Chapter Text
King Ozma and Queen Salem, everyone in Remnant knew of them. They were the pioneers of what is considered the fundamentals of today's society, and was perpetuated by other great figures. But above all, two things made them so famous. The first one, is the story of how they came to be; as cliché as it may be now; how Ozma, a valiant warrior, saved princess Salem and delivered her from her ivory tower, how they fell in love afterwards and reigned over the Kingdom of Vale and lived happily ever after… until the King died from unknown circumstances, the queen never recovered the loss of her love, and so did the Kingdom of Vale. Some would even say that his death marked the end of the Valean monarchy. The second one, is the lost crown jewels that were gifted to the queen.
Vale was once a patriarchal Kingdom, the king ruled alone, there was no place for a queen, only trophy wives whose sole purpose was to breed heirs. Salem wasn't supposed to rule, she was just an asset to her father. So, as a token of his devotion, love and respect, King Ozma crafted a set of coronation jewels for the queen. The set was composed of an ornamented platinum sceptre with a blue diamond on top, a queen crown made of gold and diamonds and finally a golden orb with two dragons carved in it representing the brothers. It was a symbol of authority and royalty.
The crown jewels were one of the most prized and sought after possessions in history. The sceptre was 5lb pure platinum and the blue diamond at the top was 45 carats, the queen crown had 120 carats of coloured diamonds and the orb was 39 carats gold. Priceless was an understatement. After the end of the monarchy, the jewels were dispersed around Remnant, smuggled, sold, and lost for centuries…
Until one of the items in the set was recovered. The sceptre was now on full display in all its glory in Atlas museum.
"Remind me why one of the Valean crown jewels is in Atlas ?" Yang asked, head against the window of the passenger seat of the car, and looking at the evening street lights of Atlas city.
"Because Jacques Schnee somehow got the legal ownership of it and decided to flaunt his wealth in an exhibit." Ruby responded matter of factly while driving through the traffic jam road leading to the museum. Yang groaned.
As they stopped in front of the entrance, other cars followed suit. A woman with dark skin and blue eyes came out of one of the vehicles and advanced to them.
"Inspector Ciel Soleil from Interpol. You're from the VBI, right?" They nodded as she shook their hands then looked at Ruby. "I take it you're the profiler then?"
"Um… actually that's me…" Yang said as she forced a smile.
Ciel narrowed her eyes at her and studied her, the blonde was six feet tall and a big mass of muscles and hair, wrapped in a biker jacket that only made her bulkier. The leather boots and the purple bandana around her knee didn't help either.
"You certainly do not look the part."
"Yeah she gets that a lot." Ruby smirked at her sister. This happened all the time, not like she didn't look like a cop, she was fairly tall with lean muscles. But when paired with Yang, they usually thought she was the profiler. "Let's head inside, shall we?"
To celebrate the recovery of the sceptre, a gala was organized at the museum. Fancy dresses and suits along with champagne flutes were the theme of the soiree, needless to say that a bunch of overworked cops stood out like a sore thumb.
"Champagne?" A waiter asked a group of socialites.
"Don't mind if I do!" Yang took a flute as they rapidly walked through the halls garnished with paintings of prestigious artists and other works of art.
"Yang! We're on duty!"
"No Ruby, you're on duty, technically I'm not a cop"
Ciel took the flute and sighed. "I'm sure you're already aware of this, but you are outside of your jurisdiction. That means no Valean cowboy shenanigans, you go by Interpol's rules."
Yang smirked. "Well, good thing I left my stetson at home."
They arrived at a large and by far the most crowded and guarded room. Ciel showed her badge to the guards to enter, a mini orchestra was playing, there were a few statues of marble arranged randomly around the room and a giant chandelier hanging by the ceiling. But what caught their attention was the display case in the center with a white sheet on top of it, hiding what was in it.
They made their way toward the director who was chatting with Jacques Schnee near the case. Meanwhile a certain black haired violinist with striking gold eyes caught Yang's attention, she winked at her, Yang stumbled.
