Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sensation of sunlight and dirt on her skin drew Ruby Rose from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes, looking up to the cloudy blue sky above her. The sound of a running stream, the chirping of birds, and rumblings in the distance made her realize what was off about this. Last she remembered, she’d fallen asleep in her team’s dorm room back at Beacon, after dealing with the Breach and stopping Roman. Why was she outside?

She shook her head as she sat up. She looked around, finding herself in a barren grassy field, right next to a river; definitely not her dorm room. 

The sound of Weiss groaning drew Ruby’s attention behind her. Twisting around, she saw her teammates (Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, & her half-sister Yang Xiao Long), along with Team JNPR (Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, & Lie Ren) spread out in the field, themselves waking up. 

“Weiss?” Ruby called out to her partner, currently the closest one to her. 

“What?” Weiss groaned out in groggy confusion, rubbing her head as she also sat up. “What do you wan-?” Weiss’ eyes popped open, as she realized their predicament. “Where are we?” 

The two got to their feet, trying to look around in a vain attempt to find some discernible feature.

“I…I don’t know,” Ruby answered honestly, though she wished otherwise. “How’d we get here?”

“Well,” Weiss reached into one of her pockets, as she pulled out her scroll, “there’s an easy way to answer that quest-” Weiss trailed off, as she stared blankly at her scroll screen. 

Ruby looked over and narrowed her eyes. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s…” Weiss couldn’t believe what she was seeing, “I’ve got nothing. No signal, no map, nothing.”

Ruby shrugged. “Maybe we’re just out of range?” 

“What’s going on?” Pyrrha sat up ramrod straight, realizing their odd predicament. “How’d we get here?”

“That’s…a good question,” Jaune scratched his head. “The last I remembered, we were at Beacon; we just helped Team RWBY seal the Breach; Torchwick got put in cuffs. Then we all returned to Beacon all tired.”

“Oh, Ren,” Nora wrapped herself around a confused Ren’s arm, “You took us all out on a surprise group camping trip to make up for our cancelled mission. How romantic!” Ren didn’t speak up, too confused and embarrassed to do so at the moment. 

The others ignored this scene. “So, what?” Weiss asked. “Did we just all happen to sleep walk here in the middle of the night or something?”

Yang groaned, as she got to her feet. “Ozpin probably has something to do with this. Making us go on another out-of-the-blue training mission or something. No rest for the wicked, I guess.”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Blake chimed in skeptically. 

“What makes you say that?” Yang asked. 

“Well,” Blake clarified, “he wouldn’t leave us in the middle of nowhere without our weapons available to us, would he?”

That question made everyone snap to attention, and scan the area for their weapons. No one had their protection against the Grimm on them…except…

“Well, I still have Crescent Rose,” Ruby pulled out her pride and joy from behind her, still closed up in its compact carrying form. 

“Ruby, you always sleep with that thing curled in your arms,” Yang revealed, “of course you still have it.”

“See, and that’s come in handy, hasn’t it?” Ruby barked back with pride, puffing out her chest with a ‘humph’.

“Listen,” Jaune got to his feet himself, “I know we’re all confused; we’re probably a little scared too. But we need to stay calm, and not draw in any Grimm with our negativity.”

“Jaune’s right,” Weiss groaned, hating to say it. “Hopefully there’s some village close by where we can-”

“You mean,” Ruby pointed past Weiss, “like that one?”

The gang all collectively looked in the direction Ruby pointed. Sure enough, there was a sleepy little village, smoke rising from chimneys, with thatch roofed huts and a small church, off in the distance. It was certainly weird to the eight hunters-in-training how the village was without a protective wall, like most settlements outside of the major kingdoms were, but they ignored that detail for now. 

“I guess we could ask for directions,” Blake shrugged. 

“Agreed,” Ruby concurred. “Let’s check it out.”

Ruby began to jog off towards the settlement, before slowing down, and altogether stopping, to catch her breath, palms on her knees. 

“Ok, just…give me a minute.” Ruby should have known better than skipping on dinner last night. 

Eventually, the gang made it to the town, where the populace, dressed like medieval peasants, gawked at their appearance. 

“Hey,” Yang called out to one middle-aged man, “we’re a bit lost. Would you mind telling us where-”

“Stay back!” the man shook his head and waved his hand, his eyes wide with fear. “I have a wife, and I’d never abandon her for a harlot like you!”

Yang, understandably, was taken aback by that comment. “What did you just call me?!”

The man ran off in fear, disappearing behind a building. 

Weiss rubbed the bridge of her nose. “See? I told you you need to dress more modestly, Yang. Stuff like this was bound to happen.”

“Other people being insecure isn’t my problem, Weiss,” Yang clapped back in self-defense. 

“Guys!” Ruby broke things up with a firm syllable, preventing an escalation, something she’d grown used to as team leader. “We need to focus. We need to figure out where we are, how far we are from Vale, and maybe even figure out how we got here too.”

“She’s right,” Jaune spoke in Ruby’s support. “Let’s split up and ask around town, see what we can find, then meet back up and compare notes.”

“Sounds like a plan, Vomit Boy,” Ruby raised an approving thumb, not a hint of malice in her use of his nickname. 

“Thanks for the support, Crater Face,” Jaune returned the gesture, causing Weiss to face palm at the scene. “We need to stick to pairs, for safety.”

Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused. “Why’s that?”

“Well, a couple of reasons,” Jaune began to extrapolate. “For one, we have no idea where we are, and I don’t want to risk one of us getting ambushed and kidnapped. Second, I don’t have a semblance, and most of us don’t have our weapons, so it’s best we be on the safe side and pair up with people with more helpful abilities for protection.”

Nora nudged Jaune in the arm. “You just want some alone time with Weiss, don’t ‘cha?”

“Nora!” Jaune turned to his cheeky teammate with a look of indignation. “I was going to go with Pyrrha, for your information.” Weiss breathed a sigh of relief at that. “You go with Ren; and Team RWBY-”

“I can handle myself,” Ruby interjected, before turning to her teammates, “and so can you guys, even without your weapons.” 

“Still, we should group up for safety,” Weiss, reluctantly, agreed with Jaune’s argument here. “Let’s just stick together, the four of us.” 

Ruby sighed, not wanting to fight this. “Fine,” she groaned out. “But I’m going to take the lead on questioning people, okay?”

Weiss sighed with defeat. “Fine,” her white haired princess of a teammate relented. “Can’t go worse.” That comment drew a deadly stare from the well-endowed blonde. 

Ruby raised her head in pride as she walked towards a merchant’s stall on one of the street corners, with a slightly less confused man standing behind it. 

“Excuse me, sir, we’re a couple students from Beacon. We’ve gotten lost and are trying to get back to Vale. Would you mind pointing us in the right direction?”

The merchant scrunched his eyes and scratched his head, confused. “I’m sorry, little lady, but I’ve not heard of either of those places.”

“W-what?” Ruby stammered, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “The Kingdom of Vale? One of the four kingdoms? You really haven’t heard of it?”

“Four kingdoms?” The merchant shrugged. “I’ve heard of a lot more than that. The Kingdom of Midland, the Tudor Empire, the Kingdom of Balden, the Kushan Empire, and a whole bunch of duchies and cities I could list out for you. But I’ve never heard of no ‘kingdom of Vale’.”

“You’re messing with me,” Ruby pointed accusingly at the merchant, frustration building. “You made up all those places.”

“Kid, I’ve travelled across the continent many times,” he replied with his arms crossed, clearly getting fed up with her questioning. “What makes you think you know better than me?”

Ruby gritted her teeth, about to pop a vein at the merchant’s condescending question. Instead, she took a deep breath, deciding to change the subject, “Whatever. You know what, while I’m here, I need to restock on ammo. Do you have any Fire Dust on hand? I believe I got plenty of lien on me.”

The merchant once more gave Ruby a confused glance. “Dust? You mean,” he reached down to the ground, scooping up a small pile of dirt and showing it to her, “like this?”

“Haha, very funny,” Ruby said facetiously, “but seriously, do you have any fire dust? Ice Dust, Water Dust & Earth Dust wouldn’t be ideal but I’ll take it over nothing. Here,” Ruby plopped some lien on the merchant’s stall, “I’ve got the money for it. If you don’t have it, you could at least point me in the direction of a Dust shop.”

The merchant looked at the lien he had just been handed, like it was some strange material from an alien world. He glanced back at Ruby, “What the hell is this?”

Ruby puffed, “It’s lien. You know, money.”

“The only money I accept, kid,”  the merchant retorted, sounding irritated, “are minted coins, not this paper stuff. Get lost.”

“W-what?” Ruby stammered, before her eyes narrowed, and she placed her palms on the merchant’s stand, pushing herself up to level her eyes at his, “People use lien all the time, but you can’t accept it? What’s your problem, mister merchant man ?”

The merchant didn’t respond immediately, instead scowling…before his face softened, and an insincere smile formed in its place. “Oh, I remember now,” he spoke in a condescendingly helpful tone, “you guys must be from fairyland. It’s just a hop and a skip down the road from here, where you can eat all the dirt you want with your flimsy ass paper you’re trying to pass off to me.”

Before Ruby could pop a blood vessel and/or the unhelpful merchant’s neck, a familiar hand grabbed her by the shoulder, and started dragging her away. 

“Real sorry to bother you, sir,” Weiss apologized with one of her diplomatic faces she picked up from her days in Atlas high society, “have a nice day.” 

“Wait, Weiss!” Ruby tried to squirm out of Weiss’ grip, “I wasn’t done talking with-”

“Oh, you were done, alright,” Weiss retorted, as she dragged her young leader back to the rest of their team, still waiting in front of the chapel. “I heard the second half of that; things weren’t going to end well if you kept that up.”

Ruby growled, as she ripped herself out of Weiss’ grip and grounded her heels into the dirt road. “That guy’s playing dumb, he has to be. There’s no way someone wouldn’t know about Vale or Beacon or any of the most important places on Remnant.”

“Ruby, you didn’t know Menagerie existed until about a week ago,” Yang pointed out, “It’s possible he hasn’t heard of it.”

“Well, then, have you guys heard of the Kingdom of Midland?” Ruby asked in frustration, feeling a tad humiliated by that embarrassing memory. “Or Balden? Or whatever the Tudor Empire is?”

The three girls all shrugged their shoulders or shook their heads. “No, I haven’t,” Blake verbally answered. Considering how worldwise she was compared to the rest of her teammates, Yang & Weiss couldn’t know either. 

“So,” came Jaune’s voice, as his team came around the corner, “Did you guys figure out anything useful?”

Weiss shook her head. “Not really. No one knows what a Vale is, let alone where it is.”

“Same here,” Pyrrha sighed in disappointment. “We did find out we’re in the village of Mirkol, on the fringes of the Kingdom of Midland.” Pyrrha shrugged her shoulders, “That’s about it.”

“I never even heard of Midland before,” Jaune commented. “Do you think that’s another name for Vale, or something?”

Blake shook her head. “It’s not something I’ve come across reading about the history of Remnant.” She began to rub her chin in contemplation. “What does this mean?”

“Well,” Nora leaned over to the side, holding out a curled up palm, uncurling one finger, “either we went back in time,” she uncurled a second finger, “we got teleported to a part of Remnant that has completely different names for all the kingdoms,” then a third, “sent to a different universe, or,” and a fourth, keeping her thumb tucked against her palm, “Professor Ozpin or someone is REALLY trying to mess with us.”

“Wow, all of those sound SO plausible,” Yang said facetiously.

“Really?” Ruby clearly didn’t pick up on Yang’s inflection. “Which one are you leaning towards?”

Yang groaned, “I’m messing with Nora, Ruby. Seriously, who’d believe we’ve been ‘sent back in time’ or whatever?”

An unclear answer came as Blake tackled Yang to the ground. A second later, Weiss did the same, as a group of horsemen, over a dozen of them, galloped over the spot of the road they had been standing upon. 

“You guys better run,” shouted out one of the horsemen. “Mercs are coming!”

Soon, the group got back to their feet, and looked down the road from whence the horsemen came. Off in the distance, coming over the stream the team had woken up along, were more horsemen and men on foot; all of them were wearing late medieval era armor (almost none with full plate, mostly breastplates & kettle helms, with a few wearing more knightly helms; and wielding spears, clubs, swords, halberds, warhammers, and various other weapons. 

In response to their appearance, the townsfolk began to run for their homes. The merchant whom Ruby had just conversed with hurriedly collected what valuables he could gather and began to run down one of the dirt streets out of the village.

“Wait,” Ruby called out to the merchant, “who are those people!?”

“Greensleeves!” was all the merchant said, as he raced off. 

Ruby looked back to her teammates, concern present upon their minds. 

“These people need our help,” Ruby declared, pointing towards the oncoming mercenary band. “Let’s strike first. Blake, you and Yang take a side street and-”

“We need to run, Ruby,” Jaune interjected fervently. 

“W-what?” Ruby was taken aback by Jaune’s declaration. “But if we don’t then-”

“We don’t know where we are,” Jaune pointed out, “we don’t know who they are; everyone but you is unarmed, and you’ve only got the ammo you’re carrying off your back. We can’t just risk an engagement right now.”

“B-but-," before Ruby could conceive of a counterargument, a rain of crossbow bolts rained down on the village square. Everyone ducked behind a wall, out of the way. After the volley ceased, they could hear a horse braying in pain. Ruby looked over her shoulder, seeing a horse, struck in the head and neck with bolts, fall over on top of an older woman, clearly trying to get her animal to safety. 

Ruby couldn’t just stand there and watch, as the woman called out for help. Without another word, and before Weiss could grab her, she stepped off with one foot, leaned forward, and activated her semblance (Petal Burst), spiraling at speed across the open square towards the scene. Ruby slid to a stop right next to the troubled woman. 

“Hold on,” Ruby tried to comfort the lady, as she tried to lift the animal off of her. It was only then that Ruby was reminded of her meek arm-strength. Despite all appearances, this creature’s corpse was impossible for her to lift. Ruby looked over her shoulder, to see Yang & Weiss running full tilt towards her. 

However, they wouldn’t arrive quick enough, as turning to her right, Ruby saw a horseman, spear in hand, charging towards her. With her eagle-like eyesight, she could see the crazed bloodlust etched on the man’s face, the scars and blemishes across his face. Ruby had to make a split decision: Run away or fight. She ruled out running away, not wanting to leave this woman to her fate. She wanted to pull out her scythe, but could tell she didn’t have the time. 

And so, without further thought, Ruby threw herself on top of this stranger, hoping that her aura would be enough to soften the blow about the come. Ruby closed her eyes, wincing, as she reached with one hand towards her beloved weapon on her back. She knew it’d be too late, but she was prepared to start fighting after getting hurt. That’s what huntresses are supposed to do, right?

Except, the blow never came. A loud clanging noise rang out, the sound of a human body thudding to the ground, a horse neighing and rushing past her. Slowly, Ruby opened her eyes and turned towards the rider, laying with his back on the ground, straining, visibly shaking, as another rider towered over him, pointing a blade towards his chest. 

Ruby took a glance at the unexpected savior. They were mounted on a brown mare, with black cavalry boots, tan leather pants & gloves; a light orange, frilly tunic, tucked under a silver steel breastplate and shoulder guards; a maroon short cloak, and an open-faced visored helm, also of silver steel. 

Whoever this stranger was, Ruby wasted little time. Seeing the dropped lance of the marauding rider had fallen by her side, she grabbed it, pushed it under the horse’s corpse, and pushed upward. The body lifted ever so slightly off the trapped woman. 

“Crawl,” Ruby strained out that command, which the frightened lady obeyed promptly, frantically dragging herself out from under the carcass. Soon enough, Yang and Weiss arrived on the scene. Without a word or even a look, the two grabbed the old lady by the arms and carried her off. Ruby follows slowly behind, still looking back at the horseback warrior, their blade covered in blood. She had heard the crazed man scream in terror, the sound of a blade penetrating between armored plates. 

The warrior turned to glance at her back, revealing their dark skin and their brown eyes. Ruby couldn’t tell whether they were a man or woman, but they looked young, about her age give or take.

After getting the injured woman inside a good samaritan’s home, the three girls rushed back towards the wall they’d just vacated. Blake and Team JNPR were still there, looks of relief on their faces. 

“Jaune’s right,” Ruby admitted breathlessly, “let’s get out of here.”

The octet made their escape, running out of the perimeter of the village into a clearing. Just a few hundred yards away was a forest. However, rather than sanctuary, Ruby and her friends were quickly surrounded by a dozen bandits, all dressed more or less like that rider who had saved Ruby earlier. Half of them were without helmets, showing their rough complexions. 

Stepping forth up the middle of the treeline was a slight-built man, with a swarthy complexion and sharp yet dishevelled black hair. Upon his elongated face was a smirk, the lines on the edges of his mouth so straight that Ruby thought for a moment they were carved into his skin. 

“Well, well, look what we have here,” the mysterious bandit said mockingly, as he removed his leather gauntlets. “You don’t look like you belong out in these parts.”

“Well…” Ruby reluctantly replied, “we are kinda lost out here.” Ruby began to scan her eyes around, trying to make as many mental notes as to their wannabe assailants as she could. As much as she knew the danger in this situation, she thought it best to at least humor these guys while she thought up how she’d take these guys down. 

“Called it,” the man clicked his fingers in self-satisfaction. “Nice costumes, by the way. I’m guessing you guys got separated from the rest of your theater troupe?” 

“Well…I guess you could say that,” Ruby chose to play into it; she feared telling these strange, armed men that they were, in fact, huntresses- & huntsmen-in-training, that they’d put their guard up immediately. Ruby decided to buy a little more time. 

“Well, I guess we could help you find your way back to your friends,” he extended his palm, “for a fee, of course.”

That’s what they’re getting at , Ruby thought to herself, as she narrowed her eyes, and reached for her scythe behind her back. 

“Oh, cut the crap, Corkus!”

All eyes turned towards the irritated, stern yet unmistakable feminine voice behind them. There was that rider once more, the ‘knight’ who saved Ruby in the streets of town just minutes prior. 

The man (presumably Corkus) started to perspire, his eyes widening with a tinge of fear at this rider’s presence. “Don’t get it twisted, Casca, I was just trying to get more money for the war chest, so I offered to help them in exchange for a little fee-”

“Don’t play with me, Corkus,” this ‘Casca’ retorted intensely, “we don’t extort innocent civilians. Griffith would have your head if he finds out.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to tell Griffith how I got it,” Corkus tried to argue in vain. “We need all we can get after all.”

“You don’t get to tell me that,” Casca retorted, venom on her lips. “Just head back to camp and report back to Griffith, tell him the ambush succeeded, and that we’ve cut down about 30 Greensleeves.”

Corkus sighed with disappointment. “Alright, let’s go guys.” With that, Corkus and his squad disappeared into the woodline. 

Ruby and her friends all let out a collective sigh of relief. Casca let out a breath herself, clearly trying to clear her head. “I’m sorry for all of that. Trust me, that guy’s the one rotten apple on our crew.”

“Honestly,” Yang shrugged her shoulders, “from the way it was looking, I was expecting worse.”

“Oh, if Corkus did try that nonsense,” Casca said, “I’d remove his head from his shoulders.”

“Well,” Ruby jutted back in, “Thank you for the help.”

“My pleasure,” she responded without much emotion. “So, you guys were part of some acting troupe, right?”

“Uhm, no, actually,” Ruby clarified, “that was a lie. We’re from a Kingdom called Vale. Have you heard of it?”

Casca shook her head. “Not a place I’ve heard of, no.”

Rats , Ruby cursed under her own breath.

“Well…we’re all a bit lost,” Weiss took up the conversation, “and don’t really know where we are right now. Apparently we’re in the Kingdom of Midland, or something. Is that right?”

“Yes,” Casca answered. “I’m guessing you guys need a place to stay for a while?”

“Uhm…yes,” Ruby accepted, “that would be nice.”

“Well then,” Casca continued, “you can follow me to our camp. Our leader, Griffith, is rather generous; I’m sure he’ll give you some provisions and a place to rest for a bit before you continue on your way.”

A second of silence passed, as Ruby turned towards her teammates, then back to Casca, raising a finger. “Can you…give us a minute?”

Casca shrugged. “Don’t take too long. I need to get back and give my report. I can tell that Corkus isn’t going to make his accurate.”

“Thanks,” Ruby turned back to her teammates, joining them and JNPR in a huddle. 

“I think we should accept,” Ruby declared in a hushed tone, “We can stock up on supplies and find more information about where we are. Any objections?”

“Uh, yeah,” Yang spoke up, “how can we trust this Casca lady? She said she was working with that Corkus dude; who knows if this is all some elaborate scheme to rob us?”

“I mean, that could be possible,” Ren concurred without much passion. 

