Fires of Silver and Golden Eyes
Seven nights had passed since the mission into the mines. The freed slaves were given what shelter they had available, well-fed, and fresh clothes on their backs. Ruby was grateful because this scramble to provide for them gave her a break from her training. Instead, it simply meant she ran around the village with supplies, which was infinitely easier. Some of the slaves in that time left of their own accord, to take their fortunes on the roads or to try and return to their families. The rest, however, gratefully took the offer of settlement in Azura's aspiring realm. As work on this began, Azura again called the mine team to his council.
As they all stepped in, it was quickly apparent that he was in a most mirthful mood. His brows were hung low, his lips into a wrathful snarl, and his eyes giving off a dreadful glare. Before anyone could even think of addressing him, he began. With a bellow fueled by bestial rage.
"SIT. DOWN. NOW!" Azura roared at the three of them.
"Um… Okay…" Ruby gulped nervously.
"Azura, we-" Yang began to say only for Azura to cut her off.
"Yang! You will speak only when I tell you to speak! Am I clear!?" Azura bellowed in her face, causing Yang to become painfully aware of the height difference between them.
"Crystal…" Yang gulped as she sat on a provided chair.
As Ruby, Yang and Sen'otome sat down, Azura began to circle them. His towering height only added to the intensity and pressure they began to feel in the tent. He gritted his teeth at something, what they did not know before speaking again.
Azura took a deep breath to compose himself a bit more. "What… were you three… thinking…!?" He growled out, a sign for them to choose their words carefully.
"I am the one to blame, Lord Azura. I could not let such an injustice stand and call myself a samurai." Sen'otome said as she bowed her head.
Taking a deep breath, Azura began rubbing his temples to stave off a headache. "Did you make sure that all of the enemy were dead to keep them from reporting back to the Golden Nobles…?" He asked, clear frustration ringing in his voice.
"We were unable to due to the collapsing mine shaft, my lord." Sen'otome answered, being very deliberate with her tone.
"You had better hope that they do not suspect anything, Lady Sen'otome. Your uncharacteristic recklessness could have them onto us. Honestly, I expected something like this from Ruby or Yang, but you… I thought you of all people would know better than to charge headfirst into a situation like this without a plan." Azura replied, very clearly trying to keep himself from snapping.
"We did also send those weird fire cultists packing too." Ruby chipped in, only for Azura's head to snap to look at her.
"And may have alerted them to us as well." Azura coldly told her, making Ruby flinch.
"Kenshi and I already have probably done that, so it's not that big of a loss…" Yang tried to chip in with.
Sitting down in his chair, Azura glared at the blonde fighter. "Do not think that I have forgotten about the stunt you two pulled with Ken going after the Xianyiang! Why is it that, whenever trouble arises, you two always seem to be at the center of it!?" He growled out in frustration.
"It's an underrated talent." Ruby answered with a nervous smile.
"It's reckless foolishness, is what it is!!!" Azura roared at her.
Ruby immediately flinched at that. "I'm sorry…" Ruby replied nervously.
Taking a deep breath, Azura laid three paper parchment scrolls on the table, one in front of each of them. "These are your duties within the village for the next few days. None of you are to be sent on a mission until they are completed. Am I understood?" He coldly said to them.
"Yes, sir." The three answer in unison.
Without another word, Azura simply turned his chair around, giving his back to them. With a clear dismissal given, the three left. However, Yang looked over to Ruby. And, in both her face and eyes, she still saw a fire burning. She was not going to be deterred from whatever she was thinking about.
"Ruby, what are you thinking…?" Yang asked in concern.
"Oh nothing. Just something to get done before these chores." Ruby said nonchalantly.
Yang sighed. "Is it something that'll get you in trouble with Azura? Again…?" She asked her little sister.
Ruby looked at her in amazement. "How did you guess already?" She asked dumbfoundedly.
"Because I've grown up with you your whole life and I know you better than you know yourself…" Yang groaned in frustration.
"I wouldn't be gone long. I'll be back in a flash." Ruby said as she readied herself to run.
However, Yang grabbed her by the back of her shirt to stop her, picking her up like a mother cat picking up its kitten. "Oh, no you're not! The last thing we need is you making Azura get so angry that he pops a vein!" She told her baby sister.
"Alright. You leave me no choice, Yang." Ruby said as she grabbed her sister by the shoulder.
"No choice but to do wha-AAAAAAT!?" Yang began to ask only to scream at what Ruby did next.
In the blink of an eye, Ruby's legs glowed a pine green. Yang, despite her great strength, suddenly could not hold Ruby's weight, forcing her to drop onto one knee as Ruby's feet touched the ground. Then, as soon as she was back on the ground, Ruby activated her Semblance. With a firm grip on Yang's shoulder, she sped off back into the hills. For Yang, everything was a blur as the wind rushed against her face. Her hair flowing behind her like a great golden flag.
