Ravensdagger_Princess

Chapter Forty-Four

Akelarre walked one way, then the other, then back again. Cinder followed all of the Princess’ movements with her eyes, head resting on a balled fist as she watched. “You’re going to wrinkle your dress,” she finally said.The Princess paused and looked down at her dress, a pretty enough thing made of a silky white material over a tighter black cocktail dress. The layered look gave it something of a classical appearance, like the princesses and regents in the textbooks.Also, Cinder suspected Akelarre was hiding her own weight’s worth of bugs in the folds.“Are you really that nervous?” Cinder asked. She leaned back into the couch and brought her arms up to drape over the back of it. “It’s merely a dance with a girl child you happen to like in the middle of an enemy stronghold.”Akelarre puffed her cheeks out. “You’re not helping,” she muttered.Cinder rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. With the number of available hostages there they would be fools to try anything. And it’s near a forest of sorts. I’m sure you can sneak a Grimm or two over to keep watch.”“I have,” she confirmed. “It doesn’t help any.”Cinder had had enough. She was already going to this event without truly wanting to just for a chance at sneaking into the CCT tower, she didn’t want to have to deal with the Princess of the Grimm’s... puberty issues on top of it all.Love was a thing you made others feel for you so that they would be more loyal. That was the end all be all of the emotion as far as she was concerned. So she stood up, adjusted the skirt of her own red dress and shifted her feet in her heels to make sure they were snug. “Come along. We might as well get there early and end this whole charade.”“It’s hardly a charade,” Akelarre said. Still, she didn’t protest and followed dutifully after Cinder as she walked out of the living room and towards the Bullhead landing pads.They met Emerald halfway there.Cinder’s green-haired mook was attired in a long evening gown that was vaguely similar to Cinder’s own, but done in a deep green with false jewels sewn into the fabric. “What are you wearing?” Cinder asked as she took in her subordonate.“Ah, hello Cinder, Princess Akelarre,” Emerald said. “I just... well, I’m piloting the Bullhead back, but I thought, maybe, if your date didn’t show up. I, uh, could stand in?”Her face was flaming red, which was only proper. Her plan was foolhardy to the extreme. “And if we need to fight, can you do it in that getup?” she asked before shaking her head. “Nevermind, at least you’ll fit in with the other hopeless teenagers with rented dresses.”“Yes ma’am,” Emerald whispered. She trailed after Cinder, head down in obeisance and lips set in an unbecoming pout. Cinder had more important things to deal with than her subordonate’s patheticness. At least Emerald was trying to predict Cinder’s needs. She might have to reward the girl later. Maybe some time spent away from her and the stresses of the job would help?They reached the Bullhead and found it already spinning up, Mercury in the pilot’s seat in a far more sensible outfit and the back of the ship stuffed with what had to be a metric ton of squirming, writhing Grimmsects.She paused, hand on the door’s handle to inspect the wiggling mass before she turned around, moved her hair out of her face, and locked eyes with Akelarre.The Princess shrugged. “They might come in handy?”Cinder sighed and pushed Emerald into the Bullhead before her. “If they so much as land on me we’re going to be having words.”Akelarre nodded. “That’s fine. Not a single one of the insects within the Bullhead before you enter it will land on you.”She sat down and began to strap herself in when she paused. “That was oddly specific,” she said. The sheepish smile on Akelarre’s face left a sinking pit in her stomach. “How many insects are already on me?”“Technically, most of the Grimmsects I put on people aren’t actually insects at all. Insects only have six legs which is a good number, but is woefully under-equipped for the kinds of things I want my Grimmsects to be able to do.”Cinder glared. “Bugs, off.”Akelarre sighed and slumped in her seat. “Come on, how else will I keep track of you?”“I could show you a few tricks,” Emerald said. She clamped up when Cinder looked her way. “I mean, tricks I use to mark targets. Targets that Cinder gives me.” She tried to smile but it was weak and wobbly. Was the girl trying to ingratiate herself with the Princess? Maybe join her thrice-damned harem while she was at it.