"Mr Delacroix." Ciel called. "Inspector Ciel Soleil from Interpol, we're here to inform you that a robbery will take place tonight. You'll have to evacuate, block your-"
She was interrupted by Jacques chuckling. "Now, now our friends in Interpol here have a peculiar sense of humour, or did you orchestrate this silly farce Richard?" He turned his cold gaze to the director.
"N-no!" Delacroix cleaned his throat. "I mean inspector Soleil, what is the meaning of this?"
"These are agents Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long from the VBI of the art crime department. They have received intelligence from a reliable source concerning a notorious art thief." She leveled Jacques with a stare. "Roman Torchwick is going to rob the sceptre tonight."
Jacques' laughter resonated in the entire room and caught the attention of everyone, even the mini orchestra stopped playing.
"And might I ask, inspector, about this reliable source?"
"The Queen." Ruby interjected before Ciel could reply.
Jacques glared at her. "You dare interrupt my gala for some fairytale?!"
"Now Jacques, let's keep our calm." Delacroix placed a hand on the other man's shoulder then faced Ruby. "Agent...Rose was it? Are you really asking us to interrupt the gala for information based on a legend, a John Smith of the art world?"
Jacques scoffed and pushed the hand off his shoulder. "The Queen is a scapegoat for the likes of you to justify your incompetence. Besides, do you really think you have the authority to coerce me?"
"Do not test me Mr Schnee." Ciel narrowed her eyes.
Ruby was about to speak up when she felt the air abruptly leave her lungs as a new figure stepped to join them.
"Father, let us not cause a scene after all tonight is all about celebration. The police here are only doing their job, maybe we could find a middle ground? What do you think, agent Rose?" Weiss Schnee's voice enveloped the room like a thin veiled silk, it was as if the Venus de Milo clad in a palladium dress had come to grace them with her presence. As she laid her baby blue eyes on Ruby, the silver eyed girl suddenly felt her mouth go dry.
"Listen, we just want to check in the sceptre, for all we know it might already be stolen." Yang elbowed her younger sister and whispered 'get a grip!' .
The Schnee patriarch huffed. "This is preposterous! I will have you know-"
"It's gone." Ciel announced after she removed the white sheet of the display case. For a few moments the room was drowned in a deafening silence.
Then Ruby saw him. A man with ginger hair and a bowler hat carrying a clarinet box, walking toward the exit. "Roman! Freeze!" And before she could point her gun at him, he fired his revolver at the chandelier causing it to fall on them. Yang leaped at the director and Jacques to get them out of the way, Ciel jumped away and began shouting orders at her subordinates, and Ruby lunged at Weiss.
The museum was in chaos as the alarm rang but the red haired girl could only stare at the white haired girl beneath her.
"My hero…" the girl grumbled.
"No problem…" Ruby replied in a daze.
"...I get that you're comfortable but I would like to get up sometime…" Weiss smirked as Ruby snapped out of it and got off her so quickly it made her dizzy.
"... Right um sorry… let me help you." The agent helped the other woman to her feet.
"Well? Aren't you going to chase after the thief? The other agent already went after him."
Ruby blushed and cursed under her breath, so much for being the best in her division. She ran off to the exit.
In the midst of it all no one seemed to notice the black haired violinist with her instrument case, approaching Weiss quietly.
"Do you have it?" The violinist asked.
"What do you think?" Weiss waved a hotel key card to her.
"... Did you cop a feel?"
"Shut up Blake."
Roman navigated through the panicked crowd with ease, having dropped his hat on some boy's head; he reversed his blaser so he could pass as waiter. He then took out from his pocket a shoulder strap that he connected to the clarinet box and hastily walked to the exit. Cops were running aimlessly trying to find the theif from a vague description. He smirked.
"See neo, I can do just fine on my own."
Roman suddenly stopped. Down the hall, Ciel was standing staring right at him. She shouted to the cops to catch him.
"Shit!" He spinned around, secured his strap and sprinted before dropping a smoke bomb to cover his escape. Yang immediately spotted him and chase after the man.
Roman dashed straight to a room going under construction, throwing heavy tools and broads to slow down Yang but she was still hot on his tail.
He lunged through a hole of a scaffolding then pulled out a few pins causing it to shatter and block the passage. The blonde stopped dead on her tracks, she looked around to find another way and spotted a map. She quickly found an alternative route then ran off.
