The winter bite caused Ruby to shudder, she pulled the wool blanket around her shoulders a little tighter as she hobbled her way through the courtyard and watched the training take place.
"Ruby!" Octavia hissed out from the first floor patio, "You need to rest."
"But it's so boring, and I'm freezing my ass off just sitting around all day." She whined.
Octavia ran a hand through her brick red hair and sighed, "Come down to where our quarters are, we're underground and the heat from the hearth keeps well."
"I'd rather be out here with everyone." Silver eyes looked on longingly as she watched Sun and Neptune spar with each other. The newest Gladiator was practicing with a wooden pole arm.
A gentle hand was placed around her shoulder, "I know, but the more you rest the sooner you can recover – You were stabbed in the leg for Dust's sake." Octavia chastised lightly. "Come on, I'll get your bandages changed and we'll rub some more herbs to help your wounds."
Ruby sighed in defeat, "You're right." She followed the house slave to the medical bay, mostly glad that she was going to have some company for the next few hours.
The seawater felt like ice, but Yang didn't have an opportunity to pay any mind to it.
Not when she had a pirate's cutlass trying to maim her.
"Is it always this fun out at sea?" She fought back to back with the Major.
"Only on special occasions." The rapier flashed underneath the sun as it found its target – the pirate's heart.
Yang didn't have much time to be impressed at Winter's sword work, the cutlass was again trying to cut her in half. The massive sword on Yang's back caught the edge of the cutlass, the Huntress' eyes flashed and the sword (to Winter it was more like an oversized bladed club) moved at blinding speeds. Both the pirate and the officer were shocked at the movement, both caught off guard at how fast Yang was even able to swing the blade that was just as tall as her.
The pirate looked down at the gaping wound across his belly, but he had no time to process the lethal injury as Yang's boot came in contact with his chest and he was pushed over board.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" When Winter first saw the blade she laughed, there was no way that the blond actually fought with this thing, it seemed so impractical.
"Qrow." Yang flashed a smile, "He wanted me to learn how to wield a scythe, so when I was younger he gave me a sword much too big to practice with. It kind of just grew on me after that." She shrugged, "Having to fight with an oversized sword."
"I really should just throw common sense out the window when it comes to the two of you." Winter shook her head.
"Lieutenant Polendina!" Winter called out on deck, "How are we looking?"
"Just a few stragglers at this point!" Penny's sword was embedded in the stomach of another pirate, she went to the edge of the boat and unceremoniously shucked the body over board. "I've got men working on cutting their boat loose!" She shouted.
Yang was impressed at how well the Altesian military were able to fight off the pirates as they managed to swiftly board and invade the deck. The first thing they did was seal up the hatches and entrances to the lower decks and hull and immediately everyone took up a fighting position to repel the invaders.
"Tell the men to ready the canons, we fire on that blasted boat as soon as we're loose." The Captain of the ship, Ciel Soleil, called out as she kept the vessel steady. Plus, it didn't hurt to do a bit of stretching and exercising after being at sea for a few days.
"Look out!" Yang called out, a rough hand jerked the Captain to the ground, the hunk of metal was easily slung over to block the incoming sword strike from the pirate that had used a line to swing over to them. With the pommel of her sword, Yang buried it into the pirate's gut, a quick follow up brought the sword's edge across like a bat and the opponent was thrown over board. Winter caught a glimpse of the body before it went into the water; the man was cut cleanly in half.
"Impressive." Winter let out, not only did Yang slice through the man like butter, but she barely made a mess on the deck.
"He's not much compared to the Grimm I slay." Yang shrugged.
"C-Captain!" A terrified soldier ran across the deck, "The pirate ship!"
A black serpent like tail thrashed into the side of the pirate vessel, a flash of the bone scaled underbelly could be seen as the tail easily punctured through the wooden hull of the ship.
"G-Grimm! It's a fucking Grimm Sea Dragon!" Winter heard the pirates still aboard their vessel go into a panic as their vessel was quickly going under. Suddenly, their hull began to go lopsided since it was tied to the doomed vessel.
"Cut us loose! Now!" Captain Soleil commanded with her hands firm on the wheel, Winter went up to the railing to cut whatever ropes were still tied. Yang followed suit as she grabbed her smaller knife to start hacking away at the ties.
"Can… can you fight that thing?" Winter looked out at the ocean at the white skull of the sea Grimm as it ate the pirate stragglers that flailed about in the water.
Yang had a serious look on her face, "I can try, but I recommend that we get the fuck out of here while he's busy." She figured the commotion they caused with their fight is what attracted the great Grimm beast here, "I've never fought a Grimm Sea Dragon before, I've heard stories of other Huntsman taking one down… but they're usually in a big group for that one." She looked the crew over, "If it comes down to it I'll need some serious help."
