A/N: Posting early, enjoy! We get to see some important things this chapter!
Quickly running out of patience and growing quite irritated whilst listening to Mercury trying to sing along with Emerald, Captain Cinder cleared her throat loudly and caught the attention of everyone in the room.
She was still waiting on Yang and Neo to show up and even debated sending someone to look for the fools. A loud and boisterous woman with a short mute girl… What a pair. Perhaps she was in the wrong however for sending and telling Neo to enjoy herself once she found the girl after sending Roman back to the ship. But glancing around at the multiple faces looking back at her expectantly Cinder sighed before leaning back in her massive chair and kicked her legs up onto the large desk that occupied the space in front of her.
"Alright, I'm not waiting on them any longer." Cinder stated, earning a few curious looks as to what brought this on. "I'm sure all of you are wondering why I called you here, right?" She then asked.
"Yeah, pretty much." Both twins recited perfectly in sync with one another; while everyone else just nodded their heads.
Folding her hands behind her head as she continued leaning back and relaxing, the raven haired woman exhaled sharply through her nose. Looking past her boots up on the table and at Roman, she nodded her head slightly at the man who just smirked before taking a seat on one of the many chairs in the room and speaking up in a much more composed accent and startling everyone bar Cinder in the room.
"Alright everyone; sit down. This is going to be a pretty jarring story." The orange haired man spoke loudly while still smirking towards the confused faces in the room.
"W- What the hell? You sound nothin' like…" Junior started before being interrupted by the Quartermaster.
"Yes yes, it's called an accent old friend." Roman assured the man as well as everyone else's suspicions. "And trust me; this is just the tip of the spear so to speak. I'd suggest you all get real comfy cause the Captain here…" Roman said while gesturing towards Cinder who still sat with her feet propped up on the table and was now grinning in amusement.
"She's about to blow your minds."
All heads turned to Cinder in that moment with new expressions of disbelief. Well almost everyone had that expression except for Ruby. Cinder's eyes met the girl's unwavering silver ones as she regarding her with a look of mild disappointment. Cinder couldn't help but feel her smile falter a bit at being looked at like that by Ruby.
"Well thank you for that elaborate beginning, Roman." She chuckled out before dropping her feet onto the ground and sitting upright; looking at everyone's faces as they found their seat on a chair or on the floor.
"Before I recruited you all from all those places we met… Like Emerald, do you remember when we met?" Cinder asked casually while looking at the mint green haired dark skinned girl.
Emerald smirked before speaking as she reminisced on the memory. "Well, I remember I was stealing to survive on the streets of Sanctum." She spoke as her grin remained and she continued. "I remember I just swindled this one store owner and got away with like a dozen apples! As I was ru-"
"What's a dozen?" Mercury interjected from where he sat on the floor; his hand raised as well.
Emerald shot the silver haired boy a look before answering him though. "Twelve… Anyways like I was saying. I was running and-"
Mercury however interrupted the girl's story again. "I thought a dozen was thirteen?"
"That's a baker's dozen, you idiot." Tukson answered this time, causing the room's occupants to chuckle at Merc.
"Like I was saying…" The green haired girl growled out, looking around, glowering at everyone as if daring them to interrupt her again. When no one did she finally continued.
"I just stole a regular dozen apples and was running through the streets to get away… Well I didn't think he'd actually run after me and chase me." Emerald explained as her scowl started to disappear and be replaced with a smile. "I kept running and even started eating as many of the apples as I could in case I was caught. Well as I was trying to get away from this guy, I ran to the docks and stowed away on the first boat I could… And thus I met the Captain here… A whole day later after she caught me rummaging through the food stores." She finished while smirking evilly.
"And I welcomed you to my crew, correct?" Cinder asked in a monotonous voice to which Emerald nodded.
When no one else said anything and only gave the Captain confused looks as if not understanding the reasoning for her asking about the story, Cinder spoke up once again.