“I’m not worried about that,” Ruby replied. “I trust her. Remember earlier, in the village square? I don’t think she’s playing games with us.”

“How can you be so sure?” Yang asked. “We barely know her at all.”

“Yang, we don’t have a lot of options,” Weiss came to Ruby’s defense. “I don’t think we’ll find anyone we’ll recognize around these parts. And we don’t have any supplies on us. Let’s just run the risk and go with Casca.”

“Well, what happens when she turns on us?” Yang asked presumptively. 

“ If she turns on us,” Weiss corrected. 

“Relax, Yang,” Ruby tried to sound relaxed and reassuring, “If we are caught in an ambush, we can certainly fight our way out. If it makes you feel better, you and Blake can be on high alert.”

Yang sighed in defeat. “Alright, you win, Rubes.” 

“Anyone else?” Ruby looked around, trying to read the faces of Blake and JNPR.

“Sounds fine with me,” said Blake. 

“Better than nothing,” Pyrrha shrugged. 

“I’ll keep an eye out, myself,” Jaune added.

Ren shrugged.

“Ren & I agree with you, Rubes!” declared Nora.

“Alright,” Ruby clapped her hands, breaking off from the huddle, and turning back towards Casca. “We accept. Lead the way.”

Teams RWBY & JNPR trudged down the path, walking behind the still mounted Casca, as they passed along an uneven footpath through the woods. Ruby felt her knees begin to buckle, as she wondered how much farther they had to go.

Before she could even ask Casca, they reached the peak of a short ridge, where they came across a flat, grassy plateau, clear of trees. They had arrived on the far end, not much of note to the right beside some tents and campfires. To their left, they could see the sun setting over the horizon. Some dilapidated stone walls marked what remained of an old fortress. What drew their attention was the township of tents and soldiers milling about, gathering up wood, cleaning their clothes and armor, sharpening swords, tending to the wounded. 

“Wait, who are you guys again?” Weiss cocked her head and asked. 

“The Band of the Hawk,” Casca replied, still moving forward into the camp. “We’re a mercenary group, currently on contract with the King of Midland. You got caught out in the middle of us trying to root out the Greensleeves.”

“Greensleeves?” Nora looked over to Ren, “Like ol’ Renny-boy here?”

“No,” Casca replied, a strained sigh of disappointment barely heard, “They’re a group of bandits operating in this area. Nasty bastards. Corkus would be too nice for their lot, let’s say.”

“You don’t need to elaborate,” Blake replied. “Are you taking us somewhere specific?”

“I’m taking you to our leader, Griffith,” Casca responded. “He’ll sort things out with you lot.”

“Sort out what, exactly?” Yang asked skeptically.

“Whether you’re staying,” Casca answered, “or going.”

Ruby was too exhausted to speak up, but she picked up on Yang’s tone. She could tell how standoffish and untrustworthy Yang could get. Why that was, she couldn’t really pinpoint. To be fair, she and the others had no clue who the Band of the Hawk were, if these people could be trusted or not. She was among the doubters deep down, but felt it’d be better to see things out here, than to turn down a generous offer. Time would tell how this decision would pan out. 

Soon enough, the group reached the far end of the plateau, overlooking a massive valley below. Near the edge sat a large tent, the size of a small Dust shop, made of light blue fabric. Standing out front were several soldiers, along with Corkus, who were all standing at attendance while the latter was seemingly speaking to another person.

This other figure caught Ruby’s eye. Like with Casca before, Ruby couldn’t tell whether or not they were man or woman. They were certainly tall, and of a slighter build than the man in front of them. Their hair was glistening white, long and flowing down their back, with strands going over both of their shoulders. They wore intricate full plate armor, with a bird-like helm tucked under their arm. 

As they got closer, Ruby took note of the soft yet commanding features on their face. Their light blue eyes glistened in the light of the setting sun. Their face was currently rather blank in expression, seemingly taking in the information Corkus was giving them. Putting two and two together, Ruby guessed that this person was…

“Casca,” came the androgynous voice of the decked out knight, as they turned their gaze towards the arriving party, “Glad to see you’ve returned. I’ve heard back from Corkus about his plan?” Whatever they were referring to, Ruby could pick up from ‘Griffith's’ inflection that they didn’t believe Corkus was telling them the truth.

“Corkus played his part well, sir,” Casca replied. “His squad acted as bait, drawing the bandits into the village, where Pipin, Judeau & I caught them in a pincer in the streets. Last head count, my squad only sustained one wounded; we cut down about thirty of the Greensleeves then and there.”

“No survivors?” Griffith asked.

“No, as per our orders” Casca clarified, “and given their crimes, we hacked them all down. A handful escaped the trap, but they can’t cause too much trouble.”

Griffith shook his head. “From our intelligence, there’s some one hundred Greensleeves operating under Captain Oswald in this area. Thirty is an excellent start, but we need to find and crush the remainder, wherever they reside.”

Casca sighed, defeated, “Yes, Griffith.”

Griffith turned his attention past Casca, finally noticing Ruby and her friends. He scrunched his eyes, focusing his gaze, before turning back to Casca. “Did you happen to interrupt a costume ball during your battle? Who are they?”

Jaune stepped forward. “Actually, we’re huntresses- & huntsmen-in-training. For one reason or another, we got lost, and are hoping you could help us get back home to Vale.”

“Huntresses…and huntsmen-in-training?” Griffith was clearly confused. “You mean, you are training to hunt animals? If so, I can tell you, you should wear far less gaudy attire for such activities.”

“Well, not really animals,” Pyrrha clarified. “We hunt monsters called Grimm, utilizing our dust, aura and semblances.”

“I see,” Griffith turned his attention back to Casca, “Can you give me a serious answer, Casca?” 

Casca shrugged. “They said they were part of some acting troupe-”

“That’s a lie!” Ruby interjected. “We told that to Corkus so he’d stop bothering us. We’re telling you the truth, we are a bunch of students, training to be huntresses,” she clicked her finger, pointing towards Jaune, standing right behind her, “and huntsmen, at Beacon Academy. We woke up in the middle of a field, with no idea how we got there. All we have are the clothes off our backs. We don’t have any food, any shelter, and we have no idea where we are.”

Ruby panted for breath, as Griffith stood in silence, unflinching, his blank expression replacing the brief intrigue he once donned. 

A loud slap broke the brief, yet awkward silence. It was Corkus, who began to clap and snicker like a babe. “Casca, you know how to find them, don’t ‘cha? Seriously, where the hell do you come across clowns like this without a circus in sight?”

“It’s true!” Ruby retorted, sounding almost pathetic. “Don’t you guys deal with this stuff all the time?”

“Little miss, I can safely say,” Griffith answered, in a diplomatic tone, “I have not in my life run into anything of the sort. Is this some sort of fairy tale plot you’ve conceived in your youth you can’t let go of?”

Something inside Ruby started to boil. Why can’t they just believe us? What’s so unbelievable about all of this? Isn’t this normal for them too? What a bunch of jerks!

“If so,” Griffith continued, “I’d be a hypocrite to tell you to move on from your dreams. But I will say, you should realize the difference between dreams and make believe. The former can be made true; the latter will lead you astray.” Griffith turned his attention back to Casca. “Give them a few day’s rations, and send them on their way. I haven’t heard from Guts’ squad yet, and I’m half a mind to set out for him if-”

As Griffith spoke to Casca, Ruby’s fury boiled over. She reached over behind her back, grabbing the trigger of her Crescent Rose, still tucked behind her back. She pulled it off her back, and clicked a button, beginning the mecha-shift process, unfurling her creation in all its scythe-mode glory, spinning it around and slamming it into the ground. 

“BELIEVE ME NOW!?” Ruby blurted out without a second’s thought, frothing with frustrated rage. 

Casca’s horse bucked and neighed in fear, set off by the mecha-shifting weapon, with Casca getting it under control. Beside that, and Ruby’s heavy breathing, a long, awkward silence prevailed on the plateau’s edge. Griffith stared at Ruby and her weapon with wide eyes, a look of genuine shock on his face. Corkus had taken a step back, an eye twitching, as he strained his gaze upon the strange device in front of him. 

The silence slowly began to make Ruby feel more self-conscious, now that she’d become the center of attention. Her rage dissipated, as her eyes darted around her line of sight. She took a slight step back, half a mind to pull up her cloak to hide herself behind. 

“What…is that?” Casca pointed towards Ruby’s weapon, as if it weren’t obvious. 

Ruby was taken aback by the question. “Uh…uhm…oh,” Ruby collected herself, upon realizing people were interested in her beloved weapon. “This…this is Crescent Rose, my pride and joy. She’s a combination scythe & sniper rifle, and-”

“The fuck is a sniper rifle?” Corkus asked, confused. 

“Well, uh,” Ruby was a bit taken aback by that seemingly obvious question, “it’s a purpose built rifle that’s designed for-”

“It’s a gun,” Weiss answered, “It’s a very special gun.”

Ruby turned to glare at Weiss. “What was that? I was just explaining-”

“They probably wouldn’t understand anyway,” Weiss whispered. “I don’t think they’ve invented rifles here, let alone what you have.”

It took a moment for Ruby to realize what Weiss meant. Ruby looked back at Griffith, Corkus, and the other milling mercenaries. They all looked like they came out of one of those “Pre-Dust” period films and shows she grew up seeing every now and then. Certainly, only Griffith fit the bill of a “Knight in shining armor,” as the others were rather drab and underequipped. With her absurd vision, she could even see the dirt covering some of their faces, the mud and blood splotches on their clothing. 

Maybe Nora was right. Maybe they had gone back in time. But how far back…

Corkus' face twisted back into a smirk, as a look of realization dawned. “Oh, this is just a party trick of yours. It looks all fancy and stuff, but it’s clearly just to make you look coo-”

Ruby quickly clicked another button, collapsing the scythe down into its snipe form. In less than a second, she brought the butt up against her shoulder, looked down the sights, and before Corkus could react, shot at one of his shoulder plates. The bullet struck the plate, burrowing in enough to rip the piece off of the piece of leather connecting it to the breastplate. The momentum forced Corkus to tilt his right side back, as the bullet carried the piece of armor off, sending it flying back, both the bullet and piece embedding in a tree at the edge of the clearing. 

Corkus reached his left hand up to his shoulder. Ruby had been careful to aim high, and felt certain in her marksmanship enough to make such an arrogant shot in the first place. Still, Corkus glared back at her, his hand reaching for the pommel of his sword. 

“What are you trying to do, you psychotic bitch?” He barked in anger, only for Griffith to extend his arm, blocking him from charging her down. “What? She just tried to kill me!”

“Corkus, please leave,” Griffith commanded. “You are antagonizing our guests. I believe things are escalating unnecessarily. On top of this, I need you and your squad to recover and set forth to contact Guts’ squad as soon as possible.”

Corkus clenched his teeth in frustration, as he brought his hand off his blade’s handle, and walked off, glancing back at Ruby, a look of ‘we’ll see about next time’ written across his face. 

Griffith shook his head, like a disappointed parent. “I apologize for his behavior. He’s a vital member of our group, though his personality is far from desirable.”

“You could have gotten worse,” Yang remarked. 

Griffith let out a hunched laugh at that remark. “I certainly could have,” he smirked, before turning his attention towards Ruby, or, more accurately, her weapon. “I’m quite interested in your…Crescent Rose, wasn’t it?”

Ruby nodded with shy reluctance. 

“Would you mind if I inspected it?” He inquired. 

“Well uh-” 

“Not right now,” Weiss stepped forward, cutting off Ruby. “We need some guarantees first.”

“And I presume,” Griffith rubbed his chin, “that has something to do with the fact it's the only weapon you have on hand?”

That question stunned the group, some of them taking a step back from the shock. 

“What?” Griffith smirked, “Did you think no one would notice?”

Ruby’s hand shook, still gripping the handle of her weapon. She looked to see Casca, still on horseback, having slowly moved over to Griffith’s side, seemingly acting as a guard against a move by Ruby or her friends. She knew she just wasted a shot on Corkus. She did a mental count, and came to the conclusion she only had four bullets remaining in her magazine…and she didn’t have any spares on her. If things escalated…

Griffith shook his head. “Don’t think too much of it. I have no intention of abusing your trust. I was merely curious. Though, I’m guessing there’s some trade secrets you do not wish to share. So, nevermind.”

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, before slowly folding up her weapon and putting it behind her back once more. 

“That said,” Griffith continued, “I recall you mentioning something about aura and semblances. If you don’t mind me asking-”

“I…believe I can answer that one,” Pyrrha stepped forward. “Aura is the manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our heart. In essence, it can act as our shield.”

“Translating,” Nora spoke up, “it basically is a force field that protects us for a bit in fights. The more you have, the longer it lasts.”

“That’s…true,” Pyrrha admitted reluctantly. “Semblances are a special ability unique to each person. Your aura must be unlocked first before it can be activated, though when it does manifest,” Pyrrha shrugged, trying NOT to glance towards a self-conscious Jaune, “that’s hard to tell.”

“If that’s the case,” Casca finally spoke up, dismounting from her horse, “you wouldn’t mind unlocking ours, right?”

“Oh, uh,” Pyrrha was a bit taken aback by the question, turning to the group for some guidance. With shrugs from Blake & Jaune being the only readable responses, Pyrrha turned back towards Casca. “Sure. I’ll do it for you.”

Thus, Pyrrha stepped forward, and placed her palm over Casca’s heart. She closed her eyes in concentration, as she attempted to flow her aura into Casca. Everyone watched with interest, as Pyrrha began to grimace and tense, as if something unexpected had occurred. 

Eventually, Pyrrha broke contact, stepping back. She shifted her gaze between the palm of her hand and Casca’s face, eyes wide with confusion. 

“Is something wrong?” An equally confused Casca asked. 

“I…I couldn’t find it,” Pyrrha muttered in disbelief, before she shook her head and corrected herself: “No…you don’t have any aura.”

The group were stunned by this revelation. 

Casca didn’t get the gravity of the matter. “Is that normal?”

“No, everyone on Remnant has aura,” Pyrrha answered. “Even animals have it. I don’t know why-”

Griffith stepped forward, “Try me,” he commanded simply. 

Pyrrha, after processing for a second, reluctantly placed her palm over Griffith’s heart, buried under a sterling breastplate. Again, Pyrrha strained to find the well of Griffith’s soul. Pyrrha could tell these people had souls, and not just because of the generosity they’ve shown the group today. Through her efforts to unlock her aura, Pyrrha found Casca’s soul deep within her, represented as a cage containing a doll. 

Pyrrha couldn’t find Griffith’s aura either. Instead, she found a dove, its chest covered in ice. Beyond that, however, Pyrrha sensed something darker, an all-pervading darkness within Griffith’s soul. 

“Griffith!”

Pyrrha was snapped out of her trance, as everyone turned to the frantic rider charging through the camp, a frantic look upon his face, his armor disheveled and scratched. He was followed by a gaggle of others.

“What is it, soldier?” Griffith turned on the spot and put on the face of a stoic commander once more. 

“I come from the Raiders, sir,” the soldier replied. “We were returning to camp, when we were ambushed on a narrow path. Captain Guts opened a path, and acted as a rearguard with Lieutenant Gaston and a few others, while we rode back to inform you-”

“YOU LEFT YOUR CAPTAIN BEHIND?!” 

The whole group, along with the rider, were taken aback by Griffith’s anger. Ruby noticed his eyes flare up with intensity, his clean white teeth visibly clenched. 

The rider began to stammer out a reply, “W-w-we couldn’t do much to help so we decided to get your help.”

“And by help,” Griffith shot back, his fist clenched, “you took most of the raider squad out of the fight, leaving your officers behind? What do you have to say to that, soldier?”

The rider looked on the verge of tears, as he lifted his hand in a shaky salute. “I’m sorry, sir. I thought of my own survival and not of my squad. I am ashamed and accept whatever punishment you intend for me.”

Griffith sighed, letting out the steam fueling his anger, and shook his head. “That will come later. Where did the ambush occur, and how many bandits were you facing?”

“I’d say around fifty bandits, give or take, sir,” the nervous rider, looking pale and sweaty, replied. “We were riding back along the northeast pathway leading up to the camp. It goes deep into the woods.”

“Very well,” Griffith turned back to Casca, “Casca, gather up whoever you can muster and follow-”

“Ruby, wait!”

A burst of rose petals filled Griffith’s vision, as a swirling ball of petals flowed across the camp to the northeast, up the path the rider had just mentioned. Griffith turned back, noticing the absence of the short black haired girl with the strange weapon.

Ruby darted down the meandering dirt path, often having to divert her course to avoid hitting the trees. If she stopped to think about it, the terrain was quite like her home of Patch, with its dense forests and plateaus. Of course, now was not the time to make those connections. Someone was in trouble. And, if she came to their rescue, maybe this odd knight captain would be more inclined to help her and her friends. 

Eventually, Ruby felt like she was lost. Rather than stop in her tracks, she utilized her semblance, gaining altitude, and managed to burst over the treetops. She stopped, letting herself go into a brief freefall, while she scanned the horizon, spotting a clearing just a mile out. She could see dust being kicked up, likely by men and horses, and could catch a glimpse of what looked to be bandits charging up the road on horseback. The sounds of struggle reverberated along the treetops. This must be what she was looking for. 

Landing on the top of a tree, Ruby kicked herself off towards the battlefield, reactivating her semblance. It took a minute for her to reach the scene of the fighting. She noticed at least five horsemen, decked out in armor similar to the other Hawks, fighting off around 50 bandits, some decked out in armor, others in rather drab clothing. 

Of the five presumed members of the Hawks, one stood out among the rest. While the others remained in a defensive position at the edge of the clearing, this large soldier stood in the center of the clearing, taking on 20 armored bandits at once with his long sword, which seemed well over his considerable height. He looked like a total berserker, knocking out two bandits at least with every swing. 

However, while watching this spectacle, Ruby noticed one bandit was sneaking up behind this lone swordsman. Without a second’s hesitation, Ruby darted forward at full speed. Full of momentum, she cancelled her semblance, spinning around and extending her foot out, just as it connected with the bandit’s back, bending in his breastplate and sending him to the ground, letting out a cry of pain from the impact. 

Ruby bounced off, falling to one knee. She slowly got up, looking down at the bandit she just knocked down. He seemed to have been knocked out. Hopefully his aura took the brunt of it , she thought. 

“What are you doing here?” came a gruff masculine voice from behind her. She looked up to see the swordsman, staring down at her with an intense look in his brown eyes. His helmet had been knocked off, revealing his short yet sharply cut black hair, and a small, white cut along the bridge of his nose. 

“I…came to help you,” Ruby replied, getting to her feet. “I heard you were in trouble so-”

“You better leave, then,” came the swordsman’s stern reply. “You’re going to get yourself killed out here!”

“But I-” before Ruby could finish, his firm hand pulled her to the ground. Before she could react, a swarm of crossbow bolts rained down on their position. One of them struck her arm, though her aura ate up the damage. Once it died down, she looked over to see a bolt struck through between the plates around the swordsman’s armpit. She could see blood trickling down the shaft of the bolt, as he got to his feet. 

“Like I said,” the swordsman turned away from her, looking down the road towards the source of the fusillade, “get out of here.”

Ruby considered protesting, but decided that, if she wasn’t wanted, she could help in other ways. 

“Alright,” she replied, getting back on her feet, “I’ll go back to Griffith then.”

The swordsman turned to look at her, about to ask how she knew Griffith, but only saw a spiral of rose petals shoot away from him, back up the road towards the camp, darting past Gaston and his lieutenants. Guts shook his head, wondering if he was going crazy, before returning his gaze to his assailants, and charging in. 

Meanwhile, Ruby darted back through the forest. She didn’t get too far. She didn’t see the thin piece of wire, strung up between two trees, strung out across the path. Once more, her aura tanked the damage (only Jaune had as potent a well of aura as she did). 

Still, Ruby was knocked out by the impact. She rolled along the ground, before tumbling down into the thick underbrush, into a gully, where a small stream flowed through. Once more, her aura took much of the damage, though Ruby felt the wind get knocked out of her, as she rolled to a stop onto her back in a patch of dead grass. 

“Look what we got here, boys,” came a sleazy male voice a short distance away. “Looks like we got ourselves a nice treat.”

Ruby sat up, seeing a dozen bandits running at her. In the lead was a man wearing a golden, gem-infused breastplate, wielding a thin rapier, charging towards her with a contorted look of excitement on his face. 

Ruby didn’t waste her time thinking. Instead, she reached behind her back, grasping her folded Crescent Rose, and pulled it over, keeping it in its compacted state. She quickly looked down her sights, aimed for the head, and-

Bang.

The man’s head all but exploded. Only a fraction of the lower right side of his head remained. He fell to his knees and fell forward onto the ground, Ruby seeing blood sputtering out of severed arteries. 

