Готовый перевод Комната Историй / The Room of the Stories: Пролог-2

Prologue. Part two.

* * *

If one of her acquaintances or allies saw them now, they would be shocked. In fact, Cinder herself was shocked by what was happening here. Her flawless and wonderful plan was falling apart, and it wasn’t even a matter of anyone else’s actions. The young girl looked around the room she was in - however, she was focused not on the room, but on the people who were in it.

Suggested targets that could be who Ozpin could give the remaining powers of the Maiden to, Glynda Goodwitch is a skilled Huntress whom Cinder has already met and even managed to fight. Although she didn't use her full powers, if they fought, Cinder wouldn't be sure who would win. But with Maiden's powers, Goodwitch would no longer be a dangerous opponent.

Oh!

Cinder forgot to mention the last person in this room, not counting the aspiring Huntresses and Huntsmen. And the last person was the one whom her Queen ordered to be killed at any opportune moment - but only if she already had the powers of the Maiden. And that person was Ozpin. Director of Beacon, Leader of the Secret Order against the Queen, and also the one who stole the Maiden's powers from her.

Yes, in all honesty, Ozpin was her enemy. And if he finds out, he will immediately kill her. As are her henchmen in this room. But Cinder thought out a plan so they would clash as little as possible so that no one would suspect her and her team.

But no. They had already been sitting in the same room for a good twenty minutes before her plan was not only falling apart but also slowly starting to rot as if to say that it would no longer work. Cinder even smelled it. Although it looked more like burnt flesh mixed with rot, but still...

//“And how did it all come to this?” - Cinder mentally sighed, sitting at the table and watching how the people around were dejectedly silent, not wanting or not knowing what to talk about. Cinder could only keep quiet so that such terrible attention would not be paid to her. But anyway…

Cinder glanced gloomily to the left, directly at the seat next to her, where Ozpin was sitting, thinking about something and fiddling with his cup of coffee. But even so, the black-haired girl like some civilian in an ordinary forest, felt the invisible gaze of the non-existent “Grimm”. Only now, instead of Grimm, it seemed to her as if Ozpin was constantly peering not just into her face, but straight into her soul, crawling into the most secret and dark corners of her soul...

Turning away sharply, Cinder shook her head putting these thoughts into the far corner. Since she knew that even if he noticed any oddities in her, he certainly did not see or feel an enemy in her. Yes, that's exactly how it happened. She slightly raised the tips of her lips upward, ignoring the newly emerging feeling. He was absent. It's just her imagination playing tricks on her.

Meanwhile, Ozpin was watching Cinder out of the corner of his eye. And looking at her, the director could not help but feel sympathy. He sighed mentally.

//“Poor girl,” Ozpin raised the mug to his lips, and only after that did he remember that there was almost no coffee left. He regretfully put the mug on the table and continued his thoughts. “Apparently she is too worried about sitting next to me. Of course, it’s not often you can sit on the right-hand side of the Director.”

He looked again at the slightly shuddering Haven girl, who tried to hide her nervousness under a mask of calm. But Ozpin was able to notice this small movement since he had seen a lot in his life and now he could honestly say that she was nervous only because of his gaze.

And it was incredible.

Feeling someone's gaze without reacting in any way is quite an interesting skill. And her brief glances at the other students and himself. Ozpin, if he hadn't been watching her, wouldn't have been able to notice at all. And the last glances at him made it clear that she noticed or began to suspect that he was looking at her.

Oh, old friend Leo, you really do find interesting students. And Ozpin was talking not only about the black-haired one but also about the others. For example, this Black. The Director thinking about the past stared at the young guy who behaved better than the other students. He even grinned slightly, crossing one leg over the other and peering somewhere behind the JNPR team.

But Ozpin drew attention to him not because of his attitude to this situation, but because of his appearance and surname. The director once again repeated the young guy’s last name, and, once again, felt a strong feeling towards the student.

//"Mercury Black" - Ozpin closed his eyes, remembering the past. “Apparently, someone from the Black family is still alive... I didn’t think I would meet the descendants of this family again.”

