Of Witchcraft and Chivalry!
Chapter 1
The Journey's Beginning
On a bright and sunny day in the world of Remnant a young woman walked along a path of large oak trees with thick branches hanging overhead. The sun shone high overhead though only sporadically managing its way through the many branches and onto the path. Our young woman was a knight, well an apprentice actually, but either way she was a soon to be knight, or so she hoped. Her name, Ruby Rose, and she wore an outfit of mostly black and red with black leather bracers on her forearms, red grieves over her shins, and a crimson cape on her back. It was standard traveling gear for a knight since after all, wearing metal armor was actually rather heavy, and the dark redhead herself was rather short at only five-foot two inches tall. She was also well equipped to defend herself with a large curved sword on her left hip, and a small crossbow on her right. A quiver of arrows was strapped to her backside, and to top it all off, she had a small travelers bag on her back. It carried the few essentials she needed, like flint, a blanket, and a few rations of food, along with what appeared to be a folded staff loosely attached to the outside of the bag with a sturdy twine. It seemed that she was ready for just about anything she encountered on the road. Well mostly anything...
"Um...wait, was I supposed to turn left at that fork? Or right..." the girl pondered as she poured over her map, scratching her head while trying to figure the right way to go according to the parchment in her hand. "I don't have the map upside down again do I? Okay, if I have read this right there should be a town in about a mile or so away, Patch Village I believe, where I can restock and maybe sleep in a bed for the night!" Ruby smiled as she continued down the path, enjoying the shade.
So the redheaded apprentice continued on down this path, expecting to find the village in about an hour or so, all while wearing a smile upon her face. However, one hour passed and her smile grew smaller. Another passed and her smile grew even more dim. Now, three hours had passed and Ruby's smile was all but gone. And as her smile had grown smaller throughout the day, so had the light the sun had provided, darkening the area around her. The oak trees that once provided shade and a cool break from the sun, now darkened the area and seemed to hang menacingly overhead.
"I thought the map said there would be a village soon..." Ruby looked down to the parchment guiding her way once more, tilting her head. "Maybe it's an old map?" she looked back up along the path, squinting and trying to see through the trees as sunlight slowly slipped away. However not a moment or two later Ruby's prayer's were answered as she caught sight of lights ahead through the trees, as if shining beacons in the darkness calling her towards them. "YES! I knew there was a town!" Without a moment's hesitation, the redheaded knight charged down the path, moving almost inhumanly fast with an excited look in her eyes.
"Finally civilization!" the exasperated knight let out, and then stood triumphantly at the entrance of the town, happy to have made it as the sun began to set. "Now for a hot meal, a warm bath and...a soft...bed?" Ruby stammered as she began to notice however that the town was rather quiet as she entered. In fact, the entrance was the only place lit with torches, while the other buildings she walked by were dark, not even candles lit in the windows. Ruby could see the village had one large dirt road running down the center of it all, with various shops including a bakery, tavern, and other buildings lining it. She could see two other paths, one going left from the way she was facing, and another right, forming a sort of crossroads, only these paths just lead to more houses.
"Hello?" The young redhead approached a bakery, seeing no candles lit and no one inside the building. Ruby proceeded to load one of her bolts into the crossbow at her hip preparing for any sort of trouble. She even looked to the tavern, finding no one was there either with yet again no lighting. Ruby had even thought to grab one of the torches at the town entrance, but noticed one building was actually lit up by torches outside and candles in the windows adjacent to the door. It was a large church in the center of the town, with large wooden doors in the front, currently closed, but from a distance it at least seemed occupied.
"Maybe there's a meeting or church service" the redhead assured herself as she walked towards the large building. She approached from the side, popping her head up to look through a glass window. Ruby looked in to see the church had a high ceiling, and candles lining the walls hung at various spots. She could see an alter at the front with a large wooden cross on the wall behind it. Her attention however was drawn to what looked to be the residents of the town seated in rows of wooden benches facing a large man at the front of the room who looked like an elderly noble. Ruby sighed out in relief and reached down to undo the bolt in her crossbow. "At least I found them. I wonder what's going on" she wondered as she walked around to the front of the building, cracking open the large wooden door and listening to the purpose of the town's gathering in the church as she poked her head inside.
