The final below obviously represents the end of this book – not the whole story. Somehow, I get that question every time it comes up. One might think I'd have learned by now and stopped writing it, but hey – that's a quitter's attitude.

Sort of…


Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Dishwasher1910

Book 7: Chapter 16 (Final)


The King of Vale stood with his back to me, staring through a window out over the city. The unrest had halted, but it had been replaced with a new kind of unease. A tension born of grief and mounting doom. The city of Vale was trapped between mourning and shock, cut adrift in a sea of uncertainty. After the war with Mistral, the people had thought themselves safe – only to have Raven and Salem tear that security from them.

"It seems that Vale owes you once more for your hard work, Jaune Arc."

Did it? My hard work that had seen hundreds die and Raven armed with a new weapon? I'd done nothing other than remain Raven's prisoner while she enacted her plan. It was not expected of me to argue with the King, however, so I remained silent.

"Lord Samson was found dead in his cell. Suicide. Lady Katherine has fled, and Saren believes her the perpetrator."

"They wanted to make me Lord of Ansel. I still don't understand why."

"To compound the issues we faced." King Galan said, still not turning to face me. "New Dawn turned on the crown when they felt they had been wronged. No doubt, with the sentiment your village has towards you and its distrust of the crown, they felt it would be a similar story if you, their Lord, were to vanish."

Images of my family rushing the walls of Vale rushed through my mind, or them being involved in the New Darn riot and killed by Raven's spellcasters.

"Then I'm glad they failed."

"I as well." The King shifted. His voice deepened. "Our fair city is held hostage, however. There is little opportunity for celebration. New Dawn may have been pacified, but the Greycloaks remain, their leader and the threat of Salem, which all people in Vale now know. There are those demanding answers. More that demand action. In the chaos… issues of your Class appear to have taken a back seat." The King chuckled mirthlessly. "I suppose that tragedy has a way of solving some problems, even if it causes more…"

I couldn't laugh, even as weakly as he. I'd sworn to myself that I wouldn't push it, that I wouldn't get involved, but as I stared at the man's back and realised I was soon to be dismissed, my patience snapped.

"She loved you. Even after everything that happened, Lisa held some affection for you."

"Yes…"

"Did you feel even the slightest for her?"

"Do you seek to question me, Jaune Arc?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

The King drew a deep breath and stiffened upon his dais. His hands clenched. "She was a constant reminder of my wife's infidelity. Her betrayal. Every moment I was with Lisa, I could only see that our vows meant nothing, that my wife did not love me as I did her."

"With all due respect, that's not what I asked, your majesty." I held my ground. "Did you love her?"

The King – the man – sighed. "Yes. I loved her. Despite my wife's betrayal, despite my pain, I loved the girl who loved me as the father I never was."

"Then why did you abandon her?"

"Why?" King Galan turned then to face me, and his eyes were bloodshot, his face pinched. It looked as though he were on the verge of tears and yet had been for hours with no release. A man who longed to grieve but could not. "Because my position demanded it. Because to be King is to be chained to a responsibility no one asks for." He descended the steps and walked beside me, pausing with our faces side to side, each looking a different way.

"A King cannot be sympathetic, cannot be uncertain, cannot be halfway between one thought and another. A King must deal in absolutes, for a Kingdom needs absolutes in order to function. My people need to know my position with no uncertainty." He looked away. "Do you know what I did with the two prisoners you brought to me?"

"Roman and Neo? No. Saren told me they were interrogated…"

"Tortured. Use the correct term. They were broken cruelly and left begging for death – which I had granted by the executioner's axe."

Some of my horror must have shown, for the King laughed.

"Yes. I feel much the same. The girl was young, mute and frail. It was not my desire to harm her, let alone kill her. Even the Thief caved. Had I the freedom, I might have spared them, but I did not. They had caused untold loss and the Nobles knew it. Had I spared them, there would have been civil unrest the likes of which would put more lives in danger. A King must be kind to those who serve him and merciless to those who do not – even if he wishes otherwise."

"That…" I trailed off. "How does that affect Lisa?"

"My daughter was a bastard child of another man. Whether or not I loved her, the Court would not have accepted her. There would not have been cruelty or bullying – but murder. She would have died within her first year announced as my heiress."

