Second Chain
Miyu walked down a hallway in the Schnee Manor. The youngest Schnee was on a journey to find her oldest sister after she didn't show up for breakfast. Klein Sieben told her Winter decided to skip their morning meal to train. The butler then directed her to a location in the manor she'd never been to before. According to him, it was a training room Winter favored.
Why Winter decided to skip breakfast to train was beyond Miyu. The only reason she could think of was that something at the previous night's party led her to this.
The party had been an overwhelming experience. So many unknown people were in attendance, and they all focused on her. They acted familiar with her despite having never met her before. The entire thing left Miyu feeling uncomfortable. At least her father handled most of the talking.
Miyu reached the room Winter was supposed to be training in. The white door to the training ground was closed, forcing the young Schnee to open it.
On the other side was a massive circular room. The walls and floor looked like they were made of very sturdy stone. There was a single bench large enough for three people set up against the far wall. A snowflake design was etched into the floor.
Winter was standing in the middle of the room; her back was towards Miyu. She was wearing a thick long-sleeve shirt and pants designed for physical activity. Below her feet was a glyph.
"Winter," Miyu called out to her sister, causing her to turn around. The glyph underneath Winter's feet quickly faded into nothingness. In her hands was a sword with a slightly curved blade and a sizeable crescent-shaped guard to protect its wielder's hand.
"Miyu," Winter acknowledged in turn. She sounded slightly frustrated at being interrupted. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't show up for breakfast," Miyu flatly answered. The youngest Schnee walked towards her oldest sister until they were in arms reach. Hidden in her dull eyes was a hint of annoyance.
"I decided to spend the day training," Winter said as she looked down at her sister. The two stared at each other for a moment; their blue eyes relentlessly looked into the others. A quiet staredown began.
…
…
"But I can take a short break," Winter ended up blinking first. She put her sword into its scabbard, and the two sisters took a seat on the nearby bench. "You handled yourself well last night."
"Thank you, it was difficult," Miyu blankly admitted. Despite having a blank expression and a monotone voice, she somehow managed to convey her deep frustration and weariness.
"You better get used to it," Winter warned Miyu. "Going forward, Father will make you attend events far larger than last night's."
Miyu simply nodded. She expected their father to make her represent their family regularly now that she's proven herself capable. There was already another party she was expected to go to in one week.
Jacques Schnee was simply doing what any father does in Miyu's eyes. Her previous father – Kiritsugu Emiya – sought to use her ability to grant people's wishes to save the world. Jacques was doing the same thing, just choosing to use her talents to further their family name instead of saving the world.
"Did your meeting go well?" Miyu asked. The younger sister knew it was important to her old sister, so she hoped it went well.
"Quite, General Ironwood was everything I expected him to be," Winter said with her equivalent of excitement. She sat up a little bit straighter. "He said he doesn't allow outside politics to impact Atlas Academy. All I must do is prove myself worthy of attention on my own merits. If I do that, I can finally separate myself from the Schnee name."
"I see," Miyu said slowly. "That doesn't justify skipping breakfast."
Even if Winter had to prove herself to enter the Academy, she had several years before she was old enough to attend. Thus, there was no need to skip breakfast to train for it.
"I'll keep that in mind," Winter slightly shook her head to the left and right. "But our family's semblance takes a lot of training to master."
"I don't care," Miyu denied her oldest sister's excuse out of hand. There was a slight air of spoiledness and selfishness in her tone. In her eyes, there was no valid excuse for Winter's actions.
It wasn't that Miyu didn't understand how much effort Winter needed to put in to realize her goal. Rather, she cared more about spending time with her siblings than letting them train.
"You don't care?" Winter repeated incredulously before sighing. She understood what her sister really meant. "If you want to spend time with me, then why don't you train with me? I can awaken your aura myself."
Miyu considered Winter's offer.
She had read a lot about aura and semblances in books and knew she would have to awaken her aura soon. At least, based on when Weiss began her training.
The two concepts unique to this world interested Miyu greatly. The scientifically minded girl wanted to know more about how they function mechanically.
Aura was the power of the soul, a life force running through all living beings. It was primarily used as a shield or forcefield which protected a person from harm. Furthermore, it could be used to spend up one's healing or protect them from the elements. Aura's only weakness was that a person only had so much. Once they run out, they are completely vulnerable.
