The fields were utterly trampled and filled with upturned dirt and mud that had come from the torrent of rain that had doused the land in wetness and turned the ground to a soft mush.
The red hooded girl thanked the blessed Madonna that she had her beloved cloak to keep much of the rain off her as she walked through the mud with her heavy boots. The town she had been racing towards for the past few days was in sight now, causing her to break into a bright smile.
He was definitely here... she thought as she saw the sight of slight horseshoes in the mud. Searching for signs of her... well... friend Jaune had become harder over the past few days. But at least there was a sign of him having at least stopped here.
Ruby Rose took a deep breath and strode into the town. This was her first real time in another town outside Menagerie. She'd lived there all her life and well... it wasn't expected for someone as common born as her to ever go that far out of her birthplace. She was still in Flanders she reckoned, but she didn't really know how to read, despite Jaune's offers of paying for lessons or even helping her himself.
What kind of adventurer would I be if I'm too scared to even leave my town! She chastised herself and summoned up a fit of courage. She was just fifteen years old and thrust upon her was perhaps the fate of her home town and friends. But she'd dreamed of a chance like this. A chance to go out and be more than the blacksmiths sister.
I just have to find Jaune...
She felt the parchment against her breast. The one she held close just in case. It held a ducal seal, bearing the colors of the Valois-Bourgogne, signed and sealed by her best friend. He'd told her to use it in emergencies. So Ruby kept it near her heart, the place her late mother told to keep all the important things in her life. It say comfortably besides the little necklace that had Weiss's emblem on it. The snowflake of the Schnees.
The dearest thing to her heart was her. Ruby knew how much she had hurt Weiss when he left without a word. But she had to! For her sisters sake. For Blake. For Weiss and everyone else in Menagerie. All she had to do was find Jaune. He'd know what to do. He always did. Ever since they were little he knew, despite being in two different worlds practically.
No matter how much she felt she owed him, Jaune always said to never mention it. It was what friends did. Looking back, she knew that much of what she had was because of him. His kindness despite her low social standing, his constant encouragement to chase her dreams of truly being an adventurer. Even the times he gave his surprisingly thoughtful advice on what to do about her deep crush on Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Trading Company.
It was he who had arranged her position as a handmaiden to that family. All of that led to her and Weiss becoming... an item.
And now she needed his help again. But he was missing. She knew that it was around this time of year he was in Flanders, usually in Menagerie, but this time he hadn't arrived. She didn't know the way to Dijon, so she did the only thing she could.
She went out to find Jaune. He had to be here. At least somewhere here. The issue was she didn't know where here really was. Ruby cursed her lack of education as she stomped through the muddy street of the village. She'd last heard of a blond haired man coming through here, so hopefully she'd find a lead.
Her silver eyes caught the glint of a gilded sign hovering gently above a wooden building. The chains that held it up were rusted and looked just about ready to break while the building itself fared little better. There was a pungent smell that emanated from nearby and Ruby couldn't tell if it was from the building or elsewhere. The sign read 'Tukson's Tavern and Inn.' She felt her pouch for her coin and figured she had enough left to stay for the night. It beat roughing it out in the wilds.
Inside the tavern she was met with long tables filled with an assortment of patrons. Barmaids went from table to table with drinks and food and merriment, though Ruby winced when one of the drunken patrons squeezed at a young serving girl's bottom.
She kept her head down beneath her cloak and her small scythe close at hand. While Jaune had told her that her ducal letter was her greatest weapon, Weiss insisted that her greatest weapon would be an actual weapon. Her older sister Yang has crafted something she thought Ruby would like. Thus, Crescent Rose was born. Yang had made it in such a way that it was easily foldable, though she'd spent a pretty penny on it. Jaune promised he'd reimburse her blacksmithy before returning to Dijion for the winter.
Ruby scanned the barstools up front and saw that the barman was a faunus, surprisingly. While few towns existed where faunus and humans lived peaceably in Europe, it was more often faunus either lived in ghettos or were driven out of their homes. The clergy decried such cruelty but there was little they could do. Especially when the King of France had recently ordered the expulsion of all the faunus from his realm.
Suffice to say Menagerie had experienced a great amount of fleeing faunus. Many were lucky to find a town ruled by faunus nobility as such, but many more were driven away from town to town. Others headed east to the Germans and others fled south to Iberia or the Italian states.
Ruby looked around and quickly found herself an empty seat where she could purchase some milk as well as room and board. A hot meal sounded enticing as well. She counted her silver and figured it would be around...
