"She's kicking his butt," Pyrrha noted, sipping from her glass. "How long has it been, a month?"
Weiss paused from her reading, and took a sip from her glass as well. Then, she went back to reading and writing. "Twenty-six days," she replied.
"Really?" Pyrrha's voice held a sense of awe. "Only that long?" Pyrrha shifted her body so that she was facing the practice field. The kitty had Neptune on the defensive. In fact, it sort of looked like Blake was playing with Neptune. She was shadow-jumping left and right, dodging his attacks without any semblance of any emotion crossing her face. Pyrrha smiled. She recalled the first day Neptune had started training Blake. Neptune had swaggered in, only fighting with half his mind. Now, it looked like he was putting all his concentration into just keeping track of where Blake was. "Wow, she seems like a completely different person."
"The meeting's been scheduled for next Tuesday," Weiss said, changing the subject.
Pyrrha grimaced. "It'll go better than the last meeting… probably."
"All in all, I thought the last meeting went well." Weiss shrugged nonchalantly.
This meeting is now in session, Weiss had said, her words cutting through the chatter in the air. She sat down, placing the files in front her her deliberately. The room went silent and Weiss had relished the feeling of complete control. The meeting might go better than she had anticipated.
For a brief moment at least.
If I may, Lord Winchester stood, clearing his throat. Before we begin, I would just like to say, dearest Weiss, that although you have performed beautifully as chair of this council these past weeks following your father's passing, in light of recent events, I'd like to suggest you step down from your position. Lord Winchester paused, his expression one of regret though Weiss knew better. You are far too young to be holding such a burdensome position. Especially with those beasts growing more savage and despicable by the moment. It is too dangerous for a young girl such as you with little to no experience in the matters to be leading the council. Your father was a brilliant man, one of my closest and dearest friends, but I fear that he may have been blinded by his pride in you when making the decision to name you heir. Your older sister, perhaps, as she has some more experience, could take your place temporarily.
Weiss had rolled her eyes. Politicians, they just droned on and on forever. Yes well, my father is dead. Weiss had smirked, her voice never wavering. So, unfortunately, we cannot question his intentions nor his decisions. And we can discuss that motion as soon as we finish discussing mine. Weiss had paused, waiting until she had the attention of the other council members. Pyrrha was there, giving her reassuring glances. She sat beside General James Ironwood, a longtime ally who had, unfortunately, rather close-minded ideals. Weiss also saw Roman Torchwick, sitting rather calmly opposite Roman. Now, if you would take a look at page three, you'll see a detailed report on the Faunus outbreaks of recent. As you all know, there have been countless reports on runaway Faunus slaves and just yesterday, there was an organized Faunus grand-theft.
We know. If my memory serves me well, you were on site but you didn't do much to prevent the incident nor did you do much to apprehend the perpetrators. Councilman Junior spoke gruffly.
And yet, Weiss had responded, there were no fatalities and no injured amongst the humans. Whereas, amongst the Faunus, there were several injured and several fatalities.
They deserved it. Lord Winchester asserted. A chorus of councilmen murmured and grumbled their agreement. They were terrorists! And thieves!
In addition, Weiss continued, as though she hadn't heard, Faunus slaves that had taken no part in the incident were put down or severely injured following the attack. Weiss had pointed out, but then caught herself. She couldn't get passionate about these things. She needed to get back on track. But anyways, that is besides the point. Weiss paused, looking at the sheet in front of her. From my personal investigations, I've concluded that the grand-weapons theft that occurred yesterday was the first of its kind.
And it happened under your watch! Lord Winchester stated.
Well, Weiss purred coldly, if you read the reports, you would know that the Faunus carrying out the theft yesterday bared weapons already. Silence fell over the councilman. You would also know that many of the weapons weren't peasant weapons — they were not mere daggers or mere blades. They were dust-fuelled weapons. They were transformable weapons. They were hybrid weapons. And, they were weapons powered by dust. Weiss had leaned back. Now, there are two options here. Option one, the Faunus individually stole singular weapons over an extremely long period of time so that we would not detect this thievery. I find that implausible compared to the second option. Option two: a Faunus bought or stole a very large number of weapons from a mass-manufacturer who was much too prideful to report that their ultra-secure facilities were broken into by mere Faunus. Weiss smirked. We only have one person who mass-manufactures these weapons and he is sitting in this room right at this moment.
All heads turned to Roman Torchwick, who threw his hands up in surrender.
Hey hey hey, princess. Slow down. Nobody stole from me, I swear. Roman appeased.
Really? Care to explain why your company has been receiving an extraordinary amount of complaints for late deliveries and orders not being fulfilled? Weiss raised an eyebrow.
