1 1 - The Rusted Sword

A light enveloped the room as the doors swung open announcing the late arrival of a nervous-looking peasant. He had mid-length dark grey hair. His silver eyes could be seen clearly despite the light behind him. The peasant wore a ragged and loose grey shirt with matching pants. The light illuminated a large group of elegantly clad nobles who look rather annoyed. He nervously scanned the room as he realizes just how late he was. A couple of women in the room sneak glances at him.

On the far end of the room, there was a stage with three notable people. One was wearing a full set of silver and gold plate armor making it impossible to tell the gender of the wearer. Another wore a long tattered black coat that reached her shins. She had long black hair with deep purples eyes looking him up and down. He stared at her back thinking she was the most beautiful woman ever.

The moment he saw the third and final person made him rethink who the most beautiful person was. She had long blond hair pulled back into an elegant ponytail using a red ribbon. Her dress was far more elegant than all else in the room. It was a mixture of snow-white and royal blue. The peasant then made a shocking realization. She is Artoria the daughter of the hero-King Arthur Pendragon. Artoria smiled warmly at him causing his heart to throb.

"Good gods, finally one of the two first place holders shows up! I assume you're Arthur? Gods I've never had anybody be this late. Get up here right this instant!" The knight said clearly irritated. Arthur walked through the crowd of nobles nervously asking them to move out of the way.

Just as Arthur reaches the stage the doors swung open yet again illuminating the room. A female peasant who resembled Arthur entered the room. She wore a form-fitting grey shirt and matching pants. Everyone looked back and forth between Arthur and the new arrival.

"Well, I suppose that explains the same results on every test and the paperwork not properly being filled out in the exact same way... Astra get up here right now!" The knight demanded but Astra just stood there crossing her arms wearing a smug face. She stared at the knight for a moment before slowly walking up to the stage without a care in the world. Arthur looked completely overjoyed to see her. He is about to say something but feels the eyes of the knight upon him.

"You two are lucky both princess Artoria and lady Nesse were so interested in seeing who tied for first place. Now then you two are receiving the best of the best summoning scrolls to call forth artifacts since your all in the top four. I refuse to go through the entire explanation all over again so just grab the damn scrolls. Open them facing towards you and think about whatever the hell you think being a knight is about." The knight said retrieving white and gold rolled up paper from one of their many pouches. The knight stared at the pair expectantly before they just shove the scrolls into their hands.

"You got here before me so get on with it. Besides, I don't want to be the first to die anyway." Astra said sticking her tongue out at Arthur.

Arthur sighed before raising the scroll. He then took a deep breath before he opened it. Nothing happened for a second confusing Arthur before a massive torrent of water shot from the scroll knocking Arthur to the ground and drenching him instantly. Shrieks could be heard from the group of nobles as everyone got soaked with the sudden influx of water. No place in the room was safe from the water as it continued to pour from the scroll at an alarming rate. Arthur eventually was able to fight back against and stand up.

"Hmm, Never seen that before." The knight said not even bothered by the water spraying all over the place.

A sword began to emerge from the scroll at a snail's pace much to the dismay of the many nobles still getting drenched. Arthur began impatiently shaking the scroll attempting to speed up the process. It finally breaks free of the scroll hovering in place pointing at his chest. However, a skeletal arm burst forth from the scroll and grasped the grip.

Arthur backed away in shock as Artoria materialized a golden blade with a dragon engraved into it the sword shined brightly. He immediately recognized that this sword was Caliburn. In one fell swoop, she severed the arm of the skeleton which swiftly faded away into nothingness. Arthur was about to thank her but froze up as he noticed the white part of her dress which is around the bosom is soaking wet. Her sword disappears in a flash of light she then gave him an irritated look. While distracted by her the rusted sword embedded itself within Arthur's chest giving him quite the shock. Artoria looked down at her drenched clothing before looking back up at Arthur.

"Since you've soaked me to the bone you're going to come with to fix this." Artoria said in an equally irritated tone of voice. Arthur couldn't find any words so he just nodded nervously. The two of them then left the room into the grey and blue featureless long corridors.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't know the scrolls could do t-that." Arthur sputtered out as he avoided eye-contact.

"What? Oh, don't worry I'm not angry or anything. I just needed a good excuse to escape the endless speeches. So tell me just how good you are with a sword?" Artoria asked her irritated tone being replaced with one of genuine interest.

