Plans
Weiss was thankful to get away from Beacon. She hadn't been making much progress with the princess and while Pyrrha was polite enough, dealing with Blake was at best awkward, and at worst just plain difficult. Weiss was learning more and more it was best to slip out of the dorms when she could, and try and do the studying in the library or in the common area. This time, however, she was making her way to Vale's communications tower.
Most towers in Remnant were built and administered by Atlas, but the one in Vale was an exception. From what Weiss had read, it was built and maintained directly by the D'arcs, with Atlesian involvement, which supposedly meant that its signal was slightly weaker than most, but Weiss hadn't seen anything to indicate that so far. And it wasn't like her options were that broad as things stood.
Once she arrived, and took the elevator to the top, Weiss was greeted by an otherwise empty room, save for a couple guards, and a few other people talking to their friends or family. Weiss found a spot to sit, as she took a breath, before plugging the contact information. Fortunately, the fact that this tower was Valean in origin, meant her father wouldn't be able to trace the call, and a good thing to, as soon enough, the image of a woman with a similar, but somewhat older appearance, appeared on it.
"Weiss?" Winter Schnee asked, apparently surprised to see her younger sister.
"Good evening, Sister," Weiss said, nodding her head slightly.
"Is something the matter?" the eldest Schnee asked, as a look of concern fell over her face.
"No," Weiss answered softly, "I just wanted to talk." Winter frowned slightly, before sighing.
"Well, what is it then?" she said, "I'm afraid you caught me at a rather busy time."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss said, as her heart plummeted, "I'll let you get back to it."
"No," Winter said quickly, "I'm… at a stopping point. How are your studies going?" A sense of relief fell over Weiss at that, as she smiled.
"They're going well, I'd say," Weiss said, "Though I have to say that my team can be somewhat difficult to deal with at times."
"Ah yes, you are attending Beacon with one of the D'Arcs," Winter said, an unreadable expression on her face, "I trust you're getting along with him?"
"Yes, for the most part."
"The most part?" Winter asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I have been trying to form a greater rapport with him, but he is not very receptive," Weiss answered.
"Well, that may be to be expected," Winter said with a slight nod, "You may be wasting your time."
"Well, I imagine that there would be people rather disappointed if I didn't try." That was meant sarcastically, but neither Winter nor Weiss were really amused by it, considering how they both knew who they were talking about.
"Have you… contacted Father yet?" Winter said, though Weiss imagined she probably knew the answer, but Weiss answered anyway.
"No," she said, and if given the option, that wouldn't change, "Is he… making a big deal about it?"
"Not to me, fortunately. Most of it has been blocked by General Ironwood."
"Well, I guess that's a small blessing," Weiss said, which Winter nodded in agreement to, though Weiss still felt bad about what the general may have been going through. However, something offscreen seemed to attract her attention.
"I have to go," she said, "But if anything happens, please keep me appraised."
"Of course, Sister," Weiss answered and with that, Winter closed the line. Weiss sighed, as she leaned into her hand; normally, talking with Winter helped relax her slightly. That wasn't the case now for some reason.
(I) (I) (I)
Of all eight (blood) children of the D'Arc family, none of them carried the burden that Vermillion, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Vale, did. Milly (as her family and friends called her) would one day rule the entire kingdom, and all the powers, responsibilities, and souls within said kingdom would pass to her. There weren't many days where Milly didn't envy her siblings.
She often spent time with her dad in his office, trying to learn by example. It was how Alistair learned how to be king from Milly's grandfather, and if it worked for him, it could work for the future queen. This could vary from minor document signings, to meetings with ambassadors. At the time, the king was currently on the line with the chief of police, Chief Doyle (Milly unfortunately didn't remember his first name), who was going through the given crimes going on in the capital city.
"There's also been another robbery in the downtown area," the chief said, causing Milly's ears to perk up slightly. There had been a number of robberies across the city as of late, and while everyone knew who it was, getting the actual evidence was still proving problematic.
"Another Dust shop?" Alistair said, as he tapped his pen on his arm.
"Yes, Sir."
"Could there be White Fang involvement?" Alistair said, as he leaned forward again.
