Hey all. I mentioned in SWS that I would need a week off in August and I finally have the dates. Just going to mention it in my fics this week and leading up to it. That date is 15th August – 21st. Not really a full week, but there you go.

It won't affect the next chapter of this, but will hit a chapter of SWS after it, which will push that back and thus push chapter 10 of this a week back. If in doubt, the dates at the bottom will always be accurate. Usually. Only not when I make a stupid mistake and miswrite a month.

Chapter 8

Coco hadn't been lying about the early morning training for the guards. Throngs of girls in initiate robes drawn provocatively low congregated on patches of grass, between flowers or hid shyly behind trees before a large and open patch of ground marked with wooden posts driven down into the soil.

On the other side of it, a group of eighty to ninety young men and women were running around a track, circling around Collegium guards in armour who marked the corners. Their boots would echo loudly when they came by the watching initiates, then drift off as they ran the rest of the way, skirting by the grand wall and the barracks there, before completing a lap again and running past.

At those points, the guards – newbloods – would puff out their chests, hold their heads high and smile dashingly for the audience. Several girls swooned and some had already taken to calling out support for a few. Seeing Jaune among the crowd flagging toward the back, Ruby shrugged and yelled out.

"Go on Jaune! Win!"

He looked over, wide eyed, stumbled and nearly fell. Sun caught him with one arm and said something that earned him an embarrassed glare from Jaune. The two ran on, Jaune with a slightly shy smile as he waved at her. A few of the initiates watching followed his gaze and began to whisper among themselves.

"Already staking your claim?" a familiar voice asked. Coco patted the grass next to her, inviting Ruby to sit down. She did. "Damn, but you move fast girl. You've been here what, five days? And you've already snagged one of the guards."

"Snagged…?"

"Ha. Playing coy? I get that." Coco pushed her feet out and turned back to the running boys. They were sweaty and topless, with the female guards also topless but wearing bindings around their breasts. Their skin, muscled and oily with sweat, shone. "This is the real way to wake up in the Collegium," Coco breathed. "Sunlight may be a balm for the soul, food a balm for the body – but this? Let's just say the eyes need a little healing as well. And something else. But I'm sure you know all about that, don't you?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. Yeah, she knew exactly what they were talking about. Yang had as good as said the same many times. Jaune, Sun and the other boys looked a lot more fit than the guards outside the walls. Then again, it made sense the city would keep everything of high quality further up for the nobles to enjoy, even if that something was sweaty flesh and tight muscles.

"Do you watch every morning?" she asked Coco.

"Nah. Just most. Five out of seven. Six if I can swing it."

That's as good as every morning…

"Don't look at me like that. Not everyone is as forward as you. Anyway, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Ruby leaned back nervously. "About what…?"

"Just about you and your roommate."

Not her `prodigal skills` that she'd been doing her best to hide. The tension slipped out of her. "Oh. Okay. What about?"

"It's… well…" Coco scratched her cheek and looked away. "This isn't something I like having to do, but it's part of being a Warden and the Arcanists will come down on my ass if I don't. You and your roommate; you've had a few complaints, mostly about the noise."

"No one has said anything to us."

"I am. Right now."

"But you're not the one bothered by it."

"Admittedly…"

"Then why didn't they come to us?" If someone thought they were being too noisy, why go to Coco? It had to be someone in a room nearby, so it would even be quicker to come complain to their door. What was the point in not doing so? "Who complained?"

"I'm not really allowed to tell you that. Just try and tone it down, yeah? I know suddenly living with someone is hard, but people around you have to sleep. If you keep causing trouble, I'll have to tell the Arcanists and then you'll get in trouble."

Ruby leaned back. "What kind of trouble?"

"Calm, girl. Lines, detention, speeches to tell you off. Nothing of what you're obviously thinking."

Nothing to worry about, then. Ruby nodded but didn't really agree to anything. It was more an `I understand` kind of thing, even if she didn't. Nobles were weird. If you had a problem with someone, why not just tell them? It wasn't like she and Weiss were unreasonable. Well, not like she was unreasonable.

"So, onto juicier topics. You and tall, blonde and chiselled from iron."

"Jaune?"

