HEEEEELLLLLOOOOOOOO! I seem to have gotten into one of those moods where I'm working on a story and just can't slow down, which is why I have yet to work on the next chapter for "The Vagabond" (I really need to) so here's chapter ten of Jaune Arc, Gryphon Knight! Now at the moment fanfiction is doing that annoying thing where it says people have left reviews, but I can't actually see them, so if you've left a review on the last chapter I haven't seen it yet. Rest assured I'm checking very regularly to see if they've fixed the problem because I love reading all of the reviews you guys leave, so don't let that stop you from leaving another review on this chapter too.
Without further ado, ON WITH THE STORY!
Jaune stumbled under Nathaniel's blow as he hastily brought Brillant Mors up to block the strike, then stepped back and thrust at Nathaniel. The knight sidestepped Jaune's thrust with ease and slammed the hammerhead of his own halberd into Jaune's stomach, doubling the squire over the weapon. The air was driven out of Jaune as he collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping for air "why do I always get hit in the stomach or face?"
"Probably because they're one of the few places on your body where you have no armor," responded Talon as he watched Nathaniel and Jaune spar. Well, spar was a bit too strong of a word for what was taking place. It was more like Nathaniel was pounding Jaune into the dirt.
The squire pushed himself to his feet and raised Brillant Mors, but Nathaniel pushed the visor of his helmet up. "Enough. You're clearly distracted Jaune. Is something wrong?"
Jaune lowered his halberd and shrugged. "It's nothing major. I can keep going."
"Major or not, whatever it is clearly has you distracted. What's wrong? Have you been getting enough sleep?" Nathaniel removed his helmet and tossed a water bottle to Jaune, who caught it and took a swig. Actually he hadn't been getting enough sleep, but that wasn't the issue he was dealing with today.
"It's... well you'll probably think it's stupid," Jaune said as he wiped a few stray droplets off his lips, "but it's... about a girl."
Nathaniel stared at Jaune, who was sure he was about to get the chewing out of a lifetime for worrying over something so inconsequential when he was supposed to be training to become the Knight-Lord. What came out of Nathaniel's mouth was anything but a chewing out. "Wait, you're having girl problems too?"
Jaune's mouth dropped as Talon roared with laughter in his head. "Wait wait wait," Jaune said, "you're having girl problems? Who? How? Wait, is it Yang? Did she sneak into your room again?"
"Nothing like that," Nathaniel said, "It's... Mrs. Goodwitch. This may shock you, but I may have-"
"A crush on Mrs. Goodwitch?" interrupted Jaune.
Nathaniel's eyes widened. "You could tell?"
Jaune laughed, "with all due respect, it's a bit obvious. I mean, I don't think anyone else knows, but I spend so much time with you that it's easy for me to tell."
Nathaniel looked completely befuddled. "So you can tell that I have romantic feelings for Glynda, but you can't tell that Ruby and Pyrrha... never mind."
Jaune frowned. "What about Ruby and Pyrrha?"
"Nothing," Nathaniel said, "my point is, I want to ask her to the Vytal festival ball, but I'm not sure how to, and I don't exactly have any formal wear..."
Jaune smiled. He knew that Glynda probably returned Nathaniel's feelings. He saw those little glances she shot at him when she thought no one was looking. "Just ask her. I'll be shocked if she doesn't say yes. As for formal wear... I guess you could rent a tux."
Nathaniel frowned in confusion. "A tux?"
"It's like a formal suit worn to dances. I need to get one too, so does Ren. Maybe the three of us can go together to get our tuxes."
Nathaniel nodded. "I see... I think. But that aside, what about your girl troubles? I assume this is about the Schnee girl?"
Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... I'm planning on asking her to the dance this evening, and I'm just nervous. I was an absolute wreck at breakfast and lunch today. I barely managed to stop myself from asking her then and there."
"You're afraid she'll turn you down?" guessed Nathaniel.
"I am," Jaune admitted, "I've been crazy over her ever since I saw her, and I just want her to know how I feel. I know she probably won't return my feelings, but I just... I can't keep it bottled up anymore. For better or worse, I have to tell her how I really feel."
