Chapter 6: Royal Affairs
'Some might wonder how the Order of the Ruby, stranded far from their home, might have earned such - documented beyond doubt by multiple sources - efforts of various noble houses to form an alliance with them through marriage if they did not actually possess supernatural powers. A few scholars even went so far as to denounce the four maidens as frauds who were using a made-up homeland, conveniently too distant to be reached, to deceive Westeros's nobility in order to secure a life as nobles, citing their lack of familiarity with Westeros's customs and nobility as proof that they were of common origin. However, such deductions could only come from an appalling ignorance of crucial aspects of the culture of the Seven Kingdoms at the time. In this era, Westeros, both smallfolk and nobility, were obsessed with chivalry and martial might, represented by outstanding individuals. Not unjustly so, for this was a time when the armoured knight still ruled the battlefield - at least in Westeros. While the wars in Essos were already showing glimpses of the changes that would, slowly but surely, result in raising the infantry to a status not enjoyed since the days of the Ghiscari legions, before they encountered the Freehold's dragons, battles in Westeros were still mainly decided by the charge of the heavy cavalry. And nothing represented this as well as the mounted knight. Tourneys, where the best knights of the realm showed off their skills, were the highlight of the smallfolk's lives, and whatever house could call a champion their own gained much prestige. The Kingsguard, gathering - at least more often than not - the finest knights of the Seven Kingdoms was renowned not only for their loyalty to the royal family but also for their skill at arms, and several famous battles saw them demonstrate that they had earned their reputation many times over. It should not come as a surprise, then, that four maidens from exotic lands with superb martial skills, on par or superior to the most famous Kingsguard according to how one interprets the entries in the Book of Brothers detailing their encounters with the Order of the Ruby, would garner such interest. What noble house would not wish to claim one of them for their family - and what noble would not hope to see his sons inherit such talent? That the Order of the Ruby inspired many girls and women to follow their example shows the impact the four maidens' martial expertise had on Westeros's society and culture. I would even argue that the Order of the Ruby did more to advance the rights of women in Westeros than Dorne's cultural influence over centuries, although that is harder to prove due to how intertwined both factors often ended up despite Dorne's contribution mainly being limited to the high nobility.'
A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
"Hah! Too slow! I will… ack!"
"Haha! Don't boast about being fast when I'm fighting you!"
"Speed doesn't help if you can't hit me!"
"Oops! Didn't see you! Sorry!"
"Yeah, right! Just wait!"
Ser Barristan Selmy had seen many battles, both at tourneys and in war, and many more sparring matches. He was no stranger to how tempers or grudges could turn even a sparring match with training swords into a dangerous fight, and he had seen too many knights die or end up maimed in a tourney not to be aware that every time you crossed blades with someone, the Stranger was paying attention to both of you.
And yet, if not for the laughter and teasing quips the four girls exchanged while fighting each other, he would have thought he was watching a battle to the death. They were exchanging blows that left craters in the earth and smashed wood to splinters when they missed, showing strength and speed that put the best knights he knew to shame. His pride might baulk, but his honesty required him to admit that Lord Stark had been correct - a single one of the four would match the entire Kingsguard in a fair fight. For even if you were quick enough to see them strike - Barristan managed it more often than not unless Lady Ruby used her strange "Semblance" to vanish and reappear in a flurry of petals - how could you win if your enemy could not be hurt even by blows that would shatter stone?
Did shatter stone, he corrected himself with a slight wince when he saw what Lady Ruby's scythe did to the wall that Lady Blake had just used to vault across the entire training yard.
"Sorry! It's Blake's fault for moving!"
"Don't blame me if you can't control your weapon!"
"Hah!" the King, sitting in front of him on a makeshift dais, pounded his armrest, making the page attending him jerk and almost spill his wine. "Did you see that? Who would need siege weapons with that power!"
Lord Stark nodded, not saying much - which, Barristan knew, was typical for the man. He wasn't transfixed by the sight, though, unlike the members of the royal party. Of course, as Barristan understood, this was not new for him or his guards. To think one could grow accustomed to such a display! If Barristan had not been on duty, he would likely have ignored everything outside the training yard.
Prince Joffrey, standing next to his father, nodded. "Yes, Father." The boy, unlike his mother the Queen, had chosen to attend the 'sparring match' - insisted on it, actually, in a rare display of defying his mother's wishes. "And their weapons… any sword except for a Valyrian blade would have shattered."
"Yeah, Boy! Good eye!"
"Thank you, Father!"
Barristan glanced around for potential dangers to the King and his family - other than catching a stray blow from the spectacle in front of them - and hoped that was a sign of the boy leaving the Queen's shadow and forming closer ties with his father, the King. Although he also hoped the boy wouldn't take too much after his sire; the last thing the realm needed was for the crown prince to father a bastard with a girl strong enough to kick down a castle's gate - or wall.
"Hah!"
Lady Ruby swung her 'scythe' in a wide arc, forcing her sister to jump over it, then spun it around so fast for an overhead slash, Barristan could barely follow the movement - yet Lady Yang still blocked the strike with her gauntlets and jumped away.
Next to him, Ser Jaime shook his head and softly snorted. "Strangely, the longer I watch, the more my pride recovers from the blow Lady Yang dealt it."
The King guffawed at that, but his eyes remained fixated on the fight before them even as the page refilled his goblet.
Barristan smiled; his brother in the Kingsguard was not wrong. Who would dare mock him for losing to Lady Yang after seeing this terrifying display of power beyond anything he had ever seen? "They could outwrestle the Mountain, I believe," he said.
"Definitely. Ser Gregor has done many things - often far more horrible things than damaging someone's castle - but even he would not be able to shatter stone like that," Ser Jaime's brother, sipping from a goblet of his own, commented. "I feel I must reassess the tales from the Age of Heroes I've read. Maybe they have not grown as much in the telling for thousands of years as I was assured by the Grand Maester. Although in this case, they would have had to shrink in the telling until grown men were reduced to my size."