Arthur is about to answer but more shrieking could be heard from the artifact room. Water begins to leak from the crack beneath the door. Artoria chuckled as she imagined all the nobles getting soaked further. Arthur looks perplexed as he thinks about what he should say and how he should treat her.

"I know exactly what you're thinking. Just talk to me as you would talk to anybody else. It's damned annoying always being treated with respect by people who are most likely plotting your death." Artoria said before rolling her eyes motioning Arthur to follow her. They walk down the mostly featureless hallway until they turned down one of the many corridors which had wine-red walls, windows, and paintings. Artoria walked up to a dark brown door that had a carving of the Pendragon crest covering the majority of the door.

Arthur looked at the crest before placing a hand on his chest making a pained expression. Artoria glanced at him seeing his discomfort. She looked back at the door as she rummaged around in her pockets. She frowned for a moment before smacking herself on the head. Artoria then reached into the neck of her dress and shifts it around. Arthur couldn't help but stare the entire time.

"You know I usually punch people who stare at me inappropriately then drag their unconscious bodies to the guards. But I've got a good feeling about you. But even then... Stop staring." Artoria said unlocking the door with the key she pulled out of her top.

"Ah, Artoria my love!" A male's voice shouted from down the hallway. Arthur turned to see a man with short blond hair and hazel eyes wearing an outfit that could only be described as the male version of what Artoria is wearing. He fixated his gaze on Arthur increasing his pace frowning. Artoria quickly pulled Arthur into a tight hug making eye-contact the whole time. His eyes widen with a mixture of nervousness and confusion as she pulls him into the room slamming the door behind them.

"W-what are y-you doing?! I-I..." Arthur said before finding himself unable to form the rest of his sentence. Artoria let's go of him and chuckles a bit before sighing deeply.

"I'm sorry I'll explain what that was. My mother arranged for me to marry him. I didn't necessarily agree until I got to know him. He was perfect up until I discovered that he is incredibly abusive to his female servants. So to get out of the marriage invoked the right of single combat. I kicked his ass literally and got out of the marriage... But if I or anybody I've chosen loose to him or his chosen the marriage would be back on. Although, it was so fantastic to see him holding his ass for a couple of painful weeks." Artoria said in an excited manner before walking behind a wooden divider. Arthur let out a relieved sigh.

He then looked around the room waiting for Artoria to finish. The walls had blue roses painted onto the white surface. He then looked to a rather large dark red curtain with golden lacing all over it. There were many portraits of King Arthur, Guinevere, and Artoria scattered around the walls but never any of them altogether. Arthur then walked towards several red and black fine leather chairs and couches which surrounded a small black table. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Artoria's dress fly out from behind the divider. Her dark red laced undergarments followed shortly after.

"Arthur, go grab a dress and undergarments from beyond the curtain and bring it to me." Artoria said as if she was speaking to a servant. Arthur nodded his head before realizing she couldn't see him. He then walked towards the red and gold curtain and pushed it aside entering. The first thing he noticed was the massive canopy bed. It had a large black frame that almost touches the roof. The bed had several overlaying blue curtains that spanned down to the grey marble floor. Arthur then stared at the sheer amount of dark red pillows neatly placed at the head of the bed. He couldn't help but walk over and feel the blue and white finely woven blankets.

"My dresses and undergarments are both in the wardrobe on the left side of the room right next to the bookshelf." Artoria said to get Arthur back on tracks he is taking longer than she thought he would. Arthur then finally walked over to the dark brown wardrobe and opened it. He gazed upon countless duplicates of the dress she was wearing earlier hung up. Arthur then looked down at the countless duplicates of her undergarments as well. He nervously picked up one of the dresses and undergarments.

Arthur made his way to the curtain pushing it aside once more walking through. He then looked up to see he was now within sight of Artoria he gasps loudly then turned his back while closing his eyes tight. He stammered for a while unable to think of what to say or what apology to use.

"Don't hyperventilate yourself just relax. I trust that you aren't some sort of deviant or pervert. Although I personally wouldn't tell anyone about seeing me like this you might end up getting hauled off and executed." Artoria said in such a way that Arthur couldn't figure out if she was joking or not.

Arthur slowly makes his way backward with his eyes shut. He ends up tripping over her wet clothing and landing hard on his back nearby her knocking the wind out of him. He just lays there not knowing what to do to avoid getting an eyeful despite a voice within him telling to just go for it.

