Disclaimer: RWBY and Hollow Knight do not belong to me. They belong to RoosterTeeth and Team Cherry respectively.
Many, many thanks to Stealthfire101 for their help with describing the fashion in this chapter!
Chapter 9: The Dance
As the lantern flared, your role was cast…
The steady rolling sound of an accordion woke Yang up. For a moment, at least, before she fell asleep again, grumbling under her breath. When the accordion's dulcet tones did not cease, Yang's grumbling grew in volume till she finally snapped awake.
"Who-!" she began, bolting up with a growl.
Her head slammed into the grey stone ceiling, the accordion coming to a discordant stop at the same time. After a moment of writhing Yang realized she wasn't in her Beacon dorm room. There was no hastily patched curtain blocking streamers of daylight. No horribly dangerous bedding arrangements that would one day fall apart spectacularly. No snoring little sister, grumbling ice queen, or Blake reading quietly.
Just a dull grey, one room house. A kitchen comprised of solely a counter and some drawers, a single minuscule table, and a bed that was more frame than mattress all crammed into a space that was too small for her. Or any human, really.
That only gloom and howling winds fell through the open window also gave Yang an idea as to where she was.
With due caution – making sure she had Ember Celica locked and loaded – Yang managed to crawl out of the stone hut. What she found outside hadn't been what she expected.
No cavern walls in sight. No ceiling, no stalagmites that reached for said missing ceiling, nor stalactites in sight. Nothing to block sight of endless dusty grey plains that stretched into the depths of the horizon.
Not that Yang could stare out at the horizon for long. Or anything that wasn't the ground. Galeforce winds tore around her, kicking up razor sharp dust and flinging it into her face. No doubt making a mess of her hair-
Yang hadn't ever considered the caverns of Hallownest ever having an outside. Never in a million years would she imagine that it was even more inhospitable than the pitch black caves themselves.
There was no vegetation in sight. No life, no anything. Nothing moving but the dust kicked up by the wind. Even the light, as bountiful as it was compared to Hallownest's darkness, was a feeble tepid thing that didn't seem to have a definite source. The sky was dark, no stars or moon or sun or cloud anywhere to be found. All there was to break the monotony of her surroundings was a muted light far in the distance.
Covering her nose and mouth with her scarf and cursing that whatever brought her here didn't deign to let her have her goggles, Yang began to move against the wind, trudging through the thick dust. Once or twice she stumbled as she tripped over something invisible underneath the dust.
As she came closer to the light, she spotted what looked like the remains of walls and buildings jutting out from the dust. She marched, ignoring how the wind pushed against her relentlessly, or how the dust scratched against her aura. She marched, and the light grew brighter and brighter till-
The wind howled, great gusts of it kicking dust into the air till Yang couldn't see. Doing her best to not breath in any of it, Yang waited with watery eyes and a growing temper till the cloud was blown away. When it did, Yang forgot to breath for a moment.
It was a circus. One of those traveling sorts, with caravan wagons and solid tents that would disappear within a night.
Though Yang would never admit it, those wandering circus's had always given her the creeps. It wasn't the clowns, no matter how much Ruby tried to insist that was the case. It took a special sort of person to leave the safety of the kingdoms or those few outer settlements that survived. Someone that had a soul with iron at its core, her Dad always said.
Course, huntsmen and huntresses were supposed to have 'iron souls' too, but even as a first year Yang was starting to realize that not all of them did. And at least hunters trained relentlessly to survive the harsh wilds. Circus folk didn't. It was impressive and just a little bit terrifying.
Even with Yang's aversion to circus's, this particular one sent shivers up her spine and across her body. The various covered carriages and tents were clustered together – all of them a dull maroon, dusty black, and grimy white. No other colour in sight, and with the grey lifeless landscape the lack of any other colour was all the more striking.
It only grew stranger as Yang walked past an empty ticket booth. The moment she stepped over the threshold separating the circus grounds and the outside wastes, it was as if she had stepped into a building. The howling winds became muffled. The air in the circus was still. The smell of dust was replaced by the heady aroma of carnival sweets. Underneath which was the heavier, acrid scent of ash and smoke.
It looked like the circus was abandoned, which didn't make Yang feel better. The tents were practically drooping off their frames. Nobody had taken care of this place in a long, long time.
Yang kept walking past torn and tattered canvases till she came across a small clearing. Several smaller tents were arranged in a circle around a pit filled with ashes. Behind one of them the big top tent loomed over the whole circus, a dark shape that blended in with the gloom.
Yang made her way to the edge of the fire pit, absently leaning her arms on the black iron fence that bordered it. Seconds later she jerked back, hissing in pain. Shreds of her golden aura danced across the iron, flowing across and down into the ground. Yang rubbed her arms, her skin red as if badly sunburned, and watched as the ashes pulsed with hidden embers.
The fire pit roared to life, scarlet flames leaping high into the air. Yang stumbled back as the fire towered over her. Sparks scattered, red embers falling to the ground.
She stared into the dread red flames, and Grimm stared back at her. His laughter echoed in her mind even as she woke up with a start in her Beacon dorm room, dawn light barely trickling through the window.
