Volume I: All's Fair
79 AGP
Noel Arc was a remarkably quiet baby. She rarely cried and never threw tantrums. " It's the most remarkable thing." Lady Arc was prone to say to any house guest willing to listen " That child is the most angelic babe I've ever seen." Then she would scoff and wonder aloud why all of her other children were so troublesome.
The reason for the infant's reserve was simple - Noel never needed to raise her voice. The slightest tells were enough to draw her caretaker's attention, a hungry whimper or a pleased coo. At the moment Noel's nose was scrunched in a decidedly unpleasant expression.
Velvet sniffed, then sighed. " I know, I smell it too." She said, rocking the baby in her arms as she looked for a quiet corner to do her work. At the end of the hallway there was secluded spot behind a bust of Silver Arc- a fine a place as any.
With practiced finesse she pulled off the diaper and tied it in a sturdy not from the outside, sealing its contents as best she could. Setting it down for the moment on the marble next to the destroyer of men, she removed a few pieces of the appropriate cloth and began wiping. 'Down and away, down and away.' In less than a minute she had tied the replacement on and set the soiled rags in as neat a pile as she could manage. Her reward was a happily wriggling baby. The rabbit faunus smiled in spite of herself.
Ever since Noel had been born, Velvet had taken more than her share of responsibility caring for the girl. Velvet's mother was responsible for feeding Noel while the mistress was busy, and said mistress liked to hold her daughter as much as was convenient, but the mundane time between naps and milk and pleasantries belonged to the young rabbit faunus.
It was the favorite of her fledgling duties. For the first time Velvet felt that she was doing something truly useful with her time. Noel was infinitely more needing of her attention and infinitely more cooperative than her older siblings, and trusted Velvet implicitly. There was always a wellspring of joy and affection whenever she met those baby blue eyes. Velvet would clean a mountain of dirty diapers for someone to look at her like that.
Velvet's heard heavy footsteps approaching and turned to see Baird, one of the janitorial staff, taking out a load of trash from the kitchens. " Do you have any room for-" Velvet began, before wilting at the glare the older man gave her. His eyes wandered to the young Arc girl and the pile of soiled rags as his scowl deepened.
" Shit."
Velvet just nodded and quietly handed the man the soiled pile. One of his fingers brushed against hers, and he made a show of wiping it against the outside of the diaper before dropping it in the container and lumbering away, cursing under his breath.
Velvet's eyes watered slightly as she turned her focus back to the baby, bouncing it in her arms. " You prefer touching me to poop, don't you?" Noel giggled in response, babbling pleasant nonsense. Velvet held her close, cradling the girl against her chest.
Looking the little girl in the eye, Velvet wondered what kind of person she would grow up to be. She would, if the fates were kind, grow up to be a healthy young woman. Her parents would raise her in comfort and encourage a match to ensure that comfort could continue. Would she revel in the sheltered life of an aristocratic woman, like Sapphire, or would she, like Sabrina, accept it all with bored resignation? Would she regard those beneath her with open contempt or civil indifference? When she could walk and talk for herself, would Noel have any reason to look at a lowly servant with that soft smile of hers?
"Vehveh." The girl cooed happily.
' It doesn't matter.' Whatever tomorrow might bring, it couldn't tarnish the pleasures of today. She covered her face, grinning at how incredulously bright Noel's eyes got when she 'reappeared.'
After enjoying a game of Peekaboo, Velvet's ears twitched again, and she heard new footsteps from across the hall. A light, measured walk was being followed by a plodding gait.
"Sateen." she heard dimly. " You have to have heard more than that!"
Velvet recognized the voice. Braun wasn't a regular servant so much as a political tool. A young cadet entering the common ranks, Braun had been injured in a training accident and rendered unfit for duty. At least until Lord Arc stepped in. In his infinite generosity, he offered to pay the boy's medical costs and offer him room, board and gainful employment in the months it would take him to recover. He put him right in Radian Hall, so everyone would know he had done it.
The public relations move might have strengthened Arc's image with the military, but it had done nothing to Braun save to inflame his ego. After being wined and dined by upper crust of the kingdom, the boy wasn't keen on spending days doing whatever menial work the staff could find for him, preferring to eat their food and waste their time instead. Velvet had heard whispers counting down the days until he returned to service, and suggestions that he be deployed far, far away from Vale.
"That's all I can tell you." Sateen said sternly.
As both a hormonal male and a human supremacist, Braun had a love-hate relationship with Sateen Scarlatina. He both disliked and was fascinated by her, and she was too prim and proper to scare him away.
Worse still was that Braun had discovered her to be a vital source of information. Aside from being on the staff for half a decade, the Scarlatina Faunus ears were not for show. Mother and daughter both tended to 'hear' things most people would miss. The more curious members of the staff would sometimes badger Sateen for gossip- the cautious ones gave her a wide berth. None of them said anything around her that they didn't want the Master to hear. A few even thought she was a spy for the Arcs, sent to weed out trouble in the house.
Mrs. Scarlatina, Velvet was almost certain, was a spy for Lord Arc, as a matter of fact. Most servants were beneath his notice, but so too was he aware that his equals thought the same way. Few regarded the Faunus servant Arc was fool enough to hire with anything more than dull contempt. It was amazing what men let slip when they'd had a few drinks and thought no one was listening in.
Spying might have ingratiated her to the Arcs, but it just gave the servants another reason to look down on the Scarlatinas.
Velvet looked up as the pair entered her line of sight.
" Arc was meeting for an hour with that old coot." Braun said. " Those ears of yours have to be good for something."
" I was helping to cook their meal, I wasn't in the room."
" What do you take me for, some dumb animal?" Braun growled. " That kind of excuse might fly with your usual crowd, but not me. You heard something juicy. Tell me."
The Faunus woman didn't even react to the slur.
" Lord Arc has agreed to give Lord Merlot's youngest brother a job in exchange for Merlot's support for his tax on imported dust on the Council." Sateen said, settling on what she thought to be a harmless detail, if only to shut the boy up.
