Lunch with the Arc family proved to be as eventful as ever. Jaune was able to convince his sister Miki to drop the issue of him in a relationship with the promise to spend as much time that day with his sisters as possible. Lunch helped, especially with the huge amount of food being offered. His friends soon learned that his sisters were all gluttons, especially the Saber twins. Even Nora couldn't compete with the amount of food the two could eat. They shared many stories with Jaune as the poor protagonist, eliciting many laughs from the present and he just groaned most of the time.
"So, Ms. Nikos…" Charlotte started.
"You can call me just Pyrrha… though I'm unsure how to address you…"
"Just Charlotte, as I said before. Pyrrha, we'll have a special event in a few days, including a combat demonstration in our own arena, and I want to invite you to be part of it. I know it's sudden but we'd really appreciate a chance to see your abilities against one of our best fighters." The queen added with a gentle smile, that the champion answered with her own.
"Of course, Charlotte. Do you mind to tell me who I'll be fighting?"
"I was chosen for such honor." Artoria said with a proud and confident smile. "Brother didn't held praise for you both as a person and as a warrior, and I wanted a chance against you since."
"I see… So I supposed you also trained with Chifuyu-sensei." Pyrrha asked gently, wondering if Artoria was on the same level Jaune was.
"Indeed I have, and with my father too. I'm in fact the top of my class and best fighter my age in the Kingdom." Saber said once again with confidence and pride, but not boastful.
"Hmph! You're the top of our class for a technicality. And your claim to be the best fighter is questionable." Nero said receiving a disapproving glare from her twin sister. "I still think I'd be a better opponent to Pyrrha. Umu! We would have a fight so epic that the tale of our confrontation would become legendary!"
"Nero, you'll have your time on the festivities, but we believe Artoria and Pyrrha aren't just about showing skills, but to reinforce the friendship of our people." Charlotte explained but Nero seemingly ignored it.
"Mistral and Arcadia have the best relationship between us and the other kingdoms." Jaune explained and Pyrrha had a sweet smile for him. "We do a lot of trade, so having Mistral's champion and our own champion demonstrate would be nice."
"Artoria won the Arcadian tournament four times!" Miki said and Artoria smiled proudly, receiving a nod from Pyrrha.
"But Nero's fights are beautiful to watch." Anya added.
"I promise you all that my fight during our celebration will be the most beautiful to date." Nero finished with a loud and smug laugh. Her family had weary smiles at that, making their guests a little worried.
"Well, you all must be eager to visit our beautiful capital." Ichika said to them and they all demonstrated their intention. "Since Jaune is probably going to be held hostage by his sisters, I'll be your guide if I'm allowed to. I'm sure my sister and my wife wants to discuss important matters or at least rest a little."
"If that would be alright with you…" Blake started as she poked her fish with a fork. "I'd like to visit the town alone."
"Well, there's no problem with that. The trams run from pretty much everywhere to the castle so I doubt you'll get lost. Our people are mostly bilingual so the language won't be a barrier, so all we need to do is register your scrolls in the Arcadian network, issue a visitor's visa and exchange your money."
"Exchange our money?" Weiss asked as the concept was foreign to her. Lien was the universal currency in remnant, or so she thought.
"You see, due to our unique political situation we had to create our own currency, but I believe you all will see soon enough." Charlotte said as she stood up. "Now, if you excuse me, I really need to attend some matters. Son, try to not cause trouble with your sisters. Girls, you're brother is not a toy, try to not break him. And to our guests, I hope our country can cause a good impression to you all."
All the needed arrangements were done quite fast. Registering the scrolls also granted them their visitor's visa, and Jeanne ran a brief explanation of what they should avoid doing before going with her sisters in their mission of dragging Jaune around. Exchanging money was a simple matter of handing the lien cards to a nice attendant in the castle's reception and receive smaller colorful cards with a crown in one side and the figure of Charlotte on the other, and a brief explanation that currently the Arcadian crown was in a 1:3 exchange ratio to the lien, meaning they received quite more money for the exchange.
With Ichika as their guide the group took a touristic tram, except Blake. She asked for a tram to the outskirts of the town, with one clear objective in her head. She wanted to see how the Faunus lived in Arcadia. And for that reason she also decided to forego the bow in the top of her head to feel how she would be treated.