"Something must be done about that witch! We don't want her kind here Lord Port!" Ruby's attention was immediately drawn to a man in the front who looked like a villager sitting with his wife and children.
"What if she unleashes a curse onto us?! Or uses her fire to burn the town down?!" another woman cried out from the middle rows. Others inside called out either agreeing with her or adding more terrible scenarios this witch could unleash. The man at the front though, who was indeed rather large, though mostly in his gut with a large grey mustache, stood before the people raising his arms. Ruby noticed he must have been this town's Lord, seeing how he was dressed as a noble wearing a rather fanciful tunic and a burgundy cape.
"Please people calm down, there's no need to panic!" the elder man, Lord Port, called out. "Yes we've had a quarrel or two with her but surely not enough to drive her out and cause this panic!"
"She set my pants on fire!" A large man with broad shoulders called out.
"She made my kids float in the air for a whole day! A whole day!" A woman called out clutching tightly to her two children who nodded with tears in their eyes.
"She turned me into a newt!" The crowd stopped though and turned to a man in the middle with either shock, confusion, or disbelief.
"A...newt?" Lord Port raised an eyebrow. The man with the proclamation looked around at everyone and shrunk back, feeling their questioning stares.
"I got better...but still she needs to be gone!" and with that the crowd began to rally up once more, shouting what should be done about their said witch problem. Some shouted for her to be set ablaze and burned. Another calling to form a mob so as to lynch her. And yet another calling for action, to just rush her with swords and cut her to pieces. All of these just caused Lord Port and even Ruby to look at the crowd in shock at their ways to deal with this problem, and all of them were rather violent outcomes.
"Please people! I'm sure there's a less violent method to deal with this! We must be civil and I'm sure there's a more proper way to deal with this than murdering her!" he pleaded as he tried to calm them down so they could find a more peaceful route to their problem, one that didn't involve an angry mob and death. Watching this however, Ruby decided this would be a most opportune time for her to assist with their spell-caster problem.
"Um pardon me" Ruby spoke, but the crowd was too focused on their Lord in the front and shouting what should be done about their problem. So Ruby gathered up her courage stepping further inside, taking in a deep breath to raise her voice. "EXCUSE ME!" she shouted and as soon as she did, everyone stopped and turned to Ruby with questioning glances or confused glances. "U-Um...hi" the redhead addressed the crowd, waving nervously as she shrank back from their stares.
"And who might you be?" inquired Lord Port, glancing over the smaller young woman as he approached her.
"O-Oh! I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose, I'm a knight and heard you may be having trouble with a witch?" as she mentioned this however, the town suddenly became increasingly focused on her. Excitement and hope shown on their faces hearing that this mysterious girl who appeared before them was a knight, and could possibly help with their problems.
"A knight?! Here?!" one voice exclamed in disbelief.
"In our little town? What luck! Maybe she can rid us of this witch!" another agreed with hopeful glee.
"Yeah! She can burn her and solve all of our problems!" Ruby however froze hearing one of them call out for her to kill the witch, some of the others even agreeing with them.
"Or we can ask Ms. Rose here to speak with the witch and convince her to leave, or at least to leave our people in peace" Lord Port suggested, getting a sigh of relief from the dark redhead. "We would be ever so grateful if you could assist us and would gladly make it worth your efforts" he announced, bowing to the young apprentice before them.
"Oh no please, I don't require any..." Ruby however paused as she thought for a moment. "There is something you can do for me actually" smiling, causing the villagers to wonder what it is she would ask for, waiting with baited breathe, some of them even worried what she'd demand for compensation.
"Yes?" the Lord asked raising an eyebrow.
