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Chapter Text

Act I, Scene I, a Dust shop in Vale

[Enter Salem]

Salem: Legends. Fairy stories, tum’bling through time

           Like so many grains in an hour-glass.

           These tales of heroes, villains, and damsels

           Hath long been manna for most common men,

           But too quickly do they forget our nature:

           Mere remnants of a bygone age, we are;

           If from Eden divine we first did spring,

           As the fruit of that stout arbor Knowledge,

           The ravage of time, the curses of sin

           Hath rendered us apart: rind, pith, flesh, seed.

Salem: And yet, so sundered, men still bore great gifts:

           Strength of arm, keenness of mind, sly cunning.

           Unto lands that brooked no quarter they came, 

           Conquerors, creators, men of wisdom.

           And against them rose darkness manifest,

           The beasts of Grimm, beckoned by man’s great works,

           Came they with claw, and wing, and sting, and scale

           And men, fractions of the divine, did wane. 

[Enter Ozpin, opposite Salem.]

Salem: Yet, a single flame can illuminate

           Any room so bathed in the pitch of despair.

           Men marshalled their gifts and did turn the tide,

           And with what? The very bones of the earth. 

           And as man himself had sprung from such bones

          So did he boast widely this weapon’s name:

          Dust.

Salem:         Nature’s wrath in hand, through Grimm darkness

           Did man thrust himself. In his wake? Peace. Light.

           Civilization. A vast world abloom. 

Salem: Man thought himself safe. Therein lay folly.

           No light shines forever, dearest children.

           Darkness can be driven, but never dies.

           When the light fades, and verily fade it will

           Upon thee creeps death, ne’er resting nor still. 

[Enter Torchwick and his henchmen, while opposite enters Shopkeep]

Salem: Prepare thy guardians, lock tight your door,

           But vict’ry lies not in strength, nevermore.

Ozpin: My lady, mayhaps you deign to recall

           That men once did face such a doubted goal

           By thine own account, through actions quite small,

           Might salvation be claimed by a simple soul.

[Exit Salem and Ozpin]

Torchwick: Know’st thou, sirrah, that at this late hour

                 A rare find, hard sought, a needle among bales

                 Most surely a mote of gold in a giant’s eye

                 Treasured beyond all the wealth of men and gods

                 Be they of Light or Destruction most dire

                 Is such a Dust shop as thine?

Shopkeep: My, my lord

                Verily all my Lien is at your pleasure!

Torchwick: Peace, peace, peace! We wish not for thy Lien!

                 Take’st thou all the Dust. Get to it then.

Henchman 1: Brothers, I beseech thee: yon crystals await

                    Uncut, nay, untouched! For are we not men

                    Of lowest fortunes, of mien most mean

                    Such arms as -

Torchwick:                            Aye, yes, thou art all mincemeat

                 To thy work! Lest thy low fortunes sully me.

[Enter Ruby Rose, distracted]

Henchman 2: Prithee, maiden of the red hood, hearken!

                     Thy attentions I doth summon!

Ruby Rose: [says nothing]

Henchman 2:                                                 Art thou dumb?

[Ruby Rose notices the Henchman]

Ruby Rose: Ah! Forgive me, sirrah! Lost in reading, I

                  Could not pay thee heed, but now! Indeed now

                  Mine eyes of silver are surely upon thee. 

Henchman 2: With thine eyes, then, gazeth upon this, my sword!

Ruby Rose: My word! Dost thou seek to rob me?

Henchman 2:                                                      Aye!

Ruby Rose:                                                                  Ah!

                 A fine blade thou wieldest! Most vorpal! Say,

                 Desirest thou I answer with mine own? Come,

                 Crescent Rose! Thy edge most keen, thy sights clean,

                 A red harvest shall we reap this fine eve!

Henchman 1: Oh dread lord, spy’st you yon crimson maiden?

Torchwick: Aye, aye, her do I spy. Go to! With it get!

Henchman 2: I quaileth not before thine sickle, maiden fair!

                     Set it aside, thy hands empty as air!