The Major nodded as she mulled over their situation quickly, she looked over to the Captain and they both nodded in agreement, "Full speed ahead!" Captain Soleil roared to her sailors.
"How much fuel do we have left?" Winter looked to Penny who was quick to follow her superior.
"We were conservative on the way out so we can sustain full speed for an hour, maybe two if we slow down a few knots." Penny pulled out a spare piece of parchment and was scribbling down numbers and doing the math quickly.
Winter looked at the chart to get a gauge on their location and how far out they were from Mistral's port. The Schnee knew her way around the Navy when it came down to it, Captain Soleil was proud to have her as a pseudo first mate for this experimental vessel.
"600 nautical miles," Winter called out and her Lieutenant went to work crunching the numbers. "How long can we go full speed with 600 nautical miles left?"
Penny bit her lower lip, "Exactly 1 hour and 23 minutes, then we'll have to cut down to our usual cruising speeds if we don't want to be stranded without fuel." A stopwatch was pulled out from her pocket and the timer was set.
"You guys don't have sails?" Yang stood off to the side with her arms crossed, but her eyes were at the horizon behind the ship, watching intently at the water.
"This is one of the newer vessels, steel hull and top of the line engine, first of it's kind, that runs on fire Dust – supposed to just test it out on an 'easy mission' with the Major while she goes out for her duties, but as you can see…" The Captain interjected.
"Stuff just doesn't go according to plan." Yang bit the inside of her cheek, "It's coming after us, how fast are we going?" She knew they were going fast, the Grimm had trouble keeping up.
"40 knots." Penny answered.
"Can we keep this up for, how long was it?"
"1 hour and 21 minutes now."
Yang laid down the binoculars, she wasn't too familiar with this Grimm in particular, but she knew that after a while even these beasts would tire out – poke an Ursa enough times to chase you through the woods and those monsters would be huffing and puffing within half an hour, King Taijitu could sprint madly for about a quarter mile before they would slow down to a slither for at least 10 minutes before gathering the energy to sprint again.
"We'll run as long as we can, if it's still on our tail by the end of that time then we'll fight it." Yang took off her sword and looked it over one more time.
"Why not fight it now?" The Captain questioned.
"It's easier to fight Grimm when they're tired." Yang flashed a smile before returning her attention to her blade, "If it comes down to a fight I would ask to move everyone except for 4 or 5 of your best blades to go below deck, Grimm are usually hungry or aggravated when they attack and it'll be harder to predict where he'll strike if there's so many targets running around."
"I'll have the canons readied to fire at will." Penny suggested.
"Then get those orders going." Winter nodded her head in approval, she took up the binoculars and saw the dark scales skim the surface of the water for herself.
Blake wiped down the dining room table for what seemed to be hundredth time that day while Klein was bundled up and dragging the rugs out for the second time that day to beat the dust and dirt out of them.
"What's gotten Master Schnee so wound up?" She asked as she went to help Klein with the last of the rugs.
"It seems that Winter is coming to port in a few days," Klein hummed to himself, "Weiss looks up to her older sister and wants the place to be impeccable for her."
"She's in the military, if I remember correctly." They rolled up the rug and proceeded to carry it back to the entrance of the Villa.
"She'll be up for a Commander recommendation soon and her duties are bringing her to Mistral." Klein nodded, "Winter is a bit cold at first, very stern and serious, but she has a good heart and means well."
"More so than Master Schnee?" Blake teased.
"Much more so than Lady Weiss." Klein chuckled as the two rolled out the carpet.
"I can hear you both!" The Merchant in questioned yelled out in slight annoyance to the other two, it only caused Blake and Klein to laugh a little more at the reaction. Weiss huffed a bit as she looked over the paperwork for the weekly reports.
Another look over her schedule for the next few days showed that she had a Coliseum visit coming up in a few days, she was invited out by a noble that owned a renowned construction business that built many Villas and buildings through out the Kingdom. Weiss frowned at the thought; the Arena wasn't as charming without her favorite fighter. But there were appearances and customs unique to the Kingdom, and the Great Stone Coliseum was at the epicenter of it all. The stone and sands were soaked with rich culture, history, and relations – almost all of her business proposals and ventures started with a friendly outing to the Arena.
She scrunched up at the memory of seeing Ruby in the Arena last, Weiss had nearly choked on anxiety at the sight of the iron sword sticking out of the fighter's leg. It took everything in her to not jump out of her seat and yell in freight for the match to stop and for her to be attended to. No, instead she steeled herself as she watched the red Gladiator triumph once more for her Master. After the rest of the formalities were concluded for that match, Roman was swift to leave to see the extent of the damage.
