Rimu
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Ruby sounded interested in Robb in the last chapter so I wasn t sure
And what about each other?
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A Song of Ice and Fire Cut Short by Dust (RWBY in Westeros)
- Thread starter Starfox5
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And what about each other?
Starfox5
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That is a possibility, but nothing is set for now.
McReaperking
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Looks promising so far but i do hope they dont nativise and defer too much to the petty lords of westeros (yes that includes the starks). They come from a significantly advanced culture, from technological to cultural advancements. It would be interesting if they could improve things like weapon crafting, metallurgy and even their basic science should be leagues ahead of what maesters know. Im not asking for an uplift style arc, but it would be pretty cool if they improved atleast something.
I really hope Ruby doesn't end up with Robb as he is right now. Robb during the war of 5 kings though would be a much more worthy match.
The records of the maesters is also troubling as he refers to the others and such in myth only. It implies that there wasn't much change to the societal structure of westeros which would be disappointing.
Also there are some interesting places they could investigate. Firstly there are the dawn age era fused stone structures of the fortress Hightower is built upon and the 5 forts in Yi Ti. Then there are the oily black structures of Ashai and Yeen which no living thing grows near. They could also come across the oily black stone chair of old wyk much earlier and have a poor reaction to it because it is very obviously magical in nature and has been theorized to have a corrupting influence which is heavily linked to the corruption of the blood betrayal.
It would also be cool if they explored Old Valyria which is a blank slate. Combined with the fact that It has monsters and an inhospitable climate, it would be perfect grounds for a hunter exploration.
For an even deeper cut would be Rhoyne and the Rhoynar ruins. There is definitely some lingering magic there considering the vision Tyrion had while near them. Also please let them blow up the Warlocks and the house of the undying.
ASOIAF and planetos masquerade as a low fantasy world, but its a high fantasy world in disguise. theres some freaky shit in there. Euron is also a significant threat.
I really hope Ruby doesn't end up with Robb as he is right now. Robb during the war of 5 kings though would be a much more worthy match.
The records of the maesters is also troubling as he refers to the others and such in myth only. It implies that there wasn't much change to the societal structure of westeros which would be disappointing.
Also there are some interesting places they could investigate. Firstly there are the dawn age era fused stone structures of the fortress Hightower is built upon and the 5 forts in Yi Ti. Then there are the oily black structures of Ashai and Yeen which no living thing grows near. They could also come across the oily black stone chair of old wyk much earlier and have a poor reaction to it because it is very obviously magical in nature and has been theorized to have a corrupting influence which is heavily linked to the corruption of the blood betrayal.
It would also be cool if they explored Old Valyria which is a blank slate. Combined with the fact that It has monsters and an inhospitable climate, it would be perfect grounds for a hunter exploration.
For an even deeper cut would be Rhoyne and the Rhoynar ruins. There is definitely some lingering magic there considering the vision Tyrion had while near them. Also please let them blow up the Warlocks and the house of the undying.
ASOIAF and planetos masquerade as a low fantasy world, but its a high fantasy world in disguise. theres some freaky shit in there. Euron is also a significant threat.
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Starfox5
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They won't go native. They defer to locals mostly because this isn't their country, and they need the locals' assistance in getting home. The issue with uplifting is that any significant improvement, even simple ones, will take more time than the story will cover. Metallurgy is amongst the most difficult to advance - they can give pointers and ideas, but working out the details will take years of trial and error. Even more so for other material sciences. There's just so much between castle-forged steel and the high-performance materials used in Remnant so the locals can't skip those steps. Tools, tolerances, measurements... Often, RWBY won't even know the local names much less what X is in local units. So, they're more inspirational in what they change.
That said, as the excerpts should show or hint at, things did improve. A future excerpt, f.e., refers to the current times as the era when heavy cavalry still ruled the battlefield.
The odds of any member of RWBY ending up with a local are very, very low. The gap in attitude, knowledge, expectations and sheer power is just too vast.
Social structure changed a lot in our world even though we consider the Greek myths myths. (In fact, it's because the world changed that he's trying to disprove any supernatural aspect to the "Order of the Ruby".)
Yeah, they'll like visit a bunch of places - I'm not yet set on any specific.
A nice vacation from the plots of the courts.
Not sure they'll blow up warlocks or anything in Essos.
I'm not a fan of Euron - he comes over as too much of a Villain Sue in too many stories, and often arrives out of the blue, with powers tailor-made to challenge whoever is the MC of the story, often looking like a "continuation villain" added after a story was done and the author or publishing house wanted to continue the series for another arc. So, not sure if he will appear. He could be a good "lesson" in how to fight magic villains, I assume.
Chapter 5: Meeting Royalty
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Starfox5
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Chapter 5: Meeting Royalty
'Most of the records, for obvious reasons, that cover King Robert Baratheon's reign focus on his rebellion against the Targaryen dynasty or the Succession. There is a dearth of sources covering his actual reign, although all agree that it was rather unspectacular, with the Greyjoy Rebellion standing out as the only notable event during the period - showing an unfortunately common bias towards war and other conflicts that persisted for centuries and, together with the loss of various records due to environmental hazards and wars, greatly hampers a modern historian's attempts to gain a clearer picture of the realm at peace in those times. Fortunately, the Ruby Order appeared during the waning days of King Robert's reign, and so we have several primary sources about the King's meeting with the Ruby Order in Winterfell. However, as with most sources from that time, all of them have to be considered biased for the various factions involved in the Succession, so they must be diligently examined and interpreted to sift truth from fiction.
While it is well-documented, again for reasons that should be obvious to anyone even remotely familiar with that period of Westeros, that the King was prone to fathering bastards, even sources very favourable to his house mentioning it, we can state with confidence that he did not have any such relations with the Four Maidens. There is only one, albeit relatively oft-quoted, source claiming this, and the author has been proven not to have been in Winterfell at the time. Lacking any verified sources, the report can be dismissed as a complete fabrication. However, dismissing the claims that Queen Cersei, one of the most controversial persons of the era, showed hostility towards the Order as soon as they were introduced to her is much more difficult. Even sources favourable to her do not deny that she had a volatile temper and was both excessively vain and extremely proud, which would make such a reaction plausible. However, even this task pales in comparison to trying to determine what claim about Prince Joffrey's reaction is actually true. The only thing all sources agree on is that he took great interest in the Four Maidens, albeit that could be said of anyone in the King's company at the time.'
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
"Lady Yang isn't a bastard?" Eddard Stark asked again. Just to be sure he hadn't misunderstood Jon and Arya.
"No, father. We, ah… happened to bring the topic up," Jon said with a glance at Arya that told Ned exactly who had brought up the topic, "and she clearly denied being a bastard - her father had married her mother, but she had left him shortly after Lady Yang's birth."
"Benjen said she had told him she was a bastard." Ned's brother had been clear about that.
"That apparently had been a misunderstanding. It's a sore subject for Lady Yang, with her mother gone, and so she didn't, ah, talk about it much," Jon said. "But she told us that she took her father's name, and Lady Ruby took her mother's name, as was custom in their home."
"Neither of them are bastards," Arya added.
"I see." Ned tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his guts, and the brief guilt for hiding the truth about Jon's parentage from him, and leaned back in his seat. So, he had heard correctly. And what had seemed like another children's scuffle blown out of proportion when Jon and Arya had all but barged into his solar, prompting Cat to scold them both, was now turning out to be a serious affair. Maybe deadly serious - he searched his memory; had he or anyone else ever treated Lady Yang as a bastard? Implied it? Insulted her honour? He didn't recall any such incident, but people might have done so out of his view.
"By the Seven!" Cat whispered. Ned glanced at her and tensed - she had grown deathly pale and had stayed silent since Jon and Arya had started to explain. "We thought… And she knows that we - that all of us - have been mistaking her for a bastard?"
Jon and Arya grimaced, which was answer enough to bury Ned's faint hope that Lady Yang hadn't been aware of this part.
"Ned… she will think we have been telling people that she was a bastard!" Cat was trembling, and with good cause.
Ned felt like his blood had frozen in his veins. Calling someone a bastard… Blood feuds had been started over less. Much less. And if Lady Yang and her friends took offence, they might tear down Winterfell in response. Literally.
"Well, you told us she was!" Arya said. "I wouldn't have asked her if I hadn't thought she was a bastard."
"Arya!" Cat snapped. "What possessed you to ask her such a thing?"
Arya pouted. "I wanted her and Jon to marry so we get our alliance and Jon can stay here."
Ned blinked. Arya had… That was what she had kept in mind from the whole lecture they had given the children?
Cat seemed too shocked to say anything.
And Jon shook his head. "I didn't say anything! It wasn't my idea! I tried to stop her, Father. I did."
"You like her! And she likes you! It was obvious!" Arya protested.
Ned ignored her and looked at Cat. "We have to do something. Quickly."
"Yes." Cat nodded, regaining her composure. "We have to make amends. Before Lady Yang takes action."
And Lady Ruby, of course. It was obvious now that they both were heirs to their families.
"She didn't seem mad," Arya said. "She was more… surprised. Confused. She wasn't mad, I tell you!"
Ned sighed. He couldn't trust his daughter's judgement in this, but maybe he could salvage this. "I'll talk to her." And he'd think about what amends he could offer to avoid a bloodbath.
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
Ned nodded at the courier and let the man take care of his horse and himself; he had ridden hard to bring the news Ned had expected: Robert was arriving today. Unless the wheelhouse of the royal family broke down again, though, unless Ned's friend had suddenly become much more patient, Robert would probably ride ahead anyway.
He suppressed a sigh. Robert had the worst timing. Not that it was his friend's fault. No, if anyone was at fault, it was Ned. And Benjen. If Ned's brother had not mistakenly assured Lady Yang was a bastard, things might be different.
Might be, or might not - even with that knowledge, Ned wasn't sure that he would have managed to secure an engagement between Robb and Lady Ruby or her sister. Cat thought so, but Ned disagreed. Arranging an engagement with the daughter of a house that wasn't part of the North was often a delicate and lengthy affair under the best circumstances. And the circumstances with Team Ruby could hardly be called ideal, even without the unfortunate misunderstanding.
He scoffed at his own thoughts. A misunderstanding? They had mistaken a legitimate noblewoman for a bastard! He had gone to the godswood and prayed to the Old Gods in gratitude that Lady Yang had not taken offence - had, actually, asked him not to punish Arya for her blunder! Despite her somewhat rash manners, she was obviously as kind as her sister.
