//------------------------------//
// Frost Mountain Clan 
// Story: SAPR 
// by Scipio Smith 
//------------------------------//


Frost Mountain Clan


"So Ruby come from all way over mountains?" Yona asked as she walked across the barren heath, leading the party towards her camp. Sunset and Cardin led the way, so as not to put Yona up at the head of the column where she would be at risk from any ambush or grimm attack that they ran into, but she was close enough behind that she could shout directions to them if need be, while Ruby guarded Yona. Zwei ran at their heels or, as now, was scooped up into Yona's arms while she embraced him fiercely. The rest of the party trailed away behind, with Cinder bringing up the rear.
"Yep," Ruby agreed cheerfully. "Me and all my…" she stopped short of calling them 'friends.' "Me and everybody else have come all the way from Vale."
"Vale," Yona repeated. "Yona know what Vale is. Vale is reason Frost Mountain Clan never cross mountains, not since long, long time ago. Vale cage."
Ruby frowned. "Vale… you think Vale is a cage? Why? Vale's just a kingdom."
"Kingdom is cage," Yona replied. "That what Uncle Prince Rutherford say."
"'Prince Rutherford,'" Ruby repeated. "Is that the leader of your clan?"
Yona nodded eagerly. "Grandpa get too old to lead and chop, so grandpa step down, and Uncle Rutherford step up. Yona have to call Uncle Prince Rutherford now. Uncle Prince Rutherford still listen to Grandpa wisdom, but Uncle Prince Rutherford make all decisions."
"Yeah, that sounds like a leader," Ruby agreed. She grinned. "So, if your uncle is the prince, does that make you a princess?"
Yona sniffed. "What Ruby mean?"
"Uh," Ruby hesitated. "What do you mean what do I mean?"
"Smolder call Yona princess sometimes," Yona explained. "Smolder call Yona princess to make fun of Yona; Smolder mad because Yona whoop butt."
"Oh, really?"
Yona nodded eagerly. "This summer, Uncle Prince Rutherford promise to unlock Yona aura! Then teach Yona to fight with great-great-grandpa's great-great-grandpa's axe."
"That must be a really old axe," Ruby observed.
"Really old," Yona agreed. "Handle been replaced few times, and got new blade a few times too, but still same axe."
"Is it?" Ruby asked. "Is it really?"
Yona nodded. "Frost Mountain Clan know that nothing last forever – except spirit. Uncle Prince Rutherford give axe to Yona, and even though Uncle replace shaft, Uncle also held old shaft that great-grandpa touched, and great-grandpa also touched handle of his father even though he replace it too, and so on back to great-great grandpa's great-great grandpa."
"That… okay, yeah, that makes sense," Ruby accepted. "So, are you excited to start your training?"
"Yona ready to start chopping! Then Yona not need to be scared of beowolves and rescued by Ruby Rose. Ruby trained to chop?"
"Well, I don't exactly chop," Ruby said nonchalantly as she pulled out Crescent Rose. Her gorgeous weapon extended outwards, hissing and clicking and clanking as it went. "With me, it's more of a question of slice or shoot."
Yona's eyes went wide. "Woah," she gasped. "Yona never seen weapon like that before."
Ruby folded Crescent Rose back down into its carbine configuration once again. "I'm not too surprised; living outside the kingdoms like you do, I suppose there isn't anywhere that could make something like this."
"Yona not know," Yona replied. "Frost Mountain Clan not make weapon like that." She paused. "But Frost Mountain Clan weapons best anyway! Family axe not grow like tree, but axe have history, history give weight, weight makes good for chopping! That why Frost Mountain Clan the best!"
Ruby giggled, covering her mouth with one hand. "What's it like, living outside the kingdoms?"
"What it like for Ruby, living in cage?" Yona replied.
"Why do you keep calling Vale a cage?" Ruby responded. "Just because your uncle said so?"
"Uncle Prince Rutherford not just say, Uncle explain so when he say why Frost Mountain Clan not cross mountains," Yona declared. She looked down at Zwei, who had his tongue out and was panting happily as Yona tickled him under the chin. "It like this: Yona like dog, so Yona take dog. Dog belong to Yona now."
"What?" Ruby cried. "You… you can't just steal Zwei! Give him back! Give him back this instant!"
"Yona not mean it," Yona said, handing Zwei over to Ruby. He leapt into Ruby's arms with a bark and started licking at her face. "But in kingdom, stuff like that happen all the time. Always someone say 'this belong to me now, hand off.' Frost Mountain Clan have no home because Frost Mountain Clan understand that world belong to everyone. That why Frost Mountain Clan always move around. But in kingdom, everyone want to own everything, own pieces of world forever. Put people in cage, tell them what to do. Yona heard that in cages, folk even get told what they can and can't name children. In cage, Yona not be called Yona!" she looked horrified at the very thought.
