Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. Did anyone wish I did?

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A Modest Proposal 2

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The next chapter begins with a single word: "What!?"

Ruby begins the chapter by jumping up, hands slamming on the table, as she sits beside Jaune and across from Belle. It soon flashes back to earlier in the day, before they left.

Jaune had an early meeting with the Council, to which Ruby and the rest are not invited. Jaune and Ruby's report of Mordred's advance on Belle has made them nervous. If Mordred gained Belle's cooperation, say in exchange for more racial reforms of Belle's choosing, then Mordred would be almost unstoppable on and off the throne. Not only is Belle's influence in the Lord Council significant, but Belle's vast fortune and assets could empower King Mordred despite the Council's best efforts.

Mordred's advances on Belle need to be stopped, at any cost. Ozpin tempers that urgency, reminding them that Belle has turned down Mordred for now, but Jaune's friendship with Belle throughout the high-security period doesn't seem so lucky now. Or rather, it wasn't just luck. Maybe it wasn't Belle influencing Ozpin to get Jaune out of Beacon… maybe it was Ozpin angling Jaune to influence Belle. To get close and keep Mordred from getting closer.

It's a scary thought. It's not one Ruby would have had before the succession crisis became 'real' to them.

Ruby and Jaune return to Belle, but despite the reminder of Jaune's non-ulterior motives, Jaune still

doesn't ask for help when he has a chance. Not the first chance, or the next, or the next. Each time Jaune tries, he hesitates before changing the subject. Belle once again notices, and looks at Ruby meaningfully when Jaune excuses himself for awhile.

Hoping to give Jaune a push, and hold him to his promise, Ruby gives Belle a hint. Without saying what exactly, Ruby tells Belle that Jaune is trying to work up the courage to ask her something. Ruby goes out of her way to assure Belle there's nothing wrong, it's merely Jaune being Jaune. He's always been bad at asking for help, especially from his friends, because they're his friends and he doesn't want to impose. Belle smiles, says she understands, and shares a content and easy silence with Ruby.

When Jaune comes back- having clearly been prepping himself- Belle opts to prompt him directly.

Would it be easier if she made the proposal?

Ruby blinks. Proposal? Like a business arrangement?

In a manner of speaking. She's proposing marriage, of course.

Cue Ruby's shout of "What!?," and bringing back to the start of the chapter.

Belle is surprised at Ruby's surprise- isn't proposing what Jaune came here to do? Ruby's vehement denial is undercut by Jaune's lack of denial when she tells him to tell Belle the truth. Jaune is still unable to voice it, but he doesn't deny it either, and Ruby falls back down in shock as Belle makes sense of it for her.

It should be obvious, but Belle knows the score- Belle is the crux on which the succession crisis may well turn. Her influence and resources could put Mordred on the path to the throne, but by the same measure it could do the same for Jaune. She knows it, Mordred knows it, and the Council does to.

Belle can't be neutral in this. Her friendship with Jaune already makes her sympathetic and presumably aligned with Jaune. Hence why Mordred has to make a move- to either get her on his side, or prevent her from being able to assist Jaune. The way to do that would be to take away her holdings. When Mordred made his offer- a political marriage-alliance in exchange for substantial autonomy in pursuing her own preferences- it was inevitable the Council would make a counter-offer. In fact, they already have, haven't they?

Jaune nods, and as he conveys what the Council told him in private. Jaune is supposed to ask for Belle's hand in marriage.

Or rather, Jaune is the one being offered up by the Council for marriage.

Marriage to Jaune would protect Belle's holdings from Mordred and the Royal Police... and the Council. In exchange for supporting Jaune onto the throne, the Council will let Belle keep everything she already has- all the estates, all the control, and allow her greater leeway to pursue progressive reforms within her own holdings. The Council may not give her the sort of social policy reforms she wants, but they'll give her the freedom to do what she wants within her own substantial domain- one that might well set the de-facto standards for the entire city.

