Chapter 2: A Fox, White As Snow

Some people are born lucky. But what happens when their luck comes with a dark twist. Before I can tell you that story, I have to tell you this one.

The house of Schnee is one of the most influential noble families in the Kingdom of Atlas and many of the surrounding kingdoms. This power was possible for two reasons.

One, they run the Schnee Dust Company, Founded by Nicholas Schnee after the Great War. He founded it to help repair and aid the other kingdoms of Remnant. Through this, they earned great praise and respect from the other Kingdoms, which help them grow into one of the largest producers and exporters of Dust [1] in Remnant.

Two, the Schnee family has access to magic. It is not known when or how. According to one vague story, a Schnee helped a man. And as a thank you for his kindness. The man gave him the incredible gift of magic. But nobody knows for sure. But they are one of the many magical clans [2] that exist across Remnant.

Each generation, a Schnee child, will be born with magic ability. This child is said to become the head of the Schnee family and the company. And this is what Nicolas did and brought prosperity to his family.

(So I bet you all are probably wondering. How does all of this go wrong? Well, you're about to find out.)

Although Nicholas brought financial wealth and nobility status to his family through his work, tracked every inch on and under Remnant, Fought through all manners of Grimm, and overcame every obstacle thrown at him. But there was one obstacle that he could not account for, time.

Nicholas knew that his family missed him, and he was not the young warrior he used to be. He also worried about what will happen to the company when he is gone. While trying to find a solution, his son-in-law, Jacques, approached him with an offer. If he lets him inherit the company, he could keep it from going under, at least until the next Schnee heir is born. He even offered to help it grow. With no other option, Nicholas agrees and hands ownership of the company over to Jacques.

In the end, Jacques did achieve what he promised. Under his leadership, the company grew exponentially. Increased profits, faster shipment routes, and more dust production, you name it.

On the outside, Jacques seems (like Nicholas) a classic success story. But unbeknownst to almost everyone, Jacques had achieved this through, let's say, unethical business practices.

And everyone knows that these business practices result in lots of enemies. For example, His workers, who earn very little pay, are forced to work in places that are not up to code, and a series of work-related accidents resulting in injuries or death. So yeah, that will create lots of enemies.

-x-

On a fateful night, a group of disgruntled employees is tracking their way through the woods. "Hey, how much deeper do we have to go?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, this place gives me the creeps," another reply.

"We are almost there. Just a little further." the lead worker answered his two coworker's questions. "Besides, we can't go back until we get something from this place."

Then, the trio finally arrived at their destination. Its front gate looked old and had rust on its hinges, and lining either side of the gate were tall iron fences with barbed points lining it end to end. Thorned bushed lined the inside of the fencing, a brick base covered in vines lay at the bottom of the fence. This sight made the lead worker unsure at first. But he then enters. The hinges loudly creaked as he entered. Once in, he got a good look on the inside.

The yard had a bunch of old stones (possibly graves) that littered the ground. In the middle of the lawn was a small log cabin with lots of vines growing all over it. He walked up to its large wooden door. It was splintered and had lots of moss growing on it. The lead worker raised his fist to knock. But he hesitated because anything could happen.

After a few seconds, he finally knocked. The door opened, an old lady came out and greeted him. The two talked for a bit. Then he turned to his friends to tell them to come forward. But when he turns around, he sees that two pals are still standing at the gate and haven't moved an inch.

"Are you kidding me," He sighed?

They walked inside the cabin. The workers then sat down at a table with the old lady sitting adjacent to them.

"So, what brings you to my home? I don't usually get a lot of visitors," she asked.

"Well, we are having a problem with our employer, we try to ask for better working conditions and higher pay. But they still don't listen to us." They explain.

"I see, and what is it you want me to do?" She asked.

"Well, we heard that you are willing to help us and will do it for free." the lead worker answered.

"It depends who is it that wronged you so much?" She asked again.

"UHH, Jacques Schnee." the lead hesitantly replied.

