A Song of Ice and Fire Cut Short by Dust (RWBY in Westeros)

[ATP]

Nope, it's confirmed multiple times by the author, over on spacebattle, that you can't awaken your aura on Westeros. You can, however, do so if you go to remnant.

Click to shrink...

Thanks! it is good,Aura on Westeros would change too much.
P.S Merry Easter !

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 20: The Investigation

'Much has been written about the assassination of King Robert Baratheon, both by contemporary authors as well as historians. Some works were clearly fictional, such as the various writings that claimed that this was a punishment by the Gods for a sinful life, penned centuries later during the Schism to support the reforms championed by the High Septon of the time. And amongst the slightly more factual reports, most focus not on the details of the actual assassination but its consequences. It is, therefore, quite obvious that this event has to be covered in a thorough manner lest popular myths keep being perpetuated by popular but mistaken assumptions. First, as unbelievable it might seem for the discerning student of history, one has to clearly state that the King's death is a fact - the myth that the King had faked his death with the help of the Ruby Order to spend the rest of his life as a sellsword in Essos was started decades later by a merchant in Pentos who claimed to be a descendant of the King and would have faded in the mists of history if not for a play based on the story that gained unexpected popularity and spawned several novels and other adaptions in Westeros.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"You killed him!"

Pycelle froze as the sharp, shrill yelling cut through the hall, silencing the crowd for a brief moment. That was the Queen! He took a deep breath, ready to defend himself - there had been nothing he could have done! He was the Grand Maester, treating the King was his responsibility, but he couldn't work miracles! - when he noticed that the Queen wasn't accusing him.

His relief vanished at once, though, when he realised that she was pointing at Lady Yang. Oh, no!

"What? No!" Lady Ruby blurted out. "Yang tried to save him!"

"The blessings of the Seven were rejected!" some fool yelled in the back of the crowd.

"No! He was coughing, but alive, then you touched him and killed him with your witchcraft!" the Queen spat. "Guards! Arrest her!"

Pycelle gasped again. She must have lost her wits! Some women lost their minds at the death of their husbands. But the Queen had loathed the King…

No one moved. He wasn't surprised - The Battle of the Maidens was still fresh in everyone's memory. And no one would have forgotten the execution of Ser Gregor Clegane either.

"I gave you an order! Arrest her for murdering the King!"

"You can't!"

"They're the Blessed Maidens!"

Lady Yang slowly rose from where she had knelt next to the king, head still bowed, face hidden by her blonde mane. "What did you say?" she whispered in the sudden silence.

"Yang…" Lady Ruby whispered.

"What did you say?" Lady Yang repeated, louder, turning to face the Queen.

Pycelle flinched. Her eyes were glittering with tears - but her hair was starting to shine.

The Queen flinched as well, Pycelle saw her throat move as she swallowed, but then she raised her chin, a familiar mask of arrogance and disdain appearing on her face.

No!

The Queen opened her mouth, drawing breath for an - undoubtedly - repeat of her accusation, but before she could utter a single word, Lady Yang started walking towards her, and for the third time this evening, Pycelle felt his stomach sink.

Lady Yang's hair was burning. Her eyes had turned red - and her tears had turned to steam.

"What. Did. You. Say?" she slowly spoke as she approached the Queen.

The crowd nearby fell back, panic visible on many faces, leaving the Queen standing alone in the face of this advance. Even her ladies-in-waiting had fallen back.

But the Queen stood her ground. She was afraid - Pycelle caught how she clenched her fists so tightly, the knuckles of her hands were turning white, and how her facial muscles twitched as she clenched her teeth. But she didn't move a single step back. Too proud. Too damn proud. Or too stupid.

Once more, the Queen opened her mouth, and once again, Lady Yang, trembling with anger, literally burning with rage - Pycelle could feel the heat - cut her off. "I did everything I could to save the King. I shared my soul with him. And you dare to accuse me of having killed him? You damn stupid…"

"YANG! NO!" Lady Ruby appeared between them, facing her sister - who had pulled her burning fist back.

"Ruby…" Lady Yang spoke through clenched teeth.

"No!" Lady Ruby shook her head, arms spread, shielding the Queen with her own body. "Please!"

For a moment, Pycelle feared that Lady Yang would push her sister away and strike the Queen down. She didn't waver, didn't react.

But then she closed her eyes, her arm fell down at her side, and she all but fell into Lady Ruby's arms.

Her lips moved, but Pycelle couldn't hear what she was saying, only Lady Ruby's response.

"I know, Yang. I know."

Then Lady Blake was there, helping Lady Yang as well, and Lady Weiss stepped up to glare at the Queen before addressing her ladies-in-waiting. "The Queen is obviously mad with grief at the King's death. Take her to her chambers so she won't embarrass herself in public!"

Pycelle wasn't surprised that the noblewomen obeyed, surging to surround the Queen. He was surprised that the Queen let herself be led away, though. Maybe she had realised how close to death she had just come? Ser Jaime followed her as well, officially to guard her, but Pycelle assumed that he would attempt to calm down his sister.

"Father…"

Pycelle whipped his head around. Prince Joffrey was staring at the King, the crowd having parted for him as well. He was trembling, taking hesitant steps - smearing the blood the King had spewed in his last moments - as he approached his father's body.

"What happened?"

Lord Eddard stepped up to him. "My prince… It was poison. Lady Yang tried to save him, but…"

"It didn't work," Lady Ruby cut in. Lady Yang had collapsed, it seemed, held up by Lady Blake as her sister walked over to the prince. "She tried her best, exhausted herself, but…" She shook her head, tears glittering in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." She hesitantly reached out to touch the prince's shoulder.

The prince swallowed, shivering, then straightened, taking deep breaths and blinking. "I see." He swallowed again. "I see," he repeated himself, his eyes fixed on the corpse.

"My Prince…" Lord Eddard trailed off, looking around. Most avoided his gaze, Pycelle noticed, until he looked at Sandor Clegane. "Take him to his quarters. This isn't a sight for a boy."

Clegane approached, but the Prince raised his chin, eerily similar to his mother's manner, and said: "I am not a boy any more - I'm the King."

His eyes still hadn't left the corpse, and he hadn't noticed that he was standing in a pool of his blood.

Clegane stopped, and Lord Eddard looked confused for a moment before turning to the crowd. "Clear the hall! This is unseemly!"

The crowd seemed unwilling to move, but the order had prompted the Kingsguard into action - late, but welcome - and none were willing to stand up to them.

Soon, the only ones left in the entire hall, except for the Kingsguard, were the Prince, Lord Eddard, Team Ruby - although Lady Yang was held in Lady Blake's arms, unconscious or asleep - Lord Stannis, Lord Renly, Varys, Lord Baelish, Prince Oberyn, Lord Tyrion and Pycelle himself. And the Red Priestess.

And when everyone looked at him, Pycelle couldn't help but wish he had taken his meal in his own quarters today. They were clearly expecting answers, and he only had speculation to give.

And a letter to write to inform Lord Tywin about the proceedings, he reminded himself.

But first… He took a deep breath and addressed Prince Oberyn. "Do you recognise the poison, my prince?"

Prince Oberyn shook his head and knelt down next to a pool of blood, using a dagger to pick at a bloody piece of what Pycelle was sure was lung tissue. "I've never seen this before. I know poisons that will lead to your stomach and bowels filling with blood, but coughing out your lungs?"

Pycelle nodded. He hadn't heard of such a poison either. But… "I've heard that some of the men dying while trying to loot Old Valyria suffered the same fate. Or perhaps some of the fools trying to explore the jungles of Sothoryos."

"Poisonous vapours?" Prince Oberyn speculated.

"How would it have affected the King, but no one else?" Pycelle asked. "I would suspect a disease, but it acted far too quickly for that. Although there is another possibility…" He pressed his lips together as he trailed off.

Prince Oberyn nodded. "Magic."

Pycelle clenched his teeth. As much as it galled him, he would have to ask Marwyn for help. Unless… He glanced at the priestess. He wasn't the only one, either.

But the woman remained cool and unfazed. "If it was magic, it was no curse I am familiar with. But I would need to examine the body closely to determine that."

Pycelle wanted to groan, but that wouldn't be appropriate in the presence of a dead king. He'd have to work with Marvyn and Melisandre…

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Ruby Rose bit her lower lip while Blake put the sleeping (Just sleeping! Exhausted, but not hurt!) Yang gently down on their bed. She really wanted to talk, but they couldn't speak until Blake had checked for spies.

Blake put a pillow under Yang's head, covered her with a blanket, and finally checked the secret door and secret passage behind it, then nodded at Ruby and Weiss.

"The King's dead!" Ruby blurted out. "We couldn't save him!" Dead, so soon after meeting his son for the first time! Gendry had barley met his father and now lost him forever!

"Yang couldn't activate his Aura," Blake said with a tight nod. She was tense, but not about to bawl either.

"But she did everything right!" Ruby shook her head. Another family destroyed - Gendry had lost his mother years ago. She forced herself to focus on something else. She was the leader of Team RWBY, she couldn't start crying now. This was important! "I saw it - we all saw it. She pushed her Aura into him. And he was still breathing when she did it!"

"He could have been too far hurt to live," Blake said.

Ruby shook her head harder. "No! He should have… gotten better, at least a bit." Showed a reaction - twitched, at least!

"Yes," Weiss agreed. "There was no reaction at all. It seems people in Westeros cannot activate their Auras. That fits what we already suspected, since if they were capable of activating their Aura, someone should have managed by now. They certainly have had more than enough opportunities during their history." Weiss was cool and collected. Focused.

Just as Ruby had to be. Focus on her team and the situation. She nodded. This wasn't Yang's fault. She had done everything she could. The King had been beyond their help. Beyond anyone's help - the Grand Maester hadn't been able to do anything, hadn't even recognised the poison. And neither had Prince Oberyn. So… "Do you think it was a curse?"

"They're looking into this," Weiss replied.

She didn't sound optimistic, Ruby thought. Of course, none of them had any idea about magic, but the Grand Maester, who should know something (if only from working with Marwyn), hadn't looked confident. "How do we protect people against magic?"

"We can't," Weiss said.

Blake pressed her lips together and glanced at the still-sleeping Yang. "The only way that comes to mind is stopping whoever is using it."

But how would…? Oh. That's what she meant. "We don't know anything about magic; how would we find anyone planning to curse someone?"

"Or one of us?" Weiss shook her head, and Ruby could see that she was so angry, her jaw muscles twitched slightly. "We lack the means and knowledge to identify and stop such threats. We can only hope that our Aura will protect us."

Yeah. Ruby nodded. "I hope it was poison." They were protected - somewhat, at least - against that thanks to Blake and their Auras. Unless it was some super-special-ultra-deadly magic poison.

She glanced at Yang. Even normal poison would be dangerous if their Auras were depleted. Yang's wasn't completely depleted, but she would be vulnerable for a while yet.

Ruby pressed her lips together. "We can't exhaust ourselves in the future. We'd be too vulnerable."

"I agree," Weiss said, and Blake nodded. "But we have more things to worry about than magic curses or poison."

"Or magic poison," Ruby pointed out.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at her. "Thank you for adding yet another reason for having nightmares, Ruby."

