Chapter 24: Reconciliation
After the tender reunion, everyone sat down at the table to eat. While that was happening, everyone exchanged their stories about what had happened during the last few weeks. Everyone was astounded as Roland shared his tale of how he and the huntsmen and huntresses of his hometown prevented a second invasion of Vale.
"Honestly," Roland said, "it was a miracle that we pulled through."
"I'll say!" Nora exclaimed. "I thought we were the only ones who had to deal with a big Grimm!"
"I guess it's true when they say that there's a reason for everything. If I hadn't been home, Vale may have well fallen."
"Speaking of which," Yang interjected and then proceeded to punch Roland in the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" he asked.
"Did you know how worried I was?! For a smart guy, that was really stupid taking on all those Grimm by yourself!"
Roland rubbed his arm and chuckled. "It's good to know you worry about me. Man, that thing hits hard!" He gestured to Yang's prosthetic arm.
"Oh yeah? You like it?" She then winked as she showed it off. Ruby began to fawn over it which prompted Nora to see how strong it really is with an arm wrestle. The two were evenly matched until Yang detached it, causing Nora to fly into the wall. Everyone laughed at the sight, including Roland but he shortly grew somber as he saw Yang without her right arm. His mind went back to that fateful night as Adam's blade cut her right arm from her body and how Roland wasn't quick enough to protect her. Normally, he would've been sent into a depression, but he remembered the lesson he learned when he fought the Maiden of the Lake. He took a deep breath and regained his composure and listened to Ren as he spoke of growth: how their past struggles helped them grow and that they all still had more growing to do. Roland took those words to heart and held on to the conviction in his head, I'll keep moving forward no matter what, he thought. I won't allow her to get hurt again!
Everyone was then called into the living room by Ozpin, who was speaking through Oscar, and exchanged information with Yang, Weiss, and Roland from what they learned from Raven and about the story of the Four Maidens. Roland was somewhat surprised to hear that the tale was true, but he remembered that he had a sword that was a legend itself. In the end, he was relatively unsurprised about what he heard. Still, he thought, what else is he hiding?
"That's not a secret I thought she'd give up so easily," Ozpin said to Yang. "Your mother must trust you a great deal." Yang said nothing but began to give him a cold stare. Ozpin continued to share how he had the ability to reincarnate and explained how he gave the Bránwen siblings the ability to turn into birds. Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora were all surprised to hear of this. "Uncle?" Ruby asked.
"So, you turned them…into birds," Ren said slowly in unbelief.
"Alright, now you're just messing with us," Nora said.
"What else is new," Jaune said, somewhat annoyed.
"He's telling the truth," Weiss interjected. "We saw it. Yang's mom…changed, right in front of us."
"Why would you do something like that?!" Yang asked after a brief pause. She began to get angry. "What is wrong with you?!"
"Yang!" Qrow interjected. "That's enough. We made a choice. We wanted this."
Yang then began to relent a bit.
"May I?" Ozpin asked Qrow. "Granting this power to them was no trivial task, and I can assure you it was not done frivolously."
Roland thought about it and began to connect the dots. "If my hunch is correct," he interjected, "you needed them to gather intelligence on Salem's plans and to track the maidens when the hosts were unclear. That's why you needed them to do this. Am I wrong?"
"Very astute of you, Mr. Rigorm."
"Okay," Ruby said, "so, have you done this with others, like General Ironwood or Professor Goodwitch?"
"As helpful as that might be," Ozpin continued, "unfortunately it is not that simple. My power is finite, and, if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount I gifted to Qrow and Raven was, all things considered, very miniscule." He then paused for a moment. "You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women who I hoped would use my gift for good. They were the first maidens." He then looked at Yang. "Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you…to any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to…lay close to the chest. I believe that's how you phrased it." He gestured to Qrow.
"Heh, yeah," Qrow replied.