"A night's stay, with a good meal and a hot bath" Ruby smiled raising her finger, the Lord laughing at her request and the villagers looking relieved at her requested reward.
"I'm sure we can provide you with that! We'll provide you with a hearty meal and a nights stay so you can meet with the witch in the morning! Isn't that right everyone?" the people cheered out in agreement, happy to accommodate the young knight who agreed to help them be rid of the so-called terrible witch. Ruby however just smiled shyly, bowing to them to show her appreciation.
"Thank you, and I'll do everything I can to repay your kindness" the knight promised, just glad she had the chance to help these people before they did something too drastic.
The next day had arrived, and the young knight, well still apprentice, had set out for the woods this supposedly wicked witch abided. And now she began her trek into the woods, a journey to this troublesome spell-caster's cabin. And so far Ruby was feeling confident about this quest, with encouragement from the whole village, and thanks to her night's stay there that surely did not disappoint, a proper rest, and a full belly thanks to two full meals, being a feast of a dinner and a very hearty breakfast. She felt she could take on whatever was thrown her way!
"But seriously they didn't need to give me this much food; I should only be gone a day's time" she lifted the large bag given to her and sighed out, smelling it was filled with all sorts of meats and vegetables. "Well, better get started" Ruby hummed to herself as she walked, slightly weighed down by the large sack strapped to her back.
"Okay let's see, according to their directions...it shouldn't be more than a morning's walk from the village" Ruby grinned with excitement and walked with confidence radiating from her. She walked back into the forest of large tall trees that shaded most of the sunlight. Lush green grass covered the ground as well as moss, softening the knights' steps. Our young knight truly believing it would take just the morning hours to reach the witch's house. Ruby however forgot one key thing, and that was her sense of direction being absolutely terrible.
"WHERE IS THIS PLACE?! I thought she lived close to the village!" The redhead cried out in agony, then slumped backwards against a large tree sliding down it until she was sitting on the ground. "If only I could have a guide or something to get there..." She tucked in her knees and rested her head against them, sighing out in defeat. In her state of defeat though, came the sound of whimpering in front of herself, whimpering sounding oddly canine in nature.
"Huh?" the redhead looked up and sitting before her was none other than just that. There sitting before her was a large dog Ruby almost thought to be a wolf, though she did notice it was smaller than a wolf and its midnight fur was well groomed. Ruby also noted it's bright amber eyes that seemed to almost look like fire. "Well hello there girl, what's a pretty thing like you doing out here?" she asked with a smile, though it ignored her and approached sniffing and looking right at the bag of food.
"Oh! You must be famished!" she smiled as she reached inside, pulling out some of the uncooked meat. She held it out to the dog, but it turned it's head in refusal. "Um...okay, then how about vegetables?" she asked pulling out a carrot and presenting it to the canine. The dog however just gave a look that might as well have been that of raising an eyebrow, asking if she was kidding. "Right you eat meat, but not uncooked meat" Ruby pondered and smiled.
"Which means I just have to cook it for you!" So the knight pulled out more uncooked meat and several raw vegetables to prepare. She gathered wood and the flint in her traveling bag, humming merrily as she piled the wood and used the flint to light a fire for them. "Your master must spoil you rotten like the pretty girl you are! So I'm gonna spoil you too! Not to mention the village people gave me too much food" Ruby winked as she pulled out a small pot of from her traveling bag and a canteen of water. She poured the water in the pot and used the food she was given, preparing a pot of stew and cooking several pieces of uncooked meat skewered onto sticks she found.
"There! All done!" moments later the food was done and Ruby produced two bowls filled with steaming hot stew, one for herself and the other for her black furred friend, along with several pieces of now cooked meat. "Stew and meat! Trust me you'll like the stew!" the apprentice grinned as she held out the meat for the dog who gladly snatched it and swallowed it whole. Then the beast dove into the bowl of stew licking and gobbling down it's contents. "Oh you were hungry!" Ruby giggled before having her own bowl and eating as well. She had two pieces of meat and noticed a certain dog was eyeing one of the pieces she had. "Oh fine, but just cause you're quite cute" she tossed one of them to her new companion who caught it and ate it right up. After Ruby had eaten her meal and the canine finished it's own, it pounced gleefully onto the young knight, knocking her over and licking at her face.
