I can't believe FF doesn't have Saphron as a character to select yet. Smh

Jaune was ten when his family was attacked by the Grimm.

The boy covered his ears as he heard another scream from outside of the closet that he was hiding in, trying unsuccessfully to quiet his whimpers down. What little self-control he had left him when something hit the closet door, causing him to scream out in terror. Shutting his mouth just a second too late, Jaune tried to hear what was happening on the other side of the door.

Body still shaking due to the intense fear that was coursing through him, Jaune laid an ear as gingerly against the door as he could, hoping that whatever was on the other side wasn't doing the exact same thing.

Straining to listen, Jaune's heart started to beat faster when he realized that there was no sound coming from the other side of the door.

Before he could react, the door handle twisted and the frame pulled away from Jaune, who ended up sprawled out onto the floor without the door to lean on. Instinctively, Jaune started screaming, closing his eyes and twisting his body, kicking and punching whatever was wrapping its arms around him.

"No! No!" Jaune screamed as loudly as possible, "Get away from me!"

At ten years old, Jaune realized that he didn't want to die.

It wasn't until whatever grabbed him pulled him closer that Jaune opened his eyes, gasping at the surprising—but not unwelcoming sight—of one of his older sisters.

"J-Jaune." Saphron whispered, an urgent look on her face. Dirt and grime covered her face and clothes, but otherwise she looked unharmed. "Y-you need to be quiet. P-please." Jaune wrapped his arms around his sister, trying his best to follow her shaky orders. The both of them sat on the floor, shivering in each other's comfort for a little while before Saphron stood up, helping Jaune onto his feet.

"Okay," The blonde girl said, taking a deep breath and trying as hard as she possibly could to stop herself from stuttering. "We need to go. Now."

Jaune nodded hesitantly, one of his hands gripped tightly by Saphron's.

"W-where's the others?" Jaune whispered as they started to move, the older sister peering past corners and leading the both of them outside. The girl turned to look at Jaune, a pained expression passing on her face before she could smooth it out completely.

"I-I'm sure that they're trying to find us too, Jaune. Let's just make sure we're in one piece for them to find, ok?"

No other words were passed between the two of them as Saphron found the keys to the family car, heading out into the garage.

Helping Jaune into the truck, Saphron tried her hand at a confident smile, hoping that it would put the boy at ease.

"Alright now, I'm going to need you to buckle up, ok?"

Jaune nodded, hands fumbling for the seat belt as Saphron climbed into the vehicle, the engine humming to life as she put the key into the ignition. A press of the button signaled for the garage to open up, the hinges creaking loudly as the doors started to roll up.

Saphron's heart jumped into her throat when she looked back, seeing a hulking black form of a Beowulf, nose in the air as it tried to pinpoint the two humans. Another second passed before it lowered its head, eyes boring into hers.

Leaping into overdrive, Saphron put the truck into reverse, slamming on the gas as hard as possible. The Beowulf lunged at the same time, body crashing into the backend of the truck, making Jaune screech out in fear.

The car continued out of the driveway, Saphron doing her best not to emulate Jaune's scream, stifling it into a smaller, yet no less fearful whimper. Braking hard, the Beowulf only had time to dent the bed a little before flying off of the truck, skidding a few feet away.

Wasting no time, Saphron shifted gears and pressed hard on the gas, tires squealing for a second before propelling the car forwards, Saphron struggling to keep the car straight. She had only started learning how to drive a few weeks ago, but it seems that she was going to have to learn the rest of it on the fly.

Every bump made her flinch, her breath hitching every time there was a curve on the countryside roads.

It wasn't another ten minutes before Saphron finally let up on the gas, pulling over onto the side of the road. Her knuckles white, she slowly pried her hands off of the steering wheel, putting them in between her thighs to try and stop them from shaking.

Dead.

Everyone, gone in an instant before she could even do anything about it.

Saphron let out a slow breath, and closing her eyes. She couldn't believe that the last memory of her dad was going to be him shoving her underneath the cellar, a muttered apology as he faced the oncoming horde of Grimm alone.

Shaking her head, Saphron looked around and bit her lip, taking in the forest that surrounded her, knowing that it wouldn't be but a few more hours before the sun set.

A gloomy forest like this was definitely not a good place to take a breather.

Turning to Jaune, Saphron let out a small giggle as she saw him stretching almost comically, hands held high in the air, toes almost leaving the ground.

"Where are we going, sis?" Jaune yawned, blinking tears out of his eyes. Terror was a good way to exhaust a kid, that's for sure. Leaning over, Saphron ruffled her brother's hair, making him back away and pout, Jaune putting on his best disapproving face. Saphron didn't even try and hide her laughter, and for a brief moment, it was like the attack had never happened.

