Ember Legacy, Volume 4

Chapter 31: Mate's Revenge

Kingdom of Vale

"And for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons."

~ George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

It had been a long, hard trek so far to get to where they now were.

Farms and villages had been passed, most stripped of resources and burnt to the ground, corpses littering the land with dense black clouds of flies and carrion-eaters covering them. Here and there outposts for the Valesian military burned still, ransacked and with the bodies of the brave soldiers strung up savagely.

The unmistakable mark of Orcs was left wherever the party went, a stain on the once-bright kingdom.

The group of eight women had finally made it almost to the edges of the city itself, with just a few skirmishing groups left in between them and their goal.

Three armored Knights, a squire, an Elven Mage, a Faunus Rogue, and Silver and Gold Dragons in their Human forms paused inside the last village before they set themselves onto the road to the walled capital of Vale.

"How many groups?" Ruby called up towards the still-standing church steeple. It was miraculous enough that the building dedicated to Oum was left intact, but the fact that the tower above offered an unprecedented view of the land in between them and their goal was an opportunity not to be overlooked.

"I see six," Blake called down somewhat anxiously. "Five made up of Orcs, one… A smaller one, seems to be Humans, armored… They have a banner flying, a light brown field with a red bird clasping a snake in its talons."

"Order of Cardinal," Nebula spat out angrily. "Those scum must be fully involved, now, if they're actually flying their colors."

"Are they mounted?" Pyrrha asked loudly.

"Yes," the Cat Faunus reported back. "Only mounted troops I can see."

"So one way or another, they'll intercept us," Jeanne mused, tapping her hand alongside her sword.

"What are you thinking?" her redheaded Knight quietly asked.

"That we bring them in towards us," the blonde replied distantly, chewing on her bottom lip. "We know how hotheaded they usually are, we just need bait…" Her eyes lit up with chagrin as she finally noticed the assembled group staring at her. "Um, well, I mean, it's just a thought…"

"Damn good one, if you ask me," Dew grinned widely, giving her shoulder a gentle thump with her mailed fist. "Why is this girl not a Knight, again?"

"Let's not go into that just now," Pyrrha stated wryly. "I have to agree, though, it's a good plan. What did you have in mind for bait?"

"Er…" The squire's gaze flickered between their brunette leader and her Knight. "It would best be someone able to taunt them from a distance, someone they couldn't resist chasing down… And we all know who those of Cardinal despise more than anyone else…" She swallowed before continuing weakly. "Rogues."

There was a light thump as Blake landed in their midst. "I'll do it," she said firmly.

"You sure about this, Blakey?" the brunette asked, silver eyes searching those of amber.

"Definitely," the Faunus Rogue returned. "I've known far too many who have suffered at their hands, it would be my genuine pleasure."

A half hour later saw the raven-haired woman perched in a tree close to the path where the mounted Knights' patrol would soon cross, tail wrapped securely around her waist while her hands grasped her magical bow, Gambol Shroud, at the ready. Her eyes narrowed as she counted the armored men, an even twenty in two columns.

They looked a bit more menacing closer up.

"Why did I think this was a good idea?" she murmured to herself before letting a small smirk flit across her features. "Oh, right, I get to kill some Cardinal Knights."

Her mind drifted towards the memory of one of her childhood friends. Neon had been a bright, free spirit. She had no extra feline ears, but the fellow Cat Faunus had a gloriously fluffy tail that matched the bright shock of orange-red hair atop her head.

Until, that was, she was caught for pilfering an apple from a market stall. The pair of Knights from the Order of Cardinal were swift and vicious in their so-called justice.

And Neon, bereft of what was her defining characteristic of her race, one she'd taken great pride in and care of, sunk into a depression so low that she'd slit her wrists before the fortnight was out.

The raven-haired woman growled quietly, readying her bow with an arrow notched. Her amber eyes flew about, marking each of the first six armored men riding along. Then she focused in on one of those up front, a shorter Knight with a rather ridiculous-looking blue mohawk, and let fly.

Fast as she could, her hand flew between the bow and the quiver at her back, drawing and releasing without letting her breath out. As the sixth arrow took flight, she nimbly leapt to the ground, grinning unrepentantly at the confusion among the surviving Knights.