Ser Jaime, the Prince and the King laughed at that. "That's a good jibe, Imp!" the King blurted out. "Oh, watch that!"
In front of them, Lady Weiss had caught a kick to the chest that threw her across the yard and into the stone wall, cracking the surface. Barristan winced. The girl recovered, gritted her teeth and kicked off, leading with her sword, and put Lady Yang on the defensive with several lightning-quick stabs.
"Hah! She must be mad!"
While Lady Weiss attacked Lady Yang, and Lady Blake led Lady Ruby on a chase probably meant to exhaust her - or wreck the training yard - Barristan glanced around again. He could still perceive no threats on the rampart or close to them. Everyone present seemed focused on the fight.
"They're so strong…" Prince Joffrey breathed.
The girls were powerful, indeed. They possessed strength beyond belief and were as tough and quick as they were strong. If anyone had told such a tale to him, Barristan wouldn't have believed it.
But, and this wasn't his pride talking, Barristan also knew by now that they were not as skilled as himself or Ser Jaime. The talent was there, no doubt, but their form, if you stripped away their strength and quickness, lacked the refinement that came with experience. The girls, for all their power, hadn't trained and fought for decades. He wouldn't call their strikes sloppy, far from it, but they still had room for improvement.
"Hah! I wonder if I should spar with them - they would give me the fight of my lifetime!"
"Or the last fight of your lifetime," Lord Tyrion quipped.
Barristan winced - as did Lord Stark, he noticed. The King sparring against Team Ruby… He couldn't see anything good that would come of that. Even if the King's pride survived the blows it would receive, people would spread the news, and Barristan knew that those not disposed favourably toward the crown would twist this into a humiliating defeat. And the Queen would certainly take it as something else altogether. And if Team Ruby made a mistake and accidentally hit the King as hard as they were obviously used to hitting each other…
He hoped the King wasn't serious and realised the same. If he didn't, perhaps Lord Stark would manage to convince him of the folly of such an action.
Another glance revealed no lurking assassins, and he studied the fight before him again. The four maidens were still moving in ways that defied common sense. Sometimes, they seemed to fly across the yard, or disappear altogether to reappear somewhere else. It was an exhilarating yet terrifying sight. But… Lady Weiss seemed to be somewhat wanting, if only in comparison to her comrades. Was she less experienced? Not quite, he decided. She was definitely used to fighting, it shone through in many exchanges. And yet, she didn't move as fluently as the others.
She was used to fighting differently, as if she were missing something, Barristan realised. But for the life of him, he couldn't tell what it was. Lady Blake as well, now that he knew what to look for, although it wasn't as evident with her. Incidentally, both were losing the match to the others.
So, what were they missing - or, to be more precise, what were they hiding?
He pondered the question until the sparring match ended, apparently by mutual agreement between the four maidens, and to the applause of the audience.
Later, when the King and his family had returned to their chambers to freshen up before the meal, Barristan and Ser Jaime were left standing guard outside, chatting with Lord Tyrion.
"I am curious, Jaime. Did watching that display of martial might beyond our understanding make you feel as insignificant as I feel when I watch the Kingsguard train?"
The little Lord's question had a slight edge of self-loathing to it, but it was an apt comparison. If the Kingsguard had to face Team Ruby, Ser Barristan would give them the same odds of winning as he'd give Lord Tyrion when facing the Mountain.
Ser Jaime, however, deflected. "I wouldn't know how that felt, Tyrion. But at least you can be assured that you can still verbally eviscerate those who prove to be your betters with the blade."
Lord Tyrion snorted at that. For someone who had matched the King drink for drink, he had kept his wits admirably. "Such displays of wordy might tend to invite more personal displays of martial might from certain parties. And I am not sure my esteemed position as Father's unwanted heir would be enough to keep them from acting on it." He chuckled at his own words, then sighed. "Leaving that aside… what do you think? Was this how our ancestors fought in the Age of Heroes? Is this how far we have fallen since then?"
Barristan frowned. He hadn't really considered that before, but it made sense. "We know the dragons were mere shadows of their ancestors, both far smaller and weaker than the likes of Balerion the Black Dread, when the last of them were killed. Would it be so surprising that men, too, have grown weaker with time?" It was a chilling thought. Would their ancestors see them as failures for growing so weak? And what had caused this to occur in the first place? If it was true, of course. Yet, it would also mean that there was a country whose people had not suffered such a decline. An entire kingdom - four of them, even - full of people with such power… Now that was a terrifying thought.
"Well, men might have fallen, but the women seem to have kept their strength just fine," Ser Jaime quipped. "If the King wants the strongest knights in the Kingsguard, we might have to adapt to sharing our quarters with women."
Barristan frowned at that. His brother of the Kingsguard might be joking, but the King might very well consider this - King Robert had been watching the fight with an intensity Barristan hadn't seen on his face since the Greyjoy Rebellion. And unlike many, he hadn't seemed to be as terrified as much or more as he was impressed. Instead, he had been fascinated and pleased. "We would need an opening to welcome a new member, which we do not have." Only if one of the seven members died would a new one be chosen, and all of them were in good health.
"Let's hope the King will not be tempted to create an opening." Ser Jaime chuckled.
Barristan frowned at the younger knight; Ser Jaime had quite a sharp sense of humour, but there were things you didn't joke about.
"...and this is how Crescent Rose folds up so I can carry her easily on my back!" Ruby Rose smiled as she demonstrated mechashifting for the King. "See?" She turned around so he could see how it rested on her back, ready to be drawn.
"Even I could carry it like that," Lord Tyrion said. "If I could lift it. I don't suppose its weight is reduced as well?"