"RUBYYYYYY! SLOW DOOOOOWN!" Yang called out over the wind noise.
"We're almost there, Yang! Don't worry!" Ruby called back as she ran.
Before Yang could say another word, the two had ground to a halt, and Ruby let Yang flop on the ground like a fish. After patting the grassy ground before her and touching herself to make sure she was still alive, she rose to her feet with fury. Her hair was glowing golden and eyes aflame, with her fists already clenched.
"Ruby… what did you do…!?" Yang growled out dangerously.
"Well, you always want to come with me when I go on potentially dangerous missions, so I just sped up the process and brought you with me." Ruby explained with a sly smile.
"Ruby. Take us home. Now." Yang sternly told her.
"I will in one sec. Just got to check something quick." Ruby said as she began to walk up the hill before them.
"Why me…!?" Yang groaned out before following her.
"Because you're the best big sister in the whole world. That's why." Ruby answered with a sly smile.
"... You are so lucky I love you…" Yang sighed in frustration.
"I know." Ruby chipperly responded as she reached the top of the hill. "Oh no…"
Yang turns to look the same direction as Ruby, and her eyes go wide. She had seen the land before her before, the main entrance to the mine they were in a week ago, but now utterly transformed. Before there were a few dozen slaves picking mindlessly into the rock, now both outside and in there were hundreds. The sheer quantity they had here she could not even begin to count. Picks and shovels flailed with vigor as others moved rocks in baskets or by hand off to the side. The tunnel entrance they collapsed was open again, much to her further shock.
However, looking closer to the hill, she saw how they did this. Pairs of slaves were forced by mercenaries to carry the dead and throw them into pits. Crudely and brutally dug, there were some already nearly full. It was simply too much, forcing Yang to sit down. Yet when she did, she saw something else from a different angle. Standing next to a fully armored mercenary was a man wearing a foppish and outright extravagant set of clothing. Floppy feathered hat, wide flared pants, curled shoes, and puffy silken jacket over purple undershirt. With entire chains of gold wrapped round his arms, shoulders, and chest.
"That's… a Golden Noble." Yang muttered. "We need to…"
Yang turned to look and saw Ruby was not on the hill with her. Looking over the hillside, she saw her sister sliding down the hill. Immediately, Yang felt her adrenaline increase very quickly as she wanted to scream but covered her mouth. She could not do anything, unless she wanted to risk her sister's safety. Trembling in anxious fright, she kept an eye on Ruby as she sneaked her way closer to the Golden Noble. Wanting to get an earful of what they had to say. Getting behind a slab of rock nearby, she got just close enough to listen in above the cacophony of noise made by the chain gangs.
"My Lord. We are excavating the mine as fast as we can…" The Mercenary said, before being violently cut off.
"Well, do it faster! What do you think I pay you peons for!?" The Golden Noble snapped out, brandishing a whip.
"We will require more slaves, my lord. The last batch can't seem to handle the pace…" The Mercenary gulped.
"Then get to work on securing more! Or would you prefer I use this whip on you instead of these cattle!?" The Noble snapped again, preparing to rear the whip back for a lashing.
"You heard the man! Get the trappers out there!" The Mercenary snapped at his men, causing them to rush off.
'Monsters…' Ruby thought, gritting her teeth as she listen to them prattle on.
'These so-called "Nobles" disgust this one greatly, Lady Ruby! How can anyone treat their own race with such blatant disregard over gold of all things…!' Balam growled out in fury within Ruby's mind.
'Then I think it's time we give them a taste of their own medicine. Let's see how they like that whip cracked across their back.' Ruby thought, as a wicked smile came across her face.
She could feel Balam's own feral smirk from within her mind. 'This one will help however he can, Lady Ruby…' The Nature God told her, almost purring in approval as Ruby felt his power course through her.
Then, much to Yang's horror, Ruby leapt from behind the rock. Leaping past the two leaders, she landed in front of them for all to see. Rising up, they got a good clear look in her eyes, which caused the Golden Noble to react with a mix of anger and trepidation. Both mercenary and slave stopped what they were doing to look upon Ruby, standing with a burning green aura around her.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Ruby said with a smile.
"It's one of those Silver-Eyed rebel trash!" The Golden Noble shouted, lashing out with his whip only for Ruby to easily catch it in her grip, a look of true, pure, unadulterated fury in her eyes.
"The only trash I see here is you…!" Ruby growled out, glaring at the man with hatred in her eyes.
"Let go of my whip, you subhuman garbage!" The Golden Noble roared out, trying to tug it out of her grip.
"Ruby!!" Yang cried out in horror.
"I've got a better idea…!" Ruby growled out before using her grip on the whip to yank him towards her.
