AN: I am sorry this one took so long folks. The last month has been hectic for me between work and having had to travel across country. I don't have much to say for this chapter as it is mostly setting up what comes next. I hope you all enjoy! - Phoenix Commander signing off!


Chapter Six

As the three goddesses and their chosen looked down the hill from where they stood, they could see the long line of merchants and travelers waiting to gain entry into Mistral's capital. None of them wished to suffer the line for fear of the gates closing once more.

"I've never seen so many people gathered in one place. All this just to enter the city." Nora exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I can hear them even from here. You can imagine how much louder it will be if we join the line." Blake said, wincing in distaste at the thought of the noise.

"Was it like this in Atlas, Weiss?" Ren asked the priestess-in-training.

"I couldn't say by sight. But it was certainly this loud on occasion." The white haired woman replied as she looked over the line of people. "Mostly whenever father was holding court to hear the wishes of the people."

Ruby nodded toward the line of travelers even as she looked at Weiss. "What do you think our chances are of just jumping to the front, Weiss? You are the daughter of a shogun after all."

The blue-eyed Fateless nodded in thought at the goddess of life's question. "I did not send word to Shogun Lionheart that I would be visiting the provincial capital, however I do not think it will cause too much trouble, dignitaries are not uncommon after all."

"But how much attention might that bring on us if we do enter the city openly like that?" Yang mused aloud. It was not that the goddess of death wished to stay hidden, but if Taurus was hiding in the city he could be warned and that troubled her. As of yet they had no way of knowing if he was even there.

Weiss shook her head at Yang's question. "I can simply order the guards at the gate to be silent about our entry. That will at least buy us some time before any word can spread, assuming Taurus is even here."

Ren looked between the crowd of people and the gates as he nodded in agreement with Weiss' suggestion. "At the very least we would have a roof over our heads, and avoid the hassle of the crowd. The sight of a crowd that big sets me on edge, no telling what could happen if we waited too long in it."

"I am all for getting into the city as soon as we can. And I would be lying if I said that an actual bed and a bath were not appealing." Ruby interjected as she looked at Nora and Blake with an arched eyebrow. "Nora, Blake, any thoughts on the matter?"

"We have to get into the city no matter what we decide, might as well be in a way that can give us an advantage." Nora replied as she observed the crowd. It was the first time she had seen a crowd of that size or a true city. There was a large part of the shrine maiden that wanted to take in all that she could of the new experience, but a small part of her held back. "As long as we don't find any trouble, I say we do it."

"Blake, your thoughts?" Ruby asked again. The goddess of healing had remained quiet throughout the exchange. What is on your mind?

"You may have to blindfold yourself again, Weiss." Blake said, looking carefully at Weiss. The goddess of healing did not want her to wear a blindfold again, but it was not a choice for her to make. "Are you comfortable with doing that?"

"The rulers of the empire know that I am blind." She said with a small shrug of her slender shoulders, resigned to the plan. "If I do not wear a blindfold it could certainly bring up questions we may not want to answer, if not bring trouble down on us. Besides, until a few days ago I had been blind my whole life. A few hours today will not bother me."

"Very well. We will enter the city openly." The raven-haired goddess said, smiling faintly at her student's words. But you will still see. I promised you that you would, Weiss, and I will keep my promise.


It did not take them long to get to the crowd of people that was winding its way toward the city gates. Stopping well short of the line, Weiss unstrung her bow to use it as a cane and pulled the white cloth blindfold from within her sleeve. There was a small part of her that hesitated to wrap the cloth over her eyes again, but she ignored it. The priestess-in-training placed the cloth over her eyes once again and tied the cloth firmly in place.

"Are you ready, Weiss?" Blake asked, giving the young woman her arm to lean on.

A small smile curled at her lips as she replied, "I am. Let us see what the city of Mystral has waiting for us."

Slowly the six travelers began to work their way through the crowd. Weiss and Blake walked in front as Yang, Ren, Ruby, and Nora walked behind them in a loose crescent. The whispers and murmurs from the crowd seemed to cut through the noisy air as conversations died. None of the onlookers moved to block them as they walked.

