Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned on the table with his elbows, etiquette long forgotten. He asked for this. He demanded answers and so he got them. But that didn't change how world-shaking they would be, much less how crazy they sounded. "So let me get this straight," he said, looking Duke of York in the eyes. "Our whole business of escorting merchant convoys is just a convenient excuse to run a massive paramilitary force rivalling Atlas's, and it's all to hunt down some shady group I've never heard of before for the past century?"

"An apt description, although missing quite a few key details," Duke of York said. "Thou art taking this remarkably well so far."

Jaune opened an eye to stare at her and deadpanned, "I prepared myself all week for this. I was half-expecting the worst reasons for me not to go to Beacon. I had responses for those. But you blew all of them out of the water in one go. I'm probably- no, I am mad! But now I'm too busy trying to wrap my head around all of this to just be mad." Truthfully, Jaune felt more than just anger; it was an emotional cocktail made of three parts frustration, one part confusion, and topped off with a dash of relief. They ripped off the bandaid and he needed to acclimate. Jaune would have called it all out as some elaborate prank to bring him home, but if his grandmother was a vampire, then what else was possible? "You said I was missing key details. What kind of details?"

"Details of the natural sort, or supernatural if thou prefers. The kind of details that beget my vampiric form. The kind that allows us to continue our hunt for our God-forsaken enemy. Those kinds and a few more. Alas, I believe I've, what's the … phrase… 'rocked thine world' enough. Perhaps it's best to explore our current topic and save those questions for later."

Jaune frowned, but couldn't bring himself to argue. Much. "Okay, so then why all the secrecy? Why run a business when we have some bad guys to fight? And why do you need me to do it?"

"It's one 'bad guy', actually," Dad said, "and the need for secrecy is twofold. The first reason is simple. What is everyone on Remnant fighting against?"

"The Grimm?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Aye, and what attracts Grimm?"

"Negative emotions, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Dad raised a hand. "Hold on, I'm getting there. Now, when did we start our company?"

"Shortly after the Great War."

"And we've been hunting this prey with our ships almost since the War started." Dad leaned forward a bit and smiled knowingly. "Now, why do you think your grandfather did that?"

"Because… the battles attracted the Grimm from all the negative emotions they caused," Jaune said slowly, recalling the history lessons he had. His headache started to abate as he focused on this puzzle. "We had warships fighting in some of those battles. We founded our home in the middle of the War. But then the War ended and we hadn't caught that bad guy yet." He shot a glance across the table and received a nod back in response. He was on the right track, at least. "So then what? Why not just have battleships patrol every ocean until our target was found?"

"What purpose would battleships provide in a time when peace was newly forged?" Duke of York added.

The moment she said it, something clicked for Jaune. "Nothing. Everyone is tired of the war and with battleships around, that would make people think the War was still going on. Unrest would rise and draw in Grimm to the ports and towns. So instead of bringing a threat…" Jaune's eyes widened as it all fell together. "We brought help by escorting merchants and clearing out the Grimm."

Duke of York nodded. "Indeed. It was a little trick thine grandfather borrowed from old King Ozymandias. By crafting the illusion of peace under an independent banner, we were able to continue our hunt unimpeded." She smirked and added, "The money and supplies we receive are simply a nice bonus to our coffers."

Jaune had to admit the strategy was clever. Devious, but clever. He probably would never have noticed without them pointing it out. "What was the other reason?"

Duke of York's eyes fell to her teacup, and her smirk turned into a melancholic frown. "Time is an unforgiving mistress. With every year that passed, we grew no closer to finding and finishing our enemy. And though we shared many happy memories, thine grandfather, my darling, had a mortal's flesh and soul whilst I... am ageless. By the time of his passing, there were already people who began to notice the disparity, amongst others. And thus, once he passed away, I had 'died of grief' shortly after." She looked back up at Jaune, eyes glistening. "Forgive me for my long disappearance, but it was necessary to keep prying eyes away from us and maintain our illusion."

