EDITED 12/29/2019

Word Count: 8,044

Chapter 5 — Trespassing on the Dragon's Den

Corporal Waln Beech grumbled as he heaved his considerable girth onto the back of his horse. He'd had her. That spoiled heiress (as temporary as the title might be) had been right in his grasp, bound up and ready to be transported back to the castle. He could have been looking at honors or bonus pay—the bounty money would have been his for certain. Perhaps he would treat the men to a pint at the nearest alehouse, but the rest of that bounty would be his. He was the commanding officer after all; it was only right that he got the bulk of it.

He scowled as he brushed his fingers against the tender knot at the back of his head. He had been so close, but then he and his men had been ambushed—most likely by a team of bounty hunters—and they'd taken the girl. One minute, she was in the carriage; and the next, a barrage of rocks came hurtling out of the forest towards them. The five men he had sent into the forest to subdue their cowardly attackers failed to return until well after the fight. Apparently, they had been set upon by some unknown assailant as soon as they entered the trees and had been knocked out cold.

Corporal Beech shuddered in spite of himself. It was uncanny. One would think that the bounty hunters would have broken from cover to attack the three remaining soldiers surrounding the carriage, but there had only been silence. No voices, no whispers, just the wind rustling through the trees. Then another barrage of rocks came at them and while Beech had been cowering—er, wisely huddling—behind the carriage, something had struck him from behind. It must have jostled his brain quite badly because he could have sworn he smelled roses just as everything went black.

Now all of the superstitious fools under his command were whispering about the woods being haunted by some brown phantom, which was utterly ridiculous. What kind of phantom would wear brown anyway? Clearly a phantom would appear in white or black. They were evil like the Grimm, so obviously they would be the same color. His subordinates just weren't well-learned enough to realize that.

He had proof as well. The butcher of the nearby village had been most helpful, unlike the soldiers in the Riders' Keep. The Riders had been close to useless. Then again, the Riders spent most of their time patrolling the roads so maybe they just didn't have the time to pay attention to such a backwater village. He certainly wouldn't want to be caught dead hobnobbing with such country bumkins. He was made for bigger and better things.

The butcher apparently had a good idea of who might have attacked his men, and like a proper Atlas citizen, he shared all he knew. According to the butcher, there was a rogue Faunus living in a cabin up the mountain just outside of town. The butcher didn't know anything about bounty hunters, but he wouldn't put it past the Faunus. It was always taking on odd jobs that took it away from the village. Who was to say it wasn't getting involved in more unsavory endeavors? Filthy animal. Beech would be more than happy to arrest the Faunus and deliver it to the animal reservations where it belonged.

There was the matter of subduing it, of course. That could get tricky. Animals were always most dangerous when hunted and cornered. Plus, a handful of the men from his original squad were complaining of nausea and headaches and could barely sit up without retching—the weaklings. In any case, they weren't nearly well enough to take up arms again so soon. Therefore, as the wise and properly cautious commanding officer he was, he had taken the liberty to borrow enough extra men from the Provincial Guard to form a whole patrol, three squads of six men each. All he had to do was mention Lord Schnee's missing daughter, and the Provincial Guard was happy to loan him some soldiers. With him as overall commanding officer and the First Officer loaned to him from the guard to manage the nitty-gritty aspects of command, they were twenty bodies strong.

The only reasons he and his men had been overwhelmed the afternoon before was because the cowards had caught them off guard and at the time of the attack, they hadn't had a full two squads. One of the warrant officers had decided to take four of the men from his squad and ride on ahead. Two were headed for the Rider's Keep to let them know the heiress had been found for appearance's sake, while the other two were to send word to Lord Schnee that his daughter had been found. That was why it was even more imperative that Corporal Beech got the heiress back as soon as possible. Lord Schnee would not be happy upon hearing that his daughter had been found and then lost again in the span of less than an hour. The man shuddered just thinking about it.

"Corporal," the First Officer called out with a salute. Beech couldn't quite recall the man's name. Cooper? Carpenter? Something that had to do with manual labor. It mattered not. They were all common-born riffraff anyway. "The men are ready to head out."

"Good. Give the order to move out. I want to be back before sunset."

The man gave his commanding officer another salute and raised his voice to call out the order.

The cabin was not what Corporal Beech was expecting in the slightest. He and his men were after a group of lawless bounty hunters who were possibly in league with a rogue Faunus. He was expecting some sort of lodge that acted as a headquarters for underhanded meetings and illegal dealings. This cabin looked barely large enough to house one person, let alone a group of armed individuals. Something wasn't right. Maybe this wasn't the right cabin? Perhaps they should have brought the butcher along as a guide.