"No, it weighs the same," Ruby told him. "It's just more compact."
The King chuckled. "I know a few knights who would have loved to have their swords fold up like that so they wouldn't have tripped over them. But don't all those joints and gears weaken the weapon?"
"Oh, no!" Ruby shook her head. "I designed my baby - I mean, my scythe - so the moving parts interlock in a way that reinforces them. Well, kinda - it means they are a tiny bit more flexible, so they withstand blows better. Of course, I had to get the strongest material for that." And it had taken her a number of attempts to get it right; her first version had been a bit too flexible, and hadn't that been embarrassing!
"I see. The hollow shaft is not merely to save weight, then, but also to reinforce it?"
The King knew his weapon mechanics. Ruby nodded. It also served as the barrel for the sniper mode, but she wasn't supposed to say that - or say anything about firearms.
"How would that work? Wouldn't it be stronger if it weren't hollow?" Prince Joffrey asked.
Lord Tyrion grumbled something Ruby didn't catch, mostly because he was drinking deeply from a mug so large, he had to hold it with both hands.
"Under some circumstances, such a shaft would be stronger," Ruby replied. "But it's generally negligible. And the hollow shaft resists most damage much better. Most Grimm can't even scratch it!"
"Grimm." The Prince frowned. "Those are the monsters you fight, yes?"
"Yes." Ruby nodded again. "Most of them die quickly, but some are tougher. Especially the old and large ones. Crescent Rose can cut through a Beowulf or Boarbatusk easily, but a Death Stalker - that's a huge scorpion-like Grimm, as big as your wheelhouse - can withstand a blow." As she had found out the hard way during Initiation.
"And how do you kill those?" The Prince leaned forward across the table, almost pushing over the mug with ale in front of him.
"You have to go for the weaker spots, the joints. Cut off its legs, pincers and stinger, then you can kill it more easily."
"Like when fighting a man in plate armour with a sword?"
"Yes, Boy. Go for the armpits, the gorget, the knees… Or just cave in their chestplate with a warhammer!" the King laughed and emptied another mug of ale.
He drank almost as much as Uncle Qrow, Ruby couldn't help noticing. He ate much more, though, almost as much as a Huntsman, and he was much bigger, too, so he probably wasn't like her uncle. On the other hand, Lord Tyrion was much smaller - he was a head or more smaller than Weiss, and Ruby was taller than her partner! - and he drank almost as much. But everyone drank ale here. Or wine. Because the water usually wasn't safe, you had to boil it like when you were camping. Only they didn't do that here - Benjen had been surprised when they had done it on the trip to Winterfell.
But she was getting distracted! And that while talking with the King and the Crown Prince! And Lord Tyrion, apparently - it wasn't quite clear, as Ruby understood - the heir of the Lord of the Westerlands, Lord Tywin. And Lord Tywin was both the King's father-in-law - they called it good father here - and had the same rank as Lord Stark, so that made his heir important as well.
"Can all your weapons 'shift' like that?" the Prince asked.
"Well…" How could she answer that without lying and without revealing firearms? "Weiss's Myrtenaster doesn't shift. It's a straight sword." Kinda. "Blake's Gambol Shroud can shift into a sickle."
"A sickle?" The Prince chuckled. "You have a scythe, and she has a sickle? Are you facing Grimm wheat as well?"
Ruby frowned - her baby wasn't a farming tool! And neither was Blake's chain-sickle. But she forced herself to chuckle at the Prince's joke as the King laughed again. The Prince didn't know any better, after all. "Well, not unless a Geist possesses a wheatfield. Though I don't know if they can do that. They can possess trees, though. But they prefer tougher objects, like rocks. Or…" She couldn't say machines. "...armour."
"Armour?" The King frowned.
"Yes. If a suit of armour is attacking you without anyone inside, it's probably a Geist. At least back home."
"The more I hear about your home, the more I wonder if I have drunk too much - or not enough," Lord Tyrion said.
The King and the Prince laughed at that.
"Well…" She smiled and shrugged with a slight wince. "...things are different back home compared to here." Very different.
"Oh, I think everyone realised that when you accidentally created a new hole in Lord Stark's inner wall." Lord Tyrion grinned and took another sip from his ale. Or more than a sip. Much more.
Ruby blushed. "It didn't go through the wall, so it's more like a dent," she defended herself.
Everyone else laughed at that. Well, not Ser Barristan, but the man hadn't said a word the whole time she had been talking. He just stood behind the King and to the side, guarding him. Like one of those bodyguards you saw in shows, only without falling in love with their charge. Probably. She'd have to ask Blake about that part; her friend was the expert on such romances. If she wanted to know. (Which she didn't - that was none of her business. People were way too obsessed with the whole relationships and marriage thing here, anyway!)
"I can't imagine how you wage war!" the King said, holding out his mug to be refilled by one of the servants. "You probably put the Field of Fire to shame!"
Ruby blinked. "The Field of Fire?"
The Prince smiled at her. "That was a famous battle during King Aegon's Conquest. His dragon burnt an entire army in the field!"
The King scoffed behind his mug, and the Prince flinched a little. "Bah! Damn Targaryens! Hiding behind their dragons! Without them, they were nothing! I caved in Prince Rhaegar's chest with my hammer in the battle of the Ruby Ford! Put the damn man down for good!"
Ruby winced again. The people here were also far too fond of such gruesome stories. And this one was called the Battle of the Ruby Ford… Ugh! "I guess so," she said, diplomatically. "We don't really fight wars, though."
"Didn't you have a war over clothes?" Lord Tyrion asked. "Or I might be mistaken - the chambermaid telling me did not strike me as especially witty and might have misunderstood a dispute for a literal war."