Uncomfortable with the staring, Nora unconsciously tightened her grip on the strap of her hammer. "I didn't think about how all these people would react to us. You would think that they had never laid eyes on servants of the gods."

"I will say, this does not sit well with me either." Ruby replied, grimly as she looked the people over as they passed them. She could see the fear pouring out from their aura, the sight of its crimson glow against the white glow of their life force twisted a knot in her stomach. She wanted to stop, to help at least a few of them, but for the time being she couldn't. "They have not been doing well here."

"It seems we will need to have a long talk with Shogun Lionheart." Yang agreed, her hands clenching despite the lack of obvious danger. "People do not gather like this unless something has happened. We have missed much, Father was right to send us out from the shrines."

"I have to agree." Blake said, unconsciously tightening her grip on Weiss' arm as they walked to keep from losing her in the crowd.

Weiss started to speak up about the goddess' grip on her arm, as her nails had dug into the cloth of her sleeve causing her to wince, only to find herself glancing down at herself as the goddess gave her a small apologetic smile and loosened her grip. And that was what gave her pause, she had 'seen' herself through the goddess' eyes. Blake held a finger to her lips as they walked and reached out to her with her mind. The goddess soon stood before her student in the clear mountain stream, a ring of belladonna lilies floating around them in the chill water.

"You are still a bit colder than I am used to, Weiss." The amber eyed goddess said, shivering slightly even as a soft laugh escaped her lips at the look of surprise on her student's features.

The blue-eyed priestess arched an eyebrow at her remark before she found her voice. "I am not sure if I can help that, Sensi. How am I seeing through your eyes?"

"I promised you that you would always see unaided." Blake answered with a small shrug of her shoulders. "This was simply the easiest way for me to keep my promise to you."

"That does not answer my question though."

"I am mingling a small part of your aura with my own to allow you to see through my eyes." The goddess answered, gesturing at the ring of belladonna lilies that surrounded them despite the stream's current. "As to how you are doing so, well that is entirely your doing."

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, her confusion growing. She wanted to see the whole picture, it was the only way she could truly help herself and those she now called her friends.

"A small part of you still wishes to see beyond that blindfold, it is that part of you that is letting you see with my eyes." The amber-eyed goddess replied, nodding in understanding at her question. "However, if you wish to see with your own eyes again you need only open them."

"Will this happen every time I close my eyes?" The blue-eyed healer asked, wishing to know how to treat this gift her teacher was giving her.

"Only if you want it to and never before." Blake replied, giving her an understanding smile. Changing the way Weiss could see with a literal blink of her eyes would be jarring.

"And if I wish for you to see through my eyes?" She asked, already beginning to see a way that this could benefit both of them.

The goddess' smile grew at her student's question. It was not something she had considered, but now that the question had been raised she was intrigued at the prospect of it. "Then you have only to tell me and I will do so. Though you may end up looking through my eyes in the process."

"Very well, Sensi." Weiss said, bowing slightly to her as a small curled at her lips. She was pleased that her goddess was intrigued with her idea.

"Still so formal, Weiss." Blake said with a chuckle, as she gestured for Weiss to stop bowing to her. "One day I will be only Blake or Sasuri to you, and you will never bow to me again. I will melt that shell of yours."

"Someday, Sensi, but not today." The healer replied, her smile growing at her teasing words.


They reached the gates of the city still unnerved with how quickly the crowd let them through. Nora had not loosened her grip on her hammer and Ren had kept his hands resting on the hilts of his kodachi. The four guards waited before them with their weapons drawn, barring their way.

"If you are here to enter the city I am afraid you will need to be searched." One of the men said as he stepped forward.

Yang frowned at the bored way in which he had spoken. She glanced at Weiss and caught the irritated stiffening in her back and the tightening of her grip on her unstrung bow; it was plain to the goddess of death that not many people had addressed the healer in that way before. "Is it not plain that you are addressing a daughter of the Atlas shogunate and her retinue?" She asked, a hint of her own irritation coloring her voice.

"I am Weiss Schnee of Atlas." She said before the man could find a reply, turning her blindfolded eyes in his direction. "With me are the disciples of Seikatsu, Shi, and Sasuri. You will tell me why it is that we need to be searched and then I will discuss this with Shogun Lionheart."

