Chapter one: Mistake, or destiny?
(a/n- Hello yet another random idea that popped into my head… may or may not be good, I don't know, we'll see where this goes. Also, for the first time since Neo's Revenge -something I really need to get back to someday- this will be written from the third person point of view. Ooooooooh smoke effects… sparkling sound effect… yeah start the fic before this gets worse. By the way the twins you'll meet later are an attempt at an accent... don't know if I got it quite right.)
"Bring forth the accused!"
A man standing on a pedestal said, looking out among the throngs of people that had come to watch. He stood on a wooden stage, accompanied by three guards, all surrounding a large wooden arch, with a single noose tied to the center. From behind that arch two large doors swung open, revealing three more people. Two of them were dressed in the attire of the guards, the same dark green coats, flintlock pistols at their sides, and swords at their hips. They both had their hands gripped around the arms of the third figure, who was calmly walking along with them. The third figure was held almost a foot off the ground, being far shorter than either of the other two. They had a black execution hood over their face, concealing their identity from the masses for a few moments. They had few distinguishable characteristics, other than a single brand. It was rather simple really, a symbol just beneath the breasts that showed two swords crossed over a ring of bones, two bones seemingly meeting in a cross behind them. A symbol that hadn't had to have been used by the courts in decades. Now the figure had been branded with it for life.
The symbol of an assassin.
Normally it would be invisible, but due to the nature of the criminals outfit, it was plain as day. That outfit being nothing more than simple ropes tied around her wrists, wrapped up over, under, and even between her breasts to keep her still. The near nude woman was brought to the place where the noose was, there one of the guards reached over, pulling the hood off of the woman. The woman, perhaps girl would be a more appropriate term, had a young looking face, and a rather nice one at that. Her eyes shined two different colors, brown for the right and a pale pink for the left. Her hair was just as odd, having streaks of brown, pink, and white in such a way it was hard to tell which, if any, was her natural color. She looked around, her eyes showing no hint of concern or fear for what was about to happen as the man in charge of the procession approached her.
"Neopolitan. Citizen of Haven. Native of Mistral. You have been tried by the courts of Vale and found guilty for the attempted murder of emperor Ozpin. For this crime you are hereby sentenced to the noose!" the man said, gesturing above him as the crowd around him cheered, some booing and tossing things towards the scantily clad girl. The man in charge backed away, letting some of the objects, most of which were harmless rotten food, hit against her bare body. The man nodded towards another, this person wearing a mask not all that dissimilar to that of Neopolitan. The only difference really was that his had eye holes. He was holding a red-hot iron, and the intention of the man was clear. "As is custom, I now brand thee with the traitor's mark!" the man yelled, plunging the iron as it singed into Neopolitan's stomach.
Neo felt tears running down her face as she gritted her teeth, pained grunts coming from her as she shut her eyes. It hurt worse than anything she'd ever felt. On her skin was the brand of a heart, at least, in the negative space. In the positive there were two of what may have been blades… though, no one really knew what they were. Just that it was an old symbol they'd used to signify death for the past 400 years. The black masked man walked away as the judge, at least, that's what Neo thought he was, retook to the stage. He wrapped the noose around her neck, pulling it tight. "The people will have their justice, no one can escape a hanging." thought the judge as he stepped back, holding out his hand towards the two men from before. They walked over, each grabbing a lever on the side of the podium as the bag was put back over the girl's head. "Swing the criminal off!" he yelled.
The two flicked the levers as the floor caved in, swinging to both sides as the girl's tiny body fell, bouncing on the noose as, to the wondering eyes of everyone, light began to spill from her neck. Then, that light spread, down from her neck and over her bare body, up past her hood as it glowed brighter. Then she shattered. Broken into a thousand pieces, the assassin shattered, falling to the ground. The judge looked around, his eyes widening as he realized what had happened. Behind the crowd that had formed, he could see a bare back, a small butt and arms tied around themselves running away from the crowd. "THERE SHE IS! AFTER HER!" he yelled, pointing behind the crowd. The guards mobilized, running towards her as they started ringing the bells, the alarms to tell that a criminal had escaped. "No one can escape a hanging,"the judge thought as he ran back inside.
"No one, except witches and demons."
…
"Got away… crap, where too now?"
