Prologue: As luck will have it. . .

Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Dad taught at Signal and our mom took on missions around the Kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose and she was like Super Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then. . . One day she went on a mission and never came back.

It was tough. Ruby was torn up about it, but she was too young to really get what was going on you know? And my dad just. . . shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first was my mom.

He wouldn't tell me everything but I learned the two of them were on the same team with Summer and her brother Qrow. And that she left right after I was born. No one had seen her since.

Why?. . . Why did she leave? I didn't have answer but even at a young age, I was determined to find her and find out why. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her.

Then, one day, I found something. What I thought could lead me to answers. Maybe even my mother. I waited for Dad to leave, put Ruby in a wagon and headed out.

Owls hooted and crickets chirped in the night as a cool breeze blew through the trees. On this part of the island, there were no people living here. Despite this fact, five-year-old Yang Xiao Long still walked through the overgrown weeds determinedly, pulling the wagon that held her three-year-old sister Ruby Rose.

Yang was admittedly exhausted. Her arms were bruised from the branches and her legs were scratched from the thorns but she didn't pay any attention to any of that.

Almost there, she thought. At least that's what the map have told her. Then she saw an old sign at the end of the path. She paused briefly and pulled out her map. She looked to see if the sign was any important landmark. She smiled slightly. It was. It meant that the road was the right one. She then picked up speed.

I must have been walking for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted but I wasn't going to let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand but I didn't care. I had made it. Then I saw them. Those burning red eyes.

After walking down the road further, Yang reached her destination. It was a house. Abandoned, worn down and boards on the porch were missing and the windows were broken.

Yang smiled triumphantly. Finally, now she could find some answers. However though, when she took a couple of steps foreword to the house she heard an animalistic growl. Her smile faded as blood red eyes appeared in the shadows of the doorway. Then four Beowolves, Creatures of Grimm that Yang's parents had told her to stay away from, walked out of the house. Their red eyes glowed with malicious intent as the Alpha of the pack laid its eyes on the two humans before it.

Yang was frozen in horror and exhaustion as she stared at the Grimm while Ruby still slept in the wagon.

The Alpha Beowulf growled as the rest of the pack leered down, ready to pounce on the meal that presented itself on a silver platter. The last thing Yang saw were the Beowolves jumping towards her, claws and fangs bared, before a blast of blue flames shot down the Alpha Grimm. A gunshot was heard as a large blade sliced the remaining Grimm wolves in half.

There we were. A toddler sleeping in a wagon and a stupid little girl that was too exhausted to call out for help. We might as well be presented on a silver platter. But as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time.

A man landed in front of Yang. He wore a gray dress coat with black hair that matched his pants and shoes. Bandages wrapped around his neck. A red torn cape hanged from his shoulder to make room for the row of dorsal fins the shape of glass shards that glowed neon blue and a long reptilian tail wrapped around Yang and the wagon. His eyes were dull red with a hint of blue, bore the look of a predator, ready to strike its enemy and tear them apart.

Yang's shock was instantly replaced with relief and joy. "Uncle Caw!"

The look a predator ready for the kill was gone and replaced by a worried and relieved uncle as Qrow Branwen turned around to look at the young girl. "Yang, are you alright?" he asked sternly as he knelt down to her level. Yang jumped up and hugged him tightly as tears began to stream down her face. "I'm sorry, Uncle Caw!" she sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

Qrow was briefly worried that she was injured but he quickly realized that she was ashamed of what she did. "Hey, it's okay." He said softly as he hugged her back. "You and Ruby are okay. The monsters are gone now." Yang continued to cry. "I-I just wanted my family whole!" Qrow winced sadly and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"Come on, Yang." he said after a moment. "Let's go home." He gently placed Yang in the wagon next to Ruby who was beginning to stir. He paused as he heard the flap of wings nearby. He turned his head to the trees nearby and saw a raven with red eyes perched on a branched. Qrow frowned at the bird and he spines flared again before he took a deep breath and turned away and picked up the wagon and began to carry it in his arms like a basket.

As he walked in the direction of home, Ruby opened her silver eyes. She yawned before Yang hugged her tightly. She smiled and hugged back only to hear Yang was crying. "Yang?" she asked in confusion.

Yang still felt guilty of what happened, what could have happened because of her. She cried as she whispered to Ruby, "I'm sorry, I won't do that again, Ruby." she added. "I promise, I'll always keep you safe."

Qrow glanced down to the sisters with a saddened expression. Yang was too young to make that promise. Too young understand what that meant to make it yet his sister's actions had caused it to happen.

I'll help you keep that promise, he vowed as they reached home. As long as I breath, I will make sure you both are safe.