"Hey Ruby!" Yang called out from the hallway as she saw Ruby and Jaune playing video games against each other. Blake lounged on the nearby bed her eyes fixated on a book and Weiss was carefully wrapping the last of her gifts.
"YANG!" Ruby shouted and jumped at her sister
"I got this book from dad I thought you might like to read it" Yang replied
"YES! LETS READ IT AS A TEAM!" Ruby shouted
"Hey can I join in?" Jaune asked
"Sure why not" Blake replied getting off her bed as Yang, Ruby, Jaune, and Blake looked at Weiss
"Fine!" Weiss sighed before coming over
"So which one should we read first?" Yang said opening the cover
A flash of light filled the room and the open book lay on the ground team RWBY and Jaune were nowhere to be seen
Weiss woke up to the sound of explosions, no... artillery, hitting concrete above her. The entire room shook as a man in his 40s walked into the room, he had a small bucket helmet with a spearpoint on the top of it. He was wearing a rather large trench coat and had a gas mask along with various other implements and tools strapped to his belt.
"Ah so you're awake miss, don't worry your secret is safe with me" the man said in perfect German
"Where am I?" Weiss replied, also surprisingly in German
"The frontline trenches of Ypres, in the middle of a bloody war!" the man said
"Who are you?" Weiss asked
"Hans von Richthofen, the medical officer, and you are?" the man replied
"Weiss Schnee" Weiss answered
"Well Ms Schnee or should I say, sir" he said pointing to the silver lace on her collar and the rings of silver lace on her cuffs indicating the rank of Field Lieutenant.
"Call me what you wish", Weiss said, "how did I get here?"
"One minute one of my men were firing at the enemy and the next he found you passed out in No Man's Land, you were wearing that uniform so the brave young lad pulled you back here.
"I…" Weiss stuttered as she tried to sit up in the bed
"You need to rest, your arm is broken and your hair was burnt to a crisp"
Weiss looked in a mirror that Hans had given her to find that her ponytail was missing and her right arm was in a cast an officer's sword lay beside the bed.
Weiss let out a sigh.
"Besides", Hans continued, "the bombardment isn't going to stop for a while"
Another explosion shook the room and a voice called out
"The bombardment is over!"
"I guess it's safe to go out now Schnee, the bombardments won't be going on for the next few days, the artillery will be waiting for the supply convoy to arrive. Though I suggest you pass yourself off as a lad otherwise you'll be in for some trouble with the brass and the boys" Hans said as he left the room
Weiss sat up on the bed as a rat scurried past her, giving her a rather disdainful look before disappearing into a hole in the wall. Weiss got up and grabbed the officer's sword, a rapier like weapon, and secured the sheathe to her belt. From down the hallways of the trench Weiss could hear men shouting at each other, the trenches were filled with rain and slush. The damp, stale air choking Weiss as she moved to where the men were shouting.
"Attention!" a call went out as the men stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention as Weiss entered the front trench and all the men stared at her. Weiss looked stunned for a moment and quickly regained her composure and said.
"At ease, return to whatever you were doing".
Before walking down the trench to see various soldiers putting up candles on the ground above them.
"Soldier, an inquiry" Weiss asked a nearby fellow who looked no older than 18
"Yes sir what is it" the soldier replied nervously obviously wondering why an officer was actually being polite to him.
"Won't the enemy see the candles?" Weiss asked
"Yes sir, but it's a tradition, besides they can't shoot us unless we stick our heads above the trenches so there really isn't any danger" the soldier answered before taking off his helmet, putting it on a stick, and holding it in the air where not a moment later it was struck by a bullet.
"I see, well then, carry on. And thank you" Weiss replied
"Merry Christmas Sir!" The soldier replied as he walked through the trenches humming to the tune of of a christmas carol.
Weiss grabbed a nearby candle and lit it on a man's cigar before putting it on top of the trench, it might serve her well to get to know the customs of these people. She heard shouting further down the trench and moved so she could hear it
"Merry Christmas! How is Chelsea doing!?" A german soldier shouted across the trench in english
"Terrible as always my good chap! they haven't won a match in years! An Merry Christmas to you too!" A voice that sounded distinctly british shouted back and both the soldier and the british voice broke out in laughter.