His feeling of doubt only intensified when he spotted someone at the chopping block near the side of the house, splitting wood with careful precision. It took him a moment to realize the individual was a woman. She wore a loose cotton shirt that did nothing to hide her well-defined muscles, brown trousers, and a towel around her neck to wipe off sweat. If not for her overly muscular physique and masculine clothing, she would be quite a beauty, he mused. Her golden hair was gorgeous, and her chest was remarkably well-endowed. The woman split one more log, wiped her face, and then turned to face the soldiers at her gate. Lilac eyes. Quite lovely. If only I didn't have that heiress to worry about, I might be tempted to invite this woman out for drinks. The occasional dalliance never hurt anyone. The woman came closer, and Corporal Beech noticed belatedly that she was quite tall—possibly even taller than himself. He would do best to stay in the saddle. He straightened so as to look all the more imposing.

"Ho, there. Is this your land?" Beech called out as the woman approached.

"Yes, sir."

Beech puffed up at that. He'd always loved being called "sir," especially by a comely woman.

"We heard reports there might be a group of lawless bounty hunters in the area."

"Bounty hunters?"

"Yes. My men and I were transporting a very important person yesterday, Lord Schnee's daughter, when we were suddenly attacked. Nine of us were injured in the scuffle and Lady Schnee was kidnapped." She didn't need to know that in all actuality, the injuries were mostly bruises, save for the handful of men whose heads had been severely rattled. What did the medic say their conditions were? They had concussions? Or was it contusions? He couldn't remember. Besides, his version of the story sounded much more dashing, although...why did this woman seem almost amused?

"And you think those...bounty hunters...are here?"

Beech nodded. "We heard they may have joined up with a rogue Faunus living in the area, one of those uncivilized animals that dare to pretend they're human." He blinked. Did the woman's eyes just flash? It almost looked like her lilac eyes had turned red for a split second. Maybe he really did hit his head too hard yesterday if he was not only smelling things that weren't there but starting to see them as well.

"A rogue Faunus?" the woman asked in a light but blank voice. He couldn't tell what was going through her mind at all.

Beech shifted uneasily though he couldn't manage to pinpoint exactly why he felt so unsettled. "Yes. We were told that one of those animals lives in a cabin somewhere around here and that they regularly take part in some rather suspicious activities." He pulled at his collar as he spoke. For some reason, it was rather warm around here. Strange, considering it was autumn and they were part way up the mountain where it should have been cooler.

"Oh? Well, the only people who live around here are me and my little sister. Haven't heard about any bounty hunters though."

"You've a sister? Is she around? Perhaps she knows something."

The woman shrugged. "She has a tendency to wander off early in the morning, so I don't always know where she is."

"Well when you see her, you ought to warn her. It's not safe. What about the Lady Schnee? Have you heard or seen anything regarding her whereabouts? Her father is quite worried about her. She is a headstrong but very sheltered young woman who ran away in a fit of childish rebellion. I shudder to think of what those bounty hunters might have kidnapped her for."

The woman was already shaking her head. "I saw the wanted poster in the village, but I didn't really pay to much attention to it. We're far enough away that we don't really get too many visitors up here. I doubt a noble girl would have made it this far on her own. If I were the sheltered daughter of a noble, I probably wouldn't know any better, and I'd follow the main roads rather than risk getting lost on a mountain path."

"True," he allowed, "but she was kidnapped, and a local expert suggested that these mountains would be perfect for a group of bounty hunters to hide in, especially if there's a rogue Faunus around. Those animals have no honor and would easily sell their services to the highest bidder."

He pulled at his collar again, sweating profusely. Autumn in these parts was strangely warm. He regretted wearing a quilted shirt under his uniform. He was so uncomfortable that he missed the tightening of the woman's facial features.

CRACK!

The abrupt sound of shattering wood caused Corporal Beech's horse to startle and rear. He fought to keep his seat and control his horse. When he finally got the beast under control and looked around for what caused the loud sound, he noticed the haft of the woman's axe was now broken as though something had crushed it and snapped it in two.

"Oops." The woman said blandly. "Sorry about that. I've got a strong grip." The smile she showed them didn't reach her eyes.

A chill ran up Beech's spine, and he shivered in spite of himself. "Well, yes, of course. These things happen." No, they didn't. "Dry rot and all." Which he had only ever heard of in ships and buildings. "Er...well...we'll be on our way then, though I don't suppose you'd mind if my men had a look around, just in case you happened to miss someone hiding on the premises?"

Again, that mirthless smile. "Sorry to disappoint you, but yes, I do mind."

"Right, then I'll just have a few of my men check around the buildings and…" He blinked. Wait. What did she just say? "I beg your pardon?"