"What I'm trying to point out here is that no matter who you were to society before, I don't care. We are a family now and whatever status society labeled you as before… Has no meaning to me. You are all equals in my eyes and will always be."
Glancing around the room now, Cinder maintained a neutral expression before taking in a deep breath and looking each and every person in their eyes.
As Cinder went to open her mouth to finally start the story of how she became the "Captain" of this ship and her crew though, the door swung open to reveal an out of breath Yang and a smiling Neo who stood in the doorway; side by side.
"I told you they'd be in here!" Yang exclaimed towards the shorter girl who just rolled her eyes before walking inside and taking a seat on one of the empty chairs in the room.
Yang however stopped and looked around before looking towards Ruby and sitting next to her, wrapping her arms around the crimson haired girl's shoulders. "Whoa, story time? This crew is awesome!" Yang then shouted; failing to read the entire seriousness of the current mood.
"Glad you two could finally join us." Cinder sighed before glancing over at Neo who only winked at the woman and Yang who kept her wide smile plastered on her face.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Cap'n!" Yang said as she held a thumbs up towards Cinder.
Shaking her head a bit, Cinder decided to finally continue before everyone in the room started speaking. "Like I was saying; no matter what I'm about to tell you… I hope you continue to want to keep serving with this crew and have me as your Captain…" Cinder uttered lowly.
The way she spoke so quietly and without her usual smile or happy-go-lucky demeanor was quite unsettling to some of the crew members but they held their tongues as the woman who they held in the highest respect to lead them spoke. If something could change this woman's attitude, they all knew it had to be important and potentially even life changing.
As Cinder lifted her amber eyes to once again look at the faces of the men and women whose lives she was entrusted with, she saw Roman nod his head at her as if trying to support her decision as best as he could without speaking. Cinder nodded back towards him and swallowed whatever doubts she had.
"The thing is… My real name is Lady Cinder Fall, heiress and princess to the kingdom of Vale." She spoke in a refined tone; much how she was raised to do.
She watched everyone's eyes narrow or widen in a mix of disbelief and awe; but before anyone had a chance to speak up she let out a breath and continued.
"This ship… 'The Queen's Vessel' was supposed to be the flagship of Vale's royal Navy. A present from my father; King Ozpin to my mother and Admiral of all of Vale's naval fleet, Queen-Admiral Glynda." She explained as she held everyone's gazes.
Her eyes continually drifted back to Ruby's own silver ones as she spoke. She noticed the girl no longer looked angry but she didn't really look particularly happy either. Cinder wondered if it was because of Princess Weiss and how she was almost married to her.
"But before I explain anymore, I suppose I should start from the beginning…"
Two Years Ago
"Remember dear, Princess Weiss will be here tomorrow. I expect you to be on your best behavior."
Cinder sighed sadly as she continued looking out the window of her massive chambers in her home. She knew her father; King Ozpin only came to make sure his "prospect" would treat her future wife well.
"Yes, father. I will be on my best behavior and treat Princess Weiss wonderfully." Cinder reassured her father as she continued to stare out the window into the nighttime streets of the kingdom of Vale below her. "I promise."
She heard her father sigh before making his way towards her door to leave the room before halting and speaking up. "Your mother and I are worried about you, you know? I hope you don't think we're pushing this on you or anything. It's just we think you and Weiss would be perfect for each other." He explained tiredly. "The Schnees are in fact a powerful family that could help our kingdom in the long run; especially if you and Weiss were to marry."
Cinder kept quiet as she heard her father exhale before finally opening the door to her chambers to leave. She could hear him speaking with the guard posted outside her door as well though. The same one who was supposed to make sure nothing happened to her in the middle of the night. It was a load of bull; the truth was that they were to ensure that she wouldn't run away again.
Too bad the same person who was supposed to be protecting her was now an accomplice to her latest plan to escape the holds of her posh life. And there was no way this one would fail. Cinder had planned this one for more days than she could care to think back on. Ever since her father had announced the new vessel as a gift to her mother and how no one was allowed to be near the ship until it's initiation into the royal Navy… It meant that it'd be easier to steal and set off to see the world.