"You're talking, with the enemy…" Weiss said while breathing down the neck of the german soldier who was a moment ago laughing his face off.
"I'm sorry sir but this war isn't personal, if it were up to us the war would already be over" the soldier said nervously before showing Weiss to a periscope. Weiss sighed and let the soldier resume his conversation before looking out of the periscope to a sight that would have caused anyone to throw up.
The landscape was charred and cratered, the one hundred metres between the trenches marked by barbed wire fences and landmines. Dead men on both sides lay everywhere, their blood staining the scorched earth a sickly red. The snow had come but only in a few areas, most of it blown away by the artillery. What shocked her the most was the state the dead men were in, there were dismembered arms, legs, and charred skeletons everywhere as silver dog tags glistened like shards of glass in the evening light, it was truly horrifying and yet so serene. Weiss looked away with her hand over her mouth and made her way to the bathroom.
Nighttime came and the burning candles marked the front trench, Weiss had just finished throwing up whatever she had left in her stomach using the washroom, which was little more than a deep hole in the ground overflowing with human feces. From down the trench Weiss heard singing and went to investigate.
"Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!" the voices sang as Weiss moved down the candlelight of the trenches.
"Alles schläft; einsam wacht" Weiss could hear the voices grow louder
"Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar" the voices grew louder still as Weiss came closer to the sound
"Holder Knab' im lockigen Haar" the voices softened in this line of the song as Weiss turned the corner
"Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!" The voices broke out in a great crescendo.
Before becoming quiet and with a near whisper sang "Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh".
As Weiss sat down beside the singing men a reply came from the opposite trench
"Silent night!" the voices of the british soldiers rang out
"Holy Night" the tones tenors and the baritones carried their way across the battlefield
"Shepherds quake!" A bagpipe from the British trench joined in as a german violinist began to play a soft harmony, "At the sight!"
"Glory streams from heaven afar" a lone harmonica joined the melody
"Heavenly hosts sing alleluia"
"Sleep in heavenly peace!" the music flowed it's way across the barbed wire fences, through the craters made by artillery shells and over the bodies of the dead flanked by rivers of blood.
"Sleep in heavenly peace"
Weiss stood there shocked at what she had witnessed, but a smile came to her face as she put her hand on the officer's sword and walked into the middle of the group.
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your song but perhaps, because it's Christmas, we should allow for a temporary truce at least to give the dead a proper burial," Weiss said to the soldiers, "and please there is no need to stand at attention when I arrive"
"I'd have to agree with the Lieutenant on that!" a rather drunken captain said as he finished the last of his bottle "what's your name son?"
"Weiss Schnee" Weiss replied her hand on the rapier at her side
"That explains a lot!" the captain shouted "Your hair is white! Snow White!, hahaha"
"Yes thank you for the observation" Weiss said, the captain was starting to remind her a bit too much of Ruby's Uncle Qrow, the way his hair was slicked back and the subble of a beard he had growing on his chin was all too, familiar.
"You know what, I'm gonna call you Ice Queen!" he said "You might be a boy but you look, and sound, like a girl"
"I would prefer if you didn't call me that" Weiss replied knowing full well from Winter's stories that shouting at a higher ranked officer wasn't the best of ideas.
"Well Ice Queen, my name's Niels Forst" the man said, "Hope you're good to help us out!"
The captain went away laughing and Hans came towards Weiss.
"Don't mind him" Hans said "he's always giving people nicknames, he once called me private bowling ball."
"He was DRUNK!" Weiss shouted angrily
"He's always drunk!" a nearby soldier said to which Weiss simply sighed
"He actually listened to you, shows how much he actually respects you, Ice Queen" a nearby soldier said
Weiss only sighed, it looked like she was never going to be rid of that moniker and only looked up when she heard a shout.
"CEASEFIRE! CEASEFIRE!" the drunken voice shouted loudly towards the British lines "WE WILL STOP SHOOTING AT MIDNIGHT UNTIL THE SAME HOUR TOMORROW TO BURY OUR DEAD, I SUGGEST YOU DO THE SAME!"
Weiss and the other soldiers sang carols until she began to fall asleep.
