Ember Legacy, Volume 1

Chapter 10: ...And New Beginnings

City of Vale

"And what lesson can we draw from Volantene history?"

"If you want to conquer the world, you best have dragons."

~ George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

As an Elf living in the hinterlands to the north of Atlas, Weiss knew she'd led a fairly sheltered life. The city of Evereska was an oasis of magic and culture, but nonetheless served as a prison for her, the chains formed from the expectations of the elders.

Still, in all her eighty years of life upon Remnant, the alabaster-haired Elf had never seen a creature as exotically gorgeous as the woman currently sitting across from her brunette group leader.

"Hey, Weiss!" Nora whispered loudly in a questionable attempt at being discreet. "Hey, hey, Weiss!"

"What, Nora."

"Didja see that blonde?"

The Elf knew the tips of her ears were pink by this point. "Yes, Nora. Yes, I did."

"She got some knockers on her, huh?"

Fortunately she'd not been taking a sip from the green Mistralian wine that the overly enthusiastic serving girl had brought by earlier. Otherwise she'd have made an even bigger fool out of herself than her orange-haired companion was attempting to do.

"Yes, Nora," she hissed.

Her recent friend, though said title would not deter the Elven Mage from inflicting grievous injury upon her if she persisted in embarrassing her, nudged her in the side. Weiss was sure she considered it to be gentle, but it almost knocked her out of her seat.

"Sooo… Is she definitely your type?"

"Nora… I will freeze your armor into a solid block of ice overnight if you do not desist." Weiss stared straight ahead, deliberately not looking any of her companions in the eye, nor giving the effervescent pink-armored girl the satisfaction of seeing how rattled she'd become.

"Awww, but…"

Ren smoothly slid onto the bench in between the two, pushing each of them to the side. "Nora, that is enough. Leave Weiss be."

"But Renny, I'm just tryin' to be supportive of my new friend!"

"You can support me with your silence," Weiss retorted, though without any heat. She knew that the other girl was just trying to be… well… nice?

The Elf shook her head. She needed to gather her wits about her for when the buxom blonde came to the table as she suspected she might. Weiss was unsure if the two actually knew each other, but it would seem as if they were on good terms if the shared hug was any indicator. Their table was just far enough away that she couldn't pick up on any of their whispered conversation.

Pyrrha leaned over, her emerald green eyes sympathetic. "Er… Am I to understand you might find the blonde over there somewhat attractive?"

Weiss finally shot Nora a quick glare, who had the grace to sheepishly duck her head.

"Can we please not make a big deal about this?" Weiss implored quietly, knowing there was no use in denying anything at this point.

"So, who do we think the other woman is?" Jeanne interjected, clearly changing the subject.

The Elven Mage gave her a grateful smile. "I'm not sure, but at least she's somewhat friendly? Ruby indicated she would be dangerous, and if that is the case I'd rather her be on our side."

Her opinion was met by nods of agreement, but before she could expound further the blonde lifted her head up, glancing over her shoulder. Weiss tensed as she spied a shadowy figure who had not been there before.

"Stop trying to eavesdrop, Blake," the blonde called out loudly with a wide grin.

A raven-haired Cat Faunus stalked forward, her tail bristling with irritation behind her. She wore a dark purple blouse with matching black leather vest, boots, bracers, and tights. There were a number of knives attached to her belt, as well as a couple sticking out from the edge of her footwear.

Her Elven ears could pick up on the Faunus girl's grumbled reply as she prowled forward. "If you try one more time to tell me you're not part Faunus, I will bop you over your thick head."

The blonde just laughed merrily, gesturing towards Ruby and quietly making an introduction. Weiss noted with interest how the brunette sat up straighter, and even though she was in profile, the Elf easily picked up on both the wide welcoming smile and the quick blush that vanished almost as soon as it had appeared.

Interesting…

Finally both Ruby and the other woman rose to their feet and headed over to the table. Ruby still wore a grin on her face, though now it was easy and relaxed.

"Hey guys!" she chirped excitedly. "So, um… This is a bit of a shock, but… This here is my sister, Yang."

"Oh!" Pyrrha smiled as she rose partway, giving the blonde a respectful bow. "I did not know you had a sister, Ruby!"

"Well, funny thing about that…" The brunette let out a small, sheepish laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I kinda didn't either. Turns out my dad had a kid before he met my mom."