“You won’t have any difficulty tracking me tonight because, except for my little plan to the side, I will be by your side all the time.”“What?” both Akelarre and Emerald said at the same time.Cinder nodded. “Indeed. Our Majesty has tasked me with keeping an eye on you. Something about keeping you from working your wiles on more girls. She thinks that three people is the perfect number of members for a harem and that more would just be trouble.”“But you’re dancing with Neo,” Akelarre said. “She’s going to be really annoyed if you don’t pay her attention. Like, murderously annoyed.”“Oh please, I can handle the little girl. And besides, I doubt she would mind staying close to you during the night. She’s also a member of your group of deviants, after all”Akelarre glared at her, then huffed. “Fine, but I still expect you to treat her well. You need to dance with her, and do small talk, and give her ice cream and snacks to keep her happy.”“Is she your girlfriend or a poodle?”“Hey, Neo is the least... well okay, she’s kind of poodle-like, but you can’t treat her like that. Or think of her like that. Or say anything even remotely similar to that out loud where she might hear you. I don’t want to have to explain to Mom why you ended up in a ditch somewhere.”Mercury popped his head into the compartment. “We’re two minutes out,” he said. “I’m about to call in for landing permission. Hang on.”The Bullhead shifted, then moved sideways while its engine nassels turned so that it could come to a hover over the landing area next to Beacon.The school had gone all out with the decorations, lights strung out across pathways, flowers arranged in neat rows and in baskets near every lamppost, and brightly coloured confetti hung from here and there, masking the more utilitarian buildings in festive colours.“Pretty,” Akelarre said as she stepped out of the Bullhead.Cinder agreed, but she wasn’t about to admit it aloud. Instead she jumped out next to her and stared at the hand Emerald was holding out, as if she expected Cinder to help her down. She huffed and walked to the Princess’ side. “Well, are we going to stand here all night?” she asked.If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.“No, I was just hoping that Ruby would be here. Neo’s already here so I thought maybe she’d show up too.”“And where is your littlest friend?” Cinder asked. “Is she hidden behind someone else? It wouldn’t be hard with her stature.”“No, she’s right next to you, actually.”Cinder felt a frisson of cold running down her back and turned to her side to find her date for the night looking up at her, smile locked in place. Neo was in a tight little dress with a band of pink flowers running around her waist and over an opening that exposed her abs and belly button.“Ah, hello Neo,” Cinder said. Years of keeper her cool around the occasionally temperamental Salem served her well as the tiny assassin’s smile refused to budge. “Your dress is quite pretty. You’d almost think you had reached adulthood.”Neo tilted her head to one side.“She said, ‘do you really want to play that game?’” Akelarre translated.“It would hardly be fair,” Cinder said. “I don’t play games with children.”Neo quirked an eyebrow.Cinder didn’t wait for the Princess’ translation. “Look, Neo, neither of us need to like each other, we merely have to live with each other. I’m here to keep an eye on the Princess, same as you. We do that, avoid any suitors, dance exactly once together and then the evening is done. I won’t step on your toes if you avoid mine.”Neo’s expressive eyes disappeared as she closed them and tapped on her chin with one short, manicured finger. She nodded after a moment had passed.“Very well then,” Cinder said. She turned to make sure that the Bullhead would be cared for, found Mercury awkwardly patting a crying Emerald on the back, and told herself that if it wasn’t there when she returned she was resourceful enough to find some other way home.“Let’s go find Ruby and the others!” Akelarre said, one fist rising into the air as if she was ready to lead a cavalry charge. Judging by the number of small, inconspicuous insects that shot past her and towards the school, that was exactly what was happening.They had taken a dozen steps when Cinder heard something that made her heart shudder.“Oh oh.”

