Like a King
"Glynda, I understand you're...annoyed"
"Angry.", she corrected.
"Alright, angry.", he shot her a winning smile. "However I assure you I have calmed down, and these-", gesturing to the chains that bound his wrists behind the chair, "-are unnecessary."
"I see.", she said.
"You see?", he said.
Seeing as she was making no motions to undo the bindings, "So are you going to take them off?"
"No.", she said plainly.
"BE REASONABLE WO-", a meaty TWHACK, echoed around the room, silencing Port.
"Port don't agitate her! You'll only mak-", TWHACK, and Oobleck choose not to finish that sentence.
"You're getting some perverted satisfaction from this are-", another meaty TWHACK, and subsequent death glare, and Ozpin Headmaster of Beacon, wasn't uttering any further comments.
"Now then, before my hand actually starts blistering from having to use it as a gavel, I'm going to say this once, and I do hope you pay close attention because I will not be repeating myself.", she gave a moment of pause. Not for dramatic effect mind you.
"Jaune Arc's familial units are coming to inspect the institution.", expressions of barely contained fear passed through those present.
"You are all employees of this institution. Hunters.", she turned to Port, leaning across his desk in the lecture hall. "We are not prey."
Port's expression remained unreadable.
"What's more, this is no way for us to greet esteemed guests. We do not entertain guests, by our absence. Only by our esteemed presence and force of will shall we woo these patro-"DING-DONG- DOOO-DING.
The loud speaker for the room chimed, "Hello, Glynda?"
She paused mid rant, her fist hanging just at eye level. She was about to pound into the desk for emphasis. Sighing she straightened, "Yes Jane?"
"Ah, am I interrupting something?", sensing the slight annoyance in the usually subdued Goodwitch's tone.
"Nothing. of. Import.", she said through grit teeth.
"Wonderful, I just wanted to inform you that an unidentified craft has entered Beacon Airspace.", she said, a little too cheerily.
"Have you hailed them?", said Glynda.
"Ah, yes. I have.", Silence.
"And?"
"They keep replying in a series of wedge shaped symbols. I can't read any of this", she her pitch raised a little. "I was wondering if Oobleck was available."
"Send it to my scroll!", Oobleck demanded.
"Right away Barty Buddy!"
The scroll vibrated audibly, sending Oobleck into a frenzy, trying to wiggle the device out of his trousers. He finally managed to swing his index and forefinger, around one corner, only to pull the device out, and have it fall onto the carpet.
Soon followed by him, disappearing over the edge of the desk as his seat tumbled onto the floor.
Like a green headed caterpillar he wiggled to the fallen device, and pressed the button on the face, urging it to expand.
A series of lines, arranged in various patterns and wedges passed along the screen.
"Ah, yes I see.", he said to no one in particular.
"We're doomed.", he said gravely.
A moment passed...
Then the lecture hall erupted into an amalgamated mess of screaming and pained whimpering followed by the wailing in anguish.
CRACK!
The desk caved and parted as Goodwitch's dust reinforced palm made sweet, sweet love to its solid oak dark wood finish.
"Pull yourselves together! We are not going to die here. We are not going to panic, desert or flee.", She said, emphasizing each word with a tap of her riding crop against her palm.
"We are going to roll out the welcome wagon for these foreign dignitaries, and then we will display to them the finest teaching establishment in the business of training hunters on the face of Remnant.", she turned to them.
"We will not cower in the presence of the Arcs."
"Arcs as in Jaune Arc?", shit.
"Peach. Don't.", Glynda warned.
"Calm down Glynda, I'm not as easily shaken up as these men.", Glynda sighed in relief. Finally an ally amongst deserting cowards. She silently forgave all those past times Peach had interrupted her speeches during their schooling years.
"-but", shit. "I may have left the automatic defense systems online before I called you...and the overwrite isn't working..."
"Just thought you should know, ta!", and the PA clicked off.
"Arrrggghhh", She resisted the urge to rip hair, out as she made a B-line for the door. The manual overwrite was in her office.
She flung the doors open, and made it 2 meters down the hall-
"Glynda wait! Don't leave me!", Ozpin called after her.
"Shit.", she swore.
[=]
It began in the 41st age. The wastelands left behind by the devastation 80 years prior to this day, stretched into the farthest reaches of Remnant. Truly a world now, as its name implied, a shadow of what it once was. Scars left by weapons of man turned against man, marred the landscape. The very footsteps of humanity were feared-
"Hold up, please.", Yang raised her hand. "why exactly are you starting this out like some prologue out of a cheesy 'end of the world as we know it' movie."
"I went through the trouble of getting the flashlight. Humor me, for two more paragraphs?", Jaune said, clicking the flashlight off.
"Or...rather than listening to your sub par attempts at reciting verse, we could talk about your parents.", said Blake.
"I was trying to lay some world building, thank you very much.", he huffed.
"Just, get on with it.", said Blake. "What's your mother like?"
"Ah...lets see...", he held up a hand, folding fingers as he began to recite her qualities. "Dignified, graceful, eats a lot, loving and kind."
"Very descriptive.", said Weiss.
"She's also a knight."
"A knight?", Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Like the ones in fairy tales?"
"Haha, sometimes I think she really is straight out of some fairytale legend.", he laughed. "Really doesn't help that she's a king.-Kinda just reinforces the idea."
It took them a moment, "Your mom is a KING?!"
"Your mother is female, correct?", asked Blake.
