I know I'm late. I do apologise. A couple things ended up delaying me lately. Health issues, followed by the fact when I finally did decide to get off my ass and actually start writing again, I had completely forgotten how to handle one of my key plot points, and I had notes on everything except that because, 'oh I'll remember to write about that when I get back to writing'. NOT!
Anyways, here it is. The first chapter of the third arc.
This arc isn't going to have a lot of timeskips, but they will be significant ones when they do happen.
The upload schedule is still the same. Weekly unless I specify otherwise. At least, that's still the plan. Anyways, read away! Comment away! Maybe. Don't feel pressured :)
Ruby stared up at the ceiling as she lay in her bed. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get to sleep.
Hei's snoring in the next room, muted as the walls tried to make it, was certainly not helping, but it was far from the sole reason of her wakefulness.
Rather, it was a certain growing feeling within her body.
She wasn't sure how best to describe. She wasn't even sure what it was, but it felt closely tied to her 'special ability'.
It felt like it needed releasing.
At first, the sensation was barely noticeable. She had gone nearly four years without feeling the need to. But these last couple of months, something suddenly felt like it wanted to be released. And each passing day, the urge was growing stronger.
It was nauseating trying to hold it back, and it made her tummy hurt a little. Like she was getting a case of some bug.
She tried to ignore it, and focus on other things. Namely, it was four years.
Four years of living with Hei and the others. She was supposed to turn ten in a couple of weeks.
Something flared up within stomach, or her soul. Or wherever or whatever. The point was, something felt like it was swelling up and ready to spill out. Like it wanted to spill out.
And it was growing more painful to try and stop the urge and simply just let it out instead.
She groaned to herself.
I can't. I promised Hei….
She promised Hei what felt like a lifetime ago that she would never use her abilities. She had to keep them suppressed, not just for her sake, but for everyone else's. That was why she went every few weeks to visit Maria. So she could do strange things to disguise her eyes.
And yet….
Her stomach rumbled, and she clutched it.
The feeling wasn't going away. If anything, it was intensifying.
It was impossible to ignore, yet try she did.
She needed to get some sleep, and everything would feel better….
Ruby sat at the table with bags around her eyes, and as Hei poured her a glass of milk (something which she was amazed at how good it tasted), Miltia couldn't help but comment.
"You look tired. You up reading those stories all night again?"
Ruby glanced at her direction, while Melanie scoffed.
The sound of a chair scraping could be heard as Hei took a seat.
"They're a waste of time."
Ruby found herself disagreeing with Melanie.
A couple years ago, Miltia and Roman had managed to acquire a collection of books to help people pass the time. Of course, most people were not keen on reading, so Ruby found herself instead pouring over the various titles.
She skipped the ones with long and boring titles, or that lacked adventure and fun, like 'The quintessential survival guide' or 'The principles of Aura: fact or myth?'. Those sounded boring.
Instead, she found herself captivated with stories of heroic huntsmen saving distraught villages from monstrous grimm, or knights rescuing a princess from a dragon. Heck, even the adventures of a group of childhood friends as they explored fantastical lands and battled strange creatures to save the world from evil calamities were pretty cool.
"Come now. Reading is good for the brain," Hei interrupted, buttering some toast he had heated in the dust oven. Dust powered lamps had been a rarity back in Saint, but here in Vale, they were the norm. Electricity was the norm. And it was frankly exciting, and leagues better than relying on stupid candles.
Of course, they were expensive and not everyone could afford to have dust appliances, like the functional stove that Hei had bought last year. But, being the owner of a pub meant there was more money to go around and spend on certain things.
Dust powered stoves and lanterns were one of those things. After the tax man collected of course. That was always a sore topic with Hei and Tony.
"So what one are you reading now? The Man with Two Souls?" asked Hei, trying to be involved and interested in Ruby's hobby.
She certainly appreciated the effort, but of all the books to mention and she found herself grimacing. She knew the book, and she honestly found it depressing and sad. Even a little boring.
The tale of a cursed knight forced to forever battle his princess lover turned monster. He kept dying and hijacking someones body, forcing them to fight in battles against their will. It lacked any sort of amazing fantasy, or heroic deeds. The worst part was the ending, where the man went insane and started to destroy all of the human kingdoms in an attempt to prevent her from destroying humanity herself.
Heck, it even tried to pass it off with a mysterious ending like, somewhere out there, he still lurks. Threatening to steal the soul of another innocent. Or something like that.
Bah. What a load of pooey, and she vehemently stated as much.
Hei recoiled in faux surprise, an amused smile creeping onto his features.
