Sorry for this chapter being a little shorter. Had a lot of work-work today holding me back. Our insurance firm lost in Supreme court here in the UK as they'd been claiming we couldn't claim business interruption relief for COVID because it was an "act of god" or some such nonsense.

Now, they've been proven wrong by court, and so I've spent the whole weekend re-issuing the same claims. It'll mean a lot for our business to get hold of that.

That's taken up a lot of my time this weekend.

(We weren't the ones to take them to court ofc or you'd have really seen a lot of delays. It was a big push by the FSB and action groups working together to stop some greedy ass insurance companies).

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 73

"This is where we split," Yang said. The gateway from the slums to the lower quarter lay ahead, sparsely guarded but protected all the same. "Be strange for an Arcanist and a Dredger to be seen together."

"Why not go further? They wouldn't question me if I said it was Collegium business. We could explore the merchant district together – or maybe even visit the Upper Quarter."

Yang laughed and hugged Ruby with one arm, pulling her close. "I like the idea sis, but it's too dangerous. I don't want you getting in trouble because of me. Go on. I'll be fine here."

Ruby looked back at the gate reluctantly. It would have justified so much of her struggles if she could take Yang through and give her the life she deserved, one better than a wet room in the slums working under Junior.

"Before the next floods…"

"Hah?"

"You're coming out of the slums before the next floods," Ruby decided. "Promise me that. I'll earn the money so you can stay up on the next level, but you have to agree to use it."

"Ruby…"

"Promise me!"

"Ugh." Yang sighed, then smiled. "Fine. I promise you I'll wait out the next floods in safety. It'll just be you, me and Blake. Okay? We'll sit inside by the fire, snuggle up and eat cooked meat. How does that sound?"

Like Yang didn't expect it to be real and was humouring her. Ruby nodded. It was still a promise and Yang would have no way to weasel out of it when she made it happen.

"It's a promise then. You can't go back on it or I'll never forgive you."

"Thief's honour." Yang kissed Ruby's scalp. "Now get going and look after yourself. Those Arcanists aren't to be trusted. You're worth more to me than all of them combined, so keep your nose out of trouble."

"I will. Here…" Ruby pushed a small pouch of lien into Yang's startled hands. Opening it up, Yang gasped at the contents, a whole fifty lien. Nothing to the nobles – Martyn had made a child's best with her for more – but so much for someone living in the slums.

"Ruby, I can't-"

"You can! I don't need it; the Collegium covers everything I need. Use it, please. I'll come back and visit every week now that I can leave whenever I want. I'll bring more, especially now I can earn money, so don't worry about me running out."

"All this…" Yang whispered. "It's like you're living in another world…"

It really was. Ruby only wished her sister could live in it with her. She flung her arms around Yang and squeezed her tight. "Be safe. I don't want to lose you. I can't. Blake can help you get out the slums if you want so don't stay here if it gets dangerous."

"Ruby, the floods aren't for another year now…"

"I'm not talking about the floods. If the Grimm attack, it'll be the slums hit first."

"The farms before us," she said, "But I get your point. Trust me, if the Grimm start to attack, I'll be making my way up the city as far as I can get. No doubt about that."

The sisters embraced one last time before Ruby slipped away, waving back. The parting wasn't so heavy now that she could come back whenever she wanted. Now that she was an Arcanist, she had more freedom than she'd ever had before.

/-/

It was a different set of Arcanists and guards working the gates when she got back to the Collegium, but the paperwork was the same. It was nearing eleven, so she'd technically come back with time to spare, something the Arcanist only registered with a quiet nod of the head. Her Arcanum was checked, her name crossed off and she was back inside in time for the Azure Archives.

Arcanist Port was waiting for her and accepted the finished documents with a cheerful smile.

"Done already? Very good! You've a knack for work here."

"Can I ask a question, Mr Port?"

"Hm? Oh please, call me Peter, and of course! Ask away."

