Author's Note - I do not apologize for this bastard child of mine. Also, this is less a crossover and more me borrowing the setting, so expect all characters from Les Mis to be replaced with RWBY ones.
"Branwen!"
James could admit that the feeling of triumph that coursed through him at that moment - that of seeing the panic in the criminal's eyes when he whipped his head around at the sound of his name and finding James standing in the doorway of the room - was entirely unrelated to his duty.
It was the feeling of vindication, that his instincts hadn't been wrong. A grim smile graced his lips as he stared at the kneeling criminal, "At last, we see each other again."
"And soon, Hunter," James continued, unable to completely keep the snarl out of his voice as he spoke, inwardly seething at the knowledge that Branwen had used the noble profession as a cover for the last four years in order to keep himself hidden from the law, "You'll be back in your old chains!"
James took a step forward only to pause in wariness when Branwen immediately got to his feet, a hand outstretched towards him as if to ward him off.
"Ironwood, stop! For fuck's sake just listen!" Branwen shouted before pointing towards the bed beside him, which James only now noticed was currently occupied. "She has a daughter that she's leaving behind in this world and only I can intervene for her sake! Just give me a week- no three days, just three, and after I've settled the girl in a good home I'll come back right here and give myself over to you. And then you can satisfy your warped sense of justice."
"I'm not stupid, Branwen!" James growled out, incensed by his words. "You've been on the run for years now! You think I'll believe that you've suddenly had a change of conscience and are willing to hand yourself over to the proper authorities? No! People don't change, 171815! You have always been a criminal and you always will be! You have no rights to request anything from me, you scum!"
"Scum?!" the man shouted in return, clearly enraged at his words, as he stepped away from the bed. "You don't know a thing about the real world, Ironwood! You merely judge the downtrodden from your palaces of silver! All I did was steal a little food and for that your precious law threw me in prison for nearly a decade!"
James felt his already fraying temper snap at the man's once more callous disregard for the law. His right hand grabbed the weapon at his side and drew it.
"Don't talk to me about the real world, criminal! You think you're the only person who has faced difficulties in his life?! Spare me your self-pity! I was born among scum like you and yet here we stand, me an officer of the law and you its convict. Every man makes his own choice as you have clearly made yours! Now come with me quietly or be prepared to face the consequences!"
The criminal growled as he too drew the blade from his side. "This is my last warning, Ironwood! Get out of my way or else be prepared to lose your life, because I'll do whatever it takes to keep my word!"
"Then you have made your choice."
With that James rushed towards the other man, his saber aiming for his opponent's heart. Branwen pushed it to the side with his own weapon before elbowing him in the face. James winced at blow, even as his aura flared and stopped the attack from doing any lasting damage. Pulling back, he swung his arm downwards, hoping to catch the man unaware but Branwen once again proved to be a step ahead of him, stepping to the side and letting James' sword fly past his legs.
James hissed in pain as his opponent took the opportunity to drag his blade across his torso and with it came the dawning realization - Branwen was his better in melee.
It stung his pride a little to admit that; after all even if it wasn't his primary weapon, he was still above the standard when it came to his skill with the saber and it was galling to admit that a criminal was better than him, an officer of the law.
Nonetheless, there was no sense in being prideful. By now the hospital authorities should have already alerted the local police of the disturbance and they'd be on their way. He didn't have to win, merely keep the criminal engaged until the backup was here.
James brought some distance between them, preparing to hold him off when Branwen attacked and James held out his own saber in front of him in a defensive stance.
The strength behind the swing, belying the man's lithe form however, caught him completely off guard and James found the saber ripped out of his hands and thrown across the room. He had only a moment to experience the shock before he saw the cross guard coming towards his face. The next thing he knew, he was staring at was the ceiling of the room, his head feeling like it had been submerged underwater.
He heard Branwen say a few words as he lay on his back. Not that he could understand them, what with ringing in his head, but he could take a gander at what the subject matter was - no doubt him gloating at his fallen form.
As he heard the sound of footsteps running away from him, James swore silently in his heart that no matter where Branwen ran or hid, he would find him... eventually...
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
"Oh, what a tragedy!" Cinder cried out as she dabbed at her dry eyes with a handkerchief as the stranger spoke of why he was here. Her idiotic and flamboyant partner-in-crime, who unfortunately also happened to be her husband, did the same; though instead of a piece of cloth he took off that stupid hat that he walked around with and covered his eyes with it while he wept, loudly.
