The Snowflake and the Chameleon

The Princess stared down her enemy as the unknown masked intruder circled her from a distance. Weiss felt her legs tremble as she held her battle stance. This was the first time she had to hold her own in a real battle.

"You don- don't have to do this." The Princess' voice cracked as she tried to calm her nerves. "Just leave now and no one will know." Weiss shuddered, seeing the bloodlust in her attacker's eyes that will not be so easily soothed.

"You're right Princess, I don't have to do this. I want to !" The girl answered back with an angry shout and disgust in her eyes.

The intruder lunged forward hoping to knock the rapier from the Princess hands. Quickly shifting her weight to the side to avoid getting hit by the other woman, who unfortunately was unfazed by such simple maneuver. The masked assailant started to tumble forward but plants her left foot and spun around with her weapon held out trying to catch the Princess in a deadly arc. Weiss dropped to the floor and tried to throw the intruder off balance with a low sweep kick. But to no avail.

She looks to be the around the same age as me… why is she trying to kill me? Is it because of my family name? Could it be something Father has done?

The Princess tucked her rapier close to her body and launched herself upward at her attacker expecting to land a blow. The young woman wearing the mask of a Grimm jumped backwards avoiding the blow and goes on the offensive. She laughed condescendingly, hatred flicking across her irises as she thrusted and slashed her weapon in a attempt to to wear the Princess down.

Weiss tried to avoid hurting the girl and continued to use her rapier to deflect the continuous hits. I don't want to hurt her. If we both make it out of here alive we can force her to answer questions about the White Fang. I have to end this fight soon else I may be the one who won't make it out.

The Princess curled her rapier up towards her bosom and thrusts it outward as she began her sprint towards her attacker. Have to land a blow or else. Weiss tried to get the upper hand skipping side to side as she got closer. Right before thrusting her rapier at her attacker something is thrown into Weiss' eyes.

No… can't see…I have to get some distance between us…I have to…. Weiss stopped dead in her tracks and carefully backtracked as she tried to clear her eyes. Tears well up in a feeble attempt to clear the debris from the Princess' cerulean blue eyes, to no avail.

With the Princess now disoriented, the attacker rushed in to close the distance between them. The Princess gripped her rapier dodged the best she could while partially blind, relying heavily on her footwork to keep her attacker at least a swords length away.

"What's the matter Princess? Never fought with anyone who played dirty," The other girl snarled,"It's a shame you'll never get a second chance." She laughed maniacally as she used a pillar next to the Princess to jump up and brings her sword crashing down.

"Ahhh…"Weiss grimaced as she barely brought the rapier up in time to deflect the blow, the shock of the heavy hit nearly made her drop her own weapon. I can't take many more hits like that. Or else-No not this place, not today. Tightening her grip on the hilt of her rapier, Weiss lunged at her attacker. The two exchanged parries and blows until their weapons become locked together. "Do you think this is enough to defeat me?" Weiss smirked in defiance as she leaned her body forward, trying to overtake her attacker.

Both fighting for dominance as their swords slid against each other, the intruder suddenly took one hand off her short sword allowing the Princess to gain the upper hand slightly. With her now free hand the intruder knocked the wind out of the Princess with a solid punch to the gut.

"G..ahhh..." Weiss gasped stumbling backwards in a daze. Barely able to keep her distance from her attacker, Weiss feels her rapier's weight for the first time during the fight. Was this thing always this heavy? After catching her breath and composure the rapier begins to feel lighter but her mind is still bogged down with a single question. "Why …. why are you doing this?" Taking a few slow deep breaths, Weiss realized she will not win a battle of purely combative prowess. If I can't beat her with just my combat skills, if I can somehow outsmart her for just a little while longer guards should return soon.

"Why does your family feel the need to kill Faunus? To enslave them?" The attacker snarled as she slowly walked up to the nearly defeated Princess. "The White Fang will save the Faunus! And your death will be the start of the revolution."

In the dimly lit hallway the torches that line the hall flickered just enough that within the semi-polished blade, even with all of it's battleborn scratches and nicks, a muddled reflection of a horrified cerulean eyes seem to be engulfed in what could be mistaken for a beowolf's tooth. As the attacker rose the blade the image changed from one of fear to one of resistance as her foe smirked and brings her weapon upwards for a finishing blow.

Before the young woman could hit the Princess, Weiss curls her knuckles tight around her rapier and uses the knuckle guard to jab her attacker in the face, knocking her mask off.

Icy blue eyes stared into the dulled grey eyes of her attacker, her face in full view without the mask. "HOW DARE YOU?!" The tan girl growled her flesh takes a red hue, yanking the rapier from the Princess' grip and throws it by a suit of armor on the far side of the hall.

"No more games, Princess." The clearly frustrated girl seethes as her eyes twitch becoming a fiery red.

How did she do that? I….I have to get back to my rapier or find some sort of weapon in the meantime….I can't beat her without a weapon. Can I beat her at all?

"Now what will you do dear Princess." The words slither out from the attacker's mouth, the warm breath caressing Weiss' cheeks causing her stomach to churn.

"Wouldn't this be less painful if you just give up. " The young woman asked cocking her head to the side. "Why do you fight so hard? It's quite pathetic."

Fear bled through the young girl's veins, adrenaline hot on it's heels. Pretty much the only thing keeping her from rolling over belly up at this point was her pride. "Ha, you think I would just lie down and die. Someone like you will never kill me." Weiss said, to her own surprise, confidently. I have made it this long. If I can just hold out until the guards return to their posts. I need to shake her somehow…right now she has nothing but bloodlust in her eyes. I can't win against a cold blooded killer.