Jaune nodded.
"But she's a King?",he nodded again.
"How does that work?", her brow furrowed.
He raised his hands defensively, "Well so's my dad-"
"Your father's a female?", said Yang, earning a love tap from Ruby.
"He means a King.", she corrected.
"Wait, Jaune, doesn't this make you technically Royalty?", Pyrrha said.
"I...suppose...", he said.
"Wait, just playing devils advocate here. How do we know what you're telling us is genuine?", Weiss said. "I'm not saying I don't want to believe you, I just want a little proof is all."
"The teachers panicking because Royalty is hopping over for a visit isn't convincing enough?", Said Blake.
"Jaune's a prince!", she gasped. "Which means- if I marry him I'll be queen of the castle!"
"Only if his parents give up on the throne.", said Ren.
"-and he belongs to Pyrrha...", the two warriors shared a look.
"Can I bor-", she tried.
"No.", the spartan said.
"Okay.", she slumped in dejection, Ren patting her on the back in understanding.
"You guys ever heard of Arcadia?", Jaune continued.
"You mean the one settlement out pasted the deserts of Vacuo?", said Blake. "It's almost mythical. The sheer amount of wealth and territory that is being developed there is outstanding. Vacuo actually had to start putting immigration restrictions up, because so many citizens were crossing the desert into Arcadia.", Weiss said. Switching to lecture mode.
"I've heard this. My father is an expeditionary force member. He's helping to survey the lands bordering Mistral for expansion. More than a few times, he's met the Arcadian survey corps.", Pyrrha said. "He says, now its a contest to see who can conquer more land faster between the Kingdom and settlement."
"Isn't that a prelude to war?", asked Weiss.
"Normally it would be, but Mistral and Arcadia love each other, Vacuo is pretty neutral on the subject., its Atlas that doesn't like either. Moreover Grimm are a real problem for Vacuo, and having Arcadia and Mistral covering one of their boarders as buffer zones is beneficial to them", Said Pyrrha.
"Politics!", exclaimed Ruby, pumping a fist into the air.
"Not our thing.", agreed Yang.
"I'm surprised it isn't its own Kingdom yet.", said Weiss.
"Well it is, but...not in the traditional sense of Kingdom.", Said Jaune.
"What do you mean?", Weiss had a sinking feeling she knew where this was going.
"Ever wonder why Arc is my last name.", then she connected the dots.
"...", she stared at him dumfounded. "You're joking."
He just twiddled his thumbs sheepishly, and she, lost the ability to articulate speech.
"Missed out on your chance to be a real princess there Ice Queen.", said Yang.
"SILENCE XIAO-LONG!", she got up, resisting the urge to pounce on the brawler.
"And as for you!", she pointed to Jaune. "I don't quite believe you yet...but it fits...", she sat back down and leaned back.
"Next thing you know you'll be telling us your father runs Golden Rule, or some other nonsense.", she crossed her arms.
"...", he shot her a reluctant smile. "..he...sorta is."
With a hollow thud, Weiss' head became very good friends with the table.
"Jaune.", Ruby said plainly. An unreadable expression on her face. "Why didn't you tell us you were more stacked than Weiss?"
"You...never asked.", he said.
Ruby nodded, then reached under the table, and brought Manghild out; chucking it at Nora.
"Nora, I need you to hit me with this so hard, I end up at the first step of initiation.", she said evenly.
Nora hopped up onto the table, and reared up.
Sensing imminent harm to her true significant other and her more import- What?! No! It's not like that... or anything!
Blushing profusely Weiss willed her semblance into being, a large barrier glyph came to be as the hammer swung down hard., utterly no-selling the explosion and subsequent property damage that Manghild would have no doubt caused.
"You...you...", she picked up a cookie from Ruby' breakfast tray, and shoved it into the redhead's mouth. "Shut up, and be satisfied I'm your partner!"
Ruby nodded, accepting the graceful chocolate chip goodness that the heiress had delivered onto her. As well she should have.
"I guess that's how the cookie crumbles?", Yang smiled shamelessly. "Amirite guys?"
Silence.
DING-DONG- DOOO-DING.
"Attention all students, this is Professor Jane Peach. I am sorry to interrupt your activities on this fine, soon to be very chaotic morning. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, well outside our control, all classes are canceled until further notice."
chirp-chirp.
This...was not happening. The fact that it was happening only served to confirm that in in fact was not happening. There was no definitive proof, but she was certain it had something to do with this fiasco Jaune's parents were causing. She was willing to tolerate it. At least for the day. It was one day. She could expend one day on this ridiculous shenanigans. However far left, or far right, she could follow. She was a Schnee after all. She knew how to play both sides against the middle.
However, now they had gone too far.
They had cost her classes.
"I, am saddened as well my dear students. However I am certain that you will learn to live it it...hopefully.", and it clicked off.
Weiss stood up and shook her fist at the announcement that had the cafeteria patrons cheering like idiots. "WHAT THE DUST IS THIS SHIT! I AM ABOUT TO GO -SCHNEE- ON ALL YOUR ASSES!"
AN:
It's missing something, I swear it is. I might take a break from this soon, because classes N life.
I wish I could reply to all the reviews, but in the end all my replies would amount to thank you. It's all your support and words that encourage me to write.
Therefore, thank you readers. You are awesome!
On a more subdued note, do you all think I should just consolidate these three chapters into one? It feels a waste to spend one chapter for something that's little under 2k words.