AN: I haven't written fanfiction in years, and I'm about to make several people in other fandoms very, very angry at me. Anyway, I need more Rosegarden in my life, and since I'm struggling to find it, I guess I gotta make it.

XX

"This mission could cost you things that you care about." High Magus Ozpin's words, while a warning, also carried concern, and maybe a hint of sadness. He studied the person standing in front of him, billows of shadow dancing around her like a swirling mist.

In response, the young woman reached forward, slender fingers plucking a honey biscuit from the plate on his desk. She popped the treat into her mouth, taking a moment to savor the taste. Silver eyes focused on the man seated before her, who returned her gaze over his spectacles, hands steepled together in solemn thought.

Swallowing her cookie, she replied, "Not taking it will cost me more."

Some of the tension in Ozpin's shoulders disappeared at her words, and he gave the woman in front of him a weary, but grateful smile. "Thank you… Miss Rose. Please. Please protect my son."

The black mist around her surged up as she began to step back towards the open windows of the college's Clockwork Tower. "You have my word, Sir."

With that, she jumped backwards out of the window, disappearing in a swirl of black haze and blood red rose petals into the night's sky.

XX

Oscar Pine knew very well he should have been training, or studying, or, well, anything other than tending to the gardens in the courtyard, but honestly, he really enjoyed it. And, more importantly, it gave him a break from… Well, that.

He glanced back towards the pergola wrapping around the mage's college, and sighed softly at the group of young women congregating at the edge to watch him from afar. Although he was out of earshot, he could tell they all began to giggle and whisper excitedly between themselves as he looked in their direction. He forced an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his head.

Honestly, he had no idea when or how it happened, but sometime over the last year, he had become, well… popular?

As the High Magus's son, he supposed this was his lot in life, to be openly stalked by young scholars who fancied his status, but really, he was no one special. He had a basic understanding and mastery of the primary trees of magic. Anyone past their first year at the college was capable of doing the same!

The truth was, while Oscar Pine may have been the adopted son of High Magus Ozpin, he was completely oblivious to the rest of his appeal. Unlike the typical scholar, Oscar was humble. He was polite, if not bashful. He was charming.

He also did not cultivate a look that said 'scholarly.' His mop of dark, untamed hair and tanned skin gave more of a roguish adventurer's appearance than anything else, and the freckles on his face were, simply put, cute. And more than once, he was found prowling the college grounds in linen shirts and loose trousers, because in his words, scholarly robes were far too constricting.

But perhaps, most fascinating were his eyes. Mixed eye colors were unusual for magi, and Oscar's irises of green and gold caused as much speculation as they did attention. And while Oscar heard the rumors, he just as quickly discarded them as just that. Rumors. Because, again, Oscar Pine, son of High Magus Ozpin, was every bit oblivious as he was interesting.

Every. Bit.

He turned his attention back to the flowers he was watering, fingers outstretched in a basic condensation spell. Tending the gardens was a welcome reprieve from his fanbase, as they were not keen on weathering the afternoon sun in their robes. He smiled slightly, moving his attention to the next patch of flowers when he suddenly felt a heavy weight attach to his free arm. With a surprised, strangled noise, Oscar stumbled back as a cheerful, familiar voice piped, "Hiiiiiiii Oscar!"

"R-ruby?!" Still trying to keep himself from falling, Oscar took another step back, flinging his spell hand up in the air as he tried to rebalance. The motion caused a spray of water droplets to scatter over them into the sunlight.

Ruby cackled gleefully, unaffected by the mist of water hitting her face as she held onto Oscar's arm, moving back in just a way to let him fumble for his balance, but not completely fall over. Grinning, she finally stopped torturing him by shifting her weight, allowing him to regain his balance. "The one and only! You were spacing out again, you know."

Face flushed, the young magus dropped his spell and looked over at the slightly shorter but eerily strong person clinging to his arm, clad in an open red robe and black knee-length dress. "You… you did that on purpose, Ruby."

"Everything I do is on purpose," Ruby replied proudly, even smugly. Silver eyes twinkled up at him playfully.

Oscar squinted over at her, before lifting a dubious brow. "Everything, huh? So you burnt the cookies you made for me on purpose?"

"Uh…"

"And the mirror you broke last month while trying to impress my father?"

"You see…"

"And the face-first dive into the pond when trying to pet the baby ducks…?"

