The Prince Of Magic

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Hugo Faust led Hadrian and his retainers to a nearby port, of which there was a small black yacht waiting for them.

After being greeted by the crew of the boat shortly after their arrival, the yacht was driven out to the sea, taking them far away from the island as they were led to where the Spider was hibernating.

His two familiars were out and about around the yacht, chasing each other out of amus.e.m.e.nt to stave off the boredom.

Since their Master was currently busy and not deigning them his attention, Fou and Ryu had decided to play a game of tag and had been spending their time chasing one another around the boat since they boarded.

All retainers were either inside the yacht or outside, exploring the yacht and seeing what it has to offer. Although, some of them remained nearby Hadrian, such as Dia, Charles, Rider and Arturia.

Dia and Charles were standing near the couch of where Hadrian was sitting, mindful of keeping watch of their surroundings while listening in on their conversation.

Rider was standing several feet away from where Hadrian was seated, just positioned directly behind with her back facing his as she looked out the view of the ocean.

On the other side was Arturia, who stared out into the blue sea with a blank façade on her regal countenance, deep in thought as she stood by the edge of the yacht.

She glanced over her left shoulder, and she saw Hadrian sitting on the lounge area with Hugo to his left. Arturia turned her gaze back to the open sea before her Master could noticed her staring.

After they had landed in Canada, she had been noticing something off with her Master lately, something that worries her deeply.

Her liege's recent behavior reminds her of how he acted during the holy grail war; how his eyes narrowed dangerously when in thought or inspecting something, and how he seems to observed every single thing in the murder sites with a stoic expression.

Combined with her liege's painful episodes with the Mystic Eyes, Arturia was beginning to grow worried of her Master's return to the fold.

It was why she found herself here, standing near the edge of the yacht to have some time to think about how to help her liege.

Granted, she may saw him smile every now and then, but his moments of musing alone and the stoic yet weary expression he wore every time outweighs the times she sees him happy.

Furthermore, she might be by his side always to protect him from harm, but she doesn't know how to help her liege whenever he was in pain, like that episode he had back at the abandoned mansion.

Arturia was broken out of her musings when she sensed someone walking towards her.

Turning her head to the right, she saw Kieran standing there with one of his hands in his pocket. The amber eyed retainer wore that nonchalant expression on his face, which was nothing new.

Arturia's emerald eyes narrowed as she met the male retainer's eyes.

In all honesty, she doesn't know what to think of Kieran.

On one hand, Kieran was a stark contrast to everything that she approves of.

He was laid-back, lazy, and lacking in any sense of justice. He can kill innocent people without much thought or feeling an inch of guilt. This side of himself often appears when he is approached by anyone who are not related to their Master, be they innocent or not.

He can also be sarcastic, cynical and merciless in mocking to most people that he interacts with outside of their group. To those who are not Hadrian, nearly all the people who interacts with him were given the merciless and mocking attitude.

On the other hand, he shows a side of himself that only appears around Hadrian, such as his caring, thoughtful and protective side.

Within the presence of their Master, Kieran appears more humane, thoughtful of his actions and almost good-natured. He never loses the cynical and merciless attitude, but to their Master, no unbearable negativity would be seen nor heard from Kieran.

Even Arturia wasn't safe from his mocking from time to time, including the others, and the only reason that Kieran still has his head was due to the fact that Hadrian trusts him enough to let become a retainer, despite his dangerous origins.

Nevertheless, regardless of his past, Kieran was a fellow retainer that earned Hadrian's trust, and that was enough for Arturia to let him be around her Master. That, and because Hadrian had specifically asked her to give him a chance, which she did begrudgingly.

Hadrian had yet to prove her wrong, so she adopts a wait-and-see when it comes to Kieran.

Although, that doesn't mean that she can't be on guard around him. The amber-eyed retainer may be trustworthy, but due to his past, she can't find in herself to lower her guard.

Dia and Rider feels the same way as her, which was hardly surprising since the two retainers in question do care about Hadrian's safety to a great extent like her.

To his credit, Kieran didn't seemed to care much about their reservations towards, seeming to be fine with having only Hadrian's trust regardless of their disapproval of him.

Kieran let out an irritated sigh, causing Arturia to turn to him curiously.

"Is there something you want, Kieran?" The King of Knights asked.

"Yeah…" Kieran stepped beside her as he leaned forward with his hands on the railings, his gaze on the water below. "It's about Master. I'm sure you noticed his behavior lately."

"Yes, I have." Arturia nodded, her gaze also on the sea. "It's not that difficult to see it."

"What do you think triggered him?" Kieran asked, turning his head to look at her reaction.

Arturia was silent for a few moments, a far-away look in her eyes as she stared out to the sea in deep thought.

Now that the amber eyed retainer mentioned it, the mere thought she had earlier began to gnaw at her, making her grow concern about Hadrian's state of mind.

During the war, Hadrian had begun to grow cold and almost unfeeling at the sight of death. This behavior of his started when in his first victory when he had defeated Shinji Matou, a former friend and an arrogant young man, which seemed to worsen the more battles he won as the week goes by.

Arturia can still remember the blank look in his eyes that day.

His cyan eyes, which normally has a calm and energetic glint, were cold and unfeeling during those moments. It was as if he was seeing something yet nothing at the same time.

Arturia knew that he had been in a war in his first life, but what she witnessed during the war caused her to worry over Hadrian's mental state.

The only thing that kept him together, that made him move forward despite what he went through, was his d.e.s.i.r.e to survive and to recall the reason why he joined the Holy Grail War.

When he gained his memories back, Arturia truly admired his strength of will, his determination and keeping himself grounded throughout the war.

But, when Twice H. Pieceman came into the picture and his machinations was revealed, Arturia laid witnessed to the dark side of her Master.

The way Hadrian killed the man and tortured him to insanity, it was as if the restraints that kept the dark side of his personality was unleashed on that day.

Admittedly, Arturia was not really worried that he killed Twice and tortured him in front of her.

The man was in due for justice, and more, for the horrible things he made everyone go through in her opinion. No, it was her Master that she was worried about.

After the war, Arturia saw that Hadrian had a difficult time to adjust in living a normal life.

She would often find him deep in his thoughts, quietly staring at the wall with a cold expression whenever he was alone or thinks that no one was watching. Sometimes, she would even wake up to him sitting up on the bed, curled up on himself after waking up from a nightmare.

While Arturia would always be there to calm him down and help him, deep down, she knew she can only do so much. While she and the rest would always help him through his problems, Hadrian must also put a great effort to be able move on from the shadows of the grail war himself.

Fortunately, Hadrian seemed to have gone pass that phase and returned to normal a few weeks after they had returned from the war.

But, now, that side of himself seems to have sprung up again. The times it did were subtle, but she knew it would only be a matter of time once it resurfaced again.

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