Ever since she had taken up the reading, her vocabulary had expanded, and at times felt like he was conversing with a miniature adult.
Her understanding of certain concepts was shocking. A product of being forced to mature and grow more quickly. Then other times, she reminded him how young and impressionable she actually was.
Case in point the way her hand strayed to sneak more sugar into her breakfast.
Thankfully, Melanie was already onto the small girl.
The table shook as she slammed her hand down on it, and Ruby jolted, retracting her hand in surprise.
Miltia scowled at her sister, baring her teeth as she wheeled on her.
"Can you not?!"
Melanie glanced at her, noticing the way milk dribbled down her face, and the disturbed bowl of oats on the table that still was sloshing around angrily.
She at least had the grace to look sheepish. Hei sighed.
"Can we save the excitement for after breakfast."
"Sorry," mumbled Melanie, refusing to look up at Hei.
Miltia was not as kind to forgive her for making such a mess. She sent a glower towards her twin.
"She's just antsy until she gets her daily dose of dic-". She didn't get the chance to finish that sentence as Melanie threw her own spoon like a knife, where it connected straight onto her sister's forehead.
Aura protected her from most of the damage, but that didn't stop the yelp of pained surprise as she was nearly knocked off her seat, completely upturning her bowl of oats in the process.
Melanie was bright-red faced.
Hei leapt back with a muttered curse as milk and oats spilt everywhere over the table.
"Ow, what the hell Mel?!"
"Shutup," spluttered Melanie.
"Don't talk about him like that. We don't get up to any of that sort of stuff. He's too sweet to even try."
Miltia pulled herself upright.
"It's not him I'm concerned about, it's you," she growled as she wiped milk off her face.
"DJ is too shy and wants to take it slow, and I respect his wishes," she defended, still beet-faced.
Miltia groaned as she tried to funnel the milk and oats back into her bowl using the now soaked cloth placemat.
"Honestly, you've thrown even me for a loop. I can't believe you're the nice and demure one when it comes to boys. You're always so boyish every other time."
Melanie looked mortified.
"No I'm not! Am I?" she panicked as she glanced at Hei.
He grunted in annoyance.
"I'm not really a fan of you dating my employee, nor my employee dating my daughter. Actually, I'm not a fan of you dating period. Can't trust many people around here frankly."
It was Miltia that snapped.
"Oh shove it, Hei. We're not your kids."
He didn't back down, fixing both older girls with a stern stare.
"Perhaps not biologically, but you are still my wards at the end of the day."
Melanie flipped a finger up at him.
"Yeah well, DJ's trustworthy."
"He's a good kid," Hei conceded.
"But he's also naïve and gullible."
Ruby could sense the conversation was beginning to get uncomfortable.
Racing through the last of her breakfast, she pushed the bowl away and slinked away from the table.
Not before Hei suddenly called out to her, however.
"And where do you think you're going, Ruby?"
She froze.
"Uhhhhhhh," her mind raced to find an excuse.
Luckily she didn't need one as a loud crash could be heard from the next room, followed by the send of Roman cursing.
"Argh, for fucks sake. DJ! What did I just say!"
"Sorry," eeped the other in question.
Melanine was on her feet in an instant, a thunderous expression on her face as she matched into the next room.
"Roman! Don't you dare talk to him like that!"
Hei was quick to jump to his feet, following behind Melanie all while cursing his luck.
Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Ruby left to grab her small knapsack that she had stashed away out of sight, slinging it over her back and tightening the straps.
Not even ten seconds later and she was gone from the pub, leaving Hei and co's loud voices behind as their angry arguing could be heard fading with each step she took.
Looking at the busy street, she took a deep breath before tightening her resolve.
It was time to become useful….
It didn't take her long to get to the wall. The giant stone structure towered over her by tens of metres. At this point in the morning there was no shadow cast by it, allowing her to enjoy the warmth of the sun on her face and arms.
Hei had bought her a pair shoes, but once she started to complain about them getting tighter as she grew bigger, Roman had decided to 'gift' her a more comfortable pair shortly thereafter. A more expensive pair of leather shoes that travelled half-way up her shins.
The burgundy tunic she wore was much better quality than the one she first wore at the orphanage. It had a basic patterned trim embroidered into it, giving it a more lively aesthetic. Of course, it too was an acquired gift by Roman.
Actually, his wardrobe had improved as well. She needn't have guessed why either.
Everyone at the pub was doing better now. Sure, times were still tough, but they never worried about food or clothing now.
