"What's that!?"

"Oh.. those are the Pegasus stables Tyson, we have plenty of winged horses there, Rider likes to hang around there a lot.."

"What's that!?"

"Those are the cabins Tyson, Each god has their own cabin where their kids stay, except my cabin, where Heroic Spirits who've been rescued go.."

"What's that!?"

"Uhh.. that's.. the bathrooms."

"What's that!?"

"That's a rock Tyson.."

"What's that!?"

"That's... a smaller rock.."

I ended up being Mordred and Tyson's unofficial Tour Guide... After taking a little of Chiron's message to heart, I began wondering exactly what he meant.. 

Mordred loved and hated me at the same time? How did somebody love and hate somebody at the same time?

I mean Merlin could be an example. On one hand the guy raised me and was the closest thing I ever had to a father.  On the other hand, he was a womanizing pervert which drove me nuts.

"And here is our cabin, right here." I said, gesturing to the large mini castle like house sitting behind the Zeus cabin with a moat.  

Mordred stared. "That.. is actually kind of cool.. "

"We have a fully versed library on magic, and we have a hot tub courtesy of Lancer's perverted wishes.. "

I looked at Tyson. "If you like, you can stay with us tonight.. I mean, Hermes cabin is little crowded right now, but we don't have many members in our cabin yet.."

"Me.. sleep with pretty girls?" said Tyson, going red. 

I sighed. "Tyson, this is a coed building we have ways of separating the sexes.. "

"Ahhhhh.. what a stud!" said Mordred, patting Tyson on the elbow. "I'm sure he's just nervous.."

Mordred suddenly seemed to notice she had just spoken to me nicely, because she turned away a little angrily. "But.. I mean.. yeah!!.."

Tyson looked at Mordred with confusion. "Mordred.. no like your sister?"

"No.. " said Mordred.

"But Saber is nice." said Tyson.

"Noooo Tyson.. Saber preTENDS to be nice.. then reveals she never cared for you ever.. that you were nothing to her the entire time.." said Mordred. 

"I can see why i've given you that impression." I muttered.

"that's all you have to say!?" said Mordred. "A polite 'I can see why you have that impression'..? You're.. so.. UNBIASED.. it's sickening!"

On the outside I was calm and expressionless.. on the inside, I was beating myself over the head with mental hammer.

STUPID STUPID STUPID! How did I TALK to this girl!?  Okay.. try to say something nice, and heartwarming to get her attention and show that you do wish to form a relationship with your family.. 

"Do you enjoy knitting?"

Mordred stared at me, her mouth slightly open.

I'm so.. STUUUUUUPIIIIIIDD!!! 

"Well you've clearly gone crazy over the years.." Mordred muttered as she walked to the cabin and opened the door. 

"this isn't easy you know.." I muttered as I followed Mordred in.  Before I walked in completely I looked at Percy. "Uh.. show Tyson around everything else.. I'll handle this."

"You sure you can handle this?" said Percy. "You're not exactly good at.. er.. you know.."

"What?"

"Talking to people.."

"Percy! I have payed audience to many a citizen in the court!" I said. 

"You're good at public speaking, commanding.. but not heart to heart.." said Percy. "Saber, sometimes you seem like a stoic.."

I frowned. "Er.. just.. let me handle this."

As me and Mordred walked in, I instantly found myself looking at none other than Cu Chulainn himself, seated at the desk by the door, his chair tipping as he snored, his feet on the table.

"Uhhh.. Lancer?" I said, poking him on the nose.

"UUUUUAAAGGGHHH!!" Lancer gave a jolt. "I'M UP!! STOP YELLING AT ME YOU OLD HUNGRY BASTARD!!"

Lancer fell over onto the floor.

"Uhhh.. sorry?" I said.

Lancer got up, panting and heaving. "Oh.. it's just you.. and you.. "

Lancer stared at Mordred. "Why is there a weirdly skimpier and hotter version of you?"