Once upon a time, during the time of the aristocracy, there was a famous family with its own traditions and distinctive feature, gray eyes. Each child born there received a name in honor of a star, and, like this star, repeated the path he had to take.

In many ways, that family was terrible, even tyrannical. Rules, etiquette, traditions - all this was an integral part of the Black family. In the old days, Ozpin had met many of this family. Many of them looked like the current Jacques Schnee. Others are on Mrs. Schnee. The latter was the rarest. Those who put their name aside and separated from their family to live the life they want.

And yet, the Black family disappeared in just a week. An epidemic, disease, massacre, or just an accident - it didn’t matter. The main thing was that a family like Black simply died. As are the memories of her. Many famous families, and not just the aristocracy, disappeared over time. And only a few of the creatures still remember them.

//“So much time has passed…” Ozpin thought with heaviness.

Yes.

Ozpin has lived so much, but even now, he can remember the names of all those who died for their goal and dreams. And as long as he exists, he will definitely fulfill them. No matter how long it takes. Opening his eyes again, the director stared at the young students, and his heart filled with heaviness when he remembered the faces of those who died just a few decades ago.

He automatically raised the mug to his mouth and drank the last sip of coffee.

//"OK!" Ozpin thought decisively, forcing those thoughts and memories of the past to go back into his mind. There was no time for regrets or mistakes now. "The current goal is to get out of the room."

“So,” Ozpin said, causing everyone to turn to him. "We are trapped and none of us can get out of it. Scrolls and other devices do not communicate with the outside world, and, most likely, no one else will come to us, since there are no more places left."

Ozpin fell silent as the others began to look around. The table, at which they all sat was large, but the seats and chairs were limited. Namely, as many as there were now in the room. Fourteen people - fourteen chairs. Even.

The students seemed to recognize this as well.

"We are locked in a room that has no way out,” Ozpin fell silent for a moment, remembering the moment when each of them realized that there was simply no way out of the room. The room they were in was not alone. Several doors led to the kitchen, to the toilet, to the bedroom, and also to the room they all entered, thinking they were going to their rooms.

And yet, there was no way out.

How that was possible, even Ozpin couldn't guess. But, he knew one thing that many of the students didn't guess. The rooms they had seen, and the one they were in now, were not from Beacon. Ozpin knew this better than anyone, as he had built the Academy, so he could immediately recognize that these rooms were different from the rooms from Beacon.

And it wasn't even that the objects or the style of the rooms were different, no. They were so similar that if he were not the author of Beacon, he, like the students, would have thought it was just another room in Beacon. Perhaps Glinda had also guessed it, after all, she had studied, and afterward, taught at this Academy. So, Ozpin decided to talk to her alone at some point to verify his thoughts.

Clearing his throat, he looked again at the silent students.

"But still, whoever locked us up made sure we'd be living in a normal environment. These rooms have everything we need to live and exist. Food, water, sleep and entertainment,” Ozpin waved his hand at the books. "It's all here. And yet, we can't quite say why we've been locked in these rooms. Perhaps just for their amusement. Perhaps for the sake of seeing our reaction to such actions. Or maybe just because they could do it."

Ozpin was silent, staring at his students. Out of the corner of his eye, the headmaster noticed the Haven students exchanging glances.

"How long it will take to get out of this place, I do not know. What will happen behind these walls, I also don't know. I don't know how to get out of these rooms either."

The silence was oppressive.

"So, everyone can do what they want, in reasonable amounts, of course,” Ozpin stood up and left the table. While the dumbfounded and incomprehensible looks were focused on him, he, holding an empty coffee mug in one hand, moved towards the kitchen. As the headmaster's back disappeared behind the door, a sharp creak was heard, and presently Glinda Goodwich rose from her chair and followed Ozpin into the kitchen.

"Ha,” Jaune let out a weak chuckle that brought all the attention to him. He blushed and then turned pale. "Ahem, okay! The Headmaster said that we can do whatever we want! Therefore, Team JNPR!"