She spoke slowly as though talking to an imbecile, which he certainly was not. "I. Do. Mind."

Beech straightened and gave the woman an incredulous look. "I don't think you truly understand the situation you're in. We are guards—soldiers—serving under Lord Schnee himself. We wish to do our part and ensure you have no fugitives or runaways on or near your property for your own safety. Furthermore, I checked the records, and there was no documentation mentioning that any Faunus lived in these parts. That means whatever Faunus is living on the outskirts of your village is a criminal, a degenerate that threatens civil society. All Faunus must register with the local governor or else they're breaking the law, and even if the Faunus had been registered, in a year's time they would be obligated by law to move to the reservations anyway. Clearly, this particular Faunus is already breaking laws left and right, so it would be best if we arrest them and have them sent to the Faunus reservations sooner than later before they hurt someone." Confident that his logic was impeccable and that the woman now saw the importance of his mission, Beech raised a hand and was about to give an order when the woman cut in.

"First off, you serve the Schnee family directly, which means you're not provincial soldiers. They might be," —she said as she pointed to the soldiers borrowed from the Provincial Guard— "but since it looks like they're soldiers on loan, they have no more authority than your Schnee Guards. That means none of you have the right to enter or search private property. You coming here and trying to enter my property without a writ from the magistrate is no different from breaking and entering, common burglary and trespassing. You have no legal standing."

Beech spluttered, "Preposterous! This pathetic little town of yours is within Schnee lands! That means the word of Lord Schnee is law. His orders will be carried out."

"And that's where you're wrong. See, there's this thing called checks and balances. Yes, the Atlas council is made up of rich and influential people, but they're not all powerful. Yes, those rich people may hire guards to protect their lands and holdings, but that is restricted to their own private property. 'Schnee lands' is a very broad term, which you clearly don't understand. Yes, the Schnee family governs this land, but they don't own it. The Schnee can do all they want to the people living on the land that they own, but the rest of the territory falls under provincial management. If Lord Schnee wants to search private property, he has to appeal to a magistrate with evidence that wrongdoing is at play. If the magistrate agrees that there is ample evidence, they will then order the Provincial Guard—that is, sanctioned provincial soldiers, not just ones borrowed like yours—to carry out the search. No matter what, Lord Schnee's personal force, meaning your men, have no jurisdiction here."

He stared at the woman in disbelief. "You're joking," he said flatly. "The magistrate is in the pocket of the local governor who was appointed by the Schnee. There's no point to all of this unless..." —his eyes widened— "unless you're caught up in something illegal. Who are you harboring? The bounty hunters? The Faunus? Men, spread out and search! Find out what she's hidin—"

"You don't want to do that," the woman interrupted.

Beech flinched as he watched the woman's eyes bleed from lilac to a fiery red. A chill ran up his spine and a spark of fear coiled in his gut. The air grew dry and hot as though he had just been thrown into a furnace. He glared at her. He would not be intimidated by a woman, much less a peasant woman who knew more than she should. This was why women should stay in the home and not be allowed to have jobs outside of sewing and other women's work. Otherwise they caused trouble for men like him—men who were only trying to do their jobs. He snapped at the soldiers hesitating behind him. "Don't listen to her! Go and search!"

"The first man to cross that fence isn't going to die, but I promise you that they're going to be in so much pain that they're going to wish they had." Every man grew still at her words. Not a single soul in the vicinity doubted that the woman meant what she said. "Me and my little sister live here alone. She's all I've got left so you better damn well believe I'm going to protect her. If you've got legal representation, then sure, I won't stop you—laws exist to protect people who can't protect themselves after all—but if you've got nothing then you better be on your way. This is your only warning."

Yang stood there with her arms crossed, purposely meeting the eyes of every man who had the guts to look at her. She was boiling with rage. First she had to listen to that pompous tub of lard lie to her face, making up fantastic tales about bounty hunters and rogue Faunus, and then she had to listen to him insult her little sister. Over and over and over again. Comparing her sweet little sister to a criminal just because she was a Faunus.

Well, she was done. Finished. No more listening, no more arguing. If he tried saying another word against the Faunus—against her sister—she'd punch him so hard his gut and spine would switch places. Well, maybe not because then Ruby would get upset with her, but surely it'd be okay if she broke a few of his bones. A rib or two. Or maybe she ought to crack open his skull to see if there was actually a brain in there. Somehow she doubted it.

Did he seriously think that just because he was part of the Schnee's personal forces that he could do anything he wanted? Had the Schnees really grown that powerful—so powerful that they didn't even have to answer to laws created by the very council that gave them political clout to begin with? Yang knew the Schnees had been ruining life for the Faunus, but had their influence spread further than that now? It was a troubling thought.