Ruby winced and smiled weakly.

"Closing our eyes and ignoring the reality of our situation won't help us at all," Blake commented.

"I am aware of that," Weiss said with a frown. "However, while we shouldn't ignore the potential threat from magic, we can't do much about it, at least at the moment, and we are facing more pressing potential problems."

"What are those problems?" In Ruby's opinion, having the King - who had been their friend - murdered by poison, magic or magic poison in front of you while you couldn't do anything - Huntresses were meant to protect people! - was a pretty serious problem.

"The succession."

Ruby frowned. The succession? What…?

"You think that someone will contest Prince Joffrey's claim?" Blake asked.

Ah! But… "He's the crown prince," Ruby pointed out. That made him the next king. Unless they changed the rules, but who had the power to do that, except for the king?

"He's also a child," Weiss replied. "There will be a regent for the next few years. And while I assume the King wanted Lord Eddard to take the position, and should have left instructions to that effect, being both regent and future father-in-law of the prince would be seen as a very powerful position by any other noble houses."

"He's an honest man," Ruby said. Of all the nobles she had met, he was probably the only one who hadn't schemed or plotted. At least, she hadn't seen him do it.

Weiss snorted, but she didn't look or sound amused. "That will only make his rivals consider him either weak or an even more dangerous plotter."

Ruby would have asked if she wasn't projecting - the few stories about her family and home she had told hadn't been very nice - but… Ruby had met lots of nobles at court, and all of them had had some agenda, and most had an offer for her and her friends. Still… "Going against the prince and the regent would be treason."

"Exactly," Weiss said with a grim expression. "And if anyone is planning that, they will assume we will take sides. They will want to either persuade us to join them or get rid of us."

"But who would want to do that?" Ruby asked her. "You're the one who knows them best."

Weiss grimaced, another bad sign. "Anyone who is seriously trying to make a pass at the throne would have to break up the alliance centred on the royal family. Prince Joffrey is the grandson of Lord Tywin and engaged to Lady Sansa. That's three Houses - Baratheon, Lannister and Stark. And through Lady Catelyn, the Starks have ties to House Tully and Arryn."

That sounded difficult. Of course, Lord Tyrion and the Queen didn't get along, and they were siblings, but it was still a tall order. And that meant… "They will want to get us on their side."

"Yes," Weiss said.

Blake nodded.

More marriage proposals. Great.

At least, they could stop any coup by not joining anyone wanting to launch a coup. They couldn't save the King, but they could save his family. It wouldn't bring their friend back, but it was something.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

The King's death had shaken everyone up - the servants were whispering more than usual when they saw Team RWBY, Ruby noted, and the whole keep felt… subdued. Breakfast had been a quiet affair, with far fewer people in the hall than usual, and lunch had been the same. Which had been a good thing since there had been much less food than usual. And none of the cakes Ruby liked. Was everyone eating in their rooms? They didn't have kitchens there to cook!

She blinked. Oh, of course, the cooks wouldn't have much work until people knew if the King's food had been poisoned and who had done it! Especially nobles with lots of rivals! No wonder they had seen so few nobles eating today!

The Queen - was she Queen any more? The King was dead. - hadn't shown herself outside her chambers today. Ruby didn't think she was mad with grief - mad, for sure, though - but maybe she was afraid for her own safety; Blake had heard that Ser Jaime had stayed with her ever since they had left the hall, though that might… Ew! Ruby didn't want to think about the other reason Ser Jaime might be staying with his sister. Bleargh! And the children… they must be suffering. Ruby knew all about losing a parent. She could talk to them, help… No. The Queen would make a scene, and that would make everything worse.

She took a deep breath as they stepped out of the building. Like the hall, the courtyard was also almost empty. One man was working on a cart that had broken down, and a raven was watching, probably hoping it could steal something to eat from the food inside the cart. Silly bird! Ruby shook her head at it as they passed it.

She glanced at Yang as her team climbed the stairs leading to the Grand Maester's quarters. Yang wasn't exhausted any more, but she wasn't 'fine' no matter how often she claimed she was. Seeing the King die had been terrible, feeling him die while you poured your soul into him? That was much worse! She and Yang and the others would have a talk about it later.

"Ah, there you are!"

"Welcome, my ladies."

"Greetings, Lady Ruby."

"Ah! Are you feeling better, Lady Yang?"

Marwyn, the Grand Maester, that intense priestess and Prince Oberyn greeted them. They must have been working hard all day; the Maesters certainly looked tired, and Prince Oberyn looked not quite as handsome and elegant as he usually did. Lady - Priestess - Melisandre, though, looked as elegant as ever and not tired at all. With so many people and Team RWBY, the room was pretty crowded.

"So…" Ruby smiled hopefully. "You sent for us?" That would mean there was something Team RWBY could do. Something she could focus on.

"Yes, my lady." The Grand Maester nodded. "We have a few questions about… last evening."

Well, what else would they want to know? "Ask away!" she said.

"It's actually for Lady Yang," he went on.

"Shoot!" Yang told him with a wide but fake grin.

"You said you shared your soul with the King. What did you mean by that?" the Grand Maester asked.

Ah. They had expected that question.

"I tried to share my soul with him so he would resist the… whatever it was," Yang said. "But it didn't work. We think it only works in our world."

Ruby nodded.

"Oh." The Maesters exchanged glances.

"I told you it was magic! Soul magic!"

"That's not magic!"

"What else would you call it? Divine intervention?"

"Yes!"

They were arguing again! Ruby grimaced, cleared her throat, and when the two didn't react, spoke up: "So, did you find out what, ah, killed the King?"

"We found acid in the body's lungs," Oberyn said.

"But… how could acid get into his lungs?" Ruby blurted out. The King would have noticed that, wouldn't he?

Prince Oberyn grinned, flashing his teeth. "I believe it was created inside the King's lungs by combining two different substances, both of which were harmless by themselves."

"And I think that's mere speculation," the Grand Maester interrupted. "You said yourself that it was merely a concept that you'd heard about during your studies."

"It still is the best explanation for the fact that the King was the only victim - even though many ate and drank the same as he did, myself included," Prince Oberyn said with a smile. "In fact, I made a point of eating from the same dishes as the King."

"So you wouldn't be suspected should he be poisoned," Marwyn said.

"And so I would be able to detect poison."

"Well, that wasn't very successful, was it?"

Prince Oberyn nodded. "Alas, you are correct. Just as I am correct with my suspicion."

Ruby frowned - she didn't like that attitude.

"So, a binary poison killed the King?" Weiss spoke up.

"A binary poison?" Prince Oberyn cocked his head to the side.

"That's what we call what you described: a poison that is created shortly before deployment by mixing two harmless substances. It means it can be safely stored until it is used," she explained. "Though usually not inside the victim."

"Ah, yes. Depending on how long the substances could remain in a body before being expelled or rendered inert, the first substance could have been slipped into the King's drink days or even a week ago."

Ruby nodded. "Finding out what was poisoned by the culprit will be difficult."

"Lord Stannis and Lord Renly are personally interrogating the cooks and servants. I think we'll soon hear who was involved," the Grand Maester said.

Ruby blinked. "That will take a long time." The castle's kitchen had lots of people working there. And an interrogation took time.

Prince Oberyn shrugged. "Once the first one talks, they usually deliver more suspects. And everyone talks sooner or later."

"Torture isn't a reliable interrogation method," Blake said. "People will say anything to stop the pain."

Torture? But they… Oh, no! Ruby gasped. "You're torturing people?"

"The King was murdered. We can't let the culprit escape, my lady," the Grand Maester said.

"But…" Ruby shook her head. That was… barbaric, as Weiss liked to say. You didn't torture people! "We have to stop that!"

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Weiss Schnee hadn't visited the Black Cells, the third level of the Red Keep's dungeons, before. Blake, of course, had, and likely through various entrances that even the gaolers didn't know, but showing off that knowledge might raise suspicions - Weiss had no illusions that the Queen's accusations had fallen on deaf ears; enough people would believe her, or fake believing her to score points.

So, they couldn't have Blake lead them directly to the Black Cells' torture chamber - even Ruby had accepted that. Although if the Head Gaoler hadn't agreed to lead them down, things probably would have become quite… messy. Fortunately, the man in charge of the dungeons was quite cooperative.

Though, as evidenced by the stench assaulting Weiss's nostrils - a nauseating mix of faeces, sweat and urine - they could have just followed their noses. She wondered how Blake could stand this; her friend's nose was far more sensitive than Weiss's own.

"Ew! They keep people down here?" Ruby made a gagging noise.

"Criminals, my lady."

"But… how could you tell?" Ruby asked.

"Err… the lords are interrogating them to find out."

The man was either a dullard or a very good actor. Since one didn't need to be very smart to run a dungeon like this, Weiss couldn't tell whether the man was as dull as he appeared or was faking it to avoid rousing Ruby's anger.

As they kept walking down the stairs, led by the gaoler with a lantern that barely managed to illuminate their immediate surroundings, Weiss suddenly heard Blake gasp - and a quick glance showed that her friend was tense and stiff.

That wasn't a good sign. Weiss braced herself for the worst.

They reached a sturdy-looking wooden door with massive metal bands covering much of its surface. The gaoler fumbled with his keys before opening it - he was more rattled than he tried to appear, then, since he must have opened this door countless times before.

As soon as the door swung open, Weiss heard a scream.

"Please… I didn't see anything! No! Please!"

Weiss whirled, raising a hand - but Ruby had already disappeared into a cloud of petals. Cursing, Weiss ran after her.

"STOP!"

Weiss clenched her teeth and sped up - she was tempted to use a glyph to boost herself forward, but she was too close and the passage too narrow.

"Lady Ruby! You are interrupting our interrogation!"

"Please, Stannis - it's obvious that Lady Ruby is not used to such a sight, necessary as it is."

Weiss rounded the last corner and came to a stop next to her friends - in the entrance to an actual torture chamber. Lord Eddard, Lord Stannis, Lord Renly, Ser Barristan - and Prince Joffrey? - were there, as well as half a dozen men. They surrounded a man she recognised as one of the palace cooks who was hanging from his bound wrists, his feet dangling above the floor, and even in the flickering light of the torches and lanterns, she could see the marks left on his chest and back by the whip one of the three gaolers present held.

"Shit!" Yang muttered next to her.

Weiss agreed. This was a sick display.

"You can't just torture people!" Ruby blurted out, shaking her head. A moment later, Crescent Rose unfolded in her hand.

"My lady… I am innocent, I swear!" the prisoner - the cook - stammered. "I didn't poison the King! I didn't!"

Ruby's arm flashed, and the man dropped to the ground - or would have, had she not caught it.

"Lady Ruby! You can't stop the interrogation!" the Prince yelled, jumping up from his seat. Why was a child here?

"That's not an interrogation - that's torture!" Ruby protested.

"I'm innocent, I swear!" the cook whimpered.

"Innocent? My father was poisoned through food you cooked!" the Prince screamed. "Whether you poisoned him or let it happen, you are guilty beyond any doubt! You failed in your most important duty!" His chest heaved as he glared at the prisoner. "You'll pay for this with your life! Being executed will be a mercy after your suffering!"

