Here we go.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 81

"Ruby? What are you doing here?" Yang nervously dragged her into an alley outside Junior's place where Ruby had ambushed her. "Did anyone see you? Are you safe?" Yang asked. "You look…" Yang looked her up and down. "Messy."

"It's a disguise," Ruby said as if it were obvious. The soot rubbed on her face and hair was to make her look more dishevelled and like she was back when she lived in the slums. "You said I looked too clean and rich last time."

"You still do. Look at your hair, it's way too smooth. Your eyes are bright, your nails aren't chapped, you're smiling too much."

Ruby huffed. She totally smiled back when she lived with Yang as well, but she got the point. Too much had changed from her time in the Collegium. It had changed her, as amazing a thing as that sounded in less than half a year.

The differences were noticeable, however, especially when pointed out. There was grime under Yang's fingernails, loose strands to her hair, streaks of mud and sweat and an overall wariness inherent in everyone keeping an eye out for a knife in the back. While Yang wasn't sickly per se, she didn't look healthy either. There was a gauntness to her features that spoke of irregular and missed meals, a redness to her eyes from lack of sleep or vital vitamins. Yang was healthy compared to most in the slums but that was a low bar to set.

That changes, Ruby thought. It changes now.

"I have a surprise for you!" Ruby whispered. "I need you and Blake to get ready – and you need to wear this." She shoved a small bag into Yang's hands. "Clean up as well. As best you can."

Yang picked at the bag and looked inside. "What are you planning?"

"It's a surprise. Quick. Bring out that lien I gave you, too. Bring it!"

"Ruby-"

She shoved Yang back toward Junior's place before she could say anything more and slid over to wait by the opposite wall. The twins would only expect more money if she went in, and she had to save it all now for Yang. Tapping her foot, she waited impatiently, all too aware of the people watching her, and the small eleven year old trying to get into her blindside with a rusted nail. Ruby turned and peered back at him, making the boy swear and run away. What? Did he think she was born yesterday?

Ten minutes later, the door opened, and two figures emerged – Yang and Blake both hiding their faces under dark grey hoods. Yang looked left and right before rushing over to her. Her face was a little cleaner but only by the standards of the slums. She still looked a mess. So did Blake to be honest, and that was more surprising because she actually had been a noble used to better things. Now, Blake's cheeks were sunken in and her eyes haunted.

I've gone from an urchin to a well-fed noble and the noble has turned into a starving urchin. Weiss would have called that irony. Ruby called it unfair. Luckily, that was another thing she could change.

"Come on. We're going up to the merchant's district."

"Are you going to tell us why?" Yang asked.

"Nope! You'll find out when you get there!"

"Ruby." Blake began. "We have something we need to discuss with you."

"After. Come on, I can't be out of the Collegium all day."

She didn't want them or her to have to stay in the slums a second longer than necessary. With the money she earned, she could have had them out weeks ago. Maybe even a full month. That wasn't a lot of damage given Yang had spent the last seventeen and a half years here, but still, it frustrated her to know she could have done better but that she'd been more focused on her own problems than her sister.

The slums were familiar, wet and stinky as they made their way through. The new clothing she'd given to Yang and Blake stood out like a sore thumb – clean cloaks, fresh blouses and tunic tops over hose. Beggars asked for coin, mothers with babies screamed in their faces and Ruby kept her eyes down, knowing that if she so much as revealed her coin purse, they'd be attacked by a mob of people. It was something she'd seen happen before.

The crowds thinned toward the wall and gates where the town watch kept an aggressive eye on things, threatening or dishing out beatings to those that got close. Ruby didn't hate them as much as she felt she ought to. Junior had plenty of dealing with them and so did she by association. Plus, if they didn't beat people back then people would be forever sneaking up to the upper levels to beg, steal food or kill people for their money. It was what she used to do after all, although more on the stealing side.

"Halt." One of the watch raised a hand. "State your business in the Merchant's Quarter. Passage is only available to those who-"

Ruby drew the corner of her Arcanum out of her robes, letting him see the shape and the single gemstone. She watched in awe as blood drained from his face, replaced by shock and fear.

"L-Lady Arcanist-" he stammered. "I… I did not know-"

"That is by intent." Ruby said grandly. Despite her best efforts to sound like Goodwitch, her squeakier voice ruined it. That didn't matter to the watch, however. Her age didn't matter beyond her power. "I have had business here and am leaving with my assistants. Collegium business. You need not know more."

