"As you can see my claims are perfectly justified. The Schnee Dust Company acted without following proper procedures, or giving a month's notice as was pertained in the contract that your sister signed. I have been left significantly out of pocket and have twenty thousand additional units, which are clogging up my warehouses. Now if you turn to page three of the contract, specifically the sections relating to the quantity of the order, I will indicate the relevant sections which show you are in breach of it."
Weiss dutifully clicked the mouse on her glass desk, subtly wiping away the smudges her palm left with her sleeve. But instead of the critical sections of the contract appearing on her screen, she tabbed through to the next page on list of all the registered psychiatrists and psychologists in Atlas.
She was having great difficulty in maintaining her concentration after everything that had happened this morning. Ruby had been having bad dreams almost every night. As she lay awake staring up at the ceiling, wishing that she could sleep, Ruby would toss and turn wishing she was doing anything but.
Most of the time, if her girlfriend didn't seem too distressed, Weiss would let her sleep with the hope that they would get better or at least fade. But all too often, Ruby began to sweat profusely, her face tensing up in terror or horror, her body would twitch and move as if fighting an invisible foe, and she would whimper.
That was the worst part, to hear all the monsters that were stalking her, all the people that were suffering as she was powerless to help them. It was at that point she tried to rouse her, normally it was difficult, Ruby's subconscious was buried far too deep to be easily reached, and every extra second that Ruby spent in her night terrors tore into her.
After waking, Ruby would usually struggle against her embrace momentarily, before realising she was no longer in Vale, and would collapse into it, sobbing. She didn't think Ruby remembered what happened between her short bursts of sleep, her mind probably still wasn't clear, her brain still not fully woken from its restorative cycle. Certainly Ruby had never spoken about it, or even looked about sheepishly.
In between sobs, Ruby talked, and her words ripped at the heart so many said was made of ice. Insomnia was awful and she wouldn't wish it on anyone, but it had been part of her life for as long as she could remember. Often the only way to keep pace with Winter in their lessons had been to study until the early hours of the morning. It hadn't been healthy, but like her problems with eating, no one had cared. That demon had risen again recently, the thought of food often made her want to vomit, but it was at least one she could actively fight.
At the moment she was probably getting by on a couple of hours of sleep a night. It was taking its toll but it was manageable. She had even taken to meditating again, it was something she had seen online, it could in no way replace sleep, but it seemed to diminish her body's need for it.
She had a lot of problems, but if she were Ruby she would trade for them in a heartbeat. The things Ruby saw when she closed her eyes were terrible, that was the only way to put it. So terrible that Weiss would have found her insomnia a blessing, if she had been cursed with the same dreams.
What Ruby had confessed this morning had only been part of it. While she was cradled in protective arms, she had told her so much more. Her mind plagued her by throwing together every horrific thing it could imagine befalling on everyone she cared about. Shivers had run down her spine more than once as she had been forced to listen to her own death at the hands of the White Fang, the Grimm, the Knights, the pyromancer, even Ruby's own. Ruby had broken down apologising again, again and pressed against her collarbone after revealing that; as though it were something she had actually done.
Her dreams had been bad, but before this morning Ruby had not screamed. She had finally managed to beat her insomnia and had just begun to drift off into her fitful slumber, when the sound woke her. Immediately she had rolled to her knees, going for Myrtenaster, sure they were being attacked. But only Ruby was, her hands were held out in front of her, as though warding something off, as she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Weiss could admit, she had felt scared then. Scared enough that rather than waking the person gently as her research had recommended, she had cried out her name and shook her roughly. It was then that Ruby had punched her.
It was a long time since anyone had struck her with her Aura down, so long that she had forgotten just how much it actually hurts to get hit. With an Aura protecting her, even Yang's hits were spread across an area around the size of her fists. All the force of Ruby's punch had been transferred through just two of her knuckles. It had knocked her senseless for a moment, and coming out of the blue like that she hadn't even managed to roll with the punch.
But her instincts had kicked in and even though her mind was clouded, her body had activated her Aura and the passive effects had helped her gain focus. As much as her lip and jaw had been painful, it had been so much more so to see the state that Ruby had been in. Crying and pleading, Ruby had looked pitiful.
The anger had shocked her, and it had been just as much to hear Ruby confess the things that must have been feeling for so long. That Ruby herself thought she was fucking broken and didn't deserve her, had been enough for her to risk broaching the idea that had been floating around her head for the last couple of days.
Ruby needed help. It wasn't surprising, after Vale it wouldn't be hard to believe that everyone who had been there wasn't suffering in one way or another. They had all seen too many things that were just so wrong. Weiss' hand had unconsciously found its way to her breast, pressing a cheap necklace under her blouse against her heart.
