Chapter 13: Are You Sure This Isn't a Dream?
She sat alone in her royal hall, all but silent upon her sacred throne as the woman lay back against the elaborate piece of furniture. She made no effort to rise from her seat, almost slouching in her seat, content merely on watching the events play out in front of her as the monarch kept her attention fixed on the display in front of her.
It was... an interesting piece of work, to be sure, and despite her lack of knowledge of such things, her closest advisor had informed her that the artifact was made purely through the work of commoners. The 'display' in front of the monarch was an immaculate sheet of light, a single pane of nothingness that was thinner than the thinnest piece of glass, originating from nowhere as countless images danced on its surface. Really, the artifact was so alien to her that she couldn't understand anything about it beyond its basic usage, but since her advisor trusted the item, so too did she... and as her attention shifted from the artifact itself to the images contained within, the woman smirked.
How could she not?
Things were proceeding as planned—no, better than she could've hoped—and the idle queen watched with amusement as the image of her advisor came into view, his hands hard at work with preparing her... Feast. Yes, that's an appropriate name for it. More than appropriate, given his skills and her unique disposition.
So much to prepare, so little time, and yet her advisor worked tirelessly. He broke whatever needed to be shattered, sown whatever needed to be sowed, and scorched all that remained. Truly, he was skilled in his work, and as the fruits of her advisor's efforts grew closer and closer to its completion, a single thought echoed in the monarch's mind.
It would certainly be a feast, and the monarch would dine well tonight.
Content with the pace of her instructions, the woman turned her attention away from the display, scepter in hand as she flicked the tool with a single motion, casting aside the artifact and its image. The unnatural light of the display left the room, leaving behind only the tiles and tapestry of her royal hall, and the woman couldn't help but release a hum as she turned a glance towards the rest of her domain.
As always, the walls of her throne room were decorated with countless curtains, each etched with her nation's favoured creature in a tasteful contrast of green and... Well, if she had to say it, it was a sort of... light-ish red? Either way, the decorum was pleasing to her, and that was all that mattered.
Just as pleasing as the curtains were, so too was the rest of her throne room, as vast pillars of marble stood above tiles of black and white, the polished stone reflecting golden candlelight as the monarch smiled to herself. Was she vain? Perhaps, but she was allowed that privilege, and the woman saw no reason not to appreciate her domain.
Besides boredom, at any rate.
"A-hem." Her voice was quiet, yet authoritative as it echoed through her halls. Her hidden servants stood at attention, waiting on her every whim, and the queen allowed them to hear her orders. "Bring in the... entertainment."
Nothing verbally acknowledged her words, but she knew her will had been heard, and after a few moments, two familiar figures walked into the room. The smile on the queen's face widened as she saw the two enter, idly drifting from entertainer to the other as she took in their image.
An aged man was the first of the two figures bearing greyed hairs and a wry smile as he stood at attention. It was an insufferable appearance, and one the monarch had wished to have forgotten, but the queen gave it no mind. After all, considering how different his outfit was from its usual green hue, it was an allowance that the queen permitted. Especially since he was now garbed in something more... appropriate; Something that matched his position of the fool. Really, all that remained of his usual image was the white cane in his hand, and that was purely because of the queen's unending benevolence.
The second of the two figures was a young woman, and perhaps a sharper contrast to the white-haired man from before. Unlike the man's expression of defeat, black-haired woman carried a tone of anger, her narrowed eyes and clenched fist doing little to hide her feelings. Just like the man before, the woman had had her previous outfit replaced with something far more fitting, and her usual crimson dress was tucked beneath her arm. Again, another act of goodwill, for the monarch allowed the foolish woman to keep her silly clothes.
Both stood quiet, eyes fixed on the monarch, unable to contain their expressions. Yet, neither spoke, for the queen knew that they could not stand against her. After a few moments of silence, the queen finally spoke out, her voice echoing through the room as she gave a simple wave of her hand. "You may speak."