* * *

Coco stood in the Princess of the Grimm’s path like a bulwark ready to withstand a siege.The Princess, filthy best-friend-stealing, bunny-ear-petting bitch that she was, blinked back with a complete lack of comprehension that had Coco grinding her teeth.“We need to talk,” she said before crossing her arms and setting her legs in a wide, defensive stance.“Alone?” Akelarre asked. She looked past Coco and towards the cafeteria which had been converted into a ballroom for the night. It was still far enough away that they probably didn’t stand out much from the others heading towards the building.“Yes,” Coco said.“No,” the woman next to Akelarre said.Coco snapped her attention onto her, then looked her up and down. She was standing there the same way a lioness would be standing near a herd of injured gazelles, as if she was merely humouring Coco by not attacking already.“The Princess is under my protection tonight. I’m afraid that I can’t let her out of my sight so easily, especially not under such suspicious circumstances.”“Aww, c’mon Cinder, I doubt Coco could hurt me.”Coco clenched her jaw at that. Was the bitch underestimating her?“Is she not the one that killed you?” Cinder asked. “Your mother would be most upset if you died and ruined your dress on your big night out.”Now they were doing it on purpose. “Fine, you can come too,” Coco said. “This isn’t some sort of ambush.”She nodded off to the side where there was a path between two buildings. It was well lit and open, but at least it wouldn’t be as visible as standing in the middle of the main thoroughfare.Akelarre and her friends followed. The short one planted herself by the side of the building and started bobbing to the beat of the ball’s distant music. The other one just stood as if the rod up her backside was particularly stiff.“So, what’s up?” Akelarre asked. “Is this about my harem?”Coco set her shoulders. “No this is abo-” Coco’s mind ground to a halt and it took a second for her to comprehend what she’d just said. “What harem?”“Nevermind,” Akelarre said too quickly.“Wait, are you saying that you’re too much of a woman for one woman to handle?” Coco seethed. “And to think that Velvet thought that she was dating you.”“She... is?” Akelarre said. “Just not tonight. Wait, is that why you’re here? Is she upset?”Coco’s anger boiled over. “Of course she’s upset!” she said. “You didn’t ask her out to the ball and now you’re going to dance with that little red strumpet.”“I thought she liked Ruby?” Akelarre asked.“She does!” Coco said. “That’s the problem, the two of them get along and Velvet, being the clueless, too-kind idiot she is, wants to give Ruby a chance. But now she has no one to dance with.”“Oh,” Akelarre said. She looked genuinely disappointed. Coco would have given her points for that if she wasn’t a BFF-stealing hoe. “Well, do you have a date?”“What?” Coco asked, the non-sequitur catching her off guard.“Do you have a date?”Coco snorted. “No, I’m too cool to just go with some nobody.” She flicked her hair out behind her and tried to look casual about it.The short one snorted and tall-dark-and-murdery rolled her eyes.“Okay then,” Akelarre said. “That means there’s an easy solution. Velvet dating me shouldn’t mean that she loses her friends. I would never ask that of her. So if you ask Velvet out, as a friend, then you can be there for her all night. I’m her sorta-maybe-girlfriend, not her best friend. That’s you, I think.”Coco felt her cheeks warming up. “That’s... that’s not how it works?”Akelarre shook her head. “Of course it is. Velvet has a Coco-shaped hole in her best friend slot and you would fit in it just fine. I know we never really got along, what with you killing me and my pet and then trying to get me arrested, but I can put that aside for Velvet’s sake.”“I...” Coco paused and glared at Akelarre. It had about the same effect as throwing a leaf at a Beowolf. “You’re a real pain in the ass,” she said.The Princess blinked at that. “Huh?”She threw her arms up and stomped away. “Fine!” she said. “You win. Also, your dress isn’t so bad.”“Uh, thanks?” Akelarre said. She could feel the Princess’ eyes on her back as she moved away. It didn’t matter, she had a bunny girl to find and a friendship that still needed some mending.

Chapter Forty-Five

“Ruby!”“Akelarre!”The two crashed together with an ‘oomph’ that soon turned into a cascade of wild giggles as they clutched onto each other for balance. Akelarre grinned down at Ruby, then placed a hand on each shoulder to push her back so she could inspect her date for the evening. “Ooh, you’re so cute in that!” she said.Ruby’s face lit up, but the huge grin she wore did wonders to distract from the blush. “You were there when I bought this dress,” she said.“Yup, I was,” Akelarre agreed. “And yet you managed to make it look even better since!”“Akelarre, stop,” Ruby said as she fluttered her hands at Akelarre. “It’s embarrassing.’“Hmph, am I supposed to pretend that I’m not the luckiest princess here because my date is the prettiest?” Akelarre felt her own cheeks warming up, and the butterflies in her tummy were refusing to obey her commands to calm down.