Rainy day today. I like rain. People always act like I'm being depressed when I say that, but I love the sound it makes; the sight of it running down windows; the way it's cold out so I can wrap up tight with some warm drink. It's just so much nicer than hot sun burning your skin and eyes all the time.

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 107

Qrow wouldn't let her open the letter in a crowded bar and that was probably for the best. Too many eyes. Instead, she hid it under her robes and drank with him for another hour, passing on some quick messages that he would hopefully take to Yang and Blake. When the sun reached its highest point in the sky, she called off with an excuse of getting lunch and stepped back outside. The Collegium was still quiet, but now it was probably because all the Initiates were in the food halls. Ruby slowly walked back to her part of the Collegium, hairs tickling on the back of her neck.

She was being followed.

They were okay, she supposed, but they were no back-alley purse snatcher, and Ruby made her living avoiding and losing the guards. The problem was that she wasn't really supposed to have that kind of skill, so while she could have ducked between two buildings, sprinted to the end and then hidden in an alcove while they caught up, whomever was following her – probably the White Arcana – would have a lot of questions as to how she knew they were there at all, and why she was so experienced at evading capture.

So, Ruby walked. She walked slower than she normally would, straight back to her dorm and then past it, over to the nearby restaurant of sorts – more a Collegium-sponsored kitchen with chairs and tables set aside for dining on fine, noble foods – and took a small table for two in the corner.

The position was no accident. Corners cut off the ability for anyone to get behind her, and ensured she'd have perfect line of sight of anyone coming in after her. The people following would either have to walk in and order their own food, which would mean a host of challenges like not being caught out, matching the pace of their eating to hers and not looking suspicious getting up as she did, or they would have to wait outside and give up the immediate ability to watch her in exchange for not tipping her off.

They chose the latter. That had to mean something. It probably meant they were more concerned with her overall movements and position more than the little things she did. They were keeping a rough eye on her, but not investigating every little move she made.

It could just be the White wanting to make sure she stayed in the Collegium and didn't go after Weiss. That was a fair concern since they knew she was her friend, and everyone knew where she'd run off to. Maria Calavera. Glynda might just be concerned about losing another Arcanist to the Rogue.

On the other hand, they might even be there looking for Blake. Someone could have ratted out that Ruby knew the Shadow Arcanist, and it wasn't much of a leap since they were both ostensibly from Menagerie. They might be waiting for her to lead them to Yang and Blake, then make the arrest.

Or, and the possibility was there, this might even be for her protection. Glynda had said a lot of people were suspicious of her connection with Merlot. Ruby wasn't sure if murders happened like that in the Collegium, but revenge killings sure as hell did in the slums, and she doubted nobles were any less violent.

One thing's for sure. I can't leave the Collegium while they're watching. Not without telling Glynda ahead of time. I wonder if I could confront her about it. Go to her and pretend I'm worried about people following me. See what she says.

It was a cute idea, but why would Glynda tell the truth? She could make up any one of a hundred things. Ruby sighed, flashed a small smile for the servant girl – a commoner like her – bringing her meal over, and dug in. Bread, pork and apply diced up and caramelised into some kind of sauce. It came in its usual noble portion size, which meant small and with way too much artistic display, but it was good. Excellent, even. Ruby wolfed it down and followed it with apple cider, then brought out the envelope and slowly turned it over in her fingers.

No one had yet come in the main doors. A lot of the tables were occupied, Arcanists chatting or eating quietly. The occasional polite laugh and the scrape of wooden chairs mingling with the genteel clink of silver cutlery on porcelain. There wasn't anyone paying her any more attention than they ought to, and a letter was just a letter.

After a brief hesitation, Ruby slid her finger into it and broke the seal. The folded parchment inside was thick and soft, expensive, and the ink etched into it was so beautifully cursive that she knew Weiss must have scrapped more than a few botched copies before. Stupid Weiss. What did it matter if it wasn't perfect? It was just a letter. Ruby's smile wavered as she read it through.