"It's not a cage if it's for people's own protection," Ruby said. "Maybe it seems strange to you, but… but look at what happened to your friends, think about what would have happened to you if we hadn't been there? Don’t you have any huntsman with your clan?"
"Plenty of clan know how to fight," Yona said staunchly. "Also know how to do lots of other things."
"But that's what I'm saying," Ruby said. "I have trained for years to become a huntress, and that's all that I've trained to do, and I can do that because I never had to worry about finding food or a place to sleep because someone else always took care of that other stuff for me. That's what it means to be part of a kingdom: we don't need to know how to do lots of things, so we can learn how to do one thing really well. And for me, that one thing is the thing that lets me keep everyone else safe."
Yona frowned. "If Ruby want to keep Vale safe, then what Ruby doing out here on wrong side of mountains?"
"I…" Ruby hesitated, finding that it was a struggle to answer the question. "I… can't say, Yona," she said, not just because her mission was a kind of secret, but also because… to be honest, it felt kind of like running away to have abandoned Vale the way she had. Yes, those new scary grimm were after them, and it was probably better to be away from Vale so that the city didn't get attacked again – although the same argument applied to going anywhere near the Frost Mountain Clan, or anywhere or anyone else, didn't it? – but at the same time, she'd left her home in a mess, and for what? To find Professor Ozpin? Surely, he'd know what to do without them; he'd done this a whole bunch of times after all.
Of course, Ruby had to admit that she hadn't exactly been defending Vale before Sunset came and asked for her help in finding Ozpin.
"I… I feel as though I haven't really known what I'm doing for a while now."
Yona tugged at her braid with one hand. "What wrong, Ruby?"
Ruby didn't answer for a moment. "Yona, do you have any siblings?"
Yona grinned. "Yona big sister! Yona have little brother Calder and little sister Lydia! Does Ruby have brother or sister?"
"Ruby little sister," Ruby said with a smile. A smile that faded like the last gleam of twilight before the dark sets in. "Or at least I was. My big sister, Yang, died, and since then… since then, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing."
"Ruby must have had reason to come here," Yona said. "Where Ruby going?"
"East," Ruby said. "We're trying to find a boat to take us to Anima. Do you know where that is?"
"That over the ocean, yes?" Yona said. "Grandpa tells stories from his grandpa about time when people come from over the ocean try to put us all in cages. But if Ruby want to go other way, Ruby should try Freeport."
"'Freeport'?" Ruby repeated. "What's Freeport?"
"Freeport big town next to ocean," Yona explained. "Freeport where Sun Queen lives."
"Sun Queen?" Ruby repeated.
Yona nodded and looked a little disgruntled. "Uncle Prince Rutherford say that Sun Queen wants to build cage like Vale over the mountains, but Freeport strong, and all towns and villages that want cage listen to her, so all clans got to listen too. But it not all bad: sometimes, Sun Queen calls Uncle Prince Rutherford and all the clans to Freeport so can talk to them, and that where Yona met Smolder. Smolder of Summer Fire Clan and Yona best friend! Ruby get boat in Freeport for sure."
"That's great to hear," Ruby cried. "Would your uncle be able to show us how to get there?"
Yona nodded. "Absolutely! Uncle Prince Rutherford show you way for sure."



Yona was not quiet, and Ruby's voice rose to match the volume of the younger girl, so as Sunset and Cardin led the way, they could hear everything that passed between the two. They marched across a barren heath, a blasted wasteland upon which grew scarce a bush, the kind of land that would have been awful to endure foul weather on but was fortunately only monotonous in the reasonable weather that they were enjoying at the moment. There was no sign of any grimm, and the ground was so flat and featureless they would have plenty of sight of them if any did appear, and so, there was not much to do while they walked but to listen to the chatter of the younger girls.
"I wonder what's up with her language?" Cardin said. He and Sunset, unlike Yona and Ruby, were talking quietly enough that they could not be overheard.
"It's not so surprising," Sunset said. "These people have been living cut off from contact with the kingdoms since pretty much the Great War. Of course they've developed a pidgin dialect. It's a miracle that we can understand her at all. You'd almost expect them to have their own language. Maybe they do, and Yona just knows that we can't speak it."
"I suppose," Cardin muttered. His mace rested upon his shoulder, swaying slightly as he walked. "You know… I can't help but think about things."
"You never seemed to have a problem not thinking about things before," Sunset snarked.
