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Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 51

Ruby stared down at the paper.

As suspicious as it was, as much as she was probably meant to be subtle, she couldn't help doubling back. The entrance hall was mostly empty anyway, so she hurried back over to the desk and tapped on the wood to get the man's attention.

"Ah," he said, smiling. "I believe I know you. Juniper…?"

Ruby's smile faltered. This felt too familiar. "It's Ruby."

"Ruby. Of course. The name is familiar. You're…" His eyes dipped a little. "Ah, the sash. Are you finished in the Sanctum tonight? I can sign you out."

"I only just arrived."

"Did you?" He hummed and looked down at his hands. "Was there something you needed then?"

"Yes. You gave me this letter a moment ago."

Nicholas frowned, looking at the envelope she offered up. "Did I…?"

"Yes. Don't you remember?"

"I'm afraid not. When was this, yesterday? A week ago? I do have a lot to work on and-"

"It was about three minutes ago!"

He looked shocked. Maybe even a little hurt. The man who looked old enough to be a grandparent leaned back and looked down at the book he was working in, eyes narrowed as if in thought. He didn't speak, even when she gave him a minute.

Ruby tried instead. "You said you have a son."

"A son? I don't – oh." He looked up. "I… I believe I do. James. No, Jayne." He scrunched his eyes shut. "J-Jaune. My son's name is Jaune." The recollection almost appeared to cause him physical pain. "He's… How old must he be now? Nine? Ten. It feels like only yesterday he bounced in my lap."

"He's eighteen."

"Oh." Nicholas Arc stared over her head. "Oh…"

"You said they're going to make him like you. You said I had to `save` him. What did you mean?"

"Did I say that? I don't remember saying that."

Ruby bit her lip and resisted the urge to shout. "Can you think of any reason I might need to save him?"

"Not really." The man chuckled. "Everything is fine. Did you need to sign out by the way? I can do that for you if you like."

"I'm…" Ruby sighed, closed her eyes and gave up. "No, it's fine. Thank you for signing me in, sir."

"No problem, Juniper. Have fun."

Ruby trudged back into the Sanctum without correcting him, unsure if she should feel frustrated or worried. There hadn't been any answers to her questions, but that was kind of an answer in itself. The words `they will make my son like me` suddenly sounded a lot more ominous after trying to speak with him.

She'd known something was up with Nicholas since the first time she met him, but she'd assumed it was a disability. Things like that did happen in the Slums, though no one who ended up that way ever survived the year. A lack of reaction when the floods came saw to that. She'd seen one or two who ended up that way after injuries or sickness, though, and she knew some people could be born that way.

The Noble families could afford to try and keep those people alive, but she could just imagine them wanting to hide the stain on their honour. When blood was important, you probably didn't want to suggest anything was sickly about yours. Having someone like that work in the Sanctum where they could be relatively safe, have a good life and stay out of the public eye seemed like the perfect solution. As such, she'd never bothered to question it. Nicholas Arc's mental faculties deteriorated, and his family whisked him away to somewhere he'd be safe and hidden. A cruel story, but a simple one.

"They will make my son like me…" Ruby shivered. "That implies this was intentional. Or that someone did it to him. And who are they? The Sanctum Guards?"

Why would someone do this? It could work as a punishment, she supposed, but then wouldn't it also be a perfect way to control Wildmages? Why use it on your own guards? That was assuming it was intentional at all. It could be an accident.

What am I meant to do now? I only came to see Cinder and Adam and now Jaune needs my help too? I'm only one person!

Stuffing the letter in her pocket, Ruby tugged the purple sash around her shoulders and pushed deeper into the Sanctum, heading for where Cinder often waited for her. Cinder's room was a bust, but she went to the library instead, the first place she'd met her, and quickly spotted her in the corner with a familiar person. Adam was sat across from her, the two speaking. The rest of the small library was quiet and abandoned, the two speaking by candlelight. Ruby hurried over.

