Chapter 58: A light to break through the clouds
Yeah, I goofed when I thought I could write during Christmastime. A Grimm Tale requires quite a lot of setup and stuff, and since I wasn't at home, I didn't quite get to manage to get in the mood. Thanks for being there with me for the closing of Volume 3. It's been… Yeah. Tough. Writing this story is tough, because it's got many dark and light points in it. Verdigris Arc was the final reveal for Volume 3.
The things one should not do (Whitney Esmeralda Schnee)
She let her eyes slide over the interior of the meeting room, well-aware of the fact that she was here with her father, a testament to the power that she wielded. The General sat opposite of the two of them at the table, as was fitting. There was no talking, her eyes watching carefully for any sign of weakness.
"It is a surprise to see you alive, Lady Schnee."
The man affected a pleasant demeanour, yet she could see right through it. There would be no inheritance for her daughters with her alive and her father. The man would play the political games that he had the power to stop with a single declaration of Martial Law, working through the channels in order to enforce the law.
"I would imagine that the surprise might have lasted a little while before it was finally unveiled, General Ironwood. I am not fully certain yet that my safety and those under my protection can be assured. That is why we have called for the Hindenburg."
It floated above Vale, a testament to the Schnee Dust Company's power. A private warship, available in order to bring forth the power of Dust to the people, through barrages of shells that could strip the land of anything with heat and flame. The darkness inside her quivered.
"You could have informed us. We could have provided protection."
An excuse. Protection that would be a cell and a jailor, her daughters pushed into the game of politics. Weiss was dirtied, smeared. Winter would dance along to the tune of Ironwood, bringing with her that desperate control over the finances of the Schnee Dust Company.
"After my husband's assassination attempt, things were a little bit tense. I thought it wise to avoid scrutiny, in order to avoid hired weapons from firing. My husband was not a man who would squander any resources to achieve victory, General."
She was not dubious of that fact at all. Her father, looking and feeling better than he had before, spoke up. His voice was stronger. The Atlesian women that she had rescued had all been provided lodging aboard the Hindenburg. It was the least she could do, after all.
"It is regrettable that he passed. My daughter had wished to at least confront the man."
Political words, spoken carefully so as to give the illusion that it hadn't been ordered by the man. If Whitney knew one thing for certain, General James Ironwood played the game well. She put a smile on her lips.
"Indeed. Regrettable."
The political answer, as the door opened and her eldest daughter entered, her expression set within that stoic façade. Weiss was hopefully sleeping still, recovering from the injuries that she had sustained. The military dress uniform that her eldest daughter had decided to wear today made her look formal and stiff.
"Mother. I hope you are well."
It was disgusting to see the power play. Whitney Schnee, survivor of an assassination attempt by her late husband, reconnecting with her eldest daughter. The heir to the name, the one who had been interned within the military of the Kingdom and raised by its military despot.
"Winter, my dear…"
She got up and walked with small, polite steps, taking only a second moment to meet with her daughter, a hug given. Her eldest daughter was warm to the touch, the smile on her daughter's lips genuine, a warmth inside her. She could feel the pulse and throb of that heart, that empty, void heart that seemed to feel only the desires of the military, her eyes looking into the blue ones of her eldest child.
"Weiss is safe, Winter. Do you want to go and meet her after the talks with General Ironwood are concluded?"
It was an entreaty from a mother, an endearment that she could not forget. Winter was her daughter as well, even if the man of her heart had not met her yet. Winter would be obedient to the man who she was inferior to, she knew. Ironwood's little game of political tug of war would likely fail.
"If the General allows it. I still have my duties, mother."
It was a pity that things had to be like this. With how her day had been going, these talks were definitely something that had been long overdue. She had not let go of her daughter once in the time between her daughter's reunion with her and the arrival of the Hindenburg. Three days of near-sleeplessness, and her eldest daughter seemed to have 'conveniently' arrived at the same time as her own talk with General Ironwood.
"You may have the day off to reconnect with your mother, Specialist Schnee. Now, Lady Schnee… May I inquire where you have been all these months?"
A ploy for power, one that she would not indulge in. The feeling of the one in the shadows, Kali, roaming through the darkness like a vibrant little spark of shadow within a shadow. A whole feeling of darkness, as she could feel the touch of Kali in the shadows. Her friend whispered to her with her own presence, as she let her smile come to her face.
"In a safe place, General Ironwood."
Her daughter pulled out of her embrace, a questioning look, something in those eyes. Whitney felt the urge build up inside her to ask questions, to know how her eldest had been, yet she also knew of the trouble that it might cause with her eldest.
"We could have offered better protection, Lady Schnee. We are still the Atlas military."
The General insisted, a smile of pride on his face. Whitney kept her polite and cool façade, a warm smile on her lips.
"It was not very useful for a woman such as me to be under supervision. If not for a passing Huntsman… I would imagine that my children would be bereaved of both of their parents."
Winter looked inquisitively at her, obviously filing it away. The General smiled, before the different topic was cut.
"The Hindenburg will need to adhere to our military pattern of deployment, Lady Schnee. If you would be so kind as to instruct its crew to enter the formation that we have selected, I would be most grateful."
That would let them remain within the reach of the cannons of the Atlesian military. With the power of the Atlesian military at the command of the General, even such a deployment would put her within the sphere of influence, only through the command. She glanced at her father, giving him a small sign, a pursing of the lips.
"It would be rude to disallow our noble guests the ease of access between Vale and the Hindenburg, General. We are not members of the military, we are a private company. What we do with our vessel is all perfectly legitimate."
It was. Her father was right. The Schnee Dust Company, no matter how one looked at it, was an entity that held power on the global scale. If her father or herself did not give the word, it was not going to happen. A softness of the features, a small smile on her lips. The image of a woman who was touched by the sympathy from her father, a weak woman.
She could see Winter, ever the obedient daughter, firm up. The General adjusted his uniform slightly, a barely perceivable nod given to her daughter. Betrayal, but not one that was immediately apparent. It was a slow process, she knew. A slow process that the man would slowly use to usurp the power from her.
Winter could be the heir, if she proved herself independent. Weiss currently needed the most assistance, and she would get said assistance from her mother.
"Of course, Nicholas. I forgot myself for a moment, it is not Atlas."
