Broken mirrors
"I still don't see why I have to go with you…" the young Princess pouts and whines.
"Being Princess isn't just about sitting in the castle and only being seen when Father is…" Winter says without looking down at her sister.
"I know THAT... But why do I have to come with you to the Orphanage…" Weiss glances around and tugs on her sister's sleeve to get her attention. "it's where all the bad children go…"
"Hmmm. Captain, hold for a moment." Winter commands and kneels down so she is eye level with Weiss, "What is it?"
"Well, Father said that's where the Faunus and miscreants end up…" Weiss whispers for fear that someone may hear of her Father's prejudice.
"Well, like many other things in life, Father is very…very, very Wrong." Winter emphasizes the last few words. "Don't take everything Father says as fact…though he would like everyone to…"
"So why are there children there…in the orphanage I mean." Weiss looks up at her sister who stands and signals that the pair will be continuing.
"Well many of the children who end up in the orphanage lost their families due to war, famine or just being unlucky…but Father was right about one thing there are many Faunus children who reside in our orphanage. Fortunately for them the Church here will not turn anyone away. Even if Father tries to convince them otherwise…." Winter answers as she waves to some of the townsfolk. "Good Morrow! May the Goddess bless you."
"You, Princess Weiss, you are lucky that your sister here was able to convince your Father this would be a good idea. He was very against both the Heirs to the Throne being out especially together." The Captain mentions as he glances behind both Princess noticing someone is following behind them.
"Excuse me, Princess. I am going to check up on something." The commander says as he excuses himself. Before Princess even has a chance to stop him, he is out of sight.
"Well uhh…Yes, of course." Winter glances in the direction that the man disappeared to. "It's not like he is in charge of protecting us… But we will be fine right, Weiss." Winter smiles down at her nervous sister.
"Yeah…uhh so what do we do now?" Weiss asks as she walks up to the wrought iron fence that surrounds the desolate building.
"The sisters know we are coming today, we are to meet them in the mess hall." Winter gestures to her younger sister to stay close to her into the grim looking building. Walking past dozens of frolicking children, some with tails, fur covered arms, and others with sharpened nails but all of them appear strangely enough happy. It will be good for Weiss to see that children her age can be happy even with the most unforgiving of circumstances.
The usually proud and quick-witted Princess, now acts like a scared kitten sat on the edge of the busy market street. Winter notices her sister's apprehension towards the Faunus children and chuckles.
"Oh Yuki is that you I see." Winter squints towards the shadow covered side of the building, veering off course from the entrance. Before Winter continues towards the sun shielded area she signals to the rest of her entourage to stay behind. "Just wait there could you? She is a bit shy…"
"Whose shy, Winter?" Weiss asks as the knights disburse into the courtyard and interact with the children. Some tell tales of great adventures traveled while others show the young ones their weaponry. "Is it safe for them to leave us alone?" The young Princess seems worried that relaxed nature of this whole trip.
"Well it would be if that Captain did his job, instead of gallivanting around like some sort of Hero." Winter replies. " To answer your first question about who is shy, a young girl who is just there. She on occasion when she doesn't steal enough to buy a meal. Would you like to meet her?" The older of the two begins to walk towards an overgrown tree beside the orphanage shading the entire side of the building.
"Sure…" Weiss follows Winter and can make out the shape of a small girl sat on a lower branch hung low. "Wait!" The young Princess finally realizes the rest of what her sister has mentioned. "SHE'S A THIEF!"
"Oh hush." Winter kneels down holding her finger up. "Yuki only steals enough to get by and when she doesn't, Yuki comes here so she has a safe place to sleep."
"But she is a THIEF Winter! That is a crime punishable by removal of the tools used to commit the crime." Weiss states as a matter of fact, nodding her head.
The sisters stop before the towering tree. Winter looks up and takes a step to the left. "I am sure you know that means her hands." Winter mentions in a hushed voice.
