AN: A quick explanation for how this fic came to be. I frequently play D&D and other tabletop games with a few friends when we have the time to do so. During one of our longer sessions, we came to a startling realization. Centaurs are kind of overpowered when you think about it. Knights riding on the backs of plate armored centaurs would make for a terrifying sight. Somehow, this line of thinking spiraled into me writing this strange AU around April. It's been sitting around collecting dust since, so I figured I'd just toss it up. No guarantee this work will continue.
His heart was beating rapidly as his stomach churned. His gaze remained firmly planted on the blue and gold rug covering the cold stone of the throne room. He knew exactly why he was called before the Duchess of Lower Cairn. Yet, being aware of his fate did not stop the anxiety flooding through his body as the silence continued. The crackling brazier lighting the throne room sounded as if it was roaring as he waited for his mother to announce his fate.
"Raise your head, my son."
Jaune swallowed back the bile threatening to escape his throat as he looked upwards at the throne of his family castle. His mother sat regally upon the high throne, donned in her silver plate armor draped with the blue and gold tabard of the Arc family. A humble silver circlet rested firmly upon the top of her head. Her gaze was stern as she spoke in a tone of voice she reserved exclusively for matters pertaining to the Kingdom of Vale.
"With your coming of age, it is time for you to fulfill your duties to the realm. For centuries, we have protected Northern Sanus and the Kingdom of Vale from the monstrous hoards threatening the peace of our realm. Under our watchful eyes, excursion after excursion of those vile beasts have been beaten back from invading our realm through the Wastes of Vacuo," she rose from her throne.
"For centuries our family has been well rewarded! The Arc family has risen from our humble roots of peasantry to the position of Grand Marshal of the realm. We would not be where we are today if Queen Magnolia Goodwitch did not take in the founder of our line all those centuries ago. We would not be here today if Jeanne Arc did not abandon her scythe in favor of the sword. Our families have walked hand in hand for centuries and will continue to do so for centuries more!"
His mother slowly approached him as he continued to kneel on the throne room floor. The rattling of her armor drowned out all of his thoughts as he tried in vain to accept his situation. His shoulder stiffened as he felt his mother's hand press against it.
"Jaune, you have aged well and proven yourself to be a true scion of Arc. You have followed in the footsteps of your ancestors. You have worked time and time again to prove yourself worthy of the traditional role of Arc men. You would have made a wonderful steward to Saphron and would have surely seen to the continued prosperity of Lower Cairn. Yet, I must release you to fulfill an even more noble goal," her tone was both proud and somber as she spoke the words he had been dreading.
"We are called upon once more to fulfill our duties to the Kingdom of Vale. Vale needs a Princess, it needs an heir. Jaune, you are to marry Queen Glynda Goodwitch and unite our families once more. This is a duty only you can fulfill," the hand on his shoulder squeezed firmly as his mother smiled at him.
This was to be his duty as the only son of Arc. The signs were always there, yet he refused to see them until the walls around him started to narrow. Freedoms he had been allowed for most of his youth were slowly denied. The guard around the castle had doubled and seemed to focus a majority of their attention on him. Saphron, the Arc heiress, had been spending more and more time in the Kingdom's capital at the side of Queen Goodwitch. Today was something he expected, yet hearing the words said out loud was not something he was ever truly prepared for.
He did the only thing he could do.
He smiled as he met his mother's gaze, "It would be my honor."
He lied.
Time. Everything boiled down to racing against time. He only had a narrow window, a mere moment of opportunity, to escape from being chained to his fate. A stolen sword, a shield, a bow, a pack of supplies, chainmail, and his house sigil placed on a necklace underneath his gambeson. He had his essential supplies. There was only one person he could trust in the entire castle. One person who proved the hypocrisy of the Arc vows. He needed to reach Pyrrha without being caught.
His mother had announced the "good news" to the entire castle shortly after their private meeting. Her news granted him an opportunity through the celebratory mood of the staff. The castle guards were lax in their duties as he crept around the castle grounds. Most were more than a few cups deep into the celebratory mead his mother withdrew from the storerooms. Their self-inflicted stupor gave him an opportunity to reach Pyrrha's quarters undetected.
