A Song of Ice and Fire Cut Short by Dust (RWBY in Westeros)

[ATP]

Remnant is shown from the plot armor MC's with a shonen rose tinted glasses. Even with all that they loose a more than half the population. It's better where they are especially since the whole winter thing is done.

Click to shrink...

Agree.Without Others,average joe from Westeros have better chances of surviving if he remain home.The same goeas for womans.
Only those who could die becouse of politics have reasons to run - but,Essoss exist for them arleady.

P.S @Starfox5 , i really love Tywin logic in last chapter.Dude is so full of himself,that i really do not see any way in which we could avoid civi war killing Lannisters.
And RWBY are right,they run Kingdom,and should do something about Petyr and Varys - but now now,and not when it could lead to civil war.

Wait - what about telling Tywin about Petyr,and asking him for checking his book? if they manage proof that he is stealing,then he would die,and Lannisters MAYBE would not start war.

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 27: Lord Lannister

'To understand just how different the Ruby Order's view of what family meant was compared to their contemporaries, one has to take a look at not merely the ideals of the time as passed on through various works and songs, but how it worked out in reality. Every child knows about the taboo on kinslaying, but few of them ever realise that for all the materials condemning it, and all the records listing such actions as unforgivable, kinslaying was quite common throughout history for too often, someone wishing to advance their rank and increase their power found that the closest obstacle or rival was their kin. As one would expect after even briefly studying the history of noble houses, most kinslayers merely acted through intermediaries and proxies, simply hid their actions or denied them despite evidence to the contrary. Who could say if a captured nobleman truly chose death over dishonour? Or if an inconvenient heir truly died from sickness? When public opinion and a loss of reputation are the only means of enforcing a custom, those who can avoid or deceive the public eye rarely adhere to it once it is no longer advantageous for them. And it goes without saying that the definition of what exactly constituted 'kin' also varied throughout history and often depended on what an ambitious noble felt most comfortable with.
On the other hand, it would be foolish to dismiss blood and marriage ties as merely performative, either. Many heeded the Faith's rulings in such matters, even if they might disagree with them - and many didn't disagree in the first place. If most people didn't love or, at least, care for their kin, marriage alliances would never have become common. And one also has to consider that most nobles, and most smallfolk, didn't have the means to kill a family member without being exposed for it. Nevertheless, with even such a central taboo not quite as absolutely enforced as naive students might think, it shouldn't surprise anyone that, especially when it came to the most powerful nobles of the era, the Lord Paramounts, Wardens and members of the Royal dynasty, even those who loved their kin would value their family's power over the individual wishes of their family and treated their lower-ranking kin as assets of their own power base. The child of a noble family, no matter their rank, was expected to marry according to the wishes of the head of the family.
In contrast, the Ruby Order valued self-determination far above the interests of family or clan. In fact, many scholars consider them to be the first who considered people as individuals instead of members of a family or Clan, even though the claim that their home kingdom had fought a war over such matters is obviously apocryphal, invented to stress just how far they would go to support their ideals - something that, obviously would affect a great many nobles.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Lord Tywin Lannister didn't show any reaction as he entered King's Landing at the head of his guards, but he paid attention to the reaction of the smallfolk in the streets - and he didn't miss the sneers that appeared on their faces when they thought he wouldn't notice. He knew he was not liked by the rabble living here, but on his last visit, the scum had been too cowed to show such disrespect. No one dared to openly mock him, so his reputation had not fallen that far, but it was still unacceptable.

He would have to rectify that and impress on the smallfolk that a Lannister always paid his debts.

The city hadn't changed, he also noted when his party made its way to the Red Keep. The stench was the same, the smallfolk crowding its streets were the same, and the goldcloaks were the same as well, bowing to their betters and pushing the scum out of Tywin's way. So much for the Messengers of the Seven walking the streets!

They reached the Red Keep and, to his mild but welcome surprise, were greeted by Lannister guards.

"Welcome, Lord Tywin!" their leader said, bowing his head.

"Ser Hyle." Tywin acknowledged him with a nod. He was a bastard of a distant cousin, but a skilled and dependable one. And he was nervous. "I expected the Keep to be guarded by Northmen and Stormlanders."

"There was some… shuffling in the schedules, but we maintain our strength here, my lord. And we serve Prince Joffrey."

Good. He nodded again and led his party into the courtyard. Tyrion had written to him about the guards having stayed, but Tywin knew better than to accept it without confirming it himself. His son - his only son, now, he clenched his teeth - was a wastrel prone to spending his life in brothels and taverns, and his letters were filled with such fancy news, only a fool would trust his word. It made no sense that the Baratheon brothers and Lord Eddard had kept the Lannister guards in the keep - they should have removed them and taken over the entire keep with their forces. That they had not done so suggested other factors were at play. Either a split within their front, making them hope to ally with Tywin's house against the others - or the reports about those four maidens hadn't exaggerated their power as much as Tywin assumed.

He dismounted from his war horse in the middle of the courtyard, handing the reins to the closest guard of his while he looked around. A Northman was already walking towards him. Tywin recognised his face but did not recall his name.

"My lord!" The man bowed. "I am Ser Jory. Lord Eddard awaits you in the Throne room to offer you guest right."

Tywin nodded - he had expected nothing less. Lord Eddard had a reputation as an honourable man, so he wouldn't risk it by breaking custom in public. But he had been raised by Lord Jon Arryn, and Tywin knew better than most how cunning and pragmatic that man had been.

He followed the knight - one of the few from the North, as beholden as they were to their own gods - into the throne room, but didn't miss how the servants were not quite as quick to give way, or quite as respectful as they used to be. Tyrion must have let them think this sort of disrespect was acceptable.

Another thing Tywin would have to remedy - once he had taken the measure of the court and restored his House's influence and power.

"Lord Tywin!" Lord Eddard greeted him with the proper forms and ceremony, serving him bread and salt. "Be welcome in King's Landing:"

With his guest right formally granted, Tywin felt slightly relieved. His rivals couldn't act openly against him now, which limited their options. More in some cases, less in others, he added as he caught Lord Oberyn glaring at him from the side.

Tywin met the man's eyes with his own. He had done what had been necessary for his family to prosper. Oberyn would have done the same in his place. That was how the game was played.

He looked around, noting who was present and who wasn't. And who was late, such as his useless son, who had just joined them. They were in public, so Tywin didn't scold him for his lack of respect, but he narrowed his eyes at him, and even Tyrion understood.

Good.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Tywin scoffed as he looked around in Tyrion's chamber. It wasn't quite reeking of indulgence as he had expected, but he didn't miss the cups on the table and the bottles stashed in the basket at the wall.

"Wine, Father?" Tyrion asked, an undertone of mocking showing that he was aware of Tywin's thoughts.

He scoffed again. "It's barely after noon."

"The best time to drink," Tyrion retorted with a shrug. To add even more disrespect, he filled his cup and took a sip.

"I no longer wonder what possessed you to write such letters," Tywin said.

"Oh, I am not drunk. Just… pleasantly mellowed." Tyrion took a deep swallow. "Given recent unpleasant events, it's a very minor indulgence."

"'Unpleasant events'?" Tywin spat. "Jaime, your brother, dead - slain by a foreigner - and Cersei shamed and banished to the Silent Sisters, our House's reputation stained by this slander… this is a catastrophe! And you sit here, drinking!"

"If you don't drink, you die. And wine's much safer than water," Tyrion replied, emptying his cup and promptly refilling it. "Not overly safe, of course - anyone who managed to poison the King could also poison my wine supply - but I like to think I am making them at least spend some effort." He snorted. "And it might look like a catastrophe, but things could be much, much worse for us, Father."

"I am aware how precarious our position is. More than you, it seems." Did his son think he was blind? His heir dead, his daughter shamed, his grandchildren slandered and an alliance of three, four or five families perched to pounce on them… But the dogs forgot that even outnumbered, the Lion still had claws.

"Do you?" Tyrion raised his cup in a mocking salute before downing more wine. "If not for Lady Ruby and her friends, I have no doubt that Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella would have been killed by now. But as things are, we still hold on to the throne. Provided my dear sister doesn't decide to get more of our family killed." He bared his teeth in a grimace that would have been slightly threatening if he were not so pathetic.

"What do you blame Cersei for?" Tywin asked. Of course, he would blame Cersei for everything that befell him - when he couldn't blame Tywin.

"She is the reason for the current mess we're finding ourselves in." Tyrion scoffed, downed another swallow and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Jaime did his part, of course, but the trial by combat? That was Cersei's idea. The idiot wasn't content with ruining their lives; she had to send Jaime into a hopeless fight that could only end with his death. And the fool did it for her." He emptied his cup and went to refill it.

"Don't tell me that you believe this slander! Cersei and Jaime would never do this!" Incest? His children? His heir? Inconceivable!"

Tyrion snorted. "They did. They were seen doing it in Winterfell. And it wasn't a single occurrence."

Tywin stared at him. "You would believe the word of a foreigner over your own kin?" Had his son truly fallen that far? Or… had those girls lured him into betraying his own family?

"You don't know them. Of course, you wouldn't understand them." Tyrion laughed, once, shaking his head. "They're not like us. Not in the slightest. They're… The smallfolk think they're messengers from the Seven, you know?"

"Ridiculous!" Tywin spat.

"Of course it's ridiculous!" Tyrion grinned. "Messengers from the Seven would not act like them. They wouldn't be like them. They're too strange for that." He shook his head again. "They don't think like us. Or like anyone else. Let me take a guess: You think they want to take over the realm, right, Father? No, they don't!"

Tywin glared at him. "And why do you think that?"

"Because they could have the realm twice over if they wanted it!" Tyrion laughed. "I've seen them fight, Father, when they stop holding back as much as they do. They are as powerful as the Targaryens' dragons! Armies cannot stand against them! Castles cannot hold them off! If they went to war, people would bend the knee to them like they did during Aegon's Conquest. But they don't want to conquer the realm." He snorted. "They loathe killing."

Then they were weak no matter their power. "Women do not need to take a throne by force," Tywin pointed out. Surely, his son had not forgotten that, as often as he slept with whores and soiled the reputation of his family.

"They could have had a betrothal with Joffrey, but they didn't want it, Father. They have refused every offer from every family." Tyrion leaned forward, part of his wine sloshing out of his cup. "They don't think like we do. They see Cersei and Jaime convicted for adultery and incest because one of them witnessed them do it, yet they will defend Joffrey's right to the throne because there's no proof he's a bastard."

"Of course they would do it - he is dependent on them." That his embarrassment of a son couldn't see it only confirmed his unfitness.

"No." Tyrion had the gall to laugh. "They don't care, Father. They don't care for the throne. Or for riches. Or for power. Why would they, when they have all the power they need, and a far richer world awaiting them?"

"And you believe their claims?" Were they truly as beautiful as others said? If there was one thing his disgrace of a son was experienced in, it was women and wine. He shouldn't be impressed by a beautiful temptress. And yet, such things were not uncommon - many men had ruined themselves for women, the most prominent being Prince Rhaegar.

"Why would they lie, Father? But I know you won't believe a word I say. Not until you see them with your own eyes. So…" Tyrion stood, not swaying despite the copious amount of wine he had drunk. "...let's go and ask them for a demonstration. Because you need to see the truth, or our family is doomed."

Tywin hesitated for a moment. No worthless child would order him around. But to refuse to see those women with his own eyes would make him look like he were afraid.

So he walked with Tyrion.

A little later, they descended the stairs to the familiar training ground of the Kingsguard. Tywin had known that the King had granted the four women the use of it, but to see it like this… That the Kingsguard had not rebelled over this insult proved how seriously they took their oaths. But they…

He blinked. Those women… no, those girls! Had they no shame? They were pretty indeed, and would appeal to most men, but their attire! To wear clothes even a whore would baulk at! What noble would want to be seen with a woman who dressed like that? And had they no sense? To train without armour - and, he realised when he saw the blade cut through a training post as if it were a thin weed, not with training weapons but actual blades!

"Blades can't hurt them, Father," Tyrion spoke in a low voice next to him. "I saw Ser Barristan's blade strike one of them in the face without leaving a scratch or cut a single hair on her head."

"Ridiculous!" Tywin hissed as he quickened his pace. He didn't doubt that a woman could be as strong or stronger than a man - Lady Brienne Tarth proved that. But those women, those girls, lacked the size and brawn that would require! They could…

…jump higher than a horse. High enough to leap over a tall knight.

And they could move faster than his eyes could track.

And hit someone hard enough to launch them across the yard.

And break wood and stone with their face, yet stand a moment later, none the worse.

And conjured glowing symbols that stopped such blows in their tracks - and formed steps to climb into the air.

"See, Father?"

Tywin shook his head. He couldn't see a way a mummer could fake this. Or that Ser Barristan would go along with such a farce.

And yet, his eyes were not betraying him.

This was impossible.

This changed everything.

He glared at Tyrion. His useless son was enjoying this.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

So, that was Lord Tywin Lannister. Ruby Rose squinted a little at the tall man standing next to Lord Tyrion. He didn't look like his son at all. At least not from a distance. Although… there was a certain resemblance. Kinda. Though it really was hard to tell from this distance.

Which meant she should get closer.

She focused and moved.

"Hello!" she said, smiling as she reappeared in front of them.

Lord Tywin's eyes widened, and he drew a sharp breath, but he didn't jump or gasp, which was kinda disappointing.

"Father, may I introduce Lady Ruby Rose, leader of Team Ruby," Tyrion said. "My lady, Lord Tywin Lannister, Warden of the West."

She bowed her head, holding Crescent Rose out to the side - without punching a hole into the ground this time. "My lord!"

"My lady." He narrowed his eyes at her, frowning.

She suppressed the urge to fidget. She hadn't done anything wrong. Well, she had tried to startle him, and she had killed his son, of course. But the things she had heard about him, the things he had done…

"And those are my friends - my team," she said, gesturing behind her. As expected, Weiss, Blake and Yang were walking towards them - well, Weiss was doing that quick walk that wasn't quite a run, but close to it (a 'dignified hustle', or something) she did when she wanted to run but didn't want to look like she was running for some reason or the other - and the others were keeping up.

"Lady Weiss Schnee, Lady Blake Belladonna and Lady Yang Xiao Long," Ruby finished the introductions with a smile. Being polite was important.

"My lord." Weiss curtsied, followed by Blake, and even Yang bowed rather than nodding.

"My ladies." He sounded curt and cold. Probably because he was both.

Ruby almost said 'so we finally meet', but that would have sounded like a challenge in a TV show. Or in a game. 'May we offer our condolences for the death of your son'? That would sound like gloating. "We have a lot to discuss," she said. That was true. Everyone was concerned about Lord Tywin's response to, well, everything. Kinda.

"That we do, my lady." Another curt nod.

"So…" Ruby looked around. They had been training, and training hard. Yang was a bit dusty from where she had crashed through the fence and left a dent in the wall. And everyone was sweaty. And Ruby was hungry. "Shall we meet after lunch to discuss things? In your son's quarters?" Those were big enough for everyone. And if anyone spied on them, it wasn't Team RWBY's fault. Not that they would let anyone spy on them, but Ruby didn't want to expose how good Blake's hearing was unless she absolutely had to.

Lord Tywin glanced at his son for a moment, and Ruby thought his eyes narrowed, but he nodded with a polite smile. "I think that would be best, yes."

"Alright." Ruby smiled. Maybe a bit more than politely. "We'll freshen up then. And eat."

*****​

The water ready in their rooms to wash up was, well, not cold-cold, but cold-lukewarm. Still cold, but not ice cold. It would have been better if it were hot, but it took a lot to have hot water here, so far from the kitchen, and ever since she had found out about that, Ruby would feel bad if she had to make the servants go to those lengths just to have warm - or hot - water. Winterfell had a huge advantage with their hot springs - all the hot water you wanted, and you just needed pipes to tap it. Too bad they couldn't have this here.

But the lack of hot water also meant that Ruby was done quite quickly with cleaning up after training. And she barely left a puddle on the floor, either, so Weiss couldn't complain!

"Watch it, Ruby. We don't want to get mould in here." That wasn't really a complaint, not by Weiss's standards. That was just her. Probably being impatient to wash up herself.

Ruby stepped out of the basin and onto the towel on the floor and started drying up while Weiss stepped into it and grabbed the cloth and soap. "So… what do you think Lord Tywin will say?"

"I don't know. I don't know enough about him to make a guess," Weiss replied. "All my information on him is second-hand, and from quite heavily biased sources. Even knowing his likely goals, I can only guess about how he will want to achieve them. Though it will likely involve a betrothal proposal."

Ruby made a face at that. "Lord Tyrion should have told him that we don't do those."

"I am not sure if he will listen to his son - Lord Tyrion hinted at a strained relationship." Weiss paused for a moment, scrubbing her face. "And Lord Tyrion might be of the impression that we don't follow the same customs as Westeros, but he might still think we would be willing to marry a local provided it's a love match."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Doesn't he get that even if we fell in love, that doesn't mean we would marry?" And they hadn't met anyone they would fall in love with, much less marry. At least not to her knowledge, but her friends would tell her if they were in love with anyone.

"I think Lord Tyrion would be content with something like Lord Oberyn's relationship to his paramour if it gained his family a tie to us," Weiss said. "But whether his father would settle for that, I cannot say without knowing more about the man. As I've said before."

Ruby nodded as she dressed again, then had to slap some dust out of her cape. They knew that he ordered the former royal family murdered and had his troops plunder the city, and had rebel nobles drowned in an underground castle or something, together with their families, but that only told them that he was ruthless and very, very proud. And that the law in this realm sucked. They already knew that from Lord Tyrion and from the trials they had seen. In any case, it didn't tell them what he thought about marriages. Well, there was another thing they knew from Lord Tyrion… "If he offers us a betrothal, we'll know he thinks we're not beneath him."

Weiss scrunched her nose in that cute way she did when distracted. "And we would know he doesn't listen to others."

Ruby blinked. Right. "So… would that be a good or a bad thing?"

"I can't tell that until I know more about him," Weiss replied, rolling her eyes. "As I've said before."

"Right, right!" Ruby grinned - she should have known that - and handed her a towel to dry off. "Let's go grab lunch, then! I'm starving - and they're making lemon cakes today!"

"Figures you'd know that." Weiss shook her head, but she was smiling, so that was OK.

*****​

"Greetings, my ladies."

"My lord."

Weiss Schnee forced herself to smile and bow her head following Ruby's lead, as did Blake and Yang. Lord Tywin had the same expression on his face as her father usually wore when dealing with her or her siblings.

"Please, sit down," Lord Tyrion spoke up with a smile and gestured at the seats arranged around his table. There was no special seat for him, Weiss noted. That would be a little uncomfortable - only a little; he could eat in the great hall just fine - but it sent a message. And, glancing at Lord Tywin as she took a seat next to Ruby, she thought she knew what kind of message.

"These are the results?"

"Yes, Father."

A snort. "I expect you to do better. A Schnee always excels."

"Yes, Father."

"Do not expect special privileges, Weiss."

"Yes, Father."

She suppressed the urge to shake her head and forced the thought away. She had to focus on this meeting; she couldn't afford to lose herself in memories.

"So…" Ruby smiled. "We've got lots of things to discuss."

"Yes." Lord Tywin's expression didn't change. The death of his son must weigh heavily on him. Or that was what he wanted them to think - she was almost certain Father would only be more concerned about the effect on his reputation instead of truly grieving, should Weiss or one of her siblings die. He didn't elaborate, probably trying to wait them out.

Well, Weiss would oblige him. "The situation at court is quite tenuous. We suspect that there's an organised effort to question the legitimacy of Prince Joffrey."

The man's eyes narrowed as they flicked from Ruby to her. "An effort started because of the trial against Jaime and Cersei."

A quick cut to the heart of the matter, then. Weiss nodded.

"We didn't call for the trial," Ruby said.

"Your testimony was essential for the verdict." And that frown was familiar as well.

"We wouldn't lie in court," Ruby retorted.

"You claim to have witnessed them in Winterfell, yet you didn't tell anyone until the trial?" Lord Tywin scoffed softly.

"I saw them do it," Blake said, frowning right back at the man.

He met her gaze.

"And we decided not to tell anyone since it wasn't really our business, and because they would have been killed," Ruby said after a moment. "And we don't think people should be killed for that."

"You condone incest?" Lord Tywin seemed surprised.

"Ew!" Ruby grimaced. "We don't think it's OK - it's bad and icky. But it's not a… big crime."

Weiss swallowed the 'capital crime' comment she wanted to make; this wasn't the time to correct her team leader - certainly not in front of a potentially hostile lord.