As her tram moved along the streets she noticed some interesting things. Many bicycles around, few cars. The streets were large enough, but apparently the tram system was very widespread and cheap (just one Arcadian crown per zone, she was told, and the city had seven traveling zones) so it made sense most people wouldn't use private transportation. She also noticed there were very few tall buildings around, and the city had this 'old' feeling despite not being more than a hundred years old. Mostly was due to the fact the front of most buildings had the same style, combining red bricks and dark wood.
The tram passed under the old wall, or so she was informed, and out of the commercial district and into the first residential ones. Big houses with green lawns and many flowers could be seem, with lots of children playing around since the schools were on break for the festivities, which also explained the many flags and decorations the houses sported. But what got her attention was the children.
Human and Faunus children were playing together.
At first she expected to see the human children bullying the Faunus ones, but she notice it was not the case. They were smiling and playing together and she couldn't help but smile a bit. Maybe Jaune wasn't really exaggerating, or at least be blind for the love for his country and ignoring a problem. But she was in a rather rich neighborhood, and her objective was in the last stop.
After a one hour trip she reached the place she wanted to go. It was a poor neighborhood, but it wasn't the kind of poor she was used to see. Dozens of small houses, build mostly the same one at the side of the other. Some were in really bad shape, while others were well cared for and were decorated for the festivities. Blake started walking around, and she noticed the people around were evenly distributed into humans and Faunus.
So… being a Faunus here don't guarantee you a good life, but also don't stop you of having one…
She crossed around a big building that she identified as a school, with a blue and white wall around it. The schools also were decorated with the same red, white and blue colors she saw around the city, but there was no one around. One thing she noticed though, and she was very surprised about it. A graffiti where she recognized only a word and the symbol. 'Faunus' and the White Fang logo.
"I wonder what it says…" She murmured to herself.
"'Why there's no Faunus in the Arcadian throne?" a voice came from behind her and she saw an old man with a bucket of white paint and a roll in hands. "I swear to heavens those damn White Fang wannabes are just doing this to piss me off."
"White Fang wannabes?"
"You're not from here by your accent. Probably one of those foreigners that heard about how Faunus has it good here and come to hear about it." The man said in a tired tone as he prepared the paint to cover the graffiti. "We didn't had any trouble between Faunus and Humans before the queen opened our borders more, and I heard she want to fully allow the coming and going of foreigners."
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"For who? Don't get me wrong, girl, I have nothing against the Faunus. Arcadian Faunus is hardworking people, obey the laws and love the country. But some foreigners came here once, telling them that the Crown oppressed them… ha! Oppressing with equality laws, free education and healthcare! This was their motto. Why there's no Faunus in the throne! Because we all elected the Arc family as our monarchs! Even the Faunus! They had done a good job till now, but this opening is a mistake." He said as he covered the letters with white paint.
"I think I see your point." Blake answered and the man laughed a little.
"Look, girl… Be careful with your words around here, OK. The White Fang tried to kill the royal family once and they aren't exactly loved here, even by the Faunus. And if you're one of those equal rights activists thinking everywhere is the same, you better get to know us beforehand."
"It's a good advice."
"Good, good. Look, here is not the best place to see how Arcadians are. I'll take you to the market once I finish here. There you'll see how Arcadians are."
"Thank you." Blake finished with a small smile on her face as the man covered the White Fang symbol.
"You know, I expected for a member of the royal family to have more trouble walking around." Ren commented as they walked in a street converted into a mall, with a glass ceiling connecting the buildings and several people walking around. Weiss was the first to notice that there was not a single well known brand there, only local ones, and she wondered if it was due to the nebulous political status of the country.
"I'm just the husband to the queen." Ichika explained to the group. "While the whole 'royal family' status do make for some situations, we try to keep ourselves as close to our people as we can. Jaune and the girls study in the same public school as many of the other children, and we don't like to walk around with an entourage. Besides, all of us know how to defend ourselves."
"Jaune wasn't exactly a great warrior when I met him." Yang commented and Ichika sighed aloud.
"That was my bad. And you know, his mother really got mad at me after he came back that time. She made me sleep in the couch for a month and I still don't know exactly how all was my fault." Ichika said while pulling a 'Jaune' and scratching the back of his head.
"Women." Nora offered and they all used a moment of silence.
"So, how exactly are we celebrating?" Ren asked as he stared at all the decorations.
"Oh, well, since it's the hundredth birthday of Arcadia, we'll have a few shows at the Arena, a few demonstrations including Pyrrha against Artoria, my younger girls will sing and dance…" Ichika started.