Henchman 1: So too do we stand with thee, my brother

                     We happy few, Red Blades like no other!

Ruby Rose: So many partners! To the dance then! A

                  Cut! A bow! Pirouette and prance! Get thee

                  More stamina, gentles, for the night is young!

[They fight, Ruby defeats them handily.]

Torchwick: Truly, worth ev’ry penny I shed for thee...

                 Verily, my vermilion damsel!

                 I bow before thee, as gentlemen do.

Ruby Rose: Dost thou too wish a turn with Crescent Rose?

                  For another I dareth not oppose.

Torchwick: Nay, nay, nay, my maroon marvel, I say,

                 For the clock turneth upon the toll whence

                 A gourd’s countenance shall I display

                 So onto hearth and home do I get hence.

[Torchwick throws a smokebomb and exits]

Ruby Rose: Hearken, my old friend. Art thou in good health?

Shopkeep: Aye, dear lady, aye.

Ruby Rose:                                Then hunting I go!

[Exeunt]

Act I, Scene II, a rooftop in Vale

[Enter Torchwick, pursued by Ruby]

Ruby Rose: Halt I say, villain!

[The Bullhead appears]

Torchwick:                               Ha! Halt I shall not!

                 For here we must part, my red redundance!

Ruby Rose: More tricks have thee? 

[Torchwick leaps onto the Bullhead]

Torchwick:                                      Yes my dear, three bags full!

[Enter Glynda Goodwitch]

Glynda: Get thee behind me, maid. I shall shield thee.

Torchwick: Alack! I hath not enough tricks for she…

[Enter Cinder Fall from the Bullhead]

Cinder: What ho, callow worm, why dost thou tarry?

Torchwick: Beholdest thou yon Huntress? 

Cinder:                                                     Leave this to me.

             My great flame shall char her from our vision.

Glynda: Thy flame avails thee not, my villainess!

             For I am more than thy match, thy better!

Ruby Rose: Aye!

Glynda:              Show not thy face!

Cinder:                                            Nay, show it to me.

             Flames more for thee, both maiden and matron. 

             And thusly do we exit, anon. [Exits aboard the Bullhead with Torchwick]

Glynda:                                             Fie!

[Exeunt]

Act I, Scene III, the street once more

[Enter Ruby Rose and Glynda Goodwitch]

Ruby Rose: Pardon, great lady, and my thanks receive

                  Art thou a Huntress? Doth mine eyes deceive?

Glynda: The truth they do see, maiden, what of it?

Ruby Rose: Ah! My heart does so flutter upon the wind!

                  A most true Huntress doth --

Glynda:                                                     Stay thy prattle!

             Thou art NOT a Huntress, and yet here, now

             Thou dost swing thy crude weapon at villains

             When thou shoulds’t be abed! Fie, I say, maid!

Ruby Rose: My lady, by thine own word, t’were villains!

                  Should not any with the mettle take it up?

Glynda: Not all who bear metal hath mettle, maid,

             We would need not Huntsmen, if it were so.

             Thou art reckless! Huntsmen protect innocents,

             And yet thy actions did risk them, and thee!

             However…

Ruby Rose:             however?

[Enter Ozpin]

Glynda:                                    It was well done.

             Thinketh not of my praise as forgiveness!

             Merely acknowledgement and nothing more.

             Thusly, thou hast caught the eye of one who,

             Despite my full counsel, freely given

             Believeth he should spare thee some few words.

Ozpin: Ruby Rose. I see thine eyes are silver.

Ruby Rose: They surely are, my lord.

Ozpin:                                               A most rare trait.

           As rare, perhaps, as thy skill with yon scythe.

           Only one other have I seen wield it thus

           And thou seemest not the old crow I know.

Ruby Rose: Doth my lord speaketh of mine Uncle Qrow?

                  Verily, he did teach me the reaping.

Ozpin: Such did I suspect. He does as he wilt.

           Yet thou art a maiden of few summers!

           Too brief a spring shortens thy lot of years.

           Why would you choose such a road, Ruby Rose?

