Author's Note: Comments are always appreciated. Help me become a better writer so I can better entertain you!

Chapter 9

Pyrrha awoke, got dressed and ate a quick breakfast before heading out. She intended to visit Nikopolis to check on the rebuilding efforts. When she arrived at the stables to collect her Pegasus, Ruby was already there preparing Zwei for another day of riding. "Ready to train?" Ruby asked when she spotted Pyrrha.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Pyrrha asked. "You were just injured pretty badly."

"I feel fine and the cleric said I'm good to go!" Ruby exclaimed. "What are we going to practice today?"

"Ruby, I'm not sure we should train together anymore." Pyrrha said.

"Why?" Ruby asked. "Is it because you're afraid of hurting me again? It happens, you don't have to worry about it. I'm tough."

"No, that's not it." Pyrrha said.

"Oh no, did I do something wrong?" Ruby asked.

"It's nothing like that." Pyrrha replied. "I just don't know what else I can teach you. You picked up everything so quickly. Right now you need a true master to train you. A specialist in cavalry tactics lives nearby. I can summon him…"

"But I want to train with you." Ruby complained. "You're so nice and helpful, and even when it's hard you make it really fun. Besides, there's not a master out there more talented than you. You're great at everything! You're pretty much perfect."

"That's very nice of you to say, but I'm far from perfect." Pyrrha sighed. "I've still got a lot to learn myself. I really think you would be better off training with a professional."

"But I really want to spend more time with you." Ruby begged. "Please keep training with me."

Pyrrha was beginning to suspect there was more to the situation than just training. "Ruby, what's this really about?" She asked. "Is this even about me teaching you?"

"Well yeah...but...uh...I guess that's not all." Ruby admitted. "The truth is I...uh...no, I shouldn't say anything."

"It's too late for that now." Pyrrha said. "Just tell me. Whatever it is, I promise I won't be mad."

"I'm not worried about you being mad...it's just…" Ruby started. "I don't really know how you'll react."

"Just say it." Pyrrha insisted.

"Well...I like you...a lot." Ruby said.

"I'm guessing you don't mean that strictly platonically." Pyrrha said.

"It's just that you're so perfect!" Ruby exclaimed. "You're like a hero out of the storybooks, a valiant and invincible knight, a selfless defender of the innocent, a warrior in the fight against evil. You're the person I always wanted to be." Ruby paused. "And you're really pretty."

"I...um...I…" Pyrrha stammered. She was used to high praise but somehow this felt different.

"Did I make it weird?" Ruby asked. "I really hope I didn't make it weird."

"No, it's alright...I...um…" Pyrrha continued to struggle. "I was wholly unprepared for this. I may be a skilled warrior, but you may have noticed that I'm not great in social situations."

"Well, neither am I." Ruby said. "I was too nervous to just tell you, so I thought maybe if we spent time together it would work out naturally. And I did learn a lot from you too, and not just about riding horses or shooting bows. You've shown me what it really means to be a knight. I thought it was all fighting bad guys, but there's so much more to it. The way you care about your subjects...you're like an angel."

"I'm really not that great." Pyrrha insisted.

"And you're modest too!" Ruby countered. She sighed. "But I guess you're not interested in me."

"That's not...I…" Pyrrha struggled for words. "I never really considered it. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this sort of thing. Maybe we should just keep going and see what happens."

"Does that mean we can keep training together?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, of course." Pyrrha laughed.

"Awesome!" Ruby yelled as she literally jumped for joy.

Weiss decided to take a day off from serious training. After a day of being nothing but a target dummy, Yang decided she needed to train anyway. Without an opponent she set about battering a heavy bag. Even hitting it barehanded, Yang's powerful strikes threatened to burst the sack of sand. She became vaguely aware that someone else had entered the room. She turned her head to see Blake. "Do you have a moment?" Blake asked.

Yang took a deep breath, reared back and struck the bag with all her might. One of the seams burst and sand showered the floor. "What do you want?" Yang grunted.