Ruby frowned a little - all the maids she had met in Winterfell had been nice - and shook her head. "No, it was a war - the Great War, actually, since all four kingdoms were involved. It was between Atlas and Mistral on one side and Vacuo and Vale on the other side. That was…" She narrowed her eyes, trying to remember Obolecks' lesson. "...eighty years ago. But we haven't had a war since then. That's why we also call it The War." Oh, drat - she had forgotten the Faunus Revolution. But Team RWBY had also agreed to keep Faunus a secret, so she couldn't have mentioned that anyway.
The King huffed at that for some reason.
"And it was over fashion?" Lord Tyrion sounded amused.
"Over fashion, arts - our headmaster, Ozpin, likes to say it was over our right to express ourselves," Ruby explained.
"Your right to express yourselves?" the Prince looked confused.
"The right to, well, dress like you want, create art, play music, sing…" Ruby shrugged; she wasn't good at explaining that stuff. "You know, live your life."
"If they banned alcohol and… good food as well, then you'd have been better off dead," Lord Tyrion said.
Ruby didn't know if the war had been over alcohol as well. Probably not - Uncle Qrow once said if a kingdom wanted to ban alcohol, the government would be toppled the next day. Then again, he was a bit of a drunk. "In any case, we - Vale and Vacuo - won, and we've been wearing what clothes we want ever since!"
"Well, I can't say I disagree with the outcome!" The King laughed his booming laugh again. "If more women dressed like you, the world would be a better place!"
Lord Tyrion, and a moment later, the Prince laughed at that. Ruby joined in, though she wasn't quite sure if it was a joke or not. It had to be, hadn't it? Lady Catelyn had insisted that ladies here didn't dress like Team RWBY did.
"What about the men? Do they dress the same?" Lord Tyrion asked. "Or do they wear dresses?"
"Well… they can dress as they want. But most Huntsmen wear clothes that let them fight," Ruby said.
"If you don't need to wear armour, you could fight naked. Now, that would be a sight to see!" the little Lord went on.
Ruby was starting to think that he had had a bit too much ale.
"Watch your tongue, Uncle!" the Prince snapped. "A lady is present."
"A lady that can throw you across both walls of Winterfell if you annoy her," the King added with a chuckle.
Ruby would never do that, of course - and she couldn't throw a grown, well, not grown man, that far. Probably not; she had never tried. But she nodded anyway.
"I beg your pardon, my lady!" Lord Tyrion said, though he didn't look scared - he was still grinning. "I was talking about the men fighting naked, of course!"
Ruby blushed as everyone laughed again and really wished that they could return to talking about weapons. All this… lecherous talk was making her uncomfortable. At least the Prince didn't seem interested in that sort of stuff.
"I am very disappointed that your friends refused my invitation, Lady Weiss."
You have said so before. Twice since you received us in your chambers, Weiss Schnee thought. Out loud, she said. "Unfortunately, Your Grace, Lady Ruby was called to attend the King, and Lady Blake and Lady Yang had already left the castle before your invitation arrived." To check a potential source of rare earth needed for one of Yang's tools that Blake had heard about from Luwin, but there was no need to go into details - Weiss didn't think the Queen understood anything about metallurgy.
The Queen sniffed as if she expected everyone to wait in their chambers in case she deigned to call them. Well, Weiss wouldn't be surprised if she did. At least the Queen had refrained from calling Ruby a hussy. So far.
"I am sure they will be delighted to attend your next invitation, Your Grace," Lady Catelyn said.
The expression on the Queen's face suggested that it was somewhat doubtful another invitation would be forthcoming. But she nodded. "At least you are here, Lady Weiss, to satisfy our curiosity about 'Huntresses' and 'Huntsmen'."
"It's my pleasure, Your Grace," Weiss lied.
"You've spoken a lot about your 'academy' but not much about your family, Lady Weiss. Is your father a Huntsman as well, like Lady Ruby and Lady Yang's father?"
Weiss Schnee shook her head. "No, Your Grace. He rules the family lands."
"And yet you, as his heir, chose to become a Huntress?"
"I wanted to protect people like my grandfather did. He wasn't a Huntsman either." Weiss knew that anticipating the Queen's question like this was rude, but it was the sort of rudeness one could get away with. "But he personally fought for his land and his people, driving out the Grimm, and turned a monster-infested wilderness into productive land."
"He sounds very impressive," Lady Catelyn added with a smile.
"He was. I miss him." Weiss didn't have to fake her sadness. "His example also motivated me to become a Huntress. I wanted to do more than merely rule my family holdings." Corporate holdings, but the sentiment was the same even if she was deliberately obfuscating the truth. "And I wanted to do so in a different kingdom, where my name wouldn't carry as much weight as back home." And where her father's influence was curtailed.
One day, she would restore the good name of her family and continue her grandfather's legacy.
She belatedly realised that she had touched her emblem, embroidered on her dress by Lady Catelyn's tailors, when the Queen smiled with more condescension than Weiss's father managed on a good day and leaned forward to peer at it. "Is this your personal heraldry? How quaint. Did you pick it yourself?"
Her long practice in attending family dinners at home kept Weiss from audibly grinding her teeth at the Queen's question and allowed her to smile politely as she inclined her head. "No, I did not, Your Grace. While most Huntresses pick their own emblem," she replied, emphasising the correct term just a tiny bit, "all members of my family share the same emblem."
"That is unusual for your home kingdom, isn't it?" Lady Catelyn's smile was as strained as Weiss's when she leaned forward a bit, holding her teacup with both hands.
"Yes." Weiss nodded at their host. "But it's a family tradition, my lady."
"So, your family at least follows the proper tradition." The Queen's smirk was subtle but still clear. Especially if one had spent a feast across the table from her brother, Ser Jaime. He had the same expression, if a bit more pronounced, when he mocked someone. Which he had done fairly often during the meal.