Oh, look at Mister Tub of Lard. He looks like he's about to burst a blood vessel. Well good. Maybe he'll do something stupid, and I can blow off some steam.

Yang kicked the remains of her axe away to ensure she didn't accidentally trip over it if things broke out into a fight. The action seemed to remind Mister Tub of Lard exactly where he was.

He raised a fat, shaking finger and growled, "You will allow my men entry to your property. I will not waste my time going to the magistrate when I'm already here, you stupid woman! If you insist on standing in my way, I will have you arrested!"

"Except you don't have the authority to do that either so I'd like to see you try. I'd certainly be within my rights to defend myself." Come on, try it...you know you want to.

To her glee, he did. This was going to be fun.

"Enough of this," he snarled. "Get her and tie her up. We'll drop her off at the nearest prison as soon as we're finished here."

Well, that was quick, Yang thought to herself. Twelve out of twenty, not bad; not bad at all. Guess there were a couple of them that actually had brains. Can't say as much for Mister Tub of Lard though, she thought as she eyed the unconscious officer with derision.

Yang shook her head almost sadly. They just didn't make soldiers—or guards, she supposed—the way they used to. Sparring with the Riders was more of a challenge than this, and those bouts were largely one-on-one matches.

Yang had wanted to burn off some steam, but this had been nothing but a let down. Well, no matter. What was more important was sending a clear message to these men: Here be a dragon's lair; trespass at your own risk. She wanted them beaten so badly that each of the soldiers here would head back with horror stories, making anyone else to think twice about taking her on. She wanted them scared—so scared that they'd never come back to try to arrest her little sister again. Ruby was the one thing that made life worth living, and Yang was going to protect her. Period.

Most of the time, Yang considered herself an honorable person. She didn't lie, cheat, or steal. She kept every promise, no matter how small. She might avenge someone who had been wronged with what might be considered excessive vigor, but she never bullied anyone, least not anyone that didn't deserve it. She might tease someone a bit, but she always knew when to back off. If she made a mistake, she would apologize—maybe not right away but eventually it would happen. She was a little more pragmatic on the battlefield, but she would never be the first one to fight dirty unless it was a life or death situation.

As such, normally she would never use her Aura against opponents who didn't have their Auras unlocked. It just wasn't fair. Even the weakest Aura Warrior could take on at least five fighters who didn't have their Auras unlocked as long as he or she could generate a defensive Aura. For Yang, she was naturally strong but when she used her Aura to augment her strength, she was boulder-crushing, forest-felling, building-razing strong. There was a reason Aura warriors were usually treated with respect wherever they went, even if they weren't Grimm Huntsmen or Huntresses; to treat them otherwise would be flirting with death.

But right now, she really didn't care about any of that. All she cared about was keeping Ruby safe, and if that meant putting a bunch of Schnee guards through hell, then so be it.

Still, she figured she ought to give them at least one final warning. Really, it was Mister Tub of Lard who was the idiot and the rest of them shouldn't have to be punished too hard for having a pompous fool for a commander. They'd get in trouble for disobeying orders after all.

So before the fight broke out in earnest, she gave them another warning.

Yang reached deep inside to the heart of her power, feeling the familiar heat rush through her veins and spread outwards through every nerve and muscle. She knew that her now crimson eyes were glowing and her golden hair was starting to flare like the sun. She could see the instant some of the soldiers realized what they were dealing with; they were the smart ones and halted their rush immediately. The others weren't so lucky.

At the last second, Yang's sense of fair play reasserted itself, and she pulled back her Aura so it only shielded her fists and forearms. That was fair since all her opponents had both weapons and armor. Yang didn't fancy having bruised and cut up knuckles from slamming her fists into metal armor if she didn't have to. Sure, she would heal right up in a few hours with her Aura, but it still hurt. Plus, Ruby would get upset at her for getting injured, and one of Yang's jobs as a big sister was to avoid doing that whenever possible. Within reason of course. Nothing was going to stop these men from getting a beating if they crossed that fence, something that they soon figured out for themselves.

The first four men over the fence came at her with spears. They were probably hoping to surround her at spearpoint to keep her in place until one of their comrades could tie her up. If she had been anyone else, it might have worked. Maybe. These guards looked rather young, and a few of them didn't look all that confident with their weapons. More than likely, they were greenhorns who had gotten the short end of the stick when they got sent out with Mister Tub of Lard where there would be little chance of promotion. Yang could afford to go easy on them.

