Chapter 26:

The crack of dawn was one of Yang's favorite times of the day. It was a time where she could spend a moment of complete solitude, before delving into governing and diplomacy. She stood on the grand balcony of her palace, the cold air from the desert night making goosebumps form on her skin.

She exhaled as she reached high up towards the stars, stretching the muscles in her back, shoulders, and sides. She then reached down to her toes, stretching the muscles in her calves and hamstrings.

She brought her hands up again, clasping them together in front of her chest as if praying; afterwards she lifted her left foot, mimicking a crane as she balanced perfectly on one leg. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, sighing as a soft breeze blew past her.

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Dear Everyone,

These last few days have been tough. I just started to learn how to use magic, but it's a LOT harder than I thought. Several days of practice and I still have trouble controlling the simplest of wind spells; and that's just the beginning. Glynda said that I'll be able to control pretty much every form of magic, and if it's taking me this long to learn wind, how long will it take me to learn all the others? Or even Lady Rose's power?

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I received Lady Rose's Spring Maiden power; but I haven't the slightest clue how to use it. We made it to Shade, and you guys wouldn't believe how beautiful this place is. From the plant life, to the structures of the buildings, to the landscape, to even the culture; everything here is so different. We're currently staying with Lady Xiao Long in her palace, and she said she's going to teach me how to use the Spring Maiden power… …for the most part.

Jaune sighed, not knowing what else to write. He set the quill back in the ink, deciding to finish it later. He then looked back at the rest of the room to see the other three still asleep; Pyrrha in one bed, Ren and Nora sharing another. He slowly rose out of his chair, setting the bottle of ink on top of the letter as a paperweight, and quietly made his way out the door.

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Navigating the palace would have been a challenge within itself, but thanks to the directions Scarlett gave him, "The grand balcony should be right…around… …here" he said to himself.

When he turned the corner, he saw a large doubled-arced archway, the trim made entirely of gold. The balcony was circular in shape; along the guardrail, lanterns were evenly placed to provide light. But what instantly caught his eye, was the view. The grand balcony was high enough that it not only overlooked the luminous oasis, but also all of Shade.

His attention was brought back when he noticed Lady Xiao Long, who was bent over backwards on all fours, resembling a lowercase 'n'. As he approached, she opened her eyes and smiled, "Good morning Jaune, how are you today?"

"I'm fine I guess, It's a little cold out here" he said, noticing the visibility of his breath.

"Mmm, brisk isn't it? I find the night air of the desert to be a wonderful stimulate for the body and mind" she said. She lifted her legs over herself, performing a handstand before being on all fours again to stand up straight.

Before Jaune said another word, she struck a pose; holding her arms out to the side and taking a large side step to her right, leaving her left leg planted and straight, while her right was bent. She then turned her head and breathed deeply. "So…Lady Xiao Long, are we gonna start training?"

"We will when I'm done" she said closing her eyes.

"Oh, okay… … … …what are you doing?"

"Yoga. This is the only time of the day when I can do it and I don't intend on missing a moment. Care to join? It's quite relaxing"

"I think I'm fine, thank you" Jaune said, sitting down and crossing his legs as he patiently waited.

"So Jaune…" Yang began as she reached towards the sky again, "I'm afraid while getting to know your retainers during dinner last night, I've neglected to ask any questions about you. Tell me a little about yourself"

"Okay. I uh…I grew up in Signal along with my family. My dad is a merchant and my mom is a housekeeper, and I also have seven sisters…"

"Seven? It must have been a hassle living together"

"It wasn't as bad as you think. Our house was pretty small, but we made up for it by sharing bedrooms; me and three in one, the other four in another, while our parents shared the last. As you could probably guess our parents couldn't afford to send all of us to school, so to make up for it my older sister Mia would attend classes every day and teach the rest of us the subjects when she returned. While she's away, the others and I would either do chores around the house, commute around the city or either play whatever imaginary games they come up with"

"I see… …do you miss them?"

"Y-yeah…a lot. Which reminds me, I'm writing a letter to them. When I'm done, do you think you could find a way to get it delivered?"

"Of course. I'll have one of my guards make sure it gets sent as high priority"

Hearing this made Jaune smile… …before it slowly wavered, "Lady Xiao Long, I hope you don't mind me asking but…if Mistral were to attack Atlas again… … …what would happen?"

The question made her pause, "Well, if Mistral were to take that action, then my army and I would immediately set sail to Atlas to join forces alongside Lady Schnee. With our combined strength, we would continue the fight until Mistral is wrestled into submission, and Lady Belladonna has no choice but to talk peace negotiations"

"'Wrestled into submission'? Your planning on beating down Mistral until they have nothing left?"

"Only if Lady Belladonna chooses to persist after we arrive" Yang said doing another pose.

"But…doesn't that seem a little…harsh? All Lady Belladonna wants is freedom for her species"

"It's more complicated than you think Jaune. There are many more factors and variables in this than you understand"

He pursed his lips, "Then…how will you know when Mistral attacks?"

