AN: Chapter 10, folks. For this one, I'm opening with introducing another RWBY face then we'll do some more training before we get into the next arc. Seriously, that part of the game…fuck that shit lol. Good for exploring, but it just feels so damned long. I was gonna do the Monorail quest, but I decided against it as it would've doubled the word count, and I want to take a lot of time detailing it properly.

Joan Arc's Legend

Summary: Joan, the youngest member of the Albion royal family, always dreamt of being a Hero like her ancestor, Jaune Arc of Oakvale. She never imagined she'd have to deal with an ancient evil, perverted garden gnomes, or leading a rebellion on top of it.

*The Burdens of the Past*

Logan rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache that had plagued him for more than four years. The weight of the crown on his head was a great burden, and for possibly the millionth time he wondered how his father dealt with such stress with a smile.

Then again, King Sparrow never had to deal with monsters from the Void, such as the Crawler. That hideous monstrosity born in the shadows, with six black eyes that gleamed with the purest of hatred for anything living, had nearly killed him when he went on the expedition to Aurora. Every man and woman he took with him was taken by the darkness, and he was lucky that an Auroran priest gathering rare flowers stumbled across his limp form in the Shifting Sands Desert to the south of the city.

He remembered when he woke up in Aurora and took a walk through the city's desolate streets, the stench of the dead filling his nose no matter where his head turned. Aurora was nothing more than a city of nightmares. It was a doomed land.

Logan felt a twinge of guilt. He had promised the Auroran people that he would save them from the Crawler, that he would return with an army and slay the demon. He had never returned to the desert city. By Avo, he wasn't sure if Aurora was even still standing; for all he knew, it could have been swallowed by the darkness. He couldn't fight it. He wasn't a Hero, like his sister.

'Joan…' For possibly the tenth time today, he wondered how his little sister was faring. He knew she had left the castle with Klein and Port; he knew all about the catacombs lying beneath the castle garden and wasn't surprised to find it open. He could sense her potential for years; she carried their father's blood, even if her powers weren't unlocked at the time.

She needed to become the queen if Albion were to have a chance against the Crawler and the darkness it brought. He knew Joan would be a better leader than he could ever hope to be. He wasn't fit to be the king anymore.

Logan took the crown off of his head and set it down on his bedside table, running one of his calloused hands over it. He may have been royalty, but he was still an adventurer at heart. He could feel that side of him begging to ditch the castle and go out exploring Albion again, to visit the famous Sandgoose tavern in the farming village of Oakfield and unwind.

A faint smile formed on his face as he recalled his first experience trying their special brew. Their rum was very potent and many of the men he brought with him were unable to handle such strong alcohol. For Logan, however, he seemed to have inherited his father's amazing alcohol tolerance. He was still functioning even after half a dozen bottles, while his men were either slumped in their chairs unconscious or getting into drunken brawls for trying to lay in bed with a farmer's wife.

He never got tired of hearing the innkeeper singing his father's praises, all while a local bard performed a song about how King Sparrow singlehandedly saved them all from the evil Temple of Shadows and destroyed the horrible cult. Sparrow deserved every bit of praise that was sent his way; he was the perfect Hero. Kind, honorable, just, and fiercely protective of his land. He would die before allowing his people to come to harm. Even in his old age, he was always the warrior, dashing between his enemies and cutting them to ribbons with the grace of someone half his age.

Logan thought to the times he would watch Port and Joan spar, before they left the castle. Port was always a demanding teacher, never accepting excuses of any kind. Every time Logan would come down to observe, he would always be surprised of that determined glow that shone in Joan's eyes even when she was losing. That kind of willpower was rare to see, especially for someone as young as her. She hadn't even seen her eighteenth birthday, and yet out there in the wilds, she could very easily meet her doom.

'No. She's doing fine. I know she is. Port will keep her safe, if he needs to. Joan was always someone who could take care of herself, even if the odds were stacked against her.' Logan had no doubt Joan would gain followers to her cause; his spy network across Albion had already confirmed to him that both the Dweller Camp and Brightwall Village were now supporting her.