"Yes?" The entire team asked Jaune in one voice.

"We're going to the bedroom!"

"Yay!" Nora jumped up and was the first of the four to run out into the large bedroom. Wren sighed heavily and followed her as Jaune and Pyrrha moved to the back. Eventually, only the two teams remained in the room. Their gazes crossed and the atmosphere became even more uncomfortable.

"And so,” Ruby spoke up, looking at her new friend's team. "My name is Ruby Rose, this is my team. Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and, my sister, Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet you."

Ruby smiled as she looked at the four students from Haven. The black haired girl, who was very similar in appearance to Blake, smiled as well. She stood up slightly, and then began to speak:

"It's also a pleasure to meet you, though we've met before,” Cinder stared at Ruby, who remembered the moment when she'd almost run over three guys. Blushing slightly, she nodded.

"Still, it's not very polite to talk without knowing names. So, I'll introduce our team as well,” Cinder smiled slightly. She shifted her gaze to the only guy on her team. "Mercury Black."

Cinder ignored the way Mercury smirked and winked at the blonde, instead, she continued to move her hand to indicate the green-haired girl, who blushed slightly at Cinder's attention.

"Emerald Sustrai, who also happens to be Mercury's part-time partner."

Emerald turned away from Cinder's gaze and nodded to Team RWBY, smiling slightly. Ruby smiled cheerfully and waved to her friend. Cinder ignored this and pointed her hand at the last person besides herself. Neo smiled an angelic smile as she waved her palm looking at the stranger's team.

"Neo Politen is my partner."

Finally, all eyes focused on Cinder.

"And I'm Cinder Fall, leader of the CNEM team, or Cinema. Nice to meet you,” Cinder smiled as she looked at the four girls. Mentally she smirked. "Hopefully we'll become good friends..."

* * *

"Ozpin, what are we going to do!" Glinda said for the umpteenth time, walking in the same trajectory through the kitchens. Every time she reached the end of the room, she turned around a hundred and eighty degrees and repeated her actions. And so each time, while Ozpin stared thoughtfully at the coffee can.

"Well, first we have to make coffee,” Ozpin didn't pay attention to the fact that his deputy's footsteps had stopped; instead, he opened the lid of the can and looked at the contents. But only when he saw the contents did he wrinkle his nose and put the can aside. "Definitely not. Could anyone really like Atlasian Blend? It's worse than the Grimm...."

"Ozpin,” Glinda growled, causing Ozpin to feel a shiver below his shoulder blades. He swallowed down a lump in his throat and stared at the many coffee cans one last time before grabbing the first can he could find and closing the door. "We're stuck in this place, and there's no telling who did it or why. Someone may have locked us in here to take advantage of our absence and infiltrate Beacon! What if that's the plan..."

"No,” Ozpin shook his head, stopping beside the coffee maker. As his hands automatically began to prepare his coffee, he continued to speak. "Even She couldn't have created a replica of Beacon's rooms and then, by controlling our minds, locked us in the rooms afterward. She'd probably just throw a lot of Grimm at us instead of coming up with such an ineffective plan. And why would She want to lock up students? Even if She knows about Ms. Rose, why not just lock her up? No, the way I look at it, I don't think it has anything to do with Her."

Ozpin fell silent, but his hands didn't stop from making his coffee. Glinda also stood silently and said nothing as she watched the director and his actions. When he stopped, she continued again.

"Then what do we do? The academy is left without a director and a professor. This could lead to chaos and destruction."

"Don't exaggerate, Glinda,” Ozpin turned and smiled lightly at his deputy." James can take temporary charge of Beacon, and his men can replace you as Combat Training Instructor. He had one specialist...” Ozpin stared thoughtfully at the wall. "Winter Schnee, if I'm not mistaken."

Glinda wrinkled her nose. Whoever said it, but she couldn't imagine not only her but Ozpin as well, being replaced without harming the people around her and Beacon. Yes, James was a good headmaster for Atlas, but still. Beacon was not Atlas.

