A/N: This is the beginning of a Schnee AU that my friend Slayer_ONE and I have been working on for quite some time, now, and we hope to continue if well-received. Please review and enjoy!

The sun's late-afternoon rays leaked in through a large, revealing bay window and lit up the spacious, two-person bedroom as quiet sounds of chatter filled the serene atmosphere. A little, white-haired girl of barely eight years of age laid sprawled on her stomach in the middle of the carpeted floor, humming contently to herself as she neatly scribbled inside the lines of a bubbly, cartoon snowman. Every so often, she stopped to pick up a new crayon, and gave the gray, slightly-worn teddy bear beside her a firm squeeze before she returned to the coloring book in front of her.

"Just a little more blue here... and done!" the girl exclaimed as she pushed herself up to her knees, and glanced across the room at her big sister. "Hey, Winter! What do you think?"

"And then he—" The older Schnee lowered her Scroll from her ear, and turned to her sister with a smile. "One moment, Violet."

Winter set the device face-up on her bed, and walked over to the little girl in the center of the room. She picked up the coloring book, and gave the drawing a critical eye as a grin painted her face.

"I think it belongs in a museum!" she told her sister with a knowing wink. "Or wherever you put priceless art like this. I'll have to pay the artist a lot of lien... I mean, they have so much talent! Do you know where I can find the artist so I can recommend them for such fine artwork?"

The younger girl giggled at Winter's assessment. "Do you think Father will like it? I want to hang it on the refrigerator."

"I'm sure he'll love it, Weissy." She passed the coloring book back to her sister, and was just about to lower herself to the carpet when a muffled voice sounded from her Scroll on the bed. She quickly walked back over to answer it. "One second, Violet. I'm talking with my sister."

Weiss furrowed her eyebrows. "It's okay, you can go back to talking to her, now. I just wanted your opinion..." She glanced down at her teddy bear with a shrug. "Mr. Slate didn't really have much to say."

Winter laughed. "Well maybe he was just having trouble making up his mind?"

"No, he doesn't like the way I color... It's probably the only thing we don't agree on." The smaller Schnee gave her bear an uncertain look before smiling back up at her sister. "But I'm glad you like it. I can always count on your word."

Her sister smirked. "Thank you, Weissy. I'm glad you hold me in such high regard."

"I'm holding you?" Weiss asked, confused.

To this, Winter just laughed once more. "It means you trust my opinion. I learned some new words in school today."

She grinned down at her sister until Violet's voice erupted from the Scroll again.

"Well, keep up the great work, Weissy. I'm sure with more practice, you'll become an even greater artist. I must now consult with my council—that's fancy talk for 'I'm going to speak with my friends.'"

She pressed her Scroll to her ear once more, and resumed her conversation with her best friend.

"So yeah, he totally walked up to me and acted like I was just another kid... What? No, I didn't fire him! ….No, his dad smacked him upside the head... Well, I guess that's what common people talk to each other like..."

Weiss went back to her coloring as Winter chatted away on her Scroll, and after a few moments, a knock sounded from the other side of the bedroom door. Weiss looked up at her sister to see if she would answer it, but when Winter made no further movements, Weiss lifted herself to her feet, and walked over to the door. She opened it, and smiled up at the tall, formally-dressed Wolf Faunus.

"Hello, Frank," she said.

He returned her smile. "Misses. Your father requests both of your presences in the dining room for dinner."

"I have to go, Violet," Winter said to her friend as she made eye-contact with the Faunus. "I'll talk to you later." She hung up her Scroll, and set it on her bed before running over to Frank, greeting him with a curtsy. "Good evening, Frank."

He returned the gesture with a bow, a smile still present on his face. "Good evening, Miss Schnee the Eldest." He cleared his throat. "Formalities aside, it is time for dinner, and you have a... guest waiting for you at the table."

Winter knitted her eyebrows together in curiosity. "A guest?"