But Ruby had done so much more than most. They had fought for longer, saved more civilians, and walked past more corpses of those they had failed than most others. Before Vale Ruby had been largely innocent to the cruelties of the world, it was obvious in the way she always shied away from killing. For most it was either them or us, that was the way the world worked, but Ruby had wished there could have been a third option. One where the person wouldn't rise to stab you in the back, but would instead seek to resolve their conflict in a different way. It was a perfect dream and one she had been harshly forced to see was not possible.
Professional help would be best. Ruby had to deal with all the baggage from Vale and if her guesses were right some more deep seated issues from her childhood. As much as she might have wished it different, Ruby didn't want to talk to her, but if she decided to see a professional she would get the best one in the city.
That was the problem Weiss was facing at the moment. They had only been in Atlas for a few weeks and regardless, she had no previous experience with this type of help to fall back on. The psychiatrists and psychologists she was looking at didn't have reviews or testimonials, she didn't even know if that was something a patient did after their treatment, maybe not. All they had were copious lists of their qualifications, impressive certainly, but they didn't indicate whether they would be the right fit for Ruby.
She needed to talk to someone who might have a better idea, but she didn't have any friends in Atlas. In reality she didn't have any friends, who hadn't been at Beacon. Ruby had been the very first friend she had ever had. She was the first person who had ever approached her as anything other than a Schnee. It was probably half the reason that they were so close, or at least had been.
The only person she could think of talking to about her problem was Winter. If it was possible to find a positive from what she had been through in Vale, the upturn in the relationship with her sister was it.
It had been pleasant to find that Winter cared enough about her safety to be protective of her. Whether it was the relief Winter had obviously felt upon finding out her sister was alive, or sending Erashan to protect her for the final assaults, or bringing the entirety of their forces on their ill-fated rescue mission.
That almost hadn't been enough. She didn't really remember getting shot, but she did remember pouring so much of her Aura into maintaining the barrier protecting her teammates that there was almost nothing left and after a moment of frigid cold and weakness, nothing.
Consequently she didn't remember anything about her treatment, she had been either unconscious or barely lucid for most of it, but Ruby had filled her in. About how Winter had donated her own blood to keep her sister alive on the flight and had held her hand for the entire journey, talking all the while. She hadn't been there when she had regained consciousness in her hospital bed, but Ruby had told her Winter had visited every day. Which was more than could be said for her father.
She and Winter were trying to thaw their relationship, but a lifetime of instincts could not be undone so quickly. It helped they were spending time together. It was hard not to when they had offices on the same floor. They had even managed to go to lunch together, though they had spent the entire time discussing work. She didn't know if they would be able talk about unimportant things like normal sisters for a whole meal, but hopefully that would come.
Apart from that, their contact had been reduced to quick greetings in the halls, an occasional express elevator ride to the ground floor, or meetings. They were both swamped with work, which was probably the reason her father had given her so much responsibility.
The meeting with her father had started just as well as she had expected it would, as in not well at all. It was just something about her father, under his arctic gaze she would lose her train of thought, and the answers to any questions he asked would slip from her mind.
It wasn't that she didn't know the answers, it was just he expected her not to know, it showed in his expression, and too often he was proven right as she panicked. Of course Winter had always been there to step in with a smirk and the perfect answer, but what else would he expect from his perfect daughter.
Looking back she could see the signs of the systematic abuse that had robbed her of so much and would still be robbing her if she had not learned of her martial prowess. It was a vicious circle, she would struggle to recall information she knew when he looked at her, he would feel vindicated in his assumptions, and that would only increase his hostility the next time he asked, which in turn would cause her to panic even more. It went on and on, until he had finally given up on her, and spent his precious time grooming his heir.
So it had been with some trepidation that she had answered his summons. She had only been discharged from hospital the day before, she hadn't slept at all with worry, and had risen while the moon was high in the sky to begin to prepare.
There was nothing that could be done with her appearance to impress her father but dressing smartly had always increased her own confidence and she needed every advantage possible. A long bath in the luxurious tub had been followed by an hour of selecting outfits and doing her makeup and hair. Food had tasted like ash that particular morning but she had forced an apple down for Ruby.
The headquarters of the SDC were impressive. If you discounted buildings from ages gone by which were impressive for a whole other reason, it was probably the most impressive building in the world. It was certainly the tallest; it was fifty feet higher than even the CCT, though it served much the same purpose only with encrypted company traffic.
Like so much that the SDC did, it was built as a testament to its power. Whenever anyone first approached city of Atlas, their eye would be drawn to the glistening spire. They would have heard of it, probably even seen pictures of it, but nothing could account for seeing it in the flesh. Most Atlesian buildings were built for utility, the Eiszapfen was not. It was undeniably beautiful, rising into the sky it looked every inch its namesake. Its many facets would catch the sun and sparkle as it moved through the sky and no matter how deep the snow on the ground, none was able to settle upon it. It was nothing less than an architectural marvel and her father had his office right at the top, where he could look down on the world that was practically his.