The man had not forgotten himself, obviously. James Ironwood was a calculating man, a man who did not have the best intentions. She knew that from the start. Headmaster Ozpin had been requesting a meeting with her and her father as well, but she had denied him, citing a lack of time and wishing to catch up with her daughter.
"I apologize, General. It's still a lingering feeling of unease. My husband's assassination attempt has been… impactful."
There was less said about that than she could. Her eyes caught sight of the man's eyes sharply regarding her and her daughter. It was such a game, such a thrilling game. She could feel the desire within the man, something that held a curling leer of power and control. It would be easy to stoke the flames.
"Understandable. There were doubts about your death, Lady Schnee. We have searched."
A faint smile, curling her lips. She knew that they hadn't. If they had, they would've found them. A problem, she surmised, but not one that was bad. Winter would be asking undoubtedly. A problem for other times.
"I intend to make sure that the Schnee Dust Company has what reputation it has gained under my…" A pause, as she let the word slip into her mouth. "late husband disappear from the public's minds. With the recent Faunus revolution of a few days, I would imagine that some people would be happy with a change in direction. We are a force for change, as we provide the Dust that warms their homes."
Her youngest child certainly was not, but there would be no assassinations from him if she could help it. A smile stretched her lips. She walked back to her seat, sitting down once more, motioning for Winter to do the same. She knew that the game was afoot, that the players had selected their pieces, allowing her father to speak up.
"I have been feeling better, General Ironwood. There's still life in me yet. The damage to my lungs seems to be recovering somewhat. A new treatment, something that makes me feel a little better than before."
Her father took the lead, as she looked at her daughter. The presence of Kali shifted, as ghostly fingers traced over her inner thighs, tapping softly the little code that they'd developed, burning with that hint of something more, a hint of a tension that came with the sudden knowledge that there was more than one person feeling fear in this room.
"That is most fortunate, Nicholas."
Her father, ever the miner, laughed, his face showing only the jolly expression that he didn't hide. If her father was honest, the face would be more thunderous, but there was nothing in his expression that told of his true thoughts.
"You should really take a closer look at your daughter's expressions, Whitney."
The calm and placid voice of Lie Ren spoke in her mind, her eyes catching the expression on her daughter's face, one that showed a yearning, a feeling of craving. Perhaps her daughter was not fully under the thrall of the General yet, but there was nothing that she could do now to prevent it.
It had been one moment where the voice had been added to her mind, a soft awakening in the morning. A soft "Hello, my name is Lie Ren. Do you think you could talk to Nora for me?" that had brought her to abrupt awakening, even as Cremea murmured in the background about something with irregular flux.
She had put it off, knowing that it would be suspicious if she called a young student at the early hour, but it would not be a bad thing to attempt later on.
"Shall we go to Weiss afterwards, Winter?"
Her father's voice was talking about something with the General, her mind automatically keeping track of it. Her hand laid on her daughter's shoulder, feeling the warmth of her daughter's flesh, the dark eyebrows, a symbol of Jacques' fine addition to the gene pool of the Schnee family, looking pensive.
Her daughter was like an ice sculpture, like something that had been carved into the shape of a woman, yet never astray from the path that she had been set upon. A feeling of pity, of empathy and something more curled through her body, something that lingered in her heart. She felt bad for her daughter, but there would need to be security. Weiss was young, yet Winter knew the woes of the world.
"That would be nice, Mother."
The lack of a heavy load in Winter's voice was like a shuddering of the thunder-peals of hope in her heart, something about her daughter being warmer striking a chord. She had seen what could be brought by hatred, by indifference. She still loved her children, no matter what they did.
As they emerged from the meeting room nearly an hour later, her hand was on her daughter's side, Kali's presence in the back of her mind, following behind the two of them as they parted ways with the General. Whitney could see the probing look, the brief expression on the man's face that showed that he wished more information. It was normal, she supposed. Normal for a man whose mind went to places dark and unsavoury.
'A problem, in the future.'
They would not lay a hand on Jaune and the others. She was his lover, the woman he was to marry. She hadn't even met his oldest sister, though… she had met his father. Circumstances dictated that she have an acquaintance. Sage Arc just made her feel a little uneasy.
The emotionless man didn't strike her as the most welcoming of people. It was not her own opinion either, as Cremea said that there was something with her father's Semblance that negated most emotions that came from the man's core, making him distant.
His brother was more social, if that was the word. Verdigris Arc, or Taiyang Xiao-Long if one had to believe the rough man that smelled of alcohol and failed dreams, was a person who lived emotional highs and lows. Not a very stable individual, but she would give the benefit of the doubt. It was not her place to judge her love's family, after all. Not until they had proven themselves unfit for the love that her Jaune gave them.
They walked through the sterile hallways of the Hindenburg towards her personal quarters, where Weiss was being given the care she needed to recover. If not for this meeting, she would have been at her daughter's side, Kali's presence in the room there to deny anyone who would dare to think to harm her girl the chance to do so. With the shadows at her beck and call, Kali was efficient and powerful.
She looked at the bed that had been set up beside her own, her youngest daughter looking at her, brightening immediately.
"Mama! Winter!"
Her heart felt a throb of love as she saw the look on Weiss' face, smiling broadly. The girl had been skittish, unwilling to be treated by men. It was such a sad thing too, but normal. She had been through quite the ordeal.
"Hello there, my little snowflake."
She sat down in the chair next to the bed, the casts that were around her daughter's broken limbs giving her the image of weakness, but she did not mind it at all. Anyone who would dare to harm her daughter would find that Whitney Schnee was not to be trifled with. Winter sat down on the other end of the bed, a fine divide between herself and the General's position in things.
"Can Ruby and the others come to visit? Mama?"
She smiled indulgently, knowing that her daughter had been asking this question, Winter's face showing interest.
"They are my teammates. They… Ruby is my team leader. The others… Well, they are good people. They…"
Her hand grabbed her daughter's cast, rubbing it softly and letting her daughter know that sad times were behind her. She loved her daughter so much, to see her hurt was just something that made her shiver.
"They came for you, Weiss. I came for you."
Her expression was maternal, she knew. She could not let her daughter suffer. The bright smile that Weiss had was not tarnished. The scar on her eye stood out, and there was something in her daughter's eyes.
"What happened?"
At moments like this, she really wished that her oldest daughter would have taken lessons in tact and grace, rather than how to fire a gun and be a bitch for the military. Weiss' eyes lost their spark as she inhaled and exhaled.
