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A pair of high-heels clicked and clacked on the fine marble of the seemingly endless hallway. Each step resonated an imposing echo that bounced off the walls and columns of her castle.

Meet Weiss Schnee. A young cold-hearted mistress with long braided white hair and equally pale white skin. She was none other than the latest sovereign queen of the Valean empire of Sanus. Once a giant stretch of land under her grandfather's name, now a prosper domain for hers and hers alone to fiddle with it.

And unlike her predecessor Saint Nicholas (first and tragically last of his name), his granddaughter wasn't nowhere near kind as the old king once was, for young Weiss had taken the teachings of her cruel father to heart.

Which lead to her ripping out her own father's heart at the age of fourteen, ironically enough.

Now fully grown up with an iron fist to boot, Weiss spent her days as a ruthless ruler ensuring that no matter what befell her kingdom, she would always strive to preserve the biggest legacy of the Schnee name…

Her tantalizing, treasured tush.

Passed down to Weiss by her mother Willow (May the gods grant her soul eternal rest) was her prized posterior that had been in the family for generations. Even while hidden under her regal dress coupled with a long cape, the Queen took great pride in having the most perfect pair of assets in the whole world. Rumors spread to other kingdoms about the visage of such gift, sometimes even overshadowing the atrocities committed in her name.

And she would do everything in her power to keep it that way. No other mortal would ever surpass her in that one specific aspect, be it man or Faunus.

With all that in mind, Weiss found herself paying a visit to a special ornament of hers. A magic vanity mirror arranged on the most safely guarded venue of her castle. Flanking from both sides of that long corridor were rows of spectral Arma-Gigas, tasked of guarding those walls and their sovereign with all their essence.

At last, Queen Weiss stood before the circular mirror mounted on the wall after a tiring stroll across her castle. An everyday stroll she put up with if only to appease her mood. Should the results of this daily ordeal be the same as every other day, she would then return to the throne room with a smirk knowing what she and many others already did. If not… No. It would not be different. Never in a million years it would.

Be as it may, she chanted the same question she did to that same mirror every day ever since she was crowned Queen of Vale.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the thiccest of them all?"

The mirror did not respond. Nor had it ever done so. The reflection of her own person was enough answer for her.

Weiss was not particularly tall. That much she was aware of and would gracefully accept if anyone told her so (twelve years in the dungeons was graceful coming from her). But what she lacked in stature she more than made up for it with her delightfully defined derriere. If anything, her height helped accentuate her curves even more.

So for Weiss to see her own reflection only served to prove her suspicions correct once more. The mirror had made its choice. It was in plain sight for her to see.

She in turn let out a smirk, already preparing to trek all the way back to her rightful throne for another day of errands. A kingdom could not rule by itself, as one might think.

However, just as she was about to take her leave, she saw something unusual from the corner of her eye. Looking back at the mirror, she couldn't see herself anymore. She couldn't even see the interior of her castle.

Instead of the extensive void of the hallway behind her, all she saw was… Him.

From within the confines of the vanity mirror before her, Weiss saw what she would describe as the most Cottagecore boy she had ever seen in her entire life. A young blond man cheerfully walking through a grassy field with a basket in hands, picking up flowers as he went by. Someone so pathetic and frail a sneer from her would have sent him crying back to his mama.

It quickly became apparent to her this was one of the Arc's offsprings. A family so big, their lineage rivaled the likes of hers. Once fabled to be kingdom's greatest heroes, now reduced to a bunch of poor farmers on the countryside. And from what she could see, their son was a true testament of how far they have fallen.

Why was the mirror showing her this? What could it be so important about this boy for that piece of gothic décor to be wasting her precious time like that?

Then the boy in question bended over a bush to collect more flowers. A simple act that made it all much clear to her.

Weiss couldn't put into words what she was seeing. For one, the sullied overalls the boy was wearing weren't doing him any justice.

It was like two perfectly round melons firmly attached to his lower body. Such size and rotundness, like a pair of perfectly shaped door-knobs, twisting and turning at his every move. From looks alone, it could very well deflect literal bullets had those been invented yet.