Weiss awoke to the sound of a loud whistle and saw men scurrying about trying to find shovels. She made her way to the front trench again and looked out of the periscope towards No Man's Land and saw a peculiar sight. A blonde boy had stuck his head up from the other trench and after verifying that he wouldn't get shot he climbed out of the trench and dropped his weapons to the ground before slowly, and somewhat clumsily walking his way through the maze of barbed wire fences and avoiding the craters that dotted the tiny strip of land.
Weiss decided that she would go and meet the boy and climbed out of the trench and walked confidently through No Man's Land, the bodies of the dead littering the ground. As the two approached each other the boy ran out towards Weiss.
"Weiss!" he called out before hitting her with a hug.
"Jaune!?" Weiss said recognizing the annoying voice of team JNPR's leader before struggling with the awkward hug she was put in before hugging him back. And at that sight a big "HURRAH" came from the trenches on both sides as the two sides came over the top, but not with guns and grenades but with gifts and musical instruments and shovels and benches.
The men from both sides began to comb through the mass of limbs that scattered the battlefield while others dug holes in the frozen ground. Still others gathered the dog tags from their resting places and set them into books. As the afternoon started the mass burials began, the soldiers buried their fallen brothers their names read by a priest before their remains were lowered into the ground and buried over crude wooden crosses that were hastily put together with barbed wire and planks the only thing marking their place of rest.
"...May you rest in peace" both priests finished and the solemn ceremony was over.
Weiss and Jaune stood staring at the unmarked graves in complete silence as they held a sorrowful yet contemplative looks on their faces.
"Hey Weiss, I was thinking.." Jaune started
"what if we end up like this" Weiss finished, "Dead in an unmarked grave our bodies torn apart beyond recognition"
"Is that what it means to be a Huntsman, a hero?" Jaune asked
"I don't know, but fighting these people are certainly different from fighting the Grimm" Weiss answered
"I meant the White Fang, and us. I'll bet you half these guys who we buried thought that they were going to be heroes defending their friends or their freedom and that the enemy was just a bunch of savage animals" Jaune said
"Maybe…" Weiss said remembering the incident with Blake a few weeks back.
"It just seems weird to look at your enemy and realize that they are no different from you" Jaune continued, "it's.."
"Disturbing" Weiss finished.
"Yeah" Jaune said
"So is this your fiance?" a british voice spoke from behind the two
"WHAAT" Jaune and Weiss shouted in shock just as Weiss realized what was going on and slapped Jaune across the face.
"Ow" Jaune said "Look Sir she's not my fiance, she's just a good friend"
"That slap tells me she's more than just a friend" the man said " at least introduce me lad"
"Um, Weiss, this Captain Bruce Bairnsfather, Sir this is Weiss Schnee, not my fiance" Jaune said nervously
"A pleasure" Weiss said holding out her hand
"The pleasure is mine" said Bruce "I didn't know the Kaiser let women into his army"
Weiss desperately needed a lie to buy time, and a good motivator...she could think of only one reason a girl would join the army that could convince this man not to rat her out.
"The Kaiser didn't, I snuck into the army so I could see my love again" Weiss said before passionately kissing Jaune
"Wait what?" Jaune mumbled blushing
"Just play along!" Weiss whispered as she pulled away
"I see you fancy Mr Arc here, well he's a lucky man to have an officer as his bride!" the captain laughed before turning to everyone else "Oi! Did you guys hear! Arc has lover!"
"Oh no.." thought Weiss, was Jaune's luck starting to rub off on her! Now she felt in an instant that she had dug herself a hole deeper than the deepest of trenches.
Weiss had to play it off somehow "How did you see through my disguise!" she stammered
"I know a lass when I see one" Bruce said "You were too pretty to be a boy"
"hmph" was all that Weiss said
"Well that tells me alot!" Captain Forst said still drunk on alcohol "Looks like Ice Queen has feelings for someone after all!"
Weiss could hear the groans of soldiers who had lost a bet with the captain as they handed over their money and the two Captains shared a drink over some wine to discuss the terms of the truce eventually agreeing that it would be extended until the new year. A few men were visiting with each other and exchanging news about events back at home and any information from loved ones that got stuck on the other side of the war. Some men were exchanging buttons and other small trinkets as gifts, others were choosing to trade cigar, wines and whiskeys. and most of the evening was spent that way. Weiss and Jaune spent most of the time wandering around No Man's Land awkwardly arm in arm while talking to various soldiers about everything from the weather to Weiss, to how they got together. Weiss was thankful that Jaune was such a good liar at the moment.