"They wanted to r-rape me. Just because I was a Schnee, because daddy was a bad man. I didn't do anything wrong, Winter. I was just a Schnee and they wanted to hurt me."
A tender look on her face, as Winter's soft hiss of distaste and disgust came. Whitney's fingers stroked softly over the cast. Weiss was crying.
"I came for you, Weiss. Mama loves you more than anything in the world. She loves you and your sister and brother."
The truth, she knew. Winter's eyes were emotional too and her emotions quivered. Her hand brushed over her daughter's cheeks.
"I would have slaughtered them all if they had laid one hand on you, Weiss. Nobody will take my daughter without paying the price."
Blue eyes looked up at her, the yearning within her, Winter's gaze on her, she knew, but she was done with being merely political. Her finger slid up to the eye, looking at the tender expression on her daughter's face.
"Winter, do you think you could fetch something to drink for Weiss? There is some fruit juice in the kitchen."
She looked at her youngest, leaning forward, her lips pressing against her daughter's pale cheek as Winter moved. She could smell the scent of medical alcohol on her daughter's skin.
"I would never let you hurt, Weiss. You, Winter and Whitley are my children and I will always keep loving you."
The small smile on her daughter's lips, the look in her eyes. It had been repeated over and over for the young girl in the casts, the daughter whose pale features were so beautiful, like a porcelain doll that had been polished to a degree that it was ephemeral and beautiful.
"I have the nightmares again, mama. The shadows are watching. They always are watching when I close my eyes. Whispering softly."
Whitney's fingers pressed against her daughter's cheek, brushing gently over the skin. She could, of course, tell that it was just Kali's presence that her daughter was sensing, but telling the girl would only make her feel less secure.
"Mama is here, Weiss. Mama is here and she isn't going to make you feel afraid."
Her daughter's eyes were dark and gloomy, as Winter brought a glass of fruit juice. A softness of the features, her oldest daughter's love for her younger sister not wholly gone yet by the military's cruel ploys, something that could be stamped out with love and care.
'I'm going to make sure that there won't be anyone who would dare stand in our way, Jaune…When we marry, it will be a grand ceremony.'
She was sure that Kali had her own plans for her wedding. They had discussed it very briefly in the time they'd been together at night and alone. Her friend deserved just as much love as she got.
"I love you, Mama, Winter. I'm so happy that you're here."
She smiled at her daughter with an understanding in her eyes that her daughter was going to be alright. Weiss was a strong, beautiful girl. Jaune would like her as his stepdaughter. A faint smile curled onto her face at the thought.
"Your friends will be here in the afternoon, Weiss. I will be close by whenever you need me to be, sweetheart."
She could see her daughter's eyes light up at the thought of her friends, knowing that she would be better off with people of her own age. They hadn't been talking much, as she took care of her daughter, the fragile emotions that she could see in the girl's state like ripples on a still pond.
'You will be okay, my daughter…'
She was going to make sure of it, even if she had to do questionable things.
Tensions rising (Heather Arc)
She gazed in the mirror, her eyes bloodshot and without much variation, aware that there was just that extra bit of sleeplessness in her night, her older sister's humming entirely too cheerful this early in the morning.
Rowena had been in a good mood for the past few days, something that undoubtedly had to do with what had happened earlier, the freedom that they had been given to stay where they wished to stay with dad being called to Beacon to serve as the Combat instructor.
Given what had happened to the Goodwitch woman, it was only natural. The woman's body had sustained damage and there were some gaps in her memory, a concussion and some other damages, exacerbated by the use of her powers. The woman was recovering, or so it was said.
The hotel room that they shared was between the two of them, funded off her card, though they could pay for a year and not really break the bank. It was good to be well-paid for the missions that they undertook, her own bank accounts easily double the size of Rowena's, but that was due to her wandering state. Rowena wasn't much for taking commissions.
"Come on, hurry, hurry… We should be shopping. We are going to shop, yes."
The cheerful voice reminded her of when they had been younger, when the days had not been so dark and frightful. Rowena had always loved to sing, before she had been dampened by what had happened.
'I still don't…'
She was anxious. Rowena in a good mood was… dangerous. The smooth and flawless skin that she had beheld in the bathroom the day before was still awkward. The suit that Rowena wore that was much like the other scythe-wielder's fit her well, but she wished to shop now.
"Come on, we'll be okay. Just make yourself look better, Heather."
She gave her sister a look, Rowena's eyes alight, the dark blue colour drawing her in, the woman's hand brushing through her long blonde hair, contrasting to the shortness that it seemed to have. It was a softness that it held, a callback to when she had been… beautiful.
"It's not that easy, you know… I should buy more conditioner. My hair dries out faster than my pussy when I'm-"
Her sister's touch to her scalp and the smooth cool sensation of water sliding over her scalp, moved with an expert application. She could feel the touch, as she felt her sister's fingers slide up and down over the sensitive flesh.
"We're going to be shopping… Ooh, we're going to buy Yang a gift. I got her three sizes, and she'll need some nice stuff to wear. How about black?"
The positive, warm and friendly Rowena was back, contrasting the severe and angry Rowena that she had known for years. It was as if there had been no change at all, the sister she had loved returning, her eyes shimmering.
"Black on a blonde? Are you serious? Do you want her to look like a wasp?"
Rowena frowned a little, the coolness of her hair changing a little as the water evaporated. She wanted to braid her hair, but Rowena had said that it should be loose for a bit. The look in Rowena's eyes changed and the darkness returned.
"Uncle Verdigris…"
A fit of deep, dark anger in those eyes flashed, as Rowena the Slayer pushed herself to the forefront and Rowena the sister slid back.
"He's not impregnating Yang."
She shivered. Rowena would know, she guessed. Silver eyes stared in the mirror, peering over her back. Her sister's form was fuller than her own, her own face having more of that weathered sour expression, as Rowena's features held the beauty of an angel.
"She's not his to claim."
Rowena's mind was set, as her fingers brushed through Heather's hair again, smoothing it out. A cold, bitter smile on her lips. Heather wondered what the plan was. If the Faunus girl was going to betray them, she would have done so by now.
"And Belladonna?"
Sharp silver eyes beheld her, the curled smile that held a glint of wickedness within them was something, as Heather's own hand grabbed her sister's.
