~LONG A/N WARNING~
I know I put up an announcement regarding the discontinuation of multiple stories of mine; which included this one. Well; I have transferred over two of my other ones but after much thought and talking of various people on this site and in my life, I decided to keep Queen's Vessel for myself to work on.
Once I finish my other two side stories (Friction and Red Rose) I will try to balance this one out with my other main story (Winds of War). I am releasing this chapter today because I had it started and decided to finish it tonight. There will most likely be a minor gap until the next one as I continue to sort through things in my life; but I want to say a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to the countless people who PM'd me and hung out with me in Skype to talk to me.
Kira of Darkness, ARMV7, ClockPop, Jacklyn Frost, Hollow14, DV330, Autistic-Grizzly, stetsonandhisnickers, Mr. Blender, rwbybomb21, Aidis, NanoSparten, wahahanoob19, Kaylice, Not Akatsubaki, Shi'uri, blueeyedbeauty1990, Just Another Girl99, guiltypockets, SilverWordsmith47, and anyone else I missed;
BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!
Again, I am staying and this story is staying mine! I will try to keep you guys entertained but please just bear with me a little while longer as I get my life situated and my time organized!
With that out of the way, I'm sure my ... for lack of a better word mood has gotten the better of me in this chapter but the plot actually gains some depth at the end and more bombs will be dropped in the next one. Thank you once again everyone for you kind PMs and concern! Really helped push me through and second guess myself and stay a bit motivated!
Also Happy (late) Thanksgiving!
And without further adieu;
"This is amazing! Ruby and I… We've always wanted to come to Atlas!"
Yang looked around her in awe. The bustling marketplace, the tall stone buildings, the brightly colored mosaics around the city, everything was majestic to her. Atlas had such a tropical feel to it; from the random palm trees sprouted up on each corner, to the loose fitting clothing the locals were wearing. The entire town had a color scheme of blue, gold, and silver. The buildings were built from some kind of white stones with the pathways painted blue and curtains made of golden silk.
It truly was majestic.
Yang felt as if her head were on a swivel. She couldn't stop looking around at all the random stalls as she happily walked along, without a care in the world.
That is until she felt a firm hand grab hold of her shoulder and bring her to an abrupt halt.
Turning around she spotted the cause of it.
"Hold up there, Blondie. Don't be rushing off on yer own yet." The orange haired man spoke.
Yang gave him a quick one over and couldn't help the chuckle that emerged from her mouth. Roman had buttoned up his white overcoat and took his bandana off, leaving his hair out for everyone to see. It was surprisingly well kept underneath. He somewhat looked presentable and not much like a pirate anymore.
Cinder's orders for her crew were that not only was The Queen's Vessel getting the makeover; with switching the flags so they weren't seen as pirates; but also the crew as well. Everyone was to dress appropriately while in the city as to not arouse suspicion. Save Roman, everyone else dressed in nicer clothing made for nobles it seemed; stuff they had acquired while out at sea. Roman said he would rather drop dead then be seen wearing the tight leggings that Vale nobility would wear and just chose to make his usual attire presentable.
Yang and Ruby had opted to keep their usual clothes; seeing as it was mostly normal. Something the blonde was going to change during this trip though. Since she planned on sticking with Cinder's crew she most certainly wanted to look the part… Plus she needed a new weapon! But Ruby had an idea she dropped on her earlier before they docked.
Since Yang partook in the last ship boarding; Cinder actually let the blonde keep whatever she found on the ship and whatever they were to sell in Atlas; the lien would be split with the two sisters included.
"Hey! You spacing out on me, girl?"
Yang glanced back towards Roman and gave the man a cheeky grin. "What are ya gonna do about it? You and that peg leg of yours!" She jested.
As soon as the words left her mouth however; Yang watched as Roman's face turned as red as blood. The man immediately hunched over as if ready to jump on her. But the blonde was a quick learner; she did survive on her own with Ruby for a time. She knew when it was better to fight or flight.
Immediately Yang took off towards one of the market streets, high tailing it away from Roman; laughing and hollering all the while with the orange haired man hobbling after her yelling explicits.