It must run in the family. Or it was a twin thing. Weiss didn't dwell on it and tilted her head to the side, feigning confusion. "Actually, we broke tradition there."
"I meant our traditions," the Queen explained with narrowed eyes.
So, she had seen through Weiss's act. Or she took any contradiction, no matter how innocent, as an insult. After an hour with the Queen, even with Lady Catelyn running interference, sniping and needling her, Weiss was leaning towards the latter.
But a Schnee didn't yield to such tactics - or to petty women trying to bully her. She would not lose her temper, she would not pull Myrtenaster and start telling the Queen what the various dust charges loaded into her weapon's chambers would do when used against a target, especially one without Aura, and she most certainly wouldn't tell the Queen what she thought about her. So, she faked more confusion. "Your Grace, why would we follow your traditions? We never heard of Westeros until we were stranded here."
The Queen's smile grew more teeth. "Every civilised country in the world has heard about the Seven Kingdoms, but I don't doubt your claim."
Lady Catelyn grew even more tense, and Weiss was glad that Sansa, Arya and the Princess - who seemed to be the complete opposite of the Queen as far as her character was concerned, had begged their leave a while ago to check with Prince Thommen on the local felines. Oh, if the little prince knew about Blake's nature… She kept from giggling at the stray thought; she had to focus. The Queen's veiled insults had grown less and less subtle over time, and they hadn't really been that subtle to start with.
"Indeed, Your Grace," Weiss told her, nodding as earnestly as she could, "that would be because we aren't from this world."
"I have been told that, but I must confess, it sounds far too fantastical to believe." The Queen sniffed as if she had smelt something unpleasant.
Weiss could, for once, empathise with her - she had felt like that since shortly after this 'friendly gathering' had started.
"I do not doubt it, Your Grace," Lady Catelyn cut in again.
Weiss worried that their host - although she wasn't quite sure if that was technically correct since they were in the Queen's quarters - would crack her teacup if she held it any more tightly. "And why would we be lying about this?" Weiss followed up. "We have been open from the start about the fact that we want to return to our world and need help finding a way back."
"Why would anyone lie about their true origins and goals?" The Queen did not quite shrug but still managed to convey the sentiment. "There are many possible answers if one does not naively accept a foreigner's word at face value."
Weiss narrowed her eyes. Sure, Team RWBY was hiding a great many things about Remnant, but the Queen just suggested they had hostile intentions toward their hosts. "And what would such 'possible answers' be?" she asked. "If there are so many, I am sure you can name a few, Your Grace." Put up or shut up, as Yang would say - and Weiss was, once again, very grateful that Yang wasn't present either; her friend would have lost her temper several times already.
"Spies would hide their true intentions and origin - as would assassins. Or they could be wanted in their homeland, like the Blackfyres."
Lady Catelyn gasped. "Your Grace! You can't mean this!"
Weiss tensed. Had the Prince talked to his mother about his theory? She couldn't use the same argument that the King had used to refute this; that would reveal that they had spied on the King. But she couldn't let this stand. The implication wasn't merely dangerous; it was also insulting. "It would be a poor spy or assassin who revealed their capability like this, Your Grace. If we were from a kingdom in this world that had ill intentions towards your realm, then what we would have revealed here about our might would vastly outweigh what information we might gain." Any fool could see that.
The Queen scoffed. "Aegon the Conqueror would beg to differ. After he demonstrated his power, the mere threat of another such demonstration cowed entire kingdoms - such as the North - and made the vassals of other kingdoms join him - such as the Tullys."
Oh. That was… not quite as far-fetched as Weiss had thought. How could she answer that?
Fortunately, Lady Catelyn had taken offence. She wasn't smiling any more but glaring. "Your Grace, are you insinuating that my husband would betray the king? That my family would?"
The Queen's eyes widened for a moment, apparently surprised, before she put on a smile so fake, it wouldn't have fooled Jaune. "I was merely providing the answers Lady Weiss asked for, Lady Stark. I did not intend to insinuate anything. We have heard and seen so many incredible things since our arrival here, I could not help wondering if there were dangers matching them as well, and my thoughts might have run a bit too freely."
Weiss didn't believe the Queen for an instant, and she doubted that Lady Catelyn did either, but appearances had been kept up.
And Weiss was now convinced that she had to keep her Aura up at all times around the Queen. And maybe ask Blake if there was a way to check for poison in the tea without having Faunus senses.
When Blake Belladonna and her partner entered the chamber Team RWBY shared in Winterfell, she could tell at once that things hadn't gone well in their absence - Weiss was scowling and, Blake could tell from how she moved towards the centre of the room, had been pacing, while Ruby looked like she wanted to use her Semblance to tackle-hug Yang.
"Yang! Blake!"
"Hey! Missed us?" Yang smiled, but the glance she exchanged with Blake showed that she had noticed their team member's distress as well.
Blake checked that the door was locked behind them, listened for eavesdroppers - and checked that she wasn't ignoring a hunch from her Aura - and then sat down on her bed, crossing her legs.
"Please tell me you have good news!" Weiss blurted out.
"Ah… I could, but I would be lying," Yang replied with a wry smile. "Sorry, but the rare earth we were looking for was just raw earth."
Blake rolled her eyes at… she wouldn't even call that a pun.
"I thought you had a good lead." Ruby looked crestfallen. Blake had expected her reaction, of course; every Huntress was attached to their weapon, they put their very soul in it, after all, but Team RWBY's leader was a bit more passionate than usual about hers - and very concerned about not having all the material she would need to repair Crescent Rose.
"Yeah, well…" Yang shrugged. "Turns out that just because the locals know what iron and steel is doesn't mean they use the same elements to make steel as we do. Key parts of our metallurgy aren't known here."
"Or, as I suspect," Blake cut in, "they are known under a different name."
