Here's another chapter for you all.

Jaune Arc was incredibly warm.

The chest plate he wore felt heavy and cumbersome under the intense scrutiny of the camera flashes blinking and blinding them all. The bright stage lights burned down as intensely as the Vacuan sun had earlier that day. The setting sun had given some reprieve briefly, but he felt the bead of sweat running down his face adding to the wave of light-headedness that had come and gone all afternoon.

It turned out that the people of Vacuo were very interested in the Rusted Knight, the saviour of the young heroine Alyx. She was from Vacuo, after all, and everyone wanted to hear Jaunes story.

What was she like? Is there really a world of fairy tales? What about her brother?

He tried to be graceful and answer as many questions as he could, but he wanted nothing more than to move past his experiences in the Ever After and being dragged out to do public appearances was not helping. At least the supplies he handed out earlier with his team was a productive use of his time.

They had returned to Remnant with a literal bump. He barely had any time to reunite with his team before sirens screamed and a host of Grimm were swarming all over the city. They all acted instinctively, jumping into action, dragging their tired bodies once more into battle. They fought back the Grimm long enough for Ruby to activate her silver eyes and eradicate any of Salem's creatures. There was a brief moment of calm, and then he felt it. Everyone's eyes were on them.

He'd seen their memorial in the sand. They were presumed to be dead. Yet here they stood in front of their friends, classmates and the citizens of the desert city. He heard the murmurs start and then they were surrounded. He had felt his chest tighten, and he knew they meant no harm but he still wanted to turn and run, overwhelmed at being thrust into a crowd.

Until he felt her hand on his arm. Her soft touch on the skin on the inside of his bicep, with a quiet word in his ear to ground him before she led him back towards his team.

And now he watched and frowned as she darted off the stage and into the tent away from the glare and gaze of the photographers.

"What's up with her?" he heard Yang mutter at Blake.

Another wave of instability rolled over him and he cursed the lights making him dehydrated. "Excuse me," he muttered at no one in particular before he too left the stage.

He pulled back the fabric of the tent and his eyes struggled to adjust to the much dimmer light. The lamp that burned in the corner had long lost its brightness and was nothing more than embers. A sudden shock of white lit up the room as Weiss turned to face him, her arm extended and a glyph spinning as she readied herself for an attack.

He raised his hands, showing he meant no harm, and he gave a weak smile to try and placate her before he took a step forward. "Hey, you ok?"

"I'm sorry. I'm fine, I just needed a drink," she replied with a hint of frustration in her voice and waving a half finished drink at him before she dropped it next to Myrtenaster. He knew that she hadn't meant to be short with him but he could see something was bothering her. She had been distant all day, she had been short with Ruby and positively mean to Yang earlier on in the day. She had regressed back to the kind of prissy behaviour that had alienated people when they were in Beacon, and he wasn't afraid to confront her today.

"None of us like doing this stuff, but you've been acting stuffy all day, " he said while he moved over to the cooler and grabbed a drink for himself. He looked into pale eyes and said gently, "You can talk to me Weiss, remember. No-ones in this alone."

He saw her shoulders relax and heard her let out a heavy sigh. It was something else he had heard a lot from her today. "I'm sorry. I've been so tired all day and I loathe to think what they will write about us all in the morning."

"Who do you think your love interest will be tomorrow?" he asked with a small dry laugh, but he understood her concerns. The media attention had grown to the point where they were writing lies about them all. He recalled a rather awkward conversation with Winter the week before when they ran a story about Weiss and himself after they had been seen sharing a coffee together. Though he hadn't minded that one too much, telling her sister there was nothing going on had felt like a lie.

"So nice of you to assume that they'll include me in the article this time," she said, her words tinged with a hint of anger at having to attend these events and then be deliberately excluded. Especially when today was pitched as a celebration of the five of them returning to Remnant.

"Fair," he said, unsure what else he could say to her. He wobbled slightly on his feet so he drained his water bottle to give himself a second to think. "We can try asking Theodore to reduce the amount of these we have to do." His suggestion felt hollow as he said the words, but maybe she could find some comfort in them.

"We'll see," she said looking down at the floor. He hated to see her filled with self doubt, but before he could say anything else, he heard the crowd start to shout as the countdown to the fireworks began. He turned and opened the flap of the tent, staying in the doorway but allowing Weiss to step ahead of him.

He watched her face as the first few fireworks lit up the sky and illuminated her elegant features and he watched a small smile tug at her lips. He couldn't help but smile too, and he knew at that moment what he was going to do next. He knew that their relationship had changed. He had felt those old feelings bubble back to the surface since they had returned to Vacuo, and he had seen the change in her too. They had become each other's confidants, sharing their worries, their anger and their joys.

"Weiss," he said to her quietly, leaning down so he was closer to her ear. "It may seem rough right now, but trust me it will get better. You're an amazing Huntress, and you have such a kind heart. Things will turn around, I know they will."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked, turning to look up at him. Her eyes sparkled and he felt himself move closer to her. Leaning down he took his chance, closing his eyes he kissed her gently. He felt her respond and move her lips against his so he brought his arm around her, allowing the tent to close. In the darkness of the tent, he felt the wave of light-headedness again before he felt something slip into his hand. It was cold and smooth like glass, but it felt heavy and foreign in his palm.

Hurt her, he heard the dark voice in his head command him.

The next thing he knew, he had driven the object deep into her stomach and he heard her gasp quietly. NO, what am I doing? She clung to his armour and his mind screamed at him to help her.

Corner, another command came and he dutifully complied, dragging her to the corner of the tent and placing her down.

He felt someone behind him drag a finger slowly down his arm towards the bloodied blade that still sat in his hand. As soon as the finger touched the handle, it shattered and scattered across the sandy floor. He knew who it was going to be. It was always going to be her. She always delighted in torturing him.

"The heiress and the knight, how pathetically romantic." He wanted to draw his sword and lash out, he wanted to do anything but hear her voice goad and torment him further. His mind raced, but he stood completely still. "You'll never learn," she said, "none of you will. All of your efforts are pointless, and it only causes more blood to be spilled. Pyrrha Nikos chose a fight she could never win, and Penny Polendina thought her death would be some noble sacrifice. And now another girl will die because of you, the fool who wanted to be a hero." Please, I need to help her. The desperate tears streamed down his face, his anger as impotent as his inactions. "No-one will mourn the death of a Schnee, her name will pass into nothingness. Just like everything else."

He could see Weiss struggling to breath, her body shaking as she tried not to panic.

"He's under control?" Cinder asked as Jaunes attention snapped to another figure appearing from the shadows. His stomach dropped as finally realised what had happened.

"Of course he is," Jax Astaurias replied gruffly, his expression angry at being challenged.

"Then let's go," she said.

Follow, he heard and they all exited out the side of the tent and away from the celebrations. South, he thought, but his mind was too scrambled to be sure. The rest of his team were in the crowd, how long will it take for them to notice he was missing? Until they find her. As they moved through the shadows and alleyways, his heart ached and he could only hope that his dreams hadn't already been turned to dust.

Once again all mistakes are mine, please let me know if there's any errors and what you think.

Chapter 3 will move the story along, I promise, I just felt like Jaunes POV was important first.

Thanks