"You haven't even broken skin yet. What kind of assassin can't land a blow on an unarmed opponent?" Weiss called mockingly to the girl. "The White Fang must have all their top assassins elsewhere if this is who they send to kill me. I should be the target of the top assassin of the White Fang, not some second rate handmaid."

Suddenly her attacker reverted back into a maniac frenzy.

"HANDMAID!? YOU DESIRE TO DIE PRINCESS? I WILL GRANT YOUR WISH." The intruder lunged towards Weiss, who simply shifted her weight to her right side and tucked into a ball to roll closer to her fallen rapier. Unfortunately the Princess still had not mastered dodge rolling and ended up crashing into the suit of armor with her rapier nearby.

"No…" The Princess whispered as she was surrounded by pieces of the fallen armor suit. Glancing around she noticed her rapier is only but an arm's length away.

"It's quite fitting that a Princess of a Kingdom that murders its own people and enslaves Faunus is killed by a Faunus don't you think?." The intruder laughed as she walked up to the Princess. "Did you really think you would make it out of here alive? You may be able to beat your instructor when there are rules, but in a real fight there are no rules! Just survival of the fittest." With the intruders' weapon pointed at the fallen Princess the attacker sprinted towards Weiss ready to thrust the sword into the Princess' heart. "And you humans will know who the superior beings are. Let me enlighten you Princess, its. Not. You."

Scanning the floor around her Weiss quickly launched one of the gauntlets from the armor at her attacker hoping to buy a few seconds to retrieve her weapon. Not expecting an iron fist to come flying at her the intruder swipes her sword to block it, just as she does the Princess slid the shield under the attackers feet. This caused her to slip and come crashing to the floor. Weiss throws the armor off of her and scoops up the rapier. She then proceeds to get some distance between her and the fallen girl by moving back to where the armor was once standing. The Princess griped the rapier's handle and readies herself for battle once more.

"More resourceful than I thought you would be." The young woman spat as she gets up from the floor. The sound of heavy footsteps from the armed soldiers grow louder, causing the two women to pause their bout.

The stakes have changed-in my favor. Weiss thought as she screamed "HELP! GUARDS!" in hope that the guards will hear her cries and will to be quick to aid their Princess. Please please hurry…Weiss snaps her head towards the sounds to see where the guards would be coming from.

The intruder quickly followed suit only to see two armed guards running from one of the corridors.

"Called for an audience I see. Sadly this is supposed to be a private show, Princess." The attacker pushed off with her right foot to hit the distracted Princess. Right as the sword passes Weiss' rapier she knows it was too late to completely evade the attack.

The tip of the sword cuts above the Princess' left eyebrow, who quickly tried to turn to avoid becoming blind.. But the quick motion caused the sharp blade to cut just beneath her eye and down to her cheek slightly off to the left of the first cut.

"Something to remember me by, until next time Princess." The attacker smirked as she bolted towards the opposite corridor the guards are coming from.

Weiss yelped as blood dripped from the wound. The Princess quickly covered her eye with her right hand while still holding the rapier tight in her left in case her attacker decided to double back to finish the Princess off.

The guards rushed to her side.

"Princess, are you alright?" One guard exclaimed noticing the blood seeping through slender fingers and down her arm soaking her blue gown.

"Forget about me. GET HER BEFORE SHE ESCAPES!" Weiss yelled pointing her rapier in the direction that her attacker had gone. Without another word both guards rushed down the corridor, Weiss attempting to follow before she stops at the tone of a familiar voice.

"Bobbet…OH my Bobbet! What happened?" Klein sniveled full of concern and regret. "This is all my fault, I should have been with you after your fencing class."

"Klein it's not your fault." Weiss tried to reassure the man as more blood oozes from her once pristine face.

The sound of glass breaking caused Weiss to rush where she believed the sounds were emitting from. Klein follows close behind her as he takes a handkerchief from his breast pocket and attempts to hand it to the Princess as she stopped running.

"Where is SHE? The girl who came to kill me!" The Princess called out, using the handkerchief to absorb the excessive blood from her cut.

"Your Highness, she jumped out through this window, it seems that she has friends nearby, the guards below were unable to apprehend her as well." One guard speaks solemnly as he kneels before the Princess, the others following suit in respect.

CLANK. Weiss drops the rapier on the floor as she walked towards the destroyed window. "So she escaped. Nothing we can do about it now. Klein have someone reassemble that suit of armor and clean up this mess. Also inform my Father and Oscar that I shall be dining in my room tonight. I have had enough... excitement for one night." Taking one last glance outside with her right eye she sees the White Fang members scattering about the courtyard.

I see…you weren't alone were you. That must be nice to have a team to rely on.

"Princess you must go to the healer's quarters. Your wound hasn't stopped bleeding."

Klein stated, gesturing to the completely blood soaked handkerchief still pressed against her face.

"I suppose I can stop by the healer's quarters but I fear this will scar and ruin my perfect complication. Father will be most displeased," Weiss scowled before continuing, "but I am sure Sir Oobleck will be proud that I held my own in battle." She smiled softly, turning towards her beloved chamberlain to return the now soiled handkerchief before she began walking down the corridor.

Quickly walking towards the healer's quarters, Weiss winced as the breeze graze her painful new feature. I don't think this will be the last time the White Fang will be paying me a visit. Subconsciously the Princess ran a slim finger across the burning line down her eye.

Weiss held her head high, almost proud to show the shocked guards and maids that passed her by her bloody battle scar.

This will be hopefully be the last time I will be alone in battle. Once the tournament is over, I will have my own personal guard that will protect me as well as the Kingdom from all threats.

A/N Thanks to everyone who is still reading. I know its been a long time coming but we are nearly to the tournament. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you next month. As always feel free to leave a comment and favorite if you enjoy the continuing adventures of these women.