RWBY 1. Prologue

**A/N: Yep. You're really seeing this. Yet another AU that was inspired by my new found love of Neo and Yang. So yep, going pirate with this one. This is just a VERY short prologue chapter as you won't really meet a ton of the cast yet in this. I just want to see how this is received before being fully committed to it as I still have other stories to attend to! Um, anyways let me know what you think so far.**

**Enjoy!**

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_This has to be the worst day ever._

First Yang and her sister; Ruby got scammed on their earlier selling of their products, and after finally accepting that they had been ripped off in the town of Haven, they reluctantly returned to their ferry, with whatever goods they had left.

All seemed well enough back then, it wasn't always you could make a profit selling spices, and so the sisters accepted their losses and prepared themselves for a long voyage to their next destination. Sleeping on the decks of the boat, it was in the dead of night before both of them were woken up by the sounds of cannon fire.

Yang remembered the thundering and ear splitting noise that filled the night air. The smooth swaying of the boat that was lulling her to sleep under the starry night sky soon changed motions as the ship twisted and rocked under the relentless cannon barrage. Yang and Ruby had woken up in alert and at the vision of multiple sailors and seamen clamoring away, pulling at sails and desperately trying to defend their vessel.

Amidst the chaos though, Yang had heard one thing that scared her more than anything else in her life.

"Pirates!"

And now look where she was. Locked away in some musky cabin within the large pirate ship that just moments earlier had captured them. But glancing over to her right at the small sleeping form of her smaller sister, Yang smiled. At least she Ruby had not sustained any serious injuries. After the pirates had boarded; they made short work of anyone who tried to resist, and so Yang and Ruby both hadn't tried anything reckless. Of course the two were well versed in the art of sword play and fencing; thanks to their father but they relinquished their weapons without confrontation.

This of course meant that the sisters also lost their entire shipment of spices that they were currently trying to sell. This caused Yang more anger then the loss of her blade. But focusing on the present for now; Yang ran her hands through her long and rebellious blonde locks and looked towards the rest of the captives that were journeying alongside her before the pirates had taken them captive.

Most were just traders and merchants; much like herself, but there were a few seamen who had operated the boat that she had taken refuge on earlier, although most looked much too scared to do anything like rebel.

So Yang sighed and inched closer to her sister. The cell they all were currently in was cramped and smelled of piss. The wooden walls leaked sea water and the entire vessel creaked and moaned as if it were on the verge of sinking.

There wasn't much to do but wait until they reached wherever the destination was that they were heading in. Yang more than likely knew that they were going to be sold as slaves in some faraway land but for some reason the blonde wasn't scared or terrified in this moment. She took deep calming breaths; ignoring the putrid stench and focused her nerves to hatch a plan.

If and when the pirates come down to unlock the cell to herd all of them out, they _could_ of course fight back, even weaponless. There were at least fifteen people in the cell excluding herself and Ruby. Of course people would die in the process but granted a few would be able to escape to…

Well, Yang couldn't think that far. Plus that was even if the others agreed to such a reckless plan. But it was the best she had, for Dust's sake she was only a traveling merchant girl! Not some seasoned war admiral. So Yang steeled herself in preparation to announce her plan to her fellow prisoners; peering through the dim cell and taking in the glum and gloomy faces.

_These people look defeated already, there's no way they'll agree to this._

But before Yang even had a chance to speak; a familiar sound rang out through the confines of the boat and even if it was muffled by being deep below deck she knew what it was.

The sounds of cannon fire.

By it sounded as if it were incoming cannon fire, not outgoing. Yang felt Ruby jolt awake at the sounds and watched her rub the sleep out of her eyes before glancing up at her elder sister with fear and confusion plastered on her young face.

"Yang, what's going on now?" She asked.

Yang peered into her sister's twinkling silver eyes and felt a slow smile form on her own face. She could now feel the boat rock and tilt as whoever was piloting the vessel took evasive maneuvers to avoid the cannon fire Yang had guessed.

Maybe she wouldn't have to risk her and everyone else's lives. They were going to be rescued! It seemed as if the sentiment had spread among the other prisoners as their glum expressions shifted to hopeful at the hearing of battle above them.

Yang soon become drunk of the thoughts of freedom once more. It had only been a few hours of being captured but it was _much_ more than enough time to be taken and held as a prisoner. She started to wonder which navy was handing the pirates their asses so handedly.

_We should still be in Vale controlled waters; so it could be Vale or Atlas as they're pretty close as well._

It didn't matter to her though. Both navies would release them at the first docking back in their respective countries. And maybe Yang could grab her supplies that were stolen from her as well and try to turn a profit at where ever they would be let go.

"We're gonna be saved, Rubes!" Yang finally replied to her sister.

She watched on as Ruby's eyes lit up and her small and dirty face brighten into a wide grin at the words. She let out a small squeal of joy which also caused Yang to giggle in delight. Even the other prisoners who had been so quiet moments before were speaking to themselves and talking about what they would do once they were free of the confines of this damp enclosed space.

It wasn't long before the cannon fire was increased in volume and the motions of the vessel were steadied. Until it rocked to its side violently, knocking Yang, Ruby, and the rest of the captured onto their backsides and sliding into the opposite wall.

"What the hell was _that?_" Yang questioned, picking herself up from where she was knocked over.

It felt as if the boat was hit by something massive. Almost like a…

Ram.

A boarding attempt!

They really were going to be saved! The violent toss must've been the other ship ramming into the pirate's vessel in an attempt to board. This meant the pirates had already lost. It was only a matter of time until they would be found below deck and rescued.

"We're saved!"

"We're as good as free!"

"Damned pirates, they got what they deserved!"

"I never wanna be on another boat, ever again."

These words and more were heard as the mood in the cell rose significantly. Everyone was on edge, just bristling with hope and joy. Glancing back down at the shining and hopeful silver eyes of Ruby, Yang ruffled the girl's short crimson hair and chuckled.

"After this, we're definitely returning to Signal to see mom and dad! I think we deserve a little vacation!"

She watched Ruby nod her head in agreement. The thought of returning back to their island port town of Signal was extremely endearing to Yang. She and Ruby hadn't returned home in years, leaving one night to make a name for themselves as famous merchants. Which turned out to be a lot harder than they had originally planned.

Quickly they found themselves with no goods to sell which was their first mistake. Second they hadn't thought of the idea to arm themselves, and after _many_ close encounters because of this fact the sisters finally scrounged enough money to buy their own respective shoddy blades. But probably their biggest blunder at the beginning of their adventure was the prospect of starting money. They had none.

Of course throughout their beginning months, they had journeyed throughout the lands and waters and had indeed made a name for themselves in a few specific towns. Of course their names would probably be tagged on with _scoundrel _or _thieves_ or better yet; _drunken wretch_, the last one being mostly for Yang.

But they had survived, and even managed to get their foot in the door and start their peddling and trading business! They had sometimes even made wonderful profits which of course fueled Yang's addiction to rum, but that was another story.

Perking up now, Yang shook her thoughts away and noticed that she could now hear the yells and screams of dozens of men and women possibly fighting for their very lives above deck. The sounds of swords clashing together and pistols being shot could be heard through the heavy oaken boards.

Any minute now their saviors would come storming down to open their cells! Yang and Ruby both could smell the open ocean air already!

And finally all was dead silent. The only sounds heard was that of the waves slapping against the ship's sides and the heavy breathing of everyone in the cell.

And so they waited with bated breath.

And waited.

Until _finally _the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard walking down stairs into the lower deck.

Yang felt her chest tighten and her stomach flip at the sound. Freedom was as good as ever! Their rescuers had won and come to save the day! She felt Ruby hug her from the side as the girl squealed yet again with anticipation. In mere moments they would catch a glimpse of their saviors!

Until _he_ rounded the corner.

Yang froze in her spot and quickly felt her smile fade into a frown at the sight of the man in front of her as he too stared back at her and the rest of the prisoners in a mix of surprise and malice.

The first thing Yang had noticed though was that he was missing his left leg, which was replaced by a wooden one from the knee down. Her first sign that something was _very_ wrong. Finally glancing back towards the rest of the man's ensemble though only furthered Yang's suspicions.

He was dressed in an open white overcoat that was faded to a dull gray, with various pouches and belts attached to it. His trousers were a dirty black in color with his boot being the very same shade. His bright orange hair; that was swept over his right eye was filthy and rugged as if he had not showered for days, as he covered it up with a black and red bandana.

The man stood still and focused his dark green eyes towards the cell and its occupants in front of him as if now contemplating something. He raised his right hand to his chin and rested his left on his belt; which had a sword dangling in its scabbard attached to it, next to a small flintlock pistol tucked away next to it.

But just as Yang felt her stomach drop at the sight of this man who dressed, looked, and _smelled_ like a pirate, she heard a new sound make its way down the stairs. Although this persons footsteps sounded graceful and collected, not as loud as he had been.

Turning her gaze to the corner of the cell where a new figure appeared though; Yang felt her breath hitch, as well as Ruby's own.

There stood a woman of average height; dressed in a crimson overcoat that mirrored the other man's own, but this one looked pristine. She had a black shirt underneath it that seemed to hold her ample chest in place, and tight fitting leather black leggings that tucked into deep brown calf length boots. This new mysterious woman had long black hair that seemed to flow down to her shoulders with a faded black tricorne atop of her head.

The woman then also peered into the cell with calculating eyes but kept her expression indifferent. Her amber eyes seemed to scan each and every individual that was currently locked away until they settled onto Yang's own. Before shifting ever so slightly to the blonde's right.

At Ruby.

The woman held her gaze there and Yang could have sworn she watched the woman's lips curve upwards in a very _hungry_ looking smile.

But the sound of a gruff, but seemingly respectful tone of voice sounded.

"Seems like we won't have to search too much harder for a profit. We just inherited some slave traders' cargo!" The man from earlier spoke as he glanced towards the cell's occupants once again before turning towards the alluring woman to his side.

"How many times have I told you _Roman_, we don't deal in slave trading." The woman replied in a smooth and affirmative voice.

Yang continued to keep her lilac eyes on the woman as she turned to look towards her fellow male companion. The way the woman spoke made Yang think that she was in charge of whoever had now controlled the ship and ultimately them. It worried the blonde tremendously at the hearing of how _they don't deal with slave trading_. Although it sounded like a good thing, that also could mean that they would just leave them locked up in the cell as they plundered the ship and left them there. Or even worse yet, sunk the vessel.

"Well then, what d'ya wanna do with them?" The man who was referred to as Roman asked as he pointed a thumb towards the cell.

An eternity seemed to pass before the woman rested her hands on her belt loops before turning on her heel to head back up to the deck seemingly ignoring the man's question.

"We bring them with us, of course." She then called out over her shoulder as she disappeared up the stairs.

Roman seemed to chuckle to himself at the command and withdrew his pistol and aimed it at the cell door. Yang and the rest of the prisoners seemed to gasp in surprise at the move; thinking he was going to shoot them, but he directed his weapon towards the cell's lock before he pulled the trigger and fired.

The sound rang out in Yang's ears causing her to hear nothing but a metallic ringing at the unexpected noise. The smell of gunpowder soon filled the air as the cell door was opened with Roman standing at the exit with his long rapier unsheathed and pointed at the captives, wearing a malicious grin on his face.

"You heard Captain Cinder; we're all going for a little ride." He uttered, making a gesture with his weapon for them to move along.

Yang felt herself want to throw up. Captured by not one but _two_ different groups of pirates! No honor among thieves it seemed, but she was forced to comply, yet again.

And so she latched her hand into her sister's own and filed out of the cell and up the stairs outside to an unsure fate and a new adventure.

_This day couldn't get any worse, could it?_


	2. Introductions

**A/N: Well after watching the last episode of RWBY for this season... Was I the only one who didn't like it? Meh; anyways here's the next chapter of the story. Although I seriously have no idea what I wanna do with it I think I have a clue. I'm still working on it sooo... bear with me please lol.**

**I want to shout out ARMV7's new Falling Petals / Baked Alaska (or Banana Split) story; Transgressions! It's a cop AU and it's pretty damned good.**

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"Hurry up! Quit stalling!" Roman shouted towards the captives.

Yang, Ruby, and the rest of the captured prisoners were crossing over to the _other_ pirate ship now. No doubt into another holding cell. Yang only hoped that this next one was cleaner and didn't smell of piss and depression.

As they walked over the board that was placed down between the ships, the blonde took note of how _massive_ and impressive this new ship looked. In fact it looked nothing like a pirate ship; more like a vessel for royalty. She felt her mouth open in awe as she took in its features.

It was made of cedar and oak it seemed; a dark deep brown in color with gold trim seen throughout the massive vessel. Its masts hung high and open; flying the Jolly Roger, which was the only telltale sign that they indeed were pirates. She could also spot the multiple smooth silver cannons protruding out from below the decks. Glancing back up at the center of the ship; she also could see how big the captain's quarters seemed to be.

All in all it seemed as if the new boat was at least twice the size of a regular galleon. And that was impressive. It also made the blonde wonder what kind of pirates could amass such an impressive boat like this.

That is until she spotted one of the prisoners in front of her jump ship and into the water below. The large and loud splash was followed by six repeating ones as more and more of their fellow prisoners jumped overboard in an attempt to flee.

"Idiots; we're in the middle of the ocean." A new voice sounded.

Yang glanced behind her towards the old pirate ship and spotted a boy with silver hair and narrowed black eyes. He was dressed in a dark gray tunic with black loose fitting pants, tucked into faded brown boots.

Currently the new man in question was hunched over a few of the deceased bodies belonging to Yang's earlier capturers. He was no doubt robbing them; stealing from the dead.

Whipping her head back around, Yang glanced over the side of the plank she was walking across and watched on as the prisoners who jumped overboard swam off into the sunset and shook her head.

_They just screwed themselves…_

She finally walked aboard the new vessel with the remaining prisoners. She still held Ruby's hand who stood next to her now. Glancing towards her smaller sister and noting how she hadn't said anything since they left the jail cell, the blonde gave the girl's hand a slight squeeze for reassurance.

They stood lined up on the deck of the new vessel and stood in front of the man known as Roman as he paced back and forth eyeing each of the remaining prisoners. It seemed as if he didn't care about the others who jumped ship, but the way he kept pacing back and forth; with his wooden peg leg slightly unsettled Yang.

Until she heard a hushed snort.

Quickly glancing towards her right; at Ruby, Yang couldn't believe it. Her sister's face was contorting and she was shaking. She was trying to stifle her laughter.

_What the hell could be so funny right in this moment?_

But it seemed as if Yang wasn't the only person who noticed Ruby's soft giggles, as Roman himself hobbled up to the girl.

"Something funny?"

Yang tensed up at the man's hostile voice that was directed towards Ruby, but she stood still. She knew Ruby could take care of herself; but couldn't help but feel uneasy.

_What the hell is she laughing about?_

She cocked her head to look at the crimson haired girl in confusion.

"W- Well… your l- leg-" Ruby finally started but she was interrupted by the woman from earlier.

Glancing past Roman, Yang spotted the woman in the crimson coat walking down the steps from her quarters the blonde guessed. Her eyes rested on everyone in the deck before settling on Roman's.

"Roman, dear why aren't these _guests_ placed in their rooms yet?" She asked innocently.

Something about her voice sent a shiver up Yang's spine, much like the first time she heard her speak.

Roman on the other hand stood up straight and brought his face out of Ruby's own. He crossed his arms and adopted a bored expression on his face before sighing deeply.

"And by guests and rooms, I'm sure you mean prisoners and the brig?" He asked bemused, but when Captain Cinder's neutral face turned into a scowl he relented.

"Mercury; get over here and place our guests in the holding area below deck!" Roman bellowed, avoiding eye contact with the woman who continued making her way down the steps, slowly.

Yang finally tore her gaze away from the alluring woman and towards the same silver haired boy she spotted looting the corpses earlier. He grumbled before unsheathing his blade and herding everyone towards a set of stairs leading below deck.

_Like hell I'm going into another jail cell._

But just as Yang felt herself about to do something stupid, she heard the Captain speak again.

"Except her, I want to … talk to her." She spoke as she pointed a slender finger towards none other than Ruby.

Yang felt her face widen in horror and surprise. She _knew_ the way that Captain was looking at her earlier in the jail cell meant something, and the blonde didn't like it one bit. She quickly turned to look at Ruby and watched the girl stare back at the Captain; her mouth hung open in shock and awe.

"M- M- Me? Why m- me?" Ruby stuttered while pointing to herself.

The woman finally stood in front of the small and nervous girl, shoving Roman out of the way. Cinder took Ruby's small hands into her own before smirking towards the girl's skittish flinch at the touch.

Yang felt herself get angry at the woman's blatant seducing. She didn't so much as mind that the woman had a crush on her sister; which was obvious, but to touch Ruby? Even if it was as simple as holding hands, it got a rise out of the blonde. But she knew Ruby wouldn't fall for a girl with _just_ a pretty face.

"Do you like sweets?"

_But she will fall for that… Touché Cinder, touché._

Yang watched as Ruby's silver eyes widened at the hearing of promised sweets. "L- Like cookies?" The crimson haired girl asked excitedly.

"Even sweeter than cookies." Cinder then purred as she led Ruby back up the stairs towards where she had come from earlier.

The blonde continued to watch on incredulously before she was ushered forwards rather aggressively by the boy who was referred to as Mercury.

"Hurry up, Blondie!"

Yang felt the urge to elbow the silver haired boy in the face before she heard Ruby speak up again.

"W- Wait! That's my sister!"

Cinder kept pulling the girl up the stairs in a hurry until Ruby finally planted her feet in defiance and pulled away, causing the woman to finally look back towards her.

"If my sister isn't freed then I'm going down there with her!" Ruby finally pouted loudly; to further her stance she even crossed her arms.

All eyes turned towards the woman in the crimson coat as she seemed to sigh before speaking up.

"Fine, Mercury leave the blonde alone but bring the others below deck. Roman… show her around the ship. I'll be in my quarters _entertaining_ my guest of honor here." Cinder ordered out.