" Hah!" Braun said. " Bet the merchants are going to go batty over that one! And since all of Old Man Arc doesn't deal in dust he won't be taxed a dime. That corrupt bastard really is as rotten as the rest of them."
" That 'corrupt bastard' is the master of this house and puts food on your plate." Sateen said harshly. " I'm sure he'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on tax policy, though. Very interested."
Braun let out a nervous chuckle. " Come on Satty," he joked, "There's no need for that. Take that stick out of your ass. I'm just kidding around." He gestured to his cast. "I'm bored is all, more suited to punching then politics."
Her mother ignored the boy's bluster as her eyes locked on her daughter.
"Velvet, there you are. I've been looking for you." Her mother said. Velvet looked over to the pair, feigning that she had just now noticed them.
" You have?" Velvet asked.
Sateen Scarlatina looked expectantly at her daughter, eyes narrowed. No doubt she knew that Velvet knew they were coming, and no doubt she was irritated with her daughter for keeping her waiting.
The two Faunus had more in common than their ears- they had the same straight brown hair, the same brown eyes, even similar skin tones. But Velvet felt little kinship while awaiting her orders. She knew her mother wasn't the type to seek her out for mere maternal concern; Mrs. Scarlatina was strictly business.
" It's time for Noel's nap." She said sternly. " I told you to find me at noon."
"... I must have lost track of time." Velvet said quietly. None of the servants could afford watches, and Velvet liked to avoid the parts of the house with clocks- they tended to be too crowded for her tastes.
Braun was a scrawny teen with a broken arm, but he carried himself as if he were a much stronger man. " You screwed up, brat." He said cheekily. " Aren't you supposed to do what your 'bloody mum' asks you to?" Velvet sighed as her mother kept a neutral expression at the boy's goading. Though her accent was fainter than most, it still permeated some of her speech, as well as Velvet's. The peculiar lilt was just another way the pair stood out from the other servants, and her mother didn't like having it pointed out.
'Always mother, never mum.' she thought.
"What are you waiting for?" Her mother said, ignoring Braun. " Hand her over."
"Yes mother." Velvet said. As she extend her arms to hand off the infant, Noel started shifting around, uncomfortable.
"Vehveh." She whined. " Vehveh."
Velvet drew the girl closer in, trying to calm her. " It's okay." she cooed, rocking her gently. "It'll only be for a little while." The baby met her eyes, in understand or something like it, then stilled. She reluctantly handed Noel over to her mother.
"Vehveh, huh?" Braun said. " It sounded like the Arc brat was trying to talk."
" I think it's my name." Velvet said brightly, happy to finally have someone to share this with. "She can't quite say it, but I know what she means. I'm her first word!"
" It's babbling gibberish, obviously." Sateen said in a way that brokered no argument. " Lady Arc is looking forward to hearing Noel's first words, but since she's so quiet that won't be for a few more months, and when it happens it'll be 'mama'." She met Velvet's eyes. "Understand?"
"Yes, mother." She said,deflating.
Mrs. Scarlatina then adjusted her uniform so that Noel could suckle, holding her in place as the baby fed. After years of such work she was an expert at revealing as little as possible while doing it, something that seemed to disappoint Braun.
" Since the baby is in my hands for the afternoon, you should go watch the other children." Sateen said. "They should be in their game room, and after being cooped up last week for all the visiting dignitaries they'll be particularly restless."
"I can't watch them." Velvet pointed out. " 5 of them are older than me, and Jaune and Sapphire are almost my age. Even if I do try to tell them anything, they'll order me around instead. I might as well not even be there." She looked at her mother pleadingly. " Couldn't I go to the library, or help out Mrs. Ramsey in the kitchen-"
"Velvet" her mother said dryly. "Go."
"...Yes mother."
Velvet shuffled off listlessly to the nursery as Braun laughed at her dismay. " The family pet doesn't want to play?"
Let him laugh. She knew what kind of work was in store for her.
Sometime earlier
Time had slowed to a crawl as Velvet 'played' with the erstwhile baby of the Arc brood.
"Over there!" Sapphire said imperiously. Velvet sighed as she moved the makeshift table across the grass. The summer sun beat down on her. Sapphire, with her parasol, was oblivious.
" That'll have to do." She said, mildly disappointed. " Now remember." she said seriously as Velvet pretended to set the table, " Fluffers takes no cream with his tea. Amadeus doesn't like talking about the frontier and should be kept away from the Generals, who should be kept away from the kegs… and Lord Jingleshmidt doesn't go anywhere near Lady Rhea after the two of them were caught…" Sapphire struggled over the word, " fornificating." she said, preening while she bungled the word.
Sapphire more than any of the other girls took to the idea of being mistress of the house, and happily mirrored her mother in planning and running balls, dances and dinners, right down to political considerations and jargon she didn't understand.
Unfortunately that also meant she expected to have servants to follow her large and ever changing plans, and the only one unoccupied was Velvet. For the 38th time that hour Velvet repositioned the various dolls and adjusted their orders.
" On second thought." Sapphire said, stroking her chin. "Extra cream for Fluffers." Velvet sighed.
"SAPPHIRE!" A voice called from across the grounds. "Play time's over, it's time for dinner!" The girl giggled as she noticed the sun setting.
"... I guess time flies when you're having fun." She looked at Velvet. " Mom will want all this put away."
Velvet nodded as the girl skipped off into the house, taking a moment to slump against the trunk of a tree. 'Finally, a little rest.'
Using her entire frame to support the weight of several heavy books, Velvet struggled to knock on the door to the eldest Arc daughter's room.
The door swung open, narrowly missing the young servant.
"Sabrina!" Rebecca called out. " The kiss ass is here!"
"I sent her to the library. Let her in." The older girl replied. Her sister groaned before stepping aside.
