Hey Everyone, I do sincerely apologize for the long wait, but I couldn't help my work schedules being completely out of sync with my writing schedule.
To make up for it I tried to push 3 chapters but I could only finish 2 properly.
No birthday chapter/Halloween special unfortunately, but I'm mostly going to focus on this fic for another month and put the crossover fic on a temporary hiatus.
Anyway, without further ado...
Chapter 95: Castle Flareheart
-10 Minutes Before the End of the Shade War-
Emerald and Mercury sat on the back of a Giant Nevermore flying through the cold desert air. Within a few moments, they would cross over into Vacuo's territory and join the ongoing war, a simple clean-up to establish Her Majesty Salem's rule over one of the cornerstones of Remnant. They lost Beacon and Vale to those insufferable children, but they would claim Shade.
"Why do you think Salem sent us to help out? Isn't there like a bazillion Grimm attacking right now? What chance do they have?" Mercury snorted as he reclined on the bird's back.
Emerald raised her eyebrow, "Did the magnetic storm scramble your brain? She sent us here for a good reason…"
"So the brainwashing did get to you," Mercury began picking his nose, "Not to me though~"
Emerald rolled her eyes, "Oh really? Is that why you wag your tail like a dog whenever she issues a command?"
"Shut up… the strong make the law, that's the rules of nature. I only 'agreed' to this out of survival," he glanced over his new Grimm body, "I gotta say, the whole dark and gloomy look works for me~"
"And I only agreed to this because she promised that Cinder would be back…"
"Aw look at you. Still believing that the bitch would return. You must be delusional…"
"SHUT UP!" Emerald immediately spun on him to punch his smart-ass mouth but held back as Vacuo came into view.
They were expecting total annihilation. They expected to see bodies piled high into the sky, and an academy in shambles.
Instead, what they were greeted with was not rampant death and the stench of ruin, no, what they found were mile-high stone walls and a fleet of Atlas ships popping out of thin air shredding the Grimm.
"We got a problem…" Emerald put her hand down.
Mercury shot up, "Holy shit! The Atlas Military? How the fuck did they already recover let alone get here?! This is bad, if those ships catch us we're dead."
Emerald thought for a moment then sprung an idea, "Hold on to something…"
"Huh? What are you…?"
"Saving our asses…" Emerald then grabbed the Nevermore's feathers and yanked hard causing the demon bird to careen sideways and hurtle toward the ground. Dipping just out of sight behind the rest of the flock that was seconds away from obliteration.
As the Nevermore landed in the desert they watched in awe as a barrage of bullets shredded through the flock they were tailing.
"Glad that wasn't us…" Mercury said bemused, "What now?"
Emerald gathered her weapons, "Now we find a way to sneak in there…"
-Shade Academy After the War, Present day-
Three days. That's how long it took to clean up after the war. With the full support of the Atlas military, the remnants of Shade's staff and whatever support they could get, they managed to deal with the aftermath.
The survivors were split between camps until the reconstruction of Vacuo's city was finished. With everything finally settled, there was one last thing left on the agenda. Citrine had a promise to keep.
One thousand six hundred students and teachers combined, reduced to a bit more than half.
The population of Vacuo and survivors of Atlas was cut down to a fraction of the original population.
The losses were heavy, far too much… but they had to be grateful it wasn't a complete wipeout.
It was the middle of the night when the surviving students, staff, military and even Raven's tribe gathered in the courtyard of the academy.
Tonight, the entire courtyard was transformed into a ceremonial venue, the fountain was fixed and the blood cleaned off the grass. The sandstone pillars that encircled the perimeter were freshly painted; white banners lined in gold with Vacuo's symbol hung between each one. Grand bonfires were lit in bronze cauldrons spread across the walkways.
Atlesian military personnel were lined around the outer pillars, in a small ground gathered just inside their line was the Branwen tribe. At the very centre, near the fountain and beside two larger bonfires were the students and staff of Shade all dressed in formal black outfits. A large wooden podium is situated behind the water fountain, elevated above the others with a few stairs leading to the floor.
Lastly, at the northern end of the courtyard, behind the podium just to the left and right of the northern path were two large objects covered in red cloth.
Citrine let out a nervous sigh as she fidgeted with her clothes, not used to a tuxedo.
"Nervous?" it was Winter, the sound of her heels clapping against the wooden stairs. She wore her standard military uniform equipped with an admiral's jacket, and trailing just behind her was Raven Branwen, of course wearing her usual outfit.
Citrine twitched, "Do I still have time to change? I can't believe you forced me into this stuffy suit…" she grumbled, tugging at her necktie.
Winter flicked her arm, "After I had to wrangle you into them? Not a chance."
"You could've at least let me keep my guns…" she unconsciously reached for her holster that wasn't there. "I get nervous without them…"
"No weapons," Winter glared back.
"Haha, come on headmaster, it's just for one night," the sound of Jaune Arc with Team JNPR following closely behind.
Citrine studied his face. The boy had a new scar over his eyebrow, and she could spy makeup hiding lingering bruises around his cheek. If there were any other injuries, they were hidden behind his tuxedo.
Pyrrha Nikos wearing a brilliant red dress with gloves that acted as sleeves. Ren was wearing a dark green tuxedo and Nora was wearing a frilly black short dress and stockings. It seemed they were wearing clothes to hide their injuries.
Casting her gaze to the crowd she similarly spotted Team GRVE, though they were still wrapped in bandages in several places.
Qrow was leaning against the side of the podium, half of his face and right arm were covered in bandages. Taiyang was trying to coax him on stage, the blonde male's right arm was in a cast.
Some wounds you just couldn't hide…
This was evident by the last two to find themselves on stage, Belle and Mira both in black dresses and a veil over their heads. Citrine shot her a silent "Are you alright?". She wasn't sure if Belle would show up, a loss like that doesn't just disappear overnight. It's pain that you feel for years…
Belle caught her gaze, "I'm okay…" she said softly, walking to her place on stage.