Yang grabbed the closest spear and smashed her fist just below the spearhead, snapping the wooden staff and leaving the guard with only a wooden stick. She yanked it from his grasp while he was still gaping and swung it at his closest companion. The wood met the young man's forearm with a resounding crack, and he dropped his weapon to cradle his now broken arm. Yang dodged the other two guards' spears when they tried to stab her and dropped her spear shaft directly onto the collarbone of the next closest guard. There was another crack, and the young man cried out in pain as he fell to his knees. The last man hesitated and that was all she needed to dart past his spear and ram her fist into his gut. She backed up quickly as he started vomit. Eww...now she'd have to clean the yard. A fresh wave of annoyance washed over her. The man whose spear she had broken earlier backed away, but she wouldn't let him leave unscathed. He had crossed the fence after all, and she had warned all of them not to. She tossed her makeshift weapon aside, darted towards him, and sent a rapid flurry of punches at the remaining man, making sure he felt each and every blow. A final spinning back kick sent the man flying back over the fence where he belonged. She didn't usually use kicks in battle but when she did, she made them count.

Mister Tub of Lard was practically frothing at the mouth. "Get her, you useless nincompoops! She's only one woman!"

Eight more men hopped the fence, but they were clearly unnerved after seeing the fates of their companions. Good. A scared man was a man half beat.

Yang gave the second batch no quarter. They had been warned twice already, once by her Aura flare and again after watching their companions go down. They no longer had any excuses for crossing her fence. Still, dealing with eight men at once was a little more tricky, especially since Yang still refused to use a defensive Aura on anything other than her hands and forearms. A few of the men got a couple of lucky hits—well, more like grazes—but she paid them back for it by teaching them how to fly eight feet through the air. She was generous like that. The rest of the men broke after seeing the fates of their companions, and she easily dispatched with them, one by one.

Now they were down to eight of originally twenty men, and Yang was mostly unscathed. She was even kind enough to return the injured men back to their side of the fence. When she was done tossing the last of her attackers back to where their unscathed companions were moving to treat the wounded, she backed up and crossed her arms.

"Are you done yet?" she asked cockily, though it did little to hide the anger still present in her voice.

Mister Tub of Lard practically turned purple as he barked out more stupid orders. "Forget about your spears! You've got a crossbow, use it! I'm sure she'll stop moving after we put a couple of bolts in her."

The man closest to Mister Tub of Lard—one of the men on loan from the Provincial Guard, she noted—spoke as he darted an uneasy glance over at Yang, "Sir, perhaps we should cut our losses, and take our wounded back while we still can."

"Are you questioning my orders, First Officer?" The threat in the fat man's voice was unmistakable.

The First Officer stiffened then looked at the injured men around him. Then he looked his commanding officer directly in the eye and said, "Yes, sir, and I'll take full responsibility for it. This mission has failed. Any more attempts would only leave more of my men injured, and we still have to march back down the mountain. We need every able bodied man to tend to the rest, and we won't have any left if they follow your orders. These are my men, and it's my responsibility to keep them as safe as best I can. In this case, if that means stopping them from following any more stupid orders from an incompetent commander, then so be it."

"Your superior officers will be hearing about this insubordination, First Officer," the corporal growled.

"Good. Then I can report how you decided to send not only your men, but my men into a fight against an Aura warrior who was well within her rights to defend herself."

Mister Tub of Lard practically snarled and turned his attention to the nearest uninjured soldier. "Give me that," he demanded as he yanked the crossbow from the man's hands. He lowered the weapon, which was already cocked and loaded, and fired.

Yang flooded her body with a defensive Aura and the crossbow bolt appeared to bounce right off. However, in truth, though defensive Auras minimized or prevented actual injury, a warrior would still feel the pain of impact. The pain might be slightly muted depending on the strength of the warrior's Aura, but they would still feel it. In Yang's case, she had a lot of Aura so the bolt felt like a bee sting, but little more.

All the men except for Mister Tub of Lard paled as they saw for the first time what they had truly been up against. At that moment, every single one of them realized that the only reason they were still alive was because this Aura warrior had been holding back this entire time and was still holding back.

The same couldn't be said about Mister Tub of Lard though. He was too furious to be thinking rationally, Yang noted absentmindedly, and she resigned herself to having to deliver one more beating. Normally, she'd be all for a good brawl and smackdown, but this was just sad. She was surprised that the Schnees didn't get invaded and robbed every other day if this was the strength of their guards.

Mister Tub of Lard threw the ineffective crossbow aside and spurred his horse in a wide circle to pick up enough momentum to jump the low fence. Yang's eyes widened. Was he seriously going to try riding her down? The man had no sense of honor.

Yang waited calmly until the horse was almost to her before she sidestepped, grabbed hold of the man's stirrup, and yanked it up hard. The man tumbled off the other side of his horse and hit the ground with a heavy thud as his horse galloped away without him with a startled whinny. Snarling, he clumsily got back to his feet and charged at her while trying to draw his sword. His sword never even cleared its scabbard. Yang dove in, gave him one expertly aimed hit to the chin, and he went down like a wet sack of dirt.