Adam heard her before she arrived. His body tensed and he reached down for a sword that wasn't there before fully recognising her and relaxing. Cinder followed his gaze, eyes widening slightly before she smiled and set her book down.

"Cinder!" Ruby gasped, ambushing her with a quick hug that the woman confusedly returned. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, though I was glad you never came back as a prisoner." Cinder rubbed her back before letting go. "And I see you've been making friends, too." Her eyes slid to Adam.

"It took her a while to accept I was telling the truth," the faunus said.

"I believe it easily enough," Cinder replied haughtily. "I simply refused to acknowledge it until I was certain of his loyalty. He could have been an Arcanist in disguise trying to trip me up, and then Ruby would have been thrown into the Sanctum herself."

"It's not as though I could prove I was a Wildmage here," Adam said. He saw Ruby staring at his face and touched the ugly purple welt above his left eye. "It hurts less than you'd think. Most of the other injuries have already healed."

Ruby bit her lip. "Still…"

"I warned you of this. I told you to not react whatever they did to me. I was prepared for the pain of a beating and they didn't surprise me with anything else." Chuckling, he drank from the silver cup on the table. "This place is just as opulent as the Sanctum in Menagerie. A gilded cage for prize hens. Even the Sanctum Guards feel identical, as though they're the same people."

"Are they?" Ruby asked quickly.

Adam appeared surprised by the question. "No. It was an exaggeration. I meant that they're all empty-headed and dull. There's not a lick of personality between them, but then that's how it's always been. Perhaps they don't see us as people."

Or perhaps, Ruby thought anxiously, There's something deeply wrong with them.

"I don't want to speak about the Sanctum Guards," Cinder said pointedly. "And instead about this frankly hairbrained scheme you've proposed to dear Adam here, Ruby." Looking around and lowering her voice, she hissed, "You cannot think to free us from this place."

"I am."

"You're not!" she snapped. "You've lost your senses."

Ruby stepped back a little, more hurt than she was willing to admit. "Why…?" she asked quietly.

"Why? Because what you're suggesting is going against the Collegium. Against all of the Collegiums. You'd make an enemy of every Arcanist on Remnant and become the most hunted figure in the land. You would never find peace. You will never be able to settle down. Your entire life would be one of pain, fear and constant movement. And for what?" she snapped. "To free us from here? No. I won't allow it. You are forbidden from even thinking it."

"Ruby and I have an accord," Adam said dangerously.

"I made a promise," Ruby agreed. "And I always wanted to help you out-"

"Don't," Cinder said, mercilessly cutting the idea down. "I hate it here and I would love nothing more than to make them suffer for what they did to me, but that is not worth you throwing your entire life away. Mine is over, Ruby. I entered as a child and am a grown woman now. Even were I free, what would I have? No family, no loved ones and no knowledge of the world outside. I'd die within days, hunted down and slain by an Arcanist."

Adam was watching her warily, eyes narrowed and finger drumming on the table. It was obvious what he wanted to hear. Ruby swallowed and stared down at the floor. It'd been weeks since she got to see Cinder in person and this kind of reception wasn't what she'd expected.

"I-I have something else I needed to ask you. One of the Sanctum Guards gave me a letter…"

"Do you think I can't spot an attempt to divert the conversation?" Cinder asked crossly. "You haven't yet promised me you'll throw away this foolish idea of yours."

Adam interrupted with a loud scoff. "I didn't realise the two of you were related."

Cinder frowned. "We're not."

"Really? You could have fooled me. You act like you're her mother."

"I do nothing of the sort!"

Cinder dove into an explanation of exactly what she was doing and how aggravating Adam was, entirely ignoring Ruby. It took her a second to notice the tiny smile Adam sent her way. Did he distract her on purpose so I wouldn't have to say anything? I guess he still wants to be free of this place.

That wouldn't change. Maybe Cinder was worried for her, but it wasn't just the three of them. This was every Wildmage ever. This was however many people there were in a generation born with this power. If she ignored it, they'd all be hunted down.

