Chapter 59: The First Sword
'Another fact that disproves the - unfortunately persistent - myth that the Four Maidens travelled to Braavos and were involved in politics there is the stark difference between the politics of Braavos and Westeros of the time. If the Ruby Order had held such power over the ruling caste of Braavos as some people maintain, why wouldn't they have used that to influence the city to take up more favourable policies with regard to the Order's goal? From changing the conditions of the trade between the two realms to become less one-sided to lowering interest for the Iron Bank's substantial loans to the crown or forging an alliance against the slaver cities of Essos, the potential changes are obvious, and the lack of such is a clear indication that they did not influence Braavos at all. Not to mention that the Four Maidens would have taken steps to end the feud between House Fregar and Prestayn before it reached the vicious levels that contributed to its infamy '
A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
*****
Sealord's Palace, Purple Harbor, Braavos, 299 AC
"Good morning, my lord." Quarro Volentin, First Sword of Braavos, bowed his head as he stopped in front of the Sealord's desk. He and Ferrego were friends, but that didn't mean he'd ignore formality. He was no uncouth lad, after all.
"Good morning, my friend." Ferrego raised his eyebrows. "You heard something that couldn't wait."
"Yes, my lord. " Qarro nodded. It was obvious - he wouldn't attend to the Sealord so early in the morning after a long night if the matter wasn't both important and urgent. "There was an incident at Lord Tormo's soirée."
"Which involved the Four Maidens."
"Yes." That, too, was obvious. Not only were the four girls the most important persons in the city right now, bar none, but that fact also all but guaranteed that they would be involved in an incident or two wherever they might stroll; Qarro, as well as Ferrego, were familiar with the notables of the City and how they thought and acted. Or how they did not think, in too many cases.
"I assume it would be too much to hope that it involved Lord Tormo's demise." Ferrego sighed with a rueful smile.
"No. But there was a death. Jalem Ketro challenged Ser Jon Snow to a duel and was killed as a result - in front of Lord Tormo's ballroom," Qarro said. "The young knight displayed far more skill than most would have expected." Ketro had underestimated him, all of Qarro's spies agreed on that, yet they also agreed that that had not been the cause of his defeat - the boy had simply outmatched him.
"Ketro…" Ferrego frowned. "Who paid him to do this?"
"Lord Tormo seemed to think it was Lord Albero Prestayn when he and Lord Albero had a quite public exchange of accusations and threats."
That made Ferrego chuckle. "House Fregar and House Prestayn locked blades? To suffer the humiliation of having his guests bothered by a bravo would be bad enough, but to publicly accuse a rival family of orchestrating this? Does he have proof for his claim?"
"Unless there's a living witness that saw one of Prestayn's servants pay off Ketro, I doubt that." Qarro had looked into things already, if not as thoroughly as he would have to, to remove any doubt, and had not found anything.
"It seems while his skin was not even scratched, his reputation suffered a crippling blow," Ferrego said, chuckling softly. "And despite of how unseemly such a confrontation is, it seems that House Prestayn did not escape unscathed either?"
Qarro snorted; people would be whispering about the family resorting to such crude methods in their rivalry without Lord Tormo calling them out, but that he had done so, and in such a public manner, guaranteed that the Prestayns would find their circle of allies and followers somewhat shrunk. And Lord Albero would find his own stature in the family diminished as well, Qarro would place a small fortune on that, and he wasn't a betting man.
"How did the Four Maidens react?"
"Lady Ruby publicly washed her hands of both houses," Qarro replied. "She loudly announced she didn't care about their struggle for your position and then praised Lord Tormo's servants for their hospitality as she left the soirée."
Ferrego laughed loudly at that, as Qarro had known he would. "The girl knows how to wield her power as well as her scythe, then. Few would have dared to insult him like that."
Qarro nodded. To strike such a blow to two families at once showed quite the skill, indeed, even though she had benefited from Lord Albero's mistake. And Lord Tormo's, of course - who would trust power to a man so foolish as to leave his most important guests, people he was courting for an alliance, to suffer such an indignity as an attack on their retainers? At his vaunted soirée? And then failed to placate said guests, so they publicly humiliated him? No one with a modicum of sense would want to follow such a fool. Qarro didn't think the Black Pearl would grace his next soirée with her presence, certainly not after she had been snubbed herself by having the boy scorn her.
"So, unless Lord Tormo decides to kill himself to escape his shame, we can expect him and House Prestayn to tear into each other." Ferrego shook his head and filled his cup with more tea.
"Yes." Their feud would cost more lives, though the City wouldn't miss the thugs and bravos who took their coin. And if both family trees ended up pruned somewhat, so much the better, in Qarro's opinion; neither House sported particularly skilled leaders.
"In any case, their ambitions to succeed me have been neutered."
And Ferrego's own political capital had grown as a result; with two of the leading contenders for his successor disgraced, the current Sealord's support was once more a potentially decisive factor in the race, something Qarro knew Ferrego would use to advance his goals during the time he had left.
Ferrego took a sip, savouring the taste with his eyes closed, then looked at Qarro again. "Are there any rumours that would besmirch my reputation regarding this shameful incident?"
"None." Qarro's spy hadn't had to push Lord Albero into this; the fool had come up with this scheme himself.
Ferrego nodded. "Good. And did you hear anything that would hint at the girls' next steps?"
Qarro shook his head again. They played their cards close to their chest; apart from some claims that anyone with any sense discarded as empty words, they had not revealed anything within earshot of his spies.
Ferrego frowned. "So, we still do not know what their true intentions are."