She continued pulling small girl behind her and entered her room. But not before Ruby could cast one last look towards her sister with a confused expression plastered on her face. "G- Guest of honor?" Until the door was slammed shut; leaving Ruby to Cinder's mercy behind closed doors.

Yang just stood in her spot staring at the large wooden doors that were now _very_ closed at the moment.

_Did she just…? With Ruby…? Wait… What?!_

Before she could even move towards the closed doors in search of her sister though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whirling around with her blonde hair whipping into her vision; she spotted Roman. The man dropped his earlier scowl and regarded Yang with a slightly bemused expression.

"It's only a matter of time now." Roman uttered.

Yang stared back at the man, not quite understanding what he meant by his phrase. "What?"

The orange haired pirate then chuckled before turning on his heel and walking off slowly, but then turned around and motioned for Yang to follow; which she did, although still keeping her lilac eyes trained on the door that Cinder had led her sister into just moments ago.

"Captain Cinder has taken a … liking to your sister. It's only a matter of time until she invites you to join this crew of hers." Roman continued as he walked the deck of the boat.

Yang narrowed her eyes and stared daggers into the back of the man's head. She knew what he said was true though. The way Cinder had stared at Ruby in the jail cell; her gaze spoke it all. And Yang wasn't sure if it was really a good thing or bad thing at the moment. Obviously Cinder _was_ doing well for herself judging by the vessel she was currently in charge of, but there was that one peculiar thing…

She was a _pirate_.

This of course left the burning question in the blonde's mind.

_What kind of nonsense is he spewing, why the hell would Ruby and I join them?_

"And what gives you that idea?"

Suddenly the one legged man stopped walking and leaned against the ships railing looking out towards the ocean. Yang leaned against it as well next to him, but still waited for an answer.

"I've known Cinder for quite a while; let's just say I got an inkling that due to that adorable little sister of yours; she'll extend the invitation to the both of ya."

Yang just shrugged her shoulders at the almost cryptic response she had gotten. If it kept her out of the brig then so be it, plus Ruby could make her own choices; and Cinder wasn't necessarily _bad_ looking.

Staring out towards the ocean though, Yang stared out towards the endless mass of water; falling deep into thought. She and Ruby had no idea really where to go next; and the reason why they had even choose this life was for the adventure. They didn't want to stay on their home island of Patch forever; they wanted to see the world. Granted they chose to become traders to do this, but it seemed like a new and possibly only once in a lifetime opportunity had just presented itself on a silver platter.

The captain of a pirate vessel was smitten by her younger sister which basically gave Yang free reign to do what she wanted. Within reasonable limits of course, but also pirates travel the high seas and are bound to find adventure. That sounded exactly like what Ruby and she had wanted to do in the first place; so maybe… just maybe this wasn't such a bad gig so far after all.

Smirking now, Yang spoke up with a new vigor in her tone. "So, didn't that Cap' say to show me around this ship?"

Roman grinned to himself before pushing off the railing. "Follow me then, I'll introduce you to the crew." He muttered before heading towards the head of the ship.

Yang followed next to the limping man and couldn't help but wonder how he lost his leg; but she'd keep the question to herself for now. She wasn't a pirate like them; she did have some mannerisms.

"Over there is Emerald or Em for short." Roman announced while pointing at an exotic dark skinned girl who was currently rigging the sails in preparation for departure it looked like to the blonde.

The girl in question was currently dressed in a pale green tank top that showed her bare midriff off, with also a pair of brown slacks tucked into dark boots. Her green hair was cut short almost like a bob cut with her piercing red eyes staring back at Yang's own curiously.

As Yang contemplated waving towards the girl to seem friendly though, Emerald turned back around to finish unfurling the sails, ignoring her completely.

Yang brushed it off and continued to follow the hollow sounds of Roman's footsteps towards the center of the ship. Walking right by the main quarters; where Cinder and her sister were, Yang couldn't help but stare at the door in wonder.

"Over here is our Navigator; Neo." Roman said, pulling Yang out of her thoughts about Ruby.

She focused her attention on an extremely short girl who was currently steering the ship. She was garbed in a faded pink tank-top with a short white jacket that was unbuttoned over it. Her pants were a tight dark brown leather that tucked into knee high gray boots. The wooden wheel was as tall as she was and it looked adorable to Yang to see the girl currently focused on wrestling to steer the ship all the way to the left. It didn't even look like she could see over the thing.

But just as she hit the turning point on the circular device did Yang feel the vessel shake and vibrate. It felt as if they had just started to move away from the other ship and continue their journey.

_Wherever that'll be._

It also seemed to spur everyone into motion in that very second though. Yang spotted the green haired girl on the deck below run towards the center of the ship and yell something.

But Yang had no idea on what she said until it was too late.

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Several loud and thunderous ear-splitting sounds were heard and _felt_ aboard the ship. The quick succession of the canon fire and jolting of the vessel caused Yang herself to stumble backwards a bit and grimace, shutting her eyes in the process. She could no longer hear anything but the ringing in her ears at the sound.

But just as quickly as it had started, did it finish.

Snapping her eyes open and standing straight once again; she was met with Roman who seemed to be laughing at her demise. But looking past him, she settled on the short girl who was looking back at her with a smile on her lips.

Yang stared into the girls eyes and cocked her head in confusion. The slight anger and embarrassment she felt just seconds ago; vanishing at this new sight.

The girl Roman had introduced as Neo, her eyes were two different colors, which mirrored her odd hair color as well.

With the left a deep brown and her right one a sparkling pink; the girl continued to smile before she settled on concentrating all of her attention back towards steering the boat and finally broke her eye contact with Yang.

"Afraid if a little cannon fire there, goldilocks?" Roman chided.

Yang scowled at the man. She wasn't afraid; she was just … caught off guard! Yep!

"Quartermaster!"

Both Roman and Yang both hurried to the balcony overlooking the deck below them where they stood. They both spotted a man who was dressed in a black sleeveless vest with a red scarf that was wrapped around his neck and cascaded down over his chest. He also had on black cut-off pants that ended at his ankles and was barefoot.

He had short black hair with a full beard and mustache. Even from standing on the deck above him; Yang could tell the man in question was extremely tall.

As Roman sighed, apparently at the sight he quickly turned towards Yang. "That's our Master Gunner. He oversees the ship's armaments; Junior."

Turning his attention back towards the tall man now known as Junior, Roman wore a bored expression before replying. "What is it now, Junior? Did Melanie get trapped in one of the cannons again, cause if she did she's gonna find herself _stuck_ on kitchen duty with Tukson." He called out as he made his way down the steps and towards Junior.

"Hey where are you going?" Yang asked, a little more desperately did she meant to as she spotted Roman walking down the stairs towards Junior.

He turned and flashed a grin. "I'll be back; just wait there. Or better yet why don't you chat up our Navigator there!" He called out, vanishing down the stairs.

Yang exhaled and leaned against the balcony's railing watching the two men walk towards the left and down a flight of stairs that led below deck.

In a matter of seconds the blonde found herself deep in thought once more about what was happening. She kept thinking about her sister Ruby who was currently also right below her and slightly towards the right. She tried to peer into the window that saw into the room that was currently occupied by her sister and the Captain of the ship; but the curtains were drawn.

But a sound snapped her back towards the helm of the ship; where Neo stood. The girl had her multi-colored eyes focused straight ahead as she steered the large boat.

_Well he did say to talk to her in the meantime…_

Shuffling slowly towards the short girl, Yang walked up next to her. It wasn't until she stopped next to the short Navigator's side that Neo glanced up at her with a curious look on her face.

Being this close to the girl now though caused Yang to rub the back of her neck nervously.

_Damn she's pretty._

Although due to the height difference between the two, Yang had to look _down_ on Neo. She was incredibly short; shorter than Ruby even. But that was part of her charm Yang had guessed.

After a few seconds of silence, Yang figured the girl wasn't going to initiate the first word. So the wild blonde fidgeted a bit before clearing her throat. Although she had no idea why she was feeling so nervous all of a sudden.

As if out of nowhere; Yang felt the sun's rays beaming down on her, the fresh salt in the water hitting her skin, her stomach in knots, and the slight shaking of her legs that came from her own skittish body.

"Uh so, you're the Navigator?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Yang mentally rolled her eyes at the lame question; but still she watched the cute short girl's face change from curious to a small smile and nod her head once.

Seeing the girl smile though caused Yang to smile as well. She had no idea why, but it enacted a friendly response out of her. It felt as if all her worries and concerns melted away at the sight of it. Now feeling her confidence perk up at the sight, the blonde pressed on.

"So… I'm Yang by the way! Your name's Neo?"

She watched the girl continue to look up at her with that wide and heart melting smile and nod her head once again.

"How'd you end up joining all this?" Yang asked as she made a wide motion with her hands towards the ship.

But yet another sound rang out and caused Yang to jog towards the railing that overlooked the deck below; as well as the main Captain's quarters.

Her eyes instantly locked onto a familiar form who was quickly rushing down the stairs from the room. Her short crimson hair bobbing with each hurried step she took. Yang instantly recognized the girl as her little sister Ruby. But what perplexed her was to why Ruby was seemingly _bolting_ from the room that Cinder had dragged her into.

Not a moment later though came Cinder running behind Ruby. And Yang couldn't help but widen her eyes at the sight. Cinder was currently topless and covering herself with her arms and hands as she ran towards Ruby.

"Ruby wait!" The topless Cinder called out.

"No! You… You promised me sweets! That- those weren't sweets!" Ruby childishly shrieked back towards the woman.

But Cinder proved to be faster than Ruby and grabbed the shorter girl by the collar of her short; dragging her kicking and screaming back up the stairs quickly.

"I promise Ruby; it'll taste sweet… for the both of us." The older woman cooed out softly.

Still watching the two though Yang couldn't help but cock her head in confusion before she made eye contact with Ruby's silver orbs right before she was led back into the room below.

"Yang, _help me!"_

The blonde just chuckled before waving her hand goodbye towards the solemn girl until she lost sight of her and heard the sound of the door closing once more.

"Well she's a lively one, huh?" She asked towards no one in particular.

Of course Yang felt bad for Ruby, but it couldn't be that bad. So far these people weren't as bad as a bunch that she figured they would be.

_Speaking of which._

Yang turned around from the railing and rested her eyes on the short Navigator and licked her lips. She couldn't see her face as it was blocked by the massive wooden steering wheel; it looked almost comical to the blonde but she knew her thoughts were anything but at the moment.

Stepping off to resume her previous conversation with Neo, she was stopped at the sound of a gruff voice.

"Yang was it? You hungry?"

Averting her gaze towards the familiar voice, she spotted Roman making his way back up the stairs with a skewered fish in each of his hands. He took a bite from one of them before speaking up once more.

"I'm sure you're gonna love it. We used some spices that we _acquired_ from our last haul."

Yang narrowed her eyes but took one of the fish he offered towards her and took a tentative bite. She was starving, and now that she thought about it; hadn't eaten for almost half a day. She scrunched her nose up in case she didn't like the food but instantly tasted to familiar spices on the fish.

_Spices. Last haul. Acquired?!_

Quickly swallowing her food, Yang glared at the man. "Those are _my_ spices that you so called acquired." She hissed.

Roman stopped chewing his food and threw the girl a curious look before erupting in a boastful laughter. "Well good! It seems like you're already making yourself useful!"

Yang just sighed before taking another bite of the fish and stared out towards the wide open sea, watching the golden sun set beyond the horizon. Until one other question burned in her mind.

"What's the name of this boat anyway?" She asked, turning to see Roman devour the last of his fish and toss the stick overboard.

"The Queen's Vessel."


	3. Stars

**A/N: Okay, next chapter. I'm slowly but surely coming up with a plan for this story. Glad to see so many people actually follow this hastily thought out idea though! Motivates me! I'm glad you all like the seeing of a goofy Cinder; cause honestly I love it. Don't fret though she won't ALWAYS be like that. There also will be a back story to this, so stay tuned. Next chapter is gonna be ****_Pirate-y_**** for all those who were asking as well! :)**

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"Ruby! What are you doing up there?" Yang half shouted.

Currently the blonde saw a head of crimson hair looking down at her; from all the way up in the ship's crow's nest. Yang had no idea how or why Ruby had climbed up there, but it was almost time to eat and it seemed as if Roman and Tukson were hell bent on using all of her spices on everything they cooked these last few days.

She and Ruby had been aboard The Queen's Vessel for about three days now, and so far they had been welcomed decently among the crew. Roman indeed was correct about having Cinder ask the two of them to join her crew. Yang decided for the both of them saying only that _they would consider it_. She seemed to accept the answer well enough, but Yang knew the raven haired woman had no intentions of losing Ruby. She seemed quite attached to her younger sister now it seemed.

"No! Cinder is down there! She- She'll get me if I go back down there… The sweets… She lied to me, Yang. Lied to me!" Ruby cried out.

Yang just rolled her eyes at the girl but couldn't help but chuckle. It was quite funny to her; Ruby's relationship with Cinder. The Captain was usually very stern and stoic in leading her crew, but when it came to Ruby she was the complete opposite of her usual self.

"Alright sis, I- I guess I'll leave you to it then." Yang called towards Ruby as she turned around to head below deck.

Shuffling back down the steps she walked past the twins; Melanie and Miltia Malachite. Both girls were currently servicing the vessel's impressive armaments. When Yang was introduced to the two a few days ago, the blonde had no idea that the entire ship's firepower were at the hands of these two girls. Both were dressed similar in their basic cotton tunic with Melanie wearing a white one and Miltia wearing a red one, complete with black leather slacks and brown boots.

They were both friendly enough towards Yang as well when they met, but still she was in awe that the girls were able to work so quick and in tandem with each other when it came to working the cannons together; only with Junior helping them reload when in a battle.

Yang couldn't wait to see it for herself; the twins in action. Of course though being in a naval battle was slightly unappealing to Yang but she hoped she'd get used to it soon enough.

Finally walking past the girls and giving them a small wave, which they returned; Yang finally walked into the storage area that double served as the kitchen and dining area below deck. She spotted Tukson; the ship's boatswain, cook, and surgeon. Quite the assortment of ranks befallen to the older man, but he didn't seem to mind all the responsibility. Dressed in a dirty white smock with brown shorts and boots he was currently setting a plate of cooked fish down on the large wooden table that occupied the large dining area.

The room was quite impressive; a large cedar table sat defiantly in the center with twelve chairs seated around it. It truly looked fit for royalty. The table was adorned with candles and cloth that seemed extremely out of place for pirates. As well as the chairs that were embroidered with scarlet and gold silk; Yang really couldn't help but wonder about the backstory of the boat.

Walking inside the room now Yang took note of everyone else already seated at the table; Roman, Emerald, Mercury, and Junior. All four of them were engrossed in a conversation about something that happened a few days before Yang herself was aboard so the topic was lost on her. The blonde still sat down at the table but couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in not seeing Neo present.

She and the odd colored girl seemed to be getting along well enough, but she never spoke to Yang. At first she thought she didn't like her, but she would always smile; so Yang finally decided to ask Roman what the short girl's problem was. And that's when she found out that the girl was mute. Even Roman himself had no idea as to what caused her to become mute, but even more surprising to Yang was that Cinder and Roman both decided that having a mute girl be their navigator was a good idea…

"So lemme guess Tuk; fish on the menu again?" Mercury asked the man in a sarcastic tone.

"By all means; if you find some chicken or any other livestock swimming around in the water feel free to bring it on board, smart ass." The elder man replied back, setting yet another plate of skewered fish down with a thump.

His rebuttal caused Roman, Emerald and even Yang herself to laugh at Mercury; who just grumbled to himself before grabbing a fish off the plate and taking a large bite out of it. Not soon after the rest of the table's occupants followed suit and once again Yang tasted her expensive spices grazed on the fish. She had long since given up on trying to salvage any of her wares and just let the crew use it.

The room soon found itself erupted in conversation and laughter; with even the twins Melanie and Miltia joining them at the table. It was quite the sight to Yang. Never before would she have pictured what she was seeing in this very moment, happening. With pirates no less. She had noticed that the crew of The Queen's Vessel were more than just the average greedy pirate crew; they were more like a close knit family. And it made the blonde wonder what was binding them all together like this.

_Cinder must be a charismatic leader._

But just as Yang was thinking about the crimson cloaked Captain, the woman's voice rang out in the large room.

"Has anyone seen Ruby?"

All heads turned towards the room's entrance and spotted the Captain. She was dressed in her usual crimson overcoat with her tricone hat fixated atop of her beautiful ebon hair. Although there was something out of place.

Cinder was carrying a fishing pole, holding it over her shoulder. Of course normally that wouldn't be _that_ much of a big deal; as Yang had noticed that almost everyone seemed to fish on the vessel. But what was affixed to the end of the line was odd. Instead of regular bait, there seemed to be a cookie embedded on the hook.

"Nope, we haven't seen the little squirt." Roman then answered, earning a slight glare from Yang.

Yang herself of course knew her little sister was hiding in the crow's nest from Cinder, but she decided she wouldn't rat her out, even though it was quite funny to see the two together. Ruby had informed Yang on the events that took place the first day they had come aboard the ship, and although Yang was slightly worried about Ruby; she learned that nothing _too_ bad happened. It was a good thing she didn't jump to conclusions, unlike _some_ people.

"Hey uh Cap'. Why do you have a cookie at the end of your fishing line there? You know fish probably won't go for that." Emerald asked concerned.

_At least I wasn't the only one who was wondering that._

Cinder smiled wickedly then, barring her teeth. "Oh, I'm not fishing for fish."

This earned the woman several confused looks.

"Then what are you fishing for?" Melanie then asked.

Cinder turned on her heel to head out of the room and back upstairs to the deck before glancing back over her shoulder, still wearing her smile on her lips.

"Ruby."

And with that, she walked up the stairs and out of sight.

The once loud room bustling with conversation and laughter had fallen to an eerie silence at what Captain Cinder had uttered when she left. Everyone seemed to turn their gaze towards Yang as if wondering what she would do. And with that the blonde stood up from her chair and sighed.