See the world… It had always been a goal of the usually reserved Princess Cinder. Ever since her countless lessons on etiquette regarding different cultures of visitors for her family and the history on the world; Cinder had always made it a point to travel. She wanted to more than anything; but the times she introduced the idea of wanting to be an adventurer or an explorer… Her mother and father would forever shoot the idea down faster than she could ask 'Why?'
This of course caused the rebellious side in her to grow and plot. Most of her previous plans to just hitch a ride on a boat or run off on foot always resulted in her being caught before she even managed to get a mile away from the castle; and each time her parents would strengthen the security around her. This is now why she had her own personal bodyguard.
Sergeant Roman Torchwick.
After countless sessions of failed briberies, befriending, and finally entrusting; the two of them formed a wonderful friendship. She finally managed to talk the orange haired man into helping her with her plan, but of course his one wish was that he was able to come with, as his dream was to travel the seas as well. What luck Princess Cinder had to finally come across when she explained this to him in the past.
But a part of her felt guilty, especially if this plan of hers actually worked. She'd be betraying her parents' trust and most likely their love as well. She knew they only really wanted the best for her and the kingdom; but shouldn't she be able to be responsible for her own happiness? It in fact was one of the few life lessons she had learned during her studies. So why shouldn't she pursue it?
"Well, I am now." Cinder muttered to herself as she cast one last look out the window before turning around and walking towards her closet to get herself dressed in something a little more casual.
She opted to dress in a brown silk coat with a black long skirt and a matching black undershirt, complete with long black leather boots.
The outfit was still of high quality materials but it was the most unassuming of the clothing that she had available to herself at the moment. After she finished getting dressed; she contemplated bringing anything else. She knew most of the essentials of navigating and food would already be present on the ship for her future crew so she decided against sneaking into her father's study to acquire said objects. Plus that only ran a higher risk of being caught.
She decided to grab whatever money she had in her possession and placed it into her coin purse. After she was sure she had everything she needed, she sat down on her large bed and exhaled.
"I'm really going to do it this time; I'm going to follow my dream." She spoke to herself.
It almost felt like a dream; she finally was going to do it. She knew she still had to in fact sneak away and get on the boat; and even then, she had to worry about pursuing ships and her father and mother's future anger in searching for her. But in this moment; she felt it. How close she was to her ultimate dream, something she had always wanted to do; it was so close now.
But once again her feelings and thoughts of happiness and wonderment turned to guilt and shame. She'd be leaving on such a forlorn note that she couldn't help but feel tears well up in her eyes at the disappointing and angry thoughts of her parents. They'd hunt till the ends of the world for her… And Weiss…
She had met her future wife; Princess Weiss on multiple occasions. The elegant looking white haired Princess from Atlas was nothing but kind to Cinder. In fact there was nothing really wrong with Weiss personally; minus how possessive the girl seemed to be but it was in fact that they had absolutely nothing in common. Once the two of them had spoken in the past, Cinder made sure to keep her personal opinions and hobbies to herself from what she could gather from how Weiss was as a person. She knew the girl would never understand why she wanted to see the world and travel when she was born into royalty.
Another thing that slightly worried Cinder was that Weiss made sure that Cinder knew that she was interested in her. On multiple occasions Weiss would always sneak a kiss or even suggest some things that would be better left unsaid in public. The Atlas Princess seemed to have a perverse side to her but as much as Cinder thought Weiss was a beautiful girl, she would always shoot down the girl's ideas with saying how she wanted to wait until they were properly married. Just another lie for Cinder to say.
And this week would be the week they were to marry. She could only imagine Princess Weiss Schnee's face once she found out that she had fled the country and would be halfway across the ocean by the time she arrived in Vale.