"Ah! H-Hey cut it out! T-That tickles!" Ruby giggled then grabbed her new black furred friend and pinned the dog onto it's back. "Bleh! You licked in my mouth! Someone needs a belly rubbing!" The redhead then proceeded to rub and scratch at the dogs belly. At first it kicked and squirmed in protest but then settled down, panting happily and kicking it's legs as it felt the lovely calming sensation of Ruby's belly rub. "Who's a good girl, huh? You are!" she giggled as she watched the dog just lounge back and enjoy this. After a minute or two more of showing the dog love and affection, Ruby stood up and dusted herself off much to the disappointment of a certain dog who loved it's belly rubs.
"Well, I'm sorry pup, but I got to be on my way. You see, I must find and talk to this witch in the woods!" Ruby smiled and the dog looked up to her tilting it's head with a curious look. "Yes I know, but the town asked me to come talk to her. They seem a bit mad at her and some even want me to do something quite awful like kill her, but I don't even want to do that. I think there's just some sort of misunderstanding and maybe I can talk with this witch. After all not all witches are bad!" the Redhead told the midnight canine who looked up to her intently as if listening to what she had to say.
"Though I might get lost again; I've been searching the morning over and can't find her hut. You don't happen to know where she is do you?" Ruby asked as she let out a sheepish laugh. The dog however turned and began to walk away from Ruby in a random direction. Then, it turned and sat down barking to Ruby, proceeding to lift a paw as if to beckon her over. "Wait, you know the way? Astounding! You're the best dog ever! Well...second best dog" Ruby chuckled to herself before proceeding to follow the midnight furred friend.
"I'm going to hazard a guess your owner is the witch huh? Probably why you look so pretty; she must really care for you" The young knight began as she looked over, admiring the dog's well kept fur. "Which to me must mean she's not a bad witch, or a bad person. Or she just likes her dog more than other people. Sometimes I understand that. Some people can be a bit, well, let's just say you prefer different company when you see them" The knight understood rubbing her head, especially with remembering how the villagers were.
"Oh! I know I don't know your name, but I'm Ruby. I know you can't talk but I figured it would be nice for you to know the name of the one who fed ya and stuff...so yeah. Anyways, I'm a knight! Apprentice knight actually, but a knight at heart at the very least! I've always wanted to be one and help other people" Ruby began and the dog turned it's head listening to the girl as she spoke.
"It's all a bit funny really, one of the reasons I became a knight is because of a witch, a Goodwitch. You know what's funny about her too? That's her actual name!" the redhead giggled as she followed. "Other than her name, she's a good person and great teacher. She taught me the basics of combat as well as my older sister. Oh, her name is Yang, she's two years older than me. But it was my uncle who taught me how to be proficient with my weapon" Ruby gave a reminiscent smile as she rested her hand on the weapons hilt. "Her and Uncle Qrow always told me to use my weapon to help others, and no matter what if you can save a person you should. After all, anyone is worth saving!"
The dog turned it's head back to the forest and continued to lead the girl, guiding her through the woods as it listened to Ruby tell about herself.
"Oh! I'm sorry, here I went into all of this unimportant stuff, and I forgot to mention why I'm traveling! You see, I'm actually on a journey to Beacon and I've gotten a bit sidetracked. I continue my training as a knight there and merely stopped in the village to rest, but they kinda needed assistance so I offered my services to them!" she grinned. "After I hopefully settle things between the witch and the townspeople, I'll be on my way to Beacon again. It's a well known city where knights can learn and train to improve themselves before going out into the world! My sister is already there, so when I get there we can team up and go out on our own adventures!" Ruby looked to her canine friend once more though and found it had stopped and looked ahead.