Nathaniel nodded in understanding. "I can't really help you with women Jaune, but I think she would be a fool to turn you down. If you tell her how you feel, how you really feel, then I think that, if even a small part of her returns those feelings, she'll agree to go to the dance with you. Who knows? It may become something more. You won't know until you try."
"That's my line," Talon huffed and shook his mane irritably.
Nathaniel glanced at the Gryphon as he shook himself. "What's Talon's problem?"
"Nothing," Jaune laughed.
"I'm sure," Nathaniel said dryly, then slung his halberd over his back. "I think we're both a bit too distracted to continue sparring today. Why don't we skip to the work out early and blow off some steam?"
Jaune smiled gratefully and slung his Brillant Mors over his back as the two went to go change clothes. "I'd like that."
Nathaniel gulped in fear as he raised his hand to knock on Glynda's door, then lowered it and looked over himself one more time. His armor was freshly polished, the helmet tucked under one arm, and gleamed in the light of the bulbs illuminating the hallway. His beard was trimmed and brushed, as was his hair, and he had bathed, then bathed again to be sure he smelled clean. He wished he had something else to wear than his armor that would be suitable, but all of his other clothes consisted of t-shirts and bluejeans, hardly appropriate attire to wear while asking a woman to the ball.
"You can do this Nathaniel," he muttered. He raised his hand to knock on the door...
Then lowered it. "You are a Gryphon Knight man, come on! You have battled the creatures of Grimm and came out victorious on numerous occasions! How can this be more terrifying than that?"
He took a deep breath, let it out, then raised his hand and knocked on the door once, then twice. He stood there, trying to force his breathing to even out and his heartbeat to slow down when the door opened, and their stood Glynda in all her glory. "Can I help- oh! Nathaniel, it's you. Can I help you?"
She was still in her work outfit, which meant that she must have been grading papers. Nathaniel gulped and straightened up, trying to force the words out of his mouth. "Goodwitch, erm, I mean Mrs. Glynda, I mean, um, Glynwitch, I..." he sighed and slumped as the words he wanted to say got completely jumbled up in his head
She smiled and brought up a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed. "Is something the matter Nathaniel?" she asked kindly, but the knight could see the amusement in her eyes behind her glasses.
"Besides my sheer inability to talk to you? Nothing's the matter. By Vaya, this would be so much easier if she wasn't so beautiful..."
"Well... Glynda, I was wondering if, that is if you are not otherwise occupied, you would do me the honor of allowing me to accompany you to the dance?" There. He'd said it. He'd put all his cards on the table. Now he just have to see how she would react.
Glynda started laughing, and Nathaniel's soul fell. He'd completely ruined his chances with her by stammering, and now she was going to-
"Nathaniel, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to ask me that! I would love to accompany you to the dance."
Nathaniel's soul soared and he felt like little explosions (what were they called? Fireworks?) were going off in his head. "R-really?" he asked, hardly able to believe his luck. "A-are you sure? I wouldn't want you to think you have to just because we're coworkers and-"
His rambling was stopped by a soft finger on his lips. Glynda smiled and removed her finger from his lips, and Nathaniel battled the urge to take her hand and kiss it. "Nathaniel, I assure you that if I didn't want to go with you I wouldn't have said yes. I would love to go with you." She looked him up and down. "I assume you have something other than your armor to wear that would be suitable for a ball?"
"Well, nothing quite yet," he admitted, "but Jaune, his friend Ren, and I were going to go to Vale at some point this week to rent tuxes."
She smiled and tapped her lips, as though she were pondering something. "Actually, I think I might have a better idea than tuxes for you and Mr. Arc. Do you know your measurements and his as well?"
"I do. I needed them when I was making him his armor."
"In that case get changed into some normal clothes, and meet me in front of the school. We're going to Vale, and we're going to have a talk with my personal tailor."
Jaune tightened the straps on his breastplate, then checked himself in the mirror. His armor was so polished he could see himself in the white metal. Brillant Mors had gotten the same treatment, and was gleaming as though Jaune had summoned Vaya's Light. He had showered, then showered again and put on just the smallest bit of an expensive cologne he had gone out and bought a week ago for this very occasion.
This was it. He was going to go across the hall and ask Weiss Schnee to allow him to accompany her to the dance.
