"I think we're close now," Yang said, her voice barely audible over the sound of the raging blizzard. "Just a couple more hours, maybe."
"Good," Weiss muttered under her breath. "One more day in this accursed weather and I would lose my mind."
"Don't worry, Snowflake," the blonde punched her playfully on the shoulder. "Soon you'll have a comfy bed and blankets to warm you up."
Weiss only leered at her for a moment, before quickening her pace so that she was ahead of the group. Yang saw a speck of red on the corner of her eye, and found her sister trailing right behind the queen, who didn't seem to have noticed.
"Still protecting her, huh?" Yang asked.
Ruby turned her head to look over her shoulder and offered her a shaky smile. Yang slowed down, a frown appearing on her forehead.
Ever since their reunion, Ruby had been acting strangely. At first, Yang had chalked it up to what she had gone through – being practically dead and finding out a witch had stolen her mother's body. But now Yang was beginning to see that wasn't the truth, or at least not the whole of it.
Ruby still wore her usual smiles, and her eyes still showed that innocent glee that had been hers since the day she had been born. She still laughed when talking with Weiss or Penny.
Yet that all faded away when she talked to her own sister.
"Ruby," Yang began, feeling like she was repeating an age-old question. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
"No," Ruby tilted her head quizzically. "Why do you ask?"
"…No reason."
Ruby shrugged and caught up to Weiss. The queen looked back at Yang for a brief moment, then turned to the redhead and whispered something to her. Ruby clutched her cloak and looked away, clearly uncomfortable, then whispered something back.
Yang's gaze hardened, and though she didn't even command them so, her hands closed into fists. The heat she was emanating to drive off the blizzard intensified, turning the snow under her boots into puddles.
"Fine," she muttered bitterly. "Talk to your precious little princess, then."
Blake hummed under her breath as her fingers trailed several book's spines. Ozpin had mentioned a library in the hideout, but she had thought it would have been small. Oh, how wrong she had been.
From the first moment she had stepped inside the library, Blake had been enraptured by the quantity of bookshelves in front of her. But that wasn't all, as she soon found out there were all sorts of books there, from accounts of History to daring novels and even works from philosophers concerning social and scientific theories.
Suffice it to say, she hadn't left the library in days. Her worries about the length of Ruby and Weiss' absence retreated to the back of her mind. Her daggers went untouched for the longest time since she had acquired them.
One day, as she was about to finish Predators and Prey: a Study on Grimm, General Ozpin entered the library too. He didn't seem surprised to find her there. In fact, he seemed almost pleased as he looked between her face and the book she held so close it almost touched the tip of her nose.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself, Lady Belladonna."
"I am, sir," Blake nodded. "You have a wonderful library."
"Oh, it's not mine. I don't have even the faintest idea who constructed this hideout," Ozpin smiled. "I also did not know you were such a sage."
"Ruby taught me how to read, and I took a liking to it," her eyes darted to her book. "Obviously."
"That's good. I believe the world would be a far less problematic place if people were willing to read and learn instead of resorting to arms at first instinct," Ozpin noted. "Think about that. You have yet to realize how valuable you are to Vale, Lady Belladonna."
He nodded to her and walked away, disappearing behind a bookshelf. Blake closed her book, marking the page she had stopped at with her finger, and pondered about what the general's words meant.
Nora grunted as she forced herself to take one last step, then broke into a smile as she looked at the horizon. With the group now standing on top of a big hill, they could see the silhouette of Vale in the distance. To the inventor's surprise, she felt her heart warm as she looked at the city.
"It's been a long time." Ren said, standing beside her.
"Too long," Nora agreed, her smile turning bitter. "For good reasons."
"We'll be fine," he assured. "You've never been easy to shake up. Why should that change now?"
"You're right," Nora snickered. "I'm the toughest orange-haired woman around!"
"That's the spirit. And if things go wrong, we'll-"
Ren cut himself short, feeling something strange nearby. He had always had a unique sense for bad energies, like a Grimm's or a particularly hostile person. But what he felt now could not compare to anything else he had come across in the past.
Looking around, his eyes passed over Ruby and Weiss, who did not seem to be sensing anything wrong, then soon fixed on Penny. The girl had a frown on her forehead as she looked at her feet. Was the ground shaking?
