While I'm sure most people have found out by now I'll explain last week's absence in the chapters that missed them all the same. Basically, I had to be taken into hospital Saturday and ended up staying the weekend, then having keyhole surgery on Monday. Hence the missing chapters. I did write a post on both the last chapter and my author page, but I can understand people not checking.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 98

"Are you still thinking about what Qrow said?"

"Lord Branwen," Weiss corrected half-heartedly. The white-haired Arcanist was sat on the edge of her bed nibbling on her thumb, a habit which would have seen Ruby told off in a heartbeat. "Do you think he's right?"

"About which bit?"

"The White being willing to sacrifice everything for their own aims."

"Well yeah. Isn't that obvious by now?"

"I don't mean sacrifices that they feel have to happen. I'm talking about unnecessary sacrifices. Ones that are… pointless. Childish." Weiss's eyes scrunched shut. Grudgingly, she asked, "You spend a lot of time in the Sanctum, don't you? How many Rogue Arcanists are in there?"

Honestly, she hadn't counted. The building was big and stately with enough rooms to hold a couple of hundred, but the upper areas where most spent their time were often quiet and subdued. Losing one's magic, or access to it, was not a light punishment for most Arcanists. She'd seen how people like Marrow reacted to spending even a short amount of time inside.

"At least a hundred. Maybe more."

"A hundred…" Weiss tasted the number, fidgeted with her fingers and then opened her eyes and looked Ruby's way. "Wouldn't it make sense to utilise them in the battle? They're criminals already. Maybe we could offer them clemency if they fought, reduce their sentences or give them something. This is their city, too, and they'll die if the Grimm conquer it."

"You wouldn't need to bribe them." Ruby said. "Just letting them out to touch magic again would have most agreeing."

"Exactly. And they're strong – dangerously strong. That's why they're stuck in there in the first place. I can understand the White's concerns over them being difficult to control, but it isn't like they can flee the city with the Grimm overrunning the forests. They would have to work with us."

"They would."

"So, why?" Weiss threw herself back on the bed. "Why isn't anyone trying that? Is it really that big a deal to bring them out? Or at least some of them. I refuse to believe no one has thought of it until now."

It probably had been thought of, and just as quickly dismissed. The Sanctum was where Arcanists dangerous to the White's control over the city went. Not all of them were dangerous because of their magic or power; some were dangerous because of their beliefs, because of the trouble they could stir up. And then some were just thrown in there because the White were afraid.

"It won't happen." Ruby said. "They'll never let them out."

"I know that. I know it and yet…" Weiss growled suddenly, rolled onto her side and punched the mattress. "And yet we're being told to go out on our own and risk our lives, all because we're expendable. Because you don't have a family to mourn you and mine is too unimportant to matter." Weiss punched the bedding again. "How are we more expendable than convicted criminals?"

"Because if we die saving the city then the White can hold us up as martyrs. If the Rogue Arcanists die, it'll make them look heroic and that will look bad on the ones imprisoning them."

"The White does not falter…" Weiss laughed bitterly after saying it. "We either succeed and pass our glory onto the White Arcana, or we fail and they use our sacrifice in the same way. This is ridiculous. This is…"

Ruby waited, but Weiss didn't say anything. She didn't make any sound other than her harsh breathing. There was no glazing over what Goodwitch had asked them to do, no pretending their task was a safe or even realistic one for their level of skill and time spent in the Collegium. Ruby wondered if half the reason they were chosen wasn't because they were young women in the first place. A grown man dying in the line of duty was a shame, but it happened, whereas two young girls, one of whom was only sixteen, was a tragedy.

She didn't think Goodwitch wanted them to die – if she had, she wouldn't have sent Qrow with them. Success was preferable to the White, especially if it ended this invasion, but she had to know the risks. Did know the risks. This was all calculated and Ruby wouldn't put it past Lady Goodwitch to have planned a speech for their demise while she was at it.

Was the Collegium always like this? Ozpin seemed so nice and friendly. Then again, she'd only met him in peaceful times, before his death and the Grimm attack turned everything on its head. The whole Collegium had forgotten about the mysterious Wildmage roaming around now. They had bigger things to focus on. Though I bet if I showed up to help them fight, they'd still stab me in the back. Probably frame me for Ozpin's death and maybe the whole invasion too.

Ruby sat up suddenly. "Do you want to visit the Sanctum?"

"What?" Weiss rolled over, still on her side but confused all the same. "Why would I? I can't go there."

"Of course you can. I do all the time. You could see the kind of people inside."

"Dangerous people."

"Not without magic they're not."

