Fire. A village aflame.
Blood. Blonde hair stained red.
Death. Bodies, stacked in piles.
Screams. A baby, alone in a house filled with smoke.
He was swimming again.
Where was he?
"I worry Nikos is planning something."
"I'll stay until Jaune wakes up but after that I'll be joining the hunt."
"That's acceptable, knowing Jaune he'll leap at the chance for glory."
"He has enough of that after what he did when the dragon attacked."
"It's not enough. He'll need to be known as a dragon slayer if he wants to get what he wants."
"And what does he want? You've made his family richer than some of the oldest families in the kingdom."
"He wants something he cannot have. It is not my secret to tell and that is all I will tell you."
"I didn't mean anything by it."
"I know. Keep an eye on him out there."
"I will."
Fire. A village aflame, a dark sharp looming over it.
Blood. Blonde hair stained red, a broken-hearted scream piercing the air.
Death. Bodies stacked in piles, some of them alive and weeping.
Screams. A baby, alone in a house filled with smoke, the roof collapsing inwards.
He was swimming. Where was he? Who was he?
Jaune.
Jaune.
Jaune.
He didn't wake with a gasp. He didn't shoot up in his bed, heart thundering and sweat dripping down his face, eyes wide and frenzied.
Jaune Arc opened his eyes. He was in bed. The sheets were stuffy and warm. His body ached and he struggled to recall, well anything. His mind seemed blank and his muscles wouldn't move.
The door opened. Someone was humming. The ache dulled, replaced by warmth. His mind awakened from the misty slumber he was trapped in, and like the clouds parting for the sun he remembered.
"Dragon!" Jaune cried, leaping up from his sheets, causing the person who'd entered to squawk and drop something with a clatter. Water splashed over him, ice cold and shocking him. Jaune yelped, rolling out of his bed and smacking his hands everywhere, trying to push the cold water off of him.
"Who?! What?! Where!?" The person yelled, scrambling up from the floor where they'd fallen. It was a girl. The girl. The one with silver eyes.
"Dragon?"
"Huh?"
"The-There was a dragon. I-Wha-Did it, did you kill it?"
"Oh! I uh well didn't but I'm gonna. With you!"
"Huh?"
"Oh. I-Weiss said er nevermind. I'm Ruby!"
Jaune stared at the hand offered to him to shake. Then at the girl who extended it. He'd just woken up from...something and his mind decided to save what seemed to be an unsalvageable mess of a first meeting by giving him a few eloquent words to say.
"Whouah?"
The hand fell. The girl's face fell from mildly optimistic to nervous.
"I'm Ruby. Ruby of the House Rose. I uhm saved you from the dragon but I also kind of maybe putyouinamagicinducedcomaforaweekormaybetwo!"
Again his magnificent intellect saved him.
"Butwha?"
"Silver eyes!" The girl, Ruby, yelled suddenly, pointing to her eyes. "Dragon gone! Saved you!"
"Oh." Jaune replied, awkwardly shuffling. "T-Thanks for all that."
The girl nodded, face flustered and as red as a tomato.
"Yeah uhm thanks! You were really cool yourself, all throwy spear and everything."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
They stood awkwardly. Ruby twiddled her fingers. Jaune shuffled his feet. They didn't look at or away from each other, stuck in some socially awkward purgatory of eye contact but not.
"So…"
"Well…"
They stared. Then blushed. Then stammered apologies.
"I'm sorry…!"
"Sorry for…!"
They stared. The blushing got worse. Then they giggled nervously.
Then they laughed.
"Snrk. I-I-I'm so sorry for interrupting you!" Ruby wheezed, wiping a tear (of laughter) from her eye.
"No! I'm snrk sorry for interrupting you! It was ungentlemanly." Jaune replied, clutching his belly as his chest heaved.
They laughed for a few more minutes, trying and failing to get control over themselves.
"I feel like we should start that again." Jaune said after the sudden laughter died down.
"Yeah me too." Ruby replied with a beaming smile. "Hi! I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose!"
"Hi, Ruby! I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc."
They shook each other's hand, grinning ear to ear.
"What happened after the whole you know." Jaune asked, waving his hand vaguely. "Me passing out thing."
"Oh well I took you to the infirmary. I didn't know you were in the courtyard so my magic gave you Silver Sickness. Sorry."
"Oh no it's fine-Silver Sickness?! What's that?! Is permanent?!"
"It's nothing bad! Promise! It just means you were exposed to too much silver-eyed magic and you basically fell into a short coma. Nothing else and it's not permanent!"
"Oh well I'm awake now so no harm done right?"
"Oh yeah. Unless your toenails fall off within the next two weeks. In that case it's been nice knowing you."
"..."
"..."
"You're joking right?"
"Yup!" Ruby yelped, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Just a joke!"
"Oh cool I thought you were serious for a second."
"Yup!" Ruby giggled nervously. "Just a bad joke."
"It's alright. What about the dragon? Did you kill it?"
"No but it's injured alright. Weis-Er, Queen Weiss' betrothed, has put a massive bounty on whoever kills it. Knight's have been scouring the kingdom for days now."
"How much is the bounty?"
"Two million in gold and silver."
"Two wah?!"
"I know. I'm planning on joining the hunt tomorrow. Wanna come with?"