After all, she was nothing if not benevolent, and the entertainers were hardly entertaining if they didn't at leas-
"What is wrong with you?!" Cinder spoke first, though it was more accurate to say she yelled, as the woman brought up an accusatory finger towards at the queen.
"Why, what ever do you mean?" Of course, the monarch was undeterred, and maintained her composure as she sat up in her chair.
"You know exactly what I mean!" Without wasting another moment, Cinder brought up her dress, her free hand pointing at her ridiculous jester's garb. "Why are we dressed like this? Why are you on that ridiculously glorified chair? And, most importantly..." Her finger shot out to one of the curtains that decorated the room. "... is everything covered in oversized rats?!"
"They're not rats! They're sloths!" Immediately, the queen pouted, her arms crossed as she gave a huff. "And it's because they're sloths that they're everywhere. Isn't it great?"
"NO!"
"Miss Valkyrie." Ozpin spoke up next, clearing his throat for a moment before turning his gaze towards Nora on her throne. "While I may not have the same fervor as Miss Fall, I must admit that I too am... confused by our surroundings. Why are we...?"
"Dressed like jesters?" The queen finished Ozman's question for him. When the man gave a nod, Nora smiled, raising her scepter to the air as she gave her royal proclamation. After all, there was only one reason for the two to be in such poofy outfits. "Because! A queen must have jesters in her royal court! Don't you agree?"
"Ah. I see." That was all the white-haired man said, releasing a single awkward cough as he nodded. "Well, I suppose you're not wrong, but... That wasn't exactly what I was trying to-"
"Damnit Ozpin, stop skirting the issue!" Just like that, Cinder pushed the man aside, shooting a single glare at the white-haired clown before turning her gaze to Nora. "Why are we dressed like this? What exactly did you do to us? And how?!"
Nora blinked, finally realizing just what they were trying to say. Huh. Now that she thought about it, why were they in such silly outfits? Usually, they wore other stuff entirely. And it wasn't like they would've been the first choices as Jesters in her royal court. And besides, weren't they the ones who came in dressed like that? Why were they blaming her? Really, there was only one answer Nora could give.
"Iunno."
Cinder's eye twitched. Then, in a single burst of flame, the clown outfit that she wore was burnt away, fabric turning to ash, only to be replaced by the shoulder-woman's usual red dress as she glared at Nora.
Wait, shoulder-woman? Nora blinked again, her confusion persisting as she stared at Cinder, then to herself, before finally resting on Ozpin. "...Huh? Why are you two normal-sized?"
"That's what we want to know." Anger seeped through the woman's clenched teeth, and the black-haired woman kept her eyes fixed on the Valkyrie as fire continued to dance around her. "More than that, where exactly are we?"
As if to answer her question, the door to the room opened once more, heralded by the brilliant blare of trumpets as Nora's trusted advisor stepped into the room. Lie Ren, royal advisor and equally-royal equally-important super-chef, stood at attention, as he pushed in a large metal cart.
"Nora, dinner's ready."
Dinner? Was it dinnertime already? Oh well! Without wasting another moment, Nora brushed aside the question from earlier, her attention shifting away from the two not-jesters as she turned towards the fancy cart.
"Yay! What'd ya make, Renny?"
Rather than answer her, Ren merely smiled, reaching out as he took the lid off of the fancy meal cart, revealing the contents underneath.
...It was beautiful. It was a pancake, sure, but at the same time, it was so much more. In all the time she had lived in this world, the Valkyrie was certain she had never seen a pancake prepared quite like this one. The fluffy texture, the immaculately laid out toppings, the pleasant smell as it wafted through the room... everything was at a level far above the lowly pancakes she had had in the past. The colour alone seemed to speak of perfection, cooked to a pleasing hue of golden brown, contrasting with the vibrant colours of the toppings and syrup that laid atop the meal.
Truly, it was a dish fit for a queen. Nora's mouth watered, completely forgetting about Ozman and Cinder as she rose from her throne. Slowly, she made her way towards the cart, hand outstretched as she-
THUNK.