Watching the two run off like children caused Cinder to rub her temples in annoyance. Not only was she trying to keep a low profile in this tropical and exotic town; but she also had a mission for those two as well.
Glancing over to her left and towards a few of her other crewmates; the dark haired Captain licked her lips at a certain crimson haired one before narrowing her eyes at the multi-colored other. She had a plan.
Walking over towards the two girls, Cinder sulked over to Ruby's side before running her hand down the girl's side; earning a surprised yelp and the crimson girl's full attention.
"Gah! W- What do you want? I- I told you no more contact… Until Cookie Monster is allowed to stay!" Ruby enunciated as she moved out of Cinder's reach and hid behind the amused looking short Navigator.
Cinder smirked and went to touch Ruby again but was surprised to see Neo blocking her movements by mirroring her.
"Move Neo!" Cinder growled out dangerously. "No one gets between me and my… prey." She finished, chuckling at Ruby's slight shudder at her words.
Neo still stood in front of the much taller woman though; blocking her from her prize. But Cinder didn't become Captain of her crew by just good looks… She knew all there was to know about each and every single one of her comrades.
And what or who her Navigator was quite fond of…
Adopting a relaxed posture and crossing her arms while leaning on her left leg; Cinder softened her expression to a neutral friendly smile and bore into Neo's brown and pink eyes. "Neo, I have a job for you while we're in Atlas. You see… Roman and," Cinder widened her smile. "Yang… were supposed to go out and sell some of the wares we acquired; but seeing as they have run off like the children they are… I was hoping I could entrust you to bring the wares and inform them of their job?" She finished; holding her gaze steady with the much smaller girl.
She watched Neo's eyes sparkle ever so slightly at the mention of Yang but it didn't seem like it was enough to get her to move yet; so Cinder winked at the girl with one last order.
"Then inform Roman to come back and stay with the ship; Yang and yourself will finish the selling of the stuff; and go crazy. You both can keep the lien you make; you two earned it off that last haul."
Amber eyes narrowed as they watched the short Navigator grab a small box containing the wares Cinder had mentioned and took off as quick as her short legs could take her in the direction of Roman and Yang. This left…
"So… Ruby. Where were we?"
"Come on old man; at this rate you'll lose that other leg of yours!"
Yang continued her sprint through the crowded market street of Atlas. She originally thought Roman would only chase her for a little bit; maybe only initially trying to scare her and due to his peg leg; but boy was she wrong. The man had even started to catch up to her at some points and it didn't look like only having one operational leg was winding him.
She was actually getting a little nervous now. But that wouldn't stop her from taunting him still as she ran through the crowds of people who threw her wary glances.
Gods I probably look like some kind of thief, fleeing from the shop owner…
Although the longer she ran; the better she felt. It had been a week since she was on solid ground. Not necessarily a long time but she liked to stretch her legs and stay in shape every once in a while.
Risking a glance backwards while trying to avoid running into a group of people; Yang brushed her long golden mane out of her sight and nearly screamed in fear as she spotted Roman within arm's reach of her.
The sounds of her boots hitting the ground, the wind in her ears, and her own heartbeat seemed to block out the loud and wooden banging on the ground as Roman caught up to her. And now he was reaching for her beloved hair to grab.
Yang watched him as he inches his hand closer to her; uncaring in where she was even running now as she wasn't looking forward. She tried to push herself to move faster but it seemed as if her legs weren't responding the way she'd like. In fact it felt like she was slowing down.
"Oh shit… R- Roman I was only kiddi- Ack!"
Yang watched Roman almost grab a handful of her long hair before the man crashed into the ground; face first.
She slowed to a stop almost instantly and turned around to see what had caused him to fall, but then spotted a very familiar looking girl who was holding what looked like a long and wooden table leg.
"N- Neo?" Yang gasped out as she struggled to catch her breath; resting her hands on her hips and panting loudly.
Neo was standing in all her short glory; holding up what Yang now identified as Roman's peg leg while holding a small crate under her other arm. The girl wore a cocky grin and regarded the blonde with amused eyes that glimmered with something unbeknownst to Yang.