"So you banished her…? How does that help?"

"It kept her safe." His eyes closed. "It should have kept her safe. Knowing she was banished, the Nobles would lose interest in her, believing her worthless to me. Her life would be harsh, I knew, but it would be a life free of what I face every day. She would have been free to live her life away from the Palace, the intrigue and the cruelty."

"It didn't do much of that…"

"Do you think I don't realise that?" he snapped. "My daughter lays dead and my Kingdom is on the verge of ruin! Worse, I cannot even honour her last wishes without the Nobles condemning me as giving in to New Dawn's violence!"

"You're the King," I pointed out.

"A King does not rule alone. You should understand, being the master of your Guild. I hold a position of power, but I am a figurehead before anything. What few decisions I can make are carefully weighed against what is expected of me. Did I love Lisa? Yes. Could I have stepped in to protect her and keep her as my own? No. An accident would have befallen her. A fresh tragedy. I did the only thing I could… and it was not enough. I need not your judgement now, Jaune Arc. It could not be as harsh as my own."

Perhaps not. I looked away, conceding the point. "How did she stay in Vale if she was banished?"

"Someone aided her, sequestered her away and hid her from me while allowing me to believe she was safe. I should have suspected, given his actions in the past. He was too compromised emotionally to act with the discipline required."

"Hazel?" I asked, half a guess, half a deduction from his absence here. "Hazel let her stay in Vale, didn't he?"

"Of course. He knew of her and my feelings for her as my most trusted assistant. Perhaps he believed he was helping me, or perhaps he was simply helping her – allowing her to fulfil the dream she held."

"Where is Hazel now?"

"In a cell. Awaiting his execution."

"W-What!?"

"I told you, Jaune Arc. A King must be kind to those who aid him and merciless to those who betray him. There is no middle ground and the Nobles have already discovered his hand in this. If I spare him, I condone the murder of all those who died."

"So you'll have Hazel killed for doing what he believed is right?"

The King turned away once more. "I will."

I couldn't believe it. My legs felt like jelly and yet my hands wanted to reach for a weapon – for all the use that would have been. I thought of Ellayne and her reaction to knowing her brother was to be killed by her own King. It would break her. It would drive her to something she couldn't come back from.

"I've saved Vale twice now," I said, my voice shaky.

"You have."

"Samson and Katherine may have been traitors, but they were right about one thing. The Kingdom owes me. If a King must be generous to those who serve him well, then I have a request I would see fulfilled. A reward for my work…"

The King stood once more on his dais, staring out the window.

"As you wish."

/-/

"I'd beg you not to judge him too hardly, Lord Jaune."

"I'm not sure how I can't," I snapped, marching down the hall with Saren, the King's Assassin, beside me. "Lisa and now Hazel. I thought the King was someone worthy of respect. Seems like I was wrong."

"You cannot respect him less than he does himself right now. But, if I may, I believe that your request relieved him. He hoped you might make it."

I came to a stop and drew a deep breath, letting it go a moment later.

"Will you see it done, Saren?"

"I shall." The Assassin bowed, one hand on his chest. "Hazel Rainart will be pardoned and released – although I expect he will never be welcome in the palace or city again, and not because of the King. The Nobles will not accept him."

"Beacon will," I said. "Or if Ozpin won't, I'll let Hazel work in Ansel. It's close enough for Ellayne to visit on weekends."

"A wise decision." Saren reached out and laid a hand on my shoulder. "And if I may say it, thank you. It would have killed me to see my friend executed. And more than that, it would have killed the King deep inside. You have prevented a tragedy this day."

"But I couldn't save Lisa…"

"Not every tragedy is yours to prevent. Nor should every weight rest upon your shoulders. Think not on what you were unable to do, but on what you were." Saren smiled. "I'll see Hazel delivered to his sister's side this evening. Before that, I'll deliver the news of his pardon."

I nodded. "Thank you, Saren."

"No, Jaune. Thank you."

/-/

If there was one thing I was grateful for, it was that I wasn't important enough to have to deal with all the fallout. I'd been called in to talk with Ozpin and give all the information I could, which I did with as much accuracy as possible. Remembering every word Raven said was impossible, but the taunts especially stuck in my mind, along with her plan.