The sound of drones buzzing overhead followed by Penny Polendina flying in and landing next to her was her queue to start the ceremony. Tonight was to be broadcast across all the camps, at least… that was the plan…
Taking one last gulp of air to calm her racing heart, she took to the mic, before she could say anything Penny whispered something to Winter which made the new General break out into a grin.
Walking over to Citrine she whispered, "This is going to be a global broadcast…"
Citrine almost choked on air, "WHAT?!" she shout-whispered. "HOW?!"
"Brought over the leftovers from the Amity project. It's not going to be a proper global broadcast; at best we can maybe reach Mistral and Menagerie, but the signal is going to be sketchy."
This was Penny's prompt to enter the conversation, "Dad managed to get a signal boost using Hex's transmission technology and the Atlas Flagship's reactor core as a power boost. It's not a CCT Tower but people might be able to pick up a radio signal." she chimed in.
"So, you're saying I'm essentially live worldwide…? Brilliant… as if the pressure wasn't bad already," she rolled her eyes.
Grabbing the mic once more she started, "People of the world, Atlas, Mistral, Vale, Menagerie and Vacuo. My name is Citrine Basal, I'm the Headmaster of Shade Academy." She cleared her throat and took a pause.
"For decades the Four Kingdoms have stood as the pillars of our world. The Four Academies, are the symbols of our unity and peace. Three days ago, Vacuo City, and Shade Academy, suffered the largest Grimm assault ever recorded in history. We lost six hundred lives from our ranks, students, teachers and more. The civilian deaths… indeterminate at this time…" she spoke with a dark expression, her face was trying to keep her rage under wraps but a but leaked out in her voice.
"We lost many great people. Students and teachers I've known for years, you've all lost your friends, your family…" she gripped the podium so hard the wood threatened to crack.
"For those students and teachers who gave their lives in defending this Academy, we've erected a monument in their name," as she said the words, two drones flew over to the left red curtain and lifted it off to reveal a massive black obelisk with hundreds of names carved into the stone.
"Each and every name on that monument was the name of a brave soldier, a friend, a student, a teacher…" she began to feel herself choke up. "Among these heroes, one held the line alone. A great man who took a stand on the frontlines by himself. Helf off thousands of Grimm alone, against all the odds, defeated a Leviathan class mutant, Grimm, without any support." She gestured as the drones lifted off the second curtain revealing a statue of Adam Taurus, it stood about half the size of the obelisk.
The statue depicted him without his mask, sword in hand and sheath in the other with his sword pointed toward the sky.
"Adam Taurus, if not for his efforts none of us would be alive today. He gave his life to protect the people, to protect the students of this academy…" before she could continue Citrine felt someone tugging at her clothes.
She looked down to see Belle with Mira in her arms, "I want to speak if you don't mind…"
Citrine nodded, "I'll hand you over to Miss Belle Wings who would like to speak."
Belle lifted her veil and adjusted Mira in her arms, the little aquamarine-haired girl held close to her adoptive mother, not looking at the crowd.
"H-Hey everyone… I just… I wanted to talk a little about Adam." She spoke nervously, her voice cracking from the deep sadness in her soul welling up.
"As many of you know, Adam and I used to work for the White Fang a long time ago… we… did things we're not proud of, we did things we regret… and our sins might never wash away. I thought that even after breaking free of Onyx and the White Fang, we could never fit in with people again. That they would shun us or hate us for what we've done… it scared me."
She took a moment to look back at the statue and then back to the crowd, "Adam was different. From the moment he was free until the day he…" she began to choke up, "…died, he never stopped trying to rewrite those wrongs. He made it his mission to give 120% back of what he took… he refused to let his past define who he would become… and he became a hero."
Tears began to fall from her face and Mira was also struggling to hold back her sobs. She had to be a strong girl, for her mom.
"He wasn't a saint, but he tried his damned hardest to be better. He wasn't just my team leader, he was always my hero. I loved him dearly… and I always will. It's because of him that I can carry on today… I know he wouldn't want me to mourn him… I…" She broke down completely but with one glance at Mira, she pulled herself back together.
"I just want to make it clear, here and now. Whatever you may have thought of him before, as a villain, as a monster, as a criminal… none of you can deny him anymore. Adam died a hero, and I want the world to remember him for who he became, not who he was… Thank you…" she clutched onto her daughter tightly and walked back.
Citrine stopped Belle, "You took the words out of my mouth," and she gave the smaller girl a tight squeeze before letting her go.
Taking back the mic, Citrine spoke up, "Thank you, Belle. While we remember the dead, I also want us to remember the ones who survived."
She began tapping out something on her scroll and looked back to the crowd, "Before the battle I made a promise to everyone. Students, if you would all look at your scrolls."
The students gathered in the courtyard all glanced down as their scrolls lit up simultaneously.
Gawain, Regis, Violet and Ether all shared the same bitter-sweet expression. They were officially licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses now.
There was something different about these licenses though. Each license had a special emblem next to their profile, a golden star with the Vacuo symbol in the middle.
"Every one of you are now licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses. Wear this with pride, wear it with responsibility. You've all more than earned this, and I wish we could give you more… but for now, these will have to do. Those stars on your profiles identify you as survivors of the Shade War. When looking for jobs you're entitled to preferential treatment and access to all Huntsmen and Huntress services free of charge."
Atlas Military also began walking around to each student, pinning a physical version of the medal on their jackets.
"I would also like to point out individuals and teams that went above and beyond," Citrine announced while Winter walked up holding a briefcase.
"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren of Team JNPR. You stalled several breaches without external support to evacuate many students. Qrow Branwen, Randolf Wulf, Taiyang Xiao Long and… Zwei Xiao Long" Citrine announced their names, "We would like to award you all with medals of Distinguished Service for your decisive actions on the battlefield."
Winter began pinning the medals on the jackets of those who walked up, including Zwei who got it pinned on his collar. The corgi happily licked her face before jumping down and running circles around her feet.
