought that woman was more beautiful than the night itself.

Artoria looked away from her, averting her gaze into the sea. As soon as she did, it felt as if something grasped her heart, applying pressure to it, to the point she let out a quiet gasp.

She lied.

She did think about it.

After all, she loved a woman whose eyes were a window to the ocean, so deep that she had often drowned in them.

And yet here she was, sharing this moment with someone else, and allowing herself to admire her beauty.

Wasn’t this betrayal?

“Artoria?” Irisviel called out for her, and Artoria’s smile returned.

“Yes?”

Irisviel might have imagined it, but Artoria looked like she was about to cry.

“I’m happy that you brought me here, but is there a reason?” She wanted to understand her sadness, she wanted any clue to what could be bothering her.

But Artoria’s heart was well guarded. She only showed what she wanted others to see.

There was a wall between them, but it’s not like Irisviel was completely honest with her either.

“I suppose I just wanted some peace of mind, but I did not want to be alone.” Artoria sighed, and walked towards her, taking off her jacket and putting it over her shoulders. “I’m sorry for not being clear with my intentions.”

Irisvil blushed as she wrapped the jacket around her shoulders.

“No! Please don’t apologize! I love it here!” Irisviel tucked a hair behind her ear. “Maybe I should bring Illya here at night, but… Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“You can call me if  you’re up to it.” Artoria offered.

"Oh! But you're busy and… you're already doing so much for me!"

"It is fine, Irisviel." Artoria put a hand over her shoulder. "I wouldn't have offered it if I didn't want to."

Irisviel was left speechless.

How much of Artoria's kindness will she keep taking for granted?

Was it fair for her to keep hiding the truth when Artoria continued to treat her like this?

Could she really tell her?

"Artoria… the truth is, I'm from-"

Artoria's phone interrupted her, and the blonde gave her an apologetic look, before checking who the caller was.

It was then that the colors drained from her face.

Artoria's eyes were glued on the name on the screen:

Guinevere.