Weiss never got around to finding out how bad the injuries were, but from rumors she's heard floating around, the Reaper was going to live to fight another day.
"Ruby…" The name slipped from her lips as her finger traced the scar over her eye, she remembered how gentle the Gladiator's lips were on the scar, on her neck, on her cheek, right above her naval…
She shook her head and snapped her thoughts out of the reverie that was Ruby Rose. It's been so long since she had stepped foot in the Torchwick Villa, between managing these business accounts and…. Well really just managing the business and these several partnerships, not to mention opening up a proper office with subordinates.
'Trusted subordinates.' Weiss bit her lip at the thought, 'I can write father and I can ask to bring in some people I'm familiar with. I know Velvet is looking for another project, perhaps I could ask her about a joint venture… Her and Coco are pretty famous here, not to mention Pyrrha would know of some good people…' She grabbed a blank parchment and made a list of things to do when it came to looking for employers.
Speaking of Pyrrha, it had been far too long since she had hung out with her friend.
"Klein!" Weiss called for her manservant, "If you're doing errands today, would mind delivering this message to Pyrrha? If it's too much trouble, then don't worry about it too much, I'll have a messenger sent to her later this week."
"It's no problem at all Lady Weiss," Klein grabbed the parchment, "If you don't mind, I'll be borrowing Blake to help carry some of the produce."
"No problem at all." Weiss smiled as she reached into the locked drawer of her desk, she grabbed the cube and tinkered with the distance she had set to it, just so that they annoying sound wouldn't go off once Blake left the Villa's premises – the slave collar was a genius invention that was made between a Mistral scholar and an Atlas scientist after the discovery of Dust. It helped cut down the amount of run away slaves in the Kingdom, not to mention the tracking capability, impossible to run away from.
And to force a wrong key inside or forcefully try to take it off, the collar would constrict impossibly tight around your neck until finally you either choked to death or your airway collapsed on itself.
She looked over the cube, Blake… A Faunus from Menagerie, someone who loved to read books, sit in the warm sun, enjoyed black tea with a bit of cream and honey, a slave. A slave that Weiss Schnee owned. She shook her head before burying her face into her palms, maybe it was time to give Blake her freedom, but the crimes she carried mandated that she serve 5 years of her life as a slave.
'Then I'll do my best to make these next 5 years comfortable for her.' Weiss thought with conviction.
Yang looked up at the night sky, tracing a constellation with her finger as she lay back on the deck of the vessel.
"It seems we managed to outrun it." Winter walked up to where her guest lay.
"I don't know…" Yang had a gut feeling despite the fact it had been a whole day since they saw the Grimm.
"How long have you been hunting Grimm now?" Winter leaned against the railing as she took a moment to gaze up at the night sky.
"Since I was 15, I'm 23 now." Yang responded easily, "I travelled a lot with Qrow and I got tired of him always leaving me in an Inn while he went out to hunt." She looked over, "How do you know Uncle Qrow?"
"The 5-year War," Winter replied.
"You don't look like you're a day over 25 though," Yang scrunched her face up as she attempted to do the math, Qrow was in his mid-forties at this point but the guy could easily do laps around the younger Huntsman.
Winter narrowed her eyes, "If you're done trying to figure out how old I am, then I'll tell you how we met."
The blond stifled a laugh as she urged her to go on, it was rare to hear stories about the 5-year war, all Yang knew was that Qrow fought in it. Other than that, Qrow was pretty quiet on the details.
"It's complicated and things get murky… really murky. And really complicated." Is how Qrow would always go about explaining it before clamming up for the rest of the day.
There was always a far off look on Qrow's face whenever he got to thinking about the war, and then one night Yang brought up Summer – Qrow tried, he really did, to talk about her, but the man's voice quaked and cracked and eventually he stopped trying and went to the bar.
Yang decided then to leave things at that.
"Your Uncle and his platoon, they over ran our position. I gave the order to retreat, and I chose to hang back to buy my men some time. I… I wanted to prove that I wasn't like some of the other up tight officers, first to flee from the sight of blood and the last to enter the fray." Winter looked down at the water, "Qrow had me cornered, he had every right to cut me down with that war scythe of his."
Yang sat up as she listened intently to the story, "Sergeant Qrow Branwen, ferocious Grim Reaper of Death, stared me down, his weapon was raised since he expected a platoon of Altesian soldiers, but instead he found me, a young dumb fool trying to be a hero."
"He let me go, he shouldered his scythe and had that cocky look on his face, he nudge his chin across as if to tell me to go on with my business. I couldn't say anything at the time, except a thank you." The officer thought it over, "And he said, 'You're one of the good ones, I can sense it.'"