"How do I earn money as an Arcanist?"

The large man pulled a strange expression, leaning back. "Earn? Why lass, aren't you earning already? You're working right now. Wait." He slapped his face. "Don't tell me you came here on a favour? Goodness, old mama Port would have me by the ear for this. You don't come and work somewhere for free, lass." He reached into his pocket and brought out his own pouch, handing her over twenty-five lien. "Here, for the work I unknowingly foisted on you. I thought you'd been sent down to help me."

"No one really explained how it worked…"

"Really? It should have been covered in your second year of Initiate classes."

Well that explained it. Ruby laughed awkwardly. "Maybe I forgot? Could you explain again?"

"Hmm. Alright." He shifted his weight so that he was leaning on a table away from the Rubricator. "The first thing you need to know is that every Arcanist is paid a stipend by the Collegium. That includes Initiates, though you might not have noticed since the money is used to pay for your lodge, food and all the other things you likely assume were given to you. That stipend increases when you become an Arcanist, and also increases proportional to the work you do."

"So, I've always been paid…?"

"Your Initiate stipend would have been used already. Now you're an Arcanist, you may have built up a little more, but I wouldn't expect too much. How long have you been an Arcanist?"

"About three days?"

"Then it won't be anything worth having."

"Where does all the money come from?"

"The Collegium earns for services rendered; healing, enchanted items and a small fee every time a Crimson Arcanist is sent out to escort someone or clear a trade route. The rest comes from taxation."

Ruby's eyes widened. "We tax the city?"

"Ha ha. Not quite. The royal family taxes the city and then pays us a portion of that. Think of it as a symbolic agreement. We also regularly receive donations from the noble families, all of which combines to keep us afloat. Of course, it's a constant balance to make sure the Collegium is earning more than it spends, but that's a task left to the Scriptorium. Work like what we're doing," Port indicated the Archives, "benefits no one but the Collegium, so this is a loss-making job, though it's considered important enough for us to make that loss. Our work will be paid for by Arcanists doing more outwardly profitable jobs like healing or guard duty."

"So, some Arcanists do work to make money for the Collegium which is used to pay for the jobs other Arcanists do that don't make money but help keep the place running?"

"Pretty much – and tax money fills in all the gaps."

That must have been another method for the White to keep the city calm. If they were reliant on money from taxes then everyone knew the powerful Arcanists wouldn't just go on a rampage all of a sudden.

"How do I earn money then?"

"Simple." Port wrote something down on a piece of paper, signed it and then cut a small droplet of blood onto it. "Take this to the Scriptorium tomorrow and explain that you're working here for me. This will prove that. They will update your stipend accordingly, and the extra lien not used to cover your living costs will be delivered to you at the start of every week."

That sounded remarkably easy. "That's it?"

"That's it. We're busy enough as it is without making things more complicated. The Scriptorium will handle your taxes and all the other legalities. In a sense, every Arcanist is an employee of the Collegium."

Convenient. And that meant that even though she had more freedom than she'd ever had as an Initiate, she couldn't leave the Collegium because it was the only source of income for her. That's clever. It also means people pay the Collegium for an Arcanist's services, so a Rogue or Wildmage can't earn money because people know not to pay the individual. Honestly, she should have expected it. The White had been doing this for long before she was born, so of course they thought of every little trick.

"If you're working here now then I've another task for you," Port said. "There's a fresh batch of questionable research topics coming in. I'll need you to go through these like the last and get them back to me within the next three days. There are ten in all, none any larger than the last. Think you can get it done?"

"Sure." If it meant money for Yang, then so be it. Also, she didn't have much else to do during the days now that lessons were off. "Is it okay for me to do it down here?"

Port laughed. "What do you think we're all doing? Work away, lass. Work away."

/-/

Pyrrha was practically beaming when Ruby met her outside her favourite diner as promised, just as the sun was beginning to reach down on the horizon. The light shone over the palace and tall Collegium walls, and at this point in the slums it would already be dark thanks to all the higher levels of the city blocking the sunlight. The city had been built with the comfort of those on the upper levels in mind and it showed every single day.

