Chapter four: The road to hell is paved with… you know where this is going.

"Miss Schnee?"

I groggily opened my eyes, frowning when I looked up. I felt the comfortable bed, silk sheets. I definitely wasn't back in Roman's fight club. I saw the pale white ceiling with the snowflake painted right above me as I turned my head, giving a small smile as I saw the man walking towards me. The caring brown eyes, the suit, the balding head with spots of brown hair around the edge. "Klein." I said, slowly sitting up, feeling the silk falling off of me as I stood. Klein gestured to my right, revealing there to be a pale, white dress a few feet away, along with high heels and underwear. "Mr. Schnee will be attending a dinner tonight, and he has asked you to attend. He says you are to bring a guest." he said.

I glared at the clothes, looking down at my own. I was dressed in a long, silk gown. I didn't bother to put on any underwear before I fell asleep. Fighting tired me out. But it was a good kind of tired, the right kind of tired. Not like the draining tiredness I felt being all proper around my father. "When's the dinner?" "Eight o'clock sharp. Though," he leaned over, his eyes flashing red, his voice becoming more snarky, "I doubt any of those slimy snobs will show up till nine." he said. I giggled as he sneezed, apologizing as he kept sneezing, sending me into a laughing fit. I had to double over because of it. He smiled when I regained my composure, his eyes turning brown again. "It's good to see my happy little snowflake hasn't melted." he said, right before he turned around, walking out the door.

Once he was gone, and I was left alone with the silence, I frowned, gritting my teeth as I reached down, practically tear the offending silk garment off my body. I watched it fall in a heap in the corner of the room, along with some of my other clothes. I looked down at my hands. Calloused, knuckles hardened, fingers thin. They weren't the hands of an heiress. They were the hands of a fighter. "That's what I am… at least, what I should be." I muttered, turning and walking towards the bathroom, only to pause, looking down and seeing my scroll buzzing. I walked over, raising an eyebrow when I saw it was Oobleck's number. Being his patient so often, he felt it necessary that we exchange scroll numbers. 'In case I was injured' he said.

I answered, holding it up to my ear. "What is it?" "Oh! Um… is this Weiss?" I heard a higher pitched, nervous female voice ask. I couldn't help but smile when I heard it. There was no denying who that voice belonged to. "Oh, hi Velvet." I said. She started talking, but despite me trying to listen and understand her, with all the pauses and stuttering, I found myself just hearing her voice, nothing else. No meaning behind it, just the voice. Minus all the stuttering and nerves, she had a really pretty voice. "Um… is that a yes or…" "Huh? Oh sorry, I zoned out for a second." I said, feeling my face tinge pink. I wasn't really sure why but, there it was.

"I said, when are we going to park? Remember? For… for the uh… thanks! Yeah, to thank you!" she said, getting back to her train of thought. I only smiled, looking over towards the white dress. I smirked slightly as I remembered, I was allowed to bring a guest. This party was going to be filled with fancy people and others… "Actually, after the park would you like to come to my place? We're having dinner and one of the guests couldn't make it." So, let's see their reaction when I bring a random faunus girl in. Velvet -and I could almost hear her blush over the scroll- was thanking me, saying nice things, asking when the park thing was, if that was still going on. "We'll head to the park around four, then we'll head to dinner… oh and, dress casual alright? It's not a formal event." I said, feeling that wicked smirk on my face grow wider and wider.

"This is going to be fun."

…

"Weiss?"

I turned around, smiling as I saw the brown haired faunus dashing towards me. She was dressed in what looked to be jeans and a brown turtleneck. She was wearing some black sneakers, nothing out of the ordinary. I was dressed in a plain white shirt and jacket, with a pair of jeans to match. I had on my white shoes, the same kind as Velvet's oddly. She walked over to me, giving me a small smile, her face tinged pink. I had no doubt during the entirety of our day she would be like that. Strangely, the was also carrying what looked to be a picnic basket in one hand, her other waving at me. She had a smile on her face, and upon seeing it, I was powerless not to smile back.