"So that was Qrow," Yang smiled at the thought, "So he was pretty famous?"
"Just among the ground troops, really, him and his Scout Team were pretty well known for how well they were able to snuff out our positions and the fact that they could cut down squads of men on their own. They knew the forests and terrain like the back of their hands." Winter scrunched her brow, "There were three others, but I never met them on the battlefield, just Qrow. But I remember hearing stories about them, they called themselves 'STRQ'" Winter spelled out the word, "it was supposed to be a combination of their initials." She shrugged her shoulders, "That's all in the past now, I tried asking Qrow about them but he gets unusually broody about it."
Yang stood up, "STRQ?" She processed the information, "Three others…" It clicked in her head why Qrow was so quiet about her parents and Summer, "They fought in the war together…" She processed the information, "Summer, Tai, Raven, and Qrow." Yang muttered the names out loud. "What the fuck." It made sense.
"What?" Winter snapped up at the profanity, "What's wrong?"
"I just-"
Before the revelation could be thought on more, a deafening bang could be heard through the hull.
"It's here." Yang simply stated as she stood, she grabbed her sword and began to look the slab of metal ov
"Port side! Port side!" One of the sailors yelled as he looked over the railing for the Grimm.
"Get away! Get below deck!" Winter barked at the man.
The sailor stepped back from the railing, and not a moment too soon as the familiar white head of the serpent snapped out of the water before splashing back down to the ocean.
Yang squinted her eyes in the dim lighting, it was going to be hard to adjust. She looked up above and noticed that it was a full moon that night. "Turn off the deck lights."
"Are you mad?" Winter protested.
"It's a full moon, trust me, we'll see more without these." Yang quipped back, "Get Penny up here!"
"Already present!" The orange haired Lieutenant was at Yang's side, "The Captain is below deck keeping order, she said she'll personally over see the canons but makes no promises with how dark it is."
Winter nodded her head and proceeded to a tube that allowed people on deck to converse with those below, "Tell the Captain that she doesn't need to be shy with our canons, we've got more than enough to spare."
"Aye Major!" A voice shouted back.
"So what's the plan?" Winter looked around and could hear the splashes and screeches of scales against steel.
"Don't fall in the water and try to stab it's under belly." Yang put bluntly, "It's scales are solid and can break a blade, but the underbelly should be soft."
The sounds of canon fire from the starboard side.
Yang immediately ran to the port side with her sword ready, as if on cue the tail of the beast was raised out of the water, ready to plunge down on the deck. The Huntress swung her sword up to meet the tail and the vessel creaked at the amount of force that was being exerted. Penny and Winter both rushed to Yang's side in an attempt to bury their swords into the beast, both managed to sink their blades into it, but a terrible screech emitted.
"Tell me them to fire on the port side!" Winter roared to Penny who nodded and rushed to relay the command to those below deck.
A moment later and the canons fired.
"What are you doing?!" Winter yelled into the tub below deck, "How did you not see its tail?"
"It's hard to see!"
"Are your lights on?" Winter asked as it clicked why Yang wanted the deck lights off.
"Y-Yes."
"Turn them off! The moonlight will be plenty!"
"Ayye!"
The hull quaked once more and this time the canons went off on the port side once more, Yang's eye narrowed as the hairs on her neck stood up.
Left? Her eyes looked at the water's surface.
Right? She strained her ears for the sound of scales scratching against hull.
"Behind!" Yang called out as she dashed up the stairs of the stern of the vessel, her sword was caught in the teeth of the Sea Dragon. The monster tried to wrestle the giant weapon from the Huntress, but Yang was no stranger to such things. Instead she held on to the hilt with all her might.
Winter was perplexed, what kind of monstrous strength does this woman have?!
With her rapier, Winter stabbed the monster in the eye, remembering what Yang side about it's scales able to withstand their blades. Penny made quick work as a long slash could be seen beneath the Sea Dragon's neck. The monster shrieked once more and retreated into the water.
Yang looked the blade over and saw that it was slight scratched from the whole ordeal, "Maybe now he's starting to realize he's bitten off more than he can chew."
"How are you even able to-" Winter's rant was cut short by more canon fire and the men cheering below deck.
"Sounds like they scored a hit." Penny whistled.
Another shriek and the sound of water splashing over the deck brought Yang's attention to port side. She clearly saw the white head of the Grimm shining in the moonlight, with it's massive jaws gaping, it tried to bite into the steel hull. Yells and screams could be heard below, Winter's face went pale at the thought of the Grimm actually tearing through their ship as she saw the metal hull bend and warp at the sheer force. The Huntress wasted no time and went charging at the monster with Penny and Winter in tow. She pumped her legs as hard as she could as she approached a metal railing that would lead down to the lower deck where the monster was trying to puncture the hull, with a hard push off she sailed through the air with her sword raised overhead.