Ruby arched an eyebrow at Weiss' back, she couldn't tell if the others had noticed the change in the young woman, but she had. It was faint, but she could just make out the hint of frosted air wisping off of her. The goddess of life let her thoughts reach for Blake while at the same moment she slipped her hand into Nora's and pulling her close, murmured into her ear. "Lesson one of aura control, Dearest Nora. Do not let your emotions rule you. Weiss is certainly a cold one and Blake needs to remind her of that lesson."

Nora looked at the white-haired healer's back, she could see the agitation in her stance. The stiffness of her shoulders, the clenching of her jaw. But she could also see the faint frosting of the air that the goddess of life had witnessed. The shrine maiden nodded in understanding even as she gripped her hammer tighter and lightly squeezed the hand nestled in her own before letting go.

Blake felt the faint brush of Ruby's mind on her own, a faint scent of roses filled her nostrils. The goddess of healing opened her mind to her friend, "I know what you are going to say. I am working on it, have no fear."

"I am not the one risking frostbite at this moment, Sasuri." The red-haired goddess remarked dryly as she started to withdraw from her friend's thoughts. "Best say something now to keep her calm."

"Lady Schnee, be at peace." Blake said gently interjecting as she finally sensed the cold emanating from her. She held back a wince as she noticed her fingers had reddened just by holding onto the blindfolded healer's arm. "I am sure he means no disrespect."

"As you say, Sensi." Weiss replied, taking a slow, deep breath. She felt a surge of regret and worry as she glanced at her hand through Blake's eyes and felt the biting cold in her hand. "Yet, I still want that explanation, Soldier. At the least I should know why all these people have come."

"I am sorry, Lady Schnee. Please forgive me. We have been tasked with searching and recording everyone that enters the city." The man answered in a ramble as he stood at attention as if she had slapped him. "There have been many refugees as of late, rumor is that Vacuo is moving against us. Many of those behind you are from border towns that feel threatened."

"We know that you are only doing as you have been ordered." Weiss said, nodding in thought. If Vacuo was moving in on territory that Mistral had a claim to it would explain the crowd. "But is this truly necessary? As my companions can attest, none of the people we passed are fighters. Just desperate for safety."

"I am truly sorry, my Lady, but I cannot go against my orders. Just tell me why you are traveling here and we shall let you pass." The soldier replied with a regretful shake of his head. She was not wrong in saying that the people are nothing more than refugees, but he couldn't change the procedures. "Though I will at least address your words to my captain. He might be able to do something, at the very least we should have a few men out here to protect them while they wait to enter the city."

Weiss smiled slightly at him, it wasn't what she had hoped to hear but it was something "We are making a pilgrimage to all of the shrines and the provincial capitals before I officially take the rites to become a disciple of Sasuri. We started at the shrines in Kuroyuri and have made our way here."

"If I may ask, is there any news from the village?" Another of the guards asked as the first guard motioned to let them through. Ren could see the worry in his eyes but the only news he had of the village was not good. "I have family there but have not had a word from them in some time."

"The only news that we can give is that the shrines of life and death were destroyed five days ago. That is another reason for us coming here." Ren replied, giving the man a small apologetic smile as he stepped past him. "We wish to find the one responsible and we seek Shogun Lionheart's council."

"The shrines were destroyed… Shall we send word ahead for the palace to expect you?" He asked, his face darkening at the news.

Weiss shook her head at his question. "No, we do not wish to make any more of a scene than we have already."

"I wish you all luck then." The guard replied somberly as he took his place once more with the others watching the gates.


"You were quiet while we made our way through the crowd, Ren." Ruby said as they continued down the wide street in the heart of the city. "Tell me, what did you make of it all?"

"I think I could sense their fear before we even reached the first of them." The priest replied with a dark shadow swirling in his eyes. "I had a knot in my stomach from the feel of it."

"As did I." Nora interjected even as she looked around them as they walked. Her mood had lightened somewhat as she took in the sounds and sights of a proper city. "I thought it was just some apprehension about seeing the city but as we got closer it only got worse."

"Weiss?"

"I think I was too focused on other things. I didn't even notice the crowd." She answered with a small, embarrassed, shake of her head. Worried that she could have missed something important. Her bow tapped lightly at the street in front of her to keep up her disguise. "At least not at first."

