AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 7, and we get to meet the Red Prince. He is nothing like he is in canon RWBY, even if he keeps a few of the same lines.

This is something of an intrigue chapter, and some background for the Red Prince and his kingdom, setting up what comes next in this version of the "Ever After." It's also extremely dark, though it doesn't start off that way. On RWBY Wings can get pretty bloody and ugly sometimes, but just like V9, this is where this story arc starts getting pretty gruesome. Reader discretion is definitely advised.

The Cervena Pevnost (Red Keep)

Ostrava, Kingdom of Moravia

12 September 2001

"Wow," Ruby breathed. Whatever else this Red Prince was or did, he certainly had an impressive dwelling. The Cervena Pevnost towered over the old city of Ostrava, built on a thousand-foot slag heap that still leaked white smoke. It gave the Red Keep an otherworldly effect, added to by the fact that the entire structure, except for highlights of white and gold, was entirely blood red. Ruby felt like she was in a fairytale, and not one of the happier ones. As the guards marched Ruby Flight and Little up a wide flights of stairs flanked by more guards—these also dressed in red—the keep seemed even more imposing, with several pyramid-topped towers, crenellated walls, a single high tower, and an even higher carillon, which rang out the hour with a pleasant trill. Two fountains flanked the entrance, splashing on reddish rocks.

"I'm guessing this guy likes red," Yang quipped, but one of the guards shushed her. Captain Lukas was not present; he had left them at the castle helipad. Ruby Flight had been allowed to sleep in a barracks room for six hours and then allowed to shower, but they were given no breakfast. Little, Blake and Yang still wore the homespun Polish farmers' outfits, while Weiss and Ruby still wore their flight suits. None of them were armed.

The five women were told to wait in an anteroom while the Prince was made aware of their presence. Anteroom was an understatement; the room was the size of the dining hall in Schnee Manor back in Poland, and was another confection of red and gold, with wide, perfectly clean mirrors. They sat on chairs of crushed velvet. "I really don't feel dressed for this," Blake remarked.

One of the guards looked at her, and peered closer. "Faunus?" he asked. Blake nodded. He nodded back, then deliberately and slowly spit on the rug, after which he rubbed it out with a boot. "Faunus whore." His companion laughed and said something in Czech, which none of them spoke fluently; it didn't take a linguist to know it wasn't complimentary. Yang started to get up, fists balled, but Blake gently put a hand on her leg. This was no place to start a fight.

The doors to the throne room opened, and an immaculately coffiured man in a uniform of red and blue walked in, his tunic offset by a sash of gold. "You are the prisoners taken yesterday near Pudnik?"

"We are," Ruby replied. "We're NATO fighter pilots—"

"Yes, we'll get to that," the man replied. He gave a short bow from the waist and clicked his heels together. "I am the Prince's Chamberlain." He raised a hand and snapped his fingers, and another guard came briskly forward, holding something wrapped in yet more of the inevitable red, sitting on a brocaded cushion. Ruby recognized it as Penny's Desert Eagle. He motioned to Ruby, and the guard presented it with another bow. "This is the Prince's gift?"

Ruby unwrapped the cloth a little. "Yes."

"Good. You will present it to him. I assume none of you have ever been to court before?"

"I have," Weiss answered. They all looked at her. "Grand Duchy of Luxembourg," she explained. "It's been awhile."

"Ah. Then you are familiar with royal etiquette, at least. But none of the rest of you?" the Chamberlain asked.

"Nope. We're Americans," Yang replied.

The Chamberlain smiled thinly. "Very well." His tone wasn't quite condescending, but it carried a slight note of superiority. "Approach the Prince. Curtsey. Address the Prince as 'Your Highness,' or 'Your Majesty.' 'Your Grace' is also sufficient. Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not make any sudden moves towards the throne, or you will be shot. You may converse in English—the Prince attended Eton, in Britain, and speaks the language quite well. Do not touch the royal clothing or body. Finally, if he invites you to a game…I suggest you accept it. Please." There was a warning in the Chamberlain's tone. "Do you understand?"

"We do," Ruby answered for all of them.

