Here's another chapter. Nothing to add up here.
Beta: College Fool
Cover Art: Pachumaster
Chapter 15
When we arrived back at the Guild, it was with me beaten and blue, leaning on Yang's shoulder for support, everyone had perhaps understandably wanted to know what had happened but had thankfully decided they could wait once Yang made it clear we were okay, exhausted - and in desperate need of a shower. Being the tank, and apparently having done my tanking duties a little too well, I'd been the one who smelled the worst. On the other hand, Yang was Yang, and so had claimed it first and blissfully enjoyed the hot water before I could.
Back home that would have meant a cold bath for me, since we'd had little more option than to heat up a copper tub over a fire and share the water at times. Between nine people, that got old quick - though dad had created some others and we could at least use Stoke the Forge to heat it. The Guild Hall, however, was far more luxurious - even in its dilapidated state. The rain collector tank attached to the outside fed water through the pipes I'd repaired the day before and into a boiler, which Pyrrha - bless her - had seen fit to stock with wood left over from the ruined furniture. It gave me not only the chance to luxuriate in the steaming water that cascaded down around me, but also the privacy to take off the amulet that felt like it had become fused to my flesh over the recent days.
The words above my head, the true words that was, could have ruined me were I back in the shared dorms. Here they were welcome, if a little odd. In some ways I'd started to get used to being a Knight, and the reminder that I wasn't was equal parts startling and sobering. They changed when I pulled the amulet back on, however, and suddenly I was Jaune the Knight, once more.
A few minutes later, freshened and now in a new set of clothes I nodded to everyone as I stepped into the main lounge and sat down on the couch next to Pyrrha. We were all huddled in a small circle, using what chairs, couches or low stools we could. It was the only functional room in the hall, but already it looked better than it once had.
"Torchwick Rogue Empire?" Weiss repeated once Yang and I had finished recounting our tale. The Mage planted one hand on her hip and flicked her white hair to the side. "I suppose the name says it all. Little wonder he sent an NPC to trick us… no one in their right mind would trust a Rogue."
I wanted to challenge her on that, but the last time I'd done so in defence of Azure, it had been a mistake. As the others mumbled to themselves, all I could do was sigh and slump a little.
"We may have found out who he is," Pyrrha said, from her position sat on the couch next to me, "But I'm not sure what we can do with it. Unless you and Ren found something out about the contract, we're still bound into it, aren't we?"
"We are," Weiss sighed. "Ren and I searched for whatever loopholes we could, but Beacon has been established for centuries. The wording may be a little archaic, but the laws themselves have been perfected over time."
"So, we're not getting out of this?" I asked.
Weiss shook her head, and that was it, wasn't it? The general mood among the Guild fell, and as the proud Mage sat down on her own seat, only silence remained.
It had been a long shot, sure. But I think we'd all hoped the two of them would be able to find some kind of safety clause. Then again, if there was such a thing, then Torchwick would probably have not gotten away with this as long as he apparently had. Frustration pooled up inside me, mixed with anger at how useless we were in the current situation. This wasn't a problem the others could fight their way out of, nor was it something I could smith to fix.
"I'm afraid it doesn't get any better," Ren broke the silence, and probably our hearts as well. "While we were there, we actually discovered some things which will make life worse for us. One thing was the need for every Beacon Guild to have at least one member of staff."
"Staff?" Yang huffed, "What would we need staff for? There's only seven of us."
"Maintenance and general upkeep," Ren said, "And also to provide a port of call that Beacon can contact should anything happen to us. We might be out on a Quest, or hunting in the Emerald Forest, or in lessons. In those circumstances, the school has to know there's someone they can get in touch with, and also someone who will look after the Guild and make sure there isn't any damage."
Ren paused, as though to acknowledge the irony of that statement, and the state of the hall as it was.
"Can't we just sign one of us up as it?"
Ren shook his head. "The rules state it has to be an NPC. What's more, we need to hire and pay them ourselves. For all intents and purposes, they would be our employee and the Guild's Seneschal."
"That's ridiculous," Yang argued, "Why would they force that on us? We're just first years."