Lord Tywin had regained his composure and was staring at them like Father did after Weiss had told him she wanted to go to Beacon. "Like the Targaryens."

Weiss wanted to curse. They had walked into this, and now Lord Tywin had the completely wrong impression - and, based on Lord Tyrion's expression, he too seemed to have come to the wrong conclusion. "No, we do not share anything with the Targaryens, my lord," she said. "Neither their ambitions nor their customs or inclinations."

"We kill monsters. We don't ride them," Yang said.

Weiss hoped that Yang had not intentionally used a potential double-entendre.

"So you say. And yet, my grandson's claim to the throne seems to depend on your continued support. Should you withdraw that support - or 'discover' that he is the product of incest - his birthright would be forfeited."

"There is no way anyone could prove that Prince Joffrey is illegitimate," Weiss replied.

Lord Tywin's expression had the slightest hint of a sneer. Again, Weiss had to force herself not to remember a very similar expression. "The truth does not matter when appearance offers enough cover for ambition. Too many houses are arranged against my grandson."

Weiss was quite certain that Lord Tywin was part - a significant part, at that - of the reason for this. Not everyone might loathe him as much as the Martells, but he was not popular amongst his peers. Only amongst those who depended on his support or wanted to profit from him.

Like her father.

"Of course, the truth does matter!" Ruby protested.

Lord Tywin's expression didn't hide his opinion of that - and of her - and Weiss clenched her teeth for a moment; oh, she didn't like him or his attitude. Not at all.

But they were here to talk things out and to defuse some of the potential tension - or worse - before it created more problems, so she kept smiling. She had a lot of experience with such situations, after all. Both here and in Atlas. "Lord Eddard has not dissolved the betrothal between his daughter and Prince Joffrey. He certainly would have, should he think Pricne Joffrey is illegitimate - he is deservedly known for his honour." She took Lord Tywin's nod as acknowledgement of her point.

"The North is far away, and their forces are not nearly enough to stand against what forces Prince Doran, Lord Renly and Lord Stannis can muster. And should they take Lady Sansa hostage, Lord Eddard's hands would be bound even if my grandchildren were still alive at that point."

Of course, Lord Tywin would assume everyone else would be as ruthless about killing children as he was. Then again, Weiss had to agree that even if Lord Renly or Lord Stannis would not stoop so low, some of their underlings would likely do it, and probably expect a reward - just as Lord Tywin had done it for King Robert. It was really astonishing how many of the problems they were facing were caused, directly or indirectly, by Lord Tywin.

"You don't think your guards could stop them? The Westerlands are known for their disciplined and well-trained and equipped troops," Weiss said.

"Even our means are limited - more so if we have to defend a stronghold cut off from the Westerlands and riddled with potential traitors. If I'd move too many forces into King's Landing, I would leave the Westerlands open to attacks," Lord Tywin said.

Lord Tyrion nodded. "He who tries to defend everything might lose everything."

It was a sound statement, but judging by the glare Lord Tywin sent at his son, he had just embarrassed his father. Weiss clenched her teeth again when she remembered similar occasions back home.

"But Prince Joffrey has the crownlands. Together with the North and the Westerlands, you've got three kingdoms. And Lord Stannis doesn't have too many soldiers," Ruby said. "That leaves the Stormlands and Dorne."

"Whose lords don't like each other at all," Weiss added.

"It would not be hard for them to put their differences aside to strike at my grandson and myself," Lord Tywin said. "And Lord Renly has close ties to the Reach. If he promises them more influence at court, he could sway them to his side."

To Ser Loras Tyrell, Weiss mentally added. "Like a betrothal between Lord Stannis's daughter and one of their heirs? Even though he is married to a Florent?" And was said to dislike House Tyrell for their actions during the rebellion, though Weiss hadn't been able to confirm that.

"Yes." Lord Tywin looked as if he wanted to roll his eyes and sneer at her for stating the obvious. "Or between Lord Renly and Lady Margaery."

Ruby bit her lower lip, Weiss noted, so she wouldn't comment on that. Weiss hoped that Lord Tywin would think that she was questioning whether Lord Renly would follow Lord Stannis on the throne in that case. Still… "As we have discovered, a marriage based purely on dynastic aims is not always a good idea." She suppressed a grin when she saw Lord Tywin scowl at that.

"Not everyone is… driven by their emotions and base desires as King Robert was."

"I am sure Cersei could have driven King Baelor the Blessed to drink and whore," Lord Tyrion said.

Lord Tywin openly glared at him. "Mind your tongue, Tyrion! You're talking about your sister!"

"Why yes, I am," Lord Tyrion replied with a fake smile.

Weiss cleared her throat. "So, you feel that the Prince lacks sufficient support to take the crown." And keep it.

"Yes."

And he blamed Team RWBY for it. Weiss nodded. "Then that is the problem that needs solving."

"Closer ties to your group would be a solution," Lord Tywin said.

"We're not going to marry anyone!" Ruby glared at him.

Weiss nodded, as did Blake.

"Yeah. We're not gonna stay around anyway," Yang said. "We're going to return to our world."

"If you find a way to return to your world, will you or someone else from your world travel back to Westeros?" Lord Tywin asked.

"We don't know," Weiss told him.

"We didn't exactly plan to travel here - we were sent here against our will. Either by accident or by a god." Ruby added.

Weiss almost missed Lord Tywin's brief sneer at Ruby's statement. But what had triggered the reaction? Did he doubt that they were sent here against their will? Or that someone sent them here?

"So, we don't know if we can get back once we're home," Ruby went on. "Best not make any plans that depend on that."

"I would be a fool not to consider the possibility of more people like you arriving here. People who might not share your morals," Lord Tywin said.

That was a good point, Weiss had to admit. Remnant certainly had enough people who would not hesitate to conquer Westeros. Such as her father. And many of his 'peers' in Atlas. And how many of the people currently braving the Grimm to establish villages outside the Four Kingdoms would prefer to travel to Westeros instead? The White Fang would love a world where the humans didn't have the technology or the Aura to defend themselves against them.

"We won't let that happen," Ruby said. "We won't tell people how to return here - if we find that out in the first place."

Lord Tywin didn't look convinced. Not at all.

Ruby noticed as well and glared at him. "We're Huntresses, Lord Tywin. We fight to protect the people, not to conquer them. From any threat!"

Again, everyone nodded. But Weiss didn't like the slight gleam in Lord Tywin's eyes at Ruby's declaration. He looked like her father when he found a way to exploit a weakness for profit. Or simply to demonstrate his power. "There are more urgent concerns to address," she said. "Such as the financial and political stability of the realm."

"House Lannister stands in full support of the lawful King of the realm. If the realm's stability is endangered, it won't be by us."

Well, it was good to have confirmation. But…

"I hope you will impress this on the current Hand, my ladies."

Yes, that message was received. "And, speaking of Lord Eddard, what do you think about him becoming regent? He was the late King's best and most trusted friend," Weiss said.

"As long as he can be trusted to defend my grandchildren's claims, I have no objection," Lord Tywin replied. "I don't think anyone would doubt his word."

Of course not - Lord Eddard's honour and Lady Sansa's betrothal would tie him to Prince Joffrey. Again, the message was clear.

"Then perhaps it would be best to settle this and then reconvene to discuss the other topics," Weiss suggested.

Lord Tywin nodded. "I agree."

And Lord Tyrion emptied his cup of wine with obvious relief.

*****​

Blake Belladonna checked that there were no spies listening in, then turned to nod at her friends. "We're clear."

Ruby sighed and sat down on her and Weiss's bed. "That could have gone better."

"It went actually better than I had feared," Weiss said. "Lord Tywin wasn't as overly hostile as I expected."

"He saw us sparring." Yang grinned and punched her palm. "Must have taught him that he better be polite."

Blake nodded.

Ruby sighed again. "But we didn't get an agreement - all we got was a sort-of promise not to mess with the kingdom as long as we protect his grandchildren."

"We're protecting them anyway," Yang said.

"But we're not going to stay forever." Blake had no intention to stay any longer than they had to in this world.

"We won't leave without making sure that they are safe," Ruby said, narrowing her eyes a little. "But it feels a bit like… like we're doing his work for him."

Weiss nodded. "That's because we are doing his work. We promised to talk to Lord Eddard about the betrothal and the alliances. But if we want to see the princes and the princess safe, then we have to do that anyway."

"I know!" Ruby didn't quite whine but came close with a pout. "I just… I don't want to feel like we're doing what he wants us to do. As if he could order us around."

"I understand - and I feel the same." Weiss grimaced. "I don't like it either."

"Well, if he thinks he can order us around, he's got a surprise coming," Yang said. She didn't seem to be looking forward to it, though.

Blake nodded. "That would cause another problem."

"Yes." Weiss scowled. "People like him cannot stand being seen as weak - or as losing a confrontation. It would be best if such a confrontation would happen in private, but… I doubt even that will help much. We need to carefully make it clear that while our aims align for now, we do what we do because we think it's the right thing, not because we owe it to anyone."

"Yes." Ruby nodded firmly. "We did tell him that we'll protect people - from anyone."

"I don't know if he understood it - or if he heard what he expected to hear," Weiss said.

Blake agreed with her. Most nobles in Westeros had trouble understanding where Team RWBY was coming from. "Or if he believed us."

Weiss sighed. "He seems to be one of those people who cannot empathise with others." She looked out of the window. "I've known similar people back home."

Probably her father, based on what Blake knew about the Schnee family and what Weiss had let slip in private. She felt a bit guilty for letting Weiss take the lead in the talk, but her friend was the one best suited for that kind of meeting.

"And he dislikes Lord Tyrion," Yang added. "So, we can't count on him helping to keep misunderstandings down."

"Yes." Ruby lay down on her bed, arms spread. "This sucks."

"We also need to talk about the issue with taking people with us - or letting people come back here," Yang said.

Blake tensed. "We don't know how we can return, much less if others can travel here. Discussing it without such information seems a waste of time." They could worry about that once they knew more. Once they knew if they could return, a small voice in the back of her head whispered.

"That seems short-sighted," Weiss disagreed. "We have to consider what we will do if people ask to come with us to Remnant - and what we can do to keep Grimm and unscrupulous people from coming to Westeros."

"Yep." Yang nodded. "How many women do you think would want to return with us rather than stay here and get married off against their will?"

Blake winced. Too many, she thought. "And what if we arrive where we left? In the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by Grimm? How many can we protect? They don't have Aura and can't fight."

Ruby sat up again. "We finished all the Grimm there."

"It's been months since then," Blake told her. "They will have returned. How many can we protect?"

"We don't know if we would return to the exact spot from which we left," Weiss said.

"That's my point." Blake nodded at her. "We can't really make any plans without knowing more."

"That would leave us unprepared." Ruby frowned, and Blake winced. That was Ruby the leader talking. "We can't just refuse to help people who need our help. Not when we can help them."

"If we can help them," Weiss corrected her.

"We can help them at least in some ways." Ruby shook her head. "And we need to consider what we can do."

"We already need to set up Prince Joffrey and his siblings so they are safe," Blake said. "We can't do that for everyone. And we can't take everyone with us, even if we knew that it was safe. Not unless we want everyone on Remnant to know about Westeros - and that would endanger a lot of people here. If bandits or the White Fang heard about this…" Or the SDC, but she wouldn't say that.

"Or people like my father and his fellow 'businessmen'," Weiss added.

Weiss could say it, of course. That was different.

"Even if we can't help everyone, we still can help some. Like our friends here. Arya already asked about coming with us," Yang reminded them.

"Would she be happy in Remnant?" Weiss asked. "Could she fit in? Could anyone from here fit in?"

That sounded a bit… snobbish? Blake wasn't certain.

"As long as she doesn't try to become a Huntress without Aura, she should be fine," Yang said.

Weiss shook her head. "And how would she earn a living? She has no skills that would help her in Remnant."

That was correct. Most of what noblewomen were taught wasn't really applicable in the four Kingdoms. Or in Menagerie, though that was not a good destination for a human anyway.

"Guys!" Ruby shook her head again. "If we don't know if we can take anyone with us, we need to help them while we're here."

"If we want to do that for everyone, we'll be here our whole life," Weiss commented with a frown. "There's too much wrong in this world."

"It's not as if Remnant is perfect," Blake replied, smiling a bit toothily. She knew that better than most.

"We're already talking about making it better," Ruby said. "Stabilise the kingdom, avoid another war…"

"That won't help a girl getting married against her will," Yang pointed out.

Ruby deflated for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. "Then we need to find a way to help those girls."

"How?" Weiss asked.

"That's a good question," Ruby said, smiling weakly. "But there has to be something that we can do."

Blake couldn't help snorting. If changing a society were so easy, Faunus wouldn't still be discriminated against, and the White Fang wouldn't have turned bad. But she couldn't tell Ruby that. Not when her friend was looking so determined.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Yang Xiao Long watched Weiss carefully as she circled around her in the training yard. She just needed an opening. Or she had to make one. She tensed, then dashed forward. One step, two, three - Weiss jerked, and Yang threw herself to the side a moment before a glyph appeared in front of her.

Her boots dug into the sandy ground, leaving two small grooves as she stopped her slide, pivoted and surged forward again. One step, two - she jumped to the left side, avoiding another glyph, rolled, then dug her armoured fingers into the ground and launched herself forward using her arms and feet.

This time, she was too close, and Weiss too slow, and Yang hit her in the midriff with her shoulder, tackling her to the ground, pinning her down, one fist drawing back for a smash. "Gotcha!"

Weiss pouted. "Only because I wasn't using Myrtenaster."

Yang chuckled as she rolled off her friend and got up, then held out a hand to Weiss. "You're standing in for the Red Priestess; I don't think she would use a sword."

Weiss huffed as Yang pulled her to her feet. "She should. Whether she can throw fire at her enemies or not - especially if she can't. And I think we should assume that she can use a dagger as well."

"Well, a dagger couldn't get through our Aura, but I see your point," Yang admitted before grinning. "Once we've got this down pat, we can switch to training against a sword-wielding red priestess."

"I'm looking forward to it," Weiss said. "And I need to train as well."

"Well, you can block fire with your glyphs," Yang said. "Let me grab a few stones to throw at you."

"The glyphs might not stop magic fire. Or might be overwhelmed."

"Then try to dodge my stones without using glyphs." Yang grabbed two and started to juggle them with one hand while picking up a few more. "Ready?"

"What?"

Yang grinned, turned and let loose with the first stone.

Weiss yelped and jumped to the side, a glyph appearing to shield her further.

"I thought you didn't want to use glyphs?" Yang asked, throwing the next stone.

"It…" Weiss dropped to the ground, letting the stone pass over her head and used another glyph to propel her forward. "...can't hurt!"

Yang dodged and tagged her with two stones, and then a third for good measure when Weiss rolled over the sand to come to a stop next to the fence.

"It doesn't hurt - unless you block your own path or an ally's path," Ruby commented from where she was sitting on the fence and munching on a piece of honey cake that had been an entire cake last time Yang had looked at it.

"I haven't done that since before I started at Beacon," Weiss said primly as she got up and dusted her skirt off. "Let's do this again."

"Sure." Yang grinned and collected more stones. Too bad they couldn't spare the dust to use their guns for this. She was pretty sure you couldn't throw fire, magical or not, faster than a bullet went.

*****​

"Are you training to fight slingers, my lady?" Jon asked when Yang took a break.

"Any sort of projectile weapon," she told him as she grabbed a jug of water and took a deep swallow.

"But… if blades cannot hurt you, certainly stones or arrows won't hurt you either."

He was right, but… "Well, it helps with dodging all sorts of attacks," Yang said. "Such as Dust-enhanced projectiles." She grinned. "We have to stay in practice for when we return." Although she was pretty sure that they had improved quite a bit with all the training they were doing - it wasn't as if they had a lot of other lessons to attend. Then again, everyone back home would have been able to train at Beacon and get lessons, so… She hoped they wouldn't have fallen too far behind. Although they probably would have to repeat the year anyway - they had already missed months of lessons.

"Oh. Of course." He nodded, though he was frowning - and pouting as well.

"You know we will return home," she told him. And they would!

"I know, my lady." He snorted, but it didn't sound like he thought of something funny. "Arya said she wants to go with you. Fa… Lord Eddard wasn't amused."

"I bet he wasn't." Yang frowned a little and looked around. No one was close enough to overhear them. Except for a crow trying to get at the crumbs left from Ruby's honey cake massacre. "You should keep calling him your dad in public. You don't want people to wonder why you're suddenly calling him 'Lord Eddard'."

"Oh. Yes, of course!" And he looked even sadder now.

Damn. Now Yang was feeling guilty. "Well, did Arya also tell Lord Eddard that we don't even know if we can take someone with us?" Especially if that Red Priestess was right and someone had brought them here - the odds of them sending someone else back with Team RWBY were low.

"She didn't. She stormed off in the middle of the talk. He was not amused."

Yang chuckled. "Sounds like her."

"She was punished, of course, but it didn't deter her." Jon shook his head. "She… She has her heart set on becoming like you, my lady."

"Me?"

"All of you. She likes how Lady Weiss fights with her sword - Arya has a similar sword, Needle, since she can't wield the larger ones."

A sword Jon had had made for her, Yang knew.
"But she likes every one of your team," Jon went on.

"Well, we are pretty cool." Yang grinned again. "But I guess that's something we'll have to talk about when we meet with Lord Eddard later today."

"I believe he plans to address this as well, my lady."

"Whoo." More issues to work out. They really needed to find a way to deal with this. Yang didn't want to let the kids down - that would feel like letting Ruby down.

But what could they do?

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

Remnant is shown from the plot armor MC's with a shonen rose tinted glasses. Even with all that they loose a more than half the population. It's better where they are especially since the whole winter thing is done.

Click to shrink...

At this point - early season 2 - all four kingdoms are doing fine. Most people don't have to fear famines and feuds and violence at all.

I'm pretty sure I'd still take the world with indoor plumbing even despite the giant murder beasts tbh.

Click to shrink...

and modern technology, healthcare, education, democracy, human rights...

Again more than 1/2 the population dies. And while it's never properly discussed I'm pretty sure all the land behind walls is taken. Otherwise people wouldn't be constantly moving out and they wouldn't be trying to make new cities. So I don't think you'd still have access to a toilet

Click to shrink...

That's in the future

Spoiler

and things won't exactly go as in the show here

"We're here to find a way back - we will leave and return home as soon as we can. If the kingdom depended on us, we would doom it by leaving."

This is where their (rwby) lineage argument(and similar things) becomes worthless, they(the locals) are gonna go back to how things are done, because they don't have tech and such ways.

Click to shrink...

They do leave a lasting impression, though.

Agree.Without Others,average joe from Westeros have better chances of surviving if he remain home.The same goeas for womans.
Only those who could die becouse of politics have reasons to run - but,Essoss exist for them arleady.

P.S @Starfox5 , i really love Tywin logic in last chapter.Dude is so full of himself,that i really do not see any way in which we could avoid civi war killing Lannisters.
And RWBY are right,they run Kingdom,and should do something about Petyr and Varys - but now now,and not when it could lead to civil war.

Wait - what about telling Tywin about Petyr,and asking him for checking his book? if they manage proof that he is stealing,then he would die,and Lannisters MAYBE would not start war.

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They need to get those books, first, and then decipher them.

 

[Blue1ao]

At this point - early season 2 - all four kingdoms are doing fine. Most people don't have to fear famines and feuds and violence at all.

Click to shrink...

Shonen rose tinted goggles the setting has to be picked you have roaming bandits only four "safe" locations yang and ruby lived in a safeish area but traveled walking distance for kids and almost got killed by a Grimm. It's a modern day equivalent but has terrorist successfully attacking government contracted mines and distribution lines. It's a comedy shonen so it kinda glosses over the idea that grim control most of the land and the last time they tried to expand x amount of people died so now there's just a ghost city.how they actually manage to feed their population let alone find enough metals and space to build said infrastructure is straight don't think to hard.. so if you had to choose a setting to become realistic and live in it the one with the dragons and the wildlings would be safer.

 

[Starfox5]

Shonen rose tinted goggles the setting has to be picked you have roaming bandits only four "safe" locations yang and ruby lived in a safeish area but traveled walking distance for kids and almost got killed by a Grimm. It's a modern day equivalent but has terrorist successfully attacking government contracted mines and distribution lines. It's a comedy shonen so it kinda glosses over the idea that grim control most of the land and the last time they tried to expand x amount of people died so now there's just a ghost city.how they actually manage to feed their population let alone find enough metals and space to build said infrastructure is straight don't think to hard.. so if you had to choose a setting to become realistic and live in it the one with the dragons and the wildlings would be safer.