Ozpin leaned back in the seat of his office, eyes closing. "I see." The Sage looked old and worn, both due to the work out in the city calming the populace, but also the questions he no doubt faced. "Thank you for recalling all of this, Mr Arc. I'm aware it cannot have been easy for you."

"It's fine, sir. I'd rather something be done about her…"

"And it will be. We cannot rush into this, however. That is what Raven wants."

"She wants you, sir. You, Miss Goodwitch, Port, Oobleck and any other Heroes worth killing."

"It gets worse, Mr Arc. This threat is spread across Remnant, so there is a good chance Archmage Ironwood would get involved as well, along with his Mages. The Greycloaks could not hope to survive such an attack, but Raven's Passive makes her all but unassailable. No matter how many we destroy, she will continue to evade us."

I kept quiet, letting Ozpin think. Raven had been on my mind ever since her plan was revealed, but I hadn't been able to think up a solution. Send an army and Raven would kill what she could, flee and repeat the process all over again. Don't send enough and she would kill them, summon Salem and potentially doom all of Remnant. After killing her own brother, I doubted she could be reasoned with. She'd made that abundantly clear.

"Could her plan actually work?" I asked.

"Killing Salem? Or perhaps containing Salem, sealing her, if the Rune you copied is anything to go by." Ozpin's fingers drummed on his desk. "It is possible. Salem fears you – or fears the potential of you – so I believe there must be something you can do that she feels threatened by. Is this it? I cannot say."

"The same Rune was on my amulet and also on the door in temple in Vacuo."

"Neither of those `contained` her when she was summoned. It's possible they were inactive or damaged, but we just don't know."

"Maybe they did before, in the past. Maybe they need power or were incomplete in some way."

"Maybe," Ozpin allowed. "We simply do not know."

"My Runesight might be something we could use…"

"Yes. I will have Alchemist Oobleck scour our library for anything on Runes you might look through. I will also open the Beacon Vault to you. If you will need new equipment, you may take from it at will – or even create your own but inspect the Runes on whatever I have."

My eyes widened. "That's generous!"

"Not generous. Pragmatic. We must use every tool we have at our disposal. You are one such tool – though I hope you understand I do not mean this unfairly."

"No, I get it. We're all on the same side. Raven is the enemy. Her and Salem."

"Precisely. If Oobleck finds anything, I will have him come directly to you. At the very least, we should seek to understand more about the weapon you created for Raven. Hopefully, before she can use it on Salem."

"Would it be bad if she did kill Salem? Might save us some work."

"At the expense of making Raven all the more powerful. As callous as Salem is, I would not wish an all-powerful Raven on the world in her place. Salem kills those who make a wish of her. Raven kills those she feels might grant her even the slightest Exp. Raven's wish realised might be worse than Salem ever was."

"But that pales in comparison to the threat of her wish failing," he went on. "If Salem is brought into this world and judged by the virtues of it, it may make her vulnerable, yes. It may even make her worth Exp as Raven desires, but should Salem defeat Raven, then we would have a fully corporeal and all-powerful being living within our world. I cannot think that she would be content to simply slip into the background and live life as a hermit somewhere. Can you?"

"No. She'll come for us…"

Me, at the very least, because she apparently wanted me dead more than anyone else. Here and now, she could only try to trick me into taking a wish or dying as a result of someone else's. If she was real, however? Well, she could hunt me down herself.

"Raven must be stopped. Raven will be stopped. As for how… you shall have to leave that to me for now." Ozpin settled further into his seat, making it clear he would be working long into the night. "For you, Mr Arc, I would suggest rest and recovery. You certainly need it."

"Thank you, sir." I stood and bowed. As I made my way to the door, Ozpin called out one last time, stopping me.

"It's good to have you back safe and sound, Mr Arc. Beacon has missed you."

For the first time since Lisa's death, my smile was genuine.

"Thank you. I think I've missed it, too."

/-/

Stepping off the final staircase, I arrived back down on the ground level of Beacon. It was late and many of the students had been given a few days off, payment or thanks for the work they'd done in containing the unrest in Vale. No doubt Oobleck would have new lessons planned around it. It certainly felt like a lot of history was being made recently.

