Thread: To redeem, or to fall? (Saber Arturia x Belle Dujour)

What would the man send? Gold and riches? Art? Gabriel had been offered so many things over the decades, so many inane and insignificant offerings to let others live, to let them escape, and to have others killed in their place. Each time, it only caused the knight to take his duties more solemnly, to spite those who made such bargains and offers to escape the fate of inevitability. If they could not accept their death with grace or at least enough bravery to pick up a blade, they did not deserve a clean death. The king must have been a truly desperate man, pathetic enough to let his people suffer while he sought freedom and safety in his castle, seeking to placate death rather than make peace with his life and do the right thing. But still, those Gabriel served wanted him to humor the king, and he begrudgingly did so as their proper servant would. The knight even took the time to greet the messenger he was to treat with properly, dressing not as he would for war but as one would meet a guest with. Resting upon a chair, the man was nearly a mockery of the demonic visage and horrible appearance that many thought hid beneath his blackened armor and helm. Broad shouldered and tall, he still held the look of a man in his youthful twenties, short blonde hair framing a clean shaven face, green eyes that were calm, masking the anger he felt at having to treat with the king. He had dressed simply though still elegantly enough with a long sleeved white shirt which did little to hide the taut and firm body underneath, and his pants were an opposite black, giving him a sharp appearance. He even lacked his usual blade, instead looking the most vulnerable he had looked to anyone in quite some time, years. They had best have good reason for this. Gabriel thought to himself quietly, this was something he detested, spited and hated and now he was here, unable to feel anything other than anticipation and spite. The emotion was akin to a wolf being forced to live the life of a sheep, prey just out of reach but ever present. The meeting hall was well lit, a warm fire and lamps giving it good lighting despite the setting sun, and four other guards in case Gabriel needed protection. It was an amusing thought to Gabriel, but protocol was protocol, and he felt no reason to change it. The princess? The fool sent his daughter to deal with him? Was the king that pathetic? That he sent his own daughter to die? Let her in, then. The command was short, and the guard left only to bring the princess in, the woman clad in a travelers cloak and kneeling with grace. It took Gabriel just a moment, his eyes looking over her before a flash of recognition was in his eyes, this woman... She was different. Guards, you are dismissed. The tone firm as he rose, a hand resting against his chair. His soldiers were quick to comply, leaving in a loose formation, the room soon holding only the princess, and the conquering knight who was to decide her fate. Rise, princess. State your name and reason for interrupting my war against your father. For the first time in years, he had felt... Perhaps it was not wariness, but there was something wrong here. Just the way she walked, it was... it was a reminder of someone long gone.