Semblances were powers some people were able to manifest from their aura. They were functionally unique superpowers that included everything from superstrength to opening portals to faraway places. Every person can only have one of these powers, though.
Learning how to use one's semblance could be a way to get new insights into how they work, and it would let Miyu spend more time with her sister.
"Ok," Miyu agreed.
"Fine, but don't expect me to go easy on you," Winter responded.
Weiss opened up her Scroll as she walked through the Schnee manor.
The Scroll was a handheld device with a blue holographic screen displayed between its two white bars. The tool was capable of doing everything from calling others to being a gaming remote.
The middle Schnee child's Scroll was obviously the newest and most advanced model on the market.
She was about to look for news articles pertaining to the previous night's party, as she always did. Her goal was to see how last night went in the eyes of the media – particularly what they say about her.
There were always a few articles on parties held by the Schnee, no matter how small. And last night was the first time her sister had attended one, so there were sure to be more people reporting than average.
Weiss used her Scroll's news search function to look up 'Schnee Dust Company, last night.'
The first few results were from a couple of hours ago. They all had thumbnails of either the Schnee family or shots of the party itself.
A familiar mixture of emotions welled up in Weiss as she prepared to go through the articles. It was the combination of a bottomless pit of nervousness and self-consciousness enhanced by a lack of confidence – not in herself but in how she would be compared with her sisters.
The articles could say anything about her or her family. The authors could write nothing but a stream of insults towards them, and she couldn't do anything about it. Weiss wouldn't be able to live with herself if she gave people like that ammunition to attack the Schnee name.
Weiss quickly skimmed through a handful of articles as quickly as possible. She was relieved to not see any negative comments about her. There were even a few positive things said about her.
The compliments left her feeling elated and proud, even if they weren't meant for her.
Winter and Miyu also got nothing but praise. More than her…
Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss noticed one of the portraits of her grandfather.
He wore the same king-like armor he always did when he was alive. There was a stern expression on his sick-looking face. The three Schnee sisters were standing around him.
Weiss could still remember when they had that portrait done. It was such a happy day, though every day was a happy day when he was around.
He would've told her she was living up to the Schnee name if he was alive.
A sad expression formed on Weiss's face. The memory of her deceased grandfather was still more painful than anything else.
Weiss closed her Scroll and looked toward the ground. The middle-Schnee sister quietly wandered through the manor. She had nothing to do since today was one of the rare days there weren't any lessons she needed to attend.
She continued her quiet walk until she heard Winter's voice.
"Stop thinking so much," Winter shouted from a room down the hall.
Weiss was pulled out of her contemplation at her sister's shouts. It was rare to hear her yell in any way. She couldn't help but wonder what had caused her to.
The middle Schnee child stealthily moved towards the room she heard Winter in. Fortunately, the door to the room was open, so she could sneakily look in without having to risk opening the door. All she had to do was lean to the side to look in and use the wall to hide.
Inside the room were her two sisters. Winter was standing over Miyu, who was crouched down with one hand on the ground. The youngest Schnee looked far more tired than usual.
Weiss frowned. She recognized this room as the one her grandfather used to train in. What were her sisters doing here?
"Your semblance is a part of you – a manifestation of your soul. It isn't something shackled by science or logic," Winter lectured Miyu. Weiss knew her older sister's harsh tone from all the times she's been lectured by her. Especially when she asks Winter for help with her training.
Weiss concluded that her sisters were training based on what Winter said and where they were. But Miyu shouldn't have awakened her aura yet. Unless she had Winter or someone else do it without telling the rest of the family.
Either way, looking at them bothered Weiss.
Why were they doing something like this together without her? When their grandfather was alive, she and Winter trained together with him. Miyu may not have been old enough to train with them, but Weiss still cherished that time. There weren't any other times she could remember where she felt so free. Now, watching Winter train with Miyu without even inviting her made her feel excluded. Alone. Isolated. And it hurt.
"Weiss," Miyu suddenly turned and called out, causing the sad Schnee to jump. "Why are you hiding?"
"I – um," Weiss inelegantly muttered before quickly gathering herself. She stepped out from behind the wall and walked through the room's open doors. "I wasn't hiding; I was simply going for a walk when I heard Sister's voice."
She did her best to act like she hadn't just been caught watching her sisters from a hiding place. Inwardly, she was a little bit frustrated by how aware Miyu was of her surroundings.
Were Winter and Miyu going to tell her to go away? Or will they insult her?