"Smartass," Cardin growled. "What are we doing?"
"You know exactly what we're doing," Sunset replied. "We're going to Mistral to-"
"To find the immortal Professor Ozpin," Cardin finished for her, speaking softly so that they would not be overheard. "And for what? Can't he find his own way to safety?"
"Not if he's a child," Sunset replied.
"If he's that young, what good will he be until he grows up?" Cardin asked.
"The enemy won't wait until he grows up," Sunset hissed. "That's why we need to find him and protect him."
"Why?" Cardin demanded. "You said it yourself: Salem can't be killed-"
"So we should just let her have her way?" Sunset said. "Give up?"
"Of course not."
"Then what?" Sunset growled. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that maybe you and me and Ozpin too should stop worrying about the things that we can't do anything about and start worrying about the things that we can. Shadow wars and secret conspiracies... this isn't why I wanted to become a huntsman."
Sunset snorted. "I thought you wanted to become a huntsman to impress your girlfriend. Are you still going out with her?"
"Yes," Cardin said, in an affronted tone. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, there's the fact that you ditched her to go on a trip halfway round the world."
"I'll be back," Cardin said defensively. "It's not as though I'm going away forever. What me and Skystar have is strong enough to survive a few months apart."
"Uh-huh," Sunset said sceptically. She hesitated. "There's also the fact that her mother isn't First Councillor anymore."
Cardin glared balefully down at her. "I ought to smack you in the face with my Executioner."
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to have forgotten the fact that you were not exactly a paragon of virtue when we first met?"
"I didn’t put up with her faunus cousins because I wanted to suck up to her mother,” Cardin said. “I did that for her, because Skystar's family is important to her, and she's important to me."
"Cardin, you have improved a great deal as a person since we first met," Sunset said.
"But?"
"But I'll tell you now what I told you then: pretending that you weren't a racist tool was not as big of a sacrifice on your part as you're making it out to be," Sunset mocked.
"It might not have been a sacrifice, but that doesn't mean it was always easy," Cardin replied. He paused. "On a completely unrelated note, it's a damn shame that Novo Aris isn't First Councillor any more."
"Democracy is a system designed to let the people at the top bear the blame for the failures of those below them," Sunset observed. "Do you know what democracy is? Democracy is sacrificial kingship without the deaths."
"Sacrificial kingship?"
"You weren't paying attention during the ancient history portions of Oobleck's legends class, were you?" Sunset asked.
"Was anybody?"
"Yes," Sunset said firmly. "Sacrificial Kingship is… well, it's kingship, only whenever something bad happened to the village – a war was lost, or the crops failed – they killed the king as a sacrifice to appease the gods. Democracy is like that."
"Only you get voted out instead of sacrificed," Cardin mused, "an important distinction."
"Of course," Sunset agreed, "but my point is that, in a democracy, you can't preside over a terrorist attack, a grimm attack, a string of robberies, and a cancelled Vytal Festival and expect to keep your job. She had to resign, or she'd have been dragged out of office by a mob."
"All the same," Cardin said, "if she'd been allowed to stay on and manage the recovery, I think she would have made better choices than some that have been made in these past few months. She wouldn't have even considered recruiting out of the combat schools."
"What's she doing now?" Sunset asked.
"She's a Colonel in the Mount Aris Home Guard," Cardin said.
Sunset's eyebrows rose. "The former First Councillor is marching around with a carving knife tied to a broom handle?"
"The former First Councillor is sitting on a horse watching as other people march around with carving knives tied to broom handles," Cardin corrected her. "And plotting to get back into power, of course."
"Oh, of course," Sunset agreed. She hesitated. "So, what was your point?"
"Hmm?"
"You had a point before we got sidetracked into Skystar and her mother?" Sunset suggested.
"Yes," Cardin said. "The point is… this whole Ozpin versus Salem thing, is it worth it? We can't do anything about her; we ought to just focus on what we can do, like protecting Vale, protecting our homes, not running across the map trying to take care of the big picture, a picture that nobody can solve with the best will in the world."
"That would be fine if Salem was as willing to leave us alone as you're willing to leave her alone," Sunset replied. "But she's not. She's the one coming for us, she's the one who sent agents to Vale, who sent the grimm-"
"And I'm not suggesting that we let her have her way," Cardin interrupted. "When - if - she comes back to Vale, then we'll deal with whatever she sends. When she goes to Mistral, then Jaune and Pyrrha will deal with her. When she goes to Atlas, then it’ll be up to Weiss and Flash, and so on."
"Someone needs to be concerned with the big picture," Sunset argued.
"The big picture is nothing but a mosaic of little pictures," Cardin retorted.
