Let us start with something other than the beginning.

Prologue.

The girl in the red hood left the dining room where she had just finished dinner with Nora, Ren, Jaune and her sister. The conversation was incredible, that was clear by the cheerful atmosphere and the laughter that was heard. It's really been a long time since they could simply sit down to talk, even after working on some missions together they still felt like they had a lot to talk about. But something felt missing to the hooded girl, even if the dining room was full of life and good company it felt empty because of the absence of a certain blue-eyed girl. It is not the first time that she skips the conversation after dinner but the hooded could not help but be worried, especially because she has been doing this for a while and this time the girl skipped dinner entirely.

The silver-eyed girl walked the corridors for a while, she didn't know exactly where to find the person she was looking for but that wouldn't stop her from trying. The white-haired girl has been acting strange lately, she could tell by the way she remained quiet during team conversations, something quite unusual considering that the girl is one to always express what she thinks. For all this, Ruby knew that something had to be wrong, something was consuming the thoughts of her partner.

Finding her shouldn't be difficult, right? After all, they are in a boat so… there aren't many places to hide. The corridors took her to the deck of the small boat where she kept looking for her, but everything she could see was a crowd of people she didn't know and a beautiful starry sky, the night was indeed something wonderful although the voices of the people obscure the sounds of nature. After a thorough search, she found no sign of the girl he was looking for.

She had already searched the rooms and corridors, she was starting to feel tired, and for so, she then decides that perhaps it is best to return with her teammates and join the conversation.

When she set out to return, she heard a familiar voice, it was quite clear and beautiful, it came from the rooftop, the only place she had never consider. Ruby jumped right away, she didn't have to think twice, she already knew who was there.

On the rooftop, a girl dressed mostly in white cleared her throat, she was clearly preparing herself to let out all of the emotions she had kept inside through a song. She began to sing what appeared to be a ballad that could be from Atlas, or maybe it was something she composed herself. The lyrics clearly spoke of the place where she was raised and it seemed to be her way of saying farewell to the land where she was born.

To the cold that I met
in the land dressed always in white,
just like a book no longer blank
I won't forget the way back.

Oh, but I have met the colors outside
where the sun is warmer and the people nicer,
and I'm afraid that I must stay
here, with all of my friends.

The girl in the red hood found herself... speechless, as the white-haired girl continued to sing because she knew how the girl always expresses what is in her heart and mind through the songs she composes. She let go of her worries to allow herself enjoy the clear and sweet voice of Weiss. She closed her eyes, it was clear that no one would interrupt the once-heiress since all the other voices fell silent and faded as the singer's voice rose, everyone on the ship had secretly agreed to let the girl's voice be the only thing that could be heard, not even the sounds of nature interrupted her. It had been a long time since Ruby could hear her sing like that and she had really missed moments like this one.

That's why I will keep you in memories
because I'm not returning to my burdens,
and I must say goodbye to you, my land
Because I have found my path.

Some tears began to dampen the eyes of the singer as her feelings were released under the light of the stars, tonight she could let go of everything she had kept to herself. The girl was really moving forward with her life, both mental and emotional preparation for tonight explained her previous behavior, she really wanted to release all her burdens and this was the way to do it. Ruby's eyes were moistened, she was touched. However, the blue-eyed girl was the first to let go of her tears as she reached the final line: "I have found happiness" then the silver-eyed girl could not contain her tears and her silent weeping let her partner know that she was not alone.

"Ruby? What are you doing here?" Asked softly the white-haired girl. The color of her eyes matched perfectly with the dark blue of the starry sky, her pale skin and hair combined perfectly with the moonlight and helped her figure stand out from the background, just like her eyes, the scene was marvelous. She knew that the hooded had heard her sing, she knew that the girl had been there since the beginning and that's why her expression was one of empathy, something that's not often seen in her.

The once-heiress was almost knocked down by a hug before she could receive an answer from her dear teammate: "I was looking for you! Dolt" said Ruby as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wait, that's my line!" Weiss laughed as she was returning the hug, "look, I know I told you how restless I felt and how much I needed to go to sleep, and now it's clear that I used that as an excuse to skip dinner, I lied to you… because I really needed to do this, I had to come here as soon as I felt ready"

"I was here remember? I understand" the red-hooded assure her as she was tightening the hug, "so, are you really leaving all the 'recover the family's honor' thing behind? To be with us?"

"Don't be stupid" said the once-heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, kindly pushing her away to break the hug and look at the moon, "Is not like my father is retiring anytime soon, and while he's still the head of the company I get the time to be a huntress, then, once I make a name for myself I'll take over the company and finally make it honorable again, starting by stopping the Faunus slavery of course" She was confident of her words.