"Anyway," Ruby said, sliding in when Cinder paused to take a breath. "I got a strange letter from the Sanctum Guard at the front desk today." She handed it to Cinder, who laid it out on the table with a glare towards Adam. "Aside from the fact it came out of nowhere, what it says is pretty… uh… disturbing."

"They will make my son like me. It has already begun. Save him." Cinder frowned. "Is this it?"

"Try the other side too," Ruby prompted.

"Other side? What does- w-what is this!?" Cinder recoiled from the scrawled mess covering the back of the letter. The pleas, the attempts to remind himself and the questions that dotted the parchment.

"It's like the writings of a mad man," Adam commented.

"Or someone trying to remember who he is," Ruby said. "He's forgetful. Like, really forgetful. I was talking to him and he kept forgetting who I was, what we were talking about and even the fact he gave me the letter in the first place."

"The Sanctum Guards are strange," Cinder said. "I always thought they didn't care to remember our names or rooms but looking back it is rather strange how they never seem to remember things. Then again, I never cared enough to speak with them." Cinder looked up with narrowed eyes. "Who is this `son` he speaks of? He acts as though you know him."

"He's a friend."

Cinder didn't look pleased. "You're friends with a Huntsman!?"

"What? No!" Ruby laughed. "He's a Sanctum Guard and a Newblood for the guards outside-"

"Sanctum Guards are Huntsmen, you idiot." Cinder sighed dramatically and slapped a hand to her forehead. When she saw Ruby's open mouth, she practically growled. "Did you never realise that? Who else would they trust to fight and keep dangerous Arcanists and Wildmages prisoner than those who cannot be affected by our magic? You must think, Ruby."

"I… I didn't know. No one ever told me!"

Jaune was a Huntsman? He couldn't be. But… The way he won that duel for her with Malneux – he'd definitely been hit by the spell from the Crimson Arcanist, but it did nothing. The blood drained from her face. The Arcanist had surrendered immediately after – he must have realised what Jaune was even if no one else there did.

How had she not noticed? Why hadn't he said anything?

"It should have been obvious!" Cinder spat. "Did you not even once try to use your power on him?"

"No. Why would I? He's a friend."

"A Wildmage calling a Huntsman friend," Cinder bemoaned. "What's next? An Arcanist of the White?"

Ruby knew better than to answer that.

"It will keep her cover," Adam pointed out. "No one would expect it."

"Only because it's so poor an idea! Ruby, they are trained to notice Wildmages. That he hasn't already is proof of how well you're staying hidden, but it won't last. Secrets never do." Cinder took the letter and handed it back to her. "If this friend of yours is going to end up like his father, perhaps that is a good thing. He'll forget you and that will remove the chance of him exposing you."

"But he's my friend…"

"He's a Huntsman. His `friendship` with you will switch the second he realises what you are. Forget him. He'll soon forget you by the sounds of things." Ruby stared at the letter in her hand, crumpling it tight between her fingers. Cinder sighed and leant back. "Such a confusing mess this is, but at least this issue is dealt with."

Adam seemed to recognise it wasn't. He watched Ruby curiously but didn't rat her out. "How are Huntsmen made?" he asked instead. "If he studies here, he must be from a noble family."

"He is," Ruby said. "He's in line for the throne."

"As is almost everyone within the upper half of the families," Cinder said dismissively. "Even I was probably in line somewhere down the line. It only matters if you're in the top one hundred, and even then, only for boasting. Unless a crisis wipes out the Royal Family, it only matters for reputation. As for how they're made, I have no idea. I always assumed it was hereditary. Some are born with the spark to become Arcanists, and some with a kind of anti-spark." The Wildmage shrugged her shoulders. "The letter suggests otherwise. Perhaps I should have guessed. There are quite a few Huntsmen stationed here; it would be hard to stumble across so many."

"You believe they're manufactured, then?" Adam asked.

