Live and Die, Living a Lie/Justify
Estelle Blanche looked at the pile of letters on her desk and sighed. "Why hasn't she answered me?" she asked the empty air. The elderly woman got up and started to roam the manor. As she passed through the winter colored halls, she came across the glass double door leading to the gardens. She stopped for a moment and pressed her face up against the glass to see if Willow Schnee was drinking, and not much to her surprise, she was. Believing she was alone, she sighed to herself and said, "Sometimes it feels like everything is just getting worse."
"Estelle?" the familiar voice of Weiss asked.
Estelle turned to face Weiss and her follow servant, Klein. The elderly maid took note of Weiss's change in appearance- the young huntress wore a short dress with a sweetheart neckline and a color gradation of blue to pale blue at the hem and a white, tulle petticoat under the skirt. A white ribbon was wrapped multiple times around her waist, and over the outfit was a slightly sheer long-sleeved blue shrug with the Schnee Crest fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach that has three dangling pendants. To complete the outfit, she wore dark blue wedge heels and sapphire drop earrings.
The butler asked, "Is something wrong? Aside from Willow drinking almost endlessly?"
The elderly maid sighed. "My eldest granddaughter hasn't responded and I sent out a letter to her over four weeks ago."
"Do you think it's possible that the messenger you hired died in the line of duty?"
"That shouldn't be possible. I hired a first class messenger!"
"First class?" Weiss asked.
"Yes. First class. You know how delivering messages has become a dangerous, popular and potentially lucrative field?" Estelle asked the semi pro huntress. Weiss nodded in understanding. "Well, there are two different kinds of messengers; second class and first class. Second class messengers refer to messengers who are mainly motivated by greed. They're doing this for money, and usually have failed to take into consideration all the dangers of being a messenger or are ignoring those dangers. Most second class messengers are ordinary civilians, oftentimes with very little to no combat experience. They travel unarmed and they are more likely to die while delivering messages. However, since they're seen as more expandable by society, they often charge less.
"First class messengers on the other hand, know what they're getting into, have a significant amount of combat experience and most of them carry weapons to defend themselves and others. These are usually huntsman academy students, trained fighters or sometimes even professional huntsmen and huntresses. They know how risky it is to be a messenger and have prepared themselves accordingly. As a result, they're a lot less likely to die when delivering messages, but they oftentimes charge more than a second class messenger. So when it comes to hiring one, here's the question you need to ask yourself- do you want to hire cheaply on the possibility that your message probably won't be delivered, or go for someone more reliable at a higher cost?"
"I see. And how long does someone have to practice combat in order to be significant?"
"The definition of significant combat experience varies from one community to another, but from what I've gathered, most people agree on a minimum ranging from two to five years worth. Basically, they have to be good enough to face the Grimm and survive." She sighed. "I payed them 550 Lien... and that's the lower end of first class messaging."
"Maybe your granddaughter sent out a cheaply hired messenger who didn't make it back here." Weiss suggested. "I can easily imagine that she's not rich and that she might not have the means to hire a good messenger."
"That is true." She looked out the window. "Even if I don't hear from her again, I just hope she's alright."
Yang looked at the seventh draft of her letter to Tangerine. Her hand writing had improved slightly.
Dear (Tang)erine,
She quickly crossed it out, then discarded the paper. She began another draft.
What was she going to say to her?
Dear Tang,
I have distressing news to report. Beacon Academy has fallen. How did this happen? Well...
She sighed and crumbled up the paper, tossing the wad into the trashcan. The former brawler started another draft.
Dear Tangerine,
I'm afraid I have distressing news to report. The Vytal Festival Tournament was crushed. Pyrrha was facing an opponent named Penny Polendina. Penny was an android with an aura, but no one realized it until it was too late. During the match, Pyrrha unintentionally used her semblance polarity and accidentally tore her metal body into pieces.
She looked at another part of the letter.
During the chaos, I saw my teammate Blake being attacked by an unknown White Fang member. I lost my right arm... I know that hearing about my injures is depressing, but I can't lie to you.
Yang looked at the 13th draft. It was okay, but she still felt it wasn't good enough.
"Hey Yang." He carried a tea tray in his hands and poured her a cup. "How's the response going?"
She put the pencil down and took the cup in her hand before looking down sadly. "I feel like all my drafts so far just don't get the entire message."
"Then be honest. Don't try to hide anything from her. I know it's not going to be easy to tell her about the tragedy, but she needs to hear the truth."
"Do you think that Jaune told her what happened?"
"I don't know. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. He might not have had the heart to tell her. Don't assume that she knows anything and, I know this might sound silly, but, speak from the heart."