As dusk fell the Germans and the British brought out three christmas trees, two of equal height and one taller one, and set them up in the middle of No Man's Land decorating them with shoelaces, dog tags, and the occasional candle. The benches were arranged into three columns as the men began to sit down, the Scots Guard decided that they were going to put on a concert and the german musicians were keen to get in on the game of one-upmanship.
So the two bands started playing carols and the night was dark save for the shining of the stars through the gaps in the clouds and any lanterns the soldiers had brought with them. Both sides had choirs that sang the night away in beautiful melodies.
"There's something missing" Hans, Captain Bruce and Captain Forst all said in unison before shouting "THE STAR!"
"But do any of us have a star?" the officers looked at each other and they all shook their heads until Jaune intervened
"Um I may have an idea" Jaune said
"What's your idea" the three officers said, Jaune merely pointed to the girl on his arm.
"Weiss, we can use your Glyphs to create a star, sure it might look more like a snowflake but I think that it'll be fine." Jaune said
"Fine" Weiss sighed "but you owe me whatever food you have left."
"Ok, but you have to sing at least once" Jaune said with an air of authority
Weiss sighed again before taking her place on the stage and facing the trees as the bagpipers finished playing a rousing rendition of "The First Noel".
Weiss drew her sword and waved it in a circle causing fifteen small glyphs to appear before shooting away and attaching themselves to the trees. She then waved her sword over the top of her head and three large white glyphs appeared above each tree each glyph spinning for a moment before stopping and shining brilliantly giving the stage an ambient light.
Weiss began to sing, and the german violins joined in
"Stille Nacht!" Heil'ge Nacht!" the sound of vocals and violins resonated on the makeshift stage
"Alles schläft; einsam wacht" the music flowed through the rows on rows of makeshift crosses and unmarked graves
"Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar" the soft melody wound it's way through the scarred landscape bringing hope to the desolation
"Holder Knab' im lockigen Haar" the music resonated within the hearts of the men who sat there some starting to cry
"Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!" and in one moment it seemed as if heaven and earth were one
"Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh" before peacefully separating
At this point all the soldiers were quiet, not a sound was heard and even the violins had stopped playing since the voice of the Snow Angel had shocked them all and Jaune was smiling like a little kid. Weiss began to sing again
"Silent night! Holy Night" the words echoed off the clouds in an angelic fashion
"Shepherds quake! At the sight!" the earth answered the call
"Glory streams from heaven afar" the moon shone through a hole in the clouds
"Heavenly hosts sing alleluia" as the moonbeams seemed to illuminate Weiss in an angelic light
"Sleep in heavenly peace!" and earth and heaven seemed to have touched again
"Sleep in heavenly peace" before peacefully drifting away.
No one moved, for a few minutes the former battlefield was quiet save for the weeping of men. But a single man, a certain Jaune Arc, stood up and gave a standing ovation and everyone else followed suit be it British or German. Jaune came up to the stage and took Weiss's arm in his own and before they could step off of it Hans and Captain Bruce came up.
"I've spent a lot of time on this, and I think you deserve it, besides it's not everyday you see and angel" Hans said as he pulled a case from his belt.
"To deal with the Lady I'm going to give you this Mr Arc, I think she'll be quite a handful" Bruce said passing Jaune his officer's sword
"Thank you" both Weiss and Jaune replied as Weiss opened the case to reveal a glass snowflake and Jaune inspected his sword.
"So what now" Weiss asked "I mean I guess you could say we got trapped in a fairytale"
"I don't know, maybe this is the part where we kiss?" Jaune said sheepishly
"Maybe" Weiss said
Jaune moved in for a slow kiss and Weiss accepted it and a few seconds after their lips met they were gone in a flash of light. the only trace of their existence the glyphs remaining on the trees and the memories of the men.
Weiss and Jaune appeared in front of a surprised Ren, still kissing, and Weiss promptly slapped Jaune in the face
"Don't worry, I read the story, I won't tell anyone" Ren said before quietly leaving the room.
"Well I guess we weren't the only ones trapped in a fairytale, let's go and rescue the rest of team RWBY" Jaune said
"For one I agree you" Weiss said
"and please, no more slapping"