"O-Of course, Lady Arcanist." He turned and shouted back, "Open the gate!"

Ruby nodded primly and walked through with Blake and Yang flanking and behind. None of the watch accosted them or asked for names or purpose. They didn't even ask Yang or Blake to drop their hoods. With but a word and a wave of her Arcanum, they passed into the merchant's quarter, and Yang out of the slums for what Ruby hoped would be the last time.

"What was that all about?" Yang hissed. "I've seen those guys beat off five times their number and they trembled like children in front of you."

"People fear the unknown," Blake said. "Arcanists use that as a weapon, perpetuating their mystery to keep people on their toes. It's but one of many ways they control people."

Also a way she was now using it. Ruby would have felt worse about that if she wasn't so excited, ushering Yang through the quieter streets and down off the main market avenue to the cheaper back streets of the quarter. Cheap as they were, they were still a hundred times cleaner and safer than even the best places in the slums.

"What is this mystery of yours then?" Yang asked impatiently. "You realise I'm going to have to sneak my way back down to the slums now. You better hope the watch don't catch me or I'll take it out on your ass next time."

"That won't be a problem anymore!"

"How can you say that? We can't all climb walls like a spider like you can."

"It's not a problem because you don't need to go back!" Ruby gasped out, face shining. With a flourish, she pushed a hand against the front door of her newly rented home, casting it open. As she did, she kept her eyes on Yang, waiting to see her reaction. "Because you live here now!"

Yang's mouth worked but no words came. Her eyes flicked to Ruby, the doorway, Blake, their surroundings, as if waiting for someone to come and tell her it was all some sick ruse. Finally, they came back to Ruby again, glimpses of hope muddled with pessimism.

"W-What do you mean…?"

Yang knew what she meant. She just refused to believe it.

"You. Live. Here." Ruby said each word slowly. "No more slums, no more Junior, no more not having enough food. No more floods," she said softly. "No more running away as the water rises."

Tears prickled at Yang's eyes. "How…?"

"It's rented, isn't it?" Blake asked. "I doubt you could afford this so early."

"It is rented but I can cover the rent. The first few months are already paid for. It's as good as ours – at least until I get enough to buy the place outright. You can live here." Ruby turned back to Yang, clutching her sister's hands. "This is your home now. You can get a normal job nearby. No one will even know you're a Dredger once you clean up. They think I'm a noble! You could work in a tavern or at a shop. You can go shopping in the market, buy real food and sleep next to a roaring fire."

"Ruby…" Yang's voice was choked with emotion. "I… this… it's too much…"

Too much? It wasn't enough! Yang protected her all those younger years. Yang did everything, working the worst jobs for Junior, fighting people, selling everything they had, carrying her around and giving up food and water and blankets so she could stay warm and fed. Dragging her through the floods as adults and children alike were swept away around them. After all that, Yang deserved a break. Yang deserved to be helped for once.

Ruby was practically shaking with anger, but she held her ground, crossing her arms and saying, "It's not too much. It's yours. You live here now, Yang. No more slums. No more."

"Hah." Yang's laugh was hysterical and weak, like she expected to wake up at any moment. Her eyes looked over the bare and dinghy interior with awe. They hadn't seen much better. "I can't… I mean, Junior will want to know where I've gone. If… If this is real…"

"It's real, Yang. It's all real."

"It's not even that nice a place," Blake muttered. "You're acting like this is a palace."

"It is to us!" Yang snapped. "This is… I can't believe it. O-Our own place? How much did this cost? How much are you paying?"

"That doesn't matter."

"How can you say that!?"

"Because I can afford it working at the Collegium," she said. The amount would give Yang a heart attack and probably have her offering to go back to the slums, but she didn't understand that the number was just that – a number. It sounded like a lot to her, as it had Ruby, but it wasn't much by the standards of the Arcanists. "You don't need to worry about me running out. I've only just started out and I can afford this. They pay big up there. You still have that money I got you before, right?"

"S-Some. Yes. About eighty lien."

"That'll be enough to afford food and drink and firewood. I'll have more earned in a week or two and bring it here."

"You don't have to. Ruby, this is already so much."