It was unbelievably cruel but for Cinder; true happiness was worth a few people hating her. She only hoped that they all would understand the reason why she was running away.
Cinder jumped at a sound of someone knocking at her door but her shock turned to nervousness once she realized that it was time.
"Are you ready, my Lady?"
Cinder jumped off her bed and quickly made her way to her door and opened it; revealing her personal bodyguard Roman. He was dressed in his blue and silver royal guardsman uniform as he carried his sword in its side sheath as well as another one in his hand as he held the beautifully crafted cutlass out for her.
"Your weapon, Lady Cinder."
Cinder felt herself break out into a genuine smile for the first time that night as she grabbed the sheathed weapon that she knew Roman personally had crafted for her just for this moment. She attached the weapon to her belt and nodded towards the man.
"Thank you, Roman. Really."
She watched Roman roll his eyes slightly before turning around and walking down the hallway. "Thank me if we make it out of here."
Cinder smiled at the man's back as she quickly fell into step behind him as he led her outside the castle and towards the docks where their escape boat was just waiting to be taken. Cinder wasn't without knowledge however; the one good thing about having a mother who was the Admiral for the entire kingdom's navy was that Cinder was bound to learn a few things about managing a ship.
She'd make sure to use all the tools at her disposal to escape and hijack the ship. She knew once she was out on the ocean, nothing would catch up with the new vessel that was already dubbed 'the fastest ship in the entire fleet'. Plus having Roman with her would help as the man also served on a naval crew before being reassigned as her bodyguard.
Cinder was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that they had arrived at the docks before she bumped into Roman's back as the man stood still.
"Why are we stopping? The ship is right there!" Cinder hissed at Roman as the man continued to peer into the darkness.
"I know my Lady but we have to keep watch for patrols. Even though no one is allowed on the ship just yet doesn't mean that guards aren't posted around it." He replied back in a hushed tone.
Cinder instantly frowned at the man's response. Her heart was pounding and she was sweating in a mix of fear and excitement. She just wanted to get this over with and escape. Every second she was on solid land was another second she feared they would be caught.
"Alright, it looks clear my Lady." Roman whispered towards her before turning around and meeting her eyes. "You make a break for the ship and I'll make sure no one sees you, okay?"
Cinder nodded her head enthusiastically before standing up from her crouched position and checking the brick road she had to cross for any patrolling guards and not seeing any. Once she took in a deep breath to calm her frenzied nerves, she sprinted as fast as she could towards the massive ship that sat docked and ready for the taking at the port.
Before she noticed something wrong… Very very wrong.
Cinder spotted multiple torches flaring seemingly out of nowhere in the dead of night to her left. Before she could even process what was happening however she felt her arms be grabbed behind her and held tightly.
"W- What? Unhand me you-" Cinder squealed as she attempted to jerk herself free from whoever was holding her still.
"Forgive me my Lady… I had to."
Cinder froze at the voice and jerked her head to the side in an attempt to make sure it was who she thought it was and let out a gasp at the realization.
"R- Roman… W- Why?" Cinder asked, her voice taking on a high pitched tone never before heard.
Before Roman could even explain himself, a new voice boomed out from the shadows gaining the attention of both Cinder and Roman.
"Ah, Sergeant Torchwick; it seems as if you were in fact correct. I once again thank you for informing me of my daughter's plan to run away."
Cinder felt her heart sink at the voice and let her head sag as she looked at the ground, crestfallen. It was her mother…
"O- Of course my Queen." Roman replied back.
"Now bring her here; she will be punished for her actions this time." Queen-Admiral Glynda hissed towards the two.
Even though Cinder wasn't looking towards her mother she could hear the venom in the woman's words. Her mom had a much worse temper than her father, but hearing her speak like this was unsettling to the Princess. She never heard her speak in such an angry tone. Cinder now felt the full weight of the consequences of what she had tried to do. She knew her mother would punish her severely now.
But still… Roman.
