Hello once again my wondrous breakfast readers. A quick warning before anything, if an update comes after this one very quickly, it is because I have made very small adjustments on a previous chapter that had a few things that rubs me the wrong way. On the off note, I hope you enjoy this somewhat beginning to an 'arc' of sorts.
The three sat around their room as the white haired mistress reached underneath the double-stacked bed, unsafe as it might seem. From beneath it she pulled out a small silver box, with a crimson floral pattern upon it, almost like a rose, with the inviting yet deadly feel to it. The three sitting around it were confused from such patterns and color that invaded their room, almost as if the box alone changed not only the tone of the room through color and feel, but also a sense of secrets that lay within the small case.
No one dare spoke while she relieved the box from its once 'hidden' spot, almost like those who saw it respected the silent beauty that it was. That was until the retriever spoke up.
"This...is what those back then dared to fear."
"A box?" Ruby spoke up.
"Not the box Ruby, but from what we can see right now, though little, is what that box holds." Blake commented on her question.
"You are mostly correct Blake on your suspicions, but it is not what is within this box that they feared, rather what has been said to be in here. I received this piece a few days before I came to Beacon. No one commented on what they saw, and there was not a single inspection of it as well. Instead, it was directly delivered to my room and not a word was spoken. I didn't dare open it, fear of it being a trap, but curiosity got the better of me…" Weiss set her hands behind her back onto the floor and leaned back as well. "I opened the box and just like you would think, this case was the only thing that rested inside of it." Weiss finished.
"Did you open it?" Yang said.
"I didn't dare do so, it seemed like too much trouble, but instead I noticed that there was a letter on the bottom of it." Weiss pulled out a letter from underneath the case. "No matter what I tried, this letter would end up back on the bottom of the box, even after reading it."
"Well what did the letter say then? Why would you want to throw it away?" Ruby questioned.
"Give me a second Ruby, you cannot rush something this important."Weiss snapped at Ruby. "I didn't even think to throw away this letter; instead I chose to put it somewhere much safer than the bottom of a random box at the time." She unraveled the letter.
"Dear Weiss Schnee, a Young Huntress, and a most wonderful student
I pity the meeting that happened many moons ago, and that for a fate such as yours continues on strongly is a true testament to your skill. In due time, we will meet again, and I request that you return this object to me. I entrust it to you for I believe one such as yourself can have such a thing in safekeeping till the time has come. What this box holds is what still lies with my hunt today, yet for now it is nothing. Do not open the prison that holds anew, but let you and your friends find the true answer many have been looking for. I fear that my journey is closer than it was before that night, and that his sacrifice might have been in vain."
Alfred, Protégé of Master Logarius
"Ohhhhhh, that sounds somewhat like a declaration of looove." Yang jokingly said towards Weiss.
"Sounds more like he pushed his problems onto you Weiss if anything." Blake correcting Yang
"That sounds like an adventure waiting to happen team!" Ruby shouted, jumping off of the bed and onto the floor, her arms at her side like some sort of statue.
Weiss sighed. "I honestly believe it to be simply all of things, less on the love side and more on the being burdened with his responsibilities." She laid the letter on top of the box. "It honestly just worries me that someone from my childhood would be pushing something so important" She flicks the case with her finger. "As his entire life's work onto me, and right now of all times. I feel as if this meeting is going to much more troublesome than I would like." Weiss sighed once more as she began to pick the case up and move it back to its previous spot.
Yang grabbed Weiss's leg and stopped her from moving.
"So you're just going to put the box back and wait for this 'Alfred' to come retrieve it?" She grinned widely. "Come on, let's open it up and get a peek at it."
Silence hung in the air as a soft sort of tension seemed to rise between the Yang and Weiss.
"I'd much rather not go against the wishes of someone else for some childish amusement." Weiss commented.
Yang pushed out a 'Pushaa' as she let go of Weiss's leg.
"I actually have to agree with Yang on this one Weiss, though very little I do." All three of them turned to look at Blake who was sitting forward, ears perked and senses alert.
"The thought of someone pushing their entire life's work onto you and asking you to not even open it; that does sound a little fishy, not trap fishy, but more like 'something very bad is inside that box and if you don't open it bad things will happen faster without you being able to do anything about it' fishy."
The trio now looked at Blake with confusion from the given example.
"Also you must add that he did imply 'friends' in his letter, meaning that he was expecting you to gain teammates and that you should trust them as well. Though slightly creepy, this Alfred hides many things in just a few words."
"Then what do you suspect that he was 'hiding' in his letter?" Yang questioned.
"When I say hiding, I don't mean purposefully. It's moreover a play on words, things many very literate people do in whatever they might write. Can I see the letter Weiss?"
