Rook Branwen, King of Vale, patriarch of the Branwen family and currently pissed off father of two, was pacing back and forth in the foyer of his house. The fated day had come, and now he was left waiting impatiently for his damnable son to recover from the previous night's stupor and meet him so they could leave to meet his long-lost granddaughter, who he had found out existed only two days ago.

The king would like to think that he had been a good father, he had allowed his children freedom where it was necessary, but remained firm over matters that determined the family's future, such as forcing Qrow to accept tutoring in the off chance his mark couldn't help him. However, his children seemed to have an irrepressible desire to irk him and produce an unholy amount of migraines.

First off, his oldest, Qrow, had historically been difficult. He would skip family duties to go of gallivanting around the city, often re-appearing in the early hours of the following morning with an attractive young woman on his arm and the smell of alcohol polluting the air around him. It had been nothing short of a miracle that the Atlesian royalty had accepted his proposal to marry Winter and Qrow, not to mention the fact that the Schnee princess hadn't become enraged when she found out about her fiancé's night-time antics. He, honestly, felt pity for the woman, she was certainly attractive, intelligent and, from what guards had told him, could put most would be assassins on their backs without even slightly ruffling her clothes. Truly, he felt she was wasted on his son; he had known of Qrow's attraction to Summer and he had honestly condoned of their union, but unfortunately fate was cruel, both to the would be lovers and the young princess who was tasked with filling the role of the deceased.

Summer was a solemn memory, even for him. She was truly everything he had hoped for his son. She was strong, smart, beautiful but most importantly she gave him a purpose, a drive and someone who understood him. Summer was to date the only person that had seemingly been immune to Qrow's mark and nobody knew why, but that didn't matter to the king; with her around his son tried to get better, to improve and for once did not think himself untouchable. Rook had even been trying his hardest to make their relationship work. He had forged her family history, paying huge sums of money to legal teams to create a fake ancient tie into royalty so that she could be named a noble woman and Qrow would be able to stop hiding his relationship with her. It had come so close, but tragedy had come before his son had felt safe to broach the topic.

The distressed king let out a heavy sigh at the memories that flared up in his mind as he thought over the past events his family had danced through. He glanced up at an oil painting adorning the wall opposite the huge spruce doors that served as the main entrance into his house. The picture showed off his family when his children had been little more than excitable children and, despite himself and his current mental stress, he let a small sad smile creep across his face. Times had been simpler when he had to convince his children to stay still long enough to have their picture taken so the painter could work. His gaze fell to the picture of his daughter and his mood dropped perceptibly.

Raven was different from Qrow. Ironically the twins had been born little more than seconds apart and yet they came out like day and night. Raven had always been ambitious, even before she fully understood what was needed from her in future, she had stood tall and proud whilst she exclaimed to the world that she would one day rule Vale and be known as the best queen to ever exist. The king could never shake the feeling that he had failed her; she'd had such bright light in her crimson eyes when she was younger, such hope and spirit. Yet he had crushed it once he proclaimed Qrow as his heir once the twins turned thirteen.

It had been after they had gone through the ritual of obtaining Grimm marks, and Qrow's power had been realised, that Rook had made the decision. A part of him regretted his decision more than he could ever imagine, but another knew it seemed like the right decision at the time. Qrow had always been prodigious, even before his mark, add in the power he obtained that day and it had seemed obvious at the time. However, his talent combined with his power had sucked the life from his son. He couldn't blame him, life was easy enough for the family, let alone when luck itself seemed to make sure you couldn't fail. Qrow had taken to trying to fail and could never do it.

At first Raven had taken it hard, but never gave up, instead resolving herself to simply try harder to overcome her brother's talent, training harder, longer and more viciously than her twin. However, after she had challenged him when they turned nineteen… the defeat had been… overwhelming. Qrow had already fallen into his careless and loose lifestyle by that point and had turned up to the challenge drunk and exhausted from a night on the town, and yet she couldn't hit him even once. He had stumbled and stammered out of every perfect strike she threw and each precise swing she had flourished before him. She had grown tired and sloppy after long minutes of the display, before eventually making a mistake, his mark had shown no mercy and Qrow had fallen on his sister elbow first, after tripping, and planted it firmly in her gut, knocking the wind from her and rendering her unable to continue. Rook knew it had been that day that had truly destroyed his daughters hope and he truly hated fate in that moment; as his daughter was brought low by here brother who had hardly a clue what was happening around him and was not even taking her seriously. He couldn't help but blame himself; he had been greedy, put the family's progression over the choices of his children and never considered how this would affect them.