"That doesn't mean that we can just pick one tile and hold onto it," Sunset declared sharply. "Otherwise, we'll end up with a bunch of people sitting on sandcastles while the tide comes in. Care for Vale, care for Mistral, care for Atlas, but someone has to care for the whole world, and that's why we need Professor Ozpin. That's why we need to get to Anima."
Cardin sighed. "Sure," he said. "You're probably right, but all the same… a part of me wishes that we could just help this girl and people like her."
Sunset thought about Ruby's plan and the answer that she had yet to receive from Twilight. Maybe you can, in another life.



“You know,” Jack said, “the kid may be kind of weird and talk funny, but she’s got a point.”
Sami snorted. “Really? What has she got a point about, exactly?”
“Owning stuff,” Jack said. He gestured with his shotgun axe at the desolate plain all around them. “I mean, what she said about some rich asshole coming and saying, ‘hey, I own this now!’ That’s exactly what happened to me and my Ma. We had a farm, we had land, and then suddenly, it got taken away from us because some guy had a piece of paper from some Council lawyer saying it belonged to him. What kind of sense does that make?” He paused, looking around. “I mean… this land isn’t great, but I’m sure there must be some good land around here somewhere. Land which no one owns. Land which no one is going to turn us out of. Land where I could build a house and plant some crops, some beans maybe, and-”
“And then get murdered?” Sami asked. She smirked. “Here’s what you haven’t thought through, Jack: there’s always a law, but if it’s not kingdom law, then it’s law of the jungle, and the asshole who wants your land isn’t going to show up with a piece of paper to take it; he’s going to show up with an axe to cut off your head.”
Jack pumped his shotgun. “He can try if he wants, and if he can take it, he’s welcome to my head and my land and everything else I own.” He bent down to pick up the unspent shell that he had just ejected in his posturing.
Sami’s smirk remained in place. “That’s brave of you, I admit. I think we ran across a few guys as brave as you… it never ended well for them. The kid may be making it sound like this place is a paradise for the individual, but it’s not. The reason why there are tribes like the Frost Mountain Clan and the Fall Forest Clan is that you have to stick together in a place like this, strength in numbers, you know. And the reason the people who aren’t part of the tribes live in walled towns and fortified mansions is that the clans will burn you out of your home and take everything you have otherwise.”
“Any tribe?” Jack replied incredulously. “That kid’s tribe? Come on, Sami, she’s like a cream bun.”
“Frost  Mountain aren’t as tough as my old family used to be,” Sami admitted, “but they can handle themselves.”
“Which is why you don’t want to go back.”
“I don’t want to put my life in the hands of some queen and her peace,” Sami muttered.
“What are they going to do to you?”
Sami shrugged. “When I was a kid, we captured one of theirs,” she explained. “My father gave her the blood eagle.”
“The what?”
“You do not want to know,” Sami said, “but you might get to see it done to me if I’m unlucky. This is no paradise, Jack; this is a hard land with hard ways.”
“It’s better than the place where we’re convicted criminals,” Jack declared. “Better than the place where they want to get us killed in battle.”
Sami’s eyes narrowed. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m saying there must be a chance to get away in a country as big and wild as this,” Jack hissed.
“And do what? Start a farm?”
“Maybe? Whatever we want? No Sunset or Cardin to give us orders.”
No power, Sami thought. Sure, they could try to run. They might even get away. But then what? A refugee from the Kingdom  of Vale? An outcast from the Fall Forest Clan? They weren’t likely to make it very far, let alone amount to anything. They'd be dead by the time winter rolled around again, like as not. 
But if they stuck with Sunset just a little longer… then she would lead Sami to the means not only to survive, but maybe even to thrive… to rule.
In place of a Sun Queen, they would have a… what could I call myself? Horned Queen? Fall Queen?
As long as I can call myself something, that will be fine by me.
“I get where you’re coming from,” Sami muttered. “And I’m not against it. But we need to wait. Bide our time a little.”
“'Bide our time'? But what about the whole ‘they’re going to kill me’ thing?”
“It’s a risk,” Sami acknowledged. But the prize is worth it.



Cinder trailed at the rear of the column, her glass bow in her hand. Even through her long black glove, she could feel the cool of it.
It was cold because the world was cold, or seemed so.
Cinder kept her eyes sharp, watching for any sign of grimm or bandits or… or anything else. It was hard to know what might rise up to trouble them in this land.
The world beyond the kingdoms had been of little interest to Cinder Fall: a barren land of little account, home to no one of any note or distinction, a place that would escape her wrath because it wasn't worth her time or her attention.
That seemed like something of an oversight now, she had to confess.