Ruby is stunned. Jaune is awkward and uncomfortable discussing it. Belle is understanding, and gently leads Jaune in the negotiation of his own hand in marriage. It's not the first time her future has been subject to negotiation, so she can understand Jaune's discomfort. It's a lot to take in- and a serious thing- but Belle is as sympathetic as she can be, even as she's frank and matter of fact about it.

Maybe it's because she always expected it, but Belle isn't opposed to the idea of arranged marriage, at least not with Jaune. Her preference for Jaune over Mordred is clear, and while not… eager, per see, she is certainly relieved. She knows it could certainly be worse. Belle is quite aware that Jaune is being sold off to her by the Council more than the other way around, but she reassures him that she wouldn't marginalize him like the Council would like to. Belle calls back to the night of the White Fang attack on the nobles, and what she and Jaune said way back then. Jaune was the one who asked if they could be friends instead of partners, but maybe they can be that to. Maybe they can be more than partners.

I already have a partner, Jaune says weakly.

Belle smiles a bit sadly, and says she knows. She's met Pyrrha, and has nothing but a good opinion of her, but this is a question of Jaune's future. She asks Jaune to consider her proposal, even as she makes clear she won't force it. She'd like to support his claim to the throne, though her influence is less than many presume. Jaune doesn't have to marry her either. She can marry someone else if Mordred forces the issue- even if she'd like that even less.

But now that the genie is out of the bottle, marrying Jaune off- which the Council can absolutely do without his consent, due to their oversight of the Royal family and claims of legal guardianship since inducting him back into Valean society without the rest of his family- makes Jaune's hand in marriage a political asset to be exploited. If not her, the Council will simply try to fob him off to the next most advantageous match.

Belle's not open to an arranged marriage just because it would preserve and enhance her family holdings- she's open to it because if the Council is going to marry Jaune off and Mordred will force her into matrimony, they may as well be bound together as fellow friends, rather than with strangers who care even less for them.

Think about it?

It's a lot to take in- for both of them- and Jaune and Ruby leave soon after. Belle gives them time to consider- and a cover, giving Jaune a message to take back to the Council conveying that while she's open to the suggestion there still needs to be a negotiation. That will buy him some time. The rest of it will be between herself and the Council, but as long as they think that her support is negotiable- as opposed to a given- they won't rescind the offer and offer Jaune to someone else for more advantage. Belle wishes them well, and bids Jaune to think about it.

Jaune and Ruby have an awkward ride back. Jaune draws into himself, thinking, even as Ruby's not sure what to say. What she can say. She's just as dazed as Jaune is despondant. When they return, Jaune goes to meet with Ozpin and the Council- who are no doubt impatient to hear the results- while Ruby is free to rejoin the team. Jaune asks Ruby to keep the development a secret from their friends for now, which she promises, but only on the condition that Jaune talks to her about it later. Jaune agrees, and they separate.

Ruby keeps her word in spirit, she doesn't mention Belle's proposal, but she can't hide her off-mood from her friends, and can't help but talk around it in turn. Ruby asks her team and friends what they think of Belle. They like her, well enough, based on their brief encounters with her at the balls. She's nice, not snooty, and not bad to look at either. She really does seem like a nicer, more developed Weiss (cue: Hey!) if Weiss really was a princess rather than an heiress. Beyond that… why's she asking?

Ruby lies and claims no reason, but even if she weren't setting off suspicion flags left and right Jaune would be. Both teams quickly spot that something is wrong with Jaune when he's back only briefly before going back to the tower, where he's conferring with Ozpin. Jaune's so obviously not normal that there's concern, and Ruby's questions indicate she knows why. Ruby doesn't spill the beans when confronted, though- not even when Pyrrha asks after admitting Jaune wouldn't tell her what was wrong with him. Unlike before, when Ruby shared how unhappy Jaune was in the tower, this time he really did ask her to keep it a secret, and she'll honor his wish. All she can do is reassure them that Belle didn't do anything bad… even if Ruby doesn't look happy about it either. At least she can console herself that Belle is leaving Jaune a right to refuse, and hope that he does…

That night Ruby goes to sleep on those thoughts, and returns to the house of her dreams. She's no longer kept out, but it's still not her house and it's not her children who coolly greet her there. Jaune is there, and even dressed in the robes of a King, but…

There is a 'but,' and that it's that his wife wouldn't want her there. And if she doesn't, neither will the Council.