"I uh, I'm gonna go look for Ruby." Yang uttered walking out of the room. "Thanks for the food, Tuk!"

Walking up the stairs, the blonde heard the room once more erupt into laughter; most likely at her expense, but she brushed it off for now. Stepping out onto the top deck though, Yang was met with a wonderful view of a full moon. The giant ball of silver seemed to envelop the entire sky on this clear and starry night. It was enough to catch her breath, witnessing such an exquisite sight before her. Mixed in with the cool ocean summer air hitting her body and the slight rocking of the vessel underneath her; it was enough to completely relax and calm the girl.

Walking out now onto the deck, Yang let the gentle splashes of the waves fill her ears as she slowly walked towards the center mast of the ship; that housed the crow's nest where she knew Ruby hid. But a peculiar sight grabbed her attention at the head of the vessel. If the moonlight image from earlier was enough to make the blonde catch her breathe; this new vision almost made the girl faint.

She spotted Neo sitting at the bow of the ship. She was perched atop of the narrow railing with her slender body facing outwards towards the ocean, but in that moment Yang forgot the exact reason why she had walked up here. The way Neo's body silhouetted against the giant moon and the night sky made the girl look like something out of a novel.

These past few days Yang had spoken to the girl, of course now knowing that she herself didn't speak. But she never really looked particularly upset that Yang was talking so much and even offered a smile every once in a while. It wracked the blonde's mind; never before had she been so nervous or spoken so much to one person and never received any kind of word back, it almost felt like she was bothering Neo to a point.

_But I can't help it._

Smiling now, the blonde walked towards the Navigator still sitting with her back to her. With every step closer to the mismatched hair colored girl, Yang thought of something to speak about to her about. It was hard since the girl never uttered anything back; otherwise she'd have asked about the ship or how the crew had all joined up under Captain Cinder's command.

_Something I actually should ask Roman about._

Finally right behind her now, Yang climbed over the railing slowly; as to not fall into the waters below, and sat down next to Neo. The shorter girl gave the blonde a small smile before looking back towards the object in her hands.

Looking down in her lap now, Yang spotted a large, well-detailed map. It had various scribbles and markings on it but seemed to show most of the main continents and main bodies of oceans as well; and Yang knew getting a map of this nature had to be hard, impossible even. Maps like these were reserved for royalty or esteemed explorers, even she knew that.

_Just another mystery behind this crew…_

But peering towards it further, the blonde noticed that the country of Haven was marked off with an X, with various lines surrounding the body of land. It was the only continent that had been crossed out. Alongside the X were various lines of travel in the ocean as well as notes near port towns on the other continents. Neo's feather tip ink pen was currently tracing a line from Vale to somewhere near the coast of Atlas, but now she was tapping the pen as if she were thinking.

"Are you trying to figure out where we are?"

Hearing her voice caused the small girl to glance up at Yang, and the former felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight of those multi colored eyes once again. Next though, Neo nodded her head once and averted her gaze off towards the water with a downcast look on her face now.

Luckily for Yang though, her father Taiyang had taught her and Ruby the fundamentals of star reading and navigation. Unfortunately though; the blonde elder sister didn't pay much attention to the teachings of it but still grasped the basics.

_Thanks dad._

"No worries, everyone needs a little help sometimes!" Yang commented with a smile on her face. She watched the girl give her a slightly unsure look and shrugged her shoulders a bit.

"Here," Yang pointed up towards the night sky, towards a particular set of stars. "Do you see that constellation of those seven stars?" Yang asked as she watched Neo nod her head once again. The blonde lost herself in those brown and pink eyes though as she watched the girl's small and cute face turned skywards in full concentration. Her eyes sparkled with the light of a thousand stars reflecting off her irises.

"U-uh y- yeah that's called the Lucky Seven! It's a set of seven stars you can use to find the North Star." Yang continued as she finally tore her gaze off the small girl seated next to her.

"Then you have the pointer stars, these are the two stars that are curved off slightly at the tip."

It felt as if the more she looked up at the sky, the more she actually recalled the lessons her father had taught to her.

Feeling a lot more confident now, Yang pressed on. "The North Star will always be five times the distance between these two pointer stars in the direction that they point. True north lies directly under this star."

She watched as Neo seemed engrossed in this new teaching; the girl's mouth hung slightly open as if in awe and her expression had changed from unsure and confused to curious and happy. Yang once again found herself staring at those soft full pink lips that were just _calling_ her name.

But there was something that was on the blonde's mind about Neo.

"Neo, you're The Queen's Vessel's Navigator though right? You have a pretty damned detailed map, so where's your compass?"

The once joyful looking girl now widened her eyes in surprise at the question before glancing to meet Yang's curious gaze then looking down towards the splitting waves below the girls. After a moment Neo pointed downwards at the water.

_She… dropped the compass in the water?_

Yang could barely hold back the laughter that threatened to erupt. She stifled it as best as she could while covering her mouth with one hand, until it came out in full force, causing the shorter girl's gaze to borderline rage as she pouted towards Yang.

"W- What kinda Navigator… D- drops her compass i- in the water?!" Yang asked out between her bursts of laughter.

But it seemed as if Neo didn't like being poked fun at, as the girl quickly collected her map and other devices and stood up, walking off and leaving Yang sitting off the railing alone.

"W- Wait Neo, I'm sorry! I didn't mean-" Yang started, desperate to apologize to the girl, but something odd caught her eye, and it wasn't watching Neo's hips sway as the girl walked off in a hurried but eye capturing manner.

It was Captain Cinder.

The woman was currently walking around the deck with the same fishing pole in her hands, holding it upwards with her 'cookie bait' still on the end of the line. Seeing the odd sight now, reminded Yang of why she had come back up in the first place.

"Ru-by!" Cinder called out loudly with a hint of playfulness in her words. "I have _something _for you… And it rhymes with… Nookie!"

Yang face palmed at the woman's choice of words, but did give her credit at the cleverness of them. And of course, knowing Ruby she would emerge from her hiding spot, only having putting the word _cookie_ with sounding like it.

"Are you telling the truth this time?!" A voice rang out.

_Gods Ruby, you're really gonna fall into her trap that easily?_

Cinder and Yang both snapped their heads up towards the voice that came from the crow's nest. The scarlet clad Captain swung her fishing rod towards the girl, who now was peeking over the ledge of where she was residing.

"My little jewel, since when have I _ever_ lied to you?" Cinder then cooed out.

"Since the first time I met you! Y- You almost made m- me…"

"I was just changing into something more comfortable, and then you bolted out of the room! I'm unsure of what kind of … _depraved acts_ you were thinking of." The older woman defended with a sly smirk on her face. "Anyways I _do_ have some cookies, but they're; All. The. Way. Down. Here."

After a brief moment of silence, Ruby's childish voice rang out once more. "H- How many cookies?" She asked curiously.

"As many as you can handle ba-"

**DING! DING! DING!**

All attention was turned toward the stern of the ship where Neo was ringing the alarm bell.

Confusion was cast over the group on the deck, and even the rest of the crew who were below deck rushed upstairs into the night swept upper deck at the sound.

"What? What? Who's ringin' my bell?"

"Are we under attack?"

"What's goin' on?"

All heads once again turned towards Neo as the small girl was pointing out towards the starboard side and right at…

"Shit." Roman uttered as he noticed it.

Yang gazed out towards the vast blackness of the sea, but spotted multiple shadows that contrasted against little orange balls of light. The little lights out in the ocean reflected off what she could tell to be a boat. One that was sailing towards them, but it was too dark to spot any type of insignia or markings to tell who was in pursuit of them.

"Man your stations! Looks like we're earning our night's rest tonight!" Roman hollered out.

Yang watched as Melanie and Miltia hopped back down the stairs below deck; no doubt to get the cannons ready.

"Emerald; unfurl the sails! Mercury; blow out all the lanterns on this ship; we don't want to give them a beacon of our current whereabouts! Junior; get below deck and prepare the cannons with the twins!" Cinder ordered quickly.

She immediately shifted back into leadership mode it seemed to Yang. The blonde stood up quickly and made her way towards the center of the deck, slightly unsure of what she was going to be doing. That was until Cinder turned to face her with a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Ready to earn your keep, Blondie?"

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**A/N: The Lucky Seven I mentioned in this chapter is in fact the Big Dipper or Saucepan. **


	4. Cannons

**A/N: I literally just typed this. I WILL keep my promises of weekly updates! Lol. Naval warfare is a new thing to me, I was back and forth on wikis to keep it as realistic as possible. Let me know how it was and what you didn't like about it! I'm new to typing this kind of fighting! Also I'm taking advice I received from PMs and will switch PoVs (not just sticking with Yang) more! So look forward to that.**

**I'm tired, going to bed... Enjoy!**

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"You want me to … _what_?" Yang asked once again towards Captain Cinder.

Jogging to stay in stride with the Captain now, the blonde fell in step beside her as Cinder made her way to take the wheel of her vessel.

"I told you, Blondie. You're tagging along with Roman and boarding that ship." She repeated once again with a hint of playfulness in her words.

Yang couldn't believe her ears and eyes. First off this woman; Cinder seemed to be completely at ease during the preparations of a naval battle! Secondly; she wanted Yang herself to board the enemy ship with the rest of the boarding party led my Roman.

It wasn't like she was scared or anything, but couldn't they just … blast the ship away with cannons?

"W- Why would we board them when we could just sink them from here?" Yang asked finally generally concerned.

She watched as Cinder spun the wheel towards starboard and a wicked smile take hold on her face, before blazing amber eyes bore down into Yang's own lilac ones.

"Because we're pirates…" Was all the older woman uttered.

But before Yang could argue the amount of flaws alone in that statement, she heard the familiar booming sounds of cannons firing off, then she felt the ground she stood on shake violently soon after.

The ringing in her ears, the darkness, the yelling, and the rocking of the vessel was almost enough to cause Yang to vomit. That was until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Turning around, she glanced down and spotted Neo looking up at her with those beautiful mismatched eyes beaming. The girl had a cocky grin on her face. The smile though was enough to calm Yang as she felt equilibrium returning to herself. Losing herself in Neo's smile Yang steadied herself and had her own grin on her face.

Nodding towards the shorter girl, she followed her off towards the railing and watched as the shadowed ship off to starboard grew in size as it floated closer.

Yang felt anxious and scared in that singular moment. Of course over this last week she has been in two different naval battles, but this would be the first time where she'd be an active participant. She worried for Ruby's safety as well but knew the small girl would be safe on the vessel. She knew Cinder wouldn't even allow a single piece of Ruby's crimson hair to be put out of place.

Yang might question Cinder's odd relationship with her sister, but she knew the Captain would protect Ruby with her life.

"How are they still coming towards us?!" Emerald yelled out as she stood on the lower deck, her cutlass in hand at the ready.

Yang glanced at the dark skinned girl before looking back at the other ship's silhouette.

_That's true. They spotted us earlier but now all the lights on the ship have been extinguished._

But then the blonde looked back towards the ship and figured out the answer. It was the same reason why they could see them as well.

"It's because it's a full moon out! No clouds in the sky, so everything out here on the ocean is lit up!" Roman hollered out, telescope in hand; aimed out towards the ocean. "Melanie; aim towards the left and just a tad bit higher! Fire on my mark. Miltia; load spider-shot rounds in the cannons!"

Yang risked a glance around the ship, slightly proud of herself in having figured out why they could see everything as well, once Roman answered out loud. She noticed that the usually happy go lucky crew was moving like a well-oiled machine now. Everyone had a job to do and they were preforming it without question.

Well everyone but her.

She still stood slightly hunched over near the railing next to Neo. The small girl huddled next to her had her beautiful brown and pink eyes out peering towards the incoming enemy ship. But she also had a large silver blunderbuss in her right hand. The weapon looked larger than a usual one and seemed oddly shaped with the barrel extended largely outwards as if it fired larger rounds.

That's when Yang herself also remembered that she was weaponless.

Starting to feel antsy now and slightly scared, she quickly shut her eyes and breathed in a few sharp breathes to calm her nerves once again. She tuned out the various shouting, the rough waves, the creaking of the vessel along with the metal on metal sounds of cannons being reloaded below her on the bottom deck; everything.

If she was boarding the other ship with the others, she'd make sure to snatch up a weapon from somewhere.

_I'm not completely defenseless…_

Cracking her knuckles, the blonde adopted a wicked smile across her lips.

"Fire at will!"

This time she was ready though, as Yang threw her hands over her ears at the loud command. The booming thumps followed by the massive vibrations shuddering the entire vessel were enough to throw the girl into a wild laugh. She kept her eyes open to peer over the railing; at the bright orange lights that filled her vision below and the massive amounts of smoke that puffed upwards.

The enthralling sight of cannons being fired right below her in quick succession only forced her to cover her ears with a renewed vigor, as the sounds of cannon fire only increased.

She had lost count of how many times the cannons had fired, and could only wonder just how fast in fact that the twins and Junior could actually reload each cannon and continue firing so quickly. They surely were the best of the best at their job.

But the enemy ship was still on a straight course to collide with The Queen's Vessel. Despite the other boat being riddled by cannon fire; blowing holes in the hull, masts that seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapsing from the fired chained-cannonballs, and the fires that seemed to ignite; the boat continued to float.

But it seemed that with Captain Cinder piloting; that was the intended purpose. The blonde remembered that the Captain indeed wanted to board, and thinking back on her words of _'cause we're pirates.'_ Yang had thought about it. It did indeed make sense to board and _acquire_ new supplies from our foes.

The cannon fire ceased and all was quiet, minus the sounds of the waves hitting the hull. It didn't even seem like the other ship had fired on The Queen's Vessel; and by now the ships were only separated by a few meters of ocean, and closing.

Being so much closer now though, the crew could see the distant coloring and flags belonging to one of the four main kingdoms; Mistral.

"Boarding party; ready weapons!" Roman bellowed.

By now Yang felt her heart beat quicken, her palms were sweaty, and her lungs were on fire! The smell of the salt water and gunpowder filled the air and filled her with excitement. Never before in her life has she felt so … _alive._

_Is this what I want? This type of life?_

But all thoughts and questions halted at the sight of the ship now on a crash course with Queen's Vessel. The Mistral boat was smaller compared to Cinder's ship and actually didn't even look like a war boat. It seemed more like a trader's or merchant's ship; much like the one Yang and her sister were traveling on a few days ago before they were picked up. That also might explain the lack of return fire from the ship.

Despite most likely not having the armaments for a heated naval battle, Yang knew that there would be armed sailors and crewmen on the boat. Despite all the havoc and damage the Mistral vessel had sustained, there was bound to still be people alive, willing to fight to the death for their lives.

"Keep your heads down!"

And it was confirmed in that very moment. Peeking over the railing, lilac eyes spotted about a dozen of gray uniformed men and women on the Mistral trade ship pointing flintlock rifles towards her and the crew.

And they fired.

The small cracks and pops seemed laughable to her in that moment compared to the thunderous cannon fire from earlier, but she was smart enough to keep her head down. Those weapons may be smaller, but they still would kill her if they hit her.

She looked over to her right and spotted Mercury and Emerald both joining her and Neo behind the cover of the wooden railing, from the incoming rifle fire.

Mercury met Yang's gaze and gave her a small wicked smile. "Ready for some actual combat, Blondie?"

Smiling at the new nickname that seemed to be spreading through the crew now, she answered. "Try to keep up with me, I'll show you how it's done."

"Ha! The new girl is a cocky one, huh?"

"It's not being cocky if you can back it up, Merc."

As soon as she uttered that sentence, the rifle fire stopped and Yang felt every muscle in her body tense up.

"Let's go!"

She jumped up and over the railing at the shout. Yang's eyes were met with only a foot separating the two vessels. She easily jumped over the small gap and was met with wide and surprised filled eyes of the Mistral crewmembers who regarded her with anger, disgust, and hatred. Not like she could blame them, she'd feel the same way in their shoes.

Once she hopped onto their ship though, Yang spotted the full effect of what Melanie and Miltia's handiwork with the cannons had actually done to the Mistral boat. There were holes all over the hull; broken pieces of wood lying around, smoke filling the air, and probably the worst of all were the dead or dying bodies all around her at her feet.

Grimacing slightly at the sight, Yang took up an unarmed combat stance and lunged towards the closest sailor who was still fumbling with their weapon at their hip. She made sure to launch a solid jab straight into the boy's face before he could unsheathe his blade and make this a one-sided fight. As soon as her fist connected with his rough unshaven face though, she planted her foot down and leaned into the blow which knocked him off his feet and onto his back.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

She turned around and spotted the other dozen or so crewmates make a mad dash for her, dropping their muskets and unsheathing their curved blades. But the only emotion that was evoked in Yang was happiness.

Not fear, not regret, not anger.

Only happiness.

_This really is what I want!_

Hopping backwards towards the downed soldier she had knocked out, Yang quickly unsheathed his weapon and held it in her hands. The blade felt oddly weighted and looked as if it was dull and wouldn't even cut through butter.

But it'd have to do.

It was right when the first soldier lunged at her with their own weapon, that Yang finally let her emotions show on her face.

She laughed.

Easily deflecting the blow, Yang swung her dull blade up and around, feinting a strike, only to slam the pummel of the blade into the other girl's face; earning a squeal and knocking the girl off her feet.

But a sudden flash of movement in her peripherals caused Yang to stumble backwards and lose her footing.

"Shit!"

She watched as a Mistral sailor raised his weapon to bring down onto her head. In a quick and last ditch effort she attempted to bring her own blade up to parry but knew she wouldn't make it in time.

Until a loud crack of a gunshot filled the air, with her opponent being launched forward and over Yang as his body landed a whole foot away; slumped onto the ground.

Turning to face the sound, she spotted a small girl who was sitting on her butt amidst the chaos and fighting now taking place on the cabin. Neo was smiling towards her as she brushed herself off and stood up quickly, hoisting her large rifle over her shoulder.