Meanwhile, Roman was busy with other guards trying to catch him. After pulling a bunch of stunts involving the wrecking of another scaffolding, he managed to get rid of them and climbed to the upper gallery.
"Bloody Remnant, I don't recall this being so exhausting..." He slumped on the floor to catch his breath.
"Looks like it's time for an early retirement, gingersnap." Yang's voice startled him, she was by the door pointing a gun at him.
"Now, now Goldilocks give me some credit." He slowly stood up. "How many people would be able to pull this kind of job?" He said as he waved the box at Yang.
"Very few, too bad you're not one of them. Oh but don't worry, I heard that Black Castle has excellent gourmet food, perfect for your palate."
"How thoughtful but can you really arrest me, agent Xiao-Long? You're not actually a cop after all."
"No, but I am." Ruby's voice came from the other side of the gallery.
"Hey Rubes! Glad you could make it! Sorry I couldn't help you through your gay panicking episode!"
"Shut up Yang!"
While the sister bickered, Roman slowly made a step closer to the window but stopped as Ruby shot near his foot.
"Hands up Roman."
"Good shot, but I think you missed it a little bit."
"Give us the box or I will make sure I won't miss it next time."
He chuckled. "You don't wanna shoot Red, you're not the bad guy here."
"I think you don't understand, we're the one with the guns here, we're the bad guys. So. Hands. Up."
Roman shrugged."Okay then." As he raised his hands, one of them closed in a fist. He opened it and a small device fell from his hand. "Oops, my bad." Then the device exploded in a flash of light blinding the sisters, the sound of shattering glass could be heard. By the time they regained their sight he was already gone.
Roman stood in his bathrobe, freshly out of shower, admiring the sceptre while sipping his glass of red wine. It was truly beautiful but, he squinted his eyes, something was off. He was about to reach it but froze midway.
"Need a refill?" A certain red haired agent was standing next to him, refilling his glass. She then took the glass from his hand and drank it, wincing from the bitter taste.
"Nice place you got here." Yang was looking around the penthouse, she slumped on the couch and put her feet on the coffee table. "Really neat"
Roman quickly recovered from the initial shock and chuckled. "Well well, little red and Goldilocks, here to read me a bedtime story?"
"Special agents Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-long from the Valean Bureau Investigation. We didn't get to do the presentation back at the museum."
"Aren't you…a tad bit outside of your jurisdiction?"
Yang shrugged. "Yeah, we are… good thing they aren't."
With that a bunch of armed officers stormed inside the penthouse, following inspector Ciel and circling around the thief.
"I will take this." She smiled wickedly at him as she took the sceptre and put it in a transparent secured case.
Roman shook his head then addressed the sisters. "How did you find me?"
"Y'know, while reading the guest list I found some really interesting names..." Ruby strolled casually and studied the many paintings, vases and statues in the living room, which were all obviously stolen. "Like...Horace Belmont, art collector and a painter. Part of the ancient aristocratic families of Atlas… aaand one of Arsène Lupin's many pseudos." Ruby stated.
Yang chuckled. "I can't believe you got away so many times using tricks from a fictional character." She stood up and approached Roman. "See I've been building a profile case on you, you're quite a big deal after all, wanted in all Remnant."
"Don't worry blondie I'll sign you an autograph."
"You got expensive tastes and like to show off." She ignored him. "But you're not in it just for the money. You're ambitious, you want to be known and recognised… probably to fill the void of your abandonment issues from your childhood."
"Which makes the fact that you have a partner really surprising." Ruby added.
"Oh yeah, Neopolitan… she ditched you after your last job in Mistral huh?"
Roman huffed. "I didn't know about the moat! She will come back eventually she always does... But wait, how did you know she left!"
Ruby smirked. "There's no one to cover your tail anymore Roman."
His eye twitched. "Have you finished?"
"Aw don't worry pal." Yang placed her hand on his shoulder. "You'll get over it."
Ciel stepped in. "Black Castle will make sure of it. Take him."
Roman groaned as he was roughly grabbed. "You know Goldilocks! You really do not look like a profiler!"