The wife isn't Belle- just the next-best match the Council could make. It's quickly clear that whoever they came up with wasn't half as concerned for Jaune. He's not quite cowed, or cringing, but he definitely been hen-pecked. Jaune's surprise at Ruby's arrival is matched by his unease of his unknown wife's expected reaction. In fact, the dream-Jaune even reminds her that it was Ruby who advised him to keep his distance from her, for his own sake. Pity they drifted apart since the marriage, like everyone else from Beacon. Even worse is that Belle took her own life in some scandal, and he couldn't even make it to the funeral. It's a sad fate, for someone he might have married had it not been for Ruby.

The King Jaune of her dreams is anything but happy on the home front. He's a thin man who looks starved- not simply for food, but for something more. Warmth. Affection. Jaune is trapped in a loveless marriage, even as the rest of the Kingdom lives on free. Before she can offer help- before she can try to do anything- the unknown wife's return forces her to leave, almost flee. Jaune bids her well, and hopes to meet again secretly, but his eyes lack hope.

Ruby wakes up, and remembers her thoughts again about Belle offering Jaune an out… and the dream's words on how Ruby was the one who told him not to do so.

Ruby goes to visit Jaune the next night, after he's spent most the day with Ozpin and the Council. It's clear what the subject on his mind is. Jaune and Ruby talk about the proposed marriage, even as Ruby is uncomfortable for her own hidden reasons. Jaune's uncomfortable too, though, and in private with Ruby he lets it show.

Jaune committed himself to being King, but he's still uncomfortable with the Council's designs for doing so. Campaigning, speaking, even fighting- he could do that. But using people as tools to get a necessary result? He was uncomfortable enough with it when he was worried of his own ulterior motives- but to be played as a card himself? To be a bargaining chip, a prize to be won or traded for something better? He thought that thing only happened on the wrong end of a fairy tale. He never expected to be in that position himself.

Ruby frowns at that, even as she deals with her own discomfort. But despite some opportunities, Ruby doesn't try to dissuade Jaune from it. Any time she could, her mind flashes back to the potential consequences if she does. The dilemma isn't if the Council tries to marry Jaune off, but how and to who. Compared to that, is Belle so bad?

Ruby stays her tongue, even if silence allows Jaune to move closer to acceptance. He said he'd do whatever it took to beat Mordred. If he'd sacrifice his life in a heartbeat to protect people from Grimm, then this should be easy by comparison. Besides, Belle is a friend- and didn't Ruby tell him it's alright to accept help from friends? Besides, it's reciprocal, he'd be helping her too, so...

Ruby doesn't like having her words thrown back in her face, but can't take them back either. Instead she's mostly quiet as Jaune clearly struggles to find the resolve to accept it. He can't, though- not so easily- and as Jaune frames hypotheticals Ruby realizes he's looking at her for confirmation or rejection, with the same sort of desperate eyes he had in the dream.

Again, Ruby doesn't tell him to refuse Belle… but after they part, Ruby does send Belle a message asking if she can visit.

Alone, and without Jaune.

Ruby visits Belle, and it's apparent from the start that there's something off. Ruby is greeted at the door by some new faunus servants she doesn't recognized, and who are surprised to see her. She wasn't expected… until she is, as Belle arrives and apologizes on behalf of the new help. Belle is welcoming as always- a bit of a refreshing cool that is her graceful style- but she's clearly expecting some sort of confrontation from Ruby. After the pleasantries are done and privacy is achieved by dismissing the few faunus staff around, which includes the new hires, she's expecting it when Ruby gets to the point.

