Got some pretty shitty news this week. If I have to suddenly go on a hiatus, please understand why. Thank you.
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Moving right along in the search of their raccoon, Yang recounted the story of how she lost her arm to Ruby. "I was knocked out from the fall. When I came to, that sneaky raccoon already grabbed my arm and ran off before I could stop them." Yang explained. "Then, when I was chasing after it...that thing showed up."
"I don't remember a purple beast like that ever showing up in Alyx's story." Weiss mentioned. "What is it?"
"Bad news." Blake frowned. "And a good reason we should all be equipped with a weapon."
"Agreed," Ruby said, not really talking, just listening. She didn't feel like leading the way.
"I''ve also been thinking," Blake continued. " If we're going to this town, we need to be careful. Alyx didn't know their customs and ended up starting a war among the townsfolk. Trouble followed her everywhere she went."
Sounds impossible for us. A dark voice in Ruby's mind thought. Ruby shook her head. Where did that intrusive thing come from? It was so...snippy and rude.
"Well, yeah. But she was kind of a mean person, right? She lied and cheated her way through most of the book." Yang said.
"I always interpreted it as doing what she could to survive," Weiss said. "Old stories are so simplistic."
"Either way. Tread lightly." Blake said.
"Yeah." Ruby contributed.
She's an idiot. You know this already. The voice whispered. You're a total stranger here. Keep your lips sealed, and keep your hands to yourself.
There it was again, that voice. It sounded venomous, letha, like something acidic was hiding in her mind.
Ruby made a face, getting Weiss' attention. "Ruby...you okay?"
"Huh? Uh...yeah." Ruby fibbed. "Don't worry about me. Just focus on finding a way outta here so we can get back home."
Weiss stopped walking, and Ruby stopped too. She looked at Weiss while Blake and Yang kept walking ahead of them. "...Weiss?"
"It's... It's all gone. All of Atlas. There's nothing left for me to go back to." Weiss frowned. "I...I don't really have a home right now."
Ruby put a comforting hand on Weiss' shoulder. "We'll figure something out. Together. That's what teammates are for, right?"
Her dad did this. Ruby's mind screamed. Her dad ruined EVERYTHING. You shouldn't be holding her shoulder! You should be-
Ruby suddenly withdrew her hand, looking shellshocked at what her mind was saying. Where were these horrible thoughts coming from?
"...Ruby?" Weiss asked again, before Ruby brushed past.
"N-nothing. Let's...let's just get to town already." Ruby said, not looking back at Weiss.
The team arrived at a rickety bridge. Maybe it was just because of recent events, but seeing a bridge filled the group with an odd sort of dread. At least this one had some form of guard at the edges.
"So, this is the entrance to the other...'acre' you called it?" Blake asked Little.
"Yep! All we do is cross the bridge and we'll be... well, wherever over there is." Little shrugged. "I've never been this far from home!"
"Youuuuu should probably go back, then." Ruby suggested kindly.
Little shrugged. "I wouldn't have any idea how to go back, anyway. Ooh, maybe I'll live by this bridge!"
Upon hearing this, Team RWBY all had various shocked expressions as they'd unintentionally taken Little so far away from their home. Weiss, fed up, went forward.
They had a good home. They had a good life. You're going to ruin that for them. That voice, those...cruel jabs yelled in her head. Ruby had a good mind to ignore the jabs for now. Maybe it was because she was...self loathing or something. She didn't really know for sure; this was new.
Weiss walked up to Little, who was constructing their new home from rocks, sticks and leaves. "Building a house, my very first house, gonna find my purpose in my first house..." Little sang, happily humming to themselves.
The heiress cleared her throat. "Would you like to come with us?" Weiss asked.
Little took a minute to think- and in that minute, the house they'd spent maybe a few seconds building fell apart. Little looked at the house, and then at Weiss.
"...Yeah, that's probably for the best."
The town was a small, quaint little community- a melting pot within the Ever After.