Jaune understood. He didn't like it one bit, but he understood and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He held numerous memories of his family, being so close knit as they were, so to learn that one had been excluded due to a self-imposed exile felt wrong on a fundamental level. "So have you been living in the basement ever since?"

"Whenever I'm not out performing my own missions or managing our estates, yes. But I only ventured out when the moon took to the skies, and often far past thine curfew. It was only natural for a creature of the night such as I, though I'll admit I do love an enthusiastic walk through the woods at night. It is quite invigorating."

For some reason, that unsettled Jaune, but in the sense of cleaning up elaborate and extremely expensive messes. He pushed that feeling aside and pressed on. "So back to my earlier question: why me? Why didn't Saphron or my other sisters get trained for this job?"

"Because thou carry thine grandfather's blood whilst thine sisters carry mine," Duke of York said cryptically. "Thou holds a certain affinity required for the job we ask of thee, one that appears to cling to the males of our bloodline."

"Okay…" Jaune tried not to think too hard about that lest the headache return. "Wait, doesn't Dad have this 'affinity' thing?"

Samuel shook his head. "Must've skipped a generation. When you were born, your mother had you tested and the results shocked them. She and the girls almost immediately began to plan things out for your future." He chuckled. "I had to step in more than a few times to keep things from getting out of control."

Jaune mulled over the answer when an idea occurred to him. "Does it have anything to do with my aura and semblance?"

Duke of York raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps. Could thou elaborate more on how thee acquired such powers?" She listened attentively as Jaune explained his attempts to unlock his aura and the final result. "Fascinating. Simply fascinating," she said when he finished.

"So what do you think?"

"I have no idea," she replied bluntly.

Jaune almost face planted into the table. "What do you mean you have no idea?" he nearly yelled.

If she was offended by his outburst, she gave no sign. "I mean I simply have no answer to give thee. Until recently, we believed it impossible for thee to even touch upon thine soul and bear it as a weapon. But now, we sail into uncharted waters. We knew what thou could do before, but what art thou capable of now?" She peered into his eyes as if they would hold her answer. "Hmm, oh how I long to see the fruit born of this venture."

Jaune let out a frustrated sigh as he felt his headache creep back in. "Okay, last question. How does your magic sword fit into all of this?"

Duke of York blinked. "Magic… sword?"

"Yeah, your magic sword. The super sharp thing that can cut through metal hinges like butter and apparently only I can pick up? Does that have anything to do with this 'affinity' you're talking about?"

The vampire just stared at him blankly. Her lips then curled upward as she slowly started to laugh. "Heh… hehehe… hahahaha! Oh my! To think that my blade would be compared to Excalibur itself! T'would only be so fitting, if it weren't so ironic! Hahahaha!" After a minute of attempting to recompose herself, she said, "Nay, Jaune, my blade is not magic, but finely crafted nonetheless. That said, thine observation is intriguing as I'm loath to simply lend it out to any vagabond. Perhaps it is an effect of thine affinity, or perhaps there is something more to it? It would be an interesting experiment, no? I shall have to ask London to conduct it upon our return."

"Does this mean I can keep it?" Jaune felt his breath catch in his throat. "I don't really have a weapon since I broke that fake sword Mom gave me."

"Hmm, thou wouldst need a weapon if thee were to attend Beacon," the vampire pondered aloud. She silently contemplated for a long moment before answering, "Ultimately, no thou cannot. Ah ah! Listen closely before thou despairs. Thou art asking to keep my sword indefinitely, to which my answer is no. In the future, I must be combat capable as well, and though I hold other tricks, my sword cannot be wielded by two people."

Jaune conceded the point and then recalled a certain conversation with Ruby. "Then how about until I make a new sword?" Seeing the intrigued look on his grandmother's face, he continued, "Ruby, she's the one who told me my sword was fake. She offered to help me make a new sword, and she's crazy good with weapons and designing them. We could even run those experiments too!"

"Makes sense to me." Dad nodded in agreement.

"I see no fault to thine logic as well. I have but one stipulation to this arrangement." Duke of York's gaze sharpened and bore down upon him with intense gravitas. "Whatever weapon thou forges, ensure that it is a weapon to befit thine station. I will not hear of thou wielding a jester's tool."