"Uhh where is sh-" Plop. Weiss looks over and sees a peanut shell had fallen from above. "What…" Another shell hits the young woman on the top of the head.
"You may want to move over to the side before something just a tad bigger comes down." Winter motions for her sister to step behind her.
"Ok?" Weiss says as she moves out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit by a cloak covered mass as it drops from the top branches. "What is that?" The young Princess mumbles in disbelief.
"Meep!" The covered mass, shifts and from under the cloak Weiss sees small clawed hands emerge. "Oowie"
"Yuki!" Winter walks up to the mass and grabs one of the small hands. " I'm so glad to see your well."
"Oh it's you Winter." A quiet voice responds as a young mouse Faunus emerges from under the dark heavy cloak. But just as fast as the young girl fell from the tree she dashes behind Winter causing her to chuckle.
"Who else would it be?" Winter grins. "Oh this is my younger sister. Remember I mentioned her to you? This is Princess Weiss."
"Weis… oh, your brat of a little sister?" Weiss leans to see a few straggly whiskers from behind her sister.
"I will have you know…I AM NOT A BRAT!" Weiss pouts, Winter turns and mumbles something to the small shadow. "I am very well mannered…"
"Oh Whitley is the brat. I apologize for that uhh… Princess…" A small hand emerges from the shadows.
"Yes well, I do not think Weiss took much salt in that comment. So Yuki I heard from the sisters that you have made some new friends." Winter smirks.
"Right…seeing that we are the same age and... that you seem to be close with Winter." Weiss hesitantly holds her hand out towards Yuki, her hand trembles as the dirty and clawed paw gets close. I have to face my fears. Winter's not scared. Yuki is just a child like me…well not exactly like me but still. The porcelain hand clasps the battered paw, but to Weiss' surprise the inside of the paw is soft and warm.
"I'm glad to see you made a friend, Weiss." Winter claps. "Hmm looks like my Oaf of a Captain is finally back, if you two would excuse me. I'll be right back." Weiss watches her sister gracefully walk towards her Captain and clobber him on the top of the head without even blinking.
"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" The man shouts at the Princess to which she drops to the floor kicking his legs out from under him.
"Your sister is scary." Yuki states as she stares at the two arguing.
"She can be. So Winter mentioned that you…uh…have to steal. Why do you do that if you know that it's a crime?" Weiss shyly inquires as she takes her hand back and unconsciously wipes her hand on the bottom of her dress.
"For the same reason you wiped your hand just know." A new voice hisses.
~,.As the Church Bell rings.,~
"Princess are we going to the orph-" Pyrrha starts but is interrupted by the Weiss completed stopped walking, while the rest of the group continues to take a few more steps.
"Pyrrha please, I would like it to be a surprise." The Princess smirks and narrows her eyes.
"OOOH! A SURPRISE?! I LOVE SURPRISES!" Nora bounces even with the two chests filled to the brim with clothing.
"A surprise? Hmm what's the surprise that the Princess is secretly hiding an entire army of midgets?" Yang quietly chuckles, nudging Ruby with her elbow.
"Yang! If the Princess had an army why would she buy such pretty clothing for them?" Ruby wonders stopping in place as she ponders.
"I'm not hiding a small ARMY?!" The Princess' voice raises and glares the other direction catching the gaze of a passing woman who dropped her head to the floor, bowing but not out of respect.
"Forgive me Princess! I- didn't mean to lay eyes on you" A woman with canine features pleads holding her daughter who is shaken begins to whimper. "Mommy…" The child cries as her mother presses her head to the ground, "shhh don't speak unless spoken to."
Pyrrha gathers the terrified woman's fallen garments. "There is no need to tremble, we are only passing through." Her gentle voice and kind gesture reassure the woman there is no need for such a display.
"May th-the gods smile on you all…" The woman bows her head and quickly leaves.
"I..." Weiss' eyes drop to the ground, her hand held up.
Yang walks up to Pyrrha, "What was that about?"