Weiss bit her lower lip. "I don't know…"

"You're talking about wanting to use them in the attack. Come with me to see them. They're not bad people, I promise. You'd be free to leave whenever you liked as well."

/-/

Weiss tugged her hood further down her face and shuffled in close to Ruby's side, practically bumping into her. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," she hissed. "What are we doing? What am I doing? The Sanctum isn't a place for law-abiding Arcanists, Ruby."

"It'll be fiiine." Ruby hooked her and through the crook of Weiss' and yanked her in against her to prevent any escape. They were approaching the wrought-iron gates of the Sanctum, which lay open as they always did, The tall hedges acting as living walls spread on either side, while the beautiful manor within the grounds stood lit by torches on the outside and candles shining from the interior windows. The paved pathway leading from the gate to the front entrance was flanked by gorgeous flowerbeds and poplar trees.

"I-I'm having second thoughts…"

"Nope."

"Ruby, you can't force me!"

"I kind of can," Ruby said, easily resisting Weiss' efforts to pull her arm free. For all the difference in age, Weiss was not the stronger person. Ruby tugged her along, ignoring her frantic squeaking, and stepped through the iron gate. The cold sensation of the Sanctum's anti-magic field washed over her, and she shuddered, releasing a quick sigh. "There. That wasn't so bad."

Weiss was shaking badly. "It's wrong. It's wrong. It's wrong. I-I can't feel anything!"

Okay, this was a little more than she'd expected. Ruby pulled Weiss around to face her and clapped her hands to the girl's cheeks, holding her still. "Look at me, Weiss. Look at me." Those pale blue eyes locked onto hers, wide and panicked. "Calm down. It's a temporary effect. Stop focusing on it and take a deep breath."

Thankfully, Weiss listened. Her chest swelled out and in again, her nostrils flaring. After a few deep breaths, she closed her eyes and concentrated, then pulled shaky hands up to Ruby's wrists and peeled her own off.

Ruby didn't turn away, not until she was sure. "Better?"

"N-No. But I am calmer. How is this not affecting you? I feel awful…"

It had never affected her like it did others. Ruby wasn't sure how Marrow hadn't found that suspicious. "Maybe I'm just used to it by now. It'll wear off the second we walk back outside, so I don't let it panic me. Besides, we both didn't have magic when we were younger. This isn't anything new."

"Yes, but…" Weiss clenched her eyes shut. "No, you're right. And this is what normal people feel like all the time. They have no idea what they're missing. I can't imagine living like this."

"The people in the Sanctum have to."

Ruby took one of Weiss' hands and have it a comforting squeeze. Less comforting was the way she dragged Weiss toward the large building. Her friend stiffened, but it wasn't like the effect got any stronger the closer they came. The Sanctum Guards barely acknowledged their presence. Their eyes stared emptily ahead, and Ruby wasn't sure they saw the two of them at all. The main hallway of the manor opened before them, the long stairways leading to the second floor and the cut-off point, the desk and the doorways, behind which stood a familiar figure.

"Hello Nicholas." Ruby said. "We'd like to sign in."

Nicholas Arc, Jaune's own father, looked up from the spot on the desk he'd been staring at with naked confusion on his face. It didn't change on seeing her. If anything, he looked less whole than the last time she'd visited. His white hair was sticking out at odd angles, his collar was unkempt, and it looked like he hadn't bathed in days.

Was that because of the attack on the city? Nicholas likely wasn't utilised with his mental capacity, so he'd probably been left to man the Sanctum like this. Had he even moved from the desk in the past few days? Ruby leaned over and noticed how gaunt his features were. The skin on his neck looked loose.

"Nicholas," she said, speaking firmly, as if to a child, "When was the last time you ate anything?"

"Ate…?" He stared back at her. The briefest light of understanding flashed in his eyes. "I haven't…" He licked his lips and his stomach grumbled. "Food. Is it dinner time…?"

It was noon, and yet she doubted he meant dinner today, or even yesterday. Everyone has forgotten about the Sanctum, she realised, anger rising inside her. Nicholas could barely remember who he was at the best of days. Did he rely on instruction to do things nowadays? If so, where were the ones who were supposed to handle this?

"It's dinner time," Ruby lied. "You should go eat now."

"Ah." Nicholas looked so very hungry. "But my relief…"

Ruby looked around urgently. There was no one. On a whim, she stalked up to the nearest Sanctum Guard and tugged on his arm. Her arm, it turned out as the blank-faced woman looked down. She, at least, didn't look like she was on the verge of collapse.