Neo thought as she streaked through the marketplace, drawing the eyes of onlookers and guards alike as she took a sharp right, through a nearby alley between buildings. If it weren't for her bindings she'd have been able to climb up the rooftops, snag some clothing, disguise herself, and be on a ship going to Vacuo already. Problem was, it had taken her most of her strength to keep up an illusion of herself up in the noose that long. Not to mention, she didn't have anything sharp enough to cut through the bindings. She just kept running, taking a right towards the docks. "If I'm lucky I can find a ship to stow away on, maybe get the bindings off later." she thought as she bolted towards the docks, following the scent of fish. She hazarded a look back, seeing three officers chasing after her. She turned back, her eyes widening as she saw a forth, much larger than the other three, standing in front of her, brandishing a razor sharp sword.
Neo jumped, spinning around as she heard something tear. She fell to the ground, scrambling up and running as she felt pins and needles in her arms. She looked down, smirking when she saw her arms in front of her. She was free… well, other than the guards still after her and the ropes around her chest that is. With her arms free though, she was able to jump up, grab onto a nearby pole, and vault herself onto the roof of a nearby building. Then she started running, smirking despite her situation as she felt the wind against her face, her hair blowing back behind her. "Okay, gotta get away from here, NOW." she thought as she jumped onto the next building, seeing the docks in the distance.
Meanwhile, a few hundred yards away, a man stood in a tower, taking out his musket and shutting his left eye. He took a breath, aiming at the leaping lady. "Come on girl, give me one clean shot." the man thought. He seemed to get his wish, as the girl stopped a few feet from the edge, right next to the waterfront. It was about a hundred yards away from him, and the girl seemed tired, stopping to catch her breath. The man took aim, smirking as he squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
Neo fell headlong into the water.
…
"She still kickin'?"
"Why's she bare?"
"Quiet! I think she's wakin' up!"
Neo slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the familiar, blinding light of the sun. She saw the shadow of two figures over her, felt the familiar sting of rope at her back, and a dull throbbing near her stomach. She felt something was draped over her, but for the life of her she couldn't tell what it was. When her vision cleared, she saw two men standing over her. The two looked all but identical, the only difference clear in their pudgy faces the eyepatches. One wore it on their left eye, the other on their right. They both had red bandannas over their scalps, one golden earring in each ear, and both were missing a few teeth, three each to be exact, and both had short, bright red beards. They were wearing red and white striped shirts, with black pants dragging down to the dark wooden floor of the deck. The two jumped back as Neo's eyes flashed brown with confusion.
"Oi! Her eyes changed cula!"
"You reckon she's a witch?!"
"Course she ain't! Dat dere's an ass-ass-in bran' Uni!"
"It is Duni?" (A/N- enunciate the U for pronunciation)
"What's going on here?" Neo heard a voice pierce through the conversation. The two men suddenly turned around, standing a bit straighter as a man walked towards the three of them. He was taller than the two twins, easily standing a foot over both of them. His eyes shone with a sort of nervous energy behind them, but one that was concealed with a display of courage Neo could tell the man simply didn't have. He was dressed in a long, white coat with golden highlights stitched onto the sleeves, the coat reaching down just to his calves. He had a young looking face, maybe about her age if Neo guessed right, and an eye the color of the sky behind him. The other eye, a clue to what the man's profession was, was covered by a small, black eyepatch, two golden arches stitched on. A few strands of blond hair were visible beneath his large, tri-corner hat as he walked over, only his bangs showing. His hat was just as white as his shirt, with golden lining framing the edges, shining in the light of day.
Neo looked down, finding that he was wearing, oddly enough, black boots and dark blue pants beneath them, along with a black shirt beneath his coat. On said black shirt Neo could see two straps, laden down with powder and bullets, no doubt to accompany the two pistols on his hips, both no doubt loaded with shots. The man's eye wandered over to Neo before he slipped off his coat, handing it off to one of the shorter men. "Slip that onto her and bring her to the doc. Understand Uni?" "I'm Duni, that's Uni." said short man pointing at the other short man. The blond sighed, shaking his head before he walked off, heading out of Neo's view. Duni, apparently that was the name of the left-eye patched man, walked over to Neo, grabbing her arm as Neo looked down. She saw that what she was covered by was really just part of the large net she seemed to be caught in, along with a few fish and some crops someone had no doubt tossed away for some odd reason.