"I'm sure Blake would be happy to hear that, wherever she might be" she guaranteed, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder for a moment.

"I hope it at least eases the situation with the White Fang, although after what happened to Yang I'm not sure how much it really matters to Blake anymore, for all we know she could have gone somewhere they can't find her so that she could leave everything behind… or she could be plotting her revenge"

"Sure! I bet she's teaching them a lesson!" Ruby was sure that would be what Blake would do. She turned her gaze from those blue eyes to see the sky and ask "then... what did you mean by not returning to your burdens?"

"It's like I said, it will be years before I'm qualified to assume control of the company, so I decided not to think about it until it is necessary... as things are these days, I'm just following your example by enjoying what we have while we can" she said the last part with a smile, a smile so bright it was difficult to know if it shone by its own light or if the light of the moon Helped. Whatever the case, the happiness, and warmth it shared would not be hidden.

"Aww, you thought of me, did you miss me?" There are some moments in Ruby's life when she simply wants to tease Weiss a little, "Did you miss me?" She asked as she smiled at her.

"O-of course n- ...you dolt!" The one who was once the heiress to one of Remnant's most important companies was now trying to evade the look of her partner to hide the blush, a subtle pink blush. She was so focused on that, that she forgot to clarify her answer and left some room for interpretations.

"Aww Weiss, I missed you too~!" exclaimed the hooded girl before wrapping her friend in a tight embrace, having Weiss to say those words was like a dream come true for her. To think it only took her about a year and a half to admit that she cared. Although this time the white-haired girl did not return the hug, her heart was beating so loud that she feared that Ruby could feel it if she hugged her back. "What's the matter?" asked the red-hooded.

"It's nothing," she said, still avoiding her stare "we should go back to our room to get some sleep," she said timidly, with the obvious intention of changing the subject.

"Weiss, you can tell me anything. Remember? What's it about?" She asked as she released her from her grip, she then grabbed her shoulders to try and meet the glance of those blue eyes she cared so much about.

The girl in white knew that she couldn't tell the truth so she went for the very first thing she thought of "No ... I already told you it's nothing, Ruby" she tried in vain to recover her usual tone of voice, but it was clear that the truth wouldn't find its way out of her mouth, Ruby noticed this and interrupted Weiss before she could excuse herself any further.

"Are you saying... you didn't miss me?" She asked with a bit of sadness in her voice, her spirit had dropped because the girl in white couldn't answer immediately, she looked for her eyes just to make sure the girl was thinking her response at least. But unconsciously, the hooded girl was doing a sad puppy face.

"Please stop, that's childish... and I'm not saying that I didn't miss you..." she wasn't sure why but hearing herself saying those words almost made her blush, although it made sense because she never imagined confessing to Ruby that she had missed her, "Just let us go get some sleep"

Weiss did miss her, for so, Ruby let out a small giggle. She knew her teammate and therefore knew that the one who had been the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company was a girl who would always appear to be cold and unreachable, but then there were these times when she could see a completely different side of her: a kinder, warm, immature, humorous and even shy side of her. "Very well," she said to those blue eyes that now looked at her with curiosity, surely the giggle she heard just a moment ago left her intrigued.

"Did I say something funny?" She asked at last.

"Nope," The hooded replied while showing her an honest smile. This in no way helped Weiss to cease to be intrigued. "Let's go back to our rooms," Ruby invited as she stepped forward. Weiss followed after a moment of hesitation.

They had two rooms, one for the remaining members of team JNPR and one for team RWBY. To no one's surprise, Yang was already in the room by the time they arrived, it was already late after all.

The older sister was cleaning her robotic arm because apparently things got a bit too crazy during her conversation with the other team and now there were remainings of food in it. Yang was already in her pajamas, and most of the stains on her arm were already taken care of, but that didn't make her feel any better about it.

The room was simple and comfortable: there were windows concealed by blue curtains, a bathroom whose bulb was broken, two beds and a bedside table in the middle of these.

"Can you believe this?" Asked the blondie, who was sitting on one of the beds "and I just got it, it's brand new!"

Her little sister could not help laughing at her sister'smisery, "Relax, I'm sure nothing will happen to it " she assured her as she walked to the bathroom to brush her teeth, Weiss would have followed her to do the same but she had taken care of that when the others were having dinner.

"Of course," Weiss added, "It was made to fight Grimm, whatever food was thrown at it shouldn't damage it" then she went to the bed that was closest to the window to change into her pajamas, Yang was in the other bed still very busy fighting the stains on her arm, it was a fantastic scene because not even the Grimm would make her concentrate so much on one single task with so much passion.