And behind Penny was Yang, who had been oddly withdrawn for the last few hours, her cloak drawn close to her body and fists clenched at her sides. Ren gasped in realization as he looked at her eyes, discovering a deep shade of red where violet should have been. He opened his mouth to shout, but before he could, the ground exploded beneath his feet.
Time seemed to slow down as Ren soared high, arms and legs flailing helplessly. His heart beat fast in his chest. Then, he closed his eyes, and all the noise around him faded away. His hands went to his waist with practiced grace and retrieved his twin pistols.
He opened his eyes and spun so as to face down again. A dozen or so giant snakes slithered on the ground below, snapping at his companions ferociously.
Ruby had already drawn her scythe and put Weiss behind her back, though the queen did not look too pleased by the arrangement. Nora was swinging with her hammer and bellowing madly, while Penny watched and cheered her on.
More than half of the snakes converged on Yang, but in spite of that, the blonde stood still, eyes blazing. Ren plummeted down and took aim at a snake's head, blowing it apart with a salvo of explosive bullets, courtesy of Nora.
That seemed to wake Yang up, as she shouted and leaped at the nearest Grimm, the air around her sparking into flames. Her fists cracked the creature's steel-like scales as if they were cheap wood. Flames whipped in all directions, forcing Ren to sprint away, or else he would get badly burned.
"Holy cheese and mackerels, she's gone mad!" Nora screamed.
"Xiao Long!" Weiss shouted. "Control yourself!"
Yang let out another roar and kicked down another snake, then pummeled it until it turned to smoke. The rest of the monsters paused, then burrowed back underground.
Ren closed his eyes and concentrated. "They're retreating."
"Well, yeah," Yang said. She blinked, and her eyes turned back to violet. "I scared the crap out of them." She cracked her knuckles and smiled.
"Don't act so smug about it!" Weiss chided. "We could have gotten killed."
"Besides," Ren added calmly. "You were the one who attracted the Grimm."
Everyone looked at him in shock before turning to Yang. The blonde crossed her arms and refused to make eye contact with anyone.
"Yang…" Ruby spoke meekly. "How?"
"I was just… upset we've been out here for so long," Yang said. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again," she huffed and walked past her sister and Weiss. "Let's get moving."
They hesitated for a moment before following her. Ren observed as Weiss leaned towards Ruby and whispered something in her ear, and ahead of them, Yang halted. Ren froze too, not sure what exactly to expect next, but knowing it would not be good.
But to his relief, Yang just shook her head and kept walking, leaving a trail of fiery footprints behind her.
Cinder's fingers tapped against the arms of her throne, producing a dull noise that did not go unheard by anyone in the room. It repeated itself, again and again and again, so quiet, yet somehow drawing more attention than the person who was actually speaking.
The man had been going on about his home for minutes now. Something about his home being destroyed, having to sleep in the streets. Ruthless bandits were the cause, he claimed, and that actually interested her a little. Not to the point of caring, though. What did it matter to her, who was heir of untold magics and one of the land's most ancient houses, if one nameless commoner had to endure the cold for a few weeks?
He stopped speaking, his mouth forming a rigid line. Clearly, he had taken notice of her apathy. Cinder put her hands on her lap and sat up straighter, her back touching the throne, and smiled. Once more, she came to the bitter realization that she still couldn't afford the luxury of being herself. She was Summer Rose, defender of the poor and the helpless, suffering the burden of ruling while her true masters were sleeping or disappeared…
She should care.
"It is good you came to me. I understand, more than most, how difficult it can be to swallow your pride and ask for help from the most advantaged classes," Cinder said in a natural, kind tone of voice. "Rest assured, guards will be dispatched to bring those bandits in. They will not escape from our justice."
He stared at her in silence for a few seconds, no doubt expecting her to continue and provide him shelter somewhere safe and warm. But Cinder wasn't about to go that far. Eventually, the man just nodded and walked away, his eyes fixed on the tip of his boots.
Cinder sighed and leaned her elbow on the throne, resting her head on her hand. There were no more commoners wishing to speak to her about whatever woes they were dealing with, thankfully. If she had been forced to endure another hour of that, Cinder feared she would have dropped her disguise altogether and banished everyone else from the castle, years of preparation be damned.
