Chapter Text
“Master? Do you mind if we talk for a moment?”
Shez raised his head to meet his servant’s gaze. The two were sitting beside each other, resting near a campfire. It had been a long day since arriving in this singularity and the two were nowhere close to resolving it.
“Charlotte, we talked about this before. You can just call me Shez… It feels weird being called Master.”
“Sorry… I just wanted to apologize.”
The mercenary turned Master tilted his head.
“For what? It’s my fault that I got us lost. I’m not really good with directions and maps… Doesn’t help that Chaldea’s tech is way above my skill set.”
He tugged on the collar of his mystic code, feeling rather uncomfortable without his signature armor. It may have been useful for ray-shifting, but he felt too vulnerable wearing something like this.
“I’m sorry that I’ve been so useless.”
Shez blinked.
“Where did this come from?”
Charlotte shifted around in her seat before staring at the campfire. He knew that the girl had low self-esteem, but this seemed different.
“Well, I wasn’t much use to you so far during this singularly. I’m such a weak and dumb servant that I couldn’t stop my Master from fighting. I couldn’t even help when we got lost.”
It then started to click to Shez. He thought back to the battle from earlier today. He jumped in without thinking about how servants were meant to fight for their Masters. It was likely his fault for causing his partner to lose self-worth by fighting alone.
“There’s no need to apologize for that. Listen, it’s my fault for not acting like a proper Master. You deserve better.”
“Ah!”
Charlotte was taken aback by Shez’s comment and the sudden bow of his head.
“M-Master! You shouldn’t waste your kindness on a lowly and dumb servant like myself.”
“But it’s the truth. I may know a bit of magic, but I’m clearly not cut out for this Master business,” Shez glanced up at the night sky. “Things were simpler back when I was just a mercenary...”
He then turned to face his servant.
“However, I’m not one to give up on a job. That’s why you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself either.”
Charlotte frowned and shook her head.
“But you deserve a better servant… If I can’t do anything useful, why am I here?”
Shez crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. Despite working as a military commander for years, he still wasn’t the best at giving advice. Silence filled the area as he tried to remember words he had heard from the people and books of this world.
“You’re here… because I want you here.”
“...What?!” Charlotte’s face became flushed.
“You’re here because you answered my summons. You may not have confidence in yourself, but you’re a wonderful woman of many talents. I would be lost without you.”
“Master…” She murmured before narrowing her eyes. “You got that from a book again, haven’t you?”
“...Was it really that obvious?” Shez rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry… I’m not really good at giving advice, but I meant what I said. I would be lost without you as my servant. You’ve saved me from a low point.”
“I… saved you?”
Shez’s smile turned somber as a certain memory came to mind. One of the last memories he had of Fodlan before arriving in this strange world. A battle in place of emptiness, the reveal of a betrayal, and the loss of a long-time partner.
“You have grown more than I ever thought possible. And yet… I never felt more alone.”
“It’s a bit of a long story. Let’s just say that I appreciate you having my back in this strange world. I appreciate you and everyone in Chaldea are picking up my slack. You’re more useful than you give yourself credit.”
Shez patted his servant on the shoulder before standing up.
“I think it’s time to get some shut-eye. I know you servants don’t need sleep, but try to take it easy, yeah?”
He would offer to take shifts, but it seemed like Charlotte wouldn’t budge on resting her eyes. The two had only been together for a short time, but thankfully he felt comfortable enough to rely on her.
“Right, Good night, Master.”
“One of these days, I’m going to get you to call me by my name.”
Despite her master’s encouragement, the pestering words continued to fill Charlotte’s mind during the night. The feelings of inadequacy and guilt constantly weighed down on her. Just why was she summoned? She was a dumb assassin who failed to do anything right. Why was she brought here to help a Master who didn’t need anyone to fight by his side?
Charlotte Corday turned to her master’s sleeping form. For such a battle-hardened warrior, he seemed rather innocent outside of battles. He knew little about the world he was in. Truth be told, he was a bit clueless when it came to many things. He never knew the right thing to say, but that was alright. He was an endearing young man.
That was why she struggled to figure out why she was even here. Why was she chosen as his servant?
“Ngh… Why did you do it…?”
Charlotte suddenly jolted at the sound of her Master’s voice. She turned to face the man mumbling in his sleep with a pained expression. In a panic, she knelt to check on Shez. Normally, he would be more alert to his surroundings, but somehow he didn’t stir to Charlotte hovering over him.
“Master?!”
“Don’t go… Arval…”
Arval… Where has she heard that name before? It felt so foreign, yet she had heard Shez utter that name. The assassin closed her eyes as she searched her memories.
“I am Assassin, Charlotte Corday. I ask of you, are you my master?”