He once again shifted his gaze over to the depiction of his wife who stood beside him as he sat with his children on his knees. She had been taller than himself, long flowing red hair cascading down her back, highlighting her emerald green eyes that held so much more warmth than he had deserved. He had been lucky; so many arranged marriages were strained at even the best of times, but he had been blessed, seemingly by the gods themselves when he had first met her. She had been gentle and caring in a world that had only shown him and his family fear and disdain in the recent times of war. She truly was more than he felt he deserved, and he could feel his eyes twitching as memories of happier times came back to him. He faked wiping something out of his eye as he fiddled to keep his cheeks dry before slowly chuckling.

"Oh, what have I done Robyn. Our children have grown and here I am, bawling like a babe. I'm too old to be doing things like this…" he was cut off by a gravelly voice behind him that he hadn't heard approached.

"Sometimes I wonder if I have grown, but I agree… you are old." Rook huffed a small laugh as he turned to see his son, for once well dressed and free of the alcohol that usually clung to him like a rancid cheap perfume. Rook couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he beheld Qrow in the best state he had seen him in years. The prince seemed to catch on quickly and now chuckled himself. "Hey, I can clean up nicely when I want to, besides, aren't you the one who said first impressions are the most important?" the king simply donned a knowing smile, understanding that his son was growing more nervous by the minute. Qrow often wouldn't care about impressions in most cases, but he had seemingly decided that his long-lost daughter deserved better than to meet him in his usual state.

"Oh? So, you finally listen to your old man after this long? To think I had to practically have one foot in the grave for you for you to do so. Maybe, when I'm gone, you'll finally become a half decent king after all." His tone made it clear he was jesting, but his son seemed to look downcast before returning the smile his father wore. Rook understood, he wasn't the only one who felt regret for what Raven had become, but the king also knew that his son was still livid at his sibling and so decided not to broach the subject, he too had to practically knock himself out to sleep that night.

"You were hardly an outstanding and strait-laced man yourself at my age." The smile his son wore was genuine and for a moment the king was happy to share banter with Qrow.

"True, however, I had already fought half an army when I was your age, so consider it a reward for doing such." Rook quipped as they walked out of the large spruce doors and into the Limousine that awaited them in the courtyard. Qrow seemed to shake his head as if deciding the validity of the excuse before replying.

"You know, I'm still convinced you payed those poor bastards to fall on their blades, I mean how else could an old softy like yourself come out of that with little more than broken arm?" Qrow grinned mischievously as he sat in the leather seat opposite his father as the car drove off. His father scoffed before meeting his gaze with his own.

"Well, this 'old softy' has half a mind to bend you over his knee and discipline you like the child you pretend to be." They both paused as the challenge hung in the air before they both let out small controlled laughs and let silence once again claim the interior of the vehicle as it drove out of the estate. After a few minutes of careful and detailed inspection of the local architecture that they both had seen millions of times, their gazes met again, and this time Rook was more serious.

"So, what is she like? Ruby I mean." For a moment Qrow simply looked at his father blankly before speaking. He sighed as if trying his hardest to consolidate his memories of the night. He didn't have to try very hard; the memory having been plaguing his mind like an obsession over the last two nights.

"Honestly, I'm not sure; what little of her I saw was not under the best conditions. Physically she looks just like Summer, albeit she's a bit taller than I imagine Summer was at that age and she has red eyes unlike her mother's silver." His father nodded, picturing the girl in his head to the best of his ability, but the prince continued. "In terms of her mark, I honestly don't know. I felt her anger from entire city blocks away, my Grimm felt as if it was thrashing within me, as if it wanted to go to her more than I did. What I saw when I got there, was something else. She had Yang beaten like little more than a rag-doll, but she turned Yang's Grimm against her, I watched as Yang's own flames consumed her." Rook seemed visibly shook at the idea of his Grimm turning on him but looked up as his son laid down his finale remark, the sentence piercing his core. "When I knocked her out… it was hard. I knocked her out, my mark didn't even dare raise a claw to help me, in fact I felt it resist my every command as I forced my body to save my niece from her fate at Ruby's hands." The king suppressed a gulp at the thought of his son struggling with a task. It made sense that Summer's daughter could bypass Qrow's mark, like her mother before her, but it only raised the question; Why? Not to mention the child had seemingly gone beyond ignoring the mark seemingly even bend it to her whims over even the mark bearer's themselves.