Ruby had to look again to make sure. Jaune was quite ripped as he ran by, also quite red as he noticed her intense gaze on him and picked up the pace, pushing to the front of the pack. Compared to the guys in the slums he was like one of those marble statues of ancient warriors. But if she was going to go on muscles then Sun was probably better. Maybe Sun was steel and Jaune was iron. Yeah, that worked.

"That's the one. How did that work out? How did you meet?"

"We swam in the river together."

"Hah-?" Coco looked behind them. "This river? Or before the Collegium? You childhood friends?"

"This one, and it was two days ago. He caught me swimming before anyone woke up, and he and Sun took off their armour and jumped in with me."

"Both…?" Coco was leaning forward, eyes wide, lips parted. "T-Took off their armour?"

"Sure. Not like they wanted to wear it in the water, is it? We talked a bit."

"Just the three of you? Was it a late-night rendezvous?"

"More early morning. About three or four."

"Daaamn." She dragged the word out. "You... I don't know what to say. Part of me wants to ask for lessons, part wants to give you a lecture on propriety."

"Please don't. I got enough of one from Jaune when he saw my chest."

"Ack…" Coco choked on air. Some of the girls nearby, who had been so obviously listening in Ruby didn't even try to whisper, gasped and covered their mouths with their hands. They huddled back together and began to gossip, leaving Ruby to pick at some grass and listen to Coco struggling to breathe.

In the ring, the taskmaster called an end to the sprint. Jaune had done well, coming in the top ten. He got a shout out from the man in charge for that. Some of the other newbloods looked annoyed at his progress, but there were a few who elbowed him and whistled. Jaune was bright red and pointedly looking in the opposite direction from the initiates.

A bell tolled in the distance; one that had Ruby on her feet instantly. The food hall was open.

No one was surprised to see a small and thin figure dashing across the grass and white-pebble pathways to reach the hall. Some of the older Arcanists walking by tutted and rolled their eyes, but she – or more specifically the amount of food she ate – had already become something known to most of the students. For the first three days people would look at her with disgust. Now, they watched with curiosity.

It had become something of a morbid game to see how much the little girl could eat.

What did surprise her was who was waiting for her at the entrance to the hall. Weiss stood with a fierce scowl and her arms crossed, watching people as they entered until she spotted Ruby. She stomped one foot and marched over.

"You were gone this morning!"

"Yeah…?" She'd woken up early to scout the walls again and watch the newbloods train. "Is that a problem? You were asleep."

"You should have woken me up."

"Am I your servant now…?"

"No. It's just that you left…" Weiss looked away and huffed. "What were you even doing? Don't tell me you were hunting for wild berries to eat or something; I won't have you throwing up in our room because you can't control your horrifying appetite."

"I was watching the newbloods train."

"Newbloods? You mean the Collegium guards? Why?"

"I was healing my eyes."

"What does that even mean? Never mind. Next time, you will wake me up before you go, and I shall accompany you. It's rude to wander off alone without so much as a note."

"Alright. I'll wake you up next time." She'd thought it ruder to wake Weiss up, but this was another one of those noble things she didn't understand, apparently. It was easier just to agree and do what she said at this point. "Can we hurry up and go inside yet? What if they run out of food?"

"How can they?" Weiss groused. "You haven't gone in yet. Fine. But please try to eat with a little more in the way of manners this time. It's embarrassing to be seen next to you."

"You don't have to sit with me…"

Weiss marched on.

/-/

Coco and Yatsuhashi no longer led them to lessons.

That proved a point of annoyance to her, since she couldn't read the maps they'd been provided. She could understand the layout and tell where rooms, staircases and such were, but everything was labelled and that was her undoing. Luckily, Weiss was one who favoured arriving to every lesson early and who also seemed determined to drag her along, too.

For once, Ruby didn't fight it. She followed Weiss through a huge set of purple doors and into a long corridor. It was all built from stone, with pillars built into the wall on the left, each of them between a tall stained-glass window with light shining through, casting bright patterns on the opposite wall. The corridor was on the outer edge of the academy building, with the classrooms on the inner – the doorways occasionally placed on the same wall the windows shone light onto.

"Heron. Raven. Crow…"

The classrooms were named after animals. No one bothered to explain why to them. If they were going to do that, she wondered why they didn't use pictures. I could understand those. Stupid nobles and their writing. Who needs it?