"Haha! I'm hotter! Wait a minute.. PERVERT!" Mordred stammered. 

"This is Mordred." I said.

"The Knight who killed  you?" 

"Yes."

"Awkward." said Lancer. "Boy am I glad you're back.. honestly maybe you can knock some sense into our new activities director, did you know that Chiron-.."

"Yeah.. we know.. he was fired." I said, shaking my head.  "I wasn't able to stop him from leaving, his mind's made up.. and Zeus wants him out.."

"And once more, the big thunder head in the sky proves himself to be the universe's most colossal jerk." said Lancer. "The old codger Tantalus has pretty much killed the fun in this camp.. and I swear he's doing all he can to make sure the campers here get eaten by monsters by the end of the week. he keeps insisting that everything on the border is fine and that doesn't allow any of the Servants to participate in Clarisse's border guard.."

"Clarisse started the border guard?" I said.

"Of course, she may be kind of a prick, but she's the one whose taken the most initiative trying to protect camp and search for a way to heal Thalia's tree." said Lancer. "Her and Rider.."

"Rider and Sakura.." I said. "Annabeth told me they didn't sound good or.."

Lancer sighed. "Rider's been comforting Sakura all week..  Rider fought in ONE border skirmish, we were attacked by a bunch of Hell Hounds that were much too strong for Clarisse's group.. they would've died, but Sakura and Rider stepped in.. after that Tantalus threatened Sakura so badly that Rider was on the verge of killing Tantalus."

"Why didn't she?" I asked, feeling stunned beyond belief. 

"Tantalus.. he may not look like much.. but he's not a living being.. he's directly from the Underworld.. a prisoner actually from the Fields Of Punishment." said Lancer. "They.. did something to him there.. he literally feels like a monster.."

"All people from the Fields of Punishment are like that.. they gain an essence of power all their own.." muttered Mordred.

"How do you know?" said Lancer.

"I've caused a bit of ruckus there once upon a time.. Hades is NOT happy with me." said Mordred.  "Well anyways.. it was nice to see this place.. but I'm leaving.."

"What!?" I said.

"Listen.. obviously this so called sanctuary for Servants is about to be a wreck." said Mordred. "There's no place for me here.. I'm free of the Curse.. so that much is okay.."

"Mordred no!" I said. "You can't it's not safe."

"Like I care!!" said Mordred. "I mean if Zeusy decides to zap me.. who the hell cares if I'm gone.."

"I DO!!" I roared loudly. 

There was a silence. 

Mordred gave me a stunned look, she seemed to struggle for a minute, as if trying to look for some insincerity in my face, then she heaved a shakey sigh. "Fine.. I'll stay,.. but not for you.."

Mordred shouldered her backpack. "So where do I crash?"

"We got some girl's bunks on the second floor.. nice and roomy.. right next to the hot tub room." said Lancer. "Saber's got top bunk there.. "

"Oh no.." Mordred began.

"Sorry, we're still ordering more bunks." said Lancer. 

Mordred sighed again. "Alright... alright.. I just need to be alone.. there some grub around?"

"We'll have dinner tonight." I said. 

Mordred nodded and headed towards the stairs, but before she went up. "My King.. you say you care now.. but did you ever care before?"

I stared at Mordred, and then I bowed my head. "You.. were my sworn friend.. I cared for all of you knights.. even before I knew your true nature.. if I did not trust you with my life, then what kind of King would I be? You.. were one of my irreplaceable comrades."

Mordred blushed a little, and moved up the stairs without a word.

Lancer whistled. "You know.. I know it isn't exactly my business.. but.. it seems a bit to me like you've moved a bit on the path to reconciliation. "

I felt a little bubble of hope well up in me.. maybe some good would come from all of this..

Later that night, After I sent an Iris Message to Mother letting her know me and Percy were ok, I headed up to Dinner with Percy, Tyson, and Mordred. Bazett and Lancer joined us, but we still couldn't find Rider and Sakura, which I found worrying, but Lancer assured us it was fine.