Sabrina was writing at her desk, ignoring the presence of Sapphire and Rebecca. The 7th of the Arc children was splayed on the bed, pouting impotently at her sister. The 4th child looked dismissively at their new guest.
"Hey kiss ass." She said crankily.
"Please don't call me that." Velvet said, struggling under the weight.
"Do you prefer waterworks?" Rebecca replied, noticing the tears forming in Velvet's eyes.
"No." The girl said, lips quivering.
"Then kiss ass it is."
Velvet blinked away what she could, and set the books down on Sabrina's desk with a dull thud. The teenager looked at her appraisingly, setting down her pen, and began thumbing the spines of the books.
Velvet didn't mind making book runs. The library had become a refuge of hers, one of her favorite places in the manner. During lectures, Mr. Sylveon allowed her to sit in the back, and even gave her old workbooks to use alongside the other children. Velvet devoted herself wholeheartedly to her studies; when faced with being lesser than everyone around her, finding something she was truly good at was an incredible feeling. Anytime she had to herself was spent in the library, buried in whatever had caught her fancy. In the rare instances where the family tutor openly acknowledged her, he had remarked that she soaked up knowledge like a sponge.
Sabrina appreciated the library almost as much as Velvet did. The eldest child was one of the few who noticed the budding bibliophile. The mutual respect the introverts had for one another had the unfortunate side effect of giving Velvet an additional job. Most servants were illiterate, and Sabrina's less studious siblings were far less familiar with the room's layout. Thus the older girl only trusted Velvet to locate her many required readings when she was too indisposed or lazy to visit the room herself.
" I asked for Volume 4 of Claudius's Historia Valea." She said irritably, waving the massive tome that barely fit in her hand. " Not a collection of his various works."
" Someone else must have taken Volume 4." Velvet said placatingly. In fact she had hidden it under her bed, but that detail was better kept private. " But the collection has Volumes 1 through 5, and Cladius's essays on culture and geography should be good reference material for Mr. Sylveon's assignment."
Sabrina nodded thoughtfully. " Acceptable." She then picked up another offending book. " This, however -this is a travesty." Velvet could make out the title on the faded red paperback. The Princess's Delights.
"Is that one of your 'romance' books?" Rebecca asked, nose crinkled in disgust.
"It should be." Sabrina said hotly. " I asked for the 1st edition, not the 2nd. One has all the best parts, and the other doesn't. I was very specific."
"...Lady Arc removed the 1st edition last week." Velvet replied, eyes downcast. " She said that a proper young lady shouldn't be reading that kind of literature."
"That prude." Sabrina growled. "This will have to do, then."
"You know...15 is a bit old to be playing princess." Rebecca simpered.
"Says the 9 year old."
" I'm serious. Your debut was last night. Put off courting your suitors for too long, and you could end up an old maid." Sabrina flipped the page, ignoring her stewing sister."Shouldn't you drop the novels and start thinking about your own love life?" Rebecca said bluntly.
" Love's got nothing to do with it."
The servant caught the eldest daughter's eye and shared a knowing glance. Sabrina had read as much history as Velvet; she knew how the game was played. Fewer alliances were stronger those between family, and Mason's ambitions were as numerous as his offspring.
" Don't be like that." Sapphire said. " There's got to be someone that caught your eye. Someone you might want to get to know a bit better. Half the kingdom came."
Sabrina turned the page while Rebecca shook her head at the younger girl's pouting.
"Stop ignoring me!" Sapphire whined. "I want to know what it's like."
"You'll know." Sabrina said absentmindedly. " Dad will still be here when you grow up to explain it to you."
Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Like that matters. It was your night. All eyes on you." she said reverently. "Dad's never had a debut."
"He'll have 7." Sabrina replied cuttingly.
" And you'll have 1." Rebecca said. " What are you using it for?"
The eldest daughter sighed. "I've already met with father and mother to discuss potential arrangements for the most suitable matches."
"Are they dashing?" Sapphire asked excitedly.
"They'll do." Sabrina said. " The first is coming over next week." She flipped forward several chapters, and her lips curled upward in a smirk as she found a racy passage that had evaded revision.
The eldest Arc daughter frowned as she scanned the page, before sighing in disappointment. " Until then I will continue to indulge myself as best I can." She turned the page again.
" You may go now, Velvet."
Velvet nodded silently as she left the room.
Card games were popular among the common people of Vale. The nobles typically disdained them as low class, tied to gambling, drunkenness and irresponsibility.
Naturally, such games were the guilty pleasure of the upper class, and the Arc children were no exception. Sabrina had gotten more respect as the eldest sibling for smuggling a worn deck of playing cards into the nursery than all the lectures in the world could give her, and the elder sisters typically lorded whatever knowledge they had of rules and slang, with the younger children for once paying rapt attention to them. Prized marbles and pebbles discovered on the Radian grounds replaced money, but the way the children played you would think they were gambling fortunes.
"And there's the river." Fleur said, trying and failing miserably to hide her disappointment. Meeting Charlotte's smug grin, she reluctantly laid her cards on the ground. "Fold."
Only Rebecca, Charlotte and Velvet were left in the game.
Velvet looked at the ace and ten in her hands, and the king, queen and jack on the floor. A royal flush. 'This shouldn't be possible.' She thought deliriously, running the numbers through her head. ' 1 in 649,740. A once in a lifetime chance. Someone's going to make a crack about a rabbit's foot...'
A shock of blond filled her peripheral. " What cards do you have?" Jaune asked. Velvet hugged them to her chest. " Come on," he whined. "Please?"
"She isn't going to show you, Jaune." Sabrina said sternly. " That'd be dumb."
"I'm not playing." Jaune said petulantly. " I could help her strategize… or something."
"This coming from the boy who literally lost all his marbles?" Carolyn teased.
"...I had one bad hand." he whispered, eyes staring off into the distance with a melancholy glint.