Click to shrink...

They can feed their population, and the people are kept safer than most smallfolk in an age of feudal feuds and civil war. I would pick Remnant over Westeros any day of the week since my odds of dying from disease or an accident - even a broken leg could be fatal or crippling - or violence, or hunger, are much greater in Westeros even in a time of peace. Martins went all-in on the darkness - Westeros is not like our medieval age, which was bad enough. Hell, the forest next to King's Landing had bandits for years.

 

[Spartan303]

They can feed their population, and the people are kept safer than most smallfolk in an age of feudal feuds and civil war. I would pick Remnant over Westeros any day of the week since my odds of dying from disease or an accident - even a broken leg could be fatal or crippling - or violence, or hunger, are much greater in Westeros even in a time of peace. Martins went all-in on the darkness - Westeros is not like our medieval age, which was bad enough. Hell, the forest next to King's Landing had bandits for years.

Click to shrink...

The Question becomes, assuming reliable two way transportation, could Remnant actually send a force to take the Kingdoms and hold them? Because their resources were stretched thin as it was fighting the Grimm.

 

[Blue1ao]

They can feed their population, and the people are kept safer than most smallfolk in an age of feudal feuds and civil war. I would pick Remnant over Westeros any day of the week since my odds of dying from disease or an accident - even a broken leg could be fatal or crippling - or violence, or hunger, are much greater in Westeros even in a time of peace. Martins went all-in on the darkness - Westeros is not like our medieval age, which was bad enough. Hell, the forest next to King's Landing had bandits for years.

Click to shrink...

Fantasy medieval age is worse then ours that's correct. The setting is dark but to be fair it does try to play a more accurate telling of how bad stuff would get in said setting. Remnant the moment you make that show realistic you come into some very big problems. I can argue food, the aura crisis, actual protection, and medical assistance outside of a city. But instead I'll point out if you go you'll know societal collapse happens within a year of team rwby happening. The economy that somehow works losses 1/4 or more of its economy and of it's habitable locations. This can't be good for the place that gets attacked based of negative emotions.

 

[Starfox5]

The Question becomes, assuming reliable two way transportation, could Remnant actually send a force to take the Kingdoms and hold them? Because their resources were stretched thin as it was fighting the Grimm.

Click to shrink...

Remnant could easily hold Westeros - any organised force, unless they were too stupid to follow the usual "divide and conquer, let locals who depend on our backing enforce our rule" colonialist recipe, could take it given the immense power discrepancy. When even a squad of your soldiers/fighters could take out an army, the outcome is clear from the start.

Fantasy medieval age is worse then ours that's correct. The setting is dark but to be fair it does try to play a more accurate telling of how bad stuff would get in said setting. Remnant the moment you make that show realistic you come into some very big problems. I can argue food, the aura crisis, actual protection, and medical assistance outside of a city. But instead I'll point out if you go you'll know societal collapse happens within a year of team rwby happening. The economy that somehow works losses 1/4 or more of its economy and of it's habitable locations. This can't be good for the place that gets attacked based of negative emotions.

Click to shrink...

That only matters if things continue according to canon. Which they won't. Also, conditions outside the cities are bad, but as we see, not that bad for people not to make a living - see Oscar's aunt, various villages, etc. Sure, the villages get destroyed whenever the plot needs them to be destroyed, but if that happened all the time, no villages would have survived at all, much less would there be new ones founded. So, any logical worldbuilding would need to take that into account. Should I write a story set mainly on Remnant, I would certainly make the changes to adjust that.

But a system that worked for hundreds of years, survived the Great War and the Faunus War, is not that easy to break (except for author fiat).

 

[Blue1ao]

That only matters if things continue according to canon. Which they won't. Also, conditions outside the cities are bad, but as we see, not that bad for people not to make a living - see Oscar's aunt, various villages, etc. Sure, the villages get destroyed whenever the plot needs them to be destroyed, but if that happened all the time, no villages would have survived at all, much less would there be new ones founded. So, any logical worldbuilding would need to take that into account. Should I write a story set mainly on Remnant, I would certainly make the changes to adjust that.

But a system that worked for hundreds of years, survived the Great War and the Faunus War, is not that easy to break (except for author fiat).

Click to shrink...

I'm pretty sure it's the plot keeping so many villages alive. But you're right logical world building would kill the plot so it wouldn't go that way. If you do make one don't stress the logic it's an enjoyable setting. Logic only came in because of what's it's being compared to.

 

[Starfox5]

I'm pretty sure it's the plot keeping so many villages alive. But you're right logical world building would kill the plot so it wouldn't go that way. If you do make one don't stress the logic it's an enjoyable setting. Logic only came in because of what's it's being compared to.

Click to shrink...

I have written a ton of stories in the Harry Potter setting, so I'm used to adjusting stuff so it won't break once it diverges from the canon plot.

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 28: Childhoods

'Another area where the Ruby Order's views significantly differed from those of Westeros of their era was how children were supposed to be raised. In a time when children were, whether amongst the smallfolk or the nobility, overwhelmingly considered an - even economic - asset of the family, to be used as the head of the family saw fit as they could use any other asset, the Ruby Order had a distinctly progressive view of what a childhood should be. Unlike some of their contemporary detractors claimed, however, they didn't think children should be allowed to run wild and do as they pleased. The surviving sources that can be trusted agree that the Ruby Order was not opposed to children helping their family or learning a trade - in fact, according to one usually trusted source, they considered education for everyone, regardless of gender or social status, almost mandatory - but they were quite firm on the claim that children were not supposed to heed their parents' orders all their life; an almost revolutionary view for those times when, in the most extreme examples, even a man with grandchildren of their own was still beholden to his own father when it came to the most fundamental decisions in his life. Of course, as any student of history should know, this was extremely rarely the case; in practice, most adults had a significant degree of autonomy and independence from their parents, and it was mostly soft power, such as the control over the family fortune, and, therefore, self-interest that compelled obedience, with the most famous examples found amongst the children of Walder Frey. But the Ruby Order, no doubt influenced by their own ages, went further than that with regard to self-determination.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Not for the first time, Eddard Stark regretted that he had agreed to become Robert's Hand. It wasn't the work piling up - though that played a part; ruling the North was not nearly as demanding as ruling the entire realm - but the fact he was stuck in King's Landing while Cat, Robb and Rickon were in Winterfell weighed on his mood. Perhaps he should ask Cat to join him here, if only for a visit…

He shook his head. Not at the moment. Not so soon after Robert's death, when the realm still seemed perched on a cliff and no one could say if it would plunge into war. He was already worried about having Sansa, Bran, Arya and Jon here with him. If Lady Ruby and her friends weren't here, he would have sent them back to Winterfell already, no matter their wishes.

The Four Maidens… He sighed, putting down the petition from a merchant for the permission to sell his wares in the market. The boon and bane of him - and of the realm. Without them, Lord Tywin would have called his banners and would be marching on King's Landing already. And Ser Jaime and Queen Cersei might have escaped their punishment - even Ser Barristan, due to his age, would have had trouble defeating Ser Jaime in a trial by combat. And Lord Renly and Lord Stannis would have had the royal children killed.

And yet, without Team Ruby, he would have had fewer problems to handle as well. Arya wouldn't be nearly as rebellious - she was worse than Lyanna, and didn't that comparison cause him to have nightmares! - and he wouldn't have had to tell Jon the truth about his birth before the boy was ready for it. And it was likely that the betrothal between Sansa and Joffrey would have been broken, allowing Ned and his family to return to the North and leaving the court to the scheming nobles of the South. Sansa would have been very upset, but she would have gotten over it in time.

But with Lady Ruby and her friends - the Blessed by the Seven, according to many septons - defending Joffrey's legitimacy, there was no honourable way to end the betrothal. Ned and his family were stuck here, tied to a prince who might be a bastard.

Might be. Ned scoffed under his breath. The boy looked nothing like Robert. And while appearances might be deceiving - Robb and Sansa took more after Cat than Ned - Joffrey didn't act like Robert, either. He was not nearly as skilled with arms, nor as… interested in girls as Robert had been at his age.

Ned shook his head. To think that he had been worried about Sansa's betrothed being too eager to wait for the wedding, endangering her honour, and now he was worried that the boy only had an interest in the Four Maidens, and for their power, not their beauty…

But was this proof that Joffrey was a bastard? Lord Stannis and Lord Renly kept saying so, and Ned would have agreed with them, but Team Ruby insisted otherwise. Lady Weiss was particularly outspoken about the matter. But a lack of proof didn't mean something was false. Ned didn't want Sansa to marry Joffrey. The thought of having grandchildren fathered by the product of incest turned his stomach.

But breaking the betrothal merely based on suspicion would be dishonourable. Further, Lord Tywin would consider it a mortal insult and go to war. And while Team Ruby could crush the Westerlanders easily, Ned wasn't sure if they would take the field; they supported Joffrey's claim, after all. They might join in with Tywin, crushing the North - and everyone who stood with them - if they considered Ned in the wrong.

Ned was truly trapped here. And so was his family. And all because four girls with the power to crush every host of the Seven Kingdoms had dropped into his lands.

At least they were fond of Ned's family. Ned didn't think they would let any harm come to the children if they could help it - but could they help it? Robert had been poisoned under their eyes, and they hadn't been able to save him. They tried, of course - Robert had died with Lady Yang doing everything she could to heal him - but they had failed. Their power, for all that it made them the strongest force in Westeros, and with a fanatical following amongst the faithful in King's Landing, had limits. Limits that meant even their friends weren't safe. Or especially not their friends.

But he couldn't tell them to avoid his family. That would be a mortal insult. And Ned, and the realm, badly needed their help. Despite their strange and foreign views and habits.

He just hoped that whatever price they demanded for their help this time would not be too high to pay. He still wasn't certain if sparing the Lannister twins had been worth it, even with Ser Jaime dying in the trial at Lady Ruby's hand. If Cersei ran from the Order to her father, and Lord Tywin decided to protect her, things would get even more complicated. Although Team Ruby had clearly stated numerous times that they would enforce the law - as long as they considered it just, and their views of justice clearly proved that they were not from this world. Ned just couldn't predict them.

Well, whatever they wanted, he would find out soon; they had asked for a meeting with him. He took a deep breath and blamed the slightly sinking feeling in his belly on his hunger.

*****​

"My ladies."

"My lord."

Ned studied the four women as they took their seats in the solar. Lady Ruby looked a bit tense, which was a good indication that this was important. Lady Weiss, as expected, didn't let any tension she might be feeling show, nor did Lady Blake, and Lady Yang was relaxed as usual.

"Thank you for meeting with us!" Lady Ruby said. "So! We've got a few things we'd like to discuss with you, if you have the time."

"I do." Ned nodded. As if he would pretend not to have the time when those four wanted to talk to him.

"First, we talked to Lord Tywin. You probably heard about that."

He nodded. Of course, he had - even if the servants hadn't been wagging their tongues all day, Varys had come by to inform him personally that none of his 'little birds' had been able to find out what they had discussed.

"He expressed his confidence that you would support your soon-to-be kin, Prince Joffrey, on the throne," Lady Weiss said.

"And he said if that was the case, he wouldn't stop financing the Crown," Ruby added, nodding emphatically.

Ned nodded again. He had expected that. Lord Tywin was resorting to the few means to exert influence left to him after his children's trial. "I see."

"Yep." Lady Ruby grimaced a little.

"He also expressed his confidence that you would let your honour guide your actions instead of rumours and baseless slander," Lady Weiss went on.

"He expects the betrothal between Prince Joffrey and Sansa to last, then," Ned said. "And the alliance it forms." That wasn't a surprise either. Only a fool would sever such a tie in such a situation.

"Yes," Lady Ruby confirmed. "Is that a problem for you?"

"It would be dishonourable to break a betrothal based on suspicions," Ned said. He didn't grimace - it was true after all. The four noblewomen clearly didn't think that Joffrey's legitimacy could be disproven, and for them, that meant he was legitimate. It was… an honest view, and just. But the thought that he might marry off his daughter to a potential bastard born of incest still made his stomach turn no matter how often he told himself that there was no proof.

"Indeed, it would be," Lady Weiss said. She didn't smile or grin, even though she obviously knew what he was thinking. But was it kindness or merely graciousness in victory? The members of Team Ruby were kind, all of them, but only to a point, as Ser Jaime's folly had so aptly demonstrated.

Ned sighed.

"So, they're still going to get married?" Lady Ruby asked.

Ned nodded.

"And your families will be tied together."

Ned nodded. United, Robert had said. But was Joffrey his son? Or a pure Lannister? He didn't know.

"Ah. So, what do Lord Stannis and Lord Renly think about that?" Ruby asked.

He almost smiled. She was refreshingly direct. All of them were, even Weiss, though she was the most subtle of them. But this was a serious matter - the greatest danger for the realm. "They are not happy. They still believe that Prince Joffrey and his siblings are bastards born of incest."

"Yeah, we kinda expected that. But will they try something?" Ruby leaned forward.

"Like send assassins after them? Start a coup?" Lady Yang's tone belied the seriousness of her question, but Ned saw how her eyes had narrowed.

"I don't believe that they will break the King's peace. Not with you ready to defend the prince and his siblings," Ned said.

Lady Ruby's face fell, and the others were frowning, even Lady Weiss. So, it was true what Ned suspected - their honour would not let them leave the realm if it would doom those whom they had placed under their protection. They were trapped in King's Landing as well, and tied to Prince Joffrey.

The irony almost made him smile again.

"And what about assassins?" Lady Blake spoke up.

Ned winced. Robert had, against Ned's counsel, used assassins before. It was wrong no matter the justification. Lord Stannis might not use such dishonourable means - might; Lord Stannis would do his duty no matter the cost - but Lord Renly, even though he was Master of Laws, was more flexible in such things. And both loathed the thought of Prince Joffrey becoming king.

"OK…" Lady Ruby looked at the others. "We need to protect them against assassins."

"I don't think either would hire an assassin," Ned quickly said.

"But you don't consider it impossible."

Ned grimaced but shook his head - lying would be dishonourable. "No, I don't."

"Then we need to check on the children," Lady Blake said. "Ensure that their guards know what they are doing and that there are no holes in their security."

Lady Ruby nodded in obvious agreement.

"You should talk to Varys as well," Ned suggested. When he saw how Lady Ruby winced, he felt his stomach drop. "What do you know about Varys?"

"Ah… we don't know anything - we haven't found any proof," she replied. "Not yet. But we're working on it. Don't tell him - or anyone else - about that, though!"

"I won't." Ned shook his head again. So, Varys couldn't be trusted either - well, he had served the Mad King before Robert, so that was, in hindsight, obvious. It seemed Petyr's warning had been more accurate than Ned had hoped it was. And it probably meant they would need a new Master of Whispers in the future - if they were looking for proof, they were already suspecting him of… His eyes widened, and he gasped. "Do you think he murdered Robert?" He clenched his teeth; if that was true, Ned would enjoy swinging the blade after sentencing Varys!

*****​

Ruby Rose winced. That wasn't what she had meant! "No, no!" she blurted out. Teach her trying to be subtle! "We don't think that - well, we don't have any clue that he was behind it."

"He almost certainly has the contacts in Essos to get the poison," Blake said. "But while he would have had the means, the motive remains in doubt. What would he have gained from murdering the King? He was his spymaster, and a new King - or regent - might replace him, out of spite or because the King was murdered under his watch, proving that he failed his duties."

Lord Eddard blinked at that. Ruby did as well. "And that," she added. "Anyway, it's not about that. That we don't trust Varys, I mean."

Lord Eddard stared at her, and she suppressed the urge to fidget.

"We are still looking into it," Weiss, her best friend, came to her rescue. "If we are wrong, we would not want to besmirch an innocent man's reputation."

That was a bit much. They knew that Varys was using mutilated children as spies, and that was already bad enough.

Lord Eddard, though, nodded. He didn't look happy, though. "The Court's already riddled with untrustworthy people. Why would the small council be any different?" he muttered. "Petyr warned me."

Ruby pressed her lips together so she wouldn't blurt out what they knew about Baelish the Pimp.

"Can you really trust anyone in the small council except for Ser Barristan?" Weiss asked. "Even Lord Stannis, who has a reputation as a just man, has a personal interest in the throne."

Lord Eddard hesitated just a moment before shaking his head. "Just because people have interests doesn't mean they cannot be trusted." After a moment, he added: "Who would deal with, much less follow someone who breaks their word or even an oath? What would they gain that would outweigh that? Their family's reputation lost, their honour stained, their prospects destroyed."

That sounded nice, but… Ruby glanced at Weiss.

Weiss shook her head. "That works as a deterrent - provided whoever is tempted will consider the risk of being caught. And criminals seldom expect that they will be caught."

"You cannot compare lords of the realm to criminals, my lady!" Lord Eddard protested.

"Why not? The principle is the same," Yang said. "And many, no matter their status, think alike."

Ruby nodded. "Also, even if you do something bad and get caught, if you have a good excuse, you can escape consequences." Sometimes, at least.

Yang smirked, but Weiss was frowning at her. And Blake spoke up: "If you can control the narrative, if no one knows about a dishonourable action - or if everyone blames someone else for it - you won't suffer any consequences, such as a loss of reputation, for your deed."

Lord Eddard didn't like that - he scowled deeply. "Even if no one else knows, the gods will know."

"But will they do something about it?" Yang asked, cocking her head to the side. "Fast enough to help a victim?"

"Wouldn't you know best about that?" Lord Eddard said, raising his eyebrows.

Ruby blushed a little. "If we were brought here by a god, they didn't tell us what we're supposed to do. The Red Priestess said no one can easily find out what a god wants, anyway."

He seemed surprised, but recovered quickly. "What else is there than staying true to your word and honouring your oaths?"

Like not torturing people? Ruby almost blurted out.

"Do you think we were brought here because we will act as we wish to, without more guidance?" Weiss asked.

Like a fire-and-forget missile? Ruby frowned. She wasn't a weapon or a tool, and neither were her friends. No one was.

"I don't know what the gods intend," he replied. "But it seems plausible, doesn't it?"

"It feels more than a bit conceited to assume that we were chosen by a god for our morals," Weiss said.

Ruby half-expected Yang to make a joke about Weiss's morals, but her sister nodded in agreement, as did Blake. And they were right. Ruby wasn't someone special - she was just a normal girl. Normal Huntress. Of course, what was normal back home was special here, but that didn't make her special. It just meant they had more responsibilities.

"Judging by what I know about the gods, both old and new, humility is seen as a virtue by them," Lord Eddard said. "Those who want to have the gods support them seldom manage to - at least in the legends."

"No pressure…" Yang whispered.

And Ruby was feeling the pressure. "Whatever the gods want, we'll do our best to protect people." As Huntresses should.

"Such as the royal family," he said.

"And yours. And anyone else who needs protection," Ruby said. "Provided we can reach them," she added - they couldn't promise the impossible. Well, they could, but they wouldn't be able to keep such a promise.

"And the best way to protect everyone is to avoid a war and stabilise the realm," Weiss added. "Both politically and financially."

"For the finances, you need to talk with Lord Petyr," Lord Eddard said. "He knows best how much money the kingdom needs - and how much debt needs to be paid back."

Judging by his slight frown, he must have noticed Ruby's reaction to that. She didn't want to talk to Lord Baelish the Pimp.

But they needed to know more about the finances; Weiss was sure of that, and Ruby trusted her friend - she was very smart and she knew about such stuff.

And there was one more thing to talk about - well, people. She cleared her throat. "So, we also wanted to talk about your children, Lord Eddard."

He tensed up at once. "My children?" And his voice had gone gravely.

But Ruby had to talk about this. If Arya wanted to be like a Huntress, and that led to trouble… Well, she knew (through Yang's feelings about her mother) how family running away could hurt people. And through Weiss how parents trying to control their children could hurt them. "Arya likes to fight. I mean, she likes to train with her sword."

"Yes." Definitely still guarded.

"And she's got a talent for it," Ruby went on.

"And she's got the guts for it. She's no quitter," Yang added. When Lord Eddard looked still-wary-but-also-confused, she explained: "She sticks it out. She doesn't stop when it gets hard."

"The Septa tells me differently when it comes to her lessons." And that was the dry wit Lord Eddard showed all too seldom.

Yang shrugged with a grin. "Well, she likes swinging a sword around. She doesn't like needlepoint. Unless it involves the point of Needle."

"Her sword." Lord Eddard frowned a bit - his eyebrows twitched.