"The author of that letter certainly does. I know nothing of the issue and so my `belief` doesn't matter for much. That said," Cinder eyed Ruby sternly. "If they could manufacture just about anyone into a Huntsman, I fail to see why they'd use it on father and son."

Ruby made a confused sound. "What do you mean?"

"Noble families tend to have spares in case an heir dies but losing both the head of the family and his heir to the illness that apparently plagues all Huntsmen would be a grave blow. Also, if he's far enough up the royal succession line for it to be a talking point, you'd want that person to be a public figure. If you were able to pick and choose your Huntsmen, why take them from Noble families at all? Use paupers, homeless or if you must use nobles, use the spares and the illegitimate children, not your primary heir and head of family."

It was a waste. More than that, it must have been a huge blow to the Arc family, since Jaune was the heir and that had to mean his father had been the head. Or was, but it didn't seem likely the broken man she'd spoken to could lead anything.

"It shouldn't matter," Cinder stressed. "This issue with the Huntsmen is no business of yours. Stay away from them. Being found investigating the Huntsmen will only put you firmly in the White Arcana's sight. If you're not already for continuously visiting us and being involved in bringing Adam back to Vale. You need to stay out of trouble, not blunder into more."

Cinder went silent and Adam did so as well, both of them staring behind her. Ruby turned, suddenly noticing two people marching through the library. Two people she didn't fail to recognise. Marrow looked positively sick, pale and shaky, while his White Arcanist companion Clover looked a little better, but still uncomfortable with where he was.

"Initiate Rose," Clover said. "I've been asked to take you to Arcanist Ironwood. Please come with us." He eyed the Wildmages. "I trust your associates have no issue with this."

Cinder snorted. "I know not this whelp. Take her away."

Adam couldn't claim the same and so laughed instead. "An Arcanist apologising for brutality toward someone like me. It's a new experience and not a poor one. Worry not, Ruby. I don't blame you for the atrocities committed by the White."

"Atrocities?" Marrow stammered. "You claim tha-"

"Marrow." Clover held his companion's shoulder. "Let's not waste time discussing morality with criminals. Initiate Rose. If you will follow us?"

/-/

Of all the places they could have dragged her for an interrogation, Ruby was relieved it wasn't the White Arcana's Cathedral. That would have been far too frightening for one such as her. Instead, they took her to a small office not unlike the Grand Arcanist's but less opulent in every way. Less bookcases, less room, a less pleasing view out the tall windows. There was no desk in the centre, but a low wooden table polished to a dark shine, set around which were numerous plush seats formed of leather with stuffing and goose feather cushions.

Ruby took it all in, distracting herself from Arcanist Ironwood, Arcanist Goodwitch and the assorted members of the team of anti-Wildmage combatants that Atlas called the Specialists. She picked at the cushions with one finger. The way they'd all assembled opposite her was clearly to make her feel alone and vulnerable, but they'd forgotten one thing.

She was a Dredger.

"Do you know why you're here, Initiate?" Ironwood asked.

"No. I didn't do nothing."

Arcanist Goodwitch flinched at the rough words. "You were found within the Sanctum interacting with the captured Wildmage, Initiate. I think this would be a good time for you to cooperate with us lest you face any untoward accusations."

"Accusations of what?" she asked innocently. "Beating a man near to death?"

"Initiate! You will show us the respect we deserve."

Ruby remained silent. The implication was still there, and everyone heard it, but as long as she didn't say it out loud, no one could say she was being rude.

"You're remarkably calm," Ironwood said. "Strange all things considered."

"I am calm. I've done nothing wrong."

"You entered the Sanctum."

"Which isn't against the rules. The Grand Arcanist sent me there as detention and I was told it was perfectly okay to visit and help out there whenever I wanted." As he well knew seeing as he'd accused her the first time over it and been proven wrong. He frowned and she wondered if he'd try again.

Even if it was seven people against her, it really only felt like two. The Specialists were way too silent and stiff, like guards at attention while one of the sheriffs was barking out orders. They might have looked intimidating to some people, but she was used to that type of person. They wouldn't do anything without orders.

