"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester." The four boy's faces were shown on the screen with the letters CRDL.

The teams were named today but we still didn't know our grades. I mean... none of us died so we all passed. I think.

"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Juniper, led by Jaune Arc."

Jaune looked shocked. I smiled. He would make a good leader if given the chance. Even Ozpin said congratulations. The letters JNPR were on the screen with their faces.

I now could put names to faces.

The blood red haired warrior girl was Pyrrha Nikos. A young celebrity

She wore her long hair in a waist length ponytail and wore a bronze circlet headpiece that ran around her head and under her bangs which two emerald teardrop pendants hung from thin chains looped near her ears.

Her attire was strategic and complicated. Her top was a brown leather corset that came around below her shoulder blade and nearly touched her collarbones before coming back down into a v neck. In the middle of the V the corset was light brown and on either side it was dark brown and it had bronze rivets in the sides. It maintained its shape so it must have been quite rigid and it ended just above her hips. She wore a short dark maroon colored skirt under a red drapery that wrapped around the skirt and created a long red tail that came of her right hip and ended at her feet. This was belted on by a brown leather belt with a spear-and-shield crest and had pouched attached to it on her left side.

She too wore a gorget but her was bronze and much prettier. She wore elaborate bronze armor. Greaves that started at her mid-thigh and came down as three pieces on each leg. One the wrapped around her muscular thigh, one covered her knee caps and one wrapped around her calves, disappearing into her boots. Beneath this armor she wore dark brown cuisses. On her arms she wore long dark maroon gloves that came to her upper arm. On her left arm she wore a bronze bracer that connected easily with her shield and a bronze arm band above the edge of her glove. Her boots were that same dark maroon color, tooled with bronze and came up to just below mid-calf.

She wore her weapons magnetized on her back within easy reach. Her red and gold spear and shield.

That one would need watching.

Lie Ren was the black haired boy with magenta eyes and the matching magenta streak in his bangs.

He wore his incredibly long black hair in a ponytail that reached his mid back. He had narrow eyes and calm features. He wore a forest green diagonally buttoned, long sleeved tail coat that is red on the inside and black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. I knew within those cuffs, his green automatic pistols were hidden. The trimming went down the right side of his body and he had a high black and gold collar.

He wore a black long sleeve shirt beneath his jacket, light tan pants and black shoes.

He would also bear watching.

Nora Valkyrie was the orange haired girl who was a little different inside who had hugged Ren after the announcement of their team.

She had short orange hair that reached the base of her neck and flared out in spiky waves from her skull and bright maniac turquoise eyes. Her clothing was unique, to say the least. She wore a collared black vest that ended at her waist and her emblem, a hammer with a lightning bolt across it was in silver on her back and red and blue fabric connected the two sides of the front of the vest. Beneath the vest she wore a white sleeveless high neck shirt that formed a heart of skin between her cleavage and her collarbones. She wore a white detached sleeve on each arm and fingerless pink gloves on each hand. From beneath the vest, she wore a short pink sports skirt that ended just above her mid-thigh. She wore combat boots that were white with pink accents.

She also wore a steel harness type contraption that magnetized her weapon to her back, a massive war hammer that became a grenade launcher. There was a band that ran over the back of her neck and came down to meet the one that ran beneath her shoulder blades then ran under her bust line, framing her vest and her assets. Two stays ran from the bar beneath her bust to meet the part that wrapped around her waist for stability. The circle around her hips didn't met but stopped in the middle, in line with the heart in her clothes. It looked like two upside down hammers. On the bar around her hips on her back was a big light blue bow whose tails reached a little past the edge of her skirts.

I'd be insane not to keep a careful eye on that one.

Pyrrha, who had beautiful green eyes, accidentally punched Jaune's shoulder a little too hard and knocked her leader down. JNPR would be truly interesting to see.

"Peyton Summers, Elise Thayet, Elin Thayet, Dahlia Derivalle."

Blake's head whipped around and stared in shock as my name was called. I didn't look at her though. My attention was on Professor Ozpin.

"You four retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Deep." Our faces appeared on the screen and I thought I would cry. I made it. The initials DEEP appeared on the screen with our faces. I was really now a part of Beacon Academy. "Led by Dahlia Derivalle."

Elise hugged me before I knew what was happening. Me? I was the leader?

Elin hugged me too and then Peyton wrapped his enormous arms around all of us and lifted us into a bear hug. "Peyton... Peyton. We can't breathe." Elin gasped. He set us down sheepishly and we made way for the last team.

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Ruby, led by Ruby Rose." Ruby looked stunned. The letter RWBY entered the screen with their faces. We all cheered but none louder than my team. Yang hugged her little sister. "I'm so proud of you!" She shouted.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year." I smiled.

Yes, they were. And I couldn't wait.

As the teams left the stage, Professor Ozpin stopped me from leaving. "Well done, Ms. Derivalle." He whispered, placing two knives in my hand discreetly.