In between keeping watch for perils or enemies, Cinder's eyes flickered to Bon Bon, walking just ahead of her.
They were nothing alike. For one thing, Bon Bon was a complete incompetent who had bungled every task that Cinder had set for her, with the exception of the staggeringly simple 'watch fights and let me know if there is anyone I should be concerned about.' Cinder couldn't even credit her with bringing Sunset to her attention, because she almost certainly would have noticed Sunset anyway after Team SAPR's battle with the White Fang.
And yet, for all that there was no comparison between the two of them, they were alike in that they had both managed to reach out to one single person who didn't seem to mind the lies or the wicked intent behind them.
For all that, Bon Bon was perhaps the only person whom Cinder could talk to about what was on her mind.
She couldn't speak to Sunset about her uncertainties regarding her future; Sunset had committed herself to this fight, till death or the world's ending. In every generation, men would strive with Salem, and in this generation, that was the task that Sunset had taken upon herself. As an act of futile defiance, it was magnificent, but at the same time, it was not a path that Cinder had ever sought out for herself.
She had not pledged herself to the service of Ozpin. She had not volunteered to be one of his sacrifices. Cinder Fall had set off down a different road, a path to power and glory, and though she had turned aside from that alluring route, that didn't alter the fact that she had little desire to tread a path of daggers with only death and failure at the end of it.
The only thing tethering her to this desperate route was Sunset Shimmer. Sunset… and the fact that she had nowhere else to go.
This was something she couldn't talk about with Sunset. Sunset understood Cinder better than most, but in this matter, she was too brave, and too committed to the fight, to understand that Cinder might want something else.
If only she could work out what that something was.
If only she could decide whether she was allowed to want something else.
Which was something she could only discuss with Bon Bon.
And so, as much as the idea of lowering herself to converse with a former minion who had proven herself to be both treacherous and incompetent still mildly revolted her, Cinder cleared her throat. "Bon Bon," she said, in as sweet a voice as she could muster, "may I speak with you for a moment?"
Bon Bon's pace slowed a little. The plates of her armour ground as she turned to look at Cinder. Bon Bon's face was concealed beneath her helmet, but when she removed her helm, Cinder could see a look of surprise and narrow-eyed suspicion there.
Lyra had also slowed, but Bon Bon whispered something to her, and the other girl quickened her pace again, while Bon Bon dropped back to be closer to Cinder.
"What?" she demanded.
Cinder bristled. "Ruby can take that tone with me; you don't have the right. Unless you claim ineptitude makes up for the malignance of your intent."
Bon Bon hesitated for a moment. "You're right," she admitted. "I'm not better than you are just because I escaped notice for longer."
"Indeed," Cinder murmured, "but I don't want to rehash what happened at Beacon."
"No?" Bon Bon said. "Then what do you want?"
Cinder hesitated. "I… I want to talk about the future," she said. "Have you ever considered a future away from this war and what it might hold for you?"
"Do we have a future away from this war?" Bon Bon asked. "Are we not bound to Vale and to her service? Or are you talking about getting back to simply defending Vale from threats to it?"
"No," Cinder replied. "I'm talking about… if you could walk away, free and unharried, where would you go? What would you do?"
Bon Bon's eyes narrowed. "Is this some kind of trick?" she demanded. "Are you playing mind games so that you can find out whether I'm loyal or not?"
"No," Cinder declared.
"Then what are you up to?"
"I want to know," Cinder said quietly.
"Why?"
"Because the question has been on my mind," Cinder confessed, in a voice that was almost a whisper.
Bon Bon stared at her, regarding Cinder in amazement. "Do you think… do you really think they'll let you go?" she asked. "After what you've done? Do you really think that there is any way in which you're not in this for life?"
Cinder regarded Bon Bon coldly. "Is this a form of gloating?"
"I don't expect to get out of this either," Bon Bon explained, "and I've done much less than you."
Cinder was silent for a moment. "Perhaps you're right," she conceded. "Perhaps there is no escape for either of us, but all the same…"
Bon Bon waited for her to continue. "'All the same'… what?"
Cinder hesitated. "How did you get involved in all of this? How did you find your way into the service of Salem?"
Bon Bon glanced down at the blasted ground beneath their feet. "I… I had seizures when I was a child," she explained. "Doctor Watts was already a prestigious… everything, and he agreed to take on my case. And he cured me. I couldn't tell you how he did it, but he was able to do what no other doctor in Atlas could and give me a normal life."
"And you felt so obliged to repay him that you committed yourself to struggling on the side of darkness?" Cinder asked archly.