"Not bad for the VBI…"
"You're welcome! No biggie! It's not like we put in jail one of the most wanted art thief."
"Yang…" Ruby sighed. "What's important is that we brought back what was stolen and stopped a criminal." She extended her hand. "It was a pleasure working with you inspector Soleil."
Ciel shook her hand. "Likewise, see you at the airfield."
"... she's such a delight…"
Ruby chuckled. "Come on sis, let's hit the bar at the hotel, it's been a long day."
Arriving at the hotel lobby, the silver eyed girl felt breathless for the second time of the night. Weiss Schnee was lounging in one of the chairs, in a casual outfit, looking as flawless as ever. She perked up at them and got up.
"Ah agents Rose and Xiao-long, I was waiting for you."
"Is everything alright Miss Schnee?"
"I just wanted to personally thank you, on behalf of my father, for what you have done tonight."
Yang rolled her eyes. "No problems princess, wouldn't want papa Schnee to have a seizure." Ruby jabbed her.
"... I would also like to thank you, agent Rose. For saving me… if there's anything you need, please do tell this is one of my family's hotels. I would gladly treat you to anything you like."
Yang's eyes lit up. "Oh really! Then Rubes let's try that- mmph!" Ruby shoved her hand on her face and pushed her.
"Miss Schnee, you don't need to thank me, I was just doing my job. But… if you insist, maybe … have a drink with me..?"
Weiss blinked.
Ruby cleared her throat. "I-I mean I still have some questions regarding the robbery tonight, we suspect Roman Torchwick might have a partner so any details would be va-" she was interrupted by Weiss' giggles.
"I would gladly have a drink with you agent Rose, unfortunately tonight might not be possible. Maybe we could reschedule?"
"Um yeah… sure whenever you want."
Weiss smiled then leaned into Ruby. She locked eyes with her as she played with the zipper of her red leather jacket. Ruby felt the time stop as she stared into blue irises, it was as if she was looking at a clear sky on a beautiful winter day. At one point Weiss licked her lips and Ruby found herself following every movement of her tongue over her red lips. She gulped, red suited her so well. Then Weiss leaned further and planted a kiss on Ruby's cheek dangerously close to her mouth.
"It's a date then, Ruby. " And her name had never sounded so beautiful. Weiss walked away and the agent found herself missing her warmth, while watching the retreating figure of the snow princess.
Yang smacked her head. "Ouch! What was that for!"
"You zoned out and you wouldn't respond no matter how many times I called you." Yang said unapologetically. "But way to go sis, charming a hot heiress with your dorkish ways, I'm impressed."
Ruby huffed. "The perk of being of cop I guess."
The blonde cackled and put her younger sister in a headlock, dragging her to the hotel bar. "Come on dork, you owe me a drink."
"Ugh! What? Why?"
"We had a golden opportunity to benefit from all the luxuries of this hotel and you wasted it out for a chick."
"... They should give me a raise for putting up with you."
Stepping out of the hotel, Weiss basked in the cold air of Atlas cooling her down. She was warmer than usual, the lobby was overheated obviously, that seemed like the only plausible reason. She remembered gorgeous silver eyes and rosy cheeks, she chuckled, that agent sure was cute.
"Why are you giggling like a schoolgirl?"
Weiss let out an unladylike shriek at Blake's sudden presence. For the life of her she couldn't comprehend how this girl could just casually appear out of nowhere like some kind of ninja. But she had to admit it was extremely useful in their line of work. Still the smug expression the raven haired girl harboured right now was really irritating.
"... I should buy you a collar with a bell."
Blake wore a wide Cheshire grin. "Oh my, Weiss how kinky, but I'm afraid you're saying this to the wrong person…" she jerked her head toward the hotel lobby.
Weiss scoffed, a slight blush adorning her cheeks. "I had to return the card, and why not have a little fun while I'm at it?"
"Fair enough, are you sure you will be able to do the next part of the plan though?"
In the blink of an eye, Weiss' eyes sharpened and she gave Blake a smile that could give chills to any other person.
"What do you think?"
Blake chuckled then shook her head. She sauntered to the hotel entrance before looking over her shoulder.
"We're only just getting to the good part."