.

Dear Ruby,

If you are reading this then I have already departed the Collegium.

I'm sorry. I understand that words alone can't convey my feelings, nor explain just why I chose to leave without a proper goodbye, without even waiting for you to be freed from your incarceration. I will do my best, but you will know where I have gone. If you ever have the chance, visit, and I shall get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness. Even so, I will try to explain.

I healed someone during the attack.

It was a reckless move, I agree, but they had been struck and they were dying, and I was there. I couldn't ignore them and moved before I could think, using Emerald magic to patch their wounds. I thought myself safe at first for they were too distracted by the battle to ask how I knew, and they threw themselves back into the melee without a word.

After, however, when we returned to the Collegium, I received news of the Crimson Arcana asking for the name of the Emerald Arcanist, to thank them for healing one of their own. Again, I thought I would be safe. What Arcanist could claim to remember the faces of everyone they have healed? Someone else would take the credit, I thought.

I was wrong. The attack force was chosen solely for its efficiency in combat. There was to be no time to heal, no time to waste, and the only people there were of the White or Crimson Arcana. There were no Emerald Arcanists present. Not a single one. The investigation has already begun as I write this. The injured party knew it was someone in white robes, and that cuts the suspects in half.

Lady Goodwitch has assured us all that there will be no punishment, that the guilty party need only take the Emerald Arcana if they have not already chosen their second. I believe her for most people, but I cannot help but think that rule won't apply for me. They know who taught me Emerald magic, Ruby, and they will be concerned that she may have taught me more than just how to heal.

And…

And they would be right.

I'm sorry. I never told you. I didn't know how to tell you. Curiosity has always been my greatest weakness and when Maria offered, I couldn't say no. I had to know how it worked. Perhaps it was a trap, perhaps I was foolish, but I dove head first into what she had to offer and by the time I realised how much danger I was in, it was too late.

Lord Branwen tells me I should wait for you to be free and talk to you, that you have things you wish to tell me just as much as I do you, but I cannot. If I leave now, while you are incarcerated, then they cannot blame you. If I selfishly wait until after just to see you in person, then you will be locked away again as a suspect the moment I run. I can't do that to you.

I'm sorry we could not speak in person. I am sorry it has come to this. Know that you will always be my friend, no matter what you may think of me now. You made my stay in the Collegium so much happier than it otherwise would have been. You didn't care that my family were low nobles, nor that I was rude and demanding of you. You are a good friend, Ruby, and I will never forget that.

Yours sincerely,

Weiss Schnee

.

Ruby scrunched the letter up, balled it into a tiny size in her hand and then held it to the small candle on the table until it burned to ash. Her own face was scrunched up just as bad, eyes burning as if it were her in the fire. Stupid Weiss. Stupid, ignorant, reckless Weiss! Of all the people she'd thought would be stupid enough to nearly get themselves caught, it wouldn't have been Weiss. It would have been herself!

And damn Maria while she was at it! Teaching Weiss forbidden magics and then sending her back to the Collegium. It wasn't like the old crone didn't know how much trouble that'd put Weiss in.

This had to be intentional. Either she wanted someone to pass her magic onto or just wanted to stick it to the Collegium. Either way, she had to know it'd end this way. The same as it did for her.

Ruby's wild magic bubbled and roiled beneath the surface. She had to clench every muscle in her body to prevent her temper causing it to lash out. Not here, anyway. Maybe she'd let it the next time she saw Maria. Both show Weiss what she was, and also show Maria why she shouldn't mess with her friends.

Now what? What was she supposed to do now? Weiss was gone, a Rogue Arcanist, and the Grimm were dealt with. She'd even found the truth about Wildmages out from Merlot, for all the good it did her. What was left for her to do? Was there any reason to stay in Vale? Blake wanted to go home to Menagerie, and Ruby couldn't see much of a reason not to take Yang and go with her at this point.