"Thanks for the advice." Yang looked at him with a neutral expression. "I'll... I'll keep that in mind."
Meanwhile, in a forest outside of Argus, a young woman appeared anxious as she looked at her attire- a long white sleeved blouse, black dress pants and black polished work shoes. She put on a brown ribbon to hide her cat ears.
"Perfect. No one will be the wiser." Athena told the girl before she came into her line of sight.
Tawny looked as nervous as a sinner in church. "Oh... Are you sure that I'm capable of doing this? What if I can't pull this off? What if they discover I'm a fake? What if I'm caught? What if I'm thrown behind bars like you were?!"
"Calm down!" She looked around to make sure no one heard her shout before giving her a firm, yet reassuring look. Her brown eyes meet Tawny's green. "Look Tawny, I know you're scared, and you have good reason to be, but let me reassure you that this plan will not fail. I am certain that you are capable of doing this. I've created your transcript, I had you read it to me several times over to aid you in memorizing it, and with the CCT tower in Beacon down, they won't be easily able to verify your references. While is it unfortunate that the CCT is gone, we can take this quandary and use it to our advantage. Just remember what I taught you. Do you remember the rules I taught you for the interview?"
She took a black hair bow and put her brown hair into a bun. "Display confidence during the interview, bring your poker face instead of a smile since this is a very serious profession, and don't lie any more than you have to."
"Good. Now, remember what I told you and you'll be fine. I will be waiting out here in the trees to avoid being spotted by vigilantes. Do you remember the signal we will use to meet up again?"
"Ca-caw! Ca-caw!"
"Excellent. When you return and call out that signal, I will repeat it so you can find me. I know that luck can only take you so far, but I wish you good luck during this interview."
She bowed her head in respect. "Thanks, Lady Athena."
I'm going to need it.
The young recruit walked forth from the forest and into the city of Argus. Light snowfall caked the buildings of the city. She looked back briefly, seeing the highest tower of Sanctum Academy in the distance on top of a mountain above the main part of the city. Tawny breathed in and walked forward, and even saw a newspaper on the ground and picked it up.
Athena Escapes From Argus Harbor Max Security Prison
She tossed it aside. It just told her what she already knew. After trekking through the cobblestone streets of Argus, she walked forth to the trolley and hopped on. When the trolley took off, she began to look around. In the distance, heard the sound of bells ringing and a few feet later, saw a woman with long dark brown hair in a bun and eyes to match. When she squinted her eyes, she saw a single smooth bang going down her forehead. She tucked it to the side and adjusted her red glasses. The woman wore an empire line wedding dress with a veil as she stood outside the cathedral.
As the bride faded from her view, Tawny turned her attention to the large building in front her- Argus Harbor Max Security Prison. This massive dark grey twenty-seven story building had a huge stone wall about five stories tall with only one entrance. The entrance was guarded by three guards and had a station for confiscated items to be stored. She breathed in to steady herself and at the right moment, hopped off the train. She stood up straight and walked forth to the gate as calmly as she could.
"Hello, sirs. I'm here for the interview."
"Identify yourself." the first guard ordered.
"Tawny Lemongrass."
The second guard looked at a portfolio with a few papers inside it. "Yes, we received your letter and transcript approximately three days ago. Unfortunately, you still have to get through basic security measures. Do you have any weapons on you? If so, you will need to hand them over to us."
Tawny got out her dagger and held it in her hands. "I was forewarned about this." She handed it to the guard. "Here you go."
"Thank you. You may enter."
The gates were opened and Tawny entered the prison, walking forth with the guards behind her, watching her every move.
"I will guide you to our warden, Mr. Cumin." the third guard said.
Tawny suddenly felt very nervous.
Why did I agree to this? I'm living a lie. I know this is for a good cause, but... can I really justify my actions? She internally sighed to herself. There's no turning back now.
"Here you are. Mr. Cumin will be here shortly. Wait for him to arrive before you enter."
The guards left her there at the entrance, standing and waiting for the warden. She looked around and saw a few empty prison cells as her eyes scanned the dark grey walls. The overhead lights were dimmed.
I wonder where my cohorts are. Will any of them recognize me in my prison guard outfit once I get the job? You mean if you get the job. What if something goes wrong?
"Ms. Lemongrass?" a buff voice asked, disrupting her thoughts. Warden Cumin. Tawny nodded in response. "Take a seat."
She sat down in the wooden chair before his desk.
After twenty one attempts at writing the response, Yang read to herself the final, finished draft.