The town itself and even its people had an oddly specific theme to them, that of a board game. The pathways that wove through the city, curving and twisting every way they could, were neatly segmented into square spaces. Businesses dotted the townscape ranging from various fruit and sweet stands to shops selling floor and roof tiles. There were even some empty buildings up for sale or lease, giving the team of huntresses vibes similar to Monopoly. But the prices listed were strange. Nothing here was paid for with money, instead working on a simple barter system. For instance, one of the empty lots was priced at "Four bushels of Tropical Cheese Plants."
As for the people, well, to be blunt, they were all game pieces, either made of wood or plastic. For those that seemed to be carved, they resembled chess pieces in a way. Each one resembled an ornately and well-detailed animal, be it a lion, a unicorn, or an owl, each one with a unique paint job. Some were natural, such as the usual yellow-gold coats of lions, while others were most fantastical, such as purple feathers for an owl or cyan coats with light orange manes and tails for a horse. For those made of plastic, they came in two varieties, but both were much more human looking than their wooden counterparts. Some resembled singularly colored plastic cutouts of humanoid figures with their only real motion coming from their hopping walk while others resembled more proper plastic figurines, almost LEGO-like in appearance.
Team RWBY entered the town and looked around at the various, toy-like townsfolk. They passed by a pamphlet that said, "BY ROYAL DECREE OF HIS HIGHNESS: THE PREEMINENT BIRTHDAY PARTY OF HIS MOST ROYAL IS HEREBY ANNOUNCED!" The same pamphlet was placed on parts of the street. Team RWBY continued to walk by various vendors and stalls in the marketplace.
"Just... act like you belong, everybody." Blake said, despite them clearly standing out. A normal citizen here had plastic skin, while they had,well, flesh skin.
So, no way in hell they could just act like they fit in.
In the center of town, the townsfolk gathered around the familiar purple wagon from Yang's retelling. The name "JINXY" could be seen on it, painted in big white letters. Upon seeing it, the blonde brawler glared daggers at the wagon.
"So, what's the plan?" Yang asked, turning to Ruby. "Think we should just rough him up?"
Brute force. It's the only thing she knows. The jab taunted.
Ruby shook her head. "No, no. Uh...just..." Ruby turned to look at Blake. "You know the book best. How'd it go?"
"Well, at this part of the story, Alyx had to barter with Jinxy for her dagger." Blake recalled, pulling out the broken piece of Gambol Shroud. "Should we...barter with this, then?"
Yang made a face. "Ugh, I don't want to deal with him. Can't we just beat him up and get our stuff back?"
Blake shook her head. "That's not the best way to handle things. If we do this, it's gotta be by the book."
When have we EVER done that…? The jab growled. Ruby took a deep breath; whatever this thing was, it was annoying.
The wagon's door opened up, a cloud of dark purple smoke rolling out and covering the stage and hiding everything within it. The crowd oohed and ahhed at the theatrical display, though Yang just rolled her eyes at the performance. The cloud was dispersed as soon as it appeared, though now, the Jinxy Peddler themselves had appeared on stage in dramatic fashion. They were of average height, for a raccoon anyway, clad in a very medieval-looking cream-tan top with spirals around the sleeves, alternating between that cream tan and a darker tan color, and dark purple baggy pants. The little auctioneer spun their walking stick in their hands with some impressive skill.
"Welcome one and all!" Jinxy announced proudly, "I am the Jinxy Peddler!"
"Oh my god...he's adorable!" Weiss gasped.
"And a lot older than he was in the book," Blake pointed out.
"Still want to beat him up?"
"...ok, no beating him up, but I will scare him," Yang compromised.
"Hey, remember. By the book," Blake repeated.
"And behind me are some of the finest treasures of the acre!" With another spin, the talking raccoon took their walking stick and tapped the shelf behind them. In colored puffs of smoke, various items appeared, including a jade marionette, a pink rabbit statue, and a golden scepter decorated with several rubies.
"And, if luck favors you, they can be yours!" Jinxy said, much to the crowd's pleasure.
"Do you see it?" Weiss asked.
"Nope. Maybe he's got it in the wagon?" Yang shrugged.