It was more than just a simple rebellion. It was a revolution, and he knew he would be overthrown by the end of it. He wanted to be rid of the throne; he was no longer fit to call himself the king.

He heard a knock on the doors to the royal suite, and he lifted himself from his bed to see who it could possibly be. A quick glance out of the large windows told him it was still in the very early hours of the morning; the cloudless sky was now a very faint smudge of indigo, meaning that dawn was not far off now. 'I wonder who it is. I'm not expecting any visitors at this time.'

"Who is it?" he asked wearily, rubbing the circles that seemed to be permanently etched under his eyes in a vain attempt to make himself look more presentable.

"Your majesty, it's me. I've returned," came the reply from the other side. Logan would know that voice anywhere.

'So, he's back. I guess that means he was successful.' Logan stood up and strode towards the door, unlocking it to let in a young man with windswept red hair and a black coat. Adam Taurus, the royal assassin. The assassin's blue eyes were hidden behind a small white porcelain mask that covered the top half of his face, and his black katana was in his hands.

"Adam. It's good to see you," he said, stifling a yawn.

"Apologies. Did I wake you?" Adam asked. "If you need your rest, I can always wait until later to give you my report."

Logan shook his head. "No. I wasn't able to sleep much tonight, anyway. An early start won't hurt me. What was the situation?"

"Your information was correct," Adam said, pulling out a small map marked with meeting places as well as what appeared to be scheduled gold stops. "Thomas Kaidkin was indeed giving supplying gold and scavenged weaponry to the Ripper bandit gang in Mistpeak, as well as information about the local guards. Needless to say, I took care of the situation as efficiently as I could. He won't be a nuisance any longer."

"Excellent work. One less traitor to worry about." Logan was very pleased with the outcome, not that he had any doubt Adam would fail; the man was deadly in the art of the blade. With that damned spy gone, it was only a matter of time before they could make a move on the bandit crew themselves. "What about Ripper?"

"He's already been taken care of. By your sister, no less," Adam replied smoothly. "Our spy network has confirmed that Ripper's bounty has been collected. I imagine that this means the region's inhabitants now support her."

"It does," the king agreed. 'Well done, Joan. You're proving yourself to be more than just a princess. You're becoming the leader this country so desperately yearns for. I'm proud.'

"There's one more thing, sir. She's not alone. A man is traveling with her, carrying a sword far larger than anything I've seen," Adam continued. "Should I interfere?"

'A man travelling with her? Who the bloody hell could that be?' Logan frowned. "No. For now, see what you can find out about this mysterious addition. They'll be on their way to Bowerstone fairly shortly, I believe. Once they are within the capital, I would like for you to test her. See how far she's come, and how much further she has to go."

"As you command, my king." Adam bowed his head and turned sharply on his heel, closing the door behind him to leave Logan alone in his chambers once more.

Logan strode over to his bed, climbing under the exquisite silk sheets and burying himself in their warm depths. He still had a few hours before he had royal matters to attend to, and he could afford to catch what little sleep he could until then. 'This is an unloved position. I hope Joan is indeed ready for this burden when the time comes.'

The king closed his weary eyes and fell into yet another dreamless sleep.

Joan woke up to the sensation of a boot gently prodding her side, and the blonde princess groaned in annoyance and tried to hug her blanket closer to her. "Go away, Klein…"

"Rise and shine, Blondie," a low voice gently commanded, continuing to prod at her. "We have to get a move on now."

Joan's eyes twitched, still closed. There's no way Klein would use such a ridiculous and childish nickname for her. He was far too polite and proper. Speaking in such a callous manner was simply unimaginable. In fact, not even Port would talk to her like that. The only one who would do such a childish thing was...

Oh, right. Qrow.

Joan groaned and reluctantly blinked her eyes open, giving Qrow her best glare as she sat up from her sleeping bag. The sun had barely risen on the horizon, its gentle rays just brushing over the lake and creating a scene worthy of a painting. However, that didn't mean she enjoyed being woken up the way she was. "Really, Qrow? Did you have to wake me up at the crack of dawn?"