"Yes, Winter Schnee is Ms. Schnee's sister who is also stuck in these rooms with us,” Glinda covered her eyes while saying all this. "But still, how do we get out of these rooms? There are no doors to the outside, and the walls, as well as the doors, are protected by a barrier."

"Exactly,” Ozpin watched the coffee brewing thoughtfully as his thoughts slowly analyzed what was happening. "We're locked in, and whoever locked us in must have given us some clues that should have led us to the solution and the way out of the rooms. And he had given us them."

"Yes?" Glinda raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Ozpin nodded.

"Yes. And it's pretty easy to figure out, you just have to remember what happened at the beginning,” Ozpin turned to Glinda. "The RWBY team went into the starting room, but afterward, they couldn't get out. Then, in came you, the JNPR team, the students from Haven, and finally me. We all entered the starter room, but while I was gone, the door stayed closed, no matter how you tried to open it."

Ozpin stared at his deputy's lit-up eyes.

" I mean,” Glinda began. "Until you came in, the door stayed closed. And it certainly wasn't because of any power... no. The table! There are fourteen seats at the table, and you were the last to enter, so logically speaking, the door should have opened. But... why was it closed? Why couldn't we have gone through it in the first place?"

He watched in silence as his coffee brewed.

"Because,” Ozpin began slowly. "All the necessary people had to come, in order to see the clue to the way out of this place. If someone wasn't there, we would have had to start over, because someone might have seen it and started solving the riddle. But whoever locked us up is not interested in seeing the actions of just one person. He wants to see the reactions and actions of all of us."

Ozpin fell silent again. Slowly he turned to his deputy.

"Say, Glinda. Did you notice that the bookcases were locked?"

"No,” Glinda blinked in confusion.

"And me and Ms. Belladonna noticed it,” Ozpin smiled. ЭI was even able to see the way our student tried to get to the books, but it didn't work. Why do you think that was?"

Glinda stared silently at the headmaster's face.

"Because it is in the books that there is a clue to the exit?" Glinda stared at the headmaster with interest. He nodded. "But then how do we get them? As you said, the bookcases are locked and secured like doors and walls. What do we have to do to open them?"

"Oh, you just have to find a little key,” Ozpin smiled as he turned around to the coffee he had prepared. Pouring the coffee into the cup, he inhaled the much-admired and welcome aroma of coffee that almost made the headmaster's head spin. Covering his eyes, he took his first sip of coffee and mentally smiled.

"The key?" Glinda stared unhappily at Ozpin, who turned to her and nodded. "Where are we supposed to find the key?"

"Oh, I already found it,” the Headmaster said with a slight smile, approaching the table and taking the coffee can in his hand. Glinda didn't even have time to stop him when all the coffee beans in the jar were instantly transferred to the table. But her scream was interrupted when she saw a small key among the beans. Ozpin only smirked. "No one likes Atlassian Blend, except James, of course."

* * *

"What shall we do, what shall we do, what shall we do?!" Jaune walked in circles and repeated the three words while Pyrrha watched him silently. The champion exhaled heavily.

Ever since they had arrived in the bedroom, Jaune had been nervous and afraid of what was going to happen to them. Pyrrha wasn't really worried about that. Yes, they couldn't get out, even she couldn't help with her Semblance, but still, they weren't locked in alone. Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch were with them. Even the third year students from Haven were something.

But still, Jaune was nervous. And Pyrrha could understand him.

The whole situation they found themselves in was not just strange, but terrifying. They had unknowingly found themselves in locked rooms, which in turn were protected by a strange barrier that reflected not only blows and Semblance, but the Aura itself. And this was impossible within the confines of today's world.

And even if there are developments to restrain the Hunters and Huntresses, they must be stored in underground laboratories under Atlas. After all, Atlas is the center of the global movement in technology and weapons. Therefore, when Pyrrha observed the strange barrier, her first thought was of Atlas.