Winter's jaw dropped as she watched the great sword come down on the skull of the Grimm, a few cracks could be seen forming through that thick skull (though she was positive Yang had a thicker one). The Major was no slouch either as she hastened her pace, her aim was to stab the remaining eye of the dragon, but her mark missed since the beast whipped it's head back.
"Down!" Was all Winter could hear before a blond mass tackled her to the ground, exactly where she was standing the Grimm snapped it's jaws with such force. She watched as Penny attempted to stab it's underbelly, but the beast flicked it's head and managed to ram into the Lieutenant.
Who was now teetering over the rail and going straight into the dark depths, "Penny!" Winter struggled to push herself up, instead she heard a heavy thunk and Yang's sword was discarded on the ground next to her.
"I got her." Yang confidently said, in a flash she was at the railing pulling Penny to deck. The second move surprised her the most.
"YOU BLASTED FOOL!" Winter Schnee roared.
Yang Xiao Long had decided it was appropriate to jump on the head of the Grimm Sea Dragon. While holding on to the horns, she buried a dagger deeply into the socket that Winter had stabbed earlier, another deafening wail erupted erupted from the beast.
"FIRE THE CANONS!" The Huntress roared.
"Wait-" Winter was cut off by the sound of intense canon fire, "She's right there!" The Officer growled.
At the last possible second, Yang jumped off the writhing dragon head and caught hold of the railing. Winter and Penny were quick to pull her back on board.
A splash was heard and then silence.
It remained silent and tense for the next 10 minutes, Yang strained her ears for any sound or sign of the Grimm, but her instincts weren't running wild and the air no longer held the same intensity it did for the whole day.
"I think it's gone." Yang's voice was low.
"Do you think we killed it?" Penny questioned.
Yang shook her head, "When Grimm die, their bodies don't stay bodies… they sort of, turn to ashes." She explained, "I'll have to get in touch with a Huntsman Guild soon about that thing out here, it's rare for Sea Dragons to be actively hunting humans like that."
"There's a Guild in Mistral, my sister is looking to open up a office nearby one." Winter let out.
"Your sister?" Yang raised a brow.
"Younger sister, she's a merchant, I'm sure you've heard of the Schnee Merchant Company." The older Schnee explained.
"Wait, you're one of the Schnees?"
"Have you not been paying attention this whole time?!"
"It just didn't click till now!"
Penny giggled at the two and proceeded to head below deck to tell the men it was safe.
"If you'll excuse me, Lady Weiss," There was a twinkle in his eye as he said her name, "I'll have to excuse myself for some unforeseen business." He was the noble who owned the construction company whose family was responsible for the construction of the Arena they sat in.
The messenger that had awkwardly approached the marble stands had a nervous look on his face while handing the message over. "What do you mean they want 10,000 in damages?!" He seethed to the younger man before him.
"I-I don't know, that's just what…" The conversation trailed off which then left Weiss confused and slightly worried.
"Ah, there was a building collapse on the outskirt of town, rumor has it that it was one of his projects that caused the collapse and so now people are suing." Pyrrha leaned over; there were advantages to having her Father as the Councilman of the People.
"Ah, that's really good to know actually." She mentally made a note to pullback on the possibility of helping to import building materials for that noble in particular, not with this lawsuit hanging over his head. A costly one at that.
"Thank you, for coming with me." Weiss let out a breath of relief, "You definitely made the trip a little bit better."
"Well, I know that matches aren't as fun when your favorite fighter isn't around." A teasing glint could be seen in Pyrrha's eyes.
Weiss remained quiet at the comment, her blue eyes looking towards the ground despite the roar of crowd at the sight of some slave fighting a tiger.
"W-Weiss, I was just joking." Pyrrha called out to her friend.
"I know you are," Weiss got up to leave the box, her reason for being there gone. Pyrrha stood to follow her down and into the corridors that would eventually lead them outside. "It's just, I've been thinking about her a lot lately."
Pyrrha narrowed her eyes, "Thinking about her how?"
"Pyrrha, I went back to Roman's to spend the night and… well, I went because something felt off about her and Oum… she…" Weiss took a look around to make sure no one else was within in earshot, "She seemed terrified of Roman, but she couldn't tell me." She whispered.
"Does Roman know that you… you care about her?" Pyrrha also took the time to look around, "Actually, let's go back to your Villa and we'll chat."
"Agreed."