"Atlas will send word. As you can imagine, with Atlas controlling a majority of Remnant's sources of metal, their army is the most powerful of all four kingdoms. I have the upmost confidence that they can hold off Mistral and send a messenger to come inform me"

The sound of the dungeon doors opening awakened Weiss from her sleep, or what little she got of it. The sound of multiple footsteps came closer and closer to her and Winter's cells, to reveal a Mistralian soldier carrying two loaves of bread. "Breakfast" he said before tossing one loaf into Winter's cell, who herself was able to catch it, and tossing the other in Weiss' cell that landed on the floor just out of reach.

Weiss looked at the bread as her stomach growled, "How am I supposed to eat this?" she asked, the gorilla demon still holding her in place.

The soldier looked at her, and then over to Winter, having split her bread with Klein, who was allowed to stay to monitor her injuries. "Hey midget. Get up"

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"Thank you Klein" Weiss said after taking a large bite from the bread, finally able to quell her hunger. He lifted the bread to her mouth so she could take another. It was humiliating; here she was, Weiss Schnee, the Winter Maiden, being fed like she was an infant.

She started to feel pins and needles in her legs again, indicating that she should shift positions. But when she tried straightening her back, another sharp pain made her stop, "Nngh!"

"Are you alright Lady Schnee?"

"N-no. My back hurts like hell, and my chest aches if I breath too deeply… … … ugh, and this Oum-forsaken position is anything but comfortable" she grimaced. "Klein, do you still have that salve?"

"Yes milady"

"Can you apply some of it on me? Please?"

"But…Lady Schnee, in order to do so I would have to remove your top" Klein said as he looked at the gorilla demon.

"It's fine. As long as I don't struggle, it shouldn't bother you" she assured.

She leaned forward as he reached for her shoulders. He then began to roll her top down her arms and torso, not even daring to stare at her breasts when they were exposed. Once at her waist, he took the salve and poured some on his hand. "It's mainly used for open wounds. But because your injuries are mostly internal, I'm not sure how much it will help" he said as he started rubbing circles into her back.

She winced, "…I…I think it's working… …a little bit anyway"

He then applied more on her stomach and again just below her neck and between both her breasts; it didn't relieve all the pain, but good amount. When he was done, her pulled her top back up so she could be properly dressed, "*sigh* Thank you Klein"

"Of course milady" he said, taking her bread back in hand so she could proceed eating.

"Okay, now we can get started" Yang said finishing her last pose. She came and sat down in front of Jaune, "Pay very close attention Jaune, what I'm about to teach you has been passed down exclusively through every generation of Seasonal Maidens"

Jaune nodded, "Much like the seasons of Remnant, every Maiden power is different. The Winter Maiden power allows Lady Schnee to conjure ice magic that can only be rivaled by the Great Wizard. The Fall Maiden power makes Lady Belladonna the only person on Remnant capable of using shadow magic. The Summer Maiden power is similar to Fall, but the difference is that I am able to use inferno magic"

"Wow. And what about the Spring Maiden power?"

"The Spring Maiden power is actually quite unique. Unlike all the others, it allows the wielder to burst into flower petals and move at a speed invisible to the naked eye"

Jaune's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

"Only when fully mastered; or at least that was what Ruby was able to achieve. For now, all we're focused on is getting you to tap into that power" she said folding her hands in her lap. "In order to do so, you must concentrate deeply until you feel a warm sensation at the base of your stomach. When you do, focus on that sensation until it spreads throughout your entire body. I will demonstrate" she closed her eyes.

Suddenly, the temperature of the air sharply rose. Jaune could only stare in awe as Yang's hair began to glow a bright, pale yellow, emanating visible heat waves from each individual lock. When she opened her eyes again, her pupils were as red as blood.

Before Jaune could say anything, she held up her right hand and formed a fist, engulfing it in a ball of fire. "That's amazing"

"It is. But such immense power requires discipline to control" she said as she returned to normal. "Are you ready to try?"

"Yeah" he said. He made sure to mimic the way she sat and closed his eyes. He then began to concentrate, "… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …I don't feel anyth…"

"Don't talk!"

He shut his mouth to continue. Seconds soon turned to minutes, and he was about to speak up again…when he started to feel something; a numbness at the base of his neck. For a moment it confused him, because it wasn't how Yang had described, but he chose to keep going. He focused on the numbness, feeling it spread down his body until it felt like all of his blood stopped circulating.

Then…there was a tingling sensation, on the tips of his fingers on his left hand. It was like an itch, but it also, oddly, felt like his hand was expanding.

He opened his eyes to look at his hand, to see it slowly dissipating into yellow petals, "Wah! W-what the hell?!"

"Remain calm Jaune, try to remain…"

"Ahh! I can't stop it!" He panicked as his whole hand had now dissipated, but it didn't stop there. "Lady Xiao Long! What do I do!?" he yelled now that his arm was gone.

Yang now grew a look of concern, "Uh, o-okay Jaune, stay calm. Maybe if you…" before she could finish, he disappeared completely. Now having turned into a cluster of yellow flower petals, he started floating off the grand balcony and into the distance towards the oasis. "Oh… ...dear"

To Be Continued…