It's a simple enough idea. Take Grimms Fairy Tales, insert RWBY characters, see what happens.


Grimms' RWBY Tales #1: Listening Skills

In a faraway land, a king named Ozpin ruled over a beautiful land. In his castle garden sat the prize possession of his land, a tree growing large golden apples. However, the king soon noticed that every night one of his apples was stolen from the orchard. The king became enraged, and he set his gardener to watch the tree all night to catch the thief. The gardener set his oldest son, Mercury, to watch the tree. However, Mercury, confident in his ability to awake to any sound, didn't bother staying up. In the morning, Mercury was found sleeping under the tree and another golden apple was missing.

The gardener then told Cardin, his second son, to watch over the tree and catch the thief. However, he was also arrogant and didn't bother staying awake. The next morning, another apple was gone without a trace of the thief. Finally, the gardener set his third son, Jaune, beneath the tree to catch the thief. Jaune spent the whole night awake, silently watching under the tree. In the middle of the night, he heard a rustling sound in the branches and looked up to find a golden bird picking up an apple. Jaune grabbed a nearby stone and threw it at the bird, hoping to knock it down.

He missed. By a lot. The stone hit the trunk more than 10 feet away from the bird. Fortunately for him, it did startle the bird enough that it quickly swerved away and ended up dropping a golden feather to the ground. The next morning, he brought the feather to the king, and the king realized this single feather was worth more than all the riches in his country. He knew then that he needed the rest of the bird, and he directed his subjects to find the golden treasure.

Mercury set out at once, thinking that he could easily find the perch of the golden bird. On his way down the road, he saw a cat sitting on the side of the road. He decided he needed to kick the cat (he was that kind of person) but as he approached the cat sprang up and cried "Do not hurt me, and I will help you on your journey. In the upcoming town there are two taverns. One of the taverns will be nice and full of music and laughter; the other will be quiet and empty. Go to the second tavern, or you will never complete your journey." Mercury decided to kick the cat anyway (he was also that kind of person) but the cat jumped up and ran away.

When Mercury entered the town, he found it just as the cat described. However, he was too weak to avoid the temptation of Qrow's tavern, filled with music, light, and laughter, and he entered the tavern. He drank, made merry, and forgot his journey completely.

As time passed and Mercury did not return, Cardin decided to set out after his brother. His journey mirrored Mercury's travels; he also met the cat and she gave him the same advice. He also went into the village, and when he saw Mercury drinking in the window of Qrow's he decided to join his brother in merriment.

Time passed, and neither brother returned from their journey. Jaune finally decided to go on the journey himself. He also saw the cat sitting at the side of the road, but he instead decided to approach it and say "Hello there fellow traveler. What is your name?"

"My name is Blake." The cat responded, "And for your courtesy, I will help lead you to your destination." As they walked, Blake repeated the same advice she had given his brothers. They reached the village and Blake led Jaune to the empty tavern. Jaune noticed how much more appealing Qrow's tavern was, but he followed his friend's advice and walked into Winter's tavern instead. There, he rested a full night and, feeling refreshed, started off at dawn. Outside the village sat Blake, and she continued with him on the path.

"The bird you seek is living in a castle far down this road" Blake counseled. "When you get there, every guard will be asleep. Ignore them and go to the center of the castle. There the bird will be sleeping in its room. The bird will go with you willingly as long as you also take her weapon, a pair of golden gauntlets. Take nothing else out of the room."

Jaune nodded agreement and they continued walking. However, the journey was long and Jaune soon became tired. "Can I ride upon your back for a while?" Jaune asked his friend. "You seem to have boundless energy and can surely take my weight."

Blake turned to him with anger in her eyes. "Try to ride me, young man, and I will claw out your eyes."

"Okay okay, it was just a suggestion. Think of it no more."

"In the future, if you wish to ride a woman I suggest you gain a little more tact. Otherwise they will respond in the same manner." Blake hissed out. "Plus, I don't swing that way." she whispered, almost too softly to hear.

"What was that?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing! Shut up and walk!"

They kept walking until they reached the castle. Blake waited outside as Jaune crept on past the sleeping guards. He walked to the center of the castle, and as he entered the bird's room he saw a beautiful woman with pure golden hair wearing a golden feather cloak.

"You're the golden bird?" He asked incredulously.

"Tweet tweet, asshole. I'm Yang. Now are you planning on taking me or not? The king only lets me out at night and spending all day alone in this room is boring." The strange woman responded.

"Fine, let's go." As Jaune turned to leave, he saw a pair of items sitting on a table by the door. One was a pair of golden gauntlets, the other a complex red scythe. He moved to pick up the gauntlets but felt himself hesitant. Surely this scythe would make a better weapon than a gauntlet. He grabbed the scythe and started towards the door.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you taking my weapon?" The woman behind him asked. He responded with a shrug and said, "This scythe here is a much cooler weapon than any pair of gauntlets."

At his words, the woman's eyes turned red and her hair started to glow. "Excuse me?!" She shouted, moving angrily towards him. Her words woke the entire castle, and Jaune was quickly arrested and brought before the king.