Yang turned to the remaining men and laid her eyes on the First Officer. "I'll let two of your men over the fence, one to catch that horse and the other to drag your boss back to the other side of the fence. If they try any funny business, you're going to lose two more men and this time, I won't hold back."

The First Officer gave her a polite nod. "Understood, ma'am. I'm terribly sorry this had to happen in the first place. Hains, get the horse. Greenwood, collect Corporal Beech. The rest of you, finish tending to the wounded, and we'll ride out as soon as you're done."

It took a good chunk of time, but eventually they all cleared out.

Sighing, Yang released her defensive Aura and took deep breath, only to regret it instantly. "Aww, man...I should have made them clean up the vomit before they left…"

The moment Yang stepped into the cabin, she was met with a full-bodied tackle and a squeezing embrace. She grunted from the impact but barely budged an inch. She wrapped her arms around the small cloaked figure and squeezed back. "I'm fine. I could have beaten those men half-asleep."

Ruby nodded into Yang's shirt and pulled away, but not before she signed, I'm sorry.

Yang scowled at her little sister. "Oh, no you don't." She had to nip this in the bud right now. She grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and forced her to meet her eyes. Her words were soft but firm. "Listen. None of this was your fault, at all. You didn't do anything wrong; in fact, I'm proud of you. You saw someone that needed help, and you helped them. You did something good. Lots of people wouldn't have bothered, but you did. That's worth way more than dealing with a little harassment from a handful of misguided soldiers. Got it?" Yang didn't let her sister go until the smaller girl finally nodded. "Good." She reached under her sister's hood and ruffled her hair, being careful not to be too rough with her wolf ears.

"What did they want?" Weiss Schnee, the central figure of this whole mess, asked from further inside the cabin. It looked like Ruby had made the noble some tea while they had been waiting, but both mugs looked untouched.

Yang gave Ruby's head one last ruffle before she seated herself at the table. Ruby, ever sensitive to the needs of others, grabbed a clean mug, filled it with ale, and gave it to Yang. Yang gave her a grin of thanks and downed it in one go. As she was enjoying the cool beverage, she felt a damp cloth wiping away the residual blood from the handful of cuts she got earlier. She put down her mug and took the damp towel from her little sister's hand. "I got it, Ruby. Thanks." The girl nodded, took a moment to refill Yang's mug, and then sat down next to her. Weiss seemed to deliberate for a moment before she, too, seated herself.

Yang took a few moments to clean up and then tossed the towel into a water-filled basin to soak before she answered Weiss's question. "They were looking for a group of bounty hunters who apparently kidnapped Lord Schnee's daughter yesterday as she was being transported home."

A look of disbelief crossed the young noble's face. "Bounty hunters?"

"Yep." Yang looked at her sister. "Did they even see you yesterday or are just making things up?"

Ruby shrugged then shook her head.

"So you don't think so but you're not sure," Yang interpreted for Weiss. "Well, it seems they couldn't believe that they'd been bested by a single attacker, much less a little girl, and decided to hedge the details a bit."

Weiss just shook her head. "So they really were looking for me. And my kidnapper, I suppose," she said, glancing at Ruby.

"Kidnappers," Yang corrected, emphasizing the "s". "We gotta stick with the official story so that we remember it if they come around asking questions again. If they're brave enough that is." Yang blinked as she remembered something. "By the way, beloved little sister of mine, I sort of, kind of, maybe accidentally broke another axe haft earlier…think you could replace it for me when you've got a chance?" she asked sheepishly.

Ruby gave an audible huff of air as she shook her head in exasperation.

"Hey, this time it wasn't entirely my fault! They made me mad." Ruby just patted her sister on the shoulder and signed that she'd fix it later, to which Yang beamed and scooped her sister up in a hug. "Thanks! Knew I could count on you."

Weiss asked dryly, "This happens often?"

"Eh, once in a while," Yang answered while Ruby nodded fervently beside her.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Yang glanced suspiciously at the other two sitting at the table. "Are you two ganging up on me?"

"Perish the thought," Weiss said as Ruby shook her head. Yang eyed both of them doubtfully.

"If we could get back to the point at hand?" Weiss continued with a roll of her eyes at the other woman's antics. "What did you tell the soldiers?"

"That I didn't know anything about any bounty hunters or Lord Schnee's daughter," Yang said blandly.

"So you lied to them."

