As the days passed the student's tension around me only seemed to grow, and most seemed to avoid me altogether. While I never felt any direct hate from them it was plainly obvious they were hiding it.

I strode along, taking in the sight of the small setup of stalls, only to stop as I saw Ruby in the distance. Picking up the pace I noticed the girl catch sight of me, sending a small wave my way as I caught up.

"Hey V, how long have you been here?"

"About an hour. The headmaster said it might do me some good to have a look around the festival."

The headmaster had been adamant on me going, or as he liked to put it 'experiencing peace'. From what I understood the festival was started off with a competition, one that Ruby and the other students would participate in. Said tournament being the reason most hunters visited the event.

It was tradition that each of the four kingdoms brought forth their strongest champions to do battle, as a way to determine who was the most skilled of all. Officially it's to show the people just how well protected they are from the Grimm, showing the skills of each student in a vibrant display of combat. Unofficially it was all one big popularity contest, according to Qrow anyway. The man pulled me over one day when I asked about the competition, telling me that the whole thing was there mostly so the schools could show off. Having been with us at the time Winter had been quick to tell him off, stating that it was simply a display of skills to ease the people.

Personally I felt it was a little of both.

"Well, want to come with us? We're looking around too." She asked as I saw the others watching from behind.

Weiss looked to roll here eyes as Yang animatedly talked about something. Blake however was the strangest of the bunch as she held a more guarded look. I cast my gaze back to Ruby, who had taken on the look of a small puppy.

"I suppose it would be alright. Sure, why not."

"Sweet."

It was strange - much like a lot of things recently - how much she seemed to smile at such a simple answer. Recently she had almost looked to make a point of talking with me, and inviting me to small little things every now and then. One incident wouldn't be so odd, but Ruby had tried to include me in almost everything her team did. Just yesterday they had been relaxing in the lounge when I walked in, and almost as if on que she called me over to join them in the art of sleeping in the sunlight; something a lot more difficult than previously believed, especially with light beaming through the window.

"Hey guys!"

I turned along with the rest and saw Nora as she jogged up, followed by the rest of her team. The girl herself looked as hyper as ever, which contrasted with the heavy fatigue that followed the others; Jaune looked almost ready to drop then and there. The only one not heaving was Pyrrha, yet I could see the slight struggle of her form to keep it's posture.

"Hey Nora, how's it going so far?" Yang piped up as she stepped forward, casting a confident smirk.

"Great! We're on lap thirty seven and I can feel the burn." She told with a wash of excitement, contrasted by the nervous look of Yang.

"T-thirty seven, you mean laps right?" The brawler asked cautiously, receiving a nod from Nora as Pyrrha finally managed to drop. With a sigh Yang let her shoulders fall. "Yeah that explains it. So what's with the extreme work out? Walking laps around this place takes around a half hour so I'm guessing you've been out here all morning."

"You got it! Need to keep in tip top shape if we're gonna win the tournament!"

"Win the tournament?" Yang grew a devious smile. "Really, well I guess we'll just need to show you we mean business. Sorry Nora, but we've got this one in the bag."

"Oh, how scary. Clearly you haven't seen Renny when he's motivated." Nora wore a smirk of her own. "Don't worry though, we won't forget you. We'll make sure to send a postcard from the top."

"G-guys, a little he-" Jaune dropped down again, receiving a face full of dirt after the failed attempt at standing.

Both Yang and Nora didn't seem to notice, and instead it was Pyrrha who helped him up; along with herself. Casting a look to the others I saw that they had taken a seat at what looked to be a food stand, with each of them already having a bowl before them as they seemed to ignore the playful back and forth of Yang and Nora.

I walked over, ignoring the continued banter of the previous two, and lent a hand to both Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Come on, let's get some food with the others." I said as Jaune in particular looked relieved.

"Y-yay, food ti-"

He tripped up again.

.

.

"So how do you propose we handle this?" Ironwood asked as the two paced throughout the chamber.

With the recent attack on the CCT Ozpin had been more paranoid than ever, granted they all were. In light of the attack, as well as the fact they'd yet to find anything wrong with the CCT, Ozpin decided they would perform regular diagnostic checks on the maiden.

There was no evidence that their wannabe attacker had discovered anything related to the recovery chamber, but at this point they were all in agreement that they couldn't take chances.

They passed through the dull, sterile chamber, coming to a stop before the one centerpiece of the room; the recovery pod. It held the same cold display as the rest of the room, doing little to provide any sense of comfort. The fact that they had to use it brought even more worry.