Suddenly like a flip of a switch, the old lady's warm and kind demeanor changed. Her eyes looked blank like an animal in attack mode, and her hands curled into fists."Schnee?" "Did you just say, Schnee?" She asked with a look like she wanted to strangle something.

"Y-Yes." He answered while moving away from the now unhinged old lady.

"Alright, I will be happy to help you." She said with a sinister-looking smile. As she went into a deeper part of her cabin, the trio could only look at each other with uneasy expressions.

After what felt like hours, she came out of the other room with a strange bottle the workers recognized as a potion. "The next time you see your boss. Throw this at him," she instructed.

"Ok, thank you for your time." The lead worker said, grabbing the two pals and getting the hell out of the cabin. One of them looked back and saw the lady standing in her doorway smiling and waving back at them. That sight just made him start running faster.

After running for a while, they stopped to catch their breaths. "I-I'm n-never going to get something that is in the woods ever again!" One of them said.

"Y-You and me both," the other replied. "She must have some serious beef against Mr. Schnee?"

"Ok, let's just get this bottle to Ross." The lead worker orders.

That same night, Jacques hosted a charity banquet at the Schnee manor to support the new company union. The party was, as expected, filled with other wealthy nobility and no actual employees. As this celebration was going on, a large mob was making their way to the Schnee manor. They were carrying picket signs and torches.

The man leading the mob raises his hand, signaling them to stop. He spots three men coming out of the woods. "Alright, Ross, we got your damn magic potion." The lead replied. "Are we done here?"

"Almost, all we need to do now is reach Jacques," Ross explained.

Back inside, all the guests were sitting at a table, socializing with each other. Then, Jacques raised his glass and tapped it with his fork, starting a toast.

"Ladies and gentleman, A toast," He proclaimed. As everyone raises their drink glasses. A servant burst into the dining hall.

"There's an angry mob trying to get through the gate!" He screams. "We need to get out on here!"

As everyone started to freak out, Jacques stood up in front of them.

"What do you mean there's a mob outside?" Jacques said, demanding an explanation from the servant.

"They're just out the window. Just look!" The servant explained frantically and tried to get him to listen.

Jacques rolled his eyes and thought to himself about firing this servant for disrupting the banquet. He then took a look out the window and, as it turns out. He was right about a large mob with picket signs, torches and, and was screaming and chanting about the work conditions of the Schnee Dust Company, were at the front gate.

Now seeing theirs is actual danger, everyone at the banquet, now infill panic mode, screaming and running towards the nearest exit. In the heat of the chaos, guests were getting trampled. Others were knocking each other down to reach it.

Jacques, on the other hand, was also trying to reach an exit. He was pushing and squeezing his way through until he finally got to the door and stumbled into the hallway to catch his breath. Jacques looked up, what looked like some caterers approaching him. Then he notices the guy in front was pulling out something from under his coat.

"Hey, what are you dolts doing?" He demands from them, but they continue walking towards him. He started to back away from them.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Jacques threatened, thinking that could drive him away. "I am an influential and powerful man." He continued to try and make himself seem more imposing, but they continue to come closer. "If you do anything to me, there will be dire consequences," He continued.

"I have connections! I could send the Atlesian knights, the Revisionist, the army, any army, or even the Huntsman!" He continued to try and get the man to back off but to no avail. "Stay back. I'm warning you!"

Jacques soon found himself at a wall. "Do you want something?" He asked. "Money, gold, fame, anything, name your price, and it's yours." The man then stopped and just stood there. It seems that the last word got this attention. "So, do we have an agreement?" Jacques asked.

The man walked closer to Jacques and stared directly into his eyes. "You want to give me something?" He spoke up. "I like to see how you can give me my friends back." He looked down at Jacques, who fell over on the ground. Jacques looked up and then recognized his assailant. "Ross?" He said, shocked by his true identity. "Is this because I fired you?" He replied to get an answer from him.

But, he got no reply from Ross. The other men with him grabbed Jacques's arms as he struggled to let go. "Wait, can't we talk about this?" Jacques begged. "I'll do anything, I'll give you back your old job, with better pay, I'll listen to you more, and I'll - I'll improve working conditions even though it costs us money." He struggles to get those words out of his mouth. Almost like he was about to puke.