Ruby shook those thoughts off and followed Pyrrha up the staircase to a small two-person table. The place was a lot busier than it had been yesterday, full of Arcanists for the most part. The guards must have had their own places they preferred to frequent.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Pyrrha enthused. "I'm normally- well, it's good to have company for a change. How was your trip into the city?"

"Good! I stayed overnight at an inn." Ruby added some made up story about frequenting the merchant stalls and shopping around the market before asking, "How about you? You were out hunting Grimm, weren't you?"

"Mentoring under those doing it. We came across six in total and I got to deal with the last one on my own." She didn't look injured, so Ruby assumed it had gone well. "They're so violent. I've heard of animal attacks before, but the Grimm aren't like that. They just attack and attack, never stopping until they or their target are dead."

"Yeah, I know."

"I can't believe you have to deal with them while they're still alive. What does Lord Merlot do with them anyway?"

"Mostly cuts them open to try and figure out how they work," Ruby said offhandedly. Since the White knew of his research, she figured there was no danger. "Though I think he's tried using other things on them to see if they have any weaknesses that can be exploited. It's not exactly fun watching him work."

"I can imagine. I had to learn some field dressing in the Crimson, and I didn't enjoy seeing people with open wounds then."

"They teach that there?"

"Not Emerald magic," she explained. "The healing and combat arts don't mesh well together. You can learn both, but the method of control is different. Combat spells want to be powerful and wild while healing needs to be restrained and subtle. We had some Emerald Arcanists come and teach us how to prep an injured person for treatment by them, how to close wounds using bandages and stitches. Normal methods," she said. "Also some lessons on what berries, roots and herbs are safe to eat or gather if we're ever out in the wild. The Crimson are often sent out to root out bandits, wild animals or Rogue Arcanists."

That sounded like fun. Not so much the hunting part but the healing lessons. Maybe if she'd had the freedom to stay as an Initiate and actually learn things instead of being pressured to graduate fast, she could have picked up a few skills of her own. Not that she could use any of them. If she wanted to heal, it was going to be a dangerous thing given how wild her magic was.

"I've started working in the Azure Archives," Ruby said.

"After what almost happened before? I wouldn't want to go back there if I could help it."

"It's safe now."

"Is it? The Grimm could still use it." Pyrrha paused as their food arrived, paying the waiter and ordering a refill for the both of them. She continued once the man left. "I hope you won't mind my saying but you don't strike me as the type of person to become a clerk."

"Eh. Work is work. If it pays, I'll do it."

"That's a thrifty outlook if nothing else," Pyrrha giggled. "You'd make a fine merchant. Speaking of, I've some time free this coming weekend. What say we visit the merchant district together?"

Ruby blinked, surprised. She'd thought Pyrrha was only being friendly thanks to their graduating together, but she sounded like she genuinely wanted to spend more time together.

"Sure. I'd like that. Shall we meet here for breakfast?"

Pyrrha beamed. "Excellent idea! Oh, and I still need to teach you those spells I promised…"

"It's fine. We can do those whenever."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel short-changed…"

"Short-changed for what? I'm not giving you anything in return."

"Then you still want to go into the city together?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"No reason." Pyrrha's smile grew brighter still. "I can't wait. It's been years since I went out shopping with anyone."

Years. It was shocking to think that most people really did have to wait that long to become an Arcanist. Literal years locked away from the city they lived in.

"Couldn't you go out when you were a Crimson Arcanist?"

"I could, but there was never much reason to." Pyrrha shrugged her shoulders. "I visited my family once or twice but everything I needed could be ordered to be delivered here."

Then presumably that was still the case. Maybe Pyrrha just wanted someone to go with. "Hm. We'll still go." Ruby said. "It's nice to get away from the Collegium every now and then. How about we go after the weekend, though? That way we can get paid first."