“Akelarre!” Ruby protested.“God, you two are so sappy,” Weiss said.Akelarre turned and took in all the people around them. Yang was grinning widely next to an expressionless Blake, Weiss was standing with her arms crossed, though one arm was lower than the other so that Penny could hook a hand around its crook. Cinder and Neo were standing not too far behind, both looking around at the students still filing into the ballroom.“Sorry about that, I had to remind Ruby that she’s the best,” Akelarre said, it made Ruby’s face light up again. Getting her to blush was growing to be her favourite game. “So, are we just going to hang out over here all night? Because I’d be okay with that.”“Oh, I have drawn up an itinerary based on popular media tropes drawn from hundreds of dance scenes in books and movies,’ Penny said from her spot next to Weiss. Her eyes flickered for a moment and when she next started talking it was as if she was reading off a list.“Step one: Meet Weiss and hold her hand. Accomplished!Step two: Obtain refreshments for Weiss and attempt small talk. Pending.Step three: Dance with Weiss. Pending.Step four: After repeating steps two and three for a period approximating two hours, exit the building and move to a romantic location. Pending.Step five: declare undying love to Weiss and-slash-or ask for her hand in marriage. Pending.”Weiss, contrary to Akelarre’s expectations, didn’t start stuttering or blushing. She pressed a hand to her face and then shook her head. “No Penny. That itinerary isn’t suitable for Ruby and Akelarre. Or us for that matter. There are flaws with it that we can address later.”“I see,” Penny said. “Would it be suitable for friend-Blake and friend-Yang?”“Sure, why not,” Weiss said.“H-hey now,” Yang protested. “Back up a minute there.”“The Xiao-Long-Rose family really has a thing for royalty, huh?” Blake asked, her lips twitching up at the corner in a smug smile that was trying really hard to burst past her emotionless facade.There were twin cries of “Blake!” from Ruby and Yang and a round of laughter from the others. Akelarre pulled Ruby closer by her side and gestured towards the Ballroom. “Should we go in?” she asked. “I haven’t eaten anything and now I’m starving.”“Ah, I didn’t eat either,” Ruby said. “I was way too nervous.”Akelarre started walking over, Ruby still tucked up against her side like a comfortable warm limpet. “Nervous? Why?”“Ah, well, it’s my first dance and I don’t really know how to dance and I was just worried because I was worried I guess.”Akelarre snorted. “Now you’re just being silly.”“Nu-uh, Yang said it was my right as a hormonal mess of a teenager to be nervous about dances. And she was probably right this time.”Akelarre chuckled. “This time, huh?”“Oh yeah. You should have seen her getting ready for tonight. She was all twitchy and nervous and scared. It was kinda cute. Or it would have been if her shower didn’t take two hours. Blake was ready to skewer her by the time she came out.” Ruby shook her head. “I had to borrow team JNPR’s shower. They have two boys, so they didn’t need it as much.”“Hair care is important though,” Akelarre said before running her fingers through Ruby’s hair.Ruby pouted. “You’re just like Yang. My hair always looks like I had a fight with my pillow and lost.”“Have you tried growing it out?” she asked as they reached the doors to the ballroom.Ruby nodded. “Do you have any idea how many little moving parts Crescent Rose has? Long hair is a bad idea.” Her voice got louder and louder as she had to compensate for the music in the room. The bass alone was making the floor shiver rhythmically. The dance floor was currently filled with couples bouncing around with more enthusiasm than skill, though a few actually looked like they knew what they were doing.All along the walls were chairs and some round tables where groups of friends were sitting down and screaming over the music while nursing drinks. It took Akelarre’s smaller bugs ten seconds to find the first spiked drink and a few students surreptitiously passing a bottle back and forth under a table.“Drinks first!” she declared as she pulled Ruby towards the back, her friends all kind of followed after them like a group of lost and confused ducklings.Yang shot ahead, dragging Blake with her so that she could arrive at the punch bowl first. “I was going to tell you a joke,” she told Blake. “But there’s no punchline.”“Oh Yang,” Ruby sighed too low for anyone else to hear. “She’ll never get Blake with that kind of joke.”Akelarre shrugged and pretended not to notice that flat look on Blake’s face as she found some plastic cups and began filling them. “Maybe if she’s persistent Blake will give in in a, uh, decade or two.”This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.Ruby giggled as she accepted her cup. She hesitated for a second, then looped an arm in Akelarre’s, and dragged her away from their friends. The others were too busy getting drinks and picking snacks to really follow, though Neo and Cinder were still keeping an eye on them.