"It is you!" Terra shouted, the woman quickly engulfing Jaune in her arms. Shocked by the sudden embrace, Jaune slowly placed his arms around her, as well.
"Terra, what… what are you doing here?" Jaune asked. As Terra pulled back from the hug, the blonde realized from the look of anger on her face that that was the wrong thing to say.
"What am I doing here?! Is that the first thing you think to say after… after…" Terra said, the woman taking a few moments to figure out what to say, "Gods, I don't even know how long it's been since we last spoke let alone saw each other!"
"Terra, I-" Whatever Jaune had to say was quickly cut off with a swift slap to the cheek from Terra.
"Hey, what was that-?!" Nora shouted, the woman about to rush forward before Jaune raised his hand in front of her, halting her advance.
"It's okay, Nora. I deserved that." Jaune said as he and Terra locked gazes.
"That and more. Did you know Claire cried herself to sleep for three months after you disappeared?" Terra asked as glared at the blonde, "You remember who that is, right? Your mother? Not even a word of goodbye before you just left us all behind. You and-!"
"Terra, I…" Jaune said, cutting the woman off as he took a deep breath, "I am sorry for leaving all of you like that but… I had my reasons."
"Did those reasons eventually lead you to the Cult?" Terra asked, earning a look of shock from Nora. Quirking an eyebrow at the young woman, Terra continued, "She doesn't know, does she? About how you and-"
"Terra." Jaune said, cutting off whatever she was about to say as he glanced at Nora, "That isn't your secret to share."
"If she's your new wife, then she has a right to know." Terra said, the woman unflinching under Jaune's gaze.
"W-wife…?" Nora asked, the woman choking at the words.
"Don't be ridiculous, Terra." Jaune said, scoffing at the woman's words, "Nora's a friend. More than that, she's a trustworthy travelling companion of mine."
"Regardless of what you are to him - Nora, was it - you should be aware that Jaune has a troubled past. More than most, even." Terra said as she turned to leave the general store behind, "And if half the rumors I've heard since I last saw him are true, I hope you don't end up regretting travelling with him."
"Terra." Jaune called out just before the woman could step out the door.
"Yes, Jaune?" Terra asked, turning around to face the blonde.
"Could you please… not tell anyone you saw me?" Jaune asked, the blonde bowing his head to the woman. "Please?"
"Why would I do that?" Terra asked, "Your parents and your sisters would be thrilled to find out that you're alive, Jaune."
"Terra, if you still think of me as family, then please." Jaune said, "I'm asking you- no, I'm begging you to not tell any of them you saw me here today."
Letting out a sigh, Terra stepped out of the general store as she let Jaune's request go unanswered.
"Goodbye, Jaune." Terra said, "I hope when next we meet is much more cheerful than this one."
[~]
Their walk back to the caravan had been a quiet affair, with neither of them knowing what to say to the other. After a few minutes of silence, however, Nora finally found the courage to speak.
"Jaune… is what she… what Terra said true?" Nora asked, the woman carrying a sack of non-perishables while trailing after the blonde, "About you and the cult?"
The woman's question hung in the air, Jaune not even bothering to turn around to face her. Frowning at the blonde's silence, the woman continued to pester him for answers.
"Jaune, were you a member of the Cult of Salem?" Nora asked. Once more, the woman's question went unanswered, Jaune walking forward in silence. Scowling at the back of the man's head, Nora threw the bag of food down to the ground before grabbing Jaune by his shoulders as she spun him around to face her, "Jaune! Answer me!"
In response, Jaune simply stared her in the eye before letting out a sigh. He then gently putting down the sack of supplies he bought on the ground.
"What exactly do you want me to say, Nora?" Jaune asked, the man sighing once more as he ran his hand through his hair, "Look, don't take it so personally. It's not like I know everything about you guys, either. You don't see me pestering you about that, do you?"
His piece said, Jaune picked up the supplies from the ground, turned around and started making his way to the caravan.
"If you really want to know, I could tell you." Nora said, halting Jaune in his tracks.
"What?" Jaune asked as he turned around to face her.
"I trust you, Jaune, just like how you trust me." Nora said, "That's what you told Terra, right? That's I'm a "trustworthy travelling companion" or was all that just a lie?"