"I understand," Jaune said.

"I mean it, Jaune." Her eyes shifted back to crimson. "If I see a ridiculous weapon like a tuba-cannon associated with Royal blood, I may actually die out of shame."

"…I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Crimson shifted to blue. "Take care of my blade, Jaune, and it shall serve thee well." She took another sip of her tea. "Now tell me, how art thou faring in your studies so far?"

"Well…"

It was close to lunchtime and Ruby was already dead…. tired from all the studying Weiss was making her do. "Weiss...," she groaned, "Do we have to study today? It's the weekend! Let's go play games or watch movies."

"No," Weiss said in a clipped tone. "Not until you make proper notes for all the classes you goofed off in. As team leader, you need to be an example for us."

Ruby tried to not roll her eyes. Team leader this, team leader that. Their agreement back in the forest almost felt like a distant memory with how snippy Weiss had been lately. It's not like Ruby picked herself to be team leader. Ruby turned to her other two teammates down the table. "Yang, as team leader, I order you to let me copy your notes."

Yang didn't even look up from the game on her scroll. "Ruby, as your older sister, I order you to suck it up. I know you're smart, but you did skip your last year of Signal. You're not allowed to have worse grades than me."

Traitor!

"Blake?" Ruby pleaded with sad eyes.

The brooding ninja peeked over her novel briefly, her eyes flicking between Ruby and Weiss. "I do oppose all tyrannical Schnee rulings on principle…"

Ruby ignored Weiss' sputtering as hope welled up within her.

"But then again, I know an excellent Mistralian restaurant to celebrate the end of our first week of school once you're done. I should warn you that it's rather expensive." Blake coolly stared at Weiss, waiting for her response.

Weiss looked like she drank a gallon of pure lemon juice with no water. "I'll allow it. Don't make a habit of this," she groused

Blake wasn't smirking, but her eyes radiated with smugness. "No promises, Schnee. Sorry, Ruby, you're on your own." She went back to enjoying her novel.

Traitors! They were all traitors!

Fortunately, a passing scarlet ponytail signaled an escape. "Pyrrha! Save me! Tell Weiss I don't need to study today!" Surely the Invincible Girl would pull through for her?

"Hm?" Pyrrha looked around the table from one pleading face to three shaking heads. "I… don't think I'm legally allowed to endorse bad studying habits, Ruby. I'm sorry."

And just like that, the last hope for a fun weekend was cruelly snuffed out. Her plans were ruined and swept away for accursed, boring studies. While Ruby lamented her weekend plans, she heard her sister ask, "You three looking for Jaune?" Ruby paused her grief to see Ren and Nora behind Pyrrha.

"Nah, we just came back from meeting his parents and grandma," Nora commented casually. "Did you know Jaune is royalty and his grandma is a vampire queen? He's got a castle, kingdom, and everything!"

"Oh, cool."

It took a moment for Nora's words to fully sink in. Then as one, all of team RWBY turned to look at Nora with varying degrees of disbelief adorning their faces before they barraged her with questions.

"His parents are here!?"

"What do you mean that buffoon is royalty?"

"What's this about vampires?"

Ren stepped forward. "Nora is exaggerating a bit. Really, his parents wanted to meet us before they talked about his stay at Beacon."

"What the hell?" Yang stood up. "I thought the whole point of us going through that initiation challenge was to let him stay, not cheat him out of it afterwards."

"It's not like that," Ren countered, shaking his head. "His mother was actually overjoyed at his success. If anything, she was more upset at Ozpin for allowing him entry."

Yang's frustration turned dumbstruck. "Huh?"

Nora nodded. "Yup! Jaune's hot mom had some serious beef with Ozpin. Called him a 'parasitic barnacle'. Looked like she was going to throw him off the CCT."

Ruby reeled at that. "But Ozpin is so nice!" she interjected, "Why wouldn't she like him?" But Nora just shrugged in response.

"I dunno. Didn't get a chance to ask before Jaune got dragged off to the gardens by his royal vampire grandma."

All of RWBY looked to Ren for the truth.

