AYangThang: I have no rhyme or reason for this, and frankly, I don't want one, either… First few chapters up tonight... more, um... I don't know... whenever I get around to writing them...
Chapter 1: Blake POV
One year until marriage, the countdown begins. Three hundred and sixty-five days remain.
I sit across the table from a lovely young woman. Her name is Weiss Schnee. The tiny blush on her cheeks reminds me that I'm fortunate to have gained her attention at all. Unfortunately, it isn't her approval that I need to seek. Were so simple that I could whisk her into my arms without a care in the world, I would have already done so. However, Weiss hails from a bloodline of prominence, and I am not allowed to take her hand in mine unless it is given to me.
To complicate the matter, she's the middle child of the atlesian royal family. She holds no real grasp over her family's inheritance, and she has no reason to attempt to argue with her elder sister over the throne. She has no hope to attain it either, if Winter Schnee were to fall ill. The line of succession has already been guaranteed in the form of a child, and with another already on the way, the Schnee line runs strong.
Even if a dispute were to break out, the family has no need to cannibalize itself from within. Atlas's queen rules with such expert precision that her siblings cannot help but marvel at her skill. There is no question, Winter Schnee is a splendorous woman in her own right. Highly respectable and equally as intimidating. Yet, she is the one that must approve of this union.
Weiss and I must receive her most auspicious blessing.
I lift a cup of tea to my lips as my father speaks to the queen about the details. I catch the somewhat demure blue eyes that watch my every move. The shy look she gives me placates my restlessness. A smile begins tugging at my lips from behind my teacup.
Yes, she is very lovely indeed.
It's only the second time we've come face-to-face. The first occurrence was on queen's own wedding day. The momentous event taking place at the esteemed glacial palace itself. I had never before traveled to Atlas, the journey had been a taxing one. Upon arrival, I realized the great lengths that the Schnee family took to preserve their nobility. Their servants were tested to the limit, expected to perform to the brink of their abilities.
Honestly, I wasn't enamored with all the finery. I recall stating as much.
Weiss, of course, wouldn't take my complaints sitting down. She sought me out, goading me into many debates, several of them lasting hours. Our heated exchange went on for a handful of days, culminating in a few dances one night at the celebratory ball.
We've been exchanging letters ever since…
Our families look to Weiss and I dubiously. As if we haven't a clue as to what we really want. Fate makes it no easier when my father and Winter agree that a marriage would be a bad idea. A trading of ideals across the table is the most that Weiss and I can hope for.
It has to be enough.
"Surely there must be something we can do." My mother speaks out. "How about appealing to the other kingdoms for approval? Blake would be sent to seek out the support of the other kingdoms. If she were to receive their blessings, wouldn't that be enough?"
"Kali…" My father can only sigh. "That is such an unreasonable thing to even suggest."
"The only unreasonable thing here is the way you have been acting." She chides gently slapping at the back of his hand. She does this when she's displeased. He's a man set in his ways. Although she loves him, she is a fair bit more whimsical than he will ever be. She turns her gaze upon Winter. "If Blake can convince all of the kingdoms to recognize Menagerie as one of the fold, wouldn't that be enough?"
"Would it even be possible? That is the better question. In my eyes, the Chieftain is correct." Winter replies, she's so regal. It's amazing to think that we humble Faunus sit across from her at all. "Such an unreasonable idea would never come to fruition in the first place."
"Suppose it did…" My mother says to her.
"If it did, it would be a miracle." My father says, giving my mother a look. One that can only mean one thing.
Silence.
She gazes back to him, and in this moment he's lost the unspoken war. "Fine…" He holds her gaze as if to test her. Finally, he gives in, turning his attention to Winter. "Supposing it did, then..."
"A miracle, that's what you called it?" Winter queried, but the question didn't need an answer. "Yes, it would be something like that, now wouldn't it?" She goes on to say, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side. Her gaze is purely quizzical, but it lingers on me all the same. Cold blue eyes lingering on me just long enough. "Certainly, it wouldn't be something to easily achieve."
Winter actually sounds amused.
My mouth runs inexplicably dry. I never thought such a thing possible, not on this day, upon this hour. I sip at my tea again to settle my quaking nerves.
"Yes, you're right in that." My father is much more resolute as he nods solemnly. "The kingdoms have never once thought of the Faunus as equal parties. If Blake were to be able to achieve such a feat, well, she may in fact be considered a hero among the Faunus."
Winter nods, a beat of silence drapes over the table. It's caught my attention, and Weiss seems worried. I do not like the anxiety I see pooling in her eyes, and draping across her shoulders. Suddenly our wordless flirting seems rather pointless. We wait for one thing; for Winter to find the words she's searching for.