The older Hero was already wide awake and he held his bow in his hands. "Yes. I need you to start working on getting our campsite cleared while I finish up cooking. I let you sleep an hour later than I did."

"Wow, I'm so grateful for that." Joan rolled her eyes with a huff and rubbed under her eyes to get the sleep out of them. "I'm unable to contain it."

"Less complaining, more being awake. Otherwise I'll eat all of the delicious deer I managed to catch this beautiful morning," Qrow threatened.

For a minute, the princess was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep just to spite him. However the scent of freshly cooked meat started to waft towards her and her stomach let out a loud growl of protest, forcing her to sit up. She didn't realize how hungry she actually was until the smell reached her nose. 'That smells really good. Dammit. I guess I'll sleep when I get a chance to.'

"Ugh, fine." Joan stretched her arms high above her head, her shirt riding up to expose her stomach. "I'm coming, I'm coming. You are a pain in my backside, Qrow. I hope you know that."

"You say that now. I guarantee you that in a few months, you'll be thanking me for this," Qrow shot back with his usual smirk. "Besides, before we go and meet Port at the station, I wanted to get some training done after we finish eating. A Hero can never have too much practice when it comes to trying to hone their powers, and you could always use it."

"You're acting like I don't know how to use my magic," Joan said with a huff, sitting down on a log to eat. The coarse bark rubbed the back of her legs, and she adjusted herself to make her seat a little more comfortable.

"You do know what you're doing, I'll give you that much," Qrow conceded, pulling the deer off the fire and cutting off a large chunk of cooked meat for her. "But you're definitely no master mage. You haven't even tried using your Time Control spell in a way apart from slowing down everything."

"What, you mean there's more to it than just that?" Joan sighed and dug into the tender meat, practically salivating at the taste. As much of a pain as he was, he definitely knew how to cook. Not that she'd ever admit it to him. 'How did he learn to do all of this?'

"Oh yes." The older Hero nodded. "You see, you've been using Time Control in a surround manner, slowly down everything to give you an advantage. However, there's a nice little effect if you use it the same way you use your Shock spell. You'll speed yourself up to the point where it looks like you teleported, giving you the ability to take your enemy by surprise by suddenly appearing behind them."

Joan was tempted to groan. Her magical reserves were nowhere near as big as Qrow's or even her father's. "Sounds nice." 'I can barely use it in a surround manner for more than five seconds. How the hell am I going to be able to use it like that?'

"You're damn right it is." Qrow smirked and finished eating his fill before walking over to the leftovers, glancing at the seal Joan carried on her. "Hey, butler. Mind taking this away for us?"

"Don't be so rude," Joan grumbled.

"No need to worry. I shall preserve it for you to consume at a later date." The rest of their lunch disappeared in a golden flash, and the blonde gave Qrow a glare.

"What?" he asked, grinning. "Don't tell me you're going to chastise me or something."

"I have half a damn mind to." Her blue gaze narrowed and she folded her arms. "Do you have any sort of decency in you?"

"Short Stack, there's no point in me pretending to be something I'm not."

"…I'm going to smack you."

"Save your energy for our session, Blondie." Qrow smirked and pulled out his greatsword, carrying it in his non-dominant hand. "Remember, you need to focus your magic. Time Control is one of the more difficult spells to master. Try and reach me from where you are."

Joan's hand became cloaked in green, and she tried to focus herself into moving to where he stood. She gasped in shock as she suddenly lurched forward and the next thing she knew she was on the ground facefirst in the grass.

She let out a muffled groan as she lifted her head, glaring at Qrow as he snickered. "I'm glad this is funny to you. I'd hate to think of what might happen if I succeeded in this first try." 'Ozpin, how the hell did you put up with him for all those years without hitting him? I know you're watching.'

"On the bright side, Joan, you didn't end up in a lake like Jaune did the first time he tried it." Ozpin's laughter rang in her head as she forced herself up. "Better to be dry on the grass than end up soaking wet if you ask me. Unless you want to become a fish?"

'Oh, do shut up.' She spat out a mouthful of dirt and sent Qrow a dirty look as she made her way back to her starting point. 'I hear enough of it from him.'