"Would you like to join us?" Winter offered after briefly closing her eyes and sighing.
"That isn't tr-" Weiss's kneejerk response stopped midway through. The negative emotions in her heart faded as she comprehended her sister's offer. The eight-year-old girl's cheeks glowed a bright red. "Really! I would be delighted to."
Weiss walked right next to her sister, temporarily forgetting her manners. A small smile graced the young girl's face all the while. She wasn't going to let this opportunity pass her by. "Miyu is having trouble with our family's semblance, correct? Maybe a demonstration would help."
The Schnee then used her family's semblance to make a gravity glyph appear under her feet.
Glyphs were the hereditary semblance of the Schnee family – the only known genealogical semblance in the world. It granted its users the ability to create a variety of glyphs that each possess a unique ability. These effects range from creating simple platforms to summoning slayed Grimm. Furthermore, it could be combined with Dust to achieve even more power.
Strangely though, the original owner of the Glyphs semblance had taught Weiss the flexibility and power of their ability weren't what made it special. Instead, its greatest strength was that it was shared by all members of their bloodline, allowing them to work together to further its capabilities.
It was to honor her Grandfather's beliefs and uphold the Schnee name that she decided to help Miyu. In absolutely no way was Weiss influenced by wanting to show off and display herself as being better at something than Miyu.
"No, that wouldn't be necessary. Miyu only had her aura awakened less than an hour ago. It is impossible for her to manifest our semblance yet," Winter said with what Weiss swore was a teasing smirk.
"Then why were you –"
"Miyu needed to see that manifesting a semblance isn't easy," Winter explained before turning and walking away from her two sisters.
Weiss turned and looked at her youngest sister as she stood up. There was a determined expression on Miyu's face, causing Weiss to swallow.
Right now, she was better than Miyu at their semblance and aura, but that expression filled Weiss with a strange dread. The youngest Schnee could do anything when she put her mind to it and always surpassed Weiss. So, how long until Miyu's grown better at their semblance than her?
And when she did, wouldn't that definitely prove Miyu was a better Schnee than her? If that's true, shouldn't she refuse to help Miyu…
"Elder Sister," Weiss flinched as Miyu addressed her. Sometimes the Schnee siblings would address each other by relation, but it was rare for Miyu to address Weiss as 'Elder Sister' instead of just 'Sister' or 'Weiss.' Those rare cases were almost always when she was trying to be formal or wanted something from Weiss. "Thank you for helping me train."
Weiss froze for a moment as she processed her little sister's thanks and dealt with the resulting emotional war inside her. On the one hand, she knew that helping Miyu train would result in her being surpassed more quickly. The knowledge of that made the dark feelings born of trying to uphold the Schnee name – of meeting everyone's expectations – surge forward. They were ugly emotions like jealousy, anger, resentment, and sadness.
Yet, those feelings were met with the happiness of being with her sisters. The joy of being an older sister who gets to teach her younger sister. The feeling of companionship she got when she was with them – even if her mother said she wasn't like them.
Weiss looked into her younger sister's dull blue eyes and didn't see any of the conflicts she felt within them.
The middle Schnee child did her best to hide away the negative emotions within herself for the time being. "Sigh, there's no need to thank me. Just try not to embarrass yourself or our family name."
Miyu nodded in response, prompting Weiss to turn towards her older sister. "If we're not training our semblances, what are we doing?"
"Training aura," Winter said while looking at her fist. "Activating and maintaining your aura in dangerous situations must become second nature to you."
Weiss suddenly had a bad feeling about this training. A feeling that was confirmed when she looked down at her sister and saw her body tense.
The young Schnee activated her aura to prepare for whatever training Winter had planned. She saw Miyu do the same thing. If Miyu already knew how to do that, then there was no need to worry about her getting injured. It wasn't like Winter was going to use her semblance on them.
"Prepare yourselves," Winter told them. A white glyph appeared under her feet –
And she suddenly ran towards them with an unnatural speed.
Weiss watched – frozen with equal parts surprise and horror– as Winter ignored her and punched Miyu in the stomach before she even registered what was happening. The youngest Schnee was knocked onto her back.
"I know you don't have any combat training, but showing your stomach so easily is pathetic," Winter surveyed before turning towards Weiss.
Weiss was suddenly filled with dread as she realized Winter wasn't playing around.
The second-born Schnee swallowed and tried to form a graph, only for Winter to run towards her without using one. She easily closed the distance before Weiss could finish her graph and punched her in the stomach too.