Bazett  as technically oldest of the most mature people in Servant Cabin (cause honestly, my maturity level has been that of a sixteen year old forever, Excalibur's sheathe doesn't just stop physical aging.. it can be a heavy price), was our camp councilor next to me.. (there were always two.) so the both of us led, (with Bazett being the only person who never would wear our camp t-shirt cause.. well.. she's just smitten with suits isn't she?)

Percy and Tyson were already at the same table, while Annabeth was sitting at the Athena table, scowling at Tyson from a distance.. just what was her problem with him..?

On the other hand, Mordred had the exact opposite reaction, she was grinning and waving at Tyson. "YO! ONE EYE!! HOW YA DOIN!?"

Tyson waved back so enthusiastically he accidentally whacked a passing Dryad in the face and sent her flying into the grass. 

Tantalus got up in front of everybody as the braziers lit up around him..  Normally the Beginning of Summer address would be done by Chiron, he would outline new activities and tell us who currently held the banner on Capture the Flag, but this time, Tantalus occupied the stand... sitting at the head table with Mr. D. and his sons, Despite my already immediate dislike for the guy, and the ominous part about him hinted by Lancer.. I was eager to hear about Last Summer's absolutely awesome capture the flag victory involving me, a golf club, a wild Harpy, and Annabeth riding a wild boar wearing a prom dress.. the boar was the one wearing the prom dress to be perfectly clear.

"Hello everyone!" said Tantalus.. waving for us silence. "Welcome.. welcome back.. to a fun filled summer.. I'm sure we'll all have a good time.."

Everyone stared silently at Tantalus. While the Year rounders gave Tantalus disgusted and tentative looks, the Summer only campers gave him curious stares. 

"Now.. before I begin with announcements.. I would like honor.. are glorious hero Clarisse here for the wonderful job she has been doing in keeping this camp safe.." said Tantalus

Clarisse looked away uneasily at these words.

She herself, single handidly defeated the monstrous bulls that terrorized the hill." said Tantalus with what he tried to make a benevolent smile, but looked more like a leer.  "Though.. a certain pair of Saber Class Servants and one bolsterous cyclopes almost ruined it all.."

"What is this guy's problem?" muttered Mordred. 

"He's bitter." said Bazett. 

"Bitter about what though?" said Mordred. 

"Oh you'll see." said Lancer. "It's dinner time after all."

"Now.." Tantalus nodded at one of the Satyrs, who brought Tyson up to stand next to him near the table so he was in full view of everyone.

Now this didn't seem good..

Percy looked ready to protest, and so was I.. Just what was Tantalus doing posing Tyson in front of everyone like that?

"Now.. as for Capture the Flag." said Tantalus. "Regarding the games I... I... "

Tantalus stopped for a minute and stared down at the sandwich in his plate hungrily. 

"Go on.." said Mr. D. "Perhaps it's worn off now.."

"Right.." Tantalus muttered, holding out a hand to the sandwich... only for it to hop away from his hand.

Tantalus struggled, chasing after the sandwich, panting, but the sandwich continued to hop out of his reach before finally jumping into the fire.

My jaw dropped. Food not letting you eat it? What kind of horrendous curse was this!?

Tantalus sat back down, looking like he was fuming as Mr. D. looked as if he were trying not to laugh. "WELL back to announcements.. Capture the Flag will not be held this year.."

There was a collective angry muttering and gasps from all the tables. 

No Capture the Flag!? But it was by far the most popular War Game in camp.. nobody was going to take this sitting down. 

"That is because we will be replacing those games with an old classic that I'm sure you will all enjoy.. we are bringing back.." Tantalus paused for dramatic effect. "Chariot Races!"

There was a collective gasp again, but this time it was far more excited.

"W.. Weren't those cancelled for good reason though!?" Annabeth stammered. "I mean the casualties alone.."