Ironwood stared up, feeling himself grimace as he gazed upon the form of the woman within.

"Earlier this year she was attacked, do you think it's related to the CCT breach?" He asked as Ozpin sighed.

"Possibly. The attack on Amber here was proof that Salem's putting her plans in motion. We cannot rule out the possibility that she may already know of the other vaults locations." Ozpin checked over the vitals, feeling his mood drop further as he saw that they were lower than before. "Meaning that she may know of the other maidens identities."

"We still have the winter maiden." Ironwood spoke as he returned his eyes to the comatose form of the once powerful champion. "Even as her days pass she still insists on updates of the world. Here life is coming to an end as much as we're trying to prevent that, and still she wishes to know how the people are doing."

"She's always been like that, stubborn and laid back." Ozpin chuckled as he looked over the equipment. "But death comes for all. We're just lucky it was old age that caught up to her, rather than the shady assailant that found Amber."

"Still." Began Ironwood as he stared distantly. "It seems too coincidental to be ruled out. With Amber here on her death bed it's safe to say that the assailant seeks to kill her and absorb the other half of the power.

Ozpin tensed slightly. As much as he hated it that did seem to be the most likely reason. The maiden powers were incredibly dangerous and deadly. So much so that he needed to drive them and their wielders into hiding for the past several hundred years. Once upon a time they were well known heroes, but that age has long since past.

The powers themselves were split into four, one for each season, and each corresponding to the four relics; those of which they share their similarities. They were transferred to new hosts upon death: to the women most prominent in thought. As such they were often hunted, with the killer intent on being the last thing they see, practically guaranteeing their theft of the power.

Not only that, but they had another function as well: they were keys.

"Do you think they're after the relic as well?" Ironwood asked as Ozpin nodded.

"If they're with Salem then it's a guarantee."

He knew from experience his once loving wife sought after the deadly instruments of power, and he knew what she would do if she got her hands on them. As a way to protect them he built four vaults to hold them, but not just any vaults.

Enchanted vaults.

Each was fueled by the magic he held at the time, creating a doorway to a pocket dimension, crafted meticulously to relate to the power it held. Ozpin considered himself an artist, and even before his unfortunate curse he took great pride in his work. From painting to sculpting he made a point to take part in each and every craft he could; a habit he held to the current day.

The vaults were sculpted perfectly for each relic, with a flair of visual symbolism to top it off; not that anyone could appreciate it, much to his frustration.

Regardless the vaults were well done and all but the real trick was in the keys themselves. Salem would at some point discover knowledge of the vaults, he knew this, but his real play was in the use of the maidens. Each one was intrinsically linked to the corresponding vault, and only they could open it. To others the idea sounded crazy, but he had a small trick to it.

They didn't know.

Neither did Salem.

He made the decision to never use the relics within again, opting to let the world evolve on it's own. Even the relic of creation sat snugly in the vault after it's final work was done. The idea would have been perfect as at worst Salem would recruit any stray maidens, but they would die eventually anyway. She would never know, and she would never guess that they related to the locks in any way.

Until the betrayal.

Salem would have never known, and neither would the girls. Unfortunately he liked to put more trust in his allies back then, willing to tell them more and more as to give them the choice to continue fighting with him or not. A stroke of bad judgement had him working alongside a woman for nearly twenty years in the fight against Salem; a maiden as it were. One day she asked where the maiden powers came from, so he told her. One day she asked what they were for.

So he told her.

One month after she made away with the relic of knowledge in an attempt to bring it to Salem, under the promise of more power. She was only stopped by sheer coincidence when one of his allies caught her in the act. A fight broke out which left all dead.

All besides her and himself.

She tried to talk it away, tried begging and pleading as he stood over her broken battered form, and he could only look on with pity as he ended her life. She sought power, and would do anything to get it.

No matter the cost.

"So what should we do?" Ironwood tried again as Ozpin turned to leave.

"We watch, and we wait."

"That's it?" Ironwood questioned as Ozpin faced him.

"For now it's all we can do."

"And if they should strike again?" The general spoke as Ozpin turned away.

"Then you may do as you wish."

Author's note

...

I'll be honest, I didn't have much time recently; super busy and all that. Unfortunately this is what you get for now, but still it's something.

Don't have much time so I'll leave it here; full chapter next time I promise.

Let me know your thoughts and I'll see you next time.