Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. Would you fear what I'd do if I did?

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Raising the Stakes

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Friday begins with more of the same, and a continuation of the previous dynamic. Jaune- once again- avoids his mother in order to prioritizes his public appearances over spending time with her. Melody, once again, is upset, as she confides to Ruby that Jaune won't even take her calls. The last words they've had have been their equally public rejections, and their last private words likely weren't much better.

Melody is in a poor mood overall as the ramifications of Jaune's counter-interview have time to spread. The Council gave Melody her chance to make a public case as they promised… but it's spending a lot more time and energy supporting Jaune's rebuttal. Jaune's renunciation of her as his guardian- his commitment to stay and protect Vale, his words that Vale is his home- are given prime place and prominence on the morning circuit. Melody doesn't like it, and Ruby soon realizes that everyone else is leaving her to be the one to deal with Melody, as the other girls find other things to do in the time before the matches start for the morning. Weiss in particular says she needs to check on a business deal, but doesn't explain, while the other girls are more evasive as to why they need to escape Melody's mood.

The morning's battles occur, they're not important. What is important is the growing tide of color across the stadium. Teams and tourists alike are joining in on the new fashion of wearing flowers on their person. Those who can afford them wear roses. Others make do with what they can. Entrepeneuring flower-sellers- many of them faunus- do a brisk business selling flowers up and down the stands. Most of those flowers are yellow… and Ruby notes that the faunus flower-sellers don't seem to carry black roses at all.

When one such flower-seller comes near the VIP box, Melody looks to buy one. The cost for a rose is eye-watering- and a black rose impossible. When Melody demands why not, the flower-selling faunus admits that there are no more in stock. She can offer some alternatives- suggests some means of coloring the roses that are being sold outside the stands- but but there's an overall shortage of roses that looks set to get worse… or better, for humble flower-sellers like her. Her stock of black roses alone sold for more than she usually makes in a month. She was lucky the buyer wanted all of them.

That's strange, though. If flowers serve as a proxy for support, though, Jaune seems to be doing even better than Mordred. While 'normal' colors like red and purple abound as colors of neutrality, and foreign flowers mark neutral outsiders, the dominant color is clearly yellow. It's a color that makes Ruby happy and Mordred displeased when Jaune finally steps out to start the end of the first week of the Vytal Tournament…

Though maybe Mordred's frown is aimed at the Arc VIP box instead.

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The morning skips to lunch without incident. Once against Jaune avoids being with his mother, and once again Ruby is left to keep Melody company. This time, however, the rest of Team RWBY ditches them, leaving Melody to her as Jaune's mother starts to grouse about Jaune once again.

Melody complains freely- open about her feelings- but while she has cause to complain, Ruby's not sympathetic. Today it's more resentful, as if Jaune is ungrateful, and today Ruby's left to deal with it alone. When Melody complains once more that Jaune acts like he doesn't want to be seen in public with her…

Well, what did she expect, denouncing him like that?

Ruby lets slip what she thinks- what she really thinks- and Melody is taken aback. Melody, affronted, demands Ruby explain herself. Having kept her thoughts to herself long enough, Ruby does- not as a rant, but expressing her own thoughts on Melody's not-entirely sympathetic behavior. Even if it risks the closeness/positive opinion Melody has had of her.

Ruby calls out Melody on exactly why Jaune is avoiding her- because not only does she oppose his claim to the throne, but she publicly denounced him to do so. That hurt him- likely more than his counter-interview hurt her- and he's been busy trying to clean up a mess she made for him rather than meekly go away with her. What's he supposed to do if she decides to make another scandal beside him in public? It's Melody who wouldn't commit to not making waves, but it's Jaune who will have to pay the price and deal with them.

That may not be a total excuse for Jaune's conduct- he's still avoiding her in private, more than he has to- but to Ruby that makes perfect sense. He's angry at her. He's upset that she denounced him. She hurt him- shamed him- and did so publicly, just because she doesn't agree with a path he chose after a great deal of consideration and serious sacrficie.

Melody's reasons for doing so- that she loves him, that she'd rather he hate her but be alive than see him in danger- are misguided in a way no one knows better than Ruby. Jaune's Meldoy's child, but he's not just a child anymore, and not just hers. He's a man of Vale's, young as he is, and a man who will bear the mantle of responsibility befitting a king. Jaune's not going to leave this path for anyone, not even her. This is a path he's chosen, and is committed to, even if she might as well have campaigned for his rival.

Just whose side is she on, anyway?

It's a line said by both Ruby and Melody at the same time, but for different reasons.

Ruby is challenging Melody, trying to press her to support Jaune. But Melody's rejoinder is harsh, accusatory. Melody is upset- hurt even- as she looks at Ruby with a sense of betrayal. She thought Ruby understood her- agreed with her- that this contest put Jaune in needless danger. That the Council's attempt to marry Jaune off was wrong. She thought Ruby opposed all that. She thought Ruby loved Jaune enouth that Ruby was on her side, to free Jaune from all that.

But she's not. Ruby's on Jaune's side, and always has been.

