I do not own the RWBY or Fate universes. Apologies for the late chapter, but I will try to get the next chapter out earlier. Curse that writer's block.


Chapter Twelve: How I Met My Mother-in-Law


There were countless failures and incomplete summons in the coming weeks.

Success can be quite elusive. I know this fact all too well in my past.

It may seem that world is against you. It can be cruel and unreasonable. Most people would probably be resigned to their fate. But Weiss was different. She refused to accept that she could not summon. She sought to prove the world that it judged her wrong in the end. And I believed in her.

So she kept persisting on it. The frequency of her failures had steadily decreased over time. Her incomplete summons became more whole and lifelike. And she kept pushing forward to shatter her own limits.

Then one day…

A large white glyph rotated steadily on the ground, emitting a blinding light. Then a giant white figure slowly rose straight from it. The said figure resembled a full-armored knight and was carrying a large two-handed broadsword. It was initially in a standing position, yet it immediately knelt down on one knee and planted its sword on its right side. A complete Arma Gigas was now kneeling in front of its summoner as it was waiting for her orders. Weiss gazed at the summon for a moment, then she turned her head towards me silently. Her face revealed a tired, yet content smile to me.

"Well done," I spoke out solemnly, even as my own slight smile betrayed my true feelings inside.

"Thank you, Gray," Weiss said as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "Although I don't think I would have done this easily without your help."

"Nonsense. You already had the potential inside you and you are trained hard for this power. I merely provided a few pointers for you. The rest was because of you," I dismissed her statement.

Weiss didn't reply back to me, but if the blush on her face was any indication, she must have liked my compliment. But it was the truth. I was proud of her.

But it would be foolish if she didn't keep up her training on her summoning at this point. I had a quite few ideas on how to improve on her summoning from here. It was given she needs to keep practicing on her summoning control, but summoning speed is also essential here. I would prefer if she could reduce her summoning time in a split second as her enemy would not wait for her to summon in battle. I also wondered if she could practice controlling multiple summons at once and experiment with summoning other Grimm that she had slain before. There is quite a lot of untapped potential with her summoning ability…should I double our training sessions in the future? There were also other untested training experiments I had in mind for her…

Then Weiss interrupted my musing thoughts.

"By the way, Gray? What have you been doing for your own training?"

"Hmm…? Oh, I been mostly improving my swordplay and trying to self-learn some magecraft spells," I answered her half-absentmindly.

"Magecraft? You mean like magic?"

I swiftly twisted my head around to a confused Weiss. I then voiced my exact thoughts at that moment aloud. "Did I not tell you about magecraft before?"

"No…" Weiss said with a deadpan tone.

"Huh, that topic must have slipped from my mind then… Hmm, it would take more time to explain it fully, but magecraft is kind of like magic. But it is also a little different," I hummed to myself thoughtfully.

"Would you care to elaborate on that?" Weiss asked me, her interest now peaked. I guess since I already proved that magic is real, she seems to have more interest in its details.

"Thaumaturgy, also called magecraft, is using magical energy to recreate phenomena that is also possible though science. The end result is still the same, but the process in doing so is magical. For example, someone can use magecraft to create fire. But a normal person can do the same by gathering tinder and igniting it with a match or lighter. Do you understand this so far?" I explained, getting a look of understanding from Weiss.

I then continued with her affirmation. "Magic, also called True Magic, is the creation of true miracles in a given era as they are things that are unachievable through any amount of resources or time. True Magic is something that can be attain by reaching the Root, or the origin of everything in the universe including magic. Some examples of True Magic include parallel world travel, time travel, and creation out of nothingness. But it is probably not necessary for you know all of the details."

"What? But I still wish to learn more about it…" Weiss said with some dissatisfaction in her voice.

"You should remember that magic over in this world has different concepts and systems, so don't take everything I say as the truth here," I reminded her. "That being said, if you want to learn more details about magecraft, I suggest asking me at another time as the topic can be extensive in information. I can't promise to know all the answers to your questions, but I will answer them as best as I could. Understood?"

Weiss nodded, albeit reluctantly, at my statement. "Then let's back on point, what kind of magecraft have you been practicing?"