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and focusing. Her hands became cloaked in green magic again, and she cast the spell for the second time. Again she lurched forward, but this time she managed to stay upright for a bit before she tumbled to the ground again, catching herself.

"Definitely better than the first time," Qrow replied, helping her back up to her feet. "Now, again. Remember, your footwork is going to dictate whether you stay standing or you land on your face. And I don't know about you, but you are too pretty to end up looking like you lost a fight with a shovel."

The princess brushed herself off, wiping her mouth and grimacing. "How long did it take you and Jaune to use this spell properly?" 'If it took them anything less than a week, I'll be surprised.'

"Jaune took about three weeks of constant use before he could master it, but he was already one damn good mage thanks to his enormous magical reserves," Qrow answered. "He didn't start using it until he was already an arch mage. I don't really use magic that often, so it took me five to six weeks."

"Well, that makes me feel a little bit better about all these mishaps," Joan muttered, earning a snicker from the older man. She made her way back and tried again. Her hands became alive with green energy and casted the spell for the third time. She stumbled a bit after lurching forward, but this time she remained standing upright.

Qrow nodded in approval, grinning. "Not bad. Your landing could be a little smoother, but you are getting better. Now, again."

Joan was panting heavily and she could feel her magic reserves were mostly sapped now. She needed to let them rest if she wanted to prevent herself from passing out and she looked at him wearily. "Not sure if I can keep using my magic like this, Qrow. My reserves aren't as big as yours."

"The only way they'll get any bigger is if you push yourself." Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask filled with some kind of blue liquid sloshing about in it. With a lazy flick of his wrist he tossed it to her. "Drink this. This'll keep you going for a bit."

The blonde caught it and eyed it suspiciously. Even though they had fought together and he had been keeping his promise of giving up drinking, she wouldn't put it past him to play some sort of sick joke and give her liquor for little more than a laugh. "Are you sure about this?"

"Short Stack, I'm not some sleazy pervert who tries to get pretty women intoxicated so I can sleep with them." He rolled his red eyes with a sigh. "For the love of Avo, trust me on this, will you?"

"Fine," Joan grumbled, yanking the cork out and steeling herself for the worst. "But if I end up losing consciousness and wake up in the same bed as you, I'm going to cut off a specific part of your anatomy."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Ozpin said. "Despite his addiction to the art of flirting, Qrow has morals and refuses to take advantage of someone like that."

'Him and morals don't belong in the same sentence.' Joan rolled her eyes and took a careful sniff. The smell of the potion was similar to a combination of Zwei's fur and burnt feathers, making her grimace. Still, she was relieved to not smell any trace of alcohol in it. 'Okay, so he kept his word. Well, bottoms up.'

She raised the flask to her lips and drank it. The harsh taste scorched the back of her throat and she coughed, but she managed to keep it down. She felt a sudden surge of energy course through her body and she stood up a little straighter, tossing the empty flask at the raven haired man. "This tastes awful."

"Yeah, but it worked didn't it?" Qrow caught it with a bored yawn and put in his pocket. "Trust me, if I could find a way to sweeten it without diluting its effects, I would. Even I admit they taste like rubbish, but you won't find a better way to get your magical reserves back up. Now focus and use the spell again." He definitely wasn't going to go easy on her.

"Fine, fine." Joan stood in her spot and cast the spell again. She lurched forward and found herself staring directly up at Qrow's face, standing mere inches away from him. She felt a bit of heat rise to her cheeks when she realized just how close she was to the handsome man and she tried to prevent herself from staring at his dull red eyes. If she looked too long, she'd be trapped in that gaze forever.

"Boop." He raised a finger up and gently flicked her nose, prompting the princess to squeak in surprise and jump back.

"Qrow! What was that for!?" She tried to hide her blushing face from him to prevent him from teasing her even more than he already did. She didn't want him to think that she was starting to fall for him. The teasing would be merciless.

"Don't get distracted, Blondie." Qrow waggled his finger and grinned. "Now, again. This time, have your sword out. We'll be practicing more now that you have the basics down. Using it in a combat situation would be ideal, but I don't think we'll be running into any bandits around here. Ah well, looks like my summons will have to do for now."