She had arrived for her appointment half an hour early, she needn't have bothered. Her father liked to make people wait, to let them know his time was much more valuable than theirs. He had kept her waiting for almost an hour past the time they had scheduled, an hour of sitting on the uncomfortable chairs while his personal assistants gave her apologetic looks, they were only too familiar with his games.
It was simply one she couldn't win. It had been obvious he was going to make her wait, but if she turned up late, his schedule would have magically opened up at the appointed time and she still would have lost. Her father was a man who won no matter what he decided to play.
It hadn't helped that the hard seat had been aggravating her back. Having seen the x-rays in her medical file, she knew how lucky she had been. An inch to the side and she would have been unlikely to have ever walked again. The twinges of pain every so often were a blessing but that didn't mean they were any easier to live with. Her doctor had told her she was young and fit enough to recover fully; all she had to do was wait, as she was doing.
The moment she had been told he was ready for her, all the nerves that had gradually simmered down, had flared back up in a rush. Her legs had trembled and it had taken longer than it should have to return her phone to her clutch purse. She was only going to see her father, but at that moment she would have preferred to find a pack of blood lusted Beowolves on the other side of the door. It would have been easier.
Her father did not raise his head when she entered, he just carried on typing, but she knew he would be watching. An outsider they would probably have wondered why he was causing a trained huntress who had faced down monsters to shake.
At first glance, if you didn't know who he was, Arian Schnee was not an imposing man. Most would expect the head of the most powerful company in the world to be something special, he was not. He was of average height, he had average looks ̶ ̶ Winter's and now, thanks to Ruby, she realised her beauty came from their mother ̶ ̶ apart from the tell-tale Schnee hair colour, and as much as it rankled him, he had an average strength Aura. Which was probably part of the reason why he resented her training to become a huntress so much, for all his wealth and power, it was a career path that was not open to him.
In a crowd there was no reason why he should have stood out and yet he did. Where he moved people made way; that was at least something she had picked up from him. As much as most would deny it, everyone had a deep seated desire to be told what to do. It was ingrained into society to listen to those who were your superior, so if you just walked as if you expected your path to be clear, others picked up on it, and even in a busy street it would be so.
The one characteristic of him that was definitely not average was his mind. His body may not have been the strongest, but he was ferociously intelligent. He could rattle off every major House from Atlas, name every member of them, all their business interests, and who they were allied with, all while reading a newspaper.
It was just another reason he had often become so exasperated with her progress in lessons. Whereas Winter had inherited his capacity for intelligence, she had only received part of it. Though it put her far above most, it put her leagues behind the pair of them, and even all her extra studies could not contribute to the deficit. Winter was close to his equal, she was not and would never be.
"Good morning father," she said respectfully, at least trying to feign some happiness at seeing him again as she dropped into a curtsey.
It was an incredibly conceited way that he required his daughters to greet him, but he was an incredibly egotistical person. Before Beacon she hadn't realised just how strange it really was, it had just been her assumption that most families did it. Now she knew better.
Her curtsey was absolutely perfect; she had even picked a white sundress from the clothes she had found in her apartment just so she could flare her skirts. Not that it gained any points in her favour. A Schnee was expected to be perfect, which is why she disappointed him so often.
He left her standing there, listening to the sound of his keyboard. She knew he was perfectly capable of carrying out a conversation whilst answering his emails. He often did two or more things than once, she was sure it was the only way he had managed to run the SDC almost single handed whilst Winter was growing up. Though the SDC had a board of directors, they were mainly for show; they did nothing without his express say so.
"Weiss sit," his voice was cold as it always had been at addressing her.
She shouldn't have expected more, but she had. It was the first time they had seen each other in almost a year, the first time they had seen each other since she had been shot. A normal father would have jumped up and hugged her, say how pleased they were to see her, tell her how much they missed her. But then a normal father would have come to visit their daughter as she lay dying in the hospital.
He still didn't look at her, even as she took her seat; he just left her sitting silently in his presence. Some of her nervousness was starting to be displaced by anger. He had kept her waiting over an hour to get in here, and now he was wasting even more of her time. Time she could have spent with Ruby.
"You wanted to see me," her words caused the clatter of keys to cease.
For the first time he father turned his gaze on her. His eyes were the hereditary blue but around the edges they faded into tempestuous grey. As Weiss stared into them she felt the familiar chill, there was no familial warmth, no love. They were cold and they were calculating.
It occurred to her now, as it should have done before, that in his actions he had been testing her. For what she wasn't sure, so it was impossible to tell how she had done. Would it have been better to burst in uninvited, or just left? Certainly Winter would not have let him waste an hour of her time, was he testing if she had become more like his favourite daughter? Or was he trying to ascertain if her time at Beacon had made her more rebellious? With him it was impossible to tell, and his expression gave nothing away.