"Hey why'd we stop?" Then the knight looked for herself and saw that straight ahead was the little cottage she had been looking for, and it had actually been a rather short walk. "W-WHAT?! B-But I swear I passed by this place so many times! At least I think I did..." Ruby slumped in defeat and looked over to her dog friend with a smile. "Well, thanks for being my guide my furry little friend! I can finally meet your owner and hopefully help her with this whole villager mess" Ruby rubbed the dog's head then walked over towards the hut. The small cottage seemed to be made mostly of stone. In the front there was a wooden door and a small window trimmed in a wood. A chimney rose from it's roof made of stone as well with smoke coming out of the top of it.
"Hello? Is anyone home? My names Ruby, Ruby Rose! I'm a knight that the village hired and I would greatly like permission to speak with you!" the redhead called out, introducing herself as she approached the small abode, though hearing and seeing no movement or life of any kind. "Um...hello? Is she out? Or...asleep? she muttered to herself.
Our dear Ruby however didn't realize that right behind her, her new canine companion's eyes began to glow brighter as if it's amber eyes were on fire. The canine began to stand upright and her form began to change. It's fur began to recede and it's front and rear legs began to change into human arms and legs. The body and face now changed as well, becoming that of a woman's. One who stood almost a foot taller than Ruby, with long midnight hair that covered one of her bright amber eyes. She wore a mostly red outfit with a furred hood and leather bracers on her arms. She smirked as she approached the unsuspecting Ruby from behind, her eyes glowing as she raised her arms.
"I hope I didn't just wake her up..." Before Ruby could say more or explore further, she yelped as she suddenly felt two arms wrap around her shoulders and pull her backwards. When she was pulled back Ruby blushed as she felt a soft warm bosom pressing into her back, and someone rest their head onto her shoulder next to her own.
"My my, who would think my first house guest is a brave and kind knight to visit little old me?" Ruby turned her head to see none other than the gorgeous face of a woman with bright amber eyes and long gorgeous hair. "One who is just adorable too. Come in, please" the witch let go of the stunned little knight walking towards the door, then looked back towards her. She smirked seeing Ruby's face was slightly red with an agape mouth, staring at her. "Are you going to stare at me and admire my form Little Rose? I certainly don't mind if you do" Ruby quickly closed her mouth with a furious blush quickly covering her face.
"S-Sorry! I-I...um...I-I'll come in now" The witch just giggled as she stepped aside letting Ruby into her home. Ruby looked around the hut as she stepped inside and could see it was merely a humble abode. One of course belonging to someone who dabbled in magic. There was a shelf of books and another with various plants, herbs and ingredients as well as some glass bottles, beakers and funnels. All of these things for the sake of witchcraft. Ruby also noted that this place was kept rather clean, but then again there wasn't a lot of furniture. Just a table with two chairs, a fireplace with a tea kettle that was currently lit, and what appeared to be a small kitchen area with only a few cabinets. She also noted a one person bed in one of the corners assuming this is where the witch slept.
"Please have a seat Ruby" the witch raised a hand towards a chair by the table which moved back on it's own. Ruby gladly accepted and sat, though looking slightly nervous with so many questions on her mind and a blush of embarrassment on her face.
"So um...how did you know my name?" the witch giggled at the question, and flicked her wrist to the fireplace making the flame slightly larger.
"Well if you must know it's because you told me. And since you told me yours and provided me with a wonderful meal of stew and meat, I think it only right I should provide you with some tea. My name my sweet knight, is Cinder..." the witch paused in thought before answering. "Fall" Ruby perked hearing the witches name and sat up in her chair.
"Well it's nice to meet you miss...wait...you said I fed you a meal? But that was your...dog..." Realization slowly dawned onto the young Ruby, her face becoming redder by the second as she realized her furry friend wasn't exactly her furry friend, and the two had a moment where with a dog it's innocent, but with a human... "A-And you...licked me...I-I pet you...a-and scratched your belly..."