What are her intentions towards Jaune?

It's a silly question, but not really. Belle's answer- marriage, of course- is avoiding the spirit of the question, and the point. Say the arranged marriage goes through- then what? What does she want of Jaune? Does she even want Jaune? What does she think of him? Does she… does she even like him?

Ruby is one part concerned friend, one part reluctant rival as she confronts Belle over Belle's feelings for Jaune. Ruby's own feelings seep through, but rather than be offended or defensive, Belle gives Ruby honest answers, confessing her own thoughts and feelings about it.

Despite her ease with discussing the arrangements, Belle isn't eager. When Ruby asks her if she wants to marry Jaune, Belle avoids the question to say she thinks it's a good match. Jaune is a friend- a real friend, not a false-friend or ambitious courtier- and they're natural allies with shared inclinations to helping the city. But more than that, marriage for them is inevitable. If Belle doesn't marry, she risks losing her holdings and ability to make a difference. If Jaune doesn't marry her, the Council will just make him marry someone else. If they have to be married- and she very explicitly frames it as 'have to' rather than 'want to'- then they may as well be stuck together who will be better for eachother than the alternatives.

She has no desire to dominate Jaune, and Jaune is too nice to simply covet her holdings, and so she's sure they can come to an arrangement in support of eachother. More than allowing eachother their autonomy, they could be... allies, and even more. She believes Jaune would help her in her efforts at philanthropy and reform, and she'll help him achieve his ambitions as well. She'll be no obstacle to him becoming a Huntsman, or fighting for the people. Even if the Council treats him as a bargaining chip, Belle won't marginalize or try to control him. She'll treat him as an equal, or as best she can despite their age difference.

But will she love him?

Belle looks away at Ruby's question, a sad smile and terribly mixed expression beneath it. Love… doesn't have much to do with it. She hasn't known Jaune long or well enough to claim to love him. She likes him, has been impressed by him- he's a friend, an ally, and easy to be around. He's brave, and charming, and already done so much good despite being so young. He's sure to do even better as he grows, able to be both good and strong, and a man worth respecting. He's kind to human and faunus alike, and most of all he's sure to be gentle…

And she used to dream of having a knight like him once, Ruby remembers, and Belle pauses before giving a nod. She did, and that sort of unwavering loyalty is important to her, but that doesn't mean she loves Jaune. Not yet.

But she thinks she could, eventually.

When Belle says that, Ruby sighs, and the tension drops. If Belle were selfish, if she didn't care about Jaune's feelings, it be easy to hate her. But she's not, and so she can't. Ruby falls silent, and Belle fills it by pointing out the obvious herself: Ruby really does like Jaune, doesn't she?

It's Ruby's turn to be on the defensive, and she's about as convincing as you'd expect. Of course she does- he's a friend, a good guy, easy and fun to be around. He's brave, and inspiring, and already done so much good. All the things Belle said, really.

But Belle's not dumb, or blind. Jaune denied they were together before, back on the night of the Monarch's assassination… but Ruby wishes they were, doesn't she? That Jaune hadn't denied it so instantly. Ruby's had the time to get to know Jaune better. It's hard for her to see Jaune married off like this because she-

Love, Ruby interrupts, looking down and using Belle's words, doesn't have much to do with it.

Belle reaches over and embraces Ruby, offering her a sympathetic hug and an apology. She's sorry, but-

Explosions ring out, ruining the moment, and shattering the glass in the parlor as a White Fang attack commences.

The battle is short, as these things go, but the sudden attack would surely have killed Belle had Ruby not been there. Belle is no Weiss, completely overwhelmed by the chaos of combat, and Ruby has to save her. Even though she could leave her to die, the possibility doesn't even warrant a dramatic pause as Ruby pulls out her scythe. She doesn't even feel a hint of dilemma. Ruby saves the day, and Belle, by beating the surprised White Fang goon squad in short order.