He made a platform from his fingers in front of his chin and just stared. Weiss tried to keep her composure, but he was among the few people who could make her lose it, and as he continued to stare, she began to squirm. Her dress started to itch; it felt heavy across her shoulders, the straps of her heels dug furrows into her skin, and her posterior lost all feeling against the hard seat.
It was a relief, when after an age he spoke.
"It is time for you to forget your foolish desire to become a huntress."
Her mouth fell open; that was not what she expected this meeting to be about. Him asking about her health, what happened in Vale, she had prepared those answers. But not this, not again. Not when she had only just found out how much she needed Ruby, she wouldn't let anyone separate them. Not even him.
"I will not. You agreed to let me attend Beacon. Even when you sent Winter to place those stipulations on me. I still achieved them. I won every round of the tournament I fought in. I was top of my year. I will become a huntress; you have no right to take it from me." For Ruby she found the strength to oppose him.
"I have every right! You are my daughter. It is your duty to obey my will," he almost shouted, expression finally filling his face.
At his outburst, Weiss flinched away from him in her seat. She was one of the few people who could bring life the fires of anger within him. It was often the White Fang or something else that built them up and set up the fuse, but when he came home she was the one who lit it. Whether it was because she failed to answer one of his questions or just because she was not Winter, he would unleash his anger on her.
Those times, when he shouted until he was red in the face, where he lost control, was when she was scared of him. In that state he had even beat his own daughter bloody, just because she had admitted who she was to him.
Most would never see it though; it took her unique abilities to raise him to visible anger. At a dinner party when someone had been brave or naïve enough to subtly insult him as was the norm in Atlesian high society, he would smile and sip his wine, carrying on with the conversation, never rising to the bait.
They would think they had gained the best of him, not noticing the darkness behind his eyes and their life would carry on as usual. Then months, or even years down the line, their business ventures would begin to fail, their friends would begin to fall away, their banks would call in their loans, and they would be left homeless in the ruins of their once proud House. They were the lucky ones, the accident rate of those who got on Arian Schnee's bad side was disproportionately high.
"Yes I'm your daughter, the one you didn't even bother to visit in intensive care!" It had taken all of four sentences for her father to make her lose her cool. In his presence she was not the ice queen, his gaze melted whatever resolve she had tried to muster.
"Why would I?" It was so casually asked it, she couldn't form an answer.
"What?"
"What possible purpose would coming to visit you have served? I had access to your medical reports; there was high probability of your recovery. What good would my being there have done? It would not have made you recover faster and I have absolutely zero interest in socialising with your friends," he almost spat the word as though they should be below her. "I would only have been able to stare at your unconscious body and wait a socially acceptable amount of time, before I could get back to doing something important. That you are here proves my point."
He just didn't get it. Her father couldn't comprehend that had wanted him to visit not because of some logical reason, but because it would have showed he cared about her. That's what people did when they visited their loved ones; they sacrificed their time to say that the person they were visiting was more important than it. Her father had just confirmed what she had believed, she wasn't.
"Why am I here then?" Now she just wanted to get out of his presence as quickly as possible.
"You are here because I summoned you. That is the only reason. Why do you always seek to turn everything into a confrontation? It is a waste of my time, so I will give you the facts. Beacon is no more. Two of your team members have been conscripted and your supposed leader is too young even for that. I allowed you to attend Beacon because it was the most prestigious combat school on the planet. I will not allow you to attend a second rate one."
Weiss made to speak, but his voice rode over hers.
"Do not dare interrupt me! Though I disagreed with your desire to attend Beacon, I will admit some of your reasoning was valid. Both yours and Winter's actions in the fall of Vale, have allowed me to turn a completely disastrous scenario into a lesser one."
Had her father just complimented her? That was almost unheard of.
"And everyone is aware that it was the SDC who made the evacuation of Vale possible. The numbers of applications to positions within the SDC has increased dramatically and people are buying our products not because they have to, but because they want to. The masses love a hero and at the moment we are it."
"That's why you should let me become a huntress. I'll keep on building up the good will." And she could stay with Ruby.
He shook his head, she visibly saw him reign in his anger at her impertinence. "How much do you know of what is happening in Vale?"
"Not much more than what's been on the news." Information from inside the White Fang controlled territory had been scarce, mainly because they had closed down Vale's CCT, cutting off almost all communications.
"The vermin spent a week consolidating their grip on the city, before they started moving against our facilities. The defences capable of withstanding Grimm attacks are simply no match for hundreds of Knights. I have ordered the demolition of every one of our facilities within a hundred miles of Vale; I will not allow them to fall into their hands."
That information had not been available on the news. It was colossal. If she recalled correctly that was close to two dozen mines, processing plants, and factories, just gone. The cost would be obscene.