"No, it's there. All of Jinxy's treasures are just other items in disguise," Blake whispered, "Makes people think they're buying something valuable."
"So...he's selling snake oil then?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, in a way."
"Ok, well if that's the case, which one is Yang's arm?" Weiss asked.
"Well, Alyx knew her dagger from the other 'treasures' because her heart told her. What about yours?" Blake looked to her girlfriend.
"The...scepter? Roughly arm-sized, I guess?" Yang said, a bit unsure herself.
Blake sighed before noticing Ruby staring at something. Her silver eyes were locked onto something green. The jade marionette…that shade of green was all too familiar to her.
"Ruby?" Blake asked before Ruby stepped forward without another word. Jinxy spun around the stage, showing off the pink rabbit statue in his hand.
Weiss watched Ruby walk off as a very important question crossed her mind. "So...how are we going to bid without any money?" Weiss asked.
"I don't think there's any money in the Ever After. Jinxy just names whatever price he wants." Blake recalled.
"So, what did he take from Alyx?" Yang asked.
"Two memories, her happiest and her saddest." Blake remembered. That made Yang pause for a moment. For some reason, she didn't know if she could part with either memory.
"SOLD! FOR A HUG!" Jinxy yelled on stage.
"...or something like that." Blake pointed out.
"Huh..." Weiss muttered. Jinxy happily handed over the diamond-studded rabbit before vanishing in a puff of smoke and reappearing back on stage.
"Second item!" Jinxy declared, picking up the scepter, "A golden scepter! Note the embedded crimson jewels and noble air it gives the holder!"
"Oh! Over here!" Yang shouted, raising her arm.
"I shall take it!" another voice called out at the same time as the blonde brawler. The girl looked over to see who she'd be going up against for what should be her arm in disguise. Standing off in the back of the crowd was a group of four wooden-looking toy soldiers. Each of the guards' uniforms, painted on as they were, consisted of a red coat with white accents and dark red military pants. Each of the four wore military caps but the one who had contested Yang's bid for the scepter had a larger one decorated with a white, polygonal diamond-shaped crest. The soldiers were armed as well, each one carrying what seemed to be a plain wooden sword in a scabbard on their hip, really just a little accessory holder as if they were action figures.
"What the-?!" Yang muttered.
"Oh no, you don't!" the toy soldier officer grinned, "That is perfect for His Majesty!"
"Bidding starts at-!" Jinxy began.
"Wait, hold on, I was the first one to-!" Yang began.
"Knowing what it feels like...to be loved. A fair price for some, I'd say."
Yang hesitated for a moment and Blake held her breath. The way Yang looked conflicted either meant she didn't truly know (which was impossible)...or she couldn't really part with that feeling.
Another hand shot up, that of one of the toy soldiers. "Knowing what it's like to feel loved! By royal decree." The guard yelled, holding up a piece of parchment paper.
The parchment simply read, in big, bold, red script: "BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S DECREE, TO BE PAID IS THE SUM," followed by what seems to be words hastily written on the parchment in crayon: "Whatever Jinxy wants!" At the bottom, a red heart with a crown above it served as the signature.
"Sold! To the hero in uniform!" Jinxy called out.
"Huh?! Wait, that's my arm!" Yang called out.
"Whatever it is, it's royal property now!" the toy captain held his hand out, the scepter appearing in his palm after a quick puff of purple smoke went off, "No price is too high when it comes to His Majesty's birthday!"
"Okay, so we're gonna steal that-" Yang muttered, and Blake nodded her head.
"Yeah. Stealing." Blake sighed.
"Last item! The jade marionette!" Jinxy yelled. "Any takers!" Multiple hands went up. Jinxy's eyes scanned the crowd, looking for a hopeful customer and his eyes locked onto a new face.
"You!"
"Me!" Ruby called out.
"Ruby!?" Weiss yelled. "What are you-"
Jinxy smirked. "Bidding starts at..." He pulled out an empty jar. "Enough hope to fill this jar!"
...