And, unfortunately, as strange and different as well. All of them were - even Lady Weiss, who seemed the closest to understanding the North, likely because she hailed from a similar region in their homeland. Their manners and views sometimes seemed to be even more outrageous than their power. The way they acted, uncaring of their obvious rank and status, the way they sometimes marvelled at the most common things, such as common lemon cakes from the kitchen, yet seemed to take the Glass Gardens, Ned's pride and joy, and the heated pipes of Winterfell, a marvel in the North, in stride… It was all so confusing. To be so powerful, yet naive in some ways, was as endearing as it was terrifying and made trying to deal with them a challenge. One like trying to transport a jar of Wildfire on a rocky road.
Honestly, Ned would prefer not to deal with their visitors. Send them away to Oldtown or King's Landing, or Essos, and wish them well. But he couldn't do that. The girls were too strong to be set loose, far too strong. If Ned didn't get an alliance with them, someone else would - and Ned knew what many noble houses would do if they achieved that. Honour didn't mean as much in the South as it did in the North, and even oaths would be put aside to satisfy ambition. Team Ruby might not fly or breathe fire, but they would wreck an army in the field as effectively as dragons could, and three dragons had been enough to conquer Westeros. How many nobles would follow Balon Greyjoy's example if they thought - with good reason - that they could win against the might of the Seven Kingdoms?
The answer was: Too many. If Ned wanted to keep his family and lands safe, he needed to have an alliance with his guests. Otherwise, his own oaths to the crown might see him and his banners face them in the field. Ned had fought in two wars already; he didn't want to fight in a third, and certainly not on the side doomed to lose.
Sometimes, Ned thought it would make the most sense to simply ask Lady Ruby straight away if she was amenable to an engagement with Robb, either for herself or for her sister, instead of trying to subtly sound them out beforehand.
But Cat was right; they couldn't risk another blunder. Not when dealing with girls who could not only lift wagons without any trouble and cut down trees thicker than a man's torso with a single swing of their blade, but also took full swings from swords to the face without a scratch. Granted, that had been a training sword, but any normal girl would have been dead or maimed after such a blow instead of telling Jon how happy she was that he finally stopped holding back.
And as terrifying as it was to see them spar with each other, trading blows that could shatter stone on a miss, Ned was certain that they were holding back and hiding their true strength. They were good, easily better than most knights Ned had seen fight, but sometimes, they seemed to stumble or hesitate at odd moments - making mistakes no knight as skilled as they were would do.
No, starting a fight with them would be a disaster for Ned and his family. And that was without considering that some of the smallfolk in Winterfell were muttering about the girls being messengers of the Old Gods. Or the Old Gods themselves. A ludicrous notion, of course - the girls might be foreigners from a strange land, but they were no more divine than Ned himself was unless the gods had truly gone crazy - but Ned didn't want to find out what might happen if his people thought he'd go against the gods. Nothing good would come of that.
But all that didn't change that Ned had failed to secure an engagement with Lady Ruby, and now Robert would arrive, with half the royal court, or so it seemed, and that would complicate matters.
Ned would have to talk to his friend as soon as possible to head off the potential disaster.
"I can see the King's banner!" Perkin, the guard stationed at the top of the closest tower, yelled down.
Ned straightened and looked at his family. Everyone was present and dressed in their finest clothes. Even Arya - after her blunder had imperilled the entire family, his daughter knew better than to disobey her parents again. Cat just finished redoing the ties of her cloak before inspecting the rest of their children. Benjen stood next to them, dressed in the black leathers of the Night's Watch, and… Ned sighed. To the side, near the stables, Lady Yang was chatting with Jon. The last thing Ned wanted was for his nephew to draw Robert's attention, and even wearing a proper Northern dress, Lady Yang's hair and face would draw his friend's eye.
But before he could think of the best way to separate the two, Lady Weiss had already wandered over and all but dragged Lady Yang back to the rest of their group, who were waiting slightly behind Ned as honoured guests. Lady Yang seemed amused rather than offended by being treated like a wayward child, he noticed.
"Alright, Team!" he heard Lady Ruby exclaim. "We're gonna meet a king, so let's be on our best behaviour!"
"Yeah!" Lady Yang chimed in, to the obvious displeasure of Lady Weiss. Lady Blake, on the other hand, seemed to be too busy staring at the kennels on the other side of the courtyard to pay any attention to the scene.
"Well, they aren't wearing their 'combat clothes'," Ned whispered when he saw Cat frowning as she joined his side.
Cat frowned at him in return. "You know how much work that took," she whispered back.
"I know." Kissing her would have been inappropriate, but he wrapped his arm around her waist for a brief, one-sided hug. If Lady Ruby and her friends had insisted on 'making an impression'... Well, no need to worry about it any more.
And there came the King! Ned straightened and took a step forward as the royal party rode into Winterfell, with his friend in the lead, flanked by two members of the Kingsguard. He smiled - he hadn't seen his friend in almost ten years. And Robert…
…had grown fat, Ned realised.
"Ned!" Robert bellowed - at least his voice had not changed - as he dismounted and walked towards him.
"Your Grace." Ned knelt, as did everyone else in the courtyard. He resisted the sudden urge to glance over his shoulder to check if his guests were kneeling as well, though the lack of any reaction from Robert and the others in his party told him they were. "Winterfell is yours."
"Stand up, Ned, and let me look at you! You haven't changed a bit!"
"Unlike you," Ned replied with a faint smile as Robert hugged him. He heard Cat gasp softly next to him, but his friend laughed. "I know, I know! I can still swing a hammer, though!"
Ned believed him - his friend might have grown fat, but his strength hadn't waned much, if at all, as Ned's ribs told him.
Robert released him and greeted Cat. "Lady Catelyn! As beautiful as you were at your wedding!"
"Your Grace." Cat curtsied, and Ned caught Lady Ruby staring intently at her as Robert greeted his children before turning towards the Prince, who had dismounted.
"Joffrey! Come! Let me present you to my best friend!"
Ned studied the lad as he approached. He was slender and had the Lannister hair, Ned noticed. Though, he realised with a mixture of amusement and worry as he saw the Prince stare at Ned's guests, the Prince obviously had his father's eye for the ladies.
Prince Joffrey wasn't too distracted to forget his manners, though, and greeted Ned and his family properly.
Then the queen arrived with her two younger children in tow - on foot, since they must have been travelling in the giant wheelhouse, too wide and tall to pass through Winterfell's gate, and more greetings were exchanged, as well as bread and salt shared. Where Robert was genuine and charming, Queen Cersei was polite but aloof. And her expression when she noticed Lady Ruby and her friends, coupled with a glance at Robert, spelt trouble.
"And who are those charming maidens, Ned?" Robert had noticed them as well, of course.
Ned cleared his throat. "Ah, Your Grace - may I introduce Lady Ruby, Lady Weiss, Lady Blake and Lady Yang. They are guests at Winterfell - they were stranded in the North after a mishap."
To his relief, Lady Ruby didn't cheerfully start telling the royal family about everything they had gone through but merely curtsied with an almost shy smile. "We're honoured to make your acquaintance, Your Grace!" she said as her friends curtsied as well - with more grace than her, Ned couldn't help noticing.
Robert beamed at them, but the Queen's expression could have frozen molten steel, and despite the scowl that appeared on Queen Cersei's face, Ned was relieved when Robert insisted on paying his respects to Lyanna, prompting the Queen to proceed to their quarters with her children without him.
Their quarters, which were, he realised, perhaps, a bit too close to Lady Ruby's, but Ned couldn't do anything about that without offending either the Royal family or Lady Ruby and her friends.
He needed to explain a few things to his friend, and that was best done in private and as soon as possible. Fortunately, the crypt offered both.
"A word, Robert," Ned called when his friend had paid his respects in front of Lyanna's grave.
"Yes?" His friend frowned. "I actually have something to talk to you as well…"
"It's important," Ned told him. "Very important." For everyone. "You need to know a few things about my guests."
"Oh?" Robert grinned.
Ned sighed again. "They are not from Westeros. Nor from Essos. They aren't familiar with our customs, so if they seem to give offence, it's because they don't know better."
"Oh, don't worry! Who could carry a grudge against such lovely maidens?" Robert smiled, then frowned. "Except for Cersei, of course. I see the problem."
No, you don't, Ned thought. He took a deep breath. "Each of the four maidens also could defeat the entire Kingsguard by themselves." Probably with one hand tied behind their back.
Robert blinked. "What?"
Ned sighed. This would take a bit to explain so his friend would believe it.
The King kept looking at them even though they were wearing the proper dresses and looked perfectly normal. So, why did he stare at them as if they had done something wrong? They hadn't! Ruby Rose glanced at her team, who was seated next to her, at the end of the 'high table', as they called the table for the Starks and their guests, to check again, but no, everyone was on their best behaviour. And Blake's cat ears were hidden under her ribbon, as usual, so that wasn't it either. And Ruby hadn't stained her dress.
She glanced at her team. None of their dresses were stained. Or 'inappropriate' - they were covered from neck to floor, not very tight so at least they could move in them though fighting would tear them, with long sleeves - though not as long as the billowing sleeves of the Queen; those almost reached the floor or so - and a high collar with lots of needlework and fur that was slightly itchy if you closed it. They also looked very similar to each other, but apparently, that was the style in the North. At least, they had different colours - Ruby's was dark red, Yang's was dark yellow, Blake's was dark grey and Weiss's was dark blue. But they were so bland, no one should be looking at them!
She clenched her teeth. This was making her nervous! She felt like she did whenever a teacher at Beacon frowned at her even though she had done all her homework and hadn't been sneaking out of the school at night. But they hadn't really done anything - they hadn't even done any training today; Weiss had insisted that they went over, again, how to behave in front of the King instead. All those rules had been very confusing. Fortunately, Ruby had paid attention to how Lady Catelyn curtsied, or she would have messed up.
Oh.
"Do you think Lord Eddard told him about us? The King, I mean," she whispered to Weiss, who was seated directly next to her.
"I believe so, yes," Weiss replied in that tone she sometimes took when she thought Ruby had asked a stupid question.
She blushed and hoped that Benjen, seated on her other side, hadn't overheard them. That would be embarrassing. It wasn't as if she hadn't also assumed that, but it was better to check before making assumptions, especially if they involved royalty. There were just too many mistakes you could make if you were nervous (like she was)! She was very glad that Team RWBY wasn't spread out between the new guests, like the other Starks were, but seated together.
"Where are you from, Lady Ruby?"
She froze for a moment. That was Prince Joffrey, talking to her across the table - he was sitting much closer to Lord Stark, next to Sansa. Was she supposed to talk across so many other people? Wasn't that rude? Oh, the others around them had fallen silent. Even the little man, Lord Lannister. Well, Joffrey was the crown prince. If he spoke, people listened, right?
