Author's note: I started writing this just after "Reading the Signs", so before seeing the canon ep covering Weiss's escape, though subsequent edits have added some later S4 stuff such as Klein. I'm not entirely happy with it, but since it is just getting more and more out of date I decided to publish it as is.
Forgetting where she was for a moment Weiss let a small smile form on her lips as she read the message. After all these months she finally had a location.
Whitley's sneering voice brought her back to the present.
"One of your hero friends about to swoop in for a romantic rescue?"
She angrily turned to her brother, speaking without thinking.
"Ruby has better things to do!"
"So it was about your esteemed leader?" he smirked at his own wit, "You know, if you want someone younger to order you around you only have to ask"
Weiss gritted her teeth and remained silent. Whitley had scented a secret, he wouldn't give up until he had something. If only she had waited to read the message in private.
"If they really cared about you they would have found a way to contact you. Ex-heiress. You aren't even worth a call, let alone a rescue"
"If I can't rescue myself, then I'm no good to anyone!" Slipped again! Beacon had ruined her. Years of watching every action, every word and expression just to get by in this house. After that brief taste of freedom she found it intolerably stifling.
There was a long ominous silence from her brother. He may be vain, self-centred and childish, but he was also cunning. He soon confirmed her fears.
"You are planning to run away, aren't you?"
"That is none of your business!" No matter what she said, at this point it was only a matter of time. He would keep digging until he had something to present to their father. She grasped the locket hanging from a chain around her neck. She wouldn't fail her now; sometimes you just had to ride the Nevermore. Smiling at the memory, she walked out of the room, leaving Whitley to his scheming.
~o~
Dinner steamed gently in defiance of the prevailing emotional coldness. In the Schnee household it was the daily parade - ensuring the troops where present, correct and subservient. Whitley's expression was brimming with glee, he had his bombshell; now he was only waiting for the best time to drop it. Clamping down on her nerves Weiss focussed her attention on the food, finishing the main course ahead of the rest of the family. In a few minutes the staff would enter to clear up. She saw the excitement building in her brother's eyes.
"I have an announcement to make." Weiss stood and surveyed their shocked faces. "Since I no longer have duties to detain me here, tomorrow morning I will be departing to rejoin my team"
Whitley threw himself into the shocked silence in an attempt to salvage what he could "She's booked a car to the terminal, 8 AM tomorrow!"
She watched as her father's eyes hardened and his chest inflated. Whatever choice words he might have had where forestalled by the arrival of the serving staff. Weiss smiled defiantly and met his angry gaze for a long moment.
"Excuse me, I need to pack." Nodding to her father, she left the table and walked calmly out of the room. When he was really angry there was always a delay, and time was what she needed.
Klein was standing in the passageway as she left. He made eye contact as she approached.
"Klein, I don't want you to defy my father over this. It will be easier to do what I have to do knowing that you are safe"
"But-"
She clasped his hand
"Please."
"Very well."
"Thank you. I expect we won't be meeting again for some time, good bye"
"Good luck, Miss Schnee, and good bye"
Weiss answered with a smile, turned and left.
~o~
An hour later her bedroom door flew open. Her father surged into the room, his aggressive charge cut short as he awkwardly sidestepped the massive pile of luggage stacked just inside. He stared angrily at the evidence of defiance piled up in front of him.
Weiss rose from her seat and walked up to him, calmly smiling.
"Good evening Father. Is there something you wish to discuss before I leave?" His arm twitched but she didn't flinch. He would never hit anyone who was ready for it.
"You will not be leaving. You will attend to your duties as a member of this family, not leave the safety of this house" he gestured around the room, at thick walls and barred windows; a fortress, ".. to go running around the countryside on a whim"
"As heiress, I suppose I couldn't, but since I have now been released from that duty." She shrugged. They stared at each other for a few moments. Weiss finally broke the silence "If you are done I would like to retire. I have a long day of travelling tomorrow." She gestured to the door.
He made a sudden lunge at the pile. Stepping back into the doorway grasping her weapon's case, he wore a triumphant grin.
"I will be in my study at ten tomorrow morning. We will discuss your future duties" He slammed the door shut as he left.
"You will be there" she muttered.
~o~
Later that night, while lying in bed she heard the faint mechanical noise as he locked her bedroom door. How easily the fortress became a prison, as if it wasn't already. It was the first time she could remember that he had checked on her at night. She smiled; at least he was giving her some credit for deviousness. She had made Klein promise not to help her; she didn't want to cost him his job. Father would cancel the car, send someone to unlock the door early in the morning then lie in wait near the lobby to gloat on his victory. Holding the locket she fell asleep thinking about a girl with an innocent smile and wide eyes that saw a world filled with love, bravery and adventure.
Sleeping lightly, she awoke the next morning before dawn. She quickly dressed and exited the room, pausing briefly to check her bedroom door opposite; it was still locked. After a quick walk to the roof, she descended using her glyphs landing outside the security perimeter at the rear of the building. Fog from her breath hung in pre-dawn cold as she adjusted her rapier and the straps on her backpack. She took a last look back at the house then set out towards the nearby hills. It would pay to be a long way away when her father realised she wasn't coming and discovered the case he had stolen contained only a lump of coal, her grandfather's famous token of failure.
~o~
Pausing at the top of the last rise, she looked back again. The house was lost from sight; five minutes to eight, barely three hours since she had woken up, back at the house her father was about to hit the roof. She smiled.
Turning back she took in the sight of her grandfather's old mine. The mine might be dead, long ago worked out, but much of what was built there remained, not just the company, but the friendships he had forged there. Those friendships had even outlived the man himself, as witnessed by the wizened smiling old man waving at her from beside a small mining transport sitting in the loading area of the mine. After a brief greeting he returned to the pilot's seat and waved her in. Taking off her pack she stepped into the small empty body of the transport, using her burden as a makeshift seat. Seconds later they were airborne. Secure in the knowledge that she would be out of Atlas airspace by the time her father finished checking roads and ports, she took out the locket and flipped it open.
The girl inside wore a expression of carefree exuberance while brandishing an outsize weapon. Her blue eyes were filled with dreams of her grandfather's heroic tales as a five year old Weiss tried to wield his sabre. She put away the picture, but the smile stayed out.