RWBYKNIGHTS 2.0: Volume 1

Chapter 9: Stories

Yelena woke up early that dawn with Blake sleeping beside her. There barely was any light seeping through the huge curtains that covered equally huge windows, and from the looks of it, nobody else seemed awake at that moment, some resting in groups, while others, just like her, sleeping alone by the sidelines.

For would-be huntsmen, which she still compared to mercenaries, it was surprising that they weren't awake by this time. She recalled the many times her father had to wake her up in the middle of the night, following him and his squad of shieldmen as their locations would be discovered by the Ursine military. Then again, her original world was far different than where she was right now, and it seemed like this was simply a moment of respite before the trials to come.

Having no thoughts on returning to her slumber, Yelena quietly stood, once more scanning the room from a higher elevation. She could see the two sisters, Yang and Ruby, in a somewhat tight embrace, and Jaune not too far away from the siblings... who had fallen off his mattress. Yet, aside from the few whom she had already met, there were some other details that she had noticed. Quite a few mattresses remained empty, their blankets either left messy, or neatly folded.

It was evident that there were others who had awakened before her, and the idea that brought the image of a diligent mercenary back into her mind.

Walking out of the room and outside, she felt the cool morning winds graze upon her, the silence reminding her of the cold nights she had around a campfire, and surrounding her where her father's men silently worked on their tasks. Soon enough, however, the peace of her loneliness was quickly dashed as she eyed a figure in the distance, sitting still as she held a pen on one hand, and a book on another.

It was the girl that saved Jaune from yesterday, having retained her red nightgown, she was completely invested in the pocketbook by her hand, writing on it.

"Ah, hello!" Before Yelena could contemplate leaving the girl alone, the latter noticed the white rabbit's presence and beckoned her to come closer.

"I'm surprised there are others who are awake by this time." Yelena simply commented as she stood beside the girl in red.

"I used to wake up early to do my morning exercises. Though I doubt I could while wearing these. And you?"

"I simply wake up early." Yelena nodded as she turned to view the sun rising at the horizon, the sky turning from darkness to a hint of greyish blue.

"Thanks for saving Jaune yesterday. Though you kinda stole my thunder by doing so..." Yelena joked, with the girl simply chuckling at the remark.

"If you wanted to save him, maybe you should have stopped Cardin beforehand?" The girl simply followed up, not annoyed by Yelena's choice to not interfere, but more out of curiosity.

"I simply wanted to see the cards he would lay down, and why he bothered to 'save' me in the first place..." The girl explained, with the others nodding in partial agreement.

"But that was still a bad idea leaving him like that."

"Frankly speaking, I thought Beacon was meant for the likes of you and Cardin, in terms of skill, he... barely was able to wield his sword." Yelena was right. No matter the wrong she had done by not helping the boy, all the blame rested on his actions, or, the lack of it.

"Each of us has our own story to tell. While that Jaune fellow does lack the skill, he still is here, meaning Headmaster Ozpin let him in, or some other member of the faculty. There are other ways to enter after all."

"I guess so..." The girl's words reminded Yelena back to her talk with Ozpin, how, by all means, she should not be here, but is. Maybe Ozpin indeed had some plans for a boy like Jaune, but for now, Yelena would just have to wait.