Blake drummed her fingers nervously on her leg as the armored limo wound its way through the streets of Atlas City. "You all right, boss?" Yang said, looking back at her in the rear-view mirror from the driver's seat. "I haven't seen you this twitchy in a while. Not since that last job we did for Ozpin and Goodwitch."
"I'm good, Yang. This job...it's one of the diciest we've ever done. Really ambitious, and too much improvisation. And that last job for Ozpin was worse. We went into that with no plan past the front door."
"This is gonna be epic," Yang's sister Ruby chortled from the seat next to Yang where she was checking her weapons. "Grand theft princess, how many mercs can ever say they've done that? A story like this, good for a lotta drinks."
"Easy, Ruby." One side of Blake's mouth crept up in a small smile as she checked her inside jacket pocket. "If all goes according to plan, we'll pull this off without firing a shot. Everything we need is right here."
"Then why'd we bring the guns and the armored limo?" Ruby slapped a clip into her assault rifle and worked the bolt.
"Because there's always the chance somebody will get mad and do something stupid, Rubes. Showtime, boss," Yang said as she hit the button, raising the divider between the passenger compartment and the driver's seat.
Tonight the palace was lit up even more brightly than usual. It was a celebration, after all, the official announcement of Princess Weiss's engagement to Lord Cardin Winchester. Blake smiled for the cameras as she stepped from the back seat of the limo. Any guest invited to an event like this would be marked as worthy of note, but she and the sisters had earned a bit of fame in their own right. When Weiss had been kidnapped a year ago, the three mercenaries had rescued her, ending in a harrowing high-speed chase through the capital of Vacuo.
Blake nodded at Klein where he was standing in a window, watching for her arrival. Good, he was ready to play his part in tonight's festivities. "Miss Belladonna, how good of you to come." Weiss's brother Whitley greeted her graciously at the door, although Blake knew he and Weiss's father were less than pleased with her inclusion. Blake was the only guest Weiss had insisted on tonight; the rest were the king's political favorites and other 'people of importance.'
She gave him her most sincere smile as he kissed the back of her hand. "How could I miss this? Rescuing Weiss was the greatest thing I've ever done, and I couldn't miss seeing her off on another grand adventure."
Whitley stopped, giving her a puzzled look. "'Grand adventure,' Miss Belladonna? What are you talking about?'
"Marriage. I hear it's the grandest adventure of all." Blake left Weiss's brother behind as she made her way towards the ballroom where the announcement was to be made. Little snake was probably still puzzled by what she'd said. Good. Blake had met him several times when visiting the palace, and every time he'd made her trigger finger itch. Even now, she missed the familiar weight of her weapons, but there was no way she could have gotten them past security. It was a risk even having them in the car with Yang and Ruby, but if someone asked, Blake hoped she could pass it off as understandable professional paranoia.
Blake stepped into the ballroom, laughing to herself as she scanned the room for threats. There weren't likely to be any physical threats here; the people here maimed and killed with things like laws and corporate policy, destroying far more lives than she could normally ever hope to touch. Blake smiled as she lifted a glass of champagne from a passing server's tray; tonight she was going to do an incredible amount of 'damage' with a single sheet of paper.
She spotted the king on the ballroom's upper level, Princess Winter and Princess Weiss close by. Of course he was keeping Weiss close tonight; no sense risking her getting away this close to her engagement. Blake had only seen her once in the last week, and that barely for an hour. Blake made sure she had Weiss's eye for a moment and raised her glass in a toast, Weiss returning the gesture with a single small nod. Perfect. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Blake milled about and made small talk until the time for the engagement drew near. Officially it was a surprise, but everyone who was anyone (plus one raven-haired cat Faunus) knew the announcement was tonight. She had to give most of the other guests credit, though. Even though most of them probably thought Blake should be serving drinks or cleaning a room somewhere, they smiled and made nice, expressing their appreciation for Blake's rescue of Weiss last year. Blake smiled and made nice back, professing modesty and claiming it had been 'just another Tuesday' in the life of a mercenary. In truth, it had been a damned dicey job, and Weiss had made sure Blake, Ruby, and Yang were paid quite well afterward. She even got several offers of work, which she politely deferred on, claiming 'pressing current contracts.'