"Haven't you seen her looks? The girl's pulse races when she sees me…"
Lust, love or something else. Heather knew that Rowena, as she was now, would use that to gain what she wished to gain. It was a sick twist, her body knew, but she knew that Rowena was her sister and that she loved her sister.
Not in the way that was sexual, of course, but that Rowena was above all others was a clear-cut case. She was the sister who was closest to her, without even a hint of change from her, her eyes never shifting from their silver sheen. The eyes of the saviour, the ones that dictated the war against those who would bring the Shadow to this world.
"Why haven't you told people about your gift?"
Rowena's smile was chilling to most other people, her hands sliding onto her shoulders, caressing her. It was not a touch that was intimate, as she felt the viscera inside her body move, the touch of the Semblance easy to negate with her own, but it was impossible.
"They would use me. I am still the eldest and the inheritor of the Title and crown. Another child in my womb, if they can fit it into the schedule. Jaune's seed, probably. Another victim for the schemes of the Order, so that one man can have the immortality he thirsts for."
'Oh.'
As far as her father and the rest of the family knew, Rowena was still scarred and infertile, without any sort of recovery. That her mind had repaired after the death of the Faunus man who had done such things to her was a boon, but Rowena was still a fully-invested Slayer.
'Instead it comes to me…'
"Do you love me?"
She looked at her sister, Rowena looking at her with a look, the sister looking at her, rather than the superior. There was something in the depths of her blue eyes that made her want to respond with an affirmative, but something stopped her. She could see those eyes looking straight into her.
"Of course, Ro."
It wasn't anything else but that answer. The small smile, as her hand grabbed a hold of Heather's, Rowena's fingers lacing with her own, the other hand seized as well.
"We're magnificent together, Heather. Always together, okay?"
Her older sister's forehead pressed against her own and she stared into her sister's eyes. There was a cool feeling from her sister, as eyes peered deeply into her own.
"Always together, Ro."
The soft smile on Rowena's lips turned warmer, as the hands squeezed softly.
"I'm your big sister. Trust me."
She did. As a superior, she trusted Rowena's calls. As a sister, she trusted her older sister's suggestions. They had been born apart, but they were never apart now. Rowena's eyes were warm, as her head leaned forward and she felt the lips press against her own. Something pushed into her, a warmth that seemed to glow, light that seemed to burn, Rowena's eyes flashing a bright silver, as her own closed for a moment, shivering with that pleasure that came through her upper body, not stopping with its momentary drift towards the force inside her.
The kiss ceased, as her sister's smile was warmer. A feeling, a throb in the back of her head and she felt her sister, close by.
"Magic, Heather. Now we'll never be apart again. In this world, you two are the only ones that matter to me. You and Jaune. The rest?"
Coldness flooded those eyes, as her older sister's eyes froze over.
"They are not worthy of our love."
Heather knew that she would miss her other sisters, but to miss Rowena? That was a wholly different game. Her sister's eyes warmed once more as another kiss was placed against her lips. Heather indulged in the sensation, as she kissed her sister, her full-blooded sister, a woman she loved as a sister, yet not as a lover.
"I love you, little Heather. Jaune would be proud…"
A soft tingling of laughter as her older sister tugged her closer, their bodies pressed together. The blue shirt that Heather wore pressed against the simple yellow sundress that Rowena wore, a shiver going through her.
"Always be armed, little sister."
A softness of the eyes that did not fade from them, as Rowena pulled away, taking out a small stick of lipstick and applying it to her lips. It was something that Rowena had rarely applied, but the form was still as perfect as the first lesson on feminine hygiene products.
"We are going to get something nice."
The sudden feeling of ominous doom that Heather felt was only matched by the consternation that Rowena had mentioned something about going shopping. That meant trying on clothing and looking at herself in the mirror.
'Fuck.'
She hated clothes shopping, because every time she went into a store for some shopping, she'd exit with a few new 'suggestions' that were totally not in her nature. The hot pink set of underwear hopefully was still somewhere tucked deep in her closet, after the saleswoman had said that it would totally make 'her man love her'.
'This is going to end up in disaster…'
Rowena's soft humming seemed to be like the dirge of death for her, as her older sister continued to slip herself into the routine of getting ready, a brush already out and combing Heather's hair.
It was the fate she had to suffer for her sister's happiness, she supposed.
'Let's hope it's not something hot pink again…'
She hated pink.
The Bang for the Yang (Yang Xiao-Long)
"So, that's the new look, eh?"
It was a few days after the mission, a few days of frenzied getting things back in working order. The things she had seen during that time in Mountain Glenn had made her lose sleep, but it had been less than what the remnants of team PRWN had to go through…
Or she should just say, Pyrrha and Nora. She had caught sight of Nora in the cafeteria, a veritable cloud of depression hanging around her, Pyrrha's gaze cautious as she looked at her, not quite speaking but trying her best to keep Nora grounded.
The energetic feeling of Nora had left her. The love that she had for her boyfriend was gone and what was left was hurt, pain and fear. Viridian had been muted in his expressions, the shocks that he'd had to the system of someone dying who was a teammate having rendered him silent.
Nora didn't take care of herself anymore. The bloodshot eyes and the soft constant whimpers that came from her lips, Ren's name repeated, the teary looks that she gave from time to time to the spot where they'd always sat.
It was loss, and it was the second loss that the former team JNPR had suffered.
Blake turned around, the top looking fine, the cleavage giving it that 'Bella-hooker' vibe, the long black coat looking like it fit her, loosely wrapped over the shoulders. A blood-red blade had been fashioned into a buckle, a shard of something like a katana, the leather having been worked into the buckle as a guard, the white coat laid out on the bed. A mask was slid into place on her jaw, guarding her mouth. It made her look a little like those Mistralian temple guardians that she'd seen in a documentary once a while ago, but… Yeah.
"Do you like it? I want to show her." The face-mask came off, the bright smile of Blake Belladonna once more there. It had been showing up more often than before, growing broader and warmer with the heat of Blake's newly reignited self.
This was a partner she could somewhat trust not to kill herself. Whatever Blake had seen, it had changed her life. Yang wasn't certain though… Ruby was still a problem.
"Can you repeat that again, Ruby? I thought-"
The bright smile on her younger sister's face didn't fade. Innocence in those eyes, as she thought she'd just heard- No, that was wrong. It must be wrong.
"What was your test? Was it good being with two girls?"