"I am King Ozpin" (King Ozpin's twin brother) " and I should kill you for trying to steal my bird. However, I am a merciful ruler. There is a golden horse who can run faster than the wind who lives in the next castle. Bring her to me, and I will give you my golden bird."

Jaune quickly set out on his new journey, and he saw that waiting outside was his friend Blake. "You're an idiot." she said, glaring up at him "How could you not follow such simple instructions? Fortunately for you, I take care of my friends. I know where this golden horse lives."

They walked quietly until they came upon another castle. "If you wish to live, you must follow my instructions. The horse will be sleeping alone in its stable. She will follow you out, but only if you put her red cloak upon her back."

Jaune nodded assent and walked into the stable. The sight he saw momentarily gave him pause. Standing in the stable was a young woman wearing the bottom half of a horse costume, half painted with peeling gold paint. "This is getting absurd. I expect you're the horse?"

"Neigh, you jerk." She said as she glared up at him. "Let's just get out of here. The king never gives me anything good to eat. Is it really too much to ask for some strawberries? Maybe the occasional cookie?"

Jaune sighed, realizing how ridiculous his life has become. He looked around until he saw two cloaks hanging on the wall. One coat was a worn-out red while the other was pure, gleaming gold. Surely she'll appreciate this stunning gold cloak he thought to himself as he grabbed it off the wall.

But when the woman saw him grab the gold cloak, she cried "I'm not going anywhere with someone with such poor taste!" There was a sudden blur, and the woman disappeared out the door and caused so much noise that she alerted the guards and they arrested him. They took Jaune and brought him before the king.

"I am King Ozpin" (not either of those, their illegitimate half-brother who looks identical to them) "and I should kill you for trying to steal Ruby. However, I am a merciful ruler. There is a beautiful princess who lives in the next castle. Bring her to me, and I will give you my golden horse."

Jaune quickly agreed and ran out of the castle. Outside, he again saw Blake waiting. She pounced on top of his head, batting his ears with her paws "You stupid, stupid, stupid man. Why won't you listen to me? I should leave you to figure this out on your own." However, she instead jumped off and started leading him down the road.

"This time PAY ATTENTION! Princess Weiss goes to the bath house at midnight every night. Go there, give her a kiss, and she will follow you out of the castle. However, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES let her talk to the king. He will not want to let anyone take his precious daughter, and he will surely throw you in prison. Do you understand me?" Blake again advised him.

"Okay, this time I will listen to you. After all, you do always seem to be right."

They reached the castle and Jaune snuck into the bathhouse. There, he saw the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen. The moonlight washed over her deep blue eyes and flowing white hair in a manner that almost left him stunned. He went up and kissed her, and she agreed to run away with him. However, when they went to leave she pleaded that he allow her to explain everything to her father. He remembered Blake's advice, but he knew he couldn't say no to that face. As soon as they both stepped inside the castle, guards came and arrested him.

While in jail, the king came to visit him. "I am King Ozpin" (no family relation, they just happen to share the same name and look identical) "and I should execute you for trying to steal my daughter away. However, she begged me to give you a task to prove your worth. Outside this window is a small hill. Remove the hill, and I will let you and my daughter leave with my blessing. If you fail, I will kill you on the next day." The king knew that this was an impossible task. He had no intention of letting this young man steal away his precious daughter.

Jaune agreed and spent the next six days digging tirelessly to remove the hill. But by the end of the sixth day, he had made very little progress. He knew then that he was going to die. He almost gave up until he saw his old friend Blake cresting the hill.

"You know, this is entirely your fault. I should just leave you to the consequences of your actions. But fortunately for you, I don't let my friends die. Lay down and rest, and I will finish digging for you." Jaune was so tired he readily agreed to her plan. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was Blake seemingly splitting into multiple different shadowy copies of herself.

When he woke in the morning, the hill was completely gone, and Blake was sleeping on the now flat ground. He quietly thanked Blake and happily walked back to the castle, and the king was forced to keep his word and let his daughter leave with the man she loved.

As the pair started walking down the road, Blake ran up beside them. "You're very welcome. Now listen to me, and we will be able to come away with the princess, the horse, and the bird. Here's what we need to do..."

Jaune returned to the second castle and enacted their plan. He walked in with the princess and showed her to the king. King Ozpin was so delighted that he immediately brought out Ruby for Jaune to take with him. She was wearing her favorite red cloak. Jaune lent down and whispered to her, "I have a plan to get you and the princess out of her. Come, let me mount you and-"

"Excuse me!? No man is going to mount me, at least not until marriage! I will quickly carry us all out of here without all that nonsense. Just keep it in your pants."