Their collective pondering was halted as the car slowed to a stop, revealing the street that lead up to the club and various other buildings that the club owned in the surrounding area. The time had seemingly come, and it was with bated breath they made their way to meeting point where their new family member awaited.

Ruby was panicking. At first she had been composed and managed to keep calm for the first few hours of her morning, but that had quickly changed when she had seen her uncle Bart just an hour before the meeting. When he had told her that the Branwens wanted to meet her she had been sceptical and had considered declining, however, her family had convinced her that she should at least give her would be father and grandfather a chance. Ruby's confidence had quickly depleted as more and more of her family informed her that they couldn't be with her during the meeting. Bart had said something about having to see someone very important and had been dressed as if he planned to attend an opera. The twins and Ilia had gone to Beacon to their final test to determine rankings amongst the new initiates, Ruby would have to take this test tomorrow, unfortunately she had to take a test on the day of her birthday, which far from her idea of a sweet sixteenth.

Nora had offered to join her, but Raijin said that he didn't feel like she should be around the Branwens and should instead let them focus on Ruby rather than another marked they had previously not known about. Reluctantly Nora had agreed, and Ruby couldn't blame her. Jax had gone to the edges of the city, saying something about having to beat some sense into someone overstepping their territory's bounds.

So, it was with trepidation and nervousness that she now stood by the door as she heard a car pull into the driveway to Junior's 'apartment building', which had actually been a four star hotel he had bought out when its original owner complained about the noise emanating from the neighbouring club. She quickly ran to a nearby mirror in the second-floor suite she used as a room and living space. She had never been one that cared about other people's opinions on the subject of her looks, but she couldn't help but feel antsy about making a good impression on the royals that she could now hear walk down the well preserved stone path up to the building's main entrance. One of her bangs fell over her right eye as she shook her head in an attempt to psyche herself up and she blew it out of the way as she looked herself over.

She wore a long red cheongsam, not unlike the ones she wore at the club, the difference being this one was a lot more expensive and had black roses depicted down its side rather than the golden cherry blossoms that adorned the other. It had been a gift from the twins for her fourteenth, and though she could feel a slight draft from where it maybe should have reached a little lower down her legs, due to being intended for her younger self, it was the smartest thing she owned and so she made do. Thankfully, she wasn't showing too much skin thanks to the black thigh length socks that reached far up her long legs. She'd read stories of how royalty didn't like women showing off their skin too much and, though she didn't know how much faith she put in the tales, she wasn't willing to take the gamble in this particular case. Oh, who am I kidding? I am in way over my head! I mean how am I supposed to react?! 'Oh, hey dad. I see you brought grandfather, jolly spiffing how about some tea whilst we discuss what the absolute living hell our relationship is supposed to be after nearly sixteen years?!' She moved to continue her mental tirade with herself when a voice drew attention to her door accompanied by a careful but firm knock.

"Excuse me… may we come in?" the voice was old and gravelly but held a sense of pride and curiosity that seemed to almost seamlessly hide his anxiousness. Spending time in the club had taught Ruby to dig deeper into how people spoke, often those that didn't have any hesitation in their voices were bad news and shouldn't be taken up on ANY offers despite how harmless they may seem. Yet as she heard this voice, she could tell he wanted nothing more than to move at a pace she was comfortable with. She snapped herself out of her stupor and hurried over to the door a faint red tint colouring her cheeks over her lack of spatial awareness. Her living space had been hurriedly cleared that morning and, though she was happy with the results, she prayed they did not open any closets, lest she lose the royals in an avalanche of underwear and other clothing articles. She had lost herself in thought again and was not paying attention to her subconscious actions. Soon she stood opposite her visitors and wasn't prepared for what was on the other side of her door.