Ruby expected to see something drop in there. A bead or droplet of water, Something. Anything. But...nothing happened. Ruby hesitantly lowered her hand.
"You don't have enough...do you?" Jinxy's line wasn't meant to be malicious, but it still stung to hear, and it seemed like fuel for the fire.
You're PATHETIC. The cruel jabbing cursed her. You seriously thought you had anything to offer? After your little temper tantrum? After you refused to listen to Ironwood? You had to be the hero...the savior. And look where it got you.
You're empty.
You're worthless.
He doesn't miss you.
Ruby felt the world closing in on her again.
Unseen by both Ruby and Jinxy themselves, Little had woken up by now and noticed how important the marionette seemed to be to their newfound friend. Quickly but quietly, the tiny mouse snuck up onto the stage and began to steal the marionette! The raccoon looked over their shoulder when they heard something scuff against the wooden shelf. Their eyes went wide when they saw that the item was missing.
"Come ooooon," Little groaned, struggling to get the puppet off the stage and grabbing the merchant's attention.
"Why you little-!" Jinxy growled when they noticed the mouse.
"Yep! That's my name!"
"Give that back!" the raccoon lunged for Little, only for the mouse to run out of the way, taking the little jade item with them. Jinxy slammed into the wooden floor of the stage and almost slid right off of it in a cartoonish fashion. They jolted back to their feet and locked eyes with Little.
"Leave that alone! You can't touch it until the deal is done!" Jinxy pleaded.
"Why not? You've visited my old village before and taken things when we weren't looking! Fair's fair!" Little countered.
"...oh well he sounds like a perfectly legitimate businessman," Weiss deadpanned.
"What?! I-whu-that's not what I mean! I mean-!" Jinxy tried to explain, but the effect was already broken. The glamor that disguised their items was dispelled. The townsperson that held the rabbit statue watched it disappear in a poof! replaced by one of Little's kin nibbling away on Cheese Plant.
"Huh?" the game-piece villager gasped.
"Oh hello!" the mouse greeted before going back to nibbling.
"It...it's fake!"
The assembled crowd began to boo and jeer at Jinxy for the deception, the scene making Blake's eyes go wide in realization.
Oh no...this is the book all over again! Blake mentally panicked. The start was different, sure, but the result was scarily similar. The marionette, meanwhile, poofed and reverted to the familiar, jagged, glass-like green blade of Eunice's Floating Array replica.
The lead toy soldier held their chin in suspicion, looking over to their fellow soldier who held the scepter that had now changed back to Yang's prosthetic arm. The soldier screamed when they realized what they were holding and tossed the arm away. Yang immediately dashed to grab the metallic limb, only for it to be snatched by another soldier. Yang and the Toy Soldier did a tug of war for the prosthetic arm, with the former dodging out of the way of the soldier's sword swing, followed by the brawler shooting them away with the gauntlet. Ruby took the chance and ran towards the stage in all the chaos.
She picked up Eunice's sword, gasped, and clutched it tight. She needed to hold onto this, no matter what. She needed to get this back to Penny. It...it was the only thing left of Eunice on the face of this world.
She trusted you-
"SHUT UP!" Ruby finally yelled, sick of this stupid, shitty voice in her head. The townsfolk suddenly backed away, as Ruby turned. The way they were looking at her, as if she was some sort of monster...
Yang then ran past Ruby, holding her arm, with her teammates not far behind. "Ruby! Come on! Arm robbery!"
"Quick, before the guards catch up!" Blake said frantically, her eyes still wide, before she ran after Yang. Weiss, seemingly without giving a care in the Ever After, just casually walks after the Bumblebee duo. Ruby shook off her shock and quickly picked up Little, moving to run after her teammates. She stopped after the first step and looked back to the assembled crowd.
"I...I'm sorry. That...I wasn't talking to you," she apologized before running off.