"Indeed. I think it's best if you two meet her properly. Your father invited her personally to dine with you all tonight, so be on your best behavior, girls."

The older Schnee's smile slowly faded. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Frank frowned, however slightly. "Well, your father's guest isn't exactly the most... cooperative of people. Though I'm sure you two will be perfectly fine at dinner. Best be going, now."

"Wait!" Weiss shouted, running back to the center of the room to collect her bear. She carried him back over to the door where her sister and Frank were standing, and she followed them down the stairs to the dining room where they found their father discussing business with a pale blonde who appeared to be around the same age as Mr. Schnee.

Frank backed out of the dining room before either of the adults could acknowledge his presence, and Weiss started to walk toward her father with a smile.

"Father!"

Instead of holding his arms out for a hug like he usually did, however, the older man simply stood from his chair, and gave Weiss a curt nod. "Good evening, girls. I would like you to meet a... business partner of mine. I expect you to show her the same respect you would show any other member of the Schnee Dust Company."

Winter looked over at the chair where the woman was already sitting, and she frowned. She gave the woman a quick curtsy before taking her seat in her usual spot. "Good evening, Madam." She then nodded over at her father. "I'm dreadfully sorry for your busy day, father."

"Good evening to you as well. My name is Edith," the woman said, a hint of confusion in her voice. "And forgive me, but why do you think your father has had a busy day?"

Winter shrugged. "Well, it's quite obvious because he hasn't realized that you're in the wrong seat." Her tone was sincere and devoid of hostility, honestly believing her father to have made a mistake.

"Am I now?" Edith looked over at Mr. Schnee, eyebrow quirked.

"Yes you are," the elder daughter continued, pointing at a chair at the end of the table opposite Mr. Schnee. "Business partners sit at the foot of the table."

"And why do you say that?"

Winter furrowed her eyebrows at the woman's stubbornness. "Because that's what father said when I asked him. All of his business partners sit at the end of the table."

"I... see..." Edith stood from her spot, and Winter beamed up at her, thinking her actions to be helpful as the woman made her way to the end of the table and took her rightful seat.

Mr. Schnee gave his daughter a hardened look before turning around in his own chair, an expression Weiss had never seen the man direct toward a family member until now. She hugged her bear tighter to her chest as she walked over to the table and took her own seat, between her father and their guest.

"I don't believe I caught your name, sweetheart," the woman said to Weiss, and the younger girl just blinked up at her for a moment before giving her a short nod.

"My name is Weiss." She gave her a timid smile before holding out her bear in front of the woman. "And this is Mr. Slate."

Edith frowned at the stuffed animal. "Do you... bring that thing to dinner every night?"

Weiss instantly felt herself deflate at the word "thing", and she sunk back in her chair. "I... Yes, ma'am."

The woman raised an eyebrow before straightening her back, and forcing a smile. "Well, then."

Winter mimicked the hardened expression on her father's face, but directed it at Edith, not particularly fond of the tone she'd just used with her little sister. The woman impatiently tapped her long fingernails against the table's surface.

"Well, then, where are your servants? It's dinner time, isn't that correct?"

Mr. Schnee nodded. "Yes. They will be here shortly."

A thick silence filled the room until their food arrived a few moments later, each of the Schnees thanking their servers as plates were set before them. Edith, however, remained stagnant as the servants left the room, and she looked down at her food.

"Is everything alright?" Mr. Schnee asked his guest, his tone noticeably softer than before.

"Perfect, thank you," she responded simply before digging into her meal.

He cut into his smoked turkey breast, and gave the woman a kind smile as he took a bite of his dinner. Weiss just pushed her food around with her fork, nibbling every now and then at her turkey, but leaving her peas and mashed potatoes untouched.

"Weiss, eat your vegetables," her father told her. "And please don't slouch."

The smaller girl sat up straight, and scowled at the tiny, green vegetables. She stabbed a pea with her fork, and ate it grudgingly. He didn't even ask me how my day was...

