There was a time where he felt safe. A time where he felt content in the embrace of his family territory. A time lost. Despite warning her to conserve her energy, Pyrrha pushed herself onwards down the rough trails of the southern mountain pass. She only stopped when the evening glow of the fading sun submitted to the shattered moon.

They found an out of the way forested area on the mountainside. Enough space was available between the trees to establish a hastily built campsite. Jaune dismounted from Pyrrha and took a few minutes looking around the area to determine exactly where everything should be placed. With a spot for the tent located, he gathered what he needed from their supplies and went to work.

Jaune hammered in the last of the metal spikes into the earth with his shield. With Pyrrha's aid, he finished erecting his makeshift tent of patch leather carried within their bundled pack of supplies. It was far from a pleasant shape, stretched awkwardly in a rectangular shape to accommodate Pyrrha's needs. Regardless of the subpar visual quality of the tent, he knew it would hold. After all, the amalgamation of leathers composing the tent was created by their efforts when they had once been allowed to hunt on their own.

With the tent completed, there was no longer a reason to continue feeding the dim fire of their makeshift campsite. Pyrrha was the first to push herself through the hanging leather flap of their tent. Jaune spent one last moment kicking a damp pile of dirt onto the dying embers of their campsite fire before following her in. He nearly stumbled over their pack of supplies due to the lack of light.

"Watch your right foot! If you trip you might bring the tent down on our heads. I really don't want to have to go back out into the cold wind if we don't have to," Pyrrha sounded both concerned and equally amused by his clumsiness.

"Sorry. I can't exactly see very well in the dark. It's not fair that this isn't an issue you struggle with. How much of the tent can you see at the moment anyways?" He tapped his right foot around the floor to identify exactly where the pack was.

"Enough to see you dancing around the entrance right now. Maybe you should have taken those dancing lessons your sisters offered after all? Put down your shield and help me take my armor off, please."

He rolled his eyes as he leaned down to place his shield next to the pack of supplies. With the shield out of his hands, he stumbled his way over to Pyrrha. She was resting on the floor at the end of the tent, next to a small bundle of fur blankets. One of which, she had rolled up into a bundle similar in shape to a pillow.

A few minutes of fumbling in the dark later, Pyrrha was freed from the plate adorning both halves of her body. His eyes finally adjusted enough to the darkness of the tent to somewhat recognize what he was looking at. Pyrrha was staring at him with her arms crossed around her gambeson clad human torso. She still looked slightly amused given the smile on her face.

"Hurry up and get your chainmail off. I want to bundle up before we end up frozen."

"I admit, I would have preferred fleeing during a warmer season if we had the choice. Tonight's wind is miserable, but it could have always been worse," he grumbled as he removed his layer of chainmail.

Left in his own gambeson, Jaune leaned down to grab one of the larger fur blankets scattered on the floor. He draped it over the faunus half of Pyrrha, giving her a moment to lay on her side before draping another on her human half. He picked up the last blanket before taking a seat on the ground next to Pyrrha's gambeson clad and blanket covered faunus half.

Jaune stretched for a moment before leaning back to rest his head on her blanketed Faunus torso. He laid snugly between her limbs as she laid her head on the pillow blanket bundle at an angle to stare at him. The two sat in silence, simply listening to the winds enveloping the mountains.

Pyrrha's soft voice pierced the peaceful silence, "This brings back memories of our other trips…"

Jaune grinned, "Of which trips, exactly? The time we stumbled into a lake thinking we were going the right way? Or maybe the time we both went tumbling down a small hill along the trail?"

She sounded annoyed, "Jaune, quiet. Today has already been exhausting. Happy memories only or I'm kicking you to the corner. You'll have to freeze with only a shield as your pillow."

"Got it, Pyrrha. If we're going to go digging up old memories, I have a soft spot for the first time we were allowed out on a hunt together."