"Bwuh?" The Valkyrie squeaked, her voice suddenly rising up as she felt something hard collide against her forehead. No longer was there any smell of delicious, mouth-watering pancake or the world's greatest syrup. Instead, Nora found herself with a mild headache and an overwhelming sense of... well, grogginess. That's a word, right? Her eyes immediately began darting around the room, trying to find what-
Oh.
Just as quickly as she began searching, Nora found the source of the thunk, as the angry face of her partner loomed over her, brow furrowed in an outraged glare. "E-err... Good morning?"
"Good morning? Good morning?!" Weiss's voice rose up as her glare seemed to intensify, making no effort to hide her anger as she pointed straight at Nora. "That's all you have to say for yourself after drooling all over my arm?"
Waitwhat?
Nora blinked, her attention turning away from her partner as she looked downward. Rather than a pillow, blanket, or some sort of poofy sleeping bag, the Valkyrie only found the sight of her partner's arm, tucked between her chin and the hard surface of a table. It took a moment for the girl to register that, but eventually, the rest of Nora's brain woke up, and she hopped to her feet, immediately pulling herself away from Weiss's arm. "S-sorry!"
"You'd better be." Though she said that, Nora couldn't help but notice that her partner's expression seemed to soften, the heiress's shoulders slacking as the white-haired girl released a sigh. "... But, I suppose it's partially my fault for allowing you to rest like that."
That caused Nora to stop, the panic and worry in the hammer-wielder's mind slowly being replaced by confusion as she stared at her partner. Now that she thought about it... When exactly did she fall asleep? She definitely would've remembered something like napping, right? Instead, the last thing she remembered was the whole fight and ka-pow and winning the initiation.
Slowly, her gaze turned away from her partner to the rest of the room, a blank look forming on the Valkyrie's face as she took in the sight of her surroundings.
The school cafeteria. She definitely didn't remember returning to Beacon.
"E-erm, Weiss? Where are we?"
"Beacon... Though, I suppose you're wondering why, aren't you?" That was all her partner said as Weiss looked up at her, no longer wearing the stern face she had prior. Instead, any trace of the anger Weiss seemed to harbour had completely faded away, as the white-haired girl shifted her attention towards the Valkyrie. "What's the last thing you-"
But before Weiss could finish her words, a loud clatter tore through the room as something fell over, and Nora found something colliding with her back moments later. Confusion filled the Valkyrie as she felt tiny arms wrapping around her waist, the worried voice of her friend immedialte replacing the previous noise.
"Nora! You're okay you're okay you're okay!" Ruby echoed out, partially muffled by Nora's back as the hooded girl clung to her.
"Ruby?" Nothing had cleared up for the Valkyrie, however, and her face remained perplexed as she turned away from her partner, her attention shifting behind her. First, her gaze fell on the black-haired girl, then to the discarded foodtray and the rest of her friends behind her. "What's going on?"
Well, technically she did, but her gaze reflexively fell to Ren. Her best friend a more... relieved? look on his face as he approached her, two trays in his hand as he took a seat beside the Valkyrie. "Nora?"
"...Yes Ren?"
She wasn't sure what sort of expression she should've worn, and the orange-haired hammer-wielder kept her attention fixed firmly on her friend, rather than the tray of delicious pancakes and syrup and pancakes and fruit and pancakes and pancak-
"You overdid it."
"O-Oh." Suddenly, the pancakes were no longer appealing, and the Valkyrie shrank away, her attention falling to the floor as she found her feet more interesting. She remembered the last time she overdid it, and how much of a mess she made. "...Sorry."
"Hey, C'mon! Don't worry about it!" But, just like that, Yang brought her hand on Nora's back, immediately drawing the girl's attention as she looked up to the grinning face of her friend. "If you didn't do what you did, we'd probably still be fighting those things! And besides, it's not like anything bad happened. I mean, you only passed out for a few hours."