Speaking of, I'd be history if I didn't get back to the Guild quickly. It had been less than twenty-four hours since my time in Raven's tender care and although the resident Priest, Tsune, had given me the all-clear, the instruction of eating, resting and recuperating had been not only clear, but delivered to the others as well.

They hadn't liked it already that I'd been summoned out to the Palace. If I took any longer, they were like to turn the city inside out trying to find me.

Beacon's corridors were warm and familiar, lit with torchlight along the walls kept topped up with oil and tallow by the numerous members of staff who served the Heroes. Several nodded my way, greeting me with the smiles of fellow Labour Caste members. I returned each one with a smile as I made my way out the grand entrance and onto the lawns outside Beacon. All that remained was the long descent down the stone staircases into the Guild Village.

"Jaune!"

I never got the chance. They must have been waiting for me, because the shout of warning came one second before I heard a light footstep and two seconds before Ellayne Rainart crashed into my back and carried me to the floor.

"Ellayne. He's injured!" Hazel strode up, plucked his sister off my back and offered me a hand. He was strong for a Noble, hauling me to my feet easily. "Now," he said chastising, "Say sorry."

Ellayne kicked her foot against the back of her heel adorably. "M'sorry…"

"It's fine." I couldn't find it in myself to be unhappy to see her, not after the misery I'd been through. Without really thinking about it, I hooked an arm around her neck and dragged her in close. "Come here, you."

"Mrfl!" Ellayne punched me lightly once but otherwise didn't fight it, gripping my sides.

Hazel watched fondly. The man was as he'd always been, except dirtier, no doubt from his time in the dungeon. It didn't look to have aged him and I couldn't see any signs of torture as I looked him up and down.

"I am well," he said, answering the silent question. "I understand I have you to thank for that. Saren told me everything." Stepping back, he sketched a formal bow. "You have my eternal gratitude, Jaune Arc."

"T-Thank you!" Ellayne shrieked into my chest, hugging me tighter. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."

"I think she is grateful," Hazel said with a chuckle.

"I think she is," I echoed, rubbing her head. "It's fine. Hey. It's a Knight's job to look after his little Squire, no? Can't have my student getting it into her head to storm the palace and rescue her big brother."

Ellayne giggled delightedly and tried to crush me in her arms. She wasn't nearly strong enough for it. Instead, she rocked me back and forth, refusing to let go. I allowed it, knowing how frightened she must have been when Hazel was first arrested. Looking over her head, I asked Hazel what his plans would be now.

"I've been effectively banished from Vale, though such is not an official announcement. I've been considering my options, though Ozpin has seen fit to offer me a job here in Beacon. There are plenty of tasks a Noble's acumen might be useful for, especially with the workload your esteemed Miss Goodwitch seems to be put under." Smiling at his sister's back, Hazel said, "I think I shall be accepting the position."

"That's wonderful."

"It is. I'll be able to stay closer to Ellayne and keep an eye on her. Goodness knows she needs it with how much trouble she gets into."

"H-Hey. I'm not that bad."

"You are," I said. "You'd have attacked the palace to save him."

"So would you if it were one of your friends in trouble!"

I winced. "True, but you shouldn't try and emulate what I do."

Punching my side again, Ellayne grumbled that I should set a better example. When Hazel and I laughed, she punched me a third time. "Ugh. My brother and my master joining forces to tease me. This isn't fair…"

"Of course not. I apologise, Ellayne." Hazel's face said he felt anything but sorry. It must have been good for him to finally be free. "That said, I wanted to thank you personally, Jaune. As, I think, did Ellayne. Unless it was just to hide in your chest that she wanted."

"HAZEL!"

I watched fondly as Ellayne jettisoned herself from me and attacked her older brother. Not with fists and kicks like my own younger siblings had – she was a Hero after all, and he a Noble. Instead, she gave him the lecturing finger as she hissed about why he shouldn't say stupid things of embarrass her in front of her mentor.