As the lantern flared, your role was cast…
Professor Ozpin stared at his table, and tried to remember where it had come from Had it been a relic from before he was a headmaster? Or had that desk shattered into a million pieces years ago, only to be replaced by a gift from Atlas's headmaster? James Ironwood and Glynda Goodwitch, two people dear to Ozpin, were arguing. This tended to happen whenever they were in the same room.
Today, this was exacerbated by Ozpin having called the two of them into a meeting at the ungodly hour of 5:00 AM. And normally, where Ozpin would watch the proceedings with fond exasperation, today he was stewed in far more bitter thoughts.
Lie Ren. Yang Xiao Long. Weiss Schnee. And of course, the Hollow Knight and Hallownest. Magic older than Remnant itself had weaved its way all across his Academy, and he had yet to realize the full extent of it until yesterday.
"Ozpin?"
Ozpin started at the sound of his name, looking up to find his companions staring at him. By nature, neither Glynda nor James were expressive people when it came to any emotion that wasn't 'annoyed'. Even still, Ozpin could see the worry in their eyes. Rubbing his eyes, knowing for sure that the bags underneath them must have looked atrocious, Ozpin attempted to smile.
"Forgive me. I was lost in thought."
Glynda frowned further. James, expression betraying some hesitation, spoke.
"Is there something wrong, Ozpin?"
Ozpin sighed, feeling all the weight of his years.
"James, you have called for Winter Schnee?"
Ironwood blinked, surprised at the sudden question.
"Specialist Schnee has been pulled from her mission and is on route to Beacon as we speak," Ironwood's jaw tensed before the general asked the question that was clearly eating at him, "May I ask why, Oz? As one of Atlas's finest, Schnee is given very important missions-"
"Please," Glynda scoffed, "As if you don't have a cavalcade of soldiers to replace her."
"As a matter of fact, I do. But Schnee is irreplaceable, easily worth ten soldiers on her own." As Glynda scoffed again Ironwood gave her a smirk. "Jealous, perhaps?"
Before Glynda could do something to make Ironwood regret his words, such as pushing him off the tower, Ozpin spoke up.
"Good. Qrow should be showing up three days from now."
This successfully drew both Jame's and Glynda's attention.
"Qrow? You've called him here as well? Are you sure that that's wise?" James asked carefully. Glynda was watching him with a hawklike gaze, which told him all he needed to know about her own misgivings.
"It's a matter of vital importance," Ozpin said, picking up his mug and swirling the now cold coco. It was almost 5:05.
"More important than the mission he's currently on? Oz, what's going on?"
Ozpin stood up and stared at the windows of his office. Neither James nor Glynda spoke though he could feel them burning holes into his back with their gazes. In the silence, the gears of the clock tower churned away the seconds.
5:05. Roughly the beginning of the sunrise in Vale at this time of year. The first rays of the Sun peaked over the horizon, the light shining through the windows of the clock tower. For a moment all he could see was the dawn's first light illuminating the vibrant green of the Emerald Forest. A sight he'd seen many times before.
Then the light caught, his windows flashing. Ozpin stared out at a desolate ash grey cavern. Wisps of black smoke poured out from cracks in the porous stone. An ill light filled the cave, nothing like Greenpath's own strange diffuse light. It was as if one had diffused and filtered a feeble lamp light through countless dust caked windows. There was no vegetation anywhere in sight in the barren landscape. Nothing stirred. Yet Ozpin couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched.
The glimpse into another area of what could only be Hallownest didn't last for long. Soon the ashen caves disappeared, leaving Beacon and the Emerald Forest once more. But it had lasted long enough. Long enough to notice.
"Quite the striking view, isn't it," he said.
"Ozpin?"
He turned around to find Glynda giving him a look of palpable concern.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
Rather than answer Ozpin made a show of looking up towards the ceiling.
His office was a loud place. It came from being the heart of a clocktower. The endless turns of thousands of gears. It was soothing to him, but he knew that most people found the sound grating. Yet even over the ever- present din, the screams of the caged vengefly could be heard.
It had taken Ozpin the better part of the entire night to catch it. Acquiring living hostile creatures was more Peter's purview. But he'd managed to locate one of Hallownest's little invaders near the library. He'd almost caught it till it flew around the corner of the hallway and disappeared. It was then that he'd learned that Hallownest's invaders tended to slip into thin air if not carefully observed.
But he'd caught it, and caged it, and hung the cage from his office's ceiling in such a way that it'd always be in his peripheral. That had killed any chance of sleep. And now Ozpin feared he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight either.
He'd seen horror the likes of which no one else had and survived. Things that would haunt him for the rest of his days. But it was a unique brand of terror, seeing Glynda and James follow his gaze, observe them finding the vengefly, watching brief confusion spark in their eyes. And then carrying on as if it hadn't been there at all, that brief confusion vanishing like dreams in the morning light.
It all made sense now, looking back at the past few days. Why he and Glynda had just allowed the Hollow Knight into the academy without too much question. And why no one had raised any sort of fuss. None at all. And he hadn't even noticed it. Hadn't noticed how his judgment had been twisted and bypassed by forces no one alive on Remnant had ever seen. This was magic on a level of subtlety he'd never considered possible. Were he a lesser man he'd have curled up into a corner of his office and screamed.
Ozpin still felt like doing so, in fact.
"Ozpin!"
Glynda's voice cut through his train of thought and he looked down from the vengefly in time to see his deputy stomp towards him, scowl affixed on her face.