"Are you unhappy that she got a sword of her own?" Ruby asked.

He hesitated before shaking his head.

Ruby frowned. That didn't look very convincing. But she couldn't push him, could she? "Anyway, she seems really determined to become a warrior." Huntress, actually. "Like Lady Brienne."

And now, Lord Eddard sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He whispered something under his breath that Ruby didn't quite catch. "Sorry?"

"It's nothing," he said and sighed again.

"Bran also wants to become a knight," Ruby offered. "And he's got talent as well. As does Jon."

"Yeah, Jon's great with a sword," Yang said. Earnestly; she didn't make a joke about his 'other sword'.

Lord Eddard glanced at Yang, then frowned at Ruby. "What are your plans for them, Lady Ruby?"

"Plans?" She blinked. "I don't have any plans for them. Why would I have plans for them? They're their own people. Persons. I just wanted to know if you have any problems with their goals." And she needed to work on her subtlety. Weiss was frowning at her, probably annoyed about that.

Lord Eddard sighed a third time. "It's… complicated."

She frowned back at him. That was generally an excuse people used if they didn't want to say what they wanted or meant, in Ruby's experience.

"Arya is a child. She doesn't know what she is saying - no, she doesn't know what this would mean for her," Lord Eddard said.

"She wants to be a warrior. Like us. Or Like Lady Brienne. And while she can't be a Huntress, since we're not on Remnant, she can be like Lady Brienne," Ruby said.

"Lady Brienne is the sole heir of her father. Arya is my second daughter."

"Yes?" Ruby knew what was expected of daughters here - marriage with some noble, the more noble and richer and more powerful the better. But she wouldn't let Lord Eddard just vaguely hint at stuff; he could say it out loud.

"She cannot inherit," he said.

"So?" Yang shrugged. "Are you going to cut her off if she doesn't marry? Throw her out on the street?"

"Of course not!" He shook his head. "But can she be happy like this? What if she regrets her choice later?"

Ruby blinked. "Then she stops being a warrior or knight and does something else? Becomes a teacher? Or marries someone?"

"Who would marry her? Lady Brienne has no suitors, and she is the heir to her house!" Lord Eddard said.

"Someone who would only marry her for her house would not make her happy anyway," Ruby told him. Sheesh, everyone knew that - there were even a ton of books and movies and shows about that!

"Indeed," Weiss spoke up. "Trust me, there is no happiness to be found when someone is merely after your family's holdings."

Lord Eddard frowned at her. "Things are different here compared to your world, my ladies."

"Not that different." Weiss met his eyes. "You and Lady Catelyn were lucky you found love. Your friend the King wasn't so lucky. Do you wish to trust your daughter's happiness to mere luck?"

Lord Eddard didn't flinch. "I wouldn't let someone who couldn't be trusted to make her happy marry her."

"Do you think your judgment is perfect?" Yang asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

"I have more experience than my children," Lord Eddard retorted.

"But it's their lives," Ruby said.

"My children are my responsibility." Lord Eddard was scowling. "None of you has children. Would your father let you make a mistake that could ruin your life?"

"My father did his best to personally ruin my life," Weiss snapped, making him blink.

"Dad wouldn't want us to ruin our lives," Ruby said. "But he lets us live our lives."

"Yeah," Yang added. "Sometimes you have to make a mistake to learn from it."

"And what if the mistake costs your life?" Lord Eddard scowled at her.

Oh.

"You fear for Arya's life," Weiss said. "But what about Bran and Jon?"

"They're boys."

Ruby scowled. "So?"

"It's… not the same. We're not in your world." Lord Eddard shook his head. "People are different here. Arya is not like you."

"Neither is Bran. Or Jon," Ruby said.

"You're afraid of losing any of them," Yang said.

"Of course! What parent wouldn't be afraid for their children?" Lord Eddard snapped.

Weiss pressed her lips together, Ruby noted.

Yang, though, shook her head. "You're willing to let Jon and Bran choose what life they want. But not Arya."

Lord Eddard clenched his teeth and didn't say anything.

Ruby didn't understand him. Bran was even younger than Arya.

"They're still very young. They don't have to make any life-changing decisions," Blake suddenly spoke up. "Nor should they, you're right about that."

Lord Eddard looked as surprised as Ruby felt.

"Blake?" Yang turned to stare at her partner.

"I was a bit older, but still young when I made the biggest mistake of my life," Blake went on, and Ruby blinked again. "Against the advice of my parents."

Lord Eddard nodded.

"I ran away from home after a disagreement with my parents over what I wanted to do with my life."

What? Ruby glanced at the others. Not even Yang seemed to have known that.

Lord Eddard stopped nodding. "You don't think Arya would…"

"If she thinks you're forcing her to marry someone?" Blake raised her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't do that!" Lord Eddard sounded more… angry about that than Ruby had expected.

"Best tell her that," Blake said. "Before she thinks she knows what you want."

Lord Eddard slowly nodded.

"And ask her - and Bran - what she wants once she's older," Ruby added. "And maybe ask the Septa to cut down on the needlepoint lessons? Arya really hates them." She smiled encouragingly at Lord Eddard.

He chuckled at that, and she blinked. The others were grinning as well. Ruby pouted - she was only trying to help!

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Ah, Lady Weiss! Welcome to my humble office! How can I help you?"

"Thank you, my lord." Weiss Schnee smiled politely as she bowed her head, though inwardly, she was rolling her eyes. Lord Baelish was overdoing it again. Did he really think this act would fool her? She had grown up around such toadies. Her little brother was better at that, and he was still a child. Or did Lord Baelish think she was a naive little girl? In any case, she wasn't here to cut him down to size; she was here for information. "As a matter of fact, there is something you might be able to help me with."

"Anything I can do."

I'll hold you to that. "As you might know, we've met with Lord Tywin to defuse the tension lingering from the trial of his eldest children," she went on. Or what the locals considered a trial - 'may the best fighter win' wasn't justice. Not at all. But she couldn't let herself be distracted by the local judicial system and its many, many flaws.

"Oh?" His surprise seemed not quite genuine. "I heard rumours, but… if I trusted rumours, I would expect the Dothraki riding across the sea to install Prince Viserys on the Iron Throne."

Weiss made a mental note to look into that. They hadn't really cared much about the other continents so far. "Indeed, we have. And during our talk, the kingdom's finances came up."

"Oh?" He sat a bit straighter, though his smile didn't waver.

"Yes. There were claims that the kingdom depended on loans from the Lannister family."

"Ah." He nodded. "Well, the Kingdom's debts are more or less split evenly between the Iron Bank - of Braavos, if you're familiar with the city - and House Lannister. So, yes, one could say that Lord Tywin does possess quite the leverage against the crown, though since Prince Joffrey is his grandson, I think he will be keeping that within the family, so to speak."

She snorted softly at his not-so-subtle emphasis on Joffrey being a Lannister. "Yes. But even between family - kin, as you say here - rifts can appear. Since we have an interest in the stability of the realm, I would like to ascertain the state of the kingdom's finances, to determine what options the court has to refinance those loans."

He blinked. "There are few others who could loan us such a sum, my lady. The Iron Bank might do it - though the interest they expect would be considerable."

"And if the crown defaulted?" Weiss asked.

"'Defaulted'?"

Didn't he know the term? They had pretty advanced bookkeeping. Was their financial system so underdeveloped? "Fail to repay the loan," she explained.

He laughed and shook his head. "Who would loan us any money if we didn't uphold our obligation to repay past loans? The Court would quickly run out of money."

Weiss knew that a country didn't work like a corporation, and she couldn't claim to be an expert on a financial system that worked with the money in circulation not even backed by, but made of precious metal. But even so, it was obvious that with ever-mounting debts, the Court would, at best, slowly run out of money unless inflation and - hopefully - economic growth could counteract the rising debts. She doubted that either was happening, but she didn't have the economic data to judge that. Personal observation of the market in King's Landing was not very helpful. "I see. So, would you agree that Lord Tywin has a hold on the Court?"

"I wouldn't go that far, my lady. The Lannisters are rich and powerful, and their influence is felt in every part of the Court, and many feel their grip throughout the kingdom, but should there be a rift between the crown and should Lord Tywin decide to call in the loan, he would likely face a war as a result."

"Wouldn't that make future loans even more unlikely and expensive than defaulting?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Likely, but the crown would take control of the Westerland's mines, or at least acquire most of their gold, so the Court's finances would be secure for a lengthy time."

"I think I would prefer a refinancing method that doesn't use violence," she said in a dry tone.

"Wouldn't we all?" He smiled at her, showing his teeth in what he probably thought was a charming smile. He would have been right if not for what she knew about his private businesses - and the obvious attempt to distract her from her apparent goal. "With the exception of Lord Tywin, of course - he was always willing to use violence to achieve his goals, even when it meant that innocent smallfolk would suffer. I'm sure you're familiar with the Sack of King's Landing and the Rains of Castamere, my lady."

"Indeed, I am." She nodded. "Anyway, I'd like to take a look at the books, so next time we're meeting Lord Tywin, we have the numbers to argue what claims he might make. Would that be possible? Lord Eddard said he saw no reason against this."

His lips twitched a little. "I can certainly show you the ledgers. Though please don't hesitate to ask if they seem confusing - the system is a bit complicated."

"Of course." She didn't doubt that even for an instant; he would have deliberately used a system to obfuscate the state of the kingdom's finances - likely both to render himself indispensable as the only one who could handle it entirely and to be able to skim off the top.

"Also, the ledgers cannot leave my office. I am personally responsible for them, and I take my duties very seriously. I would never doubt you, my lady, but I cannot make exceptions there, or everyone would expect one."

"Oh, that is no trouble at all, my lord. I only need a little time to get an overview." She smiled at him.

He relaxed slightly - the tension in his shoulder vanished, and his hands stopped toying with the quill on his desk.

Weiss wasn't lying, of course - it wouldn't take too long to take pictures of the ledgers. The lighting Dust recharging her scroll would use up was worth this. And between Blake and herself, they should be able to analyse the numbers and entries well enough to get a more or less correct picture.

Though that reminded her of Blake's revelations from the talk with Lord Eddard. Weiss didn't want to pry, and it wasn't really any of her business, and she wasn't one of those girls who lived for gossip and rumours, and it wasn't as if it would affect their plans here, but… she really wanted to know what exactly had happened between Blake and her parents. She hadn't even known that Blake's parents were still around; her friend had never mentioned them at all, so Weiss naturally had assumed that they had died - probably violently, though if they had been killed by SDC security, Blake would have mentioned that, wouldn't she?

She shook her head and forced herself to focus as Lord Baelish pulled out leather-bound ledgers from a massive locked chest next to his desk.

"Here they are. That's the one for the Court's income, and here are the expenses."

She managed not to wince at the haphazard way the ledgers were organised. She knew that they knew about double-entry accounting in this world! This was no way to run a shop, much less a kingdom!

Instead of berating him, she thanked him politely, sat down in a chair in a corner, and started reading - and taking pictures with her scroll.

"Ah… what is that, my lady? If I may ask?"

"It's my scroll. In case I need to take notes, my lord."

"Ah." He was tense again - and kept glancing at her while she worked through the ledgers. But would he realise that she was taking pictures? Or would he assume she wasn't taking notes?

She couldn't tell, but it probably wouldn't matter; he would be on alert anyway, at least for the near future.

But that could be advantageous - he might make a mistake under pressure.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"So, Partner…"

Standing at the edge of the training yard, looking at the wall closest to it, and the sky above it, Blake Belladonna closed her eyes and drew a short breath through clenched teeth when she heard Yang speak up behind her. "It's a private matter. And in the past. It doesn't matter now." And should stay there.

"You already knew what I wanted to talk about. Doesn't sound to me like it doesn't matter." Next to her, Yang leaned with her back against the fence, elbows propped up on top.

Blake didn't turn her head to look at her and suppressed a frustrated hiss. "We've got more important things to worry about than my family - such as returning home to Beacon." To their friends and family.

"Yeah, could say that." Yang nodded - Blake caught her mane moving in the corner of her eye. "But it sounded very personal, back there. And you don't sound as if you're over it."

"I've been over it for years. I've made my decision, and I have been living with the consequences," Blake replied.

"You called it a mistake yesterday."

"My decision was a mistake." She turned to frown at her annoying partner. "That's all there is to it."

Yang smiled at her before turning serious. "Doesn't sound like that's all there is to it. Trust me, I've been trying to get over my birth mother leaving for years."

Blake felt a pang of guilt. She had left her family. They would be worrying, and… "They know I'm OK." Only, they wouldn't know it any more - she was missing. Had been for months.

"Yeah, about that," Yang said with a grimace, "I don't think anyone back home knows we're OK."

Blake clenched her teeth. "They won't worry. They don't know I am at Beacon. And they're used to me staying off-line for months." But… would they have been told anyway? Did Ozpin know about her parents? He had never said anything, but… it wouldn't take that much for someone with his resources to find out about her parents. And he would have run a background check, if not before Orientation, then at least after the fight with the White Fang at the docks and on the highway. But that meant her parents would think she was dead - if you went missing on a mission, it meant you were killed by Grimm.

Yang was staring at her with wide eyes. "They don't know you're at Beacon?"

Blake hissed through clenched teeth. "I didn't tell them where I was. Just that I was OK and had left the White Fang." So they were aware that Adam might come after them, trying to find her. Or to get back at her, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.

"Oh." Yang was still staring.

Blake closed her eyes. "Look, I've got my reasons." They might be shitty reasons, but they were hers.

"Sure." Yang nodded, but Blake could tell that she didn't understand - she knew her partner. And Yang wasn't good at hiding her emotions. Hiding her intelligence, yes - her 'dumb blonde' act was very good. But her emotions? No.

Blake sighed. "I didn't want… don't want to… I can't tell them."

Yang nodded again, and Blake glared at her. Of course, her partner ignored that and wrapped her arm around Blake's shoulders. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Blake narrowed her eyes even more and felt her ears lay flat against her skull under her bow. "Now you say this? After you made me talk like that?"

"I didn't make you talk," Yang replied with a grin and a squeeze of her shoulder. "I just was here to listen."

Blake sighed. Maybe a short summary. "My parents didn't want me to join the White Fang's more… violent part." Which was now the entire White Fang. "I wanted to do more than wave a sign and protest. Ad… Someone I thought I could trust showed me how to fight."

Yang nodded.

"I found out he couldn't be trusted, and I left."

"Ah."

Wait, that made it sound like Adam had cheated on Blake. As if this were just about a teenage relationship gone bad, and not about far more important things. "He couldn't be trusted because he didn't care about right and wrong any more, just about hurting people - Faunus, humans, soldiers or civilians, he didn't care."

"Oh." Yang nodded. "And when you found out, you left."

"I left with a train that he wanted to blow up."

Her partner snorted at that. "Bet he didn't take that well."

She flinched - and felt Yang freeze for a moment before she squeezed Blake's shoulder again. "No, he didn't. But if our current predicament has one advantage, it's that he won't find me here."

She half-expected Yang to ask more about Adam, but her partner didn't and just stayed there with her.

After a minute, though, she spoke up. "You know, the others are dying with curiosity."

Blake groaned. "I have to analyse the ledgers with Weiss. I guess they won't focus until I talk to them?"

"Mhm."

Maybe an even shorter summary would be enough to satisfy them. Just the bare bones.

And maybe Marwyn would announce that he'd found a way back to Remnant in the Keep's basement.

"Let's spar a bit more," she said. She needed to work out some frustration.

"Now you're talking!" Yang grinned, released her and smashed a fist into the palm of her hand.

*****​

"So, your parents were against you joining the White Fang…"

Blake frowned. "Not exactly, Ruby. They were against me joining the White Fang led by Sienna Khan."

"There are two White Fangs?" Ruby sounded confused.

Blake closed her eyes for a moment. It wasn't Ruby's fault that the media had not really covered this part in detail. "It's more that the White Fang originally was a peaceful protest movement, of which my parents were members." Founding members, but that wasn't important right now. "So, I grew up in it. Some of my earliest memories involve waving a sign around at a protest. But then Sienna Khan started changing the organisation, and my parents disagreed with that. I didn't. I was dumb. So, I ran away from home and joined the White Fang. Or stayed in it, depending on how you look at it. I found out that the White Fang had grown too radical and betrayed what we stood for - equality for everyone, humans and Faunus - and left when my, ah, mentor, you could say, wanted to blow up a train full of civilians. I joined Beacon afterwards to become a Huntress." She resisted the urge to add 'The end.' to her short summary.

"Oh." Ruby nodded.

Weiss was frowning. "That seems a rather short summary."

"It is a short summary." Blake smiled at her with her eyes slightly narrowed. "There's no need to go into details."

Weiss pouted, but Ruby nodded again. "Alright! Now, let's take a look at those ledgers!"

"Yes," Blake said. She wasn't an accountant, but she had some experience with gathering intel about corrupt officials to either blackmail or expose them. Or both, depending on what was most useful.

"Well…" Weiss looked like she wanted to argue, but Ruby was already reaching for her scroll, and the girl grabbed it before Ruby could. "There were fewer records than I expected, so I think it's most efficient if we study the pages on my scroll and then write down the crucial information to save on the scroll's charge."

"And to check if Lord Baelish is trying to alter the entries," Blake added.

"Alright, you do that. I'm going to hit the smithy," Yang said. "Gotta have to ask Mott about making a better Needle."

Blake could see Ruby wavering - her eyes flicked from Yang to Weiss and back.

"Oh, go with Yang," Weiss told her. "It's going to be crowded already with just the two of us using one scroll."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Alright then. Yang, wait!"

And she disappeared in a cloud of petals.

Weiss sighed.

Blake didn't comment. They had work to do.

*****​

Street of Steel, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"So! I was thinking a sword that can also turn into a shield. With a crossbow. But that would be too heavy for Arya. And the time spent reloading the crossbow would be too long to be usable in combat, so it wouldn't really help. But! The surprise factor of a sudden attack at range would be useful, and so I took a bit of inspiration from Myrtenaster - with Weiss's permission, mind you - and came up with this!"

Yang smiled as her sister unfolded a pretty large piece of parchment on the largest table in Tobho's smithy.

"A reinforced rapier that can also shoot darts or smoke or sand or paint or oil charges! Spring-loaded since you don't have Dust here, and reloading will take a special lever that you have to carry separately - but I think we can turn that into a sheath - but Arya'll have about six shots worth of it, which should allow her some flexibility. Although the oil and paint charges would have to be aimed very well to be effective, unless this idea I have with a primer to set the oil on fire works out, but I'm not sure that will work. We could change the composition to make it more flammable, but then it would also be a fire hazard if it worked, if the magazine got struck and there was a spark, so… probably not. Although the threat of setting someone on fire would work, especially if there's a torch nearby after you drench them in oil. And, of course, you can turn the floor slippery and mess up their footwork."

Yang grinned as her little sister very enthusiastically showed her plans to Tobho and Gendry. Mechanically, the design was rather simple - like Myrtenaster, just less advanced. A round non-moving magazine built in front of the crossguard, around the slim blade, triggered by a rotating mechanism set in the grip. No mechashift design, not too many movable parts - perfectly possible to craft with the tools and materials available to the locals.

"I see. That should be possible, but the balance of the blade will be changed whenever you use one of those charges, and it will be quite a bit heavier to begin with," Tobho said after a few minutes.

"That will be compensated by the missing weight of the charge!" Ruby replied. "At least partially. The calculations depend on the kind of charge you use."

"And the blade seems a bit slim," Gendry added. "Won't it break too easily?"

"Well, that's where the layered construction comes in and the hardened steel!" Ruby pointed at the lower part of her sketches. "If we use this scheme to construct the blade, I mean, forge it, then it should be quite hard to break!"

"That would use the kind of steel Lady Yang mentioned, right?" Tobho asked.

"Yes! We need to experiment a little with the carbon count, but it should be possible, and…"

Yang looked up from the plans when a small bell sounded in the smithy. "You've got a client."

"Gendry."

"Yes, Master."

Gendry not quite rushed out - he would loathe to miss more of this discussion, Yang knew. King's bastard or not, the boy was a smith with all his heart. But a few minutes of missing talk wouldn't be the end of the world. She bent over the plans and pointed at the pommel design. "It's mounted on a screw, and the grip is hollowed out so the weight inside can be changed. You could even use it for storage, if you find something that fits the balance."

Tobho snorted at that. "Only a fool would use a blade to carry things."

Yang wouldn't disagree with that. If your weapon's balance changed, it could be fatal in a fight.