The seconds are measured by heartbeats now, even my parents have noticed the direct shift in the queen's demeanor.
"Presuming I agree to your terms, I must admit, a union like this would be rather unorthodox." Winter says, her tone dry and unimpressed. "I hope you realize that, Chieftain Belladonna."
She isn't wrong, either.
"Yes, of course." My father agrees quietly as he reaches to refill her teacup. "More tea?"
"Indeed." She edges the cup closer to him. I wonder what she's thinking.
She's young for a queen, the youngest the Atlesian throne has ever seen, at least. The way she looks at me from across the table borderlines upon contempt. I find myself fleeing away from it. My amber eyes find the bread, seasonings, and oil. It is a comfortable thing to fixate on, something less intimidating than the stern woman in front of me.
"I can't say that I'm pleased about even hearing of this." She says after my father has filled her teacup to her liking. "When I received the formal request from your daughter, I thought it was a farce." She carefully floats a slice of fresh lemon dusted gently in sugar across the top before taking a sip. "A practical joke, at the very least."
I'm not that foolish. Stubborn, perhaps, but not suicidal enough to make a mockery of any human highborn.
No, my intentions are pure…
"Why you would draw that conclusion?" My father asks. He is trying his utmost to appease her. To find a common ground upon which to stand. For all of his efforts, it seems I've done nothing more than infuriate the queen by my request.
Well, I've been told that provoking Queen Schnee's ire is a commonplace thing to do.
"Weiss wouldn't just been marrying down in royal station." I hear it so clearly in her words. The depth of her vitriol. "She would be marrying down in every way possible. You do understand this, yes?"
"I do understand, but, I thought perhaps with a little leniency we might come to a solution of some sort." My father tells her in earnest.
"Even if Menagerie were to become a kingdom, it would be the smallest, and the weakest kingdom by far." Winter says clearly. "Even of your daughter were to rise to the station of princess, it would hardly even qualify her for consideration at all."
"I agree, of course." My father murmurs. "I can't say that I'm thrilled about this proposed union, either. The Faunus settled in Menagerie to wiggle out of the oppression caused by the kingdoms. That a member of a human's royal family would again lay a claim to the Faunus..." There are no words for that. He can only look downcast at his tea. "It would be unthinkable."
He's right.
It would be would be unthinkable, still I feel compelled to think it anyway…
I can see his displeasure. My father is not the sort of person to take this matter lightly. I've caused him great trouble. This I know without a shadow of a doubt.
"If you concur, why did I receive a messenger on this subject?" Winter boldly asks, and in doing so, she does the one thing she ought never to have done. She looks down her nose at my father, nearly sneering at him.
A Faunus cannot, will never, take an expression like that lightly. Particularly not a leader to his people. Despite this, my father continues, unmoved by her less than kind image.
"Well, to be frank, my daughter insists we discuss the matter." Being a large male Faunus of the feline variety, he towers over everyone in the room. To compensate, he keeps his voice soft yet, resolute. This is what makes him a most esteemed chieftain among the Faunus. "I'm not able to sway Blake once she's made up her mind about anything. The best I can do is consider it."
"Indeed, in that, I can at least sympathize." Winter mutters distastefully. She scowls at me from across the table before her blue eyes cut over to her sibling. "I have been encountering the same problem with my sister. She's been squawking about the matter too. I simply refused to indulge such an idiotic concept. I thought you would be reasonable enough to do the same. Yet, here we are."
Weiss begins to bristle beneath her sister's cold words. She wants to say something back, but, she bites her tongue. Her eyes are downcast to the table, jaw pulled tight. She's thinking the same thing I am. Her breath slow and steady, released in soundless puffs. I would like to reach across and take her hand in mine, but, I mustn't. Like this, I cannot even offer that much.
I remind myself once more, Weiss is not mine to hold, not without her sister's blessing…
I am twenty years old, and Weiss is the same. In spite of these two decades of life, we are still merely children on this world's stage. We are voiceless, and it is not yet our time to have one. The world powers are those of giants, they have voices that carry out orders upon the winds, reaching to the countless peoples across Remnant.
Even Winter Schnee is one such giant, having fought to protect her kingdom when other rulers would have taken pause, hesitated, or even cast out their sons to command the great armies. Speaking out of turn will only invite trouble. This is a political exchange, not a personal one.
The time for endearments will come later...
I take a breath, match my soundless exhale with hers.
It is the most I can do, yet, it is not nearly enough.