"Beyond that they are still limited by their supply lines, but it likely won't be long before they can pursue their vendetta against us at an even further range, and that is not all. Since word of the attack of Vale got out, the number of our Faunus workers breaching their contracts has increased almost fiftyfold. Those who have been recaptured revealed they were encouraged by White Fang members. We are facing a major shortage of low level manpower which is heavily hindering our productivity.
"The White Fang attack has hurt us more than anyone else. We are haemorrhaging money and will continue to do so until we manage to redistribute our resources. That is what myself and Winter have been doing, but it will not be enough.
"The strength of our family has always had two foundations, wealth and power. We are losing the first but that will be fixed, the second is not so easily remedied. The vermin have caused us billions of liens of damages, seemingly without reply. They are stealing our workforce and killing out troops. The Faunus who work for us and the Houses who despise us, no longer regard us with fear.
"We cannot allow that to continue. I am no longer certain that there will be an invasion of Vale by the Atlesian military. The Council are stalling for a reason I cannot comprehend, and Draxler refuses to give me even a punitive date, despite the fact I put him on that chair. We will no longer wait for them.
"You have always insisted that I have treated you unfairly. I do not believe I have, you have always been excessively wilful and constantly refused to obey me, and yet in the time you have spent at Beacon I can sense that something about you has changed. Your actions against the vermin in Vale have proven that. It is time for you to stop being so stubborn and to start to live up to the name you bear. I am giving you full authority over our security forces."
For the second time Weiss' mouth fell open. This was one of the longest conversations she'd had with her father in years and was perhaps the second most important after the one which had convinced him to allow her to attend Beacon.
She hadn't realised the trouble her family was in. As much as she might disagree with her father about so many things, she was fiercely proud of being a Schnee. She had been worried about her father destroying their good name, but from what he had said, it was entirely possible that their name might just end. Completely.
Ironically it was her father's fault. If he hadn't treated the Faunus so badly all these years, the White Fang may very well have not existed, or at least they wouldn't be the focus for its ire. But they were, and he was entrusting their family's survival to her. His least favourite, imperfect daughter. It didn't make sense.
"Why?"
"Because above all you are a Schnee," he said that as though nothing else mattered. "You have proven yourself cool under pressure, and you are capable of commanding your troops in the field. I have heard about how you led those who were assigned to your wall, they respected you, and that was only after a very short time period, what could you do with more?
"I may very well have underestimated you. You may have the capability within you to not be a complete disappointment. You showed in the tournament you could inspire loyalty in the masses, and you received almost perfect marks within your tactics classes at Beacon. But this is the iron test, we will either rise from this stronger than ever, or we will fall. I am giving you the opportunity and the responsibility to be part of that. Do not let me down."
She had to be dreaming. Since her youngest memories, she had always desired praise from her father, but it had never come. Until today, it was double edged praise, but it still counted. It was the polar opposite of what she had expected while waiting, she thought she was being summoned to merely explain what had happened to her in Vale, not this.
"What will I be doing?" she asked.
His voice went cold. So terribly cold. Cold enough that it sent a shiver down her spine.
"I believe you are aware of our Special Forces, I did not wish to reveal them, but I concede to Winter's logic. They are public knowledge now and nothing can change it. You will oversee their deployment against any members of the White Fang who encroach on our territory. You will use them to hunt down those who breach their contracts with us. They believe the White Fang are the better alternative; the moment they run from our facilities they become enemy combatants. And you will treat them as such. Make examples of them, and make others who think of running, think again.
"We will no longer fight a proxy war against the White Fang. We have always struck back in secret, to keep the public onside. Their actions in Vale have turned all but their most ardent supporters against them. We no longer have to remain in the shadows.
"I am authorising you to expand our security forces until they rival any army in the world. We will have no shortage of volunteers. And if the Council refuse to invade Vale, we will do it by ourselves. We are no longer shackled by public opinion."
His next words were spoken with such conviction Weiss knew they would remain in her memory forever.
"I will not countenance the existence of the White Fang on this planet any longer. We will wipe them out, root and branch. We will remind everyone what happens to those whose oppose this family. What am I asking you to do? Make the Schnee name feared once more."
That had been almost two weeks ago, and since then she had been snowed under by work. There were a thousand things that were all crying out for her attention, and by the time she had dealt with them, another thousand had arisen.
The scale of the task she had been assigned was staggering. Armies are enormous, cumbersome beasts, and she had to start lay the foundations for one from scratch. Real estate, equipment, food, recruitment, relocations, the command structure, training exercises, the soldier's finances, the list went on and on.
There were dozens of people assigned to help her of course, but she was the one who had to read through and authorise every single proposal. The workload was obscene. If she only had a twelve hour day, she was happy. Sometimes she had even had to work through the night, grabbing a couple of hours of sleep when she collapsed onto her office couch.
It all meant she was neglecting Ruby. Her girlfriend needed her and she just didn't have the time to spare. She had managed to take a solitary evening off, and that had done so much to recharge both their batteries. They had laughed, they had kissed as they hadn't done since getting here, and both of them had even managed to sleep soundly. Sometime soon she was going to have to take a whole day off and pamper her girlfriend.