"Unfortunately, Randolf Wulf is still in the hospital due to his injuries," Citrine moved on. "Gawain Sunfury, Regis Cobalt, Violet Mist and Ether Pasley!"
Team GRVE looked at each other dumbfounded, "Us…?" they pointed to themselves.
Citrine chuckled, "I would like to award each of you the Vacuoian Medal of Honor for holding down the Eastern breach almost entirely alone despite your injuries and being told to evacuate. You heard the call answered it and came back alive. Your actions saved many lives, and for that we thank you."
The military personnel ushered them forth as they awkwardly received their medals.
"You kids did good out there," Winter said as they lined up for a picture.
As they walked back to the stands they were met with the eyes of their peers, some filled with pride, some filled with envy. It was then that it sunk in. They'd done it… they'd become heroes, just like Ruby-sensei, just like Prince Nova. Still, their pride was followed by the ever-creeping sense of guilt and sadness embodied by the obelisk that stood towering over them. Honour and glory felt bitter-sweet when overshadowed by the deaths of their friends.
Once the medals were all handed out Citrine let them revel for a few moments before taking back to the mic.
"We lost many people during the fight, but we also saved a lot of them. Our losses were heavy, but they could have been much worse if not for the actions of all of you, and the actions of all of them," she pointed at the obelisk.
She let the silence settle in, "Unfortunately, this fight is not over. This battle was only the first of perhaps many of this ongoing war. Right now Prince Nova and Princess Luna are on the forbidden continent fighting alongside the esteemed Team RWBY and their comrades. They're taking the fight to Salem herself and sooner or later they will need our support."
Citrine took a long pause again, "I don't have the right to call on you all again. Every one of you here has served more than enough for a lifetime. If you want to walk away and rest, then no one will blame you… but a bigger fight is coming in the future. While we recover from our losses, we must also prepare for what's to come, so I say to those of you who are still willing, those of you who have some fight left in you, to join us."
Winter looked at her incredulously, was she rallying for another fight? Shouldn't they give it a grace period before riling them up again?!
"For now, however, we celebrate our victory, we celebrate the names of the heroes of died, and those who survived!"
As she stepped off the stage and drinks and food were shared, Winter and Raven walked up to Citrine.
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Winter asked.
"They need to be aware that this isn't the end. The real fight is going to be worse than this… I can feel it." Citrine said darkly.
Raven snorted, "Normally I'd say I want no part of this… but this battle made some of the things that my daughter and that dragon brat said to me sink in. This fight affects all of us…"
Citrine raised her eyebrow at her, "You surprised me, Raven, I wasn't expecting your help at all."
"You can throw the blame on Ice Queen over here," she threw a thumb toward Winter.
Citrine looked at her with surprise, "How'd you manage that?"
"That's a story for some other time… over drinks maybe. What's the plan now?" Winter asked.
The headmaster smirked, "Now we take a visit to our resident prisoners of war… see what we can 'extort' from them."
Winter's brow furrowed, "Prisoners? Oh… You mean…"
"Yeah, let's go see what Stein has to say…"
-Pandora, Oceanis Kingdom-
Morgan stood in her laboratory flipping through the delicate pages of her archaic alchemy tome. Beakers, test tubes and flasks bubbled with different coloured liquids under the dim torchlight of the castle room. Secluded and hidden within the deeper reaches where no one goes anymore, she was free to experiment with her concoctions as much as possible without disturbances.
"I see," she hummed dragging her finger down an inked list of ingredients and steps, "After bringing the base to a boil, add one vial of human blood and let it simmer until colourless…"
Taking one of the vials of Nitro's blood, she dumped it into the dark bubbling swill and left it to simmer as per instruction. Soon enough the mixture turned colourless as a thin brown vapour escaped from the top.
Her smile grew, "Now… to see if it works…"
Stowing the liquid's beaker in her cloak once it was cooled, she made her way down to the kitchen. There weren't many people in here, only the head chef who was fixing himself lunch.
While his back was turned she emptied the contents of the potion into his bowl of soup before making it look like she too was looking for food.
"Oh! Miss Morgan, didn't see you there. Are you hungry?" the chef asked politely.
Morgan shook her head, "No, not yet, just snacks, I'd hate to bother you on your break so if you'd like I'll just come back in five minutes or so…"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it," she chirped before leaving the room.
Five minutes later she re-emerged to find the chef standing over the stove preparing something else. They didn't seem any different, but the potion did say there'd be no visual effects.
She had to test it.
"Chef, could you prepare a grilled salmon steak? Blackened on one side?" she asked calmly.
The chef tilted his head in confusion, "Um, we don't have any salmon left…"
"Then it would be great if you were to get some. Perhaps hunt it yourself?"
The chef immediately snapped his fingers, "Of course! What a brilliant idea, I'll fetch some now!" and with that, he grabbed a knife and bolted for the door.
Once he was gone, Morgan was barely able to contain her excitement. It worked!
The potion made it so that people succumbed to the brewer's suggestions easily. It wasn't mind control but it made them want to listen to her requests and ideas.
"Perfect… and just in time for tea. This kingdom will be mine soon enough, just you wait Queen…"
-Pandora-
The team had been travelling for about a day now, with Nova enjoying the time spent in her female body, and while carriage transport beat walking, it was still too slow compared to their normal methods of transport.
If they weren't travelling with so many people, then it'd be a simple matter of using Ruby and Yang's motorcycles. Nova and Neo could also fly, but it wouldn't be enough to fit everyone.
Nevertheless, the carriage ride was almost over as it crested the final hill.
"Castle Firestone, just ahead!" Aurelios called from the driver's seat. Everyone peered out of their cabins to take in the sight before them.
Sitting neatly in the depths of a valley surrounded by the rolling hills of grass and peppered with forest trees was a grand castle made of pristine marble and stone etched with lines of orange that popped out like veins of magma. It gave the castle a volcanic ashen exterior while retaining the regal appearance allotted to a building of such stature.
