The King of the Grail's Fate (Fate/Nasuverse)

Chapter XCV: Ignorance

Salter came back as the feeling of falling suddenly caught up to her. She couldn't feel a muscle in her body, there was no way to stop her descent to the asphalt, yet as she closed her eyes bracing for the impact, it never came. No, instead she felt a familiar sensation of being held. "Salter are you okay," Harrison's voice reached her ears slowly. A feeling made its way back to Salter she pushed herself back to her feet adequately she responded, "Yeah I'm fine I just tripped." As Salter looked at Harrison she saw a face that Salter loved, one of ultimately disappointment and disbelief. "Come on let's go," she urged him forward taking his hand.

As Salter and Harrison made their way into the building the cold air struck them like an unwelcome quest sending shivers down their spine. Salter immediately grabbed Harrison by the arm not liking the sensation of cold like this causing a small laugh to escape his mouth. Despite them getting to the rink relatively early there was still quite the line for skate rentals. Harrison seemed to be in his own world for the most part and Salter didn't want to bother him so instead she listened to the conversations around her. One, in particular, caught her ear. 

There were two girls behind Harrison and her, they seemed to be around Harrison's age. Yet it was their matter of conversation that upset her. "Is that Gwinever's psycho ex," one girl whispered conspiratorially to the other. "Yeah, I think his name was Harrison or something, what a total asshole, and look who he's with there is no way she knows," the other responded with what sounded like mock horror. "We should tell her when we get the chance haha," the other girl ended the bulk of the conversation with a laugh. 

"What's your shoe size?" Harrison asked suddenly catching Salter off guard as they were now at the front of the line. The "shoes" if one could call them that, bewildered Salter as they were like boots with a metal sword at the bottom. Harrison seemed happy laughing along with Salter's many questions about the practicality of such a foot-bladed weapon. Slowly the two of them did make their way to the actual rink as they watched a swatch of about 15 people circling around the rink. "Ready," Harrison said, holding his hand for Salter to take it. They clasped hands gently as they each stepped out onto the ice.

Immediately Harrison struggled to keep his footing as he tried to move his feet to keep balance but ultimately only made it harder for him to stand. Salter had no such problem as she skated across the ice elegantly as if she was walking on a cloud. She couldn't hold back her laughter anymore as Harrison wildly flailed his arms before his feet went flying far above his head. As he rubbed his back from the fall and looked towards the laughing Salter he couldn't help but feel a little cheated. "I thought you said you've never skated before," Harrison complained as she slowly brought him to his feet. "I have not, but I do have the blessing from the Lady of the Lake, and what is this other than just a big frozen lake?" Salter retorted the question as she began to help Harrison get the ropes of it. Harrison rolled his eyes with so much exasperation they might have had their own field of gravity.

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Harrison had been quieter than normal ever since walking into the ice skating rink and seeing two of Gwinever's closest friends there, especially after they had started to talk about him literally behind his back. He was just reminded of a lot of bad memories that didn't sit well with him. However, it was this hyper-aware mood that Harrison felt that allowed him to pick up on something a little more light-hearted. Every time that Salter and Harrison made a full lap around the rink they would pass a small food court area with warm pretzels and the like, and without fail every time Salter would catch a sly glance towards the food trying to inhale as much of the smell as possible. 

He knew she would never ask for it so after the 5th lap of this, he decided to broach the subject. "Hey Salter is it cool if we take a break," Harrison said not so gracefully sliding his way to the edge of the rink. "Oh yeah, that's fine are you feeling okay though?" Salter asked slightly surprised. Harrison only waved off the question as he brought Salter towards the area a little ways away from the rink. "Can you go find a seat or something I am going to grab a drink," Harrison said ruffling Salter's hair slightly causing her to blush slightly before nodding with determination.

Harrison made his way to the small line before the vender as Salter took a spot towards the edge of the seating area. It was to her surprise that he brought back hot beverages and a nice warm pretzel to the table. "Saw you staring at them so figured you wanted one," Harrison said as he place the stuff in front of Salter. Thankfully the food had distracted her enough that she didn't see the grimace that went across Harrison's face. "I'll be right back I think I am going to hit the restroom real quick," he said before walking off without a response.

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"Oh okay, thank you!" Salter didn't really even get the chance to thank him before he left. Salter took a bite of the pretzel as two familiar girls took the spot in front of her. Slowly she gazed up to meet the two snickering figures the pretzel still brought up to her face. "Woah that sweater is so nice, I was just wondering where you got it," one of the girls asked with clearly feigned interest. Swallowing hard Salter responded, "I- I borrowed it from a friend," as she set down the pretzel. 

"Neat, anyways do you know who you are with," the other girl interjected clearly done with the small talk already. "Righter," Salter responded not even registering that most people did not in fact refer to him by his last name. "You mean Harrison Righter right, well whatever, the point is you need to get out of this situation sister," the girl continued with a voice that radiated a certain level of stuck-up. It was at this point that Salter began to grip the side of the table as she tried to keep composed a merchant-like smile plaster across her face. "Whatever do you mean," she responded. 

"Well like did you hear what he did to his ex-girlfriend or more like hostage the way he treated her, I mean pressuring her into sexual acts what a shity guy. Then not allowing her to talk to her friends and family anymore no wonder why she was so miserable, and that is just the surface of the matter," the first girl picked up where the last had left off. Each word that left her mouth only increased the strength that Salter held the table with and the force she grit her teeth. "He only cares about himself, every bone in that man's body is selfish..." The words died on the girls' lips as suddenly it felt like gravity had been ramped up considerably.

The area of the table Salter had been holding then suddenly exploded with the amount of force she was applying. The smile still never left her face as the two girls seemed to shrink down as much as possible. "Maybe if you actually tried to fact-check your information or get to know the person you are spreading rumors about you would know just how wrong you are," Salter responded with pure malice which juxtaposed with her silky smile to create a terrifying visage. "B-but that's not w-what we heard," one of the girls protested before the rest of the table exploded in chunks. In its place was a long black sword in which red and black flames lapped slowly at the sides. "I think I am done here," Salter responded leaving the sword in front of the two scared girls.