"Well, in terms of actual magecraft ability, I am pretty much a self-taught novice at this point. But I have been practicing basic magecraft regarding material transmutation to some degree of success."

"Really?"

"Yes, although it isn't very much due to my limited magecraft knowledge. But do you still wish to see it?"

After seeing her nod with barely-concealed eagerness, I decided to give her a demonstration of one of my recently learned magecraft skills.

Tracing.


So I started. "Trace on."

A small spark from my magic core produced a small tendril of pure magical energy, which I grasped on it. Then I manipulated and guided the flow of magical energy through my body with the help of magic circuits. Then it reached into my right hand and visible cyan-blue sparks crackled within it. I then closed my eyes and recited the mental process of the spell.

Judging the concept of creation.

It is a steel longsword. It was forged for battle, yet it was nameless.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

It was made with a steel blade of 36 inches in length and about two and half inches in width. It had a standard cruciform hilt for two-handed use with a pommel at the end.

Duplicating the composition material.

It was made with high-quality crucible steel with very small amounts of impurities.

Imitating the skill of its making.

It was made by melting pig iron in a crucible. Then the steel was poured into a cast into steel bars. It was then heated up and hammered furiously by a Vacuo craftsman. The blade was shaped and sharpened. The steel hilt and pommel was then attached to it. The sword was lastly polished and oiled.

Sympathizing the experience of its growth.

It was made with the intention as a weapon for war. But it never saw battle and was forgotten by its creator. The sword was then bought by a certain merchant and traded many hands until it was finally claimed by the Schnee family, where it would rest to this day.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

It was about created 81 years ago. The first 22 years saw it gathering dust in the storage. It was then found and traded for the remainder of the time till 33 years ago. That is when Nicolas Schnee had bought it from a Vacuo merchant with several other weapons. It was then used later as a display weapon in the Schnee mansion.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

Recreating this unsung and neglected sword by combining these small yet vital steps…

…Complete.


I opened my eyes to see a newly formed steel longsword in my hand. The sword had weight to its form and didn't look transparent. I then gave it a few light swings in the air, where it whooshed through the air. And it seemed to be stable and solid. It was a success this time…

I then rubbed my head from the slight headache from the information packed into the mundane sword. Just like I thought, tracing Noble Phantasm might be out of the question as the information overload would probably put me in a coma if that was possible. Mundane objects were somehow easier for me as long as they didn't carry any unfamiliar elements in them. Believe me, I tried tracing Dust by itself, and that wasn't fun. All I got for my troubles was a piercing headache from trying to process the strange information from the Dust crystal. Something tells me that Dust wasn't natural for a reason…

The time constraints for the process also made it difficult for me to create certain items on the fly, especially during combat. And the mental strain also made it difficult for me to trace more than few items at a time. I was hoping to lessen the time limits and mental energy needed for tracing as I keep getting familiar with certain objects.

I seriously envied Shirou with his reality marble in this aspect…

Therefore, tracing wasn't exactly very useful to me in this case as that I can't exactly spam numerous weapons or create a noble phantasm for combat... But it could be useful in cases where I could create temporary objects in certain situations. Not that the temporary condition mattered much to me as the mundane objects that I had created so far are still around for weeks… It was rather peculiar.

Eh. I had other important things to worry about.

Weiss was now looking at my newly formed sword with keen interest. "Did you just create that sword out of nowhere…? Then is that True Magic? I did remember you were saying before that creating things out of nothing is one type of True Magic."

"Not exactly. This sword is not made from nothing; it was made with magical energy. It is called projection, and it utilizes the caster's mental image of the object to create it. However, it is normally useless in most cases," I corrected her.

"Useless?" Weiss said in confusion. "How would that be useless? I imagine such a spell would have incredible applications in many situations."

I chuckled. "You would be right…, except the projected object in question is much weaker than the real thing and it would only probably last a few minutes at best. And it is not quite as energy efficient as other magecraft spells for the same result. As a result, the most probable situation for the usage of the spell would be in magecraft rituals that require object sacrifice in an emergency."

"But you said that it is normally useless in most cases…" Weiss's eyes narrowed in thought. "Then does that mean the spell that you used wasn't normal projection?"