With that settled, Jaune asked the king to say goodbye to his princess. As soon as the two clasped hands, Ruby grabbed them in her hands and they disappeared into a blur. Next thing he knew, they were far away from the castle and the air was covered in rose petals. They then met up with Blake and walked to the first castle. Blake and the princess waited outside while Jaune took Ruby into the castle with him. The king was delighted to see the horse, and he immediately brought Yang out. Jaune noticed sheepishly that she was wearing the golden gauntlets he had ignored. He asked the king to allow him to say goodbye to the horse, and as soon as the three were touching Ruby again blurred away from the castle.

They met Blake and the princess and started their journey back home. As they walked, Weiss whispered a question to Jaune about Ruby and Yang. Realizing he had no idea, he decided to just ask them. "So, are you guys human or are you animals?"

"Yes." They both cryptically replied.

"That's not really an answer. Because sometimes you seem to be animals, but the rest of the time you're just wearing cheap animal costumes."

"You're such as asshole! Do you always insult the appearance of people you meet, or are we just that lucky?" They both cried out at once, angrily walking away from him. Jaune sighed. He really wanted to know, but clearly he couldn't get an answer without hurting his friends. He decided to ignore it and they just continued onward.

When they reached the end of the woods, Blake turned to him. "See what happens when you listen to me? Your journey is near the end, and you've got everything you could have wanted." Jaune simply nodded, the gratitude he felt clearly shining in his eyes. "Now, I have one favor to ask of you. Please, kill me and cut off my head and feet." Jaune looked at her, stunned, before steadfastly refusing. Blake had been his true friend, and he knew he could never hurt her.

Blake sighed wearily but seemed to understand his decision. "Fine, then this is where we part. I will give you two more pieces of advice: save nobody from execution and stop at no river on the way home." With that, she flicked her tail and bounded off into the woods.

Jaune told himself that was easy enough to follow and continued with his companions on the road until they came to the town with the two taverns. There, he saw a crowd gathered around a platform. On it, he saw his brothers face down with a large drunken man holding a massive scythe above their heads. Jaune remembered Blake's advice, but he also knew he needed to save his brothers. He leapt onto the stage and paid a ransom for their lives, and the whole group headed towards their home.

On their way through the woods, his brothers begged him to stop along the river so they could rest. He knew it was against Blake's advice, but he couldn't bring himself to go against his brothers' wishes. As they stopped, he felt a sudden push as Mercury shoved him into the river, and he saw them force his friends away as he sank towards the bottom. Once he reached the bottom, Jaune got his foot tangled in the roots and knew he could never save himself. Just as he was passing out, he saw a small figure swimming down towards him.

When he awoke, he saw Blake sitting next to him. She walked up to him, claws out, and swatted him over the head hard several times. "Again, we see what happens when you don't listen to me. Your brothers have taken your companions to the king and are claiming that they accomplished all of your deeds. The king suspects something, as the princess refuses to stop crying, the horse refuses to run, and the bird refuses to fly. However, he has no proof to reveal their lies."

"I must go in and tell him!" Jaune cried out.

"Yes, you must. I will help you one last time, and then you will fulfill my request. Agreed?" Jaune nodded his assent, and they began to plan for his return.

Jaune entered the castle, disguised as a poor man. As soon as he entered the throne room, Weiss ran and kissed him, Ruby sped over to him, and Yang flew above his head. Jaune told the king the truth of the events, and the king jailed his treacherous brothers. With no child of his own, King Ozpin made Jaune the heir to his kingdom.

Afterwards Jaune went outside to where Blake was waiting. He closed his eyes, slew her, and quickly cut off her head and feet. However, instead of a body Blake transformed into a beautiful young woman. "Thank you for saving me Jaune. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go see a little bird about something. This cat is about to finally eat the canary." Blake winked mischievously at him and sauntered away with a strange glow in her eyes.

Jaune wasn't sure what THAT meant, but he decided to leave his friend to her pursuit and went off to find his princess. He found Weiss in a bedroom on top of Ruby who was very much no longer wearing the golden horse costume. Or much of anything else.

"Um, honey, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Yes it is." Ruby said with a lazy smile. Jaune felt a flush coming to his face.

"I thought you said nobody was going to mount you until marriage?" He asked.

"No, I said no man was going to mount me. I was very, very clear on that point." A moment of pure silence stretched out between them. Ruby finally broke it "Well, one of us definitely needs to move, and personally I'm quite comfortable where I am." She demonstrated this by pulling Weiss down closer to her.

Jaune stifled a laugh as an idea came to him. "Actually..."


And that's it for our first installment! I think it turned out pretty well. I'm trying for a mix between the actual Grimm tales, RWBY characters, and a more casual tone. Let me know if you liked it, or if you want the stories to lean more into one of those categories. This is the first long-term project I'm working on, so I'll actually be able to change things based off suggestions.

The plan right now is to just go through the original Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales and post a new one about every week. The length of each one will vary pretty widely based off the size of the original story. From what I've done so far, this is definitely going to be one of the longest ones.

That's all I've got, I hoped you enjoyed it. Tune in soon for the next installment of Grimms' RWBY Tales, "Luck of the Draw".

Edit: Changed the name of the story. I realized after I posted it that the name didn't fit that well considering there aren't really actual Grimm in the story.