Rebecca chortled. " Don't worry, Jauney." She said arrogantly. " When I have all the marbles, I might let you borrow a few if you grovel and beg real nicely."
"You haven't won yet, 'Becca." Charlotte muttered.
"Really? Let's fix that." Rebecca said lazily. Velvet didn't want to overplay her hand and threw into the pot a small blue orb she had gotten as a present from her father. Her own trinkets were few and far between, but she wasn't really gambling them away if she knew she would win. The thought of quadrupling her meagre stash was not quite as sweet as the prospect of finally winning.
Charlotte sighed and threw in her own purple marble. Rebecca threw in two, and looked at her own pile to realize she was almost out. The 4th Arc child then got a wicked grin as she turned to her opponents.
"Velvet, fold."
Velvet was midway through meeting the ante when she seemed to Faunus girl looked on in shock, shaking.
" What are you-" Charlotte began.
"That was an order." Rebecca said sternly. " Servants are supposed to obey their masters."
" B-b-b.. but th-thats, that's not fair." Velvet whimpered, eyes beginning to water as they faced the unyielding glare of the older girl.
"Did I stutter or something?" She barked. "Now."
Velvet threw her cards to the floor, tears flowing freely as she got up to run from the room. She ignored the feeble calls after her, barely noticing the boy who picked up her cards, or the way his blue eyes hardened as he glared at his sister.
That was the last time Velvet ever volunteered to play cards. Out of guilt or on a whim, it was the last time the Arc children ever asked.
'Why am I doing this again' Velvet thought absentmindedly as she wandered in front of the Radian Hall, twig in hand.
"Halt, villain!" A voice cried out. 'Oh. That's why.'
Velvet turned to face the young Knight.
"This village is under my protection." He said seriously. " I won't let a fiend like you harm it." He waved his own stick at her threateningly. " Do you dare challenge the mighty Sir Vyven of Alastia!"
"... Avast…" She said nervously as the boy charged forward. She swung the twig wildly, striking him in the face.
"Ow!" He cried, clutching his eye.
Velvet dropped her weapon. "Jaune, are you okay! I'm so sorry, I-" she was cut off as the boy tackled her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her.
She shrieked in discomfort as a hand wrapped around one of her ears. Jaune paused, looking genuinely contrite.
" Sorry." he said,moving his hand. Velvet capitalized on his loosening of his grip, attempting to shake herself free. Jaune flailed clumsily before falling back on top of her, using his weight to pin her.
" Very clever. I'll have to use my ultimate technique to defeat you."
"Wait." Velvet said in mock terror. "Please don't!"
Jaune's hands slipped under her arms and he began tickling her relentlessly. The faunus girl broke down into shivering laughter.
"St-st-st-stop!" she called out, stifling giggles. " I surrender!"
The knight grinned down at her as she caught her breath, panting.
"Once again Remnant's bravest hero saves the day." He said triumphantly.
As the sole boy of the family, Jaune was starved for rough and tumble play. His parents were too busy, and his sisters had either outgrown or wanted to seem like they had outgrown such things.
Velvet, therefore, was always on the receiving end of his roughhousing. A few of the Arc sisters, who were sitting comfortably on the nearby porch, sent her sympathetic looks as their brother pinned her to the ground.
...While she could do with less hair pulling, as she stared at the grinning face above her she didn't think it was all that bad.
Jaune offered her a hand up, which she gladly took. She was confused by the amused look on the blond boy's face.
"Avast?" He teased.
Velvet colored. " I was trying to get in character. You know, big, mean pirate."
Jaune shook his head. " It wasn't working. You don't have a mean bone in your body."
" I… I'm sorry." She said. She had thought she was doing a good job.
Jaune shook his head. " Don't be- it's not a bad thing. It's just… part of who you are."
"Why am I always the bad guy, then?" She asked.
Jaune rubbed the back of his head nervously. " Because… you're nice enough to always let me be the hero?" Velvet nodded tiredly. She was also too nice to tell him how sore this kind of thing made her- he was starting to get heavy, after all.
The pair sat in companionable silence for a moment.
"...So." Jaune said, looking at her eagerly. " Remember last night when everyone was here for Sabrina's party?"
Velvet nodded.
"Well, Bruno Adel was there, and he said since he's becoming a cadet he was getting rid of his all his marbles."
Velvet winced. She was down to 3 after that disastrous game; Jaune's collection was non-existent.
"Bruno told me he dropped a whole bag of them off somewhere on the grounds. He also said I could keep if I found them."
"...That's … great." Velvet said, immediately seeing where the rest of her afternoon was headed.
The grounds around Radian Hall were practically a keep with in the city of Vale, a circle that extended a quarter mile in each direction bounded by high walls. Searching every nook and cranny of the 125 acre estate could take days, weeks even, especially if Bruno was pulling the younger boy's leg; it wouldn't be the first time.
" It's not that bad." Jaune whined. "We can even be pirates, if you want. Think of all the treasure we can find!."
"...We?"
"Yeah." Jaune said. " The crew splits the booty. You're running low too, right?"
" ...I'm down to three."
" So it's settled." Jaune said. " We'll start by the North Gate and work our way to the house in a spiral."
It sounded like a lot of work. "Sounds like fun." Velvet said with half a smile.
"First one to find the pouch gets first pick. Let's hop to it." The boy said, as the two began their march. " A captain can't let his crew slack."
"Aye-aye."
"No."
"Jaune... please?"
The boy grunted petulantly as he turned his back to her.
"I'm not going today. That's final."
All six of his school aged sisters watched Jaune blow off the servant girl with mild amusement. Their tutor had announced that he would not give lessons to any of them until Jaune was present. Not that they particularly minded one way or the other- Velvet would drag the boy to class and they could enjoy the spectacle.
"You have to." she pleaded. " Long division is on the schedule and if you keep putting it off he won't teach it to you." 'Or me.' The Arc family tutor was a dry but competent man. His explanations were brief but helpful, and Velvet had been having trouble finding the algorithm on her own.