"I am sorry."
"It's not your fault, my friend." Ferrego sighed. "I tried to take their measure myself, but they let nothing slip." He chuckled. "It would be ironic if they truly were just visiting to settle their differences with the Faceless Men and had no ulterior motives."
Both of them chuckled at the absurdity of such a notion.
"They haven't met with the Iron Bank so far, have they?" Ferrego asked.
Qarro tensed a little. "I have had the bank's doors watched since the Four Maidens arrived in the City, and I have put eyes on the representatives when they ventured into the City."
"But you cannot say whether or not they met in secret." Ferrego sighed again.
"I am sorry." Qarro apologised even though he knew that the Sealord didn't expect the impossible. If the Iron Bank wished to meet with the girls without anyone knowing about it, they would easily be able to arrange a meeting. Either inside the bank, Qarro had no doubt that there were more secret passages under the bank than he or anyone else knew, or at a location of its choice outside the bank; it would be easy to have a message passed on to them with no one the wiser; the Iron Bank had more influence and spies in Braavos than the Sealord, and the girls had proven that they could evade his spies should they choose to do so.
"They met openly with the House of Black and White to make a statement. But they have not done so with the Iron Bank. They visited Lord Tormo instead…" Ferrego scratched his chin. "They want everyone to wonder if they are working with the Iron Bank or not."
That, again, was obvious. Whether the Four Maidens had any business with the Iron Bank or not was impossible to tell unless either they or the Iron Bank itself announced it. But the rumours would spread either way, and further upset the delicate balance in the City.
"Maybe that was their goal - to cause enough chaos in the City to keep us from meddling with whatever they plan to do next," Ferrego speculated.
Qarro tensed again. "Do you think they plan to weaken the City so they can conquer us?"
Ferrego slowly shook his head. "No. If they wanted to conquer Braavos, they could have done so, according to what we now know. No, whatever they plan is more subtle than that. And it involves the Faceless Men."
"Unless that's merely a distraction," Qarro pointed out.
"No. The House of Black and White would never tolerate the rumours spawned by this damaging their reputation for a mere distraction."
"Unless they wish to be thought weak to make us and everyone else underestimate them," Qarro suggested.
Once again, the Sealord chuckled. "Indeed. It's quite a conundrum. And a challenge." Once again, he smiled, and Qarro realised his friend was not quite as annoyed about the whole situation as he should be.
And he didn't think that was a good thing. Not for the Sealord, not for the City and not for Qarro. But except for offering advice and gathering information, there was not much he could do about it. He was the First Sword, sworn to the Sealord.
But whatever those girls were planning, if it was aimed against Ferrego or the City, they would have to go over Qarro's dead body to achieve it.
*****
Purple Harbor, Braavos, 299 AC
"So!" Ruby Rose put both hands on the table in the middle room of their room - suite, Weiss called it - at the inn. Carefully, of course, so she didn't break it; unlike at Beacon, furniture here wasn't built with Huntresses in mind. They looked sturdy, but wouldn't really stand up to a food fight, much less a 'spontaneous spar'. And if the table broke, all the nice food left over from their breakfast (which Ruby would snack on later) would spill on the floor. "We have a few things to talk about. Namely, Jon's duel and its consequences, the stupid games the people play in Braavos…"
"Those are connected, in my opinion," Weiss cut in. "While I am not convinced that Lord Tormo's accusations are true, neither do I think that they should be dismissed out of hand."
"Yes, but that's part of the stupid games. With consequences I meant what it means for Jon," Ruby explained.
"For me, my lady?" Jon spoke up.
"Yes. You've killed someone," Ruby told him. "That leaves a mark." If it stopped leaving a mark, or making you feel bad, then that was a bad sign. At least, Ruby had heard that from several people who knew about that stuff and whom she trusted. Like Uncle Qrow.
"But… I've killed before," Jon replied.
"You had a Faceless Man commit suicide using your sword," Yang said. "That is not the same as killing him deliberately." She grinned, though only briefly. "And as much as I'd like to joke that the bravo also committed suicide by Jon, that's a serious matter."
Ruby nodded. If Yang didn't want to joke about something (even though she had done that, sorta), then it was a serious matter. "We'll talk about that. And about the stupid games nobles want to play here. And about Yang and Blake's relationship and what that means for us."
Jon looked confused at the last part, Ruby noted.
So did the others, since Yang grinned as she leaned over and put an arm around Blake's shoulders. Not that she'd have to lean over much, if at all, since they were already sitting so close, their thighs touched. "Blake finally couldn't resist my charms any more!"
Jon still looked confused, even as Blake blushed and glared at Yang at the same time. "It wasn't quite like that!" she protested.
"How so?" Yang grinned widely. "I proposed, and you stalled until you had to admit that I'm the one for you!"
"Proposed?" Jon looked even more confused.
"I had concerns that needed to be addressed before I could enter a relationship," Blake said with a frown. She hadn't shaken off Yang's arm, though, Ruby noted.
"A relationship?"
"And I addressed them, didn't I? And then you swooned into my arms." Yang reached over with her free hand and cupped Blake's chin, then leaned over a bit more, even though they were already so close, it wouldn't take…
Oh! Ruby blushed. That was some kiss!
"Oh!" She heard Jon gasp.
And Weiss sighed through clenched teeth. Ruby knew her partner, probably better than anyone else did, at least in Team RWBY (no 'probably' about that, actually), but she couldn't tell if Weiss was annoyed or annoyed and jealous or something. She definitely was annoyed, though. "Please control yourself during a serious discussion."