He cast the spell, and this time Joan didn't jump in surprise when five shadowy warriors appeared in bursts of dark magic. She drew her sword, spinning it in her hands and getting ready. She was getting more and more comfortable with a sword in her hands with each passing day, and she kept it in a defensive position.

"Begin," Qrow instructed with a bored yawn. "And remember to use your spell against them."

"I know, I know." Joan took a breath and cast the spell on her exhale. She ended up behind one of the shadowy warriors and before it could even react she sank her sword through its back. It burst in a cloud of magic and Joan pulled it free, casting another quick spell to send herself out of reach of the summon.

Its sword struck nothing but air and the blonde grinned. "Hey, I'm over here." its glowing eyes fixed on her and she teleported next to it, tapping it on the shoulder. "Boo."

It jumped and raised it arm back to swing, only to fall in three pieces as Joan's sword cut through its body with a series of quick slashes. Her blood pumped in her ears, drowning out the sounds of her sword cutting through shadow. She felt good, more alive than she had been a few moments before, and she liked it.

This was the power of a Hero could do.

She cast another quick spell to finish off the last shadow, teleporting right in front of it and decapitating the being with one quick cut. The headless shadow toppled in a heap and Joan looked over at Qrow, who was motioning for her to come and get it.

The blonde smirked and went to rush him, and her sword met his. Sparks flew out from the two pieces of sharp metal colliding, and Qrow smirked at her. "You've done well, princess. Definitely a quick learner, for sure. I can sense the potential you have."

"Hey, I've had good teachers." Joan grinned back at him, refusing to let him gain any ground on her despite not being as strong as the older Hero.

"But there's still one thing you forgot."

"And what's that?"

"You're off balance." Qrow slid his heavy sword down and caught the handle of hers, yanking it out of her hand. Joan watched her sword spin in the air and Qrow took the opportunity to trip her onto the ground with a loud laugh.

"Dammit Qrow!" She let out a groan as she fell on her backside, lifting her head to glare at him. "You did that on purpose, didn't you!?" 'Dammit, does he always have to mess with me every chance he gets?'

"I most certainly did." Qrow extended his hand to help her up and Joan reluctantly accepted it, dusting leaf litter and dirt off of her skirt. "Someone has to keep you on your toes, and there's no one in Albion more qualified for the job than me."

"You are going to drive me mad one day, I swear," she grumbled. She picked up her sword and sheathed it, pulling out her crossbow to check it. It looked as shiny as it did before, and she frowned. "Klein, can you send me the pistol, please?" 'If we're walking out in the woods, I don't think I'm going to get the luxury of spending time reloading after every shot in the event we're ambushed by some bandits.'

"As you wish, madam." A flash of golden light later, Joan's crossbow was replaced by her pistol and she spun it in her fingers before sliding it into her holster.

"Thank you." Some days, she really didn't know what she would do without him. Klein had always been there for her from the time of her birth. He was hired by her father sometime after he forged Albion into a united kingdom and had never once been tempted to leave despite bribes from countless nobles. The man was simply too fiercely loyal to be bought like a lesser man.

The bottom of the mountains were very beautiful to look at in the morning. The sun had risen up over some of the peaks in the distance, sending rays of light over the crystal clear lake. She watched as a fox stalked a rabbit only forty meters away and she grimaced when she watched the predator strike. 'So much for it being peaceful.'

"Ah, nature at work, I see." Qrow clapped a hand on her shoulder, and she couldn't help but shiver despite it starting to warm up. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have been bothered by it. But for some reason she could not put her finger on, it made her tingle in a very strange yet familiar way, and she liked it.

'Pull yourself together, Joan,' she scolded silently. 'So what if he's easy on the eyes? He drives you into fits of insanity and is constantly trying to find ways to mess with you. You don't think that way towards him, even if he is handsome and skilled in battle.'

She was glad when his hand pulled away from her shoulder and Klein took their supplies back into the Sanctuary. They hopefully wouldn't need to camp out in the wilderness again; as much as Joan enjoyed it, it simply couldn't beat a good night's rest in a comfortable bed. Beds didn't have sticks and rocks under them that constantly poked her whenever she shifted her body.