But when she would find the time she had no idea. Logistics and bureaucracy were things she could delegate, the other drain on her time she could not. She had to personally oversee every deployment of the Advanced Dust Research Group ̶ ̶ ADRG for short ̶ ̶ the SDCs clandestine Special Operations Force. When you were pouring millions of lien into a unit that wasn't meant to exist, you needed something at the end of the paper trail and the ADRG was it.
Their existence had never been confirmed to her before, though she had guessed. Someone had to be striking back at the White Fang, what she hadn't guessed was the ADRGs scope. They had more advanced technology than even the Atlesian military. Though that was mainly due to most of the Atlesian military's research being subcontracted to the SDC and any major breakthrough being withheld for their own use. Without a doubt the ADRG was the strongest unit on the planet.
It was they who had interrupted her talk with Ruby this morning. On a day she had been prepared to put off everything else, her phone had brought her news that simply couldn't wait. One of their major mining complexes had gone dark overnight. When the nearest aircraft had overflown it they found the facility burning, and the Faunus missing. The forty eight guards had either been slaughtered or presumably taken hostage.
She was currently waiting for more intelligence. But with that, the problems with Ruby, and the rest of the things on her plate, she really didn't have an idea as to the reason she was entertaining someone whose concerns seemed to be purely commercial. That was Winter's department, not hers. It was why she wasn't really paying attention and was instead looking for medical professionals. He finally seemed to realise, he was not as captivating as he supposed.
"Are you listening to me girl!" Brunire Amantea said angrily.
It was the wrong thing to say. She hated being condescended and she had been impotent for so long. She couldn't help Ruby, couldn't stop the White Fang, and she couldn't lessen her workload. Weiss Schnee was in a bad mood, she had a headache, both metaphorical and physical, and when a Schnee was in a bad mood, sane people run.
"You forget yourself and you forget who you are speaking to. I am the heiress to my House, you are the second born son of a minor family. You do not speak down to me." He blanched at her tone.
Ever since the ill-fated first encounter with Ruby she had tried her best to no longer flaunt her lineage, she had come to the realisation that it didn't matter all that much. Though below her, Brunire was important enough to gain her audience. He obviously revelled in flaunting his family name and the perks that came with it. The very way he sat was meant to show how wealthy he was, his sleeve riding up to reveal his watch. It was expensive but not all that impressive to someone who could buy the company that made it and barely notice the difference.
"Ms Schnee I meant no offence I wa ̶ ̶ " he began to stammer out an apology but she had no time for it.
"You have exactly sixty seconds to make your case, starting now."
"Umm… It's complicated and I can't possibly beg ̶ ̶ "
"Fifty seconds."
"The SDC was contracted to buy our product and has reneged on said contract. I currently have a warehouse full of units, that the SDC are legally required to buy and yet nothing has been transferred into our accounts. I'm here to ask that you authorise the payments."
Now with a concise picture of what he wanted, Weiss really didn't know why he was in her office, and for the first time she read past the first page of the file on his contract. It had already been annotated by their legal team. They had already purchased the units they were required to but had not desired to activate the optional clauses that would increase the size of their order.
"We have fulfilled the terms of the contract in full, you brought additional product on the assumption that we would purchase the increased quantity when we have no requirement to. Our legal team is certain there is nothing that says otherwise and unless your lawyer is a magician who can make clauses appear in a signed contract you have nothing to stand on," she copied the internal case number into the system which logged all the actions the SDC had taken and checked it. "Wait, you've already seen my sister."
"Yes she told me the same thing, but I thought you might be more understanding to my circumstances. Surely you can see it would be for the best for bo ̶ ̶ "
"Get out!"
"What?"
"You have just wasted twenty minutes of my time. Time that you cannot afford to repay. If you are not out of my office by the time I finish counting to ten, I will ensure that the SDC never does business with your family again. One. Two."
The taut lines of her face told him she was not bluffing. He quickly gathered up his things, and though he was too proud to run, he did walk quickly.
Weiss watched him leave with hands that were screwed up in anger and she fought the urge to scream. With so many things demanding her attention, to have someone try and con her just to make a profit was just one step too many.
It took perhaps five more precious minutes before she had managed to regain a state in which she could function. Deliberately calmly she buzzed her intercom. "Starling, can you come here?"
The office door swung open and her PA entered. Starling was twenty three, blonde, wearing clothes that were cheap, but would pass for something someone in her position would wear, was quite cute, and had only been in the job for two weeks. She hadn't even applied for it; her application had been for a placement as an assistant to someone about a hundred rungs down the corporate ladder. But when Weiss had been searching for an assistant, Starling's file had caught her eye.