"Y- You damned midget… How'd you even do that?" Roman asked lowly as he struggled to sit up.
Neo only widened her smirk and tossed the downed man his artificial leg. Yang finally started to slow down her breathing and took notice of the small crowd starting to form around them as if waiting for something major to happen.
Rubbing the back of her head nervously; Yang continued to watch the two. Neo still held her almost sadistic smile while Roman attached his leg and stood up; albeit shakily and glared back at the blonde who threw her hands up in surrender.
"Aw shuck Roman; I was only kidding… No hard feelings?" Yang announced holding her hand out for a truce handshake.
Roman regarded her suspiciously but ultimately brushed himself off before hobbling over and shaking her hand with a firm handgrip. "Didn't think I'd catch ya, huh Blondie?" He then sneered as they shook hands.
Yang smiled but ultimately it was true. She had no idea how he was able to outmaneuver her and catch up. Another mystery for the books…
"Anyways, what the hell are ya doin' here, Neo?" Roman asked as he stretched and regarded the girl curiously.
Neo held up the box in her hand and Roman peered into its contents; nodding his head. "Cinder sent you, huh?" He asked; to which Neo nodded her head and pointed back towards the docks.
Roman sighed as if he understood completely what Neo was instructing him to do. He turned back towards Yang and gave the girl a mock salute. "I'll see ya later; and next time ye won't be getting' off with jus' a meager handshake." He laughed out as he walked off towards the docks.
Yang smirked and watched the head of orange hair disappear into the crowd who was now dissipating around them; seeing as nothing else interesting was going to take place between the foreigners to their lands.
Yang cracked her back and neck; limbering her body from the intensive sprint she just finished and looked at Neo. The small girl stared back up at her with those majestic mismatched eyes and wore a small smile which bore her pearly white teeth in a slight predatorily grin.
"Ya know Neo; I think you have a nice smile… But sometimes it's a little… creepy." Yang admitted nervously as she spun on her heel to continue her trek through the marketplace.
Not a moment later she heard the small click clack of Neo's heeled boots shuffle up right beside her as the girl took her rightful place beside Yang; still holding onto the small crate and its contents while looking up at the much taller blonde with interest.
Yang tried to ignore the stare she could feel from the Navigator; but after about five minutes of walking, Yang couldn't even bring herself to enjoy the exotic sights of Atlas; with the girl's blazing stare fixated on her face. The blonde finally stopped walking and looked over at her much shorter companion with a slight scowl.
It wasn't that she didn't like Neo staring at her; for Yang had a crush on the shorter girl and was glad she seemed to have eyes for her as well. But it was that it kind of seemed odd and made her uncomfortable. Of course she didn't expect Neo to actually speak to her; being mute and all, but the taller girl hoped she'd give her a sign as to why she was staring.
"Care to share what's so interesting about me? I mean I know I'm a great looking girl and all but-"
Yang watched the small girl take off in a slight jog towards a market stall. The blonde cocked an eyebrow but followed her towards the average and plain looking small tent. Glancing around it, Yang could tell the wares of this nature were that of food. There seemed to be even spices that she was familiar with here. Although she was no longer interested in that old life of hers she still eyed the powders and even spotted a few expensive and rare ones.
Although she shifted her glance back towards Neo as she watched the girl pull a large jar filled with a golden thick liquid along with other bottles and beakers full of various things and place them on the wooden counter just inside the tent. An older woman dressed in brown clothes appeared from the interior and eyed the items being placed on her table.
Yang had to stifle a laugh at seeing Neo reach up to place her items down. It was adorable, the counter came up right above her head and Yang had to fight the urge to want to lift the girl up in her arms. But no sooner did she have the thought did Neo finish placing the items down and stepped backwards to meet the glance of the older woman behind the counter.
If the storekeeper found Neo's height humorous, she kept it hidden perfectly. Her face was neutral as she looked over the items on the table and opened them up; sniffing their contents and even dipping a long and wrinkly finger into the golden jar and tasting it.