And she needed to answer, or she'd be rude. To royalty. "We're from Vale," she told him. "Your Grace." Couldn't forget the title. Weiss had been very clear about that. "Not the Vale of Westeros, but one of the four kingdoms of our home. Well, Yang and I are from Vale, Weiss is from Atlas and Blake from Mistral." That was the cover story, at least, since she was hiding her Faunus ears. "But we all go to Beacon, the Huntsman Academy of Vale."
"You have an academy for hunters?" The Prince sounded amused.
"Huntsmen and Huntresses, Your Grace," she corrected him, then flushed in embarrassment. Was she supposed to correct royalty? But if no one corrected them, how would they keep from repeating their mistakes?
"They are the protectors of their people, Prince Joffrey," Lord Eddard cut in. "Like an order of knights."
"Knights?" The Prince was laughing, and Ruby frowned. He wasn't the only one, she noticed - many of the new guests were laughing or smirking. Even the handsome Knight of the Kingsguard.
Arya looked like she wanted to yell at the Prince but didn't. And Sansa looked lost.
"They are formidable warriors, Your Grace," Benjen said. "I've not seen the like in my life."
Ruby smiled at him for his support.
"I'll believe that you haven't seen girls fighting," the Prince replied with a smirk. "You're a Black Brother, aren't you?"
Benjen tensed at that but didn't correct the Prince even though Ruby knew that he had been fighting Wildlings, and they included women - spearwives they were called, as Ruby had learned - amongst their raiders. Some of them had attacked Team RWBY on the way south.
Benjen wasn't the only one who looked annoyed - or angry. Robb was glaring at the Prince, and even Lord Stark was frowning. Maybe Ruby should say something? The King and his family obviously didn't know about Team RWBY, so…
"You have to admit, Ned, that none of them looks as if they could lift a sword, much less swing it while wearing armour," the King spoke up. "Now, I believe you - you have never told me a lie - but you have to admit that it sounds a little far-fetched that they could not merely fight but defeat any knight in the castle, including the Kingsguard."
Ruby almost missed how Lord Stark winced when everyone at the table started to talk at once.
"Preposterous!"
"I've seen them cut through trees with one swing!"
"Little girls like that? Do you think we're fools?"
"They could fight you all at once and win! Maybe they should!"
"Arya!"
"Your Grace, please, I've seen them train myself…"
"And here I thought Lord Stark had no sense of humour!"
"I would not be so sure, brother…"
"Those little girls beating grown knights? Hah!"
"Northern knights, maybe - there's so few of them to begin with."
"I know what swords they are handling!"
"I wouldn't mind 'fighting' them!"
Ruby pressed her lips together and balled her hands into fists under the table. They were supposed to be polite and behave like ladies, but this wasn't how ladies were treated! She didn't know as much about this country's customs as Weiss did, but she knew that! She glared at the King - he was the King, so he was responsible for his people! And he wasn't doing anything! No, even worse - when he looked at her, he was smirking! Smirking when people were mocking her team!
Screw it! She stood up, narrowed her eyes at him with a huff, then activated her Semblance and dashed around the table too fast for anyone to see, much less react, coming to a stop behind him. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed his chair and lifted him over her head while the rose petals trailing behind her faded slowly.
Everyone froze and stared at her, and Ruby felt her cheeks flush before she clenched her teeth. She had no reason to be embarrassed!
"Unhand the King!" someone - one of the knights in white plate armour - snapped, his sword out and pointed at her. The other Kingsguard she recognised, the handsome blonde, though he wasn't wearing his armour, was standing as well, sword drawn.
"Ruby!" Weiss yelled.
"You go, Sis!" Yang cheered.
"Lady Ruby!" Lady Stark looked shocked.
Then the King laughed out loud. She looked up and saw he was leaning over the side - she had to adjust her grip - and he was smiling at her. "So, Ned was right! You are stronger than the Mountain!"
Now, she felt embarrassed. Had he wanted her to lose her temper? Had she played into his hand? But she had made her point. She slowly lowered the chair down to the ground, taking care not to drop it or break it. "I don't know who the Mountain is, but we're pretty strong, yes."
"And modest, too!" The King had a booming laugh, like Professor Port. He had a similar figure as well.
"Well…" What should she say? She felt like a fool for losing her temper. Everyone was staring at her. "...we're Huntresses," she finished. Lame.
He laughed again, and the others joined in. Or almost all of them - the Queen and Lady Stark weren't laughing, she noted. And Weiss was covering her face with her hands.
But the King was laughing, and the creeps making lewd comments had shut up, and her dress hadn't been torn while she ran, so she counted this as a win.
Weiss Schnee was going to kill Ruby. In self-defence because Ruby kept trying to kill her. Assaulting the King! After everything they had gone over about how to act in front of royalty!
At least the king had a sense of humour and was amused - he was laughing and joking with Ruby. And, unless Weiss was completely mistaken, which was unlikely but not entirely impossible, the King had expected something like this to happen - and had engineered it. Of course, as the King, he would be used to plots and power plays, and she could see how he used his portly stature and boisterous nature to fool others into overlooking his depths. Not unlike Professor Port.
She looked away from Ruby, who was blushing furiously in response to another joke from the King, and glanced at the rest of Team RWBY. Blake was as composed as ever, though Weiss could tell she wasn't truly relaxed but ready to spring into action, and Yang…
"That's my little sis!"
…was as cheerful about the whole near-catastrophe as Weiss should have expected.
She sighed under her breath and looked at the rest of the table. Lord Stark was smiling, though it was hard to tell if he was truly relaxed or just polite - he wasn't very expressive. Lady Catelyn, on the other hand, was not happy; Weiss knew her well enough now to be able to tell. Sansa was looking relieved and slightly confused. The girl was obviously still adjusting to the sudden development. And the Prince…
Weiss frowned. The Prince was staring at Ruby. He had gone from dismissive to completely focused, maybe fixated on her. No, she realised when he glanced in her direction, he wasn't fixated on Ruby - he was focused on Team RWBY.
She met his eyes with a cool expression, inclining her head in the slightest hint of a nod. She was a Schnee, and prince or not, Schnees bowed to no one. Well, not unless manners demanded it. But no one would intimidate her.
He smirked and then looked at Blake, then Yang, ignoring Sansa's attempts to restart their conversation.
Weiss suppressed the urge to shake her head and let her gaze wander. Arya was talking the second prince's head off, or so it seemed, and Bran looked like he was answering a lot of questions from the princess. Children being children, in other words. The adults were far more important. Lord Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf, was joking with the blonde Kingsguard; as Weiss understood they were brothers to the queen, though the knight only seemed to listen half-heartedly. He wasn't smirking at them any more, Weiss noted with more than a little satisfaction. While Ruby's impulsive action had gone against the plan they had agreed upon for this - it was pretty much the opposite of keeping your head down and behaving like noble ladies - Weiss had to admit that it had been galling to be laughed at and dismissed as liars.
She would still have a talk with Ruby about this.
Yes, she told herself when she saw the Queen's cold expression as Ruby was talking with the King, they would have to discuss this.
But in private, not in public.
"This was an impressive demonstration, Lady Weiss."
She turned her head and looked at the little man - Lord Tyrion, she corrected herself. "I am happy you think so, my lord," she replied. He had heterochromia, she noticed when she met his eyes.
"Are all of you as fast and strong?"
"We're not quite as fast as Lady Ruby, but we're much stronger than we look." That was already known by everyone in Winterfell, and she had no doubt that the visitors would know it by tomorrow at the latest.
"I've never seen someone so fast you couldn't see them move - not that far, at least," he went on. "Those petals she was trailing… They appeared and vanished like magic."
Oh. "It's a family trait," she told him. And it was an effect of Ruby's Semblance, not 'magic', but that was another topic.
"Ruby's a Rose," Yang added with a grin.
"Ah." Lord Tyrion nodded. "And you have similar traits, I presume."
"Not like her," Weiss said.
"I just hit stuff," Yang cut in again, smacking her fist into her palm.
"Fascinating." The man smiled. "Although, as my dear brother is fond to say, mere strength and quickness will always yield to skill."
Not when facing a Huntress, Weiss thought. "Indeed," she said, smiling politely.
"Well, I suspect we'll be granted the opportunity to judge how skilled you are ourselves - I believe the King will insist on a demonstration." Lord Tyrion nodded towards the head of the table with a smirk.
Weiss followed his gaze and saw that Ruby was still talking to the King, standing between him and Lord Stark - and moving her hands as if she were wielding her scythe while she told him about Crescent Rose. "I believe so as well," she said in a dry voice.
Maybe giving Ruby a chaperone wouldn't have been a bad idea. Weiss wanted to join the discussion, but she knew better than to push their luck and butt in. Ruby's stunt had worked out, but that didn't mean another faux pas would be tolerated, much less welcomed.
"Will you be sparring with the Kingsguard, then, my lady?" Lord Tyrion asked before taking a sip from his glass.
Weiss would rather not spar with, according to Bran, the best fighters in the entire kingdom. She had no doubt that they wouldn't take a loss well. But she also was sure that they couldn't avoid that. Still, this would take a delicate touch to…
"Hell, yeah!" Yang beamed at Lord Tyrion's brother. "Can't wait to find out how good you are!"
The knight seemed surprised at first before he smirked at her. "You took the words out of my mouth, my lady."
"Oh, great, now there are two of them," Blake whispered next to Weiss.
Weiss nodded, but her attention was on the Queen, whose expression had grown even colder - she was openly frowning, and at Yang and the others, not at Ruby any more, Weiss noticed.
And she couldn't help wondering again if Ruby charming the King had been a good idea or not.
They had to discuss this. And soon.
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and you spent the entire evening talking to that barbarian, shaming your own family! Shaming me!"
"What are you talking about, woman? I spent the whole evening next to you!"
"Ignoring me while that harlot all but crawled into your lap!"
"Don't insult Ned's guests, woman! I know the difference between a harlot and a noblewoman!"
"And yet, you treat them all the same! I bet they're already waiting in your bed!"
"It's not as if you'll be there, is it?"
"Get out!"
"With pleasure! Who would want to stay in the same chamber as a woman so cold, even hot springs freeze around her?"
Blake Belladonna, hiding in the shadows beneath the windows leading into the royal bedroom - the Queen's chamber, it seemed, given what she overheard - winced as she heard the sound of a door being slammed shut. It was obvious that the marriage between the King and Queen was… 'rocky' would be an euphemism if this was a typical evening talk for the royal couple.
"That oaf! To disgrace me so by lusting after foreign barbarians! In front of the entire hall and his supposed best friend. So much for the 'honourable Lord Stark'! Shaming me by bringing such foreign sluts to the table as if they were noble ladies! And that after dragging us up to this freezing wasteland just to name this northern oaf as his hand!"