Yang and Blake kept kissing, and Ruby swallowed. Then she cleared her throat. And again.
Weiss muttered something about heat.
Ruby coughed louder. Her cheeks felt pretty warm.
And then she slapped the table, making the cups and bowls jump a little, even if nothing spilt. "Yang! Blake!"
Blake was blushing heavily as they broke the kiss, but Yang didn't even look flushed yet as she cocked her head to the side. "Yes?"
"Save that for when you're alone, OK?" Ruby said. "We've got things to discuss."
"And public displays of affection are one of the issues we need to address," Weiss added. She was a little flushed as well.
"Alright." Smirking, Yang made a show of sitting ram-rod straight, hands on her thighs. At least, Ruby hoped they were on her thighs. She didn't want to know where they might end up otherwise.
"Anyway!" she said. "First things! Jon, how do you feel?" She glanced over at him when he didn't answer and found him staring at Yang and Blake with an even worse confusion.
"I think we broke him," Yang commented.
"That was you."
"With your help. Eager help, I'll have you…"
"Jon!" Ruby cut off her sister.
He jerked, blinking before focusing on her. "My lady?"
"How are you feeling? About the duel, I mean." Ruby frowned. Maybe they should have talked about that before revealing the third subject of today's talk?
"Ah…" He trailed off. "I, ah, don't know…"
"We've blown his brains!" Yang whispered. Loud enough to carry across the table.
Definitely shouldn't have listed all topics beforehand, Ruby thought. The books about being a good team leader and being organised had lied to her! Should she switch to discussing Yang and Blake's relationship? Or would that confuse Jon even more? Better stay the course, as the sailors said. Besides, if Jon was a little shocked and confused, he might blurt out the truth without having to be prodded while insisting he was fine. "First, you did nothing wrong!" That was important. Yes, he had killed someone, which was sad, but he had been challenged to a duel, for no fault of his own. By a guy who wanted to kill him. And he had no Aura, so he was in danger, and only defended himself. "That bravo was out for your blood. You just defended yourself."
"I killed him in cold blood, my lady," Jon not-quite-agreed.
Ruby shook her head. "You reacted; you saw an opening and took it, just as you were trained to do."
Jon looked like he wanted to deny that for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, my lady."
"We're not saying you didn't do anything," Yang added. "You did kill him. Not us, not Ser Barristan. You fought and killed the guy - and you did it despite being less experienced and fighting an unfamiliar opponent who had the advantage in this kind of duel." She smiled. "That's very impressive."
"Yes, my lady." Jon nodded with a faint smile.
"Yeah," Ruby said. "But… Just because you know that it wasn't your fault doesn't mean you also feel that way."
"Yes, my lady." And Jon was back to being all-serious and broody, as Yang called it. Should she pry further?
So she nodded. "So, if you want to talk about it, we're here to listen. We've gone through the same thing." Even Weiss. Probably, at least - some of the Wildlings she had hurt probably hadn't survived. Not that Ruby would mention that; Team RWBY didn't really talk about that time.
"Yes, my lady."
She narrowed her eyes a little at Jon. He was repeating himself like some minivideo stuck on a loop. Was he annoyed at her talk? Too intimidated to say what he wanted? Or just honest? Jon was a bit too polite for his own good. Especially with Team RWBY. But also with others, even when they were trying to take advantage of him, such as the Black Pearl. Ugh, that was a cool title, but the woman had been all over poor Jon, and Ruby was sure she hadn't really been interested in him.
But prodding him some more would be rude. If people really didn't want to talk about something, forcing them usually didn't end well, did it? So she nodded. "Anyway, that's one thing. Now, next thing: Stupid games!" She nodded at her partner. "That's Weiss's area."
Yang chuckled, and Ruby flushed a little. She hadn't meant it like that!
*****
Weiss Schnee suppressed a sigh as she rose from her seat at the table. Yang's humour, such as it deserved that term, was more obnoxious than usual, likely because she was still riding that emotional high people got when they had just fallen in love. At least, that was how it supposedly worked; Weiss had never experienced it herself, so she had to rely on second-hand testimonies. Though she knew from first-hand experience that trying to scold Yang for her often crude jokes wasn't just an exercise in futility, but also tended to end up counter-productive
So she ignored the joke and nodded at her partner, who was doing the same. "Thank you. Indeed, 'stupid games' is quite an apt term for the situation in Braavos." Or at the court in Westeros. Or, as she suspected, anywhere else in this world.
"Sounds familiar, then," Yang commented.
Blake, who seemed to have finally recovered from her passionate semi-public display of affection with Yang, nodded in agreement, and Ruby smiled at Weiss.
"Yes. As you noticed, both Lord Tormo and Lord Albero attempted to woo us for political - and, although they were not quite open about it, military - support for their respective political ambitions, which, although this is merely conjuncture, seems to mean succeeding, or even replacing, the current Sealord, either with themselves, in the case of Lord Tormo, or with the current head of House Prestayn for Lord Albero."
"But the creep would love to become Sealord himself, though," Yang said. "He had such a smarmy vibe."
Weiss nodded. She'd had the same impression of the noble. "And lacks all the necessary qualifications for the position - he certainly did not demonstrate the diplomatic or political acumen expected from the Sealord when he talked with us."
"Although if he was responsible for the bravo challenging Jon, he would have demonstrated clearly that he shares the propensity of many nobles to engage in underhanded and illegal actions to further their goals," Blake added. "We don't know if he was, though."