"You're sorry?! If you're sorry, then you'll bring back my goods, you ne'er-do-wells! Thieves! Pilferers! Plunderers! When I find you, I'll...I'll..." Jinxy shook their tiny raccoon fist in the air, trying to think up a good threat to curse these newcomers with. How dare they ruin such a perfectly good auction! Before the conning trash panda could actually think up something suitably menacing, their train of thought was interrupted by the townsperson from earlier clearing their throat. They held their arms open wide, looking at Jinxy expectantly. The trickster sighed and refunded the villager's purchase, giving them their hug back.
"Fair's fair..." Jinxy groaned.
Outside the town, Yang laughed as Team RWBY entered the red forest. They were all very out of breath and a bit panicked, but Yang was chalking this up as a victory.
"Those people... take auctions... very seriously." Yang huffed between breaths. She held up her prosthetic, asking for a high five. Blake and Weiss just brushed past her, annoyed.
"Okay, so...we're doing the same thing Alyx did. We're ruining everything." Blake huffed.
"I wouldn't say that." Yang countered as she reattached her arm. "You said Jinxy's older, right? So maybe we're not repeating it."
"People can age in a cycle. What happened back there? Sure, things started out better, but in the end, that is exactly what Alyx let happen! The townspeople booed Jinxy out of the town and the Red King was going to jail him for fraud!" Blake explained, "Oh god. If we're in a fairy tale...then...then are we the ones people learn lessons from? Is that what this is?"
Ruby looked down at Eunice's sword in her hands and took a seat next to Blake. Her teammates looked at her in concern. Blake looked down at the sword. "...oh." She said, softly.
"I couldn't explain why, but I...I was drawn to it." Ruby said, as storm clouds started to form above them. "I...I need to keep this. For now. So...so I can give it back to Penny."
"You'll be able to," Yang hugged Ruby close to comfort her, "We will find a way back."
"And now it's raining on us..." Weiss sighed, her tolerance for this place exceeding its limit, "That. Is. It. We are leaving this nightmare, right now! Alyx went to the tree, right? So let's go!"
"Uh, Weiss? I don't think that's how it works. In the book-" Blake began.
"Blake, for the last time, we are not in a book! And even if we are, we know how it ends. Right over there!" the heiress pointed to the tree before marching off towards it.
"Should we-?" Yang started.
"...give it a minute," Ruby said softly, without even looking up from the green blade in her hands.
Once Weiss disappeared out of view, Blake and Yang turned to the other side of the clearing they were in when they heard the bushes rustle. Their teammate stepped out through the bushes and blinked a few times, looking between her teammates and the tree. She took a deep, annoyed breath before trying again, this time at a quicker pace.
Only to circle back around again.
Weiss' brow twitched in anger. She spied a rock on the ground and decided to vent her frustration.
"Stupid! Tree!" Weiss yelled, picking up and throwing the rock...only for it to loop back around and hit her in the head, knocking her to the ground.
Ruby winced. "...you okay?" She asked.
Weiss groaned, a sure sign she was still alive. One would think Ruby's emotions were causing this storm, but holding Eunice's sword was, in truth, maybe the calmest she'd felt all day. Instead, Weiss' own overwhelming thoughts were the source of the sudden maelstrom.
What if I never get out of here? What if too much time passed up above? What if it's too late? These things were orbiting Weiss' mind, flying around like hungry gnats.
"Yeah...we tried that earlier," Little shrugged, "Can't get any closer to the Tree like that."
"So, what next then? Got my arm back but we still need Crescent Rose," Yang pointed out.
"Only I have no idea where it could be..." Ruby muttered.
Weiss grumbled as she propped herself up into a kneeling position, dusting herself off before standing up and crossing her arms. She was still trying to rationalize how she was able to walk right and end up looping back around by going straight. It was a good way to distract herself from the questions that swirled around in her brain, but it wasn't so good for the weather. While the rain drops came down a bit faster, it was the winds that really changed from the heiress's frantic mind. They picked up, blowing so hard that the rain began to come down at an angle.
"We need to get out of the rain for now," Blake suggested.
Before anyone could agree, a voice called out from somewhere else in the brush.
"Over here!" one of the toy soldiers yelled, "Someone's mind is going a mile a minute!"
Weiss flinched, but the others were annoyed to hear the toy soldiers approaching.
