Focus
"Few things are more intense than a concentrated king."
Alistair had know idea who said that, but Saphron once quoted that to him when she walked into his office while he was working once. To punctuate her point, she showed her father a candid photo of him as he was working, and Alistair couldn't deny, he did look rather intense. Okay, maybe "intense" was too light a word.
With his brow furrowed in concentration, the king looked like he was watching a battle unfold, rather than going through the usual affairs, as his fingers darted across his keyboard. Most of Alistair's day was occupied with matters of state, big and small, ranging from minor Grimm attacks on isolated villages, to large scale trade disputes with Mistral. It could get more than a little tiring, even for someone who spent much of his life preparing for these responsibilities; Alistair could only hope Vermillion would be ready for this when her time came.
Though some said Alistair's office was a bit too bare, he preferred it the way it was, with only a single desk in an otherwise open area, though said desk was covered with papers, with a picture of his family beside him. Framing his work area were two dragon statues, one in Valean style, the other Mistrali, representing the Two Brothers, a faith of which Alistair was a believer in; even though he instituted strict religious freedom, King William was a devotee of the Dragon Gods, and fostered the religion across the Kingdom. Alistair had been raised on the religion, and he had raised his own family on it.
As Alistair was working, he noticed that he was receiving a call; checking the caller ID, it was identified as one James Ironwood. General James Ironwood was the Supreme Commander of Atlas, but more importantly, he was a friend of the King of Vale, and Alistair answered his call without hesitation.
"Alistair!" Ironwood said, as his hard, experienced face appeared on the screen, "Thank you for taking my call." He was one of the few people who would refer to Alistair by his first name, much to his gratitude at times.
"Of course, James," Alistair said, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Well, first off, let me congratulate you on your son's entrance to Beacon," Ironwood said with a nod, "I was wondering just what he intended to do with himself, and I'm glad to see Prince Jaune's applying his skills in such a way."
"Yes," Alistair said after a brief moment, "I have confidence in him." That was the truth, but it didn't mean he was really any less worried about Jaune; it was in his nature as a father.
"Unfortunately, it appears Jacques has gotten word that your son and his daughter are now on the same team." Alistair's brow immediately furrowed at the mention of the Schnee patriarch. If he were being honest, he hadn't been thrilled when he found out his son was on the same team as a Schnee, a family whose company he wanted to keep as far away from his kingdom and people as possible for the time bing. But, that said his great-grandfather said that children were not beholden to the wrongs of their parents, and Alistair knew he had to abide by that wisdom.
"I suppose I should've expected that," he said, pinching himself between the eyes, "He was probably doing cartwheels when he started thinking about the possibilities."
"Don't worry," the general said, holding up a hand, "I'll keep him at bay the best I can."
"I appreciate it, James," the king answered. The general nodded with a smile, though the smile faded soon after.
"There, is actually a reason I called, though," Ironwood said, "I'm afraid I've got some concerning news." Alistair's smile also faded at that.
"What is it?"
"There are reports that the agents of the White Fang have been sighted in the Eastern regions of your kingdom."
"The White Fang?" Alistair asked, blinking slightly, "In Vale?" He'd heard of them, a radical Faunus group, but from what he knew, they operated mostly in Anima, with occasional attacks reported in Solitas. The king was also surprised he hadn't heard of this earlier; while Vale intelligence wasn't as good as that of Atlas (really, what was?), they were supposed to be better than this. Maybe they had just arrived?
"Yes," Ironwood answered grimly with a nod, "I don't know what they'd be doing in Vale of all places, but I thought I'd tell you now."
"Thank you, James," Alistair said with a nod of his own, "I'll look into it immediately."
"If you would like, I can send some specialists to Vale to advise," Ironwood offered.
"I appreciate it, but I'd rather keep this in-kingdom for the time being," Alistair answered.
"If ever you need help, you know where to find me," Ironwood said. With that, the connection cut out, as the king sat back, as he stared at the ceiling briefly, considering his options. Soon enough, though, an idea came to him, as reached back over to his scroll.
"Send in Captain Rainhart," he instructed. In just a matter of seconds, after that, a massive man with muscles the size of some people's heads entered the room. His name was Hazel Rainhart, and he was the Captain of the Royal Guard.
"You summoned me, Your Majesty?" Hazel said, as he fell to one knee before his king.
"I just got a report from General Ironwood," Alistair said, "Reports of White Fang activity in Eastern provinces." Hazel remained silent, though Alistair noticed him tense slightly at the mention of the terrorist group.
"What would you have me do, my King?" he asked, looking up at Alistair. The king was silent for a time, as he tapped his finger on the desk. He glanced at the God of Light, then at the God of Darkness, before he made up his mind.
(I) (I) (I)
Blake learned at a young age that the library was one of her favorite places to be. Not just because of the books, but because of the quiet. For her, there wasn't anything like a nice place to settle down with a book, and enjoy the peace and quiet. The book she was reading at the time wasn't one of her more "mature" pieces, but was still satisfying to read.