He practically threw himself into the shack, shutting the wooden door behind himself. He turned around to glance around the sparse quarters. A hearth with a large cooking pot was boiling near the far end of the room. Not far from there, resting upon a heavy hay bedding, was the only person he could consider a true friend.
Pyrrha, a gift from the Xiao Long of Mistral, and the only Centaur within the Duchy of Lower Cairn. She was one of the very types of beasts the Arc family had dedicated centuries keeping out of the Kingdom of Vale. Yet, she was allowed entrance through the castle gates as a child due to her being given as a present to the household by a neighboring kingdom. The mountainous region of Lower Cairn was the very worst location her kind could be condemned to. He was the only one to spend any amount of time entertaining her presence within his family grounds.
The centauress rose from her resting position in alarm. Her green gaze settled on him before her alarm gave way to worry, "Jaune? Why are you visiting so late in the day?"
The pack of supplies weighed heavily on his back as he strode forward, "Gather your things. We are going out riding tonight."
She trotted towards the far end of the quarters, a smile planted on her face, "I thought we were forbidden from leaving the castle grounds? Did the Duchess reconsider?"
Jaune bit his lip as he nervously listened for any movement outside of the shack, "She did not. I'll grab the saddle and help you don your plate."
Her smile fell as she gathered her lance and shield from the corner of the room, "Jaune? Please don't risk your mother's wrath. It has been some time since I have had a chance to stretch my legs, but I don't want you to burden yourself for my sake."
He placed the pack of supplies on the floor to help Pyrrha don the plate around both halves of herself, "You misunderstand. I'm asking you to burden yourself for my sake, Pyrrha. My fears have been realized. My family is selling me off to Queen Goodwitch."
Pyrrha's previously relaxed pace increased into a sudden flurry of movements, "We must hurry then! I'm with you. I won't abandon you to a fate I know you despise."
He finally placed the saddle upon her back before taking a second to smile at his friend, "Thanks, Pyrrha. I knew you'd have my back. We'll exit out of the southern gate of the grounds. I have enough mead and salted meat to last us long enough to resupply. Are you ready for me to mount you?"
Her words came out in a flurry, "Alwa-... Yes! How are we going to do this? Are we going to charge out the gate? I don't want to hurt anyone if we don't need to."
He tied the supplies to her back before pulling himself onto her back. His chainmail rattled as he leaned forwards in the saddle. Her neck and cheeks looked red underneath her half-visor.
"I didn't pack too much, right?" He was worried the supplies, her plate, and his gear may have been too much weight for her to bear.
"N-no. Everything is perfectly alright. My armor is secure and my lance is ready, should the worst come to pass."
Jaune took a breath for a moment before speaking, "Right. Well, the south gate is usually guarded by Cecilia. I saw her drink more than a few cups of mead after my mother announced the news of my future. She has always had trouble keeping her drink down. If we're going to get out of here, it's going to be through her gate."
Pyrrha's ponytail swatted his face as she turned her partially visored head in his direction, "What then? We will surely be pursued. The Duchy of Lower Cairn will not be safe for you."
Jaune tapped her shoulder, causing her to head towards the large exit door of the quarters, "Pyrrha, it's the southern gate. We're not fleeing into Vale."
"The Disputed lands? That's madness! You're an Arc! The tribes will never let you go if they catch you. I've overheard enough horror stories to know how barbaric they can be."
"Further. We'll pass through the Disputed lands and into the Wastes. From the Wastes, I figure we can take refuge in Vacuo," there were more than a few things that could go wrong with his plan.
"You'll be seen as a traitor… Are you sure about this? You'll be surrendering yourself before the Belladonna if anyone within Vacuo discovers our origin. Not to mention, the Kingdom of Vacuo is home mostly to faunus. You'll stick out!"
"Let it be my own decision that condemns me then! We'll carve out a home for ourselves if need be. You should have the freedom to run as far as your legs could carry you. Not consigned to a fate of hiding away in my family castle. We'll both be free, Pyrrha. I'm tired of pretending I'm not a prisoner of my own home," he had some level of freedom in his youth, but the illusion of his freedom rapidly eroded as he grew older.