"It was a jest, Ellayne. A jest." Hazel chuckled warmly and rubbed his sister's hair, or at least did so for as much as he could before she jerked away huffily. "Ah. It's good to spend time with you again. But come. Weren't you going to introduce me to your Guild? We should leave Jaune to spend some time with his, and to recover."

"Right." Ellayne nodded quickly. "I need to introduce you to them at some point too, Jaune. We should spar, too. I can show you how many levels I've gained."

"Ellayne…"

The younger girl winced at her brother's warning tone. "When you're better, I mean."

"When I've crafted a new sword and armour, too." I said, holding my arms out wide to show her just how unarmed I was. Not harmless; Raven's Greycloaks had learned that first hand, but if I was going to spar with Ellayne, I'd want a sword. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to check up on you. Look after your bother, hm? He can't seem to stop getting in trouble himself."

"Heh. I know, right? And he tells me off…"

"Yes, yes, I am the problem here." Hazel rolled his eyes. "But do you mind if I speak to Jaune briefly. Privately."

Ellayne shot her brother an evil expression. "Is it about me?"

"No."

"Okay." She cheered up immediately and skipped away. "I'll see you later, Jaune. Make sure to get better soon. Lots of rest and food or I'll hire the Mercenary's Guild to lay siege to your Guild hall and force you to rest."

"Sheesh." I grinned and watched as she left us alone. "She would as well. I can tell."

"She idolises you."

I shot Hazel a nervous look, wondering what he thought of that. "As in…?"

"Hero worship. I don't think she is in love with you if that's your fear. Perhaps a childish crush, but it's just as likely she considers you too impressive for her and has skipped that stage entirely. Either way, your opinion means the world to her. It's all she ever spoke of in her letters to me."

"Well, she's a great student," I said, heat creeping up my neck a little. I wasn't sure what to think about her regard. Flattered, I suppose, but I didn't feel like I really deserved it.

"I'm glad to hear it, but we promised not to speak about her, no? Seems I've already broken that one." Hazel's smile fell. "I actually wanted to talk about Lisa."

"Ah." I tried to look away but couldn't. Shame welled up inside me. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect her."

"No. You could not have been expected to – not from Salem. You kept her safe in the Greycloak's clutches and that was enough. Lisa's sacrifice was one of her own making and helped save Vale from a far worse calamity. It was what she would have wanted."

"I doubt it's what anyone wants, Hazel."

"No. Perhaps not. But given the situation, she felt it worth the sacrifice. Tell me, Jaune, please, do you hate me?"

"For letting Lisa stay in Vale?"

"Yes."

"I don't. I…" It was hard to put into words. I tried anyway. "You disobeying the King to hide her put her into this position, but it was always her choice. I think she would have come back to Vale regardless. She might have died even sooner, killed by some bandit or Grimm on the road."

"Perhaps, but we will never know. She might have found a new life, love, a family. All the things she lost."

"And I might have found all of those and more if I'd stayed in Ansel and never tried to become a Knight. We can't know what may have happened, Hazel. The past is the past. There's no point dwelling on it forever."

"I suppose not…"

"Do you want me to hate you for it?" I asked.

"No, I…" Hazel paused and then laughed. "I don't know. Perhaps, in some selfish way, I did. Perhaps I wanted you to blame me so that I could get rid of the guilt that way. I do not know. My mistake was in seeing Ellayne in her, seeing so similar a situation and trying to protect her."

"Like you did with Ellayne?"

"Yes." His eyes closed. "And she has told me the truth. Told me that if it were not for you, she might have died in her First Quest as well. It seems that in both regards my desire to help, to be kind, has only hurt those involved. It's enough to make me wonder if I'm cursed in some way."

Hesitantly, I reached out and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. He was older than me, taller as well, but in that moment he looked vulnerable. "Don't say that. Ellayne may idolise me but she loves you. Adores you. I'm sure Lisa did as well, just as she loved her father even though he abandoned her. Just as she considered me a friend despite that I'd lied to her…"

Hazel and I stood in silence for a moment, both of us feeling the loss of the girl we'd tried to help. Tried, failed, but still done our best for. In some small way I had to feel that counted. That the fact we'd tried meant something.

I had a feeling Lisa would have said it did.

"You're wise for one so young."