She hadn't had much of a test in the art of love, really. The Trial had been something of her test, but she was not sure whether it was a thing that she enjoyed.
It hadn't come up.
Not yet.
"It was… different. Cousin Rowena is… interesting."
Ruby frowned, her face taking that pouty look that she knew meant that Ruby didn't agree with it in the slightest. That dad seemed to be one of the members of the Arc family was… a difficult pill to swallow.
It meant that they had cousins. That they had family. More family, though just as fucked up as dad had been when he was out of commission. She hadn't stuck around to really talk, having excused herself to go to the bathroom.
She'd just sat there in the toilet, feeling the coldness of the seat and just staring at her hands. Those hands had killed people, they'd ended lives. She was just like the other members of her family now, a Slayer.
She couldn't tell anyone about the Order. She couldn't tell Ruby, she couldn't tell Weiss or Blake. Summer, her real mom Raven and… and her cousins.
She didn't trust Sage Arc as far as she could throw him, and even then, she didn't, because Dad was his brother. What if…
A soft exhale, tingling along her nostrils and filling her nose with that faint hint of thoughts and fears. She had heard the stories from Rowena in her youth, sang to her in the lyrical form. They had spoken of honour and valour, sacrifice and loss.
She had only emerged after she'd taken a leak, trying to justify her absence. Nobody had complained. Ruby was trying to make Weiss talk to her, but Weiss was just trying to hug her mother for dear life, the woman's face looking grave, as she stopped all attempts to talk to her with a simple 'My daughter is more important, please move to others.'
She had to give the woman some respect for standing with her daughter, even after the massive ship had floated into the range of visual confirmation a day later, the Schnee crest on its bow standing like a beacon, the woman's face having looked haggard as she called them on their Scrolls one by one to convey her personal thanks.
It was all such a mess. She should get herself some new clothing as well, if Blake was going to enter a new goth emo phase…
Perhaps something with a few zippers? She didn't know, she'd have to accessorize it with the cloak and the mask. A girl had to look her best, of course.
A bad luck's charm (Qrow Branwen)
"Come on, you can't be tired yet! Let's make the room quake!"
The excited voice of the young woman who wanted to go for round number four of the day was like a call to action, her eyes looking at him with that boundless excitement in them, something in them that held only the call for lovemaking.
It had been an awkward thing, really. One moment she was standing next to her sister, the next she was grabbing him by the arm and going 'Well, I've got permission, we're finishing what we've started, Branwen.'
"Sometimes, you've got to take a little break, Azure."
She was Rowe's little sister, the youngest. Nineteen, perhaps just shy of twenty. He'd never imagined that she could be such a freak, but here he was, three days later and his body feeling like it'd been through an earthquake. She wasn't exactly petite, but there was something about her.
They'd gone mostly through a fifty-pack box of condoms. Damn, this girl could fuck. Must be all those suppressed Arc hormones or something, but he hoped that she'd run out of energy sometime. Rowe would've been… nice.
'Yeah, though if she's a freak like her sisters…'
That Taiyang was really called Verdigris had taken him for a loop. The guy looked and talked just like he did, but the moment that he was around his older brother, something just changed. A formal sort of change, something that sucked the fun out of the man, a more serious attitude adopted.
"Breaks are for pussies, dude. Weren't you going to break my sister in with this big bad boy, huh?"
He looked at her and sighed. Rowena was growing better again, he'd heard. He didn't want to shame her, but that ship had probably sailed. He was just blessed with the bad luck that he'd waited for too long.
'And now I'm fucking her youngest sister… She could be my daughter.'
"Ooh, someone likes that. Now, let me get-"
She was bouncing on him again like some horny rabbit, the bed quivering a little with every bounce she made, her eyes closing. They smelled like sex, lust and what-not, as the young woman unwound all that stress from her body.
It was the creak of a chair being sat in that alerted him to a third presence in the room, someone who had joined them in a flash. He saw Azure turn, her body shifting a little, catching sight of dark hair and a mask that was slowly being lowered, Azure's body in motion, going for the weapon that was in easy reach.
"What do you want, Raven?"
Azure stiffened as his hand grabbed her hip, the feeling in his own hips being one of numbness from what was undoubtedly one of those people with a dangerously high libido… or just a gigantic Aura pool to draw from. If that was genetic, he didn't want to think what the poor fellow who'd ever marry another of the sisters would suffer.
"We need to talk, Qrow."
Azure got off, her fingers grabbing a hold of his manhood. He scratched his chin, getting up. Raven was used to the stuff he had on display, having seen her naked more often than not. Whenever she was with Summer, most of the times the clothes were absent.
"She's my sister. Not a threat, I guess. Are you a threat, Raven?"
Angry red eyes looked at him. Her face was weary and tired-looking, lines on it showing worse. She hadn't been sleeping for a while, he guessed.
'Yeah, she's working off that sleep deprivation, I guess… Must be important if she's here whilst I'm busy.'
"Why?"
He didn't get the question at all. Why, what? His sister shifted a little in her seat, the red cloak that was much like Summer's shifting a little as she did. Azure was silent, just watching his sister for a while.
"Sorry, but I haven't gotten the faintest idea what you're talking about."
He saw Raven look at him, those eyes flooding with anger and rage. She had the worst temper tantrums that he knew, well, maybe Yang being similar when she had her hair mangled… Someone could get hurt when Yang exploded.
"Why did you let Taiyang sleep with Ruby?"
He looked dubiously, Azure coughing.
"His actual name is Verdigris. My father said that he'd been kicked out of the family for-"
His sister's exhale was loud, as the red eyes looked at Azure Arc. There was that murderous edge in them, that hate and that anger that was stronger than anything he'd seen before. Homicidal rage wasn't something strange to the band of bandits that they had been a part of, but this was worse.
"He fucked Summer's daughter, Qrow. Why didn't you stop him?"
It was normal, wasn't it? Ruby had said that she'd rather do it with her father than with him and there were just two guys around to show the girls the ins and outs of pleasure. Of course with how the mission had gone, a passing grade would be assigned, but still-
"She wanted it, he was her fath-"
Raven's Dust-blade Katana quivered as it stuck into the headboard of the bed beside his head, the cheek cut from the sharp edge, his sister having thrown it straight at him, her body in motion as she moved towards the bed. He was aware that she was trembling, a wild, crazy anger in her. He thought that there was darkness creeping into the sclera of her eyes, but it was perhaps a trick of the light.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?!"