"It wasn't like that at first," Bon Bon declared. "We kept in touch: at first, I had to go back and see him every so often for check-ups, so that he could monitor my progress and check that my seizures weren't coming back. He asked me to let him know how I was getting on, and I did. He answered back, and he seemed so wise, so worldly, I suppose I was flattered by his interest. And the things he said, they seemed to make so much sense: when he talked about the corruption of the kingdoms, about the way that merit was being kept down by conservative vested interests, about the way that only a revolution would let us build something better in its place… it was hard not to believe in him. It wasn't like he ever talked about the cost of such a revolution."
"At some point, you must have realised that it would all come down to bloodshed in the end," Cinder murmured.
"Not until I was given to you," Bon Bon said.
Cinder nodded. "No," she conceded, her tone melancholy. "I was not as good at hiding my intentions as Watts. And yet even then, you endeavoured to serve me." She smirked. "Or was your incompetence part of a secret plan to sabotage my efforts?"
"I don't think you'd believe that if I tried to pretend it was true," Bon Bon said. "The truth is that… what you wanted wasn't that different from the things that Doctor Watts had asked me for: to give him my opinions on Rainbow Dash and her friends, what was she capable of, that sort of thing. You wanted that, but with Pyrrha and the others. I tried to focus on that and ignore what you were planning to do with it, just like I never asked Doctor Watts why he was so interested in Rainbow Dash. I suppose it must have been because she was friends with General Ironwood."
"It probably intrigued him," Cinder agreed, "or made him envious. Did you ever consider walking away? Turning towards the light?"
"What would have been the point? So I could die alongside everyone else?" Bon Bon asked. "I might not have liked it, but I knew that I'd be safer on the winning team, and I thought… I thought I could keep Lyra safe that way, too."
So you were a coward rather than malicious, Cinder thought. "So, to return to my original question, if you could walk away from it all with no consequence, would you? And what would you do after?"
"It would depend on Lyra," Bon Bon said at once. "I… I'm a better person when I'm with her, and so I'd follow where she led. But if it were up to me, then I would… a little village sounds nice. Somewhere outside the kingdoms, the sort of place where your past is private and nobody asks about your story. Somewhere we could start over, where Lyra and Bon Bon could be… whoever we wanted to be."
"And who is that? Cinder pressed. "Who does Bon Bon want to be?"
"I… I don't know," Bon Bon admitted.
"No," Cinder murmured. "Neither do I. I don't know what I would do if I were not engaged in this battle, one way or another." She wasn't about to tell Bon Bon about the sewing.
"Pinkie told me once that I had a talent for making sweets," Bon Bon said, "but I'm not sure how much call there is for that outside the kingdoms."
Cinder said, "I think if we did the thing that is most useful to the world, then we both remain… huntresses, or whatever we are now. If we were to please ourselves instead… but do we have the right, after everything we've done?"
"The right?" Bon Bon asked.
"To find out who we really are?"



The Frost Mountain Clan were camped upon the edge of a thick wood, where tall pine trees rose out of the ground like spearpoints jabbing upwards at the sky. The outer limit of the camp was marked by a kraal of wagons, circled and joined together in crude approximation of the walls of a town, whilst within the circle, primitive hide tents had been erected, and myriad fires burned upon the grass like a mirror of the stars that gleamed so brightly up above. Oxen, mules, and sturdy draught horses grazed within the safety of the wagon circle, and the lowing of the cattle could be heard through the darkness as the group made their final approach. An outer ring of fires, well placed, burned beyond the safety of the wagon barricade, offering sight of any grimm or other menace that might seek to approach from out of the darkness.
As they beheld the camp, cresting a low ridge so that they were looking down upon the Frost Mountain Clan and all their flickering fires, Yona let out a squeal of delight and broke into a run, sprinting down the ridge towards the camp. The others had no choice but to run too or risk being left behind and losing, with the girl, their only reliable way into the camp of the clan.
"Mama! Papa! Uncle!" Yona cried as she ran, with Ruby and Sunset and all the rest in hot pursuit. "Yona back!"
"Yona?" the voice that answered Yona's cry was deep, and strong, and as the Valish party approached the outer ring of watchfires, they could see, striding out of the safety of the kraal, the man – or rather yak faunus - to whom that voice belonged. He was a mighty man, as tall as an ancient oak and as broad in the shoulder as a stout stone wall, with arms as thick as tree trunks and corded about with muscle. His hands were the size of hams, and it seemed to Cinder that he could have snapped any one of them in half without even trying. His arms glittered with rings of gold, and more golden bands adorned his wide yak horns, and even his beard of reddish brown was bound up at the base with a thick gold ring. All his finery glittered in the light of the many fires that burned around him. He was swathed in furs and wore a shirt of mail beneath, with a great axe thrust into his belt. 