"I don't need it," she said. "The Collegium gives me so much for free. Free board, food and anything else I want. I don't have anything to spend the money on. I'd rather spend it on you…"

Yang's eyes watered and she rushed forward without warning. Ruby grinned and opened her arms, letting herself be swept up off her feet and crushed against her sister. It felt like it'd been so long since it happened. Wrapping her arms around Yang's neck, she ignored the moisture dripping down her hair and the not-so-quiet sniffles.

I should have done this sooner. It doesn't matter. It's done now.

Yang would never have to suffer again if she had her way.

/-/

Ruby hummed pleasantly as she walked beside Blake past fresh produce shops dotted across the market. Yang was back at the new house, ostensibly to familiarise herself with it, but more because her nerves were shaken, and Ruby wanted to let her rest. Yang still hadn't recovered from the shock and probably wanted a moment to cry in silence.

"That was a good thing you did for her," Blake said. "I've not known Yang long but that's the most emotional I've ever seen her. Even during the flood, she stayed calm."

"It was a promise we made."

"Hm?"

"When we were younger," Ruby explained. "And mom and dad died. We always said we'd stick together, work hard and one day buy a place in the merchant's quarter or the farms outside. That we'd move out of the slums and put it behind us."

Blake nodded. "I can understand that."

"You can't." Ruby smiled. "You're close, but you can't. You've experienced one flood and a little bit of hunger. That's more than any other noble here has. We lived there. We grew up there. Mom and dad died there. I've had fifteen years of running from flood water, whore catchers, town watch and people who would mug and kill me for a scrap of bread. Yang did it for seventeen years, and she did a lot of that looking after a useless little sister while she was at it."

"Yang would never call you useless."

Of course she wouldn't, but that didn't make it any less accurate. If Blake thought escaping the floods was hard for her, she should have tried it at the age of ten and with an eight year old sister sick with pneumonia clinging to your back. Yang had climbed the walls with Ruby a dead weight clinging onto her shoulders. Not once, not twice, but five or six years in a row, until Ruby had the strength to do it herself.

How she'd kept going, Ruby had no idea. Sheer determination – it had to be. Yang's body wasn't exactly powerful when she'd been sharing her already meagre food with her sister.

"We made that promise to get out the slums," Ruby said. "But we always knew it'd never happen. It was just some thing we told each other, a lie we clung to, because it was better to have false hope than none."

"You're out now," Blake pointed out.

Yeah, but that was a stroke of luck – good or bad – and nothing to do with hard work or effort on her part. Through the strike of fate, she'd ended up a Wildmage, and Blake had picked her to sneak into the Collegium. If none of that had happened, they'd either be still in the slums struggling to make ends meet, or maybe she'd have been found and taken to the Sanctum already.

There were hundreds of people in the slums just like them, dreaming and working hard to try and escape. They never would, because unlike her, it didn't matter how much they worked or tried because they would never have access to the easy money the nobles threw around.

Life could have been different, and Ruby and Yang would be starving to death in an alleyway. It wasn't, though. They'd been lucky, and Ruby wasn't going to throw that small chance away.

"I'm out. Yang is, too. And if I have my way, we're never going back. Not ever." Ruby stopped to look at a stall selling cuts of meat. The more fortunate woman behind it smiled and pointed her in the direction of tender duck, even going so far as to describe a recipe on how she could cook it.

Yang had never tasted duck before, but she also bought fresh fish and apples and potato and little twisted dough bagels dusted with sugar and cinnamon. Then she bought even more vegetables and meat that would last for days, and which would keep Yang eating so much she'd feel like she was about to explode.

"I'll come down and keep an eye on her," she told Blake, "But can you make sure she eats properly? If she's used to the slums, she might forget meals or try and not eat so she doesn't waste my money. Tell her it's not a waste. Make her eat. Force it down her if you have to."

Blake smirked. "I'll make sure she does. That's a lot of food, though. Are you thinking she will eat enough for an army?"

"I want her spoiled for choice! She deserves it!"

"After hearing how much she's done, I won't disagree." Blake took one of the bags from her hands and shouldered it. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her and also watch her if she goes back to the slums to talk to Junior. He won't touch her with me there. Really, though, the more I learn about Vale, the more I'm happy Menagerie was nothing like it." Blake sighed. "You've had it bad here. I can't believe you didn't up and leave – just take your chances in the wild and find some village to settle at."