"So, where's this monorail station?" Qrow asked, stretching out. "Somewhere not too far?"

"No." Joan shook her head, looking at the map of the surrounding area. "If the legend on this map is accurate, then it is at least a mile away from here. Not too bad of a walk." 'And once we get on, then it will be nothing but a nice leisurely trip hopefully.'

Joan had never ridden on a monorail before, despite there being a station for it down in Millfields. It was the quickest way to get to the capital from the farthest reaches of the kingdom, but according to Port it was also very dangerous as the passengers were essentially dangled across a giant chasm in a steel box.

Good thing she wasn't terrified of heights or the dark like her mentor.

The blonde princess put the map away in her shirt and ran down to get a bucketful of water to put their fire out. The water was icy cold at first touch, but she fought back against the discomfort and hefted up a scoopful of it with ease. The muscles in her body were getting more and more used to the physical work she was constantly doing and as a result she barely noticed the weight despite having a good morning workout. 'Looks like I have another thing to thank Qrow for.'

She wasn't in any means in bad shape; even though she was royalty Port always took great care in making sure the princess wasn't some soft little flower who had grown fat on wine and pies. But not even Port's training could match what Qrow was putting her through on a daily basis. Training with a Hero was much more difficult than anything Port threw at her. He pushed her past her limits to try and make her better than she already was. She liked that, though she'd never admit it to him. Knowing Qrow he'd take that as a sign for him to make it even more difficult.

Joan doused the flames and set the bucket down, watching as it too disappeared into the Sanctuary. Klein was definitely enjoying himself keeping everything as tidy as possible there.

The blonde wiped her forehead and smirked at the older man. "So, are you gonna come on? Or are you going to keel over and let someone much younger than you beat you, old man?"

"Pretty sure I've told you not to call me old, Short Stack." Qrow flicked her nose and stuck his tongue out at her, making her squeak in surprise.

"Haha. Too slow Blondie." He grinned and set off into a brisk walk, looking over his shoulder with a lazy wink. "Keep up if you can."

"Oh, no you don't. You're not going anywhere without me, you dirty old man," Joan shot back, chasing after him and kicking up a bit of leaves in her wake. "I'll race you there."

"Easy there, kiddo. Don't need you getting out of breath and collapsing. Not really in the mood to be carrying you all day." Qrow smirked and stuck his leg out to make her halt her progress. Joan stumbled thanks to him trying to trip her for possible the hundredth time in the few weeks she'd known him.

"Did you absolutely have to do that?" she asked exasperatedly, catching herself before she could slam facefirst into the mud and hear him gloat about it. "It seems to me as though you're always going out of your way to find new and unamusing ways to mess with me."

"Blondie, having a sense of humor is how I cope with mental pain," Qrow said with a shrug. "Yeah, my jokes might not be the greatest. But they get me through each day and that's all that matters."

"How much did she mean to you?" Joan asked quietly, wiping a few crumbling bits of leaf litter off of her skirt. "Winter, I mean."

"More than anything." Qrow stared at the ground for a few seconds before he pulled out a bright shiny ring with a beautifully cut sapphire right in the middle of it, the sun reflecting off of the gemstone. "We were going to get married, you know. But she's gone now. She's gone and even though I've been mourning for a very long time, nothing will bring her back except for perhaps the Spire itself. As cold and heartless as it sounds, I guess I have to move on. I loved her and always will. But I can't allow that to hold me back."

He lifted his head and gave her a smile. "She wouldn't want to see me miserable for the rest of my days. She'd want me to be happy. So that's what I'll do."

"Well said, Qrow," Ozpin murmured in her head. "I admit it is a nice change to see you refusing to turn to drink and instead occupy your mind with something else like reading a nice book."

Joan had to agree with the immortal. It was a very nice and pleasant change. No longer did the blonde see his pale red eyes become constantly filled with pain and suffering, but rather they were alive and hopeful. He once again had a reason to live once his curse had been lifted.

