Even over the clamoring crowd, Yang heard the Knight Captain's words. Ruby was under arrest. Her sister, who had done nothing but fight her ass off for nearly a week straight.
"W-what?" Ruby blinked, stammering as she tried to replicate a tone close to masculinity. "I didn't do anything, I swear."
Pyrrha pursed her lips, unfazed. "We know you've been cavorting with the young lady Weiss Schnee. Your guilt is not a matter of discussion. You are under arrest."
When Pyrrha reached forward, Ruby pulled back. Her hand flew to the hammer at her hip. "I haven't done anything," she insisted, trying very hard to sound masculine. "You can't arrest me."
Pyrrha gave her a pitying look. "I can."
Yang watched the two stare each other down. The moment Pyrrha moved, Ruby lunged for her. Yang tried to run in, but a pair of arms snaked around her waist, holding her back with great effort.
"Stay here!" Blake hissed. "They'll eat you alive, we can help Ruby later!"
Yang pulled again, then sagged. Blake was right. All she could do was watch her sister get beaten to a pulp.
Ruby thrust her hammer forward, but Pyrrha caught it in a gauntleted hand. "I cannot promise that I won't hurt you. Come quietly," she commanded, her voice never wavering from the monotone that she'd started with.
Ruby yanked and pulled on her weapon, but something about the captain's grip was unnaturally sure. Opting to drop the hammer and leap back, she drew her falchion and an iron dagger instead. She held the falchion low to the ground, point towards Pyrrha, while keeping her dagger high.
The Knight Captain reached behind her back and drew a simple rod of plain steel, a little less than her forearm's length. It had no handle, head, or pommel— it was just a solid metal cylinder. She regarded her fellow Knights with a warding glance as her stance lowered. Pyrrha affixed the smith with a hard, emotionless look.
Ruby scanned her up and down, but it was like staring at a dead stump, or a rock. She couldn't get anything from her body language, her expression, or even her weapon. She assumed it was more than a simple tube, but was it safe to assume? Ruby tensed.
Pyrrha inched forward with quick shuffles, her eyes never leaving Ruby's. As she approached, she mimicked the girl's stance, even going so far as to nudge the falchion's point with her rod. She was testing her, Ruby knew, but that didn't keep her frustration from building at the woman's emotionless, unimpressed face.
Pyrrha nudged the sword again. Ruby growled.
Just before Ruby lunged, Pyrrha preempted her, rod running along the falchion's side until it reached the crossguard. Faster than Ruby could counter, the rod rotated and rapped her knuckles, nearly forcing her hand open as her Aura shimmered. Ruby jabbed towards the captain's face with her dagger, but found the blade's tip stopped by Pyrrha's open, flat palm, as if the dagger had hit a wall. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise.
Suddenly, the smith was on her back with her legs high above her. Air fled her lungs as she thumped against the dirt.
"Altogether disappointing," Pyrrha absently remarked as her knees pinned Ruby's arms. "You should have surrendered."
Pyrrha wore no helmet, leaving her face completely exposed. Planning to exploit that weakness, Ruby drew mucus into her mouth with a loud snort.
Pyrrha scowled and slapped a palm over Ruby's mouth. "Do not."
"Ruby!" A voice screamed from the crowd, forcing the girl's gaze to the stands.
Pyrrha looked, too, giving her ample chance to reach out and snatch the huge, sheathed weapon before it could crash into her.
While Pyrrha moved to catch Ruby's cleaver, the smith took her one opportunity and violently squirmed. The Knight Captain was heavy, but Ruby barely managed to get enough room to rip her arm free. In one fluid movement, she grabbed and tossed a handful of dirt into Pyrrha's face.
"Dishonorable brat!" The captain sputtered and reeled as dirt stung her eyes.
As soon as the Knight gave her more room, Ruby collapsed into petals. Her plume coalesced again around her cleaver's sheath— still in Pyrrha's hands— as her body reformed. She clasped the huge square of leather with her entire body, leaving her posed like a cat clutched around a high branch.
Pyrrha's earlier aloofness sharpened into sharp focus, but her eyes found Ruby too late, as she'd already begun twisting with her whole body. She managed to wrench the blade out of Pyrrha's grip just in time, as she blinked away half a moment before Pyrrha's hand would've gripped her cloak.
Ruby dropped to the ground a few meters away, dumped by her flaring, depleted Aura. With careful, deliberate movements, she opened the clasps that bound her cleaver. The leather sheath collapsed around the blade, falling like an open book. It felt good in her hands, heavy and strong, like swinging an entire anvil. With a small grin, she hefted it over her shoulder. Perhaps she should name it.
A dull, almost-absent pain arose from Ruby's thigh. It wasn't enough to stop her, but she looked down to address it anyways. She'd probably pulled a muscle.
A stout bolt with a broad, triangular head impaled her left thigh from the back. She absently reached to touch it— she couldn't feel it, how could she be sure it was real?
Ruby screamed as her fingers brushed the bolt, jostling the projectile in her leg. The dull pain awakened into something violent and sharp. The cleaver clattered to the ground, dropped by her shaking hands.
"Ruby!" Yang screamed, only for both Penny and Blake to force her under the rising clamor. People stood from their seats to cheer the girl's arrest, and feverishly clapped as two other Knights yanked her up by her arms.
Ruby cried out as she was wrenched up. She watched Pyrrha stomp up to the crossbow-wielding Knight with a furious scowl. She spat a few hot words at the man before striking him across the face. When she turned back to Ruby, she seemed more apologetic than anything else.
"Escort her to the palace. Lord Schnee wanted to see her personally," Pyrrha commanded, getting a couple of 'yes, ser' responses from Ruby's captors.
Yang inhaled deeply to cry for her sister, to inspire her to fight back, but she was cut short by the gauntlet that cracked across Ruby's head, knocking her out.
Ruby sagged like a sackcloth doll in the Knights' grip, a trail of blood following her limp body as they dragged her out of the tourney center. Even while unconscious, people continued to throw rotten food at her. Some even reached for her cloak, ripping off strips as the Knights dragged her through the crowd.
Yang watched, sagging into Blake and Penny's arms as they forced Ruby's limp form into a cart. She just watched.
AN:sorry these are slower now, driving the truck at work means ive got less time to write lol. also going out of town this weekend, so idk if ill be able to update. the good news is that im 3 chapters deep in my main fic now, just waiting for them to get edited (theyre way longer than these). anyway, thanks or reading, ive really appreciated all of yall's comments