This time it was Weiss who spoke up, the Mage sighing as she looked at us. "And therein lays the problem. One thing we found out was that most Guilds are only created in a person's second or third year. While first years can join Guilds, they don't normally make their own. The cost prevents them… it should have prevented us as well, but we were tricked into it and didn't realise what the full costs would be."
"So, we need a Guild Hall and an NPC to act as caretaker?" Pyrrha asked. Weiss nodded back, and the Champion sighed. "What happens if we don't have one? Is there a punishment?"
"Beacon would force one on us and expect payment from us in return. It would be a fair rate, and I'm sure they'd have let us pay it over time… sadly, we don't have that option."
I groaned into my hands. "Torchwick?"
"Torchwick," Weiss nodded. "Our… esteemed benefactor has seen fit to look ahead and plan for such an eventuality." Her voice was as cold as ice, and just as brittle. "The contract we signed states that if we don't register an NPC to him before the end of the month, then TRE will provide one of their own in Beacon's place. This benevolent service will remove the need for us to do it, at the `oh so low` rate of three thousand lien a month."
Three thousand!? My mouth fell open in shock, and judging from the silence, I wasn't the only one to feel that way. That was almost as much as it cost us in rent each month, and just to have a person come around and do nothing? There wasn't even anything to maintain; the place was a dump!
"This is just another way he fleeces us, then," Pyrrha said. "Doubtless he hoped we wouldn't notice or would spend all our lien on repairs. Still, at eight thousand a month, I'm surprised he expects us to even be capable of paying in the first place."
"He doesn't."
We all looked up towards Weiss at that, to see the Mage leant back in her seat with eyes closed. "He doesn't?" I repeated. "What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. If Torchwick wished to make a reliable and steady income off us, then he would need to keep the amount he charges us even and realistic. This would allow him to make as much lien as he can, but would also give us time to fix the hall, purchase it from him and free ourselves from this contract. From there, we could provide evidence to Beacon, turn against him, or even interfere in his future attempts to scam people. Either way, he would lose the Guild Hall and not be capable of springing this trap again anytime soon."
"Instead, he pushes us into bankruptcy," Yang frowned. "What happens if we can't pay, Weiss? What do we lose?"
Weiss' eyes snapped open. "Everything."
What…?
"If we renege on payment or are unable to pay," she went on, "Then we run afoul of the clause in the contract. We surrender all rights to the Guild Hall, which will include any repairs or work we have done on it. More than that, to pay back what is owed, we surrender all equipment we own to the creditor, Torchwick Real Estate. We lose every piece of equipment we own… at which point the debt is considered repaid."
All our equipment? My hand fell to Crocea Mors as an uneasy feeling shot through me. It was the sword I'd made for myself, and something that had protected me thus far. Even my armour and shield… it was a part of me.
The others were no less worried, as they each considered their weapons. Ruby whimpered and drew her scythe, the scythe I'd made, to her chest. To her, the risk was much worse. It was the only battle scythe any of us had ever seen. Anything she bought in the future would be just as brittle and likely to break as the last few. That could mean her death.
It could mean the death of all of us.
"If we lose our gear, then we won't be able to fight the Grimm," Nora whispered. "If we can't fight the Grimm, we won't be able to earn enough lien to buy new gear."
"It would mean the end of our stay at Beacon," Weiss nodded, "As is his plan, I believe."
Yang punched the chair she was sat on, and the armrest splintered a little. "He takes our lien, he takes our gear and then he takes away Beacon," she growled.
"Which means we can't fight back," Ren said. "From his perspective, it grants him an immediate injection of lien, gives him back the hall he uses to trap people, and then removes us from play entirely. Beacon won't believe our words when it looks like we're trying to shift the blame, and if we did want to get our own back or stop him scamming others, we'd be unable to. Even if we went out of our way to warn people now, new starters next year wouldn't know."
"The perfect trap…" Pyrrha sighed.
"And we fell for it," Weiss finished. "I wouldn't be surprised if he targets new students on purpose, both because they know less about the regulations, but also because many come with decent equipment passed down from family. It's not unusual for Hero parents to buy or find good gear for their children to protect themselves with." Weiss seemed to stroke her rapier softly with one hand, and I wondered what the story there was. "All in all, we fell hook, line and sinker for his trap."