They were cleaned and polished. I blushed and walked away quickly.

These were the two knives that had blinded the Nevermore.

It was interesting though, how the Professor kept my secret.

The thought made me smile.

After the ceremony, everyone rushed to grab rooms. Each team shared a room so I sent my three teammates to grab one and asked Elise to put my stuff in it too.

There was someone I wanted to see.

It didn't take me long to find her.

"Hello, Blake." I murmured coming up behind her in the corner of the library. She leapt from her chair, her olive toned skin turning sheet white. "My dear, you look as if you'd seen a ghost." I whispered.

I saw her throat working and tears filled her amber eyes. "I think I have."

Oh, I had missed her so much.

She still wore the outfit we designed many years ago. Though the bow was new. She wore black low heel boots and stocking that started off black at her hips but gradually faded to purple as the neared her shoes. On the outside of her stockings at the top was the light purple crest that were Belladonna flowers I drew for her. Black ribbons were wound about her forearms, and on her left upper arm she wore a black detached sleeve held by a hammered silver cuff.

She wore a black button vest with coattails and a white sleeveless undershirt that exposes part of her midriff much like Yang's outfit. Her white shorts are tucked into her leggings and the vest was belted to her stockings with black straps. Around her neck was a tightly wound black scarf.

On her back was the metal plate that magnetized her weapon, Gambol Shroud, to her back.

"Dahlia..." She tried to say. "In the flesh." I interrupted, stepping towards her.

I was taller than her by a few inches, even though she had grown since I had last seen her.

Her long wavy hair was longer than I remembered and her figure was fuller. On her head was a little black bow that hid her secret.

"Why are you here?" She cried quietly.

"Same as you. I want to live, Blake. I want to be normal. I want friends who care about me. I want to learn who I really am without wondering all the time if it was really me doing these things or the people who created me pulling my puppet strings. I'm tired of being the lone wolf." I said harshly, tears filling my eyes. "I want to live, Blake."

She reached out hesitantly and touched my cheek. Making sure I wasn't a ghost come to haunt her.

"How did you escape?" I smiled through the tears.

I gripped her by the shoulders. "You've grown up so much."

She smiled and slowly slid into my embrace, resting her head on my shoulder.

"I've missed you, little sister." I murmured into her ear.

"I've missed you too." She said, sobbing quietly. "I never thought I'd see you again."

I shushed her and we slowly sat down together, much like we had as children in the few moments we had to ourselves, my arms wrapped around her as I slowly petted her hair and began to Heal the heart-wounds that I could.

We talked as if the years spent apart didn't matter. And when Blake could not cry anymore and there wasn't a wound left that I could heal, I kissed her forehead and sent her to bed.

"We'll be fine, Blake. We are the best at keeping secrets aren't we?" I said with a weary smile.

She smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, Dahlia."

I grabbed Orchid from where I had left her propped against the wall.

"Goodnight, Blake."

I blew out the candles and listened to her quietly pad to her room.

Outside the library, as I was making my way to the room Elise had messaged me was now ours, I caught the feelings of someone in a secluded garden veiled and hidden by thick trains of ivy and sections of lush vegetation. If I hadn't known someone was inside, I never would have known it was there. I pulled aside some of the ivy and looked in. He stood by a little undisturbed pool that sparkled beautifully in the broken moonlight. Someone was talking.

"Professor?" I called. He stopped talking and turned.

"Ah, Ms. Derivalle. Just who I was thinking about. Come in, come in, I'm just rambling to myself. This is one of my favorite spots to visit on nights like these."

I smiled and came into the lovely place, the curtain of ivy falling behind me to shield the garden again.

"And how goes your night, Ms. Derivalle?" He asked gently. Maybe he noticed the trembling hands?

"Emotional. And please, call me Dahlia." I said, leaning heavily on Orchid.

"Initiation day is always emotional for me too." He said. I smiled at him. My initial fear of him eased. His face and demeanor were stoic and affable, and I sensed in him pain but also deep caring and compassion.

"I was glad to have made it through it." I replied. His eyes were filled with mirth. "I knew you'd be fine. Others I wasn't so sure about." We met each other's eyes.

"Jaune." We said at the same time. We laughed ourselves breathless. "He'll do fine if he can learn to quit second guessing himself." I said once I stopped chuckling.

"He will. But he will need help. They all will." He said, suddenly lost in thought.

Yes they will, I thought. I thought of my own team. My new pack. Of little fiery Elise, sarcastic Elin and bumbling Peyton with a surge of maternal feeling.

"We are a lucky school to have accepted such capable warriors." He said smiling at me. I blushed. "Especially those with such highly respect friends." I cursed inwardly, knowing that the old bastard had smoothed my way in somehow.

"We are lucky to have a Headmaster that knows his warriors strengths so well." He in turn hid a pleased smile and a slight blush across his striking cheekbones.

