November 28, 2015

"Look," said Headmaster Leo Lionheart as he talked to Salem over the phone. "I only agreed to this because I want to keep my academy safe. Team RWBY and Qrow should be here soon. When they get here, I will inform you. There is no need for you to send your people here just yet, and there is no need to threaten me." He was deeply concerned for his own well-being and safety.

"Fine, fine," Salem replied. "My associates will arrive two days after Team RWBY and Qrow do. Also, just to let you know, Qrow's sister Raven will be among my associates. Her little tribe won't be an issue anymore, since she betrayed them."

"I see," Leo replied, concerned about this development. "Well, I'll be sure to let you know when they come, which shouldn't take too long." He then hung up the phone. "Damn it... This deal was a bad idea from the start..."

"Well," Leo said as he showed Team RWBY, Vernal, and Qrow their quarters. "I hope you enjoy this little abode of mine." He obviously was understating the size of the quarters, considering it consisted of 8 rooms and plenty of space. "This place normally is packed, but due to the attacks at Beacon, the government sent all of the students and most of the staff to Sanctum since they saw a recent uptick in Grimm activity there."

"Thank you, again," Qrow replied as he shook Leo's hand. "Trust me, when the White Fang do come, we will be ready."

"Excellent," he replied as he thought to himself, "God, forgive me for what I am doing to these people." "I need to attend to some business back at my office. Make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just give me a call." He then left before shutting and locking the door behind him as he sighed and said to himself outside, "This will be tougher than I thought."

Vernal said to Qrow, "Should we call Ozpin now or wait?"

"We can wait until we're settled in," Qrow replied. "We have a few days before they come, after all."

Ruby then interrupted both of them with a question that shocked Qrow. "Um, Uncle Qrow, what exactly are the Silver Eyes?" Vernal also looked on in surprise, wondering how a young girl like Ruby knew of such power.

Qrow answered her with, "Well, Ruby, we probably should talk about that before anything else."

Yang asked him, "Yeah, I've been wondering that myself. Ruby told me about that."

Weiss and Blake both said at the same time, "Same here." The rest of Team RWBY all looked concerned for their young leader, who herself was scared by her powers.

"You see," Qrow began as Vernal also took a seat on a couch. "Silver-Eyed Warriors are a lineage group whose origins go way back, even before the formation of the modern Kingdoms and Lesser Nations. According to legend, those born with silver eyes are said to be destined to lead the life of a warrior. It is believed that those who possess the power, if angered or frightened, can strike down powerful Grimm with a single look at them. They also can inflict injuries on people, too, if the event that triggers them is strong enough, as evidence when Ruby blew Cinder off the edge of Beacon Tower and killed the Grimm Dragon. It usually manifests as giant blinding streams of white light that emanate from the eyes."

"So," Ruby replied to him. "I have that? Will it hurt me?"

"No," Qrow replied as he shook his head. "It shouldn't negatively affect you. Your mom had it, too, but it very rarely came out."

"She did?" Both Ruby and Yang looked on in surprise. "No way!"

Weiss told Qrow, "I've heard of this before. So, is this yet another so-called "myth" that actually has some truth to it, like the Maidens?"

"Indeed," Qrow replied as he took a sip of alcohol. "It is." He then turned to Vernal. "I see you have heard of this myth, too."

"Your sister told me," she replied. "She told me about Summer Rose and her eyes. I never knew that it could be passed down seemingly genetically, like with Ruby."

Blake then asked Vernal a seemingly simple question. "Say, how did you get to know Raven and the Tribe?"

"About time someone asked me that here," Vernal replied. "You see, I had a twin sister. Her name was Maria. Vernal actually isn't my name. My name is actually Andrea. I was given Vernal after a few years in the Tribe as a code name, and over time, I just adopted it as my own. Maria was in fact the Spring Maiden before me. She got the powers really young... Too young, in fact. We were only 10 when one day she woke up with them for some reason. She was unstable throughout, and then, at the age of 15, she just couldn't take it anymore." She then paused to collect her thoughts. "So, we both ran away from home, and we ran into Raven and her tribe. We were taken in, and we soon proved ourselves. This was about 2004, about a year after Raven came back as leader. However, around 2006, there was an incident, and Maria died." She then sighed as she wiped away tears. "I'm sorry. It was hard on all of us. She died saving me and Raven from a collapsing cave. After that, I got the powers of the Spring Maiden, and I've held them since."

Blake, saddened by the story, replied to her, "I know what it's like to lose all of your family. It's hard. It's so hard." She then patted her on the shoulder. "It's alright, Vernal."

The brunette smiled and replied, "Thanks. That means a lot."

Weiss then asked Qrow, "So, what exactly is "in a few days" for the White Fang's arrival?"

"December 2 is Ozpin's earliest estimate," Qrow replied as he showed the gang a piece of paper that contained what Ozpin knew so far about the plans the White Fang had for Haven Academy. "December 5 is the latest estimate."

"Mom," Yang asked Raven as she helped her daughter unpack a bag in what was to be her room. "What exactly happened that led to you abandoning me?"

Raven paused in her unpacking. "I... I do owe you the full story, most of all." She then sat down on the bed. "After me and your father divorced, I did not go right to the tribe. In fact, there's another reason I divorced Taiyang." She then looked down at herself. "The tribal side of the Branwens... They threatened me and Qrow while I was pregnant with you. They gave me an ultimatum: Renounce the civilized ways of your treasonous grandparents, or we will kill everyone you love, and they meant EVERYONE!" She emphasized the last word with emotion as she wiped her eyes. "So, I had to divorce your father to protect you and him."