Her aura prevented her from being hurt, but she was still knocked back and barely managed to stay standing.
"You've improved slightly, but not enough," Winter analyzed objectively. "Fortunately, we have enough time to fix that."
Weiss looked over at her younger sister was only now attempting to get up from the ground.
"Shouldn't you be focusing on Miyu first?" Weiss instantly tried to throw her sister under the bus. She had agreed to help Miyu train, not get beat up by Winter!
"I am confident I can handle teaching both of you at once," Winter said with a quick glance between the two sisters.
Weiss swallowed and steeled herself. She found the slightest bit of solace in knowing Miyu would be suffering right alongside her.
Willow Schnee stood in her husband's personal study.
The room had a wall made up of filled bookcases, which she knew Jacques had never read before. A fake game of chess was set up on his expensive wooden desk. There were two chairs in front of the desk and one slightly nicer chair behind.
In the nicer chair was Jacques in his standard white suit. His white hair made him look older than he was, but there were still some traces of the handsome features Willow loved in him.
"Jacques, can you please attend dinner tonight?" Willow almost begged her husband. "You should have enough time to take at least a small break. For our daughters."
"Of course, you'd say that," Jacques glared up at his wife. "You have no idea what I must do to keep this family and its name at the forefront of the world."
The part of Willow that still had some semblance of pride left felt agitated at her husband's response. She was the one who was a Schnee by birth; he married into her family. Who was he to lecture her on the Schnee family's reputation?
Yet, the intense agitation Willow felt faded quicker than it arrived. It was washed away in a sea of misery and hopelessness. She couldn't bring herself to deny Jacques. How could she repair their relationship if she fought him?
"They did well last night; shouldn't you at least tell them that?" Willow questioned.
"They did what I expected of them," Jacques coldly stated as he returned to reading documents on his desk. There was no pride in his expressions. No sign of a father who loved his children. It was more like he was talking about things that belonged to him.
Willow sighed and looked towards the door out of the room. She felt tired and was losing any energy she had. "Fine."
The white-haired woman sighed and walked towards the door. Her husband didn't say a thing to her as she left the room.
Willow gently closed the door behind her and walked toward the dining room. It was almost time for dinner, and her talk with Jacques left her oddly thirsty.
In the past, there wouldn't have been a conversation like the one she had just now. Jacques had been a dashing and charming man who always knew what to say. Their dates were some of her most joyous memories. The way he always made their dates around what made her happy, without concern for his wants, warmed her heart.
But Jacques slowly started changing after they got married. It started when he took charge of the Schnee Dust Company from her father soon after they married. The founder of the Schnee Dust Company may have been known worldwide for his bravery and reliability, but the same could not be said for his body. A lifetime of Dust mining left him sickly and marred. It only made sense then for Jacques to take control of the company so he wouldn't work himself to death.
From then on, Jacques started spending huge portions of the day running the company, but he still made time for her.
Eventually, they welcomed their first daughter into the world, Winter Schnee. A little bundle of joy that took after her. Willow could still vividly remember how happy her father was he held his granddaughter for the first time. Jacques may not have been able to be there while she was giving birth, but he seemed happy or maybe satisfied with their firstborn. She was an extremely healthy baby, after all.
Jacques then took charge of how they would raise their child, to the point that he got into an argument with her father about being too controlling. He was almost pushing her out of her own child's development, but that just showed how much he cared about Winter.
Time passed, and Jacques told her he wanted more children. At that point, he could barely make enough time for her and Winter. Her father even had to step in and convince Jacques to put aside work and spend time with them. Yet, Willow still agreed to Jacques's request to have more children, even if she didn't want any more.
A functional relationship requires sacrifice on both sides. What were a few more children if it was what Jacques wanted? Especially since he was sacrificing so much of his time running the company so her father could rest. It wouldn't have been right for her to deny him after putting such a heavy burden on him.
In the end, they had two more daughters before he said he didn't want any more. Though he was extremely frustrated when he told her that, and she didn't know why.
Jacques had been even stricter on how he wanted Weiss to be raised than Winter. The same arguments between her father and Jacques broke out again, only worse this time. In later years, Weiss would even be stolen away from her lessons by her grandfather for who knows what. Willow never told her husband about these times and went out of her way to make sure he never learned about them. The pair looked so happy together that she felt compelled to turn a blind eye.