Once she opened the jar though; Yang smelled the strange and tasty aroma of honey. Something she hadn't had since the festivities of her home island back on Patch; during the annual celebrations of the New Year's.
The woman seemed to find everything in order and placed a very hefty pouch of coins on the counter in payment for Neo; who happily reached up and swiped the lien off the table and into her pocket before walking off.
Yang jogged beside the girl and nodded impressed. "Not bad, was that from the haul the other day?" She asked, to which Neo nodded and continued to stare forward with a quickened pace.
It seemed as if she had a place in mind as Yang watched the girl navigate around the dense crowds of people and market stalls with ease. She was basically powerwalking at this point but Yang was only walking slightly faster than normal due to their height difference. The blonde took this time to glance around the new land. Past all the tents and stalls; she spotted large white steps that seemed to lead up to a lush upper portion of the city. In the background, behind the large palm trees were white stone buildings that were much bigger than the ones on the lower level where she and Neo were walking at currently.
It made her wonder just how large in fact the kingdom of Atlas really was. That is until she felt something small and warm wiggle its way into her left hand and pull. Yang glanced down before she was forced to jog slightly while being pulled along and spotted Neo's small and slender hand in her own with the pink and brown themed girl dragging her along.
Yang felt herself freeze up but allowed herself to be led by the smaller girl; keeping her lilac eyes on the bobbing hair of brown and pink. She felt a smile tug at her lips and a small squeal come out of her mouth at what she was doing; but enjoyed every second of it.
She didn't know if Neo felt the same way she was right now; but Yang was joyous. Neo was holding hands with her even if the girl was only trying to hurry them up to whatever destination she wanted to get to; but the contact meant a lot to the blonde. It felt like their relationship was growing and she had no problems whatsoever being dragged along to whatever the Nano-Navigator had in mind…
That was until she caught sight of a stall that was different than the rest. As Neo seemed to be homing in on a stall that was comprised of a small wooden hut along with multiple draped covers; the air seemed to get oddly cold the closer they got. Once the small girl reached her destination she dropped Yang's hand; much to the blonde's disappointment, and fished out her large hefty pouch of lien.
Yang traced the odd building and counter top with her lilac eyes and rubbed her arms to heat herself up. The temperature dropped immensely once they had approached this stall that sat by itself in the corner of the lower town. There were iron buckets of some kind of thick liquid in three colors. One was pink, the other brown, and lastly white.
Yang took note of how the colors represented Neo's entire form but then watched as a young girl smiled at the girl before reaching in each of the three buckets and with practiced movements, scoop the ingredients into a small wooden cup and hand it to Neo; which the girl happily took with two hands and drop the entire pouch of coins on the counter before walking off.
Yang stared at the pouch wide eyed as Neo had just left it as payment for whatever she bought and quickly snatched it up before placing five lien pieces on the counter and jogging to catch up with her. She had no idea if she had paid the right amount; but five lien was pretty hefty for anything of that size of whatever strange concoction of what the Navigator had bought.
As Yang jogged to catch up, she spotted Neo happily licking at whatever treat she was more than willing to pay an insane amount of money for and smiled. She couldn't help but melt upon seeing the girl's childlike happiness plastered on her face as she enjoyed her snack. It reminded Yang of her little sister in a way. Without a care in the world and true happiness plastered on their face; Neo and Ruby sometimes looked alike.
Maybe that's why she's so adorable.
"I don't know why I have to go! Y- You never even agreed to my terms!" Ruby cried out as she was unceremoniously dragged by Cinder; the complete opposite on how Neo and Yang were earlier.
Cinder only smirked wider before pulling Ruby along again by the girl's hand. She and the smaller crimson haired girl had plenty of shopping to do. And she planned on getting it done as soon as possible. Of course now that Ruby was officially part of her crew; the girl would have to look the part as well as defend herself. Cinder knew she couldn't always be there for the girl in case of an attack so she planned to have Ruby be able to arm herself in case.
She knew of a few good blacksmiths in Atlas and planned to visit them. Of course it wasn't all business… The raven haired Captain couldn't wait to get Ruby new clothing as well.