Mercury, Emerald, and Roman were engaged in their own melee fights and were actually quickly dispatching their foes.

Watching Neo's graceful and seductive hip sway as the short girl walked over towards her, Yang swallowed nervously. The gleam of the girl's large rifle hoisted over her shoulder alongside vicious smile threw Yang off. It almost looked like she was coming to in fact end her life; but when her smile shifted to a warm one and she offered her hand, Yang returned to grin and took it.

Hoisting herself up with Neo's help; she gave the girl a small wink and thanked her. Turning on her heel though to rejoin the others, Yang could have sworn that Neo had blushed a bit when she had winked; and it set her emotions into overdrive, but she'd be able to think more on that later.

She ran up to the group just in time to see Roman finish off his last opponent. The man lunged time and time again at Roman, who always evaded the blow skillfully; despite only having one leg. Finally the Quartermaster let their blades meet in a spark filled clash; but as the two held their weapons together, the orange haired man reached in his belt and pulled out his pistol, shooting the Mistral sailor right in his stomach; dropping him dead before he hit the ground.

"Brutal." Yang uttered while she watched a pool of red soak the clothing of the now dead sailor on the ground.

Roman chuckled before shoving his pistol back into his belt. "Thus is the life of a pirate."

"Sure got that right… We did a number on them, poor sods." Emerald then whispered out, kicking at the deceased bodies.

Neo walked over next to Yang and again beamed a smile at the taller girl, which Yang returned once more. She wanted nothing more than to ruffle the girl's hair in a playful manner; she was just so short and too cute! But she refrained from doing it; she remembered just minutes earlier she had angered her by teasing. At the moment it seemed as if Neo had forgiven or forgotten that she was mad; so Yang wouldn't try to upset her once more.

"Alright you lazy bastards, you know the drill! Scour the ship for supplies and kill anyone who resists!"

Yang swallowed and nodded her head at Roman's command. She walked towards the stairs that seemed to lead towards the lower deck, walking around the various holes and broken wood that the cannons had destroyed. The ship was still floating, but she knew it was only a matter of time before it sunk due to the sheer amount of damage it had sustained from The Queen's Vessel's bombardment from earlier.

An odd thought crossed Yang's mind though as she made her way to the underbelly of the ship…

_I could have been on this ship… What a change of events._

* * *

When she spotted her sister fall over in her fight with the enemy sailors, Ruby felt her breath hitch in her throat. She had slid down the crow's nest and made her way towards the railing to run to her sister's aid; but in that moment she felt her sleeve be tugged away.

She quickly turned her head to see what she had gotten caught on but gulped in fear when her wide silver eyes met with hungry amber ones that belonged to none other than Cinder.

The woman had relinquished her position at steering the ship and seemed to have made a beeline to intercept Ruby once she jumped down from the crow's nest.

"I knew sending your sister over there would get you down. My plans always get me what I want, my little _jewel_." Cinder growled lowly.

Ruby felt herself tremble with fear at the woman's touch, as Cinder now wrapped her in a small embrace; calmly leading her to her quarters again; just like the first time she was on the ship.

"Tukson, you have the wheel! Keep her steady until Roman and his crew get back!" Cinder ordered over her shoulder.

Ruby couldn't help but flinch at the stark contrast in the woman's voice when she spoke to her crew and to her. When Cinder was in command; her voice seemed to ooze with authority and demanded respect. But when Cinder spoke with her; it was soft and sweet. Of course the tone behind her words and meanings were anything but; but the woman changed her demeanor significantly.

_I wonder if she's bipolar._

"Aye ma'am! Where are we headin' to afterwards?" Tukson asked as he grabbed the handle of the wheel and kept the vessel in line with the destroyed Mistral ship at the moment.

Cinder halted in her movements, also pulling Ruby to a stop before she answered with a sinful grin.

"Set sail for … Atlas."


	5. Closer

**A/N: I'm so sorry but Dragon Age Inquisition is taking up ALL of my time. I just can't focus but I typed up something for you guys. I can't resist that which is Dragon Age! Hopefully by next week, I'll be better!**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not?!"

"B- Because that … _beast_ is a mongrel that I will not tolerate on my ship!"

Ruby stared Captain Cinder down but the woman looked sternly back at her. Currently they were sitting in her quarters and the small crimson haired girl had been tirelessly pleading with her Captain over the past hour in letting a _new_ member join their ranks, but to no avail. Cinder didn't look like she was budging on this one.

Ruby had started to come to terms with how the older women felt about her. Ever since two days ago when she and Yang had witnessed The Queen's Vessel's crew board and pillage another ship. Her sister had even been a part of the boarding party and what they looted from the Mistral trade ship, Cinder wanted to sell at the kingdom of Atlas, somewhere Ruby wanted to go. But one of the 'objects' the crew had taken from the Mistral ship is now tying into where Ruby and Cinder were now.

Yang had _acquired_ a certain _present_ for Ruby while she was looting the enemy vessel and gave it to her. The thing in question was known throughout the crew in a matter of minutes and was greatly loved by everyone!

Ruby continued to stare at Cinder's impassive face.

_Well, almost everyone._

The crimson haired newly dubbed pirate had thought that Cinder would be more than willing to accept their new mascot and comrade in arms, but she had been extremely stubborn and unwilling to see reason for what it would do for morale and for Ruby's own feelings. She started to get a grasp for how to twist Cinder into letting her give Ruby things and using Cinder's extreme affection for her own gain. Of course Ruby wouldn't do something crazy or even needlessly greedy. Only the few extra cookies from the storeroom or even being able to pilot the vessel once! Which Yang had said that she was going to start a _muteneony_.

Thinking back on the joke caused Ruby to smile accidently; Neo had gotten mad at Yang when she said it, instantly picking up on the terrible joke and storming off with the taller blonde in tow apologizing profusely.

_If I didn't know any better; I'd say that my dear older sister had a crush on the Navigator…_

But Cinder's cough snapped Ruby back to her initial thoughts.

"Little jewel, why ever could you be smiling right now? Unless…" Cinder asked curiously as she left the sentence hanging with a small smirk playing on her own lips.

Ruby knew this move by now though and where it was going. Since Cinder wasn't budging on her stance regarding their conversation; Ruby gulped and steeled herself in what she was about to do.

She kept Cinder's curious gaze with her own nervous silver eyes before shutting them, taking a deep breath, and exhaling. She thought back to the odd conversation she and Yang had a couple days prior about Cinder's behavior and a way to counter it. Of course Ruby had seen it before; back when she and Yang had still been traveling together, alone. Her sister would pick up other women all the time at bars with the way she spoke; but never before had Ruby done it herself.

_But I was taught by the best! … Just be like Yang… Be… Like… Yang…_

Reopening her eyes, Ruby adopted as close a look to when she had practiced with Yang as she could. The small girl narrowed her eyes and wore a halfcocked grin; although nervously as her lips kept twitching, and stared at Cinder; making sure her eyes were open enough for Cinder to see the silver pupils trailing her upper body.

"O- Oh?~ B- But if y-you let us k- keep him you'd earn your s- self a better chance w- with me, hot s- stuff…" Ruby stuttered out.

She instantly felt her cheeks flush red and hot. She somehow managed to get through the whole line albeit shakily but even now she held her gaze with the elder women.

Cinder appeared visibly shocked. The prospect of having her _little Ruby_ attempt to flirt with her had apparently never crossed her mind as Cinder's mouth hung agape. Ruby felt her own blush grow as she watched Cinder's cheeks tinge to a rosy pink as her amber eyes seemed to glaze over.

It was too late for Ruby to even free herself from what she had done to the Captain.

In not even a second's time, Cinder was on her feet and rushing towards Ruby who only sat a few feet away from her. Ruby immediately dropped her _Yang_ persona and adopted the usual one she had when Cinder would go through her phases of needing physical contact.

One of fear.

"N- No! Stop it!" Ruby shouted as she was tackle hugged by Cinder; knocking the chair she was sitting in and both of them to the ground.

Cinder clung to the shorter girl's waist with her arms wrapped around them while Ruby swatted at the woman's head in an attempt to bring her back out of her daze.

"Bad Cinder, bad!" Ruby continued, now trying to push Cinder off of her, but the woman was much stronger than she. But an idea popped into her head in that very moment.

Something that could free her from this predicament, hopefully…

Ruby brought an unsteady hand to her mouth, placed two fingers at her lips, and blew with the remaining air she had in her lungs in a sharp whistle.

It wasn't long until she heard the tapping of nails on wood that grew closer in sound; until she spotted the door to Cinder's quarters push open with a furry ball of black and white bounding into view.

"Cookie Monster!"

_Cookie Monster's _dark gray eyes darted around until they settled on Ruby's own silver ones. The short and stubby little corgi ran in a dead sprint towards the two females who were still on the ground, with Cinder still on top, hugging Ruby to no end.

It wasn't until Cookie Monster started licking Ruby's face that Cinder finally toke note of the furry little ball that was the focus of topic from earlier.

Ruby giggled at the torrent of licks at her face from Cookie Monster and Cinder felt her anger _and jealousy_ rise to new heights. Hearing Ruby's childlike laughter melted Cinder's heart, but watching that damned dog be the reason for it froze the Captain's heart right back into place.

She grit her teeth and reached to her side for her weapon quickly, but then another idea popped into the unstable woman's mind.

_Ruby… likes being licked?_

As misplaced as the thought was however; Cinder was already past the stages of common sense and licked her lips at her new discovery.

However wrong it in fact was.

Cinder drew her face closer to Ruby's own as the small girl continued to unleash her cute giggling. The sound was like that of the melodies played at the exquisite ballroom dances she used to attend. She absolutely loved the sound of Ruby.

Finally close enough to the girl's reddening face; that seemed to be blissfully unaware to Cinder's impending attack; the Captain stuck her tongue out and brought it to the soft full cheeks of Ruby's face. In one long and smooth lick; Cinder glided her tongue across Ruby's face; from her chin all the way to the bridge of the girl's nose.

Feeling the new sensation and feeling of another tongue, Ruby finally opened her eyes and felt them widen at the sight of Cinder licking her. The woman looked in a state of ecstasy as her eyelids were fluttering shut and she began to lick her face faster and harder.

Ruby felt her heartbeat quicken and her face flush to unbelievable shades of red as Cinder and both Cookie Monster continued to lick her face.

Never before had Ruby felt so _dirty_! She felt herself grow cold and fearful. She was used to Cinder toying with her and the like but never before had it gone this far! Where the woman even got the idea for this transcended her mind!

_W- What is she doing to me?! _

Ruby shut her eyes and attempted to push Cinder off of her again to no avail. And in a desperate final attempt to free herself of the perverted woman; Ruby turned towards her faithful furry friend who had halted in his licking.

"C- Cookie Monster! I order you to attack this woman! S- Save me!" Ruby ordered, while giggling.

She couldn't stop herself from laughing at the sensation of Cinder's tongue licking at her face with fervor. It felt … _nice._

_N- No! Stupid brain! This isn't nice! It's – It's bad! A- And wrong!_

She watched Cookie Monster tilt his head at the new order before turning around and running in a circle in an attempt to catch his tail; completely ignoring Ruby and Cinder now.

With his new game, all of Ruby's attempts to save herself… had perished… At the mercy of Cinder's tongue, which only served to cause Ruby to laugh out and giggle; unable to hold back now.

"N- N- Noooooooooo!"

* * *

What Neo was forced to witness at the moment only caused the quiet girl to widen her eyes slightly at the sight.

She had spotted Yang's younger sister Ruby's pet corgi bound across the deck and went to follow the small bundle of fur, which led her here. To the Captain's quarters. But the sight in which she expected to greet her… had not been what was currently taking place at the moment.

The multicolored girl was staring at possibly the most unusual thing to have taken place on this vessel by far.

Cinder was straddling Ruby in a knocked over chair… crazily licking at the girl's laughing face. Cookie Monster was off a few feet away happily chasing his own tail; and all looked joyous in nature, despite seeming quite odd to the girl. Cinder and Ruby looked… happy at the moment to her. Cinder had her eyes closed as she assaulted Ruby with her tongue across her face, and Ruby was in a giggling fit underneath the woman.

Neo felt a tiny smirk cross her lips at the sight and decided to give the girls some privacy. As the short girl went to close the door, she stopped when she heard Ruby call out to her.

"N- Neo… H- Help me!"

Neo looked at Ruby's silver eyes with her own brown and pink ones. Neo had no idea at how Ruby needed saving at the moment, so Neo broadened her smile to disproportionate levels and grinned wildly back at Ruby before slowly closing the door shut with a muted thud.

"Hey Neo! What'cha doin'?"

The new but _very_ welcome voice caused her to jump slightly but turn around and was greeted by a taller blonde haired girl.

Yang.

The girl was an object of affection for Neo, but she was nervous of this feeling. She liked the girl but wasn't sure why or even how to express it. Also every time the two seemed to have a moment to connect; Yang would ruin it by uttering something stupid that she thought was funny when it actually only furthered to anger Neo.

But the sounds of Ruby calling out for help once again behind the now closed door, caused the multicolored hair girl to jolt. She spotted Yang's beautiful lilac eyes narrow before looking over her towards Cinder's door.

"What was that? That sounded like Ru- Hey!" Yang started, but felt herself be jerked away from the door by a jogging Neo.

She turned around to follow the girl's retreated form but risked one last glance towards the door, before following Neo towards the bow of the ship. Neo halted right at the edge; right near where Yang remembered explaining star reading to the Navigator a few days ago.

The shorter girl pointed off slightly towards the left at ten o'clock, and Yang followed the girl's slender finger and felt her eyes widen at the sight.

In the distance was an island dominated by tall stone and brick buildings, a vast array of docks, countless people shuffling around and all the other telltale signs of a bustling city.

It was Atlas.

Yang felt herself exhale, impressed. She had never been to the kingdom of Atlas; but had heard countless stories about it. An exotic kingdom that was home to countless shops that sold rare wares only found on that island such as metals and fabrics. Yang and her sister had always wanted to experience to joys of the faraway kingdom but could never afford passage to the island, until today.

Now she understood why Cinder had ordered the crew earlier this morning to change their sails from the black Jolly Roger ones to plain white ones that flew the flag of the neutral country of Haven.

_Cinder isn't stupid it seems; that was smart, changing the sails so we could dock._

Watching the city of Atlas grow in size as they sailed closer was extremely calming to Yang. The only sounds were that off the waves hitting the boat and the increasing tones of the incoming town. Chatter, hammering, bells, and other noises that came with being in a city.

Glancing over to her left, at Neo; Yang finally decided to do something new and wrapped her left arm over the girl's much shorter shoulders, causing her to flinch slightly at the unexpected touch. Yang almost pulled away until she spotted Neo shuffle closer to her and seemed to lean into the touch, calming the blonde as they both watched the incoming view of the city grow bigger the closer they sailed.

"Here Atlas-t, huh?" Yang chuckled out.

Neo instantly pulled away and stomped off towards the stern of the ship; leaving Yang alone, chuckle at her own joke before turning to apologize to the shorter girl.

"Aw, come on Neo! T- That one was funny!" Yang laughed out as she jogged to catch up towards the retreating Navigator.

* * *

**A/N: Cookie Monster is Zwei, yes. **


	6. Atlas

**~LONG A/N WARNING~**

**I know I put up an announcement regarding the discontinuation of multiple stories of mine; which included this one. Well; I have transferred over two of my other ones but after much thought and talking of various people on this site and in my life, I decided to keep Queen's Vessel for myself to work on. **

**Once I finish my other two side stories (Friction and Red Rose) I will try to balance this one out with my other main story (Winds of War). I am releasing this chapter today because I had it started and decided to finish it tonight. There will most likely be a minor gap until the next one as I continue to sort through things in my life; but I want to say a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to the countless people who PM'd me and hung out with me in Skype to talk to me.**

**Kira of Darkness, ARMV7, ClockPop, Jacklyn Frost, Hollow14, DV330, Autistic-Grizzly, stetsonandhisnickers, Mr. Blender, rwbybomb21, Aidis, NanoSparten, wahahanoob19, Kaylice, Not Akatsubaki, Shi'uri, blueeyedbeauty1990, Just Another Girl99, guiltypockets, SilverWordsmith47, and anyone else I missed;**

**BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!**

**Again, I am staying and this story is staying mine! I will try to keep you guys entertained but please just bear with me a little while longer as I get my life situated and my time organized!**

**With that out of the way, I'm sure my ... for lack of a better word mood has gotten the better of me in this chapter but the plot actually gains some depth at the end and more bombs will be dropped in the next one. Thank you once again everyone for you kind PMs and concern! Really helped push me through and second guess myself and stay a bit motivated!**

**Also Happy (late) Thanksgiving!**

**And without further adieu;**

* * *

"This is amazing! Ruby and I… We've always wanted to come to Atlas!"

Yang looked around her in awe. The bustling marketplace, the tall stone buildings, the brightly colored mosaics around the city, everything was majestic to her. Atlas had such a tropical feel to it; from the random palm trees sprouted up on each corner, to the loose fitting clothing the locals were wearing. The entire town had a color scheme of blue, gold, and silver. The buildings were built from some kind of white stones with the pathways painted blue and curtains made of golden silk.

It truly was majestic.

Yang felt as if her head were on a swivel. She couldn't stop looking around at all the random stalls as she happily walked along, without a care in the world.

That is until she felt a firm hand grab hold of her shoulder and bring her to an abrupt halt.

Turning around she spotted the cause of it.

"Hold up there, Blondie. Don't be rushing off on yer own yet." The orange haired man spoke.

Yang gave him a quick one over and couldn't help the chuckle that emerged from her mouth. Roman had buttoned up his white overcoat and took his bandana off, leaving his hair out for everyone to see. It was surprisingly well kept underneath. He somewhat looked presentable and not much like a pirate anymore.