I gave her a small smile at her deduction. "You are sharp. Yes, the spell I used is an advanced form of projection called Tracing. It utilizes the caster's knowledge of the object's history and experience to recreate the said object. With that, the projected object can last for hours or even days depending on the object itself and can be really close to the actual thing."

As I said that, I handed over the sword to Weiss. "This sword is a copy of one of the steel longswords that I found in this mansion. Can you tell that this is a fake from just looking at it?"

Weiss held the sword carefully in her hands while scrutinizing it closely. She ran her fingers across the flat of the blade. "Unbelievable…, I can't tell if this was a fake sword unless you had told me. It has the weight and feel of a sword."

Weiss swung the sword against some nearby dust-projected blocks, shearing through them with ease. "And it cuts like an actual sword."

"Well, probably no one except the original wielders or creator could tell if the weapon is fake or not," I mused aloud.

"So can you recreate any object you have seen?" Weiss asked me as she passed back the sword back to me.

"No, I still have limits on my tracing. I could only trace mundane objects in question with ease, and things like Dust and living beings I cannot recreate for certain reasons. And objects with considerable history and weight would probably need more time and analysis to trace," I explained to her as I dismissed the sword itself.

"That is a pity… I would imagine that Dust supply problems would be solved more easily if you could just create temporary Dust on the fly," Weiss said to me thoughtfully. I would have agreed with her sentiment if it wasn't for the uneasiness I felt about the mysterious nature of Dust.

"Anyways, what other magecraft spells do you know currently?" Weiss questioned me after breaking away from her line of thought.

I was about to open my mouth to answer, but someone had coughed loudly just then.

Weiss and I both turned around to the source of the unknown person. We then see Klein standing by the training room entrance as he was waiting for our conversation to end.

Seeing that he had gotten our attention, Klein then cleared his throat. "Pardon the interruption, Miss Schnee and Mister Saber. I did not wish to cut your conversation short, but I carry a message from the Madam. Miss Schnee, your mother wishes to see you at her garden as soon as possible."

Weiss's face had dimmed a bit upon hearing that.

After a moment of silence, Weiss finally managed to answer him politely. "…Thank you, Klein. Tell her that I will be there in a moment."

"As you wish, Miss Schnee," Klein said as he bowed to Weiss and promptly left us alone.

I blinked at this new development. I haven't really seen Weiss's mother for the whole time I was here in the Schnee mansion. I have caught many glimpses of her father and on occasion, her younger brother Whitney. But the matriarch of the Schnee family remains to be quite elusive to my sight. It is very likely that she doesn't go outside that often for a reason.

I then glanced worriedly at Weiss, where she carried a faraway look in her eyes. Something tells me that Weiss had a complicated relationship with her mother. But what is their relationship exactly?

"Is there something wrong, Weiss?" I asked her with some concern.

Weiss blinked for a moment and glanced at me. "Sorry, I was just blanking out for a moment there… There is nothing wrong, Gray… I just need to see my mom for a few minutes. Could you wait for me here while I go see her?" Weiss said with a weak smile. Before I could answer her though, she walked away without awaiting for my reply then.

I gazed upon her retreating figure with a small frown on my face. From what I knew from the show, Weiss's mother was an alcoholic due to the dismal circumstances surrounding her marriage and the Schnee family. I don't know much about her backstory or character, but I doubted that her mother was in any mental state to look after her children. But I have a feeling that Weiss doesn't hate her mother for that, not in the same way as her father at least.

Okay, so I am in a dilemma here.

I really wanted to help Weiss with some of her family issues, but I admit that I wasn't better with my own family issues experiences. I was definitely no therapist either. But that doesn't mean I didn't want to help her out. What kind of Servant would I be if I just watch my Master suffer like this?

So screw the idea of this being a private family manner. I fully intend to get into the bottom of this issue.

Ugh. I scratched my head in frustration. That being said, how do I help Weiss as I am right now? I can't exactly barge into their meeting like a brute. This needs a little finesse planning…

I racked my head for ideas that could work. My goal is to somehow help repair Weiss's relationship with her mother, while also help fixing her mother's own problems. But how do I get them to take the first step forward…

I stopped thinking for a moment as an idea popped in my head and I pondered upon its feasibility. Then I smiled to myself. While I can't exactly reveal my existence as a Servant to anyone, I think I do have a way to help out Weiss. Or at the very least, support her.