"Listen, you!" Ruby let go of his arm, stomping her foot and balling her fists at her side. Oscar's lips pulled up into a lopsided grin, knowing that despite the attempt to look upset with him, Ruby was none of the sort. "See if I come bail you out of trouble ever again!"

The young man blinked owlishly. "Out of… trouble?"

Ruby tossed her bangs away from her face, turning her nose up to the sky in an air of mock haughtiness. "The Fangirl Brigade has dispersed thanks to my overwhelmingly threatening presence and killer combat boots, thank you very much."

Oscar glanced behind him toward the pergola. Sure enough, the group of girls had broken apart, some going back inside, while others cast retreating glances in his direction. "Huh…"

Ruby smirked, folding her arms across her chest. "See? By the way, I take payment in honey biscuits and milky bubble tea."

Oscar turned back to her, that lopsided smile returning to his lips. "Payment, huh? For being the niece of the big, scary Shadow Magus?"

"If they want to believe Uncle Qrow eats babies to maintain his shadow magic, who am I to stop them?"

"Ruby," Oscar made an amused snort as he said her name, "You started that rumor."

"I didn't think they'd believe me!" Ruby proclaimed, a hand to her chest. "Also, please don't tell Uncle Qrow that was me. He still thinks it was Nora. Ahaha. Haha. hah…"

"Your secret is safe with me," Oscar laughed. "But really, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be down in the college armory?"

Ruby shrugged a little, giving him a sheepish smile. "I was running errands and saw you. I wanted to say hi!"

Oscar's own smile shifted into something slightly more bashful and he glanced down to the grass. "Oh! Uhm… I'm glad, uh…"

"Mister Pine!"

Oscar blanched, exchanging a look with Ruby before turning his attention towards the very annoyed and very familiar voice of Professor Goodwitch. She approached with purpose, her robes swishing as she stalked toward him, shaking her riding crop. "I look away for half an hour and you've ditched your robes for… for that."

Oscar glanced down at his cream wide collared shirt and loose gray trousers. "Ah, well, you see…Professor, I didn't want them to get wet while I tended to the garden, and…"

Ruby watched him, barely able to contain her amusement as he tried to defend his current predicament. She was not exactly the best at adhering to the college dress code herself, but being a far less prominent figure made her far less of a target. Plus, she did wear a robe. Just, it was oversized, and always open, and fraying at the ends because, well, it looked cool.

Professor Goodwitch sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Please… Oscar. Just… change back. Our visitors are soon arriving and we need to keep a certain… appearance."

"Ah!" Oscar nodded, understanding the implication behind that statement. "Sure. I'll, uh, I'll do that right now. Anyway, nice chatting with you Ruby. Maybe I'll catch you around later?"

Ruby beamed at him. "I hope so! You owe me some honey biscuits!"

He rolled his eyes, but smiled and waved as he trotted off towards the college. Ruby watched him leave before realizing the professor was staring at her. Slowly, she turned to look up at the woman giving her a scrutinizing look. "Uh… hi?"

"Miss Rose, you are a very bad influence on Oscar."

Ruby gaped. "What? Excuse me! I am wearing a robe." She gestured widely at herself and her adornments. "I am an exemplary role model, and I'm not even a magus!"

"Then as a role model, shouldn't you be setting an example and tending to your duties…?" The older woman replied, giving her a withering look.

"Fine, fine…" With a grumble, the younger woman stalked away towards the main path in the direction of the armory. With her back turned, Ruby's scowl melted into something more neutral, calculating.

Yes, certainly. She needed to tend to her duties.

XX

It was not unusual to have envoys from other kingdoms visit the college. It was a good way to strengthen relations between the kingdoms, settle minor quarrels, and exchange knowledge. However, Mistral was not one to normally request this kind of audience. In fact, it had been years since they had last come to the college. Perhaps that was why Oscar was paying more attention to the dinner discussion than he would otherwise do.

He glanced around, taking note of the guards and magi in the dinner hall. Or… maybe that was it. Certainly, no envoy should travel without protection, but at what point did it become… excessive?

Frowning, he realized he had not been paying attention to the speaker, and turned his attention back to them in time to catch the last remarks.

"And so, that is why we have requested an audience with you, High Magus. We have heard the Prismatic Star is here, in Vale! If so, it is of utmost importance that we work together to not let anything befall it this time."