"Excellent. Follow me." The Chamberlain motioned the guards forward, and all of them were marched into the throne room—except they weren't in the throne room yet. It was a long hallway, with more red and gold, more mirrors, and several paintings of famous people in Czech history, culminating in two more recent works, one of the Red Prince, and another obviously of his father and mother. Then two more huge doors were opened, and they walked into a cavernous throne room.

Ruby had kind of expected something that she had seen in movies, with a large dais at one end with a throne. The dais and throne existed, but it was actually more in the center, in the middle of a seven pointed star, itself in the middle of a checkerboard pattern. Soaring columns held up the ceiling, which had windows cleverly put into the corners to let in plenty of natural light, and a huge skylight to top it off, through which they could see the carillon. Winding staircases rose from the far corners of the room. More guards lined the walls, standing at parade rest with pikes rather than the ubiquitous AK-47. They walked down a spotless red carpet that was a slightly darker shade from the other red.

The Red Prince—Cerveny Princ in Czech—sat in the throne, his fingers drumming on the armrests. He wore a uniform as well, the same cut as the Chamberlain's, but with a gold sash and a red cape as well, and an ornate jeweled crown on his head. Ruby was surprised to see that he was young: Jinxy had mentioned that he wasn't much older than Ruby Flight, but he looked to be about the same age. He was handsome, though he was not smiling: he looked supremely bored.

The Chamberlain halted, as did the five women. One of the guards walked into Blake and put a shoulder in her back, causing her to nearly fall and gasp in pain as she twisted her still-healing leg. He stepped back, muttering an apology that was belied by the smile he shared with his friend. The Chamberlain spared them a withering glance. "Your Royal Highness," he intoned, returning his attention to the throne. "I present to you prisoners taken last night across the border. They are fighter pilots from NATO." Ruby saw the Prince's eyebrows go up at that. The Chamberlain glanced at a card. "Captain Ruby Rose and Captain Yang Xiao Long of the United States of Canada Air Force, Captain Blake Belladonna of the United States Marine Corps, and Hauptmann Weiss Schnee of the Luftwaffe." The Prince perked up at the mention of Weiss' last name. The Chamberlain stepped aside and gave Ruby a minute wave of the hand.

Ruby stepped forward and gave an awkward curtsey. "Your Highness." He nodded, and did the same after the other four stepped forward and did the same. Blake's curtsey was better, Weiss managed to make hers look ironic, while Yang's was barely courteous. The Prince didn't seem to notice. He looked at Little, who had not been announced. "Who are you?" His voice was slightly high-pitched.

Nervously, Little replied, "Boguslawa Wojownik. I'm…I'm their guide." It occurred to Ruby that this was the first time she had heard Little's last name.

An eyebrow raised. "Polish? You have guided them here?"

"Er…we were captured last night—"

The Prince waved that aside. "Why are you with them? Do you have family?"

"Er...in...in a way, sir…um, Highness, Your Grace. I…my uncle lives in America. They…"

"Ah, I see," the Prince said in understanding. He returned his attention to Ruby. "I was told you have a gift?"

"Um, yes, Your Highness." Ruby bowed and held up the pistol with both hands. "Your Highness, this magnificent gift is very rare. It is the weapon of the greatest warrior to ever live." Ruby somehow kept her voice from breaking; in her mind's eye, she could see the gentle, childlike smile of Penny Polendina.

The Prince nodded to the Chamberlain, who took the pistol from Ruby and presented it to the Prince. He unwrapped the cloth, his eyebrows came together in confusion, and he stared down at Ruby. "It's a Desert Eagle. And in poor condition."

"Yes, Your Highness," Ruby admitted. "But it belonged to a great warrior."

"What was his name?" The Prince held up the Desert Eagle, and much to Ruby's consternation, pointed it directly at her, his finger on the trigger. The gun would not fire, of course, but she was still looking down the barrel of a .50 caliber pistol.

"Her name was Penny Polendina, Your Highness. She sacrificed herself so that others might live." Ruby kept the wince off her face as the Prince casually pointed the pistol at his Chamberlain's groin, who visibly resisted the urge to dive out of the way.