The pair of men that stood in the hallway had not been what she had expected. The first was of average height, perhaps having shrunk slightly from his prime, but built like a warrior, his black suit fitting comfortably around his thickly muscled arms. She did notice some parts of the suit seemed more strained than others, perhaps hinting that he hadn't kept his form as powerful as it had once been. He had short, groomed black hair, but stray white and grey hairs rebelled amongst the mop and displayed his age. His eyes were of a deep calm red that she knew was signature of all the Grimm marked. Unlike Nora, who could turn her eyes red when she activated her mark, those who underwent the Branwen ritual wouldn't be able to regain their original eye colour and instead adopted the blood red of the Grimm. The older man had a similar look of shock on his face as they beheld each other, but she could see something else, something that caught the light of the chandelier in the room. Warmth, recognition… sorrow.

The second was taller than his older counterpart and she could immediately tell they were closely related; their noses and jawlines were the same along with the obvious traits like dark hair colour and crimson eyes. He notably wore his suit more loosely, the top button of his shirt undone, and cuffs rolled back to reveal moderately muscled forearms, most likely maintained out of necessity rather than personal desire. For lack of a better word, Ruby thought he was… scruffy. He reminded her a lot of uncle Bart, someone who wore smart clothes and was actually rather handsome when he cleaned up, but often threw people's opinions to the wind, either so he could get on with what he wanted to do or simply forgetting that he was supposed to care. It wasn't with revelry or fear that she shared a gaze with her father, but instead, a sad understanding that permeated between them. It was the older man that spoke first, a slight tremble filling his voice as he began.

"R-Ruby?" the question was asked honestly, and he notably breathed in through his nose as he spoke as if opening his mouth for too long would break some invisible barrier that he had erected. For an eternal moment she did not reply simply fumbling over words to reply with before settling with a slight but clear nod. He reciprocated the nod, mulling over the response before something seemed to light up at the edges of his eyes and he donned a warm smile. "It's… nice to see your doing well…" She returned his smile but, before either of them could continue speaking, the man she presumed her father interrupted.

"You have some pretty freaky jewellery there kiddo." The statement was said in a slightly playful tone, implying he meant no actual offence, but she could hear a slightly concerned hint quietly weave its way into his words. At first, she looked at him confused before he nodded at her right arm where the Grimm rose was on full display. It had grown considerably in the past couple days, now extending itself most of the way to her shoulder and bearing many bloomed heads along with several buds along its vined length. She often forgot that people outside of the club didn't know what it was, club goers just assumed it to be some outrageous attempt at being unique form a teenage girl, but her family knew better. Over the years they had figured out that the rose's growth directly tied into the amount of emotions Ruby had passively absorbed and served as a small container for the excess that ruby's body itself could not contain. They had tried to remove it but, similar to Nora's collar, anyone who got close was attacked and ruby herself didn't have the strength or understanding to remove it herself. Ruby looked back to Qrow.

"Yeah, it's actually something I hoped you may be able to help me with." Both men gave her a slightly puzzled look but nodded slowly as the hallway fell silent for a few moments. Ruby mentally slapped herself and moved away from the threshold to allow her guests through. "Oh, sorry. Would you like to come in?" The older man smiled again and chuckled softly as he took her invitation. Qrow seemed to hesitate, but after a moment of private contemplation he followed his father through the doorway.

After closing the door Ruby lead them to her dining room which she prayed she'd remembered to clean and did the washing up for. Luckily, she had, and the two men couldn't help but be mildly impressed at the girl's living space, each passing an offhanded comment about her cleanliness. Her conscience screamed at her as she lied through her teeth about cleaning her room often. In order to keep herself moving and occupied for as long as possible; so, she could process what was happening, she decided to make tea, asking her guests if they wanted any. They had both accepted and told her their respective preferred brews, and she immediately regretted the decision. Now she felt like her tea making was being judged and her mind couldn't but revert back to the old movies where the princess was judged by her ability to entertain guests.

However, as if sensing her unease, an older figure appeared next to her and began preparing the tea she had offered to them. She moved to protest but he raised a finger as he began boiling the water.