Eventually, Weiss caught Blake's eye, giving her another nod. Showtime. Blake wandered apparently aimlessly into position near the grand staircase to the upper level, her hands clammy with sweat. Timing was going to be everything.
The king stood at the top of the staircase, straightening his collar as he cleared his throat. A hush of anticipation fell over the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for coming here tonight. Although I take great joy in being your king, tonight I find myself holding a greater joy in my heart. It gives me great pleasure to announce the engagement of my daughter, Princess Weiss Schnee, to Lord Cardin Winchester." Polite applause filled the room, and Blake couldn't have dreamed of a better setup line for what came next.
"Pardon me, your majesty, I know I'm just a 'common mercenary' and not practiced in law," Blake's voice was practiced to carry across a firefight; it carried perfectly the stunned silence of the ballroom, "but shouldn't the princess's wife have something to say about that?" She climbed the staircase as she spoke, stopping halfway up. "I mean, poly marriages are legal in Atlas, just like Vacuo, but isn't it also part of the law that you need the consent of existing spouses?"
It took Jacques Schnee a moment to recover. "That's nonsense. Weiss isn't married. And I will ask you to leave now."
"Not just yet." Blake's hand slid inside her jacket, pulling out the piece of paper hiding there. "Ah, Lord Rinald, you're Chief Justice of the High Court of Atlas. Certainly, you should know what a marriage certificate looks like?" He damn well better, he's been married three times and seems to be working on a fourth, if that bimbo on his arm is any indication. Blake climbed the rest of the stairs and handed the paper to the stunned nobleman. "Here, I'd like a legal opinion, and you seem to be handy."
Lord Rinald frowned as he scanned the page. "This, this certainly has the appearance of a valid marriage certificate. It's dated six months ago, in Vacuo, and lists the married parties as..." Rinald's voice faltered, but he drew a ragged breath and forged on. "The married parties are listed as Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna. Of course, to be certain I would have to check the registry," he finished weakly, looking at the king.
Any trace of civility vanished Jacques's faces like a desert mirage. "Get out," he hissed, "and take that fraud with you. There is no way Weiss would dare-"
"Actually, I did. And I asked her to marry me, not the other way around." Weiss stepped around her father to stand next to Blake, sliding her right arm through Blake's left. "You never ask me what I want, Father," Weiss's voice dripped with venom, "so I finally went and took it. This is mine, and you can't take it from me. Shall we go, Blake? The evening seems quite ruined."
Enraged, Jacques his arm to slap Weiss, only to find it blocked by Blake. "I think that might be best. Your father seems a bit shocked; it might be best give him time." The pair turned and made their way down the staircase, the stunned crowd parting before them without a word.
[break]
By the time their limo reached the airship port, the media was already in a frenzy. Yang pulled the limo up to the VIP entrance and Ruby jumped out to open the passenger door, Blake stepping out first and leaning back to help Weiss. The crowd of reporters surged towards the car, snapping pictures and shouting questions. "Back UP, people! Give 'em room, we've got an airship to catch!" Ruby yelled, punctuating it with a shotgun blast into the air.
Silence reigned for a moment before the reporters started yelling questions again, this time not so closely. "Princess Weiss, what about rumors this 'marriage' of yours is nothing but a sham, a crude ploy to shame your father?"
Weiss humphed. "I'll show you a sham," she replied, pulling Blake in for a long, deep kiss. Blake wrapped her arms around Weiss and two of them stood there until Yang shoved them towards the terminal with a laugh. "Save it for your stateroom, you two crazy lovebirds."
The four of them made their way through the airship, Blake and Weiss laughing and waving to the crowd. Ruby and Yang trailed behind, watching for threats. "You know," Weiss laughed as she congratulated a pair of young men who'd been inspired to get married by the news, "we never have had a proper wedding dance, have we?"
"I...don't know any Atlas dances," Blake blushed.
"Then I shall have to teach you. I happen to know you are quite graceful and light on your feet." And Blake found herself caught up in an impromptu dance lesson in the middle of the terminal, laughing as they whirled around in a lively dance. Soon other couples had joined them, the watching crowd laughing and clapping out a rhythm.