"Sparrow! Here we are." Weiss pushed on the door, opening it a crack and looking inside. "We're the first. Good."

"We're always the first," Ruby muttered, stepping in behind Weiss. The classroom was very similar to Oobleck's, with the same pulpit desk at the front for the teacher, a brief open space for any demonstrations and then a set of desks that scaled diagonally up a series of steps, the ones further back placed higher to see over the heads of the others.

Weiss moved to a spot at the front and pulled a chair out, then pushed it in and followed Ruby to the back when she walked on by.

"What is your obsession with being so far away from the teacher?"

Ruby shrugged, sitting down. Weiss did the same on her left. Yet again, she'd chosen a spot where there was no seat on her right, giving her an easy escape route if she needed it. It didn't take long for more students to appear, first one or two at a time and then ten at once, the last dregs filing in and sitting down, chattering excitedly.

She couldn't say she didn't feel at least a little the same way, but her anticipation was tempered with worry. Yang was still out there and didn't know if she was okay. She had to get out the Collegium and let her know.

The door opened and the teacher stepped through before she could think more on it. Everyone stood, and Ruby did the same, having learned it was something of a sign of respect. Not every teacher demanded it, but it was better to assume they did at first.

"Good morning class." The woman looked over them carefully with yellow eyes and lilac-coloured hair. "My name is Arcanist Lavender." The Arcanum on her chest indicated blue and white. "You may all be seated."

Chairs scraped as everyone sat.

"This class is normally run by Arcanist Goodwitch, but due to… pressing business within the city, she is currently busy. I have been asked to take over in her stead. I am unfamiliar with teaching, but perhaps that will provide a more down-to-Remnant point of view." She shuffled some papers on her desk and looked down at them, apparently reading off something of a script. "We'll be discussing one of the most important facets of the Collegium today, but I'm afraid the lesson is purely theoretical. You will not be casting or learning any magic."

Disappointment crept over Ruby, and many of the other students. No one made a meal of it, but they'd been spoiled with lessons so far – and even the most boring involved bright lights and flashy demonstrations of skill from the Arcanist teachers.

Turning, the Arcanist took a stick of chalk and wrote some squiggles on the board.

"Ugh." Weiss grumbled.

"Politics!" the Arcanist said. "Specifically, the politics of Arcanist culture and how the Collegium fits into Vale. This is hardly a topic to be handled in one lesson, hence why Arcanist Goodwitch will be teaching you this over the course of the coming years. And yes, I mean years. There is a lot to learn on this subject and it's more important than any spell."

On the board, she drew a triangle. At the top, she drew a simple spikey crown.

"The Kingdom of Vale is a monarchy led by the King." She tapped the crown. "Beneath it, individual layers of society filter down in value of political importance. Below the King, we have the Council." She drew a line and wrote something. "Below them, the nobility." Another line cutting off a fresh segment. "Below them, the gentry, then the merchants, and finally the farmers and lower class outside the walls."

There were no slices of the triangle left, and no sign of the Dredgers in the slums.

"Now, I have missed out one group here. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Ruby raised a hand.

Weiss beat her to it.

"Miss Schnee. Go on."

"Arcanists," Weiss said.

"Good! Absolutely correct." Arcanist Lavender added the fresh word on the left, leaving Ruby to lower her hand with an indignant grimace. "Arcanists stand outside the hierarchy. You may think that the military does as well, but that's not true. The military is an extension of the King and Council's power. Arcanists, and by extension the Collegium, are not. We are independent, and we don't fit well into the hierarchy of the city – or any city, for that matter. Every Kingdom, Empire and Province across Remnant that holds a Collegium operates on the same rules."

"This is important for several reasons. Can anyone tell me why it might be important for Arcanists to remain independent of the ruling class of a city? Yes, you there."

"Arcanists shouldn't be used in wars."

"That's one answer. We hold much power and the devastation we could cause on normal troops is too much to allow. If one Kingdom were to use Arcanists, every Kingdom would, so forging our independence is a way to avoid that. Anything else?"

"It lets us share with other Collegiums."

