~~AAAND START!~~ (Blood and Bond)

The southern courtyard overlooked the commerce district of Atlas. For being completely devoid of sunlight, it was surprisingly well-lit and populated. Careers could be made from the lighting business. The government had an entire committee to manage it.

The courtyard itself was decorated with ice sculpted into plants and fountains. In its center, a table sat in a small trench. Each end of the table was butted up against the trench wall, and on the sides, fur blankets were laid down for sitting. The table was mounted on a stone slab with Burn plates installed on each side of it, and separated from the furs by stone latticework.

Burn heaters were common features in Atlas, but whenever Ruby saw one, she felt like she was seeing one for the first time. She often thought about asking for their blueprints.

She sat next to Weiss, with Whitley on the other side of the table. Servants brought them hot goat pepper soup.

"You must be Ruby Rose," Whitley smiled. "I'm glad to finally be able to meet you."

His affect made Ruby uncomfortable, but she grinned back awkwardly. "Um… It's nice to meet you too." She took a bite of soup. The savory goat fell apart in her mouth. "The soup is—" Her mouth nearly lit on fire seconds after she swallowed. "Spicy?" she coughed.

Whitley laughed. "Atlas is full of surprises. Has Weiss told you much about me?"

"Whitley," Weiss warned. "Aren't we here to discuss business?"

He bowed his head a degree in acknowledgement, still amused. "Of course, Sister."

They dove into an analysis of projected sales, shipment routes, and political climates. How much the siblings knew was actually kind of incredible.

When they were finished, Whitley turned his attention back to Ruby. "Has she met Mother yet?" he asked.

"We'll be visiting her after lunch," Weiss replied, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. The soup's spice didn't faze her a bit.

"She does keep odd hours…"

"Yes, she does." Weiss stood. "Which is why we should be going."

Whitley stood as well. "I understand. I'll be leaving to inspect a mine in Onus later this evening, so I might not see you again for some time."

Weiss nodded. "Be safe on your travels."

"Of course," he smiled, adjusting his coat. It was somewhat simpler than Weiss'. "Goodbye, Ruby."

Ruby waved as he left. "Bye!" When he was gone, she turned to Weiss. "Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?"

"It was never important." Weiss sighed. "I know what you're thinking, but you can't trust him."

"Why? He seemed pretty nice, and he's your brother."

Weiss folded her arms. "The relationship you have with Yang has never been possible for me. Whitely will only use you to get ahead."

"What about Winter?" Ruby asked. Weiss had mentioned her sister a few times, but not in a favorable light.

"She's even worse," Weiss answered bitterly.

"Oh…" Ruby walked out of the elaborate courtyard with her, seeing it with new eyes. It seemed bigger. Emptier. "Weiss?"

"What?"

"Your mom… what is she like?"

"She's the best rune master on Remnant," Weiss answered shortly.

"Do you like her?"

"I suppose."
"Are you close?"

"No. We're not." Weiss narrowed her eyes. "How many more questions are you going to ask me?"

Ruby frowned. "I'm just trying to get to know you. What's so wrong with that?"

"You're being nosy."

"Ugh, forget it," Ruby groaned. "This is why we—" She stopped. "Nevermind," she muttered.

"This is why we what?" Weiss glared.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter."

"No, I want to know. This is why we what, Ruby?"

"This is why we can't be friends," Ruby completed guiltily.

Weiss stopped. Her jaw clenched. "You've don't have to be my friend."

Ruby thought she saw a glimmer of vulnerability in Weiss' icy blue eyes.

They walked the rest of the way to her mother's study in silence.

/-/-/-/

Merin Schnee's study was located on the first floor. When she opened the door to it, the first thing Ruby thought was that Weiss was quite a bit shorter than her mother. Her next thought was that she was meeting the best rune master on the planet, and she suddenly didn't know what to do with herself.

"Weiss. You've returned." Merin's distant tone highlighted the bags under her eyes.

"Hello, Mother."

"Is this your rune master?"

"Yes. This is Ruby Rose."

"H—Hello! It's an honor to meet you," Ruby strained.