Weiss drew a sharp breath. The prince was losing it, mad with grief and anger - why had anyone allowed him to attend this… this scene?

"My prince!" Ruby blurted out.

Weiss took a step forward. "My lords! What is going on? Why do you let a child attend a torture session?" What were they thinking?

Lord Eddard flinched, but before he could say anything, the Prince spoke up again: "My father was murdered! How could I be King if I shy away from ensuring that justice shall be meted out to those responsible for his death?"

"We're still in the process of determining who among the suspects are the ones responsible," Lord Renly commented.

"Through torture?" Ruby asked, staring at the three - four - nobles. And Ser Barristan, who was avoiding everyone's eyes, Weiss found.

Lord Eddard nodded. "As distasteful as it is, we need to find Robert's murderer. Before he strikes again. And the Prince is correct - the poison must have come through the kitchen, which is this man's responsibility. The page who served him was innocent."

"Yes!" the Prince cried out, and Lord Stannis nodded.

Weiss stared at them, then looked at Ruby.

Her friend was shaking her head. "You can't torture people!"

"They will confess to any crime to stop the pain," Blake said in a flat voice. "Such confessions are worthless."

"The page didn't confess to a crime - he proved to be innocent," Lord Renly pointed out.

And Lord Stannis glared at Blake. "The law is clear about this."

"Then the law is wrong!" Ruby retorted, moving the prisoner behind her. "Lord Eddard! This is not just!"

Lord Eddard shook his head. "As Stannis said, the law is clear about this. And the Prince is correct that these men failed their duty to the King."

"That doesn't mean they deserve to be tortured! Do you expect them to stop an assassin?" Ruby shook her head, and Weiss saw tears in her eyes. "They aren't guards!"

"That doesn't excuse them. They were responsible for the food," Lord Stannis replied.

"Do you even know that it was the food which was poisoned? It could have been the wine," Weiss spoke up.

"That would still be their responsibility," Lord Stannis said.

"And they will pay for it!" the Prince hissed.

"Mistakes shouldn't get people tortured!" Ruby snapped.

Lord Renly stepped in front of Ruby. "What about we pause the interrogation? Tempers have risen - we all have lost a beloved brother, father and friend - and I think it would behoove us to get some fresh air before we take steps that cannot be taken back. Also, a day longer in the Black Cells might motivate the suspects to talk without torture." He smiled widely, though Weiss could see that he was far tenser than he tried to appear.

The Prince opened his mouth, but, against Weiss's expectations, he closed it without saying anything.

Even so… spending the night in a cold, wet, and filthy dungeon was torture, in Weiss's opinion. But if they pressed too far here… She looked at Ruby. "That sounds… acceptable."

Ruby's lips formed a thin line, and, for a moment, Weis feared their leader would not compromise, but then she released her breath and slowly nodded. "But we take him to the Maester to be treated. You don't leave wounded people in a cell!" she spat.

The nobles looked at each other. You didn't have to be a genius to realise what their expressions meant.

"You've got wounded prisoners in the cells?" Ruby blurted out. "How many did you torture already?"

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Yes… yes… yes…

Blake Belladonna shook her head, her teeth clenched, as she remembered the Prince's whispered words before Ruby had burst into the torture chamber, and the expression on his face, hidden by the shadows from everyone but her own eyes, that she had seen.

She had seen that expression before, on Adam's face. To see it on a boy's face… She shuddered. Granted, the boy had just lost his father, but still, it was wrong.

As wrong as torturing people. Damn it - they were barbarians here! Even Lord Eddard had sat there while people were tortured just for having worked on food for the King!

But she couldn't dwell on this - she had a mission. Ruby and Weiss checked with the healers, and Yang had gone to grab Gendry, in case someone went after him, while Blake had to find out what was going on in the castle. They needed to know what everyone was planning and plotting.

Ahead of her was the secret passage to the Queen's quarters. But she couldn't use that since one of Varys's child agents was already using it. That meant she would have to use the second one, which had been half-closed off by a crumbling tunnel. But there was no helping it - Queen - former Queen - had stayed inside her quarters since the King's death, and by Blake's estimate, almost every member of House Lannister, as well as their retainers present at court, had gathered there. And the Prince hadn't left her quarters either since he had gone to visit her after the torture session had ended. In addition to that, none of the Keep's servants had been called in - everything was handled by her personal servants, as Blake had overheard when listening to two servants gossiping.

So, she had to sneak in and check out what the Queen was doing. Was she still trying to get RWBY arrested? And, more importantly - it wasn't as if anyone could arrest them, anyway, and the guards knew it - was she trying to frame the team or did she honestly think they had killed the king? Both were equally plausible, in Blake's opinion. The queen was crazy enough to think that Blake's team had killed the King, but Blake also had no doubt that she wouldn't shy away from murder.

Given how the law treated suspects here, especially when it involved the murder of a king, the odious woman had tried to get Yang tortured! Blake wouldn't let her get away with that.

She reached the half-collapsed part and checked for tracks and traces. If anyone had been here since her last visit, she would have to reconsider her plan; the chances of this being or becoming a trap were too high. And being caught or exposed while spying on the Queen would be very, very bad right now, with everyone wondering who killed the King - and a not insignificant part of the court either believing or pretending to believe that Team RWBY was responsible. Not just the nobles, either, but the servants too, though most of the smallfolk who thought that also seemed to believe that that had been the gods' will… And others were afraid of poison that not even the gods could stop or something.

But she didn't find any trace of someone else having passed through and so used a few clones to quickly pass the narrow gap left by the collapsed stone, then went on to climb a small shaft that led up to the queen's and king's quarters.

Soon, her ears picked up voices.

"...Cersei! I've told you many times - we cannot arrest them!"

That was Ser Jaime. And he sounded exasperated. So, even her own brother - and lover - was fed up with the Queen.

"Why not? They murdered the King!"

"If they had wanted to murder the King, they wouldn't have had to resort to poison. Or expose themselves like Lady Yang did. They would have just needed to watch like everyone else."

"That's exactly why they used poison! So people would think it wasn't them! You can't let them fool you with their act - they want to murder our family! They plan to take over the kingdom! They will kill my children! Our family! And then myself!"

Yes, the Queen was crazy. It seemed she hadn't murdered the King, though - unless this was an act for her brother.

"If they want to kill us, we cannot stop them, Cersei. You have seen how powerful they are."

"I have seen how the blonde beast collapsed! How they had to carry her out! They aren't invincible! Don't let them fool you!"

"I have seen them fight - I have faced them in the ring. They cannot be stopped!"

"That's what you think, but you're wrong! They can't kill everyone!"

"They don't want to kill anyone. They don't have the stomach for it - Joffrey told you how they broke up the interrogation of the cooks and servants."

"To protect their helpers! They are afraid that their helpers would betray them!"

"Cersei, please - you can't believe that Team Ruby wants to kill you and our family."

"They want to! They will kill the children, Jaime! And then they will kill me so that they can be queens! They have fooled everyone, but they cannot fool me!"

"If they wanted to replace you, why would they have killed the king? He loved them!"

"Do you think they would have wanted to marry him? That fat, disgusting monster? Even those sluts have better taste than that!"

"So, you think they want to marry Joffrey?"

Blake rolled her eyes. Her team had rejected that idea before - and to the Queen's face!

"Of course! And as soon as they have a child from him, they'll kill him, then Tommen and Myrcella, and then they'll kill me!"

"Replacing Lady Sansa will pit them against Stark."

"Not if one of them marries his son!"

Again with the marriages. Those people were obsessed!

"That won't put his blood on the throne, Cersei."

"It doesn't matter! He already betrayed us - he acts as if he's still the Hand! Even though I told him that I will make Father the Hand of the King!"

The Queen wanted to make Lord Tywin the Hand? Blake frowned. Could she do that? Last Blake knew, the court still had no official regent - the late King apparently hadn't left a last will, nor any instructions. According to Weiss, that would favour the Queen becoming regent, but things were not really ironclad in Westeros. But Lord Eddard hadn't struck her as interested in becoming regent - he hadn't wanted to become Hand and only agreed out of loyalty to his friend the King. If he opposed the Queen… Well, anyone could see she would make a bad regent, being completely crazy.

"And did Father accept?"

"Why would he refuse? He was the Mad King's hand!"

Not that someone who tortured people was that much better.

"Cersei…"

"Are you afraid of those sluts?"

"Anyone sane would be afraid, Cersei."

"Does that mean you will abandon me to them? Abandon our family?"

"Of course not! I won't ever leave you, Cersei."

"Jaime… "

Blake winced at the sounds that followed. She listened for a bit, but the couple wasn't talking any more, and so she continued to the Prince's quarters.

*****​

"...and I will have the murderer of my father found, Hound! And they will suffer for their crime like no one before! They will beg for death, but I will refuse them!"

"I think the four girls will have to say something about that."

"They won't! Lady Ruby opposed torturing suspects; she won't oppose the king's punishment for the guilty! And I will be king!"

"Once you're of age."

"Mother won't deny me this!"

Blake grimaced. That wasn't good either. Not as bad as she had feared after listening to the mad Queen, but she wouldn't call the Prince a well-adjusted boy, either.

Adam had argued similarly, she remembered. 'We will only kill those who deserve it - those who have tortured and killed our own." Had he believed that, then? Or had he already lied to her, knowing she wouldn't have agreed with indiscriminately killing, hoping she would agree later?

It didn't matter. She had to tell the rest of her team what she had found out. And check on the other nobles. But she was alone and could only do so much. Ironic, given her Semblance.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"So, Lord Tywin is coming to King's Landing."

"We don't know that yet, Weiss - only that the Queen wants him to become the Hand of the King."

"We have to assume he is coming, Ruby. Especially since her authority to hand the position to him is being questioned as we speak."

Yang Xiao Long, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, opposite Blake, who was standing watch at the secret passage, raised her eyebrows. "Hand him the Hand position?"

Weiss pouted at her. "A mere slip of the tongue."

Yang chuckled. She was going to get her laughs wherever she could. She had to. First, accidentally killing that knight without even noticing, then failing to save the King despite literally giving everything and exhausting her Aura, and finally almost punching the Queen's head off in rage, as if she hadn't learnt anything from her mistakes. "It's going to be weeks until he arrives. Things will have settled down by then." They better will, she added to herself.

"But will they?" Ruby asked. Yang could see she was biting her lower lip. "The King died without leaving a will. The Queen claims she is regent."

"The Queen claims a lot of things," Yang said with a scoff. "No one likes her or her family. Not even her own brother." Well, her younger brother. Her twin liked her far too much. "When she tried to get me arrested, no one moved. Not even Ser Jaime."

"They didn't want to fight us. They know they'd lose," Ruby said. "But what about orders that don't pit them against us?"

Yang shrugged. "No one likes the Lannisters. Prince Oberyn's family hate them for murdering his sister and her children."

"They probably blame the Baratheons as well," Blake cut in.

That was true, but… "That still means they won't support her."

"Maybe. But in politics, enemies allying for their own reasons is not too rare," Weiss said. "Yes, the Lannisters don't have many friends, but there is no truly united block facing them. Lord Stannis and Lord Renly don't get along that well - Lord Renly is close to House Tyrell, and Lord Stannis apparently fought them during the Rebellion and is married to a rival house in their kingdom. The Martells, as you mentioned, are no friends of either Baratheons or Lannisters. The Starks have ties to the Tullies and Arryns, but neither House has a strong presence at court. And while no one likes House Lannister, they are rich, and that grants them a lot of influence. The crown owes them millions of dragons."