"It was a private discussion. They did promise not to take him away while we were gone," he said. "And I think we can all agree that vampires don't exist."

"But this one does!" Nora exclaimed. "Come on, Ren! She had pointy ears, fangs, a weird name, funny old words, and looked way too young to be someone's grandma!"

"If she was a vampire, she would have burnt to ash in the sun," Ren countered.

Nora paused to consider that. "She's a super vampire!"

Ignoring her, Blake spoke up to Ren, "I noticed you didn't deny the royal part."

"… No comment."

Weiss slammed her hand down on the table. "Yes comment! I want to hear these grossly exaggerated claims of Arc's status as royalty! Pyrrha! Tell me it's not true!" Her voice was almost pleading by the end, trying to deny the reality presented to her.

"What's the matter, Weiss?" Yang asked teasingly. "Wouldn't a girl like you want a prince in shining armor?"

"His family may be comparable to mine in wealth, but he has the decorum of a peasant," Weiss declared, glaring back at Yang. "Not to mention his swordplay in class is barely passable as a knight. If he's royalty, then I'm the Empress of Remnant!"

Ruby had to agree, Jaune wasn't prince material. He was knight material for sure. Everyone knows that knights were usually blonde, kinda dorky, and used swords and shields in an age of mechashift weapons. They were a classic! Maybe his sword looked a little gaudy, but it wasn't decorational from how well it's held up in combat. And just because he said it was a gift from some duke didn't mean he was royalty.

"He technically is royalty." Pyrrha's answer caused every head to snap towards her and her slightly-too-wide polite smile. "His grandmother called herself 'Duke of York', and she said that Jaune would qualify as royalty. She even wanted to knight him herself too." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "If it makes you feel better, Jaune didn't know either."

To say Weiss was gobsmacked would be putting it mildly. If one listened closely, they could hear the glass of her reality shatter to bits. Yang, of course, took advantage of her daze to ask, "So Miss Empress of Remnant, would you like to be addressed as 'Your Icy Majesty' or 'Your Frosty Highness'?"

Ruby tuned them out as she processed this new information. Her first friend, a dorky, awkward person like her, was possibly a Royal Knight! His current sword wasn't just some fancy toothpick, but a majestic arm that needed to be inspected yesterday! He needed a replacement weapon and asked her to help! It was like a blacksmith's fairytale.

"Ruby, could you please stop squealing like a dog whistle?" Blake asked with a pained wince.

Oops! Ruby muttered a quick apology and turned back to Pyrrha. "Where's Jaune right now? I gotta talk to-hhggk!" Ruby clawed at her throat as her hood choked her when she attempted to stand up.

"Oh no you don't!" Weiss said, yanking Ruby back down into her chair. "You are not going anywhere until you're done with your work. Furthermore, it's rude to interrupt private affairs."

"But I gotta ask about his sword!"

"I doubt he'll be going anywhere soon. You can ask him later."

"Yeah, listen to the Empress of Remnant, Rubes," Yang said.

"Quiet, you!"

Pyrrha and the others took the moment to excuse themselves, denying Ruby's freedom from homework. Meanwhile Yang kept teasing Weiss about her empress status.

"Hey, Empresses have concubines, right? Got any openings for buxom blondes?"

"Xiao Long, don't be so vulgar!"

"I'm not hearing a no!"

Despite the circumstances, Jaune enjoyed making small talk with Duke of York. His Dad not as much when she brought up certain embarrassing stories of him at Jaune's age, but they all laughed at it. Just for a while, it was almost like Jaune never left home. Sadly, it didn't last as Duke of York glanced off to the side and said, "It appears we have company."

Jaune twisted in his seat to see both his mom and Ozpin strolling up to them. Their neutral expressions gave nothing away and, to Jaune's slight surprise, he felt naught but anticipation for the results of their talk. With his newfound knowledge, Jaune would face their decision head on.