He felt defensive, his sister's rage surprising for its fire. If Ruby wanted her father, she would get her father. He got up, rubbing his cheek and looking at his sister, who trembled.
"Ruby wanted it! She should be with her father, if she wanted it."
Surprise on his sister's face, as she turned red in the face and then the skin just seemed to lose most of its colouration. She took a few steps back, looking at him with wide eyes and just slumped down on the chair, the creak audible to his ears. Azure was getting herself off the bed, keeping a careful look at her.
"Listen, Rae, I know that you and Taiyang were married, but you ran out on him first. Ruby's all that he's got left of Summer, so-"
An angry, heated gaze, a glare that was so powerful that it made him flinch. His sister wasn't happy, Raven's face showing anger, frustration.
"And that makes it okay? He touched my niece, Qrow! Summer is my sister! He forsook his oath to me!"
He pulled the Dust-blade out of the headboard, noticing idly that the wood had splintered around the impact, holding it out to her as a courtesy. His sister, impulsive as she was, was still his sister.
"So? He was Taiyang before and now he's Verdigris. People change their names, Raven."
She looked at him, pleading in her eyes. They looked vulnerable, like she was pleading with him. He was reminded of when they were younger, when she had still been a member of the team.
"Don't you remember? Qrow, please… Tell me that you remember what Summer said."
'Remember what?'
She looked pathetic and worried, as he tried to guess. Summer's wedding to Tai, he guessed. Raven had buggered off before that, and Taiyang and Summer had grown closer.
"Didn't she say something at her wedding to Taiyang?"
Raven looked at him, her face turning grim, that moody expression on her face, snatching her weapon out of his grasp.
"Qrow, I'm going to tell you this once…"
A sigh, something heavy and thunderous from within her, a dark expression on her face as she let her gaze rest on the man for a while, a deep look in her eyes. She was moody and dark, her expression never really shifting from those heavy emotions.
"Make sure that Yang and Ruby are safe. If you've ever loved those girls, just…"
A choked sob, as tears came from his sister's eyes, looking into his own. He could see Azure give a soft hiss, looking at the woman with an understanding look in her eyes.
"You're like Rowena and Heather, aren't you? Members of that Order."
A short nod, as Raven looked at the woman who'd been a stress reliever and bedroom breaker for a few days, a heavy sound coming from her lips. He'd heard of it, faintly. The masks, the cloak. It was Summer's stuff, he knew.
"The Rose. The duty must be carried through your life. There is no dismissal. Only in death does duty end. They are the strongest of the strong."
He could see his sister's hopeless face, speaking of the words that mattered to her. He didn't like to see her like this, even though he kept the conversations that they had mostly between them. It wasn't important to involve others with.
"My partner was the Rose of Summer, Summer. She was one of the strongest of her Family. Do not let Ruby be set on the path of her mother, Qrow. Please. Keep her safe, because they will break her innocence into pieces and make her kill."
His twin sister's face pleaded with him and he mustered a smile. It was all according to the world's order.
"Ozpin won't allow it. He thinks Ruby has promise."
A hiss from his sister, her eyes darkening as her face turned into a mask of rage and anger. He hadn't seen that rage before, but her dark red eyes glowed, as the veins seemed to burst, a livid, boiling rage within those eyes.
"Ozpin is the one who leads the Order, little brother. Think about that. Can you trust a man who would do the same thing to her as has happened to the eldest Arc sisters?"
Azure hissed softly. He looked at her with a questioning look. Rowe was a great woman, and he felt strongly for her. That feeling had faded, but there had been something in his heart for the woman, a fondness.
"My oldest sister, Heather… She's said that it's brutal. She had to kill someone she knew, just to get used to killing. It was worse for Rowena, because… well, Heather doesn't like to talk much about it. She's hurt, but she'll always keep loving her older sister. When Jaune was still around, he'd…"
A mournful look in her eyes, and he wrapped an arm around her. Naked though they were, they didn't feel naked.
"He'd play with them. He was a good kid, and Rowe always made time for him. It's stupid, y'know? We never knew that he'd been her baby, but it was all so fucking obvious. Dad just said 'don't train Jaune', and we didn't even doubt it."
His sister's eyes looked mournful, sighing softly.
"Your little brother was intended to be a sacrifice. Summer… Summer told me a little of what happened, ages ago, when we were first starting out. I don't blame her for what she did. She was strong, I- I needed her strength."
There was that morose look in her eyes, as she looked up at him and grit her teeth. There was something in those eyes, as she let her tongue slide over her lower and upper lip.
"Enjoy your day, Qrow. I just- You're still my brother, even if we have our differences."
She was still his sister, indeed. She was still the moody brooding Raven that had pushed him into the pond days before they had to go to Beacon.
"What will you do now?"
His voice sounded hesitant, as his sister felt similarly to him. He loved his sister, and with how she looked… She was still family. Even if she was no longer with Taiyang, she was still his blood, even if she railed against the man who had offered redemption for the bandit twins, she was still the one who had been with him when he had been born.
She looked at him and her eyes softened perceptibly. A look at his companion, a bitter expression that came to her lips.
"Claim Anima. The Beornir are done, it is time to point my fangs at the others. Keep them safe, Qrow. Do not let them take my daughter. Do whatever you must, as long as they are safe. There will be no time for games, Qrow. This grand game between Ozpin and Salem has gone on for long enough…"
She used the name for the enemy of Professor Ozpin, the name of the woman who had engineered the Breach, if the debriefing in the personal office of the man was any indication. It was a deep darkness in his sister's eyes, a stark look given to his bed partner.
"If you love your life, I would suggest that you keep this to yourself, Arc. You are still a child in my eyes, but your father would not see it thus."
Azure Arc swallowed, her eyes brooding and dark. There was something in those eyes that made him want to hold her.
"No, he would not. Heather will… She'll be with child. By the Gods… He wouldn't stop, if it was impossible. He's still our father and-"
His sister looked sadly at Azure, getting up and walking to her, giving her a pat to the shoulder. His sister smelled of blood and iron, the fingers brushing over her shoulder for a moment.
"He would kill you, if it would come to that. Your older sisters spoke of that. Keep your love, girl."