"You mean Le Princesses?" Ruby asked as she pointed to a huge poster with the four younger Arc girls in colorful clothes and Ichika laughed nervously at it.
"They are kind of the most popular pop band in Arcadia." Ichika admitted. "It makes hard to deal with fans from time to time."
"Wow, your family sure is… colorful." Nora added with an innocent smirk.
"I blame Jaune for that one." Ichika said as he sighed at the post.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha wondered what he meant by that.
"No, I'm not wearing a dress again." Jaune told Miki as he held the white clothe with red and blue details. "I'm not even going on stage with you!"
"But Miki wants you to!" The green eyed girl stated with a pout.
"Not happening! Look, I already told you all I'm going to help with your dance number." Jaune said as he pushed play in his scroll again. "OK, from the beginning again!"
"That explains his awesome dancing skills." Nora said with a smile. "Being a prince is AWESOME!"
"I'm not so sure about that." Weiss said as she stood in front of a magazine stand, with Jaune's pictures on many of them and she took one written in the common language and opened it. "It seems his return caused quite a commotion. "'Is the prince coming back with his princess?' 'The heir apparent Jaune Arc returns after months in Vale, where he's studying in the prestigious Beacon Academy. Many said he might have gone to find his future princess there in the same way that his mother, our Queen Charlotte Dunois Arc found her husband. He came back with quite an escort of seven beautiful women…'"
"I'm a boy." Ren muttered bitterly.
"'…and with them Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and Pyrrha Nikos, the Mistralian champion. Any of those girls are quite the catch, so is the most desired bachelor of Arcadia going to announce his princess at the festivities in a few days?'"
"One of the downsides of being famous, rumor and speculation are aplenty." Pyrrha said in an annoyed tone rare for her. Though the idea of Jaune making such move was quite compelling. "Wait… most desired bachelor?"
"He was elected the most desired one for three years in a roll, reasons cite are his good looks, humble and caring personality, dedication to the people and… I'm not saying this one…" Weiss said trying to put the magazine back on the stand but Yang yanked it from her hands.
"…His butt… they think he have a cute butt…" Yang growled a little over the fact that other girls wanted him. And his butt. She liked his butt very much.
"I blame Nero for this one. She forced him to wear a really tiny speedo in our vacation last year." Ichika said as he stared at the stands. "And as you can see, people really like to gossip about us, not always n a good way."
"Oh! I know! We can break their legses!" Nora suggested way too happily.
"I don't think it's a good idea for the rulers of its people to break their legs. But… don't suggest that to Charl. She can like the idea." Ichika's word made the group stare at each other and back at him.
"Really? Charlotte strikes me as a gentle woman unable to do an act of violence." Weiss stated and Ichika chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"When I said you were allowed to come with a SMALL escort, I didn't mean a small fleet of battleships." Charlotte said to General James Ironwood through the video call. The good general decided to come to the meeting the Arcadian government invited all the four kingdoms with seven of his best ships and that didn't pleased Charlotte.
"You must know how dangerous the world is right now, Charlotte. And I'm bringing the Valean dignitaries with me, so I'm just being cautious." He affirmed, and while Charlotte smile was still on her face, a murderous aura could be seen on her back.
"I can offer guarantees that the Arcadian military can protect all of you. So I have to ask for you to keep your ships out of our borders. I don't want our people to think Atlas came with an invading force. I'm sure you understand."
"I already have authorization of the Valean Council to bring my ships anywhere in their territory, which I remind you Arcadia is part of." The general stated and that made Glynda Goodwitch to groan and pinch the bridge of her nose. Ozpin simple sipped at his coffee.
"I disagree. Arcadia is not part of Vale, never was. I'll have to ask you again to stop your battleships were they are." Charlotte mostly ordered, and that prompted Ozpin to interrupt them.
"James, we're invited here to talk. And I believe your fleet could be more useful patrolling Arcadia's border than scaring the people."
"As I said before, we have authorization of the Valean Council, and we'll not take orders from a rebellious territory." James affirmed and Glynda was sure Charlotte was about to pop a vein on her forehead.
"James, stop being ridiculous." She warned the general. "You just want to show power and honestly that's not the moment for it."
"Oh, hello Glynda. You look very well." Charlotte said to her fellow blonde.
