Disclaimer: I own nothing. RWBY and it's characters belongs to Rooster Teeh, while Snow White & The Huntsman belongs to Universal Pictures. I get no profit from this.
Remnant was a prosperous world, and its four Kingdoms lived in harmony...but it all has changed when the Black Queen came to power. Nobody knew where she came from; one day, she just appeared on the back of a Grimm Dragon, and since then, the Kingdoms fell into the darkness. The Huntsmen and Huntresses- the protectors of the world- faded away, either corrupted or killed; the few that survived kept in the shadows, hiding on the edges of kingdoms, becoming more like legends and myths than reality.
This is the world where this tale begins...
Winter Schnee sighed in frustration, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of her prison. How long had she been here? It had to have been ages by now... She had been but a little girl, barely thirteen years of age when it happened.
Her mind wandered back to that day...
"Good, very good," General Ironwood nodded with approval, "For someone so young, your skills are impressive."
Those words made her heart burst with pride. General James Ironwood is one of the most renowned military leaders in whole of Remnant, and responsible for her father's kingdom rise to power. For him to praise her skills is a high praise indeed. She hid her excitement, however, only nodding at him with a polite smile. She is a Schnee, after all, and she wants a place in General's army; she cannot have him see her as over-emotional child.
"Thank you General," she said, "it is a great honour to be praised by a man like you."
He smiled back at her, returning her nod. With that, their training was over.
A while later she was strolling the white marble corridors, her long white and blue dress trailing behind her. She let out a deep sigh, her previous good humour all but gone. It's always like this when she meets with General Ironwood for sparring sessions: she's elated while they last, but afterwards her mood goes down.
She supposed it was because when everything is gone she is faced with the reality of it all. While her father has let her polish her fencing skills and her summoning- she is a Schnee after all, and her father has no sons, nor does it look like he'll ever have any- that is all she is allowed to do. He would NEVER give his consent when it comes to her joining the military.
'You are gifted as a Schnee, that is true, and it is good to excel in your summoning, but the military is not for you. They are below you. They are there to serve us. And besides my dear, dear daughter, you are a woman, and it is not a woman's purpose to serve in an army.'
She let out another a deep sigh.
'Why does father have to be so difficult?' she thougth
"Winter!" she heard a small, cute voice calling from behind her."Winter!"
She turned around. It was Weiss!
She smiled and dropped to her knees, welcoming her little sister.
"I have something for you!" said Weiss, pulling out an apple from behind of her back. Winter's smile grew larger and her expression softened She could never stay cross for long with this little one around! She took the fruit, and was about to bite it when hell literally broke loose.
There was an explosion, the windows burst, and people started screaming. They both turned and saw- to their utter terror- Grimm. Weiss screamed in fear and even Winter froze for a while. She vaguely wondered where the guards were...but she finally woke from the spell. She picked up Weiss and broke into the run, calling for both her parents and the guards, but no one answered her, her yells drowning in the overall noise. She turned around the corner and stopped, a gasp leaving her lips as her way was blocked by a group of heavily armed men in masks. She spun around, but the Grimm were closing in behind her, undoubtedly drawn closer by her and Weiss's fear. She glanced between the two groups and then made her escape, sprinting down a hallway to the left. She knew that there are two groups after her now, but she didn't dare look back; some invisible force seemed to be pushing her forward. She finally made it to the stairs and, seeing the light at the end, sped up, soon running out into the courtyard.
What her eyes met there caused her to pause and she almost dropped Weiss in shock and fear.
The place was a total bloodshed. Her father's guards fighting the Grimm the masked soldiers, the civilians feeling in fear, chased by the enemy and slaughtered. She tried retreat back inside, but the sounds coming from there were not welcoming either. Then something crashed, and Weiss cried out, her little arms tighten around Winter's neck. Winter did know what's happening until finally a familiar voice reached her ears. She turned around and spotted General Ironwood, fighting on his horse. This sight filled her with relief, and she called out for him while running down the stairs and making her way towards him. He finally saw her and, slaughtering one last Grimm, turned his horse to meet her.
Ever caring for Weiss, she raised her younger sibling up, trying to pass her to the General first. He noticed and reached out with his arm, grabbing Weiss. Of course, the young girl didn't want to let go, but Winter pushed her away.
Having secured the younger of the sisters, General reached his hand out to Winter, but the chaos of the battle came between them, and someone grabbed Winter. Weiss cried out, yelling her name in panic just as Winter yelled hers, trying to wriggle herself out of her foe's grasp. But whoever was holding her was too strong. They held onto her tight, and a second later she was clubbed over the head and blacked out.