I promised to help Cinder and Adam get out the Sanctum…

They could come with them, though getting them out alive was easier said than done. She'd have no magic in the Sanctum and the huntsmen there were far beyond her ability to deal with, even as mentally damaged as they were. She didn't even know how the Sanctum worked.

We can't leave while the last of the Grimm are still outside either, she realised. I'll have to wait until they're finally dealt with.

/-/

A full week later, the Grimm still weren't finished.

There had been two attacks in the last week, both fairly weak with only minimal losses among the city's soldiers. That there were losses at all when Glynda literally had the ability to control the Grimm was a thorn in Ruby's side. When she asked her again about it, the leader of the White Arcana simply said she had no idea how to use it and might in fact make things worse by calling out to more Grimm.

The sceptre was safely locked away under the White Arcana. Where, Ruby wasn't told and probably shouldn't be. The less people that knew, the better. The White and Crimson were still fighting on the outer walls, so it wasn't like Glynda wasn't doing anything, but it still felt too slow.

There hadn't been any formal decision on the Azure Arcana either, though Qrow again made it clear they would be losing the Archives. "Goodwitch is just dragging it out, trying to blunt their anger by draining it over a few weeks of so-called deliberation." Qrow said. "It'll be the White Library within a month, I guarantee."

Two weeks later, marking it three since Merlot's death, the White officially took control of the former Azure Archives, sanctioning the Azure Arcana for their negligence in allowing Merlot to harm Vale. There was a whole lot of arguing, a whole lot of protesting, but whether by coincidence or design there had been another Grimm attack the day before, a far worse one that crashed against the walls and killed more than a few Arcanists.

Oddly enough, it had been on a shift when the White Arcana weren't present, meaning the losses fell equally among the others, which fed their anger against the Azure and ensured they had no sympathy. Ignobly, they were turfed out, left to stand in the grass outside as their former home and sanctuary was ripped away from them. More than a few wept. Ruby saw Ren slowly remove the blue mantle from around his neck and let it fall to the ground, watched him trudge away miserably and knew she couldn't do anything.

One week later, the watchers that had been haunting Ruby's every step for a whole freaking month finally disappeared. Ruby waited one day longer just to be sure, then signed out of the Collegium and headed into the city.

Vale didn't look like a city that had just won a war with the Grimm. No one seemed to know it, and people still moved with haunted expressions, shuffling from one building to the next and never lingering. It was worse in the Merchant's Quarter, which had now become the front lines as it were. The colourful markets she'd once dreamed of buying spiced food at were gone, the shops quiet and unassuming. Smoke rose from a funeral pyre that was down in the slums of all places – they must have been throwing their bodies over the ledge and down, because it was much too dangerous to head down there.

Ruby wandered aimlessly for a good thirty minutes before heading to Yang and Blake, just to make sure no one was following her. After a whole month, they'd evidently decided there was no reason to keep going. Helpful since she could feel a surge coming on, maybe a week out. Ruby ducked into the street the rented home was on and approached the door with a bag of fresh meats she'd picked up from a butcher en route.

"Who is it?" came from within. Ruby rolled her eyes and whistled. "Ruby!?"

The door was wrenched open a few seconds later, and it took Ruby a few more to even recognise her sister. Yang looked good. Incredible. She'd always known her sister was good looking before, she'd heard enough people say it in the slums, but that had always been good looking for the slums. Decent body, not too many bones poking through, long hair and a full body.

Now, with the benefit of a healthy lifestyle and food that wasn't infested with rot, Yang's beauty was well and truly shining through. Her hair was thick and luscious, spun like gold, and her skin was smooth and unblemished, full and soft-looking without a single bump or bone showing through. She was clean, too. Hair, skin and fingernails all washed, and her clothing equally clean, a cream blouse over tight brown pants that clung to hips that looked just a little wider than they'd once been.

"Ruby!" Yang felt stronger too when she hugged her; strong enough to squeeze the air out of her and leave her feet kicking impotently below. "Finally! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to come by? I was so worried!"

"S-Sorry!"

