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fair-game-weekend · 3 years

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Yoooo, let's gooo!! \o/

FGWE2021: Day 1 Enemies to lovers...more like Enemies to oops all the dokis

I really meant to finish this like...on the right day but *shrug*. Oh well, I didn't think I was going to do FGWE in the first place but I was rewatching OuaT and this happened lol.

This is an excerpt of OuaT/RWBY story I might(?) do...maybe...idk yet. Anyway, I just needed to get this out of my system. So here you go. Enjoy!

S/N: In the Enchanted Forest the characters -usually- have names different from their Storybrook/Remnant selves. It's not a huge deal in this part because it's Qrow & Clover focused and they kept their names after the curse, but I'll give a small rundown anyway jic.

Bianca is Winter. Snow White is Summer. The Queen is Salem. Clover is still Clover because that's his birth name; Conrad is his Prince alias. The Huntsmen character is both Qrow and Raven so their alias' are Harbinger and Omen respectfully.

Prince Charming and the thieving crow

As she had since the beginning of the journey towards their engagement party, Bianca sat perfectly straight and still with her hands folded in her lap as she watched the passing scenery. The only sounds that filled the cabin were the sound of hoofbeats and the wheels of carriage as it rolled along the forest road. Any attempt at conversation with his “fiancée” ending before it could start with a sharp glance from her icy, blue eyes.

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try again. What did he have to lose? “What do you think of the view?” He asked trying to keep the unease he felt out of his voice; he didn't want to offend her further.

Bianca sighed. “I’ve seen better” she replied curtly.

Well, that was more than he got since leaving the palace. Maybe that meant she was forgiving him, at least a tiny bit. He ending his greeting to her with a ‘my dear’ before their departure. She voiced her displeasure, no, she wasn’t raised to let that happen. It was the way her mouth tightened and her eyes turned from polite nonchalance to icy anger. He wouldn’t ever say it out loud. but she terrified him.

Despite the bravado he wrapped around himself like a cloak, he was struggling to acclimate to his new role as a Prince. He couldn’t let that fear show though. Not when he was under the scrutinizing eye of King George.

When he agreed to this whole royalty deal, he was stupid to forget that arranged/political marriage was a part of that life. Made even worse when he learned how old she was; it made him cringe. He couldn't even protest the engagement no matter how much he wanted to.

Clover picked up the pouch containing his mother’s ring with a soft sigh, he used to have daydreams about courting the man of his dreams. His true love. Now that choice was taken from him. He even entertained the thought of fleeing. But then he’d think of his mother and remember why he was doing this in the first place.

His only wish now was, if they were going to be trapped in this farce of a marriage they could at least learn to tolerate each other. Yet, it seemed the more time Bianca and him spent with each other the more closed off and cold she became. He didn’t blame her.

He huffed a bitter chuckle at his own self-deprecating thoughts as he traced the etchings in the leather. There was no point in dwelling on these thoughts anyway, it wasn’t going to solve his problems. All he could do now was work to gain Bianca’s trust and maybe with time they might become friends. He owed her that at least.

“Whoa there! Whoa!” The coachman commanded.

That and the carriage slowing to a halt pulled them out of their respective broodings. Bianca’s eyes met his not in contempt for once, but in question.

“Why have we stopped?” Bianca glanced back outside with a frown. “I knew going this way was a mistake.” she whispered.

Clover held back an annoyed sigh before pushing open the door to the carriage to see what the commotion was; leaving the pouch behind him in his haste. He glanced back at her. “Worry not, it’s but a fallen tree.”

“I see. Would you like some assistance?” Bianca asked, being sure to keep the hopeful note out of her question; she rather hated being idle when there was an issue that needed to be resolved.

“Worry not my lady,” Clover reassured her. “This matter will not take but a moment.” He bowed to her before leaving to join the guards.

Bianca deflated slightly, smoothing her hands down her skirt. Oh, how she hated these elaborate dresses her father insisted she wear.

Beady red eyes peeking from over the top of the carriage watched the Prince hurry away; feathers fluffing up as a caw that sounded suspiciously like a laugh escaped his beak.

Clover and the guards were readying themselves to move the fallen tree when something about the break gave Clover pause. He leaned closer to where it had supposedly snapped his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“M’lord?” One of the guards asked. “What is it?”

“These markings,” He murmured, tracing the makings in the wood. “This tree didn’t fall, it’s...” he frowned. “It’s been cut!” He declared, his first instinct was to turn back to the carriage. “It’s a trap!”

Bianca was startled as a large black bird hopped into the carriage and she narrowed her eyes at it. “Shoo. You filthy beast.” When she moved closer the bird cawed loudly at her, as if it took offense to her calling it 'filthy'. She scowled at it, and once again tried to shoo it out the door. The bird hopped away and cawed again, clicking its beak at her in a way that felt like it was taunting her. Before she could stop it, the bird swooped down snatching up the bag of jewels, and then it was out the door before she realised that happened.

Bianca sat dumbstruck but only for a moment. “Guards! A thief!” She cried, tripping slightly over her skirts in her haste to vacate the carriage. This could not be an ordinary bird that was for sure, it seemed to act unnervingly human. No ordinary bird would take an interest in a plain, unassuming bag such as the one the Prince carried.

“What happened?” Clover asked as he ran up to her.

“Your jewels were stolen from under my very nose is what happened. By a raven of all creatures.” She turned to give him a grave look. “It wasn’t a common bird that’s for sure. Either a shapeshifter or a trained pet of a thief.”

Prince Conrad startled Bianca as he cursed -it was uncouth of him- then without another word sprinted to one of the horses idling nearby.

“Prince Conrad, what in the world are you doing!?” Bianca called after her foolhardy fiance; forgetting herself and the manners trained into her for a moment.

“Getting back what’s mine!” he called called back.

“M’lord! Wait!” One of the guardsmen hurried after the Prince but it was of no use, he was already gone.

~.~

Serval miles down the road, a crow laden down with a heavy bag of jewels transformed into a man before he hit the ground. It startled the poor “borrowed” horse he had hidden nearby and out of the sight of the traveling carriage. Confident as always, that trememberinghe royals would be too dumbstruck that a bird of all things had stolen their possessions, he took his time putting his mask and cloak back on.