"And I must say you tasted even better than your meal Little Rose" If Ruby's face could have been any redder than it already was, someone would have mistaken her for a ripe tomato. "And Ruby..." the knight looked up as Cinder leaned in close to her ear. "I'm actually am a bad girl but I'll be a good one...just...for...you" the witch leaned back and smirked seeing the redness of Ruby's face and loved how the girl couldn't comprehend what was just revealed to her.
"U-Uh...I-I...w-what...you um..." The witch laughed, figuring that may have been too much for the poor innocent knight.
"My apologies dearest Ruby, but I just couldn't miss that opportunity to tease you, but yes that was me as the dog. Sorry about licking you before, but sometimes when you're transformed you can't help but let the animal side take over" the witch assured her, causing the knight to just nod as Cinder stood up to get cups for them then turned proceeding back to her seat.
"R-Right. Anyways um...so you know about the reason why I've come from the village?" the redhead asked hesitantly, causing Cinder to sigh out as she sat back down.
"I take it that's why you come here so armed?" Cinder eyed the weapons Ruby had hung on her hips.
"Huh? No! Well, I mean I'm a knight but that's just for self defense! I had no intention of attacking you or anything! I need to get your side of the story!" The witch was honestly surprised. She raised an eyebrow, finding it interesting that she had kept to what she told her when she was a dog.
"Oh? Is that so? Usually when a knight is sent to a witch it's to slay her and burn her. Not to have a nice meal and tea."
"Well not in this case I guess" Ruby laughed. "You see I heard their accusations of you and most of it wasn't really life endangering or even worth killing you for, so I figured why not hear your side of the story first before jumping to conclusions?"Cinder found this to be a strange young knight since most would just attack her kind without warning, but smiled as she crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair.
"We have a few moments till the tea boils, what would you like to know?" Ruby was glad to have the witches cooperation as a smile grew on her face. And It seemed there was no need for any sort of drastic measures yet like the villagers suggested, an outcome neither she nor the witch would want.
"Great! Okay so let's start with their accusations. One of them said you set his pants on fire" Cinder sighed out and rested a hand on her head.
"I did, however he didn't understand when no meant no. He asked, or basically demanded I be his bedfellow. I wholeheartedly refused and he wouldn't stop saying he needed someone to warm his bed and his lower regions. So I set his pants ablaze, of course with him being able to put it out" The witch smirked triumphantly as she recalled the fond memory of the large oaf of a man jumping and rolling around with his pants ablaze, especially on a specific part of his pants.
"Okay, so self defense. Another said you made it so her kids would float in the air for a whole day" The witch chuckled at yet another fond memory from earlier in the week, one with two darling little children.
"Her children were being ever so lovely angels. Especially when they decided to throw rocks and feces at me as I got some supplies to bring home. So to reward them for being so kind to a woman just walking by, I had them float until the next day just out of their parents' reach. And if their parents tried to climb to get them they would go higher, but come back down if they go lower. They came back down gently though since I'm not cruel to children. Well, too cruel that is" Cinder assured the knight.
"Got it self defense, again. And what of a man claiming you turned him into a newt?" Cinder looked up in thought before suddenly remembering, and smiling sheepishly.
"I...did that one just to see if I could."
"You...actually turned him into a newt?!" Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"I made sure nothing attacked or ate him! And he turned back only a moment or two later, so he got better" the witch gave a smile of pure innocence causing Ruby to roll her eyes. "It was for science! Well, magic actually, but still there was no harm done." Cinder then stood up at the sound of the pot boiling, retrieved it and began to pour tea for herself and the young knight.
"Thank you, and you're right no harm was done. But the villagers still don't exactly want you here or like you" Ruby warned as she took the cup and blew on her tea to cool it down before taking a slight sip. When she did though the redhead was met with two things, a lovely taste of raspberry but also the terrible feeling of it being boiling hot. "H-Hot! B-But it does taste so good."