"You've been acting strange all morning today. I believe we deserve an explanation."
Her tone was its usual iron, but there was an undercurrent of pleading to it. Hard to detect but there, and Ozpin couldn't help but feel guilty. If he could tell her, he would. He didn't enjoy keeping secrets.
At least this time, he didn't have to. Not entirely.
"Please listen carefully. I know this will be...difficult to believe."
As the lantern flared, your role was cast...
Slash, block, counter. Slash, parry, stab.
The Hollow Knight's movements were fluid, even after hours of practicing the same moves without pause. Its silver nail flashed through the air like fish rushing upstream.
Slash, stab, counter, slash!
The thought of a break never occurred to it. Silent though it was, the Hollow Knight trained with a fervor few could match. If Hornet had been a wake up call, then the monster of the Deepnest and the Lords of the Mantis Tribe had been more fuel on the fire. The Knight had to become stronger.
Slash, dodge, slash, parry, stab, counter, slash-!
The Hollow Knight lamented that there was no one to train with. The exertion of fighting a real target, the sting when their blows would land. It'd be more in line with the training it was used to. It would further hone reflex and instinct. Pain was a fast teacher.
Alas, no one from Lady Weiss's team was available. Blake Belladonna had been silent, ever since the Deepnest's monster. A companionable silence, but a silence nonetheless. Nailsmith Ruby was nowhere to be found today. As for Lady Weiss and Yang Xiao Long...
They were preparing for a ball of sorts, one that was happening within the next few days. Something wholly out of the Knight's experience. Were it not for the fact that it would just get in the way, the Knight would've tried to help Lady Weiss. At the very least, a team of students named 'Coffee' had come back from a mission in time to help her. As it was, the best the knight could do was train to grow stronger.
The Knight continued to swing its nail and steel its soul, till quite suddenly the doors to the training chamber opened.
"There you are!"
It was Lady Weiss. The Hollow Knight stopped midswing and ducked into a bow. If it had looked up, it would've seen Lady Weiss combine an eyeroll with a blush.
"So this is the newest member of Team RWBY?"
The Hollow Knight recognized the voice as from one of those on Team CFVY. It looked up to see a young woman wearing strange tinted lenses and a stranger hat, and a young woman with long hair and longer ears.
"Now don't you look like a scary mother-"
"Coco!" the long eared woman scolded.
"What, he is!" Coco complained
"I'm sorry for her," the long eared woman apologized, not quite meeting the Hollow Knight's eyes.
The Hollow Knight stood up, watching the long eared woman take a step back. Coco frowned and Lady Weiss cleared her throat.
"Have you been here this entire time?" she asked, exasperation rusting the steel in her tone.
The Hollow Knight nodded and Coco snorted.
"Doesn't talk much, does he?"
"The Hollow Knight is...the strong, silent type you could say," Lady Weiss said.
"Ha! And you wanna bring him to the Vytal Ball?"
The Hollow Knight turned towards Lady Weiss, who crossed her arms.
"You are coming to the ball. It's a grand tradition, and I refuse to let you spend it by training."
The Hollow Knight wasn't sure why Lady Weiss had twisted the word 'training' with such an inflection, but it wasn't about to disobey an order. Especially not since it had been planning to guard Lady Weiss at the ball anyway. Who knew what might try to attack her in such a public venue?
Lady Weiss's smug smile at its answer coloured when Coco leaned towards the long eared woman, whispering something inaudible that nonetheless sent sent the long eared woman into a fit of giggles.
"Right!" Lady Weiss cleared her throat, face red, "You were telling me about a place to get appropriate attire, Velvet?"
The long eared woman, Velvet, stifled her smile and nodded.
"Yes. Beacon Academy gathers a stockpile of clothing for the Vytal Festival every year, for those who for any reason can't go into town and buy them there."
"It's an okay selection," Coco said sourly, "But we have no other choice since our mission was dragged on for twice the length it should've been."
"Come on Coco," Velvet said, "It'll be fine. We'll find something to your standards, and even if we don't I know you'll be able to whip something up."
"Damn right I will. What about you Ice Queen?" Lady Weiss grumbled at the name and Coco continued, "I thought you'd have something fancy shipped from home."
"Ah, yes, well-" Lady Weiss began, clearly uncomfortable. The Hollow Knight did not know why. That did not matter. Whatever the cause, it was unacceptable. The Hollow Knight moved.
"Hey, just where do you think you're going? Hollow Knight! Come back here, you don't even know where to go-!"
As the lantern flared, your role was cast...
"Why me…?"
It was said with the tone of someone rotting away in a cell, awaiting judgment. It was said by Ruby Rose, who was trapped between her sister and Blake. The traitors had caught her and all but marched her here.
Here was where Beacon had set up an impromptu store for students to buy proper attire for the Vytal Festival. What was once a lecture hall was now a maze of dizzying colours and fabrics.
Even if Ruby could escape her captors, she doubted she could find her way out of here. Her cunning, devious, treacherous older sister had dragged her around the various clothes with such speed that Ruby couldn't retrace her steps.
"Oh, look at this!" Yang gushed, pulling out a pale blue dress. It was a pretty colour, Ruby would admit. Like forget-me-nots. She didn't say anything though. That would be like chumming water already filled with sharks. Next to her, Blake tilted her head, appraising Yang and the dress.
