"We found her trying to steal some food!" Raven groaned as her men entered her personal hut. She saw one of her men holding a small girl, no younger than thirteen. She struggled against the man's grip, to no avail. Raven sighed. Any other case, this would be a simple induct or kill situation. It would have taken Raven five seconds to make her decision.

"Let me go!" However, the girl's pained scream followed by a brief flash of red fire from her eyes caught her attention and caused Raven to think twice. A flash of lightning came from her hand and zapped one of the bandits. Unfortunately, he didn't think to activate his aura, but even if he did, that blast would have destroyed that in an instant. As the bandit crumpled over, the other one freaked, dropped the girl, and ran off. Raven raised an eyebrow.

Well, one less mouth to feed at least. But this girl… This girl piqued her interests.

"Who are you?" She asked. The young girl squeaked.

"I-it's… Vermillion…" She muttered.

"Vermillion… Tell me, do you know what power you hold?" She asked. She nodded.

"It's… a very special power… but…" She trembled. Raven recognized this very trait she had.

"It's a burden, right? Knowing that you're just a piece in a never-ending game with no means to win?" Raven asked. Vermillion looked to Raven with wide eyes, then nodded. "I know how that feels. I once was a piece in a game. I knew that if I were to play it, there'd be two outcomes: I'd win… or I'd die. In a way, you're a lot like me… You don't want the weight of the world on your shoulders, so you run." Vermillion could only look at Raven and nod to everything she said.

"I… I don't want this power." She said. Raven smirked.

"I think I have a solution for your problem." Raven drew her blade…

SLASH!

… And made a slight cut on the back of Vermillion's hand.

"Aaah!" Thankfully, her aura blocked it. As it rippled slightly, Raven grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. This is a process that a select few know about. You know it, don't you?" Raven asked. She thought about it for a bit, but she shook her head. "It's a bit like using your aura to activate another's aura. However, instead, you're merely transferring powers. You just have to say that you wish to relinquish your Maiden powers over to me, Raven Branwen, okay?" She asked her. The girl hesitated, then nodded.

"I… I, Vermillion Thunder, relinquish my Maiden powers to Raven Branwen…" She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she could feel her aura be ripped away. Raven's own aura became bright as her eyes glowed firey red. After a few moments, Vermillion fell to the ground, as did Raven. They both panted as Raven looked to her.

"There… You're no longer burdened by that power… You can live a normal life." Raven said.

"… Why… Why did you do that for me? Now you have that burden." Vermillion asked.

"… Because I can take it and walk with that weight on my back. You? You're just a kid. You have a lot to learn…" She said.

"… I… I don't wanna go back, though. Mr. Lionheart is going to get upset with me if he finds out about this." She said. That's when Raven thought of something.

"Then you should tag along with us. We'll show you the ropes and perhaps… one day you'll be ready for them… But… You're gonna have to practice." Raven then got up and helped Vermillion up. "I have a special job for you if you indeed decide to join us."

"Y-yeah?" She asked.

"We're going to make people think you still have your powers. However, you'll be near me when you need to show them off. If done successfully, we can fool anyone into assuming you're the Spring Maiden. And then, one day, when I'm too old to lead, I'll pass them back to you. Hopefully by then, you'll be adjusted to the idea of being a Maiden." Raven said.

"… I want to thank you for freeing me from this… So… I'll help in anyway that I can." Vermillion said. Raven just smiled.

"Good. Oh, one more thing… To further fool people into thinking you're the Spring Maiden, we need to give you a name that would be befitting of one…" Raven then pondered. "How about…"

"Vernal!" Raven called out for the 'Spring Maiden'. Vermillion, now ten years older, stepped up to the chief of Shion Village. "Show them what it means to mess with our tribe." Raven hid her face, and thus her eyes, inside her mask as Vernal closed her eyes.

As she stretched her arms out, lightning began to strike randomly. Sudden bolts of lightning struck the random villagers that were unlucky to be outside at the time. At the same time, the bandits ran in to loot from the houses. The chief shivered.

Vernal's eyes were closed, and yet she was striking his villagers with pin-point accuracy. How? How was she doing that? His thoughts were cut short when one last bolt struck him, killing him in the process. The bandits returned with stolen food and money. That's when they could hear a familiar screech.

"Grimm... Come on, let's go." Raven turned around and left. Vernal could only stand by and watch Shion Village before it would be ransacked by Grimm. She went to Raven and stayed close to her. "You did an amazing job, Vernal." Raven complimented. Vernal smiled. Every passing day, Vernal could feel closer to Raven, like a mom that she never had. With each passing day, that burden she once worried about carrying was something she'd one day have.

Though, for now, she liked pretending to be the Spring Maiden.

[Author's Note: So, there's a few conclusions to draw from how Raven became the Spring Maiden. Most popular one seems to be her just straight up murdering the runaway. I decided to entertain this idea since I feel like it's a more humane way to approach the topic while at the same time keeping the idea that people thought Vernal was the Spring Maiden that Leo spoke of in Episode 1 of Volume 5. It was either that or the time paradox creating "Raven was the Spring Maiden all along and was taken in by the Branwen tribe". And trust me, I don't wanna handle time paradoxes.]