“Hey, Akelarre,” Ruby said. “Can we talk about harems and stuff?”“Ah, I mean, yeah, sure.” She swallowed, a pit suddenly opening up in her stomach.“It’s not fair that you haven’t let me have fun with the other girls. I barely spoke to Neo at all and Velvet’s all confused and nervous. Next time you need to invite all of us together, okay?”“Okay?” Akelarre said. She wasn’t exactly sure what she should have been saying or how to react to Ruby’s openness on the subject, but she tried to take it all in stride. “So, now what?” she asked.“I think we’re supposed to dance,” Ruby said. They both eyed the dance floor where people were bouncing around like lunatics to music that was only growing louder. “But uh, if you don’t want to that’s fine.”“I don’t mind at all. But if you don’t feel like it’s okay,” Akelarre said.They stared at each other and then broke out into a fit of giggles that had them bumping shoulders and standing a little closer so that they could watch all the students making fools of themselves on the dancefloor.Weiss in particular seemed less than enthused with Penny’s dancing, even though she was bobbing and waving her arms to the beat. Meanwhile, Blake and Yang actually looked like they were having fun near the chaotic centre of the floor right next to where Velvet and Coco were boogieing down.“Should we get more to drink?” Ruby asked as she stared into her empty cup.Akelarre shook her head. “Neo spiked it already,” she said. She had a few Grimmsects, clean ones, dip a feeler or two into the punch to taste. Grimm couldn’t get drunk, but they could taste well enough. “Best not to.”“Aww, but dad never lets me drink anything.”Akelarre snorted and bumped into Ruby again. “I already look like a bad influence, don’t make it worse by actually getting drunk around me.”“I won’t!” Ruby said.Akelarre smiled down at her and ruffled her hair, much to her protest. Then her bugs sensed a single person step into the room and her good humour faded a little.Ozpin was framed by the doorway, his silhouette thin and emaciated in the dim lighting. Still, she could sense his eyes locked onto her. They stared at each other from across the ballroom before he looked away and dove into the crowd.“Are you going to have to run?” Ruby asked. “We... well, I did want to try to dance at least once tonight, but if you have to go, it’s okay.”Akelarre brought her smile back, but it felt off. Still she grabbed Ruby in a sidelong hug and rubbed her cheek on her head. “It’s fine. We’ll be fine.”“He’s coming this way,” Cinder said as she approached. She looked out of place in the crowd. Not because she wasn’t stunning or anything, but because her expression didn’t fit the otherwise festive occasion.“Let him come,” Akelarre said. She pushed Ruby towards Neo who was standing a step behind Cinder. “Ruby, do you mind keeping Neo company? She gets lonely if no one talks to her.”Neo pouted, but it melted into a shit eating grin when Ruby beamed at her.“Don’t steal her first dance, okay? It’s supposed to be mine and I’ll be really jealous if you dance together first,” Akelarre said.Neo shrugged and began pulling Ruby towards the buffet table, making a beeline for the display filled with small bowls of ice cream.“Are you sure this is wise?” Cinder asked. She was standing with a drink in one hand and facing out of one of the windows along the wall. To anyone looking from elsewhere it might have looked like she was just a student taking a break from all the dancing.“No,” she admitted. “But I’d rather bite the bullet now rather than wait around and fret. There’s only so much Ozma can do to us in the end. Knowing what he wants might not be all that bad.”“I’ll be near,” Cinder said.Akelarre nodded, then turned to face the headmaster.Ozpin moved with the assurance of someone that knew that others would move out of his way, and to be fair, no one was bumping into the headmaster on purpose. They probably assumed he was acting as a chaperon of sorts. Which, if it was a chaperon’s duty to make sure that nothing too complicated happened to their charges, then he did fit the bill.He paused a few steps away and adjusted his glasses where they perched on the end of his nose. “Miss Akelarre?”“Ozma.”“I was hoping that we could talk,” he said.She tilted her head to one side, hair cascading down to frame her face. “Just talk?” she asked.He nodded. “Just talk. I read your... mother’s letter. I don’t want to fight, not here, not now.”She looked past him and to all the students having the time of their lives. "... No, I'm busy."Ozpin shifted. "It's about the fate of the world."Her attention snapped back to him. "The world's not going to end before the dance finishes, will it?""No, I suppose not."Akelarre's shoulders slumped. "Oh, thank Mom, I was afraid the world really was ending. I hate it when that happens.""Does it... happen often?" he asked with an appropriate amount of hesitation."You'd be surprised. It's exhausting." She nodded. “Okay fine, come, we can talk outside.”