Belle is overwhelmed, not just at the attack but unable to comprehend the why as her new faunus help hurries to in after the dust has settled. She's a progressive on faunus reforms- she's the sort, the very person, who's made many of the corporate and business reforms that the White Fang turned to terrorism to achieve in the first place. She should be the last person the White Fang wants to kill, because she already works to deliver the reforms they want.

Why her? Why now?

Sorry, Ms. Belle. Orders.

With that, one of Belle's servants- the unfamiliar new hire who just arrived- summons a dagger made of his own bone and stabs her in the back.

Tries to, anyway, because Ruby is there and stops him just in time. A swish, hook, and pull of Crescent Rose keeps Belle safe with nothing worse than a cut on the back as the assassin then flees. Torn between chasing after, and risking leaving Belle alone and unguarded, Ruby stays with Belle. Nothing too bad, from what she can see… but Belle freaks-out over the cut to the back of her dress, and even as she holds up the cut straps of the gown. Belle's sudden attempts to keep Ruby from seeing the damage only make her look closer.

There's no blood. All Ruby can see is the vestigial scars of surgery at her shoulders.

Ruby is confused, but Belle's desperate please to keep the other servants out and keep them from seeing it convince her to go along. Ruby helps Belle to the privacy of her own chambers, where Belle attempts to wrap bandages to hide not just her new wound but her old scars. As Belle does, not willing or able to speak yet, Ruby looks around and notes things in the room- the hankerchief Belle once gave Jaune for his injury on the night of the Monarch's assassination, since returned. There's a lack of many momentoes besides a number of books on faunus history and civil rights. But what Ruby truly finds is a half-hidden picture of an angelic woman with actual wings, a human man, and a young girl who looks like Weiss…

If Weiss had the wings of an angel.

Belle was, is, a faunus who had her non-human appendages ripped away at a young age.

Belle's mother was a faunus of a rare lineage whose vestigial appendages was wings that grew from the shoulder blades. Angel wings, in other words, even if they're technically bird-faunus. Belle's mother, a faunus of good standing from the Menagerie, and her father, a human noble, were themselves an arranged marriage meant to help ties between Vale and the faunus continent. It was meant to be a business deal to seal a contract for mutual family interest, nothing more, but despite the arranged nature they fell in love, and Belle was conceived.

There's no such thing as a half-faunus in Remnant. Half-breeds are either full faunus, or full human, and in the racism of the law- and especially the nobility- a faunus child can't inherit the birthright of nobility.

Belle's parents were supposed to only be married pro-forma for personal gain. If word had spread that the noble had actually slept, let alone loved, a faunus, it would have been scandal enough. But if it was known that the union produced a faunus...

The same Council who refused to recognize the Monarch's son would have gleefully confiscated Belle's holdings for themselves if they realized a faunus were to inherit so much of the city. Instead of face scandal and worse, when Belle could no longer be hidden Belle was revealed and claimed to be her father's child with a human maid, which seen as less of a scandal and more of an accepted/expected daliance. Before she was revealed, Belle had to have her faunus heritage hidden, and her wings removed. It was surgical, clinical, but Belle remembers it as the day her wings were ripped away.

Belle's parents weren't cruel, they were trying to protect her from growing up under a cloud of scandal and racism in their own way, but they also died soon after in a tragic accident, leaving her scarred and alone and left to deal with her family estate. Only her nursemaid and oldest servants and closest family friends knew the truth, and the only still alive is Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy, a long time friend and family friend.

Otherwise, being a faunus among the nobility- being the first and only faunus among the nobility- has been her secret to hide. Belle's heritage is enormously important to her- the crux of her desire to make faunus reforms- but it's also something she's terrified of losing control of. It's even the reason she's avoided marriage as long as she has, afraid that her would-be husband would see the scars and realize what she was.