Okay look, princess, nobody stole from me. I recently completed a really large order of weapons and that's the only reason I'm slightly behind for every other shipment. Roman explained quickly.
Really? Who to? Weiss grinned, knowing she had them right where she wanted.
An unknown client. You know how the business works! We don't care who it is as long as they've got the money.
Right then, how much did they pay you? Weiss continued questioning.
100,000 lien, paid in cash.
Nobody in the room blinked at that sum of money. It was a fortune, yes. But it was just a piece of the pie of what they all had amassed.
Right then, now, Weiss said, turning to Lord Winchester. My Lord, care to explain why your bank statements have you withdrawing 100,000 lien exactly, in cash?
Lord Winchester's expression darkened. You must be more incompetent than I thought if you are accusing me of having something to do with this incident. It's against the law to look through personal information without the owner's consent. He turned to the other council members. Are we really going to let someone with such loose moral standards lead the council? The people deserve someone morally just and honest. If we let her lead, the state will fall into ruin!
Straw man, prejudicial language, argumentum ad hominem, slippery slope. Weiss listed. At the confused glances of the council members she continued. Those are some of the many logical fallacies in your previous statement. Firstly, the fact that I looked through your personal information doesn't detract from the fact that you took out the exact sum of money that was used to purchase a very large supply of weapons. Secondly, attacking my character does not make my argument any less sound. Thirdly, that is an inappropriate use of the "if— then" operator. Weiss sighed in apparent boredom. Now, if you would please explain why you took out that 100,000 lien, we could move on from this conversation.
Lord Winchester seethed, huffing. I bought the weapons for myself. I am a weapons enthusiast. My son and I enjoy sparing using a variety of weapons.
Really? Weiss spoke with feigned surprise. You bought enough weapons to arm a small army because you like to collect them? Maybe you could give the rest of us a tour of your collection.
You really think I supplied those filthy beasts with weapons! Why would I of all people do that?! Now, Lord Winchester quickly continued, I think you, princess, are the one distracting us from the point. We should be discussing how we are going to exterminate these beasts once and for all— not attacking one another.
Glad you agree, My Lord, Weiss said sarcastically. Would you then be so kind as to retract your first motion on replacing my seat as chair of the council since we really shouldn't be attacking one another?
Lord Winchester slumped in his seats.
Of course, Lady Schnee.
The rest of the meeting hadn't gone nearly as well, however. General Ironwood immediately proposed that the council send out a formal announcement declaring that slaves that have run away will be immediately put down instead of being sent back to their owners. He thought that was better than risking having more slaves attempt to escape to join the Faunus coalition. Roman had offered a contract to the council to supply weapons for the villagers so they could protect themselves from their own pets. On the other hand, Councilman Junior thought that the council members were overreacting — the Faunus couldn't do anything if they tried. They were just animals. They weren't smart enough to mount a full scale attack on the humans and win.
Or, Weiss had proposed when everyone had finished their say, we could pass the Faunus Rights Act.
The council members stared at her as though she were crazy. Why should they give the Faunus rights when they were attacking the humans?
Look, they are only rebelling because they feel they've been treated unjustly. They must know they can't win against the dominant social group. Most of them must feel like they have no other choice — that dying is better than how they are living now. Weiss reasoned. All we have to do is make their current lives slightly better, and they probably will decide risking their lives in a suicide mission isn't worth it.
We can talk about giving them rights when they prove to us they aren't animals. Lord Winchester had dismissed her idea immediately — frustrating Weiss to no end.
When the meeting ended, nothing had been decided.
What the hell had the world been thinking when they chose these people to lead them?
Lucky the rebel Faunus group had been quiet following that one weapon's theft.
Too quiet, it seemed.
"I can't believe Lord Winchester would willingly give weapons to the Faunus," Pyrrha said, sighing. "That really doesn't make sense. He had so much contempt for them."
"I don't think he did," Weiss replied.
Pyrrha's eyebrows furrowed. "But the money…"
"I'm not saying he didn't buy a mass amount of weapons from Roman. But I don't think he's supplying Faunus with the weapons," Weiss explained, scratching a few notes on her page. "Most likely, the Faunus stole them from him and he won't admit it. Or, the Faunus stole from Roman and Roman won't admit it. It's perfectly plausible that Roman not only had to supply Lord Winchester with weapons but also had some stolen from him."
Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "Ah, so you were just accusing him to get him under control," Pyrrha grinned. "Weiss, you're a lot more snaky than you realize."
"I do have Cinder's genes," Weiss deadpanned.
"Did you try asking Ruby?" Pyrrha continued, realizing she was treading on dangerous territory. "She ought to know if her father had any stolen shipments."
"She's away on a mission, apparently. I couldn't reach her and I have no idea when she'll be back."
"And your sister?" Pyrrha asked. "She's been missing for a long time now."
"Yeah," Weiss said bitterly. "Leaving me to clean up her mess, as usual."
"Weiss, that's not fair." Pyrrha scolded. "Her father was poisoned and died, right in front of her."
"He was my father too!" Weiss exclaimed. "I didn't just go and run away from all my responsibilities like she did!"
Pyrrha opened her mouth to say something, but stopped.
"Weiss?" a soothing and slightly breathless voice came up behind the angel. Weiss felt a hand settle on her shoulder, massaging gently. "Are you alright?"
Weiss looked over her shoulder to find Blake, and rested her own hand on top of Blake's. "Yes, I'm alright. Are you done for the day?"
Blake beamed. "Yes," she said simply, her expression explaining it all.
Neptune came up behind Blake, limping slightly. Weiss' eyes narrowed at that. "Neptune, how do you expect to protect me if you can't even walk properly?"
"You have got to be kidding me!" Neptune exclaimed. "You try fighting her and see how well you fare!" Neptune pouted. "She's like a freaking demon."
Weiss felt Blake flinch at the term and squeezed her hand. "Yes, she's quite talented," Weiss reworded for Blake's benefit. "Maybe I should fire you and hire her has my guard."
Neptune laughed good-naturedly, but the amusement died at Weiss' stoic expression. Neptune's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."
Weiss smirked. "Then straighten up. You can't teach Blake anything if you're constantly losing to her."
"Yeah yeah, fine princess," Neptune said, turning around. "I'm just going to clean myself up now then." He said, then left the scene.
"Weiss," Blake said softly, leaning down to whisper in the seated girl's ear in a smooth, husky voice that Weiss loved hearing. "Are you going to be awhile?"
Weiss glanced at her watch. "I have a couple more things to discuss with Pyrrha. Are you going to the library?"
Blake nodded.
Weiss smiled, "I'll meet you there."
Blake bowed politely to Lady Pyrrha then pounced away silently. When Blake had gone, Pyrrha smirked at Weiss.
"You like her," Pyrrha stated.
Weiss turned back around, not realizing she had kept her eyes trained on Blake's back as the Faunus had left. "Of course I do," Weiss responded indignantly. "She's proven her worth."
Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you have a ginormous crush on her."
"No, I don't."
"Weiss, are you kidding me? I've never scene anyone calm you down with just a word and a simple touch! You were about to slap me and then she came along and you just smiled and forgot about it all." Pyrrha elaborated teasingly. "The ice princess actually has emotions," Pyrrha cooed at her childhood friend.
"No, I don't," Weiss repeated, her gaze hardening. At Pyrrha's sceptical look, Weiss felt compelled to continue. "And even if I did, it's not like I can do anything about them."
"Why not? She's already devoted to you anyways, I can tell."
"Pyrrha," Weiss pleaded. "She's not my slave. I can't just— she— " Weiss couldn't explain. Inhale, exhale. "I don't want her to think she owes me anything. I don't want to take advantage of her."
Pyrrha sighed. "Is this about Cardin?"
Weiss fidgeted, uncomfortable. Pyrrha hadn't been there. Weiss had heard Blake screaming, crying, begging for help because she had been at the mercy of her master. Weiss would never be that person, ever.
"You know it's not rape if she consents to it right?" Pyrrha continued at Weiss silence. "You can just ask her. I'm fairly sure she'll say yes."
"You do?"
Pyrrha muffled her smile, "Yes, anyone can see that Blake dotes on you. Her eyes wandered over to check on you every few minutes when she was training."
"Really?"
"Weiss, at times like this, you need to be more like Yang. Be more confident."
Weiss sighed, "Yeah, if Yang were here, she'd probably start a bet with Neptune to see who could seduce Blake first."
"She wouldn't go that far," Pyrrha stated, but without confidence. "Blake's probably not Yang's type anyways."
"Yes, yes she would go that far. And Blake is definitely Yang's type. Even if she weren't, Yang would probably try just to piss me off."
At that, there was a knock on the door. Neptune opened the door slowly.
"Um, Weiss?" Neptune said, peeking through the crack.
"Yes Neptune?" Weiss replied, turning around.
"Yang's back." Neptune informed sheepishly, giving a nervous grin.
Weiss blinked, her heart stopping. "What?" was all Weiss got out before a cuffed arm pushed Neptune into the room.
"Hey sis! I'm back!" Yang called out, dragging out the words in a singsong tone. She put an arm on her hip and used her other to push her golden locks behind her shoulder. "Miss me Weiss-y?"
Weiss' sister had returned.