He took a deep breath in, let it out, then did a final check to ensure that none of his armor straps were too loose or too tight. He turned to his teammates, who were looking at him expectantly. He grinned and slung Brillant Mors across his back. "Wish me luck guys!" He walked to the door and took the doorknob in his grasp...
Weiss checked her hair in the mirror one more time. Her side ponytail was perfect, and her tiara was polished until it shined like a star under the light. She had showered twice and put on a small measure of perfume. She was perfect.
This was it. She was going to ask Neptune Vasilias to accompany her to the dance, and when he said yes that she would have the one she wanted, and Jaune Arc's lies would finally stop making her heart speed up and her cheeks flush with color.
She took a deep breath in, then let it out, then did a final check to ensure there were no unseemly creases in her skirt. She turned to her teammates, who were looking at her expectantly. She smiled and nodded. "Wish me luck girls!" She walked to the door and took the doorknob in her grasp, then stepped out into the hall and headed towards the exchange students dorms.
"Jaune, wait!"
Jaune took his hand off of the doorknob and turned to face his partner. "What's up Pyrrha?"
She stared at him for a few seconds. Jaune saw something in her eyes that troubled him. She looked... defeated. But she smiled and held something out in her hands. "You almost forgot this." In her hands was the potted Angel's Rose.
Jaune eyes widened in fear as he carefully took the rose from Pyrrha. He had very nearly forgotten the rose! If that had happened then his whole plan would have gone up in smoke. He wrapped the hand that wasn't holding the rose around and pulled her in for a hug. "Thanks Pyrrha! I don't know what I'd do without you." He opened the door and stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.
When the door shut Pyrrha sank down onto her bed, and her hands fell in her face as the tears began to pour down her cheeks. Nora and even Ren came over and wrapped their arms around the champion. "It's okay Pyrrha," Nora said gently, "even the invincible girl can't win em all."
It was only a couple of steps to team RWBY's dorm, but it felt like it was a mile. He checked his armor one last time, then knocked on the door.
A few seconds later Ruby opened the door. "Hey Jaune! What's up?"
"Hey Ruby. Can I talk to Weiss? I need to ask her something."
Ruby's eyes widened. "Oh... um... she's actually not here. She's headed towards the exchange student's dorms. But Jaune, she-"
"Thanks Ruby!" he shouted as he took off down the hall at a jog. This was perfect! She would be totally alone with no one to interrupt them or distract her. He would never have a better chance to ask her to the dance.
Weiss suppressed the urge to giggle like a little girl as she headed down walkway towards the exchange students' dorms. She was so excited that she had to resist the urge to skip down the walkway. She was just outside the dorms, a few more steps and she would be at the entrance...
She was shocked out of her thoughts by the sight of a familiar head of blue hair rounding the corner ahead of her. There he was! She wouldn't even have to go into the dorms! She would be able to ask him under the light of the moon. How romantic was that? She hurried her pace and rounded the corner. Sure enough the blue haired object of her affections was walking ahead of her, unaware that his Snow Angel was right behind him. "Neptune!" she called.
Finally he could see her. She was making her way down the walkway towards the exchange students dorm. As always she looked absolutely radiant. Her whole body seemed to glow in the moonlight, just like how the Angel's Rose, her rose, was doing under the light of the moon. He sped up his walking pace, slowly gaining ground on her. He was fifty feet away, then thirty, then twenty, then ten...
She rounded a corner just as Jaune was almost within arm's reach of her. He went to round the corner, but froze when he heard her voice.
"Neptune!"
The icy claws of fear gripped his heart and throat, and Jaune suddenly found it hard to breathe. "No..."
"Oh uh, hey," responded Neptune, who seemed surprised, "what's up?"
"I know this is a little unorthodox, but... I wanted to ask you something."
Jaune closed his eyes and leaned against the wall of the building. This couldn't he happening. Not now. Not when he'd finally gotten the courage to tell her how he felt.
"Would you... like to accompany me to the dance Sunday?"
It took all of Jaune's willpower to not turn and run right then and there, or collapse into a heap on the ground. He'd been too slow. He'd failed to take into account the fact that Weiss liked Neptune. Of course she would ask him! The only surprising thing was that Neptune hadn't asked her first!
