Chapter III: Squire

June 8, 2002 11:53 AM Vale Standard Time (VST)

"Miss Rose, please! This is getting out of hand!" Noel cried in frustration as the young girl in question ran around the castle half naked. "You're getting far too old for this foolishness!"

Said half naked girl, Ruby Rose, was fleeing from the butler Noel, whom was carrying a small black and red dress that he was desperately trying to make the girl wear. "Never!" Ruby shouted defiantly with a smile. Not a care in the world, she ran unabated by several other butlers and maids who all seemed to find the situation amusing. "Dresses are for losers~!" she cried as she rounded a corner.

Noel, running as fast as he could, rounded the corner and slipped on the stone floor, falling on his behind in the process with a loud grunt. A nearby maid giggled to herself as she witnessed the slip before returning to her duties. He righted himself into a seated position as he stared down the hall; there she stood, in her underwear and sticking her tongue out at him as a taunt. "You little devil," he muttered to himself in agitation.

"Nah nah! I am Ruby Rose! I don't wear dresses! I wear pants!"

"Now now, Miss Rose," said a nearby maid. "Remember; we have a special party happening tonight. Lord Vincent wants everyone dressed in their very best for when the guests arrive."

"I know, but I hate dresses."

"Can you wear one just for tonight?"

Ruby stood still for a moment pondering. "I guess," she answered dejectedly. She hung her head and slowly made her way towards Noel. "I'm sorry, Mr. Noel."

His heart couldn't handle it, yet he had to force himself not to helplessly smile at the child. "It's okay, Miss Rose. We don't host these parties very often, so you won't have to wear a dress but once in a while."

"Okay."

Not much had changed in the last year since Ruby became his ward. Lord Vincent Arc was dutiful in his raising of the girl as he attempted to give her every luxury and right that he could afford to her while also educating her and helping her to understand her new life within the castle. Long gone were the days of the Hundred Year War, the dreadful war that he and the other three courts fought arm in arm against the Faunus. Times of peace were still, even after all these years, strange to him.

"The Mayor of Vale has confirmed that he will be coming this evening, my lord," Alchemy said as he read from a printed out copy of the itinerary that was lined up for the evening's events.

"Typical of that ass of a man to be the last to accept the invitation," Vincent muttered, garnering a small chuckle from Alchemy with his rare use of profanity as the pair of men were making the rounds around the castle and surrounding grounds. He shook his head. "For once, I'd like him to show some initiative. He's supposed to be working for me, after all."

"It can't be helped. He isn't very popular now that he's held office for two years. I doubt that he'll be reelected."

"What of the garden?" the lord asked. "Are your trainees almost done?"

"Another half hour I believe. The Garde d'Arc has been steadily growing over the last couple of years."

"What are the numbers?"

"About five hundred. And, if I may be so bold, those numbers are far too small. The Garde d'Arc used to be in the thousands. Tens of thousands during the war, in fact."

Vincent scoffed. "Glorified commanders that barely saw any real battle, that's what they used to be. No, I want the Garde to be smaller than it once was. More specialized. I pray that this peace lasts long enough for my son's grandchildren to prosper through, but should another conflict arise the Vale Armed Forces should be enough to defend ourselves." He paused as they reached the aforementioned garden where a small group of men were exercising and training with swords. "Defense is all we should have need of for the future, Alchemy. The four courts won't survive another Hundred Year War." He shook his head. "I'd like to see them. How many do we have?"

"Ten new recruits at the moment, my lord. Follow me."

Ruby had, once again, stuck away from Noel. Though, and surely much to the man's thanks, she was at long last dressed. An elegant red dress adorned her petite figure, complete with a small crimson bow to adorn her short hair. Noel, and even Alchemy to an extent, had tried their hardest this last year to make the wild child more lady like, but she would always sneak off about once every three or four weeks and have one of the maids cut her hair short for her. Noel was convinced that multiple maids were behind this un-lady like appearance, but Ruby always relished in the knowledge that it was just a single maid; an older woman who primarily worked the kitchens by the name of Renée.

And now, after twenty minutes of letting Mr. Noel and several maids force the dress over her frame, she'd escaped the confines of the Château d'Arc, or L'arc en Ciel as some had called it. Truthfully, she found the language and accent of many of these members of nobility to be strange, but she'd adapted to it quickly enough. She couldn't pronounce most of the words, but she was learning to understand them.

The small girl made her way as sneakily as possible to the garden where she knew the Garde d'Arc were training their new recruits. This had become her daily routine for the better part of the last nine and a half months, but because she was a girl she had to be sneaky. Why the girls of the Spring Court weren't allowed to participate in combat training she wasn't sure, but that didn't stop her from watching in secret.

Taking a route that she'd established months ago so as to avoid the castle servants, she made her way to the garden and sat on a nearby hill to watch. The grass was freshly cut, emanating that pleasurable aroma while she watched longingly at the ten young men in full armor swinging practice swords at each other while the instructor shouted instructions. That's what she really wanted; to become a knight. Her day dreams always drifted the mental image of herself in full plate armor with a long sword at her hip; Sir Ruby Rose, protector of the innocent! Before she could stop herself she sighed aloud.