"It's an option, anyway. More options are good!" Ruby insisted. "And it's easier to repair or alter with the screw-on pommel."

"If you have a matching screw, my lady."

"Ah…" Ruby smiled in that embarrassed way of hers. "I kinda forget you don't have standardised parts here. Never mind that, then!"

"Alright." Yang nodded. "So…"

"It was just the beer delivery," Gendry announced as he returned. "I put the keg in the kitchen and brought a pitcher back."

"Oh? Is that Thad's brew?" Yang asked. That man made the best beer in King's Landing.

"Of course, my lady. Your favourite, even." Gendry smiled and held out a mug for her.

"Thanks!" Yang downed the mug at once, then burped. "Ah, that hit the spot!"

"Yang!"

"What? It's true!" Yang grinned at Ruby. "Just because you don't…" She blinked as her stomach suddenly felt like lead. "Ugh."

"Yang?"

Then the pain came, and Yang clenched her teeth. That was… "Poison!" she spat. "The beer's poisoned!"

Her stomach clenched again, like having cramps. Ugh.

*****​

 

[Mike9650]

And we are one step closer to the snapping.

 

[justregretsss]

Ned and his family were stuck here, tied to a prince who might be a bastard.

Click to shrink...

Do you wish to trust your daughter's happiness to mere luck?"

Click to shrink...

I am slowly starting to hate team rwby.

 

[Starfox5]

I am slowly starting to hate team rwby.

Click to shrink...

Why? If Sansa (or Joffrey) said they didn't want to marry, RWBY would back them. RWBY aren't forcing anyone to marry anyone.

 

[ATP]

Why? If Sansa (or Joffrey) said they didn't want to marry, RWBY would back them. RWBY aren't forcing anyone to marry anyone.

Click to shrink...

Agree.Besides,canon Sansa deserved bad things which happened to her.
That aside - who wonted to poison Smith? becouse RWBY here were not target,i think.Lannisters,Varys,Baelish - no reason to kill him.

 

[eager slacker]

It could be Joffrey because it wouldn't be too difficult to find out that Robert met Gendry and they do look really similar.

 

[OriginTrainer]

Except for a crow trying to get at the crumbs left from Ruby's honey cake massacre.

Click to shrink...

Birbwatch Counter: 2
Welp, even constant vigilance works up a stomach, eh greeneyes?

 

[Spartan303]

If they can induce vomiting then, with her Aura ramped up to max she should have a better than average shot of surviving whatever poison it is.

 

[Starfox5]

Agree.Besides,canon Sansa deserved bad things which happened to her.
That aside - who wonted to poison Smith? becouse RWBY here were not target,i think.Lannisters,Varys,Baelish - no reason to kill him.

Click to shrink...

That will be revealed in the next chapter.

It could be Joffrey because it wouldn't be too difficult to find out that Robert met Gendry and they do look really similar.

Click to shrink...

Joffrey's got other concerns than bastards right now.

Birbwatch Counter: 2
Welp, even constant vigilance works up a stomach, eh greeneyes?

Click to shrink...

Three-Eyed-Crow: *swallows* I'm just a normal bird!

If they can induce vomiting then, with her Aura ramped up to max she should have a better than average shot of surviving whatever poison it is.

Click to shrink...

It takes a lot to poison a Huntsman/Huntress even with their Aura low, as Qrow's fight against Tyrian proves.

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 29: Cracks

'It is remarkable, even in hindsight, how quickly the Ruby Order managed to establish themselves as a powerful faction at the Court. Some scholars claim that as proof that they wielded fantastical powers, some even going as far as to claim that they presented a credible threat to the realm's armies, which is, of course, nonsense. In the same vein, as was pointed out before, there is no actual proof that the four maidens seduced the King, and what influence such a - quite common at the times - action would have gained them would have been lost with King Robert's death, yet the Ruby Order, according to all accounts, remained a crucially important faction at Court during the Succession. How, then, had they achieved that? The answer is politics. They managed to ally with several of the most powerful Houses and gained the support of the Faith. While the details remain vague - negotiations and plots at that level were never recorded; sometimes even the results were not put to parchment - it is quite clear that, seeing the vastly differing interests of all involved factions, only masterful diplomacy, and by what at least appeared to be a neutral party, could have managed such a feat, even short-lived as it was.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Varys stared at the latest notes from his little birds. The blonde witch had walked into the keep on her own. 'Staggering as if she were a little drunk', according to his spy covering the gate of the keep, and propped up by her sister, but still - a little drunk! She should have been dead, her innards dissolved by the poison! He had paid a fortune for it, killed two of his best contacts to ensure no one could track it back to him - and tested the poison on one of them - and all he had achieved was slightly inconveniencing the witch? How many people had she sacrificed to gain that resistance? How much poison had she gorged, keeping herself alive by taking the blood of the innocent, to walk this off?

Another report - from one of his little birds prowling the secret passages of the Red Keep - claimed that she was suffering from cramps 'as if it were my period'. The little child had not understood the term, but it had to be her monthly flows. That, at least, was a bit more informative - the witch was still fertile. Her womb had not been sacrificed for her power, nor had it atrophied with age hidden by dark magic.

But it was still nothing more than an inconvenience! All that gold, all that time spent organising, waiting, tying up loose ends, then inserting a spy to the brewery, to time the delivery to her visit - a spy he'd had to kill as well, to ensure he would not be tracked - and all he had achieved was making the witch feel what every woman felt once a month!

Varys would have found it amusing if the situation weren't so dire. He had learned from his first failure. He could not trust such a delicate affair to unwitting tools. The queen had not used the poison he had arranged for her ignorant handmaiden to purchase on the four witches - no, for all her ranting about the threat those four represented, all the hatred she had spilt in supposedly private conversation, dutifully reported by his little birds, the thrice-damned fool had used the poison on the King! If she had poisoned the witches, it wouldn't have killed them, but it would have saved Varys a fortune spent on his own attempt.

But no, the mad queen had murdered her husband instead. Whether she had thought to rule in his stead or merely thought that the witches would be cut off from influence without him, Varys couldn't tell - both views were wrong, after all - but the deed was done. Maybe he should have exposed her instead, earning the trust of the soon-to-be-regent and the Baratheons, but that would have put him against Lord Tywin, and when his own attempt to poison them failed, the slightest mistake would have seen the four witches coming after him because they suspected him. Or because he failed to find the culprit this time. Or just because they wanted to replace him with one of their own creatures.

He shook his head and burned the notes. As he burned the other note, which had informed him that Viserys had let his temper and arrogance doom him earlier than expected. Well, he had never been meant to last too long, and as long as his sister gave the Khal a son, the Dothraki would still be a possible tool to further weaken the realm and allow the Young Griff to take over. It was actually better this way - as long as those four abominations were not dealt with, any invasion would not last longer than it took for one or more of them to reach the invaders.

No, he had to urge his remaining allies to stay patient and find a way to remove those witches. He could hire the faceless men, but… would even the blessings from their dark god be enough to lay low one witch, much less four? Well, he wouldn't lose too much by trying - although he would have to carefully pick which ally to sacrifice for this; he was starting to run a bit short on them. Maybe he should reconsider…

The four witches kept up a united front in public, and they played the part of close friends for the gullible, but no one who had sacrificed as many people as their powers demanded would be able to trust someone else who had done the same. Asshai proved that; the plots and in-fighting between the Shadowbinders were legendary if you knew where to look. If Varys found the right lever to break up their tense alliance, set them against each other… It was dangerous, but it might work. Their distrust and ambitions would do most of his work for him if he managed to get to at least one of them.

But speaking of Asshai… Maybe the red priestess could be used. She had contacted the four witches under the pretext of trying to help them, but it was obvious that she was only doing this to gain the secrets of their power for herself, one way or the other. But she was powerful - powerful enough to pose a threat; Varys knew that even the witches thought so, for they had been preparing to fight a fire-wielder lately. Yes, this might be promising as well.

He nodded. He was far from defeated. He might not be able to spy on their rooms, and he couldn't use poison, but he still had ample options to deal with those abominations. As a last resort, he could use them to remove others from the game. They already distrusted Lord Eddard and the Baratheons and didn't like Lord Tywin.

And he had already prepared several letters to lay the blame for the failed attempt at the feet of someone inconvenient. He just had to observe the reactions to pick the best and least suspicious choice.

Although he would have to be very careful about this. The slightest mistake could be fatal. This was even more dangerous than serving under the Mad King's rule.

And a small part of him relished in the challenge even as his stomach clenched in disgust and revulsion whenever he thought of the four witches. For all their vile magic, they were not nearly as skilled in the art of plotting as he was - and they lacked his experience and contacts. No, the game was far from decided.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Yang! You have to rest!" Ruby Rose yelled when she saw her big sister shifting around on her bed. She hadn't half-carried her back to their room only for Yang to kill herself trying to be stubborn!

"It's just like cramps!" Yang snapped - though she was clenching her teeth. She was hurting!

"You were poisoned - and with a very strong poison. Prince Oberyn was astonished that you were still alive. What you vomited melted the tools they used to collect it in the smithy. If not for your Aura, I struggle to imagine what your insides would look like now," Weiss, best partner ever, said.

"But I have Aura," Yang said with a twisted smile. "And I'm not going to run out."

Ruby glanced at Weiss, who used her scroll to check. She had done so before, but you couldn't really be too careful with the kind of poison that melted through stuff. Like acid. Probably some acid poison. Poisonous acid. Prince Oberyn had said it probably formed after reacting with the stomach acid, and that he would have to be very careful about testing the beer they had secured. Whatever, it was bad, and it was inside Yang's body! And Yang was being an idiot and wanted to walk around instead of resting! At least she hadn't tried to activate her Semblance! That would deplete her Aura!

"You still should rest," Weiss replied. "We don't know what kind of poison it is, nor what its effects are."

"It's been almost an hour, and I feel the same." Yang winced, and Ruby held her breath. "It still feels like your worst period."

Ruby winced at that. "That's bad!"

"But nothing I can't handle!" Yang sat up. "See?" Her smile wouldn't have fooled even someone who didn't know her as well as Ruby did.

"You don't have to handle anything but the poison."

Blake had returned! Ruby turned to smile at her friend - and Yang's partner - when she slipped into the room and closed the secret passage behind her. "Blake!

"Did you find anything?" Yang asked, her smile slipping a bit more when she groaned.

Blake glared at her, and Yang smiled a bit weakly before lying down. Blake snorted and shook her head. "The delivery boy is missing. As is the clerk at the brewery."

"Did they flee?" Ruby asked. They would have fled, wouldn't they, if they had knowingly delivered poison. Or unknowingly, since they would be tortured anyway.

"Or they have been killed by whoever ordered this," Weiss said. "Whoever they are, they wouldn't want to run the risk of being exposed should their henchmen be captured and interrogated."

Ruby grimaced. "Like the thief in Winterfell?"

Blake and Weiss nodded.

"But who could be behind this?" Ruby asked. "The same person who murdered the King?"

"Possibly," Blake replied.

"It's a different poison, but that doesn't have to mean anything - they would have been aware that we're on the alert for another attempt," Weiss said.

"If this was aimed at us. Ngh." Yang groaned, and Ruby bit her lower lip to keep from yelling at her. And from rushing over to push her down so she'd rest properly. "They could have wanted to kill Gendry."

Weiss scoffed. "I doubt that. He's not a factor in politics - he has neither a claim nor the backing of a noble house. There would be no need to go to such lengths to murder him. They used a poison so exotic, Prince Oberyn did not know it and, therefore, had no antidote."

"Unless someone wanted to make an example out of him," Blake pointed out. "But there would have been easier and less costly methods. Unless this was meant to showcase another poison."

"Why would they want to showcase a poison?" Ruby asked. Was the murderer trying to advertise? That would make no sense if no one could contact them.

"To remind everyone that we couldn't save the King," Weiss said, nodding at Blake. "To undermine our influence at Court and damage our reputation amongst the smallfolk. It is a possible motive. Though I still think it's more likely that they wanted to poison Yang and Ruby."

They wanted to poison Yang and her? "I don't drink beer," Ruby said. "Not when I am working on weapons," she added when Weiss opened her mouth. That would be irresponsible - imagine working on her baby while tipsy! Even a slight trembling, a bit of carelessness, could ruin a weapon! Alcohol and precision tools didn't mix! Even if they didn't have real precision tools here, it was never good to get into bad habits!

"They might not have realised that," Weiss said. "Most people drink beer here."

Blake nodded in agreement. "They might have been jumping at the chance to get both of you."

"That would mean they had someone watching the smithy," Yang said before groaning again.

"Yes," Blake pressed her lips together for a moment. "Unfortunately, Mott's shop is at a very exposed place. There are multiple spots from which a spy could observe it. I checked them but found no distinctive traces that would give us a clue."

"So… it could be anyone." Yang scoffed, then groaned again and rubbed her belly. "This is getting annoying. When I catch whoever did this, they'll wish they were dead."

"Even if it's more likely that they wanted to poison us, we still need to protect Gendry," Ruby said.

"We need to find the poisoner. Before the next attempt causes someone else to die," Weiss said.

"That, too," Ruby agreed.

Blake nodded with a grim expression. "Whoever it is, they're good at erasing their tracks."

"So… Who is good at that spy stuff and has a motive to go after us? Or Gendry?" Yang asked before clenching her teeth again.

"Half the Court?" Weiss scoffed. "I doubt anyone - except for Cersei - would reveal that they hated us."

"So, they could be all nice and friendly with us, and plan to kill us in secret?" Ruby shook her head. Did that mean they couldn't trust anyone? Even friends? Lord Renly and Lord Stannis hadn't been happy with Team RWBY's choices, but would they go as far as this? "It's not Lord Eddard." She was sure about that. Pretty sure.

"I agree. Lord Eddard is unlikely to secretly orchestrate attempts on our lives," Weiss said. "According to what I heard, he almost had a falling-out with the King over such a thing."

"I… ngh… note a distinct lack of other people who are unlikely to be behind this," Yang said.

"That's because most of the nobles have the means and could have a motive, even a warped one," Weiss replied.

"I'll do my best to investigate this," Blake said. She had her hand on Gambol Shroud's hilt, Ruby noted.

Ruby nodded - she knew her friends would do their best. "Thanks."

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"My ladies! I heard about the assassination attempt on you! Are you alright?"

"Hello, my prince." Ruby smiled at Prince Joffrey. The boy was concerned for them! "Yang's fine." Well, now she was, after a not-so-good night's sleep.

"A bit of poison can't keep me down!" Yang boasted, one gauntleted hand smacking her chest.

Ruby rolled her eyes. Yang had groaned and moaned in her sleep for half the night! Poor Blake couldn't have slept at all!

But where were her manners? She smiled at Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella, who hadn't said anything yet and were staring at them. The poor kids looked afraid! Of course, they knew she had killed their uncle; she should have considered that they would be traumatised after the King's death and their mother and uncle's trial, followed by this new shock. "Hello, my prince, my princess. It's alright - we're doing what we can to make sure there won't be another attempt."

Prince Joffrey nodded. "The assassin would have to be a fool to attempt to poison you now that you've proven it won't hurt you!"

Ruby suppressed a wince. Yang had been hurt, if not seriously, by the poison. And Dad had taught her early that you couldn't really predict what an unknown enemy would be doing.

"Some assassins are fools like that, though," Weiss said. "That doesn't make them any less dangerous - quite the contrary."

Ruby frowned at her partner. She was scaring the kids even more!

Prince Joffrey nodded in agreement, though. "It would be best to hunt down the culprits and kill them. They've already done too much harm. I heard that those are the same who murdered Father," he said, clenching his teeth. "They won't escape justice. A Lannister always pays his debt, as Grandfather told us, and I am half-Lannister." He shivered a little, Ruby noted. And his siblings were wincing.

"It seems like a prudent assumption that the two poisonings are related," Weiss said. "Though we cannot, and should not, assume that there's only one faction using assassins."

Ruby nodded and smiled as comfortingly as she could at the younger prince and the princess. "Don't worry, though, the Kingsguard and we are working hard to protect you. We'll do what we can to keep anyone from harming you."

Both glanced at their big brother before smiling weakly at Ruby and her friends. Drat. What could she do to comfort and reassure them? Tell them she hadn't wanted to kill their uncle? That they had tried their best but still failed to save the King? She went down on one knee so she wouldn't loom over them and reached out to put her hand on Tommen's shoulder - he tensed up at once, and she had to wince again. "Please, trust us. We won't harm you or let anyone harm you."

Tommen nodded, shakingly, and Myrcella smiled very weakly, both obviously still afraid. Ruby clenched her teeth. If only she could help them better!

"Stop trembling!" Prince Joffrey hissed at them. "Team Ruby will protect us!"

That only made things worse, Ruby saw.

"Perhaps we shouldn't talk about such things in their presence," Weiss suggested. "We're frightening them."

"Yes." Prince Joffrey nodded. "Go to your rooms, you two."

Both quickly left, Tommen just stopping to pick up a huge cat from a pillow in the corner.

"They're still children," the Prince told Ruby and her friends.

So are you, Ruby thought, but, of course, didn't say out loud. Boys were sensitive about that.

"With my siblings no longer present…" Prince Joffrey looked at Lady Yang. "What are the odds that this was an attempt on the bastard?"

"While we cannot exclude the possibility that this was aimed at your half-brother, we don't consider it very likely," Weiss said.

The Prince nodded. "But it would have been convenient for anyone wishing to remove my family if they had managed to not only poison Lady Ruby and Lady Yang, but also murder a royal bastard at the same time. And a master smith who has been taken into your confidence."

Ruby nodded. That sounded… well, not wrong.

"They certainly didn't care about innocent bystanders," Yang said.

"Right." The Prince nodded. "But whether it was aimed at you, my ladies, or at the bastard, it is an attack meant to weaken me. Someone doesn't want me to succeed my father on the throne, and since they cannot defeat you in honourable combat, they will use such means - just like they murdered my father." He stared at her, Ruby noticed. "And as my father's death and this attempt have proved, even you, with all your power, cannot prevent all assassination attempts. The only way to ensure my survival is for me to gain the power to resist any poison."

Oh. Ruby bit her lower lip. This was gonna be awkward. "Well…"

"I tried to pass this power to the King," Yang said. "It didn't work."

The Prince blinked, staring at her with his mouth hanging open for a second. "You did?"

"Yes." Yang grimaced. "I'm sorry, but we can't pass on our power to you."

"Oh." The by deflated. "That's…" He shook his head. "I'll need more food tasters. But…" he looked at Ruby again. "Is there another way to gain such power?"

She shook her head. "Sorry."

He looked at the floor, and Ruby could see his hands clenching into fists. "I see…"

Yep, this was getting really awkward. So much for comforting the kids.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"I must confess that this is the most intriguing assassination attempt I have ever seen!"

Prince Oberyn was far too cheerful, in Weiss Schnee's opinion. Someone had tried to kill her friends! This was no game. She narrowed her eyes a little and said in the flattest tone she could manage: "This is a serious matter, my prince."

"Well… it was a serious effort, but no one died." His grin grew. "That makes it more amusing than serious."

"People died. Probably," Ruby cut in with a frown.

He shrugged. "The poisoner's helpers. Not only was the attempt a failure, but it also cost the lives of the assassins - poetic justice in its purest form. What's not amusing here?"

"That they died?" Ruby asked, scowling now.

"And that we don't know who was behind this," Blake added.

Prince Oberyn grew serious at that, at least. "Yes, that is a most vexing but correct point you make. This is almost assuredly the work of the same assassin who killed the King, and he is now openly targeting you, which adds a sense of urgency to the investigation."

Weiss was tempted to ask if he didn't think that murdering the King was a reason to consider the investigation urgent, but he'd probably make a flippant remark about King Robert being dead already, and Ruby and Yang would probably not take that kind of attitude well.

"So, given that urgency, what did you find out about our mysterious enemy?" Yang asked, draping herself over the chair in front of her. She was back in fighting shape, but not quite at one hundred per cent yet, even if her Aura was - Weiss could tell.

"They are, without a doubt, either one of the greatest masters of poison in the world or connected to one," Prince Oberyn answered at once. "I thought the 'binary poison' - and I applaud you for the name, Lady Weiss - was impressive, but this poison is even more of a marvel!" He beamed. "By itself, it's harmful enough, but if put into a sufficiently acidic environment - such as a stomach - it quickly changes into a potent acid that can eat through metal and wood easily and even damage stone!" He chuckled. "I escaped a rather embarrassing death thanks to what I considered at the time as excessive precautions. I strongly advise against mixing the tainted beer with a more potent acid, by the way - the reaction proved rather volatile. It was a somewhat scary but educational experience - and an expensive one. Rest assured, though, that I shall continue my analysis as soon as a new room has been furnished for my needs!"