"It's a beautiful day, Velv." he replied. "I don't want to waste it cooped up inside." He looked at her hopefully. " Why don't we build a fort? Play hide and seek?" Velvet tugged on his shirt weakly.
"We're late." She said. "You know I can't stop until you go."
Jaune looked at her. "Forget Mom's orders." he said. " You don't work for her yet. It's not like your mom's going to get into trouble with mine because I didn't go to class." Velvet shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want to risk it.
"If you let me go, we can do whatever you want today."
"Anything?"
"Yeah. Promise." he said brightly. Velvet let him go. "So," he asked, " what are we doing?"
"... I want to go to class." she said guiltily, watching the smile vanish from his face.
"That's… that's not fair!" he whined.
"You promised." An Arc never goes back on their word. Velvet didn't like having to twist that against him- she didn't like being the bad cop for the closest thing she had to a friend in the whole world. But it was her job.
"I promised to do anything not to go to class." he protested. "Actually going doesn't count."
Velvet winced as he glared at her as if she were some kind of traitor. His anger would pass. His own pride wouldn't let him skive off if she didn't release him, and she couldn't do that.
"If you want to go to tutoring and suck up to Sylveon you can do it yourself you… you…" he sputtered,. "..kiss ass!".
It was the first time Jaune had ever called her that. And as luck would have it, it was first time Lady Arc had heard one of her children swear.
Almost out of nowhere the woman appeared, scowling deeply.
"Jaune Arc!" she yelled. "Where on Earth did you learn to talk like that?!"
The boy's eyes darted to the approaching form of his indignant mother and then towards a glaring Rebecca before guiltily going to the floor. "Nowhere…" he said unconvincingly.
Isabelle Arc grabbed her only son by the ear and dragged him kicking and screaming in the kitchen to wash his mouth out.
As he went, Velvet couldn't even look him in the eye.
Present day
The nursery, as the adults called it, was set aside on the West Wing of Radian Hall, away from the guest rooms and the kitchens and the ballroom or anything other place where small children were not always welcome.
Once a week or so, the Arc children were sent into this room for family bonding. The older siblings often complained, and refused to call it a 'nursery' while they were using it, but their participation was non-negotiable.
Velvet stood in front of the room, preparing for whatever chaos was on the other side of the door. Seven children, all with the authority to order her around and several of whom were sure to be in a bad mood.
She opened the door to shouting.
" Come on!" Jaune whined. " It's my turn to go first."
"It was your turn last week." Rebecca said. The two were standing in front of the toy chest. Once again, their parents had dictated that all the toys were to be shared, for 'bonding'. Who got first pickings was one of many areas of tension that made nursery duty particularly grating.
" I was grounded!" Jaune said angrily.
"And whose fault is that?"
Sabrina was the first of the children to notice Velvet's presence. She gave the girl a faint nod and went back to whatever book had got her attention. The others were too engrossed by the spectacle in front of the toy chest.
"Who went first last week?" Jaune huffed.
"I did!" Rebecca answered. "Somebody had to."
"Then that was your turn and this week's mine!"
"Nope, it's still my turn." Rebecca said. " Use it or lose it, no refunds."
"'Becca!" Jaune whined, slumping over the lid of the chest. " Stop being mean! I just want to take Sir Vyven. You don't even like Sir Vyven."
" I will take him from spite, you little bastard!"
" Nuh uh. I won't let you!"
"Get off!" She said, trying to shove the stubborn boy off her prize.
The two were staring each other down when Jaune saw Velvet out of the corner of his eye.
The faunus girl waved at him shyly. His eyes hardened and he turned his attention back to his sister, who had taken his lapse in attention as an opportunity to slip by him.
'It's fine.' Velvet told herself. 'Everyone else ignores me-so what if this hurts more- I don't care, I-'
"By the gods, don't start crying again." Sabrina said irritably, waving a book in front of her servant. " Just take it and calm down."
"...Thanks." Velvet whispered, wiping water out of her eyes. She treaded slowly to her familiar corner, on the far side of the room and away from the arguing pair.
She would settle into crevice and enjoy the relative downtime before her peace was interrupted by some ruddy-
"Isn't there someone who can shut them up!?" Sapphire whined. As far as the other Arcs were concerned argument was merely holding up the game for the rest them.
Fleur turned to her older sister, pointedly saying "I don't know, maybe the actual legal adult in the room could step up and do something."
Sabrina muttered something unintelligible and flipped the page.
Fleur groaned.
"Well, there is someone else who can sort this out." Charlotte said cheekily. " Someone whose job is specifically to keep all of us in line."
Rebecca followed her sisters line of sight, then scoffed. " You have got to be kidding."
Velvet put down the book, sighing. 'Half a page.' she thought. ' I didn't even get half a page.'
" Velvet?" Fleur asked, half sarcastically, half with the hope that playing along might finally calm things down, " Whose turn is it today?"
" This is total crap and you know it." Rebecca said sharply. " We all know that rodent's just going to choose- oohhh…" the girl said, grinning slightly. " Oh this is rich."
Jaune glared at Velvet out of the corner of his eyes, not daring to hope, before pouting at his sister.
" Go on, Velvet." Rebecca said haughtily. " Whose side are you on?"
Velvet was torn. Jaune might be acting like a jerk, but Rebecca had just called her a rodent to her face. Strictly speaking, rabbits were rodents, of course, but faunus were not the species from which their gifts came from, and regardless, the tone had been far from neutral observation.
Of course, if she were a rabbit, she could just burrow and hide from the predators that were watching her every move like a hawk for the moment.
Both were staring at her, grinning or glaring. Stepping in like this was sure to irritate at least of her master's children, who would have no shortage of opportunities to take it out on her. Rebecca had by far the worst temper of the bunch … but Jaune … Jaune had a far greater capacity to hurt her.
While his sister grinned wolfishly at her, his eyes darting away from her, no pleading, just frustration and a bracing for inevitable loss.