"It's a nice colour..."
"But?" Yang asked, smile slipping.
"I don't know if it's your colour. It's too...mellow."
"I can do mellow," Yang complained, but nonetheless put the dress back. Ruby almost asked why they hadn't debated whether it would've been nice on her, but decided not to chance it. She'd had enough of Yang's dress up sessions to last a lifetime, thank you kindly!
"What'chu guys doing?"
Nora's face popped into existence between the clothes, soon followed by the rest of Nora and Ren. It was a testament to how they'd gotten used to the girl that none of the three flinched.
"Oh, hey! You guys looking for something for the ball too?"
"Oh yeah, it's not like we can just go in our uniforms y'know? If we did it'd be an embarrassment and the whole academy would laugh at us, not to mention all the visiting schools! And they'd probably remember us even after we graduate and – well, its not going to happen so no need to worry! But Ren and I, well, its amazing that Beacon Academy does this sort of thing, helping students like us. Headmaster Ozpin really looks out for us, huh? Ooh, Ren, look at this!"
Nora plucked out the same forget-me-not dress that Yang had been looking at, eyes sparkling. She whirled towards Ren, which was difficult since she'd been holding Ren's hand with something near a death grip. Still Nora somehow managed and flourished the dress towards Ren.
"Isn't it cute?" Nora asked.
Ruby wasn't the only one who'd been keeping an eye on Lie Ren since their disastrous trip to save him. Herself, Jaune, and Pyrrha had all recovered from No Eyes in about a day. Nora, Blake, and Weiss were up to peak not shortly after, even though they'd fought two of the monsters of the Deepnest. Nosk, Ren had called them. But Ren, even days after, looked tired. He had always looked tired before, sure, but in the way students
everywhere did. This exhaustion was one that had robbed a quiet vitality he'd always had before. It made his eyes lose their shine and his sighs as long as shadows at sunset.
They were worried. Nora most of all.
Nora's smile faltered as Ren looked over the dress for a moment without saying anything. Then, to everyone's surprise, he huffed a laugh.
"It matches your eyes," he said, with some fondness. Nora looked between the dress and him in rapid succession, face blazing. Ruby didn't miss how Yang and Blake exchanged positively devious looks. She'd warn him, but…
"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Nora spluttered, grinning from ear to ear, "My eyes are a totally different colour!"
"Turquoise," Ren stated, poking Nora's forehead. Somehow Nora's face became redder and her grin wider. Ren's small smile turned startled as Yang slid up to Ren and hooked her arm into his. Gentle enough to not hurt him, firm enough to ensure no escape.
"What about you, lover boy?" Yang asked slyly. At this point Ruby wasn't sure how much more Nora could take, and Ren's face became dusted with pink.
"I was thinking of just a simple tux," Ren began, "Nothing fancy-"
"Oh no you don't!" Yang had raised a finger skywards, scarily resembling Weiss, "The Vytal Festival is a celebration of all the cultures around the world! The four kingdoms at peace! You are not going to wuss out on this, especially with all the work we're doing."
Yang began to drag Ren away, a leopard dragging her unfortunate quarry into a tree. Ren shot them all a look of understandable panic. Blake moved not a single muscle, her expression unchanging. Ruby felt bad, she really did, but better Ren than her. Nora made to follow Yang when Blake stopped her.
"Can't have the surprise ruined," Blake said solemnly. Yang shot her a thumbs up without looking back, before turning a corner. She and Ren disappeared, and Ruby knew they wouldn't see them for the rest of the afternoon.
"She's really pumped up about this," Nora said at least, still staring at the spot Yang had been.
"Normally don't see her this excited outside of fights," Blake agreed.
"Yang loves this sort of stuff. Dancing and parties are just another kind of adventure to her," Ruby explained.
"Hmm," Blake smiled, before turning towards Nora, "Where are Jaune and Pyrrha?"
"Oh! They're also around here, looking for something. Or, rather, Pyrrha's helping Jaune pick out something, since she's already got this super pretty dress from home, its as red as Forever Fall-!"
"Are they going to the ball 'together'?" Blake asked, curiosity burning in her eyes. Nora's exuberance shuttered like a light switch.
"Ugh, no! Jaune can't even catch a hint, even after the Hollow Knight kicked him out of your room-"
"The guitar serenading was irritating."
"-And Pyrrha's walking around like a sad puppy but she won't say anything to him!"
"Why?" Ruby was by no means an expert on love. She had little desire to be in the first place. But this all seemed even more ridiculous than regular romance and she just couldn't wrap her head around it, "If she wants to go to the dance with him and he's not asking her, why doesn't she ask him!?"
"Pyrrha's shy," Nora defended, "And a bit traditional and silly."
"It's usually the guy who's supposed to ask," Blake shrugged.
"That's stupid," Ruby declared, "If you like someone you should just tell them. What's the use in keeping it hidden?"
Nora and Blake glanced at each other shiftily. This didn't escape Ruby's notice.
"Hey, look!" Nora pointed wildly, trying to distract the younger girl. Ruby rolled her eyes. As if she would fall for tha-
"There you are."
"Ahh!"
Weiss gave Ruby, who had jumped into a startled Blake's arms, a flat look. Behind her, looming over the racks of tuxes and dresses, the Hollow Knight stared at her too.