Just as she was about to stand up, someone stopped beside the throne. Cinder hid her annoyance and turned to look. Glynda Goodwitch. The woman bothered her. Not because she was an actual threat, like Ozpin had been, but because she had a lot of will. No real power, but if she grew wise and started speaking her mind, others would follow, and that was dangerous.
"Lady Goodwitch," Cinder said. "How may I help you?"
"There is an important matter I must speak to you about," Glynda replied seriously, casting a look at their surroundings. "Something meant only for your ears."
Cinder gestured to the guards standing closer to the throne, and they walked away, beyond range of hearing the two noblewomen. "Speak."
"This happened five days ago. The young prince Vasilias, of Atlas, came to me, claiming he had been in contact with the assassin Belladonna," Glynda said. "According to him, she is in league with Queen Weiss and Ozpin. They are hiding in the city and plan to retake the throne."
Cinder didn't have to fake her reaction to her words. Belladonna getting inside her castle without her noticing, making an ally just under her nose… That was enough to bring a frown to her forehead. But she suspected Glynda thought the cause of that was another part of her words.
"Retaking the throne? From who, me?" Cinder laughed lightly, just like Summer Rose would have. "That is plain madness from the prince. I am holding the throne for the Queen; actively looking for her so she can rightfully sit on it."
"There was conviction in his words," Glynda pointed out. "And I doubt he could have come up with such a lie all on his own."
"He is from Atlas," Cinder said. "This could be a foreign ploy. Instill distrust in our court in this difficult time, then come marching at winter's end and conquer a divided Vale."
"I thought the same. That's why I waited before coming to you. I checked every contact I have to be certain of what we are dealing with," Goodwitch shook her head. "There is no indication of Atlas executing any such move. Mobilizing an army from there to here… It hardly would be discreet. So, in the absence of another explanation…"
"Vasilias' claim holds true," the Regent sighed. She looked up, locking eyes with Glynda, and drew upon her magic. "Or partly so. I doubt the Queen is leading a rebellion. Ozpin must be manipulating her. Obviously, he and Belladonna are friends. Always were."
Glynda was frozen for a moment, then she nodded hastily. Cinder held in her satisfaction as she witnessed the loyal noblewoman's thoughts change so they aligned with hers. It was always glorious, playing the most willful of people like pawns without them ever noticing it.
"We need to do something about this. Weiss must be going through hell as we speak," Cinder continued to work her magic, leaning closer to Glynda. Using the Schnee's name was just the icing on the cake, making it sound like she was truly worried about the girl. "But first we need to discover where they are hiding her."
"I can bring the prince to you," Glynda said immediately. "He must know."
"Or not. They might not trust them with that information yet," Cinder shook a finger at her. "No. Keep in touch with him. Pretend to be on the side of this horrible rebellion. I want daily reports from you."
"Understood," Glynda nodded. "I'll get to it right away." She walked away dutifully, her gaze hardened, as if she were about to face a horde of Grimm all on her own.
Cinder leaned back on the throne, her lips forming a little smile. She hadn't expected this turn of events, but she wasn't displeased by them. What at first had looked like a setback was actually a very welcomed development. A means of learning where the Schnee was holed up at and of strengthening Goodwitch's loyalty to her at the same time...
Yes. Things were looking up for the Regent of Vale.
A red blur broke through the whiteness of the blizzard, racing up the frozen walls of the city of Vale. The form soared through the chilly air at a speed impossible to be comprehended by human eyes, displacing air with a popping noise that was concealed by loud weather.
With a dull impact, Ruby's feet touched solid ground again. She shook her head, ridding her hair of all the snow it had collected on the way up. Her hearing slowly came back to normal, adjusting from the sudden shifts of speed she had just gone through.
She kneeled on the top of the wall and looked down, just above the breach which was now months old. The only measure taken against further Grimm invasions were still the soldiers posted there, almost freezing to death and no doubt wishing they were anywhere else but there.
Ruby sighed. She knew Cinder was in charge of the city, and that she was evil, but she had at least hoped the witch would have made sure to protect it from the Grimm as strongly as possible. But it looked like she was content with what was already in place, minimalistic as it was. Weiss would do better once everything was over.
The redhead withdrew from her thoughts as she spotted Nora, Ren and Penny walking towards the breach. One soldier noticed them coming, and in a matter of seconds, all of them were moving around, much more alive than before, wondering how the hell these people – a child among them – had survived in the cold without any signs of sickness or injury.