It would infuriate Rebecca … but if she gave the day to Jaune as a peace offering? She looked over at him again, trying to reach his eyes, but he avoided her.
"Just do it." He muttered lifelessly.
He'd be too stubborn to accept her help when they were fighting, when it was a fight he started. Better to placate his sister and have just one of them mad at her… or to just stay silent until they grew tired of waiting and moved on.
" If you could say something today, please," Rebecca drawled. "that'd be great."
No, better not to take sides. " I have the same problem as the toy chest." Velvet said diplomatically. " I take orders from both of you. If the two of you disagree on what I'm supposed to do, I don't have the right to choose between you."
"Sure you don't." Rebecca said dismissively. "Okay, Jaune, this is getting really old. Just listen to your big sister for once in your life and back off."
Jaune wasn't paying attention to his sister. Or rather, not just to her. He looked at the faunus girl with a bewildered expression, like she had said something that was obviously wrong. His gaze drifted from person to person, looking for reassurance and finding none. Weakly, he forced himself to look back at Velvet.
"Becca," he said slowly, " when was the last time ... Velvet got a turn?"
His sister scoffed. " A servant isn't one of us, she doesn't get a turn. Don't be dumb."
The boy winced. "...That's not fair."
Rebecca rolled her eyes. " So, what, it's her turn today?"
"Yeah." He said.
"Really?" she said. She looked at her sisters for support, but none moved. Carolyn, younger than Rebecca but older than Jaune, made the decision. " If it gets the two of you to shut up, then yes, really."
"Fine." Rebecca murmured. She turned to the faunus, arms crossed. " Don't keep us waiting."
Velvet took a moment to marvel at her good fortune. Slowly, she moved to the chest, popping it open.
Inside there were plenty of dolls, blocks, stuffed animals (which for the most part she did not care for), and even the worn toy knight that Jaune was so enamored with.
The Faunus girl hesitated. She had always contented herself with whatever was left over when the Arc children got their picks, so she had never allowed herself to choose a favorite. Faced with the wealth of options before her she didn't… her eyes locked onto a forgotten box at the bottom of the chest, one she had noticed many times but never brought out. She did know what she wanted.
The box was dusty when she pulled it out, yet a quick polishing job revealed its title , carved in an elegant script. 'Remnant: The Game'
"What is that?" Sapphire asked, curious.
Fleur squinted. " I think it's one of Dad's old war games." She said. " Looks like it hasn't been played since his time either."
"That game's not going to be worth much with only one player." Rebecca remarked.
" ...I know." Velvet said anxiously. " Which is why… Iwashopingweallcouldplaytogether." she rushed out.
It took the older girl a moment to understand. She scoffed. " No. No way."
Jaune pouted at her. " 'Becca." He said sternly. " It's her turn."
"Shut up, twerp."
" You can't make her play, Jaune." Fleur said gently.
" And you won't. What do I get out of this whole charade?"
The boy paused, biting his lower lip. " How about we add some stakes to the game."
Rebecca grinned. " Now you're speaking my language."
"What's up for grabs, then?" Carolyn asked.
"Winner gets to take the best toy out of the chest, permanently." Jaune said.
"You're on." Rebecca said. " And after I throttle you, I'll never have to hear you say the words 'Sir Vyven' again."
"You wouldn't!" Jaune said, eyes bugged out knowing very well that she would. " He's the greatest hero in all of Remnant, slayer of grim, the dust dealing destroyer!"
"Not for long."
"One more thing." Velvet whispered. " I want the game to be fair."
Rebecca arched an eyebrow. " What are you talking about?" She turned, looking from sister to sister, each with a knowing glare. "...Okay." she groaned. "Whoever wins, wins. Happy?"
'Very.' Velvet thought, as the group settled in to play.
The cards were worn, but legible, and the texture of the paper felt comfortable in her hands. The game was designed for up to four players, so the children banded together to form teams. Sabrina, unamused by the entire process, stayed in the corner and read, despite her siblings' cajoling.
Jaune and Carolyn took Vale, Fleur and Sapphire took Mantle, Rebecca and Charlotte took Mistral and Velvet was left with Vacuo.
The battle was fierce. Almost immediately Mistral launched an attack on Vale. Rebecca was determined to knock Jaune out of the game, whatever the tactical cost may be, and her sister was more than happy to come along for the mayhem. Jaune and Carolyn rallied admirably, with lucky rolls and solid tactics saving them from doom. Mantle quickly joined in the dogpile, but Sapphire's incessant questioning of Fleur made any discreet planning impossible, and it rapidly evolved into a stalemate.
So enveloped in sibling rivalry were the Arc children that they hardly paid attention to Velvet and her puny little kingdom in the west. None of them noticed when she took a small territory, just enough to get another card, and then quietly halted her advance.
Then, after an hour of bloodshed, when the three great powers had locked themselves in a death struggle on Solitas, she made her move.
" I cash in my conquest cards for 8 additional armies." she said. " I also play letters of marque to double domestic raids in your kingdoms, and I deploy all my forces to Mantle. Using the Vacuo trade winds they arrive in a single turn, and since this is a surprise attack, I get advantage on all rolls."
6 pairs of blue eyes locked on her, in shock. " She can't do that!" Sapphire whined. Carolyn flipped through the rulebook, then sighed.
"She can actually."
It wasn't a battle so much as an execution. With their entire armies annihilated in one fell swoop the other Kingdoms fell before the end of her turn.
Velvet couldn't contain the manic grin that threatened to split her features as the others began to pack the game up.
Fleur looked her over with a wary respect. " You could be dangerous, you know that?"
Giddy with excitement, the faunus turned over to the friend that had made it all possible.
Jaune, however, had returned back to his previous foul mood. Scowling at the ground, he ignored her. " This game's stupid." he said bitterly.
Velvet's smile died. Then, she did something very foolish. She stuck her tongue out at him and muttered ' jerk' under her breath.