"It could have been any other rival of Lord Tormo," Weiss agreed.
"And he approached us right after the duel," Ruby added. "That's suspicious."
"It's not conclusive," Weiss said. "Most nobles in his place would have done the same, if they had the inclination, and the gall to do it at Lord Tormo's soirée."
"They didn't, though," Ruby replied, pouting a little. "He did. That kinda attitude would fit a guy sending a bravo after Jon just to hurt Lord Tormo's image."
Weiss slowly nodded. It was still not very conclusive, but it could be counted as a clue in support of the hypothesis. "Yes. Most others probably considered it reckless to approach us like that, not just because we were Lord Tormo's guests but because we just had a meeting with the House of Black and White."
"And because they were afraid of Ghost," Blake added.
Weiss nodded again; some people had an irrational fear of dogs. Like Blake, even if she didn't want to admit it.
Ruby scoffed. "Ghost is a sweetie! He wouldn't hurt anyone. Anyone who doesn't deserve it, at least."
Weiss agreed of course. As did Jon, although he seemed to hesitate a bit. He might still be confused about Yang and Blake's relationship - their kiss, which would have fit straight into one of those steamy romance movies that Weiss shouldn't have been watching instead of preparing for her test. Were they that experienced?
Ghost chuffed, which distracted her from her distraction. He was the cutest and the most helpful!
"Anyway," she went on, Lord Albero and Lord Tormo were the most forward, most blatant amongst the nobles present, but I doubt they were the only ones harbouring such desires."
Ruby scoffed. "Of course not! They're all the same!"
Weiss frowned a little - that sounded unlike Ruby.
"They don't know us as well as the nobles back in King's Landing," Blake commented.
Jon glanced from Ruby at Blake, frowning. "What do you mean, my lady?"
"They act the same as the nobles at the court did, back when we first arrived," Weiss explained. "They seek to use us for their own ploys."
"And they only stopped when we showed we weren't interested," Yang added with a scoff.
Jon blushed. Why would he…? Ah. Weiss shook her head. "We're not talking about the marriage offers. Or not just about them."
"Ugh! Don't remind me!" Ruby made a gagging noise. Jon grimaced, and she quickly added: "Nothing against you or Robb, but we're not looking for husbands."
"Yeah," Yang added, flashing one of her wide grins at Blake, who blushed even as she chuckled.
"I understand, my lady." Jon's blush was much stronger, though.
"Oh, no!" Ruby shook her head. "We're not looking for wives either. At least, not in Westeros or here." She blinked. "Or anywhere else in this world. Just to make that clear."
"It's not you, it's us," Yang added.
Weiss closed her eyes for a moment. Yang's dubious sense of humour, exacerbated by her even more questionable timing, was trying even when it wasn't supercharged by her recently found success in love. Which, incidentally, would likely complicate matters further, on several levels. At least two, anyway.
"I think I understand, my ladies," Jon said. "You wish to return to your world and not be stuck here."
He did understand then. Good. "Yes," Weiss said.
"You have a duty to your families there, and to your kingdom."
Apparently, she had judged too soon. "That's not… entirely accurate," she told him. "It is not wrong per se, but we do not want to return to our world because of a duty to our families and kingdoms, but because we want to return to our families and friends." Although in Weiss's case, there were members of her family she would prefer not to see again, her friends didn't have those complicating factors to deal with.
"Yes. We didn't swear an oath or anything to serve our kingdom," Yang said. "If we didn't have family and friends back home… well, we would still want to return, but not because of a duty or something."
"Although we do have responsibilities in our world that we don't want to abandon," Blake added.
Weiss flinched a little as she nodded. As the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, she had a duty to return so she could, once she took over, reform the company and undo what Father had done in his reckless and callous pursuit of profits.
"Yes!" Ruby nodded several times with a serious expression that made her look adorable. "We are Huntresses - Huntresses-in-training, but still Huntresses. And we have family and friends who need us." She cocked her head to the side. "And we're really missing home, too. Westeros just doesn't have the same kind of food, shows and books we're used to. Or shops, especially weapon shops, clothes, music…"
Weiss cleared her throat and interrupted her partner. Sometimes, Ruby was a bit too bluntly honest for her own good. "Yes. The point is, we are not looking to settle down in this world. We will return to our world."
"But we don't want to abandon everyone here, either," Ruby went on. "That's why we're looking to fix things. So, in a way, it's our duty to protect people keeping us here."
"Ah." Jon seemed to have mixed feelings about that, Weiss noted.
She could understand that - she wasn't certain what her friends and herself would have done if a way to return home had appeared in the middle of a crisis at the court. Or what they would do if they returned to King's Landing to discover that a way home had been found; the situation in the Seven Kingdoms was still not very stable, in her opinion. Although if the court had managed to avoid a crisis or assassination during their absence, that would be grounds for optimism. She didn't want to leave their friends and those who depended on and trusted them to fend for themselves, but she did miss home terribly.
"Anyway, we're not playing those stupid games!" Ruby shook her head. "We're not going to put Lord Tormo or Lord whatshisname or whoever in charge."
"I know, my lady. That's set in the Order's charter as well," Jon said.
"Yeah." Ruby sighed. "I just wish people would finally understand that we're not looking to take power for ourselves or anyone else."
"Well, you told them off, sis. If that doesn't work, then they won't ever learn." Yang shrugged. "We're not going to stay much longer here anyway, are we?"
"We have solved the problem that brought us here," Weiss said. At least, according to what they knew. "Although, while the conflict between Lord Tormo and Lord Albero, respectively their families, preceded our arrival, I think it's clear that us attending Lord Tormo's soirée caused the escalation."
