Guest: The reason for her mood in the beginning of c3 is because she is not a morning person, canonically XD. Later on, she's pissed because her aura was depleted so quickly and believes that if something like that happened during the Huntsman Assessments, she would never make it.
timrocks99: Yes, Weiss! You should've listened to your girlfriend, she was worried about you. That's not how getting stronger works. You will learn this eventually.
Nightcore25: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Demonicdueler: She isn't Weiss if she ain't stubborn, now is she?
YuukiAsuna-Chan: She should! But, she's very confident in her abilities, so when something like that happens, she'll be a little annoyed.
Thank you for commenting!
Initiating time-skip! If you'll look back at the prologue for the tags, I said that there will be references towards canon and travel, so...
This is where the true story actually begins! Well, part one of it.
Hmm, well this story-line seems a little familiar. Wonder where it could be from? Let's add a little twist.
Location: Atlas, Schnee Mansion.
Monday, June 1st
[Undesired Date]
She could still hear the violent roars of the Grimm, see the lifeless bodies of both faintly recognizable students and civilians alike, the sound of weapons clashing and the terrified screams of the defenseless community. She felt the exhaustion from overworking herself trying to defend her friends, and her school. She'd been running on empty, but she kept running for the sake of Beacon, for the sake of her family.
She remembers seeing the limp form of Yang laying out in the school's courtyard, unconscious with her freshly severed arm bandaged but still bleeding, and Blake right next to her and grasping at her own bleeding wound. Ren and Nora were with them, defeated and exhausted. Sun stood nearby, nervously watching over them and awaiting the arrival of the medical emergency airship.
She'd followed Ruby in her search for Pyrrha and helped her partner up the tower; Weiss remained at the base waiting for her return. She'd been running low on dust and had just summoned a line of fire up her blade to fend off an Ursa when a bright, blinding white light covered the entire area, the Grimm around her dissolving into nothingness.
Drained, she collapsed.
The next few memories are foggy, clouded by a ringing, white noise. She vaguely remembered Sun finding her and mentioning something about Ruby. The next thing she'd known, she'd found herself on top of the ruined tower and standing before a frozen dragon, with the blurred image of Qrow standing a few feet away cradling Ruby's limp body. Her next memory was sitting in the medical airship next to her unconscious girlfriend, having been informed that she'd somehow entered a coma.
Yang woke soon the nurses stabilized her, but she remained groggy and dazed from blood loss. One of the first questions she'd asked upon waking up was where her partner was, and what happened. Sun informed her of everything he knew. Blake had already disappeared by the time Weiss had returned.
As the nurses were tending to other injured students, Weiss noticed her father's ship approaching the fallen school, coming to bring her back home…
He embraced the role of a worried, fretting father, acting as though his daughter's safety was important to him. He requested that she join him on the airship and she refused, not wanting to leave her injured teammates behind; Jacques got the upperhand and managed to convince her to return home.
Yang, conscious enough to understand what was happening, promised her that Ruby would be alright. She'd given her girlfriend's forehead a kiss before reluctantly following her father onto the airship.
The next day, she learned that Beacon had been thoroughly evacuated with the exception of a few professors. There wasn't any news yet about the survivors.
Weiss' eyes slowly drift to the photograph framed by her window, a white chess piece sitting neatly beside it. She glides over to it, her hand tracing the wooden edge of the frame before picking it up to look at the picture pressed to it. It was a photo of team RWBY at the start of their first year, all smiling and packed together, with the words "New friends~" written across the top corner in red marker.
Weiss' grip tightens, her gaze lingering on herself and Ruby. She remembers taking that photo not too long after the four of them had started to really bond with each other. She can almost hear the rushed "Hurry, we've only got a few seconds!" before the picture was snapped. It used to sit on the bookshelf between their beds, and it had for years. Weiss had requested it when she had her personal items shipped back from Beacon. Or, what was left of them.
Tears fill her eyes the longer she stares at the sight of Ruby, her thumb subconsciously caressing the picture. She hasn't heard anything about Ruby's condition since she'd returned to Atlas; her decision to return was a mistake, a moment of weakness.
She had tried desperately to get in contact with someone, with Yang or someone. She'd even asked her sister if she had happened to have Qrow's number, but to no avail.
"Miss Schnee." She is reeled from her thoughts at the sound of Klein's voice, "Your father requests your presence in his office…"
The woman turns her attention towards the short man standing at her doorway. She gave a small, strained smile in response. "Thank you, Klein…" She answered faintly.