"Oh. I don't know…"
"Please!" Ruby yelled, her face flushed and eyes wide with horror as she suddenly clapped her hands over her mouth.
Okay Jaune. She's young and adorable and clearly nervous. Like little Hazel. Be gentle, be kind and be thoughtful.
"Wha?"
"You-Your." Ruby stammered, swallowing nervously. "You seem so much more relaxed than everyone else. It's all 'Lord this' or 'Lady that' and it's so boring!"
"But my sister…"
"Left for Ansel alongside the reward I bestowed upon you for your bravery during the dragon attack." Interrupted a new voice and Jaune turned to see Weiss in the doorway, looking bemused at the sight in front of her.
"Weiss?" Jaune and Ruby asked at the same time both with shocked expressions,, earning an amused eye roll.
"Since you've just come out of a fortnight long coma I'll forgive the slip in your manners Jaune." Weiss said as she strode into the room, a bemused looking Sir Klein watching from the doorway.
"What about her?" Jaune exclaimed, pointing at Ruby, who had once again become one with the tomato, her face redder than any colour a painter could mix.
"She gets special privileges since she saved us all from a dragon."
"But...But I helped! At least a little bit…"
"And as such I've been gracious enough to forgive you this slip of the tongue."
Jaune spluttered some more, and Ruby looked between the two, hopelessly confused.
"H-How long were you listening?" She stammered and Weiss turned her attention to her, the almost easy going look sliding off her face into regal seriousness.
"I came to help you with your recruitment of Jaune." Weiss replied.
"Recruitment? For what?" Jaune questioned, feeling more lost and confused by the second.
"Your actions haven't gone unnoticed Jaune." Weiss said, a seriousness to her that made Jaune straighten his posture nervously. "There are some who have been questioning whether your actions were bravery, stupidity or something worse than both of those."
"What? Who?" Jaune questioned, eyes darting between a nervous, fidgeting Ruby and a serious, furious Weiss.
"There have been rumours you used heretical magiks to drive away the dragon that attacked Nördliche Burg, and that Ruby merely took credit for your 'dark work'. An Inquisitor is being sent from Haven as we speak." Weiss explained and a cold, freezing dread settled in the pit of Jaune's stomach.
Inquisitor's. The worker's of Her Will. They were ruthless in their work and left a trail of corpses wherever they went. The Kingdoms of Atlas and Vale did not worship the Dark Goddess that ruled over Mistral, but the Great War had forced them to allow the Inquisitors to hunt down the worst of those they considered to be heretics. And now that meant him.
"But I didn't...that's!" His panicked stuttering was stopped by Weiss pressing a firm finger to his lips.
"Listen to me carefully Jaune." Weiss said sternly. "I know you are innocent and I wouldn't care if you did use whatever those uptight bastards think are heretical anyway. The only reason an Inquisitor is being sent is because Ruby embarrassed my beloved betrothed in front of the court and now he seeks to tarnish her reputation as a dragon-slayer and remove you before you can become a threat to his position."
"M-Me? Threaten the brother of the Queen of Mistral?" Jaune squeaked, in shock over the fact he heard Weiss actually swear.
"You are the son of a great lord with royal blood, your seven sisters are proof of a high likelihood of success in rearing children, you are a childhood friend of mine with a sizeable fortune as well as political connections to every house worth mentioning in my kingdom." Weiss stated factually. "You are just as, potentially even better, than what Alexander Nikos brings to the table."
Jaune, having just heard the woman of his dreams, the woman he loved so much he charged at a dragon with a spear and no armour, compliment him and say he was potentially a better match for her betrothed made his brain go into overdrive. This was his chance. His moment. Say something poetic, something that showed his feelings for Weiss.
"Hubanabahah?"
"Exactly. You are a threat to Alexander Nikos and your efforts in driving away the dragon attacking Nördliche Burg only solidified that. The Inquisitor will find you guilty, Jaune. My spies indicate that they have a close connection to Alexander Nikos." Weiss answered. "That is why you must go with Ruby. If you hunt down and help her kill the dragon, Ruby can sponsor you into the Order of Drachentöter which will grant you immunity from the Inquisition."
"But my family! Saphron!"
"I sent her back to Ansel. The Inquisitor won't harm your family. Mistral doesn't want another Great War as much as we do." Weiss answered. "Jaune. I'm sorry but you will have to leave soon. Nikos is calling for your arrest and some lords are supporting him. Klein has made sure you have a horse, sword and armour, foodstuffs and medicines. You and Ruby leave tomorrow morning."
Weiss turned and left, pausing for a moment at the doorway before turning around and marching up to Jaune, a fierce look in her eye that made Jaune back up in fear. She grabbed him by the head, and pulled him down to place a soft, gentle peck of a kiss on his lips.
"Goodbye Jaune." She murmured, storming out of the room with a blush that put Ruby's to shame.
"Huh?" Jaune asked after she left, eyes wide and mouth open.
"I'm...I'm not too sure myself." Ruby replied, blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes to make sure what she had seen was real.
"Huh?"
"Yeah your right. Better get some rest, we've got a long ride tomorrow if we're gonna catch up to the other hunters."
"Huh?"
"Goodnight to you too Jaune!"
"Huh?"