Chapter 80 - Jaune vs Teaching


"And so, as the massive demon roared and prepared to swing, the Slayer leapt in, and with her massive magical crossbow fired hundreds of bolts at the creature in a heartbeat, ripping its arm off." Jaune continued, as his captivated audience listened in silence, spellbound by his tales. "And as it recoiled in pain, she landed in front of it, and smashed the weapon into the creature's head, before ripping off a horn and stabbing it in the eye, thus saving the foolish boy from the monster."

Cheers rang out throughout the dining hall, and the knights around the Huntsman raised their cups of ale as a toast to the definitely-fictitious "Doom Slayer" as he concluded his tale, who joined in and drank even as he reflected that, no matter where it was, everybody loved a happy ending.

Also, trying to figure out how to explain miniguns to a world that hadn't even discovered Fire Dust or gunpowder (except for Velvet's lance, which was apparently magic) was a pain in the ass.

Fortunately, he just cheated, as usual, and copied his new squire in using "magic" as an excuse for it.

"All right, all right!" Jaune called out, waving the din down. "That's all the time we've got tonight, guys! Now finish up your meals before it gets cold!"

The crowd good-naturedly jeered and booed, even as they complied and sat down, though here and there through the hall a few voices did still try their luck, begging him to continue the stories about the Doom Slayer, the Courier Champion, the Hunters of Nightmares and Shadows, the Golden Banshee-Dragon, and the Brotherhood of Knights with Magical Steel Armor.

Jaune accepted their complaints with a laugh that they all shared, as he quickly finished off the last of his bread-plate, and took his empty goblet to the back to be washed and cleaned (while he hadn't been able to design a proper plumbing and sewage system from scratch, he was fortunate in that the original designers of Londinium had apparently figured out a primitive version of it).

Immediately, Velvet got up behind him, and took the goblet from his hand as she grabbed her own utensils, much to the knights' collective amusement (though none were cruel enough to say a thing, even if it wasn't suicide to mock the little sister of Sir Gawain and Sir Agravain).

"I keep telling you, Velvet, you really don't have to go this far..." Jaune tried, for the umpteenth time in the week he'd known her, even as she followed him to the kitchen.

"It's fine, it's fine." Velvet frantically shook her head, adamant on finding some way of being of assistance to Sir Jaune.

Honestly, being made into her idol's squire was simultaneously the most enlightening and the most frustrating experience she had ever been through.

Oh, she was learning a lot from him about combat, that couldn't be denied.

And the way he greeted everyone with a smile and treated everybody with respect and dignity was nothing short of inspiring! In fact, the naturally shy and quiet girl had begun trying to emulate her mentor by putting on a sunny and friendly disposition in front of others, in the hopes of receiving the same friendliness and respect that he did.

Not to mention all the ideas his tales were giving her...

But he was also, at the same time, (almost) too modest and self-dependent!

He maintained his own equipment, did his own chores, and performed his own research and studies, proving to be far more capable than the Knight-Princess could ever hope to be!

All she wanted, was to be of some use to her mentor and hero.

And so, no matter his protests, she remained firm when it came to carrying out these simple and menial tasks for him.

Jaune could only scratch his head and sigh, as he watched Velvet earnestly hand it over to the servants with a wide grin and a nod of gratitude.

He'd grown up with women all his life, but for some reason he still couldn't fathom their minds sometimes.

Well, there was one thing he could do to repay her helpfulness, at least.

"Thank you for the help." Jaune gave Velvet his thanks as she returned to him, and her eyes gleamed happily at his words.

Then her excitement only grew as he offered: "Think you're still up for some defensive practice after this?"

"Of course!" Velvet nodded eagerly, even as the two brown bangs of hair at the sides of her head jumped in excitement.

Jaune refused to comment even as he led the way to the training grounds, with Velvet following behind him like a baby duckling.

After all, Arthur also had that weird prehensile lock of hair on his head.

Idly he found himself wondering how the feast was going, before shaking his head in amusement.

No offense to Sir Gawain, but the man could be a bit... oblivious, at times.

He could only hope the man didn't accidentally torpedo any of Kay's plans to hook Arthur up with a consort.

Hopefully, Arthur was having some lucky with Guinevere...

Instead, he turned back to Velvet, and casually asked: "By the way... what's your favorite story so far? Out of all the ones I've told?"

"Hmmm..." Velvet took a moment to think it over.

Honestly, all of his tales were thrilling and heart-pounding, that she could understand the disappointment of the men every night when he ended their sessions.