A maternal smile, bringing with it the old Raven who had been a friend, sister and occasional worrywart, and Azure Arc trembled. His sister's eyes looked into his own and she gave a mournful sigh.
"I love you still, little brother. Keep the girls safe, because Summer and I couldn't. Remember…"
A faint smile, touching his sister's lips. She shifted her stance, taking the familiar stance that had been adopted when they were young. A light smile, as she gave him a thumbs-up.
"Keep them safe and out of Ozpin's games. My former husband might have…" A look of darkness, anger and frustration crossed her features. "betrayed my devotion, but I will not see that happening to Yang. I will not let my former husband fuck my daughter."
'Yeah, Yang's much the same. She'd protect everyone…'
He was going to have to have a chat with the kids about that stuff… Raven was worried, he was worried and he didn't want to know what went on.
"Goodbye, brother. If you ever doubt my words... Remember that Taiyang and Sage Arc are brothers."
The glowing portal that she cut in the air was shimmering as she stepped through it, a look in her eyes as the mask was pushed back into place, stepping through it without a hint of worry for being assaulted, the blade already back in the sheath.
"What did she mean with that, Azure?"
His partner, the girl who had fucked his brains out, gave a soft sigh. There was something in her blue eyes that really seemed to hurt.
"Dad… My father, he really does not care. All we had was Jaune, and even then, Mom was… distant. They were always gone and we just had him to play with, but-" A bitter look in the eyes of the woman.
"Make love to me again, okay? Please? I- I don't want to turn out like her. Rowena died when Jaune died and- Dad just said that it was nothing. She would be serviceable again after a period of mourning."
She looked smaller, much like Yang. He had to remind himself for a moment that Yang and Azure were only three years apart, there-abouts, that they shared blood through an uncle. He pulled her close, rubbing over her back, up and down. She started to cry. A bedspring hit him in his butt, but he didn't care.
"It's going to be alright, Azure. It'll be alright…"
Taiyang would just have to be kept ignorant. It'd just be like when he'd been out of it, when Rowe had been there to help out and to learn how to wield a scythe.
'Yeah, spending some time with the kids might be good.'
"Want to come spend time with my nieces an-, oh, I guess they'd be your cousins."
She smiled up at him and nodded softly. She looked better than he'd imagined.
"Sure. We've got some free time, if Heather isn't too occupied… The Vytal Festival will be over and then it'll be back to business, but- But I'd love to go with you."
She flushed a little, her eyes looking at him.
The next spring hit him in the groin, leaving him to groan in pain.
'Just the bad luck…'
"I'll kiss it better! But first… I think I should go for the emergency medical kit. Damn, we really wrecked this room."
'Whose fault is that?'
He just tried to keep himself in a place where his balls didn't hurt like they'd just been whacked by a piece of mattress spring.
The date (Cardin Winchester)
Melinda looked nervously at him as she sat there, her fingers already brushing over the cup of coffee that'd been set before them. It was a state of constant alertness that she had about her, unsurprising given what had happened earlier. Two uniformed bodyguards sat a little way's away, looking at her with hawk-like eyes.
"Melinda."
He sat down in the seat opposite of her, her eyes looking hesitantly into his own. Her fingers stroked over the cup, as she waved for a waiter. He waited for the waiter to reach them before he ordered. A light soda, something with fizz in it to keep the taste of blood out of his mouth. The burning inside him hadn't stopped yet, nor had the feelings inside him.
"Hey… Cardin."
He couldn't stop himself from smiling, as he looked into her eyes. They were bound through a simple oath, one to the young man who had declared himself of royal blood, one oath that he would not forsake. With the fealty that he had sworn, his life was decided.
"Bodyguards?"
She nodded, the two men looking like they were busy with other things, whilst constantly scanning for danger. He had been invited here by her, a moment where they could be together again after they'd been split up.
Harmony Tallow was still wanted. The picture had been spread around, a bounty placed on her head of twenty-five thousand. Velvet Scarlatina had never existed, nor had there been any sponsoring done. She had infiltrated Beacon two years before, and she'd managed to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone.
"Insurance. Aunt Maroon doesn't want me going anywhere, after… after things."
He remembered the conversation that he'd had with his own grandfather, still caked with the blood of those he'd fought. It had been fighting for his life, for the safety of Melinda, for his friends.
"Grandfather is much the same."
His grandfather had not been happy to hear of the assassination attempt by Harmony Tallow. That had been an unpleasant chastisement, involving many different forms of 'stupid'. He hadn't mentioned the oath that he had sworn, yet.
He wasn't escorted due to his status as a Huntsman-in-training, but he was carrying his weapon. Armour was too cumbersome to wear in civilian situations, especially with how heavy it was, but he could understand it.
"Cardin, I've… I've given it some thought."
The soda was put in front of him and he thanked the waiter for their service, paying with a five Lien chip, looking at Melinda, whose face was a little more serious than before.
"After Ethan… Adam, whatever his name was…"
A soft pursing of the lips, as she looked at him. It was a look of guilt, one that he knew from the past. She'd messed up intentionally, trying to rebel. She was older than him by several years, but that was still something.
"I'll keep you safe."
A smile, a giggle coming from her lips. He could see that the bodyguards were pointedly ignoring their conversation, as it was private. They were professionals, he could see. Huntsman trained, probably.
"So, we…"
She looked away, laughing softly. Her hands, which'd gripped her coffee cup, grabbed his own.
"Let's get together, Cardin. Dating. I'm kind of done with Faunus. You're… Well, after what we went through, I'd just like to- y'know?"
He didn't think that it would be alright for him to jump into a relationship this quickly, but…
"This is a little quick, don't you think?"
She grabbed his hands and she gave a soft tapping, feeling a tingle of the darkness shoot through his veins. She looked into his eyes, as she leaned forward. She pressed her lips against his cheek, a soft touch of the lips that made him feel a shock.
"Remember that time when we had to be at the ball and we went off to the arcade to have fun?"
It hadn't happened like that. She'd been followed by him, and they'd gone through the arcade but hadn't had any money with them. His grandfather had been amused that he'd gone with Councillor Syfres' niece, though Melinda had bore the brunt of her aunt's irritation.
"The King's game, remember? We had fun then, didn't we? So… I'd like to go out with you again, have some fun, see where things go. I'm done with Faunus, but a cute lil' mug like you? It'll be worth a shot, age difference be damned."