"Calm down my dear." He placed a hand gently on the side of her left arm, slightly afraid of the rose that moved slowly on her right and moved his thumb calmly along her shoulder. "We aren't here to judge you, we're here to apologise for what we and our family, directly or not, has done." He moved her hand from the counter and held it between his own as he met her gaze. "Why don't you go and get comfortable whilst I finish here? Then, we can talk about what we are to each other, and how to proceed from here." The suggestion hung in the air and began to stale as she paused. After a long moment she nervously ran her tongue over her lips and nodded, returning to the dining room and took seat opposite the prince who offered her a small comforting smile of his own, though she could see he was more conflicted than his father. Soon the king returned from the kitchen with a tray holding up three mugs of tea, something Ruby never thought she would experience, but was grateful for all the same. Ruby couldn't bear to let her hesitation allow silence to swallow the room again and so spoke up as soon as the older man sat beside his son.

"I'm sorry for what I did to that blonde girl." She blurted suddenly causing both of the men to raise their eyebrows at the claim. Ruby continued. "It's just she was attacking my sisters and she was scary and then Jun…" she trailed off as the memory of Yang's fist emerging through Junior's upper torso played again in her head. Both men felt a sense of dread run up the back of their necks and shivered as they watched the rose on her arm quietly writhe and another bud bloom into a rose head. "I j-just lost control and… I don't really remember what happened next but I remember seeing her screaming and asking me to stop, but I was just so angry a-and scared…" she was hushed as Qrow put his hands on her own and he met her gaze truly for the first since he had arrived. She saw a cold steel burn in the back of his eyes, scaring her a little, his stoic face doing nothing to quell the determination behind his blood red irises.

"Don't blame yourself for that. I understand; I may not seem like much, but family is all that really matters to me. Sure, I may indulge myself in my vices more than I should, but the only thing I can't replace or buy more of… is family. If someone tried to take them from me… I would do what you did, and I know, that no matter how much regret I would have afterwards, I would do it over and over again." His eyes never faltered as they locked eyes, but she could hear, as his voice growled slightly, he was angry, at what or who she didn't know but the ire was unmistakable.

"But… she was your family…" she was cut off as his eyes narrowed slightly and she suppressed a gulp as he beheld her. Finally, he seemed to soften before speaking

"And so are you." Ruby flinched at his admission all most doing a double take as she fought to keep her emotions in check. It was… nice to know that her father still considered her family, even after sixteen years of not knowing she existed, but it also felt alien. She already had a family, she had four sisters nine aunts fifteen uncles and Junior… her father. Yet here, before her, was he real father and grandfather, who she hadn't even known three days ago. She had known she tied into the royals somehow, and who her father was, but she had always assumed it would never become anything significant. She had been content with what she had and, though she was happy to see the two, overjoyed even, she didn't know how to feel about it. She silently pondered before Rook cleared his throat and she, along with Qrow, looked over to him.

"If I may, my dear; might I suggest we start this slowly." He paused to check she was paying attention and smiled softly when she was watching with avid attention. "If you asked me to, I would whisk you away to the family house and do my best to be the grandfather I should have been these past years." She visibly flinched at the idea of leaving and he couldn't help but let a huffed laugh pass his lips before he continued. "But I know what it's like to leave family and, though it saddens me that we are not that family, I cannot bring myself to be the man to take them from you." Ruby quietly nodded at his words as he continued. "So, I propose we get to know each other over the next few weeks and months, and hopefully by the end of your first semester at Beacon we can rebuild our relationship." The plan was offered in a polite, gentle and almost questioning tone. She could have sworn he seemed to almost be pleading but wouldn't let his façade fall to reveal him doing so.

Ruby hadn't expected this when she lost sleep the previous night, the most deplorable and disgusting scenes playing over and over again in her head. She had imagined several scenarios, ranging from straight abduction to bribing her to remain anonymous to forcing her to marry some various other noble who they wanted a blood tie with. She had not, however, imagined the pair to arrive and offer to amend the broken relationship between them, for the them to apologies for their family's actions and show her unwarranted acceptance. She was lost for words as the moments ticked by and she felt worse from assuming such horrible things from her father and grandfather. Eventually the king cleared his throat, prompting an answer and she had to lick her lips which mysteriously seemed to dry up immediately before speaking.