"I actually came to apologize for yesterday." Blake replied.

Yang cracked her knuckles. Blake found the way she was carrying herself vaguely threatening. "I don't really care." Yang said. "You made it pretty clear where you stand."

"I...said some things I shouldn't have." Blake continued. "I don't dislike you, and honestly, I don't particularly dislike Weiss, not anymore. We still have business to settle, but that doesn't mean we can't be civil. And I'm sorry I said you couldn't understand me. If anyone can, it's you."

"Why's that?" Yang asked.

"We're both stuck in the middle of the Chon'sin/Schnee conflict because of our families." Blake said. "My parents died because of it, and I was left to carry on the fight. Your mother left because your father took the other side."

"What do you know about my mother?" Yang asked. She was suddenly very interested in what Blake had to say.

"I've met her." Blake replied. "Some of the other exiles filled me in on her story."

"You've met her!" Yang gasped. "Do you know where she is?"

"No, no one does." Blake answered. "In Ferox she would come and go as she pleased. Then she was involved in some...unsavory dealings and forced to leave for good. I met her once years ago. I don't think meeting her would be a good idea anyway. She was very zealous about destroying the Schnees. I don't think she cares who rules Chon'sin, as long as it's not them. Since you're working with Weiss, you're her enemy. Her enemies have a tendency to turn up dead. I can see the difference between Weiss and her father, but your mother can't. To her every Schnee is a monster that must be exterminated."

"I still want to meet her." Yang said. "I have so many questions."

"I don't doubt that." Blake said.

"Do you know…" Yang trailed off before building up the courage to ask the question. "Do you know if she killed Ruby's mother?"

"That's the rumor." Blake said. "It's said she killed Summer because it would be more painful than death for your father."

"I don't want to believe it...but…" Yang sighed.

"You don't have to believe it." Blake encouraged. "It's just a rumor. The exiles tell plenty of stories like that, and a lot of them aren't true. Honestly, she or one of her allies could have come up with it to intimidate her enemies."

"I thought the exiles were her allies." Yang said.

"They were." Blake said. "But she was too extreme for them. Sure, they want their kingdom back, but they want to at least try to get it peacefully. Even an honorable war would be preferable to her tactics. She proposed we attempt to assassinate every Schnee and Schnee ally until they were all dead or Chon'sin was given its independence. When most of the exiles refused to even consider it, she split off with some of the other more ruthless exiles. She arranged the murders of a few of the exile leaders she didn't like, then took off. Adam, the man who tried to assassinate Weiss, was one of her followers."

"How did you end up with him?" Yang asked.

"When I was younger he taught me how to fight." Blake replied. "We were friends and he was my mentor...maybe more than that. When your mother and her faction broke away, the leading exiles wanted to know what they were up to, just in case they planned to murder more of us. Since I was connected with Adam, I was tasked with infiltrating the group to find out what they had planned. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance. Almost as soon as I arrived Adam took me with him to kill Weiss. I couldn't just let him do it, especially after I found out he was working under orders from the emperor."

"So my mother's working with the emperor?" Yang asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"I don't think she is." Blake said. "The orders were addressed directly to Adam. I think he was working on his own. My guess is he was happy to kill any Schnee, even if it was in service to another. He's probably just waiting for an opportunity to turn on the emperor. After all, the closer he gets, the easier it will be to stab him in the back."

"I doubt the emperor's so stupid he wouldn't know that." Yang said.

"I agree." Blake said. "Adam's being played whether he knows it or not. I suspect he does and hopes to spring his trap before the emperor springs his own."

"Why tell me all this?" Yang asked. "Yesterday you ran off when I tried to get to know you better."

"I recognize that I was wrong." Blake answered. "We're allies. If we're on friendly terms, we'll be more effective."

"Maybe you should have a chat with Weiss too." Yang suggested.

"No...I don't think I'm ready for that just yet." Blake said. "And don't tell her a word of what we discussed here. If you do, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Friendly allies, that's what we are." Yang said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "If you weren't so attractive…"

"Stop or I'm telling Weiss." Blake groaned.