Nora froze, her eyes fixed on the blonde-haired brawler as her friend took a seat. "A few hours?"
"Yeaf." But it seemed like her friend wasn't worried. Already, Yang took a bite of her food, ignoring the worried voice of the Valkyrie as she leaned back. "You go'h to sleef thr-"
"Ugh. Please don't talk with your mouth full." Once again, Weiss spoke up, shooting a pointed glance at the girl as she did so. Of course, Yang's only response was a casual shrug, which drew a tired sigh from the heiress as she turned her attention away from the blonde and back towards the Valkyrie.
"But yes. After the initiation, you promptly collapsed. We were... at a loss for what to do, but fortunately, an academy Bullhead quickly arrived to pick us up. After all, someone," And Weiss gave Nora a pointed glance as she said this, "Had caused enough of a stir for Beacon to notice, and we were able to bring you to the school without delay. From there, one of the teachers confirmed that it was merely exhaustion and aura depletion, so the teacher told us to bring you to the cafeteria to rest up."
Huh? That last part was a bit confusing, and Nora couldn't help but tilt her head at the statement. "Why the cafeteria? Wouldn't it have been better to rest in a bed or something?"
"Yes, but someone's stomach kept growling in her sleep, and it was disturbing the patients who were actually there." Her partner's next words immediately made the Valkyrie blush, and Nora couldn't help but cough at that statement.
"Aren't you forgetting something, Weissy?"
Before Nora could dwell too much on that point, however, Yang's voice rose up again, carrying a light-hearted tone as she finished her food. Curiosity filled Nora's mind, and she turned her gaze from her blonde friend to her partner, only to find Weiss flinching at her friend's words. "A-And what would that be?"
"Well, I just want Nora to know that you were the one who said that it'd be best if she woke up with food around her."
"O-Of course! Clearly, since she exhausted her aura, the logical course of action was to ensure that she replenished it as soon as she was able." That much made sense, which was why Nora wasn't quite sure why Weiss had chosen to cross her arms and turn away. "It was only my duty as her partner."
"Oh? Your partner, huh?" Yang grinned at that, leaning closer to the table as she did so. "Is that also why you gave her an arm pillow, too?"
"That was not an arm pillow!" Just like that, Weiss matched Yang's grin with a glare, her eyes narrowing as she shot a look to the brawler. "You know full well that we were both carrying her, and that she simply refused to let go when we set her down! T-to call it anything else is just baseless slander!"
"W-what?"
Nora was at a loss, and the girl turned her eyes towards the two. However, no answer came, the blonde-haired girl simply cackling wildly while the white-haired girl had a permanent glare fixed on her face, both aspiring-huntresses ignoring the Valkyrie as they drew the attention of the rest of the room. Slowly, Nora turned her gaze towards her friend, her brow raised in worry as she gave him a look. "Err... Ren?"
"Don't worry about it, Nora. For now, you should probably eat something."
And with that, her childhood friend pushed one of the trays forward, a plateful of delicious pancakes sliding into view as the Valkyrie slowly settled her sights on the food. A growl echoed from her stomach, a single sound that reminded Nora of how famished she really was, and slowly, the girl took hold of the plastic fork. Still, she gave one last worried stare towards her partner, before finally settling on the food. "O-okay..."
"You as well, Ruby. You should probably get a new tray before the cafeteria runs out of food."
Oh, right. Ruby.
Ren's words swiftly reminded all of them that Ruby was still attached to Nora's waist. Well, was attached. Without warning, the hooded girl immediately pulled away from Nora, a mortified look quickly forming on her face as she turned her attention behind her, eyes drawn to the now-discarded food tray that littered the cafeteria floor.
"... My cookies..."
This was it. The fruits of their labour.
Well, that was one way of saying it, but as Nora Valkyrie stood in the auditoriu—Oops, the Amphitheatre. Beacon didn't have an auditorium, after all. Anyways, as she stood in the amphitheatre, she couldn't help but look towards the rest of the room in awe.