"Polendina…oh, yes!" The Prince put the pistol back on the cushion it had been on, and the Chamberlain quietly let out a breath of relief. "The girl who was killed earlier in the year when her robot bomber trapped her inside. Yes, yes, I recall that now. A tragedy." He waved off the pistol and it was taken away by a guard. "Not sure I would call her a great warrior, much less the greatest to ever live, but she was obviously your friend, so you are biased." He got up off the throne, stretched for a moment, then walked down the dias to stand in front of them. He was about two inches taller than Ruby. "However, I do respect a warrior's sacrifice, being one myself." Ruby gave him a short nod; it was obvious to her that the closest the Prince had ever been to combat was watching it on television. "And you are a pilot, yes?"

"A fighter pilot, yes, Your Highness," Ruby confirmed.

"Wonderful! I'm a pilot myself!" He grinned. "Not a fighter pilot, though—not yet—but I do have a remarkable collection at the airport. Perhaps if we have time, I can show you them; they're vintage aircraft."

"I'd like that, Your Highness," Ruby said, and for once was not faking cordiality. If there was one thing that could shake her out of her dread, it would be seeing aircraft, especially old ones.

"Well, let's get down to business," the Prince said, clapping his hands. "You are NATO, yes?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"All of you?" He walked over to Yang. His eyes flicked down to her bosom, but she was used to that. He gave her an impressed look, then walked to Blake. "Where are your flight suits?" he asked the two of them.

"We were shot down," Blake explained. She didn't want to say where or when; nothing Jinxy said could now be trusted, and the Prince might just sell them to Salem after all. "Captain Xiao Long and I. We were forced to bail out, and our suits were irradiated, so they had to be disposed of."

"You were injured? You seemed to be limping."

"Slightly, Your Highness, but I'm still mobile."

The Prince suddenly grinned and nudged Blake. "Semper Fi!" The words were said awkwardly, obviously heard from a movie, but Blake found herself smiling all the same. "We will find you new clothes befitting your position, I think." He then went over to Weiss. "You are the Weiss Schnee?"

"I am, Your Highness."

"Splendid! I understand your brother goes to Eton, as I did. Excellent school." He bowed over her hand and kissed it. "My father heard you perform not long before he passed. He remarked on your perfect pitch. I hope that you will sing for me before you leave, Hauptmann Schnee." The mask slipped a little, and his eyes met hers. "You are remarkably attractive." Despite herself, Weiss blushed. Yang smothered a smile, and Ruby bit her lip not to laugh. The Prince cleared his throat and stepped back, once more returning to the ruler rather than a young man who had noticed a beautiful young woman. He marched back to the foot of the dais, his cape fluttering around him. "You are no longer prisoners," he announced, "but guests." He smiled indulgently at Ruby. "So, Captain, what exactly do you desire from me? There's always a catch."

Ruby decided a little honey would not hurt. "Your Majesty, you are as wise as you are…" She faltered, trying to find the right word. She almost said small, but something told her that the Prince did not like his height being commented on. "…ornate." She instantly regretted it; it sounded like she was calling him furniture.

"Thank you!" The Prince beamed.

"In any case, sir, our only request is that you help us get home. To Prague, or maybe Berlin."

The Prince rubbed his chin in thought. "Prague or Berlin. It's so far away."

"That's, um, why we're asking, Your Highness." Ruby didn't think either city was that far at all, but she gave him a sheepish smile.

He was silent for a moment. "I will help you with what you ask."

Ruby curtseyed again. "Thank you, Your Highness—"

The Prince held up a finger. "However, as I said, there is a catch. You must help me." He returned to his throne and sat. "You naturally understand that we face a common threat, NATO and I—that infernal Salem and her forces. They are not far northeast of us, though my spies tell me she has retreated behind the Vistula, and now makes her headquarters somewhere near what is left of Minsk, in the Pripyat Swamps. Ha! An appropriate place for a witch!"

"We do face a common threat, yes, Your Highness," Ruby cautiously agreed.