"Yona!" he cried again, as Yona ran into the firelight, and he picked her up in his immense arms and lifted her into the air, embracing her tight as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Brother!" he bellowed. "Sister-wife! Yona returned!" He set Yona down upon the ground. "How Yona come back, and where are rest who set out with you?" By this point, Sunset's party had begun to enter view, passing into the area illuminated by the watch-fires. "And who are these?"
"They saved Yona from grimm," Yona replied. "All others… grimm take them."
The giant of a man closed his eyes for a moment as a look of distress crossed chiselled features. "We meet again in the last camp," he declared. "Thank the gods that Yona safe.” He ruffled her hair with one hand that was almost as large as her head. "Is it true? Did strangers save Yona, brother-daughter?"
Sunset took a step forward. "We did," she said. "It was our-"
She didn't get the chance to say anything else as the big man swept her up into a bone-crushing hug, squeezing her between his mighty arms as though he meant to snap her back. "Welcome!" he cried. "Welcome, friends, to Frost Mountain Clan! Rutherford is Rutherford, Prince of Frost Mountain Clan. Come, into circle, come!"
He put Sunset down; she swayed unsteadily upon her feet, so that Cinder had to take her arm to help her stay upright.
"You okay?" Cinder asked.
"I'll be fine," Sunset gasped. "Just… not right now."
Two other members of the clan had rushed out of the circle, presumably Yona's parents by the way they rushed to embrace her in their arms. They were both big, if neither quite as big as Prince Rutherford, and like him, their arms and horns and the beard of the man were all adorned with gold: rings in the shape of a serpent eating its own tail or adorned with the patterns of willow leaves or with writing in ancient runes etched into it.
"Come," Prince Rutherford said again as Yona's parents – and Yona herself – led the way into the safety of the kraal. Cinder heard the screams of delight as two small children – clearly the younger siblings she had spoken of – rushed to Yona's side. They were so small that Yona could lift them up, each one clinging to an arm of hers, where they dangled off the ground with their feet kicking in the air.
Rutherford led the others in after, and as they strode into the kraal, Cinder could see that most of the clan were yak faunus, although there were a few humans scattered here and there. Gold decorations were much in evidence - though not quite in such great quantities as on the prince, his brother, and his sister-in-law - along with furs. Some wore helmets that had been specially fashioned to permit their horns to jut out on either side, while some wore mail and swords or axes at their belts. Many had painted their horns, some in gold, others in crimson, blue, or green; even more of them had tattooed their faces with patterns of raven wings or boars' heads or flames that seemed to dance upon their cheeks. Their cloaks or beards or hair were adorned with bells that jingled as they turned to regard the newcomers.
Their looks were wary, and in some cases suspicious, but only when Sami came into view did some of the looks grow outright hostile.
Prince Rutherford's voice boomed across the camp. "Foraging party slain by grimm. Ratherhelm, Einarr, Jordis, Rutherford grieve with you for those you have lost. But Rutherford also rejoice for return of Yona, brother-daughter, rescued from grimm by these strangers. For this, they guests of Rutherford and of Frost Mountain Clan. Blood must have blood, but life must have life." He waited, as if he were daring anyone to object to what he said. No one spoke up, although a few people stalked away from Sami in disgust.
Prince Rutherford said, "Under Sun Queen, there peace between Frost Mountain Clan and Fall Forest Clan, but would not have Fall Forest guest if had not saved brother-daughter."
"Sami has left her clan," Sunset said. "Though she bears the markings, she is no longer of the Fall Forest Clan but is rather one of us."
"One of you?" Prince Rutherford said. "But who are you? What bring strangers here?"
"That," Sunset said, "is a tale perhaps best told around a warm fire."
Prince Rutherford laughed. "Indeed!" he agreed. "It shall be so! Let bread and ale be brought, make space round fire. What is name?"
"Sunset Shimmer." Sunset gave a slight bow.
"Sunset lead company?"
Sunset nodded. "I do."
"Then come," Rutherford instructed.
Sunset murmured, "Cinder, Ruby, with me." She turned to face the rest of them, "Sami, all things considered, probably best if you stay out of trouble. Cardin, keep the rest of them in line."
"Sure," Sami muttered.
"All that worrying, and you didn't mention there was a peace treaty," Jack said.
"I didn't know there was a peace treaty," Sami replied. "I don't know who this Sun Queen is, but she's good if she can get my clan to stop trying to kill everyone."
"What are you going to tell them?" Cardin asked.
"As much as I can," Sunset said, "and as little as I must."