Yang knew that that was a lot of money. But Prince Joffrey was the grandson of Lord Tywin, so it might be kept in the family. Still… "Do you think they have a chance to buy enough allies and influence to make the Queen the regent?"

"By law, she is, isn't she?" Ruby said.

"Opinions differ," Weiss said. "But everything seems on hold while they search for the King's murderer. If one of the leading Houses was involved, that could change the entire situation."

"Who could have done it?" Ruby asked.

"There are too many suspects," Blake said. "Anyone with the gold and contacts in Essos could have bought this poison. And many nobles will have bought such poisons the first time they realised how strong we are."

"Do they fear us that much?" Ruby asked, looking shocked.

"They fear our power," Weiss told her. "We could decide who becomes regent or Hand - if we wished to."

Yang nodded. "Or if someone forces our hand." Weiss glowered at her, and she beamed back. "But enough about how many suspects are around. What about the most likely suspects?"

"That's still a long list," Weiss said. "The Queen loathed the King. The Martells probably hated him, and Prince Oberyn is infamous for his knowledge about poisons."

And famous for a few other reasons as well, Yang thought.

"Varys is originally from Essos," Blake added. "He would have contacts there. We know he meets people in the tunnels below the Keep."

"But what motive would he have to murder the King? We can't assume that just because he employs mutilated children - and might mutilate them - he will go after the King," Weiss pointed out.

Yang snorted, though she wasn't really amused. "Yeah. No one here blinks at torture. Even Lord Eddard saw nothing wrong with torturing the servants." And wasn't that sick? Anyone could be a suspect through no fault of their own! Even Ruby had been arrested once, and that had been after fighting off a robbery by that bastard Torchwick!

Blake nodded in agreement. "And Prince Joffrey doesn't think it's bad either."

Yang grimaced. According to her partner, the Prince was planning to have the murderer of the King tortured to death. Slowly.

"What about Baelish?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, I just said we can't assume that someone is a murderer just because they are responsible for other evil acts," Weiss told her.

"I know!" Ruby frowned at her. "But he is corrupt."

"We haven't been able to prove that." Weiss insisted.

"We know he is running at least one brothel, and he's gotten very rich in a few years in his position," Ruby said. "That can't have been legal. So, he has something to hide. People are willing to kill for secrets that could destroy them."

"But the King? What would he gain?" Weiss shook her head. "I doubt that he is involved. Blake would have found out something if he were - she's been shadowing him regularly."

Blake didn't seem to share Weiss's confidence, in Yang's impression. She pushed off the wall and rolled her shoulders - she was still a bit stiff from last night. "So, we have a couple of suspects, but we only know one thing for sure: We can't trust anyone." Not even Ser Barristan, depending on who became regent.

"We can trust Jon!" Ruby protested. "And Gendry."

"And the kids. But none of them are exactly movers and shakers at court, sis," Yang told her.

"And everyone will be looking at us - or to us - to see which faction we'll support," Weiss said.

"Let them look - and guess!" Yang grinned.

"We won't side with anyone," Ruby said, frowning. "We're not here to meddle with the succession. Or support a coup."

Yang nodded.

But Weiss kept frowning. "Not taking sides will be seen as a statement as well."

Yang scoffed. "If anyone is trying to use us, we'll have to teach them that that's a bad idea." She smashed her fist into her palm and flashed her teeth.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"Lord Stannis, Lord Renly and Lord Eddard want to talk to us?" Yang blinked as she sat up on her bed. "Privately?"

Ruby nodded. "So they said - well, Lord Eddard said it when he came to fetch Arya, Bran and Jon from our training session today."

Yang frowned. "He doesn't usually fetch his kids in person."

"No, he doesn't," Weiss confirmed. "If this was supposed to be discreet, it failed - tongues will have been set wagging merely by seeing him come to talk to Ruby. The entire court is on edge, and as the Hand, Lord Eddard will be watched by everyone. The same goes for the King's brothers, the Queen and her own brothers. And the Prince, of course."

Blake nodded. "People have commented on the fact that he supposedly has been spending so much time with his mother and uncle."

Yang hadn't noticed that. But she wasn't keeping her ears open as Blake was. She was actually trying not to hear too much about the whole issue - it was too frustrating. Hard enough to deal with the fact that she had failed to save the King. Hadn't been good enough to save him. Weiss and Blake could talk about how Aura didn't work the same here as in Remnant, but it still felt like her Aura, her soul, hadn't been enough.

She clenched her teeth. She'd deal with it. She had to. But once she could spare the time, not in the middle of this crisis, when everyone seemed to wonder when the next death would happen. Or when the first fight between the various groups would break out. "So, we're going to sneak to the Hand's office through that secret passage you know?"

Blake frowned, and Weiss shook her head. "I don't think revealing that we could spy on the Hand would be received well by Lord Eddard."

"And we might need to spy on him again," Blake added. She didn't seem happy about it - Yang could tell from the way she tensed - but she was right.

"They want to meet us outside the castle," Ruby said.

"Oh? Cloak and dagger?" Yang grinned, even though she wasn't really amused.

"Lord Renly has rented a room in a discreet inn, or so Lord Eddard said," Ruby explained. "They have a backdoor open for us."

Weiss nodded. "That should work. Of course, their trust in the staff's discretion might be misplaced, but they won't be able to blame us."

"Bet someone will do it anyway!" Ruby grumbled.

Yang nodded. "Anyway, what do you think this is about?"

"They must have found the murderer and want us to help arrest them!" Ruby replied immediately.

"I think that is likely, yes," Weiss agreed.

Blake nodded.

Yang agreed as well. The three noblemen had spent almost every hour since the King's death investigating the death. Still… Yang grimaced when she had a nasty thought. "But if they ask for us, they must think they can't arrest the murderer without us."

Weiss nodded. "And that would indicate that the culprit is a very powerful noble."

"They think the Queen did it?" Ruby said what Yang was thinking.

"Probably. The question is, do they have proof?" Weiss asked. "Arresting the Queen for the murder of her husband would end her attempt to become regent for Prince Joffrey and replace Lord Eddard with her father. Especially if our involvement will make it seem as if the faith supports it."

Yang scowled. She was all for arresting the killer. It wouldn't bring the King back, but bringing his murderer to justice would help a little, at least. But only if it actually was the murderer. "They better have proof," she said.

Ruby nodded with a firm expression. "We're not gonna let them torture anyone to get 'proof'."

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

The inn was a nice one, and the back door actually led to the stables in the back, first, so sneaking in was child's play - even for Weiss, who hadn't learned to sneak past Dad past curfew, as Yang and Ruby had back home. Well, Yang assumed Weiss hadn't done such things.

And it was more discreet than using Weiss's glyphs to get up to the window, or climbing down from the roof. But the servant who had opened the back door for them hadn't been fooled by their cloaks and hoods, Yang was sure. Especially since Ruby usually wore a hood anyway, even if she had changed it for this.

But that was Lord Eddard's problem. Or Lord Renly's, since he had organised this. At least Yang hoped so.

A trip upstairs and a knock later, they were inside a very nice room - for Westeros - and exchanging greetings with all three nobles. And only them, Yang noted. No servants. No guards. No witnesses.

"So… you wanted to talk to us privately. We're here," Ruby said, nodding in an obvious attempt to look all-business and not nervous.

"Yes, Lady Ruby." Lord Eddard glanced at Lord Stannis, then at Lord Renly.

Lord Stannis frowned a bit more than he already had, and Lord Renly smiled at Lord Eddard and refilled his cup with what looked like red wine. Sighing, Lord Eddard turned to face them. "We have called you to this meeting to discuss a heinous crime that will shake the realm's foundations once it is exposed. It might even lead to war."

"There will be war for certain," Lord Renly commented.

Lord Stannis nodded.

As they had expected then. Or not - Yang caught Weiss and Blake tense up.

"You mentioned that the crime has yet to be exposed. You're not talking about the assassination of the King, then, I suppose," Weiss said.

Blake nodded in agreement.

Once again, Lord Eddard glanced at Lord Stannis, who grumbled in return while Lord Renly smirked. "Yes. Although we are almost certain that the two crimes are connected, we're still tracking down the assassin. No, we're talking about something else." He hesitated for a moment. "We have proof that the Queen has not only committed adultery but that her children are bastards."

Damn. Yang hadn't expected that. Nor had her friends - Weiss and Blake looked grim, and Ruby looked as if she was going to be sick.

*****​

 

[prestdan000]

things are heating up and I'm here for it. Thanks for the chapter

 

[eager slacker]

It would be kinda funny if it was a binary poison and what happened was two people poisoned Robert at the same time with the opposing ingredient and was shocked that he died way earlier than expected.

 

[Ultimasaurus Imperatrix]

The way the poison worked screams mustard gas to me. Since that is precisely how it kills it's victims. The chemical bonds with the water in your lungs, turning it into acid. Same thing goes for any other liquid filled orifice that's exposed to the gas. But all the points both the characters in the story and the people on the spacebattle version of thread have made me uncertain.

(Valstrax9 is me)

 

[ATP]

It would be kinda funny if it was a binary poison and what happened was two people poisoned Robert at the same time with the opposing ingredient and was shocked that he died way earlier than expected.

Click to shrink...

I wish it is true, but Occkham razor says no.I think,that we have one culprit - most likely,Cersei.She poisoned her husband in canon,after all.
Other Varys need time for his plot,Oberyn had no reasons,only Baelish could be quilty.Chaos is ladder,after all.

 

[Spartan303]

I wish it is true, but Occkham razor says no.I think,that we have one culprit - most likely,Cersei.She poisoned her husband in canon,after all.
Other Varys need time for his plot,Oberyn had no reasons,only Baelish could be quilty.Chaos is ladder,after all.

Click to shrink...

Could be Baelish. He was largely responsible for kicking off the war of the 5 Kings in canon.

 

[Starfox5]

things are heating up and I'm here for it. Thanks for the chapter

Click to shrink...

Thank you!

It would be kinda funny if it was a binary poison and what happened was two people poisoned Robert at the same time with the opposing ingredient and was shocked that he died way earlier than expected.

Click to shrink...

A bit unlikely given the scarcity of the poison. Not completely impossible, though, if say someone hired assassins and someone else hired the same, and the assassins didn't coordinate. Still unlikely.

The way the poison worked screams mustard gas to me. Since that is precisely how it kills it's victims. The chemical bonds with the water in your lungs, turning it into acid. Same thing goes for any other liquid filled orifice that's exposed to the gas. But all the points both the characters in the story and the people on the spacebattle version of thread have made me uncertain.

(Valstrax9 is me)

Click to shrink...

Well, I imagined a fantasy binary poison like that, though orally ingested and then going for the lungs.

I wish it is true, but Occkham razor says no.I think,that we have one culprit - most likely,Cersei.She poisoned her husband in canon,after all.
Other Varys need time for his plot,Oberyn had no reasons,only Baelish could be quilty.Chaos is ladder,after all.

