Welcome to chapter one. It's time to release the first chapter in the story. Remember, whoever sends in an OC I think is worth using, or sends in an idea/review that I really like, gets to choose which story has its next chapter released. Without further ado.
I really didn't like tournaments. They were drab, hot affairs, with little to do aside from watching two or more people bash each other to a pulp. If I had my way, I would have simply been relaxing in my study or library back at the mansion. In the cool breeze, with the sunlight across the room and a good chair to lounge in, there were few finer ways to read.
I'd just recently been given a history of the nearby desert kingdom of Tarret (though it was pronounced as Tau-rey), which included some of their mythology. I wasn't often one to read fictions and fairy tales, but theirs seemed especially sensible in various ways. However, I was not allowed my way. Instead, I was told to sit on the small cushion, and watch various people hit each other with sharp metal objects.
Now, I knew there was more to fighting than simple brute strength (my own sparring with a rapier to stay in shape had taught me that), and in this event especially there was a certain tactical element I was proud to have added, but it still was terribly boring to watch.
Perhaps I should step back a moment and explain why. I am the Princess Weiss of the Kingdom Schnee. My father is Jacques, the King. Until recently, there were four other members of the royal circle: The Lord-Protector; a man named Ozpin, The Royal Inquisitor; a lady by the name of Glynda, The Captain of the Guard; one of my only friends: Pyrrha of the Nikos province, and the resident Wizard; an elderly woman named Salem. But now, there are only two. Ozpin, and his dearest Salem both passed away in the most recent year, leaving our family without either magical protection or physical protection.
My father wasn't one who believed in magic to begin with, and so he'd removed the position of Wizard from consideration, and instead offered this tournament to find two new members of guardianship. One would be his personal bodyguard, and one would be mine. My older sister, Winter, had left on an expedition across the sea four years earlier and vanished; while my brother Whitley had abandoned our family the same year Ozpin had died to pursue his dream of becoming a Wizard with his strange partner Oscar, the farm boy who'd served Ozpin in some capacity I never learned.
To appease me, I was allowed to pick some special rules for the challenge my newest guard would have to complete to become Lord-Guardian. I had wanted to make it a challenge of the mind, or some contest of writing and reading, but I was required to add them onto the already set challenge.
The official contest to become Lord-Guardian was to defend a dummy from other challengers until no one else is willing to try. One replaces the defender by "killing" the dummy. I decided to just do away with it all together. My rules were that the defender had to hold off twelve single combatants in a row; and then three at once, twice. I then added the rule that a person could only challenge eight times.
Statistically, it'd be a miracle for anyone to gain the required number of successes. However, there were two people who seemed to have pushed themselves into that realm to improbability.
One was an old boyfriend of mine: Sir Neptune. He was fine, I supposed, but too often he was chasing skirts and never really had the time for me. After our second actual date, I realized he wasn't much more than a slight crush, and we'd parted. I wondered if he was trying to rekindle something, but more likely he just wanted to show off for someone.
The other was a scrawny knight named Sir Jaune, from France. He seemed the more likely to win this round, though the last time he'd gone against the three knights at once he'd been utterly destroyed. I suspected he wanted to get close to me, but I wasn't worried. A certain red-head I knew would have him entranced in days, if he won. If he didn't, I might have to extend that estimate to a few weeks. I knew she'd be trying to get him under her spell for certain, as Pyrrha had never stopped talking about him.
I let out a small yawn as Neptune knocked his tenth enemy out of the ring. He turned to salute me in the booth, and I rolled my eyes.
"Wouldn't it be nice if he won for you? The two of you were… close-"
"Father," I cut him off quietly, "I honestly don't care for any of the people who have tried so far. And Neptune only needs to lose once more before he is out of the running. I'm still holding out hope."
"Hope? For what?"
"A challenger."
As if the universe was answering my words or my prayer, a hush fell over the watching crowd. A crimson silhouette moved through the rows of watching citizens, gliding between shoulders and twisting to avoid hitting anyone with the strange bulges that came from within the cloak.
A pair of short swords were attached to both hips of the figure, with the hilts sticking out of the front. On their back, a strange holster was strapped over the cloak and held a strange device tight to the back. It was made of black wood, almost like a spear, but with a metal head that was shaped like a crescent moon. It was a War Scythe, not the most traditional weapon I'd seen used.
A pair of pale hands emerged from the cloak and removed the scythe from its holster, loosing the straps and dropping the harness to the ground behind the figure as they walked to the edge of the ring. They pointed the tip of the blade at Neptune before getting into a ready stance, revealing their torso was clad only in a commoner's shirt.