Ozpin stopped a polite distance back while Carolina crossed the remaining distance. "How much did Duke of York tell you?" she asked. After Jaune recounted the explanation, she took a deep breath and said, "Jaune… let me start by saying I'm sorry for not telling you everything, for pushing you into a position without taking your desires into consideration, and more beyond. I always wanted the best for you, but I guess I mixed up my priorities as a mother and the duties of my post." She chuckled ruefully. "You'd think after eight kids, I'd have this whole 'mother' thing down perfect."

"Yeah, kinda," Jaune said with a small smile of his own. "But for what it's worth, I think you did a pretty good job at it for the most part."

"Aww, Jaune…" Carolina's eyes began to glisten, threatening to overrun. She sniffed and held her arms open. "Forgive me?"

"Of course." Jaune stood up and embraced her. After a tender moment, he added, "Except for the sword sabotage. I'm still a little mad about that. But I may change my mind when I make my new sword."

"Eheheh, I don't mind. Honestly! I'll admit that was not one of my better decisions. But in hindsight, it might have been better than if it broke during initiation."

On that, Jaune would agree. He pulled away after a bit longer and glanced over his mom's shoulder at Ozpin. "So… what's the verdict?"

Carolina's smile twisted into a distasteful frown, like she smelled some rotting fish. She gave a quick nod to Ozpin, allowing him to approach, and said, "As much as I'd like to throw him out his office window for his little stunt, he does have some insight to spare."

"More than 'some', I'd say," Ozpin commented. "I might write a book on my insights some day."

Carolina snorted. "Your insights would fit on a pamphlet, but feel free to make a book. If there's any sense in it, I might knock it into you."

"What your mother is trying to say," Ozpin said, ignoring her comment, "is that we've come to an arrangement in regards to your education. However, we require you to answer a few simple questions for us. Now that you know what's expected of you, do you still wish to become a Huntsman?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in Jaune's voice.

Ozpin gave no outward reaction. "Why's that?"

"Well…" Jaune took a moment to gather his words as there was more than one reason. "If I'm going to be hunting this last enemy then I need to know how to hunt and track. Beacon is the best there is in teaching that, uh, no offense to Minnie. B-but if I'm supposed to be a Commander, then I need to get some practice, and I'm already a team leader so… it's a start?" Jaune made vague gestures as he scrambled for new sentences. "Also, you and the others always say that experience outranks everything. I'm already familiar with everyone back home so it'd be a better experience if I was here with my team. Plus I haven't paid them back yet for helping me at initiation…"

"You want to stay with your new friends, don't you?" Carolina asked, giving him a knowing look.

Jaune blushed in embarrassment, but nodded. How could he not want to stay with people that wanted to hang out with him instead of throwing him into drills, pools, or lectures. Now that he looked back on it, he could remember all the times that the girls back home saw him, but weren't quite looking at him. At first he had passed it off as daydreaming, but now he knew they were looking at what he could be, but not what he already was. His new friends saw Jaune, the blonde noodle with a really weird family. The guy that would play games, talk about boring lessons, and struggle with combat class. A perfectly normal kid. It was an oddly liberating sensation, and Jaune didn't want it to end so soon.

"It's fine," Carolina said. "I should've known but you really needed some human interaction. So here's what we'll do: You can continue your enrollment at Beacon so long as your grades are satisfactory, but you'll also be having some supplemental lessons from us to catch you up on all the other details you need to know. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. I've already made the arrangements with Ozpin to allow some of our tutors into Beacon. They'll make sure you learn everything you need to know as well as giving you a trial run, so to speak, of what's expected of you."

'How hard could that be?' Jaune thought. "Sounds good to me."

"Excellent." Carolina embraced Jaune once more. "Promise to call often?"

Jaune rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Yes, Mom. Every week."

"That's all I ask." She broke away and sighed. "I wish I could stay longer, but I need to put these arrangements in motion as soon as possible."

Though she said that, it took nearly an hour for the actual goodbyes to be said and Jaune's family to board the Bullhead. Jaune tried his best to herd her away, but it was difficult when barraged by questions about his health and habits. But Jaune put up with it and stayed at the Docks until the airship was out of sight. Afterwards, he made his way to the mess hall for dinner, having skipped lunch for tea. It was only thanks to Pyrrha taking their food outside that RWBY didn't assault him with even more questions.