"That's not our fault!" Ruby blurted out. "That's them being stupid."
Weiss agreed with her, but not everyone would - people were quick to assign blame, especially to outsiders.
"Yeah," Yang said. "That's on them."
"In any case, that shouldn't impact us too much," Weiss went on. "However, we also must consider the possibility that the Black Pearl might feel slighted by Jon's rejection and retaliate against him, or all of us."
"But… I didn't insult her, did I?" Jon asked.
Weiss suppressed the urge to sigh. The boy was obviously honestly baffled by this. "You rejected her advances when she - the City's most famous courtesan - all but threw herself at you in public. That will, at the very least, result in a loss of face on her part."
Ruby grimaced. "Ew, Weiss!"
"I hope you don't mean that literally," Blake added.
Weiss frowned, then winced, remembering the faces of the dead, preserved and hung from the walls in the basement of the House of Black and White. "I didn't mean it like that," she quickly said. "In any case, she might seek to tarnish our reputation as a result in an attempt to get back at us."
"Wouldn't that make it look worse for her? Being rejected by worse people?" Ruby asked.
Weiss shook her head. "It's not a rational reaction; it's just revenge. Or would be, should she decide to act in that manner."
"Well, if she does, does it matter? We won't stay that much longer here," Yang said.
Ruby nodded. "Yes."
"It might affect future visits of the Order," Weiss said. "But yes, it's not an immediate problem, and not one we can deal with right now. If we contacted the Black Pearl about this, she might see it as an insult that we would expect such a reaction from her, and if she already decided to do this, there is not much we can do without escalating the affair to direct conflict, which would have far worse consequences than the potential rumours she might start."
"Alright. So, not an urgent problem, OK." Ruby nodded again. "That's pretty much just a possible problem as long as we stay in Braavos, right?"
"Yes," Weiss said. "As a matter of fact, unless we want to indulge in sightseeing, we could take the next ship back to King's Landing."
"Well, I wanted to visit the Titan, but… after all the stuff that happened yesterday evening, I'm kinda not sure anymore," Ruby said. "All the bad stuff, I mean. Not what happened between you two, of course!" She beamed at Yang and Blake.
"Which brings us to our next topic." Weiss used the opportunity to move things along. "How do we handle your relationship?"
"What's there to handle?" Yang shot back at once. "We're together. Anyone has a problem with that, we punch their lights out!"
Weiss pressed her lips together so she wouldn't blurt out the first retort that came to mind and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Things are a bit more complicated than that."
"How so?"
Weiss sighed. "The Faith of the Seven disapproves of homosexual relationships," she explained. When she saw Jon's lack of understanding, she added: "relationships, sexual relationships, between two men or two women."
"Ah." Jon blushed. "I wasn't familiar with the word."
"Yes, Westeros lacks certain terms that are common in our world," Weiss said. A result of, or, perhaps, part of the reason for, their archaic stances on certain aspects of life that were perfectly accepted in Remnant. "Homosexual couples tend to hide their relationship. There are exceptions, although they are rare, and usually from Dorne."
"Like Prince Oberyn," Blake said.
Jon blinked. "But… Prince Oberyn has a woman as a lover, his paramour! And he has bastard daughters!"
Once more, Weiss suppressed a sigh. "Prince Oberyn has a reputation for enjoying affairs with both men and women."
"Sometimes at the same time," Yang added.
"Yes," Blake nodded. "I can confirm that. From accidental observation," she quickly added when Weiss narrowed her eyes at her.
Yang chuckled. "So, everyone knows he does it, but he's fine."
"He is from Dorne," Weiss said. "The Dornish are, as a rule, more tolerant of such affairs. He is also the brother of the ruler of Dorne and a prince. As far as social status and power are concerned, he is one of the most powerful men in the realm."
"And we're the most powerful women in the realm," Yang replied.
"Yes," Weiss agreed. "We would be able to handle anyone who tries to give us trouble about it. The question is, do we want to? Even Lord Oberyn shows some discretion with his affairs, although taking his paramour with him to social occasions is quite brazen for the court, as I understand it."
"Why should we hide what we are?" Yang scoffed and wrapped her arm around Blake's waist and pulled her close. "There's nothing wrong with us."
"Not about that, at least," Weiss quipped before she could help herself. To her relief, Yang chuckled at her remark. "And as I said, we can handle any blowback from revealing your relationship. But it will affect our standing in the eyes of the Faith and at court." And among the smallfolk, though that was a given when the Faith was involved. "And that can have repercussions for our friends and allies."
"Oh." Yang finally seemed to understand the issue.
"Oh!" Jon echoed her. "Do you… would they think the Order, ah, shares those, ah…" He trailed off, blushing once more.
Well, it would throw a different light on Jon's refusal of the Black Pearl's advances, and if that had happened in King's Landing, Weiss had no doubt that such rumours would quickly spread if Yang and Blake's relationship were known. But it seemed to be premature to assume such a development - and Jon seemed stressed enough already; even Ghost had picked up on his master's worry and was pacing in the room. "I don't think we can safely assume that that won't happen," Weiss said, "but in the short term, I am more concerned about the Order's standing amongst the Faith and the nobility, as well as the smallfolk, suffering."
Blake nodded in apparent agreement. "It will certainly be used against us and against our friends. I've heard some comments about Brienne in the past."
Yang frowned at her. "Would they really turn against us? After all the talk about being blessed by the Seven?"