In one last attempt to look at her supposed friend, Cinder already felt the burning sensation of tears pooling in her amber eyes. She always made it a point to never cry in front of others; always saving her true emotions until she was alone in her room. But she couldn't help it now. She'd never felt so betrayed.
"Roman… W- Why?" Cinder asked, her voice raising in octaves and sounding pleading. As she kept trying to look at Roman in his green eyes as he shuffled her forward towards where her mother and about a dozen guardsmen stood, the man would not meet her gaze. If it was from guilt or whatever, Cinder didn't know.
"Roman… You… you were my only real friend." Cinder cried out openly now, her tears flowing freely as she noticed Roman's face twist at the hearing of that.
"Remember all those things we talked about once we had our own ship? We'd sail the seas and start our own crew!" Cinder continued as she noticed Roman start to slow in his movements and pushing her forward. "W- We were going t- to be the best crew the w- world had ever seen! We'd g- get to sail and see a- all the places we've only r- read and spoken about! Together!" Cinder cried out.
She had never felt so helpless. She felt lower than trash. She and Roman had put so much effort into this plan to escape this privileged life that they both didn't want, but she realized it was all a ploy. She was doomed to live the life she didn't want to. She had lost the only friend that she knew in the process as well.
"It was all a lie? Y- You really weren't… my f- friend?" The Princess asked between choked sobs.
She continued to try to watch Roman's face through her tears as the man's stoic facial expression cracked under her eyes and he let out a heavy sigh before shutting his eyes and stop walking.
"Well… Come on then Sergeant. Or should I be calling you Lieutenant now?" Glynda asked in a slightly irritated voice as she crossed her arms and started tapping her foot as Roman opened his eyes and looked at her bewildered.
Glynda smirked then and continued. "That's right, you bring my daughter to me right now as we agreed and you'll find yourself promoted."
Cinder blanched at how her mother could even suggest something like that, but as she looked into Roman's eyes she could see the man decide on something in his mind. It was then that he finally met Cinder's eyes with his own and flashed a small grin at her.
"We're going to Vacuo first." He whispered.
Cinder felt her eyes widen at his comment and she broke out into a wide smile. She felt his grip loosen around her arms a second later.
"Make a break for it as soon as I give you the signal, I'll be right behind you." He muttered into her ear.
Cinder didn't trust her voice in that moment as she only nodded a bit before turning her face towards her mother's scowl. She could tell she was getting angry with how long Roman was taking as she pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose.
"Well? Get a move on, Sergeant!" Gylnda hollered, as she started to lose all airs of self-control and raised her voice.
"Don't talk to him like that mother!" Cinder growled towards the blonde woman. It was no secret that Cinder and her mother; Glynda didn't get along very well. The two were always butting heads and disagreeing on countless things. Cinder knew she'd miss her the least out of everyone.
"Child, you dare?" The Queen uttered in a challenging tone, her scowl turning into a predatorial grin.
The expression caused Cinder's heart to beat faster as she felt a shiver travel down her spine. She knew she was pushing her luck. No… She already had pushed it. As much as she disliked her mother, she was in fact terrified of her.
But luckily for Cinder she knew she didn't have to face the wrath of Queen Gylnda alone as Roman fully let go of her arms and shoved her away; towards the boat.
"Go! Now, my Lady!" Roman hollered as he drew his weapon and pointed it towards the Queen and her escort who then also unsheathed their own blades.
Cinder stood for a second, dumbfounded as she watched the event unfold before her very eyes but another shout from Roman got her to refocus as she ran towards the docked ship.
Never before have her legs felt so weighed down, her chest ache as bad, and her heart pound so hard. But she pushed on as she sprinted as fast as she could and unsheathed her long and slender cutlass; cutting the ropes that were holding the ship to stay docked before climbing the ropes up to the deck.
As she climbed, Cinder risked a glance back towards where Roman and her mother were and felt herself almost freeze mid-climb at the sight.