Weiss nodded and handed the letter to her, sitting down right after ready to listen.
"If we take a look at the beginning, 'I pity the meeting many moons ago' It must mean something about that night that would be frowned upon by most and not by you two meeting one another, because that would simply make no sense if he's contacting you and expects your trust. 'In due time, we will meet again, and I request that you return this object to me.' He was planning to meet you again from the point whatever happened that night, meaning that he's always known, or at least been close to you since that time."
Weiss showed a look of confusion. "That can't be right. I spent most of my life away from people like him. Even back then he gave off an aura that just didn't feel right. I would have also spotted him the moment I saw him."
The four sat there and thought for a few seconds before Blake continued.
"This next line is relatively easy to follow, 'What this box holds is what still lies with my hunt today,' Obviously it means something from that night was unfinished and it lies within that box, yet the next line is what confuses me, 'yet for now it is nothing.' If it meant too much back then, then how could it be nothing right now. It's not that big of a deal from what we have. This next line clearly shows his worry of the case, 'Do not open the prison that holds anew,' Obviously it's a prison for something, meaning it could possibly be alive. This comes to use now, 'but let you and your friends find the true answer many have been looking for.' What answer could he be talking about that possibly himself and many others could not find, yet a group of teenagers might be able to. I just personally don't get it."
Ruby shot her hand up and began waving it around.
"Yes Ruby?" Blake questioned.
"What if this 'true answer' isn't for an actual question, but for something related to his choices that night?"
Again the four pondered on the thought given by the youngest member.
"That could possibly lead to something Ruby, thank you."
Ruby smiled as she lowered her hand.
"The last few lines somewhat time it all up I guess. 'I fear that my journey is closer than it was before that night,' Apparently what I said earlier about his work being unfinished it confirmed by this, and instead that his goal is almost in his hand but this object is the only thing in the way. The last line is what confuses me the most. 'and that his sacrifice might have been in vain.' What sacrifice and who exactly? This letter only answers a few of our questions, and gives us even more.."
For the last time, the four pondered on what has been discovered through Blake's analysis of the letter.
Weiss then spoke up. "Then what do you propose we do? It's not like we can go and just ask Alfred himself."
"There is always the new student that we spoke to yesterday. From what you said Weiss, they are part of a group that is connected to them, the; what was it again?" Ruby suggested.
"The Executioners, or something to that extent. I can't remember that well, I read it in a book when I was younger."
"Then do we just walk up to them right in the middle of the night? We know where they're staying, but if they'll just tell us right there and then? I doubt it. It must be a secret of some sort to that group." Blake drew to attention.
"Ahem…"
The three turned their heads to the Blonde headed brawler.
"I think I just might have a way of getting them to talk." Hanging from her hand, was a small piece they've seen once before but to their very own teammate. A wooden wheel.
The four were standing in front of the newly transferred students room at the end of the hallway. A walk much longer than they expected, and thus they were still in their nightwear.
"You could have at least let us change Yang."
"And miss an opportunity like this? Not a chance." She smiled while dangling the necklace in front of the others.
"Listen, when they answer, just hand over the necklace and then see if we can get some information on Alfred. We can't play the bad guys in this situation." Blake commented.
Yang simply waved her hand towards Blake as she went to knock on the door.
The moment her fist connected with it, there was no banging of wood, but instead the chime of a bell. The four of them stepped back with looks of confusion on their faces, each of them glancing at one another back and forth. By the time the chime finally stopped, the turning of a door knob could be heard. Their attention snapped to the door, all eyes focused on what could come from within. To their surprise, someone entirely different came out.
"Is there anything I can do to help young maidens such as yourself at this time of the night?"
A woman in a nightgown of the colors crimson red and steel grey, with such beauty to challenge what might even be considered a goddess, stood in front of them. The same hair, and lips seen earlier this day, became even clearer without the massive headpiece covering it. A slender figure that many wished they could attain, and eyes that led more mystery than the Rose herself. On the left, a forest green that one could lose themselves just for staring into it too long, and the right, a blue so wondrous that the ocean itself is jealous.
The four members of team RWBY stood with expressions that were a mix of amazement, and bewilderment. The only thing that Yang could do in this situation was open her hand and let the strange necklace hang in front of the strange lady's eyes, and in return, was a smile forming on the lips of the unknown.
HEyO, sorry for the late post, and for the short chapter. I had planned for this one to be short as it is supposed to be a major lead in for what's to come, and I hope it works out for you, the reader. I'd still love to hear suggestions, guesses as what might come, etc. and especially criticism if there is any. I love you wonderful breakfast lovers, and I hope to see you again.