Another short chapter for Arcanum. I think I need to explain this, don't I? Basically, as you may have inferred from notes on other stories, I have a bit of a medical scare going on at the moment. A routine check up has resulted in some bad signs that the doctors want to look into, and I've been having tests done on Mondays. Last Monday was blood tests, this Monday (tomorrow) is more tests and, if I'm lucky, some results.

I don't want to throw words or ideas around as we just don't know if this is bad or not yet, but it's stressful. Very stressful. I'm fine through most of the week because I can relax and tell myself not to worry about it, but Sundays have become horrific for me. I feel like I'm trapped in a prison of anxiety constantly worrying about what will happen the next day.

That is, understandably I feel, impacting my ability to write my Sunday story – Arcanum. I know what I want to write; I can bullet point it out. The plan is there. It's just that my attention isn't. I sit at my pc for hours and nothing gets written.

I don't really have a solution to this right now other than to ask your patience and understanding on why this story keeps getting shafted like this. I know it's bleeding into a few other stories as well, but not nearly as bad as it does here.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 90

The Sanctum looked as lovely as it always did, which only went to show how little appearances reflected the inside. Jaune felt a familiar shiver upon stepping through its wrought iron gates and onto the perfectly cut lawns beyond. His boots trudged through white gravel toward the main doors, where two Sanctum Guards stood silently. No words crossed between them, few could, and the empty-eyed guards didn't move a muscle, nor recognise him with a nod or even the slightest widening of the eyes. They were, for all intents and purposes, statues made of human muscle, bone and flesh.

Shuddering, Jaune pushed past and into the main foyer, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light within. Only guards and free-Arcanists were allowed into the entrance hall, not that many of the latter came willingly. Only Ruby did, the exception to so many things. Someone who wasn't afraid to be around him, even to touch him or rely on him for comfort.

If only he knew how to respond to that.

That was why he was here. Spying the once-familiar figure, his hair now long and ash-white, Jaune moved forward, coming to a stop before the front desk. Nicholas Arc, his father, raised his head slowly and regarded him, then smiled an empty smile that looked like it had been drawn on his face by a pencil.

"Good day. How may I help you?"

"I wish to speak with you."

"You are speaking with me."

"Do you know who I am?" Jaune asked. He was afraid of the answer, and the completely confused expression on his father's face said he was right to be. "You don't remember me at all, do you?"

Nicholas Arc tilted his head. "Have we met?"

It hurt. It burned like a fire deep inside him, ripping his legs out from under him and making him want to fall. Jaune ignored the familiar sense of vertigo, telling himself it wasn't his father's fault. This wasn't anyone's fault.

"We… We've met before…" he whispered. "You were there when I was born…"

"Was I? If you say I was then I must be. What is your name?"

"Jaune. Jaune Arc…"

"Jaune…" Nicholas tested the word. His eyes narrowed, and for a moment Jaune dared to hope. "I… knew a Jaune once. I'm sure I did. The name is so familiar. I… No, it's gone." He shook his head. "How may I help you?"

"I wish to speak with you."

"You are speaking with me."

Jaune blinked, then shook his head. Cyclical conversations were a trap he fell into himself at times, but he didn't have the time for it now. "Enough!" he snapped. "I need advice. I need advice from you, father."

"Father…?"

"Focus. Please."

The man, a victim of his own power, pulled an odd expression full of creases and confusion. "I will try," he said. "What is it you want?"

"What… What is a man to do if someone they care for is in danger, but that danger comes from those he is supposed to be loyal towards? What is that man to do if he wants to protect someone, but the rules don't allow it?"

It was a cruelly complicated question for a man who had lost much of his faculties. Jaune was aware of that, and yet there was no one he could ask. Not a single other soul. This was too important to ignore. If he spoke to any Arcanist, they would tell him to be loyal to the Collegium. They would say that was the only thing that mattered.

"You must always keep the Collegium in mind." Nicholas said emptily. "We serve. It is our duty. It is our responsibility. It is-"

"-our honour," Jaune recited. "Does that mean I should side with the Collegium over someone I care for?"

"Yes. Always."

