Chapter Text
“Yang, watch out!”
Ilia thrust her spear upwards, directly into an enormous black furry fist. The massive winged beast had appeared from behind them as silently as a wraith. Its deafening roar of pain sent both of them stumbling back. Burning red eyes glared hatefully at them as it clutched its hand.
She could only spare a glance to check that the blond brawler standing by her was unharmed. Yang’s hands were wreathed in fire and blood trickled from a cut on her temple.
The creature beat its grotesque, ragged wings. It launched itself into the air, over the two women and coming to land next to its mistress.
“How do you like my new pet?”
Cinder had gotten smarter since the last time they crossed blades. She’d waited for the perfect moment to summon the beast and judging by her shit-eating grin, she knew it too. The ape-like creature was huge, easily as tall as a house. It was covered in black fur and patches of bone-like armour, most notably on its head. Red eyes glared at them from the sunken sockets behind the bone-white skull. Ilia suppressed a shudder, its enormous fangs would crush any limb unlucky enough to be found in its mouth.
“Finally, I thought you weren’t going to offer any real challenge Cinder!” Yang shouted back.
Blake appeared next to Ilia, her katana at the ready and her ears flicking back and forth. Likewise, Ruby had manoeuvred herself back into position next to Yang, an arrow nocked on her bow.
“Ilia, you and Blake draw whatever the heck that thing is away from Cinder, Yang you get her full attention and when she’s distracted I’ll hit her with the special arrow Ozma made for us,” Ruby said, her voice low enough not to be overheard. Cinder was done waiting though, lifting herself into the air, fire burning around her fists and in her eyes.
Before Ilia could even give Ruby a nod of understanding, Yang exploded forward with a furious shout and launched her own fireball at Cinder.
“I’ll draw it out, you hit it from the side and we’ll get lure it as far away as we can!” Ilia urged Blake. The faunas woman nodded, her amber eyes narrowed in concentration. She dashed away towards its flank. Ilia readjusted her grip on her spear and her kite shield, it was showtime.
Reaching into the well of magic within herself Ilia manipulated elements around her, drawing on the one that came most naturally to her. The air crackled with charged energy until it could no longer be contained and she thrust her spear forwards with a shout. The lightning bolt split the air with a thunderous roar and slammed into the creature, throwing it off of its charge towards Yang.
The beast turned towards her. She didn’t give it a chance to change its mind, sending another bolt lancing into it. The creature roared, its red eyes burning and it charged towards her.
Its first blow barely missed as she rolled away. The enormous fists slammed into the ground, nearly staggering her with the shockwave. She slashed wildly at it with her spear, dancing out of its range. It rared up on two legs above her. Its fist wound back for another swing, but then it stumbled to the side letting out a pained screech. Blake shot out from behind it, her blade covered in black ichor.
The fight transitioned into a game of keep-away and attack. The beast was strong and faster than a creature of its size had any right to be. Before long, Ilia could feel the beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. She dived again, throwing herself out of the way of one of its wild swings. Ilia wound up a shot to release another lightning bolt at the creature when Cinder's furious scream pierced the air.
Ruby’s arrow had struck true. The point sticking out of the left side of her chest. She collapsed in on herself, falling from the air and hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
The creature beat its massive wings. It sniffed the air and launched itself up. With a final roar, it flew off over the treetops, abandoning its former mistress to her fate. The four of them cautiously closed in on Cinder, weapons at the ready. She was shaking as she lay there. The elegant red dress she wore was now tattered and torn. “It can’t end like this, she promised it wouldn’t end like this!” Cinder snarled at them.
“Who are you working for Cinder, who’s behind the raids?” Ruby demanded.
Cinder pushed herself back up to glare at them. One hand palm flat in the dirt, the other clutching her wound. Fire no longer burned in her eyes, just pure, unbridled hatred. “You four have ruined our plans at every turn. I would have her complete favour if it weren’t for you!”
“You never stood a chance against us alone Cinder.” Yang shot back
The woman on the ground threw back her head and laughed, a manic kind of desperation in the sound. “Alone? I’m never alone now that she’s with me. But you, you will be alone, you will know loss as I have!” Cinder screeched and thrust the hand on her chest towards them, her hand full of sickly green energy.