Without saying much else the two left the Arena and took a nearby carriage to Weiss' Villa, it was just Klein and Blake getting food prepared for dinner, a nice porridge is what Klein mentioned that morning.
"Oh, Lady Weiss, I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Klein greeted Pyrrha with a bow of his head.
"It's no problem at all, we'll be talking in the parlor if you wouldn't mind to bring out some tea." Weiss instructed as the two got situated around the hearth.
"So earlier, does he know?" Pyrrha asked one more time.
"No, I've been careful not to show too much favor and both times I've… slept with Ruby it's because Roman insisted both times, though the second time I will say I led the conversation to that." Weiss was a bit shy on the subject.
"Good," Pyrrha leaned back in her chair.
"Ruby… Ruby mentioned the same thing, don't show weakness around him." Weiss stared into the hearth, "Like she wanted to protect me from him."
"He… despite the relationship he has with my family and everyone around him, I don't trust him." The Mistrali hero let loose her thoughts, "I've heard rumors of his back door dealings, what he does in the shadows to get what he wants, who he has paid off to keep things quiet – but they're all rumors, no proof to show for it really." Pyrrha had done her own digging on Torchwick after her conversation with Oobleck, she trusted the scholar's instinct so when he said of his suspicions of Roman – she looked into it.
"Then why do you still deal with him?" Weiss questioned.
"Same reason you do, it's a matter of connections and appearances. Roman has done well to seat himself at the epicenter of it all." The Mistrali gladiator explained, "And he's done well to help out and support my father in the past, especially when it comes around to re-election time for his Seat at the Council, but still…"
"There's just something about him unsettling." Weiss finished for her, "I understand what you mean."
"Weiss, there's something that you should know…" Pyrrha bit her lip at the thought, "Just, you can't tell anyone, please."
"Pyrrha, what's wrong?" She was perplexed at Pyrrha's sudden shift in mood.
"Weiss, I think Ruby is from Vale."
The Merchant remained silent as she processed the information, "That's – That's fantastic, isn't it? Why hasn't she been freed yet?" She practically stood in her seat.
"Weiss!" Pyrrha scolded, "You can't tell anyone, no one! We haven't been able to free her because, well, there's a complication. Her paperwork… or rather lack of paperwork."
"What do you mean?"
"There was no mention of Ruby in the Office of Official records, not even a receipt to show that she was purchased." Pyrrha explained, "There's a few others in the same boat, but at least there's mention of their names in other logs books, but for Ruby – it's as if she doesn't exist."
"So did someone just not file something correctly?" Weiss was perplexed, they should let her go if there's no proof of her being a slave. "They should just let her go if there's no mention of her purchase."
"That's the thing, we tried that approach a few times with a few other slave owners who were suspected of hoarding prisoners, but they demanded concrete proof – or else go to court for trying to steal their property." She looked into the flames, "They – Oobleck cautioned that we don't approach Roman about Ruby, especially after he told that story about how she was a wanderer that murdered another in our kingdom. Which I think now is a false tale that he spun."
"How did you find out she was from Vale?" She was curious.
Pyrrha laughed, "The match I had with her, in Mistral we salute like so." A crisp salute was presented and her finger barely touched her temple, "In Vale, they salute with a fist against their chest." She demonstrated it to show the difference between the two. "I saw it and Jaune confirmed it."
"So Jaune, he's going to come back with proof, right?" Weiss asked tentatively, "When will he be back?"
"Not for a while, he wrote that he might not make it back till February now."
"That's nearly two months from now!" Weiss exclaimed, "You saw what happened to her! What's been happening to her, Roman intends to run her into the ground!"
"Weiss, I know – I've been taking extra care to keep an eye on everyone, I visited Roman the other day for some gambling and light talks. Ruby is healing up alright, she can barely walk, but Roman mentioned that Miltiades has expectations for her to make a full recovery."
"She was stabbed in the leg." The Merchant was incredulous, "She's going to fight again?"
"Yes." Pyrrha dead panned, "At least another month and she'll be fine, apparently Ruby heals fast…"
Weiss remembered all the scars that decorated the Gladiator's body, how she tried to kiss every one of them away.
"Weiss, it's important not to tell anyone about this, and it's vital that you don't push the matter further." She explained, "I just… it's just a lot, right now. And I see that you genuinely worry for her, I really do."
"I do," Weiss frowned at the thought, "Pyrrha, she's really just a gentle person. I- the way she looks at me when we were alone, it's like she's so vulnerable." Now those silver eyes were haunting her thoughts.
"Why not go visit her?" Pyrrha suggested, "Torchwick is throwing a party tomorrow night, I was invited but I didn't have much intention to go."
"I.. I don't want to be the only one- and then it's just so- I…" Words escaped the usually sharp-tongued merchant.
