35

Ruby awoke slowly, dimly aware of the presence of other people around her. Her eyes were heavy and her throat felt scratchy. She tried to force her eyes open and winced at the bright lights, the motion attracting the attention of the person sitting at her bedside.

"Ruby!"

It was Yang's voice, thick with worry and relief. Blinking rapidly, her eyes adjusted to her sister's face that hovered close to her. She looked exhausted, like she'd barely slept and as the memories from before filtered into her mind she realized why. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth but when she tried to speak there was a sharp pain in her throat that had her clicking her mouth shut.

"Don't try to speak." Yang rushed, "You got really hurt and your voice is probably not gonna work for a while. The doctor says you need to keep quiet for a few days."

Without being able to speak she simply nodded that she understood and Yang gave her a watery smile.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Her eyes welled with tears and Yang tried desperately to stop them from falling, "I thought I was gonna lose you…" Her voice broke at the end and it did the same to Ruby's heart, seeing her sister so upset.

She grabbed Yang's hand in her own and pulled it up to her cheek, squeezing it tight to let her know she was there and okay.

"I was so scared Ruby." Yang looked terrible and she felt bad because it was her fault, but she was unable to say anything to comfort her sister. Ruby tapped the back of Yang's hand to make her look up at her and she made a typing motion in the air. Yang looked confused for a moment before her face lit up in understanding, "Yeah. Of course. I'll message the team and have Weiss bring your scroll from the dorm."

She gave her sister a reassuring smile as she pulled out her own scroll to type a quick message to the rest of the team. It wasn't long, maybe ten minutes, before the infirmary doors burst open. Weiss and Blake rushed in, not running but looking like they wanted to. Ruby could see the look of relief in the eyes of her team once they saw her sitting up in the bed with her eyes open.

That was until that relief in Weiss' eyes turned to fury, her hand clutching the scroll like she wanted nothing more than to chuck it at her head, "You absolute dolt!" Weiss hissed, voice somewhat low. She was the only patient in the area, so it wasn't like she had to stay quiet, "What were you thinking?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Ruby was left to flounder, being put on the spot, even Yang looked like her sympathy had quickly dried up, obviously waiting to see what happened. Her sister was too relieved to join in or she might have been screaming too. She was left to pantomime for a moment, motioning to herself, them, and then her throat. Weiss, at least, looked embarrassed when she realized she was still holding onto Ruby's scroll.

With her scroll in hand, Ruby started typing under the watchful gaze of her partner.

I saw something suspicious and thought it might be the White Fang.

"And you didn't think to tell anyone else?"

No.

For a moment she thought Weiss might have an aneurysm, her partner erupting in anger, "ARE YOU SUICIDAL?!" She screeched, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED AND SCARED WE ALL WERE? LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO YANG!"

There was a cough from across the room and Weiss winced under the glare from Doctor Violet. Ruby took the chance to type two words.

I'm sorry.

"Oh I bet you are." Weiss' voice was thick with sarcasm, "Don't you ever do something like this again, you hear me?"

Her team glared at her in unison and Ruby shrank in on herself.

I understand. I won't, I promise.

"Good." Her partner closed her eyes, demeanor changing before it took on a softer edge, her face showing more concern, "How are you feeling?"

My throat feels itchy.

"I bet." This time it was Doctor Violet who responded, coming up and reading her message, "You were injured pretty badly. I need to talk to you about your recovery, if you feel up for it."

It looked like the doctor had allowed them their moment but had finally decided it was time to address the issue. Ruby nodded that she was ready.

"Okay. So, do you remember how you got your injury?"

Vividly. She still remembered the burning feeling of the blade piercing her skin and slicing through her throat. It was with a shudder that she nodded to the doctor.

"Okay. Well lucky for you, Huntsman Arc was there. It was his semblance that saved your life. You very much would have died up there, Miss Rose."

The thought made her cringe for a moment, before the name registered in her mind.

Arc? As in Jaune Arc?

"Close." The Doctor Violet answered, to her frustration, but caught the look from Yang and let it go, "His semblance repaired a lot of the worse damage and he's been visiting regularly to apply more to help speed up your recovery. You've been out for just over a day. These ones…" She looked pointedly at her team, "Haven't left your side. They'd have moved in if I let them."

It made her snort, which hurt and got a quick reprimand from the doctor.