That we had… my face fell into my hands as I thought back on Azure and the things he'd said. I'd been so keen to believe him, so determined that because he was a part of the Labour Caste like me, he could somehow be trusted. In a way that made me no better than the people who said someone like Blake couldn't be trusted just because of her Class. Positive discrimination was still discrimination, after all.
Even so… with all of that said… My hands slammed down as I stood up. "I refuse to give up."
The others looked up at me, and the way they stared made my throat go dry, but I shook my head and ignored it.
"We can't give up," I said, "Not like this. I know it's bad, but… I mean, we've just got into Beacon. I'm not prepared to lose that, or the Guild. Not like this."
"Don't be a fool," Weiss snapped.
Hopeless… I felt so hopeless as she glared at me. But before I could mount a counter-argument, the Mage smirked and flicked her hair back.
"No one said anything about giving up, you idiot, so you can save your knightly speeches. I, for one, am not going to be bested by a filthy Rogue who won't even face me."
"Hell yeah," Nora laughed, "Just cuz we're on the back foot, doesn't mean it's over. We're Nora's Valkyries, and nothing can stop us!"
"We're the Hunters," Ren smiled, "I thought I told you we vetoed your Guild name."
"Well I vetoed your veto, so there!" Nora stuck her tongue out at the Monk, who shook his head and chuckled.
"Either way," he said, "We didn't make you aware of this to try and break spirits, but rather to prepare ahead of time. We know what Torchwick intends to do, which means we can now avoid his plans for us."
"Know your enemy," Yang grinned and clapped her hands together, "Only then can you know victory. I love it!"
My eyes sparkled too, and as they all started to pick up and cheer, I couldn't stop the relieved smile from spreading across my face. Yes… this was it. We weren't going to give up, even if we had been knocked down. This was… it was just like when Yang and I had fought the Malachites. We were taking blows from Torchwick, but we weren't out just yet. We were just tanking them. Hopefully, we'd be able to tank a little better than I had, but even so – it didn't mean we were going to lose.
"What's the next step?" I leaned forward. "We know he intends to knock us out of Beacon. What do we do to stop it?"
"Isn't he a student like us?" Ruby asked, and Weiss nodded.
"He is," the Mage said, "Which means he has to follow the same rules we do. Theoretically, the only way he can force us out of Beacon is if we can't pay. The more time we have, the more chance we have of getting out of this. We need to earn more lien."
"That might be tough unless we find another Dungeon," I pointed out. "I mean, there are seven of us, so if we need eight thousand, then that's only a little over one thousand each. It should be possible."
"We need other supplies too, however," Pyrrha warned. "We're our own Guild, so we don't pay towards the cafeteria anymore."
"Oh, oh," Nora waved a hand in the air, "Me and Renny can take care of that."
"You can?"
"Nora's right," the Monk nodded to me. "You've seen how proficient she is at tracking; that's because we lived on the road a lot when we were younger. Nora would hunt for food, while I would cook it. I may not be a Cook or Chef, but my cooking skill is quite a bit higher than one might expect."
They lived on the road? I spared a look for the Barbarian and Monk, and how close they sat by one another. Even when they'd been forced into separate dorms, the two had never been apart through lessons or fights. I could well believe they'd grown up together, but I hadn't realised quite how literal that was.
"If you two can handle food, that would be great," I said. "We can pitch in for vegetables, fruit and such, but it's the meat that's most expensive. What else can we save on?"
"Little things, here and there," Weiss interrupted, "But what we can most save on is actually the NPC. Remember, we must pay that amount if we're unable to find one of our own. Three thousand a month is a joke, and a desperate attempt to drive us out. I'm sure the NPC's here are paid a fraction of that. We can just hire one of them and be done with it."
She sounded confident, but I wasn't quite so sure. Life in the Labour Caste wasn't easy, and in many cases, it didn't inspire much confidence in the Hero Caste. Awe and admiration, perhaps, but not trust. Why would someone working for Beacon risk their livelihood to work for a newly formed Guild that might not even survive the month?
It would be a pretty big risk on the part of the Labour Caste member.
"We'll split up and talk to any we can find," Weiss said. "I'm sure we can find someone willing to move over. Make sure to tell them the workload is minimal… there's only three rooms they would need to clean, after all."