"Well, I'm glad you've gotten respite from your work today," Winter said to her father after a few moments of stiff silence. "So, Weissy. How is—"

"Winter," Mr. Schnee interrupted, giving her a sharp nod. "Can we please have silence? It is time to eat, not talk."

The older girl frowned, but she didn't protest as she ate her dinner. Once Weiss finished at least half of her peas, she braved a look at her sister. Winter didn't make eye contact with anyone as she hurriedly finished her food, though, and Weiss sighed as she squeezed Mr. Slate with her right hand. After everyone had finished their meals—or, at least half-finished—another servant stepped into the room to clear the table, and Edith turned her attention to Weiss.

"I couldn't help but notice you were holding your utensils with your left hand."

Weiss nodded. "I'm left-handed."

The woman's expression was unreadable. "Well, that's certainly interesting. You appear to be the only one who is so."

"My Daddy was left-handed," Weiss stated without first thinking about her words.

"I see..." Edith's curious tone was quickly replaced with a more stern one. "Well, it's certainly a very... unique quality."

Weiss simply shrugged. "I don't think about it much... unless I'm working on an assignment in class and one of the students next to me bumps my elbow." She gave Edith a half-smile. "But I guess it makes me special, since everyone else in the class uses their right hand."

"I see. And how are your grades in school?" she asked the young Schnee, eager to change the subject.

"Weiss is at the top of her class, as is Winter in hers," Mr. Schnee answered for his daughters.

She gave the man a smile of approval, the first smile any of them had seen all throughout dinner. "Very impressive... So, Winter, correct?"

Winter lifted her royal blue gaze to the woman's maroon. "Yes, ma'am."

"Am I right that you are the heiress to the company?"

"You are correct, ma'am."

Edith smiled, seemingly impressed by Winter's formal and polite responses. "Well, Mr. Schnee, I must say that your heiress is a very lovely lady. Her manners are astounding."

A grin spread across the older man's face. "Well, she is a Schnee. We are the finest of them all."

Weiss practically gagged at the over-zealousness in his voice, but she drowned out the two adults as she picked up her bear, and turned him to face her. I hope dessert comes soon... I want to go back upstairs and play.

"Yes, thank you, Miss..." Winter trailed off, suddenly remembering she hadn't caught the woman's last name.

The woman nodded. "You can just call me Edith."

"Oh... Well, thank you, Edith."

Dessert was brought out a few minutes later, and several small slices of cake were placed in front of each occupied seat. Both girls' faces lit up at the sight of the sweet, tasty treat, and Winter grinned as she scooped up a piece with fork, and began to dig in. Her smile faded a moment later, however, whenever she realized the dessert was anything but sweet.

Weiss furrowed her eyebrows at her sister's expression before she took a bite of her own cake. She almost spit it back out when the dry, flavorless crumbs assaulted her tongue, but knowing that would be rude, she forced herself to finish at least the first slice before turning to look at her father.

"Um, Father?"

Mr. Schnee nodded at his youngest daughter. "Yes, Weiss?"

She let out a hesitant hum. "I... I'm full. May I please be excused?"

The older man just frowned. "You hardly touched your dinner, and now you've barely eaten dessert. Are you feeling well?"

She shook her head, hoping that if she admitted to feeling under the weather, it would get her out of that awkward meeting.

Her father sighed, and turned his attention toward his eldest daughter. "Winter, will you escort your sister upstairs and see that she gets ready for bed?"

"But it's only—" Weiss began to protest, but her father quickly cut her off.

"If you're not feeling well, you need to rest. Is that understood?"

She nodded slowly, and stood from her chair. "Good night, Father..."

"Good night."

Weiss picked up her bear, and turned to Edith before leaving the table. "Good night. It was nice to meet you." She walked toward the exit, and waited for Winter to join her.

The older Schnee stood, and curtsied before Edith. "It was a pleasure meeting you." She made her way over to Weiss, and offered her a hand, which Weiss gladly accepted. "Come on, Weissy. Time to get you ready for bed."