I just need to change my outfit a bit here…


I traversed through the hallways of the Schnee manor while I tried looking like a normal person. But it is a little hard to be a bit inconspicuous when you have the heads of maids turning. It seems that my Charisma Skill apparently makes me a lady-killer for some reason. Fortunately, it also seems that my seemingly aloof and firm disposition apparently prevents them from gaining the courage to try to speak, or worse, flirt with me. I wouldn't have known how to deal with that kind of situation then.

I just hope that there weren't too many rumors flying around in the mansion after this…

As I was relying on my bond with Weiss to locate her position, I would like to note that I wasn't wearing my usual clothing right now. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so comfortable going around in physical form. Not that it helped my current dilemma much…

I was currently in a male version of Saber's café clothing. It came with a buttoned up white shirt, a black vest, a blue tie, black pants and shoes, and soft white gloves. It obviously didn't have the same sexy appeal as the female counterpart, but it was the type of clothing that most girls would have swooned over if it was worn by a handsome male. It was that evident as one of the younger maids evidently fainted with a goofy smile on her face when I briefly glanced towards her way.

This B-Rank Charisma Skill is way too dangerous…

As I neared towards the opaque glass door to what appears to be a courtyard of some sort, I could clearly hear some voices talking to each other in the distance. One voice I recognized as Weiss's, but the other voice was more matured, yet sounded… tired.

That must be her mother.

I am a bit ashamed of this fact, but I was naturally a curious and nosy person. So I carefully eavesdropped on the conversation after making sure that no one else was around. It might give some context of what to expect from Weiss's mother.

"…Weiss, know that I am glad that you are okay. My heart nearly broke when I heard the news about the attack on Beacon. But you are now safe here…with us," Weiss's mother said.

"Mom, I know the dangers of being a huntress. So I trained hard for this." Weiss sighed.

"Nonetheless, I don't want to lose you so early… So I decided that you can stay here and continue your training as the SDC heiress under your father's personal wishes. Or attend Atlas Academy if you are still insistent of becoming a huntress. Either way, you will quite close to your home if anything does happens."

"…What?" Weiss spoke out in disbelief at her mother's decision. I was also confused. Why would her mother want Weiss to stay here? Surely, she knows why Weiss left the mansion, right?

"I was reluctant to let you go to Beacon Academy from the very beginning. Not just because the path of a huntress is not safe, but I initially thought you would have joined Atlas Academy like your elder sister. Winter had already defied your father's wishes in her decision to be an Atlas Specialist instead being of an heiress. But at the very least, she would have been able to look after you there. So when you went to Beacon Academy instead, I was worried that I would lose you there without anyone dependable to look after you. And the events of Beacon had me rather… shaken about your safety." Her mother continued as if not hearing Weiss's apparent disbelief.

"But I am capable huntress. And I am not alone. I do have my team to look after me," Weiss protested to her.

"Nonetheless, it would relieve me if you were to at least attend Atlas Academy. If your father would let you do so…" Her mother said with a melancholy tone.

"But I still have my team…"

"Nonsense. You can have a new team over here in Atlas, where it is safe and close to our family. Besides, I am sure that your old teammates would not miss you…they may even have forgotten about you," Her mother dismissed her concerns.

I winced. That is not going to go well with Weiss. You can insult her. But you should never insult her friends in front of her.

"What did you say…" Weiss said with evident anger rising in her voice.

It looks like it is about time I intervened into this conversation before this gets out of hand. I knocked against the door three times sharply with my knuckles.

The conversation had paused at that moment. Someone then came to the door and cracked it opened. It was Klein.

His eyes widened at the sight of me. "Mister Saber…What are you doing here…?"

I then held a finger to my mouth to hush him. "May you please grant me entrance? I am here to help Weiss out here."

Seeing his still-skeptical look on his face, I then looked straight into his eyes with utter resolve. "Please trust me on this."

Klein stared at me for an intense moment. Then he nodded firmly and stepped aside for me. I graciously thank him with a nod as I stepped through the doorway.