As if they still had their whole family together.

The silence of the forest made for a quick sobering up though, as they started to quiet down, realizing what exactly they had just been through.

They could have died a dozen times today. And the only reason why they didn't?

They got lucky.

Saphron couldn't help but wonder when their luck was going to run out.

"Alright Jaune, time to get back in the car. I don't think you want to sleep here, do you?" Saphron ushered the little boy back into the vehicle, making sure he buckled his seat belt before she got in, turning the key once more.

Nothing.

Saphron's heart stopped.

Delicately, Saphron tried again, slowly turning the key, hoping that it was some sort of fluke. Nothing. Nothing.

Nothing.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." Saphron, twisted in her seat, trying to figure out what was wrong. "No, no, no..."

Jaune leaned forwards, head tilted to the side. "Is something wrong, sis?"

Popping up, Saphron turned around, smiling through the tears that had escaped just for a second.

"It's nothing, Jaune. I-I'm sure it's nothing."

Jaune didn't look very convinced, fidgeting slightly.

Saphron turned back around to face forward. She was the big sister, damn it, she couldn't lose it here yet.

With an almost animalistic growl, Saphron twisted the key as hard as she could, jumping back in her seat when the truck roared to life again. She couldn't help the near maniacal giggle that escaped her.

Salvation.

Easing the gas on, Saphron drove on, determined to keep driving until she found a hint of civilization. She quickly switched to brakes when someone leaped out of the bushed, flinging themselves against the front, causing the windshield to crack.

Saphron noted that she seemed to be screaming a lot more today than she ever had in her past sixteen years.

Climbing out, Saphron scrambled frantically towards the body, barely noticing that Jaune had done the same.

Sixteen years old and a murderer already, Saphron's hysterical mind noted. It just seemed like that kind of day.

Kneeling beside the body—the girl, really—Saphron put two fingers next to the girl's throat, remembering something in one of the TV shows that she had watched about how to check for a pulse.

A hand snaked out and grabbed onto hers before Saphron could even touch the girl. Her eyes snapped open, blue eyes boring straight into Saphron's as a wicked smile spread across her face.

"Gotcha."

"Wh-" Saphron heard Jaune scream, turning to find him being wrestled onto the ground by a hooded man. As the seconds passed, Saphron found herself surrounded by more and more people—bandits, she realized.

The girl must have been a bandit as well, set up to get her out of the vehicle. The theory was quickly reinforced when the blue-eyed girl stood up, twisting Saphron's hand viciously, causing her to whimper in pain as she fell deeper onto her knees. Another quick movement hauled Saphron onto her feet, arms pinned behind her as the girl wrapped a hand around Saphron's neck, daring her to struggle. Tears sprung in Saphron's eyes as she clenched her teeth, attempting not to scream at the intense pain the other girl was inflicting on her. Another twist broke her self control though, and a heavy moan escaped her lips, spots blinking in and out of her vision.

"Get away from my sister!" Jaune yelled loudly, struggling even harder against the man, who only laughed and pressed Jaune harder into the ground. Saphron only started to struggle harder when the man leaned over and smacked Jaune in the back of the head, causing a loud crack to echo.

Saphron's screams were drowned out by everyone else's mocking laughter.

All of them stopped when another bandit stepped through the clearing, a woman donning a white mask. All of them took a step back as she stepped forward, many of them casting nervous looks at each other as they waited for the woman to speak. Even when she didn't, they remained silent.

The masked woman took a step forward, hand outstretched as she caressed Saphron's cheek.

"Don't touch me." Saphron hissed, jerking her head away from the hand.

The woman paused, before chuckling and turning her attention towards Jaune, who was still struggling underneath the bandit's boot.

"What do we have here?" The woman asked, approaching the child.

"Stay away from him!"

Miraculously, Saphron managed to pull out of the other girl's grasp, charging towards the masked woman. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when she got to the masked woman, but raised her fists up regardless, intent on getting the woman away from her little brother. Stepping into arm's reach, Saphron aimed at the woman's chin, remembering something from one of the TV shows she watched. Saphron's fingers clipped the bottom of the mask, making the woman turn , pain exploding from Saphron's temple as the woman backhanded her, sending the small girl flying.

Jaune screamed when he saw his sister fly through the air, the sight causing him to redouble his efforts, the desperate attempts finally working when he squirmed out from under the man's boot.

Up on his feet, Jaune charged at the woman, receiving a solid kick in the chest from her.

With the wind knocked out of him, Jaune could only gag on his own spit, heaving heavily and trying to find enough of his lungs to take a deep breath.