"Not wise, Hazel. Just experienced. I've made a whole lot of mistakes that I got to learn from. Your only mistake was caring enough about a poor girl to help her. I don't think you've anything to feel guilty for."

There were tears in the man's eyes. "Thank you."

"It's nothing." I patted his shoulder again. "Go on, spend some time with your sister. She wants to show her wonderful big brother off to her Guild. Don't disappoint her. With everything going on, neither of us knows how long we'll have anymore. Make what time we've got count."

"I will. And I hope you do the same, Jaune. I'll look forward to my time working here. If you need anything, be sure to find me. I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid."

"There's no debt for saving your life, Hazel."

"No. But I owe you for giving both Ellayne and Lisa the chance to be happy."

/-/

The Lodge was as it had ever been. With autumn approaching and the air growing crisp, the leaves had started to turn a vibrant shade of yellow and red. We were approaching our third year now, and even though the Lodge was a place we'd struggled over, it felt like I was returning home after a long time away. The embroidered curtains Velvet had made hung on the insides of the windows, drawn shut to hide the cold outside from view.

The interior was how I remembered it. Stone floor, tapestries on the wall and a staircase at the back that led up to two corridors left and right, our bedrooms on either side. The only thing that was missing was a warm welcome, though I could hear muted voices from the room to my right, the living quarters. Heads were lifted as I walked through the door.

"What did Ozpin decide?" Yang was quick to ask.

"We're going to stop Raven."

"When?"

"I don't know. Ozpin doesn't know how, either. Only that it has to be done."

"Damn bitch deserves it," Yang hissed, head dipping down again. She sat with her legs open wide, hands between them. Ruby was beside her, but where Yang's anger shone through, the young Reaper just looked lost. A full day since Qrow's fall and things were still rough. Then again, maybe that was normal. I was still reeling over Lisa's.

The others were little different. Quiet in a contemplative way, reserved. Blake stared into the middle distance while Ren and Nora looked like they weren't sure what to say. Pyrrha, sat beside me, smiled weakly for my benefit, but the sentiment lacked warmth. Weiss sat with her eyes closed, lost in thought as she contemplated her own ways around the problem of Raven Branwen.

I'd barely known the man that Qrow was, but what little I had known left me with respect for him. He'd been odd for sure, a Druid that had no issues with killing or using animals and fought mostly with a sword. In a way, he was like me, pretending to be something he wasn't. And while he'd disliked me initially, meeting Raven proved why. He'd struggled to see past the title of Knight. The fact that he'd come to accept me in the end only proved how strong he was, strong enough to move beyond it and see me as my own person.

You were a good man, Qrow. You'll be missed.

"When is the funeral?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Few days. There's gonna be a state funeral first but Ozpin wanted Qrow's to be private. We agreed, but that means we have to let the state one happen first." Yang smiled weakly. "Dad is coming, along with other friends of Qrow. Small affair – personal - just like he would have wanted it."

"None of the pomp and speeches. Sounds like him."

"Yeah. It does, doesn't it? Uncle Qrow never liked messing around…" Yang laughed bitterly and wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulder, drawing her in for a hug. The Reaper allowed it, turning to hide her face in Yang's shoulder.

Ren coughed. "Should we…?"

"You can come if you like. I think Uncle Qrow would have liked that."

"Then we will." I wanted to say my goodbyes as much as they did. "He saved my life a couple of times. Remember when he had the sharks rescue me?"

Blake sniggered. "You fainted."

"Hey! You'd faint if a shark bit you while you were drowning."

Yang snorted loudly and even Ruby giggled just a little bit. "Yeah, I remember." Her eyes glinted. "And then you pulled Ren right in front of us all. Talk about a happy reunion."

"It was my first kiss," Ren noted, utterly serious. "Not how I expected it to go…"

The deadpan voice proved too much for them. It wasn't the height of wit, but with how down they all felt it somehow pushed them over the edge and into wild laughter. Mine was a little more embarrassed, my face red, but genuine all the same. Somewhere in the middle, the laughter broke through the facade Yang and Ruby were holding up.

Weiss and Blake placed their hands on the girl's shoulders as they sobbed. I stood, along with Pyrrha, moving around the table to embrace the two from behind and in front, smothering them between us all.