"I insist." Pyrrha wore a sly grin at the phrase.
"Fuck, this is great." Sun eased himself into the warm water, if there was one upside to the Torchwick parties it would always be the warm clean baths.
"Urk." A small squeak was a tell tale sign that his friend had came in and was trying to pull her self into the bath.
"I still don't like the idea of you having to be paraded around." The Faunus sighed as he stood to his full height to help Ruby into the big stone bath.
"I get to sit, thank Oum for Lady Miltiades." Ruby wrapped an arm around Sun's neck and he made easy to work to help ease her into the bath. "Neptune's been joining us a lot at these things, think Roman will let him move into one of the rooms?"
"If I do well the next few matches, then yes." The blue haired devil himself came in with two prospects in trail behind him, "Seems like there's a demonstration tonight." He unwrapped the towel around his waist and proceeded to step into the tub.
The other two prospects were about to scramble into the warm water, but a sharp whistle from Sun stopped the two.
"Wait." He simply stated, the two prospects sat off to the side as the three took their time.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Sun smirked at the Gladiator, "Now here you are, quickly becoming one of Roman's favorites."
"Took long enough." Neptune chuckled at the memory.
"You two done flirting? Ruby joked, Sun responded by splashing some water at her.
"If someone would stop being such a gimp, then I could have an actual sparring partner." Sun joked.
"Hey! I've been getting better." Neptune pointed out, "I did pretty well during that Taming of the Beast."
"Those are just tigers though, wait till you fight a Grimm." Sun's eyes flashed, "But as for sparring, I've been knocking you straight on your ass this whole time. Need an actual challenge for once."
"There are some other gladiators you could always spar with if you're that offended by my skills." Neptune quipped back as he grabbed a washcloth to scrub himself with.
"Yeah, but you really need the help."
Ruby chuckled loudly at Sun's comeback, "Just wait until I'm back in shape, I'll show you how to handle them in the Arena."
"Oh trust me, I believe you plenty on that Reaper." He stressed the title teasingly and this time Ruby splashed water in his direction.
"If Lady Miltiades was willing and Octavia wouldn't nag my ear off, then I guarantee that I could probably take those two on." She motioned to the prospects.
"With or without that walking stick?" Sun motioned to the stick set down on the wall.
"Without, I'll use my sword as a cane if I have to." Ruby joked.
"Lady Melanie is waiting for you three, hurry up." Junior's voice echoed from the doorway.
"At once, sir." Ruby responded to the head guard.
"It was fun while it lasted," Sun sighed as he stood up to his full height, "Don't worry about standing Rubes, I can carry you out." His arms was already hooked underneath the girl's legs before she could protest, "Don't think I can't hear you moaning in pain in the morning about your leg." He chuckled as he carefully stepped out of the tub with Ruby in his arms.
Neptune watched the dynamic between the two most senior Gladiators under House Torchwick, they were close, like a pair of siblings, just comfortable being nude and trying to kill things every day. He sighed at the thought, he wasn't much different, Torchwick's training took away whatever body shyness or whatever comforts you had left. You were literally stripped down of everything and built back up into what Torchwick wanted you to be.
Which was a victor, a champion, a Gladiator.
"Come on Neptune, let's not piss off Lady Melanie." Sun called over his shoulder as he walked at Ruby's pace down the hall, both toweled off hastily and had it resting around their shoulders.
"Coming!" He called out, he took a look at the two prospects and remembered what it was like when he went through, "Make sure you wash thoroughly." Was all he could say.
You can't be soft here forever.
"It's him." Weiss exclaimed as she watched the demonstration, she had indulged in a few cups of wine and mingled about with the other nobles along with Pyrrha. To her delight, Velvet was present with Fox Alistair for the little soiree and the two were able to chat a bit about the possibility of Velvet coming to work with Weiss at her new office.
"Who?" Velvet questioned, she was in awe at the footwork the one with the trident did as he easily deflected both of the prospects at once.
"She means the blue haired one with the trident, Neptune." Pyrrha smiled as she saw how well disciplined Neptune's form is, "A while ago he was still pretty green."
"Now he's the one at the center of these little demonstrations." Weiss commented as she watched him move, she amazed at how far the slave had come from being the reason Ruby and the others were punished to a well-disciplined fighter.
A smile played out on her lips as she noticed the look of approval on Ruby's face while she sat off to the side in her ornate armor. Of course, the armor bore scratches, nicks, and dings from her bout with Pyrrha. But Ruby liked the way the armor looked now – battle tested, she preferred it that way. She leaned forward on the wooden stool to observe the newer Gladiator's next couple of moves.