Ilia moved without thinking, tackling Blake to the ground and covering them both as best she could with her shield. The air exploded as a shock wave of magic passed over them.
When the dust had settled, Ilia allowed herself to open her eyes. Blake was still pressed into her and she could feel her breath warmly against her neck, which was a very good sign as it meant neither of them was dead. They disentangled themselves to stand.
“Oh no.” Blake gasped and Ilia turned to find the sisters still laying on the ground from where the magical explosion had thrown them. Blake bolted past her towards Yang. Ilia was moving too but she felt as though she were moving underwater. The air was as thick as molasses as she tried to rush to Ruby’s side. She slid to a stop next to her, discarding her weapons as she went.
“Ruby, Ruby!”
Ruby’s skin was cool to the touch but her eyes fluttered open. “Ilia?”
“Hey, yeah it’s okay, your okay.”
Ruby shook her head, “I feel cold Ilia, I can’t move my legs.”
Ilia looked down at Ruby’s boots and an ice-cold dread seized her heart. Ruby’s legs up to her waist had been transformed into solid granite stone. The curse looked to be spreading, creeping its way up her body.
“Oh, that’s bad…” Ruby had tried to sit up but was now slumped back on the ground, a grim expression on her face.
“Ruby, I don’t know… I don’t know how to stop this!” Ilia cried, wracking her brain for any solution she might have heard of, even in passing to stop a curse like this from spreading.
“You can fix this Ilia, you just have to believe in your— “Whatever Ruby had been going to say was lost as petrification reached her neck and her voice sputtered out. She held Ilia’s gaze, her silver eyes filled with warmth even as they turned to stone.
The old man stooped low over the figures laying on the bench. His short, shaggy hair white hair swayed with the movements of his inspection. The light of the swirling magic that danced around his hands reflected off the small round spectacles and gave his eyes an almost ethereal glow. As it ebbed and flowed, so too did the flames in the candles on the walls, casting shadows that flared and dimmed with his movements. Finally, when the light faded from his hands, he stood up straight and adjusted his glasses.
“Miss Belladonna, Miss Amitola, I’m afraid the magic that has trapped your friends in their current form is far beyond any simple petrification spell. This is a powerful curse. One which is beyond my abilities to remove.”
“What— ?”
“No th— !”
The words died in her throat. Beside her, Blake had also leapt from the small wooden chair she was sitting on. The dismay on her face was as painful as the guilt she felt in her own heart. She should have been faster, been better prepared for Cinder's final blow. She had to fix this.
“There must be something we can do, something you can do! You’re Ozma, the most powerful wizard Remnant has ever known!”
Ozma turned and picked up his staff from where it leaned against the table with a sigh. “That is most certainly not true, Miss Amitola. Though I do possess some measure of magical power, there are beings out there with far greater power than I. Including, if what you have told me is true, the being who was using Cinder Fall as her conduit.”
“Who is this woman? Is she some kind of witch?” Blake demand
“No, to say she is a witch or a woman would be to say that green dragon is a mere gecko. She is someone who I hoped would remain banished from this realm for centuries yet to come and for sending you unprepared against one of her agents I am truly sorry.”
“Then please there must be something you can do to help us fix this!” Ilia said, unable to keep the desperation out of her voice, “We’ll do anything, even chase rumours and heresy for any kind of cure.”
“Anything?” Ozma asked, “Are you sure you wish to commit to such ambiguous terms?”
Ilia and Blake’s eyes met as they both turned to each other. Before Ilia could even open her mouth to speak, Blake nodded her agreement.
“Anything, anything at all,” Ilia replied.
Ozma sighed and clasped his hands around his staff.
“The only thing I can give you is time. Over a long enough time, the curse will begin to weaken on its own. However, in your travels, the four of you have made quite a reputation for yourselves, as well as more than your share of enemies. If they learn now what has befallen you, they will almost centrally use this time to strike while you are at half strength. You must take your companions somewhere you can watch over them until someone with the power and the knowledge to undo this curse arrives.” Ozma looked hard into her eyes, then into Blake’s. “Are you prepared to undertake this burden?”
Ilia didn’t hesitate to nod her head.
“I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Then brace yourselves, the transformation will not be pleasant.”