When the trio stepped through the breach, the soldiers stopped them and began their questioning. Nora replied in a voice so loud, even Ruby could hear it. As was planned.
Ruby jumped down, traveling at high speed, and landed behind the soldiers. Then, she rushed to them, knocking two of them out with well-placed strikes on the back of their necks. Another one shouted in alarm, but she was already behind him, and he fell too. In a matter of seconds, before any of the guards could have fully realized what was happening, Ruby had them all out for the count.
"Wow," Nora whistled. "That was… amazing!"
"Very impressive." Ren agreed.
"Thank you," Ruby curtsied shortly. "Are Yang and Weiss coming?"
As if her words had summoned them, the pair appeared, walking out of the blizzard.
"Good work, Ruby," Weiss eyed the fallen soldiers. "They're still all we have here?"
"I was thinking about that too," Ruby said. "It's incredible the Grimm haven't been able to attack again."
"Who knows," the exiled queen sighed. "Maybe the witch has them under her thrall. It wouldn't surprise me."
She walked past the group and looked at the city in front of her, its dark alleys and crumbled buildings, and high above all else, the Castle Vale shining its shimmering lights in the sky.
"We're back, finally." She muttered under her breath.
"Yeah," Yang said. "I feel so welcome."
As she made her way back through the streets of Vale, Blake once again looked over her shoulder. She had done that so many times already throughout the night, she had lost count. Perhaps she was being overzealous, but it was better to take unnecessary precautions and feel foolish than be careless and bring an undesired someone back to the hideout – someone like Neopolitan or Emerald or, in the worst scenario, Cinder herself.
No one walked outside their homes at night anymore, but that didn't mean the streets were empty. It was just the contrary. The Guard's inspections were turning worse every day, and people were starting to revolt… to fight back, in the truest meaning of the word.
Homelessness and death followed. Families living in cold, humid corners. Thievery was becoming the norm. And bodies… too many bodies were showing up.
All that only made Blake walk faster. She did her best to ignore every pair of eyes that stared at her, but it was hard. It was as if they were accusing her of some unspeakable crime. Like they knew what she had done; that her hands were dirty with blood and were likely to get even dirtier.
Excruciating minutes passed, but eventually, she made it to the tower. Blake slammed the door behind her and leaned against it, taking deep breaths. It all felt so jarring. How could she ever feel so safe when there was such chaos and suffering outside?
She walked to a shelf and spun a ceramic vase halfway to the right, then all the way to the left. A portion of the floor opened, revealing the stairs to the hideout. She hurried down them, skipping steps along the way. Blake didn't know why, but she had a feeling she needed to get there as fast as possible.
Finally, she arrived at the door and opened it. Blake walked inside and breathed in relief. After a few seconds, she took notice of the odd silence in the room – the kind of silence that happened after a crowd of people stopped talking all at once.
She looked up, and met with half a dozen pair of eyes. An orange-haired girl beside a pink-eyed boy, with a kid near them. Ozpin stood in a corner, smiling. Ruby and Weiss were frozen mid-conversation, and just behind them, in silence, was Yang.
"…Hi." Was the only thing she thought to say.
"Blake!" Ruby yelled, and appeared before her in a blur, enveloping her in a hug.
Blake laughed lightly and patted her in the head, then put her back on her feet. "You're back," she said. "I waited days for you here, and you have the audacity to show up the one time I'm away."
"Sorry," Ruby smiled coyly. "We didn't have anywhere else to go…"
Blake shook her head playfully, then looked at Yang. A few seconds passed as the blonde's face underwent a multitude of emotions – surprise, guilt, relief. Then, she crossed the room and hugged her with all her strength.
"Blake," she muttered near her ear. "I'm sorry I left."
"You don't have to apologize to me. I understand," Blake said. "I'm glad you're back."
"And I'm glad to see you!" Yang took a step back, looked her from head to toe, then punched her in the shoulder. "You look like a whole different person."
"What do you mean?" The faunus asked confusedly.
"I don't know," Yang frowned. "Maybe it's just me. Everyone looks changed. And that's not a bad thing, not necessarily."
Blake nodded. She understood the sentiment. Half a year ago, she didn't even know Ruby and Yang, but it felt like they had known each other for all their lives. And she could see the ways both sisters had changed.
"Are those…?" Blake nodded towards the three strangers.