A more guilty part of her also realised that was because there were simply less mouths to feed compared to the old orphanage.
Her smile wavered slightly as she reminisced. Hei and the others seldom mentioned it anymore, too sore a point still to this day.
That was why she had to get stronger, she resolved, clenching her growing fists as she ran down the alleys and side streets with practiced ease, and clambering over fences and obstructions in the way.
Neo really was a parkour ninja compared to her, but she certainly appreciated her way of travel more now. It was simply fun!
So she ran. She ran until the wall finally loomed in front of her, settling her eyes on the reason she was out here in the first place.
Racing past the guards, they barely acknowledged her once they recognised the red-tips of her hair, merely shrugging.
"Hans!" she shouted as she saw the older man dressed in uniform resting against the wall, idly chatting to several other garrison soldiers.
The flintlock rifles they had issued were currently slung over their shoulders, and as soon as Hans heard his name, he perked up and quickly extinguished the cigar he was smoking.
"Ruby! How are you doing, you little terror," he welcomed fondly.
He wore the standard leather and tunic uniform of the wall garrison. His grey hair was short cropped and neatly combed back, while he espoused a full-fledged beard and moustache. It too was trimmed short. A sabre was sheathed on his waist.
He knelt down to embrace her in a hug as she raced to collide into him.
The warm reception was a deception however, as she tackled him, yes, but he could instantly feel her hands worming their way to undo the strap of his gun so she could hold it and fawn over it like she usually did.
One of the nearby guards, a woman with a blond ponytail, scoffed fondly as she watched Hans pretend to fight her off of him.
"If I didn't already know better, I'd be concerned how you even know her Hans."
Hans merely chuckled as he stood up, ruffling Ruby's hair and forcing her to cede her grip on his gun before rubbing his greying beard with a gloved hand.
"So, what brings you all the way out here, Little Red," he asked. It was a nickname he had taken to calling her, on account of the red tips of her hair. The name quickly caught on with the other soldiers of the garrison, and so now she had effectively become adopted by the Wall Garrison. The nickname irked her, however.
"I'm not little," she pouted angrily. All that did was encourage Hans to laugh some more as he ruffled her hair.
"You're nearly the same age as my daughter. Therefore, you're little. No, scratch that," he amended before holding his thumb and forefinger out, leaving just the slightest gap.
"You're tiny," he joked.
"I am not! I drink milk!"
The woman guard, Sara, perked an amused eyebrow before leaning over her shoulder to call out the other guards not-subtly eavesdropping.
"Oh? You hear that, boys? She drinks milk!"
The other guards burst out into laughter.
"Wow, so hardcore!"
"Got a real rebel on our hands here!"
It was all in good nature, and there was no ill will against Ruby, and she knew it herself. Maybe.
Hans stopped his fatherly fawning and adopted a more serious look.
"I'm not entirely kidding though. You are pretty small for your age. How old was it again? Nine?"
Ruby squirmed out of his hug with a crinkled nose.
"I turn ten in a few weeks," she protested. All that did was garner an even steeper frown from Hans, and she felt herself starting to wilt under it. She averted her eyes. It was the same look Hei gave her. The look of fatherly disappoint that screamed 'really? You can do better, surely?'
"That's not making me feel better, Ruby," Hans shook his head.
"Is your family feeding you well?"
That perked her up. And not in a good way.
"My family is fine!" she snapped heatedly, taking Sara and Hans aback.
"They take really good care of me, and make sure I have plenty of food! A-and a home!"
Hans held out a placating hand.
"Hey, take it easy . I was just looking out for you Ruby."
The heat from her voice and expression faded, and she began to regret snapping at him.
"I… sorry. I just don't want you thinking they're bad people. They're not! They're really nice."
Sara stepped forward, shooting Hans a look that seemed to say 'drop it'.
He eyed her for a moment longer before breaking out into laughter.
"Of course, of course. Forgive me. Now, you didn't answer my question. Why are here, instead of playing with kids your age?"
She crossed her arms, frowning heavily as she puffed up her lips.
"'Cos there are no kids my age around. They're all just boring adults."
Sara mock-gasped.
"Ruby, my goodness. Surely you don't think we're boring?"
"Yeah Ruby. We're the Wall Garrison," chimed in Hans with faux hurt.
Ruby couldn't help but giggle.
"No, sillies. You guys are cool."
Hans felt a smile crease his lips. He nodded proudly.
"That's right. You know it!"
Ruby continued, however. At least this time she had a more elated expression as she rambled on about the adults she lived with that took care of, and how they could always be so serious, and boring at times.