"Where's Yang?" Weiss asked Blake, not bothering to acknowledge Ruby's reaction.
"Uh, she's stole Ren to find him something to wear to the ball."
"Indeed? Good," Weiss did not miss the looks Nora and Blake sent her.
"What?" she demanded, exasperated, "Yang has good taste!"
"Do you mind saying that again?" Blake asked, shifting to try and grab her scroll while Ruby was still in her arms.
"No."
"What about you two?" Nora asked cheerfully, popping in between Weiss and the Hollow Knight, "Are you guys here to find something too?"
"Yes. I neglected to bring appropriate clothing for the event when I came to Vale. In hindsight, a foolish move."
Blake and Ruby glanced at each other. Weiss hadn't talked about it, but everyone in Team RWBY knew that her relationship with her father wasn't...the best. The other day Weiss's credit card had been locked, and Weiss's father had rung her scroll several times in succession. None of them went answered, even if Weiss had managed a ghost of a smile when Blake offered to pick up the scroll and offer Mr Schnee a few 'choice words'.
"Have any of you found anything?" Weiss asked. Blake shook her head, Ruby remained silent, hoping that she'd be forgotten and could just pick a random dress at the end of the day without her teammates fussing over her, and Nora brandished the forget-me-not dress.
"I found this-"
"Oh, what a lovely colour!"
"-And I think it'd look good on you!"
Weiss blinked as Nora firmly gave her the dress. Nora grinned, throwing an arm around Weiss's shoulders.
"I mean, its right up your alley, right? Your whole thing is whites and icy blues! So why not try a softer blue for the occasion? Spice it up a bit!"
"Uh..." Weiss began, bewildered by Nora's zeal.
A shimmering white gown lowered from the heavens. Weiss and Nora looked up, meeting the eyes of the Hollow Knight. The Hollow Knight, slow as a glacier and just as unstoppable, pressed the dress into Weiss's other hand. Nora let go of Weiss and planted her hands on her hips, looking up at the Hollow Knight.
"Come on! That's so boring!"
The Hollow Knight said nothing. Before Ruby could hear the resulting rant, Blake walked away.
"Where are we going?"
"I want to see if they have any south Mistrali dresses," Blake said, a hint of wistfulness to her voice, "And we might as well find something for you too."
Ruby deflated, but Blake was probably the best choice out of all of Team RWBY. As they meandered through the maze of fabrics, she caught sight of Ren giving a green Mistrali hanfu an appraising look. Next to him, Yang was staring at a deep scarlet and black dress with a look that she'd never seen on her sister's face before. If Ruby didn't know any better, she'd call it fear.
Blake walked away before she could do anything, and Ruby tried to convince herself that she had just been seeing things.
As the lantern flared, your role was cast...
It was the night of the ball, and Yang was spending it behind a podium and admitting attendees into Beacon's Ballroom.
She didn't mind it. She wouldn't be here the whole night, and it was surprisingly rewarding seeing all of her and Weiss's hard work paying off. Smiles and laughter, music and dancing. This was a night to celebrate peace and harmony, and more importantly a night to let loose. Try and forget all the tests and the studies and the pressing reality of becoming a hunter.
Here, it was easy to forget the creatures of Grimm, and the caverns of Hallownest. And Yang sorely needed that, because her dreams were becoming worse.
She was back in the circus. But it was no longer dead. The braying of the accordion filled the air, cackles and chattering accompanying it. Bugs dressed in scarlet and maroon, bone white masks with tear trails of inky black, watched her from the shadows. The bonfire in the center roared and crackled with blood red flames. The lamps all around her burned with that same dread light. Looming above her, the ghastly big top ten pulsed like a heartbeat. And behind her stood the Troupe Master.
"Welcome," he'd hiss into her ear, voice deep and filled with crackling fire, "to the Ritual, Yang Xiao Long..."
"Yang?"
Yang blinked, memories of the nightmare swept away like dust in the wind. In front of her, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren were giving her concerned looks. Yang shook her head and plastered a smile on her face.
"Hey there! Welcome to the ball!" her smile turned genuine as she observed them. Nora wore a strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline, a pink bodice, and white ruffled skirt. Her hair had been tied back into a bun with a green ribbon. Meanwhile Ren, to Yang's pleasure, had taken her advice and was wearing the outfit they had found the other day: A long sleeved emerald upper garment Ren had called a yi, a dark green skirt, and a jade sash around his waist. His long hair had been braided with a ribbon. A ribbon with a very familiar shade of pink, and Yang leveled a grin at Nora. Nora turned away, trying to hide her beaming grin and incandescent blush.
"Are you stuck here for the whole night?" Ren asked, genuine concern seeping into his voice. Yang waved him off with a laugh.
"Nah, don't worry. Soon as that clock hits ten, I'm free! Now go on in there, go on, shoo!"
A bemused Ren was dragged off by a hurried Nora, and Yang watched the two of them go. They'd both been wearing black lily blossoms, and Yang didn't know why but she knew better than to ask.
Yang watched more of her friends walk into the hall, each and every one of them asking her if she was stuck behind this podium for the whole night. She was flattered, but it soon got annoying. Still, it was fun seeing Sun walking in with a black shirt, a white tie, and no other change to his usual attire of jeans, complaining to his suave buddy about the entire thing after shooting Yang a pair of finger guns that she gladly returned.