Click to shrink...

A lot of the canon plots were as much luck as planning. That goes both ways.

Could be Baelish. He was largely responsible for kicking off the war of the 5 Kings in canon.

Click to shrink...

He's certainly on the short list, but so are others.

 

[Mike9650]

Ruby's reaction:

"FILTH!"

"THIS IS FILTH!"

"LEWD!"

 

[Starfox5]

Ruby's reaction:

"FILTH!"

"THIS IS FILTH!"

"LEWD!"

Click to shrink...

I saw that Chibi episode

 

[Spartan303]

He's certainly on the short list, but so are others.

Click to shrink...

Or, possibly someone from Remnant who has been in the shadows and awaiting for the right moment to strike to cause some mayhem.

 

[Starfox5]

Or, possibly someone from Remnant who has been in the shadows and awaiting for the right moment to strike to cause some mayhem.

Click to shrink...

No. There is no one else from Remnant in Westeros or in that world.

 

[Spartan303]

No. There is no one else from Remnant in Westeros or in that world.

Click to shrink...

Such a shame. That kind of revelation could have turned things on its head. Either way, I look forward to more in the future.

 

[Starfox5]

Such a shame. That kind of revelation could have turned things on its head. Either way, I look forward to more in the future.

Click to shrink...

It would have - but it would also have destroyed the core of the story, which is "RWBY are in Westeros", not "RWBY fight threats from Remnant in Westeros". That there is no physical threat to the group but threats that challenge their morals and principles, threats that they can't just punch away, is the entire point of the story.

 

[ATP]

It would have - but it would also have destroyed the core of the story, which is "RWBY are in Westeros", not "RWBY fight threats from Remnant in Westeros". That there is no physical threat to the group but threats that challenge their morals and principles, threats that they can't just punch away, is the entire point of the story.

Click to shrink...

Drowned god and whatever lurk in Leng,Kadath and Stygoi should be capable of killing them.Maybe Bloody Emperor from Cardossa,too.

 

[Starfox5]

None of them are in Westeros or appearing in the story. RWBY won't be challenged physically.

 

[ATP]

None of them are in Westeros or appearing in the story. RWBY won't be challenged physically.

Click to shrink...

Good.They have no reasons to go there,becouse it is obvious,that whatever lurk there,do not knew how to travel to another dimensions.
I hope,that children knew sometching - what Leaf said,suggest that.

 

[Ultimasaurus Imperatrix]

Leaf

Click to shrink...

Who's that?

 

[ATP]

Who's that?

Click to shrink...

female children of the forest serving Bloodraven.In book she is only children who speak human language.In show she die with others defending Bloodraven.Who died anyway.

 

[Starfox5]

Chapter 21: The Spark

'While any student of history is aware of how frequently dishonourable actions were taken in the past, often with the flimsiest of excuses or none at all, and, therefore, would not succumb to the unfortunately quite popular if romanticised view that life during the time of the Ruby Order was a time when nobility valued their honour more than their life - and ignoring how many conflicts were started over claims that someone's honour was insulted - one must be cautious not to fall in the trap of assuming that everyone back in those times considered honour a pretense. Just as with the Faith, many nobles, but even more so the smallfolk, truly believed in the courtly ideals espoused by the bards of the time. And even the most cynical and hypocritical nobles would be aware that few if any could afford a dishonourable reputation if they valued their power or their lives. So even those who, despite evidence to the contrary from primary sources opposed to the Ruby Order, assume that the Four Maidens were only pretending to hold to their high ideals, must admit that the Ruby Order, four girls in a foreign kingdom relying on their wits, skill at arms and friendship with influential people, would not have acted in the manner a few scholars with evident biases claim they did. It is, therefore, clear that their actions were taken not out of self-interest but genuine ideals. Ideals which, as we know, tended to clash with the customs of the time on the most unexpected occasions.'

• A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Renly Baratheon had watched the four girls closely when Lord Eddard had revealed Cersei's crimes, and their reactions were telling. Especially Lady Ruby's. The leader of Team Ruby looked sick at the revelation that Cersei's children were bastards. And yet, in their world, bastards were not scorned - the way the four cared about Lord Eddard's and Robert's bastards proved that. So, why would she react with disgust to this information? They hadn't cared that Robert had committed adultery to father his latest bastard, so that wasn't a problem either, and Lord Eddard, on Renly's advice, had not told them about the incest yet since that would have sounded too far-fetched to convince them.

But the most obvious conclusion was that Lady Ruby had reacted like this because she had already known about the incest, yet had been ignorant that it had resulted in three children. And wasn't that interesting? And troublesome. It meant that they were more involved in the game of thrones than Renly had suspected.

He glanced at Lord Eddard and Stannis, wondering if either had caught this.

Lord Eddard winced. "I am sorry to tell you this. I know it must be a shock."

Stannis, as expected, merely watched with his usual stony expression.

Lady Ruby grimaced as she nodded.

Lady Weiss, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. "What exactly is your proof?" she asked.

Lord Eddard quickly began to explain. "All Baratheons have had dark hair, like Robert, even when they married people with blond hair. We have found that in the records. And all of Robert's bastards whom we found have had dark hair as well. And yet, all three of Cersei's children have blond hair."

"And none of them share any of Robert's features," Renly added. "They look like the Lannisters they are." The facts were obvious, once you knew them. It was actually embarrassing that he had to have been told by Stannis, though knowing Lord Jon had told Renly's brother and Lord Eddard had practically stumbled on the issue lessened the blow to Renly's self-image. Loras would still tease him once he knew, of course.

"That's your evidence?" Lady Weiss kept frowning.

"Yes?" Lord Eddard blinked. "It's compelling."

Apparently, the four girls had different standards for evidence. Renly had been aware of that already - their reaction to the interrogation of the smallfolk who had been involved with Robert's last meal had shown that clearly - but he hadn't expected that they would reject the proof here.

"I can confirm it," Stannis said in his gravelly tone. "Do you doubt our word?"

Lady Weiss shook her head. "We don't doubt that the facts you gathered are true. But that's not proof that all of the Queen's children are bastards, much less the product of incest."

"How can you deny that?" Lord Eddard was frowning. "Jon's last words were 'the seed is strong', and we've been told that he was murdered because he investigated the whole affair."

Renly envied the man's hold on his temper. Stannis was already grinding his teeth to dust in frustration, and Renly himself only refrained from blurting out his own reaction because any of the four girls could kill him and his entire banners by herself. You didn't anger such power, not if you could help it. Unless, of course, you were as honest as Lord Eddard, or as stubborn as Stannis. Renly had had to make a significant effort to convince both that they couldn't reveal what they had found out without checking where Team Ruby stood.

"Genetics are more complex than that," Lady Weiss said. She blinked, then added: "It means that what traits you inherit from your parents depends on many, many factors. Hair colour alone is not sufficient proof that someone is or isn't related to someone else. Blood testing could, in certain circumstances, prove that someone couldn't be related, but not that someone is related. Only DNA-testing could conclusively prove or disprove someone's ancestry, and Westeros doesn't have access to that technology."

Renly hadn't understood everything - she might as well have been speaking gibberish at the end - but he had caught the gist of it. "You can prove someone's parentage." That was of enormous importance.

"People back home can," Lady Ruby said. "We can't do it. We're not… our versions of Maesters. And we wouldn't have the tools for it even if we knew how to do it."

That was disappointing. It would have greatly simplified matters if Team Ruby could have proved the incest spawns' parentage - their word carried great weight amongst the smallfolk and the Faith, and they were too powerful to bow to any threat. On the other hand, if they accused the Queen of incest, Cersei would be lucky to make it halfway to the city gate before she would be torn from her high horse and beaten to death.

"What are you talking about? The evidence doesn't lie!" Stannis blurted out. "No Baratheon ever had light hair! Not even when their mothers were Targaryens!"

"You had ancestors with light hair?" Lady Weiss asked.

"Yes," Renly replied before Stannis could accidentally or intentionally insult her. "House Baratheon is descended from Orys Baratheon, a general of Aegon the Conqueror." And his alleged bastard half-brother, but saying that near a Baratheon could start a fight to the death. Even as a Baratheon.

"Then Robert could have children with light hair," Lady Weiss said.

"Three children with light hair and none with dark hair?" Lord Eddard sounded unconvinced, and Stannis was still grinding his teeth.

"It seems improbable," Renly ventured forth.

"But not impossible," Lady Weiss retorted, shaking her head. "And you can't convict people on probable cause; you need proof beyond reasonable doubt."

The girls were not convinced. And Stannis was about to lose his temper, Renly could tell from long experience. It was time to roll the dice. He leaned forward and stared at Lady Ruby. "You already knew that she committed incest with her twin brother."

Everyone was startled - Lord Eddard and even Stannis were staring at him, as were the four girls. But they also looked guilty, something Renly's co-conspirators noticed as well.

"You knew?" Stannis growled.

"How? And why didn't you inform Robert?" Lord Eddard asked, visibly shocked.

Lady Ruby grimaced again but then straightened and stared - no, glared; Renly felt a slight shiver run down his spine, and he wasn't her target - at Lord Eddard. "They would have been killed for it!" she said.

Lord Eddard gaped in obvious surprise at her. By the Seven, the man had known those girls longer than anyone else at Court, and he was surprised by this? Renly hadn't spent nearly as much time with them, but he knew that they disliked killing anyone! The fact that Cersei was still alive proved it!

"You would protect an adulteress who committed incest from the law?" Stannis had jumped up from his seat and was all but shouting at them.

Renly eyed the door - it was thick, and it blocked sounds, but everything had limits - before looking at Team Ruby again.

Lady Ruby met Stannis's ire without flinching. "If the law would see them executed, yes!" She nodded emphatically before lifting her chin up again. "That's not justice! That's barbaric!"

For once, Stannis looked shocked. "You… condone incest?"

"What? No!" Lady Ruby made a gagging noise.

"We do not condone incest, my lord," Lady Weiss spoke up. "But we do not condone killing people for it, either."

"The punishment for adultery or incest doesn't have to be death," Renly was quick to point out. Of course, if someone combined both crimes…

Lady Yang scoffed. "You think the King would have let them live?"

Robert wouldn't have. He would have flown into a rage and killed both himself. Or he would have tried to - Renly wasn't sure if he would have prevailed against Ser Jaime. But the situation had changed. "That's no longer a concern, though," he pointed out. His brother was dead. Murdered, most likely by Cersei, though Renly wouldn't dismiss the possibility that Lord Oberyn had done it. He wasn't called the Red Viper for nothing.

"And how would it look if we accused them now, after the Queen accused us of murdering the King?" Lady Weiss shook her head. "Even those who doubt her accusations would have trouble believing us."

Renly wasn't so sure about that - their support amongst the Faith was strong, although the failure to save Robert might have shaken it somewhat. Still, she wasn't wrong. If the Queen had slept with someone else, it would be more believable - people knew she loathed Robert. But with her own brother? That was too far-fetched for any but the most naive - or the most cynical.

"You would hide the truth merely because you fear how it would be received?" Stannis scoffed. "I have misjudged you gravely, then! You don't care about justice at all!"

Cursing internally at his stubborn fool of a brother, Renly opened his mouth to smooth the tempers, but froze when he saw the expression on Lady Ruby's face.

"How dare you!" the slip of a girl spat. A few steps, each making the floor tremble a little, carried her in front of Stannis, and she raised her index finger in his face, almost touching his nose. "You torture people just for being suspects! You kill them for stealing or cheating on their spouses! That's not justice! That's the opposite of justice! And you dare to accuse us because we don't support this… this injustice?"

For a moment, Renly feared that his brother would lose his temper and strike the girl. Or reply with an insult that couldn't be taken back. But while it might have cost him a tooth or two from clenching his jaw so hard, Renly almost heard the grinding of bones, Stannis managed to control himself. "If the law isn't applied to everyone, there can be no justice."

And when Lady Ruby scowled but didn't strike his brother down, Renly dared to release the breath he had been holding.

*****​

King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Ruby Rose wanted to slap Lord Stannis. Acting all so high and mighty and talking about justice as if he weren't fine with torturing and killing people! Sure, what the Queen and her brother were doing made Ruby gag just thinking of it, but they didn't deserve that! "An unjust law is not just!" She blinked. "I mean, you can't have justice with unjust laws!" That was better. "And killing someone for incest is not just!"

Lord Stannis gaped at her, and Lord Renly leaned forward and spoke up: "How would you punish them, then, my lady?"

That was an unfair question - she wasn't a judge or lawyer! And he knew that! Narrowing her eyes at him, she replied: "I'd make them pay a fine. Or send them to a prison for a while."

Lord Renly smiled. "What about sending Ser Jaime to the Wall and Queen Cersei to the Silent Sisters?"

That sounded reasonable. Wait - it was a life sentence!

But it's Cersei. She deserves it, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. Ruby ignored the voice.

"And what about her children?" Ruby asked. They would lose their mother after they had lost their father. And no one deserved that. Ruby knew that. The Prince was already badly affected by the death of his father - she almost winced thinking of what Blake had told them - and to lose his mother like that? And Tommen and Myrcella were even younger.

"They are abominations born of incest," Lord Stannis bared his teeth.

They still needed their parents… wait! "You want to punish them as well?" He couldn't! "You don't even know if they are incest children, and even if they were, that's not their fault! You can't punish children for what their parents did!"

Even Lord Eddard winced at that, Ruby noticed.

"And I reiterate that you have no conclusive proof that the three children are the result of incest in the first place," Weiss added. "Hair colour is not proof of ancestry."

Ruby flashed a quick smile at her partner.

"The evidence is there!" Lord Stannis growled. "Just looking at them proves it! They show no sign of Baratheon blood!"

"That might be unusual, but it does not disprove their parentage," Weiss retorted.

And they had gone over that before. "We won't let you punish children just because you don't like their looks!" Ruby said.

"Does that mean you will interfere in a trial?" Lord Eddard asked. "Lord Stannis is right, now that we know the truth, we cannot ignore it."

He had been quiet for quite some time, Ruby noted. And he looked uncomfortable - well, a little bit, at least, but for him, that was a lot. "Interfere?" she asked.

"Would you use force to stop a trial?" Lord Eddard asked.

"A trial against whom?" Ruby asked. "Ser Jaime and the Queen, or the children?"

"Ser Jaime and the Queen," Lord Renly said, glancing at the other two men.

That was… well, not a fair question. The two had done it. And kept doing it, as poor Blake reported. Ruby suppressed a shudder. So, interfering to stop a trial would be wrong, kinda. But… "Are you going to kill them if they're found guilty?" she asked. See how he liked being asked the difficult questions!

"And who would be the judge?" Weiss added.

Again, Lord Renly glanced at the other two men before answering. "Since Robert has been murdered but no regent has been chosen yet, Lord Eddard, as the King's Hand, would be the judge."

Ruby and everyone else looked at Lord Eddard. If he was the judge… Well, if he said he wouldn't have them killed, they could trust him. Probably - he was fine with torture.

Lord Eddard didn't answer, though. Instead, he asked: "Will you fight for the court if Ser Jaime demands a trial by combat as is his right? You are the only witnesses we know who can be called to testify."

That was… Ruby didn't look at her friends. As they had found out when preparing for the Mountain's trial, a trial by combat could only end with the accuser withdrawing their accusation or the death of one of the fighters. And anyone on her team could easily kill him.

"I am the witness," Blake said. "So, I would be the accuser and the one who would fight."

Ruby glared at her. Blake had already killed the Mountain! That was bad enough! She didn't have to do this as well!

"The accuser doesn't have to fight themselves; the court can choose a champion," Weiss said.

Ruby didn't want Blake to kill someone else. She would do it. But should Ser Jaime die for what he had done with his sister, anyway? That wouldn't be right! But Ser Jaime was one of the best knights; anyone except a member of Team RWBY would risk death fighting him.

"If you are willing, I think Ser Jaime might forego his right to trial by combat and accept being sent to the Wall," Lord Renly said with a smile.

But would he? Or would they be forced to kill him? Could they risk that? But the alternative would be letting someone else risk their life…

What should they do? No. Ruby was the leader of Team RWBY.

What should she do?

She bit her lower lip. She couldn't let anyone else risk their life because she didn't want to fight. A Huntress fought so others were safe. She nodded sharply. "I will be the court's champion - but I'll also be the children's champion if anyone accuses them."

"Ruby!"

"I will be the champion!"

"No!"

She turned her head to frown at her friends. "We talked about that. This is my decision."

Turning back to look at the three men, she caught Lord Renly smiling, Lord Eddard looking relieved - a little bit, at least - and Lord Stannis scowling.

Tough! She had made her choice. The matter was settled.

"So, it is decided then - we will arrest the Queen and Ser Jaime and put them on trial for adultery, oathbreaking and incest," Lord Eddard said.

"Oathbreaking?" Ruby asked.

"The Kingsguard is supposed to stay chaste," Lord Eddard explained.

"Ah." Ruby nodded with a wince. That sounded… very harsh.

"Are you planning to arrest the two immediately?" Weiss asked.

"As soon as we have made the necessary preparations to do so without provoking bloodshed," Lord Renly said. "We can hardly expect them to go quietly unless faced with overwhelming force."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't as knowledgeable about that stuff as Weiss was, but she knew what he meant. "You want us to do the arresting!"

"Your presence would certainly contribute to making things go smoothly," Lord Renly said. "Especially considering the number of Lannister guards in the keep. For while they are well-paid and won't want to risk Lord Tywin's ire, they are also aware that they cannot stand against you."

"If you're planning to remove all Lannister guards, you will have to replace them," Weiss said. "Are you ready for that?"

"We have gathered people ever since we heard about the… affair," Lord Renly said. "As Master of Laws, I could send in the gold cloaks, but their loyalty is not beyond any doubt, alas. However, we have kept our efforts quite discreet so as not to provoke a reaction from the Queen and her family."

"Speaking of her family…" Weiss was frowning. "How do you think the Prince will react to the arrest and trial of his mother the Queen? He will be King in a few years, with all the power that entails."

Yeah, those glances that the three men were exchanging weren't a good sign, Ruby knew.

"I think the Prince will accept their guilt after it has been established in a trial and with your testimony, my lady," Lord Eddard said after a moment. "It will be years before he can take the throne, so even if he might not react well to the affair, he will have the time to change his views."

Yeah, right. Ruby squinted at him. He didn't look like he believed that himself. Losing your mother hurt. Especially as a child. Still, that was his decision. Or Lord Stannis's - the man looked as if he'd kill himself as long as justice was done.

She glanced at her friends. They didn't look very confident either. "Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

"Who can be sure of the future?" Lord Renly shrugged. "And removing the Queen's influence on the boy can only be good for him."

Ruby clenched her teeth. How could he say that? Sure, the Queen was a… very unpleasant, mean, arrogant and petty person, but she did love her children and feared for them. Blake had confirmed that.

"We can only hope so," Weiss said with a slow nod.

Ruby stared at her. How could she… Oh! She would be speaking from experience.

"Then it's settled." Lord Renly sounded pleased. "We'll send for you tomorrow, after breakfast."

"What about the Kingsguard?" Yang asked. "They're sworn to protect the royal family, aren't they?"

"They will stand down on the order of the King's Hand," Lord Renly said. "But if they aren't, I am sure you can stop them from interfering without doing them permanent harm, can't you?"

Sure, they could do that - her team had learned how to hold back, and they were very familiar with the Kingsguard from all the sparring they did with them. But this sounded almost like… not bullying, but… Like they were used for a plot.

But they had agreed, so… Ruby nodded, even though she didn't like it.

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

"I don't like this," Yang said as soon as Blake had given the all-clear back in their room. "They're treating us like their minions. Like their goons."

"I don't like it either," Weiss said. "But I don't see a better alternative."

Ruby nodded. That was the problem. "What can we do? If we don't do anything, they'll have their guards fight it out." And a lot of people would die because RWBY did nothing.

"It would be a bloody coup," Blake said. "But this is a bloodless coup. With the Queen and her brother arrested, Lord Eddard will remain unchallenged in his position as the King's Hand, and he, Lord Stannis and Lord Renly will pick a regent."

"Should we let them kill each other instead?" Ruby asked. "Many people will die just because they obey their lord. We can't let that happen!"

"Something I am certain Lord Renly at least had in mind when they asked to meet us," Weiss said.

"Rotten bastard," Yang muttered.

That was very manipulative, but… Ruby shook her head. "We still can't let them fight it out."

"If we want to avoid loss of life, then the only alternative to supporting the arrest of the Queen and her brother would be to prevent the arrest and intimidate Lord Eddard and the others to back off," Weiss said. "And I doubt I have to explain why that would make the situation even worse - you all know what the Queen is like."

Ruby nodded. The Queen would be the worst.

"She tried to get us arrested for the murder of the King," Yang growled. "Why are we staying here again?" She held up her hand before Ruby could answer. "I know, we need to find out if there's anything about magical ruins or magic in general in the royal library. And I know we can't just leave now that people depend on us. I just don't like it."

Ruby deflated a bit. "Yeah, I get it." She wasn't happy either. But they really couldn't just leave. That would put Gendry, Jon and probably Arya and Bran in danger as well. And if there was a violent coup… Ruby had heard about the rebellion. The city had been devastated.

"But we also cannot take over the kingdom, and that is a real danger if people start to rely on us," Weiss said. "If we're the only thing that keeps those rivalries and plots from starting a war…"

Ruby grimaced as she felt her stomach drop. "We can't stay here! We can't abandon our home! Dad is waiting for us! He must be terribly worried! And our friends! And Zwei! And… I want to go home!"

"We all want to go home, Ruby," Yang said. "We just need to find a way to get home without setting the kingdom here on fire."

"We need to find a way home first," Blake said.

"And we can't be blamed if the locals set their own kingdom on fire," Weiss said.

She was right, but… "But we can't let the smallfolk suffer," Ruby said. These people trusted RWBY to protect and keep them safe.

"We can't protect everyone," Weiss said.

"But we still need to try," Ruby replied. "Even if it's hard. We can't just do nothing."