Hans and Sara listened along and nodded as she rambled on about them. From what they could piece, they didn't seem to be bad people, so it spared him the need of following her home and paying them a visit to knock their heads around for letting a little girl like her run around unsupervised.
Still, she was always vague on the details. In the year since he had known her, she never once gave out any names, nor revealed where she was staying.
One of the other guards mentioned that she was likely from the streets and therefore had no home, but Sara was quick to point out her clothes were too well-kept. Obviously, she didn't scream wealthy. If anything, her clothes were relatively cheap, only acting as an environmental barrier and that was it.
"…Which is why I was hoping you'd show me how to use one like you promised."
Hans blinked, and Sara shot him an inquisitive look.
"Sorry, come again?" He must have blanked out for a second.
Ruby repeated, a tinge of exasperation under her voice.
"You said you'd show me how to use your Flintlock."
He drew a blank, while Sara's inquisitive look morphed into one of sickly sweet anger.
"I'm sorry, Captain. You said what to not just a civilian, but a child?!"
He could feel his throat become parched.
"I'm sorry, Ruby, but I don't recall having that conversation with you." At least, he didn't think he had?
Apparently, that wasn't the correct answer for Ruby, as she shot him a dark scowl.
"It's not nice to lie. You promised me. I even brought the payment we agreed upon!"
"Captain!" Sara was mortified.
"Sara, we don't take bribes. You know that," he placated. That did little to assuage her dismay.
Ruby sighed, reaching into the small knapsack she had over her shoulder.
"Well, if you're not going to uphold your promise, then I suppose you won't be needing this." And with those words, she produced a bottle of the greatest treasure known to mankind.
Valean Dry Whiskey. A full bottle. His mouth opened, his breath hitched. Like a parched man in a desert, he felt the allure of god's mightiest ambrosia to parch his thirst. He instinctively reached forward with a heavy hand.
Instantly, Ruby reeled back with the bottle out of reach.
"No deal."
"Now, now, Ruby," he jumped upright, practically begging her.
"Let's not get too hasty here."
Sara grabbed his outstretched hand and shoved it down.
"Yes," she glowered at him. "Let's not!" before wheeling on Ruby.
"As for you. Prohibition Act 1914, Section 3A states that a minor is not permitted to be in possession of any liquor. Unless you would be willing to prove to me what you are holding is in fact NOT?"
Her tone was harsh, and so was her glare.
No way was she going to let this happen. Not on her watch!
Ruby shrugged, cracking open the cork. It must have been loosened already.
"It is, but seeing as no-one is going to want it, then I suppose I'll have to get rid of it, as per compliance with Section 4b."
Sara narrowed her eyes. Ruby continued, almost verbatim with the act.
"The Section 3a fine and sentence can be avoided if the unlicensed liquor holder disposes of said liquor in front of a civil officer."
All that time listening to Hei and Tony go over the paperwork to set up their legality was worth something. Finally.
Hans' eyes went wide with despair. She wouldn't…!?
She began to tip the bottle.
SHE IS! his mind screeched, and he rushed forward, grasping the bottle firmly. His quick thinking elicited a surprised yelp from Ruby, a curse from Sara, and saved the life of the angel about to be forever murdered.
"WAIT!" he screamed, garnering a few head turns from the other guards.
He held the bottle delicately as Ruby landed on her rear. She sent him a scowl, though not nearly as impressive nor fearsome as the one Sara was levelling against him.
"Captain. The law clearly states that any liquor must be disposed of. For gods sake she just tried to bribe you!"
He sealed the cork back on, but not before getting a whiff of the sweet sweet fragrance.
He cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Now, let us not be too hasty. The liquor will be disposed of. After all, that is exactly what young Ruby here was doing. She just happened to find some and reported it to me. Isn't that right?" he asked her, his eyes practically begging her.
Ruby could already sense she had won.
"That's correct. In fact, I could report much more to you to deal with." She added sweetly, standing up.
He was all ears. Unfortunately, so were all the other guards within earshot.
They quickly crowded around them. And the questions were all the same.
"She's got booze?!"
"She can get more?"
"Say yes captain!"
Hans despaired. This was supposed to be his private treat.
Sara glowered at him, and he felt himself wilt.
He never proclaimed to be a good captain, but the starving looks of desperation his men were shooting him, plus his own thirst, were enough to turn any man insane.
"What is it you wanted again…?"
Sara groaned, facepalming.
"You owe me some time to train with your flintlock rifles," Ruby smirked.
"Deal," he didn't even hesitate.
His men cheered him.