"Fine." Yang said, holding her hands up in surrender. "I don't need to spend another day as a target dummy."

"Way to go sis!" Yang enthused. "Your first girlfriend, and what a girlfriend! I've got to admit, I'm more than a little jealous."

"Saying I'm her girlfriend might be a little premature." Ruby admitted. "We're kind of just seeing where this goes."

"I'm not sure either of us have a very good grasp on the whole relationship thing." Pyrrha said. "I was certainly surprised by the revelation."

"Really?" Yang said. "I thought it was pretty obvious that Ruby had a crush on you."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, she always wanted to hang around with you, and she kept staring at you." Yang explained.

"I thought she just wanted to learn, and that she was studying my form." Pyrrha said.

"She was studying your form alright." Yang teased.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled. "You're making me sound like you!"

"Is that such a bad thing?" Yang asked.

"When it comes to romance, yes, yes it is." Ruby replied. "You come on way too strong and you've never had a real girlfriend or boyfriend."

"I've had plenty!" Yang protested.

"You've had plenty of casual sex." Ruby accused.

"Is that what you think I do?" Yang asked. "I'm hurt. That's not who I am at all."

"You certainly give the impression that that's exactly who you are." Ruby said. "Why do you think Weiss is always getting mad with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with flirting." Yang said. "If I see someone's who's hot, I'm going to say so. It doesn't mean there's anything more to it. Besides, Weiss is just being all proper and stuffy."

"I'm being what?!" Weiss demanded.

To Yang, Weiss seemed to have a talent for appearing out of nowhere at the worst possible moments. "Oh no." Yang groaned. "I didn't mean…"

"Before I pass judgement, give me some context." Weiss sighed.

"Well I...Ruby…" Yang stammered.

"Yang and I were having an argument." Ruby said.

"What about?" Weiss asked.

"Ruby accused me of whoring around!" Yang shouted.

"I did not!" Ruby protested.

"Pyrrha, what happened?" Weiss asked.

"Ruby accused Yang of being overly flirty, thus giving the impression of being easy." Pyrrha explained in what was probably the most proper way possible. "Ruby gave your frequent admonitions as evidence for her position, and Yang disputed the validity of the argument."

"By saying I was stuffy?" Weiss asked.

"Yes." Pyrrha confirmed. "Proper and stuffy."

Weiss thought for a moment. "Ruby, do you think I'm overly proper or stuffy?" Weiss asked. Ruby squirmed. "Tell the truth. I won't hold it against you. You have my word."

"Yang definitely goes overboard but you could probably lighten up a little sometimes." Ruby said, her voice shaking. "Please don't punish me!"

"I already promised I wouldn't." Weiss said. "Pyrrha, what do you think?"

"I think your actions are perfectly befitting of your station, Your Majesty." Pyrrha replied.

"Then I suppose I should lighten up." Weiss said. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief and Yang was so surprised she almost fell over. "Right now I'm not the ruler of anything. The only position I still hold is royal princess, but given my current position as a rebel, I should distance myself from that as well."

"So I'm not in trouble?" Yang dared to ask.

"Not this time." Weiss replied. "But seriously, tone down the flirting."

"Never gonna' happen." Yang said.

"I know." Weiss sighed. "I know. So what were you even talking about that started the argument?"

"Pyrrha and Ruby are dating now." Yang replied.

"We're not really dating." Ruby said. "We haven't been on a date."

"So you're girlfriends?" Weiss asked.

"That might be too strong a word." Pyrrha answered. "We might be but we're sort of just seeing how things turn out." Ruby nodded her agreement.

"Gods you two are cute." Weiss laughed. "Two people who don't know how normal human interaction works. You're perfect for each other."

"I'm a little insulted." Pyrrha said.

"Just accept it, you said you never even had a friend until a few days ago." Ruby said. "We're both hopeless."