If the truth spread it would not only see her fall from the nobility, but see her family's legacy stripped away. Losing her nobility status wouldn't just hurt her, it would render her unable to help anyone and make her lifetime of secrets and sacrifices- including ending a promising friendship with Winter Schnee for fear of the truth being realized- all for nothing.

Jaune wouldn't have taken issue with it, she's sure. Jaune sees both faunus and nobles as people. Her hope that Jaune could accept her for what she is, and keep her secret, is the greatest part of why she's comfortable with marrying him. He's defended faunus and nobles, so why not her who is both? She already likes him. She thinks she could love him. But now that Ruby knows…

Belle is scared, scarred, but most of all desperate beyond everything else. Belle throws herself at Ruby's feet and begs for mercy, committing herself to Jaune's cause without reservation or qualification. She'll support any desire Ruby has as well. If Ruby desires Jaune, well… it clearly hurts her to say it, but she'll look the other way and allow Ruby her affair, if that's what it takes for Ruby to keep her secret. Please.

All of a sudden, Ruby has all the power in the world, and it's a terrifying thing. Despite everything they've said- about being friends or otherwise- it's clear that Belle is terrified of her and what she could reveal. Ruby has power over her, and thus over much of the Kingdom, with just a little bit of blackmail born from a good deed. She can get Jaune on the throne. She can get Jaune herself, if she wants, and she'd be lying if she said she doesn't. And all she has to do, is not tell the truth that would hurt a friend…

Ruby thinks, for just a moment, of the dream she had the night before and of Belle taking her own life because of a scandal.

Ruby tells Belle not to worry, but also that she needs to go and think for awhile. Belle is too scared to refuse her, and too shaken to even think of trying to stop her. Ruby returns to Beacon in a daze.

Ruby doesn't seek out Jaune, to tell him what she learned, but looks for Blake instead. Ruby finds Blake alone, and reading of all things a gossip mag- and one that, of all things, is speculating on already-circulating rumors of Jaune and Belle. Council-instigated rumors, no doubt. Blake hurriedly puts it away, not wanting to seem to be rooting against Ruby's interest, but Ruby already knows and doesn't mind. Rather than talk about Jaune, Ruby wants to ask Blake about faunus mutilation.

Ruby asks about Blake's ears, and about why she tried- and still tries- to hide them. Blake's answer is simple- it's easier to fit in and be accepted by the humans if they can't tell.

Did she ever think of getting rid of them, then?

Blake freezes, and Ruby knows she's stepped on sensitive ground, but Blake answers with a negative. Cutting off her ears just to hide would be cutting off a part of herself. Besides…

Besides?

Blake explains that while faunus attribute surgery is a thing- that some faunus will try to do so to fit in with the humans- doing so irrevocably cuts them off from other faunus in turn. A faunus who gives up their identity as such will never be trusted as such again by the rest… but will never be accepted as a human either, when it inevitably is discovered. It's a temporary reprieve at best, as no matter what they do to their outside they still remain faunus on the inside and never truly belong to either group. Their children, no matter the other parent, will always have a chance of being born as faunus as well, ending the charade for good. Faunus who choose to mutilate themselves deserves as much scorn as pity.

And if they didn't choose it?

Then they just deserve pity, but their children will still have to live with the shame when discovered.

Why is she asking these things? Blake asks Ruby what brought this all about, but Ruby evades, saying it's just something she learned in the city. It's sad. Blake agrees, but that's just the way it is. It's a prejudice even the faunus have. They aren't always the better people Blake would like them to be.

Jaune wouldn't care.

Jaune probably wouldn't, Blake agrees. Then again, maybe Mordred wouldn't either- it's hard to imagine someone as class-centric as Mordred caring about a trifling thing like race. Either they they're beneath him, or beneath his notice. That's the sort of racial equality Mordred offers- not of equal respect, but equal subjugation to the crown. That's why she'd prefer Jaune's general good nature- one that might not be as single-mindedly committed for the faunus as her, but someone who will oppose the injustices from either side seen along the way.