Winter blinked a few times, returning to reality. She later found out that the man who had knocked her out was Mercury Black, and he served under Roman Torchwick, who in turn served Queen Cinder Fall. At first Winter had been sure she'd die right there, but for some reason Torchwick decided to spare her.
'You never know whenever she'll come of value,' he'd said, and thus she'd been put on a ship that carried her across the sea to the far island of Patch and thrown into her cell of despair. All alone, not knowing what has happened to her land. Not knowing what has become of her people, of General Ironwood, and most importantly, her little sister Weiss. Was she even alive? Winter shook her head. She couldn't allow herself to think like this.
In that very moment she heard a sharp yell and sounds of a scuffle coming from the other side of the wooden door. She quickly got up, throwing away the dirty rags that had served her for covers and went to see what was going on. Through the thick iron bars she caught a glimpse of a young girl being ruthlessly thrown into the cell opposite her own. She waited silently for the guards to march away, before trying to contact her fellow prisoner; it has been so long since she'd seen people other than the guards. The appearance of another female, someone from the outside world, gave her an odd sense of comfort.
"Hello?" she called out. "...hello?" The seconds drew like hours, but finally the other girl's face appeared in the small, barred window of the door. It was a pretty young girl with long, red hair and green eyes, and from what Winter could see, she could not have been more than seventeen years old.
Exactly the age Weiss would be now...
"What's your name?" asked Winter
"...Pyrrha," answered the girl.
"What happened to you?" was the next question. Winter had not heard much of the outside world in her long stay here. She got occasional visits from the guards, who would only leave her enough food and drink to keep her alive, as well as new clothing when she started to grow out of her old ones, but they had never spoken a word to her. It always had been death glares and scowls.
"All the girls from my village had been taken," Pyrrha explained, her voice quiet and scared. Winter could not fault her for that. "I was trying to reach General Ironwood's stronghold when I was caught by the Queen's guards."
The name of her former teacher and commander of Atlesean Army caused Winter's heart to skip a beat and fill with hope. She could hardly contain herself, her slim fingers grasping the bars tightly.
"General Ironwood?" she asked breathlessly. "He's still alive? Does he still fight in the name of Atlas? In the name of Remnant?"
Pyrrha nodded.
That was a relief. Now for the most important question of all, the one that had been on her mind all these years!
"...and Weiss Schnee? Is she alive?" she questioned. "Please," she added, "she's my sister..."
Pyrrha's eyes winded at the confession and she backed away from the bars. "You're Winter Schnee, the eldest princess!" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
Winter swallowed again, before nodding. "Yes," she said, "but please, tell me what you know of my sister...!"
There was a long pause before Pyrrha let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I do not know of her fate," she confessed. "I really do not, Princess; nobody even knew that she had escaped with the General. Everyone from your household was believed to be dead until now. I truly am sorry," she added meekly.
Winter bowed her head, blinking away the tears that welled up in her eyes as her heart ached, her hopes crashing to the ground.
"Princess...," she heard Pyrrha ask after a while, "...what will happen to me?"
She raised her head and looked back to her neighbour. The pain in her heart only rose as she saw the scared look in those bright, emerald eyes. Her throat was tight but she managed to draw out those four little words.
"...I do not know."
Cinder Fall looked out of the window of the Signal castle. The view was wretched: people hurrying to and fro, all closed in, scared and tiny. Many trying to collect scraps for their dinner.
'How pathetic' she thought, a small smile making it's way onto her face; this was exactly how she wanted things to run.
Her musings were interrupted by the creek of the opening door and the sound of scuffling boots. She turned around and saw Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai dragging in two bound men with bags over their heads. A second later the two prisoners had been forced to their knees before her.
"These two had been caught attempting an ambush on one of our supply trains," Mercury explained as he yanked the bags off the men's faces. She immediately recognized the bigger man: Sir Peter Port, one of the former Valean Huntsman, now serving under Ironwood. Her eyes left him, travelling to his young companion. It was a boy about seventeen years of age, slender in body, with scraggly blond hair. His blue eyes were burning with hatred and defiance. It amused her.
"Well, well, well...!" She drew the words out, making her way towards him, her glass slippers echoing in the stone halls, "Who do we have here? Your apprentice, Port? I must say, he is quite handsome." She looked the boy in the eyes, "What is your name, young man?"
"Leave him alone!" growled the older man.
"What is your name?" she repeated, not taking her eyes of the blond.
"...Jaune Arc," answered the boy.