"Everyone has a choice," Ozpin continued. "The Bránwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them, and later, one of them chose to abandon her responsibilities in favor of her own self-interest. Now, all of you have a choice." He then faced everyone in the room. "If any of you wishes to leave, now is the time. There is no shame or disgrace in abstaining…only in retreat." The room then fell silent and everyone looked at each other. Roland bowed his head and closed his eyes as he began to process all the information he just heard. He began to feel a little skeptic of Ozpin considering all that was hidden and the extravagance of what was shared.
Well, there's no denying that Yang's mother did transform into a bird, he thought, I did see it myself. If that is true, it makes sense that the rest ought to be true. Still, is there anything else that he's not telling us? Regardless, I've come too far and fought hard enough to stop now. He raised his head and opened his eyes after he came to his decision. No one else stated that they wanted to leave.
"Very well then," Ozpin said breaking the silence.
Yang then stood up.
"Yang?" Ruby asked.
"If Ruby sticks around," Yang said, "then I will too. If there's one thing I know about her, it's that somehow, she always knows the right thing to do." She then paused for a moment. "But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives…no more lies. No more half-truths."
Well said Yang, Roland thought as he stood up with her. "I agree," he said. "Prove to us that you are truly worthy of our trust."
The room fell silent again. Ozpin looked at everyone. "Understood," he replied as he looked at Yang and Roland. The two of them then sat down.
"So, what now?" Jaune asked. "I mean, what can we do?"
"Hmmm, that is a difficult question," Ozpin replied. "One that I believe is best answered tomorrow."
"What do you mean?"
"The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril. However, it has been far too long since you have all been together. Please, take tonight, enjoy this moment." He put his hand on Yang's shoulder. His eyes then glowed as he switched minds with Oscar. He then noticed his hand on Yang's shoulder and recoiled, causing everyone to laugh.
"Ohhhh!" Nora exclaimed. "Raven! Qrow!" She looked around at everyone. "THEY'RE BIRDS! Cracked it!"
Roland shook his head at her slow wits. Everyone then adjourned and began to retire to their rooms. Roland then walked over to Yang. "Hey Yang?" he asked.
"What's up Roland?" she replied.
"Could we talk? We haven't since…" He trailed off as he thought of their last conversation.
"Oh…right. Tomorrow okay? I'm really tired."
"Of course. Sleep well Yang."
She smiled at him. "You too Roland. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." All of them then retired to their rooms for some rest.
Roland woke early the following morning as the sun began to rise over the horizon. He tried to fall back asleep after rolling over, but his mind was too active to sleep. He then got up, got dressed, and left the inn, seeing as no one else was awake yet. He walked to the top of a nearby hill that was said to overlook all of Mistral. As he arrived, he watched the sunrise, marveling at the majesty of the early morning sun touch all of Mistral. He took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air, and quietly listened to the birds as they broke into their dawn songs. After a while, he then heard footsteps of someone approaching as he saw Ruby coming up the path. "Oh!" she said as he turned around. "I'm sorry! I didn't think anyone else was here."
"It's alright Ruby," Roland replied. "You're up early."
"Yeah, so are you."
Roland shrugged. "I was awake, so I figured I'd get up and enjoy this morning."
"Yeah, me too. It's nice isn't it?"
"Definitely." He then began to leave.
"Oh! You don't-" She began.
"It's alright," He interjected. "I've been here for a while and you look like you need a moment to yourself. I'll leave you to it." He put his hand on her shoulder as he walked away. He then returned to the inn after he took his time to return and sat on a bench on the porch. A few minutes later Yang returned, holding a cup of coffee. "Oh!" he said, not noticing her right away. "Good morning Yang."
"Morning Roland," she replied. She seemed like she was in a bad mood.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing…"
"That doesn't sound like nothing. Sit with me. Why don't we talk about it?"
"I'm not in the mood Roland." She then walked away and went inside to her room before Roland could say another word. He began to follow her but knew in his gut that he should leave her alone for the time being. He then returned to his room and got his scroll to call Téa. He had been exchanging letters with her but now that he was in Mistral, he was close enough to call her.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hey Téa!" Roland replied. "It's so good to hear your voice."