Blake's ears twitched as the Queen ranted on. She presented an icy demeanour, but it seemed that right beneath it, a volatile temper was hiding to erupt as soon as she was in private. And given her obvious jealousy - even though there was no reason for her to be jealous at all; it wasn't as if Ruby had any designs on the king since the man was old enough to be her father and as fat as Professor Port! - that spelt trouble for Team RWBY.
She looked around - the King was supposed to be guarded by at least one member of the Kingsguard at all times, but they obviously didn't patrol the outside of the keep's walls - and, once assured there were no witnesses, quickly climbed along the wall to listen at the next window, which, according to what she had overheard two servants talk about in the morning, would be the Crown Prince's chamber.
"What do you think, Hound? Is it a trick? A mummer's farce?"
Hound? Blake shivered. If the prince had a dog…
"Didn't look like a trick."
That was a harsh voice…. Oh. That would be the Prince's 'sworn sword' - his bodyguard. The one as tall as Yatsuhashi from Team CFVY, with half his face covered in burn scars. Why was he here? Did the Prince fear an assassination attempt in the keep of his father's best friend? Or… did the Prince fear Team RWBY had taken offence at his comments?
"But how could a slip of a girl be so strong? It must be a trick. This is impossible. Oh, no! I know it! She is no girl but a Faceless Man!"
Faceless man? Blake hadn't heard that term before.
The Hound grunted.
"No, it makes perfect sense! They know Father's weakness for pretty women and used that to get close to him to assassinate him! We have to tell the Kingsguard!"
Blake froze as she heard the door swing open. The Prince thought Ruby was an assassin posing as a girl? How would that work? Magic, obviously, but… That could wait; she had to know how the King would react!
Quickly, she scaled the wall, using her Semblance to create clones to push off from, allowing her to jump from hiding spot to hiding spot while they shattered beneath her, until she was hanging from a slight outcrop above the king's chamber. If the Prince was running, he would reach the chamber's doors about… and she should…
Oh. She blushed. The King was… 'busy', or so it sounded. At the very least, he was distracted.
And, she added, when she heard the knocking on the door and his harsh reaction, not happy to be disturbed in the middle of being busy with carnal activities.
"What? Ser Barristan!"
"Your Grace, Prince Joffrey insisted that it was a matter of life and death."
"Yes, Father, it's… what are you doing?"
"Being interrupted, Boy. By you. Why aren't you in bed yet?"
"But… Who's that in your bed?"
"None of your business. Now, what do you want?"
"But…"
"Boy!"
"I know how the girl could lift your chair with you sitting on it, Father! She is a Faceless Man!"
"What?"
"That's why she was so strong, father! It all makes sense! She's here to assassinate you!"
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard all day, Boy!"
"But, father…"
"If she were an assassin, she would have posed as dear… Lerra here."
"It's Lorra, Your Grace."
"Whatever! They would be sneaking into my bed to kill me, not out themselves by showing off their strength!"
"But Father…"
"Now, get out, Boy! I'm busy!"
"But Father…!"
"Out, or I'll tan your hide!"
Blake winced again and left before the king returned to being busy. The others had to hear this.
"What? The Prince thought I was an assassin?"
Blake nodded. "He did. He went to disturb the King in his bed."
"But… how?" Ruby looked incredulous.
"I could imagine a Semblance allowing you to mask your true form," Weiss said, "but since they don't have Aura in this world, it must be magic."
"Or it's bullshit," Yang commented. "Rumours and hearsay. If that was possible, wouldn't someone else have brought it up?" She looked at Blake.
Blake shook her head, "I haven't heard the term until today. I'll check with Luwin tomorrow." Another excuse to visit the library was always welcome.
Ruby was still shaking her head in obvious disbelief. "He thought I was a man? That makes no sense!"
"Well, at least the King set him straight," Yang said. "Imagine if he had believed the Prince!"
Ruby groaned.
"We have another problem, though," Blake said. "The Queen thinks we're trying to seduce the King." Or vice versa - not that it seemed the Queen would care about the difference. "And she's got a low opinion of us." Better not go into details. Yang might take offence on Ruby's behalf.
Weiss sighed.
"We just talked about weapons! He has a huge warhammer!" Ruby blurted out. "And she was right there, next to him! She should have heard everything!"
"I could hear you, and I was sitting at the other end of the table," Weiss said.
"Really?" Ruby blinked.
Blake was intrigued. She had had trouble overhearing Ruby's talk with so many others speaking up, so…
"No. But I knew what you were saying from how you acted," Weiss told her.
Ah.
"Oh." Ruby pouted.
"So… tomorrow. We're expected to demonstrate our 'fighting prowess'," Weiss said. "This will complicate things."
"Why? The Starks and their people already know we're strong," Ruby said.
"The Queen might be even more offended if we show off," Weiss said. "I don't have to explain how bad it is if the wife of the King dislikes us, do I?"
"No…" Ruby sighed. "And I was looking forward to sparring."
"And if the Prince tells others about his theory…" Weiss shook her head.
"We're still sparring," Yang said.
"But now the mood's ruined!"
"Then we'll change the mood!"
Blake smiled. Her partner was always so optimistic. But she doubted that things would be as easy - or smooth - tomorrow. Not after what she had overheard today on her excursion. And she hadn't even reached Lord Tyrion's chamber.
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
As Yang Xiao Long approached the training yard, the men using it stopped at once - the guards of Winterfell because they knew her, the new guys because they were staring at her as if they had never seen a hot Huntress before. Well, they had never seen a hot Huntress in her combat clothes.
"Good morning, Lady Yang. You're early," Ser Rodrik Cassel, the master-at-arms, greeted her. He was frowning, but probably more at the gawking crowd than at her. At least, Yang hoped so - she knew she was disrupting his daily routine. But, hey - she had a reason she was here before the rest of Team RWBY. And the reason was standing in the back with another Kingsguard.
"I promised to spar with Ser Jaime," she said. "I wanted to check if he was available before we give our demonstration."
"Ah, of course." Ser Rodrik smiled broadly. "In that case, the training yard is yours."
"Are you sure?" she asked, frowning a little. She had never seen the man look so happy before.
"Oh, yes. Ser Jaime was concerned he could not train properly in Winterfell, lacking skilled opponents, so I am happy you will step in."
"Ah." So, that was it - the new knight had dissed the guards, and Ser Rodrik wanted to see him taken down a peg or two. Well, Yang was happy to oblige; the knight was handsome, but he had an insufferable smirk.
"Thank you," she told the old man, then jumped over the fence and stepped into the middle of the training yard. "Ser Jaime! Are you free for a little sparring match?"
He looked at her, then looked her over, raising his eyebrows with one of those stupid smirks. "Shouldn't you put your armour on before challenging people?"
Yang snorted and put her hand on her hip, flashing a grin at him. "I am ready; these are my combat clothes."
"You fight in these?" He seemed surprised.
"We train as we fight."
"Without armour? I would never forgive myself if a strike of mine would add a blemish to your fair appearance!"
She rolled her eyes. Unlike Jon, who had said more or less the same, in simpler words, Jaime didn't sound as if he meant it. "Trust me, there's no danger of that."
"You seem very confident for someone who has never seen me fight," he shot back, still smirking. "Strength isn't everything."
She made a point of sighing loudly, then turned to look at their audience, focusing her Aura. "Ser Rodrik, would you mind demonstrating to Ser Jaime that he can't really hurt me?"
"Gladly, Lady Yang." Ser Rodrik started walking towards her and drew his sword. Half the audience started snickering. The other half looked confused.
Ser Jaime was part of the latter and frowned. "I fail to see what…" He trailed off when Ser Rodrik reached Yang, raised his sword high - and brought it down in a two-handed swing, straight on Yang's head.
People screamed, and the older Kingsguard next to Ser Jaime rushed forward, his own sword drawn. "Stop!"
Ser Rodrik didn't stop and hit her on the head. Her Aura took the blow - she could easily afford the cost - and she turned to grin at Ser Jaime while the guards of Winterfell chuckled, and some cheered.
Both Kingsguards were staring at her. The older one recovered first, nodding at her with slightly narrowed eyes as he sheathed his blade, and Ser Jaime smiled wryly. "Well played, my lady," he said as he stepped forward.
She grinned at him and did a few stretches. "Don't hold back."
"Oh, trust me, I won't." In a lower voice, he added: "Let's see if you are as skilled as you are thickheaded."
She chuckled - the guy had some wit to him - and smashed her gauntlets together. "We fight until one yields or is knocked out, alright?"
"As you wish." He nodded, still smiling, but, as Blake would say, it didn't reach his eyes. So, he was taking her seriously. Good.
"Ser Rodrik, if you'd like to give the signal?" Yang asked, turning her head.
"Very well." The knight was still smiling widely, and judging by the narrowed eyes of Ser Jaime, the Kingsguard knew what was up.
"Begin."
Yang dashed forward, drawing her right fist back for a telegraphed punch.
Ser Jaime moved to the side, his shield raised to deflect her blow, and lunged, trying to stab her in the stomach.
She threw herself forward, over his blade, flipping over in the middle of her jump, and planted both boots onto his chest and shoulder. It wasn't really a kick - she flexed her knees as she did so, but it sent him staggering anyway, and when she pushed off, jumping away, he was sent sprawling.
Half the audience cheered again. Loudly. Ser Jaime must know how to make friends.
He rose quickly, shield and sword ready to defend against an attack, but Yang stayed back - it was no fun kicking a guy when he was down.
But it was fun teasing and taunting a guy who was a bit too full of himself, so she smirked and gestured with her right hand, inviting him to attack.
He did and charged at her, and she blocked his sword with her left gauntlet and his shield with her right. He stepped back before her - admittedly slow - kick could sweep his feet, then attacked again, trying to stab her in the calf.
She jumped up, flipping head over heels, and landed in a crouch a few metres away, then charged him. A flip of her left arm struck his sword to the side, and while he got his shield between them, she dropped in front of him and swept his legs out from under him.
Once more, he ended up on the ground, but he got up as quickly as before. "Well done," he said - a bit too lightly, to be honest, in her opinion. "I see I will have to work on my footwork."
Yang grinned. "Let me give you a hand and a leg up!" She dashed forward, and they started trading blows, sword and shield against Ember Celica, with the occasional high kick thrown in.
She was holding back, of course, but he was good. Damned good - he made Jon look like a beginner. If she weren't stronger, faster and hotter, he probably would make her sweat. And he might trounce Jaune even with Jaune not holding back - as long as Jaime could avoid getting hit, of course, which would be a very tall order.
But Yang wasn't Jaune, and so the match ended with Jaime yielding, breathing heavily and not looking quite so smug or shiny any more, and with Yang not even winded.
"And here I thought I wouldn't find good entertainment until the evening. To see my dear brother humbled like this by a mere girl… How will your pride survive this?"