"I see…"

He had expected no less than complete obedience, as it was expected of him. It made sense, too. The Collegium was eternal. Ruby Rose was not. Humans would die of old age. Even beyond that, his friendship with her would not last past the time he was committed to the Sanctum for the rest of his life. At that point, Jaune Arc would cease to exist, so why sacrifice for the sake of someone you would not remember? It didn't make sense to. And yet, the answer angered him.

"Is that why you left your family?" he demanded of his father. "Is that why you abandoned us?"

Nicholas Arc looked lost. Confused. Hurt. "I…" He winced, clutching his face as if struck by a sudden headache. "I… I cannot…" The words slurred. "Did not. Ah. W-Who are you? How may I be of service?"

"I am Jaune Arc, your son, and you were giving me advice."

"I have… a son…?"

"You have one son and seven daughters. Saphron, Sable, Coral, Jade, Hazel, Lavender and-"

"Amber…"

Jaune's head shot up. The single word, the name, had come as a whisper from his father's lips. Quiet and uncertain, a fledgeling thought that the man himself wasn't even sure of. "Yes." Jaune said. "Amber is the youngest. She's fifteen now. My sister."

"Your sister? You have a family, then?"

And he was gone. Just like that, absent again. Jaune wanted to punch the floor in fury but could only close his eyes and sigh. This was what happened to all huntsmen in time. It would happen to him as well. There could be no blaming Nicholas for what had befallen him.

"Yes. My family. This was a mistake…" Jaune turned away. "Goodbye."

"I have a son."

Jaune froze.

"He should be around your age now," Nicholas said, ignorant of just who he was talking to. "He won't be like me. He'll get to live outside, free to be whatever he wants to be. Do whatever he wants."

"H-How do you know? He would be a huntsman like you, wouldn't he? He'd have the same cur- the same gift."

"Yes." Nicholas nodded his head. "But I made a deal." He sounded so proud of himself, so pleased. "I made a deal that I would give myself freely, and he would be left alone. The Collegium would take me and not him." He smiled happily. "They agreed. They promised to only take me."

They lied.

Jaune's eyes watered, and his hands clenched into tight fists. He couldn't say that. How could he? Nicholas looked so content, so satisfied. He'd never known. No one had ever told him of such a deal, or that his father had sacrificed himself early to try and save him.

"That… It…" He clenched his eyes shut. "You must have loved him."

"I did. I… do…" Nicholas' eyes blurred. "I would do anything for my family. Anything."

"Even if it means going against the Collegium?"

"Anything."

"I see." It was hard to say if he was happy or not. Bitter-sweet, maybe. Either way, it was an answer, and while Ruby may not have been family in the traditional sense, she was all he had left. "Thank you for the advice."

Nicholas tilted his head. "What advice? How may I help you?"

"You already have. Goodbye father."

/-/

"Where is Lady Rose?"

Weiss exchanged a nervous glance with Pyrrha, both waiting for the other to answer Lady Goodwitch's question. In the end it was Weiss who spoke, keeping her voice low.

"Ruby is… Ruby isn't feeling so well…"

"Really?" Crossing her arms, Glynda scowled. "We are facing a crisis of incredible proportions. Every Arcanist will be necessary in the coming weeks if we're to have even a shred of a chance of surviving the Grimm. If she is ill or sickly, take her to the Emerald Arcana and have them look at her."

"It's not a physical illness."

"Then what is it? No. Don't tell me. It'll only be a waste of my time." Glynda sighed. "When the three of you took your trials, you accepted to being a part of the White Arcana. We are the ones who protect our way of live. There is no rest for us. Tell Lady Rose that when next you see her. In the meantime, I have work for you both. Lady Nikos, you are to join with several other younger Crimson Arcanists and hold combat training classes for the Initiates."

"Are they to fight the Grimm? That doesn't sound safe."

"It's not, but neither is leaving them defenceless. They will be a final line of defence. The front line will be for soldiers and our most experienced. There is always the chance of a Nevermore or two slipping through, however."

Pyrrha bowed her head. "I'll make sure they're capable."

"What should I do?" Weiss asked.

"You will be working alongside myself in an assistant role. You will carry messages, travel in my stead and speak my word to others."

It was an exciting position, one that would have her granted a similar authority to Lady Goodwitch. Normally, Weiss would have been more enthusiastic about that. "I-I understand."

Glynda's eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem? Speak your mind."