Cinder's orders for her crew were that not only was The Queen's Vessel getting the makeover; with switching the flags so they weren't seen as pirates; but also the crew as well. Everyone was to dress appropriately while in the city as to not arouse suspicion. Save Roman, everyone else dressed in nicer clothing made for nobles it seemed; stuff they had _acquired_ while out at sea. Roman said he would rather drop dead then be seen wearing the tight leggings that Vale nobility would wear and just chose to make his usual attire presentable.

Yang and Ruby had opted to keep their usual clothes; seeing as it was mostly normal. Something the blonde was going to change during this trip though. Since she planned on sticking with Cinder's crew she most certainly wanted to look the part… Plus she needed a new weapon! But Ruby had an idea she dropped on her earlier before they docked.

Since Yang partook in the last ship boarding; Cinder actually let the blonde keep whatever she found on the ship and whatever they were to sell in Atlas; the lien would be split with the two sisters included.

"Hey! You spacing out on me, girl?"

Yang glanced back towards Roman and gave the man a cheeky grin. "What are ya gonna do about it? You and that peg leg of yours!" She jested.

As soon as the words left her mouth however; Yang watched as Roman's face turned as red as blood. The man immediately hunched over as if ready to jump on her. But the blonde was a quick learner; she did survive on her own with Ruby for a time. She knew when it was better to fight or flight.

Immediately Yang took off towards one of the market streets, high tailing it away from Roman; laughing and hollering all the while with the orange haired man hobbling after her yelling explicits.

Watching the two run off like children caused Cinder to rub her temples in annoyance. Not only was she trying to keep a low profile in this tropical and exotic town; but she also had a mission for those two as well.

Glancing over to her left and towards a few of her other crewmates; the dark haired Captain licked her lips at a certain crimson haired one before narrowing her eyes at the multi-colored other. She had a plan.

Walking over towards the two girls, Cinder sulked over to Ruby's side before running her hand down the girl's side; earning a surprised yelp and the crimson girl's full attention.

"Gah! W- What do _you_ want? I- I told you no more contact… Until Cookie Monster is allowed to stay!" Ruby enunciated as she moved out of Cinder's reach and hid behind the amused looking short Navigator.

Cinder smirked and went to touch Ruby again but was surprised to see Neo blocking her movements by mirroring her.

"Move Neo!" Cinder growled out dangerously. "No one gets between me and my… _prey._" She finished, chuckling at Ruby's slight shudder at her words.

Neo still stood in front of the _much_ taller woman though; blocking her from her prize. But Cinder didn't become Captain of her crew by just good looks… She knew all there was to know about each and every single one of her comrades.

And what or _who_ her Navigator was quite fond of…

Adopting a relaxed posture and crossing her arms while leaning on her left leg; Cinder softened her expression to a neutral friendly smile and bore into Neo's brown and pink eyes. "Neo, I have a job for you while we're in Atlas. You see… Roman and," Cinder widened her smile. "Yang… were supposed to go out and sell some of the wares we acquired; but seeing as they have run off like the children they are… I was hoping I could entrust you to bring the wares and inform them of their job?" She finished; holding her gaze steady with the much smaller girl.

She watched Neo's eyes sparkle ever so slightly at the mention of Yang but it didn't seem like it was enough to get her to move yet; so Cinder winked at the girl with one last order.

"Then inform Roman to come back and stay with the ship; Yang and yourself will finish the selling of the stuff; and go crazy. You both can keep the lien you make; you two earned it off that last haul."

Amber eyes narrowed as they watched the short Navigator grab a small box containing the wares Cinder had mentioned and took off as quick as her short legs could take her in the direction of Roman and Yang. This left…

_"So…_ Ruby. Where were we?"

* * *

"Come on old man; at this rate you'll lose that other leg of yours!"

Yang continued her sprint through the crowded market street of Atlas. She originally thought Roman would only chase her for a little bit; maybe only initially trying to scare her and due to his peg leg; but boy was she wrong. The man had even started to catch up to her at some points and it didn't look like only having one operational leg was winding him.

She was actually getting a little nervous now. But that wouldn't stop her from taunting him still as she ran through the crowds of people who threw her wary glances.

_Gods I probably look like some kind of thief, fleeing from the shop owner…_

Although the longer she ran; the better she felt. It had been a week since she was on solid ground. Not necessarily a long time but she liked to stretch her legs and stay in shape every once in a while.

Risking a glance backwards while trying to avoid running into a group of people; Yang brushed her long golden mane out of her sight and nearly screamed in fear as she spotted Roman within arm's reach of her.

The sounds of her boots hitting the ground, the wind in her ears, and her own heartbeat seemed to block out the loud and wooden banging on the ground as Roman caught up to her. And now he was reaching for her beloved hair to grab.

Yang watched him as he inches his hand closer to her; uncaring in where she was even running now as she wasn't looking forward. She tried to push herself to move faster but it seemed as if her legs weren't responding the way she'd like. In fact it felt like she was slowing down.

"Oh shit… R- Roman I was only kiddi- Ack!"

Yang watched Roman almost grab a handful of her long hair before the man crashed into the ground; face first.

She slowed to a stop almost instantly and turned around to see what had caused him to fall, but then spotted a _very_ familiar looking girl who was holding what looked like a long and wooden table leg.

"N- Neo?" Yang gasped out as she struggled to catch her breath; resting her hands on her hips and panting loudly.

Neo was standing in all her short glory; holding up what Yang now identified as Roman's peg leg while holding a small crate under her other arm. The girl wore a cocky grin and regarded the blonde with amused eyes that glimmered with something unbeknownst to Yang.

"Y- You damned midget… How'd you even do that?" Roman asked lowly as he struggled to sit up.

Neo only widened her smirk and tossed the downed man his artificial leg. Yang finally started to slow down her breathing and took notice of the small crowd starting to form around them as if waiting for something major to happen.

Rubbing the back of her head nervously; Yang continued to watch the two. Neo still held her almost sadistic smile while Roman attached his leg and stood up; albeit shakily and glared back at the blonde who threw her hands up in surrender.

"Aw shuck Roman; I was only kidding… No hard feelings?" Yang announced holding her hand out for a truce handshake.

Roman regarded her suspiciously but ultimately brushed himself off before hobbling over and shaking her hand with a firm handgrip. "Didn't think I'd catch ya, huh Blondie?" He then sneered as they shook hands.

Yang smiled but ultimately it was true. She had no idea how he was able to outmaneuver her and catch up. Another mystery for the books…

"Anyways, what the hell are ya doin' here, Neo?" Roman asked as he stretched and regarded the girl curiously.

Neo held up the box in her hand and Roman peered into its contents; nodding his head. "Cinder sent you, huh?" He asked; to which Neo nodded her head and pointed back towards the docks.

Roman sighed as if he understood completely what Neo was instructing him to do. He turned back towards Yang and gave the girl a mock salute. "I'll see ya later; and next time ye won't be getting' off with jus' a meager handshake." He laughed out as he walked off towards the docks.

Yang smirked and watched the head of orange hair disappear into the crowd who was now dissipating around them; seeing as nothing else interesting was going to take place between the foreigners to their lands.

Yang cracked her back and neck; limbering her body from the intensive sprint she just finished and looked at Neo. The small girl stared back up at her with those majestic mismatched eyes and wore a small smile which bore her pearly white teeth in a slight predatorily grin.

"Ya know Neo; I think you have a nice smile… But sometimes it's a little… creepy." Yang admitted nervously as she spun on her heel to continue her trek through the marketplace.

Not a moment later she heard the small click clack of Neo's heeled boots shuffle up right beside her as the girl took her rightful place beside Yang; still holding onto the small crate and its contents while looking up at the much taller blonde with interest.

Yang tried to ignore the stare she could feel from the Navigator; but after about five minutes of walking, Yang couldn't even bring herself to enjoy the exotic sights of Atlas; with the girl's blazing stare fixated on her face. The blonde finally stopped walking and looked over at her much shorter companion with a slight scowl.

It wasn't that she didn't _like_ Neo staring at her; for Yang had a crush on the shorter girl and was glad she seemed to have eyes for her as well. But it was that it kind of seemed odd and made her uncomfortable. Of course she didn't expect Neo to actually speak to her; being mute and all, but the taller girl hoped she'd give her a sign as to why she was staring.

"Care to share what's so interesting about me? I mean I know I'm a great looking girl and all but-"

Yang watched the small girl take off in a slight jog towards a market stall. The blonde cocked an eyebrow but followed her towards the average and plain looking small tent. Glancing around it, Yang could tell the wares of this nature were that of food. There seemed to be even spices that she was familiar with here. Although she was no longer interested in that old life of hers she still eyed the powders and even spotted a few expensive and rare ones.

Although she shifted her glance back towards Neo as she watched the girl pull a large jar filled with a golden thick liquid along with other bottles and beakers full of various things and place them on the wooden counter just inside the tent. An older woman dressed in brown clothes appeared from the interior and eyed the items being placed on her table.

Yang had to stifle a laugh at seeing Neo _reach up _to place her items down. It was adorable, the counter came up right above her head and Yang had to fight the urge to want to lift the girl up in her arms. But no sooner did she have the thought did Neo finish placing the items down and stepped backwards to meet the glance of the older woman behind the counter.

If the storekeeper found Neo's height humorous, she kept it hidden perfectly. Her face was neutral as she looked over the items on the table and opened them up; sniffing their contents and even dipping a long and wrinkly finger into the golden jar and tasting it.

Once she opened the jar though; Yang smelled the strange and tasty aroma of honey. Something she hadn't had since the festivities of her home island back on Patch; during the annual celebrations of the New Year's.

The woman seemed to find everything in order and placed a _very_ hefty pouch of coins on the counter in payment for Neo; who happily reached _up_ and swiped the lien off the table and into her pocket before walking off.

Yang jogged beside the girl and nodded impressed. "Not bad, was that from the haul the other day?" She asked, to which Neo nodded and continued to stare forward with a quickened pace.

It seemed as if she had a place in mind as Yang watched the girl navigate around the dense crowds of people and market stalls with ease. She was basically powerwalking at this point but Yang was only walking slightly faster than normal due to their height difference. The blonde took this time to glance around the new land. Past all the tents and stalls; she spotted large white steps that seemed to lead up to a lush upper portion of the city. In the background, behind the large palm trees were white stone buildings that were much bigger than the ones on the lower level where she and Neo were walking at currently.

It made her wonder just how large in fact the kingdom of Atlas really was. That is until she felt something small and warm wiggle its way into her left hand and pull. Yang glanced down before she was forced to jog slightly while being pulled along and spotted Neo's small and slender hand in her own with the pink and brown themed girl dragging her along.

Yang felt herself freeze up but allowed herself to be led by the smaller girl; keeping her lilac eyes on the bobbing hair of brown and pink. She felt a smile tug at her lips and a small squeal come out of her mouth at what she was doing; but enjoyed every second of it.

She didn't know if Neo felt the same way she was right now; but Yang was joyous. Neo was holding hands with her even if the girl was only trying to hurry them up to whatever destination she wanted to get to; but the contact meant a lot to the blonde. It felt like their relationship was growing and she had no problems whatsoever being dragged along to whatever the Nano-Navigator had in mind…

That was until she caught sight of a stall that was different than the rest. As Neo seemed to be homing in on a stall that was comprised of a small wooden hut along with multiple draped covers; the air seemed to get oddly cold the closer they got. Once the small girl reached her destination she dropped Yang's hand; much to the blonde's disappointment, and fished out her large hefty pouch of lien.

Yang traced the odd building and counter top with her lilac eyes and rubbed her arms to heat herself up. The temperature dropped immensely once they had approached this stall that sat by itself in the corner of the lower town. There were iron buckets of some kind of thick liquid in three colors. One was pink, the other brown, and lastly white.

Yang took note of how the colors represented Neo's entire form but then watched as a young girl smiled at the girl before reaching in each of the three buckets and with practiced movements, scoop the ingredients into a small wooden cup and hand it to Neo; which the girl happily took with two hands and drop the entire pouch of coins on the counter before walking off.

Yang stared at the pouch wide eyed as Neo had just left it as payment for whatever she bought and quickly snatched it up before placing five lien pieces on the counter and jogging to catch up with her. She had no idea if she had paid the right amount; but five lien was pretty hefty for anything of that size of whatever strange concoction of what the Navigator had bought.

As Yang jogged to catch up, she spotted Neo happily licking at whatever treat she was more than willing to pay an insane amount of money for and smiled. She couldn't help but melt upon seeing the girl's childlike happiness plastered on her face as she enjoyed her snack. It reminded Yang of her little sister in a way. Without a care in the world and true happiness plastered on their face; Neo and Ruby sometimes looked alike.

_Maybe that's why she's so adorable._

* * *

"I don't know why _I_ have to go! Y- You never even agreed to my terms!" Ruby cried out as she was unceremoniously dragged by Cinder; the complete opposite on how Neo and Yang were earlier.

Cinder only smirked wider before pulling Ruby along again by the girl's hand. She and the smaller crimson haired girl had plenty of shopping to do. And she planned on getting it done as soon as possible. Of course now that Ruby was officially part of her crew; the girl would have to look the part as well as defend herself. Cinder knew she couldn't always be there for the girl in case of an attack so she planned to have Ruby be able to arm herself in case.

She knew of a few good blacksmiths in Atlas and planned to visit them. Of course it wasn't all business… The raven haired Captain couldn't wait to get Ruby new clothing as well.

_Maybe something light and revealing? Or something functional…? Of course I can coax her out of it either way but…_

As Cinder was initially leading Ruby forward; she felt the girl jerk her arm away and run towards her left. Cinder snapped out of her stupor and quickly jogged after her retreating comrade.

"Ruby!" Cinder shouted after the girl who seemed to be dead sprinting somewhere.

Cinder almost felt her mind delve into fear when she was about to lose sight of Ruby who was zigzagging through the mass of crowds but breathed a sigh of relief when the girl halted in front of a storefront.

Cinder caught up to the smaller bundle of energy and was breathing a little heavily before glaring at the shorter girl. But Ruby seemed to be in her own little world as she stared in awe at the items behind the stall.

Cinder turned her gaze towards the wares and spotted a bunch of oddly shaped metal and iron bars and bricks that seemed to be random assortments of pieces of something. What that something was the Captain had no idea and honestly didn't care; she was about to grab Ruby's small hand and guide the girl back towards her original destination before the girl perked up.

"How much for all those iron pieces back there and those steel casings and balls here?"

Cinder turned back around and spotted Ruby pointing at a bunch of random pieces while looking towards the store attendant. The man looked over the pieces Ruby pointed out and started counting numbers off under his breath to which Cinder finally spoke up.

"Why are you buying random garbage at this… trash heap?" She asked annoyed. The stall they were at looked like it sold random pieces of broken down metals that they have found from ship wrecks and whatever other place there was trash to be found. But Ruby seemed to ignore the woman and stared in awe at the pieces she had picked out.

Now Cinder's curiosity was piqued a bit. She had never seen Ruby so engrossed in something before like this; not even cookies or that God forsaken mutt she brought onboard; to who which Tukson was taking care of right now.

She continued to watch as the man placed all the heavy metal pieces in a crate and hand it to Ruby before the girl placed what look liked fifteen lien pieces down in payment. Cinder would have bought it for the girl of course, but kept her mouth shut as she wanted to see Ruby heft the large iron and steel filled crate off the counter by herself.

To which the crimson haired girl did just that, with ease.

Cinder felt her jaw drop as Ruby moved away from the stall and happily bounded past her holding the box in both her hands. It almost looked as if the girl was carrying a box of bread with how easy she made it look; but as Ruby continued to stare at the small girl with a dumbstruck look plastered on her usually calm and composed face she spotted the toned muscles on the girl's slim arms.

Ruby may not look it; but apparently she had immense body strength.

This brought Cinder to her next realization…

_If she's this strong… Why didn't she seriously push me off of her…? Unless she in fact does like it like that?_

As the dark haired woman came to another wrong thought she quickly made her way back beside Ruby who was looking over the large crate and navigating her way back towards their ship. After a few minutes of unspoken silence and the only sounds being from the various people shuffling about; Cinder finally decided to ask the burning question on her mind about the girl's rather odd purchase though; in an attempt to break the silence.

"So, are you going to tell me why you decided to buy a bunch of metal junk and store it on my ship?" She asked slightly aggressively towards the younger girl but meant no hostility in her words.

Ruby continued walking for a bit before huffing and replying. "I… I like to build and craft things. I always liked tinkering and making weapons and little odd trinkets ever since I was little." She began, earning a curious look from Cinder who nodded her head as if to coax Ruby to continue. "I've always had this crazy idea in my head to craft this weapon for Yang. It's kind of a secret though. A surprise actually; she really likes flintlock pistols but I think I can make a pistol that can fire multiple times before needing to be reloaded! And so I saw all this metal over at that stall and decided to buy the necessary parts to craft it! Of course this is all in my head and stuff; but I saw Tukson had tools and I can use them, I asked and so I want to try and build them for Yang!" Ruby rambled on.

Cinder smirked and chuckled softly to herself. She had no idea her little red jewel had such a secret and talent. It was quite nice to hear and she could already think of a few ways to exploit the girl's brilliant mind if she in fact could craft such a weapon that she was speaking about. It did sound quite impressive, Cinder couldn't lie.

She continued to walk with Ruby and neared the docks; but a peculiar sight caught her attention down the street and towards her right.

Turning her head to get a better view; the raven haired woman felt herself go rigid with fear at the sight of an armed escort belonging to a _very_ familiar looking woman…

The white hair that held itself in a side pony tail, the confident and slightly aggressive way she walked, the posh and elegant white silk attire she wore, everything was familiar.

The four guards, who were dressed in a mixture of white and light blue in militaristic uniforms and carrying muskets, flanked the shorter girl who held her head up high in a slightly snobby attitude. The entire scene looked unreal to Cinder and it scared her.

Why _this_ girl would be here, in Atlas; worried her immensely. Plus her armed escort; it meant that she traveled with at least more than a dozen other soldiers who could be anywhere on the streets of Atlas' marketplace.

And looking for Cinder.

Finally feeling cold sweat run down her face, Cinder realized that the girl and her guards were currently walking in their direction and fast!

