A/N

This story will be my attempt to take a further look at the main cast of RWBY. It will contain introspection, headcannons, and a lot of fandom guess-work, but I really want to try and get a grasp on these fantastic characters. Each chapter will focus on a different girl, and they may each get more than one if I get the inspiration.

So without further ado, here's a closer look at Weiss and her past.

Spoilers: RWBY Trailers and all episodes

She sings at night.

Not in the early morning while she takes her shower, decidedly ignoring the raucous of her teammates preparing for class. Neither during their afternoon break, choosing instead to remain silent while her classmates prattle on like imbeciles. Nor does she in the evening, providing instead a vicious glare to anyone who suggests she join in on the fun.

And she most certainly never, ever, in a million years, sings for an audience.

So, instead, she waits until dark, when the room is covered with shadows and the only sound is the soft snores of a particular fiery blond. Slipping away is easy; she's well practiced in going unnoticed, especially by those whose attention she wants most.

It takes her only a few moments to tug on her overcoat and boots, and soon she's out the door, the soft click of her heels earning her little more than a twitch from the room's other occupants. Beacon has no night guards to speak of, and so she remains unseen as she exits onto the grounds.

Slowly she makes her way towards the cliffs, snow crunching underneath her boots and breath coming out in puffs of smoke. The night is freezing, and her jacket does little to shelter her from the cold, but she presses on. The cold has never bothered her. If anything the chilling sensation is a welcome reprieve, freezing her all the way to her core.

It suits her, she thinks, coming to a halt at the edge of the cliff. Staring down at the snow covered forest, she let her sense of self fade, blurring into the white scenery. Yes, she matches this world, so prim, pristine, and deadly to those who bare it no caution.

Yet her heart aches to be something, anything, but.

She folds her hands in front of her, the voice of her old instructor haunting her preparations. Feet together, shoulders square, chin up, 'No, not that up!', and finally, most importantly, breathe from her stomach, not her chest. It's all so technical, so exact. It matches nothing of what she feels, the emotions she pours into her words.

Inhaling deeply, she allows the first lyrics to spill from her lips. "Mirror… tell me something..."

The syllables tumble easily off her tongue, having sung this song a hundred times before. Eyes closed, she is no longer standing in the shadows of Beacon but instead before a massive auditorium. Thousands of eyes staring at her, captivated by her, the entire stadium hushed and focused on her. But she only has eyes for the front row, or more specifically the two empty seats there.

Scrunching her face, she willed the image away. "Fear of, what's inside me."

She hates that she likes to sing. That she enjoys rhythms and scales, and hearing her voice bringing life to the printed notes. It's another reminder of who she was, of whose child she was, and the image she was supposed to project.

"Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?"

So she sings at night, away from any prying eyes. Concealed from her peers, she can let her façade drop, can let her tight control slip. With the cold surrounding her, numbing her, she can forget the bitter look in her parent's eyes, if only for a little while.

"Mirror, tell me something. Who's the loneliest of all?" Pausing, she let the note fade into the darkness. Taking a breath, she prepared to deliver the final line.

"I'm the…" A pair of gentle, grey eyes flashed through her mind, their owner smiling stupidly at some random joke.

"Loneli—" Another image passed by, the redhead being joined by a blonde and brunette; all three doing their best to get her to laugh and acting like buffoons in the process.

Cutting herself off, Weiss opened her eyes. A gust of wind blew past her, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Tugging her jacket closer around her, the heiress found herself reflecting upon the strange girls she was stuck with for the duration of her time at Beacon. After a few more moments of quiet contemplation, the white witch decided she had, had enough for the night and began her trudge back inside.

Only to have her return interrupted when she came across an oddity imprinted in the snow. There, following her evenly placed footprints, was several pairs of tracks. Normally this would have been of no suspicion, but given that this snowfall was fresh and mostly unbroken, caused her pause. It didn't help that there were several flakes of red scattered around, either.

A small smile coming to her face, Weiss reached down to gather one of the spiraling petals. She really needed to teach Ruby some of the finer points of stealth.

A/N

Well there's the first one, and probably my favorite of all the ones I have planned. This is mostly because I really like Weiss' character and think she's a lot deeper than the fandom (sometimes) gives her credit for.

As of the moment we know almost nothing about the characters, but I think, based on Weiss' song/trailer and how she acts in the show, that she really isn't your typical snobby princess (That's heiress, actually). Instead I see her as a girl who has spent her life desperately trying to please her parents, and always failing to meet their standards in one way or another. The best example I have of this is in episode 6(?) when she tells Ruby "I'm not perfect, but I will be." I think it's less of her being uppity and more a hint to what she's been told her entire life. No matter what she accomplished, her parents always find something wrong with it, reminding her that they expect her to be absolutely perfect and uphold the Schnee name. She's terrified of disappointing them again, and that accounts for a lot of her initial behavior towards her team, especially her irritation at not being team leader.

That's also why I think she has such a quick turn-around after Professor Port talks to her. By telling her that it's okay to focus on being the best person she can be (not necessarily the best leader) he reminds her that it's okay for her to be her own self, and not the perfect child her parents expect.

Still despite her emotional hardships, she's still spent her life in relative comfort, and rarely has wanted for much. Her financial standing has probably separated her from her peers, and that could be part of the reason she's so lonely, not many have taken the time to look past her heiress mask.

In this story, I have her singing because I really like the idea that she was somewhat of a child idol. Her parents probably started her on singing as another way to make her their ideal child, but otherwise they couldn't be bothered to support her in it. Now that she's working on becoming a huntress (whether b/c she's rebelling against her parents, or b/c they want her to become one to improve the public view of their company I'm not sure) she almost never sings. She still really love its, something that irks her a bit, and while she would actually like to sing for others she too afraid of being disappointed again.

Anyway that's part of my really long rant on Weiss. If you ever want to talk to be about her, or any of the RWBY characters just shoot me a message, or come talk to me on tumblr, Dingbats-and-Dweebs

I'm still trying really hard to get a grip on all the characters, so I cherish any opinions from other fans. I think the next chapter will be about Blake, and her not-so-secret heritage.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

-Dingbats