"You're almost like a mixture of kitten and puppy that was created to be the most innocent creature in all the land." Artoria said laughing and helping him stand up as he still refused to open his eyes. She picks the clothing up as Arthur quickly turned around waiting for her to finish. A full minute passes as Arthur awkwardly stands still scared to ever breathe wrong.

"A-Are you almost finished?" Arthur asked nervously still dripping wet.

"I need you to lace up the back I can't quite reach it." Artoria said as the nervous Arthur slowly turned around. After a moment he opened a single eye to see Artoria's exposed back towards him. Arthur took hold of the lace and began weaving it through the slits in the dress then tying it into a perfect bow.

"Thank you. Now, where's your room?" Artoria asked turning to face him with a warm smile.

"I-I couldn't afford one. I was just planning on staying in the nearby village's tavern. All that I have is on me." Arthur responded as he scratched the back of his neck.

"I assume you don't have a horse as you can't afford a room. That village is roughly a two-hour walk from here to there. Hmm, let's get you some fresh clothing then we'll have a little chat." Artoria said walking over to the door and looked through a peephole he hadn't seen on the door from the outside.

"I-I don't need a horse I can... Uh, I never mind." Arthur said making Artoria raise an eyebrow at him.

"Well the creepy bastard isn't anywhere in sight so let's get going. Before that annoyance comes back" Artoria said looking over at Arthur while opening the door. The woman with black hair from earlier is leaning against the door frame on the outside dripping wet.

"How's it going Artoria? I've made a new friend." She said as Astra entered the room and looked around. She and Arthur locked eyes.

"W-why would you just leave out of nowhere without telling me?!" Arthur said in an upset tone before he walked up to her and tightly hugging her.

"Oh, gods... You're kinda choking me. Those artifacts really do make you stronger don't they?" Astra said squirming a little so she could hug him back.

"J-just let me know if you're going to disappear again... I couldn't bear to lose you too." Arthur said letting go of Astra. He blushes a bit realizing he has an audience then looked towards Nesse and Artoria who watched the scene play out.

"Well, I guess I'm going to buy both of you some fresh clothing. I'm just guessing that you both are in the same situation... Seeing how everything seems to be similar between the two of you spare your personalities." Artoria said with curiosity. She motioned them to follow her Arthur composed himself taking deep breaths before they left the room.

They all walked down the countless hallways and taking many turns that shouldn't necessarily be possible. Arthur and Astra make small talk the entire time catching up. They finally come across a large wide-open room with all sorts of shops set up in various places it had a large marble looking fountain with golden trim. Arthur then looked at the nobles littering the place some of which he recognized from the artifact summoning room.

Artoria smiles as she walked toward a shop by the simple name of 'Royal Attire' written in gold lettering on red flags that drape to the sides a white wooden door with various crests carved into it one of them being the Pendragon crest which Arthur and Astra both wince at. They both simultaneously gave conflicted looks at it then follow Artoria into the store. As soon as they enter Arthur and Astra stop and stare at the sheer size of the store.

There are many shelves with many articles of clothing in all different colors. Artoria walks over to a section of clothing that looks far more expensive than anything else in the room. The twins go to their respective male and female sections of the store and immediately gravitated towards the grey articles of clothing. Nesse watches from the door of the store as Arthur and Artoria look at similar clothing for their respective genders. She tilts her head in a curious manner as they both inspect the clothing in the same way at the same time parallel to one another.

"There's something strange about these two... Its almost like they are both are watching me despite not even looking in my direction in the slightest." Nesse whispered to herself as she wrote down something on a small piece of paper.

After several minutes of indecisiveness, they chose their outfits and go to the front of the store. They then wait for a short while before Artoria rounds a corner in the store carrying several blue and white dresses exactly like the one she wore. Artoria taps on the counter five times. A balding old man with a large white mustache who wore a vibrant pink suit steps out of a side room. He walked up to the counter smiling and nodding at Artoria. She opens a pocket on her dress and pulls out a large platinum coin and sets it on the counter.

The old man eyes Astra and Arthur suspiciously for a moment then retrieved bags from beneath the counter and packages everything neatly into them with lightning speed. Artoria and the storekeeper make small talk for a short while before saying their goodbyes. Everyone left the store and soon after spotting the blond-haired hazel-eyed noble Arthur saw from before walking right towards them. Artoria looks at him in disgust as he stands before them.

"Well hello, my love. I don't think your father nor mother would approve of what you've done with this filthy peasant... They would be most disappointed I feel." He said in a snobby tone which lit a fire deep within Arthur who clenches his fist out of view of the noble.