Ren eyed the newcomers levelly while they remained standing. The blonde's lilac eyes were sparkling with humor, though the Cat Faunus watched them all with intent amber orbs simply reeking of mistrust. "Are you certain of this?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yep, very much so," Ruby replied. "Um… best not to ask. But yeah, she's my big sis." The brunette turned towards the newcomers, introducing her companions in turn. "This is Lady Pyrrha Nikos, and her squire Jeanne D'Arc, of the Order of Artemis. Both very skilled and capable warriors. Nora Valkyrie, our resident bone-smasher with that huge hammer of hers but more importantly a stalwart companion. Lie Ren, a noble Cleric of Oum and steadfast friend. Also, our token male."

She smiled at the shared snickering from around the table, while Ren just shook his head in amused resignation. Then she held out her hand towards Weiss.

"And then this is Weiss Schnee, a Mage of immeasurable worth and my bestest friend."

The alabaster-haired Elf managed to not roll her eyes hard enough to sprain something, but it was a near thing.

Yang, though, was looking at her with considerable interest. "A pleasure," she smirked, her lilac eyes never leaving Weiss' face.

"The pleasure is mine, I assure you," she replied demurely, her own pale blue eyes riveted on the captivating blonde.

"Ohhh, nice one, Weiss," Nora murmured around Ren's shoulder. "Very smooth."

With an absent-minded flick of her fingers, Nora went sprawling backwards off of the bench to land in a heap, giggling the whole while. "So," Weiss continued. "Just Yang?"

"Just Yang," the blonde laughed quietly. "It's usually enough for most."

"Is it now?"

"So I've been told."

"So nice to hear of your… generosity."

"I've got plenty to spare," Yang smirked.

Weiss allowed her eyes to roam down towards the blonde's ample bosom before slowly drifting back up once more, one eyebrow quirked regally. "So I see."

"Damn, Weiss," the brunette chuckled. "Bringing your A-game, I see. So, Yang, you want me to introduce your partner there, or are you too busy flirting with my Mage?"

"I can multitask," Yang grinned. "Everyone, this is Blake Belladonna. Rogue extraordinaire, and the main reason why I finally found my sister. Kitten, this is everyone."

The raven-haired girl sighed, placing a tremendous amount of both irritation and resignation into the effort. "Charmed," she stated neutrally before turning to catch the serving girl's eye. "Another whiskey, please. Actually, make it two."

"My tab!" Ruby quickly interjected. She turned back to the table, waving both Yang and Blake forward to take seats. Yang ended up directly across from Weiss, while Blake took a seat across from Ren and the still-struggling orange-haired girl who was trying to twist her armor back around before re-taking her seat. Ruby paused for an infinitesimal moment before sitting on the other side of Yang. "Well, now that you found me, you wanna join our quest?"

"You're on a quest?' Yang asked, facing her sister. "Of course! No way I'm leaving your side now, sis!"

"But it would still be nice to hear what this quest entails," Blake interjected softly as she lifted her new glass to her lips. "Cheers."

Ruby grinned widely at the Cat Faunus, raising her own tumbler of alcohol, some sort of smokey liquid that Weiss hadn't recognized. "Cheers," the brunette replied. "And we're all on my Life Quest, to retrieve the Orb of Azure and return it to Vale."

Blake paused before taking a healthy sip of her drink. "The Orb of Azure? Isn't that the artifact that causes Dragons to lose their immunity?"

"Wow, you know your legends," Jeanne remarked, impressed.

The Cat Faunus gave the blue-eyed warrior a tiny smirk. "I... collect antiquities sometimes. Pays to know my stuff."

"Well, then…" Ruby mused. "I think this might actually work out now. So, you guys in?"

Blake opened her mouth, but Yang beat her to it.

"You better believe it, we're in! My quest is complete, and now we can pick up a new one!" She slammed her mug to the table after taking a long pull of mead. "How about that, kitten, we have a new quest! Aren't you glad you partnered up with me?"

At that, the raven-haired rogue sent the effusive blonde a glare. "I truly hate you sometimes."

Weiss was feeling rather giddy inside. This could work out very well indeed, having this gorgeous, young, generously endowed woman with the group. She raised her wine glass up, offering it over towards Blake while shooting Yang a tight grin.

"Welcome to the fellowship," she cheered quietly.