Surprise turned to admiration. Admiration to jealously. Jealously to…

The boy was gone. And in his place was her own reflection. The mirror showed Weiss standing in that same hallway as always. This time however, she caught herself extending her arm towards the mirror.

She retracted her arm immediately. Just how… How dare that idiot make a fool of her! Who does he think he is trying to usurp her title!

"This will not stand…" Weiss trembled with rage. It was only a matter of time until the people grew aware of the Arc's recently acquired booty. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

The Arc family was big enough as it is. They would not mind if a single member of theirs was gone for good.

"Fetch me my Huntress!" Ordered Weiss to one of her spectral knights.


A spiral staircase paved the way to the Queen's private chambers. An entirely too common path taken by a certain red-hooded figure.

Officially, one would need the Queen's permission to speak to her in the throne room if only to discuss their services. The same applied for any Huntsmen worth their salt.

Unofficially, a little ice bird would tell one Ruby Rose to meet up with the sovereign herself in her own bedroom. It was the only place where the Queen felt comfortable discussing rather private business away from prying eyes.

Ever since as a small child, Ruby always sought to hone in on her skills so one day she could become a brave Huntress just like her mother. Grimm of the most ferocious kind were on the rise in her kingdom, and killing them was what she excelled at.

But things changed rather drastically once she started working for the crown. While under the Queen's wing, Ruby quickly learned that not only she was good at killing Grimm, but also good at killing pretty much anything besides just Grimm.

And thus, she became the Queen's go-to Huntress for assassination assignments. Once a kind innocent soul, now a fearsome reaper adorning her signature red cloak. Red from all the bloodstains on it.

Arriving at the door, Ruby carefully inputted a specific combination of knocks kept in secrecy between her and the sovereign herself.

One knock, three knocks, one knock, pause… Two knocks.

Like clockwork, it was opened. A single Arma-Gigas held up the door, saluting the hooded reaper as she went in. Ruby paid no mind to the ghost-like suit of armor and walked towards the lit fireplace, where her Queen long awaited.

Unveiling her red hood, Ruby respectfully saluted the almighty sovereign standing before her.

"S'up, bestie."

"AHEM!" Weiss nearly growled at her subordinate. "Must you lack proper manners every time we meet up in secret? Does thou forget who you are addressing right now?"

"Eh. Manners, schmanners." Ruby shrugged. "So, what did you call me for?"

With a sigh, Queen Weiss resumed her refined posture. "As my most loyal and reliable Huntress, I believe you already know the nature of the request for which I summoned you here."

"Well, this is your bedroom. So it's either a booty-call, or you want me to take someone out of the picture." Ruby pondered. "And seeing how it's never the former, someone must've really pissed you off today."

"I will not entertain your foolishness, miss Rose." Weiss pulled an envelope kept in her possession. "It appears I have stumbled upon a… Conspirator. Someone who seeks to soil my name and legacy I have fought so hard for. A matter so daunting I see no choice but to request your services once again."

The fireplace next to them kept cracking as the envelope was handed to the unamused reaper. With immense care, Ruby unfolded the letter containing the details about her target. Looking back to the Queen, the loyal reaper sought to express her concerns about this quest.

"…Weiss, what the frackety frick is this?"

"Hmph! I must warn you to watch your tone with me, miss Rose. It is very unbecoming of you." Weiss was unimpressed with her response. "Does thou have any qualms hunting down this one specific miscreant?"

"Oh, I don't know. I just think my skills are going to waste here, don't you think?" Responded Ruby, pointing at the inscription on the letter. "Like, for real? You're sending me to kill some no-name peasant? Just last month I was sent to infiltrate a gala event in Atlas and assassinate some important Duke named Henry because he had the 'gal' to ask for your hand in marriage via pigeon-mail."

"And I am certain the afterlife is doing marvelous job teaching him some humility as we speak." Added Weiss. "Make no mistake, dear Huntresses. This 'mere peasant' poses a threat to this nation on a scale we have never seen before. If this matter is left unattended, the damage caused to my reputation would be downright unrepairable."