"Oh! I'd almost forgotten you haven't been an Arcanist as long as I have. How rude. I could lend you some money if you like. I've plenty saved up. You could pay me back when you can."

Lending money, huh? That reminded her of home, namely of Yang being sent to hunt down people who welched on Junior's credit. Ruby was sure Pyrrha wouldn't be quite so vicious.

"Alright. I'll pay you back the second I can."

"Great. We should invite-" Pyrrha cut herself off before she could finish and sat in awkward silence. It didn't take a genius to figure out who she'd been about to say. Weiss.

Ruby ducked her own head, hiding her discomfort in stuffing some meat and gravy into her mouth and chewing away. Even if Weiss were on good terms with her, she wouldn't be allowed to accompany them into the city. Weiss was an Initiate while they were Arcanists. The difference between them was suddenly so much more than it had been.

"I'm sorry…" Pyrrha said.

"I know. It's okay."

"Would you like me to try and talk with her?"

"No. I… I think this is something I have to do." Just one more task added to the pile. It felt like there were a hundred and one things she had to handle all on her own. "I'm just waiting for her to cool down before I try and talk to her again. Weiss has a temper."

"Is it best to leave it this long?"

"It's only been a couple of days."

Pyrrha's smile wasn't quite all there and Ruby got the feeling she was suggesting `a few days` was already much too long a time to leave things. Ruby sighed. "I'll give it a try tomorrow?"

"That sounds like a good idea," she said. "Better to try and fix this soon. Even if you fail, Weiss will at least know you cared enough to try. Better that than to leave her wondering why you haven't made an effort at all."

Was that how it looked? Ruby bit her lip.

/-/

The thought of what Weiss might think continued to haunt her after finishing her meal with Pyrrha and wandering back to her dorm. It was quiet and dark out, her work from the Azure sat on her desk with two case files completed and eight more to go. Ruby picked at her quill, dabbing it on the glass rim of the inkpot and wishing a certain someone was there to tell her to stop procrastinating and get on with her work.

She'd always lived with someone, be it Yang in the slums or Weiss in the Initiate dormitory. It was a strange experience to be so alone. Was Pyrrha right about her leaving it too long? Did Weiss think she hated her?

"Gah!" Ruby shoved the quill back into the pot and clutched her face. "Why did this even happen? All she had to do was kill the illusion and this wouldn't even be an issue."

An illusion of me…

It did make her feel happy that Weiss considered her so close as for the magic to make her appear as Weiss' victim, but did that change anything? Weiss knew it was a test of conviction. Then again, she'd grown up in a much easier environment where death was a tragedy that happened in rare cases, not an annual event where you had to outrun the rising water or drown.

Ruby slumped back, arms falling to her sides as she looked out the window. The moonlight shone back in, irritating her. Even the bloody moon was judging her.

"Fine!" she yelled at it. "I'll go."

How hard could it be? Well, plenty but she wasn't going to accept that. Ruby pulled on her new white robes, fixed her hair back and pulled on a heavier white – because everything had to be bloody white – shawl to keep her warm, then pushed out the door and a few minutes later out the building.

The Collegium was segmented into different sections not by walls or gates but by station. To make things easier, most of the amenities and buildings meant for Initiates were shunted off close to the main gate, meaning she had to cross the main gardens, several residential areas and even walk by the Azure Archives to reach her old dorm.

Walking up the steps to the main door, she tested and found it open as usual. There were a couple of people still up and about in the common room doing homework; Ruby recognised one or two of them from class, and they definitely recognised her because they stopped to stare, one or two urgently tapping on the arms of their companions and pointing her way.

Martyn Malneux looked like he'd had a lemon shoved up his backside.

Ruby couldn't find it in herself to take any joy in that right now. Pushing past them and ignoring their whispers, she stormed up the staircase with people diving out her way. Her age didn't matter; her history didn't matter. For now, she was an Arcanist, a Lady of the Collegium, and they gave way, bowed their heads and whispered "Lady Arcanist" respectfully.