The interview had gone well, despite Starling's nerves at meeting the Schnee heiress and her lack of experience, she had gotten the job. Of course the fact she was a single mother with a young daughter and had no close family might have had something to do with it.
"Starling, did you arrange the meeting with Mr Amantea?"
"Yes. I made sure the contract had been seen by legal and sent it to your computer, was there a problem?" Starling was intelligent and had caught onto her role quickly.
"Did you check the case status in our system?" Weiss already knew the answer. Red blossomed on Starling's cheeks. "If you had, you would have seen the case had already been marked as resolved by my sister and I wouldn't have had twenty minutes of my time wasted."
"I… I'm sorry Ms Schnee… I forgot. I… I promise it won't happen. If you'd just give me another chance. Please." Starling had broken down under her gaze. For someone who had always struggled for money since becoming a mother, the surprise job, childcare, and salary that had fallen into her lap was a dream come true, and something she couldn't afford to lose.
Weiss let her squirm for a moment. It was cruel, but effective. Starling would remember this for a long time. Normally she tried to get Starling to call her by her first name, but when being reprimanded it simply wasn't appropriate.
"I know it won't." Weiss put her out of her misery. "Now I need you to go and see if my sister is in her office and available for a quick meeting."
Starling jumped at the chance to make up for her mistake. Brunire had taken up enough of her time, she wanted to work out how to help Ruby while she had a brief respite and asking Winter was the quickest way to go about it.
As luck would have it, Winter was free to meet her and Weiss made the short walk to her office. It was on the opposite side of the floor from hers and on the second highest office floor in the building. The highest was reserved for her father's.
The office itself could have been a mirror copy, the same white and glass furniture, the same layout, the only difference being the side of Atlas it had a panoramic view of. Winter's door was open and Weiss walked straight in, locking eyes with her sister.
Winter looked just as stunning as she always did and her perfect lips lifted in a smirk that was all too familiar.
"Weiss you look lovely today. Is that a new brand of foundation?" Winter said in a voice with just the slightest hint of mockery.
She didn't rise to the bait, instead closing the door, sitting in the chair opposite Winter and staring at her sister icily. Winter always enjoyed playing the games of high society and she was far too good at them.
It was the perfect compliment. It contained just enough sting to inform everyone around it was anything but, and would even draw the eye to the embarrassment. She was sure Winter did it almost unconsciously, but that didn't make it any less annoying. She was wearing too much foundation; she'd had to cover up the bruise Ruby had given her.
In a social situation the only response would have been to answer in kind. But how could anyone criticise Winter's appearance and be taken seriously. It was a game that she always won. But Weiss didn't have to abide by etiquette, so she just continued to stare. A year ago the subtle insults had hurt her, but after Vale, there were worse things than words.
Winter broke first. "I'm sorry that was uncalled for." She had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.
"It was."
"I've been buried up to my neck in reports all morning, you're a welcome distraction."
"I just had a very interesting meeting with Brunire Amantea, who seemed to believe that he could renegotiate his contract with me." Winter's features had contracted into a scowl as she spoke, what Brunire had tried to do was a major breach of protocol.
"Did he really, I think I'll have to have a word with him." Weiss would have loved to listen in on that phone call. That he had tried to circumvent Winter's authority would not have put him in her good books, but he deserved to be there.
"I thought you'd like to know. Now I have a favour to ask. I need the number of a good psychiatrist." Winter raised a questioning, perfectly groomed eyebrow at her. "It's not for me, it's for Ruby. She hasn't been dealing with Vale all that well, she's had trouble sleeping."
"That's perhaps to be expected for someone so young. I take it she won't talk to you?"
That statement annoyed her. Ruby was young, but that didn't have any bearing on why she couldn't sleep. Anyone who had to go through what Ruby had gone through would be struggling to deal with it. Weiss knew she would probably be having nightmares, if she wasn't so exhausted before her mind finally ceased thinking about all the things she still needed to do, and allowed her to drift off.
"No, I think she feels embarrassed." Weiss looked at the floor, it hurt that Ruby wouldn't talk to her. "I thought she might be able to talk to someone she doesn't know."
"It might be for the better, if she's having that much trouble. I know one who's popular among my friends. She's meant to be rather good. Let me try and find her… A Doctor Samson. I presume Ruby would feel more comfortable with a female doctor?"
Weiss doubted Winter actually had any friends. Friends were people who you thought your equal and Winter was a Schnee. The only people in her opinion who were close to her equal, was her sister and her father. But saying that Winter had never seemed lonely, like her father, she probably thought the simple act of companionship was beneath her. Although Winter was making an effort to be friendly to her.
"Yes she probably would, could you send me her details, and Winter thank you. I've been trying to find someone all morning. Now as you said, paperwork awaits." Weiss got up to leave before Winter stopped her.
"Have you picked up a dress for the next ball yet?" A musical laugh rang out at the grimace that appeared on her face. "You'll enjoy it."