Maybe something light and revealing? Or something functional…? Of course I can coax her out of it either way but…
As Cinder was initially leading Ruby forward; she felt the girl jerk her arm away and run towards her left. Cinder snapped out of her stupor and quickly jogged after her retreating comrade.
"Ruby!" Cinder shouted after the girl who seemed to be dead sprinting somewhere.
Cinder almost felt her mind delve into fear when she was about to lose sight of Ruby who was zigzagging through the mass of crowds but breathed a sigh of relief when the girl halted in front of a storefront.
Cinder caught up to the smaller bundle of energy and was breathing a little heavily before glaring at the shorter girl. But Ruby seemed to be in her own little world as she stared in awe at the items behind the stall.
Cinder turned her gaze towards the wares and spotted a bunch of oddly shaped metal and iron bars and bricks that seemed to be random assortments of pieces of something. What that something was the Captain had no idea and honestly didn't care; she was about to grab Ruby's small hand and guide the girl back towards her original destination before the girl perked up.
"How much for all those iron pieces back there and those steel casings and balls here?"
Cinder turned back around and spotted Ruby pointing at a bunch of random pieces while looking towards the store attendant. The man looked over the pieces Ruby pointed out and started counting numbers off under his breath to which Cinder finally spoke up.
"Why are you buying random garbage at this… trash heap?" She asked annoyed. The stall they were at looked like it sold random pieces of broken down metals that they have found from ship wrecks and whatever other place there was trash to be found. But Ruby seemed to ignore the woman and stared in awe at the pieces she had picked out.
Now Cinder's curiosity was piqued a bit. She had never seen Ruby so engrossed in something before like this; not even cookies or that God forsaken mutt she brought onboard; to who which Tukson was taking care of right now.
She continued to watch as the man placed all the heavy metal pieces in a crate and hand it to Ruby before the girl placed what look liked fifteen lien pieces down in payment. Cinder would have bought it for the girl of course, but kept her mouth shut as she wanted to see Ruby heft the large iron and steel filled crate off the counter by herself.
To which the crimson haired girl did just that, with ease.
Cinder felt her jaw drop as Ruby moved away from the stall and happily bounded past her holding the box in both her hands. It almost looked as if the girl was carrying a box of bread with how easy she made it look; but as Ruby continued to stare at the small girl with a dumbstruck look plastered on her usually calm and composed face she spotted the toned muscles on the girl's slim arms.
Ruby may not look it; but apparently she had immense body strength.
This brought Cinder to her next realization…
If she's this strong… Why didn't she seriously push me off of her…? Unless she in fact does like it like that?
As the dark haired woman came to another wrong thought she quickly made her way back beside Ruby who was looking over the large crate and navigating her way back towards their ship. After a few minutes of unspoken silence and the only sounds being from the various people shuffling about; Cinder finally decided to ask the burning question on her mind about the girl's rather odd purchase though; in an attempt to break the silence.
"So, are you going to tell me why you decided to buy a bunch of metal junk and store it on my ship?" She asked slightly aggressively towards the younger girl but meant no hostility in her words.
Ruby continued walking for a bit before huffing and replying. "I… I like to build and craft things. I always liked tinkering and making weapons and little odd trinkets ever since I was little." She began, earning a curious look from Cinder who nodded her head as if to coax Ruby to continue. "I've always had this crazy idea in my head to craft this weapon for Yang. It's kind of a secret though. A surprise actually; she really likes flintlock pistols but I think I can make a pistol that can fire multiple times before needing to be reloaded! And so I saw all this metal over at that stall and decided to buy the necessary parts to craft it! Of course this is all in my head and stuff; but I saw Tukson had tools and I can use them, I asked and so I want to try and build them for Yang!" Ruby rambled on.
Cinder smirked and chuckled softly to herself. She had no idea her little red jewel had such a secret and talent. It was quite nice to hear and she could already think of a few ways to exploit the girl's brilliant mind if she in fact could craft such a weapon that she was speaking about. It did sound quite impressive, Cinder couldn't lie.
She continued to walk with Ruby and neared the docks; but a peculiar sight caught her attention down the street and towards her right.