"Another good answer. Knowledge pooling and co-operation between Collegiums is only possible because there are no political constrains between our entities. Vale trading Arcanist knowledge with Mistral carries no burden on military, trade or economic strength that might imperil either Kingdom. This is important because it allows us to work together and identify Rogue Arcanists, share knowledge and aid one another. If we weren't independent, you can rest assured such exchanges would be part and parcel of diplomatic meetings and would be weighed against trade deals and the like. It would be a political nightmare. But I'm looking for something more. Something specific to the city a Collegium operates within. Anyone?"

No hands were raised. Some looked like they had an idea but weren't confident enough to say it. Seeing that the answer wasn't forthcoming, the Arcanist turned and wrote a new word on the board. It was still nothingness to Ruby.

"Accountability." The Arcanist struck it. "Ask yourself, where on the triangle would we sit if we were a part of the city? The triangle keeps itself balanced. The Monarchy is powerful politically but few in number. The gentry is weaker but has more people to leverage that strength. The beauty of the system is that it is mostly self-governing. Cruel and evil monarchs have been deposed in ages past by those beneath them, while illegal uprisings by peasants can be put down by those above. It is a balanced system."

"Add Arcanists, however, and things become rather complicated. In numbers, we are many. In strength, we're even greater. All our spells, our wealth, our influence and the Collegium Guard combined could place us high on the triangle and might even allow us the power to usurp the crown. Everyone in Vale knows that. Everyone in the world knows it. Tell me, how many of you have been involved in trade deals, political arrangements or other negotiations between your families?"

Hands rose. Weiss was among them. Most of the class was in fact, and Ruby raised her own hand. She hadn't, but it was more suspicion to look otherwise.

"Then ask yourselves, how would you feel if you turned up for the meeting in finery with a table set aside with food and drink for your guests, only to have them arrive with ten guards, armed and equipped to the teeth, hands on their weapons. What would be your first thought?"

"They're looking for trouble," someone said.

"Or planning it," Arcanist Lavender added. "Yes, in diplomatic meetings how you present yourself is important. You come with few men and you show respect by having them wait back to make it clear you mean no harm. Both sides understand and accept this. But as Arcanists, how can we set aside our powers? We can't. One Arcanist is worth ten armed men and everyone who meets with us knows that. We are dangerous. Deadly, even. And unlike soldiers, we cannot be disarmed. A smile, a quick phrase and a wave of the hand can kill a man."

Funnily enough, Ruby knew exactly what she was saying. The others were slowly realising it, but the Arcanist's words perfectly summed up how authority worked in the slums. Junior was a good example. He was one man and he wasn't afraid to let you sit down at a table and talk with him, but you always knew his word carried more weight, because he was dangerous. Because he wasn't afraid to have Yang or the Malachites visit you if you pissed him off.

People didn't cheat Junior. They knew better.

Arcanists were the same, weren't they? You never heard of anyone cheating them and most were – not afraid of them, but anxious. Nervous. You kept your head down and did what they asked, kind of like you did with the guards.

"There are few who could hope to control us, and that is why we must remain independent of the Kingdom. If we served the nobility, their power would be unbalanced. If we served the King, he could impose his will on all. If we were politically minded, no one would dare treat us fairly and few would trust us. Go back a few hundred years and this was the case. Back in the time of the MageKingdoms powerful Mages held land of their own and ruled with an iron fist. No one could face them and if the peasants rose up and took arms, they were annihilated with spellfire. The system did not work, and we were too powerful. Too unchecked. The Collegium was created not only as a way of preventing that from happening again, but also a means to let us govern ourselves. Keep ourselves in check."

"Rogue Arcanists are hunted down because of the threat they pose, because, without rules, they can slaughter so many people – because we exist in a delicate balance. People trust us now, and that is due not only to the hard work of many but to the fact we prevent the minority who would, from abusing their power. It is rare to hear of an Arcanist using their power to kill a merchant who wrongs them. This is not because it has never happened, but because such an Arcanist is hunted down by other members of the Collegium and punished. Because no one within the hierarchy of a city can hold us accountable for our actions, we created the Collegium to do that on our behalf."

And the Sanctum was the ultimate punishment, barring death. Ruby licked her lips and looked down at the desk. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. Laws broken resulted in punishment. That happened everywhere in the city, and they were just saying no simple guard could arrest and punish an Arcanist. Throw them in a cell and they'd blow themselves out.