That was another drain on her time. Each of the Atlesian Houses liked to show off by hosting an extravagant ball, and they would invite both their allies and rivals. They happened like clockwork every fortnight, and she had always hated them.
They were just so fake. No one who attended actually liked each other, but were just looking to stab their friends in the back. Every comment was double edged and every action would be evaluated and catalogued. Winter on the other hand loved playing the game.
The Schnees didn't usually host balls, except on very special occasions. There was no need when they were irrefutably the most powerful House around. But when they did decide to show off, it was talked about for years.
But the balls also functioned as the places that the majority of trade agreements and underhand deals between the people who ran Atlas were fostered. Normally those deals were beneath them, but with the troubles the White Fang had foisted upon them, they could only help. So her father had decreed that she should start attending with Winter. Another evening she couldn't spend with Ruby, but she refused expose her to such a vile environment.
"I haven't had the time yet, I'll have to get Starling to find me a window." Weiss said, she was not looking forward to it.
"I'm sure you'll look beautiful no matter what you pick. You've really grown in the last year, it shows." Weiss searched for the subtle insult and was surprised to find none. Winter actually sounded genuine. A warmth spread through her chest, was this how families were meant to make you feel?
"Thanks," she said uncertainly with a shaky smile. Unexpected kindness was much harder to deal with than scorn. "Now I really have to get back to work."
She'd only managed to set one expensive heel back into the reception area in front of her office, when Starling demanded her attention.
"Ms Schnee, Lord Wache is on the line, he said it was urgent."
"Thank you, see that I am not disturbed." Weiss entered her office and shut the door.
It was always strange hearing Erashan referred to by his title, but he was technically a lord, though he never mentioned it. In reality he was a lord in title only. His family's holdings were tiny, they had been larger once, but over the generations they had been steadily absorbed by her own House.
That was what the Waches had got for generations of loyal service to their liege lords. Every time they had a bad harvest, or suffered a Grimm attack, the Lord Schnee would be only too happy to help them out for just a small tithe.
Erashan's family had been left with a singular estate and that was about it. He wasn't rich and would likely never be. If it rankled for someone with his title and bloodline to be a bodyguard or a tutor, he never showed it.
She had assumed that was all he did for their family. It was only when she had been given access to the files on ADRG that she had found out he had been in command of the unit for almost all the time they had known each other. It made sense; he had often disappeared for weeks on end with no explanation, despite her prying questions.
Her father had demoted him after Vale, presumably in response to his failure in his duty to protect her. Erashan had fully maintained he deserved every punishment he received and it had taken many conversations to persuade him to reclaim his old position. He just hadn't believed there was nothing he could have done to prevent her from getting shot. But if she was in control of ADRG, she wanted him to be the person she communicated through. It had also been a subtle test to see if she really had control over ADRG and so far her father hadn't contested her decision.
Weiss sat at her desk, picked up her phone and immediately hung up, before reaching for her mobile. Its signal was encrypted twice and was the usual way she communicated with her old mentor.
"Erashan what have you found?"
"We've located a large group, around forty clicks away from the facility." His voice was deadly serious, though quiet as if he was trying not to be overheard. He was a commander who led from the front and would do anything he asked the men and women under him to do. He was likely in a foxhole overlooking the White Fang now.
"How many are there?"
"One hundred and sixty three, at last count."
"Are they armed?"
"Yes, and there are a dozen White Fang regulars with them."
Weiss tried to think of another way, but if she waited they would end up passing deep into White Fang controlled territory. They're enemy combatants, she told herself, they killed all the guards, they aren't just Faunus we enslaved running for freedom. There won't be old men, teenagers with them.
She had no problem with the deaths of members of the White Fang, she had sent several on that path herself, and held no remorse for them. But this was different; they weren't members of the White Fang… yet.
"Are you there in sufficient strength?"
"Yes."
Make examples of them her father had said. They had killed. They would only get worse. They would turn into the vermin who had attacked Vale. The ones who killed Jaune, killed Sun, killed the rest of her friends who hadn't made it. Her stomach churned as she thought about what she was trying to justify.
In time they would be just like the ones who were responsible for the deaths of Lyra… and Amber.
In that moment, she held more power than politicians and kings. She made her decision.
"Take them out," she hung up before she could change her mind and placed her mobile down carefully.
Take them out, such simple words. Such large consequences. As she sat in her modern office on top of the world, she splayed her fingers on her glass desk and pushed down hard, no longer caring about the smudges.
In her mind, she could almost hear them scream.
A/N: Another slower paced chapter. After the frantic finish to Innocence the first few updates are just going to be catching up with all the different characters, a certain blonde is next week.
Some things I forgot to say last week. I'd just like to thank reddit user Aquaczaz for editing for me and Numbnut10 on here for some help with writing the summary, I recommend checking out his story.
If you haven't done follow/favourite so you don't miss an update and if you can please leave a review.