The force of Ruby's simple tug sent the Golden Noble flying towards her. Reaching her hand out, she easily caught and grabbed him by the face when he got in close. The Golden Noble began flailing about like an angry spider monkey as she held him up, only for a pained gasp to leave his covered mouth as she slammed him into the ground, back of the headfirst.
"Unhand me, you Silver-Eyed Brute…!" Came the weak, muffled groan from the "Golden Noble."
"Get her, you morons! Triple pay to the one who kills her!" The Head Mercenary ordered as Ruby quickly found herself surrounded by the steel-clad warriors.
Releasing him, Ruby cracked her knuckles as she drew her scythe. "Fine! If you wanna stand up for this scum, I've got plenty of punishment to go around!" She roared out, scythe at the ready.
"This time, we came prepared. Crossbowmen! Fire!" The Head Mercenary answered, waving his arm as warriors behind him pulled their triggers.
The bolts from the crossbows loosed, flying straight at Ruby. However, with her hand a blur of rose petals and green energy, Ruby easily caught the fired crossbow bolts out of the air before they reached her. Glaring at the soldiers, Ruby snapped the bolts like twigs in her hand before lifting her hand palm down and opening it, letting the broken bolts fall to the ground. At the display of immense speed, the soldiers paled in fear, all of them taking a step back before looking to their boss. Seeing the glare from him, the foot soldiers drew their blades and spears, preparing for battle.
"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang cried out.
However, in a blur of rose petals and green energy, Ruby made her move. Faster than anyone present could see, she dashed through the mercenaries. Her form and the blade of her scythe were blurs as she cut and slashed through mercenary after mercenary with blind speed. Everywhere she stepped, flowers and plants bloomed from the ground before being splattered with blood. When crossbow bolts were fired at her, they were slashed out of the air before she was upon the crossbowmen, cutting them to pieces as well.
Dodging a sword slash, Ruby swung her scythe, lopping off the head of a mercenary. Another tried to stab her with a spear, only for her to catch it and snap the spearhead off. Swinging with her hand, she stabbed the spearhead into the chest of the spearman once. Twice. Three times. Then four before stabbing it through the side of his head. A swordsman tried to rush her from behind, but she heard him coming. Ripping the spearhead from the skull of its former master, Ruby threw it like a throwing knife, catching the charging swordsman in the throat and sending him toppling to the ground like a house of cards.
Another swordsman tried to slash at her only for Ruby to slash her scythe blade up through the blade, cleaving it clean in two along with his arm. Screaming in pain, the swordsman collapsed to the ground, clutching his split arm as blood poured from the wound. Spinning around a thrust from a spearman, Ruby swung her scythe and cut him in half at the waist, causing his two halves to topple over. Catching a slash from a swordsman barehanded, Ruby snapped his blade like a twig before bisecting him vertically from head to groin, leaving the mercenary to gurgle out a cry of pain as blood spurted from his bisected form before the two halves fell away from each other. Spinning her scythe with her momentum, Ruby swung it upwards as a mercenary with a sword and shield tried to block, only for the blade of her scythe to cleave right through the shield and cut him in half from hip to shoulder, the two halves of his shield and the two halves of his body falling away from each other.
However, no matter how many Ruby cut down, two more took their place. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she sped up. Every step cratered the ground before flowers and grass sprang up from the craters. Her form and scythe blade were all but invisible to the naked eye. Increasingly, she cut down mercenaries and made her way back to the Golden Noble, only for him to scamper into the crowd like a frightened rat, terrified of his life.
"Y… you damn monster!" The Golden Noble screamed in terror as he ran.
"The only monsters here are you and your kind, you coward!" Ruby roared as she dashed after him towards the crowd of mercenaries.
However, as she continued cutting and slashing her way through the crowd of enemies, it became clear to Ruby that she was not getting anywhere. No matter how many mercenaries she cut down, two more just took their place repeatedly. She was never going to win this way… and she knew it.
'Any ideas, Balam?" Ruby mentally asked her spiritual partner.
'Unfortunately, Lady Ruby, it seems hopeless. We cannot kill that scum this day without potentially falling in battle as well. We must retreat for now…' Balam told her sadly.
With a heavy sigh, she again disappeared in a cloud of petals, rushing out of the mine to the top of the hill. Then, without a word, she grabbed Yang as she disappeared into the wind. Many were left stunned at what happened, with those few soldiers with their faculties working to get order reestablished. Yet, as this went on, the Golden Noble rushed down the main road to a carriage parked at the base of the mine. Its attendants were shocked to see him in such a state as they jumped to attention.
"Well, don't just stand there! Get me back to my villa! I need to write to my cousin! This breach of security cannot stand!" The Golden Noble roared as he rushed into the carriage.
With a crack of a whip and the reins, the horses soon rushed off with the carriage down the switchback roads. As the winds howled on the mountain high, as if reacting to what just happened. The battle line had been drawn.