"I'm not ruling out the possibility, Your Majesty," Doyle said. Milly involuntarily frowned at the mention of those terrorists; as someone who had a husband and son who were both Faunus, the extremists made her uneasy; the last thing she wanted was for a young Faunus like Flynn to be influenced by a group like that. Granted it wasn't like Faunus were the only ones who would give her crap for her family being what it was.
While Vale generally wasn't a problem, and for the most part, neither was Vacuo, Milly wasn't blind or deaf. She knew what those in Mistral and Atlas called her, and while she wasn't about to repeat them, she'd gotten numb to them. If they weren't going to keep making a problem with it, then that was their problem; Vale was fairly self-sufficient as the kingdoms went, while the same couldn't really be said for the other kingdoms, and if they wanted to cut off because they couldn't take a Faunus king, there loss.
"I don't get it," Milly spoke up, "Why would the White Fang come here?"
"Hatred isn't a rational emotion," Alistair answered, looking at his daughter, who just looked down at her hands.
"Anyway, keep your eyes open," the king said, as he looked back at his chief of police, "You also have my permission to increase patrols in the city, within reason of course."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Doyle said, putting his hand over his chest, bowing his head slightly, "Is there anything else you require?"
"No, chief, that will be all," Alistair said, holding up his hand, "Thank you."
"My King," the chief said, bowing his head again, before the connection cut out, as Alistair sat back in this chair, rubbing his forehead.
"One piece of advice, Vermillion," he said, "Be sure to drink things with a lot of caffeine in them." Milly pursed her lips in thought, wishing she could help her father in some way. One day, these problems would be her's, and if she couldn't help now, how could she expect one day deal with them herself.
"Hey Dad," she said, getting the king's attention, "I think I have an idea."
"Do you now?" Alistair answered, as he turned towards his daughter, "Well then, let's hear it."
"I could call my friend from Atlas," Milly said, "She knows how to handle people like Torchwick, and she may have some advice." Alistair frowned, as he sat back in his chair.
"Not a bad idea," he eventually said, rubbing his chin, "But let's try and keep this in house for the time. No need to give the other kingdoms our problems."
"Okay then," Milly said with a nod, before she check her watch, "Oh! Flynn should be done with his lessons now." She then rose to her feet to leave, before stopping.
"May I go, Your Majesty?" the princess said, with a somewhat awkward smile, remembering the protocol, to which the king just chuckled slightly.
"By all means," he said, "Go be with your son."
"Thanks, Dad," Milly said, as she left. As he walked down the hall, the princess ran a hand through her hair as she looked up at a painting of her great-great grandfather nobly wielding his sword.
"At least Jaune's living it," she muttered to herself.
(I) (I) (I)
"So this is Beacon, eh?" Emerald said, putting her hands behind her head, as she looked around, "I mean, it's okay, I guess."
"It does grow on you," Ilia answered, "I bet if you stayed you start liking it more."
"I'll pass on that," Emerald answered, as she and Ilia kept walking, "Besides, I still got a job to do."
"Yeah, to think that the White Fang are here in Vale," Ilia asked, "It seems crazy." Emerald could easily detect the level of disgust that hovered in the girl's voice, not that she blamed her. The White Fang may have had a decent reputation in some places across Remnant, but Emerald knew a lot of Valean Faunus, including Ilia had a rather low opinion of them.
"Well, I'll get to the bottom of it," Emerald said, "They won't get away with whatever it is they're planning."
"Give 'em a good shot for me," Ilia said, with a grin.
"You know it Ills," the mint-haired girl said, as the two fist-bumped again, "So how's Jaune doing here?"
"Pretty good all things considered," Ilia answered with a shrug.
"You don't need any help here, do you?"
"Not really. I mean, there was a bit of a thing with some bullies, but I think they're going to leave us alone. And the Schnee is certainly still being a pain, but nothing I can't handle."
"Tch," Emerald snorted, "I feel bad for you, having to deal with those kinds of people. I swear if she gets her claws in Jaune…" the girl trailed off, but nothing else really needed to be said.
Emerald didn't have much memory of her parents. All she knew was her father died when she was young, and she never even knew her mother. She spent the earliest years of her life as a thief, stealing what she needed in order to survive. Her Semblance was particularly useful in that regard.