Turning her head to get a better view; the raven haired woman felt herself go rigid with fear at the sight of an armed escort belonging to a very familiar looking woman…
The white hair that held itself in a side pony tail, the confident and slightly aggressive way she walked, the posh and elegant white silk attire she wore, everything was familiar.
The four guards, who were dressed in a mixture of white and light blue in militaristic uniforms and carrying muskets, flanked the shorter girl who held her head up high in a slightly snobby attitude. The entire scene looked unreal to Cinder and it scared her.
Why this girl would be here, in Atlas; worried her immensely. Plus her armed escort; it meant that she traveled with at least more than a dozen other soldiers who could be anywhere on the streets of Atlas' marketplace.
And looking for Cinder.
Finally feeling cold sweat run down her face, Cinder realized that the girl and her guards were currently walking in their direction and fast!
She couldn't run lest she wanted to catch the attention of everyone around her, plus the escort. But as they neared her even more and with Ruby walking towards them, still clamoring on about the schematics of the weapon she wanted to build, Cinder did the only thing she could think of in her fear stricken mind…
She grabbed ahold of Ruby's shoulders; earning a slightly surprised squeak, and slammed her face into the shorter girl's own in an aggressive meeting of lips.
Cinder felt Ruby drop her crate of metal with a loud thud and was surprised it didn't land on her foot but continued to kiss the girl roughly, shutting her eyes in fear of the incoming guards would notice her if her eyes were open. She quickly pushed Ruby away from the center of the street where they were just walking on and could hear multiple people gasping and snickering at them but paid it no heed.
She could feel Ruby struggling in her grasp but she squeezed the girl's arms forcefully to get her to comply; she didn't want to hurt her but needed her to not cause a bigger scene than was needed; and after a moment Ruby seemed to calm down, although her lips remained sealed not allowing Cinder to use her tongue, sadly.
Finally breaking the forced meeting of mouths, Cinder allowed herself to smile a bit at seeing a small trail of saliva still connecting their mouths; to which Ruby angrily swatted at, breaking it.
"W- What the h- hell was that about?!" Ruby shouted.
Cinder flinched a bit but looked around. People were watching them as they walked by but she didn't spot the white themed girl and her guards anymore; allowing herself to relax and fall back into her confident persona.
"Why nothing my little jewel, I just missed your taste is all." She licked her lips. "Strawberries, hm?" Cinder purred playfully.
She kept her amber eyes on Ruby's angry face waiting for her to stutter and turn embarrassed as usual, but as the seconds dragged on by, Ruby's small round face remained angry. This caused Cinder some concern as she decided to speak again.
"What's with the pouty face, Ruby? I won't giv-" Cinder stared.
"It was that girl from earlier, wasn't it?" Ruby asked; although to Cinder it sounded as if she stated it.
She swallowed nervously and kept her eyes on Ruby's own silver ones. "Whatever do you mean? What girl?"
But it seemed that Ruby had caught on rather quick. "Don't play stupid with me, I saw you look at her all scared! And… you never look scared! Not in a ship battle or ever! So tell me the truth! Who was she? How did you acquire that ship? How are so skilled with being a Captain of a crew? If you don't tell me I won't ever forgive you…" Ruby sternly shouted, even earning her more looks from the bystanders who were walking along.
Cinder looked around nervously but felt Ruby's glare boring into her and the woman tried one last ditch effort to keep her secrets to herself. "E- Even if I let you keep Cookie Monster on the ship?"
She watched Ruby's scowl deepen then and sighed. Cinder knew she wouldn't be able to keep her past a secret but didn't fancy the thought of telling Ruby everything already… She was honestly afraid of what the girl would think, but she truly actually cared for Ruby and didn't want to hide something that could potentially bring harm to her down the road.
And so Cinder closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and steeled herself for what she was about to entrust Ruby with.
"That woman earlier… was Princess Weiss… And I was to be her betrothed… My title isn't Captain Cinder but in fact… Lady Cinder. Heiress to the royal crown of the Kingdom of Vale, and the only daughter to King Ozpin and Queen Glynda."