Winter wasn't sure what she'd been dreaming about. Still, she knew it had been pleasant because she awoke feeling refreshed, momentarily forgetting her troubles.
The military woman wiped her chin when she realised it was wet. Looking down at her white pillow, she could see the darker patch where she'd drooled all over it. She felt herself flush slightly in embarrassment, even something as mundane as this action had been drilled into her as "improper" by her father.
"Wetting the bed at your age with your SPIT!" Jacques had roared, spitting at her in an ironic twist, "As an heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, I expect better from you, child! Potential suitors don't take kindly to girls with such habits!"
Winter was 10 when she was given this "lesson."
The Huntress sighed, shrugging off the painful memories; her childhood had primarily been that. Her father was absent for the most part, but when he did show up. It mainly was to lecture, scold or scream at his children. Winter spent her days isolated, learning to control her emotions. When she wasn't doing that, she'd be dragged to boring adult parties and meetings. Learning how to make deals, maximising profits, and looking closely for the liars among the sea of investors. At the same time, Jacques breathed down her neck at every turn. Moulding her into the heiress he so desperately desired.
Before long, the panes of her window turned into bars; the pristine mansion became a cold, grey slab of concrete devoid of any life. Maids and servants moved and spoke robotically; there was no laughter, camaraderie, or natural home to tell of.
Then, there was the matter of her mother.
As she grew older, Winter became more aware of her mother's absence and why she was constantly cared for by maids or servants. After seeing her mother at her worst... Winter made it her goal to escape the life Jacques Schnee had planned for her.
While the CEO of the Schnee Dust company had rarely been physically abusive to his children. He'd slapped his planned successor when Winter finally told him that she'd had enough.
The eldest Schnee smiled to herself as she washed her face, remembering how... empowered she felt on that day.
Dressing herself in her Atlesian uniform and eventually tying her hair up, she gazed at her spotless reflection in the mirror.
This is who she was now, and she couldn't be prouder, and it was all thanks to one man.
Since the day Ironwood had accepted her, she'd never been happier in her skin. She gazed at herself now, reminding herself of why she was here.
Because she wanted to be.
Her admiration and loyalty for the General was her biggest motivator to find out why he'd been lied to.
"I won't let you down, sir," she muttered to her reflection.
Grabbing a bite to eat from the canteen, Winter was given her duties for the day, and it seemed there would be little downtime. So despite her urge to find her sister, Yang, Oscar or Ruby or anyone else. She had to bite her tongue and accept that (for today at least), she would have to be left waiting. Weiss' group was also out on a mission they had been given; apparently, they would be hunting down missing Grimm and a Geist that occcupied an old SDC mine.
The sight of those old slave pits was never easy for Winter. It tarred their family name. She had undoubtedly drawn negative attention to herself whenever she was assigned a mission concerning the mines.
Winter hoped Weiss didn't blame herself for her father's sins; the esteemed soldier had been subject to enough civilians learning her name. Or seeing her resemblance to her father to start screaming abuse at her for supposed "crimes." Some of her colleagues (especially the Faunus) had steered clear of Winter due to the damning title of "Schnee."
She'd grown numb to their shouts; it was just like her father. Controlling her emotions was vital in those situations. She just hoped Weiss had learned how to deal with it the way she had done. Because it was never easy at first. Just seeing that Flynt boy at the Vytal festival slander Weiss for her family name was a mild example of what was to come for aspiring huntress.
But she still had an hour to herself before her duties; not wanting to pelt her sibling with questions right away, she decided to use up her time, to make a visit to a certain someone, Winter found herself drifting towards the secured room. Passing through a series of security doors, she was met with the warm smile of Fria herself.
"Thinking hard today, aren't we, dear?"
Winter smiled.
"You can tell?" she asked.
"I can always tell," Fria replied.
Winter took a seat next to the elderly woman. Although training for this role was essential, there was only one woman who could mentor her. After all, the maiden power was only gifted to 4 women in the entire world, and she needed a teacher.
"Word gets around fast, your sister and her friends arrived yesterday, and now they're already on a mission with the ace operatives," Fria muttered.
"Yeah, they're settling in fast," Winter muttered.
Fria frowned.
"I know you must be worried about your sister", she said understandingly, "But if she's gotten this far with that relic, then she'll be fine for a run of the mill job like that."
Winter nodded but couldn't shake her unease. She gazed around the spotless room, trying to clear her mind and... focus. But the gleam of the over-scrubbed walls reminded her vividly of the mansion and her worries about Weiss resurfaced. As well as her greater concern for Ironwood.