"That would be my doing. I had not intended it, but our conversation distracted you from it." Blake said irritated with herself for having distracted Weiss from a possible learning experience. "Though you likely would have felt the same as Nora and Ren."

"Is that how you receive prayers or find Grimm? Through the emotions of the people?" Ruby's shrine maiden asked, her turquoise eyes shining with interest.

"It does play its part in helping us track Grimm. They are drawn to turmoil, so any disaster could draw them in as they hope to claim the souls of those affected." Ruby replied, a small smile on her lips at the eagerness in Nora's expression. "Prayers are different, in that they come from the people directly and we hear them simply by listening. It is not too different from an everyday conversation in that regard, fulfilling them however, well you may see that soon enough."

Yang gave Ruby an exasperated look as she gently swatted her sister on the shoulder at having moved so far from her original train of thought. "The point that my sister has lost track of is that you will be sensing emotions like that from now on. It will help you know if someone needs aid or give you clues to possible Grimm."

"You think Grimm could be behind Vacuo's actions?" Ren asked a worried look flashing across his face before it vanished, dissolved into the calm mask he had worn for the last week. I need to stay calm; I need to focus on the here and now. Not what is happening elsewhere, there is not enough time for that just yet.

The goddess of death nodded at his question. "They very well could be. But people do act without the influence of Grimm. This could simply be jealousy on the part of Vacuo's shogun or some slight that Lionheart may have done to him."

Nora looked ahead of them at the palace, its rooftops still hidden in the late morning mist. The tall walls were patrolled by armed guards. Beautifully colored pennants snapped in the morning wind. Yet part of her shuddered at the thought of entering it. She was not sure why; it did not look foreboding. It looked welcoming and safe, as if the soldiers inside its walls would pour out at the first sign of danger and protect the people.

"What troubles your thoughts, my dearest shrine maiden?" Ruby asked, following her gaze.

"I'm not sure, but something about seeing the palace makes my skin crawl." She replied, tearing her gaze from the palace and looking at the stalls that lined the street. She felt sick, it was not the same as the fear she had felt from the crowd, it was tinged with something else. "There is something wrong here. And it's not the people, I think it may be the palace."

"What did you feel?" The goddess of life asked, protectively placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Fear the same as with the crowd. But something else, it was faint as if it was being hidden. I'm not sure what it was though." The shrine maiden answered as the feeling grew. She felt bile start to rise in her throat as Ruby ushered her to a side street.

"Let your fear fade, let peace rest on your shoulders, there is only calm and serenity for you are with me." Ruby incanted, her hands glowing softly as she placed one of them over Nora's eyes and placed the other over her heart. She felt the orange-haired woman relax, senseless, in her arms. "Nora, can you hear me?"

"Yes, my Lady Seikatsu." She murmured, her storm-filled eyes darting from behind half closed lids.

"My dearest right hand. I need you to recall what you were feeling just now, I know it will be difficult, but you must try." The goddess ordered as she looked through the morass of Nora's thoughts.

"Fear and yet I also felt safe. As if the palace could protect me no matter what was happening." The senseless woman said, her voice monotone. "But there was another faint emotion as if only felt by a few, not like that of the fear from the crowd."

"Can you describe it?" Ruby asked as she found the thoughts she was searching for, though she could not make sense of them. Just as Nora had told her, that small hint of another emotion was too faint for her to see clearly beneath the chaotic mixture of crimson fear and golden peace.

"No, my Lady. Only that it was far worse than the fear." The hypnotized shrine maiden replied, a faint mist of tears brimming in her eyes at her perceived failing. "I am sorry to have failed you in this."

"You have not failed me. You never have and never will." The goddess replied warmly as she removed her hand from Nora's eyes and from over her heart.

"Ruby?" She was confused at what had just occurred.

"We will talk once we have settled in. But for now, I suggest we find an inn rather than head to the palace, the sooner the better and then we will take in the sights of the capital." The silver-eyed goddess said, gesturing back toward the street and where the others waited for them. What was it that you sensed, Nora? We will need answers before long, I only hope the trouble it may be is not too dangerous.