Ruby remained unconvinced. "Really? Pray tell, what heinous act did this random peasant do for you to get your panties in a bunch like this? Is his butt bigger than yours or something?" She spoke in a mocking tone. The Queen's silence all but confirmed her worries. "Nooo… You're kidding, right?! By the gods, Weiss. Is this the mirror thing again?"

"N-NO!" The Queen stammered. "All this sensitive information was collected through a very meticulous intel gathering operation."

"Right… And I'm the Little Red-Riding Hood." Scoffed Ruby. "Look Weiss, no offense. I've seen your ass. It is an incredible ass, I'll give it that. I might've peeked at it once or twice when you weren't looking, so I do understand you wanting to wage war over it. But I don't see how my services are necessary here."

Weiss chose to ignore that bit about Ruby peeking on her. "I believe you are failing to comprehend the importance of this task, miss Rose. Had I wanted a sloppily-done job any simpleton could do, I would have put a bounty on his head. For heavens, I could have just sent my guards to capture him and have him publicly executed for treason in front of his loved ones. But you see, this is a crucial job only my most trustworthy Huntress in duty could accomplish, and don't think for a second I will settle for anything less! Am I being clear?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fair enough, I guess." There was little Ruby could do to dissuade Weiss when she was acting like this. "So what's the gist here? You want me to bring back his heart as proof I had him killed?"

"Ew! No. How would I even distinguish that buffoon's heart from any other?" Weiss was repulsed by the idea. "No. I want to make sure you are not going soft on me, dear Huntress. I want you to bring me back… His ass."

"…Uh, what?"

"Yes, be sure to carve out his rear-end once you are done and bring it to me." She inspected her room briefly. "I was thinking maybe I could mount it over my fireplace."

"So let me get the straight here. You want me to go out and murder some poor guy in broad daylight just so you can go full Mr. Krabs with his corpse?"

"Is that an opposition I hear?" Weiss crossed her arms. "Hm. Perhaps then I shall send someone down to the royal forge and risk your name from the list."

"W-WHAT?!" The reaper was taken aback. "B-But your castle has the best forge in the entire kingdom! Where else will I workshop my ideas?!"

"Why yes. Where else, indeed?" Weiss grinned. "You could always go back to playing with farm tools at your uncle's place, just like before I took you in."

Gripping her fists until they turned red, Ruby reluctantly agreed. "Fine… I will see that it is done. My Queen."

With no more words left to be exchanged between the two, the fearsome reaper marched out to the staircase from where she came from. All the way down, she kept a hand on her custom-made scythe hidden under her cloak.

This was a simple job just like any other. And if she played her cards right, this would be yet another quick and painless endeavor.

But where was the fun in that?


Roses, violets, daisies, dahlias. His basket was overflowing with every type of flower that could be found in the region. Except for petunias, of course. Everyone knows one does not plant petunias until the month of May is out.

Jaune Arc went about his day picking up the perfect flowers for his latest arrangement. One that his grandma surely was going to appreciate it, no doubt.

As the middle child and only son in a predominantly female household, Jaune grew in a loving and caring home from the day he was born. Both his parents were retired Huntsmen and had ample time to raise eight children all on their own.

Jaune's father was quite famous around the land for all his noble deeds. He was the head of the royal guard and even had good history with the old King Nicky, as he called him. But that was before the newest Queen had taken charge and disbanded the castle's security in favor of a whole army of Grimm made of ice. Strange times these were.

Nowadays his old man spent his retirement days taking care of the crops and doing maintenance work on the house from time to time. Jaune's mother on the other hand was a real force to be reckoned with, keeping all their kids in line while making sure everyone in the family had a reasonable amount of boar meat on their bones. Did he also mention his mother went out to hunt boars in the wild? If Grimm didn't vanish upon death, they would be eating those too.

Another thing the Arc Matriarch did in her spare time was teaching her skills to her only son. Not combat skills though, he could only dream so much. Instead, she made Jaune work around the house, more than any of his sisters would.

Like many boys in their youth, Jaune wished he could have brandished the family sword just like his father did. Years later, and all he was allowed to brandish was the family's broom, doing his sworn duty to sweep away any speck of dust so his younger sisters wouldn't get sick in their sleep.