"No. It wasn't." Jaune said.
"Do you feel the same way about Ren and Pyrrha?" Nora asked as Jaune answered with a nod. "Then why won't you tell me?"
"How do I put this…" Jaune said, taking a few moments to think of what to say before speaking, "Nora, we've travelled together for the better part of two years now, right? So when I say I trust you, what I mean by those words is that I fully trust you to watch my back whenever we're in trouble."
"Yeah, but that's-"
"More than that, I also trust you to be able to figure things out whenever we're in deep shit." Jaune said, quickly cutting Nora off, "Like that time in Atlas with their Elite Guard. Our situation seemed bleak but I trusted that you would be able to make it in time to save us. So please, do yourself a favor and stop asking about my past. I don't see myself telling you - or anyone, for that matter - about it anytime soon."
[~]
"Is it just me or are there a lot of people around?" Ren asked, the man waiting outside the caravan with Pyrrha for the rest of their party to return.
"It's definitely not just you." Pyrrha said, the woman casting a glance at everyone who passed them by, "Which is odd considering this isn't exactly a major port."
"Not exactly odd considering what's coming in a few weeks." came Shionne's voice, the woman wearing her hood up as she stepped off the caravan.
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked as she and Ren looked at the woman, "What's coming in a few weeks?"
"A delegation from Atlas will be arriving in the capital soon." Shionne said as she cast a glance at the people walking past them, "They're supposed to be discussing about some important matters like trade agreements and the like. At least, that's what I've heard."
"That's right." Ren said with a snap of his finger, "With everything going on lately, this whole thing completely slipped my mind. I've heard rumors that the Crown Prince will be arriving, as well."
"Prince Whitley?" Pyrrha asked, "The Heir to Atlas's throne?"
"The very same. Although, the reasons as to why a member of the Royal Family - the First Prince, at that - is coming to Vale for something like this is beyond me." Ren mused to himself.
"Well, it has been said that King Jacques sent him here to have the First Prince gain some experience in dealing with the other kingdoms." Shionne said, "At least, that's the official reason."
"Oh? And what about the unofficial reason?" Pyrrha asked as she cast a curious glance at the white-haired woman.
"From what I've heard, the White Fang have been winning more and more of their skirmishes lately with the Atlesian army up north. The King, worried about his heir's safety, opted to send him here for refuge." Shionne said before coughing into her hand, "At least, if rumors among the populace are to be believed."
"You sound like you know a lot about the goings on of Atlas." Pyrrha said, "Who did you hear all that from? Or rather, who are you, exactly?"
Before Pyrrha could get an answer, Jaune and Nora appeared from around the corner, the both of them carrying a sack of supplies on their shoulder.
"Hey, guy! Sorry for the wait. You would not believe the line at the store." Jaune said, "A lot of people around, huh?"
"We've noticed. Did you get everything we needed?" Ren asked as Shionne went back into the caravan.
"Sure did. These could last us a few weeks. Two months if we can properly ration them among all of us." Jaune said as Nora walked past him before entering the caravan in silence.
"Is something?" Ren asked as he stared at the inside of the caravan, "Did something happen?"
"Nah, not really. You know Nora." Jaune said, shrugging as he handed his sack to Pyrrha, "She was just tired and wanted to continue napping, that's all. Anyway, you guys mapped out where we're going yet?"
"Sure have." Pyrrha said as he gave Jaune a map of the area, "To the southwest."
"Sounds good. I'll get the horses ready." Jaune said as he tucked the map under his arm, "By the way, how's Yang doing?"
"She's still asleep. Whatever Yatsuhashi gave to her on the ship seems to be working but we're not sure how long that will last." Pyrrha said.
"Plus, without proper medical care - magical or otherwise - I'm not sure how long before her condition gets worse." Ren added.
"Well, judging by where we are currently and our current destination," Jaune said as he unfurled the map in his hands, "We have about seven days of travel ahead of us. That is, if we don't face any unexpected complications on the road ahead."
"The sun would sooner blink out of existence than us having a smooth journey." Ren said, snorting at the blonde's words.
"Well, here's hoping it'll be a different affair this time around."