"Try and take it easy for today, we don't want you accidentally opening your stitches. You'll be able to eat just fine but stick to soft foods for now, and nothing too hot."

Ruby nodded along as the doctor rattled off information, advice, and warnings. Eventually she also sent the same information to her scroll so that she wouldn't forget, as well as to the rest of her team.

"On a normal person an injury like this would take weeks to heal up to the pointo you're currently at and more beyond that but thankfully you have aura, which speeds things up as well as Mister Arc's rather handy semblance to assist. He visited once yesterday to help boost your aura and is supposed to return sometime today. When he does we hope you will get to the point where we can remove the stitches."

After that it was a scuffle as the doctor forced team RWBY back to their dorm, Weiss promising to make Yang rest more. The bright side was that she was able to message her friends with her scroll, so it wasn't quite boring, though she wished she had some comics to read or something. She'd even take a book! Not one of Blake's though.

Licky for her, her friends knew she'd be bored. Ruby's expression brightened, as did her mood, when Jaune poked his head into the infirmary. He was quickly followed by the rest of his team, Pyrrha looking like she was happy and guilty for feeling that way.

"Hey, Ruby!" Jaune waved at her, "How are you feeling?"

Her eyes crinkled happily as she waved back at him, typing out a message on her scroll.

I've been better. Not supposed to talk yet.

"Are they gonna give you a cool robot voice now?!" Nora popped up.

"Nora…" Ren pinched the bridge of his nose, "They didn't replace her vocal chords."

"But they still could, right?" She placed a hand on her neck and mimicked a robotic voice, "Good day, citizen, I am Huntress Awesome and am here to save you!"

Ruby had to hold a hand to her mouth to stop from laughing.

"Oh!" Nora exclaimed, dropping the voice entirely, "Guess what happened at the dance that wasn't your thing!"

The injured huntress turned her head and noticed both Jaune and Pyrrha blushing and looking away from each other. Which was suspicious.

"Jaune and Pyrrha are together-together now!" The redhead announced, throwing her arms in the air.

Her silver eyes went wide as a squeal attempted to escape from her. The effort it took to not hurt herself by shrieking was enormous and she was left vibrating in place, happily clapping for her friend and furiously typing on her scroll.

Tell me everything!

As Nora took a deep breath, Ren's hand covered his partner's mouth, "I think that's best for Jaune or Pyrrha to explain."

Pyrrha looked mortified so Ruby turned her gaze to her friend who coughed into his fist, "Well, as you know we went to the dance together. We had a really good time, got to talking and one thing led to another and…"

"...I told him." Pyrrha finished. It looked like it was difficult to say out loud but she had that expression on her face like she couldn't believe it had worked, that she expected to wake up at any moment.

Ruby had a grin on her face, it was amazing news and it made her day, distracting her from the itching pain of her neck. Team JNPR settled in to talk for a while and she recounted the story of what happened to her. Pyrrha was horrified and felt guilty she had been having fun and getting a boyfriend while she was in danger. It took a little while to assuage her, reassuring her that it was her own fault that she had ended up in the situation. When she talked of the huntsman who had saved her life, who had practically been confirmed as Jaune from Carmine's time, she caught the flicker of recognition on Pyrrha's face and a strange look cross Jaune's.

She couldn't ask about it without spilling the beans so she made a mental note to talk to Pyrrha alone sometime, and maybe Jaune too.

Ren and Nora begged off early to go to the cafeteria, offering to bring something back for her but she declined, telling them her team was planning on eating together later. That left her with Jaune and Pyrrha who rather awkwardly sat side by side next to her bed.

I'm glad you two finally got together.

"Ah, well." Jaune scratched the back of his head shyly, "Thanks, I guess. Everyone keeps saying it finally happened."

Well duh, that's because you were so tunnel visioned on Weiss you didn't see Pyrrha.

Instead she typed, That's because a lot of people thought you'd go well together.

"I hope I can live up to that." The was a small bit of self deprecation there, a rueful smile that spoke of him not seeing himself as worthy. It looked like Pyrrha had some work to do with him, because he absolutely was worthy and awesome and all of that stuff. Pyrrha knew it and so did she. Jaune just needed the chance to see it for himself.