*****​

The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC

Weiss Schnee schooled her features as her friends and she walked behind Lord Eddard, Lord Renly and Lord Stannis through the courtyard, with two dozen guards - of House Stark and House Baratheon; Lord Renly had not picked any gold cloaks for this, which didn't say good things about the guards' loyalties - behind them. She wasn't convinced that this was a good thing, but as she had told the others, all the alternatives were worse.

The servants out and about at this time of the day, before most had had breakfast, quickly hurried out of their way, and Weiss could see the fear in their eyes as they realised what was happening. They had been aware of the growing tension since the King's murder, and it was obvious that they were afraid that it was about to escalate into violence.

Weiss wanted to reassure them, but smiling would send the wrong message. It was bad enough that most nobles would see them as either tools or puppet masters of Lord Eddard and the King's brothers after this; she didn't want to be seen as being happy about the upcoming events.

Even the ravens seemed to have picked up that something important and potentially dangerous was about to happen; she could see a particularly curious bird fly from roof to roof to keep them in sight.

The guards wearing Lannister colours who were guarding the drawbridge to Maegor's Holdfast, where the Royal Quarters were located, had noticed them as well, and Weiss saw them form up, weapons held at their sides but clearly ready for a fight.

The Lannister guards hadn't known about this, Blake had confirmed last night that the secret hadn't leaked, but with the current tensions, they would be ready to protect the royal family - or, Weiss was certain, prepared to strike at the Lannister's rivals. Westeros's history certainly proved that too many conflicts had ended in violence or outright civil war.

But they weren't ready for Team RWBY. And they knew it.

As the group reached the gate, Lord Eddard raised his badge of office. "As the King's Hand, I demand to enter."

"Pardon, m'lord," the apparent leader of the guards said, his nervousness obvious, "but her Grace gave the order not to be disturbed by anyone."

"My orders supersede hers," Lord Eddard said. "Stand aside."

"You stand no chance of stopping us, anyway," Lord Renly added. "We could go through the wall, if needed, though going through you would be far easier and quicker."

"We can probably go through the wall more quickly than through them," Yang said. "If we don't want to hurt them too much."

She was serious, Weiss knew, but the guards took this as a threat - she could see how they eyed each other and Team RWBY, and how their leader licked his lips, sweatdrops starting to run down his face.

"Trying to prevent the King's Hand from doing his duty is treason," Lord Stannis spat. "Are you traitors?"

The guards' leader swallowed. Weiss sympathised with him - he was caught between a pack of Beowulfs and a Ursa Major. If he let them in, he violated his duty to House Lannister. If he tried to stop them, he would be labelled a traitor.

Fortunately, they were prepared for that. Weiss stepped forward, past Lord Renly, as her friends did the same, approaching the line of guards at an unhurried pace without their weapons drawn. "Please, move aside," Ruby said as they reached them - and without waiting for an answer, gently grabbed the man's arms and lifted him up, then carried him to the side. Yang did the same with the man next to the leader, which was enough for the rest of the guards to fall back as well, clearing the path to the gate.

Weiss created a few glyphs to further hem in the guards as the group continued towards the gate. The guards inside hadn't pulled the drawbrîdge up, though they had closed the gate - whether that discrepancy was the result of incompetence or hesitation, Weiss couldn't say, but it made no difference anway; it would have been trivial for any Huntress to cut the chains holding the drawbridge up and let it fall down.

"Open the gate!" Lord Eddard called out. "In the name of the King!"

"The King is inside, and he hasn't said anything about this!"

Weiss looked up at the ramparts. Ser Jaime was looking down at them with his usual smirk on his face.

They had been prepared for that as well. Weiss gestured and created a few glyphs, which her team used as stepping stones to quickly reach the top of the wall with a few leaps.

Ser Jaime cocked his head at them, his sword already drawn. "So… you've decided to get involved in this, after all. I don't suppose you would tell me what Renly offered you so my father can match it?" His grin looked a little forced, but he was holding up far better in the face of certain defeat than most people Weiss knew.

"We weren't bribed!" Ruby spat. "This is about justice."

"Oh? What tale has Lord Renly spun, then, to make you attack my family? It wasn't Lord Stannis; the man has no talent for intrigue."

"We know about what you and your sister do," Ruby said with a grimace. "In the bedroom. We saw it," she added before he could deny it - all of them had seen his shock, followed by a scowl.

"We also have an agreement that neither you nor the queen will be killed for it," Weiss spoke quickly - desperate men were prone to lash out despite the futility of the act.

His eyes widened in surprise, but not for long. "So… you bargained Lord Eddard down to the Wall for me and the Silent Sisters for Cersei?"

Well, they had known he wasn't stupid, if not as smart as his brother.

"Yes." Ruby nodded.

"And your nephews and niece won't be punished for your actions," Weiss said.

He understood what she was implying, Weiss saw. He still looked around, as if weighing the odds, before he took a deep breath. "I see."

"We don't want anyone to die for this," Ruby said. "Please!"

He threw his head back and laughed. "So, that's how they got to you! Ah, if we had known…" Shaking his head, he dropped the sword to the ground. It almost fell off the rampart, Weiss noted. "Very well, I surrender."

*****​

"Traitors! Foul murderers! You killed the King, and now you want to kill me and his heirs! To arms! Guards! Defend your Queen! Jaime! Where are you? I need you!"

Not for the first time, Blake Belladonna wished her hearing wasn't quite as good as it was - the Queen's shrieking hurt. Maybe they should have knocked her out or gagged her, and damn the optics; it was already a debacle with the Queen being half-dragged, half-carried out of her quarters by two Stark guards while she cried for help.

"It could be worse," Weiss said in a low voice next to her, "if we were the ones to carry her out."

Blake hadn't thought about that - the screeching would be even worse if she were so close - but she nodded anyway. Better tell Yang that as well. Her partner could be impulsive.

Although, seeing as Yang was staring at the Queen with her arms crossed under her chest, that was probably not necessary, Blake amended her thoughts.

But, except for the utter loss of dignity the Queen was displaying - Blake couldn't tell if she had genuinely lost her composure or if she was deliberately acting like this to fish for sympathy from everyone who saw her - things had gone better than she had feared. A few guards had offered resistance, but they had been easily disarmed and overpowered by Blake's team, and none had suffered more than a few bruises.

"Mother? What is going on? Mother!"

Blake closed her eyes for a moment. Of course, just when she thought things were going well…

"Prince Joffrey, this is not…" Lord Eddard started to explain.

"Joffrey! Help me! They want to murder us all!"

"What?" The Prince stood in the doorway leading to the hallway outside.

"Your Grace, you aren't in any danger." Weiss had stepped up to the Prince.

"Stay away from him!" the Queen shrieked. "Joffrey! Help me!"

"What is going on?" the Prince looked around, taking in the whole scene. If only he had been a minute slower to arrive, they would have been halfway out of the holdfast by then. As it was, he had caught them in the entrance room.

"How did he get past the guards?" she heard Lord Renly mutter. "I gave clear orders to keep him away!"

Blake shook her head. Did he really expect his guards to stop the Prince if he pushed the issue? And the Prince would; he was a mere boy. A disturbed boy, what she had overheard proved it, but still a child.

But his sworn sword wasn't a child, and Blake used a few clones to appear in front of Clegane, meeting the man's eyes with a cold expression. If he tried to start anything, Prince's orders or not, Blake would end it.

Judging by his grimace and the curse he muttered, he was aware of that. Good.

"Joffrey! They want the throne! They'll kill us all!"

"This isn't about the throne, my prince," Lord Eddard said.

"Mother! Release her! Your King orders it!"

"You're no King yet!" Lord Stannis snapped.

"See? They admit it!" the Queen yelled. The two guards had stopped dragging her to the door - the prince was blocking it anyway - but hadn't released her.

"Your grace, your mother is under arrest for the crime of incest," Lord Eddard said. "Witnesses saw her and her brother. In bed."

The boy gaped. "What?"

"Lies! Lies!" the Queen screeched. "Don't listen to them! Help me!"

"Yes," Blake said, stepping closer to the Prince. "We're sorry you have to find out, especially like this, but the evidence is compelling."

"We wouldn't be here otherwise," Weiss said.

"Lies! They did this! They want the throne! They will seduce you and then kill you, Joffrey! Don't trust them!"

Blake was rapidly reconsidering her thoughts about knocking out or gagging the Queen.

The Prince was still blocking the door. "Mother! This can't be true!" He sounded desperate.

"It is not true! They lie! It's a plot against us!"

"But…"

Blake leaned in - he flinched but didn't shy away - and said in a low voice: "I saw them myself, Your Grace. The Queen and her brother."

He looked from her to the Queen, shaking his head as Blake saw tears appear in his eyes. "This… this can't be true."

"Joffrey! Help me!"

Weiss reached out and gently took his hand. "Please, Your Grace… this can't be settled here. Things will be explained later. And there will be a trial. Your uncle surrendered."

"No." He stared at the Queen.

"Lies! Jaime would never abandon me! He would die for me! They killed him, Joffrey!"

"We didn't kill him! We didn't even touch him!" Ruby blurted out. "We confronted him and he surrendered!"

"You have my word, Your Grace, that your uncle is in custody but unharmed," Weiss said.

Unharmed for now, Blake thought. They had seen one prisoner die before his trial; they would have to ensure that none tried to kill Ser Jaime or the Queen before their trial - everyone would blame Team RWBY if anything happened to the prisoners.

Shaking his head - and suddenly looking far younger and more fragile than before - the Prince turned away from the room and walked past Clegane, who followed him at once.

"Joffrey! Don't leave me! What did you do to him? Joffrey! Joffrey!"

"Finally!" Lord Renly scowled. "Who was in charge of locking the Prince in his chambers?"

"We couldn't stop him, m'lord!"

"Couldn't stop a little boy?" Lord Renly scowled.

"He is the Prince, my lord," Weiss reminded him. "And Clegane, his sworn sword, is certainly not a little boy."

"Joffrey! Jaime! Help me! Unhand me! You will all pay for this!"

Lord Renly looked like he wanted to retort, but shook his head instead. "Let's get Cersei to the Black Cells. I'm getting a headache from her screaming."

Blake nodded in agreement. If not for her Aura, her ears would probably have started bleeding by now - all four of them.

*****​

That had been a mess! Yang Xiao Long shook her head - and checked that she couldn't still hear the Queen's screeching; shouldn't the woman be hoarse by now? Blake must have had it even worse with her ears! - as she walked across the courtyard. "So much for coming quietly," she commented.

Blake snorted, and Weiss frowned, which Yang had expected, but Ruby didn't react, and that was a bad sign.

"Ruby?" Yang asked as she stepped up to her sister.

"We'll have to explain this to the Prince. And to his brother and sister as well," Ruby said. "And they're little children!"

Ugh. Yang grimaced. How could they explain what crime the Queen and her brother had done without explaining what incest was? She glanced at Weiss.

Her friend huffed. "That isn't a problem. The Prince already knows. His siblings can simply be told that the Queen committed a crime and will face a trial."

That sounded reasonable enough.

"We have a much more important problem," Weiss said. "We need to take measures to prevent rumours that paint us as having launched a coup against the royal family."

"We can take a stroll with the Prince while we explain things to him," Ruby said. "People can see us walk together and will know we didn't hurt him."