"Good! Then I will help you get back to your lines, but you must go to your generals, and tell them that I, the Red Prince, can be a valuable ally. While my army is not large…yet…" The admittance was made only reluctantly. "I can still provide basing facilities, food, entertainment, everything a NATO army would need. In return, NATO will officially recognize me as the ruler of my realm—something my father was never given." He bared his teeth at that; it was obviously a sore spot.

"NATO? Not the EU?" Weiss asked, forgetting to add the honorific.

The Prince laughed. "Those bureaucrats? They would talk us to death! They told my father that he must recognize the Czech government as his sovereign and give up his investments, and his title! He told them to go to hell, and so will I!" He was on his feet. "No, the EU is worthless. I would negotiate with NATO, warrior to warrior." He put his hands on his hips triumphantly, and stared down at Ruby. "Can you help me with this, Captain Rose?"

Ruby considered it for a moment. She had nowhere near the power the Prince thought she did, of course, and apparently the Prince was under the impression that she could go straight to the new SACEUR, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, whoever that was. Then again, maybe we can, Ruby thought, assuming the new guy doesn't enforce Ironwood's orders to court-martial us. The Prince's smile had faded, and Yang cleared her throat. Ruby bowed her head to the Prince. "I can—we can, Your Highness. We know someone that can help."

"Ah, and who would that be?" There was now suspicion in the Prince's voice.

"Her name is Rissa Arashikaze," Ruby replied, thinking fast. "She's the head of the Central Intelligence Agency." Arashikaze was actually the Deputy Director of Intelligence, the DDI, but the Prince didn't need to know that.

"The CIA?" The smile returned. "Perfect! Yes, they're known for helping governments, aren't they?" He barked an ironic laugh. "Well, whoever this Arasshi—what was her name?" Ruby repeated it. "Arashikaze. Japanese, interesting. She can help me."

"She certainly can, Your Highness," Ruby said soothingly.

"Good. Then tomorrow afternoon, you will leave for Prague. I want to show you my aircraft first. I will fly you there on my new Gulfstream jet!"

"Not personally," the Chamberlain reminded him.

The Prince rolled his eyes. "No, unfortunately not. Sometimes I'm a prisoner of this damned castle. But you will be flown there."

"All of us?"

The Prince grinned and waved a finger. "I am no fool, Captain Rose. If I sent you all, then you would just forget about the Kingdom of Moravia, wouldn't you? No, no…Captain Xiao Long, Captain Belladonna, and of course Hauptmann Schnee will remain—as my guests." He raised a hand. "You may think 'Ah, he is taking us hostage,' but this could not be further from the truth. As soon as this Arashikaze opens negotiations, they will be allowed to return as well. And I will get to hear Miss Schnee sing."

Ruby looked back at Yang, Weiss and Blake. Blake shrugged. They weren't in a good bargaining position. So did Yang. "It's all good, Ruby," she said. "Besides, it'll give you a chance to catch up with ol' Joe Delta." The Prince cocked his head to one side, and Yang forced a laugh. "Joe Delta. He's a friend of ours, Your Highness. Saw him last week. He calls me Suds." She laughed again. "I'll have to tell you that story, Your Grace. It's a funny one." Ruby knew what Yang was saying, even if it was kind of a lame code: if worse came to worse, Delta Force was still in Europe. Ruby noticed that the Prince hadn't even mentioned Little, but something told her that the Prince had dismissed the Polish girl as a peasant, useless to him.

"I would be honored to sing for you, Your Highness," Weiss said, executing a perfect curtsey. Any questions the Prince might have had about Joe Delta was quickly forgotten.

"It's settled then. To show you my generosity, you will be provided rooms, fresh clothing, and dinner. I request that you not leave the castle, but the west wing is at your disposal. And Captain Rose, you will not travel alone." The Prince grinned hugely, and clapped his hands twice. The doors behind them opened, and in strode a tall Faunus, dressed in an immaculate white tunic, blue pants, and a red sash, his gray tail wagging in excitement. Weiss gasped.

"Marrow?" Blake and Yang exclaimed in unison.

"Ladies." Marrow Amin strode up to them and bowed like a courtier. "Been awhile, huh? Or maybe it just seems like it."