But Ross wasn't having any of it. He just knew Jacques too well.

"You think I'm just gonna accept that?" He shouted angrily. "You want to do something for me, taste this," Ross demanded as he pulled out the bottle from under his coat.

"W-What is that?" Jacques asked while trembling. Ross didn't answer him and just got ready to use the potion. "By the way, you didn't fire me. I quit!" Ross exclaimed as he threw the bottle at Jacques's face. It shattered into a million pieces, its contents coating his upper body. Jacques could only fall backward and cringe in disgust over it. Ross's accomplices could only watch in shock at what had now unfolded.

"Woah." one of them managed to say. "Did that just happen?" Another replied. "Yeah, never thought it would come to this." The last added.

"Don't just stand there! We need to move!" Ross ordered, snapping the trio back to reality. They make their way back to the front gate, where Ross pulls out a megaphone.

"Everyone, listen up." He shouted to get the mob's attention.

"The Atlesian Knights are on their way! We need to scatter get as far from here as possible," And before anyone could say otherwise.

"Oh, and don't think this was all for nothing, Jacques has gotten our message," He answered in a sinister tone.

With that, the mob got the message and started dispersing. The knights arrive soon after. Although, many rioters were caught and rounded up through Atlas. Many of them still manage to get away, including Ross. Who has still never been apprehended and is still at large. As for Jacques, he soon learns that Ross used a magic potion, and he took it very well, for the most part. [3]

At first, there were no physical side effects. So Jacques went to have a magic priest try and assess the situation again they found nothing. At least for now.

-x-

Enter Weiss Schnee when she was born. All the signs were there that she was the next Schnee heir for the current generation. So you would think that she would be the star of the family. But it was soon evident that she had more than the family's magic.

One day, one of the maids was doing her work around the manor. When a strange noise suddenly comes from down the hall. The keeper realized that it only could have come from Weiss' room since it was down there. She went there and heard what sounded like someone or something was trashing the inside of the room. And when she opened the door, she saw something she was not expecting.

The inside of the room was in complete disarray. Everything was either covered in claw and teeth marks. She decided to enter the room and noted that whatever did this seem to be pretty strong to leave deep scratch marks on the walls and floor. But the worst part was there was no sign of the young heiress or the creature that did this.

Suddenly, she noticed something was moving under a pile in the corner. Though, every part of her body told her to say as far from that pile as possible. She also feared what might happen if she tells her boss that his daughter went missing and might have died under her watch.

So she approaches the pile and reaches for it. Suddenly without warning, a tiny creature jumps out from it and pounces her, causing her to fall back. She looked up and saw a small white fox with light blue fur covering its underbelly and tail tip. Its paws had what looked like blue scale-like ice cold to the touch with four sharp claws. But its most striking feature was its eyes, crystal blue and surrounded by jet-black scleras. That alone made her come to only one conclusion.

At that moment, the fox jumped off her and started mauling the pillows on the bed. "She seems to be very energetic." The maid thought to herself while watching the pup. "Alright, what now?" She asked herself.

-x-

At first, she attempted to hide her discovery about Weiss. But eventually, it was soon discovered by Jacques at the worst possible time, an executive board meeting.

(She barged into that meeting in her beast form and started rooting around in there. Luckily, the board thought she was some exotic pet, so no one suspected anything.)

-x-

After that fiasco, he had that maid demoted to cleaning duty for the secrecy. As for Weiss, she was given a magic evaluation by a magic expert. And the Schnees got a better understanding of her "medical condition".

As it turns out, Weiss somehow developed a beast curse. The nature of this curse functions around feelings of love or any affection. If that feeling reaches a certain amount, the curse activates, turning her into a monstrous white fox.

With this knowledge, Jacques knew what to do.