"You look as young as ever, Charlotte. I'm sorry we're giving you trouble." Glynda answered and James sighed. Apparently it was his destiny to have trouble with blonde woman.
"The security of the dignitaries is of my utmost concern, Charlotte. I'm not leaving the fleet behind."
"The violation of our air space by unauthorized ships will be considered an act of aggression and we'll take the measures to avoid it." Charlotte answered surprising the crew members and James, but not Ozpin and Glynda.
"Are you threatening me, Charlotte?" He asked in a challenged manner.
"I was just informing you." She affirmed and made a gesture with her hand.
"Sir, something just… popped in the radar from nowhere!" One of the pilots warned them.
"On screen!" James ordered.
On the main screen they saw an airship uncloaking in the distance. It was big, bigger than any of the Atlesian ships, and stood sideways to them. It moved its main canons in their direction, each of the four canons (two on top, two on the belly) had three barrels, and all were aiming at them.
"This is me threatening you. Now, I recommend your ships to stop right now and that you proceed with your trip in a more… suitable vessel." Charlotte explained and Ironwood growled at her.
"James, I don't think we want an incident right now." Ozpin suggested but James ignored him and turned to one of his men.
"How far we are of it?"
"32 clicks, sir. No canon can reach this distance." The crewmember affirmed.
"Keep moving forward. We won't be bossed around by…" James was interrupted when the alarms sounded around the ship.
"They fired against us!" One of the crew members warned.
"Evasive maneuvers!" The pilot shouted and the ship moved to the right in a brisk move, getting out of the way of the shot. The blue colored beam passed between the ships and disappeared a hundred meters after them.
"As you can see our flagship, the Yamato, can reach you from our borders. And she isn't the only cloaked ship we have protecting our skies." Charlotte explained with her permanent smile. "So, how about you leave your battleships where they are and come in a more reasonable one?"
"James, we're here to make alliances, not creating an enemy. And it's clear that Arcadia do have the needed… arguments for us to not make this of a bigger incident." Ozpin warned and the general sighed.
"Very well, we'll proceed in a bullhead and a few fighters." He conceded.
"That's acceptable. I'll have our air control send you your flight path and prepare the reception." Charlotte deadly aura finally subdued, but now it was James turn to be showing how unhappy he was.
"I hope you'll give us a few details of your military power when we arrive."
"You know how military secrets are important. But since we are all friends here, I can give you a tour of our flagship. I'll see you all soon. The girls will be happy to see you again Glynda." Charlotte ended the call and Ironwood turned to punt the arm of his chair.
"Damn it! I knew we should've have keep an eye on them! Now they have an unknown military power!"
"They were never our enemies or a threat!" Glynda chastised him in an annoyed tone. "They called us to offer this power to help us, and we would be foolish to not take it because some politicians want to keep the status quo!"
"Now is not the moment! People want security and stability! How you think they'll react when we simply say a fifth power exists and that he can't control them!"
"So that's the issue? That you can't simple come with your ships and push them around? For heavens' sake, James! They just want to live their lives as they see fit!"
"Enough you two." Ozpin came between them and calmed them down. "We first need to hear what they have to say before making any decision." Their answer was both a groan and arms crossed over their chests.
"I'm just telling you that we need a political system that doesn't keep the same family in power for a hundred years!" A young man with white hair complained to an old Faunus woman.
"Why? He kept them there ourselves, besides, I think the queen is doing a good job."
"Of course you say it. Your son just got that big job in the government, didn't he?" Another young woman said to the old Faunus.
Blake found herself eating a nice grilled fish with fries in the old but nice market, hearing the people around discussing many topics of their daily life. Politics was apparently a big topic around and they weren't shy of discussing it, even some opinions she deemed as unpopular.
"And now the prince comes back with an entourage of foreign beautiful women! I swear our country is going to disappear like that!"
"And being isolated from everyone else will? Come on, we all came from around the kingdoms. You do have parents in Vacuo, don't you?"
"I'm never leaving here! You know how Vacuo treats a Faunus?"
"Yeah, and that's why I think we shouldn't open up! Imagine how many Faunus will come here because we treat them better than outside! We can't take them all! Besides, imagine how many criminals will come between them, like the white Fang!"
Blake frowned a little over the last comment and noticed the slight racism coming from the woman that made the last comment. While she admitted that they were way more civil with each other, the old tension between Humans and Faunus still existed, if subsided in Arcadia.