"Grusse Gott," Weiss breathed, "you're alive!" She started to hug him, then caught herself.

"Yep! And I've got one hell of a story to tell, eh?"

The Prince clapped his hands, this time in celebration. "And he'll tell it!" He jumped down the dais stairs and slapped Ruby on the shoulder. "You know my friend Marrow! He told me who you were when you arrived last night. I played a trick on you!" The Prince chortled. "But still, it is good to know you are among friends. You have confirmed Marrow's story. He also mentioned Miss Arashikaze. So then tomorrow, you, Captain Rose, and you, my good friend Lieutenant Amin, will go to Prague and we will get the ball in play!"

Marrow gave a friendly nod. "You bet, Your Highness."

"Ah, enough of that 'your highness,' Marrow! You can call me Lewis!" He elbowed Ruby. "This man cheats at cards. Cheats, I tell you! Me! I wanted to behead him!" The Prince laughed uprariously. "In any case, you have much to catch up on, and I'm sure you ladies would like to freshen up. I'm afraid I cannot join you for dinner tonight, but trust me, you will be well fed! You might not even want to leave after you eat my food." He shook hands with Marrow, then turned and went back to the dais. "Well, then, my new friends. Until the morning."

"Excuse me, Your Highness." The Chamberlain bent over and whispered in the Prince's ear. His smile instantly disappeared. "What?" He whirled on them, and Ruby swallowed involuntarily. "Who did this?"

The Chamberlain pointed at the two guards who had insulted Blake. "Them, Your Highness."

The Prince stalked forward, brushing past Ruby, and grabbed Blake's arm. The two guards instantly quailed. "Did you insult her?"

"We did not, Your Grace—"

"Liars!" the Prince shouted. "Are you calling my Chamberlain, a man in my family's employ for twenty years, a liar? He said that you spit on my carpet and called this woman, this…this Marine, a Faunus whore! That you wondered if the pussy has a pussy!"

"No, sir!" one of the guards protested. "That's...that's not-"

"Now you're calling me a liar? You think I'm blind, and I didn't see you try to trip this wounded warrior? I'll not have anti-Faunus racism in this kingdom!" He motioned to the other guards, who stepped forward and took the other two guards' weapons. "Now take them outside and shoot them!"

Blake looked at the Prince. "Your Highness, I don't know if that's necessary—"

"It is necessary! I won't have fools in my employ!" He let go of Blake's elbow, and turned to Marrow. "My friend, would you like to shoot them?"

"Ah, no, Lewis, I think I'm good to go."

"Fine, fine." He looked angrily at the other guards. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go!" The guards dragged out their erstwhile comrades, who were pleading for mercy. The Prince contemptously turned his back on them. "My apologies, Captain Belladonna. I'll not tolerate that behavior. Please, enjoy yourselves."

"T-Thank you, Your Highness," Blake stammered. The Prince indugently waved them towards the door, and they pretended not to hear the sounds of automatic weapons fire, and screams.

"Well," Yang said, "he may be a ruthless son of a bitch, but he's got good taste." She looked in the mirror. Part of her had expected ball gowns—the Red Prince seemed to be the type who liked that sort of thing—but instead, he had supplied Ruby Flight with uniforms similar to that of his guards. They were smart, well turned out red uniforms with white sashes, giving them a Napoleonic feel. "I guess this is old hat to you, huh, Weiss?"

Weiss wore a similar uniform, and sat on the bed to braid her hair. It did remind her of Herrencheimsee, though her father had never had his family wear 18th Century military uniforms. "To be honest, Yang…a little."

"Man, forget going back home to Patch. I want to go to your palace, Weissy." Yang turned as Blake walked in from the bathroom. Her uniform was not red, but dark blue, though the sash was red. "Whoa, check out the Marine here!" Yang came to ironic attention, snapping off a cadet-style salute. "You look fine, Captain."

"I ought to." Blake sat down next to Weiss and brushed out her hair. "These pants are a lot tighter than Marine dress blues. If I fart, I'm going to blow off both my boots like a double-barreled shotgun." She lifted herself off the bed, trying to find a comfortable position. "God, this shows off my ass."