Her smile dropped as she stood there with her hip cocked to the side and her arms crossed, both Faunus ears and tail flickering irritably, while she remained unnoticed.

"Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," she murmured wryly. "Great big armored oafs need a clue applied to their foreheads with a warhammer…"

She sighed a bit, pushing aside the morose feeling. She'd already mourned the loss of her orange-haired, effervescent friend, but right now Blake needed to act the part of bait.

"Hey!" she shouted.

One large, red-faced Knight wheeled around on his stallion, seeking out the source of the voice. When his eyes finally lit upon the Cat Faunus Rogue, she grinned and stuck her tongue out before racing off into the shadows.

"Get that Faunus bitch!" she heard roared from behind, followed by the thunder of hooves.

So, that seemed to work admirably. Now, was what step two in the plan? Her amber eyes darted about, looking for the landmark. There!

Blake put on another burst of speed as she felt the approaching horses behind her. "Perhaps," she panted, "I should... have started… running earlier…"

And then she broke from the treeline, the village in sight. She practically flew down the gentle slope, aiming for a spot next to the church in the center of the mostly-ruined buildings. Fierce cries echoed from behind her as the thundering hooves drew even closer.

Right on cue, in mid-stride, a glowing glyph appeared beneath her feet, and she was flung upwards, tumbling gracelessly through the air until she flopped onto the roof of the church, clinging to it tenaciously.

"Ow," she moaned.

"Oh, don't complain," a light, musical voice interjected humorously. "You did volunteer, after all."

"And the next time I do, Weiss," the Cat Faunus groaned, rolling onto her stomach before rising back up in a crouch, "smack me upside the head or something."

Her Elven friend giggled lightly. "I'll remember that, dear."

Down below the Knights were still thundering past, confused as to where their quarry had gone. As the last pair passed, a blonde figure stepped out from behind the corner of a ruined house. She tumbled directly into the path of the two horsemen, slamming her fists into the torsos of the steeds to send them thrashing to the ground.

The screams of the injured Knights caused the rest to wheel about, just in time for another figure, this one a red-clad brunette wielding an almost comically oversized warscythe that trailed black flames, to slice three of their opponents in half with one wide swing.

At that, the others joined in from various spots around the area. Pyrrha and Jeanne approached from one direction, while Nebula and Dew closed in from another, hemming the confused cavalry in.

"Got one runner," Weiss commented nonchalantly. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Blake grinned widely as she spotted a man escaping, hunched over his horse as he flogged it unmercilessly. "Gladly."

With one swift motion, she nocked an arrow, drew, and let loose. Just at the edge of town, the man slumped over before falling bonelessly off of the horse, which continued on its manic charge away from the fighting.

Shortly thereafter, the dust settled, with most of the surviving horses scattered and fleeing. Only one survivor remained from the enemy patrol, the bulky one that Blake had noted before and seemed to be in charge.

"Well, well, well," Nebula murmured as she approached the wounded man who was gasping for breath. Pyrrha had engaged him in single combat, easily avoiding the two-handed mace that the man wielded in order to skewer him through his chest. It was most assuredly a mortal wound were he not to receive a healing draught, and the party was far too stingy with their meager supplies to even consider that as an option.

"You know this miscreant?" Pyrrha asked, her sword still pointed at the downed man's throat.

"Oh, yes," the indigo-haired Elf intoned. "This would be Sir Cardin Winchester, next in line to be the head of the chapter here in Vale for his Order."

"Hmm, then I suppose that pretty much seals it," Ruby noted as she lounged nearby, feet swinging from her perch atop a low wall. "The Order of Cardinal threw in with a Red Dragon."

"Did you know that, Cardin?" Nebula asked, kneeling down and scowling at the injured man. "That you were supporting a creature who wants nothing more than the extinction of our race, if she's anything like her mate?"

"Oh, please," Cardin panted. "She's not… gonna kill all of us… needs our help… Plenty of glory… and riches…"

With a derisive snort, Nebula got back to her feet and glanced Ruby's way. "What would you have done with him, My Lady?"

The brunette's silver eyes twinkled as she shot her a grin. "I shall gladly defer to the judgment of the Order of Artemis in this matter."