"Um... sorry Weiss, but I'm gonna have to turn you down. Hey I'll see you there though, okay?"
Jaune jaw dropped and he peeked around the corner, and saw that Neptune had not only turned her down, but was walking away from her. He looked the Angel's Rose, then grinned. This was it! This was his chance! He would ask Weiss, and then she would see that...
The sound of sniffling shattered his thoughts, and Jaune looked around the corner. What he saw broke his heart and kindled a white hot anger in his chest for Neptune.
Weiss Schnee was crying.
Her head was in her hands as the tears poured down her soft pale cheeks. The tears glimmered like diamonds in the moonlight until they hit the ground, where they shattered. Each one put another crack in Jaune's heart and stoked the burning rage in his chest. If he went over there his presence would only make it worse. She would resent him for spying on her in her moment of weakness, rose or no. He couldn't comfort her, but her teammates could. He pulled out his scroll and typed a quick message to the other girls of RWBY, then walked away from Weiss and circled the building, heading towards the back entrance. He couldn't comfort Weiss, but he could get answers for her.
Neptune was going to explain exactly why he had turned Jaune's Snow Angel down, even if the squire had to beat it out of him.
Weiss sobbed, not caring that any moment someone could potentially see her bawling like a baby. Her breath came in hitched gasps, her shoulders shuddering with each sob.
Why? Why had he turned her down? What had she done wrong? Why wasn't she good enough for him? Wasn't there any boy that really cared about her?
"Weiss?"
She gasped and looked up. Her teammates were running towards her. She tried to dry her eyes on her sleeve and smile, to pretend that nothing was wrong, but the smile fell before it had been fully formed and the tears just wouldn't stop. Three pairs of arms wrapped around her and held her tight in their embrace. "Hey there," said Yang softly, who was officially in big sister mode, "he's just a silly boy, okay? He's not worth crying over."
"I-I thought he c-cared," sobbed Weiss, "I thought he was different, b-but he j-ju-just led me along!"
"Let's go back to the dorm, okay?" said Yang. "We'll open up those packs of that hot chocolate you like so much and put the little marshmallows in the cups. Does that sound good?"
Weiss nodded and let her friends lead her off to their dorm room.
When Weiss was securely wrapped in a blanket with Blake and Yang talking to her about boys Ruby went across the hall to get the other three members of JNPR. In Ruby's experience there was nothing quite as nice as having all your friends around you when you were sad. She knocked on the door, and almost immediately it opened to show Ren on the other side. "Hey Ren. Think you guys could come over real quick? Weiss is having some serious boy problems right now, and I think it would help if she had all her friends with her."
Ren's normally neutral expression turned to one of surprise. "She reacted thatbadly to Jaune asking her to the dance?"
Ruby shook her head no. "Jaune never asked her. She went to ask Neptune to the dance, but he turned her down. Jaune saw the whole thing and texted us to come get her."
"So Jaune's with you guys right now?"
"No," said Ruby, "he said in his text something about 'getting answers' but I don't know what he meant. So do you guys think you could come over?"
Ren shook his head and pointed over his shoulder at Pyrrha and Nora. Pyrrha was curled up on her bed, with Nora's arms wrapped around her shaking form. "I'm afraid Weiss isn't the only one with some boy issues at the moment."
"Oh no," whispered Ruby. "Because of Jaune?"
Ren nodded in confirmation. "We'd come help if we could, but she needs us right now."
"N-no! No, I'm fine!" Pyrrha uncurled and pushed herself to her feet. She wiped her eyes and smiled brokenly at Ruby. "We should be there for Weiss. Besides, it would be nice for me to talk to someone who's going through the same thing right now, and Weiss might like it too."
"Are you sure?" asked Ruby uncertainly, "you guy's don't have to you know."
"I'm sure," Pyrrha said, then wiped more tears off of her cheeks, "Weiss and I can talk about how clueless boys can be, and how they can't see a good thing when it's right in front of them," she bowed her head to Ren apologetically. "No offense Ren."
The ninja shrugged. "None taken, and to be fair you're not wrong."
"I'll say," muttered Nora.
The four of them walked over to RWBY's dorm, and Pyrrha sat down next to Weiss and quickly found herself wrapped in a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate pressed into her hands. "W-what's wrong with you Pyrrha?" sniffled Weiss as she took a sip from her cup.