He was as passionate about poisons as Ruby was about weapons, Weiss realised. "Shouldn't that narrow down the number of suspects?"

"Oh, it should - although, unfortunately, few such masters advertise their talent in the first place," he replied. "There are rumours, and many middlemen make good coin with promises of contacting such people, but those who could share anything more substantial rarely are willing to do so - or survive for long, if they do."

"Another dead end, then," Yang commented, and Weiss couldn't tell if that had been a deliberate wordplay or merely a coincidence - her friend looked grim.

"Literally." Prince Oberyn, of course, left no doubt about that. "However, as I said, if we assume that whoever is behind the assassination attempt did not create the poison themselves but merely procured it, the sheer cost involved would reduce the number of suspects significantly - only the most wealthy members of the Court would be able to afford this."

Weiss agreed with the logic, but she also knew how biased the man was against Lord Tywin. Perfectly understandable, of course, in light of the fate of his sister, but it still meant Weiss and her friends could not blindly trust his pronouncements.

"Great. So that's what - every ruler of a kingdom?" Yang asked.

It was tempting, of course; they needed to find this assassin. Before they struck again, harming - or even killing - one of her friends. But if Weiss had learned one thing, it was that you couldn't trust the obvious solution without double- and triple-checking.

"I don't think the Greyjoys have the means to pay for such a service, although there are rumours about the exiled brother of Lord Balon…" Prince Oberyn trailed off with a shrug.

Weiss focused on her dilemma. Yes, Lord Tywin had the means to procure such a poison, and he had had the opportunity, should he have sent for it as soon as he heard of Team RWBY - which was a safe assumption to make since Lord Tywin had the reputation of being both coldly calculating and ruthless enough to plan to kill any potential enemy - as well as agents in the city; his children would have been cultivating and spreading their influence at Court for decades. He also had a motive - Team RWBY was responsible for humiliating his family by exposing his children's incestuous affair and killing his eldest son in a trial by combat. But would he truly move against them in the current situation? When Team RWBY was the main reason his grandson, and so his family, retained their claim to the throne? And if that were the case, would he want to risk the consequences of a failed assassination attempt that could be traced back to him? She had her doubts about that. But no more than doubts.

"We haven't done anything to the Greyjoys," Ruby said. "At least, I don't think we have."

"Not yet. I do think you might find some of their kingdom's customs distasteful, though, to find the motivation to do something about them if you had the opportunity."

"They have officially stopped their raiding and slaving," Weiss said.

Prince Oberyn laughed. "Of course! And every raider with a ship built in the Iron Islands and crewed by Iron Islanders just happens to be a rogue pirate or exile, I am sure."

"Do you seriously think they would do this?" Weiss asked him.

"Seriously? No. But I think it illustrates the fact that everyone, even my dear brother, has, at least in theory, a motive for an attempt on your lives, as hopeless as it would be. The only question is who would be arrogant enough to think they could pull it off." Prince Oberyn spread his hands.

"Or stupid enough," Yang said.

"Arrogance and stupidity go hand in hand, in my experience."

"In short, we have no real clue," Blake spoke up.

"I wouldn't go that far," Prince Oberyn said. "Every such attempt leaves traces. Even the dead can, sometimes, tell tales."

Weiss agreed with that. Back home, the police would have investigated the finances of the missing men. Checked for suspicious transfers, purchases, and bribes. Tracked electronic trails, examined their social media, questioned their social circle… They just would have to do the same here. Adapted to the local conditions.

She glanced at her friends. Judging by Blake's grim expression - it might look bland to others, but Weiss could see how tense she was, and the way her bow lay betrayed how Blake's ears lay flat against her skull - Blake was already planning how to do that.

Weiss and the others would do what they could. The analysis of the ledgers would have to wait.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

They had tried to murder Yang and Ruby.

Even two days after the attempt, Blake Belladonna felt rage bubbling inside her when she thought about seeing Yang, supported by Ruby, stagger into their rooms, grimacing from pain as poison tried to dissolve her insides. If not for her Aura, Blake's partner would have died. Even so, she had suffered through the night - Blake didn't buy the claim that it was 'just bad cramps' for a minute. She knew Yang better than that. No, her partner had suffered for hours.

And whoever had done this to her was still out there, hiding, preparing their next attempt. Probably procuring an even worse poison. Or, if they thought that wouldn't work, trying something else - maybe magic, like a curse or fire. At least they didn't have to fear bombings since Westeros had no knowledge about Dust or other explosives. But they had wildfire, and what Blake had heard about it had sounded nasty, perhaps even worse than Dust-fuelled flames.

It didn't matter. Unless the assassin - or assassins - were caught, they would try again. And people would get hurt - either Blake's friends, or innocents. And those involved, so they could not betray their employer, though Blake found it hard to feel sympathy for them if they knew what they were doing.

She clenched her teeth. The assassin had to be found to be stopped. And she was failing to do so. She was useless. Despite her superior senses, despite her training and experience, she hadn't found them yet.

She cursed herself as she checked the next tunnel for spies, tracks or hidden traps. There were more ways to deliver poison than mixing it with food. You could use poison gas as well. Blake's nose would detect most such attacks, but that didn't mean she could detect all of them. Carbon Monoxide was odourless, though its creation usually caused some smell or stench - but magic might circumvent that,

There was nothing suspicious in this tunnel. No traces either, though.

She checked the next part - nothing - then moved one level deeper. Just a quick check of the tunnels leading to the hidden pier at the bottom of the cliff, and…

Her nose twitched. Blood?

She knelt down, checking the ground. Definitely blood. And other traces. Not too old, either - and leading, not to the pier, but to an opening further up. Where a body could be disposed of easily.

On the way to the opening, she found more traces. Blood, fibres, and other clues that someone had dragged a body through here. No, carried it, but the body had snagged on the wall a few times. Not very often, though, and given how narrow the passage was, that meant that whoever had carried the body had been quite skilled and strong to avoid that… or the body had been small.

Pressing her lips together, she peered through the hole, checking the edges and the cliff's wall below.

Another trace of blood.

She would have to check the sea below. And she needed help with that.

*****​

"Alright, I gotcha."

Blake nodded at Yang's announcement, checked the makeshift harness and that the line was properly fastened to it, then squeezed through the small opening - she barely fit - and started climbing down the steep cliff. There was a small ledge protruding from the cliffside, too small to sit down - barely enough for a hand- or foothold - but it was directly below the opening, and if whoever had disposed of the body had been a bit sloppy and hadn't pushed the body far enough… Ah! She grinned when she spotted a torn piece of fabric stuck to a sharper edge. Linen, not silk or wool. And not dyed. She stuffed it into a pocket and climbed further down - after making sure that the rope Yang was holding would not snag on the ledge or rub itself against the sharper edges.

She reached the sea below soon enough and peered into the water, foaming slightly from smashing itself against the rock. She couldn't see a body caught in the underwater rocks that would tear open a ship's hull from her point of view, but even a Faunus's eyes were hard-pressed to spot anything in these conditions.

The body might already have been swept away into the deep sea, she told herself. It would have been small and light. On the other hand, if the murderer had it weighted down… Blake peered at the dark water once again. Was that an underwater plant, or something else? She hesitated, then tugged three times on the rope before slowly pulling on it until she had enough to cover the depth here - and some slack to roam.

Then she took a deep breath, pressed her lips together and lowered herself into the water.

The waves tried to rip her away and smash her against the rocks, but she managed to hold fast to the cliff, pushing herself deeper into the water, past the foam covering the wavetops. The water below that wasn't much calmer, but she could see better now. Somewhere here was…

She froze for a moment when she spotted the body. It had been caught beneath a jagged rock that rose at an angle. The fall down the cliff and the impact on the water had torn it up some, and being worked on by the waves and currents hadn't helped, but even so, she could see the sliced throat beneath a child's face - a clean cut, from a sharp blade, not a rock's edge. A murder victim.

Blake would still check, of course, but she was already certain that the child had been missing their tongue before their death.

*****​

Blake looked at Weiss as her teammate studied the corpse in the small room they had arranged for this. She felt a bit bad for telling Ruby to go with Yang in case someone attacked her again, and worse for not going with Yang herself; she was her partner and should be with her, but she was needed here. Ruby, though, didn't need to see this. And Yang would get too angry, Blake knew - she had trouble controlling her temper herself. But she had to stay calm. Professional.

"He's about seven, maybe eight years old," Weiss said. Was that a slight tremble in her voice? She wasn't as cold and controlled as she tried to act here, either.

"Probably closer to ten," Blake corrected her.

"I know how tall my brother was at that age," Weiss pointed out with a frown.

"Your brother was never wanting for food when he was little, was he?" Blake cocked her head to the side. She had seen how small children who grew up without plenty of food were.

Weiss pressed her lips together but didn't contest the point. "The clothes are about the cheapest you can get in King's Landing, but they're not rags."

"Just enough so they wouldn't stick out in most parts of the city," Blake agreed. "And the boy's neither too thin nor too fat - Varys knows how to get the best out of his spies." And after going hungry for an extended time, even the barest necessities would gain him fierce loyalty; Blake had seen that with kids the White Fang had saved from camps.

"No sign of abuse," Weiss went on. "Except for the obvious."

The missing tongue. Blake nodded. "Was the boy killed because he discovered someone too dangerous? Or by Varys because he knew too much?"

Weiss pressed her lips together again in an obvious sign of frustration. "Either answer is equally likely based on our current information."

And now Blake felt frustrated. More frustrated. It was her job to gather information - she was the best spy amongst Team RWBY. She was letting her friends down. Her partner had been poisoned and this child been murdered - disposed off, like trash - because she had missed a conspiracy. "We need more information."

"Let's analyse the ledgers we have," Weiss said. "I doubt we'll find an itemised invoice for an assassination, but we might find some irregularities that could tell us where to investigate further."

Blake doubted that Lord Baelish was behind the poisoning attempt, but it was possible; Lord Baelish certainly had a lot to hide, and she had a feeling that he was ready to kill to preserve his rank and position as well as the wealth that it granted him. "Yes." She looked at the corpse. She hated to say it, but… "If we hand it over to the Master of Laws, whoever murdered him will realise we found him."

Weiss scowled but didn't contradict her. "Can we… bury him? Somewhat dignified?"

That was better than weighing the body down properly and dropping it into the bay at night. Somewhat riskier, though. "I'll look for a place to bury him where no one will stumble over him. Once we've solved this attack, we can give him a real burial." Probably underground. Like a catacomb.

Weiss nodded. "That sounds good."

Needless to say, they would not go into grisly details about this with their friends.

*****​

Dragonpit, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Hidden in a side alley, the body stashed further back, Blake looked up the steep hill at the Dragonpit. It was the biggest building in the city, but it had been left in ruins for a century and a half. No kingdom back home in Remnant would have let such a huge building, sitting in one of the best locations in King's Landing, on top of a high hill overlooking the entire city, go to waste like this. Apparently, the building had housed the former dynasty's dragons, and after the pit had been stormed during a civil war and the dragons killed, they had just… locked it up and left it alone.

Blake couldn't quite understand that. But the sheer size and the age of the building meant that there would be good spots to bury a body deep underneath it. If she found a discreet way inside, of course - she was certain there were tunnels underneath it, but she hadn't yet found one.

She could, of course, climb the walls easily, even carrying a body in a bag - but that ran the risk of being spotted or leaving traces. A small risk, though. Still, she'd prefer to travel underground where her eyes and ears provided her with the greatest advantage over the humans here.

She was certain there were secret passages like in the Red Keep. Whoever had built those would have wanted a secret way to enter this building as well. But where could they be? She mentally ran through the keep's passages that she knew. The exits were usually hidden in other structures - cellars in one case, the abandoned storage of a shop in another. A bush in a third case.

The hillside sported several such potential exits. But they wouldn't be too exposed - a secret tunnel entrance or exit was useless if you couldn't reach it without being spotted. So, she had to check the foot of the hill. Still a daunting task, but not quite as challenging.

But time-consuming, especially with a body to hide. She could just drop it somewhere else. A hastily dug grave would likely suffice… No. The child deserved better. They didn't even know his name, but he would get a decent burial.

*****​

It took her a few hours, but fortune favoured her - she found a passage in an old cellar a bit too easily accessible from the outside compared to others, though fallen into disuse. The hidden door was of a familiar design - she had seen several of those in the Red Keep. Opening it was easy once she had repositioned all the stuff piled up against it - no marks on the ground, so the owner didn't know about the door - and the tunnel behind it felt familiar as well; as she had expected, at least some of the tunnels under both the Red Keep and the Dragonpit were built by the same people.

She grabbed the body out of the broken barrel she had stashed it in and slipped into the tunnel. Now she just had to find a good spot to bury the body and leave no trace.

Not that the tunnel smelled as if anyone had used it recently. Her nose detected mostly dust and some… whiff of chemicals? She narrowed her eyes and followed the tunnel further inside.

Until she came into a large room filled with jars that reeked of this smell. Jars bearing an unknown symbol.

*****​

Street of Steel, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Are you sure you're up to this?"

Yang Xiao Long rolled her eyes. Her little sister was acting like a mother hen. That was the big sister's job. "Ruby, I am fine. My stomach doesn't hurt any more - hasn't since morning. You saw me eat, didn't you?"

"Well… Yes."

Yang didn't have to look at Ruby to know she was pouting.

"But you were really sick! And poisoned! With acid poison that melted stuff!"

"Hey!" Yang grinned as they walked down the street. "It takes more than some poison to take me down. When it comes to melting hearts, I'm doing the melting!" She pushed the memory of the melted remains of the shovel Gendry had grabbed to pick up the poison from the floor away. She was fine.

"That was awful!" Ruby protested.

"It wasn't that bad," Yang replied with a shrug.

"I meant your melting line!"

Yang snorted in return. "Really, Sis, I am fine."

Ruby made a doubting noise and narrowed her eyes at her as they passed a patrol of goldcloaks who gave them a wide berth - like others, Yang realised. Weird.

But she had other things to worry about right now. Like reassuring her worrywart of a sister that she didn't need a bodyguard for the rest of her life. "Look, it wasn't exactly nothing…"

"You were in pain for the entire night!"

"Yes, I was, but I got over it." Yang clenched her teeth after her reflexive comment. Ruby was really worried. She must have been more spooked about the poison than Yang had realised. "Aura took care of it, Ruby," she added in a softer tone.

"But what if it hadn't? Or what if you had been attacked while you were weakened? What if you had used your Semblance, and depleted your Aura, and…"

Yang reached over and tussled her sister's hair, interrupting her. "I'd have taken out anyone who attacked. And you were there as well."

"Right!" Ruby nodded firmly.

And Yang realised that she would likely have her sister trailing her for a while yet.

That wasn't how it was supposed to be - she was the older sister, she should be looking out for Ruby! Maybe…" She blinked, trailing off, when she saw the crowd gathered outside the smithy.

And then the crowd noticed them.

"The Maidens! The Maidens are here!"

"Blessed by the Seven!"

"The Stranger has no hold over them!"

"Lady Yang! You are alive!"

"Of course she is! The Seven Who Are One watch over her! I told you that!"

"You were worried as well!"

"Lady Ruby! Have you caught the assassin yet? Did you kill him?"

"We'll kill him! No one may raise a hand against you and live!"

"Lady Ruby! Can you bless me and my family?"

"Praise the Seven! The maidens live!"

Unlike her little sister, Yang generally liked attention. Sure, it might be vain, but if you had it, you flaunted it. And Yang had it. In spades.

But turning the heads of fellow students was one thing, seeing the naked reverence on the faces of a crowd of people filling the street, hearing the noise from people praising her - praying to her, asking for her 'blessing', promising to kill people for her - was another. This felt even worse than when they visited the Great Sept; the people here were almost crying with relief. No, not almost - she spotted several with tears running down their faces.

And Ruby was smiling that strained smile that showed she was struggling not to bolt. That she was 'guarding' Yang was probably the only reason she hadn't yet disappeared in a cloud of petals - petals the crowd would probably be fighting over.

Time to step up and do her duty as the big sister.

Yang pasted her best smile on her face and spoke up, hands spread and her head cocked slightly to the side: "Hello, everyone! Yes, I'm fine - the poison upset my stomach, but I've had worse. No, we haven't found the culprit yet. We're looking for them, of course." Should she ask for help? No, better not; people would probably flood them with all kinds of false alerts. "But we'd appreciate it if we could pass through - we want to check up on our friends. Make sure they're OK." She pointed at Tobho's shop, which the crowd was surrounding.

For a moment, the mob pressed even closer, hands almost reaching out to touch them. But then, voices calling for everyone to give way rose, and the crowd parted.

Whew. Yang sighed inwardly with relief.

Ruby did so outwardly.

But they managed to get inside, and that was what counted. "Hi, Gendry!" She beamed at the boy.

"Lady Yang. Lady Ruby. I'm happy to see you healthy." He looked relieved.

"Hey! Nothing can keep me down. Not even acid poison!" Yang grinned.

"My ladies." And there was Tobho. And he definitely looked annoyed. Uh-oh.

"Sorry about the crowd," Yang said.

"They are here to protect us," Gendry said. "At least they said so."

"By scaring away everyone, customer and delivery boys alike?" Tobho scoffed. "Some help!"

Yang winced. She hadn't known that. "We'll talk to them. Make them go away."

"Or talk them down to an organised guard that won't disturb your customers," Ruby added. "That would be more effective, wouldn't it?"

Yang stared at her sister. As did Gendry and Tobho.

Ruby blushed a little. "Well, you are in danger because of us, so… If people want to protect you because of us, that kinda cancels out?"

"I don't think it works like that, sis," Yang said. What could they do against poisoned food, anyway?

"But it won't hurt?" Ruby clearly wasn't letting this go. "It's easier to send them away if they see we appreciate them and let them do something, right?" She smiled.

That was a decent point, Yang had to admit.

And so, although grudgingly, did Tobho.

*****​

 

[eager slacker]

I doubt it'll ever come to public knowledge that Cersei killed the king with poison but damn did she fuck up hard.

 

[Starfox5]

I doubt it'll ever come to public knowledge that Cersei killed the king with poison but damn did she fuck up hard.

Click to shrink...

Varys badly misjudged her.

 

[ATP]

Varys badly misjudged her.

Click to shrink...

No,it was his mistake.He should be well aware of fact that she is evil,but stupid.He should not gave anything important to her.
But - now he knew,that poison do not work.What next? wildfire? it seems as only option except Sorrowfull men or oter good assasin.

 

[Mike9650]

Oh wow - Cersei really did kill the King. What a twist! And now Blake is about to discover that the city is rigged with wildfire triggers.

 

[Starfox5]

No,it was his mistake.He should be well aware of fact that she is evil,but stupid.He should not gave anything important to her.
But - now he knew,that poison do not work.What next? wildfire? it seems as only option except Sorrowfull men or oter good assasin.

Click to shrink...

He underestimated her stupidity . Well, Blake just found a wildfire cache... But the faceless men were mentioned...

Oh wow - Cersei really did kill the King. What a twist! And now Blake is about to discover that the city is rigged with wildfire triggers.

Click to shrink...

Alas, she only discovered the cache under the Dragonpit. When that was discovered in canon, Tyrion thought it was an odd but good spot to store the stuff, and only felt that the Wisdom should have told someone back in the day - he didn't suspect it was part of a plot.

 

[Spartan303]

Varys is really pushing it here. Already people don't like him but he's going out on a limb and now team RWBY strongly suspects he is the one behind the attempt on Yang and the Assassination of the King. One more screw up and they likely have him and while they're at it, likely Baelish too. Should Joffrey do something stupid that gets Tywin to show his hand and make a play against them....

...then we are looking at another 'Hour of the Wolf' scenario.

 

[ATP]

Varys is really pushing it here. Already people don't like him but he's going out on a limb and now team RWBY strongly suspects he is the one behind the attempt on Yang and the Assassination of the King. One more screw up and they likely have him and while they're at it, likely Baelish too. Should Joffrey do something stupid that gets Tywin to show his hand and make a play against them....

...then we are looking at another 'Hour of the Wolf' scenario.

Click to shrink...

Varys stop using his brain,becouse he lost his dick thanks to magic.He is unable to consider what RWBY are logically,becouse he belive that they are using magic.

 

[Spartan303]

Varys stop using his brain,becouse he lost his dick thanks to magic.He is unable to consider what RWBY are logically,becouse he belive that they are using magic.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, he wouldn't be wrong were it anyone else. The problem is he hasn't considered the wildly out of context situation that is team RWBY.