"You are too kind, My Lady," Nebula replied solemnly, though her own olive-colored eyes shone with matching mirth. "Lady Nikos, if you would do the honors?"

"Gladly," the redhead answered, deftly skewering the traitorous Knight through his throat.

Dew stepped up, her own violet eyes glinting harshly. "A fitting end for those cowardly enough to betray their oaths to our Kingdom."

"Indeed." Nebula sheathed her sword, turning towards Ruby once more. "Do we proceed?"

"We do," the brunette answered. "We'll remain on foot, I'd rather stay hidden than use horses for speed. We should have a hole, now, to get through and into the city. Let's take advantage of that, and hopefully we won't meet any more opposition."

City of Vale

"You really should know better," Blake commented nonchalantly.

Ruby let out a grunt from where she crouched next to the Faunus woman atop a tree branch. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

The forest ended just outside of the range of a bow from the towering city walls, dotted every so often with defensive towers and minarets. Smoke rose from within the town, various places both along the edges and the interior, conveying the sense of unrest from the populace. The rest of the area in between them and the city itself was mostly barren, scoured of any flora.

And currently was filled with a vast army of Orcs, seemingly laying siege to the town.

"Whelp, this complicates things," the brunette sighed before dropping nimbly to the ground. Blake followed soon thereafter, landing in a crouch with her tail out behind her for balance. Weiss was walking around, spreading out their supplies in preparation for the upcoming action.

"Ya think?" Yang retorted sarcastically. "So what's the plan, then? Attack?"

"That's not much of a plan," Jeanne protested weakly.

"But we don't have much else left," Ruby sighed. "They're not really focused on the city, they have a force by each of the main gates to keep everyone in, but the bulk of the Orcs are facing out, waiting for us."

"Oum's bloody ballsack, that's a lot of Orcs," Yang muttered.

The entirety of the party paused momentarily as if waiting for the expected interjection of 'language', but as one they came to realize such chiding would never be heard again. For now, all they could do was push aside their lingering despondency and focus on the task at hand.

"We can't cause much of a diversion," Nebula warned quietly. "Dismounted, it removes most of our utility."

"No, I don't want you to be a diversion." Ruby looked around at her companions, smiling warmly. "It's time to escalate things. Yang and I go in as Dragons, clear a path. The rest of you stick together, protect the Orb, while we keep the Orcs away. Get to the city, and hopefully we can gather enough of the guard who remain loyal to Vale itself."

"That's… pretty tenuous," Pyrrha murmured. "We are banking on winning over the populace when we are not giving them any reason to do so. None of us are that well-known…"

"Really?" the brunette grinned, turning towards a thoughtful-looking Nebula.

"I suppose there are enough within Vale who I am known to," the Elven Knight mused. "Particularly the guardsmen, I helped train many of them."

"So we have two objectives," Ruby continued. "Get the Orb inside Vale, and get Nebula towards the guardsmen, gather support and see if we can't get Cinder to show herself."

"Right." Yang cracked her knuckles eagerly. "We ready for this, then?"

"One moment," Blake spoke up quickly, a bright blush on her cheeks as she realized that, misgivings be damned to the Abyss, it was now or never. "Ruby…"

"Blake?" The brunette turned towards her, taking a step closer. Her silver eyes shone with curiosity, alongside another emotion that Blake was beginning to realize had been there all along. One that was echoed in her own heart.

This was it. She could do this, she was a grown-ass Faunus, dammit, and before they flung themselves into what could possibly be the biggest fight of their lives, she should be able to finally express her feelings. To let this incredible girl know just how she felt about her.

Blake opened her mouth... and her throat seized up. The words were there, right on her lips, but unwilling to be heard.

Ruby's expression changed slightly as if she finally realized what the raven-haired woman was going to say. The brunette parted her lips, and Blake knew what was coming, reassurance that she didn't need to say anything, she didn't need to put herself out there…

Fuck it.

With a lunge, Blake wrapped her arms around the shorter girl's waist and eagerly sealed her lips over those of the girl she'd so desperately fallen in love with.

Ruby froze in shock at first, before she slipped her own arms around Blake's neck and eagerly returned the affection.