He cheered himself!
He reached for the bottle to celebrate, only to suddenly find it gone.
Looking around, he realised that Sara had taken it and was holding it for everyone to see.
He felt his despair resume.
"Sara…" he pleaded.
She smirked as she cracked open the bottle.
His heart plummeted.
And then she took a swig, before letting out a satisfied sigh of content. She brushed her lips with the back of her hand before passing the bottle onto the rest of the garrison to share.
"As captain, you must do your due diligence and put the needs of your men first, remember."
The despair returned as he reached out for the bottle, only to be denied as his men took their turns having a swig.
"And you need to make sure we can get more, so you better hold your end of the deal with the girl now."
With that she left him.
He wanted to cry.
Ruby wanted to rejoice.
They were not the same.
"So… you gonna show me?" asked Ruby innocently.
Cruel child.
"Yeah…" he hung his head glumly.
"Might as well…"
Ruby followed Hans along the giant wall to where a heavily fenced off and secure set of buildings could be seen ahead. The Wall Garrison barracks.
Several guards were present, acting as sentries. Though, in her humble opinion, they weren't doing a very good job considering most of them were seemingly dozing off whilst standing. Slumped heads as they leaned on spears tiredly.
Hans apparently thought the same.
"OI!" That caused all of them to startle awake.
"What the hell is this?!"
Instantly there were splutters of excuses and apologies, all of which Hans dismissed with heavy shouting. He was already in a bad mood for having his booze denied by Sara, so it was easy for anyone to earn his ire. And he was all too happy to dish out punishments in extremes beyond reason.
"Night watch with the vice-captain starting tonight. Then dawn patrol. After that, you're on latrine duty."
The groans he received were instantly regretted as he shouted out an extension for those duties to last for two weeks total.
After that, his spirits seemed to lift, if only marginally.
"Welcome to the Wall Garrison's humble headquarters!" he proudly exclaimed, though it was apparent it was with false enthusiasm.
As Ruby entered the Garrison courtyard, she instantly couldn't help but judge the place. And this was coming from the relative shithole – crap! She wasn't supposed to swear! The relative craphole that was Saint and even the inn.
The courtyard was nothing more than a dry patch of dirt with a few weeds. A broken down wooden picket fence created a makeshift sparring ring, while an old stable house or barn sat back further near the imposing stone wall. Training dummies were staked into the ground, bound in well-worn rope.
No-one was present, leaving only just the two of them.
"So…" she began cautiously, not wanting to offend Hans. He did seem nice in all fairness.
"Nice dump you've got here…?" she offered weakly.
Hans' smile faltered.
Curse her and her big mouth. Actually, it was probably all Melanie's fault, so pooey to her actually.
"Well this dump is my home," he responded with a thin smile.
"I thought you had a daughter?" he had to be married, right? Which meant he had an actual home?
Mom and… Taiyang… lived together in an actual home. Even if it was just a tent out in the wilderness. She never really understood that whole aspect or reason why?
Even still she refused to acknowledge Taiyang as her father. Not after what he did.
Time had closed the wound, but it was still a sore point for her. She'd only just learnt to move on from it. Even if only a little.
Hans remained unawares to her internal turmoil, but did pick up on her line questioning and the reasoning behind it.
"Ah, I don't really live with them," he answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
At her questioning gaze, he winced.
"Me and her mom… we don't really get on well."
Instantly she thought of Taiyang and her mum.
"Did you try and kill her?" she asked, perhaps a little too pointedly.
His eyes bulged in horror.
"What?! NO! Gods no!" he repeated, a bit more composed this time.
"What makes you even say that? No. Me and her? We made some mistakes." He paused, a more solemn look flashing across his eyes.
"I made some mistakes," he finally amended.
He shook his head.
"Anyways. Point is, I don't live with her anymore. Unfortunately, that means I don't really get to see my daughter anymore either."
That didn't sit well with Ruby and she followed him to lean up against the picket fence.
"That's not right. Family is important," she stated. He looked at her with a sad look and pursed lips.
"It is, Little Red," he agreed. "But it's sometimes not always that simple."
"Why not?" she argued.
"You need to spend time with the people you care about. With your family! That's all you have in this world."
It was a lesson Hei and the others had ingrained into her since she first started living with them, and it was one she took to heart. After losing her mother, her newfound family was all she could rely on. All she could trust. And the sole reason she had a purpose she felt sometimes.
Hans grimaced.
"I hear you kid. But my family don't exactly care for me. Not anymore, and not after what happened."