Yang clicked her tongue and carried Ruby inside, slamming the door shut with her foot. The house looked well-kept, with a surprising number of flowers in pots lining the main hallway, each more vibrantly coloured than the last. There was a fire lit in the main reading room, and Blake was lounging on a soft chair with her bare feet up on a cushion pointing at the warm flames. She looked over, marking her page in some book by folding the corner.

"Look who's back!" Yang crowed.

"Yes. I have eyes."

"But she's safe!"

"As Lord Branwen told us she was numerous times…"

Yang puffed her cheeks out and let Ruby down. Qrow had obviously come by and passed her messages on, and it looked like he'd done a lot more than pay the rent. Yang and Blake weren't hurting for money by the looks of things, especially when Yang took the bag of meats and said, "I'll put it in the pantry. I was just cooking. You'll stay for dinner, right?"

"I have to be back tonight, but I can stay until it's dark."

"Great!"

"Also, since when do you cook?"

"Since Blake can't!" Yang called back from the kitchen.

"I can cook, thank you." Blake remarked.

"Yeah, by burning meat over a fire. That isn't cooking."

"It's not like I had much chance to learn in Menagerie," Blake muttered. "My father was the Grand Arcanist. We lived in a mansion with servants."

"Typical noble!"

"You don't get to talk to me about being stereotypical, Dredger." Blake said it without any malice and Ruby was surprised when Yang laughed back from the kitchen.

"So…" Ruby said. "You two are getting on…?"

"Your sister is a constant frustration. No decency, either."

"Uh-huh." There hadn't been much need for that before. "What's with all the flowers in the hallway?"

"Yang's suitors."

"Yang has suitors!?" Ruby squawked.

"Apparently." Blake rolled her eyes. "I've been taking her out to the food markets since she's looking less and less like she crawled out of a sewer, and a few people have taken notice. There's the blacksmith's boy down the road, the pharmacist on the corner – he's about ten years older than her. Then there's a few of the local guard who she chatted and played cards with at the tavern. I don't think they'd ever had a woman come up and join in before, and they were smitten by the end of the night."

"Oh. Wow…"

"Like I said, no decency and no propriety."

"All your noble stuff isn't needed here," Yang said as she came back into the room with several bowls balanced on a tray. The bubbling stew inside looked thick and smelled thicker. The portions were huge too. Her and Yang had almost a half a loaf of bread each, proving that not only were they sisters, but that they were both taking full advantage of having regular meals. "Besides-" Yang spoke with a full mouth and Blake grimaced. "-why not put myself out there? Not like I have a lot of job opportunities."

Ruby swallowed her mouthful and turned to her. "You're going to get married!?"

"Hey. Hey. Not that suddenly I'm not." Yang tore off a huge chunk of bread with her teeth and devoured it like a wolf might a deer. "But in the future?" she mumbled. "Maybe. Marrying my way out the slums was the only chance we ever had before. Only realistic chance, anyway."

"It's not needed now though, is it?"

"Isn't it? We can't rely on that old guy's money forever."

"I'm an Arcanist. I can earn-"

"I should be looking after myself as well." Yang interrupted. "Besides, I'm not talking about selling myself off to the highest bidder. All I said was I might give it a shot, let them have a chance to talk to me and see if I like any of them. I'm not rushing into anything."

"Good." Very good. "I've heard enough about marriage among noble families to have to talk about yours. It's all meetings this, standing that, engagements when you're a child. Yuck." Ruby turned to Blake. "Were you engaged?"

Blake paused, spoon to her lips. "I was."

Yang's head shot up. "Really!?"

"He died." Blake said. "In the fall."

"Oh. Oh shit, I'm sorry-"

"It's fine. I hadn't seen him in six years. We were engaged when I was eleven, and we were supposed to meet again when I reached eighteen. It didn't hurt as much as it would have if we'd been close."

"You were engaged at eleven?"

"His family were close allies of the Belladonnas. It was the done thing."

"You were eleven! Not even we do that and we're meant to be scum!"