Among all her children, Willow knew she was the least involved with her last child Miyu. It wasn't something she took pride in or would admit to others, but it was the truth. Miyu would excel at any task Jacques gave her, no matter how great or advanced for her age. Furthermore, Willow never really saw a point where Miyu needed her as a mother. If that was the case, it would be so much easier to accept that over trying to force herself into someplace she didn't belong.
Jacques would make sure Miyu would be fine, so she didn't need to do anything.
Willow stopped reflecting on the past as a butler – Klein Sieben – turned the corner and looked at her with an expression of recognition. It was an expression she recognized as someone who found what they were looking for.
"Lady Schnee," he addressed her formally and with a slight bow. "I was just looking for you. The young misses are all asleep right now and felt it was best not to wake them. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be attending dinner, but I've already personally prepared food for them if they wake up early."
Willow frowned in displeasure. She had just tried to get their father to eat with them tonight, and they weren't even going to show up?
"Why are they sleeping at this hour?" Willow asked with a tired edge in her voice.
"They didn't have any lessons today and ended up spending today training together. They were so tired that they ended up falling asleep in the former Lord Schnee's training room," the butler explained with a slight hint of joy.
"My father's?" Willow repeated before remembering where it was. She started walking again, switching her destination from the dining room to her children's location. The butler knew better than to try and follow her, leaving her to march there alone.
She wasn't going to let her children skip dinner because they were tired.
That thought actually made Willow feel strangely happy and almost energetic. It was the first time she had to discipline her children like this. Like how a mother would.
Willow had lived in this palace since the day she was born, and navigating it was easier than breathing for her. It didn't take her long to reach the training room. The doors to it were closed, but Willow opened it and entered it without slowing down.
She opened her mouth to say something –
– But stop before a sound left her voice.
Her three children were all asleep, as the butler had said. They were sleeping upright, supported by one of the walls. Winter was in the middle while the other two were leaning against her. It looked like they had sat down on the ground and fallen asleep.
Looking at them stopped Willow from immediately waking them up. She quietly walked closer to her children and knelt down in front of them.
Weiss and Miyu were visible more tired and dirty than Winter was. It was almost as if they had been beaten up while Winter was completely unharmed.
The two younger children must've fallen asleep after whatever than were doing, and Winter didn't want to wake them. Though, Weiss will probably wish she did when they wake up. She must have been extremely exhausted to fall asleep on the ground like this, as it was improper for a Schnee to sleep on the ground.
The three of them looked like normal sisters, like a family, as they quietly slept.
Willow sighed, and the rush of energy she felt earlier faded. Her eyes fell on each of her children.
Winter – the perfect and responsible daughter. The one destined for great things.
Weiss – the daughter she saw herself in. The one who always tries to live up to their family name and tries to be perfect.
Miyu – the quiet genius. The one who never needed her.
She truly loved each of them. If only she had the strength and will to give them the peaceful lives they deserve. A life where they could grow up without the expectation and scrutiny they will have to live their lives under. Where they could have good parents.
Willow stood up and quietly left the room, leaving her children to dream together.
A few weeks later
Miyu stood outside her father's office. He had sent somebody to tell her he wanted to see her after she was done with her lessons for today. It was the first time he had ever asked Miyu to see him, so she finished her lessons even faster than usual. She wasn't particularly excited or distressed by being summoned by her father, but she was interested in what caused him to summon her.
The youngest Schnee entered her father's office. The office's owner was seated behind a desk with two chairs in front of it and bookshelves behind it. What kind of books were held on it?
"Miyu, I didn't expect you so early," Father said with a frown. His hands were interlocked, and his elbows were on the desk.
"I finished my lessons early, Father," Miyu emotionlessly explained. She walked until she was right next to the chairs in front of her father's desk.
"Then we need to increase your workload," he commented. "Sit down."
"Yes, sir," Miyu acknowledged and did what her father told her. Her blue eyes tried to read some of the titles of the novels on the bookshelves. She was annoyed that she couldn't read any of the titles.
"From what I understand, Winter has awakened your aura," Father directly stated without any pleasantries, not that it bothered Miyu. She preferred it when people got straight to the point. "Have you managed to use your semblances yet?"
"Yes," Miyu answered.
Miyu had spent the last few weeks determined to learn how to use her semblance. She spent any free time she had training by herself, with pointers from her sisters, and had managed to awaken her family's semblance. She could make a glyph, but only the most basic one that serves as a platform.