Students from the initiation all lined up, shoulder to shoulder as they stood at the ready. Of course, she and her friends were no different, and the girl had to suppress her giddiness as she stared at the massive screen in anticipation.
Without warning, four faces flickered, and the headmaster's voice echoed out.
"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark."
As that voice filled the room, the Valkyrie couldn't help but frown. After all... There was absolutely no mistaking it. The Ozpin of Beacon Academy, and the Ozpin that she knew were inexplicably tied in some way. Not that she could ask what that connection was, since the girl had seen neither the mini-coffee-gremlin nor the shoulder-lady since she woke up. Instead, the girl was left to stew in her own worries and doubts as the ceremony continued.
Well... That is, if she chose to. As the four students made their way forward, Nora resolved to ignore the issue for now. After all, this was an important event, and one that she wouldn't ignore just because her usual sources of confusion decided to behave today. Instead, she kept her eyes forward and upwards, attention fixed at the ceremony as the massive screen in the background showed their faces.
"The four of you retrieved the Black Bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, henceforth known as Team Cardinal, led by... Cardin Winchester!"
A thunderous noise echoed outwards, and Nora quickly joined the rest of the applause as it filled the room. Yet, as the sound died down, a nervous look fell on the girl's face. Who exactly was she going to be paired up with? If she remembered correctly, Weiss had retrieved the...
Nora blinked, then turned towards her partner.
"Psst. Psssssst. Weiss."
"Shh!"
Unfortunately, her partner completely ignored her, arms crossed as she stood forward. W-well... At least it wouldn't matter too much, right? Either way, she'll be finding out who the rest of her team is shortly.
"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren."
As familiar names rose up, the girl quieted herself, immediately fixing her eyes forward. Hopefully, she'd be partnered with Renny.
"Yang Xiao Long. Pyrrha Nikos."
Aww... she wasn't. Oh well! At least Ren will have a friend with Yang and... wait. Yang wasn't partnered with Ruby? Her eyes widened at this, before turning a look towards the tiny hooded girl. Unfortunately, Ruby was just as engrossed in the ceremony as her own partner was, so there was absolutely nothing to help with Nora's curiosity.
"The four of you retrieved the White Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JYRN, henceforth known as Team Geranium, led by... Jaune Arc!"
Nora wasn't too sure what to think of that. Then again... Ren and Jaune were partners, and Ren was awesome, so they would probably be okay. And, after all, Ren seemed satisfied by the whole thing, so the girl decided not to worry too much about the team. Instead, she joined in with the applause once more, smiling as she waited for everything to die down.
"And finally,"
Oh boy! It was her turn now!
"Weiss Schnee. Nora Valkyrie."
Eeee! She was practically beaming, and from the corner of her eyes, Nora could see a clear smile on her partner's face as well. Both of them made their way forward, ready to learn the rest of their team.
"Ruby Rose. Blake Belladonna."
...wait, who?
Nora's attention shifted from her partner to the other two girls, and just like that, the Valkyrie's hopes disappeared. Not because of Ruby, of course, since Ruby was an awesome friend. No... It was because of Ruby's partner.
Without a word, the Valkyrie stared at a certain face, one that she clearly recognized. How could she not? There was no way she could mistake the complicated glance that was returned to her, as a particular girl with long, black hair and narrowed, amber eyes returned her gaze.
"The four of you retrieved the White Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RNBW, henceforth known as Team Rainbow, led by... Ruby Rose!"
Nora ignored the surprised yelp of her partner. Instead, she tried to find some sort of silver lining.
... A-at least she knew the name of that one girl from last night, right? You know, the one who definitely thinks she's crazy?
"Congratulations."
A/N: I have no words. I apologize for the terrible delay, and really... anything I say will probably just end up as nothing more than an excuse. I can only hope that this update makes up for it somewhat. I shall endeavor to be more timely in the following months.