Ruby stalked into the market square, heavy iron cleaver slung at her side. She'd barely been able to afford a scrap of breakfast after essentially begging for a good price on her room, and the cheap accommodations had her back aching. Regardless, she had something to do.

Ruby approached the booth, this time attended by a different ginger girl with a maul on her back. "Good morning!" She said with an unfamiliar accent. "Your registration?"

Ruby stared blankly at her, then realized he probably meant the slip she got from Penny. She fumbled for her pouch, extracting the stamped parchment after a few moments. She turned and pulled her hood further out as she handed the paper over, hoping the ginger wouldn't question it.

The booth attendant stared at the slip. "Rupert the Red? That's an odd name."

Ruby tried her best to make a masculine grunt. "I, uh… didn't ask for it?"

The girl shrugged and placed the slip below her, throwing a thumb over her shoulder. "Go on back, you'll know when it starts."

Ruby sighed and rushed to follow her directions, moving as quickly as she could with the giant iron cleaver slung over her shoulder. The tourney grounds were wide and flat, a large area of the square cleared and fenced off with wooden posts and colorful pennants to give them space. Several benches lined one edge, where other entrants were sitting and eating. Ruby made her way over, keeping her face covered as best she could while scouting for a spot that was close enough to eavesdrop, but not too close to be suspicious. Thinking she found one such spot, she dropped onto a bench. The long plank groaned under the weight of her body and her cleaver, but managed to hold.

She relieved her shoulder of the cleaver's heft, laying it across her lap so she could look busy oiling it, instead of looking like she was trying to stalk her competition From what she could see, though, nobody seemed to be paying her any attention. A group chatted loudly beside her.

"So, what would you do with all that Schnee money?" It was a young blonde man with tanned skin and a bright red leather jerkin that extended past his waist. He wore it completely open, for some reason, and Ruby could see his chiseled torso beneath— the wanton public exposure making her blush. He also wore a pair of off-white breeches, extra baggy as they were fastened just below the knees, rather than at his ankles. Oddly, he wore no shoes.

"Schnee money? Please, we all know that money is Vicenzi. He just took that name to appeal to the Emperor." Answered his friend with a scoff. His hair was a painfully bright blue, baffling to Ruby in both its vibrance and how expensive such a process would've been— her own red tips had cost an entire commission's worth. His armor, though, stood out even more— a shining brass breastplate, fluted in the center and flaring out at the bottom. It nearly blinded Ruby, making it hard to appreciate the vibrant indigo shirt beneath, its slit sleeves highlighted with lighter blue tones.

"Eh, money's money, Nep. Gods know you need it."

The blue-haired boy— 'Nep', apparently— turned to his friend, clearly offended. This gave Ruby a good look at the weapon strapped across his back— a steel trident with a black leather-wrapped handle and a bulbous bottom. "I'll make you eat those words."

The blonde glared at his 'friend', and Ruby realized he didn't have a visible weapon. Entering a tournament without a weapon… she'd have to watch out for him. Thankfully, their conflict fizzled out just as quickly as it had arisen.

Ruby cast another look around the tourney field, and came to an unsettling realization: she was the only woman present, as far as she could tell. The other benches were populated with men and boys of various age, size, and armament, though they seemed quite well-appointed. It made sense, she figured, what with the astronomical entry fee that she managed to luckily skirt. All of them stole occasional glances to the stands, particularly the covered seating that would be for the lady Schnee, but nobody had come to occupy it yet. Only a few sat in the audience stands, none of them folks that Ruby could recognize.

"Hey." A weight settled onto the bench right beside her, the accompanying person sitting uncomfortably close on the otherwise empty plank. The voice wasn't particularly masculine, though Ruby couldn't place it as feminine either. She turned.

The person beside her was even more covered than Ruby. Their black cloak covered their entire body down to the boots, and their face was wrapped in white bandages, save for their eyes, which seemed to be a burnt orange or dandelion color, though it was hard to tell from under the shadow of the cloak's hood. "Uh… hello." Ruby's voice faltered, dropping as she remembered she was supposed to be a lad named Rupert.

"Rupert the Red, right?" The person seemed to be eyeing Ruby's cleaver.

Ruby nodded. "Wh-what's it to ya?" She tried to say gruffly.

Even with just their eyes visible, Ruby could tell they were suspicious . "You're not a Knight."

Ruby slowly shook her head, not trusting her voice.

The person chuckled. "Me neither."

Ruby was starting to grow nervous. She really didn't like the way this person was eyeing her weapon, or the fact that they knew her fake name, or the fact that they were trying even harder than she was to hide her face. It was creepy! In an attempt to stave off further conversation, Ruby just nodded and gave a thumbs-up.

"These soggy nobles…" The person drawled, seemingly talking to themselves more than Ruby, "just here to elevate their standing. No love for the sport. Probably had to be pried from their mothers' teats just to come here."

Ruby looked around, but nobody else was looking their way. "V-verily." She grunted, hoping to appease her way out of the conversation.

The person whipped their head to Ruby, eyes wide with excitement. "So you agree!" They extended an arm over Ruby's shoulders, pulling her close against their side. She felt leather under the cloak. "Gods, it is so hard to find people of sound mind in this damnable farce of a city."

"Thank… you?" Ruby mumbled, holding her cleaver tightly.

"Let's team up!" They suggested, gaze eager. Ruby opened her mouth to object, but the person just pulled her tighter against them, painfully squishing Ruby's chest against their hard leather armor. The person looked down, towards Ruby's cloaked chest, then back up to Ruby's eyes, surprise clear in their wide amber irises. "You're…"

Ruby grit her teeth in anger, pushing them away. She was just about to storm off, but the person grabbed Ruby's leather vambrace, holding her still. Ruby affixed them with a boiling silver glare.