Neither could she. Why they hadn't, she'd never know. Maybe it had been the plan at one point but then Yang got her work with Junior that granted them room and board and suddenly it had been safer to stay. She'd never asked. Even in the slums, they'd had it better than most thanks to their patron.

"There's something you need to hear from Yang and I when we get back," Blake said. "We can do it after dinner. I'm sure you want to make sure Yang eats enough to be sick first."

"Yep. I-" Ruby's eyes widened. There, two stalls ahead, a familiar figure was bent over and talking to a merchant. He hadn't seen her. Ruby yanked Blake back behind a stall.

Blake went with it, quickly moving away and tugging her hood up, following Ruby the opposite way they'd been going. "Who is it?" she asked quietly.

"Lord Branwen. He's an Arcanist. Of the white!"

"Out here? I didn't see a robe."

"He doesn't wear one! He lives out here too, and I'm stuck working with him." Biting her lip, she said, "And he knows about the house."

"What!? Does he know about you?"

"No. No. Not at all. He… I think he knew my mom though…"

"I warned you. Magical talent runs in families, Ruby. If he knew your mother, then it's almost certain she was a Wildmage."

"Is it? He's from the White! If mom was a Wildmage, she'd have been thrown in the Sanctum." Blake's eyes narrowed, realising she had a point. How Qrow knew mom was something she'd been trying to ignore for a while, and she couldn't up and ask him. "It doesn't matter anyway. I've convinced him I'm from Menagerie and have totally different parents. Just be careful using magic or he might sense it."

"And if he comes to investigate the house and finds us there?"

"Make something up. It's my house. I can let people stay there."

"True…" Blake relaxed once it was clear they weren't being followed. Qrow must have been shopping for food as well. Or booze. "I suppose I can be a fellow survivor of Menagerie. Not an Arcanist but someone you knew, a servant perhaps. Yang can be a local who helped us out. It won't matter in the long run anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"After dinner," Blake said. "Let's have some decent food for a change first."

/-/

Yang looked like she didn't know what to do with so much cooked and fresh food laid out before her. She picked and nibbled, bit and swallowed, then paused as if realising there was more to eat and that she didn't need to hold off and try to save some to last for breakfast, lunch and dinner the following day. Once the dam broke, she ate like a woman possessed, mimicking Ruby in her first days in the Collegium.

Ruby almost wanted to mimic Weiss and tell her to eat slower but held off. Seeing Yang happy and fed was all she needed, and this time it wouldn't be a one-off thing. This could happen every day for the rest of their lives.

"I-I can't believe how good that tasted." Yang leaned back in the wooden chair with her hands over her stomach.

The fact the chair didn't creak or threaten to break was new, as was the burning heat from the fire Blake had helpfully stocked up and set to burning. It was approaching winter, and the air was getting colder. This year, they wouldn't need to sleep curled up together to conserve body heat. The healthy fire and thick blankets provided in the house's two bedrooms would be enough to keep anyone warm.

Yang kept looking around, taking in the decorations, the soft cushions, the long bench with its cushions by the fire and the glass windows showing the afternoon outside but letting none of the cold in.

"It's like living in a different world…"

"We did stay at that merchant house during the floods." Blake said. "That was nicer than this."

"And I don't remember a thing about that because I was off my mind on the Alchemist's healing tinctures. I can actually see this without crippling pain or the feel of my own blood burning my body inside out. It's so warm, there's no leaks, the chairs are sturdy-" Yang rocked it for emphasis and the heavyset and cushioned seat didn't so much as creak. "It's so big, too. You could fit five families in here, maybe more if you pushed it."

"This is how most people live. Each person gets a bedroom-"

"Then people should stop being so greedy!" Yang interrupted Blake. "If the nobles weren't living with ten rooms per person, maybe we wouldn't have to live ten people per room. This is… This is everything we ever wanted! This is luxury!"

"Ahem." Blake coughed and caught Yang's eye. "You do remember what we spoke about before, don't you? About what you were going to tell Ruby. All of this is nice, Yang, but you have to remember what's coming."

"Right." Yang's glee soured and she adjusted herself on her seat. "Right after we got all this, too? Damn it. Blake's right, though. Ruby, we've been talking." Yang reluctantly met her eyes. "This stuff with the Grimm, it's getting worse. The Collegium isn't doing anything, or not as much as they think, and there have been attacks on the farms now. We… We think it's time to go."