"180 deaths, 700 serious near fatal injuries." said Travis Stoll from the Hermes Table. 

"Yeah.. that!" said Annabeth. 

"Sweet.." I heard Mordred mutter. 

Tantalus waved this aside with a hand. "Now now.. I'm sure everything will be fine this time. You're all intelligent children.. 

Tantalus reached a hand for a mug of coffee, which jumped off the table and poured itself into the grass. 

"We'll have an unfair advantage in that.." said Lancer. "If we can get Rider to play her Riding Skills will out drive all of them.." 

"Yeah.. if she cheers Sakura up by then.." muttered Bazett. "I went to see Sakura at the arena an hour ago.. she's still crying.."

STILL crying? I wanted to punch Tantalus.. no.. Behead him.. what did somebody have to say to hurt somebody THAT badly?

"Now.. since that is out of the way.." said Tantalus. "Now it is time address this monster.." 

Tantalus pointed at Tyson. "As you can see.. Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Arturia Pendragon, and well.. I'll get to HER later.. they have seen it fit to bring this THING into our camp.."

There were many mutters at this, and I felt myself quivering with anger at what Tantalus was doing.

"Now.. Cyclopes have been known to be vicious, bloodthirsty, and murderous creatures of course." said Tantalus. "But perhaps this one can be trained? Perhaps he isn't as brutish as the rest of his kind.. until we know.. I was thinking about where to keep him.. at first I thought the Stables, but he might frighten the horses.."

"Oh would you just leave him the crap alone ya old fart!" said Mordred, standing up.

There was a tentative silence as Mordred glared at Tantalus, who started to shimmer very dangerously with an unusual aura. 

"Oh.. well.. would you look at that." said Tantalus. "Everyone.. might I introduce another monster to the audience tonight.. perhaps the one person more evil and monstrous than any Cyclopes... Allow me to introduce the Traitorous Knight Mordred! The Very Evil Knight who killed our darling Arturia here, and brought Camelot to it's knees!"

"Tantalus!" I growled. "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"Oh there's no need to pretend.. Arturia you're obviously still heartbroken by all the horrible things Mordred has done to you, and might I remind everybody who Mordred's Mother was? Her creator... the infamous Witch Morgan Le Fey!" said Tantalus. "Now.. I trust we will ALL work together to keep a sharp eye on this evil knight to make sure she doesn't try anything..."

All around,  I could see people giving Mordred a hateful glare.. There were too many people here who liked me... odd thing to say, but in this case it's true. 

Mordred seemed to go silent, she stared at all the distrust around her, her lip quivering slightly. As exuberant and outgoing as she was, I don't think she had ever actually experienced mass hate before.. Even when she rebelled she had a huge following behind her that believed she was right.

"Now.. back to the matter of this cyclops" said Tantalus. "I believe we could set him loose in the woods and make a game of hunting him.."

I stood up now.. I had reached the end of my rope.. I was now in Servant form, Excalibur in one hand.. I could feel so much rage permeating through me That I could almost hear Merlin in my head going "Now Now Arthur, remember, a King must be absolutely just, unbiased, and display no emotion for-.."

"SHUT UP MERLIN!" My brain said furiously as a mental image of me began stabbing a voodoo doll of Tantalus. 

Tantalus looked at me, clasping his hands together, smiling. "Is there something you would like to say Ms. Pendragon?"

"I made to make an angry speech.. maybe some crap about him possessing no honor, and something else knightly or kingly that I'd make up as I went along.. but before I could, Annabeth, who had slipped over to my table forced me back down in my seat.

She shook her head at me. She knew that Tantalus was just looking for an excuse to punish me.. however, I couldn't just not stand up for Tyson or Mordred.. this was wrong..

"Yes.. I'm afraid to say.. here, you're not king Ms. Pendragon." said Tantalus. "I'm king.. I am your king.. and your king needs you to sit down.. AND SHUT UP!"

"I need a quick tip on how to start a rebellion.." I muttered to Mordred. 