Ruby sat in stunned silence, as did all the bandits, who had frozen in place at what they just witnessed. 

“Come on!” shouted one of them. “That’s the only shot she’s got.” He started charging towards Ruby, his halberd pointed down like a lance. “For Captain Oswal-!”

Ruby, still reeling from the shock, was slow to react, but before this second assailant got close, she once more lifted her rifle, this time aiming at his arm. Pulling the trigger, the second bandit’s arm was horrifically maimed, left dangling by a piece of muscle which hadn’t been severed. The bandit screamed, before running off as best he could, before falling over. Seeing this, the remaining bandits ran into the woods, desperate to avoid the same fate of their captain or comrade.

Ruby just sat there in silence. She had been in fights before, but not like this. Whenever she fought people in Vale, whether they be her classmates in sparring matches, or in real fights versus Roman and his henchmen, her heavy rounds would, at worst, knock people out of fights, their auras taking most of the damage. 

She remembered back at the camp, when Pyrrha tried to unlock Casca’s & Griffith’s aura, failing to do so. She thought it was odd, but didn’t think much of it, didn’t take it into account when she…

Rain began to fall, first in droplets pattering against her cloak and exposed hair; then in droves. The ground in front of her quickly turned to mud, tinted red with blood still pumping out of the headless corpse. She couldn’t stop looking away from the sight in front of her, the dead man lying before her…

…the man she killed.

Ruby began to cry, the salt of her tears differentiating from the rainwater hitting her face. She croaked, trying to say something, anything. What the hell did she have to say? “I’m sorry” ? Sorry for what: killing a man? “I’m sorry I killed you” ? Load of help that will give him. “Help” ? Help who? “Help me” ? Who’d want to help a murderer like her?

Ruby Rose fell to the ground, laying on her side, as she let out a stream of tears. The realization finally dawned on her in the worst way possible: she wasn’t in Remnant anymore.

As Ruby’s eyes grew heavy from exhaustion and sorrow, a rose’s petal fell to the ground, withering away. It wouldn’t be alone in its fate.

Chapter Text

Weiss hurried through the falling rain towards the sound of the gunshots. She cursed her teammate under her breath for her recklessness. But deep down, whatever a mistake this was, she knew what mattered the most was finding Ruby. 

So, without bothering to wait a minute to grab some weapons to protect themselves, she and her remaining teammates, as well as JNPR, all rushed down the path in search of their friend. Of course, that was easier said than done. After all, Ruby could get some distance away on her own with her semblance. For another, everyone was already quite exhausted. As much as their aura kept up their stamina, that had been drained by their prior days’ activities in Mountain Glenn, and their long journey from Mirkol village to the Hawk’s camp. 

Then, off to her right, Weiss could hear a gunshot ring out, the familiar register of Crescent Rose. She immediately called out to the others and ran towards the sound. Soon after, a second shot rang out, confirming Ruby’s relative position. Weiss ignored her exhaustion, nearly tripping over herself or the underbrush time and again. Still, she charged on through, as rain began to fall. 

Eventually, she reached a part of the road where a tree had fallen over, a piece of wire wrapped around it and a slightly cracked tree to the side. To the right, facing nearly eastward, was a gully, where she saw-

“RUBY!” Weiss cried out, as she rushed down towards her young teamleader, currently lying on her side, curled up in a ball, covered in mud. She darted across a small stream, mud caking up to her shins, and got to Ruby’s side. Her eyes were shut, her face contorted with a look that read despair. Weiss quickly checked her pulse and her breathing. Ruby was still breathing, still alive, and wasn’t hurt. Just asleep. 

“Oh my god!” Yang’s voice drew Weiss’ attention. As she turned to look up towards her teammate back up along the road, something caught her eye. She looked over in horror as, just a few feet away, lay a dead body, its head blown clear off, blood caking the ground around them. She barely noticed the second body, at the edge of a clearing, in far less egregious condition. 

Weiss covered her mouth in shock at the sight. She gagged, before falling upon her hands and vomiting, the acidic bile lingering along her taste buds. She struggled to regain her breath, panting heavily, struggling to process the horrid sight before her.  

She hardly noticed as Yang rushed down the gully and immediately embraced her sister. Blake, along with Team JNPR, were by now standing at the top of the gully by the road, looking down in shock at the scene below.

“Ruby!” she cried out, pressing her hand against her sister’s forehead. “Are you alright? Please wake up, please!”

“She’s…alright…I think…” Weiss replied between breaths, in lieu of her unconscious friend. “She’s alive, just asleep.”

“Still-” Yang muttered out, embracing her unconscious sister, fearing the worst. 

“Well, you circus freaks sure know how to make a scene.” 

Weiss and Yang both immediately pivoted up to see Corkus, mounted on a horse, looking down upon them with such a careless face. 

“Seriously,” he continued, “you could at least help us round up some strag-” Something caught Corkus’ eye, as his gaze rested upon the gold-plated corpse beside the three girls in the gully. “No way,” he grinned from ear to ear, as he urged his mount down the slope, dismounting beside the corpse. “Don’t mind if I do,” as he lifted it onto the back of his horse, ignoring the plight of Weiss and Yang. He got back into the saddle, urging his horse back up the slope. 

“I’ll thank you for your assistance in my dispatch of Captain Oswald here,” he boasted arrogantly. “I’ll appreciate the lavish bounty Griffith’s gonna-”

His horse stopped, tugged at by its reins, though not by Corkus. The confused thief-turned-mercenary officer looked down to see Jaune, staring intently up at him. 

“What d’ya want, kid?” Corkus asked with annoyance. 

“Our reward, right?” He asked sharply. “How much is that corpse worth?”

Corkus hovered his hand over the hilt of his sword. “What’s it to ya?”

“You want to profit off our hard work,” Jaune replied with a well founded accusation. “You think you can just walk off and short change us, after all this?”

Corkus tutted at the blonde brat, “Since when do you think you could order me around? I eavesdropped on your little convo with Griffith. He hasn’t given you a deal, you know. You mean nothing to me.”

“Do you REALLY want to try crossing us?” Jaune asked almost as a threat. “After what you saw Ruby do to you back at the camp?”

“Well, to be frank, I’d be pissing myself if it were her instead of you, right now,” Corkus brushed off Jaune’s threat. “But I know full well, she’s the only one of you who has one of those weird ass weapons. So, tell me,” Corkus gripped the handle of his sword, slowly unsheathing it, “what are you gonna do about-”

Corkus paused, as he felt a cold hand grab him by the throat. Another hand reached for a knife tucked in a sheath on his thigh, which soon was brought up to his throat. He looked over to the main group. The raven-haired girl with the cat-eared headbands was just in his sight, but now she disintegrated into dust. 

“You really want to test us?” Blake asked, almost sounding like a dare. 

Corkus gritted his teeth. His confusion and anger gave way to common sense. He sighed, “Fine…you guys can come with me, I’ll carry the corpse, and you can get the reward. Now, give me back my knife.” 

“Make me,” Blake dared him. 

“Why you little-” Corkus sighed again, giving up. He had plenty of knives to replace that one with. And he only had one throat to lose. “Fine, if you like things long and hard, be my guest.”

Jaune stepped forward, “Ok, let’s just get back to camp.”

“Is she going to be at my throat the whole time?” Corkus grumbled. 

“I don’t know,” Jaune posited, “do you think we should trust you not to run off and break our deal?”

“...excellent point, kid,” Corkus grumbled, as he spurred his mount down the path, keeping at a slow trot. 

“Wait,” Pyrrha piped up, “What about Ruby?”

Jaune stopped, taking a few seconds to gather his response, before turning back towards his team. “She’ll be fine. Weiss & Yang are with her, so she’ll be safe.”

“It’s not just that, is it?” Ren asked. 

Jaune was confused by Ren’s question. “What do you mean by that?” 

“Do you think…she’s going to be okay?” Nora asked with genuine concern. 

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. That’s something he couldn’t be sure of. He wasn’t Ruby after all. That said…

“Knowing Ruby…she’s stronger than this,” he replied. “She’ll rise above it, like with everything. I’m sure of that.”

Weiss and Yang, out of earshot of this conversation, were not so certain. They could simply see their friends leave without them, wondering if they should go as well. 

“I’ll…take Ruby…” Yang murmured out as she got to her feet. “You can go on ahead.”

Weiss shook her head. “I’m not leaving her behind, either.”

Yang just looked pensively at the ground, before exhaling, “Alright. You watch my back.”

Weiss looked over on the ground, spying the rapier left behind, belonging to the gold-plated corpse that was once there. She picked it up, doing her best to wipe off the blood and brain matter on it, before sheathing it. “On it.”

Yang carried Ruby on her back, Crescent Rose strapped to her chest, as she and Weiss made their way out of the gully and back onto the trail. The rain kept pouring down upon the two, as they lost sight of the main group up ahead. The dirt path became caked in mud, making their already long hike even worse. Weiss felt like she was about to buckle at the knees; she wondered if Yang had it as bad as her. Then again, Yang was already more muscular than her teammates, and only Blake had more ‘real world experience’ than she had before they got into Beacon. 

Yang stopped in her tracks, as Ruby finally came to about a mile out from the camp. “Wha-where-?”

“Ruby?” Yang called out, concern dripping from her voice. “Are you awake?”

A brief pause. “Y-yeah?” she croaked out hoarsely. “Yeah.”

“Are you alright?” Weiss asked, coming up to Yang’s side. “We found you passed out in a gully, with a couple…unconscious bandits nearby.” Wiess caught herself there. “Were you hurt?”

Ruby took some time to respond, before shaking her head. “No…I’m fine…”

“Oh,” Weiss didn’t sense much confidence in Ruby’s reply. “Ok. Glad to hear that.”

“Same here,” Yang replied, a weak smile forming on her face, cautiously optimistic that her sister was being honest. 

After a little while, Ruby spoke up: “Can I…walk by myself a bit?”

Weiss & Yang looked at the partially awake Ruby, still riding on Yang’s back. “Are you sure you can handle it?” Weiss asked the obvious.

“Yeah…just…” Ruby replied hesitantly, “I’m not that sleepy, I just don’t want to burden you guys any more than-”

“You’re not a burden, Ruby,” Yang replied. “You’re my sister, you were in danger, and you needed help. It’s the least I can do.”

Ruby tucked into herself a bit. “Thank you…but can I still walk on my own?”

“Are you able to?” Yang asked.

“I want to,” Ruby croaked out. 

After some hesitation, Yang relented, letting Ruby slide off her back. Ruby hit the muddy ground, falling over onto her back initially. Her red cloak was by now almost all brown from mud. Still, Ruby rose up to her feet and started trudging along. 

The trio soldiered on through the rain and the mud. Yang took the lead, occasionally looking over to see Ruby, shoulders slumped, trailing behind, and Weiss taking up the rear. Weiss was afraid Ruby would keel over at any second, and wanted to keep her in sight, so she could swoop in to assist. It’d be the least she could do. 

The rain continued to pelt against Ruby’s skin, her gaze lowered towards the muddy path ahead. She barely knew why she was still going. She couldn’t understand it. She had just killed a man, and yet everyone is treating her like a victim, someone who needs help. She didn’t need it. Or…she didn’t know what she needed. Didn’t know what to feel. That man was trying to kill her, wasn’t he? Maybe even worse? She shuddered even thinking of it. 

Still…whatever that guy wanted to do to her…

“Hey, you there!”

Casca’s voice drew Ruby out of her funk. She looked up to see that they’d gotten near the camp. Casca was there to greet them, wearing a green poncho over her armor, pointing right at her. 

“M-me?” Ruby replied meekly. 

“Yes,” Casca confirmed. “Griffith wishes to speak with you,” she looked between Yang & Weiss, “alone.”

“W-what?” Ruby was a bit taken aback by the request. “Wh-why? What for?”

“I don’t know,” Casca shrugged. “I wouldn’t be so impertinent as to turn down an invitation from him.”

Before Ruby could respond, Weiss stepped in front of her. “Why not talk with us instead?”

“Yeah,” Yang concurred, “she’s had a long day already. We can-”

“Guys,” Ruby spoke up, pushing past her friend and sister, “it’s fine. I had a little nap already, I can handle this.”

“Are you sure?” Yang asked, clearly concerned for her sister’s well being. 

“I am sure, Yang.” Ruby replied emphatically. “It’s my job as leader of Team RWBY to take part in top secret meetings with higher ups, don’t you think.”

Yang snickered at that enthusiastic remark. “Yeah, you got me there.” Her demeanor shifted, a more serious trying to etch itself upon her face. “Seriously though, if something’s wrong, just signal us and-”

“Please, Yang, just…relax a bit,” Ruby was getting tired…of this conversation. “I can handle it. You guys just get some rest. It’ll be fine.”

Yang wanted to protest further, but eventually exhaled in defeat. “Ok, just...keep your guard up, okay?” Yang rubbed Ruby’s wet hair, drenched from the rainfall.

Ruby snickered a bit at the gesture, “stoOoOop!” she oozed out. Eventually, Yang retracted her hand, and Ruby departed. Yang & Weiss made their way into the camp, down a different path from Ruby. Weiss looked back a few times, worried something was going to happen, and if this was the last time she would see-

Weiss shook her head. She couldn’t think so pessimistically. Not right now. She was tired, that’s it! They were all tired, after all. 

Ruby didn’t notice this, as Casca led her towards Griffith’s tent. 

“He said with you alone,” Casca said, pursing her lips. “I’d best be off.” 

Ruby said nothing, as Casca tramped off. Ruby was past needing to calm her nerves. She honestly felt quite numb at the moment. All that mattered was getting help finding a way home for her friends. That’s all this had to be, right?

Ruby took one last deep breath, as she peeled the tent door and walked inside.

The inside of the tent was lavish in some regards, spartan in others. A rack of swords sat next to a large cot, with Griffith’s fine set of armor on its own rack. She could see a few loose papers sticking out of a large trunk. Most, if not all, of the floor was covered in a rather nice, red carpet. In the center of the tent was a table, Griffith standing on the opposite side, palms on the edges, looking down upon…

Ruby’s heart almost stopped at the sight before her. The bodies of the two men she had killed lay upon it, as if they were being examined. 

“You know,” Griffith began to speak, still looking at the corpses rather than at her, “in my time as a mercenary, I’ve seen some gruesome combat wounds. But I haven’t seen anything like this. I’d assume they were struck by cannon balls given the sheer scale of their injuries, but,” he held up the remnants of one of Ruby’s bullets, “this one minuscule round was all it took to do this much damage.”

Ruby’s knees buckled, as tears began to well up in her eyes once more. She couldn’t escape her judgement, could she? She couldn’t just move on from this. It was all too much, all too cruel. 

“I wanted to know,” Griffith continued, “if you’d be willing to tell me how you-”

Ruby fell onto her knees, covering her face with her palms. The tears flowed like rivers, her chest tightened. The guilt, the shame, it was all too much. She began gasping for air, as if all the oxygen was being sucked out of her lungs. She felt like she was about to die, about to face judgement. 

The soft touch of a finger on her chin snapped her out of her panic attack. She split her fingers to see Griffith, crouched down on one knee, right in front of her. His soft face was etched with a calm worry. Ruby found reassurance in the deep blue pools of his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, little one,” Griffith apologized, his voice soft as a whisper, soothing her ears. “I was quite thoughtless. You were so quick to action, I had assumed you were already quite hardened to sights like these.”

“I…” Ruby sniffled, as she lowered her palms from her face, “I just…back in Vale, whenever I got into fights with bad guys, they had aura, so when I shot them, they’d just be knocked out. I’ve killed Grimm, but…they weren’t…people…”

“You feel guilty for murdering someone?” Griffith asked, with an open-minded tone of a counselor. 

Ruby, reluctantly, nodded. 

“You shouldn’t be,” Griffith replied. “The man you killed, with the golden armor, was one Captain Oswald, leader of the Greensleeve bandits. He had a reputation for horrific violence. He was driven to banditry after attempting to sell his daughter into slavery. He killed his own wife. He tortured little girls like you for his own amusement. Trust me, Ruby, your empathy for him is misplaced.”

“...still,” Ruby didn’t know how to feel about that. If Griffith was being honest here, then the men she killed were monsters. Then again…maybe she was upset by the sight of the corpses, the man’s head blown off, the subordinate’s arm all but ripped off. The brutality of it was what really got to her. 

“I know,” Griffith remarked, as if he could read her thoughts. “You probably haven’t seen anything like this in your life, haven’t you?”

Ruby shook her head at that. “N-no.”

“I understand how horrible it can be,” Griffith continued. “How easy it is to take a life. Anyone who thinks about it is liable to lose their heads, thinking about lives they never knew. People they didn’t really know. Dreams brought to a premature end. Still…” 

Griffith paused, staring off towards the roof. The pitter-patter of the rain upon the fabric roof of the tent was oddly calming for Ruby, whose heart rate slowly returned to normal. 

Finally, after a strange silence, Griffith turned his gaze back to Ruby. “Ruby, wasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah?”

“What is your dream?” Griffith asked genuinely.

Ruby slowly placed her palm over her heart. “My dream…ever since I was little, I wanted to become a huntress, like my mother before me.”

Griffith cocked an eyebrow. “A huntress, you say?”

“Yeah,” Ruby nodded awkwardly. “We…fight monsters called Grimm. Big beasts, they prey on negative emotions and tear undefended villages to shreds. Huntsmen and huntresses use their semblances to fight off these creatures, to protect humanity.”

“A noble dream, I see,” Griffith began to rub his chin in contemplation. “I believe one of your friends mentioned Grimm in passing earlier.”

“Yes, I think so,” Ruby said. “I’ve gotten pretty far along. I got accepted into a huntsman academy two years early, and made my own weapon and everything.”

“It is pleasant to see someone braving the odds to achieve their dreams,” Griffith noted. “Ever since I was a boy, I had dreams of becoming a king. It's something many boys dream of, but for commoners like I, we usually abandon those dreams as impossible. But I reject that. I brought together this band of misfits into a mercenary band, an army, in order to achieve my dream.”

“Wow, that’s…great,” Ruby tried her best to contain her excitement at that declaration of intent, not wanting to come off as an air headed child. She didn’t know what to feel right now, looking at Griffith. Ruby felt herself get lost in the softness of his face, his eyes, and his lips; or in his luscious angelic locks, which Yang probably would get jealous of if she took a closer look. Something about Griffith just felt so…captivating.

“You said you were from Vale, weren’t you?” Griffith asked. “Does Vale have a monarch?”

“Uh…what’s that?” Ruby was glad Weiss wasn’t here; as much as she appreciated her friendship, she knew deep down Weiss would get rather upset with her for not knowing fancy words.

“Like, a ruler; a king or a queen,” Griffith answered, not a tinge of superiority or pedantic lecturing in his tone, something Ruby rather appreciated.

“Oh, uh…” Ruby did a mental check to remind herself of Vale’s history (Dr. Oobleck would be SO disappointed in her if he found out), “last I remembered, we haven’t had a king in decades.”

Griffith seemed amused by that fact. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah,” Ruby replied. “We had a king during the Great War about 80 years ago, and he stepped down after it. Can’t remember when, but my parents weren’t even alive when it happened, and  we’re ruled by a council of elected officials now, but,” Ruby shrugged, “I can’t name any of them off the top of my head. I’m not too caught up on politics.”

Griffith let out a soft laugh at that remark. “I appreciate your honesty.” 

Ruby blushed at the compliment. “Th-thank you.”

“Having heard all that, you have me intrigued,” Griffith remarked. “Could you tell me more about your homeland?”

Ruby smiled softly at the request. “Y-yes, gladly. Uhm…ok, let’s see..”

It took her a minute to find a good place to start, but once she got rolling, Ruby began to explain everything she could to him. About the hustle and bustle of Vale city proper and the lavish shopping district; of the elegant grandeur of Beacon Academy; of her comfortable woodland home in Patch. 

Griffith was an attentive listener, often asking for clarification on this and that; often, Ruby would struggle trying to explain things to him, being so used to things like dust and cars and aircraft and scrolls, things that baffled Griffith’s medieval mind. As they spoke, the rain seemed to peter out. 

“Fascinating…fascinating,” Griffith remarked, rubbing his chin. “The Kingdom of Vale sounds like paradise. I’m half a mind to go there myself and become its king, if I weren’t already working on my current plan for Midland.”

Ruby snickered at that remark. “You really mean that?”

Griffith shrugged. “Something to consider. But for now, I must keep my eye on Midland, and see where the chips fall.”

“Oh,” Ruby sank back down, a strange feeling of defeat flowing into her heart. 

That feeling dissipated, as she felt his palm cup her cheek. Startled, she looked back up at him, entranced in those deep blue pools once more. 

“Ruby,” he spoke with tenderness, “I want you and your friends to help me achieve my dream. And in exchange, once I become King of Midland, I will help you find your way home.”