"There, there," Pyrrha said, "Let it out."

The crying session lasted a good few minutes, until Ruby and Yang were both spent emotionally and otherwise. Weiss and Blake kept hold of them, letting Pyrrha and I step back to give them room to breathe. The two looked a mess – but better for getting it out. Together, the Guild would support them and help them move past this.

If the Guild could remain together, that was.

When Pyrrha sat again, I remained standing, drawing eyes to me.

"Qrow wasn't the only one to fall against Raven." I met the eyes of each and every one of them, noting their confusion – not to who had died, but rather what I meant to get across. "When Lisa died, she looked at me as if I was the only friend she had, the only one who had stood by her. It tore me up inside… not just because of her dying, but because that was a lie."

"I wasn't her friend," I admitted. "I was someone told to spy on her. I met her because I wanted to take down the Greycloaks and thought her involved. I stayed with her because it was a Quest. I lied to her, let her think what we had was real and ultimately betrayed her trust in me."

Pyrrha stood. "Jaune-"

"No." I held a hand out. "Let me finish, please." I held her gaze until she sat again, watching me nervously. "Thank you. I betrayed Lisa and I wasn't the friend she thought I was. And… in the end, while she lay dying, I told her that. I told her the truth."

They listened on my words, lost and uncertain. I took a deep and shuddering breath, recalling Lisa's eyes in that moment. Eyes that should have been filled with pain, betrayal and hate.

Eyes that hadn't been.

"Lisa didn't hate me for it. She… I think she forgave me. No, I think it never mattered in the first place. Because whatever happened, whatever my initial motives, we'd become friends at some point. Because there, at the end, Lisa didn't want to die with any regrets like that between us. In the end, it just didn't matter. We were friends. I… I wish I could have realised that sooner. Accepted it sooner. At least I figured it out in the end."

Looking at each of them, I considered my next words carefully.

"I don't want it to be the same for us."

They recoiled, shocked and horrified. Before any of them could open their mouths to argue, I pushed on.

"I don't want us to have the issues we've had between us continue on until someone dies – and then have it all be forgiven in our last breaths, one of us getting the words out while we die so there won't be any confusion. I don't want to have to hold someone as they waste time telling me something I should already know. And I don't want to be the one dying and saying the same to you."

"We've got problems," I admitted. "Let's not hide the fact. I lied to you all about my Class. I lied and I lied and I hid from the truth until it came out explosively and you all felt betrayed by it. And then you tried to adapt, and I felt betrayed. I felt abandoned and lost when no one stood up for me in front of Ozpin. You've got your reasons. Maybe you didn't know what to say, thought you couldn't or honestly though I'd be safer not as a Hero. I don't know. And you know what? I no longer care."

"Jaune…?"

"I don't care because I don't want this to be a thing between us all anymore. With Raven out there and Salem to follow, we can't afford to let this continue between us. I don't want another Lisa. I don't want whispered goodbyes and forgiveness." I let my arms fall. "I just want us to be together again. I want things to go back to how they were." My words delivered, I stood there, waiting for their response.

It was slow to come. They stared up at me in shock and surprise, the wounds they'd tried to hide – that we'd all tried to hide – torn open. That was how it always was, us trying to pretend there wasn't a rift in the Guild; that there weren't issues between us.

But there were. There always was.

I was tired of it.

Weiss was the first to speak. "We handled it so badly…"

"No." I stopped her immediately. Weiss looked surprised, but I rode over her. "I don't care how you handled it. All I can think is that if I were dying right now, would I care about it. The answer is no. You're my friends, my Guild, and that's all that would matter to me in that moment. Not one bad experience. So, I can forget about it. I can let it go. If you can let my mistakes go."

"Throw them aside and move on?" Ren asked, standing.

"There's no telling how safe we'll be in the future, Ren. I'd rather forgive you now and enjoy what time remains with you than let things stay awkward and only have peace made with a dying breath."

"I can't argue with that." Ren smiled and extended a hand. "It's good to have you back."

"I agree." Weiss stood as well, shoulders straight and head held high. "You make a good speech, Arc, despite your low Charisma."