"Start with eggs, very smelly bananas.. and an army of poop throwing chimpanzees..."

Annabeth stared at Mordred.

"What? It's how I escaped LAPD when they thought I blew up the police station.. turns out it was a very angry executioner servant who has this creepy obsession with Marie Antoinette." 

There was another collective gasp, cutting off Mordred's explanation... something was hovering over Tyson's head.. glowing... a holographic sea green trident..

Tyson stared, dumbfounded, trying to catch the thing in his hands, his fingers phasing through it..  as Tantalus began to laugh and then gestured for everybody to laugh with him.. the Ares cabin joining in, which got everybody else doing the same. 

"Well now THIS is fitting!!" laughed Tantalus.  "Guess we know what to do now!!"

I remembered now.. Cyclopses were usually the children of gods and nature spirits... and usually one god in particular..

Percy had  a cyclops for a half brother.

***************

I had never been more lost regarding the  whole issue of family, or felt more like there was nothing I could do.. 

Firstly, Percy and Tyson.  While Tyson acted like he couldn't be happier, giggling "Percy is my brother?" to himself at least 20 times every hour. Percy, who was trying his best to seem happy for Tyson,  was in fact miserable. 

People treated being the son of Poseidon now like it was some sort of joke, shunning him, or making fun of him, forcing me to intervene many times.   Of course Percy was tough, and was used to such treatment in schools outside of camp, however, both me and Percy knew that Tyson was much more intelligent than he looked or sounded, and he could probably tell what people thought about him... I didn't want all that on the big guy's mind. 

Mordred was one of Tyson's only friends, affectionately calling him 'One Eyed Muscle Dude'.  But, she had her own separate set of problems. Now that everybody knew she was the one who killed me.. the knight with the evil reputation of betrayal, they angrily shunned her even more than they did Tyson.

As far as they were concerned, Mordred was a distrustful person who could betray them too, especially given the vulnerable state that camp was in right now.  I tried to defend her, figuring that maybe I was the best person to do so since what she was infamous for was killing me. 

But all it did was make people angry at me for not being the one most distrustful of Mordred of all people, and soon I found myself being shunned and mocked as well, led in this mockery by the Ares Cabin and Tantalus who  seemed to feel like I was some conniving trouble maker intent on starting a nuclear war. 

The only good thing about it was that once she saw me suffering for her.. Mordred began to warm up to me.. she still displayed a little hatred and refused to talk to me much, but, it was a start...

But all the crappy stuff wasn't ending there. As it turned out, the one person I thought who'd support me through all of this wasn't acting very supportive anymore.. as apparent when me and Annabeth decided to start construction of our Chariot for the Races. 

Athena Cabin, Poseidon Cabin, and Servant Cabin had decided to form an alliance in the chariot races. Mainly due to the fact us Servants and mages that currently dwelled at camp actually sucked at construction (Apparent by how we blew up stuff trying to make our own cabin in the first place), and Percy was alone in his cabin with Tyson, so he didn't have anybody else. 

The agreement was that we'd share the rewards included with the wins, just like in Capture the Flag. 

As me and Annabeth began looking at blueprints for a Gladiator's Chariot, I had to admit, I was starting to see why it was dangerous. 

I had fragmented memories still of the 4th Holy Grail War where I took on a Rider Servant named Iskandar, who himself had a similar chariot pulled by bulls. There were only two strips of wood coming out attached to the horses, two wheels and a stand for a person to stand, with a wooden shielding in front.. with no back to prevent people from falling out..   compared to the safe and comfortable Camelot War Chariots, it was downright suicide.

Once again.. Camp Half-Blood excels in Child Safe Camp Games... yay.

"It's not your fault... or Percy's." said Annabeth. "I mean.. it isn't Percy's fault he's related to a monster.. or your fault you have a traitor for a sister."

"He's not a monster!!" I said. "And it isn't her fault she's a traitor!!"