"Gods, you are just the most disgusting man I've ever seen! You're lucky you have that whole noble thing going for you otherwise nobody would ever give you the time of day. You are nothing more than a stain." Astra said with cold eyes. The nobleman begins yelling at Astra as she had pushed all the right buttons. Arthur undoes the noble's belt without him noticing taking his coin purse and stuffing it into his pocket. Arthur smiles maliciously his nervous mannerisms fade away.

Nesse and Artoria look on as Arthur manages to sneak behind him in his blind rage and tie the lace of his shoes together as Astra begins to laugh in the noble's face. He had enough and attempts to strike Astra but Arthur catches his arm gripping so tightly the Noble yelps gaining the attention of some nearby noble's

"You really shouldn't do that you might end up with a damaged reputation and arm." Arthur said in a completely new tone of voice squeezing his arm even more tightly the noble fails to escape his grasp. Artoria and Nesse exchange curious looks as Nesse passes her a note. Artoria reads it quickly as Arthur lets go of the Noble's arm.

The group walks away from the nobleman who stands there for a moment gripping his arm. They all look back as the noble tries to walk away but trips immediately falling flat on the floor his pants also falling down various nobles look over at the pitiful sight and laugh to themselves silently.

After returning to Artoria's room Nesse and Artoria begin laughing now that they are away from prying eyes. They talk among themselves while Arthur and Astra pull their clothing from the bags and stare at each other finally realizing they've got the gender-swapped versions of their clothing.

"You know I wasn't too sure about you at first if I'm completely honest with you Arthur. You have incredibly nimble fingers to do something so expertly." Nesse said smiling. Arthur, however, notices a hint of distrust in her eye feeling as if she's buttering him up.

"I most certainly need Merlin to get a painting commissioned of that exact moment in time... Astra you should change first." Artoria said looking right into Arthur's silver eyes clearly wanting to ask something.

"W-We can change at the same time we both lived in a house with a single room for most of our lives. I-It'll be quicker this way." Astra said as they both walked behind the divider tossing their clothing to the floor.

"Well, that's interesting... I'm not missing an opportunity like this." Nesse said silently as she crept towards the divider. She peaks around the corner and her eyes widen with shock. Artoria feeling concerned quickly rounds the corner of the divider to see two large claw shaped scars on Astra's front which she tries to cover instead of her privates. She then looks over and saw three massive scars that slightly resemble bite marks down Arthur's chest and stomach he quickly covers them prioritizing hiding them over his privates.

"Oh... Oh my, I-I'm sorry. W-what happened?" Artoria asked shocked at the sheer size of their scars.

"It's from the single most terrifying experience of our lives... We don't talk about it." Astra said in a solemn tone. Artoria just nods in understanding. She drags Nesse away leaving them to get changed. Artoria and Nesse both give each other the look that just said we shouldn't have looked.

After they finished changing they left the wooden divider and show their simple yet neatly tailored grey uniforms which matched their hair and eye colors. Nesse looks them both up and down and stares lecherously at the pair before snapping out of it.

"Hmm, imagine if you both were of the same gender it would be practically impossible to tell you two apart." Artoria said with her fingers on her chin imagining what it would be like.

"I have things to do so I'll be back later don't worry about not locking the door I can pick it." Nesse said leaving the room before giving another glance towards Astra and Arthur.

"I-I'm not sure I like the way she was looking at us..." Arthur said nervously before turning towards Artoria.

"I don't mind it in the slightest. You should be proud of our looks Arthur and just embrace it." Astra said with confidence completely opposite to Arthur.

"You know I can't Astra remember?" Arthur said in a tone similar to Astra's who just sighs and nods.

"It's getting rather late... I'll have to discuss your living situations tomorrow. But until then you may sleep on the couches I'll get you two blankets." Artoria said pushing the curtain aside entering. After a moment she returned with a single extremely large blue and white blanket. She set it down on the small table.

"I don't seem to have any other blankets anywhere except the one on my bed. I hope you both don't mind sharing my comforter. I hope you two sleep well." Artoria said before retiring to her part of the room.

Arthur and Artoria carefully and quietly place the couches close to one another to let the impromptu blanket cover them both comfortably as to also give the most space for the two of them. They talk about where they had each been and to their surprise they've been to the same places. And that they were only a day apart roughly the entire time. After reminiscing they both lie down and fall swiftly to sleep.