Ruby made to argue, but Hans waved a hand to cut her off.
"But anyways, enough about that. You got a good head on your shoulder, but the whole reason you're here is because you want to know how to shoot. Brother Gods above know how you even know about these things in the first place," he muttered.
She decided to keep the tidbit of Hei having his own flintlock to herself as that would only draw more scrutiny to her.
Miltia had told her sometimes the best answer was to not give one at all. The less information you hand out or straight up volunteered, the better. You never knew who would be listening, and when and how it could be used against you.
And she most certainly understood that considering the massive secret she was keeping from the world regarding her heritage.
"So," Hans began.
"You ever held a crossbow before?"
"Can't say I have," she admitted cheekily, Neo's sass leaking through. Mute or no, Neo always managed to convey perfectly her sass. Even if it irritated Melanie and Tony at times.
"Well, it's sorta similar, only much, much cooler," he smirked.
Ruby smiled in anticipation.
"I see you're excited," he nodded approvingly.
"Good. You wait right here, and I'll go grab us a gun."
"Gun?" She thought they were called flintlocks?
"Ah, that's what we call them. Flintlock, musket, or Mark Eight Bored Gun is too much of a mouthful, so we shorten it to gun."
That answered her question, and so there was nothing more to do than just wait for Hans to return.
It didn't take long.
In one hand he held a satchel, and in the other, he held a small gun the same size as Hei's.
As he approached her, he called out.
"Figured due to your size, and being your first time, we'd go with something smaller first."
Why did people always have to comment on her size?! She was getting bigger every day. She drank milk!
He chuckled at her indignation, guiding her to a wall with a heavy steel plate leaning up against it.
Targets were drawn on to it, and numerous holes and dents adorned its already scuffed and rusting surface.
Adjacent to it was a long table, stained with various liquids spilled from by gone days.
"These are where we set up our targets. Bottles, bricks, plates. Any and all sorts of random items and junk. It all counts as a target."
He instantly went in to lecture mode, explaining how the weapon functioned, and showing her how it worked.
Above all, he drilled the importance of weapon safety into her.
"Don't point it anything you don't intend to shoot, not unless you want a giant fuc- er, hecking hole in it."
Memories of Amber's foot getting obliterated flashed into her mind.
She nodded along. Everything he said she had already overhead Hei describe or actually do. What she was actually interested in was shooting.
"So, I'll load 'er up, and then you can go for a shoot," he finished.
She nodded eagerly, greedily taking the flintlock pistol out of his hands.
Sure he was surprised, but he couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.
She gripped it similarly to how he showed her, but considering her size, the gun seemed quite cumbersome.
His hands rested on her shoulders and hip as he adjusted her stance and grip slightly.
"Keep yourself rooted to the ground. Last thing we need is you doing a backwards cartwheel," he chuckled.
She hummed in acknowledgement, aiming for one of the chalk-drawn targets on the steel plate. A crude person outline.
"All yours Little Red," he spoke softly.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for her as she aimed and tried to keep herself steady.
Finally. It was time to start being useful.
Then, with an excited grin, she pulled the trigger.
Powder detonated everywhere, a deafening bang resounding in the courtyard.
The barrel slammed into her nose and she saw black.
Four Years. It had been four years since the Bloody Market incident, as people had coined it. Four years of dealing with investigations, accusations, bureaucracy, and obstructions by the council. Or rather, Rosaline and her cronies as they continued to garner more and more favour with the King and alienate him from the fold.
Polished shoes reflected the tiled floor as heels sharply clacked against them. He marched towards the large conference doors.
Normally, these events would have him rather unimpressed, to put lightly. However, today was the day things would be put to rest. Today was the day where the line would be drawn.
Things would go one of two ways.
He just hoped for the sake of all that he would only have to take the one path. The easier path. Sadly, he feared things would have to take the alternative.
He came to a stop before the ornate double doors and straightened his tie.
Normally he was much more collected than this, but even he would admit what he was going to do was rather… huge. Taking a deep breath, he composed his usual genial expression, and then pushed the doors open.
Before him sat the same circular conference table where many a meeting had been held over the years.
All of the important people were present.
Henry Winchester, Nicholas Arc, Carmine Adel and Merlin Goodwitch. All noble heads of powerful Huntsmen families. And all firmly allied towards him.
On the other side of the table sat Rosaline, Margaret, General Alexander Verdunn, and Arthur Rainhart. Of course, there were the other Democratic Councilmembers present, but for now they were inconsequential. Or rather, they would be forced to capitulate. They would have no choice but to.
"So glad you could join us, Headmaster."