And it truly was a tragedy; what with the lien the girl's mother sent them making up over a third of their monthly income. Now with that safety net gone - if the stranger was telling the truth and with how they hadn't gotten this month's lien yet after going so long without missing a payment there was no reason to doubt his words - they'd either to have to cut down on their expenses or get even more creative, which could possibly bring even more scrutiny down on them.
She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost missed what the man said next. Immediately she stopped her act, with her eyes instead focusing on the man before her as she took him in a second time.
Now that she was seeing him properly, she could tell that despite the way he was dressed, his clothes were of fine material. In other words, he was rich.
Roman seemed to get the same idea as he put his hat back on before inviting the man inside their hotel. As the man entered with the girl behind him, she shared a quick look with Roman, making sure they were on the same page. Just as the man sat down on a seat nearby, she stepped forward nimbly and grabbed the girl, pulling her to herself as she smiled at the man.
"Alas, what to do! Her mother may have asked us to simply take care of her basic needs but we have grown rather fond of her over the years and have come to think of her as our third daughter. And like our other children, she's our treasure, our gemstone. You cannot even begin to fathom how hard it would be for us to live without our dear Emerald!"
The man frowned at her even as Roman was suddenly overcome with a severe bout of coughing.
*cough*"Ruby"*cough*
"Is what we call her, our precious little girl." Cinder finished, smile still affixed on her face.
"Well, I'm glad to see there are still people like you in this world. Let's see then," the man's answering smile was as cold as the falling snow outside while his right hand dipped inside the pocket of his jacket. In the next moment, he threw a stack of lien on the table in front of him which Roman quickly picked up within the next second, "That should be enough to bridge the chasm of your... sorrow at the upcoming parting."
"And it would have been," Roman began, face full of regret as he slipped the lien in his pocket, "Had she not been so terribly ill all this time. The girl suffers from a chronic sickness that has almost bled us dry month after month..."
"Not that we hold it against her." Cinder picked up from where Roman left off, smiling gently as she patted the girl's head. "After all, blame the illness not the ill."
"And forgive me, but I must say, that you are a stranger to us two." Roman spoke again as he sat down beside the man. "So how can we trust anything that you might say about you?"
The man sighed loudly before his hand slipped inside his jacket and came out with his wallet. He took a second to take out a few cards out of it before throwing the wallet at her face. Cinder let go of the girl as her hands instinctively sought to protect herself, catching the wallet in her hands.
"Enough with this farce! There's fifteen hundred lien in the wallet which should take care of any and all debt. Enjoy your ill gains and now I hope you two shall refrain from any other complaints."
Cinder realized with a start that the girl was no longer within her reach, instead standing besides the man. She did a quick count of the money and this time the smile on her face was genuine.
"But of course, mister, if it was her mother's dying wish then how could we stop her?"
The man snorted at her before he whispered something to the girl and then they were off.
Cinder and Roman kept waving at their backs as they walked away. The moment they were out of sight, Roman turned towards her, an eyebrow raised skeptically. "Emerald?"
The clear disbelief present in his tone pissed Cinder off.
"Oh fuck off, Roman!" she scowled back at him. "It's your fault anyway. When was the last time you called herby her actual name instead of that one stupid, single-syllable nickname you use?"
"I still remember it, woman!" Roman replied as he threw his hands in the air. Cinder turned away from him, not willing to discuss the subject anymore.
As she was tucking the lien away, she heard him speak again.
"By the way, think he was telling the truth? About taking care of the girl because of an apparent promise to her mother?"
Cinder sighed exasperatedly as she looked back at Roman, finding him sitting at one of the tables with a cigar in his hand.
"I don't give a shit, Roman. And neither should you. For fifteen hundred lien, he can do anything he wants with her. Now enough about her, help me clean this up."
"Aaaand now I'm regretting letting the girl go." Roman groaned as he got up on his feet before coming to a halt as he seemed to suddenly realize something. "Wait, now that I think about it who's going to be doing the chores from now on?"
In reply, Cinder merely kept staring at him.
"Motherfu-."
Author's Note - The major point of divergence in this AU is that the Warrior King of Vale succumbed to a 'mysterious illness' within a year of winning the Great War and thus left most of his grand undertakings unfinished.