As they sat by a fountain, eating their meal in silence, Jaune reviewed everything he learned today. Duke of York was right, it was a lot to take in, but ignorance was not bliss in this case and Jaune could finally shed the stress of not understanding. Though it came at the cost of some grim realizations, such as wondering how much Ozpin knew about him and if the decision to make him team leader was intentional. Those thoughts were shelved for later in favor of wondering what sort of enemy his grandfather had. Whatever they were, they'd have to wait for future Jaune to take down. Present Jaune just wanted to know who was going to teach him. Hopefully not Roon. Jaune wasn't sure his family could cover the repair bills.

It was well past the witching hour, but for all the sounds that occured in this moment across Beacon, it might as well have been. Team JNPR laid in their beds, all warm and cozied up, dreaming sweet nothings upon their fluffy pillows. Or epic Grimm and syrup battles for the fate of Princess Ren's breakfasts, in the case of a certain snoring valkyrie who was only halfway on her bed now. So wrapped up in these fantasies, the tiny beep of the door's lock turning may as well have been a whisper to them, and the intruder might as well have ghosted through the door for all the sound she made.

This intruder scanned the room until she recognized the form of her intended target, drooling far too much on their pillow. She almost clicked her tongue at the languid sight. She began to approach her target.

She halted mid-step halfway there.

Her eyes took in the bed she passed and the occupant therein, and frowned distastefully at what she saw. The bed had been moved a few inches over, closer to the bed she approached, almost bumping against the night stand. The girl within wasn't sleeping on the edge, but she faced her partner. The dopey, dreamy grin etched upon her face spoke volumes of her debaucherous dreams. They probably involved handholding, long walks on the beach, and chaste kisses under the moonlight.

How lewd.

But a problem for later as for now time was running out. The trespasser moved on and stopped at the head of Jaune's bed where the boy laid facing away from her. She grabbed the covers and pulled them away, but the only reaction she received from Jaune was a squirm as he turned over onto his back and fell back to slumber. But that was expected, and so…

Well... it seemed that at least one part of Jaune was awake and at attention. But perhaps this would be a better wake up call than the original plan.

The maid shuffled down the bed. She reached out….

And dumped the glass of frigid ice water all over Jaune's pajama pants.

Jaune shot up, letting out a sound that vaguely consisted of a gasp and shriek, and nearly threw himself over the foot of his bed. "Cold! Cold! Cold!" His hands slapped at his loins as if to warm himself up by the impacts.

"Buh- Wha-? Jaune?" Pyrrha turned on the light between them, and she watched as Jaune danced around in his soaking nightwear. The light also had the effect of stirring Ren, but Nora was still dead to the world.

With the room illuminated, Jaune noticed there was an extra person in the room. "What the hell was that for?" It took an extra second to recognize who it was. "Sheffield?"

"Apologies, Master Jaune," Sheffield said, in a tone with hardly a remorseful note to it, "But it's time to begin your morning exercise."

"It's five in the morning!"

Sheffield nodded. "The perfect time to train before gorging on food. Now hurry up and get dressed, or I'll make you march in your skivvies until breakfast." She pivoted on her heel and left the room.

Jaune knew better than to try argueing or calling her bluff, though he felt his soul yearn and wail for the lost comfort of his bed. Halfway through changing, his mind finally registered what he saw.

'Was Sheffield wearing a Beacon uniform?'

A/N: You know what's funny? That last scene was written months before this chapter. It's been on hold since the big Initiation battle started! And yet, you'd think the rest of this chapter would be as easy to write. Nah, we got a big bunch of exposition dump here which meant I had to be careful with my words more than usual. It was very stressful (and the past few months at work didn't help).

But hey! We now have some shipgirls at Beacon to knock some sense into Jaune. Ozpin and North Carolina arranged for a small "hunstman team" which means there's three more girls besides Sheffield. See if you can guess who they are. I'll give you one hint: there's no carriers or battleships in the group.

I'm gonna try to get at least one more chapter in by year's end.