"Initiate Rose," Goodwitch said. "You were instructed by Lord Ironwood not to enter the Sanctum after he brought you from it the last time. I clearly remember explicit instructions saying you were not to enter again lest you imperil the other students. Are you saying you forgot these instructions? Or that you purposefully ignored them?"

Ruby smiled. "Neither."

Glynda did not smile. "Excuse me?"

"Lord Ironwood said I shouldn't enter the Sanctum because the anti-magic field there caused problems with the tracking bracelets he had everyone wear," Ruby said, oozing polite urchin charm – the kind used when apologising to a merchant you'd run into because you wanted them to think you were dumb while a friend picked their pockets. "I'd never go against orders like that, Arcanist Goodwitch, but those orders aren't in force anymore."

The woman looked scandalised. "Since when?"

"Since Lord Merlot took my bracelet off." Ruby held up her hand with an impish grin. "He said the Grand Arcanist gave him permission and that everyone would be having theirs off tomorrow because there isn't a killer after all. It was Adam that knocked the wall down. So, if I don't have the bracelet, then there's nothing for the anti-magic field to interact with, and if there's no killer to be afraid of, there's no need for me to be tracked by the Specialists, and if there's no reason for me to be tracked then there's no reason I need to stay out of the Sanctum anymore."

Ruby beamed as she finished, showing a bright and toothy smile – the kind so fake it was bound to offend. And offend it did. Lady Goodwitch puffed up and looked about ready to combust into flame if not for Lord Ironwood placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Initiate," he said warningly. "You should show an Arcanist the proper respect, particularly one as prominent as Lady Glynda Goodwitch of the White. What actions she takes, she takes for the betterment of all Arcanists and all innocents within Vale."

"I know."

Ironwood frowned. "Then why are you so rude to her?"

Ruby met his gaze head on. "Because she wants me dead."

Ironwood froze. The Specialists did too – along with Lady Goodwitch for all of the two seconds it took her to recoil and shout out, "What nonsense is this? Why would I want to harm an Initiate? You can't possibly believe that!"

"I don't," Ironwood said quickly.

"Not you, James. Her! Miss – Initiate…" Goodwitch sounded genuinely offended, maybe even a little hurt. "When have I ever given you such a thought? The White protects the Collegium. You are a part of that. If I have sounded harsh, it is not with personal harm in mind or out of a desire to."

Time to ham it up.

Ruby stuck out her bottom lip, squared her shoulders and looked away like a defiant child. "You said the people from Menagerie were right to be killed by the White Arcanist in their midst. Just because they let a Wildmage help them." Quietly, she murmured, "Just like I did."

"That… Those two things are not the same!" The woman made to stand but Ironwood waved her down. Instead, she leaned forward, almost pleading with her. "They released a dangerous criminal from their Sanctum who led the Grimm to Vale. That may not have been his intent, but it is what happened, and they should have known better. They would have known the risks. You are an Initiate, and the Wildmage was already so close that it did not matter."

"Glynda speaks the truth." Ironwood said, trying for a soft voice that really didn't fit him. Or maybe it did. It was a gruff kind of fatherly tone that sounded all kinds of strange coming from him. "If anyone was to be recriminated for your actions it would be Lord Merlot, but he has made it clear he felt he had no option but to accept and we cannot fault that. There is a clear difference between an unknowing mistake on your part and intentional negligence on theirs. As Glynda says, you're not the same at all, and I doubt she was saying she wished death upon them…"

"Not at all," she said. "I only meant to imply that the correct choice was made. Would there be a world in which they could have overpowered and slain him, then arrived to Vale unharmed and unharried by Grimm, I'd have called that a far greater victory. I apologise if my words seemed directed toward you, Initiate."

"One can see why she might think they were," Clover said faintly.

"Yes." Arcanist Goodwitch sighed and sat back, pinching the bridge of her nose between finger and thumb. "And suddenly your… behaviour around me makes more sense. Though it doesn't excuse you."