"What about Torchwick?" I asked. "Do we leave him?"
"No." Weiss shook her head. "Now that we know his name, it should be easier to find him. We can confront him directly. Though this time," Weiss paused to glare at Yang and I, "there will be no attacking them! Do you have any idea how much trouble we could have gotten in for that?"
"We got his name, though," I winced. "Also, in my defence, that was totally Yang's decision."
The blonde, far from being upset that I'd ratted her out, instead grinned and waved at Weiss.
"Even so," the Mage growled, "You are our Guild Master! You should have taken control."
Take control…? Of Yang…? I turned to look at her, just in time to see the Brawler's shark-like grin. Yeah… that wasn't going to happen any time soon. I nodded dumbly to Weiss, with my fingers crossed behind my back.
Hopefully finding someone to join the Guild wouldn't be too hard…
/-/
There was something to be said for trusting your first instinct. That was all I could think as I sighed and entered Beacon's library in search of a chair to sit down on. Over two hours of searching, negotiation and rejection. It was the latter that was the most exhausting. Beacon was huge, but I had the Constitution to jog around it a few times if needed. My brain hurt from all the conversations, however, and my throat felt unbearably dry.
And in the end, it had all been for nothing. Not a single person interested, not even a bite!
I hope the others are having more luck than me… ugh, not that it would be hard given my Charisma score.
How annoyingly ironic, that the Class best suited to this kind of task was the very one I had to masquerade as. Hopefully the others would just attribute my performance to bad luck. The table surface was cool against my cheek as I sat down and splayed myself out across it, and although one of the people working in the library glowered my way, it was all I could to pretend I even cared.
A nearby chair rattled as someone sat down. "It looks like you've had a rough day," a familiar, if quiet, voice whispered. Blake spared a faint smile for me as she opened a book beside me and began to read.
Blake? The shock was so much that my mouth opened and closed for a second before I could even think of an answer. It probably shouldn't have come as a surprise that she was at the library, but the fact that she had approached certainly was. It took a few more seconds to force words out. "You could say that."
"You've been busy," she said, and was it my imagination, or was there some level of accusation there? "I haven't seen you around. Did you form the Guild you spoke of before?"
I groaned at that, and Blake's eyebrows rose at the uncharacteristic defeatism. With a push, I sat up and explained the situation to her, from how we'd met Azure, to how Yang and I had discovered the person responsible for trapping us. Come the end, Blake shook her head in disgust.
"It's people like that who gives Rogues a bad name," she said. "There are so many of us who try to be different, but all our can be undone by a single person."
"Do you know him?"
"We're not all like that," she continued, and I couldn't miss how her ears flicked back and forth angrily. "Just because a few people don't care for others, it doesn't mean we're all the same. I'm not-"
I touched her arm, and the faunus froze momentarily. She coughed a moment later and looked away.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "Sometimes it's hard to... never mind. I'm afraid I don't know him, though I think I've heard the name mentioned once or twice."
"Anything you can offer would help," I said.
Blake hummed and placed her book carefully down on the table. One hand remained on the pages, her fingers curled around the paper, while the other came up to hover before her mouth. While she wore her usual clothing, her hood had been pulled back to reveal her raven hair and ears, and her face was clear of its mask.
"I think I heard his name mentioned by a few other Rogue-type Classes. His Guild is considered something of a haven for our kind, and he takes in any who apply."
"To do what?"
Blake shook her head. "I don't know. You must understand, Jaune, our kind – Rogue Classes – we don't trust easily; the ability to do so has been forced from us. I'm sure entry into his Guild would involve more than is advertised, but you would never hear about it. We do not spread secrets… we rarely trust people with any. It's too easy for another to find out, and people are only too happy to press us into their service, whether that be through bribery or blackmail."
I sighed and lowered my head at that. It wasn't just what she said, that made me feel disappointed, but the expression on her face when she'd said it. There'd been no grief, fear or sadness. Just a steady, neutral gaze. One so casual that I couldn't doubt for a second that she'd experienced the same oh so many times before. "I'm sorry," I said.
"For what?"
"For how everyone else is… how everyone else can be."