It was fun watching everyone fall silent as Coco Adel, wearing a simple but stunning black sheath dress, a string of shining pearls around her neck and her trademark beret tastefully askew on her head, threw open the doors and walked into the building like she owned the place. The rest of her team, no less fancy, followed after her without quite the same attitude, Velvet hissing at Coco to slow down and Fox throwing Yang a lazy wave.
It was fun seeing Blake dressed in the sari she'd managed to find, with a violet-black sleeveless blouse and skirt that hid her feet. Her midriff was covered only by a translucent dark purple sash that Blake had draped around her waist and over her shoulder. The entire outfit was trimmed with dark gold.
The moment Yang saw her partner, her breath caught. Judging by the way Blake's eyes twinkled, made all the more striking with the black kohl she'd outlined them with, she had noticed Yang's reaction. Yang would've stared longer if Ruby hadn't taken that moment to groan loudly as she and Blake walked up to her.
Her baby sister had preformed marvelously, bearing the full brunt of Team RWBY's fussing without trying to escape once. And it paid off! While Yang had been busy with Ren, Blake had managed to get Ruby to accept an appropriate outfit - A sleeveless dark red empire waist dress, a black sash wrapped just below her bust. Yang had to applaud Blake's choice. The illusion neckline worked great for Ruby! Not that her baby sister would ever appreciate it.
"Why heels!?" Ruby complained, stumbling. She would've fallen on her face had Blake not wrapped her arm around Ruby's elbow.
"Come on," the older girl laughed, "It's not so bad."
"Easy for you to say!" Ruby whined, before returning to darkly muttering about "lady stilts". As Ruby looked down to see the offending article of clothing, the earrings Yang had given her caught the dim light of the ballroom. A pair of silver roses that had been given to Yang by Summer Rose.
Yang had to clear her throat of the sudden lump in it, and Blake and Ruby gave her concerned looks.
"Are you alright, Yang?" Blake asked.
"Are you-?"
"I am not stuck here the whole night Rubes," Yang managed to keep her voice level. Ruby stuck out her tongue in response and Yang felt a smile tug at her lips. Blake had her own soft smile, that turned into a sudden smirk as she reached out to poke Yang's forehead.
"You better not be here the whole night," Blake said in a low voice, "You still
owe me a dance."
Before Yang could gather her wits Blake walked away, dragging a protesting Ruby with her. Yang stood there, gobsmacked, before coming to her senses and cursing the name Belladonna.
"Remember, don't smudge your make up! We worked hard on it!" Yang called to Ruby. Ruby's less than polite response was swallowed up by the din of the party.
It was...well, not fun to see Pyrrha in her bright and beautiful backless red sheath dress walk into the hall alone, concerned over Yang even though she was clearly down. As Yang managed to usher Pyrrha into the ballroom, she hoped that the Invincible Girl would have a good time. The moment she saw Arc, Yang was going to give him a piece of her mind.
More people passed as the night wore on. Yang had to bite back a whistle as Professor Goodwitch strolled in, wearing a shimmering backless purple dress and her hair down from its usual bun. She managed to keep a polite smile on her face as Team CRDL walked by in matching tuxes. It was almost time for her to leave her post when she finally saw Weiss.
She'd been concerned, she'd admit. Weiss was already going through enough, what with all the everything that had been happening recently. She'd been so excited for the ball a week before! If Weiss hadn't stepped through the door that moment, Yang might've abandoned her post just to drag the Schnee Heiress to the ball. And Weiss looked nice!
A stark white natural waist dress, the colour of freshly fallen snow. A sparkling silver necklace, with small rubies inlaid into the silvery snowflakes that made up the jewelry. It was more modest than Yang would've expected from the name Schnee, but Weiss pulled it off spectacularly.
And behind Weiss, the Hollow Knight. Yang privately admired her work. She and Weiss had thought it best to get the Knight some sort of tuxedo that'd fit. They couldn't very well let them just wear that ratty old cloak. To everyone's surprise, the Knight had taken that blue dress from Weiss's hands, adamant that Weiss wear the white one, and walked away. There had been nothing wrong with the dress, aside from the fact that it had not been made for someone with the Knight's physique. It had taken all of Yang's skill and a favor from Coco to fix it, but the results spoke for themselves.
Now the dress fit nicely onto the Knight's lanky frame, not hanging loosely like it had before. They'd sewn the sleeve where the Hollow Knight's arm was gone shut. A belt of dark blue fabric hid the sloppy seam where they'd added panels of fabric to the original modified dress. Said skirt, same shade of forget-me-not blue, hung to the Hollow Knight's 'ankles' and had two slits in it. A consequence of the fact that Coco couldn't get more than four panels of fabric. As the Knight moved, flashes of jet black carapace shown from the slits. Yang would call the resulting outfit daring. Even she wasn't
sure if she'd wear such a thing.
But it looked good on the Hollow Knight! Not like, sexy good. But they looked good the same way a flower or a gemstone did. That was undeniable. Surrounding students stopped to stare at the Hollow Knight, and by consequence Weiss. Watching Weiss shrink in on herself and noting that she only had ten minutes left, Yang decided to hell with it.
"Weiss!" she said, stepping around the podium and throwing a hand around her shoulder. Weiss startled and leveled Weiss a fierce glare.
"Yang!" she hissed.