Jeers from the crowd came back.
"Where's your armor, little boy?"
"Can't even show his face because he's too afraid to fight."
"Don't cut 'im up too bad Neptune!"
But I didn't hear very much more than that. I was rather entranced at the person's boldness. They were going to be fighting a master spear man, and one of my… well, I supposed friend is the closest word; and they weren't showing even a hint of fear.
The figure lowered into a battle-ready stance, holding their blade close to the ground. They moved in and swiped upwards, glancing off Neptune's bracer and then swiped back down, severing his spear. They'd finished the second move almost faster than I could follow, and before Neptune could retaliate. The crowd had gone silent again.
Neptune was about to strike with the remaining half of his spear, but then they held their hand out towards him in a motion not to move. They were standing up straight again, and nodded towards my stand-in. Everyone's eyes moved to stare at the dagger protruding from the heart of the dummy. Neptune seemed about to call foul on the move, but his mouth simply hung open when the cloaked figure swung their scythe up again, and another dagger appeared in my proxy's chest. The blue-haired knight moved out of the ring to wait his turn.
The red cloak flipped their weapon around and gripped it near the blade. They retrieved their knives and then drew a circle in the sand, using the end of their war scythe's hilt to keep it an equal distance from them. Once they finished, they planted the scythe in the dirt beside the dummy. The thump from the wood entering the hard earth was ominous and seemed to indicate some kind of finality.
As the next knight moved in to attack, the figure simply drew their first sword, holding it in their left hand. They didn't move to block the knight's advance, but instead waited for the knight's foot to touch the dirt circle. The moment he stepped past the line, he was flung back into the dust, winded and with a dent in his breastplate from the pommel of the crimson cloak's sword. The message was clear: no one would get that close to the Princess without being removed.
The other knights fell in short order, until only Jaune, Neptune, and the trio of royal knights were left. I was starting to get entertained by the comical ways they were being defeated, and I raised my hand to gather everyone's attention. I raised my voice and spoke to the crowd.
"Our current contender has been rather skilled, and I grant him a place in the royal guard, should he not become the victor of the tournament. However, I wish for only the best to be my Lord-Guardian. Let two of the knights who have been attacking in the trio now attack on their own, so they may show the true skill of a Royal guard, when not worrying about others within his sword's reach. Sir Jaune? Sir Neptune? You two shall take their place in the group of three."
My words were met with cheers of agreement. The crowd was evidently excited to see what would happen when all three of the major contenders were in the ring at once.
The rearrangements were made, and while the Crimson Cloak dealt with the royal knights with both their swords, my father leaned in and whispered to me.
"An excellent suggestion, dear. Some humility from the crushing defeat will help temper this commoner's impudence and will still gain us some potential."
"No." I said shortly, smiling as the blades were sheathed again, and the War Scythe was brought from its place and into the figure's hands.
"No?"
"I suggested it so you and the knights here would see the true valley between my Protector's skills and their own. I've seen that cloak design before, and I know how much they're holding back. Hunters don't often fight in tournaments, you see, and they like to keep a level of mystique."
"A Hunter? I thought that foul practice was banned in our kingdom. Animals can be bred for food, not… scrounged from the woods."
"You did make it illegal in our forests. Which is why the bandit tribes have moved here, as they have no reason to fear those who played the roles of ranger and tracker. It is also why they are here, I would guess. They need employment, and they don't want to move simply because you don't like how they make their keep."
My father couldn't reply, because his attention was captured by the three knights moving in to attack the now re-armed Hunter. They leveled their scythe in a new pose, with the staff-portion along their waist and the blade at the middle knight. All of them spread out, making a triangle around the perimeter circle and making ready their weapons. They nodded to each other once, with Jaune a little timid, Neptune somewhat arrogantly, and the Royal Guard with confidence, before each of them moved to attack.
There was a blur of red rose petals and fluttering cape, and then all of their swords were on the ground, bisected. The attackers too were on the ground, their posteriors in the dirt, not unlike their disbelieving jaws. No one could move that fast.
One of the petals floated on the wind, and drifted up to me. I grinned and reached out with my fingernails, letting my middle finger lower a little from the rest and catch the tip of the scarlet fragment on the blue paint there. But it did not remain scarlet for long. As my nail touched its soft center, it faded into a snow white petal. Then I looked at the bottom, and realized that it was both red and white, as from an Osiria.
The hood snapped up to look at me, the face hidden in unnatural shadow as they stared. I let the petal fall to the ground, where it faded into nothingness. Curious.