"Orders from the White Arcana," Ruby said imperiously, letting them see her Arcanum. "You are to relieve Nicholas Arc and work the entry desk for twelve hours, then switch out with your fellow there." She pointed to the other guard. "Understood?"

Any other person would have asked for proof, would have asked why someone so young was giving out orders, would have at least considered questioning them. The woman, however, merely nodded once and plodded away from the door, past Nicholas Arc and behind the desk.

"Ruby," Weiss hissed. "What are you doing?"

Ruby waved her back. "You're relieved from duty, Nicholas. Go have something to eat, then sleep." Her nose scrunched up when he came close to her. "And have a bath as well. Take time off to rest and enjoy your free time."

"Yes, Lady Arcanist," he muttered, stumbling past and through a doorway.

Weiss was biting her lip again. "Ruby…"

"We would like to register as visitors." Ruby said to the woman now working the desk. "Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee of the White Arcana." The woman scribbled their names down, reached under the desk and brought up two purple strips of cloth. "Thank you." Ruby slung hers over her shoulder, so it ran down across her chest diagonally. "Wear this," she said to Weiss. "It'll let everyone know you're working for the Sanctum."

Weiss shucked it on and allowed Ruby to drag her up the stairs into the Sanctum. That was as far as she could manage before whispering, "What was that back there? That man, the way he acted, and how you took control. You're not supposed to order people around in here, are you?"

"If I didn't, he would have worked the desk until he died!"

"That…" Weiss looked back and swallowed. "What's wrong with him? With them? It's like they're not all here."

"They're not. They have an illness." It was the best way to describe it. "They can't be affected by magic even outside the Sanctum, but it also means they end up like that. Forgetful. Empty." Ruby pushed open a door with more force than was strictly necessary and ushered Weiss inside. "The White uses them, both for hunting down Rogue Arcanists and to guard this place. The White likes them like this because it makes them obedient."

"If they're like this, it's not like they can live normal lives elsewhere, Ruby."

"They weren't always like this. Nicholas had – has – a family. He has a wife, a son and a whole bunch of daughters. He was a completely normal person before." Ruby snarled under her breath. "Then the White got hold of him and decided he'd make a better Sanctum guard than father."

"That… That can't be true. If it's an illness, then maybe they're trying to treat them."

"Do you think they would? Ask yourself that, Weiss. Which is better? A healed person who will want to go back to his family, or an anti-magic guard that can defeat any Rogue Arcanist, and who is completely obedient. Which would the White find more useful? And if they are trying to heal them, why are they here and not with the Emerald Arcana?"

"That's horrible… cruel…"

"The White doesn't falter, Weiss. Not even at this." Ruby brought Weiss through a final door and into the library. "Welcome to the Sanctum, where the most dangerous and deadly are kept."

The people inside the library looked neither dangerous nor deadly. They looked afraid, dejected and hushed. Unlike before where they had been reading and playing chess and other games, more Rogues were crowded at the windows instead, peering out over the city and fearing – or maybe hoping – for the Grimm to attack. There was an overall sense of gloom pervading the Sanctum today, one beyond even what was normally present.

Arcanists moved about slowly and sluggishly, while the guards that normally stood at the doorways were curiously absent. There was little chatter and even less eye contact. Ruby and Weiss stood in the doorway in silence, the latter looking around at all the people as if she'd never considered their existence.

"They're so gloomy," Weiss' voice was so low, a whisper, as if she were afraid to draw attention to herself.

"It's not normally this bad," Ruby whispered back. "They're usually like regular people, reading and drinking and talking." That was part of the reason she'd dragged Weiss along, so she could see them as normal people. Ruby hadn't expected this. It was like walking into a graveyard where the people hadn't realised they were dead yet. "Come on." Ruby tugged at Weiss' hand. "Let's go find some people."

"People? Who?"

"Some friends of mine."

"Friends!?" Weiss hissed. "You've made friends in the Sanctum?"

"Sure. Why shouldn't I?"

"B-Because they're… because they're bad people, Ruby."

"Just you wait and see…"

It wasn't hard to find Adam and Cinder. They were one of the few people not clinging to a window, and so they stood out through the next doorway in a room filled with flowers and herbs. They were both stood, Cinder grinding something in a mortar while Adam had a book open in front of him. They were arguing over something, with Cinder slamming her pestle down and pointing angrily at the page. At least they looked alive. Active, too. They were loud enough to be heard the room over, and Ruby found herself more than a little relieved at the fact.

"You're basing your experience on Menagerie's plants," Cinder snapped. "I, meanwhile, am a local."

"You spent all of, what, nine years not in here? I wouldn't call you experienced."