Ruby wracked her brain at counting. She knew Jaune and Weiss had tried their best to educate her but it was really hard for her! She felt embarrassed when she asked for the bartender to count for her but he was kind enough and was fair as well. Apparently he was the owner of the inn, the faunus named Tukson. "You're not from these parts?" he asked in a low but friendly voice.
Ruby shook her head as she sipped her drink and slurped down some frothy soup that warmed her bones and refreshened her spirits. "I'm from Menagerie" she managed to squeak out.
The big faunus broke into a large smile. "Any friend of Menagerie is a friend of mine." Ruby felt a wave of relief wash over her. She had at least one friend in this miserable, muddy town. She scampered up onto a wooden seat. Despite being only fifteen, she appeared a bit older than she was. She took a cup of her milk and finished it, washing down the rest of her meal with it.
A thin layer of white milk was above her lips, forming a little mustache that Yang and Jaune would tease her for. Those were good memories.
"So, what brings you all the way from Menagerie? Heard it's got some trouble lately with Belladonna's daughter. Heard she's gone missing and that old Adam Taurus is trying to raise an army to claim her hand."
Not missing. Hiding she wanted to say. But she couldn't. She promised the Belladonna's she wouldn't say a word. Not until they found a Jaune. "Well I haven't heard much of that" Ruby replied with a shrug. "I've been looking for a friend of mine."
Tukson rose a brow before leaning forward. His heavy set weight made even the hard wooden countertop creak just so slightly. "What's he look like?"
"Tall. Blond. Scraggly. He's got a kind face."
Tukson furrowed his brow as he thought deeply. The cogs in his mind turned as he thought. "I'm not certain. Though... hmm..."
Ruby tensed as she prepared to try and bribe the man with the ducal parchment Jaune gave her, but relaxed when it turned out Tukson was just thinking hard about it. "I think so. If you consider two riders barreling down the town with armor and all. I think one of them had blond hair. I can show you where I last saw them!"
Ruby's silver eyes lit up, the stars within them ready to burst. She had found her first true lead. Jaune was wealthy enough to own a horse. He cherished his beloved Crocea Mors, a fine beast that he brought with him to Menagerie every spring.
"When can you take me?" She practically burst. Her eyes were pleading with the old barkeep who sighed and conceded.
"After I close up. Go on and rest a bit."
Ruby took what she could get. Inside her little room in the inn, she could hear the rain beating down on the wooden roof above. It reminded her when she was very young. When Yang would curl up with her under the blankets together during stormy nights. They were lucky that Yang's blacksmithy had metal sheets for a roof. The sound of raindrops beating iron was so soothing for Ruby. Being with Yang made her feel safe too. Like nothing could get them.
Ruby sighed as she pulled at the necklace that sat tight at her neck. It wasn't heavy but it made her heart ache. "Weiss... I'm sorry..." she said softly, sadly. In hindsight she probably shouldn't have just left with only a letter explaining why.
But she was committed now. Taking a moment to lay down and shut her eyes and feel comfortable, she waited until Tukson came to take her out.
By the time they left the inn the rain had mostly stopped. It left a muddy and humid reminder of its presence. The pair stomped their way through the earth all the way to the outskirts of the town. "This is where I last saw them. A blond man and a red haired woman. Reddest hair I've ever seen, lord have mercy!"
Ruby looked around. Thanks to Yang, she'd learned the horseshoe prints of Crocea a long time ago. Earlier when she came into town she'd seen faint horseshoes. Hopefully there would be more here.
She ran out into the trampled, dirty, muddy field and began to look closely. She made sure to keep her red cloak clean as possible. Ruby didn't find much... until she found two major clues.
In the mud was a part of a torn sash, red in color and bright even in the darkness of evening. Alongside it was a rather large tree, no doubt the cause of such a tear. She knelt, her boots sloshing mud around. Her knees touched the cold, slick mud that moved with ease upon facing pressure. Her hands gingerly lifted the sash and looked it over. Looking down at the mud, her eyes caught the familiar sight of Crocea Mors's horseshoes.
"He was absolutely here... but..." her eyes fell back onto the red sash. It was patterned plainly except for one section of it. Two arrows? She didn't know what it meant.
"Who was he with?..."
AN: The adventure begins in RED LIKE BURGUNDY! A European White Rose, Bee and Arkos AU. The year is 1421, and it's slightly different from the Europe we know. Faunus exist and are discriminated against, while women have legal equality with men, able to be knights (Dames) and own business and property equally. The class distinction and racial discrimination against faunus serves to balance out and replace the sexism.
This is my first real foray into White Rose and Bumbleby. So those that have experience writing them, please leave reviews or send messages giving me advice on how to do it right.
As always, please let me know what you think in the reviews.