Magic burst forth from Ozma’s staff lifting her off the ground. Before she could even cry out, she was overwhelmed by the sensation of her body painfully rearranging itself and a creeping stony texture spread across her skin.
The grounds of High Wind Castle lay in the ruins of the settlement of Mountain Glenn. Once a proud home to Baroness Sinna Marigold, the town and its fortress was overrun by a powerful warlord who ransacked them both before the king's men could arrive. Now it lay abandoned. There was little left of the township, the wooden structures of the homes and shops had long since rotted away. A scattered grove of trees had sprung up in its place, with flowers of white and yellow blooming underneath them in the late spring air.
High Wind Castle, for the most part, had remained reasonably well intact. Moss and vines grew in abundance over its stony walls but in the two hundred years since its fall the walls had remained strong and only one of its towers had collapsed. It was here that Ilia perched on the roof, indistinguishable from the rest of the masonry. Once, it had been her faunas trait, her chameleon-like ability to change the colour of her skin, that allowed her to blend seamlessly into the background of any situation. Now it was the new appearance the Wizard Ozma had given her.
Her face had elongated into a snout with fearsome fangs and teeth. Horns had sprouted from her forehead, curling up towards her hair. A pair of bat-like wings had grown from her back and a dragon-like tail from behind. All that remained of her clothes was her brown leather jerkin that hung open. Without close inspection, she and Blake were identical to the other inanimate gargoyles that sat on the walls of High Wind Castle.
Embedded Image description: It is night. Ilia’s eyes glow with amber light. She sits atop a stone square pillar facing the left, her wings spread out behind her. Two small horns protrude from her head and her ponytail with its distinctive curve sits behind them. Her ears have grown into a large bat ear-like shape and her hands and feet are now clawed. A long tail has grown behind her. To Ilia’s left another gargoyle (Blake) sits across the roof half out of the frame of the image.
And so here she sat.
In the decades they had been here, only a handful of adventures and brigands had come looking for them. They had come looking for treasures left behind in the wake of their ‘demise’ and it was a simple matter to chase them off with her and Blake’s new terrifying appearance.
Now, under the cover of night, it seemed three new strangers were coming to try their luck. Ilia watched and waited as they approached in a line on horseback. All of them had hair as pure white as the driven snow, the one in front had theirs tied up in a tight bun, the one in the middle wore theirs in a simple braid down the back, and the third's was cropped short and combed over to the side. It did not take long for them to reach castle proper. The three strangers tethered their horses and after some brief deliberation, the one with the long braid ignited a torch and the other two followed them into the castle.
Ilia slipped through a hole in the castle roof. The claws on her feet and hands kept her anchored to the ceiling as she tracked the stranger's progress through the great hall. Blake had silently crept in after her and was making her way across the other side of the ceiling. They had done this many times, it always caught the intruders unaware.
Humans never look up.
It was pitch black, save for the light from their torch. Ilia could see them clearly though, her night-vision was as good as before her transformation. The intruders had shed their travelling cloaks, revealing two women and a young man. The woman with the braid now clutched an open book in the hand not holding the torch. The woman with the bun had drawn her rapier and was scanning the room for hidden threats. The young man glance around occasionally but his attention was focused on the woman with the book.
They drew close to the dais where Ruby and Yang lay side by side on stone platforms. The woman with the book had been muttering to herself indistinctly, now spoke clearly to her companions. “The four legendary warriors bound in stone, awaiting the day someone will release them… but there’s only two here…?”
Blake caught Ilia’s eye and gave a brief nod. They dropped, landing between Ruby and Yang, and the intruders.
“Why do you trespass here?!” Blake roared. The outburst sent the young man stumbling back, tripping over himself to get away. The woman with the rapier leapt into a fighting stance and seemed poised to attack when the other woman’s arm shot out to stop her.
“Four warriors of stone… It’s you, isn’t it? You are the other two warriors?”
Ilia and Blake glanced at each other.
“What’s it to you if we are?” Ilia asked.
The woman glanced down at her book, then a look of resolve overtook her face. “My name is Weiss Schnee and I— We, my sister Winter, my brother Whitley and I, have come to humbly request your aid.” She followed this statement with a low curtsy, “Our father has launched a coup in the kingdom of Atlas. His tyrannical rule now sees many of our citizens enslaved in his mines and many more suffering still. We intend to overthrow him and restore justice to the kingdom. In return, we believe we have found a way to break the curse that afflicts you all.”