"The book is, and the book clearly states-"

Ruby coughed loudly.

The two jumped and spun on their feet like naughty children. Adam's hand reached for a sword that wasn't there, while Cinder gripped the table to steady herself. On seeing it was her, they both relaxed, though Cinder was quick to shove a leafy green plant in their face, or the leaf of one.

"Ruby. Perfect timing. This. Tell this ignorant buffoon this is a Doctor's Wart."

Ruby stared cross-eyed at the plant lead. While it was a reasonable thing to assume a person who lived in the slums and had to forage to survive would know the names of plants and herbs found in the nearby area, that wasn't entirely true. Plants had two names for Ruby – eat, and do not eat. The plant held before her was one she recognised, but mostly in the sense that it would give you nasty stomach cramps and have you pooping a river.

"I… don't know…?"

"It's clearly wild blossom root," Adam said. "Deadly poison."

"As if you would know that! I have half a mind to-"

"It's Doctor's Wart." Weiss said, speaking hesitantly but clearly. Everyone's attention slid to her, and she shrank under it. Even so, she was firm in her conviction. "I've done studies on plants. It's doctor's wart. It has medicinal qualities."

Adam crossed his arms and pouted.

"Ha!" Cinder barked out a laugh, tossed it into the mortar and began to grind it down with the other herbs and seeds in there, quickly reducing it to a paste. "I told you. As if they would leave lethal plants within reach of us. It's medicinal."

"All medicine is lethal in poor dosage," Adam said.

"Does that change the fact you were wrong, and I was right?" Cinder snorted. "I think not. Ruby," she snapped, "Pass me that water. Pour some in here. Not much. It's supposed to be a paste, not a liquid."

Ruby hurried to obey, adding water slowly to the sticky mess of plant matter. "Is this enough?"

"Yes. Maybe. I have no idea." Cinder shrugged as she admitted that. "Who is your friend?"

"This is Weiss." Ruby tugged her nervous roommate forward. "Weiss, this is Cinder Fall and Adam Taurus. They're my friends in the Sanctum. Weiss is my roommate and best friend outside," she explained to them. "She's a White Arcanist, but she's not stuffy like the rest."

Adam grunted.

"Charmed." Cinder said sarcastically. "There." Setting the pestle down, she picked up the mortar in its fullest and walked through the middle of them. "Follow me. We can talk more in my quarters. You've chosen a fine time to show up, actually. Better timing than we could have hoped for."

Ruby hurried to keep up, leaving Weiss no choice but to follow. Weiss was looking increasingly nervous, especially as they left the more occupied rooms and entered the corridors far, far away from the safety of the Sanctum's entrance.

Cinder opened the door to her room by bumping her shoulder into it and pushing. Ruby followed, with Weiss and then Adam bringing up the rear. When Weiss entered, she gasped.

There was a man on Cinder's bed. A very sick looking man.

A very sick looking man stripped down with a padded gambeson, leather armour and purple cloak laid on a chair nearby. "Is that one of the guards!?" Weiss almost shrieked. "What have you done to him?"

"Idiot girl!" Cinder hissed. "Be quiet. Can't you see he's resting?"

Weiss looked again and saw what Ruby had. The man was asleep, or unconscious. His lips moved briefly, eyelids fluttering. His skin was clammy and damp with sweat. Cinder moved swiftly over and sat in the wooden seat by the bed, dipped two fingers into her paste and began to dab it over a nasty-looking cut across the man's forehead. There was nothing keeping the man in place, nothing to suggest he was a prisoner, and everything from rough bandages and a plate of half-eaten food to suggest Cinder was caring for him.

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"He fell." Cinder said simply. "Fell and smacked his head on a bookshelf."

"Are you sure he wasn't pushed?" Weiss asked.

"He fell from sheer hunger and exhaustion. One man can only stand in place guarding a corridor for so many days before the body gives way. No one relieved him." Cinder sighed and finished dabbing at his face, then brought his head and shoulders up and touched a pewter cup to his lips. She tipped it back to force him to drink.

"The Sanctum has apparently become a low priority." Adam explained for their benefit. "We've not had any Arcanists come to organise things for a week now. The guards are dropping down left and right, some dying. The staff have all but abandoned the place. We went two days without food because this one was guarding the kitchens. It was only when he collapsed that we were able to break in. The prisoners are distributing food now, and cleaning up waste, maintaining the Sanctum and looking after our own jailors because they can't look after themselves."

"And you haven't taken the chance to escape?" Weiss asked. "I somehow doubt that."