Roman and her mother's guardsmen were locked in a deadly clash of steel. Cinder could already spot about three bodies on the ground as they lay lifeless as Roman displayed his superior swordsmanship and held the attackers off singlehandedly.
It was then that Cinder realized just how real of a situation they were currently in. Not just for herself but for Roman as well. She had been so selfish this whole time, never taking into consideration how much her friend had to lose. Even if they failed right now she'd only be punished verbally and maybe grounded from any form of contact or freedom; but she'd still be a Princess…
Roman on the other hand would be whipped, lashed, and hung for his betrayal to the crown. His body would be paraded through the streets as a broken and bloodied corpse as he would be spit on and ridiculed. His name would be shamed for all eternity for his mutiny and betrayal to the crown. He had much more to lose Cinder finally realized; but still… He continued to help her. Even against all these staggering odds. He was the one risking his life for her dream.
Not her.
Cinder felt herself start to cry again as she quickly got on deck and unfurled the sails. She ran around the vessel getting ready to sail off as fast as she could. She felt herself start to sweat as her body ached from the hard labor it wasn't used to doing. But as seconds turned to minutes, she was finally ready as she looked over the railing back towards where Roman was but didn't spot anything except unmoving bodies.
She felt a cold chill then as she thought that Roman had indeed paid the ultimate price and was killed for his actions… Until she heard a gruff and pain stricken voice sound out below her.
"As much as I like the view from down here, can you help me up my Lady?"
Cinder looked down and spotted the orange haired man coated in blood as she quickly felt herself blush as she noticed that Roman had a very open sight to look up her dress. She glowered at him before pulling him up off the rope and quickly turned on her heel in an attempt to hide her blush from him and to hurry and get ready to set sail.
"Quickly, Roman man the wheel! I'll make sure we're ready to set sail and leave this place once and for all!" Cinder yelped out happily.
She felt her heart beat even faster as she realized that this was it. She was now finally free from her predetermined destiny and now free to live out the rest of her life how she wanted to! All they had to do was undock and-
"I- um… My L- Lady…" Roman coughed out, causing Cinder to turn around and just spot him slide onto the wooden floorboards of the deck with his back leaning against the wall. It was then that she noticed something missing from his body and felt the night's contents in her stomach make its way up as she felt herself about to throw up.
"I- I may need some help getting to the w- wheel…" Roman sputtered out as he still held his trademark sly grin while trying to keep his face from contorting in pain.
Roman Torchwick's left leg was hanging limp just below his knee, cut off halfway.
How the man had even managed to make it up the ship from his battle after losing a leg… Cinder had no idea but she had never seen so much blood before… It was pouring out of his open wound as it stained the floor. Cinder swallowed her fear in that moment and decided to finally steel herself and help her friend.
If Roman was willing to lose his leg so she could see her dream, by Gods Cinder was going to help and take care of him right now in this moment.
"W- What do I do?!" Cinder asked as she attempted to calm herself but failed, feeling panic take hold of her voice.
Roman reached his arms out towards her and she quickly grabbed them as she helped him up. He leaned himself on her as he chuckled out, wrapping an arm around her shoulder for support.
"Just take me to the wheel and we'll be on our way. We got to hurry though… Reinforcements are bound to be on their way here." He foretold grimly. "Your mother… She's quite the swordswoman. She ran off to spread the word of tonight's events."
Cinder quickly helped him towards the wheel which he took hold of shakily. She attempted to wrap his wound by ripping off a piece of her dress but he shrugged her away.
"Don't worry about me; make sure we're good to set off. It's now or never." He gasped out.
Cinder could tell the man was in severe pain but was pushing on for her sake. They both knew they couldn't afford to waste any time right now or else they'd be caught. Cinder didn't have to like it but Roman was right. She would defer to his orders as she went off to make sure everything was ready to go…
The beginning of their new adventure would begin that night… They'd set off to make their own names for themselves as they stole the Kingdom of Vale's flagship…
The Queen's Vessel.