Ruby Rose: My lord, my lady, tis my only wish

                  To become a Huntress, one fully fledged.

Ozpin: Thy wish is to slay monsters?

Ruby Rose:                                        Verily!

                  Only two more years at yon Signal, and

                  Thusly I’ll come to Beacon, bright shining,

                  For my path is blazed by my sister, and

                  She doth begin her own such journey hence,

                  For she too wishes to slay monsters, for

                  Our father and mother did so drive us

                  To fight for those who lack their own mettle.

                  No greater dream have I than to fight, to

                  Wield my Crescent Rose with bosom comrades,

                  Against the darkness, for light and justice!

                  Is that not the true dream of all Huntsmen?

Ozpin: Thou knowest my name?

Ruby Rose:                                 Surely so, my lord.

                  You are Lord Ozpin, the Wizard of Beacon.

Ozpin: Surely I am. 

Ruby Rose:              I’m Ruby Rose!

Ozpin:                                              I know.

            Wisheth thou entrance to my school?

Ruby Rose:                                                    My lord,

                  I have no greater wish.

Ozpin:                                            Then, wish granted.

[Exeunt]

Chapter Text

Act I, Scene IV, an airship bound of Beacon

[Enter Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose and other students]

Yang: And from the east riseth the burning sun

          Driving away night’s ignominity

          Igniting the passions of heroes fair

          Who sally forth on wings of shining steel!

          Among this company a maiden pair:

          Apollo’s wild dragon, one Yang Xiao Long!

          Along with she walks that crimson shadow,

          Ruby Rose, her sister of the red hood!

          These Daughters of Tai, from Patch they took flight

          To cast cross yon plain both shade and light!

Ruby Rose: Pray sister, thy soliloquy pains me!

Yang: Belov’d rose, my breast swells with pride for thee!

Ruby Rose: I didst nothing of note save my most least!

Yang: You didst save Old Patrick from rav’ning beasts!

          Dear heart, we ride now for Beacon’s brightness,

          Where surely thy tale shall draw ev’ry gaze!

Ruby Rose: Gazes I doth not desire, sweet sister!

                  Do I not walk cowled, my mien a-myster?

                  I wish not for legends or riches vast

                  I am but one rose in this savage garden!

Yang: Thy thorns prick me, belov’d, what troubles thee?

Ruby Rose: Not trouble, merely unremarkable

                  And lo, common and homely should I be

                  Fain am I to be seen as some treasure

                  By yon Huntsmen, above whom I am not!

Yang: Sister, I relent, but this say freely

          Remnant hath no greater treasures than thee.

[Enter Cyril and Lisa, the Heralds]

Cyril: Hearken to me, gentles, the news of the hour,

         That villain, Roman Torchwick, still escapes

         The noose of our kingdom’s daring hunters!

         Lisa, say’st more of their thousand blunders?

Lisa: Nay, Cyril, no more! Unto night the fiend fled

        And free he remains ‘til one among thee

        Can aid the kingdom in this hot pursuit.

        But soft, as a crow’s feathers over dawn

        More ill tidings must I venture to spend:

        Hearest thou of the faunus an eve past?

Cyril: My love, I didst hear not that. Pray tell me.

[Enter Glynda]

Lisa: Where many of the brethren did gather

        To appeal for the priv’lege due all men,

        So too gathered their dark, brutal kindred

        The White Fang, fell beasts all, masked and raucous!

        Where once they pled peace, now they doth preach --

Glynda:                                                                            --- Peace,

            And welcome to thee.

[Exit Cyril and Lisa, and Enter Jaune, ill]

Yang:                                      I say, who is this?

Glynda: Glynda Goodwitch is my name.

Yang:                                                     I am answered!

Glynda: Upon this deck, thou walk’st with many others

            But measured against the sum of Remnant

            There are but few gentles who are granted

            Entrance to our august temple, Beacon.

            Although this world, so curséd and tainted, 

            Hath enjoyed a calm heretofore unfelt,

            We must give rise to those among you now

            Who can wield sword and shield and duly hold

            As guardians, nay, huntsmen of that peace.