"J-just boy troubles is all," sniffled Pyrrha, "you know how it is."
"Yeah," said Weiss as she leaned against Pyrrha, who leaned back against the heiress. "W-what did the blonde dunce do?"
"Just the u-usual," responded Pyrrha, "just being o-oblivious."
Weiss looked around the room with eyes that were bloodshot from crying. "Where i-is he anyway?"
Ruby thought fast. "He's out getting answers."
Weiss frowned, "what does that mean?"
Jaune took a deep breath in, then knocked against the door of SSSN's dorm room. He had set the Angel's Rose aside just in case he needed both hands to thrash Neptune.
The door was opened by Sun, who seemed surprised to see Jaune. "Oh, hey man. What's up?"
Jaune smiled, hiding away the boiling anger. "Hey Sun, I just need to talk to Neptune about our fight yesterday is all. Just wanted to go over some things with him."
"Alright. Hey Neptune! Jaune's here. Says he wants to talk to about your fight yesterday."
Neptune replaced Sun at the door and stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind him. "What's up man? You wanted to talk about our fight?"
"No," Jaune said, "that was just the best excuse I could think of to give Sun. I want to talk to you about Weiss."
Neptune frowned in confusion, then his mouth opened in a silent O. "Hey man if you want to ask her to the dance she's all yours. I wasn't planning on asking her."
Jaune's stepped forward and gripped the door frame with both hands, trapping Neptune between the door and himself. "Oh I know you weren't," growled the squire, "I saw her ask you to the dance Neptune."
Neptune gulped and looked away. "O-oh..."
"So maybe you could explain why you turned her down? I mean, this is Weiss Schnee we're talking about here. She could have literally any guy at this school she wanted, but for whatever reason, she chose you. So why? Why did you turn her down?"
"I uh... it uh... It just didn't work out."
The door frame cracked under Jaune's grip.
"What?" he hissed, his blue eyes burning with fury, "didn't work out? What kind of bullshit excuse is that?! Weiss Schnee asked you to the dance, and instead of saying yes you left her crying in the courtyard!"
Neptune's eyes widened in alarm and fear. "I- I didn't know," he said hurriedly, "I had no idea she was crying, okay?"
"That doesn't make it better," Jaune snarled, "you've got ten seconds to give me a better reason than 'it didn't work out' or I will drag you outside and beat you until-"
"I can't dance!"
The anger left Jaune's system, and was replaced by exasperation. "You have got to be kidding me..." the squire closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Say again?"
"I can't dance man!"
Jaune opened his eyes and fixed Neptune with a death glare. "You mean to tell me that you broke her heart just because you can't move in time to music?"
"Uh... yeah..."
Jaune ran his fingers through his hair and let out an explosive sigh. "Neptune, do you like Weiss?"
"What?"
Jaune scowled and fixed him with another glare, which made the bluenette flinch away. "Do. You. Like. Weiss? Yes or no, and don't lie to me."
"I mean... yeah, I do," he said earnestly, "I don't know her very well, but she seems really cool."
Jaune sighed and nodded, then stepped away from Neptune and picked up the Angel's Rose. He held it out to Neptune, who looked at him weirdly. "Uh... why are you giving me a flower dude?"
"Because you're going to come with me to team RWBY's dorm, and you're going to apologize profusely to Weiss, and then tell her that the reason you turned her down was because you wanted to ask her to the dance, and give this rose to her. You're going to tell her that you named it the Angel's Rose, that it shines under the moonlight, and that when you saw it she was the first thing you thought of and knew she had to have it. If she asks where you got it, do not tell her that I gave it to you. Tell her you bought it or something. If she accepts your apology and agrees to go to the dance with you I will give you dancing lessons so that come Sunday you'll hopefully be a passable dancer."
Neptune tentatively took the potted rose out of Jaune's hand and held it in his. "Thanks man! I owe you!"
"I'll consider us even if you do one thing for me."
"Sure man, anything!"
Jaune jabbed a finger into Neptune's face. "You promise me you won't flirt with any other girls leading up to and during the dance. If you do, I swear the next time we fight I won't hold back, and I will make sure we fight again. Got it?"