Blake blinked for a few seconds, and she looked surprised too. The honesty in that was refreshing, even if it made her look strangely vulnerable. She chuckled a moment later, however, and while her eyes were guarded once more, they seemed a little softer. "You needn't apologise for that," she chuckled, "I wouldn't judge everyone by what a minority do. Besides, you've been nothing short of kind to me, chivalrous, even… though I suppose that makes sense for a Knight."
I buried my face in my arms as my cheeks darkened, though from the way she laughed into her hand, it was clear she'd noticed. Praise wasn't something I was ever used to receiving, other than what my family gave. To get it from someone like Blake was equal parts pleasing and horrifying.
"I'm sorry I can't help you more with your Guild," she said, "If it helps, I can keep an ear out for information that might help. I could also ask around, perhaps try to find people who have fallen for it before."
"You don't have to…"
"I don't" she agreed with a small smirk, "But that is why I will choose to. Out of all the people in Beacon, I'd hate to see you expelled."
I laughed into my arms. "Is that a compliment?"
"It means out of all the people here, I dislike you and your Guild the least. Take it how you will."
"I'll take it as a compliment," I grinned, "I'll even tell Weiss you said that."
"I'm not sure she'd believe you, but feel free to try." she said, and almost smirked. The amused expression was wiped from her face a second later, like it had never existed. "On a serious note, how do you intend to escape from this contract you've been locked into?"
"We're… I'm not sure. I think we're going to try and ride it out, to pay our costs for long enough to repair the Guild Hall. If we get it back to normal standards, we can just stop paying rent and move out. He won't have the threat of Beacon in that case and we can move back into the normal dorms."
Blake nodded, but picked up her book instead of responding. She flicked through the pages, and it didn't seem like she had anything left to say. With a sigh, I stood up and moved away – only to feel her hand snag my wrist.
"If…" she paused to take a breath, "When people fight a Rogue… be it Thief, Assassin or whatever other class, there's a certain mistake they make."
I looked down at her, even though she never looked away from the words on the page before her.
"We're weak in normal combat," she said, "In a fair fight, we can usually be overpowered by a Warrior, out-skilled by a Brawler or outlasted by a Knight. That leads people to believe the best way to face us is head on." She sighed. "It's a mistake all too many make. No one is more aware of your own weakness than yourself, and every Rogue Class knows our opponents wish to either close into melee or bombard us with spells from afar. Knowing that, does it not make sense that we would have a contingency for either case?"
"Is that… a warning?" I asked.
"Advice. Don't fight like a Hero. Don't rush in expecting things to work out your way just because you're stronger, faster or more skilled than he is. He will have a plan prepared if you do, and you'll walk straight into another trap. You cannot win by challenging him… nor can you win if you seek to play his game." Blake's amber eyes peeked out from beneath her lashes, finally meeting my own. "Your plan to pay off the debt and escape… if you play by his rules, then you'll be doomed to failure. He's a Rogue... our rules change every second."
Is that what it meant to be a Rogue? "What then?" I asked. "What should we do?"
"You need to stop thinking like a Hero. He fights those all the time; probably scams them all the time too." Her hand let go of mine, which fell loosely to my side. "That's the only advice I can give. I'll do what I can to help. I'll keep my ears open and pass on anything I find."
"Thank you," I whispered, and turned to leave when it was clear she'd gone back to her book and wouldn't say anything more. Even so, the words stayed with me.
Don't fight like a Hero?
What did that even mean?
/-/
To my surprise, there was an extra person in the Guild Hall when I returned, and the words above her head said she wasn't a member of the Hero Caste. Stood a little shorter than myself, she had auburn hair, pretty brown eyes and a pair of long rabbit-like ears atop her head.
"Everyone," Ruby cheered, "This is my friend Velvet! She's a Tailor."
"We can see that," Weiss rolled her eyes and nodded towards the words that floated over the girl's head.
Ruby's cheeks puffed out as she frowned at the girl. "Should still introduce people," Ruby grumbled, and I smothered a smile at the memory of her saying her parents had drilled that into her. "Anyway, Velvet agreed to be the… the…"
"Seneschal," Yang grinned.
"That thing," Ruby nodded, "of our Guild."