"Excuse me?" Yang huffed in mock offense, "I did no such thing. They asked about bounty hunters. There weren't any bounty hunters to begin with; they just made that up. And while they asked about Lord Schnee's daughter, they didn't mention which daughter. It's not my fault if I assumed they were talking about the other one. They're the ones who didn't mention any names."

Yang blinked in shock as a faint smile turned up the corners of the noble's usually flat or frowning lips. "Clever," the other woman said after that smile vanished as quickly as it had come, making Yang feel as though she must have imagined it. She didn't think the noble even knew how to smile.

"Anyway," Yang said, "what I don't get is how they knew to come here. I really doubt any of them caught a good glimpse of Ruby yesterday and even if they did, all they would have seen was her brown cloak. Kind of hard to go searching for someone with a plain brown cloak. It's not exactly rare. Every family owns at least one or two of them."

Weiss frowned as she thought. "Perhaps one of the soldiers from yesterday went to the nearby village for information, or perhaps the Riders' Keep?"

Yang was already shaking her head. "No one from the keep would have squealed even if they did recognize a description of Ruby."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because our uncle is one of the Aura warriors stationed there for one thing. For another, they're all sort of like honorary uncles for us. Our Uncle Qrow's saved just about every man stationed there at least once or twice so when he needed help looking out for me and Ruby when our parents were gone, all the Riders stepped in and took turns to check up on us at least once every few days. None of them would ever give us away like that, not without checking with us first. Plus, all of them really dote on Ruby, especially after she started going to the keep for sword lessons. They're all super proud at how good she's gotten, and they know her well enough to know that she would never use her skills against other people without having a very good reason for it."

"Well, what about the village? That's the only other place they could have gone for information, right? If I recall correctly, the nearby village is fairly isolated."

"No, none of the villagers would ever...wait…." She let out a loud groan. "I take that back. Most of the villagers wouldn't have said anything, but there's this one guy who doesn't really like me and he might have said something. In fact, I'm pretty sure he did say something."

Weiss raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow, "Pray tell, whatever did you do to earn his ire?"

"He asked me out and when he didn't take no for an answer, I got a little rough with him. That should have been the end of it, but one day I found him harassing Ruby. Apparently his ego couldn't handle being turned down by a woman, but he didn't have the guts to face me directly, so he tried picking on my baby sister instead. I took offense, gave him the beating of his life, and he's hated me ever since."

Yang clenched her fists and felt her pulse rise as she grew more and more positive of who to blame for sending soldiers all the way up here on a false lead in an attempt to get an innocent Faunus arrested. It had to be Slater, the man who took over the butcher shop a few years back. Yang started seeing red. The innocent Faunus he had targeted was her baby sister, and his actions could have gotten her arrested.

A thought that she had purposely tried hard not to think about earlier came rushing back. They would have taken Ruby away from her. They would have stolen her baby sister from her. This could not stand. Someone had to pay for this. Someone would pay for this. And she knew just who to set her sights on. She took a deep breath to try to quell her temper. Later, she told herself. I can let myself get mad later when I deal with him face-to-face.

That was when Yang noticed that Ruby was clinging to her arm, and Weiss was glancing at her nervously. The moment Yang met her gaze, Weiss quickly looked away, suddenly appearing very interested at something on the far wall. Yang's eyes must have turned red again as her temper rose. She'd heard looking into her eyes when she was mad was pretty intimidating. Oops.

Yang took another deep breath and gently shook Ruby off. "Sorry about that. I'm fine."

No, you're not. What's wrong? Her sister signed rapidly.

Yang wasn't about to tell Ruby she was planning to go on a raging rampage of revenge later. Her little sister definitely wouldn't approve. Sometimes Yang wondered if the girl could even feel the kind of anger that would drive someone to get revenge. If so, Yang had never seen it. In fact, the little wolf rarely even got angry—annoyed, sure, but never actually angry. Still, Yang knew her stubborn little sister wouldn't let this go, so Yang decided to share at least half of the truth with her. The important half. The half that would keep Yang awake at night if she let herself think too hard about it.

When Yang opened her mouth to say the words, they suddenly felt chokingly heavy and seemed lodged in the back of her throat. She licked her dry lips and did her best to contain the sudden terror flowing through her. "Those soldiers, they—" Yang fought to keep her voice steady, "—they would have taken you away. They were here to arrest you. If they'd caught you—" She didn't even need to finish her sentence. Ruby knew better than anyone what would have happened if they'd caught her. She would be forced to live in one of those prisons—laughingly called "reservations" as though they were meant to protect their inhabitants—and then she'd eventually be sent off to work in a Dust mine.

It scared Yang how easy it would be. All the enemy needed to do was call in a couple of Aura warriors to distract Yang while they sent men after Ruby. While Yang was more than certain Ruby could outrun them if she had to—her Semblance was speed, after all—the girl would never abandon Yang; she loved her big sister too much and the feeling was downright mutual.