Oh. Lord Tyrion must have arrived at one point during the sparring match, and Yang hadn't noticed. He was smirking at Jaime, and despite how different they looked, they had the same smirk. Definitely brothers.
"My pride would say that there's no one who can stand up to Lady Yang," Ser Jaime shot back. "It was a good bout, my lady. Enlightening, I'd say."
"Yeah, good fight," she replied. But she couldn't help thinking that the man didn't really mean it. Well, Winterfell's guards might have been cheering a bit too loudly at his defeat, and that would hurt anyone's ego or pride.
The other Kingsguard, though, nodded at her with all the signs of honest respect.
"Well, you've got the right hair - can we claim you as a Lannister? So Jaime's loss stays in the family?" Lord Tyrion chuckled at his own joke, and Yang laughed as well.
But she suspected that the small noble wasn't completely joking.
'Most of the records, for obvious reasons, that cover King Robert Baratheon's reign focus on his rebellion against the Targaryen dynasty or the Succession. There is a dearth of sources covering his actual reign, although all agree that it was rather unspectacular, with the Greyjoy Rebellion standing out as the only notable event during the period - showing an unfortunately common bias towards war and other conflicts that persisted for centuries and, together with the loss of various records due to environmental hazards and wars, greatly hampers a modern historian's attempts to gain a clearer picture of the realm at peace in those times. Fortunately, the Ruby Order appeared during the waning days of King Robert's reign, and so we have several primary sources about the King's meeting with the Ruby Order in Winterfell. However, as with most sources from that time, all of them have to be considered biased for the various factions involved in the Succession, so they must be diligently examined and interpreted to sift truth from fiction.
While it is well-documented, again for reasons that should be obvious to anyone even remotely familiar with that period of Westeros, that the King was prone to fathering bastards, even sources very favourable to his house mentioning it, we can state with confidence that he did not have any such relations with the Four Maidens. There is only one, albeit relatively oft-quoted, source claiming this, and the author has been proven not to have been in Winterfell at the time. Lacking any verified sources, the report can be dismissed as a complete fabrication. However, dismissing the claims that Queen Cersei, one of the most controversial persons of the era, showed hostility towards the Order as soon as they were introduced to her is much more difficult. Even sources favourable to her do not deny that she had a volatile temper and was both excessively vain and extremely proud, which would make such a reaction plausible. However, even this task pales in comparison to trying to determine what claim about Prince Joffrey's reaction is actually true. The only thing all sources agree on is that he took great interest in the Four Maidens, albeit that could be said of anyone in the King's company at the time.'
- A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
*****
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
"Lady Yang isn't a bastard?" Eddard Stark asked again. Just to be sure he hadn't misunderstood Jon and Arya.
"No, father. We, ah… happened to bring the topic up," Jon said with a glance at Arya that told Ned exactly who had brought up the topic, "and she clearly denied being a bastard - her father had married her mother, but she had left him shortly after Lady Yang's birth."
"Benjen said she had told him she was a bastard." Ned's brother had been clear about that.
"That apparently had been a misunderstanding. It's a sore subject for Lady Yang, with her mother gone, and so she didn't, ah, talk about it much," Jon said. "But she told us that she took her father's name, and Lady Ruby took her mother's name, as was custom in their home."
"Neither of them are bastards," Arya added.
"I see." Ned tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his guts, and the brief guilt for hiding the truth about Jon's parentage from him, and leaned back in his seat. So, he had heard correctly. And what had seemed like another children's scuffle blown out of proportion when Jon and Arya had all but barged into his solar, prompting Cat to scold them both, was now turning out to be a serious affair. Maybe deadly serious - he searched his memory; had he or anyone else ever treated Lady Yang as a bastard? Implied it? Insulted her honour? He didn't recall any such incident, but people might have done so out of his view.
"By the Seven!" Cat whispered. Ned glanced at her and tensed - she had grown deathly pale and had stayed silent since Jon and Arya had started to explain. "We thought… And she knows that we - that all of us - have been mistaking her for a bastard?"
Jon and Arya grimaced, which was answer enough to bury Ned's faint hope that Lady Yang hadn't been aware of this part.
"Ned… she will think we have been telling people that she was a bastard!" Cat was trembling, and with good cause.
Ned felt like his blood had frozen in his veins. Calling someone a bastard… Blood feuds had been started over less. Much less. And if Lady Yang and her friends took offence, they might tear down Winterfell in response. Literally.
"Well, you told us she was!" Arya said. "I wouldn't have asked her if I hadn't thought she was a bastard."
"Arya!" Cat snapped. "What possessed you to ask her such a thing?"
Arya pouted. "I wanted her and Jon to marry so we get our alliance and Jon can stay here."
Ned blinked. Arya had… That was what she had kept in mind from the whole lecture they had given the children?
Cat seemed too shocked to say anything.
And Jon shook his head. "I didn't say anything! It wasn't my idea! I tried to stop her, Father. I did."
"You like her! And she likes you! It was obvious!" Arya protested.
Ned ignored her and looked at Cat. "We have to do something. Quickly."
"Yes." Cat nodded, regaining her composure. "We have to make amends. Before Lady Yang takes action."
And Lady Ruby, of course. It was obvious now that they both were heirs to their families.
"She didn't seem mad," Arya said. "She was more… surprised. Confused. She wasn't mad, I tell you!"
Ned sighed. He couldn't trust his daughter's judgement in this, but maybe he could salvage this. "I'll talk to her." And he'd think about what amends he could offer to avoid a bloodbath.
*****
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
Ned nodded at the courier and let the man take care of his horse and himself; he had ridden hard to bring the news Ned had expected: Robert was arriving today. Unless the wheelhouse of the royal family broke down again, though, unless Ned's friend had suddenly become much more patient, Robert would probably ride ahead anyway.
He suppressed a sigh. Robert had the worst timing. Not that it was his friend's fault. No, if anyone was at fault, it was Ned. And Benjen. If Ned's brother had not mistakenly assured Lady Yang was a bastard, things might be different.
Might be, or might not - even with that knowledge, Ned wasn't sure that he would have managed to secure an engagement between Robb and Lady Ruby or her sister. Cat thought so, but Ned disagreed. Arranging an engagement with the daughter of a house that wasn't part of the North was often a delicate and lengthy affair under the best circumstances. And the circumstances with Team Ruby could hardly be called ideal, even without the unfortunate misunderstanding.
He scoffed at his own thoughts. A misunderstanding? They had mistaken a legitimate noblewoman for a bastard! He had gone to the godswood and prayed to the Old Gods in gratitude that Lady Yang had not taken offence - had, actually, asked him not to punish Arya for her blunder! Despite her somewhat rash manners, she was obviously as kind as her sister.
And, unfortunately, as strange and different as well. All of them were - even Lady Weiss, who seemed the closest to understanding the North, likely because she hailed from a similar region in their homeland. Their manners and views sometimes seemed to be even more outrageous than their power. The way they acted, uncaring of their obvious rank and status, the way they sometimes marvelled at the most common things, such as common lemon cakes from the kitchen, yet seemed to take the Glass Gardens, Ned's pride and joy, and the heated pipes of Winterfell, a marvel in the North, in stride… It was all so confusing. To be so powerful, yet naive in some ways, was as endearing as it was terrifying and made trying to deal with them a challenge. One like trying to transport a jar of Wildfire on a rocky road.
Honestly, Ned would prefer not to deal with their visitors. Send them away to Oldtown or King's Landing, or Essos, and wish them well. But he couldn't do that. The girls were too strong to be set loose, far too strong. If Ned didn't get an alliance with them, someone else would - and Ned knew what many noble houses would do if they achieved that. Honour didn't mean as much in the South as it did in the North, and even oaths would be put aside to satisfy ambition. Team Ruby might not fly or breathe fire, but they would wreck an army in the field as effectively as dragons could, and three dragons had been enough to conquer Westeros. How many nobles would follow Balon Greyjoy's example if they thought - with good reason - that they could win against the might of the Seven Kingdoms?
The answer was: Too many. If Ned wanted to keep his family and lands safe, he needed to have an alliance with his guests. Otherwise, his own oaths to the crown might see him and his banners face them in the field. Ned had fought in two wars already; he didn't want to fight in a third, and certainly not on the side doomed to lose.
Sometimes, Ned thought it would make the most sense to simply ask Lady Ruby straight away if she was amenable to an engagement with Robb, either for herself or for her sister, instead of trying to subtly sound them out beforehand.
But Cat was right; they couldn't risk another blunder. Not when dealing with girls who could not only lift wagons without any trouble and cut down trees thicker than a man's torso with a single swing of their blade, but also took full swings from swords to the face without a scratch. Granted, that had been a training sword, but any normal girl would have been dead or maimed after such a blow instead of telling Jon how happy she was that he finally stopped holding back.
And as terrifying as it was to see them spar with each other, trading blows that could shatter stone on a miss, Ned was certain that they were holding back and hiding their true strength. They were good, easily better than most knights Ned had seen fight, but sometimes, they seemed to stumble or hesitate at odd moments - making mistakes no knight as skilled as they were would do.
No, starting a fight with them would be a disaster for Ned and his family. And that was without considering that some of the smallfolk in Winterfell were muttering about the girls being messengers of the Old Gods. Or the Old Gods themselves. A ludicrous notion, of course - the girls might be foreigners from a strange land, but they were no more divine than Ned himself was unless the gods had truly gone crazy - but Ned didn't want to find out what might happen if his people thought he'd go against the gods. Nothing good would come of that.
But all that didn't change that Ned had failed to secure an engagement with Lady Ruby, and now Robert would arrive, with half the royal court, or so it seemed, and that would complicate matters.
Ned would have to talk to his friend as soon as possible to head off the potential disaster.
*****
"I can see the King's banner!" Perkin, the guard stationed at the top of the closest tower, yelled down.
Ned straightened and looked at his family. Everyone was present and dressed in their finest clothes. Even Arya - after her blunder had imperilled the entire family, his daughter knew better than to disobey her parents again. Cat just finished redoing the ties of her cloak before inspecting the rest of their children. Benjen stood next to them, dressed in the black leathers of the Night's Watch, and… Ned sighed. To the side, near the stables, Lady Yang was chatting with Jon. The last thing Ned wanted was for his nephew to draw Robert's attention, and even wearing a proper Northern dress, Lady Yang's hair and face would draw his friend's eye.
But before he could think of the best way to separate the two, Lady Weiss had already wandered over and all but dragged Lady Yang back to the rest of their group, who were waiting slightly behind Ned as honoured guests. Lady Yang seemed amused rather than offended by being treated like a wayward child, he noticed.
"Alright, Team!" he heard Lady Ruby exclaim. "We're gonna meet a king, so let's be on our best behaviour!"