Oscar blinked rapidly, realizing he had missed important context. 'Prismatic Star? What the heck is that?' He chanced a glance at his father, who sat cradling his tea in his hands thoughtfully.

"The Prismatic Star being in Vale is, unfortunately, a mere rumor. I understand the desire to protect it, given what happened last time, but I am afraid we have found no evidence of it appearing here. At least… not yet." Ozpin smiled graciously before taking a polite sip of his tea.

The speaker across the table bowed his head. "I…I see. I am sad to hear this, but not surprised. We just had to be sure, given, well, the past."

Ozpin placed his teacup down, glancing up at the speaker across from him, expression unreadable. "I know, and I do apologize that you have traveled all this way for nothing, Sir Lionheart. Though, I am quite curious… How did you come across such a rumor? The people of Vale would hardly whisper such exaggerated stories amongst ourselves, much less to anyone else."

Leo Lionheart cleared his throat, putting down his wine glass. "Ah, yes, well, you see. The word came in with the trade winds, just pass the borders. I'm afraid I can't provide an exact origin, however."

Ozpin paused thoughtfully, however another voice cut in.

"So you formed an entire travel party based on a half-assed rumor that rode in with the caravans and traveling performers. Not exactly the best use of Mistral's resources, I'd say."

Oscar leaned forward slightly to look at the owner of the voice, seated further down the table. The man was dressed in shades of reds and grays, holding a crystal goblet filled with red wine. Sharp, red eyes glowed softly as they focused on the Mistral speaker. Without blinking, he brought the glass to his lips to sip its contents.

Oscar swallowed nervously. No wonder the baby-eating rumor had taken off so well. Shadow Magus Qrow was intimidating.

Leo certainly seemed to think so, too, nervously wringing his hands together. He seemed to struggle to find a reply, mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Ozpin watched, before sighing.

"I do fear this may not have been a fruitful trip for you, Sir Lionheart. However, we can try to make the best of this. Tomorrow I will arrange to have the archivist pull the Record of Births for you to review."

"Ah… yes. That would be… lovely. Thank you, Sir Ozpin."

Oscar frowned, glancing between his father, Qrow, and the Mistral speaker. While he may not fully understand the intricacies of what was happening, he at least knew something was wrong about the pretext of their visit. No one sent an envoy with this many guards to travel into another kingdom just on a wild rumor heard in the markets. So either, that was not the reason they were here, or… the rumor they heard came from a far more reliable source.

Honestly, he did not know which was more likely. He had never heard of the Prismatic Star, and the Records of Births lived in the archives, which were not open to the public. He also did not know what that had to do with this star. The Record of Births were just that, a list of every birth in the kingdom, signed and sealed by a magus who validated the birth and any unusual circumstances. Was the Prismatic Star a person? And even if it was, why did Mistral think this person was in Vale? And why did the Mistral speaker imply that something had happened to it in the past?

He glanced away, staring thoughtfully through the tall windows of the dining hall. Nightfall had shrouded the gardens in darkness, although the moon shone enough to illuminate the stone wall that wrapped around the college. So caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed the slight movement near the window. Blinking rapidly, he shifted his focus, but saw nothing. Maybe it had been the wind?

After several seconds of staring, Oscar's concentration broke when people began to stand up. Apparently the dinner discussion had ended. Oscar stood as well, looking over to his father who nodded to him.

"Oscar, I must ensure the accommodations for our guests are sufficient, then I shall return home. If you would, please wait for me there. I know it is late, but there are some things I'd like to discuss with you regarding your curriculum."

"Oh… uh. Sure." Oscar frowned in confusion, but quietly dismissed himself from the dinner party. His father could be annoyingly cryptic, but this was just additionally strange on top of the dinner topics.

Sighing, he stepped out into the main hallway and towards the exit when he felt someone fall into step beside him. Blinking, he looked over, then up, to see a familiar face framed in long blonde hair. Yang Xiao Long, a Vale Guardian, cracked a half smile at him in greeting. "Hey, Oscar."

"Oh… hi, Yang. Were you on guard duty for the dinner?"

Yang nodded, keeping her attention ahead. "Yep. Lots of 'slightly abnormal' signs going on with Mistral's envoy. Your dad has every available Guardian on standby. You know, close enough to take action, but not so close that Mistral thinks we're hiding something."