I ran a hand through my hair in an unconscious imitation of the lovely Yang.

"You are very beautiful, Dahlia. I hope you take no offense." He said, a little embarrassed to have spoken so thoughtlessly.

I touched the edge of my jaw, turning redder and redder. "I take none. I do not get many who like the way I look. Too many think I'm an old woman or a child." I said looking at him sideways. "I've never seen a woman look the way you do." He said quietly, with that thoughtful look on his face.

"And you never will. I'm a one of a kind, Professor Ozpin." I said.

"I'll call you Dahlia in personal space if you'll call me by my nickname."

I raised a starlit eyebrow at him and smiled. "Nickname? Not first. More mysteries, Professor?"

He chuckled. "Indeed. Call me Oz when we are alone?" He said turning to fully face me.

I nodded. "When alone."

I leaned on my staff and he on his cane which looking at it's odd handle, made me think that perhaps that was the Headmaster's weapon. I began to chuckle. "What is it?" He asked, wanting to know the joke. I shook my head. He might be offended if I compare myself to him. "I want to laugh too." He murmured, taking a step towards me.

"I was just thinking. I'm leaning on my walking staff and you on your cane..." He laughed. "I feel like that could be the opening line to a really bad joke." I laughed too. "I haven't laughed this much in ages." I said "Me neither. We should do this more often." I nodded but I couldn't hold back my yawn.

"You should get to sleep. Tomorrow is your first real day and it should be an adventure." He said warmly. The moonlight reflected off the pool and the light and shadows made his face devastatingly handsome.

I smiled at him and met his gentle oak brown eyes. I liked his spectacles. They were plain wire and small dark circular lenses. They sat perched on his narrow nose and the wire near the lenses zigzagged up and down before becoming straight again near his high cheekbones.

"It's been a real pleasure, Oz." I said huskily, much to my dismay. I held out my hand and he took it gently by the fingers turning my knuckles up.

He lower his head to press his lips to my hand. His tousled gray hair fell and I wanted to brush it away from his face but that seemed too... intimate.

"The pleasures all mine, Dahlia."

He noticed the tattoo on my right forearm.

I had gotten it done when I was sixteen. "A black dahlia?" He murmured. I nodded slowly.

"My little sister drew it for me a long time ago since I had never seen one. I got her drawing tattooed on me. As a remembrance." I said looking at the black flowers on the pale expanse of my arm. It was a beautiful drawing.

It was a dahlia and a belladonna flower whose stems were connected by a flowing pattern of leaves. A few petals were drawn floating away down my arm around my wrist. Thankfully he didn't make the connection.

"Lovely. Do you have any other tattoos?" He asked eyeing the one on my hip.

"You know I do. I drew this one myself." I said pulling my cloak away to reveal my starkly beautiful tattoo and my pale soft skin.

Maybe I enjoyed showing him my figure a little too much?

"Orchids? I've got a little plant growing up in my office." I smiled. The tattoo was one I drew that I got done for my eighteenth birthday. The beautiful black orchids grew up from my left hip, below my pant line, flowering out toward my belly button and around my ribs toward my shoulder blade, accentuating that gorgeous S-curve of my waist.

"You are quite the artist." He said admiringly. "Thank you."

Then I sighed. "See you tomorrow morning, Professor Ozpin?"

He nodded, straightening his back. "Of course, Ms. Derivalle."

I began to turn away.

"If the weather is good, perhaps we can meet here again... soon." He murmured. I turned smiling. "Very soon, Oz. You should get some sleep too." I said gently.

"I don't sleep very well."

I smiled ever so gently, understanding him with a hidden part of my soul.

"Then take this." I said reaching inside my healing pouch and pulling out a white tea bag. "What is it?"

"Tea to help you sleep. I don't sleep well either but this does help. It can keep the nightmares at bay and let you get some rest." I said taking his hand and putting the tea bag in it.

His eyes for a moment showed the deep, dark pain in him. Even Blake didn't hold as much as this poor man. What nightmares plagued his sleep so?

I folded his fingers over the bag and held his hands in mine.

"Sweet dreams, Oz." I murmured before limping away. "Oh… and thank you… for keeping the knives a secret."

I didn't turn around to see his smile, in case he could see the brilliant blush across my face. Just vanished into the darkness beyond the beautiful little corner of Beacon Academy.

Back in my room, my team was asleep on mats. Tomorrow I would commission our furniture and we would begin setup.

I spent a long time staring at the ceiling pondering my flirtation with a man who was possibly twice my age. It was hard to tell exactly how old he was. His pain spoke of great age but his heart felt young.

Then I examined the lightness in my heart and decided that his age didn't matter to me. What mattered was the things inside him that made me smile. I waited for sleep.

Yet for hours long I stared into darkness, imagining a future that could be so much different, and so much better, than my past.