"We had better go make sure Nora doesn't raid the cafeteria, I doubt Ren can stop her if she's determined." Pyrrha half-joked as she stood up. It was entirely possible Nora might dive behind the counters to fill her own plates. She'd attempted it before.

Thanks for stopping by, guys. It made my day, I can't wait to get out of here already.

They bid her goodbye and she watched them leave, her hand slowly falling into her lapm as the door clicked shut behind them. Her heart felt warm and fuzzy for her friends and she wished them all the best but she had also been waiting for them to leave.

Gently she touched the bandages around her neck, feeling the bumps of the wound. As her fingertips traced the edge of the bandages she gulped, the vivid memory of the hot, sharp edge slicing into her flashing through her mind. It made her flinch and she tasted blood but her hand came away from her mouth clean.

It was all a part of her imagination.

-SY-

Emerald shivered as consciousness returned to her. She was damp and cold, the morning breeze wafting over her. When she rolled over to pull the blankets tighter around her she found there were none. In fact she wasn't even in her sleepwear, but a dress. That's when her memory returned, flooding back with the panic and fear that that night brought.

"Cinder!" She shouted as she sat bolt upright but there was no response except for the snickering of two rough looking men. Criminals, most likely. She definitely knew the type as the leered at her. Pale red eyes roved over her environment as she took in her surroundings. There wasn't much the she could see, a wooden palisade that looked rather hastily constructed, beyond that twas the canopy of a woods or forest, and nearby there were tents set up with tarps to shield them from the rain. Even the cage she found herself, as bare as it was, had a tarp over it to keep her dry.

There was a murmur, a low chatter accompanied by the crackle of multiple fires. The air was thick with the smell of burning wood that wasn't properly dried, the cooking of meat, and a general pall of some nondescript but odor that made her think these weren't the cleanest of people.

A quick check of her person revealed, to no real surprise, that her scroll and earpiece were missing. About all she had left was the clothes on her back and her dignity, though not for long given the way those men were staring at her. Emerald had seen the look before and the broken girls men like them left in their wake.

She needed to get away.

The person who had taken her, some woman dressed in reds and blacks, had been ferocious and powerful, her eyes reminding her of Amber's. Unlike the Fall Maiden, however, the new woman had been vicious, cruel, and merciless. Emerald had thought she was going to die, then. Which she was glad to do for Cinder, and now she was wondering if she was in for a worse fate.

Did that woman drop me off with these people to torture me?

They were clearly outside of Vale, maybe the Emerald Forest though she wasn't aware of any criminal groups this large close to the city. They could have been further out, but that brought to question why, exactly, did the woman spare her life and go to the trouble of bringing her here instead of simply killing her.

"Well, well, well." A feminine voice drew her attention from her surroundings back to the two men, now joined by a rough looking woman who was probably around Cinder's age or so. Maybe closer to her own. The girl had blue eyes and a close shaved head, her arms bare with the sleeves ripped off to show off her tattoo, "Looks like the city dweller finally woke up."

The moniker had Emerald frowning, sure she was from Vale but she was hardly some coddled puke. She had grown up on the streets of Vale, scavenging for food and safety with and against other street urchins, "And who are you?"

She had to remember Cinder's teachings, to stay calm and in control, to take the power into your own hands. Emerald had watched her mistress close enough to learn, even if she hadn't mastered being able to do it.

The woman chuckled darkly, turning to the two men and quietly telling them something. Emerald wasn't able to catch it but she could tell when someone was giving orders, especially when the two stiffened slightly, all but running off and leaving her alone with the woman, "The name's Vernal."

"Just Vernal?" She fired back, standing so that her captor couldn't look down on her, "Did no one bother to give you a last name?"

Vernal scowled at her, spitting on the ground, "I don't need a last name in the Branwen Tribe."

Branwen? She may not have recognized the woman who knocked her out but she did recognize the name. Of course she did, Cinder had made sure she and Mercury knew the names of their enemies. Qrow Branwen was an active agent of Ozpin and it was told he had a sister who had left their employ almost twenty years ago. Raven, Emerald was sure she remembered correctly, had more or less disappeared off the face of Remnant.

"Sounds like you're just not important enough for one." Emerald retorted. She needed to get out but had no way of making them unlock the cage. Sure, she could use her semblance but needed a way to use it to convince them to open the lock. They hadn't bound her hands, which was surely to be the key to her getting out, she just had to bide her time and wait for the perfect opportunity.