Lock Weiss in her room, have her repress her emotions and keep her from turning. [4]

So yeah, unless they are dropping food, water, or anything else in her room. Nobody is allowed to talk to Weiss or make her feel anything positive. Due to the fear of triggering her curse and possibly getting mauled.

And the worst part about this situation, being forced to oppress her emotions. Meaning she had to act a certain way that makes her seem cold around someone or at one of her father's fancy parties. People outside of the family assumed she, like some of her family members, had the famous "heart of ice" trait. Which makes them seem to act cold-nearly ruthless-and strategic in everything they do.

Over time this took a toll on Weiss. She even started to act this way pathologically, without intending to or on purpose. She even began to hate her beast side (and the very concept of Beast in general).

-x-

Despite all of this, some things inspire her to keep going. Like, her older sister, Winter. Ever since she was young, Winter has shown to be quite the prodigy. Everyone always greatly admired and respected her. Even her father greatly admired her, even though she wants nothing to do with him or the company. She graduated from Atlas academy, top of her class. After that, she joined the Atlesian knights and rose through the ranks. She even became the right hand of General James Ironwood, the leader of the Atlas military.

Sadly due to her position, Weiss hardly ever sees her. And whenever she does, Winter always seems too busy or doesn't have the time.

Thankfully this is made up by her second inspiration in her life, the family butler. For as long as she can remember, Kline was always there for her. Even after most of the staff began avoiding her after finding out she was a beast. Kline was the only one who stayed. (He knew that this was the work of that potion Ross used on Jacques all those years ago. Even though he refused to admit it.) To put it bluntly, he's been more of a father to Weiss than Jacques could ever be.

He gave her comfort when she's feeling depressed, supported every dream she had, and even helped her with learning about her magic and her breast form. From this training, she learned how to create glyphs similar to her sister. Unlike Winter, who used Dust crystals embedded in her swords to conjure hers. She requires none for her glyphs. With her beast form, she started to get a better idea of what feelings do and don't trigger her curse, so she won't change at random and could trigger the curse herself in case of emergency, in theory.

-x-

One day, Jacques was in his study, working as usual. When his door creaked open, he looked up to see Weiss walking in.

"Father." Weiss starts her proposal. "I was wondering." She asked. "If you would let me become a knight, like Winter?" She finished her proposal. Jacques just sits there looking like he's about to send her away.

"Wait!" Weiss protested. "Don't send me back. I can prove to you I'm ready. And that you won't be disappointed."

Weiss watches as her father sets a timer on his watch. "You have 20 minutes. If you fail to convince me, we're never having this discussion again. Am I clear?" He explained to his daughter.

"Yes, father," She replies, accepting her father's challenge.

"Alright, Begin!" He says, starting his timer.

-x-

After a long, grueling 20 minute discussion, she finally convinced her father to become an Atlesian knight combining her family's status, reputation on the Atlas council, and Weiss' skills. She was a shoo-in for the Knights. But unfortunately, she soon learned that she could only shadow licensed knights due to her age. Meaning she has to wait until she is old enough to attend Atlas Academy and graduate to be a full knight.

So far, Weiss found the job seems very simple. They include patrolling around cities, reporting any suspicious activity, killing Grimm, and apprehending rogue wizards and witches, and hunting or catching dangerous Beasts.

Weiss accepted her job, no questions asked. Using her abilities accordingly based on logical and strategic thinking and showing no emotion at any moment.

Though it bothered her at times, hunting these individuals down as if they were soulless Grimm. But knowing that it was for the safety of Atlas, she was alright with it.

She never imagined she would become the one they hunt next.

-x-

It seemed like any other mission. A rogue witch is sted to be near a small village. So, they sent some knights to investigate. Weiss was among them she felt extra ready for the mission, especially since she will be shadowing Winter since she is leading them.

"Alright, Weiss, this is your chance to show Winter how capable of a knight you are." She said, giving herself a pep talk in her head.

Once they arrived, Winter started to formulate a plan with the other knights. Weiss managed to hear the tail-end of her giving them their orders. When the others left, she tried to talk to Winter about what her plan was.