And I entered into a garden. And what a beautiful garden it was.


I silently marveled at the garden itself as Klein led me to where Weiss was. It must have cost a pretty Lien for the Schnee family. I doubt that there were any other gardens that were as comparable as this one in the entirety of Remnant.

White-blue cobblestones paths weaved throughout the entire garden. Small stone statues of various Grimm can be found everywhere as artistic decorations. The sound of water trickling can be heard from fountains gushing out small streams. The entire place was covered with a decorated glass canopy, likely to keep majority of the rain and snow out and let the bright sun shine through for the plants.

But there were two things that seemed to define this garden the most.

Flowers. So many flowers. Flowers of all different species. Lilies? Roses? Violets? Tulips? They were all there. The symphony of colors was of a rainbow, with harmonizing and contrasting colors pleasing the eye, no matter where you place your eye on. Reds. Whites. Pinks. Blues. I could smell the sweet and mellow scents as the occasional breeze would cause the flowers to sway gently. It would be not an exaggeration to call this a second Garden of Avalon.

But the quietness was the second aspect of this garden. Despite of all of the flowers here, there was nothing else that lived here. No birds or bees were present in this garden. Not even the sound of a stray, fluttering butterfly was present. It may be because this unnatural quietness, but I felt the beautiful garden was also sad…as if it was reflecting the mood of the person that resided here the most.

Speaking of that person…

"Who are you? Are you one of the servants?"

The person who was asking was obviously Weiss's mother. She was currently lounging on a couch that was placed near the center fountain of the garden, which sported the white Schnee snowflake sculpture in the middle of it. She carried a wine glass in her hand, where there was a table stand next to her with additional bottles of alcohol.

As for the person herself, she had the same signature Schnee blue eyes and white hair as Weiss. She has a few wrinkles under her eyes, but you could tell that she was once a very gorgeous woman in her younger days…and was still arguably beautiful now. Her hair was kept in a short ponytail that rested on the left side of her shoulder. She wore a white cravat with a light purple jacket, but didn't wear a lot of jewelry as I expected from her position. She did have a silver brooch set with a red stone on her neck and earrings, but that was about it. But perhaps more notably, she carried a heavy aura in her that gave away her seemingly hidden depression.

Right, I was getting distracted here. I should first answer her questions, but I also wasn't going to ignore basic etiquette here.

So I stood up in a straight posture with my left arm behind me and right arm across my front. Then I bowed to her. "Greetings, Madam Schnee. My name is Saber Pendragon. It is a great pleasure to meet you."

Then I noticed that Weiss was sitting in a silver chair near her mother. She could only gape at me with both equal amounts of surprise and panic on her face. Weiss quickly recomposed herself before her mother could see, but her eyes kept shooting ice daggers at me. There was no doubt she will demand a proper explanation from me later… Oh well, I was kind of expecting that.

I continued on with my introduction. "And I am indeed a servant, Madam Schnee. I was recently assigned as a bodyguard for Miss Schnee here under Klein's recommendation."

Weiss's mother looked at Klein as to affirm my words. "Is this true, Klein?"

"It is, Madam Schnee." Klein said politely to her. "I was worried about the safety of the young miss, so I had Mister Saber here to look after her."

"Interesting… But that begs the next question…why have you intruded upon my quarters?"

"My apologies, I was searching for Miss Schnee when I found her here. The young Miss had suddenly left me behind with a few words, so I was worried about her safety. It was not my intention to interrupt your conversation with her, Madam Schnee," I said with a straight face.

"Is that so? Pardon me, but you seem too young to be a servant in this mansion. And I find it unlikely that you could protect my daughter as she is a huntress-in-training," Weiss's mother glanced at me skeptically.

"While your concerns are valid, you may rest your worries there, Madam Schnee. Although I appear to be younger than Miss Schnee here, I am actually in my very early twenties." I said as Weiss looked at me with no small amount of surprise. "And I am more than capable of protecting Miss Schnee here. After all, I was the one who protected her when Beacon fell."

Her mother then turned to Weiss. "Weiss, is that true?"

Well, it was technically true. I was her summon that took out that Altesian Paladin back then.