Only an Arcanist could entrap an Arcanist, or so it seemed. The Sanctum had to have something going for it that no one would have escaped.

"The purpose of this lesson is not to frighten you, nor is it to intimidate." She smiled. "I trust that all of you here are not planning to oppress and murder people. It's simply to show you how important it is to hold yourselves accountable for your actions, no matter how small they may seem. And to remember that people may well be afraid of you in life. You have power that they do not, and that frightens them, perhaps rightfully so. You must handle yourselves with poise and show them – through action as well as words – that you will not abuse that power."

"At the same time," she said, "Remember that you are all independent of your houses, your families and your prior commitments now. You have entered the Collegium and you have given up those past loyalties and ties. Love your family still, meet with and enjoy your time with them, but know that your actions are watched and judged by your fellow Arcanists. Remember that if a family member asks you to create a rockslide to cut off a rival's trade caravan or something equally banal."

Nobles. They'd be the kind to do stuff like that. Already, a few were muttering nervously to one another. Ruby wondered if they'd thought about that before they joined. She could bet some had, and to be fair she would have as well, albeit on a smaller scale. The temptation to break her and Yang free from Junior and put themselves up as a powerful force in the slums was tempting.

But a bad idea. The Collegium would stamp down on that. Ruthlessly.

The actions of the few impacted the reputation of the many. As Arcanist Lavender had said, she hadn't heard of Arcanists losing their temper and hurting innocent people. That didn't mean it didn't happen. They were good at getting rid of Arcanists who that did, but there was something else, something the teacher hadn't said, but had more than implied.

Evidence of it also disappeared.

"Now, I want you all to read a chapter of a particular textbook for your homework. I'll be providing you the details and you'll need to read over it for your next lesson. There will be a quick test, so don't slack."

Uh-oh…

/-/

The moon crept up in the sky as the night came to an end. Ruby's eyes snapped open, darting around the room. It was late, easily closing in on midnight and with the dormitory fast asleep. Even those staying up late to study had almost certainly given up on that. Slowly pulling her blankets aside, Ruby's boots padded lightly onto the carpet.

Weiss was asleep in her bed, curled up onto her side and facing the wall. The noble hadn't been pleased when Ruby rejected her offer of studying together in the library to get a head start on the homework set by Lavender. She'd argued the books would be gone if they waited longer and had gone into a huff when Ruby suggested Weiss go alone and get two copies for them to look over later.

In the end, Weiss didn't go at all. And she kept blaming her for that.

Moving toward the door, she kept an eye on Weiss, unlocking it with a near-silent click. The head of white hair visible above the sheets didn't even move. Her breathing was even and regular.

Ruby slipped outside and closed the door. Looking around, she resisted the urge to duck low. If she was caught, she could just say she couldn't sleep and wanted fresh air. Even so, she kept quiet as she made her way down the corridor toward the stairs, then took each step one at a time, stepping with her heel and lowering down to her toes. A few of the steps creaked, but not enough to wake anyone.

The downstairs area and the study lounge were empty. The kitchens off to the side were quiet, the door closed. On the wall next to it, a few sheets of paper hung, covered in scribbles and notes. The front doors were shut but opened with a soft creak when she tried them.

The outside air was cool and soft.

Tugging her initiate robes up over her head, Ruby slipped out and onto the gravel, wincing instantly when it crunched underfoot. She waited to see if anyone would appear. When no one did, she bent her knees and jumped, giving off one final crunch before landing on the grass beside it with a soft, wet sound.

No one had heard her. In the distance, she could see the walls and the guards upon it, but they were mostly looking outward. Those at the gates would be doing the opposite, but she knew from her constant scouting that no one kept an eye on the dormitories. Why would they? No one dangerous get into the Collegium without passing by the guards, and it wasn't like the initiates weren't free to move around inside the grounds.

Within reason, anyway. Ruby kept her grey hood up and walked alongside, but not on, the white gravel path. If anyone looked her way, they didn't comment. The robes marked her an initiate, but there was nothing to say she wasn't a higher year. Nothing to say she wasn't out for a romantic late-night rendezvous like Coco suggested. The fact she made her way towards a secluded copse of trees by the wall only added to that. A perfect place for an illicit meeting away from prying eyes.