With both of the siblings down on the ground, the girl grabbed Saphron's hair, pulling her up to her knees. The man went to do the same before the masked woman gestured at the bandit to stop, letting Jaune get back on his feet.

Panting softly, Jaune clutched at his stomach as he glared at the masked woman, not noticing as the rest of the group formed a circle around the two of them, making an impromptu ring. The boy didn't make a move, and neither did the masked woman, the quiet echoed undisturbed, the two of them frozen.

Eyes flickering to the left and right, Jaune tried to see if there was any way for him and Saphron to escape, but finding no spaces between the bandits that he could slip through quickly.

Faced with only one option, Jaune grit his teeth, charging once more towards the masked woman.

The high pitched battle cry Jaune let out was barely menacing, and the choked gasp he let out after he was kicked to the ground again was even more so. With even less oxygen than before, Jaune threw up, barely having any energy to stay on his hands and knees. It made it especially easy for the woman to kick him again, sending him skidding across the grass and gravel.

"Please..." Jaune wasn't sure what he was begging for, he just knew that he hurt and he wanted it to stop.

A sharp hiss rang through the air as the woman drew her sword, pointing it at Jaune. The unspoken threat was enough for Jaune, who summoned every last bit of strength to stagger onto his knees, eyes wide as the woman swung the blade, aiming for Jaune's neck.

Flinging himself to the side, he barely ducked out of the way, rolling to dodge the follow up.

"W-why are you doing this?" Jaune panted out, pushing himself up onto his feet. The woman paused for a moment, her left hand reaching behind her, drawing out a dagger and tossing it onto the ground beside him. Jaune looked down at the blade, small for a grown man, but gleaming in all of its danger for an ten year old boy. When he glanced back up at the woman, he saw her hands reach up, taking the mask off slowly, to reveal red eyes, and a few wrinkles that showed her in her mid-thirties.

She looked every bit as evil as Jaune imagined her to be.

"Fight, or die."

Jaune's eyes widened in panic at the ultimatum given by the woman. Scooping the knife up, the boy stood there, hesitation obvious now that he had a very real weapon in his hand. The woman gave him no more time to think though, taking a step forwards to deliver a killing blow. Yelping in fear, Jaune jumped backwards out of range, his back hitting one of the bandits that was forming the ring, stumbling forward when the bandit pushed him away, where Jaune's teeth clacked together as the woman reversed her swing, the backside of the blade connecting with his jaw, knocking one of his back teeth out.

On the floor once more, Jaune gave up. Tears steamed from his eyes as his whole body seemed to throb in pain. He curled up into a ball, hoping that the hitting would stop as his little body shook with sobs. He was done.

A foot kicked him out of his position, leaving him face to face with the woman once again.

"Fight. Or die."

The words only served to make Jaune hurt more, his breathing coming out in short, painful stints.

"I-I can't. No more. Please." Jaune whimpered, trying to curl up again.

Jaune could hardly believe that just this morning he had been complaining about stubbing his toe.

I want my mom.

Another kick once again sent him across the ring, where he lay a few feet away from Saphron, who fought and kicked against her captor, crying just as hard as Jaune, begging them to stop. His big sister.

His last sister.

One more kick connected with his hip, convincing him to roll a few more times, landing on his side.

"Fight."

Jaune shook his head.

"I can't." Even to his own ears the words seemed slurred, his vision fading in and out. The only thing he could focus on was the gleaming blade that she was moving around, first towards him, something that he was starting to welcome, his will to live slowly slipping back and forth... and then the blade rested on the neck of his big sister, who had done nothing wrong.

"Then she dies." The woman didn't even blink as she started to move her arm, ready to slit Saphron's throat wide open.

Something snapped inside of Jaune.

He didn't know when he got back on his feet, or when he had rushed at the woman. Jaune didn't even realize that he still had the knife in his hands. His vision only widened when he slammed the blade into the woman's thigh, the knife sparking as it tried to make contact, to sink through the skin, only to slide away like water, propelling him into the woman's knee, taking one last blow before falling unconscious.

Saphron screamed, and she wasn't sure it was for her little brother, who had taken the worst beating she had ever witnessed, or if it was for herself, the woman's blade having already open a wound big enough for blood to start pouring. They were both going to die here.

One barely sixteen, the other barely ten, and they had managed to meet death twice, only to stumble into this hell.

Fine.

Saphron closed her eyes, her heartbeat calming. If she was to die here, that was fine. At least she would be able to apologize to Jaune for being unable to protect him after the two of them passed away.

The last things Saphron heard was the cruel woman laugh, saying something and reaching out, touching her cheek, and something flow through her, a spark of life tenuously rushing throughout her body.

Then nothing.