Merin watched her for a moment. The only thing that seemed to move on her face were her eyebrows. They were raised. Slightly. "Why are you two here?" she asked, taking a sip of tea from the cup in her hand.

"I'd like your approval."

Merin bent down to look Ruby in the eyes. Even if she moved slowly, it was still startling. "Come inside," she said after some time of appraisal, then turned and walked into her workshop. "Weiss, have you continued with your singing?" she inquired absently.

"I practice when I have the time."

"You sing?" Ruby gasped.

"She sings well," Merin answered.

Weiss' cheeks pinkened. "Thank you, Mother."

Merin took another sip of her tea. She pulled a large book from a well-organized shelf and handed it to Ruby. "Look through this."

When Ruby took hold of it, she nearly dropped it. It was heavier than expected. "What's in it?" Upon opening to the first page, her jaw dropped. Each pair of pages was dedicated to analyzing a single Dust spell. There were translations of it into different ancient languages, a runic analysis, and an in-depth spell description on each page. She flipped through the book. "I had no idea there were so many spells!"

"Do you notice anything about them?"

Ruby turned another page. "A lot of these do the same thing… and… the ones we use most are translated into more than one ancient language. Why is that?"

"A word must exist in many forms to hold meaning to many people," Merin responded, drinking more tea.

"But… What does that mean?"

Merin refilled her cup from a nearby teapot. "I approve."

Weiss stood. "Thank you, Mother," she said for the second time. "Let's go, Ruby."

"But, wait, what about my question?"

"There's no time for that."

"What? But—"

"Ruby!" Weiss warned quietly. "She isn't well."

"Huh?" Ruby glanced at Merin, who had her back turned to them.

"When you leave… close the door," Merin told them.

"Yes, Mother," Weiss said louder. She herded Ruby out of the workshop and sighed when the door closed.

"Your mom isn't well… Do you mean she's sick?" Ruby asked.

Weiss crossed an arm in front of her and looked away. "No… I mean she's insane."

/-/-/-/

Ruby fell back onto her plush bed with a groan. "Nothing here makes sense," she whined. She wished Yang was here so they could talk. If she wrote a letter now, it could be months until she got a response. Adventurers were notoriously difficult to track down whilst traveling.

Ever since Ruby first arrived in Atlas, her visit had been a disaster. She'd screwed up in front of a city's worth of people when she first entered the kingdom. She'd embarrassed herself during her speech at the ball. Weiss was being Weiss again, and everyone she thought wasn't too bad or less confusing than the other citizens apparently wasn't trustworthy enough.

How could she possibly keep everything straight? It was all so exhausting. Besides being socially awkward, which she had learned to live with over the years, she just felt like she was constantly in the dark. What was the deal with Weiss' family? People acted like she belonged to Weiss. It's like she wasn't even a person!

What could she do? She hated the feeling of being strung around, but no one cared about how she felt. It was only the second day, and she wanted to go home.

As she tossed about on the bed, a rather conspicuous coconut caught her eye.

Before she knew it, she was off towards the kitchens.

/-/-/-/

Weiss exited the meeting room on the third floor. Dinner had been served at the six-hour long military meeting. She was asked to provide details on Vale's guard and army, but she avoided saying anything useful. As long as she was a region captain, her loyalty was to them. Deflecting roundabout questions took a toll on her. The food hadn't been enough to combat the mental exhaustion.

Her stamina for Atlas' political practices had dropped from being in Vale… but she was beginning to think she was better off without them. It was useless, going around in circles when everyone knew the journey would end where it started.

A servant approached her in the hallway. "Is the Madame retiring for the evening?" he asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Then, she should be accompanied. If, of course, the Madame would like to know information about her next meeting along the way."

"I would."

They walked down the hallway, and as a way of easing into the conversation, the servant said, "Madame Rose is in the kitchens this evening. She is quite the helpful girl, is she not?"

"She's where?" Weiss started, already veering towards the stairwell.

It was then the servant realized he'd made a mistake. "The Madame needn't get worked up!"

But Weiss had already started down the stairs.