"And after saving the city from Wildfire," Ruby added.
"The Faith has a faction that opposes us," Weiss reminded them.
Yang nodded. "Right. They had a brawl over that."
"Yes. And while the vast majority of the Faith supports us," Weiss went on, "and has more or less silenced the minority, I do not doubt that those who dislike us are still around, holding their tongues, and would jump at such an opportunity to slander us." She pursed her lips; she didn't want to touch the next point, but it was a factor as well. "And we are most often known as the 'Four Maidens', which at least implies some manner of chastity." She felt her cheeks grow warmer as a result of her - profoundly baseless - embarrassment.
Yang snorted at that, and probably at Weiss as well. "I never claimed to be a maiden."
Ruby rolled her eyes at that, Weiss noted. And Jon had grown wide-eyed and very silent. Ghost was still mimicking him, too. Blake, though, was looking at the table. Weiss wasn't going to touch that.
Then Ruby spoke up. "Look, some people do not like us, we know that. They won't really like us, no matter what we do. But those people who wouldn't like us any more if they knew about Yang and Blake, they don't really like us anyway; they like what… what fantasies of us they have in their heads. If someone won't like you any more if they get to know you, they never liked you in the first place."
She was a bit rambling, but she wasn't wrong, so Weiss nodded in agreement and earned a smile from her partner.
"Anyway! We also know that we have to watch what we say so people don't suddenly start treating it as a holy command," Ruby went on. "So, if Yang and Blake love each other, then shouldn't those people accept that?"
"They'd better!" Yang muttered.
Weiss thought it over. "Some certainly will treat such a 'revelation' as a reason to change their views. However, some will consider this a reason to denounce us. I don't know how many will end up in each camp, so to speak."
"Who cares?" Yang said. "We're not doing anything wrong; we shouldn't have to hide our love just so a bunch of bigots get their illusions about us destroyed."
"We do need to consider the effects of such a course of action since it's not just us, but others, especially our friends, who will be affected," Weiss pointed out - again. "Especially once we leave this world. We might not need the support of anyone else - although that is questionable since we need help searching for a way home - but our friends most definitely don't need more enemies; without a doubt, some already are hostile towards them merely because of their association with us."
Yang frowned at that but didn't retort; Weiss took that as an acknowledgement of her argument.
"Still, it's not as if loving your partner regardless of their gender is wrong," Ruby said. "People shouldn't have to hide their relationship like that. If we can change that, we should."
"That's the question," Weiss said. "Can we change this?" She didn't like hiding such an important part of yourself either - Ruby was right about nothing benign wrong with a homosexual relationship - but she wasn't certain that they had enough influence to change an entire society's views of it.
Ruby looked at Jon. "What do you think?"
Jon winced. "Uh, my lady, I am not sure if I am the right man to ask about this; I am from the North, not the South, so I was raised a bit differently, and I am sworn to your order."
"Yes, you are. And our knights are expected to honestly state their opinion," Ruby told him.
"I would, my lady - if I knew enough about this to have an opinion. I don't know how the Faith will react to this." Jon looked down at the floor, and Ghost whined a little. "I have never given this much thought, nor has it come up when I talked with friends and acquaintances. Or septons."
"Well, we already told the Faith that we don't care if someone was born a bastard, didn't we?" Ruby said.
"Bastards have been knighted before. Or could join the Faith," Jon pointed out. Unlike homosexual relationships, that was a topic he was well-versed in, Weiss knew.
"Right." Ruby frowned and grabbed an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table, then started munching on it - devoured it in a few bites. "So, we don't know how this will turn out if we go and tell the Faith that there's nothing wrong with two men or two women, or more of either, loving each other."
"Yes," Weiss said.
"But we didn't know how the mission to those ruins would turn out, and we still went on it," Ruby argued.
"We had certain expectations, however," Weiss retorted. "We assumed, and with good reason based on experience, that it was a mission we could be reasonably expected to accomplish." Of course, there was never any absolute certainty when Grimm were involved, but that was the case for every mission for Huntresses.
"I think we should not be too blatant," Blake said, "Not until we have sounded out the situation a bit more." She rubbed her bow, and Weiss knew what she was alluding to.
So did Yang, and Weiss saw how her expression softened. "Sounds good to me."
"Alright. So, we're acting like at Beacon when Professor Goodwitch is around. No public displays of affection," Ruby said after swallowing in a way that had Weiss wince. She should have chewed those apple pieces some more.
"And we feel out how things are seen," Blake added.
Yang nodded. "As long as we don't have to hide from our friends as well."
"Right!" Ruby sighed. "So, that's done then! Next topic!"
"I thought those were the three you wanted to talk about?" Yang asked.
Ruby grinned. "I'm adding a fourth: Do we return as soon as possible? Or do we do a bit of sightseeing, as Weiss mentioned?"
Apparently, Ruby had recovered her desire to see the Titan, Weiss noted.
*****
Titan of Braavos, Bravos, 299 AC
"Wow! Look at that size!"
"We've sailed underneath it, Ruby. We already know how big it is."
"Weiss! It's not the same!"
"How is it any different? It has not changed at all."
"Because now we're much closer! And we can actually enter it!"
Blake Belladonna tried to ignore her friends' bickering while she studied the fortress ahead - and above - of them. It was impressive, of course - especially for a world without concrete and modern construction techniques. Although, according to what they had heard, the Titan had been built out of, and on top of, a natural stone arch linking two islands. Still, the effort it must have taken to carve all that granite into the shape of an armoured warrior, adorned in actual bronze - and she could only wonder how much all that alloy forming part of the upper body and helmet, and the completely ornamental sword the Titan held, must have cost - was mind-boggling. All in all, it reached over half the height of the Wall in the North. And it had been built by hand.