Neptune gulped and nodded. "Got it."
"Good." Jaune stepped back from Neptune. "Now let's go get you a date to the dance."
"W-what did I do wrong?" sobbed Weiss and chugged her hot chocolate. "Was I not pretty enough? Was he just playing with my heart along and never really cared?"
Pyrrha, who seemed to have calmed down significantly after having her own good cry, patted Weiss's shoulder comfortingly. "Weiss, if Neptune doesn't see how amazing you are then that's his fault! You deserve a boy who likes you for you, not for your name."
"But that's all they ever want," she sobbed. "My name, my money. Never me."
"Well..." Pyrrha said hesitantly, "there's always J-"
A knock on the door interrupted her. "I got it," Yang said as she stood up and opened the door. "You've got ten seconds to explain why you're here before I put you through a wall," the blonde girl snarled to whoever was on the other side of the door.
"Look, I came to apologize to Weiss, okay? And to give her something."
Weiss gasped and dropped her mug when she heard his voice. What was Neptune doing here?!
Yang turned to Weiss, and then looked back at the bluenette. "You've got thirty seconds, and it better be a good apology."
Weiss turned away from him, both unwilling to see the boy who had callously broken her heart and not wanting him to see her with blood shot eyes and tear tracks down her cheeks.
She heard his feet on the floor as he entered the room. "Hey Snow Angel," he said softly, "I know you probably hate me right now, and I don't blame you, but the reason I turned you down isn't because I didn't want to go with you, but because I wanted to ask you, and you just kind of took me off guard."
She sniffled. "W-why does it matter if you ask me, or if I ask you?" she asked without turning around. She wished her voice would stop quivering, and that her heart would slow down. "If you really wanted to go with me then it shouldn't have mattered that I asked you first."
"Normally, yeah, but then I wouldn't have been able to give you this when I asked you." The others in the room gasped in awe, and against her better judgement Weiss turned around to see what had gotten their attention. When she saw it she couldn't stop the gasp that passed her lips, and her eyes watered with tears of joy instead of heartbreak.
What Neptune held in his hands was quite simply the most beautiful white rose she had ever seen. It shined like the most finely cut gem under the moonlight and seemed to illuminate the entire room in a soft glow. As though she were in a trance Weiss stood up from the bed and walked over to Neptune, her eyes unable to leave the flower. "Oh Neptune," she breathed, "its beautiful."
He grinned and held it out to her. "It's all yours if you want it. I call it the Angel's Rose. It shines under the moonlight, and the first thing I thought of when I saw it was you, Snow Angel. I just knew you had to have it."
Gently she took the pot in both hands and took the rose from Neptune. It seemed to glow even brighter when she held it in her hands. "Where did you find this?"
He laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I was just out in Vale one day and saw it in a flower shop. I just knew I had to get it for you."
She carefully placed the flower on the vanity she and Ruby shared and wrapped her arms around the tall boy's midsection. He hugged her back. "So does this mean you'd like to go to the dance with me?" he asked.
"Yes!" she squealed happily, "I would love to Neptune!" She looked up at him, her whole body warm from happiness. "Maybe now the Arc dunce will finally stop flirting with me."
"Oh don't worry," said an all too familiar voice from the doorway, "I know when I've been defeated."
She looked around Neptune, and there he was. Jaune Arc was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, a soft smile on his face as he watched Neptune and Weiss. He shrugged. "Neptune's clearly the better man here. I won't get in his way." He looked at Neptune, and the bluenette gulped and straightened up, as though he were almost afraid of Jaune for some reason. The smile dropped off of Jaune's face, and for the first time Weiss saw his severe side. "You'll take good care of her, won't you Neptune?"
"Yeah," Neptune responded hurriedly, "I definitely will!"
The smile returned to the blonde's face. "Good." He turned to his teammates. "I'll be out for most of the night guys, so don't wait up for me alright?"
Without waiting for an answer from his friends Jaune walked down the hall.
"Wait," said Neptune, "So Jaune used to flirt with you?"
"Yes," she huffed, "but now thanks to you I won't have to worry about him anymore." She wrapped her arms around one of his and hugged it to her chest.
