Blood in the Snow Chapter 14: Deceived
Finals week, finals week, nothing says stress like finals week!
Hopefully now with the semester winding down, and winter break beginning I'll be able to focus a little bit more on the story- bar the obvious Christmas and New Year's Day junk. For any wedding dress experts out there, I sincerely apologize for this chapter. My expertise certainly doesn't lie in textiles, so I did what I could with a few Google searches and a number of articles. Anyways, we're coming up to the end of the second arc, with one more arc to go, so I hope that everybody is still enjoying the story as much as they have been. Enjoy!
"I must thank you again for accompanying us on such a tedious task," Weiss repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time as she felt a pair of gentle hands help her into the sea of fabrics that made up the latest wedding dress to adorn her form in the last few hours, "Don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything I can do to repay-..."
"Oh, no need!" Summer's inviting laughter seemed to resonate positivity unrivaled throughout the room like a wave, even as she tugged at the laces of Weiss' gown, "This sort've thing is practically what mothers live for."
"Planning that far ahead already, eh?"
"Call it practice." It was clear that she was having trouble containing the mirth that dripped from each and every word that passed her lips, "Besides, your mother couldn't spare the time to see this for herself. Even if she doesn't have the time to spare, I sure do."
As Summer prattled on, Weiss stole a fleeting glance over at Jaune and Cardin, who had both claimed century spots by the doorway, rifles in hand, enthralled within the clutches of a conversation of their own.
It had been a week. A week since the night that they drunkenly stumble down the streets of the black stone district. A week since their lips had met in a heated moment that still played through her mind like a movie, resulting in an awkward air between her and Jaune so thick that an ax wouldn't be able to carve through.
Sure, they had spoken since that night. It was really unavoidable, what with her being his employer and all, though the joviality that had once thrived between the two- if only for a scant few days- had once again been cast into the void. shame and guilt-wracked through her like a violent storm, ready to tear her apart from the inside out.
"So, you think a ruffle skirt works, then?"
Summer's ever chipper tone worked wonders in chasing away the grey clouds, if only temporarily; just long enough to give her the mental foothold required to drag herself out of her rumination, back into the present.
"Yeah. The trumpet-style's a bit...plain, comparatively. Chances are you're only wearing this thing once, so going all out is kinda the name've the game." Weiss paused as a new question began to bounce through her noggin, "...What style did you end up wearing?"
"At my wedding?" Summer hummed, earning a nod from Weiss, "Nothing too special. Ball-gown style."
Meanwhile, as Weiss and Summer's conversation seemed to only descend further into detail, the pair of young men standing guard at the door entrance let out a collective sigh, each risking an exhausted glance at the other.
"Dude?"
"Hmm?"
"What're they talking about?..." Cardin idly scrolled through something or other on his phone as he grumbled away, "The hell's a trumpet dress?"
"Mm'nno..."
"Was that English?" He inquired.
"It was Jaunish." The blonde countered.
There was an awkward pause as Cardin clicked his tongue, the sound barely audible from under his mask, "...The thing that makes your skin go yellow'n shit?"
"That's jaundice."
"Explains the hair."
"I'll hit you."
"It won't hurt."
"Fair." Jaune leaned against the frame of the doorway, letting his firearm hang freely from its sling as he idly drummed the drywall, "Hey, is Velvet's turn to cook tonight?"
"Nah, Blake's."
"Great. So fish for dinner?" Jaune asked, earning an even laugh from his companion.
"Is it ever anything but fish with Bl—"
"Hey!"
Weiss' shrill cry summoned the attention of the two young men, who stared back at the alabaster-haired woman with wide eyes- even if those eyes were concealed under the hazy shade of their ballistic goggles.
"Wha?..."
"Can you two try to take this seriously?" She hissed, prompting a small shrug from both sentinels.
"What the heck can we do?" Jaune finally mumbled, his voice betraying the endless boredom that coursed through his veins.
"Provide constructive feedback."
"We're covered from head to toe in body armor." Cardin rightfully pointed out as Jaune robotically nodded along, "Fashion ain't really our forte."
"Yeah, Cardin's right, we just-..."
"Don't listen to those two, they're dorks." Summer interjected as she finally stepped away from the heiress to admire the fit, "They wouldn't be able to give fashion advice if a department store truck hit them square'n the face."
"Can't argue with that," Weiss smirked, looking herself over in the mirror as she gently swirled around, her eyes taking in the cocoon of silvery white that seemed to shimmer and twinkle in the harsh light of the shop.
"So..." The silver-eyed woman inquired, "How's that look?"
"Amazing..." Weiss let out a breath, her eyes locked upon the endless shimmering expanse that was her wedding dress, "You've got a fantastic sense for fashion, Summer."
"Unlike those two buffoons." She agreed.
"At least they've the presence of mind to keep their eyes off of you while you're trying on dresses." A new voice echoed throughout the room with an aura of authority that would have sent a chill up the spine of any other person.
Any person but Weiss, who spun 'round, a glowing smile plastered upon her face, "Winter!"
"Forgive the interruption, I merely wished to visit my sister while she was trying on wedding dresses." The woman in question said as she strode into the room, acknowledging the two sentinels and Summer with a soft nod before returning her focus to her sister, "Not every day that you get to witness something so important."