"Weiss." She said in a commanding tone. "You'll use your glyphs to ensnare the witch if she manages to get away." Realizing she will have to sit on the sidelines while Winter and the other knights do most of the work. Her excitement about working alongside her sister then turned into disappointment.

She hangs her head down and moves into position. Then she felt Winter's hand touch her shoulder.

"Look, just because you're my little sister. That doesn't mean I am going to give you any special treatment," She explained. "When you become a knight, it doesn't matter who you are, where you are from, or your place in society. The only thing that matters is your ability to do your job."

Weiss nodded, feeling a little better and knowing her sister's reasons for putting her on the sideline. She then waits as the rest of the squad enters the woods, where the witch's hut is supposed to be.

Weiss couldn't tell what was going on, but judging from the sounds, it was pretty intense. After waiting anxiously for almost forever.

Suddenly, Winter screamed out to Weiss. "Weiss, we need a glyph now!" Followed by the sounds of someone approaching her fast caused her to get ready to activate a glyph. Once the person comes into full view, Weiss activates the glyph. But when she looked up, she saw it was a young girl approaching her. She jumped back, causing the glyph to go off before the girl could step on it.

She proceeds to run deep into the woods as the other knights arrive with a woman in handcuffs walking with them.

"Weiss! Why did you stop?" Winter asked with a serious tone.

"That was just a little girl," Weiss replied.

"That 'little girl' is a dangerous, dark beast." She explains. "Do you have any idea what she'll do if she were to change?"

Weiss hanged her head down out of shame after hearing this. Winter sighed, and her expression returned to normal. She had everyone regroup to formulate a plan to locate the girl.

-x-

Winter soon explains her plan to the knights. "We will proceed when I say. We will not be doing anything specific or special. Just a normal search party." She explained. "I will explain the details once we are in town."

Winter divided everyone into pairs and had them search different areas of the woods. After the others left, Winter pulled Weiss to the side. "Ow, what?" She asked her sister. "I think it is for the better for you to stay here in town. We're lucky that Kline is in town running errands."

"What!" Weiss shouted angrily. "But you said..."

"I know what I said," Winter said, cutting her sister off. "But we can't have your "medical condition" flaring up. They will be using Trigger [5] to see if the girl is a beast." She continues. "Also, what if the others see? They might try to hurt you or worse."

Although Weiss followed through with her sister's advice, she couldn't help but feel a little miffed about it. After all, she has proven herself to be a more than capable knight. But on the other hand, her sister doesn't want to see her get beheaded. So she continues to walk through the village, trying to find Kline.

She soon finds herself at the edge of town near the woods. Then, she notices something small running by in the corner of her eye. Weiss realized that might have been the girl they're looking for and decided to follow.

Even though Winter said to say back, something was driving her to catch up with the figure. And soon, she was running deep into the wood and found herself lost. Weiss realized this and came back to her senses. "Wait, why did I just?" She asks herself and starts trying to find her way back.

"Winter is going to kill me." Was, just one thought currently going through her head. But her main focus was trying to get back to town. As she continues to walk, Weiss then notices something peculiar. The more she walked, the forest started to become more and more unrecognizable. She felt very unnerved being all alone in this situation. The only other signs of activity were the sounds of the Atlas snow crunching under her feet.

Though she could not see it, Weiss's aura could tell that someone or something was near. The wind felt cold. Much colder than usual.

She soon stopped. The trees around were much different than before. Most still had their leaves, but they were a greyish white, almost like ash. So was their bark, white and silver streak coated them. It spread from tree to tree in a straight line. As if someone had deliberately made those marks for her to find.

At the base of the tree were a set of footprints. Not very deep and too big to be the little girl's.

She recalls that the girl looked like she was around 6-9 years old and was smaller than her peers.

"Even if this is not what I was supposed to find. But as a knight, I need to check this out." She thought as she stood up, unsheathing her sword.

Weiss keeps following the marked trees, scanning the surrounding for signs of the mystery figure. The deeper she went, the temperature changed from bone-shattering cold to an autumn breeze. Truly strange.