Ruby was stunned by the request. “H-h-how can I help you?”

“You mentioned designing your own weapon, correct?” Griffith asked rhetorically, lowering his palm. “I want you to become my new quartermaster, designing weapons for the Band of the Hawk. Your friends can help me on the battlefield. I’m sure their abilities and combat training will serve them well in the battles to come, don’t you think?”

Ruby raised her hand, rubbing her cheek, wishing Griffith hadn’t broken that moment of contact. Still, the feeling of his skin on hers left an imprint on her mind. It was a feeling she didn’t wish to forget, anytime soon. 

“Yes, I can do that,” Ruby responded. “Weapons are my passion; I think I can help you create some cool new gear.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Griffith remarked, as he got to his feet, extending a palm towards her. “Do we have a deal?”

With only a few second’s pause, Ruby smiled at the gesture, placing her palm in Griffith’s. “Deal.”

With that, Griffith helped Ruby up to her feet. “I appreciated our talk, Ruby.”

Ruby smirked at that remark. “Th-thanks, I…” she let out an involuntary yawn, “I’m kinda getting tired. I’ll talk with my friends in the morning about our deal, and we can meet with you later to work out the details. Does…that work?”

Griffith smiled at that. “It’s exactly what I was going to suggest. You’re sharp for your age.”

Ruby let out a tired chuckle at that, “Thanks, I…I get that a lot.”

“I mustn’t be keeping you like this much longer,” Griffith remarked. “Let’s meet tomorrow morning, shall we?”

“Yes, that works,” Ruby replied without a second’s thought. 

“Good,” Griffith lifted her right hand up by her fingers, before leaning forward to kiss her knuckles, “goodnight, milady.”

Ruby’s heart skipped a beat at that moment, a feeling she hadn’t felt before in her life. A warm, tingling sensation pervaded her body, emanating from her chest. She stood there, staring blankly for a moment, before withdrawing her hand. 

“Th-thank you,” she muttered, as she stepped back towards the entrance flap. “Goodnight.”

Looking back one last time, Ruby saw that soft smile resting on Griffith’s face, as he waved her off. Knowing that lingering would make things awkward, Ruby forced herself to slowly close the tent flap and walk away. 

Standing outside his tent, Ruby clasped her palms together, staring at the knuckles on her right hand. A soft smile rested naturally on her face. Those lingering feelings wouldn’t dissipate, not in the cold night air that now rested upon her skin. It was something she hadn’t been used to before, but she already knew what it was. 

She came to realize what it was about Griffith that had so captivated her. Standing in his presence, Ruby felt like she had been transported, not back in time, but into a fairy tale. Here was Griffith, a knight in shining armor; a man of common birth, yet bound by chivalry and honor; a man who dreamed of ruling his own kingdom, with his army of friends by his side, helping him to achieve his dream. 

And now, Ruby began to wonder if she was part of his story. And, if she wasn’t, could she become a part of it?

Chapter Text

Ruby felt the rush of air against her face. She had used her semblance to get some altitude, and was now allowing herself to freefall, giving herself a birdseye view of the landscape below. She darted her eyes between the various patches of woods, rolling hills, meandering streams, and the large fields in the center of a large clearing, backed against the Estey River. 

It had been a year and a half since she and her friends found herself in Midland, smack dab in the middle of a hundred-year conflict between that kingdom and Tudor. Ruby, using her semblance and impeccable eyesight, found a use for herself in the Band of the Hawk as a scout, a role she now engaged in. 

After scanning the field for a minute, Ruby spotted something: a cluster of Tudor knights hiding behind a ridgeline. From the shape of the topography, they’d be hidden from line of sight of the Midland army’s line. Exactly the sort of information Griffith was looking for. 

With that discovery, Ruby spun around and reactivated her semblance, bursting back towards the Hawks’ position. She made sure to take a zig-zag approach, in the off chance the enemy caught sight of her and followed her path back to the Hawks’ hidden location. That was a mistake she had made once, and made sure to never repeat again. 

Eventually, she darted her way past the gathering mercenaries. Thousands of horses flared their nostrils and swayed from time to time, while squads of soldiers chatted away in the thick forests they now stood within. Dust, dirt and mud caked the legs of both rides and mount, kicked up in the march to this position over the preceding days. 

Ruby certainly stood out from the pack. Gone was her combat skirt; in its place was a pair of black trousers, held together by her old belt, with the ends tucked into her trusty combat boots. Over her black blouse was her padded shirt, the most armor she wore. Her aura was enough to block most blows, and the weight of chainmail or solid plate would make using her semblance a chore; plus, she preferred to avoid direct combat when she could. 

She still had her Crescent Rose strapped to her back, though without ammunition. She was still developing a new cartridge for her beloved weapon, in a world lacking in dust. If push came to shove, she stored a pair of sheathed sword bayonets in her belt, as a last ditch survival weapon.

Eventually, she reached the peak of a bald knoll overlooking the battlefield. There, she found a gathering of mounted officers, all well familiar to her now, as the principle captains of the Band of the Hawk. There was Judeau, with his blonde hair tied up in a pony tail (or as Jaune would insist, a “wolf’s tail”), and a bandolier of throwing knives wrapped across and around his chest. There was Pippin, a rotund giant, whose mace dangled rather precariously from his belt (Ruby was concerned for Pippin’s mount, both due to his size and the dangling mace). 

Of course, next to these otherwise amiable captains, standing behind the reverse slope of the knoll, was Corkus. Ever since their first encounter a month prior, Ruby tried to keep her distance from the guy, especially given their first impression all those years ago was rather contentious. Somehow, Nora of all people managed to get along with him, but mostly because she could out drink, out gamble and out arm-wrestle him and his entire battalion. So, he wasn’t all bad news. 

Also among the group was young Rickert. Though he was just a boy and held no real command position, the captains loved to have him with them on the field. Ruby didn’t pay him any mind. She certainly appreciated his help, as he was serving as her assistant quartermaster. Though Rickert was rather awkward around her, often staring at her and often not hearing her instructions,  she appreciated the extra hands he provided.

On the crest of the hill itself were four figures, three mounted, and one dismounted. On the right and left side were Casca & Guts, Griffith’s most trusted captains. This despite the fact the two seemed to despise one another. Ruby wasn’t too keen on the details; she found Guts to be a bit too intimidating to talk to, and Casca had been treating her and her friends coldly over the years. That said, Casca made her issues with Guts known, always raising her voice to chastise him after every battle, despite the fact they won every battle flawlessly. Ruby shook her head: it wasn’t her concern to play personnel manager. 

That was the role of the man mounted on a gray mare, in his birdlike helm and shining plate armor: Griffith. He was currently looking down and to his right, towards the newest member of Griffith’s circle: Jaune Arc. 

Besides his “wolf’s tail”, Jaune hardly looked much different from when they first landed. He had long accepted the loss of his beloved Corcea Mors, but had found a ready replacement in a basic broadsword. He now was decked out in a full plate of knight’s armor, with a helmet and everything. 

As she approached, Jaune glanced over, directing Griffith to do the same. His visor was lifted, showing his rather expressionless face, the face of a man trying to piece together a situation with a firm hand. 

“Did you find anything of interest?” Griffith inquired. 

Ruby stopped in her tracks. “Yes, I have,” she pointed towards the rolling hills, where she had found the hidden units. “Behind the slopes, there’s about four or five banners worth of troops waiting in ambush.”

Jaune squatted down, drawing lines in the dirt, trying to piece together the scene. “If the main army committed to an attack, that flanking force would endanger its flank and rear.”

Casca turned her head towards Griffith. “I’m guessing we’ll strike first and neutralize the trap before it’s sprung.”

Griffith rubbed his chin in thought. “No…I’m thinking of an ambush of our own.”

Ruby scrunched her brow at this, as did Casca and Jaune. 

“What do you mean by that?” Jaune asked. 

“We can draw the flanking force into our hidden positions,” Griffith responded. “Pull them towards the firewall. The musketeers will let off a volley, before the cavalry on the flanks envelop the survivors.”

“I’ll take point,” Guts said. “My Raiders can play bait. We have the fastest mounts in the band, we’d be able to strike and disengage swiftly.”

Griffith nodded. “Very well. You’ll take point.” Griffith turned to Casca. “Casca, you will command the left flank cavalry,” Griffith twisted his torso backwards towards his remaining captains, “and Judeau, you’ll command the right flank cavalry.”

“Yes, Griffith,” Casca saluted, as did Judeau. 

“Pippin, Corkus,” Griffith called out, “your battalions will dismount and form the firewall. Detach your best riders to either Casca’s or Judeau’s wings for support, allocated to your discretion.”

Corkus & Pippin saluted, though the former pouted. Ruby knew well enough the cavalry often got to the spoils first, the main objective in the back of every mercenary’s mind. Ruby had learned to put up with this mindset. After all, if Griffith found a use for a slimeball like Corkus…

“Jaune,” Griffith turned back to the dismounted blonde, “the Valkyrie Squadron will form the strategic reserve. However, you will be detached to oversee the firewall.”

“What?” Corkus piped up with incredulity, “You’re giving that hapless kid command of the center line? Pippin and I can easily oversee it.”

“Normally, I would leave it to you,” Griffith replied. “But, Jaune is the one who developed the tactic, one which we have not yet had the opportunity to use. I believe there’s no better officer for this task than him.”

Jaune looked overwhelmed at the praise directed to him. He looked over towards Ruby, who gave him a supportive grin and thumbs up. Then again, she was honestly more enamored with Griffith, and his willingness to let Jaune and her play such important roles. 

Speaking of… “Ruby,” Griffith turned his attention towards her, “how many muskets do we have on hand?”

“Uhm,” Ruby only missed a beat, before returning to attention, “the Quartermaster Department currently has about 1045 matchlocks ready for service.”

“Excellent,” Griffith noted, a slight praise that nevertheless left its mark. He turned behind him, towards Pippin & Corkus, “Are your men sufficiently trained in their use?” 

Pippin nodded with a grunt, while Corkus gave a thumbs up. 

“Alright,” Griffith turned back towards Ruby, “I need you to assist in equipping Pippin’s & Corkus’ men, with the aid of the rear section. Once you are done, return to my side and act as my special courier. Is that clear?”

Ruby answered with a salute, “Yes, Griffith.”

“Very good,” Griffith rose up in his saddle. “Alright, everyone to your positions. Guts will attack upon my signal, and only on my signal,” that clarification caused Casca to smirk, giving Guts an ‘I told you so’ look. “Captains, dismissed!”

With that, everyone rode off to their respective positions. Ruby burst through the treeline towards the rear, where the ‘rear section’ milled about in the base camp. They were essentially all the non-combatants and invalids of the band, who served in auxiliary roles behind the lines, one of which was overseeing supplies and equipment. 

Calling out towards them, Ruby oversaw the unboxing of her most material contribution to the Band of the Hawk. Inside each crate was at least a dozen wooden matchlock muskets, with Ruby’s signature emblem carved into the buttstock. It had taken some time for her to perfect the design, and much more to produce enough (with Rickert’s assistance) for frontline usage, but finally, now there was enough to equip one-fifth of the Hawks, and with the tactical situation favoring their use, she finally would get her chance to prove her skill as a weapon designer. 

It didn’t take long for Corkus’ & Pippin’s men to filter in, ready to receive their weapons. The lines were disorderly, and a few pushed their way to the front, but Ruby and the auxiliaries were able to equip about 800 soldiers in about 15 minutes. These men received their musket, alongside a powderhorn, ammunition pouch, and metal fork rest for stability. Luckily for Ruby’s vocal cords, these men had, in recent weeks, been given rudimentary training on the weapon already; hopefully that would be enough for today. 

With that sorted out, and the auxiliaries more than enough to equip the last few men, Ruby burst back towards Griffith’s position, stopping just by his side. Only he and Rickert remained of the gathering just minutes prior, the others having all ridden off to their units. 

Ruby shyly averted her gaze from Griffith, looking down the hill towards the front line. Where they stood, the treeline was rather thin, and she could see portions of the “firewall” being established. This was a tactic that Jaune had helped to devise, to compliment Ruby’s matchlocks. Essentially, the dismounted mercenaries would set up makeshift walls, whether out of pavise shields or fallen timbers. This would serve to protect the musketeers from arrowfire and, to an extent, provide a buffer from charging cavalry. It minimized casualties while obscuring the position. And with the cover of the forest, if Guts can successfully lure those ambushing banners towards their line, they’d never know what hit them. 

Ruby spied Jaune moving along the line, trying to oversee the position. Though he had proven his leadership skills to her long ago, Jaune certainly looked a little goofy, riding along on his mule. Ruby recalled their first battle with the Hawks, when Jaune’s horse got spooked and galloped full tilt into the middle of the melee. He was lucky that Guts came to his rescue then, a rare act of generosity from the otherwise brutish swordsman. 

Pyrrha was so damn lucky to have him…

Soon, Pippin’s & Corkus’ men started filtering to the front. Ruby did some quick mathematics. Adding the supporting crossbowmen, Pippin & Corkus could put 2100 men onto the firewall; Guts’ Raiders numbered 500 strong, while Casca & Judeau likely had about 2400 mounted mercenaries hidden on the flanks. She remembered seeing at least four, maybe five, enemy banners hidden behind the hill, putting their strength at between 2000 and 2500 men. “Overkill” would be an understatement. Then again…

Ruby glanced back at Griffith, himself staring over the battlefield, an unreadable look on his face. Ruby could put it together. Once more, Griffith would lead the enemy into a slaughter pen, and in the process, raise his status in the Midland court as a victor of battles. If it were Ironwood, or any other military figure, she’d be disgusted by the callousness...but not with Griffith. 

Instead, she decided to take a more positive interpretation. That Griffith did this to minimize losses in the Hawks. Had he just gone into an all out charge, they’d win, certainly, but would take losses. Any other commander would have no qualms about sacrificing their own men. But with Griffith…Ruby couldn’t help it. As brutal as this war had been so far, she couldn’t unsee the parallels between Griffith and all those stories of chivalric knights of old she read about in her youth. Maybe those stories were unrealistic, but at the very least, Griffith was trying to live out a dream in such a cruel world. And as long as all this led to him fulfilling his dream, Ruby would fight by his side, and help in any way necessary. 

The sound of hoofs beating against the rocks and dirt snapped Ruby out from her thoughts, as Jaune ascended back up the knoll. He pulled his mount to an awkward halt, before giving Griffith a salute. “The firewall is established. Getting the last few musketeers and crossbowmen in position as we speak.”

“Good,” Griffith replied, before turning to Ruby, “Give the word to Guts, he is to begin his feint.”

“On it,” Ruby saluted, before turning towards the right flank. She took a minute to steel her nerves, knowing that battle was about to commence. 

“Valkyrie Squadron” were currently sitting in a clearing, either on a mount or on the ground. Yang leaned against a tree, where her horse was tied up. She wore a rather beat up breastplate and shin guards, along with a set of reinforced gauntlets; while they didn’t have the firepower of Ember Cilica, they were more than enough for Yang to dispatch opponents in her usual fighting style. Still, she had a crossbow strapped to her back and a pair of daggers sheathed by her shins. Her knight’s helm was currently resting under her arm. 

Blake remained mounted upon her stead, just one tree over from her partner. She made do with a basic set of chainmail cuirass and padded leggings, along with a more basic kettle helm. She had sheathed a pair of short swords, along with another crossbow and a bandolier of bolts. In general, Blake acted more as ranged support for the group, though often used her semblance to sneak up on enemy officers when she found the opportunity. 

Weiss also was mounted, wearing a white tunic and light blue trousers under a well kept steel cuirass and, like Griffith, a bird-like helmet. Sheathed in her belt was the same rapier she had picked up so long ago, though cut down in places to fit her size. She wore her long hair down to her shoulders, keeping it in a similar enough fashion to Griffith’s; often, she’d play Griffith’s “double” on the battlefield, misdirecting enemy formation with her presence on opposite sides of the battlefield.  

Nora wore a spangenhelm and chainmail, with a warhammer dangling from her belt, while Ren carried a few throwing knives and a repeating crossbow, wearing only padded mail for armor over his old clothes. Pyrrha wore byzantine-style scale armor, wielding a sword and buckler combination, along with a repeating crossbow of her own. 

“Are we gonna see any action today?” Nora asked with a frustrated groan. 

“Don’t know,” Yang replied with disinterest, “don’t care.”

“Ugh,” Nora groaned, “we’re missing the fun out there, aren’t we?” 

“Nora,” Ren spoke up on behalf of the group, “not everyone is so gungho about combat like you are.”

“Well, didn’t we all sign up for this?” Nora asked. “After all, we did sign up to become huntsmen at Beacon, to fight Grimm.”

“Yeah,” Yang replied sharply, “which wasn’t this .” 

“Now now,” Pyrrha jumped in to play group mom like always, “let’s not start this argument all over again.” 

“But-” 

“Nora!” Ren cut off his newly wed wife before she could continue the argument. 

“Ugh, fine,” Nora groaned once more, “I can be patient.”

Weiss let out a sigh, resting her chin on her palm. The gang had gotten used to the war after almost two years. She didn’t have many qualms about killing people, unlike her long detached partner. Still, this wasn’t the life Weiss was expecting to lead, not by a longshot. 

Honestly, beyond thoughts of home, Weiss’ immediate concern was the nature of command here in Valkyrie Squadron. Ruby was detached as “Chief Quartermaster”, and her aversion to combat meant she mostly acted as a courier. Maybe she’d give the group specific directions and orders at her discretion, but that was few and far between. 

Thus, leadership was given to Jaune, the leader of JNPR. Weiss wasn’t too thrilled at this predicament, knowing his constant attempts to flirt on her back in their days at Beacon. Luckily, Pyrrha of all people gave him that itch, so it was at least bearable. 

However, oftentimes, like today, Jaune would be detached to oversee special units or some other task. When that happened, Jaune had appointed Pyrrha as his second in command, followed by Weiss in third place. Weiss couldn’t argue that it was nepotism; Pyrrha was undeniably the strongest fighter of the group. That said, given she was now married to that blonde dork Jaune, she believed Pyrrha’s judgement was within her rights to question. 

“Honestly,” Nora piped up, “if we aren’t seeing action today, we can just walk off and have our respective honeymoons. How ‘bout it?” 

“Because,” Pyrrha pointed out, “you can never know when we’ll be called up to help.” 

“Honestly, I’m excited to get out of this for a while,” Yang remarked. “I want to forget about our reception.” 

Blake sighed at the memory. “Yeah. Honestly, we really underestimated these mercs and their openmindedness.”

“Oh, please,” Nora waved off, “if I know anything about guys, it's that they’d LOVE to watch two girls kiss. I know Ren sleeptalks about-”

Nora didn’t notice Ren waltz up behind her and cup his palm over Nora’s mouth. 

“Don’t…just don’t,” Ren sounded exhausted already. 

Pyrrha rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Anyways, yes, I get it. You two were treated like shit that day. I know me and Jaune got a few unwanted remarks our way, but they were really bad with you guys.”

Yang puffed and crossed her arms. “You shouldn’t have stepped in when I was kicking Corkus’ ass.”

“Oh, no, Corkus deserved to have his ass kicked,” Pyrrha replied. “I just didn’t want you to live with the guilt of killing him.”

Yang smirked at that. “Thanks, Pyrrha.”

Weiss shook her head, “Still not used to you cursing, Pyrrha.” 

“Thanks for officiating, by the way,” Ren remarked, as he finally relented in his grip on his newly wed Nora. “You handled that flawlessly.”

“Yeah, who knew that lil’ ol’ Ice Queen over here was an expert on weddings,” Yang noted with depreciation towards Weiss. 

“I just had all the vows and ceremony details because my father wanted me and my siblings to get into arranged marriages,” Weiss replied, shivering at some difficult memories.

“You know,” Blake finally chimed in, “I keep forgetting you’re technically royalty, Weiss.”

“It’s probably because of all the snoring,” Yang remarked. 

“Hey!” Weiss pointed accusingly towards Yang. “I don’t snore in my sleep! You never mentioned that once!”

“Whatever you say, princess,” Yang teased. 

Weiss groaned, before continuing: “Sadly, the Schnee name means nothing in this world. And I’m not actually royalty. Jacques just raised us like it, preparing us for political marriages and the like. Believe me, I’d much prefer getting my head cut off than talk about this stuff, okay?”

With that, Weiss returned her gaze forward, while the others glanced at each other and back at Weiss. Everyone decided to just shrug it off. They were pushing her buttons a bit there; and they were already in a tense situation as is. 

Weiss kept her own thoughts to herself. It all just felt so absurd. Except for her younger partner, every member of the group was now at least 20 years old. They’d lived in this world, serving with the Band of the Hawk, for almost twice as long as they were at Beacon. And yet, despite all the battles they’ve been in, it sometimes felt like they just beat Torchwick’s butt yesterday. It was strange.