"Arc...," she said, titling her head to the side, "a noble name, to be sure." She continued, reaching out her hand and running her finger down his cheek, "Your family members have been quite tough nuts to crack."
Jaune glared at her even harder, saying nothing before suddenly slipping an arm from his bindings and grabbing the sword that has been hanging on his guard's hip.
"JAUNE, NO!" cried Port, but he was too late; the blade had already pierced Cinder's abdomen. Everything and everyone went silent. Cinder let out a short gasp, and her gaze went down, shifting between the steel and Jaune, who was still glaring at her, only now a bit more triumphant.
But his expression soon changed to confusion when she smirked, and this confusion turned to fear and shock when she effortlessly pulled the sword out, tossing it away as if it was made of paper. She gave the weapon an uncaring glance, before turning back to her assailant.
"You would kill your Queen?" she asked, before hoisting him up so he would be on same level as her. She looked him deep in the eyes as she trailed her fingers down to his chest, and clenched them, driving her hand into flesh. She smiled, watching the blue eyes widen and then dim as the life escaped from them. They soon dulled and closed, and she threw the body across the room as if it was naught but an old sack. Her eyes then turned to her other prisoner. Emerald immediately put a sword to the old man's neck, ready to slit his throat, but the Queen raised her hand, stopping the greenette.
"No," she said, "let him go, so he can carry the news back to Ironwood." With that she turned around, heading out of the throne room, and as she left she heard Peter Port being pulled to his feet and dragged away.
That evening Cinder was in her room, watching her reflection in her black obsidian mirror. She felt tried for some reason, weak. She had been feeling like this quite a lot lately, and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was because there was fewer and fewer people left with true power, fewer and fewer young women whose power she could take away. But she doubted that; she had been very careful about her secrets, about what fuelled her power, and what happens to those with unlocked aura. So then...why? Why was she feeling so spent? Why was she feeling so old?
Her chain of thought was interrupted by loud footsteps, and soon enough she saw Roman's face in the mirror. The red-haired man put his chin on her shoulder before planting a kiss on her neck.
"You are so beautiful," he told her. She did not reply, and he kissed her again. "I have a surprise for you, something I guarantee will lift your spirits!" With that he turned around, pointing at something with a nod of his head. She looked over her shoulder and a small smile appeared on her face.
In the middle of her room stood a young, red haired girl. Cinder could feel the fear coming from her, but also the power. Yes, she had powerful aura. She walked up to the girl, purposefully slow, all the while putting a white glove on her hand. She finally stopped right in front of her victim and thrust her hand forward. As soon as she did a small portal appeared, and from it emerged a large black and white scarab. The bug latched itself on the girl's face, drawing out a scream from her. Cinder smiled even wider as she felt the power coursing through her veins, filling her anew with strength and virile youth. After a while she recalled the scarab, letting the unconscious body of the girl hit the floor. She gave the redhead one final glance before motioning at Roman to take her away. The commander nodded and picked the unfortunate girl up, walking out. Once she was alone again, Cinder turned to the mirror.
"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall," she asked "who is the grandest of them all?"
The second she spoke the smooth surface of the mirror started to wrinkle and pool down, floating towards her like a stream. It stopped mere inches before her feet, and transformed itself into a tall figure.
"You are both powerful and beautiful, my Queen," it said, "but there is one who can surpass you. Her name is Winter Schnee"
Cinder felt anger burst in her chest, and licks of flame appeared in her hands.
"I knew it!" she barked, "That fool Torchwick should have killed her with the rest of the Atlesean scum!"
"But she can also be your salvation," continued the obsidian figure, unshaken by the display of anger. Cinder's flames died down.
"Continue...," she ordered, her voice tinted with interest now.
"She has special powers, my Queen, powers beyond that of girls you've been using. If you absorb her Aura, if you consume her heart, you will never have to fear death or time. You will be forever powerful!"
"Immortality...!" whispered Cinder reverently. Perhaps it was a good thing her lover let the Royal Heiress live... "ROMAN!" she called and in a second she heard his footsteps. He stayed around the corner though, no doubt having heard her outburst.
"Yes, my Queen?" he asked hesitantly.
"I need you to fetch me someone," she said.
Winter was alone again. Pyrrha had been hauled away some time ago to an unknown place, and the white haired woman did not expect to see her again. She let out a sharp cry and punched the wall. She felt so helpless, so small and weak!
In that moment a flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned around and fell back onto her bed as she nearly collided with a raven. The bird did not seem to be so scared of her though. It didn't move much, hanging above her head and flapping it's wings. After her initial shock faded she stood back up and reached out to the bird. Her fingers brushed against the soft feathers, causing the corvid let out a small caw before flying up to the window. It sat there, turning to back to her and cawed again, as if it wanted her to follow.