Her Father had summoned her to his office to inform her of the charity event she would be required to perform at in honor of Beacon in the coming weeks.
As she's leaving, he told her that she would need to meet some suitors later in the day and Weiss reluctantly accepted, knowing that there was no way out of what her Father had planned. He feigns optimism and tells her to meet him in the Foyer.
The first suitor is a man by the name of Charlie Matthews, he is seven years older than Weiss and he was the heir to a machinery company. He had chocolate brown hair and stone-colored eyes, although he was only twenty-seven years old, his face and saddened gaze spoke otherwise. He had a story to tell, if only he would open up; wise beyond his years, he was revealed to be a rather intriguing person to converse with.
When asked why he was chosen to meet with her, he informed Weiss that he was not searching for another lover and misunderstood her father's request.. It turned out that Charlie had been married three years prior, but his wife was killed during a Grimm attack when she was expecting their first child. He'd watched her get mauled with his own eyes…
Jacques, unfortunately, did not seem to like him considering all he wanted was their alliance, but he would be an excellent trading partner. Weiss would keep that in mind for when she inherited the company.
The second a young man called Jett Oswind, he had ebony hair and heterochromia green and brown eyes. His hair was wild and untamed, momentarily reminding Weiss of her partner's natural hairstyle. Jett was an Atlas Academy graduate and high-ranked within the Atlesian military. He was only selected to humor her considering he wielded a double-bladed weapon and he'd unlocked his semblance at a young age.
Because of this, Jett turned out to be a rather boastful person. While he and Weiss were left alone, the only thing that he would talk about was that he was only five years old when he discovered his semblance: time manipulation. Believing it to be the most powerful semblance in all time, he offered to show it to Weiss and she begrudgingly accepted.
His attempt to impress her was pausing time for sixty seconds, and when he'd resumed time, he'd tried to surprise her by predicting everything that would happen within the next minute: She'd be handed a bouquet of roses, a fancy limoscene would arrive to chaufer them through Atlas' plaza, she would mysteriously lose her balance and the young man would 'jump to her rescue', and they would attend their expected date.
Needless to say, she was not impressed. Ruby had done better than that to impress her, and it wasn't even intentional.
After dismissing Jett, Weiss requests to have the final suitor brought in. This is the last man she was expected to meet today by her understanding, and much to her relief. She'll breeze through the interaction and send him on his way just as done with the previous two men, or at least that's what she was intending to do. The smile on her father's face implies otherwise. . .
Dread pools in the pit of her stomach as the mansion's large doors slide open and a young man with well-combed and gelled blonde hair enters the room. Jacques descends the staircase to greet the man, momentarily catching her by surprise. "It is such a delight to have you here, Mister Graham." Weiss' brows furrow in suspicion upon hearing her father's genuinely merry voice.
"Please, call me Raye." The younger man smiles politely as his sharp yellow eyes maneuver towards Weiss, the kindness was instantly replaced with disdain. "So," he says, ambling over to the heiress, "you must be Weiss Schnee." Raye pauses in his tracks just in front of Weiss, scrutinizing her appearance. "The rest of the women from your family lineage are captivating. . . What happened to you?" The man inquires.
Rage brewers inside of Weiss' chest, it took every ounce of willpower she had to keep her expression neutral. "I suggest you watch your words." She answers carefully, returning his judgmental stare.
Raye tsks and waves his hand dismissively as he turns to walk away. "I think it's safe to say that you Schnee women fail to know your place within the presence of a man." He stops and peers over his shoulder at the young woman, the unreadable smirk in his eyes causing a chill of fear to race up Weiss' spine. "Not to worry, we will establish that soon enough."
Weiss knows very well what that meant.
Raye was yet another self-entitled young man who firmly believes that the male gender stands superior to women, something Weiss had unfortunately come to accept about privileged families, such as her own.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Of course not," Raye answers sweetly as a wicked smirk curls at his lips, "but, your actions will have consequences, sweetheart."
She feels a hand on her back. "Weiss," her father says kindly, but sharply, "why don't you accompany Mister Graham into town and introduce him to everybody?" She should have expected this considering he seems to favor the nasty young man.
Raye grins in response, tearing his eyes from Weiss as though she'd never been there at all. His voice is sickeningly sweet; "A splendid idea, Mister Schnee!" Gods, that name was so wrong. "Consider it a date."