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 30: Twists

'One thing that is often overlooked when studying the martial achievements of the Ruby Order is their influence on facing and fighting magic threats. The Four Maidens were amongst the first who trained specifically to face magic users in combat and did so at the very beginning of what was later recognised as the renaissance of magic, a time when arts thought lost or merely myths were rediscovered and put to use. While accounts of their training regime were fraught with the unfortunately common exaggerations - I have already laid out how they could not perform superhuman feats such as moving faster than a trained eye could see - they are quite detailed in the goals and methods of their training, and proved quite effective in later years when used against magic users. Some of the most famous members of the Faith credit those techniques with allowing them to prevail over shadowbinders and warlocks from Asshai during the Shadow Wars in Essos a decade later, and even considering the esteem in which the Faith of the time held the Ruby Order, those claims are credible.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Prince Joffrey Baratheon was the heir to his father, King Robert. The future King, as soon as he came of age. He told himself that as he paced in his chambers. For he was in great, mortal danger. He had too many enemies who wanted to keep him from ascending to the Iron Throne. To murder him, as they had murdered his father. Cowardly, with poison, for they would not dare to stand against him or his family in open combat. Not when he was protected by Team Ruby.

Which was why those craven usurpers had tried to murder Lady Ruby and Lady Yang with poison. They had failed, though - not even poison as powerful as to melt iron could harm them. Nothing could.

But if Joffrey had drunk that poison… He shuddered. His insides would have melted. He would have died spewing blood, like Father had. Even if there were an antidote, he would not have had the time to drink it before he were dead - or, worse, dying from his guts ripped up inside him.

And he knew the next attempt would be aimed at him. Whoever was behind this now knew that this poison wouldn't work on Team Ruby, but they could still use it against Joffrey. And there was nothing he could do about it! Prince Oberyn the Red Viper was the most obvious suspect; he was known for his knowledge of poison and for hating Joffrey's family. Oh, how he wanted to send the Dornish knave to the Black Cells and have the truth tortured out of him! Make the villain howl with pain, scream himself hoarsely as he begged for the mercy of death…

But there was no proof - nothing that Team Ruby would accept; he knew how they thought about torture. And no one else would listen to him. Not Lord Eddard, his soon-to-be regent. The man would never move against Team Ruby's wishes. Lord Renly, his supposed Master of Laws, would probably protect Prince Oberyn; he tried to hide it, but Joffrey was aware that his uncle lusted for the throne himself - the Imp had confirmed it. And not even Grandfather would risk starting a war with Dorne and alienating Team Ruby at the same time.

He clenched his teeth. It all came back to Team Ruby. They stood between Joffrey and his enemies. But that cut both ways. Their power held everyone in check, including Joffrey and his scant allies.

But they couldn't stop assassins. They hadn't been able to save Father, even though he had been poisoned right under their eyes. And they refused to move against anyone without proof.

He balled his hands into fists, almost hitting the wall before he managed to control himself. He had to do something! Before it was too late!

But he didn't know what he could do.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"So, how are you? I know there are a lot of scary rumours going on, but…"

"I'm fine, Uncle Tyrion." Joffrey nodded at the Imp.

The Imp looked at him, narrowing his eyes for a moment before nodding, then smiled at Tommen and Myrcella. "How about you?"

"Ah…" Tommen winced, and Joffrey glared at his weak brother. What did he have to fear? Joffrey was the king-to-be. He was in danger. No one cared about Tommen, much less Myrcella. Not as long as Joffrey was alive.

"Don't worry, not even the strongest poison can hurt the Four Maidens," the Imp told them. He looked even uglier when he smiled. "They'll protect you."

Tommen, the dunce, nodded, swallowing before trying to smile as well. As if he'd survive an assassination attempt any better than Father had!

"But they killed Uncle Jaime and sent Mother to the Silent Sisters," Myrcella said, trembling still.

The Imp sighed. "They didn't want to kill Jaime, but he forced them. And they had your mother sent to the Silent Sisters so she wouldn't be killed."

"Which was explained to you before," Joffrey snapped. "Didn't you pay attention?"

"Joffrey." The Imp frowned at him.

Joffrey scoffed in return and met his eyes. Why was he bothering to talk to Tommen and Myrcella? They were useless. Except for alliances, but there hadn't been any offers yet, as far as Joffrey knew. That would change once he was King, of course.

"Don't worry," the Imp repeated himself. "We'll keep you safe."

"How?" Joffrey snapped, then clenched his teeth. He hadn't meant to blurt out that, but now that he had, he would stand by it. "Not even Team Ruby managed to find Father's murderer!"

The Imp frowned even more - his face turned into an ugly grimace - but Joffrey scoffed. He had but told the truth. Father had complained often enough about all the liars at court.

"Everyone is looking for the murderer," the Imp said after a moment, but even Joffrey's dim-witted brother and useless sister saw through his claim; both were wincing again. Worthless. And stupid.

Joffrey scoffed again. "The real suspects are not being investigated."

The Imp glared at him. "No one knows who was behind this. Your father had too many enemies."

"That's why you question suspects," Joffrey retorted. "Except no one is getting questioned. Only the worthless smallfolk, who don't know anything."

The Imp shook his head. "You cannot torture nobles on a whim, Joffrey. The last king who did that ended up killed on his throne."

Joffrey glared at the Imp. That had been the Mad King. He had seen enemies where none were. This was different. "Team Ruby could do it," he said. "No one can stop them. No one would dare to stop them."

"They could, yes - but they never would, Joffrey. They abhor torture. And they would never go against anyone without proof."

"But… what if the Lord Stark ordered them?" Tommen asked. "He's the Hand!"

Joffrey snorted. His brother really didn't understand anything.

"They would refuse." The Imp tried smiling again. "And Lord Eddard knows this. Never give an order you know will be refused."

"But…"

Joffrey glared at Tommen, and the dunce fell silent. "They only obey their leader, Lady Ruby. No one else."

"And the Seven!" Myrcella piped up.

Useless. Joffrey frowned at her.

"They have pledged to protect you," the Imp said. "Not to obey you. They aren't the Kingsguard. They are doing this because it's the right thing to do, not because they were ordered - except by the Seven."

Joffrey clenched his teeth again. If Team Ruby was the only reason he could become King, but they didn't obey him, then he would be a weak king - a king in name only. He wouldn't be able to do anything. He wouldn't have any real power.

Joffrey needed to be a strong king. Strong enough to deal with all his enemies. So strong, no one would dare to oppose him.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Isn't that nice, my prince? Oh, Lady, No! Don't chase the poor cat!"

Joffrey laughed as the huge direwolf skidded to a stop in front of the tree onto which it had chased the stupid cat - one of Tommen's, he recognised the three-coloured fur.

Lady Sansa flushed, and he saw her scowl a little, before she called out: "Heel, Lady!"

The wolf trotted back to them, tongue lolling out of its maw, and rubbed its flank against Lady Sansa's waist.

"That was bad of you! We don't chase cats!" she scolded it while petting its thick fur.

"Those cats are fine to be chased," Joffrey said. Tommen had too many of them, anyway. He wouldn't miss one. "It looked a bit fat, anyway."

"That means it's someone's pet!"

Joffrey almost shrugged - who cared about that? - but caught himself in time. Lady Sansa was a good girl, proper, obedient, and she knew to listen to him, but she still had some hangups, as Lady Yang would say. Nothing that would make her outright defy him, but her attempts to question him, meek as they were, were still annoying. A king shouldn't be questioned. Well, she would learn in time. "Then they should take better care of their pets. You wouldn't let Lady run free, would you?"

"Of course not! I promised Father to take care of her!" Lady Sansa replied. "I take all my responsibilities seriously. But…" She hesitated, biting her lower lip, and Joffrey forced himself to keep smiling. "...a cat isn't the same as a wolf, is it?"

"The principle is the same," he said.

For a moment, she looked like she wanted to question him further, but then she nodded. "Of course, as with all animals."

He smiled again. Good. She was learning. If only Team Ruby were like her… No one would be able to gainsay him if he had their obedience. But they weren't. Lady Sansa was dutiful and obedient, but she was lacking in comparison. The backing of House Stark was nothing compared to the might of the Maidens, and while Lady Sansa was pretty, Team Ruby were beauties without peers. Still, she would do - provided Joffrey could acquire the power he needed to be a real king.

Her wolf softly growled, but he was used to that. It wouldn't dare touch him. Unlike others, such as his grandfather, whom he was to meet later, it knew its place.

*****​

"Are you aware of our current predicament?"

Joffrey frowned. His grandfather was, as always, not showing the proper respect for the prince of the realm. At least he hadn't added 'boy' to the question. That would have been an insult - Joffrey wasn't a child. He was almost a man grown. And he knew what his grandfather was alluding to. "Do you mean how I depend on Team Ruby?" He didn't add 'Grandfather', he could be rude too!

His grandfather scoffed. "That is merely a symptom, not the problem."

Joffrey frowned. "I lack the power to defend the throne without them. That is the problem:"

"Almost. The problem is that your right to the throne is questioned in the first place, boy."

"I know!" He gritted his teeth. Oh, how he knew that! If he had the power, no one would dare question him, much less his position!

His grandfather nodded. "Good. I will not lie to you, Joffrey - our family is in a precarious position. Our enemies gather, probing for any weakness, and all that stands between us and our doom is the support of four foreigners - and that might vanish as soon as they change their minds for any reason. Such as Jaime's death showed."

Joffrey pressed his lips together. Uncle Jaime had been weak. As the Imp had explained, he had listened to Mother and had died for it. As much as Joffrey wanted to contradict him, he couldn't - it was obvious in hindsight that, in this, at least, the Imp was correct. If Mother had been as smart or as powerful as she had always claimed, she would not have fallen like this. "They will keep their word," he said. He knew Team Ruby. Better than anyone else. They were like Lord Eddard, bound by their honour. They would kill for it, even if they didn't want to.

His grandfather scoffed again. "You are naive! They will keep their word to protect you as long as they find it in their interest, and not a moment longer." He leaned forward, and Joffrey would have taken a step back if he hadn't been seated. "They are foreigners, with a foreign mind. Tyrion stressed that they don't think like we do, and I am inclined to agree with him - they certainly don't act like anyone from Westeros would."

"They have kept their word!" he protested. "They have done everything they said they would!"

His grandfather sneered. "Only because it served their interests, Joffrey. We have no hold on them, nothing that ties them to us. Nothing will keep them from turning against you as they have turned against your uncle and your mother." He shook his head. "Until we've restored the power of our house, grown too powerful again for our enemies to dare oppose us, we depend on those four foreigners. You cannot afford to antagonise them or you will suffer the same fate Jaime and Cersei did."

"Only a fool would antagonise them," Joffrey spat. He was no fool.

"Your mother did, according to all accounts."

"Mother was a fool." Joffrey scoffed, if not as loudly as his grandfather.

"She was - she gave those four a motive to destroy her." His grandfather gripped his goblet hard - his knuckles turned white, Joffrey saw. He didn't drink from it, though - the Imp would have emptied the goblet twice already.

After a short pause, his grandfather nodded. "Good. You understand our position, and you know what not to do. Cultivate your relationship with your betrothed. We cannot afford to antagonise Lord Eddad either; the Starks are currently our only allies that we can trust."

"But he sentenced Mother and Uncle Jaime!" Joffrey blurted out.

"Because Lady Ruby and her friends pressured him. Don't give them any reason to pressure him to move against us, Joffrey."

Of course he wouldn't! He was no fool.

He nodded, stiffly. He was the Prince. He shouldn't be talked to like a servant! Like a boy! Not from anyone! But he kept his calm - he could not lose his temper. "What about the assassin who murdered Father and tried to murder Lady Ruby and Lady Yang?"

His grandfather scowled. "He has not been found yet. As riddled as the Court is with our enemies, this shouldn't surprise anyone."

"He will go after me next," Joffrey said. He pressed his lips together and balled his hands into fists so he wouldn't tremble. He was the Prince of the Realm!

"I've arranged for more food tasters for you. Stay with a guard at any time in case the assassin decides to switch methods." The man wasn't even looking at him - he was staring out of the window, at the city below. "That's all for now. Leave." His grandfather dismissed him. "I have work to do."

Another insult. He clenched his teeth. He should tell off the man. Punish him for his insolence, but… He couldn't. Not yet. He had no power to do so.

"Yes, grandfather," he pressed out and left.

The Hound waited outside and fell in after him without needing a prompt. Good. He as well knew his place.

Joffrey took a deep breath as he descended the stairs from his grandfather's quarters. His position was in peril. He had no power to call his own, and everyone knew it. Even if his grandfather succeeded with whatever he was planning, it would only mean Joffrey would depend on him instead of on Team Ruby.

That was unacceptable. He would be the King, in truth and not merely in name. He wouldn't be anyone's tool.

He would have the power he needed to vanquish his enemies. His life depended on it, and he couldn't trust anyone else. His grandfather had just proven that.

His course was clear.

Once they were in the open yard, away from anyone who could overhear them, he turned to the Hound. "I need a cut purse, Hound. No, I need the best cut purse!"

Only the best would be good enough for this.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"You found mysterious jars under the Dragon Pit?" Ruby Rose cocked her head sideways. "Did you open one?" Ruby would have, in her place.

"Suspicious jars," Blake corrected her. "And no, I didn't. The strange chemical smell was too strong to risk it."

"Right." Yang nodded. "If it's poison inside, and it fills the tunnel with gas if it's opened…"

Ruby winced. Aura protected against a lot, poison included, but you still needed to breathe. Suffocating was a danger even here.

"I doubt that the jars could hold enough gas to render the air unbreathable," Blake said. "Their contents couldn't be under any pressure. So, I should have been able to make it out anyway. But I was worried about explosions."

"Explosions?" Ruby frowned. "You think those are bombs?"

"They might be leaking inflammable gas," Weiss said. "But your lantern would have set them off."

"Yes. But who knows what is inside the jars? If it's a complex chemical and it is degrading and dissolving into its components…" Blake shook her head. "They have binary poison here, and poison that changes weak acid into something that can melt steel. I don't want to risk experimenting."

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. Even Prince Oberyn blew up his lab when he examined the poison Yang drank."

"Technically, he examined the poison I didn't drink." Yang grinned. "What I drank and vomited out melted his tools."

Weiss rolled her eyes, but Ruby smiled. That sounded like the Yang she knew.

Blake smiled too - but she grew serious almost immediately. "There was also a symbol on the jars." She showed them a quick sketch.

Ruby peered at it for a few seconds, but she didn't recognise it. "I've never seen that before."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Yang said.

"I am unfamiliar with this symbol, but I am sure the Maesters would know more about this."

Blake nodded at Weiss's words. "I was thinking the same, but I wanted to talk to you before doing anything. Like explaining what I was doing beneath the Dragonpit, so we're on the same page."

Right. She had been looking for a place to bury that poor boy who had been murdered. Ruby clenched her teeth. To murder a child like that! If she found out who had done it, she would… She blinked. Wait a minute… "Team!" She grimaced as she looked at her friends. "How many adults without tongues have we seen or heard about?"

Her friends gasped and went pale. "We haven't seen any. Do you mean…" Weiss trailed off.

Blake looked grim. "Unless this… practice of using mutilated children as spies is relatively new, some of them should have grown up. We're talking about dozens of them, in this city alone. People who can read and write, but not talk."

"They… might still be spying for Varys, just elsewhere?" Yang didn't sound as if she believed that.

Blake looked ill. "Why move them elsewhere? They would be familiar with the city and the Red Keep, especially with the secret passages. If they were sent somewhere else, they would have to familiarise themselves with the new environment and conditions. And newcomers who are mute would likely stick out a bit - people overlook street kids all the time, even in Remnant, but adults doing shady stuff?" She shook her head.

Ruby really hoped that Varys had only started using children as spies a few years ago. But… "Varys has been the kingdom's spymaster for decades," she whispered.

Yang cursed under her breath.

Weiss was stiff. Ruby knew how her friend looked when angry, and she was furious now. But controlled. Cool, sort of. "We cannot assume the worst. The Faith has sent out people to look into the origin of those children. Hopefully, they will find out more - especially how long this has been going on."

"And we can ask around about mute people," Blake said. "The Faith might know more - they would have a place for someone who can't talk but can read and write. Copying books is done by hand here. Or they ran away once they were old enough to seek a better life elsewhere."

Weiss nodded. "They could have found employment with merchants as scribes. The nobles have Maesters, but the Smallfolk cannot use them."

Ruby nodded. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions," she agreed. Even though she feared that her worst assumptions were right. "So… speaking of Maesters?" She smiled at Blake.

"I'll show them the symbol," her friend agreed.

"And I'll talk to the High Septon," Ruby said. "I have to talk to him about the guards for Tobho and Gendry, anyway."

*****​

The Great Sept of Baelor, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Blessed be the Seven! How may we help you, Lady Ruby?"

"Hello, High Septon." Ruby managed to smile politely and not grimace. The man was practically - no, not practically, literally - bowing to her. She couldn't blame Yang for this - it hadn't been her big sister's fault that she had been poisoned - but the faithful here had become even more, ah, faithful since they had heard that Yang survived poison that melted steel. "I am just… I wanted to ask you about something that concerns us."

"We'll do whatever we can to help you, Lady Ruby!"

She suppressed a wince. The man meant well, but she didn't like all the bowing and scraping, as Blake called it, even though it was just bowing and no scraping. She was no divine messenger. She wasn't even a noble - she was just Ruby, a Huntress (in training).

But she had a mission here, and she would do it. "It's about the mute children - related to them," she said.

"We haven't heard back from the men who went to investigate Essos, my lady. But I can assure you that they will do their utmost to find out everything they can!" he quickly said.

"I know that," she tried to reassure him. "It's just… we were wondering how long this has been going on. We haven't seen many adults who were missing their tongues. Grown men and women," she added when he seemed confused.

"Ah." He frowned. "I do not recall anyone myself - although I will make an inquiry with the Silent Sisters. Women with their tongues cut and released by their master would find a place amongst them. With regard to the men, though…" He winced, probably realising what Ruby was afraid was happening. "I will make inquiries, my lady."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, High Septon."

"I am merely doing my duty, my lady."

"Also, I wanted to ask about the people guarding Master Mott's smithy," she went on. "I know it's not a, ah, official Faith business, but… Could you keep an eye on them so they won't be, ah, too…" How could she word that so it wasn't an insult? "...too rash?"

He nodded with a smile. "Several of our Septons were guards or men-at-arms before joining the Faith. I will arrange for some of them to join the guards there. It would not do for the honest enthusiasm of the faithful to turn into something detrimental to their goals."

Ruby smiled again. That was good to hear. "That's great! I am glad to hear that if someone should attack them, they can defend themselves and the others."

"An astute observation, my lady. I think those I know might also do some teaching for the volunteers. Nothing like the Faith Militant, of course! Merely assuring that those who volunteer to help out are able to do what they set out to do."

Ruby nodded. That sounded good as well. Though she would have to ask Weiss if she knew what the 'Faith Militant' was - it sounded important.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Ah, yes. That's the symbol of the Alchemists' Guild," Archmaester Marwyn said.

"Also known as the Guild of the Alchemists," Grand Maester Pycelle added with a side glance at his colleague.

Weiss Schnee wanted to roll her eyes - apparently, both men still couldn't go along with each other. At least not to the point of avoiding such silly games. On the other hand, based on what she had heard about some feuds between Maesters, the fact that they were not physically attacking each other indicated a rather congenial relationship.

"They fancy themselves as scholars, keepers of secret knowledge," the Grand Maester went on, "but apart from producing wildfire, they have no achievements of note."

"And many times, they became the victims of their own wildfire," Archmaester Marwyn said with a chuckle. "Where did you happen to discover the symbol? Did you notice their guildhall in the city?"

Weiss hadn't noticed the guildhall. An oversight since, apparently, the guild boasted of secret knowledge - knowledge that might help Team RWBY with returning to their world. "Several hundred jars under the Dragonpit are marked with it. We discovered them while looking for records that might have survived its storming," she told them the cover story they had agreed upon.

"Several hundred jars of wildfire?" Archmaester Marwyn's eyebrows rose.

"That's… why would they be there? This has to go back at least to the time of the Mad King!" The Grand Maester exclaimed.

"You would know - you were there."

"Yes - I saw the atrocities conducted in the last years of his reign," Pycelle glared at his colleague before nodding at Weiss. "However, such a dangerous substance should be recovered and properly disposed of."