            Thou’st shown mettle enough for such trials,

            And now to us it falls to raise you all

            In skill and wisdom and aye, bravado.

            For this Remnant hath always heroes need,

            For such harvest of valor, thou art seed.

[Exit Glynda]

Ruby Rose: Sister, look! See’st thou Signal, our late home? 

                  Not so far from she doth her daughters stray.

Yang: Look not astern, belov’d Rose, but aye, ahead!

          Behold Beacon, there now we’ll make our bed.

Jaune: Accursed are thine innards, Jaune of the Arc,

          Cast not thine sickness -- ah! I faileth!

Yang:                                                         -- Zounds!

         Perhaps such heights strain his mortal limits.

Ruby Rose: Twas nice t’surpass them for but a minute.

                  But who else shall we meet on this journey?

                  Pray more that hath stronger constitution

                  Than he -- Sister! His sick upon thy boot!

Yang: Let us quit afore the fountain spouts more!

[Exeunt]

Act I, Scene V, Beacon’s courtyard

[Enter Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, Students]

Yang: Whilst a smaller dragon (but no less bright)

          I did come once to Vale, and was amazed.

          Now a taller dragon, with sharper sight

          I say Vale pales ‘fore this heavenly gaze.

Ruby Rose: See’st thou this man’s rod? Collapsible tis!

                  And she, with heavy flamberge alight!

                  Pray, why stop me thus?

Yang:                                                Make not such a fuss!

         They are mere weapons, the tools of our trade.

Ruby Rose: “Mere weapons?” From the same loins did we spring?

                  Sayest thine arms or mine eyes are mundane

                  And a bolder lie thou couldst not utter.

                  No two Huntsmen are perfect alike, thus

                  Their gear is as unequaled in nature.

Yang: Art thou not enamoured of thy own blade?

          Tis well that no other beareth thy scythe

          For woe betide us if double’d thou were.

Ruby: Full joyous am I of my Crescent Rose!

          And far more joy do I gather from this

          Gentle walk through a galaxy of arms

          Than from tr’bling myself with bandied words.

          Know thou I love not speech, instead bared steel

          Therein lies my preferred conversation.

Yang: Pray, sister, whether through thy steel or speech,

          Wouldst thou charmest some fresher companions?

Ruby Rose: What need have I of new companions when

                  My belovéd sister alongside me strides?

Yang: Ah! In the distance I see my comrades!

          This dragon flies, dear Rose, see thee anon!

[Exit Yang with students]

[Enter Weiss with attendants]

Ruby Rose: My heart? Nay! Whither thou goest? She fled!

                  I did trust her my guide to be, for I

                  Was ill-prepared for this Beacon journey!

                  Alack! A-dazed am I and lost! This rose,

                  Left a-wither at the Garden’s far edge

                  Ne’er shall she bloom lest she leapeth the hedge!

[Ruby bumps into Weiss’ attendants, knocking over a Dust case]

Weiss: Thou churlish maid! What chaos wreaketh thee?

Ruby Rose: I beg thy forgiveness, dearest lady!

Weiss: Forgiveness? Fie! Thou art a dotard full!

           Know’st thou the danger of thy foolery?

[Enter Jaune, still ill]

Ruby Rose: Danger? I know it not?

Weiss:                                            Render it me!

           No common cargo do I bear, maiden,

           For most uncommon, most rare is this Dust

           Quarried by servants of my august tribe,

           The Fam’ly Schnee!

Ruby Rose:                         -- Prithee, the Fam’ly Schnee?

Weiss: Hast thou sludge betwixt thine ears, Maiden Hood?

           Dust! Fire! Ice! Heaven’s bolts!

Ruby Rose:                                       -- Pray, I know th-

[Enter Blake]

Weiss: Know thee nothing if thou payest no mind!

           Fetch a pick, I’ll mine thy hollow head and

           Therein see thy full witlessness laid bare!

           Speak, thou villainess! 

[Ruby sneezes and the dust explodes between her and Weiss]

[Blake picks up a stray Dust bottle]

Weiss:                                      Unbelievable.