[~]
"This is awkward." Jaune thought to himself as he stared at Nora over the campfire. It had been three days since they left the port town behind with their party having a relatively safe and uneventful journey so far. The only thing they encountered so far was a small group of bandits and even they were swiftly dealt with when Pyrrha and Ruby quickly dispatched half of them before the other half scurried away.
Jaune and Nora, however, had barely spoken to each other since their little discussion back in town and Ren, ever the perceptive one, had begun to suspect something was wrong.
When he asked Jaune what was wrong earlier in the day, the blonde assured him that everything was fine and that things would soon turn back to normal. Jaune was about to speak before Nora beat him to it.
"We were orphans." Nora said, the woman staring at her feet as she poked the bottom of the campfire.
"What?" Jaune asked, tilting his head at her.
"Me and Ren, we were orphans." Nora repeated, the woman lifting her head to look Jaune in the eye, "But it wasn't just the two of us. There was an orphanage and that's where we grew up. Me, Ren, and twenty other kids. The two ladies who looked after us were nice. We didn't have much but darn it, we were happy."
Jaune, for his part, chose to stay silent as he listened intently to the woman's tale.
"Until one day, everything just… went wrong." Nora said, the woman's lips trembling visibly.
"Nora, if it's too hard to tell, you really don't need to tell me." Jaune said. Nora, in response, simply shook her head.
"These people in black robes with a strange symbol that I now know belong to the Cult suddenly came barging in one day. Without even saying why they were there, they killed the two ladies taking care of us before dragging every single one of us out into the backyard." Nora said, "They put us all in the middle of some… stupid circle they drew on the ground with blood and then they just started killing us. One by one. They would have killed me, too, if Ren hadn't come to his senses and dragged me away by the hand."
"Nora, that's…" Jaune said, the blonde not knowing what words of comfort to offer.
"It doesn't end there." Nora said, "Some maniac started chasing us through the woods. I honestly had no recollection of how we even got to safety but after what felt like years of running, me and Ren finally managed to shake him off. I never got a good look on his face but I do remember he had a scorpion tail."
"Scorpion tail…" Jaune thought to himself, the blonde's fists tightening as only one man could fit that description.
"After that, me and Ren just… drifted from village to village, doing whatever it took to live another day. Heck, I even thought myself how to use flame magic from this book I stole." Nora said, the frown on her face quickly morphing into a bright smile as she looked up at Jaune, "And then we met you! And Pyrrha! And we've been having fun adventure after fun adventure for the past two years."
"Nora, I… I honestly don't know what to say." Jaune said, "That story… Your past…"
"You don't need to say anything. I just thought you should know since you're stuck with me, whether you like it or not." Nora said.
"Heh, certainly seems like it." Jaune said.
"Also, about your own past." Nora started to say.
"Nora-"
"I know, I know. You don't want to tell me about it and that's fine." Nora said, "I just thought that telling you about my own story would ease this weird tension between us, you know?"
"You know there are other ways to do that, right?" Jaune asked, "But does Ren know about this? Is he okay with you telling me about your shared history?"
"Of course. I told him this morning." Nora said, "He said he was fine with it if I was."
"Thank you, Nora, for telling me." Jaune said, "And uh… sorry if I sounded… dismissive the other day… It's just that… seeing Terra again… Anyway, I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings."
"Eh, it's fine. Hardly the worst thing you've said to me since we met." Nora said, waving away the blonde's concern.
"Well, now I feel bad. Should I treat you with more kindess?" Jaune asked as the two of them shared a laugh.
"Of course not, silly. Just keep treating me like you always have." Nora said, "By the way, who was Terra to you, anyway? Was she your wife?"
"No, don't be ridiculous." Jaune said, "Terra's my sister-in-law. At least, she was last time we met."
"You two seemed pretty close."
"We were but… things just happened, you know?" Jaune said, "Anyway, it's getting late. I'm going to go to bed. You okay to keep watch on your own?"
"Of course. You can count on me, cap'n!" Nora said as she offered the blonde a clumsy salute.
[~]
A sudden gust of cool air blowing past her face shook Cinder out of her daydreams. A bright smile formed on her face as she looked up at the hot afternoon sun in the middle of the sky.