"Roland! It's so good to hear from you too! You've finally made it to Mistral?"
"Yeah, I did. I got here yesterday evening. It was getting late, so I figured to wait until the next day to call you."
"Fair enough. How've you been?"
"I've been okay."
"Just okay?" Téa's voice began to grow more serious. "What's going on?"
"Let's just say I've learned a lot of new information about our current situation. It's…a lot to process."
"What information?"
"Information too sensitive to tell you over the phone. Why don't you come over to the inn we're staying at and I can tell you then?"
"I really wish I could, Roland, but things with my father's business has been crazy. I'm just too busy to spare the time."
"I understand."
"Are you guys still going through with that plan of yours?"
"Yes, we plan to meet with Headmaster Lionheart again soon. Hopefully he can fill us in with more details."
"Who's with you again?"
Roland paused for a moment, thinking of how odd the question was. "Well, there's Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Ruby's uncle Qrow, and Oscar, who's a new friend we've made. You'll have to meet him."
"I see. It's good you've reunited with everyone again. Are Scarla and Ella still home?"
"Yeah, they're still recovering, and you're right, it is good to see everyone again."
"Yeah." Before Téa could say anything more, some voices were heard in the background. "I gotta go. It's my parents."
"Alright then, it was good to hear from you again, Téa."
"Same here Roland. Bye!"
"Goodbye." Roland then hung up the phone. He then thought about the conversation, like Téa wasn't exactly herself. It's probably just stress from all that's been going on, he thought. He then got out his journal and began to write.
A little while later, Roland got up from his room and headed over to Yang's room to try and talk to her. He noticed her door was slightly ajar and heard the voices of Ruby and Weiss coming from the room. Their conversation had just ended, so Roland went ahead and knocked on the door. "Come in," Yang said.
He opened the door. "Hey Yang," he said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay now Roland."
"Can we talk now?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you know what that means," Weiss interjected. "Come on Ruby."
"Oh, uh, okay Weiss," Ruby replied and the two of them left the room, leaving Yang and Roland alone. He then sat down on the bed across from Yang.
"Alright, what's on your mind Roland?" she asked.
"I just…" Roland paused to take a deep breath, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not being there for you when you needed me. I was a coward. I didn't have the nerve to face you after…" He sat up gestured to her right arm. "After that happened. I thought I failed you since I couldn't protect you then and I thought I was unable to protect you. So, Yang… I'm so sorry." Tears began to well up in his eyes as he bowed his head.
Yang was silent for a moment and she stood up and walked over to him. "I'm not gonna lie, I did feel very alone," she said as she sat down next to him. "First Blake left me and now you? It was almost too much."
Tears began to fall down his face, and he and said nothing.
"But now I see that we both had a little growing to do, and you made the choice to come back. Watching you bravely fight off all those Grimm showed me you didn't give up. You're here with me now. That's what matters." She then gave him a hug.
Roland began to brighten up once again upon hearing her words and feeling her warm embrace. He then hugged her back. "Thank you, Yang," he said, and they then separated. "So, are we okay now?"
"Roland, you're such a worrywart! Of course we're okay! I've forgiven you a while ago before I left for Mistral. Besides, I think saying 'I love you' covers it!" She began to ruffle his hair.
Roland then chuckled a bit and fixed his hair. "Yeah, that definitely makes sense. I love you too Yang, and I'm glad things are good between us once again. I promise to stay by your side no matter what. I won't leave you again." He took her hands and held her.
Hearing that made Yang grow somber. "At least that makes one of you…" she whispered to herself, but Roland caught it.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" They then separated and both sat down.
"Oh! You heard that?" She sighed. "I was…talking about Blake…"
"Oh. So that's why you were in such a bad mood earlier."
"I know and before you say anything, I already talked about this with Weiss and Ruby. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm…just not ready yet, okay. Can we leave it at that?"
"Of course." The two of them then sat together for a while, just being close with one another.