           Bear witness, Beacon! My prophecy fulfilled!

Ruby Rose: Please, my lady, ev’ry pardon I beg!

Weiss: Dullard! How doth such as thee come hither?

          Art thou not still a babe? Too few years yet

          For these grounds to by thy harbour, I’ll bet.

Ruby Rose: Babe? You go too far to name me thusly!

                  Far too harsh a punishment givest me!

                  From whose crown doth thy authority rain?

Blake: Thou speak’st wisdom, for few crowns are higher.

          Before thee is Weiss of the Fam’ly Schnee,

          Dust their trade, Atlas to Menagerie.

Weiss: Here! A maiden after mine own heart, thee.

Blake: Along with Dust, so too the Fam’ly Schnee

          Trades in suffering servants, gold ill-won,

          And allies of a most dastardly rapport.

Weiss: How dare thee! Such duplicity!

Blake:                                               -- Prithee,

          Do you payest thy men to merely stand

          Or to perform thy labor, save thy hand?

[Weiss snatches the bottle from Blake]

Ruby Rose: Tarry a moment --

[Exit Weiss]

Ruby Rose:                              -- Pray I should thank thee

[Exit Blake]

Ruby Rose: Behold, Shining Beacon, this Ruby Rose

                  Leapeth not but lay still in sad repose.

[Jaune approaches Ruby]

Jaune: Fair maid of the Red Hood, takest thou heart

          For I too stumble upon this rampart

          Of bright Beacon, the Temple of the Hunt.

          Thou seemest to me in need of a hand. 

Ruby Rose: Sirrah, thy hand I doth accept, gladly.

[Jaune helps Ruby stand up]

Ruby Rose: but pray, were you not just sick quite badly?

[Exeunt]

Act I, Scene VI, deeper in the Courtyard

[Enter Ruby and Jaune]

Jaune: I tell thee truly, my constitution

          Is fair hale! Twas merely a poor breakfast.

Ruby Rose: I’ll not gainsay thee, sir knight, but mayhap

                  My sister shall have words for thee surely

                  On the matter of her boots thou didst mar!

Jaune: Words from thy noble sister! I reckon

          They may sting less than her poniard, or so

          Hopes a man who wishes not to offend.

Ruby Rose: Worry not, sirrah! She is gentle, even

                  If at rare times she is most traitorous…

Jaune: Merry, if she be of such a noble

          Order as thee, her treachery can ill last.

Ruby Rose: Thou art too kind, sirrah. Pray, shall we not

                  Introduce ourselves in the Huntsman’s way?

Jaune: Didst we not just now make such pleasantry?

          Thou art Ruby Rose, whilst I am Jaune Arc.

          A name fair and mild, thus pleasing mild maids

          Or so sayeth my mother, of a time.

Ruby Rose: Thou speakst merely thine own name, Gods-given!

                  The manner of Huntsmen demands one more:

                  Come, Crescent Rose! Behold, my true mettle!

Jaune: Zounds! A scythe?

Ruby Rose:                     Aye, and what’s more, a highly

                  Customizable sniper rifle.

Jaune:                                               -- pray?

Ruby Rose: Tis also a gun.

Jaune:                                 Color me impressed!

Ruby Rose: I hath shown thee mine, now pray show me thine!

Jaune: Forgive thou me, I didst lose a moment

          Behold, Crocea Mors!

Ruby:                                    Named most nobly!

Jaune: And here too, my escutcheon besides.

Ruby: Arms most rugged! Pray, dost they do aught else?

Jaune: Ah! See, my shield is also my scabbard!

          And thusly do I put up my arms, so too

          Freeing my hands to perform work, anon.

Ruby: Ah! Though it shrinketh, it doth weigh the same.

Jaune: Aye. What it lacketh in complexity

          It gains in elegance! Simplicity!

Ruby: Worry not, sir knight! We are all of us

          Huntsmen, no two alike! Crocea Mors

          Is thy weapon, as Crescent Rose is mine,

          The test’s our valor when face we the line.