"Wait, what am I doing? I am in way over my head right now. I should head back and-"

"Are you leaving already?"

She turns around.

A short man-not normal-was standing in front of her. His hair was silverish-grey. He wore a worn-out suit-even though they were out in the wilderness of Atlas-and talked and behaved like a genuine noble. But what gave this guy away was the fact he has pointed ears.

"You Dirty Elf!"

"Correct." The elf bowed. "But I assure you, I'm quite clear."

"You're the one who lured me out here!" Weiss shouted, pointing her sword at the elf.

"Oh, my."

Weiss summons a speed glyph under her feet and launches her towards the elf. The elf waved his hand lightly. A small ice wall appeared from the ground. Weiss couldn't stop in time, and her sword became embedded in the ice. She tried to pull it out, but the ice started growing around the blade. Weiss noticed when the ice reached her hand, it stopped.

"As expected, no ice could harm you. Miss Schnee." said the elf.

Weiss couldn't help being surprised.

"He knows my name?" She thought to herself, shocked by his words.

She manages to pull her sword out of the ice. "Enough tricks, what's the meaning of all this?"

She demanded while preparing another glyph.

"And you're quick to get to the point. Just like your grandfather." He replied, complementing the heiress.

"Y-You know my grandfather?" Weiss asked, confused and still pointing her sword at him.

"Why yes, I know a lot about your family. Ever since my king gave your great, great grandfather his blessing, he showed the King kindness in his time of need and showed him the wonders of your world. And when he learned of his problems, his family, and his goals."

"The king decided to return his kindness by blessing your family, creating a lineage of great leaders. Logical, strategic, precise, and accurate."

"But why me?" She asked, tilting her head down.

The elf looked confused.

"When I inherited my family's magic, it made me unable to love. And if I ever have children, I might give them this curse of mine."

The elf's expression turned from confusion to sadness and pity for the young heiress.

"Now that you mention it."

He then walked closer to Weiss and started to look at her closely. Making her step back a bit and feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Yes, that one of Agatha's alright," He concludes.

"Agatha?" Weiss asked. "Who's Agatha?"

"A witch who is a 'little' upset that the king granted your family magic." He explained. "You know the kind, feels jealous of other people's things, feel like they don't deserve it, and decides to do everything they can to ruin or hurt them to satisfy their pride and hubris."

"I guess," Weiss replies.

"If you want." The elf approached Weiss. He moved so fast Weiss didn't hear him. "I can help you. My king had permitted me."

Weiss could think of moving. He grabs her left arm.

"My name's Vorst. And I'm here to help you, Miss Schnee."

"Ahh!"

Weiss felt a sting on her left hand. Then a familiar chill ran up her arm. Her left arm was changing before her eyes, resembling her beast form, and was seemingly producing ice from inside her body that spread over her entire body.

"What are you doing to me?"

"Assessing your situation," Vorst answered. "Till next time, Miss Schnee."

"Wait! Where are you going?"

But he didn't answer. He disappeared into the trees. When he was out of Weiss' sight, the forest changed. The trees return to their natural color, the stripes vanish, and the temperature returns to the regular Atlas cold.

Weiss just stood there trying to comprehend what just happened. A voice starts calling out to her.

"... Miss Schnee?"

She turns around to see a knight from her squad running towards her.

"Miss Schnee, where have you been?" The knight demanded. "When Captain Winter found out you were missing. She made us drop searching for the beast kid to find you."

"Sorry, I thought I saw the girl run this way and went to investigate." She explains while trying to hide her partially transformed left hand from the knight.

"Are you hurt?" The knight asks, noticing that Weiss was hiding her hand.

"N-no, I'm fine, just a little scrap, nothing too bad." She answered, trying to avoid showing her hand.

"Alright then." He said, buying her answer. "Just be careful next time."

-x-

As the two were making their way back to town, they heard something rustling in the bushes in front of them. They pull out their weapons and point them at the rustling bush.

And the little girl they were looking for from the start came running out. She looks tired and cold. Weiss strangely felt that she was sad and scared out of her mind.