They really should have cut away the trees by the walls. Maybe they didn't think any Arcanist inside would have the athleticism required to climb one or be dumb enough to try. Ruby, used to scaling houses across the city, shimmied up with ease, wrapping her legs around to hold herself in place and digging her fingers into any little nook and cranny she could. It didn't take her long to scale up into the branches, where the leaves kept her hidden. If there was one thing going for the grey initiate robes, it was the fact it blended in well with the dark.

But it had to go. If someone saw her now, saw the robe, they'd know to narrow the hunt down. Pulling it up over her head, she stashed it in the branches. There was nothing to say it was hers even if someone did find it.

It was a good ten feet jump to the wall.

Maybe they hadn't been so lax with letting the trees grow there. The branches closer were also thin, so thin they'd struggle to support the weight of a normal person. Ruby wasn't a normal person. She crept out and while the bough dipped precariously, it held under her.

A Collegium Guard walked by, one hand on his sheathed sword, the other on the parapet. He kept his attention outward, a wary but bored look on his face. Still more at attention than any guard the slums had been home to, but he wasn't looking her way. Ruby held her breath as he walked by, knowing from watching them for the last few nights that she had exactly ten minutes before someone walked in that same spot.

Here goes nothing.

Kicking off with her feet, Ruby extended both hands and leapt forward, stretching out as far as she could. It wasn't the biggest jump she'd made in her time, but the stone wall had a lot less to grab onto than she was used to. If she missed the lip, it would be a long drop.

Her hands caught the edge. One slipped.

"Shit!" Hissing, she hung from one hand, arm muscles clenching as she caught her breath. "Fine. This is fine. Focus." Letting out a panicked sigh, she kicked her legs to the side, starting a swinging motion. Left to right she swung, once, twice and then a third time. On that swing, she lurched up with her free hand and caught the top.

She scrambled up, using both her hands to drag up and her feet to kick off the wall. Two to three minutes. Give or take. Her arms were killing her but that wasn't even the hard part. Jumping and climbing, she was used to.

Falling off a wall and living, less so.

That's a long drop, she thought, looking over the edge. And a sudden stop on stone floor, too.

It wasn't a `break your legs` kind of drop. Really more of a `splat` drop. The kind that left a mess in the morning but no broken bones. More `obliterated` bones. Ruby swallowed and leaned back, suddenly ten times as nervous as she had been – and she'd been nervous before.

Good job I'm not jumping.

It had been an idea, actually. If her magic worked instinctively like she thought it did, then she might have been able to recreate what she did to Oobleck's floating ball things, slowing her descent until she could land safely. A couple of jumps out a tree had shown it could work, but not with enough strength to protect her. She'd hit the grass hard and nearly twisted an ankle.

Instead, she'd decided on something a whole lot riskier. At least, in theory.

Infiltrate the guard tower and find out how they got out the walls. There were multiple ways in and out of the towers, but the front entrance on the ground floor was watching for obvious reasons, hence her climbing up onto the wall first. There were two wall-entrances, one on either side of the tower as the wall cut through it. Ahead, she saw the guard she'd come up after head inside and close the door behind him. Ruby followed, trying to stand tall and not crouch like a thief with something obvious to hide.

If they caught her, she could make excuses that she was trying to find a boy she liked. There wasn't even a need to give a name. She'd be scolded, sure, but if she hadn't technically left the Collegium, then it wasn't against the rules. Or not the tenets anyway. It was a whole lot less dangerous than the other times she'd had to sneak into a guardhouse.

The door creaked open as she leaned up against it. Inside, she heard a fire crackling away but little else. She pushed it further and peeked in, ready to sprint back to the safety of the trees if she had to. Nothing. A fireplace with a roaring fire, but it was so big it could heat the whole tower. There was a staircase hugging the side and leading both up and down, likely to the parapet and bottom floor, but the middle floor itself looked to be more a storage room and thoroughfare for those on the walls.

Sliding inside, she closed the door behind her and crept to the left, out of sight of anyone on top who might peek down and inside. This tower was unlike the ones she was used to, but that was because those had sleeping quarters and cells. The Collegium obviously didn't need those in every tower since they had individual barracks. The tower was more a storage structure.