Hope flared in Ilia’s chest but she quickly tamped down on it.
“And how do you propose to accomplish that?” Ilia said, unable to keep the bite of disbelief out of her voice. Why now? After all this time, how could have these three possibly have found a way?
“Our family’s archives specialize in the history of magic and magical artefacts on Remnant,” Weiss re-opened her book and began to skim through its pages, “One of the tomes makes mention of a powerful artefact, capable of breaking any curse when applied with the correct magical knowledge.” She stopped turning the pages and held out the book for Ilia and Blake to see. Inside were prim and neat handwriting describing a ritual, as well as several detailed drawings. “I believe I have found the correct ritual that will allow us to harness the artefact to free you from these forms.”
Ilia and Blake looked at each other. She knew what Blake was thinking, the exact same thing she was. She didn’t dare let her hopes up, but this was the first real lead they had had in decades.
Blake looked back at Weiss. “If this is a trick…” she growled.
The woman with the rapier, Winter, stepped forward glaring. “It is no trick!” She barked, “We are here to ask for your assistance, if you refuse, we will seek it elsewhere.”
“If it were a trick, it would be all the more foolish of you.” Ilia replied with a bitter laugh, “the only treasure here is what you see before you.” She turned to lay her clawed hand on the platform where Ruby lay. The room fell silent at her action. Only the sputtering of the torch drifted in the air.
“Did you bring the artefact with you?” Ilia asked, turning back to the group. Whitley’s shoulders fell at the question and Winter stiffened. Only Weiss held her gaze calmly. “We wanted to verify that legend of the four warriors was in fact true before we attempted to retrieve it, it is said to be protected by an extremely powerful guardian,” She glanced between Ilia and Blake, “With the help of one of you though, I believe we would be able to succeed in overcoming it.”
There was always a catch.
Blake must have sensed her unease. “It’s late, why don’t you make camp outside. Ilia and I need some time to discuss your proposal.”
Weiss nodded, “We will see you in the morning then.” With that, she turned and lead her siblings out of the hall.
Ilia waited until they were going before rounding on Blake, “You can’t seriously be thinking of leaving with them?”
“No, I was thinking you should go with them,” Blake replied. The expression she made with her snout was akin to a grimace but Ilia knew she was smiling.
“You can’t be serious!” She said, closing the distance between them, “What if this is just some ploy to lure one of us away?”
“I have no doubt you’d be able to handle it if it were,” Blake said, raising an eyebrow at her. “Or are you worried your skills have gotten rusty since it’s been so long?”
“Hardly!”
“Then what are you worried about?” Blake’s hand came to rest on her shoulder in a comforting grasp
“I just… I need some time to think about it.” She stared down at the tiled stone floor. It had been so long since she had left the castle, let alone been around anyone other than Blake.
“Well, you’ve got until morning,” Blake smiled at her again, “let’s just stay down here tonight.”
“Okay.”
Ilia sat down in front of the dais, curling her wings behind her and allowing her body to settle into a rigid stillness that had come with her transformation. She could stay stationary in a single pose for years at a time if needed. She felt Blake sidle in next to her and wrap a wing around her back. They never truly slept, but settling like was like falling into a meditative trance. Ilia allowed her thoughts to slow and began contemplating the offer that the Schnee’s had brought.
Dawn broke slowly over High Wind Castle. At the edge of her consciousness, Ilia was aware of the light beginning to filter through the cracks and hollows in the castle's walls. From outside came the sounds of Schnees starting their morning routine, their muffled voices drew Ilia out of her meditative state. She sensed Blake was already waiting for her.
“If this all turns to shit I’m blaming you completely you know.”
Blake gave a small huff of laughter and shook her head, “You’ll be fine, c’mon the sooner you get going, the sooner you can be back.” With that, she stood and walked towards the entrance.
Ilia rolled her eyes and resignedly followed after her.