"Well, it looks like today is our lucky day." The knight said to Weiss.

But Weiss didn't reply. She was lost in thought, still thinking about Vorst's words.

It seems your curse and magic are affecting each other deeply. And the curse certainly is an obstacle to mastering your magic. I managed to give you a limited ability to use your magic. Use it well, Miss Schnee.

"This isn't right," She muttered.

"Your right about that." He replies, preparing to attack the girl.

The sight of the knight about to strike made Weiss snap back to reality. "What are you doing?" Weiss demanded.

"My duty as an Atlesian Knight," The Knight said, beaming with determination. "Destroying dark beasts for the safety of Atlas and its people at any cost."

"She's only a little girl!" Weiss begged the knight in hopes of stopping him.

But he didn't listen, and he charged. Just when the knight thought his sword had struck the girl. He opens his eyes to see Weiss had intercepted his attack and is holding back his sword.

"Why are you protesting this Beast?" The knight demanded. Then he noticed Weiss' left hand.

And his eyes widened in shock and confusion.

Weiss then realizes what she just did and that he saw her hand.

"Wait-this-"

He didn't want to hear it. He just charged.

He swings down, and Weiss successfully parries it. She then dodged the next slash, nearly cutting her side. Weiss kept parrying and dodging the knight's attacks, determined to keep him away from the girl. She needs a counter-attack to take him out without killing him. (Which is very difficult when he is hellbent on killing you and the kid behind you.)

"Uh!"

He managed to strike hard enough to send Weiss falling backward. She looks up and finds her sword has broken in half. With her weapon broken, Weiss has to maneuver around to keep him distracted so that he doesn't go for the girl. The next slash almost got her, but not before cutting her left eye, causing Weiss to fall back in pain.

The knight then walks over to Weiss and looks down on her. "I should have known that you were a beast." He said while monologuing. "Only a monster would protect another of their kind."

"I'm not a monster." She mutters.

He then walks towards the girl, curled up by a tree, crying her eyes out.

"P-Please, I didn't do anything wrong!" She said, begging the knight to spare her. "My momma was only trying to help."

"That enough, demon." He said in a stern, serious tone. "In the name of Atlas, I banish you from this world." He chanted, raising his sword, preparing to finish her.

"Nooo!"

"I'm not a monster."

Those words started getting louder. The knight turns around to see what's going on.

"What the-"

Weiss had gotten back up, holding her broken sword, bleeding from her left eye. But it was her still visible eve that made him feel unnerved. There was no trace of the heiress in it. It looked like that of a cornered animal in fight or die mode. All while muttering the same thing over and over to herself.

"I'm not a monster."

She raised her sword.

"I'm not a monster."

She leaps towards him.

"I'm not a monster."

With these thoughts driving her actions, Weiss's actions were more aggressive. Even with her broken blade and wounded left eye. She and the knight parried, attack after attack. The intense clangs of metal echoed through the forest before Weiss knocked the sword out of his hand. She took the chance and pierced an unprotected part of the knight's armor.

"I'M NOT A MONSTER!" She shouted out loud.

Weiss knew who and what she was. Although a beast at birth, she was also the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. And inheritor of the magic that her great-great-grandfather was gifted with by the Elves.

She knocked the knight to the ground, and a large ice glyph appeared under her as tiny ice crystals appeared on her chin, back, and arm.

"W-Wait-!"

With inhuman speed, Weiss made a swift lunge towards the knight.

"Stop! Don't ki-"

Before he could finish, the sword pierced his breastplate, right into his heart. When Weiss pulled out her sword, the knight was frozen solid, and he shattered into a million pieces. [6]

Weiss just stood there, unable to move or say anything. She then turned to look at the kid she saved.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" She begs, still scared out of her mind.

Weiss didn't say a word, still in complete shock at what she had done.

"You don't have to worry. Miss Schnee wouldn't do such a thing." Said a voice coming toward them. Weiss instantly recognized the voice.

"Kline?" Weiss asked.