All sense of time and surroundings left the Cat Faunus as she molded herself against the brunette's body, arms and legs and tail wrapped around her to bring her in as close as possible. She pushed as much of her emotions, her love, into the kiss as she could, expressing what she could not vocalize.

Dimly, she noted several exclamations of mirth from their companions, including a very satisfied "It's about damn time" from Yang, and what sounded like gold lien coins exchanging hands between Jeanne and a chagrined Dew.

Finally, after seemingly hours had passed, they parted, lips swollen and eyes alight with passion.

"I love you," Blake whispered dazedly, finally able to give voice to her feelings.

"I love you too, Blakey," the brunette giggled softly. "Let's, um… continue this conversation after we liberate Vale, okay?"

"Gladly," she murmured, allowing the other girl to part from their mutual embrace.

"Damn, kitten," Yang chortled, giving her shoulder a bump. "Way to go after your prey, finally."

"Yang," she sighed bemusedly. "Dragon or no, I will bop you over the head."

"Promises, promises."

Ruby stepped to the fore of the group, her eyes lingering on Blake with a heat in them that made her slightly weak in the knees. "Okay. Now that I'm properly motivated…" She grinned at the chuckles around the party and Blake's furious blush. "We ready to do this?"

"Ruby," the Elven Mage spoke up from where she stood, gazing out at the city. "Remember what you said about drawing out Cinder?"

"Um, yeah?" Ruby stepped up beside her friend curiously, looking out at where the platinum blonde was focused. "...Oh. Well."

Blake squinted as she stepped alongside the other pair. "That woman?" she asked hesitantly. Above the main gatehouse stood what seemed to be a female Human with long raven hair and a red dress. She didn't seem to be wielding any weapons, but simply perched atop the parapet with nobody else around her, as if she were patiently waiting.

"It's too far to get a good read on her," Yang muttered from behind them. "But who else would be arrogant enough to act like that?"

"Only a Dragon," Ruby chuckled ruefully. "See how the Orcs are pulling back a bit from in front of the gates?"

Yang peered across the distance, shaking her head. "I'll be damned. Not close enough for Blake's bow or Weiss' spells…"

"Or for the Orb to affect her," Ruby affirmed. "But close enough to be heard by another Dragon."

"So, what, she wants to speak with us?" Jeanne asked. "Or, I suppose, just with the two of you?"

"We'll all go down," the brunette mused. "I sincerely doubt she'll either request or offer any submission, but perhaps we can get a better idea of what's going on."

"I am not so sure about this course of action," Pyrrha warned as they began to cautiously emerge from the treeline. "The chances that this is an ambush…"

"It's a possibility," Ruby agreed quietly. "Stay alert, both Yang and I are vulnerable this close to the Orb…"

"Wait." Jeanne stepped around towards the front and turned to face them. "This is exactly what she wants, all of us together, and with the two of you weakened… We should keep some of us back, along with the Orb."

"It would mean further for us to fight through if things devolve," Dew murmured uncertainly.

Nebula nodded firmly. "Which they most certainly will. Still, Novitate D'Arc has a good point. We should not play into her hands so readily."

Ruby huffed out a breath, but then tilted her head to the side, eyes turning a stormy grey as if she were listening to something. And then she shared a tight grin with her sister, whose own orbs were now a brilliant, burning crimson. "You're right, Jeanne. And as of now, we just need to buy some time. Okay, then, new plan…"

City of Vale Outer Walls

A lone figure strode confidently into the clearing ringed with snarling Orcs. The massive, armored, green-skinned forms seemed to loom over the tiny red-cloaked girl as she walked, her hood up to conceal her features, even though they were over twenty yards away.

Cinder's features contorted into a snarl. She knew better. This was no small, unassuming little girl. No, she could feel her strength from where she proudly stood atop the gatehouse of the city she'd conquered. This was the meddlesome Silver, the thrice-damned spawn of her dead antagonist, Summer.

Finally, the girl came to a halt within easy speaking distance for those of her kind. Her hands reached up to pull her hood back, revealing a familiar round face framed by red-tipped brunette hair.

And silver eyes.