And yet, Weiss was starting to get used to this life. Yeah, she’d love to have running water and a shower and a flushing toilet, and of course see Klein and Winter again (maybe even Ruby’s cute little dog, why not?), but overall, she appreciated fighting for a living. Though her goal had been to go back to Atlas and take back control of the SDC, she found this life more…liberating. No legacy to uphold, no overbearing abusive father to stifle her ambitions. This…maybe she wanted this…

Weiss’ thoughts were interrupted as Ruby burst through the treeline. When she came to a stop, Weiss immediately noticed the frantic look on Ruby’s face, which had lost its color. 

“What happened?” Weiss asked. 

“I-I-I screwed up,” Ruby stammered, struggling to get the words out. “I-I thought there were just five banners. There were ten.” 

“Easy, Ruby,” Yang said calmingly, “just explain it slowly.”

“We don’t have time,” Ruby shot back. “The Raiders are being overwhelmed and surrounded, and they need assistance.” Ruby squatted down, drawing out the basic positions in the dirt. “Griffith wants you guys to move through the woods along the right flank, and come on through the enemy’s rear, out of their front line, get some pressure off of the Raiders, then ride back to our position, hopefully drawing the enemy force to pursue. Keep in mind, Jaune has set up a firewall, so you’ll need to break about a hundred yards out from the line…or hit the dirt as fast as possible.”

“Okay, that’s…a lot,” Pyrrha had by now dismounted, looking at the basic outline Ruby did of the battleplan. It was simplified beyond belief, but Pyrrha got the gist of things. With that, she turned to the others. “All of you, on me!”

With that, everyone (sans Ruby, who returned to Griffith as usual) got mounted and set, before galloping through the woods. Everyone laid themselves forward parallel to their horse’s neck, so as to avoid being knocked off by a stray branch. Ren & Blake were riding in front, followed by Yang and Nora, and finally Pyrrha & Weiss bringing up the rear. 

After a few minutes of riding, Ren raised his arm, silently telling the others to halt. They glanced to see the enemy base camp, teaming with a handful of sentries. This is where Ren & Blake’s skills were put to the test. Dismounting, Ren used his semblance to sneak up on and slit the throat of one sentry, while Blake used hers to rapidly advance and cut down swaths of them before they could react. Before long, about 30 mercs lay dead. 

Blake and Ren looked at the armor, a deep auburn red. Their crab-like helmets gave away their identity: the Red Lobster Knights. No wonder they had such an easy time. 

With that, Blake and Ren gave the ‘all clear’ signal, and the group continued their ride. Soon enough, they breached the treeline, coming upon a small grouping of knights, including one rather ornate and engorged one in the center. By his appearance, and the presence of a commander’s banner nearby, they assumed this was either a banner lord or the band commander of the whole Lobster Knights. 

The Red Lobster Knights hardly noticed their approach, and within seconds, Yang and Nora were on top of them. A single punch from Yang’s gauntlets shattered one attendant’s armored breastplate, the poor sucker falling to the ground coughing up blood. Nora pulled up her hammer and did what she did best: loose herself. To enter within a radius of her would result in almost guaranteed death, as a handful of enemy knights discovered the hard way. 

The banner lord turned to meet the charge, Pyrrha to use her polarity to mess with his balance. When Weiss passed under the swing of his battleaxe, the rather rotund man toppled over. This allowed the group to continue on their charge. While killing a banner lord would certainly get any self respecting merc an easy payday, Pyrrha understood it wasn’t the mission at hand. If anything, keeping this banner lord alive could be a situational asset. This embarrassing episode could get under his skin, and it was likely this commander would commit a risky play, one which could play right into the trap Griffith had set. 

As much as she was averse to such praise, Pyrrha had proven to have a well refined tactical mind. Certainly, Ruby & Jaune could conceive of far more creative tactics and strategies than her, and she absolutely gleaned off of their skills, but she was certainly proving to be just as capable a leader as either of those two. 

It took a minute to cut through the enemy lines, but soon enough, the ‘Valkyries’ broke through to the Raiders. They were all but surrounded, fighting enemies on all sides. Pyrrha and the others soon discovered a big reason it was so easy to cut through to them: their commander, Guts, was taking on the main line essentially all by himself. Dozens of red knights lay slain by his feet, alongside a horse, its head and legs riddled with crossbow bolts. Pyrrha tried to avoid looking at the creature, briefly noticing it was still twitching. 

Once they broke through the red lines, Guts glanced over to them, teeth still clenched. “The hell are you doing here?”

“Have no fear!” Nora shouted and posed, “The cavalry has arrived!”

“We’re here to cut you out of here,” Pyrrha replied. “Do you need a horse?”

Guts just kicked the horse’s carcass, which Pyrrha could now smell. “You think I can’t ride this one back?” He asked facetiously. 

“Point taken,” Pyrrha swiveled over to Blake, “Blake, double up with Yang and give Captain Guts your horse.” 

“Got it,” Blake replied, bringing her horse over to Guts’ side, before using her semblance to jump over to Yang’s mount. 

“Are you guys taking up rearguard duty?” Guts asked as he mounted Blake’s steed.

Pyrrha shrugged. “We’ll do what we can. We’ll open up a breach for your men to break out. Hopefully we can follow out after you.”

“Love the confidence,” Guts remarked wryly, before turning to one of his lieutenants. “Gaston, prepare for a breakout!”

“Yes, captain,” came the reply. Before Gaston could act on the orders, Nora charged in with a yell, followed by Yang. The two cut a swath through the enemy lines, before, soon enough…

“We’ve opened a path!” Guts called out above the din. “Fall back, fall back!”

With that, the surviving Raiders rumbled through the gap, with Guts helping widen the escape route on the right side. Once the last of the Raiders made their escape, the remaining three Valkyries hightailed it out of there, barely escaping the sealing breach. 

Luckily for them, the escape of the Raiders did exactly what Griffith had expected: the enemy knights began to pursue their escaping prey. The Valkyries and Raiders booked it, back towards the treeline, getting within less than a hundred yards before…

“DISPERSE, DISPERSE!” Guts bellowed over the din. Sloppily but orderly, the formation split in two, turning to run parallel to the treeline. This opened up the field of fire, just as planned. 

“NOW! FIRE!” Jaune shouted out, as did Corkus and Pippin. A volley of lead and bolts slammed into the charging Red Lobster Knights, killing and knocking down almost a quarter of their number in seconds. 

“CHARGE!” Casca’s & Judeau’s mounted contingents burst from the flanks and routed the survivors. The dismounted red knights were trampled under hooves, while the slower riders were caught in melee. 

“Come on!” shouted Corkus as he planted his foot on the back of the firewall. “We can’t let the other have all the fun. Who’s with me?”

With that, Corkus’ men cheered, pushed down their makeshift defensive wall and charged into the melee on foot, adding to the kill count. 

And now came the coup de grace. Guts’ Raiders doubled back around and cut off the routed red riders’ route of retreat, trapping them in a box. Many tried to surrender, only to be cut down anyway. A few tried to fight their way out, fewer still succeeded. Among the dead were 8 of the 10 banner lords and the band commander, Haslam the Blinker. In all, out of around 5000 knights of the Red Lobster Fighting Force, around 4800 lay dead on the field. 

Ruby averted her eyes from all of this. She sat hugging her knees, sitting on the reverse slope of Griffith’s knoll. 

“Is something the matter, Ruby?” Griffith asked softly. 

Ruby caught her own breath, before craning her neck back. “It’s…” after a second, she averted her gaze once more. She didn’t want him to see her cry. “I messed up. I didn’t count all the banners properly. I gave you bad intel, and because of that, people got hurt. I’m sorry.” Ruby sniffled as she tightened her grip, pressing her knees against her chest. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, Ruby,” Griffith replied. “Even if you miscounted the number of troops on our front, I wouldn’t have discovered their ambush without your help. I may have fallen into their trap, rather than the other way around.” 

“Still…” Ruby tried to argue, the tears starting to dry up. “What if there were more of them? What if the Raiders got slaughtered? Would you forgive me if that happened?”

A brief silence ensued, broken up by the sounds of battle off in the distance, the melee reaching its closing stages. Eventually…

“I wouldn’t think about it that way.”

Ruby lifted her head, confused by the response. “What do you mean?”

Ruby could hear Griffith shifting out of his saddle. “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Griffith’s armor plates clanked against each other, as he walked up behind her. “You made a mistake today, but it was far from fatal. Every death in the band means something to me, but I cannot let the guilt cripple me. Or else, their deaths would mean nothing. A mistake was made, a lesson is learned.” 

Ruby could feel Griffith’s gloved hand on her shoulder, as Griffith squatted down next to her. 

“Do you understand?” Griffith asked. 

Ruby gave it some thought. She could feel a warmth welling in her chest once more, a feeling she always got whenever she got this…close to Griffith. 

Eventually, Ruby let out a breath, as the tension faded away. “I do,” she turned to look at Griffith, her cheeks red with passion. “I’ll learn from today,” Ruby pressed her clenched right fist over her chest. “And if things go wrong, I can trust you and my friends and everyone will be alright.”

Griffith smiled back at her, nearly freezing Ruby in place with the gaze. “And I can trust you to do your best.” 

Ruby returned the smile, enamored with the knight in shining armor by her side. “Thank you, Griffith.”

Flames danced in a crackling bonfire, around which sat Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune and Pyrrha, upon chopped logs. The sounds of merry entertainment emanated from other bonfires throughout the camp of the Band of the Hawk, set up in and around a long abandoned castle. The group sat in silence, not necessarily tired but certainly puckered out from the day’s combat. 

“Ugh,” came the tired groan of Ruby Rose, as she sulked towards the group. She seemed just as strained as the others, though for other reasons. 

“Long afternoon at the shop?” Blake remarked. 

“Yeah,” Ruby replied, as she sat down next to Weiss, whose cheeks were already turning red from the contents of her tankard. “I’ve been struggling to finish a few more muskets, and trying to get the wheelocks working properly.”

“How’d that go?” Yang inquired. 

“Me and Rickert finished up a dozen half-finished pieces we had lying around the shop,” Ruby answered. “The wheelocks…” Ruby let out a frustrated sigh, “I’m struggling to find the right material for ignition, and a way to improve reliability, and I’ve just hit dead end after dead end.” 

“Why not just use a different mechanism?” Jaune asked. “I’m not too familiar with firearms and how they work, but can’t we reverse engineer whatever it is Crescent Rose uses?” 

“If it was possible, I would,” Ruby replied, as she pulled Crescent Rose off of her back. “But the technology they have is nowhere near capable of producing semi-auto gas operated systems. They don’t have stamped steel, let alone aluminum or polymers to construct even a rudimentary copy of the firing system.”

“Understandable,” Jaune replied. “Just thought I’d ask.”

“Thank you for that, Jaune,” Ruby replied, running her palm along her beloved weapon. “I still hope I can make cartridges to fire black powder rounds. That’ll be my next project after I complete the last couple muskets and hopefully get those pistols ready.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Pyrrha replied with a grin.

“WAZZUP, BISCHES?!” 

With that, Drunk Nora made her presence known. Assisted by the kind shoulder of Ren Valkyrie, Nora stumbled towards the two’s designated seating. 

“Don’t tell me,” Blake shook her head, “she was drinking with Corkus’ Company, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah”, Ren replied with a defeated sigh. 

“You shay that,” she stammered, “as if it’s a bad thing,” before rolling onto the dirt with a thud. 

“Considering the shit Corkus calls us,” Yang replied defensively, “I find it upsetting.”

“I know how you feel, Yang,” Pyrrha replied, in her usual ‘peacemaker’ tone, “but I think Nora and Ren can mellow him out. Maybe he’ll be less of a bigot towards you with Nora and Ren at his ear.”

“Oh, by the way,” Nora raised her palm, lying on her back, “Corkus told me to send ‘those dyke bisches’ his regards.”

Seconds of awkward silence, filled by the crackling of the fire pit, embraced the scene. Yang leaned back and sighed, “Mind if I kick his ass later?”

“I’d rather NOT start more fights here,” Jaune remarked. “Don’t get me wrong, Corkus sucks, but he isn’t gonna slit your throat in your sleep.”

“That’s not the problem,” Yang retorted. “I don’t want to be here. Tired of the heckling, tired of this grimy lifestyle, tired of the hawks. I had a life back on Remnant, back in Vale, and I wanna get back to that.”

“Pfft,” Weiss puffed bemusedly, “you’re still upset you haven’t been able to give your hair a good wash in two years, aren’t you?”

“I’m serious, Weiss,” Yang fumed with growing frustration. “Don’t you miss your family too?” 

“Listen, Yang, we all miss our families,” Pyrrha tried playing mediator. “I’m as excited to head home as you guys.”

“Really?” Yang crossed her arms, “Tell me then: what are we doing here?”

Dead silence ensued. Crickets joined in with the sound of embers crackling. 

“Uhm…” Ruby meekly raised her hand, “We’re here because Griffith’s going to help us find our way home.”

“Oh really?” Yang replied with a modicum of derision. “Tell me, Ruby, how much progress has he made on that?”

“None at the moment,” Ruby replied, “but that’s because he’s still trying to-”

“Wrong answer,” Yang pointed towards Ruby with an accusing finger. “We’ve been here for two years, assuming that this Griffith guy will get us back home, and what progress have we made so far?” Yang held up a 0 sign, “Zilch.”

“You just have to trust him,” Ruby replied shakily. “I know he isn’t prioritizing us, but-”

“But what?” Yang interjected.

“Easy, Yang,” Blake finally jumped into the conversation, a worried look forming on her face. 

“WHY CAN’T YOU TRUST ME?” Ruby bolted up, fists clench. “I trust Griffith will help us. He’s got his own goals in mind, and once he’s achieved those goals, he’s going to focus on helping us find our way back. Why can’t you just trust me on this?” 

Yang gritted her teeth, her blood clearly boiling, only for Blake to rest a palm on her shoulder. The touch snapped Yang out of her state of frustrated anger, as she looked back to her worried partner. 

Yang let out a sigh, “Fine. I trust you, Ruby. If you can trust him, I will too.”

Ruby slowly sat back down on the log, staring blankly into the fire. The thoughts of home, of her cool uncle Qrow, of her old friends at Signal, of her ‘trying-his-best’ dad Tai, and her adorable little Zwei. He must be so worried , she thought to herself. I hope he didn’t forget about us . 

But, that wasn’t all that was on her mind. 

“I miz…s’mores,” Nora mumbled, still in her half drunken stupor on the natural floor. 

“Yeah, miss those too,” Yang remarked. 

“You think we could, you know,” Jaune spoke up inquisitively, “make our own, right?”

“Ok, vomit boy,” Yang remarked, “do you know what you need to make marshmallows?”

“Aren’t they…uh…” Jaune shrugged, his confidence dissipating, “made from mellows?” 

“Mellows?” Ren inquired. 

“Yeah, mellow plants?” Jaune tried to play it off like it was obvious. “That’s where you get marshmallows from, right?” 

Crickets. 

Yang turned towards Pyrrha. “I don’t get how you live with this.”

Pyrrha returned a faux marketing smile, “Takes all kinds!”

Weiss hiccuped before asking, “How big is it?”

Pyrrha’s face turned beet-red at the implication. “I…Weiss?” 

Nora started laughing, causing a slow chain reaction, infecting everyone around the fire. 

Except for Ruby. She had turned back to look towards the center of camp, in the direction of Griffith’s tent. It was true that Griffith hadn’t done anything to find a way back to Remnant, but Ruby hadn’t been pressing him on it. 

She had lived with the Band of the Hawk for two years, longer than she had at Beacon. Slowly, but surely, she felt more and more attached to this scrappy band of mercs, and their pristine leader in particular. She wondered: if she had to choose between staying and returning to Remnant…

These thoughts were interrupted by a weight on her shoulders. Ruby darted her eyes to her side, to see Weiss, clearly drunk, slowly falling asleep, resting her head upon Ruby’s left shoulder. Weiss had taken up the bottle now and then, often mumbling about Klein or Winter, or some other family member. Ruby and the others thought Weiss was a cute drunk, compared to Nora’s bombast. 

Speaking of, Ruby noticed the campfire smoldering out, the others long gone to their tents. It seems she’d lost track of time and place thinking about Griffith and the Hawks, instead of her friends from Beacon. 

Ruby said nothing, wrapping an arm around her partner, as she gazed into the dying fire before her. Eventually, the night won out, and Ruby was taken by sleep as well. She would hardly remember the dreams she had the next morning, but she could remember long flowing white hair, pale skin, a warm embrace…and Penny was there too. 

But wherever it was, Ruby knew it was where she wanted to be.

Chapter Text

“In the name of God and the Spirit, I bestow the status of knighthood upon thee.”

Thus spoke the King of Midland, wearing a crown and golden ornamental armor, as he ceremonially knighted Griffith with his blade. Griffith knelt before the king and his throne, sunlight reflecting off his silver armor. His back was turned to the grandiose Gothic chamberhall, filled with nobles, courtiers, pages…and the officer corps of the Hawks, taking the back rows behind most of the nobles. 

In the front row stood the captains, followed behind them by two rows of lieutenants. On the front right stood Casca, followed to her left by Corkus, Rickert, Pippin, Judeau, Jaune, and Ruby, all in their best armor and clothes. 

The King continued, “Be valiant, with all due courtesy, as well as faithfulness.”

Ruby stood attentively, keeping her eyes upon Griffith in this picturesque scene of medieval custom. She felt a sense of pride in being allowed to stand here for such an important stepping stone in Griffith’s journey. She knew what this would mean for him, and that it was only a matter of time before he climbed the next step. 

“This is absurd.” Ruby could hear the nobles whisper in hushed, yet contemptuous tones. “How can we allow commoners and riffraff into such an exalted chamber? And to make their leader a viscount at that?”

“Absurd,” agreed another. “So what if they won a few battles? If it weren’t for this war, they’d simply be a band of thieves. Their blood will taint our noble lines with their mere presence. Surely, the King is becoming senile.”

Ruby gritted her teeth. How dare they belittle Griffith and the Hawks like this? Who cares if you were born into power or not? What made them so special, when Griffith was clearly their better in whatever category of a knight they could conceive of? 

Ruby wanted to step up and ask them that, to put them in their place…but she couldn’t. She knew that would just disrupt the ceremony and embarrass Griffith. And that was the last thing she wanted to do. 

And so, she sucked it up, took a breath, and returned her gaze to Griffith. He looked like he belonged here, in his pristine silver armor, his luscious soft hair, his pose, his mannerisms. He was just the picture of a storybook knight. 

Ruby looked down, placing her hand over her heart, recalling that old fairytale Yang used to read to her, about the White Hawk Monarch. 

As a young bird of lowly origin, the White Hawk decided he wanted to become a king. Despite the odds stacked against him as an animal in a human world, he gathered his fellow woodland critters to form an army to help fight a human war. Victory came to the White Hawk and his band of merry critters, and soon, they won the war. However, in peace, promotions stagnated, and the White Hawk despaired of his dream ever coming true. 

Then, an ominous figure approached the despondent White Hawk, and offered him the kingship guaranteed. In exchange, he’d have to sacrifice the souls of his friends. The White Hawk, though tempted, refused, and chose to stand by his friends. It all worked out in the end, as the White Hawk would become king anyway, and bring peace to the land. 

Her feelings for that story changed as she grew up. At first, it was a cool story, of a good person, triumphing over the odds stacked against him. Then, as she grew older, she liked it less, because it didn’t have enough cool fight scenes in it. But now, she looked back up to Griffith, and wondered if he was…

“Heh,” Corkus tutted, “Now that we keep distinguishing ourselves in battle, even the court officials’ll have no choice but to recognize our power.” He turned to his left, towards Rickert and Ruby. “Now that Griffith’s a viscount, we can say bye-bye to being wretched mercenaries, and join the regular army.”

“If you know that, then watch your tongue, Corkus,” Casca said, trying to keep her voice down. “This is a formal ceremony. From now on, any insubordination from us could possibly cause trouble for Griffith. We can’t go back to being a backwoods army of bumpkins the way we have been ‘til now.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Corkus replied dismissively, “I understand, Commander Casca. Geez, you’re more strict than my mother.”

“What?!” Casca raised her voice at the remark. 

“Hey, ceremony,” Corkus hushed, the shoe now on the other foot. 

Ruby rubbed her face in frustration at this. She was half a mind to step in and cut them short, but it ended before she could choose. And now, she could hear the nobles in front of her mumble something about bumpkins. 

Ruby felt that tinge of frustration welling inside her. Griffith was being embarrassed and she felt powerless to resolve things. That oppressive question came to her mind once more: What could she do for Griffith?

“Is something the matter, Ruby?” 