"Jaune, you fell off of my back at least six times on our first trip in the wilds. Are you sure your soft spot for that hunt is not referencing a possible indent in your skull?"

"Hey! I remember at least one of those falls was because you went too fast around a corner of the trail and terrified yourself enough to abruptly stop. Well, I guess it was also my own fault for not securing myself. Regardless, do you really think we would have ever been allowed out of the castle grounds together if I did suffer any serious injuries?"

"Never. I would have likely ended up shoved off a cliff for injuring you too. The Duchess made my fate perfectly clear if anything happened to you while we were out hunting. I imagine her threats may be more than just threats now," Pyrrha shivered.

"We were incredibly lucky we even had those opportunities to leave the castle grounds together. I owe Saphron for siding with me when it came to arguing for us to gain experience in the mountains. Not that those words mean much now. She'd probably ask me to collect the debts I owe her with my bruised and battered body shipped directly to the Queen. It's not a theory I'm willing to test either."

Pyrrha nervously laughed, "In that scenario, I might end up paying her back as a tanned hide. I'm at least fifty percent responsible for you managing to get out of the castle in the first place."

Jaune tapped her side with his hand, "Only fifty percent? Way more than that. I had alternative escape plans, but they were far more desperate. I mean, I even toyed with the idea of fighting my way out through one of the exits on foot. Imagine me trying to take on Cecilia with just a sword. It would surely be a sight to behold, wouldn't it?"

Pyrrha laughed, "I imagined, alright. I can see it now. You would have taken one swing at her only for her to shove the pommel of your sword into your face with her shield. Maybe knocking her to the floor with your own shield was fate? Either you or Cecilia were cursed to end up knocked out with a shield one way or another."

"Then escaping with your aid must have tipped my fate in the right direction. Couldn't have managed that desperate gambit without having you there to carry my foolish plan on your back. Our escape together was fate," Jaune grinned.

"Fate… it must have been. Hey, Jaune? Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"You told me you were afraid of being sent to the capital. That you were afraid of being forced into a marriage. It's just, you never told me why you were scared. You're surrendering an opportunity to become the King of Vale. Why, why surrender such an opportunity?" She sounded worried to his ears.

"King? Maybe in name. Don't forget, we used to be able to hunt all the time by ourselves. The second my mother decided my future, did you notice how fast I lost my freedom? I would be a prisoner to the capital. I would just be a pretty face to keep on the throne to keep both halves of Vale satisfied. My entire life would come down to producing kids and showing how united both halves of Vale are."

"I've overheard conversations around the castle. About how Queen Goodwitch is a beautiful and intelligent woman. Some guards said you two would be a powerful match. The Duchess seems to carry those same thoughts. Would the Duchess really force you into an awful match? She never struck me as someone willing to surrender one of her children on a whim."

Jaune closed his eyes as he took a moment to catch his thoughts, "My mother would choose the needs of Vale over my own if she believed it to be for the best. I've never actually met Queen Goodwitch myself, so I can't confirm her appearance. Saphron has 'subtlety' described her appearance to me on a few occasions. I can't help but picture a mirror image of one of my sisters in her place. The Arcs and Goodwitch have married many times throughout our pact. The thought of marrying someone who may look like Saphron or my own mother makes me nauseous."

Pyrrha sounded bewildered, "Her appearance played a large role in your choosing to run away?"

"Yes? No? Maybe. I'm not sure exactly. My fear of her looking like an Arc definitely played a part in why I chose not to risk losing my freedom. I don't really know what else to say, Pyrrha. I just felt as if I would regret things if I didn't flee when I had a chance to. I felt as if I had something I needed to accomplish. Something I couldn't risk surrendering. I guess none of this really makes much sense, can we change the subject? I don't really want to talk about this anymore tonight," his urge to flee was something he still didn't fully comprehend himself.

"Fine. Since you want to change the subject, pick a new one," she sounded annoyed.