Does that mean it won't have a way out at all? I could be wasting my time. It was a definite possibility. Even if there isn't a way out, I might be able to steal a uniform. Anything to get me out the gates.

A sudden commotion outside caught her attention. It sounded like a lot of feet on the gravel pathway, but she quickly placed it as a carriage being drawn along. The distinctive clip-clop of a horse and the creak of wood as it came to a stop heralded that. The door to the tower opened and two men pushed in, each looking bored. The one waiting for them stood.

"Only you, Pat? Where's everyone else to give us a hand?"

"They had a sudden urge to patrol the walls. Probably knew you were coming, the lazy cunts."

"No use crying about it. Lieutenant-Commander Winchester wants new stocks for the newbloods, and we were supposed to have this done last week. Give us a hand, will you? Check the barrels. Empty ones on the cart, but don't take any full."

"Yeah, yeah." One of them grumbled as he made his way inside, thankfully not up the stairs but deeper into the ground floor. "We're not being sent all the way into the city, are we? Lord Commander wants me teaching staves to the newbloods tomorrow."

"Gonna knock some around?"

"It's all in the name of training. Sides, we got knocked around something stupid and we turned out alright."

"Ha. Speak for yourself. Hnhh." He grunted and spoke in a tense voice, likely holding something heavy against his chest. "Pin that door open, will ya?"

"I've got you." One of them wedged the door ajar and pushed a metal bolt into place, pinning it that way. He let the first out, then went deeper into the tower himself for more. When the first came back in, dusting his hands, Ruby crept a little down the stairs, peeking out the door.

A horse and cart lay waiting. There was no driver, that obviously being one of the guards who had jumped off to help the others. The horse was happily grazing off the path and the wooden cart was fit to be stacked with barrels, either food or other supplies for the guards. More importantly, he mentioned the city.

Ruby darted back when they came out with more goods. They talked to keep their spirits up, simple things like women, training and what they planned to do with time off. They talked about the newbloods too, calling out any `fresh ones` they thought might be worth something in a couple of years. Neither Jaune nor Sun were on the list, but she knew they weren't new to the guard.

The longer they worked, the more they got into the task. Ruby crept a little further down, feeling more confident. It was dark outside, and they hadn't left anyone to guard the cart. She waited for the perfect moment, for all three of them to – through luck or laziness – bunch up together in their lifting. They filed in through the door as three, and all three headed deeper into the tower, their backs to the door and the staircase.

She darted down and out. They kept talking. There was no one outside and the horse flicked an ear in her direction but went back to its food. Ruby hurried to the cart and looking in the back. There were barrels on their side strapped down by ropes. The lids were stacked nearby, also tied down, but not sealed onto the barrels themselves. They probably wouldn't be until they were filled with whatever the guards were taking them for. Crawling up, she shimmied into one and waited.

The guards came back out. They stacked more barrels on the cart, making the wood creak and the axles flex. They talked and they complained, and they paused to take a drink, minutes ticking by as Ruby waited in silence.

"Right. That's enough," one of them finally said. "Or cart's full at any rate. Lash 'em down and we'll deliver it to the gates."

Another fifteen minutes passed as the two guards helped to lash the new supplies down. They didn't bother with her hiding spot since that was already done. The leader led the horse back into place, tying it into the hardness.

"You two head off and call it a night. I'll deliver this."

"You sure, Gratt?"

"Aye. I'm feeling generous. You can repay the favour someday."

"Ha. I'll buy you a beer." The man slapped his hand on the wood. "You're good to go."

A whip cracked in the air and the cart trundled forward, round, wooden wheels crunching through the gravel as they made their way toward the main gates. In the back, Ruby curled up in her barrel and balanced with her feet on the side.

Hang on, Yang. I'm coming.

Okay, so I said Yang and that would be in this chapter and the plan did originally call for her to be over the wall and out this chapter (as she was) but for that to happen a little sooner in it. Earlier parts of the chapter were longer than expected, however. It happens.

Didn't want to try and rush either of those spots, and on the plan it was just "Have politics lesson and show X,Y and Z". In my head, I estimated that as "Yeah, it'll be, what, 1,000 words? Sure."

Lel.

Next Chapter: 13th August

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur