Chapter 4 (Blake POV)
With Winter's final words spoken, we ended the initial meeting taking place at the Xiao Long residence, Yang's childhood home.
The banquet hall was far smaller than any that might be found in a castle. Her father is only a knight, provided this residence strictly as a way to entertain traveling guests as they pass into the edges of the kingdoms boarders. The stables are large, able to shelter all of the horses required for travel. Along with modest farmland and nearby access to the vineyards, there is plenty of land.
One might call this place a small piece of paradise.
Growing up, I visited often. At first Vale was the only ally to the Faunus. The only ones to look upon our plight as an entire kingdom, taking pity on the suffering done onto us since the beginning of time. My people have never forgotten that kindness, and my father, Ghira, has never allowed me to forget it either. As a child I was sent here yearly to pay my utmost respect to the great King Ozma. When I made the journey, I was often instructed to stay under the protection of the Yang's father. For a few months out of every year, I lived with his family.
Yang and I grew up spending those early summers together. We quickly became friends.
As a child I had always taken a liking to the flowers and cobblestone pathways that decorated the exterior of her home. That I get to share this same fondness of mine with Weiss now, well, it is nothing short of a gift.
"It went well, I think." Weiss says to me when we are far away from the home to converse casually.
It's a blessing that I get to walk this path with her, arm-in-arm.
"I'll be honest, I have my doubts." I tell her, there is no reason to hide them. "I have a lot of work ahead of me. I just wonder if it will all be enough."
"I think we have little to fear for right now. My sister is stern, she is not unreasonable." She says, and I don't know if she's saying that purely out of kindness or not. I have been waiting for this brief reprieve all day. Her voice is soothing to all the negative emotions I had been bathed in earlier. At this point, I'll take what I can get. Even if the victory is a fleeting one. "It went as well as could be expected, especially given the circumstances."
"I would hope I'd gain more favor as time goes on." I agree, still feeling a little out of place. "Then again, humans find Faunus practices quite odd. I wouldn't be surprised if the queen demanded a human wedding at the end of all of this. She may stipulate that, and my father would never agree."
"Would it bother you?" Weiss asks, and I am reminded once more of her place in this world.
A good question. I looked at the shorter woman beside me. So near, and yet, so far. Her human sensibilities prevent plenty of opportunity to form the bond that I'd like. Some overtures are simply seen as inappropriate. Others are simply beyond her natural instinct. "Perhaps... I think it would sadden me a little." I admit with all the honesty I can provide. "I am a Faunus, least you forget."
"Yet, I am human, least you forget."
In that, I find so many things difficult to ask.
"So you are." I say simply. I can't keep the warmth in my voice hidden. Even if I were to try, she would notice. Weiss is that sort of person. "That does pose a concern, I suppose."
"It worries you?" She asks. "That I am human, while you are Faunus?"
"My ways are simply different from yours." I say, because I do not know how much I am allowed to say. I wouldn't want to offend her.
Important details pertaining to our courtship lay unspoken. Firstly, because it is not yet a topic we are allowed to speak of. Secondly because if we did, our motor mouth of an escort would likely say something about it. Yang would never be able to hide anything from Winter. We continue walking in companionable silence, but a question within me burns my mouth and stabs my mind.
I must know…
"Weiss, if I may be so bold as to ask something personal…" I lick my lips, clearing my throat gently. I don't want to alarm her. "Would living by my practices be unfavorable?"
"Would you have them be so?" Weiss asks in return. "If you knew that they would upset me, would you ever be so cruel?"
A fair rebuttal, I suppose. I can comfort that, at the very least. "No, our ways aren't meant to torture loved ones. Faunus live to achieve quite the opposite. If something I did were to truly displease you, I would hope you'd let that displeasure be known. We never seek to harm our mates."
"Never?"
"If we did, we'd only serve to harm ourselves." I say softly, wondering at what she thinks that to mean. I wonder how far it is from the truth. Then again, loved ones have raised a hand to her before. "Faunus are connected by our souls when we take a mate. In that way, even the most self-serving Faunus would never harm their mate intentionally. Pain exists, of course, such as life provides. Like anyone else, we must strive for temperance. It isn't always achieved."
Of course Weiss doesn't know the ways of the Faunus. She has no way of knowing. Looking over her shoulder, she watches Yang walking several paces behind us. The blonde meandering along, supervising the two of us. The atlesian customs demand it. I can take comfort in this, too. A small hint that Winter is taking my request seriously, and, that she wasn't as nearly against the idea as she might sound.
"Even being so near to you now, this is new to me." Weiss said then. "I was not raised to be so familiar with my suitors."
I find myself sporting a toothy grin at that. "With all due respect, I don't know how atlesian women find suitors at all. The fact that unmarried women need to be supervised like children seems a little condescending to me."
"It's just our way." Weiss replies with a soft smile of her own. So beautiful, and so fragile, a fleeting happiness I wish to remember well. "Although now I wonder, why would you think that I'm the one being watched?"
"Does your sister doubt my intentions that much?"
"If she did, Yang would not be the one supervising our little walk around the gardens."
I nodded, wordlessly considering how true that probably was.
Yang was a terror during her proceedings with Winter. I know in part because she told me. Writing letters at length, bragging about the beautiful woman who had stolen her heart. Yang had been stealing kisses in the dark hallways, and subsequently tormenting the castle guards. Over time, she gathered a large list of exploits, several of which included rumors that she may have taken Winter's virginity long before their wedding night. Though, Yang refused to confirm or deny any of the murmurs, factual or otherwise.
I highly doubt she followed any orders she may have been given. Knowing Yang as I do, she very likely broke every single one of them.
In that, I think Weiss deserves a little of my own honesty.
"You know, I doubted my own intentions at first." I said while looking down at the cobbled path and my black boots that clacked along it. "I sent the formal proposal on a whim. I didn't have prayer in the world that you'd reply. I thought I had to be going crazy, that I was crazy, when I received a reply by your own hand."
"Really? We have been sending letters for years." I can hear the note of curiosity clinging to her voice. A polite inquiry sitting on the tip of her tongue. Inclining her gaze, she regards me. I can only gently return it. I wait for her question, and finally, she gives it. "Why would you think that I might deny you?"
"For too many reasons." Rolling my eyes upwards, I see movement in the trees. I pause for a moment, trying to see through the greenery. "Many of them were so obvious that Winter even stated them today..." It's rare that I get to gaze at the songbirds in the trees. Mated pairs singing along together in harmony. This too, offers a little calm to my quickly beating heart. I begin to lead us down the road once more. A few paces at a time. "Mind you, that was not all that I feared. I had other concerns, too."
"Such as?"
"Well, foolishly, I feared that you already someone on your mind." It was then that I truly felt a hint of self-deprecation. Blue eyes giving me a passively annoyed look. The slightest scowl on those delicate features, the perfect admonishment. "If there was someone, then you certainly would have declined."
"Isn't it considered impolite to discern a woman's heart in Menagerie?" Weiss posed then. "Especially if that heart is not your own?"
"Faunus are more open, I suppose." Blake say with a soft laugh. "Our women are not raised to be coddled or cajoled. In that, we are unlike humans. We may do what we wish, with whomever we wish. Flight of fancy are considered somewhat normal, even among those that might be considered nobles. At least, the nearest thing we may have to them."
"How odd." Her confusion is adorable. "You mean to tell me that Faunus women are not thought to be women-of-the-night because of that?"
"Hmm? Women-of-the…" I trailed off as I finally understand her question. It's hard to keep from chuckling. "Oh, you mean like a whore?"
"Blake! The mouth on you, really!" Weiss bites out. The lewd word must be scraping against her thoughts unpleasantly. "You can't just say that!" She says unhappily. "I'll have you know that it's very uncouth."
"I did just speak it, though." I say in spite of myself.
"To think, I may in fact become betrothed to you one day. Such a scoundrel, and here I thought Yang was the only one to speak of boorish things." She sighs, shaking her head as her cheeks tinge pink. I feel the smile on my face spread wider still. Weiss chooses to pointedly ignore it. "In answer to your question, though. Yes. An unmarried woman seeking...congress...isn't she thought of as a woman of ill-repute? Isn't that frowned upon?"
"Not usually, no." My voice lowers then, gentling at the obviously uncomfortable question. Such things probably aren't talked about openly back in Atlas. "The mating urge can be rather strong among Faunus. It would be wrong to demean a person simply for...seeking congress...as you put it. Our customs are strict when it comes to courting a lover, but, they're strict in different ways."
"Ways that I will have to abide by if I…" Weiss hesitates yet again. Looking to me shyly, I have no idea what could have possibly crossed her mind.
It's interesting to speculate, but that would be cruel. I wish she would finish that thought, but she seems too skittish to do that.
"We will act at our own pace, of course." I tell her. "Yours and mine. No one else is able to stipulate the speed of our courtship." I stopped walking then, turning to face the princess of Atlas. Despite being so close in age, Weiss has been sheltered. I have seen much of this world, and she has not. I often forget that I have to be kinder to her sensibilities. My lips pull gently at the edges, eying her as kindly as I possibly can. "I have no intention of rushing into anything. I promise, my ambitions towards you are nothing less than noble. Please, even if you know nothing else, at least know that..."