The butler soon arrived from the trees in a carriage. "When your sister informed me that you went missing, I immediately joined the search." He then turned and looked at what remained of the knight on the ground. "I almost wish I hadn't."

Weiss looked down in shame. She then feels a hand gently touch her shoulder.

"It is not your fault. This outcome was probably inevitable." He said, trying to reassure the young heiress. "I assume you have met him?"

"The elf?" She replied.

He nodded and took off his hat. "Then it must be time."

Weiss noted that he had a sad tone in his voice. But, before she could get some answers, the sounds of fastly approaching feet echoed through the woods.

"It sounded like it came from over here." Said a voice.

Kline then grabbed Weiss's arm. "Miss Schnee, we have to go. Now!"

Without hesitation, Weiss grabbed the little girl and got onto the carriage, and they drove off as fast as they can, deeper into the woods, almost to a border.

-x-

After what felt like an eternity, the carriage finally stopped. And Weiss and Kline stepped out.

"Weiss, listen closely to what I have to tell you." He begins.

"The death of that knight is going to get investigated by the government. And they will take everything from his last mission into account."

"Sooner or later, they will try to connect to you. With that, the government could find out about the Schnee family secret."

Weiss's working eye widens, knowing what he was suggesting. "No."

"Then your father would find out. Who knows what he might do to you." He continues.

"No."

"You know I do care for you and your safety. I also know what happens when a beast is put on trial or sent to jail." Kline's eyes started to water a bit.

Weiss's eye also began watering at this. Kline walked close to her and hugged her.

"It's not safe for you in Altas. You have to get as far away from her as possible, never let anyone find out who you are. Or else you will face a truly, grim fate." He demands tearfully.

She sighs. "I-I'll-." Weiss struggled to get these words out. "-do it." She looks back at the carriage containing the sleeping girl in the back.

"What about her?" She asked.

"You don't have to worry. The Knights will not hurt her." He replies. "I will make sure of it. On my word."

"Thank you." Weiss then turned and walked into the woods.

"Wait." Weiss stops and looks back at Kline.

"Before you go, there's something I need to give you." He walks back towards the carriage and starts digging through the back.

"I was going to wait until you were older. But now feels like the right time." He soon pulls out a long box and takes it to Weiss.

"Your grandfather had this made for when you were born." He opens the box, and inside is a rapier decorated in beautiful Atlasien patterns. The guard was hollow and contained a rotating cylinder with slots in it (probably for dust). On the crossguard was an inscription written in cursive.

Myrtenaster.

Weiss picks up the sword and starts walking away.

"Farwell, my little snowflake," Kline says as he boarded the carriage and road off.

Once she was far enough, Weiss started running and kept running as tears stream from her right eye. She tripped a bit, and Myrtenaster fell out of her hand. She manages to grab it in her mouth. With that, her bottled-up emotions triggered her curse. She starts moving on all fours as the transformation spreads. All traces of her former life tore away from her body, and the scraps blew away behind her. Even her hairpiece came loose, causing her hair to flow loosely in the wind.

Once the transformation was complete. A large white fox goes full speed into the horizon. Its destination, unknown.

Though she was devastated, a feeling of relief consumed her. For the first time in years, Weiss felt free.

Author's note: Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism allowed. Also, here are some extra tidbits about the story.

[1] Dust - a mineral that can be found in crystalline form and said to be magic in its purest form. This theory probably makes sense. Physical magic is already hard for anyone to master. So everyone else used it in different ways. Embedding in clothes or weapons so anyone could use magic to an extent. (Sometimes, being around dust for long periods has resulted in some "interesting" side effects.)

[2] Magic clans - family bloodlines that throughout the generations. Had the natural ability to use some form of magic.

[3] When he found out, he freaked out and started screaming like a little girl and had to be sedated by the doctors.

[4] Top "Parent of the year!" material here, people.

[5] Trigger - a magic potion used to identify who is a beast. When injected, if the person has a beast curse, it will react. Resulting in a partial transformation of the area around the injection.

[6] Karma, B!t#h!