"We all know the queen is seeking for the four kingdoms to recognize us as a fully independent Kingdom." The man that brought her there explained. She now knew his name was Clovis. "It's quite a divisive topic. I for one don't want to see people coming here thinking we are some utopia when we have our own problems. But the money the trading can bring would be welcome. Besides, no man is an island."
"I can see why many Faunus would want to move here. It's certainly better to us than any place I ever lived." Blake said, bad memories coming back to her.
"I don't blame them, but the truth is we don't have how to accept them! The damn Grimm forces us inside the valley, after all. All of us that came here shared an ideal. Can't say the foreigners coming would share the same ideals we pride ourselves with." Clovis added and Blake nodded in understanding.
"But maybe you can inspire people in the other kingdoms to be like this." She said as she watched people coming and going and talking, the Faunus and Humans seamless interacting with one another, and if she could see a few cases of underlying racism, it was still better than the open cases she felt in her skin back home.
"It's what the queen says. That our future is in making outside as good as here. I wish I could share her vision." Clovis ended with a big gulp of his beer. "I need to go now before my wife complains I was hanging with beautiful young women. You enjoy yourself, kitty."
He left and Blake finished her fish and walked to the tram station close to the market. It was weird to see Jaune was right, half the people was Faunus, and most of them, including the humans, paid so little attention to her that it was almost like she was wearing her bow. The trip back to the castle was uneventful, and she arrived back almost at the same time as her friends… with lots of bags on hand.
"Hey, Blakey. You should go with us to the mall tomorrow! They have a lot of nice clothes on the cheap!" Yang said as she showed her bags. "By the way, you should walk around without your little bow more often."
"Yeah! You look better without it!" Ruby said with a croissant on her mouth and a bag on her hand. "And we should take you to that all-day breakfast buffet!"
"I never knew Nora could get full of pancakes." Ren commented as the girl used him as support. "Or that a place that big could ran out of it."
"How was your excursion?" Weiss asked as she dealt with her own bags. She was carrying more than anyone else, and Ichika was carrying a similar quantity that Blake assumed belonged to Weiss anyway.
"It was… informative. Arcadia is pretty much like Jaune said; it's a nice country, just…"
"Not perfect?" Ichika chimed in. "It's alright, we know it is a working on progress, but as Charlotte's mother liked to say, it's how life is, always a work in progress."
The group agreed with the affirmation and they walked back to the residential area to drop their bags and find Jaune. After leaving it on the guest rooms, Ichika excused himself to go find his wife, and the Beacon students followed an employee to Jaune's room. When they found it, they saw something unexpected.
Jaune was dancing with his four younger sisters in a complex choreography, wearing a skirt and shaking his hips to the music sound. To be fair, his friends tried to contain their laughs, but soon they all we're laughing loud at it. Yang was even rolling in the ground.
"Oh for heavens' sake!" Jaune groaned as he stopped the music. "You never saw a grown man wearing a skirt before?"
"Actually, yes, but Jaune… This is simply precious!" Yang said between laughs as she grabbed her scroll and took pictures. "Why the skirt?"
"To have a better notion of position during the routine. You can't have the skirts bumping at each other." He answered simply, eliciting a few more laughs,
"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said apologetically as she controlled her laugh. "But I never imagined you'd go so far to help your family."
"I'd wear a dress for my friends and family anytime." Jaune shrugged it off. "How was your day?"
"Lots of fun!" Ruby resumed simply. "I can't wait for the festivities!"
"Just be careful to not eat too much." Jaune answered and they heard Nora groaning.
"Too late." Ren answered for his friend.
"How about you, Blake?" Jaune asked and she smiled back at him.
"It was enlightening. You were right about Arcadia." She answered simply.
"Tomorrow we all can go around, visit the other cities. They're quite different from the capital." Jaune suggested.
"Hey, we could do a sleepover!" Ruby suggested. "Get to know each other and all that!"
"Oh, we already planned that. But it will be for the Arc siblings only." Jeanne stated for the protests of the Beacon students. As they kept discussing they didn't notice an employee took a few pictures of them and walked away, smirking, her eyes changing to brown and pink.
A.N.: I'm back! Sorry it took so long. This is also the last chapter that will be exposition and world building. Next one will have drama! Intrigue! Pyrrha VS Saber! Ironwood VS Batman! Maybe not the last one… or maybe it will…