That was until, by sheer chance, she bumped into the D'Arcs; actually, it would be more accurate to say that she tried to rob them. She saw the Queen on some kind of publicity event, and Emerald found herself really liking the jewelry the queen had. However, when she was sneaking into to steal it, she had the good fortune of running to Jaune, and the two kids got in a little, and mostly harmless fight, which the guards had to break up. However, when she was brought before the Queen, the Queen expressed sympathy for Emerald, and personally promised to offer the girl better guidance. Emerald was shocked, and reluctant about the offer, but it wasn't she was really in a place to refuse.
But it ultimately didn't matter, as she learned just what was getting. Emerald was offered a roof to sleep under, a bed to sleep in, and food every night, all in all a kindness she had never known in her days. It had taken some getting used to, but she even got progressively closer with Jaune and Ilia, to the point she was among the first people Jaune chose to be his personal guard. Emerald owed everything to the House of D'Arc, and anyone who wanted to hurt any of them, would have to kill her first.
"Speaking of which," Ilia suddenly spoke, breaking Emerald from her memories, as she notice the chameleon pointing. Coming in their direction was the Schnee girl.
"Good evening," she said politely once she came up to them.
"Need something?" Emerald asked, folding her arms.
"If I may, where is His Highness?" Weiss asked. Emerald was about to refuse, but Ilia put a hand on her shoulder.
"He's up in the dorm room," Ilia answered.
"Much obliged," Weiss said with a nod, as she kept walking, while Emerald balked at Ilia, who just shrugged at her.
"She's his teammate, like it or not," Ilia said, "She'd find him on her own. At least the way, we can warn Jaune this way." Emerald just sighed, as she looked at Weiss walking away.
"Nothing's worse than a wannabe princess," she said, "Especially one going after a real prince."
(I) (I) (I)
As she came up to the door of JWPB's room, Weiss took another breath, as she smoothed her skirt down, and used the mirror-app on her Scroll to check her appearance. It always paid to look presentable, especially in the presence of royalty. With that, she opened the door, where she saw the prince sitting at his desk, working on his homework.
"Your Highness," Weiss greeted as she came in.
"Oh, hey Weiss," Prince Jaune said, as he looked up, "Welcome back."
"Thank you," Weiss said, as she sat down on her own bed, "Now, can I spare a moment of your time?"
"Uh, sure," Jaune said as he turned to face her, "What's up?"
"I was wondering if you would be interested in joining me on a trip down to the city?" Weiss said, "Not to do anything really in particular, but I believe that it is always appropriate for students to take a break when and where they can." Technically not true, but Weiss was willing to bend her goals as time dictated. The prince was silent for a time, as he pursed his lips in thought, and Weiss tapped her finger on her knee slightly while waiting for an answer.
"Sure," he eventually said with a smile, "Why not?" Weiss gave her own, satisfied smile at that.
"I'll let Blake and Pyrrha know," Jaune said, "We can do it over the weekend."
"Oh," Weiss said, as her face fell, "I was actually thinking…"
"I'll probably have to tell Ilia and Emerald too, since they're going to want tag along to make sure I'm safe," Jaune then added.
"But…"
"This was a great idea, Weiss," Jaune said as he rose to his feet, "I'll tell them now." With that, he left, leaving Weiss alone, as she sighed, dragging her hand down her face.
"Well, so much for that plan," she muttered.
Note: This chapter basically amounted to setting up the next one, and judging by the end I think people can guess where it's going. I also decided to take this as an opportunity to flesh out Weiss a little, and explain how Emerald ended up in Jaune's Royal Guard. Aside from that, though, this chapter was fairly normal.
I've been giving the pairings more thought and I can honestly think of plenty of reasons to fix Jaune with any of the girls, but I want it to be natural to the story. To that end, if anyone can offer any solid reason why Jaune should be with any particular one, I'm all ears (or maybe it would eyes in this case).
Be sure to comment. Please? I also got a cover for the story, by MechaG11, but of course, it's having trouble actually being seen; if it never shows up, you can see it on my DA favorites under "Commissions".