Jaune: You honor me, maiden of the hood.

Ruby: Think you nothing of it, Jaune of the Arc.

          For my part, I find greater joy in steel

          And didst indulge myself too much in this.

Jaune: Pray, thou didst craft thy own weapon? Truly?

Ruby: Aye! Signal’s students did all their arms make.

          Was it not the same for thee?

Jaune:                                              Nay, twas not.

          My father’s father’s father’s father did

          Wield Crocea Mors then, in the Great War.

          Through their hands to mine unscarred it has passed.

Ruby: Thou hath no less honor than they, my friend

          For did they not begin their own journeys 

          With hands clean and eyes full of dreams, as we?

          Tis not the very first swing of the sword 

          That makes a man a hero, but instead

          How he rises before the final strike.

          No weapon becomes a legend without that.

          No man, either.

Jaune:   Thou speakst truth, I reckon.

Ruby: In return for truth, a question for thee.

          Wherefore didst thou help me in yon courtyard?

Jaune: Wherefore would I not? My lady mother

          Did teach me and my sisters this pillar:

          “Today’s stranger is tomorrow’s comrade.”

Ruby: Mothers can fonts of wisdom truly be.

Jaune: Just so.

Ruby: Prithee, where dost thou lead us, sir?

Jaune: Lead? Dear lady, I only followed thee.

Ruby: Surely sir knight, we shall miss our next scene!

Jaune: Hie then, my lady! After thee I lean!

[Exeunt]

Chapter Text

Act I, Scene VII, Beacon’s Auditorium

[Enter Yang, Weiss, Ozpin, Glynda. Enter Ruby and Jaune from opposite.]

Yang:          Ho there, sweet sister! 

Ruby:                                            Ah! Sir knight, if thou

                  Mayst forgive my exit, I’ll join my sis!

Jaune:         My lady! Ah, confounded yet again!

                   Wheresoever shall I find another

                   Maid of such vim and keen wisdom herein,

                   That I might pass my first day encourage’d?

[Enter Pyrrha]

Jaune:          Indeed, such a maiden, in autumn clad,

                   With a fair countenance, with eyes alight,

                   With strength far surpassing mere mortal men.

                   Yet, tis strength of heart that I do speak of,

                   Though a thousand drums may be here gathered

                   Of such Herculean vigor, they are

                   Beset with a palsy within their souls

                   Lacketh them all the philosopher’s stone

                   Called hope, that renders the dun lead of fear

                   Into golden bravery, yet unmarred

                   And unmarrable. That is what I see

                   Within this maid, most kind and most gentle.

                   My journey for this precious jewel’ed Grail,

                   Beginneth again, and I shall not fail.

Yang:          How fare thee, my dearest Ruby Rose?

Ruby Rose:                                                             Fare I?

                   Poorly! As a babe on a cold hillside 

                   Thou didst leave me unattended, to be

                   Made kindling in a bonny fire!

Yang:           I did not think thee so ill-tempered! 

Ruby Rose:                                                           Nay,

                    Twas not temper, but flames of Dust, forsooth.

Yang:           Dost thou jest with thy words and juggle sooth

                    For fancy? Thy hood seemeth whole, not charred.

Ruby Rose:   I’ll trade the fortunes of Heaven if I could

                    A jest of this make! A maiden’s porter

                    Did I jostle, so was her Dust jostled,

                    So was her RAGE jostled at me, THEN FLAMES,

                    Then more rancor as if sins most heinous

                    Were the masterpieces of Ruby’s trade,

                    And I did near weep for the sound lashing

                    Of her tongue that I receiv’ed --

[Enter Weiss]

Weiss:                                                              VILLAIN!

Ruby Rose:   I am bedeviled, she doth come again!

Weiss:          Thy foolery didst threaten my very life!

Yang:           Blessed Brothers, you truly did explode.

Ruby Rose:   Twas an accident! Mere misfortune! I 

                    Beg thy pardon again, dear -- prithee,

                    What is this booklet thou doth offer me?