"Yeah!" Lady Yang chimed in, to the obvious displeasure of Lady Weiss. Lady Blake, on the other hand, seemed to be too busy staring at the kennels on the other side of the courtyard to pay any attention to the scene.
"Well, they aren't wearing their 'combat clothes'," Ned whispered when he saw Cat frowning as she joined his side.
Cat frowned at him in return. "You know how much work that took," she whispered back.
"I know." Kissing her would have been inappropriate, but he wrapped his arm around her waist for a brief, one-sided hug. If Lady Ruby and her friends had insisted on 'making an impression'... Well, no need to worry about it any more.
And there came the King! Ned straightened and took a step forward as the royal party rode into Winterfell, with his friend in the lead, flanked by two members of the Kingsguard. He smiled - he hadn't seen his friend in almost ten years. And Robert…
…had grown fat, Ned realised.
"Ned!" Robert bellowed - at least his voice had not changed - as he dismounted and walked towards him.
"Your Grace." Ned knelt, as did everyone else in the courtyard. He resisted the sudden urge to glance over his shoulder to check if his guests were kneeling as well, though the lack of any reaction from Robert and the others in his party told him they were. "Winterfell is yours."
"Stand up, Ned, and let me look at you! You haven't changed a bit!"
"Unlike you," Ned replied with a faint smile as Robert hugged him. He heard Cat gasp softly next to him, but his friend laughed. "I know, I know! I can still swing a hammer, though!"
Ned believed him - his friend might have grown fat, but his strength hadn't waned much, if at all, as Ned's ribs told him.
Robert released him and greeted Cat. "Lady Catelyn! As beautiful as you were at your wedding!"
"Your Grace." Cat curtsied, and Ned caught Lady Ruby staring intently at her as Robert greeted his children before turning towards the Prince, who had dismounted.
"Joffrey! Come! Let me present you to my best friend!"
Ned studied the lad as he approached. He was slender and had the Lannister hair, Ned noticed. Though, he realised with a mixture of amusement and worry as he saw the Prince stare at Ned's guests, the Prince obviously had his father's eye for the ladies.
Prince Joffrey wasn't too distracted to forget his manners, though, and greeted Ned and his family properly.
Then the queen arrived with her two younger children in tow - on foot, since they must have been travelling in the giant wheelhouse, too wide and tall to pass through Winterfell's gate, and more greetings were exchanged, as well as bread and salt shared. Where Robert was genuine and charming, Queen Cersei was polite but aloof. And her expression when she noticed Lady Ruby and her friends, coupled with a glance at Robert, spelt trouble.
"And who are those charming maidens, Ned?" Robert had noticed them as well, of course.
Ned cleared his throat. "Ah, Your Grace - may I introduce Lady Ruby, Lady Weiss, Lady Blake and Lady Yang. They are guests at Winterfell - they were stranded in the North after a mishap."
To his relief, Lady Ruby didn't cheerfully start telling the royal family about everything they had gone through but merely curtsied with an almost shy smile. "We're honoured to make your acquaintance, Your Grace!" she said as her friends curtsied as well - with more grace than her, Ned couldn't help noticing.
Robert beamed at them, but the Queen's expression could have frozen molten steel, and despite the scowl that appeared on Queen Cersei's face, Ned was relieved when Robert insisted on paying his respects to Lyanna, prompting the Queen to proceed to their quarters with her children without him.
Their quarters, which were, he realised, perhaps, a bit too close to Lady Ruby's, but Ned couldn't do anything about that without offending either the Royal family or Lady Ruby and her friends.
He needed to explain a few things to his friend, and that was best done in private and as soon as possible. Fortunately, the crypt offered both.
*****
"A word, Robert," Ned called when his friend had paid his respects in front of Lyanna's grave.
"Yes?" His friend frowned. "I actually have something to talk to you as well…"
"It's important," Ned told him. "Very important." For everyone. "You need to know a few things about my guests."
"Oh?" Robert grinned.
Ned sighed again. "They are not from Westeros. Nor from Essos. They aren't familiar with our customs, so if they seem to give offence, it's because they don't know better."
"Oh, don't worry! Who could carry a grudge against such lovely maidens?" Robert smiled, then frowned. "Except for Cersei, of course. I see the problem."
No, you don't, Ned thought. He took a deep breath. "Each of the four maidens also could defeat the entire Kingsguard by themselves." Probably with one hand tied behind their back.
Robert blinked. "What?"
Ned sighed. This would take a bit to explain so his friend would believe it.
*****
The King kept looking at them even though they were wearing the proper dresses and looked perfectly normal. So, why did he stare at them as if they had done something wrong? They hadn't! Ruby Rose glanced at her team, who was seated next to her, at the end of the 'high table', as they called the table for the Starks and their guests, to check again, but no, everyone was on their best behaviour. And Blake's cat ears were hidden under her ribbon, as usual, so that wasn't it either. And Ruby hadn't stained her dress.
She glanced at her team. None of their dresses were stained. Or 'inappropriate' - they were covered from neck to floor, not very tight so at least they could move in them though fighting would tear them, with long sleeves - though not as long as the billowing sleeves of the Queen; those almost reached the floor or so - and a high collar with lots of needlework and fur that was slightly itchy if you closed it. They also looked very similar to each other, but apparently, that was the style in the North. At least, they had different colours - Ruby's was dark red, Yang's was dark yellow, Blake's was dark grey and Weiss's was dark blue. But they were so bland, no one should be looking at them!
She clenched her teeth. This was making her nervous! She felt like she did whenever a teacher at Beacon frowned at her even though she had done all her homework and hadn't been sneaking out of the school at night. But they hadn't really done anything - they hadn't even done any training today; Weiss had insisted that they went over, again, how to behave in front of the King instead. All those rules had been very confusing. Fortunately, Ruby had paid attention to how Lady Catelyn curtsied, or she would have messed up.
Oh.
"Do you think Lord Eddard told him about us? The King, I mean," she whispered to Weiss, who was seated directly next to her.
"I believe so, yes," Weiss replied in that tone she sometimes took when she thought Ruby had asked a stupid question.
She blushed and hoped that Benjen, seated on her other side, hadn't overheard them. That would be embarrassing. It wasn't as if she hadn't also assumed that, but it was better to check before making assumptions, especially if they involved royalty. There were just too many mistakes you could make if you were nervous (like she was)! She was very glad that Team RWBY wasn't spread out between the new guests, like the other Starks were, but seated together.
"Where are you from, Lady Ruby?"
She froze for a moment. That was Prince Joffrey, talking to her across the table - he was sitting much closer to Lord Stark, next to Sansa. Was she supposed to talk across so many other people? Wasn't that rude? Oh, the others around them had fallen silent. Even the little man, Lord Lannister. Well, Joffrey was the crown prince. If he spoke, people listened, right?
And she needed to answer, or she'd be rude. To royalty. "We're from Vale," she told him. "Your Grace." Couldn't forget the title. Weiss had been very clear about that. "Not the Vale of Westeros, but one of the four kingdoms of our home. Well, Yang and I are from Vale, Weiss is from Atlas and Blake from Mistral." That was the cover story, at least, since she was hiding her Faunus ears. "But we all go to Beacon, the Huntsman Academy of Vale."
"You have an academy for hunters?" The Prince sounded amused.
"Huntsmen and Huntresses, Your Grace," she corrected him, then flushed in embarrassment. Was she supposed to correct royalty? But if no one corrected them, how would they keep from repeating their mistakes?
"They are the protectors of their people, Prince Joffrey," Lord Eddard cut in. "Like an order of knights."
"Knights?" The Prince was laughing, and Ruby frowned. He wasn't the only one, she noticed - many of the new guests were laughing or smirking. Even the handsome Knight of the Kingsguard.
Arya looked like she wanted to yell at the Prince but didn't. And Sansa looked lost.
"They are formidable warriors, Your Grace," Benjen said. "I've not seen the like in my life."
Ruby smiled at him for his support.
"I'll believe that you haven't seen girls fighting," the Prince replied with a smirk. "You're a Black Brother, aren't you?"
Benjen tensed at that but didn't correct the Prince even though Ruby knew that he had been fighting Wildlings, and they included women - spearwives they were called, as Ruby had learned - amongst their raiders. Some of them had attacked Team RWBY on the way south.
Benjen wasn't the only one who looked annoyed - or angry. Robb was glaring at the Prince, and even Lord Stark was frowning. Maybe Ruby should say something? The King and his family obviously didn't know about Team RWBY, so…
"You have to admit, Ned, that none of them looks as if they could lift a sword, much less swing it while wearing armour," the King spoke up. "Now, I believe you - you have never told me a lie - but you have to admit that it sounds a little far-fetched that they could not merely fight but defeat any knight in the castle, including the Kingsguard."
Ruby almost missed how Lord Stark winced when everyone at the table started to talk at once.
"Preposterous!"
"I've seen them cut through trees with one swing!"
"Little girls like that? Do you think we're fools?"
"They could fight you all at once and win! Maybe they should!"
"Arya!"
"Your Grace, please, I've seen them train myself…"
"And here I thought Lord Stark had no sense of humour!"
"I would not be so sure, brother…"
"Those little girls beating grown knights? Hah!"
"Northern knights, maybe - there's so few of them to begin with."
"I know what swords they are handling!"
"I wouldn't mind 'fighting' them!"
Ruby pressed her lips together and balled her hands into fists under the table. They were supposed to be polite and behave like ladies, but this wasn't how ladies were treated! She didn't know as much about this country's customs as Weiss did, but she knew that! She glared at the King - he was the King, so he was responsible for his people! And he wasn't doing anything! No, even worse - when he looked at her, he was smirking! Smirking when people were mocking her team!
Screw it! She stood up, narrowed her eyes at him with a huff, then activated her Semblance and dashed around the table too fast for anyone to see, much less react, coming to a stop behind him. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed his chair and lifted him over her head while the rose petals trailing behind her faded slowly.
Everyone froze and stared at her, and Ruby felt her cheeks flush before she clenched her teeth. She had no reason to be embarrassed!
"Unhand the King!" someone - one of the knights in white plate armour - snapped, his sword out and pointed at her. The other Kingsguard she recognised, the handsome blonde, though he wasn't wearing his armour, was standing as well, sword drawn.
"Ruby!" Weiss yelled.
"You go, Sis!" Yang cheered.
"Lady Ruby!" Lady Stark looked shocked.
Then the King laughed out loud. She looked up and saw he was leaning over the side - she had to adjust her grip - and he was smiling at her. "So, Ned was right! You are stronger than the Mountain!"
Now, she felt embarrassed. Had he wanted her to lose her temper? Had she played into his hand? But she had made her point. She slowly lowered the chair down to the ground, taking care not to drop it or break it. "I don't know who the Mountain is, but we're pretty strong, yes."