'Now Winter' she scolded herself,'this is silly. It's is just a bird-'
She didn't get to finish her thought when she felt a slight pain in her hand. The raven had returned and picked at her hand with it's beak, before flying up to the window again. She sighed. It looked like this bird was really determined. She had nothing better to do, so she got up and followed it. As soon as she reached the window the raven moved a bit, flying out, though it didn't go away, hanging in the air by one of the walls. She pulled herself up and looked out of the narrow space.
It seemed as though the corvid was interested in a piece of rusty old metal that stuck out of the wall. It cawed, looking at her before trying to pull the metal away with it's claws. She sighed again, reaching out with her hand for it. It was crazy thing to do, a silly thing to do, helping a goddamn bird! But, as she noted before, she had nothing better to do. She had nothing at ALL to do!
Two pulls was all it took to get it out. She looked at the object, apparently a nail of some sort. She tore her gaze away from it and back to the raven, but the bird has disappeared. She groaned, a displeased expression on her face. Great, she'd done it all for nothing, the stupid thing left her! She was about to throw the nail away, but something stopped her. She took a closer look at it; it was old and rusty, yes, but it was also sharp at the end.
In almost the same moment she remembered Pyrrha's story, about trying to reach General Ironwood, only to be captured and imprisoned, and a plan stated to form itself in her head. She could attempt to try and get to the stronghold too, and this nail could help her! She could try and open the door with it, escape! Her chances were small, but they were there.
But before she could get any further with the planning she heard a loud bang, and Roman Torchwick's voice shouting something to the guards. Her heart skipped a beat. Roman hadn't visited the tower for a long time, and the fact that he did now meant something really bad was afoot.
She looked back at her nail; she couldn't let anyone see it! Thinking quickly, she threw herself on her bed, hiding her "key" under the pillow. She then closed her eyes and evened out her breathing, trying her best to look as if she was peacefully asleep. All the time though, she was vigilant and ready to act. She heard footsteps closing in, and then stop before her cell. She heard the door get unlocked, and Roman approaching her bed. She observed him from under her lashes.
"Get up, Snow Angel!" he said, "Your queen wants to see you."
She shuddered at the words, her eyes snapping open.
"What does she want from me?" she asked, not quite succeeding at banishing the tremor from her voice. There was a silence for a while, but then Roman smiled, causing her to once more shiver with fear. Oh, would she rather take his silence than this smile!
"Your beating heart," he answered. As if on a cue, her heart started to beat faster as panic overtook her. Roman bent over, reaching out to grab her, and in that instant the adrenaline kicked in. Winter whipped the nail out and slashed the red haired man; she didn't even wait for his scream to end as she rushed out of the still opened door, quickly shutting it behind her. She turned around and was about to speed off when she remembered Pyrrha. If Torchwick was back, then just maybe... She quickly jumped to the door of the girl's cell.
"Pyrrha!" she cried. She heard shuffling, and then a haggard, miserable figure got up, turning to her.
Nothing in the world could have adequately prepare Winter for what she saw.
Instead of the young, smooth face and lively green eyes she remembered, she was met with an ashen gray countenance, sunken cheeks that looked more like it belonged to an old corpse than a living being, and big, emerald eyes that lost all their spark, becoming dulled and foggy. Winter could not help but gasp. She opened her mouth to ask the question that had been rattling around her mind, only for Pyrrha to cut her off
"No time!" she cried, "Run, Princess, run! Don't waste your time on me! I will be fine; get to General Ironwood!"
At first Winter wanted to protest, but one look at the red-headed woman told her that it was futile; she could hear Roman banging on the cell door and shouting for the guards. Pyrrha was right, it would do neither of them any good if she got recaptured and put back in her cell.
Or worse, killed.
"I will come back and get you out. I swear!" she promised, before speeding off.
She ran down the stairs and burst through the door to, finally outside after so long. She looked around, still high from her escape, for any guards. There weren't any yet, but she was sure they would soon be after her.
And she was not wrong. Soon she had a couple of masked men appeared from around the corner, shouting and pointing at her. She looked around, and while doing so she caught the eye of an elderly man with thick moustache being herded towards the tower. She noticed his eyes grow wide, and she felt a spark of recognition flicker in her own heart, but it soon died out. She had no time for things like that, she had to get out! She scanned the area once more in search of a way to escape and she saw the raven again- though she didn't know if it was the same one as before. It circled her head before landing by a spot by the wall. At first she couldn't understand, but when she looked closer she saw there was a small hole in the ground, just large enough for her to slip through. She immediately made a run for it, crawling through it as fast as she could.