But, if she had to pick a favorite...

"I think I like the tale of Ruby of Ironwood." Velvet finally answered. "The tale of how she turned from a quiet and naive girl into a stalwart and dedicated member of the "Brotherhood of Steel" was truly inspiring! I hope to learn some lessons myself from that, and become a full-fledged Knight of the Round Table!"

"Yeah, I was guessing you would..." Jaune murmured, though he privately hoped that the young girl never saw the horrors of war as Ruby Ironwood had been forced to, the catalyst for her sudden membership into the Brotherhood of Steel. "By the way... you designed your own lance, right?"

"I did, yes." Velvet nodded proudly. "Ira Lupus was designed with the help of my mother, after I heard tales of the power of Rhongomyniad! Unfortunately, since I am not a Magus, I require an external power source to activate it's true potential. Also, I'm not sure how to concentrate its power into a beam..."

"That's still really impressive!" Jaune hummed, even as he wondered if he should disassemble his 5.56mm pistol and see if he could learn anything from it that would let him give her some design pointers.

"Thank you, Sir Jaune!" Velvet beamed, cheered once more, and there was an additional skip in her step as she continued behind him.

Just before they reached the training grounds, however, a thought struck her, and she hesitantly inquired: "By the way... Sir Jaune?"

"Hmmm?" Jaune turned around to her. "What's wrong?"

"I've just noticed, but..." Velvet couldn't help her curiosity. "Why do all your stories seem to have a foolish young boy who somehow gets involved in the tales of the heroes?"

"Uhhh..." Jaune couldn't help but rub the back of his head sheepishly, trying to figure out how to answer that question. "... someone has to tell the stories of those heroes?"

"Is that so..." Velvet murmured, studying Jaune closely. She'd noticed that, when he told his tales, his face would sometimes relax and loosen, as if he were lost in memory, which made her wonder if they were based on things he had personally experienced.

But that was impossible, right? His stories were so absurd and fanciful that they had to be oral traditions! Really detailed oral traditions...

Jaune simply laughed it off awkwardly even as he fought down the pangs of nostalgia in his heart, ruffling Velvet's hair as he reassured her: "Don't worry about it. They're just stories, after all."

Velvet decided to take his words at face value, between her faith in Sir Jaune and the simple fact that she saw no reason for him to lie.

Any further conversation was derailed when they reached the training grounds, and Jaune picked up a wooden sword while she picked up a training blade of her own and an iron shield, knowing full-well how strong Sir Jaune was.

As the two got into their usual position, Jaune took a moment to go over the their training once again: "All right, so, I'm going to start attacking you. Remember, there's no need to take a blow head-on, when you can simply re-direct it and counter-attack."

Velvet nodded even as she raised her weapons, and tried to remember how she'd seen him fight before.

She still wasn't confident she could pull it off, but between his gentle encouragement and patient smile, she was determined to show that he hadn't been wasting his time with her.

As he raised his own sword, Velvet immediately tensed, and assumed the defensive stance she'd seen Jaune use numerous times throughout their spars.

-KINGDOM OF GWENT-

"That could have gone better..." A mortified Artoria muttered to herself, even as she hugged her knees close to her chest, and quietly watched the calm lake.

For some reason, the crescent moon reflected against the bright blue waters made her heart throb, though she herself couldn't say why.

After a moment of contemplation, she sighed, and wondered out loud: "What on earth am I doing..."

"Artoria?" A voice tinged with concern, and Artoria's ears immediately pricked up, as familiar footsteps began to draw close to her position.

"There you are!" Kay breathed a sigh of relief, as he stepped into the clearing, and found his baby sister at the water's edge, looking at it wistfully. Thank God he knew how his sister liked to sulk...

"Hey, Kay..." Artoria called out glumly, not bothering to turn and look at him. "How bad is it?"

"How bad is...?" Kay had to take a moment to figure out what she meant. Then he sighed and shook his head.

Of course that would be her first question.

"Don't worry about it, Artoria." Kay reassured her, lightly patting her on the head as he stopped next to her. "I just told them you weren't feeling well, and needed to step outside for a moment for some fresh air. After what happened to Sir Bedivere, they found my logic more than plausible."

"... thanks, Kay." Artoria said softly, even as Kay took a moment to say a prayer for Sir Bedivere, whose stomach had finally been unable to withstand Gawain's meals. Truly, Artoria was blessed, that Avalon protected her from the worst of it (not that most people knew about the scabbard, of course, or his excuse wouldn't have ever flown); him and most of the men had taken to tossing their meals into the forests when Gawain had his back turned, and even now Kay privately wondered if the vegetation would ever grow back.