"Come on.. technically he IS a monster.." Annabeth said. "And that girl killed you!!"

"Should.. I come back later?"

We looked up to find Mordred standing there, holding a stack of wood that I asked her to bring..

'Wh.. What are you doing here!?" Annabeth stammered. 

"My King invited me." Said Mordred stiffly. 

Annabeth looked at me with barely controlled anger. "JUST WHY!? okay.. I don't need to explain.. I just need to ask.. WHY!?"

"Actually I DO need an explaination.. "I said stiffly and sternly. "What is UP with your grudge against Tyson! What did he do to you!?  And why can't you lay off Mordred!? It's been like a thousand years since-.."

"WELL!? IF YOU LIKE THEM SO MUCH, MAYBE YOU SHOULD BUILD YOUR STINKING CHARIOT WITH THEM!!!" Annabeth roared, before she stormed out.

Me, not being the angry comeback type, just sort of stood there, silently.. however in the back of my head, a miniature chibi version of me was going. "FINE!! See if I need you!!!"

"I'm sorry.." Mordred muttered in a disturbingly dejected voice. 

"It's not your fault." I said.

"But it is.." Mordred said. "The more that I think about it.. the more of a fool I realize I was back then.. I turned monster for a crown I don't even know if I deserve.."

That was SOO unlike the confident Mordred who fervently believed she could be a great king, it scared me a bit.  This only made me more determined to win, to maybe perhaps give Tyson and Mordred something to be celebrated for rather than shunned for. 

So Percy, Tyson, and Mordred ended up being Poseidon and Servant Cabin's crew, along with me. 

Mordred and Me would be the two people in the chariot while Percy and Tyson would be our pit crew. 

As it turned out, the Tyson became very good at metal working and mechanics after working a little with Beckendorf. Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus,  who was one of the people I respected most in Camp, didn't have any problem with Tyson, as his father worked with Cyclops in the forges all the time, and he was sensible and unbiased enough to respect my views regarding Mordred, and he treated her with a good natured friendliness.

"Leave Tyson with me for a bit, and he'll be a master forger in no time." Beckendorf would say.

The result was Tyson had become the main leader on the construction force, creating a beautiful chariot, with many nifty hidden tricks such as wheel spikes and even a way to help our horses propel themselves with a spurt of extra speed. 

And given that me and Mordred with our Riding Skills as Servants,  wouldn't even need training to ride our vehicle more perfectly and skillfully then all the other drivers out there, I felt that winning was pretty much in the bag.

Okay, maybe this was an unfair advantage, but considering the crap we went through, I think we deserved it. Plus it wasn't as if our best possible driver Rider was any bit close to lending a hand.. Medusa was still in the process of comforting Sakura over the horrible things Tantalus told her, which overall only inspired more of my hatred for the guy.

Other than that, My rivalry with Clarisse just started getting worse.  It used to be Clarisse was the only one who actively sought to hate me.. as usual I chose to stay out of making the conflict worse and turn the other cheek, but after Tantalus began to favor her like a bad drug, I began to see more and more Ares Cabin members taking advantage of this like a bunch of war-like snobs. 

It got to the point where I made an appointment for our Cabin to share Sword Class times with each other so I had an excuse to thrash the little jerks myself.  Needless to say, they weren't that stupid, and rudely declined my deceptively polite offer. 

In all honesty the only time the other cabins usually ever did Sword sparring classes with me was when I was playing the part of instructor. Ever since last year, many of our campers had sought me out to teach them Camelot Style Two Handed sword combat.. and some had even fashioned two handed medieval longswords into celestial bronze for this. 

Of course, nobody was coming to me recently, especially since my time was taken up with only one student now.. 

"Why are we the only two people here!?" Mordred said, glaring at me suspiciously one day in the sword barracks. "Isn't our entire cabin supposed to participate?"