Being able to make glyphs proves that she is a Schnee and thus related to her sisters. Even if she knew it logically, having it be reaffirmed was reassuring.
There was no bond or relationship she held in high regard than the connection between siblings. It was something she learned to cherish from her older brother, and she wouldn't forget it even in this life.
"hm, then you will need to attend a primary combat school," Miyu's father said to her muted surprise. "You will attend a school in Atlas where we can cover up any potential blunders."
Miyu wasn't particularly interested in going to a combat school, but she wasn't against it either. She just didn't understand why she was being sent to one when her older sisters weren't.
"I wouldn't be taught by private tutors?" Miyu asked her white-suited father.
"That's what I just said. It will be more beneficial for the Schnee name if you're enrolled in the next school year," He dryly explained. His tone was that of someone who didn't care if the person he was talking to understood him. All he cared for was his orders being followed. "The standard age for primary combat school is eight years old. We can market you as a genius like he was by enrolling you two years early."
Miyu contemplated her father's words through the lenses of the economic and marking booking she's read.
The Schnee Dust Company and the Schnee family were interlinked. The reputation of one impacted the other. Her grandfather was able to turn the SDC into an economic powerhouse because he was known for being a reliable hero. His name gave people a sense of certainty when buying Dust from them.
With him gone, the SDC lost the support of his reputation. It only made sense to have either her or her sisters trained to take his place. Establishing herself as a genius could be the first step toward that.
She didn't desire to be seen as a genius by others or gain notoriety, but she did have a responsibility to the Schnee family. It wasn't in Miyu's nature to ignore what was required of her.
"I see. Will I be forced to leave home?" Miyu accepted her father's order and moved on. Combat schools often require their students to live on campus in dorm rooms. Doing so is meant to prepare them for their time in Atlas Academy and beyond.
"Of course not. The school I've chosen doesn't require students to live on campus. You will go there during the day and come home at night to fulfill your duties as a Schnee," the father said. "That isn't to say you wouldn't represent the Schnee family when you're at school. I will take care of any messes you may make, but I expect you to build a reputation befitting a Schnee."
Miyu simply nodded in response. She had never been to school before, but it couldn't be that difficult.
"Good. The next semester starts in three months. You will spend any free time you have training and preparing," Miyu's father told her before looking down at his desk and picking up a pin. He began to read one of the various documents on his desk.
Miyu understood the conversation was over and left the room. The youngest Schnee began walking through her family's manor. She had been told to train once she was done with the day's lessons, which she had already finished. Thus, it was time for her to train.
Miyu sat on the ground, studying the plant before her.
She had spent several hours training on her own before tiring out. There hadn't been much time before dinner, so she went to her room and cleaned up. The day's final meal ended up being the same as always. Afterward, she decided to spend what little time she had left before bedtime in the Schnee garden.
The garden was a massive indoor courtyard with a magnificent glass roof. Unlike other rooms in the house, this was kept at an exceptionally high temperature, at least by Miyu's standards. The heat was regulated through the use of Fire Dust. The soil was fertilized using Plant Dust, and the plants were automatically watered through Water Dust.
The room had been specifically designed to facilitate the growth of plants from an entirely different climate in the cold tundra of Solitas.
Similar techniques were used to grow a small percentage of the Kingdom of Atlas's food supply, but most of their food came from trade with other nations.
Miyu's observation led her to believe the plants in this garden were more decorative than editable and would not serve as good food. Their nutritional value would be minimal at best, nor would they taste good. A few of them may even be poisonous or induce negative side effects if ingested with other things or in too high a dose. They were not passively dangerous, and the chances of someone eating them in such a way as to be poisoned were near zero…
"What are you doing here?" A voice from behind Miyu asked.
The youngest Schnee was brought out of her contemplations by her mother's voice. Miyu gracefully turned towards her mother, Willow Schnee.
Her mother in this life was standing at the entrance to the garden. She wore the same clothing she had worn to dinner that night, a white long-sleeve shirt and elegant pants. The smell of icy perfume reached her daughter's nose despite being several yards away. When Miyu looked at her, she crossed her arms yet looked away from her youngest child. It was like she didn't want to meet Miyu's gaze.
"I recently finished a book on botany and another on the various flora around Remnant. I wanted to see how much I can currently apply," Miyu explained in a way no six-year-old should've been able to.