Adam glared at her. "A few did. They were cut down. There are more guards outside, and even should they escape, they would find themselves in the centre of the Collegium. We can move around inside without consequence, but the moment we approach the front doors, these men and women will kill us no matter how much we plead."

"Then why are you looking after them at all?"

"I don't know. Basic decency?"

"From a-"

Ruby elbowed Weiss sharply and gave her an even harder look. The insult died on Weiss' tongue as she quickly remembered these had been introduced as Ruby's friends. She flushed bright red, ducked her head and muttered, "My apologies. I meant no ill."

Cinder snorted. "You meant plenty of ill, but I couldn't care less right now. We have sick and dying in here. We can't get a message out because the guards can't think for themselves. Right now, we're busy using plants found around the place for medicine as you saw above. Once they run out, and the food in the kitchens, we will all die. The guards won't even think to wonder about that. They'll just guard our corpses until they too die of starvation."

"I'll tell Goodwitch." Ruby promised. "Or anyone."

"See that you do. If this gets worse, everyone in here will try and force an escape. Dying to huntsman blades is better than slowly starving to death. It will be a massacre whichever way you look at it, then an even greater one when some start escaping and run into the Arcanists outside."

That kicked Weiss into action and she quickly started to look over the downed Sanctum guard. He had hair as grey as Nicholas', the roots pure white and stringy. Blood had scalped and turned crusty on his head where it really did look like he'd struck something hard. Like Nicholas, his skin was gaunt and pale, as like from lack of good food as whatever curse afflicted them with their memory loss. If it wasn't all the work of the White's poison in the first place.

"Are there more like this?" Weiss asked.

"Six in total. We were able to get into the kitchens. It turns out if you literally force food into their hands, they will eat. Same for if you force them down into a seat for resting. We can't move them, however. They attack if we try that, as Margaret discovered."

"Who is Margaret?"

"Who was Margaret, you mean." Adam said. "She was a Rogue Arcanist locked away for trying to master a third Arcana. Now, she's dead for trying to move a dying but still conscious huntsman away from his post."

Ruby swore under her breath.

Weiss recoiled. "What? Why? If she was trying to help-"

"They don't have the mental faculties to tell who is helping or not. They follow the orders of the White Arcana. That's all. Mindless slaves," he growled under his breath. "We didn't have them in Menagerie. The people who worked at our Sanctum could think and move on their own. Not that there weren't problems there either, but nothing like this."

"This is ridiculous. The White has a duty to the Sanctum."

"Tell them that then," Cinder said. "Tell them and get us the help we need. If they care at all. I'm sure protecting the good Arcanists is more important than worrying about us."

"The Collegium cares for all Arcanists."

Cinder laughed. "Oh dear. Did Ruby not tell you? We're not Arcanists, child." Her golden eyes held naught but mirth as she stared Weiss down. "We are Wildmages."

Weiss' reaction was everything Ruby wished it wouldn't be. Her body reeled back, eyes widening, and breath caught. She stumbled into the chair and knocked it down, backed into Adam and then panicked and pushed by him, ducking under his arm and sprinting for the door. Only when she realised Ruby wasn't following did she stop. Only then did she look back and see the raw disappointment on Ruby's face.

"Weiss…" Ruby said sadly. "I told you they were my friends."

"B-But… Wildmages… Ruby, they're-"

"Adam saved my life in the Archives. Cinder has always been kind to me."

"But-"

"She lived in Vale as a noble. Her only crime was being born a Wildmage, and because of it she was torn away from her family and thrown in here as a child. Do you know what that's like, Weiss? Can you even imagine your family being made to give you up?"

Weiss didn't answer.

That pissed her off. "Run if you want!" Ruby snapped, glaring at her before ripping her eyes away. "Run away. Just judge them because it's how the White wants you to, just like they want you to judge all the Rogues in here as evil when they're just trying to survive."

Weiss swallowed. "Ruby. It's not that simple…"

"It is as simple or as complicated as you make it." Adam interrupted. "But run if you wish. Just make sure you run and tell someone that we are dying. That we, however little you care for us, are trapped here because of you. That won't last if the people meant to keep us here all die."

"Unless," Cinder said, "-she wants us to die. After all, we're Wildmages, aren't we? Do we even deserve to live?" Snorting, she laid her jailor down and dabbed a damp cloth to his brow. "I'm not sure myself. There are times I spend hoping the Grimm will win, destroy this city and kill us with it. At least then I could laugh in the Collegium's face as the world burns down around us."

"You're not helping me convince her." Ruby chastised.

It was too late. Weiss had already fled.

Damn it, Weiss.

One step forward, two steps back.

Next Chapter: 15th August

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