Griffith’s voice startled Ruby, as she jumped out of her trance. It took her a moment to catch her bearings. The ceremony had ended a while ago, but she leaned against a pillar, guarding the entrance to a small courtyard outside of the king’s hall. 

“Oh, sorry,” Ruby rubbed her head shyly. “I was just…spacing out.”

“Oh,” said Griffith, seeing through her. “Homesickness?”

“N-no, it’s…” Ruby muttered, trying to collect her thoughts, whether or not she should talk about it. Soon enough, she made her decision: “I’m just…I overheard a bunch of nobles badmouthing you and the Hawks during the ceremony.”

Griffith smirked at this, “Oh, really?”

“I just…,” Ruby trailed off, “I felt like standing up for your honor, but I didn’t wanna cause a scene and make you look bad.”

“Good thinking on your part,” Griffith replied with an affirmative nod. “Within the capital, fortune favors the tactful.”

Ruby briefly smiled at the small act of praise. However, the smile dissipated as she remembered what those nobles said. 

“They called us bumpkins,” Ruby said glumly, her gaze drifting towards the ground. “That because you were a commoner, you didn’t deserve to be a knight. I just…how can they be so…?”

“Jealous?” 

Ruby froze, looking back up towards Griffith. “Uh…yeah, that’s the word.”

“It all boils down to arrogance and jealousy,” Griffith replied. “These were men born into privileged lives, never having struggled a day in their life, who believe they deserve anything and everything thanks to the acts of an ancestry they have no contact with. Thus, they look at me as if I am a threat. For if anyone can become a noble, what makes them special people?”

Ruby stood silent, unsure if he was being rhetorical or not. 

Luckily, Griffith quickly continued on. “I wonder sometimes about the shallowness of humanity. The lack of vision, the shortsightedness, the pettiness. Maybe it’s just because we’ve been at war for so long, committing atrocity after atrocity, that hopes, dreams, ambitions are drained out of people.”

Ruby couldn’t look at Griffith any longer. She stared off towards the pristine garden beside her, an escape from the muddy battlefields and rugged camp life she’d grown accustomed to. She started to ponder Griffith's words, about shallowness. She once more placed her hand over her heart and wondered…

“Do you think…I’m shallow?” 

A moment of silence followed. 

“No, I do not,” Griffith finally answered. “You and I may not have the same dreams, but the fact we hold true to them is what makes us equals. There is nothing remotely shallow about you.”

Ruby smiled at that, brushing her fingers through the hair along her right temple. “I…I appreciate that, Griffith. Thank you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Griffith replied. “I must get going. The King has called upon me to discuss the next campaign.”

“Right,” Ruby perked up at that, feeling a tinge of guilt for distracting Griffith from whatever task he was on his way to fulfill. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Before I go,” Griffith said, as he reached to his side. It was only now that Ruby noticed the singular red rose tucked into his belt-loop, “I hope this is a good birthday present for you.”

Ruby froze for a moment, as Griffith extended the rose towards her, cupping the stem between his fingers like a wine glass. Slowly, she reached up and took the rose from him, pulling it close to her chest. 

“I apologize if it’s too tacky,” Griffith said. “I normally don’t give out gifts like this, and I didn’t know if this was something you wanted or not.”

“Oh, no worries,” Ruby blurted nervously. “I appreciate it immensely, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” With that, Griffith continued walking down the open hallway. 

Ruby Rose stared down at the red rose she had just received. She got lost in her thoughts once more, as the warm feeling she had in Griffith’s presence continued to radiate. 

This is just a birthday present, right? She thought to herself, knowing she was now 18 years old (her actual birthdate was several months off). Is it something more? Is this…

Ruby shook her head. She could worry about these little things later. Now, she had a castle to besiege. 

She had forgotten the name of it during the captains’ briefing three days prior, having zoned out then as well. But she picked up that it’d be a harder operation than usual. Three walls encircled the fortress, with a citadel in the center. 

Luckily, the Hawks proved more than enough to overwhelm the three walls in as many days. Griffith’s careful planning, along with the strength of her friends, made easy work of the enemy fortress. 

While her friends were off in the front, Ruby remained behind with Griffith and the other captains, on a nearby hill overlooking the fortress. The remnants of siege equipment remained in place along the heavily damaged first wall. Fire billowed up in the distance from the inner walls. 

“Commander!” cried an approaching rider. The rider, one of theirs, dismounted his horse and kneeled before Griffith. “We seem to have just about finished taking the enemy fortress!”

“And the enemy leader?” Griffith inquired. 

“No, not yet,” the soldier replied nervously. “Captain Guts and the Raiders are laying siege to their citadel, but…” the soldier paused to catch his breath. “The enemy has a remarkable soldier. He’s holding back the breach by himself.”

“One man?” Casca asked under her breath. 

“Just one?” Corkus snickered, “Heh, that’s just pathetic!”

“Zodd.” 

Ruby and the others turned towards Judeau. 

“What was that?” Casca asked. 

“Judeau,” Rickert said, “you don’t mean…?”

“I caught wind of a strange rumor before this battle,” Judeau explained. “That Nosferatu Zodd had been added to the enemy forces…Nosferatu Zodd.”

“Wait,” Ruby jumped in, confused, “Nosferatu who?”

“Huh?” Rickert seemed shocked by Ruby’s ignorance. “You don’t know, Ruby?” 

“I’m not from here,” Ruby replied. “I never heard of this guy. Who is he?”

“Well,” Rickert started explaining, “among mercenaries, Nosferatu Zodd is a legendary swordsman. They say he’s killed hundreds, even thousands on the battlefield. Every time a rumor goes around that he’s dead, he always shows up again in some other battle. And the unbelievable thing is, people have been telling war stories about him for close to a hundred years! He’s immortal! That’s why Zodd’s called Nosferatu.”

“O…kay,” Ruby didn’t know what ‘Nosferatu’ meant. 

“Oh come on,” Corkus butted in, “Don’t tell me you believe that fairy tale!”

“But there are some mercenaries who revere Zodd as a battlefield god!” Rickert retorted. “If Guts ran into him, he’d go charging in like a madman.”

Silence followed. 

“This can’t turn out good,” Casca shook her head. 

“Griffith,” Ruby called up. “I can head up to the front and get the Valkyries to support the Raiders in taking the citadel. If not, I can at least head to Guts’ support myself.”

Griffith nodded. “Very well. We’ll join you with the main contingents as soon as we can.”

Ruby puffed her chest with pride, before launching off with a pep in her step. She streaked across the battlefield and the rubble. She gained altitude, trying to find her friends on the battlefield. It took a good minute, but she found them, sitting atop the third wall walkway.

With that, she launched herself towards the group, landing a few seconds later. She found the seven lounging around, setting up a small cooking fire to boil potatoes, as if they were all back at camp rather than in the middle of battle.

Ruby glanced down the wall toward the central courtyard. She saw a gathering of soldiers, which she quickly identified as the Raiders. She saw Guts himself just as he walked through the entrance to the citadel, his officers and soldiers looking on at their leader.

“Hey, what’s up?” Jaune asked.

Ruby looked back at the group. “Guts and the Raiders are struggling with taking the citadel,” Ruby relayed. “We have reports of some guy named Nosferatu Zodd holding them up.”

“We’ve heard,” came Blake’s reply drearily. 

“Well,” Ruby continued, “Griffith needs you to reinforce the raiders and-”

“No,” came Yang’s plain response. 

Ruby was a bit surprised by that response. “What?”

“No, we’re not helping,” Yang said. 

“W-why?” Ruby couldn’t understand. “You guys have orders to-”

“Ugh, haven’t we done enough today?” Nora groaned as she stretched out on her back. “We’ve been leading the charge all day, and just want some rest, okay?”

“Listen, Ruby,” Pyrrha butted in nervously, “We’ve all decided by vote that we’ve done enough in this battle, and think the other Hawk units can handle the citadel.”

Ruby desperately looked to Jaune, who shook his head in defeat. 

“Wh-what…” Ruby’s shock soon shifted to frustration. “So you guys are just gonna disobey orders and leave people to die?”

“We’ve done enough, Ruby,” Yang replied sternly. “And honestly, I couldn’t care less what happens to the other Hawks, so don’t try to guilt me into-” 

“That’s not good enough!” Ruby retorted with frustrated venom. “You guys want to be huntsmen and huntresses? Do you think they’d just take a break like this and leave others to fight their battles for them?” 

Ruby panted for breath, while the others all looked at her with concern. Except…

“What about you, Ruby?” Yang asked sternly. “What have you done this whole siege?” 

A painful silence followed. Ruby wanted to argue, saying she had flown recon and courier duty and such, but…she knew what Yang was getting at. It was a challenge. 

Ruby sighed in defeat, looking down at the courtyard below. “I’ll tell Griffith I couldn’t find you. I’m going to the citadel, see how I can help there.”

“Alright,” Yang replied with clear disinterest. “Knock yourself out.”

Ruby looked back to the others, all clearly troubled by the exchange. Jaune looked at her, mouthing ‘I’m sorry’, as if that would help. 

Ruby turned away, and darted down the wall. Within seconds, she landed in the courtyard, fronting the shattered gate to the citadel. There stood Lt. Gaston and the other raiders, tension etched on their faces. 

“What’s happening?” Ruby asked Gaston. 

“50 of our men went in,” he reported, “and only one came out.” He pointed to the corpse of a man missing his right arm and portions of his right torso and top right corner of his head. “It seems we’re dealing with Zodd.”

“And Captain Guts?” Ruby asked. 

“He went inside, alone,” Gaston pointed into the dimly lit entrance to the citadel. “He ordered us to stay out here while he deals with Zodd personally.”

“Do you know how he’s doing?” Ruby asked with some concern. 

Gaston shook his head. “I wish I did.”

“Hmph,” Ruby looked towards the entrance. “I’ll go in and see what’s happening. Griffith and the other captains are coming to reinforce you. You can join if you wish.”

“If Guts hadn’t ordered us to stay,” Gaston replied, “I’d be rushing the entire battalion in there. But alright. I’ll make way for Griffith when he gets here.”

“Right,” Ruby nodded, as she grabbed Crescent Rose off her back and leaned forward in preparation for a burst. “Wish me luck.”

“Will do,” came Gaston’s reply. 

With that, Ruby took a breath, and burst through the open entrance. She was almost immediately hit with the stench of death, as corpses lined the wall of the torchlit hallway. Ruby tried to push these horrid sights out of her mind, as she swiftly rushed down the hall into a slightly more open section. 

There, Ruby’s eyes widened in horror. Corpses lay piled up in a corner, looks of terror and horror etched on the faces of the dead. She looked to see Guts to her left, badly injured, lying against a pillar. And before him…

Ruby struggled to comprehend the sight before her. A massive, furry chimera, easily 10 feet in height at minimum, with massive horns. It was hard for her to pin down what kind of species he was. He was certainly not a Grimm like on Remnant. 

Whatever it was, the beast picked up the injured Guts by the arms and began to pull on them, as if trying to rip Guts in half. Guts screams broke Ruby out of her thoughts. She had to act fast, or else Guts would be dead. 

Thus, Ruby burst forward, unseathing Crescent Rose’s scythe form for the first time in forever, and chopped through one of the monster’s arms. Ruby landed on the stone floor a moment later, turning back to see Guts lying on the ground, struggling to get to his feet. 

“Captain Guts!” she called out. “Can you get out of here on your own? I can help you if-”

“Get away!” He called out between his teeth. 

“What?”

“Forget it!” He called out again, his voice strained by his injury. “Run!”

Before she could respond, she felt a strong grip along the length of her shin. In an instant, she was lifted up in her air. She could see the creature had both arms again. How? She had looked away for only a few seconds. It couldn’t have grown it back in that amount of time. 

“You…DARE defile our glorious battle?” came a growling, unsettling voice. “I won’t have it!”

Quickly, Ruby switched her Crescent Rose into her compact form, aimed it at the creature’s head, pulled the trigger…only to hear a click. She had forgotten she still hadn’t perfected her new cartridges in time. 

Before she could fully realize this mistake, the creature slammed her into the ground. And then into the wall. And then into a pillar. And then into the ground again. Ruby was quickly disoriented, Crescent Rose falling out of her grip, as the beast slammed her again and again, until her aura broke. 

And then, one more time, she was lifted up high, and slammed into the ground, and everything was fuzzy. 

“Good job, Yang,” Weiss leaned against the battlements with her arms crossed. “What a great thing to say to your sister right there.”

“Quit being facetious,” Yang spat, her hair starting to simmer with heat. “We’ve all been thinking of it.”

“That’s enough, Yang,” Blake interjected, trying to rein in her partner. “I’m just as homesick as you are, but I’m not going to talk down to Ruby like that, and neither will you.”

“Whatever,” Yang groaned. “If you guys wanna go help out, be my guest.”

“And break up the unit?” Jaune interjected. “We could be called for another action later, and we’d be split in half. We need to fight together, as a team-”

“We’re two teams,” Yang corrected. “Team RWBY can handle things with or without you guys.”

“Well, Team RWBY is currently down a member,” Pyrrha pointed out, “and a rather important one at that.”

“Shove it!” Yang gulped down her potato soup with as much venom as one can gulp down potato soup. 

Weiss sighed with disappointment, before looking over her shoulder over the wall. She saw a group of riders, at least a hundred in number, riding up the pathway to the third wall’s main gate. 

“Looks like Griffith’s about to show up,” Weiss noted, before pushing herself off the wall. “Well, I’m going in and helping. She’s my partner anyway.” 

“Suit yourself,” Yang remarked, as she wiped boiled potato bits off her cheeks. 

Weiss shook her head in disappointment, as she walked over to the nearest tower. She walked inside and began descending the tight spiral staircase. She was in no rush. Sure, she was going to help Ruby after all, but between Ruby’s natural talent and the numbers of the raiders, Weiss had a sense of confidence in her partner and team leader. 

Despite this, Weiss silently cursed Yang’s attitude. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand it. Not a day went by without her thinking of Winter or Klein. And she certainly felt no fundamental loyalty to the Hawks. But Yang…Yang took it a bit far. 

To be fair, Weiss understood that being siblings didn’t always ensure harmonious relationships. She hated talking to Whitley, and though she looked up to Winter, Winter was never one keen on casual conversation. Maybe this was just how Yang and Ruby normally were like, and that this was just a sibling spat blown way over proportion. 

Still, Weiss couldn’t ignore the thought that she should have spoken up, that she had let her partner down. She already felt she had been doing just that. She and Ruby seemed to talk less and less in recent months, and Weiss was struggling to understand why. 

Once inside the courtyard, she could see riderless horses tied up in the courtyard. Standing guard were Lt. Gaston and more of the raiders.

Weiss walked over to Gaston’s side. “What’s happening?” 

“Guts and Ruby are inside, battling Zodd,” Gaston replied. “Griffith and the captains are going in with a unit of crossbowmen to assist.”

“And you?”

Gaston shook his head. “I got orders to watch the horses.”

“Well, I didn’t get that order,” Weiss shrugged. “I need to see if Ruby needs help.” 

“Go ahead,” Gaston replied,.“I have no orders to stop you.”

“Hey!” a soldier cried out, “Look up in the sky!”

With that, Weiss, Gaston, and every soldier in the courtyard glanced up to see a bizarre sight. A giant beast with dragonlike wings was flying in the sky above the citadel. Weiss couldn’t make out what it was from this distance. She certainly hadn’t seen a Grimm like that before. 

It took a moment before it dawned on Weiss just how much danger Ruby was in. Glancing back towards the doorway, Weiss rushed inside. She nearly gagged at the corpses lining the walls, before continuining on her sprint inside. She saw wounded soldiers dragging their comrades back from whence she came, many covered head to toe in blood. Eventually, she made her way up to the center. 

There, the Hawk captains were gathered around one pillar. It took her a moment to realize it was Griffith, knocked unconscious, severe cracks and indents in the pillar behind him showing the strength of the strike. 

She glanced over to the right, noticing Guts, bang up but able to at least stand. To the right, she caught a glimpse of Crescent Rose, lying on the floor in its compact mode. Walking forward slightly, and she caught a glimpse of-

“Ruby!” Weiss rushed over to Ruby’s side. She was in a massive impact crater in the ground, covered in ruble. She was unconscious, her body badly bruised and covered in blood. Weiss was fearing the worst. 

“Don’t worry,” Weiss said in a hushed yet desperate tone, “I’m getting you out of here. Just hang in there.” Weiss lifted Ruby up in her arms, and began trudging towards the exit. 

When she made it back out in the courtyard, she could see the rest of Valkyrie Squadron rushing over to her. Weiss moved over to the side and laid Ruby down on a blanket. Everyone, sans Yang, gathered around Ruby, anxious and horrified looks permeating the teams. 

“Ren!” Jaune called out quickly, “check her pulse!”

Ren nodded, and began his examination as the unofficial team doctor. As everyone sat in tense silence, Ren checked her breathing, her pulse, and her aura. Seconds ticked by, everyone anxious to hear any good news. 

Weiss glanced back to Yang, who was hanging back from the others. She could see Yang’s skin had gone pale, staring blankly towards Ruby. 

“The injuries aren’t too bad,” Ren gave his diagnosis. “The worst she’ll have is a concussion. And even that will heal with aura. She’ll be fine.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief at that one. 

“What happened?” Blake asked shakily. “What was that thing?” 

“I-I don’t know,” Weiss sputtered. “I didn’t get a good look at it. I think they call it Zodd. Don’t know what else.”

“We should have gone in,” Jaune said blankly. “She wouldn’t be hurt like this if-”

“Where were you?” 

Everyone turned towards the voice of Casca, standing before them now, a simmering anger behind her lips. Jaune got to his feet, but couldn’t respond fast enough. 

“The Raiders were butchered,” Casca continued. “Griffith is hurt. And only one of you came by to assist. Where were you? Did Ruby not find you and order you to assist the raiders in the citadel? Because she told us she would?”

Jaune, after some contemplation, slumped his soldiers in defeat. “It was my fault. I chose to let the unit rest rather than assist the raiders. Even after Ruby ordered us to assist them, we insisted on staying put. I’ll take full responsibility for this.”

Casca was a bit surprised by this honesty, before tensing once more. “You better be. Once Griffith recovers, expect a harsh punishment for your insubordination.” 

Jaune bowed forward, “I shall await my judgement.”

Casca lingered for a second, before turning away and walking off. 

Yang didn’t say a word for the rest of the day.

Ruby couldn’t make out her surroundings. Everything was a blurry bright white. Everything was so hazy, yet she realized she was laying on her back. She looked up, and saw the tall nude figure, lean yet muscular with flowing white hair, looking down at her. 

Ruby tried to remember what happened, her mind too hazy to recall the details. And yet…

“Am I…dead?” 

“You’ll be alright, Ruby,” came the vague yet familiar soft voice of the person on top of her, as they caressed her cheek. “You’re going to be alright.”

Ruby began to sniffle at this. “Griffith,” she mumbled warmly. 

“You’ll be alright, Ruby,” the figure said once more, as they laid down on top of Ruby. “You’re going to be alright.”

Ruby didn’t feel claustrophobic at this pressure. Indeed, she felt a profound warmth in this closeness. 

“Am I…dying?” She asked, trying to put the pieces together. 

“You’ll be alright, Ruby,” the figure repeated warmly.

“I…I don’t wanna die,” Ruby begged. “Please don’t let me die.”

“I won’t let you die, Ruby,” the figure said, as they leaned in to kiss Ruby on the lips. 

“Griffith…Griffith…” Ruby moaned in desperation as the figure moved their lips down her cheek and neck. “Griffith…”

“Ruby?” 

Ruby woke up with force, sitting up with frantic speed. It took her a moment to catch her breath as well as her surroundings. She was lying in bed, decked out in red velvet sheets and pillow cases. She quickly realized she was back in her room at the Hawks’ new “barracks”, an old abandoned church in the capital of Wyndham. And by her bedside, sitting in a basic wooden chair, was Weiss, who looked back at Ruby with a mixture of concern, confusion and relief. 

A few seconds of silence passed, the two just staring at each other. 

“H-hey,” Ruby finally broke the ice. “Why the long face?”

“Uhm…” Weiss seemed just as awkward, “How are you feeling?”

Ruby took a second to process that question, before shrugging her shoulders. “I feel a bit sore, but not too bad. What happened?”

“You’ve been out for a day,” Weiss replied. “I found you in horrible shape. We were scared you wouldn’t wake up.”

Ruby took a minute, remembering what had occurred at the castle, in her ‘fight’ with Zodd. She shook her head. “Well, back at Beacon, you said I had a thick skull, so you shouldn’t have been too worried.”

“This isn’t a joke, Ruby,” Weiss replied almost indignantly. “Everyone feels guilty about what happened. We let you down yesterday, and you suffered because of it.”