"Then let's talk about something pleasant again. What are your plans for our new life in Vacuo?" He was interested in what exactly his companion would do with their freedom.

"Besides ensuring you don't end up in a Vacuan dungeon? I think I would like to try running an inn. I make decent stews if I say so myself, don't you agree?"

Jaune rolled on his side, "It fits my palate well enough. If I wasn't at risk of ending up spending the rest of my life in some quarry, I would let you use my name to brag about impressing an Arc with your cooking. Starting an inn sounds like an enjoyable experience to me. I brought along enough coins to fund the creation of one."

Pyrrha's faunus half seemed to still for a moment before she mumbled, "Would you be willing to run the inn alongside me?"

"If you're willing to entertain the presence of an Arc in exile. Sheltering me puts you at just as much risk of ending up in a quarry. You can always walk away when we reach Vacuo. I have already put you in a difficult enough situation as is. Who knows, maybe you'll want to catch a boat or even an airship to your homeland?"

"Fool…" her words were a mere whisper lost in the nightly wind.

"You're considering it, correct? I wouldn't blame you. You should have the choice to do whatever you wish," he kept his tone neutral.

Jaune did not expect the bitterness in Pyrrha's voice, "You speak as if I would receive a welcomed return. My family made their position perfectly clear when they happily handed me over to the ruling Xiao Long family when I was barely a child. In Mistral, they pretend my kind is welcomed, but we are little more than tools of war. The only good thing Mistral ever did for me was give me to your family."

"I'm torn. I'm thankful you ended up living with us and equally regretful you had to live as a bizarre showpiece within our lands," Jaune had always hated how his friend was treated.

Pyrrha sighed, "I appreciated the open hostility over the hidden malice of Mistral. At least Vale is clear in wanting nothing to do with faunus. Mistral pretends to accept our presence, while also having a history of dealings with Menagerie. Menagerie would have never existed if Mistral did not give the island over to the exiled Branwen royalty when they fled Vacuo during the slave rebellions. I could have ended up enslaved on Menagerie, instead I got lucky enough to meet you."

"Pyrrha, you lived a life of imprisonment in a territory that has spent centuries pushing back faunus from entering Vale. We've been at a state of war with the Disputed lands for centuries. We haven't even recognized Vacuo as a legitimate kingdom since the slave rebellions. How can you-"

"Justify any of this? I don't know, I guess we are similar in having trouble justifying our own actions. Today makes everything feel worth it though. Here I am, running away with a would-be king off on some mad adventure. I can only thank the Goddess for giving me this strange opportunity."

"Praising said Goddess is seen as heretical in Vale, Pyrrha," he was baffled at how accepting she was of her life circumstances.

"Jaune, shush. Nothing is perfect. Hundreds of things could have gone horribly wrong to prevent either of us from being out here today. Let's just enjoy our time together, okay?"

Both of them fell silent. He really didn't understand her point of view. The second his freedom was confirmed to be at an end, he abandoned everything. She was never even given the opportunity to make such a decision given how young she had been when she was handed over to his family. It was impossible for her not to be resentful to some degree. The only thing he could reasonably do was attempt to make up for the horrible situation life had given her.

"We'll build a wonderful inn. I promise," he truly owed her for her presence, for her sacrifice.

"I'll hold you to your promise. We need to get some rest. We might just be able to finish descending the southern pass tomorrow if I push myself."

"Just as long as you don't hurt yourself. Tomorrow is the last day we'll keep up this pace. We'll take a break after tomorrow. We still have a long way to go to reach Vacuo."

"Thank you for worrying about me, but I can keep up this pace for the next three days if we need to."

"Pyrrha, no. Slow and steady is the safe answer," his tone made it clear he would not back down.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings. If there is any sign of an airship, I will not slow down," Pyrrha sounded equally determined in defending her argument.

"I can't fault you there. We can only hope for the best. Goodnight, Pyrrha."

"Pleasant dreams, Jaune."