Weiss:          The Fam’ly Schnee beareth not the burden

                   Of thy inadequacies, and further

                   Shouldst thy body be broken, burnéd, bored,

                   Bolted, bronzed, blasted into fine powder

                   The aforementioned Fam’ly, most august,

                   Shall ne’ermore be held t’account for thy fate.

                   Though no law binds thee to it, the Fam’ly

                   Doth offer this treatise of Dust wisdom

                   That e’en one so lack-witted as thee cannot

                   Fail to comprehend its lessons. Forsooth. 

Ruby Rose:  Lady, I pray --

Weiss:                                  Prayest thou for mercy?

Ruby Rose:  Truly, my lady, I do so pray.

Weiss:                                                       Hearken:

                   Readest thou this, and speaketh to me not.

Yang:          Fair lady, surely you and my sister

                   Hath but suffered a light Caprice of Fate.

                   Such a cloud may yet pass over us, and

                   The two of you could make meeting anew?

Ruby:          Dear sister, thy wisdom shineth again!

                   Prithee, Lady Weiss, this Ruby Rose

                   Doth greet thee! Shall we not make merry?

                   Shall we two market for ink and parchment?

Weiss:         Thou know’st my mind! Then to a fine salon,

                   That we might adorn our maidly armor

                   And titter between ourselves of gentles

                   Like yon fine example of a lord?

Jaune:          I beg thy pardon?

Ruby Rose:                              Shall we truly?

Weiss:                                                              NO.

Ozpin:        Students, I come to bandy but few words.

                  Passéd you all did through apprenticeship

                  Then by ship and carriage and steed and boot

                  Didst thou travel here, seeking our knowledge.

                  Thine many ambitions are known to us.

                  Thou seekest the Hunt, that thou may protect

                  Those who hath not their own strength or Semblance.

                  Yet among thee I see only chaos,

                  Eddies spinning effortfully ‘pon lakes,

                  The storm and fury, mere noise, nothingness.

                  Thou art come here for guidance, for knowledge

                  That would set thy course for glory and justice

                  But soft, hearken to me, eager errants:

                  To know whither thou go’est, by what star

                  To navigate wave or hill or valley

                  Does not thy long journey make complete, trust.

                  Walk that road thou must. Thy hearth turn’t away.

                  Thy march is music only thee can play.

Glynda:       Take thy leave tonight, gather all thy rest,

                   On the morrow, thy mettle we shall test.

Yang:          Did the wizard strike thee queerly, sister?

Ruby:          I did mark so! Twas not like him afore.

Jaune:         I pray, dear lady, didst I hear correct?

                  This knight, though no lord, would serve thee perfect.

Weiss:         Brothers save me from villains and this lout

                   Set me my course lest I cast about!

[Exeunt]

Act I Scene VIII, Beacon's dormitories

[Enter Yang and Ruby, with other Students]

Yang:          This merry moot of hunters warmeth me

                   Like a summer’s day, and the night anon.

Ruby:          Thinketh poorly of this, our sire would, sis.

                   Surely he’d worry for thy virtue.

Yang:                                                                  Ha!

                   That valorous sun Taiyang shineth not here!

                   Neither man nor bonny maid need he fear.

Ruby:          His absence draws me back to fair Signal;

                   Unlike thee and he, no Apollo am I,

                   Yet Artemis didst have her huntresses;

                   So too a few beloveds left I there.

                   A letter I shall write to them anon!

Yang:          This bee marvels at thy sweetness, dearest,

                   The nectar of thy love overwhelms!

Ruby:                                                                     Fie!

                   Make no mockery of me, lustrous Yang,

                   Thou who hast friends aplenty here with thee!

                   Queer and adrift this lone rose walks Beacon. 

Yang:          What of Sir Jaune? Merry enough he seems.

                   Are not thy fortunes doubled thus?

Ruby:                                                                    Pray

                   Remember Lady Weiss; fully assuréd

                   She counts me a foe. The sum is zero.

Yang:          Speak not of sums and measures, dear sister!

                   A friend and a foe are still two gentles

                   More than thy knew when this morrow we met.