"Promise me, you won't cause trouble" Ironwood pleaded of her.
Sensing the younger woman was lost in troubled throughts, Fria cleared her throat and decided to change the topic, however grim the upcoming subject was going to be.
"The doctors say I have about a month or two left," Fria muttered suddenly.
Winter's eyes widened in shock, she knew Fria was in a vulnerable state, but she didn't realise it was this bad. Her other worries were blown from her mind in those moments, as she faced this new dilemma.
"Fria! That's... I'm so sorry."
"Why?" Fria inquired, "Nothing you can do about it. If it was down to me, I'd have passed already."
"Don't say things like that!"
"It's true, and I don't regret saying it. I appreciate the General wanting to keep me alive and to make my passing as comfortable as possible for my years of service, but it's selfish."
"Fria..."
"If anything happens, any security breach, or anything like that... you keep to your promise to put me down."
"I..." Winter gulped, "We agreed on this before Fria, I said I would, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with it."
"That's the cost of being a maiden, I'm afraid," Fria said, "No amount of my lectures are going to make you a better maiden. You have to experience the power firsthand to understand how it truly works.
"It's so much responsibility", Winter admitted, "To harness the power of a maiden."
"Yes, it's oh-so powerful. But with so few teachers," Fria said, "It's little wonder that poor girl Amber was easily defeated. She had no training what-so-ever, and because of that, her maiden powers had the same effect as a semblance."
Apparently, the Fall Maiden Amber was still a novice when she was ambushed by Cinder Fall. Ironwood ensured that Winter would be fully prepared and wouldn't be failed like how Ozpin had failed Amber. Being left as a sitting duck under Beacon was just another blunder in a series of errors that the immortal wizard made that Ironwood wouldn't repeat.
"Poor girl, she wasn't ready for that responsibility," Winter muttered. "I hope, when the time comes, I can do as good a job as you," Winter admitted to Fria.
"You will be a brilliant maiden, Winter," Fria reassured her, " At first having the powers, you won't feel much. In fact, it's about as useful as having a semblance or using dust. I didn't understand it at first; these were the powers I'd be granted. To be honest, I was disappointed."
"But it takes time to master the maiden powers, doesn't it?"
"Absolutely," Fria agreed, "It will take you years to use them to their fullest potential. There's no other way of learning it other than experiencing it, learning how magic works and seeing how it's different to dust or any semblance.
"But I've seen your old training tapes, and you used your powers flawlessly; even at the beginning, you could overpower our top huntsmen."
"Yes, they give you an edge over the enemy," Fria said, smiling at the memories. "But those were huntsmen in a trained environment. Could the maiden powers save you from a massive group attack? Or what if you were injured and surrounded by hundreds of Grimm?"
Winter remained silent, giving Fria her answer.
"Even when you master this magic... you'll never want to use it if you have something to protect. Because at her worst, a fully-fledged maiden could decimate an army of Grimm or...destroy a kingdom."
"But, can't you control your powers to prevent such disasters?"
"At times, in dire situations, I've felt the need to use all of my strength and to be honest, it scared me." Fria admitted with wide eyes, "I've never taken such a risk because the more you rely on your abilities, the less control you have." The Winter maiden sighed there, before continuing;
"You understand the main purpose of us keeping the maiden powers isn't to showcase them or reveal great strength." Fria muttered, "Ozpin made it clear to us that we need to keep them, so they don't fall into the hands of our enemies."
"I know; I just wondering if telling the world about the maidens and the relics, the same way we're going to tell the world about Salem, is going to be a good thing."
"Salem could reveal the maidens and the relics at any time; it's better than the General tells the world before she does. She'll make her move soon, and if we don't tell the world, they'll despise us for keeping it from them."
"But we could just say Salem is a liar; that she's spreading misinformation."
"She'll find a maiden or a relic somehow and prove us wrong; besides, after Beacon fell, everything has changed. People deserve the truth. Anyway, it's not like we're revealing who the maiden is or where the relics are located."
"It's still risky,"
"I understand your concern, but I've always stood with Ironwood. I served that man for years, and he truly wants the best for Atlas."
Winter sighed, Fria's eyebrows raised.
"So that's what's on your mind, the general; you're worried about him, aren't you?"
"Is that selfish?" Winter asked, "To care more about the general than my own sister?"
Fria laughed.
"You didn't deny it; that's what I like about you, girl; you're straightforward. So can you tell an old woman what's really on your mind?"