Pyrrha fell silent for a few moments before whispering, "A home together…"
He missed her whispered words, "Please, trust me. I won't force you to complete the entire journey with me. You don't owe me that. All I ask is that you help me at least escape to the Disputed lands. I can go through the Wastes myself if I need to."
The bottom of her lance tapped the ground as she spoke with determination, "Together. Both of us will reach Vacuo, together. I trust you, so put your trust in me. I'll carry you until the end of our journey."
Jaune hugged her plated back as her ponytail swatted his face again, "Together then. Let's hope you won't have to use your lance. I stole a sword, a shield, and a bow. Should we have to fight our way out, I'm not sure how helpful I might be. Mother really did try her best to keep me out of matters involving war. I only ever got a chance to practice on the occasions we were permitted to leave the castle grounds together for our hunts."
"T-Then we are equally out of practice. We'll have to train on the road once we escape. Ready?"
Jaune took a deep breath, "Ready."
The moment he finished speaking, Pyrrha pulled the large wooden door open before breaking out into a gallop. Jaune wrapped his hands around her waist as the two zoomed through the castle grounds. The lull of the evening began to fade as individuals within the grounds began to take notice.
Time seemed to pass at a crawl as the two hurried towards the southern gate of the grounds. Jaune wasn't sure who exactly noticed them first, but a series of shouts breached the celebratory atmosphere infecting the castle guard. With Pyrrha's fast pace, he was only able to see a few panicked faces of some of the castle guards before they reached the southern gate.
True to his prediction, Cecilia seemed out of it as she stood guarding the portcullis of the southern gate in her standard guard issued platemail. Jaune held his shield out at his right side, slamming it into her armored chest right before she became aware of what exactly was occurring. She slammed against the stone walls of the castle.
With Cecilia sprawled on the floor and the other guards heading in their direction, Jaune pulled the wall lever to raise the portcullis from atop Pyrrha. The raising of the portcullis was unbearably slow as the castle alarm bells began to ring behind his back.
"Come on! Come on!" He tightened his grip around Pyrrha's waist as he turned to see guards hurrying towards them. A few of the guards had their spears at the ready while one or two were starting to pull back the string of their bows. A single arrow was released by one of the guards. It sailed right towards Pyrrha. He was sure the arrow would strike her, yet it did not.
The arrow curved right by Pyrrha's side just as the portcullis raised enough for her to speed through, "Hold on tight! I'm going to go as fast as I can!"
He held her even tighter as her pace continued to increase, "Pyrrha! Don't exhaust yourself! They won't be able to use an airship until morning! Mother is going to be furious at having to waste Wind Dust."
"I want to get us as far from the castle as I can! We can worry about the airship later! Don't worry, I'll pace myself," she yelled from over her shoulder as they sped forward.
He felt safe behind her back as he rode the high of escaping from the castle. Who would have thought the "monster" his parents begrudgingly accepted from the Xiao Long family all those years ago would be his salvation? He knew his mother would waste no time hunting him down for his betrayal. His sisters likely would follow in her footsteps to drag him back from his dereliction of duty.
He was willing to risk everything for a chance of freedom. A chance to walk a path of his own choosing. A chance not to be burdened by legacy, imprisoned by the pacts of his ancestors. He wanted to explore the world, to seek out adventure. Fleeing to Vacuo presented such an opportunity.
He trusted Pyrrha. He trusted she seeked the same freedom he wished for. Living up in these mountains was not a life for her kind. Vacuo had been ruled by those of the faunus kind for centuries after the Vacuo slave rebellions. Surely, she could find a place to call her own there.
As the two continued to gallop through his family lands, he leaned against her armored back to whisper in her ear.
"Thank you for being here, Pyrrha. I don't think I could have escaped without you. This means… a lot to me. From the bottom of my heart, you have my thanks," he had to fight back his tears of relief.
Today was just the start of their journey.
Today was just a small taste of freedom.