“Don’t think like that, Weiss,” Ruby tried to allay Weiss’ worries as best she could. “I went in overconfident. I hadn’t fought for a year and a half, forgot I still don’t have ammo for Crescent Rose, and got my butt handed to me because of that. And besides, I couldn’t find you guys, so it doesn’t matter.”

Weiss rubbed the back of her head with regret. “Jaune came clean to Casca and Griffith about what happened, and apologized profusely on our behalf. He’s currently running laps around Wyndham as we speak.”

Ruby giggled at that. “Man, I’m missing out right now.”

Weiss smiled slightly at that. “Yeah, guess so. Honestly, it could have been worse. If Casca had her way, she would have chopped off Jaune’s head for insubordination.”

Ruby sighed. “Yup, that’s Casca for you. I don’t know why she’s such a hardass. She’s like you but without the money.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Weiss asked, only partially indignant at the remark. 

The two laughed it off for half a minute. 

As the laughter died down, Ruby noticed the vase of roses on her nightstand. 

“Hey, where did those come from?” Ruby asked. 

“Oh, Griffith sent you those,” Weiss replied. “He wanted you to get well soon and all.”

“Oh…that’s nice,” Ruby trailed off, her gaze now fixed on the roses. 

“Speaking of…” Weiss said slowly, “you were…mumbling his name in your sleep?”

Ruby almost snapped her neck from whiplash as she turned her attention back to Weiss, her cheeks starting to heat up. “What? What did I say?” 

“Uh…” Weiss looked flustered, “well, you were just saying his name. You also mentioned Penny once or twice, but it was mostly just Griffith.”

“Oh…” Ruby trailed off, flustered as well, looking towards the foot of her bed rather than her partner. 

“Listen, Ruby,” Weiss leaned forward and grabbed Ruby’s hand, “if you need to talk to someone, I’m all ears. Okay?” 

“Okay…” Ruby mumbled, slowly pulling her hand from Weiss’ grip. “Can I just…be alone for a bit?”

“Yeah, sure,” Weiss got to her feet, “I’ll give you some space. I’ll be in my room if you need me, okay?”

“Thanks,” Ruby replied with a soft smile, appreciating Weiss’ kindness. 

“By the way,” Weiss said, “Yang really is sorry for what she said to you. Want her to apologize in person first thing or-”

“No need,” Ruby shook her head. “I’ve taken things easy since we got here. You guys were in the front lines fighting while I was just running courier duty and recon. I know why she’s frustrated with me for that.”

“It’s…” Weiss seemed to want to argue that point, but stopped herself. “Okay then.”

With that, Weiss made her way to the doorway. She turned back to Ruby one more time, something clearly on her tongue. Weiss exhaled. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah,” Ruby said with a soft smile. “Thank you.”

After lingering for a moment longer, Weiss ducked out of the room, calmly closing the door behind her. 

Once she was alone, Ruby turned her attention back to the vase of roses by her bedside. She reached down and grabbed one by the stem, pulling it up to her chest. She softly held it against her, as a soft smile rested on her face beneath her tired eyes. She looked down at the rose, thinking back fondly to that moment in the courtyard. 

She didn’t know how Griffith felt about her. But now, she knew what Griffith was to her.

Chapter Text

“Hiyah!” A well-dressed rider gleefully charged down the rolling hills towards his prey, a bright orange fox. He shot at the poor creature with a crossbow, grinding his teeth upon missing. More bolts came in from either side, his equally well-dressed companions taking their shots. 

Jaune was beside himself, looking down at this pathetic scene below. Along with the rest of the Hawks, he had been assigned to participate in the King’s Hunt, a supposedly prestigious event from what he was told. What he saw instead looked like a farce. 

“So, Jaune,” Judeau broke Jaune’s trance. “How’re the Valkyries doing?”

Jaune shrugged. “Fine, I guess. You pay us well, feed us well. Not much to complain about. Still quite homesick.” 

That was an understatement. Ruby’s near death at Zodd’s Keep quieted talk of leaving the Hawks outright, but only for so long. Yang, the most staunch voice for the ‘leave’ faction (to put it bluntly, its only permanent member), had quieted down about the matter. He guessed that nearly losing her little sister made her more reticent. 

“Good to hear,” Judeau nodded. “You guys are quite close-knit, given all the rings.”

“Yeah,” Jaune sighed blissfully, thinking about Pyrrha. As much as he missed his family back in Remnant, he appreciated his time with Pyrrha and his team. He always felt he was an anchor around the others, but they never treated him like that; their confidence in him gave him confidence in himself. And Pyrrha, well…she married him. Once he got back home, he’d be the luckiest man in Remnant. 

“Is Weiss still single?” Judeau inquired. 

“Yeah,” Jaune shrugged. “Why’d you ask?”

“Well,” Judeau snickered nervously, rubbing his neck, “I just…wanted to know if I had a chance.”

“Well, I can say from experience,” Jaune replied, “you wouldn’t be her type.”

Judeau shrugged. “Might as well try. Not intending it to be serious. I got my eyes on another woman, but I don’t have a chance with her. Her heart’s with someone else.”

Neither of them noticed Casca casting a glance their way at Judeau’s remark. 

“Eh, suit yourself,” Jaune sighed. “Don’t get upset when she turns you down.”

“Noted,” Judeau nodded, the conversation dying out. Jaune couldn’t be happier. 

Jaune turned his attention over to Ruby, also mounted. She was turned away from the group, staring up a hill towards something. Jaune glanced and noticed the group standing on the knoll, a treeline to their back, overlooking the whole scene of the hunt before them. 

Jaune squinted as best he could to make out the figures on the knoll. He knew Ruby’s vision was ridiculous for the amount of detail she can see at long distances; he and the others speculated her silver eyes had something to do with it. Still, he was able to recognize two mounted figures on the knoll. One was Princess Charlotte, daughter of the King of Midland; and Griffith, currently acting as her personal bodyguard. 

Jaune was a bit confused. Was Ruby worried about them? Charlotte and Griffith seemed to be fine. Safety shouldn’t be an issue, with the guards posted around the knoll and the Hawk captains near at hand to respond. Nothing to worry about, right?

Maybe…maybe it was something else. He and Ruby hadn’t really talked since the incident at Zodd’s Keep. To be fair, they were talking less and less as Ruby became more involved with the Hawks’ officer corps than with the old group. And even then, she spent more time conversing with Griffith. Still, he wondered, was she upset with him and the others for what happened?

Jaune raised his hand, about to raise his voice and ask what’s the matter, but pulled back. It’d be best to leave sleeping dogs where they were. Maybe another time…

“This is ridiculous,” groaned Guts, mounted nearby with the other Hawk captains, “Why do we gotta tag along while the nobles goof off?”

“Can’t be helped,” Judeau shrugged. “It’s part of the job. Besides, it’s a lot easier than going out to battle. No worries about being killed.”

“Agreed,” Jaune mumbled, though the rest barely paid attention.

Guts grimaced with frustration, instinctually reaching for the hilt of his sword. “It feels more natural to me when I’m swingin’ this around.”

“Haa!” Corkus exclaimed in his usual tone, “For god’s sake, is that all you got in that head a’ yours?”

“Corkus, again?” young Rickert asked like a disappointed mother. 

“Ah, shut it,” Corkus dismissed. “Listen, we’re the guard for the Autumn Hunt. It’s an honorable duty that has, until now, always been reserved for the White Dragon Knights. It’s a privilege for just a chosen few, as it were.” 

Corkus gave Guts a stern look, having grown more and more frustrated with the upstart captain of the Raiders. “We’ve run around covered in mud on battlefields for so many years to earn that privilege! We’ve risked our lives so many times! And you? You say it’s ridiculous?!”

Jaune couldn’t agree more yet care less. 

Ruby didn’t pay attention to the others’ conversation. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Griffith and Charlotte. She could tell they were having some conversation, though the distance was too great for her to hear. Then Griffith grabbed a leaf and pressed it against his lips. Charlotte looked smitten with this and tried it herself. The two then proceeded to laugh at whatever they were doing. 

Ruby felt a pit in her stomach, and a strong pull on her chest. She looked down and placed a hand over her heart, as if it were about to pop out of her chest. She crunched her face in order to prevent tears from forming. 

What…is this feeling? She thought to herself. I…never felt like this before…

A frightened, braying horse drew Ruby out of her contemplation. She looked back up to the knoll, where Charlotte’s horse had lifted off its front feet. A wild boar ran past, the apparent source of the animal’s distress. A second later, the horse began to sprint off down the hill towards a stream, Griffith following close behind. 

Ruby twisted back towards the captains and pointed towards the scene of action. “Guys!”

“I see it,” Casca grumbled, before turning back to the others. “Come on! We need to ensure the Princess’ safety!”

With that, the group rode off, following Griffith through a patch of woods towards a creek. Ruby remained on horseback, trailing behind the others. Griffith had warned her not to use her semblance in Wyndham when she could help it. He believed it would be safer for her and her friends if their abilities were only a battlefield legend rather than confirmed fact. 

Thus, she struggled with her mount. She was nowhere near as bad as Jaune was when he first tried riding a mule into battle, being dragged for miles by his stirrup and nearly getting himself killed. Still, she could barely direct her mount. 

Luckily, Griffith didn’t go far. Looking over everyone’s shoulders, Ruby could see Griffith up ahead, having stopped with Charlotte in a shallow stream. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, worried that Griffith would be hurt. 

A bolt wooshed through the air from the treeline towards Griffith, slamming him right in the armor near his heart. 

Looks of horror and fear dawned on everyone’s faces, including Ruby’s. Her skin turned pale, as she brought her mount to a halt. She mechanically dismounted, the shock of it all slowing her immensely. 

The others continued, screaming his name. Casca frantically dismounted and rushed to Griffith’s side, lifting him up from the water. Guts went over to the Princess, still mounted on her horse, seemingly interrogating her. It was hell to watch. 

“Guts!” Jaune called out, “you’re hurting her!”

Guts, with pause, loosened his grip and stepped away from the frightened princess, gritting his teeth. He reached for his sword, scanning the treeline, seemingly looking for the assassin. 

Ruby now stood before Griffith, cradled in Casca’s arms. Judeau had leaned down in front of him, inspecting the bolt. 

“Oh no,” he muttered. “If we’re not careful, his heart might…”

“No way!” Casca yelped in denial. “This…this can’t be…”

Ruby felt the salt against her cheeks, as the tears formed canals in her skin. She could feel a burning sensation welling up inside her, flowing up to her eyes. Ruby felt as if she was about to explode with grief…

…until Griffith raised his hand, caressing Casca’s cheek. “Don’t get so worked up,” he assured Casca softly. 

Everyone there stood in stunned silence. The burning sensation in Ruby’s head quickly dissipated, tears still flowing down her cheeks. “G-g-Griffith!” she called out shakily, as she began to (almost involuntarily) run towards Griffith.

Only for Judeau to grab her by the arm. “Stop, he still has the arrow in his chest.”

“Are you alright?” Guts asked Griffith, still laying in the water. “The arrow…”

Before Guts could finish, Griffith grabbed the bolt and pulled it out of his armor, revealing the tip coated in…

“Poison, I’d say,” Griffith remarked. “And a rather strong one.”

“Wait, then…how…?” Casca was struggling to speak, seeing Griffith seemingly rise from the dead. 

“It was this,” Griffith reached under his armor, revealing a strange object dangling from his necklace. “It acted as a shield.”

Ruby had seen this before. Griffith had shown it to her years ago now, calling it ‘the Egg of the King’. This freaky red egg with a jumbled face was certainly offputting (Ruby was adamant that it blinked at her once), but knew it was Griffith’s ‘good luck charm’. 

The other hawk captains, lieutenants and soldiers muttered in amazement at this miracle, many seeing Griffith’s behelit for the first time. 

“It’s a miracle,” Corkus exclaimed, “the devil’s luck!”

“It really is a good luck charm,” Judeau beamed, having released his grip on Ruby.

Casca helped get Griffith to his feet, water pouring out from crevices in Griffith’s armor. 

“Griffith, you should take your armor off,” Casca advised. “We have to see whether you’re injured.”

Griffith shook his head with a smile. “I’m fine,” he blew Casca’s concern off. “It was really nothing.”

“Don’t say that!” Casca exclaimed. “It was coated with poison, right? There’s a risk even with a small would that-”

Griffith placed his palm on Casca’s shoulder. 

“I’m alright, honestly,” he assured Casca. “It didn’t even graze me.” 

“B-...” Casca mumbled, clearly flustered, “But…”

Ruby looked on, with that weight in her chest returning. Seeing Griffith comforting Casca, placing his hand on her cheek, placing his palm on her shoulder, reminding Ruby of that first night so long ago. She kicked herself mentally; she could have rushed to Griffith’s side immediately with her ability, and gotten this treatment from Griffith instead of Casca.

“Excuse me,” Ruby was snapped out of her funk by the princess, having dismounted from her horse, lifting her dress to avoid it getting wet. “I’m sorry…” the princess sniffled as tears rolled down her face. “If…if I had been able to handle a horse more ably, this would not have-”

“What do you mean?” Griffith asked in his usually calm, controlled, smooth tone. “It is our duty to protect you, is it not?”

The princesses wiped a tear away, as her dour frown slowly turned into an appreciative smile. 

The weight in Ruby’s chest deepened. She turned to look away, unable to take this feeling welling inside her. She was starting to realize what it was…

“Alright!” Guts called out to Gaston and the detachment of the raiders present, “Search the undergrowth. We’ll find the bastard that tried to shoot Griffith & the Princess!”

Just then, at the edge of the treeline along the pathway they came, Ruby could see a group of riders, all clearly noblemen. Ruby could make out the nearest ride, wearing quite the gaudy costume, looking down at the scene grimacing. She recognized the man: Count Julius, the King of Midland’s younger brother and commander of the White Dragon Knights, recently scorned for the duty of guarding the king during the Autumn Hunt in favor of the Hawks. 

Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that familiar, warm face, looking at her with serious intent. 

Griffith leaned in to whisper, “Ruby, I need your help.”

She turned to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise at this sudden request. She felt flustered by the attention, as if her desires were about to be made true. 

“What do you need?”

“That was pathetic,” Count Julius slammed his chalice on the floor of his study, breaking it and letting wine seep along the tiles. 

“Please, forgive me,” the assassin begged. 

“I don’t want to hear your excuses!” Julius exclaimed, before turning his back towards the crossbowman. “We’re lucky this was written off as a chudder assassination attempt on Princess Charlotte. We are still above suspicion.” Julius grimaced in frustration. “But thanks to this, we’ve given Griffith the honor of being ‘the one who protected the princess with his own body’.” 

He turned back towards the assassin. “The commoners heard the rumor and immediately enshrined the boy as some hero. Even the King seems terribly happy with Griffith! All we’ve accomplished is helping advance him further in the court. It’s the pinnacle of ineptitude!”

“Of course, but,” the archer tried to argue, “if the arrow was meant for the princess, what a coincidence that the bolt struck him so near his heart-”

“Then do you suggest that I go before his majesty and inform him that you were aiming at Griffith?!” Julius asked rhetorically. “The important thing is, despite that, he’s still alive.”

“But…” the archer was playing with the fire burning underneath him, “it was highly unlikely such a thing would-”

“Enough!” Julius declared. “Begone!”

The archer lingered for a second, before leaving the room, hunched over in defeat. 

Julius sighed, the frustration at this setback weighing him down, as he sat down in his well furnished chair. He looked out the window, barely noticing the red petal left behind on the window sill.

“That’s what he said?” Griffith asked clinically, hardly surprised. 

“Yes,” Ruby nodded emphatically. “I didn’t mince a single word.” 

The two were currently in Griffith’s study, located further within Wyndham in one of the many castle keeps dotted around. Books on history, philosophy, tactics, and various other subjects lined the shelves. The room was lit only by candlelight, making it hard to read all the spines.

“Good,” Griffith remarked, leaning back in his chair. “That confirms my suspicions. I already checked the origins of the poison on the bolt,” he opened up a drawer, revealing said bolt. “It was coated with an extract of the calabal bean. High chance of death. An ordinary person would struggle to get their hands on such a high end poison. I’ve found only one doctor in town who handles this poison, and claimed he recently sold some to the best archer in the White Dragon Knights…presumably the other man in the room with Julius.”

Ruby nodded, “And the man who tried to kill you.”

Griffith nodded. “We have our culprit. And now-”

“You’re going to kill him,” Ruby said, “aren’t you?”

A brief silence followed, only the crackling of a candle’s flame providing any noise. 

“And why wouldn’t I just report these to the authorities?” Griffith asked coyly, already knowing the answer. 

“Because…” Ruby sighed, “Count Julius is the king’s brother. It’d be a scandal, and things would be more difficult for us than him.”

“Even if he endangered Princess Charlotte?” Griffith asked in the same tone. “I’m sure the king would side with us, knowing how protective he is of her.”

Ruby shook her head. “That wouldn’t matter.”

Griffith leaned on his palm, smirking with glee at Ruby’s perceptiveness. “Why wouldn’t it?”

“Because…” Ruby trailed once more. “Because he tried to kill you. You can’t let that slide. If you do, he’ll just try again. Or some other faction will go after you as well. So you’ll want to kill him first.”

Griffith nodded. “I’m impressed. You pieced that together quite well. You know me too much.”

Ruby blushed at the complement. “I…thank you.”

Ruby knew that there was more to it than that. She knew Griffith’s dream was to become a king. He certainly wasn’t ingratiating himself to the King of Midland for the sake of honor and justice. No, this was part of the plan, isn’t it? It was just convenient that Julius made the first move, justifying Griffith’s move to eliminate him as a rival to the throne. That is, if Griffith hadn’t expected this to happen anyway. 

And she knew how Princess Charlotte would play a role in Griffith’s grand schemes. It didn’t make this feeling of jealousy and inadequacy go away. 

“I take it,” Griffith continued, leaning back in his chair, “you wish to volunteer for the task.”

Ruby took a second to recognize what Griffith was implying. In response, she shook her head. “No, I cannot. I think I’d leave too much evidence behind. Besides…I…don’t want to kill people.”

Griffith gave Ruby an inquisitive look. “Even someone who tried to take my life?”

Ruby gripped her arm, pondering her answer. She could tell Griffith was testing her, to see if he can trust her. She had to pick the right words here, or else…she’d lose him.

“I just…I can’t unsee their faces,” Ruby explained. “Those bandits I killed on my first day here. Even though they wanted to hurt me, I found out how easy it was to take a life…and how awful a corpse can look. I just…I can’t take another life. Not even his.”

Griffith pressed a palm against his cheek, leaning his back against his desk. “Do you object to me having Julius killed?”

Ruby shook her head once more. “He’s a bully. He tried to kill you. I may not want to kill him, but I can’t forgive him for what he tried to do. I want you to achieve your dream, and if this is something you must do to get there, then you have my support.”

Griffith smirked, “So, you’ll keep this between us?” 

Ruby nodded. “I promise you, on my life, that I’ll keep this secret.”

“Good, good,” Griffith sat back forward. “Thank you for your time.” He turned to give Ruby a reassuring look. “Do not worry, I wasn’t expecting you to be my assassin. You’re much too cute to sully your hands with this kind of work,” that remark made Ruby blush once more. “I got someone else in mind for that task.”

“Good to know,” Ruby replied, cheeks turning red in appreciation of his kind remark. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Griffith nodded, before turning back to his desk, opening a tome he had grabbed from one of the shelves in front of him. Ruby began to walk back to the door, but caught a glance towards Griffith, wondering what he could be reading. Despite the dim lighting, her vision was good enough to see letters out for nearly a mile. 

Ruby’s face started to melt as she saw the pages, illustrations of men and women in the nude engaging in various acts of coitus. Ruby struggled to contain herself, as she quickly shut the door behind her. 

The tavern was a hectic scene, tables filled with members of the Hawks. Teams RWBY & JNPR sat at one table, each member a different degree of drunk: Jaune, Ren & Ruby were sober; Yang, Blake & Pyrrha were getting tipsy; Weiss was doing another drink, while Nora was barely clinging to consciousness against Ren’s shoulder. 

Weiss was still conscious, slouching over the table. 

“You good, princess?” Yang asked. 

“Uuuuuuuuuuugh,” Weiss groaned dispassionately. 

“I always took her for a lightweight,” Yang leaned her elbow on the table, smiling down at her aristocratic teammate. “This is honestly impressive.”

“Ah, shove it,” Weiss struggled to wave her palm in dismissal towards Ren’s general direction. 

“Yeah, it’s really funny,” Yang continued. “I never knew how much of a binge drinker you were, Ice Queen.”

“Who caaaaareeeezza,” Weiss slurred, “The Schnee nay meas nothin dow here.” 