Weiss rolls her eyes, swallowing her hatred for him as an attempt to bury her emotions. "Sure, why not?" It wasn't like she had a choice anyway.
Raye eyes her again and Weiss makes sure to match his glare, he scoffed in disbelief and she scowls at him. "I suppose your beauty and your family's fortune will have to do, your attitude is absolutely dreadful for a woman of your etiquette." He smiles as her father squeezes her shoulder in warning and dismisses himself.
Raye lifts his hand and snaps his fingers, grabbing the staff's attention immediately. "Have a limousine prepared for myself and my dear Princess," upon hearing the oh-so familiar pet name, a snake-like feeling crawls up Weiss' spine and she has to bite her tongue, "we have a long day ahead of us."
Reluctance in her step, she follows the young man to the door to wait for the arrival of the requested vehicle. "Do wipe that scowl off your face," he mutters, looking at her with lackluster eyes, the order evident in his voice.
The woman simply glares at him and Raye lets out a heavy sigh. A white limo was approaching. The second limo of the day. "I suppose it cannot be helped," he starts his descent towards the vehicle, "but if you dare to defy yet another order, there will be severe consequences." The limo parks and a scrawny, middle-aged man steps out to respectfully open the door for them.
"After you, Ms. Schnee." Raye smiles sweetly, offering a slight bow as the limo's door opens. "Ladies first, no?" Weiss can see the sneer behind the man's false kindness, indicating that he had no plans of being polite other than to simply impress her father. The heiress mirrors the scowl behind Raye's yellow eyes before stepping into the limousine. "What? No gratitude for your future spouse?"
Weiss glares at him, "You are not my spouse."
Upon the smell of chocolate assaulting her senses, a wave of nausea suddenly washed over Weiss and her stomach churns in discomfort. Resisting the urge to gag, she sits down as far away from the vehicle's refreshments as she possibly can. Raye joins her a few seconds later and the door is closed, trapping them both in the small space.
Raye makes himself comfortable, tilting his head back as the limo comes to life. "It would be wise of you to consider your words before speaking in my presence while we're inside the restaurant." His gaze becomes hard and unforgiving, "I don't take too kindly to disrespect."
"How ironic. . ." Weiss replies with a challenging smirk, "Neither do I."
He sighs in annoyance and sits up, "I hear you will be singing at the charity event?" He smiled, "That's thoughtful, helpful to after what happened to-"
Weiss glares at him. "Oh, don't act like you care."
The rest of the escort ride remains silent.
Raye takes it upon himself to try a bite of the fancy chocolates stashed in the vehicle, followed by a swig of some red wine, he turned out to be a light-weight drinker and Weiss could tell he was already tipsy by the time they'd arrived at the restaurant.
She raises her head to look at the restaurant before her; a tall, marbled two-story block building looms over her majestically, cracks of grey elegantly spread through the white stone and lit up by a brilliant, warm orange sparkle of the lights dangling overhead. The entryway is arched and structured from the same texture; ceiling lights were applied into the roof to resemble a spot-light.
They move through the glass doors and Weiss stays behind Raye as he saunters into the building, informing the waiter of their reservation before leading the heiress to their table. The interior matches the exterior, the walls are a slick, marbled white with glass lanterns appropriately positioned and lit to contrast the speckled golden floors beneath her feet.
It was a beautiful, astonishing place, but it was only impressive upon first glance.
Weiss seats herself at the polished, wooden table, "For a man so obsessed with proper etiquette, you certainly do not look the part." She mockingly gestures towards the man's slightly slumped over posture, knowing it was a result of the alcohol brewing through his system.
She has to keep her guard up around Raye. Anasty, drunken man alone with a young woman could result in unspeakable things.
Raye scowls at her. "Best keep your mouth shut, my dear." He smirks as the waitress returns with his pre-requested wine. "We would not want that mouth of yours getting you into trouble, would we?"
Weiss raises a brow, unthreatened by his remark. The waitress scampers away, her eyes wide and her body tense. "I don't know," the heiress answered, matching his sneer, "would we?"
The man across from her takes another long sip from the beverage, irking the young woman with his ignorance. He lets out a heavy sigh and sets the glass down, his yellow eyes peering into Weiss' icy blue ones. "Do not look at me like that!" Raye orders her, his words vaguely slurred.
Weiss sighs and averts her eyes, unfortunately knowing better than to look a man in the eyes. Hearing the restaurant door's bell ring, she glances up to see who was entering. She'd might as well busy herself with something if she can't make conversation with Raye, not like she wants to anyway.
Subconsciously, she plays with the bracelet on her wrist.
Her heart falls as a young woman with short, black hair enters, her wild bangs swept to the right side of her face and her eyes covered. She wears an expensive maroon dress shirt with a leather black bolero and grey leggings to match; there's a symbol on the back of her jacket that Weiss can't decipher. Weiss' entire world almost fades to black before the young woman looks over at her, obviously having felt someone's eyes on her.
The woman's eyes are green.
"Are you listening to me, Woman?" Raye's cold voice reels her out of her thoughts and she turns her attention back towards him, narrowly avoiding direct eye contact. Raye scowls at her. "What the fuck were you looking at, bitch?" The man turns himself around to follow Weiss' line of sight and his brows narrow, "Admiring other women in the presence of your date, I see…"
Weiss resists the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, the sight I see sitting before me isn't all that pleasing to the eye."
Raye just snorts his response and takes another swig of his alcohol, lifts his hand to his mouth and lets out a strangled cough and a dark thought briefly raced through Weiss' head. She looks away again as the man recomposes himself, his proper form disintegrating with every sip he takes. Perhaps if he gets drunk enough, they would be sent out of the restaurant.
Oh, she could only hope…
Maybe she could request a safe ride home, away from him. Raye is turning out to be an aggressive, easily provoked drunk.
Well, at least he wasn't an annoying, overly sweet…
Flirtatious…
Always seeking her affections…
The image of silver eyes staring down at her with genuine affection flickering through them came to the front of her mind.
'Ruby.' Weiss' heart twists and she clutches the edge of the table, remorse flooding the pit of her stomach with a boulder-like weight. She closes her eyes and her jaw clenches, there is a burning in her eyes and her breathing becomes heavy.
Oh who was she kidding?
She loved it.
She loved her.
She misses her overly affectionate partner, she misses how she'll ramble when she gets nervous, and how excited she becomes about weaponry… She misses the late nights where they would stay up talking about meaningless things, she misses seizing every little opportunity that presented itself to them to shower the other with love.
She misses insisting that they need to focus on their studies before an exam, only to find herself wrapped up in Ruby's comforting embrace the next morning…
She even misses the few times Ruby managed to convince her to skip class to have fun…
She misses her Rose.
"Here are your orders," the waitress' voice manages to snap her back to her senses and she reaches up to wipe away the forming tears with her palm, the waitress smiles at her as the dish was set in front of her, "Your husband is a gentleman to have ordered your favorite before you even arrived!"
Her stomach churns. Is that what this douche told the restaurant's staff? That they were married?
"He is not my husband," Weiss answers bluntly, ignoring the glare she receives from Raye, "and he never will be."
Apprehension and unease becomes evident in the waitress' eyes as she delivers the second and last dish, she quickly strolls away to leave the two alone. Weiss fixes her attention on Raye, whose drunken gaze stares back at her in sheer disapproval. He lets out a sigh. "I do hope that our offspring do not inherit that nasty attitude of yours…"
Weiss scoffs in incredulity, "Who said I am having children with you?" He was delusional.
Raye simply cocks a brow and swishes the remaining wine around once in his glass. He takes another long gulp and sets the empty glass down, "Unfortunately, you do not have a choice."
Fear races up the woman's spine upon the implication, she remains as stoic as possible as rage twinges at her chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Raye chortles and waves his hand dismissively, "You are a woman." He says, "A woman's job is to bear heirs for her spouse, nothing more." He hums and offers the second glass of wine to her, an evil glint hidden in his yellow eyes. "Drink?"
'Pay attention to detail.' Winter's voice murmurs inside of her head instantly. 'One thing unnoticed could cost you your life.'
Weiss scruinitizes the young man and her eyes flicker from the glass to Raye, replaying the recent events through her head.
He'd lead her out to a fancy, five-star restaurant and pre ordered everything, consistently warning her that her actions would have consequences. Upon receiving their drinks, he applied a honey-like liquid to one of the glasses and switched them around when he thought Weiss wasn't paying attention.
He'd mentioned children, referring to himself as her spouse…
The drink was spiked.
Weiss pushes herself away from the table and stands to her feet, "I have to go." She says bluntly. Raye watches her with judgment and unimpressed as she stiffly walks out of the building, leaving him alone at the table; Weiss ignores all the prying eyes and puzzled whispers.
This would definitely backfire on her, but she didn't care.