/-/-/-/

It had started out innocently enough. The staff had cleared off some counter space, and Ruby sat to watch them. Occasionally, she would ask questions about the food or tools they used. Whenever they finished a dish, they presented her with a sample. Upon discovering that strawberries were the best food on Remnant, she was given a mixing bowl full of them. Unsurprisingly, that bowl did not last long, and Ruby had to move on to the next thing.

She began talking with the chefs. At first, they were apprehensive. Ruby remembered Weiss telling her to say "formalities aside" when she wanted to have a normal conversation. As soon as she did that, things became a lot warmer. She was given more samples, and she even got to spice a dish for the librarians herself. The staff assured her the dish had "impeccable character," and set it aside "to study for use in later recipes." Ruby was proud of that one.

Eventually, as she was telling them stories about Vale, an extra knife made its way to her counter space. She had taken to standing by this point. Soon, a cutting board followed. Finally, a bowl of Frozen peppers from Vale appeared. She canceled the Freeze spell and pulled a ripe one from the bowl, inspired by the work around her. She was just beginning to talk about the time at Beacon when a Boarbatusk wandered into the bathhouse and stole Yang's boot while she was soaking in the hot springs.

Ruby's knife grazed the flesh of the pepper, slitting it open. Then, the blade slipped and she cut herself.

The staff gave her a bandage. Feeling responsible, they showed her how to cut the peppers the proper way.

Ruby managed to finish her story before her next injury. "Stupid twig blade," she muttered, but she wouldn't give up on her task. When it came to things like this, however, she had never been known for patience.

A chef had started to tell her about the time she bought the wrong kind of onion, and everyone at a birthday party cried. During the highlight of the story, she and the entire kitchen staff screamed in horror. Ruby had unfolded Crescent Rose in the kitchen. Ten seconds later, the bowl of peppers was perfectly sliced.

It took the staff much longer than ten seconds to calm down.

Once they did, they managed to find a lot more items that needed cutting.

Ruby eventually found herself in front of a hanging pig, a crate of tomatoes, and seventeen loaves of bread. She wound her scythe back, surveying the food with a smirk on her face. The staff crowded around her, ready to see her in action.

"And… go!" Ruby exclaimed, lunging. She sliced the bread, peeled the tomatoes then cut them in half for seeding, and butchered the pig according to a diagram she'd been given. The process took her just minutes.

The staff applauded fervently.

"I'm really, really cool," Ruby said to herself. Her mood had improved exponentially from earlier… only to be shot down seconds later.

"Ruby!" Weiss screeched from the doorway. A tomato peel had landed in her hair. She threw it aside. "What do you think you're doing?"

The staff zoomed back to their positions.

"Oh, hey, Weiss," Ruby said less-than-enthusiastically. "What brings you here?"

"You!"

Ruby looked around. "Want some bread?"

"No, I don't," Weiss frowned. "Why are you bothering the kitchen staff?"

"I'm not bothering them. I'm helping."

"That's not your job!"

"But, I wanted to. You said I could do whatever I want with my free time."

Weiss pulled her out of the room. "Were you and Yang raised by a pack of Beowolves? I can't even imagine what the rest of your family is like!"

That struck a dissonant chord. Ruby scowled. "Well, you don't have to, Weiss," she shot. "The rest of my family is dead!"

Weiss froze. "What?"

"It's just Yang and me, and maybe if you actually took the time to get to know me, you would know that! But, you don't. All you do is yell at me, and it's so annoying! Can't you just leave me alone for two seconds?"

"Ruby, I—"
"Don't apologize! I know you're not sorry." Ruby folded Crescent Rose. "I can't even have fun anymore," she muttered, disappearing down the hallway.

Weiss watched her go, but couldn't bring herself to follow her.

/-/-/-/

Weiss shifted a coffee tray she borrowed from the kitchen staff into one hand, then knocked on Ruby's door.

"Go away," Ruby hollered.

"Ruby, It's me."

"I know. Go away."

"Ruby, please. It's important."

Ruby groaned, but a few seconds later, she opened the door. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk… about earlier this evening."

"Why?"