"Thank you, and in that case I'll just leave" Cinder sat down and sipped her scolding hot tea with no problem, as if the heat didn't bother her anyways.
"Okay-Wait, just like that? I mean this is your home, though you just moved here, but still..." Ruby said feeling guilty.
"What good is a home if I don't even feel welcome there? Especially when an angry mob might want to burn me alive?"
"You um...got a point there" the knight agreed rubbing her head. Cinder just smiled as she flicked her hand, and shot a spell at Ruby's tea.
"There, it's still hot, but not enough to burn your tongue" Ruby smiled and happily drank her tea loving the raspberry flavor. "Plus I don't think it's time I settled down yet. I mean after all, there's still a world to explore out there, with even a few good people worth meeting. Especially when they're short girls who are full of surprises."
"Yeah that's true...Hey!" Cinder chuckled once Ruby caught on. "Teasing aside, where will you go?" Cinder rested a hand on her chin in thought, before realization dawned on her and looked to the young knight with mischief in her eyes.
"Well, I do know of a rather short knight who I could go on adventures with. And it seems she's bound to have many ahead of her on her journey and could use some company" Ruby just began to tilt her head wondering who she meant, but Cinder just found it adorable and smiled. "One who likes dogs, who has pretty silver eyes, and short red hair" the witch leaned forward poking the redhead right on the nose. When Ruby realized she would be joining herself, her silver eyes went wide looking to the witch in disbelief.
"Me? Why? I mean I'm just an apprentice and nothing special really! Not to mention I get lost easily so you may not wanna come..." Ruby laughed nervously.
"Which is another reason I should join you. Besides, unlike most people I like your company" The young knight blushed and smiled not honestly expecting to hear that from the witch, but it wasn't unwelcome. "Especially when you act so adorable. Though I also wish to see something for myself" Cinder leaned back, her smile fading as she closed her eyes. "Do you truly believe anyone is worth saving? No matter who they are or what they've done?" the witch opened her bright amber eyes, her gaze fixed to Ruby whose own smile faded for a second, but still had those wide innocent eyes. The spell caster searched her eyes for the slightest hint of hesitance or fear to see if the knight would remain true to her word or change what she said from before.
"It doesn't matter who they are or what they've done. It's about doing what's right, even if they're an enemy" Ruby's bright silver eyes remained unchanged, determination filling them as she truly believing what she said. And even though Cinder searched for that hesitance, fear, or doubt, she couldn't find it in her eyes, causing the witch to smile.
"Then I wish to be there for you, so that I can witness you and make sure you keep to your word. To see if when the worst comes that you'll keep to what you promised and keep that determination" the witch then flicked her wrist and a bag appeared almost out of thin air. Cinder then stood and rose both of her arms, as she did various objects from around the room began to raise. Books, ingredients, glasses of potions, and beakers, even some food from the cabinets floated out, converging into her bag. All of it miraculously fit into the small travel bag Cinder now held, which didn't even change size or appear to be overstuffed.
"Whoa, how'd you do that?" Ruby just looked with amazement on her face and her jaw slightly agape.
"A bag of holding, which comes very handy for when you have things you can't leave behind but not a lot of room for them" the witch then found her coin purse, placing it into the bag as well. "Shall we then?"
"S-So soon? I mean we just had tea and need to get back to the town!" Ruby exclaimed as she moved to quickly follow the witch out of the hut.
"We'll stop there on the way, and why not now? After all it's an adventure isn't it? The sooner we start, the more discoveries we'll make" So the two of them walked out of the hut and back into the forest surrounding it. Once they were a good distance Cinder's hand began to glow and she launched a fireball towards the hut. It engulfed in flame, even it's stone seemed to catch fire. Ruby just looked on at the sudden action and turned to the witch in confusion. "It'll give the villagers some peace of mind that nothing is left of the big bad witch" The young knight just nodded as she then turned with the witch to leave the now burning cottage, walking back towards the town.