"No problem, sis." Kay ruffled her hair, and they spent a moment in companionable silence, watching the reflection of the night sky in the lake.

Finally, though, an impatient Kay prompted: "So... want to tell me what happened?"

"There's really nothing to tell..." Artoria looked away, ashamed by her conduct.

She and her starving retinue had arrived at Gwent earlier that morning, whereupon they'd immediately taken advantage of King Cywryd's hospitality to get a meal that stimulated their appetites and not their gag reflexes, and prepared themselves for the feast in the evening, as had been expected.

And nothing had gone wrong during their preparations for the feast, either.

The cause of her frayed temper and tried patience had begun during the feast itself, beginning with her being forced to invite Lady Guinevere to a dance at Gawain's instigation.

Oh, Lady Guinevere was an an excellent conversationalist, and Artoria would have been more than happy to have called her a friend, don't get her wrong.

And her dancing skills were probably one of the best in the land.

But, for some reason, as she'd taken her hand and led her in a simple waltz across the floor, all she could think about, was that she wished she was dancing with a different partner.

And things hadn't been helped as she'd had to endure suggestive remarks and innuendos from both the gathered lords and nobles, not to mention Gawain (whose idea of subtlety had been to "merely" wink, nudge King Leodegrance, and "softly" remark on what a "jolly good couple they look like").

If that had been all, however, Artoria would have been more than able to grin and bear it.

If that had been all, Artoria's impeccable facade would never have cracked.

However, as the dance had ended, and she'd made her way back to the table, she'd had the misfortune of overhearing Merlin and Kay discussing matters of the heart with Hengist and Horsa.

Specifically, Hengist and Horsa were asking Kay for assistance in marrying their other daughters to Siegfried Reborn, while Merlin observed with amused interest and no small amount of envy.

After her mind had processed their conversation, she'd been unable to do more than beat a hasty retreat, her gaze sharp as her sword and her tone as cold as the Nameless Blade's.

"It didn't look like "nothing" to me, Artoria." Kay spoke gently, sitting himself down next to her. "You may be able to fool the others, but I've known you since you were a baby, sis. You can't fool me."

"... I don't know, Kay." Artoria finally admitted, even as her mask slipped away, and the confused little girl, in way over her head, revealed itself. "I-I just overheard your conversation with Hengist and Horsa, and I..."

"..." Kay took a moment to recall his conversation with the two foreigners, before it finally struck him. Sighing deeply, he inquired: "Artoria... do you know why I keep encouraging you to court your familiar?"

"Because you enjoy teasing me?" Artoria countered rhetorically, in a tone of glum resignation.

"Idiot." Kay flicked her unique lock of prehensile hair. As she looked up at him, irritated and feigning woundedness, he asked: "Remember Pellinore's feast, after the Slaying of the Questing Beast?"

Artoria nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

"And remember how I walked in on you, practicing your dancing with Jaune?" Kay reminded her.

"... yes, Kay, I remember that." Artoria groaned in embarrassment.

"Okay, hold that thought." Kay continued. "Now, face the lake, and close your eyes."

"Kay..." Artoria grumbled.

"Just do it, okay, sis?" Kay urged her.

Artoria sighed, but closed her eyes.

"Now, remember that moment." Kay instructed her. "Remember yourself holding him, and him holding you."

Artoria's brows furrowed, but she complied, a feeling of warmth suffusing through her as she did so.

"One, two, three..."

Artoria began humming to the tune, as she recalled patiently him calling out the beat.

"One, two, three..."

Her worries and burdens slowly melted away, replaced by a feeling of comfort and security as she felt herself being gently guided by him.

"One, two, three..."

And then, just like that, she relaxed, as there was nothing in the world, but him and her.

"One, two, three... and we're done!"

"You can open your eyes now, Artoria." Kay's wry voice slowly roused her from her trance, and she reluctantly followed, as the vision ended.

The face of a maiden looked stared back at her, reflected by the moonlit lake.

Artoria couldn't recognize it, between the half-lidded emerald eyes that gazed warmly at her, the flushed cheeks, and the loose smile on the lady's relaxed face.

"Artoria... that's the exactly the expression you wore, when you were dancing with him." Kay explained. "It's the same expression you wore when the two of you were taking care of Saber... and it's the expression that wasn't on your face, when you danced with Lady Guinevere. She and the rest of the guests may have been fooled by your polite smile and friendly eyes, but I'm not. And you shouldn't be, either."