"Works out the same," Yang said with a shrug. "It's a bit hard to describe the stuff if you only can go with its appearance. Maybe those Qohorik smiths we've heard about know more; their steel is supposedly much stronger than the Castle-forged steel here."
"Great!" Weiss scoffed. "Another complication."
"So, what happened here?" Yang asked. "I didn't see any additional holes in the walls, and the guards didn't look scared or angry, so what did we miss?"
Ruby blushed. "It wasn't my fault they build their walls so fragile! That never happened at Beacon!"
"Beacon was built with Huntresses in mind, dolt!" Weiss snapped. "Anyway, you missed our meetings with royalty."
"Oh?" Yang sat straighter. "What did the King do?"
Blake tensed. She had heard enough rumours about the King's 'appetites' while roaming the castle. If the King's interest in Ruby included more than her weapon and fighting ability…
"He invited me to talk about weapons, and we did - I showed him how Crescent Rose could shift, and we had a good talk about it," Ruby said. "He knows his stuff, too; he should talk shop with Nora about warhammers, though his is smaller and wielded in one hand, usually. But you can use it with a two-handed grip if you really need to smash through something - he told me how he beat the Crown Prince during his rebellion." She grimaced a little. "Caved his chest in."
That... didn't sound too bad. Ruby was more innocent than the rest of their team, Blake knew that, but it wasn't as if she was as naive as some thought, having fought criminals and White Fang members before.
"Well, they've got different views here," Yang said. "About killing and stuff."
"It's not that!" Ruby protested. "Well, it's also that, but not much - he just sounded a bit too happy about having killed that man. Like, wanted to kill him a thousand times over, happy!" Yang snorted, and Ruby scowled. "That was what he said, Yang!"
"Oh."
"Prince Rhaegar abducted the King's fiancée, Lord Stark's sister," Weiss said. "We know that."
"Yes, yes, but he doesn't have to be so gleeful about it!" Ruby replied. "Anyway, it wasn't that. But they - the King, and the little Lord, Lord Tyrion - they kept making lewd comments!"
"They made lewd comments about you?" Yang had narrowed her eyes, Blake noted, and showed no trace of her usually easy-going nature any more. If she lost her temper here, with the King so close…
"No. But about other people - well, in general. It was really uncomfortable!"
Ah. Blake nodded. In other words, Ruby had experienced how the locals talked about women when they didn't fear offending Team RWBY.
"Did you tell him you didn't like it?" Yang asked.
"Well…" Ruby looked down. "I didn't want to be rude. But it should have been obvious that I didn't like it! I didn't laugh at the jokes at all! And even the Prince told Lord Tyrion off!"
Blake winced. Hoping that people would notice such things was… naive. People often missed such signals. Or ignored them deliberately.
"If they don't get it, you need to tell them," Yang said.
"But you said we should be on our best behaviour!" Ruby protested with a glance at Weiss.
"Tell them politely, but don't let them push you around," Weiss replied. "The locals here are different. What they consider normal would never fly back home."
"Because it would get their balls crushed," Yang added.
"Don't crush anyone's balls here!" Weiss immediately blurted out. "No matter the temptation!"
Balke felt her ears twitch. That was a rather uncommon comment from her friend - Weiss was usually far more restrained and calm in her responses and wouldn't even tacitly admit that she, too, was sometimes tempted to use violence to deal with such things. "Were you present as well?" she asked.
"No," Weiss replied. "I had a meeting with the Queen." At the last word, her tone grew so cold, it could have frozen an entire lake.
"So… I take it that your meeting didn't go any better than Ruby's?" Yang said.
"Based upon our shared experiences, I am confident to say that it was worse," Weiss replied.
Blake winced. Weiss wasn't prone to hyperbole - unless it involved studying, not studying enough, and sometimes cleaning or not cleaning.
"She hates us!" Ruby blurted out.
"Well, we knew that already." Yang nodded at Blake.
"We suspected," Weiss corrected her. "We knew she was jealous of the King's interest in Ruby and us, but now we know she blames us for it." She shook her head, her ponytail whipping around, and Blake felt a slight urge to grab it, which she suppressed with long practice; she wasn't actually a cat.
"The worst thing isn't that she loathes us; the worst thing is that she doesn't make an effort to hide it," Weiss went on. "She barely stays within the limits of what passes for polite society here when expressing her disdain. She insinuated that we're spies, assassins or wanted criminals!"
Weiss must be affected more than Blake had suspected; she wouldn't have made such a comment about the local customs otherwise. Usually, she was the one to remind Ruby and Yang that they were in a foreign culture and shouldn't judge people as if they were on Remnant.
Although Weiss had good reasons for this - if the Queen of the Realm behaved like this, things were dire. Just the social influence the Queen wielded could make their stay in Westeros far more unpleasant, not to mention how that would affect their search for a way home. Who would defy the queen to help them?
"So, she hates us, and she lets us know it, but what can she actually do to us?" Yang asked. Weiss huffed and frowned at her, which prompted Yang to grin back. "If things come to blows, we can blow her up."
"It's not that simple," Weiss said with a scowl. "It is a bit simplified, but essentially, Westeros is an absolute monarchy. The word of the King is literally law."
"The King likes us," Yang replied.
"Maybe a bit too much," Ruby added. "But I doubt he wants to hurt us or would let her hurt us. I don't think they like each other much."
Which was part of the problem, in Blake's opinion. "And he knows we can beat his guards."
Weiss shook her head again. "Even with the backing of the King, we aren't safe. The Queen must have vast influence and resources at her disposal to deal with her enemies, outside the law if needed. I deduced as much from some of the tales that were shared with me."
Blake nodded. Luwin had shared some of Westeros's history with her that confirmed this.
"But we aren't her enemies!" Ruby said. "Why does she think we are?