Winter and Weiss walked down the hall, and once they were sure they were out of earshot, Winter smiled down at her sister. "Well... That was certainly an interesting dinner."

Weiss just frowned. "Why was Father acting like that? He usually isn't like that toward us, even during business dinners..."

"I don't know, but thankfully, it's not going to be a common occurrence." She sighed. "I mean, Father rarely brings business partners back multiple nights in a row. Also, I hope she doesn't get what she's trying to get out of him. She's not that nice of a person."

"She called Mr. Slate a thing..." They started back up the stairs as Weiss held her teddy bear out in front of her again. "Don't listen to that mean lady, buddy... You're not a thing, you're a friend."

Winter gave her a knowing smile. "Not only that, but he's pretty much part of the family, right? I mean, he comes with us practically everywhere we go, and you do talk to him a lot."

Weiss returned her smile. "Yeah." When they finally made it up to their room, Weiss walked over to her bed, and plopped down on her back. She wasn't even tired, but she knew that her father would come to check on her soon to make sure that she kept her promise.

"Weissy, aren't you forgetting something?"

The smaller Schnee looked up at her sister, and groaned when she saw her holding out a fresh nightgown. She got up from her bed, and grabbed the pajamas from Winter before disappearing into the bathroom across the hall to change and brush her teeth. She walked back over to her bed, and crawled underneath the sheets.

"Will you at least keep me company?" she asked her sister. "I know you said you'd call your friend back, but..."

"It's fine, Weiss. I'll call Violet back tomorrow. You're my sister." She smiled. "So what do you want to do?"

"I'm supposed to be going to bed..." She let out an exasperated sigh. "Could you tell me a story?"

Winter grinned. "Of course, Weissy. Just let me get changed real quick."

She hurried to her dresser and culled out her own nightgown, rushing to the bathroom to change. Once finished, she went back to their shared bedroom, and climbed into bed with Weiss.

Her sister beamed up at her. "That was fast!"

"Yep. So, are you ready for your story?" Weiss nodded as she pulled her blanket tightly around herself and Mr. Slate, holding him close as Winter began her tale. "Once upon a time..."

And so Winter told Weiss an adventure filled with princesses, monsters, and heroes. The evil witch was the newest villain in tonight's story as good and evil battled for victory. At points it seemed the witch would win, but in the end the heroes won.

"...And so the princess defeated the evil witch, and banished her from the entire kingdom! And after that, she and her prince lived happily ever after."

"That was a—" the smaller girl let out a squeaky yawn, "—nice story. Can you tell it again?"

Winter gave her a soft smile as Weiss's eyes began to flutter closed. "Maybe tomorrow night, Weissy. Right now, it's time for bed." She placed a kiss on Weiss's forehead before getting comfortable underneath the blankets, the younger girl quickly drifting off to sleep beside her. Just as Winter was about to surrender to sleep herself, the sound of the bedroom door opening kept her awake.

Her father stood in the doorway, his expression hidden in the dark of the room. "Winter?"

"Yes, father?" she asked, lifting her head from the pillow she shared with Weiss.

"I'm very proud of you and your sister tonight. I thought that I should inform you that Edith will be coming for dinner again this weekend."

Winter frowned, glad that her father could not see her face. When she did not speak up, her father called out once again.

"Winter?"

"I... see... Good night, Father." The pale girl lowered her head back to the pillow, and turned her back toward her father, hoping he would take the hint and leave her in peace.

"Good night, Winter." He shut the door behind him on his way out, Winter holding her breath until she could no longer hear the man's footsteps down the hall. She released it as soon as she knew he was gone, and snuggled close to her sister, the only solace to her growing worry that Edith would somehow find a way to worm her way into the Schnees' perfect little lives. After a while, Winter could not fight her exhaustion anymore, and she slowly fell hostage to a deep, comfortable sleep.