“This’ll fetch us a good amount of gold.” Qrow smirked to himself as he tested the heft of it in his now human hand. “Freaking out that ice Princess was just an added bonus.” He chuckled remebering the look on her face.

After untying the horse, he pet her snout soothingly. “Don’t worry girl. I’ll return you back to your owners soon. I’ll even leave behind a little gift for the trouble I caused.”

No sooner than getting settled in the saddle, did he heard the faint thundering of hoofbeats coming down the road.

“You can’t be serious.” Qrow clicked his tongue in irritation. Here he thought his lucky streak would hold out and he’d make a clean getaway. He should've known not to push his luck.

‘Well, if it’s a chase you want.’ Qrow smirked, taking off just as the Prince from the carriage he just robbed rounded the corner. ‘It’s a chase you’ll get.’

Thief and Prince raced back down the forest path, jumping obstacles and ducking under branches that would otherwise slow them down. But Qrow knew how to navigate the forest better than some papered Princling ever would. He would lose him soon enough.

“Hyah!” Clover urged his horse faster. The cloaked thief had the advantage of getting a headstart but that didn’t mean he couldn't catch them. He would get back his mother’s precious ring no matter what it took.

‘You’re good.’ Clover smirked as his horse began to gain on the thief’s. ‘But I’m better.’ Clover was able to align their horses close enough to reach out and grab the dark cloak fluttering behind the other rider. He yanked the thief back, and with a grasp, on the cloak, he tackled the other person to send them both tumbling to the ground.

Quickly getting his bearings, Clover was able to swiftly apprehend the thief as they struggled to untangle themselves from their cloak. “Show your face, you coward.” He growled.

He wasn’t surprised when the thief fought back. Clover was able to gain the upperhand and pin the thief. In their tussle the hood had fallen off, along with a bird-like mask that now set lopsided on thier head, tousling jet black hair. Angry vermillion eyes glared up at him and Clover felt his heart skip a beat. He ignored it, well aware that it was wildly inappropriate, seeing as the man had just stolen something precious from him. But he couldn’t help that he was momentarily stunned by how gorgeous the other man was.

“You’re…” He breathed, momentarily struck dumb.

A dark eyebrow quirked up. “Smarter than you, apparently.”

“Augh!!” The next thing he knew something much more painful struck him. In his lapse of sanity, the thief managed to grab a rock as a weapon. Stars momentarily blinded his vision.

Qrow shoved the dazed royal off him and leapt to his feet. He thanked his lucky stars that his stolen horse had more nerve than one trained by the royal guard and didn’t run away. The Prince stumbled to his feet as Qrow lept up onto the horse’s back.

“You can’t hide from me!” Clover called after the fleeing thief, wiping the blood away from his newly injured jaw. “Where ever you are, I will find you!”

Qrow snorted, and smugly grinned back at the prince. “Good luck!” He called back tauntingly. Readjusting his askew mask as he rode away, leaving behind a seething Prince.

~.~

In the hollow of a giant, felled tree there was a hideout filled with various bobbles and treasures. For years this hollow, hidden deep within the forest, served as a quiet sanctuary for Qrow and his sister when they needed to get away. Where their treasures would be safe from the Queen’s scrutiny.

Now it served as a temporary hideout. Where Qrow could stow the various items he had stolen until he could either trade them for gold and/or other items that he felt would aid him.

‘Only until we have enough gold to get as far away from her as we can.’ Qrow told himself, as he dumped his newly obtained gold into a pouch.

Nervous energy radiated off him as he puttered around the hollow. He hated how jumpy he had gotten since his last heist. Call it “animal instinct or what have you, all he cared about was it was absolutely ridiculous.

Qrow didn’t really believe the Prince’s empty threat in the least. Many a pissy royal has threatened similar feats and not one had followed through. Yet, something about that man niggled at the back of his mind; like that promise held the weight of the world and he could and would find him; he blamed it on sleep deprivation. Qrow decided that it was best to be as far away from that prince and his icy princess post-haste and return to his family before that feeling turned him into a nervous wreck.

He resecured his mask, and pulled his hood over his head before snuffing his lanturn before cautiously exiting the hideout. A sound behind him made him freeze and whip his head back to look behind him. Several tense seconds passed and nothing. Qrow snorted, gods he must really be paranoid if a passing animal could startle him like that.

It was then, as he took a couple more steps, that a trap was triggered under his feet. A scream was startled out of him as the net enclosed itself around him as he was hoisted into the air. He cursed in both panic and infuriation as he writhed and struggled within the confines of the net.

Smug, merry laughter drifted out of the forest as Qrow twisted himself about. He snarled, baring his teeth at the man that emerged from behind a tree. It was that thrice-damned Prince. It seemed like his paranoia wasn’t as unfounded as he thought.

“I told you I’d find you.” Sea-green eyes triumphantly glittered up at his captive. “No matter what you do.” Clover crossed his arms smirking up at the thief. Even though he couldn’t see them, he could feel the fury burning in those vermillion eyes

“This the only way you can catch a man?” Qrow jeered. “By entrapping him?”

Clover snerked, amused by the thief’s attempt at insulting him. “It’s the only way to catch thieving scum.”

Qrow scoffed. “Aren't you a real “Prince Charming”?” He taunted flatly.

“Compliments will get you nowhere.” Clover winked.

Qrow rolled his eyes, he was captured for less than five minutes and he was already tired of the man’s cheerful arrogance.

“Well? You don’t want to know the name of the man who has captured such a notorious thief?” Clover goaded. Chuckling when the cloaked thief bristled.

Qrow tasked, his hands tightening on the ropes. “Don’t care. “Charming” suits you.” He knew he could easily get free by transforming but that would be both giving away his trump card and losing his bag of valuables. If only he could untangle himself from his cloak so he could reach the short sword he strapped to his lower back and covertly cut himself down. That would be the preferable option. Just to see the arrogance wiped off his captor’s face.

There was a small -very small- part of him that was intrigued by a Prince whose lips merely turned up in amusement at his insults, not anger. Even curiouser, was that the man appeared to have tracked him down alone. No guard in sight. Well, it would be his folly when Qrow got himself free. “Now cut me down. Charming.”

Clover snorted, shaking his head at the audacity of this thief to demand anything from him. “I’ll release you when you return the leather pouch you stole.”

Qrow put a finger to his chin, feigning consideration. Then shook his head. “Yeah, no. Not the jewelry type. You've got the wrong guy.”