Weiss managed to calm herself down to answer. "Yes, Saber managed to help me fight off the Grimm and Altesian Paladins around me with ease. He is a capable fighter of his own right and I trust him."

An awkward moment of silence loomed over us as Weiss uncharacteristically finished her statement there without more details. Weiss probably didn't say anything more than that as she seemed uncomfortable sharing more details about the event to her mother. It is understandable from my experience.

But her mother seemed quite unsatisfied with her daughter's brief account of the events. So I saw my chance here to take things to a different direction.

"I could recite my own account of the events if you wish to know more what happened that day," I spoke out to her mother, breaking the silence. Weiss glanced at me with mixed feelings of relief from my intervention and suspicion as what I was planning to do.

"…Yes, I think I would like to know what happened."

So I told Weiss's mother about the events of Beacon in a mostly truthful manner while intentionally keeping out a few key details to make it sound a little realistic. I reenacted the scene where I joined forces with Weiss to help her fend off an Altesian Paladin as she was protecting a downed classmate of hers. I commended Weiss in how she managed to fight off numerous Grimm with her trusted partner to rescue a trapped classmate in the tower. I also explained how Weiss managed to escort the injured with some help in a professional manner from Beacon. I admitting downplayed my own actual achievements and raised Weiss's own, but it got my points across and it was more believable to others.

Unintentionally, I found that I was a very good storyteller if the rapt attention that I received from everyone in the garden was any indication. Even Weiss, who was the only one here who knew the full truth, couldn't help but listen to my stories with engrossed interest. Weiss's mother didn't even sip from her wine glass for the entire time. Was this my Charisma Skill at work? Or was there something else going on here?

As I finished my story there, Weiss's mother studied me for a moment before she put down her wine glass on the tablestand to speak. "…I cannot say for sure if your account of events are true or not. But what I can say is that you do have some eloquence in your storytelling at least. It helps that my daughter here seems to hold high praise for you as well," Weiss's mother said slowly as Weiss fidgeted nervously nearby.

"I know a lot of stories that I could tell you, Madam Schnee. But they are mostly tales about heroes and magic. But I believe that Miss Schnee here has more…realistic stories that she can tell you about. I am sure you will enjoy hearing them," I said with a wry smile.

Weiss was suddenly caught off-guard at my sudden deflection of the conversation to her. "Wait… what do you mean I have stories to tell?"

"Regardless of what you might think about her huntress career, it is true that she has a lot of stories to tell about herself and her close friends. Very interesting ones indeed…" I continued speaking to her mother, ignoring Weiss's attempts to get my attention.

"Gra… er...Saber! I don't think my mom would appreciate hearing about my time at Beacon," Weiss said nervously as she attempted to salvage the situation here. Too bad Weiss doesn't know how much I exactly knew…

"Oh? I don't think she has learned about the time that you and your team had greatest food fight that Beacon has ever seen," I said mischievously to her. "And wrecked the entire cafeteria in the process."

"Saber!" Weiss blushed in utter embarrassment.

"You know, I never recall about what you actually did while in Beacon. I had heard some details from Klein, but it seems that I haven't heard the entire story," Her mother commented with a raised brow.

With my insistent encouragement and suggestions, Weiss eventually spilled out some of the stories about her time at Beacon Academy. And boy, even I was surprised at the antics that Team RWBY had found themselves in. I mean, I don't understand how Weiss and her team managed to blow up not just one, but three bar establishments on their first girls' night out. Then again, I would probably place most of the blame on a certain person for this…


Meanwhile in a certain place in Patch…

"Achoo!" Yang sneezed as she was brushing her golden hair in the bathroom.

"Am I coming down with a cold?" Yang wondered aloud as she put down her brush to wipe her nose off. Then her lilac eyes narrowed. "Or is someone out there talking shit about me…?"


Back in the Schnee mansion…

I shivered for a moment before continuing to question with Weiss about one of her stories.

"So you were telling me that you got into three bar fights in the same night? And somehow caused three fires to break out by accident? It makes me wonder how you guys got off so easy in the first place…" I said incredulously. I knew that Ozpin was more lenient on Team RWBY than other students in the first place, but this is just plain ridiculous.

