The next day, Weiss and Yang spent most of their time resting to recover from their injuries.

Taiyang did a great job stabilizing their wounds, so their aura should take care of the rest. They will be feeling the effects for at least a week, so they had to take it easy.

They started the day with baths and took turns in the private backyard that was filled with trees. The tub was a simple wooden barrel that hovered above a pile of wood that was on fire. This heated the water and provided luxury for the former prisoners.

After going weeks at a time without cleaning themselves, they pounced at the chance.

When they were done, they slipped on simple white and yellow dresses with tan ropes around their waists. The clothing clung tightly to their slim figures and accentuated their feminine qualities.

If Ruby wasn't helping her father with blacksmithing, she was knitting. She managed to scrape up some money for the materials to make their outfits to save what little money they had.

Finally, the Yang and Weiss had the chance to comb their newly clean hair with makeshift brushes.

Weiss figured there was no use hiding her ears now that they knew. They were hidden when she was outside since there was the possibility of a bystander seeing, but now that she was inside, the appendages were free.

Both girls were so used to seeing the other one look dirty. It was strange to see the other clean. A blush formed on their cheeks when they saw each other.

Weiss and Yang thought the other looked breathtaking.

Stunning.

Gorgeous.

These words didn't do them justice.

To distract themselves, they conversed like normal, although there was an awkward tension in the air.

The blushes refused to leave their cheeks. Their individual scents wafted in their noses. Both girls gulped, having never noticed each other in this light before. Other than conversing, they spent some time playing with the little corgi. It was easy to tell Weiss was fond of Zwei.

For hours, the two played with the little corgi. Yang could tell her head bothered her every now and then, but Weiss kept ignoring it.

Knowing she was stubborn, Yang sat Weiss down on Ruby's bed. Yang took a seat next to her for a break. Her leg was starting to throb, anyways. Zwei followed them in the room and licked the part of the splint on her broken leg.

"Awwww, Zwei you're so precious!" Weiss cooed. "Are you trying to fix her boo-boo?"

Yang had spent most of her life with Weiss. She was confident that she could say she's never seen her act like this. Zwei turned her to a pile of mush.

Unable to hold back, Yang laughed, which caused Weiss' face to contort to the familiar scowl.

"If I had to guess I'd say you've never seen a dog in your life," the blonde giggled. "You didn't have pets when you lived in the castle? Like dogs, cats, or horses?"

"No, we never had pets. Father said they reminded him of the faunus."

After a deep breath, Yang asked the question she'd been wondering. "Did… did your father not like you because of…" her eyes trailed to the lion ears. "You know…"

"Let's just say he didn't," Weiss left it at that and shyly glanced away.

That's when Yang's eyes trailed to the scar over her eye.

Understandably, Weiss didn't want to tell Yang that the former king ordered her to hide those "abominations." That he constantly scolded and berated her more often than his human daughter, Winter. That he was sometimes physically abusive.

In his eyes, Weiss was a disgrace to the Schnee name. But due to tradition, the youngest child would take the throne. So it was supposed to be Weiss who would, and Winter never had a chance at the honor.

Because of this, Weiss' faunus lion ears were always hidden and were a well-guarded secret. No one could ever know the former king, who hated faunus, mated with one.

Sensing she didn't want to talk about it, Yang dropped the subject of the former king. "I thought you'd at least ridden a horse before. Even peasants like us know how to ride."

"Sadly, I never got the chance because of my father's ignorant mind," Weiss informed. "Zwei being here is a treat," she glanced down at the giddy dog. "Isn't that right?"

A soft bark.

From the noise, Taiyang walked in the room. He was wearing a woolen shirt with strips of linen around his legs- a common outfit for peasant men. He'd just finished preparing food, but when his security dog barked it was worrying.

"Everything okay in here?"

"Yeah, dad," the blonde replied. "We were just talkin' about pets. Zwei is smitten with Weiss."

"Speaking of pets, do you know where Drachen is? I haven't seen him since your fall," the dad mentioned. "I went looking for him, but couldn't find him anywhere."

Weiss and Yang's mood turned sorrowful. They remembered the horse taking the rocky fall with them, but they were so focused on getting to safety they forgot about the white horse. He took a tough tumble. It wouldn't be surprising if he turned up dead, especially if he didn't receive medical aid.

"He-he might be dead, dad," Yang barely said, but she had to face reality. "I'm sorry. I should've remembered him."

"It's a shame," overall, Taiyang was just glad his daughter and her friend were safe. "Ruby loved him a lot. She named him after you, you know."

Another calm yip.

"What?" the blonde was confused. "How?"

"I managed to rack up some money to buy him after you were taken away that day. Ruby was devastated you were gone," the dad stated. "After weeks of working on weapons, I bought the whitest, brightest horse I could find to cheer her up."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. She was of German heritage and thought of the name, Drachen, thoroughly. She supposed the name really did fit Yang.

Taiyang continued. "His name was Drachen because that means dragon in some other language, I forgot which. That was your nickname when you were a kid, remember?"

"That's right…"

Yang's heart felt warm and cold at the same time. She was touched her sister was so fond of her, but sad she led her sister's horse to his death.

"Don't blame yourself," Taiyang almost ordered. "I know Ruby wouldn't. Drachen served her well and saved your lives. Instead of guilt, you should be thankful."

"You're right, Mr. Xiao Long," Weiss agreed. "Thank you for that."

"Please, call me Tai," the dad replied.

It was hard for the ex-princess to get used to their family's dynamic. Her own family was never that… loving. At least not her father. It was strange for an older adult male to be friendly to her. He was clearly a role model in Yang and Ruby's eyes, so she decided to drop the formalities just this once.