"Hey, even the Prince likes himself a Bellabooty." Blake gave Yang a dirty look. Yang pointed to her chest, which the uniform was straining mightily to keep contained. "Pretty sure that's why my shirt's kinda tight. I saw him looking at my boobs. He may be royalty, but he's still a dude."

Weiss finished her braid. "He seems all right, but there's still something not quite right about him."

"Other than shooting two of his guards just because they insulted Blake?" Yang shook her head. "I can see beating the crap out of them-I wanted to do that-but shooting them?"

"I agree," Blake said, "but we don't know if we can trust anything Jinxy told us. Maybe he was only saying all that about drugs and trafficking to keep us from coming here."

The door between the adjoining door opened, and Ruby and Little came in. Ruby wore a uniform similar to Yang's, though her shoulders were adorned with gold epaulettes and an aguillette cord, as befitting her rank. Little, on the other hand, wore no uniform: she did have a ball gown, all yellow silk. Yang grinned. "Look at you, Little!"

"You like it?" Little twirled around. "I feel like I'm Belle in Beauty and the Beast!"

"I feel like I'm Napoleon," Ruby remarked.

"Hey, we might as well look the part. I always wondered what I would've looked like back then." Yang admired herself in the mirror. "Charge," she intoned. "Nah, let's try it from a different angle…" She assumed a different pose. "Charge! There we go." She winked at Ruby, who tried to smile. Yang was acting foolish, but it was an attempt to cheer up her sister, get her mind off the fact of where they were.

Weiss pulled her boots on. Like everyone else's footwear except Little's, they were high, polished black boots. "Getting back to what you were saying, Blake…I don't much like the idea of cooling our heels here, having me sing for the Prince, while Ruby and Marrow go to Prague and somehow convince Arashikaze to recognize Moravia. That could take awhile."

"I don't like it either," Ruby said, "but what choice do we have? This place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. We have to wing it. Arashikaze will help us." I hope, Ruby added. The CIA woman had proven herself somewhat trustworthy, but she had also proven herself ruthless. She probably had written off Ruby Flight. Ruby felt rudderless, but there was nothing else to do but go along with the Prince and hope for the best.

There was a knock on the door, and Yang opened it. Marrow came in; behind him were two guards. "Hey, ladies!" He stopped and gave a low whistle. "Whoa." His tail started wagging.

"Like what you see, stud?" Yang snickered.

"I sure as hell do," Marrow replied. "Anyway, dinner is being served, and rations are top notch here. You girls ready to eat until you can't move?"

"That sounds pretty good," Ruby said. She yawned. "I managed to snag about an hour nap, anyway. Hope I don't go into a carb coma."

"Well, follow me." Marrow led them out into the hallway. They went down a few doors before Marrow snapped his fingers. "Oh hell…forgot something." He stopped at a door. "This is my room. Hey, Sergeant!" One of the guards came to attention. "Why don't you guys go ahead? We'll meet you there, eh?"

The sergeant looked a bit confused. "Ah, sir, we have no orders—"

"Look, the Prince is my friend, okay? He said we had the run of the west wing, so we don't need guards! I'll keep an eye on the girls here, eh?" The sergeant still didn't move, unsure, so Marrow raised his voice. "Sergeant, that's an order. I will tell the Prince you were being rude. You don't want that, right?"

"No, sir." The sergeant had gone pale.

"Then get lost. Oh, and make sure that the Prince's taste testers are at dinner. He told me that he wanted them there to honor our guests, and if they weren't there, there would be hell to pay. Understand?"

"Sir!" The sergeant turned and led the other guard away. Marrow smiled and motioned them in his room.

The Prince had given Ruby Flight two rooms—one with three beds for Weiss, Blake and Yang, and one with a single bed and couch for Ruby and Little. Both were the equal of high-end European hotels. Marrow's room was the same, and also the same size. This time, it was Yang who gave a low whistle. "Wow, Marrow—you sure you want to come back with us? You seem like you have a sweet deal here."