"I hope you're right, I can't afford to lose another arm. That would be a Yangmare" Ruby's giggle could be heard from the bathroom, it was very brief but it was a laugh after all.

"What is really a nightmare are your puns, but it's good to know that you are in a good mood" said the blue-eyed girl as she finished putting on her pajamas and loosening her hair, once finished she approached the curtains to move them enough to allow the entrance of a small ray of moonlight so that it could illuminate the room, she watched the moon for a moment and then turned her gaze to Yang when she spoke, although the look of the blonde was still interested in the stains.

"Well, I was kinda depressed not long ago and now that I have recovered, something this insignificant won't lower my spirit" even if she said this with her usual confidence and tenacity, her face showed some frustration due to the persistence of the stains, this was beginning to be more than annoying for her, although at least there was only one small stain left to deal with.

"That's the spirit!" said her little sister, who was changing into her pajamas in the bathroom.

"Aha!" Yang exclaimed victoriously, the persistence of the stain had failed against her, "finally." She said before leaving her robotic arm on the table and finally cover herself with the blankets, she was so tired that there was nothing else she wanted to do, "now let's get some sleep" but then she recalled that someone had to turn off the lights. She completely forgot that Ruby was still changing in the bathroom and therefore did not think about throwing a pillow at the switch to turn off the light.

"Yang!" Her sister almost shouted from the bathroom, although mentally the girl told herself that she must have seen this coming, she knew her sister after all, and she should have expected it. At least she had been lucky enough to be fully dressed by the time this happened, and the moonlight coming in from the window was enough to allow her to move around the room... though it didn't make her less annoyed.

It was then that Ruby noticed a couple of things, the first was that Crescent Rose was next to the window near to Weiss's bed, this was curious because she had no memory of leaving it there, the second thing she noticed was that the white-haired girl was already lying on the bed and cover in the blanket, she looked asleep. Ruby moved to where her weapon was, being careful not to wake her teammate. As she moved stealthily through the room she recalled the missions they had recently, after days of fighting dozens of Grimm it was understandable that her two companions would end up so exhausted as to fall immediately asleep under the shelter of the blankets.

Weiss was sleeping sideways so that she could face the window, her expression was so cute that Ruby could not help but smile at the tenderness she caused her, the hooded noticed that there was some dirt on her cheek, so she slowly brought her hand to the pale face of her companion to remove that stain with her thumb, she found a warmth that she didn't expect from a skin that pale and therefore could not avoid stroking it timidly with her fingertip, it was so soft and warm... then her touch reached the scar.

Weiss had never told her what happened the day she got that mark in her eye, Ruby knew that if she wanted to know, the only thing she had to do was just ask her because she was sure it was something that Weiss would tell her, yet she could never ask... as much as she was curious about it. One day she might find the courage to ask her, although part of her hoped that Weiss told her on her own, for the hooded had the feeling it was something personal and meaningful.

There was so much of Weiss she has yet to know, for example, she knew that she always lies down facing the window if there is one, and although Ruby doesn't know the reason... part of her wondered if it was her way of escaping, because maybe the girl always dreamed about the world that extends beyond Atlas. She knows almost nothing of the girl's past, but she had the feeling that the once heiress felt trapped in her own fate when she was in her house, although she may be thinking about it too much. How many things she still doesn't know about her teammate?

Without realizing she had brought her face close to the white-haired girl, she realized what she was doing when she got close enough to feel the breathing of her companion, at that moment she almost jumped by surprise and although she didn't do it, she backed away abruptly. The worst part was to think that perhaps Weiss was not quite asleep, that perhaps the soft touch of Ruby's hand had awakened her slightly, now that she thought of this she was secretly panicking inside.

Suddenly, a voice caught her attention, it called her name with some tiredness, her heart skipped a beat from the surprise but then she recognized the person who spoke to her and was able to calm down.

"Ruby, wake up kiddo, it's time to work" it was undoubtedly the voice of Qrow. Here is when Ruby realized that everything had been just a dream, as Qrow's voice brought her back to reality the memories of the hotel room where she wrote a letter to Yang came to her, she wasn't in a boat to a new adventure, she's in Mistral with a mission to accomplish.

"What is it?" Whether she wanted to or not, she had to prepare for the things to come.

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Author's Note: thanks for taking the time to read the prologue. I have had this story in my head since a few weeks ago but I modified a few things every time a new episode came out, so I finally decided that this was time to write it, now, that volume four has come to an end and volume 5 is still months from being out. I'll try my best to have a new chapter every week because I know my time is limited since I want to finish the story before volume 5 (although I'll continue anyway if I run out of time).

See you next week.