Suddenly, Velvet felt herself jolted off the ground.
Rebecca was 9 to Velvet's 7, but she seemed to tower over the Faunus even as she held her in the air.
"That was a bridge to far." Rebecca said, eyes darkening. " Jaune may be a total idiot, but he's our total idiot. No matter what got into everyone's heads today, no matter what you won, no matter what you do, you're still a servant. And if you ever, ever, get uppity with us again, you'll regret it."
"I'm sorry." Velvet said nervously, as the grip on her clothes tightening into fists. She looked around, desperate for some sort of escape route. No one else moved." I didn't mean-"
"I don't care." her mistress growled.
"'Becca!" A voice called out pleadingly. "Stop."
Jaune looked over at his sister, who spent half a second glaring at his impudence before locking her eyes back on her target."
"Not until this runt remembers her place."
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I won't do it again-" Velvet cried, panicking.
Suddenly the boy was much closer, trying to drive his way in between them.
"Put her down." Jaune said, an unfamiliar steel in his voice. Then, as his sister finally looked him in the eye, he added softly "Please."
Each child was suddenly conscious of the room, once again all locked on the fight in front of them, but this time with far less excitement, and far more fear.
Rebecca took a deep breath, then sighed. She dropped Velvet to the ground, without fanfare and walked in the other direction. "Whatever. We have to get to class anyway." The grandfather clock in the room struck three.
On her way out, Rebecca picked up the toy box, and tossed all of its contents onto the ground. "Someone's going to have to pick that up." She said airily, before walking out of the room.
Almost everyone ignored Velvet, unable to deal with the deathly still girl curled up on the floor. After an awkward silence, they too left the room.
Velvet tried to pull herself back together. She had been having fun, and it had all gone wrong so fast. Now she was going to be late for class, and she couldn't ask Mr. Sylveon for extra time because he was already doing her a favor letting her sit in.
She forced herself up, looking over the mess she would have to clean, only to realize with a start that it had already shrunk considerably.
Not all of the children had left, it seems. Carolyn and Jaune were picking up toys and haphazardly throwing them into the chest.
The faunus girl turned to them, eyes wide.
"Why?" She asked dully.
"You think I'd miss an opportunity to miss class?" Carolyn said. " Mr. Sylveon is a bore, anyway."
"It'll get done quicker if we all help." Jaune said simply, before clumsily depositing an armful of stuffed animals into the box.
The trio worked silently, and within another minute the three tiny pairs of hands had completed the task.
Carolyn groaned. " We really ought to have dragged that out a bit longer." Velvet said nothing, to emotionally drained to rebuke her.
Jaune's eyes still darted away from her, but now it seemed to be more from guilt than anger.
"Velvet," he said timidly. "what do you think of me?
The girl looked at him, unsure of how to respond.
"Rebecca's not here. I know you're mad at me." He said apologetically. " I'm sorry we fought, and I want to make it better. Just let it all out."
Velvet quivered, looking at the earnest boy infront of her before something inside her snapped.
"I think you're a jerk!" She yelled. " A big, mean, stupid, arrogant, clumsy, lazy jerk!" Years of emotional repression and neglect had piled up until the floodgates had finally broken. Velvet was only half conscious of the insanity coming out of her mouth, unable to stop its flow. " You never listen to me, you constantly tease me, and pull my hair! You're always getting into trouble, you're always skipping lessons, and you always drag me along! Who's the one who has to clean up your messes? And then you ignore me when all I want to do is h-h-h-elp you." Velvet hiccuped, reason rushing back to her.
'Oh god, by the brothers, what did I just do?' she thought, terrified. Carolyn was staring at the younger girl, slack jawed, while Jaune closed his eyes. If sticking her tongue out was enough to risk everything, what kind of hell had that little outburst won her?
"... I guess I deserved that." Jaune muttered. Carolyn's eyes seemed to bug out of her head as her brother's posture slumped. " I'm sorry I called you a kiss ass."
" I… I…"
"Are we square now?"
Velvet nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Suddenly, Jaune pulled out something he had and pushed it into her hands. Velvet flinched before recognizing the object.
"You won." Jaune whispered. " And an Arc doesn't go back on his word."
Wrapped in her hands was the well used figure of Sir Vyven the knight. It was a childish, self-centered thing to assume that just because he thought it was the best toy of the bunch that she would agree. She tucked it away into her pocket, reverently, and knew she would treasure it anyway.
"If you two are done-" Carolyn said, trying to recapture her grip on the world. "we do have to get to class."
"Wait." Jaune said. One more thing. The others paused, and he lunged, firmly tapping Velvet on the shoulder.
"Tag!" He yelled. "You're it!" Then he rushed out of the room.
Velvet grinned. 'Everything's back to normal.' Then she realized this meant she would have to chase him down before the two of them could get to class. She let out a long suffering sigh. 'Everything's back to normal.'
"Better make it quick, bunny." Carolyn said disinterestedly as the girls went their separate ways.
Velvet made her way out of the nursery, hot on his trail. Radian hall was a sizable estate, but she knew Jaune well, and he wouldn't have gone far.
The East Wing was devoted almost entirely to guests, with conference rooms and extra bedrooms on the upper two floors and equipment and the matron's quarters on the ground level. Since they had just finished a rather large get together most of the rooms would be empty, but Jaune wouldn't want to go past the grand staircase in the center of the house, where anyone could spot him and give away his position. The Foyer and the Great Hall were also inaccessible from the West Wing unless one went through the central hallway past the staircase on the first floor, and they had comparatively little cover. And going outside left so many options that it ceased to be much of a game.
So, Jaune would've stayed in the West Wing, the residential part of the manor. The third floor held the master bedroom and the bedrooms of all the children, as well as the nursery, but Velvet discounted it almost immediately and walked down the stairs.
The first floor was likely out as well. The recreational spaces and parlor rooms were by design fairly open, and the likelihood was too high that a servant would come in, spot him, and find someone with the authority to drag him to class.