"We didn't. Detention for two and half weeks in a row. I swear that I'll suddenly find myself called up because Yang set another bar on fire during a bar fight in a few years time," Weiss grumbled to herself.

"But according to your account, wasn't it your fault for using Fire Dust in one of the bar fights?" I questioned her.

Weiss's face turned red. "S-shut up! I didn't really think about it that much back then. It was in the name for justice! Those brutes were harassing us back then!"

"I am not saying that you were in the wrong. But couldn't you have at least used a less destructive Dust type? I was pretty sure you prefer Ice Dust in the first place…" I said to her teasingly.

"Ugh…" Weiss buried her face in her hands from the embarrassment. I briefly laughed at her predicament before pausing for a moment. I kinda forgot that I wasn't the only one here with Weiss.

For the most part, Weiss's mother was mainly silent for the entire time as we were talking. She looked at us with a strange look that was not quite confusion, but close to it. I would say she was a little more than curious at our rather informal engagement with each other.

I cleared my throat right then as I recomposed myself. "Apologies, for my lack of informality and discipline here, Madam Schnee."

"No…, it is quite alright. It has been a long time since I saw my daughter like this…" Weiss's mother trailed off in deep thought. I was hoping by now that she would be able to open up a bit more with her daughter and make the first step.

"Weiss, you may leave now. I have some… important matters that I need to attend to." Weiss's mother suddenly spoke out. But it seems as my hopes were too optimistic right now.

Weiss looked surprised at the abrupt ending of our conversation, but her expression then sank afterwards. "…Yes, mom." Weiss said with some resignation as she slowly got up from her chair.

As Weiss began to walk away, I was going to follow her when a voice stopped me for a moment.

"Mister Saber, would you mind staying here for a moment?" Weiss's mother said causing me to freeze in mid-step.

My mind raced. Why would she be so interested in me? Did I say something wrong here?

Weiss's worried ice blue eyes met my mine. I then reassured her with a small smile. Weiss slowly turned around reluctantly as she seemed to understand that I was going to okay.

I hope I was going to okay.

"Please make yourself comfortable," Weiss's mother motioned me to take a seat. I sat down on the chair that Weiss previously occupied as comfortably as I can.

Weiss's mother picks up her wine of glass and slowly swirls the contents around. She sips it slowly before placing the now empty glass on her table stand. Then she focuses her attention on me.

"Saber, was it?"

"Yes, that is my preferred name." I answered her. But why do I feel a foreboding doom coming towards me? From where? An enemy? No…, it was coming from her.

"Then what are your intentions towards my daughter?" Weiss's mother said as the temperature in the room seemingly dropped. The metaphorical chill in the air caused shivers down my spine.

I gulped nervously. I am starting to regret having Weiss leave me alone with her mother here. At least I have Klein nearby, in case things get hairy. I am sure that he can help pacify Weiss's mother at that point.

But wait, Klein, why do you have a pale face? And are you… attempting to retreat from here? Please don't leave me here alone with her! Come back!


So, yeah. Gray has finally met Willow Schnee and things are going to change. I had very little information about Willow Schnee for obvious reasons. Yet some of the RWBY canon information that I do know wasn't up to my liking and I had some problems with it. (cough…DC Comics… cough…why?). So I thought I would make a few changes here and there regarding her character and life.

So Gray can do tracing. Tracing isn't something unique to Shirou Emiya and Archer for it is still projection magecraft. What is unique about their tracing is due to their same sword element-origin alignment and reality marble. They can store information on bladed weapons that they have seen (sword alignment) and store it in their reality marble. The stored weapons can then be 'pulled' from their reality marble when they are traced instantly. Gray doesn't have that advantage. It takes more time and analysis to trace objects for him. So creating certain noble phantasms and spamming numerous weapons are currently impossible for him.

A side note: If there was any heroic spirit that you would give a big hug, who would that be and why? (Ex: I would probably give a hug to Mordred. She probably hasn't gotten a single hug in her entire life. That is a sad thought. And she is also quite moe…)

This chapter was way longer than I intended it to be, but I guess it worked out fine. As for you guys who are waiting for the action to come up, I think it would be about three-five more chapters about Gray and Weiss, then a few interludes regarding the outside world, and setting the stage up for Volume 4-5. So be a little patient here…