“Ah, but I didn’t say what was inside.” Clover countered, watching as the thief’s smirk fell slightly when he subtly winced. “And do not worry. Didn’t think you were.”

Qrow drew back slightly in offense. “Are you insulting me?”

“Ah, quite right. My apologies sir.” Clover mock bowed with a hand to his chest. Then swept that hand out dramatically. “How dare I cast aspersions on the person who robbed me.”

Qrow huffed, his mouth twisted in displeasure.

His lips quirked up in smug amusement at the thief’s agitated silence. “Where are my jewels?” he reiterated.

Qrow tilted his head, a slow smirk curling his lips as he leaned forward. “I sold them.”

The amusement on the royal’s face drained away, his eyes darkening. “What?” He growled.

Ohhh, hit a sore spot did he? “What do you care?” Qrow asked in bewilderment. “Don’t you have a palace full of treasures somewhere?”

Clover cursed under his breath. If only he had been faster in tracking down the thief. “These were special. Among them was a ring that belonged to my mother.” There was a slight hesitation before he added. “One I was about to gi-”

Qrow’s bark of incredulous laughter cut him off. “The Ice Princess with the bad attitude? That’s who this is all for?”

“...She’s my...fiancée.” The words felt like sand in his mouth as he uttered them.

Qrow nodded sarcastically, his lips quivering as he tried not to burst out laughing. “Wow. Good luck with that.” he said with clear amusement. “You must be getting something impressive to agree to that union.”

“Excuse me?” Clover snapped, offended on the behalf of Bianca. He wouldn’t stand for some lowly criminal insulting her. Even if he was correct about the reason for his unwanted engagement.

“I know how this works with you royals.” Qrow tsked shaking his head in mock pity. “It’s all business transactions and arranged marriages. There’s no such thing as “true love”.” Qrow watched as the Prince turned his head away, jaw jumping as his teeth clenched. Ah, that hit a nerve. Good. “Let me guess. Her kingdom wants to take over yours? And this is, what? A last ditch effort to avoid war?”

“This is not a takeover.” Clover argued; the telling grin on the thief’s face told him that his words weren’t as believable as he hoped. “I-it’s a merger. And quite frankly, none of your business.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Charming.”

“Enough.” Clover sliced a hand in the air, declaring that line of conversation over. He pointed authoritatively at the thief; who now looked much too at ease considering the situation he was still in. “Now, this is what’s going to happen,”

“Mm-hmm?” Qrow rested his chin on the ropes, satisfied that he was able to get under the royal’s skin enough to wipe that smirk off his dumb, handsome face.

“I’m going to cut you down,”

“Mm-hmm.” Qrow smirked. “Finally seeing things m--”

“You will take me to whoever has my jewels and then, you’re going to get my ring back.”

“Mm-mn.” Qrow shook his head feigning boredom. He wondered if it was too late to throw all caution to the wind and just transform. The Prince was so obsessed with that ring of his that he probably wouldn’t touch his treasures. “Why I would do that?”

Oh shit. That damned smirk was back with a vengeance as the Prince reached into his jacket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “Because you don’t want me to tell anyone who you really are.” he snimpered.

Qrow felt his blood run cold as the Prince unfolded the paper to reveal a wanted poster. The portrait of his unmasked face stareing back at him with the crimes of Treason, Treachery, and Aiding a Wanted Criminal listed boldly underneath.

“Harbinger.”

Qrow stared at the poster his lips thinning in fury, his hands clenched the ropes in a white-knuckled grip. He knew his streak of good luck had run out when he was caught the first time. But this? This was just cruel.

Clover knew he had him. “Help me and I won’t turn you over to the Queen’s forces.” He flippantly folded the poster back up to slip it back into his jacket. “Doubt you’ll find her as -what was it- Charming? As you happen to find me.” He said airily.

Qrow’s jaw dropped in shock, his eyes darting up from where the poster had been to the deadly serious look on the Prince’s face. Oh, he was so fucked.

“Well,” Qrow breathed, hating the way his voice cracked. “I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your getting true love.” He said as a way of agreeing to the other man’s terms.

The sharp noise of a sword being unsheathed met Qrow’s ears. Then it suddenly occurred to him just what was about to happen when the Prince’s smug expression turned almost mischievous.

“Don’t you da-Aaaahhh!”

A wink, then, the rope was cut.

~.~

Nearly an hour into their journey and not a word passed between them. Qrow only using dismissive -and sometimes rude- gestures to point the Prince in the correct direction. He was still pissed and was going to continue to be pissed about being dropped from that trap like that.

The other man didn’t seem bothered in the slightest as he followed him in an almost jaunty manner.

Then, as if his already bad luck was somehow getting worse. He just had to go and misstep as they were crossing a fallen tree that served as a makeshift bridge over a -what he knew was a deceptively calm- stream. His stomach dropped as his foot hit thin air but a strong hand around his wrist pulled him to safety.

“Careful.” The Prince cautioned as he helped Qrow right himself.

“’M fine.” Qrow yanked his hand back, muttering his first word since they’d left the hollow. His cheeks burned in shame from having to be saved by his captor.

“Great.”

Qrow glared at the Prince's back as he then hefted Qrow’s dropped bag over his shoulder with little effort and continued walking. Taking the bag back meant that he would have to interact willingly with the prince. He huffed moodily.

“So. I thought you weren’t the jewelry type?” Clover asked a while later.

Qrow gave the man a confused look, as he wondered where the hell that question had come from. Was that his attempt at conversation?

“I only ask because after our first confrontation. You happened to leave behind a curious little item.” Clover pulled a small, glass vial out of his jacket.

Qrow gasped, patting his chest as if he’d find the exact item hidden underneath his shirt. “It’s...don’t worry about. It’s just a trinket nothing more. Give it back.”

“Hmmm? Is that so?” Clover turned the vial over, watching the dark dust within shift around. “So you wouldn’t mind if I…”

Qrow sucked in a breath as the man looked as if he might open it.

“Careful!” He reached forward to grab the broken chain that was attached to the vial, only for it to be pulled out of his reach. The Prince’s eyebrows raised in challenge. Qrow grit his teeth. “Fine! It’s a weapon.”

Clover froze, glancing dubiously at the trinket he was holding just out of Harbinger’s reach. “Dust? What kind of weapons is dust?”