So it would have to be the second floor. The library was out, for obvious reasons, and Jaune wasn't bold enough to enter into his father's study, so it would be one of the empty bedrooms. In theory the 2nd floor was reserved for cadet lines of House Arc, or very close family friends. In practice, most cadet lines were anxious to preserve whatever independence they had, and Mason Arc was too cautious a man to want those who would greatly benefit from the death of himself or his heir living under his roof. So the bedrooms were empty more often than not, undisturbed. Making them prime hiding territory.
Velvet stood outside one of the doors for a moment, before shaking her head and walking to the next. Jaune, whatever his faults, was an extraordinarily clever child. He had gotten so good at this game, so used to evading Velvet's senses, that he could almost mask his breathing. Almost.
At the room next to the central hallway, she heard a faint rising and falling of air, too faint for any human to detect. With an extra set of ears however, she had locked in her target.
She opened the door, but she was unprepared for the pillow that flew into her face, and the shock of gold that flitted past her down the hallway.
'He knew I'd find him.' She thought incredulously, ' so he positioned himself to run right when it happened!'
The girl followed him down the hallway, only a few paces behind him. She reached out at his back, almost touching him before he turned down the stairs.
"Jaune, wait!" She cried, as he unknowingly rushed to his doom, laughing. One false step on the rich carpet sent him tumbling down the staircase, rolling with a dull thump to the feet of the stairs.
Velvet rushed down, tightly gripping the marble bannister on the way down lest her own feet fail her. Jaune had rolled himself back up to a seating position, clutching his knee. Velvet looked him over.
He was sturdy if nothing else. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises, he hadn't taken much damage from the impact.
"You're bleeding." She muttered anxiously, pulling out a handkerchief to clean him up a little.
"I'm fine." he said, wiping away a tear from his right eye. "This is nothing." It seemed to take intense effort to not let any more tears fall as she helped him back to his feet. " Arcs fight the foulest monsters to roam the earth." He said, gritting his teeth. " I can handle a flight of stairs."
'Stupid family pride.' Velvet thought. " Just try and be more careful." she said imploringly. " If you ever really hurt yourself, I'd-" Velvet stopped herself. She'd never hear the end of it, but that hardly seemed to be her motive. Keeping this boy safe meant more to her than any job.
"I know." He replied. " I just- I wanted to win." Velvet looked over him passively, with a grade A poker face.
"Velvet?" He asked.
She grinned at him cheekily. Then she gently poked him in the side. " Tag."
" Oh... oh… you devious little-" he muttered, before following her up the stairs.
At first Velvet forced herself to go slowly, but after a near miss she realized her opponents mobility hadn't been hampered in the slightest, so she scampered back up the stairs as fast as she could.
Jaune was right on her tail the entire time. As she led him back to the library, he was laughing. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew he knew she was leading him to class, but he hardly seemed to care. He had had his fun. He caught her just as she opened the door.
" Good game, Velv." He said jovially, before sighing and overly dramatically preparing himself for the ordeal to come. "Hi Mr. Sylveon, sorry I'm late, I-" whatever excuse Jaune had concocted died on his lips.
The man behind the open door was not Mr. Sylveon. Instead, a man with a goatee and violent red eyes stood in front of the makeshift classroom, posture ramrod straight. The other children were seated at their desks, not moving a muscle.
" Ah." he said, staring down the newcomers with a disinterested menace. " It seems our little princeling has finally arrived."
The World of Remnant: Chronology
Whenever you mess around with history and whenever you jump years between chapters, gauging the passage of time can be difficult. Here's a brief guide to prevent any confusion moving forward.
This story takes place in a universe where the Great War never happened, and none of the economic, political and social changes it spurred happened either. The Canon Great War began 90 years before the beginning of the series and lasted for a decade. Another Life's timeline narrowly averted that war with an agreement called the Great Peace, and all dates are given as before or after said peace (BGP and AGP, respectively).
The canon RWBY first year at Beacon corresponds to 90 AGP.
There are a lot of children to keep track of and I've gotten questions about the relative ages of the characters. This story will move through time somewhat quickly, but the year will always be given as a reference. From eldest to youngest, the Arc Children are
Sabrina b. 64 AGP
Fleur b. 67 AGP
Charlotte b. 69 AGP
Rebecca b. 70 AGP
Carolyn b. 71 AGP
Jaune b.73 AGP
Sapphire b. 74 AGP
Noelle b. 77 AGP (At the very end of the year)
Velvet was born in 72 AGP. The characters are never given canon birth dates, but Velvet is roughly 1 year older than Jaune and thus one year ahead of him at Beacon in the main series timeline. Remnant's years are the same length as ours and apparently use the same system of months ( Although the only specific date we are given in the whole series timeline is Ruby's birthdate, October 31st). Since having precise birthdates can be useful, Velvet was born on September 30th while Jaune was born August 2nd.
TL;DR Jaune is roughly a year younger than Velvet. The gap between the eldest Arc child (Sabrina) and the youngest (Noelle) is 14 years.
P.S. I've had a lot of material for this story for a while now. Unfortunately, while I have a very strong sense of where this story is going to go, the material I have written is chronologically out of order and thus I need to fill in the appropriate gaps before it can be posted. I will try to do this with more frequency going forward, but rest assured that I am sitting on 18,000 more words of this and they will become available as soon as I put the appropriate words between them, come hell or high water.
'The Reaper' will also be updated at least once before the ending of October. I swear this on whatever honor I as an occasional author of fanfiction may happen to possess. Long story short I wanted to wait and see how much of Volume 5 I could incorporate into my lore. I was frustrated to find that the answer was virtually none, and turned off somewhat by the way things were handled in that canon story arc. That isn't fair to the people who enjoyed it, but I figure I at least owed an explanation for the prolonged hiatus.
P.S.S. Happy Birthday to Velvet.