The grounds were neatly kept, a grand courtyard of gardens and hedges… or at least it was trying to be. The earth around Castle Firestone was stained black and very little vegetation grew around it. Surrounding the vicinity were dead trees of gnarled branches and blackened bark. Not burnt, not dying… almost petrified.
Still, from the grand spires that towered into the sky, to the massive, blackened oak doors, everything was cleaned spotless. If not for the attempts of the castle staff, this place would look like an abandoned relic.
"It's… incredible," Oscar said, craning his neck out of the window.
Luna frowned slightly, "Why is the earth around it so black? It's… like the very soil is filled with death…"
Nova was silently staring at the castle, her face stoic and made no effort to comment on what he was seeing. Something inside her was tugging, like a hand pulling on her sleeve and beckoning toward the castle.
It was calling out to her, he could hear it, and she could feel it. The threads of fate were tightening and becoming almost tangible… but why did she feel this tightness in his chest, there was a knot forming in her stomach.
"Nervous?" Ruby asked mentally.
She gave her a shaky look, "I… don't know…"
As they approached, they could make out figures lined up along the grand black gates that served as entry through the surrounding walls that shot ten feet into the air. Faunus of varying types lined up in black and white uniforms, maids, butlers, grounds keepers and even a few armoured soldiers were all lined against either side of the stone pathway that led into the estate. A total of twelve butlers and maids, four grounds keepers and six soldiers. They weren't expecting an audience...
While at first glance this seemed like a lot of people, given the gargantuan size of the castle and surrounding grounds, this wasn't nearly enough for proper maintenance. If one were to compare it to the staff maintaining Castle Lightmane, which was but a fraction smaller than this one, then the ratio of staff to size was drastic.
The carriages stopped just in front of the gates as they heard Aurelios announcing from the outside, "Presenting his royal highness, Prince Nova Flareheart and her royal highness, Princess Luna Flareheart, their mother Elain Frostfang, as well as their companions!"
Luna looked at her sister, "Ready?"
Nova steadied her hands. She wasn't king, not yet, but still, she could feel the pressure.
"No."
Luna's eyes opened in surprise, that wasn't the response she was expecting.
"But let's do this," she looked around, "Together?"
Ruby gave her a warm smile, "Together."
The carriage doors opened and the quartet stepped into the bright rays of sunshine that beamed down from above. The moment the prince took the first step onto the ground, the wind ripped through her hair, the trees rustled, and the atmosphere shifted.
She glanced around to find the others were also filtering out of their carriages, stretching and taking in the sunshine.
Luna followed behind her sister and Ruby and Oscar came after. Aurelios hopped down from the carriage seat and stood next to Nova and Luna.
"Welcome to Castle Firestone, your Highnesses. Your ancestral home." He gestured with a bow toward the open gates and the lines of waiting staff, "I hope you don't mind the gathering. I had to let the staff know beforehand so I had sent word from Castle Lightmane via carrier crow."
"You guys use crows to carry letters?" Ruby had to hold herself back from bursting out in laughter. Her uncle would be the butt end of a few bad jokes when she got back home.
"This place is nuts!" Yang commented as she met up with them. "It's way bigger than Weiss' house."
Weiss looked at her side-eyed, "Well duh, we're just rich, they're genuine royalty."
"So are you, technically," Elain said as she poked Weiss, "Remember, you are our family."
Weiss snorted, "The blood runs thin, still this is… crazy…"
"Yeah," Elain whistled, "If I had known I married into this insanity I'd probably have gotten nervous just from holding Flint's hand at the altar."
"Come on Mom, you're technically queen remember?" Noval looked at her sheepishly.
Elain narrowed her eyes, "Oh no. Nuh-uh. This is all you sweetie. Frostfang Blood doesn't give me authority here, or have you forgotten the history books? Seeing as I wasn't married to their last king in their books, I might as well be chopped liver to these guys."
The dragon grimaced, "Right… only the blood of Flareheart can rule… stupid restriction if you ask me. If someone is qualified, then they should be free to rule."
"That's not how monarchies work, and you know it. Besides, I'm not qualified."
Sighing, Nova looked at the people he'd never met before. While most were doing their best not to stare, many couldn't help but fixate their gazes on the pair of dragons.
The prince's ears picked up hushed whispers, "Is that them?" someone asked.
"I see two… silver hair and horns… those eyes. It must be them, right? But where's the prince?"
"They certainly look the part. Not sure what I was expecting but they definitely look like royalty."
Nova glanced down at her body and realized she'd been in female form.
Aurelios gestured to Nova, "Prince Nova," and then to Luna, "Princess Luna."
The staff all simultaneously bowed as Aurelios ushered the group along the path until they arrived at the grand doors.
"I do apologize for the grounds, since the civil war the soil has been stained black and nothing has been able to grow… try as we might it was unfortunately beyond our control." He said as they walked through.
Luna shook her head, "It's fine Mister Starseer, we've seen this before. Probably aftereffects of the Grimm."
"Please, just Aurelios is fine."
Nova turned around to gaze back at the staff and coughed in embarrassment. She reached into her bag, brought out Summer's cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders before hitting the regulator on her arm, changing back to male.
As Nova turned back into a man, the staff were mesmerized but none dared to ask questions. They simply accepted it while recognition dawned on the faces of the others, somewhat understanding that the older dragon was in fact the prince.
A pair of maids walked up and pushed the doors open and Aurelios guided them through.
"There are a total of 900 rooms including staff quarters, guest bedrooms, offices and bathrooms." He announced as he led them through the castle's ground floor.
Behind them, the staff followed silently and marched with purpose. It was impressive they managed to maintain such levels of dignity and professionalism. The prince found it quite admirable that none of them even dared to raise a question or make a vocal comment while in their direct presence. They took their jobs quite seriously.
"There are four main halls along the ground floor, the North Wing, West Wing, East Wing and South Wing. In the North Wing lies the kitchen and storage rooms, the East wing has the dining room, the West wing has the ballroom and the South Wing is the entrance hall. Connecting the four wings is the central throne room. Bedrooms are upstairs."
Their tour was stopped in the central throne room. It was a gargantuan room with a ceiling that towered even higher than the ones at the Zephyr mansion. To the back wall was a pair of staircases that led to the upper floors and behind it a stained glass window with the Flareheart symbol. Running along the bannisters that fed into the second and third floor were banners of the same symbol all embroidered in silver and gold.
The throne itself nestled in the space between the staircases, the area was wide enough to fit an entire parking lot. A black throne made out of metal sat in the space, its arms were shaped like dragon heads and sported a wide and elevated base. The back of the throne rose high just below the stained glass with an enormous design. Dragons curled along the edges of the chair rounding up to a peak where it spiked at the top. Three empty slots like round coins matching the shape of the mark of approval were embedded on the large backing.
The seat itself was the most peculiar part of the whole structure. An expensive white cushion nestled neatly between the two massive arms was caged by an array of razor-sharp, dangerous-looking blades that latched around the throne like dragon claws preventing anyone from sitting on it.
"Lastly, the throne room," Aurelios stopped, "As you can see, no one can sit upon the Flareheart throne unless they receive the three symbols of approval from each of the three kingdoms. This was designed by its last ruler, Alexandrite Flareheart the first so that only the worthy could rule."
"It's… just… wow…" Luna mouthed as she looked around.
"What do you think, Your Highness?" he looked at Nova. The prince was silent
Nova was… awestruck to say the least. He could hear fate calling him again and his body began to move on its own toward the throne.
The gathering stood still as the prince approached the throne, he moved awkwardly and hesitantly as he touched the cool metal. It felt oddly familiar for something he was only now seeing for the first time.
As he turned around he was met with dozens of pairs of expectant eyes.
"I guess, I should say something," he spoke and the room carried his voice, "You guys, don't know me. You don't know my family. To you guys, we're strangers, but duty dictates that you're supposed to follow us. It's pretty scuffed, I know, but in all honesty, I didn't come in here expecting you to instantly give me your respect. I came here to earn it. In the coming days, I hope you all will give me that chance. Until I earn your respect and your trust, please speak freely with me. Treat me as if you were your own. I'm not your king, not yet, and as much as I would like to spend my current time exploring this place and learning about my ancestors as well as getting to know all of you, there is an emergency I must deal with first."
Nova turned to Aurelios, "Please if you would guide us to the King's Passageway."
Aurelios nodded in understanding, "Of course, your majesty, but may I suggest staying a while? The staff have worked tirelessly for you and your party's arrival and it would be a waste of their efforts should you leave now."
Nova contemplated and turned to his friends, "This is your call guys."
Hex rubbed her arm but nodded, "We can afford to spend the night at least, I… don't think Nitro's in any immediate danger, his vitals are still holding up. Gauge as well but well… we'll deal with that bridge when we get there." she was horrendously worried, but how could she justify her gut feeling?
"Then it's settled, we'll stay here for the night and move out in the morning."
Aurelios clapped, "Splendid, I'll have the staff move your luggage to your rooms, in the meantime, join us for lunch in the dining room," he turned to the staff, "Alright ladies and gents, let's show our prince, princess and our guests the hospitality they deserve."
The team went off in various directions, all agreeing to meet up at the dining hall for dinner. The castle was enormous, so it was easy for them all to get lost, as such one butler or maid was assigned to the groups to ensure they found things easily.
Luna found herself alone with Oscar in the grand library. The majestic sanctuary of knowledge expanded to almost the size of the ballroom, perhaps even bigger. Shelves stockpiled with books climbed high into the sky beyond where light could reach. The rows and aisles of ancient scriptures were cleaned and neatly organized but some of the higher floors of the library remained dusty and smelled of old parchment.
A grand chandelier made of Light dust hung from the ceiling to provide the most of the light, and though it wasn't the bulbs they were used to, it served its purpose. It was, however, much more aesthetically pleasing, like a giant crystal star that burned a bright yellow-orange glow that bathed the entire room in its illuminance.
"Holy fuck," Luna said unable to contain herself.
Oscar looked at her deadpan, "Luna, babe, have you been hanging out with your brother too much?"
She just shot him an unamused look, "I swear sometimes…"
"Yeah, okay but like, when?"
"Oh my god is that an entire section on ancient history?!" Luna completely ignored him and scampered up the stairs to a shelf labelled Ancient History.
"THEY HAVE EVERYTHING HERE! From ancient Faunus rituals to religions and… WOW I COULD LIKE, LIVE HERE!"
Oscar groaned loudly.
"It would serve you well to explore this place," Ozpin said in his mind, "There's no telling what you might find."
"Is that some way of telling me you also want to read?" Oscar shot back.
"…"
"Right, well fine…"
-Several hours later-
The maid assigned to the princess and her human was getting quite bored. She was supposed to watch over them but the princess had disappeared into the near-endless shelves and was long out of sight. The only thing remaining of her presence were the occasional exclamations of surprise coming from the upper decks, an act which often startled her sensitive fox ears.
Meanwhile, Luna was having the time of her life. Leaving Oscar with a pile of books of his own she had ventured into the highest floors of the library. She could feel something pulling at her, begging her to find it.
There was something inside this dusty and decrepit section of the library. The floors were caked in white powder, uncleaned for perhaps centuries. Cobwebs lined the walls and barely any light made it up here as this particular section made it even higher than the chandelier. Piles of unmarked books lined the flooring, haphazardly thrown around, and part of her wanted desperately to explore every page… but there was something else up here.
Eventually, she came across an archaic-looking marble table, too old to tell. On it, covered in so much dust it was hard to miss, was a single book bound in tanned leather. Its cover felt feeble and soft as she picked it up, dusting off the cover she noted a peculiar symbol on it. A black prism.
Opening it, the pages felt delicate and fragile to the touch, as if grasping at it too hard would disintegrate the worn parchment. The yellowed paper-like material was stained with blotches of ink. Delicate and beautiful calligraphy comprised each page, and she noticed that the innermost page was the most discernible. With her draconic eye-sight to enhance her vision, she made out the letters, "Sapphire Flareheart's research journal. The mysteries of the galactic birthmark."
Luna's eyes widened instantly, this was the journal of the first Sapphire Flareheart, and as if fate would have it, she too bore the mark of the swirling galaxy.
Every natural-born Aspect had a birthmark that signified their affinity toward a specific aspect. Nova's was the bursting star to signify his affinity to fire, Weiss didn't have one since her circumstances are special, Blake supposedly has one but refuses to say where and she's read about the other types recorded.
She began to read:
"There are many variances of the Aspect Mark. Our family has only Fire Aspects, so our birthmarks are always flickering flames." Luna was confused. Wasn't Nova's a burning star? Not a flickering flame?
She pressed on, "However, strange variances have begun to occur outside our family. It started with the Aero Aspects. The Bladewings. An Aero aspect was born with a birthmark that resembled a lightning bolt and not that of the wind. That person, Garuda Bladewing, became the first Aero Aspect to command hurricanes and storms, she could wield lightning like a weapon.
The next was someone from the Terra Aspect, born with a gemstone instead of a boulder. They could control crystals and sand.
All of these Aspect Variances had one thing in common, their powers were different from what was normally useable, and all of them were violently powerful. Each of them became a force of nature, and measures had to be taken to control their rampant powers.
The Lightmanes never had an Aspect variant born and neither did the Prismafinns… and this would have been true for us as well until… me.
Unlike my predecessors born with the Flame, I was born with… a swirling galaxy. We aren't sure what it is. The only clue as to what it is is texts from an ancient civilization that supposedly visited the stars.
I… don't know exactly what my powers do. I can move objects with my mind. I guess that's about it."
The first page ended, and Luna had to drop to her knees. This person… had researched her abilities and judging by the length of this book she had discovered something.
The next few chapters talked about Sapphire Flareheart the first's attempts to unravel the mysteries of her powers, testing her limits. Lifting boulders to trees to even shifting the nature of things around her. Expanding objects that could expand and crushing objects that could compress. Even parting water and walking on vertical surfaces.
She probably made it about halfway through the book when the maid from downstairs called, "Your Highness! Dinner is ready!"
Clutching the book in her hands she walked down the stairs with it. Finding Oscar also awaiting on the ground floor.
"Hey Blue, found something?" he asked, "Oz had me dig through like old economics books… it was horrible…" he shuddered.
She snickered and elbowed him while holding the book, "I found something, it's like the one I had at Mom's place. That book was a dead end but this might lead somewhere." She turned to the maid, "Is it okay if I take this with me?"
The maid looked at her confused, "Of course, you do not need my permission, young mistress. This is your house, you're free to do whatever you want."
Luna slowly blinked at let the implications of that statement sink in.
This… was her castle. Her family's ancestral home. She'd felt like a guest in someone else's house but that wasn't the case.
The enormous building and everything inside it… belonged to her and her family.
It didn't feel real. It felt alien, this feeling of having a home.
As far as she could remember, Luna Flareheart never had a physical place to call home. Her home was wherever her brother was.
Her manor on Menagerie? Only spent six years of her life there. Uncle Randolf's shack in the woods? Another six years. Haven Academy? One Year. Bouncing from Beacon to Atlas to Shade took up the next three years of her life. As much as Citrine, Ozpin or the Belladonnas might have suggested otherwise, she always knew her stay in those places was only temporary.
She'd never really… had a home she made real memories in, unless you counted those weird years in Randolf's cabin, at least she could remember those, but Randolf was never home that often. The old man treated them more like students than his niece and nephew.
This was the first time someone had outwardly told her that, she had a home… and, deep inside she wanted to feel it, but ultimately only time would tell if she could adjust to this place… and it also depended on her brother.
Nova was her home, and as much as she loved Oscar, their relationship wasn't nearly as deep as the bond between her and Nova. At least not yet.
If Nova told her this place wasn't their home, then she would accept that, but… inside she hoped he would.
That's when it hit her, exactly what Aurelios was trying to do. Why Aurelios was insisting they stayed the night at the very least.
This was Castle Firestone, this was Castle Flareheart. If Nova ascended to the throne… this place would become home…
She almost felt a little giddy. This castle could become a home, as long as the people important to her were there, as long as Nova and… hopefully Oscar was there… she could make this work.
-Meanwhile out in the garden-
Weiss and Neo decided to explore the grounds as the sun began to set over the horizon bathing the fields in a warm orange glow. Despite the dead soil and petrified trees, a small portion of the garden toward the back of the manor was spared.
It was small compared to the extended reach of the estate, but what remained was a small flower-filled garden with an ornate wooden gazebo overlooking a small pond.
"This place is pretty," Weiss mused as she looked around, wondering that if this small fraction was this beautiful, how would the whole thing look? She twirled the Cryoseki between her fingers, letting its cool icy exterior sooth her. The stone had become a source of comfort ever since she acquired it.
Neo looked at her amused, "Yeah, not as pretty as you, though."
Weiss immediately stopped and turned around wide-eyed, "D-Did you just talk?"
Neo looked at her and signed, "Of course not, I can't talk. My vocal cords are shredded beyond repair." That is what she said in sign language… but Weiss heard it. A high-pitched yet mature voice that was velvet smooth.
"Neo… I heard… your voice!" Weiss exclaimed, releasing her grip on the Cryoseki and covering her mouth.
The girl in question tilted her head in confusion, 'What are you talking about?'.
Weiss frowned now just as bewildered herself. She had just heard Neo speak, she did, but the girl's lips didn't move. This wasn't the first time either. She'd surely heard this same voice on multiple occasions before but simply chalked it up to her imagination.
Now she was sure of it. She heard Neo talk… so how? She thought back to each time she had heard the voice before. Each time she was holding onto the Cryoseki, it was directly touching her… so then…
Grabbing hold of the Cryoseki again, Weiss said, "Can you think of something? Like, try talking to me in your head?"
Neo looked at her with an annoyed expression.
"Just humour me."
She rolled her eyes, "Fine, is this what you wanted? Happy? See I'm not talking."
"HOLY SHIT I CAN HEAR YOU!" Weiss pointed out in alarm.
Neo stopped, "Wait… seriously?!"
"Yes seriously! Also is this what you sound like?"
"HOLY FUCK!"
"How is this possible?" Neo asked, looking at Weiss, "As far as I know we're not soul bonded."
Weiss hummed and tapped her chin, "Here try me." She began to think, "Is this working?"
Neo looked at her blankly, "I can't hear your thoughts, Schnee."
"So it's not a two-way street, I can just hear your voice if you think out loud… and it only happens while I'm holding the stone…"
Neo understood, "Okay… so that stone and the Winter Maiden powers are… connected somehow? More mysteries… why don't these things come with manuals?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Beats me, but at least you can talk to me easier now, right?" she gave her a kind smile.
As the sunset's rays cascaded over Weiss' smiling face, Neo felt the heat rising in her face, "S-Shit you're way too pretty it's not fair…" Then immediately her brain stopped as she looked at Weiss wide-eyed.
Weiss definitely heard that.
"U-Uh… what I mean is…" Neo began to fidget nervously while Weiss was staring at her awestruck. "Oh fuck it, Weiss, what do you think about me?"
The Schnee was caught off guard, "H-Huh…? W-What do you mean?"
"Answer the question, because I've been trying to send you signals in the best way I could for the last like year and you have not ONCE picked up on them." Neo was moving forward with confidence as she backed Weiss into a corner, forcing the Schnee to lean against the railing while Neo closed over her.
Weiss had nowhere to run, "I-I think you're really nice, and… while you weren't always a good person, you're a good person now… and you're really sweet and… a good friend?"
Neo's eyebrow twitched as she leaned in further on Weiss, their faces inches apart, "Is that all?"
Weiss' face turned flushed deeply as she gulped. She wanted to say more… but… how did she feel about Neo?
Sure Neo was cute and they'd been through a lot… and she had a way of making her heart skip a beat now and then but… was there more to it than that? Could she give Neo a definitive answer?
The ice-cream-haired girl on the other hand saw Weiss' inner turmoil and sighed heavily, "Alright, fine. You don't need to answer me. I can see that I've made your adorable head turn to mush… just… think about it, okay?" her expression softened as she leaned up and kissed Weiss on the cheek making the Schnee discombobulate.
"Dinner is ready!" they heard one of the butlers call from the entrance to the Castle.
"That's our queue," Neo said with a wink as she skipped off, leaving Weiss a confused and hopeless mess.
Eventually, everyone gathered in the dining room. It was much bigger than the one at Castle Lightmane and decorated much differently. The floor was an obsidian black that soaked in the light of the room as an extremely long wooden table stretched the length of the floor across the middle of the space. Chairs each ornately carved out of various patterns all flame-like, in robust mahogany and varnished a deep brown. The table bore no covering cloth save for a stretch of silver and orange table runner embroidered with the Flareheart symbol.
The walls were decorated with tapestries of various people. All of them seemed like members of the family. Nova didn't recognize any of them but he could tell they were Flarehearts due to the silver hair, draconic eyes and horns.
If the staff had any doubt he and Luna were Flarehearts before then all those doubts perished when his profile sat side by side with a portrait of the first King, Adamantite Flareheart.
The portrait of the first King was almost an exact replica of Nova, minus the scarring, eyes and orange-tinted hair. Adamantite had pure platinum hair with mismatched eyes, the left was a deep violet, and the right was a golden yellow. Perhaps signifying his close relation to the Gods of Creation and Destruction.
The others arrived in the room with Weiss blushing nervously and Neo sporting a smug grin. This caught Nova's eye and once the Schnee saw she quickly let go.
Nova just rolled his eyes and smirked at her knowingly, Neo just giggled silently and tapped out on her scroll 'I've made some progress!'
This resulted in Nova giving her a thumbs up and a cheeky grin.
"You guys had fun?" Nova asked as they filtered in.
Yang was the most excited, "Dude this place has like everything? There's a whole range out in the back, a fucking Hot Spring in the baths and a game room! THEY HAVE A FLIPPIN POOL TABLE!"
Elain snorted, "I totally whooped everyone's ass at pool."
Nova was taken aback, "Wait, seriously?!" he looked to find Blake and Sun also looking embarrassed.
"Yeah seriously, I even found there's an armoury of ancient-looking swords and shit," Hex commented.
"The gardens are pretty… nice, I suppose," Weiss said still trying to hide her blush.
Nova found his sister, "And you found something too?" he noticed the book in her hands.
She nodded vigorously, "They have like, the biggest library in the world!"
Her beaming smile made Nova melt as he realized how long it'd been since he saw that child-like demeanour. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.
Aurelios guided Nova to his seat at the head of the table and Luna to hers which sat to his left. The others took up seats nearby and as Ruby made to sit next to Nova on his right, one of the maids stopped her.
"Ahem, my apologies young miss, I am aware you are unfamiliar with our traditions but the seats next to the prince royal are reserved for his consorts or significant others. In the case of the King, it would be the queen's position." The fox-eared maid said formally. There were no hints of malice, only the tone of someone trying to correct the mistake of another.
Everyone around the table giggled at the poor maid's expense.
Nova just smiled kindly at the maid, "Then there is no issue if the seat is to be held by my bride-to-be?"
The maid nodded, "In the case of a betrothed then it would be allowed."
"Then I see no issue," Nova looked at Ruby and took her hand, guiding her to sit down next to him. "This is my betrothed after all."
The maid at once noticed the ring on Ruby's hand and immediately bowed her head, "My apologies your Highness, I was not informed…"
"It's alright miss. If anything, blame it on Aurelios for not informing you earlier. Ruby is my fiancé, and should things go as planned, she will be your future queen."
"I am so sorry Mistress Ruby. I was unaware and I've shown you such disrespect…!" she looked frightened the poor thing.
Ruby looked around to see pitying expressions on some of the other staff, while others looked worried about what she might do.
She all at once understood their fear. Ruby was a human, and given the tales of humans in this land, they were afraid she would be a violent monster that would lash out, but they were putting up with it because their supposed prince was her beloved.
She needed to change their views and show them that she was just like them.
The red leader reached out and clasped the maid's hands in hers, "Miss, may I have your name?" Ruby spoke while remembering her etiquette and diplomacy training. It felt strange using such a formal tone but she had to for the sake of the setting.
"Yukino, miss, no last name I'm afraid." She said mournfully, her head down, expecting to be yelled at, or punished. Humans were dangerous and horrifying creatures according to the stories, she was expecting the worst fate possible.
Ruby surprised her by smiling warmly, "Lift your head, Miss Yukino." The girl did as she was told, her grey eyes met the bright silver of Ruby's, "There was no disrespect, no offence taken. So far all of you on staff have acted in the most professional manner possible, despite just meeting us for the first time, meeting the prince for the first time. I'm sure all of you must have been terrified seeing humans, but, you held strong and did your duties. It's very admirable of you all, and even with this, you have remained respectful. There is no reason to fear me, or my fiancé, or… any of us. We don't intend to bring you harm and are grateful for your hospitality thus far. You've done a great job and you should be proud of that."
Yukino stared up at her in awe, "S-So I'm not being punished?" this wasn't what she was expecting at all, the complete opposite. The staff around the table were all just as baffled by the human's actions.
Ruby shook her head, "No, you're not."
"T-Thank you… miss Ruby for your kind words…" Yukino stuttered.
"No thanks needed, I should be thanking you for all of this," she gestured to the array of food on the table, "I hope you guys will join us since I'm pretty sure we won't finish all of it!" she announced loudly enough for the whole room.
Aurelios who was watching the whole thing in silence smiled impressed by this Ruby girl. She showed the diplomacy and mediation qualities of a queen, not only did she diffuse the situation but even brought up the spirits of the supposed party at fault. It was a kind of sovereignty that was difficult to find.
When he found out from the prince that this Ruby Rose was potentially the future Queen, he was skeptical, but now he was starting to think the Prince picked correctly.
After that, dinner went smoothly before everyone turned in for the night. Nova and Ruby were escorted to their room, after hearing that the prince and the human were engaged, Ruby's belongings were moved to the prince's suite.
The room was large enough to be a living room, with tall ceilings and cozy décor. It was painted a burnt orange with large blackout curtains covering a balcony glass door. The bed was a tall, plush king-size bed with obsidian black sheets and silver pillows.
The floors were a solid oak wood that felt firm and the boards didn't shift or creak. Large silver and orange rugs lined the floor before the bed and around an empty desk in the far corner of the room. Despite its luxury, it seemed somewhat empty. The only other pieces of furniture were a walk-in closet and a large set of drawers with a mirror atop it. A single door led to the bathroom at the forefront of the room.
"It's… a little much isn't it?" Ruby said with a half-smile as she and Nova entered the room. So far all the rooms they'd stayed in were incomparably small. Their Beacon dorms weren't even half the size of this room. Ruby's room in her house wasn't as small but nothing compared to this.
Atlas Academy dorms were shared between the teams and Shade gave them a personal room, but it was more like a hotel room compared to this living space.
"Almost feels like a house in of itself," Nova muttered.
The bed was far too big, the walls were too far apart, there was so much floor space and absolutely nothing to do with it. Yet… despite its imposing design, he couldn't help but feel almost comfortable.
Ruby giggled, "Well, first things first, I'm heading off to shower. Though with the gigantic size of this…" she said as she opened the bathroom door to find a bathroom with enough space to fit two of the carriages from outside in it comfortably.
Nova looked at her side-eyed, "Are you suggesting we take a bath together?"
She blushed and grabbed her towel, "You know the answer to that, though we have serious business to deal with tomorrow…" she realized almost despondently.
The prince chuckled and kissed her forehead, "Unfortunately, but I'm just glad I can spend my time with you, even if it's only in the brief moments before things get crazy again."
Nova shifted into female form and climbed into the steaming hot bath that Ruby drew, it seemed the tub was more like a miniature indoor hot spring, embedded into the floor and heated with fire dust crystals.
The dragon soaked into the water as Ruby followed in after, threatening to make Nova's nose bleed. No matter how many times they saw each other naked, they could not get over the initial awkwardness and inability to stop staring.
"Mmm stop tempting me," Ruby said trying not to focus on the bits that lurked beneath the water.
Nova covered her face and tried to turn away, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"
Ruby just giggled and swam over to the dragon's side and leaned on her shoulder, "This is nice, the water's relaxing."
"It… does feel quite nice." Nova let herself relax as she felt the hot water wash away any soreness from the travels.
Ruby felt her fiancé's head swarming, "What're you thinking about that's so damn loud?"
Nova glanced at her, "It's nothing, it's stupid…"
She nudged the girl dragon, "Nope, nothing is stupid when it comes to you. Tell me."
"Ugh…" she groaned, "I was just thinking… if I do end up becoming King… doesn't that mean that this place, this castle would become my new home?"
Ruby felt her brain falter. This was something she hadn't thought about at all. The implications of that statement.
What would it be like when all of the chaos is over? Nova would become King and then what? They get married as planned. Would Nova end up living here? Would she have to live here too? What about her dad?
Ruby swallowed hard.
Nova heard her thoughts, "You're worried about the future, after the war?"
"I guess, some part of me always felt that deep down, at the end of the road, I'd go back home to Patch, spend time with Dad and Yang and Zwei. That… things would go back to the way they were before… but that can't happen." Ruby said almost dejectedly.
Nova began to feel bad, "That… can't happen, I guess. I'd need to stay here, and that's given that we win. There are so many things that could happen, and if you did want to go home and spend time with Pops, I could never hold you back.… Maybe we agree to cross that bridge when we get there?"
The red leader nodded, "We cross that bridge when we get there." These are things that were better left to deal with in the aftermath.