Ruby agrees, and soon leaves with a bit more to think about. She'd never intended to blackmail Belle- never entertained it as a thought- but now that Belle is offering her the world without her asking…

She doesn't have to threaten Belle. She doesn't even have to pressure Belle into it, unlike Mordred when he asked for her marriage. She can simply ask, and Belle would give her the world in exchange for her secret. Not that she'd ever really tell- not she'd ever hurt Belle in such a way- but… her dreams. Her desires. Her own ambitions, to become a Huntress and so much more. Just by doing the nice thing- the right thing- she could have Belle's support and so much more. Belle would give her the world, and anyone in it.

Even Jaune.

Ruby sleeps, and has another dream. It's another dream in which Jaune is married and not to her, but this time Ruby enters his home like a returning conqueror. Ruby is returning from some great triumph as a Huntress. Great monsters were slain- great deeds were done. The news has already beaten her back, accolades for sure, and there could even be a school waiting to be taught by her if she wished it.

Instead Ruby goes home, to the home that isn't hers but might as well be it. This time it is Belle who Jaune is married to, and it's Belle who greets her and invites her in. Belle is kind, Belle is polite, and Belle even smiles. But Belle is also saccharine and deferential, and hides something- a sad-looking child with a suspicious look and a hint of something growing on his back. When Ruby smiles, the child hides behind his mother's gown despite Belle chiding him to be polite to their... guest. With a forced laugh- not the first time it has happened- and a pained look, Belle tells Ruby where to find Jaune. She promises they won't be disturbed as they… reunite. Ruby leaves, even as the child watches her go.

Jaune's there. Jaune greets her. Jaune's happy to see her, and even kisses her, and the dream may be a bit more exciting than would be covered. But it's not exciting- it's not passionate- it's not even needy. And at the end- when the passion cools and the two are in bed- Ruby is the only one satisfied. Jaune's still not happy, even as he invites her to stay for dinner.

What really wakes Ruby from the after glow is the sound of muffled crying from the next room, even as Jaune has tears in the corners of his eye. It's not… it's still not a happy household, even as they share a dinner. Belle is a hollow woman, only smiling when she knows someone's looking. The child- his child- barely smiles at all as mother and son eat their dinner in silence as Ruby explains her quest, despite the whispers from the servants behind the door. It was bad enough before the scandal of his birthmark, but the whispers… the Cuckold Queen. The Royal Family Faunus. Valean's Royal Zoo. There are always whispers, from the highest noble to the lowest servant. Not even a King can banish the whispers, not when they're compounded by a worse scandal to be kept at bay. Then there's the question that has Jaune so distracted, the fear of another succession crisis to come. The Council doesn't recognize the first child as his- what would it say if another was also a faunus?

Jaune looks at her, and despite his urgency Ruby can still see- even now, he still has the same, desperate eyes as in the last dream. Even now he's not happy, even though he has her and she has almost everything she could possibly want.

Almos everything. But as she opens her mouth to answer- the solution to ensure having a human heir and that last thing missing on the tip of her tongue- Ruby sees the half-faunus child watching from across the table.

He has his father's eyes, and his eyes are as disillusioned as they are disappointed.

Ruby wakes up, and knows what she has to do.

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A Modest Proposal 2

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Author Note:

More stuff happens. Ruby has to make another decision. Who would have thought?And Belle's dark secret is revealed... which should provide a little bit of interest perspective if/when you ever re-read her earlier segments.

Belle is/was an interesting character concept to me, but I can't really talk much about it now. Expect some thoughts when the story is over, but this whole segment here is another of the possible Big Branches I mentioned regarding Weiss before.

If Weiss and Jaune had started going out at the dance... well, the whole succession crisis would be a bit different if Jaune already had an ultra-high-profile girlfriend from the start, no? Take a moment to think about how the story would be had it gone that route, share them, and you'll see what I mean when I say this story definitely could have gone different ways.