Even so, why would Atlas do this? Why would anyone even want to hold back three teams of budding Huntresses and Hunters, with a professor and the Headmaster of the Academy? Pyrrha just didn't understand it.

"Whew, okay!" Jaune stopped and got his team's full attention. "We have to get out of these rooms!"

"Yes?" Ren stared at his leader thoughtfully, then continued indifferently. "Well, the adults are already doing that. Don't worry, Jaune, we'll soon be back to studying and doing our usual things."

"And eat pancakes!"

"Yes, and eat pancakes,” Ren nodded, returning his attention to the scroll in his hands. Jaune, who had been silent until now, nodded weakly."

"Definitely, you're right,” he looked pale. "We'll be released, phew, phew, we just have to... wait a little longer."

"Uh, Jaune?" Pyrrha decided to speak up, seeing how nervous her leader was.

"W-what?"

"What's wrong? I mean, why are you so nervous? Nothing bad happened,” the champion tilted her head to the side, watching the blond blink and mumble something. For some reason, it seemed cute to Pyrrha.

"I... Um, honestly?" Jaune sighed heavily as everyone turned their attention back to him. Walking over to the bed, he sat down tiredly and stared at one point in silence for a few seconds. Ren raised an eyebrow, Pyrrha held her breath, and Nora... Nora was Nora. "I have a feeling that soon, I'm going to be very, very!" in Pyrrha's opinion, Jaune had emphasized that word too much, "regret being with you guys."

It was ridiculous. How could Jaune regret being in the same place as them? Pyrrha wanted to protest about his feelings, but something stopped her. Surprisingly, Ren started to act faster than Pyrrha.

He put the scroll aside, and then stared at his leader with a serious look. The silence was grim, and only Nora was unaffected by it. After a moment's thought, Ren began to speak.

"Tell me, Jaune. Why do you trust this feeling?"

The blonde didn't know what to say.

He opened his mouth, but closed it a moment later without uttering a single word. _NPR stared with interest at Jaune, who was silently looking at one point. When interest reached the ceiling, their leader finally began to speak.

"It happened on my thirteenth birthday. Then, I thought I would spend my birthday with my family and everything would be fine. But my sisters and parents wanted me to bring friends with me. You remember that I have seven sisters, right?"

Everyone nodded. Pyrrha blushed a little when she remembered that conversation about Jaune's family.

"So, I agreed with my family that I should bring my friends. I didn't have many, so that day, four of my friends came with me. Honestly, everything was going great. Games, entertainment, cake, fun, gifts,” Jaune stared deadly at the floor. "But still, I was too naïve to think that the ending would be perfect, too."

Everyone in the room was silent.

"I needed to go to the bathroom, and I did it, ignoring my premonition. And every minute I was in the bathroom, I felt like my whole being was screaming at me that I needed to run down to the first floor, where my friends and family remained. And at some point, I just felt It."

Jaune fell silent.

"This was not like the premonitions I had before. It was something... new,” the blond closed his eyes. “I, without realizing it, jerked towards the door, but after walking a few steps, I suddenly came to my senses and stopped. At that moment, it seemed to me that I was going crazy, so I quickly finished my business and moved to the first floor."

Silence filled the room.

"And?" Pyrrha raised her voice. "What happened next?"

"Next?" Jaune raised his eyes and stared straight at Pyrrha. “I went downstairs and saw the most terrible thing for my consciousness at that time."

The guy sighed.

"Photo..."

"Ah?" asked _NPR in unison.

"My family showed my friends photos... photos of me as a child. A photo of me in a bunny suit. A photo of me wearing a dress. Photos where I was dressed up in various cartoon costumes. A photo of me wearing Beowulf pajamas. And many other photos..."

Jaune stared deadly at the floor.

And in the next moment, Nora exploded with laughter. What can I say, Ren also started to giggle weakly as well as Pyrrha. All of them could only laugh at the fact that their team leader was exaggerating that moment too much. //“Yes, all of us have pictures like that!” - Ran through Pyrrha's head.

Jaune sighed.