Eventually, the pair had to pause, breathing hard from the dancing. "I think we should go," Blake murmured into Weiss's ear. "I'm seeing a few too many 'professional' types in the crowd."
Weiss nodded and the pair bowed to a cheering crowd and made their exit, reporters still trailing along behind. As they approached the gate where their airship was docked, a phalanx of airport security blocked their way. "I'm sorry, your highness, but we've been told not to allow you to board this airship."
"On whose authority?" Weiss's voice was sharp and angry as she tried to shove past, but the security man stood firm.
"We've been told not to allow you to board, given that the...legal ramifications of your marriage have yet to be resolved."
Blake snorted, getting up in his face. "Here's some 'legal ramifications' for you: Her dad's trying to pull some bullshit here. See, once we're on that airship, we're legally in Menagerie. And since I'm a citizen of Menagerie, Weiss legally is one too, once she's aboard. So why don't you back up and let me take my wife home to meet my parents, hmm?"
"And I might add that Blake's father is the Chieftain of Menagerie?" Weiss gave him a sweet-yet-nasty smile. "Wouldn't that be a bit of a diplomatic incident?"
"I, uh-"
"Listen, peaches," Yang stepped forward and laid a friendly arm across his shoulders. "I get the fix you're in. Your bosses are in a bad spot, not wanting to piss the king off and all, so they're throwing you to the wolves. You see that, right? See, either way, if it turns out badly for them, they can just blame you. Now, here's what I'd do. Say you got caught up in the romance of it all and let them aboard, after you and your guys got a picture with the lucky couple, of course. Otherwise, you and your boys get to tangle with three highly-trained mercenaries and the terminal gets shot up in the process. And maybe the princess catches a round along the way, who knows? Anything could happen." Ruby started whistling and pointing the shotgun she was still carrying anywhere but at the security guards. "So let's all pose for the camera, and the four of us can be on our way. What do you say?"
In the end, one of the airship stewards took the picture, although Ruby ended up surrendering her shotgun with an "Awwww." Weiss laughed and promised to buy Ruby another shotgun when they reached Menagerie.
Yang shut the door to the aptly-named Royal suite with a sigh of relief. "Alright! Mischief managed. All it took was limo rental and a fake marriage certificate. Whoever you got to forge that sure earned their pay tonight."
"Actually, it's not a fake," Weiss replied, staring out the window at the lights of Atlas City.
Ruby squawked "What?" missing the couch she was in the middle of sitting on and landing on the deck with a thump. "Owww," she moaned, rubbing her sore rear end.
"Oh hush, Rubes, I've heard you complain less about being shot. And does that mean you two are really married? I mean, really for reals married?" Yang crossed her arms, looking back and forth between Weiss and Blake.
"Of course." Weiss's voice was calm as she spoke. "If I'm to break with my father, once and for all, this has to be ironclad. It may be a marriage of convenience, but he can hardly fault me for that, given what he was about to force me into with Cardin, now can he?"
"R-right, an ironclad marriage of convenience," Blake added.
Ruby sat gingerly on the couch, making sure where it was with a hand this time. "We're still getting paid, right? A cool quarter million Lien each, that's what we were promised."
"Indeed. Speaking of which, care to unzip me, Blake?" Weiss turned around, raising her arms, and Blake stepped forward to undo the zipper on Weiss's ball gown.
"H-hey, isn't unwrapping your new bride normally something you do in private?" Ruby had her eyes covered in embarrassment.
All Yang could do was shake her head and laugh. "Sis, we have got to get you laid." Ruby just blushed and cringed more.
Sewn into the lining of Weiss's ball gown were bearer bonds. "Two million Lien in bearer bonds. That's a quarter million for each of you, and the rest for me. Enough to set me up in, say, Vale, in comfort, if I budget correctly. Plus copies of my father's black files. If necessary, those should muddy the waters and make it harder for him to drag me back."
There was an insistent knocking at the door to the suite. "Open up, Blake. I know you're in there. Let's talk about this like professionals, okay?"