"King James…is not known for his kindness especially towards the Faunus people." Pyrrha watches the pair leave their ears down. "After losing Princess Winter, the Schnee name has been a direct reflection of the King…so as you can imagine Princess Weiss is trying to break away from that image but that is hard to do while being locked away."
"Mmmm, that must suck for Princess Weiss, living with a name directly tied to such hate and distrust…" Yang looks over at the Princess who continues on her way.
"Is everything alright?" Ruby walks up to her sister.
"Hey what was that about?" Nora shouts, Ren comes up behind her.
Pyrrha and Yang fill in everyone else in about what has just transpired. "Well…"
"We-Princess Weiss isn't like that; she's nothing like her father!" Ruby angrily mumbles.
"Of course she isn't. She is much younger and a WOMAN for one." Nora adds jokingly.
Ren shakes his head as usual to his partner's obvious comment. "I don't believe that is what they meant when they…"
"I was just trying to lighten the mood…" Nora quietly adds, squinting her eyes at Ren.
"Can we just continue?!" Weiss digs her heels into the ground and grits her teeth. The Princess doesn't turn to see her guard's confused faces. Without skipping a beat Weiss takes a few steps forward expecting to hear whispers or murmurs about her but instead…
"YEAH! Let's go. I'm dying to see where we are going!" Nora happily bounces beside Ren catching up to the Princess.
"I am excited to see everyone's reaction to where we are going." Pyrrha happily loops her arms into Ren and Ruby's arm.
Yang chuckles and walks up beside the Princess. "So the place we are heading to is there going to be food?"
"Is that all that matters to you?" Weiss groans, hearing the rest of her guard is excitedly giggling and guessing where they are headed.
"Well food would be a great uhh…reward? For carrying these chests to where it is we are going." Yang grunts as she re-adjusts the wooden chests on her shoulder.
"A reward, for what exactly?!" Weiss stops and spins around a stops before Yang. "You are part of my personal guard, if I request that you carry my possessions you shall do so without complaints or any type of compensation."
"Yang! Once we get back to the castle I am sure that we can get Oscar to whip something up yummy for you." Ruby wiggles as she forces herself between Weiss and her sister. "Right Pyrrha?" The leader's eyes plead for help.
"I'm sure that won't be an issue." Pyrrha grins watching Nora and Ren bicker about the proper way to handle of the Princess' purchased goods.
What are these people doing…? Blake's mind finally breaks free from the alluring charm of the blonde brawler. "Why are we heading towards that god-awful orphanage." I wonder if she keeps coming here to keep the memory of her sister alive…or if it's guilt that keeps her going.
-,.At the Orphanage.,-
"All I am saying is coming here helps…with not only our image but to help us understand our people and their struggle." Winter mentions as the pair leave the orphanage.
"But why did those other children say those hateful things to me... " Weiss whimpers rubbing her hands together.
"It's because you two get to leave whenever you want…" The mysterious voice calls out causing Weiss and Winter to turn around but there is no one around.
"There is no reason to hide. We are…" Winter smiles gently reaching her hand out.
"I know who the two of you are...Schnees." The voice sounds goes shrill at the end. "You're Crowned Princess Winter heir to the throne, and that's Princess Weiss." They add much calmer.
"Where are you?!" Weiss shouts causing the guards to stir but Winter holds her hand up calming the guard from their alerted position.
"Scary isn't it…not knowing what will happen next." The voice fades away.
Winter glances around, narrowing her eyes before takes Weiss' left hand. "Come on. Father will be upset if we are out when it becomes dark."
"Who was that?" Weiss looks up at her sister.
"Whoever it was they didn't want us to see them, but I hope one day when you're older that you and the children here can live in peace. That we all can live in peace…" Winter's voice trails off.
-.,Just outside the Church,.-
"Ugh why are we here?" Yang groans, dropping the precious cargo onto the ground.
"Be Careful!" Weiss snaps as she watches the pair of chests buckle and bind as it impacts the stone road.