"True enough," Summer piped up, extending a hand towards the older Schnee, "Summer Rose. I take it you're Weiss' older sister?"
"One'n the same. Weiss has mentioned you over our afternoon tea. She tells me that you have a daughter." Winter accepted the hand with all the grace and poise fit for a Schnee, though a playful grin tugged upon her face, clear as day, "I assume this is practice."
Summer couldn't contain her laughter as she glanced back at the heiress, "Great minds."
How infectious laughter could be, Weiss thought as she let a chuckle slip-free.
It was another few minutes, another few minutes of chatter and debates- along with a 'sisterly demand' or two- before Weiss finally found herself back out of her dress and into her usual attire once more. Winter and Summer, trailed closely by Cardin, had gone searching for some assistance in finalizing the purchase of the dress.
Unfortunately, that meant...
Her eyes trailed over to him, and all at once she felt a tension seize her heart. They had both made a considerable effort to not find themselves alone for any extended period of time. Being alone meant that they would need to bring up what had happened eventually, and she was relatively sure that neither of them was ready to face what happened.
And now here they were, locked in the exact situation they had both been putting in a gargantuan amount of effort to avoid.
Murphy's Law, right?...
"...Did you like it?" She finally tried, her voice barely above a soft whisper.
"Eh?"
"The dress." She clarified, "Do you like it?"
"Oh." Jaune grunted, suddenly looking extremely uncomfortable inside of his armor, "Uh, yeah-... Yeah, it was, uh-... It looked good."
"Do you think it will be suitable for the wedding?"
"I guess."
"Do you think I'll be able to dance in it?"
"I'm sure you'll be fine for the reception." Jaune replied as he awkwardly tapped on the side of his rifle, "It's mostly slow dancing- at least I think. The only wedding I was ever at was Tai and Sum's."
"Do you think you'll ever summon the nerve to have a normal conversation with me again?"
"I-...wait, what?"
"You've been behaving like this since we had that...'interaction'." Weiss clarified, tucking a stray silvery hair behind her ear, "We were drunk."
"I'm aware've that." He answered simply, clearly unwilling to meet her gaze despite the layer of colored plastic that separated his eyes from the world.
"Neither of us were in control of our actions." She pressed, finally finding a bit of the zeal she usually so casually wielded, "There's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm just as guilty as you are for what happened."
"That doesn't mean that it was any less unprofessional of me to do what I did."
"You weren't my bodyguard at the time. You were off duty."
"I know, but... what does it mean? For us?"
"...I'm not sure. But it can't mean anything more than-..." Weiss trailed off, her cloudy eyes finding the floor below them.
"Yeah... I agree..."
It was a tedious stroll back to the car. Certainly not a quiet one, no, but tedious nevertheless.
"They should make it illegal to park on the sidewalk like that." Summer idly said as they passed a small, beat-up looking car, parked not so subtly halfway up onto the sidewalk.
It certainly looked as if it had seen better days, Jaune idly noted as they drew closer to the poor old thing. Nothing remarkable; just a car a good few years past it's prime, with an old Menagerie flag sticker plastered upon the side-door, it's condition rivaling the car it clung to.
"It is." Winter assured as she sent a look of absolute ire towards the dilapidated machine, "Some people just have no sense of duty to obey the laws set before them."
"Was it out here when you arrived?" Jaune asked, resisting the urge to groan. Far be it from him to suggest to the woman to ignore a parking infraction, but judging from the state of the vehicle, whoever owned it was probably far and away past caring about something so trivial.
"No. If it had been, I can assure you that I would've reported it to the proper authorities by now." Winter's tone took on an almost schoolteacher-like air as she continued glowering at the vehicle, "Such behavior is unbecoming of Atlas citizens, and should be dealt with accordingly."
"Vindictive much?" Cardin mumbled.
"...Hey, what's that?" Weiss inquired as the group finally passed the old, beat up junker, her eyes are drawn towards the backseat where a pile of what seemed to be trash lay.
"Hmm?" Winter hummed.
"What's wha-... Hey, yeah..." Summer confirmed as she leaned in, pressing her face against the glass in an effort to take a closer look, "Something in there is...what the heck is that?"
"I...think it's a-... That strange pot the manor's chefs make rice with." Weiss fumbled, doing her best to ignore the look of sheer disbelief on Winter's face, "That looks to be a ridiculous mess of wire, though. D'you think the extension cord is broken or something?"
Jaune felt his heart skip a beat.
"Did you say 'wire'?!..."
"Yeah, wire." Weiss confirmed, joining Summer I'm pressing their faces against the glass, "There's a whole bunch've wire wrapped around the—"
He rushed over, his heart pounding in his ears as the inside of the car swiftly came into view.
And what he saw set his blood to ice.
It was just as Weiss had described; a strange-looking cooking device surrounded by a mass of wire that could've very well been mistaken for the inside of a computer.
Only... That was no rice steamer...
It was a pressure cooker!—
He was just barely able to seize Weiss by the scruff of her neck and yank backward before his entire world was bathed in the light...