"I'm guessing that's something you read on your own?" The older Schnee questioned as she walked over to a luxurious deck chair that was a couple of meters from the entrance. She sat in it with practiced grace.
"Yes," Miyu answered curtly. She almost went back to looking at the plants, but she happened to remember something she wished to ask her mother. "Do you know the name of the primary combat school Father plans to enroll me in?"
She never asked her father what it was named, and Miyu forgot to ask during dinner.
"Combat school? I never heard anything about this," she answered with genuine surprise in her voice. Her eyes widened a little, and her face broke into a small frown – only for her expression to revert to its previous aloof state. "You will have to ask Jacques. He handles those matters, not me."
Miyu nodded and turned back towards the plants.
The youngest Schnee didn't think she was doing anything wrong by almost ignoring her mother except when she needed to ask a question or when she was asked one. That was simply how Miyu thought mothers and daughters interacted. She had been raised by her first mother this way until her untimely demise.
She was known as a Child of God, or God Child, meaning she could grant the wishes of nearby humans – at a cost to herself. Thus, her original mother raised her in complete and utter isolation. Ideally, she wouldn't speak, think, or move unless absolutely necessary. Basic knowledge taught to any child was kept from her to prevent her from gaining her own wish or fulfilling the wishes of others.
It was a cold and empty way of being. Miyu and her mother spent every day together in robotic indifference to the other. The hollow days blurred together into a sea of monochromatic repetitiveness.
The only thing that stood out in those faint memories was the few toy balls her mother kept with them. Miyu never understood why her emotionless mother would have those things in their home – not that it mattered now.
Miyu moved one of the flowers around to get a better view of its petals. She could feel her mother's silent gaze upon her as she did so.
For some reason, she felt sad, but she currently lacked the ability to understand why.
AN:
Hello!
This is another chapter, but you already knew that! You read it after all!
Anyway, this chapter ended up very different than I planned it, and I hope it turned out ok. (And I hope to reuse some of the ideas I originally had for it in another chapter down the road. Who doesn't want to see Jacques commercialize Christmas!)
This chapter differed from the previous one because I wanted to show the bond between characters before the big Willow/Jacques fight. It also helps to ensure the story doesn't end up bleak like another one of my stories did.
Chapter one showed mini-Weiss, and her developing feelings of inferiority to her siblings – plus Schnee household expectations - and this chapter shows the way those feelings become interlinked with the love she has for her siblings – along with which one was important to her right now. But, of course, things will get worse for her before they get better. There is more to her in this chapter than that, but I'm sure y'all got it.
Winter gets to be a big sister in this chapter and shows that off. The idea of her being a harsh trainer came from her training scenes with Weiss.
This chapter hopefully made sense for people who don't know Miyu's lore or character. I also hope it establishes her viewpoint on her family and where it comes from clearly.
The way Jacques abused and manipulated Willow into marrying him and stuff should be clear. It was sad to write her in just a few paragraphs going from being happy to have a child/having a loving husband to being apathetic. Probably the saddest part was not having her include the word 'daughter' when describing Miyu like the other two, just before the part of her mind that knows the truth about her family surfaces for a brief moment. (And for reference, I think it was one of the DC comics that said Jacques wanted a son, so I had him want to have more children to get the son he wanted, but he gave up after three failures.)
Having Jacques send Miyu to school two years earlier was something I came up with while writing this chapter to explain how she'll be able to go to Atlas academy at the same time Weiss goes to Beacon. Hopefully, it didn't break belief.
To comment on some review questions that were asked:
There is no Shirou in this fic. I'm sorry if you want him, but he will not be in this fic. He does not work for the story I want to tell and would just take time away from the real main characters.
Miyu's power to grant wishes will make a return, but it will be incorporated into her semblance and wouldn't be seen for a long time. Also, if Miyu develops a deep enough bond with Winter or Weiss, they will develop the same 'Protection of the Holy Grail' Miyuverser Shirou got. (Fun fact: the Prisma Illya materials for the movie – specifically the one for Unlimited blade works – imply Shirou can project divine constructs, unlimited magical energy, and 'somehow' managed to do crazy stuff is because he has the Protection of the holy Grail. In fact, it is the same skill Parceval has if you go check his profile.) That may impact the story sooner and more subtly than Miyu's other powers.
Next Chapter: Lonely and cold Miyu scares every other student away from her. No friends like Illya here.
Have a great day!