"A perfect day to hang the clothes out to dry." the woman said to herself as she placed a small pink pyjama with a rabbits' head sewn into it onto the clothes dryer.
Looking to her left, she saw her young two-year old daughter having fun with her grandparents. Her face caked in mud, the little girl let out a laugh filled with joy as she threw a tiny ball of mud at her grandmother.
Cinder shook her head at her daughter's antics even as she let out a small laugh. Hanging another shirt onto the clothes dryer, the young woman then turned to face to her right where her husband was currently busy feeding the chickens, the animals forming a circle around the man and giving him barely enough ground to walk on.
A warm smile on her face, Cinder stared lovingly at her husband, the only man she had ever truly loved.
When he noticed her staring at him, Cinder quickly looked away, an embarrassed tint on her face at being caught.
"See something you like?" her husband shouted with a smile that was a little too smug for her own liking.
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Cinder shouted back, not willing to concede to the man.
"Oh, yeah? Pray tell, what caught your attention?" the man asked, posing even as a horde of chickens clucked at his feet, demanding they be fed.
"Those chickens at your feet." Cinder shouted, the woman reveling at her husband's look of disappointment, "Makes me feel like maybe we should have chicken for dinner tonight."
"Oh? Are you sure that's all that caught your attention?" the man asked as he did his best attempt at flexing his arms at her. Rolling her eyes at the man's antics, Cinder simply went back to her own duties.
"Yes, I'm sure! It's not like there's anything particularly interesting to look at over there, anyway!" Cinder shouted without even glancing at the man. The young woman let out a laugh as her husband gave up trying to impress her, the man grumbling to himself as he continued feeding the farm animals at his feet.
"Mommy, mommy! Look at me!" her daughter shouted, catching her attention. Looking at the direction the voice came from, Cinder saw her young daughter running towards her, covered head to toe in mud.
"Well, you've certainly made a mess of yourself, haven't you?" Cinder asked, the woman more amused than mad. Hands on her hips, the woman looked her young daughter in the eye before asking, "You know what that means, don't you?"
"B… bath time…?" the little girl asked as she looked up at Cinder.
"That's right! You're going to have a bath with mommy tonight." Cinder said as the little girl laughed with joy.
"Yay! Bath time with mommy!" the girl shouted, running over to Cinder as she tried her best not to fall over. Kneeling on the ground, Cinder held her hands wide open to receive the little girl into her arms before-
[~]
A knock on her cabin door roused Cinder from her sleep.
"Ma'am, are you in there?" asked a familiar voice, one Cinder couldn't quite place yet, "It's me, Emerald."
Letting out a tired groan, Cinder remembered that she and her associates were currently on Adam's ship with Vale as their destination. She was in her private cabin at the moment, instructing Emerald to only bother her when they were close to land or if their group had encountered any sort of unexpected problems.
"Yes, Emerald?" Cinder asked as she sat up, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
"No, ma'am, it's just that Adam told me that we should be arriving at Vale in about an hour or so." said the young woman, "I thought it best to inform you of that development."
"I see. Thank you for the update." Cinder said, the woman still trying to shake off the grogginess of her short nap.
"Is there perhaps anything else I can do for you, ma'am?" Emerald asked.
"No, Emerald, there is not." Cinder said with a tired sigh, "Go. I'll be out in a moment."
"Yes, ma'am. Of course." Emerald said before the sound of her rapidly retreating footsteps reached Cinder's ears. Rolling her eyes at the young woman's eagerness to please, Cinder stood up as she tried to wipe away any signs of fatigue from her face.
The woman recoiled in shock when she found her face was wet. Making her way to a nearby mirror, Cinder stared into it to find that she had been crying in her sleep. Scowling at herself, the woman grabbed a nearby towel before furiously rubbing the tears away.
"That dream again…" Cinder muttered to herself, the woman replaying the scene she had dreamt of just moments prior, "And it always ends at the same point, too."
Crumpling the cloth in her hands, Cinder threw it at the nearby wall as hard as she could before storming out of her cabin.
[Chapter END]
A/N: Audible gasp. Cinder was married?! I wonder who the husband was.
As always, faves, follows, and reviews are always appreciated.