"I think she's stupid," Yang said. "Or mad with jealousy. Or both."
Blake nodded; they shouldn't underestimate anyone here, but her impression of Cersei matched Yang's.
"Stupid or not, she is the Queen - and the daughter of the richest Lord in Westeros. Trust me, that means she has a lot of soft power," Weiss went on. "Bribes, favours owed… And a lot of people would take their cues from her when dealing with us, and that includes the guards and officials. How many people will help us if it's known that doing so would risk earning the Queen's enmity?"
"Yes." Blake pressed her lips together. Weiss would know about that from her father's machinations in Atlas. And Blake knew how such biases worked when dealing with Faunus. "And how many will twist the law to follow her whims?"
"Well, even a king is not all-powerful," Yang said. "The last king got killed when he abused his power, right? Started a war that toppled his family."
"But… who would start a war over the Queen bullying us?" Ruby asked. "I wouldn't start a war over being bullied! It's not worth it! We just want to go home!"
"No one wants to start a war," Weiss said.
"Well…" Yang grinned, then held up her hands when Weiss glared at her. "I'm kidding!"
Weiss huffed again. "But she can hurt us anyway - we need the help of the locals to get home. And she sabotages that…"
Blake nodded. "And we don't know how far she'll go. What if she tries to get us assassinated?"
"We have Aura, but it's of limited use against, say, poison," Weiss said.
"It should keep us alive, though," Yang said. "Even Grimm poison can be resisted."
"We don't know how strong the local poisons are," Blake pointed out. "And it'll weaken us and deplete our Aura if it's strong enough." She didn't have to explain that if they were weakened, even the locals could kill them; every Huntress knew that if your Aura was depleted in a fight, you were usually dead soon afterwards. A competent assassin would plan for that.
"How can we detect poison?" Yang asked.
"I can smell most poisons," Blake told her. "And taste them."
"Then it's too late!" Ruby gasped.
"Not if you don't swallow," Yang replied.
"Yang!"
Blake shook her head. "Aura can also give you a hunch, like when you're watched. But don't rely on that." You needed experience for that to work - experience Blake had thanks to her time as a member of the White Fang, but her friends lacked.
"We'll have to be on our guard. Never let your Aura down," Weiss said.
"But…" Ruby bit her lower lip. "Aren't we taking this too far? Do we really expect the Queen to send assassins after us?"
"Can we afford to underestimate her?" Weiss shot back. "I spoke at length with her, and I would rather trust my father to show restraint than her."
Now, that was a damning judgement if Blake had ever heard one.
"Better safe than sorry," Yang added.
"Yes." Weiss nodded. "But there's more."
"More?" Yang stared at her.
Weiss grimaced, which was an even worse sign. "She might - might, I am not sure - expect all of us to attend her next invitation."
Blake froze, and Yang cursed.
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and then I grabbed his balls and squeezed - lightly, mind you. Just enough to make him squeal and maybe answer my question. Of course, instead of answering, he had his men attack me, and things started to get interesting." Yang grinned.
King Robert laughed. "Hah! Facing a dozen foes inside a tavern? That's gutsy!"
"Well, there wasn't much left of the tavern afterwards. The idiot set it on fire trying to get me," Yang replied.
"You either shouldn't have squeezed his balls or crushed them, I wager." Lord Tyrion cut in. "Half-measures don't cut it - I should know for being one!"
Yang had to laugh at his joke. At least the little lord didn't spare himself when he joked. If only he wouldn't stare so much at Yang's chest with a leering expression. Yang was sure that wasn't just an exaggerated joke. She had experience with leering boys or men, after all.
The King guffawed. "Maybe you should give the gold cloaks some pointers. They never seem to be able to curb the thieves in King's Landing."
Those would be like the police, then, Yang thought.
"Uh, I don't think it's a good idea to teach them to burn down buildings while fighting crime." Ruby shook her head.
"But teaching them how to fight would be good! Put some spine into the bunch!"
"They probably already burn down houses if the owners are late with paying their bribes," Lord Tyrion said. "Or if someone else paid them."
Ruby grimaced, and Yang turned her grin into a wince. Her little sister took things a bit too seriously here. Then again, she probably still felt responsible for their team ending up in another world.
The King and Lord Tyrion laughed out loud, of course, but the Prince scowled. "If the city watch is corrupt then they need to be brought to justice! What is Uncle Renly doing?"
"Trying to make merry and forge better relations with the Tyrells, I would guess," Lord Tyrion said with a smirk. "He is still not wed, after all."
Oh, probably a marriage alliance then. Yang took a sip from the ale to hide her grimace. Ruby didn't. That whole thing was incredibly creepy. More so since of everyone here at the table, only the King was married. Well, Ser Jaime was a member of the Kingsguard and not allowed to marry, so he probably didn't count.
"Bah! Let's not talk about the Tyrells! Let's hear more about your fights, my ladies!" the King bellowed. "More ale!"
His page moved to refill his mug. He was Lancel Lannister - Ruby had asked - and about Ruby's age, but Yang hadn't really paid attention to him. The boy seemed too nervous around them. Probably because he kept staring at them.
"Well… I've already told the story of how I fought Torchwick's gang in a Dust shop," Ruby said. "And the fight against those ice zombies."
"And a very amusing story it was, my lady," Ser Jaime cut in with a smile that was a bit too much of a sneer. He wasn't really as good at hiding his wounded pride as he probably thought he was.
Ruby pouted, and Yang leaned forward. "Wouldn't have been amusing for anyone else. Either of the stories. Roman Torchwick is one of the most dangerous criminals in Vale," she said.
"Roman Torchwick?" The King frowned. "Is he from a fallen noble house?"
"Named after candlemakers?" Ser Jaime wondered.