The figure readied themselves again, and soon the knights were advancing again, this time with daggers and shields. It was an odd combination, but one I'd seen before. They were being cautious now. It did them little good. Jaune caught the blade of the scythe in his shield, allowing him to grab the wood. He was too strong and too heavy to break free from, so the figure didn't.
Instead, they let go and used the shield to launch themselves at Neptune, drawing a knife and brandishing it like they were going to stab him in the face. It came as no surprise when they instead kneed him in the stomach and kicked him out of the ring. Jaune meanwhile, had been knocked over, and the tip of the war scythe's blade had become stuck in his armor's side. He was unable to free himself, and simply rolled back and forth on the ground, trying to get the weight to shift so he could sit up.
The final knight was cunning, moving to attack the dummy while the others were distracted. He did not succeed. His arm moved to stab the fabric at the same time the cloak was drawing their dagger to mock-stab at Neptune. But rather than ignore the knight, the figure had been careful to cover all angles. The sleeve of the knight was caught by a final flying dagger, which whipped his arm to the side and into his hip, where he struggled to pull the blade from between two plates in his armor. He didn't have a chance to use his second dagger when he freed it. The figure had a sword to the man's throat.
My father sighed, and we stood up to descend to the field. He picked up his sword (completely honorary) and readied himself to swear in my new Lord-Guardian. By the time we reached the ground, the cloaked figure was working with Jaune to remove the blade from the shield.
"Pull harder!"
"I am pulling harder!"
"If you hurt my baby, I'll stick in somewhere else!"
"Can you give me a break? For once?"
I sighed. I had hoped a former Hunter would give me someone interesting to talk to, but this voice was that of a girl. She was probably a Huntress in training and never truly became independent. Her mind was probably still full of dresses and romance. Well, one couldn't have everything in life.
Pyrrha interceded and helped Jaune, which freed the blade. The cloaked figure returned it to their harness and turned to kneel before us, while Pyrrha looked over Jaune. He seemed quite surprised and embarrassed that the Captain of the Guard was fussing over him, of all people. I grinned and changed my estimate back to days.
"Now, my young lad. Tell me your name, so I might swear you into your position as Lord-Guardian."
The hood came down, and the crowd gasped. Beneath it was a roughly heart-shaped face, with black hair that reached the shoulders of a young girl, perhaps a year or two my junior. The tips that went past her shoulders were the same red as her cloak, with the color fading as it went back towards the scalp and vanishing altogether as it passed the ears. She was grinning with an honest smile on her lips and in her strangely metallic eyes. Silver, and gazing into the distance like she was stargazing. She appeared to be blind, yet she looked directly to my father's face, and then to mine with a pair of nods.
"Ruby Rose, your highness."
I nudged my father after a few moments of silence, which made him start slightly and clear his throat.
"Ahem, yes. Well then, Ruby Rose." He placed the tip of his sword to the top of her head and began to recite the oath.
"Do you swear to honor and defend the royal family? To spend each waking moment at the side of my daughter, Weiss, and to see that no harm comes to her?"
"I do."
"Do you swear to set aside all your worldly goals and desires, and devote yourself entirely to the protection and well-being of the Princess?"
"I do."
Do you swear to serve to the very best of your ability, and to breathe not a single breath longer than that of Weiss, so long as you serve in this position?"
"I do." Ruby raised her scythe in a salute.
"Then I name you, Ruby Rose: Lady-Guardian, Bodyguard to Princess Weiss, Leader of the Royal Battalion, Sixth in line for the Throne of Schnee, and bound by the ancient laws of loyalty."
With that, my father sheathed his sword and left. I remained, looking down on the smiling Ruby.
"Hello, Princess." She attempted a curtsy, which failed. "I seem to be at your service."
"Very well. Let's get your things and go home. We have to get you fitted with some new clothes, moved in, acquainted with the mansion and castle, familiar with the politics and your duties, not to mention find you a room near mine."
I sighed, shaking my head.
"You having to stick around me means I have to stay close to you like some little girl whenever you have to do something. So, let's make this painless and get whatever you have to take with you quickly."
Ruby patted her sides and nodded.
"Let's go home then."
Here we are, Chapter One. Let's see who asks for what next.
Yes, there is magic. Yes, Oscar and Whitley ran away together because: screw it/ship it. Winter is alive and will come back towards the end. I don't know where Willow is, so someone guess. Yang, Blake, Ren, Nora, and Roman all need roles, so I hope to see some good concepts.
As ever; review, comment, critique, and send in ideas and OC's you want to see implemented in the One-Shot story, another story, or the upcoming OC story.
Love you all, and have a great week!