"The flood…" Weiss picked her words carefully. "The trap we were involved in that caught the Grimm. I heard that some people died…"

"Did Lady Rose tell you that?"

Weiss winced. She didn't want to implicate Ruby, but they both knew it wouldn't be anyone else. "She may have mentioned it."

"Of course she would have. Discretion never was a skill of hers." Glynda made a show of sighing heavily. "Yes, I'm afraid that is true. Some people did tragically drown in the floods."

It was a dagger to Weiss' heart. "But you said they'd be evacuated!"

"We cannot force people to evacuate. Some must have ignored the warnings. You shouldn't take fault for that onto yourself. Our duty is to guide, not to force people to do things they don't want to. That way lays disaster."

"But we killed people!" Weiss argued. "I killed people!"

"As you did in your rites of passage."

"But that was an illusion!"

"It was an illusion there, yes, but the purpose of that was to prepare you for what might one day be your responsibility. Not specifically the person you saw – that was chosen to make it as hard as possible for you – but you may one day be required to take the life of someone. Or the lives of many."

Weiss' breath came out short and hoarse. One day? According to Ruby and now Lady Goodwitch, that day had already come and gone. How many? How many died because of me…? And to suggest she would ever be asked to kill Ruby. No. That would never happen.

"Think not on what happens outside your control," Glynda ordered. "In the meantime, I have need of Ruby Rose for a task involving her recent incident outside the city walls. Go find her and tell her report to me as soon as she is able."

"But she isn't feeling well."

"None of us will feel well if the Grimm slaughter us all. Bring. Her. Here."

/-/

Locating Ruby wasn't as difficult as Weiss expected it to be. There were rumours already out that Lord Jaune Arc was playing host to a young woman in his private rooms. Knowing how little said lord cared for such things, and how limited his pool of female friends were, made it kind of obvious. At least Ruby hadn't slept outside or something, though Weiss' mother would have argued spending the night in the same room as two unmarried men was little better.

Weiss walked through the halls of the barracks with her arms close to her chest. It wasn't as though the soldiery was limited to men – there were plenty of female guards, though markedly less than their male counterparts. However, the barracks were split between the men's and women's variants to prevent any `distractions` getting in the way of training.

As such, a pretty young woman such as her was a rare and welcome sight. More than a few catcalls dogged her path, along with the odd suggestive comment. None would dare admit it was them when she turned to glare. They knew she was a noble after all, and even if they weren't sure of her house or station, they wouldn't dare risk themselves by earning her ire. Not openly at any rate.

How Winter put up with all of this I don't know. Perhaps the women's barracks are more orderly.

Doubtful, but not impossible.

Climbing a set of spiral stairs up to the second floor, she eventually found the room that someone at the front of the building had said would belong to Lord Arc and Sir Wukong. The latter was a polite, if dismissive, way to reference Sun's lack of noble heritage. He was no sir yet, but it was better than dismissing him outright. Stepping up, Weiss rapped on the door.

It took time to answer despite that she could hear voices within. When the door did open, it was Sun who greeted her, his gambeson loosely thrown on with the drawstrings hanging down his front. He looked dishevelled, but more in the sense of having trained than laziness. She could see sweat shimmering on his tanned skin, running down his neck and out of sight.

Weiss snapped her eyes back to his with a sudden flush. "Is Ruby here? I need to speak with her."

"Ruby, huh." Sun made a show of looking back. A waste of time. They both knew it. "If she were, I'm not sure she would want to speak with you right now." Lowering his voice, he whispered, "Give her some time. Space."

"I would if I could," she whispered back. "Lady Goodwitch is demanding her presence right now and from the way she sounds she'll come and drag Ruby out herself if she doesn't show."

Sun cursed under his breath, looked back again and then made to close the door. "Give me a moment. Stay here."

Rather than close the door, he set it slightly ajar. Weiss stayed where she was, knowing better than to burst into someone else's room, especially those of two young men. The scandal that could cause would impact multiple families and make the prospect of finding a worthy suitor all the harder for her. Those were all minor concerns with the Grimm approaching, and it was more manners and training drilled into her by the hired nannies that kept her still.

The door opened again a few minutes later, after a conversation she couldn't hear. Lord Jaune Arc stood there; he was someone she considered a friend of sorts, and yet in that moment he looked tall and intimidating.