"And modest, too!" The King had a booming laugh, like Professor Port. He had a similar figure as well.
"Well…" What should she say? She felt like a fool for losing her temper. Everyone was staring at her. "...we're Huntresses," she finished. Lame.
He laughed again, and the others joined in. Or almost all of them - the Queen and Lady Stark weren't laughing, she noted. And Weiss was covering her face with her hands.
But the King was laughing, and the creeps making lewd comments had shut up, and her dress hadn't been torn while she ran, so she counted this as a win.
*****
Weiss Schnee was going to kill Ruby. In self-defence because Ruby kept trying to kill her. Assaulting the King! After everything they had gone over about how to act in front of royalty!
At least the king had a sense of humour and was amused - he was laughing and joking with Ruby. And, unless Weiss was completely mistaken, which was unlikely but not entirely impossible, the King had expected something like this to happen - and had engineered it. Of course, as the King, he would be used to plots and power plays, and she could see how he used his portly stature and boisterous nature to fool others into overlooking his depths. Not unlike Professor Port.
She looked away from Ruby, who was blushing furiously in response to another joke from the King, and glanced at the rest of Team RWBY. Blake was as composed as ever, though Weiss could tell she wasn't truly relaxed but ready to spring into action, and Yang…
"That's my little sis!"
…was as cheerful about the whole near-catastrophe as Weiss should have expected.
She sighed under her breath and looked at the rest of the table. Lord Stark was smiling, though it was hard to tell if he was truly relaxed or just polite - he wasn't very expressive. Lady Catelyn, on the other hand, was not happy; Weiss knew her well enough now to be able to tell. Sansa was looking relieved and slightly confused. The girl was obviously still adjusting to the sudden development. And the Prince…
Weiss frowned. The Prince was staring at Ruby. He had gone from dismissive to completely focused, maybe fixated on her. No, she realised when he glanced in her direction, he wasn't fixated on Ruby - he was focused on Team RWBY.
She met his eyes with a cool expression, inclining her head in the slightest hint of a nod. She was a Schnee, and prince or not, Schnees bowed to no one. Well, not unless manners demanded it. But no one would intimidate her.
He smirked and then looked at Blake, then Yang, ignoring Sansa's attempts to restart their conversation.
Weiss suppressed the urge to shake her head and let her gaze wander. Arya was talking the second prince's head off, or so it seemed, and Bran looked like he was answering a lot of questions from the princess. Children being children, in other words. The adults were far more important. Lord Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf, was joking with the blonde Kingsguard; as Weiss understood they were brothers to the queen, though the knight only seemed to listen half-heartedly. He wasn't smirking at them any more, Weiss noted with more than a little satisfaction. While Ruby's impulsive action had gone against the plan they had agreed upon for this - it was pretty much the opposite of keeping your head down and behaving like noble ladies - Weiss had to admit that it had been galling to be laughed at and dismissed as liars.
She would still have a talk with Ruby about this.
Yes, she told herself when she saw the Queen's cold expression as Ruby was talking with the King, they would have to discuss this.
But in private, not in public.
"This was an impressive demonstration, Lady Weiss."
She turned her head and looked at the little man - Lord Tyrion, she corrected herself. "I am happy you think so, my lord," she replied. He had heterochromia, she noticed when she met his eyes.
"Are all of you as fast and strong?"
"We're not quite as fast as Lady Ruby, but we're much stronger than we look." That was already known by everyone in Winterfell, and she had no doubt that the visitors would know it by tomorrow at the latest.
"I've never seen someone so fast you couldn't see them move - not that far, at least," he went on. "Those petals she was trailing… They appeared and vanished like magic."
Oh. "It's a family trait," she told him. And it was an effect of Ruby's Semblance, not 'magic', but that was another topic.
"Ruby's a Rose," Yang added with a grin.
"Ah." Lord Tyrion nodded. "And you have similar traits, I presume."
"Not like her," Weiss said.
"I just hit stuff," Yang cut in again, smacking her fist into her palm.
"Fascinating." The man smiled. "Although, as my dear brother is fond to say, mere strength and quickness will always yield to skill."
Not when facing a Huntress, Weiss thought. "Indeed," she said, smiling politely.
"Well, I suspect we'll be granted the opportunity to judge how skilled you are ourselves - I believe the King will insist on a demonstration." Lord Tyrion nodded towards the head of the table with a smirk.
Weiss followed his gaze and saw that Ruby was still talking to the King, standing between him and Lord Stark - and moving her hands as if she were wielding her scythe while she told him about Crescent Rose. "I believe so as well," she said in a dry voice.
Maybe giving Ruby a chaperone wouldn't have been a bad idea. Weiss wanted to join the discussion, but she knew better than to push their luck and butt in. Ruby's stunt had worked out, but that didn't mean another faux pas would be tolerated, much less welcomed.
"Will you be sparring with the Kingsguard, then, my lady?" Lord Tyrion asked before taking a sip from his glass.
Weiss would rather not spar with, according to Bran, the best fighters in the entire kingdom. She had no doubt that they wouldn't take a loss well. But she also was sure that they couldn't avoid that. Still, this would take a delicate touch to…
"Hell, yeah!" Yang beamed at Lord Tyrion's brother. "Can't wait to find out how good you are!"
The knight seemed surprised at first before he smirked at her. "You took the words out of my mouth, my lady."
"Oh, great, now there are two of them," Blake whispered next to Weiss.
Weiss nodded, but her attention was on the Queen, whose expression had grown even colder - she was openly frowning, and at Yang and the others, not at Ruby any more, Weiss noticed.
And she couldn't help wondering again if Ruby charming the King had been a good idea or not.
They had to discuss this. And soon.
*****
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and you spent the entire evening talking to that barbarian, shaming your own family! Shaming me!"
"What are you talking about, woman? I spent the whole evening next to you!"
"Ignoring me while that harlot all but crawled into your lap!"
"Don't insult Ned's guests, woman! I know the difference between a harlot and a noblewoman!"
"And yet, you treat them all the same! I bet they're already waiting in your bed!"
"It's not as if you'll be there, is it?"
"Get out!"
"With pleasure! Who would want to stay in the same chamber as a woman so cold, even hot springs freeze around her?"
Blake Belladonna, hiding in the shadows beneath the windows leading into the royal bedroom - the Queen's chamber, it seemed, given what she overheard - winced as she heard the sound of a door being slammed shut. It was obvious that the marriage between the King and Queen was… 'rocky' would be an euphemism if this was a typical evening talk for the royal couple.
"That oaf! To disgrace me so by lusting after foreign barbarians! In front of the entire hall and his supposed best friend. So much for the 'honourable Lord Stark'! Shaming me by bringing such foreign sluts to the table as if they were noble ladies! And that after dragging us up to this freezing wasteland just to name this northern oaf as his hand!"
Blake's ears twitched as the Queen ranted on. She presented an icy demeanour, but it seemed that right beneath it, a volatile temper was hiding to erupt as soon as she was in private. And given her obvious jealousy - even though there was no reason for her to be jealous at all; it wasn't as if Ruby had any designs on the king since the man was old enough to be her father and as fat as Professor Port! - that spelt trouble for Team RWBY.
She looked around - the King was supposed to be guarded by at least one member of the Kingsguard at all times, but they obviously didn't patrol the outside of the keep's walls - and, once assured there were no witnesses, quickly climbed along the wall to listen at the next window, which, according to what she had overheard two servants talk about in the morning, would be the Crown Prince's chamber.
"What do you think, Hound? Is it a trick? A mummer's farce?"
Hound? Blake shivered. If the prince had a dog…
"Didn't look like a trick."
That was a harsh voice…. Oh. That would be the Prince's 'sworn sword' - his bodyguard. The one as tall as Yatsuhashi from Team CFVY, with half his face covered in burn scars. Why was he here? Did the Prince fear an assassination attempt in the keep of his father's best friend? Or… did the Prince fear Team RWBY had taken offence at his comments?
"But how could a slip of a girl be so strong? It must be a trick. This is impossible. Oh, no! I know it! She is no girl but a Faceless Man!"
Faceless man? Blake hadn't heard that term before.
The Hound grunted.
"No, it makes perfect sense! They know Father's weakness for pretty women and used that to get close to him to assassinate him! We have to tell the Kingsguard!"
Blake froze as she heard the door swing open. The Prince thought Ruby was an assassin posing as a girl? How would that work? Magic, obviously, but… That could wait; she had to know how the King would react!
Quickly, she scaled the wall, using her Semblance to create clones to push off from, allowing her to jump from hiding spot to hiding spot while they shattered beneath her, until she was hanging from a slight outcrop above the king's chamber. If the Prince was running, he would reach the chamber's doors about… and she should…
Oh. She blushed. The King was… 'busy', or so it sounded. At the very least, he was distracted.
And, she added, when she heard the knocking on the door and his harsh reaction, not happy to be disturbed in the middle of being busy with carnal activities.
"What? Ser Barristan!"
"Your Grace, Prince Joffrey insisted that it was a matter of life and death."
"Yes, Father, it's… what are you doing?"
"Being interrupted, Boy. By you. Why aren't you in bed yet?"
"But… Who's that in your bed?"
"None of your business. Now, what do you want?"
"But…"
"Boy!"
"I know how the girl could lift your chair with you sitting on it, Father! She is a Faceless Man!"
"What?"
"That's why she was so strong, father! It all makes sense! She's here to assassinate you!"
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard all day, Boy!"
"But, father…"
"If she were an assassin, she would have posed as dear… Lerra here."
"It's Lorra, Your Grace."
"Whatever! They would be sneaking into my bed to kill me, not out themselves by showing off their strength!"
"But Father…"
"Now, get out, Boy! I'm busy!"
"But Father…!"
"Out, or I'll tan your hide!"
Blake winced again and left before the king returned to being busy. The others had to hear this.
*****
"What? The Prince thought I was an assassin?"
Blake nodded. "He did. He went to disturb the King in his bed."
"But… how?" Ruby looked incredulous.
"I could imagine a Semblance allowing you to mask your true form," Weiss said, "but since they don't have Aura in this world, it must be magic."
"Or it's bullshit," Yang commented. "Rumours and hearsay. If that was possible, wouldn't someone else have brought it up?" She looked at Blake.
Blake shook her head, "I haven't heard the term until today. I'll check with Luwin tomorrow." Another excuse to visit the library was always welcome.
Ruby was still shaking her head in obvious disbelief. "He thought I was a man? That makes no sense!"
"Well, at least the King set him straight," Yang said. "Imagine if he had believed the Prince!"
Ruby groaned.
"We have another problem, though," Blake said. "The Queen thinks we're trying to seduce the King." Or vice versa - not that it seemed the Queen would care about the difference. "And she's got a low opinion of us." Better not go into details. Yang might take offence on Ruby's behalf.