She suddenly rolled down a small slope, before hitting a hard stone floor. She sighed and got up, dusting herself off before looking around; it seemed like she found herself in some sort of underground passage. She looked back at the small hole, and could hear her pursuers shouting orders to find her from above. She then looked ahead. She could feel a fresh breeze on her face. There was another exit there, very likely to her freedom!
And there isn't anywhere else I can go, she told herself as she set off.
She didn't know how long she walked- it could have been just couple of minutes, it could have been an hour- but at some point she finally saw a dim light in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat and she sped up a bit, almost running now.
And finally, she made it out.
At first she couldn't tell where she was, the light of the day blinding her a bit after her time in the passage, but before long her eyes readjusted and she could scan her surroundings. It turned out she really had left the tower, and found herself at the edge of a forest. It wasn't a pleasant sight, all the trees were dark and grim looking, their branches bare, but that could be because it was still very early spring. Regardless, she had no time to ponder over the change of seasons, since she suddenly heard dogs and the shouting of the guards again. Once more, having no other choice, she ran ahead, disappearing into the forest.
Roman was speeding ahead with some of his guards, shouting at them and barking out angry orders. He rode on until he reached the Grimm Forest (or Patch Forest, as it had been known in the past). His horse halted at the very edge, letting out a whinny and a huff and stomping the ground, refusing to go any further. He looked behind him; all of the men he'd taken with him were standing a long distance away, looking nervously between one another.
"...well, what are you waiting for?" he called to them "Get after her, you useless twats!"
"Sir?" one of them said "This is the Grimm Forest, no one in their right mind would venture there; this place is crawling with all sorts of Creatures of Grimm, many of them very old. ...look, even the dogs are refusing to move!"
Roman looked down, and indeed all the hounds he has brought with him were keeping their distance, running in circles with their tails between their legs and whimpering pitifully. He gritted his teeth.
"Her Majesty will kill us," he said, looking back at the forest.
"So will the Grimm," said another one of the guards, "especially considering none of us here knows the forest; no one has been there for years, I don't think we'll be able to find the girl anymore, sir."
Roman had half a mind to argue, but held his tongue. He knew that the soldier was right. If they were to venture in there they would have gotten lost and eaten by the Grimm, and they would have failed in their attempt to bring Winter back to Cinder.
"Alright," he said eventually, "let's go back."
And with that he turned his horse around. He heard his men sigh with relief, but he himself was far from it, knowing full well that Cinder wouldn't like it. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to die, not yet, he had too much to lose! He needed to think of something...but what? He doubted that even Adam's White Fang troops would want to go into that forest. Not that Taurus would even consider sending them there to rectify Roman's mistakes... The red haired man looked up into the sky. Only a madman or someone with a death wish would go into that forest.
Or a Huntsman...
The last thought hit him like a ton of bricks. A Huntsman. There weren't many left, but there was one that he had certainly heard was still alive. And the man fit the other two descriptions as well! Roman smiled. Maybe his day wasn't as awful after all...?
FINISHED. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! How long it was! You people have NO idea how long it's taken for me to finish this chapter. I've been turning it around in my mind, trying to fit the places in the movie and in RWBY and make them match. I have finally decided to put Winter in Signal. Yes, I know Beacon would most likely be better, but they still have to go to Magical Sanctuary, which would be The Vault (thank you Cinder Fall btw) and then they have to go and battle Cinder and it would be a little too many comebacks to the same place. Winter would escape Beacon, then she would travel a bit, and then she would be led to the Vault under Beacon, and then leave it again, and then back again. As you see, it's a bit too many returns. So Signal it is! Also, I think the forest around Signal is rather dangerous place, there are Grimm there (Yang and Ruby got attacked by them) and with Cinder in power, the Grimm would be rampant there. But enough with my excuses. I hope y'all liked this (if you did, please tell me in reviews below). Next chapter will feature our favourite drunken asshole: Qrow Branwen. Stay tuned!
Edit: Thanks to Layman who helped me out with the story, and edited it a bit, smoothing some things out.
Editor's Note: Hey there, Layman here! I'll be helping Miss Vale out with this story, cleaning things up and making it look all pretty! I haven't actually seen the Snow White & The Huntsman movie this story takes inspiration from, but I know RWBY, and I think the premise is solid. Plus, I can totally get behind the Winter/Qrow ship. (It's crack, but it sort of makes sense.) Like Miss Vale said, stay tuned for drunken antics with Qrow!