Neo let herself be pulled up, the two short men, who were actually a few inches taller than Neo when she stood up, both pulling the coat onto her, one raising an eyebrow at her brands. "Oi! Uni! Ain't that the death bran'?" Duni, assumingly, said, lightly poking at Neo's stomach. Neo swatted his hand away, glaring at him as she covered her stomach with her arms, fighting down a smile. The other one, Uni, walked over to him, and Neo indulged him by moving her arms down slightly. Uni gasped, "Shiver me timbers! It is! What you done to get that?" He asked, no doubt questioning Neo as the three of them moved towards the cabin. Neo didn't speak, looking straight ahead and gripping onto the captain's, at least she assumed he was the captain, coat tightly and walked towards the door. "Aye, not much of a talker are ya?" Duni said, both of them stopping at the door.
Duni walked forward, holding the door open for the other two before both twins pointed Neo straight ahead. "Doc's in dere, we be goin' now!" both of them said in unison before walking away, the door slamming shut behind Neo. She looked ahead, taking a few, cautious steps as she let her eyes adjust to the darkness. All she saw was plain, dark wooden walls on all sides, the same kind of floor. There were a few candles in glass and iron bulbs fixed to the walls, but other than that the place was completely bare. Neo walked past all of that, her past voyages to Vacuo with the royal family making her all but immune to the endless rocking of the ship as it no doubt sailed away from Vale. Which, granted, was just fine with her. "Not my preferred getaway but… beggars can't be choosers." she thought. Sure, she was stuck on a ship with people she didn't know in nothing but the captain's coat, but hey, she wasn't dead at least.
She reached the oak door, decorated with a few carvings, and she knocked. "Come in!" A strangely sweet voice said. Neo could tell it was a woman's voice just from the sound of it, but rather strange to hear one on what Neo could only assume was a pirate ship. Neo pushed open the door, finding the captain, the man who'd given her the coat, standing in there, no eyepatch on. Next to him there was a woman in a long, black robe, her face decorated with dark blue warpaint, her skin tanned with the familiar look of a tribal. The woman was something Neo had seen before, a tribal with a gift no one understood, just like her. Difference was, Neo wasn't a tribal. So all she could do was hide her gift so that no one mistook her for a witch. She wasn't a witch of course, she didn't think they existed. Though, what Neo knew right now, was that she was in a room with two people like her. There was one thing they all had in common.
They all had semblances.
She didn't know what the man's semblance was, but she could tell by looking at the woman she was a healer. Tribals didn't give those markings out unless they were. Couple that with the fact the captain had told Duni and Uni to bring her to the doctor, and it made perfect sense. "Hey. You alright?" The captain asked, giving Neo a gentle smile, one that seemed to contradict with the whole pirate captain thing. Neo just nodded a few times, giving a small smile back before she reached down, gripping at her stomach in pain. She looked down, and while her limited aura had protected her from the bullet, it hadn't stopped the pain that came with it. The woman stood, walking over to Neo and placing her hand on the bare girls bare stomach. "Just hold still dear, I'll make the pain go away." she said as Neo's eyes widened, watching a pale green light seeping between the woman's fingertips, the dull pain Neo felt on her side weakening.
She pulled her hand away, and the green light pulled off it, clinging to Neo's skin as she felt the pain grow weaker and weaker. "You've got a broken bone in there dear, it may take a few days before you're up and fighting again." she said, giving Neo a sad smile. Neo gave the woman a smile back, nodding towards her before she turned to the captain. She raised an eyebrow towards him, finding that he was gripping onto the nearby side of the railing, holding his mouth. "Oh! It appears it's time for your next treatment." the woman said as she grabbed the captain's hand, pulling him down onto a nearby bed. The woman reached around her shoulders, pushing the long cloak off of her to reveal what were basically fur underwear with a few teeth sewn onto strips of leather. Her entire body was marked with those dark green markings, even down to her legs.
