A/N: This is the story that I've been working on for the past month or so. Updates should be weekly, but that may change depending on how many chapters I have completed in advance. I do not own RWBY.


Weiss Schnee shook the snow out of her cloak and lowered her hood before stepping inside Junior's, the local Atlas tavern aptly named after its owner. She made her usual rounds, making sure to listen carefully to and keep a mental list of the grievances of the commoners, paying particular attention to the concerns of the Faunus. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that her father, the king, kept her sheltered enough that the common folk were unable to recognize her. The only thing she carried that could be considered valuable was a dust crystal for protection hidden in her cloak pocket, especially given how rare dust was in the present day.

As the sky began to darken, Weiss got up and stretched. She gave the tavern one last glance, noting the increased number of patrons as the day progressed but not taking note of much else around her. She would stay in the tavern all night given the opportunity, but it was hard enough to convince her father to allow her even this amount of freedom.

As she got up from her table and headed for the entrance, someone bumped into her and caused her to stumble. Being a trained fencer, Weiss recovered quickly but not before her arms were grabbed in an attempt to stabilize her. She looked up to find an intense amber gaze staring back at her in concern and the ears on the Faunus woman's head drooping.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, making sure to give a thorough appraisal of Weiss.

Not wanting to be the subject of too much scrutiny, Weiss rapidly removed herself from the stranger's grasp and pulled her hood over her head. "I'm fine, thank you. If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." The disguised princess refused to meet the eyes of the woman. She hastily made her way out, missing the smirk sent her way and the new lightness in her pocket.


Blake Belladonna smirked at the mysterious woman's retreating back. Junior's was a place that she had been familiar with for years now, so she was aware of its various patrons, but the white-haired stranger was a relatively new frequenter, having just visited the tavern for the first time a few months back. Nobody seemed to know anything about her, so Blake took it upon herself to quietly observe.

In the past few months, she found herself intrigued with every new observation she made and conversation overheard. The enigma never revealed her name and started answering to a nickname that the tavern barkeeper, Yang Xiao Long, gave her one day. Princess. It certainly fits the way she carries herself. There's no way that she's the actual princess though, Blake thought. From what she saw and heard thus far, the puzzling woman was ceaselessly kind and even managed to pleasantly surprise Blake by revealing her wittiness once she became comfortable. Everyone had only positive things to say about the woman, which contrasted to how the regulars spoke about the royalty they were subject to daily.

The Faunus would have stopped observing the woman after a few weeks if she hadn't caught a glimpse of the dust crystal that was always hidden in her pocket, which verified the woman's status in high society. Ever since King Nicholas' unexplained disappearance and his son-in-law's ascension to the throne, new laws were created that allowed only the nobility to have access to dust. Since then, various citizens attempted to protest but didn't make much progress due to the Atlesian diligence in training its security personnel. Until the White Fang appeared, that is.

Started and headed by her parents, Ghira and Kali, until he stepped down several years back, the White Fang originally began as a peaceful protest group primarily aimed to advancing Faunus rights but shifted to a more violent approach after its leadership passed onto Sienna Khan, an associate of the family. The initial goal of the group remained the same but currently involved obtaining the forbidden dust to allow Faunus some advantage in the current society. Once a nonviolent demonstrator herself, Blake adapted along with the White Fang's shift after learning how to fight and steal. She was now the organization's main thief, withholding this particular piece of information from her family.

The White Fang was recently looking to expanding its resources and influences by partnering with other groups that had the same objective, even if it meant working with humans. While Sienna wasn't particularly fond of the compromises that had to be made and refused to appear in public for the deals, she realized that they were necessary. Because of this, Blake was assigned to be the representative of the group since she was the one most willing to get along with others. It was during a scouting mission for new contacts several months previously when she stumbled upon Junior's tavern, where she was stationed ever since. In fact, she was actually supposed to meet-

"I didn't know you were so eager to see me again, kitten." Blake rolled her eyes at the familiar man's voice and didn't bother to hide her displeasure at having to speak with Roman Torchwick again. The smirking con man was leaning against the bar top, a cigar held by his side with a casualness that left Blake feeling uneasy. She knew that he carried himself with a nonchalance someone in their profession needed, but he seemed especially smug today.

"Torchwick. You know I spend a lot of time here. Let's not act like we're friends and get to business." Blake schooled her expression into the usual aggravation she had around him, not wanting to reveal her suspicion. It seemed to work since the man just shrugged at her response, promptly pulling out his briefcase.

"Enough time to nab a dust crystal you mean?"

Blake's gaze immediately snapped from eyeing the briefcase to meet Torchwick's, and she felt her blood begin to boil at the self-satisfied gleam in his eyes. She narrowed her eyes but refused to let him see how rattled he made her feel. She pulled out the crystal instead, seeing as there was no use in hiding it now.

"Are you spying on me now? I thought we had a working partnership built on trust." She emphasized the last word and made sure that Torchwick could see how secure her grip on the crystal was.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. That means I do value the trust we've built up these past months and wouldn't do anything to break it, which means arriving early for our meetups. I was going to greet you until I caught sight of something very interesting," Torchwick said, eyeing the dust crystal with obvious interest. Blake swore under her breath; she thought that she had managed to swipe the object without anyone noticing and hoped that no one else caught her thievery.

The Faunus set the dust crystal down on the bar top and sighed. "You caught me stealing. I have to be more careful, I get it. But that doesn't change the fact that I have it. So do we have a deal or not?" She eyed Torchwick's briefcase meaningfully.

The con man just shook his head, seemingly unaffected by his associate's abrupt tonal shift. This irritated Blake to no end, but she bit back her retort when she saw Torchwick finally open the briefcase and turn it towards her to see inside. Inspecting the briefcase carefully, Blake concluded that the amount of lien in it was acceptable. She nodded and they shook hands, finalizing the deal.