AN: Before I get started, I would like to say a few things. Yes I know that the city of Esgaroth is in the Hobbit. I pretty much am using it because I can't think of any other cool name. That being said, Anything related to LotR, the Hobbit, or RWBY is not mine, I do not own any of it, and all rights belong to the creators. This chapter was originally supposed to be two separate chapters, however I felt they were both too short and so I just put them together. That being said, the idea of this story came to me when I was listening to the song I See Fire, which is what plays during the credits of Desolation of Smaug. I spent much time working with this story for the first few chapters, and I am pleased with where it is going so far, but for now, I present to you, the first chapter for Of Roses and Dragons.

Esgaroth, the crown jewel of Vale. A city teeming with life and industry. Few cities matched its beauty, its presence. Esgaroth was built into the mountain, with a beautiful waterfall that runs along its inner walls, and a river that cuts threw the city to shape its marvel even more. But while the city may be known for its beauty, it is also the home of the Huntsman. A group of men and women that come from all lands, that are defenders of peace and the shield against darkness. Thus the city of Esgaroth has earned the title, the City of Eternal Light.

But while Esgaroth may be the crown jewel of Vale, it was not the only thing the realm had to offer. Vale was a champion of industry, its forges famous for crafting some of the finest weapons in all the world. A craftsman from Vale was given high regards from all lands, and many other goods often pass through Vale before going to the other kingdoms.

Even as the rain came down on them,the city was still lively. The people still walked about the streets, including a young Huntress, a female member of the Huntsman, who was followed closely behind by a young, unproven solider. The Huntress was wearing a black shirt covered by a dark red vest that had a hood, which was up to protect her from the rain. Running over her shoulders and around was a fur cloth that kept her warm, and steel bracers adorned her arms. She ore black pants with leather boots and steel bracers on her legs. Along her waist was a tan cloth that was wrapped around in a way that it overlapped itself in the front, and along the back sat her weapon.

The young solider following her, wore the traditional armor of the Vale Military. The rain soaked them both as they passed through the city streets, heading towards the king's hall. The Huntress pushed through with ease, her confidence exuded in every step she took. The solider did not have the same fortune, as he often fell behind and had to catch up. After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived upon the king's hall, where a guard stood between them and the door.

"Halt, state your business with the king."

The Huntress pulled the hood off of her head, revealing her silver eyes, and her black hair adorned with tips of crimson. The solider then approached the guard at the gate. "The King requested her presence sir." He said, the huntress noting the shyness of his tone.

"I was speaking to the girl, not you Jaune." The young slider lowered his head in shame. The guard then returned his attention to the Huntress, moving closer to her, getting in her face in a threatening way. "Now let's try this again. State your business."

The Huntress smirked, then inched even closer to the guard. "Huntsman business."

Upon hearing this, the guard stepped back and off to the side quickly, allowing her to pass through. She looked at the solider accompanying her and indicated for him to follow her inside. He did so, looking to have cheered up at the sight of the guardsman backing down the way he did. The doors opened to them, and they entered the king's hall. At the end of the hall, sat the king's throne, a man with silver hair seated upon the throne. Once the two entered the hall, the king turned his attention towards them. "The Huntress returns. Welcome back to Esgaroth Ruby." He said.

The Huntress approached the throne, stopping before it and bowing to the king. "My lord Ozpin. As fine a welcome as ever."

The king stood up and walked to stand directly in front of her. "I take it your trip was successful?"

Ruby nodded. "Indeed it was. I found the weapons and the pack of Beowolves that had ambushed the caravan." Ozpin placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder. "May I inquire as to why I was summoned so soon after returning?"

Ozpin walked over to one of the large windows placed in the walls of the hall. "Yes. I apologize for summoning you almost immediately upon your return, but as I instructed young Jaune here to say, it's urgent." Jaune in turn bowed and turned to leave. "Stay right there Jaune." The king's command made Jaune freeze. "This may yet concern you as well, so come and listen to an old king."