Nora had gotten a little overzealous with her hammer and managed to turn a small storage shed on Pyrrha's property into a collection of splinters. Ren used his magic to help piece it back together. Nora had a tendency to be accidentally destructive and Ren usually ended up dealing with the aftermath. He was soft spoken but had something of a talent for apologies, and his magic came in handy for literally picking up the pieces. Nora would apologize profusely for causing him trouble, but he did not really mind.

Once the shed had been repaired, Ren set off in search of Nora. She had wandered off, putting some distance between her and the destruction left in her wake. He found her sitting on the trunk of a felled tree at the edge of some woods. She had not knocked it down, it was in far too few pieces for that. The sun was just beginning to set and she stared in wonder as the sky came alive with vibrant reds and yellows. Ren sat beside her.

"Hey Ren." Nora said. "Sorry about that. I hope they're not mad at me."

"Don't worry about it." Ren said. "Everything's fixed and nobody's angry at you."

"Well that's a relief." Nora said. "I like it here. I don't want us to get kicked out."

"We're not going to get kicked out." Ren assured her. "Pyrrha's our friend, and as long as she's in charge we don't have to worry."

"I guess." Nora sighed.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked.

"With me?" Nora asked. "Nothing! I'm perfectly happy!"

"You might be able to fool everyone else but you can't fool me." Ren said. "You haven't been yourself."

"I'm fine, really!" Nora protested.

"Nora, please tell me." Ren implored. "I'm worried about you."

Nora sighed. "I just...what if we never find a home?" She said.

"Weiss promised she would find us a place." Ren said. "I trust her to follow through."

"But that'll only work if she wins." Nora said. "If she can't beat her father she won't have anything either."

"If she can't beat her father I suspect not having a home will be the least of our problems." Ren said.

Nora hung her head. "That doesn't exactly help." Nora sighed. "We've got nothing."

"We've got each other." Ren said. "We've got our friends. That's something."

"What if they don't stay our friends?" Nora asked. "I thought the people back in Ferox were our friends, but as soon as the general was gone they all turned on us."

"This isn't the same." Ren said. "Our new friends are different."

"What if they're not?" Nora pressed. "What if they turn on us too?"

"Even if they do I'll never turn on you." Ren said. "I promise."

"Maybe that's good enough." Nora said. She smiled. "Thanks Ren."

Just before midday Ruby and Pyrrha were training together again. This time Weiss decided to join them. While Ruby and Pyrrha fired training arrows at her, Weiss knocked them out of the sky with ice. Every so often Pyrrha or Ruby would charge and attempt a melee strike with a training sword and Weiss would have to deflect their strikes while the other continued peppering her with arrows. Weiss was almost impossible to hit. Even when in close combat she was able to keep up her situational awareness to dodge or deflect the arrows.

A messenger rode up and approached Pyrrha. "An army approaches from Ylisstol." The messenger reported. "Qrow rides at its head."

"Gods he moves fast." Pyrrha said. "With these reinforcements the county will be secure enough to allow us to travel to the capital to meet with the Exalt."

"The army does not appear to be coming to defend the county." The messenger said. "It's very large and brings siege machines."

"The Exalt is already launching a counter invasion of Plegia?" Weiss said. "That's audacious."

"I don't know about the Exalt, but Qrow's not one to wait around." Pyrrha said. "This is good. The sooner Plegia is dealt with, the more time Ylisse will have to prepare its forces to help Ferox counter your father's invasion. You should gather the rest of our allies. I'm sure whatever Qrow and the Exalt have planned includes us."

"Ruby, get your sister, Blake, Ren and Nora." Weiss commanded. "Pyrrha and I will ride out to meet the army. You're all to join us."

"Yes Your Majesty!" Ruby said. She rode off toward the manor as fast as Zwei would carry her.

"We could just wait for the army here or at Nikopolis." Pyrrha suggested.

"No, whatever Qrow and the Exalt intend to do, I have plans of my own." Weiss said. "We'll need to move fast. Every second counts."

"What do you have in mind?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'll present my strategy to you and Qrow when we meet with the army." Weiss replied. "The situation calls for bold action."