The youngest Schnee, Whitley, tended the bubbling pot of oatmeal they had set over a small fire pit. Behind him in an open clearing a short distance from the camp, his sisters were engaged in a sparing match. Winter was on the defensive, alternating parring with a small dagger and her rapier against Weiss’s rapier. Both of them were clearly well practised with their chosen weapons. Ilia moved past the fire for a better view. Winter only gave a few more steps before she trapped her sister's blade between both of hers and with a solid kick straight into Weiss's abdomen, sent the woman sprawling. To Ilia’s surprise, Weiss leapt back to her feet just in time to parry the strike aimed straight at her neck, her hand clutching her midsection for only a moment before she used it to lash out with a punch that sent Winter dancing back out of the way.
“Breakfast is ready!”
Whitley's shout drew both of their attention. Weiss looked to Winter and copied her motion when she sheathed her blades. They spoke for a moment, Ilia was too far away to hear what was said but when Winter laid her hand on Weiss's shoulder and her cheeks flushed and a broad smile grew on her face, it wasn’t hard to guess she’d received some kind of praise for her efforts.
Ilia turned back to the fire to find Blake and Whitley having their own conversation.
“— Archmagister has always been a prestigious position within the Atlas royal court and I take my studies very seriously,” Whitley said and Blake nodded politely in acknowledgement.
“Observe.”
The young man began murmuring an incantation, his hand outstretched towards the grass beyond the fire pit. Slowly but surely, droplets of water rose up from the grass until they formed a steady stream of water. The water splashed into the fire pit, extinguishing the flames and sending a plume of steam up around the pot.
“Showing off again Whitley?”
At Weiss's comment her brother's face began to turn beat-red, “Of course not,” he replied indignantly, “I was merely demonstrating that we have more than just brute force to assist us in this mad quest you’ve insisted on dragging me on.”
Winter ignored both of them, fetching bowls and utensils from their saddlebags. “Mind your manners, both of you,” She scolded when it appeared they were about to begin squabbling with each other, “We are guests here.” Winter turned to Blake and Ilia, “Will you be joining us for breakfast?”
Blake shook her head. “Thank you but no, we no longer need to eat.”
All the siblings appeared taken aback at the comment but recovered quickly and started dishing up the meal amongst themselves. They seated themselves around the camp and Ilia and Blake joined them.
“I do not believe we properly introduced ourselves last night,” Blake said, “I am Blake, this is Ilia.”
“Have you decided if one of you will be able to accompany us to retrieve the artefact?” Weiss asked before even touching her oatmeal. The eagerness in her voice was only barely contained.
Blake gave Ilia a nudge with her wingtip.
Ilia suppressed a sigh, “I will be joining you on your mission to retrieve the artefact.”
Weiss looked delighted, Whitley relieved, and Winter impassive at the news.
“How long will it take us to reach this artefact?” Ilia asked
“It should only be a two or three-day ride, depending on the conditions,” Weiss answered without hesitation.
“Well you’d better hurry up and finish your breakfast then, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
After breaking camp and saying goodbye to Blake, the Schnees rode out to the road and Ilia followed above them. The wind glided under her wings but truly the only thing keeping her borne aloft was the innate magic that had come with her transformation.
Below her, the lands were blooming in the seasonable spring weather. Fields of golden wheat and barely dotted the landscape amid the forests and downs. When she and Blake had first arrived at the abandoned town of Mountain Glenn, built onto the side of its mountainous namesake, the lands had fallen back into unkempt barrens. Scrubs and saplings had overgrown the once tilled fields and it was a perfect refuge from prying eyes. Though in the near-century that had passed, civilization had crept ever closer to their hideaway.
Despite herself, she soon found herself smiling as she swooped and soared through the sky. Flying was fun dammit and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t missed it. Her grumpiness at Blake’s insistence of her journeying with the Schnees had all but disappeared by the time they made camp that evening.
They had chosen a glade of trees far enough off the dirt road as not to be spotted by anyone travelling it, as unlikely as that were. By the time Ilia landed, Winter was already unpacking a short bow and quiver from her saddlebags. The woman wordlessly disappeared into the trees while Weiss un-saddled her horse and Whitley used his magic to set up a new cooking space. They obviously had a routine well established as by the time Winter returned with a plump pheasant, a large pot of water was already boiling over the stove and Weiss had just finished brushing down their horses.