She couldn't run lest she wanted to catch the attention of everyone around her, plus the escort. But as they neared her even more and with Ruby walking towards them, still clamoring on about the schematics of the weapon she wanted to build, Cinder did the only thing she could think of in her fear stricken mind…

She grabbed ahold of Ruby's shoulders; earning a slightly surprised squeak, and slammed her face into the shorter girl's own in an aggressive meeting of lips.

Cinder felt Ruby drop her crate of metal with a loud thud and was surprised it didn't land on her foot but continued to kiss the girl roughly, shutting her eyes in fear of the incoming guards would notice her if her eyes were open. She quickly pushed Ruby away from the center of the street where they were just walking on and could hear multiple people gasping and snickering at them but paid it no heed.

She could feel Ruby struggling in her grasp but she squeezed the girl's arms forcefully to get her to comply; she didn't want to hurt her but needed her to not cause a bigger scene than was needed; and after a moment Ruby seemed to calm down, although her lips remained sealed not allowing Cinder to use her tongue, sadly.

Finally breaking the forced meeting of mouths, Cinder allowed herself to smile a bit at seeing a small trail of saliva still connecting their mouths; to which Ruby angrily swatted at, breaking it.

"W- What the h- hell was that about?!" Ruby shouted.

Cinder flinched a bit but looked around. People were watching them as they walked by but she didn't spot the white themed girl and her guards anymore; allowing herself to relax and fall back into her confident persona.

"Why nothing my little jewel, I just missed your _taste_ is all." She licked her lips. "Strawberries, hm?" Cinder purred playfully.

She kept her amber eyes on Ruby's angry face waiting for her to stutter and turn embarrassed as usual, but as the seconds dragged on by, Ruby's small round face remained angry. This caused Cinder some concern as she decided to speak again.

"What's with the pouty face, Ruby? I won't giv-" Cinder stared.

"It was that girl from earlier, wasn't it?" Ruby asked; although to Cinder it sounded as if she stated it.

She swallowed nervously and kept her eyes on Ruby's own silver ones. "Whatever do you mean? What girl?"

But it seemed that Ruby had caught on rather quick. "Don't play stupid with me, I saw you look at her all scared! And… you never look scared! Not in a ship battle or ever! So tell me the truth! Who was she? How did you acquire that ship? How are so skilled with being a Captain of a crew? If you don't tell me I won't _ever_ forgive you…" Ruby sternly shouted, even earning her more looks from the bystanders who were walking along.

Cinder looked around nervously but felt Ruby's glare boring into her and the woman tried one last ditch effort to keep her secrets to herself. "E- Even if I let you keep Cookie Monster on the ship?"

She watched Ruby's scowl deepen then and sighed. Cinder knew she wouldn't be able to keep her past a secret but didn't fancy the thought of telling Ruby everything already… She was honestly afraid of what the girl would think, but she truly actually cared for Ruby and didn't want to hide something that could potentially bring harm to her down the road.

And so Cinder closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and steeled herself for what she was about to entrust Ruby with.

"That woman earlier… was Princess Weiss… And I was to be her betrothed… My title isn't _Captain_ Cinder but in fact… Lady Cinder. Heiress to the royal crown of the Kingdom of Vale, and the only daughter to King Ozpin and Queen Glynda."


	7. Mistake

"Neo, we probably should return to the ship." Yang informed the smaller girl as she continued to browse the various stands in the Atlas marketplace.

They no longer were holding hands, much to Yang's disappointment but the girl did glance over at the blonde countless times which set her heart into overdrive. Yang didn't dare mess it up by saying any puns which she knew Neo hated. So she mostly kept her mouth shut… Until she spotted a weapons stand off to her left.

Jogging away from Neo who was currently looking at clothes, Yang quickly made her way to the stand that caught her own eye and was looking at the oddly shaped Atlas blades. She wasn't a weapons nut like her younger sister, but she did have a large appreciation for them. More so pistols, but they were much too expensive for her to buy so she settled on swords.

Although she only had regular short swords or rapiers, she'd loved blades that were much larger and curved; such as the exotic blades she was currently looking at now. There were a multitude of weapons hanging on display of a small stand that looked like it served as a blacksmith as well. Cutlass, Scimitars, and others were on display; but a scimitar that hung above the rest was what caught the wild girl's eye in the first place.

Leaning her elbow on the wooden counter, Yang kept her lively lilac eyes on the blade. It was slightly larger than the rest of the scimitars and its blade was a stunning silver; almost as if forged from the most expensive steel in the lands. The hilt was a smooth gold, almost like her hair and was rounded outwards almost like a guard breaker. The handle was wrapped in a sturdy brown leader with a loose wrapping hanging off, dangling.

The blonde knew she had to have it; plus she needed a sword anyway! Reaching into her pockets though she finally forgot she gave Neo back the lien they had just made.

"Oh crap… She's probably gonna buy something and use it all o-" Yang muttered to herself as she spun on her heel to search for the short odd themed girl, but bumped right into her as she started to walk away from the weapons' stand.

Looking down into the girl's slightly tilted face, Yang blushed. "O- Oh... Heya Neo! Was actually comin' to see ya." She nervously spoke, unsure if the girl had heard her talking or not about her before.

She noticed Neo holding a few articles of clothing in her hand as the girl's neutral face started turning up into a small smile which started to cause Yang to become suspicious.

"W- What do you got there?" Yang asked, pointing towards the clothes the girl held in her hand. To which Neo held them up for Yang to see.

She of course said nothing, but her smirk spoke volumes to Yang in what needed to be done. And so, swallowing nervously as she eyed the material in the girl's small hands; Yang looked down in defeat.

"Those are for me to wear, huh?"

She watched Neo's cute smile remain on her face as she nodded happily, much to Yang's chagrin. The blonde tried to look at least a bit delighted at her new uniform and managed to keep a positive appearance.

It consisted of a long dark brown sleeveless trench coat, black pants that seemed as if they'd be a little loose on her, and complete with knee high boots that were roughly the same color as the coat. It wasn't a _bad_ looking outfit but then another burning question popped into her mind…

"What's wrong with my current outfit?"

To which Neo just silently scoffed at her before glancing up towards the weapons' stand with mild interest on her face now. The girl's mismatched eyes instantly hovered over the same elaborate sword that Yang was eyeing earlier then back to the blonde's face with a coy smirk.

Yang melted under the girl's gaze and rubbed the back of her head nervously before laughing a bit in an attempt to calm her nerves. She made sure to look everywhere but Neo's eyes, in fear of losing herself to them. She felt her chest start to ache and her body start to heat up. Although she wasn't the smartest girl in the land, Yang knew what these feelings meant but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

About to speak to the smaller girl though, Yang noticed her pointing up at the blade and already handing over the required lien for it to the shopkeeper.

The blonde felt her mouth widen in awe and dismay as the man handed the short girl the blade in its scabbard. Neo handled the large blade with care as she attempted to wrap the bindings around her shoulder and waist and hang it off her back in its sheath; finally managing it. The blade's handle was raised over her head with the bottom of it ending at her calves, threatening to smack against her legs each time she would take a step.

It was then that Yang finally realized that Neo had just bought the blade for herself…

"Y- You… Really, Neo?" Was all Yang could manage as the girl turned towards her and smiled smugly before walking off, the blade's scabbard smacking against her legs with a soft thud each time.

Yang was powerless to do anything and exhaled dejectedly, following the shorter girl, and preparing to wear her new outfit and admire the blade she wanted from afar. Hopefully Neo would remember she still needed a weapon before they headed back.

With head hung low but still kind of happy that she was able to spend the day with the girl, Yang followed Neo back towards their docked ship.

* * *

"Oh hey, Cap'n! I wasn't plannin' on seein' you back on the ship so soon… ya know since you said you wanted me back here as soon as possible…" Roman uttered angrily as he leaned against the outer railing aboard the ship.

Cinder only scowled at the man as she continued her trek towards her main quarters. Ever since she told Ruby who she really was, she felt this gnawing feeling that what she had been doing for these past few months was about to fall down. Everything she worked for; on her own and by her own power, was soon to be tested against some unknown force. There were only a select few in her crew that knew the actual truth about her.

But since she just told Ruby; Captain Cinder figured she may as well inform every one of the truth. She had a pretty keen feeling that letting them know now rather than later would be the best course of action. And so, while about to walk into her quarters with a certain crimson haired girl behind her; still remaining quiet, Cinder turned around and looked towards Roman once more.

"Roman, can you get everyone and bring them to my quarters?" She asked quietly, the soft tone of her voice already setting off alarms in the orange haired man's head as he regarded her worriedly. "I… I have something to discuss with everyone." Cinder finished as she walked into her room without waiting for the man to answer.

Once inside the scarlet painted and cozy room, Cinder took a seat behind the mahogany desk on her throne like chair. She kept her amber eyes on Ruby as the smaller girl closed the door to her quarters and set her massive metal filled box on the ground and remained standing.

On any other occasion of Ruby walking _willingly_ into Cinder's lair, the older woman would jump on the smaller girl and plant as many kisses as she could all over her, but the entire mood was different now. Ever since she told Ruby her secret, the girl had remained eerily quiet. The entire walk back to the vessel was in silence; the only sounds being the crowd of people attending their business in the market square and the steady clanking of the various metal pieces that Ruby continued to carry in the box.

Cinder let her eyes wander on the various things in her room, each bringing her back to her old life. For perhaps the first time ever since she had embarked on this journey of hers; she started to feel a bit homesick. Maybe it was her emotions in that current moment in time but she didn't really regret doing what she did.

As she and Ruby waited in silence in the room, the older girl started to think about what she would say to the others who didn't know of her past. But it seemed as if her thinking was going to be cut short once the door opened. Both she and Ruby looked towards the door as The Queen's Vessel's crew walked in; speaking amongst themselves loudly while all taking up a spot in the room.

Cinder waited patiently for the talking to die down and didn't utter a word. Her gaze trailed each and every one of the room's occupants as she remembered exactly how and when she met them; feeling a faint smile spread across her lips as she did so. Until she spotted that damned _mongrel_ who was one of the causes for what was happening now. As she stared down at the small dog that was licking at Ruby's legs, the _beast_ reared its head and looked back at her. Its small black eyes did nothing however to calm the older girl as she scowled at it before glancing away.

Looking towards the left of the room stood Roman. Her closest and most treasured friend despite how she treated him. He in fact was her sworn bodyguard; ever since her noble life back in Vale. In fact she was the reason why he was here with her, and she knew he was aware of what she was about to tell everyone as he looked back towards her gaze with a soft and understanding expression.

Doing one more one over the group and deciding to get started, Cinder couldn't help but notice that Neo and Yang weren't present yet and decided to speak up about that little fact first. She really didn't feel like telling this story twice.

"Does anyone know where Neo and Yang are?" She asked causally to which all eyes were instantly trained on her and answered with various "No."

Exhaling pointedly, Captain Cinder leaned back in her chair as she waited for the last two tardy members of her crew to show up. But it wasn't long before someone spoke up first.

"So, why are we all called here? I don't think we've ever had a meeting before."

Cinder had to look up to ascertain which of the twins had spoken up and after spotting the white shirt noted that it in fact was Melanie. The girl stood next to her twin sister and wore a mask of boredom while her arms were crossed.

The raven haired woman only smiled before shutting her eyes and continuing to lean back in her chair. No matter what was said right now; she'd wait until everyone was present.

* * *

"Are you sure you know where you're going Neo? I mean…" Yang trailed on as she looked around the busy marketplace and faintly remembering passing the very same stalls about ten minutes ago. "… This all looks _really_ familiar."

Looking towards her left and down at the small and seemingly content smaller girl, Yang couldn't help but _not_ mind getting lost with Neo. The girl's quick steps just to keep in stride with her longer ones bounced her up and down in an adorable fashion. In fact Yang noticed herself realizing quite a bit of little things about Neo today as they shopped together. The girl never even uttered a word, yet her body language and little ticks spoke volumes to Yang. She was pretty proud of the fact that she was grasping a better understanding about the Navigator.

And right now it was one of those times that Yang was glad she had started paying attention to the smaller girl's little ticks that she'd do. Both girls had ceased walking once Yang had spoken, and Neo pursed her lips while crossing her arms loosely; still looking forward. Yang knew that this meant that she was seriously deep in thought; complete with the shorter girl wiggling her nose a bit in frustration. It seriously was cute to Yang. So much so that she let a small stifled snort out as she watched the girl.

This only caused said girl to look at her in annoyance however and caused Yang to quickly look away innocently as if she hadn't been laughing at Neo. However a peculiar sight caught the blonde girl's eyes. A girl dressed in a white robe that was made out of material Yang could only wish for was walking hurriedly with what looked like four armed guards in an odd blue and white militaristic uniform.

From where she stood, Yang couldn't hear what they were saying, but the girl in the white robe was speaking towards the guards in what looked like an angry manner. She was waving her arms around animatedly with her off centered pony tail swinging with each movement of her head. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was upset about something. Although the girl was cute if not out of place with her attire and escort; Yang had no idea as to who it was and quite frankly it wasn't her problem.

Turning back around to ask Neo if she had figured out where they were going though, Yang started to speak only to spot the miniature girl already running off in a new direction.

"N- Neo, wait up!" Yang half shouted, clutching her clothes in her hand as she ran after the shorter girl.

Unbeknownst to Yang however, as she trotted after the short girl and yelled at her; the mysterious white haired girl took notice of the two jogging women. With a perched eyebrow and a snap of her fingers; the ever authoritative and curious Princess ordered one of her guards to follow the two running females towards whatever destination they were headed.


	8. History

**A/N: Posting early, enjoy! We get to see some important things this chapter!**

* * *

Quickly running out of patience and growing quite irritated whilst listening to Mercury trying to sing along with Emerald, Captain Cinder cleared her throat loudly and caught the attention of everyone in the room.

She was still waiting on Yang and Neo to show up and even debated sending someone to look for the fools. A loud and boisterous woman with a short mute girl… What a pair. Perhaps she was in the wrong however for sending and telling Neo to enjoy herself once she found the girl after sending Roman back to the ship. But glancing around at the multiple faces looking back at her expectantly Cinder sighed before leaning back in her massive chair and kicked her legs up onto the large desk that occupied the space in front of her.

"Alright, I'm not waiting on them any longer." Cinder stated, earning a few curious looks as to what brought this on. "I'm sure all of you are wondering why I called you here, right?" She then asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Both twins recited perfectly in sync with one another; while everyone else just nodded their heads.

Folding her hands behind her head as she continued leaning back and relaxing, the raven haired woman exhaled sharply through her nose. Looking past her boots up on the table and at Roman, she nodded her head slightly at the man who just smirked before taking a seat on one of the many chairs in the room and speaking up in a much more composed accent and startling everyone bar Cinder in the room.

"Alright everyone; sit down. This is going to be a pretty jarring story." The orange haired man spoke loudly while still smirking towards the confused faces in the room.

"W- What the hell? You sound nothin' like…" Junior started before being interrupted by the Quartermaster.

"Yes yes, it's called an accent old friend." Roman assured the man as well as everyone else's suspicions. "And trust me; this is just the tip of the spear so to speak. I'd suggest you all get _real_ comfy cause the Captain here…" Roman said while gesturing towards Cinder who still sat with her feet propped up on the table and was now grinning in amusement.

"She's about to blow your minds."

All heads turned to Cinder in that moment with new expressions of disbelief. Well almost everyone had that expression except for Ruby. Cinder's eyes met the girl's unwavering silver ones as she regarding her with a look of mild disappointment. Cinder couldn't help but feel her smile falter a bit at being looked at like that by Ruby.

"Well thank you for that elaborate beginning, Roman." She chuckled out before dropping her feet onto the ground and sitting upright; looking at everyone's faces as they found their seat on a chair or on the floor.

"Before I recruited you all from all those places we met… Like Emerald, do you remember when we met?" Cinder asked casually while looking at the mint green haired dark skinned girl.

Emerald smirked before speaking as she reminisced on the memory. "Well, I remember I was stealing to survive on the streets of Sanctum." She spoke as her grin remained and she continued. "I remember I just swindled this one store owner and got away with like a dozen apples! As I was ru-"

"What's a dozen?" Mercury interjected from where he sat on the floor; his hand raised as well.

Emerald shot the silver haired boy a look before answering him though. "Twelve… Anyways like I was saying. I was running and-"

Mercury however interrupted the girl's story again. "I thought a dozen was thirteen?"

"That's a baker's dozen, you idiot." Tukson answered this time, causing the room's occupants to chuckle at Merc.

"_Like I was saying…_" The green haired girl growled out, looking around, glowering at everyone as if daring them to interrupt her again. When no one did she finally continued.

"I just stole a _regular_ dozen apples and was running through the streets to get away… Well I didn't think he'd actually run after me and chase me." Emerald explained as her scowl started to disappear and be replaced with a smile. "I kept running and even started eating as many of the apples as I could in case I was caught. Well as I was trying to get away from this guy, I ran to the docks and stowed away on the first boat I could… And thus I met the Captain here… A whole day later after she caught me rummaging through the food stores." She finished while smirking evilly.

"And I welcomed you to my crew, correct?" Cinder asked in a monotonous voice to which Emerald nodded.

When no one else said anything and only gave the Captain confused looks as if not understanding the reasoning for her asking about the story, Cinder spoke up once again.

"What I'm trying to point out here is that no matter who you were to society before, I don't care. We are a family now and whatever status society labeled you as before… Has no meaning to me. You are all equals in my eyes and will always be."

Glancing around the room now, Cinder maintained a neutral expression before taking in a deep breath and looking each and every person in their eyes.

As Cinder went to open her mouth to finally start the story of how she became the "Captain" of this ship and her crew though, the door swung open to reveal an out of breath Yang and a smiling Neo who stood in the doorway; side by side.

"I told you they'd be in here!" Yang exclaimed towards the shorter girl who just rolled her eyes before walking inside and taking a seat on one of the empty chairs in the room.