"Hey Velvet. What's with the… you know we're going to dinner, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Velvet raised an eyebrow too, then both of them widening as I saw her ears stiffen, her cheeks burning as she slowly looked down, as if just realizing the picnic basket was in her hand. Velvet looked down, bending over at the waist, letting her arms dangle. "I planned to make this before you called… I forgot about the… I'm really sorry…" she said. When she stood straight, I noticed there were tears in the corners of her eyes, her face still red. I just gave her a smile, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "What all did you pack? We might be able to eat some of it." I said, looking slightly up at her. She smiled down at me, sniffing.

"Well… I ,um, packed a few carrots? Some bread… not for us! I um… figured we could, maybe… feed the ducks with it?" she said, looking away from me as she played with one of her long strands of hair, her face burning. I reached over, gently holding the picnic basket between the two of us. I opened it, revealing there to be a few carrots, a few slices of bread, and what looked to be a blanket taking up the other side. "Can't say I've ever heard of someone putting the blanket IN the basket but… oh well, one less thing we have to carry." I thought as I shut the basket, taking it from her, setting it in my left hand. "I'll carry it." I said. I left no room for debate, not that she tried to debate me anyway, as I started walking, Velvet walking with me.

After a few minutes I looked around, finding that we weren't alone. Two people were walking towards us. A boy and a girl. They were both smiling, happily walking, their hands entwined. I looked back towards Velvet, finding that she was absently looking around at the beauty, the same way I was. I saw the people pass as I let my hand reach out, gently grabbing hers. Velvet looked down, her eyes widening in surprise as he face burned. Then she looked away, adjusting her grip so that we really were holding hands, her face burning brighter. I smiled as I turned away, feeling my own face tinge pink. It was… nice. Her hand was soft, warm, unlike mine. Mine were always cold and hard… wonder if the way we act has anything to do with how our hands feel.

"Th-this is the lake." Velvet said, stopping, pointing off to the right with a shaky hand. I looked over, revealing there to, indeed, be a lake. I was rather surprised I'd missed it, considering it was the biggest thing in the entire park. I nodded, letting Velvet lead me this time, following her towards what looked to be a large tree, a few letters carved into it. Stereotypical things like J+P in a heart, things like that. Or "Qrow was here", those kinds of things. There weren't many, surprisingly, except on the back, as the front was just a blank slate… that or they had all been on the front for much longer and had been covered by the growing tree. Velvet sat down as I sat the picnic basket down on her lap, sitting myself next to her. She moved the basket so that it was balanced on her left leg and my right, barely an inch of air between them.

She opened the basket, pulling out a slice of bread, handing it to me. I took it, her taking another one before she shut the basket, moving it off to the side. Out feet were right near the edge, so throwing them in wasn't hard. I looked over, copying what Velvet was doing as she took her hand from my grip, taking out parts of the center of the bread before tossing them in the pond. I did the same, tossing smaller pieces than her as I heard the familiar quacking of ducks, a few of the green headed birds swimming towards us. "Aww… the little chicks are so cute~" Velvet fawned, smiling down towards the smaller, baby ducks that were swimming over as well, feeding with the mother. At least, I guessed it was the mother. Hard to tell really.

After a few seconds Velvet tossed in bits the crust, as I did the same. She was done with her bread in a second, content to just sit there and watch the ducks move around, eating the pieces she'd tossed. I tossed in a few more before my own bread was done, and I too sat there, watching. I leaned back, feeling my back against the tree as I felt my face shift in discomfort. I looked behind me, finding there was a strange knot on the tree, jabbing into the far left of my back. I laid my hand on the ground, pushing myself over slight before leaning back again, smiling as I no longer felt the jabbing. Though, when I heard the nervous squeak, I became all too aware of the pressure against my leg. I looked over, finding that I'd moved so that me and Velvet were flush against one another, Velvet's face burning as she met my eyes.

"Sorry… it's just there's-" "I knot on the tree? T-There's… one here, too… see?" she said, leaning up and pointing behind her, revealing there to be a very similar one to mine. Other than it wasn't actually touching Velvet, just preventing her from moving over. I leaned back again, looking over at her. "I guess we'll have to stay like this then." "Yeah… carrot?" she asked, giving a nervous smile as she held one of the small objects out towards me. It was a baby carrot actually, not an adult one. I smiled, taking it from her and twirling it slightly in my fingers. I popped it into my mouth, smiling when I tasted it. It was… different. I'd never had one quite like it. "Where'd you get these?" "Oh, I grow them! I uh… I mean the market! Yeah! The market!" she said, nervously looking away from me.