"I… I think I would like that." She donned a small genuine smile which they both returned. She may not be able to accept them right now, but they were kind and patient, she may be able to learn to accept them.

The room descended into idle chatter for the better part of thirty minutes before the king's pager buzzed, clearly meant to remind him of something. He looked over the small message it displayed before pocketing it once more. Qrow looked over to him and nodded and they both slowly stood to mark their departure. However, before they left the king decided it best to wrap up anything that Ruby may want to know. After a few minutes of pondering she decided it was best to get some things that had been weighing heavily on her chest.

"Actually, there are a few things I wanted to ask you, I wasn't sure if it was rude to ask or not though." For a moment she fidgeted uncomfortably as the two exchanged glances before sharing a laugh replying.

"My dear, I would be surprised if there was anything, we wouldn't be happy answering." Her grandfather smiled fondly down at her as she slowly nodded before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"Oh, okay… So, first, I guess, is; who is that blonde to me?" The question was unexpected but easy enough to answer, though they made sure to calmly reply for fear of triggering memories or emotions that were best left elsewhere.

"She is called Yang, and she is your cousin." Ruby slowly nodded at the reply her father gave her, cousin, she could deal with that, a little closer than she would like, but far enough to not warrant frequent interaction. Part of her wanted to apologies to the blonde, but she knew it would take a while for her to push past the memories before she could confront her. She seemed to resolve herself to something as she looked back up to her newfound family.

"I never imagined I would ask this, but… Am I expected to do anything, like duties or something?" she winced at how she had worded the question but wasn't able to formulate how to put it more eloquently, growing up in club hadn't exactly helped her formulate amazing speech patterns or habits. She was also worried as the two men seemed to share a silent conversation, their gazes locked and only the odd tilting of their heads or eye movement hinted they were moving at all. Eventually the two quietly nodded and Rook moved his gaze to Ruby.

"For now, you shouldn't have to do anything. The public doesn't know you exist yet, and I think we should keep it that way until you graduate Beacon." Ruby nodded and let out a strained breath she hadn't realised she was holding, only to draw it in again as the king continued. "However, other family members will likely want to meet you and I can only buy you space for so long." She thought for a moment before nodding, that didn't seem too bad; it may be awkward to meet her long-lost family, but she could deal with that. Unfortunately for her, Rook wasn't finished.

"Other nobles may want you to meet their sons to… acquaint you; in hopes of something greater forming. You needn't worry I should be able to stave that off until you leave Beacon. There is however one last thing that I feel you should know." Ruby failed to suppress a gulp as the king's expression grew more serious, not aggressive in anyway but more like a distaste for what he was about to say. "You are currently second in line for the throne."

The statement made her heart sink like lead as she processed what he said. Her mind momentarily turned to mush as she ran the words over and over again in her mind. She managed to recover slowly and spoke with a small tremble in her words, unsure if she had heard him correctly. Her throat was seemingly barren as she spoke but managed to carry her words to the two others gathered.

"B-but… wha… How?" The reaction had been expected by the royals, but Rook was currently withholding his own opinions on the succession system so, after a moment, Qrow answered.

"The Branwen succession system works in generations. If possible, the new king or queen will be appointed from the generation of the previous' offspring. The only time a monarch is appointed of the same generation is if there are no available princes or princesses at the age of adulthood. Offspring of the previous monarch are given priority over those of their siblings and from amongst those an heir is generally named. This means that when your grandfather's time passes or he steps down I will take the throne, which will make you…" he trailed off as Ruby seemingly found her voice, though a disbelieving tone set in.

"Next in line…"

AN: Thank you for reading and as always I hope you enjoyed. Constructive criticism and opinions are appreciated. I hope this chapter up to standard as I am not the greatest at writing emotional scenes and it took me a fair bit longer to write than usual for that reason. Thank you for the support that has been show to this fic, I never expected people to actually read it but I am happy to have people do so. For those interested I plan to try starting a second fic if I can next week so if anyone who might be interested could check it out I would very much appreciate it.

-Tabaxi