Nora had no such compunctions regarding subtlety. Now that she was all adjusted properly and back in her seat, she lifted her own mug of mead high.

"To the fellowship!" she bellowed merrily.

Weiss eyed the blonde across from her over the lip of her glass.

This whole adventure just got very, very interesting indeed...

o o o

The voluptuous raven-haired woman stood impatiently in her chambers, foot tapping and arms crossed in irritation over her crimson dress.

One would think that, after all this time, she'd have learned some amount of patience. In fact, the plans that she had laid out so meticulously were finally coming to fruition, all due to her foresight and patient work. But that did not make the waiting any easier.

When the knock sounded on her door, she let the snarled "Enter!" escape before she could reconsider.

Mustn't scare off the help...

A grey-haired man entered with a girl who bore mint-green hair. They stopped a respectful distance away and gave her a brief bow.

"It's about time," she snapped, though with less heat in her words now.

"Our apologies, Cinder," the boy stated cooly. "You know how extensive security is now."

Cinder let out an inelegant snort. "True enough, especially since I was the one to propose the measures. Very well, Mercury, Emerald. I have need of the two of you."

She turned, her heels clacking against the stone flooring, until she faced the window and stared out into the dark.

"I've sensed more of our kind here within the walls," she began quietly. "What do you know?"

She glanced over her shoulder to see her two underlings share a look.

"Yang is in town," the girl finally said quietly.

Cinder growled under her breath, her fingernails digging long furrows in the stone windowpane. "Of course… meddlesome too-noble-for-their-own-good Golds... " She inhaled sharply before turning back around.

"The climate here is finally approaching the breaking point. Panic is at an all-time high, our list is almost completely checked off save for those at the very top, and I have the headless fools of the guard running about, chasing their own shadows. I can not have things fail now, not when we are this close!"

She closed her eyes then, taking a deep calming breath. She could tell that she had been beginning to smoke slightly, her amber orbs involuntarily changing over to a smoldering orange in her heightened emotional state.

In control once more, Cinder opened her eyes again, glaring at the two cowering before her.

"The next time you see Yang, you will encourage her to leave the town. The two of you together should be able to handle one Gold, no matter how strong she is."

"Yes, My Lady," the both of them intoned in unison.

Before they could proceed further, another knock came at the door. Mercury and Emerald quickly scrambled to their feet and melded into the shadows, while Cinder stalked over to yank the door open.

"Yes?" she demanded imperiously.

"A th- thousand apologies, L- Lady Cinder," the trembling servant stammered. "The King… He has requested his council to convene."

"Very well," Cinder sighed, resigned to yet another several hours of wasted time. "I'll be right along."

When the door had closed once more, Cinder turned to regard the pair as they stepped forward again. "Find her and drive her out of my town. I am too close to my goal for her to interfere now."

Mercury bowed low before turning to leave, though Emerald hesitated after her own showing of subservience.

"My Lady… would you desire my… company later tonight?"

Cinder regarded the hopeful-looking girl with a smirk. "Well, my dear," she purred. "That all depends on how successful you are."

She dropped her playful smirk as soon as the pair left her, turning once more to stare out the window.

"I am too close," she growled, her voice now an octave lower. "Far too close to be thwarted now…"

A/N: Sooo to round off the volume, we have a little potential Ladybug, some slow-smoldering Freezerburn, and then a little side dish of Blood Emerald. Tasty, no?

Sorry this chapter is considerably shorter than the others, just needed to wrap a few things up before we start in on the second volume, which will entail the full fellowship tracking down the Orb.

Props to my lovely Betas for this story, KellyConnely and PandaAnimeLover, I appreciate you guys keeping up with me so far. And also much love for those who have read, favorited, or followed my story through the first volume, and especially the reviewers from the past chapter: Darkstar6195, ExKage, Reaper Whisper, RatedRSuperStar87, AntonSlavik020, Arcredemption, carpenter656, FourNails1341, Heil96, Unslaadtoorjun, FoxyFoxation, Nicodemus Cain, Imagine Exorcist, bankerrtx01. Every chapter seems to pick up more readers, and that warms my heart. Almost a hundred followers, w00t! Hope I can continue to entertain! (I also hope to keep the goodwill going once the proverbial shit truly starts to hit the fan further on down the line… /Ominous thunder crashes in the distance...) Onwards to volume 2, stalwart readers!

Stay shiny!