"I'd be sad too if I ruined the royal birthday!" Another Toy soldier huffed.
"Blake." Ruby said, eyes still focused on the sword. "What did Alyx do next?"
"She...went to the Crimson Castle...and beat the Red King at his own game." Blake remembered. Ruby looked up at the approaching soldiers, and threw on her hood to shield her from the storm.
Shortly after, the squad of toy soldiers emerged from the bushes, wooden and sharpened swords drawn, while astride their own wooden horses. Well, more like broomsticks with the brooms' bristles replaced with well-detailed wooden carvings of horse heads.
"Hands up, the lot of you!" the captain said, pointing his sword at the girls, "You treasonous, birthday ruining, thieves!"
"Yeah. Okay. Never mind stealing my arm. The thing I need to punch your stupid wooden faces in for-" Yang threatened but trailed off as Ruby walked past her.
"We want to go to the birthday party." Ruby said calmly.
"Well, good! That's where we're taking you! As prisoners! For stealing royal property!" The soldier yelled.
"What if we wanted to go as guests instead?"
"Guests? You? Ha! Unless you have a gift, I don't think that'll be happening any-!"
"I do have a gift," Ruby cut them off.
"You do? What- what is it?"
"This sword. The weapon of a powerful warrior," the hooded huntress took a risk and presented the squad with the green blade.
"Ooooh," the four soldiers gasped in awe, taken by such an inspiring start.
"Go on..." the captain said with curiosity.
"Once...once upon a time, there were two sisters that were born from metal. Both of them were created to protect people, both at home and beyond. Together, they worked to protect the lives of thousands. They took a message of hope to the stars...seeing the world through better eyes. But...but tragedy struck. One of the sisters sacrificed herself to save the lives of her people...and I don't know if the surviving sister even knows about her loss," Ruby recounted Eunice's story in a way that would resonate with the guards, "Take us to the royal birthday and allow us to present this most precious gift."
And it did resonate. The guards had been moved to tears by the story. Two of them were crying waterfalls and hugging each other, having dropped their horses. One was keeping their composure, comforting their horse which was crying instead.
"Y-yes," the captain sniffled, wiping away some of their own tears, "B-by royal decree!"
With that, they sheathed their own sword and gently took the sword from Ruby, turning around and acting as a leader.
"Come, men! You heard His Majesty's new guests! We have a birthday to get to!" the captain ordered.
The Toy Soldiers proceeded to gallop on their horse sticks, chanting "Hup, hup, hup" as they went.
Blake looked at her leader. "Ruby...are you sure about this?"
Ruby sighed. "Look, we may not know exactly what's going on, but for whatever reason, this place is putting us on a similar path as a book we all read as kids. I say we follow it." Ruby said, walking off.
And stop pretending we know what we're doing... The voice said.
"And stop pretending we know what we're doing." Ruby repeated.
Blake, Yang, and Weiss shared a concerned look between them when they heard those words leave their leader's mouth. That, that did not sound like the Ruby they all knew. But, without much else to go on, the trio turned and joined their leader, following their military escort towards the towering Crimson Castle.
The walk was quiet and the storm continued the entire way. Weiss would occasionally look up, not at the sky, but what was beyond it. She wondered if Ben was...maybe still fighting Vilgax with Winter. Were they winning? Or had they-?
Weiss shook her head. No. Neither of them would lose. Not a million years. With her mind somewhat quieted, the storm began to calm before it disappeared completely.
As the trio marched on, ascending a winding path that corkscrewed around the massive, central red hill, three more toy soldiers had joined them, marching a bit further behind them. Blake looked over her shoulder at the three rear guards and couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, her ears drooping a bit to physically show that discomfort.
"Ruby...are...are we sure we should do this?" Yang asked.
"Well, the Red King helped Alyx..." Ruby sighed.
"But...we're not Alyx," Weiss added.
"I know. But it's the best chance we have right now."
The heiress was actually stunned into silence at Ruby's tone there. It was almost...dismissive?