The venerable Red Dragon growled under her breath before schooling her features once more into her usual haughty demeanor. "Welcome to my kingdom, little Silver."

"I greet you, Cindeshthyaleramathe," the girl called out in a clear, ringing voice. "I am Ruthralynnaerias, daughter of Sumethorynnaerias. You are not wanted here."

"And are you one to remove me, little Silver?" she taunted gleefully. Oh, this was just too rich, the inconsequential upstart was actually issuing her a formal challenge! "There is no way to stop me without destroying what is left of this pitiful town, and I have quite the army in between me and your little friends."

"You should not be so quick to dismiss us," the brunette warned. "Already we have faced and defeated many of your forces, mercenary and Draconic alike."

Cinder growled once more at that. The loss of both Mercury and Emerald was irritating, but she was also missing a pair of promising Onyx allies, as well as the Chromatic Dragon who was so very useful to her. The very notion that this Silver hatchling was responsible for all five Dragons was simply ludicrous.

"You cannot win!" the Red snarled, dropping her confident countenance. "I've already slain all of those within the city here who opposed me, Vale is in complete disarray! And now I am on the brink of bringing war to all of Remnant, the fate of Vale will be known to the other kingdoms!"

"And why would you do that?" the Silver asked with an earnest naivete.

"Why?" Cinder threw her head back and laughed, the musical notes overlaid with a harsh, guttural noise. "Why, you ask? To finish what my mate started, of course! The humanoid infestation of Remnant shall be cleansed, and Dragons shall once again take our rightful place as the dominant race! No longer will we be consigned to remote lairs, afraid to draw close to so-called civilization!"

The raven-haired woman's voice rose to a shriek as she pointed a red-nailed finger at the seemingly placid girl, so small on the ground beneath her. "All that is left for me to do is to remove you and the meddlesome pests that accompany you! And this time, I shall drop that Ancients-forsaken Orb into the bottomless ocean! Are you truly prepared to die for your quaint little beliefs, the same ideals your cursed mother died for?"

"I am, yes," the Silver replied calmly. "I will preserve the Balance, the natural order of things as they stand. But it will be a bit harder than you anticipate to kill us."

Finally, Cinder felt it, the pressure in the back of her head. Just in time. She calmed herself and crossed her arms, eyebrow quirked regally. "Oh, really, is that so?" She raised one hand, then, and gestured to the sky behind her.

The brunette's eyes were drawn to the north where the forms of a great many Dragons became apparent, cresting the mountains. Reds, Greens, Whites, and Browns filled the sky as their massive wings beat upon the winds, growing ever closer.

But then the Silver smirked and gave Cinder a calm nod. "Yes, really."

The Red opened her mouth to issue a retort but then closed it as she saw more figures approaching in the sky from the east. The sun high overhead shone brightly off of the metallic scales of sleek Silvers, stout Bronzes, and a few massive Golds. In the center of the formation, a good deal more numerous than those Cinder had called upon, were two solitary midnight spots indicating a pair of Onyx Dragons leading them.

Cinder's furious gaze shot back down, burning crimson orbs piercing those of the girl, whose own eyes were now a stormy grey. The brunette's smirk widened as her form shimmered and grew until a Dragon loomed over the quailing Orcish troops. The Silver reared her head back, uttering a clarion roar that was echoed from the sky.

The Second Dragon War had begun.

A/N: Yay, Ladybug is finally a thing! And apologies for the extra feels in there regarding Ren, it was my daughter CaliopeGrant's idea, I blame her. Though she shares my oftentimes evil sense of humor. Now, then, who's ready for a Dragon rumble?

Much love to my wonderful Beta, KellyConnely, and to all of you readers and reviewers! AntonSlavik020, Foxinstrazt, ZHsteven, bankerrtx01, Haley Earthstone, RatedRSuperStar87, OverDude12, Boombox94, Nicodemus Cain, kinigget, Phoenix8221, Crescent Sunrise, DeamonHunter, Minesniper, I apologize profusely for hardly responding to any reviews this past week, I'm trying very hard not to feed an aneurysm from the stress at work, and free time just never seems to come about until I'm ready to collapse into bed at night… In any case, hope those of you in the US have a very Happy Turkey Day!

Stay shiny!