"You act like growing them's a bad thing." "Well… uhhh…" she put her head in her hands, "Sorry I… I don't want to mess up. You're the only one whose shown anything other than contempt for me in a long time… I-I… I haven't got many friends so…" she pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them as I saw her lay her head down. I leaned over, doing the only thing I could think of as I put my head on her shoulder, my arm wrapping around her and placing it on her other shoulder. I smiled, "It's okay… we're in the same boat then I guess." I said. She pulled back slightly, blushing when she looked down and saw my head on her shoulder. She didn't try and move me though, just stretching her legs back out, letting her head lean over, hitting gently against mine. "I haven't had… anything like this since… well, since… I don't-" "It's okay… let's stop talking for awhile, okay?" I said, smiling back up at her. She returned it, looking towards the ducks.

I couldn't tell how long we sat there, silent, watching the ducks floating around the pond, listening to the rustle of the trees in the wind. We just sat there, enjoying each others company and warmth… until, of course, I felt my scroll buzz. I frowned, reaching over and pulling it out, gritting my teeth when I saw the time. It was an alarm I'd set earlier, telling me that it was 6:30. Time for me to head home. "We need to go… dinner will be starting soon." I said, reluctantly standing up, feeling the cold wind chill hitting me full force. Velvet gave me a sad expression, one that instantly made me want to sit back down and hug her, but she stood regardless, grabbing the basket before she smiled at me. "Yeah… wouldn't want to be late." she said, her blush having died down over the course of… what? An hour? Two? I didn't know, and frankly I didn't care. It wasn't long enough.

The two of us started walking out of the park, Velvet carrying the basket this time. I felt a pressure on my hand as I looked down, finding that Velvet had taken my hand this time, wrapping her right around my left. I adjusted my grip, giving her a smile as both our faces tinged pink. We turned back ahead, me leaning my head against Velvet's shoulder as I tried to save some of that feeling from a few minutes ago, one that was rapidly fading against the cold wind, as if it were blowing it away. Eventually I lost it, but I kept my head on her shoulder, hoping that I could feel it again. We walked through downtown, me leading the way as Velvet's eyes widened. "That's your house?" she asked, her face paling. I just nodded, frowning towards it. "Yeah… sadly." I muttered.

I walked up to the door, reaching into my pocket, taking out my keys, and opening the door without hesitation. I saw Klein waiting for me, smiling towards me for a second before he looked back, eyes widening when he saw Velvet walk in, lightly gripping at her arm. "H-Hello…" "Ms. Schnee… I dare say the old fool will be shocked at this one hehe." Klein said, his eyes turning red before he walked out, still laughing as he walked towards the kitchen. I took Velvet's hand again, leading her upstairs towards my room. When we got to the door I stopped. "Wait right here. If anyone asks, you're Weiss Schnee's guest, okay?" Velvet gave a meek noise of approval, hunching in on herself as she looked around. I stared a beat longer before I walked inside, shutting the door. I glared down at the dress as I picked it up, walking towards the bathroom. The only consolation in my mind the look on my father's face when he'd see Velvet.

After a few minutes I came out, grunting as I forced myself not to pick and prod at the dress. I'd sooner just be in underwear, have some wrist guards on and be in a boxing ring at to where something so stupidly hard to move in. I brushed my hair back, tying it into a ponytail as I walked towards the door, my young years of training giving me the practiced expertise at walking in high heels. I opened the door, walking out to see Velvet still standing there. When she looked up, she froze, her face burning again as she looked away. "Y-You look-" "Stunning? Unbelievable? I know… don't remind me." I said, frowning as I walked over, taking her hand again.