"Alright... Tai," it felt so strange to say that, but when he grinned broadly like Yang normally does, she supposed it was okay.

Before the conversation continued, there was a hard knock on the door. Zwei lifted his snout in the air and sniffed, his happy face quickly turned to a frown. He let out a low growl and his ears leaned back.

"Hide under the floorboards," Taiyang stated. "Yang, you remember where it is, right?"

Yang nodded. It was a good hiding spot they had since they were children.

"Don't panic, but I think it might be the guards looking for both of you."

Weiss and Yang's eyes widened from the thought. They were found? Already? Adrenaline spiked in their systems from the thought.

For all they knew, the guards probably searched the entire kingdom of Vale before finding this modest home in the middle of the woods.

"Be quiet," Taiyang said before he placed a pair of blond faunus ears on his head. "Zwei and I will handle this."

Silently, Yang grabbed Weiss' hand and led her to the loose floorboard in the common area. After she lifted the wood, Weiss slid underneath without a sound. She held out her hand to help Yang down. It would be a difficult feat with her broken leg. The blonde accepted the offer and she firmly landed on the dirt ground, relying on Weiss for support. Carefully, Yang closed the floorboard over their heads.

Underground, it was so dark.

The moment the door creaked open, Weiss latched onto Yang for what seemed like dear life.

At first, the blonde stiffened from the contact, but she felt her frightened friend tremble. Not thinking about it, Yang wrapped her arms around the petite girl to provide comfort. Truth be told, she was just as scared, but felt the need to be strong for both their sakes.

Despite being scared, this felt so right. When they were this close, they enjoyed each other's natural scents and warmth.

Multiple loud footsteps.

The girls held each other closer, their heartbeats going a million miles an hour.

To calm them both, Yang said in a quiet, soothing voice.

"It's ok, Weiss. They won't find us."

Miles away, Ruby met up with her girlfriend in a hidden room.

Room… it was actually a cave.

They've done this for a few years. Each meeting spot was different to avoid raising suspicion. This time, Blake found a secluded cave just a few miles from the castle, where she worked.

As usual, Ruby adorned her red cloak while Blake had a black mantle over her head. Even though it was dark in there, someone could have seen them enter the cave. They wanted to be cautious, so they covered their faces.

Before they met up, Ruby informed Blake about Weiss' faunus heritage. Blake was shocked at first, but everything made sense. Whenever the faunus were mentioned back when they were locked up, Weiss would go uncharacteristically silent.

Their meeting was about something else. Something Ruby had to tell her in person.

"There's something important you need to know," Ruby informed. "But first…"

The red reaper wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist and pulled her close. The two leaned in and kissed, both unable to stop smiling. It had been a long time since they'd done that.

After a while, they pulled apart as the sound of love echoed in the dark cave.

"Hey, Ruby…" Blake nuzzled her head into Ruby's neck. "I missed you," she pulled away to get a better look at her features. "How are you? How're Weiss and Yang?"

"Eheh," Ruby laughed dryly. "I wouldn't say they made it 'safely,' but they're safe now!" from her girlfriend's confused reaction, she went on. "They fell down a cliff and got hurt but they're okay now! I promise!"

"What?!"

"Yang hurt her leg and Weiss has a concussion, but they've been recovering," Ruby said calmly. "It'll take time for them to heal, but they'll be okay!"

"Thank goodness…"

Good, her friends are okay. The risk Blake took being found out as a traitor was worth it. Her friends were finally free. Everything paid off.

"Back to business," Ruby said. "There's some super important information you need to know. Really important. If it gets in the wrong hands, there'd be war."

The faunus' jaw dropped. What on Remnant was so unnerving it could start another war?

"Cinder, the woman you work for, you know, the ruler of faunus, the woman who berates humans-"

"Get on with it already!" Blake shook her shoulders and couldn't wait for the revelation.

Silver eyes pried into Blake's soul.

"Cinder Fall is a human."

Just like that, it was like Blake's world stopped. Everything ceased. The only thing they could hear was the drip of water.

"What?" was all she could mumble. The word echoed in the cave.

"Weiss told us," Ruby informed. "She knows Cinder from when she was little."

There was no reason Weiss would lie about something that big. Blake accepted what Ruby had told her wholeheartedly. When Blake thought about it, it was actually comical. She could only imagine what Adam would say if he found out that he was taking orders- and so loyal- to a human.

A faint laugh slipped.

"That Faker…"

"Why're you laughing?" Ruby asked.

"I'm going to have a field day with this. Things just got a lot more interesting."

"You know what you need to do next, right?" Ruby questioned. She hated bringing it up since her girlfriend's job entailed danger, but they were both knew what they were getting into.

A sly smirk formed on the faunus' lips. "The first step."

With the ex-princess of Vale and Blake's undercover work, revolution was possible. No, it wouldn't be a mere riot. It would overthrow the tyrant completely.

If they could unveil Cinder's secret, they could turn society around. Maybe for once in history, humans and faunus could live together in peace. A thing they could only dream of achieving. Now it seemed so possible and stared at them in the face.

They had no choice. They had to act or nothing would change. If they didn't take action, who will?

Ruby gave her a simple nod. Her girlfriend was smart. She knew what to do.

"It's a secret," the mini reaper said obviously. "You can't tell anyone, okay? Her identity is the key to taking her down!"

"Really, Ruby? You think I'd tell someone?" Blake laughed weakly. "Relax, I got this. As usual."

The couple pulled each other in another embrace. Ruby's next words were muffled due to her face being in her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Be careful."

You guessed it, no Whitley (Shitley)! This was already written before his appearance, so I made no plans for the little shit.

Stay dandy,

~Toto