"Well one of us is a Lancer, another uses chain blades.. and Bazett already has her own form of combat, plus Sakura prefers not to fight." I said. "overall.. for us servants, this is a Saber oriented class... draw your blade.." 

I went into Servant form, and held my blade out, as Mordred did the same..  I kept my armor off, wearing only my gown, as Mordred kept her extremely bulky armor off as well.

Her armorless clothing consisted of a scarlet breast band, faulds, boots, and arm warmers.. along with a brooch on her neck.  Skimpy as well.. Mother would DEFINITELY have a heartattack..  But I knew it was simply due to the fact that Mordred's bulky armor was hot and uncomfortable.. 

"Have.. we ever trained together before?" Mordred asked. 

"No.. I don't believe I've ever trained with any of the Round Table.." I said. "Save for Merlin.."

Mordred's eyes lit up like I never saw them light up before, and she readied her blade enthusiastically. "T.. Truly?"

"Yes." I said. "Now.. your fighting style consists of a combination of using your fists as well as your blade. However, I'm afraid such a style will not work well for you in some circumstances, some enemies in the world of gods and monsters have poisonous quills.. spikes.. body invulnerable to the harm of blunt blows..  in this lesson.. you must only use your blade to attack and defend.. understand?"

"Alright then." said Mordred, as she readied her blade. "Shall I?'

I nodded, holding my blade at ready. "Attack.."

Mordred and I clashed blades. As I suspected and remembered, even when solely using her blade, she was good. In terms of swordsmanship, I'd put her at somewhat an even level as Luke.. and Luke was an extraordinary case where swordsmanship was based on talent as well as practiced skill. Mordred had talent..

But Soon I began to easily counter each strike with my blade, dancing around Mordred like a leaf. I didn't go easy like I did the first time I clashed with Luke, I went full out the first time, I knew Mordred would take any less as a pure insult.

Mordred couldn't touch me.. soon her strikes and attacks grew wilder as she panted hard with exasperation..

"Wait.. Stop!" I said, and we both halted. I put my sword away and I walked over to Mordred. "Who taught you to fight?"

"I learned from.. her.. " she said, which I took to mean Morgan Le Fey.

"She only cared about you developing the necessary skill to kill me.. but not the necessary skill to survive me.." I said. "Show me that stance again... the one from 2 seconds before we stopped."

Mordred showed me.. and I put my hands on her arms, straightening certain areas, and shifting her legs to a better positions.

"There." I said. "See that? Remember that pose.. "

"Ok.." Mordred said.

"Now.. relax." I said. 

Mordred did so, going out of the pose.

"Now do that pose now!" I said abruptly.

Mordred went into the stance, however, it was imperfect once more. Again I corrected her into the right areas. 

"Now.. relax... and again!" I said.

I drilled her relentlessly.. nitpicking down to each cut she made, to each stance she made to ready herself for each cut.  Finally it came time that we were to leave the armory before the Apollo Cabin came in for their turn..  by then, Mordred  was sitting down, dunking her sweaty head into a bucket of water... which was saying something, since Servants usually have near limitless energy thanks to our special magical physiology.  (It used to be unlimited when Normal Grail Rules still applied.)

But despite all the frustrating repetitive drills.. Mordred didn't look spiteful.. or angry, or absolutely demotivated like I did when Merlin did it to me.. no.. she looked almost incredibly happy..

I then realized.. Mordred was the first person I had ever personally trained on my own at least once.. other than one guy, who I could barely remember. 

"Tell the truth.. you really never taught the other knights this stuff?" Mordred panted.

"Nope." I said. "Not a single one.. "

Mordred gripped the handle of her sword in a nervous fashion, pink patches appeared on her face. "Thanks.. thanks for that."

"We're going to win tomorrow." I said.

"Huh?" 

"I said we're going to win tomorrow." I said. "you'll show them all..  you and Tyson.. you got me?"

For the first time in who knew how long.. Mordred looked at me directly in the eyes with a genuine smile. 

And I immediately felt.. that alone made all this worth it..