Yang sighed. "I... How could they..."

"Yang," she told her daughter. "Your cousins in the tribe will not hesitate to harm any living thing if they think it will benefit them. This would not have been the first time they killed children." She then pulled out her wallet and showed Yang a badge. "After the divorce, I left the Hunting Corps and took up intelligence work. The Intelligence and Signalling Service took me around Remnant for 5 years. I hunted down the worst of the worst in terms of gangsters, terrorists, spies, and warmongers, all in the name of Vale. We used methods that can best be described as blackmail, extortion, and murder, and truthfully, I won't make any excuses." She then put the badge away. "In 2002, I was told to go to the Branwen Tribe and supply intelligence for an indefinite period of time. I managed to build trust, and by 2005, I was the de facto leader of the tribe."

"I assume you met Vernal and her sister then," Yang asked.

"Yes," Raven nodded. "I took them in." She then placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Now, Yang, I need you to promise me you will never tell a soul about what I am about to tell you."

Yang was confused. All of a sudden, despite almost never being in her life, her mother was confiding in her what seemed to be very personal information. "I mean... Why not? It's not like I haven't heard anything too crazy yet."

"Yang," Raven replied as she held out her left hand. "Vernal is not the Spring Maiden. Her sister Andrea did not pass the powers to her." She then displayed a small, bright red flame from her hand as her eyes also lit up. "She passed them to me. I am the Spring Maiden."

Yang, shocked, widened her eyes. "What?!"

"Vernal told most of the truth about how her sister died," Raven continued. "But she left out one last thing."

"She's not doing too well," Raven said to Vernal as they both looked over a badly injured Andrea, who had the code name of Primavera. She had been buried under rocks from a collapsing cave, and they had just pulled her out. "Vernal, I don't think she'll make it."

"She has to," her apprentice plead with Raven. "She's my twin sister... Please... Don't let the only blood family I have left die..." Tears then fell from her eyes onto Primavera's blood-stained face. "Andrea, per favore, rimani con noi."

"Maria," Primavera said weakly. "Maria, non ce la farò. Ho bisogno che tu sia forte senza di me." She then turned to Raven. "Raven... You've given everything you possibly could to me... I have one last request."

"Anything," Raven told her. "You can say anything."

"Kill me," she weakly said to her. "Relieve me of this pain." Vernal was horrified by her sister's proposition, and tried shaking her head no. "Maria... I won't make it. I need someone to relieve me of this pain. I'm sorry."

Raven, herself beginning to cry, pulled a pistol from her waist. "As you wish."

"Before I go," Primavera said. "I want the last thing I think about to be you, Raven. You've given me and my sister a new lease on life, and these past two years have been the happiest I could ever ask for. It's only fair that you get the powers."

"But I'm 35 years old," Raven added, concerned she was too old to be the Spring Maiden. "I'm older, much older, than you."

"It will be fine," she replied before she turned to her sister one last time. "I don't want you to be cursed with these powers. They should not be wielded by anyone, let alone a young girl. It's best if someone who is older has them."

Vernal nodded as she cried. "Yes..."

Primavera then turned to Raven for the last time. "You know what to do."

"I do," Raven replied as she cocked the gun. "Goodbye, Primavera." She then aimed the fun at her head, trembling and hesitant to pull the trigger for one of the first times in her life. She then closed her eyes and pulled.

Immediately, a bullet entered her head and ended her life far too soon. Vernal cried out loudly and wept as her sister's life was taken in front of her very eyes. "NO! MIA SORELLINA! VITA MIA!"

Raven buried her eyes in her hands as she began to cry as well. She thought to herself, "What has my life become?! What?!" Then, suddenly, she felt a rising pressure inside her as she was compelled by some unseen force to stand, tears still falling from her eyes. She then felt her eyes burn up with heat as the powers of the Spring Maiden flew from Primavera to her body. "What's happening?!"

Vernal could only look on in horror as Raven then stormed into the forest nearby and yelled out into the sky in pure rage. "What happened to her?!"

"THIS IS WHAT I AM," Raven cried out as she threw a ball of fire at some trees, saying them on fire. "I AM THE SPRING MAIDEN!" She then let out a roaring yell that forced even Vernal to cover her ears in intense pain. As she did, she suddenly felt blood trickle out of her ear, the inhuman sound of Raven's hell being so loud it was damaging her ears. "HEAR ME ROAR!"

"We agreed after that to keep the fact that I had the powers hidden," Raven concluded. "Vernal would assume the role, and whenever she needed to use "her" powers, I would secretly use them in a way to make people think she was using them."

"I had no idea," the blonde could say, dumbfounded by the story. "It's... It's awful... I can't imagine having to mercy kill my own sister..."

"It's hard," Raven told her. "That was legitimately the first time I ever felt truly reluctant to pull the trigger on somebody." She then yawned. "Well, I'm tired. You should probably go to bed, too."

As she got up and walked out of the room, Yang said to her, "Good night, Mom."

Raven paused in her place in the doorway. "I love you, fy anwylyd." She then walked to her room, a single tear falling from her eyes. She had called Yang by a Cymrunian term of endearment her own mother had used for her.