As the group ascended higher and higher, Blake took notice of a bright turquoise butterfly fluttering by, perching atop a nearby stone pillar. She looked at it for a few seconds, feeling something off about it before she shrugged it off. Shortly after that, the group found the entrance to the Crimson Castle's garden courtyard. Toy Guards, painted similarly to the soldiers from before but with black and gold accents and armed with the odd weapon choice that was a hybrid of a halberd and a trumpet, stood at attention along the white marble path that led further in. Red hedges and trimmed trees, with the tops trimmed to resemble dice, rounded squares and full on spheres greeted the team of Huntresses as they walked in.
The castle itself, true to its name, was made entirely of red marble with some of the tower roofs fashioned to resemble gold-tipped eight-sided diamond shapes. In the middle was a single, massive open tower lined with bells.
"Woah..." Yang muttered.
A drumroll suddenly sounded out, signaling for the guards to stand at attention. Each one raised their trumpet-halberds and blew into them, playing a chorus of extravagant fanfare. Two by two, the guards step aside, opening up a path for their master, the man of the hour, the one who was celebrating his birthday, His Majesty. The red royal marched forward, each step clinking against the marble pathway. He was...a porcelain doll, complete with curly, sandy blonde hair and large, round red eyes with diamond pupils. He wore a black and white striped shirt under a red dress robe, complete with various white frills, and a large crimson, high-collar cape. And, of course, as befitting his position, a golden crown was situated atop his head, decorated with gray diamonds, red orbs, and a single red teardrop in the middle.
"You're the Red King?" Yang asked.
The angry shortie looked appalled. "How dare you! There is no King! I'm the Red Prince. Hmph! Why, I never! Coming to someone's castle without even knowing who they are, and on my birthday!"
"Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!" His army declared.
Blake raised an eyebrow. Prince...I don't recall this in the book. In the book, it's a wise and ancient king with a legendary temper. This kid's just embodying that temper.
"Yes, yes, a joyous occasion. Thank you, thank you all very much," the Prince chuckled, a smug smile coming to his face.
"The King wasn't nearly as rude. Or loud. Or small," Yang listed off.
"Well, if it hadn't been for your kind, the King would still be here!" one Guard pointed an accusing finger at Yang, before two of their compatriots covered their mouth with their hands, shushing them. Ruby's usual cheery self came back for a moment as she stepped forward, smiling as she did a small curtsy for the Prince.
"Happy birthday, Your Majesty!" Ruby beamed.
"Happy birthday!" Little cheered from Ruby's scarf.
"Happy birthday," Yang said half-heartedly, adding some phoned-in jazz-hand motions to make her wish more impressive.
"H-happy birthday!" Blake nervously smiled.
"Happy birthday, I guess," Weiss rolled her eyes, not even bothering to try and seem interested.
"Wait! How do you know such...such privileged information?!" the Prince gasped. One of the soldiers bent down on all fours, letting the Prince jump onto and stand on their back dramatically.
"You four...oooooh I see what you are now! Infiltrators! Spies come to steal my crown!" the porcelain noble grabbed the rim of his crown and tugged down on it protectively, "Who sent you?! Was it the Duke of Diamonds? Or-or-or the Count of Clubs?! It was the Count, wasn't it?!"
The girls just looked at the Prince with reactions ranging from confusion, nervousness, and looks that just screamed "Are you kidding me right now?" Weiss actually facepalmed and groaned into her open palm.
"You...you literally just told us," Yang deadpanned.
"And there were advertisements all over town," Blake added, jabbing her thumb in the way of the town.
"SILENCE! You are in the presence of royalty!" The prince yelled, as a guard kissed his hand. "That's me, thank you very much. The heir to the Crimson Castle!"
Did I used to be this unbearably pompous? Weiss thought, as a toy soldier wiped the prince's nose for him.
Blake and Weiss were suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and pushed aside by two of the original soldiers that were escorting them.
"Hey!" Blake hissed.
"Your Majesty!" the toy captain announced, making their way forward, carrying a cloth-covered gift in their arms, with one of their subordinates in tow, "We have brought you a most magnificent gift, befitting of your most glorious birthday!"