"Hey, kiddo, mind if we take a little detour before we go meet up with Port?" Qrow asked. "There's a nice trail up there. Never know where it could lead."

"But didn't he…?"

"Blondie, this rebellion isn't going anywhere. We're not exactly in a rush to get things going. We have all the time in the world until we're ready. Port knows that as a soldier. Being patient pays a long way."

"Fine." Joan let out a sigh of resignation and started to follow him up the winding trail that led to the east of the monorail station. The trees were noticeably thicker here than down by the lake and the path wasn't as beaten. Several thick berry bushes grew around the trunks of the old oaks, no signs of being touched by Logan's lumber policy.

It was a pity to think that eventually he'd destroy this in order to feed Albion's voracious appetite for industry. 'No. We can't allow him to disfigure Albion to sate the needs of a greedy few. We should be protecting our land, not ruining her.'

She stopped and plucked a few berries from a nearby bush, gently dragging a finger over its bright blue skin. Ripe and untainted by the factory smoke, it was pure. She popped one in her mouth and chewed, savoring its rich flavors and smacking her lips. 'A few weeks ago, I had never stepped foot outside the capital. Now, I'm out here in the mountains and seeing my land for the first time. If I knew just how beautiful this part of the country was, I would've asked my brother to let me visit a few times before I left the castle.'

The trail took a sharp turn and Qrow put his arm out to stop her. "Wait a sec. We can't see what's around that corner. Perfect spot for an ambush. I'll check to make sure it's clear, first." He summoned his bow into his hands and poked his head around the bend, eyes flickering left and right to make sure they were completely clear. "Alright, we're good. Not a whisper of a bandit in sight. Just how I like it."

"Not a fan of them?" Joan asked, letting her hand fall from the handle of her own longsword.

"They're nothing but cowards who prey on the helpless. Five hundred years ago they burned Oakvale to the ground when Jaune was a kid, killing everyone in sight. The few survivors rebuilt the village eventually, but those who were lucky to survive were forever haunted by that night," Qrow answered. "Jaune himself was constantly plagued by nightmares every time he visited the village on a quest. Poor bastard never really recovered from that loss. It weighed on him every day of his life."

'Just how I feel with Yang.' She didn't ever tell the older man about it, but she too occasionally had nightmares of the most horrific day of her life. The day when Yang was sentenced to death by her brother in front of her very eyes.

She'd never be able to forget that. 'Yang…I miss you. I'd do anything to have you by my side right now.' Joan put a hand over her heart, remembering just how much seeing Yang's smile would brighten her day.

Zwei let out a soft whine and rubbed his head against her legs as if to comfort her. He too missed the blonde noble and Joan crouched down to pet his ears. "I know. You miss her, too. But she's gone, now. We have to make sure Logan doesn't take anyone else, right?"

Zwei barked in agreement, doing a little jump.

The princess smiled. "That's right. Now come on, before the old man abandons us in the middle of nowhere." She motioned to Qrow, the man about forty meters ahead of her.

The two quickly caught up to him and the path ended at an arch overlooking the forest. She could see everything for miles and miles, even the faint outline of Brightwall Village in the distance, and her breath was taken away. "Wow…it's beautiful."

"I'll say." Qrow nodded in agreement, one hand on his head as a cool breeze ruffled his messy hair. "I know I tease you a lot, but know that I do care. I don't want to see you make the same mistakes that I did. I'm not proud of it."

"Qrow…" Joan's hand moved almost by instinct and touched his, the older Hero blinking in surprise to see her hand in his. "We need to let go. The past doesn't define who you are."

She didn't notice the faint blush on his cheeks as she stared at the wilderness, wiping away the wetness with a small smile. "It just gives you the starting point for who you're going to be."

A/N: What's this? The first flames of their relationship starting? Oh yes. Like I said, I was originally going to do this with the Monorail quest, but that chapter I think is going to be massive in its own regard, and I didn't want to add another six or seven thousand words to this already lengthy chapter as I'm going to spend a lot of time on it. Hopefully the next update doesn't take me fucking forever. See you!

C. Strife #5371