Winter looked at her and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Fria, I really can't. The General told me not to cause trouble."
"and what's an old woman on her deathbed going to do about it?" Fria asked, "You trust me, don't you?"
Winter looked into her kindly eyes; it was true that she had always respected and looked up to Fria. If she could tell Ironwood the truth, then surely the Winter Maiden herself deserved to know.
"I'm one hundred per cent sure, that my sister and her group are lying about... things," Winter admitted.
"Oh," Fria said in surprise, "Lying about things like..."
"Ozpin is apparently gone; his next life is some boy called Oscar they've brought with them. But when they said Ozpin was gone after a train crash... I wasn't convinced. Then they said the Relic of Knowledge had all its questions used up, but I don't believe that either."
Fria looked at her silently as Winter continued to speak.
"I raised my suspicions with the General. He appreciated it but told me I've misjudged them, and he doesn't want me causing trouble by investigating it," she sighed there, "I'm in the wrong, aren't I?"
"No," Fria said plainly, "If you have a gut feeling about this, you must investigate."
"What If I'm wrong? What if I just end up causing concern!?" Winter asked, "What if I make them distrust us even more!?"
"A huntsmen's gut feeling is rarely ever wrong," Fria said simply. "If you're confident enough to be my successor, then you should have enough faith in yourself to look into this, and if you are wrong. Apologise to them; they'll understand. But, if they are hiding information, they need to come forward with the truth."
"They might have their reasons for keeping it secret," Winter said, not really knowing why she was trying to justify their behaviour to herself. "It's a big responsibility, and after what happened with Leo, they'd be right to distrust us."
"They can have their doubts, and usually, I'd tell you to approach them carefully, make them feel comfortable. I would still advise that. But you need to be aware, Winter, that a war is coming; time is a luxury we no longer have."
Fria sighed to herself there.
"All it takes is one question from Salem to doom us all, for now, I'd approach cautiously, but when things... pardon my language... hit the fan and if you still don't know the truth. Then you know what to do."
Winter nodded.
"Thank you for this, Fria," Winter said gratefully.
Fria smiled her most enormous smile yet.
"Still glad to be of service, even now," she replied pridefully.
While Winter certainly felt better after sharing her concerns with Fria, her mind was elsewhere as she walked down the long corridors of Atlas academy. The eldest Schnee had to find out what was going on; she could start by opening up more to the other group to make herself trustworthy.
"I can tell Weiss about my role as the Winter Maiden, be transparent with her," Winter thought to herself, "Then I'll try asking her if there's anything else she wants to tell me. It sounds awful and manipulative, but she gets easily flustered under pressure; I can get something out of her, I'm sure."
Winter was so lost thinking about this that she didn't hear him approaching.
"All this talk of maidens..." Winter thought to herself, "Cinder Fall has the fall maiden powers that we know. We have no idea about the summer maiden, who is she, or where she is. That's just lawless Vacuo for you, I'll be the Winter maiden, and the spring maiden was killed at Haven. One of Raven Brawen's lackey's from our intel."
She felt a tug of unease at the pit of her stomach when she thought about the spring maiden. But before she could ponder on that further, she felt herself nearly trip and a small "Oh!" from below her.
"Sorry," came a small voice.
Winter backed off and looked down at the boy, Oscar.
"No, I'm sorry I wasn't looking about where I was going," Winter admitted before her eyes locked on a familiar glint of gold hanging loosely from Oscar's waist.
"I thought General Ironwood gave that to Ruby," Winter said sternly, gazing at the relic of knowledge.
"Oh, well, she gave it to me. For safekeeping," Oscar said.
"Yet you have it hanging there for any pickpocket to steal," Winter muttered, shaking her head, "Do you have any idea how irresponsible that is!?"
Oscar was silent; he bowed his head and mumbled "Sorry" to the ground.
Winter sighed; getting on one knee, she ruffled Oscar's coat so some of the green material covered the relic. Reaching into one of her many pockets and pulled out a small grey chip, one of the Atlesian's most basic but essential devices to prevent theft. She held the device to Oscar, who looked up.
"Huh? What's that?"
"A tracking device," she said clearly, latching onto the relic. The tiny chip glowed a dull blue for a few seconds before latching itself onto the spherical relic.
"That seems great..." Oscar muttered, "But someone could still grab the relic and take me with them... or if someone wanted to steal it, they'd still get it."
"Yes, they'd get what they were after, but the chip is difficult to remove when still attached to the item, and is hard to see." Winter muttered. Oscar watched as the tracking device lost it's dull grey and blended into the glowing gold of the relic, making it much more difficult to detect at first glance.