"Listen here, bitch-"

"Shut up, Vernal." The voice was firm and commanding, a woman she recognized rounded the corner while striking the Vernal girl over the back of the head, "She's trying to rile you up. Don't rise to the bait."

The woman from the night of Beacon's dance looked her in the eyes, the cruel glare of blood red eyes that were more vivid than her own assessed her. Emerald felt like quailing under her cold gaze, the memory of those blazing eyes making her shudder, the utter helplessness she had felt as the woman had grabbed and slammed her around like a doll.

"You're Raven Branwen, right?" Emerald asked, her body tensing up, even if she knew she had nowhere to go.

The smile that she got in return was neither warm or comforting, it reminded her of the kind of smiles Cinder had given others while she plotted their demise, "I see you've heard of me."

"Where are we?" she demanded. It was worth asking, even if Raven had no reason to answer her.

"Southern Anima, about a week from Mistral." Or she could just answer her, though the answer was ridiculous.

"Bullshit."

"I see you haven't heard too much about me." Raven chuckled darkly, "Believe me girl, we are very far away from any help. Cinder won't find you here."

Cinder? The mention of her mistress by name sent a shock through her, her eyes widening as she realized that Raven knew who her mistress was, and had been at Beacon.

"You knew." She whispered, "It was a trap for Cinder, wasn't it."

"You are clever, girl." Raven admitted, seemingly mildly impressed, "Yes. We know who Cinder Fall is. Beacon knows. We knew for weeks she would be attacking the CCT that night, though it is a shame that it didn't go to plan."

It was hard to accept and the only vindication she had was that they hadn't gotten to Cinder, she had made sure of it. There was no way Cinder would be outsmarted, it was impossible, "You can try to trap her all you want, you'll never be able to stop Cinder."

"Never?" Raven threw her head back and laughed, "Girl, your precious Cinder has already lost. We know who she is and what her plans are. Even now we move in on Mountain Glenn. The noose is tightening girl and you have a decision to make."

"What decision?" Emerald asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously, "I won't tell you where she is."

"I doubt you know." The older woman snorted, she produced a set of keys and put them into the padlock. A simple turn and it sprang open, the cage door swinging outwards with a rusty creak, "Come with me."

Of course she didn't know where Cinder was. Emerald eyed the open door, wary that it was a trap, "You're just going to let me out?"

"Yeah." Raven turned her back and started walking away, waving a hand at her, "What are you going to do, run? You don't even know where you are. You'll likely fall to Grimm before you can find a village."

Her teeth ground together inn frustration, Raven was right. Southern Anima was a massive place, sure she could navigate her way North towards Mistral but there was no guarantee she could make it anywhere and the danger of travelling anywhere without some kind of weapon was slim at best.

She eyed the bandits around her, many of them had swords and cleavers, a number of guns but none of them of any kind of real quality. Stealing a blade, a gun, and some ammunition would be child's play, but then what? Wander around and hope to find a village and a map? Try to make it to Mistral?

Tentatively she took a step out of her prison and no one stopped her. The Vernal girl was watching her but everyone else appeared to be minding their own business. They really didn't seem to care if she ran or not. Which probably meant that Raven was confident enough in her assessment of Emerald's chances that they all thought she wouldn't make it.

Then another thought struck her.

Beacon knew about them. Knew about Cinder, Mercury, and herself. Now it was all clicking into place. DCinder had said the security at the tower was light, now she knew why. She knew why Winder Schnee had come to arrest them, but that didn't explain everything. This woman, Raven, was a Maiden, that much was obvious. Which one, she didn't know but could make a guess at. They knew the previous Spring Maiden had disappeared years ago, run away from her responsibilities, or so Lionheart had said.

Now it looked like they may have found out her fate.

The only question left was how they knew their plans from the start. It was impossible. The only people that knew the full extent of their plans was Cinder and perhaps herself and Mercury. Roman and Neopolitan only knew their parts. There were still too many unanswered questions. So Emerald made up her mind and followed the dangerous huntress. She was confident she could escape if she needed to, instead she would take a lesson from Cinder and be patient. Plan.