                   What’s more, recall that proverb of Sir Jaune?

                   “Today’s stranger is tomorrow’s comrade.”

                   Comrades manifold I see around us!

[Enter Blake, with a candle lit]

Ruby:           Ah, a light… tis that maid!

Yang:                                                     Thou knowest her?

Ruby:           She did aid me some with Weiss, though she left

                   Before I could render her any thanks.

Yang:          Sweet fortune hath dealt thee kindly, sister!

                   Now is thy chance!

Ruby:                                         Wait, sister! Hold, I say!

Yang:          Bon soir, fair damsel! The sun, she hath set,

                   But the night, youthful still, told me a tale

                   That thee and she hath acquainted become!

Blake:          A sun most strange riseth here before me,

                   Though the night she speaks of familiar seems;

                   Are thou not she who exploded before?

Ruby:          Twas not Ruby’s proudest entrance, tis true,

                   But aye! Twas I! Ruby Rose! Exploder!

                   Pray forget the explosion, call me not that…

Blake:          Tis well.

Yang: (to Ruby)         (Art thou wooden? Speak!)

Ruby: (to Yang)                                                   (Speak of what??!!)

Yang:          Damsel, would thou grace us with thy name?

Blake:         Blake.

Yang:                   Blake! A name, truly! Yang Xiao Long is mine!

                  Ruby’s sister am I! Thy bow is most fair!

Blake:         I thank thee. 

Yang:                              Pairs well with thy dark raiment!

Blake:         Indeed. This ribbon did I choose wisely.

                  For its ebon color, and for naught else.

Yang:         Does this evening find thee well?

Blake:                                                            Well enough. 

                  Nay, perhaps I giveth Eve not her due,

                  Lovely as she may be, full to bursting

                  With color and vim and vigor and such.

                  Much like this book I holdeth before me, 

                  And this candle beside it, enflaméd.

                  Thus would I blend one light with another,

                  Turning my attentions to fantasy,

                  As I did before thou did both arrive,

                  As I shall continue, when thou leavest.

Yang: (aside)  Are my charms so ruin’d?

Ruby:                                                      Pray, what is this book?

Blake:          Pardon?

Ruby:                        Would you tell us of it? Your book?

Blake:          Tis the tale of a man who hath two souls.

                   They war with each other for his body.

Ruby:          How dramatic! How wondrous! When a babe,

                   Yang did read me such stories before bed.

                   Tales of heroes fair and of monsters foul,

                   They inspired in me an adventurous will.

                   This will drove a small rose to grow her thorns,

                   So to pierce through monsters Grimm and vicious.

                   Thus was I driven here, to Beacon’s light

                   To become a Huntress with strength to fight.

Blake:          What dost thou fight for, then? Renown? Riches?

Ruby:          Why, to right wrongs! These heroes sought no gold

                   Save the shine of righteousness, of a land

                   That kneweth not fear, nor tyrants, nor strife.

                   That is the hero I aimeth to be.

Blake:          Thy ambition is too noble, I fear.

                   The true world is too unlike fairy tales.

                   Such nobility is wasted ‘pon it.

Ruby:          And yet tis the only world for us.

                   Did we not come here to make it better?

Yang:          Sweet sister, thy pure heart moveth me so!

Ruby:           Yang! Thy movement crushes me overmuch!

Blake:          Perhaps I misjudged thee both, sisters bright.

                   Fully pleasure’d am I --

[Enter Weiss]

Weiss:                                                Fie, I say, FIE!

                   What rancor happens here? Is it not night?

                   Were we not given this time for slumber?

Yang:          Ruby, that white devil darkens our door!

Weiss:         Thou two mad creatures that I met before?

                   Plague me no more with thy overloud play!

Ruby:           Sister, tis true, now’s for rest, so they say.

Weiss:          At last, thou seest reason, dullard maid!

Ruby:           Aye me, how long til thy anger doth fade?

Yang:           My sister would hang the moon for thy peace!

Blake:           Fair maidens, good night, this light I will cease.

[Blake blows out candle, exeunt].