Neptune whispered something to himself. Weiss was almost certain she'd misheard him, but it sounded like he had said, "thanks Jaune."
Jaune walked out of the dorms building and didn't stop walking until he was well into the forest surrounding the school. It wasn't the Emerald Forest. That was still a couple of miles away from the school, but this was far enough for him to be sure no one would stumble across him.
He collapsed against a tree and sank to the ground, sobbing. His head fell into his hands as the tears he had been holding back were finally unleashed and ran down his cheeks. "Damnit," he sobbed, "damnit."
He just had to always be the nice guy didn't he? He just had to keep making sacrifice after sacrifice to ensure his friend's safety and happiness. First it was his future, then it was his place with JNPR, and now finally it was his heart. What more would he have to sacrifice for them? For everyone? How many more sleepless nights would he have, fearing what the future would bring, fearing that when the end came he would not be strong enough to stop it and save the ones he loved? How many more nightmares would he have of the Grimm flooding the world, tearing his friends and family apart as he was forced watch?
He may have been the champion of Light, but for the past month all Jaune had been able to see in his future was darkness.
A gentle touch on his shoulder shocked Jaune to reality, and he leapt to his feet. Standing before him was a woman with a pair of familiar amber eyes and long flowing raven locks. "Cinder," he croaked, his voice hoarse from crying, "what are you doing here?"
She smiled kindly at him. "I saw what happened with Neptune and Weiss, and how you ensured he would take her to the dance. I saw you coming out here on your own, and I thought that you might like having someone to talk to"
He sank back down and leaned against the tree. "Thanks," he muttered, "but I'd like to be alone right now."
"I don't think you do," she said, and knelt next to him, placing her hand on top of his. Her hand was warm on his, and the contact sent pleasurable tingles up his arm. "I think the last thing you want is to be alone." Her fingers intertwined with his, and she whispered in his ear. "The Schnee girl was foolish, and could not see what she what she had before her. I am not so misguided Jaune." Her other hand came up and cupped his face. She caressed his cheek lovingly. "She sees what she thinks you are: a foolish boy who is just like all the others who have only ever after been her family's wealth, but I see you for what you are: a man who has taken a great weight upon his shoulders. A man who puts the needs of others before himself." She kissed his cheek, and her hand unwound from his. "Those kind of men are the greatest, and the most dangerous to their enemies. They will change the world, or they will die trying." With the slightest pressure on his cheek she turned his head towards hers. Her lips were less than inch from his, her breath warm on his lips. One part of him wanted her to go away, but another part of him wanted to press his lips against hers and forget about Weiss and Neptune, to forget about becoming Knight-Lord, to forget about Salem. This time however both sides of his mind were evenly matched, and thus he was frozen in place by indecision.
He was saved from having to choose by a gust of wind from a very familiar pair of wings knocking them over. "Well well, what do we have here?"
Jaune scrambled to his feet and helped Cinder up. "Talon! We weren't- I mean we didn't- nothing happened!"
Jaune knew that if the Gryphon had the necessary facial muscles he would be smirking victoriously. "I know nothing happened, because I stopped it from happening."
"Well," Cinder said as she dusted her skirt off, "that was certainly surprising. I think I'll be on my way now Jaune, but please remember that you have my number if you decide that you would like a date to the dance." She quickly darted forward and planted another kiss on his cheek, and then walked away, leaving Jaune alone with Talon.
Jaune ran his hand through his hair and leaned against the tree. "Thanks for the save."
"Of course," the Gryphon responded haughtily, but Jaune could feel the concern coming from his mount. "However I only came because before she showed up I could feel the sorrow radiating off of you from a mile away. What happened Jaune?"
"It's..." he brought his hand up to his face and wiped new tears out of his eyes, "It's Weiss."
The Gryphon bumped him with his beak. "Sit down, and tell me about it. Believe it or not, I'm fairly familiar with human relationships and the unrequited love that often comes with them."
Jaune sat down and told his Gryphon everything, from him going to ask Weiss to the dance to him coming out to the forest to be alone. The war beast listened patiently, never interrupting as he spoke. When he was done the tears were pouring down his face again, and the image of Weiss holding Neptune was at the fore of his mind.
"Maybe now the Arc dunce will finally stop flirting with me."
