It should have ended when the executioner's blade fell for the final time. A beheading was generally viewed as a suitable, if somewhat bloody final paragraph in the victim's book of life after all.

The cut had not been as clean as the victim in question might have liked and had required four swings to sever the head completely; While some might have accused the Executioner of drawing things out, the sad truth was that this was merely the last of a number of beheadings they had been ordered to carry out and while the Herald would have rather let the beasts of Grimm loose and move on to tasks that weren't beneath her, the Dark Lady had been insistent that all of the faunus found in this village be put down in a manner where survival wasn't possible.

It had taken so long that the fires had shrunken down to embers and ash by the time that the final faunus had their head pressed down on top of the blood-stained chopping block and some of the bodies had started to smell. In the distance one could hear the haunting cawing of nevermores as they sort new prey to hunt.

It should have ended there. It didn't.

The message of a job done had already been sent when the hand started twitching. The head had started to float and reconnected itself to the body with a wet and sickening crunch as flesh, muscle and bone that had been hacked apart re-knit itself back together and forged itself anew. The stunned horror of watching the dead come back to life faded the fastest on the Executioner whose heavy footsteps echoed as they charged forward while raising their blade up for the downward swing to try and stop…whatever was happening before it finished.

The blow didn't connect.

The faunus that was defying the laws of life and death jerked almost unnaturally in mid-air out of the path of the blade, the metal shackles that had been binding their limbs snapping like frayed rope before their feet lightly touched down on the ground just long enough for them to launch themselves at their killer. Their eyes glowed with unnatural, pure red light as a sword that didn't exist mere moments ago manifested in their hand and plunged forwards into flesh and blood.

The battle that followed was a one-sided blur of blood and vengeful fury. Some attempted to fight back. Others tried to flee. The Herald even had the audacity to beg for their life. None of them were successful. It was only as the last one of them fell silent and lifeless that the blood rage started to fade.

The sword seemed to melt into liquid shadow and crawled up their fleece covered arm, reforming on top of their head as the very crown that they had been adorned with once the pact had been made. The sensation itself wasn't unpleasant by any means, but the crown itself seemed to bare a weight that defied its size. The red faded from their eyes as they stared out silently at their former world and the utter destruction that had be wrought upon it.

The corpses of the masters were as easily ignored as the bodies of their slayers. Instead, it was the headless bodies of his friends, family and fellow slaves that captured his full attention. Words could never describe how numbly empty he felt as he stood in that dead place, gazing at the remains of those whom he had known and loved; The torment in his very soul paradoxically so overwhelming and raw that the pain was too great for him to even experience it yet.

He needed to leave. There was nothing left for him here but memories and the grimm that would no doubt be drawn by the potent mixture of dark emotions that were even now was only kept in check by the fact that everything hadn't sunk in yet. He needed to be somewhere safe when the numbness faded… and yet there was a part of him that didn't want to go. Even with everyone he had ever known deceased, and the town gone, leaving was to admit to himself on a level that he feared he would never be ready to do that he would be leaving alone.

He stayed for as long as he could. There was so much that he wanted to do like perform the funeral rites for those he cared for, but there simply wasn't enough time for him to do so. The horrid croaking of the nevermores was heavy and ever present on the wind and the howls of the beowolves were drawing closer by the minute.

In the end he forced himself to leave that dead place behind him. That life belonged to the faunus that he had once been, and they died the moment the blade had come down on his neck. He was… someone new now. But he would never forget the tragic tale of the young faunus slave boy who had been forced to endure a hard life before one terrible night when he had been forced to watch as the few sources of solace in the form of their loved ones were, one by one, forced to kneel and be beheaded before at last his turn came.

…..

"…ake, what are you reading?"

Blake blinked her eyes slightly in confusion as she was dragged out of the tragic but magical world she was visiting before she turned to look towards the source of the disturbance. "Hmm?"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she hung over the side of her back upside down before saying "I asked what you were reading Blake." With an upside-down smile on her face. "It looked like a new book."

Making a private mental note that Ruby seemed to care enough about her reading habits to notice if a new cover entered the rotation, Blake leaned back against her pillows as she answered "That's because it is. It's called Scarlet Crown. Apparently, it's based on the myth of the leader of the Red Crown as a group."

In truth Blake wasn't all that surprised when Ruby tilted her head in confusion and asked "What's the Red Crown?" but seeing Weiss tense up a little and stop writing at the desk caught her attention. Listening as the wooden chair made noise as it shifted along the floor, even Ruby was forced to sit up and change positions or risk falling off the bed if she continued to hang like she was and try and pay attention to both Blake and her partner.

"The Red Crown were a band of faunus assassins and terrorists back before the Great War, Ruby. I would say they were the White Fang of their time, but they didn't have the pretense of peaceful beginnings. They were simply outlaws and bandits whose leadership had a mind for public relations." Weiss answered, her tone making it clear that she honestly did not care for the subject at hand.