The others cheered, or rather most of them did. Weiss simply nodded, though I couldn't help but overhear her mumbling something about not believing Ruby found someone before she did.
Personally, I wasn't nearly so surprised. Weiss, for one, had that elitism that came out with every word she said. For the Labour Caste, that was easily noticeable, and I knew I'd not be impressed with it. More than that, from what I could tell, Ruby was the only one who actually referred to us Labour Caste, and not NPC.
True, NPC was what almost everyone called us… and what some of us even called ourselves. But it was still a constant reminder that you were worth less, that you were somehow inferior and needed the protection of others.
Ruby never made anyone feel that way.
"Hello," the girl stepped forward, and her voice was incredibly soft-spoken. "My name's Velvet Scarlatina, and I'm a Tailor working for Beacon. I-If you'll accept me, then I'd be happy to work for the Guild."
"Accept you?" Yang, in her usual manner, completely ignored the faunus' polite words and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Girl, you're as welcome as you want to be. Whoo – let's hear it for our newest member!"
I grinned and held my hand in the air, to join in the quick cheers from everyone else. Nora was the loudest, naturally, but Velvet's face still went red at all the praise.
"A pleasure to meet you," Weiss interrupted, and while her voice was polite, her stature was still a little stiff. "May I enquire as to what Ruby offered you to become our Seneschal? I simply want to make sure we're all on the same page here."
"A-Ah, of course," Velvet jumped a little and held her hands before her chest. "I was fairly new to Beacon, and my salary was only 800 lien a month. Ruby offered me 1,000… i-if that's okay?" Weiss' eyes sparkled as she spotted weakness.
My lips hardened and I stepped forward before the Mage could speak. "That's more than fine," I said, and ignored the sharp look the white-haired girl sent me. "Welcome to the Hunters, Velvet. If you've got any questions I'm sure Ruby will fill you in, but feel free to ask me too."
"Or any of us, really," Nora clapped. "Except Weiss. She's a meanie-poo-poo-head."
"Excuse me!?"
I mouthed a `thank you` to Nora as she drew Weiss away, and the Barbarian winked back to say she'd caught it. Between Ren and her, they'd be able to handle Weiss' temper, and that would keep her from accidentally doing anything to offend Velvet. I'll have to have a talk with her later on it… maybe both of them, just to make sure Velvet knows she doesn't have to put up with it. We'd be doomed if she suddenly decided to leave.
Velvet smiled and answered some quick questions from Pyrrha and Yang, and it looked like the shy girl had begun to relax and calm down as well. No doubt she'd expected the worst, but I hoped she'd come to see we weren't like most other Heroes. That was, if we weren't at all. Only time would tell.
With a relieved laugh, I slipped past the three and up to Ruby, who watched Velvet with a happy smile. The Reaper grinned up at me when she saw me approach. "How did you find her?" I asked. "I didn't have much luck at all… no one would take the offer, even for a thousand."
"Hm, I had the same problem," Ruby rocked back and forth on her feet, and it looked like she was more ecstatic than even Velvet was. Maybe that made sense, though. From what she'd said to me the other day, it sounded like Ruby still blamed herself for what had happened. This, though… this was her victory and only hers. She'd managed what we had failed, and now she could rest assured she had contributed to our survival. That fact seemed to have taken a weight off her shoulders, and the bubbly girl I'd known had returned at last. "Not many would even talk to me," she continued, "But then I remembered Velvet. I actually met her once and she was really nice."
"I didn't realise you knew anyone from the Labour Caste…"
Well, other than myself, of course.
"It was after the Dungeon," Ruby said. "That wound I took… it did more than hurt me. It tore my cloak up pretty bad, but I didn't want to lose it. It was a gift from my mother." She paused to rub the hood between forefinger and thumb, a distant smile on her face. "Velvet found me trying to mend it on my own, and I wasn't doing a very good job. She offered to help and fixed it for me."
I glanced towards Velvet with a little smile. She didn't notice, of course, but that didn't stop me trusting her just a little bit more. She didn't sound like Azure at all. Didn't look like it either… she looked like she couldn't hurt a fly without bursting into tears. "That was nice of her." I said.