"Someone must have been compensating for something."
Blake chuckled against her will at Yang's comment. Leave it to her girlfriend - she had to get used to that; she now had a girlfriend - to make a lewd joke about a marvel of local engineering. "It serves as an effective gatehouse and lighthouse," she pointed out while a reluctant Weiss explained the joke to Jon while Ruby grimaced.
"We have lighthouses on Patch and fortifications; they look not half as cool as the statue here," Yang said. "But you can't tell me that they needed to make armour for the statue here, or give it a sword, for anything other than looks."
Blake nodded. The thick ropes forming the statue's 'hair' certainly served no military purpose and were, like the sword, just ornaments.
"It's also a demonstration of the city's power," Weiss cut in. "That they can spend a fortune on ornaments without compromising their security sends a message to any potential conqueror."
"And it looks so cool!" Ruby echoed her sister's words. "Can you see the murder holes under the armoured skirt?"
"Kinky!" Yang grinned, and Blake smiled again.
"And the armour is more than just an ornament, Weiss!" Ruby went on. "It serves to protect the stone from catapult shots. And the soldiers inside when they shoot their bows and crossbows. And the catapults they must have."
"And the sword?"
"Uh…" Ruby grimaced. "I'll have to give you that. Now, let's go inside!"
Inside the stone statue, Blake was reminded, rather starkly, of some of the White Fang's underground hideouts. The smell was different - they were in the middle of the sea, after all, not in a cave in Mistral's interior - but the hallways and tunnels looked the same, except for some details. They were probably built in a similar way as well, at least the caves that had been carved out before the Great War to protect against the Grimm and then had been used in the war and later during the Faunus Rights Revolution.
Though the soldiers they saw were, of course, all humans, not Faunus, and wearing local uniforms, not masks. And they didn't have to hide from the local military that could overpower them should they give them a stand-up fight; they were the local military - an important distinction, in her view. In contrast, Team RWBY was the overpowered force that would, should there be a conflict, easily wipe out the defenders here and demolish the fortress, should they desire so.
"Oh, look! From here, I could snipe all the ships in the harbour!" she heard Ruby exclaim from further ahead. She didn't understand the mutterings of the soldiers that this prompted, they were talking in their local language, but she could easily deduce the meaning from the tone - and that the Sealord would receive more information about them. Although as long as that kept him from trying to play any games with them, that would work out well.
"So…" Yang leaned against the wall, hands crossed behind her head so her hair didn't touch the slightly dusty stone - unlike at the bottom of the 'leg', where either the spray from the waves or some underground waterway seemed to seep in through the stone, it was dry here. "Think we have seen everything here?"
They had seen the lighthouse and the part of the fortress covering the harbour; they were kept away from the parts guarding the approaches from the open sea. It would be a sensible precaution if one didn't expect a force to sneak into the harbour hidden in a cargo ship and assault the titan from the rear.
She chuckled; it seemed that the memories also made her think a bit more like the guerrilla war leader she had been instead of the huntress she was training to become. "Ruby will squee a bit more about the whole thing, but I think we've seen all there is to this fortress."
"No urge to climb it?" Yang grinned.
Blake shook her head. She stepped to one of the arrow slits, startling the crow perched there, and looked at the city in the background, with the afternoon sun casting longer shadows over the waterways. It looked beautiful, the waves glittering where the sun touched them, the different architectural styles forming a unique picture, but beneath all that, the city wasn't really any different from King's Landing. Another playground for the rich and powerful.
Which wasn't that different from too many places back in Remnant, of course. She was amongst the most powerful in this world, but that didn't mean she forgot about her struggles back home.
"What are you thinking about?" Yang asked.
If Blake said 'Home', it would bring down the mood. She needed something lighter. "Us," she said with a smile.
"Oh?" Yang grinned. "And what about us?"
"Future Dates," she replied.
Yang's grin widened. "I like that topic." Then her grin turned into a slight pout. "But we're supposed to be a bit discreet until we figure out where things stand."
"As long as we don't kiss in public, no one should find anything strange about us spending time together," Blake said. At least there shouldn't be any rumours started just because they had a drink together; King's Landing wasn't a school full of teenagers who were ruled by their hormones half the time. Granted, some of the gossip Blake had overheard was as bad as the rumour mill at Beacon, but it generally was focused a bit more on politics and intrigue than relationships. Generally.
Yang smiled again. "Well, I'll have to watch myself, then. I'm not exactly used to being discreet on a date."
Blake raised her eyebrows in return. "I wouldn't know. You haven't been on any dates since we met."
"That was because I was partnered with you the day after we met!" Yang glanced to the side, then leaned in and brushed her lips over Blake's cheek.
Blake felt herself blush. Yang was smooth… But she was also deflecting. Not that Blake would dig, of course. If Yang wanted to share her past love life, that would be her decision. Blake's own experiences certainly weren't a topic to be brought up on a whim. That would kill the mood even quicker than thoughts of home.
"Let's return to the inn," she said. "We should be back just in time for dinner." For all the city's faults, they did make better seafood than Westeros.
Yang laughed. "Yeah, let's get stuffed, and then we can check for ships leaving for King's Landing in the next few days." Her smile turned impish as she leaned toward Blake and wriggled her eyebrows. "And then we can go enjoy the nightlife."