Neo saw something move up the woman's back, and at first thought it was some kind of snake. Only when it moved off of her back did she noticed that the 'snake' was a tail, one you'd usually find on a tiger. "Oh… she's from a faunus tribe…" Neo thought as the woman vaulted over the captain, so that she was crouched on top of him with her legs pinning his hands to his sides. She leaned back, taking a breath as her eyes suddenly shifted from their normal orange color to a bright green. When she opened her mouth to speak, Neo could even see some of the green light slipping from her mouth. "Aal hin kopraan brud tiidnu lund do hin hah, Jaune Arc." she said. Then, she did something Neo hadn't expected. She leaned down, shutting her eyes as she pressed her lips against the captain's. She saw strange, green runes flowing down from the captain's mouth to the rest of his face, stopping at his neck. The woman pushed off, flipping herself around so that her head was over the captain's stomach, and she pulled back his shirt, exposing his smooth, barely-there abs. "Aal hin skerah kos gein voth riin, Jaune Arc." she said.
She kissed his stomach, those same ruins flowing and lighting up his shirt, most of his body glowing green as the woman stepped back. Then she leaned down, pressing her lips against his forehead. "Vopraan vok." she said. She reached down, pulling on her robe as the captain sat upright, looking over at her. "Remind me why you have to kiss me when you do that Appi?" "It's the only way I can gather enough of my strength for the amount of trouble you put me through… that and I know you like it~" she said, smirking towards him as his face sported a light red blush. He turned away, his eyes looking around the room for something to focus on besides the woman next to him.
Conveniently, he found a woman in front of him. "Sorry about that, monthly treatments for my uh, 'problem' she helps me with. Anyway," he stood up, taking off his hat and bowing at the waist, looking up to find he was now at eye-level with the small girl. "Acting Captain Jaune Arc, at your service milady." he said, sweeping his hat off to the right before placing it back on his head. Neo reached down, doing a small curtsy before she noticed Appi, apparently that was her name, step in front of her. "Rithiik! Do no be so bold in front of the captain! He could have a Sumaar sosaal!" she said, slipping into her native tongue again as she looked back at Neo. Neo's eyes stayed brown, as she was confused about many things going on right now, but then she looked down, realizing what the woman meant. When she curtsied, she pulled the jacket outwards out of habit, causing the captain to see…
Neo nodded frantically, suddenly pulling the coat as tight as she could, her face bright red and her eyes white in embarrassment. Appi nodded, turning back to find that Jaune had seemingly gotten back in control of everything, now that he could actually walk without holding onto something. He coughed, "Let's uh, get you some clothes before we do anything else. Can't go around wearing my coat forever huh?" Jaune said, letting out an awkward chuckle as Neo just looked at him, her eyes turning brown in confusion once again. Jaune didn't try and save himself with a reply, just walking past her as the small girl followed, leaving Appi alone in her nursing station again. The two walked down the hallways, Jaune speed walking as Neo had to resort to running to keep up with him, Jaune only stopping when he saw the door he was looking for.
Jaune heard and felt a light puff as he looked back, seeing Neo peeling herself off of his back, the two having collided from the sudden stop. "Uh, sorry." Jaune said before he turned, pulling open the door. Neo walked inside, her eyes widening slightly as she saw a large assortment of clothing, all different sizes and all different styles. Jaune started riffling through a few of them as Neo shut the door behind them. "We just raided a merchant ship full of clothing, what're the odds huh?" Jaune said, smiling over at Neo. Neo just nodded, feeling oddly compelled to smile back at him. Something about him made it hard not to smile. She walked around, pulling around clothes and looking for something to fit her, until she suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as she saw something. Something perfect.
It was actually rather simple, a brown pair of pants laid out on the table, with long, white boots beneath them, ones that looked like they'd be at if not just below Neo's knees. There was a black belt with a silver buckle on the front of it, one with a holster on either side, made not for guns but rather, daggers. The shirt was black, striped upwards instead of sideways like most would be, striped with a dark shade of gray at that. Behind that, there was a large, white jacket, one Neo could tell by looking it would reach somewhere around her knees. The inside of the jacket was actually a light pink color, one that matched Neo's hair, and it had three buttons near the top, made to button over the chest region. There was even what looked to be a pair of black gloves tucked into one of the pockets. "Hey, I found some underwear and a bra I think might fit you." Jaune said, walking back over to his shorter guest, holding a white bra and pink underwear. He couldn't find anything else for her.