"Be CAREFUL! THE ONLY THING IN HERE IS CLOTHING." Yang bangs on the chests.
"Yang, come now let's not fight again…" Ruby groans getting between the two knowing that a fight will surely will ensue.
Blake watches the group bicker and banter as they walk into the orphanage. Her ear turns hearing the gravel crunch under boots, but one turns back to the group. Hmm…
"Hey Blake, what are you doing here?" Martel saunters beside the feline, looking towards the Orphanage.
"Oh you know... just reliving the good old days." Blake sighs watching the Princess speak to the sisters within.
"Good old days…huh." Martel's eyes narrow, "Only thing that made the time in that prison bearable was meeting Yuki, Arth and…you."
"Adam was there too you know." Blake mentions, "For a mission, which is why I was here but he was here too."
"I don't really remember him much…I remember that witch and her sister though." The pale woman hisses. "They would come and drop off their gifts than leave back to their castle."
"They weren't that bad, Princess Winter was kind. She always checked up on us and made sure there was food in the cellar." Blake watches the blonde brawler separate from group. "People like that are hard to find nowadays."
"Yuki still comes here." Martel groans at the old memories, aiming her long face towards the dark edges of the building. "She is here now."
"Is that why you're here?" Blake questions without turning her head.
"Yeah she is lurking around here somewhere the sisters don't like taking stolen money." Martel hisses, "they say it's tainted."
"Tainted money…what a joke, the money they get from the Schnee's is taken from us. We bleed, sweat and die for the Kingdom to make its coin and what does the Faunus get. Begging on the streets and living in slums told they are better off here than in Menagerie." Blake's voice becomes dark.
"Yeah well, ever since Winter went missing, Yuki comes by whenever she notices the orphanage rationing the portion of foods or the children's clothes are more tattered than usual." Martel notes.
"Okay, okay we can leave are you happy?!" Princess Weiss sighs watching Yang and troop hop out of the main hall.
"Well I can't say I am happy that we are leaving... all the children are so kind." Yang smiles as she waves to the children by the doorway.
"Hmm, I will see you back at the house. It seems they are moving on." Blake begins to get up to follow the group as they return to the castle.
"The Princess… makes sense why you are here now. Reliving the old days, I knew there was no way you were just here to see the old place." Martel chuckles as she waves to the leader. "Alright I will see you later Blake."
Blake keeps her eyes trained on the group, "Yeah, alright …" Martel notices Yuki scurrying out the back door. The yellow orbs narrow as the group happily leaves the place Blake spent many a moon trying to forget.
Before Weiss turns the corner, she stops and takes another look at the Orphanage. Looking at the old buildings oddly sparkling windows, in them she sees herself many years ago that small fragile girl. Have I changed at all since then?
"See Weiss that wasn't so bad was it?" Winter's voice chuckles as she takes Weiss's small hand as the two walk back, "Promise me that you will continue to come here even if I'm not able to."
"Why wouldn't you be able to?" Weiss asks, stopping as she looks up into her sister's eyes.
"One day I will be crowned Queen and it will fall on you to check on the Kingdom's children." Weiss whispers to herself remember her sister's face.
"What was that Princess?" Ruby leans in forward catching the attention of the Princess.
"Nothing, let's go before your sister or better yet Nora does something…reckless …" Weiss shakes her head watching the pair laugh and play around displaying their strength for the children watching from the windows.
"Ok, let's go home!" Ruby smiles warmly as she continues forward, Weiss smiles knowing that whatever the future holds she will no longer face it alone.
A/N Hello there travelers, I am so glad to see you all here! I hope everyone's New Year is going great. There are so many surprises and excitement still to come. Thank you to everyone still following the story and for all the support as always. This story started out as just a thought and a few notes, now it is writing itself. Can't wait for you to experience it all. As always if you like the story please feel free to leave a like, comment or DM me. See you all in the next chapter!