"Mistakes were made. Oh well, ignore them and move on." Nora bounded up with a laugh and engulfed me in a powerful Barbarian hug; the type that might have broken bones if not for my prodigious Constitution.

Pyrrha smiled. "That… That sounds like a grand suggestion."

"Saves time with us all feeling miserable," Yang agreed, rising with tearstained cheeks. "I was never good with apologies anyway. Already lost Uncle Qrow. I don't want to lose anyone here with bad blood between us."

Ruby didn't speak, still too torn up over Qrow, but she did bury herself into Nora and my side, joining what rapidly became a group hug. Yang, Pyrrha, Ren dragged in by Nora. Weiss did not join in, naturally, but laid a hand on my shoulder at the centre of it in what seemed like some small scope of solidarity.

I looked over their heads towards the final member of the Guild. "What about you, Blake?"

The Assassin, who had stood awkwardly to the side while the others stood, regarded me with an expressionless face. Her thoughts were locked behind it, as impenetrable as they had ever been.

Slowly, she stepped forward, touching a hand to Yang's back and one to my arm wrapped around the blonde. Her fingers found my wrist and she nodded imperceptibly, a tiny smile curling the edges of her lips.

"Knight or Blacksmith. I suppose it makes no difference – you're foolish either way."

"Heh." I could hardly move, squashed by all of them as I was. "Guess so."

Maybe I was. We'd had our issues and the memory of it still hurt a little, but I hadn't been lying when I proposed the deal to them all. The pain might always be there, the little sting of betrayal, but wasn't it normal to make mistakes? Wasn't it expected? In the end, if I were to die, I knew those mistakes wouldn't be the things I'd focus on. I'd think of them, of the good times.

There was no telling how much time we had left with Raven's plan. I'd rather spend what time there was making fresh memories with them all – not sitting in awkward silence wondering who would make the first step to apologise and how.

The Guild was back. The Hunters were back.

/-/

Velvet prepared a feast for us in celebration of the fact, or of my return. Ren tried to help, but she would hear nothing of it – calling in some favours with friends of her own to have them come and help cook up a meal. It was rich – almost too rich for me with what I'd been through – but after the repetitive slop of bread, veg and fish, I savoured the venison and beef on offer.

For the first time in what felt like months, there was no distinct boundary between us all, no seating arrangement that seemed designed to keep certain people away from other people. I sat between Yang and Nora, Nora squashed up so close to my side that we were fighting over steamed vegetables. She stole one from my plate and I dipped a slice of beef in her gravy, earning an angry squawk. As I reached for the jar of more, Blake passed it to me, smiling happily as she finished pouring more onto her own.

It was a culinary massacre. The bowls and plates filled with sweet meats and treats before us bore witness to the savagery a hungry Guild could possess. Hands bumped constantly as we reached for food, laughter and teasing flying back and forth as the choicest cuts were stolen before others got a chance.

It was a sloppy, messy and ridiculous affair. But it was us, and more importantly, it was a dinner filled with warmth and camaraderie.

Wine flowed, too. I had no idea where it had come from, but Pyrrha poured some into my cup messily and then did the same for her own. Around the table, we all sat, warm and content with cups in hand.

"A toast!" Nora called. "We need to do a toast."

"To Jaune?" Pyrrha suggested. "To him coming back to us safe?"

"To the Hunters," Ruby countered. "To us finally coming back together."

"To stomping Raven's face in," Yang jeered.

"To Qrow Branwen and Lisa Lavender," I said, raising my cup high. "The true Heroes of Vale."

"Cheers!"


And Book 7 comes to an end. I know a lot of people really wanted everyone to make up right at the beginning, straight after the rift in the Guild came up, but I wanted their making up to come with a little more weight.

In a way, this book was all about Jaune trying to find his place after feeling he'd lost it in the Guild. And the end comes in as he realises that the things he let bother him, the arguments they had, just don't matter in the grand scheme of things.

As is usual for when a book of Forged Destiny ends – there will be no update for it next week, allowing me to break down my book 8 plan into a detailed chapter-by-chapter plan. This means the next chapter will be in two weeks' time.


Next Chapter: 11th February (Two Weeks)

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