Ruby thrust herself into Yang's arms as though sensing just how much Yang needed to feel her right now to reassure herself that her baby sister was safe and sound. The smaller girl pulled away briefly only to sign, I'm fine. I'm safe. I'm right here, all thanks to you. You protected me, Yang. Thank you. Thank you for always protecting me.

"Of course," Yang choked out as she felt a few tears leak from her eyes, "I'll always protect you. No one's ever gonna touch you if I'm around." She clutched at Ruby, who had snuggled back into her arms after signing what she wanted to say. She felt Ruby turn her head and nuzzle her cheek as she rubbed Yang's back the way Yang often did for her. Slowly, Yang calmed back down, taking comfort in her sister's presence—the warmth of her hug and the smell of earth and roses that always seemed to accompany her. When her tears had fully receded, she pulled back just enough to shift Ruby so that she was sitting on Yang's lap. Yang then wrapped her arms around her baby sister protectively. After that scare, Yang wasn't quite ready to let the girl go, and she knew Ruby was always open for cuddles.

When it was clear Yang had more or less pulled herself together, Weiss's voice broke the silence. "I'm sorry." The noble's utter remorse made her usually strong, forceful tone sound uncharacteristically timid. "If your sister hadn't stepped in to save me…"

Yang didn't let her finish. "Nope. None of that. If we're blaming anyone for anything, we're blaming whoever decided they could point those soldiers up this way. If it hadn't been for them, I'm pretty sure no one would even think to come up here."

Weiss didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't attempt to argue any further.

Yang ran her fingers through her hair, thinking hard. So far they had been reactive rather than proactive, which wasn't her style at all. She hated being on the defensive side of things, having to wait for trouble to come before dealing with it. She'd much rather go out and meet trouble head on—destroy the threat before it even became a threat—and right now, there was a definite threat. Someone in the village had sent soldiers up here in a clear attack against her Faunus sister. There was no way she was going to let this slide, but at the same time, she didn't want to risk leaving Ruby here alone lest those soldiers failed to learn their lesson and send reinforcements. In fact, they should probably clear out entirely for a while and conveniently, here was a noble in need of help.

Yang turned to Ruby and asked, "Well, what do you think? Should we help Weiss out? It'll be a long trip—farther than we've ever gone before."

Ruby didn't even stop to think about it. She just nodded, and Yang grinned.

Yang mentally made a to-do list in her head. Deal with the threat in Patch. Make sure the other villagers knew that she and Ruby would be away for a while. Before doing so, make sure Ruby and Weiss are someplace safe. Get things together for a long journey. Let Uncle Qrow know so he could look after their place while they were gone. Take Ruby to her mother's grave because Ruby always liked to visit before leaving on longer trips. Leave before any soldiers came back again. All in all, a simple list. Most of it she could get done today if she got moving. It was still early.

"Wait, what?" Weiss said, looking utterly shocked. "You would agree, just like that? What about payment? And guidelines? A contract!"

Yang waved her hand lazily. "We'll figure all that stuff out later. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

The noble turned pink. "Why you uncouth, ill-mannered, boorish oaf!"

Yang blinked. "Well, that's a new one." She set Ruby up on her feet and stood up. "Come on, Princess, let's get you at least partially equipped for the journey." She motioned Weiss to follow her.

"Don't call me that," the noble muttered yet again as she did as she was told.

"Ruby," Yang called back, "I'm sending you and Weiss up to the cave while I get things ready for the journey. I don't want either of you to be here in case those soldiers come back sooner than expected. Pack a basket of food enough to last for at least three days, just in case I can't make it out there right away, and get your usual travel kit together. I'll take care of getting Weiss set up, so just focus on your stuff."

Ruby nodded and got to work.

"This way, Princess."

"One of these days, I'm going to smack you for calling me that."

"Ooh, how violent. So unbecoming of a lady."

The wordless screech of annoyance that followed was music to Yang's ears.

A/N: So it's come to my attention from several readers that I kinda overdid it with Yang's over-the-top, trailer-esque, idiot-thumping, fight scene. I originally intended it to be a bit of an homage to the actual RWBY show (because I kinda felt like Yang thumping idiots is such an integral part of her character that she should get at least one scene dedicated to it.) If you're one of the readers who felt like it was too much, rest assured that all other action scenes from here on out will be treated much more seriously. (Just treat the scene as a flagrant example of early installment weirdness, because I can assure you it gets better.) I may at some point come back to revise this chapter, but for now I'd rather focus on progressing the story.

As always, thank you for reading, and I really hope this chapter didn't put you off enough that you decided to drop the story.