Marrow laughed. "Yeah, Lewis is a good guy." He raised his hand for silence as he crossed the room. "Anyway, looking forward to catching up with you at dinner. Got to tell you the story how I ended up here." They watched mystified as he pulled a rolled up pair of socks from a drawer and stuffed them into a hole by the air vent. Then he quickly went back past them and closed the door. "Listening tube," he whispered. "They're old fashioned. You've got one in your room—you too, Ruby. The phones are bugged too, I think, but they only work in the castle anyway. We've got a few minutes before anyone gets suspicious."

"What's going on?" Ruby wanted to know.

Marrow took a deep breath, keeping his voice low. "I'll tell you how I got here at dinner, but trust me on this: the Red Prince seems like a good guy, but he isn't. I've been here for four days. The first one was getting to know him and convincing him not to sell me to Salem."

"He hates Salem!" Weiss protested.

"Yeah, he does. But he's trying to play both ends against the middle. He was going to sell me to her to ingratiate himself with her, at the same time trying to convince NATO that he's on their side. Smart, really…but the Prince isn't as smart as he sounds, or as cultured. He took a liking to me and decided not to sell me to Salem."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"He's obsessed with games. I do mean obsessed. When he was sitting there chatting with me about selling my Faunus tail off to the Wicked Witch of the East, I offered to play him a hand of cards for my freedom. The Chamberlain suggested it to me. I haven't figured him out yet, if he loves the Prince or hates him, but he suggested it. So we played poker, which luckily I'm good at." He chuckled. "And I didn't cheat. Anyway, the Prince thought that was great, and he gave me my freedom on the spot—as long as I'm willing to help him with NATO. Of course I agreed, eh? We ended up playing poker all night." He checked the clock. "Look, we don't have a lot of time. Second day here, we really hit it off. Ironwood had briefed us about the rumors about the Prince, and I was thinking, well, here's another thing Ironass was wrong about.

"But he wasn't." Marrow glanced at the listening tube. "Fuck, he was right. Third day, yesterday, we eat dinner together. Then the Prince asks me if I wanted a little 'horizontal entertainment.' Hell, I figure he's going to get me laid, and it would be impolite to refuse, so I said why not." He looked at Weiss. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me for?" Weiss shrugged. "None of my business."

"Yeah, well…he takes me to this place below the palace, downstairs, in the basement. Hell, I thought we were going down to a dungeon or something. It's not—it's basically a brothel. Rank has its privileges, right? Well, the girls are pretty as everything, most of them were buck ass naked, and I haven't gotten any since my girlfriend broke up with me after flight—anyhow," Marrow continued, seeing the impatient looks on their faces, "I was going along with it. Then I notice that the girls all have this glazed expression. I told the Prince, and he laughed. 'They'll do anything,' he tells me…and then he shows me. I'm not going into the details, but it definitely cooled my ardor."

"Kerasine," Ruby said.

"How did you know?" Marrow was surprised.

"Because that fucking prick Jinxy Peddler was going to do the same to us. Him and his friend Monika," Yang growled. "They were going to drug our asses and sell us to Salem too."

"Monika? Monika Bylinkar?" Marrow asked.

"That was the name we heard," Little replied.

"Shit. You guys are lucky. That's the Herbalist. She's the Prince's procurer. I've never seen her, but boy have I heard her name. The Prince was bragging about it." Marrow checked the clock again. "We gotta get going here, but let me tell you this. Monika finds pretty girls. They're brought here as house staff, and then they get them drugged out on kerasine. Once they're strung out on that shit, they will literally do anything they are asked. You could convince them they could fly and touch the moon, and they will jump off the carillon. In their minds, they've suddenly sprouted wings, and they're in some sort of euphoric state. That thing the Prince showed me? They were happy as clams to do it. If you told them they were being sold into sex slavery, they'd smile and say it sounded great. The Prince bragged about it. It's how he makes his money—that and smuggling. Last night, sitting in that brothel, watching him order them around—he had them set up on a goddamn chess board. Naked chess, with the girls as the pieces-with me on one side and him on the other." He shuddered. "Christ Almighty, ladies. This place isn't some sort of cool castle and the Red Prince isn't some eccentric ruler trying to stay afloat between Salem and NATO. It's hell on earth, and he's Satan."