"Acquired by us and only us with no help at all!" the subordinate soldier added in quickly.
"Ruby's the one who gave it to y-OW!" Yang started, before the subordinate soldier shoved her to the ground as well.
"As I said, no help at all!"
"Ooooh, lemme see, lemme see, lemme seeeeeeee!" the little noble bounced up and down like a kid on Christmas, jumping off the back of his guard and racing up to the soldier. They kneeled before their prince and presented the cloth-wrapped gift. The Prince's eyes glittered with excitement as he eagerly took the cloth and unwrapped his present, laying eyes upon the green-glass sword. As soon as he saw it the Red Prince's enthusiasm seemed to vanish.
"Uh, green?" the Prince asked, "You know...you know the rules, my loyal soldiers. Rule 1: No Clubs. Rule 2: Green. Is. Prohibited. So why, in the name of the Tree is my. Birthday present. GREEN?!"
"B-but, Your Majesty! It's the sword of a powerful warrior! One who took a message of hope-!"
"I! DON'T! CARE!" In anger, the Prince kicked the sword out of the guard's hands, sending it flying over one of the red hedges. "It's GREEN and you know I HATE GREEN! This? THIS?! This counts as TREASON! Traitors! Traitors to the crown, the both of you!"
Ruby, ignoring the heavy charges placed upon the two soldiers, raced over to where the sword had been flung. Two of the gold-accented guards held their halberds out, crossing them and stopping her from retrieving it.
Look at this! You couldn't even keep a promise THAT simple! All you had to do was hold onto something. HOLD IT. And you couldn't even do that right! How are you supposed to be the hero of this story? the cruel doubts returned, gnawing at Ruby's mind. While she ignored the words, she couldn't help but still feel their sting.
"How...how could you..." Ruby muttered softly, defeated.
"Y-your Majesty, please! Forgive us! W-we didn't know it was green!" the captain pleaded fearfully.
"Please! Please, forgive us! We're not traitors! We would never betray you, great Prince! Powerful, energetic, and glorious Red Prince!" the subordinate added, but their compliments fell on deaf ears. The Prince turned away from the terrified duo with an audible "Hmph!" and crossed his arms dismissively. The captain and his subordinate continued to beg and plead, but the Prince could only take so much.
"Enough!" the Prince ordered, "Take them away! The usual punishment for treason!"
"No...no, no, no, no, wait! Wait, please! Please, no!" the captain begged, almost breaking down into tears as they were getting desperate. Team RWBY could only watch as a pair of the Prince's guards moved up and grabbed the pleading soldiers, dragging them kicking and screaming through and behind one of the red hedges.
"Your Majesty, please! T-they gave it to us!" the subordinate soldier tried to deflect blame, but it was too late.
"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!" both soldiers cried out in unison as the guards that dragged them away raised up their halberds over the hedge and then swiftly brought their blades down, followed by two heavy wooden thunk! sounds.
Team RWBY, suffice to say, were not expecting that.
"Your Majesty, barring the ignorance of those two blockheads," one of the guards began.
"If you're going to ask if I'm ok, the answer is no! They had this whole speech prepared, making me think it was the best thing in the acre and then it turns out to be green! They got my hopes up and then dashed them, all in a matter of seconds! I just...I just...I need some time to myself to overcome this...this utter disregard for my feelings..."
"And the guests?"
"Wait, we have guests?" the Prince turned to look at the still horrified group of girls, "Oh them. Meh, toss them out."
"No, no! Wait!" Ruby interjected as the Prince began to turn and walk away, "Maybe we can help cheer you up! It is your birthday, isn't it? Sooo maybe we can do something special!"
"Hmmm, usually beheading people cheers me right up," the Red Prince stroked his chin, "but you are right. The royal birthday does deserve to be special and unique. Go on."
"Well," Ruby put her hands together as a mischievous smile came to her lips, "We heard you like to play games."
"Annnnd you just said my favorite word," the Prince smiled back, "Guards! Escort us to the game room!"