"We'd be able to track where any would-be-thieves are, or where they'd take the relic." Winter explained.
"That's smart," Oscar said, clearly impressed.
"Of course, in these halls, I doubt you're in any immediate danger, but you can never be certain," she then looked down at the bright-eyed Oscar, "You don't object to this, do you?"
"No, of course not, I think it's a great idea!" he mused, his infectious joy at such a simple device made Winter crack the tiniest of smiles.
"I can tell you're not used to such items," she muttered, "I'm guessing Atlas is new to you?"
"I was from a farm in Mistral; we only had basic farming tools, nothing like this." he mused.
"Do you miss your farm?" Winter asked in curiosity, wanting to get to know him better. "Do your parents know where you are right now?"
"Well, no... it's just my aunt and me." Oscar said.
"Does your Aunt know where you are right now? Were you close?"
"Well, sort of..." Oscar muttered awkwardly, "I left a note telling her I had to leave, but it's kinda hard to explain that there's the voice of ancient wizard in your head, it's... still confusing to me."
"Well, we'll make sure to send a message to your aunt. If you would give us the location, we could reassure her that you're safe and are currently being cared for here in Atlas."
"That would be great!" Oscar mused, "Thank you so much!"
"Just let the General know, and he'll sort it for you," Winter said, getting to her feet and feeling a wider smile worm itself onto her usually stotic face.
"Ironwood wants me to train with him; that's where I'm going now; I can tell him there!" Oscar explained before his face dropped, "But he'll probably be too busy with other things, to help me."
"The General will do everything in his power, to get that message to your aunt." Winter reassured the boy, "I haven't seen him this happy in months; he'll be fixated on you, and trying to get Ozpin back."
"Let's hope he succeeds," Oscar said, "I could certainly use Oz's guidance right now."
"We all could," Winter added, "We'll need him, especially now we don't have the lamp. Even if we had just one more question, it would be beneficial for everyone."
Oscar ducked his head.
"Yeah... that sucks..." he mumbled.
"Anyway, I need to get back to my duties; best of luck with your training; I won't keep you," Winter said, and without another word, she took her leave. Clearly leaving Oscar to stew in his thoughts, as evil as she felt in those moments, she knew full well that she'd planted a seed of guilt in the boy's head.
But Winter Schnee, now had hope, that she was one step closer to the truth.
A/N: Okay hope you liked this chapter, next chapter we'll get some Ironwood/Oscar next chapter to explain this chapter...
Yeah I'm kinda trying to justify the maidens and the powers they have here, as it's always confused me in the show as they seemed weaker than they should be. Espeically Amber, this is just my shitty attempt to try and justify her defeat and add some nuance to the maiden powers. I don't like the idea that maidens can just instantly master their abilites as soon as they get them (Winter Vol 8, cough, cough). For Cinder... ugh... I mean she somehow beats Ozpin the most powerful wizard. But then loses to Raven, Penny (the other maidens) and would have lost to Neo and Phyrra if she didn't have her maiden powers. So is she weak? Was her defeat to Ozpin a fluke? What is power scaling? I'll try to answer this question but Cinder is such a mess.
Now for the oscar part, I find it sad that the group never asks about where he came from, does he miss home? How does he feel about being dragged on this adventure. Hell, maybe they did have the discussion (off-screen) but even then, Qrow and Jaune physically attack him for something out of his control, and the rest of the group get pissy at him. This fic will explore Oscar more in depth and his divided loyalty, worries about what will eventually happen to him and how he was treated by the group before. I hope I do his character justice!
now onto answering your reviews!
Guest- Thank you for supporting this story! Yep, I'll try and keep common sense as a running theme through this story. If I make a bone-headed move, be sure to let me know!
merendinoemiliano- Thank you for leaving your thoughts and I will try and refine aspects of my writing as I know it's not the easiest to read. Hope I've kept you curious enough to keep reading.
MajorBrony95- Send me a link to your fic when you publish it, because I'm intrigued to read something simliar to this but from another writer! I'll be sure to leave you some reviews and seeing Ironwood go bad but done right, will be great to read about!
SilentLyfe- Thanks for your kind words!
Also check out Faulty Paragon's fic, Badge of Honour if you want something simliar to this. It's only on one chapter at this point but is well-written and deserves more love, I may take inspiration from that fic and want to share it here, so you can credit the original author.
That's for now, untill next chapter! :)