"Relax princess, I didn't mess anything up!" she said. Her cheeky grin vanished as she leaned down to whisper.
"You doing alright?"
"I'm..." Weiss took a deep breath, "I'm fine."
"If you're sure..."
"I'll be perfectly fine," Weiss managed to drawl, "I am not without an escort."
Yang looked up at the Hollow Knight and grinned.
"Hear that big guy? You better keep our Weiss safe, you hear?"
"Yang-!"
The Hollow Knight regarded Yang for a moment, before nodding. Yang was about to pull Weiss to the dance floor when the Knight reached out and folded a flower into Yang's free hand. A bright orange-yellow flower that Yang couldn't quite identify. Yang stared down at the bloom, bewildered.
"What-?" she began.
Weiss took the flower from Yang with the smuggest grin Yang had ever seen on the heiress's face.
"What, Yang? Never gotten a flower before?"
"Why?" Yang finally asked, not rising to the bait. Weiss's grin softened.
"They're thanking you for your work," Weiss deftly placed the flower behind Yang's ear, "Obviously."
Yang looked back up at the Hollow Knight, who nodded. And Yang decided to blame how warm her face felt on her semblance.
"Come on."
"Wait, Yang-!"
"You're late, Ice Queen, and I haven't gotten to dance the whole night! Come on!"
The Hollow Knight followed after Yang, who was grinning from ear to ear as she pulled along a Weiss who's protests were undermined by her giggling.
This was a far cry from the somber balls it was used to in the Pale Court. But the Hollow Knight couldn't say that the Vytal Ball was inferior. There was a warmth in the air that one just couldn't deny.
As the lantern flared, your role was cast...
Yang had been the one to choose the music for the ball. Weiss had good taste, but a small classical orchestra was not Vytal Ball material. Weiss had relented when Yang finally made her listen to the DJ's she'd been planning to rent. The grudging praise Weiss had given them after listening to some of their music had made Yang's day.
They were a duo of DJ's Yang listened to often. And yet the warning bells that should've rung when the lull and fall of an accordion weaved its way underneath Shine didn't ring. Yang was too busy having fun with the spontaneous dance that had broke out when Jaune Arc, against all of Yang's expectations, had stormed the dance grounds wearing a white dress that hadn't been fitted for him at all and asking for Pyrrha's hand in a dance.
Yang would remember Pyrrha's laughter for a long time afterwards. Uncontrollable, loud, not at all what one would expect from the dignified Invincible Girl, and undeniably happy.
Yang had been dancing with Ren, who it turned out could really bust a move, when she was suddenly twirled around. At first she thought her new dancing partner was Blake – the swishing black silks in her peripherals as she was spun like a ballerina her only clue – till she came to a sudden stop.
Blood red eyes filled with infernal light stared into her own lilac, and Yang's world came crashing around her. All at once she became aware of several things. The catchy music had shifted to the dirge of an accordion. The soft light of the ball had turned dim like an evening thunderstorm, candle flames and lightbulbs casting crimson light through the room. Everyone around her was slow dancing, their faces covered by ghastly masks. And hard chitin holding her hand and waist, Grimm looming over her.
She kicked him, right where it would hurt were he any other guy. Grimm slid
back, laughing with his deep hissing voice.
"What a grand ball!" Grimm rasped, raising a claw high in a flourish. He was just as she'd dreamed him. Tall as the Hollow Knight with a personality infinitely larger. A mantle of dusty black wrapped around his black body, its interior the maroon of the circus. A bone white mask-like face, black lines rising from his neck across it and outlining his fiery eyes. Black horns, shorter than the Hollow Knight or even Hornets but nonetheless similar.
Grimm lowered his claw towards her as if asking her for a dance, and Yang backed away. Her arms had wrapped around her at some point and she pointedly brought them into a boxing stance. This only seemed to amuse Grimm, his eyes narrowing sideways till the burning red was just vertical slits.
"Why so hostile, Yang Xiao Long?" Grimm purred. Goosebumps traveled up Yang's arms and she scowled.
"Where am I? What have you done? If you've hurt anyone, I swear-!"
"Peace, Yang Xiao Long," Grimm rumbled, standing straighter, "I've done nothing."
"Nothing?" Yang repeated, incredulous. She threw a hand towards the slow dancing crowd, and her stomach twisted as she saw Jaune and Pyrrha dancing together in a slow waltz that would've been romantic if not for the grim masks over their faces.
"None of them will remember this, Yang Xiao Long. It will be...like a dream."
"What kind of dream is this?!"
That turned out to be the wrong question to ask. Grimm threw his head back and laughed. It was a laugh that settled into her bones like lead, loud as a church bell and the sort of laugh a firestorm would have. A chorus of laughter joined him, nasally giggles, wheezing chuckles, and booming chortles. Yang's heart dropped as she spotted the various bugs staring down at them from the second floor and the roof. Each dressed in Grimm's maroon and masks.
"Why, Yang Xiao Long, the sort of dream that the Grimm Troupe would give!" he bellowed. The accordion hit a crescendo, wailing fiddles and screaming saxophone joining in, and Yang found herself twirled suddenly by Grimm as his cronies sang.
"Shadows dream of endless fire! Flames devour and embers swoop!"