"... what do I do, Kay?" Artoria begged desperately, feeling as lost and confused as when she'd first been told about her destiny, and the price of drawing the Sword from the Stone.

"I already told you." Kay reminded her. "Tell him your secret, Artoria. And then start courting him."

"... doesn't the man usually court the woman?" Artoria asked, giving his words proper, serious, consideration for the first time (as opposed to all the other times, where she'd just made excuses and buried it with her femininity and feelings).

Kay merely snorted, before stating: "You may be a woman, Artoria, but you're no lady-in-waiting."

Artoria childishly pulled a face at her brother, before looking back down at the bright blue waters, illuminated by the golden light of the moon, as she spent a moment idly contemplating courtship.

Then her face fell, as she regained her composure, and the reflection of King Arthur of the Britons stared back at her.

"Kay... what about being King?" Artoria weakly asked. "How can I be the perfect King while courting Jaune, Kay?"

Kay groaned in exasperation.

So close...

Before he could tell her what Merlin had told him, however, that the sex of the King didn't truly matter, a messenger from the castle ran up to them, shouting: "King Arthur! Sir Kay! An army of Picts and Scots have been spotted near Listenoise! King Pellinore calls for aid!"


Author's Note: Just another short chapter, as things begin to be set in motion.

The way Jaune tells his stories... I feel like one of the issues he has, is that he doesn't actually see himself as the hero of the story. He knows he's helped people, and he's chasing his dreams of being a hero... but he still sees himself as an outsider, a supporting character, the sidekick to the various heroes he aids. Something that plays a big part in this is that, when you think about it... he's never actually seen the fruits of his labors yet. He doesn't know that Teams RWBY and JNPR used the recording he took of the Fall to defeat Cinder at Haven, or that he basically inspired Team CRDL with his sacrifice. He's never seen a Skyrim free from dragons. He didn't get to see the Capital Wasteland rebuild after the Enclave invasion (though Ruby did tell him some of it). He never got to see House's vision for the Mojave wasteland after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. And he got betrayed by Samuel Hayden after they defeated the Spider Mastermind. He doesn't see himself as the guy who saves the day; he sees himself as the guy who makes the sacrifice play to buy his friends, the real heroes, the chance to do what they were meant to.

The Gun Lance... that one's actually from the Type-Moon wiki on Gareth. Apparently, it's a cavalry lance that was modified with multiple enhancements... presumably by Merlin, in the original timeline. Here, seeing how she's a princess, and is based on Velvet (who designed Anesidora herself)... I'm just going to say she got inspired by the tales of the pillar of golden light that the holy lance Rhongomyniad fired, and with Morgan's help (and the resources available to a daughter of King Lot of Lothian and/or Orkney) designed and created Ira Lupus to fire a blast of magical energy using blue ether (since Velvet doesn't have anywhere near the same Od reserves as Artoria). Of course, since it lacks a muzzle to focus it, the blast is far more akin to an explosion, than a concentrated beam...

Another thing this version of Velvet carries over from the original is that she has the ability to memorize and copy the fighting styles of other people. Granted, unlike Velvet Scarlatina, who cheats with her Semblance (Photographic Memory), this version of Velvet takes a lot longer to observe and memorize a fighting style. You know, come to think of it, as I was writing this chapter, I realized that she reminded me a lot of Ruby Ironwood, in that she's copying Jaune's fighting style and is a weapon designer. Though, in this case, she's copying his shield techniques, while Ruby was a disciple of the Arc School of Swordplay. Gotta wonder what would happen if they ever meet...

And Artoria. Poor Artoria. She's a girl trapped on the cusp of adulthood, with all the hormones that implies (and that's before you remember she's also technically half-dragon). And perhaps, in another world, she'd have been able to sufficiently bury her femininity and emotions enough to ignore and pretend to be a man. But here? Her heart still has sway, and it knows what it wants, even if her brain doesn't. Maybe if she lost Avalon for a year (or three), and let her body actually finish puberty...

But then again, that would kind of make it very hard for her to pretend to be a man, wouldn't it?

On a side note, writing that conversation between Artoria and Kay? That took up 75% of the time spent writing this chapter. I'm not exaggerating, by the way. The scenes with Jaune and Velvet are easy. Artoria suffering from the antics of the other Knights of the Round Table are simple enough. But that single conversation? There's a reason I always complain about writing dialogue.