"In the end, we stopped being friends."

The laughter stopped abruptly. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora stared at their leader with rounded eyes. The silence seemed to have become so awful that even Nora felt a shiver.

"I'm sorry Jaune!" Pyrrha was the first to speak, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. And also anger and rage at the people he thought were his friends.

"Right, sorry for laughing, Jaune,” Ren immediately said following Pyrrha, feeling embarrassed.

Nora also opened her mouth to apologize, but Jaune raised his hand, stopping her.

"No, no, guys!" Jaune waved his hands. "Yes, I was ashamed at that moment. Very embarrassed! But still, we continued talking and being friends until the moment they wanted to hit on my sisters!"

"Uh-oh,” all three said in one voice, looking at their leader. Nora, who had no time to apologize, smiled sharply. "So our Jaunie dressed up in different costumes as a child?"

Only now Pyrrha suddenly remembered Jaune's words, and what costumes he was talking about. Feeling her cheeks flush, the champion coughed sharply feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and wanting to see those pictures. Jaune could only groan softly as Nora stood beside him with a wide smile, asking about his outfits.

Pyrrha also got up from her seat and walked closer, purely for scientific interest. She didn't want to see her leader in a princess costume, a little Beowulf costume, or a... rabbit...

"JNPR team to the main room immediately, we have an update on the current situation,” Glinda said as she entered the bedroom and immediately exited.

The champion choked on her saliva for a moment as Professor Goodwitch's loud voice rang out, jolting her out of her fantasy and into the real world. And because of the suddenness of this action, she coughed. A strong and masculine hand helped her, but when she wanted to thank Jaune she saw Nora's smiling face instead.

Blinking puzzled, Pyrrha uttered:

"Thank you…"

"You're welcome, Pyrrha!" Nora smilingly left the room with Ren. In the end, it was just her and Jaune in the room. Wait, Jaune? Pyrrha stared in surprise at the frozen leader, who was staring silently and motionless at one point.

"Uh, Jaune?"

Jaune blinked, and afterward turned pale and shook.

"Pyrrha, I don't feel well... can I lie down and sleep here?" Jaune looked at Pyrrha. And those eyes... the eyes of an innocent and helpless puppy looking at you in the downpour, hungry and wet. She just can't say no to them. Only a true tyrant and monster would refuse that look. And those blue eyes...

"Pyrrha?" Jaune shook his head and strode towards the main hall like a man on his way to an execution. At the same time, he grabbed his partner's hand, as she often fell out of reality, so he had to be a kind of babysitter. This usually happened several times.

"Ah, what?" Pyrrha blinked and stared perplexed at the stranger's hand. But when her gaze met the two celestial lights... she was in heaven again.

"Ah,” Jaune could only sigh at his friend's behavior. Once, he even asked Ruby for advice, but she said it was a heart problem. Jaune could only turn his attention more to his friend and partner, so that she wouldn't be alone at times like this. "Maybe she should go to the nurse's station. They could probably give her some heart medication."

"Ah? Jaune?"

He will definitely ask about the medicine when he gets out of the trap.

* * *

"Everyone's here,” Ozpin smiled, looking at everyone in the room. "Professor Goodwitch and I have found the clue to our freedom. Whoever locked us up gave us some clues that should lead us to the key."

Ozpin showed off the key, which drew serious attention from all the students.

"So we are free? Then why are we still here?!" Miss Xiao Long said the loudest.

"Stupid, of course, the Director will open the door now, no need to shout to the whole room!"

"Hmm, I'm not sure that's the key to the door,” Blake shook her head as she listened to Weiss and Yang argue. Ruby paid attention to her, and the faun continued. "We don't even have a door to lead us out. Why give a key when all the doors are open?"

Ruby shrugged.

"Hmm,” Ozpin stared at Cynder with interest. "I'm sorry, but where did you get this key?"

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Ozpin smiled and mentally praised the CNEM leader.

"From a can of coffee, of course."

No one could say anything after such words. Ozpin continued.