He smiled. There had been no 'King's game', but the hidden meaning of those words were pretty clear to him.
"Perhaps it'd be nice to try."
They would be visiting Jaune. He wanted to talk with the young man who had saved his life, and Melinda wanted to talk too. She smiled at him, her fingers brushing over his own, as she made a soft shushing sound.
"I'm going to show you the world…"
A carpet salesman walked by outside at that point and a blue and golden carpet drew his attention, hung out over the portable stall. He focused back on her, and felt her lips press against his own, surprise showing on his face.
"Let's play that game again, Cardin. How about the day after tomorrow? Aunt Maroon says that I should be learning from her… And I think I'll take that offer."
A council seat was the highest office someone could reach in this world, and to utilize that power would require a lot of back-door dealing. He had been instructed to graduate, before he would take his training more seriously.
Melinda was older than him. She would be getting her lessons already, but…
'A Kingdom's council has power.'
If he had sworn fealty to a King…
He looked into Melinda's eyes. She was grinning at him like she was just going to do something scandalous, like flashing the entire assembly again by loosening the straps and just going topless during the stuffy parts.
'I guess it's time for a meeting with the King.'
Jaune would need to know the current political climate.
The mornings we miss (Jaune Arc)
The place that they'd rented for the foreseeable future had been spared the majority of the damage from the Breach, luckily. It had been up for rent since the previous owner had passed in the attack on Vale. The fear in the air was like an aroma in the kitchen, lingering like a haze over the city.
Power flowed into him as he set the bag of groceries down. A little bit of hair dye and he looked reasonably blonde once more. The pale hair that he'd dyed a dirty blonde colour fell into his face, the change having been more than visual. He could feel it.
The Grimm outside of the walls, waiting for the order to storm into the city. The negativity slowly feeding into his system, the dark Vitae Tenebris writhing inside him. Whitney wasn't here anymore, Summer had decided to move out to find something with the Order, taking the two Calavera clan members with her. It was just him and Kali and Sienna right now, the two Faunus remaining silent, quiet. Kali was around Whitney more often than not now, and it was… different.
Setting the bag onto the counter and putting the groceries in the fridge, his attention went to the clock. Music slowly started up, and his head turned to the direction that the sound came from.
'Hmm… that sounds traditional.'
Kali liked that type of music. It was Mistralian, he guessed. Some sort of snare-instrument, the twanging of those musical notes giving a faint sense of peaceful repose. The bag he crumpled and he checked his Scroll.
A message from his oldest sister, Rowena. Asking him whether he'd slept alright. He stared at the message for a moment, conflicted. He remembered the time when they'd…
When she had…
Jaune d'Arc-Night: I slept well, big sis. Did you sleep well too?
She'd nearly died, trying to pull the Vitae Tenebris from his body and pull it into her own body, to save him. They'd had sex, he'd not wanted it but-
But she had tried. She'd tried to save him. Rowena had wanted to save him, to make him better. She was his big sister and she'd made an effort to make him live a life without the darkness inside of him. He wanted to be like her.
That feeling when she had been with him, that desperate, loving feeling that had come when she had been connected to him, her eyes having looked into his own with such an expression that just.
Love.
He'd dreamed about it. He'd dreamed about it, about what she'd done with him in that place, what she'd done so selflessly. Sacrificing herself after being restored, giving him what had been made whole once more, because of love.
It was wrong. It was wrong and should not have felt so right. Waking up in the morning and still remembering the glow of silver eyes turning blue once more, her smile that left spectral images in his mind, the spot in the bed next to him bare, as Whitney had left and wouldn't be back in quite some time due to caring for her daughter…
Guilt went through him. A younger brother should not think about his sister like that, should not imagine how it would feel to be with her again, to know that there was a soft whisper in his ear and to feel her just pull up and-
'You're sick, Jaune. You're sick and twisted for even daring to think about your own older sister. It's wrong, it's sick and you're not going to do it.'
He walked towards the music, wondering whether Kali had returned. He opened the door to the master bedroom, the previous occupant's pictures having been removed carefully, put in a bag. The house was bare of the hallmarks, the occupant having been excised from the place.
They had posed as a young couple. Summer in the body of Rubedo, acting cutesy and like a young woman in love, and him with a little makeup to look a bit older, a man who worked as a Huntsman together with his girlfriend.
The stringing notes started once more, and he looked at the bedroom. Sunlight fell in through the window and he saw the woman there on her knees, the music player slowly buzzing with the disk in its depths, her face made up with makeup that made her look younger.
The kimono was… nice, he supposed. A deep red colour, and the thigh-highs that she regularly wore having been discarded, showing her pale legs. Hard-bitten features had been smoothened and softened, as her wine-red eyes looked at him with the weight of something behind them, as she slowly got up.
The smell of perfume, something floral and spring-like, clung to her and she had obviously washed up, a hand, callused and with the roughness of a Huntswoman's hands still, seizing his shirt and pulling him closer.
"Raven?"
A question hung in the air for an instant before her voice spoke up.
"Get on the bed, Goshujin-sama."
Her emotions shone, fear, doubt and worry, as she let go, her eyes looking at him and he did as she asked. The string instrument music continued, as he felt the bed sink a little under him, the kimono slowly loosened, unveiling more of the pale skin, her hair falling down like a waterfall. It was a softness of her curves that was there, as her body exposed.
The flump of the kimono hitting the ground was there, as he beheld her. She was naked, standing there before him, moving with a slow motion, her hand pressing him down against the bed.
"Allow me to make love to you, Jaune-sama."
This didn't seem like a question. Raven had that certain nature about her, and he noticed that her ring finger was bare, a band of pale skin sitting where it had been before. A soft murmur of 'Summer said so' and she was on him, kissing with a frenzied expression on her face.
The CD stopped playing mid-way, as a woman surrendered her to the craving and desire within her to be loved by a man.
The start of Volume 4. Lighter than the last, I promise. There's a lot of things slowly starting to be set up. Thank you all for suffering through the Breach Arc, which was one of the heaviest arcs thus far! We get to see Ozpin's perspective next chapter!
The smut with Raven isn't written, but you can see that she's the other side of the Mistralian coin. Hot sexy Maid Geisha Raven, go! Why? Well, Summer. Summer's responsible for that! (Never take advice from your best friend, especially when she's in the head of a mentally odd teenager.)
Leave a review if you'd like to!