His mom of course insisted on it, claiming that being a Huntsman was too dangerous for a 'sweetheart' like him and that some house-keeping skills would attract all the fair maidens in town.

'Yeah, like that would ever happen.' Jaune sulked in his mind. He wasn't as strong as his mom, nor skilled as his dad. All the boys his age made fun of him, and they were very likely to fold him in half if he ever dared talking back to them. If a girl so much looked at his way, it was probably to mock him too. Took Jaune way too many times for him to finally get the hint.

Oh well, not much he could do in that department. Going back to his trip, Jaune was just about to call it a day and return home when he sighted a beautiful orchid sticking out from a bush.

Naturally, he bended over said bush just so he was able to pick said Orchid.

"Oh, wow. She wasn't kidding…"

A voice that wasn't his almost made him jump in surprise. Slowly cranking his neck to look over his shoulder, Jaune saw a girl dressed in red standing behind him.

"Excuse me…?"

"O-Oh! Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah, you kinda did… Wait," He turned away from the bush. "Were you staring at me?"

"N-No. I swear I wasn't. And I definitely wasn't peeking at your butt if that's what you're thinking! Yup! Totally not something I would do."

It wasn't the first time he heard comments about his butt. He recalled a few times when he turned heads at the market and other crowded places, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary, at least for him. In fact, he disliked the attention for how often his own sisters made fun of him, saying stuff like how apparently it takes ten seconds for him to leave the room and a whole minute for his ass to leave as well. Things like that.

Frankly, he didn't think it was that much big of a deal. Made sewing his own pants a bit tricky, but nothing he couldn't handle.

"I see…" Jaune scratched his cheek at the strange girl. She appeared to be either one or two years younger than him. Dark-redhead hair, bright silver eyes, red-cloak, combat skirt… "Oh, hey! Are you a Huntress?"

"Uh, yeah! That's me, alright!" She posed with her fists on her hips. "Ruby Rose! Licensed Huntress in duty and the Queen's right hand, at your service!"

"Whoa." He was actually mesmerized. "That's really cool. You said you work for the Queen? Man, you must be incredible!"

"Heh. Yeah…" She shuffled her feet at the compliment. "It's, uh… Never a dull moment, let me tell ya."

"Yeah, heh. Figures." Jaune didn't know what else to add. He didn't even remember when was the last time he held up a conversation with a girl that wasn't his sister for this long. "So, uh… What can I help you with?"

"Right! Right. I almost forgot." She cleared out her throat. "Mister… I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Oh. It's Jaune. Jaune Arc. Pleased to meet you, Ruby."

"Oh no. The pleasure is all mine, really." Said Ruby. "Mister Jaune Arc. You are wanted for the crimes of conspiracy and treason against the crown. Under the Queen's orders, I hereby command you to stand down. You have the right to remain silent."

The blond-haired boy stared blank-faced at the younger Huntress.

"…I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that. What did you just say?"

"What part didn't you get?" She genuinely asked. "The wanted part? Or the right to remain silent part?"

"Uh… Yes. What does all that mean?"

"It means you are a wanted criminal and I'm here to do my job! Geez!" She exclaimed. "Keep your hands up where I can see and don't make any sudden moves!"

Jaune obliged, dropping his basket of flowers and raising his hands at the height of his head. He however abstained from his right to remain silent.

"W-Wanted criminal?!" He panicked. "H-Hey, wait a minute! T-There must have been a mistake! W-What did I even do?!"

"For starters, invasion of private property." The Huntress pointed up.

Jaune followed her finger, finding out they were right at the base of the walls of the Queen's castle.

"Huh." He blinked. "I must have lost track of where I was going. I guess that was my B, huh?"

The girl simply glared at him.

Jaune conceded with a sigh. "Okay, I have some Lien on me. Is there a fine I have to pay, or..."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about money." Explained Ruby. "This one's free of charge."