And then there was the King, sitting at the head of the table.
Ozpin circled around to take his seat beside the aging man.
"Apologies. I had some matters to tend to and organise before I could arrive. I hope I haven't missed much?"
Margaret raised an eyebrow and answered before giving into a hacking cough.
"Nonsense. We've only just started ourselves. Ergh – Hack!"
Age was not doing her any favours he idly noted.
"Then let us begin. There are some interesting proposals you have pushed to pass into legislation, Headmaster, but we'll address those later. They'll take a meeting unto themselves," spoke the King.
Ah yes. Those proposals.
"For now, we would like to review progress on the Mountain Glenn Initiative," he continued.
Ozpin took that as his invitation to speak.
"Yes. The Huntsmen teams assigned have worked quite efficiently to clear out the land native to Mount Glenn. The defensive perimeter is holding quite well, thanks in part due to General Alexander's battalions stationed nearby."
The General nodded with a pleased expression.
"And what of the project?" asked Carmine, leaning forward.
Arthur Rainhart answered.
"Construction is still underway, but the progress is going quite well, especially with the supplies we've received from the trade deal with Mistral. All of the land is cleared, and we have nearly finished construction of the entire wall. The mountain is still a tough nut for our engineers to crack, but I have been assured everything is well on schedule."
Four years to clear land, defend it, and build a massive wall. Time certainly flew by, yet at the same time it felt like it was taking forever.
"Unfortunately," began Rosaline, instantly souring Ozpin's mood. "There are still concerns about the overall safety of the workers, and Grimm are still trying to push in."
She glanced at Ozpin, as if to imply it were his fault.
"Miss Tully," he began, his hands steeped.
"Grimm are attracted to emotions, especially negativity. We have a large population of people out in the middle of nowhere with the barest of shelter. They are nervous, and anxious. This will inevitably attract Grimm. However, between my Huntsmen, and Alexanders soldiers, we have yet to see a single Grimm related fatality."
And wasn't that an impressive achievement unto its course, the initial expedition suffered losses, but once a perimeter had been finally established, the following four years of construction had gone off without any major safety problems.
Four years, and no Grimm casualties. If anything, that was a rounding success. His fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses seemed to think so, but Rosaline only frowned.
"Be that as it may, we were assured that Grimm would not pose a problem."
Ozpin raised a brow.
"And they haven't. We are making progress on schedule, and the area is well defended. A few stray Grimm are not cause enough for alarmism."
"There shouldn't be any Grimm," she countered.
"You ask the impossible," Merlin Goodwitch shook his head.
"Outside of the walls, mitigation is all we can achieve. And considering the astounding lack of casualties, I would argue that at least the good General and esteemed Headmaster are managing quite well."
Henry gave a faint sneer as he locked eyes with Rosaline and Arthur.
"The same cannot be said for the financial management of the Initiative."
He tapped the hefty stack of papers in front of him, littered with details pertaining to Mountain Glenns costs, expenditure, and allocated budgets.
"The Crown cannot afford to keep drawing from the treasury, especially when there are no returns yet. All we are doing driving ourselves to bankruptcy."
"Then we take out a loan," dismissed Rosaline.
Merlin guffawed.
"From where?! We have no banks. This isn't Atlas!"
Robert hummed thoughtfully.
"Mistral might be willing to grant us a loan."
Merlin shot him a withering look. The boy was as stupid as he was naïve.
"Shutup."
Satisfied Robert was successfully chastised, he wheeled on Rosaline, but she already was speaking.
"Not from abroad. The Merchants guild. Right Arthur, dear?"
Arthur pursed his lips.
It was technically his guild, or rather, it was directly tied to the Rainhart noble family.
"Our trade surplus with the other Kingdoms has seen a decent enough influx of goods, and the import tariffs have helped accrue some additional income."
The Crown by default took a significant portion of the tariffs, but since Vale was a Monarchy, and the merchants guild technically another noble family, they were entitled to a significant cut of the pie as well. Meaning they were very wealthy currently.
"See?" smiled Rosaline.
"If we take a loan from the Merchants guild, we can cover the additional costs for this kingdom."
"But not for Mountain Glenn directly. How kind of you," Ozpin drawled.
"And how generous will your interest be this time?"
Her lips thinned as he appraised her.
Henry snorted.
"The loan would be better served to be invested direct into Mountain Glenn. We can always temporarily halt construction if need be."
Merlin glared at Henry.