"Through dream I travel, at lantern's call. To consume the flames of a kingdom's fall!" Grimm sang, twirling Yang away like a top before she could kick him again. As she spun around small fat sprites swirled around her, black tear trails across their masks and unlit torches grasped in hand.
"One will light the Nightmare Lantern! Call and serve in Grimm's dread troupe!" they sang, twirling their torches over her head. Red embers fell onto her dress and stained. Scarlet spreading like flames across the soft white knit, her skirt catching fire and turning it soot black. Yang bit back a startled scream and stumbled into the arms of a pair of larger sprites.
"A spark of red lights darkest dream! Scarlet nightmares bright and wild!"
they sang. Grimm stood in front of her, his arms raised up to the side to flourish his cape. Another pair of sprites floated beside him, torches burning bright. As one they lit the cape, and Yang watched horrified as hungry flames consumed Grimm.
"Visions dance and flames do speak! Burn the father, feed the child!"
"Dance and Die and live forever!" the voices of Beacon's students sang out as one. The voracious flames had spread from Grimm to consume the rest of the room and Yang couldn't wrench herself free from the hold of the troupe.
"Silent voices shout and sing!"
Fire was everywhere, the ballroom an infernal furnace with Yang in the middle. Still the voices of Beacon harmonized with the maniac singing of Grimm's troupe. She was no longer being held back but Yang couldn't budge her feet. Like a mouse caught in a snake's gaze. The burnt husk of what was once Grimm stood tall in front of her. Beating and pulsing with dread light.
"Stand before the Troupe's dark heart! Burn away the Nightmare King!"
Something grabbed Yang and whirled her around. Yang pulled her fist back only to come face to face with someone she never thought she'd see again.
"The expanse of dream, in past was split," sang Summer Rose. It was a voice Yang knew well. The voice that had soothed her to sleep with bedtime stories and chased away bad dreams with silly lullabies.
"Mom," Yang croaked out. Summer Rose smiled, and Yang's heart broke.
"Mom!" she cried out, lunging and pulling her mother into bone-crushing embrace. She was crying, and Summer Rose was petting her hair as if she were four again and that only made Yang cry harder.
"One realm now, must stay apart," Summer sang. Her white cloak caught flame and Yang's heart stopped.
"Nonononono-!" Yang pleaded as Summer, bit by bit, disappeared into the flames.
"Darkest reaches, beating red-"
"Mom please, don't leave me, please don't leave-!"
"Terror of sleep..." Summer Rose whispered before the dread red flames took her completely. Yang fell to her knees and curled up onto herself, sobbing. Distantly she became aware of a claw grasping her shoulder.
"...The Nightmare's Heart," Grimm finished solemnly. The twisted ballroom had returned free of flame. The students of Beacon and the Grimm Troupe nowhere to be found. The Troupe Master stared down at the girl by his feet, sobbing her heart out, and knelt down towards her.
The doors slammed up, and a shining dagger and a spike of ice slammed
through Grimm's chest.
"Get away from her!" Weiss Schnee screamed, glyphs in each hand. Above her loomed the Hollow Knight, mask shining with stark white light. Grimm stumbled back, claw clutching his perforated chest. Before laughing, disappearing in a burst of red flames. And leaving them inside a dim grey building, rain pouring outside.
As the lantern flared, your role was cast...
Our contract written is scarlet fire...
Eager we are to see you commence!
I'd been stuck for the longest time in the middle of this chapter before inspiration struck. And said inspiration was further fanned by our dear friend Stealthfire101, who educated us on the finer terms for fashion. It would've been nigh impossible to describe all the prom outfits without them. And speaking about the outfits!
The Beacon store for clothes just came about when I wondered how the Academy would provide for students like Ren and Nora.
And it always bothered me that, for a world that valued vivacity and individuality and a festival that honoured and celebrated the four kingdoms and their various cultures, that the dance outfits were so...bland. I understand that it was probably cause of both budget and technological constraints for RoosterTeeth, so it didn't bother me too much. But, unconstrained as I am with these words, I decided to change a few outfits!
Ren's is based off of the Chinese hanfu, since he's based off of Fa Mulan. Didn't go into much detail, since Yang probably wouldn't know the all the nitty gritty (though she'd know more than most). The black lilies he and Nora are wearing are of course a reference to Kuroyuri, the settlement they'd both first met in.
Blake's requires a bit more explanation. I remember when I first heard her parent's names, I had tentatively hoped for some South Asian stuff. Kali, as in the hindu goddess, and Ghira, as in Bagheera from the Jungle Book? And while I'm happy that Blake's home of Kuo Kuana has the elements of Malaysia and Hawaii it does, but a part of me has always wanted a Blake dressed in traditional Indian clothing. Her dress here is based off of the lehenga style sari, for those curious.
As for the Hollow Knight, I've seen too many wonderful fanarts of them in a dress to not have them be in a dress for the Ball.
Everyone else's canon clothing was alright. Added Weiss's necklace cause why not, and Ruby's earrings cause why not + sentiment.
And of course, Grimm! I'll admit, up till his scene this chapter was unusually cheery for this fic. Thankfully Grimm cleared that right up. His little song and dance number is pulled completely from the Hunter's Journal entries on the Grimm Troupe. And this is definitely not the last we've seen of the Troupe Master, so those happy with his appearance look forward to him.
Thank you all for reading! Tune in next time for: 'The Dead'