"No, but it explains things," Ironwood said. "Initiate. You have nothing to fear from us. The White stands to protect you and all here, and if we appear upset with you then it is only because we feel you are putting yourself in undue danger."

Undue danger? Like being a Wildmage surrounded by White Red Arcanists. They'd change their tune if they knew what she was, but that wasn't what she was meant to be here. Ruby looked down at her feet, kicked them helplessly under the table and mumbled something that might, if they listened carefully, have included an apology.

The kicked urchin routine didn't often work in the Slums – the weak were easy pickings, not sources of sympathy – but it sometimes did work in the farms and Merchant Quarter. Sometimes. Even if it didn't here, it'd sell the image of a frightened child and that was what she wanted.

"I'm sorry…"

"Ruby hasn't technically done anything wrong, has she?" Marrow's question earned him some quick glares from the other Specialists, though it was more for speaking up in her defence than anything. Ruby flashed him a happy smile and he rubbed his head, blushing.

"Thank you, Marrow," Ironwood said firmly. "However, this little misunderstanding aside, she still entered the Sanctum when I gave her explicit instructions not to. Though she may have thought those didn't apply now that the bracelets are off, I never said that."

"Then why would they?" Ruby asked quickly. "You said it was only because of the danger and the risk of you thinking I'd been kidnapped. That's not a thing now – the Grand Arcanist said so. So, what reason do you have to say I can't go in the Sanctum?"

Goodwitch and Ironwood remained silent. They had the authority to order it by far, but not a good and proper explanation to give her. They could say "because we say so" and that'd be it, but it would only apply going forward, and they knew she'd ask Merlot. He might then take that question to Ozpin, especially if she asked him to.

Do it, she thought viciously. Give me a reason. Give me one reason you can honestly expect me to believe. That Adam was a danger wouldn't fit as he was helpless now. That they were afraid she would be hurt would only call the Sanctum and the Huntsmen into question, and that was all run by the White, so did they really want to say they couldn't even run the Sanctum properly? Not if they didn't want that knowledge spread across the Collegium.

"It seems we've had another miscommunication," Ironwood settled on. "I'm sure you can understand our concern given you delivered the Wildmage to us and he might have reason to want vengeance on you. Harmless as he may seem, he is still larger and stronger than you are, and the Sanctum Guards cannot be everywhere. Perhaps we could come to a compromise on this, if you're so determined to visit and work in the Sanctum."

"What kind of compromise?"

"We will allow you to continue working there so long as you alert us of your intentions beforehand and are accompanied by one of the Specialists." The news came with no amount of grimacing on the parts of said Arcanists. Marrow paled and even Clover cringed slightly. The only one to not give an obvious reaction was the one with the pale skin and shaved head.

Ruby tried to hide her disappointment. That would stop her being able to talk candidly to Adam and Cinder, though it wouldn't stop her being able to see them and maybe pass a message on if she had to. And there was no way to say no, was there?

"Okay. I guess that's fine."

"Wonderful. And now for what you shall do for us…"

Ruby balked. "What!?"

"It's a compromise, Initiate. Give and take. And you have insulted Lady Goodwitch. Whether or not it was based on a misunderstanding, that deserves punishment. You also dragged Marrow and Clover into the Sanctum and went against the spirit of my instructions."

"You said it was a miscommunication!" she accused.

"And it was. I admit you have no malicious intent. However, you still broke the rules."

What bullshit was that? Ruby felt like kicking the table but that would have gone against the sweet and contrite image she was trying to sell.

"It's no great task, I assure you. You may even find it enlightening. The Sanctum is run by the White Arcana, as well you know, and if you truly wish to dedicate time to it, now or in the future, then perhaps it's best you considered your options."

"My options for what?"

Ironwood smiled. "Of joining the White, of course."

I'd normally push on another 500 words or so, and easily could do, but I felt this was just a really nice place to end this chapter. Not so much a cliff-hanger as a tease.

Next Chapter: 8th August

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