"Is there a problem?" came a voice from behind, startling her straight to her feet. Sure enough, Lord Vincent stood on the same hill as she, with Alchemy looking at her with a knowing smile. "A girl your age shouldn't sigh like that," Vincent continued. "It's too early for you to have such problems to warrant the expression," he said gently, though he also smiled kindly to her as he spoke.

"I...I was just...I mean...I..."

He laughed heartily, unable to hold back at the sight of the poor girl's stuttering; he'd caught her breaking the rules, after all. "It's okay, Ruby. I'm not upset. We all have our own dreams and aspirations."

She frowned in spite of his jovialness. "Noel says that girls can't become knights. I asked all the maids and they said that he was right."

"Except for Renée, I imagine. She probably encouraged it, just as she cuts your hair."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

"Who do you think gave her permission?" he asked with a sly smile. He approached her and stood to her side, gently using his hand to turn her back towards the trainees, keeping his right hand on her left shoulder. "They're almost finished. I suspect you don't want to miss much else."

Awkward though she felt, she was pleased that he wasn't upset with her, at least not that she could tell. Maybe he'd give her this last look and then forbid her from coming back? She shivered at the thought.

"Noel and the maids are only half right, Ruby," he said soothingly. "Girls weren't allowed to become knights for hundreds of years. Back when wars were only fought with the sword, spear, and shield only men were allowed to fight while the women were left at home to worry about their husbands, sons, and brothers. Until one day..."

The trainees were putting away their equipment and leaving the garden while servants came and cleaned up after them to prepare for the night's festivities. "Until?" she asked.

"Until one day, House Arc was born," he answered with a smile. "It's become almost legend now, but House Arc was created in the midst of war. A woman rose up and joined the fray, not for glory or for riches, but for the pursuit of peace. She donned the armor and blade of a man and leapt headlong into the battlefield. Men were inspired by her bravery and tenacity, to the point that on the eve of what was meant to be the final battle she stepped alone and unafraid into the battlefield and removed her helmet, revealing to all who she really was; a simple farm girl." He smiled as he told the story. "The men were so impressed with her bravery that both sides cast aside their arms and knelt to her, naming her d'Arc, or The Arc, saying that she was as the rainbow of God, used to forge a promise of peace. And so, she became the first Lord of House Arc, and where that battle was supposed to happen, a city was built instead; Vale." He looked at Ruby with a joy in his eyes that only he could possess. "She was the first lady knight, and also the last."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Because no woman who has come after her has ever felt that they could live up to that legacy. She was unique. The option is there, Ruby. Someone needs only to make that choice. So, my little trouble maker. What are you destined to be; a lady or a knight?"

She beamed with a brilliance of joy that only a child could possess. "I want to be a knight!"

Vincent laughed. "What do you think, Alchemy?"

"I could train her myself," Alchemy said with a smile. "And I won't go easy on her either. She'd be trained just as hard as any other squire."

"I'll do my best!" She cried happily.

"Well then," Vincent said. "Seeing as how you've ruined your pretty dress with grass stains, let's go fit you for a suit. One fit for a squire in training."

She gasped. "I can wear pants to the party!?"

Several hours had passed by and Noel was starting to grow more and more concerned. "I'm sure she's just fine, Noel," Renée said with a smile, the older woman's graying hair combed and tied neatly into a pony tail.

"I haven't seen her since I dressed her, Renée. Knowing her she's getting into a whole mess of trouble! Oh, this'll be my job for sure. Lord Vincent will never forgive me that I've lost Miss Ruby for this long!"

"You're overreacting, Noel. The event is about to begin. Go take your place in the entrance hall and wait for Lord Vincent to greet the guests. After that, once dinner has started, you can voice your concerns to him directly."

"Are you mad? He'll fire me for sure!"

"He's an understanding man, you idiot. Just do as I say!"

He nodded, succumbing to his fate. This was it; the end of the line. Perhaps he could find a job as a waiter in a diner or something. That's what he deserved; to serve the commoners and deal with their tastes. He stood to the side of the room, as instructed, and awaited his fate. Another few minutes passed and the doors opened. Lords and Ladies from all over the Spring Court were ushered into the great hall, each dressed more fabulous than the last, and Noel began to sweat.

Another moment and the double doors at the top of the stairs opened, Vincent exiting gracefully with Jaune at his right hand side, and Alchemy at his left. He began to greet his guests, but Noel didn't hear a word that he said. No, because standing at the left of Alchemy was a small, petite framed girl with short brownish red hair garbed in a black suit with a white dress shirt, and a bright blue tie with a yellow Arc crest emblazoned upon it, and at her right hip was a short, child sized ceremonial sword. On the chest of her jacket was a very specific pin; the symbol of a Garde d'Arc squire.

She met his gaze, smiled, and stuck her tongue out at him.

Noel breathed a sigh of relief.