God, she really did hate him, didn't she? He laughed bitterly. He'd never had a chance with her. He'd been a fool to think he ever did.
"I was an idiot, wasn't I?" asked Jaune. "I never had a chance with someone as perfect as Weiss. I shouldn't have bothered to try."
Talon bumped his beak against Jaune's shoulder kindly. "You do yourself a disservice saying such things. You are a great man, and you will be greater still. If the Schnee Heiress is incapable of seeing this, then that is her issue. Who knows? Perhaps she will realize her mistake and pursue you."
"You think so?" Jaune said hopefully.
"I don't know, and I don't wish to give you any false hope. However if she's half as intelligent as you've said she is then she may possibly realize her mistake in time."
"Thanks Talon," Jaune said. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, then Jaune spoke up. "Hey, Talon?"
"Yes?"
"I really don't want to go back to the dorms tonight."
"Then you will sleep here, with me." The Gryhpon spread one of his wings and Jaune crawled under it, cozying up against Talon's warm flank as the wing covered him like a blanket.
For the first time in weeks Jaune's dreams were filled with something other than darkness and despair. He dreamed of white fields of snow and angels coming down from the sky. A voice more beautiful than any he'd ever heard before spoke to him in his dreams.
"My Champion, your life will be one of sacrifice, but you will not be without hope..."
Cinder couldn't keep the furious snarl off her face as she stitched together the outfit she would be wearing to infiltrate the CCTS tower.
Damn that glorified turkey! She'd had the Arc boy right where she wanted him! A few more seconds and she would have plunged her blade into his chest, putting an end to the Gryphon Knights. However when the Gryphon had shown up she'd known she was outclassed. She could defeat the boy on his own easily, but with his pet to help him Cinder wouldn't have stood a chance.
"What now ma'm?" asked Emerald.
Cinder forced herself to think clearly. She had failed to kill Jaune, but there would be other opportunities for that. For now she had to focus on the CCTS tower, and planting the virus. He might even take her up on her offer to go to the dance with him. If he did, then she would find an opportunity to get him alone, and if he didn't, then she would still find an opportunity to get him alone. Perhaps not at the dance, but at some point.
"We continue with the plan," Cinder said. "There will be other opportunities to kill him. If he remains in the city during the breach then that will be a perfect time to kill him. No one will look too far into a huntsman in training dying at the hands of the Grimm. For now we focus on the CCTS tower, and preparing ourselves for the breach."
Man, poor Jaune. And poor Pyrrha for that matter. Even after Weiss gets turned down by Neptune she stills tries to suggest to the heiress that Jaune would happily take her, because she knows how much Jaune cares about Weiss. There's usually a winner and a loser in love, but both Jaune and Pyrrha were the losers in this chapter. I kinda feel bad for doing this to them, but it's always darkest before the dawn. Lotta crying going on too in this chapter. I didn't realize just how much crying was going on until I went back and reread it for editing, but us teens are nothing if not emotional.
We see just how far Jaune will go to ensure the happiness of his friends, and though he accidentally left Pyrrha as a sobbing mess he didn't realize he had. Had he known he would have burst back into JNPR's dorm to comfort her.
Jaune went so far as to corner (and threaten) Neptune and get answers out of him on why he turned Weiss down, and when he learned Neptune's reasons he not only gave Neptune the Angel's Rose so that he could go apologize, he also agreed to give Neptune dance lessons so he wouldn't be completely hopeless at the dance. I know that in the show Weiss asks Neptune to the dance the day before, but for the sake of ensuring that Nathaniel and Jaune can get their outfits from the tailor's (what will they be I wonder?) and Jaune can give Neptune some lessons I decided to move it back so they would have a week before the dance.
We also see that Jaune has some serious weight on his shoulders, and he's a lot more stressed out than he's letting on in front of the others, including Nathaniel and Talon. Cinder also tried to ply her tricks on him and put an end to the squire then and there, but Talon showed up before anything could happen.
As always please follow and favorite if you haven't already. If you have a friend who likes RWBY and RWBY fanfiction then feel free to tell them about this fic! If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or just want to say what you think of the story so far then feel free to leave a review or PM me! I love you all. BBBYYYEEEEEEE!