"That won't prevent some from claiming we were forcing him to come with us," Blake pointed out. "We cannot stop such rumours. Not after we pushed our way into the royal quarters and arrested the Queen."

"Yes, we cannot prevent it, but we can at least ensure that the truth gets out as well," Weiss said. "And that means telling people what happened and our stance. Many smallfolk consider us messengers from the gods, which should help with presenting our side."

"They probably would back a coup by us anyway," Yang said. Those people were pretty crazy about their gods.

Weiss scowled. "Yes, they probably would. Which means they should listen when we tell them that this was not a coup but merely us lending assistance to the King's Hand and the Master of Laws."

That sounded a bit optimistic to Yang, but it probably wouldn't hurt. And it would prevent people from assuming it was a coup and trying to help them. That would be really bad. "So, who's going to the Sept?"

"Weiss should go," Ruby said,

"Ruby should go," Weiss said.

"Your glyphs really impressed everyone!"

"So did your Semblance!"

"Best go both together," Yang told them. Really! They shouldn't be bickering like this - not in the open, at least. Then again, the whole debacle had strained everyone's nerves. Yang had really wanted to punch the bitch's lights out.

"Well…"

"I suppose that would be acceptable."

"Good! Now off with you two! We'll spread the word in the Keep." Yang made shooing gestures with her hands,

"'Spread the word'?" Ruby asked.

"People will want to ask us what happened. It would be rude not to answer their questions, right?" Yang shrugged.

"Actually, in a decent judicial system, witnesses commenting on the investigation would affect the credibility of their testimonies," Weiss said. "But since people here think you can judge people on appearances and the outcome of a duel…" She shook her head. "Let's go, Ruby."

"Ah, yes! Bye, Yang! Bye, Blake!"

Yang looked at them until they had left through the gate, then turned to her partner. "I almost expected you to say something about being judged on appearances."

Blake snorted. "Weiss has come a long way."

So did you, Yang added silently. "So… let's get something to eat in the Great Hall and see how long it takes for someone to approach us. I think they've got more fresh fish yesterday."

Blake nodded. "I know."

Of course, she would know. She probably smelled them already. Or checked the stores at night while looking for poison. Yang really needed to pull her weight there - Blake couldn't do this all by herself. But they could sort that out later. She crossed her arms behind her head and started walking towards the Great Hall.

*****​

As it turned out, they hadn't even reached the table before the first question flew at them.

"My ladies! Would you care to tell us what just happened?" Prince Oberyn grinned at them, but he and his paramour looked a bit strained, Yang thought. They kept glancing around. Of course, their family weren't too friendly with either Lannisters or Baratheons, and Oberyn was a potential suspect for the King's murder.

But that wasn't their problem. Yang nodded. "The Queen and Ser Jaime were arrested. For sleeping with each other."

For the first time since she had met the man, Prince Oberyn looked shocked. He was blinking, his mouth half open. "What?"

The whole table had fallen silent, Yang realised. Ah, well, they had said they would spread word.

"The charges are adultery and incest. And violating the oath of the Kingsguard," Blake said.

"Well, Ser Jaime already violated his oaths when he killed the Mad King, but… incest?" Prince Oberyn shook his head. "That sounds too far-fetched to be believable."

"Yes," Ellara added. "How trustworthy are those accusations?"

"Very," Yang said with a nod.

"I saw them myself doing the deed," Blake added.

"Oh." Prince Oberyn blinked again. "Trustworthy indeed, then."

Ellaria nodded. "Yes. Who would dare to question the Blessed Maidens?"

"And who would dare to face you in a trial by combat?" Oberyn added with a wide smile. "Ah, if only I could see Lord Tywin's face when he hears about this! His eldest children sleeping with each other! The shame!" He started laughing.

Around them, people had started whispering, then talking as the news spread.

"How do you think he will react?" Yang asked.

"Hm?" Oberyn stopped laughing. "Oh, he'll call his banners. He is too proud to do anything else."

"Call his banners? You mean, he'll start a war?" Yang asked.

"Oh, yes. A war he will lose!"

The man was too damn happy about a potential civil war, in Yang's opinion. They had to discuss this with the others. If war broke out… Yang remembered what she had learned about the Great War and the Faunus Rights Revolution.

They had to stop this!

*****​

 

[Starfox5]

Good.They have no reasons to go there,becouse it is obvious,that whatever lurk there,do not knew how to travel to another dimensions.
I hope,that children knew sometching - what Leaf said,suggest that.

Click to shrink...

They will try their best.

 

[0SoutherPot760]

It seems Ruby hasnt gotten the idea that they have to wake up a bit. It isn't remnant anymore. Sure Stannis applies the law even when it is morally wrong to do so, but its been their culture for how long again?? Back in HOTD they hanged all the rat-catchers because of one(two), and now they are torturing all the chefs/cooks because of one. And in both cases someone of the royal family died! It will be interesting when they figure out Stannis is willing to hold ANYONE accountable, even them if they are found to be doing something criminal. Either way it seems the war of the five kings or its equivalent will start with them dragged right in the middle of it

 

[Mike9650]

To be honest, while I understand RWBY's point of view, there are moments when I wince.

The reason Westeros is the way it is stems from the circumstances there. Adultery is a serious crime, not only because it can strain marriages, but because it can cause alliances to fall apart, friendships to be ruined, and wars to be instigated—especially among the nobility. Incest is even more serious, as it can cause all the above and also dilute the integrity of the genetic line of the offspring. There's a reason why some Targaryens went mad: it was because of incest. And we all know how disastrous it can be when a mad person holds power over the realm.

At times, I feel that Team RWBY is not being considerate of the fact that people can only make the choices available to them—choices that are often hard, and sometimes even terrible.

It's easy to say, "this is good" or "this is bad." It's easy to say, "you should do this" or "you should do that." But life isn't that simple. Ideals must be paired with reality, or else they remain nothing more than fiction. People are not pure; they should not view themselves as above others to the point where they deny the truth. If you want to be a good person, you have to try to be a good person—and you have to have your ideals of goodness tested to prove they are real and not simply dreams.

 

[Starfox5]

Oh, RWBY isn't actually ignorant of the fact why Westeros is how it is. But why should that dictate their own actions? Should they let what they see as an injustice happen because it was always like that?

Or in other words, they aren't limited as the Westerosi are. And should they hold themselves to a lower standard? Further, we have perfect examples of how the Westerosi nobles act when they are the ones with the power to enforce their will, other people's customs and mores be damned. The Targaryen demonstrated that, but it's not as Ned would respect Wildling culture, so to speak, especially when it clashes with his own or endangers people he wants to protect.

I think expecting RWBY - or anyone else with their worldview and the power to enforce it - to let locals execute or maim a teenage thief or kill someone for adultery would be going far too far. (Also, I think it would be even more frustrating to see people with overwhelming power, or the appearance of it, not step in when something horrible happens because "that's their culture and they have reasons for it". At least for me, that's the case. And, of course, there wouldn't be much of a story, and the characters wouldn't be RWBY at all, if they simply went along with the local customs and stayed out of any trouble while looking for a way back. The clash of their own views and the fucked-up Westerosi society, and the limits of their power, despite being untouchable, is the core of the plot, after all.)

 

[Spartan303]

See if I get this straight. Team RWBY somehow got Stannis to back down from attempting to overthrowing Joffrey due to purely a legal argument that punches holes in his claims? Man, someone mark that down, cause that is a FIRST for Stannis. Renly knows they're gonna have to deal with Joffrey though, and I'm sure once team RWBY is gone so too will be Joffrey. I'm actually amazed that Joffrey has been able to keep up his nice guy act here. Cause I figured he would have broke by this point.

 

[ATP]

Oh, RWBY isn't actually ignorant of the fact why Westeros is how it is. But why should that dictate their own actions? Should they let what they see as an injustice happen because it was always like that?

Or in other words, they aren't limited as the Westerosi are. And should they hold themselves to a lower standard? Further, we have perfect examples of how the Westerosi nobles act when they are the ones with the power to enforce their will, other people's customs and mores be damned. The Targaryen demonstrated that, but it's not as Ned would respect Wildling culture, so to speak, especially when it clashes with his own or endangers people he wants to protect.

I think expecting RWBY - or anyone else with their worldview and the power to enforce it - to let locals execute or maim a teenage thief or kill someone for adultery would be going far too far. (Also, I think it would be even more frustrating to see people with overwhelming power, or the appearance of it, not step in when something horrible happens because "that's their culture and they have reasons for it". At least for me, that's the case. And, of course, there wouldn't be much of a story, and the characters wouldn't be RWBY at all, if they simply went along with the local customs and stayed out of any trouble while looking for a way back. The clash of their own views and the fucked-up Westerosi society, and the limits of their power, despite being untouchable, is the core of the plot, after all.)

Click to shrink...

Indeed.There could be people who just look at tortures and say"that is their culture" , but - RWBY are not one of them.And it would be strange if they acted like that.Especially,when they could change things.

About situation - they have civil war,which could end very quickly when RWBY catch Tywin,or later, if they refuse to do so - but,Lannisters here arleady lost.
What next? when they discover,that locals really do not notching,they could check isle of faces just to be sure/somebody herfe maybe knew something/ , and they go east...but where?
as far as i knew,nobody on Planetos knew how to go to another dimension......well,with possible exception of children.

P.S I knew,that they do not plan to go to Stygoi or Kadath - but it would be funny if they go,beat shit out of undead there,and their leader would say something like:
"stop beat me,please,i really do not knew anytching"

 

[Starfox5]

See if I get this straight. Team RWBY somehow got Stannis to back down from attempting to overthrowing Joffrey due to purely a legal argument that punches holes in his claims? Man, someone mark that down, cause that is a FIRST for Stannis. Renly knows they're gonna have to deal with Joffrey though, and I'm sure once team RWBY is gone so too will be Joffrey. I'm actually amazed that Joffrey has been able to keep up his nice guy act here. Cause I figured he would have broke by this point.

Click to shrink...

Well, a legal argument backed by "and if you put them on trial, Ruby will be their champion in the trial by combat, and none can beat her". As long as RWBY backs the kids, they can't be tried.

Indeed.There could be people who just look at tortures and say"that is their culture" , but - RWBY are not one of them.And it would be strange if they acted like that.Especially,when they could change things.

About situation - they have civil war,which could end very quickly when RWBY catch Tywin,or later, if they refuse to do so - but,Lannisters here arleady lost.
What next? when they discover,that locals really do not notching,they could check isle of faces just to be sure/somebody herfe maybe knew something/ , and they go east...but where?
as far as i knew,nobody on Planetos knew how to go to another dimension......well,with possible exception of children.

P.S I knew,that they do not plan to go to Stygoi or Kadath - but it would be funny if they go,beat shit out of undead there,and their leader would say something like:
"stop beat me,please,i really do not knew anytching"

Click to shrink...

They're looking for all kinds of magic places. Of course, beating up an undead monster and it turns out he doesn't know - Yang "Damn, you're not Junior by chance?" - would be funny.

 

[TDMMyst]

Wonderfully done story mate! I wish you'd put this up in the NSFW forum, since traffic is higher there and this story really deserves a lot more readers. (And you did include beheading, maiming, etc. Isn't that NSFW?)