Blake herself frowned deeply before feeling the need to counter. "That's not true Ruby… or at least not for the actual Red Crown. There were a few bandit groups that took to claiming they were apart of the group for name recognition." It was painful to give Weiss that degree of compromise and she couldn't bring herself to look towards the heiress because she didn't want to see her smug expression. "The original Red Crown was made up of escaped faunus slaves that actively fought to liberate other faunus who were still enslaved."

"They were also remarkably non-violent – "there was a haughty snort from Weiss, but Blake continued before she could interrupt "- in the sense that they had a policy of subduing rather then killing where possible. Now granted this was a group made up of individuals and thus you're going to get outliers, but generally the only people the Red Crown as a group made a point of killing were slave owners and guards who were actively cruel and monstrous to slaves. Otherwise, they were simply more focused on freeing our people then seeking vengeance for past wrongs."

There was a tense silence as Ruby glanced between Blake and Weiss for a moment… before deciding to try to move the topic towards a less politically driven topic then 'Whose ancestors owned whom'. "So… why exactly does the guy who founded this group have myths about him?"

"Good PR and hero worship." Weiss answered before Blake could have a say in the matter. "The group liberated some slaves and after the war when the slavery of the faunus was made illegal worldwide, history painted the Red Crown as freedom fighters rather then bandits. There were also some laughable stories about the leader of the group being immortal and magical, but in truth it was likely that he just had an active aura."

For her part, Blake looked rather sour at Weiss' attitude and views on the subject but wishing to win the argument rather then just insult the heiress she pointed out "Considering the time period, for a faunus… and if the stories are to be believed, one born and raised in slavery at that, to have an active aura and being able to use a semblance was a pretty big deal."

Turning back to Ruby with a small sigh, Blake quickly got back on topic "As for the myths about them… well, there are a number because very few sources about the founder of the Red Crown exist. There is enough evidence to prove that the group was founded by a sheep faunus, but actual personal details beyond that are lost to time. We don't even know his real name."

"There are two main stories that are considered 'canon' – "It was honestly sad for Blake to see Ruby perk up at the word canon like that "-…The two officially recognized stories about him that everyone can agree on Ruby. The first was that before he founded the Red Crown, he was beheaded and came back to life afterwards."

Ruby blinked in confusion and interest before she asked "Wait… you mean like he escaped being executed?"

It was Weiss that butted in to provide an answer. "Most likely, but the claim is that his head was actually removed from his body before both pieces pulled themselves back together and he returned to life."

For her part, Blake had to nod in agreement. "The exact details vary. Some claim he pulls himself back together, others that someone else fixed him up… but the main theme is that his head gets removed, he dies for a bit and then the head and body are reunited before they come back to life. It ties into the second main theme of them being immortal. According to myth, the sheep faunus leader who founded the Red Crown continued you lead it up to when the group disappeared shortly after the Faunus were freed, a period lasting hundreds of years. There were also accounts of him being killed in battle, only to return to lead the Red Crown once again soon afterwards."

Weiss was quick to speak up again, through this time she seemed a bit less grumpy. "Personally, I suspect this was a case of good planning and knowing their enemy on their part. Most of the humans of the era likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference between one sheep faunus and another, so replacing a leader who was killed or can't lead anymore for whatever reason with a new sheep faunus and claiming it's the same person would honestly likely have worked."

It was Ruby who felt the need to ask "Weiss, how do you know so much about this? It hasn't come up in history class yet."

For her part Weiss lifted her nose slightly as she answered "While it is true that Beacon hasn't brought it up yet, are you girls honestly that surprised by the idea of me not studying a bit of history that just happened to be of more interest to the faunus then a human?" There was a silence from both Blake and Ruby as they glanced at each other, neither wanting to be the one to voice the answer to that question.

After the silence dragged on a few moments, Weiss let out a sigh. "Fine. I know of the Red Crown due to family history. They wiped out one of the branch families of the Schnee during the Great War. Naturally, one wants to find out a bit more about the people that ensured I have less extended family."

Before the conversation could continue, Blake's scroll buzzed. Quickly checking it, she saw that Yang had sent her a message asking for some help doing homework in the library. Sending an affirmative back and slipping a bookmark into place, Blake sighed as she slipped off her bed and stretched out. "That was Yang calling for aid with her history homework." Pausing for a moment before feeling the urge to be slightly catty, Blake innocently asked "Have you done your homework Ruby?"

The 'Ummm' that came out of Ruby's mouth was more then enough to get Weiss to focus on their team leader like a beowolf on a small child. "You're going to have it done before dinner." Was stated with a strict tone. Blake couldn't help but smile to herself as she closed the dorm room door behind her before she could hear the younger girl's response.

Author's Notes:

This was just a story idea I've had for a while and decided to put down. If people are interested, I'll get started on chapter 2.

I do not own the rights to Rwby or Cult of the Lamb (through I do own the game). I do not profit from this story in anyway.