Lord Tyrion shrugged. "If it is, it is a good thing that the Torchwicks aren't from Westeros; the Mad King would have probably burnt them all just to honour the name."
That was the king King Robert had toppled - and whom Ser Jaime had killed. The king who had burnt Lord Stark's father alive.
"No, he's not from a noble house," Ruby said. "At least I don't think so."
"Don't you have records?" Lord Tyrion looked curious. "Lady Blake made it sound as if everyone wrote down everything in your home."
People wrote a lot on their scrolls, but that was it. Not that Yang wanted to go into such details.
"He certainly had the arrogance for a noble," Ruby said with a pout.
Time to change the subject, Yang thought. "Well, there's a very famous - or infamous - fight we all fought in. And it happened in Beacon's own halls! And it was all Ruby's fault." She grinned.
"Yang!" Ruby blushed and stared at her. "You can't tell them that - and it wasn't true!"
Yang shook her head. "Don't be too modest, Ruby. I still remember the moment - you standing in front of us, pointing at the enemy, and loudly declaring: 'Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be delicious!'" She sighed exaggeratedly.
"Yang!"
Yang ignored her. "Let me tell you all about the infamous... food fight in the Great Hall of Beacon! It all started with a foul betrayal of the worst kind…"
When she had finished, everyone was laughing out loud, even Ser Jaime and the Prince. Well, except for Ruby, Her little sister was fuming in the cutest way.
"Yang! That didn't happen like that at all!"
"I was there, Ruby. I remember what you did."
"It was an accident! I couldn't let them win!"
"So, it is true - everything is stronger in your homeland. Even the food," Lord Tyrion said, chuckling.
Yang wasn't about to tell him about infusing Aura in weapons - or food. And she kicked Ruby in the shin when her sister looked like she wanted to explain.
"Is that food the reason you are so strong?" the Prince asked - he looked like Weiss during a lesson, Yang noticed, focused and eager. Well, Weiss usually didn't look that eager.
"I noticed that you ate more than anyone else at the feast, even including you, Your Grace," Lord Tyrion added with a grin aimed at the King, who threw back his head and laughed.
"Well, hunting is hungry work," Yang said.
"How droll - here, hunting fills your belly," Lord Tyrion replied. "Though do you eat those Grimm?"
"No!" Ruby blurted out with a grimace. "Bleargh! No, they fade as soon as they're dead. Just poof! - they turn to smoke and disperse. We eat normal food. Just a bit more than you do here. And that's only Huntsmen and Huntresses. Not everyone eats so much - well, athletes do so as well. But normal people grow fat if they eat as much as we do. They don't burn so many calories."
The Prince looked disappointed.
Lord Tyrion looked intrigued. "What are those calories you burn? Is that like an offering?"
"No!" Ruby shook her head. "It's like… the food value of, well, food. The stuff that you need not to starve. If you work hard - like a Huntress - you need lots of calories. If you just sit around all day, you don't need as many calories."
"Ah." Lord Tyrion nodded. "I was wondering how you could feed your population if everyone ate as much as you do. The peasants could hardly feed their own families."
"Yeah," Yang said.
"But even so, how can you do farming if such monsters are around?" Lord Tyrion took another sip from his mug. "You'd need a lot of guards."
"We manage. Though we have walls around farmlands in Vale," Yang told him. "And the mountains also act as a barrier."
"And we can grow stuff in greenhouses inside cities," Ruby added. "And there's plant Dust."
"Plant Dust?" Lord Tyrion asked.
"Dust that makes plants grow super-fast!" Ruby explained.
"Even your manure is magical?" The Prince looked boggled.
"It's not magic," Ruby protested. "It's Dust."
"What is this 'Dust'?" the Prince asked.
They had already revealed a lot to Benjen and the Night's Watch when they had asked after Dust, so Yang saw no problem explaining. "Dust is mined and comes in many varieties. You have Water Dust, which produces water, Plant Dust which makes plants grow, Lightning Dust if you want, well lightning, Fire Dust if you want to burn something…" She grinned and showed her teeth. "My favourite!"
The King laughed again, and Lord Tyrion chuckled. "That sounds like magic dust, as my nephew said."
It might as well be magic for people who didn't know anything about Dust. Yang shrugged. "Well, it's not magic. Anyway, I never really thought much about farming - we're Huntresses."
"Yes!" The King chuckled. "You protect the farmers, and they, in turn, feed you. That's the same everywhere!"
That was… not wrong, Yang decided. Not quite the same, though - Huntresses didn't rule over the farmers as the nobles did here. But going over that wouldn't be a good idea.
"Leave the farming to the peasants, yes," the Prince said. "And fighting to those fit for it."
"And speaking of fighting…" Lord Tyrion grinned. "You told us that you fought a war over fashion - and over the right to express yourself however you want to."
Ruby nodded.
"A worthy cause for a war, if I ever saw one! I would go to war as well if it got women to dress like you!" The King laughed at his own joke.
Ruby looked embarrassed, so Yang cut in: "Yes, that's why we dress like we want - because we earned it." She smashed her fist into her palm for emphasis.
"And it's not just restricted to clothes, but includes singing, dancing, everything, right?" Lord Tyrion leaned forward a little, pushing his mug to the side.
"Yes," Ruby replied. "You've got the freedom to do what you want to express yourself."
Yang frowned a little. The guy was working toward something.
"What about loving?" The little Lord laughed and grabbed his mug again. "Some would say it's an art form as well. I certainly know a few women I'd call artists."
Ruby blushed again. "Well… that is…"
"People are free to love who they want," Yang said, baring her teeth at the man. "And they are free to refuse any advances they want as well."
"So… does that mean people choose their own husbands and wives?" Lord Tyrion asked. "It's not a family matter?"
Oh. Yang managed not to wince. That was a question she would rather not answer. But lying would be pointless - the little Lord already had it figured out.