"Really? Well, that's good, because I was saving up for a tool kit for my dad's birthday-"

"What I mean by that is that the Queen personally sent me after your head." She said. "Well, it's not exactly your head that she wants, but I'm getting to that."

"T-The Queen?!" He gasped in shock. "W-Why would the Queen want me dead?! Why did I even do to warrant her ire?!"

"…You really want to know?"

"What…? What kinda question is that?! Of course I want to know why our Queen sent a Huntress to kill me!"

"Alright then." She shrugged. "So, long-story-short: She saw in a magic mirror that your ass is bigger than hers and ordered me to cut it off from you."

Jaune once again stared blankly at the younger Huntress.

"…She saw in a magic mirror that my ass is bigger than hers…"

"Yeah… Look, mental health isn't exactly a novel concept in this time period, so me and most others just roll with whatever the Queen says. For gods' sake, she insists on surrounding herself with hundreds of ghosts of dead Grimm she herself killed over the years. Of course she's gonna have a few screws lose."

"Says the one who's about to make an attempt on my life!"

"Hey! I take offense to that!" She snarled. "What do you mean 'attempt'? I'll have you know I don't half-ass my jobs. As a matter of fact…"

From under her cloak, Ruby unfolded a comically large mechanical scythe, swinging it with complete ease and burying its tip on the grass with a single arm.

"…I'll show you just how good I am at this job."

Jaune could feel his own sweat palling at the sight of the Queen's Huntress carrying that behemoth of a weapon.

"H-Hey now. Can we please talk for a second?" The blond pleaded. "You really don't wanna do this."

"Jaune…"

"I know deep down there's still goodness in your heart!"

"Buddy, listen-"

"So if you could spare me just this once, I'll be indebted to you for as long as I live-!"

"That ain't work on me, dude." Ruby shook her head. "It'll take more than a pretty face and a nice ass for me to give up that easily."

"…You think my face is pretty?"

"That's beside the point!" She brandished her scythe. "I've been serving Queen Schnee for years. I've successfully carried out assassination missions from all over Remnant, and killed just about every type of person. Rich, poor, men, women, children..."

"Children?"

"Shitty parents using them as meat-shields. Happens more often than you think." She approached him again, slowly dragging the tip of her scythe through the grass. "In short, I'm a perfectly crafted killing machine. So if I were you, I'd been thinking of some cool final words right about now."

"I-Interesting proposition." Jaune gulped. "Here's my counter offer…"

The blond did a one-eighty and ran away from the reaper.

His progress was immediately halted by a mecha-shift scythe pointing at him, along with its wielder.

"Oh, so we got ourselves a runner, eh? Let me tell you something about runners." She practically teleported right up to his face. "They usually don't last very long."

Jaune stumbled backwards and fell down on his ass. Rose petals were scattered everywhere from the Huntress' Semblance.

The young-man looked around for a way to escape from the reaper's clutches. He would take any alternative at this point. Heck, he would even take-

"Well, what if I ran… There!" Jaune pointed to a set of trees leading up to the Dark Forest. An infamous region highly inhabited by dangerous Grimm and the Queen's personal graveyard.

"Wow, you're willing to go to the Dark Forest? You must be truly desperate."

"I AM!"

"In that case, suit yourself." Ruby let up from trying to bisect him.

Jaune took that brief moment to get up on his feet. "Y-You're gonna let me go, just like that?"

"Yeah, I mean, where's the fun in slicing 'n dicing some poor fella out in the open?"

"NONE?!"

"Exactly! This little exercise will do us some good." Ruby pulled out a whetstone and proceeded to sharpen her scythe. "Assuming you can make it past the five-minute mark, that is. And let's face it, even if by some chance the Grimm don't getcha, I will."

Jaune's blood ran cold much like his sweat for the past minute.

"Go on." She dismissed him. "This is me giving you a head-start, by the way."

Not needing to be told twice, the blond sprinted away towards the forest that no man has ever stepped in and lived to tell the story. And seeing how his odds of survival were higher in there than they were now, that only spoke for the terror that was yet to come.

Ruby hummed by herself, sharpening her scythe while watching her prey run into the Dark Forest. "Ahh, the thrill of the hunt."