After finding a desk she away from the others (and for an added bonus by the window), Blake settled down with her book. Beacon certainly had a large library with a large selection, though it caused Blake's mind to wander to her partner, and the library he probably had at his disposal. Blake wasn't one to really envy others (let alone people like Jaune), but it was hard not to when she considered just what he could have for reading material.
Not long after she sat down, though, some movement attracted her gaze. Looking over, Blake saw one of the guards that accompanied Jaune walking by, apparently yelling something at some students doing something she didn't like. Valean Royal Guards could be identified by their stark silver armor that resembled those of the old knights, and their large swords on their hips. Jaune told them that the guards were only there to patrol the Academy grounds, but that didn't make it any less disconcerting when Blake saw one pass by. She doubted she'd ever get used to always having soldiers never being far away from her team.
When she thought about it actually, it was a tad ironic when she considered how one of those guards was always around their team, that chameleon Faunus, Ilia. Honestly, it could get a tad annoying a times, always having this girl who wasn't part of their team tagging along everywhere they went. Of course, on the other hand, Blake, if nothing else, and to admire the girl's devotion to her prince, even if he was a human, and she was a Faunus.
"Mind if I sit here?" Blake looked up to see Ren of all people standing by the desk. If she were being completely honest, Blake was tempted to say "no", but she decided to let him, after considering the fact she didn't actually know him that well.
"Go ahead," she said, gesturing. Ren nodded in thanks, as he sat down, setting a book of his own on the desk in front of him.
"I managed to slip away from my team," Ren said, "Yang and Nora are having a contest over who can break a big rock into more pieces."
"That sounds… fun," Blake said.
"That was pretty much my reaction," Ren responded with a slight shrug, as he pulled over the book he had. Blake noticed it was actually the first volume of the series she was reading at the time.
"Are you also a fan of Arc Cyanblood?" Blake asked, holding up her own book.
"That's what I hope to find out," Ren answered, as he gestured to his own book, "Though I haven't really had a chance to read much of it."
"I'll be sure not to spoil anything, since I imagine you don't have many chances to really read in your dorm," Blake said, "Not with a team like that." Blake supposed if nothing else, she could be satisfied in the knowledge that her team was one of the more soft-spoken ones. When the day came to a close, it made it easy to get some reading done in the room. She supposed that was more than she could say for Ren.
"I've been around Nora long enough that I'm pretty much used to it," Ren explained with a slight smile, "But I am curious as to what it's like having a prince as your partner?" Blake opened then closed her mouth, realizing she didn't really have much of an answer to that.
"I'm… not sure yet," Blake said, "It's only really been a couple of days. Though I guess I can say he's not that different from anyone else."
"Well, I suppose that's not a bad thing," Ren said, "Always good not to have a partner demanding special treatment." Blake nodded in agreement, before she frowned slightly; it was true that Jaune wasn't asking any special treatment, rather, that sort of behavior seemed reserved for Weiss. But she shook off those thoughts, she was supposed to be relaxing here, not stressing about her teammate.
"I guess you could say the biggest difference I think is how we pretty much have a fifth member of our team with his guard always around him," she then said.
"REN!" A familiar, but loud voice echoed across the library as Blake noticed Ren visibly sigh as he rose to his feet as he retrieved his book.
"Apparently Nora won," he said, "I should go to her before she starts looking around in here. I guess I won't get any reading done today."
"Good luck next time," Blake said sincerely.
"I'm probably going to need it," Ren agreed as he walked off. Blake watched as she did, as she sighed, and closed her book, her mind now too busy to read, and got up as well. Maybe a walk would help clear her head…
(I) (I) (I)
"I still say I won."
"Well, you said the rules were whoever could break the rock into more pieces would win," Ruby said, shrugging, "Nora broke it into six, and you broke into four."
"But my rock was slightly bigger!" Yang protested.
"It didn't really look like it."
"This is total…," Yang paused slightly. She didn't want her dad getting mad at her for teaching Ruby another swear word.
"Whatever," she finally said, as she and her sister kept walking through the courtyard. However, her attention was soon seized by the sound of fighting. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way over in the direction of the sound, Ruby not far behind her. Eventually, she noticed the prince training with his Faunus knight (yeah, Yang knew she probably wasn't actually a knight, but she still preferred to call her that). They were exchanging blows with their weapons, though Ilia seemed to be giving most of the blows, while Jaune just tried blocking and parrying.
"Hey!" Yang called, getting their attention and causing them to stop.
"Oh, hi," Jaune said, waving. Ruby started to curtsey, but he held up his hand.
"You really don't need to do that," Jaune said.
"I'm sorry," Ruby said as she stood up straight. Jaune sighed slightly, before looking at Yang.
"So what's up?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing?" the other blonde said, putting her hands behind her head.
"Ilia and I were just practicing," Jaune said, gesturing to the chameleon girl, who nodded to them. Yang then noticed Ruby's gaze apparently zero in on the sword in Jaune's hand. The prince also seemed to notice her look to, as he held it out.
"You want to hold…" He didn't get to finish it, as Ruby all but snatched the weapon out of his hand, and she stared at her reflection in it.