"Nora!" The orange-haired girl screamed gleefully. "Crazy inventor! Nice to meet you. This is Ren! And this is Penny, our daughter – but not really because we're not together."
"So you're… divorced?" Blake asked.
"Divorced?" Nora raised an eyebrow at her. "What's that?"
"To put it simply, a divorce is when a couple nullify their marriage by means of government or religion," Blake explained. "It's never been an accepted practice in Vale, and Atlas and Mistral are strongly against it, too. It's common in Vacuo, though."
"…What." Ruby stared at her as if Blake had just turned into a being from another world.
"I've been reading lots of books." The faunus stated sheepishly.
"Well, that's not much of a change," Yang smiled. "I remember you were always reading back in the day. Ruby turned you into a devourer of books."
Ruby hit Yang in her arm, her cheeks red with embarrassment. Blake raised an eyebrow at that, but before she could make a comment, someone drew her attention by clearing their throat. Weiss stared at her fixedly, gesturing for her to come closer.
Reluctantly, Blake walked towards her, ears pressed to her head and fists close to her sides. She didn't know what to expect from Weiss, but past experiences did not give her hope for something good. The queen definitely wasn't about to welcome her back with a hug.
"Blake," Weiss said stiffly. "Did you have a chance to do what I asked? Is… How is Winter?"
"Oh," Blake looked down, now feeling guilty over her previous feelings. She should have known this was what Weiss wanted to talk about. "I saw her when I snuck into the castle to contact Neptune. She was… sleeping."
"Well, yes," Weiss shook her head, flustered. "But how did she look?"
"They must be feeding her, because she looked healthy," the faunus said, fishing for something to say that wouldn't sound cold or hopeless. "She looked… peaceful."
"That's good," the queen nodded. "Thank you, Blake. I'm… happy you're back."
She extended a hand. Hesitantly, Blake shook it, still not looking directly at her. Maybe Weiss wasn't as bad as she thought, but the history they shared was not an easy one to move past.
"There's another favor I need to ask you," Weiss said. "Though it's not for me. Not really. And you would have done it sooner or later, once you noticed…" She sighed. "When we got to Nora's house, Yang was out in the blizzard, releasing her rage or some such nonsense. I was the one who brought her back and filled her in on all that had happened… except the part where she is not Ruby's sister. I thought Ruby should have done that."
"That was thoughtful," Blake looked back at Ruby and Yang. Now, she began to realize something was… off. It was as if Ruby was actively looking away from Yang, and the latter looked… devastated. The exact opposite of what Blake expected after their reunion. "Ruby hasn't told her."
"Yes. She's afraid it will ruin their relationship. What she doesn't realize is that dragging out this lie will only make matters worse. The damage might very well be irreparable," Weiss said. "And it goes even further than that. Yang has noticed something is wrong, and she's upset. Upset enough to draw a horde of Grimm on us. If she loses control…"
"I've seen it." Blake stated. She remembered the night of the breach. Yang had been a force to be reckoned with, if not feared. It wasn't something Blake wanted to see again.
"Then you realize it's important for everyone that Ruby talks soon. If push comes to shove, I will do it, but that will be much more painful," Weiss locked eyes with her. "Ruby is stubborn. I tried to reason with her, but she refuses to budge. But you two are close; perhaps you can talk some sense into her."
"I'll try." Blake said seriously.
Weiss nodded. "I am going to rest now," she turned around and started to walk away, but stopped in her tracks. "Blake?"
The faunus looked at the queen, curious as to what she had to say. Another favor.
"I saw what my city has turned into," Weiss looked over her shoulder at her, blue eyes filled with sadness. "I'm going to fix it."
Blake stared at her for a moment before speaking. "Will you, really?"
Weiss turned around. "No. Actually," her eyes sparked with determination. "We are going to fix it."
Yeah, you go, girl! Tell that faunus how it is going to be.
Anyway. I was actually planning on dropping the sister-bomb this chapter, but it didn't feel right... Which doesn't make much sense to me, because I kind of loathe when stories drag this kind of family crap on and on and on... I don't think it's that compelling of a thing to read, which is why I don't do it very often. Secrets and all that... bleh. But there's cool things to derive from it here, like Yang's relationship with Cinder and... other spoilery things...
The rebellion hype train should start next chapter. Choo choo!
-Zeroan