The same people who criticised her for being unfeminine, impolite and foreign. The same people who would titter, point and laugh. That a gemstone and a change of clothes could change their tune was ridiculous. Ruby hated it.

More than that, she hated feeling like she'd done something wrong. Reaching her old room, she hammered on the door angrily, not even thinking for a second what rumours might come of a White Arcanist storming Weiss Schnee's room.

If it still was Weiss'. What if she'd been assigned another roommate? What if she got on better with her new roommate? Someone less clumsy, less greedy and less annoying than Ruby Rose?

What then?

Ruby didn't get the time to decide. The door opened suddenly and Ruby almost punched Weiss in the face with her next knock.

Weiss looked furious. Not necessarily with her, but more in the `why the hell is someone battering my door down` kind of variety. She was in her nightclothes with her hair down, obviously ready for or even in bed. Her eyes widened on seeing Ruby there, anger faltering only to be replaced with something Ruby liked even less.

Uncertainty. Stoniness. Forced calm.

"Lady Arcanist…" Weiss whispered.

Ruby's chest contracted.

"No!"

"W-What?" Weiss asked, bewildered.

"No!" Ruby repeated.

"No to what? You are an Arcanist-"

"No!"

"But-"

"I'm Ruby!" The words bubbled out without much thought going into them. Ruby didn't care. Planning had never been her strong suit anyway. Trusting her gut, she pushed forward, driving Weiss back into her room and slamming the door shut behind her.

"W-What are you doing?"

"I'm Ruby, you're Weiss and this is our room. I'm sleeping over."

Weiss looked around in confusion. "You can't stay here. You're an Arcanist!"

"And you're my roommate."

"I can't be. It's not like an Arcanist and an Initiate can share a room-"

"Who says they can't?" Ruby argued.

"The Collegium! The rules!"

"Ugh. You always did have an answer for everything…"

"Yes!" Weiss growled. "Especially when the answer is glaringly obvious. Why are you always so dense? A-And stubborn! You never listen!"

"I listen to you…"

"Only when I pound something into your head!"

Grinning, Ruby rocked on her heels. "But I do listen. Weiss, being an Arcanist is boring. I have to stay on my own, I have a job, there's no one but Pyrrha to talk to. I…" Her voice faltered. "I miss you…"

"Ruby…" Weiss looked away. Her shoulders sagged. "I… I can't say I don't feel the same way but you're an Arcanist now." Her lips twisted. "I'm an Initiate. We live in different worlds. An Arcanist can't be seen spending all their time with an Initiate."

"Why the heck not!?" Ruby asked hotly.

"W-Well think of your reputation-"

"I don't care!"

"-then think of my reputation."

Ruby pouted. "I don't care…?"

Weiss glared. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Okay, I do care about your reputation but I'm selfish, too!" Ruby whined angrily. "I want my Weiss back. I want to have you tell me off. I want you to wake me up when I sleep in. I want you on my back every time I call an Arcanist by their name or don't say `Lord and Lady` and curtsy…"

"Is that meant to move me? You make it sound like I'm your manservant."

"Is it working?" Ruby asked hopefully.

Weiss crossed her arms. "No."

Ruby wilted.

"But… I can't believe I'm saying this. You can stay here tonight if you like…" Weiss looked away, especially when Ruby's eyes widened. "I'm only doing this for your reputation, though. You'll look ridiculous sulking your way back to wherever you stay now."

"Weiss!"

"This is only for your reputation!"

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled, arms opening wide.

"And you're not staying here every night. The dorms wouldn't allow it, let alone the Collegium!"

"Weisssss!"

"Get off me! Damn it, Ruby, get off me already!"

Got to finish my insurance forms now, ready to have them sent to accounts department in the morning for chasing up.

Next Chapter: 24th January

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur