A/N: Hello, all you beautiful people in this community! And, Happy Thanksgiving! And, as part of this Holiday I'm giving you two Stories! Well, The first chapter in one and a On-shot later today, if possible.

Anyway, y'all have a great holiday and keep safe out there. Love Essiter!

RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and the late Monty Oum

The Castellan

He checked the map one more time before got back in his car and drove down the road some more. He had stopped briefly to pee, and get something to eat. It had been a long trip so far, and he still had a ways to go.

As he turned his car on and began to pulled back out , he thought about why he was on this trip. He had recently received a notice in the mail that he was now the sole owner of his family's ancestral home, The Chateau d'Arc.

The massive structure hadn't been lived in since his Great Grandfather's time. And, now, it was his to do with what he wanted.

He didn't quite know how to feel about that seeing as the only reason why he now owned it was because his parents had died. It had been several months ago, a car wreck, but he still hadn't recovered fully. He doubted that he'd ever would.

His sisters, at least, were doing well. They all had jobs and families of their own, but not him though. Not Jaune. He had stuck around his parents the longest, trying to find his own footing.

He had finished college.

He had a job he liked.

He owned his own car.

He just, never went beyond that, you know? Never bought his own house, looked for a family. Got a girlfriend.

He was always too busy, looking after his mom and dad. They said he didn't need to. But, he always felt like he had to.

And, now they were gone.

What was he to do? He couldn't live in the same house anymore, not after it was chock full of more than twenty-two years of memories. He couldn't live with any of his sisters and their families, he didn't want to be a burden. Even if that wasn't true, and Saphron had said so, he just didn't feel like burdening them, anyway.

So, here he was. Driving up to a place he had never been to before, far beyond the outskirts of Vale, and one that was undoubtedly rundown after all this time.

Still, it would at least take his mind off of things while he renovated the old place.

/ /

As he drove up the long, winding road at the end of a massive field of green, flowing grass he couldn't help but feel like he was driving through Elysium. It was, nice.

He ignored it as he drove up to the estate and the wrought iron gate blocking him from entering.

He stopped and got out of his car after locking it to look at what he had inherited. It was quite the sight to behold.

The old mansion was built of rich, red brick and writhing along its facade was a great massive of ivy in rich greens with red and white flowers across the expanse. Beautiful.

And, in between those ivy-covered brickwork were a multitude of large, sloped windows. The twinned front doors were a mahogany-cherry red combination. Again, beautiful.

But, as he looked on he saw the facade for what it was. The windows were mostly boarded up from inside and the window panels themselves were cracked and yellowed with age. The entrance way was made up of rotting wood barely held together by the hinges holding it up.

And as he looked out over the estate itself, he found the much of the same.

The green waves of the field were of weeds and not grass. The trees in the field beyond were overgrown, their fruit-laden limbs and branches covered by Spanish Moss and other parasitic plants.

The outbuildings, both of them, were obviously made of rotting wood themselves, though they were too far away to clearly see. It was the same with the small boathouse and pier down from the left of the house, his right from where he stood.

He blinked as he noted a woman walking towards him then from the other side of the gate. She was lovely to see, beautiful even. Her luscious black hair was thick and slightly wavy, running down to cover one eye. The other, was an amber orb of such brightness it gleamed in the light. As did her pale, smooth skin, unblemished of any marks. Her lips, her figure were full and shapely.

Beautiful. Probably the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen.

Or, at least, that's what Jaune would have thought had he not been so lost in thought, so lost in grief. Still, he did note her beauty from an objective point of view, at least.

"Mister Arc?" The woman asked in a sultry tone.

He blinked at that and nodded before stuttering out, "Uh, y-y-yes. Ahem, yes, I am Jaune Arc. And, you are, Miss…?"

The woman chuckled heartily before replying, "Oh, no need to be nervous now. My name is Cinder, Cinder Fall."

"Oh," Jaune replied then with a start. "OH, right. The real estate agent., right?"

"Indeed, Mr Arc." The woman replied with an equally sultry smile before walking up to the door. "Here. Let me get the gate for you."

"Oh, thank you," he answered absently as she unlocked the heavy chain wrapped around the iron bars and opened the gate enough for him to enter. Then, she turned and began walking back to the estate, the black heels she wore doing some fantastic with the shape of her legs, hips and butt. As did the black and red, body-hugging dress. Jaune blinked and swallowed as he caught himself staring.

He followed after her then, taking only his personal suitcase from his car before he did.

/ /

"So, Mr. Arc," Cinder asked once he caught up with her as they walked up the long, winding gravel path up towards the house. "Have you any ideas as to what you want to do with the property?"

"Oh, uh, yes." Jaune said absently as he continued to look around, thinking over what he had to do. "I, uh, I'm going to renovate it. Repair it."

"Oh?" She returned over her shoulder, her hands clasped before her as she walked delicately up the path. "Are you going to sell it after? I could give you a good price."

"No. No, I'm going to live here, I think?" Jaune returned, still not sure as to why he was here. Lost in thought.

So lost he didn't notice the slight frown the woman gave to that statement before smoothing her features back to normal as she replied with, "Hm, pity. Well, if you should change your mind, I'm just a call away."

"Understood. I'll definitely give it some thought." Jaune returned as he continued to look around while he followed behind her. "Got to check out the place beforehand, anyway."

"Hm, true," the real estate agent said. "Oh, and here we are."

She slid the thick, brass key in the rather ornate lock on the door and turned it. The door promptly fell inwards, crashing to the floor inside in a pillowing cloud of dust.

Jaune coughed and waved his hand around at that. "Whew, dusty" He stated.

"Indeed," Cinder returned having stepped back before her dress could be caught up in the grime. "That is too be expect, though, yes? The place hasn't been occupied since your grandfather live here, right?"

"Uh, great grandfather, at least." Jaune returned hesitantly as he looked inside, trying to peer through the gloom within. It was very dark.

"Well, should you need me, only I'm a phone call away, though, I believe there's no signal inside. So, if you need me you'll have to leave the estate itself." Cinder said on handing him the key.

"Uh, right. Got it," Jaune returned confused. "Uh, where is the generator at ? is, there a generator?" He asked as he thumbed the nearby light switch up and down a couple of time to no avail.

"I don't know. Perhaps in the basement?" Cinder returned as she turned and left, stalking of with just the right amount of hip sway. Jaune found himself enraptured by that as he stared after her. First in confusion, then in muted heat.

As he did he failed to note the white figure that drifted by behind him.

He blinked eventually and shook his head at that even as his face flushed with embarrassment. And as Cinder finally got into her car and left, he found himself waving at her as she did the same before pulling out and leaving. He then turned and walked back into the house only to stop as he realized just how dark it really was.

It was getting to be dark outside, too.

He slumped in place as he sighed at that before turning back around and walking back down to his car to get a flashlight.

Once he got that, and the rest of his things, he stalked back up to the house, just as thunder rumbled overhead. He groaned aloud at that.

Once inside he shut the door behind him. Or, well, he lifted the door back up with some difficulty and jammed it back in place. A golden mote watched from the stairwell as he did so before disappearing right as he turned around and started down the hallway of the parlor towards it.

"Boy, it sure is dusty," Jaune muttered to himself as he shown the flashlight over the interior of the house as he made his way through it.

What furniture there was covered in thick, white sheets that, much like the carpets and wooden floors were coated in a thick layer of dust. There were also numerous cobwebs here and there, too.

He even had to tear a few down as he made his way forwards, a handkerchief to his mouth as he did so.

Eventually, he made his way there, somewhat confused at how long the trip was, but wrack it up to him being tired and walking slower than normal due to the darkness. The golden mote returned along the way and began to follow after him. It bobbed and bounced jubilantly behind him as it did so.

Jaune first looked up the stairwell, finding it winding its way upwards into darkness far beyond the limited range of his light. He blinked as he looked up into seemingly endless darkness. He shook his head at that before turning to walk down the stairs. Once more muttering to himself, "What, is the place haunted or something? Get real?"

The mote seemed to laugh at his actions, hovering in place as it stuttered and sparked in flashing shapes before flying up into a loop and zapping down behind him again. Jaune still didn't notice it as he made his way down into the basement below.

He was somewhat surprised at how big the basement was, and how full it was. The basement around him was stocked full with numerous crates and shelves full of cans, pails and bottles.

He walked further into the basement with the mote following behind, distantly. As he did so he came upon something he was actually familiar with. Several large barrels, or casks. Ten of them.

He walked over to one and banged on it. He heard a liquid sloshing around inside. Wine. Or, what was left of it.

Most likely, what was inside any of them was now vinegar. Pity. It would've made a good subsidiary paycheck while he worked on the house. In the meantime, he needed to get the power on as he heard more thunder overhead.

He walked on. The mote followed behind, now, more closely. Almost as if it was scared of the thunder.

Finally, he found what he was looking for: an old crank generator. One hopefully full of Lightning Dust. He walked over to it and looked it over. He nodded. It looked to be in good condition. Good. He took up the crank and began to wind it, his bicep flexing under his tight-fitting white shirt.

After he was sure he had wound up the the generator enough he punched the large, red button on the side. The generator chuffed before wirrring to life as lights blinked on overhead. Jaune smiled at that.

Meow!

Jaune jolted in place. He turned towards the generator to find a small black cat sitting there on top of it that hadn't been there before. What's more, its amber eyes were glaring right into his blue eye.

He jumped backwards, slamming against the wall with a manly scream and closing his eyes at that surprise. After a moment, Jaune opened his eyes to find the cat simply staring at him while it lied there.

He blinked at that before coughing and rising to his feet while brushing himself off. "Right. Well, that's something that I'm glad no one will ever see."

Then he bent down to pick up his flashlight where it had fallen during his momentary panic. When he looked up he found the cat was no longer there. In fact, he couldn't find it anywhere in the basement no matter how hard he looked.

Had he imagined it? No. Couldn't be. He saw it lying on the generator after it had spooked him. So, where was it?

Meow!

He shivered as he felt a sudden chill go up his back at that and turned to find the cat once more staring at him. This time from the bottom step of the stairwell. It blinked at him before turning to make its way up.

He sighed at that before shivering again as he heard another thunderclap overhead. Whatever storm was brewing out there, it was getting close. He shook his head again as he made his way back up the stairs.

Once upstairs he eventually made his way his way to the kitchen. It was less dirty than the rest of the house he had seen so far but it was still covered in a layer of slime and dust so thick he couldn't see the color of the tiles on the floor or the supposed marble counter tops.

He looked through the various shelves and overhead cabinets to find them mostly empty, though there were a few plates and glasses left behind from whenever his ancestors had left, for whatever reason that was. He shrugged, unable to remember that.

He turned to look for the faucet then. Well, one of them anyway. There was apparently four sinks, and five ovens.

Huh he thought as he stared at that. Apparently, I'm a man who owns five ovens.

As he made his way over to the nearest one he failed to note the white figure seemingly hovering on the other side of the middle isle, almost like it was waiting for him to make it something. If so, it was sorely disappointed as when Jaune tried to faucet it was to find it not working.

He checked under the the sink, twisting the small handle to and fro, but the water never flowed. It had been turned off. He'd either have to find something outside to restart it, or call the power company tomorrow.

He decided to try for the former, thinking the house was too far out in the boonies for the local water and power company to do anything for it. The Arcs had always been a pretty self reliant family.

He nodded to himself at that, the figure still looming behind him silently, and turned to leave the kitchen. The figure was no longer there.

As Jaune made his way outside he found it to be already raining. He sighed at that before stepping out into the rain and started making his way to the nearest outbuilding, the one with the large steel canister next to it.

He hurried down to the building shielding his eyes from the rain while using his flashlight to avoid any hidden mishaps. As he did he failed to see the figure in red run by.

Once at the building, he had to shove over the large, rolling door to enter the building. He silently thanked whoever was out there that he hadn't found the door locked or chained up as he stepped inside, shaking water from his blond locks, to find a machine shop-cum-smithy. He looked around inside seeing all the tools were largely still there and nodded in appreciation at what was there. He didn't know much about either, but it sure was interesting.

He continued further in until he came to some kind of water pump. He found that odd, unsure as to whether it was a part of one or the other of the two workshops within, before walking up to it and reading over the panel next to it.

He blinked at what he found. Apparently, the pump was attached to the house, somehow. He shrugged at that before taking the wheel in hand and began turning it with a growl and gritted teeth. The wheel was quite rusty and naturally didn't want to move.

As he did so he failed to see the red figure as it dashed by the window next to him. Eventually, the crank started to move and the pressure gauge began to go up. By the time he was done Jaune was covered sweat and grime and was tired to boot.

He steeped back from the pump and wiped at his brow tiredly, panting for breath. After catching his breath he turned and left the building, once more not noticing the red figure as it stood outside watching him in the rain. The rain past right through its form as it stood there indistinct.

He whined as he noticed that the rain had picked up while he was restarting the water pressure. He sighed and wiped at his face before sucking it up and walking out into the storm just as a large peal of lightning cracked overhead..

He flinched at that but continued on with the red figure now following after him slowly.

Once he made it back to the house he found a new issue. Namely, several massive holes in the upper floors where water was falling down.

He sighed at that. Yet another thing to fix tomorrow, if he ever got around to it.

He wondered if it would just be easier at this point to sleep in his car. He turned right as a massive bolt of lightning struck just beyond the brick wall bordering the estate. And, decided that a few leaks in the roof weren't that big of a deal.

He past through the parlor, not noticing the glowing yellow mote that had once more taken a spot over his shoulder and moved into the kitchen. He didn't notice as the mote was joined by the white and red figures as he passed through the kitchen into the dining room beyond. He didn't notice the black cat suddenly following him as he past by the very dirty and dark dining area and walked into another room with furniture.

Tired as he was, he decided to pull of the sheet covering one of the couches there and use it as his bed for the time being. He put his briefcase and overnight bag next to the couch, leaving the rest of his things in the parlor area.

After pulling some things out to wear the next day he went back to the kitchen and turned on the water. Using some soap and a mostly cleaned rag that he found he started wiping himself off. When he went to pull off his clothes all his unknown voyeurs seemingly disappeared, though they disappeared at different rates, starting with the white figure and ending with the yellow mote.

Once he was as clean as possible Jaune went back and laid down on the uncovered couch. He fell asleep to the sounds of rain and the creaking of the old house soon enough. Tomorrow would be a long day.

He hoped that it would be a fulfilling one.

A/N: Oh, one last thing. This story is going to be put on hold for a while. I'll get back to it soon, don't worry, but I got a few other stories that I haven't been giving any love for a while so I'm going to work on them first.

Once again, Take care and Happy Thanksgiving!