"I can't believe I'm holding Crocea Mors," Ruby said, as she cradled it like it was a sacred relic from the Brothers themselves, "This is the most famous weapon in Vale."
"It's just a sword," Yang said.
"Just a…," Ruby echoed in shock, "This was the weapon used by Queen Jeanne back when Vale was first being founded! King Charles used it to kill the Kraken in Patch! King William defeated the Emperor of Mistral with it!"
"You know your monarchs," Ilia said, as she put her own weapon on her shoulder.
"Don't be fooled," Yang said with a slight laugh, "She only knows that history because she knows the weapon's history. Though I'm not sure it's the best weapon to have these days."
"It get's the job done," Jaune said with a slight shrug, "My tutor once said it doesn't matter what the weapon is like so long as you can use it right."
"Well then, why don't you try against someone who isn't paid to keep you in one piece?" Yang said, as she stepped forward. She noticed Ilia glare at her slightly at her wording, but the blonde was distracted by her own sister's more vocal protests.
"Yang! Don't do this here!" she said as she handed the sword back to Jaune.
"It's okay," Jaune said, as he stepped forward, holding the sword, "I'm up for it."
"You sure?" Ruby said, "Yang can get a little… into it at times."
"Well, if she does that," Jaune said, "I could charge her with high treason against the monarchy." There was a very awkward silence, as everyone stared at him for that.
"That was a joke," the prince then said plainly.
"Sure," Yang said, not entirely encouraged by hearing that. But she took her fighting stance nonetheless.
"Ready?" she asked.
"You know it," Jaune said, as he held his sword and shield at the ready. That was all the time Yang gave him to get ready, as she sprung at him. He quickly held up his shield, blocking Yang's fist without much trouble. Yang quickly followed with another fist, which the prince managed to lean out of the way. He then swung his sword, which Yang easily evaded. Jaune then thrust his sword forward, though Yang leapt out of the way, and punched out, which Jaune managed to block again. Despite herself, Yang was actually kind of impressed by the prince's ability. It wasn't anything to gawk at, but it was more than enough to hold his own in a fight. But Yang wasn't one to settle for second in any situation, even if it was against the son of her king. With an excited shout, Yang launched herself at the prince, bringing down her fist onto his shield with such force that Jaune actually got forced back, and onto his butt. Satisfied with her victory, Yang stepped back, and wiped her brow.
"Well, I'll give you this, Princey," Yang said, as she offered him a hand, "You're pretty good." Said prince sighed as he lay back, before taking the hand to get hoisted back to his feet.
"Thanks, though I will say it helps when your family has enough pull to call in the best warriors in the kingdom to train you," Jaune answered, wiping his brow, "I actually did a lot of training in Atlas too."
"Atlas?" Ruby echoed, "Why there?"
"Well, it's kind of a long story," Jaune explained, "But basically my sister has a friend up there who's a skilled huntress, and she called in a favor."
"Well that sounds like a lot of fun," Yang said, putting her hands behind her head.
"Heh, you have no idea," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his own head, "Atlesains really know how to smoke their trainees."
"I hope they weren't too hard on you," Ruby said. Yang honestly didn't have the same opinion, but she still had enough self-control to keep that to herself.
"Eh, you get used to it," Jaune said with a slight shrug, "Thought I'm not sure if she was going easy on me because I was her friend's brother, or if she was going harder on me for it. I guess only the Brothers know." There was the sound of the bell, announcing the end of the lunch break, and that it was time to go back to class.
"See you in class?" Jaune said.
"Yes!" Ruby said quickly, as she was about to curtsey again, but thought better, "See you there." With that, the prince and his guard both left the courtyard.
"You know," Yang said, as she and Ruby followed some distance behind them, "Color me impressed."
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean," Yang answered, before a somewhat more... suggestive grin worked its way onto her face, "And he ain't bad looking either."
"Yang!" Ruby protested, "He's the prince!"
"That he is, little sis, that he is."
Note: One advantage of a setting with a large deviation from canon, is it opens all sorts of opportunities. One reviewer offered the idea that King William (which is to say Ozma) could have favored the Two Brothers as a religion, and that's an idea I really liked, and I intend to explore as the story goes on. While I think I'm in the minority, I enjoy the concept of the Two Brothers (if for no other reason that I really like dragons), and I feel there's plenty to explore with them. I'll take this a point to mention that I'm still working out some world-building aspects of this setting, and if anyone has any other idea, I'd love to hear it.
Anyway, I mulled over this chapter for a while. As a personal rule, I try to keep elements to a point where they can contribute something to the story, and I wasn't sure if Blake's segment with Ren contributed much. I like to think it allowed for a little glimpse into Blake's thoughts on what's going on and I hope my readers agree.
Other than that, it was a pretty quiet chapter, though things are obviously happening with the White Fang. Be assured, this isn't the same White Fang as the one we know, and that's about as much as I'm going to say right now.
Be sure to comment, and I meant it when I said I'm open to suggestions on world building.