Yang however stopped and looked around before looking towards Ruby and sitting next to her, wrapping her arms around the crimson haired girl's shoulders. "Whoa, story time? This crew is awesome!" Yang then shouted; failing to read the entire seriousness of the current mood.

"Glad you two could finally join us." Cinder sighed before glancing over at Neo who only winked at the woman and Yang who kept her wide smile plastered on her face.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Cap'n!" Yang said as she held a thumbs up towards Cinder.

Shaking her head a bit, Cinder decided to finally continue before everyone in the room started speaking. "Like I was saying; no matter what I'm about to tell you… I hope you continue to want to keep serving with this crew and have me as your Captain…" Cinder uttered lowly.

The way she spoke so quietly and without her usual smile or happy-go-lucky demeanor was quite unsettling to some of the crew members but they held their tongues as the woman who they held in the highest respect to lead them spoke. If something could change this woman's attitude, they all knew it had to be important and potentially even life changing.

As Cinder lifted her amber eyes to once again look at the faces of the men and women whose lives she was entrusted with, she saw Roman nod his head at her as if trying to support her decision as best as he could without speaking. Cinder nodded back towards him and swallowed whatever doubts she had.

"The thing is… My real name is Lady Cinder Fall, heiress and princess to the kingdom of Vale." She spoke in a refined tone; much how she was raised to do.

She watched everyone's eyes narrow or widen in a mix of disbelief and awe; but before anyone had a chance to speak up she let out a breath and continued.

"This ship… 'The Queen's Vessel' was supposed to be the flagship of Vale's royal Navy. A present from my father; King Ozpin to my mother and Admiral of all of Vale's naval fleet, Queen-Admiral Glynda." She explained as she held everyone's gazes.

Her eyes continually drifted back to Ruby's own silver ones as she spoke. She noticed the girl no longer looked angry but she didn't really look particularly happy either. Cinder wondered if it was because of Princess Weiss and how she was almost married to her.

"But before I explain anymore, I suppose I should start from the beginning…"

* * *

**Two Years Ago**

* * *

"Remember dear, Princess Weiss will be here tomorrow. I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Cinder sighed sadly as she continued looking out the window of her massive chambers in her home. She knew her father; King Ozpin only came to make sure his "prospect" would treat her future wife well.

"Yes, father. I will be on my best behavior and treat Princess Weiss wonderfully." Cinder reassured her father as she continued to stare out the window into the nighttime streets of the kingdom of Vale below her. "_I promise._"

She heard her father sigh before making his way towards her door to leave the room before halting and speaking up. "Your mother and I are worried about you, you know? I hope you don't think we're pushing this on you or anything. It's just we think you and Weiss would be perfect for each other." He explained tiredly. "The Schnees are in fact a powerful family that could help our kingdom in the long run; especially if you and Weiss were to marry."

Cinder kept quiet as she heard her father exhale before finally opening the door to her chambers to leave. She could hear him speaking with the guard posted outside her door as well though. The same one who was supposed to make sure nothing happened to her in the middle of the night. It was a load of bull; the truth was that they were to ensure that she wouldn't run away again.

Too bad the same person who was supposed to be protecting her was now an accomplice to her latest plan to escape the holds of her posh life. And there was no way this one would fail. Cinder had planned this one for more days than she could care to think back on. Ever since her father had announced the new vessel as a gift to her mother and how _no one _was allowed to be near the ship until it's initiation into the royal Navy… It meant that it'd be easier to steal and set off to see the world.

See the world… It had always been a goal of the usually reserved Princess Cinder. Ever since her countless lessons on etiquette regarding different cultures of visitors for her family and the history on the world; Cinder had always made it a point to travel. She wanted to more than anything; but the times she introduced the idea of wanting to be an adventurer or an explorer… Her mother and father would forever shoot the idea down faster than she could ask 'Why?'

This of course caused the rebellious side in her to grow and plot. Most of her previous plans to just hitch a ride on a boat or run off on foot always resulted in her being caught before she even managed to get a mile away from the castle; and each time her parents would strengthen the security around her. This is now why she had her own personal bodyguard.

Sergeant Roman Torchwick.

After countless sessions of failed briberies, befriending, and finally entrusting; the two of them formed a wonderful friendship. She finally managed to talk the orange haired man into helping her with her plan, but of course his one wish was that he was able to come with, as his dream was to travel the seas as well. What luck Princess Cinder had to finally come across when she explained this to him in the past.

But a part of her felt guilty, especially if this plan of hers actually worked. She'd be betraying her parents' trust and most likely their love as well. She knew they only really wanted the best for her and the kingdom; but shouldn't she be able to be responsible for her own happiness? It in fact was one of the few life lessons she had learned during her studies. So why shouldn't she pursue it?

"Well, I am now." Cinder muttered to herself as she cast one last look out the window before turning around and walking towards her closet to get herself dressed in something a little more casual.

She opted to dress in a brown silk coat with a black long skirt and a matching black undershirt, complete with long black leather boots.

The outfit was still of high quality materials but it was the most unassuming of the clothing that she had available to herself at the moment. After she finished getting dressed; she contemplated bringing anything else. She knew most of the essentials of navigating and food would already be present on the ship for her future crew so she decided against sneaking into her father's study to acquire said objects. Plus that only ran a higher risk of being caught.

She decided to grab whatever money she had in her possession and placed it into her coin purse. After she was sure she had everything she needed, she sat down on her large bed and exhaled.

"I'm really going to do it this time; I'm going to follow my dream." She spoke to herself.

It almost felt like a dream; she finally was going to do it. She knew she still had to in fact sneak away and get on the boat; and even then, she had to worry about pursuing ships and her father and mother's future anger in searching for her. But in this moment; she felt it. How close she was to her ultimate dream, something she had always wanted to do; it was _so close_ now.

But once again her feelings and thoughts of happiness and wonderment turned to guilt and shame. She'd be leaving on such a forlorn note that she couldn't help but feel tears well up in her eyes at the disappointing and angry thoughts of her parents. They'd hunt till the ends of the world for her… And Weiss…

She had met her future wife; Princess Weiss on multiple occasions. The elegant looking white haired Princess from Atlas was nothing but kind to Cinder. In fact there was nothing really wrong with Weiss personally; minus how possessive the girl seemed to be but it was in fact that they had absolutely _nothing_ in common. Once the two of them had spoken in the past, Cinder made sure to keep her personal opinions and hobbies to herself from what she could gather from how Weiss was as a person. She knew the girl would never understand why she wanted to see the world and travel when she was born into royalty.

Another thing that slightly worried Cinder was that Weiss made sure that Cinder knew that she was interested in her. On multiple occasions Weiss would always sneak a kiss or even suggest some things that would be better left unsaid in public. The Atlas Princess seemed to have a perverse side to her but as much as Cinder thought Weiss was a beautiful girl, she would always shoot down the girl's ideas with saying how she wanted to wait until they were properly married. Just another lie for Cinder to say.

And this week would be the week they were to marry. She could only imagine Princess Weiss Schnee's face once she found out that she had fled the country and would be halfway across the ocean by the time she arrived in Vale.

It was unbelievably cruel but for Cinder; true happiness was worth a few people hating her. She only hoped that they all would understand the reason why she was running away.

Cinder jumped at a sound of someone knocking at her door but her shock turned to nervousness once she realized that it was time.

"Are you ready, my Lady?"

Cinder jumped off her bed and quickly made her way to her door and opened it; revealing her personal bodyguard Roman. He was dressed in his blue and silver royal guardsman uniform as he carried his sword in its side sheath as well as another one in his hand as he held the beautifully crafted cutlass out for her.

"Your weapon, Lady Cinder."

Cinder felt herself break out into a genuine smile for the first time that night as she grabbed the sheathed weapon that she knew Roman personally had crafted for her just for this moment. She attached the weapon to her belt and nodded towards the man.

"Thank you, Roman. Really."

She watched Roman roll his eyes slightly before turning around and walking down the hallway. "Thank me if we make it out of here."

Cinder smiled at the man's back as she quickly fell into step behind him as he led her outside the castle and towards the docks where their escape boat was just waiting to be taken. Cinder wasn't without knowledge however; the one good thing about having a mother who was the Admiral for the entire kingdom's navy was that Cinder was bound to learn a few things about managing a ship.

She'd make sure to use all the tools at her disposal to escape and hijack the ship. She knew once she was out on the ocean, nothing would catch up with the new vessel that was already dubbed 'the fastest ship in the entire fleet'. Plus having Roman with her would help as the man also served on a naval crew before being reassigned as her bodyguard.

Cinder was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that they had arrived at the docks before she bumped into Roman's back as the man stood still.

"Why are we stopping? The ship is right there!" Cinder hissed at Roman as the man continued to peer into the darkness.

"I know my Lady but we have to keep watch for patrols. Even though no one is allowed on the ship just yet doesn't mean that guards aren't posted around it." He replied back in a hushed tone.

Cinder instantly frowned at the man's response. Her heart was pounding and she was sweating in a mix of fear and excitement. She just wanted to get this over with and escape. Every second she was on solid land was another second she feared they would be caught.

"Alright, it looks clear my Lady." Roman whispered towards her before turning around and meeting her eyes. "You make a break for the ship and I'll make sure no one sees you, okay?"

Cinder nodded her head enthusiastically before standing up from her crouched position and checking the brick road she had to cross for any patrolling guards and not seeing any. Once she took in a deep breath to calm her frenzied nerves, she sprinted as fast as she could towards the massive ship that sat docked and ready for the taking at the port.

Before she noticed something wrong… _Very very wrong._

Cinder spotted multiple torches flaring seemingly out of nowhere in the dead of night to her left. Before she could even process what was happening however she felt her arms be grabbed behind her and held tightly.

"W- What? Unhand me you-" Cinder squealed as she attempted to jerk herself free from whoever was holding her still.

"Forgive me my Lady… I had to."

Cinder froze at the voice and jerked her head to the side in an attempt to make sure it was who she thought it was and let out a gasp at the realization.

"R- Roman… W- Why?" Cinder asked, her voice taking on a high pitched tone never before heard.

Before Roman could even explain himself, a new voice boomed out from the shadows gaining the attention of both Cinder and Roman.

"Ah, Sergeant Torchwick; it seems as if you were in fact correct. I once again thank you for informing me of my daughter's plan to run away."

Cinder felt her heart sink at the voice and let her head sag as she looked at the ground, crestfallen. It was her mother…

"O- Of course my Queen." Roman replied back.

"Now bring her here; she _will_ be punished for her actions this time." Queen-Admiral Glynda hissed towards the two.

Even though Cinder wasn't looking towards her mother she could hear the venom in the woman's words. Her mom had a much worse temper than her father, but _hearing_ her speak like this was unsettling to the Princess. She never heard her speak in such an angry tone. Cinder now felt the full weight of the consequences of what she had tried to do. She knew her mother would punish her severely now.

But still… Roman.

In one last attempt to look at her _supposed_ friend, Cinder already felt the burning sensation of tears pooling in her amber eyes. She always made it a point to never cry in front of others; always saving her true emotions until she was alone in her room. But she couldn't help it now. She'd never felt so _betrayed._

"Roman… W- Why?" Cinder asked, her voice raising in octaves and sounding pleading. As she kept trying to look at Roman in his green eyes as he shuffled her forward towards where her mother and about a dozen guardsmen stood, the man would not meet her gaze. If it was from guilt or whatever, Cinder didn't know.

"Roman… You… you were my only real friend." Cinder cried out openly now, her tears flowing freely as she noticed Roman's face twist at the hearing of that.

"Remember all those things we talked about once we had our own ship? We'd sail the seas and start our own crew!" Cinder continued as she noticed Roman start to slow in his movements and pushing her forward. "W- We were going t- to be the best crew the w- world had ever seen! We'd g- get to sail and see a- all the places we've only r- read and spoken about! Together!" Cinder cried out.

She had never felt so helpless. She felt lower than trash. She and Roman had put so much effort into this plan to escape this privileged life that they both didn't want, but she realized it was all a ploy. She was doomed to live the life she didn't want to. She had lost the only friend that she knew in the process as well.

"It was all a lie? Y- You really weren't… my f- friend?" The Princess asked between choked sobs.

She continued to try to watch Roman's face through her tears as the man's stoic facial expression cracked under her eyes and he let out a heavy sigh before shutting his eyes and stop walking.

"Well… Come on then Sergeant. Or should I be calling you Lieutenant now?" Glynda asked in a slightly irritated voice as she crossed her arms and started tapping her foot as Roman opened his eyes and looked at her bewildered.

Glynda smirked then and continued. "That's right, you bring my daughter to me right now as we agreed and you'll find yourself promoted."

Cinder blanched at how her mother could even suggest something like that, but as she looked into Roman's eyes she could see the man decide on something in his mind. It was then that he finally met Cinder's eyes with his own and flashed a small grin at her.

"We're going to Vacuo first." He whispered.

Cinder felt her eyes widen at his comment and she broke out into a wide smile. She felt his grip loosen around her arms a second later.

"Make a break for it as soon as I give you the signal, I'll be right behind you." He muttered into her ear.

Cinder didn't trust her voice in that moment as she only nodded a bit before turning her face towards her mother's scowl. She could tell she was getting angry with how long Roman was taking as she pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose.

"Well? Get a move on, Sergeant!" Gylnda hollered, as she started to lose all airs of self-control and raised her voice.

"Don't talk to him like that mother!" Cinder growled towards the blonde woman. It was no secret that Cinder and her mother; Glynda didn't get along very well. The two were always butting heads and disagreeing on countless things. Cinder knew she'd miss her the least out of everyone.

"Child, you dare?" The Queen uttered in a challenging tone, her scowl turning into a predatorial grin.

The expression caused Cinder's heart to beat faster as she felt a shiver travel down her spine. She knew she was pushing her luck. No… She already had pushed it. As much as she disliked her mother, she was in fact terrified of her.

But luckily for Cinder she knew she didn't have to face the wrath of Queen Gylnda alone as Roman fully let go of her arms and shoved her away; towards the boat.

"Go! Now, my Lady!" Roman hollered as he drew his weapon and pointed it towards the Queen and her escort who then also unsheathed their own blades.

Cinder stood for a second, dumbfounded as she watched the event unfold before her very eyes but another shout from Roman got her to refocus as she ran towards the docked ship.

Never before have her legs felt so weighed down, her chest ache as bad, and her heart pound so hard. But she pushed on as she sprinted as fast as she could and unsheathed her long and slender cutlass; cutting the ropes that were holding the ship to stay docked before climbing the ropes up to the deck.

As she climbed, Cinder risked a glance back towards where Roman and her mother were and felt herself almost freeze mid-climb at the sight.

Roman and her mother's guardsmen were locked in a deadly clash of steel. Cinder could already spot about three bodies on the ground as they lay lifeless as Roman displayed his superior swordsmanship and held the attackers off singlehandedly.

It was then that Cinder realized just how real of a situation they were currently in. Not just for herself but for Roman as well. She had been so selfish this whole time, never taking into consideration how much her friend had to lose. Even if they failed right now she'd only be punished verbally and maybe grounded from any form of contact or freedom; but she'd still be a Princess…

Roman on the other hand would be whipped, lashed, and hung for his betrayal to the crown. His body would be paraded through the streets as a broken and bloodied corpse as he would be spit on and ridiculed. His name would be shamed for all eternity for his mutiny and betrayal to the crown. He had much more to lose Cinder finally realized; but still… He continued to help her. Even against all these staggering odds. He was the one risking his life for _her _dream.

Not her.

Cinder felt herself start to cry again as she quickly got on deck and unfurled the sails. She ran around the vessel getting ready to sail off as fast as she could. She felt herself start to sweat as her body ached from the hard labor it wasn't used to doing. But as seconds turned to minutes, she was finally ready as she looked over the railing back towards where Roman was but didn't spot anything except unmoving bodies.

She felt a cold chill then as she thought that Roman had indeed paid the ultimate price and was killed for his actions… Until she heard a gruff and pain stricken voice sound out below her.

"As much as I like the view from down here, can you help me up my Lady?"

Cinder looked down and spotted the orange haired man coated in blood as she quickly felt herself blush as she noticed that Roman had a very open sight to look up her dress. She glowered at him before pulling him up off the rope and quickly turned on her heel in an attempt to hide her blush from him and to hurry and get ready to set sail.

"Quickly, Roman man the wheel! I'll make sure we're ready to set sail and leave this place once and for all!" Cinder yelped out happily.

She felt her heart beat even faster as she realized that this was it. She was now finally free from her predetermined destiny and now free to live out the rest of her life how she wanted to! All they had to do was undock and-

"I- um… My L- Lady…" Roman coughed out, causing Cinder to turn around and just spot him slide onto the wooden floorboards of the deck with his back leaning against the wall. It was then that she noticed _something_ missing from his body and felt the night's contents in her stomach make its way up as she felt herself about to throw up.

"I- I may need some help getting to the w- wheel…" Roman sputtered out as he still held his trademark sly grin while trying to keep his face from contorting in pain.

Roman Torchwick's left leg was hanging limp just below his knee, cut off halfway.

How the man had even managed to make it up the ship from his battle after losing a leg… Cinder had no idea but she had never seen so much blood before… It was pouring out of his open wound as it stained the floor. Cinder swallowed her fear in that moment and decided to finally steel herself and help her friend.

If Roman was willing to lose his leg so she could see her dream, by Gods Cinder was going to help and take care of him right now in this moment.

"W- What do I do?!" Cinder asked as she attempted to calm herself but failed, feeling panic take hold of her voice.

Roman reached his arms out towards her and she quickly grabbed them as she helped him up. He leaned himself on her as he chuckled out, wrapping an arm around her shoulder for support.

"Just take me to the wheel and we'll be on our way. We got to hurry though… Reinforcements are bound to be on their way here." He foretold grimly. "Your mother… She's quite the swordswoman. She ran off to spread the word of tonight's events."

Cinder quickly helped him towards the wheel which he took hold of shakily. She attempted to wrap his wound by ripping off a piece of her dress but he shrugged her away.

