En Garde! A RWBY White Rose Fanfiction

Prologue: Two Blades

Ruby looked at her helmet. No matter what angle she viewed it from, it looked like either an astronaut helmet or a spherical chicken wire trap.

She sighed and tucked it under her arm. Today was the championship match, and Ruby wanted to win more than anything.

Ruby pulled her épée off the rack and checked to make sure that the electronic gadgets were connected, then faced the door that would ultimately lead her to her final round. She took a deep breath and let it out in a huge sigh.

"You ready to go, sis?" a voice called from the other side of the room. Ruby turned around to see her sister, Yang. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Ruby replied with a nervous smile. Yang always had a confident twinkle in her violet eyes, and her long, golden blond hair fell messily around her. Her black tank top, yellow shorts, and the bandages that covered her knuckles made Ruby guess that she had recently been at boxing practice.

Yang covered the distance between them and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, flashing her little sister a proud grin. "You'll knock 'em dead! Well, not literally." She chuckled before pausing a moment and taking on a more serious expression. "You know we don't really need the prize money, right?"

"Yang," Ruby responded, "you and I both know we could still use anything we can get. I won't settle for second place."

Yang gave Ruby an even more serious look for a moment, but she quickly came back with a knowing smirk. "A girl after my own heart," she beamed. Ruby smiled back at her. Yang was the best sister she could ever have.

A little buzzer sounded, and a red light above the door lit up. "That's your cue," Yang said. "Good luck, and may the sword be with you, young Padawan." Ruby had to laugh at her sister's horrible pun, replied, "Thanks, Yang," and went over to the door. Yang turned around and went out the other way to take a seat in the audience.
•••
Ruby stepped up to the piste with that energetic spring in her step she always carried. She came to a stop face-to-face with her new opponent.

Whispers and mutters came from the audience, and Ruby scanned the crowd for Yang. Ruby found her looking at her worriedly. She gave a thumbs-down. That meant she was going against a pretty tough opponent. Ruby sighed. Of course she was. This was the final round of direct elimination!

The referee signaled both girls to salute, and so they faced each other. Ruby stood upright, raising her sword just below her face, feeling the adrenaline already flowing into her system.

After saluting the referee, both girls took their stances. Ruby loosened up and re-positioned her grip on her rapier.

"En garde."

About five feet away, her opponent rolled out her shoulders and tensed up as if she were about to run into a wall.

"Prêt."

Ruby only had time to raise an eyebrow before the official announced, "Allez!"

Ruby's opponent lunged forward at an incredible speed, her rapier extended for a thrust. Ruby yanked up her épée in a parry that caused the clanging sound of metal against metal. Ruby smirked beneath her mask while her opponent grimaced and shuffled back, waiting for another opening, but by that time it was too late. The tip of an épée had tapped her shoulder with a bzzt.

Ruby stepped back and bent her épée continuously, trying to regain the length she lost in her thrust.

The two slowly approached one another for a second time. Once they were mere inches away, Ruby's opponent feinted high as if to strike her mask. As she had hoped, Ruby raised her sword to parry once again, exposing herself from the lower half of her torso down. Ruby's opponent went in for the attack.

However, the parry in itself was a feint. Ruby effortlessly circled her blade to match her opponent's, ending up with both scoring a point.

Ruby's mind became one with her burning muscles, and it felt amazing. It was as if she were observing an intricate fencing chessboard as she predicted her opponent's moves, even though she didn't know how to play chess at all.

By the third bout, Ruby's opponent was pushed to the end of the mat. One wrong step, and victory would be hers. Ruby began to close in, but her opponent retaliated by coming at her with a flurry of thrusts from all directions, forcing Ruby to focus on parrying her attacks. She was pushed backward until they were on the opposite side of the mat. Ruby looked down and her eyes went wide, causing another opening for her opponent. Ruby heard a rush of wind and decided to trust in her speed for one final strike. She threw forward her sword.

The buzzer went off for a final time, signaling a victor. There were little buttons on the tips of the rapiers that made sure the winner and loser were recognized appropriately. Both girls pulled away from one another and turned to the scoreboard.
•••
Ruby couldn't help but grin. After a few months of hard work and focus, she had won the $500 promised with the gold medal. This would keep her and her sister going for a couple weeks.

Yang jumped up and cheered in sheer excitement. Ruby turned to her and gave her a thumbs-up with her free hand, grinning behind her mask.

Miraculously, Ruby remembered common courtesy and turned to her former opponent, holding out her hand. The other girl took it.  "Good job," Ruby said, but the other replied with short "humph" and turned on her heel. Ruby watched with a tinge of guilt as she opened the door and walked out.

Ruby took off her helmet as she ran to her sister and got crushed in Yang's loving embrace. "Yang ur squishin meh," Ruby said with a muffle, and Yang quickly released her. "Hehe, sorry. But Ruby, you did it! Now let's go get the stuff you just won!" The two sisters walked side-by-side to the prize display table.