Neptune easily got one of his opponents on his back and held the other at his trident's tip, his face was stone and spoke of ill should the prospect try to move.
"Well done, King of the Seas." Roman applauded the spectacle, his attention turning back towards the cheering crowd, "If everyone is content there wine for everyone and of course service available for those who are reeling from the biting cold
"I could have taken them down in half the time." Sun murmured.
"Without the cane." Ruby whispered back, the two suppressed a smile at the thought. She looked back out at the crowd and at once a fire seemed to be set alight within her.
Weiss swallowed as those hawk-like eyes gazed down upon her, a certain hunger arose within her at the sight – and the cape, she wanted to be wrapped up in just the cape. She kept her composure on those silver eyes; unconsciously she ran her hand across her scar out of habit. She noticed immediately the Gladiator's gaze on her hand and how it followed. Purposefully, she dragged her hand down her collarbone and then down the crevice between her cleavage that her dress showed off.
Ruby clenched and unclenched her jaw at the sight, she felt like a lion being dangled a savory slab of meat.
"Sun, you've been requested, the usual room upstairs if you will." Roman instructed, he turned to Neptune, "And you, you will attend to the group of women over there – I trust you can hold a cask of wine and ensure they stay entertained?" His green eyes were held steady on the Gladiator.
"With pleasure, Master Torchwick." Neptune bowed his head to the slave master.
"What I like to hear." Roman smiled, "And dear Red." His gaze was full of mirth.
"No need for the pleasantries, I don't mind grabbing her for myself, if you will." From behind Roman a second figure approached the podium where the three had been standing all night.
"Lady Fall." The name escaped Ruby's lips, she was careful not to look back at the confused gaze that belonged to Weiss.
"Red." The nickname fell off her lips like velvet, "I've missed you so much." A hand ran down the front of the armor and then at the top of her trousers, "Did you miss me?"
"I always do, Lady Fall." Ruby's automatic response.
"Please Red, show me that you do." Ember eyes bore into those cold-slated ones, once more Ruby forced herself not to look at Weiss.
Without hesitation, she planted a chaste kiss on Cinder's lips, right there in the middle of the room. A few hushed whispers could be heard about how bold and simply scandalous Lady Cinder Fall, daughter of Councilman Salem was being.
"But that is simply part of her charm, is it not?" A man swooned at the sight.
Cinder placed a hand at the back of Gladiator's neck, she grabbed at the tuft of hair there in order to pull the Gladiator closer. The slave complied and kissed back harder. "That's it for the show, if you want your own, well, you know who to talk to." She winked towards her friend Roman who chuckled at the comment as Ruby quickly grabbed her cane to follow after Cinder.
The Fall daughter strutted past Weiss, a rather triumphant grin on her face, "I don't like sharing my favorite toys." She simply stated as she went past.
Ruby nearly tripped when she heard the words slip out of Cinder's mouth while Weiss bit back an insult and kept a steady appearance.
For once, Weiss Schnee felt like she was in hot water.
Roman watched with uncaring eyes as the red slave hobbled across the courtyard in the dead of the winter night. He could see clouds form from her breathing as she struggled against the biting cold and to her quarters where there would be a hearth that may need to be lit still.
"No late night cuddling?" Roman joked as he turned around to see his gracious houseguest clad in a loose silk robe.
"Not tonight, rather, I wanted to talk a little bit of business." Cinder sat on a plush seat and leaned her weight against it, "First thing, your Wilding is in – Mercury should have taken him tonight to meet Adam." She inspected her nails, "He gets along well with my other slaves, apparently."
"I wouldn't doubt it, the big oaf has a disgustingly huge heart." He commented, "And?"
"We have a list of all the nobles whose homes are infiltrated, those who are loyal to our cause will be warned appropriately." She crossed her legs and spotted a cask of wine and an empty cup next to it, she poured herself a cup to quench her thirst. "Interestingly, your up and coming Merchant friend has been compromised."
"Hm? And why should I be concerned with Weiss Schnee?" In all honesty, he got along a lot better with Jacques, but he wasn't the one here running what would soon be a most powerful business that has the capability to bring the Kingdom to it's knees with the right amount of direction.
"Did you not see her salivating over Red?" Cinder smirked, "Not to mention I saw the dear Snowflake glaring daggers at me when I kissed Red in the middle of the room."
"What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes.
"She's head over heels, and I would say Red feels the same way." She drank from the cup.
"Really now?" Roman was absolutely surprised by the development, "Hm."
"What's on your mind Ro?" She liked that look on his face, usually meant that he was up to no good.
"I could use a little bit more gold lien."
A/N:
Well, it is the holidays.
Cheers to double updates.
DevilRed