"Or, we could actually not take a loan at his point, and instead increase our export index. We can also increase the annual tax rate, maybe throw in some additional ones? Oh? And maybe, just maybe, we could cut the redundancies in expenditure for the whole project."
Rosaline shook her head slowly with a thin smile.
"Whatever are you talking about?"
Merlin glowered her way.
"163 million in permit fees and regulations," he fished out a document and slammed it onto the large conference desk.
"I'm sorry, but what the hell?!"
Margaret sighed dismissively.
"These are necessary safety audits to ensure all construction protocols are insured and up to date."
Rosaline nodded.
"Indeed. Work health and safety of our crews is indeed important. It is legally binding in our government."
"In our…? We ARE the fucking government!" He roared. "It's a bloody redundancy is what it is. And it's not even through an approved crown agency, but rather a third party company. One who you have part ownership of, miss Tully!"
Rosaline scoffed.
"That's hardly a crime is it?"
"It's embezzlement, plain as day."
Rosaline glared at Merlin, and he glared back just as fiercely.
Ozpin cleared his throat.
"There is perhaps an easier solution."
All eyes slowly shifted to him.
"One that would actually resolve many of our economic crises, and not just the issue of Mountain Glenn. Nor, actually, tripling our current debt." He made sure to fix a pointed look to Rosaline and Margaret.
The older woman ignored him, completely uncaring. Rosaline locked stubborn eyes with him, but didn't otherwise say anything.
"I submitted a proposal a while ago."
"A legislature change," nodded the King.
"Actually," Ozpin smiled slightly.
"A framework restructure."
It was imperceptible, but he noticed the way the King tensed. He had already seen his drafted proposal from two months ago.
He had agreed to review it, but, just as he had predicted, he had instead shelved the idea. It was very ground-breaking after all. Or rather, for the current order…? Threatening.
Unfortunately for the King, his loyalties did not extend to a regime, but to humanity. And right now, humanity needed a significant change. At least here in Vale.
"I read your proposal, Headmaster. Centralising our bureaucracy would allow for cleaner legislation and policy to be passed. It can certainly expedite many processes as well. In theory. However, our Kingdom does not operate like Atlas."
Ozpin countered the King, and everyone listened in curiously. Even Merlin and Henry put aside their heaving and puffing to listen to what was being said.
"Which is why I proposed having a centralised Democratic party based government. One institutionalised as a government body that is elected."
Rosaline scoffed.
"Please, Headmaster. That is the purpose of the Democratic Council. They centralise and represent the masses, while the nobility provide the financial support and backing necessary."
It was how Vale ran. How it had operated for the last few decades. Prior to that is was strictly a monarchy.
However, the fact Rosaline answered in the King's stead told Ozpin everything he needed to know. The King had indeed confided and shared his proposals to her, and likely her supporters. He could assume anyways since Alexander, Arthur and Margaret all looked unsurprised. The rest of the Democratic Council was intrigued and confused.
"Then I would like to clear up a slight misunderstanding of my proposed framework. I am not talking about a Democratic Council. I am talking about having only a Democratic Council."
It was deathly silent. Ozpin continued, looking the King straight in the eye.
"I am talking about abolishing the Monarchy. Permanently."
For the first time in a long time, the King's mouth went slack-jawed and agape.
It was unseemly, and Ozpin recognised the look in his eyes.
He had issued his challenge. The King effused to have his back anymore. These past few years had made that abundantly clear. So, he was making it clear he was no longer going to be loyal to the crown.
The King was astonished at his blatant audacity. And he was furious….
We'll continue these cliffhangers in next week's chapter. This arc is definitely Ruby centric, but I do find myself enjoying the Ozpin B-plot a lot.
In canon, Ozpin is always supposed to be treated as a somewhat shady, morally grey character dedicated to humanity, but I feel it was handled in a rather rushed or poor way. No offence against the show, but I feel it would have made more sense for Ozpin to have traded places with Ironwood in one sense because Ozpin would view humanity as the whole. Ironwood is a career soldier, and would also recognise saving humanity as priority, but he would also try to preserve as many of his ffellow mortals lives. He only gets one chance after all. Ozpin has eternity, and as long as some of humanity lives and the relics aren't all combined, he wins, or at least stalls Salem. I do get it was Ironwoods semblance going into overdrive, however. Ah well, I'd rather not write an essay on strictly just an opinion I have. I'll save the word count for the actual story.
Also, probably an unpopular opinion, but I actually enjoyed RWBY Season 8 thoroughly, even Ironwoods descent. Could it have been handled better? Absolutely.
Anyways, see you next Monday for the next chapter.
Monday 3rd February.