The person let her go quickly, hands flying up disarmingly. They, too, were completely covered in white bandages. "It's okay, it's okay!" They whispered loudly, "I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

Ruby frowned, but slowly lowered herself back down to the bench, eyeing them the whole time. Once she fully sat down, the person looked over their shoulder and motioned for Ruby to come close. When she did, they pulled the bandages away from their mouth to whisper in her ear.

"Me too."

Ruby pulled away quickly, flushing red as she wasn't used to anybody being so close. Their lips were pulled into a wide, toothy grin, and Ruby was beginning to see an image of femininity about them. The voice, too, sounded much more ladylike when unmuffled. Oddly, though, Ruby could also spot some kind of thin, curling black lines rising over the crest of her jawline, peaking into a volute shape just under the bottom lip. When it was clear Ruby was staring at the marks, she covered her face again.

She looked back over her shoulder again, then back at Ruby. "So… you and me?"

Ruby frowned, rejection on her lips when she noticed how many other people had arrived at the square. Nearly all of the benches were full, and she could tell many others were forming groups as well.

"The first round is going to be a battle royale," the bandaged girl explained, "being alone is welcoming failure."

Ruby couldn't deny her assessment, but she did have a question. "What if it's just us left?"

She waved Ruby off, bandaged hand peeking out from her cloak just to do it. "They'll call it off once the herd has thinned— it's more like a qualifier round."

Ruby's brow furrowed. "Qual… fire?"

Ruby could see her eyebrows raise through her bandages. "You… don't know what qualifier means?"

Ruby blushed again, suddenly feeling like an idiot as her gaze shot to her feet. She was a smith, not a scholar! Big words like that never found her forge. Did… did people think she was simple?

The girl put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry— I didn't mean it like that, I just spend a lot of time around scholars. I know how you feel, I swear."

Ruby nudged the hand off her shoulder and sat up once more. She couldn't have a breakdown over a simple misunderstanding, she'd get nowhere if that was enough to get to her. She needed to be tough. She turned back to the girl, her silver eyes hard. "Why are you even here? They won't let you court the Schnee if you do win."

She seemed a little taken aback, but quickly matched Ruby's gaze. "Why not?"

Ruby's determined look faltered, the tables suddenly turned on her in a way she didn't expect. She flushed red again. "W-well, you're a… she's… you can't, or… well…"

The girl snorted. "I know that, I mean why not be here? I love to fight, and any opportunity to hit a noble simply cannot be passed up."

Ruby pulled her hood around her red face. "That's… why I'm here," she half-lied, "to show that I'm strong."

A small beat of silence passed over them, and it looked like the bandaged girl was going to speak again when a horn blew, followed by another, then another, a cacophony of trumpeting instruments rising above the entire square. A squat man with a poofy, feathered cap and a large white mustache took the center of the square, voice bellowing out as the horns finished their sequence.

"Loyal Imperial citizens of the grand city of Vale! Show respect as we are graced with the presence of this event's organizers and our fine city's sworn protectors: House Schnee!"

Ruby quickly rose to her feet, quickly spotting the royal escort: A trio of palanquins, flanked by soldiers with shining breastplates and brightly plumed helmets. The servants lugged the royal boxes all the way to the stands. The announcer shouted once more as the palanquins were set down.

"Lord Protector Jacques Schnee!" The first and most grand of the three palanquins opened to reveal a man who was apparently extremely important, and certainly fancied himself that way. He wore a bright blue, poofy overgown over a pale yellow doublet, with his hanging sleeves split to reveal the white cloth beneath. His jerkin was a deep blue, open at the chest to show off the doublet, and split around an extremely generous codpiece. His legs were covered in bright dandelion hose, ending in slightly darker duckbill shoes. He seemed to be swallowed up by his clothes— they were so gaudy and eye-catching that Ruby barely got a look at his face before he turned and made his way to the stands.

"Lady Willow Schnee!" The second palanquin opened, and a bundle of brilliant navy silk spilled out, followed by a woman of surprisingly tall proportions. Her hair was tightly braided behind her head, and restrained behind a lattice of pearl-studded golden cloth. Her gown was a rich navy brocade, close to the waist and puffed at the sleeves, which were slashed and turned back to show the ruffled white chemise beneath. The gown ended in a wide band above her bosom, with the chemise extending all the way up to her neck. Her features were immaculate and matronly, nothing like the rugged, simple beauty that Ruby remembered of her own mother, though her eyes and face were distinctly empty, like she was completely devoid of anything below the surface. It was so distracting that Ruby almost missed the giant bump as she turned— she was very pregnant.

"And finally, Lady Weiss Schnee!" The third, least-adorned palanquin opened, and a girl stepped out. A normal girl, by all accounts. Her hair was bright white like her parents, and in a long braid straight down her back. Her gown was a solid ice-blue, but split below the bodice to reveal the white lace petticoat, then came up to an extremely low neckline with a white lattice partlet criss-crossed over her neck. Her bright cerulean eyes swept over the crowd, with some of the men making a show of swooning under her gaze. They drifted over her, went a little further, then snapped back to Ruby's own silver eyes. She stared intensely, like she was looking for something, and Ruby worried that the ruse of Rupert would be over before it would even begin. Thankfully, after a moment, the heiress turned to follow her family.

Ruby released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, only for the bandaged girl beside her to grab her hand, startling that breath right back into her lungs. Ruby pulled her hand away and looked at the girl.

She was holding her hand out, as if to clasp palms with Ruby. "My name's Blake, by the way."

AN: researching 16th century fashion has my head hurting