"Are we hiding something…?" Oscar replied, watching Yang's face.

The older woman shook her head. "Sorry, I meant like, we don't wanna give a false impression. As far as I know, we don't have shit to hide, but we have plenty of reasons to be not-okay with that many guards and ranked magi escorting one envoy."

"My father must think they have ulterior motives," Oscar said quietly, looking down as they walked into the courtyard.

"Your guess is as good as mine–oh, hey, Jaune."

Oscar looked over to see Jaune Arc approach, also in full Guardian uniform. The blond man waved, falling into stride on Oscar's other side. "Hey. I'm on my way to the stables near Ozpin's manor. Need to get some shoes for my horse. Mind if I join you?"

"Be my guest," Yang replied, rolling her shoulders. "With our powers combined, we can make Oscar wish he was born tall and blond like us!"

Jaune laughed, but Oscar did not actively respond to Yang's teasing. It was at that moment he realized they were not paying a social call.

They were protecting him.

Each Guardian had taken a point on either side of him, both armed and alert despite moving away from the envoy's guards. Both were on friendly terms with Oscar, but did not normally hang out with him at random. And both were exceptionally good at brute force protection.

Someone–no, his father–thought he was in danger.

He suppressed the urge to shudder at the realization, unsure of what he should do. They were trying very hard to not make him aware that something was wrong, but he also did not know how wrong that something was. Maybe it was precaution? Maybe every magus at the dinner party was being escorted home? Maybe they were just really bored and wanted to keep him company as he walked home.

As he raced through thoughts, he swore he saw movement across the rooftops out of the corner of his eye, but it was gone before he could get a better look.

For once, Oscar found himself grateful that he had slipped back into his robes before dinner. The fabric was imbued with protection magic, designed to shield its wearer from harm. Of course, the original intention was a safety net for students learning new spells, and not a potential ambush in the middle of the city.

However, despite every warning and subtle implication, no attack came. Oscar did not realize how tense he had been until they came upon the manor. Seeing the warm lights from inside, smelling the horses at the nearby stable, hearing the crunch of gravel beneath his shoes, it all echoed the same thing: Home. Safe.

Exhaling softly, he allowed the tension to start leaving his body as they approached the front doors of his home.

"How the hell did a horse get on top of the stable?"

Oscar blinked, and looked up at Jaune's statement. There, on the roof, was indeed the silhouette of a horse. Or at least… it was a horse-like creature. He squinted, trying to get a better idea of why it looked so strange when it suddenly dove off the roof and charged for them.

"Down!"

Before Oscar knew what was happening, Yang pushed him to the side. He tumbled and rolled as he heard the hooves of the horse pound past him. Using his momentum, Oscar rolled up into a crouch and took a chance to look at their attacker.

He almost wished he had not.

A black horse-like creature stood before him, with clawed front feet and an exposed ribcage. Fused to its back was a limp humanoid body with white, curved horns coming from its head. Its two long limbs dragged the grass as it walked slowly around them.

Oscar knew its name only from textbooks–the Nuckelavee, a summon using a forbidden class of magic called Grimm summoning. Forbidden, because it required blood sacrifice.

Jaune shifted, putting himself between Oscar and the summon, sword and shield ready. Beside them, Yang had armed her gauntlets, body tensed and waiting to attack.

The horse stopped moving, and Oscar watched with building dread as the upper body of the creature twitched, before snapping to attention. It tipped its head back, letting out a blood-curdling scream. The sound was staggering, sending Oscar and his protectors down to their knees.

Before the three could recover, the creature's arms shot out, stretching across the lawn towards them. Each clawed hand grabbed a Guardian and pulled, yanking them both away from their ward.

The young magus had enough time to realize the creature was trying to get him alone before he found himself staring into the open mouth of a portal. Oscar's eyes widened as multiple hands grabbed him and yanked him through to the other side.

What awaited him were a dozen people in purple hooded cloaks, two more summoned monsters, and a woman with fire in her eyes.

Oscar turned back, straining against his captors to see the portal closing, and panic bubbled up within him as it shrank. But just before the fear could completely take over, a blur of black shadows and red rose petals burst through the portal and straight towards the enemy.

XX

AN: Feedback welcome. And, no I've no clue how many chapters this will end up being. Maybe 5?