Wildfire. Weiss had heard about it and read up on it. If the descriptions were even partially correct, this was indeed a substance as likely to kill whoever handled it as it was to do what they wanted. And if it was decades old… "We noticed a distinct smell. Is that normal?"

Neither of the men seemed to know the answer. The Archmaester shrugged. "I am an expert on magic, not wildfire."

"The alchemists guard their knowledge jealously. When they enjoyed the favour of the Mad King, it was perilous to inquire too much about their guild. According to rumour, Lord Chelsted, then the King's Hand, ran afoul of them, and was burned alive and replaced by the leader of the guild as a result," the Grand Maester explained.

"The guild has not been in anyone's favour since the rebellion," Archmaester Marwyn commented.

"Nor was there any reason to care about them any more," his colleague shot back. "But I reiterate: the substance, especially if it's indeed wildfire, should be recovered."

Weiss nodded. That made sense. "I'll pass it along to the Hand," she said. "He'll handle it."

Both men nodded in agreement.

*****​

Weiss was almost to the Great Hall, on her way back to her team's quarters after informing Lord Eddard, who agreed to have it handled - by the guild itself, since the alchemists would know best how to do it - when she spotted a familiar and despicable man moving to intercept her. Varys. She hid her scowl as he approached in a rather transparent attempt to make the meeting appear a coincidence instead of a planned encounter.

"Lady Weiss! Already done with your training?"

"Master Varys." She nodded her head and slowed down; it would not do to snub him and give the game away. "I had a minor matter to deal with."

"Oh?" He smiled. "Not something that would concern me, I hope."

"I doubt it. We discovered a stack of wildfire under the Dragonpit, and I informed the hand."

To her surprise, the man tensed. "Wildfire?" His smile dimmed.

Oh - of course, he had been at the court of the Mad King as well; he likely wouldn't have fond memories of the substance used to burn people alive. "Yes. Apparently, it was stored there and forgotten," she explained. He would be told everything at the next meeting of the small council anyway.

"Ah." He nodded. "It's a very volatile substance; you must have been very cautious to avoid setting it off."

Weiss shrugged. "I'm used to working with volatile substances."

He nodded again. "Of course." His smile grew a little, shifting into his usual expression. "Then it was fortunate indeed that you discovered it and not one of your more impulsive friends."

She chuckled. "If Yang had set it off, she'd have joked how she was on fire for days."

He seemed taken aback for a moment before laughing politely with a hint of tittering. "Ah, yes. Your friend has an affinity for fire, or so it seemed at the Battle of the Maidens, when she forced you to yield in such a brutal way."

"I've been hit harder in a sparring match," Weiss replied, frowning slightly. Was he insinuating that she couldn't take a few punches? Sure, Yang had gotten the upper hand in the match, but it had been close. Weiss was a far cry from her debut at Beacon.

"I wouldn't know," Varys said, spreading his hands - soft and decorated with rings, Weiss noted - "I am no fighter. The spectre of getting accidentally maimed or killed in training is too much for me."

Weiss suppressed a scoff - she suspected he was no stranger to murder - and nodded. "It's not for everyone. Huntresses are a minority back home."

"And competition might winnow the numbers down even more, I suppose?"

"The Grimm do that already," she said, her lips forming a thin line as she thought about Ruby and Yang's mom.

"Ah." He nodded once more. "But I am keeping you from joining your friends. I would not want you to miss out on what they are doing any longer. Good day, my lady."

"Good day, Master." She nodded, more curtly than she had intended - it had been harder than she had hoped to hide her feelings toward him - and walked on.

The brief talk had been weird, she realised as she climbed the stairs to their quarters. Varys's small talk was usually smoother and more casual. Did he suspect that they were on to him? Was that why he had stressed that he was no fighter?

She would have to ponder this further. First, she had to inform the others that the jars contained wildfire and that it had been handled.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

With the jars' mystery solved, and after a thorough check for spies, Blake Belladonna and Weiss were poring over the pictures on Weiss's scroll. Blake had learned the numerical system used in Westeros - at least the current system - and so had Weiss, but the scanning app on her scroll didn't recognise any numbers or letters, and Weiss's attempt to train it by hand hadn't worked out as well as they had hoped - somehow, the app steadfastly refused to read the letters and numbers as very badly hand-written texts and numbers in Remnant.

So, they had to go over the pictures one by one. It didn't do good things for the scroll's charge, of course. And it was very tiring to look at hand-drawn columns on a small display.

"I think we've established that the costs for the Court's staff and food and other supplies have been steadily rising since Lord Baelish was installed as Master of Coin," Weiss said.

Blake ran the numbers in her head. "Substantial, but not outrageous - for Westeros."

"Yes." Weiss sighed. "It could be due to rising prices. But we can't tell. And we haven't even touched the extraordinary expenses. We need a more detailed analysis. And for that, we'll have to transcribe the ledger's data into my finance app."

Blake winced. "That will take a while. We could split it up between everyone, but…"

Weiss nodded. "I love and respect Ruby, she's great, but she's not a good fit for this. If it were related to weapon construction, maybe. But I'd have to check her work myself."

"And Yang's not patient enough for such work. If it were a game…" Blake added.

"That leaves us," Weiss said.

Blake suppressed a sigh. That would take time she couldn't spend on spying.

"Or, rather, me, since you're needed for surveillance," Weiss went on.

Blake managed not to smile at that. Weiss snorted anyway.

"Say…" Weiss trailed off. "Never mind."

"What?" The last thing Blake wanted to do while on a recon mission was to wonder what Weiss wanted to talk about but had not dared to ask.

"Are you related to Ghira Belladonna?" Blake blinked, and Weiss, who was not meeting her eyes, went on: "I am just… You mentioned that your parents were members of the White Fang, and that they left, and you stayed when it became more violent."

"When it became violent," Blake corrected her. "It was a peaceful movement despite the best efforts of the authorities to provoke the exact response Sienna Khan then gave them once she took over." With the help of Adam.

"When it became violent," Weiss conceded. "Anyway, I was just curious - it's the only Belladonna I know except you."

Blake was tempted to comment 'typical', or 'took you long enough', but that would have been petty and inappropriate. "My father."

Weiss stared at her, mouth slightly open, for a moment.

"Yes, really," Blake added with a twisted grin before Weiss could say anything.

Her friend blushed and frowned at her. "So… You're the daughter of the leader of Menagerie?"

"Yes." Blake held back from adding another sarcastic comment.

"And you ran away from home against the wishes of your parents."

"To join the White Fang, yes." As Blake had already told her team. "The biggest mistake of my life."

"Ah." Weiss slowly, almost imperceptibly, shook her head.

Blake narrowed her eyes slightly. "Do you disagree?"

"What? No, no. Just… comparing families, I guess. Leaving my home and attending Beacon was the best decision I ever made." Weiss snorted and absentmindedly ran a finger over the scar on her face.

"I can't disagree with that," Blake told her, trying to take the sting out of her words with a wry smile - Weiss had said that her father had done his best to ruin her life, though she hadn't gone into detail.

Weiss chuckled, once, so it probably worked.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then Blake nodded. This wasn't the time to pry. "So… I'll go check on the usual suspects." They still didn't know what had happened to the poor kid, they didn't have any lead on the poisoner and their investigation of Lord Baelish was just starting, but Blake was, after months here, sure that there were more plots going on that she wasn't aware of. Not yet, she hoped.

Weiss nodded.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Loose!"

Yang Xiao Long was moving before the archers started drawing their bows and shooting. Unlike their first attempts, they were no longer hesitating. And with their arrows going through a series of Weiss's accelerating glyphs, evading their shots was a bit of a challenge - in fact, she had to deflect one shot with her left gauntlet as she threw herself to the side, her other hand touching the ground of the training yard, bending before straightening and pushing herself straight up.

The glyphs rose just as the archers knocked their next arrows, and Yang bared her teeth in a fiery grin as another volley flew towards her. Two were too low, one had been leading her jump too much, but three flew true. She caught two on Ember Celica's armour plates, but the third hit her aura.

"Hit!" Weiss announced, and the archers cheered.

Yang twisted her body to land on her feet, knees bending to absorb the impact, and straightened as she smiled at the archers - volunteers from Lord Eddard's men. "Yeah, good aim there, guys."

The six men smiled back, obviously proud. Good. It had taken them a few demonstrations to both get over their hesitation to shoot at Team RWBY with actual arrows and to understand how to use Weiss's glyphs, but now, Yang's team could finally train against decently fast ranged attacks. Well, except for Weiss, who was needed to create the glyphs. But Weiss was the one best suited to counter such attacks, thanks to her barrier glyphs anyway. They still needed to figure out how to train evading fire attacks. Dodging water was not going to help much if a witch could shoot fire at you at higher velocities.

"Short break!" Yang announced. Archers weren't marksmen; shooting arrows took a lot out of them - they were good for a few minutes of quick firing, tops - and if Yang didn't set an example, they might push themselves and strain some muscle out of pride. At least the Northeners didn't worship them as messengers from the Seven.

She started walking to the rest area, on the other side of the yard - far from where they were shooting at the wall. Which was sporting a few more holes by now; those arrows were almost as fast as some of the slower cartridges back home. Actually, she would have to check if she could adapt Ember Celica's cartridges; with the short barrels in her gauntlets, her shots were on the slower side as well, compared to, say, Ruby's Crescent Rose. They hit hard since they were shotgun rounds, but that wouldn't matter if the target dodged… Hm. If she strengthened the chambers, she could use stronger loads. That would help with muzzle velocity…

"If Theon saw this, he would be green with envy!" Bran, who had been watching attentively, commented when Yang reached the jug of water at the edge of the fenced-off training area. He was holding the rear part of one of the arrows that had hit the backstop and shattered. "It's a bit wasteful, though - Ser Jory has complained about having to buy more arrows."

"Ah." Yang nodded, then checked the seal on the jug for any sign of tampering before breaking it and taking a big swallow. "I thought we were paying."

"Yes." Bran nodded, as if that explained the complaints.

Well, he was a kid. And as long as Ser Jory didn't complain to them… On the other hand, why wouldn't he? Was he hiding some resentment? "Did he say anything else about that?"

"Uh…" Bran scrunched his nose. "No! Just said he didn't like sending people out to buy arrows in the city."

Yang frowned after taking another big swallow. That shouldn't be a problem, should it? It wasn't as if the guards of House Stark had a lot to do, was it? She'd have to ask Blake about that. And Weiss. Trying to pump Bran for information wouldn't be right; he was a boy, after all.

"So, can anyone learn to dodge arrows?" Bran asked. "You could dodge magic arrows, so a normal person could dodge normal arrows, right?"

Yang winced. That was… Not good. She had to nip that in the bud at once before Bran tried dodging arrows by himself.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"The feast is about to start, hurry up, guys!" Yang grinned. The cooks always pulled out the stops for such occasions. "I'm not about to miss out on the good food because you're slow to get ready!"

Weiss sniffed from where she was adjusting her ponytail. "Who monopolised the bathtub for an hour?"

"It wasn't an hour. And I needed to go first since these locks take time to style!" Yang ran a hand through her mane.

Blake snorted, and Yang turned to grin at her partner, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "I'm sure they've got the best fish!" Blake's bow twitched, and Yang's grin widened - she knew what made her partner tick.

"The staff know our preferences," Weiss commented. "I doubt that they will run out of any dishes before we arrive. In fact, I doubt they would start serving food before we're present; that would be seen as an insult."

Yang shrugged. "If we're late, it's our fault. Or yours, actually, for being so slow."

"That's not how things work," Weiss corrected her with another sniff. "If Lord Eddard started the feast without us, the Court would assume he was deliberately snubbing us. And so would I, actually," she added. "We do have a reputation here, after all."

One Yang had mixed feelings about. Sure, people respecting you was nice - no one looked down on her or made some sexist remark - but she didn't like people bowing to her and treating her like some divine messenger. At least, most of their friends here didn't do that.

"Besides, they have no clocks, so we can't be late since there's no precise time!" Ruby had appeared, smiling widely, Crescent Rose on her back and covered by her cape. She ran a hand over her skirt to smooth it out in a familiar gesture, then frowned. "I think I need to visit a tailor; the hem is fraying a bit again."

Yang smirked and glanced at Blake. "Combat skirt problems, am I right?"

Her partner's lips spread in a toothy smile as she nodded.

Weiss made that scoffing sound she did when irritated. "Let's go! We shouldn't hold up the feast's start."

"Wait! If we're early, won't that mean others who are on time will miss out on food?" Ruby asked.

"They should have been early as well, then. I would, if I were hungry. Matter of fact, I am," Weiss said.

"Let's feed the Ice Queen before she gets cranky," Yang said.

"Crankier," Ruby added.

"I heard that!"

Yang watched Ruby checking the traps set for thieves, and then the team left the room.

*****​

"Lady Yang! I saw you training today! You were almost as fast as your sister!"

"Not quite that fast," Yang told Arya. Nobody was as fast as Ruby when she used her Semblance. "But yeah, I did pretty well." No need to fake humility. "But so did your father's archers."

"Oh, yes! If Theon could see them, his face would be stuck in a pout!" Arya grinned.

First Bran, then Arya… Well, Theon did think very highly of his own skill at archery and wasn't shy to say so. Unlike Jon, who had great talent with the sword but was too shy to say anything about it. And too shy to join Yang and her friends at the feast. "Have you seen Jon around?" she asked Arya.

The girl blinked. "He should be…" She looked around, frowning more deeply with every second. "I'll hunt him down and drag his sorry butt back here, my lady!" she announced, then turned and vanished in the crowd.

"'Drag his sorry butt back here'?" Weiss, sitting next to Yang, asked as she bent away so a serving girl standing between her and Ruby could place more food on the table. "Why, I wonder where she picked up that expression."

"She got it from me, of course!" Yang chuckled. "And I bet she told her Father and the Septa so when they asked." The girl was sneaky, after all.

"If future generations ask themselves why the Court language became so coarse, they will end up with your name." Weiss sniffed again, but Yang could tell that she wasn't serious.

"It means I'll have left a lasting impression!" Yang grinned again and refilled her cup - from their own jug, of course. Less temptation for the poisoner to tamper with the wine and beer of the feast. Varys kept saying he was following up leads, but Blake didn't think he was actually doing that much - she hadn't noticed much of a change amongst the child spies - and Yang trusted her partner over the 'Master of Whispers' any day of the week.

And, speaking of the devil… She smiled at the sight of Blake serving herself another plateful of fish from the pot on the table. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Someone has to eat all the fish," Blake replied without blushing.

"Might as well be you, huh?"

"I think that people are a bit reluctant to eat from our favourite dishes - not because they wish to leave more for us, but to avoid another attempt to poison us," Blake went on before filling her mouth with the next serving.

Oh. Yang frowned. That wasn't good. Not too bad, either, but still… Was that also why they were a little less bothered by all the courtiers than usual? At least their friends stuck with them - Lady Brienne sat across from them, next to Bran and the empty space where Arya had been sitting before she had gone to hunt down Jon. The royal family - well, the royal siblings, Yang corrected herself with a slight wince - were seated next to them, with Prince Joffrey between Lady Sansa and Lord Eddard, though… Oh. The Prince just got up, talking to Lord Eddard before leaving the table.

Yang turned to Blake.

"He is probably tired," her partner said. Which meant that was what the Prince had told the regent.

Tired - or afraid? The Prince hadn't struck her as afraid, but he had seemed a bit nervous - and he had avoided them at the feast, hadn't he?

Yang pressed her lips together. Damn, if the Prince was now too afraid of getting caught in the crossfire to socialise with them, things were getting really bad.

She watched Lady Sansa get up, but the Prince waved her off, and she sat down again, frowning. Tough luck, Yang thought. But the Prince didn't mean to snub her, she was sure of that.

She noticed a lot of people watching the Prince leave. Sure, he was the Prince, and the highest-ranked noble at the table - the feast was in his honour - but how many of them were watching for signs of poison? Damn, she was losing her appetite, and before dessert was served!

They really needed to track down this poisoner! The longer this went on, the worse things would get - like when a Grimm started to haunt an isolated village, people would start panicking, and that would make things even worse. But what could they do?

She glanced at Blake. Her partner's expression hadn't changed much, but Yang could see that she was no longer enjoying her fish dishes but faking it. She wouldn't have missed the mood shift, either, of course - Blake rarely missed anything. Best partner she could wish for; with her at Yang's side, they could grow old together as Huntresses; something few achieved. So…

A gasp from Weiss drew her attention before she could try to lift Blake's mood with some jokes and some flirting. "My dust cartridges!"

"Wrghlat?" Ruby leaned in from the other side after hastily swallowing her food.

"My spare dust cartridges - they're gone!" Weiss hissed, patting her dress's hidden pockets down. "Some of them," she corrected herself a moment later.

"But…" Ruby trailed off.

Weiss wouldn't have forgotten to carry her cartridges, Yang knew. A Huntress lived and died by being ready for a fight, and Weiss was very anal about that stuff, especially Dust.

Someone had picked her pockets! "A thief!" Yang hissed, looking around.

They were surrounded by dozens of people. Anyone could be...

"Main suspects would be the serving staff; they were the only ones getting close to us for such a theft," Blake said.

That made sense. "We need to check all of them, then." Yang hadn't paid attention to the servants - not how she should have. Uncle Qrow would scold her for such a lapse.

"Or we can get help!" Ruby said. Before Yang could ask what she meant, she turned to Lady Sansa. "Lady Sansa! We need Lady!"

"Huh?" Lady Sansa wasn't the only one who was confused.

*****​

"This way!" Lady Sansa announced the obvious - Lady, nose loudly sniffing, was already moving down the next hallway. "She got the trail!"

"Good girl!" Ruby cheered.

Yang grinned. Indeed - whoever had stolen the dust, they hadn't planned for Lady's nose! Even Blake was smiling, toothily, of course, at the direwolf.

"Let's hope they didn't run too far," Weiss, ever the pessimist, muttered as they reached a side door leading outside the building.

"They cannot run faster than we can track them!" Ruby announced.

Yang hoped she was correct.

Whoever had stolen the dust knew how to move - the route they followed was quite obscure, or so Blake would call it. It led through dark passages and doors, but not towards the main gate. That meant the thief was either not planning to leave the Keep, which was good, or trying to use a secret passage - which was also good since Blake knew those like the back of her hand.

Yang grinned. They would get the thief!

They rounded the next corner, past some herbal mini-garden, and almost ran into a huge figure coming their way. Lady started barking loudly.

"Clegane!" Blake hissed.

"Get your wolf under control!"

Yeah, that was the man's voice.

Lady, though, kept barking, circling around the man as he turned - and Yang saw he was carrying a big bag slung over his shoulder.

"Lady!" Lady Sansa yelled, but the wolf was growling now.

At the bag, Yang realised.

"It smells like blood," Blake whispered behind her.

"Put down the bag!" Yang snapped, stepping forward, Blake moving to her side, Gambol Shroud out.

Weiss pulled Lady Sansa back as Ruby drew Crescent Rose.

"I caught a thief," Clegane snapped. "Snuck in disguised as a servant. Tried to get to the Prince." He dropped the bag, and Yang caught a glimpse of brown hair when it fell slightly open.

Blake moved forward, kneeling down, and Yang glared at Clegane until he took a step back.

"Don't look!" Weiss whispered to Lady Sansa.

Yang hoped Ruby listened to her partner as well since Blake opened the bag and revealed the body of a young woman. "She served us at the table."

"She stole from us," Weiss hissed, then glared at Clegane. "You killed her?"

Before the man could say anything, an explosion shattered the windows above them.

And Yang realised that they were close to the royal quarters.

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

Varys is really pushing it here. Already people don't like him but he's going out on a limb and now team RWBY strongly suspects he is the one behind the attempt on Yang and the Assassination of the King. One more screw up and they likely have him and while they're at it, likely Baelish too. Should Joffrey do something stupid that gets Tywin to show his hand and make a play against them....

...then we are looking at another 'Hour of the Wolf' scenario.

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Varys: That's exactly their plan! You see it! I see it! Why don't others see it?

Varys stop using his brain,becouse he lost his dick thanks to magic.He is unable to consider what RWBY are logically,becouse he belive that they are using magic.

Click to shrink...

His biases are too big to look at them objectively. Also, he's a bit too reluctant to let go of all his plans so far - especially without Dany having hatched her dragons yet to be a possible counter.

To be fair, he wouldn't be wrong were it anyone else. The problem is he hasn't considered the wildly out of context situation that is team RWBY.

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Yeah. And he is also a bit too paranoid to realise they are the genuine article.