Weiss sighed.
"We just talked about weapons! He has a huge warhammer!" Ruby blurted out. "And she was right there, next to him! She should have heard everything!"
"I could hear you, and I was sitting at the other end of the table," Weiss said.
"Really?" Ruby blinked.
Blake was intrigued. She had had trouble overhearing Ruby's talk with so many others speaking up, so…
"No. But I knew what you were saying from how you acted," Weiss told her.
Ah.
"Oh." Ruby pouted.
"So… tomorrow. We're expected to demonstrate our 'fighting prowess'," Weiss said. "This will complicate things."
"Why? The Starks and their people already know we're strong," Ruby said.
"The Queen might be even more offended if we show off," Weiss said. "I don't have to explain how bad it is if the wife of the King dislikes us, do I?"
"No…" Ruby sighed. "And I was looking forward to sparring."
"And if the Prince tells others about his theory…" Weiss shook her head.
"We're still sparring," Yang said.
"But now the mood's ruined!"
"Then we'll change the mood!"
Blake smiled. Her partner was always so optimistic. But she doubted that things would be as easy - or smooth - tomorrow. Not after what she had overheard today on her excursion. And she hadn't even reached Lord Tyrion's chamber.
*****
Winterfell, The North, Westeros, 298 AC
As Yang Xiao Long approached the training yard, the men using it stopped at once - the guards of Winterfell because they knew her, the new guys because they were staring at her as if they had never seen a hot Huntress before. Well, they had never seen a hot Huntress in her combat clothes.
"Good morning, Lady Yang. You're early," Ser Rodrik Cassel, the master-at-arms, greeted her. He was frowning, but probably more at the gawking crowd than at her. At least, Yang hoped so - she knew she was disrupting his daily routine. But, hey - she had a reason she was here before the rest of Team RWBY. And the reason was standing in the back with another Kingsguard.
"I promised to spar with Ser Jaime," she said. "I wanted to check if he was available before we give our demonstration."
"Ah, of course." Ser Rodrik smiled broadly. "In that case, the training yard is yours."
"Are you sure?" she asked, frowning a little. She had never seen the man look so happy before.
"Oh, yes. Ser Jaime was concerned he could not train properly in Winterfell, lacking skilled opponents, so I am happy you will step in."
"Ah." So, that was it - the new knight had dissed the guards, and Ser Rodrik wanted to see him taken down a peg or two. Well, Yang was happy to oblige; the knight was handsome, but he had an insufferable smirk.
"Thank you," she told the old man, then jumped over the fence and stepped into the middle of the training yard. "Ser Jaime! Are you free for a little sparring match?"
He looked at her, then looked her over, raising his eyebrows with one of those stupid smirks. "Shouldn't you put your armour on before challenging people?"
Yang snorted and put her hand on her hip, flashing a grin at him. "I am ready; these are my combat clothes."
"You fight in these?" He seemed surprised.
"We train as we fight."
"Without armour? I would never forgive myself if a strike of mine would add a blemish to your fair appearance!"
She rolled her eyes. Unlike Jon, who had said more or less the same, in simpler words, Jaime didn't sound as if he meant it. "Trust me, there's no danger of that."
"You seem very confident for someone who has never seen me fight," he shot back, still smirking. "Strength isn't everything."
She made a point of sighing loudly, then turned to look at their audience, focusing her Aura. "Ser Rodrik, would you mind demonstrating to Ser Jaime that he can't really hurt me?"
"Gladly, Lady Yang." Ser Rodrik started walking towards her and drew his sword. Half the audience started snickering. The other half looked confused.
Ser Jaime was part of the latter and frowned. "I fail to see what…" He trailed off when Ser Rodrik reached Yang, raised his sword high - and brought it down in a two-handed swing, straight on Yang's head.
People screamed, and the older Kingsguard next to Ser Jaime rushed forward, his own sword drawn. "Stop!"
Ser Rodrik didn't stop and hit her on the head. Her Aura took the blow - she could easily afford the cost - and she turned to grin at Ser Jaime while the guards of Winterfell chuckled, and some cheered.
Both Kingsguards were staring at her. The older one recovered first, nodding at her with slightly narrowed eyes as he sheathed his blade, and Ser Jaime smiled wryly. "Well played, my lady," he said as he stepped forward.
She grinned at him and did a few stretches. "Don't hold back."
"Oh, trust me, I won't." In a lower voice, he added: "Let's see if you are as skilled as you are thickheaded."
She chuckled - the guy had some wit to him - and smashed her gauntlets together. "We fight until one yields or is knocked out, alright?"
"As you wish." He nodded, still smiling, but, as Blake would say, it didn't reach his eyes. So, he was taking her seriously. Good.
"Ser Rodrik, if you'd like to give the signal?" Yang asked, turning her head.
"Very well." The knight was still smiling widely, and judging by the narrowed eyes of Ser Jaime, the Kingsguard knew what was up.
"Begin."
Yang dashed forward, drawing her right fist back for a telegraphed punch.
Ser Jaime moved to the side, his shield raised to deflect her blow, and lunged, trying to stab her in the stomach.
She threw herself forward, over his blade, flipping over in the middle of her jump, and planted both boots onto his chest and shoulder. It wasn't really a kick - she flexed her knees as she did so, but it sent him staggering anyway, and when she pushed off, jumping away, he was sent sprawling.
Half the audience cheered again. Loudly. Ser Jaime must know how to make friends.
He rose quickly, shield and sword ready to defend against an attack, but Yang stayed back - it was no fun kicking a guy when he was down.
But it was fun teasing and taunting a guy who was a bit too full of himself, so she smirked and gestured with her right hand, inviting him to attack.
He did and charged at her, and she blocked his sword with her left gauntlet and his shield with her right. He stepped back before her - admittedly slow - kick could sweep his feet, then attacked again, trying to stab her in the calf.
She jumped up, flipping head over heels, and landed in a crouch a few metres away, then charged him. A flip of her left arm struck his sword to the side, and while he got his shield between them, she dropped in front of him and swept his legs out from under him.
Once more, he ended up on the ground, but he got up as quickly as before. "Well done," he said - a bit too lightly, to be honest, in her opinion. "I see I will have to work on my footwork."
Yang grinned. "Let me give you a hand and a leg up!" She dashed forward, and they started trading blows, sword and shield against Ember Celica, with the occasional high kick thrown in.
She was holding back, of course, but he was good. Damned good - he made Jon look like a beginner. If she weren't stronger, faster and hotter, he probably would make her sweat. And he might trounce Jaune even with Jaune not holding back - as long as Jaime could avoid getting hit, of course, which would be a very tall order.
But Yang wasn't Jaune, and so the match ended with Jaime yielding, breathing heavily and not looking quite so smug or shiny any more, and with Yang not even winded.
"And here I thought I wouldn't find good entertainment until the evening. To see my dear brother humbled like this by a mere girl… How will your pride survive this?"
Oh. Lord Tyrion must have arrived at one point during the sparring match, and Yang hadn't noticed. He was smirking at Jaime, and despite how different they looked, they had the same smirk. Definitely brothers.
"My pride would say that there's no one who can stand up to Lady Yang," Ser Jaime shot back. "It was a good bout, my lady. Enlightening, I'd say."
"Yeah, good fight," she replied. But she couldn't help thinking that the man didn't really mean it. Well, Winterfell's guards might have been cheering a bit too loudly at his defeat, and that would hurt anyone's ego or pride.
The other Kingsguard, though, nodded at her with all the signs of honest respect.
"Well, you've got the right hair - can we claim you as a Lannister? So Jaime's loss stays in the family?" Lord Tyrion chuckled at his own joke, and Yang laughed as well.
But she suspected that the small noble wasn't completely joking.
*****
eager slacker
Versed in the lewd.
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Okay so Tyrion and eventually others will think that you can breed those powers down the family line which will make suitors come out of the woodwork eventually. Sure being the wife in the marriage will be odd but if your next generation of rulers are fucking invincible, people will easily look past the husband wearing the apron.
Jeffrey may or may not be more of a little shit to random people this time around but like the documentary shows he's gonna be poking at the team quite a bit. He's got that sadist streak and that mistaken idea that he's untouchable. He's basically exactly the caricature of what White Fang hates.
Jeffrey may or may not be more of a little shit to random people this time around but like the documentary shows he's gonna be poking at the team quite a bit. He's got that sadist streak and that mistaken idea that he's untouchable. He's basically exactly the caricature of what White Fang hates.
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Starfox5
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Yeah, especially since in Westeros, parents (or grandparents) decide whom their family members marry, so it's not as if they would have to suffer, so to speak.
Joffrey has his moments. I don't want to portray him as dumb as a rock cardboard-cutout.
ATP
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Choosing wives or husbands were normal in almost all Earth cultures,and i am pretty sure that once it was norm in RWBY world,too
Joeffrey indeed had good ideas,like standing army for example.
I think,that There would be no any accidents here with Blake watching for Bran,and not killing direwolfs if they go with King.
Question is,what next? all factions would try to control them,and when it become impossible,kill.
But - if they survive,there could be no war here.
But - we at least knew,that King would quickly die - he meet them in the end of his reign according to chronicles,after all.
Ultimasaurus Imperatrix
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You picked up on that too, huh? Question is, will it be murder or a heart attack, he hasn't exactly been keeping himself in the best shape, so I won't be surprised if it's his lifestyle that killed him before anyone else did.
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Ultimasaurus Imperatrix
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Since she couldn't get to them in the Everafter I doubt she could get to them while they're on Westeros.
eager slacker
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Well since the ice zombie apocalypse was ended earlier I suspect that the major focus of the story will be centralized to Westeros and its territories and politics. Likely the majority of the fireworks will occur after Robert's demise with largely Cersei and potentially Joffrey being catalysts considering that people do note that Cersei really hates all four of them and is controversial. If we take into accounts the earlier mentioned biased views and them being called harlots then the team likely takes sides in one part of a wide conflict and at the very least is respected for delivering results by everyone.
Perhaps an accusation of other worldly witchcraft causing Robert's demise? It doesn't really track too much considering that history is ambivalent about Joffrey's reaction to them.
I don't know too much about RWBY but isn't Raven really cowardly? If she had the option to be big fish in a small pond that would be fine by her so I doubt that is something she can do.
Perhaps an accusation of other worldly witchcraft causing Robert's demise? It doesn't really track too much considering that history is ambivalent about Joffrey's reaction to them.
I don't know too much about RWBY but isn't Raven really cowardly? If she had the option to be big fish in a small pond that would be fine by her so I doubt that is something she can do.
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True,or maybe even real accident.He could be drunk and fall from stairs,for example.Becouse of banana peel,of course!
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