Chapter 9 (Weiss POV)

We have been welcomed at the Vale's front gates, and it is time to settle into the kingdom. As always, Winter commands her servants expertly while we await Prince Ozpin to further receive us. She stands among her advisors, softly murmuring about the timing of our arrival and further planned events.

Winter once told me something.

She said the most important thing for a queen to believe, is that she cannot possibly know everything. To acknowledge that is of utmost importance. It is the only way to be the very best queen one could possibly be. A queen will never understand every finite detail that crosses her path. She will never glean enough insight by using her own purview alone. A queen has her most trusted advisors for a reason. She would be completely useless if she never once used them.

Therefore, a queen must only know one thing in absolution; who she can trust.

After all, it is the people you can trust that will locate anything else that might be needed. Loyalty is something that must be earned, it can never be bought. Those gifted with loyalty are among the richest in this life. Power and authority only come after.

That was one of the few lessons Winter imparted to me about ruling the vastness of any kingdom. I have never once needed to put the thought into practice, and, there is still a small chance that I never will. Still, that lesson gives me hope. It makes me believe that Winter sees the merit in Blake's proposal, and that she is not actually concerned about Blake's station.

I am starting to believe that Winter looks for something else. Though, what that something could be, I haven't the slightest clue. Winter doesn't explain herself if she doesn't wish to. Another perk of being a queen.

"Weiss." My sister calls to me, turning my attention to her. "This letter to King Nikos, it was by your word, yes?"

"Yes, of course." I reply stepping closer, my voice low. "I hope you found it satisfactory."

"You're sure of your decision?" Winter asks me then. "You will not regret this refusal?"

"No, dearest sister, I won't."

"Very well then then." She says before turning to the nearby men waiting for her orders. "I approve that this refusal be sent to King Nikos immediately." Winter says as she gives it to one of her royal messengers. "Have my request regarding Whitley sent to Princess Nikos well. Take the next supply ship from Vale to Argus to hasten your deliveries."

The servant nods, rushing away to do as he was ordered. Another stays in his place, his hands at his side as he waits for his own instructions.

"You've sent one for Whitley? Surely, the princess will decline." I say to Winter. "It would be a poor match. She and Whitley have very little in common. Besides, to send the eldest male away wouldn't be rational. It would demean our kingdom's strength. Who would think you'd allow that?"

"I wouldn't." My sister replies. Looking to me with a brow upraised. I must have said something shortsighted. "I would never send either of you away from the kingdom without good reason. No, I firmly stipulated that Atlas would inherit the Princess Nikos upon her father's agreeance."

"That means that if he did allow the union, she would become a woman of Atlas." I murmur thoughtfully. "I was not under the impression that there was anyone else in line for the throne?"

"They are a warrior people, and thus, only the strongest have a right to rule." Winter tells me. Once again, I am reminded of how little I know. "If Princess Nikos would truly like the throne to herself, she would need to do battle constantly with the others vying for the title."

"Would that not be possible?" I wonder aloud.

"So far, she continues on unrivaled." Winter says to me in a soft laugh. "I believe she does it out of self-sacrificing duty, rather than a true desire to bear the burden of the throne itself. Still, there's no one better suited to leading the kingdom. It's too complicated a task for a person of lesser intellect, and too gargantuan a title for anyone lesser than Princess Nikos. She will rise to be their greatest queen one day, Weiss, you'll see it with your own eyes."

"That does sound like her." I concede.

Winter nods, saying nothing more to me as she regards the next servant with two large stacks of sealed letters. "These are formal announcements to declare our arrival. Have the purple waxed letters sent to every member of Vale's royal family. These blue wax seals are to be sent to every member of Vale's royal court. The red go out to all households containing gentry." He nods, saying that he understand the instructions as he collects the letters and makes haste to find his way down the confusing streets of Vale.

Every kingdom is different, but one thing stays the same. No matter where we hail from, the up and coming nobles strive to be noticed. We must show ourselves worthy on the grand stage of this world. To prove lesser than our forbearers would be a mockery of our bloodlines.

Some are merely born noteworthy, being solitarily guaranteed the throne. Others are made so, striving to provide feats of impressive merit, like my sister. Lastly, there are those who are destined to marry into noteworthiness, obtaining immense power by marital vows alone. People like Yang.

No matter how that noteworthiness comes about, those who attain it have a foremost responsibility to their people.

We are raised to know this. We await our time to come into our own, and seize that moment once it arrives. The numerous princes and princesses that make up the current generation are reaching the age of selection. If matches have not been made already, they will be made soon enough. Along with this simple truth, another rests within.

Castle courts often look to expand lineage beyond that of a single kingdom.

For those of particularly high standing, cross kingdom marriages are not unheard of. In families such as mine, with the line of succession properly secured, it is almost a guarantee. There is no question that I will be married away from the reaches of Atlas, while my brother Whitley will likely be encouraged intake a spouse from another kingdom. The reason for that is twofold.

Firstly, Whitley and I were raised to better suit the commonalities of royal court. Entrusting a spouse to this task is of utmost importance to any up and coming ruler. Particularly one that might be engrossed with learning the ways of his people. My brother and I were not raised to heft a kingdom onto our shoulders. We were raised to navigate the aftermath. We would be best suited to the largest of kingdom courts, the giants. That of Vale, Atlas, Mistral, or even Vacuo. Most of the royals looking for a spouse, know this too.

Secondly, although a kingdom's court may be insular, that is not an advantage. Kingdoms who propagate within an echo chamber are sure to falter. Spreading bloodlines and fair tidings alike, we of the noblest shroud can maintain this glorious peace among the kingdoms. This careful balance promises the best for all peoples across Remnant.

Well, all peoples except for one…

The Faunus do not receive the same prosperous tidings.

For several centuries whenever there is war, it is usually between human and Faunus. The two sides clashing, ideologies promising the other side to be evil. Both wiling to completely exterminate the other. The most recent war started as a skirmish along the boarders of Atlas and Vale. A few small settlements coming into contact with one another. What had originally started as a tiny boarder conflict soon started bleeding into Vacuo.

It spread like a wildfire, again, strictly as expected. It would only get worse, and like always, it did. The scars of the battle are still healing to this day. Though that war has been over now for several years, another could begin at any time. The kingdoms have always felt that granting the Faunus a place of power among them would only inspire more bloodshed.

That is why their voices have not been heard…