"I-I thought… I thought this… oh no… I'm not really dressed-" "Velvet, you look great. You'll be fine." I said, smiling at her, not having to look up thanks to the high heels. Velvet blushed darker as she looked away, shaking like a leaf. Meanwhile I lead her towards the dining room, stopping when I saw my father, younger brother, and my sister -who'd just gotten out of the hospital- sitting at the end of the table. Winter still had a bandage over her nose, as well as what was basically a white sash wrapped around her head, trying to keep her jaw in place. Thanks to her hair though, it was rather hard to tell where it started and ended. It seemed Klein was wrong about the other guests too, as it seemed most of them had already arrived, walking around and talking with one another, as well as my family. I was about to walk in when Velvet stopped me, looking towards them. "Weiss I… I can't do this." "What do you mean? All you have to do is walk in with me, sit down, eat, and… well, exist." I said, giving her the most comforting smile I could manage.

"No I mean… y-your family they… I'm sorry! I… I'll try…" she said, looking up at me with a both embarrassed and determined expression… not sure how she did it but hey, there it was. I nodded, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before I pushed open the doors, drawing the eyes of almost everyone in the room as they all went dead quiet, watching as I lead the shy faunus into the room. My father stood, along with Winter and Whitley, as they walked over, Winter giving me a smile, as well as a wink. Whitley just glared at me the second he thought no one was looking, part of that glare sometimes going to Velvet. My father… well, he just looked bewildered. I'd brought a poor faunus as my plus one? "Father," I broke the silence that had filled the room, "This is Velvet. She is my plus one this evening." I said, gesturing towards Velvet. I motioned for her to say something.

"Hi." she said, her voice cracking, her face burning, her grip on my hand like iron. A small few of the people around, likely those that actually cared about faunus, started talking again, speaking with others and drinking, but the rest all looked towards me and, more specifically, Velvet. My father looked like he was about to say something when I spoke, "What's the matter Father? Is there something wrong with me bringing a faunus friend?" I asked, giving him a subtle smirk as I heard a few people whispering. I'd backed him into a corner, and oh it felt good. If he said there was a problem, people would know he was racist against faunus, something he'd repeatedly denied in interviews. If he said there wasn't, people would think he was fine inviting some random poor faunus into his home. Either way, neither choice would end well. I could see the gears in his head turning just before he spoke.

"Well not at all. I'm just… surprised, is all. After all, I've never met this… what did you say your name was?" "Umm… I-I'm V-Velvet…" she said, her stuttering and shaking amped up to new heights by the pressure of the many eyes in the room. My father nodded, looking around towards his guests, his eyes telling them what he wanted, the way they always seemed to. Everyone turned away from his gaze, except a rare few, who still glared at Velvet. Soon the music in the room resumed, everyone talking just the way it was before Velvet had walked in. I held Velvet's hand as we walked towards the tables of food, laden down with a thousand things. Velvet's nose twitched, in a way I'd liken to a rabbit, fittingly enough, before she looked up, her eyes widening. I grabbed two plates, handing Velvet one and taking another for myself. "Help yourself Velvet." I said, giving her a smile as I started loading my own plate with a few things.

I looked back, seeing Velvet grab a plate with her shaky hands, loading on a few vegetables, setting the tongs back against the plate with a few jagged notes. I turned back around, my own plate loaded, as I stepped behind Velvet, watching her. After a second she turned towards me, her eyes asking the question. "Just follow me." I said, giving her a smile before I turned, walking back towards the tables. I chose one far away from everyone else, and far away from my father. All for Velvet's benefit… okay, maybe it was mine too. I sat down, Velvet doing the same as she looked down at her plate, eyes flicking over to me every few seconds. I started eating, Velvet taking the hint and picking at her food too, still hunched over and trying not to draw attention to herself. Her ears were even curling up to try and be smaller.

"Pardon?"

I looked up from my plate, Velvet jerking her head up too, like an alert animal, to reveal a man standing in front of us. I recognized the neat, light brown hair anywhere. The man was clad in a tan suit, oddly enough, wearing a black and gray watch on his right hand. No doubt it cost more than most of the furniture in this room. He was carrying a glass of red wine with him, sitting it down before pulling out a chair, sitting across from me. He flashed me a small smile as I returned it, albeit mine was much more forced. "Dove Bronzewing, of Patch." "Weiss Schnee. It's a pleasure to meet you." he said, reaching out his hand. I laid mine in his, forcing myself not to reach up and punch him as he kissed my hand. I couldn't pull my hand out of there fast enough.

"I must say I'm… rather surprised, at your choice of company." he said, gesturing towards Velvet. Velvet blushed, looking at the ground as I saw her put her hands beneath the table, gripping them into fists. I could tell she was trying really hard not to shout… or cry, I really couldn't tell without seeing her eyes. I glared at Dove, "What's wrong with her?" "Oh! Did I… give the impression she was bad company? My apologies, I didn't mean it that way. I've got nothing against the faunus. I just figured she might be… happier, with her own people." he said, keeping that same, calm smile on his face the entire time. I gritted my teeth as I saw a tear drip down from Velvet's face as I glared at the man. He held up his hands, "Don't get the wrong idea, I've nothing against her. Think of it as… these wines." he said, looking around for a solution, he seemed to find it as he behind him and grabbing a half-full glass of white wine from a nearby waiter.

"The two of them are perfectly fine on their own, great even. However, if you mix them, they just don't taste quite right… do you see where I'm going with this?" he asked. I looked over at Velvet, and the second I saw that saddened expression on her face, the tears ready to fall, I knew I had to do something. I reached over, taking both the glasses and, before disbelieving eyes, poured the white wine into the red, taking it and slowly drinking it, keeping my gaze on him until the glass was empty. I set it down.

"I like a good Rosé, thank you very much." I said, standing up. I reached down, placing a hand on Velvet's shoulder. She looked up, and I could only give her a reassuring smile. "Would you like to go somewhere more private?" "Yes… please…" she whispered, slowly standing up and shuffling behind me. I walked away, leaving the stunned Dove Bronzewing sitting at the table, staring agape at the empty glasses of wine. I walked out into the hallway, shutting the door behind me. I started walking, heading towards my room for a few minutes. I could see the walls of strength Velvet had put up, to try and get past the evening. I pulled us into my room a few moments later, shutting the door.

The second we were alone, her walls shattered.

She dashed over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and sobbing into my shoulder. I sank against the door, burying my head in her hair as I held her, trying to comfort her. We sat like this for awhile, guilty thoughts running through my head the whole time, until she finally spoke up. "Sorry…" "No, I'm sorry… I asked you to come because I wanted to mess with my father. I only thought about the look on his face instead of how you might feel…" I looked away, feeling the familiar pain in my chest. She leaned back, shaking her head slightly, giving me a smile. "It's okay Weiss… I'm fine… really…" she said, her voice quivering. I leaned in, wrapping my arms around her again.

"You're not fine, don't tell me you are… if you never want to see me again, if you hate me now… I understand." I said, frowning as I said so. I'd done something I shouldn't have… what reason did she have to stick around? "No… It was a mistake. That's all. I don't hate you." she said, smiling up at me. I felt my eyes widen as she stood, holding out a hand. I took it, pulling myself up as I met her eyes, trying to find an ulterior motive, reason… something. But… there wasn't one. It was just… Velvet. Her eyes were just as brown and kind as always, if a bit puffy, and her smile was just as genuine. "You… you aren't mad?" "No… a little embarrassed but… no. I'm not mad." she said, keeping that same smile on her face. I looked away from her, still trying to understand.

"What do you want me to do?" "Excuse me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. I just repeated the same question, looking her dead in the eye. By the look I was giving, she knew I was being serious. At least, I hoped she knew I was being serious. "Weiss… I don't want you to do anything. Why are you acting like you did something wrong?" "Because I did. I used you for my own sick pleasure, watching my father and everyone at that stupid party see a poor faunus walk into the room. The looks on their faces… that's what I wanted. I-" I couldn't keep going, I just sat down on the bed, looking ahead of me, gripping my hands together. Velvet sat down next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked over, that patience smile, those kind eyes…

"Why are you so nice to me?" "I know what it's like when people are mean to you… I don't want anyone to ever feel that. And uh," she looked away, tapping her index fingers together, "I'm uh, not very good at being mean." she said. I raised an eyebrow, looking over to see her twisting a strand of her hair. I looked her over, with the rabbit ears, kind face, soft hands… it was kind of hard to imagine her as being anything but timid and kind. "Most people just laugh." "How about you show me?" I asked, giving her a small smile. She looked down, frowning as she placed her hands on her forehead, shifting her mouth around slightly as I could almost see the gears in her brain working. "Got it!"

"G-Give me all your m-money you… you uh… whore!" she said, her face bright red. I tried to keep it together at a red faced Velvet in a turtleneck demanding money from me. "BAHAHAHAHAHA!" suffice to say, I completely and utterly failed. Velvet smiled down at me as I fell back on the bed, recovering from the sudden laughing fit as she too fell back, looking over at me. "Told you." "I don't know if that was more cute or funny." I said, smiling over at Velvet. This of course only caused her to blush more, turning around and exposing the back of her head to me. I sat up, Velvet doing the same as I stood, walking towards the bathroom. "Let me change out of this stupid thing, I'll walk you home." I said, shutting the door behind me.

When I walked back out, I was dressed in the same clothes as I was during our walk. Velvet smiled at me as I held out my hand. She took it without question, standing up and following me out of my room, heading towards the exit. "Sister!" I heard the familiar, annoying voice of Whitley say. I turned, looking towards him as he stomped over, his face red with anger as Velvet stepped behind me, a hand placed on my shoulder as I felt her shaking. He glared at me, "What were you thinking! Bringing an animal to such an event like this!" "Take. That. Back." I said, glaring down at my younger brother. He took a step back, but it seemed to only heighten his fury. "I won't! You brought a poor, stupid, dumb-" That was all he got the chance to say.

"TKO."

I said as I smiled down at my brother, his arms and legs twitching as I rubbed my fist, sore with the impact to his face. His nose wasn't bleeding, oddly enough, but his eyes may as well have been swirlz, with those cartoonish birds flapping around his head. I didn't let Velvet get a word in edgewise as I turned around, speed-walking towards the exit as Velvet scrambled to catch up for a moment, panting by the time we left the property. I reached up, rubbing my fist. "That… felt good." I said, panting slightly from the walk. Velvet just smiled at me as we turned, walking down the sidewalk, hand in hand, back towards Oobleck's clinic. I guessed she either lived there or around that area. Oobleck had told me once he lived in the clinic, and if he was her godfather… well, it only made sense they'd live in the same place, right?

"Hey Weiss…" I heard Velvet say as we approached Oobleck's place. I sort of tuned out the world around me as I walked through the familiar sites, but Velvet's voice drug me right out of that, back into reality. I turned my head back towards her, "Thanks… for what you did." "Don't mention it, I've wanted to punch Whitley since he came out of our mother." I said, smirking slightly as Velvet giggled. I tried to memorize it, store it away for future use… but I found it was impossible. People's laughs, normally, I could tell who they were by it but… all of Velvet's sounded different somehow. Like, her voice changed every time she would laugh, in a different order of notes or something. It made me want to make her laugh more, so that I could find one that sounded familiar. "Not that… thanks for what you said. About the white wine and, red wine and, rosy… thing…"

"Rosé?"

"Yeah! That. Coming from someone like you… it really means a lot." she said, giving me a bashful smile. I smiled back, finding my face tingeing pink again… for what reason this time though, it eluded me. Normally it was clear. I stopped right in front of the clinic, Velvet taking her hand from mine, standing near the door, hand on the knob. "Velvet," she turned around, "how about tomorrow, after you get off work, we go out to eat together. Just the two of us this time. It can be anywhere you want. Would you be okay with that?" I asked, giving her a smile as I awaited her answer. Velvet only smiled, wrapping her arms around me in a hug, one I quickly returned. She pulled back, walking into the clinic before she turned, smiling at me.

"Yeah…I'd like that."

(a/n- Don't know if Rosé will show up properly on mobile, so know it's supposed to be R-O-S-E, and the E has an accent over it (like in some Spanish words). Probably overreacting, but then again tildes and asterisks don't show up on mobile either so hey, it may not show. We'll know when this is posted.

Edit (literally ten seconds after posting the chapter): Okay, accents show. False alarm.)