Dear Tangerine,
I'm sorry for not being able to respond to your letter sooner. Everything has crumbled into pieces. It's a long story on what exactly happened. A few months ago, during the Vytal Festival, during my match with Mercury Black, after he had been eliminated, I thought I saw him attempting to attack me, but in reality, he was just being friendly. I never meant to do any serious harm, and I don't know what caused me to see Mercury attacking me when he really wasn't. I do hope that you don't believe what the critics are saying about me. Unfortunately, I was disqualified for this. I had hoped that incident would be the only bad thing happening in the Vytal Festival.
Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. In the following round of the Vytal Festival, Pyrrha unintentionally caused the death of Penny Polendina. Unbeknownst to the general public until her death, Penny was an android with an aura, or more simply put, a robot with a soul. She unintentionally used her semblance, polarity, to devastating magnitude that crushed her metal body and tore it into pieces. Shortly thereafter, the broadcast was hijacked by an unknown woman who condemned the headmasters of the huntsman academies and the government, causing fear and negative emotions to spike, attracting Grimm to the Colosseum and the city. This event started what is known as the Fall of Beacon. During the ensuing chaos, we were attacked by the forces of Grimm, the White Fang, and Atlas military drones, which I highly suspect were hijacked.
During that chaos, I saw my teammate and best friend, Blake, attacked by an unnamed White Fang elitist. Hearing her cry out in pain, I felt my rage spike, my semblance ignite and burn in fury, so I charged towards him, ready to take him down, and then the next thing I know, I feel unbearable pain, my aura fading, and me falling unconscious. That unbearable pain... was me losing most of my right arm.
When I awoke again, I was on a bullhead heading to a safe place in the city. I slipped in and out of consciousness for several minutes until we got to the safehouse. They took account of everyone there and everyone who was staying there. My wounds were tended to by a student from Beacon and me and Blake choose to stay there in hopes that our teammates would return. But come next morning, Blake was gone. Sun saw her go and attempted to stop her, but to no avail. Me and an unconscious Ruby were taken home by our dad and I later learned from my uncle Qrow that Weiss was taken back to Atlas by her father shortly after the fall. Nothing has ever been the same. Adjusting to having only my left arm to use has been immensely difficult. I know the world is slowly falling apart around me, but to tell you the truth, I barely even notice because it feels like my world just suddenly collapsed on me.
Writing this letter was no easy task, and I really hope that this message reaches you. If you don't get this or don't respond, I probably won't write back. If you can, please respond. I feel so lonely, and not even my family can comfort me. I feel like can't even speak with Ruby, nor my father, and... ugh?! Why did Blake just abandon us without warning?! How could she do this?! ... My apologies for lashing out. It's not your fault. This wasn't the first time Blake disappeared, but after what happened the first time, I hoped and I prayed, that it would be the last. Who knows where she is now...
I know that hearing of my current state will be a hard pill to swallow, but I can't ask you to mourn and grieve for me for too long. You have criminals to catch for cash, and I know that eventually, on your 22nd birthday or shortly thereafter, you will be taking your huntress license exam. I wish you good luck in all your endeavors and that one day your family be free from debt. And if I had to give you one piece of advice, never, ever let your temper get the better of you. That's ultimately what cost me my arm, and I don't want to see that happen to you.
Your eternally depressed friend, Yang
PS- Sorry I forgot about sending you a birthday text message. Happy belated birthday, Tang.
The former brawler faintly smiled to herself. Taiyang smiled, "It looks good, clearly readable, and you're being completely honest."
Hopefully it'll actually get to her. Yang thought.
Athena sat up in a tree, hidden from view from all others.
"Ca-caw! Ca-caw!"
"Ca-caw!"
Tawny ran in the direction of the sound and found where Athena hid herself among the trees.
The winged faunus smiled at her. "Well done. So how did it go?"
"I got the job."
"Excellent work, Tawny. Now, I will give you the plans." She gave a parchment scroll to the newly hired prison guard and began looking it over as Athena spoke to her. "The first thing you are to, is to waken their defenses. Do it slowly. Some of the prisoners may recognize you. You are not to address them by their name, as you must blend in and keep up the ruse. If the guards and/or Warden Cumin discover about your forgery, they will likely throw you in the slammer or worse. If things go really south, then flee the prison, and the city as quick as you can. You would not be able to fight all the guards and the warden. If you get imprisoned, send a message in code to the following address."
Athena wrote an address on a slip of paper. Tawny looked at it and nodded in comprehension before pocketing the slip. "Got it."
"You're going to be on your own for several weeks or months, and without the CCT, communication will be limited in between White Fang messengers. As you may have noticed on the parchment, I have a few White Fang spies in the city that you can contact for help, but try to save it for emergencies if you can help it. So good luck. You're gonna need it."
The newly hired guard reached her hand out to say something, but Athena took to the skies, flying away before Tawny could protest.
What did I just agree to? she thought to herself.