"And this key does not open the exit door, no. He opens a bookcase." Ozpin pointed to the bookcase behind Team RWBY. But instead of turning in that direction, all the students, except Blake, stared stupidly at the Beacon Director.

"Sorry what?" Mercury raised his hand and asked the Director, puzzled.

“This key opens the bookcase,” Ozpin said with the same smile.

"Book... case?" Yang was heard muttering, and then she stood up abruptly. "But you said this is the key to the exit! Why deceive us?!"

"Ms. Xiao Long!" Glinda raised her voice at the student. "Do you realize that you're yelling at your own Headmaster?!"

"W-what?"

"Don't, Glinda,” Ozpin patted the deputy's shoulder with his free hand. Afterward, the headmaster's gaze focused on the blonde. "As for you, Ms. Xiao Long, I'll answer your questions. First of all, I said that we found a clue to exit the rooms. I didn't say anything about that clue being the solution. Likewise, I could ask you a question, where exactly should we apply this clue? I don't see any closed doors. Do you?"

Yang blushed and turned pale in equal amounts. Needless to say, the entire RWBY team felt ashamed and embarrassed because of their partner.

"It doesn't really matter, though. We found the clue to the exit after all,” Ozpin smiled at the team of girls and then moved towards the closet. He was followed by all the students. Glinda, who was muttering something about discipline, also followed the headmaster.

Eventually, all fourteen people surrounded one closet. It took only a few seconds to find and then stick a key in the keyhole. And, as if by magic, the door, behind which there were many books, opened. And several dozen rows of books came into view.

"This is it,” Ozpin picked up the first book he could find and opened it in the middle. He blinked in surprise and flipped the book back and forth until he slammed it shut. The smile had already faded from the headmaster's face when he returned the book to its proper place and picked up the second one. The students and Glinda watched in amazement as Ozpin leafed through the books one by one and then put them back in the cabinet. After only three minutes, he stopped to look at the table of contents.

A quiet sigh was heard.

Turning around, he showed everyone the book. And everyone finally realized why Ozpin reacted so strangely to books. All the people in the room felt their right eye twitch. And the reason was simple.

The books were empty.

Not a single word, as if someone had printed the book and forgotten to write the contents of the book. Ozpin could understand the feelings of anger and disappointment of all the students around him, but still, unlike them, he saw one detail. Yes, the books were empty. But not absolutely.

Ozpin closed the book and stared at the cover of the book. It was simple and without any drawing that could make it clear what was in the book itself. There was nothing like that. But there were two lines that made them pay attention to them.

//"White Sheep" - Ozpin read the supposed title of the book, and then his gaze settled on another line. "Coeur Al'Aran is a strange name..."

Book title and author. That's what was on all the books Ozpin flipped through in his haste. Ignoring the arguments and conversations between the students and Glinda, he returned the book again and began to look at the books.

//“Why give a key to a closet with empty books? Why would anyone do that? It's stupid. Unless...” - Ozpin focused his attention back on the books. Slowly, he examined book after book, and, at one point, he stopped at the very first book. It was pinned down and barely visible, but still, something drew his attention to it.

Surprisingly, the stranger's hand grabbed the book and opened it at the beginning.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, looking at Ms. Belladonna, who was gazing into a book and smiling. Wait, smiling? The man looked into the book itself and saw the contents of the book. The chapters and the page they were on. After a moment, Blake flipped the page. The student and the headmaster saw many lines and text that told something about... Beacon?

Ozpin abruptly snatched the book from the student's hands, which almost hissed at the Headmaster, but he paid no attention to it. His gaze quickly flew over the lines of text and stopped at a familiar name.

//"What?" - Ozpin blinked and turned in surprise to the blond, who didn't look very good. And as if waiting for this moment, he turned and stared into Ozpin's eyes. He turned pale. Ozpin smiled. “So why did you call us here... to read books? Ha. It will be interesting".

Ozpin closed the book and stared at the author and the title of the book.

The Beacon Civil War

By: Coeur Al'Aran

* * *

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