Ruby leaned up against the wall, facing Ozpin and Jaune standing next to her. Ozpin stared out of the window before beginning. "We've recently learned of a prophecy foretelling the fall of an ancient beast of terrible power. A creature so powerful, it's destruction can be seen today." He then turned to Ruby. "You've seen this creature before." Ruby's mind brought up that memory from ten years ago. The fires of the beast that destroyed her home.

"The Black Dragon"

Ozpin nodded his head. "Correct. The prophecy foretells that you, Ruby Rose, shall help slay the beast." He then turned to the solider, Jaune. "As shall you Jaune Arc."

The young solider looked at his king with surprise. "Me? What do I have to do with this?"

Even Ruby was curious of why he was part of this. She stood straight, no longer leaning against the wall. "You are going to help kill the dragon. It's as simple as that."

"My lord, I mean no disrespect to you, or this young man here, but his skills with a sword need much work."

"I understand that, which is why it's important that you oversee his training Ruby. With you teaching him, he will become a great warrior." Ruby just shook her head, then walked a few steps away from the window, stopping after a few steps to turn around.

"This isn't a mere Grimm, or any wild creature. This is the Black Dragon." She turned away from them. "A creature so dangerous, that armies would fall to it in a single breath. It destroys everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash and stone in its wake." She turned back to them and walked towards Ozpin, with a fire in each step. "A few improvements with a sword wont save him from getting himself killed." Had anyone else been in the hall with them, Ruby would have grasped their attention in a heartbeat.

"I understand that, which is why you are to search for others to join you in your quest. Individuals with exceptional abilities that are also mentioned in the prophecy that will fight alongside you."

"And I suppose you know who these people are, as well as where they are at?" Ozpin turned towards her, a sly smile gracing his lips.

"Of course, though not entirely. I know enough for you to get started." Ruby reluctantly followed Ozpin to a table on the side of the room. On it lay maps, an ancient tablet, and a slip of paper with a name on it. "The first thing you are going to need to do is recruit Pyrrha Nikos. She is a member of the Queen of Sanctum's Royal Guard, and a damn good combatant. Head to Sanctuary and pass this message to the queen, then do what you have to in order to recruit miss Nikos." Ozpin handed Ruby an encrypted Data Cache.

"Sanctuary is quite a distance, and who knows what we will find out there." Ruby stated.

"I understand, but I know that you wont fail Ruby. Good luck." Ozpin dismissed them.

Once RUby and Jaune had left the kings hall, Ruby turned to Jaune. "Pack lightly, we have a lot of ground to cover and we can't afford any delays." She was about to leave, but she turned back towards Jaune. "I would recommend not bringing all of that armor. It'll just slow you down."

Now she turned away and started to leave. "Wait where are we going to meet at before leaving?"

Ruby turned around and walked backwards, calling back to Jaune. "Two hours, at the main gate to the city." She turned back around and left in a hurry.

After a few minutes, Ruby entered her home, taking a moment to soak it in once more before setting out on a journey she knew would be long. There was a picture on the nightstand by her bead, a picture of when she was younger. She was standing in her old home next to her older sister, both of them with a smile on their faces. She took the picture out of the frame and placed it inside of her vest, keeping it close to her heart. Afterwards, she finished packing and went to the gate.

Much as she expected, Jaune had not arrived yet. Yet to her surprised, she didn't even have to wait. He showed up a minute after she did. He wore a hooded sweatshirt, with a chest-guard, shoulder-guards, elbow pads and bracers. His pants were a light tan colored pair of pants with combat boots. "Glad to see you took my advice."

Jaune just rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I guess I have a knack for being prepared huh."

Ruby laughed and shook her head. "Oh Jaune, preparation can only take you so far. Now come on." Ruby turned around and walked out the gate. "We got a long journey ahead of us, so let's not waste the light."