Ilia made herself comfortable under one of the larger oak trees. There was little for her to do, she carried no gear that needed maintenance, nor did she need to eat. So she simply sat and settled down for the night. Her plans however were disrupted by Weiss approaching her, after the group had finished their dinner.
“Ilia?”
Maybe she could just pretend to be asleep?
“Do you sleep with your eyes open? That would be pretty weird.”
Ilia turned her head to stare at Weiss. “I don’t sleep.”
“You don’t…” Her words petered out and she shuffled her feet, her boots scuffing on the ground, “Well anyway, I was hoping I could ask you something?”
Ilia suppressed a groan. “Fine, just make it quick.”
“Is it true that you can turn invisible?”
“What?”
“Well, it’s just that all the stories I’ve read about you and your friends, they refer to you as ‘Ilia the Invisible’.”
Hmm, she’d almost forgotten the moniker. It had started as a joke, but when it kept people watching her instead of Blake as she slipped into the shadows it became very useful. “No, I never learned any illusory magic like that. That was much more Blake’s speciality than mine. I am… I was a chameleon faunas, I could blend into the background of any of my surroundings.”
“Oh.”
Weiss's gaze broke away from her own and looked up into the trees. Her expression was contemplative. Silence settled between them into the rhythms of the evening. The rustle of the grass as the small creatures that made their homes moved through it. The dying sunlight cast shadows of leaves that stretched out over both of them and across the clearing.
“What was it like?”
“What do you mean?” Ilia asked. Her eyes narrowed as she guessed the turn their conversation was about to take. Weiss was looking at her now with the same sincere expression she had worn we declaring hear intentions in the castle.
“You know, travailing, fighting monsters, being heroes?”
Ilia waved her clawed hand dismissively, her expression hardening. “I’m not fit to be called a hero. It was my carelessness that resulted in what happened to Ruby and Yang.”
Weiss’s expression didn’t change despite the glare she was reviving. “Sometimes, bad things just happen. That’s what Winter told me. After we had to flee from Atlas after Mother was killed.”
How could she possibly think to understand? Anger coiled in her chest. “It’s not the same.” She growled. Weiss took a step back but didn’t break eye contact with her.
“Maybe not, but we’ll help you get your friends back, I promise on my honour as a Schnee.”
Weiss crossed her hand over her chest at her last words and nodded her head resolutely. With that declaration made, she turned and marched back towards her siblings. Ilia watched her go, shaking her head. Had she ever been that naive? Maybe this had been a mistake after all.
The brisk morning's ride (and flight in Ilia’s case) had brought them to the outskirts of a small farming village. Whitley had insisted they visit as they were running low on supplies. Out of sight of the village in a grove of trees, Ilia approached the siblings from where she had landed.
“Shall I wait for you here then? I don’t think the townsfolk will be as understanding you three about my appearance.” Ilia asked dryly.
“No,” Winter shook her head, “You should join us, it wouldn’t do for us to become separated.”
“Oh, and how do you propose I do that?”
“Simple really,” Whitley replied, “I’ll be casting a glamour to disguise our own appearances. As I’m sure you’ve realized our distinct hair colour makes us quite recognizable and Father no doubt has his men searching for us. It will be a simple matter to make you appear human.”
Easier said than done. Ilia currently stood half a head higher than Winter, who was the tallest of all the siblings. She’d also have to keep her wings firmly tucked in to avoid catching them on anything. It had also been a very long time since she’d been anywhere like a busy marketplace.
“I don’t know about this…”
“You’ll be fine,” Weiss said, stepping forward to lay her hand on Ilia’s arm. “This way we can split up to cover everything we need. We’ll be back on the road in no time.”
It only took a few moments for Whitley to prepare the spell. The result was extremely convincing, the Schnees’ hair was a dull mousy brown and their faces were worn and slightly dirty, as though they had been travailing rough for months. Looking at her own hands, they were once again human, although this time her complexion matched the much lighter Schnees skin tone.