“Fairy dust.” Qrow clarified, keeping his eyes trained on the vial. He made another unsuccessful attempt at snatching the dust again.

Clover just barely managed to dodge the attempt. “I thought that was a good thing?”

Qrow huffed a frustrated breath through his nose. “When it comes from a good fairy. Yeah. This stuff?” Qrow glanced at that curious face of the Prince, back to the dust. “Is deadly.”

“Care to clarify how?”

‘Augh!’. If it wasn’t for the hood, Qrow would’ve run a frustrated hand through his bangs; he instead pinched the bridge of his nose over his mask before begrudgingly explaining. “...It supposed to transform the most fearsome adversaries into a form that’s easily squashed.”

Clover hummed in consideration, dodging another attempt the other man made at grabbing the vial then placed it back into his jacket for safekeeping. “Then why didn’t you use it on me?” He asked with a slightly playful grin.

“Cause you’re not worth it.” Qrow spat. “It’s very hard to come by.”

Turning away from the smug bastard Qrow continued walking not caring if he was following or not. “It’s a...gift. To be used on a...special someone. If she wishes to use it.”

“Ah yes,” Clover said airily. “The Queen.”

He eyed the tense Huntsman. “You’ve got a lot of anger there, don’t you Harbinger?”

Qrow lip curled in disgust, he despised that name. But it would have to do. There was no way he was going to give the Prince his real name.

Of, fucking, course he was angry. “The charges on her posters are lies.” Qrow growled a few moments later.

The man may be his enemy but the same feeling that caused him not to take flight earlier still niggled in the back of his mind. He found himself wanting it to be absolutely clear that he wasn’t the person those posters said he was. He may be a thief but he wasn’t evil.

“What?” Clover asked, not quite hearing what the other man said.

Qrow licked his lips anxiously. “The charges, they’re lies.” He put it simply.

Qrow glanced back at the Prince to see confusion and disbelief in his sea-green eyes. He spun on a heel to face the Prince; said Prince had to stop abruptly to avoid running into him. “Look. I know you have no reason to believe me but on this, I speak the truth.”

“Why should I believe you?” Clover asked challengingly.

When Harbinger clenched his fists, Clover expected a punch and braced himself to counter it. What he didn’t expect was for the wanted man to reveal himself with a swift, irritated swipe that removed both his hood and mask at once.

Qrow’s glowered at "Charming”. “The reason why I’m now being labeled a criminal. The reason I have a ransom on my head. Is because I did what I felt was right. I refused to do her dirty work for her. Call that treasonous if you wish. ”

Earnest vermillion eyes held his own steadily and he knew then that there was no lies or treachery in his words. There was also a hint of vulnerability that made his chest pang in sympathy.

“What happened?” He asked, wanting to understand. If the posters were lies. Then what had Harbinger and Snow White done to deserve the Queen to accuseing them of such things?

Qrow continued to hold the other man’s gaze. “Well, not everyone is a soulless royal.” he spat. “Like I said, he sent me and...she sent me to do her dirty work. To rip out Snow White’s heart. Instead, I helped her escape. Obviously. I couldn’t do it. Not to someone as good and kind as Snow. I helped her escape in exchange for...” He cut himself off there, dropping his eyes, knowing he already gave away too much. The guilt for leaving his sister take the fall still made his stomach churn. She insisted nothing would happen to her but he hadn’t heard a word from her since and that filled him with dread every time he thought about it.

Clover’s jaw dropped in shock. What could he even say about something like that?

He took a shaky breath, a glance back to Charming told him that the new information had shaken him. Good. “We-” No, he needed to make the man think he hadn’t seen Snow since their escape.” I’ve been hiding in the forest over since. Trying to amass enough fortune to leave this place. Escape to another realm.”

“And Snow?” Clover had to ask.

“Far away from here I would hope.” He glanced away as he said that, off to the horizon, his expression softening slightly. “She wanted to find someplace isolated. Where she would never be hurt again.”

“Sounds lonely.” Clover said quietly.

Qrow’s eyes snapped back to the Prince; they had gotten much closer than he realised. He tsked as he took a step away, he'd shown more vulnerability than he meant to. “No lonelier than an arranged marriage.” He snarked.

“At least I don’t prey on the innocent.” Clover shot back.

“Up until now, I’ve only ever stolen from the Queen.” Qrow took a step forward to jab a finger at the Prince. “I thought your carriage was one of hers.” He defended himself indignantly. “No one else ever uses that road.”

Clover had the decency to look abashed. “I...took the scenic route.” he said weakly.

Qrow threw up his hands. “Well, lucky for me.” He spun around with a flurry of his cloak. “All I’m doing, Charming, is what it takes to survive. She wants me dead.”

Clover stood there gobsmacked as the Huntsmen stomped away, grumbling to himself. Clover opened and closed his mouth serval times not sure if there was anything left to say. But he had to know. “So, what is it that Snow did to incur that much wrath?” He was treading on thin ice with that question.

Qrow stopped short, not turning around. “She’s blamed for ruining the Queen’s life.”

“...Did she?” Clover wanted to kick himself. If there was someone willing to give up their life for this woman’s freedom. How could she be as evil as those posters wanted people to think?

“...You’d have to ask Snow that yourself, Charming.” Qrow answered quietly.

~.~

Fifteen minutes more of traveling, fifteen minutes of uneasy silence. Clover couldn’t help but notice the other man never replaced his mask nor hood after his outburst. And the man may not trust him in the slightest but the fact that he didn’t immediately hide himself away had to count for something. Right?

Gods. Why did he have to be such a sucker for a pretty face?

Harbinger veering off the path pulled Clover from his thoughts before he could chide himself anymore for being a disaster. He pushed back the foliage to reveal the bank of the river he could hear in the distance. “I’m thirsty.” He said looking back at him, tone polite. “May I?”

He should probably be suspicious of that but they had been traveling for quite a while now and Clover was feeling quite thirsty himself. “Be my guest.” he gestured to the river. He glanced at the sky when they stepped out of the forest. “But make it quick.”

They kneeled down at the bank, staying near the edge, away from the rushing waters; lest they get swept up in them. It was there gazing across the choppy waves rolling down the river that an idea sparked in Qrow’s mind. It was backhanded. Especially after trying to convince the other man he wasn’t the bad person he thought he was. And he had to -begrudgingly- admit that the Prince was...decent. Enough that he actually felt a tiny bit of guilt for his new plan.

He was just doing what it took to survive.

There was a moment of hesitation, then Qrow kneed the man in the stomach as he stood back up. It threw the Prince off balance enough that a solid shove was enough to make him stumble back, where he tripped over a protruding rock that sent him crashing into the river. He went under, the current pulling him out into the rapid waves. Then resurfaced further out, flailing and struggling against the current.

Hastily, because he figured that eventually the Prince would escape the river and Qrow wasn’t going to be around when he did. He dropped down to the bag at his feet to dig around in it, grabbing the pouch full of coins. Reluctantly, he left the rest knowing that it would only slow him down.

Shoving down the small pang of guilt, Qrow took one last glance at the man being dragged down the river then took off back into the forest.

He sprinted through the forest, knowing that if he got deep enough in he would be able to lose the royal, and only when he put enough space between them would he feel safe enough to take flight. He knew the forest well, it wouldn’t take much longer. Qrow stumbled out of the forest and onto a wide-open road. He cursed realising he must’ve taken a wrong turn to end up here, because a wide-open space like this was unsafe to be in.

Approaching hoofbeats made his heart leap into his throat. This was the Queen’s road and he was unmasked; if they saw him. He pivoted, about to sprint back into the forest but it was too late. Qrow abruptly stopped as one of the guards cut him off. He already could feel the presence of the anti-magic charms that the guards were equipped with. Those guaranteed he wouldn’t be able to transform now. His eyes darted around looking for an escape route.

“Hmmm. Look at who we found.” The guard that cut him off taunted him. “A treasonous little birdy.”

The man slid off the saddle and smirked at Qrow as he strutted arrogantly towards him. “There’s nowhere to hide.” Qrow snarled at the guard standing his ground, clamping down the urge to back away as fear rose up. This guard in particular always hated him.

The man pulled a dagger from his belt. “Your heart may not be the one the Queen desires the most but I’m she wouldn’t be disappointed when we deliver it.”

“Grab him.”

Qrow ducked away from the guard that reached out to grab him. He needed a plan of escape, but he only had a small space to work with. If only he could clear an opening would he be able to get away. He drew out the short sword he had secured near his lower back, bringing it up just in time to block the guard’s attack and narrowly missed being sliced by another.

He had the advantage of being lighter on his feet thanks to the lighter clothes he wore, as opposed to the guard’s clunky armor. Unfortunately, they had the advantage of the fight being four against one. Qrow may be a capable swordsman but he was already tired from pulling far too many days with little to no sleep and then galavanting through the woods all day. This fight was going to be difficult, to say the least.

Because he was distracted with fending off three guards, he didn’t notice when one of the guards got back on his horse to make the animal rear up. Qrow was able to avoid being knocked in the head by hooved, unfortunately his dodge sent him right into a guard. The guard swiftly wrapped one arm around his neck, the other twisting Qrow’s arm behind him to make him drop his sword.

Qrow hissed in pain from his arm being twisted, he brought his free arm up to claw at the one around his neck. If the guard thought this was enough to make him give up, he had another thing coming. He writhed like an angry cat in the guard’s hold. He was having a difficult time holding on and Qrow knew it. He kicked out when another guard rushed up to aid in his restraint. Qrow smirked viciously as his kick landed squarely between the man’s legs sending him to the ground with a pained yelp.

His world spun, then exploded into stars as the guard holding him tightened his grip to spin them to slam his back and head painfully into a nearby tree. The one he kicked must’ve been tougher than he looked -that or Qrow blacked out longer than he thought- because there were now two guards holding him in place.

The asshole guard who originally pulled the dagger on him stalked up to him as he wiped the blood away from his split lip. “That was a good show birdy,” His glare was bloodthirsty as his hand shot forward to reach around Qrow’s head to viciously dig his hand into Qrow’s hair and yank his head back. He bit back a cry of pain. “but not good enough.”

The dagger glinted dangerously as the man held it so close Qrow could nearly feel the tip touching his cheek. Despite the danger, he continued to struggle against their hold. The guard silently watched him for several moments; as if he was savoring the moment all too much. Before drawing his arm back, about to plunge the dagger into Qrow’s chest.

He didn’t get farther than that though. A solid thunk and the guard froze up his eyes widening in surprise. A beat of stunned silence then the man slumped to the ground. Qrow wincing as the gauntleted hand was wrenched free from his tangled hair. The guards restraining him and Qrow started at the man now on the ground uncomprehending what just happened. Who threw the dagger now embedded in his would-be executioner’s back?

Everything burst into chaos again as a sodden Clover emerged from his hiding place, unsheathing the sword at his hip to engage with the guard that came rushing at him.

Qrow twisted out of his captor’s slackened grip to grab the dagger now at his feet, then before the guard could react he plunged it right into the guard’s stomach. Qrow backpedaled, looking at the Prince engaged with one guard knowing he could easily take the gaurd out from the back, but then he was reminded that one still remained on horseback. That guard began to turn his horse around to come charging at him.

Abandoning his plans to assist Charming he turned and sprinted towards the closest horse. He was just about to toss a leg over the saddle when an arm grabbed him around his waist knocking the air out of him. He was then pulled and dragged across the saddle, his arms wrenched behind him and held securely in place. He cursed as he was once again apprehended.

“Let me go!” He yelled, kicking and struggling to no avail.

Clover’s head turned towards Harbinger’s yell. Nearly got stabbed in his distraction, the sword glancing off his upper arm as he dodged away. He ducked the next attack, sweeping the guard’s legs out from under him. Clover brought his sword down, ending the fight. Panting from the fight, Clover chided himself for being slower than he’d like. He was still learning how to properly wield a sword and while he has some basic training already, he knew he still had a long way to go. That lack of skill was costing him time he didn’t have time to lose.

Clover’s frantic gaze caught a quiver of arrows and a bow secured to the saddle of a nearby horse. His lips quirked up into a more confident grin. This was what he excelled at. Grabbing the gear, he quickly mounted the stead and kicked it into a gallop.

His horse was faster than the other for the simple fact that his only carried one rider, so he was able to gain distance much quicker than he had when he chased after Harbinger not that long ago. When he got close enough, he dropped the reins and sat up straighter. Grabbing an arrow to notch it, he lined up his shot. Confident in his skills and with no time to lose, he let the arrow fly. With a solid thud, the arrow hit its mark sending the guard tumbling off the horse.

Qrow, realising he was free, swiftly moved to seat himself on the horse and take control of it.

Clover fully expected him to keep riding. For the second time today, he was surprised by the huntsman not doing what he expected. Instead of fleeing, he turned his horse around back to the Prince. Clover halted his own horse and waited till the other man reached him.

“Are you alright?” Clover asked, looking the other man up and down for any major injuries.

Qrow took a few heavy breaths, still trying to catch it after everything that just occurred. He stared at the Prince in bewilderment. “You...you saved me? Why?”

“It seemed like the honorable thing to do.”

“The...I pushed you into a river.” Qrow reminded him flatly.

Clover winked. “As if that would be enough to kill me.”

Qrow stared at him for a long moment, unimpressed. “...Ridiculous.” He scoffed then ran his hands through his windblown and tangled hair to gather it up to resecure it. The tie had been ripped out after the first guard fell.

“And you did say you would do anything to survive. So I’m not exactly surprised.” Clover shrugged easily. “Are you ready?”

Qrow paused his task, the extra strip of leather he kept on him hanging from his mouth. “F’r w’at?”

‘Cute.’ Clover blinked, shoving that thought away. He cleared his throat. “...My jewels?”

The Queen’s guards must’ve hit him harder than he thought if he was getting distracted by stupid things; like stupidly handsome, stupidly honorable Prince. As an example. “...R’ght.” he pulled the strip out of his mouth to secure his hair, tearing his eyes away to glance just over the man’s shoulder. “You’ve got a wedding to get to. So uh, the trolls I sold them to should just be beyond the next ridge. We need to be careful.”

Clover raked his brain for anything he knew about trolls. They lived under bridges and he knew to not anger one. So, he knew exactly nothing. “Of...trolls?”

Qrow raised a judgmental eyebrow. “You’ve clearly never met one.”

“Aren’t they, you know, little?”

The judgment became more intense. “You’re probably thinking about dwarves. Show a little respect.”

“Ah, sor-”

“They’ll cut your hand off sooner than they’ll shake it.” Qrow cautioned him gravely.

Clover winced at the implication. He took a breath to steel himself. “Well, let’s get this over with then.”

As he began to steer his horse around, the huntsman made a noise of consideration. Clover looked at him in question.

“The guards probably got some decent loot on them.” Qrow mused absently.

Clover wanted to care about Harbinger wanting to rob dead men, but considering all that just happened. It would hardly be on his conscience if the man did what he wanted.

Qrow rolled a shoulder. Gods, was he sore from being slammed into that tree. “Eh, it’s probably not worth it, we’ve already burned enough daylight.” He glanced at the sky. “We’ve both got places to be. Let’s go.”

“You’ve got your lonely little corner of solitude to find?” Clover teased.

“And you’ve got a ringless financée to appease.” Qrow teased back and for once the smile that quirked on his lips didn’t hold malice.

~.~

By the time they arrive at the Troll bridge, the late afternoon sun had been blanketed by an ominous cover of grey clouds that promised the threat of rain.

‘Of course, it would also rain.’ Qrow groused as he looked up at the sky.

About fifty feet from the bridge, Qrow motioned for both of them to stop and dismounted. “Trolls don’t like horses.” He said before the other man could ask. He slapped the horse's flank to send it back the way they came. “We’ll walk from here.”

“Alright.” Clover followed suit. He wasn’t sure if he could trust Harbinger quite yet. But with his lack of about Trolls, he knew he couldn't do this by himself. He had to rely on the huntsman's knowledge. Besides, they would be done with each other after this. Why did that thought trouble him so?

Qrow took a deep breath. “Follow me and keep quiet.”

The wind blew leaves across the bridge, and rustled the branches. Other than that, the bridge was eerily silent; not even birdsong could be heard. Clover looked around wearly, on high alert as chills run down his spine.

Qrow dumped the coins out of his bag into his hand to place them on the ledge of the bridge.

“Where are they?” Clover asked quietly.

Qrow gave him a sharp glare. What did he literally just say? “Oh, they’re here alright.”

They waited for several tense moments then they heard the sounds of grunting and scraping as the trolls accended up the sides of the bridge. Two appeared behind them pacing restlessly as they studied the two of them. Then a much larger troll climbed over the wall to stand in front of them. All three were clearly distrustful of the humans on their bridge.

“It’s fine.” Qrow hissed to Clover who had inched closer to him, looking nervous and ready to draw his sword. He glanced around to make sure that these trolls were the ones he made a deal with previously. “I know them.”

“Why’re you here?” The larger troll growled, brandishing a knife at them. “I thought we were done.”

“I want to make another trade.” He stated directly, confidently. You couldn’t show your fear to trolls.

The troll turned her narrow, distrustful gaze to the other man. “I’m not talking in front of him.” she gestured with her knife. “Who is this guy?”

Qrow shifted with stance to look more nonchalant; out of the corner of his eye he could see the Prince following his lead and his nervousness masked by confidence. ‘Stay quiet.’ he hissed mentally. “He’s with me.”

“Oh, that’s good. With you.” The troll said sarcastically. “That makes it all fine.”

The other trolls chuckled behind them as they continued to circle around and scrutinize the two of them.

Qrow gestured dismissively in Charming’s general direction. “Him? He’s no one.” he began to slowly creep over in an attempt to divert the troll’s attention. “Look, I want to buy back the jewels I sold you.”

“Who is he?!” The troll snarled, gesturing more agitatedly with her knife hand.

This wasn’t good, the trolls were getting more and more agitated; this was going to turn ugly, real fast if he couldn't deescalate the situation. He stepped fully in front of Charming. “I said don’t worry about him.” He said forcefully, the troll’s narrow gaze turning back to him. “Look. I’ll give you back all your money. Just give me the ring. You can keep everything else.” He hoped that would appease them enough to calm the hell down.

The troll snarled lightly, staring down at Qrow who held his ground unflinchingly. Mind seemingly made up, she glanced to one of the trolls in the back, jerkily nodding her head as a go-ahead. The other troll nodded, pulling the pouch out of his vest to hand it to the Prince.

Clover began to reach for it. “Thank you. We appreciate it.” he said, remembering the Huntsman’s warning all too late. He may have been raised to be polite, but now was probably the worst time for those habits to kick in.

“He’s too eager.” The lead troll snarled, causing the other troll to jerk the pouch back before Clover could grab it and lift their sword in warning.

If it wasn’t for the situation, Qrow would’ve slapped a hand over his face.

“This is a setup!” The troll continued.

“It’s not!” Qrow tried to argue.

But the troll was done listening. “He’s a royal!” she exclaimed.

Qrow only had a brief moment to wonder what made the troll jump to that conclusion. Then -for the third time that day- Qrow found himself caught. ‘Why does this keep happening?’ He thought exasperatingly. He struggled against his captor but the troll was much stronger than the human guards from earlier. He brought his arms up to try and pull the arm away, the sword in her other hand that hovered threateningly a few inches from his face made him nervous.

“Let him go!” Clover demanded, drawing his sword, only for the troll holding the jewels to immediately disarm him. The other one grabbed him to slam him up against the side of the bridge. He found himself also looking down the blade of a sword.

The troll that disarmed Clover grabbed the bag they had carried with them and dumped out the contents in order to rifle through them.

“No! You can trust me!” Qrow tried to use logic on the enraged troll. “If I wanted to set you up, I would have done it the first time!” It was a last ditch effort to take control of the situation.

“The time for dealing is done! Search him!” The troll holding Qrow growled.

The troll pat Clover down; he tried not to flinch as the troll got right up in his face. From the inside of his jacket, the troll pulled out the vial of fairy dust. Both men tensed as the troll looked it over with curiosity; fortunately none of the trolls seemed to know or care what its contents were. The troll throws it to the side carelessly, becoming disinterested. Qrow sucks in an anxious breath as it hits the ground. Letting it out shakily as the vial -luckily- doesn’t break. Good to know it was durable, he supposed.

Finding nothing of interest on the Prince, the troll shoves Clover to the ground leaving him there to aid in rifling through the bag’s contents. Clover breathes a sigh of relief to have the troll out of his face. He startles when Harbinger is shoved into the ledge next to him, groaning in pain as he hits it. When vermillion eyes glance over at him, he mouths an apology. It was his fault after all for not heading Harbinger’s warning.

Qrow shook his head. No, it wasn’t the Prince’s fault; no really. His words of appreciation may have set them off but, the trolls were agitated from the very beginning. If it wasn’t that, something else would’ve done it. A temperamental bunch trolls were.

The troll searching through the bag’s contents lets out a sound of triumph and both men turn to look. ‘Oh, no.’ Qrow mentally groans as he sees just what had made the troll excited. He hands it over to the leader. With a gesture to the other troll, Qrow is yanked back to his feet and once again put in a chokehold.

Clover makes a move to stand only to be shoved down again. The sword pointed threateningly at Harbinger as a warning, stops him from trying again -for now-.

“The Huntsman: Harbinger.” The head troll tauntingly waves the poster, grinning viciously. “Quite the reward. This will do nicely.”

The trolls are momentarily distracted as they gloat. Clover takes the chance and dives for his sword. Surging back to his feet he rushes at the troll holding the Hunstman, slashing at him. The troll backs away from the attack, his hold loosens enough for Qrow to be able to drop down and out of his grip. Rolling to his feet, Qrow unsheeths his own sword. All the trolls growl in outrage. Together they defend themselves against the attacking trolls.

But it’s much different from fighting against the guards. While they’re not at quick as humans, the trolls have their height and bulk to their advantage. Qrow is also keenly aware that if they don’t leave right now, they will be overwhelmed if more trolls show up.

“We have to go!” Qrow tells the Prince. He gets a quick flash of sea-green eyes as he's acknowledged, the he has to turn back to block another attack.

One of the troll is standing close to the edge of the bridge, they share a brief look. Turning at the same time, a kick from their combined strength sends that troll stumbling back and off the bridge where the brick has crumbled away leaving only the support beams. He tumbles off and into the abyss.

Qrow manages to sweep the leg of another to unbalance him, then delivering a blow to the face with his elbow to send him to the ground. He stomps down on the troll’s leg, the troll howling in pain. It may not be enough to break a bone but it sure was satisfying.

A hand on his back shoves Qrow forward and out of the path of a sword. “Go! I’m right behind you!” He hears the Prince say, then hears the sound of metal scraping together as Charming blocks an attack. He runs, scooping up the vial of dust as he goes; cause like hell he’s leaving that behind. He runs across the ruined bridge, confident that the Prince will be right behind him.

Shoving the troll back, Clover begins to take off after the Huntsman. An unexpected arm shoots up between the beams below the bridge as soon as he steps foot on the wood and tripping him. He goes down hard, the wind getting knocked out of him. For a moment he thinks he’s going to be thrown into the abyss, then hands wrap around his ankles dragging back across the stone.

“Follow me!” Qrow yells. “They don’t know the forest like I d-” He suddenly realises something must've gone wrong when he can’t hear Charming behind him and stumbles to a halt looking back to the troll bridge.

Qrow can tell things have taken a turn for the worst as the Prince is brought down and is now being dragged back. Qrow hesitates, he could leave right now. He has his dust, the jewels he can always resell to get his gold and he’ll be rid of that annoying, arrogant Prince. All will be right with the world. Right?

Clover manages to flip himself over, but in this position, all his attempts to fight back are useless as is breaking the grip on his other leg. The slashing of his sword is ineffective as they are far away to do any damnage. His teeth grit in frustration. He yells in pain when a boot slams againist his arm making him lose grip on his sword; it clatters noisily across the stone. Before he could even think of getting it back, his arms are grabbed as he's hauled to his knees. A clawed hand digs into his hair as his head is shoved to the side to bare his neck.

His sword is picked up off the ground and placed against his neck threatingly. He glares venmously up at the troll that smirked down at him.

“Royal blood,” the troll growled, leaning close to his face. “Is the sweetest of all.”

She straightened up, pulling the sword back quickly the sharp blade making a shallow cut; a promise of what was about to happen. Rearing back, she lifted the sword above her head with a roar.

Clover was sure that was it, and his head was about to be separated from his body. He had a moment to worry about how his mother would never know was happened to her son.

His eyes shut tight, teeth gritted as the sword began to come down. Then, nothing. One eye cautiously opened to see clouds of dust crackling and sparking enveloping the troll. The sword clattered to the ground. In the place the troll once stood, a bug wiggled frantically around.