"It was only an engagement," Blake defended. "We never touched one another other than to hold hands. Besides, there was always the chance to break it off later if we didn't get on. An engagement is more of an informal agreement among nobles. The marriage is the formal contract."

Yang pointed the remnants of her loaf at her. "You lot are weird."

"I don't want to hear that from someone who eats half a cow for dinner-"

Ruby giggled, reminded of herself and Weiss back when everything started. That brought a fresh wave of melancholy. Things had changed, and she couldn't say she liked the way they were going. Back then, they'd both been so excited to learn things, to learn magic, that exciting and amazing power she'd heard about in stories.

Now, she was stuck in the White Arcana knowing things she wished she didn't, and Weiss had been forced into the life of a Rogue Arcanist because of Maria. Both of them would be hunted down and thrown into the Sanctum if the Collegium knew the truth, and all of a sudden the magic and mystery didn't feel worth it anymore.

Yang saw her expression and said, "Worried about your friend?"

She knew, then. "Did Qrow tell you?"

"Yeah. Said you were cleared of all suspicion because they had you accounted for."

"I'm worried about Weiss, not me."

"I can try and check in on her once the Grimm are gone," Blake said. "However long that's going to take." She frowned and set her fork down. "It's been a month already. The last of the Grimm should have thrown themselves at the walls already."

"Didn't they do that last week?"

"More Grimm out there, or so we're told."

"I wouldn't even believe you guys found the solution if it wasn't for Blake telling me." Yang said. "Out here, everyone thinks it's an invasion as normal. I don't get why the Collegium are keeping the fact they've solved the problem a secret. You'd think they'd want people not to panic."

"Maybe they want all the credit." Blake said.

"They already have it! Just say they stopped the guy behind it and the credit is all theirs. What's holding them?"

It was a good question. Why were the Collegium delaying on spreading the news? It couldn't just be because of Merlot – they could make up any excuse they wanted; call it a new Grimm or someone non-magical behind it. They didn't have to tell people it was an Arcanist, and the White were professionals at not revealing things. So, what was taking them?

"There has to be some reason." Blake said. "Maybe you could find out," she added at Ruby. "If the White have the sceptre, then they're the ones calling the shots. I'm not sure what they're waiting for, but they must be waiting for something."

"And you think they're placing everyone in danger to get it?"

"They're not placing the Collegium in danger. And it's only the Collegium they care about. Do you really think they care about anyone out here after what they did to the slums?"

Not really. The rest of their meal took place in silence.

/-/

"Lady Rose, is it?" One of the guards at the Collegium gate took note of her Arcanum and signed her back in. It was dark out, but not late – she'd come back well in time for when she'd said she would. "There's a message for you that was dropped off with us today. Official-looking people, too."

"From the White Arcana?"

"No." The man chuckled. "As if the White drops messages off with gate guards. No, it was from House Guards, those loyal to a given house. I was instructed to hand it over to you and only you." He removed a crisp envelope dyed blue with gold leaf. The red seal on the back was familiar, but distantly so.

Ruby took it with a "thank you" and headed into the Collegium. The singular Arcanist on the gate nodded her way but didn't seem bothered by her appearance. Not someone told to watch out for her, which was a good sign. Ruby slid over to a nearby torch on the wall and used the firelight to guide her hand through the wax seal, breaking it open. More expensive paper, even more expensive writing than Weiss. For a second, she wondered if it might not be Weiss' family demanding answers from her, but the seal was all wrong.

.

Lady Rose,

After much deliberation I have reconsidered your suitability to pursue my son as a suitor and am prepared to enter negotiations on joining the Arc and Rose families together. I hereby invite you to the manor to discuss terms and a suitable dowry.

Yours truly,

Lady Juniper Arc

Matriarch of House Arc

.

Ruby stared at the letter.

"Whaaaaat!?"

Two letters in one chapter. Good job Ruby decided to learn how to read all that time ago.

Next Chapter: 24th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur