The Princess' Rogue
A/N: And here is Part II! Writer's block is slowly easing up, but I still feel this chapter was a bit rough. Oh well. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
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Guest – Thanks for the comment. :) I found those names adorable too and will continue to use them when I get the chance. ^^ Here's the next update for you. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
*** ~ Chapter 10: Eyes Wide Open Part II ~ ***
When Weiss awoke again, it was mid afternoon.
Lying on her side, she found herself staring at a crackling fire just ten feet away from her, fish on sticks sizzling around it nicely. Next to the fire and closer to Weiss, on what appeared to be a large leaf the size of her head, was an assortment of different coloured berries and fruits, some of which Weiss had never seen before.
Phoenix was nowhere to be seen.
Weiss started to rise with a nauseating sense of panic.
Was all of that just a dream? Had she really been abandoned? Had she really been left out here to die? Or had something happened to Phoenix while she was asleep and-
"Hey," came a murmur from above. "You're awake."
Startled by the sudden voice, Weiss froze halfway up, her head whipping around towards the source of the voice. She quickly found herself face to face with Phoenix.
"How are you feeling?" the rogue asked, giving her a tired, weary smile.
Or rather the blonde was looking down at her, Weiss looking up at the rogue from the woman's lap. Phoenix's lap was surprisingly comfy.
"You alright?"
At that question, Weiss bolted upwards nearly clipping Phoenix in the chin with her forehead. With her cheeks burning and heart thundering in her chest, Weiss quickly put a respectable (but not too far) distance between them.
"Whoa!" Phoenix exclaimed, flinching backwards at the sudden movement. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Weiss inhaled shakily, running a trembling hand through her dishevelled hair. She sat back on her heels in the grass, momentarily straightening out her rumpled dress.
"N-No, it wasn't your fault," Weiss said, her heart still thudding away in her chest. The rosiness in her cheeks had yet to fade. "I just... didn't see you there."
The rogue smiled sheepishly at Weiss, scratching the back of her head. That was a nervous tick of Phoenix's that Weiss had come to notice.
A shaky laugh.
"My bad," the blonde said. "I just thought you'd rest better lying on something other than rocks and itchy grass."
Weiss took one look at Phoenix's lap before turning her face away, the redness on her cheeks renewed. She coughed into her fist. "T-Thanks..." she murmured.
"Y-Yeah..." the rogue answered awkwardly. "No problem."
Silence enveloped the duo for a moment.
Weiss played with the hem of her skirt restlessly, the once white and pristine material now fraying at the ends, the garment a lacklustre dull grey colour.
"A-Are you hungry?" Phoenix asked, the rogue promptly crawling forward from her current spot towards the fire. The blonde turned the fish on sticks around the flames so they wouldn't burn.
"Famished actually," Weiss replied rather quickly. The white haired girl silently thanked her companion for the change in topic. "It feels like I haven't eaten for days."
As if to emphasize her point, Weiss' stomach growled noisily at that moment, making her blush.
Phoenix chuckled softly, her tired expression lightening as she plucked one of the fish skewers from the campfire. The blonde handed it to Weiss.
"That's because the last time you ate was almost five days ago," the rogue commented.
Weiss almost dropped her skewer. "W-What!?"
Phoenix flinched at that near shriek of an exclamation, looking at Weiss nervously. For a moment, all Weiss could do was look at the rogue in confusion because of that reaction. Then a memory flashed through her mind, making Weiss visibly recoil.
"W-what…"
A large light blue Dust glyph flickered a few times beneath the blonde's feet before it disappeared from the grassy ground. Blue eyes widened in horror as Weiss' gaze raked over the frigid form in front of her. Frozen mid step, her hand outstretched towards Weiss, terror etched on her face, was Phoenix, the rogue trapped inside a jagged, upwards reaching block of ice...
"What have I done?"
That wasn't just a dream. That had really happened.
Oh gods.
Breathing suddenly became harder for Weiss.
"Hey."
Weiss flinched when a warm hand wrapped around her free one, holding her in place. She didn't even remember when she started to back away from the rogue, nor did she notice when the blonde had closed the distance between them to stop her. Her other hand trembled, Weiss' fish skewer shaking along with it.
"P-Phoenix-"
"Don't."
Fear filled blue eyes met unwavering lavender ones.
"You won't hurt me, Weiss," Phoenix said. The blonde gave Weiss a soft, repentant smile. "Sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way."
The rogue grinned sheepishly. "I just don't like the cold so much, you know?"
Weiss inhaled shakily, the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
"But before-"
"Was an accident," Phoenix finished for the former heiress. "It happens the first few times until you get your Aura under control. That's normal."
"A-Aura?"
"Besides," Phoenix continued on, a smug smile stretching across her lips. "Did you honestly think an Aura baby like you could really top hot stuff like me?"
Had Weiss been her regular self, she would have groaned and rolled her eyes at that awful pun. But as it was right now, the white haired girl was much too distracted with something else Phoenix had said to even notice it.
"W-Wait..." Weiss stuttered. "What are you talking about, Phoenix? I told you, I don't-"
"Weiss," Phoenix interrupted. The rogue looked off to the side for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to her shaking companion, giving Weiss' shoulder a soft squeeze.
"What do you remember? Before waking up today, I mean."
Weiss swallowed thickly. "F-Five days ago?"
Phoenix nodded.
Weiss stared at the blonde for a moment before she turned to the fish on a stick in her hand, currently resting in her lap. Most of her memories of the past few days were still a jumbled mess, but for the sake of her friend and companion, Weiss tried her best to recall everything that she could.
"I remember waking up in the morning," Weiss began, her gaze distant. "You had already caught breakfast and was in the middle of... cleaning them..."
Weiss shivered, appreciative to Phoenix for rubbing her shoulder soothingly. Even after all this time, even after having seen it done more than a dozen times, Weiss still was a bit squeamish when it came to watching Phoenix disembowel their food. Okay, that was a lie. She was more than just a bit squeamish, but still. Something about the way the fish's innards just spilled out, on top of their eyes just bulging in their eye sockets, that was... it was just...
Weiss shuddered.
"You know," Phoenix said, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. "There is one way I know of which can help you get over your... nervousness..."
Weiss looked up, thankful for the interruption in her vomit inducing thoughts. Doing what she could to school her expression, the white haired girl did her best to ignore the strong fluttering feeling in her stomach. That was happening more frequently as of late, especially when in close proximity to a certain rogue, but Weiss simply chalked it up to her ever increasing reliance on the rogue. She never relied on someone this much after all, so who was to say that wasn't a normal reaction?
"R-Really?" Weiss asked, her voice cracking slightly.
"Uh huh," Phoenix said, slowly leaning closer towards Weiss. The rogue's thumb idly stroked the skin on the back of Weiss' wrist.
Weiss' heart beat that much faster, a steady heat creeping up her neck and cheeks.
"I'll just let you..." Phoenix said softly, her face stopping just inches away from Weiss'.
"You'll just let me... ?" Weiss echoed in a whisper, the former princess swearing she was that close to fainting right now.
Lavender coloured eyes blinked slowly, blue eyes nearly mimicking them as Weiss found herself almost forgetting to breathe, the former heiress waiting for the rogue's next words with bated breath.
"I'll…" the blonde began.
Weiss found herself frozen, both from anticipation and nervousness.
"… just let you gut the fish next time," Phoenix said cheerily, the rogue pulling away. Phoenix leaned back on her arms, smiling at Weiss.
It took all of five seconds for Weiss' brain to process what Phoenix said. When the rogue's words finally registered, blue eyes went wide, Weiss paling considerably. Then the smile on the blonde's face turned into a cheeky smirk and Weiss almost growled.
"That's not funny!" Weiss exclaimed, smacking Phoenix in the shoulder. She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her gaze away when the blonde burst out laughing. Weiss pouted.
"But-" Phoenix choked on laughter. "But I'm being serious!" the rogue said, slapping her knee a few times as she hollered. "The only way to get over that is to do it over and over again until it doesn't bother you anymore!"
Weiss harrumphed, but still didn't look at the blonde.
The rogue guffawed some more before leaning closer to Weiss.
"Oh c'mon, Weissy," Phoenix crooned. "It's not all that bad. I do it all the time."
Weiss' head snapped back to the still snickering rogue, her eyebrows bordering her hairline as she looked at the blonde in disbelief. "What did you just call me?"
"What? You mean Weissy?" Phoenix said, at which Weiss scowled at her. "I think it suits you."
"My name is Weiss, I'll have you know," the white haired girl said, not the least bit impressed with the butchering of her name. "You'd best remember that, Brute."
"Rawr," Phoenix said in response, another infuriating (to Weiss) grin on her face. "The Ice Princess has spunk."
"Phoenix!"
"What? It's true."
Weiss sighed heavily, dropping her head. Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger.
"Can we please get back to the matter at hand?"
"Aww, but why?" the rogue whined. "Teasing you is so much more fun!"
Weiss glared at Phoenix. Hard.
"Fine, fine," the blonde relented, raising her hands up in defeat. "I won't make you gut the fish."
Weiss blinked a few times before her glare softened into something less hostile.
"Thank you," the former princess murmured. While Weiss was a bit surprised that that was all it took to get the rogue off her case, the white haired girl was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Then again, given the person in question was Phoenix, that just seemed a bit too... easy...
"I do like to eat after all," the rogue said with the shrug of her shoulders.
Blast it! Weiss knew there was more to it!
Before the former Schnee successor could retort, Phoenix plucked the cold fish on a stick from Weiss' hand and finished it with surprising gusto. Four bites later, and the fish was gone.
"Being serious though," the rogue said, chucking the empty skewer into the fire before reaching for another fish on a stick. "If you were to gut the fish, I'd die of starvation."
"Hey!" Weiss shouted, glowering at the blonde indignantly. "That is not true!"
"Really?" the rogue questioned, giving the white haired girl a look.
Weiss's response to that was to snatch the fish skewer out of Phoenix's hands and take a mighty chomp out of it before the rogue could.
Golden eyebrows went up before Phoenix laughed. "As I said before. Spunk."
Lavender orbs were alight with mischief.
"Phoenix."
"I'm stopping, I'm stopping," the blonde chortled, her grin widening even more. "I mean it this time."
Weiss took another menacing bite out of her fish skewer, glaring daggers at the rogue, just to show how much she believed her companion. Phoenix wasn't phased in the least.
"So you were saying?" the blonde said, a smile still on her face. Rather than reaching for fish this time, Phoenix opted for the berries on the large leaf next to the fire.
"After breakfast, what happened?"
Weiss stared at the rogue for a few more seconds just to make sure. Once she was satisfied that the blonde wouldn't tease her any further, at least for now, Weiss' gaze returned to her fish on a stick, the white haired girl eating the rest of it at a slower, much more proper pace.
"We packed up after ourselves like we usually did," Weiss said, her eyes going distant again. "And then we went on our way, trying to find a way out of this forest."
Weiss nibbled on a chunk of fish but said nothing more. The taste of the fresh catch never ceased to amaze the former heiress, despite the lack of seasonings. It was always so full of flavor, and not bland and needing to be covered up by spices like much of the food prepared in the White Castle.
"And after that?" Phoenix prodded, giving Weiss a casual glance. Tossing a red berry into the air, she tilted her head back just far enough for the fruit to fall into her open mouth.
Weiss frowned as she stared at the now empty skewer in her hands, the white haired girl fervently searching her memory. "I..."
Blurred faces. The rumbling of earth. A flash of red.
"... I don't know," Weiss finished quietly. The grip on her fish skewer tightened.
"I just..."
Pain. So much pain. But relief too.
"All I have are fragments." The frown on Weiss' brow deepened. "A flash of colour here. A whiff of something there. Bits and pieces that don't make any sense."
It was quiet for a few seconds before Phoenix spoke up again.
"It's probably better you don't remember," the blonde said offhandedly, glancing everywhere and anywhere but at her white haired companion.
"I beg your pardon?" Weiss turned towards Phoenix in surprise, an eyebrow raised. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
Unlike before, there was no grin or smile present on Phoenix's face. There was no laughter or chuckles. There was no teasing smirk or mischief filled eyes. Phoenix was pursing her lips together tightly right now, refusing to meet Weiss' gaze.
"As I said," the rogue commented, her tone less lively. "I think it's probably better you don't remember what happened."
Phoenix' left hand balled in a fist in her lap. The rogue's right hand, the one holding the small berries she was snacking on, trembled ever so noticeably, threatening to crush them if she wasn't careful. And still, Phoenix would not look at Weiss.
A smaller hand covered the blonde's fist, lavender coloured eyes darting over to Weiss in surprise.
"Phoenix," Weiss said, giving the rogue's hand a soft squeeze. "What is it? What aren't you telling me?"
Weiss could see the conflict in the blonde's eyes. She could see the fear. She could see the pain. She could see the hurt. Phoenix's fist shook in her grasp, the rogue no doubt battling inner demons only the blonde could vanquish. After a few seconds of tense silence, Phoenix looked away from Weiss.
"It was like you said," Phoenix began, her voice tight and breathless. "We packed up after breakfast and headed off. Just like any other day so far. Then..." A shuddering breath. "Then we came across... others..."
Blue eyes were drawn to the clenching of the rogue's jaw, the knuckles of the blonde's already balled up fist going white.
"They attacked us?" Weiss asked, her gaze once again running the length of Phoenix's battered body. If they had been attacked, that would explain quite a bit. Phoenix's less than stellar appearance. Weiss' new scar.
"Hunted more like," Phoenix spat angrily, Weiss feeling the rogue's fist shake even more.
A knot formed in the pit of Weiss' stomach.
"W-What do you mean... hunted?" the former heiress asked, a tremble in her voice.
Phoenix gritted her teeth. "They seemed to know far more than they should," the rogue replied gruffly, the blonde turning to meet Weiss' gaze finally. "About you." A pause. "And me."
The knot in Weiss' stomach tightened.
"Do..." A swallow. "Do you know who told them about us?"
Weiss was reeling. Thinking back on the incident with the Atlas mercenaries, all this time she had thought that it was a fluke, simply a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. While the bounty on her head (put up by her father no less) had surprised her when she learned about it, it wasn't unusual for the members of the royal family to be targeted at times and held for ransom. That was just something which came as part of that life. But to hear now that they were, that she was, being hunted, that made Weiss very uncomfortable. And very nervous. It meant that people knew she was here. And if other people knew she was out here, then that meant her father knew she was here too.
Had the King sent those people who attacked them earlier to come collect her? Did he know about Phoenix? Was he going to take Phoenix away from her-
The shake of Phoenix's head drew Weiss out of her thoughts.
"Didn't really have time to find out how they knew," Phoenix said, the blonde's face twisted in anger. "Was too busy trying not to die and-"
A breath hitched in the rogue's throat, Phoenix immediately turning her head away from Weiss. The white haired girl could have sworn she saw the glint of tears in the blonde's eyes, but she wasn't sure. The rogue had turned her face away too fast.
"Phoenix?"
Phoenix was silent, her face still looking in the opposite direction of Weiss.
"Phoenix?" Weiss tried again, her voice softer this time. She didn't like this silence. Not one bit.
"Say something. Please?"
Still Weiss received no answer. And now the rogue started to tremble, which concerned the white haired girl greatly.
With her anxiety steadily rising, Weiss leaned closer to the rogue to-
"Don't," came a raspy, cracked voice.
Weiss stopped moving, less than three inches separating Phoenix and her now. "Phoenix-"
"I'm s-sorry, Weiss," the rogue said, turning back to face her.
Weiss' eyes widened to see tears streaming down the blonde's face. "Phoenix, what-"
"This was my fault."
Weiss inhaled sharply as the blonde reached up and cupped her left cheek. Her eyes closed as a calloused thumb ran the length of her scar, Weiss feeling the digit shake the entire time.
"You almost died!" Phoenix choked out, her voice meek and so, so quiet. "Because I got c-careless. B-Because I got cocky. You saved me, but almost died because of it. If I didn't... If I didn't free your Aura then..."
Feeling the hand drop from her face, Weiss' eyes opened again, slowly, and unfocused at first. She exhaled noisily, a jumble of new emotions running through her system as she watched the rogue pull away from her. Phoenix hugged herself, her face turned away in shame. Momentarily pushing those confusing feelings aside, ones which had been steadily getting stronger as more time passed, Weiss quickly grabbed Phoenix's arm before the rogue got too far.
"Phoenix," Weiss said firmly.
All this time, Phoenix had been strong for her.
"Weiss, I-"
It was now time Weiss returned the favour.
"Ah-pup-pup-pup!" the former Schnee interrupted, waving off the rogue's protest. "I don't want to hear it."
Phoenix looked at Weiss in shock and confusion. "Weiss-"
"You said I almost died," Weiss stated. "But I'm still here. Am I not?"
"But-"
"Did you think I'd be angry with you? Because of this?" Weiss pointed to her left eye.
Lavender coloured eyes looked away, heavy with guilt. "Weiss, I-"
"Was I forced?"
"Huh?"
Weiss made sure to hold Phoenix's gaze when the rogue looked at her again. "Was I forced to save your life? Did someone threaten me, making me save you? Or did you demand it of me to save you?"
"Well, no," Phoenix replied timidly.
Again the rogue looked away after speaking, unable to hold Weiss' gaze for more than a few seconds. It was driving Weiss crazy. This was not the Phoenix Weiss knew. But she was going to fix that very soon.
"You dolt," Weiss chided, yanking the blonde towards her, pulling the rogue forward by the arm.
Caught off guard by that action, Phoenix couldn't stop herself from crashing into Weiss' smaller frame. Nor could the rogue stop the smaller set of arms from wrapping around her shoulders and neck, effectively trapping her against the white haired girl. Phoenix was as stiff as a board in Weiss' grasp.
"W-Weiss?"
"You saved my life, Phoenix," Weiss murmured softly, holding the rogue a bit closer to her.
If the blonde had been paying attention, she would have felt just how fast Weiss' heart was beating right now. Weiss was not one for big acts of physical attention. She never had that growing up as a child. So as it was, something like this was foreign to the white haired girl. But that didn't stop it from feeling right at this current moment.
"It wasn't ideal," Weiss continued. "Things didn't go exactly how you planned. But I'm still here. Because of you. How could I be angry at you about that?"
Ever so slowly, Phoenix relaxed. Soon two strong, trembling but strong arms wrapped around Weiss' back, holding onto her tightly. The rogue pressed her face into Weiss' shoulder, Phoenix shaking.
"I know I never said this before," Weiss said, a soft smile on her face. Pale fingers ran through long locks of golden hair. "But thank you, Phoenix. For saving my life. So many times now."
A shuddering breath escaped the quivering rogue, her hold on Weiss going tighter.
"And…" Weiss said, her voice wavering for a moment. "… for not abandoning me, even when I told you to."
"W-Weiss-" came a sob.
"You saved my life, Phoenix." Weiss closed her eyes and smiled. "Thank you."
Muffled sobs reached Weiss' ears as Phoenix clutched at the back of her coat tighter. Leaning her head against the rogue's, Weiss rubbed a hand up and down the woman's back, the blonde shaking even more now.
"It seems our roles from earlier have reversed, haven't they?" Weiss said sadly.
Weiss' reply for the next little while would only be more sobs.
A/N: Well, that was a thing. Lol.
Expect a Part III of sorts. I didn't plan for this to be so long, but it happened.
*sighs*