Chapter 1 – Let's take a moment and break the ice

"I will bring them back. All you have to do is give me what I ask"
An 8 year old Jaune sat amidst the wreckage of his house, tear tracks staining his cheeks, his normally blonde hair dirty with ash and mud.
In front of him, nearly beyond recognition, were his family.
"Do we have a deal?" a cold voice asked him.
"Yes" he replied without hesitation.
"Good. That's good." The voice said. "In that case, sign here."

Sara Arc looked out over the forest that was the Arc estate backyard
"Jaune" she called. "Jaune, where are you, I've got a job for you to do."
"I'll be right there mum" Jaune's voice coming from somewhere nearby. A flash of yellow zipped by as Jaune darted out of a bush and began to run circles around his mother.
She reached out and grabbed Jaune by the collar, bring him to a halt in front of her.
"Stop" she ordered. He complied.
"I need you to go take these to the Xiao long family." She said, handing him a basket.
"They're some cookies mixed with some restorative dust. Give them to their youngest daughter. She's got a cold and this will clear it right up. Take the eastern path. Their cottage is at the end"
"Ok mum" Jaune said happily. "Can I have some on the way there?"
"Sure, but only a few. They're meant for people who are sick"
"Yay" Jaune cheered.
"If you go now, you should be able to make it back before dark. If you can't, stay there for the night and come back in the morning."
"Ok mum. I'll see you when I get back." He yelled, booking it for all he was worth.

'brrr, it's pretty cold, maybe I should have bought a better jacket with me' Jaune thought, as he walked down a dusty road.
Night was falling pretty quickly, and I was looking as if he was going to have to stay the night.
Tree's loomed on all sides as the 8 year old proceeded to walk, and in the distance a lone light shone through a window.
Darkness began to close in quickly, and Jaune chose to run the last hundred metres, covering the distance in fairly good time.
Holding the basket in one hand, He politely knocked on the door with the other.
The door opened to reveal a rather tall man with shocking blonde mane of hair and fiery golden eyes.
"Ah, young master Arc. I was wondering when you might arrive" he spoke formally.
"Hello Mr Xiao Long. I bought the cookies like my mother asked."
"That's good to hear. Please, come on in." He said, stepping aside and letting Jaune move in to the cottage.
"Thankyou Mr Xiao Long." Jaune said politely. The big man was pretty scary.
"Please, just call me Taiyang" he spoke, his neutral voice and plain expression giving way to a Cheshire smile and a happy tone.
"Here you go….sir" Jaune said, still too nervous to comply to Taiyang's request.
"Ah, thankyou" Taiyang commented, snatching the basket from his hands and Prancing- Yes, prancing- down the hall towards a door.
Unsure of what to do, he simply followed Taiyang.
"Ruby, look what the Arcs bought you~." He practically sang as he barged through an open door.
A little girl with black hair who looked to be about 6 years old sat on a bed surrounded by blankets,
"What is It dad?" she asked nasally.
"Cookies, my little princess" he said, practically jumping for joy. "They've got healing dust in them, so just eat them and you'll feel much better."

Jaune took as step back as Taiyang began to fawn over his sick daughter, and then jumped when a voice said beside him, "He's like a big kid, isn't he?"

"Yeah" he agreed, turning to find a blonde girl who looked to be around his age looking the father and daughter talking and laughing on the bed.
"I'm Yang, and that's Ruby." She said pointing to herself, and then the girl on the bed.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Jaune" Jaune said. "Mum told me I have to stay the night since it got dark"
"All right, I'll get dad to set you up a bed in the front room." She paused for a moment before yelling "DAD." Taiyang froze, half a cookie hanging from his mouth.
"Yes darling?" he said hesitantly, before whipping the remainder of the cookie into his mouth.
"Jaune's mum told him he had to stay here for tonight. Can you set him up a bed?"
Taiyang's expression changed several times in the space of a few seconds, before settling on one that Jaune couldn't identify.
"Right this way sonny" he said stiffly, stepping past Yang and Jaune, leading the way to a room by the front door.
Opening the door, he quickly set about making the bed, and before long, it was done.
"here you go" he announced. "Jaune, you should be off to bed. Same with you Yang."
"Goodnight Mr Xiao Long" Jaune said. He trembled as Taiyang got close.
"You don't leave this room until I call you, got it" his voice was scarily quiet.
"Yes sir" Jaune stammered out.
Taiyang straightened out, his usual cheer returned.
"Good talk. G'night Jaune."

Jaune's didn't sleep well. His rest was interrupted several times during the night by nightmares.
True to his word, Jaune stayed in his room until Taiyang called him the next morning, he had a quick breakfast with the family, including Ruby who was as healthy as she was happy, which was to say, very, before he decided to head off.
"Thankyou for having me Mr Xiao Long" he called back as he waved.
Taiyang simply waved back in response before heading back inside.

The walk home was uneventful for the %90 of the walk, but he began to notice things that were wrong.
A big plume of smoke rose in the direction of his house.
Trees were broken in some places, and the ground was torn up.
Not able to understand what he was seeing, but feeling that something was wrong, Jaune broke into a sprint.
As he rounded the last bend, and caught sight of his house, he swallowed back a gasp.
The entire house had been level by a fire. All that remained was a smouldering ruin.
He slowed as he came within a few metres of what used to be his front door, and walked into the centre of the ruins.
After he saw what was there, tears began to flow down his cheeks.

His family was laid out in a neat row. Each one of them had a horrid red line on their throats, and none of them were moving.
Sobs began to build up in his throat as he knelt by them, begging them all to wake up.
Eventually, the sobs died down and hollow emptiness began to take their place.

"How unfortunate" a cold voice said from somewhere behind him.
Jaune whirled around to find himself face to face (Metaphorically) with an elderly grey haired man.
"Who are you?" Jaune shouted, his voice high with fear.
"Bad things always seem to happen to those who don't deserve it, don't they?" he continued as if he hadn't even heard Jaune.
"Tell me, Young Arc." He said, directly addressing Jaune this time. "What would you be willing to give if I told you I could bring them all back?"
"Anything! Everything!" Jaune shouted at once.
"Ah. Good. That's exactly what I want to hear" the man said, almost gleefully. "Would you be willing to give me your soul?"
Jaune didn't even think. He didn't stop to think of the consequences.
He just went with his heart.
"Do we have a deal?" the man asked him.
"Yes" he replied without hesitation.
"Good. That's good." The man said. "In that case, sign here."

Well that's done.
This is the first chapter to my brand new story, Shepherd of Fire.
I'll admit, this chapter was difficult to get out, but I did enjoy writing it.
There will be pairings in this fic, so feel free to review and let me know what you want to see early, so I can begin planning.
Other than that, thankyou for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading the First chapter of Shepherd of Fire, and if you enjoyed it, or have a suggestion, please, let me know in a review.
Likewise, if you want more of this, feel free to Follow/Favourite. It shows your support, and it gives me a massive boost in confidence when I'm writing.
Anyway, thanks for reading.
Cheers

-3rdDegreeBurns