She stood in front of the young man, announcing her presence. Even if she might fail at times, she wanted to do her best. However, it seemed like introductions would have to wait as she noticed her master’s condition.
“Did… Did it work?” He held his bleeding arm, approaching the woman.
“Ah! Master, you’re bleeding! Please don’t die just as I was summoned!!”
She rushed to the young man’s side, catching him before he dropped to the ground. Charlotte took one look at her surroundings, noticing the bodies of demonic beasts littered around them. Was he fighting all by himself?
“Master! Master, please don’t die!”
“It worked… I managed to hold out. We did it, Arval…” He muttered before closing his eyes.
“Master….!”
Looking back at that memory, she was a bit embarrassed with how much she cried during and after tending to his wounds. It was the first time she felt useful even if her master only passed out from exhaustion. Still, it was then that she decided that she’d fight by her master's side.
Feeling a bit daring, Charlotte propped up Shez's head, allowing him the mercenary to rest on her lap. It was during that moment she thanked God for her Presence Concealment. The young man had sharp instincts so it was difficult to indulge herself in moments such as this. It was shameful, but a part of her wanted to be there for him.
“Ah… I’m so horrible for this,” She whispered before pushing aside Shez’s bangs, getting a better look at his face. Despite being a seasoned warrior, he slept soundly like an innocent child.
“I don’t know who this Arval is… and I might not be a replacement for them, but I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t have similar nightmares about me.”
It may not be a heroic mindset, given the circumstances but it was her goal. If she was allowed to be selfish, it would be for this young man who accepted her as his servant.
Charlotte smiled as she took in this moment, praying that the night would last just a little longer than usual.
“You’re done for!”
Shez brought down his twin blades on the giant beast, putting an end to its life. However, the young mercenary had a little moment to rest as his servant’s voice cried out to him.
“...Watch out, Master!”
Before he could turn around, Shez heard the distinct sound of steel piercing flesh. He glanced over to see Charlotte impaling a shadowy being with her knife. The being let out a cry before dissolving into nothingness.
“...Thanks, Charlotte. I didn’t even sense that thing.” He let out a sigh of relief, retracting the blades from the beast. “Was that our guy?”
Charlotte nodded before gesturing to the beasts, “It was likely that the beasts were there to distract us. It must have been an assassin shadow servant just like me…”
The servant shivered, likely visualizing the outcome if she hadn’t stepped in on time.
“Geez, you servants are no joke. I’m glad that you’re on my side.”
Shez may be strong, but even he was susceptible to sneak attacks. Despite (arguably) going toe to toe with the Ashen Demon, he was still no match for a foe he couldn’t anticipate.
Before he could think about the battle, Shez noticed a glint in the corner of his eye. He turned to the source of the light, realizing what it was.
“Hey, look! We found a grail!”
“O-Oh! Does that mean we won? Please tell me that we won…”
“Of course, we won, silly!” Shez teased the assassin before approaching the floating grail. Despite doing this for a while now, it was still hard to imagine that such a cup would contain so much power. “That’s another job finished. There’s just one more thing to do.”
“What’s that…?”
The purple-haired mercenary grinned before raising his hand to Charlotte. He knew that no words needed to be said.
“A-Are you sure, Master? What about low-five as usual-”
“Nuh-uh. Not this time. Who was the one that killed the servant?” He shut down her rebuttal.
Charlotte fidgeted and stared at Shez’s hand for a few moments before finally giving in. She returned the gesture by jumping up to slam her palm together with his.
“Wooo!” She cheered.
“Nice one, Charlotte! I knew that I could count on you!”
“I was useful? Yay, I was useful!”
Seeing the smile on his servant’s face was enough to make this trip worth it. Even if Shez knew that their partnership was temporary, he appreciated the kind girl’s energy. It was the energy that he missed from his days in Fodlan, especially during his time with Arval. The two are very different from each other, but Charlotte has given hope to Shez that he can rely on others again.
“Thank you so much, Master!” She beamed at him. “I love you!”
Shez blinked a few times.
“What?”
“Huh?”
It seemed like Charlotte didn’t realize what she had said until it was too late. The poor girl’s face turned red as she quickly tried to pull back from her Master.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I mean… Um…”
The servant stammered as she struggled to find an excuse to no avail.
“...Please forget what I said.”
Shez thought about fulfilling the servant’s wishes but it just didn’t seem like his style. Instead, he gave his partner a grin.
“Sorry, but nope. I can’t forget anything like that.”
“What?! Master, please!”
“Not a chance. I like the more honest Charlotte.”
“The most honest me? What does that…” She murmured before noticing Shez walking off with the grail in hand. “Hey, wait! Master! You have to forget, damn it!!”
“Nope, not gonna do it!”
“Agh! You’re the worst!”
The two would continue to bicker about it well after they were rayshifted back to Chaldea.