She turned and led Ruby and Cinder after Prince Rutherford to a great fire around which already sat an old man and woman; her hair had been turned white with the years, while his hair and braided beard alike were grey. Yona sat in front of the old woman, who ran her wrinkled hands through the young girl's hair.
Prince Rutherford sat upon a log and gestured with one mighty hand for the others to do likewise. Bread and dripping meat sat upon wooden trays, while drinking horns and flagons of ale sat nearby.
"Eat, drink," Prince Rutherford said, gesturing to food and drink alike. "And tell Rutherford Sunset's story. What bring Sunset to Frost Mountain Clan?"
"First," Sunset said, "allow me to introduce my companions, Ruby Rose and Cinder Fall."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Ruby said.
Prince Rutherford nodded. "Father is Ragnwald, Mother is Athelwyn."
"An honour to meet you both," Sunset murmured. She filled a horn with ale and offered it to Cinder, who accepted, before pouring another for herself. She drank and seemed surprised by the taste. "We have come from the Kingdom  of Vale; we travel east, hoping to find a ship to bring us across the ocean to Anima."
Prince Rutherford said, "There no boats left in Kingdom of Vale?"
"Boats there may be, though fewer now than once there were," Sunset acknowledged, "but we are on an errand of secrecy and did not wish our movements to be widely known."
"Yona said that we might find a boat in a place called Freeport?" Ruby asked before she picked up a chicken leg and started chewing on it.
Prince Rutherford nodded. "Boat you find in Freeport, if Sun Queen let you leave."
"Is there any reason why she would not?" Cinder asked silkily. She drank from her ale and was surprised by how sweet it tasted on her tongue.
"Hard to say what Sun Queen do or not do," Prince Rutherford replied. "Sun Queen want control. Control clans, control towns, control land; Sun Queen say that Sun Queen make real kingdom. Frost Mountain Clan not want real kingdom, that why Frost Mountain Clan live here."
"You don't want to be put in a cage," Ruby murmured.
"You talk to Yona," Prince Rutherford observed.
"She threatened to steal my dog to prove her point," Ruby said.
"Yona only pretending," Yona protested.
Prince Rutherford chuckled. "Sun Queen come over mountains, like Sunset and Ruby and Cinder and others. Sun Queen not know our ways."
"Sun Queen came to rule," said old Ragnwald, with a suspicious glance at Sunset.
"We are not here to rule," Sunset assured him. "We seek only a way across the ocean."
"Why?" Prince Rutherford asked.
Sunset was silent for a moment. "Because someone I let down grievously before requires my aid, and I cannot deny him. On top of which, others of our friends are also across the sea, and we hope at some point to be reunited."
"That not all," the old woman Athelwyn declared.
Sunset's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"Grandma have Sight!" Yona declared.
"Yona speak true," Prince Rutherford agreed. "Mother see much."
"And far," Ragnwald said. "See much that hidden."
"See darkness in Sunset Shimmer," Athelwyn declared. "But see light, too."
Sunset looked down. She shook her head sadly. "I reflect the light of others; I have none in myself."
"Yet light Athelwyn see, and darkness," Athelwyn said. "See great battle, and Sunset Shimmer in middle of it."
"What battle?" Prince Rutherford demanded.
"The battle between life and death," Cinder murmured. "The eternal battle, the only battle that has ever waged throughout time." She paused. "Old woman," she said, "will you tell me what you see when you look at me?"
Athelwyn turned her sharp, green-eyed gaze on Cinder. "Athelwyn see beauty in Cinder Fall," she said.
Cinder frowned. If this old woman can so easily see beauty in me, then why can I see none of it in myself?
"And in Ruby Rose, see…" She trailed off.
Ruby leaned forward. "What? What is it?"
"In Ruby Rose, Athelwyn see death," Athelwyn declared.
"Whose death?" Sunset demanded. "Ruby's? I won't let that happen."
"More, Athelwyn cannot say," Athelwyn said.
"'Cannot'?" Sunset said. "Or will not?"
"Gods move through these," Athelwyn said, ignoring Sunset now and speaking to her son. "Fate hang like clouds above shoulders. Frost Mountain Clan must take Sunset and Ruby and others to Freeport."
"Or else what, Mother?" Prince Rutherford asked.
Athelwyn shook her head. "Frost Mountain Clan must take visitors to Freeport."
Prince Rutherford nodded glumly. "Prince Rutherford not wish to set foot within a mile of Freeport, but Prince Rutherford know better than to disobey the gods... or mother." He smiled wryly. "And life must have life. Very well, Frost Mountain Clan will escort strangers to Freeport in morning. Tonight: eat, drink, rest. Freeport awaits us all."