Jaune felt himself jerked down as Neo gripped his arm pointing excitedly towards the clothing, a smile forcing itself onto her face. Jaune placed a hand on Neo's shoulder, "Oh, you want those? Take them, they're yours." he said. Neo barely thought about it as she snatched the underwear, dashing towards the clothing as she left Jaune's jacket back with him, causing him to immediately turn away from her and pull his coat on, trying not to think of the girl that had been naked beneath it not a few seconds ago. Jaune felt a tapping on his shoulder as he turned, raising an eyebrow when he saw the girl still covering her chest, already wearing the panties. "What is… oh, the ropes." Jaune said, reaching for his cutlass as he saw the ropes tied around her chest. Neo turned around, trying to keep still and remain calm as Jaune took his blade so close to her bare flesh.
As one could imagine, it was rather hard to 'stand still' when a pirate captain was behind her holding a sword just a few inches from her bare back. Still, she managed, and she felt the ropes fall down as she heard Jaune sheath his sword. "There you go. I'll wait outside for you." Jaune said as he turned away, shutting the door before he leaned against the wall, waiting for the girl to get dressed. Neo, wearing barely anything, didn't waste time, pulling on the clothing and going so far as to button up the jacket before she spun around, smiling as she patted herself down. She felt better now that she had clothes that at least somewhat resembled her former choices in fashion, before her attempted execution. The only problem she had was that the shirt wasn't quite long enough, as it exposed her small belly., though it still reached down well below her breasts.
Neo walked out a second later, "OW!" only to hear that and the door slowly moving back around. Neo slowly walked around the door, her eyes widening as she saw Jaune standing there, holding his nose. Neo reached over, gripping at his arm and looking up apologetically, a habit of hers from her days in the palace. These people had clothed her, saved her from her ocean, and she hurts them? It wasn't right in any sense of the word. "It's fine… probably shouldn't have stood in front of a door anyway." he said, letting out a small chuckle as Neo smiled at him, her eyes flashing pink and white in mild amusement. Jaune recovered after a second, the two of them walking towards the main deck. "Hey uh, you're a criminal aren't you? An assassin?" Jaune asked. Neo's right eye flashed brown, her left pink in a form of curiosity. How did he know what she'd been accused of so quickly ?
"I saw the brands and, well, I might not be from Vale but, I'd like to think I have a good idea who they brand. So… is there someplace you want to go? Another target to kill?" he asked. Neo just shook her head, looking down at the ground as her eyes turned brown. Not in confusion this time, in anger. She could feel her blood boiling at the captain's words. "Another target to kill? Someplace to go?" Neo thought spitefully. "You… don't have anywhere you want to go?" Jaune asked. Neo responded the same way as last time, a quick shake of her head. She was looking at the ground now, crossing her arms over her chest as she gripped them tighter around her elbows. She was fighting back tears of frustration. "DAMN THAT BLONDE WHORE OF HIS! DAMN THAT JUDGE! DAMN THAT JUDGE! DAMN THAT HEAD GUARD OF HIS! WHY!? WHY ME!? WHAT DID I DO!?" she thought in rage.
Jaune, of course, heard none of this. He only saw her slightly trembling in rage, a single tear filled with more spite, anger and hatred than any that had ever fallen on the deck hit against the wooden floor. Jaune reached a hand over, gently placing it on Neo's shoulder. Neo's head jerked over, furious and somewhat teary brown eyes meeting kind and gentle blue ones. "Sorry I asked, if you don't, that's fine. If you don't actually… why don't you stay here? With us?" he asked. Neo's eyes went from angry to confused in no time at all… literally, since the colors were the same anyway. Stay there, with pirates? "You don't have to, but here… well, we're all kind of misfits that got screwed over by the kingdoms. That and… well, we kind of need an assassin on board. Your skills could come in handy on our next raid. So… you in?" he asked, holding out a hand to her, bending over so they were the same height.
Neo smiled, shaking his hand, but inside she was panicking. "He needs an assassin? What if he wants me to kill!? I've never even killed before! What about weapons!? I've never even held a weapon! Why am I saying yes!? Why can't I say no!? Oh this is bad!" she thought. What Jaune wasn't aware of about Neo was that she wasn't the assassin he thought she was. She was accused and, like many other times, the court had found an innocent victim. Neo had never killed in her life, she'd never held a gun in her life, the only thing she held was her kitchen knife and trays. What Jaune didn't know was that Neo wasn't Ozpin's would-be assassin.
She was his maid.