Both the trolls and Clover stared at where the troll once was in shock. Then up to see the Huntsman standing there, pissed off and wielding an open vial of fairy dust. The trolls dropped Clover to go after the new threat.

Qrow frantically shook the dust into his hand to make them suffer the same fate as their leader; one after the other.

Qrow stood shock-still as the dust cleared, hardly believing he did what he just did. He made his way over to the Prince, who was shakily pushing himself back to his knees after he had dropped to cover his head when Qrow threw the dust. He held out a hand to Charming helping him to his feet.

“You…” Clover panted lightly, his body protesting standing up so soon. He leaned his uninjured hand against the bridge wall to keep himself upright. “You saved me.”

Qrow shrugged a shoulder dismissively. “It was the honorable thing to do.” he smiled cheekily as the Prince, using the words the other man used when he himself had asked the same question.

Clover chuckled hearing his own words. “So...what about your “special someone”?” he asked, nodding towards the empty vial in the Huntsman’s hand.

He turned the now empty vial around in his hand before tossing it to the ground. “I’ll...think of something else.” What that “something” was -well- he’d know when he found it.

“Thank you.” Clover was bewildered but also touched that Harbinger would use something so precious to save the man that he had every right to leave in the hands of the trolls.

Qrow spared the Prince a soft smile, then walked over to begin gathering up the items that had been dumped carelessly from his bag. The Prince pushing himself tiredly off the wall to assist him and hold the bag open. “Anyway,” he paused a beat waiting for the Prince to look at him. “How could I let Prince Charming die?”

Vermillion eyes glittered teasingly at him. Clover found his heart skip a beat. “I told you, I have a name.” He chuckled at the Huntsman who was snicking at his own joke. “It’s,” a part of his brain -that sounded a lot like King George- told him to say his Princely alias, Conrad. He refused. “Clover.”

Qrow hummed in consideration, nodding to himself. “Then, it’s only fair that you know mine then.” Qrow said as he put the last of the items in the bag. “Qrow.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Qrow. It’s a shame we met under such circumstances.”

Qrow felt heat rise in his cheeks when Clover said his name like that; no one had ever said it in such a soft tone before. He rubbed the back of his neck, not sure how to respond. Instead, he retrieved the bag from the Prince to throw over his own shoulder. “Uh, we should get going. There may be more of them coming.”

As they left the Troll bridge, Clover reached over to grab the pile of gold sitting on the ledge. “Can’t forget this.”

~.~

As they headed down the road, Clover looked up at the sky, noticing that the clouds had lightened significantly without even a drop of rain.

“Well, here we are.” Qrow murmured.

Sure enough, through the trees, Clover could see the looming figure of the castle. He found -more than ever- that he was reluctant to return there. “Right.” he said with a note of dissipontment.

He caught Qrow staring at him intently out of the corner of his eye, a contemplative look in his eyes.

“Right! So...well you probably want this.” He reached into his jacket to pull out the bag of gold.

Qrow looked almost surprised to see the bag. “Right, the gold. Thank-you.” He tied the bag to his belt. “And,um, you can’t get married without this.” He retrieves the pouch from inside his vest.

Clover takes it back gratefully, immediately he openes it to begin digging around. He smiles in relief when he’s finally holding the ring between his fingers. He glances at Qrow who is looking curiously at the ring that caused him all this trouble. “I know. Not your style.” he jests. Jerking in surprise as the ring is then snatched from his fingers.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Qrow doesn’t know what comes over him in that moment as he slides the ring onto his finger. It fits.

Time seems to slow down as Qrow holds his hand out in front of him to study how the ring looks on his finger. It…actually suits him perfectly. With its black band and simple yet elegant silver markings, two small red stones are embedded in the metal. He feels his heart skip a beat as he stares at it.

He glances up to see sea-green eyes also staring at the ring. Not in outrage as he expected but soft and dazed. “Yeah, not me at all.” Qrow croaks. He slides the ring back off, holding it out to Clover. “I’m sure your fiancée will love it.”

Clover startles out of his daze when the ring is handed back to him. He has to bite his tounge to keep from stupidly telling Qrow that he can keep it. It’s looked...right, on his hand.

He mentally shook his head, to get rid of those kind of thoughts. He had a deal to fulfill. He shouldn’t even be entertaining these thoughts. Plus, there was no way that Qrow would like hi...no, no stop that.

“Yeah.” He says, his breath leaving him in a rush. “You know, if you need more, you can have the rest. The ring is all I require.”

Qrow blinks. This Prince really is the most particular royal -aside from Snow- that he’s ever met. “Oh, uh, no. I’m-I’m good, thanks. We both got what we wanted.” He pats the bag of coins.

Clover bites his lip, reluctant to part ways. “Well, where ever you’re going, be careful. If...if you need anything-”

“You’ll find me.” Is out of Qrow’s mouth before he can even process what he’s saying.

Clover is also taken aback for a moment. “Always.” He promises with a wink.

Qrow smiles a bit lopsided, an odd fluttery feeling in his stomach. “You know. I almost believe that.”

Staring into those soft, sea-green eyes it hits Qrow just what that feeling is. That fluttery feeling is soured by a wave of realisation. He breaks eye contact as he reaches down to grab his bag.

“Well, goodbye, Qrow.” Clover says it almost hesitently.

Qrow throws his bag over his shoulder. “Goodbye Prince Charming.” he says with a cheeky grin and a mock bow.

Clover chortles. “I told you – It’s Clover.”

With a faux contemplative look, Qrow’s nose wrinkles as he shakes his head to dismiss the idea. “Mmm, nah. Still like Charming better.” he turns away, sending a wink Clover’s way for good measure.

Clover’s laugh is bright as he watches Qrow walk away. The smile on his face turning sad the longer he lets himself watch. So, before he can do something stupid -like ask him to stay- he reluctantly turns away with a soft, wistful sigh.

Qrow is almost powerless to stop himself as he slows to a stop to turn around to watch Clover head farther and farther away with small wistful simile of his own.

He shakes his head roughly as he turns away to push himself into moving again. This yearning has no right blooming in his heart. Catching feelings for this Prince would bring him nothing but hurt.

After all, there was no such thing as ‘true love’.

#fairgameweekend2021 #fair game #qrown branwen #clover ebi #day 1 2021

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