Once they had set off, it took very little time to reach the village proper. The people they met on the way greeted them with a smile and wave, or casual indifference. It was a good sign, seemingly that no one was expecting any trouble. When they arrived Weiss and Winter set off to find supplies to mend their weapons and horse tack, while Whitley and Ilia wandered towards the stalls selling fresh produce. The spring weather had obviously been kind as there was a wide range of root vegetables and leafy greens on display. Whitley bought and paid for the goods without bothering to haggle for better prices, paying far more than what Ilia would have ever done on her own travels.
“You could have gotten a better deal than that,” Ilia said after he purchased a half-sack of potato at twice the price of what she would be expected.
Whitley gave her a contemptuous look. “Arguing over the price of food is a waste of my time and talents.”
“Seems you feel that way about a lot of things,” Ilia replied.
Whitley gave a small humph and glared up at her. “Well, this plan that Weiss has concocted seems to be more of a fool's errand. There are many institutions in Remnant that would have accepted a talented Mage such as myself. I could be furthering my studies somewhere befitting my abilities, rather than living in these abominable conditions.”
“What about your sisters?” asked Ilia
“They are not without their own talents, Winter would make quite the capable sell-sword I’m sure.”
“Do you not want to stay with your family?”
Whitley frowned at her question, he hadn’t looked away before, staring at her with his icy blue eyes but the question seemed to have struck a nerve. He looked away, focusing his gaze on his boots and then at the end of the street before answering. “I… no I suppose I would rather not leave them behind, they are all I have left after all.”
The mask of aloofness that he normally wore slipped for a moment, leaving just the scared teenage boy beneath it.
Despite herself, Ilia reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Well, I’m sure no matter how things turn out with this quest, you’ll all find some way of staying together.”
He opened his mouth to say something but must have changed his mind, closing it and pulling away from her touch.
He hadn’t gone further than five steps away from her when two men cut across his path, stopping them both in their tracks.
“Seems like you’ve got plenty of coin to toss around there, boy.” The smaller one said. “Maybe you’d like to share some of that wealth around, eh?
They were both wiry looking men, the smaller of the pair had sandy blond hair and was missing one of his left incisor teeth. His companion had darker hair and a faded scar down his right cheek.
“It’s no business of yours, now out of our way.” Whitley planted his hands on his hips and glared at the men. From behind them, judging by the sounds of the footsteps, someone much more solidly built than the men in front of them was moving into position behind them. It was amazing that the Schnees hadn’t been robbed like this before the way Whitley tossed his coin around. Although, Winter's scowl and her sword was likely a strong deterrent to anyone thinking about trying their luck.
The blond reached behind him and drew a short dagger. “No need to make a fuss, hand over the purse.”
Well then.
Ilia exploded forward, pushing Whitley out of harm's way and her fist crashed into the blond's nose with a nasty crunch. The force of the blow sent him bowling over backwards into the mud. She didn’t wait to see if he would stand before she pivoted her hips and drove her fist into the second man, knocking the wind straight out of him and bringing him to his knees.
That was when the screaming started.
Ilia whirled around and raised her fists at whatever new threat had arrived. Her now stony, clawed fists.
Whitley was laying in street and the man who’d snuck behind them was frozen halfway reaching for the coin purse on his belt. He bolted at her glare though, abandoning his companions and joining the rest of the fleeing villagers, amid the cries of ‘Monster!’ and ‘Help!’
Shit.
The beginning of a bruise was already forming under Whitley's eye and she pulled him to his feet as he struggled to stand.
“Are you alright?” Ilia asked as she hastily checked him over for other injuries. He didn’t seem to be bleeding from anywhere vital which was a good sign.
“I’m fine.”
He avoided her gaze, cheeks flushing red and he kicked at a loose stone angrily.
At the sound of boots impacting the dirt street, Ilia looked up to find Winter and Weiss running towards them. Their appearances back to normal at the loss of Whitley's spell.
“What happened?” Winter demanded crossly. She had already latched on to Whitley, checking him over for any signs of injury.
He slapped her arms away and crossed his own over his chest, “We were attacked, obviously.”
“Fathers men?”
“No, just some simple-minded lowlifes trying to steal our money.”
The scowl on Winter's face deepened further than Ilia had thought possible. “We need to leave now. If there wasn’t already one of Father’s informants in town, the news that we were here will travel fast.”
No one argued with her. The streets were deserted as they hurried back to the horses and no one tried to stop them as they made a hasty retreat from the village.