"Sun tells me you've been sent by Lady Goodwitch."

"T-That's right. I know Ruby is upset with me. She has every right to be. Lady Goodwitch has summoned her however, and I already tried telling her Ruby wasn't feeling well."

"I take it she didn't care."

Weiss winced. That was a painfully blunt summation, if accurate. "She says protecting Vale from the Grimm is more important than personal feeling. Her words, not mine."

"It hasn't been two days since Ruby trudged through bodies."

"I-I know." Weiss looked down, stomach churning. "A-And I know that it's my fault. I brought the floods that killed those who failed to evacuate. I… I didn't know. I was told that there would be no one caught in the attack."

"Common sense should dictate there would be some."

Weiss flinched. "Yes, it should, but I wasn't thinking with common sense when the signal went up and I heard the Grimm were coming for everyone I hold dear. I acted. I followed orders."

"Like a good Arcanist…"

Was that a compliment or an insult? Lord Arc's tonality had always been difficult for her to place. At times he sounded friendly, at other times distracted or empty. That wasn't only to her either, but even to Ruby and Sun at times. He could flick between the two so easily that she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"This isn't about me," she said. "This is about Ruby. I know it's hard, but Lady Goodwitch is insistent. It would be for the best if she came and listened to what she had to say."

"I'm not sure it would be." He crossed his arms. Weiss made to argue, but he spoke again. "Ruby is distraught, exhausted and not thinking straight. There was little sleep had last night. If she goes before Lady Goodwitch now, she won't be doing so with full concentration. I've spoken to a representative from the Emerald Arcana, and they have suggested she rest for two days minimum." He procured a rolled up piece of parchment bearing a green wax seal. "I asked them for evidence."

"O-Oh." Weiss accepted but did not open it. "Oh. I didn't realise it was so bad. I can tell Lady Goodwitch and pass this on. Is… Is she okay? Now, I mean?"

"Tired. Not thinking straight."

"Can I see her?"

Jaune looked back over his shoulder. "I would not suggest it. For either of your sakes."

Weiss understood. Neither of them were good at controlling their tempers and things had been said, things that Weiss accepted she might hold some fault in, but also cruel and unfair things. If they went at it now and fought again, she might push Ruby away.

"Does… Does she hate me…?"

"No." His expression softened. "Right now she hates what she's seen, hates what happened and those responsible for it. I don't think she blames you, but she certainly blames Lady Goodwitch. With good reason."

And if she goes and says something to her, she'd be in real trouble. Suddenly it made a lot more sense why Lord Arc wanted to keep Ruby away. A lot of sense indeed.

"I will pass this on. Please also pass on my well wishes to Ruby, along with my apologies." Weiss said it loudly, pausing after in the distant hopes Ruby might hear and respond. There was none and she ducked her head. "I will leave her to her rest. If she needs anything – or you – then don't hesitate to call on me."

"I'll send Sun if we do," he promised. "Thank you for understanding."

"Ruby is my friend." Weiss said simply. "Although… I'm not sure Lady Goodwitch will be as understanding. I hope this will be enough, but I'm not sure what to do if she sends me back to fetch Ruby anyway."

"Tell her you cannot. Tell her I blocked your path."

Weiss smiled faintly. "I'm not sure that will convince her."

"It will." The way he said it sounded so confident, so sure, that Weiss wasn't sure what to say. "And tell her that anyone she sends will be similarly asked to leave. Ruby Rose is under my protection, and if she wishes to change that then she can come down in person."

That was not the message she wanted to take back. Weiss grimaced at the imagined reaction the proud and powerful Arcanist would have. "I'll pass the message on. Aren't you worried she might take the offer, though? What if she does come to move you?"

Lord Arc chuckled.

"Let her try."

So, tomorrow. My appointment is early, so I'll be able to write Knight of Salem after it, at which point I'll likely be too relieved at having had it done that there won't be any problem. It's what happened last week. Maybe this'll all be nothing and I'll realise I've stressed myself out over it, but I'll take that as a great scenario if it happens.

It's never a good sign when you're asked to come in again so early after previous tests. There are long waiting lists at the NHS, and you only get seen this quickly if it's something serious.

Next Chapter: 6th June

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