When Ruby says that- 'I'm on Jaune's side'- a gap instantly forms between her and Melody, as Melody puts up her personal defenses again like she had when they first met. It's clear they have very different ideas of what being 'on Jaune's side' means- the difference between 'what's good for him' and 'supporting his path' and as the emotional distance opens up, Melody makes a series of accusations that suggest what she thinks Ruby's perspective means. Ruby knows Jaune's in danger, but doesn't care. Ruby doesn't like that Jaune might be married off, but only because she wants him herself. She wants Jaune to be king for her own preferences, just like the Council. It's a series of slings that Ruby stoicly withstands in silence.

But when Melody asks why Ruby is with her then- if she isn't on her side after all- Ruby feels compelled to answer.

Because Jaune asked her to.

Melody's chill turns positively frosty, as she realizes just what Ruby's escort is doing/can be seen as doing. Ruby's not escorting Melody because she wants to or because they have common cause- she'd doing it to keep Melody out of trouble, to prevent a scandal. Melody is being baby-sat by a girl young enough to be her daughter. Jaune trusts this slip of a girl more than he trusts his own mother. It grates on her about as well as one might expect.

Melody- polite in table manners even if she's in a bad mood- excuses herself from the lunch. Her appetite is gone. Melody says she'll be escorting herself back to the VIP box, with a sharp assurance that she promises not to cause too much trouble along the way. Arc words and all that… before ominously adding that if Ruby thought she 'might as well' have been campaigning for Mordred outright, she'll have to take that under consideration. Melody leaves in a huff, leaving Ruby behind.

Ruby waits for her to leave, before letting loose a sigh and wilting in her seat, bringing her hands to her face. That… could have gone better. And Jaune's mom certainly doesn't approve of her right now, though that doesn't mean as much as it might have. Still… Ruby sinks deeper into the chair, not sure how she'll tell Jaune about this. Warn him that his mother seems to be on the war path.

The waiter helpfully brings her back to the present, not to offer a suggestion, but meaningfully proffering a bill for two.

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Melody is good to her word, and does return to the VIP box like she said would. Without incident, even… though promising a future headache. Melody, while she was outside of the coliseum, took the time to stop and smell the flowers… and is now the proud owner of a black rose she bought along the way. Melody is now wearing said black rose openly on her lapel- a mirror to Ruby's own yellow rose- and in full view of anyone who happens to look her way.

Melody's open signaling for Mordred is sure to be noticed, and is when the arena's camera scans the crowd and spots her. Though the (Council-employed) camera-crew quickly moves on and doesn't return, it's enough to start whispers. A(nother) scandal is brewing now that Melody has taken up the symbol of Jaune's rival, and Melody hardly seems to mind- even has a certain sort of vindictive glee when Jaune notices, colors, and studiously ignores her. Melody whispers to herself that Jaune won't be able to keep ignoring her for long, and seems to relish in his obvious discomfort.

Other than that, though, the afternoon doesn't encompass much. There are no truly notable fights, just the continuation of pre-existing trends- teams are wearing the flowers to show their support (or neutrality), and more victors signal their support for Jaune (and his prize) than Mordred. Yellow increasingly outweighs black, Missus Arc excepted.

Not even that little bit seems to make Mordred happy, though- and when he at last notices Melody's choice of color, he doesn't even smile. That surprises Ruby- almost as much as a realization sparked by overheard whispers from the stands remarking that Mordred's made surprisingly little use of Melody Arc's scandalous lack of support from Jaune so far. Mordred truly has yet to make a move, and when Melody makes to vocally cheer for the sole pro-Mordred team of the afternoon… Mordred's look only darkens, much to Melody's disappointment. Mordred leans over to Garnet and whispers something, causing Garnet to soon leave.

The matches end soon after, followed by a brief ceremony to mark the end of the first week of the Vytal Festival Tournament. All the (victorious) team leaders are to assemble on stage- and even from a distance, it's clear there's going to be more yellow than black. Given that Ruby's up in the VIP box at the top of the stands, though, she's going to have to hurry if she doesn't want to be late.

Ruby makes her excuses to leave, and Melody dismisses her easily in a way that makes Ruby frown, and consider asking Jaune if he'd mind if she not played escort to Melody all weekend. Not so much because anyone else would be better, but partly because Ruby does feel Jaune should address things with Melody himself and partly because she doesn't exactly want to keep dealing with her. Ruby makes this resolution as she moves towards the stadium entrance, nodding to herself as black uniformed figures hurry the other way.

It's not until Ruby steps outside into daylight, and sees the Arc VIP box shutters closing when they'd been open before, that her eyes widen as she realizes just who- and what- had been walking the way she came. An unnatural brush of fear comes over her.

Ruby turns on a dime and dashes back into the inner parts of the coliseum, down the halls to the VIP box. She tunes out the sound of the impatient crowd ready for the ceremony to begin, ignores the echoing reminder for all team leaders to assemble on the stage, doesn't even stop on the thought that her team is waiting for her to represent them. Ruby rushes, rushes, rushes…

Ruby blurs past two black-coated, jack-booted enforcers and bursts into the VIP box they're standing guard of. She's just in time to see more enforcers in the box, weapons drawn and raising as they turn towards her, already surrounding an alarmed mother of eight.

Worst of all is the leader, a well-dressed officer who positively radiates a fearful chill as he towers above Jane's mother.

Missus Melody Arc? Come with us. By the order of Lord Mordred, are under arrest for crimes against the Kingdom of Vale.

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Raising the Stakes

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Author Note:

Dun dun dunnn...

(Is it an effective cliff-hanger? I hope it's an effective cliff hanger. More tomorrow.)