Weiss blinked in surprise. "B—Because I thought—" She stopped. Took a breath. "I'm sorry. About more than just what I said earlier. Can we talk? Please?"

Ruby looked her up and down, then opened the door wider and stepped aside. "Come on in, Weiss."

Shifting the coffee tray back into both hands, Weiss entered the bedroom. After depositing the tray onto the table, she offered Ruby a cup of decaf. "Cream and two sugars, right?"

Ruby nodded and accepted it, curling up on an armchair as she did so.

Weiss sat down with her own drink. She stared at it for a moment. It occurred to her that she wasn't very good at things like this. That said, she didn't have a choice at the moment… If only she knew what to do.

"This is why we can't be friends."

Maybe.

"The coffee's good," Ruby said quietly.

Weiss looked at her.

Ruby's silver eyes were fixated on the window. Eighth bell rang.

On an impulse, Weiss began, "My… mother went insane shortly after I was born. No one blamed me, but I remember being told not to visit her. They said Winter and I made her condition worse..." She lost her train of thought for a moment. "When Whitley was born, he was very weak. He wasn't allowed out of his room for years. In my family, my siblings and I were raised to be rivals. The most successful branch of the company will inherit it when my father retires. Everything we do is for the betterment of our family name." She didn't know what she was getting at or where she was going. That irritated her. She clenched her cup handle. "I apologize for not giving you the chance you deserved, even when you asked for it. And, from now on, I'll try… to be more open with you."

Ruby nodded. Her eyes were on the table now. "I don't want to be on bad terms with you, Weiss. I think we work together really well. Even if we don't get along at all. But, maybe that can change." She furrowed her brow in thought. "Maybe we just got off to a really, really bad start. I keep blaming you for things I don't know if you can control. I guess I'm not giving you a chance, either." Ruby shrugged and exhaled heavily. "I dunno, Weiss. Maybe we'll never… Maybe this'll never work."

"I don't think that's something we need to worry about," Weiss replied.

They shared a look.

"Well, you told me about your family. I guess I should tell you about mine," Ruby declared suddenly.

"I didn't tell you about myself to trade information."

"I know." Ruby managed a smile. Her gaze grew distant. "Both of my parents were adventurers, too. They died on a quest. After that, our uncle Qrow took Yang and I in. He taught me everything I know about runes, but I think the stress of raising us got to him. When I was eight, he drank himself to death." She paused. "I used to blame myself, but it didn't change a thing. None of it was anyone's fault… Yang's still angry with him, though." She let a breath of laughter escape. "She's always been a really great sister. When he died, she put everything she had into raising me. I hope that one day, I can repay all the things she's done for me."

Weiss felt her old demons gnaw at her again. Sending Yang to the dungeons. The witch trial… She searched for the right words. There weren't any. She stood. "Tomorrow, we'll be meeting with the king. You should get some rest. We'll need to get up early."

She paused at the door. "Goodnight, Ruby. And, thank you."

/-/-/-/

Weiss lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. There was no way what just happened could have been called an articulate, well-planned conversation… So, why did it mean so much to her? Why did she suddenly feel so much lighter? Why had she shared so much? She'd never been allowed to share anything with anyone before. She wasn't sure if she'd even wanted to.

One thing had become increasingly clear over the last two days: the person known as Weiss Schnee now was not the same one who left for Vale all those years ago.

Weiss Schnee. Who was that? Herself, obviously. But…

When she left for Vale, she thought all her hard work would mean something. Not like it didn't, she just thought…

Nothing had changed! In all this time, her father hadn't changed. Atlas hadn't changed. Names were different, times were different, but nothing else had changed. She still didn't have a voice. She still had to prove herself. If she hadn't proven herself by now, how could she ever manage the task? It used to be such a simple concept, but everything felt like a lie.

So what if she had honor? She still couldn't leave for Vale without her father telling her to. Her father still treated her like a puppet. The crazy thing was that she'd accomplished more than half the people who were judging her.

Everything felt so upside-down. So twisted.

Weiss tried to sleep, but ended up becoming more awake instead.

~~AAAND STOP!~~

NEXT: Monkey Seer Monkey Do