The others had a good laugh at Weiss’ diminishing grasp of the English language, as Blake, cheeks flushed red, reached out towards Weiss’ glass. “I’m cutting you off.”

“Wha?” Weiss looked confused, barely able to look in Blake’s direction. “Thas my drik.”

“Thas your wha?” Nora perked up, raising and lowering a finger trying to imitate something long. 

Pyrrha cracked at this remark, smacking the table with her palm in laughter. Blake and Yang joined her, while Ren sighed in disappointment. 

Jaune smirked at the absurd scene, but couldn’t get invested. He didn’t even take a sip of his own drink, having passed it down to his partner next to him. She understood why.

Instead, Jaune turned his attention to Ruby, looking away from the group entirely. She had barely talked since she joined back up with them that afternoon. Apparently Griffith had orders for her to help prepare for the next campaign, so they hadn’t seen each other since the hunt a few days ago. 

Jaune wondered if she was still upset with them. He hadn’t had time to talk to her until now. Maybe…

“Hey, Ruby?” He called out, keeping his voice low enough so as not to draw the others’ attention. 

Ruby glanced over to Jaune, before glancing away again. “What?” 

Jaune gulped, worried that he’d flub this, make things worse. But he pushed past it. He knew he was responsible for what happened with Zodd, and he needed to apologize. 

Jaune took a deep breath. “So, about-”

“Glad to see you all having a good time.”

Jaune turned to see Judeau, having walked up to Weiss on the far side of the table from him.

“Whas up?” Weiss groaned, trying to look in Judeau’s general direction, failing miserably. 

Judeau snickered at the sight. “Man, you’ve had a bit too much tonight.”

Weiss pouted at this.

“Honestly,” Judeau shook his head, “I was expecting, given your eloquent style, that Griffith would bring you to the ball tonight, but,” Judeau shrugged, “guess that wasn’t in the cards.”

“What are you tryina do?” Yang piped in, now passing into her drunken form. “Tryin ta invite Ice Queen to the ball, sweetcheeks?”

“Well,” Judeau smirked awkwardly, “I think it’d be a bit too stiff for me, you know. Actually,” Judeau turned his attention back to Weiss, “I was hoping to ask you, Weiss, if you wanted to dance here, but you see, uh....”

“Wha?” Weiss looked up at Judeau, finally achieving that seemingly impossible goal. 

“You’re, well…” Judeau rubbed the back of his his nervously. “I can’t take advantage on an intoxicated girl, now can I?”

“You’re hitting on Weiss, aren’t you?” Blake chimed in, a devious smirk on her face matching her partner’s. 

“Uh…” Judeau stiffened slightly at the accusation, “It’s…uh…”

“Don’t play dumb with me, young man,” Yang tried to pull off the ‘cool badass aunt’ vibe, almost succeeding if not for her red cheeks. “I can tell a man’s intentions when I see it.”

“Don’t think I’m trying to take advantage of a woman,” Judeau clarified. “Especially when she’s clearly not all there.”

“Well, I need some entertainment,” Yang remarked. “Show off your plan at winning over Weiss, and I may let you go off lightly.”

“Well,” Judeau shrugged, “I…wasn’t planning on doing anything but dance and talk. Well…there’s is this poem that I-”

“Read it,” Blake commanded. 

“Huh?” Judeau’s brow was drenched in nervous sweat. 

“Come on,” Blake started slapping the table, as she and Yang chanted, “Read it, Read it, Read it, Read it!”

“Alright, fine,” Judeau blew off, as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it before his face. “Uhm…” He gulped nervously. Seconds passed, before he took a breath, and started reading:

“Shall…I compare thee to the lilies of the field? Hardly!

Their numbers count for naught, since there is only one as fair as you.

Their petals dancing in the wind vastly pale to how…”

Judeau trailed off, as they could all hear Corkus fall to the ground laughing from the Captains’ table across the way. Jaune could see Pippin shaking his head, Rickert cringing, and Casca’s face planted firmly in her palms. 

Jaune made note of the one unaccounted absence. He remembered Casca fuming about Guts missing a training exercise between her battalion and the raiders. He hadn’t seen him all day either. Not that he could care less. He couldn’t remember a single conversation he had with Guts that didn’t involve battleplans or relaying orders. 

Judeau gritted his teeth, turning away from the Valkyrie’s table (where Yang and Blake were holding back as best they could), towards Corkus. “What? You think sleeping around with bar wenches is real love? I’m trying to be a gentleman here, and you just wanna laugh at that?”

“How nice,” Weiss slurred in response, before grabbing Judeau’s arm by surprise. “Wha a swee guy you are.”

“Uh,” Judeau stiffened, as Weiss pulled him in close and nuzzled against his side. “I…appreciate your kindness, but uh…”

Jaune furrowed his brow at the scene before him. “I…I don’t understand…”

“Don’t understand what?” Ren inquired. 

“Judeau and I are, like, the same guy,” Jaune elaborated under his breath, as Judeau struggled to get out of Weiss’ drunken grip. “Back in Beacon, I tried reading her poetry and stuff, and she slammed the door on me. But now-”

“You're upset that Weiss doesn’t like you, aren’t you?” Yang teased. 

“I just assumed blondes weren’t her type,” Jaune remarked. “Or I was just not good enough for her.”

“Well, as they say,” Yang replied, “it’s not about the size of the sword, but how you use it.”

Nora sluggishly sat up, lazily pointing towards Yang. “Di you jus make a di jo?”

Jaune groaned. “Seriously, what did I do wrong back in-?”

“Back in Beacon?” 

Jaune turned to a red-cheeked Pyrrha, clearly giving him the patented ‘You better stop talking about other women right now’ look any stupid married guy will come to learn. 

“Sorry, Pyrrha,” Jaune tried to calm the situation. “It’s just…you get why I’m upset, right?”

“Why be upset with Weiss’ poor taste in guys?” Pyrrha asked as she squeezed his arm. 

“Come ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon,” Weiss moaned. “I wanna dance.”

“We can dance later,” Judeau was still squirming in Weiss’ grip, pulling back away from the table. “I just need to talk to Casca and-” 

Judeau slipped, dragging Weiss with him to the ground. Judeau squirmed in terror, with Weiss now laying atop him in a rather suggestive looking situation. Yang and Blake giggled at the sight. 

“Okay, that’s enough,” Ren got out of his seat without enthusiasm. “I’ll pry her off.”

Ren walked over and lifted Weiss off of Judeau, who got to his feet. 

“Thanks,” Judeau said, “I’m really sorry for the disturbance.”

“Could have been worse,” Ren remarked, as he put Weiss back in her seat. Judeau saluted and walked back to the captain’s table, Corkus still gathering his composure. The gang weren’t the only ones having fun at one of their own’s expense.

“Kiz me, Ruby,” Weiss moaned, leaning against Yang’s shoulder. “You smell like roses.”

Blake & Yang’s giggling came to a halt…only for them to explode with laughter. 

“Oh my god,” Yang belted. “Weiss just…” Yang sniffled with joy, “just admitted her crush on Ruby, y’all.”

Blake, Pyrrha, and Nora all joined in. Even Ren scrunched his face in, as if trying to hold back the laugh. Jaune just chuckled. 

“God, that’s actually funny,” Jaune said, as he turned towards Ruby. “Hey Ruby, what’d you thi-?”

It was only then that Jaune noticed that Ruby was gone. He scanned the tavern to look for her, before noticing her walking out the second-floor entrance. 

“Hey, guys?” Jaune called everyone's attention. 

“Wha?” Yang wiped her tears, as she turned to see Ruby was gone. “Huh,” before turning behind her to see the door to the tavern close. “What happened?”

“Was she upset to find out about Weiss’ crush?” Ren mused. 

“Hey!” Weiss called out, slightly more sober now after the humiliation. “I don’t have uh crush on Ruby! Not true!”

“I don’t think so,” Ren shook his head. “I saw her walking away right after I got here.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Yang asked indignantly. 

Ren shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important.” 

Yang groaned at that. “Boys,” she said under her breath. 

“You think she’s still upset about…” Jaune paused, “you know…?”

The others (sans Nora and Weiss, too wasted to react to this) looked at each other, piecing together their answers. 

“Well, we all apologized to her afterwards,” Pyrrha pointed out, “didn’t we?”

“Yes,” Ren replied, “and she told us we didn’t need to, and wanted to move on.”

“Maybe…maybe she didn’t mean it,” Blake surmised. “Maybe she thought she could move on, but can’t somehow.”

“Maybe…” Jaune was more certain of it now. He pushed out his stool and stood up. “I’m going to talk to her.”

“Wait,” Pyrrha placed her hand on his arm, “what if Ruby just needs some alone time?”

Jaune shrugged. “Maybe you’re right, but I need to talk to her. She did the same for me back at Beacon.”

Pyrrha, with reluctance, lowered her hand. “Alright. I trust you.”

“You sure he’s not gonna go off philandering?” Yang teased.

“Hey!” Jaune pointed indignantly. “I see Ruby as a friend, JUST a friend. I’m gonna help her out AS A FRIEND,” he emphasized. 

“Riiiiiight,” Yang teased further. “Just like you’re ‘just friends’ with Weiss?”

“Cut it out, Yang,” Blake kicked her partner’s foot under the table. “That’s a bit too far, even for you.”

“Hey, I’m just joking,” Yang shrugged, guiltless. 

Jaune sighed. “Whatever. See you guys later.”

“Enjoy your date!” Yang said, earning a light slap on the head from Blake. 

Jaune sighed, as he walked up the stairs to the exit. After a short search, he came across the entrance to a labyrinth-like hedge garden. The garden was centered on a hill, the summit visible only via a granite stone staircase leading directly up to it. Otherwise, it was surrounded by hedges and trees, with stone pathway encircling the foot of the hill, which wound around towards a lake and around various courtyards and, most importantly, the Royal Grand Ballroom, yellow light shining through the many windows illuminating the scene, alongside the natural light of the stars and the moon.

And at its entrance, Jaune found Ruby, sitting by on the grass by the entrance, gazing up towards the starry night sky.

“Hey.”

“Huh?” Ruby was startled by Jaune’s soft call, turning to look at him. “Oh, hey.”

“Needed some air?” He asked, hoping that would be a good starter. 

Ruby shrugged. “Yeah. Just…a lot going on.”

“Right,” Jaune nodded. “You must be tired from all the…” he shrugged, “quartermaster stuff.”

“What?” Ruby tensed for a moment. “Oh…oh yeah, it’s been exhausting, just getting everything ready to move out tomorrow.”

Jaune narrowed his eyes. Ruby sounded a bit surprised with her own alibi. Was she telling him and the others the truth when she said she was “doing prep work”? Or was something else going on? 

Jaune knew not to jump to conclusions. He needed to give Ruby time. 

“Mind if I sit with you?” Jaune asked instead. 

Ruby blinked. “Uhm…yeah, sure,” she patted on the ground to her left. “Take a seat.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Jaune sat himself down on the grass next to Ruby, turning his gaze up to the sky. 

The two sat in silence for a minute, appreciating the night sky together. 

“So…” Ruby broke the ice, “you getting some air too?”

Jaune shrugged. “Kinda. I’ll be honest, I don’t like alcohol.”

“Why not?”

“Had an Uncle Charlie,” Jaune explained. “The guy was never sober whenever we saw him. The last time I saw him was when I was ten. Came to Saffron’s birthday party, was constantly pestering her about getting a boyfriend, and got into a fist fight with dad. That left a bad impression.”

“Yeah, that sucks,” Ruby remarked. “My dad and uncle drink, but they cut back a while ago. Not so much with Qrow but…” Ruby sighed. “It was really bad, when mom disappeared. Dad was rarely awake. Yang and Qrow were there for me, but dad was a wreck for some time.” Ruby shook her head. “I won’t fault anyone for drinking, but I understand why you’re uncomfortable with it.”

“Lucky me,” Jaune remarked. 

Another awkward silence ensued, as Jaune mulled things over in his head. The night sky helped calm his nerves, the hustle and bustle of the tavern not being the best place to collect one’s thoughts. 

In their silence, the two watched from afar, as a familiar figure trundled towards the tavern entrance. 

“Man, Guts’ seen better days,” Jaune remarked, noticing the blood and grime covering the captain of the raiders. 

“Yeah…yeah…” Ruby trailed off. Jaune noticed a look of regret forming on her face. 

“Something wrong?” Jaune decided to ask. 

Ruby sat in silence, before getting to her feet and dusting off her knees. “Wanna walk around the garden for a bit?”

“Uh…sure?” Jaune slowly got to his feet, and the two proceeded to awkwardly, silently, walk through the garden pathways, circling around the hill. Hedgerows blocked the view at the top, though moonlight shone through the gaps. 

As they walked, Jaune felt like his chance to speak up was slipping away. Trailing behind her, Jaune was afraid to push his luck, but he had to. If it weren’t for Ruby, he would have dropped out of Beacon. She gave him the confidence to stay, to continue leading JNPR, and now leading the group here in Midland. 

Jaune came to a stop. “Hey, Ruby.”

“Yeah?” Ruby turned her head over her shoulder. 

“I’m sorry…for what happened…” 

Ruby stopped in her tracks. “For what?”

Jaune sighed, before elaborating. “I…I messed up, back at the citadel. You gave me orders, and I didn’t try to get the others to follow. If we just followed orders, you wouldn’t-”

“Jaune,” Ruby interjected. “You don’t need to apologize. Like I said, I made mistakes there too.”

“Yeah, well, you just…,” Jaune struggled to put the words together, “you’ve been rather distant recently, and I was just worried that-”

“It’s not about what happened at the citadel,” Ruby said emphatically, before awkwardly darting her gaze away from Jaune. “It’s…something else.”

Jaune raised an eyebrow at that. “W-what do you mean?”

“I…” Ruby crossed her right arm over and grabbed her left elbow, rubbing it gently, “I don’t want to talk to you about it.”

“Why not?”

“I just…,” Ruby grimaced, before looking back up at Jaune, “you’ll hate me if I tell you.”

“What?” Jaune was taken aback by that. “I highly doubt that. You’re my best friend, Ruby.”

“What about Pyrrha?” Ruby asked, glancing between him and the ground. 

“Pyrrha’s a bit more than a friend to me,” Jaune clarified, honestly yet fearful of an eavesdropping Pyrrha. “But you’re in second place.”

“Oh, alright then” Ruby looked Jaune dead in the eye. “Promise me you won’t be upset?”

Jaune raised his palm, as if swearing in at a court hearing. “Cross my heart, hope to die.”

Ruby giggled at this display. “Okay, okay…” Her soft smile once more turned into a dour look, as she turned to the side. “I…there’s someone that…” she couldn’t get the words out, tensing her teeth in frustration. “How did you feel when you got your first crush?”

Jaune squinted, trying to think. “I…I can’t really remember. I mean, I had some crushes here and there, but they were always fleeting. I was trying to be serious with Weiss, but I had no shot with her. Luckily, I have Pyrrha now, and I’m happy with her, so…” he tilted his head. “Does that answer your question?”

Ruby tightened her grip on her shoulder. “I…I never had a crush on anyone. I didn’t really understand romance or crushes or any of that stuff growing up. I thought love stories were just super sappy and unrealistic, and just preferred to fight Grimm and just have friends to hang out with. And I was fine with that back at Beacon, but…”

Ruby paused, seemingly zoning out. Jaune had to get her going again. “But…what?”

Ruby leaned her head back, once more looking up at the stars. Jaune noticed the blissful smile forming on her face. “I met a guy…that changed my world.”

Jaune was now confused. Who was she talking about? Could she be referring to…?

“Ever since we met, I just…” Ruby continued, “I enjoy being around him, talking to him. I hope this doesn’t sound too sappy but…he’s like a fairy tale knight, you know?”

It was starting to dawn on Jaune who she was talking about, and now he understood why Ruby was so worried, so unwilling to talk to him and the others about this. 

“I mean…,” Jaune decided to play coy. “I can see what you mean.”

“I just…I’m not used to feeling like this,” Ruby continued. “The feelings just get so overwhelming. I've gotten used to some of them, and I can talk to him without issue, but…whenever he’s with another girl, I just…”

Another pause, Jaune having to fill in the blank. “You’re feeling jealous?”

Ruby nodded. 

“Well,” Jaune shrugged, “have you tried telling him how you feel about him?” 

Ruby’s smile was slowly dissipating. “I’m…too scared to.”

“Why is that?”

“Because…if I do…,” Ruby started twirling a lock of her hair by her ear, “I…I might lose them as a friend…or worse…”

Jaune was unsure how to proceed. If Ruby was talking about him, he knew he couldn’t return those feelings, given he was now married to Pyrrha and all. Sure, he liked hanging out and talking with Ruby, and shared a lot of dorky interests back at Beacon, and honestly she was kinda cute-

Jaune grimaced at himself. No, Ruby was just a friend. And he couldn’t be more than that with her, no way!…unless Pyrrha was open to-

“Well, I’m sure he’ll understand how you feel,” Jaune blurted out. “If he’s your friend, there shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Maybe…but…I know the others will be angry with me if they find out,” she continued. “They’d tell me something’s wrong with me, that I should move on from these feelings, that I’d be betraying them-”

Jaune placed a reassuring palm on her shoulder. “Relax. I wouldn’t be too upset. And neither will the others.”

“You think?” Ruby snapped, pulling back slightly from the gesture. “I know Yang doesn’t like him. She won’t be happy when she finds out.”

Jaune raised an eyebrow at that. Does Yang not like me? He wondered. Yeah, she still called him ‘Vomit Boy’ now and again, and often second guessed his orders, but he didn’t think Yang hated him. Now he was doubting his theory. 

Jaune realized there was an easy way to find out. 

“Okay, help me out here: who is the lucky guy you’re talking about?” Jaune asked. 

The sound of faint laughter drew Ruby’s attention up the hillside. Paying Jaune’s question no heed, she almost mindlessly started ascending the hillside, until she reached the crest, right at the edge of the hedgerow dividing the walkway from the fountain circle. Jaune, confused, decided to follow. 

As he neared the hedgerow, he could hear Griffith’s voice: “Is this alright? The host stealing away?”

“I don’t mind,” came Princess Charlotte, still unseen to Jaune. “They will all enjoy themselves regardless of my presence. I…find that I dislike these parties,” she sounded far more solemn now. “They are just a bother. Besides, my father arranged this party to divert everyone’s attention away from the war.” Charlotte sighed, “If we must hold a party like this, it would be so much better to just end the war itself.”

Silence ensued, except the movement of water through the fountain’s pumps. Jaune managed to find a small hope through the hedge, seeing Griffith standing a foot from the princess, currently sitting upon his jacket. 

Griffith broke the silence: “‘Why is it that men enjoy little more than shedding blood?’” He turned his gaze to the princess, who was surprised by his words. “Your highness asked that at the hunting grounds.”

“Y-yes?” The princess responded nervously. 

“It could certainly be that men possess that savage side,” Griffith elaborated. “But that is a tool by which they secure and protect a precious thing. I suppose it is a double edged sword.”

“Precious thing?” Charlotte asked, awestruck. “Like family, or a sweetheart?”

“There are some like that,” Griffith replied. “But for a man, before he can obtain those two, perhaps he must come upon one other precious thing.”

“One other…” Charlotte asked, clearly awestruck, “precious thing?”

“For no other’s sake,” Griffith continued. “To accomplish it for him, for himself. A dream.”

“A dream?” Charlotte murmured. 

“One who dreams of world domination,” Griffith philosophized. “One who devotes his whole life to the thorough tempering of one sword. If there is a dream which takes one his whole life to find, there are also dreams which, like storms, devour tens of thousands of other dreams. With no relation to social status, class, background. Whether it suits them or not, people yearn for a dream. Sustained by a dream, hurt by a dream, revived by a dream, killed by a dream. And even after being abandoned by a dream, it continues to smolder from the bottom of one’s heart…probably until the verge of death. A man should envision such a lifetime once. A lifetime spent as a martyr, to the god named ‘dream’. To be born, and to then simply live for no better reason, I can’t abide by that lifestyle.”

Jaune pulled back from the hedge, turning towards Ruby. He could best describe her face as awestruck in that moment, light glinting off her silver eyes. Jaune realized who it was that Ruby was talking about. 

Defeated, Jaune walked over to Ruby’s side, leaning in to say, “Let’s get away before they notice.”

Ruby glanced at Jaune, then back to Griffith. Reluctantly, she pulled away, and quietly slid down the hill. 

“Jaune?” She spoke up quietly, her back turned to him. 

“Yes?” 

“Can you keep a secret?” 

A moment of silence passed between them, as Jaune took a split second to make his choice. 

“Of course I can,” he replied, even though he already knew.

Ruby turned to face Jaune once more, her silver eyes watery, her cheeks red, a joyful yet pained smile on her face. 

“I…I’m in love with Griffith.”