And so their journey began, the walk to Sanctuary would take several days, 12 by Ruby's estimation, and that was with fast uninterrupted travel. Since she was traveling with Jaune, who was inexperienced with things such as travel and survival, Ruby figured the trip would take about 20 days instead. From the beginning of their long hike, her estimations proved to be accurate as Jaune was already falling behind, making her slow down to allow him to catch up. Right off the bat, things were working against the young Huntress.

The two mostly stuck to the road, providing a clear cut direction to travel, only leaving the road to rest or set camp for the night. Jaune was getting easily tired from the journey, with Ruby only being tired of having to rest as often as they do. Ruby couldn't be mad at Jaune for not knowing what it took to go on a quest like this, but even she was feeling the frustration getting to her. So during the time that they took to rest, she would keep herself busy by practicing her fighting techniques, hunting wild game, or scouting ahead. Even with all of this, Jaune could tell that she was frustrated with their progress.

Five days into their journey, and they were nowhere near where Ruby hoped they would be, though by what Ruby originally figured, they were further along than that, showing that they were making some progress. The two had set up their camp for the night, finding refuge inside the belly of an old hollow tree. Ruby had managed to get a fire going outside and the two of them sat around the fire for the night, both of them feeling disheartened.

"Maybe I should have stayed home."

Ruby looked up from the fire to see Jaune letting his head hang low. They really didn't talk much to each other outside from small talk and the occasional advice from Ruby. "What makes you say that?"

Jaune was surprised that Ruby had heard him, shooting his head up in surprise when she asked her question, He sat there, fumbling for something to say, eventually giving up and just stating what was obvious. "I'm sorry, I just...I'm surprised you heard me say that." Ruby just shrugged.

"I could tell. It's all a part of what I was taught in learning the skills of the Huntsman." Jaune nodded and went back to this own thoughts. Ruby being as observant as she was noticed he still didn't answer her question. "You never answered by question."

That once again caught his attention. "Oh uh, what was the question again?"

Ruby smirked as she shook her head. "Why did you say that maybe you should have stayed home?"

Jaune felt frustrations pour out from him. "Because I keep slowing you down. All I've been good for so far is holding you back."

Ruby knew that her attitude hasn't been helpful to his morale either. "That's not entirely true." Jaune gave her a quizzical look. "Yeah, I figured that it would take us longer to get here than it did so far. Plus the amount of time you needed to rest has gone down as each day passes."

Jaune still shook his head, still feeling dismayed. "But we're still not where you would like us to be." Ruby stood up and moved closer to Jaune, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"While this is true, I realize that you still are inexperienced at this. By the time we reach Sanctuary, you will have improved your skills tremendously."

"I know, but it won't be good enough." His head hung again. "I'll never be as good as my father."

For the first time this entire quest, Ruby was confused. "What does your father have to do with your skill level exactly?"

"Everything."

The sudden outburst from Jaune was unexpected. "Look, I come from a long line of great and noble knights. The kind that you would hear about in tales of bravery." Jaune stood up and looked away from Ruby, taking a step away from her to give himself distance. "My father is the legendary White Knight of Vale. His father is the Spear of the King, and so on and so on." Ruby sat there and simply listened, knowing that sometimes that's all it took. "When I was younger, my father was expecting me to be as skilled as him, and when I wasn't, he was disappointed. Though he still cared about me, I knew that I failed him, just like I'm failing now."

Ruby started to laugh, causing Jaune to sulk even more. "I'm sorry, but the fact that you think you are failing now amazes me." Now it was Jaune's turn to feel confused. "If I had to say anything, I'd say you have done better than I expected you to. Just keep working an you'll get to where you want to be some day." Ruby could see the smile form on Jaune's face. "Now come on, let's get some sleep." Ruby dampened the fire so that it was less noticeable, then she proceeded into the tree with Jaune.

It was a tight fit and it meant that they would be getting a bit closer than Jaune felt comfortable with. "Um, you sure you don't want me to sleep outside?"

Ruby looked at Jaune and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "If you're worried about that, I'll tell you right now, I don't swing that way. Now quit whining and get to sleep." Jaune had to think for a moment about what the young Huntress just said, eventually catching on and laying down in pure shock.