For a moment, Ruby couldn't figure out what she meant. "Go…?"

"Leave… Vale…" Yang's lips twisted. "Blake's seen all this before, and she says it's the same. This is how Menagerie fell. Not enough is being done. We need to get out before the storm hits."

Every bit of cheer in Ruby died. Denial kicked in. "We can't," she said, unsure why Blake and Yang looked so sympathetically defeated. "W-We live here. We can't just leave-"

"Why not?" Blake asked. "If Vale falls, so do you."

"But we live here! It's our home!" Desperately, she looked to Yang.

"Sis. The slums was our home. A shithole that regularly flooded while the people above watched us die is our home. We shouldn't be clinging onto that. This? This is better, I admit, but is it worth dying for?"

Yes. No. Maybe.

"B-But the Red Arcana is doing culls…"

"They're not working," Blake said. "You know that much yourself. The Grimm are getting more and more active, and soon they'll be pouring over the city itself. We don't want to be inside when that happens. There won't be any escape through the Azure Archives this time. Not if they're already compromised."

This couldn't be happening. She'd just become an Arcanist, she'd just started earning, she'd just saved Yang from the slums. "What about my friends? They're still here. If we leave now, they could get killed."

"And if we stay, you all die." Yang sighed. "I don't want you to pick between your friends and me, Ruby, but we can't stay here. They shouldn't either. Tell them the danger, convince them to go as well. I don't want us to sit here and watch a repeat of Menagerie happen. Do you?"

Of course she didn't. "N-No, but Vale is our home…"

"When the floods came, we didn't stay down in the slums, did we?"

"No…"

"That's right. We made for higher ground. That's what we have to do here. The flood is coming, Ruby. Not a flood of water, but Grimm this time. So, do you think it's best to stay here and try to fight it off? Or leave in search of safer ground?"

"Leave…"

"Exactly. I hate to be the one to say it, sis, but this is how it is. Your people are trying their best and all but they're still hiding the fact this is happening. You can't tell me you actually think the Collegium has a handle on things."

It didn't. It really didn't. Between the politics and the issues and the White trying to control everything and now even the Noble families figuring out what was going on and acting against the Collegium, there wasn't much left that they weren't mucking up. Menagerie had, from what Blake told her, been a much more cohesive and less divided place and it still fell. Menagerie had a Grand Arcanist, too. Something Vale currently lacked.

Was Yang right? Was she trying to stand in front of a flood and tell it to stop just because she liked the way her life was going? Giving all this up would be hard but if she chose to stay then Yang would as well. If the Grimm then came, as all signs pointed to, then Yang would die. And it would be her fault because her sister would have stayed for her.

"I… I…" Ruby clenched her eyes shut and looked down. "I don't want to give up on Vale."

"I don't either, sis. I don't either." Yang touched her shoulder. "I'm trying to make the best choice for both of us, though. To do what mom and dad would have wanted. Do you really think they'd want us to stay here just because it was their home?"

No. Of course they wouldn't.

"Where would we go?" she asked quietly.

"Mistral." Blake said. "Atlas is a bad idea because of you. It's where the White are strongest, and they rule with an iron fist. Mistral is much more amicable. If we decide to go to a city at all. If the Grimm are being drawn to the various Collegium, going to another might be a bad idea."

"Put some thought into it." Yang said. "We don't have to go immediately. We can gather some resources, collect money and food for the journey. And if things get better or it looks like the Arcanists get a handle on things, we can always change our mind."

"Yeah." Ruby smiled but it was bitter. She didn't think the Collegium was likely to get a handle on anything anytime soon, least of all the Grimm. The best thing to do was leave while they could. While it was safe. "Yeah, I'll see what they do. There has to be some way to stop the Grimm, to make this go away."

"Maybe," Blake admitted, "But if so, we weren't able to find it. I won't hold out hope."

Well I will! Ruby thought. It'll be hard to convince Weiss and Pyrrha to go, then there's Jaune and Sun and Ren and Nora. I can't abandon them all. Cinder and Adam in the Sanctum, too. I made a promise.

The Grimm had to have a weakness. Maybe Qrow would have some ideas.

Nothing to say here! That's probably the sign of a peaceful weekend. Well, except for the fact I have two lessons today as my student yesterday wanted to postpone. Fun, fun, fun! Off to go play with my dog now.

Next Chapter: 28th March

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