"We can't thank you enough for what you've done for us young knight!" Lord Port announced as the town cheered for their hero Ruby, who stood before them with a certain midnight furred dog at her side. The villagers seemed to treat it as a triumphant return for the young knight who defeated the witch, when all she did was enjoy a nice meal, chat and have some tea.
"I-It was nothing really. I just talked with her and convinced her to leave, but she said she wouldn't return and apologized for the trouble she caused" Ruby assured them with a smile, though Cinder rolled her eyes sitting next to the girl.
"Well Ms. Rose if there's anything we can do for you, please name it and it's yours!" Ruby looked to the dog then pondered in thought as she thought of something they could give her. The midnight furred canine looked up as well tilting her head curiously.
"There is one thing. A horse and buggy! A small buggy though I don't need anything big, just enough for me and my new friend" the redhead grinned petting Cinder's head, who leaned into the knight's touch. Lord Port just gave a hearty laugh as he heard the request.
"I believe that sounds reasonable enough!"
And with that Ruby and Cinder had received a small four wheel carriage with a brown and white mare to pull them along. Ruby of course only had her own and Cinder's bags but the townsfolk once again decided that she needed to be loaded up with food before setting off onto the road with various meats, vegetables, and even spices. Once they were about a mile or so away from the village, Cinder changed from her midnight-furred self into her normal looking human self, sitting next to Ruby as she guided the horse.
"You know, you didn't have to lie for me" The witch innocently wrapped an arm around the young knight, pulling her close causing the young knight to blush.
"Yeah but it made the townspeople at least hate you less so it's something" Ruby looked to the witch who just shook her head and smiled, not caring what the town thought of her. So Ruby pulled out the piece of parchment that was her map and triumphantly grinned. "And now we can be on our way to the next town which should be about five miles away!"
"Five? The next village from Portstown is about ten miles away" Cinder looked over Ruby's shoulder at the map.
"W-Wait...that was Portstown? I thought that was Patch Village!" Ruby looked confused as she looked to the map. As she read the map sudden realization filled her eyes and she leaned back in anguish. "Dang it! I knew I went the wrong way at the fork in the road!" Cinder took the map from the redhead looking it over, raising an eyebrow as she tried to figure out where they were and where they were going.
"Wow you are bad at directions" The witch laughed as she looked over the parchment in her hands. "It's only a little off course; we should be able to make up for it Little Rose" she assured the knight while patting her head. That seemed to make Ruby perk up a bit and brought her focus back to the road, and Cinder began to work out their new route to Beacon and the cities they would reach along their journey.
Ruby began looking onward to the road ahead, then up to the clear, slightly orange sky as the sun began to set. A grin spread across her face for already having gained a companion for her journey, as well as a horse and carriage by simply befriending her. For Ruby, and Cinder, this was the beginning of something truly wonderful, and an epic journey like none they would have had before.
"Cinder, I think this is the start of a grand adventure" the knight smiled eagerly, earning a chuckle from the witch.
"And what better way to start than with a strong sexy knight sweeping a misunderstood voluptuous witch off her feet?" Ruby sputtered as she heard the comment, her face glowing red, earning a giggle from the mischievous witch.
A/N: Hello You awesome lovely people! So this is the Updated version of the first chapter and from now on will be new chapters! I hope you all enjoy this edit that my lovely lady Lauren helped me with! We hope you all enjoy it and will continue reading and thank you all for being understanding. Please leave reviews and such for how you like it and enjoy it! And now a word from Lauren to close us off! Lauren?
I've been promoted from just grammar edits...yet I didn't even get a raise...there...i said more than just a word...
Thank you Lauren...
Next Time! : Ruby gets lost in the next town and has help to find Cinder, And Cinder has help to find Ruby, though this help isn't what they expected...
Coverart by
kinzaibatsu91! Just add the .com after gyazo and get rid of the spaces! embed . gyazo /6c7b3df6646c9bca8d03e26afb5275ab. png