The bandit camp was set up in a loose circle, with the epicenter being a large tent set up on a wooden platform. Raven ducked inside and when Emeral moved the heaving canvas aside it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light within. There were rugs covering the floor, cushioning her footfalls as she walked in. In a corner was a large pile of cushions that suggests Raven slept in a pile of pillows and not a bed.

There were lanterns that hung from the tent poles, the flames flickering from old fashioned oil and wick instead of dust. There was a table near the center, a dust stove that had a kettle that was heating up on it. The table had two pairs of cups on saucers, they looked nice, expensive even. Most likely stolen, considering the woman's occupation.

"Tea?" Raven asked, throwing the girl off with her sudden hospitality.

"Sure?" Emerald wasn't quite sure what to do with herself.

Raven took a look at her before pointing at a cushion placed before the table, "Take a seat, the tea will be ready soon."

As Emerald lowered herself into the cushion, crossing her legs to get comfortable she noticed it was significantly warmer in Raven's tent than outside. It was quite comfortable, even. The bandit lowered herself into a seat across from her, watching her as she observed the tent.

There were some nice things, things that looked like trophies scattered across the room. A vase that looked like it belonged in a museum, a painting leaning against a pole, and a sculpture made of some dark rock. Inevitably her eyes were drawn to the woman's weapon, leaning against the table. It was a large mechashift sheath that looked like it had rotating chambers. She could steal it, she thought. With only Raven in the room with her she could use her semblance to steal the weapon and make off with it.

"Touch my weapon and I will kill you." The threat was quiet, almost casual and her eyes snapped back to the bandit who looked at her with a steady gaze. There was no pleasure or cruelty there, it was delivered like a statement of fact. Perhaps stealing from a Maiden was a bad idea.

"W-why am I here?" She asked instead.

"Because I brought you here."

The answer annoyed her, "Obviously, but why did you bring me here? What do you gain? Why didn't you just kill me?"

As grating as it was to admit, she was completely at Raven's mercy, they both knew it.

There was no real answer from the woman, who simply hummed, "Because I had no reason to kill you."

"You had no reason to keep me alive, either. Why would you go out of your way to bring me here? You could have just let Beacon have me and be done with it."

"I could have." Raven admitted, "But I didn't."

"Why?"

"Emerald Sustrai." The woman evaded the question again, "Orphan of Vale, picked up by Cinder, she got you off the streets. You idolize her for that, love her even."

The words struck her to her core, information that was impossible for anyone to know, "H-how-"

"You want to follow her to whatever end. Whatever she wants, you want. You have no real desires of your own except for her."

Emerald's lips were dry but she could not wet them, her breath was shallow and quick. Suddenly she wasn't sitting before a woman but a monster, one whose piercing eyes saw through her. A loud whistling noise caused her to flinch as the kettle signaled that the water was boiling. Raven got up, and rummaged around to add some leaves to it to let it steep before setting it on the table, nestling it in a metal holder that kept it just off the wooden surface.

"The tea will need a few moments to steep." Raven settled her elbow on the table, leaning forwards to rest her chin on her interlaced fingers, "Cinder's days are numbered, girl."

"No." She protested weakly, it sounded hollow even to her, "That's…. You can't."

"Oh, we can and will. Cinder is a monster of a human being, a woman so hungry for power she would rather see the world burn than be denied."

"That's not true!" Emerald regained some of her fervor, "You don't know that. You don't know her like-"

"You doi?" Raven raised an eyebrow, "Emerald I don't think you know Cinder as well as you think."

"I know enough to know you're wrong." She snarled.

"Cinder doesn't care for you, you're a useful tool to be thrown away when she's done with you."

"You're wrong! Cinder cares."

"She threw you at me to help herself escape, knowing you would be caught!" Raven snapped, "She expected me to kill you."

Emerald stopped, froze. It wasn't true, it couldn't be true. Cinder would never get rid of her, she was too useful.

But deep inside a voice whispered to her, a voice she could not deny that told her RAven was right. Her eyes watered and she blinked the tears back but they came regardless of her will, unbidden and unwanted they streamed down her face as she choked back a sob,

"You're wrong." She protested weakly.

"No." Raven simply stated, "I am not."

A/N: Hey y'all, I'm sorry this is going up a little late, I went temporarily blind earlier in the week and had to go get some treatment. Don't worry about me, I'm doing okay now, my vision is clearing up but it really put a damper on my week.