"Don't worry about me; make sure we're good to set off. It's now or never." He gasped out.

Cinder could tell the man was in severe pain but was pushing on for her sake. They both knew they couldn't afford to waste any time right now or else they'd be caught. Cinder didn't have to like it but Roman was right. She would defer to his orders as she went off to make sure everything was ready to go…

The beginning of their new adventure would begin that night… They'd set off to make their own names for themselves as they stole the Kingdom of Vale's flagship…

_The Queen's Vessel._


	9. Instinct

**A/N: I won't lie, my artistic spark has worn out. I am currently on hiatus but I did have a lot of this chapter typed out. Instead of continuing with what I had planned I opted to hold off on it until I pick it up again. So the next major thing will happen next chapter, sorry. Also this story is no longer updated weekly due to life and will be updated randomly from now on. Sorry in advance.**

* * *

"Whoa." Was all that came to mind as Yang stared dumbly at the Captain.

Cinder had finished telling her story for about ten minutes now but still no one had uttered a word until now. Yang slowly turned her head towards her left at Ruby. Curiously her sister didn't look very surprised. Her face looked oddly indifferent but also a little relieved. Turning towards her right and at the other room's occupants the blonde spotted what she had expected.

Mouths agape, eyes fixated with looks of disbelief, and genuine surprise. She turned her eyes back at Cinder and couldn't help but be a little skeptical.

"_Are you being sarcastic?"_ Yang asked in a curious tone of voice.

She watched the woman's amber eyes roll at the question so the blonde just shrugged her shoulders. If their Captain was some sort of noble or royalty or whatever that didn't really matter now, would it?

The room fell into a silence once more with everyone seemingly falling into their own deep thoughts at what was just said. Yang turned to look at her sister as the girl glanced back at her. Nothing was spoken but the blonde could see her sister was conflicted about something. Her face was scrunched up in concern; which Yang figured had to do with what Cinder had just said.

_Was it possible that little Ruby was falling for the now ex-Princess turned pirate Captain?_

Thinking that caused the loud blonde to start to smirk and even about to tease her younger sister but a sudden loud thud sounding outside the room caused her head to snap towards the door; as well as everyone else's.

"What was that?"

Cinder stood up from her seat abruptly as Roman quickly made his way towards the cabin door and swung it open and hobbled outside onto the deck.

At this point everyone in the room also got up and poured out into the sunny exterior of the room and onto the deck of the vessel. All heads turned around to look in every direction before Cinder spoke up.

"I forgot to mention that Princess Weiss is in fact on this very same island at the moment."

Once Yang heard her, only one distinct figure stood out in her mind… That same girl she had spotted while with Neo earlier. The one with the white hair and the guardsmen. Could it have been the same girl?

"For that reason we aren't staying in Atlas for long… In fact we're going to set sail tonight, under the cover of darkness." Cinder announced.

"Roman, are most of our wares sold off?" She then asked to which the orange haired former bodyguard nodded his head.

"Yeah, most are. We still have a few things left but we should have no problems selling them on another continent if we're in a rush." He replied back.

Cinder nodded her head as she began to walk towards her room. She couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. It almost felt like something bad was about to happen… Seeing Weiss again brought back some pretty powerful memories about her past; and then having to explain how she's come to even be here now… Sometimes she wondered how her life would have been if she just abided by her parents' wishes.

"I'm retreating to my quarters for now. Once night is upon us, Roman set us off towards the Grimm Islands." Cinder ordered as she stepped into her room and about to shut the door before she made eye contact with the short crimson haired and silver eyed girl, Ruby.

Cinder seemed to beckon the younger girl with her amber eyes before shutting the door closed because in that moment Ruby sighed and looked towards her sister Yang. Except when she turned around to ask Yang something, she noticed that the head of blonde hair have gravitated towards the short navigator who was smiling at her approach.

Ruby felt herself smile a bit; it was almost like the two of them were… _wait, no way!_

_Were Yang and Neo…?_

Ruby shook her head at the thoughts and felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks. She promptly turned around and faced the now closed doors of Cinder's quarters and exhaled. She felt guilty for how she was acting earlier but she hated being lied to. It was one thing that set her off more than anything. Although technically Cinder hadn't really lied to her per se but not telling the whole truth was almost as bad when it was something that important.

It wasn't like she _wanted_ to talk to Cinder now… Plus Ruby knew she had to go back into Cinder's room anyway. Just the thought of the times where she had previously gone in willingly… It caused the small girl to shudder at the past nightmares. She knew the second she'd step inside the woman's room that she'd be assaulted with hugs and wet kisses. It was nothing like the ones from Cookie Monster.

Drawing in a long breath to steel herself from her nerves, Ruby continued walking towards the doors. Grasping the cool metal of the handle, the girl knew that Cinder wouldn't do the usual things today. The woman seemed pretty distant from her usual demeanor; so much so that Ruby actually wanted to talk to her and apologize a bit. And the main reason she was entering Cinder's lair was to get the box of metal so she could get started on Yang's surprise weapons she'd craft for her.

Putting on an indifferent look on her face, Ruby pushed open the door to Cinder's chambers and stepped inside…

* * *

"All I'm saying is that sword _maaaaybe_ a _little_ too big for ya to handle, Neo."

Yang leaned against the railing on the ship next to the much smaller navigator as the girl flashed her a cocky grin and shook her head no.

Sighing exasperatedly to herself, Yang decided to take a much different and riskier approach to get the short girl to give up the weapon she knew she wanted so badly. The little jerk knew she wanted it and went ahead and bought it for herself. Although for some reason; Yang couldn't bring herself to get angry at her.

In a way… It was sort of cute.

"Okay Neo, how about this?" Yang asked with a competitive edge to her voice.

She watched Neo's smirk fade and the girl's mismatched eyes regarded her curiously.

"We wrestle for it!" Yang half shouted with a smug look on her face.

Although she looked confident on the outside, the blonde was anything but on the inside. She knew she was pushing the boundaries a bit but… the thought of wrestling with the little girl sounded strangely… nice.

Holding her breath in as she watched Neo's curious gaze turn into one of apprehension at her comment. The blonde hoped the girl would go for it; she knew Neo wouldn't back down from a challenge but maybe she was being too forward. It wasn't exactly a subtle suggestion at wanting an excuse at touching her.

But it seemed the nervous thoughts of Neo refusing her offer were for naught. Yang watched the miniature girl adopt her trademark smug smirk and start to take the sword off her back in anticipation for their duel.

Yang almost squealed with happiness at seeing Neo take up her offer. She quickly tied her long golden mane into a loose ponytail and rolled her sleeves up. Shuffling over towards the widest part of the ship, Yang start stretching her body. Wrestling with Neo should be easy were the first thoughts on her mind. That was until she spotted Neo take off her coat and spotted the girl's toned abs and arms.

Now Yang wasn't slacking in the muscular department either but when she saw Neo's body then and there she knew it wouldn't be as easy as she initially thought. It seemed as if the thought showed on her face as well because the blonde watched the little multicolored girl cockily goad her on as she too joined her in the middle of the ship.

Yang felt herself getting excited at the thought of battle… and at the thought of maybe getting to score a lucky feel on the girl; but mostly at the challenge.

Quickly finishing cracking her back, she tried to rile the much smaller girl on. "You know you _could_ just give me the sword. It'd be easier… and plus I wouldn't have to embarrass you in front of the crew."

Looking around now, Yang did in fact notice that the two of them had drawn the attention of the twins as well as Emerald and Mercury. So they did have a little crowd so to speak.

Glancing back towards the smaller girl however, Yang stumbled backwards at the sight of the small navigator already breaking in a dead sprint towards her. Quickly righting herself, Yang prepared her body to collide with Neo who seemed dead set on tackling her. Smirking at the severe disadvantage that would prove to hold the outcome in her favor; Yang held her ground and stared right back into the pink and brown eyes of the girl.

But right as Neo was about to collide with her, the small girl tucked and rolled right between Yang's legs. The blonde; caught off balance by the odd move tried to turn around and grab the girl, but was much too late.

In no time at all, Neo already righted herself up and hopped out of Yang's reach before side stepping and kicking her legs out from under her.

"Fuc-!"

With her back hitting the hardwood floor of the deck, the blonde desperately tried to sit up and get back on her feet, but a flash of pink appeared in her vision as she felt her arm be violently pulled away from the ground. In a painful burst of agony; the brawler already knew what had happened but could scarcely believe it. In a matter of no time at all she had been bested by Neo.

Feeling the girl continue pulling on her arm without mercy, Yang quickly tapped the floor with her free hand in a show of defeat.

"A- Alright alright, I give!" She pleaded begrudgingly.

She felt the sudden pain extinguish as she regained control of her arm and felt the weight of the girl vanish from on top of her.

"Wow… That was just… wow." She heard Emerald mutter under her breath.

Feeling a warm blush spread slowly across her face, Yang let a humorless smile show as she grabbed a hold of Neo's extended hand. She let the small girl lift her up with a surprising amount of strength; a mistake she wouldn't make twice. Never judge a book by its cover, something she had learned when she was little.

Brushing herself off and quickly putting her jacket back on, Neo stole a few smug glances towards Yang, and the blonde could have sworn she saw something click in the shorter girl's head. It was only when Yang herself started getting dressed that she felt a slender hand on her shoulder; halting her movements.

"Yeah?" She asked, slowly turning towards the girl who still wore her cocky grin.

But of course instead of answering with words; Yang felt a twinge of fear pass through her as she followed Neo's eyes towards a corner of the ship. Right where Yang had dropped the clothes that the girl had bought for her.

Slowly putting two and two together, the blonde sighed and voiced her concern to the Navigator. "I- I'm guessing that I have to wear that… now?"

She flicked her eyes back towards Neo as the girl happily nodded her head.

Groaning to herself, she finally allowed herself to stand and slowly shuffle forward towards the dreaded outfit that Neo had purchased for her. Yang even felt a light slap on her behind from the shorter girl as a gesture to get her to get a move on.

Blushing even harder from the slap though, Yang felt oddly motivated afterwards. She grabbed the gear in her hand and in a slow jog, moved towards the underbelly of the ship to get dressed.

As she descended the stairs however, she cast one final glance towards the wildly grinning short girl who remained on the deck with her arms crossed expectantly.

"Well… I _did_ need some new clothes." Yang uttered to herself as she continued bounding down the stairs and out of sight from Neo. "Beggars can't be choosers."


	10. Destinations

**A/N: Only like a year late in updating lol. But yeah, decided to put out a chapter again, though I quite honestly forgot what I was doing with this story. It's like a brand new story to me again!**

**As most of you know, I've been working on my main story "Winds of War". So I'm sorry for the no updates to this one lol.**

**Anyways... Enjoy this short chapter! :)**

* * *

Time had passed a lot more quickly than Yang had imagined. Since she and the rest of the crew weren't allowed to leave the vessel in case of being spotted by Princess Schnee, she just spent her time aimlessly walking around the ship in her new outfit. Though Neo had forced her to wear it, it wasn't too bad, and plus she _did_ want to dress the part of being a full-fledged pirate now.

Leaning against the railing of the ship, Yang continued to watch the shrinking lights of Atlas as the ship sailed towards their new destination.

The Grimm Islands.

Yang had heard of the place before, though they were only rumors. During her travels with Ruby, sometimes they'd hear wild stories stemming from the Islands. Things about how it was a haunted place filled with monsters and demons. Others about how it was a treasure trove that was guarded by sirens and mermaids who would seduce any crew who got too close and whisk them away for none to see ever again.

It all sounded like made up children's tales to her, but she was still curious as to what the Grimm Islands really were. And also slight nervous. It wasn't very calming to know that this was the next place she was heading to if all she had heard about it were spooky myths.

She contemplated asking Neo about it, but threw that idea out of the window. She wasn't sure what she'd expect from asking her as the girl didn't speak, but Yang wouldn't mind spending some time with the girl again. She _did_ in fact want a rematch, but her arm was still a little sore. She sure wasn't expecting small and cuddly Neo to be that tough.

_Can't judge a book by its cover._

But just as she contemplated who to ask, Yang heard the odd telltale signs of Roman walking near her. The man's wooden footfalls a dead giveaway in that regard.

Turning to look towards the noise, Yang spotted the older orange haired man and gave him a wave.

"Hey, Roman!" She called out to which he eyed her curiously before hobbling over to where she stood.

"What's on your mind, Blondie?" He asked, still keeping his earlier refined accent from his previous life. He sounded like a whole different person to Yang but she ignored it for now, she wanted answers.

Meeting the man's gaze with her own, she prepared herself for a long story.

"So what's with the Grimm Islands really?" She asked. "Are the rumors true?"

She watched Roman's face lighten up before he broke out into a slight chuckle. "The rumors? What rumors?" He countered before bursting out into a real laugh. "Don't tell me that you believed those children's tales, Blondie?"

Yang only pouted at the man. What else did she have to go on? She'd never been there before!

Waiting for the man to stop laughing at her, Yang continued to stare out at sea as they sailed. But finally as if though realizing that he had poked fun at her enough, Roman came back to his senses.

"Alright alright. I'll tell you about to infamous Grimm Islands." He said while wiping a tear from his eye. "Though it's really nothing special."

Yang finally turned to look at the man and listened as he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"It's been a few months since we've been there, but the Grimm islands are a pirate's den if you will." He explained. "Think of it as the one place in the world where all of the most vile and wretched people gather to drink, kill, and relax."

Though to Yang, that didn't sound like any normal vacation spot she'd ever want to visit. Having to watch your back constantly while being surrounded by people who wouldn't blink twice at killing or robbing you. Though she could understand why pirates and the like would flock to a place like that.

"Well, what's the incentive in going there?" She asked honestly towards the orange haired man.

Roman stared at her as if not quite understanding the question.

"What do you mean? It's a haven for the scum of Remnant! No rules, no taxes, no nothin'. Except violence and all the stolen booze you can drink of course."

Now her interest was a little bit peaked.

"Booze…?" Yang squeaked out.

It's been quite some time since she'd had a proper drink. And now since she was… a pirate… as odd as it was to still realize that now, she should be drinking! That's what she knew about pirates! They drink, be free, and rob to their heart's content!

"Yes, booze. As much as you can drink." Roman reiterated. "Though I don't recommend getting piss poor drunk there. Someone will swindle your coin right out from under you, lots of thieves there at the Grimm Islands.

Yang nodded at the warning though. She didn't like drinking alone anyway. But then her attention turned to what Roman had uttered earlier, about him not being there in a few months.

"You and Cinder both have been there before, right?" She asked to which Roman only nodded and turned to watch Mercury as the boy started furling the sails.

"How does Captain Cinder like the Grimm Islands?"

Yang watched the man break out into a genuine smile before he answered though.

"Oh, she loves it." He answered after a moment. "I've never seen her so happy, besides being with Ruby. It's the complete opposite of how she grew up; it's really how she was meant to live."

Yang broke into her own smile at the words. She noticed that any time Roman spoke about Cinder that he would sound very much different than how he usually did. The blonde could tell that the man still considered himself her guardian, even after all the years since their fleeing from Vale.

"She has quite the reputation there as well." Roman continued. "She's gained the respect of most others who frequent that hellhole, but there's one crew who we don't associate with."

"Oh? And who's that?" The blonde asked, listening intently. She knew any enemy of Cinder's would ultimately mean they would be her enemy as well.

"Remember when you first met us? Down in that shithole of a brig?"

Yang only nodded her head. There was no way that she'd forget that moment.

"Cinder said that we don't deal in slave trading; which we never have… really. But as you might expect, there's tons of other pirates that do. One such pirate crew is even infamous for it."

Yang tilted forward ever so slightly as she awaited the reveal of this mysterious deadly crew.

"They're so vile and despicable that they even give normal pirates a bad name. The worst of the worst…"

Yang held her breath… any time now…

"They'd most likely gut you for even walking by them in the streets. These guys are the real deal. Under no circumstances should ya cross their path, Blondie."

Finally rolling her eyes at the man's over-the-top explanation, Yang sighed.

"Get on with it old man!" She burst out.

Roman only eyed her for a moment before smirking.

"They go by the White Fang…" He uttered ominously. "Led by the vicious Captain Blake Belladonna."

* * *

Piercing ice blue eyes regarded the man in front of her angrily. But she wasn't entirely mad, no; she didn't fall to baser instincts like that anymore.

In fact, you could even go as far as to say that she was in fact happy.

"Explain to me one more time." She demanded, her voice sweet to her own ears.

She watched her guardsman swallow nervously before bowing to her once more.

"A- As you will, my lady." He started. "I followed the two… cretins as you ordered. They boarded a large and splendid docked warship before disappearing into a room. I snuck onto the vessel as quickly and quietly as I could and followed them. The entire crew seemed to be packed into one room as I peered through the windows… before spotting… her."

Feeling her heart quicken once again, the girl only allowed herself to smirk.

"And you're certain that it was her?" She asked. "Because you should know… that I do not tolerate mistakes."

She watched the man nod his head, his face betraying how in fact how terrified he was of her.

"I- I am one hundred percent sure, my lady. It was her. She looks just as I remembered!"

Finally leaning back in her elegantly cushioned chair aboard her own private sanctioned vessel, Lady Weiss Schnee broke into a blissful smile.

Two years… It had been two years since she lost her dear Princess Cinder. But after countless searching, torture, bribery, and other underhanded tactics, she had finally located her. Her wife to be, her love, her… everything.

"Very well. Inform the Captain that we will continue tailing them to their next destination." She ordered to the still bowing man. "Do not let them spot us."

"Y- Yes my lady!" He answered as he quickly left her chambers without another word.

Alone now, Weiss Schnee let out a quiet laugh. Oh how close she was to her dear old Cinder once again. She wouldn't scare her this time though, she knew how skittish her little flower was.

"But don't you worry my love, when we're finally together again… You'll never have a chance to be out of my sight."

She couldn't wait to inform Cinder's parents that their wedding was still going to take place. One way or another…


End file.