Blake blushed; she had an inkling that Yang wasn't, or not just, talking about the taverns and playhouses.
*****
Purple Harbor, Braavos, 299 AC
Yang Xiao Long turned her head back and forth as she checked her hair with her mirror. Which was another drawback of this world: Not only didn't they have decent shampoos, but mirrors were luxury items. Even the dinky hand-held mirror she had to use cost a lot. The bathroom mirror in their dorm at Beacon would be worth a small fortune. And the kind of full-length mirrors you had half a dozen in every clothes shop would cost a king's ransom or something.
Whatever. Her hair was - finally - decent enough for a night in town with Blake. Her girlfriend. She couldn't help smiling at the thought, and she felt like she had a swarm of butterflies fluttering around in her belly. Not that she would let anyone know that - she had a reputation to maintain.
"Are you done admiring yourself? We're getting hungry."
Yang rolled her eyes at Weiss's complaint. "Hold your horses. Or eat them, if you are about to starve. Looking that hot takes time."
Weiss glared at her, but before she could find a reply, Yang stretched and smiled at Blake. "But yes, I am ready for the best night of your life!"
Blake chuckled in return with one of her sly but sweet smiles while Weiss sputtered something about being discreet.
"Then let's go! I'm starving!" Ruby announced.
"You had half a honey cake just a bit ago!"
"Exactly! I'd need a whole cake not to be hungry right now."
Yang shook her head at the exchange. Weiss apparently preferred to complain about Ruby's sweet tooth rather than be happy for the support. Well, the girl was crabby when she was hungry. In any case…. Yang trailed off when she saw Blake cock her head to the side and look at the door. Someone must be coming.
And Ghost, who had been gnawing on a bone in a corner, stood, sniffed and then growled.
Yang muttered a curse under her breath. "What now?"
"It smells like a Faceless Man, my lady," Jon replied a moment before someone knocked on their door.
"I don't smell anything," Ruby said as she picked up Crescent Rose.
Yang glanced at Blake, but her girlfriend shook her head - she hadn't smelt anything either, then.
Weiss was already walking towards the door, hand on Myrtenaster's grip. "Yes?" she called out.
"Message for you, m'ladies."
That sounded suspicious. Yang cracked her knuckles, just in case, as Ruby nodded at Weiss.
"Alright." Weiss opened the door. It was an older man - Yang could see a face with lots of lines and wrinkles. Like an old sailor.
Ghost growled again, and Weiss said: "You've got a message from the House of Black and White."
The assassin nodded. Even from pretty close, Yang couldn't tell that he was wearing a dead man's face. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of all those faces on the wall in the temple's basement, waiting to be used.
"Do you wish to receive it in private?" he asked.
Weiss opened the door some more, waited until he had stepped in, then closed it. Yang waited for a few seconds, but Blake didn't signal any additional people headed their way.
"So, what's the message?" Ruby asked.
"The Seer would wish to know if the girls would like to have some troublesome nobles dealt with."
Yang blinked. She hadn't expected that. And, judging by the surprise on their faces, neither had her friends and Ruby. That was…
"You offer to kill people for being a nuisance?" Weiss asked.
"Valar morghulis." The assassin didn't move - didn't even nod. Creepy as fuck.
"Uh…" Ruby shook her head. "No, we don't want anyone killed! Not even if they are annoying! We want to protect people, not kill them!"
"Killing is a last resort for us," Weiss added.
"Valar dohaeris." The man stepped back, looked at Weiss until she opened the door, then left.
"What was that?" Ruby asked. "Were they serious? Did they ask if they should kill Lord Tormo and Lord Albero?"
"They didn't mention any names, but that was how I understood their offer," Weiss said.
Blake nodded.
Yang agreed, if not aloud.
"So, now we need to watch everything we say so we don't accidentally set the Faceless Men on people who annoy us?" Ruby slowly shook her head.
"That's going to be annoying, what with how annoying so many nobles are," Yang said with a toothy grin. It wasn't really funny, though - the last thing she wanted was to get someone killed because she dissed them or something. She already had one accidental death on her head; she didn't need another one.
Blake nodded in silent but clear agreement.
And Weiss sighed. "It seems the Faceless Men think their god wants them to help us,"
"By killing annoying nobles?" Ruby asked with a grimace.
"They are assassins in a death cult," Blake said. "It's what they know. And I think they also want to use the opportunity to strengthen their reputation after our visit. The fact that they didn't kill us after we publicly called them out must have made them look weaker than they like."
That Yang could understand. Not that she was an assassin. But if she were schooled by some wimp - say, lost a sparring match against Jaune by some freak accident - then she'd look for a quick way to show everyone that it had been a fluke and she hadn't lost her touch. Without killing someone, though.
She looked at Jon, who hadn't said anything yet. He was still staring at the door and rubbing his nose. No help from there, then.
Yang shook her head. "Well, we told them not to kill annoyances. Not much more we can do unless we want to shut them down for good."
"That would break the agreement we made and likely make them attack us or our friends in retaliation," Weiss said.
"They also might spread out and form independent cells that act on their own - splintering as a result," Blake added. "That would make stopping them very difficult."
"Right, let's not do that," Yang said.
"Yes," Ruby said. "But we probably should talk to them again, to sort things out."
Yang didn't like it, but she couldn't see a better option. She sighed. "That can wait until tomorrow, though. Let's go eat something. I'm starving."
"Oh, now you are starving?" Weiss complained.
Yang ignored her and offered her arm to Blake. And when her girlfriend took it, she felt butterflies flapping their wings in her belly again.