"Hm-hm. She's really, really nice. I tried to pay her for it, but she wouldn't listen. She just said if she had a memento like this, she would be upset too. She shared some carrot cake with me and we just started talking and talking." Ruby laughed and shook her head. "Before I knew it, we were pretty much friends."
"I guess that's the way it happens," I leaned against the nearby wall and crossed my arms over my breastplate. "At least, that's how it happened with me and you. You were the one to befriend me, remember?"
Ruby blinked and looked up at me. "That's not how I remember it. I remember you being a really awesome Knight and helping me up." Her cheeks darkened a little, probably still embarrassed at how I'd found her on the ground after her little hop across the crowd failed. "I remember you being a noble and kind Knight who talked with a girl who ran into you."
Noble and kind? That wasn't the same as I remembered at all. Was that how she'd seen me, when I was the lost and frightened Blacksmith desperately reconsidering my hasty decision so sneak into Beacon?
Ruby took the silence as an invitation and pushed herself off the wall. She stepped over to stand in front of me, and despite her small stature she took away all attention from the festivities happening behind her. Her hands clasped behind her back, she leaned forward. "Say, Jaune…?"
"Yeah?"
"I really like our Guild. It feels like a happy family…" Ruby had her eyes closed, and her face wore a blissful smile.
It made me pause, and also to look over her head and towards our Guild in question. There was Ren and Nora, who were tag-teaming Weiss in a game of what looked like `distract the Mage`. Nora would say something, but before Weiss could become angry, Ren would ask something no doubt philosophical – and Weiss would get an interested look on her face as she answered. Meanwhile, Yang and Pyrrha had managed to sit Velvet down between them and were deep in conversation. The two, so friendly and open, had managed to make the faunus open up already, and I saw her laugh at something Yang said.
The scene was so peaceful, so casual and harmonious, that I couldn't help but smile proudly. "Yeah," I breathed, and my voice was hoarse with emotion. "I like our Guild too… I really do."
"Hm… I want it to stay," she said, "Which is why… even if we pay off Torchwick and escape the contract. Wouldn't that mean the Guild has to end? No contract means nothing to keep us together, and no Guild Hall means no Velvet."
It would… the thought disappointed me somehow, and even though I didn't want us to be locked into this trap, there was a strange part of me which didn't want it to end, either.
"I don't really want the Guild to end," Ruby whispered.
"It won't."
I wasn't sure where the words came from, but what I was sure of was how serious they were. The Guild, our Guild… even our Guild Hall. What sense did it make to continue our current plan and opt out? What sense did it make to repair everything, and then – after such great expense and effort – leave?
I didn't want to leave. As ruinous as it was, as downtrodden and defeated as it was, this Hall was ours now.
And maybe its state made it even more like us. We too were on the back foot. We were weak and unprepared, taken advantage off and left shattered and broken. But we were back on our feet, and the Hall was already beginning to look like a real place once more. Were we really going to give it back to the bastard that had done all this in the first place?
"It won't end," I repeated firmly, "And we're not going to accept defeat. Come the end of this, Ruby, The Hunters will still be a Guild, and this will still be our home."
Ruby looked at me with some unknown expression, but eventually it was wiped away by a dazzling smile.
"Okay," she said, and nodded once. "I trust you."
And that was it… as though to her, with those simple words, the matter was dealt with. She grinned at me again, hesitated – then, with a bashful smile, rushed off to talk with Velvet and the others. And left me behind, to watch over them like some empty suit of armour against the wall.
My Guild… my friends, and even our crappy Guild Hall. Torchwick wouldn't take that away from me… from us. I wouldn't allow it. Don't fight like a Hero; that was what Blake had said… but after some time to think on it, I'd understood what she meant, even if that fact saddened me. She meant I should fight him like a Rogue would, by twisting the rules... and even though she probably hadn't noticed it herself, it was just another reminder that Blake didn't consider herself a true Hero. Perhaps no Rogue did.
Either way, perhaps Blake knew how to fight him as a Rogue, but I didn't.
I had to wonder though... Did Roman know how us `lowly NPC's` fought?
Maybe it was time he found out.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. I realise that the conflict has been Beacon internal for a bit, but rest assured we will move back to more... adventure and fantasy-based events soon.
Next Chapter: 6th February
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
